A Narrative Of The Mutiny, On Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty Part 7

Towards noon, Mr. Nelson, and his party, who had been to the easternmost key, returned; but himself in such a weak condition, that he was obliged to be supported by two men. His complaint was a violent heat in his bowels, a loss of sight, much drought, and an inability to walk. This I found was occasioned by his being unable to support the heat of the sun, and that, when he was fatigued and faint, instead of retiring into the shade to rest, he had continued to do more than his strength was equal to. It was a great satisfaction to me to find, that he had no fever; and it was now that the little wine, which I had so carefully saved became of real use. I gave it in very small quant.i.ties, with some small pieces of bread soaked in it; and, having pulled off his cloaths, and laid him under some shady bushes, he began to recover. The boatswain and carpenter also were ill, and complained of head-ach, and sickness of the stomach; others, who had not had any evacuation by stool, became shockingly distressed with the tenesmus; so that there were but few without complaints. An idea now prevailed, that their illness was occasioned by eating the dolichos, and some were so much alarmed that they thought themselves poisoned. Myself, however, and some others, who had eaten of them, were yet very well; but the truth was, that all those who were complaining, except Mr. Nelson, had gorged themselves with a large quant.i.ty of raw beans, and Mr. Nelson informed me, that they were constantly teazing him, whenever a berry was found, to know if it was good to eat; so that it would not have been surprizing if many of them had been really poisoned.

Our dinner was not so well relished as at Sunday Island, because we had mixed the dolichos with our stew. The oysters and soup, however, were eaten by every one, except Mr. Nelson, whom I fed with a few small pieces of bread soaked in half a gla.s.s of wine, and he continued to mend.

In my walk round the island, I found several cocoa-nut sh.e.l.ls, the remains of an old wigwam, and the backs of two turtle, but no sign of any quadruped. One of my people found three sea-fowl's eggs.

As is common on such spots, the soil is little other than sand, yet it produced small toa-trees, and some others, that we were not acquainted with. There were fish in the lagoon, but we could not catch any. As our wants, therefore, were not likely to be supplied here, not even with water for our daily expence, I determined to sail in the morning, after trying our success in the night for turtle and birds. A quiet night's rest also, I conceived, would be of essential service to those who were unwell.

From the wigwam and turtle-sh.e.l.l being found, it is certain that the natives sometimes resort to this place, and have canoes: but I did not apprehend that we ran any risk by remaining here. I directed our fire, however, to be made in the thicket, that we might not be discovered in the night.

[Sidenote: 1789. JUNE 1.]

At noon, I observed the lat.i.tude of this island to be 11 47' S. The main land extended towards the N W, and was full of white sand-hills: another small island lay within us, bearing W by N 1/4 N, three leagues distant. My situation being very low, I could see nothing of the reef towards the sea.

[Sidenote: Tuesday 2.]

Tuesday, June the 2d. The first part of this day we had some light showers of rain; the latter part was fair, wind from the S E, blowing fresh.

Rest was now so much wanted, that the afternoon was advantageously spent in sleep. There were, however, a few not disposed to it, and those I employed in dressing some clams to take with us for the next day's dinner; others we cut up in slices to dry, which I knew was the most valuable supply we could find here. But, contrary to our expectation, they were very scarce.

[Sidenote: 1789. JUNE 2.]

Towards evening, I cautioned every one against making too large a fire, or suffering it after dark to blaze up. Mr. Samuel and Mr. Peckover had the superintendence of this business, while I was strolling about the beach to observe if I thought it could be seen from the main. I was just satisfied that it could not, when on a sudden the island appeared all in a blaze, that might have been seen at a much more considerable distance.

