Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks/Chapter 18
CHAPTER XVIII
BATAVIA TO CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
December 25, 1770
Leave Batavia—Cracatoa—Mosquitos on board ship—Prince's Island—Visit the town—Account of Prince's Island—Produce—Religion—Nuts of Cycas circinalis—Town—Houses—Bargaining—Language—Affinity of Malay, Madagascar and South Sea Islands languages—Leave Prince's Island—Sickness on board—Deaths of Mr. Sporing, Mr. Parkinson, Mr. Green, and many others—Coast of Natal—Dangerous position of the ship—Cape of Good Hope—Dr. Solander's illness—French ships—Bougainville's voyage.
25th December 1770. There was not, I believe, a man in the ship but gave his utmost aid to getting up the anchor, so completely tired was every one of the unhealthy air of this place. We had buried here eight people. In general, however, the crew were in rather better health than they had been a fortnight before.[1]
While we were at work a man was missed, and as it was supposed that he did not intend to stay ashore, a boat was sent after him; its return delayed us so long that we entirely lost the sea breeze, and were obliged to come to again a few cables' lengths only from where we lay before.
1st January 1771. Worked all night, and to-day likewise: at night anchored under a high island, called in the draughts Cracatoa and by the Indians Pulo Racatta. I had been unaccountably troubled with mosquitos ever since we left Batavia, and still imagined that they increased instead of decreasing, although my opinion was universally thought improbable. To-day, however, the mystery was discovered, for on getting up water Dr. Solander, who happened to stand near the scuttle-cask, observed an infinite number of them in their water-state, which, as soon as the sun had a little effect upon the water, began to come out in real effective mosquitos incredibly fast.
2nd. We saw that there were many houses and much cultivation upon Cracatoa, so that probably a ship which chose to touch here in preference to Prince's Island might meet with refreshments.
4th. Soon after dinner-time to-day we anchored under Prince's Island and went ashore. The people who met us carried us immediately to a man who they told us was their king, and with whom, after a few compliments, we proceeded to business. This was to settle the price of turtle, in which we did not well agree. This, however, did not at all discourage us, as we doubted not but that in the morning we should have them at our own price. So we walked a little way along shore and the Indians dispersed. One canoe, however, remained, and, just as we went off, sold us three turtle on a promise that we should not tell the king.
5th. Ashore to-day trading: the Indians dropped their demands very slowly, but were very civil. Towards noon, however, they came down to the offered price, so that before night we had bought up a large supply of turtle. In the evening I went to pay my respects to his Majesty the king, whom I found in his house in the middle of a rice-field, cooking his own supper; he received me, however, very politely.
11th. My servant, Sander, whom I had hired at Batavia, having found out that these people had a town somewhere along shore to the westward, and not very far off, I resolved to visit it; but knowing that the inhabitants were not at all desirous of our company, kept my intentions secret from them. In the morning I set out, accompanied by our second lieutenant, and went along shore, telling all whom I met that I was in search of plants, which indeed was also the case. In about two hours we arrived at a place where were four or five houses. Here we met an old man, and ventured to ask him questions about the town. He said it was very distant; but we, not much relying on his information, proceeded on our way, as did he in our company, attempting, however, several times to lead us out of the pathway which we were now in. We remained firm to our purpose, and soon got sight of our desired object; the old man then turned our friend, and accompanied us to the houses, I suppose nearly 400 in number, divided into the old and new town, between which was a brackish river. In the old town we met with several old acquaintances, one of whom at the rate of 2d. a head undertook to transport us over the river, which he did in two very small canoes, which we prevented from oversetting by laying them alongside each other, and holding them together. In this manner we safely went through our navigation, and arrived at the new town, where were the houses of the king and all the nobilities. These the inhabitants very freely showed to us, though most of them were shut up, the people in general at this time of the year living in their rice-fields, to defend the crop from monkeys, birds, etc. When our curiosity was satisfied, we hired a large sailing boat, for which we gave two rupees (4s.)[2] and which carried us home again in time to dine upon a deer we had bought the day before. It proved very good and savoury meat.
