shore, of whom 21 soon died; but the greatest part of the rest recovered
surprizingly. As soon as I was capable of stirring about, I found the
island to lie in lat. 14 deg. 58 min. N. [Walters says 15 deg. 8 min.]
and in long. 223 deg. 35 min. W. from London, being, according to my
reckoning, 117 deg. 7 min. W. from Acapulco. [Walters says 114 deg. 50
min.] And here it is observable, how writers of the first characters for
veracity differ in their accounts of the same places, by writing them at
different periods. The description of this island of Tinian by Commodore
Byron, who lately visited it in his voyage round the world, bears no
similitude to that we are now about to recite; nor can any one conceive
how an interval of only 30 years could occasion so remarkable an
alteration. But to proceed:
The soil, upon examination, we found to be every where dry and healthy;
and being withal somewhat sandy, it was thereby the less disposed to a
rank and over-luxuriant vegetation: and hence the meadows and woods were
neater and smoother than is usual in hot climates. The vallies and hills
were most beautifully diversified by the mutual encroachments of woods
and lawns, which skirted each other, and traversed the island in large
tracts. The woods consisted of tall and well-spread trees, some
celebrated for their beauty, and some for their fruit; whilst the lawns
were generally crouded with herds of cattle, of which it was not
uncommon to see thousands feeding in a herd, and, being all milk-white,
it is no wonder that such an appearance excited our longings, and
increased our impatience, to kill and eat. Add to these, the innumerable
swarms of poultry that crouded the woods, and, by their frequent
crowings, gave us in idea the pleasing apprehension of being in the
neighbourhood of farms and villages; and we even fancied, that in the
covert of the woods we should find such concealed. The cattle we had
sight of were computed at 10,000; and, besides these and the poultry, we
likewise found abundance of wild hogs, which were excellent food, but
fierce, and not easily mastered. At first we killed them by shooting;
but, our ammunition failing, owing to an incident, we at last hunted
them down with dogs, several of which joined us on the island, and,
being trained to the sport by the Indians, readily enough followed us,
and afforded us good diversion. In their conflicts with the bears, some
indeed were killed; but those that came off victorious, were still more
eager to engage in every new pursuit.
This island was no less fortunate to us in its vegetable than its animal
productions; more particularly abounding in such fruits and plants as
were best adapted to the cure of that disease by which we had been so
dreadfully debilitated. In the woods cocoa-nuts were to be gathered
without number; and, what is remarkable, cabbages grew on the same
trees. There were, besides, guavas, limes, sweet and sour oranges, and,
what is common to all the Tropical islands, bread-fruit. In the plains
we found water-melons, dandelion, creeping-purslain, mint, scurvy-grass,
and sorrel; all which, together with the fresh-meats of the place, were
such salutary refreshments, that the sick, who were at death’s-door when
they landed, before they had been a week on shore, put on very different
countenances, and with their new complexions received a fresh recruit of
spirits.
Amidst such a variety of provisions as the land furnished, it was
thought unnecessary to indulge ourselves in those offered us by the sea.
From fish, therefore, we wholly refrained; and the rather, as some we
caught at our first arrival surfeited those who eat of them. This,
however, was not regretted, as beef, pork, poultry, and wild-fowl, were
in such plenty, that, except the trouble of bringing them from a
considerable distance sometimes, there was no difficulty attending their
procurement. It were, indeed, an endless task to recount all the
excellencies and delicacies we met with in this delightful island: nor
is it easy to say which to prefer where every thing is worthy of
admiration; the neatness of its lawns, the stateliness, freshness, and
fragrance of its woods, the happy inequality of its surface, and the
variety and elegance of the views it afforded,--all these conspired to
charm the sight, while at the same time the excellency of its
productions could not fail to gratify the appetite. And these advantages
were greatly enhanced by the healthiness of the climate, by the almost
constant cool breezes that prevailed, and by the frequent gentle showers
that seemed to fall just to refresh the earth, and add to its fertility;
for these, instead of the long-continued rains that in other countries
fill the air with noxious vapours, and overflow the earth with wasteful
inundations, seemed just enough to purify the air, and to refresh the
soil; which was observable enough by the effect it had in increasing our
appetites, and promoting our digestion. This effect was, indeed,
remarkable, since those amongst our officers, who were at all other
times spare and temperate eaters, were here in appearance transformed
into gluttons; for instead of one reasonable flesh-meal a day, they were
scarcely satisfied with three: and yet our digestion so well
corresponded to the keenness of our appetites, that we were neither
disordered nor even loaded by this uncommon repletion; for, after having
made a large beef breakfast, it was not long before we began to consider
the approach of dinner as a very desirable, and even somewhat tardy
event.
