Chapter XIII: Book III: Chap. I (9)

Both sexes are enslaved by the hateful and pernicious habit of chewing betel and areca, which they contract even while they are children, and practise incessantly from morning till night. With these they always mix a kind of white lime, made of coral stone and shells, and frequently a small quantity of tobacco, so that their mouths are disgustful in the highest degree both to the smell and the sight: the tobacco taints their breath, and the betel and lime make the teeth not only as black as charcoal, but as rotten too. I have seen men between twenty and thirty, whose fore-teeth have been consumed almost down to the gums, though no two of them were exactly of the same length or thickness, but irregularly corroded like iron by rust. This loss of teeth is, I think, by all who have written upon the subject, imputed to the tough and stringy coat of the areca nut; but I impute it wholly to the lime: they are not loosened, or broken, or forced out, as might be expected, if they were injured by the continual chewing of hard and rough substances, but they are gradually wasted like metals that are exposed to the action of powerful acids; the stumps always adhering firmly to the socket in the jaw, when there is no part of the tooth above the gums: and possibly those who suppose that sugar has a bad effect upon the teeth of Europeans, may not be mistaken, for it is well known that refined loaf sugar contains a considerable quantity of lime; and he that doubts whether lime will destroy bone of any kind, may easily ascertain the fact by experiment.

If the people here are at any time without this odious mouthful, they are smoking. This operation they perform by rolling up a small quantity of tobacco, and putting it into one end of a tube about six inches long, and as thick as a goose quill, which they make of a palm leaf. As the quantity of tobacco in these pipes is very small, the effect of it is increased, especially among the women, by swallowing the smoke.

When the natives of this island were first formed into a civil society, is not certainly known, but at present it is divided into five principalities or nigrees: LAAI, SEBA, REGEEUA, TIMO, and MASSARA, each of which is governed by its respective raja or king. The raja of Seba, the principality in which we were ashore, seemed to have great authority, without much external parade or show, or much appearance of personal respect. He was about five-and-thirty years of age, and the fattest man we saw upon the whole island: he appeared to be of a dull phlegmatic disposition, and to be directed almost implicitly by the old man who, upon my presenting him with a sword, had procured us a fair market, in spite of the craft and avarice of the Dutch factors. The name of this person was MANNU DJARME, and it may reasonably be supposed that he was a man of uncommon integrity and abilities, as, notwithstanding his possession of power in the character of a favourite, he was beloved by the whole principality. If any difference arises among the people, it is settled by the raja and his counsellors, without delay or appeal, and, as we were told, with the most solemn deliberation and impartial justice.

We were informed by Mr. Lange, that the chiefs who had successively presided over the five principalities of this island, had lived for time immemorial in the strictest alliance and most cordial friendship with each other; yet he said the people were of a warlike disposition, and had always courageously defended themselves against foreign invaders. We were told also, that the island was able to raise, upon very short notice, 7300 fighting men, armed with muskets, spears, lances, and targets. Of this force, Laai was said to furnish 2600, Seba 2000, Regeeua 1500, Timo 800, and Massārā 400. Besides the arms that have been already mentioned, each man is furnished with a large pole axe, resembling a wood bill, except that it has a straight edge, and is much heavier: this, in the hands of people who have courage to come to close quarters with an enemy, must be a dreadful weapon; and we were told that they were so dexterous with their lances, that, at the distance of sixty feet, they would throw them with such exactness as to pierce a man’s heart, and such force as to go quite through his body.

How far this account of the martial prowess of the inhabitants of Savu may be true, we cannot take upon us to determine; but during our stay, we saw no appearance of it. We saw indeed in the town-house, or house of assembly, about one hundred spears and targets, which served to arm the people who were sent down to intimidate us at the trading place; but they seemed to be the refuse of old armories, no two being of the same make or length, for some were six, and some sixteen feet long: we saw no lance among them, and as to the muskets, though they were clean on the outside, they were eaten into holes by the rust within; and the people themselves appeared to be so little acquainted with military discipline, that they marched like a disorderly rabble, every one having, instead of his target, a cock, some tobacco, or other merchandise of the like kind, which he took that opportunity to bring down to sell, and few or none of their cartridge boxes were furnished with either powder or ball, though a piece of paper was thrust into the hole to save appearances. We saw a few swivel guns and pateraros at the town-house, and a great gun before it; but the swivels and pateraros lay out of their carriages, and the great gun lay upon a heap of stones, almost consumed with rust, with the touch-hole downwards, possibly to conceal its size, which might perhaps be little less than that of the bore.

We could not discover that among these people there was any rank of distinction between the raja and the land-owners: the land-owners were respectable in proportion to their possessions; the inferior ranks consist of manufacturers, labouring poor, and slaves. The slaves, like the peasants in some parts of Europe, are connected with the estate, and both descend together; but though the land-owner can sell his slave, he has no other power over his person, not even to correct him, without the privity and approbation of the raja. Some have five hundred of these slaves, and some not half a dozen: the common price of them is a fat hog. When a great man goes out, he is constantly attended by two or more of them: one of them carries a sword or hanger, the hilt of which is commonly of silver, and adorned with large tassels of horse hair; and another carries a bag which contains betel, areca, lime, and tobacco. In these attendants consists all their magnificence, for the raja himself has no other mark of distinction.

