Chapter 9: From Torres Strait to Batavia (3)

Wednesday, 7th. Employ'd getting ready to heave down in the P.M. We had the misfortune to loose Mr. Monkhouse, the Surgeon, who died at Batavia of a Fever after a short illness, of which disease and others several of our people are daily taken ill, which will make his loss be the more severely felt; he was succeeded by Mr. Perry, his mate, who is equally as well skilled in his profession.

Thursday, 8th. In the night had much Thunder, Lightning, and Rain; during the day fair weather, which gave us time to get everything in readiness for heaving down.

Friday, 9th. In the P.M. hove the Larboard side of the Ship, Kiel out, and found her bottom to be in a far worse condition than we expected; the false kiel was gone to within 20 feet of the Stern post, the main Kiel wounded in many places very considerably, a great quantity of Sheathing off, and several planks much damaged, especially under the Main Channell near the Kiel, where 2 planks and a 1/2, near 6 feet in length, were within 1/8th of an inch of being cutt through; and here the worms had made their way quite into the timbers, so that it was a matter of surprise to every one who saw her bottom how we had kept her above water, and yet in this condition we had sailed some hundreds of Leagues, in as dangerous a Navigation as in any part of the World, happy in being ignorant of the continual danger we were in. In the evening righted the Ship, having only time to patch up some of the worst places to prevent the water getting in in large quantitys for the present. In the morning hove her down again, and most of the Carpenters and Caulkers in the Yard (which are not a few) were set to work upon her Bottom, and at the same time a number of Slaves were employ'd bailing the water out of the Hold. Our people, altho' they attend, were seldom called upon; indeed, by this time we were so weakned by sickness that we could not muster above 20 Men and Officers that were able to do duty, so little should we have been able to have hove her down and repair'd her ourselves, as I at one time thought us capable of.

Saturday, 10th. In the P.M. we were obliged to righten the ship before night, by reason of her making water in her upper works faster than we could free; it made it necessary to have her weather works inside and out caulked, which before was thought unnecessary.

Sunday, 11th. In the A.M., having caulked her upper works, hove out the Larboard side again, which a number of Workmen were employ'd repairing.

Monday, 12th. In the P.M. finished the Larboard side, and in the A.M. began to get ready to heave out the other.

Tuesday, 13th. This day they hove the Starboard side Kiel out, which we found very little damaged, and was therefore soon done with.

Wednesday, 14th. Employ'd clearing the Ship of the Carreening gear, her bottom being now thoroughly repair'd, and very much to my satisfaction. In justice to the Officers and Workmen of this Yard, I must say that I do not believe that there is a Marine Yard in the World where work is done with more alertness than here, or where there are better conveniences for heaving Ships down both in point of safety and despatch. Here they heave down by 2 masts, which is not now Practised by the English; but I hold it to be much safer and more expeditious than by heaving down by one mast; a man must not only be strongly bigotted to his own customs, but in some measure divested of reason, that will not allow this, after seeing with how much ease and safety the Dutch at Onrust heave down their largest ships.

Thursday, 15th. In the A.M. transported the Ship from Onrust to Cooper's Island, and moored her alongside the Wharf.

Friday, 16th. Employ'd taking in Coals and Ballast; sent one of the decay'd Pumps up to Batavia to have a new one made by it.

Saturday, 17th, Sunday, 18th, Monday, 19th, Tuesday, 20th, Wednesday, 21st, Thursday, 22nd, Friday, 23rd, Saturday, 24th, Sunday, 25th. Employ'd rigging the Ship, getting on board Stores and Water, which last we have sent from Batavia at the rate of Six shillings and 8 pence a Leager, or 150 Gallons. We are now become so sickly that we seldom can muster above 12 or 14 hands to do duty.

Monday, 26th. In the night had much rain, after which the Westerly Monsoons set in, which blow here generally in the night from the South-West or from the land, in the day from the North-West or North.

Tuesday, 27th, Wednesday, 28th, Thursday, 29th, Friday, 30th, [December 1770.] Saturday, December 1st, Sunday, 2nd, Monday, 3rd, Tuesday, 4th, Wednesday, 5th, Thursday, 6th, Friday, 7th. Employ'd getting on board Stores, Provisions, Water, rigging the Ship, repairing and bending the Sails. On the last of these days, having got all the Sick on board, and every other thing from the Island, we hauled off from the Wharfe with a design to run up to Batavia road, but the Wind proving scant obliged us to lay at anchor.

