During this course, Mr Banks and Dr Solander had an opportunity of

observing many marine animals, of which no naturalist has hitherto taken

notice; particularly a new species of the _oniscus_, which was found

adhering to the _medusa pelagica_; and an animal of an angular figure,

about three inches long, and one thick, with a hollow passing quite

through it, and a brown spot on one end, which they conjectured might be

its stomach; four of these adhered together by their sides when they

were taken, so that at first they were thought to be one animal; but

upon being put into a glass of water they soon separated, and swam about

very briskly. These animals are of a new genus, to, which Mr Banks and

Dr Solander gave the name of _Dagysa_, from the likeness of one species

of them to a gem. Several specimens of them were taken adhering together

sometimes to the length of a yard or more, and shining in the water with

very beautiful colours. Another animal of a new genus they also

discovered, which shone in the water with colours still more beautiful

and vivid, and which indeed exceeded in variety and brightness any thing

that we had ever seen: The colouring and splendour of these animals were

equal to those of an opal, and from their resemblance to that gem, the

genus was called _Carcnium Opalinum_. One of them lived several hours in

a glass of salt water, swimming about with great agility, and at every

motion displaying a change of colours almost infinitely various. We

caught also among the rigging of the ship, when we were at the distance

of about ten leagues from Cape Finisterre; several birds which have not

been described by Linnaeus; they were supposed to have come from Spain,

and our gentlemen called the species _Motacilla velificans_, as they

said none but sailors would venture themselves on board a ship that was

going round the world. One of them was so exhausted that it died in Mr

Banks's hand, almost as soon as it was brought to him.

It was thought extraordinary that no naturalist had hitherto taken

notice of the Dagysa, as the sea abounds with them not twenty leagues

from the coast of Spain; but, unfortunately for the cause of science,

there are but very few of those who traverse the sea, that are either

disposed or qualified to remark the curiosities of which nature has

made it the repository.

On the 12th we discovered the islands of Porto Santo and Madeira, and on

the next day anchored in Funchiale road, and moored with the

stream-anchor: But, in the night, the bend of the hawser of the

stream-anchor slipped, owing to the negligence of the person who had

been employed to make it fast. In the morning the anchor was heaved up

into the boat, and carried out to the southward; but in heaving it

again, Mr Weir, the master's mate, was carried overboard by the

buoy-rope, and went to the bottom with the anchor; the people in the

ship saw the accident, and got the anchor up with all possible

expedition; it was however too late, the body came up entangled in the

buoy-rope, but it was dead.

When the island of Madeira is first approached from the sea, it has a

very beautiful appearance; the sides of the hills being entirely covered

with vines almost as high as the eye can distinguish; and the vines are

green when every kind of herbage, except where they shade the ground,

and here and there by the sides of a rill, is entirely burnt up, which

was the case at this time.

On the 13th, about eleven o'clock in the forenoon, a boat, which our

sailors call the product boat, came on board from the officers of

health, without whose permission no person is suffered to land from on

board a ship. As soon as this permission was obtained, we went on shore

at Funchiale, the capital of the island, and proceeded directly to the

house of Mr Cheap, the English consul there, and one of the most

considerable merchants of the place. This gentleman received us with the

kindness of a brother, and the liberality of a prince; he insisted upon

our taking possession of his house, in which he famished us with every

possible accommodation during our stay upon the island: He procured

leave for Mr Banks and Dr Solander to search the island for such natural

curiosities as they should think worth their notice; employed persons to

take fish and gather shells, which time would not have permitted them to

collect for themselves; and be provided horses and guides to take them

to any part of the country which they should chuse to visit. With all

these advantages, however, their excursions were seldom pushed farther

than three miles from the town, as they were only five days on shore;

one of which they spent at home, in receiving the honour of a visit from

the governor. The season was the worst in the year for their purpose, as

it was neither that of plants nor insects; a few of the plants, however,

were procured in flower, by the kind attention of Dr Heberden, the chief

physician of the island, and brother to Dr Heberden of London, who also

gave them such specimens as he had in his possession, and a copy of his

Botanical Observations; containing, among other things, a particular

description of the trees of the island. Mr Banks enquired after the wood

which has been imported into England for cabinet-work, and is here

called Madeira mahogany: He learnt that no wood was exported from the

island under that name, but he found a tree called by the natives

Vigniatico, the _Laurus indicus_ of Linnaeus, the wood of which cannot

easily be distinguished from mahogany. Dr Heberden had a book-case in

which the vigniatico and mahogany were mixed, and they were no

otherwise to be known from each other than by the colour, which, upon a

nice examination, appears to be somewhat less brown in the vigniatico

than the mahogany; it is therefore in the highest degree probable, that

the wood known in England by the name of Madeira mahogany, is the

vigniatico.

There is great reason to suppose that this whole island was, at some

remote period, thrown up by the explosion of subterraneous fire, as

every stone, whether whole or in fragments, that we saw upon it,

appeared to have been burnt, and even the sand itself to be nothing more

than ashes: We did not, indeed, see much of the country, but the people

informed us that what we did see was a very exact specimen of the

rest.[62]

[Footnote 62: This opinion about the volcanic origin of the island of

Madeira, has found several advocates since the publication of this work.

The following quotation from a paper by the Hon. H.G. Bennet, contained

in the first volume of the Geological Society Transactions, may famish

the inquisitive reader with a short summary of the principal appearances

on which this opinion rests. "To my mind, the most interesting

geological facts, are, 1. The intersection of the lava, by dikes at

right angles with the strata.--2. The rapid dips which the strata make,

particularly the overlaying of that of the Brazen Head to the eastward

of Funchial, where the blue, grey, and red lavas are rolled up in one

mass, as if they had slipped together from an upper stratum.--3. The

columnar form of the lava itself, reposing on, and covered by beds of

scoria, ashes, and pumice, which affords a strong argument for the

volcanic origin of the columns themselves. And, 4. The veins of

carbonate of lime and zeolite, which are not found here in solitary

pieces, as in the vicinity of AEtna and Vesuvius, but are amid the lavas

and in the strata of pumice and tufa, and are diffused on the lava

itself, and occasionally crystallized in its cavities."--E.]

The only article of trade in this island is wine, and the manner in

which it is made is so simple, that it might have been used by Noah, who

is said to have planted the first vineyard after the flood: The grapes

are put into a square wooden vessel, the dimensions of which are

proportioned to the size of the vineyard to which it belongs; the

servants then, having taken off their stockings and jackets, get into

it, and with their feet and elbows, press out as much of the juice as

they can: The stalks are afterwards collected, and being tied together

with a rope, are put under a square piece of wood, which is pressed down

upon them by a lever with a stone tied to the end of it.

It was with great difficulty that the people of Madeira were persuaded

to engraft their vines, and some of them still obstinately refused to

adopt the practice, though a whole vintage is very often spoiled by the

number of bad grapes which are mixed in the vat, and which they will not

throw out, because they increase the quantity of the wine: An instance

of the force of habit, which is the more extraordinary, as they have

adopted the practice of engrafting with respect to their chestnut-trees,

an object of much less importance, which, however, are thus brought to

bear sooner than they would otherwise have done.[63]

[Footnote 63: The censure passed on the carelessness of the people of

Madeira as to the manufacture of their wine, does not now apply; for,

according to Mr Barrow, who touched here in his voyage to Cochin China,

(an account of which appeared in 1806) the care and pains used in

choosing the freshest and ripest grapes only for the wine-press, are

almost incredible. Madeira exports about 15,000 pipes of wine yearly, of

which not one-third part comes to England--about 5500 pipes are taken

out to India.--E.]

We saw no wheel-carriages of any sort in the place, which perhaps was

not more owing to the want of ingenuity to invent them, than to the want

of industry to mend the roads, which, at that time, it was impossible

that any wheel-carriage should pass: The inhabitants had horses and

mules indeed, excellently adapted to such ways; but their wine,

notwithstanding, was brought to town from the vineyards where it was

made, in vessels of goat-skins, which were carried by men upon their

heads. The only imitation of a carriage among these people was a board,

made somewhat hollow in the middle, to one end of which a pole was tied,

by a strap of whit-leather: This wretched sledge approached about as

treat to an English cart, as an Indian canoe to a ship's long-boat; and

even this would probably never have been thought of, if the English had

not introduced wine vessels, which are too big to be carried by hand,

and which, therefore, were dragged about the town upon these machines.

One reason, perhaps, why art and industry have done so little for

Madeira is, nature's having done so much. The soil is very rich, and

there is such a difference of climate between the plains and the hills,

that there is scarcely a single object of luxury that grows either in

Europe or the Indies, that might not be produced here. When we went to

visit Dr Heberden, who lived upon a considerable ascent, about two miles

from town, we left the thermometer at 74; and when we arrived at his

house, we found it at 66. The hills produce, almost spontaneously,

walnuts, chesnuts, and apples in great abundance; and in the town there

are many plants which are the natives both of the East and West Indies,

particularly the banana, the guava, the pineapple or anana, and the

mango, which flourish almost without culture. The corn of this country

is of a most excellent quality, large-grained and very fine, and the

island would produce it in great plenty, yet most of what is consumed by

the inhabitants is imported. The mutton, pork, and beef are also very

good; the beef in particular, which we took on board here, was

universally allowed to be scarcely inferior to our own; the lean part

was very like it, both in colour and grain, though the beasts are much

smaller, but the fat is as white as the fat of mutton. The town of

Frunchiale derives its name from _Funcho_, the Portuguese name for

fennel, which grows in great plenty upon the neighbouring rocks; by the

observation of Dr Heberden, it lies in the latitude of 32° 35' 33" N.

and longitude 16° 49' W. It is situated in the bottom of a bay, and

though larger than the extent of the island seems to deserve, is very

ill built; the houses of the principal inhabitants are large, those of

the common people are small, the streets are narrow, and worse paved

than any I ever saw. The churches are loaded with ornaments, among which

are many pictures, and images of favourite saints, but the pictures are

in general wretchedly painted, and the saints are dressed in laced

clothes. Some of the convents are in a better taste, especially that of

the Franciscans, which is plain, simple and neat in the highest degree.

The infirmary in particular drew our attention as a model which might be

adopted in other countries with great advantage. It consists of a long

room, on one side of which are the windows, and an altar for the

convenience of administering the sacrament to the sick: The other side

is divided into wards, each of which is just big enough to contain a

bed, and neatly lined with gally-tiles; behind these wards, and parallel

to the room in which they stand, there runs a long gallery, with which

each ward communicates by a door, so that the sick may be separately

supplied with whatever they want without disturbing their neighbours. In

this convent there is also a singular curiosity of another kind; a small

chapel, the whole lining of which, both sides and ceiling, is composed

of human sculls and thigh-bones; the thigh-bones are laid across each

other, and a scull is placed in each of the four angles. Among the

sculls one is very remarkable; the upper and the lower jaw, on one side,

perfectly and firmly cohere; how the ossification which unites them was

formed, it is not perhaps very easy to conceive, but it is certain that

the patient must have lived some time without opening his mouth: What

nourishment he received was conveyed through a hole which we discovered

to have been made on the other side, by forcing out some of the teeth,

in doing which the jaw also seems to have been injured.

We visited the good fathers of this convent on a Thursday day evening,

just before supper-time, and they received us with great politeness: "We

will not ask you, said they, to sup with us, because we are not

prepared, but if you will come to-morrow, though it is a fast with us,

we will have a turkey roasted for you." This invitation, which shewed a

liberality of sentiment not to have been expected in a convent of

Portuguese friars at this place, gratified us much, though it was not in

our power to accept it.[64]

[Footnote 64: Mr Barrow is no admirer of the monks that swarm in

Madeira--he represents them as a very worthless, and a very ignorant

race of beings.--E.]

