Carteret continued his search until the 7th of June. He was in 28

degrees south latitude and 112 degrees west longitude, that is to say,

he was in the immediate neighbourhood of Easter Island. It was still

the depth of winter. The sea ran continually high, violent and

variable winds, dull, foggy, and cold weather was accompanied by

thunder, rain, and snow. No doubt it was owing to the great darkness,

and to the thick fog, which hid the sun for several days, that

Carteret failed to perceive Easter Island, for many signs, such as the

number of birds, floating seaweeds, &c., announced the neighbourhood

of land.

These atmospheric troubles again retarded the voyage, in addition to

which the _Swallow_ was as bad a sailer as possible, and one may guess

at the weariness, the preoccupation, even the mental suffering of the

captain, who saw his crew on the point of starvation. But in spite of

all, the voyage was continued by day and night in a westerly direction

until the 2nd of July. Upon this day land was discovered to the north,

and on the morrow, Carteret was sufficiently close to recognize it. It

was only a great rock five miles in circumference, covered with trees,

which appeared uninhabited, but the swell, so prevalent at this time

of year, prevented the vessel coming alongside. It was named Pitcairn,

after the first discoverer. In these latitudes, the sailors,

previously in good health, felt the first attacks of scurvy.

Upon the 11th, a new land was seen in 22 degrees southern latitude,

and 145 degrees 34 minutes longitude. It received the name of

Osnaburgh in honour of the king's second son.

Next day Carteret sent an expedition to two more islands, where

neither eatables nor water were found. The sailors caught many birds

in their hands, as they were so tame that they did not fly at the

approach of man.

All these islands belonged to the Dangerous group, a long chain of low

islands, clusters of which were the despair of all navigators, for the

few resources they offered. Carteret thought he recognized Quiros in

the land discovered, but this place, which is called by the natives

Tahiti, is situated more to the north.

Sickness, however, increased daily. The adverse winds, but especially

the damage the ship had sustained, made her progress very slow.

Carteret thought it necessary to follow the route upon which he was

most likely to obtain provisions and the needful repairs.

"My intention in the event of my ship being repaired," says Carteret,

"was to continue my voyage to the south upon the return of a

favourable season, with a view to new discoveries in that quarter of

the world. In fact, I had settled in my own mind, if I could find a

continent where sufficient provisions were procurable, to remain near

its coast until the sun had passed the Equator, then to gain a distant

southern latitude and to proceed westward towards the Cape of Good

Hope, and to return eastward after touching at the Falkland Islands,

should it be necessary, and thence to proceed quickly to Europe."

These laudable intentions show Carteret to have been a true explorer,

rather stimulated than intimidated by danger, but it proved impossible

to carry them into execution.

The trade wind was only met on the 16th, and the weather remained

detestable. Above all, although Carteret navigated in the

neighbourhood of Danger Island, discovered in 1765 by Byron, and by

others, he saw no land.

"We probably were close by land," he says, "which the fog prevented

our seeing, for in these waters numbers of birds constantly flew round

the ship. Commodore Byron in his last voyage had passed the northern

limits of this portion of the ocean, in which the Solomon Islands are

said to be situated, and as I have been myself beyond the southern

limit without seeing them, I have good reasons for thinking, that if

these islands exist they have been badly marked on all the charts."

This last supposition is correct, but the Solomon Islands do exist,

and Carteret stopped there a few days later without recognizing them.

The victuals were now all but consumed or tainted, the rigging and the

sails torn by the tempest, half the crew on the sick list, when a

fresh alarm for the captain arose. A leak was reported, just below the

load water-line; it was impossible to stop it, as long as they were in

the open sea. By unexpected good fortune land was seen on the morrow.

Needless to say what cries of delight, what acclamations followed this

discovery. To use Carteret's own comparison, the feelings of surprise

and comfort experienced by the crew can only be likened to those of a

criminal, who at the last moment on the scaffold receives a reprieve!

It was Nitendit Island, already discovered by Mendana.

No sooner was the anchor cast than landing was hurried, in search of

water supply. The natives were black, with woolly hair, and perfectly

naked. They appeared upon the shore, but fled again before the boat

could come up with them.

The leader of the landing-party described the country as wild,

bristling with mountains and impenetrable forests of trees and shrubs

reaching to the shore itself, through which ran a fine current of

fresh water.

The following day, the master was sent in search of an easier

landing-place, with orders to propitiate the natives, if possible, by

presents. He was expressly enjoined not to expose himself to danger,

to return if several pirogues advanced against him, not to leave the

boat himself, and not to allow more than two men to land at once,

whilst the remainder held themselves on the defensive.

Carteret, at the same time, sent his ship's boat on shore for water.

Some natives attacked it with arrows, which fortunately hit no one.

Meantime, the sloop regained the _Swallow_, the master had three

arrows in his body, and half his crew were so dangerously wounded that

three sailors and he himself died a few days later.

This is what had happened. Landing the fifth in succession, in a spot

where he had noticed huts, he entered into friendly traffic with the

natives. The latter soon increased in numbers, and several large

pirogues advanced towards his sloop, and he was unable to rejoin it

until the very moment when the attack commenced. Pursued by the arrows

of the natives, who waded up to their shoulders into the water, chased

by pirogues, he only succeeded in escaping after having killed several

natives and foundered one of their boats.

[Illustration: "Pursued by the arrows of the natives."]

This effort to find a more favourable spot where he might run the

_Swallow_ ashore, having ended so unfortunately, Carteret heaved his

ship down where he was, and efforts were made to stop the leak. If the

carpenter, the only healthy man on board, did not succeed in perfectly

stopping it, he at least considerably diminished it.

Whilst a fresh landing for water was sought, the fire of the guns was

directed upon the woods as well as volleys of musketry from the sloop.

Still the sailors worked for a quarter of an hour, when they were

attacked by a shower of arrows which grievously wounded one or two in

the breast. The same measures were necessary each time they fetched

water.

At this juncture, thirty of the crew became incapable of performing

their duty. The master died of his wounds. Lieutenant Gower was very

ill. Carteret himself, attacked by a bilious and inflammatory illness,

was forced to keep his bed.

These three were the only officers capable of navigating the _Swallow_

to England, and they were on the point of succumbing.

To stay the ravages of disease, it was necessary to procure provisions

at all costs, and this was utterly impossible in this spot. Carteret

weighed anchor on the 17th of August, after calling the island Egmont,

in honour of the Lord of the Admiralty, and the bay where he had

anchored, Swallow. Although convinced that it was identical with the

land named Santa Cruz by the Spaniards, the navigator nevertheless

followed the prevailing mania of giving new appellations to all the

places he visited. He then coasted the shore for a short distance, and

ascertained that the population was large. He had many a crow to pick

with the natives. These obstacles, and moreover the impossibility of

procuring provisions, prevented Carteret's reconnoitring the other

islands of this group, upon which he bestowed the name of Queen

Charlotte.

[Illustration: Map of Queen Charlotte Islands. (Fac-simile of early

engraving.)]

"The inhabitants of Egmont Isle," he says, "are extremely agile,

active, and vigorous. They appear to live as well in water as on land,

for they are continually jumping from their pirogues into the sea. One

of the arrows which they sent passed through the planks of the boat,

and dangerously wounded the officer at the poop in the thigh.

"Their arrows are tipped with stone, and we saw no metal of any kind

in their possession. The country in general is covered with woods and

mountains and interspersed with a great number of valleys."

On the 18th of August, 1767, Carteret left this group with the

intention of regaining Great Britain. He fully expected to meet with

an island on his passage, where he might be more fortunate. And on the

20th, he actually did so, discovering a little low island, which he

named Gower, where cocoa-nuts were procurable. Next day he encountered

Simpson and Carteret Islands, and a group of new islands which he took

to be the Ohang Java, discovered by Tasman; then successively Sir

Charles Hardy and Winchelsea Islands, which he did not consider as

belonging to the Solomon Archipelago, the Island of St. John,

so-called by Schouten, and finally that of New Britain, which he

gained on the 28th of August.

Carteret coasted this island, in search of a safe and convenient port,

and stopped in various bays, where he obtained water, wood, cocoa,

nutmegs, aloes, sugar-canes, bamboos, and palm-cabbages.

"This cabbage," he says, "is white, crisp, of a substance filled with

sugar. Eaten raw, the flavour resembles that of a chestnut, and boiled

it is superior to the best parsnip. We cut it into small strips, and

boiled it in the broth made from our cakes, and this broth, afterwards

thickened with oatmeal furnished us with a good meal."

The wood was all alive with pigeons, turtle-doves, parroquets, and

other unknown birds. The English visited several deserted huts.

If an idea of the civilization of a people can be drawn from their

dwellings, these islanders were on the lowest rung of the social

ladder, for their huts were the most miserable Carteret had ever seen.

The commander profited by his stay in this place, by once more

overhauling the _Swallow_, and attending to the leak, which the

carpenters doctored as well as they could. The sheathing was greatly

worn, and the keel quite gnawed away by worms; they coated it with

pitch and warm tar mixed together.