[At Batavia.]

Saturday, 8th. Fresh breezes Westerly, and fair weather. At 10 A.M. weigh'd and run up to Batavia road, where we anchor'd in 4 1/2 fathoms water.

Sunday, 9th. First and latter parts ditto weather, middle squally with rain. In the P.M. sent on shore a Boat load of empty casks, and at the same time went myself in order to forward the things we wanted, and in the evening sent on board the new Pump, with some other stores that were immediately wanting.

Monday, 10th. For the most part Squally, with rain; the people employ'd scraping the paint work.

Tuesday, 11th, Wednesday, 12th, Thursday, 13th, Friday, 14th. For the most part of these days fair weather. Employ'd taking on board Provisions and Water; this last is put on board at 5 shillings a Leager or 150 Gallons.

Saturday, 15th. In the P.M. anchor'd here the Earl of Elgin, Captain Cooke, an English East India Company Ship from Madras, bound to China, but having lost her passage, put in here to wait for the next Season.

Sunday, 16th, Monday, 17th. Employ'd taking on board Provisions; Scraping and Painting the Ship.

Tuesday, 18th. Gentle breezes and fair weather. Anchored here the Phoenix, Captain Black, an English Country Ship from Bencoolen.

Wednesday, 19th, Thursday, 20th, Friday, 21st, Saturday, 22nd, Sunday, 23rd, Monday, 24th. Fresh breezes, and for the most part fair weather. Completed taking on board Provisions, Water, etc., and getting the Ship ready for sea.

Tuesday, 25th. Having now compleatly refitted the ship, and taken in a sufficient quantity of Provisions of all kinds, I this afternoon took leave of the General, and such others of the principal Gentlemen as I had any connection with, all of whom upon every occasion gave me all the assistance I required. A small dispute, however, now hapned between me and some of the Dutch Naval Officers about a Seaman that had run from one of the Dutch Ships in the Road, and enter'd on board mine; this man the General demanded as a Subject of Holland, and I promised to deliver him up provided he was not an English Subject, and sent the necessary orders on board for that purpose. In the morning the Commodore's Captain came and told me that he had been on board my ship for the man, but that the Officer had refused to give him up, alledging that he was an Englishman, and that he, the Captain, was just then come from the General to demand the man of me as a Deanish Subject, he standing upon their Ship's books as born at Elsinore. I told him that I believed there must be some mistake in the General's message, for I apprehended he would not demand a Deanish Seaman from me who had committed no other crime than preferring the English Service before that of the Dutch; but to convince him how unwilling I was to disoblige any one concerned, I had sent orders on board to deliver the man to him in case he was found to be a Foreigner; but as that was not done I suspected that the man was a Subject of England, and if I found him to be such I was resolved to keep him. Soon after this I received a letter from Mr. Hicks, which I carried to the Shabander, and desired that it might be shewn to the General, and at the same time to acquaint him that, after my having such unanswerable proof of the man's being an English Subject, as was mentioned in that letter, it was impossible for me to deliver him up. After this I heard no more about it.

Wednesday, 26th. In the P.M. myself, Mr. Banks, and all the Gentlemen came on board, and at 6 a.m. weigh'd and came to sail with a light breeze at South-West. The Elgin Indiaman saluted us with 3 cheers and 13 Guns, and soon after the Garrison with 14, both of which we return'd. Soon after this the Sea breeze set in at North by West, which obliged us to Anchor just without the Ships in the Road. The number of Sick on board at this time amounts to 40 or upwards, and the rest of the Ship's Company are in a weakly condition, having been every one sick except the Sailmaker, an old Man about 70 or 80 years of age; and what is still more extraordinary in this man is his being generally more or less drunk every day. But notwithstanding this general sickness, we lost but 7 men in the whole: the Surgeon, 3 Seamen, Mr. Green's Servant, and Tupia and his Servant, both of which fell a sacrifice to this unwholesome climate before they had reached the object of their wishes. Tupia's death, indeed, cannot be said to be owing wholy to the unwholesome air of Batavia; the long want of a Vegetable Diet, which he had all his life before been used to, had brought upon him all the Disorders attending a Sea life. He was a shrewd, sensible, ingenious man, but proud and obstinate, which often made his situation on board both disagreeable to himself and those about him, and tended much to promote the diseases which put a Period to his Life.* (* It is rather curious that Cook does not here record his sense of the value of Tupia's services as interpreter, which he has before alluded to in the Journal. There is no doubt that his presence on board when the ship was in New Zealand was the greatest advantage, affording a means of communication with the natives, which prevented the usual gross misunderstandings which arise as to the object of the visit of an exploring ship. Without him, even with Cook's humane intention and good management, friendly relations would have been much more difficult to establish.)

