serving, that he would put an end to his existence before 

 morning. I now sent f or a guard, and had his room search- 

 ed for arms, which were aU taken away from him, and af- 

 terwards confmed him there, with two centinels at the door, 

 with orders not to permit him to leave it. When the arms 

 were taken cut, he refused to go into the room until some 

 violence was used to compel him ; he, however, became at 

 length pacified, and by morning dejected and penitent. 

 He frequently declared, that, as he had violated his promise 

 to me as weJl as to h;s brother ofiicers who had interceded 

 for him, he could not survive the shame, and had formed 

 the determination of putting an end to his existence the first 

 opportunity which presented itself. 



The ship now being left with only one sea lieutenant, it 

 became necessary to supply the deficiency, and the more 

 so as I had suffered lately much from the want of officers, 

 I therefore ordered lieutenant M'Knight to join the Essex, 

 placing Mr. Adams, the chaplain, in charge of the Atlantic ^ 

 gave the sailing-master the appointment of acting third lieu- 

 tenant; and appointed midshipman J. S. Cowan acting 

 fourth lieutenant, giving the appointment of sailing-master 

 to midshipman Odenheimer. I'o supply their places on 

 board the prizes, I put the younger midshipmen, boys from 

 twelve to fifteen years of age, making them nominally prize- 

 masters, with careful seamen, in whom I could confide, to 

 take care of them. 



Our wooding and watering went on briskly, and every 

 thing promised a speedy supply to all our wants, except 

 vegetables. On our first arrival boats had come off to the 

 ship ; but the governor, finding by the pursers remaining 

 in town he could monopolize the whole trade, forbade 

 every person selhng any article whatever, and placed guards 

 at the river's mouth to prevent boats from coming off to us. 

 Hearing nothing of the purser for two or three days, and not 

 knowing the cause of the boats keeping aloof from us, I had 

 some serious apprehensions for his safety. This fear was 

 somewhat increased by the disappearance of one of my 

 prisoners, the mate of a ship, whose absence could not he 

 accounted for in any other way but on the supposition of 

 his being murdered by the natives, for a few dollars he had 

 taken with him on shore, for the purpose of procuring a 

 few articles for the others. He had been permitted to go 



