Page:Journal of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks.djvu/478

420 13th. My fever returned, but I resolved not to attempt to cure it till in the main ocean I should meet with a better air than this uncleared island could possibly have. In the evening after my fit I went ashore to the king, to whom time after time I had made small presents, altogether not of five shillings value, carrying two quires of paper, which, like everything else, he most thankfully received. We had much conversation, the purport of which was his asking why the English ships did not touch here, as they used to do. I told him that as they had not on the island turtle enough to supply one ship, they could not expect many; but advised him to breed cattle, sheep, and buffaloes, which advice, however, he did not seem much to approve of.

Prince's Island, as it is called by the English, in Malay Pulo Selan, and in the language of the inhabitants Pulo Paneitan, is a small island situated at the western entrance to the straits of Sunda. It is woody and has no remarkable hill upon it, though the English call the small one which is just over the anchoring place the Pike. This island was formerly much frequented by India ships of many nations, but especially English, who have of late forsaken it, on account, it is said, of the badness of its water, and stop either at North Island, a small island on the Sumatra coast outside the east entrance of the straits, or at New Bay, a few leagues only from Prince's Island, at neither of which places, however, can any quantity of refreshments be procured.

Its chief produce is water, which is so situated that if you are not careful in taking it high enough up the brook, it will inevitably be brackish, from which circumstance alone I believe it has got a bad name with almost all nations. It also produces turtle, of which, however, its supplies are not great; so that if a ship comes second or third in the season she must be contented with small ones, and no great plenty of them, as indeed was in some measure our case. We bought at very various prices, according to the humour of the people;