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[Illustration: _S. Freeman, Sc._
RECEPTION OF CAPTAIN KOTZEBUE AT THE ISLAND OF OTDIA]
A
NEW VOYAGE
ROUND
THE WORLD,
IN THE YEARS 1823, 24, 25, AND 26.
BY OTTO VON KOTZEBUE,
POST CAPTAIN IN THE RUSSIAN IMPERIAL NAVY.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY,
NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
1830.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY,
Dorset Street, Fleet Street.
PREFACE.
The flattering requisitions of those readers who found amusement in the
narrative of my former voyage, independently of its scientific details,
form an incentive to my present publication. All mere nautical minutiæ,
which might be deemed tedious, with the exception of such as were
indispensable, have been omitted. Various contingencies have delayed the
appearance of these Volumes; but I still hope they will not have
altogether lost the charm of novelty.
With respect to my style, I rely upon the favour formerly shewn me.
Devoted from my earliest youth to the sea-service, I have had no leisure
for cultivating the art of authorship.
TO HIS EXCELLENCY
ADMIRAL VON KRUSENSTERN,
THE FIRST RUSSIAN CIRCUMNAVIGATOR;
WHOSE NAME WILL BE IMMORTALIZED BY HIS ACTIVE
AND BENEFICIAL PATRONAGE OF THE
NAUTICAL SCIENCE:
TO MY PATERNAL FRIEND,
WHOM, WHILE STILL A BOY, I ACCOMPANIED ON
HIS CELEBRATED EXPEDITION, AND UNDER
WHOSE AUSPICES I RECEIVED MY EARLY
EDUCATION AS A SEAMAN;
THESE VOLUMES
ARE DEDICATED WITH THE MOST AFFECTIONATE
RESPECT.
CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME.
Page.
INTRODUCTION 1
VOYAGE TO BRAZIL 5
RIO-JANEIRO 27
DOUBLING OF CAPE HORN, AND RESIDENCE IN CHILI 57
THE DANGEROUS ARCHIPELAGO 101
O TAHAITI 119
PITCAIRN ISLAND 225
NAVIGATORS' ISLANDS 251
RADACK ISLANDS 289
LIST OF PLATES.
Page.
Reception of Captain Kotzebue at the Island of Otdia,
To face Title of Vol. I.
Plan of Mattaway Bay and Village 200
Chart of the Navigators' Islands 250
Chart of the Islands of Radak and Ralik 288
Nomahanna, Queen of the Sandwich Islands,
To face Title of Vol. II.
INTRODUCTION.
In the month of March of the year 1823, I was appointed by his Imperial
Majesty Alexander the First, of glorious memory, to the command of a
ship, at that time unfinished, but named the Predpriatie (the
Enterprise). She had been at first destined for a voyage purely
scientific, but circumstances having occurred which rendered it
necessary to change the object of the expedition, I was ordered to take
in at Kronstadt a cargo to Kamtschatka, and to sail from the latter
place to the north-west coast of America, in order to protect the
Russian American Company from the smuggling carried on there by foreign
traders. On this station my ship was to remain for one year, and then,
being relieved by another, to return to Kronstadt. The course to be
followed, both in going and returning, was left entirely to my own
discretion.
On the first of May, the ship, whose Russian name, Predpriatie, I shall
for the future omit, was declared complete. She was the first vessel
built in Russia under a roof, (a very excellent plan,) was the size of a
frigate of a middling rank, and, that she might not be unnecessarily
burdened, was provided with only twenty-four six-pounders.
My crew consisted of Lieutenants Kordinkoff, Korsakoff, Bordoschewitsch,
and Pfeifer; the Midshipmen Gekimoff, Alexander von Moller, Golowin,
Count Heiden, Tschekin, Murawieff, Wukotitsch, and Paul von Moller; the
Mates, Grigorieff, Gekimoff, and Simokoff, eight petty officers, and one
hundred and fifteen sailors. We were accompanied by Professors
Eschscholz and Lenz as Naturalists; Messrs. Preus and Hoffman as
Astronomer and Mineralogist; and Messrs. Victor and von Siegwald as
Chaplain and Physician; so that, in all, we reckoned one hundred and
forty-five persons.
We were richly stored with astronomical and other scientific
instruments: we possessed two pendulum apparatus, and a theodolite made
expressly for our expedition by the celebrated Reichenbach. This
valuable instrument was executed with wonderful precision, and was of
the greatest use in our astronomical observations on shore.
In June the ship arrived at Kronstadt, and on the 14th of July (old
style, according to which all reckonings will be made in this voyage,)
she lay in the harbour fully equipped and ready to sail. On that day the
cannon of the fortress and of the fleet in the roads announced the
arrival of the Emperor, whom we had the pleasure of receiving on board
our vessel.
His Majesty, after a close examination of the ship, honoured us by the
assurance of his imperial satisfaction; the sailors received a sum of
money, and I and my officers a written expression of thanks.
With the gracious cordiality peculiar to him, the amiable monarch wished
us a happy voyage, and retired followed by our enthusiastic blessings.