On the 7th of September, Carteret accomplished the ridiculous ceremony

of taking possession of the country in the name of George III., he

then despatched one of his boats upon a reconnoitring expedition,

which returned with a quantity of cocoa and palm-cabbages, most

precious provision for the sick on board.

In spite of the fact that the monsoon would soon blow from the east

for a long time, Carteret, alive to the dilapidated condition of his

ship, determined to start for Batavia, where he hoped to make up his

crew, and to repair the _Swallow_.

Upon the 9th September, therefore, he left Carteret harbour, the best

which he had met with since leaving the Straits of Magellan.

He soon penetrated to a gulf to which Dampier had given the name of St.

George Bay, and was not long in reconnoitring for a strait which

separated New Britain and New Ireland. This passage he found and named

St. George. He describes it in his narrative with a care which should

certainly have earned for him the thanks of all his contemporary

navigators. He then followed the coast of New Ireland to its southern

extremity. Near a little island, which he named Sandwich, Carteret had

some dealings with the natives.

"These natives," he says "are black, and have woolly hair like negroes,

but they have not flat noses or large lips. We imagine them to be of

the same race as the inhabitants of Egmont Island. Like them they are

entirely naked, if we except some ornaments of shells which they

attach to their arms and legs. At the same time, they have adopted a

fashion, without which our fashionable men and women are not supposed

to be perfectly dressed. They powder their hair or rather the wool on

their heads white, from which it follows that the fashion of wearing

powder is probably of greater antiquity and of more extended fashion

than we would have generally supposed. They are armed with spears and

large sticks in the shape of clubs, but we perceived neither bows nor

arrows."

At the south-western extremity of New Ireland Carteret found another

land, to which he gave the name of New Hanover, and shortly afterwards

the group of the Duke of Portland.

Although all this portion of the narrative of his voyage, in countries

unknown before his time, abounds in precious details, Carteret, a far

more able and zealous navigator than his predecessors Byron and Wallis,

makes excuses for not having collected more facts.

"The description of the country," he says, "and of its productions and

inhabitants, would have been far more complete and detailed had I not

been so weakened and overcome by the illness to which I had succumbed

through the duties which devolved upon me from want of officers. When

I could scarcely drag myself along, I was obliged to take watch after

watch and to share in other labours with my lieutenant, who was also

in a bad state of health."

After leaving St. George's Strait, the route was westward. Carteret

discovered several other islands, but illness for several days

prevented his coming on deck, and therefore he could not determine

their position. He named them Admiralty Islands, and after two attacks,

found himself forced to employ fire-arms to repulse the natives.

He afterwards reconnoitred Durour and Matty Islands and the Cuedes,

whose inhabitants were quite delighted at receiving bits of an iron

hoop. Carteret affirms, that he might have bought all the productions

of this country for a few iron instruments. Although they are the

neighbours of New Guinea, and of the groups they had just explored,

these natives were not black, but copper coloured. They had very long

black hair, regular features, and brilliantly white teeth. Of medium

height, strong and active, they were cheerful and friendly, and came

on board fearlessly. One of them even asked permission to accompany

Carteret upon his voyage, and in spite of all the representations of

his countrymen and even of the captain, he refused to leave the

_Swallow_. Carteret, meeting with so decided a will, consented, but

the poor Indian, who had received the name of Joseph Freewill, soon

faded away and died at Celebes.

On the 29th October, the English reached the north-eastern portion of

Mindanao. Always on the look-out for fresh water and provisions,

Carteret in vain looked for the bay which Dampier had spoken of as

abounding in game. A little farther off he found a watering-place, but

the hostile demonstrations of the inhabitants forced him to re-embark.

After leaving Mindanao, the captain sailed for the Straits of Macassar,

between the islands of Borneo and Celebes. They entered it on the 14th

of November. The vessel then proceeded with so much difficulty that

she only accomplished twenty-eight leagues in fifteen days.

"Ill," he says, "weakened, dying, tortured by the sight of lands which

we could not reach, exposed to tempests which we found it impossible

to overcome, we were attacked by a pirate!"

The latter, hoping to find the English crew asleep, attacked the

_Swallow_ in the middle of the night. But far from allowing themselves

to be cowed by this new danger, the sailors defended themselves with

so much courage and skill, that they succeeded in foundering the Malay

prah.

[Illustration: A struggle between the _Swallow_ and a Malay prah.]

On the 12th of December Carteret sorrowfully perceived that the

western monsoon had commenced. The _Swallow_ was in no condition to

struggle against this wind and current to reach Batavia by the west.

He must then content himself with gaining Macassar, then the principal

colony of the Dutch in the Celebes Islands.

When the English arrived, it was thirty-five weeks since they left the

Straits of Magellan.

Anchor was scarcely cast, when a Dutchman, sent by the governor, came

on board the _Swallow_. He appeared much alarmed on finding that the

vessel belonged to the English marine service. In the morning,

therefore, when Carteret sent his lieutenant, Mr. Gower, to ask for

access to the port in order to secure provisions for his dying crew,

and to repair his dilapidated ship, and await the return of the

monsoon, not only could he not obtain permission to land, but the

Dutch hastened to collect their forces and arm their vessels. Finally,

after five hours, the governor's reply was brought on board. It was a

refusal couched in terms as little polite as they were equivocal. The

English were simultaneously forbidden to land at any port under Dutch

government.

All Carteret's representations, his remarks upon the inhumanity of the

refusal, even his hostile demonstrations, had no other result than the

sale of a few provisions, and permission to proceed to a small

neighbouring bay.

He would find there, he was told, certain shelter from the monsoon,

and might set up a hospital for his sick, that indeed he could procure

more plentiful provisions there than in Macassar, from whence they

would send him all that he could need. Fearing death by starvation and

foundering, it was necessary to overlook these exactions, and Carteret

proceeded to the roadstead of Bonthain.

There the sick, installed in a house, found themselves prohibited from

going more than thirty roods from their hospital.

They were kept under guard, and could not communicate with the natives.

Lastly they were forbidden to buy anything excepting through the

agency of the Dutch soldiers, who strangely abused their power, often

making more than a thousand per cent. profit. All the complaints of

the English were useless. They were forced to submit during their stay,

to a surveillance to the last degree humiliating. It was only on the

22nd of May, 1768, on the return of the monsoon, that Captain Carteret

was able to leave Bonthain, after a long series of annoyances,

vexations, and alarms, which it is impossible to give in detail and

which had sorely tried his patience.

"Celebes," he says, "is the key to the Moluccas, or Spice Islands,

which are necessarily under the power of the people who are masters of

this island. The town of Macassar is built upon a promontory, and is

watered by one or two rivers which cross it or flow in its vicinity.

The ground is even and beautiful in appearance. There are many

plantations and cocoa-nut woods, interspersed with houses, which

convey the idea that it is well populated.

"At Bonthain the beef is excellent, but it is difficult to procure

enough of it to feed a fleet. Fowls, and as much rice and fruits as

can be wished, are procurable. The woods abound with wild pigs, which

are to be had cheap, because the natives, being Mohamedans, do not eat

them."

These details, however incomplete, had great interest at the time they

were collected, and we go so far as to believe, that even now, some

hundred years since they were first written, they yet contain a

certain amount of truth. No incident marked the voyage to Batavia.

After several delays, caused by the desire of the Dutch Company to

make Carteret give them a testimonial as to the treatment he had met

with from the government of Macassar, and which he steadily refused,

Carteret at last obtained permission to repair his vessel.

On the 15th of September, the _Swallow_, partially refitted, set sail.

She was reinforced with a supplementary number of English sailors,

without which it would have been impossible to regain Europe. Eighty

of her original crew were dead, and eighty more were so reduced that

seven of their number died before they reached the Cape.

After a stay in this port, a most salutary one for the crew, which

lasted until the 6th of January, 1769, Carteret set out once more, and

a little beyond Ascension Island, at which he had touched, he met a

French vessel. It was the frigate, _La Boudeuse_, with which

Bougainville had just been round the world.

On the 20th of March the _Swallow_ anchored in Spithead roadstead,

after thirty-one months of a voyage as painful as it had been

dangerous.

All Carteret's nautical ability, all his _sang-froid_, all his

enthusiasm were needed to save so inefficient a vessel from

destruction, and to make important discoveries, under such conditions.

If the perils of the voyage, add lustre to his renown, the shame of

such a miserable equipment falls upon the English Admiralty, who,

despising the representations of an able captain, risked his life and

the lives of his crew upon so long a voyage.

III.

Bougainville--A notary's son metamorphosed--Colonization of the

Malouine Islands--Buenos Ayres and Rio Janeiro--The Malouines

relinquished to the Spaniards--Hydrography of the Strait of Magellan--

The Pecherais--The Quatre Facardius--Tahiti--Incidents of the stay

there--Productions of the country and manners of the inhabitants--

Samoa Islands--The Land of the Holy Spirit or the New Hebrides--The

Louisiade--The Anchorite Isles--New Guinea--Boutan--From Batavia to St.

Malo.

Whilst Wallis completed his voyage round the world, and Carteret

continued his long and hazardous circumnavigation, a fresh expedition

was organized for the purpose of prosecuting new discoveries in the

Southern Seas.

