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Title: A voyage round the world
Author: comte Louis-Antoine de Bougainville
Translator: Johann Reinhold Forster
Release date: April 19, 2024 [eBook #73429]
Language: English
Original publication: London: J. Nourse, 1772
Credits: Peter Becker, KD Weeks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD ***
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Transcriber’s Note:
This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects.
Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_.
Footnotes have been moved to follow the paragraphs in which they are
referenced.
Other errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please
see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding
the handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A
_VOYAGE_
ROUND THE
_WORLD._
Performed by Order of
HIS MOST CHRISTIAN MAJESTY,
In the Years 1766, 1767, 1768, and 1769.
BY
LEWIS DE BOUGAINVILLE,
Colonel of Foot, and Commodore of the Expedition, in the
Frigate La Boudeuse, and the Store-ship L’Etoile.
Translated from the French
By JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER, F. A. S.
LONDON,
Printed for J. NOURSE, Bookseller to HIS MAJESTY, in the Strand; and
T. DAVIES, Bookseller to the Royal Academy, in Russel-street,
Covent-garden.
M DCC LXXII.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TO
JAMES WEST, ESQ.
High Steward of St. Alban’s, Recorder of Pool,
AND
PRESIDENT of the ROYAL SOCIETY.
SIR,
I Beg leave to offer you the Translation of a Work written by a learned,
intelligent, and judicious Traveller, which abounds with remarkable
events and curious observations; equally instructive to future
navigators, and interesting to science in general, and Geography in
particular.
The place you occupy with great honour in the Royal Society, the zeal
with which you promote and countenance whatever has a tendency towards
the advancement of Science, and the remarkable kindness and favour you
always have treated me with, encourage me to prefix your name to this
publication.
Accept then, Sir, this public acknowledgement of the deep sense of
gratitude and attachment your benevolence has raised, with the sincerest
wishes for your health, prosperity, and the enjoyment of every
intellectual and moral pleasure. Believe me to be, with the truest
esteem,
SIR,
Your most obliged,
and obedient
humble servant,
JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE
TRANSLATOR’s PREFACE.
The present translation of Mr. de Bougainville’s Voyage round the World
merits, in more than one respect, the attention of the public.
Circumnavigations of the globe have been of late the universal topics of
all companies: every one takes upon him to be a competent judge in
matters which very few understand, mostly for want of good and authentic
information: this work will enable the reader to judge with greater
precision of the vague discourses held on this subject.
Nautical advices and observations are always interesting, from whatever
quarter they may happen to come, provided they are communicated by a man
of known abilities; and nobody, we think, will question those of Mr. de
Bougainville.
The superiority of the British discoveries in the great ocean, between
America and Asia, cannot be ascertained, unless by an authentic account
of the discoveries of the rival nation; who, after a great exertion, and
the advantage of being supplied by the Spaniards with all the
necessaries at a great distance from home, before they entered the South
Pacific Ocean, however discovered very little; and what they discovered,
had partly been seen by English navigators, or some Spanish ones of
older date; so that the honour of the greatest discoveries made within
two centuries, in those remote seas, is entirely reserved to the British
nation, and their spirit and perseverance in conducting this great and
interesting event.
The envious and scandalous behaviour of the Portuguese viceroy, at Rio
de Janeiro, towards our philosophers, which will for ever brand that
mean barbarian with indelible ignominy, is confirmed by a similar act of
despotic barbarism towards another nation, related in this work.
The French, who are so remarkable for the gravings with which they
ornament their principal publications, will find, that the charts joined
to this translation, though reduced to a sixteenth part of the surface
of the originals, are, however, infinitely superior to them in point of
neatness, convenience, and accuracy. Without being less useful, we have
connected, in our charts, the whole run of their ships, from the
beginning of their discoveries to Batavia. The chart of the Magellanic
Straits is of the same size, and upon the same scale as in the original,
but more accurate; and the names by which the English call the several
points of land, the bays and the reaches, are all added to the French
names. The omission of the charts of Rio de la Plata, and of the
Falkland Isles, is by no means an imperfection; because, very lately,
two charts have been published in England, one equally good of the
first, and a better one of the latter; it would therefore be needless to
multiply the identical charts, or to give the public some imperfect
ones.
Though Mr. de Bougainville is a man of undoubted veracity and abilities,
he has, however, in a few instances, been misled by false reports, or
prejudiced in favour of his nation: we have, in some additional notes,
corrected as far as it was in our power these mistakes, and impartially
vindicated the British nation, where we thought the author had been
unjustly partial; for the love of one’s country is, in our opinion, very
consistent with common justice and good breeding; qualities which never
should be wanting in a philosopher.
Our author endeavours to make it highly probable, that the spice-trade,
which has hitherto been the great source of the grandeur and wealth of
the Dutch East India Company, will soon be divided among them, the
French, and the English. We have reason to believe the French to be in a
fair way of getting the spices in their plantations, as Mr. de Poivre
has actually planted at Isle de France some hundreds of clove and
nutmeg-trees. Every true patriot will join in the wish, that our English
East India Company, prompted by a noble zeal for the improvement of
natural history, and every other useful branch of knowledge, might send
a set of men properly acquainted with mathematics, natural history,
physic, and other branches of literature, to their vast possessions in
the Indies, and every other place where their navigations extend, and
enable them to collect all kinds of useful and curious informations; to
gather fossils, plants, seeds, and animals, peculiar to these regions;
to observe the manners, customs, learning, and religion of the various
nations of the East; to describe their agriculture, manufactures, and
commerce; to purchase Hebrew, Persian, Braminic manuscripts, and such as
are written in the various characters, dialects, and languages of the
different nations; to make observations on the climate and constitution
of the various countries; the heat and moisture of the air, the
salubrity and noxiousness of the place, the remedies usual in the
diseases of hot countries, and various other subjects. A plan of this
nature, once set on foot in a judicious manner, would not only do honour
to the East India Company, but it must at the same time become a means
of discovering many new and useful branches of trade and commerce; and
there is likewise the highest probability, that some unsearched island,
with which the Eastern Seas abound, might produce the various spices,
which would greatly add to the rich returns of the Indian cargoes, and
amply repay the expences caused by such an expedition.
Mr. de Bougainville’s work abounds in marine phrases, which makes the
translation of it very difficult, even to a native; but a foreigner, and
a man unacquainted with nautical affairs, must be under still greater
difficulties: we should have been under this predicament, had it not
been for the kind assistance of two worthy friends, who not only enabled
us to do justice to the original, but also to make the whole
intelligible to men conversant with navigation: it is therefore no more
than justice to acknowledge this favour publicly[1].
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION.
I think it would be of use to give, at the head of my relation, an
account of all the voyages that ever were performed round the world, and
of the different discoveries which have hitherto been made in the South
Sea or Pacific Ocean.
Ferdinand Magalhaens, a Portuguese, commanding five Spanish ships, left
Seville in 1519, discovered the straits which bear his name, and through
them he came into the Pacific Ocean, where he first discovered two
little desart isles, on the south side of the Line, afterwards the
Ladrones, and last of all the Philippines. His ship, called la Victoria,
was the only one out of the five that returned to Spain by the Cape of
Good Hope: On her return she was carried on shore at Seville, and set up
as a monument of this expedition, which was the boldest that had
hitherto been undertaken by men. Thus it was for the first time
physically demonstrated, that the earth was of a spherical figure, and
its circumference ascertained.
Sir Francis Drake, an Englishman, set sail from Plymouth, with five
ships, the 15th of September, 1577, and returned thither with only one,
the 3d of November, 1580. He was the second that sailed round the world.
Queen Elizabeth dined on board his ship, called the Pelican, which was
afterwards preserved in a dock at Deptford, with a very honourable
inscription on the main-mast. The discoveries attributed to Drake are
very precarious. The charts of the South Seas contain a coast which is
placed below the polar circle, some isles to the north of the Line, and
likewise New Albion to the north.
Sir Thomas Cavendish, an Englishman, left Plymouth the 21st of July,
1586, with three ships, and returned with two on 9th of September, 1588.
This voyage, which was the third round the world, was productive of no
new discoveries.
Oliver Van Noort, a Dutchman, sailed from Rotterdam the 2d of July,
1598, with four ships, passed through the straits of Magalhaens, sailed
along the western coasts of America, from whence he went to the
Ladrones, the Philippines, the Moluccas, the Cape of Good Hope, and
returned to Rotterdam with one ship the 26th of August, 1601. He made no
discoveries in the South Seas.
George Spilberg, a Dutchman, sailed from Zeeland the 8th of August,
1614, with six ships; he lost two ships before he came to the straits of
Magalhaens, passed through them, attacked several places on the coasts
of Peru and Mexico; from whence, without discovering any thing on his
course, he sailed to the Ladrones and Moluccas. Two of his ships
re-entered the ports of Holland, on the first of July, 1617.
James Lemaire and William Cornelius Schouten immortalized their names
much about the same time. They sailed from the Texel the 14th of June,
1615, with the ships Concord and Horn, discovered the straits that bear
the name of Lemaire, and were the first that ever entered the South Seas
by doubling Cape Horn. In that ocean they discovered the Isle of Dogs,
in 15° 15′ south latitude, and about 142° west longitude from Paris; the
Isle without Bottom (_Zonder Grond_) in 15° south latitude, one hundred
leagues westward: Water Island in 14° 46′ south latitude, and fifteen
leagues more to the west; at twenty leagues westward of this, Fly
Island, in 16° 10′ south latitude; and between 173° and 175° west
longitude from Paris, two isles, which they called Cocos and Traitor’s;
fifty leagues more westward, the Isle of Hope; next the Isle of Horn, in
14° 56′ south latitude, and about 179° east longitude from Paris; they
then coasted New Guinea, passed between its western extremity and the
Isle of Gilolo, and arrived at Batavia in October 1616. George Spilberg
stopped them there, and they were sent to Europe, on board the East
India company’s ships; Lemaire died of a sickness at the Isle of
Mauritius; Schouten returned to his country; the Concord and Horn came
back in two years and ten days.
James l’Hermite, a Dutchman, commanding a fleet of eleven ships, sailed
in 1623, with the scheme of making the conquest of Peru; he got into the
South Seas round Cape Horn, and harrassed the Spanish coasts, from
whence he went to the Ladrones, and thence to Batavia, without making
any discoveries in the South Seas. He died, after clearing the straits
of Sonda; and his ship, almost the only one of the whole fleet, arrived
in the Texel the 9th of July, 1626.
In 1683, Cowley, an Englishman, sailed from Virginia, doubled Cape Horn,
made several attacks upon the Spanish coasts, came to the Ladrones, and
returned to England by the Cape of Good Hope, where he arrived on the
12th of October, 1686. This navigator has made no discoveries in the
South Seas; he pretends to have found out the Isle of Pepis in the North
Sea[2], in 47° southern latitude, about eighty leagues from the coast of
Patagonia; I have sought it three times, and the English twice, without
finding it.
Woodes Rogers, an Englishman, left Bristol the 2d of August, 1708,
doubled Cape Horn, attacked the Spanish coast up to California, from
whence he took the same course which had already been taken several
times before him, went to the Ladrones, Moluccas, Batavia, and doubling
the Cape of Good Hope, he arrived in the Downs the first of October,
1711.
Ten years after, Roggewein, a Dutchman, left the Texel, with three
ships; he came into the South Seas round Cape Horn, fought for Davis’s
Land without finding it; discovered to the south of the Tropic of
Capricorn, an isle which he called Easter Island, the latitude of which
is uncertain; then, between 15° and 16° south latitude, the Pernicious
Isles, where he lost one of his ships; afterwards, much about the same
latitude, the isles Aurora, Vesper, the Labyrinth composed of six
islands, and Recreation Island, where he touched at. He next discovered
three isles in 12° south, which he called the Bauman’s Isles; and
lastly, in 11° south, the Isles of Tienhoven and Groningen; then sailing
along New Guinea and Papua, he came at length to Batavia, where his
ships were confiscated. Admiral Roggewein returned to Holland, on board
a Dutch India-man, and arrived in the Texel the 11th of July, 1723, six
hundred and eighty days after his departure from the same port.
The taste for great navigations seemed entirely extinct, when, in 1741,
Admiral Anson made a voyage round the world, the excellent account of
which is in every body’s hands, and has made no new improvement in
geography.
After this voyage of Lord Anson’s, there was no considerable one
undertaken for above twenty years. The spirit of discovery seems to have
been but lately revived. Commodore Byron sailed from the Downs the 20th
of June, 1764, passed through the straits of Magalhaens; discovered some
isles in the South Sea, sailing almost due north-west, arrived at
Batavia the 28th of November, 1765, at the Cape the 24th of February,
1766, and in the Downs the 9th of May, having been out upon this voyage
six hundred and forty-eight days.
Two months after commodore Byron’s return, captain Wallace sailed from
England, with the Dolphin and Swallow sloops; he went through the
straits of Magalhaens, and as he entered the South Seas, he was
separated from the Swallow, commanded by captain Carteret; he discovered
an isle in about 18°, some time in August, 1767: he sailed up to the
Line, passed near Papua, arrived at Batavia in January, 1768, touched at
the Cape of Good Hope, and returned to England in May the same year.
His companion Carteret, after having suffered many misfortunes in the
South Sea, and lost almost all his crew, came to Macassar in March 1768,
to Batavia the 15th of September, and to the Cape of Good Hope towards
the end of December. It will appear in the sequel, that I overtook him
on the 18th of February, 1769, in 11° north latitude. He arrived in
England in June.
It appears, that of these thirteen voyages which have been made round
the world[3], none belongs to the French nation, and that only six of
them have been made with the spirit of discovery; viz. those of
Magalhaens, Drake, Le Maire, Roggewein, Byron, and Wallace; the other
navigators, who had no other view than to enrich themselves by their
attacks upon the Spaniards, followed the known tracks, without
increasing the knowledge of geography.
In 1714, a Frenchman, called la Barbinais le Gentil, sailed, on board a
private merchant ship, in order to carry on an illicit trade, upon the
coast of Chili and Peru. From thence he went to China, where, after
staying some time in various factories, he embarked in another ship than
that which had brought him, and returned to Europe, having indeed gone
in person round the world, though that cannot be considered as a
circumnavigation by the French nation[4].
Let us now speak of those who going out either from Europe, or from the
western coasts of South-America, or from the East-Indies, have made
discoveries in the South Seas, without sailing round the world.
It appears that one Paulmier de Gonneville, a Frenchman, was the first
who discovered any thing that way, in 1503 and 1504. The countries which
he visited are not known; he brought however with him a native of one of
them, whom the government did not send back, for which reason,
Gonneville, thinking himself personally engaged, gave him his heiress in
marriage.
Alfonzo de Salazar, a Spaniard, discovered in 1525 the Isle of St.
Bartholomew, in 14° north latitude, and 158° east longitude from Paris.
Alvaro de Saavedra, left one of the ports of Mexico in 1526, discovered,
between 9° and 10° north, a heap of isles, which he called the King’s
Isles, much about the same longitude with the Isle St. Bartholomew; he
then went to the Philippines, and to the Moluccas, and on his return to
Mexico, he was the first that had any knowledge of New Guinea and Papua.
He discovered likewise, in twelve degrees north, about eighty leagues
east of the King’s Isles, a chain of low islands, which he called Islas
de los Barbudos.
Diego Hurtado and Hernando de Grijalva, who sailed from Mexico in 1533,
to search the South Seas, discovered only one isle, situated in 20° 30′
north latitude, and about 100° west longitude from Paris; they called it
St. Thomas Island.
Juan Gaëtan sailed from Mexico in 1542, and likewise kept to the north
of the æquator. He there discovered, between 20° and 9° in various
longitudes, several isles; viz. Rocca Partida, the Coral Isles, the
Garden Isles, the Sailor Isles, the Isle of Arezisa, and at last he
touched at New Guinea, or rather, according to his report, at the isles
that were afterwards called New Britain; but Dampier had not yet
discovered the passage which bears his name.
The following voyage is more famous than all the preceding ones.
Alvaro de Mendoça and Mindaña, leaving Peru in 1567, discovered those
celebrated isles, which obtained the name of Solomon’s Islands, on
account of their riches; but supposing that the accounts we have of the
riches of these isles be not fabulous, yet their situation is not known,
and they have been sought for since without any success. It appears
only, that they are on the south side of the Line, between 8° and 12°.
The Isle Isabella, and the land of Guadalcanal, which those voyages
mention, are not better known.
In 1595, Alvaro de Mindaña, the companion of Mendoça, in the preceding
voyage, sailed again from Peru, with four ships, in search of the
Solomon’s Isles: he had with him Fernando de Quiros, who afterwards
became celebrated by his own discoveries. Mindaña discovered between 9°
and 11° south latitude, about 108° west from Paris, the isles of San
Pedro, Magdalena, Dominica St. Christina, all which he called _las
Marquesas de Mendoça_, in honour of Donna Isabella de Mendoça, who made
the voyage with him: about twenty-four degrees more to the westward, he
discovered the Isle of San Bernardo; almost two hundred leagues to the
west of that, the Solitary Isle; and lastly, the Isle of Santa Cruz,
situated nearly in 140° east longitude from Paris. The fleet sailed from
thence to the Ladrones, and lastly to the Philippines, where general
Mindaña did not arrive, nor did any one know since what became of him.
Fernando de Quiros, the companion of the unhappy Mindaña, brought Donna
Isabella back to Peru. He sailed from thence again with two ships, on
the 21st of December, 1605, and steered his course almost
west-south-west. He discovered at first a little isle, in about 25°
south latitude, and about 124° west longitude from Paris; then, between
18° and 19° south, seven or eight low, and almost inundated islands,
which bear his name, and in 13° south lat. about 157° west from Paris,
the isle which he called Isle of Beautiful People. Afterwards he sought
in vain for the Isle of Santa Cruz, which he had seen on his first
voyage, but discovered, in 13° south lat. and near 176° east longitude
from Paris, the Isle of Taumaco; likewise, about a hundred leagues west
of that isle, in 15° south lat. a great continent, which he called
_Tierra austral del Espiritù Santo_ and which has been differently
placed by the several geographers. There he ceased to go westward, and
sailed towards Mexico, where he arrived at the end of the year 1606,
having again unsuccessfully sought the Isle of Santa Cruz.
Abel Tasman sailed from Batavia the 14th of August, 1642, discovered
land in 42° south latitude, and about 155° east longitude from Paris,
which he called Van Diemen’s land: he sailed from thence to the
eastward, and in about 160° of our east longitude, he discovered New
Zeeland, in 42° 10′ south. He coasted it till to 34° south lat. from
whence he sailed N. E. and discovered, in 22° 35′ south lat. and nearly
174° east of Paris, the Isles of Pylstaart, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam. He
did not extend his researches any farther, and returned to Batavia,
sailing between New Guinea and Gilolo.
The general name of New Holland has been given to a great extent of
continent, or chain of islands, reaching from 6° to 34° south lat.
between 105° and 140° east longitude from Paris. It was reasonable to
give it the name of New Holland, because the different parts of it have
chiefly been discovered by Dutch navigators. The first land which was
found in these parts, was called the Land of Eendraght, from the
person[5] that discovered it in 1616, in 24° and 25° south latitude. In
1618, another part of this coast, situated nearly in 15° south, was
discovered by Zeachen, who gave it the name of Arnhem and Diemen; though
this is not the same with that which Tasman called Diemen’s land
afterwards. In 1619, Jan van Edels gave his name to a southern part of
New Holland. Another part, situated between 30° and 33°, received the
name of Leuwen. Peter van Nuitz communicated his name in 1627 to a coast
which makes as it were a continuation of Leuwen’s land to the westward.
William de Witts called a part of the western coast, near the tropic of
Capricorn, after his own name, though it should have born that of
captain Viane, a Dutchman, who paid dear for the discovery of this coast
in 1628, by the loss of his ship, and of all his riches.
In the same year 1628, Peter Carpenter, a Dutchman, discovered the great
Gulph of Carpentaria, between 10° and 20° south latitude, and the Dutch
have often since sent ships to reconnoitre that coast.
Dampier, an Englishman, setting out from the great Timor Isle, made his
first voyage in 1687, along the coasts of New Holland; and touched
between the land of Arnhem and of Diemen: this short expedition was
productive of no discovery. In 1699 he left England, with an express
intention of visiting all that region, concerning which, the Dutch would
not publish the accounts they had of it. He sailed along the western
coast of it, from 28° to 15°. He saw the land of Eendraght, and of De
Witt, and conjectured that there might exist a passage to the south of
Carpentaria. He then returned to Timor, from whence he went out again,
examined the Isles of Papua, coasted New Guinea, discovered the passage
that bears his name, called a great isle which forms this passage or
strait on the east side, New Britain, and sailed back to Timor along New
Guinea. This is the same Dampier who between 1683 and 1691, partly as a
free-booter or privateer, and partly as a trader, sailed round the
world, by changing his ships.
This is the short abstract of the several voyages round the world, and
of the various discoveries made in that vast Pacific Ocean before our
departure from France[6]. Before I begin the narrative of the
expedition, with which I was charged, I must beg leave to mention, that
this relation ought not to be looked upon as a work of amusement; it has
chiefly been written for seamen. Besides, this long navigation round the
globe does not offer such striking and interesting scenes to the polite
world, as a voyage made in time of war. Happy, if by being used to
composition, I could have learnt to counterbalance, the dulness of the
subject by elegance of stile! But, though I was acquainted with the
sciences from my very youth, when the lessons which M. d’Alembert was so
kind to give me, enabled me to offer to the indulgent public, a work
upon geometry, yet I am now far from the sanctuary of science and
learning; the rambling and savage life I have led for these twelve years
past, have had too great an effect upon my ideas and my stile. One does
not become a good writer in the woods of Canada, or on the seas, and I
have lost a brother, whose productions were admired by the public, and
who might have assisted me in that respect.
Lastly, I neither quote nor contradict any body, and much less do I
pretend to establish or to overthrow any hypothesis; and supposing that
the great differences which I have remarked in the various countries
where I have touched at, had not been able to prevent my embracing that
spirit of system-making, so peculiar in our present age, and however so
incompatible with true philosophy, how could I have expected that my
whim, whatever appearance of probability I could give it, should meet
with success in the world? I am a voyager and a seaman; that is, a liar
and a stupid fellow, in the eyes of that class of indolent haughty
writers, who in their closets reason in _infinitum_ on the world and its
inhabitants, and with an air of superiority, confine nature within the
limits of their own invention. This way of proceeding appears very
singular and inconceivable, on the part of persons who have observed
nothing themselves, and only write and reason upon the observations
which they have borrowed from those same travellers in whom they deny
the faculty of seeing and thinking.
I shall conclude this preliminary discourse by doing justice to the
zeal, courage, and unwearied patience of the officers and crew of my two
ships[7]. It has not been necessary to animate them by any extraordinary
incitement, such as the English thought it necessary to grant to the
crew of commodore Byron. Their constancy has stood the test of the most
critical situations, and their good will has not one moment abated. But
the French nation is capable of conquering the greatest difficulties,
and nothing is impossible to their efforts, as often as she will think
herself equal at least to any nation in the world[8].
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
CHART
_shewing the Track round_
_THE WORLD_
_of the_
_BOUDEUSE and ETOILE_
_under the Command_
_OF_
M. de Bougainville
_1766-1769_
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A
_VOYAGE_
ROUND THE
_WORLD._
PART the FIRST.
Departure from France——clearing the Straits of
Magalhaens.
_CHAP. I._
_Departure of the Boudeuse from Nantes; puts in at Brest; run from Brest
to Montevideo; junction with the Spanish frigates, intended for
taking possession of the Malouines, or Falkland’s islands._
In February 1764, France began to make a settlement on the Isles
Malouines. [Sidenote: Object of the voyage. 1766, November.] Spain
reclaimed these isles as belonging to the continent of South America;
and her right to them having been acknowledged by the king, I received
orders to deliver our settlement to the Spaniards, and to proceed to the
East Indies by crossing the South Seas between the Tropics. For this
expedition I received the command of the frigate la Boudeuse, of
twenty-six twelve-pounders, and I was to be joined at the Malouines by
the store-ship[9] l’Etoile, which was intended to bring me the
provisions necessary for a voyage of such a length, and to follow me
during the whole expedition. Several circumstances retarded the junction
of this store-vessel, and consequently made my whole voyage near eight
months longer than it would otherwise have been.
[Sidenote: Departure from Nantes.]
In the beginning of November, 1766, I went to Nantes, where the Boudeuse
had just been built, and where M. Duclos Guyot, a captain of a fireship,
my second officer, was fitting her out. The 5th of this month we came
down from Painbeuf to Mindin, to finish the equipment of her; and on the
15th we sailed from this road for the river de la Plata. There I was to
find the two Spanish frigates, called la Esmeralda and la Liebre, that
had left Ferrol the 17th of October, and whose commander was ordered to
receive the _Isles Malouines_, or Falkland’s islands, in the name of his
Catholic majesty.
[Sidenote: Squall of wind.]
The 17th in the morning we suffered a sudden gust of wind from W. S. W.
to N. W. it grew more violent in the night, which we passed under our
bare poles, with our lower-yards lowered, the clue of the fore-sail,
under which we tried before, having been carried away. The 18th, at four
in the morning, our fore-top-mast broke about the middle of its height;
the main-top-mast resisted till eight o’clock, when it broke in the cap,
and carried away the head of the main-mast. [Sidenote: Putting in at
Brest.] This last event made it impossible for us to continue our
voyage, and I determined to put into Brest, where we arrived the 21st of
November.
This squall of wind, and the confusion it had occasioned, gave me room
to make the following observations upon the state and qualities of the
frigate which I commanded.
1. The prodigious tumbling home of her top-timbers, leaving too little
opening to the angles which the shrouds make with the masts, the latter
were not sufficiently supported.
2. The preceding fault became of more consequence by the nature of the
ballast, which we had been obliged to take in, on account of the
prodigious quantity of provisions we had stowed. Forty tuns of ballast,
distributed on both sides of the kelson, and at a short distance from
it, and a dozen twelve-pounders placed at the bottom of the pump-well
(we had only fourteen upon deck) added a considerable weight, which
being much below the center of gravity, and almost entirely rested upon
the kelson, put the masts in danger, if there had been any rolling.
These reflections induced me to get the excessive height of our masts
shortened, and to exchange the cannon, which were twelve-pounders, for
eight-pounders. Besides the diminution of near twenty ton weight, both
in the hold and upon deck, gained by exchanging the artillery, the
narrow make of the frigate alone was sufficient to render it necessary.
She wanted about two feet of the beam which such frigates have as are
intended to carry twelve-pounders.
Notwithstanding these alterations, which I was allowed to make, I could
not help observing that my ship was not fit for navigating in the seas
round Cape Horn. I had found, during the squall of wind, that she made
water from all her upper-works, which might expose part of my biscuit to
be spoiled by the water getting into the store-rooms in bad weather; an
inconvenience, the consequences of which we should not be able to remedy
during the voyage. I therefore asked leave to send the Boudeuse back to
France from the Falkland’s islands, under the command of the chevalier
Bournand, lieutenant of a ship, and to continue the voyage with the
store-ship l’Etoile alone, if the long winter nights should prevent my
passing the Straits of Magalhaens[10]. I obtained this permission, and
the 4th of December, our masts being repaired, the artillery exchanged,
and the frigate entirely caulked in her upper-works, we went out of the
port and anchored in the road, where we continued a whole day, in order
to embark the powder, and to set up the shrouds.
[Sidenote: December. Departure from Brest.]
The 5th at noon we got under sail in the road of Brest. I was obliged to
cut my cable, because the fresh east-wind and the ebb prevented my
tacking about, as I was apprehensive of falling off too near the shore.
I had eleven commissioned officers, and three volunteers; and the crew
consisted of two hundred sailors, warrant-officers, soldiers, boys, and
servants. The prince of Nassau-Sieghen had got leave from the king to go
upon this expedition. At four o’clock in the afternoon, the middle of
the isle of Ushant bore N. by E. and from thence I took my departure.
[Sidenote: Description of the Salvages.]
During the first days, we had the wind pretty constant from W. N. W. to
W. S. W. and S.W., very fresh. The 17th, afternoon, we got sight of the
Salvages; the 18th, of the Isle of Palma; and the 19th, of the Isle of
Ferro. What is called the Salvages, is a little isle of about a league
in extent from E. to W. it is low in the middle, and at each end a
little hillock; a chain of rocks, some of which appear above water,
extend to the westward about two leagues off the island; there are
likewise some breakers on the east-side, but they are not far from the
shore.
[Sidenote: Error in the calculation of the course.]
The sight of these rocks convinced us of a great error in our reckoning;
but I would not make a computation before I had seen the Canaries, whose
position is exactly determined. The sight of the Isle of Ferro gave me
with certainty the correction which I was desirous to make. The 19th, at
noon, I took the latitude, and comparing it with the bearings of the
Isle of Ferro taken that same hour, I found a difference of four degrees
and seven minutes, which I was more to the eastward, than by my
reckoning. This error is frequent in crossing from Cape Finisterre to
the Canaries, and I had found it on other voyages, as the currents
opposite the straits of Gibraltar set to the eastward with great
rapidity.
[Sidenote: Position of the Salvages rectified.]
I had, at the same time, an opportunity of remarking, that the Salvages
are improperly placed on M. de Bellin’s Chart. Indeed, when we got sight
of them the 17th, after noon, the longitude which their bearings gave us
differed from our calculation by three degrees seventeen minutes to the
eastward. However, this same difference appeared the 19th of four
degrees seven minutes, by correcting our place, according to the
bearings of the isle of Ferro, whose longitude has been determined by
astronomical observations. It must be observed, that during the two days
which passed between our getting sight of the Salvages and of Ferro, we
sailed with a fair wind; and consequently there can be very little
miscalculation in that part of the course. Besides, the 18th, we set the
Isle of Palma, bearing S. W. by W. corrected; and, according to M.
Bellin, it was to bear S. W. I concluded, from these two observations,
that M. Bellin has placed the Isle of Salvages about 32′ more to the W.
than it really is.
I therefore took a fresh departure the 19th of December at noon. We met
with no remarkable occurrences on our voyage, till we came to the Rio de
la Plata; our course furnished us only with the following observations,
which may be interesting to navigators.
[Sidenote: 1767.
January.
Nautical observations.]
1. The 6th and 7th of January 1767, being between 1° 40′ and 0° 38′
north latitude; and about 28° longitude, we saw many birds, which
induced me to believe, that we were near the rock of Penedo San Pedro;
though M. Bellin does not mark it on his chart.
[Sidenote: Passing the line.]
2. The 8th of January, in the afternoon, we passed the line between 27°
and 28° of longitude.
[Sidenote: Remark on the variations.]
3. Since the 2nd of January we could no longer observe the variations;
and I only reckoned them by the charts of William Mountain and James
Obson. The 11th, at sun-set, we observed 3° 17′ of N. W. variation; and
the 14th, in the morning, I observed again 10′ of N. W. variation with
an azimuth-compass, the ship then being in 10° 30′ or 40′ S. latitude,
and about 33° 20′ W. longitude, from Paris. Therefore it is certain,
that, if my estimated longitude is exact, and I verified it as such at
the land-fall[11], the line of no variation is still further advanced to
the westward since the observation of Mountain and Obson; and it seems
the progress of this line westward is pretty uniform. Indeed, upon the
same degree of latitude, where Mountain and Obson found 12° or 13° of
difference in the space of forty-four years, I have found a little more
than 6° after an interval of 22 years. This progression deserves to be
confirmed by a chain of observations. The discovery of the law by which
these changes happen that are observed in the declination of the
magnetic needle, besides furnishing us with a method of finding out the
longitude at sea, might perhaps lead us to the causes of this variation,
and perhaps even to that of the magnetic power.
[Sidenote: Causes of the variations found in going to the Brasils.]
4. About the line we have almost always observed very great variations
on the north-side, though it is more common to observe them on the
south-side. We had an opportunity of guessing at the cause of it, the
18th of January passing over a bank with young fish, which extended
beyond the reach of our sight, from S. W. by W. to N. E. by E. upon a
line of reddish white, about two fathoms broad. Our meeting with it,
taught us that since some days the currents set in to the N. E. by E.
for all fish spawn upon the coasts, whence the currents detach the fry
and carry them into the open sea. On observing these variations N. of
which I have spoken, I did not infer from thence, that it was necessary
there should be variations westward together with them; likewise the
29th of January, in the evening, when we saw land, I had calculated at
noon that it was ten or twelve leagues off, which gave rise to the
following observations.
It has long ago been a complaint among navigators, and still continues,
that the charts, and especially those of M. Bellin, lay down the coasts
of Brasil too much to the eastward. They ground this complaint upon
their having got sight of these coasts in their several voyages, when
they thought themselves at least eighty or a hundred leagues off. They
add, that they have several times observed on these coasts, that the
currents had carried them S. W. and they rather choose to tax the charts
and astronomical observations as erroneous, than suspect their ships
reckoning subject to mistakes.
Upon the like reasonings we might have concluded the contrary on our
course to Rio de la Plata, if by chance we had not discovered the reason
of the variations N. which we met with. It was evident that the bank
with the fry of fish, that we met with the 29th, was subject to the
direction of a current; and its distance from the coast proved, that the
current had already existed several days. It was therefore the cause of
constant errors in our course; and the currents which navigators have
often found to set in to the S. W. on these shores, are subject to
variations, and sometimes take contrary directions.
This observation being well confirmed, and our course being nearly S. W.
were my authorities for correcting our mistakes as to the distances,
making them agree with the observations of the latitude, and not to
correct the points of the compass. By this method I got sight of the
land, almost the same moment when I expected to see it by my
calculation. Those amongst us, who always reckoned our course to the
westward, according to the ship’s journals, being contented to correct
the difference of latitude by the observations at noon, expected to be
close to the shore, according to their calculation, long before we had
so much as got sight of it: but can this give them reason to conclude,
that the coast of the Brasils is much more westward than Mr. Bellin has
laid it down?
[Sidenote: Observations on the currents.]
In general it seems, that in this part the currents vary, and sometimes
set to the N. E. but more frequently to S. W. One glance at the bearings
and position of the coast is sufficient to prove that they can only
follow one or the other of these directions; and it is always easy to
distinguish which of the two then takes place by the differences north
or south, which the latitude gives. To these currents we may impute the
frequent errors of which navigators complain; and I am of opinion Mr.
Bellin has laid down the coasts of the Brasils with exactness. I believe
it the more readily, as the longitude of Rio Janeiro has been determined
by Messrs. Godin, and the Abbé de la Caille, who met there in 1751; and
as some observations of the longitude have likewise been made at
Fernambuco and Buenos Ayres. These three points being determined, there
can be no considerable error in regard to the longitude of the eastern
coasts of America, from 8° to 35° S. latitude; and this has been
confirmed to us by experience.
[Sidenote: Entry into Rio de la Plata.]
Since the 27th of January we found ground, and on the 29th, in the
evening, we saw the land, though we could not take the bearings, as
night was coming on, and the shore very low. The night was dark, with
rain and thunder. We lay-to under our reefed top-sails, the head towards
the offing. On the 30th, by break of day, we perceived the mountains of
Maldonado: it was then easily discovered that the land we saw the
evening before, was the isle of Lobos. [Sidenote: Necessary correction
in M. Bellin’s chart.] However, as our latitude, when we arrived, was
35° 16′ 20″ we must have taken it for cape Santa Maria, which Mr. Bellin
places in 35° 15′, though its true latitude is 34° 55′; I take notice of
this false position, because it might prove dangerous. A ship sailing in
35° 15′ S. latitude, and expecting to find cape Santa Maria, might run
the risk of getting upon the English Bank without having seen any land.
However, the soundings would caution them against the approaching
danger; for, near the sand, you find no more than six or seven fathoms
of water. The French Bank, or Sand, which is no more than a prolongation
of cape San Antonio, would be more dangerous; just before you come to
the northern point of it, you find from twelve to fourteen fathoms of
water.
[Sidenote: Anchoring-place at the Maldonados.]
The Maldonados are the first high lands one sees on the north-side after
entering the Rio de la Plata, and almost the only ones till you come to
Montevideo. East of these mountains there is an anchorage upon a very
low coast; it is a creek sheltered by a little island. The Spaniards
have a little town at the Maldonados, with a garrison. In its
neighbourhood is a poor gold mine, that has been worked these few years;
in it they likewise find pretty transparent stones. About two leagues
inland is a town newly built, and entirely peopled with Portugueze
deserters; it is called Pueblo Nuevo.
[Sidenote: Anchoring at Montevideo.]
The 31st, at eleven in the morning, we anchored in Montevideo bay,
having four fathom water, with a black, soft, muddy bottom. We had
passed the night between the 30th and 31st in nine fathoms, the same
bottom, five or six leagues east of the isle of Flores. The two Spanish
frigates, which were to take possession of the Isles Malouines
(Falkland’s Island) had lain in the road a whole month. [Sidenote:
February.] Their commander, Don Philip Ruis Puente, captain of a man of
war, was appointed governor of those islands; we went together to Buenos
Ayres, in order to concert the necessary measures with the
governor-general, for the cession of the settlement, which I was to
deliver up to the Spaniards. We did not make a long stay there, and I
returned to Montevideo on the 16th of February.
[Sidenote: Journey from Buenos Ayres to Montevideo.]
The prince of Nassau went with me, and as a contrary wind prevented our
returning in a schooner, we landed opposite Buenos Ayres, above the
colony of San Sacramento, and made this tour by land. We crossed those
immense plains, in which travellers are guided by the eye, taking care
not to miss the fords in the rivers, and driving before themselves
thirty or forty horses, among which they must take some with nooses, in
order to have relays, when those on which they ride are fatigued. We
lived upon meat which was almost raw; and passed the nights in huts made
of leather, in which our sleep was constantly interrupted by the
howlings of tygers that lurk around them. I shall never forget in what
manner we crossed the river St. Lucia, which is very deep, rapid, and
wider than the Seine opposite the Hospital of Invalids at Paris. You get
into a narrow, long canoe, one of whose sides is half as high again as
the other; two horses are then forced into the water, one on the
starboard, and the other on the larboard side of the canoe, and the
master of the ferry, being quite naked, (which, though a very wise
precaution, is insufficient to encourage passengers that cannot swim)
holds up the horses heads as well as he can above the water, obliging
them to swim over the river, and to draw the canoe, if they be strong
enough for it.
Don Ruis arrived at Montevideo a few days after us. There arrived at the
same time two boats laden, one with wood and refreshments, the other
with biscuit and flour, which we took on board, in place of that which
had been consumed on our voyage from Brest. The Spanish frigates being
likewise ready, we prepared to leave Rio de la Plata.
-----
Footnote 1:
We have thought proper to omit M. Pereire’s discourse on the nature of
the language of Taiti, as being a very trifling performance, founded
on the imperfect vocabulary, and defective pronunciation of Aotourou.
Footnote 2:
North Sea signifies here the Atlantic Ocean, and is put in opposition
to South Sea; the former taking in the ocean on this side the
Magellanic straits, the latter that which is west of them. The
appellation, though somewhat improper, by calling the sea about the
south pole the North Sea, is however sometimes employed by some
writers. F.
Footnote 3:
Dom Pernetty, in his Dissertation upon America, speaks of a voyage
round the world, in 1719, by captain Shelvock; I have no knowledge of
this voyage. Note of Mr. de B.
As M. de Bougainville’s list of circumnavigators is very imperfect, we
will endeavour to give a more compleat one in few words.
1. Fernando Magalhaens, 1519.
2. Sir Francis Drake sailed from Plymouth the 15th of November, 1577,
but was obliged to put back on account of a storm; after which, he set
sail again the 13th of December, and returned the 16th of September,
1580.
3. Sir Thomas Cavendish, 1586-88.
4. Simon de Cordes, a Dutchman, sailed in 1598-1600.
5. Oliver Van Noort sailed the 13th of September, 1598, and returned
the 22nd of August, 1601.
