CHAPTER XIV
AUSTRALIA TO SAVU ISLAND
Aug. 27—Sept. 21, 1770
"Sea-sawdust"—New Guinea—Landing—Vegetation—Natives throw fire-darts—Home-sickness of the crew—Coast along Timor—Rotte—Aurora—Savu 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 Confervæ. 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
