316 FANBY, OF THE SUSAN. 



night. The natives among whom the captain 

 had landed him at Cassa were little better than 

 savages, and in consequence he was almost starv- 

 ed to death, being obliged to subsist on ba- 

 nanas and dead rats. I afterwards had many 

 opportunities of witnessing the rat-feasts of 

 these natives, — and disgusting sights they are. 

 However, Fanby never recovered his accustomed 

 flow of good spirits ; something appeared to be 

 preying on his mind from the time he was taken 

 on board the Columbine. He behaved himself in 

 a very orderly manner to the time of his death, 

 which took place in a few weeks. The day before 

 he died, he complained of being very unwell, 

 but could not describe any particular pain : he 

 was on duty on deck in the evening when I went 

 into the forecastle, and he conversed with me 

 very rationally. At four the following morning 

 he went on deck, and at five was a corpse. Poor 

 fellow ! his remains were interred on a beautiful 

 island at the mouth of the river, surrounded by 

 the sea, but which has since been completely 

 washed away. 



The Columbine was moored at the mouth of 

 the river, open to the sea-breeze, with one hun- 

 dred and thirty fathoms cable. 



