Working up to Macao.--A Chinese Comprador.--Sent on Shore to visit the
Portugueze Governor.--Effects of the Intelligence we received from
Europe.--Anchor in the Typa.--Passage up to Canton.--Bocca Tygris.--
Wampu.--Description of a Sampane.--Reception at the English Factory.--
Instance of the suspicious Character of the Chinese.--Of their Mode of
trading.--Of the City of Canton.--Its Size.--Population.--Number of
Sampanes.--Military Force.--Of the Streets and Houses.--Visit to a
Chinese.--Return to Macao.--Great Demand for the Sea-Otter Skins.--Plan of
a Voyage for opening a Fur-Trade on the Western Coast of America, and
prosecuting further Discoveries in the Neighbourhood of Japan.--Departure
from Macao.--Price of Provisions in China.
We kept working to windward till six in the evening, when we came to
anchor, by the direction of the Chinese pilot on board the Resolution, who
imagined the tide was setting against us. In this, however, he was much
deceived; as we found, upon making the experiment, that it set to the
northward till ten o'clock. The next morning he fell into a similar
mistake; for, at five, on the appearance of slack water, he gave orders to
get under weigh; but the ignorance he had discovered, having put us on our
guard, we chose to be convinced, by our own observations, before we
weighed; and, on trying the tide, we found a strong under-tow, which
obliged us to keep fast till eleven o'clock. From these circumstances, it
appears that the tide had run down twelve hours.
During the afternoon, we kept standing on our tacks, between the island of
Potoe, and the Grand Ladrone, having passed to the eastward of the former.
At nine o'clock, the tide beginning to ebb, we again came to anchor in six
fathoms water; the town of Macao bearing N.W., three leagues distant; and
the island of Potoe, S. 1/2 W., two leagues distant. This island lies two
leagues to the N.N.W.. of the island marked Z in Mr Dalrymple's chart,
which we, at first, took to be part of the Grand Ladrone. It is small and
rocky; and, off the west end, there is said to be foul ground, though we
passed near it without perceiving any.
In the forenoon of the 2d, one of the Chinese contractors, who are called
_compradors_, went on board the Resolution, and sold to Captain Gore two
hundred pounds weight of beef, together with a considerable quantity of
greens, oranges, and eggs. A proportionable share of these articles was
sent to the Discovery; and an agreement made with the man to furnish us
with a daily supply, for which, however, he insisted on being paid before-
hand.
Our pilot, pretending he could carry the ships no farther, Captain Gore was
obliged to discharge him, and we were left to our own guidance.
At two in the afternoon, the tide flowing, we weighed, and worked to
windward; and at seven, anchored in three and a half fathoms of water,
Macao bearing W., three miles-distant. This situation was, indeed, very
ineligible, being exposed to the N.E., and having shoal water, not more
than two fathoms and a half deep, to leeward; but as no nautical
description is given, in Lord Anson's voyage, of the harbour in which the
Centurion anchored, and Mr Dalrymple's general map, which was the only one
on board, was on too small a scale to serve for our direction, the ships
were obliged to remain there all night.
In the evening, Captain Gore sent me on shore to visit the Portugueze
governor, and to request his assistance in procuring refreshments for our
crews, which he thought might be done on more reasonable terms than the
_comprador_ would undertake to furnish them. At the same time, I took a
list of the naval stores, of which both vessels were greatly in want, with
an intention of proceeding immediately to Canton, and applying to the
servants of the East India Company, who were, at that time, resident there.
On my arrival at the citadel, the fort-major informed me, that the governor
was sick, and not able to see company; but that we might be assured of
receiving every assistance in their power. This, however, I understood
would be very inconsiderable, as they were entirely dependent on the
Chinese, even for their daily subsistence. Indeed, the answer returned to
the first request I made, gave me a sufficient proof of the fallen state of
the Portugueze power; for, on my acquainting the major with my desire of
proceeding immediately to Canton, he told me, that they could not venture
to furnish me with a boat, till leave was obtained from the _Hoppo_, or
officer of the customs; and that the application for this purpose must be
made to the Chinese government at Canton.
The mortification I felt at meeting with this unexpected delay, could only
be equalled by the extreme impatience with which we had so long waited for
an opportunity of receiving intelligence from Europe. It often happens,
that in the eager pursuit of an object, we overlook the easiest and most
obvious means of attaining it. This was actually my case at present; for I
was returning under great dejection to the ship, when the Portugueze
officer, who attended me, asked me, if I did not mean to visit the English
gentlemen at Macao. I need not add with what transport I received the
information this question conveyed to me; nor the anxious hopes and fears,
the conflict between curiosity and apprehension, which passed in my mind,
as we walked toward the house of one of our countrymen.
