296 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1758.
te^rsattheinjury that was ofFered to their boat, and intreated the favnges to Jefilt, with fuch agony of diftrefs that they fuffered the boat to re- main as they found it. Encour;iy;ed by this appearance of placability and kindncfs, and urged by hun- ger, they alked by figns, for fome- thing to eat ; this requcil was alfo granted, and havinp; given them fome roots, they again made figns for them to depart ; upon which they once morelaunrhed their boat, and "701 into it, but the wind blow- ing lirong from the weft, they could not put off. The natives per- ceiving that they were willing to comply wi'.h their defires, but not able, covered them with the boat tofleep under, and left them as they had found them. The next morn- ing, the weather being fine, and the wind eafterly, they launched the boat a third time, and returned back to the rock.
From this time till Sunday the 29th of September, the carpenter and fmith continued to work upon the boat, and the people were hofy in getting in from time to time what was thrown up from the wreck, particularly cordage and canvas, to- rig the boat, and fome calks of frefh water, which they were very felicitous to keep for fea- ftores, as their efcape in the boat fcarce depended lefs upon frefli wa- ter than upon the fails themfelves. On this cay, after they had been at prayers, a duty which was regular- ly and publicly performed every Sunday, the ofScers difcovercd that the cheft of treafure had been broke open, and the greater part of it taken away and concealed. It may perhaps be thought ilrange, that people, whom danger had made religiou?, fhould at the fame time be guilty of theft; but, upon
this occcafion, it fhould be remem- bered, that as foon as the fhip is loll, the failors lofc their pay, and the captain his command; every dillinction and fubordination that fubfifted on fliip-board is at an end ; and whatever is caft on (hore from the wreck is, by ihe failors, con- fidered as common property. The men therefore, who thought fit fecretly to lake what they deemed their Ihare of this treafure, were not, in their own opinion, guilty of dilhonefty, but intended only to fecure what they feared the offi- cers would monopolize, and by this means preventdifputes, which, in their circumftances, might pro- duce fatal etfedls. The officers, however, when they dilcovered what had been done, and found that nobody would own they knew any thing about it, propofed to write the form of an oath, and adminiAer it feparately to every individual, the officrs to take it firft. But to this the ma- jority immediately objeded ; for though they might not fuppofe they had committed a crime by taking the treafure, they knew it would be not only immoral, but impious, to fwear they had not taken it. As the minority were not in a condition to fupport their mo- tion, the affair was fuffered to r-.ft, without further enquiry or remon- llrance.
On the 6th of Odober they found a fowling-piece ; this was a joyful acquifition, and though the barrel was much bent, it was foon made ferviceable by the car- penter, and ufed with great fuc- cefs in fliooting the birds, which before they had no way of taking but by knocking them down with a Hick.
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