The principal inconveniences that attended our residence upon this
island arose from the vast number of musketos and other troublesome
flies, by which we were perpetually teized; there was likewise a
venomous little insect, that, like the sheep-ticks in England, would
bury its head in the skin, and, if not instantly removed, would cause an
inflammation.
Running water there was none in the island; but that defect was supplied
by a large lake, or lagoon, almost in the center of it, to which the
cattle, in times of drought, generally resorted; but the freshness of
their pasture, and the copious dews and gentle showers that often
moistened it, rendered that resource almost unnecessary. There were,
besides, springs of excellent water, and near the surface wells might
every where be dug, whose waters, in any other place, would not have
been complained of.
But the great danger we had to dread remains to be told. During four
months in the year, that is, from the middle of June to the middle of
October, when the western monsoons prevail, the winds, about the full
and change of the moon, are variable, and blow with such fury, that the
stoutest cables afford no security to ships riding at anchor in the
road: and what adds to the danger is the rapidity of the tide, which
sets to the S. E. and occasions such a hollow and over-grown sea as is
not to be conceived; insomuch that, though we were in a sixty-gun ship,
we were under the dreadful apprehension of being pooped by it. During
the rest of the year the weather is constantly settled, and ships have
nothing to fear, if their cables are well armed, which otherwise will
suffer from the foulness of the ground.
From the 29th of August, when our sick were all put on shore, to the
12th of September, when the Commodore himself landed, those who remained
on board were chiefly employed in mooring and securing the ship, in
shifting her guns to come at her leaks, and in cackling the cables, to
prevent their being galled by the friction against the rocky bottom. At
the same time an anchor and cable were put on board the Spanish bark,
her own being only a heavy log of wood, and a rope made of bass; and
some barrels of powder to be dried and recovered, which by long keeping
was become moist.
From the 12th to the 18th, the hands were continually shifting, those
who were so well recovered as to be capable of duty were sent on board,
and those who had born the burden of the labour were relieved and sent
on shore.
On the 19th, the weather began to alter, and to threaten a storm: on
that day, the next, and the 21st, it blew hard; however, we rode it out,
and flattered ourselves that the prudence of our measures had secured us
from accidents. On the 22d, the hurricane came on, and our only hope of
safety seemed to depend on our putting out to sea; but the Commodore was
on shore, and all communication with the land absolutely cut off. At
five in the afternoon, the small bower parted, and the ship sprung off
to the best bower. As night approached, the violence of the storm
increased; yet, notwithstanding its inexpressible fury, the rapidity of
the tide was such as to prevail over it, and to force the ship before
it, as it were, in despight of its utmost rage. It was now that the sea
broke all round us in a most tremendous manner; and that a large
tumbling swell threatened to ingulph us in its bosom: the long-boat,
which was moored a-stern, was on a sudden canted so high that it broke
the transum of the Commodore’s gallery, and would, doubtless, have risen
as high as the tafferel, had it not been for the stroke, which stove the
boat to pieces; but yet the poor boat-keeper, though much bruised, was
saved almost by miracle. About eight, the tide slackened; but, the wind
not abating, the best bower cable, by which alone we rode, parted at
eleven. In this extremity, Mr. Saumarez, our First Lieutenant, who
commanded in the absence of the Commodore, ordered guns to be fired, and
lights to be shewn, as signals of distress; and, in a short time after,
the night being excessively dark, the storm raging, the thunder roaring,
and nothing to be seen but the blue lightning flashing through the rain,
we were driven to sea, and, by this catastrophe, the whole crew, both by
sea and land, reduced to a state of despair; those on shore concluding
they had now no means left them ever to get home; whilst those on board,
being utterly unprepared to struggle with the fury of such seas and
winds, expected each moment to be their last. In this state of
despondency, while those on board were every moment in expectation of
being dashed against the rocks of Aiguigan, an island at about three
leagues from Tinian, those on shore were persuaded the ship could not
survive the storm, the whole channel between the two islands appearing
from the land like one continued breach, the sea swelling, breaking, and
roaring, like mountains rolling over mountains, and forming the most
awful and terrifying sight that the mind of man can possibly conceive.
