THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 471 



tavia, four men, and had as many more whofe recovery F ^° a ] 



was defpaired of. She had lain here a fortnight, and was v. — ,-— 1 

 now about to proceed to water at Cracatoa, having juft re- 

 ceived final orders by the pacquet. 



At feven in the morning of the 9th, we weighed, and v/ednef. 9, 

 flood on through the Straits to the South Weft, keeping 

 pretty clofe in with the iflands on the Sumatra more, in 

 order to avoid a rock near Mid-channel Ifland, which lay 

 on our left. At half after ten, I received orders from Cap- 

 tain Gore to make fail toward a Dutch fhip which now 

 hove in fight to the Southward, and which we fuppofed to 

 be from Europe ; and, according to the nature of the in- 

 telligence we could procure from her, either to join him 

 at Cracatoa, where he intended to Hop, for the purpofe of 

 fupplying the mips with arrack ; or to proceed to the South 

 Eaft end of Prince's Ifland, and there take in our water, 

 and wait for him. 



I accordingly bore down toward the Dutch fhip, which, 

 foon after, came to an anchor 10 the Eaftward; when the 

 wind flackcning, and the current dill fetting very flrong 

 through the ftrait to the South Weft, we found it impoflible 

 to fetch her, and having therefore got as near her as the 

 tide would permit, we alfo dropt anchor. I immediately 

 difpatched Mr. Williamfon, in the cutter, with orders to get 

 on board her if poftible ; but as fhe lay near a mile off, and 

 the tide run with great rapidity, we foon perceived, that 

 the boat was dropping faft aftern. We therefore made the 

 fignal to return, and immediately began to veer away the 

 cable, and fent out a buoy aftern, in order to aflift him in 

 getting on board again. Our poverty, in the article of cord- 

 age, was here very confpicuous ; for we had not a finale: 



coil 



