In the Andamans and Nicobars: The Narrative of a Cruise in the Schooner "Terrapin"Kloss, C. Boden (Cecil Boden)
History
In the Andamans and Nicobars: The Narrative of a Cruise in the Schooner "Terrapin"
Kloss, C. Boden (Cecil Boden)
Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India) -- Description and travel; Natural history -- India -- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
"The next morning, being the 20th day, we saw all the low land plain,
and judged ourselves not above 8 leagues off. About eight o'clock in the
morning we had the wind again at west, a fresh gale, and steering in
still for the shore, at five o'clock in the afternoon we run to the
mouth of a river on the island Sumatra, called Passange Jonca (Pasangan
River).[196] It is 34 leagues to the eastward of Achin and 6 leagues to
the west of Diamond Point, which makes with three angles of a rhombus,
and is low land.
"Our Malayans were very well acquainted here, and carried us to a small
fishing village within a mile of the river's mouth, called also by the
name of the River Passange Jonca.[197] The hardships of this voyage,
with the scorching heat of the sun at our first setting-out, and the
cold rain, with our continuing wet for the last two days, cast us all
into fevers, so that now we were not able to help each other, nor so
much as to get our canoe up to the village; but our Malayans got some of
the townsmen to bring her up.... The Malayans that accompanied us from
Nicobar separated themselves from us now, living at one end of the house
by themselves, for they were Mahometans, as all those of the kingdom of
Achin are; and though during our passage by the sea together we made
them be content to drink their water out of the same coco-shell as us,
yet being now no longer under that necessity, they again took up their
accustomed niceness and reservedness. They all lay sick, and as their
sickness increased, one of them threatened us that if any of them died,
the rest would kill us for having brought them this voyage; yet I
question whether they would have attempted it, or the country people
have suffered it. We made a shift to dress our own food, for none of
these people, though they were very kind in giving us anything that we
wanted, would yet come near us to assist us in dressing our victuals.
Nay, they would not touch anything that we used. We had all fevers, and
therefore took turns to dress victuals according as we had strength to
do it, or stomachs to eat it. I found my fever to increase, and my head
so distempered that I could scarce stand; therefore I whetted and
sharpened my penknife in order to let myself blood, but I could not, for
my knife was too blunt.
"We stayed here ten or twelve days, in hopes to recover our health, but
finding no amendment, we desired to go to Achin.... The natives ...
provided a large prau to carry us thither, we not being able to manage
our own canoe. Besides, before this, three of our Malayan comrades were
gone very sick into the country, and only one of them and the
Portuguese remained with us, accompanying us to Achin, and they both as
sick as we....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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