We did not then anticipate that we had seen him for the last time. On
our return, his lofty spirit had ascended to the regions of bliss: from
whence he looks down on his beloved brother, rejoicing to be even
surpassed by him in the virtues of a sovereign.
VOYAGE TO BRAZIL.
VOYAGE TO BRAZIL.
We remained in the roads of Kronstadt till the 28th of July, when, after
a painful parting from a beloved and affectionate wife, the wind proving
favourable, I gave the order to weigh anchor.
The whole crew was in high spirits, and full of hope: the task of
weighing anchor and setting sail was executed with alertness and
rapidity; and as the ship began her course, cutting the foaming billows,
the men joyfully embraced each other, and with loud huzzas expressed
their hearty wishes for the success of our undertaking. To me this scene
was highly gratifying. Such a disposition in a crew towards an
enterprise from which toils and dangers must be anticipated, afforded a
satisfactory presumption that their courage and spirits would not fail
when they should be really called into exercise. With a good ship and a
cheerful crew the success of a voyage is almost certain. We fired a
salute of seven guns, in reply to the farewell from the fortress of
Kronstadt, and, the wind blowing fresh, soon lost sight of its towers.
As far as Gothland all went well, and nothing disturbed the general
cheerfulness; but here a sudden storm from the west attacked us so
unexpectedly as scarcely to give time for the necessary precautions.
Tossed to and fro by the swelling and boisterous waves, I was not, I
must confess, altogether free from anxiety.
With a new and untried ship, and men somewhat out of practice, a first
storm is naturally attended by many causes of disquiet not afterwards so
seriously felt. In the present instance, however, these untoward
circumstances were rather productive of the ludicrous than the terrific;
and whatever might be my solicitude as commander, I experienced but
little sympathy from my officers. The strength and extent of the motion
to which we were about to be exposed had not been duly estimated, and
the movable articles in the cabins were generally ill secured. This was
particularly the case in the state-cabin, occupied by twenty persons:
not a table or a chair would remain in its place; every thing rolling
about in its own stupid way, in defiance of all rule and order. The
frolicsome young officers were delighted with the confusion; and even
our seasick men of science could not refrain from laughter when a
well-fed pig, which, disturbed by the inconvenience, had taken refuge on
the hatchway, ventured from thence to intrude itself among them by a
spring through the open window, and looked around in pitiable amazement
on finding that, amidst the general clamour, repose was no more
attainable in a state-cabin than in its own humble abode. I was
meanwhile occupied in narrowly observing the vessel that was to bear us
through so many and long-enduring difficulties. Amidst the conflict of
the elements, a commander becomes acquainted with his ship, as in the
storms of life we learn duly to appreciate our friends. I weighed the
defects of mine against its good qualities, and rejoiced that the
latter had greatly the preponderance. She was a friend on whom I might
rely in case of need. Such a conviction is necessary to the captain:
through it alone can his actions acquire the decision and certainty so
indispensable in time of danger, and so essential to success. In the
course of four-and-twenty hours the storm abated; a favourable wind
again swelled our sails, and we enjoyed it doubly after the little
troubles we had undergone. At daybreak on the 8th of August we left the
island of Bornholm, and found ourselves surrounded by a Russian fleet
cruising under the command of Admiral Crown. This meeting with our
countrymen was an agreeable surprise to us: they could carry to our
beloved homes the assurance, that thus far at least our voyage had been
prosperous. We saluted the Admiral with nine guns, received a similar
number in return, and continued our course with full sails.
On the 10th of August we anchored opposite the friendly capital of
Denmark, where we received on board the theodolite, which had been
prepared for us at Munich by Reichenbach, and sent hither. Before the
sun appeared above the horizon on the 12th, we were again under sail,
with a good wind and a tranquil sea. The sail along the Danish coast was
interesting from its beautiful prospects, and numerous buildings
illumined by the morning sun.
We passed the Sound the same day, and entered the Categat. Here we were
visited in the night by another violent storm. The sky, pealing with
incessant thunder, hung heavy and black above us, and spread a fearful
darkness over the sea, broken only by tremendous flashes of lightning.
The electric fluid, in large masses of fire, threatened us momentarily
with destruction; but thanks be to the strong attractive power of the
sea, which forms so good a conductor for ships,--without it we had been
lost! In the North Sea our voyage was tedious, from the continuance of
contrary winds; and in the English Channel dangerous, from the
uninterrupted fog. We however reached Portsmouth roads in safety on the
25th of August.
Since it was my intention to double Cape Horn in the best season, namely
January or February, it was necessary to lose no time in England. I
therefore hastened to London, and resisting all the allurements offered
by the magnificence of the capital, immediately procured my charts,
chronometers, and astronomical instruments, and returned on board my
ship on the 2nd of September, to be in waiting for the first fair wind.
The wind however chose, as it often does, to put our patience to the
proof. Its perverseness detained us in the roads till the 6th; and
though a temporary change then enabled us to sail, we had scarcely
reached Portland point when a strong gale again set in directly in our
teeth.
