CHAPTER XIV AUSTRALIA TO SAVU ISLAND AUG. 27-SEPT. 21, 1770 "Sea-sawdust "-New Guinea-Landing-Vegetation-Natives throw firedarts-Home-sickness of the crew-Coast along Timor-Rotte-AuroraSavu Island-Signs of Europeans-A boat sent ashore to trade-Anchor -Reception by natives-Their Radja-Mynheer Lange-House of Assembly-Native dinner-Obstacles to trading-Mynheer Lange's covetousness-Trading-Dutch policy concerning spices. 27th August. Lay to all night; in the morning a fresh trade and fine clear weather made us hope that our difficulties were drawing to an end. It was now resolved to haul up to the northward in order to make the coast of New Guinea, so as to assure ourselves that we had really got clear of the South Sea, which was accordingly done. At dinnertime we were alarmed afresh by the usual report of a shoal just ahead; it proved, however, to be no more than a band or regular layer of a brownish colour, extending upon the sea, having very much the appearance of a shoal while at a distance. It was formed by innumerable small atoms, each scarcely half a line in length, yet, when looked at under a microscope, consisting of thirty or forty tubes, each hollow and divided throughout the whole length into many cells by small partitions, like the tubes of Conferva. To which of the three kingdoms of nature they belong I am totally ignorant. I only guess that they are of a vegetable nature, because on burning them I could perceive no animal smell. We have before this during this voyage seen them several times on the coast of Brazil and of New SEPT. 1770 OFF NEW GUINEA 325 Holland, but never that I recollect at any considerable distance from the land. In the evening a small bird of the noddy (Sterna) kind hovered about the ship, and at night settled on the rigging, where it was taken, and proved exactly the same bird as Dampier has described, and given a rude figure of, under the name of a noddy from New Holland (see his Voyages, vol. iii. p. 98, table of birds, Fig. 5). 28th. Still standing to the northward, the water shoaling regularly; vast quantities of the little substances mentioned yesterday floating upon the water in large lines, a mile or more long, and fifty or a hundred yards wide, all swimming either immediately upon the surface of the water, or not many inches below it. The seamen, who were now convinced that it was not as they had thought the spawn of fish, began to call it sea-sawdust, a name certainly not ill adapted to its appearance. One of them, a Portuguese, who came on board the ship at Rio de Janeiro, told me that at St. Salvador on the coast of Brazil, where the Portuguese have a whale fishery, he had often seen vast quantities of it taken out of the stomachs of whales or grampuses. 29th. During the whole night our soundings were very irregular, but never less than seven fathoms, and never so shoal for any time. In the morning the land was seen from the deck. It was uncommonly low, but very thickly covered with wood. At eight o'clock it was not more than two leagues from us, but the water had gradually shoaled since morn to five fathoms, and was at this time as muddy as the river Thames, so that it was not thought prudent to go any nearer at present. We accordingly stood along shore, seeing fires and large groves of cocoanut trees, in the neighbourhood of which we supposed the Indian villages to be situated. 1st September. Distant as the land was, a very fragrant smell came off from it early in the morning, with the little breeze that blew right off shore. It resembled much the smell of gum Benjamin. As the sun gathered power it died 1 Coast of New Guinea, near Cape Valsche. away, and was no longer perceived. All the latter part of the day we had calms or light winds all round the compass, the weather at the same time being most intolerably hot. 3rd. We stood right in-shore, and at half-past eight had less than three fathoms water five or six miles from the shore. The captain, Dr. Solander, and I, with the boat's crew and my servants, consisting in all of twelve men, well armed, rowed directly towards the shore, but could not get nearer than about 200 yards on account of the shallowness of the water. We quickly, however, got out of the boat, and waded ashore, leaving two men to take care of her. We had no sooner landed than we saw the print of naked feet upon the mud below high-water mark, which convinced us that the Indians were not far off, though we had yet seen no signs of any. The nature of the country made it necessary for us to be very much upon our guard. The close, thick wood came down to within less than 100 yards of the water, and so near therefore might the Indians come without our seeing them, and should they by numbers overpower us, a retreat to the boat would be impossible, as she was so far from the shore. We proceeded, therefore, with much caution, looking carefully about us, the doctor and I looking for plants at the edge of the wood, and the rest walking along the beach. About 200 yards from our landing, we came