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1770. November.

we could neither refift nor fly. Malay fervants were hired to attend the sick, but they had fo little fense, either of duty or humanity, that they could not be kept within call, and the patient was frequently obliged to get out of bed to feek them. On the 9th we loft our Friday 9. poor Indian boy Tayeto, and Tupia was so much affected, that it was doubted whether he would survivé till the next day.

In the mean time, the bottom of the ship being examined, was found to be in a worfe condition than we apprehended; the falfe keel was all gone to within twenty feet of the ftern-poft; the main keel was confiderably injured in many places; a great quantity of the fheathing was torn off, and feveral' planks were much damaged; two of them, and the half a third, under the main channel near the keel, were, for the length of fix feet, fo worn, that they were not above an eighth part of an inch thick, and here the worms had made their way quite into the timbers; yet in this condition fhe had failed many hundred leagues, where navigation is as dangerous as in any part of the world. How much mifery did we escape, by being ignorant that fo confiderable a part of the bottom of the veffel was thinner than the foal of á fhoe, and that every life on board depended upon fo flight and fragile a barrier between us and the unfathomable ocean! It feemed, however, that we had been preferved only to perish here. Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were fo bad, that the phyfician declared they had no chance for recoveryÿ but by removing into the country; a house was therefore hired for them, at the distance of about two miles from the town, which belonged to the master of the hotel, who engaged to furnish them with provifions, and the use of flaves. As they had already experienced their want of influence over flaves that had other mafters, and the unfeeling inattention of thefe fellows tó the fick, they bought each of them a Malay woman, which removed both the causes of their being fo ill ferved; the women were their own property, and the tenderness of the fex, even here, made them good nurfes. While these préparations were making, they received an account of the death of Tupia, who funk at once

after

1779. after the lofs of the boy, whom he loved with the ten dernefs of a parent.

November.

Wedn. 14.

Monday 26.

By the 14th the bottom of the fhip was thoroughly repaired, and very much to my fatisfaction. It would indeed be injuftice to the officers and workmen of this yard, not to declare, that, in my opinion, there is not a marine yard in the world where a fhip can be laid down with more convenience, fafety, and dispatch, nor repaired with more diligence and kill. At this place they heave down by two mafts, a method which we do not now practife; it is, however, unquestionably more fafe and expeditious to heave down with two mafts than one, and he must have a good share of bigotry to old cuftoms, and an equal want of common fenfe, who will not allow this, after feeing with what facility the Dutch heave down their largest ships at this place.

Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander recovered flowly at their country-house, which was not only open to the fea breeze, but fituated upon a running ftream, which greatly contributed to the circulation of the air; but I was now taken ill myfelf; Mr. Sporing, and a feaman who had attended Mr. Banks, were alfo feized with intermittents; and indeed there were not more than ten of the whole ships company that were able to do duty.

We proceeded, however, in rigging the ship, and getting water and stores a-board, the water we were obliged to procure from Batavia, at the rate of fix fhillings and eight pence a leager, or one hundred and fifty gallons.

About the 26th the wefterly monfoon fet in, which generally blows here in the night from the S. W. and in the day from the N. W. or N. For fome nights before this we had very heavy rain, with much thunder; and in the night, between the 25th and 26th, fuch rain as we had feldom feen, for near four hours without intermiffion. Mr. Banks's houfe admitted the water in every part like a fieve, and it ran through the lower rooms in a stream that would have turned a mill. He was by this time fufficiently recovered to go out, and upon his entering Batavia the next morning, he

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was much furprised to see the bedding every where 1770. hung out to dry.

The wet season was now fet in, though we had some intervals of fair weather. The frogs in the ditches, which croak ten times louder than any frogs in Europe, gave notice of rain by an inceffant noife, that was almost intolerable; and the gnats and musquitos, which had been very troublesome even during the dry weather, were now become innumerable, iwarming from every plash of water like bees from a hive; they did not, however, much incommode us in the day, and the ftings, however trouble fome at firft, never continued to itch above half an hour; fo that none of us felt in the day the effects of the wounds they had received in the night.

November.

On the 8th of December, the fhip being perfectly December. refitted, and having taken in most of her water and Saturd. 8. ftores, and received her fick on board, we ran up to

Batavia Road, and anchored in four fathoms and an

half water.

From this time to the 24th we were employed in Monday 24; getting on board the remainder of our water and proviLions, with fome new pumps, and in feveral other operations that were neceffary to fit the fhip for the fea, all which would have been effected much fooner, if fickness and death had not difabled or carried off a number of our men.

