_The Passage from Batavia to the Cape of Good Hope. Some Account of
Prince's Island and its Inhabitants. Our Arrival at the Cape of Good
Hope. Some Remarks on the Run from Java Head to that Place, and to Saint
Helena. The Return of the Ship to England_.[164]
[Footnote 164: The original contains some remarks on the language of
Prince's Island, and a comparative view of it with the Malay and
Javanese. These have been omitted, because another opportunity will
present of treating the subject more fully than could be done here,
without anticipating information which belongs to another place. Much
additional light has been thrown on this interesting topic since the
date of this navigation.--E.]
On Thursday the 27th of December, at six o'clock in the morning, we
weighed again and stood out to sea. After much delay by contrary winds,
we weathered Pulo Pare on the 29th, and stood in for the main: Soon
after, we fetched a small island under the main, in the midway between
Batavia and Bantam, called Maneater's Island. The next day, we weathered
first Wapping Island, and then Pulo Babi. On the 31st, we stood over to
the Sumatra shore; and on the morning of new-year's-day, 1771, we stood
over for the Java shore.
We continued our course as the wind permitted us till three o'clock in
the afternoon of the 5th, when we anchored under the south-east side of
Prince's Island in eighteen fathom, in order to recruit our wood and
water, and procure refreshments for the sick, many of whom were now
become much worse than they were when we left Batavia. As soon as the
ship was secured, I went ashore, accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr
Solander, and we were met upon the beach by some Indians, who carried us
immediately to a man, who, they said, was their king. After we had
exchanged a few compliments with his majesty, we proceeded to business;
but in settling the price of turtle we could not agree: This however did
not discourage us, as we made no doubt but that we should buy them at
our own price in the morning. As soon as we parted, the Indians
dispersed, and we proceeded along the shore in search of a
watering-place. In this we were more successful; we found water very
conveniently situated, and, if a little care was taken in filling it, we
had reason to believe that it would prove good. Just as we were going
off, some Indians, who remained with a canoe upon the beach, sold us
three turtle, but exacted a promise of us that we should not tell the
king.
The next morning, while a party was employed in filling water, we
renewed our traffic for turtle: At first, the Indians dropped their
demands slowly, but about noon they agreed to take the price that we
offered, so that before night we had turtle in plenty: The three that we
had purchased the evening before, were in the mean time served to the
ship's company, who, till the day before, had not once been served with
salt provisions from the time of our arrival at Savu, which was now near
four months. In the evening, Mr Banks went to pay his respects to the
king, at his palace, in the middle of a rice field, and though his
majesty was busily employed in dressing his own supper, he received the
stranger very graciously.
The next day, the natives came down to the trading place, with fowls,
fish, monkies, small deer, and some vegetables, but no turtle; for they
said that we had bought them all the day before. The next day, however,
more turtle appeared at market, and some were brought down every day
afterwards, during our stay, though the whole, together, was not equal
to the quantity that we bought the day after our arrival.
On the 11th, Mr Banks having learnt from the servant whom he had hired
at Batavia, that the Indians of this island had a town upon the shore,
at some distance to the westward, determined to see it. With this view
he set out in the morning, accompanied by the second lieutenant; and as
he had some reason to think that his visit would not be agreeable to the
inhabitants, he told the people whom he met, as he was advancing along
the shore, that he was in search of plants, which indeed was also true.
In about two hours they arrived at a place where there were four or five
houses, and meeting with an old man, they ventured to make some
enquiries concerning the town. He said that it was far distant; but they
were not to be discouraged in their enterprize, and he, seeing them
proceed in their journey, joined company and went on with them. He
attempted several times to lead them out of the way, but without
success; and at length they came within sight of the houses. The old man
then entered cordially into their party, and conducted them into the
town. The name of it is Samadang; it consists of about four hundred
houses, and is divided by a river of brackish water into two parts, one
of which is called the old town, and the other the new. As soon as they
entered the old town, they met several Indians whom they had seen at the
trading-place, and one of them undertook to carry them over to the new
town, at the rate of two-pence a-head. When the bargain was made, two
very small canoes were produced, in which they embarked; the canoes
being placed along-side of each other, and held together, a precaution
which was absolutely necessary to prevent their oversetting, the
navigation was at length safely performed, though not without some
difficulty; and when they landed in the new town, the people received
them with great friendship, and showed them the houses of their kings
and principal people, which are in this district: Few of them, however,
were open, for at this time the people had taken up their residence in
the rice-grounds, to defend the crop against the birds and monkies, by
which it would otherwise have been destroyed. When their curiosity was
satisfied, they hired a large sailing boat for two rupees, four
shillings, which brought them back to the ship time enough to dine upon
one of the small deer, weighing only forty pounds, which had been bought
the day before, and proved to be very good and savoury meat.
We went on shore in the evening, to see how the people who were employed
in wooding and watering went on, and were informed that an axe had been
stolen. As the passing over this fault might encourage the commission of
others of the same kind, application was immediately made to the king,
who, after some altercation, promised that the axe should be restored in
the morning; and kept his word, for it was brought to us by a man who
pretended that the thief, being afraid of a discovery, had privately
brought it and left it at his house in the night.
We continued to purchase between two and three hundred weight of turtle
in a day, besides fowls and other necessaries; and in the evening of the
13th, having nearly completed our wood and water, Mr Banks went ashore
to take leave of his majesty, to whom he had made several trifling
presents, and at parting gave him two quires of paper, which he
graciously received. They had much conversation, in the course of which
his majesty enquired, why the English did not touch there as they had
been used to do. Mr Banks replied, that he supposed it was because they
found a deficiency of turtle, of which there not being enough to supply
one ship, many could not be expected. To supply this defect, he advised
his majesty to breed cattle, buffaloes, and sheep, a measure which he
did not seem much inclined to adopt.
On the 14th, we made ready to sail, having on board a good stock of
refreshments, which we purchased of the natives, consisting of turtle,
fowl, fish, two species of deer, one as big as a sheep, the other not
larger than a rabbit; with cocoa-nuts, plantains, limes, and other
vegetables. The deer, however, served only for present use, for we could
seldom keep one of them alive more than four-and-twenty hours after it
was on board. On our part, the trade was carried on chiefly with Spanish
dollars, the natives seeming to set little value upon any thing else; so
that our people, who had a general permission to trade, parted with old
shirts and other articles, which they were obliged to substitute for
money, to great disadvantage. In the morning of the 15th, we weighed,
with a light breeze at N.E. and stood out to sea. Java Head, from which
I took my departure, lies in latitude 6° 49' S., longitude 258° 12' W.
Prince's Island, where we lay about ten days, is, in the Malay language,
called _Pulo Selan_, and in the language of the inhabitants, _Pulo
Paneitan_. It is a small island, situated in the western mouth of the
Streight of Sunda. It is woody, and a very small part of it only has
been cleared: There is no remarkable hill upon it, yet the English call
the small eminence which is just over the landing-place the Pike. It was
formerly much frequented by the India ships of many nations, but
especially those of England, which of late have forsaken it, as it is
said, because the water is bad; and touch either at North Island, a
small island that lies on the coast of Sumatra, without the east
entrance of the streight, or at Mew Bay, which lies only a few leagues
from Prince's Island, at neither of which places any considerable
quantity of other refreshments can be procured. Prince's Island is,
upon the whole, certainly more eligible than either of them; and though
the water is brackish if it is filled at the lower part of the brook,
yet higher up it will be found excellent.
The first and second, and perhaps the third ship that comes in the
season, may be tolerably supplied with turtle; but those that come
afterwards must be content with small ones. Those that we bought were of
the green kind, and at an average cost us about a half-penny or three
farthings a pound. We were much disappointed to find them neither fat
nor well flavoured; and we imputed it to their having been long kept in
crawls or pens of brackish water, without food. The fowls are large, and
we bought a dozen of them for a Spanish dollar, which is about
five-pence a-piece: The small deer cost us two-pence a-piece, and the
larger, of which two only were brought down, a rupee. Many kinds of fish
are to be had here, which the natives sell by hand, and we found them
tolerably cheap. Cocoa-nuts we bought at the rate of a hundred for a
dollar, if they were picked; and if they were taken promiscuously, one
hundred and thirty. Plantains we found in great plenty: We procured also
some pine-apples, water melons, jaccas, and pumpkins; besides rice, the
greater part of which was of the mountain kind, that grows on dry land;
yams, and several other vegetables, at a very reasonable rate.
The inhabitants are Javanese, whose Raja is subject to the Sultan of
Bantam. Their customs are very similar to those of the Indians about
Batavia; but they seem to be more jealous of their women, for we never
saw any of them during all the time we were there, except one by chance
in the woods, as she was running away to hide herself. They profess the
Mahometan religion, but I believe there is not a mosque in the whole
island: We were among them during the fast, which the Turks call
_Ramadan_, which they seemed to keep with great rigour, for not one of
them would touch a morsel of victuals, or even chew their betel, till
sun-set.
Their food is nearly the same as that of the Batavian Indians, except
the addition of the nuts of the palm, called _Cycas circinalis_, with
which, upon the coast of New Holland, some of our people were made sick,
and some of our hogs poisoned.
Upon observing these nuts to be part of their food, we enquired by what
means they deprived them of their deleterious quality; and they told
us, that, they first cut them into thin slices, and dried them in the
sun; then steeped them in fresh water for three months, and afterwards,
pressing out the water, dried them in the sun a second time; but we
learnt that, after all, they are eaten only in times of scarcity, when
they mix them with their rice to make it go farther.
The houses of their town are built upon piles, or pillars, four or five
feet above the ground: Upon these is laid a floor of bamboo canes, which
are placed at some distance from each other, so as to leave a free
passage for the air from below; the walls also are of bamboo, which are
interwoven, hurdlewise, with small sticks, that are fastened
perpendicularly to the beams which form the frame of the building: It
has a sloping roof, which is so well thatched with palm leaves, that
neither the sun nor the rain can find entrance. The ground over which
this building is erected, is an oblong square. In the middle of one side
is the door, and in the middle between that and the end of the house,
towards the left hand, is a window: A partition runs out from each end
towards the middle, which, if continued, would divide the whole floor
into two equal parts, longitudinally; but they do not meet in the
middle, so that an opening is left over-against the door: Each end of
the house therefore, to the right and left of the door, is divided into
two rooms, like stalls in a stable, all open towards the passage from
the door to the wall on the opposite side: In that next the door to the
left hand, the children sleep; that opposite to it, on the right hand,
is allotted to strangers; the master and his wife sleep in the inner
room on the left hand, and that opposite to it is the kitchen. There is
no difference between the houses of the poor and the rich, but in the
size; except that the royal palace, and the house of a man, whose name
was _Gundang_, the next in riches and influence to the king, were walled
with boards, instead of being wattled with sticks and bamboo.