We visited also a convent of nuns, dedicated to _Santa Clara_, and the

ladies did us the honour to express a particular pleasure in seeing us

there: They had heard that there were great philosphers among us, and

not at all knowing what were the objects of philosophical knowledge,

they asked us several questions that were absurd and extravagant in the

highest degree; one was, when it would thunder; and another, whether a

spring of fresh water was to be found any where within the walls of

their convent, of which it seems they were in great want. It will

naturally be supposed that our answers to such questions were neither

satisfactory to the ladies, nor, in their situation, honourable to us;

yet their disappointment did not in the least lessen their civility, and

they talked, without ceasing, during the whole of our visit, which

lasted about half an hoar.[65]

[Footnote 65: According to Mr Barrow's account, it should seem, that

though there are several nunneries in this island, "not a single

instance of the veil being taken has occurred for many years past."--E.]

The hills of this country are very high; the highest, Pico Ruivo, rises

5,068 feet, near an English mile, perpendicularly from its base, which

is much higher than any land that has been measured in Great

Britain.[66] The sides of these hills are covered with vines to a

certain height, above which there are woods of chesnut and pine of

immense extent, and above them forests of wild timber of various kinds

not known in Europe; particularly two, called by the Portuguese

_Mirmulano_ and _Paobranco_, the leaves of both which, particularly the

_Paobranco_, are so beautiful, that these trees would be a great

ornament to the gardens of Europe.

[Footnote 66: In Mr Leslie's table of the heights of mountains appended

to the second edition of his Elements of Geometry, the altitude of this

remarkable peak is stated to be 5162 English feet, but on what authority

is not mentioned. That of Ben Nevis, in Inverness-shire, as ascertained

by the barometer, is 4380.--E.]

The number of inhabitants in this island is supposed to be about 80,000,

and the custom-house duties produce a revenue to the king of Portugal of

20,000 a-year, clear of all essences, which might easily by doubled by

the product of the island, exclusive of the vines, if advantage were

taken of the excellence of the climate, and the amazing fertility of the

soil; but-this object is utterly neglected by the Portugueze. In the

trade of the inhabitants of Madeira with Lisbon the balance is against

them, so that all the Portugueze money naturally going thither, the

currency of the island is Spanish: there are indeed a few Portuguese

pieces of copper, but they are so scarce that we did not see one of

them: The Spanish coin, is of three denominations; Pistereens, worth

about a shilling; Bitts, worth about sixpence; and Half bitts,

threepence.[67]

[Footnote 67: The reader need scarcely be apprized of the necessity of

verifying on modifying the account of some of the particulars now given

respecting Madeira, by an appeal to more recent authorities. A hint to

this effect is sufficient, without further occupying his attention on

the subject.--E.]

The tides at this place flow at the fall and change of the moon, north

and south; the spring-tides rise seven feet perpendicular, and the

neap-tides four. By Dr Heberden's observation, the variation of the

compass here is now 15° 30' west, and decreasing; but I have some doubt

whether he is not mistaken with respect to its decrease: We found that

the north point of the dipping needle belonging to the Royal Society

dipped 77° 18'.

The refreshments to be had here, are water, wine, fruit of several

sorts, onions in plenty; and some sweetmeats; fresh-meat and poultry are

not to be had without leave from the governor, and the payment of a very

high price. We took in 270 lib. of fresh, beer, and a live bullock,

charged at 613 lib. 3,032 gallons of water, and ten tons of wine; and in

the night, between Sunday the 18th and Monday the 19th of September, we

set sail in prosecution of our voyage.

When Funchiale bore north, 13 east, at the distance of seventy-six

miles, the variation appeared by several azimuths to be 16° 30'West.

SECTION II.

_The Passage from Madeira to Rio de Janeiro, with some Account of the

Country, and the Incidents that happened there_.

On the 21st of September we saw the islands called the Salvages, to the

north of the Canaries; when, the principal of these bore S. 1/2 W. at

the distance of about five leagues, we found the variation of the

compass by an azimuth to be 17° 50. I make these islands to lie to

latitude 80° 11' north, and distant fifty-eight leagues from Funchiale

in Madeira, in the direction of S. 16° E.

On Friday the 23d we saw the Peak of Teneriffe bearing W. by. S. 1/2 S.

and found the variation of the compass to be from 17° 22' to 16° 30'.

The height of this mountain, from which I took a new departure, was

determined by Dr. Heberden, who has been upon it, to be 15,396 feet,

which is but 148 yards less than, three miles, reckoning, the mile at

1760 yards.[68] Its appearance at sunset was very striking; when the

sun was below the horizon, and the rest of the island appeared of a deep

black, the mountain still reflected his rays, and glowed with a warmth

of colour which no painting can express. There is no eruption of visible

fire from it, but a heat issues from the chinks near the top, too strong

to be borne by the hand when it is held near them. We had received from

Dr Heberden, among other favours, some salt which he collected on the

top of the mountain, where it is found in large quantities, and which he

supposed to be the true _natrum_ or _nitrum_ of the ancients:

He gave us also some native sulphur exceedingly pure, which he had likewise

found upon the surface in great plenty.

[Footnote 68: It is not said by what means Dr H. ascertained the height

of this peak, and one may safely call in question his accuracy. In the

table referred to in a former note, its height, as measured by the

barometer, is stated to be 12,358 English feet, being nearly 10,000 feet

lower than that of Chimborazo, the highest summit of the Andes, which is

estimated at 21,440. But there is a good deal of contrariety in the

statements of the heights of mountains. The following quotations from

Krusenstern's account of his voyage will both prove this, and at the

same time give the reader some lively conception of the magnificent

effect of the Peak. "At half past six in the morning we distinctly saw

the island of Tenerifle, and at seven the pic cleared itself of the

clouds in which it had been enveloped until then and appeared to us in

all its majestic grandeur. As its summit was covered with snow, and was

extremely brilliant from the reflection of the sun, this contributed

very much to the beauty of the scene. On either side, to the east and

west, the mountains, which nature seems to have destined to sustain this

enormous mass, appeared gradually to decline. Every one of the mountains

which surround the pic, would be considerable in itself: but their

height scarcely attracts the attention of the beholder, although they

contribute to diminish the apparent size of the pic, which, if it stood

alone, would be much more striking," "At six the next morning, (this was

the second morning after leaving Tenerifie) we still saw the pic from

the deck; it bore by compass, N.E. 15° 30', that is, allowing for the

variation, which is here 16° W.; N.W. 0° 30'. At noon, we had an

observation in 26° 13' 51" latitude, and 16° 58' 25" longitude. Between

six in the morning and noon we had lessened our latitude 21' 53", and

increased our longitude 19' 15". The ship was consequently, at the time

we saw the pic, in 26° 35' 45" lat. and 16° 39' 10" long. and as,

according to Borda and Pingre, the pic lies in 28° 17' N. lat. and 19°

00' W. long. of Paris, or 16° 40' of Greenwich, we must have seen it at

six o'clock at the distance of 101 miles, and due north of us, in which

direction it in fact bore. In very dear weather the pic may be seen 25

miles farther off from the mast-head; but this is the greatest distance

which it is visible even from that height, and under the most favourable

circumstances. The elevation of the pic has been determined by several

observations. Borda's calculation, which is founded on a geometrical

admeasurement, and is conceived to be the most correct, makes it 1905

toises, or 11,430 feet." The relations which some authors have given of

the height of this famous pic or peak, are extravagant beyond all

credibility. The reader will meet with some of them in Crutwell's

Gazeteer.--E.]

On the next day, Saturday the 24th, we came into the north-east

trade-wind, and on Friday the 30th saw Bona Vista, one of the Cape de

Verd Islands; we ranged the east side of it, at the distance of three or

four miles from the shore, till we were obliged to haul off to avoid a

ledge of rocks which stretch out S.W. by W. from the body, or S.E. point

of the island, to the extent of a league and a half. Bona Vista by our

observation lies in latitude 16° N. and longitude 21° 51' west.

On the 1st of October, in latitude 14° 6' N. and longitude 32° 10' W. we

found the variation by a very good azimuth to be 10° 37' W. and the next

morning it appeared to be 10°. This day we found the ship five miles

a-head of the log, and the next day seven. On the 3d, hoisted out the

boat to discover whether there was a current, and found one to the

eastward, at the rate of three quarters of a mile an hour.

During our course from Teneriffe to Bona Vista we saw great numbers of

flying fish, which from the cabin-windows appear beautiful beyond

imagination, their sides having the colour and brightness of burnished

silver; when they are seen from the deck they do not appear to so much

advantage, because their backs are of a dark colour. We also took a

shark, which proved to be the _Squalus Carcharias_ of Linnaeus.

Having lost the trade-wind on the 3d, in latitude 12°14', and longitude

22°10', the wind became somewhat variable, and we had light airs and

calms by turns.

On the 7th, Mr Banks went out in the boat, and took what the seamen call

a Portuguese man of war; it is the _Holuthuria Physalis_ of Linnaeus,

and a species of the _Mollusca_. It consisted of a small bladder about

seven inches long, very much resembling the air-bladder of fishes, from

the bottom of which descended a number of strings of a bright blue and

red, some of them three or four feet in length, which upon being touched

sting like a nettle, but with much more force. On the top of the bladder

is a membrane which is used as a sail, and turned so as to receive the

wind which way soever it blows: This membrane is marked in fine

pink-coloured veins, and the animal is in every respect an object

exquisitely curious and beautiful.

We also took several of the shell-fishes, or testaceous animals, which

are always found floating upon the water, particularly the _Helix

Janthina_ and _Violacea_; they are about the size of a snail, and are

supported upon the surface of the water by a small cluster of bubbles,

which are filled with air, and consist of a tenacious slimy substance

that will not easily part with its contents; the animal is oviparous,

and these bubbles serve also as a _nidus_ for its eggs. It is probable

that it never goes down to the bottom, nor willingly approaches any

shore; for the shell is exceedingly brittle, and that of few fresh-water

snails is so thin: Every shell contains about a tea-spoonful of liquor,

which it easily discharges upon being touched, and which is of the most

beautiful red-purple that can be conceived. It dies linen cloth, and it

may perhaps be worth enquiry, as the shell is certainly found in the

Mediterranean, whether it be not the _Purpura_ of the ancients.[69]

[Footnote 69: It is quite impossible to discuss this subject here. But

it may be worth while to refer the learned reader for some curious

information about it, to the illustrious Bochart's work entitled

Hierozoicon, Part II. Book V. Ch. II. There are several sorts of

sea-shells, that yield the purple-dye so much esteemed among the

ancients. Pliny, who has written on the subject, divides them into two

classes, the _buccinum and purpura_, of which the latter was most in

request. According to him, the best kinds were found in the vicinity of

Tyre. That city was famous for the manufacture of purple. To be _Tyrio

conspectus in ostro_, seemed, in the estimation of the Mantuan poet,

essential to his due appearance in honour of Augustus, Geor. 3--17. But

several other places in the Mediterranean afforded this precious

article. Thus Horace speaks of Spartan purple,

Nec _Laconicas_ mihi

Trahunt honestae _purpuras_ clientae.

Od. Lib. 2. 18.

The English reader will be much pleased with several interesting remarks

as to the purple and other colours known to the ancients, given in

President Goguet's valuable work on the origin of laws, arts. &c. &c. of

which a translation by Dr Henry was published at Edinburgh 1761.--E.]

