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the season in which we were here. The rains were violent, and almost inceffant, and the heat was fo great as to threaten us with fuffocation. The thermometer, which was kept on board the ship, generally stood at eighty-fix, which is but nine degrees lefs than the heat of the blood at the heart; and if it had been on fhore it would have rifen much higher. I had been upon the coaft of Guinea, in the Weft Indies, and upon the ifland of Saint Thomas, which is under the Line, but I had never felt any fuch heat as I felt here. Befides the inconvenience which we fuffered from the weather, we were inceffantly tormented by the flies in the day, and by the musquitos in the night. The ifland alfo fwarms with centipieds and fcorpions, and a large black ant, fcarcely inferior to either in the malignity of his bite. Besides these, there were venemous infects without number, altogether unknown to us, by which many of us fuffered fo feverely, that we were afraid to lie down in our beds; nor were those on board in a much better fituation than those on fhore, for great numbers of thofe creatures being carried into the fhip with the wood, they took poffeffion of every birth, and left the poor feamen no place of reft either below or upon the deck.

As foon as we were fettled in our new habitations, I sent out parties to discover the haunts of the cattle, fome of which were found, but at a great distance from the tents, and the beasts were fo fhy that it was very difficult to get a fhot at them. Some of the parties. which, when their haunts had been difcovered, were fent out to kill them, were abfent three days and nights before they could fucceed; and when a bullock, had been dragged feven or eight miles through fuch woods and lawns as have juft been defcribed, to the tents, it was generally full of fly-blows, and stunk fo as to be unfit for ufe: nor was this the worst, for the fatigue of the men in bringing down the carcass, and the intolerable heat they fuffered from the climate and the labour, frequently brought on fevers which laid them up. Poultry however we procured upon easier terms; there was great plenty of birds, and they were easily killed; but the flesh of the best of them

1765

Auguft.

was

1765. Auguft.

was very ill-tafted, and fuch was the heat of the climate, that within an hour after they were killed it was as green as grafs, and fwarmed with maggots. Our principal refource for fresh meat, was the wild hog, with which the island abounds. These creatures are very fierce, and fome of them fo large that a carcass frequently weighed two hundred pounds. We killed them without much difficulty; but a Black belonging to the Tamar contrived a method to fnare them, fo that we took great numbers of them alive, which was an unspeakable advantage; for it not only enfured our eating the flesh while it was fweet, but enabled us to fend a good number of them on board as fea-ftores.

In the mean time we were very defirous of procuring fome beef in an eatable state, with lefs rifk and labour; and Mr. Gore, one of our Mates, at laft difcovered a pleasant spot upon the north- weft part of the island, where cattle were in great plenty, and whence they might be brought to the tents by fea. To this place therefore I dispatched a party, with a tent for their accommodation, and fent the boats every day to fetch what they should kill; fometimes however there broke fuch a fea upon the rocks that it was impoffible to approach them, and the Tamar's boat unhappily lost three of her beft men by attempting it. We were

now, upon the whole, pretty well supplied with provitions, especially as we baked fresh bread every day for the fick; and the fatigue of our people being lefs, there were fewer ill with the fever: but several of them were fo much disordered by eating of a very fine looking fish which we caught here, that their recovery was for a long time doubtful. The author of the account of Lord Anson's Voyage fays, that the people on board the Centurion thought it prudent to abftain from fish, as the few which they caught at their first arrival furfeited those who eat of them. But not attending fufficiently to this caution, and too haftily taking the word furfeit in its literal and common acceptation, we imagined that those who tafted the fish when Lord Anson firft came hither, were made fick merely by eating too much; whereas, if that had been the cafe, there would have been no reason for totally

totally abstaining afterwards, but only eating temperately. We however bought our knowledge by experience, which we might have had cheaper; for though all our people, who tasted this fish, eat sparingly, they were all foon afterwards dangerously ill.

Besides the fruit that has been mentioned already, this island produces cotton and indigo in abundance, and would certainly be of great value if it was situated in the Weft-Indies. The Surgeon of the Tamar enclofed a large fpot of ground here, and made a very pretty garden; but we did not ftay long enough to derive any advantage from it.

While we lay here, I fent the Tamar to examine the island of Saypan, which is much larger than Tinian, rises higher, and, in my opinion, has a much pleasanter appearance. She anchored to the leeward of it, at the distance of a mile from the fhore, and in about ten fathom water, with much the fame kind of ground as we had in the road of Tinian. Her people landed upon a fine fandy beach, which is fix or seven miles long, and walked up into the woods, where they faw many trees which were very fit for top-mafts. They faw no fowls, nor any tracks of cattle; but of hogs and guanicoes there was plenty. They found no fresh water near the beach, but faw a large pond inland, which they did not examine. They faw large heaps of pearl oyster shells thrown up together, and other figns of people having been there not long before: poffibly the Spaniards may go thither at fome seasons of the year, and carry on a pearl fishery. They alfo faw many of those square pyramidal pillars which are to be found at Tinian, and which are particularly defcribed in the account of Lord Anson's Voyage.