As the people are obliged to abandon the town, and live in the
rice-fields at certain seasons, to secure their crops from the birds and
the monkies, they have occasional houses there for their accommodation.
They are exactly the same as the houses in the town, except that they
are smaller, and are elevated eight or ten feet above the ground instead
of four.
The disposition of the people, as far as we could discover it, is good.
They dealt with us very honestly, except, like all other Indians, and
the itinerant retailers of fish in London, they asked sometimes twice,
and sometimes thrice as much for their commodities as they would take.
As what they brought to market belonged, in different proportions, to a
considerable number of the natives, and it would have been difficult to
purchase it in separate lots, they found out a very easy expedient, with
which every one was satisfied: They put all that was bought of one kind,
as plantains, or cocoa-nuts, together; and when we had agreed for the
heap, they divided the money that was paid for it among those of whose
separate property it consisted, in a proportion corresponding with their
contributions. Sometimes, indeed, they changed our money, giving us 240
doits, amounting to five shillings, for a Spanish dollar, and
ninety-six, amounting to two shillings, for a Bengal rupee.
They all speak the Malay language, though they have a language of their
own, different both from the Malay and the Javanese. Their own language
they call _Catta Gunung_, the language of the mountains; and they say
that it is spoken upon the mountains of Java, whence their tribe
originally migrated, first to Mew Bay, and then to their present
station, being driven from their first settlement by tygers, which they
found too numerous to subdue.
We now made the best of our way for the Cape of Good Hope, but the seeds
of disease which we had received at Batavia began to appear with the
most threatening symptoms in dysenteries and slow fevers. Lest the water
which we had taken in at Prince's Island should have any share in our
sickness, we purified it with lime, and we washed all parts of the ship
between decks with vinegar, as a remedy against infection. Mr Banks was
among the sick, and for some time there was no hope of his life. We were
very soon in a most deplorable situation; the ship was nothing better
than an hospital, in which those that were able to go about were too few
to attend the sick, who were confined to their hammocks; and we had
almost every night a dead body to commit to the sea. In the course of
about six weeks, we buried Mr Sporing, a gentleman who was in Mr Banks's
retinue, Mr Parkinson, his natural history painter, Mr Green, the
astronomer, the boatswain, the carpenter and his mate, Mr Monkhouse, the
midshipman, who had fothered the ship after she had been stranded on the
coast of New Holland, our old jolly sail-maker and his assistant, the
ship's cook, the corporal of the marines, two of the carpenter's crew, a
midshipman, and nine seamen; in all three-and-twenty persons, besides
the seven that we buried at Batavia.[165] On Friday the 15th of March,
about ten o'clock in the morning, we anchored off the Cape of Good Hope,
in seven fathom, with an oozy bottom. The west point of the bay, called
the Lion's Tail, bore W.N.W., and the castle S.W., distant about a mile
and a half. I immediately waited upon the governor, who told me that I
should have every thing the country afforded. My first care was to
provide a proper place ashore for the sick, which were not a few; and a
house was soon found, where it was agreed they should be lodged and
boarded at the rate of two shillings a-head per day.
[Footnote 165: In the Biog. Brit. where a summary of Cook's Voyages is
given, an observation is made on this melancholy part of the narrative,
which the reader may not be displeased to see copied here. "It is
probable that these calamitous events, which could not fail of making a
powerful impression on the mind of Lieutenant Cook, might give occasion
to his turning his thoughts more zealously to those methods of
preserving the health of seamen, which he afterwards pursued with such
remarkable success." These methods will be amply detailed
hereafter.--E.]
Our run from Java Head to this place afforded very few subjects of
remark that can be of use to future navigators; such as occurred,
however, I shall set down. We had left Java Head eleven days before we
got the general south-east trade-wind, during which time we did not
advance above 5° to the southward, and 3° to the west, having variable
light airs, interrupted by calms, with sultry weather, and an
unwholesome air, occasioned probably by the load of vapours which the
eastern trade-wind and westerly monsoons bring into these latitudes,
both which blow in these seas at the time of the year when we happened
to be there. The easterly wind prevails as far as 10° or 12° S., and the
westerly as far as 6° or 8°; in the intermediate space the winds are
variable, and the air, I believe, always unwholesome; it certainly
aggravated the diseases which we brought with us from Batavia, and
particularly the flux, which was not in the least degree checked by any
medicine, so that whoever was seized with it considered himself as a
dead man; but we had no sooner got into the trade-wind, than we began to
feel its salutary effects: We buried indeed several of our people
afterwards, but they were such as had been taken on board in a state so
low and feeble that there was scarcely a possibility of their recovery.
At first we suspected that this dreadful disorder might have been
brought upon us by the water that we took on board at Prince's Island,
or even by the turtle that we bought there; but there is not the least
reason to believe that this suspicion was well-grounded, for all the
ships that came from Batavia at the same season, suffered in the same
degree, and some of them even more severely, though none of them touched
at Prince's Island in their way.
A few days after we left Java, we saw boobies about the ship for several
nights successively, and as these birds are known to roost every night
on shore, we thought them an indication that some island was not far
distant; perhaps it might be the island of Selam, which, in different
charts, is very differently laid down both in name and situation.
The variation of the compass off the west coast of Java, is about 3° W.,
and so it continued without any sensible variation, in the common track
of ships, to the longitude of 288° W., latitude 22° S., after which it
increased apace, so that in longitude 295°, latitude 23°, the variation
was 10° 20' W.: In seven degrees more of longitude, and one of latitude,
it increased two degrees; in the same space farther to the west, it
increased five degrees: In latitude 28°, longitude 314°, it was 24°,
20', in latitude 29°, longitude 317°, it was 26° 10', and was then
stationary for the space of about ten degrees farther to the west; but
in latitude 34°, longitude 333°, we observed it twice to be 28° 1/4 W.,
and this was its greatest variation, for in latitude 35° 1/2 longitude
337°, it was 24°, and continued gradually to decrease; so that off Cape
Anguillas it was 22° 30', and in Table Bay 20° 30' W.
As to currents, it did not appear that they were at all considerable,
till we came within a little distance of the meridian of Madagascar; for
after we had made 52° of longitude from Java Head, we found, by
observation, that our error in longitude was only two degrees, and it
was the same when we had made only nineteen. This error might be owing
partly to a current setting to the westward, partly to our not making
proper allowances for the setting of the sea before which we run, and
perhaps to an error in the assumed longitude of Java Head. If that
longitude is erroneous, the error must be imputed to the imperfection of
the charts of which I made use in reducing the longitude from Batavia to
that place, for there can be no doubt but that the longitude of Batavia
is well determined. After we had passed the longitude of 307°, the
effects of the westerly currents began to be considerable; for, in three
days, our error in longitude was 1° 5': The velocity of the current kept
increasing as we proceeded to the westward, in so much, that for five
days successively after we made the land, we were driven to the S.W. or
S.W. by W., not less than twenty leagues a-day; and this continued till
we were within sixty or seventy leagues of the Cape, where the current
set sometimes one way, and sometimes the other, though inclining rather
to the westward.
After the boobies had left us, we saw no more birds till we got nearly
abreast of Madagascar, where, in latitude 27° 3/4 S., we saw an
albatross, and after that time we saw them every day in great numbers,
with birds of several other sorts, particularly one about as big as a
duck, of a very dark brown colour, with a yellowish bill. These birds
became more numerous as we approached the shore, and as soon as we got
into soundings, we saw gannets, which we continued to see as long as we
were upon the bank which stretches off Anguillas to the distance of
forty leagues, and extends along the shore to the eastward, from Cape
False, according to some charts, one hundred and sixty leagues. The real
extent of this bank is not exactly known; it is, however, useful as a
direction to shipping when to haul in, in order to make the land.
While we lay here, the Houghton Indiaman sailed for England, who,
during, her stay in India, lost by sickness between thirty and forty
men; and when she left the Cape, had many in a helpless condition with
the scurvy. Other ships suffered in the same proportion, who had been
little more than twelve months absent from England; our sufferings,
therefore, were comparatively light, considering that we had been absent
near three times as long.
Having lain here to recover the sick, procure stores, and perform
several necessary operations upon the ship and rigging, till the 13th of
April, I then got all the sick on board, several of whom were still in a
dangerous state, and having taken leave of the governor, I unmoored the
nest morning, and got ready to sail.[166]
[Footnote 166: Some remarks concerning the Cape of Good Hope are now
given in the original. They are omitted here, as being only
supplementary to other accounts, and because we shall elsewhere have an
opportunity of drawing the reader's attention very fully to the subject.
The same thing may be said respecting some notices of St Helena,
contained in this section. Whatever is of value in either of these
accounts, will be had recourse to on another occasion.--E.]
On the morning of the 14th we weighed and stood out of the bay; and at
five in the evening anchored under Penquin, or Robin Island: We lay here
all night, and as I could not sail in the morning for want of wind, I
sent a boat to the island for a few trifling articles which we had
forgot to take in at the Cape. But as soon as the boat came near the
shore, the Dutch hailed her, and warned the people not to land, at their
peril, bringing down at the same time six men armed with muskets, who
paraded upon the beach. The officer who commanded the boat not thinking
it worth while to risk the lives of the people on board for the sake of
a few cabbages, which were all we wanted, returned to the ship. At first
we were at a loss to account for our repulse, but we afterwards
recollected, that to this island the Dutch at the Cape banish such
criminals as are not thought worthy of death, for a certain number of
years, proportioned to the offence, and employ them as slaves in digging
lime-stone, which, though scarce upon the continent, is in plenty here;
and that a Danish ship, which by sickness had lost great part of her
crew, and had been refused assistance at the Cape, came down to this
island, and sending her boat ashore, secured the guard, and took on
board as many of the criminals as she thought proper to navigate her
home: We concluded therefore that the Dutch, to prevent the rescue of
their criminals in time to come, had given order to their people here to
suffer no boat of any foreign nation to come ashore.
On the 25th, at three o'clock in the afternoon, we weighed, with a light
breeze at S.E., and put to sea. About an hour afterwards, we lost our
master, Mr Robert Mollineux, a young man of good parts, but unhappily
given up to intemperance, which brought on disorders that put an end to
his life.
We proceeded in our voyage homeward without any remarkable incident; and
in the morning of the 29th we crossed our first meridian, having
circumnavigated the globe in the direction from east to west, and
consequently lost a day, for which we made an allowance at Batavia.
At day-break on the first of May, we saw the island of Saint Helena; and
at noon we anchored in the road before James's fort.
