4 October 1770

Joseph Banks's Journal: Daily Entries

Table of Contents On this day ... 4 October 1770 Endeavour Voyage Maps James Cook's Journal Ms 1, National Library of Australia Transcript of Cook's Journal Sydney Parkinson's Journal The authorised published account of Cook's Voyage by John Hawkesworth 1770 Index Search Contact us Search for in Falconer's Dictionary of the Marine

4 October 1770 4. Lightning in the night. In the morn calms and light breezes not sufficient to stem the current which was very strong. To make our situation as tantalizing as possible innumerable Proas were sailing about us in all directions. A boat was sent ashore for grass and landed at an Indian town where by hard bargaining some Cocoa nuts were bought at about three halfpence a peice and rice in the straw at about 5 farthings a gallon; neither here or in any other place where we have had connections with them would they take any money but Spanish dollars. Large quantities of that floating substance which I have often mentiond before under the name of Sea Saw dust had been seen ever since we came into the streights and more particularly today; among it were many leaves, fruits, old stalks of Plantain trees, Plants of Pistia Stratiotes and such like trash, from whence we almost concluded that it came out of some river. At noon by a good Observation we found Pulo Pissang off which we lay at an anchor to be laid down 5 miles to[o] far to the Northward in La Neptune Oriental. In the Evening light breezes so that we got a little ahead. Voyaging Accounts © Derived from State Library of NSW 1998 Transcription of Banks's Endeavour Journal page (vol.2) 395, 2004 Published by kind permission of the Library https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/banks/17701004.html