On the 8th, in latitude 8° 25' north, longitude 22° 4' west, we found a

current setting to the southward, which, the next day in latitude 7°

58', longitude 22° 13', shifted to the N.N.W. 1/4 W. at the rate of one

mile and a furlong an hour. The variation here, by the mean of several

azimuths, appeared to be 8° 39' W.

On the 10th, Mr Banks shot the black-toed gull, not yet described

according to Linnaeus's system; he gave it the name of _Larus

crepidatus_: It is remarkable that the dung of this bird is of a lively

red, somewhat like that of the liquor procured from the shells, only not

so full; its principal food therefore is probably the _Helix_ just

mentioned. A current to the N.W. prevailed more or less till Monday the

24th, when we were in latitude 1° 7' N. and longitude 28° 50'.

On the 25th we crossed the Line with the usual ceremonies, in longitude

29° 30', when, by the result of several very good azimuths, the

variation was 2° 24'.

On the 28th, at noon, being in the latitude of Ferdinand Noronha, and,

by the mean of several observations by Mr Green and myself, in longitude

32° 5' 16" W. which is to the westward of it by some charts, and to the

eastward by others, we expected to see the island, or some of the shoals

that are laid down in the charts between it and the main, but we saw

neither one nor the other.

In the evening of the 29th, we observed that luminous appearance of the

sea which has been so often mentioned by navigators, and of which such

various causes have been assigned; some supposing it to be occasioned by

fish, which agitated the water by darting at their prey, some by the

putrefaction of fish and other marine animals, some by electricity, and

others referring it to a great variety of different causes. It appeared

to emit flashes of light exactly resembling those of lightning, only not

so considerable, but they were so frequent that sometimes eight or ten

were visible almost at the same moment. We were of opinion that they

proceeded from some luminous animal, and upon throwing out the

casting-net our opinion was confirmed: It brought up a species of the

_Medusa_, which when it came on board had the appearance of metal

violently heated, and emitted a white light: With these animals were

taken some very small crabs, of three different species, each of which

gave as much light as a glow-worm, though the creature was not so large

by nine-tenths: Upon examination of these animals, Mr Banks had the

satisfaction to find that they were all entirely new.[70]

[Footnote 70: The reader is referred to the account of Captain

Krusenstern's circumnavigation, for a very satisfactory relation or an

experiment on this subject, which clearly proves the truth of the

opinion above stated, as to the cause of the shining appearance so often

noticed at sea. It is too long for quotation in this place.--E.]

On Wednesday the 2d of November, about noon, being in the latitude of

10° 38' S. and longitude 32° 18' 43" W. we passed the Line, in which the

needle at this time would have pointed due north and south, without any

variation: For in the morning, having decreased gradually in its

deviation for some days, it was no more than 18' W. and in the afternoon

it was 34' east.

On the 6th, being in latitude 19° 8' south, longitude 35° 50' west, the

colour of the water was observed to change, upon which we sounded, and

found ground at the depth of thirty-two fathoms; the lead was cast three

times within about four hours, without a foot difference in the depth or

quality of the bottom, which was coral rock, fine sand, and shells; we

therefore supposed that we had passed over the tail of the great shoal

which is laid down in all our charts by the name of Abrothos, on which

Lord Anson struck soundings in his passage outwards: At four the next

morning we had no ground with 100 fathom.

As several articles of our stock and provisions now began to fall short,

I determined to put into Rio de Janeiro, rather than at any port in

Brazil or Falkland's Islands, knowing that it could better supply as

with what we wanted, and making no doubt but that we should be well

received.

On the 8th, at day-break, we saw the coast of Brazil, and about ten

o'clock we brought-to, and spoke with a fishing-boat; the people on

board told us that the land which we saw, lay to the southward of Santo

Espirito, but belonged to the captainship of that place.

Mr Banks and Dr Solander went on board this vessel; in which they found

eleven men, nine of whom were blacks; they all fished with lines, and

their fresh cargo, the chief part of which Mr Banks bought, consisted of

dolphins, large pelagic scombers of two kinds, sea-bream, and some of

the fish which in the West Indies are called Welshmen. Mr Banks had

taken Spanish silver with him, which he imagined to be the currency of

the continent, but to his great surprise the people asked him for

English shillings; he gave them two, which he happened to have about

him, and it was not without some dispute that they took the rest of the

money in pistereens. Their business seemed to be to catch large fish at

a good distance from the shore, which they salted in bulk, in a place

made for that purpose; in the middle of their boat: Of this merchandise

they had about two quintals on board, which they offered for about

fifteen shillings, and would probably have sold for half the money. The

fresh fish, which was bought for about nineteen shillings and sixpence,

served the whole ship's company; the salt was not wanted.

The sea-provision of these fishermen consisted of nothing more than a

cask of water, and a bag of Cassada flour, which they called Farinha de

Pao, or wooden flour, which indeed is a name which very well suits its

taste and appearance. Their water-cask was large, as wide as their boat,

and exactly fitted a place that was made for it in the ballast; it was

impossible therefore to draw out any of its contents by a tap, the sides

being, from the bottom to the top, wholly inaccessible; neither could

any be taken out by dipping a vessel in at the head, for an opening

sufficiently wide for that purpose would have endangered the loss of

great part of it by the rolling of the vessel: Their expedient to get at

their water, so situated, was curious; when one of them wanted to drink,

he applied to his neighbour, who accompanied him to the water-cask with

a hollow cane about three feet long, which was open at both ends; this

he thrust into the cask through a small hole in the top, and then,

stopping the upper end with the palm of his hand, drew it out; the

pressure of the air against the other end keeping in the water which it

contained; to this end the person who wanted to drink applied his mouth,

and the assistant then taking his hand from the other, and admitting the

air above, the cane immediately parted with its contents, which the

drinker drew off till he was satisfied.[71]

[Footnote 71: It seems pretty obvious that the form and position of the

water-cask, were accommodated to this known practicability of getting

conveniently at its contents. But how such a method should have become

familiar to these fishermen, it is difficult to conjecture. Some

accidental observation of a reed or similar body containing water when

one of its ends was pressed close, had, in all probability, furnished

them or their ancestors with the hint. Man, when necessitated to

exertion, is essentially a philosopher; but when his natural wants are

by any means supplied, he dwindles into a fool. Hence his discoveries

are often invaluable in their consequences, whilst his reasonings in

explanation of them are absurd and childish. A contrasted collection of

both would be a most amusing, and at the same time a humiliating picture

of the inconsistency of human nature.--E.]

We stood off and on along the shore till the 12th, and successively saw

a remarkable hill near Santo Espirito, then Cape St Thomas, and then an

island just without Cape Frio, which in some maps is called the island

of Frio, and which being high, with a hollow in the middle, has the

appearance of two islands when seen at a distance. On this day we stood

along the shore for Rio de Janeiro, and at nine the next morning made

sail for the harbour. I then sent Mr Hicks, my first lieutenant, before

us in the pinnace, up to the city, to acquaint the governor, that we put

in there to procure water and refreshments; and to desire the

assistance of a pilot to bring us into proper anchoring-ground. I

continued to stand up the river, trusting to Mr Bellisle's draught,

published in the _Petit Atlas Maritime_, vol. ii. N0. 54, which we found

very good, till five o'clock in the evening, expecting the return of my

lieutenant; and just as I was about to anchor, above the island of

Cobras, which lies before the city, the pinnace came back without him,

having on board a Portuguese officer, but no pilot. The people in the

boat told me, that my lieutenant was detained by the viceroy till I

should go on shore.[72] We came immediately to an anchor; and, almost at

the same time, a ten-oared boat, full of soldiers, came up, and kept

rowing round the ship, without exchanging a word: In less than a quarter

of an hour, another boat came on board with several of the viceroy's

officers, who asked, whence we came; what was our cargo; the number of

men and guns on board; the object of our voyage, and several other

questions, which we directly and truly answered: They then told me, as a

kind of apology for detaining my lieutenant, and putting an officer on

board my pinnace, that it was the invariable custom of the place, to

detain the first officer who came on shore from any ship on her arrival,

till a boat from the viceroy had visited her, and to suffer no boat to

go either from or to a ship, while she lay there, without having a

soldier on board. They said that I might go on shore when I pleased; but

wished that every other person might remain on board till the paper

which they should draw up had been delivered to the viceroy, promising

that, immediately upon their return, the lieutenant should be sent on

board.

[Footnote 72: There is no reason for supposing that this viceroy had any

greater dislike to our countrymen than to any other, or that he acted

otherwise towards them than he was accustomed to do in similar cases.

Bougainville complains of him much, and represents him as a turbulent

ill-mannered fellow. "Having," says he, "on one occasion, upon the

repeated leave of the viceroy, concluded a bargain for buying a snow,

his excellency forbad the seller to deliver it to me. He likewise gave

orders, that we should not be allowed the necessary timber out of the

royal dock-yards, for which we had already agreed; he then refused me

the permission of lodging with my officers (during the time that the

frigate underwent some essential repairs) in a house near the town,

offered me by its proprietor, and which Commodore Byron had occupied in

1765, when he touched at this port. On this account, and likewise on his

refusing me the snow and the timber, I wanted to make some remonstrances

to him. He did not give me time to do it: And at the first words I

uttered, he rose in a furious passion, and ordered me to go out; and

being certainly piqued, that in spite of his anger, I remained sitting

with two officers who accompanied me, he called his guards; but they,

wiser than himself, did not come, and we retired, so that nobody seemed

to have been disturbed. We were hardly gone, when the guards of his

palace were doubled, and orders given to arrest all the French that

should be found in the streets after sunsetting." According to this

writer, it appears that neither the laws of nations, nor the rules of

good breeding, were respected by this very important being, "vain of his

authority."--E.]

This promise was performed, and on the next morning, the 14th, I went on

shore, and obtained leave of the viceroy to purchase provisions and

refreshments for the ship, provided I would employ one of their own

people as a factor, but not otherwise. I made some objections to this,

but he insisted upon it as the custom of the place. I objected also

against the pulling a soldier into the boat every time she went between

the ship and the shore; but he told me, that this was done by the

express orders of his court, with which he could in no case dispense. I

then requested, that the gentlemen whom I had on board might reside on

shore during our stay, and that Mr Banks might go up the country to

gather plants; but this he absolutely refused. I judged from his extreme

caution, and the severity of these restrictions, that he suspected we

were come to trade; I therefore took some pains to convince him of the

contrary. I told him, that we were bound to the southward, by the order

of his Britannic majesty, to observe a transit of the planet Venus over

the sun, an astronomical phenomenon of great importance to navigation.

Of the transit of Venus, however, he could form no other conception,

than that it was the passing of the north star through the south pole;

for these are the very words of his interpreter, who was a Swede, and

spoke English very well. I did not think it necessary to ask permission

for the gentlemen to come on shore during the day, or that, when I was

on shore myself, I might be at liberty, taking for granted that nothing

was intended to the contrary; but in this I was unfortunately mistaken.

As soon as I took leave of his excellency, I found an officer who had

orders to attend me wherever I went: Of this I desired an explanation,

and was told that it was meant as a compliment; I earnestly desired to

be excused from accepting such an honour, but the good viceroy would by

no means suffer it to be dispensed with.[73]

[Footnote 73: Mr Barrow notices the extreme jealousy and circumspection

of the government, as to strangers. None, he says, is permitted to walk

the streets in the day time, unless a soldier attend him. Bad

governments are usually fearful, and often expose their weakness by the

very means they employ to conceal it. On this principle, admitting its

truth, the policy of the Portuguese in general forfeits all claim to

admiration. What changes have been wrought in it, since the

transatlantic emigration of the royal family, remain to be

elucidated.--E.]

