A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xii Part 17

The next morning, as soon as it was light, I sent the boats out again, to examine any place where they could get on sh.o.r.e. They returned with a few casks of water, which they had filled at a small rill, and reported, that the wind being at S.E. blew so strong on the east side of the island, and raised so great a sea, that they could not come near the sh.o.r.e.

We continued here till the 15th, at day-break, and then, the weather becoming more moderate, we weighed, and in the evening, just at sun-set, we anch.o.r.ed on the east side of the island, in the same place where Commodore Byron had anch.o.r.ed about two years before. We lost no time, but immediately got off fifteen casks of water, and sent a number of men on sh.o.r.e with others, that were empty, to be filled against the next morning, and a strong party to cut wood: But it happened that about two o'clock in the morning a hard gale of wind came on from the N.W. with violent gusts from the sh.o.r.e, which drove us off the bank, though we had two anchors a-head, which were in the utmost danger of being lost; we got them up, however, with great difficulty, and immediately set the sails, and worked under the lee of the island, keeping as near the sh.o.r.e as we could; the weather soon afterwards became more moderate, so that we could carry double-reefed sails; we had also very smooth water, yet we could not make the ship tack, and were forced to wear her every time we wanted to go about.

At day-break, though we were at a good distance from the sh.o.r.e, I sent the cutter to get off a load of water, before the surf should be so great upon the beach as to prevent her landing. About ten o'clock, the wind came to the N.N.E. which enabled us to get within a little distance of the watering-place, and we might have recovered our anchoring ground upon the bank from which we had been driven, but the weather had so bad an appearance, and the gale freshened so fast, that we did not think it prudent to venture: We brought-to, however, as near the sh.o.r.e as possible, for the advantage of smooth water to unload the cutter, which soon after came alongside with twelve casks of water. As soon as we had taken these on board, I sent the cutter again for another freight, and as we were at a very little distance from land, I ventured to send our long-boat, a clumsy, heavy, four-oared vessel, with provisions for the people on sh.o.r.e, and orders to bring back a load of water, if she could get it: As soon as these boats were dispatched, we made a tack off to keep our ground. At noon it blew hard with heavy rain and thick weather; and at one, as we were standing in again, we saw the boats running along the sh.o.r.e, for the lee-part of the island, this side being open to the wind; we therefore followed them, and brought-to as near the sh.o.r.e as possible, to favour their coming on board: They presently made towards us, and we hoisted them in, but the sea was now risen so high, that in doing it they received considerable damage, and we soon learnt that they found the surf so great as not to be able even to land their empty water-casks. We continued to lie-to, under a balanced mizen, off the lee-part of the island all the afternoon, and although all hands had been constantly employed ever since the ship had been driven off her anchoring-ground, the carpenters worked all night in repairing the boats.

At four o'clock in the morning, the island bore west of us, being four leagues distant, and right to windward: We had now a fine gale and smooth water, and about ten o'clock we fetched very near to the south part of it, and with the help of the boat made the ship tack. As it was not probable that with such a vessel we could regain the anchoring-ground, I took advantage of our being so near the sh.o.r.e, though at a good distance from the watering-place, to send the cutter for another load. In the mean time I stood on and off with the ship, and about four o'clock in the afternoon the cutter brought her freight of water on board. I enquired of the lieutenant after the people on sh.o.r.e, and he told me, that the violent rain which had fallen in the night, had suddenly brought down such torrents of water through the hollow or gulley where they had taken up their station, that they were in the utmost danger of being swept away before it, and though with great difficulty they saved themselves, several of the casks were entirely lost. It was now too late for the boat to make another turn to the place where we had hitherto got our water; but Mr Erasmus Gower, the lieutenant, whose diligence and ability in all our dangers and distress I cannot sufficiently commend, having, as he returned with the cutter, observed that many runs of water had been made by the night's rain, on that part of the island which was nearest to us, and knowing how impatient I was of delay, offered to go thither with the boat, and fill as many casks as she could bring back. I gladly accepted this offer; Mr Gower went away in the boat, and in the mean time I made a tack off with the ship; but before they had been gone an hour, the weather began to grow gloomy, and the wind to freshen, a heavy black cloud at the same time settled over the island so as to hide the tops of the hills, and soon after it began to thunder and lighten at a dreadful rate: As these appearances were very threatening, I stood in again towards the island in hopes of meeting with the boat; but though we ran in as close as we dared, we saw nothing of her. In the mean time night came on, which the thickness of the weather rendered extremely dark, the gale increased, and it began to rain with great violence: In this situation I lay to under a balanced mizen, firing guns, and burning false fires, as a guide to the boat; and not being able to account for her delay, I suffered the most distressful anxiety, and had indeed but too much reason to fear that she was lost. About seven o'clock, however, to my unspeakable satisfaction, she came safe alongside, and as I had long seen a storm gathering, which I expected every moment to burst upon us, we got her in with all possible expedition. It was indeed happy for us all that no time was lost; for before she could be got into her place the squall came on, which in a moment laid the ship down in a surprising manner, and broke the mizen gaff just where the sail was reefed; so that if another minute had pa.s.sed before the boat had been got in, we must inevitably have lost her, and every soul on board would have perished.