In this state of agitation, it was not surprising, that our reception,
though no way deficient in civility or kindness, should appear cold and
formal. In our enquiries, as far as they related to objects of private
concern, we met, as was indeed, to be expected, with little or no
satisfaction; but the events of a public nature, which had happened since
our departure, and now, for the first time, burst all at once upon us,
overwhelmed every other feeling, and left us, for some time, almost without
the power of reflection. For several days we continued questioning each
other about the truth of what we had heard, as if desirous of seeking, in
doubt and suspense, for that relief and consolation, which the reality of
our calamities appeared totally to exclude. These sensations were succeeded
by the most poignant regret at finding ourselves cut off, at such a
distance, from the scene where, we imagined, the fate of fleets and armies
was every moment deciding.[104]
The intelligence we had just received of the state of affairs in Europe,
made us the more exceedingly anxious to hasten our departure as much as
possible; and I, therefore, renewed my attempt to procure a passage to
Canton, but without effect. The difficulty arising from the established
policy of the country, I was now told, would probably be much increased by
an incident that had happened a few weeks before our arrival. Captain
Panton, in the Seahorse, a ship of war of twenty-four guns, had been sent
from Madras, to urge the payment of a debt owing by the Chinese merchants
of Canton to private British subjects in the East Indies and Europe, which,
including the principal and compound interest, amounted, I understood, to
near a million sterling. For this purpose, he had orders to insist on an
audience with the Viceroy of Canton, which, after some delay, and not
without recourse being had to threats, was, at length, obtained.
The answer he received, on the subject of his mission, was fair and
satisfactory; but, immediately after his departure, an edict was stuck up
on the houses of the Europeans, and in the public places of the city,
forbidding all foreigners, on any pretence, to lend money to the subjects
of the emperor.
This measure had occasioned very serious alarms at Canton. The Chinese
merchants, who had incurred the debt contrary to the commercial laws of
their own country, and denied, in part, the justice of the demand, were
afraid that intelligence of this would be carried to Pekin; and that the
emperor, who had the character of a just and rigid prince, might punish
them with the loss of their fortunes, if not of their lives. On the other
hand, the select committee, to whom the cause of the claimants was strongly
recommended by the presidency of Madras, were extremely apprehensive, lest
they should embroil themselves with the Chinese government at Canton; and,
by that means, bring, perhaps, irreparable mischief on the Company's
affairs in China. For I was further informed, that the _Mandarins_ were
always ready to take occasion, even on the slightest grounds, to put a stop
to their trading; and that it was often with great difficulty, and never
without certain expence, that they could get such restraints taken off.
These impositions were daily increasing; and, indeed, found it a prevailing
opinion, in all the European factories, that they should soon be reduced
either to quit the commerce of that country, or to bear the same
indignities to which the Dutch are subjected in Japan.
The arrival of the Resolution and Discovery, at such a time, could not fail
of occasioning fresh alarms; and, therefore, finding there was no
probability of my proceeding to Canton, I dispatched a letter to the
English supercargoes, to acquaint them with the cause of our putting into
the Typa, to request their assistance in procuring me a passport, and in
forwarding the stores we wanted, of which I sent them a list, as
expeditiously as possible.
The next morning I was accompanied on board by our countryman, who pointing
out to us the situation of the Typa, we weighed at half past six, and stood
toward it; but the wind failing, we came to, at eight, in three and a half
fathoms water; Macao bearing W.N.W., three miles distant; the Grand Ladrone
S.E. by S. The Resolution here saluted the Portugueze fort with eleven
guns, which were returned by the same number. Early on the 4th, we again
weighed, and stood into the Typa, and moored with the stream-anchor and
cable to the westward.
The _Comprador_, whom we at first engaged with, having disappeared with a
small sum of money, which had been given him to purchase provisions, we
contracted with another, who continued to supply both ships, during our
whole stay. This was done secretly, and in the night-time, under pretence,
that it was contrary to the regulations of the port; but we suspected all
this caution to have been used with a view either of enhancing the price of
the articles he furnished, or of securing to himself the profits of his
employment, without being obliged to share them with the _Mandarins_.
On the 9th, Captain Gore received an answer from the committee of the
English supercargoes at Canton, in which they assured him, that their best
endeavours should be used to procure the supplies we stood in need of, as
expeditiously as possible; and that a passport should be sent for one of
his officers, hoping at the same time, that we were sufficiently acquainted
with the character of the Chinese government, to attribute any delays, that
might unavoidably happen, to their true cause.
