98 VOYAGE IN SEARCH 



as that to which we were reduced was a little 

 brack i fh ; for the firft cafks that were taken on 

 fhore at Carteret's Harbour were filled much too 

 near the tea, and this water had not been flarted, 

 notwithstanding its bad quality. Befides, not 

 to lighten the fhip, it is cuftomary to fill with 



. water the empty caiks, as Toon as the frefh 



iter, which they contained, has been expended : 

 this renders it necefTary to clean them well when 



is wifhed"to fill them with frefh water ; but the 

 captain of the hold, to whom this bufinefs was 

 entrufted, feldom took fo much trouble ; it was 

 eafy, with the machine which I have already 

 mentioned, to deprive the water of its inflam- 

 mable air, but it flill retained a brackifh tafte. 



During part of the night of the 1 8th, the wind 

 had roared over the lands of New Guinea, and 

 had fent us a great deal of rain. The fky teemed 

 to announce a tempeft ; but the florms near the 

 equator have a far more menacing afpeel than 

 they are in reality dangerous, and it was not 

 long before we enjoyed very fine weather. 



We faw, il retching from eaft to weft, a fine 

 chain of mountains, the mod lofty of which ap- 

 peared to be at leaft fifteen hundred meters in 

 perpendicular height: the large trees with which 

 they were covered, added, in a peculiar degree, 

 to the beauty of the landfcape. 



On 