6. George Spielbergen, a German in the Dutch service, 1614-1617.
7. William Cornelius Schouten with Jacob Le Maire, 1615-1617.
8. Jacob l’Hermite with John Hugo Schapenham sailed from Goeree, in
the province of Holland, the 29th of April, 1623, and arrived in the
Texel the 9th of July, 1626.
9. Henry Brouwer, a Dutchman, in 1643.
10. Cowley, in 1683-1686.
11. William Dampier, an Englishman, sailed in 1689, and returned 1691.
He has been omitted by M. de Bougainville in the list of
circumnavigators, because he did not go round the world in one and the
same ship.
12. Beauchesne Gouin, in 1699.
13. Edward Cooke, an Englishman, made the voyage in the years 1708 and
1711. 14. Woodes Rogers, an Englishman, sailed from Bristol, June
15th, 1708, and returned 1711.
15. Clipperton and Shelvocke, two Englishmen, sailed the 13th of
February, 1719, and returned in 1722; the former to Galway in Ireland,
in the beginning of June, the latter to London, on the first of
August.
16. Roggewein, a Mecklenburger, in the Dutch service, sailed the 16th
of July, 1721, and returned the 11th of July, 1723.
17. Lord Anson, 1740-1744.
18. Commodore Byron, 1764-1766.
19. The Dolphin and Swallow sloops. The first 1766-1768. The second
1766-1769.
20. M. de Bougainville, 1766-1769.
21. The Endeavour sloop, captain Cooke, which sailed in August, 1768,
to observe the transit of Venus, came to Batavia the latter end of
1770, and returned to England in July 1771.
From this list, it appears that the English have undertaken the
greatest number of voyages, with a design to make discoveries,
unattended by that selfishness with which most of the Dutch voyages
were entered upon, merely with a view to promote the knowledge of
geography, to make navigation more safe, and likewise to throw further
lights on the study of nature. F.
Footnote 4:
The author is very solicitous to exclude le Gentil de la Barbinais
from the honour of being the first circumnavigator of the French
nation, in order to secure it to himself; though it is a real
circumnavigation. The famous Italian, Giovan Francisco Gemelli
Carreri, cannot with propriety be called a circumnavigator, though he
made the tour of the globe in the years 1693-1698, for he landed in
Mexico, and crossed America by land, and went again to the Manillas by
sea, and from thence to China and Europe on board of other ships. F.
Footnote 5:
Not from the discoverer, but from the ship Eendraght (Concord).
Footnote 6:
The mistakes and omissions of our author in regard to these navigators
of the South Seas, who did not sail round the world, are various and
multifarious; but it would take up too much time to point them all
out; and as there is a very complete list of all the navigators of the
Pacific Ocean, in the _Historical Collection of the several Voyages
and Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean_, published by Alex.
Dalrymple, Esq. we refer our readers to it. F.
Footnote 7:
The officers on board the frigate la Boudeuse, were M. de
Bougainville, captain of the ship; Duclos Guyot, captain of a
fire-ship; chevalier de Bournand, chevalier d’Oraison, chevalier du
Bouchage, under-lieutenants (_enseignes de vaisseau_); chevalier de
Suzannet, chevalier de Kué, midshipmen acting as officers; le Corre,
super-cargo (_officier-marchand_); Saint-Germain, ship’s-clerk; la
Veze, the chaplain; la Porte, surgeon.
The officers of the store-ship l’Etoile, consisted of M. M. Chenard de
la Giraudais, captain of a fire-ship; Caro, lieutenant in an
India-man; Donat, Landais, Fontaine, and Lavary-le-Roi, _officiers
marchands_; Michaud, ship’s-clerk; Vivez, surgeon.
There were likewise M. M. de Commerçon, a physician; Verron, an
astronomer, and de Romainville, an engineer.
Footnote 8:
It would be improper to derogate from the merit of any nation, unless
that same nation intends to obtain it by destroying the character of
another. Had Mr. de Bougainville bestowed some encomiums upon the zeal
and courage of the officers under his command, it would be thought
that he were willing to do them justice: but since he, without the
least necessity, casts a reflection upon the English officers in
commodore Byron’s expedition, it is no more but justice to retort the
argument. It is an undeniable proof of the badness of the
constitution, and of the arbitrary government of a country, when a set
of worthy men, who have braved the most imminent danger, with an
undaunted courage, for the welfare of their fellow-citizens, remain
without any reward whatsoever, except that philosophical one, the
consciousness of good and laudable actions. But it is likewise the
best proof of the happiness of the government and constitution of a
country, when merit and virtue is rewarded. These propositions are so
evidently founded on truth, that they want no further confirmation:
and every true Englishman will congratulate himself on the happiness
to live under a government which thinks it a necessary duty to reward
zeal, courage, and virtue, in a set of men who go through their duty
with spirit and chearfulness; and what honour must not redound on an
administration which forces, even a rival nation, to give an
honourable testimony to its attention in justly and conspicuously
rewarding merit in its fellow-citizens, at the same time that these
rivals endeavour to quiet the uneasy minds of their poor dissatisfied
officers, with a vain and empty compliment. F.
Footnote 9:
La flûte.
Footnote 10:
Though the name of this circumnavigator is frequently spelled
Magellan, it is, however, right to spell proper names as they are
written in their original language; according to this rule we shall
always write Magalhaens. F.
Footnote 11:
Land-fall, _atterage_, the first land a ship makes after a sea-voyage.
See Falconer’s Marine Dictionary. F.
-----
_CHAP. II._
_Account of the establishment of the Spaniards in Rio de
la Plata._
[Sidenote: 1767.]
Rio de la Plata, or the river of Plate, does not go by that same name
from its source. [Sidenote: Incertainty concerning the source of this
river.]It is said to spring from the lake Xaragès, near 16° 30′ south,
under the name of Paraguai, which it communicates to the immense extent
of land it passes through. In about 27° it joins with the river Parana,
whose name it takes, together with its waters. It then runs due south to
lat. 34°; where it receives the river Uraguai, and directs its course
eastward, by the name of la Plata, which it keeps to the sea.
The Jesuit geographers, who were the first that attributed the origin of
this great river to the lake of Xaragès, have been mistaken, and other
writers have followed their mistake in this particular. The existence of
this lake, which has been in vain sought for, is now acknowledged to be
fabulous. The marquis of Valdelirais and Don George Menezès, having been
appointed, the one by Spain and the other by Portugal, for settling the
limits between the possessions of these two powers in this country,
several Spanish and Portuguese officers went through the whole of this
portion of America, from 1751 till 1755. Part of the Spaniards went up
the river Paraguai, expecting by this means to come into the lake of
Xaragès; the Portuguese on their part, setting out from Maragosso, a
settlement of theirs upon the inner boundaries of the Brasils, in about
12° south latitude, embarked on a river called Caourou, which the same
maps of the Jesuits marked, as falling into the lake of Xaragès. They
were both much surprised at meeting in the river Paraguai, in 14° S.
latitude, without having seen any lake. They proved, that what had been
taken for a lake, was a great extent of very low grounds, which, during
a certain season, are covered by the inundations of the river.
[Sidenote: Sources of the river Plata.]
The Paraguai, or Rio de la Plata, arises between 5° and 6° S. latitude
nearly in the middle between the two oceans, and in the same mountains
whence the Madera comes, which empties itself into the river of Amazons.
The Parana and Uraguai arise both in the Brasils; the Uraguai in the
captainship of St. Vincent; the Parana near the Atlantic ocean, in the
mountains that lie to the E. N. E. of Rio Janeiro, whence it takes its
course to the westward, and afterwards turns south.
[Sidenote: Date of the first settlements of the Spaniards there.]
The abbé Prevost has given the history of the discovery of the Rio de la
Plata, and of the obstacles the Spaniards met with, in forming the first
settlements they made there. It appears from his account that Diaz de
Solis first entered this river in 1515, and gave his name to it, which
it bore till 1526, when Sebastian Cabot changed it to that of la Plata,
or of Silver, on account of the quantity of that metal he found among
the natives there. Cabot built the fort of Espiritù Santo, upon the
river Tercero, thirty leagues above the junction of the Paraguai and
Uraguai; but this settlement was destroyed almost as soon as it was
constructed.
Don Pedro de Mendoza, great cup-bearer to the emperor, was then sent to
the Rio de la Plata in 1535. He laid the first foundations of Buenos
Ayres, under bad auspices, on the right hand shore of the river, some
leagues below its junction with the Uraguai, and his whole expedition
was a chain of unfortunate events, that did not even end at his death.
The inhabitants of Buenos Ayres, being continually interrupted by the
Indians, and constantly oppressed by famine, were obliged to leave the
place and to retire to Assumption. This town, now the capital of
Paraguai, was founded by some Spaniards, attendants of Mendoza, upon the
western shore of the river, three hundred leagues from its mouth, and
was in a very short space of time considerably enlarged. At length Don
Pedro Ortiz de Zarata, governor of Paraguay, rebuilt Buenos Ayres in
1580, on the same spot where the unhappy Mendoza had formerly laid it
out, and fixed his residence there: the town became the staple to which
European ships resorted, and by degrees the capital of all these tracts,
the see of a bishop, and the residence of a governor-general.
[Sidenote: Situation of the town of Buenos Ayres.]
Buenos Ayres is situated in 34° 35′ south latitude, its longitude is 61°
5′ west from Paris, according to the astronomical observations of father
Feuillée. It is built regular, and much larger than the number of its
inhabitants would require, which do not exceed twenty thousand, whites,
negroes, and mestizos. The way of building the houses gives the town
this great extent; for, if we except the convents, public buildings, and
five or six private mansions, they are all very low, and have no more
than a ground-floor, with vast court-yards, and most of them a garden.
The citadel, which includes the governor’s palace, is situated upon the
shore of the river, and forms one of the sides of the great square,
opposite to which the town-hall is situated; the cathedral and episcopal
palace occupy the two other sides of the square, in which a public
market is daily held.
[Sidenote: This town wants a harbour.]
There is no harbour at Buenos Ayres, nor so much as a mole, to
facilitate the landing of boats. The ships can only come within three
leagues of the town; there they unload their goods into boats, which
enter a little river, named Rio Chuelo, from whence the merchandizes are
brought in carts to the town, which is about a quarter of a league from
the landing-place. The ships which want careening, or take their lading
at Buenos Ayres, go to la Ençenada de Baragon, a kind of port about nine
or ten leagues E. S. E. of this town.
[Sidenote: Religious establishments.]
Buenos Ayres contains many religious communities of both sexes. A great
number of holidays are yearly celebrated by processions and fireworks.
The monks have given the title of Majordomes or Stewards of the founders
of their orders, and of the holy Virgin, to the principal ladies in this
town. This post gives them the exclusive charge of ornamenting the
church, dressing the statue of the tutelar saint, and wearing the habit
of the order. It is a singular sight for a stranger to see ladies of all
ages in the churches of St. Francis and St. Dominique assist in
officiating, and wear the habit of those holy institutors.
The Jesuits have offered a much more austere mode of sanctification than
the former to the pious ladies. Adjoining to their convent, they had a
house, called Casa de los Exercicios de las Mugeres, i. e. the House for
the Exercises of Women. Married and unmarried women, without the consent
of their husbands or parents, went to be sanctified there by a retreat
of twelve days. They were lodged and boarded at the expence of the
community. No man was admitted into this sanctuary, unless he wore the
habit of St. Ignatius; even servant-maids were not allowed to attend
their mistresses thither. The exercises practised in this holy place
were meditation, prayer, catechetical instructions, confession, and
flagellation. They shewed us the walls of the chapel, yet stained with
the blood, which, as they told us, was dispersed by the rods wherewith
penitence armed the hands of these Magdalens.
All men are brothers, and religion makes no distinction in regard to
their colour. There are sacred ceremonies for the slaves, and the
Dominicans have established a religious community of negroes. They have
their chapels, masses, holidays, and decent burials, and all this costs
every negro that belongs to the community only four reals a year. This
community of negroes acknowledges St. Benedict of Palermo, and the
Virgin, as their patrons, perhaps on account of these words of
scripture; “Nigra sum, sed formosa filia Jerusalem.” On the holidays of
these tutelary saints, they chuse two kings, one to represent the king
of Spain, the other the Portugueze monarch, and each of them chooses a
queen. Two bands, armed and well dressed, form a procession, and follow
the kings, marching with the cross, banners, and a band of music. They
sing, dance, represent battles between the two parties, and repeat
litanies. This festivity lasts from morning till night, and the sight of
it is diverting.
[Sidenote: Environs of Buenos Ayres, and their productions.]
The environs of Buenos Ayres are well-cultivated. Most of the
inhabitants of that city have their country-houses there, called
Quintas, furnishing all the necessaries of life in abundance. I except
wine, which they get from Spain, or from Mandoza, a vineyard about two
hundred leagues from Buenos Ayres. The cultivated environs of this city
do not extend very far; for at the distance of only three leagues from
the city, there are immense fields, left to an innumerable multitude of
horses and black cattle. One scarce meets with a few scattered huts, on
crossing this vast country, erected not so much with a view of
cultivating the soil, as rather to secure the property of the ground, or
of the cattle upon it to their several owners. Travellers, who cross
this plain, find no accommodations, and are obliged to sleep in the same
carts they travel in, and which are the only kind of carriages made use
of on long journeys here. Those who travel on horseback are often
exposed to lie in the fields, without any covering.
[Sidenote: Abundance of cattle.]
The country is a continued plain, without other forests than those of
fruit trees. It is situated in the happiest climate, and would be one of
the most fertile in the world in all kinds of productions, if it were
cultivated. The small quantity of wheat and maize which is sown there,
multiplies by far more than in our best fields in France.
Notwithstanding these natural advantages, almost the whole country lies
neglected, as well in the neighbourhood of the Spanish settlements, as
at the greatest distance from them; or, if by chance you meet with any
improvements, they are generally made by negro-slaves. Horses and horned
cattle are in such great abundance in these plains, that those who drive
the oxen before the carts, are on horseback; and the inhabitants, or
travellers, when pressed by hunger, kill an ox, take what they intend to
eat of it, and leave the rest as a prey to wild dogs and tygers[12],
which are the only dangerous animals in this country.
The dogs were originally brought from Europe: the ease with which they
are able to get their livelihood in the open fields, has induced them to
leave the habitations, and they have encreased their species
innumerably. They often join in packs to attack a wild bull, and even a
man on horseback, when they are pressed by hunger. The tygers are not
numerous, except in woody parts, which are only to be found on the banks
of rivulets. The inhabitants of these countries are known to be very
dexterous in using nooses; and it is fact, that some Spaniards do not
fear to throw a noose, even upon a tyger; though it is equally certain
that some of them unfortunately became the prey of these ravenous
creatures. At Montevideo, I saw a species of tyger-cat, whose hairs were
pretty long, and of a whitish grey. The animal is very low upon its
legs, about five feet long, fierce, and very scarce.
[Sidenote: Scarcity of wood; means of remedying it.]
Wood is very dear at Buenos Ayres, and at Montevideo. In the
neighbourhood of these places, are only some little shrubs, hardly fit
for fuel. All timber for building houses, and constructing and refitting
the vessels that navigate in the river, comes from Paraguai in rafts. It
would, however, be easy to get all the timber for constructing the
greatest ships from the upper parts of the country. From Montegrande,
where they have the finest wood, it might be transported in single round
stems, through the river Ybicui, into the Uraguai, and from the
Salto-Chico of the Uraguai, some vessels made on purpose for this use,
might bring it to such places upon the river, where docks were built.
[Sidenote: Account of the natives of this country.]
The Indians, who inhabit this part of America, north and south of the
river de la Plata, are of that race called by the Spaniards Indios
bravos.—They are middle-sized, very ugly, and afflicted with the itch.
They are of a deep tawny colour, which they blacken still more, by
continually rubbing themselves with grease. They have no other dress
than a great cloak of roe-deer skins, hanging down to their heels, in
which they wrap themselves up. These skins are very well dressed; they
turn the hairy side inwards, and paint the outside with various colours.
The distinguishing mark of their cacique is a band or strap of leather,
which is tied round his forehead; it is formed into a diadem or crown,
and adorned with plates of copper. Their arms are bows and arrows; and
they likewise make use of nooses and of balls[13]. These Indians are
always on horseback, and have no fixed habitations, at least not near
the Spanish settlements. Sometimes they come with their wives to buy
brandy of the Spaniards; and they do not cease to drink of it, till they
are so drunk as not to be able to stir. In order to get strong liquors,
they sell their arms, furs, and horses; and having disposed of all they
are possessed of, they seize the horses they can meet with near the
habitations, and make off. Sometimes they come in bodies of two or three
hundred men, to carry off the cattle from the lands of the Spaniards, or
to attack the caravans of travellers. They plunder and murder, or carry
them into slavery. This evil cannot be remedied: for, how is it possible
to conquer a nomadic nation, in an immense uncultivated country, where
it would be difficult even to find them: besides, these Indians are
brave and inured to hardships; and those times exist no longer, when one
Spaniard could put a thousand Indians to flight.
[Sidenote: Race of robbers, settled on the north side of the river.]
A set of robbers united into a body, a few years ago, on the north side
of the river, and may become more dangerous to the Spaniards than they
are at present, if efficacious measures are not taken to destroy them.
Some malefactors escaped from the hands of justice, retired to the north
of the Maldonadoes; some deserters joined them; their numbers encreased
insensibly; they took wives from among the Indians, and founded a race
of men who live upon robberies. They make inroads, and carry off the
cattle in the Spanish possessions, which they conduct to the boundaries
of the Brasils, where they barter it with the Paulists[14], against arms
and clothes. Unhappy are the travellers that fall into their hands. They
are now, it is said, upwards of six hundred in number, have left their
first habitation, and are retired much further to the north-west.
[Sidenote: Extent of the government de la Plata.]
The governor-general of the province de la Plata resides, as I have
already mentioned, at Buenos Ayres. In all matters which do not concern
the marine, he is reckoned dependent upon the viceroy of Peru; but the
great distance between them almost annuls this dependency, and it only
exists in regard to the silver, which he is obliged to get out of the
mines of Potosi; this, however, will no longer be brought over in
shapeless pieces, as a mint has been established this year at Potosi.
The particular governments of Tucuman and Paraguai (the principal
settlements of which are Santa-Fé, Corrientes, Salta, Tujus, Cordoua,
Mendoza, and Assumption) are dependent, together with the famous
missions of the Jesuits, upon the governor-general of la Plata. This
vast province contains, in a word, all the possessions of the Spaniards,
east of the Cordilleras, from the river of Amazons to the straits of
Magalhaens. It is true, there is no settlement south of Buenos Ayres;
and nothing but the necessity of providing themselves with salt, induces
the Spaniards to penetrate into those parts. For this purpose a convoy
of two hundred carts, escorted by three hundred men, sets out every year
from Buenos Ayres, and goes to the latitude of forty degrees, to load
the salt in lakes near the sea, where it is naturally formed. Formerly
the Spaniards used to send schooners to the bay of St. Julian, to fetch
salt.
I shall speak of the missions in Paraguay when I come to the second
voyage, which some circumstances obliged us to make again into the river
of la Plata; I shall then enter into the account of the expulsion of the
Jesuits, of which we were witnesses.
The commerce of the province de la Plata is less profitable than any in
Spanish America; this province produces neither gold nor silver, and its
inhabitants are not numerous enough to be able to get at all the other
riches which the soil produces and contains. The commerce of Buenos
Ayres itself is not in the same state it was in about ten years ago; it
is fallen off considerably, since the trade by land is no longer
permitted; that is, since it has been prohibited to carry European goods
by land from Buenos Ayres to Peru and Chili; so that the only objects of
the commerce with these two provinces are, at present, cotton, mules,
and maté, or the Paraguay-herb[15]. The money and interest of the
merchants at Lima have obtained this order, against which those of
Buenos Ayres have complained. The law-suit is carried on at Madrid, and
I know not how or when it will be determined. However, Buenos Ayres is a
very rich place: I have seen a register-ship sail from thence, with a
million of dollars on board; and if all the inhabitants of this country
could get rid of their leather or skins in Europe, that article alone
would suffice to enrich them. [Sidenote: Colony of Santo Sacramento.]
Before the last war, they carried on a prodigious contraband-trade with
the colony of Santo Sacramento, a place in the possession of the
Portuguese, upon the left side of the river, almost directly opposite
Buenos Ayres. But this place is now so much surrounded by the new works,
erected by the Spaniards, that it is impossible to carry on any illicit
trade with it, unless by connivance; even the Portuguese, who inhabit
the place, are obliged to get their subsistence by sea from the Brasils.
In short, this station bears the same relation to Spain here, as
Gibraltar does in Europe; with this difference only, that the former
belongs to the Portuguese, and the latter to the English.
[Sidenote: Account of the town of Montevideo.]
The town of Montevideo has been settled forty years ago, is situated on
the north side of the river, thirty leagues above its mouth, and built
on a peninsula, which lies convenient to secure from the east wind, a
bay of about two leagues deep, and one league wide at its entrance. At
the western point of this isle, is a single high mountain, which serves
as a look out, and has given a name to the town; the other lands, which
surround it, are very low. That side which looks towards a plain, is
defended by a citadel. Several batteries guard the side towards the sea
and the harbour. There is a battery upon a very little isle, in the
bottom of the bay, called Isle au François, or French-Island. [Sidenote:
Anchorage in this bay.] The anchorage at Montevideo is safe, though
sometimes molested by pamperos, which are storms from the south-west,
accompanied by violent tempests. There is no great depth of water in the
whole bay; and one may moor in three, four, or five fathoms of water in
a very soft mud, where the biggest merchant-ships run a-ground, without
receiving any damage; but sharp-built ships easily break their backs,
and are lost. The tides do not come in regular; according as the wind
is, the water is high or low. It is necessary to be cautious, in regard
to a chain of rocks that extends some cables-length off the east point
of the bay; the sea forms breakers upon them, and the people of this
country call them la Punta de las Carretas.
[Sidenote: It is an excellent place to put in at for refreshments.]
Montevideo has a governor of its own, who is immediately under the
orders of the governor-general of the province. The country round this
town is almost entirely uncultivated, and furnishes neither wheat nor
maize; they must get flour, biscuit, and other provisions for the ships
from Buenos Ayres. In the gardens belonging to the town, and to the
adjoining houses, they cultivate scarce any legumes; there is, however,
plenty of melons, calabashes, figs, peaches, apples, and quinces. Cattle
are as abundant there as in any other part of this country; which,
together with the wholesomeness of the air, makes Montevideo an
excellent place to put in at for the crew; only good measures must be
taken to prevent desertion. Every thing invites the sailor thither; it
being a country, where the first reflection which strikes him, on
setting his feet on shore, is, that they live there almost without
working. Indeed, how is it possible to resist the comparison of spending
one’s days in idleness and tranquility, in a happy climate, or of
languishing under the weight of a constantly laborious life, and of
accelerating the misfortunes of an indigent old age, by the toils of the
sea?
-----
Footnote 12:
It is now certain, that the animal, here called tyger, is the Couguara
or Brown (tyger) Cat, of Penn. Syn. quad. p. 179. a very large animal,
and very fierce in hot countries. F.
Footnote 13:
These balls are two round stones, of the size of a two-pound ball,
both enchased in a strap of leather, and fastened to the extremities
of a thong, six or seven feet long. The Indians, when on horseback,
use this weapon as a sling, and often hit the animal they are
pursuing, at the distance of three hundred yards.
Footnote 14:
The Paulists are another race of robbers, who left Brasil, and formed
a republic, towards the end of the sixteenth century.
Footnote 15:
Maté, or Paraguay-tea, or South-sea-tea, are pounded dry leaves of a
plant growing in South America, and chiefly in Paraguay. The Jesuits,
when in possession of the interior parts of the provinces of Paraguay,
got by a manœuvre similar to that of the Dutch, in regard to the
spice-trade, the exclusive commerce of this commodity. They cultivated
this plant in enclosures, upon the rivers Uraguai and Parana, and
wherever it grew wild, it was destroyed; and after the space of
nineteen years they became the sole masters of this trade, which was
very lucrative; for as this plant is thought to be an excellent
restorative, and a good paregoric, and therefore of indispensible
necessity to the workmen in the famous Peruvian mines, it is carried
constantly to Peru and Chili; the whole consumption of it being yearly
upon an average of 160,000 arrobas, of 25 pounds Spanish weight each;
and the price is, at a medium, thirty-six piasters per arroba, so that
this plant was worth to the Jesuits 5,760,300 piastres per ann. the
tenth part of which sum must be deducted out of the whole, for
instruments of agriculture, the erection and repairing of buildings
necessary for manufacturing this plant, feeding and cloathing of about
300,000 Indians and Negroes: so that still above five millions of
piastres were the clear yearly profit of the pious fathers. These
cunning men sold these leaves in powder on purpose that no botanist
might get a sight of them, and thus be enabled to find out the plant
to which the leaves belong, in case some plants should have escaped
their selfish destruction of them. Some writers call this plant Maté,
which is, I believe, the name of the vessel it is drank out of. Others
call it Caa, and make this the generic name of it, and its species are
Caa-cuys, Caa-mini, and Caa-guaz, the last of which is the coarsest
sort prepared, with the stalks left to it, for which reason it is
likewise called Yerva de Palos; but the Caa-mini or Yerva de Caamini
is the best sort and sold dearer; the Caa-cuys will not keep so long
as the other two sorts. This plant is thought to be the Ilex Cassine,
Linn. Sp. pl. p. 181. or the Dahoon-holly. Forster’s Flora Americ.
Septentr. p. 7. and Catesby car. i. t. 31. F.
-----
_CHAP. III._
_Departure from Montevideo; navigation to the Málouines; delivery of
them into the hands of the Spaniards; historical digression on the
subject of these islands._
[Sidenote: 1767. February.
Departure from
Montevideo.]
The 28th of February, 1767, we weighed from Montevideo, in company with
two Spanish frigates, and a tartane laden with cattle. I agreed with Don
Ruis, that whilst we were in the river, he should lead the way; but that
as soon as we were got out to sea, I was to conduct the squadron.
However, to obviate the dangers in case of a separation, I gave each of
the frigates a pilot, acquainted with the coasts of the Malouines. In
the afternoon we were obliged to come to an anchor, as a fog prevented
our seeing either the main-land, or the isle of Flores. The next morning
we had contrary wind; however, I expected that we should have weighed,
as the strong currents in the river favoured us; but seeing the day
almost at an end, without any signal being given by the Spanish
commodore, I sent an officer to tell him, that having had a sight of the
isle of Flores, I found myself too near the English sand-bank, and that
I advised we should weigh the next day, whether the wind was fair or
not. Don Ruis answered, that he was in the hands of the pilot of the
river, who would not weigh the anchor till we had a settled fair wind.
The officer then informed him from me, that I should sail by day-break;
and that I would wait for him, by plying to windward, or by anchoring
more to the north, unless the tides or the violence of the wind should
separate us against my will.
The tartane had not cast anchor the last night; and we lost sight of
her, and never saw her again. She returned to Montevideo three weeks
after, without fulfilling its intended expedition. [Sidenote: Storm in
the river.] The night was stormy; the pamperos blew very violently, and
made us drag our anchor; however, we cast another anchor, and that fixed
us. By day-break we saw the Spanish ships, with their yards and
top-masts struck, and had dragged their anchors much further than
ourselves. [Sidenote: 1767. March.] The wind was still contrary and
violent, the sea very high, and it was nine o’clock before we could
proceed under our courses and top-sails; at noon we lost sight of the
Spaniards, who remained at anchor, and the third of March in the evening
we were got out of the river.
[Sidenote: Voyage from Montevideo to the Malouines.]
During our voyage to the Malouines, we had variable winds from N. W. to
S. W. almost always stormy weather and high seas: we were obliged to try
under our main-sail on the 16th, having suffered some damage. Since the
17th in the afternoon, when we came into soundings, the weather was very
foggy. The 19th, not seeing the land, though the horizon was clear, and
I was east of the Sebald’s isles by my reckoning, I was afraid I had
gone beyond the Malouines, and therefore resolved to sail westward; the
wind, which is a rare circumstance, favoured my resolution. I proceeded
very fast in twenty-four hours, and having then found the soundings off
the coast of Patagonia, I was sure as to my position, and so proceeded
again very confidently to the eastward. Indeed, the 21st, at four
o’clock in the afternoon, we discovered the Sebald’s isles, remaining in
N. E. by E. eight or ten leagues distant, and soon after we saw the
coast of the Malouines. [Sidenote: Fault committed in the direction of
this course.] I could have spared myself all the trouble I had been in,
if I had in time sailed close-hauled, in order to approach the coast of
America, and so find the islands by their latitude.
The 23d the evening we entered and anchored in the great bay, where the
two Spanish frigates likewise came to an anchor on the 24th. They had
suffered greatly during their course; the storm on the 16th having
obliged them to bear away; and the commodore-ship, having shipped a sea,
which carried away her quarter-badges, broke through the windows of the
great cabbin, and poured a great quantity of water into her. Almost all
the cattle they took on board at Montevideo for the colony, died through
the badness of the weather. The twenty-fifth the three vessels came into
port, and moored.
[Sidenote: The Spaniards take possession of our settlement at the
Malouines.]
[Sidenote: April.]
The first of April I delivered our settlement to the Spaniards, who took
possession of it, by planting the Spanish colours, which were saluted at
sun-rising and sun-setting from the shore and from the ships. I read the
king’s letter to the French inhabitants of this infant colony, by which
his majesty permits their remaining under the government of his most
catholic majesty. Some families profited of this permission; the rest,
with the garrison, embarked on board the Spanish frigates, which sailed
for Montevideo the 27th in the morning[16].
[Sidenote: Historical details concerning the Malouines.]
Some historical remarks concerning these isles, will, I hope, not be
deemed unnecessary.
[Sidenote: Americo Vespucci discovers them.]
It appears to me, that the first discovery of them may be attributed to
the celebrated Americo Vespucci, who, in the third voyage for the
discovery of America, sailed along the northern coasts of them in 1502.
It is true, he did not know whether it belonged to an isle, or whether
it was part of the continent; but it is easy to conclude, from the
course he took, from the latitudes he came to, and from the very
description he gives of the coasts, that it is that of the Malouines.
[Sidenote: French and English navigators visit them after him.] I shall
assert with equal right, that Beauchesne Gouin, returning from the South
Seas in 1700, anchored on the east side of the Malouines, thinking he
was at the Sebald’s isles.
His account says, that after discovering the isle to which he gave his
own name, he anchored on the east side of the most easterly of Sebald’s
isles. I must first of all observe, that the Malouines, being in the
middle between the Sebald’s isles and the isle of Beauchesne, have a
considerable extent, and that he must have necessarily fallen in with
the coast of the Malouines, as is impossible not to see them, when at
anchor eastward of the Sebald’s isles. Besides, Beauchesne saw a single
isle of an immense extent; and it was not till after he had cleared it,
that he perceived two other little ones: he passed through a moist
country, filled with marshes and fresh-water lakes, covered with
wild-geese, teals, ducks, and snipes; he saw no woods there; all this
agrees prodigiously well with the Malouines. Sebald’s isles, on the
contrary, are four little rocky isles, where William Dampier, in 1683,
attempted in vain to water, and could not find a good anchoring-ground.
Be this as it will, the Malouines have been but little known before our
days—Most of the relations report them as isles covered with woods.
Richard Hawkins, who came near the northern coast of them, which he
called Hawkins’s Maiden-land, and who pretty well described them,
asserts that they were inhabited, and pretends to have seen fires there.
At the beginning of this century, the St. Louis, a ship from St. Malo,
anchored on the south-east side, in a bad bay, under the shelter of some
little isles, called the isles of Anican, after the name of the
privateer; but he only stayed to water there, and continued his course,
without caring to survey them.
[Sidenote: The French settle there.]
However, their happy position, to serve as a place of refreshment or
shelter to ships going to the South-Seas, struck the navigators of all
nations. In the beginning of the year 1763, the court of France resolved
to form a settlement in these isles. I proposed to government, that I
would establish it at my own expence, assisted by Messrs. de Nerville
and d’Arboulin, one my cousin-german, the other my uncle. I immediately
got the Eagle of twenty guns, and the Sphinx of twelve, constructed and
furnished with proper necessaries for such an expedition, by the care of
M. Duclos Guyot, now my second. I embarked several Acadian families, a
laborious intelligent set of people, who ought to be dear to France, on
account of the inviolable attachment they have shewn, as honest but
unfortunate citizens.
The 15th of September I sailed from St. Malo. M. de Nerville was on
board the Eagle with me. After touching twice, once at the isle of St.
Catharine, on the coast of the Brasils, and once at Montevideo, where we
took in many horses and horned cattle, we made the land of Sebald’s
isles the 31st of January, 1764. I sailed into a great bay, formed by
the coast of the Malouines, between its N. W. point, and Sebald’s isles;
but not finding a good anchoring ground, sailed along the north coast;
and, coming to the eastern extremity of these isles, I entered a great
bay on the third of February, which seemed very convenient to me, for
forming the first settlement.
[Sidenote: Account of the manner in which it was made.]
The same illusion which made Hawkins, Woods, Rogers, and others, believe
that these isles were covered with wood, acted likewise upon my fellow
voyagers. We were surprised, when we landed, to see that what we took
for woods as we sailed along the coast, was nothing but bushes of a tall
rush, standing very close together. The bottom of its stalks being
dried, got the colour of a dead leaf to the height of about five feet;
and from thence springs a tuft of rushes, which crown this stalk; so
that at a distance these stalks together have the appearance of a wood
of middling height. These rushes only grow near the sea side, and on
little isles; the mountains on the main land are, in some parts, covered
all over with heath, which are easily mistaken for bushes.
In the various excursions, which I immediately ordered, and partly made
in the island myself, we did not find any kind of wood; nor could we
discover that these parts had been frequented by any nation.
I only found, and in great quantity too, an exceeding good turf, which
might supply the defect of wood, both for fuel, and for the forge; and I
passed through immense plains, every where intersected by little
rivulets, with very good water. Nature offered no other subsistence for
men than fish and several sorts of land and water fowl. It was very
singular, on our arrival, to see all the animals, which had hitherto
been the only inhabitants of the island, come near us without fear, and
shew no other emotions than those which curiosity inspires at the sight
of an unknown object. The birds suffered themselves to be taken with the
hand, and some would come and settle upon people that stood still; so
true it is, that man does not bear a characteristic mark of ferocity,
which mere instinct is capable of pointing out to these weak animals,
the being that lives upon their blood. This confidence was not of long
duration with them; for they soon learnt to mistrust their most cruel
enemies.
[Sidenote: First year.]
The 17th of March, I fixed upon the place of the new colony, which at
first was only composed of twenty-seven persons, among whom were five
women, and three children. We set to work immediately to build them huts
covered with rushes, to construct a magazine, and a little fort, in the
middle of which a small obelisk was erected. The king’s effigy adorned
one of its sides, and under its foundations we buried some coins,
together with a medal, on one side of which was graved the date of the
undertaking, and on the other the figure of the king, with these words
for the exergue, “Tibi serviat ultima Thule.”[17]
However, to encourage the colonists, and encrease their reliance on
speedy assistance, which I promised them, M. de Nerville consented to
remain at their head, and to share the risks to which this weak
settlement was exposed, at the extremity of the globe, where it was at
that time the only one in such a high southern latitude. The fifth of
April, 1764, I solemnly took possession of the isles in the king’s name,
and the eighth I sailed for France.
[Sidenote: Second year.]
The fifth of January, 1765, I saw my colonists again, and found them
healthy and content. After landing what I had brought to their
assistance, I went into the straits of Magalhaens, to get a cargo of
timber, palisadoes and young trees, and I began a navigation, which is
become necessary to the colony. Then I found the ships of commodore
Byron, who, after surveying the Malouines for the first time, passed the
straits, in order to get into the South-seas. When I left the Malouines
the 27th of April following, the colony consisted of twenty-four
persons, including the officers.
In 1765 we sent back the Eagle to the Malouines, and the king sent the
Etoile, one of his store ships, with her. These two vessels, after
landing the provisions and new colonists, sailed together to take in
wood in the straits of Magalhaens. The settlement now began to get a
kind of form. The governor and the ordonnateur[18] lodged in very
convenient houses built of stone, and the other inhabitants lived in
houses of which the walls were made of sods. There were three magazines,
both for the public stores and those of private persons. The wood out of
the straits had served to build several vessels, and to construct
schooners for the purpose of surveying the coast. The Eagle returned to
France from this last voyage, with a cargo of train oil and seals-skins,
tanned in the island. Several, trials had been made towards cultivation,
which gave no reason to despair of success, as the greatest part of the
corn brought from Europe was easily naturalized to the country. The
encrease of the cattle could be depended upon, and the number of
inhabitants amounted then to about one hundred and fifty.
However, as I have just mentioned, commodore Byron came in January,
1765, to survey the Malouines. He touched to the westward of our
settlement, in a port which we had already named Port de la Croisade,
and he took possession of these islands for the crown of England,
without leaving a single inhabitant there. It was not before 1766, that
the English sent a colony to settle in Port de la Croisade, which they
had named Port Egmont; and captain Macbride, of the Jason frigate, came
to our settlement the same year, in the beginning of December. He
pretended that these parts belonged to his Britannic majesty, threatened
to land by force, if he should be any longer refused that liberty,
visited the governor, and sailed away again the same day.
Such was the state of the Malouines, when we put them into the hands of
the Spaniards, whose prior right was thus inforced by that which we
possessed by making the first settlement[19]. The account of the
productions of these isles, and the animals which are to be found there,
will furnish matter for the following chapter, and are the result of the
observations of M. de Nerville, during a residence of three years. I
believed it was so much more proper to enter upon this detail, as M. de
Commerçon has not been at the Malouines, and as their natural history is
in some regards important[20].
-----
Footnote 16:
When I delivered the settlement to the Spaniards, all the expences,
whatsoever, which it had cost till the first of April 1767, amounted
to 603,000 livres, including the interest of five per cent. on the
sums expended since the first equipment. France having acknowledged
the catholic king’s right to the Malouines, he, by a principle of the
law of nations, owed no reimbursement to these costs. However, as his
majesty took all the ships, boats, goods, arms, ammunition, and
provisions that belonged to our settlement, he being equally just and
generous, desired that we should be reimbursed for what we had laid
out; and the above sum was remitted to us by his treasurers; part at
Paris, and the rest at Buenos Ayres.
Footnote 17:
The inscription on this medal was as follows.
Settlement of the Isles Malouines, situated in 51° 30′ of S. latitude,
60° 50′ W. long. from the meridian of Paris, by the Eagle frigate,
captain P. Duclos Guyot, captain of a fire ship, and the sphinx sloop;
captain F. Chenard de la Giraudais, lieutenant of a frigate, equipped
by Louis Antoine de Bougainville, colonel of infantry, captain of a
ship, chief of the expedition, G. de Nerville, captain of infantry,
and P. d’ Arboulin, post-master general of France: construction of a
fort, and an obelisk, decorated with a medallion of his majesty Louis
XV. after the plans of A. L’Huillier, engineer and geographer of the
field and army, serving on this expedition; during the administration
of E. de Choiseul, duke of Stainville, in February, 1764.
And the exergue. Conamur tenues grandia.
Footnote 18:
An officer who has the care of the stores.
Footnote 19:
The author has on purpose omitted to mention, that the English are the
first discoverers of these isles. Captain Davis, in the expedition of
1592, under the command of Sir Thomas Cavendish, saw them; and so did
Sir Richard Hawkins two years after in 1594, and called them Hawkins’s
Maiden Land. In the year 1598 they were seen by the Dutchman Sebald de
Waert, and called Sebald’s isles, and with that name they were put in
all Dutch charts. Dampier discovered them likewise in 1683, but
suspected they had no water. Strong gave these isles, in the year
1689, the name of Falkland-Islands, which was adopted by the
celebrated astronomer Halley, and is now become of universal use in
all our maps and charts. The privateers in the times of the wars of
king William and queen Mary frequently saw these isles, and no sooner
than in 1699-1700 they were seen for the first time by a Frenchman
called Beauchesne Gouin. It is pretty evident from this account, that
the English have an undoubted prior claim to these barren rocks and
marshes, situated in a cold climate, subject to the severest rigours
of winter, without the benefit of woods to alleviate them; and on
which, was it not for the wretched fuel of turf, all the French,
English, and Spanish settlements would have been starved with cold. F.
