e former, some falling by the hands of the
women, and one of them by Young, who it would seem coolly and
deliberately shot him. Adams now proceeded into the mountains to
communicate the fatal intelligence to the two Europeans, M'Koy and
Quintal, and to solicit their return to the village. All these events
are stated to have happened so early as October, 1793.

From this time to 1798, the remnant of the colonists would appear to
have gone on quietly with the exception of some quarrels these four men
had with the women, and the latter among themselves; ten of them were
still remaining, who lived promiscuously with the men, frequently
changing their abode from one house to another. Young, being a man of
some education, kept a kind of journal, but it is a document of very
little interest, containing scarcely anything more than the ordinary
occupations of the settlers, the loan or exchange of provisions, the
dates when the sows farrowed, the number of fish caught, etc., and it
begins only at the time when Adams and he were sole masters of the
island; and the truth, therefore, of all that has been told rests solely
on the degree of credit that is due to Adams.

M'Koy, it appears, had formerly been employed in a Scotch distillery,
and being much addicted to ardent spirits, set about making experiments
on the _tee-root_ (_Dracaena terminalis_), and at length unfortunately
succeeded in producing an intoxicating liquor. This success induced his
companion Quintal to turn his kettle into a still. The consequence was,
that these two men were in a constant state of drunkenness, particularly
M'Koy, on whom, it seems, it had the effect of producing fits of
delirium; and in one of these he threw himself from a cliff and was
killed on the spot. Captain Beechey says, 'the melancholy fate of this
man created so forcible an impression on the remaining few, that they
resolved never again to touch spirits; and Adams has, I believe, to this
day kept his vow.'

Some time in the following year, that is, about 1799, 'we learned from
Adams,' says Captain Beechey, 'that Quintal lost his wife by a fall from
the cliff, while in search of birds' eggs; that he grew discontented,
and, though there were several disposable women on the island, and he
had already experienced the fatal effects of a similar demand, nothing
would satisfy him but the wife of one of his companions. Of course
neither of them felt inclined to accede to this unreasonable demand;