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

394 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap,and with a S.S.E. wind we were laying in the direction ofSalwatty, which I hoped to reach, as I could there easily get aboat to take provisions and stores to my companion in Mysol.This wind did not, however, last long, but died away into acalm ; and a light west wind springing up, with a dark bank ofclouds, again gave us hopes of reaching Mysol. We were soon,however, again disappointed. The E.S.E. wind began to blowagain with violence, and continued all niglit in irregular gusts,and with a short cross sea tossed us about unmercifully, andso continually took our sails aback, that we were at lengthforced to run before it with our jib only, to escape beingswamped by our heavy mainsail. After another miserable andanxious night, we found that we had drifted westward of theisland of Poppa, and the wind being again a little southerly,we made all sail in order to reach it. Tliis we did not succeedin doing, passing to the north-west, when the wind again blewhard from the E.S.E., and our last hope of finding a refuge tillbetter weather was frustrated. Tliis was a very serious matterto me, as I could not tell how Charles Allen might act, if, afterwaiting in vain for me, he should return to Wahai, and findthat I had left thei^e long before, and had not since been heardof. Such an event as our missing an island forty miles longwould hardly occur to him, and he would conclude either thatour boat had foundered, or that my crew had murdered me andrun away with her. However, as it was physically impossiblenow for me to reach him, the only thing to be done was tomake tlie best of my way to Waigiou, and trust to our meetingsome traders, who might convey to him the news of my safety.Finding on my maj) a group of three small islands, twentyfivemiles north of Poppa, I resolved, if possible, to rest there aday or two. We could lay our boat's head N.E. by N. ; but aheavy sea from the eastward so continually beat us off ourcourse, and we made .so much leeway, that I found it would beas much as we could do to reach them. It was a delicate pointto keep our head in tlie best direction, neither so close to thewind as to stop our way, or so free as to carry us too far toleeward. I continually directed the steersman myself, and byincessant vigilance succeeded, ju.st at sunset, in bringing ourboat to an anclior under the lee of tlie soutliern point of one ofthe islands. Tlie anchorage was, however, by no means good,there being a fringing coral reef, dry at low water, beyondwliich, on a bottom strewn with masses of coral, we wereobliged to anchor. We had now been incessantly tossing aboutfor four days in our small undecked boat, with constant disappointmentsand anxiety, and it was a gi'eat comfort to have anight of quiet and comparative safety. My old pilot had neverleft the helm for more than an hour at a time, when one of theothers would relieve liim for a little sleep ;so I determined thenext morning to look out for a secure and convenient harbour,and rest on shore for a day.