ately did. I jumped overboard into the
water, my crew following me. We then made our way to our assailants,
when I found my own clerk, and Captain Tefts, of the little sloop
Traverse, who were here waiting for my arrival, Captain Mitchell, for
whom I brought the boat, and Benjamin Downs, father of a colored
apprentice boy I had then on board. In short, they were all old
acquaintances of mine. I was highly excited on the occasion. They made a
long apology by saying, that the royalists in Porto Bello had fitted out
two armed schooners to scour the coast, and that they had captured two
English vessels found trading with the Indians: that they mistook the
Price for one of them, her appearance being so much altered by the loss
of the head of her main-mast, that they supposed I had been captured by
one of these vessels and was a prisoner in the boat, and compelled to
answer their questions, as they all knew my voice, and that if they
suffered a crew to land they would all be butchered, as they had given
aid and shelter to the patriots for a long time. I landed the body of my
unfortunate man and placed it under the care of some of my friends,
procured a pilot, went on board the Price, and brought her into the
harbor the next morning. I then buried the poor sailor in as decent a
manner as the country would admit of, collecting most of the inhabitants
of the island to join the funeral procession. There being no clergymen
in the island, I read the burial service at the grave, this being my
usual custom at sea on committing dead bodies to the ocean.

[Illustration: Captain Dunham landing at Corn Island.]

I fitted out the Traverse for another cruise by giving Captain Teft a
new supply of goods, when he proceeded on a trading voyage to the Main.
I took Mr. Smith, the clerk of the store on board, and sailed for the
Lagoon, when we took on board all the goods we had there, and proceeded
to a small harbor, called Salt Creek, supposed to be a better place for
our trade. I also took a few Indians to assist in building the store,
which I landed there, with myself and crew, and erected a comfortable
building in less than four days, modeled after the houses of that
country, landed a supply of goods, and left Mr. Smith to dispose of
them, sold the Sloop Traverse, and took Captain Teft and his crew on
board. Having learned that the royal governor of Porto Bello had fitted
out one or two man-of-war schooners, which had captured two English
t