The chief object of pride among these people, like that of a Welchman, is a long pedigree of respectable ancestors, and indeed a veneration for antiquity seems to be carried farther here than in any other country: even a house that has been well inhabited for many generations, becomes almost sacred, and few articles either of use or luxury bear so high a price as stones, which having been long sat upon, are become even and smooth: those who can purchase such stones, or are possessed of them by inheritance, place them round their houses, where they serve as seats for their dependants.

Every raja sets up in the principal town of his province, or nigree, a large stone, which serves as a memorial of his reign. In the principal town of Seba, where we lay, there are thirteen such stones, besides many fragments of others, which had been set up in earlier times, and are now mouldering away: these monuments seem to prove that some kind of civil establishment here is of considerable antiquity. The last thirteen reigns in England make something more than 276 years.

Many of these stones are so large, that it is difficult to conceive by what means they were brought to their present station, especially as it is the summit of a hill; but the world is full of memorials of human strength, in which the mechanical powers that have been since added by mathematical science, seem to be surpassed; and of such monuments there are not a few among the remains of barbarous antiquity in our own country, besides those upon Salisbury plain.

These stones not only record the reigns of successive princes, but serve for a purpose much more extraordinary, and probably altogether peculiar to this country. When a raja dies, a general feast is proclaimed throughout his dominions, and all his subjects assemble round these stones: almost every living creature that can be caught is then killed, and the feast lasts for a less or greater number of weeks or months, as the kingdom happens to be more or less furnished with live stock at the time; the stones serve for tables. When this madness is over, a fast must necessarily ensue, and the whole kingdom is obliged to subsist upon syrup and water, if it happens in the dry season, when no vegetables can be procured, till a new stock of animals can be raised from the few that have escaped by chance, or been preserved by policy from the general massacre, or can be procured from the neighbouring kingdoms. Such, however, is the account that we received from Mr. Lange.

We had no opportunity to examine any of their manufactures, except that of their cloth, which they spin, weave, and dye; we did not indeed see them employed, but many of the instruments which they use fell in our way. We saw their machine for clearing cotton of its seeds, which is made upon the same principles as those in Europe, but it is so small that it might be taken for a model, or a toy; it consists of two cylinders, like our round rulers, somewhat less than an inch in diameter, one of which, being turned round by a plain winch, turns the other by means of an endless worm; and the whole machine is not more than fourteen inches long, and seven high; that which we saw had been much used, and many pieces of cotton were hanging about it, so that there is no reason to doubt its being a fair specimen of the rest. We also once saw their apparatus for spinning; it consisted of a bobbin, on which was wound a small quantity of thread, and a kind of distaff filled with cotton; we conjectured therefore that they spin by hand, as the women of Europe did before the introduction of wheels; and I am told that they have not yet found their way into some parts of it. Their loom seemed to be in one respect preferable to ours, for the web was not stretched upon a frame, but extended by a piece of wood at each end, round one of which the cloth was rolled, and round the other the threads; the web was about half a yard broad, and the length of the shuttle was equal to the breadth of the web, so that probably their work goes on but slowly. That they dyed this cloth we first guessed from its colour, and from the indigo which we saw in their plantations; and our conjecture was afterwards confirmed by Mr. Lange’s account. I have already observed, that it is dyed in the yarn, and we once saw them dyeing what was said to be girdles for the women, of a dirty red, but with what drug we did not think it worth while to inquire.

The religion of these people, according to Mr. Lange’s information, is an absurd kind of paganism, every man choosing his own god, and determining for himself how he should be worshipped; so that there are almost as many gods and modes of worship as people. In their morals, however, they are said to be irreproachable, even upon the principles of Christianity: no man is allowed more than one wife; yet an illicit commerce between the sexes is in a manner unknown among them: instances of theft are very rare; and they are so far from revenging a supposed injury by murder, that if any difference arises between them, they will not so much as make it the subject of debate, lest they should be provoked to resentment, and ill-will, but immediately and implicitly refer it to the determination of their king.

They appeared to be a healthy and long-lived people; yet some of them were marked with the small-pox, which Mr. Lange told us had several times made its appearance among them, and was treated with the same precautions as the plague. As soon as a person was seized with the distemper, he was removed to some solitary place, very remote from any habitation, where the disease was left to take its course, and the patient supplied with daily food by reaching it to him at the end of a long pole.

Of their domestic economy we could learn but little: in one instance however their delicacy and cleanliness are very remarkable. Many of us were ashore here three successive days, from a very early hour in the morning till it was dark; yet we never saw the least trace of an offering to Cloacina, nor could we so much as guess where they were made. In a country so populous this is very difficult to be accounted for, and perhaps there is no other country in the world where the secret is so effectually kept.

