Lieutenant Hudson learned from a member of his crew that a merchant ship had wrecked on a reef off the island's northwest coast years before.

[3] Initially, the natives were described as calm and peaceful, gathered in their huge maneaba, "far exceeding in size any they had before met with";[4] they led the Americans to their village centre.

The natives spoke nothing of the incident but "parts of the vessel were found"[citation needed] inside the village's huts, though most of the buildings were deemed off-limits.

No one was harmed; Lieutenant Hudson decided to wait for Anderson until April 9, by which time the USS Flying Fish had arrived.

[citation needed] Around 700 Gilbertese warriors were dancing in the jungle near the beach and as the boats pulled in, Lieutenant Walker demanded they let Seaman Anderson go.

[citation needed] He then ordered his men to begin volley fire and devastated the natives according to the Peacock's log book.

[citation needed] They then tried to inquire about the shipwrecked survivors but again nothing was uncovered so Lieutenant Walker led his men back to the boats.

[citation needed] Later during the expedition, the Peacock sank without loss of life in July 1841, while sailing into the mouth of the Columbia River.