Monday May 30th 1898 HMS Mohawk

On the following morning, as was expect-
ed Jim did not turn up, so they manned and armed two
boars 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 any
thing 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 com-
menced 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 return-
ed 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.