With this officer, therefore, I returned on board, about twelve o'clock,

where I was impatiently expected by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, who made

no doubt but that a fair account of us having been given by the officers

who had been on board the evening before in their paper called a

Practica, and every scruple of the viceroy removed in my conference with

his excellency, they should immediately be at liberty to go on shore,

and dispose of themselves as they pleased. Their disappointment at

receiving my report may easily be conceived; and it was still increased

by an account, that it had been resolved, not only to prevent their

residing on shore, and going up the country, but even their leaving the

ship; orders having been given, that no person except the captain, and

such common sailors as were required to be upon duty, should be

permitted to land; and that probably there was a particular view to the

passengers in this prohibition, as they were reported to be gentlemen

sent abroad to make observations and discoveries, and were uncommonly

qualified for that purpose. In the evening, however, Mr Banks and Dr

Solander dressed themselves, and attempted to go on shore, in order to

make a visit to the viceroy; but they were stopped by the guard-boat

which had come off with our pinnace, and which kept hovering round the

ship all the while she lay here, for that purpose; the officer on board

saying, that he had particular orders, which he could not disobey, to

suffer no passenger, nor any officer, except the captain, to pass the

boat. After much expostulation to no purpose, they were obliged, with

whatever reluctance and mortification, to return on board. I then went

on shore myself, but found the viceroy inflexible; he had one answer

ready for every thing I could say, That the restrictions under which he

had laid us, were in obedience to the king of Portugal's commands, and

therefore indispensable.

In this situation I determined, rather than be made a prisoner in my own

boat, to go on shore no more; for the officer who, under pretence or a

compliment, attended me when I was ashore, insisted also upon going with

me to and from the ship: But still imagining, that the scrupulous

vigilance of the viceroy must proceed from some, mistaken notion about

us, which might more easily be removed by writing than in conversation,

I drew up a memorial, and Mr Banks drew up another, which we sent on

shore. These memorials were both answered, but by no means to our

satisfaction; we therefore replied: In consequence of which, several

other papers were interchanged between us and the viceroy, but still

without effect. However, as I thought some degree of force, on the part

of the viceroy, to enforce these restrictions, necessary to justify my

acquiescence in them to the Admiralty, I gave orders to my lieutenant,

Mr Hicks, when I sent him with our last reply on Sunday the 20th, in the

evening, not to suffer a guard to be put into his boat. When the officer

on board the guard-boat found that Mr Hicks was determined to obey my

orders, he did not proceed to force, but attended him to the

landing-place, and reported the matter to the viceroy. Upon this his

excellency refused to receive the memorial, and ordered Mr Hicks to

return to the ship; when he came back to the boat, he found that a guard

had been put on board in his absence, but he absolutely refused to

return till the soldier was removed: The officer then proceeded to

enforce the viceroy's orders; he seized all the boat's crew, and sent

them under an armed force to prison, putting Mr Hicks at the same time

into one of their own boats, and sending him under a guard back to the

ship. As soon as he had reported these particulars, I wrote again to the

viceroy, demanding my boat and crew, and in my letter inclosed the

memorial which he had refused to receive from Mr Hicks: These papers I

sent by a petty officer, that I might wave the dispute about a guard,

against which I had never objected except when there was a commissioned

officer on board the boat. The petty officer was permitted to go on

shore with his guard, and, having delivered his letter, was told that an

answer would be sent the next day.

About eight o'clock this evening it began to blow very hard in sudden

gusts from the south, and our long-boat coming on board just at this

time with four pipes of rum, the rope which was thrown to her from the

ship, and which, was taken hold of by the people on board, unfortunately

broke, and the boat, which had come to the ship before the wind, went

adrift to windward of her, with a small skiff of Mr Banks's that was

fastened to her stern. This was a great misfortune, as, the pinnace

being detained on shore, we had no boat on board but a four-oared yawl:

The yawl, however, was immediately manned and sent to her assistance;

but, notwithstanding the utmost effort of the people in both boats, they

were very soon out of sight: Far indeed we could not see at that time in

the evening, but the distance was enough to convince us that they were

not under command, which gave us great uneasiness, as we knew they must

drive directly upon a reef of rocks which ran out just to leeward of

where we lay: After waiting some hours in the utmost anxiety, we gave

them over for lost, but about three o'clock the next morning had the

satisfaction to see all the people come on board in the yawl. From them

we learnt, that the long-boat having filled with water, they had brought

her to a grappling and left her; and that, having fallen in with the

reef of rocks in their return to the ship, they had been obliged to cut

Mr Banks's little boat adrift. As the loss of our long-boat, which we

had now too much reason to apprehend, would have been an unspeakable

disadvantage to us, considering the nature of our expedition, I sent

another letter to the viceroy, as soon as I thought he could be seen,

acquainting him with our misfortune, and, requesting the assistance of a

boat from the shore for the recovery of our own; I also renewed my

demand that the pinnace and her crew should be no longer detained: After

some delay, his excellency thought fit to comply both with my request

and demand; and the same day we happily recovered both the long-boat and

the skiff, with the rum, but every thing else that was on board was

lost. On the 23d, the viceroy, in his answer to my remonstrance against

seizing my men and detaining the boat, acknowledged that I had been

treated with some incivility, but said that the resistance of my

officers, to what he had declared to be the king's orders, made it

absolutely necessary; he also expressed some doubts whether the

Endeavour, considering her structure and other circumstances, was in the

service of his majesty, though I had before shewed him my commission: To

this I answered in writing, That to remove all scruples, I was ready to

produce my commission again. His excellency's scruples however still

remained, and in his reply to my letter he not only expressed them in

still plainer terms, but accused my people of smuggling. This charge, I

am confident, was without the least foundation in truth. Mr Banks's

servants had indeed found means to go on shore on the 22d at day-break,

and stay till it was dark in the evening, but they brought on board only

plants and insects, having been sent for no other purpose. And I had the

greatest reason to believe that not a single article was smuggled by any

of our people who were admitted on shore, though many artful means were

used to tempt them, even by the very officers that were under his

excellency's roof, which made the charge still more injurious and

provoking. I have indeed some reason to suspect that one poor fellow

bought a single bottle of rum with some of the clothes upon his back;

and in my answer I requested of his excellency, that, if such an attempt

at illicit trade should be repeated, he would without scruple order the

offender to be taken into custody. And thus ended our altercation, both

by conference and writing, with the viceroy of Rio de Janeiro.

A friar in the town having requested the assistance of our surgeon, Dr

Solander easily got admittance in that character on the 25th, and

received many marks of civility from the people. On the 26th, before

day-break, Mr Banks also found means to elude the vigilance of the

people in the guard-boat, and got on shore; he did not however go into

the town, for the principal objects of his curiosity were to be found in

the fields: to him also the people behaved with great civility, many of

them invited him to their houses, and he bought a porker and some other

things of them for the ship's company; the porker, which was by no means

lean, cost him eleven shillings, and he paid something less than two for

a Muscovy duck.

On the 27th, when the boats returned from watering, the people told us

there was a report in town, that search was making after some persons

who had been on shore from the ship without the viceroy's permission;

these persons we conjectured to be Dr Solander and Mr Banks, and

therefore they determined to go on shore no more.

On the first of December, having got our water and other necessaries on

board, I sent to the viceroy for a pilot to carry us to sea, who came

off to us; but the wind preventing us from getting out, we took on board

a plentiful supply of fresh beef, yams, and greens for the ship's

company. On the 2d, a Spanish packet arrived, with letters from Buenos

Ayres for Spain, commanded by Don Antonio de Monte Negro y Velasco, who

with great politeness offered to take our letters to Europe: I accepted

the favour, and gave him a packet for the secretary of the Admiralty,

containing copies of all the papers that had passed between me and the

viceroy; leaving also duplicates with the viceroy, to be by him

forwarded to Lisbon.

On Monday the 5th, it being a dead calm, we weighed anchor and towed

down the bay; but, to our great astonishment, when we got abreast of

Santa Cruz, the principal fortification, two shot were fired at us. We

immediately cast anchor, and sent to the fort to enquire the reason of

what had happened: Our people brought us word, That the commandant had

received no order from the viceroy to let us pass; and that, without

such an order, no vessel was ever suffered to go below the fort. It was

now, therefore, become necessary, that we should send to the viceroy, to

enquire why the necessary order had not been given, as he had notice of

our departure, and had thought fit to write me a polite letter, wishing,

me a good voyage. Our messenger soon returned with an account, that the

order had been written some days, but by an unaccountable negligence not

sent.

We did not get under sail till the 7th; and when we had passed the fort,

the pilot desired to be discharged. As soon as he was dismissed, we were

left by our guard-boat, which had hovered about us from the first hour

of our being in this place to the last: And Mr Banks, having been

prevented from going ashore at Rio de Janeiro, availed himself of her

departure to examine the neighbouring islands, where, particularly on

one in the mouth of the harbour called Raza, he gathered many species of

plants, and caught a variety of insects.

It is remarkable, that, during the last three or four days of our

staying in this harbour, the air was loaded with butterflies: They were

chiefly of one sort, but in such numbers that thousands were in view in

every direction, and the greatest part of them above our mast-head.

We lay here from the 14th of November to the 7th of December, something

more than three weeks, during which time Mr Monkhouse, our surgeon, was

on shore every day to buy our provisions; Dr Solander was on shore once;

I was several times on shore myself, and Mr Banks also found means to

get into the country, notwithstanding the watch that was set over us. I

shall, therefore, with the intelligence obtained from these gentlemen,

and my own observations, give some account of the town, and the country

adjacent.

Rio de Janeiro, or the river of Januarius, was probably so called from

its having been discovered on the feast-day of that saint; and the town,

which is the capital of the Portuguese dominions in America, derives its

name from the river, which indeed is rather an arm of the sea, for it

did not appear to receive any considerable stream of fresh water: It

stands on a plain, close to the shore, on the west side of the bay, at

the foot of several high mountains which rise behind it. It is neither

ill designed nor ill built; the houses, in general, are of stone, and

two stories high; every house having, after the manner of the

Portuguese, a little balcony before its windows, and a lattice of wood

before the balcony. I computed its circuit to be about three miles; for

it appears to be equal in size to the largest country towns in England,

Bristol and Liverpool not excepted; the streets are straight, and of a

convenient breadth, intersecting each other at right angles; the greater

part, however, lie in a line with the citadel called St Sebastian, which

stands on the top of a hill which commands the town.

It is supplied with water from the neighbouring hills, by an aqueduct,

which is raised upon two stories of arches, and is said at some places

to be at a great height from the ground, from which the water is

conveyed by pipes into a fountain in the great square that exactly

fronts the viceroy's palace. At this fountain great numbers of people

are continually waiting for their turn to draw water; and the soldiers,

who are posted at the governor's door, find it very difficult to

maintain any regularity among them. The water at this fountain however

is so bad, that we, who had been two months at sea, confined to that in

our casks, which was almost always foul, could not drink it with

pleasure. Water of a better quality is led into some other part of the

town, but I could not learn by what means.

The churches are very fine, and there is more religions parade in this

place than in any of the popish countries in Europe; there is a

procession of some parish every day, with various insignia, all splendid

and costly in the highest degree: They beg money, and say prayers in

great form, at the corner of every street.

While we lay here, one of the churches was rebuilding; and to defray the

expence, the parish to which it belonged had leave to beg in procession

through the whole city once it week, by which very considerable sums

were collected. At this ceremony, which was performed by night, all the

boys of a certain age were obliged to assist, the sons of gentlemen not

being excused. Each of these boys was dressed in a black cassock, with a

short red cloak, hanging about as low as the waist, and carried in his

hand a pole about six or seven feet long, at the end of which was tied a

lantern: the number of lanterns was generally above two hundred, and the

light they gave was so great, that the people who saw it from the cabin

windows thought the town had been on fire.

