pected them to be favourable to us uow we had turned our
bowsprit in an opposite direction. But it immediately fell
calm, and then after a time a westerly land breeze set in,
which would not serve us, and we had to row again for
hours, and when night came had not reached the village.
We were so fortunate, however, as to find a deep sheltered
cove where the water was quite smooth, and we constructed
a temporary anchor by filling a sack with stones
from our ballast, which being well secured by a network
of rattans held us safely during the night. The next
morning my men went on shore to cut wood suitable for
making fresh anchors, and about noon, the current turning
in our favour, we proceeded to the village, where we found
an excellent and well-protected anchorage.
On inquiry, we found that the head men resided at the
other Gani on the western side of the peninsula, and it
was necessary to send messengers across (about half a
day’s journey) to inform them of my arrival, and to beg
them to assist me. I then succeeded in buying a little
sago, some dried deer-meat and cocoa-nuts, which at once
relieved our immediate want of something to eat. At
night we found our bag of stones still held us very well,
and we slept tranquilly.
The next day (October 12th), my -men set to work
lnahing anchors and oars. The native Malay anchor is
ingeniously constructed of a piece of tough forked timber,
the fluke being strengthened by twisted rattans binding
it to the stem, while the cross-piece is formed of a long
flat stone, secured in the same manner. These anchors,
when well made, hold exceedingly firm, and, owing to
the expense of iron, are still almost universally used
on board the smaller praus. In the afternoon the
head men arrived, and promised me as many rowers
as I could put on the prau, and also brought me a few
MALAY ANCHOR.
eo-es and a little rice, which OO were very acceptable. On ..
the 14th there was a north wind all day, which would
have been invaluable to us a few days earlier, but which
was now only tantalizing. On the 16th, all being ready,
we started at daybreak with two new anchors and ten
rowers, who understood their work. By evening we had
come more than half-way to the point, and anchored for
the night in a small bay. At three the next morning I
ordered the anchor up, but the rattan cable parted close to
the bottom, having been chafed by rocks, and we then lost