To which is added,
An APPENDIX. Containing the JOURNAL of a VOYAGE to the NORTH POLE, by
the Hon. Commodore PHIPPS, and Captain LUTWIDGE.
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VOLUME THE FOURTH.
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LONDON:
Printed for F. NEWBERY, the Corner of St. Paul’s Church-Yard.
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M DCC LXXIII.
CAPTAIN
COOK’s
VOYAGE
ROUND THE WORLD.
In 1768, 1769, 1770 and 1771.
The short intercourse which the English gentlemen had with the
inhabitants of New Holland, prevented them from obtaining so perfect a
knowledge of the language of these people as could have been wished;
but, as it is an object too curious to be passed over in silence, we
shall give our readers the most particular account that could be
procured. They articulated their words very distinctly, though they made
a great motion with their lips when they were speaking, and their
utterance was rather vociferous, particularly when they intended to shew
their disapprobation of any thing. When they were pleased, they would
manifest their satisfaction by saying _hee_, with a long flexion of the
voice, in a loud and shril tone. They frequently repeated the word
_tut_, when in company with the English, several times together, which
was supposed to be an expression of astonishment and admiration; upon
the whole, their language was neither harsh nor inharmonious, as will
appear from the following vocabulary.
A VOCABULARY of the language of the inhabitants of NEW HOLLAND.
Wageegee, _The head_.
Eiyamoac, _The crown of the head_.
Moree, _The hair of the head_.
Walloo, _The temples_.
Peete, _The forehead_.
Meul, _The eyes_.
Garbar, _The eye-brows_.
Melea, _The ears_.
Bonjoo, _The nose_.
Yembe, _The lips_.
Mulere, _The teeth_.
Unjar, _The tongue_.
Tacal, _The chin_.
Waller, _The beard_.
Doomboo, _The neck_.
Morcol, _The throat_.
Coyor, _The breast_.
Gippa, _The belly_.
Mocoo, _The back_.
Aco, _The arms_.
Mangal, _The hands_.
Eboorbalga, _The thumb_.
Nakil, _The little finger_.
Pongo, _The knees_.
Peegoorga, _The legs_.
Edamal, _The feet_.
Kolke, _The nails_.
Bamma, _A man_.
Mootjel, _A woman_.
Dunjo, _A father_.
Tumurree, _A son_.
Tennapuke, _The hole made in the nostrils for the reception of
the bone ornament_.
Cotta, _A dog_.
Poteea, _Fish_.
Putai, _A turtle_.
Tabugga, _A fly_.
Walboolbool, _A butterfly_.
Zoocoo, _Wood_.
Maianang, _Fire_.
Poorai, _Water_.
Poapoa, _Earth_.
Galan, _The sun_.
Wulgar, _The clouds_.
Kere, _The sky_.
Boota, _To eat_.
Chucula, _To drink_.
Marra, _To go_.
Mingoore, _To dance_.
Mailelel, _To swim_.
Aibudje, _To yawn_.
Poona, _To sleep_.
Wonananio, _Asleep_.
Tocaya, _Sit down_.
Eya & ba, _That or this_.
Te, _A_, _or the_.
We shall now proceed to give an account of their passage from New South
Wales to New Guinea, with a recital of the incidents which happened on
their landing on the last mentioned country.----Early in the morning of
the 24th of August 1770, the cable broke near the ring, in the attempt
to weigh the anchor; on which another anchor was dropped, which
prevented the ship’s driving. As the loss of an anchor might have been
attended with future ill consequences, the boats were sent to sweep for
it; but their first attempt being unsuccessful, they were dispatched
again in the afternoon, when it was found, and the ship being brought up
to it, they weighed it; yet, unfortunately, just as they were going to
ship it, the hawser slipped, and all their labour was frustrated.
Determined, however, not to lose the anchor, they re-applied their
endeavours on the following morning, when they were attended with
success.
Soon after the anchor was weighed, the ship got under sail, steering
north-west, and in a few hours one of the boats, which was a-head, made
the signal for shoal-water. The ship instantly brought to, with all her
sails standing, and a survey being taken of the sea around her, it was
found that she had met with another narrow escape, as she was almost
encompassed with shoals; and was likewise so situated between them, that
she must have struck before the boat’s crew had made the signal, if she
had been half the length of a cable on either side. In the afternoon she
made sail with the ebb tide, and got out of danger before sun-set, when
she brought to for the night.
The meeting with these shoals having determined the Captain to alter his
intended course, he sailed again the next morning (Sunday the 26th) and
soon got into deep water. They now steered a westward course, and, as no
land was within sight, held it on till the dusk of the evening, when
they shortened sail, and made opposite tacks during the night. The next
morning they pursued their voyage, again shortening sail at night, and
tacking till day-break of the 28th, when they steered due north, in
search of New Guinea.
They now observed many parts of the sea covered with a kind of brown
scum, to which the sailors gave the name of Spawn. It is formed of an
incredible number of minute particles, each of which, when seen through
the microscope, was found to consist of a considerable number of tubes,
and these tubes were subdivided into little cells. The scum being burnt,
and yeilding no smell like what is produced by animal substances, it was
concluded that it was of the vegetable kind. This scum, which has been
often seen on the coast of Brazil, generally makes its appearance near
the land.--A bird, which is called the Noddy, was found this evening
among the rigging of the ship. Land having been seen this day from the
mast-head, they stood off and on all night, and at day-break they sailed
towards it with a brisk gale.
Between six and seven o’clock they had sight of a small island, distant
about three miles from the main land, which has already been
distinguished by the names of St. Bartholomew, and Whermoysen. It is a
very flat island, clothed with trees, among which is the cocoa-nut; and
was judged to be inhabited, by the smoke of fires which were seen on
several parts of it. The boats were now sent out to sound, as the water
was shallow; but as the ship, in sailing two leagues, had found no
increase in its depth, signals were made for the boats to return on
board, and the vessel stood out to sea till midnight, and then tacked,
and stood in for land till the morning. When they were about four
leagues distant from it, they had sight of it from the deck, and its
appearance was still flat and woody. Abundance of the brown scum was
still seen on the surface of the sea, and the Tars, convinced that it
was not spawn, gave it the whimsical name of Sea-saw-dust.
The ship now held a northward course, barely within sight of land, till
the 3d of September; and as the water was but just deep enough to
navigate the vessel, many unsuccessful attempts were made to bring her
near enough to get on shore: it was therefore determined to land in one
of the boats, while the ship kept plying off and on.
In consequence of this resolution, on the 3d of September, the Captain,
accompanied by Messrs. Banks and Solander, and attended by the boat’s
crew and Mr. Banks’s servants, set out in the pinnace; but when they
came within two hundred yards of the shore the water was so shallow,
that they were obliged to leave the boat, in the care of two of the
sailors, and wade to land. They were no sooner clear of the water, than
they saw several prints of human feet on the sand, below
high-water-mark, from whence it was evident, that the natives had been
very lately there. About one hundred yards from the water there was a
thick wood, along the borders of which they walked till they arrived on
the banks of a brook of water, on which was situated a fine grove of
cocoa-nut trees, which abounded with fruit.
At a small distance from the trees stood an Indian hut, which had been
thatched with their leaves, of which some yet remained; and round the
hut were scattered many cocoa-nut-shells, the fruit of which seemed to
have been lately gathered. Not far from this grew the bread-fruit tree,
and a number of plantains.
Our adventurers were now near a quarter of a mile from the pinnace, when
three of the natives ran out of the woods, about one hundred yards
beyond them, shouting in the most violent manner. They instantly ran
towards our countrymen, the first of the three throwing something out of
his hand, which flew on one side of him, burning in the same manner as
gunpowder, but making no noise, while the other two threw their lances.
The English now fired; when the natives stopped, and cast another lance,
on which the muskets were loaded with ball, and again fired.--The poor
Indians now ran off with expedition, having, most probably, been wounded
in the unequal conflict. Captain Cook and his companions, unwilling
farther to injure those who could not originally have intended them any
harm, retreated hastily to the boat, while the men, that had been left
in the care of her, made signals that more of the natives were advancing
towards the coast; several of these were soon seen, and stood still, as
if waiting for the main body of their companions. Captain Cook and the
party having reached the boat, rowed a-breast of the natives, who by
this time were assembled to the number of about eighty. Their stature
was nearly the same with that of the inhabitants of New South Wales, but
their colour was not quite so dark: but, like them, they wore their hair
cropped short. During the survey that was taken of them, they continued
letting off their fires, a few at a time, in a kind of regular platoons;
they were discharged by means of a piece of stick, almost like a hollow
cane, which being swung sideways, produced fire and smoke exactly like
that occasioned by the firing of small arms. The crew on board the ship
saw this strange phenomenon, and thought the natives had fire-arms. The
gentlemen having satisfied their curiosity by attentively looking at
these people, fired some musquets above their heads, the balls from
which being heard to rattle among the trees, the natives deliberately
retired. The lances which had been thrown soon after the gentlemen
landed were made of a reed or bamboo cane, and the points were made of
hard wood, barbed in several places; it is imagined, that these lances
were discharged by means of a throwing stick, as they flew with great
swiftness above sixty yards.
When this party returned to the ship, some of the officers entreated the
Captain to send men on shore to cut down the cocoa-nut trees, in order
to procure the nuts; but this, with equal wisdom and humanity, he
refused; sensible that the poor Indians, who could ill brook even the
landing of a small party, on their coast, would risk their lives, and of
course sacrifice them, in defence of their property. The whole coast of
this country is low-land, but cloathed with a richness of trees and
herbage, which exceeds all description.
On Monday, the 3d of September, 1770, the ship got under sail, and early
in the morning of the 6th passed two small islands, on the latter of
which Captain Cook would have landed, but as they had then only ten
fathom water, and as the ground was rocky and the wind blew fresh, he
might have endangered the safety of the ship. They now sailed at a
moderate rate, with various soundings, till three o’clock the next
morning, after which they had no ground with one hundred and twenty
fathom. Before noon they had sight of land, which was conjectured to be
either the Arrou Islands, or Timor Laoet; but they are not accurately
laid down in any of the charts hitherto published.
On the evening of the 9th they saw what had the appearance of land, and
the next morning were convinced that the first land they had seen was
Timor, and the last Timor Laoet. The ship stood off and on during the
night, when a number of fires were seen on the island, and the next
morning smoke was seen in several places, from whence it was conjectured
that the place was well peopled. The land near the shore was covered
with high trees, not unlike pines; farther back were cocoa-trees and
mangroves: there were many salt-water creeks, and several spots of
ground which appeared to have been cleared by art; and the whole country
rose, by gradual slopes, into hills of a very considerable height.
As the land and sea breezes were now very slight, they continued in
sight of the island for two days, when it was observed that the hills
reached, in many places, quite to the sea coast, and where that was not
the case, there were large and noble groves of the cocoa-nut tree, which
ran about a mile up the country, at which distance great numbers of
houses and plantations were seen: the plantations were surrounded with
fences, and extended nearly to the summits of the most lofty hills, yet
neither the natives nor cattle were seen on any of them, which was
thought a very extraordinary circumstance. Fine groves of the fan-palm
shaded the houses from the rays of the sun.
