Autograph letter signed : "Henry Dundas. Bay of St. Augustine, Madagascar", to Sir James [Pulteney], 1801 Aug. 18.

Informing him of his arrival on Madagascar after a very favorable voyage except for a "violent Rheumatic Fever which confined me to my bed for some weeks & I am still lame as scarcely to be able to walk notwithstanding the delightful weather we have;" saying that after a stop in Madeira he had intended to "proceed to India by the outer Passage without interruption, but our Crew becoming sickly, from being too much crowded & our live Stock being nearly eat up, we were obliged to take the inner Passage thro the Mozambique Channel & to stop in this Bay in order to procure Refreshments which we have got in great abundance & wonderfully cheap...;" describing in detail the bartering he has done for supplies, birds and animals and an excursion he took "some miles up a river & had a pretty good view of the country the appearance of which is not very prepossessing. Altho I am not fond of Savages or men in a State of Nature, à la Rousseau, yet I must say that the inhabitants of Madagascar seem a good sort of people. When I was on shore the party I went with left me & I remained alone in the midst of fifty of them mostly women, who all were perfectly inoffensive & made no attempt to steal or pick my pocket, altho they begged every thing they saw, but did not take it ill being refused;" expecting to "leave this in a day or so & if we are tolerably lucky, shall get to Colombo in about a month;" asking him to write and tell him of matters at home; sending his respects to Lady Bath and Lady Ancram.