Here we took in fresh Water, and some fresh Provisions, and went directly for the _Cape of Good Hope_, which we pass'd, stopping only to fill about 22 Butts of Water, and with a fair Gale enter'd the Sea of _Madagascar_, and sailing up the West Shore, between the Island and the Coast of _Africa_, came to an Anchor over against our Settlement, about two Leagues Distance, and made the Signal of our Arrival, with firing twice seven Guns at the Distance of a Two-Minute Glass between the Seven; when, to our infinite Joy, the Fort answer'd us, and the Long-boat, the same that belong'd to our former Ship, came off to us. We embrac'd one another with inexpressible Joy, and the next Morning I went on Shore, and our Men brought our Ship safe into Harbour, lying within the Defence of our Platform, and within two Cables length of the Shore, good soft Ground, and in eleven Fathom Water, having been three Months and eighteen Days on the Voyage, and almost three Years absent from the Place. When I came to look about me here, I found our Men had encreas'd their Number, and that a Vessel which had been cruising, that is to say, Pirating on the Coast of _Arabia_, having seven _Dutchmen_, three _Portuguese_, and five _Englishmen_ on Board, had been cast away upon the Northern Shore of that Island, and had been taken up and reliev'd by our Men, and liv'd among them. They told us also of another Crew of _European_ Sailors, which lay, as we did, on the Main of the Island, and had lost their Ship and were, as the Islanders told them, above a hundred Men, but we heard nothing who they were. Some of our Men were dead in the mean Time, I think about three; and the first Thing I did was to call a Muster, and see how Things stood as to Money: I found the Men had been very true to one another; there lay all the Money, in Chests piled up as I left it, and every Man's Money having his Name upon it: Then acquainting the rest with the Promise I had made the Men that came with me, they all agreed to it; so the Money belonging to the dead Men, and to the rest of the forty Men who belong'd to the Sloop, was divided among the Men I brought with me, as well those who join'd at first, as those we took in at the _Cape de Verd_, and the _Canaries_: And the Bails of Goods which we found in the Ship, many of which were valuable for our own Use, we agreed to give them all to the fifteen Men mention'd above, who had been sav'd by our Men, and so to buy what we wanted of those Goods of them, which made their Hearts glad also.