Under the old regime, when all was arbitrary, titles, rank, and places

were obtained by interest. It was therefore not surprising that a

military officer, who left the army scarcely four years before with

the rank of colonel, to enter the navy as a captain, should obtain

this important command.

Strangely enough, this singular measure was amply justified, thanks to

the talents possessed by the favoured recipient.

Louis Antoine de Bougainville was born at Paris, on the 13th of

November, 1729. The son of a notary, he was destined for the bar, and

was already an advocate. But having no taste for his father's

profession, he devoted himself to the sciences, and published a

Treatise on the Integral Calculus, whilst he obtained a commission in

the Black Musqueteers.

Of the three careers he thus entered upon, he entirely abandoned the

two first, slightly neglected the third, for the sake of a

fourth--diplomacy, and finally left it entirely for a fifth--the naval

service. He was destined to die a member of the senate after a sixth

metamorphosis.

[Illustration: Portrait of Bougainville. (Fac-simile of early

engraving.)]

First aide-de-camp to Chevret, then Secretary of the Embassy in London,

where he was made a member of the Royal Society, he left Brest in 1756,

with the rank of captain of Dragoons, to rejoin Montcalm in Canada.

Becoming aide-de-camp to this general, he distinguished himself on

various occasions, and obtained the confidence of his chief, who sent

him to France to ask for reinforcements.

That unhappy country was just then overwhelmed with reverses in Europe,

and had need of all her resources. Therefore, when young Bougainville

entered upon the object of his mission to M. de Choiseul, the minister

answered brusquely,--

"When the house is on fire, one does not worry oneself about the

stables!"

"At least," replied Bougainville, "no one can say that you speak like

a horse!"

This sally was too witty and too stinging to conciliate the minister.

Ultimately Madame de Pompadour, who appreciated witty people,

introduced Bougainville to the king, and although he did not succeed

in obtaining much for his general, he gained a colonelcy, and the

order of St. Louis for himself, although he had only seen seven years'

service. Returning to Canada he was anxious to justify Louis XIV.'s

confidence, and distinguished himself in various matters. After the

loss of the colony he served in Germany under M. de

Choiseul-Stainville.

His military career was cut short by the peace of 1763. His active

spirit and love of movement rebelled against a garrison life. He

conceived the strange idea of colonizing the Falkland Islands in the

extreme south of South America, and of conveying there free of expense

the emigrants from Canada who had settled in France to escape the

tyrannous yoke of England. Carried away by this idea, he addressed

himself to certain privateers at St. Malo, who, from the commencement

of the century, had been in the habit of visiting the group, and who

had named them Malouine Islands.

Having gained their confidence, Bougainville brought the advantages

(however problematical) of this colony to the minister's notice,

maintaining that the fortunate situation of the island, would secure a

good resting-place for ships going to the Southern Seas. Having high

interest, he obtained the authority he desired, and received his

nomination as ship-captain.

It was the year 1763. There is little reason to suppose, that marine

officers, who had passed all the grades of the service, looked with

gratification upon an appointment which no past event justified. But

that mattered little to the Minister of Marine, M. de

Choiseul-Stainville. Bougainville had served under him, and was far

too grand a personage to trouble himself about the grumbling of the

ship's officers.

Bougainville having brought his uncle and cousin, MM. de Nerville and

d'Arboulin, to look favourably upon his venture, caused the _Eagle_ of

twenty guns, and the _Sphinx_ of twelve, to be built at St. Malo,

under the auspices of M. Guzot Duclos. Upon these he embarked several

Canadian families.

Leaving St. Malo on the 15th of September, 1763, he rested at St.

Catherine's Island, on the coast of Brazil, and at Montevideo, where

he took horses and cattle, and landed at the Malouines in a large bay,

which appeared to him wholly suited to his purpose, but he was not

long in discovering that what had been taken by preceding navigators

for woods of moderate height, were only reeds. Not a tree, not a shrub

grew in the islands. Fortunately an excellent turf did for fuel in

their stead, whilst fish and game offered good resources.

The colony consisted at first of only twenty-nine persons, for whom

huts were built and also a provision warehouse. At the same time a

fort, capable of holding fourteen guns, was planned and commenced. M.

de Nerville agreed to remain at the head of the establishment, whilst

Bougainville returned to France on the 5th of April. There he

recruited some more colonists, and took a considerable cargo of

provisions of every kind, which he disembarked on the 5th of January,

1765. He then went to the Strait of Magellan in search of a cargo of

wood, and having, as we have already narrated, met Commodore Byron's

squadron, followed it to Port Famine.

There he took in more than ten thousand saplings of different growths,

which he intended to transport to the Malouines. When he left the

group on the 27th of April following, the colony already numbered

eighty persons, comprising a staff paid by the king. Towards the end

of 1765, the same two vessels were sent back with provisions and new

colonists.

The colony was beginning to make a show, when the English settled

themselves in Port Egmont, reconnoitred by Byron. At the same time

Captain Macbride attempted to obtain possession of the colony, on the

ground that the land belonged to the English king, although Byron had

not recognized the Malouines in 1765, and the French had then been

settled there two years.

In the meantime Spain laid claim to it in her turn, as a dependency of

Southern America. England and France were equally adverse to a breach

of the peace, for the sake of this archipelago, which was of so little

commercial value, and Bougainville was forced to relinquish his

undertaking on condition that the Spanish Government indemnified him

for his expenses. In addition, he was ordered by the French Government

to facilitate the restoration of the Malouines to the Spanish

Commissioners.

This foolish attempt at colonization was the origin and groundwork of

Bougainville's good fortune, for in order to make use of the last

equipment, the minister ordered Bougainville to return by the South

Sea, and to make discoveries.

In the early days of November, 1766, Bougainville repaired to Nantes,

where his second in command, M. Duclos-Guiyot, captain of the

fire-ship, and an able and veteran sailor, who grew grey in the

inferior rank because he was not noble, superintended the equipment of

the frigate _La Boudeuse_, of twenty-six guns.

Bougainville left the roadstead of Minden at the mouth of the Loire,

on the 15th of November, for the La Plata river, where he hoped to

find two Spanish vessels, the _Esmeralda_ and the _Liebre_. But

scarcely had the _Boudeuse_ gained the open sea when a furious tempest

arose. The frigate, the rigging of which was new, sustained such

serious damages that it was necessary to put for repairs into Brest,

which she entered on the 21st November. This experience sufficed to

convince the captain that the _Boudeuse_ was but little fitted for the

voyage he had before him. He therefore had the masts shortened, and

changed his artillery for less heavy pieces, but in spite of these

modifications, the _Boudeuse_ was not fit for the heavy seas and

storms of Cape Horn. However, the rendezvous with the Spaniards was

arranged, and Bougainville was obliged to put to sea. The staff of the

frigate consisted of eleven officers and three volunteers, among whom

was the Prince of Nassau-Sieghen. The crew comprised 203 sailors, boys,

and servants.

As far as La Plata the sea was calm enough to allow of Bougainville's

making many observations on the currents, a frequent source of the

errors made by navigators in their reckonings.

On the 31st of January, _La Boudeuse_ anchored in Montevideo Bay,

where the two Spanish frigates had been awaiting her for a month,

under the command of Don Philippe Pelicis Puente.

The long stay Bougainville made in this part, and also at Buenos Ayres,

enabled him to collect facts about the city, and the manners of the

inhabitants, which are too curious to be passed over in silence.

Buenos Ayres appeared to them too large for its population, which

amounted only to 20,000, the reason being that the houses are of only

one story, and have large courts or gardens. Not only has this town no

fort, but it has not even a jetty. Thus ships are forced to discharge

their cargoes on to lighters, which convey them to the little river,

where carts come to take the bales and convey them to the town.

The number of religious communities, both male and female, in Buenos

Ayres, adds to the originality of its character.

Bougainville says, "The year is full of Saint days, which are

celebrated by processions and fireworks. Religious ceremonies supply

the place of theatres. The Jesuits incite the women to greater

austerity in their piety than any other order. Attached to their

convent they have an institution intitled, _Casa de los egericios de

las mugeres_, that is, 'house for the devotion of women.' Women and

girls, without the permission of husbands or fathers, enter the

retreat for twelve days, to increase their sanctity."

They were lodged and boarded at the expense of the company. No man

ever set foot in this sanctuary unless in the cowl of St. Ignatius.

Servants even of the female sex were not allowed to accompany their

mistresses. The devotional services consisted of meditation, prayer,

catechizings, confession, and flagellation. "We were shown the stains

on the walls of the chapel, made by the blood which flowed under the

hands of these Magdalens as they did penance."

The environs of the town were well cultivated and brightened by a

large number of country houses named "quentas," but scarcely two or at

most three leagues from Buenos Ayres were immense plains, with

scarcely a single undulation, given up to bulls and horses, which are

almost the only inhabitants. Bougainville says,--

"These animals were so abundant, that travellers, when they needed

food, would kill a bull, consume what they could eat, and leave the

rest to be devoured by wild dogs and tigers."

The Spaniards had not yet succeeded in subduing the Indian tribes on

the two shores of the La Plata River. They were called "Indios

bravos."

