1767. November.

Saturday 7.

Sunday 8.

Tuesday 10.

Friday 13.

Monday 16.

Teefday 17.

We continued our course, often founding, but finding no bottom. On the 7th, we paffed through several ripplings of a current, and faw great quantities of drift-wood, cocoa-nut leaves, things like cones of firs, and weed, which swam in a stream N. E. and S. W. We had now foundings at fixty-five fathom, with brown fand, small shells, and ftones; and at noon, found the ship again to the northward of her reckoning ten miles, and had decreased our foundings to twentyeight fathom, with the fame ground. Our latitude was 8° 36′ N. longitude 253° W. At two o'clock, we faw the island of Condore, from the mast-head, bearing W. N. At four, we had ground with twenty fathom; the island bearing from W. to N. W. by W. distant about thirteen leagues, and having the appearance of high hummocks. The latitude of this island is 8° 40' N.; longitude, by our reckoning, 254° 15'.

We now altered our course; and the next morning, I took from the petty officers and feamen, all the log and journal books relative to the voyage.

On the 10th, being in latitude 5° 20′ N. longitude 255° W. we found a current fetting four fathom an hour S. by W.; and during our courfe to the islands Timoun, Aros, and Pefang, which we faw about fix in the afternoon of the 13th, we were every day from ten to twenty miles fouthward of our reckoning.

On the 16th, at ten in the morning, we croffed the line again into South latitude, in longitude 255°; and foon after we faw two iflands, one bearing S. by E. diftant five leagues, the other S. by W. diftant feven leagues.

The next morning, the weather became very dark and tempeftuous, with heavy rain; we therefore clewed all up,

and

1767.

November.

and lay by till we could fee about us. The two islands proved to be Pulo Toté, and Pulo Wefte; and having made fail till one o'clock, we faw the Seven Iflands. We continued our course till two the next morning, the weather Wednef. 18. being very dark, with heavy fqualls of wind, and much lightning and rain. While one of these blafts was blowing with all its violence, and the darkness was so thick that we could not fee from one part of the ship to the other, we fuddenly discovered, by a flash of lightning, a large veffel close a-board of us. The steersman inftantly put the helm a-lee,. and the ship answering her rudder, we just cleared each other. This was the first ship we had seen since we parted. with the Swallow; and it blew fo hard, that not being able to understand any thing that was faid, we could not learn to what nation she belonged.

At fix, the weather having cleared up, we saw a fail at anchor in the E. S. E.; and at noon, we faw land in the W. N.W. which proved to be Pulo Taya, Pulo Toté bearing S. 35° E.. Pulo Wefte S. 13° E. At fix in the evening, we anchored in fifteen fathom, with fandy ground; and obferved a current. running E. N. E. at the rate of five fathom an hour.

At fix in the morning, we weighed and made fail, and Thursday 19. foon after faw two veffels a-head; but at fix in the evening, finding that we lost much ground, we came again to an anchor in fifteen fathom, with a fine fandy bottom.

At fix o'clock the next morning, the current being flack, Friday 20. we hove short on the small bower, which soon after parted at a third from the clench. We immediately took in the cable, and perceived that, although we had founded with great care before we anchored, and found the bottom clear, it had been cut through by the rocks. After fome time, the cur

8

rent.

1767. November.

Friday 29.

Saturday 21.

rent becoming strong, a fresh gale fpringing up, and the ship being a great way to the leeward, I made fail, in hopes to get up and recover the anchor; but I found at last that it was impoflible, without anchoring again; and being afraid of the confequences of doing that in foul ground, I determined to stand on, especially as the weather was become fqually.

We were, however, able to make very little way till the next day, when, about three in the afternoon, we faw Monopin Hill bearing S. E. and advancing very little, saw the coast of Sumatra at half an hour after fix the next morning. We continued to fuffer great delay by currents and calms, Monday 30. but on Monday the 30th of November, we anchored in Batavia Road.

Sunday 22.

CHAP.

СНАР. XI.

Transactions at Batavia, and an Account of the Paffage from thence to the Cape of Good Hope.

W

E found here fourteen fail of Dutch East India ships, a great number of small veffels, and his Majesty's ship the Falmouth, lying upon the mud in a rotten condition.

2

1767. December.

I fent an officer on fhore, to acquaint the Governor of our arrival, to obtain his permiffion to purchase refreshments, and to tell him that I would falute him, if he would engage to return an equal number of guns. The Governor readily agreed; and at fun-rife, on Tuefday the 1st of December, I faluted Tuesday 1. him with thirteen guns, which he returned with fourteen from the fort. Soon after, the Purfer sent off. fome fresh beef, and plenty of vegetables, which I ordered to be served immediately; at the fame time I called the fhip's company. together, and told them that I would not suffer any liquor to come on board, and would feverely punish those who should attempt to bring any: and I took fome pains to reconcile them to this regulation, by afsuring them that in this country intemperance would inevitably destroy them. As a further preservative, I fuffered not a man to go on shore, except those who were upon duty; and took care that none even of thefe ftraggled into the town.

On the 2d, I fent the boatswain and the carpenter, with Wednef. 2. the carpenter of the Falmouth, to look at fuch of her stores as had been landed at Onruft, with orders, that if any were

1767. December.

Wednef. 2.

fit for our use they should be bought. At their return, they informed me that all the ftores they had feen were rotten, and unfit for ufe, except one pair of tacks, which they brought with them: the mafts, yards, and cables were all dropping to pieces, and even the iron work was fo rufty that it was worth nothing. They alfo went on board the Falmouth to examine her hulk, and found her in fo fhattered a condition, that in their opinion fhe could not be kept together during the next monfoon. Many of her ports were washed into one, the ftern-poft was quite decayed, and there was no place in her where a man could be sheltered from the weather. The few people who belonged to her were in as bad a ftate as their veffel, being quite broken and worn down, and expecting to be drowned as foon as the menfoon fhould fet in.

Among other neceffaries, we were in want of an anchor, having lost two, and of three inch rope for rounding the cables; but the officers whom I had fent to procure these articles, reported, that the price which had been demanded for them was fo exorbitant, that they had not agreed to give Saturday 5. it. On Saturday the 5th, therefore, I went on fhore myself, for the first time, and vifited the different ftorehouses and arsenals, but found it impoffible to make a better bargain than my officers. I fufpected that the dealers took advantage of our apparent neceffity, and supposing that we could not fail without what we had offered to purchase, determined to extort from us more than four times its value. I was, however, refolved to make any shift rather than submit to what I thought a fhameful impofition, and therefore told them that I should certainly fail on the next Tuesday; that if they would agree to my terms in the mean time, I would take the things I had treated for; if not, that I would fail without them.

Soon