Footnote 20:
The work which I now publish was already finished, when the History of
a Voyage to the Malouines, by Dom Pernetty, appeared, otherwise I
should have omitted the following accounts.
-----
_CHAP. IV._
_Detail of the natural history of the Isles Malouines._
A Country which has been but lately inhabited always offers interesting
objects, even to those who are little versed in natural history; and
though their remarks may not be looked upon as authorities, yet they may
satisfy, in part, the curiosity of the investigators of the system of
nature.
[Sidenote: First aspect they bear.]
The first time we landed upon these isles, no inviting objects came in
sight, and, excepting the beauty of the port in which we lay, we knew
not what could prevail upon us to stay on this apparently barren ground:
the horizon terminated by bald mountains, the land lacerated by the sea,
which seems to claim the empire over it; the fields bearing a dead
aspect, for want of inhabitants; no woods to comfort those who intended
to be the first settlers; a vast silence, now and then interrupted by
the howls of marine monsters; and, lastly, the sad uniformity which
reigned throughout; all these were discouraging objects, which seemed
that in such dreary places nature would refuse assistance to the efforts
of man. But time and experience taught us, that labour and constancy
would not be without success even there. The resources with which nature
presented us, were immense bays, sheltered from the violence of the
winds by mountains, which poured forth cascades and rivulets; meadows
covered with rich pastures, proper for the food of numerous flocks;
lakes and pools to water them; no contests concerning the property of
the place; no fierce, or poisonous, or importune animals to be dreaded;
an innumerable quantity of the most useful amphibia; birds and fish of
the best taste; a combustible substance to supply the defect of wood;
plants known to be specifics against the diseases common to sea-faring
men; a healthy and continually temperate climate, much more fit to make
men healthy and robust, than those enchant-countries, where abundance
itself becomes noxious, and heat causes a total inactivity. These
advantages soon expunged the impressions which the first appearance had
made, and justified the attempt.
To this we may add, that the English in their relation of Port-Egmont,
have not scrupled to say, that the countries adjacent furnished every
thing necessary for a good settlement. Their taste for natural history
will, without doubt, engage them to make and to publish enquiries which
will rectify these.
[Sidenote: Geographical position of the Malouines.]
The Malouines are situated between 51° and 52° 30′ S. lat. and 65° 30′
W. long. from Paris; and between 80 and 90 leagues distant from the
coast of America or Patagonia, and from the entrance of the straits of
Magalhaens.
The map which we give of these islands, has certainly not a geographical
accuracy, which must have been the work of many years. It may, however,
serve to indicate nearly the extent of these isles from east to west,
and from north to south; the position of the coasts, along which our
ships have sailed; the figure and depth of the great bays, and the
direction of the principal mountains[21].
[Sidenote: Of the harbours.]
The harbours, which we have examined, are both extensive and secure; a
tough ground, and islands happily situated to break the fury of the
waves, contribute to make them safe and easily defensible; they have
little creeks, in which the smallest vessels can retire. The rivulets
come down into the sea; so that nothing can be more easy, than to take
in the provision of fresh water.
[Sidenote: Tides.]
The tides are subject to all the emotions of the sea, which surrounds
the isles, and have never risen at settled periods, which could have
been calculated. It has only been observed, that, just before
high-water, they have three determinate variations; the sea, at that
time, in less than a quarter of an hour, rises and falls thrice, as if
shaken up and down; and this motion is more violent during the
solstices, the equinoxes, and the full moons.
[Sidenote: Winds.]
The winds are generally variable; but still those between north and
west, and between south and west, are more prevalent than the others. In
winter, when the winds are between north and west, the weather is foggy
and rainy; if between west and south, they bring snow, hail, and hoar
frost; if from between south and east, they are less attended with
mists, but violent, though not quite so much as the summer winds, which
blow between south-west and north-west: these latter, which clear the
sky and dry the soil, do not begin to blow till the sun appears above
the horizon; they encrease as that luminary rises; are at the greatest
height when he crosses the meridian; and lose their force when he goes
to disappear behind the mountains. Besides being regulated by the sun’s
motion, they are likewise subject to be governed by the tides, which
encrease their force, and sometimes alter their direction. Almost all
the nights throughout the year are calm, fair, and star-light,
especially in summer. The snow, which is brought by the south-west winds
in winter, is inconsiderable; it lies about two months upon the tops of
the highest mountains; and a day or two, at most, upon the surface of
the other grounds. The rivers do not freeze, and the ice of lakes and
pools has not been able to bear men upwards of twenty-four hours
together. The hoar-frosts in spring and autumn do no damage to the
plants, and at sun-rising are converted into dew. In summer, thunder is
seldom heard; and, upon the whole, we felt neither great cold, nor great
heat; and the distinction of seasons appeared almost insensible. In such
a climate, where the revolutions of the seasons affect by no means the
constitution, it is natural that men should be strong and healthy; and
this has been experienced during a stay of three years.
[Sidenote: Water.]
The few mineral substances found at the Malouines, are a proof of the
goodness of the water, which is every where conveniently situated; no
noxious plants infect the places where it runs through; its bed is
generally gravel or sand, and sometimes turf, which give it a little
yellowish hue, without diminishing its goodness and lightness.
[Sidenote: Soil.]
All the plains have much more depth of soil than is necessary for the
plough to go in. The soil is so much interwoven with roots of plants, to
the depth of near twelve inches, that it was necessary, before it was
possible to proceed to cultivation, to take off this crust or layer; and
to cut it, that it might be dried and burnt. It is known, that this
process is excellent to make the ground better, and we made use of it.
Below this first layer, is a black mould, never less than eight or ten
inches deep, and frequently much deeper; the next is the yellow, or
original virgin-soil, whose depth is undeterminate. It rests upon strata
of slate and stones; among which no calcareous ones have ever been
found; as the trial has been made with aquafortis. It seems, that the
isles are without stones of this kind. Journeys have been undertaken to
the very tops of the mountains, in order to find some; but they have
never procured any other than a kind of quartz, and a sandstone, not
friable; which produced sparks, and even a kind of phosphorescent light,
accompanied with a smell of brimstone. Stones proper for building are
not wanting; for most of the coasts are formed of them. There are strata
of a very hard and small grained stone; and likewise other strata, more
or less sloping, which consist of slates; and of a kind of stone
containing particles of talc. There are likewise stones, which divide
into shivers; and on them we observed impressions of a kind of fossil
shells, unknown in these seas; we made grind-stones of it to sharpen our
tools. The stone taken out of the quarries was yellowish, and not yet
come to a sufficient degree of hardness, as it could be cut with a
knife; but it hardened in the air. Clay, sand, and earth, fit for making
potters-ware and bricks, were easily found.
[Sidenote: Turf and its qualities.]
The turf, which is generally to be met with above the clay, goes up a
great way in the country. From, whatever point one sets out, one could
not go a league without meeting with considerable strata of it, always
easy to be distinguished by the inequalities in the ground, by which
some of its sides were discovered. It continually is formed from the
remains of roots and plants in marshy places; which are always known by
a sharp-pointed kind of rushes. This turf being taken in a bay, near our
habitation, where it shews a surface of twelve feet high to the open
air, gets a sufficient degree of dryness there. This was what we made
use of; its smell was not disagreeable; it burnt well, and its cinders,
or embers, were superior to those of sea-coals; because, by blowing
them, it was as easy to light a candle as with burning coals; it was
sufficient for all the works of the forge, excepting the joining of
great pieces.
[Sidenote: Plants.]
All the sea-shores, and the inner parts of the isles are covered with a
kind of gladiolus, or rather a species of gramen. It is of an excellent
green, and is above six feet high, and serves for a retreat to seals and
sea-lions: on our journies it sheltered us, as it did them. By its
assistance we could take up our quarters in a moment. Its bent and
united stalks, formed a thatch or roof, and its dry leaves a pretty good
bed. It was likewise with this plant that we covered our houses; its
stalk is sweet, nourishing, and preferred to all other food by the
cattle.
Next to this great plant, the heath, the shrubs, and the gum-plant were
the only objects that appeared in the fields. The other parts are
covered by small plants, which, in moist ground, are more green and more
substantial. The shrubs were of great use to us as fuel, and they were
afterwards kept for heating the ovens, together with the heath; the red
fruit of the latter attracted a great quantity of game in the season.
[Sidenote: Resinous gum-plant.]
The gum-plant, which is new and unknown in Europe, deserves a more ample
description. It is of a bright green, and has nothing of the figure of a
plant; one would sooner take it to be an excrescence of the earth of
this colour; for it has neither stalk, branches, nor leaves—Its surface,
which is convex, is of so close a texture, that nothing can be
introduced between it, without tearing it. The first thing we did, was
to sit down or stand upon it; it is not above a foot and a half high. It
would bear us up as safely as a stone, without yielding under our
weight. Its breadth is very disproportionate to its height; and I have
seen some of more than six feet in diameter, without being any higher
than common. Its circumference is regular only in the smaller plants,
which are generally hemispherical; but when they are grown up, they are
terminated by humps and cavities, without any regularity. In several
parts of its surface, are drops of the size of pease, of a tough
yellowish matter; which was at first called gum; but as it could not be
dissolved, except by spirituous solvents, it was named a rosin. Its
smell is strong, aromatic, and like that of turpentine. In order to know
the inside of this plant, we cut it close to the ground, and turned it
down. As we broke it, we saw that it comes from a stalk, whence an
infinite number of concentric shoots arise, consisting of leaves like
stars, enchased one within the other, by means of an axis common to all.
These shoots are white within, except at a little distance of the
surface, where the air colours them green. When they are broken, a milky
juice comes out in great abundance; which is more viscid than that of
spurge[22]. The stalk abounds with the juice, as do the roots, which
extend horizontally; and often at some distance send forth new shoots,
so that you never find one of these plants alone. It seems to like the
sides of hills; and it thrives well in any exposure. It was not before
the third year that we endeavoured to know its flower and seeds, both of
which are very small, because we had been disappointed in our attempts
to bring it over to Europe. At last, however, some seeds were brought,
in order to endeavour to get possession of so singular and new a plant,
which might even prove useful in physic; as its rosin had already been
successfully applied to slight wounds by several sailors. One thing
deserves to be observed, namely, that this plant loses its rosin by the
air alone, and the washing of the rains. How can we make this agree with
its quality of dissolving in spirits alone? In this state it was
amazingly light, and would burn like straw.
[Sidenote: Beer-plant.]
After this extraordinary plant, we met with one of approved utility; it
forms a little shrub, and sometimes creeps under the plants, and along
the coast. We accidentally tasted it, and found it had a spruce taste,
which put us in mind of trying to make beer of it; we had brought a
quantity of melasses and malt with us; the trials we made, answered
beyond expectation; and the settlers being once instructed in the
process, never were in want of this liquor afterwards, which was
anti-scorbutic, by the nature of the plant; it was with good success
employed in baths, which were made for sick persons, who came from the
sea. Its leaves are small and dentated, and of a bright green. When it
is crushed between the fingers, it is reduced into a kind of meal, which
is somewhat glutinous, and has an aromatic smell.
A kind of celery or wild parsley, in great quantities; abundance of
sorrel, water-cresses, and a kind of maiden-hair[23], with undated
leaves, furnished as much as could be required against the scurvy,
together with the above plant.
[Sidenote: Fruits.]
Two small fruits, one of which is unknown, and looks like a mulberry,
the other no bigger than a pea, and called lucet, on account of the
similarity it bears to that which is found in North-America, were the
only ones which were to be had in autumn. Those which grew upon the
bushes were good for nothing, excepting for children, who will eat the
worst of fruits, and for wild-fowl. The plant on which the fruit, which
we called mulberry, grew, is creeping; its leaf resembles that of the
hornbeam; its branches are long, and it is propagated like the
strawberry.
The lucet is likewise a creeping plant, bearing the fruit all along its
branches, which are beset with little shining round leaves, of the
colour of myrtle leaves; their fruits are white, and coloured red on
that side which is turned towards the sun; they have an aromatic taste,
and smell like orange-blossoms, as do the leaves, of which the infusion
drank with milk is very pleasant to the taste. This plant is hidden
among the grass, and prefers a wet soil: a prodigious quantity of it
grows in the neighbourhood of lakes.
[Sidenote: Flowers.]
Among several other plants, which we found superfluous to examine, there
were many flowers, but all without smell, one excepted, which is white,
and has the smell of the tuberose. We likewise found a true violet, as
yellow as a jonquil. It is worth notice that we have never found any
bulbous-rooted plant. Another singularity is, that in the southern part
of the isle we inhabited, beyond a chain of hills which divides it from
east to west, it appeared that there were hardly any of the resinous
gum-plants, and that in their stead we found abundance of another plant
of the same form, but of a different green, wanting the solidity of the
other, and not producing any rosin, but only fine yellow flowers in the
proper season. This plant, which was easily opened, consisted as the
other, of shoots which all spring from the same stalk, and terminate at
its surface. Coming back over the hills, we found a tall species of
maiden hair; its leaves are not waved, but in the form of sword blades.
From the plant arise two principal stalks, which bear their seeds on the
underside, like the other species of maiden hair. There were likewise a
great quantity of friable plants growing upon stones, they seemed to
partake of the nature of stone, and of vegetables; they were thought to
be species of lichen, but the ascertaining whether they would be of use
in dying, was put off to another time.
[Sidenote: Sea plants.]
As to the submarine plants, they were more inconvenient than of any use.
The whole harbour is covered with sea weeds, especially near the shore,
by which means the boats found it difficult to land; they are of no
other service than to break the force of the waters when the sea runs
very high. We hoped to make a good use of them by employing them for a
manure. The tides brought us several species of coralines, which were
very much varied, and of the finest colours; these, together with the
spunges and shells, have deserved places in the cabinets of the curious.
All the spunges have the figure of plants, and are branched in so many
different ways, that we could hardly believe them to be the work of
marine insects. Their texture is so compact, and their fibres so
delicate, that it is inconceivable how these animals can lodge in them.
The coasts of the Malouines have provided the collections in Europe with
several new shells; the most curious of which, is that called _la
poulette_. There are three sorts of this bivalve; and among them the
striated one had never before been seen, except in the fossil state;
this may prove the assertion, that the fossil-shells, found much below
the level of the sea, are not lusus naturæ, and accidentally formed; but
that they have really been inhabited by living animals, at the time when
the land was covered by the water. Along with this shell, which is very
common here, there are limpets[24]; esteemed on account of their fine
colours; whelks[25], of several kinds; scallops[26]; great striated and
smooth muscle-shells[27], and the finest mother of pearl.
[Sidenote: Animals.]
There is only a single species of quadruped upon these islands; it is a
medium between the wolf and the fox. The land and water-fowls are
innumerable. The sea-lions and seals are the only amphibia. All the
coasts abound with fish, most of them little known. The whales keep in
the open sea; some of them happen now and then to be stranded in the
bays, and their remains are sometimes seen there. Some other bones of an
enormous size, a good way up in the country, whither the force of the
waves could never carry them, prove that either the sea is diminished,
or that the soil is encreased.
The wolf-fox, (_loup-renard_) thus called, on account of its digging a
kennel under ground, and having a more bushy tail than a wolf, lives
upon the downs along the sea-shore. It attacks the wild fowls; and makes
its roads from one bay to another, with so much sagacity, that they are
always the shortest that can be devised; and, at our first landing on
the isle, we had almost no doubt of their being the paths of
inhabitants. It seems this animal fasts during a time of the year; for
it is then vastly lean. Its size and make is that of a common shepherd’s
dog; and it barks in the same manner, though not so loud. In what manner
can it have been transported to these islands[28]?
The birds and fish have enemies, which endanger their tranquility. These
enemies of the birds are the above kind of wolf, which destroys many of
their eggs and young ones; the eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls.
The fish are still worse used; without mentioning the whales, which
feeding, as is well known, upon fry only, destroy prodigious numbers;
they are likewise exposed to the amphibious creatures, and to birds;
some of which are always watching on the rocks, whilst others constantly
skim along the surface of the sea.
It would require a great deal of time, and the eyes of an able
naturalist, in order to describe the following animals well. I shall
here give the most essential observations, and extend them only to such
animals as were of some utility.
[Sidenote: Web-footed birds.]
Among the web-footed birds, the swan is the first in order; it only
differs from the European one by its neck; which is of a velvet black,
and makes an admirable contrast with the whiteness of the rest of its
body; its feet are flesh-coloured. This kind of swan is likewise to be
found in Rio de la Plata, and in the straits of Magalhaens.
Four species of wild-geese made part of our greatest riches. The first
only feeds on dry land; and has, improperly, been called bustard[29].
Its high legs serve to elevate it above the tall grass, and its long
neck to observe any danger. It walks and flies with great ease; and has
not that disagreeable cackling cry, peculiar to the rest of its kind.
The plumage of the male is white, mixed with black and ash-colour on the
wings. The female is yellow; and its wings are adorned with changing
colours; it generally lays six eggs. Its flesh is wholesome, nourishing,
and palatable; it seldom happened that we had any scarcity of this kind
of geese; for, besides these which are bred in the isle, they come in
great flocks in autumn, with the east wind, probably from some
uninhabited country. The sportsmen easily distinguish these new-comers,
by the little fear they shew of men. The other three species are not so
much in request; for they feed on fish, and get a trainy taste. Their
figure is not so elegant as that of the first species; one of these
kinds seldom rises above the water, and is very noisy. The colours of
their feathers are chiefly white, black, yellow, and ash-colour. All
these species, and likewise the swan, have a soft down under the
feathers; which is white or grey, and very thick.
Two kinds of ducks, and two of teals, frequent the ponds and rivers. The
former are but little different from those of our climate; some of those
which we killed, were quite black, and others quite white. As to the
teals, the one has a blue bill, and is of the size of the ducks; the
other is much less. Some of them had the feathers on the belly of a
flesh colour. These species are in great plenty, and of an excellent
taste.
Here are two kinds of Divers, of a small size. One of them has a grey
back, and white belly; the feathers on the belly are so silky, shining,
and close, that we imagined these were the birds, of whose plumage the
fine muffs are made: this species is here scarce[30]. The other, which
is more common, is quite brown, but somewhat paler on the belly than on
the back. The eyes of these creatures are like rubies. Their surprising
liveliness is heightened and set off still more by the circle of white
feathers that surrounds them; and has caused the name of Diver with
Spectacles to be given to the bird. They breed two young ones at a time,
which are probably too tender to suffer the coldness of the water,
whilst they have nothing but their down; for then the mother conveys
them on her back[31]. These two species have not webbed feet, as the
other water-fowl; but their toes are separate, with a strong membrane on
each side; in this manner, each toe resembles a leaf, which is roundish
towards the claw; and the lines, which run from the toe to the
circumference of the membrane, together with its green-colour and
thinness, increase the resemblance.
Two species of birds, which were called by our people saw-bills[32], I
know not for what reason, only differed from each other in size, and
sometimes because there were now and then some with brown bellies;
whereas, the general colour of that part, in other birds of the kind,
was white. The rest of the feathers are of a very dark blueish-black; in
consequence of their shape, and the close texture and silkiness of their
vent feathers, we must rank them with the divers, though I cannot be
positive in this respect. They have a pointed bill, and the feet webbed
without any separation between the toes; the first toe, being the
longest of the three, and the membrane which joins them, ending in
nothing at the third toe, gives a very remarkable character. Their feet
are flesh-coloured[33]. These birds destroy numbers of fish; they place
themselves upon the rocks, join together by numerous families, and lay
their eggs there. As their flesh is very good to eat, we killed two or
three hundred of them at a time; and the abundance of their eggs offered
another resource to supply our wants. They were so little afraid of our
sportsmen, that it was sufficient to go against them with no better arms
than sticks. Their enemy is a bird of prey, with webbed feet; measuring
near seven feet from tip to tip, and having a long and strong bill,
distinguished by two tubes of the same substance as the bill itself,
which are hollow throughout. This is the bird which the Spaniards call
_Quebrantahuessos_[34].
A great quantity of mews, variously and prettily marked, of gulls and of
terns, almost all of them grey, and living in families, come skimming
along the water, and fall upon the fish with extraordinary quickness;
they were so far of use to us, that they shewed us the proper season of
catching pilchards; they held them suspended in the air for a moment
only, and then presently gave back entire, the fish they had swallowed
just before. At other seasons they feed upon a little fish, called
_gradeau_, and some other small fry. They lay their eggs in great
quantities round the marshes, on some green plants, pretty like the
water lily[35], and they were very wholesome food.
We found three species of penguins: the first of them is remarkable on
account of its shape, and the beauty of its plumage, and does not live
in families as the second species, which is the same with that described
in Lord Anson’s Voyage[36]. The penguin of the first class is fond of
solitude and retired places. It has a peculiar noble and magnificent
appearance, having an easy gait, a long neck when singing or crying, a
longer and more elegant bill than the second sort, the back of a more
blueish cast, the belly of a dazzling white, and a kind of palatine or
necklace of a bright yellow, which comes down on both sides of the head,
as a boundary between the blue and the white, and joins on the
belly[37]. We hoped to be able to bring one of them over to Europe. It
was easily tamed so far as to follow and know the person that had the
care of feeding it: flesh, fish, and bread, were its food; but we
perceived that this food was not sufficient, and that it absorbed the
fatness of the bird; accordingly, when the bird was grown lean to a
certain degree, it died. The third sort of penguins live in great flocks
or families like the second; they inhabit the high cliffs, where we
found the saw-bills (becs-scies), and they lay their eggs there. Their
distinguishing characters are, the smallness of their size, their dark
yellow colour, a tuft of gold-yellow feathers, which are shorter than
those of the egret[38], and which they raise when provoked, and lastly,
some other feathers of the same colour, which stand in the place of
eye-brows; our people called them hopping penguins, because they chiefly
advance by hopping and flapping. This species carries greater air of
liveliness in its countenance than the two others[39].
Three species of petrels, (alcyons) which appear but seldom, did not
forebode any tempests, as those do which are seen at sea. They are
however the same birds, as our sailors affirmed, and the least species
has all the characters of it. Though this may be the true alcyons[40],
yet so much is certain, that they build their nests on shore, whence we
have had their young ones covered only with down, but perfectly like
their parents in other respects. The second sort only differs from them
in size, being somewhat less than a pigeon. These two species are black,
with some white feathers on the belly[41]. The third sort was at first
called white-pigeon, on account of its feathers being all of that
colour, and its bill being red: there is reason to suppose it is a true
white alcyon, on account of its conformity with the other species.
[Sidenote: Birds with cloven feet.]
Three sorts of eagles, of which the strongest have a dirty white, and
the others a black plumage, with yellow and white feet, attack the
snipes and little birds; neither their size nor the strength of their
claws allowing them to fall upon others. A number of sparrow hawks and
falcons, together with some owls, are the other enemies of the fowl.
Their plumage is rich, and much varied in colour.
The snipes are the same as the European ones; they do not fly
irregularly when they rise, and are easy to be shot. In the breeding
season they soar to a prodigious height; and after singing and
discovering their nest, which they form without precaution in the midst
of the fields, on spots where hardly any plants grow, they fall down
upon it from the height they had risen to before; at this season they
are poor; the best time for eating them is in autumn.
In summer we saw many curlews, which were not at all different from
ours.
Throughout the whole year we saw a bird pretty like a curlew on the
sea-side; it was called a sea-pie[42], on account of its black and white
plumage; its other characteristics are, a bill of the colour of red
coral, and white feet. It hardly ever leaves the rocks, which are dry at
low water, and lives upon little shrimps. It makes a whistling noise,
easy to be imitated, which proved useful to our sportsmen, and
pernicious to the bird.
Egrets are pretty common here; at first we took them for common herons,
not knowing the value of their plumes. These birds begin to feed towards
night; they have a harsh barking noise, which we often took for the
noise of the wolf we have mentioned before.
Two sorts of stares or thrushes came to us every autumn; a third species
remained here constantly, it was called the red bird[43]; its belly is
quite covered with feathers of a beautiful fiery red, especially during
winter; they might be collected, and would make very rich tippets. One
of the two remaining species is yellow, with black spots on the belly,
the other has the colour of our common thrushes. I shall not give any
particular account of an infinite number of little birds, that are
pretty like those seen in the maritime provinces of France.
[Sidenote: Amphibious creatures.]
The sea-lions and seals are already known; these animals occupy the
sea-shore, and lodge, as I have before mentioned, among the tall plants,
called gladioli[44]. They go up a league into the country in innumerable
herds, in order to enjoy the fresh herbs, and to bask in the sun. It
seems the sea-lion described in Lord Anson’s Voyage ought, on account of
its snout, to be looked upon as a kind of marine elephant, especially as
he has no mane; is of an amazing size, being sometimes twenty-two feet
long, and as there is another species much inferior in size, without any
snout, and having a mane of longer hairs than those on the rest of the
body, which therefore should be considered as the true sea-lion[45]. The
seal (_loup marin_) has neither mane nor snout; thus all the three
species are easily distinguished. Under the hair of all these creatures,
there is no such down as is found in those caught in North America and
Rio de la Plata. Their grease or train oil, and their skins, might form
a branch of commerce.
[Sidenote: Fish.]
We have not found a great variety of species of fish. That sort which we
caught most frequently, we called mullet[46], to which it bears some
resemblance. Some of them were three feet long, and our people dried
them. The fish called gradeau is very common, and sometimes found above
a foot long. The sardine only comes in the beginning of winter. The
mullets being pursued by the seals, dig holes in the slimy ground, on
the banks of the rivulets, where they take shelter, and we took them
without difficulty, by taking off the layer of mud that covered their
retreats. Besides these species, a number of other very small ones were
taken with a hook and line, and among them was one which was called a
transparent pike[47]. Its head is shaped like that of our pike, the body
without scales, and perfectly diaphanous. There are likewise some
congers on the rocks, and the white porpesse, called _la taupe_, or the
mole, appears in the bays during the fine season. If we had had time,
and men enough to spare, for the fishery at sea, we should have found
many other fish, and certainly some soals, of which a few have been
found, thrown upon the sands. Only a single sort of fresh water fish,
without scales, has been taken; it is of a green colour, and of the size
of a common trout[48]. It is true, we have made but few researches in
this particular, we had but little time; and other fish in abundance.
[Sidenote: Crustaceous fish.]
Here have been found only three small sorts of crustacea; viz. the
cray-fish, which is red, even before it is boiled, and is properly a
prawn; the crab, with blue feet, resembling pretty much that called
_tourelourou_, and a minute species of shrimp. These three crustacea,
and all muscles, and other shell fish, were only picked up for
curiosity’s sake, for they have not so good a taste as those in
France.——This land seems to be entirely deprived of oysters.
Lastly, by way of forming a comparison with some cultivated isle in
Europe, I shall quote what Puffendorf says of Ireland, which is situated
nearly in the same latitude in the northern hemisphere, as the Malouines
in the southern one, viz. “that this island is pleasant on account of
the healthiness and serenity of the air, and because heat and cold are
never excessive there. The land being well divided by lakes and rivers,
offers great plains, covered with excellent pasture, has no venemous
creatures, its lakes and rivers abound with fish, &c.” See the Universal
History.
-----
Footnote 21:
As M. de Bougainville’s map of the Malouines or Falkland’s isles, is a
mere inaccurate out-line; we refer our readers to the more exact plans
of these islands, published in England. F.
Footnote 22:
Euphorbia Linn. Tithymalus Tournef. F.
Footnote 23:
Ceterae Asplenium, Linn. F.
Footnote 24:
Lepas Linn.
Footnote 25:
Buccinum Linn.
Footnote 26:
Ostreæ Pectines Linn.
Footnote 27:
Mya Linn. F.
Footnote 28:
For a navigator, of Mr. Bougainville’s experience and abilities, this
query is very extraordinary; and, still more so, for a man who has
spent so many years in Canada, near the coasts of Labrador; and who
certainly must have read accounts from Greenland, where often
land-animals, on large masses of ice fixed to the shore, and broke
loose by the sea, are driven into the ocean; and again landed on the
shores of countries, very distant from their native home. F.
Footnote 29:
In the northern parts of America is a kind of wild goose, which was
called by the French, when in possession of Canada, Outarde, or
Bustard; the English call it the Canada-goose; it has been represented
by Catesby, I.t. 92. Edward t. 151. and the Planches Enluminées, t.
346. Perhaps this may be the same species. F.
Footnote 30:
This bird, though the author calls it a Diver, seems, according to the
description of it, to be rather the Grebe; which is so plentiful on
the lake of Geneva, whose beautiful skins are drest, and made into
muffs and tippets. Br. Zool. 2. p. 396. 8vo. Ed. F.
Footnote 31:
This species seems to be the white and dusky grebe. Br. Zool. 2. p.
397, and vol. 4. f. 17. F.
Footnote 32:
Becs-scies.
Footnote 33:
As far as we can guess, from this very imperfect description, the
birds here mentioned seem to be of the kind called Guillemot. Br.
Zool. vol. 2. p. 410. and vol. 4. t. 20. F.
Footnote 34:
The _Quebrantahuessos_ is a bird belonging to the genus called by Dr.
Linnæus, _Procellaria_, or petrel; some of the sailors call it
Albatross, but then we must take care not to confound the common
albatross, represented by Mr. Edwards, tab. 88, which is not this
Quebrantahuessos, but I believe the bird described by our author to be
not yet well known by our ornithologists; and the imperfect account of
Bougainville and Dom Pernetty are far from being satisfactory to
natural historians. Our late great circumnavigators and philosophers
will probably oblige the literary world with a drawing and account of
this bird. F.
Footnote 35:
Nenuphars, Nymphæa Linn, F.
Footnote 36:
The place referred to here in Lord Anson’s Voyage is book I. chap.
vii. p. 92. edit. 14th, in 8vo. 1769; but from thence, as well as from
our author’s account, it is impossible to determine which species of
the penguin is meant. F.
Footnote 37:
The first of these penguins seems to be that described by Mr. Pennant
in the Philos. Trans. vol. lix. and represented in an accurate
drawing. F.
Footnote 38:
Aigrette, a species of heron.
Footnote 39:
This last species of penguin, or auk, seems to be the same with the
alca cirrhata of Dr. Pallas, Spicileg. Zool. Fasc. v. p. 7. tab. i. &
v. fig. 1-3. F.
Footnote 40:
The author certainly has the noted fable of the antients in view,
according to which, the alcyons had a swimming nest, and brooded at
sea at a time in winter, when the weather was calm. The few calm days
during which these birds were employed in brooding, were therefore
called alcyonia. F.
Footnote 41:
The two petrels here mentioned seem to be the little, and the
sea-swallow or frigat; the first of which is described, Br. Zool, vol.
ii. p. 434, and represented, vol. iv. t. 82. The second, or swallow
petrel, or frigat, is to be met with in Rochefort’s Voyage, t. 135.
Dr. Linnæus calls the first procellaria pelagica, the latter the
fregatta, and, if I am not mistaken, the third kind here mentioned,
is, the fulmar, Br. Zool, vol. ii. p. 431. and vol. iv. t. 82. Dr.
Linnæus’s Procellaria glacialis. F.
Footnote 42:
The sea-pie is sometimes called oyster-catcher, because this bird
forces the shells open with its bill, which are left bare on the
shore, at the recession of the tide. Br. Zool, vol. iv. p. 376, Dr.
Linnæus’s Hæmatopus Ostralegus. F.
Footnote 43:
This seems to be the American red-breast, or turdus migratorius, Linn.
and Kalm’s Voyage, vol. ii. p. 90, where likewise a figure of it is
given. F.
Footnote 44:
Glayeuls.
Footnote 45:
The animal here mentioned as the true sea-lion exceeds the sea-lion
described in Lord Anson’s Voyage; for this is twenty-five feet long,
and that in the isle of Juan Fernandes only twenty. See Voyage aux
Isles Malouines, par Dom Pernetty. F.
Footnote 46:
Muge ou mulet.
Footnote 47:
Brochet transparent.
Footnote 48:
This kind of trout has been likewise mentioned in a pamphlet published
last winter about the Falkland isles. F.
-----
_CHAP. V._
_Navigation from the Malouines to Rio-Janeiro; junction of the Boudeuse
with the Etoile.—Hostilities of the Portuguese against the
Spaniards. Revenues of the king of Portugal from Rio-Janeiro._
[Sidenote: 1767. June.
Departure from the Malouines for Rio-Janeiro.]
I waited, in vain, for the Etoile, at the Malouines; the months of March
and April had passed, and that store-ship did not arrive. I could not
attempt to traverse the Pacific Ocean with my frigate alone; as she had
no more room than what would hold six months provision for the crew. I
still waited for the store-ship, during May. Then seeing that I had only
two months provisions, I left the Malouines the second of June, in order
to go to Rio-Janeiro; which I had pointed out as a rendezvous to M. de
la Giraudais, commander of the Etoile, in case some circumstances should
prevent his coming to join me at the Malouines.
During this navigation, we had very fair weather. The 20th of June, in
the afternoon, we saw the high head-lands of the Brasils; and, on the
21st, we discovered the entrance of Rio-Janeiro. Along the coast we saw
several fishing-boats. I ordered Portuguese colours to be hoisted, and
fired a cannon: upon this signal one of the boats came on board, and I
took a pilot to bring us into the road. He made us run along the coast,
within half a league of the isles which lie along it. We found many
shoals every where. The coast is high, hilly, and woody; it is divided
into little detached and perpendicular hillocks, which vary their
prospect. At half an hour past five, in the afternoon, we were got
within the fort of Santa-Cruz; from whence we were hailed; and at the
same time a Portugueze officer came on board, to ask the reason of our
entering into port. I sent the chevalier Bournand with him, to inform
the count d’ Acunha, viceroy of the Brasils, of it, and to treat about
the salute. At half an hour past seven, we anchored in the road, in
eight fathoms water, and black muddy bottom.
[Sidenote: Discussion concerning the salute.]
The chevalier de Bournand returned soon after; and told me, that,
concerning the salute, the count d’ Acunha had answered him, that if a
person, meeting another in a street, took off his hat to him, he did not
before inform himself, whether or no this civility would be returned;
that if we saluted the place, he would consider what he should do. As
this answer was not a sufficient one, I did not salute. [Sidenote:
Junction with the Etoile.] I heard at the same time, by means of a
canoe, which M. de la Giraudais sent to me, that he was in this port;
that his departure from Rochefort, which should have been in December,
had been retarded till the beginning of February; that after three
months sailing, the water which his ship made, and the bad condition of
her rigging, had forced him to put in at Montevideo, where he had
received information concerning my voyage, by means of the Spanish
frigates returning from the Malouines; and he had immediately set sail
for Rio-Janeiro, where he had been at anchor for six days.
This junction enabled me to continue my expedition; though the Etoile,
bringing me upwards of fifteen months salt provisions and liquor, had
hardly for fifty days bread and legumes to give me. The want of these
indispensable provisions, obliging me to return and get some in Rio de
la Plata; as we found at Rio-Janeiro, neither biscuit, nor wheat, nor
flour.
[Sidenote: Difficulties raised by the Portuguese against a Spanish
ship.]
There were, at this time, two vessels in this port which interested us;
the one a French, and the other a Spanish one. The former, called
l’Etoile du Matin, or the Morning Star, was the king’s ship bound for
India; which, on account of its smallness, could not undertake to double
the Cape of Good Hope during winter; and, therefore, came hither to wait
the return of the fair season. The Spanish vessel was a man of war, of
seventy-four guns, named the Diligent, commanded by Don Francesco de
Medina. Having sailed from the river of Plata, with a cargo of skins and
piastres; a leak which his ship had sprung, much below her water-line,
had obliged him to bring her hither, in order to refit her for the
voyage to Europe. He had been here eight months; and the refusal of
necessary assistance, and the difficulties which the viceroy laid in his
way, had prevented his finishing the repair: [Sidenote: Assistance which
we gave her.] accordingly, Don Francisco sent the same evening that I
arrived, to beg for my carpenters and caulkers; and the next morning I
sent them to him from both the vessels.
[Sidenote: The viceroy visits us on board the frigate.]
The 22d we went in a body to pay a visit to the viceroy; he came and
returned it on the 25th; and, when he left us, I saluted him with
nineteen guns, which were returned from the shore. On this visit, he
offered us all the assistance in his power; and even granted me the
leave I asked, of buying a sloop, which would have been very useful,
during the course of my expedition; and, he added, that if there had
been one belonging to the king of Portugal, he would have offered it me.
He likewise assured me, that he would make the most exact enquiries, in
order to discover those, who, under the very windows of his palace, had
murdered the chaplain of the Etoile, a few days before our arrival; and
that he would proceed with them according to the utmost severity of the
law. He promised justice; but the law of nations was very ineffectually
executed at this place.
However, the viceroy’s civilities towards us continued for several days:
he even told us his intention of giving us a _petit souper_, or
collation, by the water-side, in bowers of jasmine and orange-trees; and
he ordered a box to be prepared for us at the opera. We saw, in a
tolerable handsome hall, the best works of Metastasio represented by a
band of mulattoes; and heard the divine composition of the great Italian
masters, executed by an orchestra, which was under the direction of a
hump-backed priest, in his canonicals.
The favour which we enjoyed, occasioned great matter of astonishment to
the Spaniards, and even to the people of the country; who told us, that
their governor’s proceedings would not be the same for a long time.
Indeed, whether the assistance we gave the Spaniards, and our own
connections with them displeased him, or whether he could no longer
feign a conduct, so diametrically opposite to his natural temper, he
soon became, in regard to us, what he had been to every body else.
[Sidenote: Hostilities of the Portugueze against the Spaniards.]
The 28th of June, we heard that the Portuguese had surprised and
attacked the Spaniards at Rio-Grande; that they had driven them from a
station which they occupied on the left shore of that river; and that a
Spanish ship, touching at the isle of St. Catherine, had been detained
there. They fitted out here, with great expedition, the San Sebastiano,
of sixty-four guns, built here; and a frigate, mounting forty guns,
called Nossa Senhora da Gracia. This last was destined, it was said, to
escort a convoy of troops and ammunition to Rio-Grande, and to the
colony of Santo Sacramento. These hostilities and preparations gave us
reason to apprehend that the viceroy intended to stop the Diligent;
which was careening upon the isle das Cobras, and we accelerated her
refitment as much as possible. [Sidenote: 1767. July.] She really was
ready on the last day of June, and began to take in the skins, which
were part of her lading; but on the sixth of July, when she wanted to
take back her cannon, which, during the repair, had been deposited on
the isle das Cobras, the viceroy forbade their being delivered; and
declared, that he arrested the ship, till he had received the orders of
his court, on the subject of the hostilities committed at Rio-Grande. In
vain did Don Medina take all the necessary steps on this occasion; count
d’Acunha would not so much as receive the letter, which the Spanish
commander sent him by an officer, from on board his ship.
[Sidenote: Bad proceedings of the viceroy towards us.]
We partook of the disgrace of our allies. Having, upon the repeated
leave of the viceroy, concluded the bargain for buying a snow, his
excellency forbade the seller to deliver it to me. He likewise gave
orders, that we should not be allowed the necessary timber out of the
royal dock-yards, for which we had already agreed: he then refused me
the permission of lodging with my officers, (during the time that the
frigate underwent some essential repairs) in a house near the town,
offered me by its proprietor: and which commodore Byron had occupied in
1765, when he touched at this port. On this account, and likewise upon
his refusing me the snow and the timber, I wanted to make some
remonstrances to him. He did not give me time to do it; and, at the
first words I uttered, he rose in a furious passion, and ordered me to
go out; and being certainly piqued, that, in spite of his anger, I
remained sitting with two officers, who accompanied me, he called his
guards; but they, wiser than himself, did not come, and we retired; so
that nobody seemed to have been disturbed. We were hardly gone, when the
guards of his palace were doubled, and orders given to arrest all the
French that should be found in the streets after sun-setting. He
likewise sent word to the captain of the French ship of four guns, to go
and anchor under the fort of Villagahon; and the next morning I got her
towed there by my boats.
