In the evening a good-sized prau appeared in sight, making apparently for the
island where our men were left, and we had some hopes they might be seen and
picked up, but it passed along mid-channel, and did not notice the signals we
tried to make. I was now, however, pretty easy as to the fate of the men. There
was plenty of sago on our rocky island, and there world probably be some on the
fiat one they were left on. They had choppers, and could cut down a tree and
make sago, and would most likely find sufficient water by digging. Shell-fish
were abundant, and they would be able to manage very well till some boat
should touch there, or till I could send and fetch them. The next day we devoted
to cutting wood, filling up our jars with all the water we could find, and making
ready to sail in the evening. I shot a small lory closely resembling a common
species at Ternate, and a glossy starling which differed from the allied birds of
Ceram and Matabello. Large wood-pigeons and crows were the only other birds
I saw, but I did not obtain specimens.
About eight in the evening of June 25th we started, and found that with all
hands at work we could just haul up our mainsail. We had a fair wind during the
night and sailed north-east, finding ourselves in the morning about twenty miles
west of the extremity of Waigiou with a number of islands intervening. About
ten o'clock we ran full on to a coral reef, which alarmed us a good deal, but
luckily got safe off again. About two in the afternoon we reached an extensive
coral reef, and were sailing close alongside of it, when the wind suddenly
dropped, and we drifted on to it before we could get in our heavy mainsail,
which we were obliged to let run down and fall partly overboard. We had much
difficulty in getting off, but at last got into deep water again, though with reefs
and islands all around us. At night we did not know what to do, as no one on
board could tell where we were or what dangers might surround us, the only one
of our crew who was acquainted with the coast of Waigiou having been left on
the island. We therefore took in all sail and allowed ourselves to drift, as we
were some miles from the nearest land. A light breeze, however, sprang up, and
about midnight we found ourselves again bumping over a coral reef. As it was
very dark, and we knew nothing of our position, we could only guess how to get
off again, and had there been a little more wind we might have been knocked to
pieces. However, in about half an hour we did get off, and then thought it best to
anchor on the edge of the reef till morning. Soon after daylight on the 7th,
finding our prau had received no damage, we sailed on with uncertain winds and
squalls, threading our way among islands and reefs, and guided only by a small
map, which was very incorrect and quite useless, and by a general notion of the
direction we ought to take. In the afternoon we found a tolerable anchorage