On the 16th they had sight of the little island called ROTTE; and the
same day saw the island SEMAU, at a distance to the southward of Timor.
The island of Rotte is chiefly covered with brushy wood without leaves;
but there are a number of fan-palm trees on it, growing near the sandy
beaches; and the whole consists of alternate hills and vallies. The
island of Semau is not so hilly as Timor, but resembles it greatly in
other respects.
At ten o’clock this night a dull reddish light was seen in the air, many
parts of which emitted rays of a brighter colour, which soon vanished,
and were succeeded by others of the same kind. This phenomenon, which
reached about ten degrees above the horizon, bore a considerable
resemblance to the Aurora Borealis, only that the rays of light which it
emitted had no tremulous motion. It was surveyed for two hours, during
which time its brightness continued undiminished.
As the ship was now clear of all the islands which had been laid down in
such maps as were on board, they made sail during the night, and were
surprized the next morning at the sight of an island to the west
south-west, which they flattered themselves was a new discovery. Before
noon they had sight of houses, groves of cocoa-nut trees, and large
flocks of sheep. This was a welcome sight to people whose health was
declining for want of refreshments; and it was instantly resolved to
attempt the purchase of what they stood so much in need of. The second
Lieutenant was immediately dispatched in the pinnace, in search of a
landing-place; and he took with him such things as it was thought might
be acceptable to the natives.
During Mr. Gore’s absence, the people on board saw two men on horseback
upon the hills, who frequently stopped to take a view of the vessel. The
Lieutenant soon returned, with an account that he had entered a little
cove, near which stood a few houses: that several men advanced, and
invited him to land; and that they conversed together as well as they
could by signs. He reported that these people were very like the Malays,
both in person and dress; that they had no other arms but a knife, which
each of them wore stuck in his girdle.
As the Lieutenant could not find any place in which the ship might come
to an anchor, he was dispatched again with money and goods, to buy such
necessaries as were immediately wanted for those who were sick. Dr.
Solander attended the Lieutenant, and, during their absence, the ship
stood on and off the shore. Soon after the boat had put off, two other
horsemen were seen from the ship, one of whom had a laced hat on, and
was dressed in a coat and waistcoat, of the fashion of Europe. These men
rode about on shore, taking little notice of the boat, but regarding the
ship with the utmost attention. As soon as the boat reached the shore,
some other persons on horseback, and many on foot, hastened to the spot,
and it was observed that some cocoa-nuts were put into the boat, from
whence it was concluded, that a traffick had commenced with the natives.
A signal being made from the boat, that the ship might anchor in a bay
at some distance, she immediately bore away for it.
When the Lieutenant came on board, he reported that he could not
purchase any cocoa-nuts, as the owner of them was absent, and that what
he had brought were given him; in return for which he had presented the
natives with some linen. The method by which he learnt that there was a
harbour in the neighbourhood, was by the natives drawing a kind of rude
map on the sand, in which the harbour, and a town near it were
represented; it was likewise hinted to him that fruit, fowls, hogs, and
sheep, might be there obtained in great abundance. He saw several of the
principal inhabitants of the island, who wore chains of gold about their
necks, and were dressed in fine linen. The word _Portuguese_ being
frequently repeated by the Indians, it was conjectured, that some
natives of Portugal were on the island, and one of the boat’s crew being
of that kingdom, he spoke to the islanders in his own language, but he
soon found that they had only learnt a few words, of which they did not
know the meaning. While the natives were endeavouring to represent the
situation of the town near the harbour, one of them, in order to be more
particular in directions, informed the English that they would see
something, which he endeavoured to describe by placing his fingers
across each other; and the Portuguese sailor took it for granted, that
he could mean nothing but a cross. When the boat’s crew were on the
point of returning to the ship, the gentleman who had been seen on
horseback in the dress of Europe came down to the beach; but the
Lieutenant did not think it proper to hold a conference with him,
because he had left his commission on board the ship.
In the evening, when the ship had entered the bay to which they had been
recommended, an Indian town was seen at a small distance; upon which a
jack was hoisted on the fore-top-mast head: presently afterwards three
guns were fired, and Dutch colours were hoisted in the town: the ship,
however, held on her way, and came to an anchor at seven in the evening.
The colours being seen hoisted on the beach the next morning, the
Captain concluded, that the Dutch had a settlement on the island: he
therefore dispatched the second Lieutenant, to acquaint the Governor, or
other principal resident, who they were, and that the ship had put in
for necessary refreshments. The Lieutenant having landed, he was
received by a kind of guard of something more than twenty Indians, armed
with muskets, who having taken down the colours from the beach,
proceeded without the least military order; and thus escorted him to the
town where the colours had been hoisted the preceding evening.
The Lieutenant was now conducted to the Raja, or King of the island, to
whom, by means of a Portuguese interpreter, he made known his business.
The Raja said, he was ready to supply the ship with the necessary
refreshments; but that he could not trade with any other people but the
Dutch, with whom he was in alliance, without having first obtained their
consent; but that he would make application to the Dutch Agent, who was
the only white man among them. To this Agent, whose name was Lange, and
who proved to be the person that was seen from the ship in the European
dress, a letter was dispatched; and in a few hours he came to the town,
behaved politely to the Lieutenant, and told him, he might buy what he
thought proper of the inhabitants of the island.
This offer being freely made, and readily accepted, the Raja and Mr.
Lange intimated their wishes to go on board the ship, and that two of
the boat’s crew might be left as hostages for their safe return. The
Lieutenant gratified both these requests, and took them on board just
before dinner was served. It was thought that they would have sat down
without ceremony; but, after some hesitation, the Raja intimated his
doubts, whether, being a black, they would permit him to sit down with
them. The politeness of the officers soon removed his scruples, and the
greatest good humour and festivity prevailed among them. As Dr.
Solander, and another gentleman on board, were tolerable proficients in
Dutch, they acted as interpreters between Mr. Lange and the officers,
while some of the sailors, who understood Portuguese, conversed with
such of the Raja’s attendants as spoke that language. The chief part of
the dinner was mutton, which the Raja having tasted, he begged an
English sheep, and the only one which they had left was given him: he
then asked for a dog, and Mr. Banks gave him his grey-hound; and a
spying-glass was presented to him, on Mr. Lange’s intimating that it
would be acceptable.
The visitors now told Captain Cook, that there was great plenty of
fowls, hogs, sheep and buffaloes on the island, numbers of which should
be conveyed to the sea shore on the following day, that he might
purchase what was necessary for the recovery of the sick, and for sea
stores. This welcome news gave great spirits to the company, and the
bottle went so briskly round, that Mr. Lange and his companions became
almost intoxicated: they had, however, the resolution to express a
desire to depart, before they were quite drunk. When they came upon
deck, the marines were under arms to receive them; and the Raja
intimating, that he should be glad to see them exercise, the Captain
gave orders that he should be indulged, and three rounds were fired: he
was equally pleased and surprized at their manœuvres, and particularly
charmed when they cocked their firelocks, exclaiming violently, “that
all the locks made but one click.” This being ended, Messrs. Solander
and Banks went ashore with the visitors, who were saluted at their
departure with nine guns, which they returned with three cheers.
When they came to the town, the English gentlemen tasted their palm
wine, which was sweet, and not unpleasant: it is made of the fresh juice
of the tree, without being fermented. The houses of the natives
consisted of nothing more than a floor of boards, over which was a roof
of thatch, supported by pillars about four feet in height.
On the following day the Captain, attended by several gentlemen, went on
shore to return the Raja’s visit; but their principal intention was, to
buy the refreshments which had been mentioned the preceding day. When
they landed, they were chagrined to find, that the cattle had not been
driven down to the beach. They went on to the town, where they observed,
that the house of assembly, and some few other houses which had been
built by the Dutch East India Company, were distinguished from the
houses of the natives by having a piece of wood, almost in the shape of
cows horns, fixed at each end of the roof; and these they concluded were
what the Portuguese sailor had imagined to be crosses, from the Indian
having crossed his fingers when he was describing the town.
The Raja was at the house of assembly, surrounded by many of his
principal subjects; and Mr. Lange also attended. Captain Cook having
informed them, that he had loaded his boat with goods, which he wished
to exchange for necessary refreshments, permission was given him to land
his effects. The Captain now endeavoured to make an agreement for the
hogs, sheep, and buffaloes, which were to be paid for in cash; but this
business was no sooner hinted at than Mr. Lange took his leave, having
first told the Captain, that he must make his agreement with the
natives; and adding, that he had received a letter from the Governor of
Concordia, in Timor, the contents of which should be disclosed at his
return.
As they had now no fresh provisions on board, the gentlemen were
unwilling to return to the ship before they had dined; they therefore
requested the Raja’s permission to buy a small hog and some rice, and
hoped he would order his people to dress the dinner. To this the Raja
very obligingly replied, that if the gentlemen had stomachs to eat of
Indian cookery, he would have the honour of considering them as his
guests. A dinner being thus procured, the Captain sent off the boat to
bring liquors from the ship.
Late in the afternoon the company sat down on mats, which had been
spread for them on the floor, having been first conducted to a servant,
who had a vessel made of the leaves of the fan-palm, containing water to
wash their hands, in which the Indian assisted them. Having waited some
time for the Raja, they enquired the reason of his absence, and were
informed, that the person who gave the entertainment never partook of
it; but that the Raja was ready to come and taste of what was provided,
if the gentlemen entertained any idea that the meat was unwholesome:
having assured the natives, that they did not harbour any such
suspicion, they began their dinner, which consisted of pork and rice,
very excellent of their kinds, served up in thirty-six dishes, and three
earthen bowls filled with a kind of broth, in which the pork had been
boiled: the spoons were formed of leaves, but were so small, that the
hunger of the guests would scarcely allow them patience to use them.
When dinner was ended, the Captain invited the Raja to drink wine with
him; but this he declined, saying, that the man who entertained company
should never get drunk with his guests, and that the only certain way to
avoid drunkenness, was to refrain from tasting the liquor. The gentlemen
left the remains of their dinner to their servants and the boat’s crew,
who not being able to eat it all, the Raja’s female servants, who came
to take away the utensils, insisted that they should take with them all
that remained.
When the bottle had circulated some time, Captain Cook began to enquire
after the cattle that were promised to be driven down to the beach; when
Mr. Lange informed him, that in the letter which he had received from
the Governor of Concordia, instructions were given, that if the ship
should touch at the island, and be in want of provisions, she should be
supplied; but that he was not to permit her to remain longer than was
absolutely necessary: that no presents were to be made to the natives of
low rank, nor even left with their superiors to be divided among them
after the ship had sailed: but, he added, that any trifling civilities
received from the Indians, might be acknowledged by a present of beads,
or other articles of very small value. It is a very probable conjecture,
that the whole of this story was of Mr. Lange’s own manufacture, and
solely calculated to draw all the presents of any value into his own
pocket.
