On May 17, in the seventh affidavit, Martinez says that on account of the difficulty of sending the captured vessel to San Blas, owing to the scarcity of men to man her, he has concluded to release her, but has ordered an inventory to be made, that he may bind the owner to pay the value of the ship and cargo in case the Viceroy shall declare her to have been good prize. The inventory was completed May 22, and signed on board the Iphigenia the same day by Tovar, the temporary commander, and by Viana, the Portuguese captain, in whose presence it had been made. The eighth affidavit, signed on May 25, declares that the inventory should be embodied in the account. An itemized list follows, covering five pages of manuscript and indicating that the Iphigenia was by no means destitute of general supplies, though there might have been a lack of those necessary to man the ship. Immediately following the inventory is the bond signed by Viana and Douglas, captain and supercargo of the Iphigenia, for Juan Carvalho, the owner, and by Kendrick and Ingraham, of the American ship, as witnesses, and finally by Martinez, all in the presence of Canizares, the[324] notary.

to pay the value of the ship and cargo, as shown by the attached inventory, in case the Viceroy should decide that the vessel was good prize on account of having been found anchored in the port of Nootka without having a passport, permission, or license from His Catholic Majesty for navigating or anchoring in seas or ports belonging to his dominion. The ninth affidavit, signed May 26, formally submits to the Viceroy the preceding account of the measures taken in view of the instructions submitted by the captain of the Iphigenia we rap first that we may be admitted?.
On May 31, after a dinner on board the Spanish commander’s ship, at which the Iphigenia’s officers and those of the American ship were present, the Iphigenia was accompanied out of the harbor by the officers of the other two, and, after a farewell salute from the Spanish guns, sailed away, ostensibly for Macao, by way of the Sandwich Islands. At midnight Douglas gave orders to turn north for a trading cruise, having, as he says, “no idea of running for Macao with only between 60 and 70 sea-otter skins which I had on board.

The next occurrence of interest at Nootka was in connection with the North-West America. Mention has been made of Martinez’s futile attempt to get a letter from Douglas ordering Captain Funter to sell the schooner to Martinez. It will be recalled that this vessel, on returning from the Sandwich Islands, had reached Nootka four days later than her consort, the Iphigenia, had been repaired as soon as possible, and had set out on a trading trip before the arrival of the Spanish commander. Having carried on a profitable trade for six weeks, and being seriously in need of provisions, she returned to Nootka June 8 in hope of meeting there the vessel that was expected from Macao with stores. For some reason not wholly plain Martinez took possession of the schooner as soon as she arrived. Meares says that the Spanish commander was angered when he learned that the letter which Douglas had left for Funter was not the desired order for the latter to sell his schooner, and gave vent to his anger by seizing the vessel.

The American captains say that when Martinez learned later of the bankruptcy of Carvalho, on whom he had accepted bills in payment for supplies furnished to Douglas, he justified himself as holding the schooner in security for the debt.[112] Martinez gives a partial explanation in an affidavit of June 12. Learning, he said, that the schooner belonged to Carvalho and was connected with the Iphigenia, which he had seized on account of her instructions, he therefore took possession of this vessel also, and submitted an inventory to the Viceroy, together with that of the larger ship. He fails to explain why he did not release her; but he doubtless considered explanation unnecessary, since he had given as his only reason for not detaining the larger vessel his inability to man her.[113] He would not have been consistent in not detaining her unless he had released her also on bond; and there was no need for doing that, since she required so few men. Doubtless the other two motives suggested had their influence also.