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

412 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap.some Galela fishermen told us there was water, but a head-windprevented us. For the reward of a handkerchief, however, theytook us to tlie place in tlieir boat, and we filled up our jars andbamboos. We then went round to their camping-place on thenorth coast of the island to try and buy something to eat, butcould only get smoked turtle meat as black and as hard aslumps of coal. A little further on there was a plantationbelonging to Guebe people, but under the care of a Papuan slave,and the next morning we got some plantains and a few vegetablesin exchange for a handkerchief and some knives. Onleaving this place our anchor had got foul in some rock orsunken log in very deep water, and after many unsuccessfulattempts, we were forced to cut our rattan cable and leave itbehind us. We had now only one anchor left.Starting early, on tlie 4th of October, the same S.S.W. windcontinued, and we began to fear that we should hardly clearthe southern point of Gilolo. The night of the 5th was squally,with thunder, but after midnight it got tolerably fair, and wewere going along with a light wind and looking out for thecoast of Gilolo, which we tliought we must be nearing, when weheard a dull roaring sound like a heavy surf, behind us. In ashort time the roar increased, and we saw a white line of foamcoming on, which rapidly joassed us without doing any harm, asour boat rose easily over the wave. At short intervals, ten or adozen others overtook us with great rapidity, and then the seabecame perfectly smooth as it was before. I concluded at oncethat these must be earthquake waves ; and on reference to theold voyagers we find that these seas have Ijeen long subject tosimilar phenomena. Dampier encountered them near Mysoland New Guinea, and describes them as follows ": We foundhere very strange tides, that ran in streams, making a great sea,and roaring so loud that we could hear them before they camewitliin a mile of us. The sea round about them seemed allbroken, and tossed the ship so that she would not answer herhelm. These ripplings commonly lasted ten or twelve minutes,and then the sea became as still and smooth as a millpond. Wesounded often when in the midst of them, but found no ground,neither could we perceive that they drove us any way. We hadin one night several of these tides, that came mostly from thewest, and tlie wind Ijeingfrom that c^uarter we commonlj^ heardthem a long time before they came, and sometimes lowered ourtopsails, thinking it was a gust of wind. They were of greatlength from north to soutli, but their breadth not exceeding 200yards, and they drove a great pace. For though we liad littlewind to move us, yet these would soon pass away, and leave thewater vei*y smooth, and just before we encountered them wemet a great swell, but it did not break." Some time afterwards,I learnt that an earthquake had been felt on the coast of Gilolothe very day we had encountered tliese curious waves.When daylight came, we saw the land of Gilolo a fev/ miles