Soon after this the Captain was informed, that some sheep had been
driven down to the beach; but had been conveyed away before the men
could get money from the ship to pay for them; and that not a single hog
or buffaloe had been driven down: but that a small number of fowls, and
a quantity of the palm-syrup had been bought. Heartily vexed to be thus
disappointed of the chief articles which were wanted, the Captain
remonstrated with Mr. Lange, who told him, that if he and his officers
had gone to the spot, they might have purchased any thing they pleased;
but that the Indians imagined, the seamen would impose on them with
counterfeit money.
This story was no more credited than the former; but not to lose more
time in a case of such urgency, the Captain instantly repaired to the
beach; but there were no cattle to be bought. During his absence Lange
informed Mr. Banks, that the Indians were offended, that the seamen had
not offered gold for what they had to sell, and that no other metal
would purchase their commodities: but Mr. Banks, disdaining to hold
farther conversation with a man who had been guilty of such repeated
subterfuges, left him abruptly. Some hours before this, the Raja had
assigned a much more probable reason for the cattle not being brought to
the beach, saying, that the buffaloes were too far up the country to be
driven thither in the time. In the evening the gentlemen returned to the
ship, not a little displeased at their disappointment.
On the 20th the Captain and doctor Solander went again on shore, and
while the latter proceeded to the town in search of Lange, the Captain
staid on the beach, with a view to buy cattle. At this place was an old
man, who had been distinguished by the name of the prime minister,
because he appeared to be invested with considerable authority; and the
Captain now presented him with a spying-glass, in order to make a friend
of him. At present there was nothing brought for sale but a small
buffaloe, for which five guineas were demanded. Tho’ the Captain knew
that this was double its value, yet he bid three guineas, as he was
willing to begin dealing at any rate: the person who had it to sell
said, he could not take the money till the Raja had been informed what
was offered; on which a man was sent to him, who soon came back with a
message, that five guineas would be the lowest price: this the Captain
refused to give; on which a second messenger was dispatched, who staying
a long time, Captain Cook was anxiously expecting his return, when he
saw Dr. Solander coming towards the beach, escorted by more than a
hundred persons, some of whom had lances in their hands, and the rest
were armed with muskets. When the Doctor arrived at the marketing-place,
he informed the Captain, that Lange had interpreted to him a message
from the Raja, the substance of which was, that the natives were averse
to all traffick with the English, because they would not give above half
the real worth of the things which were offered for sale; and that all
trading whatever should be prohibited after that day.
A native of Timor, whose parents were Portuguese, came down with this
party, and delivered to the Captain what was pretended to be the order
of the Raja, and which was in substance the same as what Lange had told
Dr. Solander; but it was afterwards discovered, that this man was a
confederate of Lange’s, in the scheme of extortion. The English
gentlemen had at the same time no doubt, but that the supposed order of
the Raja was a contrivance of these men; and while they were debating
how they should act in this critical conjuncture, anxious to bring the
affair to a speedy issue, the Portuguese began to drive away such of the
natives as had brought palm-syrup and fowls to sell, and others who were
now bringing sheep and buffaloes to the market.
Just at this juncture Captain Cook happening to look at the old man who
had been distinguished by the name of prime minister, imagined that he
saw in his features a disapprobation of the present proceedings; and,
willing to improve the advantage, he grasped the Indian’s hand, and gave
him an old broad sword. This well-timed present produced all the good
effects that could be wished: the prime minister was enraptured at so
honourable a mark of distinction, and, brandishing his sword over the
head of the impertinent Portuguese, he made both him, and a man who
commanded the party, sit down behind him on the ground. The whole
business was now accomplished: the natives, eager to supply whatever was
wanted, brought their cattle in for sale, and the market was soon
stocked. For the first two buffaloes Captain Cook gave ten guineas; but
he afterwards purchased them by way of exchange, giving a musket for
each; and at this rate he might have bought any number he thought
proper. There seems to be no doubt but that Lange had a profit out of
the first two that were sold, and that his reason for having said that
the natives would take nothing but gold for their cattle, was, that he
might the more easily share in the produce. Captain Cook purchased of
the natives of this island some hundred gallons of palm-syrup, a small
quantity of garlick, a large number of eggs, some limes and cocoa-nuts,
thirty dozen of fowls, three hogs, six sheep, and nine buffaloes.
Having at length obtained these necessary refreshments, Captain Cook
prepared for sailing from this place; but before we attend him on his
voyage, it may be proper to give a description of the island, with an
account of its produce, and the customs and manners of its inhabitants.
The island of SAVU is situated in 10 degrees 35 minutes south latitude,
and 237 degrees 30 minutes west longitude, and has hitherto been very
little known, or very imperfectly described. Its length is between
twenty and thirty miles; but its breadth could not be ascertained by
Captain Cook, who saw only the north side of it. The harbour in which
the ship lay was called Seba, from a district of the country so
denominated; and there are two other bays on different parts of the
island. At the time the Endeavour lay there it was near the end of the
dry season, when it had not rained for almost seven months, nor was
there a running stream of fresh water to be seen, and the natives were
supplied only by small springs, situated at a distance up the country:
yet even in this dry season the appearance of the island was enchanting
beyond description. Near the coast the land is level, and well clothed
with the palm, called _Arecas_, and cocoa-nut trees: farther off the
ground rises in the most gradual ascent, and is covered with fan
palm-trees even to the tops of the hills, so as to present a regular
grove to the eye. The rains in this country cease in March or April, and
fall again in October or November: and these rains produce abundance of
indico, millet, and maize, which grow beneath the noblest trees in the
universe.
Besides these articles, the island produces tobacco, cotton, betle,
tamarinds, limes, oranges, mangoes, Guinea corn, rice, callevances, and
water melons. A trifling quantity of cinnamon was seen, and some
European herbs, such as garlic, fennel, cellery and marjoram: besides
which, there are fruits of various kinds, and particularly the _blimbi_,
which has a sharp taste, and is said to be a very fine pickle, but it is
not eaten raw; its length is from three to four inches, it is nearly as
thick as a man’s thumb, of an oval form, covered with a very thin skin
of a light green, and contains a number of seeds ranged in the shape of
a star.
Several buffaloes were seen on this island, which were almost as large
as an ox; and from a pair of enormous horns of this animal which Mr.
Banks saw, it was conjectured, that some of them were much larger; yet
they did not weigh more than half as much as an ox of the same apparent
size, having lost the greater part of their flesh through the late dry
weather; the meat however was juicy, and of a delicate flavour. The
horns of these animals bend backwards, they have no dewlaps, nor scarce
any hair on their skins, and their ears are remarkably large. The other
tame animals on the island are dogs, cats, pigeons, fowls, hogs, goats,
sheep, asses and horses.
Few of the horses are above twelve hands high, yet they are full of
mettle, and pace naturally in an expeditious manner: the natives ride
them with a halter only. The hogs of this country, are fed on the hulks
of rice, and palm-syrup mixed with water, and are remarkably fine and
fat. The sheep are not unlike a goat, and are therefore called cabritos;
their ears, which are long, hang down under their horns; their noses are
arched, and their bodies are covered with hair. The fowls are of the
game kind, and though they are rather large, the hen lays a very small
egg. The sea-coast furnishes the inhabitants with turtle, but not in any
great abundance.
The natives of the island of Savu are rather below the middle stature;
their hair is black and strait, and persons of all ranks, as well those
that are exposed to the weather, as those that are not, have one general
complexion, which is the dark brown. The men are well formed and
sprightly, and their features differ much from each other: the women, on
the contrary, have all one set of features, and are very short and broad
built.
The men have silver pincers hanging by strings round their necks, with
which they pluck out the hair of their beards; and both men and women
root out the hair that grows under the arms: the hair of the women’s
heads is tied in a club behind, while that of the men is fastened by a
comb to the top of the head: the men wear a kind of turban on the head,
formed of muslin, cotton, or even silk handkerchiefs; but the heads of
the women have no covering.
The dress of the men consists of two pieces of cotton cloth, one of
which is bound round the middle, and the lower edge of it being drawn
pretty tight between the legs, the upper edge is left loose, so as to
form a kind of pocket, in which they carry their knives and other
things: the other piece being passed under the former, on the back of
the wearer, the ends of it are carried over the shoulders, and tucked
into the pocket before. The women draw the upper edge of the piece round
the waist tight, while the lower edge, dropping to the knees, makes a
kind of petticoat: the other piece of cloth is fastened across the
breast, and under the arms. This cloth, which is manufactured by the
natives, is died blue while in the yarn; and, as it is of various
shades, its look when it comes to be worn is very beautiful.
The ornaments of the natives of Savu are very numerous, and consist of
rings, beads worn round the neck and on the wrists, and chains of
plaited gold wire, likewise worn round the neck: these things were worn
by both sexes; but the women had likewise girdles of beads round their
waists, which helped to keep up the petticoat. Many of the boys wore
brass wire passed several times round the arms, above the elbow: and
some of the men, who were said to be the sons of the Rajas, wore rings
of ivory, above an inch thick, and two inches broad, on the same part of
the arm. One man possessed a silver-headed cane, supposed to have been a
present from the Dutch East India Company, as their mark was engraven on
the silver. The Raja, and the principal officer of his houshold, were
commonly habited in night gowns of ordinary chintz; but one time, when
Captain Cook waited on the Raja, he was dressed in a black stuff robe.
Most of the men had their names marked on their arms, and the women a
black ornament just under the bend of the elbow, impressed so that it
could not be rubbed out. On enquiry it was found, that this practice had
been common among the Indians long before they were visited by any
Europeans; and it was said, that the necks and breasts of the
inhabitants of the adjacent islands were marked with circles.
It could not be certainly known how these black marks were impressed;
but the following extract from M. Bossu’s account of some Indians who
dwell on the banks of the Akanza, a river in North America, will afford
a very probable conjecture how the operation is performed.--“The Akanzas
(says this writer) have adopted me, and, as a mark of my privilege, have
imprinted the figure of a roe-buck upon my thigh, which was done in this
manner: an Indian having burnt some straw, diluted the ashes with water,
and, with this mixture, drew the figure upon my skin; he then retraced
it by pricking the lines with needles, so as at every juncture just to
draw the blood, and the blood mixing with the ashes of the straw, forms
a figure which can never be effaced.”
The houses on the island of Savu are of different lengths, from twenty
feet to four hundred, according to the rank of the inhabitant, and are
fixed on posts about four or five feet from the ground. The houses are
generally divided into three rooms of equal size, the center room being
set apart for the use of the women; and sometimes smaller rooms are
enclosed from the sides of the building, the whole of which is thatched
with the leaves of the palm-tree.
The natives eat of all the tame animals which the island produces, but
they prefer the hog to all the rest; next to hogs flesh they admire that
of the horse, to which succeeds the Buffalo, and then the poultry; and
they like the flesh of cats and dogs much better than that of goats and
sheep. Fish is not eaten but by the poorer people, nor even by them, but
when some business demands their attendance near the sea-coast; and then
each man has a small casting net, which he wears tied round his body
when he has not occasion to use it.
