CHAPTER XVII. Leaving Batavia-Illness of the Commodore's son-Once more at sea- -Calms and opposing currents-Drag the bottom for shells-Augmentation of the sick-listHeat of the weather-Gaspar Straits-Tardy progress in the China Sea-Harassing duty-Cross the equator-Island of St. Barbe-Pulo Aor-Sickness and death-Terrific thunder-storm-Death of N. K. G. Oliver, Esq.-Funeral obsequies-Contribution for his family-Tedious calms, and oppressive heat-Increasing mortality-Dreary prospects-Cheering sight of a sail-Speak an English bark-Mutual interchange of courtesies-A vertical sun-Coast of ChinaCanton Bay-A Chinese pilot-Anchor in Macao Road. THE Potomac lay anchored at Batavia, from the twentieth of March until the tenth of April, a period of twenty-one days; during which time the commodore and officers had an opportunity of seeing much of the inhabitants and of the adjacent country. They had shared the hospitality of their own countrymen, of Europeans, and of the colonists; visited all the places of interest and curiosity, and taken notes of whatever they thought worth remembering. They had witnessed the curious religious ceremony of the Chinese, in walking barefooted over coals of fire; they had made many excursions into the country, to the distance of forty miles; had visited the governor at his palace, and enjoyed the wild, rich, and luxuriant scenery of its neighbourhood. In one word, they had luxuriated on every innocent and rational enjoyment which this "garden of the east" could bestow; and yet every bosom experienced a thrill of delight when the inspiring word was given—“ all hands, unmoor!" For every one felt suspicious of the land breezes of Batavia, and ardently panted once more to inhale the pure air of the ocean. The commodore's little son, a fine lad, in the tenth year of his age, who accompanied his father on the present expedition, was seized with the Batavia fever on the first of April, having fallen asleep in a draught of air while in a state of perspiration on shore, at a villa some distance from the city. For several days the youthful sufferer was not expected to recover, and during this painful suspense, the commodore, who was constantly with him on shore, delayed naming a day for the sailing of the frigate. The crisis at length took place, which was succeeded by a favourable change, so that on Monday, the ninth of April, the lad was so far convalescent as to be conveyed on board the Potomac, which sailed on the following morning. During her stay at Batavia, the sick-list had increased to fortyone, and two had died, who were buried on a neighbouring island. The invalids on board were principally afflicted with dysentery, and young Downes, the commodore's son, was the only individual who experienced an attack of the Batavia fever, which finally, on the passage across the Pacific, changed to an intermittent, from which he did not recover until he passed through the process of having the smallpox, on the coast of Chili. On Tuesday morning, the tenth of April, a little after daylight, the anchor was weighed and the frigate got under way. The wind being light, every sail was spread to catch its soft breathings, as the gallant ship moved slowly on the glassy bosom of Batavia Bay, standing directly north. At meridian, the South Watcher Island bore north-by-west-half-west. This island is about twentyseven miles from our recent anchorage. On leaving Batavia, the Strait of Sunda, or Malacca, during the months of March, April, or May, the navigator will most probably be doomed to experience a long and unpleasant passage to China. Though the strength of the northeast monsoon may have greatly relaxed in its force, the currents may still be unfavourable, and the calms which are liable to happen between the two monsoons often render a passage most perplexingly tedious. Had not the various incidents of the voyage delayed the Potomac in her departure from the Sunda Isles, the commodore would have been compelled to take another and very different route than that through the China Sea. During the months of January or February, it would have been almost impossible to make way against the northeast monsoon, either by the inner route, along the coast of Cochin China, or by Macclesfield Bank through the China Sea, so that he would have been compelled to go through the Straits of Macassar, and leaving the great Island of Borneo, as well as Luconia, to the west, again stood in to the northwest, through the channel of Formosa, and from thence to Lintin and Canton river. The lateness of the season, however, did not make this route necessary; and though many prefer the inner passage between the Islands of Banca and Sumatra, the commodore determined to proceed through the Straits of Gaspar, and the middle of the China Sea. On Wednesday, the eleventh, the Potomac made but little headway; the wind was light, varying from northwest to northeast: at seven in the evening she came to anchor in twenty-four fathoms water, and veered to fifty fathoms chain cable. The next morning she was under way at an early hour; wind light, but fair, and at seven o'clock A. M., passed the South Watcher Island, about three miles distant. A short distance to the northwest of the South Watcher Island lie the Thousand Islands; a group or chain of numerous small islands extending from northwest to southeast, that bound the west side of the passage between the North and South Watcher Islands. There are many dangerous shoals around them, to which a good birth should be. given. Pulo Etau is the most westerly, and is separated from the other islands. A squall, with heavy rain, occurred on Wednesday night. On Thursday, the twelfth, two Chinese junks were seen standing