[Description of Batavia.]

Batavia is a place that hath been so often visited by Europeans, and so many accounts of it extant, that any discription I could give would seem unnecessary; besides, I have neither abilities nor materials sufficient for such an undertaking, for whoever gives a faithful account of this place must in many things contradict all the Authors I have had an opportunity to consult; but this task I shall leave to some abler hand, and only take notice of such things that seem to me necessary for Seamen to know.

The City of Batavia is situated on a low flatt near the Sea, in the Bottom of a large Bay of the same name, which lies on the North side of Java, about 8 Leagues from the Straits of Sunda; it lies in 6 degrees 10 minutes South Latitude, and 106 degrees 50 minutes East Longitude from the Meridian of Greenwich, settled by Astronomical Observations made on the spot by the Reverend Mr. Mohr, who has built a very ellegant Observatory, which is as well furnished with Instruments as most in Europe. Most of the Streets in the City have canals of water running through them, which unite into one Stream about 1/2 a mile before they discharge themselves into the Sea; this is about 100 feet broad, and is built far enough out into the Sea to have at its entrance a sufficient depth of Water to admit Small Craft, Luggage boats, etc. The communication between the Sea and the City is by this Canal alone, and this only in the day; for it is shut up every night by a Boom, through which no Boats can pass from about 6 o'clock in the evening to between 5 and 6 the next morning. Here stands the Custom house, where all goods, either imported or exported, pay the Customary Dutys; at least, an Account is here taken of them, and nothing can pass without a Permit, wether it pays duty or no. All kinds of refreshments, Naval Stores, and Sea Provisions are to be had here; but there are few Articles but what bear a very high Price, especially if you take them of the Company, which you are obliged to do if you want any Quantity; that is, of such Articles as they monoplie to themselves, which are all manner of Naval Stores and Salted Provisions.

The Road of Batavia, or place where Shipping Anchor, lies right before the City, and is so large as to contain any number of Shipping. You anchor with the Dome of the Great Church, bearing about South in 7, 6, or 5 fathoms water, about 1 1/2 or 2 miles from the Shore; and nearer you cannot come with Large Ships, by reason of a Mud bank which lines all the Shore of the Bay. The ground that you Anchor in is of such a nature that the Anchors buries themselves so deep that it is with difficulty they are got out; for this reason Ships always lays at Single Anchor, being in no manner of danger of fouling them. You lay apparently open to the winds from the North-West to the East-North-East; but the Sea that is caused by these winds is a good deal broke before it reaches the Road by the small Islands and Shoals without. These Shoals have all of them either Buoys or Beacons upon them; but if these Guides should be moved, there is a very good Chart of this Bay and the Coast of Java as far as the Straits of Sunda, bound up in the English East India Pilot, sold by Mount & Page. In this Chart everything seems to be very accurately delineated.

Fresh water and wood for fuel must be purchased here. The water is put on board the Ship in the Road at a Spanish Dollar, or 5 shillings a Leager, containing 150 Gallons; but if sent to Onrust, which is one League from the Road, it cost a Duccatoon, or 6 shillings 8 pence. The supplying shipping with water, especially Foreigners, is a perquisite of the Commodore, who is always an Officer in the State's Service, but acts here under the Company. He takes care to tell you that the Water is very good, and will keep sweet at Sea; whereas everybody else tells you that it is not so.

Be this as it will, Batavia is certainly a place that Europeans need not covet to go to; but if necessity obliges them, they will do well to make their stay as short as possible, otherwise they will soon feel the effects of the unwholesome air of Batavia, which, I firmly believe, is the Death of more Europeans than any other place upon the Globe of the same extent. Such, at least, is my opinion of it, which is founded on facts. We came in here with as healthy a Ship's Company as need go to Sea, and after a stay of not quite 3 months left it in the condition of an Hospital Ship, besides the loss of 7 men; and yet all the Dutch Captains I had an opportunity to converse with said that we had been very lucky, and wondered that we had not lost half our people in that time.* (* Batavia bears an evil reputation for health to this day; but it must be remembered that the Endeavour lay there during the rainy or most unhealthy season.)