Indeed, the condition of those on board was truly pitiable; they were in
a leaky ship, with three cables in their hawses, to one of which hung
their only remaining anchor; they had not a gun on board lashed; nor a
port barred in; their shrouds were loose; and their fore-top-mast
unrigged; and they had struck their fore and main yards down before the
hurricane came on, so that there was no sail they could set except the
mizzen: to add to their misfortunes, they were no sooner at sea, than,
by the labouring of the ship, whole floods of water rushed in through
the hawse-holes, ports, and scuppers; which, with the usual leakage,
kept the pumps constantly at work. Persuaded that their destruction was
inevitable, sinking, however, was only their secondary concern; they
judged, by the driving of the ship, that they were making towards the
land, and that, in the darkness of the night, they should no otherwise
perceive it than by striking upon it; but day-light relieved them from
that uneasy apprehensions, and shewed them that the island they so much
dreaded was at a considerable distance, and that a strong northern
current had proved the means of their preservation. It was not, however,
till after three days that the turbulent weather that had driven them
from Tinian began to abate; when every man in the ship was so worn out
with fatigue, that they found it impossible to man the pumps, and hand
the sails at the same time. They had twice attempted to heave up the
main and fore yards, in which they had as often miscarried by the
breaking of the jeers, and in the last effort one of their best men
perished. During all this time the ship was driving to leeward, and
dragging her sheet anchor, the only one she had left, with two cables an
end at her bows. This was a circumstance of the greatest consequence,
and required a speedy remedy; for, though upon a third exertion of their
whole force, they had replaced their yards, they durst not, while the
anchor continued in that situation, venture to spread their canvas. Some
rest and refreshment became necessary before a work of such labour could
be proposed to a feeble and diminished crew, who hardly consisted of 100
men. It was, therefore, five days after their departure before they
could secure their anchor; and now they set their courses, and, for the
first time, stood to the eastward, in hopes of soon regaining the
island, and rejoining their Commander and the rest of their company: but
in this they were unhappily disappointed; for having run, as they
thought, the distance necessary for making the island, and being in full
expectation of seeing it, they found themselves bewildered by the
irregularity of the currents, and knew not what course to steer, till,
after several days uncertainty, they came at last in sight of Guam, from
whence they directed their course with infinite labour to Tinian, the
wind being constantly against them, and the tide variable. This severe
employment held till the 11th of October, when, after nineteen days
absence, they appeared again in the offing, and were reinforced from the
shore, to the inexpressible joy of the whole crew.