The day following, an English merchant, from one of our settlements in the
East Indies, applied to Captain Gore for the assistance of a few hands to
navigate a vessel he had purchased at Macao, up to Canton. Captain Gore
judging this a good opportunity for me to proceed to that place, gave
orders that I should take along with me my second lieutenant, the
lieutenant of marines, and ten seamen. Though this was not precisely the
mode in which I could have wished to visit Canton, yet as it was very
uncertain when the passport might arrive, and my presence might contribute
materially to the expediting of our supplies, I did not hesitate to put
myself on board, having left orders with Mr Williamson, to get the
Discovery ready for sea as soon as possible, and to make such additions and
alterations in her upper works, as might contribute to make her more
defensible. That the series of our astronomical observations might suffer
no interruption by my absence, I entrusted the care of continuing them to
Mr Trevenen, in whose abilities and diligence I could repose an entire
confidence.
We left the harbour of Macao on the 11th of December, and sailing round the
south-eastern extremity of the island, we steered to the northward,
leaving, as we passed along, Lantao, Lintin, and several smaller islands,
to the right. All these islands, as well as that of Macao, which lie to the
left, are entirely without wood; the land is high and barren, and
uninhabited, except occasionally by fishermen. As we approached the Bocca
Tygris, which is thirteen leagues from Macao, the Chinese coast appears to
the eastward in steep white cliffs; the two forts, commanding the mouth of
the river, are exactly in the same state as when Lord Anson was there; that
on the left is a fine old castle, surrounded by a grove of trees, and has
an agreeable romantic appearance.
We were here visited by an officer of the customs; on which occasion the
owner of the vessel, being apprehensive that, if we were discovered on
board, it would occasion some alarm, and might be attended with
disagreeable consequences, begged us to retire into the cabin below.
The breadth of the river above these forts is variable, the banks being low
and flat, and subject to be overflowed by the tide to a great extent. The
ground on each side is level and laid out in rice-fields; but as we
advanced, it rose gradually into hills of considerable declivity, the sides
of which are cut into terraces, and planted with sweet potatoes, sugar-
canes, yams, plantains, and the cotton-tree. We saw many lofty _pagodas_,
scattered over the country, and several towns at a distance, some of which
appeared to be of a considerable size.
We did not arrive at Wampû, which is only nine leagues from the Bocca
Tygris, till the 18th, our progress having been retarded by contrary winds,
and the lightness of the vessel. Wampû is a small Chinese town, off which
the ships of the different nations, who trade here, lie, in order to take
in their lading. The river, higher up, is said by M. Sonnerat not to be
deep enough to admit heavy-laden vessels, even if the policy of the Chinese
had suffered the Europeans to navigate them up to Canton; but this
circumstance I cannot take upon me to decide on, as no stranger, I believe,
has been permitted to inform himself with certainty of the truth. The small
islands, that lie opposite to the town are allotted to the several
factories, who have built warehouses for the reception of the merchandise
that is brought down from Canton.
From Wampû, I immediately proceeded in a _sampane_, or Chinese boat, to
Canton, which is about two leagues and a half higher up the river. These
boats are the neatest and most convenient for passengers I ever saw. They
are of various sizes, almost flat at the bottom, very broad upon the beam,
and narrow at the head and stern, which are raised and ornamented; the
middle, where we sat, was arched over with a roof of bamboo, which may be
raised or lowered at pleasure; in the sides were small windows with
shutters, and the apartment was furnished with handsome mats, chairs, and
tables. In the stern was placed a small waxen idol, in a case of gilt
leather, before which stood a pot, containing lighted tapers made of dry
chips, or matches, and gum. The hire of this boat was a Spanish dollar.
I reached Canton a little after it was dark, and landed at the English
factory, where, though my arrival was very unexpected, I was received with
every mark of attention and civility. The select committee, at this time,
consisted of Mr Fitzhugh, the president, Mr Bevan and Mr Rapier. They
immediately gave me an account of such stores as the India ships were able
to afford us; and though I have not the smallest doubt, that the commanders
were desirous of assisting us with every thing they could spare,
consistently with a regard to their own safety, and the interest of their
employers, yet it was a great disappointment to me to find in their list
scarcely any articles of cordage or canvass, of both which we stood
principally in need. It was, however, some consolation to understand, that
the stores were in readiness for shipping, and that the provisions we
required might be had at a day's notice. Wishing, therefore, to make my
stay here as short as possible, I requested the gentlemen to procure junks
or boats for me the next day, with an intention of leaving Canton the
following one; but I was soon informed, that a business of that kind was
not to be transacted so rapidly in this country; that leave must be first
procured from the viceroy; that the _Hoppo_, or principal officer of the
customs, must be applied to for _chops_, or permits; and that these favours
were not granted without mature deliberation: in short, that patience was
an indispensable virtue in China; and that they hoped to have the pleasure
of making the factory agreeable to me, for a few days longer than I seemed
willing to favour them with my company.