We staid here till the 4th, to refresh, and Mr Banks improved the time
in making the complete circuit of the island, and visiting the most
remarkable places upon it. At one o'clock in the afternoon of the 4th of
May, we weighed and stood out of the road, in company with the Portland
man-of-war, and twelve sail of Indiamen.
We continued to sail in company with the fleet, till the 10th in the
morning, when, perceiving that we sailed much heavier than any other
ship, and thinking it for that reason probable that the Portland would
get home before us, I made the signal to speak with her, upon which
Captain Elliot himself came on board, and I delivered to him a letter
to the Admiralty, with a box, containing the common logbooks of the
ship, and the journals of some of the officers. We continued in company,
however, till the 23d in the morning, and then there was not one of the
ships in sight. About one o'clock in the afternoon, died our first
lieutenant, Mr Hicks, and in the evening we committed his body to the
sea, with the usual ceremonies. The disease of which he died was a
consumption, and as he was not free from it when we sailed from England,
it may truly be said that he was dying during the whole voyage, though
his decline was very gradual till we came to Batavia: The next day I
gave Mr Charles Clerk an order to act as lieutenant in his room, a young
man who was extremely well qualified for that station.
Our rigging and sails were now become so bad, that something was giving
way every day. We continued our course, however, in safety till the 10th
of June, when land, which proved to be the Lizard, was discovered by
Nicholas Young, the same boy that first saw New Zealand; on the 11th we
run up the Channel, at six in the morning of the 12th we passed Beachy
Head, at noon we were abreast of Dover, and about three came to an
anchor in the Downs, and went ashore at Deal.
APPENDIX.
_An Abstract of the_ VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, _performed by_ LEWIS DE
BOUGAINVILLE, _Colonel of Foot, and Commander of the Expedition, in the
Frigate_La Boudeuse, _and the Store-ship_ L'Etoile, _in the Years_
1766-7-8 _and_ 9. (_Drawn up expressly for this Work_.)
The restitution of the Falkland Islands to the Spaniards was the first
object of this voyage. So early as February 1764, France had commenced a
settlement on them, and in all probability would have ensured its
prosperity; but the property was claimed by Spain, in virtue of the old
and at best imaginary rights conferred on that power by the Pope to the
lands of the western hemisphere, of which they were held to be a part.
It is sometimes more politic, and perhaps almost always more convenient,
to avoid war, by the display of generosity in concession, than to run
the hazard of expensive contension, and an unprofitable issue, by the
obstinate maintenance of dubious advantages. Such seems to have been the
opinion of the French king, in this instance. He acknowledged the claim
of the Spaniards, and accordingly gave orders for the delivering up of
the settlement. In this determination, it is probable, he was
strengthened by the apprehension of the difficulties of supporting and
defending an establishment, at so great a distance from his dominions.
M. Bougainville, the person who had proposed the settlement, and in a
considerable degree accomplished it, by carrying out several French
families, and cultivating and stocking some parts of the islands, was
appointed to execute a formal surrender; and he was further instructed,
after doing so, to traverse the South Sea between the tropics, for the
purpose of making discoveries, and to return home by the East Indies.
The fulfilment of these directions constitutes his voyage round the
world, with a short, but it is believed satisfactory abstract of which,
it is now intended to supply the reader. The account of the voyage was
drawn up and published by Bougainville himself, and has always been
highly esteemed by his countrymen, who are commonly patriotic enough in
their commendations. In this instance, however, if one may judge from
the concurrence in opinion of others, their praise has not been
injudicious; though it must be admitted on the other hand, that the
partiality is ridiculous, which would place it above the narratives of
Anson's and Cook's Voyages. Bougainville seems to have been a man of
talents, of refined taste, and considerable literary acquirements; and
his work, though, as he says in his introduction, written for seamen
chiefly, yet presents some very interesting features to the general
reader, and not a little information to scientific observers. He has
thought proper to apologize for his deficiency in composition; but it is
questionable if this be not mere affectation, common with writers who
are far from thinking too meanly of themselves, for the reasons they
chuse to state in the way of deprecating critical severity, and
abundantly disposed to attach magnitude of consequence to the very
particulars which they have employed to indicate their own inferiority.
A translation of his work by Mr John Reinhold Forster, was published at
London 1772, and contains additional notes. This has principally been
consulted in drawing up the present abstract, which is intended as a
companion to the accounts of voyages it is the object of our work to
give entire. This is the proper place for its insertion, if it be right
to insert it at all, and opportunities will present themselves as we
proceed, for giving similar abstracts of other voyages.
Bougainville had under his command the frigate La Boudeuse, carrying 26
twelve-pounders, and the store-ship L'Etoile, appointed to supply him
with provisions and stores, and to accompany him during the whole of his
voyage. His establishment consisted of eleven commissioned officers,
three volunteers, and two hundred sailors, &c. The prince of
Nassau-Sieghen obtained leave from the king to go out on this
expedition, and availed himself of it. He sailed from Nantes on the 15th
November, 1766, purposing to make the river La Plata, where two Spanish
frigates, appointed to receive possession of the islands, were to wait
for his arrival. A squall of wind occasioned him much confusion, and
forced him to put into Brest, whence, after having undergone several
repairs and alterations, which the deficient state of his vessel
rendered necessary, he departed on the 5th December, but not without
being obliged to cut his cable, as the east wind and the ebb tide
prevented his tacking about to keep clear of the shore. A pretty
constant and fresh wind accompanied him, till he got sight of the
Salvages on the 17th, in the afternoon. These are uninhabited islands or
rocks, lying to the north of the Canary islands, and belong to the
Portuguese, who, although making little or no use of them, are jealously
careful to prevent others from visiting or profiting by them. The sight
of these rocks convinced M. Bougainville of a considerable error in his
reckoning, during even this short trip. Having rectified it, and made
observations for their position, he took a fresh departure on the 19th
December, at noon, when he got sight of the Isle of Ferro. On the 8th of
January, he crossed the Line between 27° and 28° of longitude, and on
the 31st of the same month, after an easy and uninteresting voyage, came
to an anchor in Monte Video bay, where the Spanish frigates had lain
expecting him four weeks. He made some observations on the currents
noticed during this voyage, which are well known to occasion much error
in the calculations of the navigator; but as these are not interesting
to the general reader, they are omitted here, and the more properly so,
because we have had frequent occasion to notice the subject in our
accounts of other voyages.
Bougainville left Monte Video on the 28th February, in company with the
Spanish ships, but having encountered a storm and a good deal of
contrary wind, he did not quit the river till the 3d March. The voyage
to the Falkland Islands was rough and troublesome, especially to the two
Spanish frigates, which suffered a good deal during the course, and were
for some time separated from Bougainville's ship. On the 23d and 24th of
March, however, they all arrived at the place of their destination,
where a formal surrender of the settlement was made according to the
instructions of the two governments. The islands were delivered up on
the 1st April, the Spaniards taking possession by planting their
colours, which were saluted both on shore and from aboard the vessels.
Several families resident there availed themselves of the French king's
permission to remain under the new government, and the others embarked
in the Spanish frigates to return home. M. Bougainville has related
several particulars respecting the history of these islands, which,
however, it is quite unnecessary to consider here, as we have either
already stated them, or may hereafter have occasion to do so; they are,
besides, little connected with our present object, that of tracing his
course round the world.
As the store-ship did not join him at the time expected, and as it was
impossible for him to traverse the Pacific Ocean, without the supplies
and assistance she was appointed to afford, Bougainville resolved to
quit these islands, and go to Rio Janeiro, the place specified as the
rendezvous to both vessels. He sailed therefore on the 2d June, got in
sight of the high head-lands of the Brazils on the 20th, and in the
evening of the following day came to an anchor in the roads of Rio
Janeiro, where the Etoile had arrived but a few days before. Being
still, however, imperfectly furnished with provisions, he returned to
Monte Video, as a fitter place for procuring them. The Etoile being a
bad sailer, and having made a good deal of water, he was retarded in
this voyage, which in consequence took him up from the 14th to the 31st
of July. A little before his departure, he rendered some important
services to a Spanish man-of-war, which had been obliged to put into Rio
Janeiro to refit for her voyage to Europe, and was most ungenerously
denied what was needful by the Portuguese government, for eight months.
The viceroy seems to have been of an unfeeling and absurdly
consequential disposition, of which some instances have been already
related in our account of another voyage.
Whilst lying in Montevideo bay, a register ship ran foul of the Etoile
during a hurricane, and did her so much damage, as to render it
necessary to heave her down to be repaired. This was done at the
Encenada de Baragan up the river, Monte Video itself not having proper
accommodation for the purpose. But the requisite repairs were after all
accomplished with much difficulty, and at a great expence of money, and
occupied the whole of the month of October. To add to these sources of
regret, this vessel had the misfortune to lose three of her crew, in
returning down the river to Monte Video, a passage, which, though short,
is described as very difficult, and requiring almost constant soundings
to avoid danger. This accident happened from the boat containing them
and other two men getting foul under the ship when it was wearing.
During this passage too, it was observed, that the Etoile still
continued to take in water, notwithstanding the overhauling she had
received.
Some days were now occupied in the necessary preparations for leaving
the Rio La Plata, such as stowing and caulking the Boudeuse, repairing
the Etoile's boat, cutting grass for the live cattle on board, &c. Part
of the delay, however, which these preparations occasioned, was
fortunate, as a schooner happened to come from Buenos Ayres laden with
flour, of which they contrived to stow sixty hundred weight on board
their ships, and which proved to be a valuable addition to their stock
of provisions. At this time, the crew was in perfect health, and
notwithstanding the loss already mentioned, and the desertion of twelve
men from the two ships, was made up to its original establishment, as
some sailors had been engaged at the Falkland Islands, besides an
engineer, a supercargo, and a surgeon. The provisions laid in were
supposed enough for a voyage of ten months.
They left Monte Video the 14th November, with a fine breeze from the
north, which was favourable for their course to Magellan's Straits. The
wind was contrary from the 16th to the 21st, and they had a very high
sea, so that they were obliged to keep what advantageous boards they
could in tacking under their courses and close-reefed top-sails. On the
22d there was a hard gale, accompanied with squalls and showers, which
continued during the night, over a frightful sea. The Etoile made
signals of distress, but it was not till the 24th that she came within
hail, or could specify the damage she had received. Her
fore-top-sail-yard had been carried away, and four of her chain plates;
and all the cattle she had taken in at Monte Video, except two, were
lost in the storm. This last misfortune, unluckily, was common to both
vessels, and in their present situation admitted no remedy. During the
remainder of this month, the wind was variable from S.W. to N.W. and the
currents ran rapidly to the southward, as far as 45° latitude, where
they were merely perceptible. No ground was reached by sounding till the
27th at night, when they were in latitude 47°, and about thirty-five
leagues from the coast of Patagonia. In this position, they had seventy
fathoms, and an oozy bottom with black and grey sand. From the 27th till
they saw land, they had pretty regular soundings, in 67, 60, 55, 50, 47,
and 40 fathoms, when they got sight of Cape Virgin, or, as Anson calls
it, Cape Virgin Mary, the same name by which it was known to Sir John
Narborough. Bougainville advises not to approach near the coast till
coming to latitude 49°, as there is a hidden rock in 48° 30', at six or
seven leagues off shore, which he says he discovered when sailing here
in 1765. He then ran within a quarter of a league of it, and the person
who first saw it, took it to be a _grampus_.