The fan-palm is the most remarkable, and most useful tree that grows on
the island, its uses being equally great and various: soon after the
buds put forth the natives cut them, and tying under them little baskets
formed of the leaves of the tree, a liquor drops into them, which has
the taste of a light wine, and is the common liquor of all the
inhabitants. The men climb the trees twice a day to bring down this
liquor; but as a great deal more is thus obtained than can be consumed
by drinking, a part of the remainder is made into coarse sugar, very
excellent of its kind; and the rest is boiled in earthen pots, till it
is reduced to a syrup, resembling treacle, but of a much finer flavour;
and with this syrup the natives fatten their hogs and dogs. The leaves
of the tree are applied to the various uses of making tobacco pipes,
umbrellas, cups, baskets, and the thatching of houses. The fruit of this
tree is nearly of the size of a full grown turnip; but the natives are
not fond of it, nor do they suffer much of it to come to perfection, as
they wound the blossoms for the sake of the liquor that distils from
them; the kernels of the fruit must be eaten before it is ripe,
otherwise they are so hard, that the teeth will not penetrate them.
As wood for firing is very scarce on the island, the natives, by the
following method, make a very little of it answer the ends of cookery
and distillation. A hollow is dug under ground, in a direct line, about
two yards long, with a hole at each end, one of which is large and the
other small; the fire is put in at the largest hole, while the smaller
one serves for a draught. Circular holes are made through the earth,
which covers this cavity; and on these holes are set earthen pots, which
being large in the middle, and smaller towards the bottom, the fire acts
upon a considerable part of their surface. These pots contain, most
commonly, about eight or nine gallons each, and they are kept
continually boiling, with a very trifling quantity of fuel, such as a
palm-leaf, or a dry stalk; in this manner all their victuals are boiled,
as well as their syrup and sugar.
Both the men and women chew betle and areca, mixed with a sort of lime,
composed of shells and coral stones; and as they frequently add tobacco
to the other ingredients, and acquire this disgustful practice almost in
their infancy, there is not a sweet breath, or a sound set of teeth in
the whole island. They sometimes smoke tobacco, and the women,
particularly, swallow the smoke. Their pipes are made of the palm-leaf,
about the size of a goose quill, and half a foot long, in one end of
which they put the tobacco designed for smoking.
The island consists of five divisions, each of which has a Raja, or
chief Governor, of its own. These divisions are called TIMO, MASSARA,
REGEEUA, LAAI, and SEBA. It was on this last division that our English
adventurers went on shore: the Raja of which was between thirty and
forty years of age, and remarkable for his corpulency. He governs his
people with the most absolute authority, but takes on him very little of
the parade, or pomp of royalty. The prime minister, who has been
heretofore mentioned, appeared to be invested with great power, and
almost wholly to direct the actions of the Raja; yet, such were the
abilities and integrity of this man, that the people universally adored
him. When any dispute happens among the natives, it is instantly settled
by the Raja and his counsellors, in the most equitable and satisfactory
manner.
The history of this island depends chiefly on the authority of Mr.
Lange, the Dutch factor, who informed Captain Cook, that it was able to
raise seven thousand three hundred fighting men, on the shortest notice.
These are armed with lances, spears, muskets, targets, and pole-axes,
which last are not unlike a wood-bill, only that they are much heavier,
and have strait edges. The natives are so expert in the use of their
lances, that they will throw them with such force and exactness, as to
pierce a man through the heart at the distance of sixty or seventy
yards. Notwithstanding this skill and disposition for war, it is said,
that the Rajas have lived in the most perfect harmony for several ages.
While Captain Cook was on the island he saw a great gun before the
town-house, and some swivels and pateraroes; but the great gun, which
was almost consumed by rust, lay with the touch-hole to the ground, and
the swivels and pateraroes were not in their carriages. In the
town-house were a number of spears and targets, of as many different
sizes as there were weapons; and with these the natives were armed when
they came down with Dr. Solander, with a view to influence the market.
The insides of the muskets were almost destroyed by rust, though their
outsides were kept clean and bright: the men had very little, if any,
powder or ball in their cartridge-boxes; but a piece of paper was put
into each hole, as if they had been properly furnished. It has been
already mentioned, that they marched in the most irregular manner; and
each man brought with him a little tobacco, a fowl, or some other
trifle, for sale.
The inhabitants of Savu are divided into five ranks; the Rajas, the
land-owners, manufacturers, labourers, and slaves. The land-owners are
respected in proportion to the extent of their lands, and the number of
their slaves, which last are bought and sold with the estates to which
they belong; but when a slave is bought separately, a fat hog is the
price of the purchase. Though a man may sell his slave in this manner,
or convey him with his lands, yet his power over him extends no farther,
for he must not even strike him without the Raja’s permission. The
estates of these land-owners are of very different extent; for some of
them possess not above five slaves, and some five hundred. When a man of
rank goes abroad, one of his slaves follows him, with a silver hilted
sword or hanger, ornamented with horse hair tassels; while another is
furnished with a little bag, containing tobacco, betle, areca, and lime;
and even the Rajas themselves take no farther state upon them.
The natives of Savu entertain a veneration for antiquity, superior,
perhaps, to that of any other people in the world. Their principal boast
is a long line of venerable ancestors: the houses that have been well
tenanted for successive generations are held in the highest esteem; and
even the stones, which are worn smooth by having been sat upon for ages,
become valuable from that very circumstance: the man whose progenitors
have bequeathed him any of these stones, or whose opulence has enabled
him to purchase them, causes them to be ranged round his habitation, for
his servants and slaves to sit upon.
In the chief town of each district the Raja causes a huge stone to be
set up, as a monument of his reign. Thirteen such stones were seen in
the province of Seba, and the remains of many others, that have suffered
greatly by the wasting hand of time. These stones are all placed on the
top of a hill, and some of them are so enormously large, that it is
impossible to conceive by what contrivance they could have been placed
in such a situation, nor could any information in this respect be
obtained from the natives. From these monuments it is evident, that the
island has been regularly governed for a series of ages past.
On the death of a Raja, proclamation is made that all his subjects shall
hold a solemn festival; on which they proceed to the hill where these
stones are erected, and feast for several weeks or months, killing every
animal that can be found, to furnish out the treat, which is daily
served upon the monumental stones. When the whole stock is exhausted,
they are compelled to a severe fast; and when it happens that the feast
ends in the dry season, when they cannot get vegetables to eat, they
have no other subsistance than the palm syrup and water, till the few
animals that escape the general massacre have bred a sufficient number
for a fresh supply; except indeed that the adjacent districts may afford
some relief. The natives of Savu have an instrument with which they
clear the cotton of its seeds, which is only about seven inches in
height, and fourteen in length; but is constructed on common mechanical
principles. They have likewise a machine, with which they spin by hand,
in the same manner as the women of England did, before the use of
spinning-wheels was known. The yarn they make is dyed as
before-mentioned, and they were once observed to be dying some girdles
for the women, of a deep red colour.
The natives in general are robust and healthy, and had the appearance of
being long-lived. The small-pox has found its way to this island, and is
as much dreaded as the pestilence: when this disorder attacks any
person, he is carried to some spot at a great distance from any house,
where his food is conveyed to him by means of a long stick, for no one
will venture very near the invalid, who is thus left to take his chance
of life or death.
The island of Savu having been visited by the Portuguese almost at their
first sailing into this part of the world, they established a settlement
upon it; but in a little time they were succeeded by the Dutch, who,
though they did not formally possess themselves of the island, sent a
number of trading vessels to establish a commerce with the natives. It
is thought that the Dutch purchases are chiefly confined to provisions
for the supply of the Spice Islands, the inhabitants of which,
cultivating almost every spot of ground for the spice trade, breed but a
small number of cattle. A few years ago the Dutch East India Company
made an agreement with the several Rajas of the island, by which it was
covenanted, that a quantity of rice, maize, and calevances should be
annually furnished to the Dutch, who, in return, supply the Rajas with
arrack, cutlery wares, linen, silk, and some other things. Small
vessels, each of which is manned by ten Indians, are sent from Timor, to
bring away the maize and calevances, and a ship which brings the
articles which are furnished by the Dutch, receives the rice on board
once a year: and there being three bays on the coast, this vessel
anchors in each of them in its turn. The Rajas accept the Dutch articles
of commerce as a present; and they and their chief attendants drink
incessantly of the arrack till it is all gone. In the agreement
abovementioned, the Rajas stipulated, that a Dutch resident should be
constantly on the island, to observe that their part of the contract was
fulfilled.
The Dutch having thus concluded the treaty, sent Mr. Lange to act as
their resident, and a kind of assistant to him, whose father was a
Portuguese, and his mother a native of Timor, with one Frederick Craig,
whose father was a Dutchman, and his mother an Indian. Once every two
months Lange is attended by fifty slaves on horse-back, and in this
state visits each of the Rajas, and, if the crops are ripe, orders
vessels to convey them immediately to Timor, so that they are not even
housed on the island. It is a part of Lange’s business to persuade the
land-owners to plant, if he sees that there has been any neglect on
their part. He constantly takes with him a quantity of arrack, by the
help of which he does not fail of making advantageous bargains with the
Rajas.
Lange had been on this island ten years, during all which time he had
not seen a white person, except those who came annually in the Dutch
ship to carry off the rice. He is married to an Indian woman, a native
of the island of Timor, and he lives in the same manner as the
inhabitants of Savu, whose language he speaks better than any other;
like them too he sits on the ground and chews betle, and has so
perfectly adopted their manners, that he is an absolute Indian, except
in dress and complexion.
Mr. Craig is employed in teaching the children to write and read, and
instructing them in the principles of Christianity. The new testament, a
catechism, and some other small books of divinity, have been printed in
the language of Savu, and the adjacent islands, at the expence of the
Dutch. Mr. Craig said, there were six hundred Christians in the township
of Seba only; yet there is neither a church nor a clergyman throughout
the island.
The religion of such of the natives of Savu as have not embraced
Christianity, is a singular sort of Paganism, as every man makes choice
of his own God, and worships him according to his own fancy; so that the
variety of Deities, and the methods of adoring them, are scarcely fewer
than the number of inhabitants. The morality of these people, however,
is of the purest kind. A robbery is scarce ever committed, and a murder
is never perpetrated. When any disputes arise between the natives, they
instantly submit the point in debate to the decision of the Raja, and
rest perfectly satisfied with his determination. No man is permitted to
marry more than one wife; yet a violation of the marriage bed, or even
the crime of simple fornication, is almost wholly unknown among them.
Happy people! the purity of whose morals renders them fit objects of the
envy and emulation of the Christian world.
Of the islands in the neighbourhood of Savu, the principal is Timor,
which is annually visited by the Dutch residents on the other islands,
in order to make up their accounts. Some of the towns on the north side
of Timor are in the hands of the Portuguese; but the Dutch possess the
far greater proportion of the island, on which they have built a fort,
and erected several store-houses.