The boats in use here are a kind of proa.

This island was settled by the Portuguese almost as soon as they first found their way into this part of the ocean; but they were in a short time supplanted by the Dutch. The Dutch however did not take possession of it, but only sent sloops to trade with the natives, probably for provisions to support the inhabitants of their spice islands, who applying themselves wholly to the cultivation of that important article of trade, and laying out all their ground in plantations, can breed few animals: possibly their supplies by this occasional traffic were precarious; possibly they were jealous of being supplanted in their turn; but however that be, their East India Company, about ten years ago, entered into a treaty with the Rajas, by which the Company stipulated to furnish each of them with a certain quantity of silk, fine linen, cutlery ware, arrack, and other articles, every year; and the Rajas engaged that neither they nor their subjects should trade with any person except the Company, without having first obtained their consent, and that they would admit a resident on behalf of the company, to reside upon the island, and see that their part of the treaty was fulfilled: they also engaged to supply annually a certain Quantity of rice, maize, and calevances. The maize and calevances are sent to Timor in sloops, which are kept there for that purpose, each of which is navigated by ten Indians; and the rice is fetched away annually by a ship which brings the Company’s returns, and anchors alternately in each of the three bays. These returns are delivered to the Rajas in the form of a present, and the cask of arrack they and their principal people never cease to drink, as long as a drop of it remains.

In consequence of this treaty, the Dutch placed three persons upon the island: Mr. Lange, his colleague, the native of Timor, the son of an Indian woman by a Portuguese, and one Frederick Craig, the son of an Indian woman by a Dutchman. Lange visits each of the Rajas once in two months, when he makes the tour of the island, attended by fifty slaves on horseback. He exhorts these Chiefs to plant, if it appears that they have been remiss, and observes where the crops are got in, that he may order sloops to fetch it; so that it passes immediately from the ground to the Dutch store-houses at Timor. In these excursions he always carries with him some bottles of arrack, which he finds of great use in opening the hearts of the Rajas with whom he is to deal.

During the ten years that he had resided upon this island he had never seen a European besides ourselves, except at the arrival of the Dutch ship, which had sailed about two months before we arrived; and he is now to be distinguished from the natives only by his colour and his dress, for he sits upon the ground, chews his betele, and in every respect has adopted their character and manners: he has married an Indian woman of the island of Timor, who keeps his house after the fashion of her country; and he gave that as a reason for not inviting us to visit him, saying, that he could entertain us in no other manner than the Indians had done; and he spoke no language readily but that of the country.

The office of Mr. Frederick Craig is to instruct the youth of the country in reading and writing, and the principles of the Christian religion; the Dutch having printed versions of the New Testament, a catechism, and several other tracts, in the language of this and the neighbouring islands. Dr. Solander, who was at his house, saw the books, and the copy-books also, of his scholars, many of whom wrote a very fair hand. He boasted that there were no less than six hundred Christians in the township of Seba; but what the Dutch Christianity of these Indians may be, it is not perhaps very easy to guess, for there is not a church, nor even a priest, in the whole island.

While we were at this place, we made several enquiries concerning the neighbouring islands, and the intelligence which we received is to the following effect.

A small island to the westward of Savu, the name of which we did not learn, produces nothing of any consequence but areca-nuts, of which the Dutch receive annually the freight of two sloops, in return for presents that they make to the islanders.

Timor is the chief, and the Dutch residents on the other islands go thither once a year to pass their accounts. The place is nearly in the same state as in Dampier’s time, the Dutch having there a fort and storehouses; and, by Lange’s account, we might there have been supplied with every necessary that we expected to procure at Batavia, salt provisions and arrack not excepted. But the Portuguese are still in possession of several towns on the north side of the island, particularly Laphao and Sesial.

About two years before our arrival, a French ship was wrecked upon the east coast of Timor; and after she had lain some days upon the shoal, a sudden gale broke her up at once, and drowned the Captain, with the greatest part of the crew: those who got ashore, among whom was one of the lieutenants, made the best of their way to Concordia; they were four days upon the road, where they were obliged to leave part of their company through fatigue, and the rest, to the number of about eighty, arrived at the town. They were supplied with every necessary, and sent back to the wreck, with proper assistance for recovering what could be fished up: they fortunately got up all their bullion, which was in chests, and several of their guns, which were very large. They then returned to the town, but their companions who had been left upon the road were missing, having, as it was supposed, been kept among the Indians, either by persuasion or force; for they are very desirous of having Europeans among them, to instruct them in the art of war. After a stay of more than two months at Concordia, their number was diminished nearly one half by sickness, in consequence of the fatigue and hardship which they had suffered by the shipwreck, and the survivors were sent in a small vessel to Europe.