[Sidenote: They determine us to leave Rio-Janeiro.]
From hence forward, I was intent upon my departure; especially as the
inhabitants, with whom we had any intercourse of trade, must fear every
thing from the viceroy. Two Portuguese officers became the victims of
the civility they shewed us; the one was imprisoned in the citadel; the
other exiled to Santa, a small town between St. Catherine and
Rio-Grande. I made haste to take in our water, to get the most necessary
provisions out of the Etoile, and to embark refreshments. I had been
forced to enlarge our tops; and the Spanish captain furnished me with
the necessary timber for that purpose, which had been refused us out of
the docks. I likewise got some planks, which we could not do without;
and which were sold to us secretly.
At last, on the 12th, every thing being ready, I sent an officer to let
the viceroy know, I should weigh with the first fair wind. I advised M.
d’Etcheveri, who commanded l’Etoile du Matin, (the Morning-Star) to stop
at Rio-Janeiro as little as he could; and rather to employ the time that
remained, till the favourable season for doubling the Cape of Good Hope
came on, in going to survey the isles of Tristan d’Acunha, where he
would find wood, water, and abundance of fish; and I gave him some
memoirs I had concerning these isles. I have since heard, that he has
followed my advice.
During our stay at Rio-Janeiro, we enjoyed one of the springs, which are
obvious in poetical descriptions; and the inhabitants testified, in the
most genteel manner, the displeasure which their viceroy’s bad
proceedings against us, gave them. We were sorry, that it was not in our
power to stay any longer with them. The Brasils, and the capital in it,
have been described by so many authors, that I could mention nothing,
without tediously repeating what has been said before. Rio-Janeiro has
once been conquered by France; and is, of course, well known there. I
will confine myself to give an account of the riches, of which that city
is the staple[49]; and of the revenues which the king of Portugal gets
from thence. I must previously mention, that M. de Commerçon, an able
naturalist, who came with us on board the Etoile, in order to go on the
expedition, assured me, that this was the richest country in plants he
had ever met with; and that it had supplied him with whole treasures in
botany.
[Sidenote: Account of the riches of Rio-Janeiro.]
Rio-Janeiro is the emporium and principal staple of the rich produce of
the Brasils. The mines, which are called _general_, are the nearest to
the city; being about seventy-five leagues distant. They annually bring
in to the king, for his fifth part, at least one hundred and twelve
arobas of gold; in 1762 they brought in a hundred and nineteen. Under
the government of the general mines, are comprehended those of Rio das
Mortes, of Sabara, and of Sero-frio. The last place, besides gold,
produces all the diamonds that come from the Brasils. They are in the
bed of a river; which is led aside, in order afterwards to separate the
diamonds, topazes, chrysolites, and other stones of inferior goodness,
from the pebbles, among which they ly.
[Sidenote: Regulations for examining the mines.]
All these stones, diamonds excepted, are not contraband: they belong to
the possessors of the mines; but they are obliged to give a very exact
account of the diamonds they find; and to put them into the hands of a
surveyor[50], whom the king appoints for this purpose. [Sidenote: Mines
of diamonds.] The surveyor immediately deposits them in a little casket,
covered with plates of iron, and locked up by three locks. He has one of
the keys, the viceroy the other, and the _Provador de Hazienda Reale_
the third. This casket is inclosed in another, on which are the seals of
the three persons above mentioned, and which contains the three keys to
the first. The viceroy is not allowed to visit its contents; he only
places the whole in a third coffer, which he sends to Lisbon, after
putting his seal on it. It is opened in the king’s presence; he chooses
the diamonds which he likes out of it; and pays their price to the
possessors of the mines, according to a tariff settled in their charter.
The possessors of the mines pay the value of a Spanish piastre or dollar
per day to his Most Faithful Majesty, for every slave sent out to seek
diamonds; the number of these slaves amounts to eight hundred. Of all
the contraband trades, that of diamonds is most severely punished. If
the smuggler is poor, he loses his life; if his riches are sufficient to
satisfy what the law exacts, besides the confiscation of the diamonds,
he is condemned to pay double their value, to be imprisoned for one
year, and then exiled for life to the coast of Africa. Notwithstanding
this severity, the smuggling trade with diamonds, even of the most
beautiful kind, is very extensive; so great is the hope and facility of
hiding them, on account of the little room they take up.
[Sidenote: Gold-mines.]
All the gold which is got out of the mines cannot be sent to Rio
Janeiro, without being previously brought into the houses, established
in each district, where the part belonging to the crown is taken. What
belongs to private persons is returned to them in wedges, with their
weight, their number, and the king’s arms stamped upon them. All this
gold is assayed by a person appointed for that purpose, and on each
wedge or ingot, the alloy of the gold is marked, that it may afterwards
be easy to bring them all to the same alloy for the coinage.
These ingots belonging to private persons are registered in the office
of _Praybuna_, thirty leagues from Rio Janeiro. At this place is a
captain, a lieutenant, and fifty men: there the tax of one fifth part is
paid, and further, a poll-tax of a _real_ and a half per head, of men,
cattle, and beasts of burden. One half of the produce of this tax goes
to the king, and the other is divided among the detachment, according to
the rank. As it is impossible to come back from the mines without
passing by this station, the soldiers always stop the passengers, and
search them with the utmost rigour.
The private people are then obliged to bring all the ingots of gold
which fall to their share, to the mint at Rio Janeiro, where they get
the value of it in cash: this commonly consists of demi-doubloons, worth
eight Spanish dollars. Upon each demi-doubloon, the king gets a piastre
or dollar for the alloy, and for the coinage. The mint at Rio Janeiro is
one of the finest buildings existing. It is furnished with all the
conveniences necessary towards working with the greatest expedition. As
the gold comes from the mines at the same time that the fleets come from
Portugal, the coinage must be accelerated, and indeed they coin there
with amazing quickness.
The arrival of these fleets, and especially of that from Lisbon, renders
the commerce of Rio Janeiro very flourishing. The fleet from Porto is
laden only with wines, brandy, vinegar, victuals, and some coarse
cloths, manufactured in and about that town. As soon as the fleets
arrive, all the goods they bring are conveyed to the custom-house, where
they pay a duty of ten per cent to the king. It must be observed that
the communication between the colony of Santo Sacramento and Buenos
Ayres being entirely cut off at present, that duty must be considerably
lessened; for the greater part of the most precious merchandizes which
arrived from Europe were sent from Rio Janeiro to that colony, from
whence they were smuggled through Buenos Ayres to Peru and Chili; and
this contraband trade was worth a million and a half of piastres or
dollars annually to the Portuguese. In short, the mines of the Brasils
produce no silver, and all that which the Portuguese got, came from this
smuggling trade. The negro trade was another immense object. The loss
which the almost entire suppression of this branch of contraband trade
occasions, cannot be calculated. This branch alone employed at least
thirty coasting vessels between the Brasils and Rio de la Plata.
[Sidenote: Revenues of the king of Portugal from Rio Janeiro.]
Besides the old duty of ten per cent which is paid at the royal
custom-house, there is another duty of two and a half per cent, laid on
the goods as a free gift, on account of the unfortunate event which
happened at Lisbon in 1755. This duty must be paid down at the
custom-house immediately, whereas for the tenth, you may have a respite
of six months, on giving good security.
The mines of S. Paolo and Parnagua pay the king four arrobas as his
fifth, in common years. The most distant mines, which are those of
Pracaton and Quiaba, depend upon the government[51] of Maragrosso. The
fifth of these mines is not received at Rio Janeiro, but that of the
mines of Goyas is. This government has likewise mines of diamonds, but
it is forbidden to search in them.
All the expences of the king of Portugal at Rio Janeiro, for the payment
of the troops and civil officers, the carrying on of the mines, keeping
the public buildings in repair, and refitting of ships, amount to about
six hundred thousand piastres. I do not speak of the expence he may be
at in constructing ships of the line and frigates, which he has lately
begun to do here.
A summary account, and the amount of the separate articles of
the king’s revenue, taken at a medium in Spanish dollars.
Dollars.
One hundred and fifty arrobas of gold, of which in
common years all the fifths amount to 1,125,000
The duty on diamonds 240,000
The duty on the coinage 400,000
Ten per cent. of the custom-house 350,000
Two and a half per cent. free gift 87,000
Poll tax, sale of employs, offices, and other
products of the mines 225,000
The duty on negroes 110,000
The duty on train-oil, salt, soap, and the tenth
on the victuals of the country 130,000
————-
Total in dollars or piasters 2,667,000
————-
From whence, if you deduct the expences above mention ed, it will appear
that the king of Portugal’s revenues from Rio Janeiro, amount to upwards
of ten millions of our money (livres[52]).
-----
Footnote 49:
Debouché.
Footnote 50:
Intendant.
Footnote 51:
Capitainie.
Footnote 52:
Upwards of 450,000 pounds sterling; at 4 s. and 6 d. per dollar.
-----
_CHAP. VI._
_Departure from Rio Janeiro: second voyage to Montevideo:
damage which the Etoile receives there._
The 14th of July we weighed from Rio Janeiro, but for want of wind we
were obliged to come to an anchor again in the road. [Sidenote: 1767.
July.] We sailed on the 15th, and two days after, the frigate being a
much better sailer than the Etoile, I was obliged to unrig my
top-gallant masts, as our lower masts required a careful management.
[Sidenote: Departure from Rio Janeiro.] The winds were variable, but
brisk, and the sea very high. In the night between the 19th and 20th, we
lost our main-top-sail, which was carried away on its clue-lines.
[Sidenote: Eclipse of the sun.] The 25th there was an eclipse of the
sun, visible to us. I had on board my ship M. Verron, a young
astronomer, who came from France in the Etoile, with a view to try,
during the voyage, some methods towards finding the longitude at sea.
According to our estimation of the ship’s place, the moment of
immersion, as calculated by the astronomer, was to be on the 25th, at
four hours nineteen minutes in the evening. At four hours and six
minutes, a cloud prevented our seeing the sun, and when we got sight of
him again, at four hours thirty-one minutes, about an inch and a half
was already eclipsed. Clouds successively passed over the sun’s disk,
and let us see him only at very short intervals, so that we were not
able to observe any of the phases of the eclipse, and consequently could
not conclude our longitude from it. The sun set to us before the moment
of apparent conjunction, and we reckoned that that of immersion had been
at four hours twenty-three minutes.
[Sidenote: Entrance into Rio de la Plata.]
On the 26th we came into soundings; the 28th in the morning we
discovered the Castilles. This part of the coast is pretty high, and is
to be seen at ten or twelve leagues distance. We discovered the entrance
to a bay, which probably is the harbour where the Spaniards have a fort,
and where I have been told there is very bad anchorage. The 29th we
entered Rio de la Plata, and saw the Maldonados. We advanced but little
this day and the following. Almost the whole night between the 30th and
31st we were becalmed, and sounded constantly. The current set to the
north-westward, which was pretty near the situation of the isle of
Lobos. At half an hour past one after midnight, having sounded,
thirty-three fathoms, I thought I was very near the isle, and gave the
signal for casting anchor. At half past three we weighed, and saw the
isle of Lobos in N. E. about a league and a half distant. The wind was
S. and S. E. weak at first, but blew more fresh towards sun-rising, and
we anchored in the bay of Montevideo the 31st in the afternoon. We had
lost much time on account of the Etoile; because, besides the advantage
of our being better sailers, that store-ship, which at leaving Rio
Janeiro made four inches of water every hour, after a few days sail made
seven inches in the same space of time, which did not allow her to crowd
her sails.
[Sidenote: Second time of touching at Montevideo.]
[Sidenote: News which we hear at this place.]
We were hardly moored, when an officer came on board, being sent by the
governor of Montevideo, to compliment us on our arrival, and informed us
that orders had been received from Spain to arrest all the Jesuits, and
to seize their effects: that the ship which brought these dispatches had
carried away forty fathers of that community, destined for the missions:
that the order had already been executed in the principal houses without
any difficulty or resistance; and that, on the contrary, these fathers
bore their disgrace with resignation and moderation. I shall soon enter
into a more circumstantial account of this great transaction, of which I
have been able to obtain full information, by my long stay at Buenos
Ayres, and the confidence with which the governor-general Don Francisco
Bukarely[53] honoured me.
[Sidenote: 1767.
August.]
As we were to stay in Rio de la Plata till after the equinox, we took
lodgings at Montevideo, where we settled our workmen, and made an
hospital. This having been our first care, I went to Buenos Ayres, on
the 11th of August, to accelerate our being furnished with the necessary
provisions, by the provider-general of the king of Spain; at the same
price as he had agreed to deliver them to his Catholic Majesty. I
likewise wanted to have a conference with M. de Buccarelli, on the
subject of what had happened at Rio-Janeiro; though I had already, by
express, sent him the dispatches from Don Francisco de Madina. I found
he had prudently resolved to content himself with sending an account of
the hostilities of the viceroy of the Brasils to Europe, and not to make
any reprisals. It would have been easy to him, to have taken the colony
of Santo Sacramento in a few days; especially as that place was in want
of every necessary, and had not yet obtained, in November, the convoy of
articles and ammunition that were preparing to be sent thither, when we
left Rio-Janeiro.
The governor-general made every thing as convenient as possible, towards
quickly making up our wants. At the end of August, two schooners, laden
with biscuit and flour for us, sailed for Montevideo; whither I likewise
went to celebrate the day of St. Louis. I left the chevalier du
Bouchage, an under-lieutenant, at Buenos Ayres, in order to get the
remainder of our provisions on board; and to take care of our affairs
there till our departure; which, I hoped, would be towards the end of
September. I could not foresee that an accident would detain us six
weeks longer. [Sidenote: Damage which the Etoile receives.] In a
hurricane, blowing hard at S. W. the San Fernando, a register-ship,
which was at anchor near the Etoile, dragged her anchors, ran foul of
the Etoile at night; and, at the first shock, broke her bowsprit level
with the deck. Afterwards the knee and rails of her head were carried
away; and it was lucky that they separated, notwithstanding the bad
weather, and the obscurity of the night, without being more damaged.
[Sidenote: 1767.
September.]
This accident greatly enlarged the leaks in the Etoile, which she had
had from the beginning of her voyage. It now became absolutely necessary
to unload this vessel, if not to heave her down[54], in order to
discover and stop this leak, which seemed to lie very low, and very
forward. This operation could not be performed at Montevideo; where,
besides, there was not timber sufficient to repair the masts; I
therefore wrote to the chevalier du Bouchage, to represent our situation
to the marquis de Buccarelli; and to obtain, that by his leave the
Etoile might be allowed to come up the river, and to go into the
Encenada de Baragan; I likewise gave him orders to send timber and the
other materials, which we should want thither. The governor-general
consented to our demands; and, the 7th of September, not being able to
find any pilot, [Sidenote: Navigation from Montevideo to Baragan.] I
went on board the Etoile, with the carpenters and caulkers of the
Boudeuse, in order to sail the next morning, and undertake in person a
navigation, which we were told was very hazardous. Two register-ships;
the San-Fernando and the Carmen, provided with a pilot, were ready the
same day, to sail for Montevideo to Encenada; and I intended to follow
them; but the San-Fernando, which had got the pilot, named Philip, on
board, weighed in the night, between the seventh and eighth, purely with
a view of hiding his track from us; and left her companion in the same
distress. However, we sailed on the eighth in the morning, preceded by
our canoes; the Carman remaining to wait for a schooner to direct her
route. In the evening we reached the San-Fernando, passed by her; and,
on the tenth in the afternoon, we came to an anchor in the road of the
Encenada: Philip, who was a bad pilot, and a wicked fellow, always
steering in our water.
In this road I found the Venus frigate of twenty-six guns, and some
merchant-ships; which were bound, together with her, to sail directly
for Europe. I likewise found there la Esmeralda, and la Liebre; who were
preparing to return to the Malouines, with provisions and ammunitions of
all sorts; from whence they were to sail for the South Seas, in order to
take in the Jesuits of Chili and Peru. There was likewise the xebeck[55]
el Andaluz; which arrived from Ferrol, at the end of July, in company
with another xebeck, named el Aventurero; but the latter was lost on the
point of what is called the English-Sand; and the crew had time to save
their lives. The Andaluz was preparing to carry presents and
missionaries to the inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego; the king of Spain
being desirous of testifying his gratitude to those people, for the
services they rendered the Spaniards of the ship la Concepcion, which
was lost on their coasts in 1765.
[Sidenote: The Etoile goes to be repaired there.]
I went on shore at Baragan, whither the chevalier du Bouchage had
already sent part of the timber we wanted. He found it very difficult
and expensive to collect it at Buenos Ayres, in the king’s arsenal, and
in some private timber-yards; the stores of both consisting of the
timbers of such ships as were wrecked in the river. At Baragan we found
no supplies; but, on the contrary, difficulties of many kinds; and every
thing conspired to make all operations go on very slowly. The Encenada
de Baragan is, indeed, merely a bad kind of bay, formed by the mouth of
a little river, which is about a quarter of a league broad; but the
depth of water is only in the middle, in a narrow channel; which is
constantly filling more and more; and, in which, only ships drawing no
more than twelve feet water can enter. In all the other parts of the
river, there is not six inches of water during the ebb; but as the tides
are irregular in Rio de la Plata; and the water sometimes high or low,
for eight days together, according to the winds that blow, the landing
of boats was connected with great difficulties. There are no magazines
on shore; the houses, or rather huts, are but few, made of rushes,
covered over with leather, and built without any regularity, on a barren
soil; and their inhabitants are hardly able to get their subsistance;
all which causes still more difficulties. The ships, which draw too much
water to be able to enter this creek, must anchor at the point of Lara,
a league and a half west. There they are exposed to all the winds; but
the ground being very good for anchoring, they may winter there, though
labouring under many inconveniences.
[Sidenote: 1767. October.]
I left M. de la Giraudais, at the point of Lara, to take care of what
related to his ship; and I went to Buenos Ayres, from whence I sent him
a large schooner, by which he might heave down as soon as he came into
the Encenada. For that purpose, it was necessary to unload part of the
goods she had on board; and M. de Buccarelli gave us leave to deposit
them on board the Esmeralda and the Liebre. The 8th of October the
Etoile was able to go into port; and it appeared, that her repair would
not take so much time as was at first expected. Indeed, they had hardly
begun to unload her, when her leak diminished considerably; and she did
not leak at all when she drew only eight feet of water forward. After
taking up some planks of her sheathing, they saw that the seam of her
entrance was entirely without oakum for the length of four feet and a
half, from the depth of eight feet of her draught upwards. They
discovered likewise two auger holes, into which they had not put the
bolts. All these faults and damages being quickly repaired, new railing
put on the head, a new bowsprit made and rigged, and the ship being new
caulked all over, she returned to the point of Lara on the 21st, where
she took in her lading again, from on board the Spanish frigates. In
that road she likewise stowed the wood, flour, biscuit, and different
provisions I sent her.
[Sidenote: Departure of several vessels for Europe,
and arrival of others.]
From thence, the Venus and four other vessels laden with leather, sailed
for Cadiz, at the end of September, having on board two hundred and
fifty Jesuits, and the French families from the Malouines, seven
excepted, who having no room in these ships, were obliged to wait for
another opportunity. The marquiss of Buccarelli transported them to
Buenos Ayres, where he provided them with subsistence and lodgings. At
the same time we got intelligence of the arrival of the Diamante, a
register ship, bound for Buenos Ayres, and of the San-miguel, another
register ship, bound for Lima. The situation of the last ship was very
distressing: after struggling with the winds at Cape Horn during
forty-five days, thirty-nine men of her crew being dead, and the others
attacked by the scurvy, and a sea carrying away her rudder, she was
obliged to bear away for this river, and arrived at the port of
Maldonados seven months after leaving Cadiz, having no more than three
sailors and a few officers that were able to do duty. At the request of
the Spaniards we sent an officer with some sailors to bring her into the
port of Montevideo. On the fifth of October the Spanish frigate la
Aguila arrived there, having left Ferrol in March. She touched at the
isle of St. Catherine, and the Portuguese had arrested her there at the
same time that they stopped the Diligent at Rio Janeiro.
-----
Footnote 53:
Buccarelli.
Footnote 54:
Virer en quille.
Footnote 55:
Chambekin.
-----
_CHAP. VII._
_Accounts of the missions in Paraguay, and the expulsion of the
Jesuits from that province._
Whilst we carried on our preparations for leaving Rio de la Plata, the
marquiss of Buccarelli made some on his part to go on the Uraguai. The
Jesuits had already been arrested in all the other provinces of his
department; and this governor-general intended to execute the orders of
his catholic majesty, in person, in the missions. It depended upon the
first steps that were taken, either to make the people consent to the
alterations that were going to be made, or to plunge them again into
their former state of barbarism. But before I give an account of what I
have seen of the catastrophe of this singular government, I must speak
something of its origin, progress, and form. I shall speak of it _sine
irâ & studio, quorum causas procul habeo_.
[Sidenote: Date of the establishment of the missions.]
In 1580 the Jesuits were first admitted into these fertile regions,
where they have afterwards, in the reign of Philip the third, founded
the famous missions, which in Europe go by the name of Paraguay, and in
America, with more propriety, by that of Uraguay, from the river of that
name, on which they are situated. They were always divided into
colonies, which at first were weak and few, but by gradual progress have
been encreased to the number of thirty-seven, viz. twenty-nine on the
right side of the Uraguay, and eight on the left side, each of them
governed by two Jesuits, in the habit of the order. Two motives, which
sovereigns are allowed to combine, if they do not hurt each other,
namely, religion and interest, made the Spanish monarch desirous of the
conversion of the Indians; by making them catholics, they became
civilized, and he obtained possession of a vast and abundant country;
this was opening a new source of riches for the metropolis, and at the
same time making proselytes to the true Deity. The Jesuits undertook to
fulfil these projects; but they represented, that in order to facilitate
the success of so difficult an enterprize, it was necessary they should
be independent of the governors of the province, and that even no
Spaniard should be allowed to come into the country.
[Sidenote: Conditions agreed on between the court of Spain and the
Jesuits.]
The motive on which this demand was grounded, was, the fear lest the
vices of the Europeans should diminish the ardour of their proselytes,
or even remove them farther from Christianity; and likewise lest the
Spanish haughtiness should render a yoke, already too heavy,
insupportable to them. The court of Spain, approving of these reasons,
ordered that the missionaries should not be controuled by the governor’s
authority, and that they should get sixty thousand piastres a year from
the royal treasure, for the expences of cultivation, on condition that
as the colonies should be formed, and the lands be cultivated, the
Indians should annually pay a piastre per head to the king, from the age
of eighteen to sixty. It was likewise stipulated, that the missionaries
should teach the Indians the Spanish language; but this clause it seems
has not been executed.
[Sidenote: Zeal and success of the missionaries.]
The Jesuits entered upon this career with the courage of martyrs, and
the patience of angels. Both these qualifications were requisite to
attract, retain, and use to obedience and labour, a race of savage,
inconstant men, who were attached to their indolence and independence.
The obstacles were infinite, the difficulties encreased at each step;
but zeal got the better of every thing, and the kindness of the
missionaries at last brought these wild, diffident inhabitants of the
woods, to their feet. They collected them into fixed habitations, gave
them laws, introduced useful and polite arts among them; and, in short,
of a barbarous nation, without civilized manners, and without religious
principles, they made a good-natured well governed people, who strictly
observed the Christian ceremonies. These Indians, charmed with the
persuasive eloquence of their apostles, willingly obeyed a set of men,
who, they saw would sacrifice themselves for their happiness;
accordingly, when they wanted to form an idea of the king of Spain, they
represented him to themselves in the habit of the order of St. Ignatius.
[Sidenote: Revolt of the Indians against the Spaniards.]
However, there was a momentary revolt against his authority in the year
1757. The catholic king had exchanged the colonies on the left shore of
the Uraguay against the colony of Santo Sacramento with the Portuguese.
The desire of destroying the smuggling trade, which we have mentioned
several times, had engaged the court of Madrid to this exchange. Thus
the Uraguay became the boundary of the respective possessions of the two
crowns. The Indians of the colonies, which had been ceded, were
transported to the right hand shore, and they made them amends in money
for their lost labour and transposition. [Sidenote: Causes of their
discontent.] But these men, accustomed to their habitations, could not
bear the thought of being obliged to leave the grounds, which were
highly cultivated, in order to clear new ones. They took up arms: for
long ago they had been allowed the use of them, to defend themselves
from the incursions of the Paulists, a band of robbers, descended from
Brasilians, and who had formed themselves into a republic towards the
end of the sixteenth century. They revolted without any Jesuits ever
heading them. It is however said, they were really kept in the revolted
villages, to exercise their sacerdotal functions.
[Sidenote: They take up arms and are defeated.]
The governor-general of the province de la Plata, Don Joseph Andonaighi,
marched against the rebels, and was followed by Don Joachim de Viana,
governor of Montevideo. He defeated them in a battle, wherein upwards of
two thousand Indians were slain. He then proceeded to conquer the
country; and Don Joachim seeing what terror their first defeat had
spread amongst them, resolved to subdue them entirely with six hundred
men. He attacked the first colony, took possession of it without meeting
any resistance; and that being taken, all the others submitted.
[Sidenote: The disturbances are appeased.]
At this time the court of Spain recalled Don Joseph Andonaighi, and Don
Pedro Cevallos arrived at Buenos Ayres to replace him. Viana received
orders at the same time to leave the missions, and bring back his
troops. The intended exchange was now no longer thought of, and the
Portuguese, who had marched against the Indians with the Spaniards,
returned with them likewise. At the time of this expedition, the noise
was spread in Europe of the election of king Nicholas, an Indian, whom
indeed the rebels set up as a phantom of royalty.
Don Joachim de Viana told me, that when he received orders to leave the
missions, a great number of Indians, discontented with the life they
led, were willing to follow him. [Sidenote: The Indians appear disgusted
with the administration of the Jesuits.] He opposed it, but could not
hinder seven families from accompanying him; he settled them at the
Maldonados, where, at present, they are patterns of industry and labour.
I was surprised at what he told me concerning this discontent of the
Indians. How is it possible to make it agree with all I had read of the
manner in which they are governed? I should have quoted the laws of the
missions as a pattern of an administration instituted with a view to
distribute happiness and wisdom among men.
Indeed, if one casts a general view at a distance upon this magic
government, founded by spiritual arms only, and united only by the
charms of persuasion, what institution can be more honourable to human
nature? It is a society which inhabits a fertile land, in a happy
climate, of which, all the members are laborious, and none works for
himself; the produce of the common cultivation is faithfully conveyed
into public storehouses, from whence every one receives what he wants
for his nourishment, dress, and house-keeping; the man who is in full
vigour, feeds, by his labour, the new-born infant; and when time has
consumed his strength, his fellow-citizens render him the same services
which he did them before. The private houses are convenient, the public
buildings fine; the worship uniform and scrupulously attended: this
happy people knows neither the distinction of rank, nor of nobility, and
is equally sheltered against super-abundance and wants.
The great distance and the illusion of perspective made the missions
bear this aspect in my eyes, and must have appeared the same to every
one else. But the theory is widely different from the execution of this
plan of government. Of this I was convinced by the following accounts,
which above a hundred ocular witnesses have unanimously given me.
[Sidenote: Accounts of the interior government.]
The extent of country in which the missions are situated, contains about
two hundred leagues north and south, and about one hundred and fifty
east and west, and the number of inhabitants is about three hundred
thousand; the immense forests afford wood of all sorts; the vast
pastures there, contain at least two millions of cattle; fine rivers
enliven the interior parts of this country, and promote circulation and
commerce throughout it. This is the situation of the country, but the
question now is, how did the people live there? The country was, as has
been told, divided into parishes, and each parish was directed by two
Jesuits, of which, one was rector, and the other his curate. The whole
expence for the maintenance of the colonies was but small, the Indians
being fed, dressed, and lodged, by the labour of their own hands; the
greatest costs were those of keeping the churches in repair, all which
were built and adorned magnificently. The other products of the ground,
and all the cattle, belonged to the Jesuits, who, on their part, sent
for the instruments of various trades, for glass, knives, needles,
images, chaplets of beads, gun-powder and muskets. Their annual revenues
consisted in cotton, tallow, leather, honey, and above all, in _maté_, a
plant better known by the name of Paraguay tea, or South-Sea tea, of
which that company had the exclusive commerce, and of which likewise the
consumption is immense in the Spanish possessions in America, where it
is used instead of tea.
The Indians shewed so servile a submission to their rectors, that not
only both men and women suffered the punishment of flagellation, after
the manner of the college, for public offences, but they likewise came
of themselves to sollicit this chastisement for mental faults. In every
parish the fathers annually elected _corrégidors_, and their assistants,
to take care of the minutiæ of the government. The ceremony of their
election was performed on new year’s day, with great pomp, in the court
before the church, and was announced by ringing of bells, and the
playing of a band of music. The newly elected persons came to the feet
of the father rector to receive the marks of their dignity, which
however did not exempt them from being whipped like the others. Their
greatest distinction was that of wearing habits, whereas, a shirt of
cotton stuff was the only dress of the other Indians of both sexes. The
feasts of the parish, and that of the rector, were likewise celebrated
by public rejoicings, and even by comedies, which probably resembled
those ancient pieces of ours, called _mystéres_ or mysteries.
The rector lived in a great house near the church; adjoining to it were
two buildings, in one of which were the schools for music, painting,
sculpture, and architecture; and likewise, work-houses of different
trades; Italy furnished them with masters to teach the arts, and the
Indians, it is said, learn with facility: the other building contained a
great number of young girls at work in several occupations, under the
inspection of old women: this was named the _guatiguasu_, or the
seminary. The apartment of the rector communicated internally with these
two buildings.
This rector got up at five o’clock in the morning, employed an hour in
holy meditation, and said his mass at half past six o’clock; they kissed
his hands at seven o’clock, and then he publicly distributed an ounce of
_maté_ to every family. After mass, the rector breakfasted, said his
breviary, conferred with the corregidors, four of whom were his
ministers, and visited the seminary, the schools, and the work-shops.
Whenever he went out, it was on horseback, and attended by a great
retinue; he dined alone with his curate at eleven of the clock, then
chatted till noon, and after that, made a _siesta_ till two in the
afternoon; he kept close in his interior appartments till it was prayer
time, after which, he continued in conversation till seven in the
evening; then the rector supped, and at eight he was supposed to be gone
to bed.
From eight of the clock in the morning, the time of the people was taken
up either in cultivating the ground, or in their work-shops, and the
corregidors took care to see them employ their time well; the women spun
cotton; they got a quantity of it every Monday, which they were obliged
to bring back converted into spun yarn at the end of the week; at half
an hour past five in the evening they came together to say the prayers
of their rosary, and to kiss the hands of their rector once more, then
came on the distribution of an ounce of _maté_ and four pounds of beef
for each family, which was supposed to consist of eight persons; at the
same time they likewise got some maize. On Sundays they did no work; the
divine worship took up more time; they were after that allowed to amuse
themselves with plays as dull as the rest of their whole life.
[Sidenote: Consequences drawn from it.]
From this exact detail it appears that the Indians had in some manner no
property, and that they were subject to a miserable, tedious uniformity
of labour and repose. This tiresomeness, which may with great reason be
called deadly or extreme, is sufficient to explain what has been told to
us, that they quitted life without regret, and died without having ever
lived or enjoyed life. When once they fell sick, it seldom happened that
they recovered, and being then asked whether they were sorry to be
obliged to die, they answered, no; and spoke it as people whose real
sentiments coincide with their words. We can no longer be surprised,
that when the Spaniards penetrated into the missions, this great people,
which was governed like a convent, should shew an ardent desire of
forcing the walls which confined them. The Jesuits represented the
Indians, upon the whole, as men incapable of attaining a higher degree
of knowledge than that of children; but the life they led, prevented
these grown children from having the liveliness of little ones.
[Sidenote: Expulsion of the Jesuits from the province of Plata.]
The society were occupied with the care of extending their missions,
when the unfortunate events happened in Europe, which overturned the
work of so many years, and of so unwearied patience in the new world.
The court of Spain having resolved upon the expulsion of the Jesuits,
was desirous that this might be done at the same time throughout all its
vast dominions. Cevallos was recalled from Buenos Ayres, and Don
Francisco Buccarelli appointed to succeed him. [Sidenote: Measures taken
at the court of Spain for this purpose.] He set out, being instructed in
the business which he was intended for, and with orders to defer the
execution of it till he received fresh orders, which would soon be sent
him. The king’s confessor, the count d’Aranda, and some ministers, were
the only persons to whom this secret affair was entrusted. Buccarelli
made his entry at Buenos Ayres in the beginning of 1767.
[Sidenote: Measures taken by the governor-general of the province.]
When Don Pedro de Cevallos was arrived in Spain, a packet was dispatched
to the marquis of Buccarelli, with orders both for that province, and
for Chili, whither he was to send them over land. This vessel arrived in
Rio de la Plata in June, 1767, and the governor instantly dispatched two
officers, one to Peru, and the other to Chili, with the dispatches from
court, directed to them. He then sent his orders into the various parts
of his province, where there were any Jesuits, viz. to Cordoua, Mendoza,
Corrientes, Santa-Fé, Salta, Montevideo, and Paraguay. As he feared,
that among the commanders of these several places, some might not act
with the dispatch, secrecy, and exactness which the court required, he
enjoined, by sending his orders to them, that they should not open them
till on a certain day, which he had fixed for the execution, and to do
it only in the presence of some persons, whom he named, and who served
in the highest ecclesiastical and civil offices, at the above-mentioned
places. Cordoua, above all, interested his attention. In that province
was the principal house of the Jesuits, and the general residence of
their provincial. There they prepared and instructed in the Indian
language and customs, those who were destined to go to the missions, and
to become heads of colonies; there their most important papers were
expected to be found. M. de Buccarelli resolved to send an officer of
trust there, whom he appointed the king’s lieutenant of that place, and
on whom, under this pretext, he sent a detachment of soldiers to attend.
It now remained to provide for the execution of the king’s orders in the
missions, and this was the most critical point. It was dubious whether
the Indians would suffer the Jesuits to be arrested in the midst of the
colonies, and this violent step must at all events have been supported
by a numerous body of troops. Besides this, it was necessary, before
they thought of removing the Jesuits, to have another form of government
ready to substitute in their stead, and by that means to prevent
confusion and anarchy. The governor resolved to temporize, and was
contented at that time to write to the missions, that a corregidor and a
cacique from each colony should be sent to him immediately, in order to
communicate the king’s letters to them. He dispatched this order with
the greatest quickness, that the Indians might already be on the road,
and beyond the missions, before the news of the expulsion of the Jesuits
could reach thither. By this he had two aims in view; the one, that of
getting hostages of the fidelity of the colonies, when the Jesuits would
be taken from thence; the other, that of gaining the affection of the
principal Indians, by the good treatment he intended for them at Buenos
Ayres, and of instructing them in the new situation upon which they
would enter; for, as soon as the restraint would be taken away, they
were to enjoy the same privileges, and have the same property as the
king’s other subjects.
[Sidenote: The secret is near being divulged by an unforeseen accident.]
Every measure was concerted with the greatest secrecy, and though people
wondered that a vessel should arrive from Spain without any other
letters than those for the general, yet they were very far from
suspecting the cause of it. The moment of the general execution was
fixed to the day when all the couriers were supposed to have arrived at
their different destinations, and the governor waited for that moment
with impatience, when the arrival of the two xebecs[56] of the king from
Cadiz, the Andaluz and the Adventurero, was near making all these
precautions useless. The governor-general had ordered the governor of
Montevideo, that in case any vessels should arrive from Europe, he
should not allow them to speak with any person whatsoever, before he had
sent him word of it; but one of the two xebecs being in the forlorn
situation we have before mentioned, at the entrance of the river, it was
very necessary to save the crew of it, and give her all the assistance
which her situation required.
[Sidenote: Conduct of the governor-general.]
The two xebecs had sailed from Spain, after the Jesuits had been
arrested there, and this piece of news could by no means be prevented
from spreading. An officer of these ships was immediately sent to M. de
Buccarelli, and arrived at Buenos Ayres the 9th of July, at ten in the
evening. The governor did not lose time, he instantly dispatched orders
to all the commanders of the places, to open their former packets of
dispatches, and execute their contents with the utmost celerity. At two
of the clock after midnight, all the couriers were gone, and the two
houses of the Jesuits at Buenos Ayres invested, to the great
astonishment of those fathers, who thought they were dreaming, when
roused from their sleep in order to be imprisoned, and to have their
papers seized. The next morning an order was published in the town,
which forbade, by pain of death, to keep up any intercourse with the
Jesuits, and five merchants were arrested, who intended, it is said, to
send advices to them at Cordoua.
[Sidenote: The Jesuits are arrested in all the Spanish towns.]
The king’s orders were executed with the same facility in all the towns.
The Jesuits were surprised every where, without having the least notice,
and their papers were seized. They were immediately sent from their
houses, guarded by detachments of soldiers, who were ordered to fire
upon those that should endeavour to escape. But there was no occasion to
come to this extremity. They shewed the greatest resignation, humbling
themselves under the hand that smote them, and acknowledging, as they
said, that their sins had deserved the punishment which God inflicted on
them. The Jesuits of Cordoua, in number above a hundred, arrived towards
the end of August, at the Encenada, whither those from Corrientes,
Buenos Ayres, and Montevideo, came soon after. They were immediately
embarked, and the first convoy sailed, as I have already said, at the
end of September. The others, during that time, were on the road to
Buenos Ayres, where they should wait for another opportunity.
[Sidenote: Arrival of the caciques and corregidors at Buenos Ayres from
the missions.]
On the 13th of September arrived all the corregidors, and a cacique of
each colony, with some Indians of their retinue. They had left the
missions before any one guessed at the reason of their journey there.
The news which they received of it on the road had made some impression
on them, but did not prevent their continuing the journey. The only
instruction which the rectors gave their dear proselytes at parting,
was, to believe nothing of what the governor-general should tell them:
“Prepare, my children,” did every one tell them, “to hear many
untruths.” At their arrival, they were immediately sent to the governor,
where I was present at their reception. They entered on horseback to the
number of a hundred and twenty, and formed a crescent in two lines; a
Spaniard understanding the language of the _Guaranis_, served them as an
interpreter. [Sidenote: They appear before the governor-general.] The
governor appeared in a balcony; he told them, that they were welcome;
that they should go to rest themselves, and that he would send them
notice of the day which he should fix in order to let them know the
king’s intentions. He added, in general, that he was come to release
them from slavery, and put them in possession of their property, which
they had not hitherto enjoyed. They answered by a general cry, lifting
up their right hands to heaven, and wishing all prosperity to the king
and governor. They did not seem discontented, but it was easy to
discover more surprize than joy in their countenance. On leaving the
governor’s palace, they were brought to one of the houses of the
Jesuits, where they were lodged, fed, and kept at the king’s expence.
The governor, when he sent for them, expressly mentioned the famous
Cacique Nicholas, but they wrote him word, that his great age and his
infirmities did not allow him to come out.
At my departure from Buenos Ayres, the Indians had not yet been called
to an audience of the general. He was willing to give them time to learn
something of the language, and to become acquainted with the Spanish
customs. I have been several times to see them. They appeared to me of
an indolent temper, and seemed to have that stupid air so common in
creatures caught in a trap. Some of them were pointed out to me as very
intelligent, but as they spoke no other language but that of the
Guaranis, I was not able to make any estimate of the degree of their
knowledge; I only heard a cacique play upon the violin, who, I was told,
was a great musician; he played a sonata, and I thought I heard the
strained founds of a serinette. Soon after the arrival of these Indians
at Buenos Ayres, the news of the expulsion of the Jesuits having reached
the missions, the marquis de Buccarelli received a letter from the
provincial, who was there at that time, in which he assured him of his
submission, and of that of all the colonies to the king’s orders.