Though I was not much disposed to relish this compliment, yet I could not
help being diverted with an incident that occurred very opportunely to
convince me of the truth of their representations, and of the suspicious
character of the Chinese. The reader will recollect, that it was now about
fifteen days since Captain Gore had written to the factory, to desire their
assistance in procuring leave for one of his officers to pass to Canton. In
consequence of this application, they had engaged one of the principal
Chinese merchants of the place, to interest himself in our favour, and to
solicit the business with the viceroy. This person came to visit the
president, whilst we were talking on the subject, and with great
satisfaction and complacency in his countenance acquainted him, that he had
at last succeeded in his applications, and that a passport for one of the
officers of the _Ladrone_ ship (or pirate) would be ready in a few days.
The president immediately told him not to give himself any farther trouble,
as the officer, pointing to me, was already arrived. It is impossible to
describe the terror which seized the old man on hearing this intelligence.
His head sunk upon his breast, and the sofa on which he was sitting shook,
from the violence of his agitation. Whether the _Ladrone_ ship was the
object of his apprehensions, or his own government, I could not discover;
but after continuing in this deplorable state a few minutes, Mr Bevan bade
him not despair, and recounted to him the manner in which I had passed from
Macao, the reasons of my journey to Canton, and my wishes to leave it as
soon as possible. This last circumstance seemed particularly agreeable to
him, and gave me hopes, that I should find him equally disposed to hasten
my departure; and yet, as soon as he had recovered the courage to speak, he
began to recount the unavoidable delays that would occur in my business,
the difficulty of gaining admittance to the viceroy, the jealousies and
suspicions of the _Mandarins_, respecting our real designs, which had
risen, he said, to an extraordinary height, from the strange account we had
given of ourselves.
After waiting several days, with great impatience, for the event of our
application, without understanding that the matter was at all advanced
toward a conclusion, I applied to the commander of an English country ship,
who was to sail on the 25th, and who offered to take the men and stores on
board, and to lie-to, if the weather should permit, off Macao, till we
could send boats to take them out of his ship. At the same time he apprised
me of the danger there might be of his being driven with them out to sea.
Whilst I was doubting what measures to pursue, the commander of another
country ship brought me a letter from Captain Gore, in which he acquainted
me, that he had engaged him to bring us down from Canton, and to deliver
the stores we had procured, at his own risk, in the Typa. All our
difficulties being thus removed, I had leisure to attend to the purchase of
our provisions and stores, which was completed on the 26th; and the day
following, the whole stock was sent on board.
As Canton was likely to be the most advantageous market for furs, I was
desired by Captain Gore to carry with me about twenty sea-otters' skins,
chiefly the property of our deceased commanders, and to dispose of them at
the best price I could procure; a commission which gave me an opportunity
of becoming a little acquainted with the genius of the Chinese for trade.
Having acquainted some of the English supercargoes with these
circumstances, I desired them to recommend me to some Chinese merchant of
credit and reputation, who would at once offer me a fair and reasonable
price. I was accordingly directed to a member of the _Hong_; a society of
the principal merchants of the place; who being fully informed of the
nature of the business, appeared sensible of the delicacy of my situation;
assured me I might depend on his integrity; and that, in a case of this
sort, he should consider himself merely as an agent, without looking for
any profit to himself. Having laid my goods before him, he examined them
with great care, over and over again, and at last told me, that he could
not venture to offer more than three hundred dollars for them. As I knew,
from the price our skins had sold for in Kamtschatka, that he had not
offered me one-half their value, I found myself under the necessity of
driving a bargain. In my turn, I therefore demanded one thousand; my
Chinese then advanced to five hundred; then offered me a private present of
tea and porcelain, amounting to one hundred more; then the same sum in
money; and, lastly, rose to seven hundred dollars, on which I fell to nine
hundred. Here, each side declaring he would not recede, we parted; but the
Chinese soon returned with a list of India goods, which he now proposed I
should take in exchange, and which, I was afterwards told, would have
amounted in value, if honestly delivered, to double the sum he had before
offered. Finding I did not choose to deal in this mode, he proposed as his
ultimatum, that we should divide the difference, which, being tired of the
contest, I consented to, and received the eight hundred dollars.
The ill health, which at this time I laboured under, left me little reason
to lament the very narrow limits within which the policy of the Chinese
obliges every European at Canton to confine his curiosity. I should
otherwise have fell exceedingly tantalized with living under the walls of
so great a city, full of objects of novelty, without being able to enter
it. The accounts given on this place, by Peres le Comte and Du Halde, are
in every one's hand. These authors have lately been accused of great
exaggeration by M. Sonnerat; for which reason, the following observations,
collected from the information with which I have been obligingly furnished
by several English gentlemen, who were a long time resident at Canton, may
not be unacceptable to the public.
