1780. • and the Sifters North, 27° Eaft, diftant four leagues ; our
Fehrtary. ^ was s ° '„-J South, longitude io$° $7' Eaft.
At four in the afternoon, we fa*w two fail in the Straits
o f Sunda ; one ly in g at anchor near the Mid-channel Ifland;
the other nearer the Java ihorc. Not knowing to what nation
they might belong, we cleared our ihips for adlion ; and at
fix came to an anchor in twenty-five fathoms, four miles
Eaft by South from North Ifland. Here we la y all night,
and had very heavy thunder and lightning to the North
Weft ; from which quarter the wind blew in ligh t breezes,
accompanied with hard rain.
Tuefday 8, At eight o’clock the next morning, we weighed, arid proceeded
through the Straits, the ride fetting to the Southward,
as it had done all n ig h t ; but about ten the breeze
failing, we came to again in thirty-five fa th om s ; a high
ifland, or rather rock, called the Grand Toque, bearing
South by Eaft. We were, at this time, not more than two
miles from the ihips, which, now hoifting Dutch colours,
Captain Gore fent a boat on board for inte|ligence. The
rain ftill continued with thunder and lightning.
Early in the afternoon, the boat returned with an account
that the large Ihip was a Dutch Eaft-Indiaman, bound for
Europe j and the other a pacquet from Batavia, with orders
for the feveral ihips ly in g in the Straits. It is the cuftom for
the Dutch ihips, as foon as their lading is nearly completed,
to leave Batavia, on account o f its extreme unwhole-
fomenefs, and proceed to fome of the more healthy ifland s
in the Straits, where they wait for the remainder o f their
cargo, and their difpatches, Notwitfthanding this precaution,
the Indiaman'had loft, fince her departure from Bar
. tavia,
tavia, four men, and had as many more whofe recovery
was defpaired of. She had lain here a fortnight, and was ^
now about to proceed to water at Cracatoa, having juft received
final orders by the pacquet.
At feven in the morning o f the gth, we weighed, and Wednef. 9.
flood on through the Straits to the South Weft, keeping
pretty clofe in with the iflands on the Sumatra fliore, in
order to avoid a rock near Mid-channel Ifland, which la y
on our left. At h a lf after ten, I received orders from Captain
Gore to make fail toward a Dutch ihip which now
hove in fight to the Southward, and which we fuppofed to
be from Europe; and, according to the nature o f the intelligence
we could procure from her, either to join him
at Cracatoa, where he intended to flop, for the purpofe o f
fupplying the ihips with arrack ; or to proceed to the South
Eaft end o f Prince’s Ifland, and there take in our water,
and wait for him.
I accordingly bore down toward the Dutch ihip, which,
fopn after, came to an anchor to the Eaflward; when the-
-wind flackening, and the current flill fetting very ftrong
through the ftrait to the South Weft, we found it impoflible
to fetch her, and having therefore got as near her as the
tide would permit, we alfo dropt anchor. I immediately
difpatched Mr. Williamfon, in the cutter, with orders to g e t
on board her i f poflible ; but as ihe lay near a mileoif, and
the tide run with great rapidity, we foon perceived, that
the boat was dropping fail aftern. We therefore made the
fignal to return, and immediately began to veer away the
cable, and fent out a buoy aftern, in order to afiift him in
getting on board again. Our poverty, in the article o f cordage,
was here very confpicuous; fo r we had not a fingle
coil