[Sidenote: Extent of the missions.]
These missions of the Guaranis and Tapes, upon the Uruguay, were not the
only ones which the Jesuits founded in South America. Somewhat more
northward they had collected and submitted to the same laws, the Mojos,
Chiquitos, and the Avipones. They likewise were making progresses in the
south of Chili, towards the isle of Chiloé; and a few years since, they
have opened themselves a road from that province to Peru, passing
through the country of the Chiquitos, which is a shorter way than that
which was followed till then. In all the countries into which they
penetrated, they erected posts, on which they placed their motto; and on
the map of their colonies, which they have settled, the latter are
placed under the denomination of _Oppida Christianorum_.
It was expected, that in seizing the effects of the Jesuits in this
province, very considerable sums of money would be found: however, what
was obtained that way, amounted to a mere trifle. Their magazines indeed
were furnished with merchandizes of all sorts, both of the products of
the country, and of goods imported from Europe. There were even many
sorts which could not have a sale in these provinces. The number of
their slaves was considerable, and in their house at Cordoua alone, they
reckoned three thousand five hundred.
I cannot enter into a detail of all that the public of Buenos Ayres
pretends to have found in the papers of the Jesuits; the animosity is
yet too recent to enable me to distinguish true imputations from false
ones. I will rather do justice to the majority of the members of this
society, who were not interested in its temporal affairs. If there were
some intriguing men in this body, the far greater number, who were
sincerely pious, did not consider any thing in the institution, besides
the piety of its founder, and worshipped God, to whom they had
consecrated themselves, in spirit and in truth. I have been informed, on
my return to France, that the marquis de Buccarelli set out from Buenos
Ayres for the missions, the 14th of May, 1768; and that he had not met
with any obstacle, or resistance, to the execution of his most catholic
majesty’s orders. My readers will be able to form an idea of the manner
in which this interesting event was terminated, by reading the two
following pieces, which contain an account of the first scene. It is a
narrative of what happened at the colony of Yapegu, situated upon the
Uraguay, and which lay the first in the Spanish general’s way; all the
others have followed the example of this.
_Translation of a letter from a captain of the grenadiers of the
regiment of Majorca, commanding one of the detachments of the
expedition into Paraguay._
Yapegu, the 19th July, 1768.
[Sidenote: Account of the governor-general’s entry into the missions.]
“YESTERDAY we arrived here very happily; the reception given to our
general has been most magnificent, and such as could not be exported
from so simple a people, so little accustomed to shows. Here is a
college, which has very rich and numerous church ornaments; there is
likewise a great quantity of plate. The settlement is somewhat less than
Montevideo, but more regularly disposed, and well peopled. The houses
are so uniform, that after seeing one, you have seen them all; and the
same, after you have seen one man and woman, you have seen them all,
there being not the least difference in the manner in which they are
dressed. There are many musicians, but they are only middling
performers.
“As soon as we arrived near this mission, the governor-general gave
orders to go and seize the father provincial of the Jesuits, and six
other fathers, and to bring them to a place of safety. They are to
embark in a few days on the river Uraguay. However, we believe they will
stay at Salto, in order to wait till the rest of their brethren have
undergone the same fate. We expected to make a stay of five or six days
at Yapegu, and then to continue our march to the last mission. We are
very well pleased with our general, who has procured us all possible
refreshments. Yesterday we had an opera, and shall have another
representation of it to-day. The good people do all they can, and all
they know.
“Yesterday we likewise saw the famous Nicolas, the same whom people were
so desirous to confine. He was in a deplorable situation, and almost
naked. He is seventy years of age, and seems to be a very sensible man.
His excellency spoke with him a long time, and seemed very much pleased
with his conversation.
“This is all the news I can inform you of.”
_Relation published at Buenos Ayres of the entry of his excellency Don
Francisco Buccarelli y Ursua, in the mission of Yapegu, one of those
belonging to the Jesuits, among the nations of Guaranis, on his
arrival there the 18th of July, 1768._
“At eight o’clock in the morning, his excellency went out of the chapel
of St. Martin, at one league’s distance from Yapegu. He was accompanied
by his guard of grenadiers and dragoons, and had detached two hours
before the companies of grenadiers of Majorca, in order to take
possession of, and get ready every thing at the river of Guavirade,
which must be crossed in canoes and ferries. This rivulet is about half
a league from the colony.
“As soon as his excellency had crossed the rivulet, he found the
caciques and corregidors of the missions, who attended with the Alferes
of Yapegu, bearing the royal standard. His excellency having received
all the honours and compliments usual on such occasions, got on
horseback, in order to make his public entry.
“The dragoons began the march; they were followed by two adjutants, who
preceded his excellency; after whom came the two companies of grenadiers
of Majorca, followed by the retinue of the Caciques and Corregidores,
and by a great number of horsemen from these parts.
“They went to the great place facing the church. His excellency having
alighted, Don Francisco Martinez, chaplain of the expedition, attended
on the steps before the porch to receive him; he accompanied him to the
_Presbyterium_, and began the _Te Deum_; which was sung and performed by
musicians, entirely consisting of guaranis. During this ceremony, there
was a triple discharge of the artillery. His excellency went afterwards
to the lodgings, which he had chosen for himself, in the college of the
fathers; round which the whole troop encamped, till, by his order, they
went to take their quarters in the _Guatiguasa_, or _la Casa de las
recogidas_, house of retirement for women[57].”
Let us now continue the account of our voyage; in which the detail of
the revolution that happened in the missions, has been one of the most
interesting circumstances.
-----
Footnote 56:
Chambekins.
Footnote 57:
The Jesuits in Paraguay have been so much the object of private
conversation, and of public contest, that it is a wonder the public is
still at a loss, in regard to the real situation of their affairs. The
account published here by Mr. Bougainville, must, no doubt, greatly
contribute to throw a light on the transactions in Paraguay, of which
so little is known with any degree of certainty. A few remarks taken
from the ingenious _Marquis de Pau’s Recherches sur les Americains_,
will, we hope, not be disagreeable to the readers.
In the year 1731, the Audiença of Chuquisaca, in the province of _los
Charcas_, found it necessary to empower the _Protector of the
Indians_, i. e. the solicitor general for them, and a member of their
body, to visit the famous Paraguay missions, and to inquire into the
truth of the various unfavourable reports spread about them. _Don
Joseph de Antequera_, a man of abilities, great integrity, and
superior courage, was then invested with the dignity of Protector of
the Indians. Accompanied only by one _Alguazil Mayor_, called _Joseph
de Mena_; and with the deed, impowering him with the visitation of the
missions, he went with spirit on his business; and after his arrival
at the city of Assumption, he acquainted the Jesuits with the
commission. The reverend fathers told him, that he had taken in vain
the pains of coming to their missions, where he would never get
admittance; and if he should attempt to force his way, he would repent
of it. Antequera did neither know the bad character of these people,
nor did he fear their threats, and went therefore on his intended
journey. But he was soon surrounded by a large detachment of armed
Indians, with Jesuits at their head, who fell upon him; and he escaped
by a sudden flight only.
The unfortunate Alguazil, being willing to encounter a German Jesuit,
was dangerously wounded. The Jesuits, not contented with this
inconsiderate step, accused Antequera, as an adventurer, who had
attempted to assume the dignity of a king of Paraguay, at the city of
Assumption; but that the reverend fathers, as faithful subjects to his
Catholic Majesty, had driven him out by main force; and they
requested, therefore, to be recompensed for this signal service to
their sovereign.
_Don Armendariz, Marquis de Castel Fuerte_, thirty-third viceroy of
Peru, entirely devoted to the Jesuits, sent Don Joseph de Antequera,
in consequence of this accusation, immediately to a dungeon. He was
examined; and though his counsellors had written five thousand sheets
in his defence, he was, however, hanged for the crime of revolting
against his sovereign, the fifth of June, together with his assistant
Joseph de Mena, who was still very ill from the wound received at
Assumption.
Lima and all Peru revolted against their viceroy, on the account of so
shocking and tyrannical an action. The troops were sent to quell the
riots. The blood of thousands flowed in the streets of Lima, and
stained the vallies of Peru. All the men of integrity and honour at
Lima, Cusco, Cuença, and Chuquisaca took up mourning for Antequera,
the innocent victim of the revenge of the pious fathers, and of the
despotism of the arbitrary viceroy, their tool. This transaction
ruined the credit of the Jesuits in Peru.
The reverend missionaries found means to settle extensive
establishments on the Uraguay, and the interior parts of Paraguay,
upon the Pilco Mayo, and other rivers. They collected first, by gentle
means, some of the Indian tribes into small settlements, taught them
husbandry, and the most necessary arts; and afterwards, music,
painting, and sculpture; all were instructed in the use of arms. By
the help of these first colonies, they often forced the free rambling
tribes of interior America, under the holy yoke of the gospel, and
into subjection to these zealous missionaries. The poor wretches were
then cloathed with a callico shirt, and got their allowance of meat,
maize, and caamini; but they were in return obliged to drudge for the
good fathers, in planting the Paraguay tea, cotton, tobacco, and
sugar. Every ounce of cotton and caamini raised by these slaves must
be delivered into the society’s storehouses, from whence they were
transported and sold for the benefit of the missionaries: those who
concealed any of the above articles, got twelve lashes, in honour of
the twelve apostles, and were confined to fasting during three days in
the public work-house. Benedict XIV. the head of the Romish church, a
man, whose humanity and extensive learning is so universally known,
published two bulls against the Jesuits, wherein he excommunicates
them, for the practice of enslaving the poor proselytes, and keeping
them no better than animals; (whom men deprive of their liberty, and
domesticate them with a view of making use of them in the most
laborious employments) and for using religion as a cloak to
oppression, despotism, and tyranny; in order to deprive free-born
beings and their fellow-creatures of liberty, the first and most
precious of all their enjoyments and privileges in this present life.
These bulls will be for ever the strongest proofs of the truth of
these assertions, and of the specious tyranny of the Jesuits.
The iniquitous practices in regard to the trade of the Paraguay-tea,
are so well dated, that whole tribes of Indians were brought to the
dilemma either to enlist as bondmen to the Jesuits, or to be starved;
the complaints of so many Indian plantations of South-Sea tea
destroyed by the Jesuits, were always heard, examined, and reported to
the court of Spain; but the influence of the Jesuits prevented the
council of the Indies from taking any steps for the punishment of the
pious fathers; and they would still remain unknown and unpunished, had
not this society been so suddenly involved in their ruin, by the
precaution of the court of Spain. F.
-----
_CHAP. VIII._
_Departure from Montevideo; run to Cape Virgin; entrance into the
Straits; interview with the Patagonians; navigation to the isle of
St. Elizabeth._
Nimborum in patriam, loca soeta furentibus austris. Virg. Æneid. Lib. I.
[Sidenote: The Etoile comes down from Baragan to Montevideo.]
The repair and loading of the Etoile took us up all October, and cost us
a prodigious expence; we were not able to balance our accounts with the
provisor-general, and the other Spaniards who had supplied our wants,
till the end of this month. I paid them with the money I received, as a
reimbursement for the cession of the Malouines, which I thought was
preferable to a draught upon the king’s treasury. I have continued to do
the same in regard to all the expences, at the various places we had
occasion to touch at in foreign countries. I have bought what I wanted
much cheaper, and obtained it much sooner by this means.
[Sidenote: Difficulty of this navigation.]
The 31st of October, by break of day, I joined the Etoile, some leagues
from the Encenada; she having sailed from thence for Montevideo the
preceding day. [Sidenote: 1767. November.] We anchored there on the
third of November, at seven in the evening. The necessity of finding out
a channel, by constant soundings, between the Ortiz sandbank, and
another little bank to the southward of it, both of which have no
beacons on them, makes this navigation subject to great difficulties:
the low situation of the land to the south, which therefore cannot be
seen with ease, increases the difficulties. It is true, chance has
placed a kind of beacon almost at the west point of the Ortiz bank.
These were the two masts of a Portuguese vessel, which was lost there,
and happily stands upright. In the channel you meet with four, four and
a half, and five fathoms of water; and the bottom is black ooze; on the
extremities of the Ortiz-bank, it is red sand. In going from Montevideo
to the Encenada, as soon as you have made the beacon in E. by S. and
have five fathoms of water, you have passed the banks. We have observed
15′ deg. 30. min. N. E. variation in the channel.
[Sidenote: Loss of three sailors.]
This small passage cost us three men, who were drowned; the boat getting
foul under the ship, which was wearing, went to the bottom; all our
efforts sufficed only to save two men and the boat, which had not lost
her mooring-rope. I likewise was sorry to see, that, notwithstanding the
repairs the Etoile had undergone, she still made water; which made us
fear that the fault lay in the caulking of the whole water-line; the
ship had been free of water till she drew thirteen feet.
[Sidenote: Preparation for leaving Rio de la Plata.]
We employed some days to stow all the victuals into the Boudeuse, which
she could hold, and to caulk her over again; which was an operation,
that could not be done sooner, on account of the absence of her
caulkers, who had been employed in the Etoile; we likewise repaired the
boat of the Etoile; cut grass for the cattle we had on board; and
embarked whatever we had on shore. The tenth of November was spent in
swaying up our top-masts and lower yards, and setting up our rigging,
&c. We could have sailed the same day, if we had not grounded. On the
11th, the tide coming in, the ships floated, and we cast anchor at the
head of the road; where vessels are always a-float. The two following
days we could not sail, on account of the high sea; but this delay was
not entirely useless. A schooner came from Buenos Ayres, laden with
flour, and we took sixty hundred weight of it, which we made shift to
stow in our ships. We had now victuals for ten months; though it is
true, that the greatest part of the drink consisted of brandy.
[Sidenote: Condition of the crews, at our sailing from Montevideo.] The
crew was in perfect health. The long stay they made in Rio de la Plata,
during which a third part of them alternately lay on shore, and the
fresh meat they were always fed with, had prepared them for the fatigues
and miseries of all kinds, which we were obliged to undergo. I left at
Montevideo my pilot, my master-carpenter, my armourer, and a
warrant-officer of my frigate; whom age and incurable infirmities
prevented from undertaking the voyage. Notwithstanding all our care,
twelve men, soldiers and sailors, deserted from the two ships. I had,
however, taken some of the sailors at the Malouines, who were engaged in
the fishery there; and likewise an engineer, a supercargo, and a
surgeon; by this means my ship had as many hands as at her departure
from Europe; and it was already a year since we had left the river of
Nantes.
[Sidenote: Departure from Montevideo.]
The 14th of November, at half past four in the morning, wind due north,
a fine breeze, we sailed from Montevideo. At half past eight we were N.
and S. off the isle of Flores; and at noon twelve leagues E. and E. by
S. from Montevideo; and from hence I took my point of departure in 34°
54′ 40″ S. lat. and 58° 57′ 30″ W. long. from the meridian of Paris.
[Sidenote: Its position astronomically determined.] I have laid down the
position of Montevideo, such as M. Verron has determined it by his
observations; which places its longitude 40′ 30″ more W. than Mr. Bellin
lays it down in his chart. I had likewise profited of my stay on shore,
to try my octant upon the distances of known stars; this instrument
always made the altitude of every star too little by two minutes; and I
have always since attended to this correction. I must mention here, that
in all the course of this Journal, I give the bearings of the coasts,
such as taken by the compass; whenever I give them corrected, according
to the variations, I shall take care to mention it.
[Sidenote: Soundings and navigation to the straits of Magalhaens.]
On the day of our departure, we saw land till sun-set; our soundings
constantly encreased, and changed from an oozy to a sandy bottom; at
half past six of the clock we found thirty-five fathom, and a grey sand;
and the Etoile, to whom I gave a signal for sounding on the fifteenth in
the afternoon, found sixty fathom, and the same ground: at noon we had
observed 36° 1′ of latitude. From the 16th to the 21st we had contrary
winds, a very high sea, and we kept the most advantageous boards in
tacking under our courses and close-reefed top-sails; the Etoile had
struck her top-gallant masts, and we sailed without having our’s up. The
22d it blew a hard gale, accompanied with violent squalls and showers,
which continued all night; the sea was very dreadful, and the Etoile
made a signal of distress; we waited for her under our fore-sail and
main-sail, the lee clue-garnet hauled up. This store-ship seemed to have
her fore top-sail-yard carried away. The wind and sea being abated the
next morning, we made sail, and the 24th I made the signal for the
Etoile to come within hail, in order to know what she had suffered in
the last gale. M. de la Giraudais informed me, that besides his fore
top-sail yard, four of his chain plates[58] had likewise been carried
away; he added, that all the cattle he had taken in at Montevideo, had
been lost, two excepted: this misfortune we had shared with him; but
this was no consolation, for we knew not when we should be able to
repair this loss. During the remaining part of this month, the winds
were variable, from S. W. to N. W; the currents carried us southward
with much rapidity, as far as 45° of latitude, where they became
insensible. We sounded for several days successively without finding
ground, and it was not till the 27th at night, being in the latitude of
about 47°, and, according to our reckoning, thirty-five leagues from the
coast of Patagonia, that we sounded seventy fathom, oozy bottom, with a
fine black and grey sand. From that day till we saw the land, we had
soundings in 67, 60, 55, 50, 47, and at last forty fathom, and then we
first got sight of Cape Virgins[59]. The bottom was sometimes oozy, but
always of a fine sand, which was grey, or yellow, and sometimes mixed
with small red and black gravel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
_CHART_
_of the_ STRAITS _of_
_MAGALHAENS_
_or_
_MAGELLAN_,
_with the Track of the_
Boudeuse & Etoile.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Sidenote: Hidden rock not taken notice of in the charts.]
I would not approach too near the coast till I came in latitude of 49°,
on account of a sunken rock or vigie, which I had discovered in 1765, in
48° 30′ south latitude, about six or seven leagues off shore. I
discovered it in the morning, at the same moment as I did the land, and
having taken a good observation at noon, the weather being very fair, I
was thus enabled to determine its latitude with precision. We ran within
a quarter of a league of this rock, which the first person who saw it,
originally took to be a _grampus_.
[Sidenote: 1767. December.]
The 1st and 2d of December, the winds were favourable from N. and N. N.
E.; very fresh, the sea high, and the weather hazy; we made all the sail
we could in day time, and passed the nights under our fore-sail, and
close-reefed top-sails. During all this time we saw the birds called
_Quebrantahuessos_ or _Albatrosses_, and what in all the seas in the
world is a bad sign, petrels, which disappear when the weather is fair,
and the sea smooth. We likewise saw seals, penguins, and a great number
of whales. Some of these monstrous creatures seemed to have their skin
covered with such white vermiculi, which fasten upon the bottoms of old
ships that are suffered to rot in the harbours. On the 30th of November,
two white birds, like great pigeons, perched on our yards. I had already
seen a flight of these birds cross the bay of the Malouines.
[Sidenote: Sight of Cape Virgins.]
On the 2d of December in the afternoon, we discovered Cape Virgins, and
we found it bore S. about seven leagues distant. [Sidenote: Its
position.] At noon I had observed 52° S. lat. and I was now in 52° 3′
30″ of latitude, and in 71° 12′ 20″ of longitude west from Paris. This
position of the ship, together with the bearing, places Cape Virgins in
52° 23′ of latitude, and in 71° 25′ 20″ of longitude west from Paris. As
Cape Virgins is an interesting point in geography, I must give an
account of the reasons which induced me to believe that the position I
give is nearly exact.
[Sidenote: Discussion upon the position given to Cape Virgin.]
The 27th of November in the afternoon, the chevalier du Bouchage had
observed eight distances of the moon from the sun, of which the mean
result had given him the west longitude of the ship, in 65° 0′ 30″ for
one hour, 43 min. 26 sec. of true time: M. Verron, on his part, had
observed five distances, the result of which gave for our longitude, at
the same instant, 64° 57′. The weather was fair, and extremely
favourable for observations. The 29th at 3 hours 57 min. 35 sec. true
time, M. Verron, by five observations of the distance of the moon from
the sun, determined the ship’s west longitude, at 67° 49′ 30″.
Now, by following the longitude determined the 27th of November, taking
the medium between the result of the observations of the chevalier du
Bouchage and those of M. Verron, in order to fix the longitude of the
ship, when we got sight of Cape Virgins, the longitude of that Cape will
be 71° 29′ 42″ west from Paris. The observations made the 29th
afternoon, likewise referred to the place of the ship, when we made the
Cape, would give a result of 38′ 47″ more westward. But it seems to me
that those of the 27th ought rather to be followed, though two days more
remote, because they were made in a greater number by two observers, who
did not communicate their observations to each other, and however did
not differ more than 3′ 30″. They carry an appearance of probability
which cannot well be objected to. Upon the whole, if a medium is to be
taken between the observations of both days, the longitude of Cape
Virgins will be 71° 49′ 5″, which differs only four leagues from the
first determination, which answers within a league to that which the
reckoning of my course gave me, and which I follow for this reason.
This longitude of Cape Virgin is more westerly by 42′ 20″ than that
which M. Bellin places it in, and this is the same difference which
appears in his position of Montevideo, of which we have given an account
in the beginning of this chapter. Lord Anson’s chart assigns for the
longitude of Cape Virgins, 72° west from London, which is near 75° west
from Paris[60]; a much more considerable error, which he likewise
commits at the mouth of the river Plata, and generally along the whole
coast of Patagonia.
[Sidenote: Digression upon the instruments proper for observing the
longitude at sea.]
The observations which we have now mentioned, have been made with the
English octant. This method of determining the longitude, by means of
the distances of the moon from the sun, or from the stars in the zodiac,
has been known for several years. Mess. de la Caille and Daprès have
particularly made use of it at sea, likewise employing Hadley’s octant.
But as the degree of accuracy obtained by this method depends in a great
measure upon the accuracy of the instrument with which you observe, it
follows that M. Bouguer’s heliometer, if one could measure great angles
with it, would be very fit for rectifying these observations of
distances. The Abbé de la Caille probably has thought of that, because
he got one made, which would measure arcs of six or seven degrees; and
if in his works he does not speak of it as an instrument fit for
observing at sea, it is because he foresaw the difficulty of using it on
board a ship.
M. Verron brought on board with him an instrument called a megameter,
which he has employed in the other voyages he made with M. de
Charnieres, and which he has likewise made use of on this. This
instrument appeared to be very little different from the heliometer of
M. Bouguer, except that the screw by which the objectives move, being
longer, it places them at a greater distance asunder, and by that means
makes the instrument capable of measuring angles of ten degrees, which
was the limit of M. Verron’s megameter. It is to be wished, that by
lengthening the screw, we were able to augment its extension still more,
it being confined in too narrow bounds to allow a frequent repetition,
and even to make the observations exact; but the laws of dioptrics limit
the removing of the objectives. It is likewise necessary to remedy the
difficulty which the Abbé de la Caille foresaw, I mean, that which
arises from the element on which the observation must be made. In
general, it seems that the reflecting quadrant of Hadley would be
preferable, if it were equally accurate.
[Sidenote: Difficulties on entering the straits.]
From the 2d of December in the afternoon, when we got sight of Cape
Virgins, and soon after of Terra del Fuego, the contrary wind and the
stormy weather opposed us for several days together. We plyed to
windward the 3d till six in the evening, when the winds becoming more
favourable, permitted our bearing away for the entrance of Magalhaens’
Straits: this lasted but a short time; at half past seven it became
quite calm, and the coasts covered with fogs; at ten it blew fresh
again, and we passed the night by plying to windward. The 4th, at three
o’clock in the morning, we made for the land with a good northern
breeze; but the weather which was rainy and hazy intercepting our sight
of it, we were obliged to stand off to sea again. At five in the
morning, in a clear spot, we perceived Cape Virgins, and bore away in
order to enter the straits; almost immediately the wind changed to S. W.
whence it soon blew with violence, the fog became thicker, and we were
obliged to lay-to between the two shores of Terra del Fuego and the
continent.
[Sidenote: Observation on the nature of the ground at the entrance of
the straits.]
Our fore-sail was split the fourth in the afternoon; and we having
sounded, almost at the same moment, only twenty fathom, the fear of the
breakers, which extend S. S. E. off Cape Virgins, made me resolve to
scud under our bare poles; especially as this manœuvre facilitated the
operation of bending another fore-sail to the yard. These soundings,
however, which made me bear away, were not alarming; they were those in
the channel, as I have since learnt, by sounding with a clear view of
the land. I shall add, for the use of those who may be plying here in
thick weather, that a gravelly bottom shews that they are nearer the
coast of Terra del Fuego than to the continent; where they will find a
fine sand, and sometimes oozy bottom.
At five o’clock in the evening we brought to again, under the main and
mizen stay-sails; at half past seven of the clock the wind abated, the
sky cleared up, and we made sail; but with disadvantageous tacks, which
brought us further from the coast; and, indeed, though on the 5th the
weather was very fair, and the wind favourable, we did not see the land
till two in the afternoon; when it extended from S. by W. to S. W. by W.
about ten leagues off. At four o’clock we again discovered Cape Virgins;
and we made sail in order to double it, at the distance of about a
league and a half, or two leagues. It is not adviseable to come nearer,
on account of a bank, which lies off the Cape, at about that distance. I
am even inclined to believe, that we passed over the tail of that sand;
for as we sounded very frequently, between two soundings, one of
twenty-five and the other of seventeen fathom, the Etoile, which sailed
in our wake, made signal of eight fathom; but the moment after she
deepened her water.
[Sidenote: Nautical remarks upon the entrance of the straits.]
Cape Virgins is a table-land, of a middling height; it is perpendicular
at its extremity; the view of it given by lord Anson, is most exactly
true. At half past nine in the evening, we had brought the north point
of the entrance to the straits to bear W. from which a ledge of rocks
extends a league into the sea. We ran under our close-reefed
fore-top-sail and lower sails hauled up, till eleven o’clock at night,
when Cape Virgins bore N. of us. It blew very fresh; and the gloominess
of the weather, seeming to threaten a storm, determined me to pass the
night standing off and on.
The 6th, at break of day, I ordered all the reefs out of the top-sails,
and run to W. N. W. We did not see land, till half past four o’clock,
when it appeared to us that the tides had carried us to the S. S. W. At
half after five, being about two leagues from the continent, we
discovered Cape Possession, being W. by N. and W. N. W. This Cape is
very easily known; it is the first head-land from the north point, at
the entrance of these straits. It is more southerly than the rest of the
coast, which afterwards forms a great gulf, called _Possession Bay_,
between this Cape and the next narrow gut. We had likewise sight of
Terra del Fuego. The winds soon changed to the ordinary points of W. and
N. W. and we ran the most advantageous tacks for entering the strait,
endeavouring to come close to the coast of Patagonia, and taking
advantage of the tide, which then set to the westward.
At noon we had an observation; and the bearings taken at the same time
gave me the same latitude, within a minute, for Cape Virgins, as that
which I had concluded from my observations of the third of this month.
We likewise made use of this observation, to ascertain the latitude of
Cape Possession, and of Cape Espiritù Santo, on Terra del Fuego.
[Sidenote: Description
of Cape Orange.]
We continued to ply to windward, under our courses and top-sails, all
the sixth; and the next night, which was very clear, often sounding, and
never going further than three leagues from the coast of the continent.
We got forward very little, by this disagreeable manœuvre; losing as
much by the tides as we gained by them; and the 7th, at noon, we were
still at Cape Possession. Cape Orange bore S. W. about six leagues
distant. This cape is remarkable by a pretty high hillock; deep towards
the sea-side, and forms to the southward the first gut, or narrow pass,
in the straits[61]. [Sidenote: Its rocks.] Its point is dangerous, on
account of a ledge which extends to the N. E. of the cape, at least
three leagues into the sea. I have very plainly seen the sea break over
it. At one o’clock, after noon, the wind having shifted to N. N. W. we
made advantage of it to continue our voyage. At half past two we were
come to the entrance of the gut; another obstacle attended us there; we
were not able, with a fine fresh breeze, and all our sails set, to stem
the tide. At four o’clock it ran six knots a-long side of us, and we
went a-stern. We persisted in vain to strive against it. The wind was
less constant than we were, and obliged us to return. It was to be
feared, that we might be becalmed in the gut; exposed to the current of
the tide; which might carry us on the ledges off the capes which form
its entrance at E. and W.
[Sidenote: Anchoring in Possession-bay.]
We steered N. by E. in search of a good anchoring-ground, in the bottom
of Possession-bay; when the Etoile, which was nearer the coast than we
were, having passed all at once from twenty fathom to five, we bore
away, and stood east, in order to avoid a ledge of rocks, which seemed
to lie in the bottom, and in the whole circuit of the bay. During some
time we found a bottom of nothing but rocks and pebbles; and it was
seven at night, being in twenty fathom, the ground mud and sand, with
black and white gravel, when we anchored about two leagues from the
land. Possession-bay is open to all winds, and has but very bad
anchoring-ground. In the bottom of this bay arise five hills; one of
which is a very considerable one; the other four are little and pointed.
We have called them _le Pere et les quatre fils Aymond_; they serve as a
conspicuous mark for this part of the straits. At night we sounded at
the several times of the tide, without finding any sensible difference
in the depth. At half an hour past eight it set to the west; and at
three in the morning to the eastward.
[Sidenote: Passing the first _goulet_, or gut.]
The eighth in the morning we set sail under courses, and double-reefed
top sails; the tide was contrary to us, but we stemmed it with a fine N.
W. breeze[63]. At eight o’clock the wind headed us, and we were obliged
to ply to windward; now and then receiving violent squalls of wind. At
ten o’clock, the tide beginning to set in westward with sufficient
force, we lay to, under our top sails, at the entrance of the first gut,
driving with the current, which carried us to windward; and tacking
about whenever we found ourselves too near either coast. Thus we passed
the first narrow entrance or gut[64] in two hours; notwithstanding the
wind was right against us, and blew very hard.
[Sidenote: Sight of the Patagonians.]
This morning the Patagonians, who had kept up fires all night, at the
bottom of Possession-bay, hoisted a white flag on an eminence; and we
answered it by hoisting that of our ships. These Patagonians certainly
are the same which the Etoile saw in June 1766, in Boucault’s-bay, and
with whom she left this flag, as a sign of alliance. The care they have
taken to preserve it; shews that good-nature, a due regard of their
word, or, at least, gratitude for presents received, are the
characteristics of these men.
[Sidenote: Americans of Terra del Fuego.]
We likewise saw, very distinctly, when we were in the gut, about twenty
men on Terra del Fuego. They were dressed in skins, and ran as fast as
possible along the coast, parallel to our course. They seemed likewise
from time to time to make signs to us with their hands, as if they
wanted us to come to them. According to the report of the Spaniards, the
nation which inhabits this part of Terra del Fuego, practises none of
the cruel customs of most other savages. They behaved with great
humanity to the crew of the ship la Conception, which was lost on their
coast in 1765. They assisted them in saving part of her cargo; and in
erecting sheds, to shelter them against bad weather. The Spaniards built
a bark there of the wreck of their ships, in which they went to Buenos
Ayres. The xebeck el Andaluz was going to bring missionaries to these
Indians, when we left Rio de la Plata. Lumps of wax, being part of the
cargo of the above ship, have been carried by the force of currents to
the coast of the Malouines, where they were found in 1766.
[Sidenote: We anchor in Boucault-bay.]
I have already observed, that we were gone through the first gut at
noon; after that we made sail. The wind was veered to S. and the tide
continued to carry us to the westward. At three o’clock they both failed
us; and we anchored in Boucault’s-bay, in eighteen fathom, oozy bottom.
[Sidenote: Interview with the Patagonians.]
As soon as we were at anchor, I hoisted out one of my boats, and one
belonging to the Etoile. We embarked in them, being about ten officers,
each armed with our muskets; and we landed at the bottom of the bay,
with the precaution of ordering our boats to be kept a-float, and the
crew to remain in them. We had hardly set foot on shore, but we saw six
Americans come to us on horseback, in full gallop. They alighted about
fifty yards from us; and immediately ran towards us, crying, _shawa_.
When they had joined us, they stretched out their arms towards us, and
laid them upon ours. They then embraced us, and shook hands with us,
crying continually, _Shawa, shawa_, which we repeated with them. These
good people seemed very much rejoiced at our arrival. Two of them, who
trembled as they came towards us, had their fears very soon removed.
After many reciprocal caresses, we sent for some cakes and some bread
from our boats; which we distributed amongst them, and which they
devoured with avidity. Their numbers encreased every moment; they were
soon come to thirty, among whom were some young people, and a child of
eight or ten years old. They all came to us with entire confidence; and
caressed us all, as the first had done. They did not seem surprised to
see us; and by imitating the report of muskets with their voice, they
shewed that they were acquainted with these arms. They appeared
attentive to do what might give us pleasure. M. de Commerçon, and some
of our gentlemen, were busy in picking up plants: several Patagonians
immediately began to search for them too, and brought what species they
saw us take up. One of them seeing the chevalier du Bouchage occupied in
this manner, came to shew him his eye, which was very visibly affected;
and asked him by signs, to point out to him some simple, by which he
could be cured. This shews that they have an idea, and make use of that
sort of medicine, which requires the knowledge of simples, and applies
them for the cure of mankind. This was the medicine of Machaon, who was
physician to the gods; and, I believe, that many Machaons might be found
among the Indians in Canada.
We exchanged some trifles, valuable in their eyes, against skins of
_guanacoes_ and _vicunnas_. They asked us by signs for tobacco; and they
were likewise very fond of any thing red: as soon as they saw something
of that colour upon us, they came to stroke it with their hands, and
seemed very desirous of it. At every present which, we gave them, and at
every mark of fondness, they repeated their _shawa_, and cried so that
it almost stunned us. We gave them some brandy; giving each of them only
a small draught: as soon as they had swallowed it, they beat with their
hands on their throat, and by blowing with their mouths, uttered a
tremulous inarticulate sound, which terminated in a quick motion of the
lips. They all made the same droll ceremony, which was a very strange
sight to us.
However, it grew late, and was time to return on board. As soon as they
saw that we were preparing for that purpose, they seemed sorry; they
made signs for us to wait, because some more of their people were
coming. We made signs that we would return the next day, and that we
would bring them what they desired: they seemed as if they would have
liked our passing the night on shore much better. When they saw that we
were going, they accompanied us to the sea shore; a Patagonian sung
during this march. Some of them went into the water up to their knees,
in order to follow us further. When we were come to our boats, we were
obliged to look after every thing; for they got hold of all that was
within their reach. One of them had taken a sickle, but on its being
perceived, he returned it without resistance. Before we were got to any
distance, we perceived their troops encrease, by the arrival of others,
who came in full gallop. We did not fail, as we left them, to shout
_shawa_ so loud that the whole coast resounded with it.
[Sidenote: Description of these Americans.]
These Americans are the same with those seen by the Etoile in 1765. One
of our sailors, who was then on board that vessel, now knew one of these
Americans again, having seen him in the first voyage. They have a fine
shape; among those whom we saw, none was below five feet five or six
inches, and none above five feet nine or ten inches[65]; the crew of the
Etoile had even seen several in the preceding voyage, six feet (or six
feet, 4,728 inches English) high. What makes them appear gigantic, are
their prodigious broad shoulders, the size of their heads, and the
thickness of all their limbs. They are robust and well fed: their nerves
are braced, and their muscles are strong and sufficiently hard; they are
men left entirely to nature, and supplied with food abounding in
nutritive juices, by which means they are come to the full growth they
are capable of: their figure is not coarse or disagreeable; on the
contrary, many of them are handsome: their face is round, and somewhat
flattish; their eyes very fiery; their teeth vastly white, and would
only be somewhat too great at Paris; they have long black hair tied up
on the top of their heads; I have seen some of them with long but thin
whiskers. Their colour is bronzed, as it is in all the Americans,
without exception, both in those who inhabit the torrid zone, and those
who are born in the temperate and in the frigid ones. Some of them had
their cheeks painted red: their language seemed very delicate, and
nothing gave us reason to fear any ferocity in them. We have not seen
their women; perhaps they were about to come to us; for the men always
desired that we should stay, and they had sent one of their people
towards a great fire, near which their camp seemed to be, about a league
from us; and they shewed us that somebody would come from thence.
The dress of these Patagonians is very nearly the same with that of the
Indians of Rio de la Plata; they have merely a piece of leather which
covers their natural parts, and a great cloak of _guanaco_ or _sorillos_
skins, which is fastened round the body with a girdle; this cloak hangs
down to their heels, and they generally suffer that part which is
intended to cover the shoulders to fall back, so that, notwithstanding
the rigour of the climate, they are almost always naked from the girdle
upwards. Habit has certainly made them insensible to cold; for though we
were here in summer, Reaumur’s thermometer was only one day risen to ten
degrees above the freezing point. These men have a kind of half boots,
of horse-leather, open behind, and two or three of them had on the thigh
a copper ring, about two inches broad. Some of my officers likewise
observed, that two of the youngest among them had such beads as are
employed for making necklaces.
The only arms which we observed among them, are, two round pebbles,
fattened to the two ends of a twisted gut, like those which are made use
of in all this part of America, and which we have described above. They
had likewise little iron knives, of which the blade was between an inch
and an inch and a half broad. These knives, which were of an English
manufactory, were certainly given them by Mr. Byron. Their horses, which
are little and very lean, were bridled and saddled in the same manner as
those belonging to the inhabitants of Rio de la Plata. One of the
Patagonians had at his saddle, gilt nails; wooden stirrups, covered with
plates of copper; a bridle of twisted leather, and a whole Spanish
harness. The principal food of the Patagonians seems to be the marrow
and flesh of _guanacoes_ and _vicunnas_; many of them had quarters of
this flesh fastened on their horses, and we have seen them eat pieces of
it quite raw. They had likewise little nasty dogs with them, which, like
their horses, drink sea-water, it being a very scarce thing to get fresh
water on this coast, and even in the country.
None of them had any apparent superiority over the rest; nor did they
shew any kind of esteem for two or three old men who were in their
troop. It is remarkable that several of them pronounced the Spanish
words _manana_, _muchacha_, _bueno_, _chico_, _capitan_. I believe this
nation leads the life of Tartars. Besides rambling through the immense
plains of South America, men, women and children being constantly on
horseback, pursuing the game, or the wild beasts, with which those
plains abound, dressing and covering themselves with skins, they bear
probably yet this resemblance with the Tartars, that they pillage the
caravans of travellers. I shall conclude this article by adding, that we
have since found a nation in the South Pacific Ocean which is taller
than the Patagonians.
[Sidenote: Quality of the soil in this part of America.]
The soil in the place we landed at is very dry, and in that particular
bears great resemblance with that of the Malouines; the botanists have
likewise found almost all the same plants in both places. The sea shore
was surrounded with the same sea-weeds, and covered with the same
shells. Here are no woods, but only some shrubs. When we had anchored in
Boucault’s bay, the tide was going to set in against us, and whilst we
were on shore, we observed that the water rose, and accordingly the
flood sets in to eastward. [Sidenote: Remarks on the tides in these
parts.]This observation we have been able to make with certainty several
times during this navigation, and it had struck me already in my first
voyage. At half past nine in the evening, the ebb set to westward. We
sounded at high water[66], and found the depth was encreased to
twenty-one fathoms, from eighteen, which we had when we cast anchor.
[Sidenote: Second time of anchoring in Boucault bay.]
On the 9th, at half an hour past four in the morning, the wind being N.
W. we set all our sails in order to stem the tide, steering S. W. by W.
we advanced only one league; the wind veering to S. W. and blowing very
fresh, we anchored again in nineteen fathom, bottom of sand, ooze, and
rotten shells. The bad weather continued throughout this day and the
next. The short distance we were advanced had brought us further from
the shore, and during these two days, there was not one favourable
instant for sending out a boat, for which, the Patagonians were
certainly as sorry as ourselves. We saw the whole troop of them
collected at the place where we landed before, and we thought we
perceived with our perspective glasses, that they had erected some huts
there. However, I apprehend that their head quarters were more distant,
for men on horseback were constantly going and coming. We were very
sorry that we could not bring them what we had promised; they might be
satisfied at a small expence.
