With his frigates now requiring repairs , Cooke withdraw half a league from Zamboanga and spent three days refitting the masts and rigging of the ships . Then he sailed north , scuttling the two remaining gunboats as he did not believe they would survive the return journey to Canton . Four days later , on 27 January the squadron halted at a village named " Pullock " in the north of the Sultanate of Maguindanao to collect fresh water . On the beach a boat party from Sybille was set upon by Lumad tribesmen . Two were killed and nine others taken captive and dragged into the forest before rescuers could arrive . Cooke complained to Sultan Kibab Sahriyal at Kuta Wato and the captured sailors were eventually recovered , although not before Sybille and Fox had sailed for China to escort the merchant convoy back to India .