This wind and weather continued till midnight, when it became somewhat more moderate, so that we were able to set our courses and top-sails. In the mean time I had enquired of Mr Gower how it came to be so long before he returned to the ship, and he told me, that after he had got to the place where he intended to fill the casks, three of the boat's crew had swam ash.o.r.e with them for that purpose; but that within a few minutes the surf had risen so high, and broke with such fury on the sh.o.r.e, that it was impossible for them to get back to the boat; that being unwilling to leave them behind, especially as they were stark naked, he had waited in hopes that an opportunity might be found for their coming on board; but that, being intimidated by the appearance of the weather, and the uncommon darkness of the night, he had at last, with whatever reluctance, been obliged to come on board without them.

The situation of these poor fellows now furnished another subject of solicitude and anxiety; they were naked, upon a desolate island, at a great distance from the watering-place where their shipmates had a tent, without food and without shelter, in a night of violent and incessant rain, with such thunder and lightning as in Europe is altogether unknown. In the evening of the 19th, however, I had the satisfaction to receive them on board, and to hear an account of their adventures from their own lips. As long as it was light, they flattered themselves, like their friends in the boat, that they should find an opportunity to return on board her; but afterwards, when the darkness of the night was broken only by the flashes of lightning, and the tempest became every moment more violent, they knew that to reach the boat was impossible, if it still remained in its station; and that most probably the people on board had provided for their own safety, by returning on board the ship: To reach the tent of their shipmates, during the darkness and tempest, was equally beyond their power, and they were reduced to the necessity of pa.s.sing such a night, in such a place, without the least defence against either the rain or the cold, which now began to be severely felt. Necessity is said to be ingenious; and they contrived to procure a temporary succedaneum both for apparel and a shed, by lying one upon another, each man alternately placing himself between the other two; in this situation it may easily be believed that they longed most ardently for the dawn, and as soon as it appeared they set out for the tent: They were obliged, however, to make their way along the seash.o.r.e, for the inland country was impa.s.sable; nor was this the worst, for they were frequently stopped by high steep bluff points, which they were obliged to swim round at a considerable distance; for if they had not taken a compa.s.s, they would have been dashed to pieces against the rocks by the surf, and as it was, they were every moment in danger of being devoured by a shark. About ten o'clock in the morning, however, they reached the tents, almost perished with hunger and cold, and were received with equal surprise and joy by their shipmates, who immediately shared with them such provisions and clothes as they had. When they came on board, I gave orders that they should have such refreshments as were proper, and remain in their hammocks the whole night. The next day they were as hearty as if nothing had happened, nor did they suffer any farther inconvenience from the accident. These were three of the honest fellows who had swam naked from the ship at the island of Madeira to get a skinful of liquor. I now return to my narrative in the order of time.

On the 18th, the weather was moderate, and in the evening we were within half a mile of the anchoring-ground, from which we had been driven; but the wind suddenly failing, and a current making against us, we could not reach it: We took advantage, however, of being so near the waterers'

tent to send a boat on sh.o.r.e to enquire after the three men whose adventure has been just related, and soon after she brought them on board. The carpenters were all this time employed in making a new mizen-gaff, out of a gib-boom, and in the mean while we were obliged to makeshift with the old one, keeping the sail balanced. It continued a stark calm all the night, so that in the morning we found the current and the swell had driven us no less than nine miles from the land: The weather, however, being good, I sent the cutter for a load of water, which she brought on board about one o'clock. Soon after a breeze sprung up at N.N.W. and as we now approached the land very fast, I sent the boat on sh.o.r.e again for water; it happened, however, that before we could reach our anchoring-ground, it again fell calm, and we were again kept off by the current: The boat in the meantime, as she rowed along the sh.o.r.e, caught as much fish with hook and line as served all the ship's company, which was some alleviation of our disappointment. At eight o'clock in the evening, it began again to blow hard with sudden squalls, so that we pa.s.sed another toilsome and dangerous night. In the morning, having a stiff gale at N.W. we made towards our anchoring-ground with all the sail we could spread, and happily regained it about four o'clock in the afternoon, when we anch.o.r.ed, at two cables'

length from the beach, in eighteen fathom, with a bottom of fine sand, and moored with a small anchor in sh.o.r.e. By the time the ship was properly secured, it was too late to proceed with our watering; the long-boat however was sent along the sh.o.r.e to fish, and though before seven o'clock it blew so hard that she was obliged to return, she brought fish enough on board to serve all the people. In the night we had foul weather, with hard squalls and much rain; and in the morning, the wind blowing with great violence along the sh.o.r.e, we frequently drove, though we had not less than two hundred fathom of cable out; for the bank is a loose fine sand that easily gives way. We rode out the storm, however, without damage, but the rain was so violent, and the sea ran so high, that nothing could be done with the boats, which was the more mortifying, as it was for the sake of completing our watering that we had endured almost incessant labour for five days and nights to regain the situation in which we now lay. About eight in the evening, the wind became more moderate, and though it was then too late to fetch off any water, we got out one of the boats, and sent three men on sh.o.r.e, right abreast of the ship, to kill seals, and make oil of their fat, for burning in lamps and other uses on board the ship.