The English Channel, on account of its numerous shallows and strong
irregular currents, is at all times dangerous: vessels overtaken there
by storms during the night are in imminent peril of wreck, and thus
every year are great numbers lost.
I myself, on my former voyage in the Rurik, should have infallibly
suffered this fate, had the day dawned only half an hour later. Warned
therefore by experience, I resolved not to trust to the chance of the
night; and fortunately our English pilot, from whom we had not yet
parted, was of the same opinion.--This man, who had grown grey in his
employment, and was perfectly acquainted with these waters, advised our
immediate return to Portsmouth, and that every effort should be made to
reach it before sunset. I therefore had the ship put about, and setting
as much sail as the violence of the wind would allow, we fled towards
our place of refuge, the storm continually increasing. Although we ran
pretty quick, we had scarcely got half-way back, before it became so
foggy and dark, that the land, which had hitherto been our guide, was no
longer discernible. We could not see three hundred fathoms from the
ship. The change in our pilot's countenance showed that our situation
had become critical. The little, stout, and hitherto phlegmatic fellow
became suddenly animated by a new spirit. His black eyes lightened; he
uttered several times the well-known English oath which Figaro declares
to be "le fond de la langue," rubbed his bands violently together, and
at length exclaimed, "Captain! I should like a glass of grog--Devil take
me if I don't bring you safe into Portsmouth yet!" His wish was of
course instantly complied with. Strengthened and full of courage, he
seized the helm, and our destiny depended on his skill.
It was now barely possible to reach Portsmouth with daylight by taking
the shortest way through the Needles, a narrow strait between the Isle
of Wight and the mainland, full of shallows, where even in clear weather
a good pilot is necessary. The sun was already near setting, when an
anxious cry from the watch announced the neighbourhood of land, and in
the same instant we all perceived, at about a hundred fathoms' distance,
a high fog-enveloped rock, against which the breakers raged furiously.
Our pilot recognised it for the western point of the Isle of Wight at
the entrance of the Needles, and the danger we were in only animated his
spirits. He seized the helm with both hands, and guiding it with
admirable dexterity, the ship flew, amidst the storm, through the narrow
and winding channels to which the shallows confined it, often so close
upon the impending rocks, that it seemed scarcely possible to pass them
without a fatal collision.
A small vessel that had sailed with us for some time at this moment
struck, and was instantly swallowed by the waves without a possibility
of saving her. This terrible sight, and the consciousness that the next
moment might involve us in a similar fate, made every one on board gaze
in silent anxiety on the direction we were taking: even the pilot said
not a word.
The twilight had nearly given way to total darkness when we reached
Portsmouth roads; the joy with which we hailed this haven of safety, and
our mutual congratulations on our preservation, may be easily imagined:
our pilot now fell back into his former phlegm, and seating himself with
a glass of grog by the fireside, received our thanks and praises with
equal indifference.
This equinoctial storm raged itself out during the night, and the first
rays of the sun again brought us fine weather and a fair wind, which
enabled us once more to quit the English harbour. In no situation are
the vicissitudes so striking as those experienced at sea. The wind,
which had so lately attacked us with irresistible fierceness, was now
become too gentle, and we were detained nine days in the Channel by
calms, before we could reach the Atlantic Ocean.
Here a fresh north wind occasioned near our track the appearance called
a water-spout; which consists of a three-cornered mass of foaming water,
with the point towards the sea, and the broad upper surface covered with
a black cloud.--We now held a southerly course, and after encountering
much rough weather, on the 22nd of September reached the parallel of
Lisbon, where we enjoyed the warmer temperature, and congratulated
ourselves on having left behind us the region of storms. We steered
straight for the island of Teneriffe, where we intended providing
ourselves with wine. A fresh trade-wind carried us rapidly and smoothly
forward; the whole crew was in fine health and cheered by one of the
most beautiful mornings of this climate, when our pleasure in the near
prospect of a residence on this charming island was most painfully
interrupted by the accident of a sailor falling overboard. The rapidity
with which we were driving before the wind frustrated all our efforts to
save him, and the poor fellow met his death in the waves. Our
cheerfulness was now perfectly destroyed; and my regret for the accident
was increased by the fear of the evil impression it might make on the
minds of the other men.--Sailors are seldom free from superstition, and
if mine should consider this misfortune as a bad omen, it might become
such in reality by casting down the spirits so essential in a long and
perhaps dangerous voyage. A crew tormenting itself with idle fears will
never lend that ready obedience to a commander which is necessary for
its own preservation. The messmates of the unfortunate man continued to
gaze mournfully towards the spot where he had sunk, till the sight of
land, as we sailed about noon past the small rocky island of Salvages,
seemed to divert their thoughts from the occurrence; their former
cheerfulness gradually returned, and my apprehensions subsided.
This evening the island of Teneriffe became perceptible amidst the mist
and clouds which veiled its heights. During the night we reached the
high black rocks of lava which form its northern points; and at break of
day I determined to tack, in order to run into Santa Cruz, the only
place in the island where ships can lie at anchor.
The night was stormy, and the high land occasioned violent gusts of wind
from various directions. Towards morning the weather improved, but we
found that the current had carried us twenty miles to the south-east.[1]
These strong currents are common here in all seasons, and, to vessels
not aware of them, may in dark nights produce injurious consequences.