Canton, including the old and new town, and the suburbs, is about ten miles
in circuit. With respect to its population, if one may judge of the whole,
from what is seen in the suburbs, I should conceive it to fall considerably
short of an European town of the same magnitude. Le Comte estimated the
number of inhabitants at one million five hundred thousand; Du Halde at one
million; and M. Sonnerat says he has ascertained them to be no more than
seventy-five thousand;[105] but as this gentleman has not favoured us with
the grounds on which his calculation was founded, and, besides, appears as
desirous of depreciating every thing that relates to the Chinese, as the
Jesuits may be of magnifying, his opinion certainly admits of some doubt.
The following circumstances may perhaps lead the reader to form a judgment
with tolerable accuracy on this subject.
A Chinese house, undoubtedly, occupies more space than is usually taken up
by houses in Europe; but the proportion, suggested by M. Sonnerat, of four
or five to one, certainly goes much beyond the truth. To this should be
added, that a great many houses, in the suburbs of Canton, are occupied for
commercial purposes only, by merchants and rich tradesmen, whose families
live entirely within the city. On the other hand, a Chinese family appears
to consist, on an average, of more persons than an European. A _Mandarin_,
according to his rank and substance, has from five to twenty wives. A
merchant, from three to five. One of this class at Canton, had, indeed,
twenty-five wives, and thirty-six children; but this was mentioned to me as
a very extraordinary instance. An opulent tradesman has usually two; and
the lower class of people very rarely more than one. Their servants are at
least double in number to those employed by persons of the same condition
in Europe. If, then, we suppose a Chinese family one-third larger, and an
European house two-thirds less than each other, a Chinese city will contain
only half the number of inhabitants contained in an European town of the
same size. According to these _data_, the city and suburbs of Canton may
probably contain about one hundred and fifty thousand.
With respect to the number of inhabited _sampanes_, I found different
opinions were entertained; but none placing them lower than forty thousand.
They are moored in rows close to each other, with a narrow passage, at
intervals, for the boats to pass up and down the river. As the Tygris, at
Canton, is somewhat wider than the Thames at London; and the whole river is
covered in this manner for the extent of at least a mile, this account of
their number does not appear to me in the least exaggerated; and if it be
allowed, the number of inhabitants in the sampanes alone (for each of them
contains one family) must amount to nearly three times the number supposed
by M. Sonnerat to be in the whole city.
The military force of the province, of which Canton is the capital, amounts
to fifty thousand men. It is said, that twenty thousand are stationed in
and about the city; and, as a proof of this, I was assured, that, on the
occasion of some disturbance that had happened at Canton, thirty thousand
men were drawn together within the space of a few hours.
The streets are long, and most of them narrow and irregular, but well paved
with large stones, and, for the most part, kept exceedingly clean. The
houses are built of brick, one story high, having generally two or three
courts backward, in which are the warehouses for merchandise, and, in the
houses within the city, the apartments for the women. A very few of the
meanest sort are built of wood.
The houses belonging to the European factors are built on an handsome quay,
with a regular facade of two stories toward the river, and disposed within,
partly after the European, and partly after the Chinese manner. Adjoining
to these are a number of houses belonging to the Chinese, and hired out to
the commanders of ships and merchants, who make an occasional stay. As no
European is allowed to bring his wife to Canton, the English supercargoes
live together at a common table, which is kept by the company, and have
each a separate apartment, consisting of three or four rooms. The time of
their residence seldom exceeds eight months annually; and as they are
pretty constantly employed, during that time, in the service of the
company, they may submit with the less regret to the restraints they are
kept under. They very rarely pay any visits within the walls of Canton,
except on public occasions. Indeed, nothing gave me so unfavourable an idea
of the character of the Chinese, as to find, that, amongst so many persons
of liberal minds and amiable manners, some of whom have resided in that
country for near fifteen years together, they have never formed any
friendship or social connection. As soon as the last ship quits Wampû, they
are all obliged to retire to Macao; but, as a proof of the excellent police
of the country, they leave all the money they possess in specie behind
them, which, I was told, sometimes amounted to one hundred thousand pounds
sterling, and for which they had no other security than the seals of the
merchants of the hong, the viceroy, and mandarins.
During my stay at Canton, I was carried, by one of the English gentlemen,
to visit a person of the first consequence in the place. We were received
in a long room or gallery, at the upper end of which stood a table, with a
large chair behind it, and a row of chairs extending from it on each side
down the room. Being previously instructed, that the point of civility
consisted in remaining as long unseated as possible, I readily acquitted
myself of this piece of etiquette; after which we were entertained with tea
and some preserved and fresh fruits. Our host was very fat, with a heavy
dull countenance, and of great gravity in his deportment. He spoke a little
broken English and Portuguese; and, after we had taken our refreshment, he
carried us about his house and garden; and having shewed us all the
improvements he was making, we took our leave.
