5 August 1788-8 August 1788

Early the next morning, Captain Marshall sent his sick people on shore, with a tent, and a sufficient quantity of provisions to serve them five days.  After landing the sick, and erecting their tent, the boats crew walked about the island, and saw a great number of cattle, hogs, and fowls, but they only caught a calf, one hog, and a fowl or two, and loaded the boat with cocoanuts, oranges, and limes.  On the 6th, the chief mate was sent on shore to look for fresh water; he soon found out the well, mentioned in Lord Anson’s voyage, but it was quite dry, and there was not any fresh water to be met with within two miles of the landing place.  The boat returned at noon, loaded with fruit of different sorts.  Toward evening the wind came round to south south-west blowing very strong, which sent a heavy sea rolling into the bay, and occasioned the Scarborough to pitch very much.  The wind still blowing strongly into the bay, Captain Marshall sent his boat on shore on the 7th, to bring off the sick people, which they accomplished with much danger and difficulty; in the mean time, every thing was got ready for sea, the Captain being determined to get away the moment the wind shifted to south or south by east, so that they could clear the west part of the island.  During the night, they had so heavy a gale at south-west that they expected every minute to be driven on shore; fortunately, however, at day-break, the wind shifted to south south-east, on which they immediately cut the cable and ran clear of the land:  Captain Gilbert cut both his cables and followed the Scarborough.  Scarce had they cleared the land before the wind again shifted to south-south-west, and blew a complete hurricane, so that had the vessels then been at anchor, they must inevitably have been driven on shore.  Though Captain Marshall’s people were on land so short a time, they found amazing benefit from it, their strength gradually returned, and soon afterwards they were perfectly restored to health.

7 September 1788

No particular occurrence happened during their passage from Tinian to China; they saw the Lema Islands in the afternoon of the 7th of September, and came to anchor in Macao Roads the following afternoon.

Chapter XXII.

Supplemental Account of Animals

Birds.

No. 139.  Bankian cockatoo.  Order ii.  Pies.  Genus V. Parrot.

This is about the size of the great white cockatoo; the length twenty-two inches.  The bill is exceedingly short, and of a pale lead-colour.  The head feathers are pretty long, so as to enable the bird to erect them into a crest at will:  The colour of the head, neck, and under parts of the body are dusky brown, inclining to olive, darkest on the belly:  the feathers of the top of the head and back part of the neck are edged with olive; the rest of the plumage on the upper part of the body, the wings, and tail, are of a glossy black; the last is pretty long and a little rounded at the end; the two middle feathers are wholly black; the others of a fine vermilion in the middle for about one-third, otherwise black; the outer edge of the exterior feather black the whole length.  Legs black.