Having now passed the northern promontory, we steered southward for the
roads of Santa Cruz. The shore here, consisting of high, steep masses of
lava, presents a picturesque but desolate and sterile landscape, amidst
which the eye seeks in vain for some spot capable of producing the rich
wine of Teneriffe. Upon a point of rock about a thousand feet above the
level of the sea, we saw a telegraph in full activity, probably
announcing our arrival. The town next came in sight, and with its
numerous churches, convents, and handsome houses, rising in an
amphitheatre up the side of a mountain, would have offered a noble and
pleasing prospect to eyes accustomed to the monotony of a sea view, but
that the majestic Peak, that giant among mountains, rearing in the
background its snow-crowned head 13,278 feet above the level of the sea,
now stood clear and cloudless before us, enchaining all our faculties,
the effect of its appearance rendered still more striking by the sudden
parting of the clouds which had previously concealed it from us. This
prodigious conical volcano is from its steepness difficult of access,
and the small crater on the summit is so closely surrounded by a wall of
lava, that in some places there is scarcely room to stand. He who is
bold enough to climb it, however, will find himself rewarded with one of
the finest prospects in the world. Immediately beneath him, stretches
the entire extent of the Teneriffe, with all its lovely scenery; round
it the other nineteen Canary Islands; the eye then glances over an
immense expanse of waters, beyond which may be descried in the distance
the dark forests of the African coast, and even the yellow stripe which
marks the verge of the great Desert. With thoughts full of the
enjoyments which awaited us, we approached the town. We planned parties
to see the country and climb the Peak; and our scientific associates,
holding themselves in readiness to land as soon as the boat could be
lowered, already rejoiced over the new treasures of mineralogy and
botany of which the island seemed to promise so ample a store: meanwhile
we had made the usual signal for a pilot; but having in vain waited his
appearance, I resolved, as the road was not altogether unknown to me, to
cast anchor without him; when, just as we had made our preparations, a
ball from the fortress struck the water not far from the ship. At the
same time we perceived that all was bustle on the walls; the cannons
were pointed, the matches lighted, and plenty of Spanish balls were
ready for our reception. Our government being at peace with Spain, this
hostile conduct was quite unintelligible to us; but as I had no desire
for a battle, I contented myself with drawing off the ship, and lying to
beyond the reach of cannon shot, in the hope that a boat would be sent
to us with some explanation of it. After, however, waiting a
considerable time in vain, perceiving the continuance of warlike
preparations on the walls, we were reluctantly obliged to renounce all
hopes of visiting the island or the Peak, and to continue our voyage to
Brazil, where we might reckon upon a kinder welcome.
Here, then, was an end to all our promised pleasures. The enrichment of
our museum, the merry parties and the choice wine all forfeited to a
simple misunderstanding! Whatever might be their motive, it was an
inconsiderate action in the Spaniards wantonly to insult the Russian
flag; and even if they mistook us for enemies, it was silly to be afraid
of a single ship, considering that the renowned Nelson, with an English
fleet, had found the fortifications impregnable.
After a few miles' sail we perceived a large three-masted ship
endeavouring, with the wind against her, to reach the roads of Santa
Cruz. We steered towards her, in hopes that we might obtain some
information that should explain the riddle of the treatment we had
received. But the ship seemed as much afraid of us as the fortress;
and, as soon as she perceived our intention, made all possible haste to
avoid us.
It was really laughable enough, but it was also vexatious, that such
peaceful people as we were should be considered so terrible. I sent a
bullet after the ship, to induce her to stop; she then hoisted the
English flag, but never slackened her speed; so that finding we could
get no satisfaction, we thought it advisable to take advantage of the
fresh trade-wind, to bear away from Teneriffe as quickly as possible. On
the following morning we could still see the Peak, a hundred miles off,
among the clouds; and we called to mind, as we gazed upon it, the
mysterious accounts of its aborigines, of whom it was said, from the
resemblance of their teeth to those of grazing animals, that they could
only live on vegetables. They embalmed corpses in the manner of the
ancient Egyptians, and preserved them in grottoes in the rocks, where
they are still to be found. The Spaniards, the first discoverers and
appropriators of the island, have described in high terms the state of
civilization, methods of agriculture, and remarkably pure morality of
these ancient inhabitants, who nevertheless were entirely exterminated
by the tyranny and cruelty of their conquerors.
The trade-wind and continued fine weather brought us rapidly on our way
towards Brazil. Dolphins, flying-fish, and the large and beautiful
gold-fish, called by the Spaniards _bonito_, constantly surrounded the
ship, and formed by day a relief from the tedium of gazing on the
unvarying billows, as did during the darkness of the night the
innumerable phosphorescent animals of the muscle kind, which, studding
the black ocean with sparks of fire, produced a dazzling and living
illumination. Our naturalist, Professor Eschscholz, has already
communicated to the world his microscopical observations upon these
marine curiosities.