Having procured an account of the price of provisions at Canton, as settled
for the year 1780, which the reader will find at the end of this section, I
have only to observe, that the different articles are supposed to be the
best of the kind; and that the natives purchase the same for nearly one-
third less than the price, which, in the list, is fixed only for strangers.
I had hitherto intended, as well to avoid the trouble and delay of applying
for passports, as to save the unnecessary expence of hiring a sampane,
which, I understood, amounted at least to twelve pounds sterling, to go
along with the stores to Macao, in the country merchant's ship I have
before mentioned; but having received an invitation from two English
gentlemen, who had obtained passports for four, I accepted, along with Mr
Philips, their offer of places in a Chinese boat, and left Mr Lannyon to
take care of the men and stores, which were to sail the next day. In the
evening of the 26th, I took my leave of the supercargoes, having thanked
them for their many obliging favours; amongst which I must not forget to
mention an handsome present of tea for the use of the ships' companies, and
a large collection of English periodical publications. The latter we found
a valuable acquisition; as they both served to amuse our impatience, during
our tedious voyage home, and enabled us to return not total strangers to
what had been transacting in our native country. At one o'clock the next
morning we left Canton, and arrived at Macao about the same hour the day
following, having passed down a channel, which lies to the westward of that
by which we had come up.
During our absence, a brisk trade had been carrying on with the Chinese for
the sea-otter skins, which had every day been rising in their value. One of
our seamen sold his stock alone for eight hundred dollars; and a few prime
skins, which were clean, and had been well preserved, were sold for one
hundred and twenty each. The whole amount of the value, in specie and
goods, that was got for the furs, in both ships, I am confident, did not
fall short of two thousand pounds sterling; and it was generally supposed,
that at least two-thirds of the quantity we had originally got from the
Americans, were spoiled and worn out, or had been given away, and otherwise
disposed of in Kamtschatka. When, in addition to these facts, it is
remembered, that the furs were at first collected without our having any
idea of their real value; that the greatest part had been worn by the
Indians, from whom we purchased them; that they were afterward preserved
with little care, and frequently used for bed-clothes, and other purposes,
during our cruise to the north; and that, probably, we had never got the
full-value for them in China; the advantages that might be derived from a
voyage to that part of the American coast, undertaken with commercial
views, appear to me of a degree of importance sufficient to call for the
attention of the public.
The rage with which our seamen were possessed to return to Cook's river,
and by another cargo of skins to make their fortunes, at one time was not
far short of mutiny; and I must own, I could not help indulging myself in a
project, which the disappointment we had suffered, in being obliged to
leave the Japanese archipelago, and the northern coast of China,
unexplored, first suggested; and, by what I conceived, that object might
still be happily accomplished, through means of the East India Company, not
only without expence, but even with the prospect of very considerable
advantages. Though the situation of affairs at home, or perhaps greater
difficulties in the execution of my scheme than I had foreseen, have
hitherto prevented its being carried into effect, yet, as I find the plan
in my journal, and still retain my partiality for it, I hope it will not be
entirely foreign to the nature of this work, if I beg leave to insert it
here.
I proposed then, that the company's China ships should carry an additional
complement of men each, making in all one hundred. Two vessels, one of two
hundred, and the other of one hundred and fifty tons, might, I was told,
with, proper notice, be readily purchased at Canton; and, as victualling is
not dearer there than in Europe, I calculate, that they might be completely
fitted out for sea, with a year's pay and provision, for six thousand
pounds, including the purchase. The expence of the necessary articles for
barter is scarcely worth mentioning. I would, by all means, recommend, that
each ship should have five tons of unwrought iron, a forge, and an expert
smith, with a journeyman and apprentice, who might be ready to forge such
tools as it should appear the Indians were most desirous of. For, though
six of the finest skins purchased by us, were got for a dozen large green
glass beads, yet it is well known, that the fancy of these people for
articles of ornament is exceedingly capricious; and that iron is the only
sure commodity for their market. To this might be added a few gross of
large-pointed case-knives, some bales of coarse woollen cloth, (linen they
would not accept of from us,) and a barrel or two of copper and glass
trinkets.
I have here proposed two ships, not only for the greater security of the
expedition, but because I think single ships ought never to be sent out on
discoveries. For where risks are to be run, and doubtful and hazardous
experiments tried, it cannot be expected that single ships should venture
so far, as where there is some security provided against untoward accident.
The vessels being now ready for sea, will sail with the first south-
westerly monsoon, which generally sets in about the beginning of April.