The wind blew very hard the next morning, as it had done all night, but being at W. N. W. which was off the land, we sent the boats away soon after it was light, and about ten, they returned with each of them a load of water, and a great number of pintado birds: These birds they got from the people on sh.o.r.e, who told them, that when a gale of wind happened in the night they flew faster into their fire than they could well take them out, so that during the gale of the last night, they got no less than seven hundred of them. The boats were employed in getting water on board all this day, although the surf was so great that several of the casks were staved and lost: They were sent out again a little before it was light the next day, and by seven o'clock a few casks only were wanting to complete our stock. The threatening appearances of the weather made me now very impatient to get the people on board, with the casks that were still at the watering-place; as soon, therefore, as the boats were cleared of their loading, I dispatched them again, with orders to bring off all the hands, with the tent, and every thing else that was on sh.o.r.e, with all possible expedition. From this time the wind increased very fast, and by eleven o'clock it blew so hard, with violent gusts from the land, that the ship began to drive off the bank: We heaved the small anchor up, and got it in out of the way of the other; the gale still increased, but as it was right off the land, I was in no pain about the ship, which continued to drive, still dragging the anchor through the sand, with two hundred fathom of cable out; being very solicitous to give the boats time to bring all on board before we were quit of the bank, I would not weigh. At two o'clock, however, the anchor was quite off the ground, and the ship was in deep water; we were now therefore obliged to bring the cable to the capstern, and with great difficulty we got the anchor up. The gusts off the land were so violent, that, not daring to show any canvas, we lay-to under our bare poles, and the water was frequently torn up, and whirled round in the air much higher than our mast heads. As the ship now drove from the island at a great rate, and night was coming on, I began to be in great pain for the boats, in which, besides my lieutenant, there were eight-and-twenty of my best men; but just in the dusk of the evening, I perceived one of them scudding before the seas, and making towards the ship: This proved to be the long-boat, which, in spite of all the efforts of those on board, had been forced from her grappling, and driven off the land. We took the best opportunity that offered to get her on board, but notwithstanding all our care, she received considerable damage as we were hoisting her in. She had on board ten of my people, who informed me, that when they were first driven from the sh.o.r.e, they had some fire-wood on board, but that they were obliged to throw that, and every thing else, into the sea, to lighten the boat. As we had yet seen nothing of the cutter, and had reason to fear that she also, with the tents, and the other eighteen people, besides the lieutenant, had been driven off the island, I gave her up for lost; knowing that if the night, which was now at hand, should overtake her in such a storm, she must inevitably perish. It was however possible that the people might be ash.o.r.e, and therefore that, if the boat should be lost, they might still be preserved; for this reason I determined to regain the land as soon as possible. At midnight the weather became more moderate, so that we could carry our courses and topsails, and at four o'clock in the morning we crowded all the sail we could make. At ten o'clock, we were very near the sh.o.r.e; to our great concern, we saw nothing of the cutter, yet we continued to stand on till about noon, when we happily discovered her at a grappling, close under the land: We immediately ran to our gla.s.ses, by the help of which we saw the people getting into her; and about three o'clock, to our mutual and inexpressible joy, she came safe on board with all her people: They were however so exhausted with fatigue, that they could scarcely get up the ship's side. The lieutenant told me, that the night before he had attempted to come off, but that as soon as he had left the sh.o.r.e, a sudden squall so nearly filled the boat with water, that she was very near going to the bottom; but that all hands bailing with the utmost diligence and activity, they happily cleared her: That he then made for the land again, which, with the utmost difficulty, he regained, and having left a sufficient number on board the boat, to watch her, and keep her free from water, he with the rest of the people went on sh.o.r.e. That having pa.s.sed the night in a state of inexpressible anxiety and distress, they looked out for the ship with the first dawn of the morning, and seeing nothing of her, concluded that she had perished in the storm, which they had never seen exceeded. They did not, however, sit down torpid in despair, but began immediately to clear the ground near the beach of brushes and weeds, and cut down several trees of which they made rollers to a.s.sist them in hauling up the boat, in order to secure her; intending, as they had no hope of the ship's return, to wait till the summer season and then attempt to make the island of Juan Fernandes. They had now better hopes, and all sense of the dangers that were before us was for a while obliterated by the joy of our escape from those that were past.

From the 16th, when we were first driven from our anchoring-ground, to this time, we suffered an uninterrupted series of danger, fatigue, and misfortunes. The ship worked and sailed very ill, the weather was dark and tempestuous, with thunder, lightning, and rain, and the boats, which I was obliged to keep always employed, even when we were under sail, to procure us water, were in continual danger of being lost, as well by the hard gales which constantly blew, as by the sudden gusts which frequently rushed upon us with a violence that is scarcely to be conceived. This distress was the more severe as it was unexpected, for I had experienced very different weather in these parts about two years before with Commodore Byron. It has generally been thought, that upon this coast the winds are constantly from the S. to the S.W., though Frezier mentions his having had strong gales and high seas from the N.N.W. and N.W. quarter, which was unhappily my case.

Having once more got my people and boats safe on board, I made sail from this turbulent climate, and thought myself fortunate not to have left any thing behind me except the wood, which our people had cut for firing.

The island of Masafuero lies in lat.i.tude 3345'S., longitude 8046'W. of London. Its situation is west of Juan Fernandes, both being nearly in the same lat.i.tude, and by the globe, it is distant about thirty-one leagues. It is very high and mountainous, and at a distance appears like one hill or rock: It is of a triangular form, and about seven or eight leagues in circ.u.mference. The south part, which we saw when we first made the island, at a distance of three-and-twenty leagues, is much the highest: On the north end there are several spots of clear ground, which perhaps might admit of cultivation.

