>78°- not to lofe his errand, and had no objection to become our
. Jan“ary-. piiot> We could not difcover from the Mandarin, the exaCt
objeCt and bulinefs which the veiTel he was waiting for, in tended
to profecute in Cochin China. It is true, that our interpreter,
the black, was extremely dull and itupid, and I
ihould therefore be forry, w ith fuch imperfect means o f
information, to run the riik o f mifleading the reader b y any
co n je tu re s o f my own, refpeCting the object o f Luco’s vifit
to this iiland. I ihall only add, that he told us the French
ihips might perhaps have put into Tirnon, and from thence
fail to Cochin C h in a ; and, as he had received no intelligence
o f them, he thought this móft lik e ly to have been
the cafe.
Captain Gore’s inquiries were next directed to find out
what fupplies could be obtained from the iiland. Luco faid,
that he had two buffaloes o f his own, which were at our
fe rv ic e ; and that there were plenty on the ifland, which
migh t be purchafed fo r fou r or five dollars a h e ad ; but
finding that Captain Gore thought that fum exceedingly
moderate, and would w illin g ly give fo r them a much
greater, the price was afterward raifed upon us to feven and
eight dollars.
Sunday aj. Early in the morning o f the 23d, the launches o f both
fhips were fent to the town, to fetch the buffaloes w hich w e
had given orders to be purchafed ; but they w ere obliged to
wait, till it was high-water, as they could at no other time
get through the opening at the head o f the harbour. On
their arrival at the village, they found the fu r f breaking on
the beach with fuch force, that it was with the utmoft difficulty
each launch brought a buffaloe on board in the evening,
and the officers, who w ere fent on this fervice, gave it as
j their
their opinion, that between the violence o f the furf, and / J p r - 1 ' 'ja n u a r j
the fiercenefs o f the buffaloes, it would be extremely im- t— ,—
prudent to attempt b ringing any more o ff in this way. We
had purchafed eight, and were now at a lofs in what manner
to proceed to ge t them on board. We could k ill no
more than was juft neceffary for the cpnfumption o f one
day, as in this climate meat w ill not keep till the nest.
After confulting with Luco, it was concluded, that the remainder
ihould be driven through the wood, and over the
h ill down to the bay, where Captain Gore and I had landed
the day before, which being fheltered from the wind, was
more free from furf. Thjs plan was accordingly put in
execution ; but the untraCtablenefs and prodigious ftrength
o f the buffaloes, rendered it a tedious and difficult operation.
T he method o f conducting them was, b y paffing
ropes through their noftrils, and round their horns ; but
having been once enraged at the fight o f our men, they b e came
fo furious, that they fometimes broke the trees, to
which we were often under the neceffity o f ty ing them ;
fometimes they tore afunder the cartilage o f the noflril,
through which the ropes ran, and got loofe, On thefe oc-
cafions, all the exertions o f our men, to recover them, would
have been ineffectual, without the affiftance o f fome yôung
boys, whom thefe animals would permit to approach them,
and by whofe little managements their rage was foon appealed.
And when, at length, they were got down to the
beach, it was b y their aid, in twilling ropes round their
legs, in the manner they were directed, that we were enabled
to throw them down, and by that means to get them
into the boats. A circumftance, refpeCting thefe animals,
which I thought no lefs Angular than this gentlenefs toward,
and, as it ihould feem, affeCtion for little children,
3 N 2 was,