to the southward and eastward. The lead was now kept constantly going, finding scarcely any variation from thirteen to fifteen fathoms water. The northeast monsoon was now entirely gone, being succeeded by light winds, with sultry and enervating weather. The current too, which had been put in motion by the wind blowing several months in the same direction, still continued its opposing course at the rate of half a mile an hour. Even light showers, attended with thunder and lightning, scarcely seemed to give any relief to the oppressive influence of the sultry atmosphere. On this and the following day the frigate's drag was put in requisition, for the purpose of getting possession of such curious shells as might be found on the bottom. The experiment was successful, and many beautiful specimens of conchology were added to the collections of the commodore and his officers. The fourteenth and fifteenth passed heavily; the frigate being most of the time anchored with a kedge, waiting to catch the first puff of air that could move her through the water. The sick-list had now swollen to the number of fifty-one, being every tenth man on board, and one poor fellow had just been consigned to his watery sepulchre, after an illness of only twenty-four hours. On Sunday, the fifteenth, at three o'clock in the morning, the frigate encountered a strong squall from the northwest. The heavy waters seemed to be once more in motion; but in less than three hours it was calm again; and at noon it was found, by observation, that she had only made four miles in the last twentyfour hours; that she was in latitude 4° 20' south, and was less than one hundred and twenty miles from her starting-place at Batavia. The weather this day was excessively warm, the thermometer in the shade standing at 84°. On Monday, the sixteenth, the frigate's progress was accelerated by what the sailors call cat's-paws, light puffs of wind, which pushed her forward to within ten miles of Entrance Point, which is the southeast angle of the island called Pulo Leat, or Middle Island, separating Macclesfield's Strait from Clement's Strait. These two straits, generally known under the single appellation of Gaspar, the name of the Spanish captain who made the passage in seventeen hundred and twenty-four, are formed by the Island of Banca on the west, and Billiton Island on the east. These two islands are about fifty miles apart, and between them are two smaller ones, called Long Island and Middle Island, the first being near Billiton, and the other near Banca. Gaspar Island is about twenty-five miles further north. The passage between Banca and Pulo Leat, or Middle Island, is the one which is generally called Macclesfield's Strait, and the one through which the Potomac passed into the China Sea. She entered this strait on Tuesday, the seventeenth, which placed a distance of only two hundred and twenty-five miles between her and Batavia. The passage between Middle Island and Long Island is called Clement's Strait; and both together form Gaspar Straits, in the plural number. On Wednesday, the eighteenth, the frigate had so fine a run as to pass sixty miles to the north of Gaspar Island, which is in latitude 2° 25′ 30′′ south, and is the principal landmark in passing this strait; as it has a high peaked hill rising from its surface, which may be seen at the distance of thirty miles. The Potomac was now about three hundred miles north of Batavia. On Friday, the twentieth, it was a perfect calm; and the sea effect, the ravages and fatal consequences of the disease. One seaman expired at half past nine o'clock that morning, and was consigned to a watery grave at half past five the same afternoon, with all appropriate ceremonies. Had the frigate, during this period, been in the midst of a "dead sea," she could scarcely have remained more sluggishly on the water. All the elasticity of the air seemed to be gone, and every one suffered from the extreme lassitude produced by the heat; and the sick were particularly affected by it. The scene was soon changed; for in the early part of the night clouds began to gather and thicken; and before midnight, the elements above and around seemed on fire; so terrific a thunderstorm had not been witnessed during the whole cruise. The air was overcharged with electricity; and flash after flash poured forth, illuminating the whole ocean for miles around, while the rain fell in torrents-and this continued, with but little intermission, until morning. "Loud, and more loud, the rolling peals enlarge, Now in a deluge bursts the living flame, And dread concussion rends the ethereal frame; The skies asunder torn, a deluge pour, Amid the electric blaze, and thunder's roar."-FALCONER. It was a night long to be remembered! Not that the frigate had encountered a typhoon, or run upon rocks or shoals, but that the grim messenger, death, had been among her inmates! At about nine o'clock in the evening, the commodore's private secretary, a man much respected and beloved by all who knew him, N. K. G. Oliver, Esq., breathed his last!-far from his homehis wife-his children--and all that he held dear! For a long time before leaving the United States his health had been delicate, and the hope of improving it was the principal inducement which caused him to abandon his domestic enjoyments for a voyage round the world. Consumption, that insidious foe of human hopes and pleasing anticipations, had been wearing and frittering away his constitution. His strong and highly-cultivated mind refused to participate in the weakness of his body, but retained its vigour and cheerfulness until the last moment of his existence. Among the loose papers of the deceased was found a scrap, on |