He now enters upon a discussion respecting the longitude of this cape,
of which he got sight on the 2d December, and which is certainly an
interesting point in geography, as it determines the length of the
straits. This however may be omitted, as the question is considered in
the account of Captain Cook's Second Voyage, and will of course come
before the reader in its proper place. Though differing with Anson as to
its precise position, Bougainville admits that his lordship's view of it
is most exactly true.
Contrary winds and stormy weather opposed the entrance into the straits
for several days, and after having entered, obliged him to lie-to
between the shores of Terra del Fuego and the continent. His foresail
was split on the 4th December, and as he had then only twenty fathom,
the fear of the breakers which extend S.S.E. off the cape, induced him
to scud under bare poles, which, however, facilitated his bending
another foresail to the yard. He afterwards discovered that these
soundings were not so alarming as he then imagined them to be, as they
were in fact those in the channel; and he remarks, for the benefit of
succeeding navigators, that a gravelly bottom shews the position to be
nearer the Terra del Fuego coast, than that of the continent, where a
fine sandy, and sometimes an oozy bottom will be found. On the evening
of this day, he brought-to again, under main and mizen-stay-sails, but
after several disadvantageous tacks, got somewhat further from the coast
towards night. At four o'clock the next afternoon, he again got sight of
Cape Virgin, when he made sail in order to double it, at about a league
and a half or two leagues distance. In his opinion, it was improper to
sail nearer, as a bank lies off it, over the tail of which he thought he
passed even at that distance; for between two soundings made by his own
vessel, one of twenty-four, and the other of seventeen fathom, the
Etoile, which sailed in his wake, found no more at one time than eight
fathom, but immediately afterwards deepened her water. On the night of
the 5th, he got Cape Virgin to bear N., but as there was a fresh breeze,
and the night was gloomy, threatening a storm, he kept off and on till
day-break, when having unreefed his top-sails, he run to W.N.W. He
continued plying to windward, under courses and top-sails, for the whole
of the 6th, during which he discovered Cape Possession on the continent
coast, and also got sight of Terra del Fuego. By noon on the 7th,
however, he found himself still at Cape Possession, as, besides his
never going more than three leagues from the northern shore, which,
obliged him to sound continually, he lost as much by the tides as he
ever gained by them. About this time the wind shifting favourably, he
continued his voyage, and got to the entrance of the first gut about
half after two o'clock; but now with all his sails set, and aided by a
fine breeze, he could not stem the tide, which ran six knots an hour
against him, and carried him astern. It was in vain to strive; and
fearing, as the wind was unsteady, that he might be becalmed in the gut,
and therefore exposed to danger on the ledges off the capes forming the
entrance, especially a long one on the Terra del Fuego side, he was at
last constrained to turn in search of anchorage in the bottom of
Possession Bay, for which he steered N. by E. This he found at seven in
the evening, about two leagues from the land, in twenty fathom, having a
mud and sand ground, with black and white gravel. He was more successful
in his exertions the following morning, when having stemmed a contrary
tide, the current set to windward, and carried him, tacking frequently
to avoid both coasts, through the first gut, in spite of the wind which
blew hard against him. It was noon before he accomplished this, after
which he made sail, as the wind had veered to S., and the tide still ran
to windward; both, however, failing about three o'clock, he anchored in
Boucalt Bay on the continent side, in eighteen fathom, having an oozy
bottom. Immediately afterwards he hoisted out one of his boats, as did
also the Etoile, and embarking in them to the number of ten officers,
each armed with his musket landed at the bottom of the bay to have an
interview with the Patagonians, who had kept up fires all night on the
coast, and in the morning had hoisted a white flag, supposed to be the
same which the Etoile, when here in June 1766, had left with them as a
sign of friendship and alliance. Their having kept it, is properly
enough considered by Bougainville, as an indication of very laudable
social qualities. The Spaniards, indeed, have given a favourable report
of the people that inhabit this part of the strait, mentioning several
circumstances in praise of their humanity and good faith.
As soon as the officers got ashore, six of the natives rode up to them
in full gallop, and having alighted when about fifty yards off,
immediately came up to them with outstretched arms, and congratulatory
shouts of _Shawa, shawa_, which the officers were careful to repeat,
with similar marks of satisfaction. Some symptoms of fear were visible
on two of these people, but they were speedily removed; and shortly
afterwards this party was joined by many more of their countrymen, who
manifested entire confidence and good nature. They did not seem
surprised at seeing the strangers; and as they imitated the report of
muskets, it was inferred that they were not ignorant of the use of these
arms, and that consequently, they had had previous intercourse with
Europeans, in proof of their willingness to please their visitors, it is
mentioned, that they immediately set about picking plants, and carrying
them to some of the officers who had commenced searching for them; and
it is noted, as an evidence of their having some notions of the use of
medicines, that one of them afflicted with a sore eye, applied by signs
to Chevalier du Bouchage, one of the gentlemen so engaged, to point out
a remedy for it. They asked in a similar manner for tobacco. Any thing
of a red colour pleased them highly; and always when any presents had
been made them, and at every mark of kindness, they testified their
satisfaction by loud shouts of _shawa_. Among other things given them
in exchange for skins, or in mere condescension, was some brandy, of
which each got a little drop. The effect of it was singular; immediately
on swallowing it, they beat with their hands on their throats, and
uttered a sort of tremulous, but inarticulate sound, which was
terminated by a quick motion of the lips. This is said to have been done
by all of them. They expressed a degree of uneasiness and concern, when
they understood the officers were preparing to leave them. This was
appeased, however, when it was intimated to them that they would be
visited again on the following day; and they accompanied the party to
the sea-shore, one of their number singing during the march. Some of
them even waded into the water, and got within reach of the boats; but
this was not so convenient, as they manifested a pretty strong
disposition to furnish themselves with whatever they could lay hold on.
Before the boats got to any distance, the number of the savages
increased very much, many coming up in the same manner as these had
done, at full gallop.
In the opinion of Bougainville, these people were the same that had been
seen by the Etoile in 1765; for he says, that one of his present
sailors, who was then on board that vessel, distinctly recognised one of
them. They were well shaped, and their height was estimated at betwixt 5
feet 5 inches, and 5 feet 10 inches French; or in English, measure, 5
feet 10,334 inches, and 6 feet 2,5704 inches. They appeared gigantic, it
is added very properly, because they had very broad shoulders, their
heads were large, and their limbs thick. They were robust and very
muscular, and seemed to enjoy perfection of health, and to possess
abundance of wholesome diet. Their figures, notwithstanding the
dimensions, were far from being coarse or unpleasant; on the contrary,
many of them might be esteemed handsome. The peculiarities of their
features were, a round and somewhat flat face, very fiery eyes,
uncommonly white teeth, and long black hair which was worn tied on the
top of the head. In the colour of the skin, they did not differ from
other Americans. Some of them had their cheeks painted red. The language
they used is said to have been very delicate. The description now given
of these people, it must be remarked, applies to the men, for hitherto
none of the women had been seen. In dress they nearly resembled the
Indians residing about the Rio de la Plata. A piece of leather served
them for an _apron_, and a cloak of skin fastened round the body with a
girdle, hung as far down as their heels, but had besides a part,
generally allowed to fall down also, which might occasionally cover
their shoulders, though this was not often done. They did not seem very
sensible to the cold of the climate, which, even at this season, viz.
their summer, was only ten degrees less than that which freezes water.
Their legs were covered with a sort of half boot, open behind; and some
of them, wore on the thigh a copper ring about two inches broad. That
they had had acquaintance with Europeans was still more clearly
manifested by sundry articles amongst them, of which are mentioned
particularly little iron knives, supposed to have been given them by
Commodore Byron a short time before. Their horses were bridled and
saddled in the same manner as those of the inhabitants of Rio de la
Plata; and one of these bulky cavaliers had gilt nails at his saddle,
wooden stirrups covered with copper plates, a bridle of twisted leather,
and an entire Spanish harness. Here did not appear to be any thing like
superiority of rank or subordination established among them; nor could
it be remarked, that three old men who were in the party, received any
peculiar marks of esteem from the rest. Bougainville gives it as his
opinion, that these savages lived somewhat in the manner of the Tartars,
traversing the immense plains of South America, living almost constantly
on horse-back, and subsisting on such fare as their hunting expeditions,
if not their pillaging ones, brought them in.
On the morning of the 9th, an attempt was made to stem the tide, by
steering S.W. by W., but the progress was very inconsiderable; and the
wind having veered from N.W. to S.W., it was found necessary to come to
an anchor again, which was done in nineteen fathom. The weather during
this day and the following one, was so exceedingly unfavourable, that
not one fit opportunity presented of sending out a boat to fulfil the
promise made to the Patagonians, which probably was an equal
disappointment to both parties. Whole troops of the natives were seen at
the place where the landing had been made, and where, there can be no
doubt, another was anxiously expected. At midnight on the 11th, the wind
having veered to N.E., and the tide having set to the westward, a signal
was made for weighing, but unfortunately the cable parted the bits and
the hawse, so that the anchor was lost. The sails being set, some way
was made next morning; but it was little, however, as the tide soon ran
contrary, and could scarcely be stemmed with the light breeze at N.W.
This difficulty was removed at noon, about which time the tide ebbed,
and favoured their passing the second gut, when the frigate came to an
anchor to the northward of the Isle of Elizabeth, in seven fathom, at
about two miles off shore, and the store-ship a quarter of a league
farther to the S.E. in seventeen fathom. A boat landed at the island on
the 12th, but the description of it is uninteresting, as, except its
presenting great facility for landing, and having some bustards, it was
no way remarkable.
On the 13th in the afternoon, they weighed and made sail betwixt the
island and the Isles of St Bartholomew and Lions, the only practicable
channel here in the opinion of Bougainville, who, however, it is likely,
rather followed the example of Byron, than investigated for himself.
