Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
morning of 19 May one of the Malays pointed excitedly across the
starboard bow and shouted what Dampier at first thought was 'Pull
away!'. In fact, what he was saying was 'Pulau We', 'We Island', one of
a group of islands lying off the western end of Sumatra. He was mis-
taken, as became clear later in the day. What had appeared to be an
isolated chunk of land in the midst of the sea was the tip of Peusan-
gan Pasai, a mountain on the mainland. With salvation in sight it was
cruel that the wind now suddenly dropped away again. The weary
voyagers had to spend another thirty-six hours paddling before run-
ning their brave craft ashore at the mouth of the Peusangan river.
The local people treated their strange visitors with a mixture of
kindness and reserve. They supplied all the Europeans' wants but,
being Muslims, would not eat with them or keep close company with
them (even their Malay fellow-travellers now separated themselves
from the four white men). This meant that they had to prepare for
themselves the food brought daily to their hut. Since they were now
all suffering from dysentery this could only be disastrous. For twelve
days they lay weak and feverish. Then their hosts took them by ca-
noe to Achin. Here, two of Dampier's colleagues died and Dampier,
himself, had almost given up hope of life. He was placed in the hands
of a Malay doctor and slowly recovered, though whether because of
or in spite of his medication is not clear. The physician prescribed a
strong purgative which:
. . . wrought so violently that I thought it would have ended my
days. I struggled till I had been about twenty or thirty times at stool.
But it working so quick with me, with little intermission, and my
strength being almost spent, I even threw myself down once for all and
had above sixty stools in all before it left off working. I thought my
Malayan doctor, whom they so much commended, would have killed
me outright . . .
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