The Dutch were naturally not at all anxious to assist English ships in this part of the world; and it was the 8th of July, "after a long correspondence and many dilatory answers," before Rogers got leave from "the General" at Batavia to refit and careen at Horn Island, about three leagues to the northward of their present anchorage. He by no means suffering them to "careen at Umrest where all the Dutch ships are cleaned." This was a great grievance to Captain Rogers, especially as at Batavia he was not in a position to strengthen the Saxon of his despatches by any allusion to his six-pounders. That he did what he could in a leaky ship to keep his powder dry at this time is, however, shown by an entry in the "Duke's" log, "that in rummaging one day in the powder room we found a leak three or four foot under water which we did our best to stop." While before arriving at Batavia the ten guns, which had been "struck down into the hold," at sea, were got up and mounted. This hoisting in and out of a frigate's hold of ten cannon as wanted, reads oddly in these days of heavy guns. The forty sail Rogers found lying in Batavia Road were nearly all Dutch, and during his stay there of four months only five other English ships touched at the port. Owing to "some unwholesome water drunk by his crew while careening at Horn Island," Rogers lost several men here by fever, &c., and to replace them and others, who tempted maybe by the price of arrack,[24] ran from the ships at this time, thirty-four Dutch sailors were shipped before sailing. Rogers must have known something of sailors and their ways, but even he expresses surprise at men deserting so late in the voyage, and losing their hard-earned share of prize-money, or, as he calls it, "plunder;" perhaps, however, in the case of the "Duke's" men, the prospect of constant work at the pumps had something to do with their leaving her. The "Duke," "Dutchess," and "Batchelor," did not actually take their "departure from Java Head" until October 4th, and it was the 27th of December before they "came up with Cape Falso and by noon were abreast of the Cape of Good Hope and saw the Table Land." During this three months' voyage, Rogers says, "nothing remarkable happen'd, except that on the 31st of October the 'Duke' having three feet of water in her, and her pumps choaked, we fir'd guns for our consorts to come to our relief, but had just sucked her" (_i.e._, pumped her dry) "as the 'Dutchess' came up." "During the whole of this voyage," Rogers says, "he remained very thin and weak, as his ship did leaky," and the day after anchoring in Table Bay, "they buried Mr. Ware, chief surgeon, with naval honours as usual; being a very honest useful man, and good surgeon, bred up at Leyden in the study of phisick as well as surgery."