In the evening, when we went ashore, we were acquainted that an axe had been stolen from one of our people: this, as the first theft, we thought it not proper to pass over, so immediate application was made to the king, who after some time promised that it should be returned in the morning.
12th. The hatchet was brought down according to promise; the thief, they said, afraid of conviction, had in the night conveyed it into the house of the man who brought it. Myself was this day seized with a return of my Batavia fever, which I attributed to having been much exposed to a burning sun in trading with the natives.
13th. My fever returned, but I resolved not to attempt to cure it till in the main ocean I should meet with a better air than this uncleared island could possibly have. In the evening after my fit I went ashore to the king, to whom time after time I had made small presents, altogether not of five shillings value, carrying two quires of paper, which, like everything else, he most thankfully received. We had much conversation, the purport of which was his asking why the English ships did not touch here, as they used to do. I told him that as they had not on the island turtle enough to supply one ship, they could not expect many; but advised him to breed cattle, sheep, and buffaloes, which advice, however, he did not seem much to approve of.
Some account of Prince's Island.
Prince's Island, as it is called by the English, in Malay Pulo Selan, and in the language of the inhabitants Pulo Paneitan, is a small island situated at the western entrance to the straits of Sunda. It is woody and has no remarkable hill upon it, though the English call the small one which is just over the anchoring place the Pike. This island was formerly much frequented by India ships of many nations, but especially English, who have of late forsaken it, on account, it is said, of the badness of its water, and stop either at North Island, a small island on the Sumatra coast outside the east entrance of the straits, or at New Bay, a few leagues only from Prince's Island, at neither of which places, however, can any quantity of refreshments be procured.
Its chief produce is water, which is so situated that if you are not careful in taking it high enough up the brook, it will inevitably be brackish, from which circumstance alone I believe it has got a bad name with almost all nations. It also produces turtle, of which, however, its supplies are not great; so that if a ship comes second or third in the season she must be contented with small ones, and no great plenty of them, as indeed was in some measure our case. We bought at very various prices, according to the humour of the people; but, altogether, I believe, they came to about a halfpenny or three farthings a pound. They were of the green kind, but not fat nor well flavoured in any degree, as they are in most other parts. This I believe is in great measure owing to the people keeping them, sometimes for a very long time, in crawls of brackish water, where they have no kind of food given to them. Fowls are tolerably cheap, a dozen large ones sold when we were there for a Spanish dollar, which is 5d. apiece. They have also plenty of monkeys and small deer (Moschus pygmæus), the largest of which are not quite so big as a new fallen lamb, and another kind of deer, called by them munchack, about the size of a sheep. The monkeys were about half a dollar (2s. 6d.), the small deer 2d.; the larger, of which they brought down only two, a rupee, or 2s. Fish they have of various kinds, and we always found them tolerably cheap. Vegetables they have: cocoanuts—a dollar for 100, if you choose them, or 130 if you take them as they come,—plantains in plenty, some water melons, pine-apples, jaccas (jack fruit), pumpkins; also rice, chiefly of the mountain sort which grows on dry land, yams, and several other vegetables: all which are sold reasonably enough.
The inhabitants are Javans, whose Radja is subject to the Sultan of Bantam, from whom they receive orders, and to whom they possibly pay a tribute, but of that I am not certain. Their customs, I believe, are very much like those of the Indians about Batavia, only they seem much more jealous of their women, so much so that I never saw one during the whole time of our stay, unless she was running away at full speed to hide herself in the woods. Their religion is Mahometanism, but I believe they have not a mosque upon the island: they were, however, very strict in the observance of their fast (the same as the Ramadan of the Turks), during which we happened to come. Not one would touch victuals until sunset, or even chew their betel; but half an hour before that time all went home to cook the kettle, nor would they stay for any time but in the hope of extraordinary profit.
