A Voyage to Terra Australis Volume I Part 23

The trade wind having again arisen from east-south-east, we were enabled to make between eighty and ninety miles a day. It afterwards veered gradually round, by the north-east and north, to the westward, and blew fresh; so that on the 29th, our lat.i.tude was 31 2' and longitude 26 0'

west. This was 17' to the south, and about 6 west of the situation usually a.s.signed to _Saxemberg_; an island which has been frequently sought by the East-India, and other ships, in the place which it still occupies in the charts; and not finding it there, they have run a few degrees to the _eastward_, in the same parallel, but always without success. The opportunity which presented itself of now adding 6 of longitude to the examined s.p.a.ce, and on the opposite side, I should have thought myself culpable in neglecting; and therefore, having placed the ship in the supposed parallel of the island, we steered due east for it; adopting the same regulations for the look-out at night, as when searching for St. Paul's.

We had seen an unusual number of pintado and sooty petrels on the preceding afternoon, as also of a brown bird, apparently one of the sea-swallow tribe, having a white belly and the form and size of a woodc.o.c.k; and this evening it was reported to me from the mast head, and confirmed by others on deck, that a turtle was seen lying upon the water.

These indications of land gave me some hope that the long lost Saxemberg might be brought to light. On the following noon [WEDNESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER], the observed lat.i.tude was 30 41' and longitude 22 46'; and nothing further had transpired to betoken the vicinity of land. Next day [THURSDAY 1 OCTOBER], our observations gave 30 34' south, and 20 28'

west; and I then steered east-south-east, a course which should have taken us almost directly over the supposed situation of Saxemberg, if the same current of 11' north had prevailed, as on the preceding day. But this not proving to be the case, our track lay a few miles to the south; though sufficiently near for us to be satisfied of the non-existence of the island in the place a.s.signed to it, if that could any longer admit of a doubt.*

[* At the Cape of Good Hope, in 1810, His Excellency the Earl of Caledon favoured me with the following extract from the log book of the sloop Columbus--Long, master; returning to the Cape from the coast of Brazil.

"September 22, 1809, at five p.m., saw the island of Saxonburg, bearing E. S. E., first about 41 leagues distant: clear weather. Steered for the said island, and found it to be in the lat.i.tude of 30 18' south, longitude 28 20' west, or thereabout.

"The island of Saxonburg is about four leagues in length, N. W. and S. E, and about 2 miles in breadth. The N. W. end is a high bluff of about 70 feet, perpendicular form, and runs along to the south-east about 8 miles.

You will see trees at about a mile and a half distance, and a sandy beach."

The situation of Saxemberg in the common tables and charts, was 30 45'

south and 19 40' west, almost 9 of longitude too little; and therefore it is not surprising that ships have missed it. At the time so many birds were seen, on the 28th, the Investigator was not more than eighty miles from the position of the island, as above given from Mr. Long.]

SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER 1801

The fresh western winds continued, with short intervals of calm, as far as the lat.i.tude 33 23', and longitude 13 0' west; when they died away, and a breeze sprung up from the eastward. With this wind we could do little more than look up for the isles of Tristan d'Acunha, whose bearing was then S. 16 E., and distance seventy-seven leagues. From the description given by sir Erasmus Gower* of the anchorage, and the convenience with which water may be obtained, and his account of the animals which resort there, I should not have considered it to be lost time, had the wind made it advisable to put in at Tristan d'Acunha, for a few days; but it veered round to the north-west, on the [TUESDAY] 6th.

and we resumed our former course to the Cape of Good Hope.

[* _Lord Macartney's Emba.s.sy to China_, by sir G. Staunton, Vol. I. p.

198-201.]

WEDNESDAY 14 OCTOBER 1801

In the morning of the 14th, the variation by mean of amplitude and azimuth, was 25 10' west; the ship's head being E. by S., and our lat.i.tude 35 4' south, and longitude 12 50' east. It is worthy of being mentioned, that in the year 1797, and near the same place, I observed the variation to be 19 40' west, on board His Majesty's ship Reliance; and as the compa.s.s was upon the binnacle in both cases, the sole cause to which I can attribute this great difference is, that the ship's head was west, instead of E. by S. The true variation could not be far from the mean of the two observations, since it was 26 at the Cape of Good Hope.

In the English Channel, the compa.s.s on the binnacle had shown nearly 4 too much west variation, when the ship's head was at _west_; but here, it gives at least 2 too much, with the head in an opposite direction! This difference in the two hemispheres merits particular notice; it is part of a series of apparent anomalies in the compa.s.s which have hitherto remained unaccounted for; but which seem reducible to one general cause, as I have attempted to show in the Appendix No. II. to the second volume.

