DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.15172#0038
G
CUTCH NAVIGATORS.
CHAP. I.
boils up and bubbles like an effervescing draught,
present a frightful aspect to a stranger, but the
natives traverse it at all seasons. It is tolerably
free from rocks, and the Cutch shore is sandy with
little surf, and presents inducement for vessels in
distress to run in upon the land. We passed a
boat of fifty tons, which had escaped shipwreck,
with a very valuable cargo from Mozambique, the
preceding year, by this expedient.
Among the timid navigators of the East, the
mariner of Cutch is truly adventurous : he voy-
ages to Arabia, the Red Sea, and the coast of
Zanguebar in Africa, bravely stretching out on the
ocean after quitting his native shore. The " rnoal-
lim" or pilot determines his position by an altitude
at noon or by the stars at night, with a rude
quadrant. Coarse charts depict to him the bear-
ings of his destination, and, by long-tried sea-
manship, he weathers, in an undecked boat with a
huge lateen sail, the dangers and tornadoes of
the Indian Ocean. This use of the quadrant was
taught by a native of Cutch, who made a voyage
to Holland in the middle of last century, and
returned, " in a green old age," to enlighten his
country with the arts and sciences of Europe. The
most substantial advantages introduced by this im-
prover of his country were the arts of navigating
and naval architecture, in which the inhabitants of
Cutch excel. For a trifling reward, a Cutch mariner
will put to sea in the rainy season, and the adventur-
ous feeling is encouraged by the Hindoo merchants
CUTCH NAVIGATORS.
CHAP. I.
boils up and bubbles like an effervescing draught,
present a frightful aspect to a stranger, but the
natives traverse it at all seasons. It is tolerably
free from rocks, and the Cutch shore is sandy with
little surf, and presents inducement for vessels in
distress to run in upon the land. We passed a
boat of fifty tons, which had escaped shipwreck,
with a very valuable cargo from Mozambique, the
preceding year, by this expedient.
Among the timid navigators of the East, the
mariner of Cutch is truly adventurous : he voy-
ages to Arabia, the Red Sea, and the coast of
Zanguebar in Africa, bravely stretching out on the
ocean after quitting his native shore. The " rnoal-
lim" or pilot determines his position by an altitude
at noon or by the stars at night, with a rude
quadrant. Coarse charts depict to him the bear-
ings of his destination, and, by long-tried sea-
manship, he weathers, in an undecked boat with a
huge lateen sail, the dangers and tornadoes of
the Indian Ocean. This use of the quadrant was
taught by a native of Cutch, who made a voyage
to Holland in the middle of last century, and
returned, " in a green old age," to enlighten his
country with the arts and sciences of Europe. The
most substantial advantages introduced by this im-
prover of his country were the arts of navigating
and naval architecture, in which the inhabitants of
Cutch excel. For a trifling reward, a Cutch mariner
will put to sea in the rainy season, and the adventur-
ous feeling is encouraged by the Hindoo merchants