The author of the account of Lord Anson's voyage mentions only one part of this island as affording anchorage, which is on the north side, and in deep water, but we saw no part where there was not anchorage: On the west side in particular, there is anchorage at about a mile from the sh.o.r.e in twenty fathom, and at about two miles and a half in forty and forty-five fathom, with a fine black sand at the bottom. This author also says, that "there is a reef of rocks running off the eastern point of the island about two miles in length, which may be seen by the sea's breaking over them;" but in this he is mistaken, there is no reef of rocks, or shoal running off the eastern point, but there is a reef of rocks and sand running off the western side, near the south end of it.

He is also mistaken as to the distance of this island from Juan Fernandes, and its direction, for he says the distance is twenty-two leagues, and the direction W. by S., but we found the distance nearly one-third more, and the direction is due west, for, as I have before observed, the lat.i.tude of both islands is nearly the same. The goats that he mentions we found upon it in the same abundance, and equally easy to be caught.

On the south-west point of the island there is a remarkable rock with a hole in it, which is a good mark to come to an anchor on the western side, where there is the best bank of any about the place. About a mile and a half to the northward of this hole, there is a low point of land, and from this point runs the reef that has been just mentioned, in the direction of W. by S. to the distance of about three quarters of a mile, where the sea continually breaks upon it. To anchor, run in till the hole in the rock is shut in, about a cable's length upon this low point of land, then bearing S. by E. 1/2 E. and anchor in twenty and twenty-two fathom, fine black sand and sh.e.l.ls: There is anchorage also at several places on the other sides of the island, particularly off the north point, in fourteen and fifteen fathom, with fine sand.

There is plenty of wood and water all round the island, but they are not to be procured without much difficulty. A great quant.i.ty of stones, and large fragments of the rock, have fallen from the high land all round the island, and upon these there breaks such a surf that a boat cannot safely come within a cable's length of the sh.o.r.e; there is therefore no landing here but by swimming from the boat, and then mooring her without the rocks, nor is there any method of getting off the wood and water but by hauling them to the boat with ropes: There are, however, many places where it would be very easy to make a commodious landing by building a wharf, which it would be worth while even for a single ship to do if she was to continue any time at the island.

This part of Masafuero is a very good place for refreshment, especially in the summer season: The goats have been mentioned already, and there is all round the island such plenty of fish, that a boat may, with three hooks and lines, catch as much as will serve an hundred people: Among others we caught excellent coal-fish, cavallies, cod, hallibut, and cray-fish. We took a king-fisher that weighed eighty-seven pounds, and was five feet and a half long, and the sharks were so ravenous, that when we were sounding one of them swallowed the lead, by which we hauled him above water, but as he then disgorged it, we lost him. The seals were so numerous, that I verily think if many thousands of them were killed in a night, they would not be missed in the morning: We were obliged to kill great numbers of them, as, when we walked the sh.o.r.e, they were continually running against us, making at the same time a most horrible noise. These animals yield excellent train oil, and their hearts and plucks are very good eating, being in taste something like those of a hog, and their skins are covered with the finest fur I ever saw of the kind. There are many birds here, and among others some very large hawks. Of the pintado birds, our people, as I have before observed, caught no less than seven hundred in one night. We had not much opportunity to examine the place for vegetable productions, but we saw several leaves of the mountain cabbage, which is a proof that the tree grows here.

SECTION III

_The Pa.s.sage from Masafuero to Queen Charlotte's Islands; several Mistakes corrected concerning Davis's Land, and an Account of some small Islands, supposed to be the same that were seen by Quiros._

When we took our departure from Masafuero, we had a great sea from the N.W. with a swell of long billows from the southward, and the wind, which was from the S.W. to the W.N.W., obliged me to stand to the northward, in hope of getting the south-east trade-wind, for the ship was so dull a sailer, that there was no making her go without a strong wind in her favour. Having thus run farther to the northward than at first I intended, and finding myself not far from the parallel of lat.i.tude which has been a.s.signed to two islands called Saint Ambrose, and Saint Felix or Saint Paul, I thought I should perform an acceptable service by examining if they were fit for shipping to refresh at, especially as the Spaniards having fortified Juan Fernandes, they might be found convenient for Great Britain, if she should hereafter be engaged in a Spanish war. These islands are laid down in Green's charts, which were published in the year 1753, from lat.i.tude 26 20' to 27 S., and from 11/4 to 21/2 W. of Masafuero; I therefore hauled up with a design to keep in that lat.i.tude, but soon afterwards, consulting Robertson's Elements of Navigation, I found the island of Saint Ambrose there laid down in lat.i.tude 25 50' S., and 82 20' longitude west of London, and supposing that islands of so small an extent might be laid down with more exactness in this work than in the chart, I bore away more northward for that lat.i.tude; the event, however, proved that I should not have trusted him so far: I missed the islands, and as I saw great numbers of birds and fish, which are certain indications of land not far off, there is the greatest reason to conclude that I went to the northward of them. I am sorry to say that upon a farther examination of Robertson's tables of lat.i.tudes and longitudes, I found them erroneous in many particulars: This censure, however, if I had not thought it necessary to prevent future mischief, should have been suppressed.

Upon examining the account that is given by Wafer, who was surgeon on board Captain Davis's ship, I think it is probable that these two islands are the land that Davis fell in with in his way to the southward from the Gallapago islands, and that the land laid down in all the sea charts under the name of Davis's Land, has no existence, notwithstanding what is said in the account of Roggewein's voyage, which was made in 1722, of land that they called Eastern Island, which some have imagined to be a confirmation of Davis's discovery, and the same land to which his name has been given.