"They are of medium height, very ugly, and almost all infected with

the itch. Their complexions are very dark, and the grease with which

they perpetually rub themselves, makes them even blacker. Their sole

garment is the skin of the roe-buck, which reaches to the heels, and

in which they wrap themselves.

"These Indians pass their lives on horseback, at least near the

Spanish settlement. They occasionally come there with their wives to

buy eau de cologne, and they never cease drinking until drunkenness

literally deprives them of the power to move. Sometimes they assemble

in droves of two or three hundred to carry off the cattle from the

Spanish lands, or to attack the caravans of travellers.

"They pillaged, massacred, and carried off slaves. It was an evil

without remedy. How was it possible to subdue a wandering nation in a

vast and uncultivated country where it was difficult even to meet with

them?

"Commerce was far from flourishing, as no European merchandise was

allowed to pass by land to Peru or Chili."

Nevertheless Bougainville saw a vessel leaving Buenos Ayres carrying a

million piastres, "And if," adds he, "all the inhabitants of this

country had the traffic of their hides in Europe, that of itself would

be enough to enrich them."

The anchorage of Montevideo was safe, although several times they were

visited by "pamperos," a scourge of the South-West, accompanied by

violent tempests. The town offered nothing of interest. The environs

are so uncultivated that it is necessary to import flour, biscuits,

and everything necessary for the boats. But fruits, such as figs,

peaches, apples, lemons, &c., are plentiful, as well as the same

quantity of butcher's meat as in the rest of the country.

These documents, which are a hundred years old, are curious when

compared with those furnished by contemporary navigators, especially

by M. Emile Daireaux, in his work on La Plata. In many respects this

picture is still correct, but there are other details (such for

instance as regards instruction, of which Bougainville could not speak,

as it did not exist) in which it has made immense progress. When the

victuals, the provision of water, and the cattle were embarked, the

three vessels set sail on the 28th of February, 1767, for the

Malouines. The voyage was not fortunate. Variable winds, heavy weather,

and a running sea, caused much damage to the _Boudeuse_. On the 23rd

of March she cast anchor in French Bay, where she was joined on the

morrow by the two Spanish vessels, which had been much tried by the

tempest.

Upon the 1st of April the restitution of the colony to the Spaniards

was solemnized. Very few French profited by their king's permission to

remain in the Malouines; almost all preferred to embark upon the

Spanish frigates upon their leaving Montevideo. As for Bougainville,

he was forced to await the provisions, which the fly-boat _Etoile_ was

to bring him, and which was to accompany him upon his voyage round the

world.

However, the months of March, April, and May passed, and no _Etoile_

appeared. It was impossible to cross the Pacific with only six months'

provisions, which was all the _Boudeuse_ carried.

Bougainville decided at last, on the 2nd of June, to reach Rio Janeiro,

which he had mentioned to M. de la Gerandais, the commander of the

_Etoile_ as a rendezvous, should unforeseen circumstances prevent his

reaching the Malouines.

The crossing was made with such favourable weather, that only eighteen

days were needed to reach the Portuguese Colony. The _Etoile_, which

had been awaiting her for four days, had left France later than was

expected. She had been forced to seek shelter from the tempest at

Montevideo, from whence, following her instructions she gained Rio.

Well received by the Count of Acunha, Viceroy of Brazil, the French

had opportunities of seeing the comedies of Metastasio given at the

opera by a Mulatto troupe, and of hearing the works of the great

Italian masters executed by a bad orchestra, conducted by a deformed

abbe in ecclesiastical dress.

But the cordial relations with the viceroy were not lasting.

Bougainville, who with the viceroy's permission had made some purchase,

found the delivery of it refused for no reason. He was forbidden to

take wood he needed from the royal timber-yard, although he had

concluded a contract for it, and lastly, he was prevented from lodging

with his staff, during the repairs of the _Boudeuse_, in a house near

the town, placed at his disposal by a friend. To avoid altercation,

Bougainville hurried the preparations for departure.

Before leaving the capital of Brazil, the French commander entered

into various details of the beauty of the port, and the picturesque

nature of its surroundings, and finished by a very curious digression

upon the prodigious riches of the country, of which the port was the

emporium.

"The mines called 'general,'" he says, "are the nearest to the town,

although they are seventy-five leagues away from it. They yield the

king a yearly revenue by his right to a fifth share of at least a

hundred and twelve arobas of gold. In 1762, they brought him in a

hundred and nineteen. Under the captaincy of the 'general' mines,

those of the 'Rio des Morts,' Sabara, and Sero Frio were included--the

last named, in addition to all the gold it produces, yields all the

diamonds which come from the Brazils. No precious stones, except

diamonds, are contraband. They belonged to the speculators, who were

obliged to keep an exact account of the diamonds they find and to

restore them to the possession of an intendant named by the king for

this purpose. He immediately places them in a casket bound with iron,

and fastened with three locks. He retains one key, the king has

another, and the 'Provedor de hacienda reale' the third. This casket

is enclosed in a second, stamped with the seals of the three persons

named, and containing the three keys of the smaller one."

But in spite of all these precautions, and the severe punishment

visited upon diamond robberies, an enormous contraband trade was

carried on. It was, however, not the only source of revenue; and

Bougainville calculated, that deducting the maintenance of troops, the

pay of the civil officers, and all the expenses of the administration,

the King of Portugal drew no less than ten million francs from the

Brazils.

From Rio to Montevideo no incident occurred, but upon the Plata,

during a storm, the _Etoile_ was run down by a Spanish vessel, which

broke her bowsprit, her beak head, and much of her rigging. The

damages and the shock increased the leak of the ship, and forced her

to return to Encenada de Baragan, where repairs were more easily

managed than at Montevideo. It was impossible therefore to leave the

river until the 14th of November.

[Illustration: New Zealand. Grave par E. Morieu.]

Thirteen days later, both ships came in sight of Virgin Cape at the

entrance to the Strait of Magellan, which they hastened to enter.

Possession Bay, the first they met with, is a large space, open to all

winds and offering very bad anchorage. From Virgin Cape to Orange Cape

is about fifteen leagues, and the strait is throughout seven or eight

leagues wide. The first narrow entrance was easily passed, and anchor

cast in Boucault Bay, where half a score of officers and men landed.

They soon made acquaintance with the Patagonians, and exchanged a few

trifles, precious to the natives, for swansdown and gunaco skins.

The inhabitants were tall, but none of them reached six feet.

"What struck me as gigantic in their proportions," says Bougainville,

"was their enormous breadth of shoulder, the size of their heads, and

the thickness of their limbs. They are robust and well-nourished,

their muscles are sinewy, their flesh firm, and in fact they are men

who, having lived in the open air and drawn their nourishment from

juicy aliments, have reached their highest point of development."

The distance from the first to the second opening may have been six or

seven leagues, and was passed without accident. This opening is only

one and a half leagues in width, and four in length. In this part of

the strait the ships easily reconnoitred St. Bartholomew and St.

Elizabeth Islands.

At the latter the French landed. They found neither wood nor water. It

was an absolutely desert land.

Leaving this place, the American side of the strait is amply furnished

with wood. But although the first advances had been fortunate,

Bougainville was to find plenty to try his patience.

The distinctive character of the climate lies in the rapid atmospheric

changes, which succeeded each other so quickly that it is quite

impossible to forecast their sudden and dangerous variations. Hence

the damages which it is impossible to foresee, which retard the

passage of the ships, even if they do not force them to seek shelter

for repairs.

Guyot-Duclos Bay provides an excellent anchorage, with six or eight

fathoms of water and sound bottom. Bougainville remained there long

enough to fill several casks, and endeavoured to procure fresh meat,

but he only met with a few wild animals. St. Anne's point was reached.

At that place Sarmiento had founded the colony of Philippeville in

1581.

In a preceding volume we have narrated the fearful catastrophe which

procured the name of Port Famine for this spot.

The French reconnoitred several bays, capes, and harbours at which

they touched. They were Bougainville Bay, where the _Etoile_ was

repainted, Port Beau Bassin, Cormadiere Bay, off the coast of Tierra

del Fuego, and Cape Forward, which forms the most southerly point of

the strait and of Patagonia, Cascade Bay in Tierra del Fuego, the

safety, easy anchorage, and facilities for procuring water and wood of

which, render it a most desirable haven for navigators.

The various ports which Bougainville discovered are particularly

valuable, as they offer favourable points for doubling Cape Forward,

one of the most difficult routes for sailors on account of the violent

and contrary winds which prevail there.

The year 1768 opened for the adventurers in Fortescue Bay, below which

is Port Galant, the plan of which had been taken with great exactitude

by M. de Gennes. Detestable weather, of which the worst winter in

Paris can give no idea, detained the French expedition for three weeks.

It was visited by a band of Pecheians, the inhabitants of Tierra del

Fuego, who boarded the ship.

"We made them sing," says the narrative, "dance, listen to instruments,

and above all eat. Everything was pleasant to them, bread, salt meat,

tallow, they devoured everything that was given them. They showed no

surprise either at the sight of the vessels or that of the various

objects which were shown to them, no doubt because to feel surprise at

works of art, one must have elementary ideas. These men, akin to

brutes, treated _chef-d'oeuvres_ of human industry as they treated the

laws and phenomena of nature.