The difference of the depth at the different times of tide, was only one
fathom here. On the 10th, from an observation of the moon’s distance
from Regulus, M. Verron calculated our west longitude in this anchoring
place, at 73° 26′ 15″, and that of the easterly entrance of the second
gut, at 73° 34′ 30″. Reaumur’s thermometer fell from 9° to 8° and 7°.
[Sidenote: Loss of an anchor.]
The 11th, at half an hour after midnight, the wind veering to N. E. and
the tide setting to westward an hour before, I made signal for weighing.
Our efforts to that purpose were fruitless, though we had got the
winding-tackle upon the cable. At two in the morning, the cable parted
between the bits and the hawse, and so we lost our anchor. We set all
our sails, and soon had the tide against us, which we were hardly able
to stem with a light breeze at N. W. though the tide in the second gut
is not near so strong as in the first. [Sidenote: Passing the second
gut.] At noon the ebb came to our assistance, and we passed the second
gut[67], the wind having been variable till three in the afternoon, when
it blew very fresh from S. S. W. and S. S. E. with rain and violent
squalls[68].
[Sidenote: We anchor near the isle of Elizabeth.]
In two boards we came to the anchoring-place, to the northward of the
isle of Elizabeth, where we anchored, two miles off shore, in seven
fathom, grey sand with gravel and rotten shells. The Etoile anchored a
quarter of a league more to the S. E. than we did, and had seventeen
fathom of water.
[Sidenote: Description of this isle.]
We were obliged to stay here the 11th and 12th, on account of the
contrary wind, which was attended with violent squalls, rain, and hail.
On the 12th in the afternoon, we hoisted out a boat, in order to go on
shore on the isle of Elizabeth[69]. We landed in the N. E. part of the
island. Its coasts are high and steep, except at the S. W. and S. E.
points, where the shore is low. However, one may land in every part of
it, as there is always a small slip of flat land under the high
perpendicular shores. The soil of the isle is very dry; we found no
other water than that of a little pool in the S. W. part of the isle,
but it was very brackish. We likewise saw several dried marshes, where
the earth is in some places covered with a thin crust of salt. We found
some bustards, but they were in small number, and so very shy, that we
were never able to come near enough to shoot them: they were however
sitting on their eggs. It appears that the savages come upon this
island. We found a dead dog, some marks of fire places, and the remnants
of shells, the fish of which had been feasted upon. There is no wood on
it, and a small sort of heath is the only thing that may be used as
fuel. We had already collected a quantity of it, fearing to be obliged
to pass the night on this isle, where the bad weather kept us till nine
of the clock in the evening: we should have been both ill lodged and ill
fed on it.
-----
Footnote 58:
Chaines de haubans.
Footnote 59:
Cap des Vierges, called Cape Virgin Mary by Lord Anson and Sir John
Narborough. F.
Footnote 60:
74° 25′; Paris being 2° 25′ E. from London: vide Ferguson’s Tables. F.
Footnote 61:
From Cape Virgin, till to the entrance of the first _goulet_, we may
reckon 14 or 15 leagues; and the straits are in every part of this
interval, between five and seven leagues wide. The north coast, as far
as Cape Possession, is uniform, but little elevated, and very healthy.
From this cape onward, one must be careful to avoid the rocks, which
are situated in a part of the bay of the same name. When the hillocks,
which I have named the _Quatre fils Aymond_,[62] only offer two to
sight, in form of a gate, you are then opposite the said rocks.
Footnote 62:
These rocks are called _Ass’s Ears_, by Sir John Narborough. F.
Footnote 63:
When one intends to enter the first gut, or narrow passage in the
straits, it is proper to coast within a league of Cape Possession;
then to steer S. by W. taking care not to fall off too much to the
south, on account of the rocks which extend N. N. E. and S. S. W. from
Cape Orange, more than three leagues.
Footnote 64:
The first gut lies N. N. E. and S. S. W. and is not above three
leagues long. Its breadth varies from a league, to a league and a
half. I have already given notice of the ledge of rocks at Cape
Orange. At coming out of the first gut, you meet with two lesser
rocks, extended on each of its extremities. They both project to S. W.
There is a great depth of water in the gut.
Footnote 65:
This is to be understood in French measure, in which the French foot
exceeds the English by ,788 of an inch; accordingly, in French
measure, 5 feet 6 inches = 5 feet, 10,334, inches English; and French
5 feet 10 inches are = 6 feet, 2,5704, inches English. F.
Footnote 66:
A mer étale.
Footnote 67:
The distance between the W. point or end of the first gut, and the
entrance of the second, is about six or seven leagues, and the breadth
of the straits there is likewise about seven leagues. The second gut
lies N. E. by E. and S. W. by W. it is about a league and a half
broad, and three or four long.
Footnote 68:
In passing the second gut, it is necessary to keep along the coast of
Patagonia, because, when you come out of the gut, the titles run
southward, and you must be careful to avoid a low point, projecting
below the head-land of St George’s isle, and though this apparent cape
is high and steep, the low land advances far to W. N. W.
Footnote 69:
The isle of Elizabeth[70] lies N. N. E. and S. S. W. with the west
point of the second gut, on the Patagonian side. The isles of St.
Barthelemi (St. Bartholomew) and of Lions likewise, lie N. N. E. and
S. S. W. between them and the west point of the second gut on St.
George’s island.
Footnote 70:
The French call it Sainte Elizabeth. F.
-----
_CHAP. IX._
_The run from the isle of Elizabeth, through the Straits of Magalhaens.
Nautical details on this navigation._
We were now going to enter the woody part of the the straits of
Magalhaens; and the first difficult steps were already made.
[Sidenote: Difficulties of the navigation along the isle of Elizabeth.]
It was not till the 13th in the afternoon, the wind being N. W. that we
weighed, notwithstanding the force with which it blew, and made sail in
the channel, which separates the isle of Elizabeth from the isles of St.
Barthelemi and of Lions[71]. We were forced to carry sail; though there
were almost continually very violent squalls coming off the high land of
Elizabeth island; along which we were obliged to sail, in order to avoid
the breakers, which extend around the other two isles[72]. The tide in
this channel sets to the southward, and seemed very strong to us. We
came near the shore of the main-land, below Cape Noir; here the coast
begins to be covered with woods; and its appearance from hence is very
pleasant. It runs southward; and the tides here are not so strong as in
the above place.
[Sidenote: Bad weather, and disagreeable night.]
It blew very fresh and squally, till six o’clock in the evening; when it
became calm and moderate. We sailed along the coast, at about a league’s
distance, the weather being clear and serene; flattering ourselves to be
able to double Cape Round during night; and then to have, in case of bad
weather, Port Famine to leeward. But these projects were frustrated;
for, at half an hour after mid-night, the wind shifted all at once to S.
W. the coast became foggy; the continual and violent squalls brought
rain and hail with them; and, in short, the weather soon became as foul,
as it had been fair the moment before. Such is the nature of this
climate; the changes of weather are so sudden and frequent, that it is
impossible to foresee their quick and dangerous revolutions.
Our main-sail having been split, when in the brails, we were forced to
ply to windward, under our fore-sail, main-stay-sail, and close-reefed
top-sails, endeavouring to double Point St. Anne, and to take shelter in
Port Famine. This required our gaining a league to windward; which we
could never effect. As our tacks were short, and being obliged to wear,
a strong current was carrying us into a great inlet in Terra del Fuego;
we lost three leagues in nine hours on this manœuvre, and were obliged
to go along the coast in search of anchorage to leeward. [Sidenote: We
anchor in Bay Duclos.] We ranged along it, and kept sounding
continually; and, about eleven o’clock in the morning, we anchored a
mile off shore, in eight fathom and a half, oozy sand, in a bay, which I
named Bay Duclos[74]; from the name of M. Duclos Guyot, a captain of a
fire-ship, who was the next in command after me on this voyage; and
whose knowledge and experience have been of very great use to me.
[Sidenote: Description of this bay.]
This bay is open to the eastward, and its depth is very inconsiderable.
Its northern point projects more into the sea, than the southern one;
and they are about a league distant from each other. The bottom is very
good in the whole bay; and there is every where six or eight fathom of
water, within a cable’s length from the shore. This is an excellent
anchorage; because the westerly winds, which prevail here, blow over the
coast, which is very high in this part. Two little rivers discharge
themselves into the bay; the water is brackish at their mouth, but very
good five hundred yards above it. A kind of meadow lies along the
landing-place, which is sandy. The woods rise behind it in form of an
amphitheatre; but the whole country seems entirely without animals. We
have gone through a great track of it, without finding more than two or
three snipes, some teals, ducks, and bustards in very small number: we
have likewise perceived some _perrokeets_[75]; the latter are not afraid
of the cold weather.
[Sidenote: New observations on the tides.]
At the mouth of the most southerly river, we found seven huts, made of
branches of trees, twisted together, in form of an oven; they appeared
to have been lately built, and were full of calcined shells, muscles,
and limpets. We went up a considerable way in this river, and saw some
marks of men. Whilst we were on shore, the tide rose one foot, and the
flood accordingly came from east, contrary to the observations we had
made after doubling Cape Virgin; having ever since seen the water rise
when the tide went out of the straits. But it seems to me, after several
observations, that having passed the guts, or narrows, the tides cease
to be regular in all that part of the straits, which runs north and
south. The number of channels, which divide Terra del Fuego in this
part, seem necessarily to cause a great irregularity in the motion of
the water. During the two days which we passed in this anchoring-place,
the thermometer varied from eight to five degrees. On the 15th, at noon,
we observed 53° 20′ of latitude there; and that day we employed our
people in cutting wood; the calm not permitting us then to set sail.
[Sidenote: Nautical observations.]
Towards night the clouds seemed to go to westward, and announced us a
favourable wind. We hove a-peek upon our anchor; and, actually, on the
16th, at four o’clock in the morning, the breeze blowing from the point
whence we expected it, we set sail. The sky, indeed, was cloudy; and, as
is usual in these parts, the east and north-east winds, accompanied with
fog and rain. We passed Point St. Anne[76] and Cape Round[77]. The
former is a table-land, of a middling height; and covers a deep bay,
which is both safe and convenient for anchoring. It is that bay, which,
on account of the unhappy fate of the colony of Philippeville,
established by the presumptuous Sarmiento, has got the name of _Port
Famine_. Cape Round is a high land, remarkable on account of the figure
which its name expresses; the shores, in all this tract, are woody and
steep; those of Terra del Fuego appear cut through by several straits.
Their aspect is horrible; the mountains there are covered with a blueish
snow, as old as the creation. Between Cape Round and Cape Forward there
are four bays, in which a vessel may anchor.
[Sidenote: Description of a singular cape.]
Two of these are separated from each other by a cape; the angularity of
which fixed our attention, and deserves a particular description. This
cape rises upwards of a hundred and fifty feet above the level of the
sea; and consists entirely of horizontal strata, of petrified shells. I
have been in a boat to take the soundings at the foot of this monument,
which marks the great changes our globe has undergone; and I have not
been able to reach the bottom, with a line of a hundred fathom.
[Sidenote: Description of Cape Forward.]
The wind brought us to within a league and a half of Cape Forward; we
were then becalmed for two hours together. I profited of this time, to
go in my pinnace, near Cape Forward, to take soundings and bearings.
This cape is the most southerly point of America, and of all the known
continents. From good observations we have determined its south lat. to
be 54° 5′ 45″. It shews a surface with two hillocks, extending about
three quarters of a league; the eastern hillock being higher than the
western one. The sea is almost unfathomable below the cape; however,
between the two hillocks or heads, one might anchor in a little bay
provided with a pretty considerable rivulet, in 15 fathom, sand and
gravel; but this anchorage being dangerous in a southerly wind, ought
only to serve in a case of necessity. The whole cape is a perpendicular
rock, whose elevated summit is covered with snow. However, some trees
grow on it; the roots of which are fixed in the crevices, and are
supplied with perpetual humidity. We landed below the cape at a little
rock, where we found it difficult to get room for four persons to stand
on. On this point, which terminates or begins a vast continent, we
hoisted the colours of our boat; and these wild rocks resounded, for the
first time, with the repeated shouts of _vive le Roi_. From hence we set
out for Cape Holland, bearing W. 4° N. and accordingly the coast begins
here to run northward again.
[Sidenote: Anchoring in Bay Françoise.]
We returned on board at six o’clock in the evening; and soon after the
wind veering to S. W. I went in search of the harbour, which M. de
Gennes named the French Bay (_Baie Françoise_). At half an hour past
eight o’clock we anchored there in ten fathom, sandy and gravelly
bottom; between the two points of the bay, of which the one bore N. E.
½E. and the other S. ½W. and the little island in the middle, N. E. As
we wanted to take in water and wood for our course across the Pacific
Ocean, and the remaining part of the straits was unknown to me; being in
my first voyage, come no further than near Bay Françoise, I resolved to
take in those necessaries here; especially as M. de Gennes represents it
very safe and convenient for this purpose: accordingly that very evening
we hoisted all our boats out. [Sidenote: Advice with regard to this
harbour.] During night the wind veered all round the compass; blowing in
very violent squalls; the sea grew high, and broke round us upon a sand,
which seemed to ly all round the bottom of the bay. The frequent turns,
which the changes of the wind caused our ship to make round her anchor,
gave us room to fear that the cable might be foul of it; and we passed
the night under continual apprehensions.
The Etoile lying more towards the offing than we did, was not so much
molested. At half past two in the morning, I sent the little boat to
sound the mouth of the river, to which M. de Gennes has given his name.
It was low water; and the boat did not get into the river, without
running a-ground upon a sand at its mouth; at the same time they found,
that our large boats could only get up at high-water; and thus could
hardly make above one trip a day. This difficulty of watering, together
with the anchorage not appearing safe to me, made me resolve to bring
the ships into a little bay, a league to the eastward of this. I had
there, without difficulty, in 1765, taken a loading of wood for the
Malouines, and the crew of the ship had given it my name. I wanted
previously to go and be sure, whether the crews of both ships could
conveniently water there. I found, that besides the rivulet, which falls
into the bottom of the bay itself; and which might be adapted for the
daily use, and for washing, the two adjoining bays had each a rivulet
proper to furnish us easily with as much water as we wanted; and without
having above half a mile to fetch it.
In consequence of this, we sailed on the 17th, at two o’clock in the
afternoon, with our fore and mizen-top-sails. We passed without the
little isle, in Bay Françoise; and, afterwards, we entered into a very
narrow pass, in which there is deep water, between the north point of
this bay and a high island, about half a quarter of a league long. This
pass leads to the entrance of Bougainville’s bay; which is, moreover,
covered by two other little isles; the most considerable of which, has
deserved the name of Isle of the Observatory, (_Islot de
l’Observatoire_)[78].
The bay is two hundred toises[79] long, and fifty deep; high mountains
surround it, and secure it against all winds; and the sea there is
always as smooth as in a bason.
[Sidenote: We anchor in Bay Bougainville.]
We anchored at three o’clock in the entrance of the bay, in twenty-eight
fathom of water; and we immediately sent our tow-lines on shore, in
order to warp into the bottom of the bay. The Etoile having let go her
off anchor in too great a depth of water, drove upon the Isle of the
Observatory; and before she could haul-tight the warps which she had
sent a-shore, to steady her, her stern came within a few feet of this
little isle, though she had still thirty fathom of water. The N. E. side
of this isle is not so steep. We spent the rest of the day in mooring,
with the head towards the offing, having one anchor a-head in
twenty-three fathom oozy sand; a kedge-anchor a-stern, almost close to
the shore; and two hawsers fastened to the trees on the larboard-side;
and two on board the Etoile, which was moored as we were. Near the
rivulet we found two huts, made of branches, which seemed to have been
abandoned long ago. In 1765 I got one of bark constructed there, in
which I left some presents for the Indians, which chance might conduct
thither; and at the top of it I placed a white flag: we found the hut
destroyed; the flag, with the presents, being carried off.
On the 18th, in the morning, I established a camp on shore, in order to
guard the workmen, and the various effects which we landed; we likewise
sent all our casks on shore, to refit them and prepare them with
sulphur; we made pools of water for the use of those who were employed
in washing, and hauled our long-boat a-shore, because she wanted a
repair. We passed the remainder of December in this bay, where we
provided ourselves with wood; and even with planks at our ease. Every
thing facilitated this work: the roads were ready made through the
woods; and there were more trees cut down than we wanted, which was the
work of the Eagle’s crew in 1765. Here we likewise heeled ship,
boot-topped and mounted eighteen guns. The Etoile had the good fortune
to stop her leak; which, since her departure from Montevideo, was grown
as considerable as before her repair at the Encenada. By bringing her by
the stern, and taking off part of the sheathing forward, it appeared
that the water entered at the scarsing of her stern. This was remedied;
and it was during the whole voyage, a great comfort to the crew of that
vessel, who were almost worn out by the continual exercise of pumping.
[Sidenote: Observations astronomical and meteorological.]
M. Verron, in the first days, brought his instruments upon the Isle of
the Observatory; but past most of his nights there in vain. The sky of
this country, which is very bad for astronomers, prevented his making
any observation for the longitude; he could only determine by three
observations with the quadrant, that the south latitude of the little
isle is 53° 50′ 25″. He has likewise determined the flowing of the tide
in the entrance to the bay, at 00^h 59′. The water never rose here above
ten feet. During our stay here the thermometer was generally between 8°
and 9°, it fell once to 5°, and the highest it ever rose to was 12½°.
The sun then appeared without clouds, and its rays, which are but little
known here, melted part of the snow that lay on the mountains of the
continent. M. de Commerçon, accompanied by the prince of Nassau,
profited of such days for botanizing. He had obstacles of every kind to
surmount, yet this wild soil had the merit of being new to him, and the
straits of Magalhaens have filled his herbals with a great number of
unknown and interesting plants. [Sidenote: Description of this part of
the straits.] We were not so successful in hunting and fishing, by which
we never got any thing, and the only quadruped we saw here, is a fox,
almost like an European one, which was killed amidst the workmen.
We likewise made several attempts to survey the neighbouring coasts of
the continent, and of Terra del Fuego; the first was fruitless. I set
out on the 22d at three o’clock in the morning with Mess. de Bournand
and du Bouchage, intending to go as far as Cape Holland, and to visit
the harbours that might be found on that part of the coast. When we set
out it was calm and very fine weather. An hour afterwards, a light
breeze at N. W. sprung up, but immediately after, the wind shifted to S.
W. and blew very fresh. We strove against it for three hours together,
under the lee of the shore, and with some difficulty got into the mouth
of a little river, which falls into a sandy creek, covered by the
eastern head of Cape Forward. We put in here, hoping that the foul
weather would not last long. This hope served only to wet us thoroughly
by the rain, and to make us quite chilled with cold. We made us a hut of
branches of trees in the woods, in order to pass the night there a
little more under shelter. These huts serve as palaces to the natives of
these climates; but we had not yet learnt their custom of living in
them. The cold and wet drove us from our lodging, and we were obliged to
have recourse to a great fire, which we took care to keep up,
endeavouring to shelter us against the rain, by spreading the sail over
us which belonged to our little boat. The night was dreadful, wind and
rain encreased, and we could do nothing else but return at break of day.
We arrived on board our frigate at eight of the clock in the morning,
happy to have been able to take shelter there; for the weather became so
much worse soon after, that we could not have thought of coming back
again. During two days there was a real tempest, and the mountains were
all covered with snow again. However, this was the very middle of
summer, and the sun was near eighteen hours above the horizon.
[Sidenote: Discovery of several ports on Terra del Fuego.]
Some days after I undertook a new course, more successfully, for
visiting part of Terra del Fuego, and to look for a port there, opposite
Cape Forward; I then intended to cross the straits to Cape Holland, and
to view the coasts from thence till we came to Bay Françoise, which was
what we could not do on our first attempt. I armed the long boat of the
Boudeuse, and the Etoile’s barge, with swivel guns and muskets, and on
the 27th, at four o’clock in the morning, I went from on board with
Messrs. de Bournand, d’Oraison, and the prince of Nassau. We set sail at
the west point of Bay Françoise, in order to cross the straits to Terra
del Fuego, where we landed about ten o’clock, at the mouth of a little
river, in a sandy creek, which is inconvenient even for boats. However,
in a case of necessity, the boats might go up the river at high water,
where they would find shelter. We dined on its banks, in a pleasant
wood, under the shade of which were several huts of the savages. From
this station, the western point of Bay Françoise bore N. W. by W. ½W.
and we reckoned ourselves five leagues distant from it.
After dinner we proceeded by rowing along the coast of Terra del Fuego;
it did not blow much from the westward, but there was a hollow sea. We
crossed a great inlet, of which we could not see the end. Its entrance,
which is about two leagues wide, is barred in the middle by a very high
island. The great number of whales which we saw in this part, and the
great rolling sea, inclined us to imagine that this might well be a
strait leading into the sea pretty near Cape Horn. [Sidenote: Meeting
with savages.] Being almost come to the other side, we saw several fires
appear, and become extinct; afterwards they remained lighted, and we
distinguished some savages upon the low point of a bay, where I intended
to touch. We went immediately to their fires, and I knew again the same
troop of savages which I had already seen on my first voyage in the
straits. We then called them _Pécherais_, because that was the first
word which they pronounced when they came to us, and which they repeated
to us incessantly, as the Patagonians did their _shawa_. For this reason
we gave them that name again this time. I shall hereafter have an
opportunity to describe these inhabitants of the wooded parts of the
strait. The day being upon the decline, we could not now stay long with
them. They were in number about forty, men, women, and children; and
they had ten or a dozen canoes in a neighbouring creek. We left them in
order to cross the bay, and enter into an inlet, which, the night coming
on, prevented us from executing. We passed the night on the banks of a
pretty considerable river, where we made a great fire, and where the
sails of our boats, which were pretty large, served us as tents; the
weather was very fine, although a little cold.
[Sidenote: Bay and port of Beaubassin.]
The next morning we saw that this inlet was actually a port, and we took
the soundings of it, and of the bay. [Sidenote: Its description.] The
anchorage is very good in the bay, from forty to twelve fathoms, bottom
of sand, small gravel and shells. It shelters you against all dangerous
winds. Its easterly point may be known by a very large cape, which we
called the _Dome_. To the westward is a little isle, between which and
the shore, no ship can go out of the bay; you come into the port by a
very narrow pass, and in it you find ten, eight, six, five, and four
fathoms, oozy bottom; you must keep in the middle, or rather come nearer
the east side, where the greatest depth is. The beauty of this anchoring
place determined us to give it the name of bay and port of _Beaubassin_.
If a ship waits for a fair wind, she need anchor only in the bay. If she
wants to wood and water, or even careen, no properer place for these
operations can be thought of than the port of _Beaubassin_.
I left here the chevalier de Bournand, who commanded the long boat, in
order to take down as minutely as possible all the information relative
to this important place, and then to return to the ships. For my part, I
went on board the Etoile’s barge with Mr. Landais, one of the officers
of that store-ship, who commanded her, and I continued my survey. We
proceeded to the westward, and first viewed an island, round which we
went, and found that a ship may anchor all round it, in twenty-five,
twenty-one, and eighteen fathoms, sand and small gravel. On this isle
there were some savages fishing. As we went along the coast, we reached
a bay before sun-set, which affords excellent anchorage for three or
four ships. [Sidenote: Bay de la Cormorandiere.] I named it bay _de la
Cormorandiere_, on account of an apparent rock, which is about a mile to
E. S. E. of it. At the entrance of the bay we had fifteen fathoms of
water, and in the anchoring place eight or nine; here we passed the
night.
On the 29th at day break we left bay _de la Cormorandiere_, and went to
the westward by the assistance of a very strong tide. We passed between
two isles of unequal size, which I named the two Sisters (_les deux
Soeurs_). They bear N. N. E. and S. S. W. with the middle of Cape
Forward, from which they are about three leagues distant. A little
farther we gave the name of Sugar-loaf (_Pain de sucre_) to a mountain
of this shape, which is very easy to be distinguished, and bears N. N.
E. and S. S. W. with the southern point of the same cape; and about five
leagues from the _Cormorandiere_ we discovered a fine bay, with an
amazing fine port at the bottom of it; a remarkable water-fall in the
interior part of the port, determined me to call them _Bay and Port of
the Cascade_. [Sidenote: Bay and Port of the Cascade.] The middle of
this bay bears N. E. and S. W. with Cape Forward. The safe and
convenient anchorage, and the facility of taking in wood and water, shew
that there is nothing wanting in it.
[Sidenote: Description of the country.]
The cascade is formed by the waters of a little river, which runs
between several high mountains; and its fall measures about fifty or
sixty toises, (_i. e._ 300 or 360 feet French measure): I have gone to
the top of it. The land is here and there covered with thickets, and has
some little plains of a short spungy moss; I have here been in search of
vestiges of men, but found none, for the savages of this part seldom or
never quit the sea-shores, where they get their subsistence. Upon the
whole, all that part of Terra del Fuego, reckoning from opposite
Elizabeth island, seems to me, to be a mere cluster of great, unequal,
high and mountainous islands, whose tops are covered with eternal snow.
I make no doubt but there are many channels between them into the sea.
The trees and the plants are the same here as on the coast of Patagonia;
and, the trees excepted, the country much resembles the Malouines.
[Sidenote: Usefulness of the three ports before described.]
I here add a particular chart which I have made of this interesting part
of the coast of Terra del Fuego. Till now, no anchoring place was known
on it, and ships were careful to avoid it. The discovery of the three
ports which I have just described on it, will facilitate the navigation
of this part of the straits of Magalhaens. Cape Forward has always been
a point very much dreaded by navigators. It happens but too frequently,
that a contrary and boisterous wind prevents the doubling of it, and has
obliged many to put back to Bay Famine. Now, even the prevailing winds
may be turned to account, by keeping the shore of Terra del Fuego on
board, and putting into one of the above-mentioned anchoring places,
which can be done almost at any time, by plying in a channel where there
is never a high sea for ships. From thence all the boards are
advantageous, and if one takes care to make the best of the tides, which
here begin to have more effect again, it will no longer be difficult to
get to Port Galant.
We passed a very disagreeable night in Port Cascade. It was very cold,
and rained without intermission. The rain continued throughout almost
the whole 30th day of December. At five o’clock in the morning we went
out of the port, and sailed across the strait with a high wind and a
great sea, considering the little vessel we were in. We approached the
coast nearly at an equal distance between Cape Holland and Cape Forward.
It was not now in question to view the coast, being happy enough to run
along it before the wind, and being very attentive to the violent
squalls, which forced us to have the haliards and sheets always in hand.
A false movement of the helm was even very near oversetting the boat, as
we were crossing Bay Françoise. At last I arrived on board the frigate,
about ten o’clock in the morning. During my absence, M. Duclos Guyot had
taken on board what we had on shore, and made every thing ready for
weighing; accordingly, we began to unmoor in the afternoon.
[Sidenote: Departure
from Bougainville Bay.]
The 31st of December at four of the clock in the morning we weighed, and
at six o’clock we left the bay, being towed by our boats. It was calm;
at seven a light breeze sprung up at N. E. which became more fresh in
the day; the weather was clear till noon, when it became foggy and
rainy. At half an hour past eleven, being in the middle of the
strait[80], we discovered, and set the Cascade bearing S. E. the Sugar
Loaf S. E. by E. ½ E. Cape Forward[81] E. by N. Cape Holland[82] W. N.
W. ½ W. From noon till six in the evening we doubled Cape Holland.
[Sidenote: Anchorage in Fortescue Bay.] It blew a light breeze, which
abating in the evening, and the sky being covered, I resolved to anchor
in the road of Port Galant, where we anchored in sixteen fathoms, coarse
gravel, sand and small coral; Cape Galant bearing S. W. 3° W[83]. We had
soon reason to congratulate ourselves on being in safety; for, during
the night, it rained continually, and blew hard at S. W.
[Sidenote: 1768.
January.]
We began the year 1768 in this bay, called Bay Fortescue, at the bottom
of which is Port Galant[84]. The plan of the bay and port is very exact
in M. de Gennes. We have had too much leisure to confirm it, having been
confined there for three weeks together, by such weather as one cannot
form any idea of, from the worst winter at Paris. [Sidenote: Account of
the obstacles we met with.] It is but just to let the reader partake in
some measure of the disagreeable circumstances on these unlucky days, by
giving the sketch of our stay in this place.
[Sidenote: Vestiges we found of the passage of English ships.]
My first care was to send out people to view the coast as far as Bay
Elizabeth, and the isles with which the straits of Magalhaens are full
in this part. From our anchoring-place we perceived two of these isles,
which Narborough[85] calls Charles and Monmouth. Those which are farther
off he calls the Royal Isles, and the westermost of all, he names Rupert
Island. The west winds preventing us from making sail, we moored with a
stream-anchor. The rain did not keep our people from going on shore,
where they found vestiges of the passage and touching of English ships;
viz. some wood, lately sawed and cut down; some spice-laurel trees[86],
lately stripped of their bark; a label of wood, such as in marine
arsenals, are generally put upon pieces of cloth, &c. on which we very
distinctly read the words, _Chatham, March, 1766_; they likewise found
upon several trees, initial letters and names, with the date of 1767.
[Sidenote: Astronomical and nautical observations.]
M. Verron, who had got all his instruments carried upon the peninsula
that forms the harbour, made an observation there at noon, with a
quadrant; and found 53° 40′ 41″ S. lat. This observation, and the
bearings of Cape Holland, taken from hence; and those of the same cape,
taken the 16th of December, upon the point from Cape Forward, determine
the distance of Port Galant to Cape Forward, to twelve leagues. Here he
likewise observed, by the azimuth-compass, the declination of the needle
22° 30′ 32″ N. E. and its inclination from the elevation of the pole 11°
11′. These are the only observations he was able to make, during almost
a whole month; the nights being as gloomy as the days. On the third of
January, there was a fine opportunity, of determining the longitude of
this bay; by means of an eclipse of the moon, which began here at 10
hours, 30′ in the evening; but the rain, which had been continual in the
day-time, lasted likewise through the whole night.
The 4th and 5th the weather was intolerable; we had rain, snow, a sharp
cold air, and a storm; it was such weather as the Psalmist describes,
saying, _Nix, grando, glacies, spiritus procellarum_. On the third I had
sent out a boat on purpose, to endeavour to find out an anchorage on the
coast of Terra del Fuego; and they found a very good one S. W. of the
isles Charles and Monmouth. I likewise gave them orders to observe the
direction which the tide took in that channel. With their assistance,
and the knowledge of anchoring-places, both to the northward and
southward, I would have made sail, even though the wind should be
contrary; but it was never moderate enough for me to do it. Upon the
whole, during our stay in this part of the straits, we observed
constantly, that the tides set in as in the part of the narrows or guts;
i. e. that the flood sets to the eastward, and the ebb to the westward.
[Sidenote: Interview with and description of the Pecherais.]
On the 6th, in the afternoon, we had some fair moments; and the wind too
seemed to blow from S. E. we had already unmoored; but the moment we
were setting sail, the wind came back to W. N. W. in squalls, which
obliged us to moor again immediately. That day some savages came to
visit us. Four periaguas appeared in the morning, at the point of Cape
Galant; and, after stopping there for some time, three advanced into the
bottom of the bay, whilst one made towards our frigate. After hesitating
for about half an hour, they at last brought her along-side of us, with
repeated shouts of _Pecherais_. In this boat were a man, a woman, and
two children. The woman remained to take care of the periagua; and the
man alone came on board, with much confidence, and with an air of
gaiety. Two other periaguas followed the example of the first; and the
men came on board the frigate with their children. Here they were soon
very happy and content. We made them sing, and dance, let them hear
music; and, above all, gave them to eat, which they did with much
appetite. They found every thing good; whether bread, salt meat, or fat,
they devoured what was offered to them. We found it rather difficult to
get rid of these troublesome and disgusting guests; and we could not
determine them to return to their periaguas, till we sent pieces of salt
flesh down into them, before their faces. They shewed no surprise,
neither at the sight of the ships, nor at the appearance of various
objects, that offered themselves to their eyes; this certainly shews,
that in order to be capable of being surprised at the work of art, one
must have some fundamental ideas of it. These unpolished men, considered
the master-pieces of human industry, in the same light as the laws of
nature and its phenomena. We saw them often on board, and on shore,
during several days which they stayed in Port Galant.
These savages are short, ugly, meagre, and have an insupportable stench
about them. They are almost naked; having no other dress than wretched
seal-skins, too little for them to wrap themselves in; these skins serve
them equally as roofs to their huts, and as sails to their periaguas.
They have likewise some guanaco-skins; but they are in small number.
Their women are hideous, and seemed little regarded by the men. They are
obliged to steer their periaguas, and to keep them in repair; often
swimming to them, notwithstanding the cold, through the sea-weeds, which
serve as a harbour to these periaguas, at a pretty distance from the
shore, and scooping out the water that may have got into them. On the
shore they gather wood and shells, without the men partaking in any
thing of their labour; nor are those women, who have children at their
breast, exempted from their task. They carry their children on their
backs, folded in the skins, which serve them as dresses.
Their periaguas are made of bark, ill connected with rushes, and caulked
with moss in the seams. In the middle of each is a little hearth of
sand, where they always keep up some fire. Their arms are bows and
arrows, made of the wood of a holly-leaved berberry-bush, which is
common in the straits; the bow-string is made of a gut, and the arrows
are armed with points of stone, cut with sufficient skill; but these
weapons are made use of, rather against game, than against enemies; for
they are as weak as the arms, which are destined to manage them. We
likewise saw amongst them, some bones of fish, about a foot long, sharp
at the end, and toothed along one side. This is, perhaps, a dagger; or
rather, as I think, an instrument for fishing: they fix it to a long
pole, and use it as a harpoon. These Indians, men, women, and children,
live promiscuously in their huts, in the middle of which they light a
fire. They live chiefly on shell-fish; however, they have likewise dogs,
and nooses, or springes, made of whalebone. I have observed, that they
had all of them bad teeth; and, I believe, we must attribute that to
their custom of eating the shell-fish boiling hot, though half raw.
Upon the whole, they seem to be good people; but they are so weak, that
one is almost tempted to think the worse of them on that account. We
thought we observed that they were superstitious and believed in evil
genii; and, among them, the same persons, who conciliate the influence
of those spirits, are their physicians and priests. Of all the savages I
ever saw, the Pecherais are those who are most deprived of every
convenience; they are exactly, in what may be called, a state of nature;
and, indeed, if any pity is due to the fate of a man, who is his own
master, has no duties or business to attend, is content with what he
has, because he knows no better, I should pity these men; who, besides
being deprived of what renders life convenient, must suffer the extreme
roughness of the most dreadful climate in the world. These Pecherais,
likewise, are the least numerous society of men I have met with in any
part of the world; however, as will appear in the sequel, there are
quacks among them: but as soon as more than one family is together, (by
family, I understand father, mother, and children) their interests
become complicated, and the individuals want to govern, either by force
or by imposture. The name of family then changes into that of society;
and though it were established amidst the woods, and composed only of
cousins-german, a skilful observer would there discover the origin of
all the vices, to which men, collected into whole nations, have, by
growing more civilized, given names; vices that caused the origin,
progress, and ruin of the greatest empires. Hence it follows, by the
same principle, that in civilized societies, some virtues spring up, of
which those who border on a state of nature are not susceptible.
The 7th and 8th the weather was so bad, that we could not by any means
go from on board; in the night we drove, and were obliged to let go our
sheet-anchor. At some intervals the snow lay four inches deep on the
deck; and, at day-break, we saw that all the ground was covered with it,
except the flat lands, the wetness of which melted the snow. The
thermometer was about 5° and 4°; but fell to two degrees below the
freezing-point. The weather was bad on the ninth in the afternoon. The
Pecherais set out in order to come on board us. They had even spent much
time at their toilet; I mean, they had painted their bodies all over,
with red and white spots: but seeing our boats go from the ships,
towards their huts, they followed them; but one periagua came on board
the Etoile. She stayed but a short time there, and joined the others;
who were very much the friends of our people. The women were, however,
all retired into one hut; and the savages seemed uneasy, whenever one of
our men attempted to go in. They invited them rather to come into the
other huts, where they presented our gentlemen with muscles, which they
sucked before they gave them away. They got some little presents, which
they gladly accepted. They sung, danced, and appeared more gay, than one
might expect from savages, whose outward behaviour is commonly serious.
[Sidenote: Unlucky accident,
which befalls one of them.]
Their joy was but of very short duration. One of their children, about
twelve years old, the only one in the whole troop whose figure engaged
our attention, was all at once seized with spitting of blood, and
violent convulsions. The poor creature had been on board the Etoile,
where the people had given him bits of glass not foreseeing the unhappy
effect, which this present might have. These savages have a custom of
putting pieces of talc into their throat and nostrils. Perhaps their
superstition combines some powers with this kind of talisman; or,
perhaps, they look on it as a preservative against some sickness they
are subject to. The child, probably, had made the same use of this
glass. His lips, gums, and palate, were cut in several places, and he
bled continually.
This accident spread consternation and mistrust amongst them. They
certainly suspected us of some bad action; for the first thing their
juggler did, was to strip the child immediately of a linen jacket, which
had been given him. He wanted to return it to the French; and upon their
refusing it, he threw it at their feet. However, another savage, who,
doubtless, loved clothes more than he feared enchantments, took it up
immediately.
The juggler first laid the child down upon his back, in one of the huts;
and, kneeling down between his legs, he bent himself upon him, and with
his head and hands pressed the child’s belly as much as he could, crying
out continually, without our being able to distinguish any articulate
sounds in his cries. From time to time he got up, and seeming to hold
the disease in his joined hands, he opened them all at once into the
air, blowing as if he wanted to drive away some evil spirit. During this
ceremony, an old woman in tears, howled in the sick child’s ears, enough
to make him deaf. This poor wretch seemed to suffer as much from the
remedy, as from the hurt he had received. The juggler gave him some
respite, and went to fetch his habit of ceremony; after which, having
his hair powdered, and his head adorned with two white wings, like those
on Mercury’s cap, he began his rites again, with more confidence, but
with no better success. The child then appearing to be worse, our
chaplain administered baptism to him by stealth.
The officers returned on board, and told me what had happened on shore.
I went thither immediately with M. de la Porte, our surgeon, who brought
some milk and gruel with him. When we arrived, the patient was out of
the hut; the juggler, who had now got a companion in the same dress, had
begun again with his his operation on the belly, thighs, and back of the
child. It was a pity to see them torment the poor creature, who suffered
without complaining. His body was already bruised all over; and the
doctors still continued to apply their barbarous remedy, with abundance
of conjurations. The grief of the parents, their tears, the part which
the whole troop took in this accident, and which broke out in the most
expressive signs, afforded us a most affecting scene. The savages
certainly perceived that we partook of their distress; at least they
seemed to be less mistrustful. They suffered us to come near the
patient; and our surgeon examined his bloody mouth, which his father and
another Pecherais sucked alternately. We had much trouble to persuade
them to use milk; we were obliged to taste it before them several times;
and, notwithstanding the invincible objection of their jugglers, the
father at last resolved to let his son drink it; he even accepted a
pot-full of gruel. The jugglers were jealous of our surgeon; whom,
however, they seemed at last to acknowledge as an able juggler. They
even opened for him a leather bag, which they always wear hanging by
their side; and which contains their feathered cap, some white powder,
some talc, and other instruments of their art; but he had hardly looked
into it, when they shut it again. We likewise observed, that whilst one
of the jugglers was conjuring the distemper of the patient, the other
seemed to be busied solely in preventing, by his enchantments, the
effect of the bad luck, which they suspected we had brought upon them.
We returned on board, towards night, and the child seemed to suffer
less; however, he was plagued with almost continual puking, which gave
us room to fear that some glass was got down into his stomach. We had
afterwards sufficient reason to believe our conjectures had been true;
for about two o’clock in the morning, we on board heard repeated howls;
and, at break of day, though the weather was very dreadful, the savages
went off. They, doubtless, fled from a place defiled by death, and by
unlucky strangers, who they thought were come merely to destroy them.