I ran to learn the cause, and found it was occasioned by the imprudence and obstinacy of one of the party, who, in my absence, had insisted on having a fire to himself; in making which the flames caught the neighbouring gra.s.s and rapidly spread. This misconduct might have produced very serious consequences, by discovering our situation to the natives; for, if they had attacked us, we must inevitably have fallen a sacrifice, as we had neither arms nor strength to oppose an enemy. Thus the relief which I expected from a little sleep was totally lost, and I anxiously waited for the flowing of the tide, that we might proceed to sea.

I found it high-water at half past five this evening, whence I deduce the time, on the full and change of the moon, to be 58' past 10 in the morning: the rise is nearly five feet. I could not observe the set of the flood; but imagine it comes from the southward, and that I have been mistaken at Restoration Island, as I find the time of high-water gradually later as we advance to the northward.

At Restoration Island, high water, full and change, 7^h 10'

Sunday Island, 9 19 Here, 10 58

[Sidenote: 1789. JUNE 2.]

After eight o'clock, Mr. Samuel and Mr. Peckover went out to watch for turtle, and three men went to the east key to endeavour to catch birds.

All the others complaining of being sick, took their rest, except Mr.

Hayward and Mr. Elphinston, who I directed to keep watch. About midnight the bird party returned, with only twelve noddies, a bird I have already described to be about the size of a pigeon: but if it had not been for the folly and obstinacy of one of the party, who separated from the other two, and disturbed the birds, they might have caught a great number. I was so much provoked at my plans being thus defeated, that I gave the offender[*] a good beating. I now went in search of the turtling party, who had taken great pains, but without success. This, however, did not surprise me, as it was not to be expected that turtle would come near us after the noise which was made at the beginning of the evening in extinguishing the fire. I therefore desired them to come back, but they requested to stay a little longer, as they still hoped to find some before day-light: they, however, returned by three o'clock, without any reward for their labour.

[*] Robert Lamb.--This man, when he came to Java, acknowledged he had eaten nine birds on the key, after he separated from the other two.

The birds we half dressed, which, with a few clams, made the whole of the supply procured here. I tied up a few gilt b.u.t.tons and some pieces of iron to a tree, for any of the natives that might come after us; and, happily finding my invalids much better for their night's rest, I got every one into the boat, and departed by dawn of day. Wind at S E; course to the N by W.

We had scarcely ran two leagues to the northward, when the sea suddenly became rough, which not having experienced since we were within the reefs, I concluded to be occasioned by an open channel to the ocean.

Soon afterwards we met with a large shoal, on which were two sandy keys; between these and two others, four miles to the west, I pa.s.sed on to the northward, the sea still continuing to be rough.

[Sidenote: 1789. JUNE 2.]

Towards noon, I fell in with six other keys, most of which produced some small trees and brush-wood. These formed a pleasing contrast with the main land we had pa.s.sed, which was full of sand-hills. The country continued hilly, and the northernmost land, the same which we saw from the lagoon island, appeared like downs, sloping towards the sea. To the southward of this is a flat-topped hill, which, on account of its shape, I called Pudding-pan hill, and a little to the northward two other hills, which we called the Paps; and here was a small tract of country without sand, the eastern part of which forms a cape, whence the coast inclines to the N W by N.

At noon I observed in the lat.i.tude of 11 18' S, the cape bearing W, distant ten miles. Five small keys bore from N E to S E, the nearest of them about two miles distant, and a low sandy key between us and the cape bore W, distant four miles. My course from the Lagoon Island N 1/2 W, distant 30 miles.

I am sorry it was not in my power to obtain a sufficient knowledge of the depth of water; for in our situation nothing could be undertaken that might have occasioned delay. It may however be understood, that, to the best of my judgment, from appearances, a ship may pa.s.s wherever I have omitted to represent danger.

I divided six birds, and issued one 25th of a pound of bread, with half a pint of water, to each person for dinner, and I gave half a gla.s.s of wine to Mr. Nelson, who was now so far recovered as to require no other indulgence.

