442 CAPTAIN COOK'S VOYAGES 



intelligence we could procure from her, either to join him at 

 Cracatoa, where he intended to stop for the purpose of 

 supplying the ships with arrack, or to proceed to the south- 

 east end of Prince's Island, and there take in our water 

 and wait for him. 



" I accordingly bore down towards the Dutch ship, which 

 soon after came to an anchor to the eastward ; and having, 

 got as near her as the tide would permit, we also dropt] 

 anchor. 



" Next morning Mr. Williamson got on board the ship,! 

 and learnt that she had been seven months from Europe,! 

 and three from the Cape of Good Hope ; that, before i 

 she sailed, France and Spain had declared war against Great 

 Britain ; and that she left Sir Edward Hughes with a | 

 squadron of men of war and a fleet of East India ships at i 

 the Cape. I immediately sent a boat to acquaint Captain j 

 Gore with the intelligence we had received. 



" At three o'clock in the morning of the 12th we stoodij 

 over for Prince's Island, and came to an anchor within j 

 half a mile of the shore. Lieutenant Lanyan, who had j 

 been here before with Captain Cook, in the year 1770, j 

 was sent along with the master to look for the watering- j 

 place. 



" The natives, who came to us soon after we anchored, 

 brought a plentiful supply of large fowls and some turtles ; j 

 but the last, for the most part, were very small. 



' On the 19th, being favoured by a breeze from the j 

 north-west, we broke ground, and the next day had entirely i 

 lost sight of this place. 



" Of this island I shall only observe, that we were ex- j 

 ceedingly struck with the great general resemblance of the ; 

 natives, both in figure, colour, manners, and even language, j 

 to the nations we had been so much conversant with in the ! 

 South Seas. 



" From the time of our entering these Straits, we began to i| 

 experience the powerful effects of this pestilential climate, i 

 Two of our people fell dangerously ill of malignant putrid I 

 fevers, which, however, we prevented from spreading, by 

 putting the patients apart from the rest in the most airy ! 

 berths ; and we had the singular satisfaction of escaping i 

 from these fatal seas, without the loss of a single life ; | 

 probably owing to the vigorous health of the crews, and j 

 the strict attention now become habitual in our men, to ; 

 the salutary regulations introduced amongst us by Captain I 

 Cook. 



" It had hitherto been Captain Gore's intention to 

 proceed directly to St. Helena, without stopping at the , 

 Cape, but the rudder of the Resolution having been reported i 



