I Could Only Hope They Would Be Sensible Enough To
Make The Attempt, And Determined To Stay As Long As I Could To
Give Them The Chance.
We passed an anxious night, fearful of again breaking our anchor
or rattan cable.
In the morning (23d), finding all secure, I
waded on shore with my two men, leaving the old steersman and the
cook on board, with a loaded musketto recall us if needed. We
first walked along the beach, till stopped by the vertical cliffs
at the east end of the island, finding a place where meat had
been smoked, a turtle-shell still greasy, and some cut wood, the
leaves of which were still green, showing that some boat had been
here very recently. We then entered the jungle, cutting our way
up to the top of the hill, but when we got there could see
nothing, owing to the thickness of the forest. Returning, we cut
some bamboos, and sharpened them to dig for water in a low spot
where some sago -trees were growing; when, just as we were going
to begin, Hoi, the Wahai man, called out to say he had found
water. It was a deep hole among the Sago trees, in stiff black
clay, full of water, which was fresh, but smelt horribly from the
quantity of dead leaves and sago refuse that had fallen in.
Hastily concluding that it was a spring, or that the water had
filtered in, we baled it all out as well as a dozen or twenty
buckets of mud and rubbish, hoping by night to have a good supply
of clean water.
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