A few days after the ship was driven off, some of the people on shore
cried out, _A sail!_ and this spread a general joy, supposing it to be
the Centurion returning; but presently a second sail was decried, which
wholly destroyed the first conjecture, and made it difficult to guess
who they were. The Commodore turning his glass towards them, saw they
were two boats; and instantly concluding that the Centurion was gone to
the bottom, and that those were her boats returning with the remains of
her people, this sudden suggestion wrought so powerfully upon him, that,
to conceal his emotion, he was obliged to retire to his tent, where he
past some bitter moments in the firm persuasion that all his hopes were
now at an end, and that, instead of distressing the enemy, he must
himself with his people fall a prey to their relentless cruelty. He was,
however, soon relieved from this mortifying thought, they appearing,
upon their nearer approach, to be Indian proas directing their course
towards the bay, with a view, as was supposed, to relieve their
countrymen, or to take on board their provisions. On this intelligence,
the Commodore ordered his people to conceal themselves; but the proas,
after advancing within a quarter of a mile of the shore, lay by for the
space of a few hours, and probably observing some change in the
appearance of the place, which might raise their suspicion that an enemy
lay in ambush, they got again under sail, and steered to the southward.
After this incident an opinion began generally to prevail, that the
Centurion would never more appear at this island; and that she was
either lost, or forced upon the coast of China, from whence, in her
crazy condition, it would be impossible for her ever to return. Though
the Commodore did not apparently give into this opinion, yet he was not
without his fears; and, therefore, to provide against the worst, he
proposed cutting asunder the Indian bark which they took on their first
arrival, and lengthening her in such a manner as to be capable of taking
on board all who were then upon the island, and following the ship, if
peradventure she should be driven to Mocao. After some hesitation, owing
to the difficulty attending the execution, the men were at length
prevailed upon to engage in the work, and the Commodore by his example
encouraged their diligence; for, being always at work by day-break
himself, it was thought a disgrace to be idle when their Chief was
employed. It fortunately happened, that the carpenters both of the
Gloucester and Trial were on shore, and that they had brought for safety
their chests of tools with them. The smith, too, was on shore with his
forge, but his bellows was still in the ship. This defect occasioned
some delay; but was soon supplied by the ingenuity of his shipmates, one
or other of them never being at a loss for expedients on such occasions:
they limed a fresh hide for leather, the carpenters shaped out a wooden
frame, and a gun barrel served for a nozel. The smith being now in
readiness to prepare the iron-work, some were employed in cutting down
trees, and sawing them into plank, whilst the main-body were busied in
digging out a draw-dock to receive the bark, and in laying of ways to
heave her up and down. All, in short, were variously employed; and the
work went on successfully for 16 days, in which time the bark was sawn
asunder, her two parts separated, and placed at the proper distance from
each other; and, the materials being all in readiness before-hand, they
proceeded with no small dispatch in the enlargement, insomuch that they
fixed the 5th of November as the day when they should be ready to
depart. The alacrity with which this business was carried on, left no
room for reflection among the common sailors, though their superiors
were not without their fears. They had no sea-provisions, except some
jerked beef, which the Indians had prepared and abandoned when they
fled, and they had a run of 600 leagues before they could presume upon a
supply; they had no bread, and the bread-fruit on the island could not
be preserved at sea; they wanted salt; and, what was still a more
necessary article in their present situation, they wanted ammunition for
their defence, in case of an attack from the enemy; for, upon the
strictest search, no more than 90 charges of powder could be collected,
which was short of one round a-piece for each of the company; they were,
too, in an unknown sea, and wanted instruments to direct their course:
in short, though the common men had no other thought but how they should
get on board, the officers foresaw a thousand difficulties, which were
almost insurmountable to human apprehension, but which they carefully
concealed, that the main business might not be retarded.
But, in the midst of these gloomy apprehensions, which, the nearer the
time of their departure approached, still became the more serious, and
when all hope of seeing the Centurion at Tinian had subsided, one of the
Gloucester’s men, being upon a hill at a distance looking out for
cattle, perceived, as he fancied, something like a ship in the clouds,
which, on steadily observing it, seemed to move slowly towards the land.