The inhabitants, however, may pay their devotions at the shrine of any

saint in the calendar, without waiting till there is a procession; for

before almost every house there is a little cupboard, furnished with a

glass window, in which one of these tutelary powers is waiting to be

gracious; and to prevent his being out of mind, by being out of sight, a

lamp is kept constantly burning before the window of his tabernacle in

the night. The people indeed are by no means remiss in their devotions,

for before these saints they pray and sing hymns with such vehemence,

that in the night they were very distinctly heard on board the ship,

though she lay at the distance of at least half a mile from the town.

The government here, as to its form, is mixed; it is notwithstanding

very despotic in fact. It consists of the viceroy, the governor of the

town, and a council, the number of which I could not learn: Without the

consent of this council, in which the viceroy has a casting vote, no

judicial act should be performed; yet both the viceroy and governor

frequently commit persons to prison at their own pleasure, and sometimes

send them to Lisbon, without acquainting their friends or family with

what is laid to their charge, or where they may be found.

To restrain the people from travelling into the country, and getting

into any district where gold or diamonds may be found, of both which

there is much more than the government can otherwise secure, certain

bounds are prescribed them, at the discretion of the viceroy, sometimes

at a few, and sometimes at many miles distance from the city. On the

verge of these limits a guard constantly patroles, and whoever is found

beyond it, is immediately seized and thrown into prison: And if a man

is, upon any pretence, taken up by the guard without the limits, he will

be sent to prison, though it should appear that he did not know their

extent.

The inhabitants, which are very numerous, consist of Portuguese,

negroes, and Indians, the original natives of the country. The township

of Rio, which, as I was told, is but a small part of the capitanea, or

province, is said to contain 37,000 white persons, and 629,000 blacks,

many of whom are free; making together 666,000, in the proportion of

seventeen to one. The Indians, who are employed to do the king's work in

this neighbourhood, can scarcely be considered as inhabitants; their

residence is at a distance, from whence they come by turns to their

task, which they are obliged to perform for a small pay. The guard-boat

was constantly rowed by these people, who are of a light copper colour,

and have long black hair.[74]

[Footnote 74: Mr Barrow says, that it is with some difficulty so many as

twelve Brazilians can be obtained to row the governor's barge on certain

solemn occasions. The Portuguese apostles who went over to this country

in order to convert the inhabitants to their faith, commenced their

labours by endeavouring to reduce them as fast as possible to the

condition of slaves, as if no other promised a suitable foundation for

the fabric of superstition. These incorrigible and misguided pagans, it

should seem however, disliked the process, preferring liberty and error,

darkness and death, to the whips, the chains, and torches, so kindly

held out to them by their zealous visitants. The consequence was plain

and summary: These wretched creatures were soon almost totally

extirpated, so that it became necessary to procure other beings to

cultivate the soil: And who so proper a substitute, as the black

crispy-hailed animals of the opposite continent? These, according to Mr

Barrow, have been comparatively well treated; but, not-withstanding, he

says, it requires an importation of no less than 20,000 negroes

annually, to supply the loss of those who are worked out in the service

of the very devout Portuguese! In Cook's time, it is likely, from what

he mentions afterwards as to the number of negroes imported, that things

were even worse then than they are now. It is scarcely conceivable

indeed, that any people so closely connected with Europe as the lords of

Brazil, should not have acquired humanity, or at least improved in its

notions of good policy, in half a century.--E.]

The military establishment here consists of twelve regiments of regular

troops, six of which are Portuguese, and six Creoles; and twelve other

regiments of provincial militia. To the regulars the inhabitants behave

with the utmost humility and submission; and I was told, that if any of

them should neglect to take off his hat upon meeting an officer, he

would immediately be knocked down. These haughty severities render the

people extremely civil to any stranger who has the appearance of a

gentleman. But the subordination of the officers themselves to the

viceroy is enforced with circumstances equally mortifying, for they are

obliged to attend in his hall three times every day to ask his commands;

the answer constantly is, "There is nothing new." I have been told, that

this servile attendance is exacted to prevent their going into the

country; and if so, it effectually answers the purpose.

It is, I believe, universally allowed, that the women, both of the

Spanish and Portuguese settlements in South America, make less

difficulty of granting personal favours, than those of any other

civilized country in the world. Of the ladies of this town, some have

formed so unfavourable an opinion as to declare, that they did not

believe there was a modest one among them. This censure is certainly too

general; but what Dr Solander saw of them when he was on shore, gave him

no very exalted idea of their chastity: He told me, that as soon as it

was dark, one or more of them appeared in every window, and

distinguished those whom they liked, among the gentlemen that walked

past them, by giving them nosegays; that he, and two gentlemen who were

with him, received so many of these favours, that, at the end of their

walk, which was not a long one, they threw whole hatfuls of them away.

Great allowance must certainly be made for local customs; that which in

one country would be an indecent familiarity, is a mere act of general

courtesy in another; of the fact, therefore, which I have related, I

shall say nothing, but that I am confident it is true.[75]

[Footnote 75: Mr Barrow allows the existence of the fact here stated,

but is decidedly of opinion in favour of the sex implicated by it. In

his judgment, it is merely a harmless remnant of their earlier days. If

so, and far be it from the writer to think otherwise, it betokens the

innocency of fancy much more than the effrontery of licentiousness.

Besides, there is reason to think, that dissoluteness in the particular

now alluded to, among a civilized and luxurious people, seeks

concealment in its gratification, as congenial to its excessive and

morbid sensibility. The opposite to this condition is to be found in

some of the earlier stages of society, where the climate and fertility

of the soil are naturally suitable,--as at Otaheite, when first known to

Europeans. If, however, the terrifying pages of Juvenal may be allowed

authority, there is too much ground for apprehension, that the extremity

of animal indulgence is also one of the fearful symptoms of national

corruption in its lethalio stage. But even this indignant and most

exaltedly moral poet, in his relation of the infamous actions of noble

and royal prostitutes, does not fail to imply the advantages they sought

in deception and secrecy--the night-hood, the yellow veil, and the

cunning artifices of proficient mothers.--E.]

Neither will I take upon me to affirm, that murders are frequently

committed here; but the churches afford an asylum to the criminal: And

as our cockswain was one day looking at two men, who appeared to be

talking together in a friendly manner, one of them suddenly drew a knife

and stabbed the other; who not instantly falling, the murderer withdrew

the weapon, and stabbed him a second time. He then ran away, and was

pursued by some negroes, who were also witnesses of the fact; but

whether he escaped or was taken I never heard.

The country, at a small distance round the town, which is all that any

of us saw, is beautiful in the highest degree; the wildest spots being

varied with a greater luxuriance of flowers, both as to number and

beauty, than the best gardens in England.

Upon the trees and bushes sat an almost endless variety of birds,

especially small ones, many of them covered with the most elegant

plumage; among which were the humming-bird. Of insects too there was a

great variety, and some of them very beautiful; but they were much more

nimble than those of Europe, especially the butterflies, most of which

flew near the tops of the trees, and were therefore very difficult to be

caught, except when the sea-breeze blew fresh, which kept them nearer to

the ground. The banks of the sea, and of the small brook which water

this part of the country, are almost covered with the small crabs,

called _cancer vocans_; some of these had one of the claws, called by

naturalists the hand, very large; others had them both remarkably small,

and of equal size, a difference which is said to distinguish the sexes,

that with the large claw being the male.

There is the appearance of but little cultivation; the greater part of

the land is wholly uncultivated, and very little care and labour seem to

have been bestowed upon the rest; there are indeed little patches or

gardens, in which many kinds of European garden stuff are produced,

particularly cabbages, pease, beans, kidney-beans, turnips, and white

radishes, but all much inferior to our own: Watermelons and pine-apples

are also produced in these spots, and they are the only fruits that we

saw cultivated, though the country produces musk, melons, oranges,

limes, lemons, sweet lemons, citrons, plantains, bananas, mangos,

mamane-apples, acajou or cashou apples and nuts; jamboira of two kinds,

one of which bears a small black fruit; cocoa-nuts, mangos, palm nuts of

two kinds, one long, the other round; and palm berries, all which were

in season while we were there.

Of these fruits the water-melons and oranges are the best in their kind;

the pine-apples are much inferior to those that I have eaten in England;

they are indeed more juicy and sweet, but have no flavour; I believe

them to be natives of this country, though we heard of none that at this

time grow wild; they have, however, very little care bestowed upon them,

the plants being set between beds of any kind of garden-stuff, and

suffered to take the chance of the season. The melons are still worse,

at least those that we tasted, which were mealy and insipid; but the

water-melons are excellent; they have a flavour, at least a degree of

acidity, which ours have not. We saw also several species of the

prickle-pear, and some European fruits, particularly the apple and

peach, both which were very mealy and insipid. In these gardens also

grow yams, and mandihoca, which in the West Indies is called cassada or

cassava, and to the flower of which the people here, as I have before

observed, give the name of _farinha de pao_, which may not improperly be

translated, powder of post. The soil, though it produces tobacco and

sugar, will not produce bread-corn; so that the people here have no

wheat-flour, but what is brought from Portugal, and sold at the rate of

a shilling a pound, though it is generally spoiled by being heated in

its passage. Mr Banks is of opinion, that all the products of our West

Indian islands would grow here; notwithstanding which, the inhabitants

import their coffee and chocolate from Lisbon.[76]

[Footnote 76: The Portuguese government, it appears, from Mr Barrow's

representation, have taken effectual measures to preserve this colony in

a state of dependance on the mother country: "It no sooner discovered,"

says that gentleman, "that sugar could be raised in any quantity, and

afforded, in the markets of Europe, at reasonable prices, than it

thought proper to impose on them an export duty of 20 _per cent._ which

operated as an immediate check on the growth of this article. When the

cultivation of the indigo plant had been considerably extended, and the

preparation sufficiently understood, so as to enable the colonists to

meet their competitors in the markets of Europe, this article was

assumed as a royal monopoly." Salt, he says, is another royal monopoly,

and yields the sum of L. 15,000 annually: But one of the immediate

effects of its being so, is the entire destruction of the valuable

fisheries. Does the reader remember the fable of the hen that laid

golden eggs? Would not certain governments do well to study the moral of

it?--E.]

Most of the land, as far as we saw of the country, is laid down in

grass, upon which cattle are pastured in great plenty; but they are so

lean, that an Englishman will scarcely eat of their flesh: The herbage

of these pastures consists principally of cresses, and consequently is

so short, that though it may afford a bite for horses and sheep, it can

scarcely be grazed by horned cattle in a sufficient quantity to keep

them alive.

This country may possibly produce many valuable drugs; but we could not

find any in the apothecaries shops, except pariera brava, and balsam

capivi; both of which were excellent in their kind, and sold at a very

low price. The drug trade is probably carried on to the northward, as

well as that of the dying woods, for we could get no intelligence of

either of them here.

As to manufactures, we neither saw nor heard of any except that of

cotton hammocks, in which people are carried about here, as they are

with us in sedan chairs; and these are principally, if not wholly,

fabricated by the Indians.

The riches of the place consist chiefly in the mines which we supposed

to lie far up the country, though we could never learn where, or at what

distance; for the situation is concealed as much as possible, and troops

are continually employed in guarding the roads that lead to them: It is

almost impossible for any man to get a sight of them, except those who

are employed there; and indeed the strongest curiosity would scarcely

induce any man to attempt it, for whoever is found upon the road to

them, if he cannot give undeniable evidence of his having business

there, is immediately hanged up upon the next tree.

