They soon learnt that these rates were more than double the common charges of board and lodging in the town; and their table, though it had the appearance of magnificence, was wretchedly served. Their dinner consisted of one course of fifteen dishes, and their supper of one course of thirteen, but nine or ten of them consisted of bad poultry, variously dressed, and often served up the second, third, and even the fourth time: the same duck having appeared more than once roasted, found his way again to the table as a fricassee, and a fourth time in the form of forced meat. It was not long, however, before they learned that this treatment was only by way of essay, and that it was the invariable custom of the house, to supply all strangers, at their first coming, with such fare as could be procured for the least money, and consequently would produce the most gain: that if, either through indolence or good nature, they were content, it was continued for the benefit of the host, but that, if they complained, it was gradually amended till they were satisfied, which sometimes happened before they had the worth of their money. After this discovery, they remonstrated, and their fare became better; however, after a few days, Mr. Banks hired a little house, the next door on the left hand to the hotel, for himself and his party, for which he paid after the rate of ten rix-dollars, or two pounds five shillings sterling a-month; but here they were very far from having either the convenience or the privacy which they expected; no person was permitted to sleep in this private house occasionally, as a guest to the person who hired it, under a penalty; but almost every Dutchman that went by ran in without any ceremony, to ask what they sold, there having been very seldom any private persons at Batavia who had not something to sell. Every body here hires a carriage, and Mr. Banks hired two. They are open chaises, made to hold two people, and driven by a man sitting on a coach-box; for each of these he paid two rix-dollars a-day.
As soon as he was settled in his new habitation, he sent for Tupia, who till now had continued on board upon account of his illness, which was of the bilious kind, and for which he had obstinately refused to take any medicine. He soon came ashore, with his boy Tayeto, and, though while he was on board, and after he came into the boat, he was exceedingly listless and dejected, he no sooner entered the town than he seemed to be animated with a new soul. The houses, carriages, streets, people, and a multiplicity of other objects, all new, which rushed upon him at once, produced an effect like the sudden and secret power that is imagined of fascination. Tayeto expressed his wonder and delight with still less restraint, and danced along the street in a kind of extasy, examining every object with a restless and eager curiosity, which was every moment excited and gratified. One of the first things that Tupia remarked, was the various dresses of the passing multitude, concerning which he made many enquiries; and when he was told that in this place where people of many different nations were assembled, every one wore the habit of his country, he desired that he might conform to the custom, and appear in that of Otaheite. South Sea cloth was therefore sent for from the ship, and he equipped himself with great expedition and dexterity. The people who had seen Otourou, the Indian who had been brought hither by M. Bougainville, enquired whether Tupia was not the same person: from these enquiries, we learned who it was that we had supposed to be Spaniards, from the accounts that had been given of two ships by the Islanders.
In the mean time, I procured an order to the superintendant of the island of Onrust, where the ship was to be repaired, to receive her there; and sent by one of the ships that sailed for Holland, an account of our arrival here, to Mr. Stephens, the Secretary to the Admiralty.
The expenses that would be incurred by repairing and refitting the ship, rendered it necessary for me to take up money in this place, which I imagined might be done without difficulty, but I found myself mistaken; for, after the most diligent enquiry, I could not find any private person that had ability and inclination to advance the sum that I wanted. In this difficulty I applied to the Governor himself, by a written request; in consequence of which, the Shebander had orders to supply me with what money I should require out of the Company’s Treasury.
On the 18th, as soon as it was light, having by several accidents and mistakes suffered a delay of many days, I took up the anchor, and ran down to Onrust: a few days afterwards, we went along-side of the wharf, on Cooper’s Island, which lies close to Onrust, in order to take out our stores.
