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midnight, and came to anchor in a small bay at the N.W. end of the island, when our Dutch pilot sent two men ashore with a letter to the governor, acquainting him of our urgent wants. Early of the 23d May, a Dutch corporal and two soldiers came on board, and read to us a general order from the Dutch East-India Company, that if any ships, except their own, came there to anchor, they were not to be supplied with any thing whatever. We told him that extreme want of provisions had constrained us to put in here, and that we should not have touched any where before reaching Batavia, if we could possibly have subsisted; wherefore we requested he would inform the governor of our urgent wants. This he engaged to do, seeing us in a very weak condition, and came back about four in the afternoon, saying that we could have no provisions here, but might be supplied at Amboina. We were forced therefore to leave this unfriendly place, and to attempt going to Amboina, if the wind would serve. _Manissa_ is about fifteen miles from S.E. to N.W. and about eight in breadth, in lat. 3 deg. 25' S. and about twenty miles west from the island of _Bonou_. It is a remarkably high island, and pretty well inhabited by Malays, as are all the Molucca Islands. It is surrounded by shoals almost on every side, and some of these stretch a league and a half from the shore, so that it is very dangerous to come near, unless with very good charts, or with an experienced pilot. It has several good springs of fresh water, and the Dutch have a small fort with six guns on its S.W. side. It is governed by a Dutch serjeant, having under him three corporals, a master gunner, and twenty European soldiers; and produces vast plenty of rice and cloves, both of which are sent to Amboina. The inhabitants are mostly fishers, and catch such abundance of fish as not only supplies themselves, but enables them also to carry a great deal to Amboina. We stood to the S.W. having the wind at S.S.E. and blowing fresh, so that we sailed under our courses, and were now much out of heart, not expecting to reach Amboina, the S E. monsoon being now set in; which was right against us. Almost in despair, we continued our course till we were over against the island of _Bouro_, and then the wind veering to the S.S.W. we stood away S.E. but finding a strong current setting to leeward, we rather lost ground, and seeing no likelihood of getting to Amboina, we, by general consent, shared am
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