to a grove of cocoanut trees of very small growth, but well hung with fruit, standing upon the banks of a small brook of brackish water. Near them was a small shed, hardly half covered with cocoanut leaves, in and about which were numberless cocoanut shells, some quite fresh. We stayed under these trees some time, admiring and wishing for the fruit, but as none of us could climb, it was impossible to get even one, so we left them, and proceeded in search of anything else which might occur. We soon found plantains and a single bread-fruit tree, but neither of these had any fruit upon them, so we proceeded, and had got about a quarter of a mile from the boat when three Indians suddenly rushed out of the woods, with a hideous shout, about a hundred SEPT. 1770 FIRE THROWN BY NATIVES 327 yards beyond us, and running towards us, the foremost threw something out of his hand which flew on one side of him and burned exactly like gunpowder. The other two immediately threw two darts at us, on which we fired. Most of our guns were loaded with small shot, which, at the distance they were from us, I suppose they hardly felt, for they moved not at all, but immediately threw a third dart, on which we loaded and fired again. Our balls, I suppose, this time fell near them, but none of them were materially hurt, as they ran away with great alacrity. From this specimen of the people we immediately concluded that nothing was to be got here but by force, which would, of course, be attended with the destruction of many of these poor people, whose territories we certainly had no right to invade, either as discoverers or people in real want of provisions. We therefore resolved to go into our boat and leave this coast to some after-comer who might have either more time or better opportunities of gaining the friendship of its inhabitants. Before we had got abreast of her, however, we saw the two people in her make signals to us that more Indians were coming along shore, and before we had got into the water we saw them come round a point about 500 yards from us. They had probably met the three who first attacked us, for on seeing us they halted and seemed to wait till the main body should come up, nor did they come nearer us while we waded to the boat. When we were embarked and afloat, we rowed towards them and fired some muskets over their heads into the trees, on which they walked gradually off, continuing to throw abundance of their fires, whatever they might be designed for. We guessed their numbers to be about 100. After we had watched them and their behaviour as long as we chose, we returned to the ship, where our friends had suffered much anxiety for our sakes, imagining that the fires thrown by the Indians were real muskets, so much did they resemble the fire and smoke made by the firing of one. These "fire-arms" were also seen by Torres (see p. li.) The place where we landed we judged to be near Cabo de la Colta de Santa Bonaventura, as it is called in the French charts, about nine or ten leagues to the southward of Keer Weer.1 We were not ashore altogether more than two hours, so cannot be expected to have made many observations. The soil had all the appearance of the highest fertility, being covered with a prodigious quantity of trees, which seemed to thrive luxuriantly. Notwithstanding this, the cocoanut trees bore very small fruit, and the plantains did not seem very thriving. The only bread-fruit tree that we saw was, however, very large and healthy. There was very little variety of plants; we saw only twenty-three species, every one of which was known to us, unless two may prove upon comparison to be different from any of the many species of Cyperus we have still undetermined from New Holland. Had we had axes to cut down the trees, or could we have ventured into the woods, we should doubtless have found more, but we had only an opportunity of examining the beach and edge of the wood. I am of opinion, however, that the country does not abound in variety of species, as I have been in no one before where I could not, on a good soil, have gathered many more with the same time and opportunity. The people, as well as we could judge, were nearly of the same colour as the New Hollanders; some thought rather lighter. They were certainly stark naked. The arms which they used against us were very light, ill-made darts of bamboo cane, pointed with hard wood, in which were many barbs. They perhaps shot them with bows, but I am of opinion that they threw them with a stick something in the manner of the New Hollanders. They came about sixty yards beyond us, but not in a point - blank direction. Besides these, many among them, maybe a fifth part of the whole, had in their hands a short piece of stick, perhaps a hollow cane, which they swing sideways from them, and immediately fire flew from it perfectly resembling the flash and smoke of a musket, and of no longer duration. For 1 Cook and Banks landed "on a part of the coast scarcely known to this day."-Wharton's Cook. |