voluntarily abandon. These objections being too cogent to be overcome, I relinquished the hope of inducing him to accompany the expedition to Mannicolo, which he says, to the best of his recollection, it is now six years since he visited.

The chief officer, on going toward the shore this morning, was joined in the boat by the two Englishmen who swam from the reef. In answer to his inquiries how they came on the island, they stated themselves to be deserters from the Harriet South-seaman, which about three months ago had touched at this place; and that a few weeks after a long-boat arrived here with three other Englishmen, belonging to a whaler that was wrecked on an island to the eastward. They were soon after visited by another Englishman, who was introduced to the officer by those already in the boat as one of the three who had arrived in the long-boat. This gave rise to inquiries as to what had become of the commander and officers of the shipwrecked vessel, when this person gave so vague, unsatisfactory, and in many instances contradictory answers, that the officer suspected all was not right. All this he informed me of, and I related the matter to the lascar and Tucopians, who declared that part of the account to be false which represented two of them as having deserted here from

the Harriet, as no such ship had ever been near the island. They said that the five Englishmen all arrived at the same time in the long-boat, as the lascar had before stated.

With respect to the ship Mary of Liverpool being a South-sea whaler, it is totally out of the question. There never has been but one whaler fitted out from that port, which was in 1803 or 1804, and her name was the Carlton, commanded by Captain Fisher. The only ports in Great Britain from which South-seamen are fitted out are London and Milford Haven. As to a whaler having a long-boat, such a thing was never heard of (at least in the annals of modern whaling), as the whale-boats, boilers, tackles, &c. occupy that part of a whaler which is usually appropriated in other ships to carry the long-boat and spars. In fine, the story of the wreck is a mere fabrication.

There cannot be a doubt but that these men had escaped from New South Wales within the last year. A small sloop was run away with from Van Diemen's Land belonging to a Captain Walker; and a large open boat was piratically taken from Port Jackson or the Hawkesbury river by one of the convict clerks in the Master Attendant's Office, named Cleft or Cleff. This person had been second mate of a Calcutta ship called the Mary, commanded by Captain Or

mond, who was employed in the trade to New South Wales. After Cleft had made two or three voyages to that colony he returned to London, where, for want of better employment, he took up that of passing forged Bank of England notes, for which he was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to transportation for life to New South Wales. He had not been there more than three months when, with some others, he absconded with the boat beforementioned. I determined to sift this matter to the bottom.

The native who came off with Martin Bushart this evening was the man who arrived from Mannicolo with some chain plates, long iron bolts, and a crow-bar, three or four months prior to my arrival at this island in the St. Patrick. His name was Rathea, and he had been at Mannicolo for about five years, and by all accounts spoke that language with fluency, From him I gleaned the following particulars relative to the ships which were wrecked there, when he was a boy of about eight or ten years of age. From the natives he learned that the two ships alluded to in this narrative ran on shore in the night on reefs some considerable distance from the land. The one which got on shore near to Whannow was totally lost, and such of the crew as escaped to land were murdered by

the islanders.

Their skulls were offered to the deity in a temple, where they remained many years, and were seen by several Tucopians. The narrator did not see the skulls himself, but believed they were now mouldered away.

The ship which was wrecked at Paiow, after being on the reef, was driven into a good situation. The crews of these ships consisted of several hundred men. The ship stranded at Paiow was broken up to build a two-masted ship. The people, while employed building the twomasted ship, had a fence built round her of wooden palisading, within which they lived. There were several of the islanders friendly disposed toward them: others were very hostile, and kept up a continual war with the shipwrecked people. When the new vessel was built all but two men embarked in her, and sailed away for their native country, after which they never returned.

The Mannicolans represent the crews of these vessels not to have been men, but spirits. There was a projection (they say) from their foreheads or noses a foot long. (This Martin thinks was the cocked-hat which protruded in front.) They did not eat the same as men: a little bit of food the size of a person's finger was sufficient for them. After eating it, they went to work immediately in building their ship.

Rathea was often on the spot where the ship was built, and has seen some large pieces of iron there, which could not be moved on account of their great weight.

Several of the people were killed by treachery. The Mannicolans would make them friends or tihowas, and get them away from the encampment and murder them.

Rathea says that Paiow and Whannow are not two islands, as I supposed formerly, but two towns or districts on the island of Mannicolo, and that a person can walk from Paiow to Whannow in one day. He says there have been no ships at Mannicolo since the ships were wrecked there; but several have been seen by the islanders passing in the offing.

Rathea volunteered to accompany me on the expedition, as pilot and interpreter, to Mannicolo, of which I was very glad, and availed myself of his service in this twofold and important capacity. He is about fifty years old.

Bushart informed me that the natives were very happy at seeing him once more, and that hundreds fatigued him with their embraces. It being late, he directed the head chief of the island to order his people to bring in all the iron-work in their possession, with every other thing which came from Mannicolo, to sell to me in the morning. As it was now dark night,