Rotte is in much the same situation as Savu; a Dutch factor resides upon it to manage the natives, and look after its produce, which consists, among other articles, of sugar. Formerly it was made only by bruising the canes, and boiling the juice to a syrup, in the same manner as toddy; but great improvements have lately been made in preparing this valuable commodity. The three little islands called the Solars are also under the influence of the Dutch settlement at Concordia: they are flat and low, but abound with provisions of every kind, and the middlemost is said to have a good harbour for shipping. Ende, another little island to the westward of the Solars, is still in the hands of the Portuguese, who have a good town and harbour on the north-east corner of it, called Larntuca: they had formerly a harbour on the south side of it, but that being much inferior to Larntuca, has for some time been altogether neglected.

The inhabitants of each of these little islands speak a language peculiar to themselves, and it is an object of Dutch policy to prevent, as much as possible, their learning the language of each other. If they spoke a common language, they would learn, by a mutual intercourse with each other, to plant such things as would be of more value to themselves than their present produce, though of less advantage to the Dutch; but their languages being different, they can communicate no such knowledge to each other, and the Dutch secure to themselves the benefit of supplying their several necessities upon their own terms, which it is reasonable to suppose are not very moderate. It is probably with a view to this advantage that the Dutch never teach their own language to the natives of these islands, and have been at the expense of translating the Testament and catechisms into the different languages of each; for in proportion as Dutch had become the language of their religion, it would have become the common language of them all.

To this account of Savu, I shall only add a small specimen of its language, by which it will appear to have some affinity with that of the South Sea islands, many of the words being exactly the same, and the numbers manifestly derived from the same source.

_A man_, Momonne.

_A woman_, Mobunne.

_The head_, Catoo.

_The hair_, Row catoo.

_The eyes_, Matta.

_The eye-lashes_, Rowna matta.

_The nose_, Swanga.

_The cheeks_, Cavaranga.

_The ears_, Wodeeloo.

_The tongue_, Vaio.

_The neck_, Lacoco.

_The breasts_, Soosoo.

_The nipples_, Caboo soosoo.

_The belly_, Dulloo.

_The navel_, Assoo.

_The thighs_, Tooga.

_The knees_, Rootoo.

_The legs_, Baibo.

_The feet_, Dunceala.

_The toes_, Kissovei yilla.

_The arms_, Camacoo.

_The hand_, Wulaba.

_A buffalo_, Cabaou.

_A horse_, Djara.

_A hog_, Vavee.

_A sheep_, Doomba.

_A goat_, Kesavoo.

_A dog_, Guaca.

_A cat_, Maio.

_A fowl_, Mannu.

_The tail_, Carow.

_The beak_, Pangoutoo.

_A fish_, Ica.

_A turtle_, Unjoo.

_A cocoa-nut_, Nieu.

_Fan-palm_, Boaceree.

_Areca_, Calella.

_Betele_, Canana.

_Lime_, Aou.

_A fish-hook_, Maänadoo.

_Tattow, the marks on the Tata.
skin_,

_The sun_, Lodo.

_The moon_, Wurroo.

_The sea_, Aidassee.

_Water_, Ailea.

_Fire_, Aee.

_To die_, Maate.

_To sleep_, Tabudge.

_To rise_, Tateetoo.

_One_, Usse.

_Two_, Lhua.

_Three_, Tullu.

_Four_, Uppah.

_Five_, Lumme.

_Six_, Unna.

_Seven_, Pedu.

_Eight_, Arru.

_Nine_, Saou.

_Ten_, Singooroo.

_Eleven_, Singurung usse.

20, Lhuangooroo.

100, Sing assu.

1000, Setuppah.

10,000, Selacussa.

100,000, Serata.

1,000,000, Sereboo.

In this account of the island of Savu it must be remembered, that except the facts in which we were parties, and the account of the objects which we had an opportunity to examine, the whole is founded merely upon the report of Mr. Lange, upon whose authority alone therefore it must rest.

CHAP. X.

THE RUN FROM THE ISLAND OF SAVU TO BATAVIA, AND AN ACCOUNT OF THE
TRANSACTIONS THERE WHILE THE SHIP WAS REFITTING.

IN the morning of Friday the 21st of September, 1770, we got under sail, and stood away to the westward, along the north side of the island of Savu, and of the smaller that lies to the westward of it, which at noon bore from us S. S. E., distant two leagues. At four o’clock in the afternoon, we discovered a small low island, bearing S. S. W., distant three leagues, which has no place in any chart now extant, at least in none that I have been able to procure: it lies in latitude 10° 47ʹ S., longitude 238° 28ʹ W.

At noon on the 22d, we were in latitude 11° 10ʹ S., longitude 240° 38ʹ W. In the evening of the 23d, we found the variation of the needle to be 2° 44ʹ W.; as soon as we got clear of the islands we had constantly a swell from the southward, which I imagined was not caused by a wind blowing from that quarter, but by the sea being so determined by the position of the coast of New Holland.

At noon, on the 26th, being in latitude 10° 47ʹ S., longitude 249° 52ʹ W., we found the variation to be 3° 10ʹ W., and our situation to be twenty-five miles to the northward of the log; for which I know not how to account. At noon, on the 27th, our latitude by observation, was 10° 51ʹ S., which was agreeable to the log; and our longitude was 252° 11ʹ W. We steered N. W. all day on the 28th, in order to make the land of Java; and at noon, on the 29th, our latitude by observation was 9° 31ʹ S., longitude 254° 10ʹ W.; and in the morning of the 30th, I took into my possession the log-book and journals, at least all I could find, of the officers, petty officers, and seamen, and enjoined them secrecy with respect to where they had been.