Here the tide set to the southward, and was very strong, and there were
continual squalls coming off the high land of Elizabeth Island, to which
they were forced to keep near, in order to avoid the breakers extending
round the other islands. The coast of the continent from below Cape
Noir, and which runs southward, was well covered with woods, and had a
very pleasant appearance. They sailed along the coast at about a league
distance, and for a considerable time this day, hoping to be able to
double Cape Round during the night; but in this they were disappointed,
for a little after midnight, very suddenly the wind got round to the
S.W., the coast became foggy, and the weather altogether exceedingly
foul; an evidence of the fickleness of the climate. Having split their
main-sail, they had to ply to windward as well as they could,
endeavouring to get shelter in Port Famine; but this they were unable to
effect; and, as in consequence of the short tacks they had to make, and
their being obliged to wear, they were in some risk of being taken by a
strong current into a great inlet on the Terra del Fuego side, it became
necessary for them, after losing much time and labour, to go along the
coast in search of anchorage to leeward. It was not till eleven o'clock
next morning that they succeeded in this, when they got to a bay named
by him Duclos Bay, after the second in command, where they cast anchor
in eight and a half fathom, and an oozy bottom. This bay is a little to
the south of Fresh-Water Bay, and, besides having good anchorage,
affords water of an excellent quality, about four hundred yards from the
mouth of two rivers, which discharge themselves into it: No quadrupeds
were seen here, and only a very few birds. At four o'clock on the 16th,
they set sail with a pretty favourable wind, but a cloudy sky, passed
Point St Anne and Cape Round, the Cape Shutup of others, and
brought-to, within a league and a half from Cape Forward, where they
were becalmed for two hours. Between the two points last mentioned, a
distance, according to Byron, of seven leagues S.W. by S. course,
Bougainville says there are four bays in which a vessel may anchor, and
that two of them are separated from each other by a cape of a very
singular appearance and structure. It rises more than 150 feet above the
level of the sea, and consists entirely of petrified shells lying in
horizontal strata; a line of 100 fathom, it is added, did not reach the
bottom of the sea at the foot of it. This very extraordinary monument of
the revolutions which our globe has undergone, does not seem to have
been noticed by the geologists.
Cape Forward, or St Isidore, as it has been named by some navigators,
and which is the most southerly point of the American continent, lies in
lat. 54° 5' 45". It is a perpendicular rock, the top of which is covered
with snow, but some trees are to be seen on its sides. The sea below it
is too deep for anchorage; however, between two hillocks which shew on
part of its surface, there is a little bay provided with a rivulet,
where, in case of necessity, a vessel might anchor in about fifteen
fathom. Having ascertained these and some other matters during the calm
which allowed him to use his pinnace, Bougainville returned on board,
and set out for Cape Holland. But the wind veering to S.W., he went in
search of the harbour which M. de Gennes named French Bay, and anchored
between the two points which constitute its entrance, in ten fathom.
Here he resolved to take in wood and water for his voyage across the
Pacific Ocean, as it had been so favourably described by that gentleman,
and as he himself was ignorant of the remaining navigation of the
straits. But having ascertained, however, that the anchorage was not
safe here, and that the boats could not get up the river, except at high
water, he removed eastward to a small bay, in which in 1765, as related
in the account of Byron's voyage, he had taken in wood for the Falkland
Islands, and which had been named after him Bougainville's Bay. Here
then he anchored in twenty-eight fathom, and afterwards warped into the
bottom of the bay, to ensure all safety during his continuance for the
necessary repairs and getting supplies, which took him up till the end
of December, and would in all probability have consumed more time, had
not the labours of the Etoile, his present consort, when here before,
facilitated his operations. This residence, it was expected, would allow
opportunity for examining the straits in this part, besides occupying
the astronomer and botanist, and the useful pursuits of hunting and
fowling. Their success, however, was not very considerable in any of
these respects. The sky was exceedingly unfavourable for observation;
many obstacles impeded those who searched for plants; the only animal
seen was a fox, which was killed amongst the workmen; and the attempt to
explore the coast of the continent was fruitless, as the weather became
so very tempestuous, as to force those who were engaged in it to return
to the vessel with all possible celerity, after being thoroughly
drenched in rain, and almost starved to death by cold, though in the
middle of summer. Some days after this uncomfortable expedition, another
was planned to the Terra del Fuego side, and succeeded better. On the
27th, the party intended for it, consisting among others of Bougainville
himself, Messrs de Bournand, and d'Oraison, and the Prince of Nassau,
well armed with swivel-guns and muskets, sailed in the Boudeuse's
long-boat, and the Etoile's barge, across the straits, and landed at the
mouth of a little river, on the banks of which they dined beneath the
shade of a pleasant wood, where they discovered several huts belonging
to the natives. After dinner, they rowed along the coast of Terra del
Fuego in a hollow sea, and with the wind somewhat westerly, which was
unfavourable. It carried them, however, across a great inlet, of which
they could not see the end, and which, indeed, they believed, from the
circumstances of the high rolling sea, and the numbers of whales they
observed, to have a communication with the ocean at Cape Horn. On the
farther side of this inlet, they saw several fires, which were
afterwards extinguished and again lighted, when some savages made their
appearance on the low point of a bay where it was intended to touch.
They were recognized by Bougainville, as the same people he had seen in
his first voyage in the straits, and then denominated _Pecherais_, from
the word which they pronounced so often to their visitants. They are
described as most disgustingly filthy, and extremely wretched as to
provisions, and every accommodation that renders life desirable; in
short, as the poorest and most miserable of all that bear the name of
savages. Meanly, however, as they are spoken of, it is admitted, that
they have some social virtues; but, perhaps, it is a doubtful article in
the short catalogue of their commendation, that they are superstitions
enough to put implicit confidence in the efficacy of their physicians
and priests. The number of this forlorn tribe is too inconsiderable to
render their history important, even though their manners and characters
were more calculated than they are represented to be, to excite interest
or call forth sympathy on the part of the reader. The enthusiastic
eulogist of Optimism will readily reconcile their condition to the
principles which claim his admiration, by the obvious discovery, that
their natures are in alliance with their circumstances, and by the easy
belief, that hitherto no hope or idea of greater comfort had enhanced
the magnitude of their present misery. The wretch, he would say, whose
taste can regale itself on putridity and corruption, need never be held
up as an exception to the philosophical system, which finds nothing but
beauty and happiness diffused throughout the universe; though his
appearance, it must be owned, in the very act of indulgence especially,
might somewhat stagger the student who was still engaged in enquiring
into the grounds of the theory. To be content, it is often preached, is
to be happy; the reason is, however, what perhaps they who so strongly
urge the proposition, are not quite aware of in their voluntary
complacency, that, in order to be happy, one must be contented. The
dialectical skill of an Aquinas would fail to prove the theme, that
happiness exists where there are desires ungratified, and appetites
unprovided for; and most certainly, these poor _Pecherais_ would never
be adduced by him as evidence, till he had humanely, though
sophistically, secured their testimony by bribing their stomachs. If one
may judge from the experience of Bougainville, this kind of subornation
would be somewhat difficult of accomplishment. To return.--The night
after falling in with these people, was passed on the banks of a pretty
considerable river, on which the party made a fire, and erected a sort
of tents with the sails of their boats, the weather being cold, though
fine. Next morning they discovered the bay and port of Beaubassin, so
called by them from the beauty of the anchoring-place, and which is
represented to be a commodious and safe situation. Bougainville
continued his survey to the westward, of which he has given a minute,
and to navigators, it is probable, a very useful description, not,
however, requisite for this work. Having spent a little time in this
excursion, and encountered a good deal of disagreeable weather, he
returned to the frigate, and on the last day of December weighed and set
sail, in order to pass the remainder of the straits. On the evening of
this day he doubled Cape Holland, and came to an anchor in the road of
Port Gallant, which was very fortunate, as the succeeding night became
tempestuous, the wind blowing hard at S.W. In this place, however, they
were forced by the state of the weather, which, it is said, was
inconceivably worse than the severest winter at Paris, to remain for
three weeks together, a space abundantly long to give them an intimate
acquaintance with the parts in their neighbourhood. Amongst the objects
which attracted their notice here, they found vestiges of the passage
and touching of English ships, especially a label of wood with the words
_Chatham, March_, 1766, and initial letters and names with the same
date, marked on several of the trees. M. Verron, who had got his
astronomical instruments on shore, made an observation, by which he
found the latitude to be 53° 40' 41" S., from which, and some bearings
taken at different times, it was inferred that the distance from Port
Gallant to Port Forward was twelve leagues. An attempt was made by the
same gentleman to determine the longitude of the bay, by means of an
eclipse of the moon which occurred on the 3d January (1768); but the
excessive rain which continued through the whole day and night
frustrated his endeavours. The declination of the needle was observed by
the azimuth-compass to be 22° 30' 32" N.E., and its inclination from the
elevation of the pole, 11° 11'. Such is the poor amount of the
astronomical labours for nearly a month, in this so uncourteous a season
and climate. During this long and disagreeable residence, most annoying
to both men of science and common sailors, some visits from the
_Pecherais_, already mentioned, afforded a little recreation, but of no
very elegant or dignified kind; and even this, indifferent as it was,
presented a melancholy accident, with which the reader has been already
made acquainted--one of the children of these poor creatures swallowing
some bits of glass, improvidently given him by the sailors, and losing
his life in consequence.[167] On the 13th, 14th, and 15th of January,
the weather assumed something of a milder form; and on the 16th,
appearances were altogether so agreeable, as to induce Bougainville to
weigh, the breeze being from the north, and the tide, which was ebbing,
in his favour. He was not long, however, before he had cause to repent
his facility of confidence. The wind soon shifted to W. and W.S.W., and
the tide would not serve him to gain Rupert Isle. His vessel sailed very
ill, and drove rapidly to leeward. The Etoile, it seems, had now
considerably the advantage over her. They plied all this day between
Rupert Island, and a head-land of the continent, waiting for the ebb,
with which it was hoped they might gain either the anchoring-place in
Bay Dauphine on Louis le Grand Island, or Elizabeth Bay. But as ground
was lost in this labour, Bougainville sent out a boat to sound for an
anchorage to the S.E. of Rupert's Island, where he now intended to wait,
if possible, till the tide became favourable. A signal was made from the
boat that this was found, but by this time they had fallen to leeward of
it, and had to endeavour to gain it by making a board in-shore. The
frigate unfortunately missed stays twice, and it became necessary to
wear, in the very act of which, the force of the tide brought her to the
wind again, a strong current having already taken her within half a
cable's length of the shore. In this state, an anchor was let go in
eight fathom, but falling upon rocks it came home again. At this time,
they had only three fathom and a half of water astern, and were not more
than thrice the length of the ship from the shore, when a little breeze
opportunely springing up, filled their sails, and carried them to
leeward, the boats of both vessels coming a-head, and taking her in tow.