They were not able to double the westermost point of the bay: in a more
moderate interval they set sail again; a violent squall carried them out
into the offing, and dispersed their feeble vessels. How desirous they
were of getting away from us! They left one of their periaguas, which
wanted a repair on the shore, _Satis est gentem effugisse nefandam_.
They are gone away, considering us as mischievous beings: but who would
not pardon their resentment on this occasion? and, indeed, how great is
the loss of a youth, who has escaped from all the dangers of childhood,
to a body of men so very inconsiderable in number!
[Sidenote: Continuation of bad weather.]
The wind blew east with great violence, and almost without intermission,
till the 13th, when the weather was mild enough in day-time; and we had
even conceived hopes of weighing in the afternoon. The night between the
13th and 14th was calm. At half an hour past two in the morning we had
unmoored, and hove a-peak. At six o’clock we were obliged to moor again,
and the day was dreadful. The 15th, the sun shone almost the whole day;
but the wind was too strong for us to leave the harbour.
[Sidenote: Danger which the frigate is exposed to.]
The 16th, in the morning, it was almost a calm; then came a breeze from
the north, and we weighed, with the tide in our favour: it was then
ebbing, and set to the westward. The winds soon shifted to W. and W. S.
W. and we could never gain the Isle Rupert, with the favourable tide.
The frigate sailed very ill; drove to leeward beyond measure; and the
Etoile had an incredible advantage over us. We plyed all day between
Rupert island, and a head-land of the continent, which we called the
Point of the Passage, in order to wait for the ebb; with which I hoped
either to gain the anchoring-place of Bay Dauphine, upon the isle of
Louis le Grand, or that of Elizabeth bay[87]. But as we lost ground by
plying, I sent a boat to sound to the S. E. of Rupert’s-island,
intending to anchor there, till the tide became favourable. They made
signal of an anchoring-place, and came to a grapnel there; but we were
already too much fallen to leeward of it. We made one board in-shore, to
endeavour to gain it on the other tack; the frigate missed stays twice;
and it became necessary to wear; but at the very moment when, by the
manœuvres, and by the help of our boats, she began to wear, the force of
the tide made her come to the wind again; a strong current had already
carried us within half a cable’s length of the shore. We let go our
anchor in eight fathom: the anchor, falling upon rocks, came home, and
our proximity to the shore did not allow us to veer away cable. We had
now no more than three fathom and a half of water a-stern; and were only
thrice the length of the ship from the shore, when a little breeze
sprung up from thence, we immediately filled our sails, and the frigate
fell to leeward: all our boats, and those of the Etoile, which came to
our assistance, were a-head, towing her. We veered away our cable, upon
which we had put a buoy; and near half of it was out, when it got foul
between decks, and stopt the frigate, which then ran the greatest
danger. We cut the cable, and by the prompt execution of this manœuvre,
we saved the ship. The breeze at length freshened; and, after having
made two or three unprofitable boards, I returned to Port Galant, where
we anchored again in twenty fathom oozy bottom. Our boats, which I left
to weigh our anchor, returned towards night with it and the cable. Thus
this appearance of fine weather served only to give us cruel alarms.
[Sidenote: Violent hurricane.]
The day following was more stormy than all the preceding ones. The wind
raised a mountainous sea in the channel; and we often saw several waves
run in contrary directions. The storm appeared to abate towards ten
o’clock; but at noon a clap of thunder, the only one we ever heard in
this strait, was as it were the signal at which the wind again began to
blow with more violence than in the morning. We dragged our anchor, and
were obliged to let go our sheet-anchor, and strike our lower-yards and
top-masts. Notwithstanding this, the shrubs and plants were now in
flower, and the trees afforded a very brilliant verdure, which however
was not sufficient to dispel that sadness which the repeated sight of
this unlucky spot had cast over us. The most lively temper would be
overcome in this dreadful climate, which is shunned by animals of every
element, and where a handful of people lead a languid life, after having
been rendered still more unfortunate by their intercourse with us.
[Sidenote: Assertion concerning the channel of Sainte Barbe discussed.]
On the 18th and 19th there were some intervals between the bad weather:
we weighed our sheet anchor, squared our yards, and set up our
top-masts; and I sent the Etoile’s barge, which was in so good a
condition as to be able to go out in almost any weather, to view the
channel of _Sainte Barbe_. According to the extract M. Frezier gives of
the Journal of M. Marcant, who discovered and passed through it, this
channel must bear S. W. and S. W. by S. from Bay Elizabeth. The barge
returned on the 20th, and M. Landais, who commanded it, informed me,
that having followed the track and marks taken notice of by M. Marcant,
he had not found the true mouth, but only a narrow channel, closed by
shoals of ice and the land, which it is the more dangerous to follow, as
it has not a single good anchoring place, and as it is crossed in the
middle by a sand covered with muscles. He then went all round the isle
of Louis le Grand to the southward, and re-entered the channel of
Magalhaens, without having found any other. He only saw a fine bay on
the coast of Terra del Fuego, which is certainly the same with that
which Beauchesne calls Nativity Bay. Upon the whole, by going S. W. and
S. W. by S. from Bay Elizabeth, as Frezier says that Marcant did, you
must cut through the middle of the isle of Louis le Grand.
[Sidenote: It is inhabited, notwithstanding its small size.]
This information gave me room to believe that the channel of Sainte
Barbe was opposite the very bay where we now lay. From the top of the
mountains which surround Port Galant, we had often discovered southward
of the isles Charles and Monmouth, a vast channel, full of little
islands, and terminated by no land to the southward; but, as at the same
time we perceived another inlet southward of the isle of Louis le Grand,
we took that for the channel of St. Barbe, as being more conformable to
Marcant’s account. As soon as we were sure that this inlet was no more
than a deep bay, we no longer doubted that the channel of Sainte Barbe
was opposite Port Galant, southward of Charles and Monmouth Islands.
Indeed, reading over again the passage in Frezier, and comparing it with
his chart of the strait, we saw that Frezier, according to Marcant’s
report, places Elizabeth Bay, from whence the latter set sail, in order
to enter into his channel, about ten or twelve leagues from Cape
Forward. Marcant therefore must have mistaken Bay De Cordes for Bay
Elizabeth, the former lying actually eleven leagues from Cape Forward,
being a league eastward of Port Galant: setting sail from this bay, and
standing S. E. and S. E. by S. he came along the westermost point of
Charles and Monmouth isles, the whole of which he took for the isle of
Louis le Grand; an error into which every good navigator may easily
fall, unless he is well provided with good directions: and then he stood
into the channel full of isles, of which we had a prospect from the top
of the mountains.
[Sidenote: Utility which would accrue from the knowledge of
the channel of Sainte Barbe.]
The perfect knowledge of the channel of Sainte Barbe would be so much
the more interesting, as it would considerably shorten the passing of
the straits of Magalhaens. It does not take much time to come to Port
Galant; the greatest difficulty before you come there, being to double
Cape Forward, which is now rendered pretty easy, by the discovery of
three ports upon Terra del Fuego: when you are once got to Port Galant,
should the winds prevent your taking the ordinary channel, if they be
ever so little upon the northerly points, the channel is open to you,
opposite to this port; in twenty-four hours you can then be in the South
Seas. I intended to have sent two barges into this channel which I
firmly believe to be that of Sainte Barbe; they would have completely
solved this problem, but the bad weather prevented their going out.
[Sidenote: Exceeding violent squall.]
The 21st, 22d, and 23d, squalls, snow, and rain, were continual. In the
night between the 21st and 22d, there was a calm interval; it seemed
that the wind afforded us that momentary repose, only in order to fall
harder upon us afterwards. A dreadful hurricane came suddenly from S. S.
W. and blew with such fury as to astonish the oldest seamen. Both our
ships had their anchors come home, and were obliged to let go their
sheet-anchor, lower the lower yards, and hand the top-masts: our mizen
was carried away in the brails. Happily this hurricane did not last
long. On the 24th the storm abated, we got calm weather and sun-shine,
and put ourselves in a condition to proceed. Since our re-entering Port
Galant, we took several ton weight of ballast, and altered our stowage,
endeavouring by this means to make the frigate sail well again; and we
succeeded in part. Upon the whole, whenever it is necessary to navigate
in the midst of currents, it will always be found very difficult to
manage such long vessels as our frigates generally are.
[Sidenote: We leave Bay Fortescue.]
On the 25th, at one o’clock in the morning, we unmoored, and hove a
peek; at three o’clock we weighed, and were towed by our boats; the
breeze was northerly; at half past five it settled in the east, and we
set all our top-gallant and studding-sails, which are very seldom made
use of here. We kept the middle of the strait, following its windings,
for which Narborough justly calls it Crooked Reach. Between the Royal
Isles and the continent, the strait is about two leagues wide; the
channel between Rupert Isle and Point Passage, is not above a league
broad; then there is the breadth of a league and a half between the isle
of Louis le Grand and Bay Elizabeth, on the easterly point of which,
there is a ledge covered with sea weeds, extending a quarter of a league
into the sea.
[Sidenote: Description of the strait from Cape Galant to the open sea.]
From Bay Elizabeth the coast runs W. N. W. for about two leagues, till
you come to the river which Narborough calls Bachelor, and Beauchesne,
du Massacre; at the mouth of which, is an anchoring-place. This river is
easily known; it comes from a deep valley; on the west, it has a high
mountain; its westerly point is low, wooded, and the coast sandy. From
the river Bachelor, to the entrance of the false strait or St. Jerom’s
channel, I reckon three leagues, and the bearing is N. W. by W. The
entrance of this channel seems to be half a league broad, and in the
bottom of it, the lands are seen closing in to the northward. When you
are opposite the river du Massacre, or Bachelor, you can only see this
false strait, and it is very easy to take it for the true one, which
happened even to us, because the coast then runs W. by S. and W. S. W.
till Cape _Quade_, which stretching very far, seems to close in with the
westerly point of the isle of Louis le Grand, and leave no outlet. Upon
the whole, the safest way not to miss the true channel, is to keep the
coast of Louis le Grand island on board, which may be done without any
danger. The distance of St. Jerom’s channel to Cape Quade, is about four
leagues, and this cape bears E. 9° N. and W. 9° S. with the westerly
point of the isle of Louis le Grand.
That island is about four leagues long, its north side runs W. N. W. as
far as Bay Dauphine, the depth of which, is about two miles, and the
breadth at the entrance, half a league; it then runs W. to its most
westerly extremity, called Cape St. Louis. As, after finding out our
error concerning the false strait, we run within a mile of the shore of
Louis le Grand island, we distinctly saw Port Phelippeaux, which
appeared to be a very convenient and well situated creek. At noon Cape
Quade bore W. 13° S. two leagues distant, and Cape St. Louis, E. by N.
about two leagues and a half off. The fair weather continued all day,
and we bore away with all our sails set.
From Cape Quade the strait runs W. N. W. and N. W. by W. without any
considerable turnings, from which it has got the name of Long-Lane, or
Long-Reach, (_Longue Rue_). The figure of Cape Quade is remarkable. It
consists of craggy rocks, of which, those forming its highest summits,
do not look unlike ancient ruins. As far as this cape, the coasts are
every where wooded, and the verdure of the trees softens the aspect of
the frozen tops of the mountains. Having doubled Cape Quade, the nature
of the country is quite altered. The strait is inclosed on both sides by
barren rocks, on which there is no appearance of any soil. Their high
summits are always covered with snow, and the deep vallies are filled
with immense masses of ice, the colour of which bears the mark of
antiquity. Narborough, struck with this horrid aspect, called this part,
Desolation of the South, nor can any thing more dreadful be imagined.
Being opposite Cape Quade, the coast of Terra del Fuego seems terminated
by an advanced cape, which is Cape Monday, and which I reckon is about
fifteen leagues from Cape Quade. On the coast of the mainland, are three
capes, to which we gave names. The first, which from its figure, we
called _Cap Fendu_, or Split Cape, is about five leagues from Cape
Quade, between two fine bays, in which the anchorage is safe, and the
bottom as good as the sheltered situation. The other two capes received
the names of our ships, Cap de l’Etoile, three leagues west of Cap
Fendu, and Cap de la Boudeuse, in the same situation, and about the same
distance from the Cape of the Etoile. All these lands are high and
steep; both coasts appear clear, and seem to have good anchoring places,
but happily, the wind being fair for our course, did not give us time to
sound them. The strait in this part, called _Longue Rue_, is about two
leagues broad; it grows more narrow towards Cape Monday, where it is not
above four miles broad.
[Sidenote: Dangerous night.]
At nine o’clock in the evening, we were about three leagues E. by S. and
E. S. E. off Cape Monday. It always blew very fresh from east, and the
weather being fine, I resolved to continue my course during the night,
making little sail. We handed the studding sails, and close-reefed the
top-sails. Towards ten o’clock at night the weather became foggy, and
the wind encreased so much, that we were obliged to haul our boats on
board. It rained much, and the weather became so black at eleven, that
we lost all sight of land. About half an hour after, reckoning myself
a-breast of Cape Monday, I made signal to bring-to on the star-board
tack, and thus we passed the rest of the night, filling or backing,
according as we reckoned ourselves to be too near one or the other
shore. This night we have been in one of the most critical situations
during the whole voyage.
At half an hour past three, by the dawn of day, we had sight of the
land, and I gave orders to fill. We stood W. by N. till eight o’clock,
and from eight till noon, between W. by N. and W. N. W. The wind was
always east, a little breeze, and very misty. From time to time we saw
some parts of the coast, but often we entirely lost sight of it. At
last, at noon, we saw Cape Pillar, and the Evangelists. The latter could
only be seen from the mast-head. As we advanced towards the side of Cape
Pillar, we discovered, with joy, an immense horizon, no longer bounded
by lands, and a great sea from the west, which announced a vast ocean to
us. The wind did not continue E. it shifted to W. S. W. and we ran N. W.
till half an hour past two, when Cape Victory bore N. W. and Cape
Pillar, S. 3° W.
[Sidenote: End of the strait, and description of that part.]
After passing Cape Monday, the north coast bends like a bow, and the
strait opens to four, five, and six leagues in breadth. I reckon about
sixteen leagues from Cape Monday to Cape Pillar, which terminates the
south coast of the straits. The direction of the channel between these
two capes, is W. by N. The southern coast is here high and steep, the
northern one is bordered with islands and rocks, which make it dangerous
to come near it: it is more prudent to keep the south coast on board. I
can say no more concerning these last lands: I have hardly seen them,
except at some short intervals, when the fogs allowed our perceiving but
small parts of them. The last land you see upon the north coast, is Cape
Victory (_Cap des Victoires_), which seems to be of middling height, as
is Cape Deseado (_Desiré_), which is without the straits, upon Terra del
Fuego, about two leagues S. W. of Cape Pillar. The coast between these
two capes is bounded for near a league into the sea, by several little
isles or breakers, known by the name of the Twelve Apostles.
Cape Pillar is a very high land, or rather a great mass of rocks, which
terminates in two great cliffs, formed in the shape of towers, inclining
to N. W. and making the extremity of the cape. About six or seven
leagues N. W. of this cape, you see four little isles, called the
Evangelists; three of them are low, the fourth, which looks like a
hay-stack, is at some distance from the rest. They ly S. S. W. about
four or five leagues off Cape Victory. In order to come out of the
strait, it is indifferent whether you leave them to the south or
northward; in order to go in, I would advise that they should be left to
the northward. It is then likewise necessary to range along the southern
coast; the northern one is bordered with little isles, and seems cut by
large bays, which might occasion dangerous mistakes. From two o’clock in
the afternoon, the winds were variable, between W. S. W. and W. N. W.
and blew very fresh; we plyed till sun-setting, with all our sails set,
in order to double the Twelve Apostles. [Sidenote: Departure taken from
the strait of Magalhaens.] We were for a long while afraid we should not
be able to do it, but be forced to pass the night still in the straits,
by which means we might have been obliged to stay there more than one
day. But about six o’clock in the evening we gave over plying; at seven,
Cape Pillar was doubled, and at eight we were quite clear of the land,
and advancing, all sails set, and with a fine northerly wind, into the
westerly ocean. We then laid down the bearings whence I took my
departure, in 52° 50′ S. lat. and 79° 9′ W. long, from Paris.
Thus, after constant bad and contrary weather at Port Galant, for
twenty-six days together, thirty-six hours of fair wind, such as we
never expected, were sufficient to bring us into the Pacific Ocean; an
example, which I believe is the only one, of a navigation without
anchoring from Port Galant to the open sea.
[Sidenote: General observations on this navigation.]
I reckon the whole length of the strait, from Cape Virgin (Mary) to Cape
Pillar, at about one hundred and fourteen leagues. We employed fifty-two
days to make them. I must repeat here, that from Cape Virgin to Cape
Noir, we have constantly found the flood tide to set to the eastward,
and the ebb to the westward, and that the tides are very strong; that
they are not by much so rapid from Cape Noir to Port Galant, and that
their direction is irregular there; that lastly, from Port Galant to
Cape Quade, the tides are violent; that we have not found them very
considerable from this cape to Cape Pillar, but that in all this part
from Port Galant, the water is subject to the same laws which put them
in motion from Cape Virgin; viz. that the flood runs towards the
easterly, and the ebb towards the westerly seas. I must at the same time
mention, that this assertion concerning the direction of the tides in
the strait of Magalhaens, is absolutely contrary to what other
navigators say they have observed there on this head. However, it would
not be well if every one gave another account.
Upon the whole, how often have we regretted that we had not got the
Journals of Narborough and Beauchesne, such as they came from their own
hands, and that we were obliged to consult disfigured extracts of them:
besides the affectation of the authors of such extracts, of curtailing
every thing which is useful merely in navigation; likewise, when some
details escape them that have a relation to that science, their
ignorance of the sea-phrases makes them mistake necessary and usual
expressions for vicious words, and they replace them by absurdities. All
their aim is to compile a work agreeable to the effeminate people of
both sexes, and their labour ends in composing a book that tires every
body’s patience, and is useful to nobody[88].
[Sidenote: Conclusions drawn from hence.]
Notwithstanding the difficulties which we have met with in our passage
of the strait of Magalhaens, I would always advise to prefer this course
to that of doubling Cape Horn, from the month of September to the end of
March. During the other months of the year, when the nights are sixteen,
seventeen, and eighteen hours long, I would pass through the open sea.
The wind a-head, and a high sea, are not dangerous; whereas, it is not
safe to be under a necessity of sailing blindfold between the shores.
Certainly there will be some obstacles in passing the straits, but this
retardment is not entirely time lost. There is water, wood, and shells
in abundance, sometimes there are likewise very good fish; and I make no
doubt but the scurvy would make more havock among a crew, who should
come into the South Seas by the way of Cape Horn, than among those who
should enter the same Seas through the straits of Magalhaens: when we
left it, we had no sick person on board.
-----
Footnote 71:
The isles of St. Barthelemi and of Lions, are connected together by a
shoal. There are likewise two shoals; one S. S. W. of the isle of
Lions, and the other W. N. W. of St. Barthelemi, one or two leagues
distant; so that these three shoals, and the two isles form a chain;
between which, to E. S. E. and the isle of St. Elizabeth to W. N. W.
is the channel through which you advance into the straits. This
channel runs N. N. E. and S. S. W.
I do not think it practicable to sail on the south side of the isles
of St. Barthelemi and of Lions, nor between the isle of Elizabeth and
the main land.
Footnote 72:
From the end of the second gut, to the N. E. point of the isle of
Elizabeth, the distance is about four leagues. Elizabeth island
extends S. S. W. and N. N. E. for the length of about three leagues
and a half. It is necessary to keep this shore on board, in passing
through the above channel.
From the S. W. point of Elizabeth island, to Cape Noir, the distance
is not above a league[73].
Footnote 73:
This Cape Noir is not mentioned in M. de B’s. map; but should be
carefully distinguished from _Cape Noir_, or _Cabo Negro_, seen by
lord Anson upon Terra del Fuego, in about 54° S. lat. F.
Footnote 74:
From Cape Noir the coast runs S. S. E. to the northern point of Bay
Duclos; which is about seven leagues distant from it.
Opposite Bay Duclos, there is a prodigious inlet in Terra del Fuego;
which I suspect to be a channel, disemboguing eastward of Cape Horn.
Cape Monmouth forms the north point of it.
Footnote 75:
_Perruches_, probably _sea-parrots_, or auks. F.
Footnote 76:
The distance from Bay Duclos to Point St. Anne, is about five leagues;
and the bearing being S. E. by S. there is nearly the same distance
from Point St. Anne to Cape Round, which bear respectively N. N. E.
and S. S. W.
Footnote 77:
From the second gut to Cape Round, the breadth of the straits varies
from seven to five leagues; they grow narrow at Cape Round, where
their breadth does not exceed three leagues.
Footnote 78:
From Cape Round, to the Isle of the Observatory, the distance is about
four leagues; and the coast runs W. S. W. In this distance there are
three good anchoring-places.
Footnote 79:
A French _toise_ is six feet Paris measure. F.
Footnote 80:
A mi-canal.
Footnote 81:
From the isle of the Observatory, Cape Forward is about six leagues
distant, and the coast runs nearly W. S. W. The strait is there
between three and four leagues broad.
Footnote 82:
In the space of about five leagues, which are between Cape Forward and
Cape Holland, there are two other capes, and three creeks, of little
depth. I know of no anchorage there. The breadth of the straits varies
from three to four leagues.
Footnote 83:
Cape Holland and Cape Galant bear among themselves E. 2° S. and W. 2°
N. and the distance is about eight leagues. Between these two capes
there is one, less projecting, called Cape Coventry. They likewise
place several bays there, of which we have only seen Bay Verte, or
Green Bay, or Bay De Cordes, which has been visited by land. It is
great and deep, but there seem to be several shallows in it.
Footnote 84:
Bay Fortescue is about two miles broad from one point to the other,
and not quite so deep, from its entrance, till to a peninsula, which,
coming from the west-side of the bay, extends E. S. E. and covers a
port, well sheltered from all the winds. This is Port Galant, which is
a mile deep towards the W. N. W. Its breadth is from four hundred to
five hundred yards. There is a river at the bottom of the port, and
two more on the N. E. side. In the middle of the port there is four or
five fathoms of water, bottom of ooze and shells.
Footnote 85:
Sir John Narborough. F.
Footnote 86:
_Laurier-epice_, spice-laurel is probably the famous _Winters-bark_,
mentioned by Sir John Narborough, and afterwards well drawn and
described by Sir Hans Sloane, in his History of Jamaica, vol. ii. p.
87. t. 19. f. 2. and Plukenet. Almagest. 89. t. 81. f. 1. and t. 160.
f. 7. F.
Footnote 87:
From Cape Galant to Bay Elizabeth, the coast runs nearly W. N. W. and
the distance from the one to the other, is about four leagues. In this
space there is no anchoring-place on the main-land. The depth is too
great, even close to the shore. Bay Elizabeth is open to the S. W. Its
breadth between the points is three quarters of a league; and its
depth pretty near the same. The shore in the bottom of the bay is
sandy; and so is the S. E. shore. In its northern part lies a ledge,
stretching a good way to the offing. The good anchoring in this bay is
nine fathom, bottom of sand, gravel, and coral; and has the following
marks: the E. point of the bay bears S. S. E. ½E. its W. point, W. b.
N. The E. point of the isle of Louis le Grand, S.S. W. ½S. the ledge
N. W. b. N.
Footnote 88:
This complaint of our author is applicable only to the French
publications, for it is well known that the English voyages, chiefly
when published by authority, are remarkable both for the fine
language, and the strict keeping of the marine phrases, so necessary
to make these publications useful to future navigators, and which are
understood by the greater part of this nation, so much used to the sea
and its phrases, that our romances and plays are full of them, and
that they have even a run in common life. F.
-----
END OF THE FIRST PART.
A
_VOYAGE_
ROUND THE
_WORLD._
PART the SECOND.
From our entrance into the Western Sea, to our return
to France.
Et nos jam _tertia_ portat
Omnibus errantes terris et fluctibus æstas.
VIRG. Lib. I.
_CHAP. I._
_The run from the straits of Magalhaens to our arrival at the Isle of
Taiti; discoveries which precede it._
[Sidenote: January. 1768.]
[Sidenote: Direction of our track, after leaving the strait.]
From our entrance into the Western Sea, after some days of variable
winds, between S. W. and N. W. we soon got S. and S. S. E. winds. I did
not expect to meet with them so soon; the west winds generally last to
about 30°; and I intended to go to the isle of Juan Fernandez, in order
to make good astronomical observations there. I intended by this means
to fix a sure point of departure, in order to cross this immense ocean
the extent of which is differently laid down, by differently navigators.
The early meeting with the S. and S. E. winds, obliged me to lay aside
this scheme of putting in there, which would have prolonged my voyage.
[Sidenote: Observation on the position of the coasts of Chili.]
During the first days, I stood as near west as possible; as well to keep
my wind, as to get off from the coast; the bearings of which are not
laid down with any certainty in the charts: however, as the winds were
then always in the western board, we should have fallen in with the
land, if the charts of Don George Juan, and Don Antonio de Ulloa had
been exact. These Spanish officers have corrected the old maps of North
America[89]; they make the coast run N. E. and S. E. between Cape Corso
and Chiloe; and that upon conjectures, which they have certainly thought
well-founded. This correction happily deserves another; it was not a
very comfortable one for those navigators, who after coming out of the
strait, endeavour to get to the northward, with winds which constantly
vary from S. W. to N. W. by W. Sir John Narborough, after leaving the
straits of Magalhaens, in 1669, run along the coast of Chili, examining
all the inlets and creeks, as far as the river of Baldivia, into which
he entered; he says expressly, that the course from Cape Desire to
Baldivia is N. 5° E. This is something more certain than the conjectural
assertion of Don George and Don Antonio. If, upon the whole, their
conjecture had been true, by the course which we were obliged to take we
must have fallen in with the land.
[Sidenote: Order of sailing of the Boudeuse and Etoile.]
When we were got into the Pacific Ocean, I agreed with the commander of
the Etoile, that, in order to discover a greater space of the sea, he
should go every morning southward, as far from me as the weather would
allow, keeping within sight; and that every evening we should join; and
that then he should keep in our wake, at about half a league’s distance.
By this means, if the Boudeuse had met with any sudden danger, the
Etoile was enabled to give us all the assistance which the case might
require. This order of sailing has been followed throughout the whole
voyage.
[Sidenote: Loss of a sailor fallen into the sea.]
On the 30th of January, a sailor fell into the sea; our efforts were
useless; and we were unable to save him: it blew very fresh, and we had
a great sea.
[Sidenote: Fruitless search for Davis’s land.]
I directed my course for making the land, which Davis[90], an English
privateer, saw in 1686, between 27° and 28° south latitude; and which
Roggewein, a Dutchman[91], sought for in vain, in 1722. [Sidenote: 1768.
February.] I continued to stand in search of it till the 17th of
February. [Sidenote: Incertitude on the latitude of Easter island.]
According to M. de Bellin’s chart, I must have sailed over this land on
the 14th. I did not chuse to go in search of Easter island, as its
latitude is not laid down with certainty. Many geographers agree in
placing it in 27° or 28° S. M. Buache, alone, puts it in 31°. However,
on the 14th, being in 27° 7′ of latitude observed, and 104° 12′ computed
west longitude, we saw two birds very like _Equerrets_[92], which
generally do not go further than 60 or 80 leagues from land; we likewise
saw a tuft of that green plant, which fastens on ships’ bottoms; and,
for these reasons, I continued to stand on the same course till the
17th. Upon the whole, I think, from the account which Davis gives of the
land he saw, that it is no other than the isles of St. Ambrose and St.
Felix, which are two hundred leagues from the coast of Chili.
[Sidenote: Meteorological Observations.]
From the 23d of February, to the 3d of March, we had westerly winds,
constantly varying between S. W.. and N. W. with calms and rain: every
day, either a little before noon, or soon after, we had sudden gusts of
rain, accompanied with thunder. It was strange to us to meet with this
extraordinary wind, under the tropic, and in that ocean, so much
renowned above all other seas, for the uniformity and the freshness of
the E. and S. E. trade-winds; which are said to reign in it all the year
round. We shall find more than one opportunity to make the same
observation.
[Sidenote: Astronomical observations,
compared with the ship’s
reckoning.]
During the month of February, M. Verron communicated to me the result of
four observations, towards determining our longitude. The first, which
was made on the 6th at noon, differed from my reckoning only 31′; which
I was more to the westward than his observation. The second, taken at
noon on the 11th, differed from my estimated longitude 37′ 45″, which I
was to the eastward of him. By the third observation, made on the 22d,
reduced to noon, I was more westward than he, by 42′ 30″; and I had 1°
25′ of difference west, from the longitude determined by the
observations of the 27th. Then we met with calms and contrary winds. The
thermometer, till we came into 45° lat. always kept between 5° and 8°
above the freezing-point: it then rose successively; and when we ran
between 27° and 24° of lat. it varied from 17° to 19°.
There was an almost epidemical sore-throat among the crew of my frigate,
as soon as we had left the straits. As it was attributed to the
snow-waters of the straits, I ordered every day, that a pint of vinegar,
and red hot bullets should be put into the scuttled cask, containing the
water for the crew to drink, on the upper deck. Happily these sore
throats yielded to the simplest remedies; and, at the end of March, we
had no-body upon the sick-list. Only four sailors were attacked by the
scurvy. About this time we got plenty of Bonitos and Great-ears
(_Grandes-Oreilles_); and, during eight or ten days, sufficient were
taken to afford one meal a-day for the crews of both ships.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
CHART
_of the Discoveries_
in the
_SOUTH PACIFICK OCEAN,
made by_
M. de Bougainville.
_in 1768_.
_CONTINUATION
of the_
TRACK
_of the_
FRENCH SHIPS.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Sidenote: Meeting with the first isles.]
During March, we ran on the parallel of the first lands and isles marked
on the chart of M. Bellin, by the name of Quiros’s Isles. [Sidenote:
1768. March.] On the 21st we caught a tunny, in whose belly we found
same little fish, not yet digested, of such species as never go to any
distance from the shore. This was a sign of the vicinity of land.
Indeed, the 22d, at six in the morning, we saw at once four little
isles, bearing S. S. E. ½E. and a little isle about four leagues west.
[Sidenote: Observations on one of these isles.] The four isles I called
_les quatre Facardins_; and as they were too far to windward, I stood
for the little isle a-head of us. As we approached it, we discovered
that it is surrounded with a very level sand, and that all the interior
parts of it are covered with thick woods, above which the cocoa-trees
raise their fertile heads. The sea broke much to the N. and S. and a
great swell beating all along the eastern side, prevented our access to
this isle in that part. However, the verdure charmed our eyes, and the
cocoa-trees every where exposed their fruits to our sight, and
over-shadowed a grass-plot adorned with flowers; thousands of birds were
hovering about the shore, and seemed to announce a coast abounding in
fish, and we all longed for a descent. We thought this would be easy on
the western-side; and we ran along the coast at the distance of about
two miles. We saw the sea break on every side with equal force, without
a single harbour or creek, which might serve for shelter, or stem the
force of the sea. Thus losing all hopes of landing there, unless at the
evident risk of having our boats staved to pieces, we resumed our course
again, when some of our people cried out, that they saw three men
running to the sea-shore. [Sidenote: It is inhabited, notwithstanding
its small size.] We should never have thought that so small an isle
could be inhabited; and my first conjectures were, that some Europeans
must certainly have been shipwrecked upon it. I presently gave orders to
lay-to; as I was determined to do all I could to save them. These men
were returned into the woods; but soon after they came out again,
fifteen or twenty in number, and advanced very fast; they were naked,
and bore very long pikes, which they brandished against the ships, with
signs of threatening; after this bravado, they retired to the woods,
where we could distinguish their huts, by means of our glasses. These
men seemed very tall, and of a bronze colour—Who can give an account of
the manner in which they were conveyed hither, what communications they
have with other beings, and what becomes of them when they multiply on
an isle, which has no more than a league in diameter? I called it _Isle
des Lanciers_[93]. Being less than a league to the N. E. of this isle, I
made the signal to the Etoile to sound; she did so with a line of two
hundred fathom, without finding any bottom.
[Sidenote: Farther meeting with islands.]
From that day we always shortened sail at night, fearing to meet all at
once some of these low-lands, to which it is so dangerous to come near.
We were obliged to bring-to[94], during a part of the night, between the
22d and 23d; as we had a storm, with very high wind, rain, and thunder.
At day-break we saw land, bearing from us, from N. E. b. N. to N. N. W.
We stood for it, and at eight o’clock were about three leagues from its
eastermost point. Then, though it was somewhat hazy, we perceived
breakers along this coast, which appeared very low, and covered with
trees: therefore, we stood out to sea again, waiting for the fair
weather to allow us to come nearer the coast at a less risk; this we
were able to do towards ten o’clock. Being only one league off the
island, we ran along it, endeavouring to find a proper landing-place; we
could not find bottom with 120 fathom. A bar, over which the sea broke
with great violence, lay along the whole coast; and we soon discovered,
that this island is formed by two very narrow slips of land, which join
at the N. W. end, and leave an opening to the S. E. between their
extremities. [Sidenote: Description of the largest of these isles.] The
middle of this isle is therefore occupied by the sea, in all its length,
which is about ten or twelve leagues S. E. and N. W. so that it appears
like a very oblong horse-shoe, whereof the opening or entrance is at S.
E.
The two necks of land are so very narrow, that we could perceive the sea
beyond the most northerly one. They seem composed of nothing but sandy
downs, interspersed with low grounds, without either trees or verdure.
The higher downs are covered with cocoa-nut and other lesser trees,
which were very shady. After noon we saw periaguas in the kind of lake
which this island forms; some sailing, others paddling. The savages in
them were naked. In the evening we saw a great number of these islanders
along the coast. They likewise seemed to have such long lances as the
inhabitants of the first island threatened us with. We had not yet found
any place where our canoes could land. The sea foamed every where with
equal violence. Night interrupted our researches; we passed it plying
under our top-sails; and not discovering any landing-place, on the 24th
in the morning, we continued our course, and left this inaccessible
island; which, on account of its figure, I called _Harp Island_. I
question whether this extraordinary land is rising and encreasing, or
whether it is decaying? How was it peopled? Its inhabitants appeared to
us tall and well proportioned. I admire their courage, if they live
unconcerned on these little slips of sand, which are exposed to be
buried in the sea every moment by a hurricane.
[Sidenote: First division: _Dangerous Archipelago_.]
The same day, at five in the afternoon, we saw another land, about seven
or eight leagues distant; the uncertainty of its position, the
inconstant squally and tempestuous weather, and the obscurity of the
night obliged us to stand off and on. The 25th, in the morning, we came
near the land, which we found to be another very low island, extending
S. E. and N. W. about twenty-four leagues. We continued till the 27th to
sail between low and partly overflowed islands, four of which we
examined, all of the same nature, and all inaccessible, and not
deserving that we should lose our time in visiting them. I gave the name
of _Dangerous Archipelago_ to this cluster of islands; of which we saw
eleven, and which are probably more numerous. It is very dangerous
sailing amidst these low isles, surrounded with breakers and shoals;
where it is necessary, especially at night, to use the utmost
precaution.
[Sidenote: Error in the chart of this part of the Pacific Ocean.]
I determined to stand more southerly, in order to get clear of these
dangerous parts. Indeed, on the 28th, we ceased to see the land. Quiros,
discovered first, in 1606, the south end of this chain of islands, which
extend W. N. W. and among which admiral Roggewein found himself engaged
in 1722, in about 15° lat. he called them the _Labyrinth_. Upon the
whole, I know not on what grounds our geographers lay down after these
isles, a beginning of land seen, as they say, by Quiros; and to which
they give seventy leagues of extent. All that can be inferred from the
Journal of this navigator is, that the first place he _landed_ at, after
his departure from Peru, was eight leagues in extent. But far from
considering it as a considerable coast, he says, that the savages who
inhabit it, gave him to understand, that he should find great countries
in his way[95]. If any considerable land existed hereabouts, we could
not fail meeting with it; as the least latitude we were hitherto arrived
at, was 17° 40′ S. which is the same that Quiros observed on this very
coast, whereof the geographers have been pleased to make a great
continent.
I agree, that it is difficult to conceive such a number of low islands,
and almost drowned lands, without supposing a continent near it. But
Geography is a science of facts; in studying it, authors must by no
means give way to any system, formed in their studies, unless they would
run the risk of being subject to very great errors, which can be
rectified only at the expence of navigators.
[Sidenote: Astronomical observations,
compared with my reckoning.]
Mr. Verron, in March, gave me three observations of longitude. The
first, taken by Hadley’s octant, on the 3d in the afternoon, was only
21′ 30″ different from my reckoning, I being so much to the westward of
the observed longitude. The second, made by the megameter, and reduced
to noon of the 10th, differed considerably from my reckoning, as my
computed longitude was 3° 6′ more westward than that taken by
observation. On the contrary, from the result of the third observation,
taken with the octant on the 27th, my reckoning agreed within 39′ 15″,
which he found I was more eastward than his longitude. It must be
observed, that since my leaving the straits of Magalhaens, I have always
followed the longitude of my departure, without correcting it in the
least, or making use of the observations.
[Sidenote: Meteorological observations.]
The thermometer[96] constantly kept between 19° and 20°, during this
month, and even near the land. Towards the end of the month, we had five
days west winds, with squalls and storms, which succeeded each other
almost without interruption. It rained continually; and the scurvy made
its appearance on eight or ten persons of the crew. Moistness is one of
the most powerful causes of this disease. [Sidenote: Advantageous use of
lemonade-powder at sea.] Each sailor got daily a pint of lemonade,
prepared with a kind of powder, called powder of _faciot_; which we made
great use of, during the course of this voyage. [Sidenote: Water
deprived of its salt.] On the third of March I had likewise begun to
make use of the distilling apparatus of M. Poissonier; and we continued
till we arrived at New Britain to make use of the sea-water, which was
by this means deprived of its salt; employing it in broth, and in
boiling meat and legumes. The supply of water it procured us, during
this long run, was a very great resource. [Sidenote: 1768. April.] We
lighted our fire at five in the evening, and put it out by five or six
in the morning, making above a barrel of water every night. By way of
sparing our fresh water, we always kneaded our bread with salt water.
[Sidenote: Second division of lands; Archipelago of Bourbon.]
The second of April, at ten in the morning, we perceived, to the N. N.
E. a high and very sleep mountain, seemingly surrounded by the sea. I
called it the _Boudoir_, or the _Peak of the Boudeuse_. [Sidenote: Sight
of Taiti.] We stood to the northward, in order to make it plain, when we
saw another land, bearing W. by N. the coast of which was not so high,
but afforded an indeterminate extent to our eyes. We had a very urgent
necessity for touching at some place where we might get refreshments and
wood, and we flattered ourselves to find them on this land. It was a
calm almost the whole day. In the evening a breeze sprung up, and we
stood towards the land till two in the morning, when we stood off shore
again, for three hours together. The sun rose obscured by clouds and
haze; and it was nine o’clock in the morning before we could see the
land again, its southermost point then bearing W. by N. We could no
longer see the peak of the Boudeuse, but from the mast-head. The wind
blew N. and N. N. E. and we stood as close upon it as we could, in order
to fall into windward of the island. As we came nearer we saw, beyond
its northermost point, a distant land, still further to northward,
without our being able at that time to distinguish whether it joined to
the first isle, or whether it formed a second.
[Sidenote: Manœuvres in order to land there.]
During the night, between the third and fourth, we turned to windward,
in order to get more to the northward. With joy we saw fires burning on
every part of the coast, and from thence concluded that it was
inhabited.