At seven in the evening, being in the latitude of Java Head, and not seeing any land, I concluded that we were too far to the westward: I therefore hauled up E. N. E., having before steered N. by E. In the night, we had thunder and lightning; and about twelve o’clock, by the light of the flashes, we saw the land bearing east. I then tacked and stood to the S. W. till four o’clock in the morning of the 1st of October; and at six, Java Head, or the west end of Java, bore S. E. by E., distant five leagues: soon after we saw Prince’s Island, bearing E. ½ S.; and at ten, the island of Cracatoa, bearing N. E. Cracatoa is a remarkably high-peaked island, and at noon it bore N. 40 E., distant seven leagues.

I must now observe, that during our run from Savu, I allowed twenty minutes a-day for the westerly current, which I concluded must run strong at this time, especially off the coast of Java, and I found that this allowance was just equivalent to the effect of the current upon the ship.

At four o’clock in the morning of the 2d, we fetched close in with the coast of Java, in fifteen fathom; we then stood along the coast, and early in the forenoon, I sent the boat ashore to try if she could procure some fruit for Tupia, who was very ill, and some grass for the buffaloes that were still alive. In an hour or two she returned with four cocoa-nuts, and a small bunch of plantains, which had been purchased for a shilling, and some herbage for the cattle, which the Indians not only gave us, but assisted our people to cut. The country looked like one continued wood, and had a very pleasant appearance.

About eleven o’clock, we saw two Dutch ships lying off Anger Point, and I sent Mr. Hicks on board of one of them to enquire news of our country, from which we had been absent so long. In the mean time it fell calm, and about noon I anchored in eighteen fathom with a muddy bottom. When Mr. Hicks returned, he reported that the ships were Dutch East Indiamen from Batavia, one of which was bound to Ceylon, and the other to the coast of Malabar; and that there was also a fly-boat or packet, which was said to be stationed here to carry letters from the Dutch ships that came hither to Batavia, but which I rather think was appointed to examine all ships that pass the Streight: from these ships we heard, with great pleasure, that the Swallow had been at Batavia about two years before.

At seven o’clock a breeze sprung up at S. S. W., with which having weighed, we stood to the N. E. between Thwart-the-way-Island and the Cap, sounding from eighteen to twenty-eight fathom: we had but little wind all night, and having a strong current against us, we got no further by eight in the morning than Bantam Point. At this time the wind came to the N. E., and obliged us to anchor in two-and-twenty fathom, at about the distance of two miles from the shore; the point bore N. E. by E., distant one league, and here we found a strong current setting to the N. W. In the morning we had seen the Dutch packet standing after us, but when the wind shifted to the N. E. she bore away.

At six o’clock in the evening, the wind having obliged us to continue at anchor, one of the country boats came alongside of us, on board of which was the master of the packet. He seemed to have two motives for his visit, one to take an account of the ship, and the other to sell us refreshments; for in the boat were turtle, fowls, ducks, parrots, paroquets, rice-birds, monkies, and other articles, which they held at a very high price, and brought to a bad market, for our Savu stock was not yet expended: however, I gave a Spanish dollar for a small turtle, which weighed about six-and-thirty pounds; I gave also a dollar for ten large fowls, and afterwards bought fifteen more at the same price; for a dollar we might also have bought two monkies, or a whole cage of rice-birds. The master of the sloop brought with him two books, in one of which he desired that any of our officers would write down the name of the ship and its Commander, with that of the place from which she sailed, and of the port to which she was bound, with such other particulars relating to themselves, as they might think proper, for the information of any of our friends that should come after us: and in the other he entered the names of the ship and the Commander, himself, in order to transmit them to the Governor and Council of the Indies. We perceived that in the first book many ships, particularly Portuguese, had made entries of the same kind with that for which it was presented to us. Mr. Hicks, however, having written the name of the ship, only added “from Europe.” He took notice of this, but said, that he was satisfied with any thing we thought fit to write, it being intended merely for the information of those who should inquire after us from motives of friendship.

Having made several attempts to sail with a wind that would not stem the current, and as often come to an anchor, a proa came alongside of us in the morning of the 5th, in which was a Dutch officer, who sent me down a printed paper in English, duplicates of which he had in other languages, particularly in French and Dutch, all regularly signed, in the name of the Governor and Council of the Indies, by their secretary: it contained nine questions, very ill expressed in the following terms:

“1. To what nation the ship belongs, and its name?

“2. If it comes from Europe, or any other place?

“3. From what place it lastly departed from?

“4. Whereunto designed to go?

“5. What and how many ships of the Dutch Company by departure from the last shore there layed, and their names?

“6. If one or more of these ships in company with this, is departed for this or any other place?

