Page:Voyages in the Northern Pacific - 1896.djvu/154

126 seen them. Captain Bouchard swore if he caught them he would immediately shoot them.

January 18th, 1819, having completed our wood and water, and refitting the ships, we got under weigh, intending to cruise off St. Blas, for the Manila ships.

January 22nd, we saw Cape St. Lucas, E. by S. about 30 miles, the sea all round was covered with turtles, which we took on board as we wanted them. On the 24th, captured and scuttled a merchant brig.

We sent a party on shore at the Tres Marias to wood and water. We found a root resembling the tarrow of the Sandwich Islands; the Islanders cooked some of it in the island fashion, and immediately after they had eaten of it their bodies and faces became swelled and bloated in a terrible manner, some died in a few days, and others lingered for ten days in the greatest agony. The Commodore lost twelve men in his manner. The Tres Marias are covered with wood, chiefly lignum-vitæ, black and white ebony, hard cedar, and many other kinds. There are plenty of parrots, monkeys, snakes, guanas, pigeons, doves, etc., and abundance of fish. We continually kept a party on shore hunting and fishing; in digging for fresh water we found plenty of ore, which our prisoners said was silver; the water is very bad, and brackish.

On the 9th, of July we made the harbour of Valparaiso. His Majesty's ships Andromache and Icarus were here, with all Lord Cochrane's squadron fitting out for Lima. On the 17th, the