There are three small islands, called the Solars, which produce a great
abundance of the various necessaries of life, that are carried in small
vessels to the Dutch settlement on the island of Timor: these islands
are low and flat, and one of them has a commodious harbour.
Westward from the Solars lies the little island of Ende, which is yet in
the possession of the Portuguese, who have built a considerable town,
called Larntuca, on the north east point of it; and close to the town is
an harbour where ships may ride in safety.
The island of Rotte has a Dutch resident on it, whose business is
similar to that of Mr. Lange on the island of Savu: Rotte produces,
besides such things as are common to the other islands, a considerable
quantity of sugar, which is now made to a great degree of perfection.
There is likewise a small island lying to the westward of Savu, the
chief produce of which is areca-nuts, of which the Dutch receive, in
exchange for European commodities, as large a quantity every year as
will load two vessels.
A French ship was wrecked on the coast of Timor, about two years before
the Endeavour was in these seas. She had been lodged on the rock several
days, when the wind tore her to pieces in an instant, and the Captain,
with the greater number of the seamen, were drowned; but a Lieutenant
and about eighty men having reached the shore, travelled across the
country of Concordia, where their immediate necessities were relieved,
after which they returned to the wreck, in company with some Dutch and
Indians, who assisted them in recovering all their chests of bullion,
some of their guns, and other effects: which being done, they returned
to Concordia, where they remained several weeks; but, in this interval,
death made such havock among them, that not above half their number
remained to be sent to their native country, which was done as soon as a
vessel could be fitted out for that purpose.
To close the account of the island of Savu, it now only remains to give
the following specimen of the language of its inhabitants.
Specimen of the language of the inhabitants of the island of SAVU.
Momonne, _A man_.
Monama, _An old man_.
Monecopai, _A boy_.
Anawuneekee, _A child_.
Madda, _The eyes_.
Otaile, _The temples_.
Sivanga, _The nose_.
Tangarei, _The forehead_.
Cavarànga, _The cheeks_.
Vaio, _The tongue_.
Lacoco, _The neck_.
Dùloo, _The belly_.
Pagàvee, _The chin_.
Càmaccoò, _The arms_.
Wùlalea, _The hand_.
Roòtoo, _The knees_.
Baibo, _The legs_.
Duneeala, _The feet_.
Row, _Hair_.
Gnaca, _A dog_.
Vavee, _A hog_.
Doomba, _A sheep_.
Maio, _A cat_.
Doleela, _A bird_.
Dulloo, _An egg_.
Nudoo, _A fish_.
Unjoo, _A turtle_.
Vooe, _Fruit_.
Nai, _Tobacco_.
Yirroo, _Oranges_.
Arre, _Rice_.
Lodo, _The sun_.
Wurroo, _The moon_.
Booro, _Bread_.
Cova, _A coat_.
Capa, _A ship_.
Sooree, _Red_.
Bulla, _Black_.
Sao-lodo, _The morning_.
Munda-lodo, _The evening_.
O, _Yes_.
Gnaa, _To eat_.
Neenawei, _To drink_.
Ta eaco, _To walk_.
Ta rai, _To run_.
Ta mudje, _To talk_.
Ta bunge, _To sneeze_.
Isse, or usse, _One_.
Rooe, _Two_.
Tulloo, _Three_.
Uppa, _Four_.
Lumee, _Five_.
Unna, _Six_.
Petoo, _Seven_.
Aroo, _Eight_.
Saio, _Nine_.
Singooroo, _Ten_.
Singooroo isse, _Eleven_.
The Endeavour sailed from the island of Savu on the 21st of September
1770, and bent her course westward. In the afternoon of this day a
little flat island was discovered in 10 degrees 47 minutes south
latitude, and 238 degrees 28 minutes west longitude, which has not been
laid down in any of the charts hitherto published.
When the ship got clear of the several islands before-mentioned, there
was a continual swell of the sea from the south, which Captain Cook
imputed to the position of the coast of New South Wales, imagining it to
have determined the sea in that direction.
On the 28th they steered north-west the whole day, in order to get sight
of the land of Java; and on the 30th the Captain received from most of
the officers and seamen their respective journals of the voyage,
regarding which he advised them to observe the most profound secrecy:
and he likewise possessed himself of the log-book. In the night
following there was a storm of thunder and lightning, when the land of
Java was seen to the eastward by the brightness of the lightning. In the
morning they had sight of the island of Cracatoa, which is singular for
the height of its peak.
Early in the morning of the 2d of October, when the ship was in fifteen
fathom water, she was close in with the coast of Java, along which they
now steered. As their faithful Indian friend Tupia was at this time
extremely ill, the Captain dispatched a boat to the shore, to endeavour
to bring him some refreshing fruits, and likewise to procure grass for
the buffaloes. As soon as the boat landed, the inhabitants assisted the
seamen in cutting grass for the cattle, and in gathering a bunch of
plantains and a few cocoa-nuts, for which they received a shilling, and
which were brought off to the ship. The land of Java had a delightful
appearance, being every where well covered with trees.
This day they had sight of two Dutch vessels, and an officer being
dispatched to one of them, to learn any interesting intelligence, he
brought word back, that the Swallow had reached the English channel in
safety, that disputes were carried to great lengths at home, in regard
to the ministers, and in America, on account of taxes; and that the
Russians, Poles and Turks, were embroiled in a war. The officer said,
that the vessels were Dutch East Indiamen, bound from Batavia, one of
them to the coast of Malabar, and the other to the island of Ceylon: he
said likewise, that there was a kind of packet-boat, which he had been
told, was appointed to carry letters from such Dutch ships as came
thither to Batavia; but Captain Cook conjectured, that her business was
to examine such ships as should pass the Streight.
The ship had now been some hours at anchor; but a light breeze springing
up in the evening, they got under sail, and continued to proceed at a
slow rate during the night. On the 3d, in the morning, the Dutch
packet-boat was observed sailing after the Endeavour; but she bore away
again on the shifting of the wind.
This changing of the wind obliging the Endeavour to come to an anchor,
the master of the packet-boat came along-side of her, in one of the
boats belonging to the country, bringing with him rice-birds, monkies,
parrots, parroquets, ducks, fowls, turtle, and other things, with an
intention to sell them; but as the stock which had been laid in at Savu
was not yet consumed, and he had fixed very high prices on his
commodities, very few articles were purchased: the Captain, however,
bought twenty or thirty fowls, and a small turtle.
The master of the packet-boat had brought with him two books, in one of
which he wrote down the Captain’s name, and that of the vessel, to be
sent to the Governor and Council of the Indies; and in the other book he
requested that some of the gentlemen on board would likewise write down
the name of the vessel, with that of the Captain; where she came from,
to what port she was bound, and as many particulars respecting any
person on board, as themselves might think necessary, to satisfy the
curiosity of any of their friends who might afterwards enquire for them.
In this book many Portuguese vessels, and some of other countries had
made entries of the same kind; but a Lieutenant on board the Endeavour
having written the ship’s name, added only the words, “from Europe;” yet
of this the master of the packet took no other notice, than by saying he
was content with whatever they were pleased to write, which was intended
solely for the information of their friends.
They now weighed the anchor, and made repeated attempts to sail; but the
wind not blowing so as to enable the vessel to stem the current, she lay
to till the morning of the 5th, when a Dutch officer came along-side the
ship, and sent a printed paper to the Captain, in exceeding bad English;
the contents of which were to enquire,
1st, The ship’s name, and to what nation she belonged?
2d, Whether she came from Europe, or any other place?
3d, What place she had last departed from?
4th, To what place she was bound?
5th, How many ships belonging to the Dutch Company had been seen at the
last coast the ship had left, and their names?
6th, If one or more of these ships had been in company with the
Endeavour, and was or were sailed for that, or any other place?
7th, If, during the voyage, any thing remarkable had happened, or been
seen?
8th, If any ships had been seen and hailed at sea, or in the streight of
Sunda, and what they were?
9th, If they had brought any other news worthy of attention, from the
place whence the ship took her last departure; or if any thing else had
happened during the voyage, that was worth communicating.
These questions were undersigned, “Batavia, in the castle. By order of
the Governor General, and the Counsellors of India, J. BRANDER BUNGL,
Sec.”
It was observed, that the officer had many other papers of the same
kind, in French, Dutch, and other languages. Captain Cook did not think
proper to answer any of the above questions, except the first and the
fourth. When the Dutchman observed this, he said, that answers to the
other questions were not material; yet he seemed to contradict what he
had just advanced, by saying, that he must dispatch the paper to
Batavia, and that it would reach that place by noon on the following
day. This incident is particularly recorded, because the examining the
ships which sail through the streight, is said to be a piece of Dutch
policy of very modern date.
As soon as the Dutch officer was departed, the anchor was weighed; but
the ship was obliged to come to an anchor again in about four hours, for
want of wind to enable her properly to stem the current. A breeze soon
springing up, the vessel held on her way till the following morning,
when she was again obliged to be brought to an anchor, owing to the
rapidity of the current. This day and the next they weighed the anchor,
and brought to several times. On the 8th they weighed, and stood clear
of a large ledge of rocks, which they had been near running fowl of the
preceding day; but before noon this day they were once more obliged to
anchor near a little island, which was not laid down in any chart that
they had on board. It is one of those that bear the name of the Milles
isles; and Messrs Solander and Banks having landed upon it, collected a
few plants, and shot a bat which was a yard long, being measured from
the extreme points of the wings; they also killed a few plovers, in all
respects like the English golden plover. On this island, the breadth of
which does not exceed one hundred yards, and the length five hundred,
they found a house, and a little spot of cultivated ground, and on it
grew the _Palma Christi_, from which the West Indians make the castor
oil.
In a little time after the gentlemen came back to the snip, some Malays
came along-side, in a boat, bringing with them some pumpkins, dried
fish, and turtle for sale: one of the turtles, which weighed near one
hundred and fifty pounds, they sold for a dollar, and seemed to expect
the same piece of money for their pumpkins; but it being hinted to them
that a dollar was too much, they desired that one might be cut, and a
piece of it given to them: but this not being complied with, they at
length sold six and twenty pumpkins for a Portuguese petacka. When they
departed they intimated their wishes, that this transaction might not be
mentioned at Batavia.
The ship now made but slow way till night, when the land breeze
springing up, they sailed to the east south-east, and on the following
day, by the assistance of the sea breeze, they came to an anchor in the
road of Batavia. At this place they found a number of large Dutch
vessels, the Harcourt East Indiaman from England, which had lost her
passage to China, and two ships belonging to the private trade of our
India Company.