“7. If during the voyage any particularities is happened or seen?

“8. If not any ships in sea, or the Streights of Sunda, have seen or hailed in, and which?

“9. If any other news worth of attention, at the place from whence the ship lastly departed, or during the voyage, is happened?

“BATAVIA, in the Castle.
“By order of the Governor-General
“and the Counsellors of India,
“J. BRANDER BUNGL, Sec.”

Of these questions I answered only the first and the fourth; which when the officer saw, he said answers to the rest were of no consequence: yet he immediately added, that he must send that very paper away to Batavia, and that it would be there the next day at noon. I have particularly related this incident, because I have been credibly informed that it is but of late years that the Dutch have taken upon them to examine ships that pass through this Streight.

At ten o’clock the same morning, we weighed, with a light breeze at S. W.; but did little more than stem the current, and about two o’clock anchored again under Bantam Point, where we lay till nine; a light breeze then springing up at S. E., we weighed and stood to the eastward till ten o’clock the next morning, when the current obliged us again to anchor in twenty-two fathom, Pulababi bearing E. by S. ½ S., distant between three and four miles. Having alternately weighed and anchored several times, till four in the afternoon of the 7th, we then stood to the eastward, with a very faint breeze at N. E. and passed Wapen Island, and the first island to the eastward of it; when the wind dying away, we were carried by the current between the first and second of the islands that lie to the eastward of Wapen Island, where we were obliged to anchor in thirty fathom, being very near a ledge of rocks that run out from one of the islands. At two the next morning we weighed with the land wind at south, and stood out clear of the shoal; but before noon were obliged to come to again in twenty-eight fathom, near a small island among those that are called the thousand Islands, which we did not find laid down in any chart. Pulo Pare at this time bore E. N. E., distance between six and seven miles.

Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander went ashore upon the island, which they found not to be more than five hundred yards long, and one hundred broad; yet there was a house upon it, and a small plantation, where among other things was the _Palma Christi_, from which the castor-oil is made in the West Indies: they made a small addition to their collection of plants, and shot a bat, whose wings when extended measured three feet from point to point: they shot also four plovers, which exactly resembled the golden plover of England. Soon after they returned, a small Indian boat came alongside with two Malays on board, who brought three turtles, some dried fish, and a few pumpkins: we bought the turtle, which altogether weighed a hundred and forty-six pounds, for a dollar, and considering that we had lately paid the Dutchman a dollar for one that weighed only six-and-thirty pounds, we thought we had a good bargain. The seller appeared equally satisfied, and we then treated with him for his pumpkins, for which he was very unwilling to take any money but a dollar; we said that a whole dollar was greatly too much; to which he readily assented, but desired that we would cut one and give him a part: at last, however, a fine shining Portuguese petack tempted him, and for that he sold us his whole stock of pumpkins, being in number twenty-six. At parting, he made signs that we should not tell at Batavia that any boat had been aboard us.

We were not able to weather Pulo Pare this day, but getting the land wind at south about ten o’clock at night, we weighed and stood to the E. S. E. all night. At ten in the morning, we anchored again, to wait for the sea breeze; and at noon it sprung up at N. N. E., with which we stood in for Batavia road, where at four o’clock in the afternoon we came to an anchor.

We found here the Harcourt Indiaman from England, two English private traders of that country, thirteen sail of large Dutch ships, and a considerable number of small vessels. A boat came immediately on board from a ship which had a broad pendant flying, and the officer who commanded, having enquired who we were, and whence we came, immediately returned with such answers as we thought fit to give him: both he and his people were as pale as spectres, a sad presage of our sufferings in so unhealthy a country; but our people, who, except Tupia, were all rosy and plump, seemed to think themselves so seasoned by various climates that nothing could hurt them. In the mean time, I sent a lieutenant ashore to acquaint the Governor of our arrival, and to make an excuse for our not saluting; for as I could salute with only three guns, except the swivels, which I was of opinion would not be heard, I thought it was better to let it alone. As soon as the boat was dispatched the carpenter delivered me an account of the defects of the ship, of which the following is a copy:

“The defects of his Majesty’s bark Endeavour, Lieutenant James Cook Commander.

“The ship very leaky, as she makes from twelve to six inches water an hour, occasioned by her main keel being wounded in many places, and the scarfs of her stern being very open: the false keel gone beyond the midships from forward, and perhaps farther, as I had no opportunity of seeing for the water when hauled ashore for repairing: wounded on the larboardside under the main channel, where I imagine the greatest leak is, but could not come at it for the water: one pump on the larboard side useless; the others decayed within an inch and a half of the bore. Otherwise masts, yards, boats, and hull, in pretty good condition.”

As it was the universal opinion that the ship could not safely proceed to Europe without an examination of her bottom, I determined to apply for leave to heave her down at this place; and as I understood that it would be necessary to make this application in writing, I drew up a request, and the next morning, having got it translated into Dutch, we all went ashore.