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On Monday, the 30th of September, having now Septemb. been here nine weeks, and our fick being pretty well Mond. 30. recovered, I ordered the tents to be ftruck, and with the forge and oven carried back to the fhip; I also laid in about two thousand cocoa-nuts, which I had experienced to be fo powerful a remedy for the fcurvy, and October. the next day I weighed, hoping that before we thould Tuesd. 1. get the length of the Bashé Islands, the N. E. monfoon would be fet in. I ftood along the shore to take in the beef-hunters; but we had very little wind this VOL. I.

H

day

October.

1765 day and the next till the evening, when it came to the weftward and blew fresh: I then stood to the northward till the morning of the 3d, when we made Anatacan, an island that is remarkable high, and the fame that was first fallen in with by Lord Anson.

Wedn. 2.

Thurf. 10.

Frid. 18.

Tuefd. 22.

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The Run from Tinian to Pulo Timoan, with some Account of that Ifland, its Inhabitants and Productions, and thence to Batavia.

WE

E continued our courfe till Thursday the 10th, when being in latitude 18° 33' N. longitude 136° 50' E. we found the ship two and twenty miles to the fouthward of her account, which must have been the effect of a strong current in that direction. The variation here was 5° 10' E. and for fome time we found it regularly decreasing, fo that on the 19th, being in latitude 21° 10' N. longitude 124° 17′ E. the needle pointed due north.

On the 18th, we had found the ship eighteen miles to the northward of her account, and saw several land birds about the fhip, which appeared to be very much tired: we caught one as it was refting upon the booms, and found it very remarkable. It was about as big as a goofe, and all over as white as fnow, except the legs and beak, which were black; the beak was curved, and of fo great a length and thickness, that it is not easy to conceive how the muscles of the neck, which was about a foot long, and as fmall as that of a crane, could fupport it. We kept it about four months on biscuit and water, but it then died, apparently for want of nourishment, being almost as light as a bladder. It was very different from every fpecies of the Toucan that is represented by Edwards, and I believe has never been defcribed. These birds appeared to have been blown off fome island to the northward of us, that is not laid down in the charts.

The needle continued to point due north till the 22d, when at fix o'clock in the morning, Grafton's Ifland, the northermoft of the Bafhé Iflands, bore fouth, diftant fix leagues. As I had defigned to touch at

thefe

these islands, I stood for that in fight; but as the navigation from hence to the Streight of Banca is very dangerous, and we had now both a fine morning, and a fine gale, I thought it beft to proceed on our way, and therefore steered weftward again. The principal of these islands are five in number, and by a good obfervation Grafton's Ifland lies in latitude 21° 8' N. longitude 118° 14' E. The variation of the compass was now 1° 20′ W.

1765. October.

On the 24th, being in latitude 16° 59′ N. longitude Thurfd. 24. 113° 1' E. we kept a good look-out for the Triangles, which lie without the north-end of the Prafil, and form a most dangerous fhoal. On the 30th, we fw Wednef. 30. several trees and large bamboos floating about the ship,

Thurf.

3.

and
upon founding had three and twenty fathom, with
dark brown fand, and small pieces of fhells. Our lati-
tude was now 7° 17′ N. longitude 104° 21' E.; the
variation was 30' W. The next day we found the ship
thirteen miles to the northward of her account, which
we judged to be the effect of a current; and on the 2d Novemb.
of November, we found her thirty-eight miles to the Saturd. 2.
fouthward of her account. Our latitude by observation
was 3o 54' N. longitude 103° 20' E. We had here
foundings at forty-two and forty-three fathom, with
foft mud.

At feven o'clock the next morning, we faw the Sunday 3.
ifland of Timoan, bearing S. W. by W. diftant about
twelve leagues. As Dampier has mentioned Pulo Ti-
moan as a place where fome refreshments are to be
procured, I endeavoured to touch there, having lived

upon

falt provifions, which were now become bad ever since we were at Tinian; but light airs, calms, and a foutherly current, prevented our coming to an anchor till late in the evening of the 5th. We had fixteen Tuesday 5. fathom at about the distance of two miles from the fhore, in a bay on the eaft fide of the island.

The next day I landed to fee what was to be got, Wednes. 6. and found the inhabitants, who are Malays, a furly infolent fet of people. As foon as they faw us approaching the fhore, they came down to the beach in great numbers, having a long knife in one hand, a fpear headed with iron in the other, and a creffit or dagger by their fide, We went on fhore, however, notwithstand

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