Owing to some cause unknown, but most probably to the
      agitation of our poor friends at seeing themselves in so hopeless
      a situation, the discharge was an entire failure. Not a canoe was
      hit or a single savage injured, the shots striking short and
      ricocheting over their heads. The only effect produced upon them
      was astonishment at the unexpected report and smoke, which was so
      excessive that for some moments I almost thought they would
      abandon their design entirely, and return to the shore. And this
      they would most likely have done had our men followed up their
      broadside by a discharge of small arms, in which, as the canoes
      were now so near at hand, they could not have failed in doing
      some execution, sufficient, at least, to deter this party from a
      farther advance, until they could have given the rafts also a
      broadside. But, in place of this, they left the canoe party to
      recover from their panic, and, by looking about them, to see that
      no injury had been sustained, while they flew to the larboard to
      get ready for the rafts. The discharge to larboard produced the most terrible effect. The
      star and double-headed shot of the large guns cut seven or eight
      of the rafts completely asunder, and killed, perhaps, thirty or
      forty of the savages outright, while a hundred of them, at least,
      were thrown into the water, the most of them dreadfully wounded. The remainder, frightened out of their senses, commenced at once
      a precipitate retreat, not even waiting to pick up their maimed
      companions, who were swimming about in every direction, screaming
      and yelling for aid. This great success, however, came too late
      for the salvation of our devoted people. The canoe party were
      already on board the schooner to the number of more than a
      hundred and fifty, the most of them having succeeded in
      scrambling up the chains and over the boarding-netting even
      before the matches had been applied to the larboard guns. Nothing
      now could withstand their brute rage. Our men were borne down at
      once, overwhelmed, trodden under foot, and absolutely torn to
      pieces in an instant. Seeing this, the savages on the rafts got the better of their
      fears, and came up in shoals to the plunder. In five minutes the
      Jane was a pitiable scene indeed of havoc and tumultuous outrage. The decks were split open and ripped up; the cordage, sails, and
      everything movable on deck demolished as if by magic, while, by
      dint of pushing at the stern, towing with the canoes, and hauling
      at the sides, as they swam in thousands around the vessel, the
      wretches finally forced her on shore (the cable having been
      slipped), and delivered her over to the good offices of Too-wit,
      who, during the whole of the engagement, had maintained, like a
      skilful general, his post of security and reconnaissance among
      the hills, but, now that the victory was completed to his
      satisfaction, condescended to scamper down with his warriors of
      the black skin, and become a partaker in the spoils. Too-wit’s descent left us at liberty to quit our hiding place and
      reconnoitre the hill in the vicinity of the chasm. At about fifty
      yards from the mouth of it we saw a small spring of water, at
      which we slaked the burning thirst that now consumed us. Not far
      from the spring we discovered several of the filbert-bushes which
      I mentioned before. Upon tasting the nuts we found them
      palatable, and very nearly resembling in flavour the common
      English filbert. We collected our hats full immediately,
      deposited them within the ravine, and returned for more. While we
      were busily employed in gathering these, a rustling in the bushes
      alarmed us, and we were upon the point of stealing back to our
      covert, when a large black bird of the bittern species
      strugglingly and slowly arose above the shrubs. I was so much
      startled that I could do nothing, but Peters had sufficient
      presence of mind to run up to it before it could make its escape,
      and seize it by the neck. Its struggles and screams were
      tremendous, and we had thoughts of letting it go, lest the noise
      should alarm some of the savages who might be still lurking in
      the neighbourhood. A stab with a bowie knife, however, at length
      brought it to the ground, and we dragged it into the ravine,
      congratulating ourselves that, at all events, we had thus
      obtained a supply of food enough to last us for a week. We now went out again to look about us, and ventured a
      considerable distance down the southern declivity of the hill,
      but met with nothing else which could serve us for food. We
      therefore collected a quantity of dry wood and returned, seeing
      one or two large parties of the natives on their way to the
      village, laden with the plunder of the vessel, and who, we were
      apprehensive, might discover us in passing beneath the hill. Our next care was to render our place of concealment as secure as
      possible, and with this object, we arranged some brushwood over
      the aperture which I have before spoken of as the one through
      which we saw the patch of blue sky, on reaching the platform from
      the interior of the chasm. We left only a very small opening just
      wide enough to admit of our seeing the bay, without the risk of
      being discovered from below. Having done this, we congratulated
      ourselves upon the security of the position; for we were now
      completely excluded from observation, as long as we chose to
      remain within the ravine itself, and not venture out upon the
      hill, We could perceive no traces of the savages having ever been
      within this hollow; but, indeed, when we came to reflect upon the
      probability that the fissure through which we attained it had
      been only just now created by the fall of the cliff opposite, and
      that no other way of attaining it could be perceived, we were not
      so much rejoiced at the thought of being secure from molestation
      as fearful lest there should be absolutely no means left us for
      descent. We resolved to explore the summit of the hill
      thoroughly, when a good opportunity should offer. In the meantime
      we watched the motions of the savages through our loophole. They had already made a complete wreck of the vessel, and were
      now preparing to set her on fire. In a little while we saw the
      smoke ascending in huge volumes from her main hatchway, and,
      shortly afterward, a dense mass of flame burst up from the
      forecastle. The rigging, masts and what remained of the sails
      caught immediately, and the fire spread rapidly along the decks.