Their danger, however, was yet to be increased, for when veering away
their cable, it happened to get foul between decks, and so stopt their
course; a hinderance, for which there remained no other remedy than that
of cutting it, which was most promptly done, and saved the ship. The
breeze then freshened, and enabled them with some difficulty and
tacking, to return to Port Gallant, where they anchored in twenty
fathom, and an oozy bottom. Thus ended their enjoyment of the fine
weather.
[Footnote 167: This is particularly related in our account of Cook's
voyage, vol. xii. p. 397.]
On the following day, a greater storm came on than had been yet
experienced. The sea ran mountains high in the channel, and often
exhibited waves striking in contrary directions against each other. A
clap of thunder was heard at noon, the only one they had ever noticed in
this strait, and it seemed to be a signal for an increased violence of
the wind. They dragged their anchor in the storm, and were obliged to
let go the sheet-anchor, and to strike their lower yards and top-masts.
Some intervals between the bad weather occurred on the 18th and 19th,
and allowed them, among other things, to send the Etoile's barge, which
was in peculiar good condition, to view the channel of _Sainte Barbe_,
about which, however, his information was so scanty and apparently
incorrect, at least imperfect, as to prove of little utility in his
present situation. This he the more regretted, as, in his opinion, the
perfect knowledge of it would have considerably shortened the passage of
the straits. It requires little time, he remarks, to get to Port
Gallant, the chief difficulty being to double Cape Forward, which, he
says, is rendered easier by the discovery he made of three ports on the
Terra del Fuego side; and when once that port is gained, even though the
winds should prevent a vessel taking the ordinary course, this channel
is open, and may be gone through in twenty-four hours, so as to reach
the South Sea. He could not perfectly demonstrate the truth of this
opinion he entertained, as the bad weather prevented the examination of
some points as he had projected.
The storm and bad weather continued with little intermission till the
24th, when a calm and some sun-shine induced him to make another attempt
to proceed. Since re-entering Port Gallant, he had taken in several tons
of ballast, and altered his stowage, by which he succeeded in getting
the frigate to sail better than it did before. On the whole, however, he
remarks, it will always be found very difficult to manage so long a
vessel as a frigate usually is, in the midst of currents. Captain Cook,
perhaps, had contemplated such a difficulty, when he assigned his
reasons for preferring a vessel like the Endeavour, for the purposes of
discovery.
On the 25th, at one in the morning, they unmoored, weighed at three, the
breeze being northerly, but settling in the east at half-past five, when
they got top-gallant and studding-sails set, a circumstance somewhat
unusual in this navigation. They kept the middle of the strait,
following the windings of what Narborough justly calls Crooked Reach.
The coast runs W.N.W. for about two leagues from Bay Elizabeth, when
you reach the Bachelor river of that navigator. This is easily known; it
comes from a deep valley, having a high mountain on the west, the most
westerly point of which is low and wooded, and the coast is sandy.
Bougainville reckons three leagues from this river to the entrance of St
Jerome's channel, or the False Strait as others have called it, and the
bearing is N.W. by W. This channel, the entrance of which is said to be
about half a league broad, may be easily mistaken for the true one, as
it is admitted, happened at first on the present occasion. In order to
avoid it, Bougainville advises to keep the coast of Louis le Grand
Island on board, which may be done, he says, without danger. He himself
ran within a mile of the shore of this island, which is about four
leagues long, and the north side of which runs W.N.W., as far as Bay
Dauphine. At noon this day, Cape Quade (or Quod) which is about four
leagues from St Jerome's channel, bore W. 13° S. two leagues distant,
and Cape St Louis, E. by N. about two leagues and a half. The weather
continued fair, and they had the advantage of all their sails being set.
The strait runs W.N.W. and N.W. by W. from Cape Quade, and being without
any considerable turnings, has obtained the name of Long-Reach. The cape
consists of craggy rocks, resembling some ancient ruins, and the coast,
up to it is wooded, the verdure of the trees contrasting finely with the
frozen and snowy summits of the neighbouring mountains; but after
doubling this point, the nature of the country is said to be very
different, presenting scarcely any thing but barren rocks, the intervals
of which are filled up with immense masses of no less unfriendly ice,
altogether meriting the name which Narborough bestowed on it in the
penury of his feelings, the Desolation of the South. Opposite this cape,
and about fifteen leagues off, is Cape Monday on the Terra del Fuego
side, which, with other remarkable points of this strait, we have
elsewhere described. Bougainville was tempted by the fineness of the
weather to continue his course in this strait during the night, but the
excessive rain and wind which came on about ten o'clock, made him repent
his temerity, and rendered his situation betwixt two shores, which it
required the greatest caution and continual activity to avoid, one of
the most critical and unpleasant he experienced during the voyage. The
dawn of the following day, gave them sight of the land, which for some
hours they had been groping against in the utmost fear of collision;
and about noon, they descried Cape Pillar, the termination of this
perilous strait, beyond which, there beamed on their joyful eyes an
immense horizon and an unspotted sea.
Fifty-two days were elapsed since they left Cape Virgin, the half of
which had been spent in inactive but painful suffering at Port Gallant.
Bougainville reckons the length of the strait at about one-hundred and
fourteen leagues, viz. from Cape Virgin Mary to Cape Pillar; and in his
opinion, notwithstanding the difficulties of the passage, it is to be
preferred to doubling Cape Horn, especially in the period from September
to the end of March. His reasons for this opinion, and the concurrent
and contrary sentiments of other navigators, have been either already
stated, or will require to be so hereafter, and need not now interrupt
our prosecution of the remainder of his voyage.
A few days after entering the Western Sea, the wind got S. and S.S.W.
This was sooner than Bougainville expected, as it was thought the west
winds generally lasted to about 30°, and obliged him to lay aside his
intention of going to the isle of Juan Fernandez, as the doing so would
necessarily prolong his voyage. He stood, therefore, as much as possible
to the west, in order to keep the wind, and to get off the coast; and
with a view to discover a greater space of the ocean, he directed the
commander of the Etoile to go every morning southward as far from him as
the weather would permit, keeping in sight, and to join, him in the
evening, and follow in his wake at about half a league's distance. This
it was hoped would both facilitate examination, and secure mutual
assistance, and was the order of sailing preserved throughout the
voyage.
He now directed his course in search of the land seen by Davis in 1686,
between 27° and 28° south latitude, and sought for in vain by Roggewein.
This search, however, was equally fruitless, though Bougainville crossed
the position laid down for it in M. de Bellin's chart. His conclusion,
in consequence, is, that the land spoken of by Davis was no other than
the isles of St Ambrose and St Felix, which are about two hundred
leagues off the coast of Chili. Westerly winds came on about the 23d of
February, and lasted to the 3d of March, the weather varying much, but
almost every day bringing rain about noon, accompanied with thunder.
This seemed strange to Bougainville, as this ocean under the tropic had
always been renowned for the uniformity and freshness of the E. and S.E.
trade-winds, supposed to last throughout the year. In the month of
February, four astronomical observations were made for determining the
longitude. The first, made on the 6th, differed 31' from the reckoning,
the latter being to the westward. The second, on the 11th, differed 37'
45", in the opposite direction. By the third, made on the 22d, the
reckoning was 42' 30", westward in excess; and that of the 27th shewed a
difference of 1' 25" in the same line. At this time they had calms and
contrary winds. The thermometer, till they came to 45° latitude, had
always kept between 5° and 8° above the freezing point; after that, it
rose successively, and when they were between 27° and 24° latitude,
varied upwards a good deal. A sore throat prevailed among the crew of
the frigate ever since leaving the straits, and was attributed, whether
justly or not, to the snow waters they had been in the habit of using
there. It was not, however, very obstinate, readily yielding to simple
remedies; and at the end of March, it is said, there was no body on the
sick list.
On the 21st of this month, a tunny was caught with some little fish, not
yet digested in its belly, which are noticed never to go any great
distance from the shore. This accordingly was held as an indication of
land being near, and indeed a just one, in the present instance; for
about six in the morning of the next day, they got sight of four little
isles at one time, bearing S.S.E. 1/2 E., and of another about four
leagues west. The former, Bougainville called _les quatre Facardins_,
but being too far to windward for him at present, he preferred standing
for the single one a-head. On approaching this, it was discovered to be
surrounded with a very level sand, and to have all its interior parts
covered with thick woods surmounted by cocoa-trees. So delightful an
appearance as it presented, lost none of its charms in the eyes of men
who longed for the refreshments of dry land and the vegetable world. But
their desires must have consumed them, had this been the only shore
which could gratify them. It was found impossible to land on it, or to
obtain the advantages which it seemed to hold out to their hopes.
Bougainville bestowed on it the name of _Isle des Lanciers_, from the
circumstance of his noticing about fifteen or twenty of its inhabitants
carrying very long pikes, as in the act of brandishing them against the
ship, with signs of threatening. After this idle display of courage,
they were seen to retire to the woods, where it was possible to
distinguish their huts by means of glasses. The men are represented as
being tall, and of a bronze colour, and destitute of clothing.
In the night of the 22d, a storm came on attended with thunder and rain,
which obliged Bougainville to bring to, for fear of running against some
of the lowlands in this sea. At day-break on the following day, land was
seen bearing from N.E. by N. to N.N.W., which he stood for; at eight
o'clock, he got about three leagues from its eastermost point; but then
perceiving that there were breakers all along the opposite coast, which
seemed low and covered with trees, he stood out to sea again, waiting
for fairer weather to permit a nearer approach. This was done towards
ten o'clock, when the island was not more than a league off. Similar
difficulties, however, were experienced here, as at the former island;
and after several fruitless attempts to find anchorage for the ships, or
a landing-place for the boats, it was necessary to abandon it, which was
done with similar feelings of chagrin on the morning of the 24th. This
island was denominated Harp Island, from its figure, and had inhabitants
much resembling those of the one which had been previously discovered.
At five in the afternoon of this day, an island was discovered about
seven or eight leagues distant; another, in the morning of the 25th,
extending S.E. and N.W.; and the course was continued till the 27th,
between several low and partly overflowed islands, four of which were
examined and found quite inaccessible, or undeserving of being visited.
To the whole cluster, Bougainville gave the name of _Dangerous
Archipelago_, by which they have been generally known since his day, and
which sufficiently indicates the nature of the navigation around them.
He now shaped his course more southerly, in order to avoid a situation
which presented him with so many difficulties, and yielded so few
comforts; and on the 28th, he ceased to see land. About this time, it is
noted, the scurvy made its appearance on eight or ten of the crew,
which was imputed in a great degree to the moistness of the weather.