The food was nearly the same as the Batavian Indians, adding only to it the nuts of the palm Cycas circinalis, with which on the coast of New Holland some of our people were made ill, and some of our hogs poisoned outright. Their method of preparing them to get rid of their deleterious qualities they told me were, first to cut the nuts into thin slices and dry them in the sun, then to steep them in fresh water for three months, afterwards pressing the water from them, and drying them in the sun once more. They, however, were so far from being a delicious food that they never used them but in times of scarcity, when they mixed the preparation with their rice.
Their town, which they called Samadang, consisted of about 400 houses; great part of the old town, however, was in ruins. Their houses were all built upon pillars four or five feet above the ground. The plan of that of Gundang, a man who seemed to be next in riches and influence to the king, will give an idea of them all. It was walled with boards, a luxury which none but the king and he himself had, but in no other respect differed from those of the middling people except in being a little larger. The walls
Their dispositions, as far as we saw them, were very good; at least they dealt very fairly with us upon all occasions, Indian-like, however, always asking double what they would take for whatever they had to dispose of. But this produced no inconvenience to us, who were used to this kind of traffic. In making bargains they were very handy, and supplied the want of small money reasonably well by laying together a quantity of anything, and when the price was settled dividing it among each other according to the proportion each had brought to the general stock. They would sometimes change our money, giving 240 doits for a Spanish dollar, that is 5s. sterling, and 92, that is 2s. sterling, for a Bengal rupee. The money they chose, however, was doits in all small bargains; dubblecheys they had, but were very nice in taking them.
Their language is different both from the Malay and Javan: they all, however, speak Malay.
| Prince's Island. | Java. | Malay. | English. |
| Jalma | Oong Lanang | Oran Lacki Lacki | A man |
| Becang | Oong Wadong | Parampuan | A woman |
| Oroculatacke | Lari | Anack | A child |
| Holo | Undass | Capalla | The head |
| Erung | Erung | Edung | The nose |
| Mata | Moto | Mata | The eyes |
| Chole | Cuping | Cuping | The ears |
| Cutock | Untu | Ghigi | The teeth |
| Beatung | Wuttong | Prot | The belly |
| Pimping | Poopoo | Paha | The thigh |
| Hullootoor | Duncul | Loutour | The knee |
| Metis | Sickil | Kauki | The leg |
| Cucu | Cucu | Cucu | A nail |
| Langan | Tangan | Tangan | A hand |
| Ramo Langan | Jari | Jaring | A finger |
These specimens of languages, so near each other in situation, I choose to give together, and select the words without any previous choice, as I had written them down, that the similar and dissimilar words might equally be seen. As for the parts of the body which I have made the subject of this and all my specimens of language, I chose them in preference to all others, as the names of them are easily got from people of whose language the inquirer has not the least idea. What I call the Javan is the language spoken at Samarang, a day's journey from the seat of the Emperor of Java. I have been told that there are several other languages upon the island, but I had no opportunity of collecting words of any of these, as I met with no one who could speak them.
The Prince's Islanders call their language Catta Gunung, that is, the mountain language, and say that it is spoken upon the mountains of Java, from whence their tribe originally came, first to New Bay, only a few leagues off, and from thence to Prince's Island, driven there by the quantity of tigers.
The Malay, Javan, and Prince's Island languages all have words in them, either exactly like, or else plainly deriving their origin from the same source with others in the language of the South Sea Islands. This is particularly visible in their numbers, from whence one would at first be inclined to suppose that their learning, at least, had been derived originally from one and the same source. But how that strange problem of the numbers of the black inhabitants of Madagascar being vastly similar to those of Otahite could have come to pass, surpasses, I confess, my skill to conjecture. The numbers that I give below in the comparative table I had from a negro slave, born at Madagascar, who was at Batavia with an English ship, from whence he was sent for merely to satisfy my curiosity in the language.
