Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/393

Rh We landed and walked up to the town, which consisted of a good many houses, some tolerably large, each being a roof of thatch supported by pillars three or four feet from the ground, and covering a boarded floor. Before we had been long there it began to grow dark, and we returned on board, having only just tasted their palm wine, which had a very sweet taste, and suited all our palates very well, giving us hopes at the same time that it might be serviceable to our sick, as, being the fresh and unfermented juice of the tree, it promised antiscorbutic virtues.

19th. We went ashore, and proceeded immediately to the house of assembly, a large house which we had yesterday mistaken for the king’s palace; this, as well as two or three more in the town, or nigrie, as the Indians call it, have been built by the Dutch East India Company. They are distinguished from the rest by two pieces of wood, one at each end of the ridge of the house, resembling cows' horns; undoubtedly the thing designed by the Indian, who on the 17th made a sign of the mark by which we were to know the town by crossing his fingers, and which our Catholic Portuguese interpreted into a cross, making us believe that the settlement was originally Portuguese. In this house of assembly we met Mynheer Lange, and the Radja, Madocho Lomi Djara, attended by many of the principal people. We told them that we had in the boat an assortment of what few goods we had to truck with, and desired leave to bring them ashore, which was immediately granted, and orders given accordingly. We then attempted to settle the price of buffaloes, sheep, hogs, etc., which were to be paid in money, but here Mynheer Lange left us, and told us that we must settle that with the natives, who would bring down large quantities to the beach. By this time the morning was pretty far advanced, and we, resolving not to go on board, and eat salt meat, when such a profusion of flesh was continually talked of, petitioned his Majesty that we might have liberty to purchase a small hog, some rice, etc., and employ his subjects to cook them for dinner. He answered that if we could eat victuals dressed by his