ceeded to China, and were likely to remain there some time, he took upon himself the responsibility of proceeding thither in quest of them. Finding, on his arrival at Macao, that the enemy had not made their appearance in that quarter, he endeavoured to return through the sea of China, against the foul-weather monsoon. His endeavours, however, proved ineffectual, the ships being forced into the Mindoro Sea and Pacific Ocean. A scarcity of provisions, added to the severe weather and fatigue encountered by the crews of the Doris and Psyche, now produced an attack of scurvy and dysentery, by which the former frigate lost 40 men before she anchored in Malacca Roads, and on her arrival there no less than 80 others were confined to their hammocks through sickness. The Psyche suffered in a nearly equal degree. To enable the reader to judge of Captain Cole’s anxiety on this alarming occasion, we need only add, that during the latter part of the passage there remained but 1 Lieutenant, the gunner, and 56 men, who were able to keep watch on board the Doris, and assist her commander in the arduous duties he had to perform.
In 1810, Captain Cole was removed, at his own request, into the Caroline of 36 guns. He soon after received orders to take the Piedmontaise frigate, Baracouta brig, and Mandarin transport under his command, and proceed with them to the assistance of the garrison of Amboyna, which island had recently been taken by the British[1].
Having received on board a considerable sum in specie, large supplies of provisions, and 100 European troops, the squadron left Madras on the 10th May, and arrived at Prince of Wales’s Island (Pulo-Penang) on the 30th of the same month. Whilst there, he signified to the government his intention to attempt the reduction of the Banda islands on his way to Amboyna, and was furnished with 20 artillery-men, commanded by a Lieutenant of that corps, 2 field-pieces, and twenty scaling-ladders, to assist him in the undertaking.
After a passage of six weeks, against the S.E. monsoon, through the Straits of Malacca, the intricate navigation on the N.E. side of Borneo, and the Sooloo Sea, the squadron passed through Pitt’s Straits, and entered the Java Sea on the
