30th May 1898

Monday
On the following morning, as was expected Jim did not turn up, so they manned and armed two

boats and went on shore in search of him, and after a lot of skirmishing about, we came across him in the bush, we made a prisoner of him and brought him back to the ship, he told the Captain he did not want to point out anything as no sooner that we go away from there, they would hunt him down and kill him, but the captain took no  notice of him, only made him a close prisoner so as was not allowed to move with out an escort of marines, at 2 pm the steam pinnace and two cutters with crews fully armed with Captain, Paymaster & Doctor went on shore to find the place were the bodies was buried, taking the Chaps with them after a lot of trouble, they found the place deserted all the inhabitants having taken to the bush, except a few pigs & fowls, then Jim pointed out the spot where the men was buried, our men then formed up in a line with the flanks dressed back dancing the bush all on the alert in case of a surprise, a party then commenced to dig up the bodies they were buried in a hole about 4 ft deep all face downwards, the blackman on top of the two whitemen, they having been buried about a week, decomposition had set in and was beyond being moved, so after Bob Wells had recognised them, which he did by their clothes, instead of putting them into the quickly made coffins which our car-

penters had made, we placed boards across the bodies and covered them up again Our Captain reading part of the Burial Service, during the time all hands that was round the grave had their pipes on, whilst the the men that done the digging was allowed a glass of Brandy each out of the Medical Comforts, the stench was something awful, we then posted a chain of sentries round the huts and began to loot the place we found a chart which belonged to the schooner a pair of boots belonging to one of the murdered whitemen, and several articles of curiosity belonging to the natives, all of which was taken taken down to the boats, all of a sudden the alarm was given that the natives was about to rush down on us, but before you could say knife it was allover, as it was two of them that had been perched upon a Coca Nut palm watching our movements we returned back the ship at 5.30pm Our Captain then decided to land an extra armed force the following day to burn all the villages and to shot any of the murderer that they might fall across.