To Ternate. 543 



from north to south, but their breadth not exceedmg 200 

 yards, and they drove a great pace. For though we had 

 little wmd to move us, yet these would soon pass away, and 

 leave the water very smooth, and just before we encounter- 

 ed them we met a great swell, but it did not break." Some 

 time afterward, I learned that an earthquake had been felt on 

 the coast of Gilolo the very day we had encountered these 

 curious waves. 



When daylight came, we saw the land of Gilolo a few 

 miles off, but the point was unfortunately a little to wind- 

 ward of us. We tried to brace up all we could to round it, 

 but as we approached the shore we got into a strong current 

 setting noi'thward, which cai'ried us so rapidly with it that 

 we found it necessary to stand off agam, in order to get out 

 of its influence. Sometimes we approached the point a lit- 

 tle, and our hopes revived ; then the wind fell, and we drift- 

 ed slowly away. Night found us in nearly the same posi- 

 tion as we had occupied in the morning, so we hung down 

 our anchor with about fifteen fathoms of cable to prevent 

 drifting. On the" morning of the 7th we were however a 

 good way up the coast, and we now thought our only chance 

 would be to get close m-shore, where there might be a re- 

 turn current, and we could then row. The prau was heavy, 

 and my men very poor creatures for work, so that it took us 

 six hours to get to the edge of the reef that fringed the 

 shore ; and as the wind might at any moment blow on to it, 

 our situation was a very dangerous one. Luckily, a short 

 distance off there was a sandy bay, where a small stream 

 stopped the growth of the coral ; and by evening we reached 

 this and anchored for the night. Here we found some Ga- 

 lela men shooting deer and pigs ; but they could not or 

 would not speak Malay, and Ave could get little information 

 from them. We found out that along shore the current 

 changed with the tide, while about a mile out it was always 

 one way, and against us ; and this gave us some hopes of get- 

 ting back to the point, from which we were now distant 

 twenty miles. Next morning we found that the Galela men 

 had left before daylight, having perhaps some vague fear 

 of our intentions, and very likely taking me for a pirate. 

 During the morning a boat passed, and the people informed 