"These savages are small, ugly, thin, and smell abominably. They are

all but naked, having only clothing of seal-skin too small to cover

them.

"These women are hideous, and the men appear to care little for them.

They live all together, men and women and children, in one hut, in the

centre of which a fire is lighted.

"Their food is chiefly shell-fish. Still they have dogs and snares set

with whalebone. On the whole they appear to be a good sort of people,

but so weak that one overlooks their faults.

"Of all the savages I have met with, the Pecherais are the most

destitute."

[Illustration: "We made them sing."]

A painful event occurred whilst the crew were in this port. A child of

about twelve years of age came on board, and glass beads and bits of

glass were given to it, with no suspicion of the use to which they

would be put. It would appear that these savages are in the habit of

stuffing pieces of talc down their throats as talismans. This boy no

doubt meant to do the same with the glass, for when they landed they

found him vomiting violently and spitting blood. His throat and gums

were lacerated and bleeding. In spite of the enchantments and violent

rubbings of a juggler, or perhaps on account of this not too effective

treatment, the poor child suffered dreadfully, and died shortly

afterwards. This was the signal for a precipitate flight of the

Pecherais. They no doubt entertained a fear that the French had cast a

spell upon them, and that they would all die in a similar manner.

On the 16th of January, in endeavouring to reach Rupert Isle, the

_Boudeuse_ was driven by the currents half a cable's length from the

shore. The anchor which was then heaved, gave way, and without the

least land-breeze the vessel stranded.

It was necessary to regain Galant Harbour. It was just time, for next

day a fearful storm was raging.

"After experiencing constantly adverse and variable winds for

twenty-six days in Port Galant, thirty-six hours favourable breeze,

for which we had not dared to hope, sufficed to take us into the

Pacific Ocean. This I believe to be a solitary instance of a voyage

without anchorage from Port Galant to the narrow channel. I estimate

the entire length of this strait, from Virgin Cape to Cape Peliers, at

about 114 leagues.

"We took fifty-two days to accomplish it. In spite of the difficulties

we met with in the passage of the Straits of Magellan" (and in this

Bougainville entirely agrees with Byron), "I should advise this route,

in preference to that by Cape Horn from September to the end of March.

During the remaining months of the year I should prefer the open sea.

"Contrary winds and heavy seas are not dangerous, whilst it is not

wise to grope one's way between two coasts. One is sure to be detained

for some time in the strait, but this delay is not time wholly lost.

One meets with water in abundance, wood and shell-fish, and

occasionally very good fish. And I am decidedly of opinion that a crew

reaching the Pacific by doubling Cape Horn suffers more from the

ravages of scurvy than that which proceeds by the Straits of

Magellan."

Bougainville's opinion has met with many opposers up to the present

time, and the route which he lauds so highly has been almost abandoned

by navigators. One strong reason for which is that steam has

completely transformed maritime experience, and entirely changed

nautical science.

Scarcely had he entered the Southern Sea, when Bougainville, to his

intense surprise, found the winds southerly. He was therefore obliged

to relinquish his intention of reaching Juan Fernandez.

Bougainville had agreed with M. de la Giraudais, captain of the

_Etoile_, that if a larger stretch of sea was discovered, the two

vessels should separate, but not lose sight of each other, and that

every evening the bugle should recall them within half a league of

each other, so that, in the event of the _Boudeuse_ encountering

danger, the _Etoile_ might avoid it.

Bougainville for some time sought Easter Island in vain. At last he

fell in during the month of March with the lands and islands

erroneously marked upon M. Bellin's chart as Quiros Islands. On the

22nd of the same month he met with four islets, to which he gave the

name of Quatre Facardins, which belonged to the Dangerous group, a set

of madreporic islets, low and damp, which all navigators who have

visited the Pacific Ocean by way of the Straits of Magellan appear to

have noticed.

A little further discovery was made, of a fertile island inhabited by

entirely naked savages, who were armed with long spears, which they

brandished with menacing gestures, and thus it obtained the name of

Lancers Island.

[Illustration: Lancer's Island.]

We need not refer to what we have already repeatedly said of the

nature of these islands, the difficulty of access to them, their wild

and inhospitable inhabitants. Cook calls this very Lancers Island,

Thrum Cape, and the island of La Harpe, which Bougainville found on

the 24th, is identical with Cook's Bow Island.

The captain, knowing that Roggewein had nearly perished in these

latitudes, and thinking the interest of their exploration not worth

the risk to be run, proceeded southward and soon lost sight of this

immense archipelago, which extends in length 500 leagues, and contains

at least sixty islands or groups.

Upon the 2nd of April Bougainville perceived a high and steep mountain,

to which he gave the name of La Boudeuse. It was Maitea Island,

already called La Dezana by Quiros. On the 4th at sunrise the vessel

reached Tahiti, a long island consisting of two peninsulas, united by

a tongue of land no more than a mile in width.

More than 100 pirogues hastened to surround the two vessels. They were

laden with cocoa-nuts and many delicious fruits which were readily

exchanged for all sorts of trifles.

When night fell, the shore was illuminated by a thousand fires, to

which the crew responded by throwing rockets.

"The appearance of this shore," says Bougainville, "raised like an

amphitheatre, offered a most attractive picture. Although the

mountains are high, the land nowhere shows its nakedness, being

covered with wood. We could scarcely credit our sight, when we

perceived a peak, covered with trees, which rose above the level of

the mountains in the southern portion of the island. It appeared only

thirty fathoms in diameter, and decreased in size at its summit. At a

distance it might have been taken for an immense pyramid, adorned with

foliage by a clever decorator. The least elevated portions of the

country are intersected by fields and groves. And the entire length of

the coast, upon the shore below the higher level, is a stretch of low

land, unbroken and covered by plantations. There, amid the bananas,

cocoa-nut and other fruit-trees we saw the huts of the natives."

The whole of the morrow was spent in barter. The natives, in addition

to fruits, offered fowls, pigeons, fishing instruments, working

implements, stuffs, and shells, for which they asked nails and

earrings.

Upon the morning of the 6th, after three days devoted to tacking about

and reconnoitring the coast in search of a roadstead, Bougainville

decided to cast anchor in the bay he had seen the first day of his

arrival.

"The number of pirogues round our vessels," he says, "was so great,

that we had immense trouble in making way through the crowd and noise.

All approached crying, 'Tayo,' _friend_, and offering a thousand marks

of friendship. The pirogues were full of women, who might vie with

most Europeans in pleasant features, and who certainly excelled them

in beauty of form."

Bougainville's cook managed to escape, in spite of all prohibitions,

and gained the shore. But he had no sooner landed, than he was

surrounded by a vast crowd, who entirely undressed him to investigate

his body. Not knowing what they were going to do with him, he thought

himself lost, when the natives restored his clothes, and conducted him

to the vessel more dead than alive. Bougainville wished to reprimand

him, but the poor fellow assured him, that however he might threaten

him, he could never equal the terrors of his visit on shore.

As soon as the ship could heave to, Bougainville landed with some of

his officers to reconnoitre the watering-place. An enormous crowd

immediately surrounded him, and examined him with great curiosity, all

the time crying "Tayo! Tayo!" One of the natives received them in his

house, and served them with fruits, grilled fish, and water. As they

regained the shore, a native of fine appearance, lying under a tree,

offered them a share of the shade.

"We accepted it," says Bougainville, "and the man at once bent towards

us, and in a gentle way, sung, to the sound of a flute which another

Indian blew with his nose, a song which was no doubt anacreontic. It

was a charming scene, worthy of the pencil of Boucher. Four natives

came with great confidence to sup and sleep on board. We had the flute,

bassoon, and violin played for them, and treated them to fireworks

composed of rockets and serpents. This display excited both surprise

and fear."

Before giving further extracts from Bougainville's narrative, it

appears _apropos_ to warn the reader not to accept these descriptions

_au pied de la lettre_. The fertile imagination of the narrator

embellished everything. Not content with the ravishing scenes under

his eyes, the picturesque reality is not enough for him, and he adds

new delights to the picture, which only overload it. He does this

almost unconsciously. None the less, his descriptions should be

received with great caution. We find a strange example of this

tendency of the age, in the narrative of Cook's second voyage. Mr.

Hodges, the painter who was attached to the expedition, wishing to

reproduce the disembarkation of the English on the island of

Middleburgh, paints personages who have not the smallest resemblance

to the dwellers in the ocean regions, and whose togas give them the

appearance of being contemporaries of Caesar or of Augustus. Yet he

had the originals before his eyes, and nothing could have been easier

to him than to depict the scene as it really was.

We know better how to respect truth in these days. No additions, no

embellishments are found in the narratives of _our_ navigators. And if

sometimes they prove but dry accounts, which give little pleasure to

the general public, they are sure to contain the elements of earnest

study for the scientific man, and the basis of works for the

advancement of science.

With this preamble, let us follow the narrator.

Bougainville established his sick and his water-casks upon the shore

of a small river which ran at the bottom of the bay, under a guard for

their security. These precautions were not taken without arousing the

susceptibility and distrust of the natives. They had no objection to

seeing the strangers walk about their island all day, but they

expected them to return on board at night. Bougainville persisted, and

at last he was obliged to fix the length of his stay.

