Whenever there was a storm the hatchways were closed, and he almost smothered. The heat increased each day. One night he asked repeatedly for a glass of water, but it was too great a favor, and he had to wait until morning. His own condition was bad enough, but when he got to San Blas he learned that the men of his crew had suffered much more than he. They had been closely confined in irons for many days, though there were only 8 of them and four times as many to guard them.[136] Their chests had been broken into, and most of their clothes and personal belongings had been taken. Colnett had lost many articles that he valued very highly. After their arrival at San Blas, August 15, they received better treatment.[137] The Princess Royal arrived at San Blas on August 27, just a month after she had left Nootka. She carried 12 English and 2 Portuguese prisoners . On August 29, Hanson, second pilot of the Argonaut, committed suicide. The only known cause was melancholy, according to the statement of the Viceroy drawn from a detailed account sent to him by the commandant of San Blas. In Colnett’s published account he says that it was because of Hanson’s despair at the treatment which he had received. The same writer states that several others became sick and died. Colnett may have exaggerated somewhat the hardships of the voyage, but the letter seems to be a truthful account. Their condition, at the best, was a bad one, and they were probably confined more closely than was necessary and their wants not attended to as they might have been. It is likely, however, that most of the harsh measures taken by the prize crew were the result of excessive caution rather than . Martinez’s operations at Nootka after sending his prizes to San Blas are of minor interest. He carried on some explorations in the neighborhood, studied the customs of the natives, and made, in his diary, a full report of the country and its inhabitants. On December 6 he reached San Blas, having returned in consequence of an order from Florez dated February 25, 1789.This date shows that the events at Nootka during the summer had nothing to do with his recall, since the order was given shortly after the expedition had sailed . When Martinez reached San Blas he had with him an American ship and schooner which he had captured just as he was leaving Nootka. He had hesitated for some time, uncertain whether he should set them free, but had finally decided to take them to San Blas to be acted on by the Viceroy. Revilla-Gigedo, who had succeeded Florez in the viceroyalty, set them free, on the ground that the Americans had not molested the Spanish settlements.[142] The names of the vessels do not appear in this letter. They were doubtless the Eleanora and the Fair America, under Captain Metcalf.
