SCO CO.OJt’i VOYAGE. 
making, they received an account of the death of Tupia, who 
fknk at once after the lois of the boy, whont he loved with the 
tendernefs of a parent. 
By the 14th, the bottom of the (hip was thorougly repaired, 
and very much .to my fatisfadtion : it would, indeed, be in- 
juilice to the officers and workmen of this yard, not to declare 
that; in my opinion, there is not a marine yard in the world, 
where a ffiip can be laid down with more convenience, fafety, 
and difpatch, nor repaired with more diligence and fkill. At 
this place they heave down by two mafts, a method which we 
do not now pradtife; it is, however, unqueltionably more fafe 
and expeditious to heave down with two mafts than one, and 
he muft have a good lhare of bigotry to old cuftoms, and an. 
equal want of common fenfe, who will not allow this, after 
feeing with what facility the Dutch heave down their largeft 
Blips ^ this place. 
Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander recovered flowly at their coun- 
try-houfe, which was not only open to the fea breeze, but 
fituated upon a running ftream, which greatly contributed to 
the circulation of the air : but I was now taken ill myfelf ; Mr. 
Sporing, and a feaman who had attended Mr. Banks, were alfo 
feized with intermittents ; and indeed there was not more than 
ten of the whole Blip’s company that were able to do duty. 
We proceeded however in rigging the fhip, and getting 
water and ftores aboard : the water we were obliged to procure 
from Batavia, at the rate of fix Ihillings and eight pence a 
leager, or one hundred and fifty gallons. 
About the 26th, the wefterly monfoon fet in, which gene- 
rally blows here in the night from the S. W. and in the day 
from the N. W. or N. For fome nights before this, we had 
very heavy rain, with much thunder; and in the night between 
the 25th and 26th, fuch rain as we had feldom feen, for near 
four hours without intermiffion. Mr. Banks’s houfe admitted 
the water in every part like a fieve, and it ran through the 
lower rooms in a ftream that would have turned a mill : he was 
by this time fufficiently recovered to go out, and upon his enter- 
ing Batavia the next morning, he was much furprifed to fee 
the bedding every where hung out to dry. 
The wet feafon was now fet in, though we had fome inter- 
vals of fair weather. The frogs in the ditches, which croak 
ten times louder than any frogs in Europe, gave notice of rain 
by an incefiant noife that was almoft intolerable, and the gnats 
and mufquitos, which had been very troublefome even during 
the dry weather, were -mow become innumerable, fvvarming 
from every plafh of water like bees from a hive ; they did not, 
however, much incommode us in the day, and the ftings, 
however troublefome at firft, never continued to itch above half 
an hour, fo that none of us felt in the day, the dfetts of the 
wounds they had received in the night, Oa 
