264 ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH COLONY [May, 



pork for four ditto, and of peafe for fourteen ditto. She had left Spit- 

 head on the 26th of December, touched at Teneriffe and at the Cape 

 of Good Hope, where the matter had met with the Chefterfield, which 

 had left Port Jack Ton in April 1793 with the Shah XTormuzear; 

 and one of her people, who had formerly been a convict at Sydney, 

 wifhing to return to that country, they now collected from him fome 

 information refpecting Mr. Bampton's voyage. He told them, that 

 the two mips were fix months in their paflage to Timor, owing to 

 the difficulty which they had met with in the navigation of the Straits 

 between New Holland and New Guinea. On one of the iflands in 

 thefe ftratts they loft a boat, which had been fent on more to trade 

 with the natives. In this boat went, never to return, (according to 

 this perfon's account,) Captain Hill, of the New South Wales corps, 

 who was a paflenger in the Shah Hormuzear ; Mr. Carter, a friend of 

 Mr. Bampton's; Shaw, the firft mate of the Chefterfield ; Afcot, who 

 had been a convict, and two or three black people belonging to the 

 Shah Hormuzear. It was conjectured that they were, immediately 

 after landing, murdered by the natives, as the people of a boat that 

 was fent on more fome hours after to look for them found only the 

 clothes which they had on when they left the fhip, and a lantern and 

 tinder-box which they had taken with them : the clothes were torn 

 into rags. At a fire they found three hands ; but they were fo black 

 and disfigured by being burnt, that the people could not afcertain 

 whether they had belonged to black or white men. If the account of 

 this man might be credited, the end of thefe unfortunate gentlemen 

 and their companions mud have been truly horrid and deplorable ; it 

 was certain, however, that the fhip failed from the ifland without 

 them, and their fate was left in uncertainty, though every poflible 

 effort to difcover them was made by Mr. Bampton. 



At Timor Mr. Bampton took in a very valuable freight of fanclaj- 

 wood, with which he proceeded to Batavia ; and when the Chefter- 

 field parted company, he hoped foon to return to Port Jackfon. 



4 In 