We repaired immediately to the house of Mr. Leith, the only Englishman of any credit who is resident at this place; he received us with great politeness, and engaged us to dinner: to this gentleman we applied for instructions how to provide ourselves with lodgings and necessaries while we should stay ashore, and he told us, that there was a hotel or kind of inn, kept by the order of government, where all merchants and strangers were obliged to reside, paying half per cent. upon the value of their goods for warehouse room, which the master of the house was obliged to provide; but that as we came in a king’s ship, we should be at liberty to live where we pleased, upon asking the Governor’s permission, which would be granted of course. He said, that it would be cheaper for us to take a house in the town, and bring our own servants ashore, if we had any body upon whom we could depend to buy in our provisions; but as this was not the case, having no person among us who could speak the Malay language, our gentlemen determined to go to the hotel. At the hotel, therefore, beds were immediately hired, and word was sent that we should sleep there at night.

At five o’clock in the afternoon, I was introduced to the Governor-general, who received me very courteously; he told me, that I should have every thing I wanted, and that in the morning my request should be laid before the council, which I was desired to attend.

About nine o’clock, we had a dreadful storm of thunder, lightning, and rain, during which the main-mast of one of the Dutch East Indiamen was split, and carried away by the deck; the main-top-mast and top-gallant-mast were shivered all to pieces; she had an iron spindle at the main-top-gallant-mast-head, which probably directed the stroke. This ship lay not more than the distance of two cables’ length from ours, and in all probability we should have shared the same fate, but for the electrical chain which we had but just got up, and which conducted the lightning over the side of the ship; but though we escaped the lightning, the explosion shook us like an earthquake, the chain at the same time appearing like a line of fire: a centinel was in the action of charging his piece, and the shock forced the musket out of his hand, and broke the rammer rod. Upon this occasion, I cannot but earnestly recommend chains of the same kind to every ship, whatever be her destination, and I hope that the fate of the Dutchman will be a warning to all who shall read this narrative, against having an iron spindle at the mast-head.

The next morning I attended at the council-chamber, and was told that I should have every thing I wanted. In the mean time, the gentlemen ashore agreed with the keeper of the hotel for their lodging and board, at the rate of two rix-dollars, or nine shillings sterling a day for each; and as there were five of them, and they would probably have many visitors from the ship, he agreed to keep them a separate table, upon condition that they should pay one rix-dollar for the dinner of every stranger, and another for his supper and bed, if he should sleep ashore. Under this stipulation they were to be furnished with tea, coffee, punch, pipes and tobacco, for themselves and their friends, as much as they could consume; they were also to pay half a rupee, or one shilling and three-pence a-day, for each of their servants.

They soon learnt that these rates were more than double the common charges of board and lodging in the town; and their table, though it had the appearance of magnificence, was wretchedly served. Their dinner consisted of one course of fifteen dishes, and their supper of one course of thirteen, but nine or ten of them consisted of bad poultry, variously dressed, and often served up the second, third, and even the fourth time: the same duck having appeared more than once roasted, found his way again to the table as a fricassee, and a fourth time in the form of forced meat. It was not long, however, before they learned that this treatment was only by way of essay, and that it was the invariable custom of the house, to supply all strangers, at their first coming, with such fare as could be procured for the least money, and consequently would produce the most gain: that if, either through indolence or good nature, they were content, it was continued for the benefit of the host, but that, if they complained, it was gradually amended till they were satisfied, which sometimes happened before they had the worth of their money. After this discovery, they remonstrated, and their fare became better; however, after a few days, Mr. Banks hired a little house, the next door on the left hand to the hotel, for himself and his party, for which he paid after the rate of ten rix-dollars, or two pounds five shillings sterling a-month; but here they were very far from having either the convenience or the privacy which they expected; no person was permitted to sleep in this private house occasionally, as a guest to the person who hired it, under a penalty; but almost every Dutchman that went by ran in without any ceremony, to ask what they sold, there having been very seldom any private persons at Batavia who had not something to sell. Every body here hires a carriage, and Mr. Banks hired two. They are open chaises, made to hold two people, and driven by a man sitting on a coach-box; for each of these he paid two rix-dollars a-day.

As soon as he was settled in his new habitation, he sent for Tupia, who till now had continued on board upon account of his illness, which was of the bilious kind, and for which he had obstinately refused to take any medicine. He soon came ashore, with his boy Tayeto, and, though while he was on board, and after he came into the boat, he was exceedingly listless and dejected, he no sooner entered the town than he seemed to be animated with a new soul. The houses, carriages, streets, people, and a multiplicity of other objects, all new, which rushed upon him at once, produced an effect like the sudden and secret power that is imagined of fascination. Tayeto expressed his wonder and delight with still less restraint, and danced along the street in a kind of extasy, examining every object with a restless and eager curiosity, which was every moment excited and gratified. One of the first things that Tupia remarked, was the various dresses of the passing multitude, concerning which he made many enquiries; and when he was told that in this place where people of many different nations were assembled, every one wore the habit of his country, he desired that he might conform to the custom, and appear in that of Otaheite. South Sea cloth was therefore sent for from the ship, and he equipped himself with great expedition and dexterity. The people who had seen Otourou, the Indian who had been brought hither by M. Bougainville, enquired whether Tupia was not the same person: from these enquiries, we learned who it was that we had supposed to be Spaniards, from the accounts that had been given of two ships by the Islanders.