At this juncture, harmony was restored. A large shed was prepared for

the sufferers from scurvy, in number thirty-four, and for their guard,

which consisted of thirty men. The shed was closed on all sides and

only one opening left, to which the natives crowded with the wares

they wished to exchange. The only trouble they had was in keeping an

eye upon everything that was brought on shore, for "there are no more

adroit sharpers in Europe than these folks." Following a laudable

custom, now becoming general, Bougainville presented the chief of this

settlement with a pair of turkeys, and ducks and drakes, and then

cleared a piece of land, where he sowed corn, wheat, rice, maize,

onions, &c.

On the 10th, a native was killed by a gunshot. All Bougainville's

inquiries failed to find out the perpetrator of this abominable

assassination. Apparently the natives thought the victim in the wrong,

for they continued to frequent the market with their former confidence.

The captain, however, knew that the harbour was not well-sheltered,

and the bottom was entirely coral.

On the 12th, during a storm of wind, the _Boudeuse_, whose anchor

cable had been cut by the coral, caused great injuries to the _Etoile_,

upon which she was driven. Whilst all on board were busily occupied in

repairing these injuries, and a boat had been despatched in search of

a second passage, by means of which the ships might have left with any

wind, Bougainville learned that three natives had been killed or

wounded in their cabins by bayonets, and that owing to the general

alarm all the inhabitants had hurried to the interior.

In spite of the risk run by his ships, the captain at once landed, and

put the supposed perpetrators of this outrage (which might have

brought the entire population upon the French) into irons. Thanks to

these rigorous measures the natives calmed down, and the night passed

without incident.

Still, Bougainville's worst apprehensions were not upon this score. He

returned on board as soon as possible. But for a breeze which

opportunely sprang up, both vessels would have been driven on shore by

a strong squall, accompanied by a swell and thunder. The anchor cables

broke, and the vessels had a narrow escape of striking on the breakers,

where they must speedily have been demolished. Fortunately the

_Etoile_ was able to gain the open, and was soon followed by the

_Boudeuse_, leaving in this foreign roadstead six anchors, which might

have been of great use during the rest of the voyage.

So soon as they perceived the approaching departure of the French, the

natives came in crowds with provisions of every variety. One of them,

named Aotourou, asked, and finally obtained, permission to accompany

Bougainville on his voyage. After his arrival in Europe, Aotourou

lived eleven months in Paris, where he was received with cordiality

and welcome in the highest society. In 1770, when he returned to his

native land, the government took an opportunity of conveying him to

the Isle of France. He was to return to Tahiti as soon as the weather

permitted, but he died in the island without having been able to

convey to his land the useful implements, grains, and cattle, which

had been given to him by the French Government.

Tahiti, which was named Nouvelle Cythere by Bougainville, on account

of the beauty of the women, is the largest of the Society's group.

Although it was visited, as we have already narrated, by Wallis, we

will give a little information which we owe to Bougainville.

The principal productions were cocoas, bananas, bread fruits, yams,

sugar cane, &c. M. de Commerson, naturalist, who was on board the

_Etoile_, recognized the Indian flora. The only quadrupeds were pigs,

dogs, and rats, who multiplied rapidly.

Bougainville says, "The climate is so healthy that in spite of our

fatigues, although our people were perpetually in the water, and under

a burning sun, sleeping on the naked soil under the stars, no one was

ill. The sufferers from scurvy whom we disembarked, and who had not

enjoyed a single night's sleep, regained their strength, and were so

soon restored, that some of them were completely cured on board."

In addition to this, the health and strength of the natives, who live

in cabins open to every wind, and who scarcely cover the ground, which

serves them as a bed, with a few leaves, the happy old age to which

they easily attain, the sharpness of all their senses, and the

singular beauty of their teeth, which they preserve to the greatest

age, all testify to the salubrity of the climate, and the efficiency

of the rules followed by the inhabitants.

In character the people seem gentle and good. It would not appear that

they have civil wars among themselves, although the country is divided

into little portions under independent chiefs. They are constantly at

war with the inhabitants of the neighbouring islands. Not satisfied

with massacring the men and male children taken in arms, they skin

their chins with the beard, and keep this hideous trophy. Bougainville

could only obtain very vague information of their ceremonies and

religion. But he could at least assert the reverence they pay their

dead. They preserve the corpses for a long time in the open air, on a

sort of scaffold sheltered by a shed. In spite of the odour of

decomposition, the women go every day to weep near the monuments, and

bedew the sad relics of their beloved ones with their tears and with

cocoa-nut oil.

The soil is so productive, and requires so little cultivation, that

men and women live in a state of almost entire idleness. Therefore it

is not astonishing that the sole care of the latter is to be pleasing.

Dancing, singing, long conversations, teeming with gaiety, have

developed a mobility of expression among the Tahitans, surprising even

to the French, a people who themselves have not the reputation of

being serious, possibly because they are more lively than those who

reproach them with levity.

It is impossible to fix a native's attention. A trifle strikes them,

but nothing occupies them. In spite of their want of reflection they

were clever and industrious. Their pirogues were constructed after a

fashion equally ingenious and solid. Their fish-hooks and all their

fishing implements were of delicate workmanship. Their nets were like

those of Europeans. Their stuffs manufactured of the bark of a tree,

were generally woven and dyed of various colours.

In fact Bougainville's impression of the Tahitan people was that they

were "lazzaroni."

At eight o'clock on the 16th of April, Bougainville was about ten

leagues north of Tahiti, when he perceived land to windward. Although

it had the appearance of three islands, it was in reality but one. It

was named Oumaita after Aotourou. The captain, not thinking it wise to

stop there, steered so as to avoid the Pernicious Islands, of which

Roggewein's disaster had made him afraid. During the remainder of the

month of April the weather was fine, with little wind.

On the 3rd of May, Bougainville bore down towards a new land, which he

had just discovered, and was not long in finding others on the same

day. The coasts of the largest one were steep; in point of fact, it

was simply a mountain covered with trees to its summit, with neither

valley nor sea coast. Some fires were seen there, cabins built under

the shade of the cocoanut-trees, and some thirty men running on the

shore. In the evening, several pirogues approached the vessels, and

after a little natural hesitation, exchanges commenced. The natives

demanded pieces of red cloth in exchange for cocoa-nuts, yams, and far

less beautiful stuffs than those of the Tahitans; they disdainfully

refused iron, nails, and earrings, which had been so appreciated

elsewhere in the Bourbon Archipelago, as Bougainville had named the

Tahitan group. The natives had their breasts and thighs painted dark

blue; they wore no beards; their hair was drawn into tufts on the top

of their heads.

[Illustration: Pirogue of the Marquesas islanders.]

Next day, fresh islands belonging to the archipelago were seen. The

natives, who appeared very savage, would not approach the vessels.

"The longitude of these islands," says the narrative, "is pretty

nearly similar to that which Abel Tasman reckoned it when he

discovered Amsterdam and Rotterdam Islands, the Pilstaars, Prince

William Island, and the low lands of Fleemskerk. It is also

approximate to that assigned for the Solomon Islands. Besides the

pirogues which we have seen rowing in the open sea, and to the south,

indicate other islands in this locality. Thus it appears likely that

these lands form an extended chain in the same parallel. The islands

comprising the Navigator Archipelago, lie below the fourteenth

southern parallel, between 170 degrees and 172 degrees west longitude

from Paris."

As fresh victuals diminished, scurvy again began to appear. It was

necessary to think of putting into a port again. On the 22nd and the

following days of the same month, Pentecost Island, Aurora and Leper

Islands, which belong to the archipelago of New Hebrides, were

reconnoitred. They had been discovered by Quiros in 1606. The landing

appearing easy, the captain determined to send an expedition on shore,

which would bring back cocoa-nuts and other antiscorbutic fruits.

Bougainville joined them during the day. The sailors cut wood, and the

natives aided in shipping it. But in spite of this apparent good

feeling, the natives were still distrustful, and carried their weapons

in their hands. Those who possessed none, held large stones, all ready

to throw.

As soon as the boats were laden with fruit and wood, Bougainville

re-embarked his men. The natives then approached in great numbers, and

discharged a shower of arrows, lances, and javelins, some even entered

the water, the better to aim at the French. Several gunshots, fired

into the air, having no effect, a well-directed general volley soon

put the natives to flight.

A few days later, a boat seeking anchorage upon the coast of the Leper

Islands, was in danger of attack. Two arrows aimed at them served as a

pretext for the first discharge, which was speedily followed by a fire

so well directed, that Bougainville believed his crew in danger. The

number of victims was very large, the natives uttered piercing cries

as they fled to the woods. It was a regular massacre. The captain,

uneasy at the prolonged firing, sent another boat to the help of the

first, when he saw it doubling a point, He therefore signalled for

their return. "I took measures," he said, "that we should never again

be dishonoured by such an abuse of our superior forces."

The easy abuse of their powers by captains is truly sad! The mania for

destroying life needlessly, even without any object, raises one's

indignation! To whatever nation explorers belong we find them guilty

of the same acts. The reproach, therefore, belongs not to a particular

nation, but to humanity at large.

