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patted, keep the {larboard fhore on board within your {hip’s length ; or, if you pleafe,nearer, at any time of tide, but beft on the flood ; for the ebbs run fo ftrong in fomefeafcns, that for want of wind, which the trees keep off, you will find it very difficultto get a-head when you come to open the firil river on your {larboard fide, which ispretty broad, and is called China river as you go up. You muft ffieer off towards themiddle, to avoid a fpit that {hoots out from the larboard entrance of that river’smouth ; but you have gradual foundings.
The tide flows here but once in twenty-four hours, and that always in the day-time;in the fpring-tides the water rifes about twelve feet; but in the night there is only akind of ftagnation of the water when the tide comes in, and never rifes above half afoot, unlefs it be in very dry weather: the reafon is, that befides the ftrong current ofthe inland waters, the land-winds, which blow always in the night with more vigourthan at other times, make fo great a refiftance that the flood cannot rife to any con-fiderable height.
This river China runs up as far as the town of Tatas, and is navigable not only thi-ther, but a confiderable way farther for the biggeft {hip in the world. All the China junks go up the faid river, and from hence I fuppofe it has its name. All other (hipsthat will go up fo far muff; take the fame courfe ; but our {hips lay higher up themain river, over againft the fadlory, which was at the entrance of another river,fmaller than the former, and which you meet next on the {larboard fide alfo as you goup: it is called Tatas Small River; between which place, if you keep neareft the{larboard fide, there is no danger. We palled China river about nine or ten in themorning, and about eleven got to the fmall river laft mentioned, which is much theneareft way for fmall veffels or boats. It was no little diverfion to us in our paffage, tofee the prodigious multitude of monkeys and baboons of all forts that fwarmed on thetrees on each fide of us ; feveral with their young ones hanging about their necks.We {hot many of them ; but at the report of a gun they make a terrible buftle with■with their jumping and fcouring from tree to tree : they would lhake off their youngones, and make the woods ring and echo with their loud fquealing ; the found of ourtrumpets had the fame effe£t on them. The natives never hurt them, which makesthem fo void of fear, that they will let you come very near them. We faw manya ffigators funning themfelves on the mud, feveral of which we {hot at, but to nopurpofe.
We had eight miles to go up this river, which is very crooked, where the fcorchingneat of the fun would have been as troublefome to us as thefe fights were diverting ;but it being narrow, and the trees wonderful high on each fide, we were pretty wellmaded from the heat. We could not fee the town till we were juft entering into it,becaufe of the tallnefs of the trees that Hand clofe together. It confifts of about threeunffred houfes, moft of them built on floats in the river, which is here about a hun-1 ed yards over ; but the houfes of the poorer fort are built on ftilts in the mud oneach fide. The owners are forced at high water to make ufe of boats to get into theoufes; and at low u 7 ater they have large logs that lie from houfe to houfe, on whiche y ^ a Jk. The houfes on the floats are built on vaft logs or trees laid and trunneledc°bl 6r ’ ° r k° unc l ftrongly with cables made of rattans, and faftened by the likees the trees on Ihore, and to one another. Each houfe confifts only of onefaYth C1V ^ ec * * nto fondry apartments, according to the family; the fides being onlyP i bamboo plated crofs-wife ; and they are thatched on the top with cajans, muchhi ? f 6 ^ anner °f the Javans, and other Malayans. Though thefe houfes are tolerablyS for the fake of air, yet the eaves hang over the fides within five feet of the logs
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