THIRD VOYAGE 441 



twenty at last, came running towards us, tossing up their 

 i heads, snuffing the air, and roaring in a hideous manner. 

 I They had followed us to the huts, and stood drawn up in a 

 I body at a little distance ; and the old man made us under- 

 I stand that it would be exceedingly dangerous for us to 

 i move till they were driven into the woods ; but so enraged 

 : were the animals grown at the sight of us, that this was not 

 i effected without a good deal of time and difficulty. The 



men not being able to accomplish it, we were surprised to 

 ; see them call to their assistance a few little boys, who soon 

 j drove them out of sight. Afterwards, we had occasion to 

 i observe, that in driving these animals, and securing them, 



which is done by putting a rope through a hole which is 

 made in their nostrils, little boys were always employed, 

 i who could stroke and handle them with impunity at times 



when the men durst not approach them. 



" We were now conducted to the town, which consists of 

 i between twenty and thirty houses, built close together. 

 " By means of my money, and pointing at different 



objects in sight, I had no difficulty in making a man who 

 ! seemed to be the principal person of the company to which 



we were introduced, comprehend the main business of our 

 ! errand, and I as readily understood from him that the chief 

 j or captain was absent, but would soon return ; and that, 



without his consent, no purchases of any kind could be made. 

 " Having at last procured a supply of buffaloes and some 



fat hogs, on the 28th of January, 1780, we unmoored ; and, 



as soon as we were clear of the harbour, steered south 



south-west. 



" On the 2nd of February, at eight in the morning, we 



tried for soundings, continuing to do the same every hour, 

 i till we had passed the Straits of Sunda, and found the 



bottom with twenty-three fathoms of line. 



" On the 5th we approached the coast of Sumatra. The 

 j country is covered with wood down to the water's edge, and 

 ; the shores are so low, that the sea overflows the land, and 

 J washes the trunks of the trees. To this flat and marshy 

 ! situation of the shore, we may attribute those thick fogs 

 i and vapours which we perceived every morning, not 

 I without dread and horror, hanging over the island, till they 

 j were dispersed by the rays of the sun. The shores of 



Banca, which are opposite, are much bolder ; and the 



country inland rises to a moderate height, and appears to 

 i be well wooded throughout. 



" In the morning of the 9th, I received orders from 



Captain Gore to make sail towards a Dutch ship which 



now hove in sight to the southward, and which we supposed 



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



