210 PULO PANJANG. [1844. 



effect. At first, 1 believe anything rather than love was 

 uppermost in his thoughts ; however, after, he had been 

 a day on board the ' Saraarang ', he recovered the tone of 

 his stomach, and would even venture to take wine, medi- 

 cinally of course. 



On the 25th of Dec., we sighted Pulo Panjang, on the 

 north reef of which, the 'Premier' had been wrecked, and 

 passing between it and Maratua, hauled in for the broad 

 opening, in which the mouth of the Curan, called the 

 Pantai, was to be sought. On nearing the Great Bay, 

 we found ourselves, at ten miles off shore, in four 

 fathoms, breeze, fresh and fair, and with but slight 

 prospect of entering, particularly as our pilot did not 

 appear either to be at home on the ground, or to like the 

 risk of taking charge of so large a ship. Any delay in- 

 curred the risk of a long detention, or until a pilot could 

 be procured from within ; I, therefore, put the party into 

 the prahu, hoisted out my boats, and despatching one 

 barge, with Lieut. Baugh and the prahu, to seek for in- 

 formation, employed the others sounding for deeper 

 water. About 5 o'clock, P.M., the several boats had 

 signalled depths, not under two and a quarter fathoms, 

 and after watching carefully the direction in which I 

 noticed two and a half to prevail, and made a mental 

 chart, we bore up under a press of canvas, determined to 

 cut our own channel, the boats leading through two and 

 a hah , and two and a quarter, creamy mud, until 8, 50', 

 when the depths increased, and we safely anchored in 

 ten fathoms, within the mouth of the Pantai. 



Lieut. Baugh returned about nine, having convoyed the 

 prahu as far as the first bend of the river. The following 