Having obtained the commodities he needed, Bougainville regained the

sea.

It would appear that the navigator aimed at making many discoveries,

for he only reconnoitred the lands he found very superficially and

hastily, and of all the charts which accompany the narrative, and

there are many of them, not one gives an entire archipelago, or

settles the various questions to which a new discovery gives rise.

Captain Cook did not proceed in this way. His explorations, always

conducted with care, and with rare perseverance, are for that very

reason far superior in value to those of the French explorer.

The lands which the French now encountered, were no other than St.

Esprit, Mallicolo, and St. Bartholomew, and the islets belonging to

the latter. Although he was perfectly aware that these islands were

identical with the _Tierra del Espiritu Santo_ of Quiros, Bougainville

could not refrain from bestowing a new name upon them, and called them

the Archipelago des "Grandes Cyclades," to which however, the name of

New Hebrides has been given in preference. "I readily believed," he

says, "that it was its extreme southern point which Roggewein saw

under the eleventh parallel, and which he named _Tienhoven_ and

_Groningue_. But when we arrived there everything led us to believe

that we were in the southern land of Espiritu Santo. Every appearance

seemed to coincide with Quiros's narrative, and the discoveries we

made every day encouraged us in our search. It is singular that

precisely in the same latitude and longitude as that which Quiros

gives to his St. Philip and St. James' Bays, upon a shore which at

first sight appeared like a continent, we found a passage equal in

size to that which he gives to the opening of his bays. Did the

Spanish navigator see badly, or did he wish to hide his discoveries?

"Had geographers merely guessed in making the Tierra del Espiritu

Santo identical with New Guinea? To ascertain the truth, we must

follow the same parallel for over 350 leagues. I resolved upon doing

so, although the state and quantity of our provisions warned us to

seek a European settlement as soon as possible. It will be seen that

we narrowly escaped being the victims of our own persistance."

Whilst Bougainville was in these latitudes certain business matters

required his presence on board the _Etoile_, and he there found out a

singular fact, which had already been largely discussed by his crew. M.

de Commerson had a servant named Barre. Indefatigable, intelligent,

and already an experienced botanist, Barre had been seen taking an

active part in the herborising excursions, carrying boxes, provisions,

the weapons, and books of plants, with endurance which obtained from

the botanist, the nickname of his beast of burden. For some time past

Barre had been supposed to be a woman. His smooth face, the tone of

his voice, his reserve, and certain other signs, appeared to justify

the supposition, when on arriving at Tahiti suspicions were changed

into certainty. M. de Commerson landed to botanize, and according to

custom Barre followed him with the boxes, when he was surrounded by

natives, who, exclaiming that it was a woman, were disposed to verify

their opinion. A midshipman, M. Bommand, had the greatest trouble in

rescuing her from the natives, and escorting her back to the ship.

When Bougainville visited the _Etoile_, he received Barre's confession.

In tears, the assistant botanist confessed her sex, and excused

herself for having deceived her master, by presenting herself in man's

clothes, at the very moment of embarkation. Having no family, and

having been ruined by a law-suit, this girl had donned man's clothes

to insure respect. She was aware, before she embarked, that she was

going on a voyage round the world, and the prospect, far from

frightening her, only confirmed her in her resolution.

[Illustration: Mdlle. Barre's adventure.]

"She will be the first woman who has been round the world," says

Bougainville, "and I must do her the justice to admit that she has

conducted herself with the most scrupulous discretion. She is neither

ugly nor pretty, and at most is only twenty-six or twenty-seven years

old. It must be admitted that had the two vessels suffered shipwreck

upon a desert island, it would have been a singular experience for

Barre."

The expedition lost sight of land on the 29th of May. The route was

directed westward. On the 4th of June, a very dangerous rock, so

slightly above water that at two leagues' distant it was not visible

from the look-out, was discovered in latitude 15 degrees 50 minutes,

and 148 degrees 10 minutes longitude. The constant recurrence of

breakers, trunks of trees in large quantities, fruits and sea wrack,

and the smoothness of the sea, all indicated the neighbourhood of

extensive land to the south-east. It was New Holland. Bougainville

determined to leave these dangerous latitudes, where he was likely to

meet with nothing but barren lands, and a sea strewn with rocks and

full of shallows. There were other urgent reasons for changing the

route, provisions were getting low, the salt meat was so tainted, that

the rats caught on board were eaten in preference. Bread enough for

two months, and vegetables for forty days alone remained. All

clamoured for a return to the north.

Unfortunately the south winds had ceased, and when they re-commenced,

they brought the expedition within an inch of destruction.

On the 10th of June land was seen to the north. It was the bottom of

the Gulf of the Louisiade, which had received the name of Cul-de-sac

de l'Orangerie. The country was magnificent. On the sea shore, a low

land covered with trees and shrubs, the balmy odours of which reached

the ships, rose like an amphitheatre towards the mountains, whose

summits were lost in the skies. However, it was impossible to visit

this rich and fertile country, but, on the other hand, desirable to

find to the east a passage to the south of New Guinea, which, by way

of the Gulf of Carpentaria, would have led direct to the Moluccas. Did

such a passage exist? Nothing was more problematic, for the notion was

that land had been seen extending far to the westward. It was needful

to hurry as fast as possible from the gulf where the ships had so

incautiously involved themselves.

[Illustration: Louisiade Archipelago. (Fac-simile of early

engraving.)]

But there is a wide difference between a wish and its fulfilment! The

two vessels strove in vain up to the 21st of June to transport

themselves to the west, from this coast, which was so full of rocks

and breakers, and upon which the wind and currents bade fair to

swallow them up. The fog and rain continued so closely with them, that

the frigate could only proceed in company with the _Etoile_ by a

constant firing of guns. When the wind changed, they profited by it,

and immediately proceeded to the open sea--but it soon veered again,

and continued east-south-east, and thus they speedily lost the ground

they had gained.

During this terrible cruise, the rations of bread and vegetables were

obliged to be reduced, consumption of old leather was threatened with

severe punishment, and the last goat on board was sacrificed.

It is difficult for the reader, tranquilly sitting in his

chimney-corner, to imagine the anxiety of a voyage in these unknown

seas,--threatened with the unexpected appearance of rocks and breakers,

with contrary winds, unknown currents, and a fog which concealed all

dangers. Cape Deliverance was only rounded on the 26th. It was now

possible to start for the north-north-east.

Two days later, when they had made about sixty leagues northward, some

islands were perceived ahead. Bougainville imagined they were a part

of the Louisiade group, but they are more generally accepted as

belonging to the Solomon Archipelago, which Carteret, who saw them the

preceding year, as little imagined that he had reached, as the French

navigator.

Several pirogues speedily surrounded the two ships. They were manned

by natives, blacker than Africans, with long curling red hair. Armed

with javelins, they uttered shrill cries, and showed dispositions far

from peaceful. It was useless to attempt to reach them. The surge

broke violently, and the coast was so narrow that it scarcely seemed

as if there were one at all.

Surrounded on all sides by islands, and in a thick fog, Bougainville

steered by instinct in a passage only four or five leagues in width,

and with a sea so rough that the _Etoile_ was forced to close her

hatchways.

Upon the eastern coast a pretty bay was perceived, which promised good

anchorage. Boats were told off to sound it. Whilst they were thus

engaged, ten or more pirogues, upon which some hundred and fifty men

armed with bucklers, lances, and bows, were embarked, advanced against

them. The pirogues divided into two parties to surround the French

boats. As soon as they were within sufficient reach, the natives

showered a storm of arrows and javelins upon the boats. The first

discharge failed to stop them. A second was necessary to disperse them.

Two pirogues, the crews of which had jumped into the sea, were

captured. Of great length and well made, these boats were decorated in

front with a man's head carved, the eyes of which were formed of

mother of pearl, the ears of tortoise-shell, and the lips painted red.

The water in which this combat took place was called the Warrior River,

and the island received the name of Choiseul, in honour of the French

Minister of Marine.

On leaving this strait a new land was discovered--Bougainville Island,

the southern extremity of which, called Laverdy Cape, appears to join

Bouka Island. The latter, which Carteret had seen the preceding year,

and which he named Winchelsea, appeared densely populated--if the

cabins which abounded were any criterion.

The inhabitants, whom Bougainville classifies as Negroes, probably to

distinguish them from the Polynesians and Malays, are Papuans, of the

same race as the inhabitants of New Guinea. Their short curly hair was

painted red, and the betel-nut, which they perpetually chewed, had

communicated the same colour to their teeth. The coast with its

cocoanut and other trees, promised plentiful refreshments, but

contrary winds and currents quickly drew the ships away.

On the 6th of July Bougainville cast anchor on the southern coast of

New Ireland, which had been discovered by Schouten, in Port Praslin,

at the very point where Carteret had stopped.

"We sent our casks on shore," says the narrative, "and began to

collect water and wood, and commence washing, all of which was most

necessary. The disembarkation was splendid--upon fine sand, with

neither rock nor wave.

"Four streams flowed into the harbour in a space measuring four

hundred paces. We selected three, according to custom; one to supply

water for _La Boudeuse_, one for the _Etoile_, and one for washing

purposes. Wood was plentiful on the shore, and there were various

kinds of it, all good for burning, and several first-rate for

carpentery, joinery, and even toy-making.

