At five, a proa with six men rowed up to the ship, from the upper end of the harbour, and a decent-looking personage introduced himself to Captain Gore with an ease and good breeding, which convinced us his time had been spent in other company than what this island afforded. He brought with him the French paper above transcribed, and said he was the Mandarin mentioned in it. He spoke a few Portugueze words, but as none of us were acquainted with this language, we were obliged to have recourse to a black man on board, who could speak the Malay, which is the general language of these islanders, and was understood by the Mandarin. After a little previous conversation, he declared to us, that he was a Christian, and had been baptized by the name of Luco; that he had been sent hither in August last, from Sai-gon, the capital of Cochin China, and had since waited in expectation of some French ships, which he was to pilot to a safe port, not more than a day’s sail hence, upon the coast of Cochin China. We acquainted him, that we were not French, but English, and asked him whether he did not know that these two nations were now at war with one another? He made answer in the affirmative; but, at the same time, signified to us, that it was indifferent to him to what nation the ships he was instructed to wait for belonged, provided their object was to trade with the people of Cochin China. He here produced another paper, which he desired us to read. This was a letter sealed and directed, “To the captains of any European vessels that may touch at Condore.” Although we apprehended that this letter was designed for French ships in particular, yet as the direction included all European captains, and as Luco was desirous of our perusing it, we broke the seal, and found it to be written by the bishop who wrote the certificate. Its contents were as follows: “That having reason to expect, by some late intelligence from Europe, that a vessel would soon come to Cochin China, he had, in consequence of this news, got the court to send a Mandarin (the bearer) to Pulo Condore, to wait its arrival; that if the vessel should put in there, the commander might either send by the bearer an account to him of his arrival, or trust himself to the Mandarin, who would pilot him into a well-sheltered port in Cochin China, not more than a day’s sail from Condore; that should he choose to remain in Condore, till the return of the messenger, proper interpreters would be sent back, and any other assistance, which a letter should point out, be furnished; that it was unnecessary to be more particular, of which the captain himself must be sensible.” This letter had the same date as the certificate, and was returned to Luco again, without any copy being taken.
From this letter, and the whole of Luco’s conversation, there remained little doubt that it was a French ship he was to expect. At the same time, we found he would be glad not to lose his errand, and had no objection to become our pilot. We could not discover from the Mandarin, the exact object and business which the vessel he was waiting for intended to prosecute in Cochin China. It is true, that our interpreter, the black, was extremely dull and stupid; and I should, therefore, be sorry, with such imperfect means of information, to run the risk of misleading the reader by any conjectures of my own, respecting the object of Luco’s visit to this island. I shall only add, that he told us the French ships might perhaps have put into Tirnon, and from thence sail to Cochin China; and, as he had received no intelligence of them, he thought this most likely to have been the case.
Captain Gore’s inquiries were next directed to find out what supplies could be obtained from the island. Luco said, that he had two buffaloes of his own, which were at our service; and that there were plenty on the island, which might be purchased for four or five dollars a head; but finding that Captain Gore thought that sum exceedingly moderate, and would willingly give for them a much greater, the price was afterwards raised upon us to seven and eight dollars.
Early in the morning of the 23d, the launches of both ships were sent to the town, to fetch the buffaloes which we had given orders to be purchased; but they were obliged to wait, till it was high-water, as they could at no other time get through the opening at the head of the harbour. On their arrival at the village, they found the surf breaking on the beach with such force, that it was with the utmost difficulty each launch brought a buffalo on board in the evening, and the officers, who were sent on this service, gave it as their opinion, that between the violence of the surf, and the fierceness of the buffaloes, it would be extremely imprudent to attempt bringing any more off in this way. We had purchased eight, and were now at a loss in what manner to proceed to get them on board. We could kill no more than was just necessary for the consumption of one day, as in this climate meat will not keep till the next. After consulting with Luco, it was concluded, that the remainder should be driven through the wood, and over the hill down to the bay, where Captain Gore and I had landed the day before, which being sheltered from the wind, was more free from surf. This plan was accordingly put in execution, but the untractableness and prodigious strength of the buffaloes, rendered it a tedious and difficult operation. The method of conducting them was, by passing ropes through their nostrils, and round their horns; but having been once enraged at the sight of our men, they became so furious, that they sometimes broke the trees, to which we were often under the necessity of tying them; sometimes they tore asunder the cartilage of the nostril, through which the ropes ran, and got loose. On these occasions, all the exertions of our men to recover them, would have been ineffectual, without the assistance of some young boys, whom these animals would permit to approach them, and by whose little managements their rage was soon appeased. And, when at length they were got down to the beach, it was by their aid, in twisting ropes round their legs, in the manner they were directed, that we were enabled to throw them down, and by that means to get them into the boats. A circumstance, respecting these animals, which I thought no less singular than this gentleness toward, and, as it should seem, affection for little children, was, that they had not been twenty-four hours on board, before they became the tamest of all creatures. I kept two of them, a male and female, for a considerable time, which became great favourites with the sailors; and thinking that a breed of animals of such strength and size, some of them weighing, when dressed, seven hundred pounds’ weight, would be a valuable acquisition, I was inclined to have brought them with me to England; but my intention was frustrated by an incurable hurt that one of them received at sea.