It is manifest from Wafer's narrative, that little credit is due to the account kept on board Davis's ship, except with respect to the lat.i.tude, for he acknowledges that they had like to have perished by their making an allowance for the variation of the needle westward, instead of eastward: He tells us also that they steered S. by E. 1/2 E. from the Gallapagos, till they made land in lat.i.tude 27 20' S., but it is evident that such a course would carry them not to the westward but to the eastward of the Gallapagos, and set them at about the distance of two hundred leagues from Capiapo, and not five hundred leagues, as he has alleged; for the variation here is not more than half a point to the eastward now, and it must have been still less then, it having been increasing to the eastward on all this coast. The course that Davis steered therefore, if the distance between the islands of St Ambrose and St Felix, and the Gallapagos, as laid down in all our sea charts, is right, must have brought him within sight of St Ambrose and St Felix, when he had run the distance he mentions. The truth is, that if there had been any such place as Davis's Land in the situation which has been allotted to it in our sea charts, I must have sailed over it, or at least have seen it, as will appear in the course of this narrative.

I kept between the lat.i.tude 25 50' and 25 30', in search of the islands I intended to examine, till I got five degrees to the westward of our departure, and then seeing no land, and the birds having left us, I hauled more to the southward, and got into lat.i.tude 27 20' S. where I continued till we got between seventeen and eighteen degrees to the westward of our departure. In this parallel we had light airs and foul winds, with a strong northerly current, which made me conjecture that we were near this Davis's Land, for which we looked out with great diligence, but a fair wind springing up again, we steered west by south, which gradually brought us into the lat.i.tude of 28 1/2 S., so that it is evident I must have sailed over this land, or at least have seen it if there had been any such place. I afterwards kept in the lat.i.tude of 28 for forty degrees to the westward of my departure, or, according to my account, 121 degrees west of London, this being the highest south lat.i.tude the winds and weather would permit me to keep, so that I must have gone to the southward of the situation a.s.signed to the supposed continent called Davis's Land in all our charts.[55]

[Footnote 55: This was really the case, as will be seen in the account of one of Cook's Voyages: For there seems reason to believe, that the island called Easter Island, and sometimes Teapy, is the land which Captain Davis saw in 1686, and Roggewein visited in 1722. See what is said on this subject in vol. xi, p. 90, of this collection.--E.]

We continued our search till Wednesday the 17th of June, when, in lat.i.tude 28 S., longitude 112 W., we saw many sea-birds, which flew in flocks, and some rock-weed, which made me conjecture that we were approaching, or had pa.s.sed by, some land. At this time the wind blew hard from the northward, which made a great sea, but we had notwithstanding long rolling billows from the southward so that whatever land was in that quarter, could be only small rocky islands; and I am inclined to believe that if there was land at all it was to the northward, possibly it might be Roggewein's eastern island, which he has placed in lat.i.tude 27 S., and which some geographers have supposed to be about seven hundred leagues distant from the continent of South America, if indeed any credit is to be given to his account.

It was now the depth of winter in these parts, and we had hard gales and high seas that frequently brought us under our courses and low sails: The winds were also variable, and though we were near the tropic, the weather was dark, hazy, and cold, with frequent thunder and lightning, sleet and rain. The sun was above the horizon about ten hours in the four-and-twenty, but we frequently pa.s.sed many days together without seeing him; and the weather was so thick, that when he was below the horizon the darkness was dreadful: The gloominess of the weather was indeed not only a disagreeable, but a most dangerous circ.u.mstance, as we were often long without being able to make an observation, and were, notwithstanding, obliged to carry all the sail we could spread, day and night, our ship being so bad a sailer, and our voyage so long, to prevent our perishing by hunger, which, with all its concomitant horrors, would otherwise be inevitable.

We continued our course westward till the evening of Thursday the 2d of July, when we discovered land, to the northward of us. Upon approaching it the next day, it appeared like a great rock rising out of the sea: It was not more than five miles in circ.u.mference, and seemed to be uninhabited; it was, however, covered with trees, and we saw a small stream of fresh water running down one side of it. I would have landed upon it, but the surf, which, at this season broke upon it with great violence, rendered it impossible. I got soundings on the west side of it at somewhat less than a mile from the sh.o.r.e, in twenty-five fathom, with a bottom of coral and sand; and it is probable that in fine summer weather landing here may not only be practicable but easy. We saw a great number of sea-birds hovering about it, at somewhat less than a mile from the sh.o.r.e, and the sea here seemed to have fish. It lies in, lat.i.tude 25 2' S., longitude 133 21' W., and about a thousand leagues to the westward of the continent of America. It is so high that we saw it at the distance of more than fifteen leagues, and it having been discovered by a young gentleman, son to Major Pitcairn of the marines, who was unfortunately lost in the Aurora, we called it PITCAIRNS ISLAND.

While we were in the neighbourhood of this island, the weather was extremely tempestuous, with long rolling billows from the southward, larger and higher than any I had seen before. The winds were variable, but blew chiefly from the S.S.W.W. and W.N.W. We had very seldom a gale to the eastward, so that we were prevented from keeping in a high south lat.i.tude, and were continually driving to the northward.

On the 4th, we found that the ship made a good deal of water, for having been so long labouring in high and turbulent seas, she was become very crazy; our sails also being much worn, were continually splitting, so that it was become necessary to keep the sail-maker constantly at work.