Much gold is certainly brought from these mines, but at an expence of

life that must strike every man, to whom custom has not made it

familiar, with horror. No less than forty thousand negroes are annually

imported, on the king's account, to dig the mines; and we were credibly

informed, that, the last year but one before we arrived here, this

number fell so short, probably from some epidemic disease, that twenty

thousand more were draughted from the town of Rio.

Precious stones are also found here in such plenty, that a certain

quantity only is allowed to be collected in a year; to collect this

quantity, a number of people are sent into the country where they are

found, and when it is got together, which sometimes happens in a month,

sometimes in less and sometimes in more, they return; and after that,

whoever is found in these precious districts, on any pretence, before

the next year, is immediately put to death.

The jewels found here, are diamonds, topazes of several kinds, and

amethysts. We did not see any of the diamonds, but were informed that

the viceroy had a large quantity by him, which he would sell on the king

of Portugal's account, but not at a less price than they are sold for in

Europe. Mr Banks bought a few topazes and amethysts as specimens: Of the

topazes there are three sorts, of very different value, which are

distinguished by the names of pinga d'agua qualidade primeiro, pinga

d'agua qualidade secundo, and chrystallos armerillos: They are sold,

large and small, good and bad together, by octavos, or the eighth part

of an ounce; the best at 4s. 9d. All dealing, however, in these stones,

it prohibited to the subject under the severest penalties: There were

jewellers here formerly, who purchased and worked them on their own

account; but about fourteen months before our arrival, orders came from

the court of Portugal, that no more stones should be wrought here,

except on the king's account: The jewellers were ordered to bring all

their tools to the viceroy, and left without any means of subsistence.

The persons employed here to work stones for the king are slaves.

The coin that is current here, is either that of Portugal, consisting

chiefly of thirty-six shillings pieces; or pieces both of gold and

silver, which are struck at this place: The pieces of silver, which are

very much debased, are called petacks, and are of different value, and

easily distinguished by the number of rees that is marked on the

outside. Here is also a copper coin, like that in Portugal, of five and

ten ree pieces. A ree is a nominal coin of Portugal, ten of which are

equal in value to about three farthings sterling.

The harbour of Rio de Janeiro is situated W. by N. 18 leagues from Cape

Frio, and may be known by a remarkable hill, in the form of a

sugar-loaf, at the west point of the bay;[77] but as all the coast is

very high, and rises in many peaks, the entrance of this harbour may be

more certainly distinguished by the islands that lie before it; one of

which, called Rodonda, is high and round like a hay-stack, and lies at

the distance of two leagues and a half from the entrance of the bay, in

the direction of S. by W.; but the first islands which are met with,

coming from the east, or Cape Frio, are two that have a rocky

appearance, lying near to each other, and at the distance of about four

miles from the shore: There are also, at the distance of three leagues

to the westward of these, two other islands which lie near to each

other, a little without the bay on the east side, and very near the

shore. This harbour is certainly a good one; the entrance indeed is not

wide, but the sea-breeze, which blows every day from ten or twelve

o'clock till sunset, makes it easy for any ship to go in before the

wind; and it grows wider as the town is approached, so that a-breast of

it there is room for the largest fleet, in five or six fathom water,

with an oozy bottom. At the narrow part, the entrance is defended by two

forts. The principal is Santa Cruz, which stands on the east point of

the bay, and has been mentioned before; that on the west side is called

Fort Lozia, and is built upon a rock that lies close to the main; the

distance between them is about three quarters of a mile, but the channel

is not quite so broad, because there are sunken rocks which lie off each

fort, and in this part alone there is danger: The narrowness of the

channel causes the tides, both flood and ebb, to run with considerable

strength, so that they cannot be stemmed without a fresh breeze. The

rockiness of the bottom makes it also unsafe to anchor here: Put all

danger may be avoided by keeping in the middle of the channel. Within

the entrance, the course up the bay is first N. by W. 1/2 W. and N.N.W.

something more than a league; this will bring the vessel the length of

the great road; and N.W. and W.N.W. one league more will carry her to

the isle dos Cobras, which lies before the city: She should then keep

the north side of this island close on board, and anchor above it,

before a monastery of Benedictines which stands upon a hill at the N.W.

end of the city.

[Footnote 77: Mr Barrow, during his stay at Rio de Janeiro, had an

opportunity of ascertaining the height of the Sugar-loaf, as it is

called from its conical appearance. It is, he says, 680 feet high, above

the surface out of which it rises, and is a solid mass of hard sparkling

granite. On the eastern side of the chasm which forms the entrance into

the bay, there is a mountain of the same material, but so far different

in form, that it slopes easily and gradually from the water's edge to

the summit, which however is about as high as the cone. This side is

well defended by forts and batteries. Mr Barrow's description of the

magnificent scenery of this harbour, is perhaps somewhat poetically

conceived, but may be advantageously consulted by the reader.--E.]

The river, and indeed the whole coast, abounds with a greater variety of

fish than we had ever seen; a day seldom passed in which one or more of

a new species were not brought to Mr Banks: The bay also is as well

adapted for catching these fish as can be conceived; for it is full of

small islands, between which there is shallow water, and proper beaches

for drawing the seine. The sea, without the bay, abounds with dolphins,

and large mackerel of different kinds, which readily bite at a hook, and

the inhabitants always tow one after their boats for that purpose.

Though the climate is hot, the situation of this place is certainly

wholesome;[78] while we stayed here the thermometer never rose higher

than 83 degrees. We had frequent rains, and once a very hard gale of

wind.

[Footnote 78: Mr Barrow seems to think otherwise; according to him, it

is by no means healthy, and the interminable annoyance of the musquitoes

renders it as injurious to intellectual, as it is on other accounts to

bodily welfare. Perhaps, however, he assigns too much agency to these

very vexatious insects, when he says it is impossible for any man to

think at all profitably in their company. His description then, it may

be inferred, was written at a very respectful distance from the din and

venom of the noisome pest.--E.]

Ships water here at the fountain in the great square, though, as I have

observed, the water is not good; they land their casks upon a smooth

sandy beach, which is not more than a hundred yards distant from the

fountain, and upon application to the viceroy, a centinel will be

appointed to look after them, and clear the way to the fountain where

they are to be filled.

Upon the whole, Rio de Janeiro is a very good place for ships to put in

at that want refreshment: The harbour is safe and commodious; and

provisions, except wheaten-bread and flour, may be easily procured: As a

succedaneum for bread, there are yams and cassada in plenty; beef, both

fresh and jerked, may be bought at about two-pence farthing a pound;

though, as I have before remarked, it is very lean. The people here jerk

their beef by taking out the bones, cutting it into large but thin

slices, then curing it with salt, and drying it in the shade: It eats

very well, and, if kept dry, will remain good a long time at sea. Mutton

is scarcely to be procured, and hogs and poultry are dear; of

garden-stuff and fruit-trees there is abundance, of which, however, none

can be preserved at sea but the pumpkin; rum, sugar, and molasses, all

excellent in their kind, may be had at a reasonable price; tobacco also

is cheap, but it is not good. Here is a yard for building shipping, and

a small hulk to heave down by; for, as the tide never rises above six or

seven feet, there is no other way of coming at a ship's bottom.

When the boat which had been sent on shore returned, we hoisted her on

board, and stood out to sea.

SECTION III.

_The Passage from Rio de Janeiro to the entrance of the Streight of Le

Maire, with a Description of some of the Inhabitants of Terra del

Fuego._

On the 9th of December, we observed the sea to be covered with broad

streaks of a yellowish colour, several of them a mile long, and three or

four hundred yards wide: Some of the water thus coloured was taken up,

and found to be full of innumerable atoms pointed at the end, of a

yellowish colour, and none more than a quarter of a line, or the

fortieth part of an inch long: In the microscope they appeared to be

_fasciculi_ of small fibres interwoven with each other, not unlike the

nidus of some of the _phyganeas_, called caddices; but whether they were

animal or vegetable substances, whence they came, or for what they were

designed, neither Mr Banks nor Dr Solander could guess. The same

appearance had been observed before, when we first discovered the

continent of South America.[79]

[Footnote 79: The Portuguese have a name for what is here spoken of.

They call it the grassy sea. There is reason to think that it is a

vegetable, and not an animal production. But, on the whole, the subject

has been little investigated.--E.]

On the 11th we hooked a shark, and while we were playing it under the

cabin window, it threw out, and drew in again several times what

appeared to be its stomach: It proved to be a female, and upon being

opened six young ones were taken out of it; five of them were alive, and

swam briskly in a tub of water, but the sixth appeared to have been dead

some time.

Nothing remarkable happened till the 30th, except that we prepared for

the bad weather, which we were shortly to expect, by bending a new suit

of sails; but on this day we ran a course of one hundred and sixty miles

by the log, through innumerable land insects of various kinds, some

upon the wing, and more upon the water, many of which were alive; they

appeared to be exactly the same with the _carabi_, the _grylli_, the

_phalanae_, _aranea_, and other flies that are seen in England, though

at this time we could not be less than thirty leagues from land; and

some of these insects, particularly the _grylli aranea_, never

voluntarily leave it at a greater distance than twenty yards. We judged

ourselves to be now nearly opposite to _Baye sans fond_, where Mr

Dalrymple supposes there is a passage quite through the continent of

America; and we thought from the insects that there might be at least a

very large river, and that it had overflowed its banks.[80]

[Footnote 80: The place alluded to is denominated Sin-fondo bay in

Jeffrey's map, which, however imperfect as to actual geography, is

perhaps the best companion to the account of the voyages published about

the same period. Mr Dalrymple is an example of those warm-fancied men

that make discoveries with the celerity of mushroom beds, and from as

unimportant materials too. Some Spanish charts, often the very worst

authority in the world, had drawn a connection betwixt the branches of

two rivers, on opposite sides of the continent, and hence was deduced,

in his lively imagination, a passage from sea to sea. See Jeffrey's

American Atlas, where the imaginary communication is represented by

dotted lines.--E.]

On the 3d of January, 1769, being in latitude 47° 17' S. and longitude

61° 29' 45" W. we were all looking out for Pepy's island, and for some

time an appearance was seen in the east which so much resembled land,

that we bore away for it; and it was more than two hours and a half

before we were convinced that it was nothing but what sailors call a

fog-bank.

The people now beginning to complain of cold, each of them received what

is called a Magellanic jacket, and a pair of trowsers. The jacket is

made of a thick woollen stuff, called _Fearnought_, which is provided by

the government. We saw, from time to time, a great number of penguins,

albatrosses, and sheer-waters, seals, whales, and porpoises: And on the

11th, having passed Falkland's islands, we discovered the coast of Terra

del Fuego, at the distance of about four leagues, extending from the W*

to S.E. by S. We had here five-and-thirty fathom, the ground soft, small

slate stones. As we ranged along the shore to the S.E. at the distance

of two or three leagues, we perceived smoke in several places, which was

made by the natives, probably as a signal, for they did not continue it

after we had passed by. This day we discovered that the ship had got

near a degree of longitude to the westward of the log, which, in this

latitude, is thirty-five minutes of a degree on the equator: Probably

there is a small current setting westward, which may be caused by the

westerly current coming round Cape Horn, and through the Streight of Le

Maire, and the indraught of the Streight of Magellan.