The gunner, when he left the ship, brought his watch with him, by which we had regulated our time till to-day, when unfortunately it stopped; so that noon, sun-rise, and sun-set, are the only parts of the 24 hours of which I can speak with certainty, as to time.

[Sidenote: Wednesday 3.]

Wednesday, June the 3d. Fresh gales S S E and S E, and fair weather. As we stood to the N by W this afternoon, we found more sea, which I attributed to our receiving less shelter from the reefs to the eastward: it is probable they do not extend so far to the N as this; at least, it may be concluded that there is not a continued barrier to prevent shipping having access to the sh.o.r.e. I observed that the stream set to the N W, which I considered to be the flood; in some places along the coast, we saw patches of wood. At five o'clock, steering to the N W, we pa.s.sed a large and fair inlet, into which, I imagine, is a safe and commodious entrance; it lies in lat.i.tude 11 S: about three leagues to the northward of this is an island, at which we arrived about sun-set, and took shelter for the night under a sandy point, which was the only part we could land at: I was therefore under the necessity to put up with rather a wild situation, and slept in the boat. Nevertheless I sent a party away to see what could be got, but they returned without any success. They saw a great number of turtle bones and sh.e.l.ls, where the natives had been feasting, and their last visit seemed to be of late date. The island was covered with wood, but in other respects a lump of rocks. We lay at a grapnel until day-light, with a very fresh gale and cloudy weather. The main bore from S E by S to N N W 1/2 W, three leagues; and a mountainous island, with a flat top, N by W, four or five leagues: several others were between it and the main. The spot we were on, which I call Turtle Island; lies in lat.i.tude, by account, 10 52' S, and 42 miles W from Restoration Island. Abreast of it the coast has the appearance of a sandy desert, but improves about three leagues farther to the northward, where it terminates in a point, near to which is a number of small islands. I sailed between these islands, where I found no bottom at twelve fathoms; the high mountainous island with a flat top, and four rocks to the S E of it, that I call the Brothers, being on my starboard hand. Soon after, an extensive opening appeared in the main land, with a number of high islands in it. I called this the Bay of Islands. We continued steering to the N W. Several islands and keys lay to the northward. The most northerly island was mountainous, having on it a very high round hill; and a smaller was remarkable for a single peaked hill.

The coast to the northward and westward of the Bay of Islands had a very different appearance from that to the southward. It was high and woody, with many islands close to it, and had a very broken appearance. Among these islands are fine bays, and convenient places for shipping. The northernmost I call Wednesday Island: to the N W of this we fell in with a large reef, which I believe joins a number of keys that were in sight from the N W to the E N E. We now stood to the S W half a league, when it was noon, and I had a good observation of the lat.i.tude in 10 31' S.

Wednesday Island bore E by S five miles; the westernmost land S W two or three leagues; the islands to the northward, from N W by W four or five leagues, to N E six leagues; and the reef from W to N E, distant one mile, I now a.s.sured every one that we should be clear of New Holland in the afternoon.

It is impossible for me to say how far this reef may extend. It may be a continuation, or a detached part of the range of shoals that surround the coast: but be that as it may, I consider the mountainous islands as separate from the shoals; and have no doubt that near them may be found good pa.s.sages for ships. But I rather recommend to those who are to pa.s.s this strait from the eastward, to take their direction from the coast of New Guinea: yet, I likewise think that a ship coming from the southward, will find a fair strait in the lat.i.tude of 10 S. I much wished to have ascertained this point; but in our distressful situation, any increase of fatigue, or loss of time, might have been attended with the most fatal consequences. I therefore determined to pa.s.s on without delay.

[Sidenote: 1789. JUNE 3.]

As an addition to our dinner of bread and water, I served to each person six oysters.

[Sidenote: Thursday 4.]

Thursday, June the 4th. A fresh gale at S E, and fair weather.

At two o'clock as we were steering to the S W, towards the westernmost part of the land in sight, we fell in with some large sand-banks that run off from the coast. We were therefore obliged to steer to the northward again, and, having got round them, I directed my course to the W.

