92 
FIRST SIGHT NOT CHEERFUL. 
and rain, and nearly every one down with fever. The Rajiih 
Brooke was very ill with it, and of the thirty marines five had 
died, twenty were in hospital, and five only fit for duty. The 
site of the settlement was on a low swampy flat, a miserable 
looking spot with a few wretched temporary huts. It was 
arranged that my detachment was not to be located in this 
feverish place ; some ground on a higher level abbut two and 
a half miles from the settlement had been partly cleared, and 
temporary barracks were being prepared ; they were to have 
been ready on our arrival, but were not half finished. For 
the first day or two 1 took the detachment on shore during 
the day and returned to the ship in the evening. There was 
no landing place, and as my men were in uniform some of 
the sailors had to carry them '* pick-a-back " to the shore. 
The sailors were up to all kinds of larks. One would 
stumble forward sending poor Jack Sepoy sprawling into the 
sea. Another would fall backwards and nearly drown the 
unfortunate man on his back. I found this would not do, so 
I remained on shore and packed as many men as I could into 
the only hut available, and the remainder I put on duty. In 
a day or two we got things more comfortable, although the 
men grumbled much, as we had to work in constant rain, 
which made the ground a muddy swamp ; but a Malay pirate 
had sent me word that he was coming with seven hundred 
men to cut our throats, and although he never came, I was 
obliged to be prepared for him. 
Whilst making a road to the new barracks, we had 
a very narrow escape from a serious catastrophe, A 
number of fine casuarina trees grew round the barracks, 
these trees have long needle-like spines which fall to the 
ground in great profusion and cover the surface in some 
