November.

with only the cockfwain in her, who was a very dirty 1765. ragged fellow as soon as he was brought to me, he afked whence I came, whither I was bound, and many other questions which I thought equally impertinent, at the fame time pulling out a book, and pen and ink, that he might set down the answers; but as I was impatient to fave him this trouble, he was defired immediately to walk over the fhip's fide, and put off his boat, with which he was graciously pleased to comply.

When we came to this place, we had not one man fick in either of the fhips; but as I knew it to be more unhealthy than any other part of the Eaft Indies, as the rainy feason was at hand, and arrack was to be procured in great plenty, I determined to make my stay here as fhort as poffible. I went on shore to wait upon the Dutch Governor, but was told that he was at his country house, about four miles diftant from the town: I met however with an officer, called a shebander, who is a kind of master of the ceremonies, and he acquainted me, that if I chose to go to the Governor immediately, rather than wait for his coming to town, he would attend me; I accepted his offer, and we fet out together in his chariot. The Governor received me with great politenefs, and told me, that I might either take a house in any part of the city that I should like, or be provided with lodgings at the hotel. This hotel is a licensed lodging house, the only one in the place, and kept by a Frenchman, an artful fellow, who is put in by the Governor himself. It has indeed more the appearance of a palace than a house of entertainment, being the most magnificent building in Batavia; nor would a small edifice answer the purpose, for as there is a penalty of five hundred dollars upon any person in the city who fhall fuffer a stranger to fleep a fingle night at his house, the strangers who make it their refidence are never few all the houses indeed have a stately appearance on the outfide, and are elegantly fitted up within, and we are told that the Chinese, of whom there are great numbers at this place, were the architeas. The city is large, and the streets well laid out, but they have greatly the appearance of those in the cities of Holland, for a canal runs through most of

:

them,

1765. them, with a row of trees planted on each fide: this is November. convenient for the merchants, who have every thing

December.

brought up to their own doors by water, but it probably contributes to the unhealthiness of the place; the canal, indeed, as the city is built in a fwamp, might be neceffary as a drain, but the trees, though they have a pleasant appearance, must certainly prevent the noxious vapours that are perpetually arifing, from being difperfed, by obftructing the circulation of the air.

The number of people here is incredible, and they are of almost every nation in the world, Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese, Perfians, Moors, Malays, Javanefe, and many others: the Chinefe, however, have a large town to themselves, without the walls, and carry on a confiderable trade, for they have annually ten or twelve large junks from China; and to these the opulence of the Dutch at Batavia is in a great meafure owing. The beef here is bad, and the mutton fcarce, but the poultry and fifh are excellent and in great plenty. Here are alfo the greatest variety and abundance of the finest fruit in the world, but the mufquitos, centipieds, fcorpions, and other noxious vermin, which are innumerable, prevent all enjoyments, and even reft, as well by night as by day. The roads, for many miles about the city, are as good as any in England they are very broad, and by the fides of them runs a canal, fhaded by tall trees, which is navigable for veffels of a very large fize: on the other fide of the canal are gardens, of a very pleasant appearance, and country houfes of the citizens, where they fpend as much of their time as poffible, the fituation being lefs unwholesome than the city and there are

fo few of them who do not keep a carriage, that it is almost a difgrace to be seen on foot.

At this place I continued from the 28th of NovemMonday 10. ber to the 10th of December, when having procured what refreshments I could for my people, and taken on board a fufficient quantity of rice and arrack, to ferve for the rest of the voyage, I weighed anchor and made fail. The fort faluted me with eleven guns, and the Dutch Commodore with thirteen, which I returned; we were faluted alfo by the English ship. We worked down to Prince's Ifland, in the Streight of Sunda, and

came

came to an anchor there on the 14th. In this paffage, 1765. the boats came off to us from the Java fhore, and fup- November. plied us with turtle in fuch plenty, that neither of the Friday 14. ships companies eat any thing else. We lay at Prince's Ifland till the 19th, and during all that time we fub- Wednef. 19. fifted wholly upon the fame food, which was procured from the inhabitants at a very reasonable rate. Having now taken on board as much wood and water as we could stow, we weighed, and got without Java Head before night but by this time a dangerous putrid fever had broke out among us; three of my people had died, and many others now lay in fo dangerous a condition that there were little hopes of their recovery: we did not, however, bury one at Batavia, which, notwithstanding our ftay was fo fhort, was thought to be a very extraordinary inftance of good fortune; and our fick gradually recovered after we had been a week or two at fea.

CHA P. XIV.

The paffage from Batavia to the Cape of Good Hope, and from thence to England.