On the first of October we doubled the Cape Verd Islands, without
however seeing the land, which is almost always lost in mist, and
steered direct for the Equator. Our progress was now impeded by calms,
and the heat began to be oppressive; but care and precaution preserved
the crew in perfect health, an effect which strict cleanliness, order,
and wholesome diet, will seldom fail to produce, even in long voyages.
At five degrees North latitude, we took advantage of a calm to draw up
water from a depth of five hundred fathoms, by means of a machine
invented by the celebrated Russian academician Parrot. We found the
temperature five degrees by Reaumur, while that of the water on the
surface reached twenty-five degrees. To us it appeared ice-cold, and we
felt ourselves much refreshed by washing our heads and faces with it.
The machine weighed forty pounds, and might contain about a moderate
pail-full; but the pressure of the column of water over it was such,
that six sailors with a windlass were hardly able to draw it up. We made
an attempt to sink it to a thousand fathoms' depth, but the line broke,
and we lost the machine; fortunately, however, we were provided with a
second.
While we were still more than a hundred miles from land, a swallow
alighted on the deck. It is wonderful how far these little animals can
fly without resting. At first, it seemed weary, but soon recovered, and
flew gaily about. When far out at sea, cut off from every other society
than that of our shipmates, any guest from land, even a bird, is
welcome. Ours soon became a general favourite, and was so tame, that it
would hop on our hands and take the flies we offered him without any
symptom of fear. He chose my cabin to sleep in at night; and at sunrise
flew again upon deck, where he found every one willing to entertain him,
and catch flies for his subsistence. But our hospitality proved fatal to
him; he over-ate himself, and died of an indigestion, universally
lamented.
On the 11th of October we crossed the Equator at twenty-five degrees W.
longitude, reckoning from Greenwich.[2] Having saluted the Southern
hemisphere by the firing of guns, our crew proceeded to enact the usual
ceremonies. A sailor, who took pride in having frequently passed the
Line, directed the performance with much solemnity and decorum. He
appeared as Neptune, attired in a manner that was meant to be terribly
imposing, accompanied by his consort, seated on a gun-carriage instead
of a shell, drawn by negroes, as substitutes for Tritons. In the
evening, the sailors represented, amidst general applause, a comedy of
their own composition. These sports, while they serve to keep up the
spirits of the men, and make them forget the difficulties they have to
go through, produce also the most beneficial influence upon their
health; a cheerful man being much more capable of resisting a fit of
sickness than a melancholy one. It is the duty of commanders to use
every innocent means of maintaining this temper in their crews; for in
long voyages, when they are several months together wandering on an
element not destined by nature for the residence of man, without
enjoying even occasionally the recreations of the land, the mind
naturally tends to melancholy, which of itself lays the foundation of
many diseases, and sometimes even of insanity. Diversion is often the
best medicine, and, used as a preservative, seldom fails of its effect.
Below the Equator, we met with a fresh south-east wind, and having also
fine weather, we soon reached the coast of Brazil.
RIO JANEIRO.
RIO JANEIRO.
On the morning of the 1st of November, consequently in the spring of the
Southern hemisphere, we perceived Cape Frio, and in the evening plainly
distinguished, by its well-known conical mountain, the entrance to the
Bay of Rio Janeiro. A dead calm deprived us of the pleasure of running
into the port that night, so that we were compelled to drop our anchor
before it; but we found some compensation for our disappointment, in
contemplating so much of this charming country as was visible from our
ship. The magnificent scenery of Brazil has often been described, but no
expression can do justice to its ravishing beauty. Imagination can
scarcely picture the exquisite variety of form and colouring of the
luxuriant and gigantic vegetation that thickly clothes the valleys and
mountains even to the sea-shore. A breeze from the land wafted to us the
most delicious perfumes; and crowds of beautiful insects, butterflies,
and birds, such as only the tropics produce, hovered about us. Nature
seems to have destined these lovely regions for the unmixed enjoyment of
her creatures; but, alas! hard labour and a tyrant's whip have, to the
unhappy Negro, transformed this Paradise into a place of torment.
The sight of two slave-ships formed a revolting contrast to the
enchantment of the prospect: they had that day arrived from Africa, and
lay near us at anchor. The trade in human flesh, that foul blot on
civilized nations, of which most of them are already ashamed, yet
flourishes here in detestable activity, and is carried on, with all the
brutality of avarice, under the sanction of the laws. The ships employed
in this abominable traffic are so over-crowded that the slaves have
scarcely room to move. They are brought up by turns to inhale for a
while the refreshing breeze, but the deck being only capable of
accommodating a small portion at once, they are soon returned to the
confined and pestilential atmosphere below. One third of the human
cargo, as a necessary consequence, generally perishes on the voyage, and
the remainder reach their place of destination in a state of miserable
suffering. The decks of the ships I have just mentioned, were crowded
with these unfortunate creatures, naked, fettered, and diseased. Even
mothers with infants at their breasts had not been spared by these
speculators! What still greater misery might not be concealed beneath
the decks!