FRIDAY 16 OCTOBER 1801

At daybreak of the 16th, we expected to see the high land of the Cape; but the weather being hazy, it could not be distinguished until eight o'clock, when it bore north-east, eight leagues; being _three leagues more_ than Earnshaw's pocket time keeper, in which we had most confidence, led us to expect, and _four miles less_ than was given by my uncorrected lunar observations of the 14th p.m., brought forward by the time keeper.

At this time we had not a single person in the sick list, both officers and men being fully in as good health, as when we sailed from Spithead. I had begun very early to put in execution the beneficial plan, first practised and made known by the great captain Cook. It was in the standing orders of the ship, that on every fine day the deck below and the c.o.c.kpits should be cleared, washed, aired with stoves, and sprinkled with vinegar. On wet and dull days they were cleaned and aired, without washing. Care was taken to prevent the people from sleeping upon deck, or lying down in their wet clothes; and once in every fortnight or three weeks, as circ.u.mstances permitted, their beds, and the contents of their chests and bags, were opened out and exposed to the sun and air. On the Sunday and Thursday mornings, the ship's company was mustered, and every man appeared clean shaved and dressed; and when the evenings were fine, the drum and fife announced the fore castle to be the scene of dancing; nor did I discourage other playful amus.e.m.e.nts which might occasionally be more to the taste of the sailors, and were not unseasonable.

Within the tropics, lime juice and sugar were made to suffice as antis...o...b..tics; on reaching a higher lat.i.tude, sour krout and vinegar were subst.i.tuted; the essence of malt was reserved for the pa.s.sage to New Holland, and for future occasions. On consulting with the surgeon, I had thought it expedient to make some slight changes in the issuing of the provisions. Oatmeal was boiled for breakfast four days in the week, instead of three; and when rice was issued, after the expenditure of the cheese, it was boiled on the other three days. Pease soup was prepared for dinner four days in the week, as usual; and at other times, two ounces of portable broth, in cakes, to each man, with such additions of onions, pepper, etc. as the different messes possessed, made a comfortable addition to their salt meat. And neither in this pa.s.sage, nor, I may add, in any subsequent part of the voyage, were the officers or people restricted to any allowance of fresh water. They drank freely at the scuttled cask, and took away, under the inspection of the officer of the watch, all that was requisite for culinary purposes; and very frequently two casks of water in the week were given for washing their clothes.

With these regulations, joined to a due enforcement of discipline, I had the satisfaction to see my people orderly and full of zeal for the service in which we were engaged; and in such a state of health, that no delay at the Cape was required beyond the necessary refitment of the ship, and I still hoped to save a good part of the summer season upon the south coast of Terra Australis.

[CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. FALSE BAY]

The usual time for His Majesty's ships to leave False Bay and go round to Table Bay, I found to be the latter end of September; but being then unacquainted with the precise time, and knowing of the loss of the Sceptre in Table Bay, on November 5, from a heavy gale at north-west, I determined to go into False Bay; unless we should get previous information that it had been quitted by the squadron. At noon, the extremes of the land bore N. by W. W. and E. N. The Cape Point bore north, three leagues; and our observed lat.i.tude being 34 32', showed the Requisite Tables to be erroneous in the position of this point; but that 34 23', as a.s.signed to it by captain King, was correct.*

[* See _Cook's third Voyage_, Vol. III. page 484.]

At one o'clock we hauled round the rocks which lie off the Cape Point, and steered into False Bay. Near these rocks were two whales; and one or more of what seamen call _thrashers_ were engaged in a furious combat with them, at a less distance than half a mile from the ship. The sinewy strength of the thrasher must be very great; for besides raising his tail high out of the water to beat the adversary, he occasionally threw the whole of his vast body several feet above the surface, apparently to fall upon him with greater force. Their struggles covered the sea with foam for many fathoms round.

At three o'clock we got sight of the squadron lying in Simon's Bay. It consisted of His Majesty's ships Lancaster, Jupiter, Diomede, Imperieuse, Hindoostan, Rattlesnake, and Euphrosyne, under the command of vice-admiral sir Roger Curtis, Bart. The master of the Lancaster came on board to pilot the ship to a proper berth, and I went on sh.o.r.e to wait upon the vice-admiral. On showing my orders, and presenting an account of the supplies and the work requisite to put the Investigator in the same state as on leaving England, I found that the naval magazines could furnish only some part, and that many articles, especially biscuit, were not to be obtained; but with great consideration for the service on which I was sent out, the commander in chief ordered every request to be granted either in the articles specified, or by subst.i.tution; and a thorough caulking, both within and without side of the ship, being the work most essential to be done, a gang of caulkers, collected from the squadron, was sent on board on the following morning.

