The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. II. Being the Second of the First VoyageCook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. II. Being the Second of the First Voyage
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
The next day, the natives came down to the trading place, with fowls,
fish, monkies, small deer, and some vegetables, but no turtle; for they
said that we had bought them all the day before. The next day, however,
more turtle appeared at market, and some were brought down every day
afterwards, during our stay, though the whole, together, was not equal
to the quantity that we bought the day after our arrival.
On the 11th, Mr. Banks having learnt from the servant whom he had hired
at Batavia, that the Indians of this island had a town upon the shore,
at some distance to the westward, he determined to see it; with this
view he set out in the morning, accompanied by the second lieutenant,
and as he had some reason to think that his visit would not be agreeable
to the inhabitants, he told the people whom he met, as he was advancing
along the shore, that he was in search of plants, which indeed was also
true. In about two hours they arrived at a place where there were four
or five houses, and meeting with an old man, they ventured to make some
inquiries concerning the town. He said that it was far distant; but they
were not to be discouraged in their enterprize, and he, seeing them
proceed in their journey, joined company and went on with them. He
attempted several times to lead them out of the way, but without
success; and at length they came within sight of the houses. The old man
then entered cordially into their party, and conducted them into the
town. The name of it is Samadang; it consists of about four hundred
houses, and is divided by a river of brackish water into two parts, one
of which is called the old town, and the other the new. As soon as they
entered the old town, they met several Indians whom they had seen at the
trading-place, and one of them undertook to carry them over to the new
town, at the rate of twopence a head. When the bargain was made, two
very small canoes were produced, in which they embarked; the canoes
being placed along-side of each other, and held together, a precaution
which was absolutely necessary to prevent their oversetting, the
navigation was at length safely performed, though not without some
difficulty; and when they landed in the new town, the people received
them with great friendship, and showed them the houses of their kings
and principal people, which are in this district: a few of them however
were open, for at this time the people had taken up their residence in
the rice-grounds, to defend the crop against the birds and monkies, by
which it would otherwise have been destroyed. When their curiosity was
satisfied, they hired a large sailing boat for two rupees, four
shillings, which brought them back to the ship time enough to dine upon
one of the small deer, weighing only forty pounds, which had been bought
the day before, and proved to be very good and savoury meat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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