The darkness, which at once closed from our view all that had delighted
and disgusted us, rendered visible an almost incessant flight of
rockets, and we heard occasionally, throughout the night, the discharge
of guns and musketry from the town. These demonstrations of rejoicing
led to the supposition that some important festival was celebrating, or
that a great victory had probably been gained; we afterwards learnt,
however, that they were occasioned only by the arrest of three
ministers, accused of a conspiracy against the Emperor.
At daybreak the chief pilot came on board. This little fat man, proud
of his name of Vasco de Gama, which he professed to have inherited in a
direct line from the celebrated navigator to the East Indies, was in
many respects a good specimen of his countrymen. He was wholly
uneducated, as they mostly are; and, next to his ancestry, that in which
he took the greatest pride was the independence of Brazil. This feeling,
which is general among all classes, enlists each individual personally
in support of the existing government, and is its surest guarantee.
Although our pilot had not attained to the renown of his great ancestor,
I must do him the justice to say that he understood his business, and
guided us very skilfully through the narrow mouth of the Bay. This small
entrance, commanded by a fort on a height, is tolerably well secured
from the approach of an enemy; and might, by stronger batteries, be made
wholly inaccessible, as the channel is so narrow, that a ship in working
its way in must always be within half-shot distance. We anchored near
the town, among numerous vessels of various nations, and set foot once
more on terra-firma, after being fifty-two days at sea since leaving
England.
Beautiful as this country always appears to an European eye, it has
perhaps no scene so strikingly splendid and picturesque as that which
presents itself within this Bay. The rich and novel peculiarity of the
landscape is contrasted with the handsome buildings of the town, rising
amphitheatrically round the harbour; and these again derive a curious
effect from the tall and slender palm-trees, which, thickly interspersed
among them, throw their strongly defined and waving shadows upon the
white surface of the contiguous houses; and the whole is crowned by the
numerous convents which are seen above the town, in the distance,
clinging like swallows'-nests, to the precipitous sides of the
mountains.
We had hardly reefed our sails, when the Russian Vice-Consul, Von
Kielchen, and an officer of the Brazilian government, came on board to
congratulate us on our arrival. The latter acquainted me with the order
of his Government, that every ship of war coming in should salute the
fortress with one-and-twenty guns; and in order to remove all doubt that
the compliment was designed for the Brazilian flag, he had brought one
which, during the salute, he requested us to hoist at the fore-mast.
New and unprecedented as this order was, from a state not yet
acknowledged by our government, I determined, rather than risk any
disagreement, to comply with it; and having fired the one-and-twenty
guns, received from the fortress a similar number in return. Being very
anxious not to lose the favourable season for doubling Cape Horn, I
urged the Vice-Consul to expedite as much as possible the delivery of
provisions and other necessaries to the ship; for this purpose, however,
a delay of four weeks was required, and this time I determined to employ
in astronomical observations. M. Von Kielchen procured me for this
purpose a convenient country-house, situated on the romantic little bay
of Botafogo, of which I took possession on the following day,
accompanied by our astronomer, M. Preus; leaving the care of the ship to
my officers.
In the supposition that the history of Brazil may not be familiar to
every reader, male and female,--for I hope to have many of the
latter,--I will preface the narration of my residence here with the
following notices.
This great empire in South America, called Brazil, from a wood which
grows there in great abundance, resembling in colour a red-hot coal, (in
the Portuguese "_Brasa_,") is one of the richest and most fertile
countries in the world. It was accidentally discovered in the year 1500,
by a Portuguese named Cabral, who with a fleet bound for the East
Indies, was thrown on these shores.
The riches of the country being at first unknown, it was used as a place
of banishment for criminals; but subsequently, when the convicts began
to cultivate the sugar-cane, and the gold and diamond mines were
discovered, Brazil acquired a higher value in the eyes of the Portuguese
government.
A Viceroy was therefore sent out, with the strongest injunctions to
close the Brazilian ports against all foreign powers, in order to
preserve to Portugal the exclusive trade in the diamonds and other
precious stones with which it was now found that the country abounded.
For a long time, this beautiful land, rich in all the gifts of nature,
languished under the rule of Portuguese Viceroys, with a
thinly-scattered population, poor, oppressed, and destitute of all
mental culture. At length, the year 1807 opened to it a brighter
prospect. Napoleon's ambitious views extending even to Portugal, forced
the Royal Family to take refuge in the colonies. They were followed by
fourteen thousand soldiers, and about twelve thousand other adherents.
The presence of a court and government in the capital, Rio Janeiro, had
the most beneficial influence on all the interests of the country. The
ports were opened to all European ships, and commerce, wealth, and
civilization advanced rapidly.
Napoleon's victories having found a final termination, in his banishment
to St. Helena, the King of Portugal returned, in 1821, to his European
dominions, leaving the Regency of Brazil to his son, the Crown Prince,
Pedro, already married to an Austrian princess.
