282 cook's FIRST VOYAGE OCT. 



from which we had been absent so long. In the 

 mean time it fell calm, and about noon I anchored 

 in eighteen fathom with a muddy bottom. When 

 Mr. Hicks returned, he reported that the ships were 

 Dutch East Indiamen from Batavia, one of which 

 was bound to Ceylon, and the other to the coast of 

 Malabar ; and that there was also a fly-boat or 

 packet, which was said to be stationed here to carry 

 letters from the Dutch ships that came hither to 

 Batavia, but which I rather think was appointed to 

 examine all ships that pass the Streight : from these 

 ships we heard, with great pleasure, that the Swallow 

 had been at Batavia about two years before. 



At seven o'clock a breeze sprung up at S. S. W., 

 with which having weighed, we stood to the N. E. 

 between Thwart-the-way-Island and the Cap, sound- 

 ing from eighteen to twenty-eight fathom : we had 

 but little wind all night, and having a strong current 

 against us, we got no further by eight in the morn- 

 ing than Bantam Point. At this time the wind came 

 to the N. E., and obliged us to anchor in two-and- 

 twenty fathom, at about the distance of two miles 

 from the shore ; the point bore N. E. by E., distant 

 one league, and here we found a strong current set- 

 ting to the N. W. In the morning we had seen the 

 Dutch packet standing after us, but when the wind 

 shifted to the N. E. she bore away. 



At six o'clock in the evening, the wind having 

 obliged us to continue at anchor, one of the country 

 boats came alongside of us, on board of which was 

 the master of the packet. He seemed to have two 

 motives for his visit, one to take an account of the 

 ship, and the other to sell us refreshments ; for in 

 the boat were turtle, fowls, ducks, parrots, paroquets, 

 rice-birds, monkies, and other articles, which they 

 held at a very high price, and brought to a bad mar- 

 ket, for our Savu stock was not yet expended : how- 

 ever, I gave a Spanish dollar for a small turtle, which 

 weighed about six-and-thirty pounds ; I gave also a 