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While we lay her the Earl of Elgin, Captaien Cook, a fhip belonging to the English East India Company, came to an anchor in the Road. She was bound from Madrafs to China, but having loft her paffage, put in here to wait for the next season.

The Phoenix, Captain Black, an English country Thip, from Bencoolen, alfo came to an anchor at this place.

In the afternoon of Christmas eve, the 24th, I took leave of the Governor, and several of the principal gentlemen of the place, with whom I had formed connections, and from whom I received every poffible civility and affiftance; but, in the mean time, an accident happened which might have produced difagreeable confequences: A feaman had run away from one of the Dutch fhips in the Road, and entered on board

of

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1770. of mine the Captain had applied to the Governor, to December. reclaim him as a fubject of Holland, and an order for that purpose was procured: this order was brought to me foon after I returned from my laft vifit, and I faid, that if the man appeared to be a Dutchman, he should certainly be delivered up. Mr. Hicks commanded on board, and I gave the Dutch officer an order to him, to deliver the man up under that condition. I flept Tuef. 23. my felf this night on fhore, and in the morning, the Captain of the Dutch Commodore came and told me that he had carried my order on board, but that the officer had refufed to deliver up the man, alledging, not only that he was not a Dutchman, but that he was a fubject of Great Britain, born in Ireland. I replied, that the officer had perfectly executed my orders, and that if the man was an English fubject, it could not be expected that I fhould deliver him up. The Captain then faid, that he was just come from the Governor, to demand the man of me in his name, as a fubject of Denmark, alledging, that he stood in the ship's books as born at Elfineur. The claim of this man as a fubject of Holland, being now given up, I obferved to the captain, that there appeared to be fome mistake in the Governor's meffage, for that he would certainly neyer demand a Danish feaman from me, who had committed no other crime than preferring the fervice of the English to that of the Dutch. I added, however, to convince him of my fincere defire to avoid difputes, that if the man was a Dane he fhould be delivered up as a courtefy, though he could not be demanded as a right; but that if I found he was an English fubject, I would keep him at all events. Upon these terms we parted; and foon after I received a letter from Mr. Hicks, containing indubitable proof that the seaman in queftion was a fubject of his Britannic Majefty. This letter I immediately carried to the Shebandar, with a request that it might be fhewn to the Governor, and that his excellency might at the fame time be told, I would not upon any terms part with the man. This had the defired effect, and I heard no more of the affair.

In the evening, I went on board, accompanied by Mr. Banks, and the rest of the gentlemen, who had

constantly

conftantly refided on fhore, and who, though better, were not yet perfectly recoveted.

1770.

December.

At fix in the morning, of the 26th, we weighed and Wednef. 27. fet fail, with a light breeze at S. W. The Elgin Indiaman faluted us with three cheers and thirteen guns, and the garrifon with fourteen, both which, with the help of our swivels, we returned, and foon after the sea breeze set in at N. by W. which obliged us to anchor juft without the fhips in the Road.

At this time, the number of fick on board amounted to forty, and the rest of the ship's company were in a very feeble condition. Every individual had been fick except the fail-maker, an old man between seventy and eighty years of age, and it is very remarkable that this old man, during our stay at this place, was conftantly drunk every day: we had buried feven, the Surgeon, three feamen, Mr. Green's fervant, Tupia, and Tayeto his boy. All but Tupia fell a facrifice to the unwholesome, ftagnant, putrid air of the country, and he who from his birth had been used to fubfift chiefly upon vegetable food, particularly ripe fruit, foon contracted all the disorders that are incident to a fea life, and would probably have funk under them before we could have compleated our voyage, if we had not been obliged to go to Batavia to refit.

СНАР. XIII.

Some Account of Batavia, and the adjacent Country, with their Fruits, Flowers, and other Productions.

BA

ATAVIA, the capital of the Dutch dominions

in India, and generally supposed to have no equal among all the poffeffions of the Europeans in Afia, is fituated on the North fide of the ifland of Java, in a low fenny plain, where several small rivers, which take their rife in the mountains called Blaeuwen Berg, about forty miles up the country, empty themfelves into the fea, and where the coaft forms a large bay, called the Bay of Batavia, at the diftance of about eight leagues from the ftreight of Sunda. It lies in latitude 6o 10 S. and longitude 106° 50' E. from the meridian of Greenwich, as appears from aftronomical obfervations

made

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