By this time, having been here only nine days, we began to feel the fatal effects of the climate and situation. Tupia, after the flow of spirits which the novelties of the place produced upon his first landing, sunk on a sudden, and grew every day worse and worse. Tayeto was seized with an inflammation upon his lungs, Mr. Banks’s two servants became very ill, and himself and Dr. Solander were attacked by fevers: in a few days, almost every person both on board and ashore were sick; affected, no doubt, by the low swampy situation of the place, and the numberless dirty canals which intersect the town in all directions. On the 26th, I set up the tent for the reception of the ship’s company, of whom there was but a small number able to do duty. Poor Tupia, of whose life we now began to despair, and who till this time had continued ashore with Mr. Banks, desired to be removed to the ship, where, he said, he should breathe a freer air than among the numerous houses which obstructed it ashore: on board the ship, however, he could not go, for she was unrigged, and preparing to be laid down at the careening-place; but on the 28th, Mr. Banks went with him to Cooper’s Island, or, as it is called here, Kuypor, where she lay, and as he seemed pleased with the spot, a tent was there pitched for him: at this place both the sea breeze and the land breeze blew directly over him, and he expressed great satisfaction in his situation. Mr. Banks, whose humanity kept him two days with this poor Indian, returned to the town on the 30th, and the fits of his intermittent, which was now become a regular tertian, were so violent as to deprive him of his senses while they lasted, and leave him so weak that he was scarcely able to crawl down stairs: at this time, Dr. Solander’s disorder also increased, and Mr. Monkhouse, the surgeon, was confined to his bed.
On the 5th of November, after many delays, in consequence of the Dutch ships coming along side the wharfs to load pepper, the ship was laid down, and the same day, Mr. Monkhouse, our surgeon, a sensible skilful man, fell the first sacrifice to this fatal country, a loss which was greatly aggravated by our situation. Dr. Solander was just able to attend his funeral, but Mr. Banks was confined to his bed. Our distress was now very great, and the prospect before us discouraging in the highest degree: our danger was not such as we could surmount by any efforts of our own; courage, skill, and diligence, were all equally ineffectual, and death was every day making advances upon us, where we could neither resist nor fly. Malay servants were hired to attend the sick, but they had so little sense either of duty or humanity, that they could not be kept within call, and the patient was frequently obliged to get out of bed to seek them. On the 9th, we lost our poor Indian boy Tayeto, and Tupia was so much affected, that it was doubted whether he would survive till the next day.
In the mean time, the bottom of the ship being examined, was found to be in a worse condition than we apprehended: the false keel was all gone to within twenty feet of the stern post; the main keel was considerably injured in many places; and a great quantity of the sheathing was torn off, and several planks were much damaged; two of them, and the half of a third, under the main channel near the keel, were, for the length of six feet, so worn, that they were not above an eighth part of an inch thick, and here the worms had made their way quite into the timbers; yet in this condition she had sailed many hundred leagues, where navigation is as dangerous as in any part of the world: how much misery did we escape, by being ignorant that so considerable a part of the bottom of the vessel was thinner than the sole of a shoe, and that every life on board depended upon so slight and fragile a barrier between us and the unfathomable ocean! It seemed, however, that we had been preserved only to perish here; Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were so bad, that the physician declared they had no chance for recovery but by removing into the country; a house was therefore hired for them at the distance of about two miles from the town, which belonged to the master of the hotel, who engaged to furnish them with provisions, and the use of slaves. As they had already experienced their want of influence over slaves that had other masters, and the unfeeling inattention of these fellows to the sick, they bought each of them a Malay woman, which removed both the causes of their being so ill served; the women were there own property, and the tenderness of the sex, even here, made them good nurses. While these preparations were making, they received an account of the death of Tupia, who sunk at once after the loss of the boy, whom he loved with the tenderness of a parent.
By the 14th, the bottom of the ship was thoroughly repaired, and very much to my satisfaction; it would, indeed, be injustice to the officers and workmen of this yard, not to declare that, in my opinion, there is not a marine yard in the world, where a ship can be laid down with more convenience, safety, and dispatch, nor repaired with more diligence and skill. At this place they heave down by two masts, a method which we do not now practise; it is, however, unquestionably more safe and expeditious to heave down with two masts than one, and he must have a good share of bigotry to old customs, and an equal want of common sense, who will not allow this, after seeing with what facility the Dutch heave down their largest ships at this place.
Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander recovered slowly at their country-house, which was not only open to the sea breeze, but situated upon a running stream, which greatly contributed to the circulation of the air: but I was now taken ill myself; Mr. Sporing, and a seaman who had attended Mr. Banks, were also seized with intermittents; and indeed there was not more than ten of the whole ship’s company that were able to do duty.