anchor, and the seamen were forced to be continually at work to keep them right.  They were also forced to go often on shore, in rain, snow, and hail, to get in fresh water, wood, muscles, and such other food as they could find, by which they were greatly fatigued.  The scarcity of victuals was so great, and the climate so severe, that they were almost starved with hunger and cold, and their appetites so insatiable, that they devoured roots or any thing else they could find, raw and uncooked.  Most of the seamen had no watch-coats or other warm cloathing, to enable them to support the fatigue of watching and their daily labour, having made no provision of such things, as they believed themselves bound to warm climes.  To remedy this evil, the general ordered cloth to be distributed among them.

[Footnote 86:  In Harris these are erroneously called Pimento, but they must have been the Wintera aromatica.  The Pimento, or Myrtus Pimenta, is a native of the warm regions of America and the West India islands, producing Pimento, All-spice, or Jamaica pepper.—­E.]

[Footnote 87:  This date, here anticipated, refers to the day when they afterwards set sail.—­E.]

It was found that many of the seamen, when at their meals, were in use to sell their victuals to others at high prices, and afterwards satisfied their hunger with raw muscles and green herbs, which occasioned them to fall into dropsies and other lingering sickness, of which several died:  For this reason, the captains and other officers were ordered to be present at all their meals, to see and oblige them to eat their allowances.

The 7th May the vice-admiral was sent, with two boats, to an island opposite Great bay, to catch sea-dogs.[88] He found there seven small boats or canoes, with savages on board, who were of a reddish colour with long hair, and, as well as he could observe, seemed ten or eleven feet high.  On seeing the Dutch boats, the savages went on shore and threw many stones at the Dutch, so that they did not venture to land.  The savages then took courage, and came towards them in their canoes; and coming within musket-shot, the vice-admiral made his men give them a general discharge, by which four or five of the savages were slain, and the rest so frightened that they escaped again on shore.  They then pulled up some trees, which appeared afar off to be a span thick; but the vice-admiral chose to let them alone, and returned to the ships.  The 26th of May, as some seamen were on shore, looking for muscles, roots, and herbs, and were dispersed, expecting no danger, a number of savages fell upon them suddenly, killed three of them, whom they tore in pieces, and wounded two, who were rescued by the admiral.  All these savages were naked, except one, who had the skin of a sea-dog or seal about his shoulders.  They were armed with wooden javelins, which they threw with great strength and dexterity.  The points of these javelins were like cramp-irons, tied to the shafts with the guts of sea-dogs, and would run so deep into the flesh, that it was almost impossible to get them out.