Lemonade was the principal article used for the removal or prevention of
it. From the 3d of March till his arrival at New Britain, Bougainville
constantly used Poissonier's distilling apparatus, by which, he says,
above a barrel of tolerably fresh water was obtained daily.
On the 2d of April, the island of Otaheite, or Taiti, as Bougainville
calls it, was got sight of, and soon afterwards were discovered some of
the islands in its neighbourhood. But it was not till the 4th, that,
when standing in for the shore of the former, as likely to realize the
hopes of refreshment, which had been so eagerly entertained by the crew,
some of the natives came off to them in their canoes, and commenced a
friendly intercourse. Being ignorant of the coast and nature of the
situation, for to Bougainville, at this time, Otaheite was a new
discovery, a good deal of time was lost in examining the island for an
anchoring-place, which was not determined on till the 6th. The numbers
of islanders that surrounded the ships as they neared the land, rendered
the operations of mooring and warping somewhat difficult and
troublesome. The manners too of these _easy_ people multiplied
embarrassments, of a particular kind, which it required no ordinary
authority and self-denial to controul. In one instance, however, it is
said, the presence of an Otaheitan Venus, in any thing else than a
repulsive attitude, had the effect of expediting the necessary work.
Both sailors and soldiers, it seems, pressed towards the hatch-way,
where she had planted herself in all the revealed attraction of _native_
beauty; and the capstern was in consequence hove with more than common
eagerness and expedition. But the utmost care, one may readily believe,
was requisite to keep these enchanted fellows in good order. It is a
trite remark, that the imaginary anticipation of pleasure is seldom or
ever equalled by the enjoyment of it. Independent of the causes which
may account for such commonly experienced disappointment, it is ten to
one in almost any case, but that in a world like this, some vexatious
occurrence or other, nowise calculated on by an excited fancy, will
altogether prevent the realization hoped for. Such was the fortune of
Bougainville's cook, who, in spite of the law to the contrary, effected
his escape to the shore in company with a complying damsel. The poor
fellow soon returned on board, more dead than alive. Immediately on
landing, it seems, the natives surrounded him, and with all the ease and
genuine curiosity of naturalists inspecting a non-descript mineral,
proceeded to turn him over and over, undressing him from head to foot,
and pawing him about most tumultuously. They afterwards returned him his
clothes, replacing whatever they had taken out of his pockets, and then
brought the girl to him. But after such a scrutinizing and fatiguing
process, it was no wonder that the terrified cook should desist from his
addresses, and make the best of his way back. He afterwards said, his
master might reprimand him as much as he pleased, but could never
frighten him so much as he had been frightened on shore. When the ships
were moored, Bougainville with several of his officers went to survey
the watering-place. The natives expressed joy at their arrival; and the
chief of the district conducted them into his own house, and entertained
them there with liberal hospitality. The rights of friendship,
nevertheless, did not obliterate the inclination to thieving, so
prevalent among these people, for a little before going on board, one of
the gentlemen missed a pistol, which he had been in the habit of
carrying in his pocket. The chief was immediately informed of it, and
gave orders for searching all the persons present. Bougainville stopped
him, and endeavoured to make him understand, that the thief would
certainly be the victim of his own dishonesty, for that what he had
stolen would kill him. This hint had the desired effect; for on the
following day, the pistol was brought on board by the chief himself.
It was now proposed to erect a camp on shore for the sick, and to carry
on the watering and other necessary operations. But this was soon
opposed, the principal people of the district, headed by the chief,
whose name was Ereti, and his father, coming to Bougainville, and
expressing their unwillingness to suffer any of the crew to remain on
shore at night, though they did not object to frequenting it in the
day-time. To this tolerably reasonable intimation, Bougainville replied,
that encampment was absolutely necessary for him, and would facilitate
the friendly intercourse that had been commenced. On this, the natives
held a council, the result of which was, that the chief came to
Bougainville, and made enquiry of him, whether or not he intended to
remain there for ever, and if the latter, how long it would be before he
departed. He was informed that the ships were to sail in eighteen days.
Another council was now held, at which Bougainville was desired to be
present. A grave man who took an active part in the conference, was very
desirous to reduce the time of encamping to half the number of days; but
Bougainville still insisted on his original proposal, to which at last
the council assented, and a good understanding was immediately restored.
The remainder of the stay here does not seem, however, to have been
either very peaceable or free from danger. The thieving disposition of
the natives occasioned several unpleasant contentions and perpetual
jealousy. Two of them were murdered by some of the crew, but on what
grounds, or by whom particularly, it is said, could not be discovered.
The circumstance led to much apprehension of an attempt to revenge, and
measures were accordingly taken to render it inefficient, but they were
seemingly unnecessary. The dangers at sea were much more formidable, and
far less easily provided against. It is perhaps quite enough to say of
them, that the ships were for a considerable time in the greatest risque
of being wrecked on the reef coast of the island, and that in the short
space of nine days during which they were here, they lost no less than
six anchors. All this, it is probable, would have been avoided, if
Bougainville had been better acquainted with the island. His description
of it, indeed, is so imperfect, and in several respects erroneous, as to
be altogether void of interest to any one who peruses what we have
already given on the subject, in the preceding and present volumes. We
shall accordingly pass it over, specifying only a few particulars
respecting one of its natives Aotourou, who, at his own desire,
accompanied Bougainville to Europe, and whose history has attracted a
little notice.
This young man was the son of an Otaheitan chief, and a captive woman of
the neighbouring isle of Oopoa, with the natives of which the Otaheitans
often carried on war. Immediately on Bougainville's arrival at his
native place, he expressed a determination to follow the strangers,
which his countrymen seemed to applaud, and his zeal in which was so
great as to overcome an attachment to a handsome girl, from whom he had
to tear himself on coming aboard the ship. Bougainville admits, that in
yielding to this determination, he hoped to avail himself of one whose
knowledge of the language of the people in this part of the world, was
likely to be useful in the remainder of his voyage; and besides this,
which perhaps was laudable enough, or at least justifiable, he
entertained the supposition, rather an unlikely one indeed, that through
him on his return, _enriched by the useful knowledge_ which he would
bring, a profitable union might be established betwixt these islanders
and his own nation. The immediate advantages were not considerable, for
this youth's talents were but slender, and the ultimate object was never
accomplished, as he died of the small-pox in the voyage out to Otaheite.
Bougainville, notwithstanding, is deserving of credit for the care and
attention he bestowed on him. He spared neither money nor trouble to
render his residence at Paris both comfortable and useful, and so far
succeeded, it appears, as that during the long time Aotourou was there,
he gave no symptoms of weariness. But it is certain, on the other hand,
that his advancement in useful knowledge was not very flattering to his
teachers, and never equalled the favourable ideas Bougainville had
entertained of his capabilities. Mr Forster says, in a footnote to the
translation, that some Englishmen who saw him at Paris, and whose
testimony, were their names mentioned, would be decisive with the
public, were decidedly of opinion, that Aotourou was naturally a stupid
fellow, an opinion, it seems, in which his own countrymen unanimously
concurred. The amount of his improvements, even on Bougainville's own
evidence, was, his _scarcely_ blabbering out some French words, his
finding his way through Paris, his _hardly ever_ paying for things
beyond their real value, and his _perfectly well knowing the days of the
opera_, to the amusements of which he shewed an excessive partiality.
These degrees of refinement, it must be allowed, do not indicate
superlative talents; yet, if one may judge from the advancement in
_Frenchification_ made by many who have visited Paris from other
countries, they may not depreciate the docility of poor Aotourou, much
below the common average! He embarked at Rochelle in 1770, on board the
Brisson, which was to take him to the Isle of France, whence, by orders
of the ministry, he was to be conveyed home, which, as already
mentioned, he never reached.
At eight in the morning of the 16th of April, the ships were about ten
leagues N.E. by N. off the north point of Otaheite, from which point,
Bougainville now took his departure. He got sight of some land in the
vicinity on the same day, and shaped his course so as to avoid what
Roggewein called the Pernicious Isles. During the remainder of this
month, the weather continued very fine, and the winds were chiefly from
the east inclining to the north. In the first week of May, several
islands were discovered, which Bougainville divided into two clusters,
calling one the Archipelago of Bourbon, and the other the Archipelago of
the Navigators. Some of them, it is probable, had been known before, as
the ascertained longitude corresponded tolerably well with that which
Abel Tasman gave for the isles of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, &c. bad weather
came on the 6th of this month, and continued with scarcely any
interruption till the 20th, during which period, calms, rains, and
westerly winds were to be encountered. The situation of the ships had
now become very distressing. There was a scarcity of water and wholesome
provisions; the scurvy broke out among the crew, and several men were
affected with venereal symptoms, the consequence, it is said, of
infection got at Otaheite. Hence it is asked, but by no means is the
affirmative reply distinctly asserted, if the English brought it there?
This subject has been discussed with tolerable freedom in another part
of this work, and need not be resumed here. Such critical circumstances
induced Bougainville to use all possible speed in getting to some place
of refreshment, and of course materially interfered with his plan of
making discoveries.
On the 22d of May, two isles were observed, the most southerly bearing
from S. by E. to S.W. by S., and seeming to be about twelve leagues
long, in a N.N.W. direction; the other bore from S.W. 1/2 S. to W.N.W.,
and having been first seen at day-break, was called Aurora. To the
former, in honour of the day, was given the name of _Isle de la
Pentecôte_, or Whitsun Isle. Bougainville attempted to pass betwixt
these two islands, but the wind failing him, he was obliged to go to
leeward of Aurora. In getting to the northward, along its eastern shore,
he saw a little isle, rising like a sugar-loaf and bearing N. by W.
which he denominated Peak of the Etoile. He now ranged along the Isle
of Aurora, at about a league and a half distant. It is described as
about ten leagues in length, but not more than two in breadth, with
steep shores, and as covered with wood. At two in the afternoon, when
coasting this isle, the summits of high mountains were perceived over
it, about ten leagues off, which belonged to another island, as was
found next morning. This island lay S.W. of Aurora, and at the nearest
part was about three or four leagues from it. Several canoes were seen
along its coasts, but none of the natives put off to the ships. Though
no bottom could be found near the shore with fifty fathom, yet
Bougainville resolved, if possible, to make a landing on it, in order to
get wood and necessary refreshments. A party of men was accordingly sent
off in three armed boats; and effected a landing without any opposition.