That there are much fewer words in the Prince's Island language similar to South Sea words, is owing in great measure to my not having taken a sufficient quantity of words upon the spot to compare with them.
The Madagascar language has also some words similar to Malay words, ouron, the nose, in Malay, erung; lala, the tongue, lida; tang, the hand, tangan; taan, the ground, tanna.
From this similitude of language between the inhabitants of the Eastern Indies and the islands in the South Sea, I should have ventured to conjecture much did not Madagascar interfere: and how any communication can ever have been SPECIMENS OF LANGUAGES
| South Sea. | Malay. | Java. | Prince's Island. | English. |
| Matia | Mata | Moto | Mata | An eye |
| Maa | Macan | Mangan | … | To eat |
| Inoo | Menum | Gnumbe | … | To drink |
| Matte | Matte | Matte | … | To kill |
| Outou | Coutou | … | … | A louse |
| Euwa | Udian | Udan | … | Rain |
| Owhe | … | … | Awe | Bamboocane |
| Ooma | Sousou | Sousou | … | A breast |
| Mannu | … | Mannu | Mannuk | A bird |
| Eyea | Ican | Iwa | … | A fish |
| Uta | Utan | … | … | Inland |
| Tapao | … | Tapaan | … | The foot |
| Tooura | Udang | Urang | … | A lobster |
| Eufwhe | Ubi | Uwe | … | Yams |
| Etannou | Tannam | Tandour | … | To bury |
| Enammou | Gnammuck | … | … | A muscheto |
| Hearu | Garru | Garu | … | To scratch |
| Taro | Tallas | Talas | … | Cocos roots |
| Outou | … | … | Surgoot | The mouth |
| Eto | … | … | Tao | Sugar-cane |
| South Sea. | Malay. | Java. | Prince's Island. | Madagascar. | |
| 1. | Tahie | Satou | Sigi | Hegie | Issa |
| 2. | Rua | Dua | Lorou | Dua | Rove |
| 8. | Torou | Tiga | Tullu | Tollu | Tello |
| 4. | Haa | Ampat | Pappat | Opat | Effat |
| 5. | Ruma | Lima | Limo | Limath | Limi |
| [3]6. | Whene | Annam | Nunnam | Gunnap | Enning |
| 7. | Hetu | Tudju | Petu | Tudju | Fruto |
| 8. | Waru | Delapan | Wolo | Delapan | Wedo |
| 9. | Heva | Sembilan | Songo | Salapan | Sidai |
| 10. | Ahourou | Sapoulou | Sapoulou | Sapoulou | Scula |
| 11. | Matahie | Sabilas | Suvalas | … | … |
| 12. | Marua | Dubilas | Roalas | … | … |
| 20. | Tahie taou | Duapoulou | Rompoulon | … | … |
| 100. | Rima taou | Saratus | Satus | Satus | … |
| 200. | Mannu | Duaratus | Rongatus | … | … |
| 1000. | Lima mannu | Sereboo | Seavo | Seavo | … |
| 2000. | Mannu tiné | … | … | … | … |
14th January. Weighed; our breeze, though favourable, was, however, so slack, that by night we had got no further than abreast of the town, where we anchored.
20th. Myself, who had begun with the bark yesterday, missed my fever to-day; the people, however, in general grew worse, and many had now the dysentery or bloody flux.
22nd. Almost all the ship's company were now ill, either with fluxes or severe purgings; myself far from well, Mr. Sporing very ill, and Mr. Parkinson very little better: his complaint was a slow fever.
23rd. Myself was too ill to-day to do anything—one of our people died of the flux in the evening.
24th. My distemper this day turned out to be a flux, attended (as that disease always is) with excruciating pains in my bowels, on which I took to my bed: in the evening Mr. Sporing died.
25th. One more of the people died to-day. Myself endured the pain of the damned almost. The surgeon of the ship thought proper to order me the hot bath, into which I went four times at the intervals of two hours and felt great relief.