At four o'clock, the westernmost of the islands to the northward bore N four leagues; Wednesday island E by N five leagues; and Shoal Cape S E by E two leagues. A small island was now seen bearing W, at which I arrived before dark, and found that it was only a rock, where b.o.o.bies resort, for which reason I called it b.o.o.by Island. A small key also lies close to the W part of the coast, which I have called Shoal Cape. Here terminated the rocks and shoals of the N part of New Holland, for, except b.o.o.by Island, we could see no land to the westward of S, after three o'clock this afternoon.

[Sidenote: 1789. JUNE 4.]

I find that b.o.o.by Island was seen by Captain Cook, and, by a remarkable coincidence of ideas, received from him the same name; but I cannot with certainty reconcile the situation of many parts of the coast that I have seen, to his survey. I ascribe this to the very different form in which land appears, when seen from the unequal heights of a ship and a boat.

The chart I have given, is by no means meant to supersede that made by Captain Cook, who had better opportunities than I had, and was in every respect properly provided for surveying. The intention of mine is chiefly to render the narrative more intelligible, and to shew in what manner the coast appeared to me from an open boat. I have little doubt that the opening, which I named the Bay of Islands, is Endeavour Straits; and that our track was to the northward of Prince of Wales's Isles. Perhaps, by those who shall hereafter navigate these seas, more advantage may be derived from the possession of both our charts, than from either singly.

At eight o'clock in the evening, we once more launched into the open ocean. Miserable as our situation was in every respect, I was secretly surprised to see that it did not appear to affect any one so strongly as myself; on the contrary, it seemed as if they had embarked on a voyage to Timor, in a vessel sufficiently calculated for safety and convenience. So much confidence gave me great pleasure, and I may a.s.sert that to this cause their preservation is chiefly to be attributed; for if any one of them had despaired, he would most probably have died before we reached New Holland.

I now gave every one hopes that eight or ten days might bring us to a land of safety; and, after praying to G.o.d for a continuance of his most gracious protection, I served an allowance of water for supper, and kept my course to the W S W, to counteract the southerly winds, in case they should blow strong.

[Sidenote: 1789. JUNE 4.]

We had been just six days on the coast of New Holland, in the course of which we found oysters, a few clams, some birds, and water. But perhaps a benefit nearly equal to this we received from not having fatigue in the boat, and enjoying good rest at night. These advantages certainly preserved our lives; for, small as the supply was, I am very sensible how much it relieved our distresses. About this time nature would have sunk under the extremes of hunger and fatigue. Some would have ceased to struggle for a life that only promised wretchedness and misery; while others, though possessed of more bodily strength, must soon have followed their unfortunate companions. Even in our present situation, we were most wretched spectacles; yet our fort.i.tude and spirit remained; every one being encouraged by the hopes of a speedy termination to his misery.

For my own part, wonderful as it may appear, I felt neither extreme hunger nor thirst. My allowance contented me, knowing I could have no more.

I served one 25th of a pound of bread, and an allowance of water, for breakfast, and the same for dinner, with an addition of six oysters to each person. At noon, lat.i.tude observed 10 48' S; course since yesterday noon S 81 W; distance 111 miles; longitude, by account, from Shoal Cape 1 45' W.

[Sidenote: Friday 5.]

Friday, June the 5th. Fair weather with some showers, and a strong trade wind at E S E.

This day we saw a number of water-snakes, that were ringed yellow and black, and towards noon we pa.s.sed a great deal of rock-weed. Though the weather was fair, we were constantly shipping water, and two men always employed to bale the boat.

At noon I observed in lat.i.tude 10 45' S; our course since yesterday W 1/4 N, 108 miles; longitude made 3 35' W. Served one 25th of a pound of bread, and a quarter of a pint of water for breakfast; the same for dinner, with an addition of six oysters; for supper water only.