SAt.u.r.dAY 17 OCTOBER 1801

The water which is conducted in pipes to the wharf, for the convenience of shipping, was said not to keep well at sea; and the master of the Lancaster, from whom this information was obtained, recommended, as much superior, that which drains through the sand, from the hills on the north side of Simon's Bay. I went, accordingly, to make an examination; and found that by sinking a cask in the sand, with the head out and the upper hoops taken off, the water drained through the s.p.a.ces between the staves, sufficiently fast for our purpose. This plan was therefore adopted; and the watering of the ship immediately commenced.

Having seen this, and some other duties set forward under the proper officers, I accompanied Mr. Crosley, the astronomer, in search of a place where the observatory and tents could be conveniently set up. The situation chosen was near a small rill on the south side of the bay, about three-hundred yards from the magazine; and the permission of the military commandant being obtained, two tents, the observatory, and astronomical instruments were landed in the afternoon, with a guard of marines. The whole was placed under the charge of Mr. Flinders, the second lieutenant, who was also to act as an a.s.sistant in making and calculating the observations, for which he was qualified. The situation of the tents was tolerably well sheltered from the south-eastern gales, which begin to prevail at this season of the year; but the quant.i.ty of sand put in motion by every breeze, was a great molestation, and proved injurious to the instruments. Besides this inconvenience, there was another attached to the situation which had not been foreseen. The road from Simon's Town to a place called the Company's garden, led close past the observatory; and this was the sole ride or walk in the neighbourhood, which the inhabitants and the gentlemen belonging to the ships in the bay could enjoy. From those of the first rank, who took their morning's ride, to the sailor who staggered past on a Sunday, and even the slave with his bundle of fire wood, all stopped at the observatory to see what was going on. Ramsden's universal theodolite, set up for the purpose of observing transits, excited its share of attention from the curious. Some wanted information, some amus.e.m.e.nt, and all would have liked to see how the sun appeared through the telescope.

By the end of October, our provisions and stores were received; the sails had been examined and repaired on board the Lancaster, and were rebent; and the caulkers having completed their work, the ship was fresh painted.

Being anxious to commence the investigation of the coasts of Terra Australis, the stripping of the masts and reparation of the rigging were deferred to King George's Sound, and no more was done at the ship than necessity required; for I preferred pa.s.sing the time necessary to a complete re-equipment in a port where astronomical observations and surveys could be at the same time usefully carried on, and the naturalists employ themselves in a field almost unexplored, rather than in a bay already well known, and where the surrounding country had been so often traversed.

Mr. Crosley had been frequently unwell during the pa.s.sage from Madeira; and after trying the effect of a few days on sh.o.r.e, he decided to remain at the Cape of Good Hope, and relinquish the expedition. The instruments supplied by the Board of Longitude he agreed to leave in my care; after having consulted with the commander in chief upon the subject, and received his approbation. The loss of the astronomer was severely felt by me, both from being deprived in the surveys of his more accurate observations, and from being called upon to supply his place so far as was in my power. The duties of commander joined to the occupation of surveyor, left little time for other employment; but through an increase of effort, and with the a.s.sistance of my officers, I hoped to carry on the surveys and fulfil the most essential parts of the instructions from the Board of Longitude, at the same time. Of these instructions, Mr.

Crosley permitted me to take a copy.

SUNDAY 1 NOVEMBER 1801

The rates of going with mean solar time of the four time keepers committed to my charge, were deduced by Mr. Crosley from three days observation of equal alt.i.tudes, with a s.e.xtant and quick-silver horizon, between the 21st and 27th of October. These rates, which he left with me, I extended to November 1, by equal alt.i.tudes taken on that day; and their respective errors were deduced by allowing 1h 13' 40.47" to be the longitude in time of Simon's Bay. *

[* In 1763, Mr. Mason determined the longitude of his observatory in Cape Town, from the transit of Venus, to be 18 23' 7" east; and the difference of longitude from thence to Simon's Bay, by the Dutch survey, is 2' 00" east.]

