He had been guilty of this offence once before, in order to steal the spirits which had been buried for the use of my exploring party.

What however could have induced him to take this step a second time--risking, without any apparent motive, the danger of being left on a strange, and almost uninhabited coast, it would be difficult even to suggest.

Parties were immediately despatched in quest of him, and at length, after an arduous search, he was found behind a large sandstone rock on the side of a hill; having revisited the spot where the provisions had been concealed for the use of my party, in the hope of obtaining possession of his god the rum-keg.

He had evidently prepared for desertion: clothing, biscuit, and fishing-tackle being among the stores with which he had made off.

This despicable wretch--for such must everyone consider the man who would steal his shipmates' provisions, when each had only his bare allowance--had nothing to say, either in extenuation or explanation of his conduct.