A Voyage to the South Sea Part 25

The next morning I went on sh.o.r.e and waited on his excellency M. Vander Graaf who received me in the most polite and friendly manner. The Guardian, commanded by Lieutenant Riou, had left the Cape about eight days before with cattle and stores for Port Jackson. This day anch.o.r.ed in table bay the Astree, a French frigate, commanded by the Count de St.

Rivel from the Isle of France, on board of which ship was the late governor, the Chevalier d'Entrecasteaux. Other ships that arrived during my stay at the Cape were a French 40-gun frigate, an East India ship, and a brig, of the same nation: likewise two other French ships with slaves from the coast of Mozambique bound to the West Indies: a Dutch packet from Europe, after a four months pa.s.sage: and the Harpy, a South Sea Whaler with 500 barrels of spermaceti, and 400 of seal and other oils.

There is a standing order from the Dutch East India Company that no person who takes a pa.s.sage from Batavia for Europe in any of their ships shall be allowed to leave the ship before she arrives at her intended port. According to which regulation I must have gone to Holland in the packet. Of this I was not informed till I was taking leave of the governor-general at Batavia, when it was too late for him to give the Captain an order to permit me to land in the channel. He however desired I would make use of his name to governor Vander Graaf, who readily complied with my request and gave the necessary orders to the Captain of the packet, a copy of which his excellency gave to me; and at the same time recommendatory letters to people of consequence in Holland in case I should be obliged to proceed so far.

I left a letter at the Cape of Good Hope to be forwarded to governor Phillips at Port Jackson by the first opportunity, containing a short account of my voyage with a descriptive list of the pirates: and from Batavia I had written to Lord Cornwallis, so that every part of India will be prepared to receive them.

Sat.u.r.day 2.

We sailed from the Cape in company with the Astree French frigate. The next morning neither ship nor land were in sight. On the 15th we pa.s.sed in sight of the island St. Helena. The 21st we saw the island Ascension.

On the 10th of February, the wind being at north-east blowing fresh, our sails were covered with a fine orange-coloured dust. Fuego, the westernmost of the Cape de Verde islands and the nearest land to us on that day at noon bore north-east by east half east, distance 140 leagues.

When we had pa.s.sed the lat.i.tude of the Western Islands a lookout was kept for some rocks which Captain Couvret had been informed lay in lat.i.tude 44 degrees 25 minutes north and 2 degrees 50 minutes east longitude from the east end of St. Michael. This information Captain Couvret had received from a person that he knew and who said he had seen them. On the 13th of March we saw the Bill of Portland and on the evening of the next day, Sunday March the 14th, I left the packet and was landed at Portsmouth by an Isle of Wight boat.

Those of my officers and people whom I left at Batavia were provided with pa.s.sages in the earliest ships; and at the time we parted were apparently in good health. Nevertheless they did not all live to quit Batavia. Mr.

Elphinstone, master's mate, and Peter Linkletter, seaman, died within a fortnight after my departure, the hardships they had experienced having rendered them unequal to cope with so unhealthy a climate as that of Batavia. The remainder embarked on board the Dutch fleet for Europe, and arrived safe at this country, except Robert Lamb, who died on the pa.s.sage, and Mr. Ledward the surgeon who has not yet been heard of. Thus of nineteen who were forced by the mutineers into the launch it has pleased G.o.d that twelve should surmount the difficulties and dangers of the voyage and live to revisit their native country.