LOSS OF A JAMAICA StOOP. 247 
plantation, where were the remains of a little hut or Indian 
cabin. I also took my gun and went a different way ; and es- 
pying a tiger-cat upon a tree, I fired, but missed her, which, if 
I had had the good fortune to have killed, would have been 
sufficient to have made us a plentiful meal. Having hunted 
several hours in the woods, and meeting nothing worth shoot- 
ing, I returned. Some of our people came back soon after with 
several large fishing-hawks which they had killed ; and not- 
withstanding they were very toagh and fishy, we ate them 
very heartily. 
" The next day, being the third after our being cast away, 
the people went out again to see what they could ki]l, and 
some of them soon returned with more Imwks, which we were 
dressing, when others brought with them a large piece of a 
cow. When I saw the beef 1 inquired how they came by it; 
they told me they found it single in the woods, and shot it, be- 
lieving it to be wild ; but soon after seeing three or more which 
appeared to be tame, they found their mistake. I was very 
sorry the people were so rash, being apprehensive of the ill 
consequences that might attend it. 
" By the time we had dined upon the beef, a native of the 
country came to us, who spoke broken English ; by him we 
understood, that about sixteen or eighteen miles farther to the 
southward there were inhabitants, and that a vessel lay sunk 
near the shore a few miles from., us, without any mast or peo- 
ple in her ; this we judged to be our sloop. He told me also 
that some of our people had killed a cow belonging to Cap- 
tain Hobby, one of the chief men on that side of the country ; 
and said, he would be much displeased when he heard of it. 
I told him I was very sorry for it, but that the seamen had 
killed it believing it to be wild. I was glad to hear we were 
near inhabitants, and that the sloop was drove so near the 
shore, as we hoped to get some provisions. 
" The weather proving more moderate, and the sea pretty 
well dmvn, we launched the canoe ; and while some of the 
men rowed her along shore, others walked by land, and so 
continued till it grew night, and then hauled the canoe ashore, 
and turned her bottom up. Part o: us took up our lodging 
under her, and part upon the sandy beach ; but those under 
the canoe soon quitted their lodging, by reason of the flies not 
suffering them to sleep, choosing to lie in the open air, where 
the wind blew most of them away. In the night two of our 
men left us, and carried with them my fowling-piece and a 
musket, with good part of our powder and shot. 
