The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

CH. xsxv.] VOYAGE FROM CERAM TO AVAIGIOU. 393and along this mde channel the east monsoon blows strongly ;so that with native praus, which will not lay up to the wind, itrequires some care in crossing. In order to give ourselvessufficient leeway, we sailed back from Wahai eastward, alongthe coast of Ceram, with the land-breeze ; but in the morning(June 18th) had not gone nearly so far as I expected. My pilot,an old and experienced sailor, named Gurulami^oko, assured methei'e was a current setting to the eastward, and that we couldeasily lay across to Silinta, in Mysol. As we got out from theland the wind increased, and there was a considerable sea,which made my short little vessel plunge and roll aboutviolently. By sunset we had not got halfway across, but couldsee Mysol distinctly. All night we went along uneasily, and atdaybreak, on looking out anxiously, I found that we had fallenmuch to the westward during the night, owing, no doubt, tothe pilot being sleepy and not keeping the boat sufficiently closeto the wind.We could see the mountains distinctly, but it wasclear we should not reach Silinta, and should have some difficultyin getting to the extreme westward point of the island.The sea was now very boisterous, and our jDrau was continuallybeaten to leeward by the waves, and after another weary daywe found we could not get to Mysol at all, but might perhapsreach the island called Pulo Kanary, about ten miles to thenorth-west. Thence we might await a favoui-able wind to reachWaigamma, on the north side of the island, and visit Allen bymeans of a small boat.About nine o'clock at night, greatly to my satisfaction, wegot under the lee of this island, into quite smooth water—for Ihad been very sick and uncomfortable, and had eaten scarcelyanything since the preceding morning. We were slowly nearingthe shore, which the smootli dark water told us we could safelyapproach, and were congratulating ourselves on soon being atanchor, with the i^rospect of hot cottee, a good supper, and asound sleep, when the wind completely di'opped, and we had toget out the oars to row. We were not more than two hundredyards from the shore, when I noticed that we seemed to get nonearer although the men were rowing hard, but drifted to thewestward ;and the prau would not obey the helm, but continuallyfell off, and gave us much trouble to bring lier upagain. Soon a loud ripple of water told us we were seized byone of those treacherous currents which so frequently frustrateall the efforts of the voyager in these seas ; the men threw doAvnthe oai's in despaii', and in a few minutes we drifted to leewardof the island fairly out to sea again, and lost our last chance ofever reaching Mj^sol ! Hoisting our jib, we lay to, and in themorning found ourselves only a few miles from the island, butwith sucli a steady wind blowing from its direction as to renderit impossible for us to get back to it.We now made sail to the northward, hoping soon to get amore southerly wind. Towards noon the sea was much smoother,