26th. Though better than yesterday my pains were still almost intolerable. In the evening Mr. Parkinson died, and one more of the ship's crew.
28th. This day Mr. Green, our astronomer, and two of the people died, all of the very same complaint as I laboured under, no very encouraging circumstance.
29th. Three more of the people died this day.
30th. For the first time I found myself better and slept some time, which my continual pains had never suffered me to do before notwithstanding the opiates which were constantly administered. One person only died to-day, but so weak were the people in general that, officers and men included, there were not more than eight or nine could keep the deck; so that four in a watch were all they had.
31st. This day I got out of my bed in good spirits and free from pain, but very weak; my recovery had been as rapid as my disease was violent; but to what cause to attribute either the one or the other we were equally at a loss. The wind, which went to E. and S.E. yesterday, blew to-day in the same direction, so we had little reason to doubt its being the true trade, a circumstance which raised the spirits of even those who were most afflicted with the tormenting disease which now raged with its greatest violence.
1st February. Fine brisk trade kept up our spirits and helped to raise me fast: two of the people died to-day, nevertheless.
2nd. Breeze continued to-day: the surgeon began to think that the rapid progress of the disease was checked by it, but declared at the same time that several people were still almost without hopes of recovery.
3rd. Some of the people who were least affected began now to show signs of amendment, but two of the worst died notwithstanding.
6th. One more died to-day. Those of our people who were not very bad before the 1st of this month had now almost universally recovered; but there were still several in the ship who at that time were very bad. These remained unalterably the same, neither becoming better nor worse. Throughout the whole course of this distemper medicine has been of little use, the sick generally proceeding gradually to their end without a favourable symptom, till the change of weather instantaneously stopped in a manner the malignant quality of the disease.
11th. One more of our people died.
12th. Another died.
14th. A third died to-day: neither of these people had grown either better or worse for many days.
20th. Lost another man.
26th. Lost three more people to-day.
3rd March. In the evening some of the people thought they saw land, but that opinion was rejected almost without examination, as by the journals which had been kept by the log, we were still above a hundred leagues from land, and by observations of sun and moon, full 40. The night was chiefly calms and light breezes, with fog and mist.
4th. Day broke and showed us at its earliest dawn how fortunate we had been in the calms of last night. What was then supposed to be land proved really so, and not more than five miles from us, so that another hour would have infallibly have carried us upon it. But fortunate as we might think ourselves to be yet unshipwrecked, we were still in extreme danger. The wind blew right upon the shore and with it ran a heavy sea, breaking mountains high upon the rocks, with which it was everywhere lined, so that, though some in the ship thought it possible, the major part did not hope to be able to get off. Our anchors and cables were accordingly prepared, but the sea ran too high to allow us a hope of the cables holding should we be driven to the necessity of using them, and should we be driven ashore the breakers gave us little hope of saving even our lives. At last, however, after four hours spent in the vicissitudes of hope and fear, we found that we got gradually off, and before night we were out of danger. The land from whence we so narrowly escaped is part of Terra de Natal, lying between the rivers Sangue and Fourmis, about twenty leagues to the southward of the Bay of Natal.
7th. For these some days past the seamen have found the ship to be driven hither and thither by currents[4] in a manner totally unaccountable to them.
The surface of the water was pretty thickly strewed with the substance that I have before often mentioned under the name of sea-sawdust; the water likewise emitted a strong smell like that of sea-weeds rotting on the shore.
12th. In the morning saw Cape Falso,[5] and soon after the Cape of Good Hope, off which we observed a rock not laid down in the charts. The breeze was fresh and fair; it carried us as far as Table Bay, off which we anchored. In coming along shore we saw several smokes upon the next hill before the Lion's rump, and when at anchor fires upon the side and near the top of the Table Mountain. In the bay were several ships, four French, two Danes, one English, viz. the Admiral Pocock, Indiaman, and several Dutch.