E continued our courfe, without any event

WE

1766.

worthy of notice, except that one of my best February. men unhappily fell overboard and was drowned, till Monday the 10th of February, when at fix o'clock Monday 10. in the morning, we saw the coast of Africa, bearing from N. N. W. to N. E. diftant about feven leagues : it made in feveral high hills, and white fandy cliffs, and its latitude was 34° 15' S. longitude 21° 45' E. the variation here was 220 W. and our depth of water fifty-three fathom, with a bottom of coarfe brown fand.

I ftood in for the land, and when I was within about two leagues of it, I faw a great smoke rifing from a fandy beach. I imagined the smoke to be made by the Hottentots; yet I was aftonished at their chufing this part of the coaft for their refidence, for it confifted of nothing but fand banks as far as we could fee without the least bush or single blade of verdure,

and

1766. February.

Wednef. 12.

and fo heavy a sea broke upon the coast, that it was impoffible to catch any fish.

On Wednesday the 12th, at three o'clock in the afternoon, we were a-breast of Cape Lagullas, from which the coaft lies W. N. W. to the Cape of Good Hope, which is distant about thirty leagues. The Thurf. 13. next day, we paffed between Penguin Island and Green Point, and worked into Table Bay with our top-fails close reefed, there being a strong gale, with hard fqualls at S. S. E. At three o'clock in the afternoon we anchored, and faluted the fort, which was returned. The Dutch told me, that none of their fhips could have worked in, in such a gale of wind, and that we feemed to come in fafter than they were generally able to do when the wind was fair.

Friday 14.

The next morning, I waited upon the Governor, who had fent his coach and fix to the water fide for me. He is an old man, but is a favourite with all ranks of people he received me with the greatest politeness, and not only offered me the Company's houfe in the garden for my refidence while I should continue at the Cape, but his coach whenever I should think fit to use it. As I was one day at dinner with him, and fome other gentlemen, I took occafion to mention the smoke that I had feen upon one of the fandy beaches on a defolate ́part of the coaft, and the furprise with which it had ftruck me: they then told me that another ship, fome time before, had fallen in with that part of the coaft, and had seen large smokes as I had done, although the place was uninhabited, and supposed to be an island: to account for the smokes, however, they told me alfo, that two Dutch EastIndiamen had, about two years before, failed from Batavia for the Cape, and had never afterwards been heard of; and it was fuppofed that one or both of them had been shipwrecked there, and that the fmokes which had been seen, were made by fome of the unfortunate crew; they added, that they had more than once fent out veffels to look for them, but that there broke fo dreadful a fea upon the coaft, that they were obliged to return without attempting to go on fhore. When I heard this melancholy account, I could only regret that I had not known it before, for I would then certainly

have made every effort in my power to have found 1766. February. these unhappy wretches, and taken them from a place where now, in all probability, they must miserably perish.

The Cape is certainly a most excellent place for ships to touch at; it is a healthy climate, a fine country, and abounds with refreshments of every kind. The Company's garden is a delightful fpot, and at theend of it there is a paddock belonging to the Governor, in which are kept a great number of rare and curious animals, and among others, when I was there, were three fine oftriches, and four zebras of an uncommon fize. I gave all the people leave to go on fhore by turns, and they always contrived to get very drunk with Cape wine before they came back. Many fhips came in while we lay here; fome were Dutch, fome French, fome Danes, but all were outward bound.

Having continued here three weeks, and during that time refreshed our men, and completed our water, I took leave of the good old Governor, on the 6th of March, March, and on the 7th, failed out of the bay with a Friday 7. fine breeze at S. E.

Thurf. 6.

On Sunday the 16th, at fix in the morning we faw Sund. 16. the island of Saint Helena, bearing W. by N. at the distance of about fixteen leagues, and about noon, a large fhip which fhewed French colours. We pursued our course, and a few days afterwards, as we were failing with a fine gale, and at a great distance from land, the ship suddenly received a rude shock, as if she had ftruck the ground: this inftantly brought all who were below upon the deck in great confternation, and upon looking out we saw the water, to a very large extent, tinged with blood; this put an end to our fears, and we concluded that we must have ftruck either a whale or a grampus from which the ship was not likely to receive much damage, nor in fact did fhe receive any. About this time alto we had the misfortune to bury our carpenter's mate, a very ingenious and diligent young man, who had never been well after our leaving Batavia.

On the 25th, we croffed the equator, in longitude Tuesday 25. 17° 10' W. and the next morning, Captain Cumming came on board, and informed me that the Tamar's

three