The Endeavour had no sooner anchored, than a ship was observed, with a
broad pendant flying, from which a boat was dispatched to demand the
name of the vessel, with that of the Commander, &c. To these enquiries
Captain Cook gave such answers as he thought proper, and the officer who
commanded the boat departed. This gentleman and the crew that attended
him were so worn down by the unhealthiness of the climate, that they
appeared but as the shadows of men; which the Captain deemed a sad
presage of the havock which death would soon make among his crew; yet at
present there was not one invalid on board, except the Indian Tupia: the
English tars, whose want of foresight and defiance of danger is
notorious, seemed not to entertain the least idea that even sickness
would attack a set of men so hardened as they were by different
climates; but alas! they had very little idea of the fatal contagion
which impregnates the air of Batavia.
The Captain now dispatched an officer to the Governor of the town, to
apologize for the Endeavour’s not saluting; for he had but three guns
proper for the purpose, except swivels, and he was apprehensive that
they would not be heard.
The ship was at this time so leaky, that she made about nine inches
water an hour, on the average; part of her false keel was gone; one of
her pumps was totally useless, and the rest so very much decayed, that
they could not last long. The officers and seamen concurring in opinion,
that the ship could not safely put to sea again in this condition, the
Captain resolved to solicit permission to heave her down; but as he had
learnt that this must be done in writing, he drew up a petition, and had
it translated into Dutch.
On Wednesday the 10th of October 1770, the Captain and the rest of the
gentlemen went on shore, and applied to the only English gentleman then
resident at Batavia: this gentleman, whose name was Leith, received his
countrymen in the politest manner, and entertained them at dinner with
great hospitality. Mr. Leith informed them, that a public hotel was kept
in the town, by order of the Dutch government, at which place merchants
and other strangers were obliged to lodge, and that the landlord of the
hotel was bound to find them warehouses for their goods, on the
condition of his receiving ten shillings on every hundred pounds of
their value; but that as the Endeavour was a King’s ship, her officers,
and the other gentlemen, might reside where they thought proper, only
asking leave of the Governor, whose permission would be instantly
obtained. Mr. Leith added, that they might live cheaper in this way than
at the hotel, if they had any person who spoke the Malay tongue, on whom
they could rely in the purchase of their provisions: but as there was no
such person among the whole ship’s crew, the gentlemen immediately
bespoke beds at the hotel.
In the afternoon Captain Cook attended the Governor General, who
received him politely, and told him to wait on the Council the next
morning, when his petition should be laid before them, and every thing
he solicited would be readily granted.
Late in the evening of this day there happened a most terrible storm of
thunder and lightning, accompanied with very heavy rain. In this storm
the main-mast of a Dutch East Indiaman was split and carried away by the
deck; and the main-top-mast and top-gallant-mast were torn to pieces; it
is supposed, that the lightning was attracted by an iron spindle at the
main-top-gallant-mast-head. The Endeavour, which was at a small distance
from the Dutch ship, escaped without damage, owing, in Captain Cook’s
opinion, to an electrical chain, which conducted the lightning over the
side of the vessel: and he recommends chains of the same kind to be
taken on board all ships, to whatever part of the globe they may be
bound. A centinel on board the Endeavour, who was charging his musket at
the time of the storm, had it shaken out of his hand, and the rammer-rod
was broken in pieces: the electrical chain looked like a stream of fire,
and the ship sustained a very violent shock.
On Tuesday the 11th Captain Cook waited on the gentlemen of the Council,
who informed him, that all his requests should be complied with. In the
interim, the other gentlemen made a contract with the master of the
hotel, to furnish them and their friends with as much tea, coffee, punch
and tobacco, as they might have occasion for, and to keep them a
separate table, for nine shillings a day, English money; but on the
condition that every person who should visit them, should pay at the
rate of four shillings and six pence for his dinner, and the same sum
for his supper and bed, if he chose to sleep at the hotel: they were
likewise to pay for every servant that attended them fifteen pence a
day.
It was soon discovered, that they had been vilely imposed on; for these
charges were above twice as much as would have been demanded at a
private house. They appeared to live elegantly, but at the same time
were but ill supplied. Their dinner consisted of fifteen dishes, all
served up at once; and their supper of thirteen; but of these, nine or
ten were of the most ordinary, because the cheapest, poultry, that could
be purchased; and even some of these dishes were observed to be served
up four times successively: a duck, which was hot at dinner, brought
cold in the evening; the next day it appeared in the form of a fricasee,
and was converted to forced meat at night. Our countrymen, however, only
fared as others had done before them: it was the constant custom of the
conscientious master of the hotel, to treat all his guests in the same
manner, when they first took up their residence at his house: if they
took no notice of it, all was well, for the landlord had the better
customers of them; if they remonstrated against such treatment, the
table was better and better supplied from time to time, till, in the
end, they had no reason to complain.
The gentlemen having found fault with their fare, were afterwards
supplied in a better manner; but Mr. Banks, not approving the conduct of
the master of the hotel, he hired lodgings for himself and his
attendants at the adjoining house, for which he agreed to pay five and
forty shillings a month: but here Mr. Banks was disappointed in the hope
he had formed of living retired; for scarce a Dutchman had occasion to
pass by the house, but he ran in without ceremony, to enquire what was
to be sold; for it is a very unusual thing at Batavia, for strangers who
are in a private capacity not to be furnished with some articles of
traffick. In this house no person was permitted to sleep, as a guest of
Mr. Banks, without his bed being separately paid for. It is the
universal custom here to hire a carriage; and Mr. Banks engaged two, for
which he paid eighteen shillings a day: these carriages are open
chaises, in which two persons sit commodiously, and are driven by a man
sitting on a kind of coach-box.
Their Indian friend Tupia had been till this time on board very
dangerously ill, yet persisted to refuse every medicine that was offered
him: Mr. Banks now sent for him to his house, in the hope that he might
recover his health. While he was in the ship, and even after he was put
into the boat, he was indisposed, and low spirited, in the utmost
degree; but the moment he came into the town, his whole frame appeared
as if re-animated. The houses, the carriages, the people, and many other
objects, were totally new to him and astonishment took possession of his
features at sights so wonderful: but if Tupia was astonished at the
scene, his boy, Tayota, was perfectly enraptured, dancing along the
streets in an extacy of joy, and examining the several objects as they
presented themselves, with the most earnest inquisitiveness and
curiosity.
Of all the circumstances which engaged the attention of Tupia, nothing
struck him so much as the vast variety of dresses worn by the
inhabitants of Batavia: he enquired the reason of what appeared so very
extraordinary in his eyes, and being informed that the people were of a
variety of nations, and that all were dressed according to the mode of
their own country, he requested permission to follow the fashion: this
request being readily complied with, a person was dispatched to the ship
for some South Sea cloth, with which he soon clothed himself in the
dress of the inhabitants of Otaheite. The people of Batavia, who had
seen an Indian, brought thither in M. Bougainville’s ship, named
Otourou, mistook Tupia for that man, and frequently enquired if he was
not the same.
As the necessary repairs of the ship were to be made at Ourust, Captain
Cook obtained an order to the superintendant of that island to receive
her; and he wrote to the Secretary of the Admiralty, an account of the
safe arrival of the Endeavour in the road of Batavia, and dispatched his
letter by a Dutch ship that was bound to Europe.
Captain Cook now applied to several persons to advance him money
sufficient to defray the expence of repairing the ship; but not one
could be found in the whole town who had the requisite sum in his
possession, or, if he had, was willing to advance it: he therefore made
application to the Governor, who issued his orders, that he should be
supplied out of the treasury of the Dutch East India Company.
Early in the morning of the 18th of October 1770, the ship got under
sail, and proceeded to Ourust; and, in a day or two, the crew began to
take out her stores, which were deposited in the wharf on Cooper’s
Island; but this business was rendered unavoidably tedious, by several
Dutch ships being at the same wharf, taking in their ladings of pepper.
After little more than a week spent at Batavia, the ill effects of the
climate began to be severely felt. Dr. Solander and Mr. Banks were
indisposed with fevers; Mr. Banks’s two servants were exceedingly ill;
the Indian boy, Tayota, had an inflammation on his lungs; and Tupia was
so bad, that his life was despaired of. Their indisposition was
attributed partly to the heat of the climate, and partly to the swampy
situation of the town, and the stench of the dirty canals with which it
abounds.
By the 26th of the month, very few of the crew were well enough to do
duty; and on this day a tent was erected for their reception. Tupia now
requested to be conveyed to the ship, in the hope of breathing a purer
air than in the town; but his request could not be granted, as she was
unrigged, and preparations were making to lay her down, in order that
she might undergo a thorough repair: on the 28th, however, Mr. Banks
attended Tupia to Cooper’s Island, where a tent was pitched for him, in
such a situation, where he was alternately refreshed by the land and sea
breezes; and the poor creature was extremely thankful that he was so
agreeably lodged. By this time the Surgeon was so ill, that he could not
leave his bed; Mr. Banks’s fever was greatly encreased, and Dr. Solander
grew worse every day.
The ship was at length laid down on the 5th of November, on which day
died Mr. Monkhouse, the Surgeon, whose loss was the more severely felt,
as he was a man of skill in his profession, and fell a sacrifice to the
pestiferous air of the country, at a time when his abilities were most
wanted. Dr. Solander, though extremely ill, had strength sufficient to
see his remains committed to the ground, but Mr. Banks was unable even
to pay this last sad duty to a worthy man.
Death now advanced with hasty strides among our adventrous countrymen,
who were equally unable to resist his power, or shun his embraces.
Several Malay servants were engaged, to wait on those who were ill; but
these people were so remiss in their duty, that it was no uncommon thing
for the sick man to leave his bed in search of his attendant. The Indian
boy, Tayota, paid the debt of Nature on the 9th of this month, and
Tupia, whose tender affection for the youth can be equalled only by that
of a parent for a favourite child, was so shocked at the loss, that it
was evident he could not long survive him.
By this time the ship’s bottom having been carefully surveyed, our
countrymen had ample reason to be grateful to that Providence, by which
they had been preserved during a passage of several hundred miles,
through the most dangerous seas on the face of the globe: for the
sheathing in several places was torn from the vessel, the false keel was
in a great measure gone, the main keel was damaged in many parts,
several of the planks had received great injury, and a part of three of
them was thinner than the sole of a shoe!
Messrs. Solander and Banks were now so worn down by their disorders,
that the Physician, who attended them, recommended the country air, as
the only thing that could possibly restore them to the wishes of their
friends. In consequence of this advice, they hired a country-house of
the master of the hotel, who engaged to supply them with slaves, and to
furnish their table; but as they had sufficiently experienced the
worthlessness of these slaves, they bought two Malay women, who soon
became excellent nurses, from that tenderness of Nature which does so
much honour to the sex. While these gentlemen were taking measures for
the recovery of their health, poor Tupia fell a victim to the ravages of
his disorder, and to his grief for the deceased Tayota. When Tayota was
first seized with the fatal disorder, he seemed sensible of his
approaching end, and frequently said to those that were about him, Tyau
mate see, “My friends, I am dying:” he was very tractable, and took any
medicines that were offered to him; they were both buried in the island
of Edam.
Captain Cook bestows great encomiums on the officers and workmen of the
Marine Yard at Ourust, by whose skill and diligence the bottom of the
ship was perfectly repaired by the 14th of the month; and he warmly
recommends the heaving down with two masts, instead of one, which, he
says, is undoubtedly the more expeditious, as well as the safer method.
