Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
permission to take these boats on to Tobo, where I intended to stay a while, and therefore
got on pretty quickly, changing men at the village of Laiemu, and arriving in a heavy rain at
Ahtiago. As there was a good deal of surf here, and likely to be more if the wind blew hard
during the night, our boats were pulled up on the beach; and after supping at the Orang-
kaya's house, and writing down a vocabulary of the language of the Alfuros, who live in the
mountains inland, I returned to sleep in the boat. Next morning we proceeded, changing
men at Warenama, and again at Hatometen, at both of which places there was much surf and
no harbour, so that the men had to go on shore and come on board by swimming. Arriving
in the evening of March 7th at Batuassa, the first village belonging to the Rajah of Tobo,
and under the government of Banda, the surf was very heavy, owing to a strong westward
swell. We therefore rounded the rocky point on which the village was situated, but found it
very little better on the other side. We were obliged, however, to go on shore here; and wait-
ing till the people on the beach had made preparations, by placing a row of logs from the
water's edge on which to pull up our boats, we rowed as quickly as we could straight on to
them, after watching till the heaviest surfs had passed. The moment we touched ground our
men all jumped out, and, assisted by those on shore, attempted to haul up the boat high and
dry, but not having sufficient hands, the surf repeatedly broke into the stern. The steepness
of the beach, however, prevented any damage being done, and the other boat having both
crews to haul at it, was got up without difficulty.
The next morning, the water being low, the breakers were at some distance from shore,
and we had to watch for a smooth moment after bringing the boats to the water's edge, and
so got safely out to sea. At the two next villages, Tobo and Ossong, we also took in fresh
men, who came swimming through the surf; and at the latter place the Rajah came on board
and accompanied me to Kissa-laut, where he has a house which he lent me during my stay.
Here again was a heavy surf, and it was with great difficulty we got the boats safely hauled
up. At Amboyna I had been promised at this season a calm sea and the wind off shore, but
in this case, as in every other, I had been unable to obtain any reliable information as to the
winds and seasons of places distant two or three days' journey. It appears, however, that ow-
ing to the general direction of the island of Ceram (E.S.E. and W.N.W.), there is a heavy surf
and scarcely any shelter on the south coast during the west monsoon, when alone a journey
to the eastward can be safely made; while during the east monsoon, when I proposed to re-
turn along the north coast to Wahai, I should probably find that equally exposed and danger-
ous. But although the general direction of the west monsoon in the Banda sea causes a
heavy swell, with bad surf on the coast, yet we had little advantage of the wind; for, owing I
suppose to the numerous bays and headlands, we had contrary south-east or even due east