In the mean time, I procured an order to the superintendant of the island of Onrust, where the ship was to be repaired, to receive her there; and sent by one of the ships that sailed for Holland, an account of our arrival here, to Mr. Stephens, the Secretary to the Admiralty.

The expenses that would be incurred by repairing and refitting the ship, rendered it necessary for me to take up money in this place, which I imagined might be done without difficulty, but I found myself mistaken; for, after the most diligent enquiry, I could not find any private person that had ability and inclination to advance the sum that I wanted. In this difficulty I applied to the Governor himself, by a written request; in consequence of which, the Shebander had orders to supply me with what money I should require out of the Company’s Treasury.

On the 18th, as soon as it was light, having by several accidents and mistakes suffered a delay of many days, I took up the anchor, and ran down to Onrust: a few days afterwards, we went along-side of the wharf, on Cooper’s Island, which lies close to Onrust, in order to take out our stores.

By this time, having been here only nine days, we began to feel the fatal effects of the climate and situation. Tupia, after the flow of spirits which the novelties of the place produced upon his first landing, sunk on a sudden, and grew every day worse and worse. Tayeto was seized with an inflammation upon his lungs, Mr. Banks’s two servants became very ill, and himself and Dr. Solander were attacked by fevers: in a few days, almost every person both on board and ashore were sick; affected, no doubt, by the low swampy situation of the place, and the numberless dirty canals which intersect the town in all directions. On the 26th, I set up the tent for the reception of the ship’s company, of whom there was but a small number able to do duty. Poor Tupia, of whose life we now began to despair, and who till this time had continued ashore with Mr. Banks, desired to be removed to the ship, where, he said, he should breathe a freer air than among the numerous houses which obstructed it ashore: on board the ship, however, he could not go, for she was unrigged, and preparing to be laid down at the careening-place; but on the 28th, Mr. Banks went with him to Cooper’s Island, or, as it is called here, Kuypor, where she lay, and as he seemed pleased with the spot, a tent was there pitched for him: at this place both the sea breeze and the land breeze blew directly over him, and he expressed great satisfaction in his situation. Mr. Banks, whose humanity kept him two days with this poor Indian, returned to the town on the 30th, and the fits of his intermittent, which was now become a regular tertian, were so violent as to deprive him of his senses while they lasted, and leave him so weak that he was scarcely able to crawl down stairs: at this time, Dr. Solander’s disorder also increased, and Mr. Monkhouse, the surgeon, was confined to his bed.

On the 5th of November, after many delays, in consequence of the Dutch ships coming along side the wharfs to load pepper, the ship was laid down, and the same day, Mr. Monkhouse, our surgeon, a sensible skilful man, fell the first sacrifice to this fatal country, a loss which was greatly aggravated by our situation. Dr. Solander was just able to attend his funeral, but Mr. Banks was confined to his bed. Our distress was now very great, and the prospect before us discouraging in the highest degree: our danger was not such as we could surmount by any efforts of our own; courage, skill, and diligence, were all equally ineffectual, and death was every day making advances upon us, where we could neither resist nor fly. Malay servants were hired to attend the sick, but they had so little sense either of duty or humanity, that they could not be kept within call, and the patient was frequently obliged to get out of bed to seek them. On the 9th, we lost our poor Indian boy Tayeto, and Tupia was so much affected, that it was doubted whether he would survive till the next day.

In the mean time, the bottom of the ship being examined, was found to be in a worse condition than we apprehended: the false keel was all gone to within twenty feet of the stern post; the main keel was considerably injured in many places; and a great quantity of the sheathing was torn off, and several planks were much damaged; two of them, and the half of a third, under the main channel near the keel, were, for the length of six feet, so worn, that they were not above an eighth part of an inch thick, and here the worms had made their way quite into the timbers; yet in this condition she had sailed many hundred leagues, where navigation is as dangerous as in any part of the world: how much misery did we escape, by being ignorant that so considerable a part of the bottom of the vessel was thinner than the sole of a shoe, and that every life on board depended upon so slight and fragile a barrier between us and the unfathomable ocean! It seemed, however, that we had been preserved only to perish here; Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were so bad, that the physician declared they had no chance for recovery but by removing into the country; a house was therefore hired for them at the distance of about two miles from the town, which belonged to the master of the hotel, who engaged to furnish them with provisions, and the use of slaves. As they had already experienced their want of influence over slaves that had other masters, and the unfeeling inattention of these fellows to the sick, they bought each of them a Malay woman, which removed both the causes of their being so ill served; the women were there own property, and the tenderness of the sex, even here, made them good nurses. While these preparations were making, they received an account of the death of Tupia, who sunk at once after the loss of the boy, whom he loved with the tenderness of a parent.