May.] 



PRECAUTIONS AGAINST SURPRISE. 



405 



absence of nocturnal humidity I cannot pretend to assign. We could 

 here sleep quietly, without any apprehensions of colds, agues, or rheu- 

 matisms, being gently fanned and refreshed by the passing breath of 

 the south-east trade-winds ; which, not being interrupted by any high 

 land or island, blew serenely and steadily upon us. 



The usual precautions against surprise were carefully adopted. The 

 sentinels were placed as on the preceding night ; there being one man 

 on each bow, one in each waist, and one on each quarter, with loaded 

 muskets by them, and the boarding-pikes were always at hand in the 

 racks. The arm-chest was amply supplied with loaded muskets, pis- 

 tols, and cutlasses ; and every man was provided with a cartridge-box, 

 containing twenty-four rounds of cartridges. The battle-lanterns 

 were always at hand ; the large guns and swivels were kept loaded 

 with grape and canister-shot, and the matches ready lighted, day 

 and night. 



Although we often trusted our lives in the hands of the natives, we 

 were always careful to leave nothing undone or unattended to which 

 could contribute, in the smallest degree, to the safety of the vessel. 

 The cross-trees were screened in such a manner as to be completely 

 arrow-proof ; so that should the natives ever obtain command of the 

 deck, one man in each top would soon clear it with the swivel, which 

 was always stationed there, loaded with canisters of musket-balls and 

 buck-shot, with lighted matches in the covered match-tubs, and pro- 

 tected from the rain. There was also an arm-chest in each top, with 

 two blunderbusses in each, which were always loaded with No. 1 

 buck-shot. The top-chests were well supplied with ammunition, there 

 being sufficient for five hundred rounds, completely sheltered from the 

 weather. Thus, we felt perfectly at ease with respect to the safety of 

 the vessel ; to which every man had become so much attached, that he 

 would readily sacrifice his life in defence of " the saucy Antarctic," as 

 they fondly called her. 



May 27th. — On the following day, Thursday, the 27th, we took an 

 early breakfast, and at five, A. M., landed twenty-eight men, with the 

 armorer and his forge. The crew immediately addressed themselves 

 to their several duties, while the armorer proceeded to set up his forge, 

 which was soon ready for use. 



In the mean time I committed the command of the vessel to Mr. 

 Wallace, the trading officer, and accompanied Henneen, with a few of 

 his party, to a small uninhabited island, about a quarter of a mile from 

 that on which we were building our house. This little island, which 

 is not more than half a mile in circuit, is thickly covered with heavy 

 timber and fruit trees, among which I planted in various places pota- 

 toes, yams, beans, pease, apples, pears, and peaches ; each kind in 

 the soil which I considered most congenial to its nature and conducive 

 to its growth. 



At about ten o'clock, A. M., I returned to the island on which my 

 men were employed, and found every one in good spirits, and hard at 

 work ; assisted by about one hundred natives, who were mostly busy 

 in making thatch of cocoanut leaves, to cover the roof of the building 

 after it should be raised. The forge now being ready for operation, 