It was not long before he was sensible of its approach, and persuading
himself it was the Centurion, he in an extasy ran towards the
landing-place, crying to his comrades, _The ship! The ship!_ This being
heard by the nearest, was echoed from mouth to mouth till it reached the
spot where the Commodore was at work, who, on hearing the joyful news,
threw down his axe, and joined in the general transport. In a few hours
the Centurion appeared in the offing, and a boat with 18 men was sent
off to reinforce her, and to carry fresh meats, fruits, and
refreshments, for the crew. In the afternoon of the 11th of October she
happily cast anchor, the Commodore went instantly aboard, and the joy
and congratulations on that occasion were equally sincere and mutual.
The labour of the artificers was now at an end, and another kind of
employment succeeded, which was that of laying in water for the
remainder of the voyage. Now also hunting, shooting, setting, and every
device that could be contrived to catch live cattle, hogs, and poultry,
for stores, took place; while, at the same time, the Commodore and
Officers amused themselves with traversing the island, and examining
more minutely its several parts. In one of these excursions, being on a
rising ground, they observed, in a valley beneath them, the appearance
of a small thicket, which, by attending to it, seemed to have a
progressive motion, as indeed it had; but was no other than a parcel of
cocoa-bushes trailed upon the ground by persons concealed beneath them.
From this uncommon circumstance, it was immediately concluded, that the
Indians, whose boat they had surprized upon their first arrival, must be
the persons who were dragging the bushes, and that it could not be far
to the place of their concealment; they therefore kept their eye upon
them, and traced them to their cell; but, to their surprize, when they
came to enter it, they found it abandoned, though all things were ready
prepared for dinner, and stood smoaking hot on a table of turf. The
officers, having in vain endeavoured to track them, returned, and, with
an appetite increased by the keenness of the pursuit, sat down to that
meal which the poor hungry savages had abandoned. It consisted of salted
spareribs, cocoa-nuts, and bread-fruit; all which they found ready
drest, and in quantity as much as they all could eat.
On the third day after the second arrival of the ship, the Commodore
being on board, a sudden gust of wind arose, and again brought home our
anchor, and drove us out to sea. Our chief officers were now all on
board; and only about 70 of our men, with a midshipman or two to command
them, were employed on shore in filling water and catching cattle. Of
these about 30 came off to us in the cutter, and the eighteen-oared
barge was sent for the rest; but they not being in readiness, and the
ship quickly driving out of sight, it was no longer in their power to
join us. However, as the weather soon proved favourable, and we were now
stronger and healthier than at our first disaster, in about five days we
regained the road, and anchored safe in our former station. On our
return we found the Spanish bark restored to her old dimensions, and the
parts brought together, and in good forwardness to be compleated; for
the few remaining people, despairing of the return of the ship, had
determined to follow her to her destined port. We now laboured
indefatigably to get in our water, in order to sail, in which service
two of our men employed in the well unfortunately perished; for the
sides of the well being loose earth, by the carelessness of those above,
in not properly attending the filling, the bank gave way by the weight
of a heavy cask, and both that and the bank fell in upon them together.
Some other misfortunes happened through haste in rafting the casks to
the ship; yet, notwithstanding, being such as are generally accounted
trifling on board a man of war, our watering went on so successfully,
that by the 20th of October it was compleated; and on that day leave was
given for a man from each mess to go ashore, and gather as many oranges,
lemons, cocoa-nuts, and other fruits of the island, as should be
sufficient for us all while at sea. This being accomplished, the Spanish
bark set on fire, the men returned on board, and the boats hoisted in,
on the 21st we set sail; and the wind being fair, and the weather
moderate, nothing remarkable happened till we arrived on the coasts of
China, except that while we were passing by the rocks of Vele Rete, near
the south end of the island Formosa, we were alarmed by a cry of fire on
the forecastle, which brought the whole crew together in the utmost
confusion, so that it was difficult for some time to reduce them to
order; but, as soon as discipline took place, and a proper examination
could be made, it was found to proceed from the furnace, where the
bricks, being over-heated, had begun to communicate the fire to the
wood-work, which, had it not been timely discovered, might have been of
the most dreadful consequence; but, as it fell out, it was extinguished
with the greatest facility, and the brick-work so secured, that no
accident of the like kind could again happen.