But the example of the newly-established republics of America had a
powerful effect on the minds of the people; the King's departure was a
signal for the breaking out of revolutionary disturbances, which, though
the Crown Prince could not appease, he was, nevertheless, by means of a
strong party he had gained over, enabled to direct. In the year 1822, he
declared Brazil independent of the mother-country,--promised the people
a Constitution,--and was at last proclaimed Emperor, by the title of
Pedro the First. From the day when the nation tendered its allegiance,
the Emperor and all patriots have worn on the left arm a green cockade
inscribed with the words, "Independence or Death." At the coronation,
the order of the Southern Cross was founded, and the new national flag
hoisted: it is green, with a yellow square in the middle, on which is
represented the Earth, surrounded by thirteen stars (the number of the
provinces), and leaves of coffee and tobacco, as the produce of the
country.
The government, at the time of our residence in Brazil, was nothing less
than constitutional. This is sufficiently proved by the tumultuary
arrest of the above-mentioned three Ministers, by the arbitrary
dispersion of the Deputies from the provinces, called together
expressly to form a Constitutional Assembly, and by the expression of
the Emperor, that he required unconditional submission, even if he
should choose, like Charles the Twelfth, to send his boot to them as his
representative. It is possible that the Emperor has been in some measure
forced to these violent proceedings by the contentions of the various
parties, each of which seeks its own interest without concerning itself
about the general welfare. His personal character is much praised.
A captain of one of the Russian-American Company's ships, who had been
in Rio Janeiro, related to me the following anecdote of his benevolence.
Two sailors belonging to his crew had been ashore, and having got drunk,
were found lying senseless on the road to Corcovado. The Emperor and
Empress happening to ride that way, attended only by a few servants, saw
them, and supposed them to be sick. The Emperor immediately dismounted,
rubbed their temples with his own hand, and endeavoured to restore them
to their senses, but in vain. He then sent for his own surgeon, and
dispatched them under his care to the hospital, from whence on the
following morning, having slept off their intoxication, they were
dismissed as cured.--Another, and a different anecdote, I heard from a
painter from Vienna, who was residing in Rio Janeiro. The Emperor,
wishing to have a whole-length portrait of himself, sent for the painter
to place his easel in a room in the palace, and commenced sitting. The
first outline was scarcely made, when an officer, whose business it was
to report the arrival of ships, entered with the list. The names of the
ships and captains, of various nations and languages with which the
officer was unacquainted, puzzled him, and he read so stammeringly, and
sometimes almost unintelligibly, that the Emperor, enraged at his
ignorance, seized a stick, and the officer, only by a rapid flight round
the easel, in which he was at first pursued by the monarch, escaped the
intended chastisement. We shall be less surprised at this conduct, if we
consider the point of civilization to which the country had attained
when this Prince first seized the helm. May he succeed in elevating it
to what his government may make it,--the happiest, as well as the
loveliest and most fruitful empire in the world!
The Brazilian fleet, then commanded by the celebrated Lord Cochrane,
consisted of one ship of the line, two frigates, three brigs, and some
smaller vessels. Inconsiderable as was this force, it was in good order,
and under the direction of its skilful and heroic commander, had done
wonders. Lord Cochrane had recently, with his single ship of the line
and one frigate only, attacked and defeated a Portuguese squadron of two
ships of the line and four frigates, pursued them to the port of Lisbon,
and made prize of forty merchant vessels they were convoying. For this
exploit, he received from the Emperor the appointment of Grand Admiral,
and the title of Marquis of Marenham, after one of the provinces. He had
before served the republic of Chili; and, it is said, in the midst of
his warlike ardour, he had not forgotten the care of his private
finances.
This was his first year in the Brazilian service. I was curious to see
so celebrated a man, and soon found an opportunity of forming an
acquaintance with him, which led to a frequent intercourse. His
external deportment is repulsive rather than attractive; he is somewhat
taciturn; and it is difficult, in ordinary conversation, to discover the
intelligence and information which he really possesses. He is turned of
fifty years of age, tall and thin: his attitude is stooping, his hair
red, his features strongly marked, and the expression of his countenance
serious: his sparkling, lively eyes, concealed by overhanging eyebrows,
are generally fixed on the ground, and seldom even raised to the person
he is addressing. His lady forms a striking contrast with him: she is
young, handsome, lively in conversation, extremely amiable, and so
devotedly attached to him, that she exposes her life to the greatest
danger rather than leave his side, and has remained in his ship during
all his battles in the South American service.
Cochrane frequently expressed to me a wish to enter the Russian service,
in order to assist the Greeks, and fight the Turks. This object he has
since attained by other means. War appears to be an indispensable
necessity to his nature; and a dangerous struggle in a just cause is
his highest enjoyment. How this enthusiasm can be united to the great
love of money of which he is accused, it is not easy to imagine.
My short residence in Brazil passed rapidly and agreeably in my
necessary occupations, and the enjoyment of the charming environs of my
country-house. The effect which so total a change of climate and scenery
produces on European spirits, even when not experienced for the first
time, is really astonishing. The eye can fix on no one object which is
not directly the reverse of any thing to which it has been accustomed.
The birds, insects, trees, flowers, all wear a foreign aspect, even to
the blades of grass. By its strange forms and colourings, but especially
by its overflowing abundance, all nature here demands attention.
