354 THE HOMEWARD VOYAGE. [chap. 



to the leaders of Arctic expeditions in which scurvy has occurred. 

 The regulations as to the use of antiscorbutics are among the wisest 

 of those of our mercantile marine, hut it is possible that in certain 

 rare cases the disease may — with our present knowledge at least — 

 be unavoidable. 



We spent an unpleasant night. A strong current had set us 

 considerably to the southward, toward the Obi group, and from this 

 and other causes we had some difficulty in making out our position. 

 We did not like to turn in, but had we done so we should not have 

 got much sleep, for hour after hour the melancholy tapping of the 

 carpenter's hammer rang through the ship, only ceasing with the 

 dawn. As the sun rose the mist cleared off the land, and the huge 

 mass of Labua revealed itself on our starboard hand. Before noon 

 we entered the straits, and took up our old anchorage ofi" the ^'illage 

 of Batchian. 



In this part of the Moluccas what little bad weather is ex- 

 perienced appears usually to occur in the months of December 

 and January. At six o'clock on the evening pre^•ious to our 

 arrival, a sudden and violent squall from the S.W. had struck the 

 villaue, unroofinG; the house of one of our Dutch friends and 

 burying his w^ife in the ruins. Fortunately she escaped almost 

 uninjured. We were told that squalls of this nature were most 

 unusual, the northerly monsoon having set in steadily. Two 

 days pre\dously the sound of distant explosions, resembling those 

 heard during the eruption of Krakatau on the 26th August, had 

 been noticed. We had also heard them at ]\Iisol, and thought it 

 probable that on reaching Singapore or Ternate w^e should get 

 intelligence of some fresh volcanic eruption. We were, however, 

 disappointed in our expectations, and the noises we heard must 

 either have proceeded from some active volcano in the little-visited 

 islands in the du-ection of Timor, or possibly from subterranean 

 disturbances aft'ecting a wide area. 



We buried our poor comrade beneath the walls of the old Portu- 

 guese fort, and sailed two days later for Ternate, passing, as before, 