"The two vessels were in hearing of each other and close to the shore.

Again this part and its neighbourhood to a great distance were

uninhabited--a fact which secured us precious peace and liberty. We

could not have hoped for a surer anchorage, or a more convenient spot

for water, wood, or the various repairs needed by the vessels. We were

able to send the sufferers from scurvy to range the woods. But with

all these advantages, the port had a few inconveniences. In spite of

active search, neither cocoanut-trees nor bananas were to be found,

nor any of the resources which either by consent or by force, could

have been gained in an inhabited country. Fish was not abundant, and

we could expect only safety and strictly necessary things. There was

every fear that the sick would not re-establish their health. We had

indeed no serious cases, but several were infected, and no improvement

took place, and their malady could not have increased more rapidly."

They had been only a few days in port, when a sailor found a leaden

plate upon which was an inscription in English. It was easy to guess

that they had found the very spot where Carteret had made a stay the

preceding year.

The resources offered by this country to sportsmen were mediocre in

the extreme. They did indeed catch sight of a few boars or wild pigs,

but it was impossible to hit them. To make up for this they shot most

beautiful pigeons, the bodies and necks of grey-white, and of golden

green plumage, turtle-doves, parroquets, crested birds, and a species

of crow, whose cry was so like the baying of a dog, as to be mistaken

for it. The trees were large and magnificent, amongst them the betel,

the areca, and the pepper-tree. Malignant reptiles swarm in these

marshy lands, and in the ancient forests, serpents, scorpions, and

other venomous reptiles abounded. Unfortunately, they were not only to

be found on land. A sailor in search of _marteaux_, a very rare kind

of bivalve mussel, was stung by a serpent. The fearful suffering and

violent convulsions which followed only subsided at the expiration of

five or six hours, and at last, the theriac which was administered to

him after the bite, effected a cure. This accident was a sad damper to

conchological enthusiasm. Upon the 22nd, after a severe storm, the

ships were sensible of several slight earthquakes, the sea rose and

fell several times in succession, which greatly alarmed the sailors

who were occupied in fishing.

In spite of the rain and ceaseless storms which continued daily, a

detachment started to search the interior for Bourbon palms,

palm-trees, and turtle-doves. They expected to find wonders, but

returned oftenest empty-handed and with the one result of being wet to

the skin. A natural curiosity at some distance from the anchorage, a

thousand times more beautiful than the wonders invented for the

ornament of kingly palaces, attracted numberless visitors, who could

never tire of admiring it. It was a waterfall, too beautiful for

description! To form any idea of its beauty, it would be necessary to

reproduce by the brush the sparkling gleam of the spray lit up by the

rays of the sun, the vaporous shade of the tropical trees which dipped

their branches into the water, and the fantastic display of light over

a magnificent country, not yet spoiled by the hand of man!

As soon as the weather changed, the ships left Port Praslin, to follow

the coast of New Guinea, until the 3rd of August. The _Etoile_ was

attacked by hundreds of pirogues, and forced to return the stones and

arrows that assailed her by a few gunshots, which put the assailants

to flight. On the 4th the islands named Matthias and Stormy by Dampier

were sighted. Three days later Anchorite Island was recognized, so

called because a number of pirogues occupied in fishing, took no

notice of the _Etoile_ and _Boudeuse_, disdaining to enter into

relations with the strangers. After passing a series of islets half

under water, upon which the vessels nearly struck, and which were

named the Echiquiers by Bougainville, the coast of New Guinea appeared.

Steep and mountainous, it ran west-north-west. On the 12th a large bay

was discovered, but the currents, which so far had been unfavourable,

were equally so in carrying the boats far from it. It was visible at a

distance of twenty leagues from two gigantic mountains, Cyclops and

Bougainville.

The Arimoa Islands, the largest of which is only four miles in length,

were next seen, but the bad weather and the currents forced the two

vessels to remain in the open sea and relinquish all exploration. It

was necessary, however, to maintain a close watch in order to avoid

missing the outlet into the Indian Ocean. Mispulu and Waigiou, the

last at the extreme north of New Guinea, were passed in succession.

The "Canal des Francais," the outlet for ships from this mass of

little islands and rocks, was passed without mishap. From thence

Bougainville penetrated to the Molucca Archipelago, where he reckoned

upon finding the fresh provisions requisite for the forty-five

sufferers from scurvy on board.

In absolute ignorance of the events which had occurred in Europe since

he left it, Bougainville would not run the risk of visiting a colony

in which he was not the strongest power. The small Dutch establishment,

Boeton or Bourou Island, suited him perfectly, all the more that

provisions were easily obtained there. The crew received orders to

enter the Gulf of Cajeti with the greatest delight. No one on board

had escaped scurvy, and half the crew, Bougainville says, were quite

unfit for duty.

"The victuals remaining to us were so tainted and ill-smelling, that

the worst moments of our sad days were those when we were obliged to

partake of such disgusting and unwholesome viands.

"The charms of Boeton Island were enhanced by our wretched situation.

"About midnight a delicious odour, emanating from the aromatic plants

with which the Molucca Islands are covered, had been wafted several

leagues out to sea, and was hailed by us as a forerunner of the end of

our woes.

"The appearance of the moderately sized town, situated below the gulf,

with vessels at anchor, and cattle grazing in the pastures that

surrounded it, caused pleasure in which I participated, but which I

cannot describe."

Scarcely had the _Boudeuse_ and the _Etoile_ cast anchor, than the

resident governor sent two soldiers to inquire of the French captain

what reason he could assign for stopping at this place, when he must

be aware that entrance was permitted to the ships of the India Company

only. Bougainville immediately sent an officer to explain that hunger

and sickness forced him to enter the first port which presented itself

in his route. Also, that he would leave Boeton as soon as he had

received the aid of which he had urgent need. The resident at once

sent him the order of the Governor of Amboyna, which expressly forbade

his receiving any strange ship in his harbour, and begged Bougainville

to make a written declaration of the reason for his putting into port,

in order that he might prove to his superior that he had not infringed

his orders except under paramount necessity.

As soon as Bougainville had signed a certificate to this effect,

cordiality was established with the Dutch. The resident entertained

the officers at his own table, and a contract was concluded for

provisions and fresh meat. Bread gave place to rice, the usual food of

the Dutch, and fresh vegetables which are not usually cultivated in

the island, were provided for the crews by the resident, who obtained

them from the Company's gardens. It would have been desirable for the

re-establishment of the health of the crew, that the stay at this port

could have been prolonged, but the end of the monsoon warned

Bougainville to set out for Batavia.

The captain left Boeton on the 7th of September, convinced that

navigation in the Molucca Archipelago was not so difficult as it

suited the Dutch to affirm. As for trusting to French charts, they

were of no use, being more qualified to mislead vessels than to guide

them.

Bougainville therefore directed his course through the Straits of

Button and Saleyer; a route which, though commonly used by the Dutch,

is but little known to other nations. The narrative therefore

carefully describes, with mention of every cape, the course he took.

We will not dwell upon this part of the voyage, although it is very

instructive, and on that account interesting to seafaring men.

On the 28th of September, ten months and a half after leaving

Montevideo, the _Etoile_ and the _Boudeuse_ arrived at Batavia, one of

the finest colonies in the world. After touching at the Isle of France,

the Cape of Good Hope, and Ascension Island, near which he met

Carteret, Bougainville entered St. Malo on the 16th of February, 1769,

having lost only seven men, in the two years and four months which had

elapsed since he left Nantes.

The remaining particulars of the career of this fortunate navigator do

not concern our purpose, and may be dismissed briefly.

He took part in the American war, and in 1781 participated in an

honourable combat before Port Royal off Martinique. Made Chief of the

fleet in 1780, he, ten years later, received a commission to

re-establish order in the mutinous fleet of M. d'Albert de Rions.

Created vice-admiral in 1792, he did not think it right to accept a

high rank, which was, to use his own words, "a title without duties."

Nominated first to the Bureau of Longitudes, and then to the Institute,

raised to the rank of senator, created a count by Napoleon I.,

Bougainville died full of years and honours, on the 31st of August,

1811.

Bougainville acquired popularity as the first Frenchman who

accomplished a voyage round the world. Though the merit of discovering

and reconnoitring, if not of exploring, many groups of islands little

known and quite neglected before his time, has been ascribed to him,

he owes his reputation rather to the charm and easy animation of his

narrative, than to his labours. If he is better known than many other

French naval officers, his competitors, it is not so much because he

accomplished more than they, as because his style of narrating his

adventures charmed his contemporaries.

As for Guyot Duclos, his secondary share in the enterprise, and his

plebeian rank, excluded him from reward. He was afterwards given the

cross of St. Louis, but he earned the title by his rescue of the

_Belle Poule_. Although he was born in 1722, and had been in the navy

since the year 1734, he was still only lieutenant in 1791. A

succession of ministers of new views was needed to obtain the rank of

ship-captain for him: a tardy recompense of long and signal services.

Guyot Duclos died at St. Servan on the 10th March, 1794.