Throughout the day, myriads of the most beautiful butterflies, beetles,
and humming-birds, display their various colours in the sun, which has
scarcely set, before innumerable swarms of fire-flies illuminate the
scene. I had seldom time for excursions; therefore, as it usually
happens to sailors, I can say little of the interior.
Botafogo, where, on account of the salubrity of the air, the richest
and most distinguished of the inhabitants of Rio Janeiro have fixed
their country-houses, is the most attractive spot in the immediate
environs of the capital. Among the mountains which form the background
of the view from the Bay, is one solid rock, very remarkable from the
resemblance of its figure to an enormous church-steeple; it rises,
according to a geometrical admeasurement of our scientific companion
Lenz, to the height of fifteen hundred and eighty feet above the level
of the sea. With infinite pains, a road has been conducted to the
summit, where the space is so confined that a few persons only can be
accommodated at the same time, but from whence the prospect is
indescribably magnificent: it is called Corcovado, and is a favourite
ride with the Emperor.
From Botafogo the road to the capital is studded on both sides with
pretty villas. The town derives its name, Rio Janeiro, or January river,
from an error on the first discovery of the bay, which, owing to the
narrowness of its mouth, was mistaken for a river, and named after the
current month. Its interior by no means corresponds with its handsome
appearance from the bay, the streets being narrow and dirty, and the
buildings very tasteless. Clumsy churches and convents are found in
plenty, but there is little worthy the attention of the traveller,
except the Museum, which has a rich collection of rare natural
curiosities, and valuable minerals. The extent of the town is
considerable, and it contains about two hundred and fifty thousand
inhabitants, of which however two-thirds are negroes, and the rest
principally mulattoes and other people of colour. A white face is seldom
to be seen in the streets; but the blacks are so numerous, that one
might fancy oneself in Africa.
Among these are a few free men; but the greater part are slaves degraded
to beasts of burden. The immense weights they carry are usually fastened
on a plank, each end of which is borne by a negro, keeping time to his
steps by a monotonous and melancholy song in his native language, and
goaded by the whip to renewed efforts, when the failing of his voice
indicates almost utter exhaustion. They often carry heavily laden
baskets on their heads; and even women are not exempt from this labour.
On Sundays and holidays they also sing in time to their steps, as they
stroll about, but the tune has a more lively character; and they
sometimes accompany their voices on a little instrument composed of a
few steel springs. They understand no other language than that of their
distant country, and therefore, though the ceremony of baptism is never
omitted, they receive no instruction in the doctrines of Christianity;
thus, while an appearance of anxiety concerning the salvation of their
souls is maintained, they continue sunk in the state of misery and
darkness which hopeless bodily suffering is so calculated to produce.
The few free blacks are either manumitted slaves or their descendants:
they are mostly mechanics engaged in trade. The mulattoes are generally
of illegitimate birth, but are sometimes the offspring of marriages
between blacks and the lowest class of whites. From their connexion with
blacks or whites spring all the various gradations of colour met with
among the inhabitants of Brazil. The mulattoes and free negroes form the
middle classes; the few whites found among them being the worst of
characters, ignorant and vicious to the last degree; their repulsive
exterior is worthy of their abandoned lives: they are usually _retail_
slave dealers, and keep shops where these miserable beings are exposed
to view, and may be examined and purchased like any other ware. About
twenty thousand negroes are annually brought to Brazil; the average
price of a female is three hundred, and of a man six hundred piastres.
The principal food of the negroes is a sort of thick paste called
Manioc, which is prepared from Tapioca by kneading in hot water; to an
European palate it has a disagreeable flavour, but may be nutritious, as
the slaves mostly look well-fed; I doubt, however, its being wholesome
without a mixture of other food, and I even think it possible that it
may be the original cause of a terrible disease to which the negroes
alone are subject, and of which they know nothing in their own country.
Large tumours appear on their faces and legs, which do not break, but
increase in size till in some of the sufferers the human form can
scarcely be recognised. A convent situated on a little island, called
Dos Fradres, in the bay of Rio Janeiro, and not far from the town,
contains a hospital, under the superintendence of the government, for
sick negro slaves. I have not been able to learn whether this disease
has been successfully treated here. The father of the Emperor, while he
remained in Rio Janeiro, often visited the convent; and a room is shown
where he used to take refuge when it thundered, as he was excessively
fearful in a storm, and, from some unknown cause, esteemed this chamber
peculiarly safe.
On the 19th of November, the celebration of the anniversary of the
coronation, and the establishment of the Order of the Southern Cross,
attracted me to the capital.
It was scarcely daybreak when the thunder of the cannon from all the
batteries, and from the ships in the roads, recalled the remembrance of
this happy event, which had taken place only the preceding year. The
streets were filled with people; soldiers in their dress-regimentals
hastened to their various places of rendezvous; and the negroes,
released from labour, formed a part of the cheerful throng. At eleven
o'clock, the Emperor and Empress, in a magnificent carriage drawn by
eight horses, and escorted by a troop of guards in handsome uniforms,
arrived at the principal church. A number of carriages, containing the
suite of the Imperial pair, followed, all at a slow pace, that the
people might have more time to enjoy the spectacle.