The people had hitherto enjoyed good health, but they now began to be affected with the scurvy. While we were in the Strait of Magellan, I caused a little awning to be made, which I covered with a clean painted canvas, that had been allowed me for a floor-cloth to my cabin, and with this we caught so much rain-water, with but little trouble or attendance, that the people were never put to a short allowance of this important article: The awning also afforded shelter from the inclemency of the weather, and to these precautions I imputed our having escaped the scurvy so long, though perhaps it was in some measure owing to the mixture of spirit of vitriol with the water that was thus preserved, our surgeon putting a small quant.i.ty into every cask when it was filled up.

On Sat.u.r.day the 11th, we discovered a small, low, flat island, which appeared to be almost level with the water's edge, and was covered with green trees: As it was to the south and directly to windward of us, we could not fetch it. It lies in lat.i.tude 22S., and longitude 141 34'W.; and we called it the Bishop of Osnaburgh's Island, in honour of his majesty's second son.[56]

[Footnote 56: There is another island of this name, among these that were discovered by Captain Wallis.]

On the 12th, we fell in with two more small islands, which were covered with green trees, but appeared to be uninhabited. We were close in with the southermost, which proved to be a slip of land in the form of a half-moon, low, flat, and sandy: From the south end of it a reef runs out to the distance of about half a mile, on which the sea breaks with great fury. We found no anchorage, but the boat landed. It had a pleasant appearance, but afforded neither vegetables nor water; there were however many birds upon it, so tame that they suffered themselves to be taken by hand. The other island very much resembles this, and is distant from it about five or six leagues: They lie W.N.W. and E.S.E. of each other. One of them is in lat.i.tude 20 38'S., longitude 146W.; the other 2034'S., longitude 146 15' W., and we called them the Duke of Gloucester's Islands; the variation here is five degrees east. These islands are probably the land seen by Quiros, as the situation is nearly the same; but if not, the land he saw could not be more considerable: Whatever it was, he went to the southward of it, and the long billows we had here, convinced us that there was no land near us in that direction.

The wind here being to the eastward, I hauled to the southward again, and the next day, Monday the 13th, in the evening, as we were steering W.S.W. we observed that we lost the long southerly billows, and that we got them again at seven o'clock the next day. When we lost them we were in lat.i.tude 217'S., longitude 1474' W.; and when we got them again we were in lat.i.tude 21 43 S., longitude 14948'W; so that I imagine there was some land to the southward, not far distant.[57]

[Footnote 57: The Islands called Oheteroa, Toobouai, Vabouai, Vavitoo, lie a little to the south of this part of Carteret's track.--E.]

From this time to the 16th, the winds were variable from N.E. round by the N. the N.W. and S.W. and blew very hard, with violent gusts, one of which was very near being fatal to us, with thick weather and hard rain.

We were then in lat.i.tude 22 S., and 7030'W. of our departure, where we found the variation 630'E. and the tempestuous gales were succeeded by a dead calm. After some time, however, the wind sprung up again at west, and at length settled in the W.S.W. which soon drove us again to the northward, so that on the 20th we were in lat.i.tude 19 S., longitude 7530'W. of our departure: The variation was here 6E.

On the 22d, we were got into lat.i.tude 18S., longitude 161W., which was about one thousand eight hundred leagues to the westward of the continent of America, and in all this track we had no indication of a continent. The men now began to be very sickly, the scurvy having made great progress among them, and as I found that all my endeavours to keep in a high southern lat.i.tude at this time were ineffectual, and that the badness of the weather, the variableness of the winds, and above all, the defects of the ship, rendered our progress slow, I thought it absolutely necessary to fix upon that course which was most likely to preserve the vessel and the crew; instead therefore of attempting to return back by the south-east, in which, considering our condition, and the advanced season of the year, it was scarcely possible that we should succeed, I bore away to the northward, that I might get into the trade-wind, keeping still in such a track, as if the charts were to be trusted, was most likely to bring me to some island, where the refreshments of which we stood so much in need might be procured intending then, if the ship could be put in a proper condition, to have pursued the voyage to the southward, when the fit season should return, to have attempted farther discoveries in this track; and, if I should discover a continent, and procure a sufficient supply of provisions there, to keep along the coast to the southward till the sun had crossed the equinoctial, and then, getting into a high southern lat.i.tude, either have gone west about to the Cape of Good Hope, or returned to the eastward, and having touched at Falkland's Islands, if necessary, made the best of my way from thence back to Europe.

When I got into lat.i.tude 16 S. and not before, I found the true trade-wind; and as we proceeded to the north-west, and the northward, we found the variation increase very fast; for when we had advanced to lat.i.tude 18 15' S. and were in longitude 80 1/4 W. of our departure, it was 7 30' E. We had bad weather, with hard gales, and a great sea from the eastward till the 25th, when, being in lat.i.tude 12 15' S., we saw many birds flying in flocks, and supposed ourselves to be near some land, particularly several islands that are laid down in the charts, and one which was seen by Commodore Byron in 1765, and called the Island of Danger; none of these islands, however, could we see. At this time it blew so hard, that, although we went before the wind, we were obliged to reef our top-sails, and the weather was still very thick and rainy. The next morning, being in lat.i.tude 10 S., longitude 167 W., we kept nearly in the same parallel, in hopes to have fallen in with some of the islands called Solomon's Islands, this being the lat.i.tude in which the southermost of them is laid down. We had here the trade-wind strong, with violent squalls and much rain, and continuing our course till Monday the 3d of August, we were then in lat.i.tude 10 18' S. longitude, by account, 177 1/2 E.; our distance west from the continent of America about twenty-one hundred leagues, and we were five degrees to the westward of the situation of those islands in the charts. It was not our good fortune, however, to fall in with any land; probably we might pa.s.s near some, which the thick weather prevented our seeing; for in this run great numbers of sea birds were often about the ship: However, as Commodore Byron in his last voyage sailed over the northern limits of that part of the ocean in which the Islands of Solomon are said to lie, and as I sailed over the southern limits without seeing them, there is great reason to conclude, that, if there are any such islands, their situation in all our charts is erroneously laid down.[58]

[Footnote 58: See what is said on this subject in the account of Byron's voyage. It will be resumed when we come to speak of some of Cook's discoveries--E.]