With this wind they will steer to the northward, along the coast of China,
beginning a more accurate survey from the mouth of the river Kyana, or the
Nankin River, in latitude 30°, which, I believe, is the utmost limit of
this coast hitherto visited by European ships. As the extent of that deep
gulf called Whang Hay, or the Yellow Sea, is at present unknown, it must be
left to the discretion of the commander, to proceed up it as far as he may
judge prudent; but he must be cautious not to entangle himself too far in
it, lest he should want time for the prosecution of the remaining part of
his enterprise. The same discretion must be used when he arrives in the
Straits of Tessoi, with respect to the islands of Jeso, which, if the wind
and weather be favourable, he will not lose the opportunity of exploring.
Having proceeded to the latitude of 51° 40', where he will make the
southernmost point of the island of Sagaleen, beyond which the sea of
Okotzk is sufficiently known, he will steer to the southward, probably in
the beginning of June, and endeavour to fall in with the southernmost of
the Kurile Islands. Ooroop, or Nadeschda, according to the accounts of the
Russians, will furnish the ships with a good harbour, where they may wood
and water, and take in such other refreshments as the place may afford.
Toward the end of June, they will shape their course for the Shummagins,
and from thence to Cook's River, purchasing, as they proceed, as many skins
as they are able, without losing too much time, since they ought to steer
again to the southward, and trace the coast with great accuracy from the
latitude of 56° to 50°, the space from which we were driven out of sight of
land by contrary winds. It should here be remarked, that I consider the
purchase of skins, in this expedition, merely a secondary object, for
defraying the expence; and it cannot be doubted, from our experience in the
present voyage, that two hundred and fifty skins, worth one hundred dollars
each, may be procured without any loss of time; especially as it is
probable they will be met with along the coast to the southward of Cook's
River.
Having spent three months on the coast of America, they will set out on
their return to China early in the month of October, avoiding, in their
route, as much as possible, the tracks of former navigators. I have now
only to add, that if the fur trade should become a fixed object of Indian
commerce, frequent opportunities will occur of completing whatever may be
left unfinished, in the voyage of which I have here ventured to delineate
the outlines.
The barter which had been carrying on with the Chinese for sea-otter skins,
had produced a very whimsical change in the dress of all our crew. On our
arrival in the Typa, nothing could exceed the ragged appearance both of the
younger officers and seamen; for, as our voyage had already exceeded, by
near a twelvemonth, the time it was at first imagined we should remain at
sea, almost the whole of our original stock of European clothes had been
long worn Out, or patched up with skins and the various manufactures we had
met with in the course of our discoveries. These were now again mixed and
eked out with the gaudiest silks and cottons of China.
On the 30th, Mr Lannyon arrived with the stores and provisions, which were
immediately stowed, in due proportion, on board the two ships. The next
day, agreeably to a bargain made by Captain Gore, I sent our sheet-anchor
to the country ship, and received in return the guns, which she before rode
by.
Whilst we lay in the Typa, I was shewn, in a garden belonging to an English
gentleman at Macao, the rock, under which, as the tradition there goes, the
poet Camoens used lo sit and compose his Lusiad. It is a lofty arch, of one
solid stone, and forms the entrance of a grotto, dug out of the rising
ground behind it. The rock is overshadowed by large spreading trees, and
commands an extensive and magnificent view of the sea, and the interspersed
islands.
On the 11th of January, two seamen, belonging to the Resolution, found
means to run off with a six-oared cutter, and, notwithstanding diligent
search was made both that and the following day, we were never able to
learn any tidings of her. It was supposed, that these people had been
seduced by the prevailing notion of making a fortune, by returning to the
fur islands.
As we heard nothing, during our stay in the Typa, of the measurement of our
ships, it may be concluded, that the point, so strongly contested by the
Chinese, in Lord Anson's time, has, in consequence of his firmness and
resolution, never since been insisted on.
The following nautical observations were made while we lay here:
Harbour of Macao lat. 22° 12' 0" north.
long. 113 47 0 east.
Anchoring-place in the lat. 22 9 20 north.
Typa long. 113 48 34 east.
Mean dip of the north
pole of the magnetic 21 1 0
needle
Variation of the compass 0 19 0 west.
On the full and change days it was high water in the Typa at 5^h 15^m, and
in Macao harbour at 5^h 50^m. The greatest rise was six feet one inch. The
flood appeared to come from the south-eastward; but we could not determine
this point with certainty, on account of the great number of islands which
lie off the mouth of the river of Canton.
_Prices of Provisions at Canton_, 1780.
£. s. d.
Annas 0 4 0 a score.
Arrack 0 0 8 per bottle.
Butter 0 2 0-4/5 per catty.[106]
Beef, Canton 0 0 2-3/4
Ditto, Macao 0 0 5-1/5
Birds' nests 3 6 8
Biscuit 0 0 4
Beache de Mar 0 2 0-4/5
Calf 1 6 9-3/5
Caravances, dried 0 0 2-2/3
Cabbage, Nankeen 0 0 4-4/5
Curry stuff 0 4 4
Coffee 0 1 4 per catty.
