Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
XXXV
Voyage from Ceram to Waigiou
(
JUNE AND JULY
1860)
In my twenty-fifth chapter I have described my arrival at Wahai, on my way to Mysol and
Waigiou, islands which belong to the Papuan district, and the account of which naturally fol-
lows after that of my visit to the mainland of New Guinea. I now take up my narrative at my
departure from Wahai, with the intention of carrying various necessary stores to my assistant,
Mr. Allen, at Silinta, in Mysol, and then continuing my journey to Waigiou. It will be re-
membered that I was travelling in a small prau, which I had purchased and fitted up in
Goram, and that, having been deserted by my crew on the coast of Ceram, I had obtained four
men at Wahai, who, with my Amboynese hunter, constituted my crew.
Between Ceram and Mysol there are sixty miles of open sea, and along this wide channel
the east monsoon blows strongly; so that with native praus, which will not lay up to the wind,
it requires some care in crossing. In order to give ourselves sufficient leeway, we sailed back
from Wahai eastward, along the coast of Ceram, with the land-breeze; but in the morning
(June 18th) had not gone nearly so far as I expected. My pilot, an old and experienced sailor,
named Gurulampoko, assured me there was a current setting to the eastward, and that we
could easily lay across to Silinta, in Mysol. As we got out from the land the wind increased,
and there was a considerable sea, which made my short little vessel plunge and roll about vi-
olently. By sunset we had not got halfway across, but could see Mysol distinctly. All night we
went along uneasily, and at daybreak, on looking out anxiously, I found that we had fallen
much to the westward during the night, owing, no doubt, to the pilot being sleepy and not
keeping the boat sufficiently close to the wind. We could see the mountains distinctly, but it
was clear we should not reach Silinta, and should have some difficulty in getting to the ex-
treme westward point of the island. The sea was now very boisterous, and our prau was con-
tinually beaten to leeward by the waves, and after another weary day we found we could not
get to Mysol at all, but might perhaps reach the island called Pulo Kanary, about ten miles to