From the lat.i.tude 14 S., longitude 163 46' W., we had a strong gale from the S.E. which made a great sea after us, and from that time I did not observe the long billows from the southward till we got into lat.i.tude 10 18' S., longitude 177 30' E., and then it returned from the S.W. and S.S.W., and we found a current setting to the southward, although a current in the contrary direction had attended us almost all the way from the Streight of Magellan; I conjectured therefore that here the pa.s.sage opened between New Zealand and New Holland. The variation here was 11 14' E. On the 5th, being in lat.i.tude 10 1/2 S., longitude 175 44' E., the variation was 11 15' E.; and on the 8th, in lat.i.tude 11 S., longitude 171 14' E. it was 14 1/2 E.

About this time we found our stock of log-lines nearly expended, though we had already converted all our fishing lines to the same use. I was some time in great perplexity how to supply this defect, but, upon a very diligent enquiry, found that we had, by chance, a few fathom of thick untarred rope. This, which in our situation was an inestimable treasure, I ordered to be untwisted; but as the yarns were found to be too thick for our purpose, it became necessary to pick them into oakham; and when this was done, the most difficult part of the work remained; for this oakham could not be spun into yarn, till, by combing, it was brought into hemp, its original state. This was not seamen's work, and if it had, we should have been at a loss how to perform it for want of combs; one difficulty therefore arose upon another, and it was necessary to make combs, before we could try our skill in making hemp. Upon this trying occasion we were again sensible of the danger to which we were exposed by the want of a forge: Necessity, however, the fruitful mother of invention, suggested an expedient. The armourer was set to work to file nails down to a smooth point, with which we produced a tolerable succedaneum for a comb; and one of the quarter-masters was found sufficiently skilled in the use of this instrument to render the oakham so smooth and even, that we contrived to spin it into yarn, as fine as our coa.r.s.e implements would admit; and thus we made tolerable log-lines, although we found it much more difficult than to make cordage of our old cables, after they had been converted into junk, which was an expedient that we had been obliged to practise long before. We had also long before used all our sewing sail-twine, and if, knowing that the quant.i.ty with which I had been supplied was altogether inadequate to the wants of such a voyage, I had not taken the whole quant.i.ty that had been put on board to repair the seine into my own custody, this deficiency might have been fatal to us all.

SECTION IV.

_An Account of the Discovery of Queen Charlotte's Islands, with a Description of them and their Inhabitants, and of what happened at Egmont Island._

The scurvy still continued to make great progress among us, and those hands that were not rendered useless by disease, were worn down by excessive labour; our vessel, which at best was a dull sailer, had been long in so bad a condition that she would not work; and on the 10th, to render our condition still more distressful and alarming, she sprung a leak in the bows, which being under water, it was impossible to get at while we were at sea. Such was our situation, when, on the 12th, at break of day, we discovered land: The sudden transport of hope and joy which this inspired, can perhaps be equalled only by that which a criminal feels who bears the cry of a reprieve at the place of execution. The land proved to be a cl.u.s.ter of islands, of which I counted seven, and believe there were many more. We kept on for two of them, which were right a-head when land was first discovered, and seemed to lie close together; in the evening we anch.o.r.ed on the north-east side of one of them, which was the largest and the highest of the two, in about thirty fathom, with a good bottom, and at the distance of about three cables' length from the sh.o.r.e. We soon after saw two of the natives, who were black, with woolly heads, and stark naked; I immediately sent the master out with the boat to fix upon a watering-place, and speak to them, but they disappeared before she could reach the sh.o.r.e. The boat soon after returned with an account that there was a fine run of fresh water a-breast of the ship and close to the beach, but that the whole country in that part being an almost impenetrable forest quite to the water's edge, the watering would be very difficult, and even dangerous, if the natives should come down to prevent it: That there were no esculent vegetables, for the refreshment of the sick, nor any habitations as far as the country had been examined, which was wild, forlorn, and mountainous.

Having considered this account, and finding that a swell, which came round the eastern part of the bay, would render watering troublesome and inconvenient, exclusive of the danger that might be apprehended from the natives, if they should attack us from ambushes in the wood, I determined to try whether a better situation could not be found.

The next morning, therefore, as soon as it was light, I dispatched the master, with fifteen men in the cutter, well armed and provided, to examine the coast to the westward, our present situation being on the lee of the island, for a place where we might more conveniently be supplied with wood and water, and at the same time procure some refreshments for the sick, and lay the ship by the stern to examine and stop the leak. I gave him some beads, ribbons, and other trifles, which by chance I happened to have on board, to conciliate the good-will of the natives, if he should happen to meet with any of them; but at the same time enjoined him to run no risk, and gave him particular orders immediately to return to the ship, if any number of canoes should approach him which might bring on hostilities; and if he should meet the Indians in small parties, either at sea or upon sh.o.r.e, to treat them with all possible kindness, so as to establish a friendly intercourse with them; charging him on no account to leave the boat himself, nor to suffer more than two men to go on sh.o.r.e at a time, while the rest stood ready for their defence; recommending to him, in the strongest terms; an application to his duty, without regarding any other object, as the finding a proper place for the ship was of the utmost importance to us all; and conjuring him to return as soon as this service should be performed, with all possible speed.