By this time not above ten men, out of the whole ship’s crew, were able
to do duty, and these were employed in getting the water and stores
aboard, and in putting up the rigging: the water was purchased at
Batavia, at the rate of one hundred and fifty gallons for six shillings
and eight pence.
Captain Cook was now taken ill, and Mr. Sporing and a sailor, who
attended Messrs. Banks and Solander at their country-house, were
attacked with intermitting fevers; but those two gentlemen grew
something better, though their recovery was very slow. Their house was
situated on the borders of a rivulet, which, of course, assisted the
circulation of the air; and it was likewise open to the sea breeze.
In the night of the 25th there fell such a shower of rain, for the space
of four hours, as even our voyagers had scarce ever remembered. The
water poured through every part of Mr. Banks’s house; and the lower
apartments admitted a stream sufficient to have turned a mill. As this
gentleman was now greatly restored in health, he went to Batavia the
following day, and was surprized to see, that the inhabitants had hung
out their bedding to dry. The westerly monsoon set in about the 26th of
this month: it blows in the day-time from the north, or north-west, and
from the south-west during the night: previous to this, there had been
violent thunder, and hard showers of rain for several nights.
The musquitos and gnats, whose company had been sufficiently
disagreeable in the dry weather, now began to swarm in immense numbers,
rising from the puddles of water like bees from a hive: they were
extremely troublesome during the night, but the pain arising from their
sting, though very severe, seldom lasted more than half an hour; and in
the day-time they seldom made their attacks. The frogs kept a perpetual
croaking in the ditches; a certain sign that the wet season was
commenced, and that daily rain might be expected.
The ship being repaired, the sick people being received on board her,
and the greater part of her water and stores taken in, she sailed from
Ourust on the 8th of December, and anchored in the road of Batavia.
Twelve days were employed in receiving the remainder of her provisions,
water, and other necessaries; though this business would have been done
in much less time, but that some of the crew died, and the majority of
the survivors were so ill, as to be unable to give their assistance.
On the 24th Captain Cook took leave of the Governor, and some other
gentlemen, who had distinguished themselves by the civilities they
shewed him: but at this juncture an incident occurred, that might have
produced consequences by no means desirable. A sailor belonging to one
of the Dutch snips in the road of Batavia, deserted from that vessel,
and entered himself on board the Endeavour. The Captain of the Dutch
ship having made application to the Governor, claiming the delinquent as
a subject of the States General, the Governor issued his order for the
restoration of the man: Captain Cook had but just taken a formal leave
of the Governor when this order was delivered to him; and he said, that
the man should be given up, if it appeared that he was a Dutchman. As
the Captain was at this time on shore, and did not intend going on board
till the following day, he gave the Dutch officer a note to the
Lieutenant, who commanded on board the Endeavour, to deliver the
deserter on the condition above-mentioned. On the following day the
Dutchman waited on Captain Cook, informing him, that the Lieutenant had
absolutely refused to give up the seaman; saying, that he was an
Irishman, and of course a subject of his Britannick Majesty. Captain
Cook applauded the conduct of his officer, and added, that it could not
be expected, that he should deliver up an English subject. The Dutch
officer then said, he was authorized, by the Governor, to demand the
fugitive as a Danish subject, adding, that his name was entered in the
ship’s books, as having been born at Elsineur: to this Captain Cook very
properly replied, that the Governor must have been mistaken, when he
gave this order for delivering the deserter, who had his option whether
he would serve the Dutch or the English; but that in compliment to the
Governor, the man should be given up, as a favour, if he appeared to be
a Dane; but that, in this case, he should by no means be demanded as a
right, and that he would certainly keep him, if he appeared to be a
subject of the crown of Great Britain. The Dutchman now took his leave,
and he had not been long gone, before the Captain received a letter from
the commanding officer on board, containing full proof, that the man was
an English subject. This letter the Captain carried to the Shebander,
desiring him to lay it before the Governor, and to inform him, that the
man should not be delivered up on any terms whatever. This spirited
conduct on the part of Captain Cook had the proper effect; and thus the
matter ended.
This day the Captain, attended by Mr. Banks and the other gentlemen who
had hitherto lived in the town, repaired on board the ship, which got
under sail the next morning. The Endeavour was saluted by the fort, and
by the Elgin East Indiaman, which then lay in the road; but soon after
these compliments were returned, the sea breeze setting in, they were
obliged to come to an anchor. Since the arrival of the ship in Batavia
road, every person belonging to her had been ill, except the sail-maker,
who was more than seventy years old, yet this man got drunk every day
while they remained there. The Endeavour buried seven of her people at
Batavia, viz. Tupia and his boy, three of the sailors, the servant of
Mr. Green, the astronomer, and the Surgeon: and at the time of the
vessel’s sailing, forty of the crew were sick, and the rest so enfeebled
by their late illness, as to be scarcely able to do their duty.
The town of Batavia is situated in six degrees ten minutes south
latitude, and one hundred and six degrees fifty minutes east longitude,
from the meridian of Greenwich. It is built on the bank of a large bay,
something more than twenty miles from the Streight of Sunda, on the
north side of the island of Java, in low boggy ground. Several small
rivers, which rise forty miles up the country, in the mountains of
Blaeuwen Berg, discharge themselves into the sea at this place, having
first intersected the town in different directions. There are wide
canals of nearly stagnated water in almost every street, and as the
banks of these canals are planted with rows of trees, the effect is very
agreeable; but these trees and canals combine to render the air
pestilential. Some of the rivers are navigable, more than thirty miles
up the country; and, indeed, the Dutch appear to have chosen this spot
to build the town on, for the sake of water-carriage, in which
convenience Batavia exceeds every place in the world, except the towns
of Holland.
A writer, who published an account of this place near fifty years ago,
makes the number of houses at that time 4760, viz. 1242 Dutch houses,
and 1200 Chinese houses, within the walls; and 1066 Dutch houses, and
1240 Chinese houses, without the walls, with twelve houses for the
vending of arrack. The streets of Batavia being wide, and the houses
large, it stands on more ground than any other place that has only an
equal number of houses.
In dry weather a most horrid stench arises from the canals, and taint
the air to a great degree; and when the rains have so swelled the canals
that they overflow their banks, the ground-floors of the houses, in the
lower parts of the town, are filled with stinking water, that leaves
behind it dirt and slime in amazing quantities. The running streams are
sometimes as offensive as the stagnant canals; for the bodies of dead
animals are frequently lodged on the shallow parts, where they are left
to putrify, and corrupt the air, except a flood happens to carry them
away: this was the case with a dead buffaloe, while the crew of the
Endeavour were there, which lay stinking on the shoal of a river, in one
of the chief streets, for several days.
They sometimes clean the canals; but this business is performed in such
a manner, as scarcely to make them less a nuisance than before; for the
bottom being cleared of its black mud, it is left on the side of the
canal till it is hard enough to be taken away in boats; and as there are
no houses for necessary retirement in the whole town, the filth is
thrown into the canals regularly once a day, so that this mud is a
compound of every thing that can be imagined disagreeable and offensive.
There is a new church in Batavia, which is a fine piece of building, and
the dome of it may be seen far off at sea. This church is illuminated by
chandeliers of the most superb workmanship, and has a fine organ: most
of the other public buildings are ancient, constructed in an ill taste,
and give a very compleat idea of Dutch clumsiness.
Their method of building their houses seems to have been taught them by
the climate. On the ground-floor there is no room but a large hall, a
corner of which is parted off for the transaction of business: the hall
has two doors, which are commonly left open, and are opposite each
other, so that the air passes freely through the room, in the middle of
which there is a court, which at once encreases the draft of air, and
affords light to the hall: the stairs, which are at one corner, lead to
large and lofty apartments above. The female slaves are not permitted to
sit in any place, but in the alcove formed by the court; and this is the
usual dining-place of the family.
The town of Batavia is encompassed by a river of shallow water, the
stream of which is very rapid: within this river, which is of different
widths in various places, is an old stone wall, much decayed in many
places, and within the wall is a canal that is likewise much wider in
some places than in others: so that there is no entering the gates of
the town but by crossing two draw-bridges: there are but few guns on the
ramparts, and no persons are permitted to walk there. There is a kind of
citadel, or castle, in the north-east corner of the town, the walls of
which are both broader and higher than they are in other parts; it is
furnished with a number of large guns, which command the landing-place.
Apartments are provided in this castle for the Governor General and all
the Council; and in case of a siege they have orders to retire thither.
In the castle are likewise a number of store-houses, in which the
effects belonging to the Company are deposited. The Company have in
their possession large quantities of gun-powder, which is kept in
different places, that the lightning may not destroy the whole stock at
once; a great number of cannon are likewise laid up within the castle.
There are a great many forts built in different parts of the country,
several miles distant from Batavia, most probably erected to keep the
natives in submission; and besides these there are a number of fortified
houses, each mounting eight guns, and these are so stationed as to
command the canals, and the roads on their borders. There are houses of
this kind in many parts of the island of Java, and the other islands in
its neighbourhood, of which the Dutch have obtained the possession. The
Chinese having rebelled against the Dutch in the year 1740, all their
principal houses were demolished by the cannon of one of these fortified
houses, which is in the town of Batavia, where, likewise, there are a
few more of them.
The roads of this country are simply banks between the ditches and
canals; and the fortified houses being erected among the morasses near
these roads, nothing is easier than to destroy them, and consequently to
prevent an enemy from bringing any heavy artillery near the town; if,
indeed, an enemy be only hindered a short time in his approach, he is
effectually ruined, for the climate will preclude the necessity of the
use of weapons for his destruction. Before the Endeavour had been a week
at Batavia they began to feel the ill effects of the climate; half the
crew were rendered incapable of doing their duty before the expiration
of a month. They were informed, that it was a very uncommon thing for
fifty soldiers, out of a hundred brought from Europe, to be alive at the
expiration of the first year, and that of the fifty who might happen to
be alive, not ten of those would be in sound health, and, probably, not
less than half of them in the hospital. One would imagine that no man of
common sense would be tempted to reside at Batavia, for any
consideration of interest whatever; yet such is the insatiable thirst of
gold, that men will voluntarily risk the loss of life to obtain it, and
even ensure the loss of that health, without which the most splendid
fortune cannot be enjoyed.
All the white inhabitants of Batavia are soldiers, and, at the
expiration of five years service, they are bound to hold themselves in
readiness to go to war, if they should be wanted; and the younger
inhabitants are frequently mustered; but as they are neither trained nor
exercised after the expiration of the five years above-mentioned, the
little they have learnt is soon forgotten, and they would probably, if
called to action, make as _good soldiers as the militia of the city of
London_. The Portuguese, who live in this country, employ themselves
very much in shooting the deer, and the wild hog, whence they become
excellent marksmen. The Indians, of whatever nation, who reside here,
and have either been made free, or were born so, are called Mardykers;
but neither these nor the Chinese are acquainted with the use of
fire-arms; yet, as these people are said to possess great personal
bravery, much might be expected from their expert use of their daggers,
swords and lances.
