Captain Osborn, hearing this, went to the master of the brig, and
questioned him. He found the latitude and longitude of the island to be
not far from that of the ship when she was deserted, and he was now
convinced that, by some miracle, the Seagrave family had been
preserved. He therefore went to the Governor of New South Wales, and
made him acquainted with the facts which had been established, and the
Governor instantly replied, that the government armed schooner was at
his service, if he would himself go in quest of his former shipmates.
Inconvenient as the absence at that time was to Captain Osborn, he at
once acquiesced, and in a few days the schooner sailed for her
destination. She arrived off the island on the same morning that the
fleet of canoes with the savages effected their landing, and when
William made the remark to Ready as they were hastening into the
stockade, that there was another vessel under sail off the
garden-point, had Ready had time to put his eye to the telescope, he
would have discovered that it was the schooner.
The schooner stood in to the reefs, and then hauled off again, that she
might send her boat in to sound for an anchorage. The boat, when
sounding, perceived the canoes and the savages, and afterwards heard
the report of firearms on the first attack. On her return on board the
schooner, they stated what they had seen and heard, and their idea that
the white people on the island were being attacked by the savages. As
the boat did not return on board till near dusk, they had not time to
canvas, the question when the night attack was made, and they again
heard the firing of the muskets. This made Captain Osborn most anxious
to land as soon as possible, but as the savages were in such numbers,
and the crew of the schooner did not consist of more than twenty-five
men, the commander considered it was rash to make the attempt. He did,
however, show the utmost anxiety to bring his schooner to an anchor, so
as to protect his men, and then agreed that they should land.
The boat had reported deep water and good anchorage close to the
garden-point, and every preparation was made for running at daylight on
the following morning; but unfortunately, it fell calm for the best
part of the day, and it was not until the morning after, just as the
savages were making their last attack upon the stockade, that she could
get in. As soon as she did, she opened the fire of her carronades, and
the result is already known.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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