trees, and commands an extensive and magnificent view of the sea, and the interspersed islands.

On the 11th of January, two seamen, belonging to the Resolution, found means to run off with a six-oared cutter, and notwithstanding diligent search was made, both that and the following day, we were never able to learn any tidings of her. It was supposed that these people had been seduced by the prevailing notion of making a fortune, by returning to the fur islands. As we heard nothing, during our stay in the Typa, of the measurement of the ships, it may be concluded, that the point so strongly contested by the Chinese, in Lord Anson's time, has, in consequence of his firmness and resolution, never since been insisted

on.

The following nautical observations were made while we lay here :

On the full and change days it was high water in the Typa at 5h 15, and in Macao harbour at 5h 50m. The greatest rise was six feet one inch. The flood appeared to come from the south-eastward; but we could not determine this point with certainty, on account of the great number of islands which lie off the mouth of the river of Canton.

CHAPTER X.-LEAVE THE TYPA.-ORDERS OF THE COURT OF FRANCE RESPECTING CAPTAIN COOK.-RESOLUTIONS IN CONSEQUENCE THEREOF.-STRIKE SOUNDINGS ON THE MACCLESFIELD BANKS.-PASS PULO SAPATA.-STEER FOR PULO CONDORE.-ANCHOR AT PULO CONDORE.-TRANSACTIONS DURING OUR STAY.-JOURNEY TO THE PRINCIPAL TOWN.RECEIVE A VISIT FROM A MANDARIN.-EXAMINE HIS LETTERS.-REFRESHMENTS TO BE PROCURED.-DESCRIPTION AND PRESENT STATE OF THE ISLAND.-ITS PRODUCE.-AN ASSERTION OF M. SONNERAT REFUTED.-ASTRONOMICAL AND NAUTICAL OBSERVATIONS.

ON the 12th of January, 1780, at noon we unmoored, and scaled the guns, which on board my ship now amounted to ten; so that, by means of four additional ports, we could, if occasion required, fight seven on a side. In like manner, the Resolution had increased the number of her guns from twelve to sixteen; and in both ships, a stout barricade was carried round their upper works, and every other precaution taken to give our small force as respectable an appearance as possible.

We thought it our duty to provide ourselves with these means of defence, though we had some reason to believe that the generosity of our enemies had, in a great measure, rendered them superfluous. We were informed at Canton, that the public prints, which had arrived last from England, made mention of instructions having been found on board all the French ships of war, captured in Europe, directing their commanders, in case of falling in with the ships that sailed under the command of Captain Cook, to suffer them to proceed on their voyage without molestation. The same orders were also said to have been given by the American Congress to the vessels employed in their service. As this intelligence was farther confirmed by private letters of several of the supercargoes, Captain Gore thought himself bound, in return for the liberal exceptions made in our favour, to refrain from availing himself of any opportunities of capture which these might afford, and to preserve, throughout his voyage, the strictest neutrality.

At two in the afternoon, having got under sail, the Resolution saluted the fort of Macao with eleven guns, which was returned with the same number. At five, the wind dropping, the ship missed stays, and drove into shallow water; but, by carrying out an anchor, she was hauled off without receiving the smallest damage. The weather continuing calm, we were obliged to warp out into the entrance of the Typa, which we gained by eight o'clock, and lay there till nine the next morning; when, by the help of a fresh breeze from the east, we stood to the southward between Potoe and Wungboo. At noon we were saluted by a

Swedish ship as she passed us on her way to Europe. At four, the Ladrone bore east, distant two leagues. We now steered south half-east, with a fresh breeze from the east north-east, without any occurrence worth remarking, till noon of the 15th; when, being in latitude 18° 57′, and longitude 114° 13′, the wind veering to the north, we directed our course half a point more to the eastward, in order to strike soundings over the Macclesfield Bank. This we effected at eight in the evening of the 16th, and found the depth of water to be fifty fathoms over a bottom of white sand and shells. This part of the Macclesfield shoals we placed in latitude 15° 51', and longitude 114° 20′; which agrees very exactly with the position given in Mr. Dalrymple's map, whose general accuracy, if it stood in need of any support, was confirmed, in this instance, by a great number of lunar observations, which we had an opportunity of making every day since we left the Typa. The variation was found to be, in the forenoon, 0° 39′ W.

On the 17th, we had heavy gales from the east by north, with a rough tumbling sea, and the weather overcast and boisterous. On the 18th, the wind still continuing to blow strong, and the sea to run high, we altered our course to south-west by south; and, at noon, being in latitude 12° 34', longitude 132°, we began to steer a point more to the westward for Pulo Sapata, which we saw on the 19th, at four in the afternoon, bearing north-west by west, about four leagues distant. This small, high, barren island is called Sapata, from its resemblance of a shoe. Our observations, compared with Mr. Bayly's time keeper, place it in latitude 10° 4' N. longitude 109° 10′ E. The gale had, at this time, increased with such violence, and the sea ran so high, as to oblige us to close-reef the topsails. During the last three days, the ships had outrun their reckoning at the rate of twenty miles a-day; and as we could not attribute the whole of this to the effects of a following sea, we imputed it in part to a current, which, according to my own calculations, had set forty-two miles to the south south-west, between the noon of the 19th and the noon of the 20th, and is taken into the account in determining the situation of the island.

