he would conclude either that our boat had foundered, or that my crew had
murdered me and run away with her. However, as it was physically impossible
now for me to reach him, the only thing to be done was to make the best of my
way to Waigiou, and trust to our meeting some traders, who might convey to
him the news of my safety.
Finding on my map a group of three small islands, twenty-five miles north of
Poppa, I resolved, if possible, to rest there a day or two. We could lay our boat's
head N.E. by N.; but a heavy sea from the eastward so continually beat us off
our course, and we made so much leeway, that I found it would be as much as
we could do to reach them. It was a delicate point to keep our head in the best
direction, neither so close to the wind as to stop our way, or so free as to carry us
too far to leeward. I continually directed the steersman myself, and by incessant
vigilance succeeded, just at sunset, in bringing our boat to an anchor under the
lee of the southern point of one of the islands. The anchorage was, however, by
no means good, there being a fringing coral reef, dry at low water, beyond
which, on a bottom strewn with masses of coral, we were obliged to anchor. We
had now been incessantly tossing about for four days in our small undecked
boat, with constant disappointments and anxiety, and it was a great comfort to
have a night of quiet and comparative safety. My old pilot had never left the
helm for more than an hour at a time, when one of the others would relieve him
for a little sleep; so I determined the next morning to look out for a secure and
convenient harbour, and rest on shore for a day.
In the morning, finding it would be necessary for us to get round a rocky
point, I wanted my men to go on shore and cut jungle-rope, by which to secure
us from being again drafted away, as the wind was directly off shore. I
unfortunately, however, allowed myself to be overruled by the pilot and crew,
who all declared that it was the easiest thing possible, and that they would row
the boat round the point in a few minutes. They accordingly got up the anchor,
set the jib, and began rowing; but, just as I had feared, we drifted rapidly off
shore, and had to drop anchor again in deeper water, and much farther off. The
two best men, a Papuan and a Malay now swam on shore, each carrying a
hatchet, and went into the jungle to seek creepers for rope. After about an hour
our anchor loosed hold, and began to drag. This alarmed me greatly, and we let
go our spare anchor, and, by running out all our cable, appeared tolerably secure
again. We were now most anxious for the return of the men, and were going to
fire our muskets to recall them, when we observed them on the beach, some way
off, and almost immediately our anchors again slipped, and we drifted slowly
away into deep water. We instantly seized the oars, but found we could not