Bougainville himself and some others went to join this party in the
afternoon, and found it busily employed as directed, the natives lending
considerable assistance by conveying wood, &c. to the boats. At first,
indeed, they presented themselves in an armed posture, and seemed
resolved to prevent any intrusion on their ground, but the prudent and
conciliatory conduct of the officers effected a relinquishment of
immediate hostility. This, it is thought, was but deceitful, and
apparently intended to throw the party off its guard. Very probably,
they meditated a serious attack, but were disconcerted by the party
embarking sooner than they expected. In doing so, they exhibited what
had continued to actuate them, for when the party put off in their
boats, these people followed it, and showed their dexterity in throwing
stones and arrows, from which they did not desist, till twice fired on
by the crew. These savages are unfavourably described; they are said to
have been ugly, of short stature, and ill proportioned; and as they were
affected with a disease which Bougainville considered leprosy, this
island got the name of Isle of Lepers. The few women that were seen, at
best rivalled the men in disagreeable appearance, and were about as
naked.
Bougainville now made sail to the S.W. for a long coast in sight,
extending as far as the eye could reach, from S.W. to W.N.W., but as
there was little or no wind during the 24th, both day and night, he was
left to the mercy of the currents, which would scarcely allow him to get
three leagues off the Isle of Lepers. He advanced somewhat better on the
25th, though the Etoile still lay becalmed, and at last found himself,
as it were, shut up in a great gulph in the land, which lay to the west.
Not knowing whether he was so or not, it became necessary to stand again
towards that island, and in consequence the 25th was lost in making
short tacks, which were the more required, as the Etoile did not feel
the breeze till the evening.
The bearings taken on the 26th, shewed that the currents had taken them
several miles to the southward of their reckoning. Whitsun-isle still
appeared separated from the S.W. land, but by a narrower passage, and
what had before been considered a continued coast, was now found to be a
cluster of islands. Some agreeable appearances induced several attempts
at landing, but they were unavailing, and only exposed those that made
them to attacks from the natives, who seemed to concur with the natural
difficulties around their islands, in preventing too near an approach.
Bougainville bestowed the name of Archipelago of the Great Cyclades on
these very numerous isles, which lie in 30° S. latitude, and 180°
longitude west of Ferro, and which have been better known since the time
of Cook by the name of New Hebrides. During Bougainville's being on
board the Etoile about this time, transacting some necessary business,
he had the opportunity of verifying a report, which had for a good while
been circulated in both ships, viz. that M. de Commerçon's servant,
named Baré, was a woman. Several suspicious circumstances had been
noticed as to her sex, and something amounting to a discovery of it had
been made, it seems, by the _very discerning_ people of Otaheite; but
now, she came to Bougainville, her face covered with tears, and
confessed it, giving a history of herself, and an explanation of her
reasons for undertaking so romantic an expedition. "She will be the
first woman," says Bougainville, "that ever made such a voyage, and I
must do her the justice to affirm, that she always behaved on board with
the most scrupulous modesty. She was neither ugly nor handsome, and not
more than twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age. It must be owned,
that if the two ships had been wrecked on any uninhabited island in the
ocean, the fate of Baré would have been a very singular one." The idea
perhaps is scarcely susceptible of embellishment, but one may wonder,
that it never struck the fancy of a poet.
On the 29th of May, they lost sight of the land, which had so much but
so fruitlessly engaged their attention, and sailed westward with a very
fresh south-east wind. This brought them on the 4th June, to a low flat
island, surrounded, by a dangerous shoal, to which with little courtesy,
perhaps, to the goddess, was given the name of the Shoal of Diana. A
sand-bank and breakers were discovered on the 6th, and indicated such a
dangerous navigation, that Bougainville immediately resolved on altering
his course, which he did by steering N.E. by N., abandoning entirely his
scheme of proceeding westward, in the latitude of 15°. He justifies this
conduct by the reflection, that though he had persevered in his original
intention, he must have reached the eastern coast of New Holland, which,
estimating it by what Dampier ascertained of the western coast, would
have proved both unimportant and inhospitable. The judicious reader,
however, will allow far greater weight to the circumstances of his
deficiency for an uncertain navigation, than to such hypothetical
reasoning. He had only bread for two months, and pulse for forty days;
and his salt meat had become so bad, that the crew preferred the rats to
it, whenever they were fortunate enough to catch them.
The S.E. wind unluckily failing them, their course from the 7th made
good, was only N. by E., when on the 10th at day-break, land was seen,
bearing from E. to N.W., a delicious smell having previously intimated
its vicinity. This was off the N.E. coast of New Holland, the passage
betwixt which and New Britain, Bougainville mistook for a deep gulph or
bay, and which of course he had the utmost difficulty to get clear of,
with an unfavourable wind, very bad weather, and a great south-eastern
swell. This mistake seems to have occasioned him more danger and much
greater hardships than had yet been experienced. To this imaginary
gulph, Bougainville gave the name of Gulph of the Louisiade, and that of
Cape Deliverance to its N. or N.N.E. extremity, which he doubled after
no less than a fortnight spent in extreme peril and continual fears. In
the morning of the 28th, when about sixty leagues to the northward of
this cape, and steering N.E. on the coast of New Britain, he discovered
land to the N.W. nine or ten leagues off. This proved to be two isles,
and about the same time there appeared a long high coast, extending to
the northward for some distance, and then turning to N.N.W. His
situation was extremely hazardous among these lands, to him altogether
unknown, often surrounded with dangerous shoals, and his boats, which
were occasionally sent out to sound, being sometimes beset by the
natives. It was not till the 5th of July, that he succeeded in finding
any thing like safe anchorage, which he at last effected in Carteret's
Harbour, or, as he calls it, Port Praslin. It was here, as we have
elsewhere related, that he found some vestiges of the Swallow's
residence a short time before. The situation was far from yielding the
advantages so much longed for; no refreshments could be procured for the
sick, and scarcely any thing solid for the healthy. The miseries of
famine stared them in the face, and the delay occasioned by the
necessity of repairing the vessels, and the wretched state of the
weather, aggravated their sufferings in the highest degree. At last, on
the evening of the 24th, a breeze springing up from the bottom of the
harbour, enabled them, with the help of the boats, to get out to sea,
when they steered from E. by S. to N.N.E., turning to northward with the
land. The longitude was corrected by observation on leaving Port
Praslin, which gave a difference of about 3°, the reckoning being to the
eastward.
Bougainville now coasted New Britain for some time, passing betwixt it
and a series of islands, on which he bestowed the names of his principal
officers. The sufferings of the crew for want of proper and sufficient
victuals, were now extreme; but no one, we are told, was dejected or
altogether lost patience. On the contrary, it was quite usual for both
officers and men to dance in the evenings, as if in a time of the
greatest ease and plenty. Such recreation, one may most certainly infer
from Bougainville's own words, must soon have been performed very
languidly, and in a little time longer ceased entirely; for it became
necessary to shorten even the small allowance of food, which, repeated
attempts at landing on different shores failed to augment, and the
quality of the provisions too, was such, as in the emphatic language of
Bougainville, rendered those the hardest moments of the sad days they
passed, when the bell gave notice to receive the disgusting and
unwholesome fare. The scurvy also made fearful impression on them after
leaving Port Praslin; no one could be said to be quite free from it,
and half of the ships' companies could not do duty. But such misery was
now near a termination, for having navigated, with several nautical
difficulties, a strait formed by the Papou Isles denominated _Passage
des Francois_, the ships came to an anchor on the last day of August, in
Cajeli Bay, on the coast of the island Boero, where there was a Dutch
settlement, and where provisions of an excellent sort, and the necessary
refreshments, were got in abundance. The effects of such a favourable
change were most speedy and obvious, so that in the course of six days,
all things were ready for prosecuting the voyage. Bougainville therefore
left Boero on the 7th September, and steered successively N.E. by N. and
N.N.E in order to clear the guiph of Cajeli. Having accomplished this,
he directed his course through the straits of Bouton, of which, and of
the adjacent coasts, he has given a tolerably minute description,
useful, it is likely, to mariners. After this, he got sight of the high
lands of the island Saleyer, on the 18th September, and passed the
strait betwixt it and the island of Celebes. On the 21st, he got sight
of the isles Alambia, the position of which, as of several other
interesting points in this navigation, it is candidly admitted, is very
inaccurately laid down in the common French charts; but Bougainville
takes the opportunity, which, it is believed, no one will grudge, of
paying a tribute of commendation to the labours and worth of D'Anville.
His map of Asia, he says, published in 1752, gave him the greatest
assistance, and is very good from Ceram to the isles of Alambia,
Bougainville having verified his positions in this navigation. He adds,
"I do this justice to M. D'Anville's work with pleasure; I knew him
intimately, and he appeared to me to be as good a member of society as
he was a critic and a man of erudition." Bougainville now kept along the
shore of Java, and after being out at sea for ten months and a half,
arrived at Batavia on the 28th of September.
After the account we have already given of Batavia in this volume, it
would be quite unnecessary to notice what Bougainville says of it. We
shall only mention that his experience of its unhealthiness was such, as
made him use all imaginable expedition to leave it, in order to save the
lives of his people, who were reduced to a most deplorable state of
health. What Captain Cook says of his old sail-makers is somewhat
paralleled by what Bougainville relates of the effect of the novelties
of Batavia on the Otaheitan man Aotourou, in keeping him so highly and
constantly excited, as for long to preserve him from the prevailing
illnesses. At last, we are told, the poor fellow fell sick, and it is
mentioned, evidently in praise of his docility, that he became as good a
swallower of physic, as a man born in Paris! The inference from this is
somewhat dubious, but not to be sceptical, _valeat quantum valere
potest_. Aotourou's remembrance of the evils of Batavia was such, as
prompted him, whenever he named it, to call it, in the language of his
country, _enoua mate_, "the land which kills."
It was the 16th October when Bougainville quitted Batavia, on the 19th
he cleared the straits of Sunda, and in little more than a fortnight
afterwards, he came in sight of the Isle of France, where he found it
necessary to put in, to have the frigate hove down and repaired, and to
procure refreshments for his voyage home. Having accomplished these
objects, he set sail on the 12th December, leaving the Etoile there to
be careened, as his junction with her was no longer needed for either
vessel. On touching at the Cape of Good Hope, he learned, as is
elsewhere mentioned, that Captain Carteret was eleven days before him.
This, however, owing to the state of the Swallow, was an inconsiderable
advantage, and soon ceased to exist. The particulars of the meeting
which took place betwixt that vessel and Bougainville's, have been
related in our account of Carteret's voyage, to which the reader is
referred.
On the 4th of March, Bougainville got sight of the isle of Tereera, on
the 14th of Ushant, and on the 16th entered the port of St Maloes, after
a voyage of two years and four months.
END OF THE THIRTEENTH VOLUME.