After passing Sapata, we steered to the westward; and at midnight sounded, and had ground with fifty fathoms of line, over a fine sandy bottom. In the morning of the 20th, the wind becoming more moderate, we let out the reefs, and steered west by south for Pulo Condore. At noon the latitude was 8° 46′ N., longitude 106° 45′ E.; and, at half-past twelve, we got sight of the island, bearing west. At four, the extremes of Pulo Condore, and the islands that lie off it, bore south-east and south-west by west; our distance from the nearest islands being two miles. We kept to the north of the islands, and stood for the harbour on the south-west end of Condore, which having its entrance from the north-west, is the best sheltered during the north-east monsoon. At six we anchored, with the best bower, in six fathoms, veered away two-thirds of the cable, and kept the ship steady with a stream anchor and cable to the south-east. When moored, the extremes of the entrance of the harbour bore north by west, and west north-west, one quarter west; the opening at the upper end, south-east by east, three quarters east; our distance from the nearest shore, a quarter of a mile.

As soon as we were come to anchor, Captain Gore fired a gun, with a view of apprising the natives of our arrival, and drawing them toward the shore, but without effect. Early in the morning of the 21st, parties were sent to cut wood, which was Captain Gore's principal motive for coming hither. In the afternoon, a sudden gust of wind broke the stream-cable, by which the Discovery was riding, and obliged us to moor with the bower anchors. None of the natives having yet made their appearance, notwithstanding a second gun had been fired, Captain Gore thought it advisable to land and go in search of them, that no time might be lost in opening a trade for such provisions as the place could afford. With this view he appointed me to accompany him in the morning of the 22d; and, as the wind at this time blew strong from the east, we did not think it prudent to coast in our boats to the town, which is situated in the east side of the island, but rowed round the north point of the harbour. We had proceeded about two miles along the shore, when observing a road that led into a wood, we landed. Here I quitted Captain Gore, taking with me a midshipman and four armed sailors, and pursued the path which seemed to point directly across the island. We proceeded through a thick wood up a steep hill to the distance of a mile,

when, after descending through a wood of the same extent, on the other side, we came out into a flat, open, sandy country, interspersed with cultivated spots of rice and tobacco, and groves of cabbage palm-trees, and cocoa-nut trees. We here spied two huts situated on the edge of the wood, to which we directed our course; and before we came up to them, were descried by two men, who immediately ran away from us, notwithstanding all the peaceable and supplicating gestures we could devise.

On reaching the huts, I ordered the party to stay without, lest the sight of so many armed men should terrify the inhabitants, whilst I entered and reconnoitred alone. I found in one of the huts an elderly man who was in a great fright, and preparing to make off with the most valuable of his effects that he could carry. However, I was fortunate enough, in a very little time, so entirely to dispel his fears, that he came out and called to the two men who were running away to return. The old man and I now soon came to a perfect understanding. A few signs, particularly that most significant one of holding out a handful of dollars, and then pointing to a herd of buffaloes, and the fowls that were running about the huts in great numbers, left him without any doubts as to the real objects of our visit. He pointed toward a place where the town stood, and made us comprehend that, by going thither, all our wants would be supplied. By this time the young men who had fled were returned, and the old man ordered one of them to conduct us to the town as soon as an obstacle should be removed, of which we were not aware. On our first coming out of the wood, a herd of buffaloes, to the number of twenty at least, came running toward us, tossing up their heads, snuffing the air, and roaring in a hideous manner. They had followed us to the huts, and stood drawn up in a body at a little distance; and the old man made us understand that it would be exceedingly dangerous for us to move till they were driven into the woods; but so enraged were the animals grown at the sight of us, that this was not effected without a good deal of time and difficulty. The men not being able to accomplish it, we were surprised to see them call to their assistance a few little boys, who soon drove them out of sight. Afterward we had occasion to observe, that in driving these animals and securing them, which is done by putting a rope through a hole which is made in their nostrils, little boys were always employed, who could stroke and handle them with impunity at times when the men durst not approach them. Having got rid of the buffaloes, we were conducted to the town, which was at a mile's distance, the road to it lying through a deep white sand. It is situated near the sea-side, at the bottom of a retired bay, which must afford a safe roadstead during the prevalence of the south-west

monsoons.