Soon after I had dispatched the cutter on this expedition, I sent the long-boat with ten men on board well armed to the sh.o.r.e, who before eight o'clock brought off a ton of water. About nine, I sent her off again, but soon after seeing some of the natives advancing along the sh.o.r.e towards the place where the men landed, I made the signal for them to return, not knowing to what number they would be exposed, and having no boat to send off with a.s.sistance if they should be attacked.

Our men had not long returned on board, when we saw three of the natives sit down under the trees a-breast of the ship. As they continued there gazing at us till the afternoon, as soon as the cutter came in sight, not caring that both the boats should be absent at the same time, I sent my lieutenant in the long-boat, with a few beads, ribbons, and trinkets, to endeavour to establish some kind of intercourse with them, and by their means, with the rest of the inhabitants; these men, however, before the boat could reach the sh.o.r.e, quitted their station, and proceeded along the beach. As the trees would soon prevent their being seen by our people, who were making towards the land, we kept our eyes fixed upon them from the ship, and very soon perceived that they were met by three others. After some conversation, the first three went on, and, those who met them proceeded towards the boat with a hasty pace.

Upon this, I made the signal to the lieutenant to be upon his guard, and as soon as he saw the Indians, observing that there were no more than three, he backed the boat into the sh.o.r.e, and making signs of friendship, held up to them the beads and ribbons which I had given him as presents, our people at the same time carefully concealing their arms. The Indians, however, taking no notice of the beads and ribbons, resolutely advanced within bow-shot, and then suddenly discharged their arrows, which happily went over the boat without doing any mischief; they did not prepare for a second discharge, but instantly ran away into the woods, and our people discharged some musquets after them, but none of them were wounded by the shot. Soon after this happened, the cutter came under the ship's side, and the first person that I particularly noticed was the master, with three arrows sticking in his body. No other evidence was necessary to convict him of having acted contrary to my orders, which appeared indeed more fully from his own account of the matter, which it is reasonable to suppose was as favourable to himself as he could make it. He said, that having seen some Indian houses with only five or six of the inhabitants, at a place about fourteen or fifteen miles to the westward of the ship's station, where he had sounded some bays, he came to a grappling, and veered the boat to the beach, where he landed with four men, armed with musquets and pistols; that the Indians at first were afraid of him, and retired, but that soon after they came down to him, and he gave them some beads and other trifles, with which they seemed to be much pleased: That he then made signs to them for some cocoa-nuts, which they brought him, and with great appearance of friendship and hospitality, gave him a broiled fish and some boiled yams: That he then proceeded with his party to the houses, which, he said, were not more than fifteen or twenty yards from the water-side, and soon after saw a great number of canoes coming round the western point of the bay, and many Indians among the trees: That being alarmed at these appearances, he hastily left the house where they had been received, and with the men, made the best of his way towards the boat; but that, before he could get on board, the Indians attacked as well those that were with him as those that were in the boat, both from the canoes and the sh.o.r.e. Their number, he said, was between three and four hundred: Their weapons were bows and arrows, the bows were six feet five inches long, and the arrows four feet four, which they discharged in platoons, as regularly as the best disciplined troops in Europe: That it being necessary to defend himself and his people when they were thus attacked, they fired among the Indians to favour their getting into their boat, and did great execution, killing many and wounding more: That they were not however discouraged, but continued to press forward, still discharging their arrows by platoons in almost one continued flight: That the grappling being foul, occasioned a delay in hauling off the boat, during which time he, and half of the boat's crew, were desperately wounded: That at last they cut the rope, and ran off under their foresail, still keeping up their fire with blunderbusses, each loaded with eight or ten pistol b.a.l.l.s, which the Indians returned with their arrows, those on sh.o.r.e wading after them breast-high into the sea: When they had got clear of these, the canoes pursued them with great fort.i.tude and vigour, till one of them was sunk, and the numbers on board the rest greatly reduced by the fire, and then they returned to the sh.o.r.e.

Such was the story of the master, who, with three of my best seamen, died some time afterwards of the wounds they had received; but culpable as he appears to have been by his own account, he appears to have been still more so by the testimony of those who survived him. They said, that the Indians behaved with the greatest confidence and friendship till he gave them just cause of offence, by ordering the people that were with him, who had been regaled in one of their houses, to cut down a cocoa-nut tree; and insisting upon the execution of his order, notwithstanding the displeasure which the Indians strongly expressed upon the occasion: As soon as the tree fell, all of them except one, who seemed to be a person of authority, went away; and in a short time a great number of them were observed to draw together into a body among the trees, by a midshipman who was one of the party that were on sh.o.r.e, and who immediately acquainted the master with what he had seen, and told him, that from the behaviour of the people he imagined an attack was intended: That the master made light of the intelligence, and instead of repairing immediately to the boat, as he was urged to do, fired one of his pistols at a mark: That the Indian who had till that time continued with them left them abruptly, and joined the body in the wood: That the master, even after this, by an infatuation that is altogether unaccountable, continued to trifle away his time on sh.o.r.e, and did not attempt to recover the boat till the attack was begun.