Having continued to range the coast on the 14th, we entered the Streight

of Le Maire; but the tide turning against us, drove us out with great

violence, and raised such a sea off Cape St Diego, that the waves had

exactly the same appearance as they would have had if they had broke

over a ledge of rocks; and when the ship was in this torrent, she

frequently pitched, so that the bowsprit was under water. About noon, we

got under the land between Cape St Diego and Cape St Vincent, where I

intended to have anchored; but finding the ground every where hard and

rocky, and shallowing from thirty to twelve fathoms, I sent the master

to examine a little cove, which lay at a small distance to the eastward

of Cape St Vincent. When he returned, he reported, that there was

anchorage in four fathom, and a good bottom, close to the eastward of

the first bluff point, on the east of Cape St Vincent; at the very

entrance of the cove, to which I gave the name of VINCENT'S BAY: Before

this anchoring ground, however, lay several rocky ledges, that were

covered with sea-weed; but I was told that there was not less than eight

and nine fathom over all of them. It will probably be thought strange,

that where weeds; which grow at the bottom, appear above the surface,

there should be this depth of water; but the weeds which grow upon rocky

ground in these countries, and which always distinguish it from sand and

ooze, are of an enormous size. The leaves are four feet long, and some

of the stalks, though not thicker than a man's thumb, above one hundred

and twenty: Mr Banks and Dr Solander examined some of them, over which

we sounded and had fourteen fathom, which is eighty-four feet; and as

they made a very acute angle with the bottom, they were thought to be at

least one-half longer: The foot-stalks were swelled into an air vessel,

and Mr Banks and Dr Solander called this plant _Fucus giganteus_. Upon

the report of the master, I stood in with the ship; but not trusting

implicitly to his intelligence, I continued to sound, and found but four

fathom upon the first ledge that I went over; concluding, therefore,

that I could not anchor here without risk, I determined to seek some

port in the Streight, where I might get on board such wood and water as

we wanted.

Mr Banks and Dr Solander, however, being very desirous to go on shore, I

sent a boat with them and their people, while I kept plying as near as

possible with the ship.

Having been on shore four hours, they returned about nine in the

evening, with above an hundred different plants and flowers, all of them

wholly unknown to the botanists of Europe. They found the country about

the bay to be in general flat, the bottom of it in particular was a

plain, covered with grass, which might easily have been made into a

large quantity of hay; they found also abundance of good wood and water,

and fowls in great plenty. Among other things, of which nature has been

liberal in this place, is Winter's bark, _Winteranea aromatica_; which

may easily be known by its broad leaf, shaped like the laurel, of a

light green colour without, and inclining to blue within; the bark is

easily stripped with a bone or a stick, and its virtues are well known:

It may be used for culinary purposes as a spice, and is not less

pleasant than wholesome: Here is also plenty of wild celery and

scurvy-grass. The trees are chiefly of one kind, a species of the birch,

called _Betula antarctica_; the stem is from thirty to forty feet long,

and from two to three feet in diameter, so that in a case of necessity

they might possibly supply a ship with top-masts: They are a light white

wood, bear a small leaf, and cleave very straight. Cranberries were also

found here in great plenty, both white and red.

The persons who landed saw none of the inhabitants, but fell in with two

of their deserted huts, one in a thick wood, and the other close by the

beach.

Having taken the boat on board, I made sail into the Streight, and at

three in the morning of the 15th, I anchored in twelve fathom and a

half, upon coral rocks, before a small cove, which we took for Port

Maurice, at the distance of about half a mile from the shore. Two of the

natives came down to the beach, expecting us to land; but this spot

afforded so little shelter, that I at length determined not to examine

it: I therefore got under sail again about ten o'clock, and the savages

retired into the woods.

At two o'clock, we anchored in the bay of Good Success; and after dinner

I went on shore, accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, to look for a

watering-place, and speak to the Indians, several of whom had come in

sight. We landed on the starboard side of the bay near some rocks, which

made smooth water and good landing; thirty or forty of the Indians soon

made their appearance at the end of a sandy beach on the other side of

the bay, but seeing our number, which was ten or twelve, they retreated.

Mr Banks and Dr Solander then advanced about one hundred yards before

us, upon which two of the Indians returned, and, having advanced some

paces towards them, sat down; as soon as they came up, the Indians rose,

and each of them having a small stick in his hand threw it away, in a

direction both from themselves and the strangers, which was considered

as the renunciation of weapons in token of peace: They then walked

briskly towards their companions, who had halted at about fifty yards

behind them, and beckoned the gentlemen to follow, which they did. They

were received with many uncouth signs of friendship; and, in return,

they distributed among them some beads and ribbons, which had been

brought on shore for that purpose, and with which they were greatly

delighted. A mutual confidence and good-will being thus produced, our

parties joined; the conversation, such as it was, became general; and

three of them accompanied us back to the ship. When they came on board,

one of them, whom we took to be a priest, performed much the same

ceremonies which M. Bougainville describes, and supposes to be an

exorcism. When he was introduced into a new part of the ship, or when

any thing that he had not seen before caught his attention, he shouted

with all his force for some minutes, without directing his voice either

to us or his companions.[81]

[Footnote 81: The incident related by Bougainville, to which the

allusion is made, is somewhat affecting. An interesting boy, one of the

savages' children, had unwarily, and from ignorance of its dangerous

nature, put some bits of glass into his mouth which the sailors gave

him. His lips and palate, &c. were cut in several places, and he soon

began to spit blood, and to be violently convulsed. This excited the

most distressing alarm and suspicion among the savages. One of them,

whom Bougainville denominates a juggler, immediately had recourse to

very strange and unlikely means in order to relieve the poor child. He

first laid him on his back, then kneeling down between his legs, and

bending himself, he pressed the child's belly as much as he could with

his head and hands, crying out continually, but with inarticulate

sounds. From time to time he raised himself, and seeming to hold the

disease in his joined hands, opened them at once into the air, blowing,

as if he drove away some evil spirit. During those rites, an old woman

in tears howled with great violence in the child's ears. These

ceremonies, however, not proving effectual, but rather, indeed, as might

have been expected, doing mischief, the juggler disappeared for a

little, in order, as should seem, to procure a peculiar dress, in which

he might practise his exorcism with greater confidence of success, and

to bring a brother in the trade, similarly apparelled, to aid him in his

labours. But so much the worse for the wretched patient, who was now

pummelled and squeezed all over, till his body was completely bruised.

Such treatment, it is almost unnecessary to say, aggravated his

sufferings, but accomplished no cure. The jugglers at last consented to

allow the interference of the French surgeon, but appeared to be very

jealous of his skill. The child became somewhat easier towards night;

however, from his continual sickness, there was much room to apprehend

that he had swallowed some of the glass, and died in consequence; for

"about two o'clock in the morning," says Bougainville, "we on board

heard repeated howls, and at break of day, though the weather was very

dreadful, the savages went off. They doubtless fled from a place defiled

by death, and by unlucky strangers, who, they thought, were come merely

to destroy them." It is very probable that the person whom Cook supposed

a priest, practised the charms spoken of, in order to destroy any ill

luck, and to prevent the occurrence of such like misfortunes in his

intercourse with the wonderful strangers. There is an allusion to this

incident in a following section.--E.]

They ate some bread and some beef, but not apparently with much

pleasure, though such part of what was given them as they did not eat,

they took away with them; but they would not swallow a drop either of

wine or spirits: They put the glass to their lips, but, having tasted

the liquor, they returned it with strong expressions of disgust.

Curiosity seems to be one of the few passions which distinguish men from

brutes; and of this our guests appeared to have very little. They went

from one part of the ship to another, and looked at the vast variety of

new objects that every moment presented themselves, without any

expression either of wonder or pleasure, for the vociferation of our

exorcist seemed to be neither.

After having been on board about two hours, they expressed a desire to

go ashore. A boat was immediately ordered, and Mr Banks thought fit to

accompany them: He landed them in safety, and conducted them to their

companions, among whom he remarked the same vacant indifference, as in

those who had been on board; for as on one side there appeared no

eagerness to relate, so on the other there seemed to be no curiosity to

hear, how they had been received, or what they had seen. In about half

an hour Mr Banks returned to the ship, and the Indians retired from the

shore.

SECTION IV.

_An Account of what happened in ascending a Mountain to search for

Plants._

On the 16th, early in the morning, Mr Banks and Dr Solander, with their

attendants and servants, and two seamen to assist in carrying the

baggage, accompanied by Mr Monkhouse the surgeon, and Mr Green the

astronomer, set out from the ship with a view to penetrate as far as

they could into the country, and return at night. The hills, when viewed

at a distance, seemed to "be partly a wood, partly a plain, and above

them a bare rock. Mr Banks hoped to get through the wood, and made no

doubt, but that, beyond it, he should, in a country which no botanist

had ever yet visited, find alpine plants which would abundantly

compensate his labour. They entered the wood at a small sandy beach, a

little to the westward of the watering-place, and continued to ascend

the hill, through the pathless wilderness, till three o'clock, before

they got a near view of the places which they intended to visit. Soon

after they reached what they had taken for a plain; but, to their great

disappointment, found it a swamp, covered with low bushes of birch,

about three feet high, interwoven with each other, and so stubborn that

they could not be bent out of the way; it was therefore necessary to

lift the leg over them, which at every step was buried, ancle-deep, in

the soil. To aggravate the pain and difficulty of such travelling, the

weather, which had hitherto been very fine, much like one of our bright

days in May, became gloomy and cold, with sudden blasts of a most

piercing wind, accompanied with snow. They pushed forward, however, in

good spirits, notwithstanding their fatigue, hoping the worst of the way

was past, and that the bare rock which, they had seen from the tops of

the lower hills was not more than a mile before them; but when they had

got about two-thirds over this woody swamp, Mr Buchan, one of Mr Banks's

draughtsmen, was unhappily seized with a fit. This made it necessary for

the whole company to halt, and as it was impossible that he should go

any farther, a fire was kindled, and those who were most fatigued were

left behind to take care of him. Mr Banks, Dr Solander, Mr Green, and Mr

Monkhouse, went on, and in a short time reached the summit. As

botanists, their expectations were here abundantly gratified; for they

found a great variety of plants, which, with respect to the alpine

plants in Europe, are exactly what those plants are with respect to such

as grow in the plain.

The cold was now become more severe, and the snow-blasts more frequent;

the day also was so far spent, that it was found impossible to get back

to the ship, before the next morning: To pass the night upon such a

mountain, in such a climate, was not only comfortless but dreadful; it

was impossible, however, to be avoided, and they were to provide for it

as well as they could.

Mr Banks and Dr Solander, while they were improving an opportunity which

they had, with so much danger and difficulty, procured, by gathering the

plants which they found upon the mountain, sent Mr Green and Mr

Monkhouse back to Mr Buchan and the people that were with him, with

directions to bring them to a hill, which they thought lay in a better

route for returning to the wood, and which was therefore appointed as a

general rendezvous. It was proposed, that from this hill they should

push through the swamp, which seemed by the new route not to be more

than half a mile over, into the shelter of the wood, and there build

their wigwam, and make a fire: This, as their way was all down hill, it

seemed easy to accomplish. Their whole company assembled at the

rendezvous, and, though pinched with the cold, were in health and

spirits, Mr Buchan himself having recovered his strength in a much

greater degree than could have been expected. It was now near eight

o'clock in the evening, but still good day-light, and they set forward

for the nearest valley, Mr Banks himself undertaking to bring up the

rear, and see that no straggler was left behind: This may perhaps be

thought a superfluous caution, but it will soon appear to be otherwise.

