AVES ISLAND. 365 



East Indies "who were also acquainted with Spanish, whose names he 

 does not recollect. 



The fifth interrogatory being addressed to him he said : That the 

 Americans were as well acquainted with the force and value of each 

 and all of the articles of the document as the deponent ; it was read 

 and translated to them more than ten times, and explained article bj 

 article. 



The sixth interrogatory being addressed to him he said : That it was 

 voluntary, as well as solicited by themselves for a security, as has been 

 stated ; and, consequently, that there was no appearance of compulsion 

 in any respect. 



The seventh interrogatory being addressed to him he said : That the 

 Venezuelan guard was composed of twenty-five men, of whom ten 

 remained on shore ; that they had ten muskets, ten cartridges {paquetes), 

 and a four-pounder cannon, with its ammunition ; that the number of 

 the Americans he has already stated ; that the Americans had two four- 

 pounder cannon, with their corresponding balls and powder, a number 

 of rifles, say forty or fifty, and a like number of pairs of pistols, a few 

 more or less. 



The eighth interrogatory being addressed to him he said : That they 

 had some casks, some containing water and others empty, two barrels 

 of meat, half a one of pork, a barrel of flour commenced on, and a hog ; 

 this in regard to provisions ; that of implements, he saw shovels, crow- 

 bars, and wheelbarrows, but all in very small number ; that they had 

 no machines ; that they had no timber ; that the houses he has already 

 mentioned, twelve small shanties; that of furniture, he saw some, such 

 as a table, a sofa, a looking glass, and a chronometer, articles belong- 

 ing to a wrecked vessel, as he noticed by the make of them, and as Mr. 

 Lang himself said they were ; that, besides what he has stated, there 

 were no other articles of any kind on the island; that he cannot say 

 whether those articles remained on the island or not, the whole or a 

 part of them, as the deponent left on the said thirteenth day. 



The ninth interrogatory being addressed to him he said : That there 

 were no preparatory labors for removing the guano ; that to dig out 

 this substance it was only requisite to take off" a layer of sand and take 

 it out with shovels; that there was no guano piled up, because as fast 

 as^ they dug it out they shipped it ; that during the thirteenth day the 

 de'ponent saw tbe Americans continuing to load with guano in virtue 

 of the permission which Dias gave to them. 



The tenth interrogatory being addressed to him he said: That the 

 Island of Aves is about 700 varas long by about one hundred and 

 twenty-five wide, and some twelve to fifteen feet high ; that it produces 

 nothing but guano, as there is not even a single bush on it; that it is 

 not adapted for habitation in consequence of being frequently inundated 

 during heavy storms, and because it is impossible to obtain fresh water 

 on it ; that it is not easy to approach it and to land, because there is a 

 heavy sea, and the anchoring ground is distant. 



The eleventh interrogatory being addressed to him he said : That 

 before the signing of the document or permission, to which the second 

 interrogatory relates, the same three vessels which have been previously 

 mentioned were there, for he found them on his arrival and left them 



