water; lashing to the cask two fire-locks on each side, with ammunition for shooting.  When the officers and people got on shore, they saw thousands of horses and dogs; the dogs are of a mongril breed, and very large.  They also saw abundance of parrots and seals on the rocks, but not a bush growing on the place; they made a fire with horse dung, and shot a great many seal, which they cut up in quarters to bring aboard.  One of the water-casks being leaky, they cut it up, and converted it into fuel to dress the seal.  They caught four armadilloes, they are much larger than our hedge-hogs, and very like them; their bodies are cased all over with shells, shutting under one another like shells of armour.  In this country thirteen of his majesty’s British subjects put to flight a thousand Spanish horse.  Horses are more numerous here, than sheep are on the plains in Dorset and Wiltshire.  We on board see abundance of seal lying on the shore cut in pieces, but the wind blows so hard we can by no means get at it.  We think ourselves now worse off than ever, for we are actually starving in the sight of plenty.  We have but two people on board that can swim; to give them all the assistance we can, the lieutenant and myself, with the rest of the people, proposed to haul the vessel nearer in, and make a raft for one of the two to swim ashore on, and to carry a line to haul some of the seal aboard:  With much entreaty these two swimmers were prevailed on to cast lots; the lot falling on the weakest of ’em, who was a young lad about fifteen years of age, and scarce able to stand, we would not suffer him to go.  While our brethren were regaling in the fulness of plenty ashore, we aboard were obliged to strip the hatches of a seal-skin, which has been for some time nailed on, and made use of for a tarpawlin; we burnt the hair off the skin, and for want of any thing else fell to chewing the seal-skin.

Wednesday the 13th, fine weather and calm.  At six this morning the boatswain shot a horse, and the people a wild dog.  The horse was branded on the left buttock with these letters A.R.  By this we conjecture there are inhabitants not far off.  At nine veered the boat in, lashed the oars to the hatches, and made a stage to haul up the seal.  The people swam off three casks of water, sent on shore one quarter-cask more, and two breakers.  Came aboard the boatswain, carpenter, and Lieutenant E——­rs, and four men more are getting the seal and the horse on board, which was no sooner in the vessel than a sea-breeze came in, and blowed so hard, that we were obliged to weigh, leaving ashore one quarter-cask, two breakers, and eight of the people.  The wind at E.S.E. and a tumbling sea, came to an anchor about a league off the shore; we shared all the provisions among the company; we still see the people ashore, but can’t get them off.