It was not till the 28th, that the buffaloes were all got on board; however, there was no reason to regret the time taken up by this service, since, in the interim, two wells of excellent water had been discovered, of which, as also of wood, part of the ships’ companies had been employed in laying in a good supply; so that a shorter stop would be necessary for replenishing our stock of these articles, in the Strait of Sunda. A party had likewise been occupied in drawing the seine at the head of the harbour, where they took a great many good fish; and another party in cutting down the cabbage-palm, which was boiled, and served out with the meat. Besides this, having been able to procure only a scanty supply of cordage at Macao, the repairing of our rigging was become an object of constant attention, and demanded all our spare time.
Pulo Condore is high and mountainous, and surrounded by several smaller islands, some of which are less than one, and others two miles distant. It takes its name from two Malay words, Pulo, signifying an island, and Condore, a calabash, of which it produces great quantities. It is of the form of a crescent, extending near eight miles from the southernmost point, in a north-east direction; but its breadth no where exceeds two miles. From the westernmost extremity, the land trends to the south-east for about four miles; and opposite to this part of the coast there is an island, called by Monsieur D’Après[[81]] Little Condore, which runs two miles in the same direction. This position of the two islands affords a safe and commodious harbour, the entrance into which is from the north-west. The distance between the two opposite coasts is three-quarters of a mile, exclusive of a border of coral rock, which runs down along each side, extending about one hundred yards from the shore. The anchorage is very good, from eleven to five fathoms’ water, but the bottom is so soft and clayey, that we found great difficulty in weighing our anchors. Toward the bottom of the harbour there is shallow water for about half a mile, beyond which the two islands approach so near each other, as to leave only a passage at high water for boats. The most convenient place for watering is at a beach on the eastern side, where there is a small stream which furnished us with fourteen or fifteen tons of water a-day.
This island, both with respect to animal and vegetable productions, is considerably improved since the time when Dampier visited it. Neither that writer, nor the compiler of the East India Directory, make mention of any other quadrupeds than hogs, which are said to be very scarce, lizards, and the guanoes; and the latter, on the authority of Monsieur Dedier, a French engineer, who surveyed the island about the year 1720, says, that none of the fruits and esculent plants, so common in the other parts of India, are to be found here, except water-melons, a few potatoes, small gourds, chibbols (a small species of onion), and little black beans. At present, besides the buffaloes, of which we understood there were several large herds, we purchased from the natives some remarkably fine fat hogs, of the Chinese breed. They brought us three or four of a wild sort; and our sportsmen reported, that they frequently met with their tracks in the woods, which also abound with monkeys and squirrels, but so shy, that it was difficult to shoot them. One species of the squirrel was of a beautiful shining black colour, and another species striped brown and white. This is called the flying-squirrel, from being provided with a thin membrane, resembling a bat’s wing, extending on each side the belly, from the neck to the thighs, which, on stretching out their legs, spreads, and enables them to fly from tree to tree, at a considerable distance. Lizards were in great abundance; but I do not know that any of us saw the guano, and another animal, described by Dampier[[82]] as resembling the guano, only much larger.
Amongst its vegetable improvements, I have already mentioned the fields of rice we passed through; and plantains, various kinds of pompions, cocoa-nuts, oranges, shaddocks, and pomegranates, were also met with; though, except the plantains and shaddocks, in no great abundance.
It is probable, from what has been already said relative to the bishop of Adran, that the French have introduced these improvements, into the island, for the purpose of making it a more convenient refreshing station for any of their ships that may be bound for Cambodia, or Cochin China. Should they have made, or intend to make, any settlement in those countries, it is certainly well situated for that purpose, or for annoying the trade of their enemies, in case of war.
Our sportsmen were very unsuccessful in their pursuit of the feathered game, with which the woods are well stocked. One of our gentlemen had the good fortune to shoot a wild hen; and all the shooting parties agreed that they heard the crowing of the cocks on every side, which they described to be like that of our common cock, but shriller; that they saw several of them on the wing, but that they were exceedingly shy. The hen that was shot was of a speckled colour, and of the same shape, though not quite so large, as a full grown pullet of this country. Monsieur Sonnerat has entered into a long dissertation, to prove that he was the first person who determined the country to which this most beautiful and useful bird belongs, and denies that Dampier met with it here.