From what has been above written it is evident, that it would be a
laborious task to attack Batavia by land; and it is not possible to make
any attack at all by sea, for the shallowness of the water would hinder
any vessels from advancing within cannon shot of the walls; indeed there
is barely depth of water for a ship’s long-boat, excepting a narrow
channel, called the river, which extends about half a mile into the
harbour, and is strongly bounded on each side with piers the other end
of it being directly under the fire of the castle; while its
communication with the canals of the town is prevented by a boom of
wood, which is every night shut precisely at six o’clock, and never
opened till the following day.
Any number of ships may anchor in the harbour of Batavia, the ground of
which is so excellent, that the anchor will never quit its hold. This
harbour is sometimes dangerous for boats, when the sea breeze blows
fresh; but, upon the whole, it is deemed the best and most commodious in
all India.
There are a considerable number of islands which are situated round the
outside of the harbour, and all these are in the possession of the
Dutch, who destine them to different purposes. On one of them, which is
called Purmerent, an hospital is erected, on account of the air being
purer than it is at Batavia. In a second, the name of which is Kuyper,
are erected a number of warehouses, in which are lodged the rice, and
some other commodities, the property of the Dutch East India Company: at
this island those ships belonging to different nations, which are to be
repaired at Ourust, unlade their cargoes; and it was here that the
stores of the Falmouth Man of War were laid up, when she was condemned,
on her return from Manilla; her warrant officers, of whom mention has
been made in the account of Captain Wallis’s voyage, were sent to Europe
in Dutch ships, about half a year before the Endeavour anchored in the
road of Batavia. A third of these islands, the name of which is Edam, is
appropriated to the reception of such offenders, whose crimes are not
deemed worthy of death, and hither they are transported from Holland,
and detained from five to forty years, in proportion to the turpitude of
the offence they have committed; the making of ropes is the principal
part of the employment of these criminals.
The environs of Batavia have a very pleasing appearance, and would, in
almost any other country, be an enviable situation. Gardens and houses
occupy the country for several miles; but the gardens are so covered
with trees, that the advantage of the land having been cleared of the
wood that originally covered it, is almost wholly lost; while these
gardens, and the fields adjacent to them are surrounded by ditches which
yield not the most fragrant smell; and the bogs and morasses in the
adjacent fields are still more offensive.
For the space of more than thirty miles beyond the town the land is
totally flat, except in two places, on one of which the Governor’s
country-seat is built, and on the other they hold a large market but
neither of these places are higher than ten yards from the level of the
plain. At near forty miles from the town, the land rises into hills, and
the air is purified in a great degree; to this distance the invalids are
sent by their physicians, when every other prospect of their recovery
has failed, and the experiment succeeds in almost every instance, for
the sick are soon restored to health; but they no sooner return to the
town, than their former disorders visit them. On these hills the most
opulent of the inhabitants have country-seats, to which they pay an
annual visit. Those who reside constantly on the hills enjoy an almost
perpetual flow of health; and most of the vegetables of Europe grow as
freely here as in their native ground: the strawberry, in particular,
flourishes greatly, which is a sufficient proof of the coolness of the
air.
The rice of this country is very plentiful, and, in order to be brought
to perfection, should lie under water more than half the time it is
growing: but they have a sort which grows on the sides of the hills,
which is unknown in the West India Islands; this sort is planted when
the wet season commences, and the crop is gathered in soon after the
rains are over.
The maize which grows near Batavia is gathered while young, and toasted
in the ear. The land likewise produces carrots, pigeon-peas, celery,
parsley, asparagus, onions, rhadishes, cabbages, lettuces, cucumbers,
lentiles, kidney-beans, hysop, sage, rue, Chinese white rhadishes,
which, when boiled, are not unlike a parsnip, common potatoes, sweet
potatoes, wet and dry yams, millet, and the egg plant, the fruit of
which, when broiled and eaten with salt and pepper, is most exquisite
food.
Amazing quantities of sugar are produced here, and, while the quantity
is beyond comparison greater, the care of cultivation is inconceivably
less than in the West India Islands. White sugar is retailed at
two-pence and two-pence half-penny the pound, and arrack is made of the
molasses, with a small addition of rice, and the wine of the cocoa-nut.
The inhabitants likewise raise a little indigo for their own use, but do
not export it.
The fruits of this country are near forty in number, and of some of
these there are several kinds. Pine apples grow in such abundance that
they may be purchased, at the first hand, for the value of an English
farthing; and they bought some very large ones for a half-penny a piece
at the fruit shops, though they are excellent eating, it is imagined
they are reared to equal perfection in the hot-houses of England. They
grow so luxuriantly, that seven or eight suckers have been seen adhering
to one stem.
The sweet oranges of Batavia are good of their kind, but very dear at
particular times. The shaddocks of the West Indies, called here
Pumplemoeses, have an agreeable flavour. Lemons were very scarce when
the Endeavour lay in the harbour, but limes were altogether as
plentiful, and sold at little more than two-pence the score. There are
many kinds of oranges and lemons, but none of them excellent. Of mangos
there are plenty, but their taste is far inferior to that of the
melting-peach of England, to which they have been compared. It is said
that the heat, and extreme dampness of the climate, does not agree with
them; yet there are many different kinds of them. Of bananes there is an
amazing variety of sorts, some of which, being boiled, are eaten as
bread, while others are fried in batter, and are a nutrimental food:
but, of the numerous sorts of this fruit, three only are fit to be
eaten: one, indeed, is remarkable, because it is filled with seeds,
which are not common to the rest. Grapes are sold from one shilling to
eighteen-pence the pound, though they are far from being good.
The tamarinds are equally cheap and plentiful; but as the method of
preserving them, which is in salt, renders them a mere black lump, they
are equally nauseating to the sight and the palate. The water melons are
excellent of their kind, and are produced in great abundance. The
pumpkins are boiled as turneps, and eaten with salt and pepper. This
fruit is admirably adapted to the use of voyagers, as it will keep many
months without care, and makes an excellent pye, when mixed with the
juice of lemons and sugar. The papaws of this country are superior to
turneps, if the cores are extracted, after paring them when they are
green. The guava has a strong smell, and a taste not less disagreeable:
it is probable, that the guava of the West Indies, which many writers
have distinguished by their praises, has a very different flavour. The
sweet sop is a fruit that has but little flavour: it abounds in large
kernels, from which the pulp is sucked. The taste of the custard-apple
very much resembles the dish from which its name is taken. The
cashew-apple produces a nut which is not unknown in England; but the
fruit has such an astringent quality, that the Batavians seldom eat of
it: the nut grows on the top of the apple. The cocoa-nut is plentiful in
this country, and there are several kinds of this fruit, the best of
which is very red between the shell and the skin. The jamboo is a fruit
that has but little taste, but is of a cooling nature: it is
considerably less than a common sized apple, and those that have grown
to their full size are always the best; its shape is oval, and its
colour the deep red. Of the jambu-eyer, there are two kinds, the white
and the red: they are shaped like a bell, and are something bigger than
a cherry: they have no kind of taste but that of a watery acid. The
jambu-eyer mauwar smells like a rose, and its taste is not unlike that
of conserve of roses. The mangostan is of a dark red colour, and not
larger than a small apple; to the bottom of this fruit adhere several
little leaves of the blossom, while on its top are a number of triangles
combined in a circle: it contains several kernels ranged in a circular
form, within which is the pulp, a fruit of most exquisite taste: it is
equally nutritious and agreeable, and is constantly given to persons who
are troubled with inflammatory or putrid fevers. The sweet orange of
this country is likewise given in the same disorders. The pomgranate of
these parts differs in nothing from that generally well known in
England. The durion takes its name from the word _dure_, which, in the
language of the country, means prickle; and this name is well adapted to
the fruit, the shell of which is covered with sharp points shaped like a
sugar-loaf: its contents are nuts, not much smaller than chesnuts, which
are surrounded with a kind of juice resembling cream; and of this the
inhabitants eat with great avidity: the smell of this fruit is more like
that of onions, than any other European vegetable, and its taste is like
that of onions, sugar, and cream intermixed: the inside of the durion,
when ripe, is parted, lengthways, into several divisions. The nanca is a
fruit which smells like garlic and apples mixed together: its size, in
the gardens of Batavia, is not greater than that of a middling sized
pumpkin, and its shape is nearly the same: it is covered with prickles
of an angular form. They were informed that, at a place called Madura,
it has been known to grow to such an enormous size, as to require the
strength of two men to carry it. The champada is in all respects like
the nanca, only that it is not so large. The rambutan contains a fruit,
within which is a stone, that is, perhaps, the finest acid in the world:
this fruit is not unlike a chesnut with its husk on; and it is covered
with small prickles of a dark red colour, and so soft as to yield to the
slightest impression. The jambolan resembles a damascen, both in colour
and size; and is of a very astringent nature. The boa bidarra tastes
like an apple, but is likewise extremely astringent; its size is that of
a gooseberry, its form round, and its colour yellow. The nam nam makes
an excellent fritter, if fried in batter, but is not esteemed when raw:
the rind of it is rough, its length is about three inches, and its shape
not unlike that of a kidney. The catappa and the canare are two species
of nuts, the kernels of which are like those of an almond, but so hard,
that it is almost impossible to break them. The madja contains a pulp of
a sharp taste, which is eaten with sugar: this fruit is covered with a
very hard shell. The suntal is a fruit scarcely fit to be eaten, being
at once astringent, acid, and of a most unpleasant taste, yet it is
publickly sold in the streets of Batavia: it contains a number of
kernels, which are inclosed in a thick skin. The salack is nearly of the
size of a small golden pippin, and contains a few kernels of a yellow
colour, the taste of which is not unlike that of a strawberry; but the
covering of this fruit is very remarkable, as it consists of a number of
scales resembling those of a fish. The cherrema and the blimbing are two
sour fruits, exceedingly well adapted to make sour sauce and pickles.
The blimbing besse is another fruit of the same kind, but considerably
sweeter.
Of the fruits not in season when Captain Cook was at Batavia, he
mentions the boa atap, and the kimkit, which he saw preserved in sugar;
and there are several other sorts which the Batavians are fond of, but
they are never eaten by strangers, among those are the moringa, the
guilindina, the kellor, and the soccum, this last has the appearance of
the bread-fruit, which is produced in the islands of the South Seas, but
it is not near so good; tho’ the tree on which it grows is also exactly
like the bread fruit tree.
The fruit sold at the common shops is generally too ripe; but in a
street, named Passar Pissang, which is inhabited by Chinese fruiterers
only, that which is very good may be obtained, but at a price greatly
exceeding its value. The gardens of gentlemen near the town furnish
these Chinese fruit-sellers; but the other dealers are supplied from a
greater distance up the country, where the inhabitants live by the
cultivation of large tracts of land, for the sole purpose of raising
fruit.