13th. Wind so fresh at S.E. that we could not attempt to go ashore; no boat, indeed, in the whole harbour attempted to stir; the Dutch Commodore hauled down his broad pennant, a signal for all boats belonging to him to keep on board. Jno. Thomas died.
14th. The ship was got under way and steered into the harbour to her proper berth. A Dutch boat came on board to know from whence we came, and brought with her a surgeon, who examined our sick, and gave leave for them and us to come ashore, which we accordingly did at dinnertime.
17th. Dr. Solander, who had been on board the Indiaman last night, was taken violently ill with a fever and a pain in his bowels. A country physician was immediately sent for, who declared on hearing his case that it was the common consequence of Batavian fevers, that the Doctor would be much worse, and would for some time suffer very much by his bowel complaint, but upon the whole he declared that there was no danger. I could not, however, help being a good deal alarmed in my own opinion.
31st. Dr. Solander, after having been confined to his bed or chamber ever since the 17th of this month, this day came downstairs for the first time, very much emaciated by his tedious illness.
3rd April. Theodosio[6] . . . a seaman, died very suddenly; he had enjoyed an uninterrupted state of good health during all our times of sickness.
7th. Of the four French vessels which we found in this harbour, three have now sailed, and the fourth is ready for sea, two were 64-gun ships, the third a large snow, and the fourth a frigate. All these came from the Isle de France[7] for provisions, of which they carry away hence a prodigious quantity, and consequently must have many mouths to feed. It is probable they meditate some stroke from this island at our East India settlements in the beginning of a future war, which, however, our Indian people are not at all alarmed at, trusting entirely to the vast armies which they constantly keep up, the support of which in Bengal alone costs £840,000 a year.
Mr. De Bougainville, pleased with the beauty of the ladies of Otahite, gave that island the name of Cypre. On his return home he touched at Isle de France, where the person who went out with him in the character of natural historian was left, and still remains. Otourrou, the Indian, whom he brought from thence, was known on board his ship by the name of Tootavu, a plain corruption of Bougainville, with whom it may be supposed he meant to change names according to his custom. This man is now at Isle de France, from whence a large ship is very soon to sail and carry him back to his own country, where she is to make a settlement. In doing this she must necessarily follow the track of Abel Jansen Tasman, and consequently, if she does not discover Cook’s Straits, which in all probability she will do, must make several discoveries on the coast of New Zealand. Thus much the French who were here made no secret of. How necessary then will it be for us to publish an account of our voyage as soon as possible after our arrival, if we mean that our own country shall have the honour of our discoveries. Should the French have published an account of Mr. De Bougainville's voyage before that of the second Dolphin,[8] how infallibly will they claim the discovery of Cypre, or Otahite, as their own, and treat the Dolphin's having seen it as a fiction, which we are enabled to set forth with some show of truth, as the Endeavour really did see it, a twelvemonth, however, after Mr. De Bougainville. If England choose to assert her prior claim to it, as she may hereafter do if the French settle, it may be productive of very disagreeable consequences.
- ↑ At the time of sailing the number of sick on board amounted to forty or more, and the rest were in a weakly condition, having every one been sick except the sailmaker, an old man about seventy or eighty years of age; and what was more extraordinary about this man was his being more or less generally drunk every day.—Wharton's Cook, p. 362.
- ↑ At Batavia the rupee was stated to be worth 2s. 6d.
- ↑ N.B.—In the island of Ulhietea 6 is called ono. [Note by Banks.]
- ↑ The Agulhas currents.
- ↑ This appears to have been Cape Agulhas.
- ↑ This is clearly Jeh. Dozey, A.B., who is stated, in the "Introduction" to Wharton's Cook (p. liii.), to have died on April 7, 1771, but his death is not alluded to in Cook's Journal.
- ↑ The more usual name now is Mauritius.
- ↑ i.e. the second voyage of the Dolphin, under Wallis (q.v. p. li.) No important discoveries were made on the Dolphin's first voyage under Byron.