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

xxsvii.] VOYAGE FROM WAIGIOU TO TERNATE. 413oif, but the point was unfortunately a little to windward of us.We tried to brace up all we could to round it, but as we approachedthe sliore we got into a strong current setting northward,which carried us so rajDidly with it that we found itnecessary to stand off again, in order to get out of its influence.Sometimes we approached the point a little, and our hopesrevived ; then the wind fell, and we drifted slowly away.Night found us in nearly the same i)osition as we had occupiedin the morning, so we hung down our anchor with about fifteenfathoms of cable to prevent drifting. On the morning of the 7thwe were, however, a good way up the coast, and we now thoughtour only chance would be to get close in-shore, where theremight be a return current, and we could then row. The prauwas heavy, and my men very poor creatures for work, so that ittook us six hours to get to the edge of the reef that fringed theshore ; and as the wind might at any moment blow on to it, oursituation was a very dangerous one. Luckily, a short distanceoff, there was a sandy bay, where a small stream stopped thegrowth of the coral ; and bj^ evening we reached this andanchored for the night. Here we found some Galela men shootingdeer and pigs ; but they could not or would not speakMalay, and we could get little information from them. Wefound out that along shore the current changed with tlie tide,while about a mile out it was always one way, and against us ;and this gave us some hopes of getting back to the point, fromwhich we were now distant twenty miles. Next morning wefound that the Galela men had left before daylight, havingperhaps some vague fear of our intentions, and "very likelytaking me for a pirate. During the morning a boat passed, andthe peojDle informed us that, at a short distance further towai'dsthe point, there was a much better harbour, where there wereplenty of Galela men, from whom we might probably get someassistance.At three in the afternoon, when the current turned, westarted ; but having a head-wind made slow progress. At duskwe reached the entrance of the harbour, but an eddy and a gustof wind carried us away and out to sea. After sunset there wasa land breeze, and we sailed a little to the south-east. It thenbecame calm, and we hung down our anchor forty fathoms, toendeavour to counteract the current ; but it was of little avail,and in the morning we found ourselves a good way from shore,and just opposite our anchorage of the day before, which weagain reached by hard rowing. I ga^•e the men this day to restand sleep ;and the next day (Oct. lOtli) we again started at twoin the morning with a land breeze. After I had set them to theiroars, and given instructions to keep close in-shore, and on noaccount to get out to sea, I went below, being rather unwell.At daybreak I found, to my great astonishment, that we wereagain far off-shore, and was told that the wind had graduallyturned more ahead, and had carried us out—none of them Iiaving