I Was Now Quite Easy, Since It Was In Our
Power To Anchor, In Case Of A Calm; Or To Spend The Night, If We Found No
Passage.
Towards noon some canoes came off to us from one of the isles,
having two or three people in each; who advanced boldly alongside, and
exchanged some cocoa-nuts, and shaddocks, for small nails.
They pointed out
to us Anamocka, or Rotterdam; an advantage we derived from knowing the
proper names. They likewise gave us the names of some of the other isles,
and invited us much to go to theirs, which they called Cornango. The breeze
freshening, we left them astern, and steered for Anamocka; meeting with a
clear passage, in which we found unequal sounding, from forty to nine
fathoms, depending, I believe, in a great measure, on our distance from the
islands which form it.
As we drew near the south end of Rotterdam, or Anamocka, we were met by a
number of canoes, laden with fruit and roots; but as I did not shorten
sail, we had but little traffic with them. The people in one canoe enquired
for me by name; a proof that these people have an intercourse with those of
Amsterdam. They importuned us much to go towards their coast, letting us
know, as we understood them, that we might anchor there. This was on the
S.W. side of the island, where the coast seemed to be sheltered from the S.
and S.E. winds; but as the day was far spent, I could not attempt to go in
there, as it would have been necessary to have sent first a boat to examine
it. I therefore stood for the north side of the island, where we anchored
about three-fourths of a mile from shore; the extremes of it bearing south,
88 deg. E. to S.W.; a cove with a sandy beach at the bottom of it S. 50 deg. E.
SECTION II.
Reception at Anamocka; a Robbery and its Consequences, with a Variety of
other Incidents. Departure from the Island. A sailing Canoe described. Some
Observations on the Navigation of these Islanders. A Description of the
Island, and of those in the Neighbourhood, with some Account of the
Inhabitants, and nautical Remarks.
Before we had well got to an anchor, the natives came off from all parts in
canoes, bringing with them yams and shaddocks, which they exchanged for
small nails and old rags. One man taking a vast liking to our lead and
line, got hold of it, and, in spite of all the threats I could make use of,
cut the line with a stone; but a discharge of small shot made him return
it. Early in the morning, I went ashore with Mr Gilbert to look for fresh
water. We landed in the cove above-mentioned, and were received with great
courtesy by the natives. After I had distributed some presents amongst
them, I asked for water, and was conducted to a pond of it that was
brackish, about three-fourths of a mile from the landing-place, which I
supposed to be the same that Tasman watered at. In the mean time, the
people in the boat had laden her with fruit and roots, which the natives
had brought down, and exchanged for nails and beads. On our return to the
ship, I found the same sort of traffic carrying on there. After breakfast,
I went ashore with two boats to trade with the people, accompanied by
several of the gentlemen, and ordered the launch to follow with casks to be
filled with water. The natives assisted us to roll them to and from the
pond; and a nail or a bead was the expence of their labour. Fruits and
roots, especially shaddocks and yams, were brought down in such plenty,
that the two boats were laden, sent off, cleared, and laden a second time,
before noon; by which time also the launch had got a full supply of water,
and the botanical and shooting parties had all come in, except the surgeon,
for whom we could not wait, as the tide was ebbing fast out of the cove;
consequently he was left behind. As there is no getting into the cove with
a boat, from between half-ebb to half-flood, we could get off no water in
the afternoon. However, there is a very good landing-place, without it,
near the southern point, where boats can get ashore at all times of the
tide. Here some of the officers landed after dinner, where they found the
surgeon, who had been robbed of his gun. Having come down to the shore some
time after the boats had put off, he got a canoe to bring him on board;
but, as he was getting into her, a fellow snatched hold of the gun, and ran
off with it. After that no one would carry him to the ship, and they would
have stripped him, as he imagined, had he not presented a tooth-pick case,
which they, no doubt, thought was a little gun. As soon as I heard of this,
I landed at the place above-mentioned, and the few natives who were there
fled at my approach. After landing I went in search of the officers, whom I
found in the cove, where we had been in the morning, with a good many of
the natives about them. No step had been taken to recover the gun, nor did
I think proper to take any; but in this I was wrong. The easy manner of
obtaining this gun, which they now, no doubt, thought secure in their
possession, encouraged them to proceed in these tricks, as will soon
appear. The alarm the natives had caught being soon over, they carried
fruit, &c. to the boats, which got pretty well laden before night, when we
all returned on board.
Early in the morning of the 28th, Lieutenant Clerke, with the master and
fourteen or fifteen men, went on shore in the launch for water.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 168 of 235
Words from 170357 to 171374
of 239428
