ll called me out to a small store house, where he took up the hind
quarter of a baboon or large monkey, well smoked, and presented it to me
to eat on our passage back to the schooner. I did not like to wound his
feelings by refusing his present. On looking into his store room I
observed a number of large smoked birds about the size of a common
turkey, which I told him suited my taste much better than monkey, which
he readily exchanged, as the natives consider a fat monkey the best
meat that the country produces. He supplied us with bread-stuff and
fruits. We took our departure for the vessel, and arrived on board that
night.

We continued trading along the coast a few days, when we fell in with an
old schooner under Columbian colors, but American built, said to belong
to a man named Varney, who was on board of her, but could not hold her
papers while sailing under that flag, not being a naturalized citizen of
that government. It appeared he had employed a black citizen of that
country to hold her papers, in the capacity of captain, who was then
laying sick in a canoe on the schooner's deck.

Captain Murray told me he had heard from Carthagena that a government
schooner was cruising in pursuit of the Frances to capture her for
trading on this coast without license, that we must take the goods out
of her and put them on board of Varney's old schooner as speedily as
possible, and then proceed to sea with her immediately; that I must go
on board of her and take charge of the goods as supercargo. The goods
were transferred that afternoon in great haste, without my having time
to examine the old vessel as I ought to have done. She had a motley crew
of different nations on board. When I took a view of them, I told Murray
that I would not trust my life on board of her without he gave me two or
three of the Frances' crew to go with me, which request he complied
with, when we hurried to sea, bound to the Island of St. Andreas. After
we got out a little from the land we tried the pump, and found she
leaked very badly, but dared not put back, fearing we might be captured.
So we all agreed to pursue the voyage. We were now compelled to try the
pump every fifteen minutes during the passage to St. Andreas, which was
twenty-three days.

Immediately after our arrival in that harbor I took all the goods on
shore. Two days after, Varney undertook to heave the old schooner out,
to repair her bottom, when the deck slid off, and she sunk,