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270 African Memoranda. t , islanders. At them I am not surprised, but that the colonists Not D 13 sbou ^ betra Y the same pusillanimous mind is astonishing. Thure. Employed as before. Sick, Dowlah, and Ashworth; lame, Williams. At breakfast this morning I received a second paper from the colonists expressive of their determination to leave me as soon as possible.* Assembled them again. They all averred that fear was their sole motive to such a step. After having said every thing in my power to convince them that their fears were groundless, and exhausted every argument that occurred to me to induce them to remain, they still told me that they were determined to go, and that if I would not go with them in the cutter, they would run away and leave me to my fate. Mr. Hood said that nothing could induce him to remain upon the island; that he and the rest had, he conceived, done their duty by remaining with me so long; that he was sorry to leave the island, and more so to leave me alone on it, but go he would. As nothing could alter the determination of either individual, I was obliged to consent; but I told them that I would not * This paper ridiculously called a petition, as well as the former, is as follows : The humble petition of John Hood, John Williams, James Watson, and Thomas Dowlah, Sheweth, That your petitioners have informed you in a former petition, the dangerous situation we conceive ourselves to be in; we therefore beg leave to remind you for your own sake, as well as our ownselves, to consider of the danger which so alarms us, and if you are determined to risk your life, and endeavour to keep possession of the island, which we are sure you cannot do, if we were all to stay with you, for which reason we hope you will excuse our declaring we are determined to seek our safety by quitting the island as soon as possible, for the preservation of our lives only. To Philip Beaver, Esq. Bulama, 14.lh Novtmler, 1793.