Fourteen years afterwards, when Captain Gordon Bremer was acting as commandant at Port Essington,* (* Melville Island was abandoned in 1829 for Port Essington.) Captain Thomas Watson arrived there in the schooner Essington, bearing the news that Mr. Volshawn, master of a small trading vessel flying the Dutch flag, had seen an English sailor on the island of Timor Laut when he visited it in February of the previous year.* (* Captain Watson's journal is preserved at the Admiralty.) The Englishman was kept captive at a native village on the south-eastern side of the island, and stated that he had belonged to the Stedcombe. Mr. Volshawn also declared that he had seen there articles which had been taken from the Stedcombe. Captain Watson decided to try and rescue his countryman, and on March 31st, 1839, when off Timor Laut he stood in for the island. The plan he proposed to adopt in order to carry out the rescue was to entice a chief or Orang Kaire on board and hold him as a hostage until the English sailor was produced. As his ship came in shore three canoes under Dutch colours put out to meet him with twelve to thirteen men in each. In answer to Captain Watson's inquiries whether there was a white man on the island some of the natives replied, "Certo; Engrise; Louron," which was translated as meaning that there was an Englishman at Louron.* (* Lourang.) Other canoes came alongside the Essington, whose crew had been put under arms, and an Orang Kaire was allowed to come on board. Captain Watson writes: "Now was the time for carrying my plans into effect...and I told the Orang Kaire if he would bring him (the captive) to me I would give him a quantity of trade which was shown him." To this the chief agreed. But as no great faith was placed in his assertion, Watson then told him that he must send his canoes and fetch the Englishman, when he would receive his reward, but if they did not bring his prisoner he would be hung from the yard-arm, and that "we should fire our great guns on the village." The ship was now surrounded by canoes and no one was allowed to come on board excepting a very friendly chief. This man immediately pulled from his bosom a small basket of papers which were found to consist of loose scraps written by the crew of the Charles Eaton.* (* The Charles Eaton was wrecked in Torres Strait in 1834.) Beside these the basket contained a letter written by Lieutenant Owen Stanley, of H.M.S. Britomart, stating that he had called here and had examined and copied the scraps of paper. As night was coming on the canoes were dismissed and all the natives sent away excepting the Orang Kaire who had first arrived. The other chief was anxious to remain on board with him, but Mr. Watson would not allow him to do so.