1821.] 



Captain Freycinet''s Voytigc of Discovery, 



Ije had doubts. lie consequently 

 sailed neivr the Isles of Done and Ber- 

 uier, which he coasted along at a good 

 distance to the eastward, and in shal- 

 low water; when the corvette having 

 struck on a sand-bank, he was obliged 



M6 abandon the labour begun, and to 



^ear off from tlie shore. 



,' This event had no disagreeable con- 



Vsequence ; the time passed at the an- 

 chorage on the bank was employed in 



■(Exploring its figure and sounding ; and 

 M. de Freycinet gave it the name of the 



'feank of Urania, 



^j"|Oa the 29th of October, 1820, the 

 corvette cast anchor in the bay of Cou- 



^arig, in tlie Island of Timor, after 

 Iwving coasted on tlie west side of the 



jjs^es of Li mas and Retti, which belong 

 fe) that archipelago. 



" The inhabitants of Coupang were 



^ilien only busied in preparations for the 



'war which the Dutch government was 



"going to make on the Rajah, Louis 



ju'^A mauoebang. 



^ This circumstance rendered it diffi- 

 cult to purchase the provisions neces- 

 sary (o victual the corvette; but it did 

 not hinder the scientific operations, 



'^jvKich were carried on with the greatest 

 zeal, in spite of the excessive height of 

 the temperature: at the observatory it 

 ^ood, at times, at 133 degrees of Fah- 

 renheit, whilst iu the shade it was 



"from 106 to 111. 



'' ' The Urania sailed from Coupang on 



jUe 23rd of October, 1818, very badly 



.[Provisioned, and with several meji 

 attacked with dysentery. Calms and 

 cpntrary curreuts detained them a long 



.'time between Timor and Omhay. This 

 was taken advantage of to visit the vil- 



'iage of Bitoca: it is situated on the 

 sou th coast of the latter of I hese islands ; 

 ha.s been, till now, little frequented by 

 fiuropeans, and it is peopled by a war- 

 like and ferocious race, some of whom 



are anthropopliagites. 

 " -'. Meanwhile, the nuinber of dysen- 



jlfnc patients increased on board the 

 '.corvette, and all the skill of M. Quoy, 

 ."ill?, surgeon, was not sufficient to over- 

 CWJC ! the Influeuce of a devouring 

 ^.cltijiale. The harbour of Coupang 



had. furnished them w;(h but few re- 



.irss^nicnts ; it became tiierefore neces- 

 i'?a,ry to take a new station at Timor, 

 ' and accordingly the Urania anchored 

 i.ati^iely, the chief place among the 

 „iI^brtugu(sees(alilishmentson the north 

 ^., coast of that islMud. 



A most obliging receiition \yas given 

 to the expedition by Doh Jose Piiito 



251 



Alcoforado d'Azevedo e Souaa; and 

 the corvette was abundaiitly provi- 

 sioned, through his care, with every 

 thing that she wanted. 



Theii stay here was only for five 

 days, after which the Urania bent her 

 course still along the coast Of Timor, iu 

 order to get through the Sfraits to the 

 eastward of Vitters, by the channel 

 that separates that isle from those of 

 Kiffoi and Roma. 



On the 29th of November they were 

 in sight of Ceram and Amboyna, and 

 stretching info the strait between the 

 latter island and Bournu, they bent 

 their course towards the isle Gasse, 

 which they (l()u])led to the eastward at a 

 small distance, during a violent storm. 

 A great niiinber of isles were observed, 

 among which the most remarkable 

 are those of Damoncr, Gilolo, and 



In this passage the Urkuia fell in with 

 several armed canoes belonging to the 

 Kimalaha oftiuebt?. Tliis prince came 

 on board, and passed an entire day 

 witli tliem, daring which his flotilla 

 towed astern of the corvette. He fur- 

 nislied M. de Freycinet with various 

 information respecting his country and 

 his maritime expeditions, and made 

 the strongest endeavours to induce him 

 to stop at his island, where he assured 

 him there was an excellent harbour, a 

 commodious watering-place, and good 

 refreshments. This proposition not 

 bein? accepted, he assured him he 

 would come with his brothers to Wai- 

 gion, and j)ay him a new visit. 



It was to the Isle Gii^b^ that M. de 

 Pavre was sent formerly by M. de 

 Coetiva, to take drawings of the nut- 

 meg-trees which have since multiplied 

 so much in tlie Indian and American 

 colonies. The Guebeans recollected 

 that circumstance very well, of which 

 they were tliemselvestlie first to speak ; 

 and M. de Freycinet attributes to their 

 former relatiojis with the French, the 

 very particular amity wliich they testi- 

 fied towards hiiu. 



A pretty fresh breeze put an end 

 to these iimicabie communications. 

 The Urania, continuing lier track, 

 passed, on the 12th of DeccniJjer, the 

 strait which separates th;; isle of Mou- 

 doK trom Gueljij, and slretched to the 

 eastward; she lan some risk in the 

 strait formed by the l^les cf Rouih and 

 of Balabalak, and by the ^V^j'ag isUmds, 

 where, during a calm, violent currents 

 set ui>on .sJiallows : hul she was fnr- 

 tunat(?ly able to keep her anchorage, 



and 