Cocoa-nuts 0 0 4 each.
Charcoal 0 3 4 per pecul.
Coxice 0 1 4 per catty.
Canton nuts 0 0 4
Chesnuts 0 0 2-2/5
Cockles 0 0 3-1/5
Ducks 0 0 5-1/5
Ditto, wild 0 1 0-4/5
Deers' sinews 0 2 1-3/5
Eels 0 0 6-2/5
Eggs 0 2 0 per hundred.
Fish, common 0 0 3-1/5 per catty.
Ditto, best 0 0 6-2/5
Ditto salted, Nankeen 0 0 9-3/5
Fruit 0 0 1-3/5
Ditto, Nankeen 0 2 0
Frogs 0 0 6-2/5
Flour 0 0 1-76/100
Fowls, capons, &c. 0 0 7-1/5
Fish-maws 0 2 1-3/5
Geese 0 0 6-2/5
Greens 0 0 1-3/4
Grass 0 0 2-2/5 per bundle.
Grapes 0 1 0-4/5 per catty.
Ham 0 1 2-2/5
Hartshorn 0 1 4
Hogslard 0 0 7-1/5
Hog, alive 0 0 4-3/4
Kid, alive 0 0 4-3/4
Limes 0 0 0-4/5 per catty.
Litches, dried 0 0 2-2/5
Locksoy 0 0 6-2/5
Lobchocks 0 0 5-3/5
Lamp-oil 0 0 5-3/5
Lamp-wick 0 0 8
Melons 0 0 4-4/5 each.
Milk 0 0 1-1/4 per catty.
Ditto, Macao 0 0 3-1/5
Mustard seed 0 0 6-2/5
Mushrooms, pickled 0 2 8
Ditto, fresh 0 1 4
Oysters 0 3 4 per pecul.
Onions, dried 0 0 2-2/5 per catty.
Pork 0 0 7-1/7
Pig 0 0 5-3/5
Paddy 0 0 0-4/5
Pepper 0 1 0-4/5
Pheasants 0 5 4 each.
Partridges 0 0 9-1/5
Pigeons 0 0 5-1/5
Pomegranates 0 0 2-2/5
Quails 0 0 1-3/5
Rabbits 0 1 4
Rice 0 0 2 per catty.
Ditto, red 0 0 2-2/5
Ditto, coarse 0 0 1-1/5
Ditto, Japan 0 0 8
Raisins 0 2 0
Sheep 3 6 8 each.
Snipes 0 0 1-1/2 per catty.
Sturgeon 0 4 9-3/5
Ditto, small 0 2 4-4/5
Sugar 0 0 3-1/5
Salt 0 0 1-3/5
Saltpetre 0 2 1-3/5
Soy 0 0 1-3/5
Spices 0 16 8
Sweetmeats 0 0 6-2/5
Sago 0 0 3-1/5
Sallad 0 0 2-2/5
Sharks' fins 0 2 1-3/5
Samsui soy 0 0 2-2/5
Teal 0 0 6-2/5 each.
Turtle 0 0 9-3/5 per catty.
Tea 0 2 0
Turmerick 0 0 2-2/5
Tamarinds 0 0 8
Vinegar 0 0 1-3/5
Vermicelli 0 0 3-1/5
Wax-candles 0 3 0
Walnuts 0 0 4-4/5
Wood 0 1 4 per pecul.
Water 0 6 8 per 100 barrels.
Rent of Poho Factory 400 0 0 per annum.
of Lunsoon 316 13 4
Servant's rice 0 8 0 per month.
Ditto wages 0 19 2-1/5 do. for resiants.
_Doll_.
Servant's wages for the season 20
Steward's wages 80
Butler's ditto 80 per annum.
_Prices of Labour_.
A coolee, or porter 0 0 8 per day.
A tailor 0 0 5 and rice.
A handicraftsman 0 0 8
A common labourer, from 3d. to 5d.
A woman's labour considerably cheaper.
[104] It is scarcely necessary to inform any reader that Captain King here
alludes to the American war, in which first the French and then the
Spaniards took part against Great Britain. The passage is certainly a
very striking evidence of that enthusiasm which animates our gallant
seamen in all corners of the globe, to feel and to fight for Old
England; and perhaps to this spirit, as well as to his eminent
professional abilities in other respects, we may ascribe Captain
King's appointment, not long after his return home, to the command of
the Resistance man of war, sent on service to the West Indies.--E.
[105] J'ai _verifié_ moi-même, avec plusieurs Chinois, la population
de Canton, de la ville de Tartare, et de celie de Battaux,
&c.--_Voyage aux Indes, &c_. par M. Sonnerat, tom. ii. p. 14.
[106] A catty is 18 oz.--A pecul 100 catty.