The best fruits they have at Batavia are the Mangasteen, which is so wholesome, that it may be eaten in a fever: the Ramboutan, about the size of a large plumb, growing in bunches, and covered with a thick husk, of a bright red colour, full of soft prickles, which gives it a furzy appearance; the inside, which is about the size of a pigeon's egg, is transparent, and yields a very rich juice, which has an agreeable poignancy. Pine-apples, which are also very good and plentiful, may be bought for an halfpenny or a farthing each. The Nanca and Durian are much admired by the natives; but they are very disagreeable to foreigners, as they smell like onions and garlick, mixed with sugar: the Nanca is rather long, divided into four equal parts within, has a stone in each, and is as large as a half-peck loaf: they grow on the trunk of a tree; the outside of the fruit is of a green colour, and the inside of a yellow: they are covered with a bag, before they are ripe, which pre-serves them from the vermin. The Durian is considerably less, quite round, and covered with spiny tubercles. They have bread-fruit, too; but, being full of seed, it is never eaten. Also a plenty of mangoes, of several sorts, which, in my opinion, eat best when they are green, with pepper and salt. Oranges are very scarce and very indifferent; but they have plenty of limes, and some Namnams too, which eat very well fried. They also have a fruit, produced by a sort of rattan, called Salae, which is covered over with small brown scales, and tastes like cheese, apples, and onions. Guavas, though deemed good of their kind, smell so disagreeably, that I could not endure them. Of Jamboo, they have many sorts, some large, some small, some round, and others long; white, pink, crimson, and scarlet. They have also a plenty of cocoa-nuts, of which they generally make their oil. Their other fruits are Pisang, or plantains, Manco, or water-melons, anona squamosa, custard-apples, anona reticulata, grapes, pumplenoses, citrons, and acajou apples.

All the ships, which are careened and hove-down here, go to a small island in the bay, called Unrust, about seven miles from Batavia; where there is proper tackle to heave them down, and a bass, or overseer, to manage all matters. The whole island is one dock-yard, inhabited entirely by carpenters, and others, who belong to the ships that are there.* Near Unrust is another island, called the Kuypers, or Coopers, which is full of warehouses, where ships deposit their goods while they are heaving-down. About a mile from this, there is another island, called Palmirante, where there is an hospital for sick seamen: and upon this island the ships companies inter their dead. There are many other islands in the bay, named Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Eadam, where the company have rope-manufactories, and send their felons.

* At this place our ship was examined; and we found that many of her planks; and her keel, were much damaged; one part of her not being above one-eighth of an inch thick, which was luckily be-fore one of the timbers, or, in all probability, she would have sunk long before we reached the bay of Batavia. While our ship was repairing at Unrust, most of the crew were at Cooper's-island, where they were taken with a putrid dysentery; three of whom, the steward of the gun-room, one of the seamen, and a boy, died. The disorder also carried off Toobaiah, and the lad Taiyota, natives of Otaheite, whom we designed to have brought to England. They had been several times up to Batavia, and expressed great surprize at the many various objects to which they had been unaccustomed: they were particularly struck with the sight of carriages drawn by horses; and were very inquisitive in respect of what they saw, that was new to them; having, before our arrival at Batavia, made great progress in the English tongue, in which they were greatly assisted by Mr. Green, the astronomer, who took much pains therein, particularly with Taiyota. When Taiyota was seized with the fatal disorder, as if certain of his approaching dissolution, he frequently said to those of us who were his intimates, Tyau mate oee, "my friends, I am dying." He took any medicines that were offered him; but Toobaiah, who was ill at the same time, and survived him but a few days, refused every thing of that kind, and gave himself up to grief; regretting, in the highest degree, that he had left his own country, and, when he heard of Taiyota's death, he was quite inconsolable, crying out frequently, Taiyota! Taiyota! They were both buried in the island of Eadam. During our stay at Batavia, most of us were sickly; Mr. Monkhouse, our surgeon, and the astronomer's servant, died; and some others hardly escaped with life.

Voyaging Accounts