This town consists of between twenty and thirty houses, built close together; besides six or seven others that are scattered about the beach. The roof, the two ends, and the side fronting the country, are neatly constructed of reeds; the opposite side, facing the sea, is entirely open; but, by means of a sort of bamboo screens, they can exclude or let in as much of the sun and air as they please. We observed likewise other large screens or partitions for the purpose of dividing, as occasion required, the single room of which the house, properly speaking, consists, into separate apartments. We were conducted to the largest house in the town belonging to their chief, or, as they called him, their captain. This house had a room at each end, separated by a partition of reeds from the middle space, which was open on both sides, and provided with partition-screens like the others. It had, besides, a penthouse projecting four or five feet beyond the roof, and running the whole length on each side. At each end of the middle room were hung some Chinese paintings, representing men and women in ludicrous attitudes. In this apartment we were civilly desired to seat ourselves on mats, and betel was presented to us.

By means of my money, and pointing at different objects in sight, I had no difficulty in making a man, who seemed to be the principal person of the company, comprehend the main business of our errand; and I as readily understood from him that the chief or captain was absent, but would soon return, and that, without his consent, no purchases of any kind could be made, we availed ourselves of the opportunity which this circumstance afforded us to walk about the town; and did not forget to search, though in vain, for the remains of a fort, which had been built by our countrymen near the spot we were now upon in

1702*. On returning to the captain's house, we were sorry to find that he was not yet arrived, and the more so, as the time was almost elapsed which Captain Gore had fixed for our return to the boat. The natives were desirous we should lengthen our stay; they even proposed our passing the night there, and offered to accommodate us in the best manner in their power. I had observed when we were in the house before, and now remarked it the more, that the man I have mentioned above, frequently retired into one of the end rooms, and staid there some little time before he answered the questions that were put to him; which led me to suspect that the Captain was all the time there, though, for reasons best known to himself, he did not choose to appear; and I was confirmed in this opinion by being stopped as I was attempting to go into the room. At length, it clearly appeared that my suspicions were well founded; for, on our preparing to depart, the person who had so often passed in and out came from the room with a paper in his hand, and gave it to me to read; and I was not a little surprised to find it a sort of certificate in French as follows:

Pierre Joseph George, Evêque d'Adran, Vicaire Apost. de Cochin Chine, &c. &c.

Le petit Mandarin, porteur de cet écrit, est véritablement envoyé de la cour à Pulo Condore, pour y attendre et recevoir tout vaisseau européen qui auroit sa destination d'approcher ici. Le capitaine, en conséquence, pourroit se fier ou pour conduire le vaisseau au port, ou pour faire passer les nouvelles qu'il pourroit croire nécessaire.

PIERRE JOSEPH GEORGE, Evêque d'Adran.

A Sai-Gon, 10 d'Août, 1779.

We returned the paper, with many protestations of our being the Mandarin's good friends; begging he might be informed that we hoped he would do us the favour to visit the ships, that we might convince him of it. We now took our leave, well satisfied, on the whole, with what had passed, but full of conjectures about this extraordinary French paper. Three of the natives offered their services to accompany us back, which we readily accepted, and returned by the way we came. Captain Gore felt peculiar satisfaction at seeing us ; for, as we had exceeded our time near an hour, he began to be alarmed for our safety, and was preparing to march after us. He and his party had, during our absence, been profitably employed in loading the boat with the cabbage-palm, which abounds in this bay. Our guides were made exceedingly happy, on our presenting them with a dollar each for their trouble, and intrusting to their care a bottle of rum for the Mandarin. One of them chose to accompany us on board.

At two in the afternoon we joined the ships, and several of our shooting-parties returned about the same time from the woods, having had little success, though they saw a great variety of birds and animals, some of which will be hereafter noticed. At five a proa with six men rowed up to the ship, from the upper end of the harbour, and a decent-looking personage introduced himself to Captain Gore with an ease and good breeding which convinced us his time had been spent in other company than what this island afforded. He brought with him the French paper above transcribed, and said he was the Mandarin mentioned in it. He spoke a few Portuguese words, but as none of us were acquainted with this language, we were obliged to have recourse to a black man on board, who could speak the Malay, which is the general language of these islanders, and was understood by the Mandarin. After a little previous conversation, he declared to us that he was a Christian, and had been baptised by the name of Luco; that he had been sent hither in August last, from Sai-gon, the capital of Cochin-China, and had since waited in expectation of some French ships, which he was to pilot to a safe port, not more than a day's sail hence, upon

The English settled here in the year 1702, when the factory of Chusan, on the coast of China, was broken up, and brought with them some Macassar soldiers, who were hired to assist in building a fort; but the president not fulfilling his engagement with them, they watched an opportunity, and one night murdered all the English in the fort. Those without the fort hearing a noise, took the

alarm and ran to their boats, very narrowly escaping with their lives, but not without much fatigue, hunger, and thirst, to the Johore dominions, where they were treated with great humanity. Some of these afterward went to form a settlement at Benjar-Massean, on the island of Borneo.-East India Directory, p. 86.