Earnshaw's No. 543, slower than mean Greenwich time at noon h ' " "

there Nov. 1, 0 14 35.33 and losing 5.33 No. 520, 34 16.62 15.84 Arnold's No. 176, 50 59.29 8.96 No. 82 -------- ----- No. 1736, watch, faster 21 20.03 17.27

The watch was intended to be taken up rivers, and to such places as the ship did not go; and in order to gain some knowledge of its probable performance, I wore it five days in the pocket. Its rate of losing during that time, was from 11.59" to 8.79" per day; so that upon the average, it lost 7" less in the pocket than when in a fixed situation; for the above rate of 17.27" was what it kept in the box, during the last three days.

Arnold's No. 89, altered its rate on the last day, from 2.98" to 1' 18.68", without any apparent cause; no rate could therefore be fixed for it, with any probability of its being kept. Of the excellent watch No. 465 of Earnshaw, being Mr. Crosley's private property, we were deprived at the same time with the astronomer; he also took with him the reflecting circle, No. 74 of Troughton, both of which I considered to be an addition to our loss.

So soon as the corresponding alt.i.tudes of Sunday afternoon were obtained, I took on board the time keepers and instruments, with the tents and observatory. The ship was then ready for sea; but the wind blew a gale from the south-eastward, which continued until Tuesday [3 NOVEMBER 1801].

It then fell calm, and we unmoored; but before getting under way, the same wind again set in, and obliged us to drop a second anchor.

Through the kind attention of sir Roger Curtis, the commander in chief, the state of the ship and our provisions and stores were as complete as when leaving Spithead. The ship's company had been regularly served with fresh meat every day, beef and mutton alternately; vegetables were not to be purchased, but we several times received small quant.i.ties, with oranges and lemons, from the naval hospital in Cape Town; and a proportion of these for a week, with a few days fresh meat, were carried to sea. Two of my ship's company, whose dispositions required more severity in reducing to good order than I wished to exercise in a service of this nature, were exchanged by the vice-admiral; as also two others, who from want of sufficient strength, were not proper for so long a voyage. In lieu of these, I received four men of good character from the flag ship, who made pressing application to go upon a voyage of discovery. Mr. Nathaniel Bell, one of the young gentlemen of the quarter deck, having expressed a wish to return to England, he was discharged; and Mr. Denis Lacey, midshipman of the Lancaster, received in his place.

Simon's Bay is known to be a large and well-sheltered cove, in the north-western part of the sound, called False Bay. Since the loss of the Sceptre in Table Bay, it has been more frequented than formerly; and I found it to be a prevailing sentiment, that were it not for the advantages of Cape Town, Simon's Bay would, in every respect, be preferable for the royal dockyard, and the equipment of His Majesty's ships. It was remarked to me by an officer of discernment, captain of the flag ship, that instances of vessels being driven from their anchors by winds blowing into Simon's Bay, were exceedingly rare. He had observed that the strain upon the cables with these winds, was much less than with those of equal strength blowing off the land; and he accounted for it from the water thrown into the bay by sea winds, rebounding from the sh.o.r.e and forming what is called an under-tow, which tended to keep a ship up to her anchors. This takes place in Simon's Bay, with the south-east winds, but not in Table Bay with those from the north-west, which blow into it; owing, in part, to the distance at which ships there ride from the land, and apparently, also, from the under-tow pa.s.sing out on the eastern side of the bay, clear of the anchoring ground.

The Cape of Good Hope cannot now be supposed to furnish much of novelty in the department of natural history, especially to transient visitors; but it still continues to afford much amus.e.m.e.nt and instruction to English botanists. It did so to our gentlemen, who were almost constantly on sh.o.r.e upon the search; and their collections, intended for examination on the next pa.s.sage, were tolerably ample. They were sufficiently orthodox to walk many miles for the purpose of botanising upon the celebrated Table Mountain; for what disciple of Linnaeus could otherwise conscientiously quit the Cape of Good Hope? In taking so early a departure, though it were to proceed to the almost untrodden, and not less ample field of botany, New Holland, I had to engage with the counter wishes of my scientific a.s.sociates; so much were they delighted to find the richest treasures of the English green house, profusely scattered over the sides and summits of these barren hills.

CHAPTER III.

Departure from False Bay.

Remarks on the pa.s.sage to Terra Australis.

Gravity of sea-water tried.

Cape Leeuwin, and the coast from thence to King George's Sound.

Arrival in the Sound.

Examination of the harbours.

Excursion inland.

Country, soil, and productions.

Native inhabitants: Language and anatomical measurement.

Astronomical and nautical observations.

[TOWARDS NEW HOLLAND]

WEDNESDAY 4 NOVEMBER 1801