Dr Solander, who had more than once crossed the mountains which divide

Sweden from Norway, well knew that extreme cold, especially when joined

with fatigue, produces a torpor and sleepiness that are almost

irresistible: He therefore conjured the company to keep moving, whatever

pain it might cost them, and whatever relief they might be promised by

an inclination to rest: Whoever sits down, says he, will sleep; and

whoever sleeps, will wake no more. Thus, at once admonished and alarmed,

they set forward; but while they were still upon the naked rock, and

before they had got among the bushes, the cold became suddenly so

intense, as to produce the effects that had been most dreaded. Dr

Solander himself was the first who found the inclination, against which

he had warned others, irresistible; and insisted upon being suffered to

lie down. Mr Banks entreated and remonstrated in vain, down he lay upon

the ground, though it was covered with snow; and it was with great

difficulty that his friend kept him from sleeping. Richmond also, one of

the black servants, began to linger, having suffered from the cold in

the same manner as the doctor. Mr Banks, therefore, sent five of the

company, among whom was Mr Buchan, forward to get a fire ready at the

first convenient place they could find; and himself, with four others,

remained with the doctor and Richmond, whom, partly by persuasion and

entreaty, and partly by force, they brought on; but when they had got

through the greatest part of the birch and swamp, they both declared

they could go no farther. Mr Banks had recourse again to entreaty and

expostulation, but they produced no effect: When Richmond was told, that

if he did not go on he would in a short time be frozen to death, he

answered, that he desired nothing but to lie down and die: The doctor

did not so explicitly renounce his life; he said he was willing to go

on, but that he must first take some sleep, though he had before told

the company that to sleep was to perish. Mr Banks and the rest found it

impossible to carry them, and there being no remedy they were both

suffered to sit down, being partly supported by the bushes, and in a few

minutes they fell into a profound sleep: Soon after, some of the people

who had been sent forward returned, with the welcome news that a fire

was kindled about a quarter of a mile farther on the way. Mr Banks then

endeavoured to wake Dr Solander, and happily succeeded: But, though he

had not slept five minutes, he had almost lost the use of his limbs, and

the muscles were so shrunk that his shoes fell from his feet; he

consented to go forward with such assistance as could be given him, but

no attempts to relieve poor Richmond were successful. It being found

impossible to make him stir, after some time had been lost in the

attempt, Mr Banks left his other black servant and a seaman, who seemed

to have suffered least by the cold, to look after him; promising, that

as soon as two others should be sufficiently warmed, they should be

relieved. Mr Banks, with much difficulty, at length got the doctor to

the fire; and soon after sent two of the people who had been refreshed,

in hopes that, with the assistance of those who had been left behind,

they would be able to bring Richmond, even though it should still be

found impossible to wake him. In about half an hour, however, they had

the mortification to see these two men return alone; they said, that

they had been all round the place to which they had been directed, but

could neither find Richmond nor those who had been left with him; and

that though they had shouted many times, no voice had replied. This was

matter of equal surprise and concern, particularly to Mr Banks, who,

while he was wondering how it could happen, missed a bottle of rum, the

company's whole stock, which they now concluded to be in the knapsack of

one of the absentees. It was conjectured, that with this Richmond had

been roused by the two persons who had been left with him, and that,

having perhaps drank too freely of it themselves, they had all rambled

from the place where they had been left, in search of the fire, instead

of waiting for those who should have been their assistants and guides.

Another fall of snow now came on, and continued incessantly for two

hours, so that all hope of seeing them again, at least alive, were given

up; but about twelve o'clock, to the great joy of those at the fire, a

shouting was heard at some distance. Mr Banks, with four more,

immediately went out, and found the seaman with just strength enough

left to stagger along, and call out for assistance: Mr Banks sent him

immediately to the fire, and, by his direction, proceeded in search of

the other two, whom he soon after found. Richmond was upon his legs, but

not able to put one before the other; his companion was lying upon the

ground, as insensible as a stone. All hands were now called from the

fire, and an attempt was made to carry them to it; but this,

notwithstanding the united efforts of the whole company, was found to be

impossible. The night was extremely dark, the snow was now very deep,

and, under these additional disadvantages, they found it very difficult

to make way through the bushes and the bog for themselves, all of them

getting many falls in the attempt. The only alternative was to make a

fire upon the spot; but the snow which had fallen, and was still

falling, besides what was every moment shaken in flakes from the trees,

rendered it equally impracticable to kindle one there, and to bring any

part of that which had been kindled in the wood thither: They were,

therefore, reduced to the sad necessity of leaving the unhappy wretches

to their fate; having first made them a bed of boughs from the trees,

and spread a covering of the same kind over them to a considerable

height.

Having now been exposed to the cold and the snow near an hour and a

half, some of the rest began to lose their sensibility; and one Briscoe,

another of Mr Banks's servants, was so ill, that it was thought he must

die before he could be got to the fire.

At the fire, however, at length they arrived; and passed the night in a

situation, which, however dreadful in itself, was rendered more

afflicting by the remembrance of what was past, and the uncertainty of

what was to come. Of twelve, the number that set out together in health

and spirits, two were supposed to be already dead; a third was so ill,

that it was very doubtful whether he would be able to go forward in the

morning; and a fourth, Mr Buchan, was in danger of a return of his fits,

by fresh fatigue, after so uncomfortable a night: They were distant from

the ship a long day's journey, through pathless woods, in which it was

too probable they might be bewildered till they were overtaken by the

next night; and, not having prepared for a journey of more than eight or

ten hours, they were wholly destitute of provisions, except a vulture,

which they happened to shoot while they were out, and which, if equally

divided, would not afford each of them half a meal; and they knew not

how much more they might suffer from the cold, as the snow still

continued to fall. A dreadful testimony of the severity of the climate,

as it was now the midst of summer in this part of the world, the 21st of

December being here the longest day; and every thing might justly be

dreaded from a phenomenon which, in the corresponding season, is unknown

even in Norway and Lapland.

When the morning dawned, they saw nothing round them, as far as the eye

could reach, but snow, which seemed to lie as thick upon the trees as

upon the ground; and the blasts returned so frequently, and with such

violence, that they found it impossible for them to set out: How long

this might last they knew not, and they had but too much reason to

apprehend that it would confine them in that desolate forest till they

perished with hunger and cold.

After having suffered the misery and terror of this situation till six

o'clock in the morning, they conceived some hope of deliverance by

discovering the place of the sun through the clouds, which were become

thinner, and began to break away. Their first care was to see whether

the poor wretches whom they had been obliged to leave among the bushes

were yet alive; three of the company were dispatched for that purpose,

and very soon afterwards returned with the melancholy news, that they

were dead.

Notwithstanding the flattering appearance of the sky, the snow still

continued to fall so thick that they could not venture out on their

journey to the ship; but about eight o'clock a small regular breeze

sprung up, which, with the prevailing influence of the sun, at length

cleared the air; and they soon after, with great joy, saw the snow fall

in large flakes from the trees, a certain sign of an approaching thaw:

They now examined more critically the state of their invalids; Briscoe

was still very ill, but said, that he thought himself able to walk; and

Mr Buchan was much better than either he or his friends had any reason

to expect. They were now, however, pressed by the calls of hunger, to

which, after long fasting, every consideration of future good or evil

immediately gives way. Before they set forward, therefore, it was

unanimously agreed that they should eat their vulture; the bird was

accordingly skinned, and, it being thought best to divide it before it

was fit to be eaten, it was cut into ten portions, and every man cooked

his own as he thought fit. After this repast, which furnished each of

them with about three mouthfuls, they prepared to set out; but it was

ten o'clock before the snow was sufficiently gone off, to render a march

practicable. After a walk of about three hours, they were very agreeably

surprised to find themselves upon the beach, and much nearer to the ship

than they had any reason to expect. Upon reviewing their track from the

vessel, they perceived, that, instead of ascending the hill in a line,

so as to penetrate into the country, they had made almost a circle round

it. When they came on board, they congratulated each other upon their

safety, with a joy that no man can feel who has not been exposed to

equal danger; and as I had suffered great anxiety at their not returning

in the evening of the day on which they set out, I was not wholly

without my share.

SECTION V.

_The Passage through the Streight of Le Maire, and a further Description

of the Inhabitants of Terra del Fuego and its Productions._

On the 18th and 19th, we were delayed in getting on board our wood and

water by a swell: But on the 20th, the weather being more moderate, we

again sent the boat on shore, and Mr Banks and Dr Solander went in it.

They landed in the bottom of the bay, and while my people were employed

in cutting brooms, they pursued their great object, the improvement of

natural knowledge, with success, collecting many shells and plants which

hitherto have been altogether unknown: They came on board to dinner, and

afterwards went again on shore to visit an Indian town, which some of

the people had reported to lie about two miles up the country. They

found the distance not more than by the account, and they approached it

by what appeared to be the common road, yet they were above an hour in

getting thither, for they were frequently up to their knees in mud; when

they got within a small distance, two of the people came out to meet

them, with such state as they could assume; when they joined them, they

began to halloo as they had done on board the ship, without addressing

themselves either to the strangers or their companions; and having

continued this strange vociferation some time, they conducted them to

the town. It was situated on a dry knoll, or small hill, covered with

wood, none of which seemed to have been cleared away, and consisted of

about twelve or fourteen hovels, of the most rude and inartificial

structure that can be imagined. They were nothing more than a few poles

set up so as to incline towards each other, and meet at the top, forming

a kind of a cone, like some of our bee-hives: On the weather-side they

were covered with a few boughs, and a little grass; and on the lee-side

about one-eighth of the circle was left open, both for a door and a

fire-place; and of this kind were the huts that had been seen in St

Vincent's bay, in one of which the embers of a fire were still

remaining. Furniture they had none; a little grass, which lay round the

inside of the hovel, served both for chairs and beds; and of all the

utensils which necessity and ingenuity have concurred to produce among

other savage nations, they saw only a basket to carry in the hand, a

satchel to hang at the back, and the bladder of some beast to hold

water, which the natives drink through a hole that is made near the top

for that purpose.

The inhabitants of this town were a small tribe, not more than fifty in

number; of both sexes and of every age. Their colour resembles that of

the rust of iron mixed with oil, and they have long black hair: The men

are large, but clumsily built; their stature is from five feet eight to

five feet ten; the women are much less, few of them being more than five

feet high. Their whole apparel consists of the skin of a guanicoe, or

seal, which is thrown over their shoulders, exactly in the state in

which it came from the animal's back; a piece of the same skin, which is

drawn over their feet, and gathered about the ancles like a purse, and a

small flap, which is worn by the women as a succedaneum for a fig-leaf.

The men wear their cloak open, the women tie it about their waist with a

thong. But although they are content to be naked, they are very

ambitious to be fine. Their faces were painted in various forms: The

region of the eye was in general white, and the rest of the face adorned

with horizontal streaks of red and black; yet scarcely any two were

exactly alike. This decoration seems to be more profuse and elaborate

upon particular occasions, for the two gentlemen who introduced Mr Banks

and the doctor into the town, were almost covered with streaks of black

in all directions, so as to make a very striking appearance. Both men

and women wore bracelets of such beads as they could make themselves of

small shells or bones; the women both upon their wrists and ancles, the

men upon their wrists only; but to compensate for the want of bracelets

on their legs, they wore a kind of fillet of brown worsted round their

heads. They seemed to set a particular value upon any thing that was

red, and preferred beads even to a knife or a hatchet.

Their language in general is guttural, and they express some of their

words by a sound exactly like that which we make to clear the throat

when any thing happens to obstruct it; yet they have words that would be

deemed soft in the better languages of Europe. Mr Banks learned what he

supposes to be their name for beads and water. When they wanted beads,

instead of ribbons or other trifles, they said _halleca_; and when they

were taken on shore from the ship, and by signs asked where water might

be found, they made the sign of drinking, and pointing as well to the

casks as the watering-place, cried _Oodá_.