The 4th, at day-break, we discovered that the two lands, which before
appeared separate, were united together by a low land, which was bent
like a bow, and formed a bay open to the N. E. We run with all sails set
towards the land, standing to windward of this bay, when we perceived a
periagua coming from the offing, and standing for the land, and making
use of her sail and paddles. She passed athwart us, and joined a number
of others, which sailed a-head of us, from all parts of the island. One
of them went before all the rest; it was manned by twelve naked men, who
presented us with branches of bananas; and their demonstrations
signified that this was their olive-branch. [Sidenote: First traffic
with these islanders.] We answered them with all the signs of friendship
we could imagine; they then came along side of our ship; and one of
them, remarkable for his prodigious growth of hair, which stood like
bristles divergent on his head, offered us, together with his branch of
peace, a little pig, and a cluster of bananas. We accepted his present,
which he fastened to a rope that was thrown over to him; we gave him
caps and handkerchiefs; and these first presents were the pledges of our
alliance with these people.
The two ships were soon surrounded with more than an hundred periaguas
of different sizes, all which had outriggers. They were laden with
cocoa-nuts, bananas, and other fruits of the country. The exchange of
these fruits, which were delicious to us, was made very honestly for all
sorts of trifles; but without any of the islanders venturing to come
aboard. We were obliged either to come into their periaguas, or shew
them at a distance what we offered in exchange; when both parties were
agreed, a basket or a net was let down by a rope; they put their goods
in it, and so we did ours; giving before they had received, or receiving
before they gave indifferently, with a kind of confidence, which made us
conceive a good opinion of their character. We further saw no kind of
arms in their periaguas, in which there were no women at this first
interview. The periaguas kept along-side of the ships, till the approach
of night obliged us to stand off shore, when they all retired.
We endeavoured, during night, to go to the northward, never standing
further than three leagues from the land. All the shore was, till near
midnight, covered as the night before, with little fires at a short
distance from each other: it seemed as if it was an illumination made on
purpose, and we accompanied it with several sky-rockets from both our
ships.
[Sidenote: Description of the coast as seen from the offing.]
The 5th we spent in plying, in order to work to windward of the island,
and in letting the boats sound for an anchoring-place. The aspect of
this coast, elevated like an amphitheatre, offered us the most
enchanting prospect. Notwithstanding the great height of the mountains,
none of the rocks has the appearance of barrenness; every part is
covered with woods. We hardly believed our eyes, when we saw a peak
covered with trees, up to its solitary summit, which rises above the
level of the mountains, in the interior parts of the southermost quarter
of the island. Its apparent size seemed to be no more than of thirty
toises in diameter, and grew less in breadth as it rose higher. At a
distance it might have been taken for a pyramid of immense height, which
the hand of an able sculptor had adorned with garlands and foliage. The
less elevated lands are interspersed with meadows and little woods; and
all along the coast there runs a piece of low and level land, covered
with plantations, touching on one side the sea, and on the other
bordering the mountainous parts of the country. Here we saw the houses
of the islanders amidst bananas, cocoa-nut, and other trees loaded with
fruit.
As we ran along the coast, our eyes were struck with the sight of a
beautiful cascade, which came from the tops of the mountains, and poured
its foaming waters into the sea. A village was situated at the foot of
this cascade, and there appeared to be no breakers in this part of the
coast. We all wished to be able to anchor within reach of this beautiful
spot; we were constantly sounding aboard the ships, and our boats took
soundings close under the shore; but we found a bottom of nothing but
rocks in this port, and were forced to go in search of another
anchorage.
[Sidenote: Continuation of the traffic with the islanders.]
The periaguas returned to the ship at sun-rising, and continued to make
exchanges all the day. We likewise opened new branches of commerce; for,
besides the fruits, which they brought the day before, and other
refreshments, such as fowls and pigeons, the islanders brought with them
several instruments for fishing; stone chisels, (_herminettes de
pierre_) strange kinds of cloth, shells, &c. They wanted iron and
ear-rings in exchange. This bartering trade was carried on very
honestly, as the day before: this time some pretty and almost naked
women came in the periaguas. One of the islanders went on board the
Etoile, and stayed there all night, without being in the least uneasy.
This night was likewise spent in plying; and on the 6th in the morning
we were got to the most northerly extremity of the island. Another isle
now came within sight: but seeing several breakers that seemed to
obstruct the passage between the two isles, I determined to return in
search of anchorage in the first bay, which we saw on the day of our
land-fall. Our boats which sounded a-head of us towards shore, found the
north side of the bay every where surrounded, at a quarter of a league’s
distance, by a reef which appears at low water. However, about a league
from the north point, they discovered a gap in the reef, of the width of
twice a cable’s length at most, where there was 30 and 35 fathom of
water, and within it a pretty extensive road, where the bottom varied
from nine to thirty fathom. This road was bounded to the south by a
reef, which, proceeding from the land, joined that which surrounded the
shore. Our boats had constantly found a sandy bottom, and discovered
several little rivers fit for watering at. Upon the reef, on the north
side, there are three little islands.
[Sidenote: Anchorage at Taiti.]
This account determined me to come to an anchor in the road, and we
immediately made sail to enter into it. We ranged the point of the
starboard reef in entering; and as soon as we were got within it, we let
go our best bower in 34 fathom, bottom of grey sand, shells, and gravel;
and we immediately carried out the stream-anchor to the north-west, in
order to let go our small bower there. The Etoile went to windward, and
came to an anchor a cable’s length to the northward of us. As soon as we
were moored, we struck yards and top-masts.
[Sidenote: Difficulty of mooring the ships.]
As we came nearer the shore, the number of islanders surrounding our
ships encreased. The periaguas were so numerous all about the ships,
that we had much to do to warp in amidst the croud of boats and the
noise. All these people came crying out _tayo_, which means friend, and
gave a thousand signs of friendship; they all asked nails and ear-rings
of us. The periaguas were full of females; who, for agreeable features,
are not inferior to most European women; and who in point of beauty of
the body might, with much reason, vie with them all. Most of these fair
females were naked; for the men and the old women that accompanied them,
had stripped them of the garments which they generally dress themselves
in. The glances which they gave us from their periaguas, seemed to
discover some degree of uneasiness, notwithstanding the innocent manner
in which they were given; perhaps, because nature has every where
embellished their sex with a natural timidity; or because even in those
countries, where the ease of the golden age is still in use, women seem
least to desire what they most wish for. The men, who were more plain,
or rather more free, soon explained their meaning very clearly. They
pressed us to choose a woman, and to come on shore with her; and their
gestures, which were nothing less than equivocal, denoted in what manner
we should form an acquaintance with her. It was very difficult, amidst
such a sight, to keep at their work four hundred young French sailors,
who had seen no women for six months. In spite of all our precautions, a
young girl came on board, and placed herself upon the quarter-deck, near
one of the hatchways, which was open, in order to give air to those who
were heaving at the capstern below it. The girl carelessly dropt a
cloth, which covered her, and appeared to the eyes of all beholders,
such as Venus shewed herself to the Phrygian shepherd, having, indeed,
the celestial form of that goddess. Both sailors and soldiers
endeavoured to come to the hatch-way; and the capstern was never hove
with more alacrity than on this occasion.
At last our cares succeeded in keeping these bewitched fellows in order,
though it was no less difficult to keep the command of ourselves. One
single Frenchman, who was my cook, having found means to escape against
my orders, soon returned more dead than alive. He had hardly set his
feet on shore, with the fair whom he had chosen, when he was immediately
surrounded by a croud of Indians, who undressed him from head to feet.
He thought he was utterly lost, not knowing where the exclamations of
those people would end, who were tumultuously examining every part of
his body. After having considered him well, they returned him his
clothes, put into his pockets whatever they had taken out of them, and
brought the girl to him, desiring him to content those desires which had
brought him on shore with her. All their persuasive arguments had no
effect; they were obliged to bring the poor cook on board, who told me,
that I might reprimand him as much as I pleased, but that I could never
frighten him so much, as he had just now been frightened on shore.
-----
Footnote 89:
It must be supposed, that the author means South America. F.
Footnote 90:
Mr. Bougainville writes _David_: indeed, he and most writers of his
nation, mutilate all foreign names; not only inadvertently, but often
on purpose, through mere caprice. F.
Footnote 91:
A Mecklenburger, who, with his father, had been in the Dutch service.
F.
Footnote 92:
A kind of sea-fowl; probably of the gull or tern kind. F.
Footnote 93:
Isle of Lancebearers.
Footnote 94:
_Rester en travers._
Footnote 95:
The continent, which the geographers place in these parts, ought to
have been laid down only as a sign of land, which Quiros says he met
with the 27th of January 1606. But these signs of continent Quiros
found before he came to the isle of Sagittaria, which is the first he
landed at, after sailing from Peru. See Mr. _Dalrymple’s Historical
Collection of Voyages in the South Pacific Ocean_, part i. 107, 108,
and the chart of the South Seas annexed. F.
Footnote 96:
Reaumur’s.
-----
_CHAP. II._
_Stay at Taiti; account of the good and evil which befel us there._
[Sidenote: Landing.]
I have pointed out the obstacles which we met with in coming to an
anchor. When we were moored, I went on shore with several officers, to
survey the watering-place. An immense croud of men and women received us
there, and could not be tired with looking at us; the boldest among them
came to touch us; they even pushed aside our clothes with their hands,
in order to see whether we were made exactly like them: none of them
wore any arms, not so much as a stick. They sufficiently expressed their
joy at our arrival. [Sidenote: Visit paid to the chief of the district.]
The chief of this district conducted and introduced us into his house,
in which we found five or six women, and a venerable old man. The women
saluted us, by laying their hands on their breasts, and saying several
times _tayo_. The old man was the father of our host. He had no other
character of old age, than that respectable one which is imprinted on a
fine figure. His head adorned with white hair, and a long beard; all his
body, nervous and fleshy, had neither wrinkles, nor shewed any marks of
decrepitude. This venerable man seemed to be rather displeased with our
arrival; he even retired without answering our civilities, without
giving any signs of fear, astonishment, or curiosity; very far from
taking part in the raptures all this people was in at our sight, his
thoughtful and suspicious air seemed to shew that he feared the arrival
of a new race of men would trouble those happy days which he had spent
in peace.
[Sidenote: Description of his house.]
We were at liberty to examine the interior parts of the house. It had no
furniture, no ornament to distinguish it from the common huts, except
its extent. It was about eighty feet long and twenty feet wide. In it we
observed a cylinder of ozier, three or four feet long, set with black
feathers, which was suspended from the thatch; and besides it, there
were two wooden figures which we took for idols. One, which was their
god[97], stood upright against one of the pillars; the goddess was
opposite, leaned against the wall, which she surpassed in height, and
was fattened to the reeds, of which their walls are made. These figures,
which were ill made, and without any proportion, were about three feet
high, but stood on a cylindrical pedestal, hollow within, and carved
quite through. This pedestal was made in the shape of a tower, was six
or seven feet high, and about a foot in diameter. The whole was made of
a black and very hard wood.
The chief then proposed that we should sit down upon the grass before
his house, where he ordered some fruit, broiled fish and water to be set
before us: during the meal he sent for some pieces of cloth, and for two
great collars or gorgets of oziers, covered with black feathers and
shark’s teeth. They are pretty like in form to the immense ruffs, worn
in the time of Francis the first. One of these he put upon the neck of
the Chevalier d’Oraison, another upon mine, and distributed the cloths.
We were just going to return on board when the Chevalier de Suzannet
missed a pistol, which had been very dexterously stolen out of his
pocket. We informed the chief of it, who immediately was for searching
all the people who surrounded us, and even treated some of them very
harshly. We stopt his researches, endeavouring only to make him
understand, that the thief would fall a victim to his own crime, and
that what he had stolen could kill him.
The chief and all his people accompanied us to our boats. We were almost
come to them when we were stopped by an islander, of a fine figure, who
lying under a tree, invited us to sit down by him on the grass. We
accepted his offer: he then leaned towards us, and with a tender air he
slowly sung a song, without doubt of the Anacreontic kind, to the tune
of a flute, which another Indian blew with his nose: this was a charming
scene, and worthy the pencil of a Boucher. Four islanders came with
great confidence to sup and lye on board. We let them hear the music of
our flutes, base-viols, and violins, and we entertained them with a
fire-work of sky-rockets and fire-snakes. This sight caused a mixture of
surprize and of horror in them.
[Sidenote: Project of a camp for our sick on shore.]
On the 7th in the morning, the chief, whose name was Ereti, came on
board. He brought us a hog, some fowls, and the pistol which had been
stolen at his house the day before. This act of justice gave us a good
opinion of him. However, we made every thing ready in the morning, for
landing our sick people, and our water casks, and leaving a guard for
their defence. In the afternoon I went on shore with arms and
implements, and we began to make a camp on the banks of a little brook,
where we were to fill our water. Ereti saw the men under arms, and the
preparations for the encampment, without appearing at first surprised or
discontented. [Sidenote: Opposition on the part of the islanders.]
However, some hours after he came to me, accompanied by his father and
the principal people of the district, who had made remonstrances to him
on this occasion, and gave me to understand that our stay on shore
displeased them, that we might stay there during day-time as long as we
pleased, but that we should ly on board our ships at night. I insisted
upon establishing the camp, making him comprehend that it was necessary
to us, in order to get wood and water, and to facilitate the exchanges
between both nations. They then held a second council, the remit of
which, was, that Ereti came to ask me whether we intended to stay here
for ever, or whether we intended to go away again, and how soon that
would be. I told him that we should set sail in eighteen days, in sign
of which, I gave him eighteen little stones. Upon this they held a new
conference, at which they desired I would be present. [Sidenote: They
consent to it on some conditions.] A grave man, who seemed to have much
weight with the members of the council, wanted to reduce the number of
days of our encamping to nine; but as I insisted on the number I had at
first required, they at last gave their consent.
From that moment their joy returned; Ereti himself offered us an
extensive building like a shed, close to the river, under which were
some periaguas, which he immediately got taken away. [Sidenote:
Establishment of a camp for our sick and artificers.] Under this shed we
raised the tents for those who were ill of the scurvy, being thirty-four
in number, twelve from the Boudeuse, and twenty-two from the Etoile, and
for some necessary hands. The guard consisted of thirty soldiers, and I
likewise landed muskets enough to arm the workmen and the sick. I staid
on shore the first night, which Ereti likewise chose to pass under our
tents. He ordered his supper to be brought, and joined it to ours,
driving away the crowd which surrounded the camp, and retaining only
five or six of his friends. After supper he desired to see some
sky-rockets played off, and they frightened him at least as much as they
gave him pleasure. Towards the end of night he sent for one of his
wives, whom he sent to sleep in prince Nassau’s tent. She was old and
ugly.
[Sidenote: Precautions taken. Conduct of the natives.]
The next day was spent in completing our camp. The shed was well made,
and entirely covered over by a kind of mats. We left only one entrance
to it, which we provided with a barrier, and placed a guard there.
Ereti, his wives and his friends alone were allowed to come in; the
croud kept on the outside of the shed, and only a single man of our
people with a switch in his hand was sufficient to clear the way. Hither
the natives from all sides brought fruits, fowls, hogs, fish, and pieces
of cloth, which they exchanged for nails, tools, beads, buttons, and
numberless other trifles, which were treasures to them. They were, upon
the whole, very attentive to learn what would give us pleasure; they saw
us gathering antiscorbutic plants, and searching for shells: their women
and children soon vied with each other in bringing us bundles of the
same plants, which they had seen us collecting, and baskets full of
shells of all sorts. Their trouble was paid at a small expence.
[Sidenote: Assistance they give us.]
This same day I desired the chief to shew me where I might cut wood. The
low country where we were, was covered only with fruit trees, and a kind
of wood full of gum, and of little consistence; the hard wood grows upon
the mountains. Ereti pointed out to me the trees which I might cut down,
and even shewed towards which side I should fell them. The natives
assisted us greatly in our works; our workmen cut down the trees and
made them into faggots, which the islanders brought to the boats; they
likewise gave us their assistance in making our provision of water,
filling the casks, and bringing them to the boats. Their labour was paid
in nails, of which, the number was proportionate to the work they had
done. The only constraint which their presence put upon us, was, that
they obliged us to have our eyes upon every thing that was brought on
shore, and even to look to our pockets; for even in Europe itself, one
cannot see more expert filchers than the people of this country.
[Sidenote: Precautions taken against thieves.]
However, it does not appear that stealing is usual among themselves.
Nothing is shut up in their houses, every piece of furniture lies on the
ground, or is hung up, without being under locks, or under any person’s
care. Doubtless their curiosity for new objects excited violent desires
in them; and besides that, there are always base-minded people every
where. During the two first nights we had some things stolen from us,
notwithstanding our guards and patroles, at whom the thieves had even
thrown stones. These thieves hid themselves in a marsh full of grass and
reeds, extending behind our camp. This marsh was partly cleared by my
orders, and I commanded the officer upon duty to fire upon any thieves
who should come for the future. Ereti himself told me to do it, but took
great care to shew me several times the spot where his house was
situated, earnestly recommending it to me, to fire towards the opposite
quarter. I likewise sent every evening three of our boats, armed with
pedereroes and swivel guns, to ly at anchor before the camp.
All our transactions were carried on in as friendly a manner as
possible, if we except thieving. Our people were daily walking in the
isle without arms, either quite alone, or in little companies. They were
invited to enter the houses, where the people gave them to eat; nor did
the civility of their landlords stop at a slight collation, they offered
them young girls; the hut was immediately filled with a curious croud of
men and women, who made a circle round the guest, and the young victim
of hospitality. The ground was spread with leaves and flowers, and their
musicians sung an hymeneal song to the tune of their flutes. Here Venus
is the goddess of hospitality, her worship does not admit of any
mysteries, and every tribute paid to her is a feast for the whole
nation. They were surprised at the confusion which our people appeared
to be in, as our customs do not admit of these public proceedings.
However, I would not answer for it, that every one of our men had found
it impossible to conquer his repugnance, and conform to the customs of
the country.
[Sidenote: Beauty of the interior parts of the country.]
I have often, in company with only one or two of our people, been out
walking in the interior parts of the isle. I thought I was transported
into the garden of Eden; we crossed a turf, covered with fine
fruit-trees, and interfered by little rivulets, which keep up a pleasant
coolness in the air, without any of those inconveniences which humidity
occasions. A numerous people there enjoy the blessings which nature
showers liberally down upon them. We found companies of men and women
sitting under the shade of their fruit-trees: they all greeted us with
signs of friendship: those who met us upon the road stood aside to let
us pass by; every where we found hospitality, ease, innocent joy, and
every appearance of happiness amongst them.
[Sidenote: Presents of European fowls and seeds made to the chief.]
I presented the chief of the district in which we were with a couple of
turkies, and some ducks and drakes; they were to be considered as the
mites of the widow. I likewise desired him to make a garden in our way,
and to sow various sorts of feeds in them, and this proposal was
received with joy. In a short time, Ereti prepared a piece of ground,
which had been chosen by our gardeners, and got it inclosed. I ordered
it to be dug; they admired our gardening instruments. They have likewise
around their houses a kind of kitchen gardens, in which they plant an
eatable hibiscus or okra, potatoes, yams, and other roots. We sowed for
their use some wheat, barley, oats, rice, maize, onions, and pot herbs
of all kinds. We have reason to believe that these plantations will be
taken care of; for this nation appeared to love agriculture, and would I
believe be easily accustomed to make advantage of their soil, which is
the most fertile in the universe.
[Sidenote: Visit of the chief of a neighbouring district.]
During the first days of our arrival, I had a visit from the chief of a
neighbouring district, who came on board with a present of fruits, hogs,
fowls, and cloth. This lord, named _Toutaa_, has a fine shape, and is
prodigiously tall. He was accompanied by some of his relations, who were
almost all of them six feet (French measure) high: I made them presents
of nails, some tools, beads, and silk stuffs. We were obliged to repay
this visit at his house, where we were very well received, and where the
good-natured Toutaa offered me one of his wives, who was very young and
pretty handsome. The assembly was very numerous, and the musicians had
already began the hymenean. Such is their manner of receiving visits of
ceremony.
On the 10th, an islander was killed, and the natives came to complain of
this murder. I sent some people to the house, whither they had brought
the dead body; it appeared very plain that the man had been killed by a
fire-arm. However, none of our people had been suffered to go out of the
camp, or to come from the ships with fire-arms. The most exact enquiries
which I made to find out the author of this villainous action proved
unsuccessful. The natives doubtless believed that their countryman had
been in the wrong; for they continued to come to our quarters with their
usual confidence. However, I received intelligence that many of the
people had been seen carrying off their effects to the mountains, and
that even Ereti’s house was quite unfurnished. I made him some more
presents, and this good chief continued to testify the sincerest
friendship for us.
[Sidenote: Loss of our anchors, dangers which we meet with.]
I hastened in the mean while the completing of our works of all kinds;
for though this was an excellent place to supply our wants at, yet I
knew that we were very ill moored. Indeed, though we under-run the
cables almost every day with the long boat, and had not yet found them
chafed[98], yet we had found the bottom was strewed with large coral;
and besides, in case of a high wind from the offing, we had no room to
drive. Necessity had obliged us to take this anchorage, without leaving
us the liberty of choosing, and we soon found that our fears were but
too well grounded.
[Sidenote: Account of the manoeuvres which saved us.]
The 12th, at five in the morning, the wind being south, our S. E. cable,
and the hawser of the stream-anchor, which by way of precaution we had
extended to the E. S. E. parted at the bottom. We immediately let go our
sheet-anchor, but before it had reached the bottom, the frigate swung
off to her N. W. anchor, and we fell aboard the Etoile on the larboard
side. We hove upon our anchor, and the Etoile veered out cable as fast
as possible, so that we were separated before any damage was done. The
store ship then sent us the end of a hawser, which she had extended to
the eastward, and upon which we hove, in order to get farther from her.
We then weighed our sheet-anchor, and hove in our hawser and cable,
which parted at the bottom. The latter had been cut about thirty fathom
from the clinch; we shifted it end for end, and bent it to a spare
anchor of two thousand seven hundred weight, which the Etoile had stowed
in her hold, and which we sent for. Our S. E. anchor, which we had let
go without any buoy-rope, on account of the great depth, was entirely
lost; and we endeavoured, without success, to save the stream-anchor,
whose buoy was sunk, and for which it was impossible to sweep the
bottom. We presently swayed up our fore-top-mast and fore-yard, in order
to be ready for sailing as soon as the wind should permit.
In the afternoon the wind abated and shifted to the eastward. We then
carried out to the S. E. a stream-anchor, and the anchor we had got from
the Etoile, and I sent a boat to sound to the northward, in order to
know whether there was a passage that way, by which means we might have
got out almost with any wind. One misfortune never comes alone; as we
were occupied with a piece of work on which our safety depended,
[Sidenote: Another murder of some islanders.] I was informed that three
of the natives had been killed or wounded with bayonets in their huts,
that the alarm was spread in the country, that the old men, the women
and the children fled towards the mountains with their goods, and even
the bodies of the dead, and that we should perhaps be attacked by an
army of these enraged men. Thus our situation gave us room to fear a war
on shore, at the very moment when both ships were upon the point of
being stranded. I went ashore, and came into the camp, where, in
presence of the chief, I put four soldiers in irons, who were suspected
to be the authors of this crime: these proceedings seemed to content the
natives.
[Sidenote: Precautions against the consequences which it might have
had.]
I passed a part of the night on shore, and reinforced the watches,
fearing that the inhabitants might revenge their countrymen. We occupied
a most excellent post, between two rivers, distant from each other at
most only a quarter of a league; the front of the camp was covered by a
marsh, and on the remaining side was the sea, of which we certainly were
the masters. We had a fair chance to defend this post against the united
forces of the whole island; but happily the night passed very quietly in
the camp, excepting some alarms occasioned by thieves.
[Sidenote: Continuation of the dangers which the ships run.]
It was not from this part that I dreaded the worst that could happen;
the fear of seeing the ships lost upon the coast, gave me infinitely
more concern. From ten o’clock in the evening, the wind freshened very
much from the east; and was attended with a great swell; rain, tempest,
and all the sad appearances which augment the horror of these dreadful
situations.
Towards two o’clock in the morning, a squall drove the ships towards the
coast: I came on board; the squall happily was not of long duration; and
as soon as it was blown over, the wind blew off more. At day-break we
encountered new misfortunes; our N. W. cable parted; the hawser, which
the Etoile had given us, and which held us by her stream-anchor, had the
same fate a few minutes after. The frigate then swinging off to her S.
E. anchor and hawser, was no more than a cable’s length off shore, upon
which the sea broke with great violence. In proportion, as the danger
became more pressing, our resources failed us; the two anchors of which
the cable’s had just parted, were entirely lost to us; their buoys
disappeared, being either sunk, or taken away, during the night, by the
Indians. Thus we had lost already four anchors, in four and
twenty-hours, and had yet several losses to sustain.
At ten o’clock in the morning, the new cable we had bent to the anchor
of two thousand seven hundred weight from the Etoile, which held us to
the S. E. parted, and the frigate, riding by a single hawser, began to
drive upon the coast. We immediately let go our sheet-anchor under foot;
it being the only one which we had remaining at our bow: but of what use
could it be to us? We were so close to the breakers, that we must have
been upon them before we had veered out cable sufficient to make the
anchor catch hold in the ground. We expected every moment the sad
conclusion of this adventure, when a S. W. breeze gave us some hopes of
setting sail. Our jib and stay-sails were soon hoisted; the ship began
to shoot a-head, and we were endeavouring to make sail, in order to veer
away cable and hawser, and get out; but the wind almost immediately
shifted to the eastward again. This interval had, however, given us time
to take on board the end of a hawser, from a second stream-anchor of the
Etoile, which she had just carried out to the eastward, and which saved
us for this time. We hove in upon both hawsers, and got somewhat further
from the shore. We then sent our long-boat aboard the Etoile, to help
her in mooring her securely; her anchors happily lay in a bottom less
covered with coral than that where we had let ours go. This being done,
our long-boat went to weigh the anchor of 2700 weight by its buoy-rope;
we bent another cable to it, and carried it out to the N. E. We then
weighed the stream-anchor belonging to the Etoile, and returned it to
her. During these two days M. de la Giraudais, captain of that
store-ship, had a very great share in the preservation of the frigate,
by the assistance which he gave me: it is with pleasure that I pay this
tribute of gratitude to an officer, who has already been my companion on
former voyages, and whose zeal equals his talents.
[Sidenote: Peace made with the islanders.]
However, when the day appeared, no Indian was come near the camp, not a
single periagua was seen sailing, all the neighbouring houses were
abandoned, and the whole country appeared as a desert. The prince of
Nassau, who with only four or five men was gone out a little further, in
order to search for some of the natives, and to inspire them with
confidence again, found a great number of them with Ereti, about a
league from the camp. As soon as that chief knew the prince again, he
came up to him with an air of consternation.
The women, who were all in tears, fell at his feet, kissed his hands,
weeping and repeating several times, _Tayo, maté_, you are our friends,
and you kill us. By his caresses and demonstrations of friendship, he at
last succeeded in regaining their confidence. I saw from on board a
croud of people running to our quarters: fowls, cocoa-nuts, and branches
full of bananas, embellished this procession, and promised a peace. I
immediately went ashore with an assortment of silk stuffs, and tools of
all sorts; I distributed them among the chiefs, expressing my concern to
them on account of the disaster which had happened the day before, and
assuring them, that I would punish the perpetrators. The good islanders
loaded me with caresses; the people applauded the reunion, and, in a
short time, the usual croud and the thieves returned to our quarters,
which looked like a fair. This day, and the following, they brought more
refreshments than ever. They likewise desired to have several muskets
fired in their presence, which frightened them very much, as all the
creatures which we shot at were killed immediately.
[Sidenote: The Etoile sets sail.]
The boat, which I had sent to sound to the northward, was returned with
the good news of having found a very fine passage. It was then too late
to profit of it the same day; for night was coming on. Happily it passed
quietly, both on shore and at sea. The 14th in the morning, wind at
east, I ordered the Etoile, who had got her water and all her men on
board, to weigh and go out by the new north passage. We could not go out
by that passage before the store-ship, she being moored to the northward
of us. At eleven she came to sail, from a hawser, which she had carried
on board of us. I kept her long-boat and two small anchors; I likewise
took on board, as soon as she was got under sail, the end of the cable
of her S. E. anchor, which lay in a good bottom. We now weighed our
sheet-anchor, carried the two stream-anchors further out; and were by
this means moored by two great, and three small anchors. At two o’clock
in the afternoon, we had the satisfaction of seeing the Etoile without
the reefs. Our situation by this means became less terrifying; we had at
least secured to ourselves the means of returning to our country, by
putting one of the ships out of danger. When M. de la Giraudais was got
out into the offing, he sent back his boat to me, with Mr. Lavari Leroi,
who had been employed to survey the passage.
We laboured all day, and a part of the night, to complete our water, and
to remove the hospital and the camp. [Sidenote: Inscription buried.] I
buried near the shed, an act of taking possession, inscribed on an oak
plank, and a bottle well corked and glued, containing the names of the
officers of both ships. I have followed the same method in regard to all
the lands discovered during the course of this voyage. It was two
o’clock in the morning, before every one of our people were on board:
the night was still stormy enough to give us some disturbance,
notwithstanding the number of anchors we had moored.
[Sidenote: The Boudeuse sets sail; runs new dangers.]
On the 15th, at six o’clock in the morning, the wind blowing off shore,
and the sky looking stormy, we weighed our anchor, veered away the cable
of that which belonged to the Etoile, cut one of the hawsers, and veered
out the other two, setting sail under our fore-sail and top-sails, in
order to go out by the eastern passage. We left the two long-boats to
weigh the anchors; and as soon as we were got out of the reefs, I sent
the two barges armed, under the command of ensign the chevalier de
Suzannet, to protect the work of the long-boats. We were about a quarter
of a league off shore, and began to give ourselves joy of having so
happily left an anchorage, that had given us such terrible alarms, when
the wind ceasing all at once, the tide and a great swell from the
eastward, began to drive us towards the reefs to leeward of the passage.
The worst consequences of the shipwreck, with which we had hitherto been
threatened, would have been to pass the remainder of our days on an isle
adorned with all the gifts of nature, and to exchange the sweets of the
mother-country, for a peaceable life, exempted from cares. But now
shipwreck appeared with a more cruel aspect; the ship being rapidly
carried upon the rocks, could not have resisted the violence of the sea
two minutes, and hardly some of the best swimmers could have saved their
lives. At the beginning of the danger, I had made signal for the long
boats and barges to return and tow us. They came at the very moment,
when we being only 35 or 36 fathom (50 toises) from the reef, our
situation was become quite desperate; the more so as we could not let go
an anchor. A westerly breeze, springing up that instant, brought hope
along with it; it actually freshened by degrees; and at nine o’clock in
the morning, we were quite clear of all dangers.
[Sidenote: Departure from Taiti; losses which we sustained there.]
I immediately sent the boats back in quest of the anchors, and I
remained plying to wait for them. In the afternoon we joined the Etoile.
At five in the evening our long-boat came on board with the best bower,
and the cable of the Etoile, which she carried to her: our barge, that
of the Etoile, and her long-boat returned soon after; the latter
bringing us our stream-anchor and a hawser. As to the other two
stream-anchors, the night coming on, and the sailors being extremely
fatigued, they could not weigh them that day. I at first intended to
keep plying off and on during night, and to send them out for them the
next morning; but, at mid-night a strong gale sprung at E. N. E.
obliging me to hoist in the boats, and make sail, in order to get clear
of the coast.
Thus an anchorage of nine days cost us six anchors; which we should not
have lost, had we been provided with some iron chains. This is a
precaution which no navigator ought to forget, if he is going upon such
a voyage as this.
[Sidenote: Regret of the islanders at our departing.]
Now that the ships are in safety, let us stop a moment to receive the
farewel of the islanders. At daybreak, when they perceived us setting
sail, Ereti leaped alone into the first periagua he could find on shore,
and came on board. There he embraced all of us, held us some moments in
his arms, shedding tears, and appearing much affected at our departure.
Soon after, his great periagua came on board, laden with refreshments of
all kinds; his wives were in the periagua; and with them the same
islander, who, on the first day of our land-fall, had, lodged on board
the Etoile. [Sidenote: One of them embarks with us, at his own and his
nation’s request.] Ereti took him by the hand, and, presenting him to
me, gave me to understand, that this man, whose name was Aotourou,
desired to go with us, and begged that I would consent to it. He then
presented him to each of the officers in particular; telling them that
it was one of his friends, whom he entrusted with those who were
likewise his friends, and recommending him to us with the greatest signs
of concern. We made Ereti more presents of all sorts; after which he
took leave of us, and returned to his wives, who did not cease to weep
all the time of the periagua’s being along-side of us. In it there was
likewise a young and handsome girl, whom the islander that stayed along
with us went to embrace. He gave her three pearls which he had in his
ears, kissed her once more; and, notwithstanding the tears of this young
wife or mistress, he tore himself from her, and came aboard the ship.
Thus we quitted this good people; and I was no less surprised at the
sorrow they certified on our departure, than at their affectionate
confidence on our arrival.
-----
Footnote 97:
The people of _Otahitee_, or as our author wrongly calls it, _Taiti_,
are not idolaters, according to the last published account, and
therefore it is certain, that Mr. de B. took some ornamental figures
for those of their divinities. Had this circumnavigator made a longer
stay in this island, had he thoroughly studied the language of the
country, and looked upon many things with a more philosophical, or
less prejudiced eye, his account would have proved less subject to the
mistakes it abounds with. The English, more used to philosophical
enquiries, will give more faithful accounts in the work that is going
to be published, of the great discoveries made by the British nation
in those seas. F.
Footnote 98:
Rayés.
-----
_CHAP. III._
_Description of the new island; manners and character of its
inhabitants._
Lucis habitamus opacis,
Riparumque toros & prata recentia rivis
Incolimus.
VIRG. Æneid. Lib. VI.
The isle which at first was called New Cythera, is known by the name of
Taiti amongst its inhabitants. [Sidenote: Geographical position of
Taiti.] Its latitude has been determined in our camp, from several
meridian altitudes of the sun, observed on shore with a quadrant. Its
longitude has been ascertained by eleven observations of the moon,
according to the method of the horary angles. M. Verron had made many
others on shore, during four days and four nights, to determine the same
longitude; but the paper on which he wrote them having been stolen, he
has only kept the last observations, made the day before our departure.
He believes their result exact enough, though their extremes differ
among themselves 7° or 8°. The loss of our anchors, and all the
accidents I have mentioned before, obliged us to leave this place much
sooner than we intended, and have made it impossible for us to survey
its coasts. The southern part of it is entirely unknown to us; that
which we have observed from the S. E. to the N. W. point, seems to be
fifteen or twenty leagues in extent, and the position of its principal
points, is between N. W. and W. N. W.
[Sidenote: Better anchorage than that where we were.]
Between the S. E. point and another great cape advancing to the
northward, about seven or eight leagues from the former, you see a bay
open to the N. E. which has three or four leagues depth. Its shores
gradually descend towards the bottom of the bay, where they have but
little height, and seem to form the finest and best peopled district of
the whole island. It seems it would be easy to find several good
anchoring-places in this bay. We were very ill served by fortune in
meeting with our anchorage. In entering into it by the passage where the
Etoile came out at, M. de la Giraudais assured me, that between the two
most northerly isles, there was a very safe anchorage for at least
thirty ships; that there was from twenty-three to between twelve and ten
fathom of water, grey sand and ooze; that there was a birth of a league
in extent, and never any sea. The rest of the shore is high, and seems
in general to be quite surrounded by a reef, unequally covered by the
sea, and forming little isles in some parts, on which the islanders keep
up fires at night on account of their fishery, and for the safety of
their navigation; some gaps from space to space form entrances to the
part within the reefs, but the bottom must not be too much relied upon.
The lead never brings up any thing but a grey sand; this sand covers
great masses of hard and sharp coral, which can cut through a cable in
one night, as fatal experience taught us.
Beyond the north point of this bay, the coast forms no creek, nor no
remarkable cape. The most westerly point is terminated by a low ground,
from which to the N. W. and at about a league’s distance, you see a low
isle, extending two or three leagues to the N. W.
[Sidenote: Aspect of the country.]
The height of the mountains in the interior parts of Taiti, is
surprising in respect to the extent of the island. Far from making its
aspect gloomy and wild, they serve only to embellish it, offering to the
eye many prospects and beautiful landscapes, covered with the richest
productions of nature, in that beautiful disorder which it was never in
the power of art to imitate. From thence spring a vast number of little
rivulets, which greatly contribute to the fertility of the country, and
serve no less to supply the wants of the inhabitants than to adorn and
heighten the charms of the plains. All the flat country, from the
sea-shore to the foot of the mountains, is destined for the fruit-trees,
under which, as I have already observed before, the houses of the people
of Taiti are built, without order, and without forming any villages. One
would think himself in the Elysian fields: Public paths, very
judiciously laid out, and carefully kept in a good condition form the
most easy communication with every part of the country.
[Sidenote: Its productions.]
The chief productions of the isle are [99]cocoa-nuts, plantains or
bananas, the bread-fruit, yams, curassol, okras, and several other roots
and fruits peculiar to the country: plenty of sugar-canes which are not
cultivated, a species of wild indigo, a very fine red and a yellow
substance for dying, of which I cannot say from whence they get them. In
general, M. de Commerçon has found the same kinds of vegetables there as
are common in India. Aotourou, whilst he was amongst us, knew and named
several of our fruits and legumes, and a considerable number of plants,
cultivated by the curious, in hot-houses. The wood which is fit for
carpenters work grew on the mountains, and the islanders make little use
of it; they only employ it for their great periaguas, which they make of
cedar wood. We have likewise seen pikes of a black, hard and heavy wood
among them, very like iron-wood. For building their common periaguas,
they make use of the tree which bears the bread-fruit. This is a wood
which will not split, but is so soft and full of gum, that it is only as
it were bruised when worked with a tool.
[Sidenote: It does not appear that there are any mines.]
This isle, though abounding with very high mountains, does not seem to
contain any minerals, since the hills are every where covered with trees
and other plants[100]. At least it is certain that the islanders do not
know any metals. They give the same name of _aouri_, by which they asked
us for iron, to all the kinds of metals we could shew them. But in what
manner they became acquainted with iron, is not easily understood;
however, I shall soon mention what I think on this subject. [Sidenote:
There are fine pearls.] I know of only a single rich article of
commerce, viz. very fine pearls. The wives and children of the chief
people wear them at their ears; but they hid them during our stay
amongst them. They make a kind of castanets of the shells of the
pearl-oyster, and this is one of the instruments employed by their
dancers.
[Sidenote: Animals of the country.]
We have seen no other quadrupeds than hogs, a small but pretty sort of
dogs, and rats in abundance. The inhabitants have domestic cocks and
hens, exactly like ours. We have likewise seen beautiful green turtle
doves, large pigeons of a deep blue plumage and excellent taste, and a
very small sort of perrokeets, very singular on account of the various
mixture of blue and red in their feathers. The people feed their hogs
and their fowls with nothing but plantains. Taking together what has
been consumed by us on shore, and what we have embarked in both ships,
we have in all got by our exchanges, upwards of eight hundred fowls, and
near one hundred and fifty hogs; and if it had not been for the
troublesome work on the last days, we should have got much more, for the
inhabitants brought every day a greater quantity of them.
[Sidenote: Meteorological observations.]
We have not observed great heat in this island. During our stay,
Reaumur’s thermometer never rose above 22°, and was sometimes at 18°,
but it may be observed that the sun was already eight or nine degrees on
the other side of the equator. However, this isle has another
inestimable advantage, which is that of not being infested by those
myriads of troublesome insects that are the plague of other tropical
countries: neither have we observed any venomous animals in it.
[Sidenote: Goodness of the climate: vigour of the inhabitants.] The
climate upon the whole is so healthy, that notwithstanding the hard work
we have done in this island, though our men were continually in the
water, and exposed to the meridian sun, though they slept upon the bare
soil and in the open air, none of them fell sick there. Those of our men
who were sent on shore because they were afflicted with the scurvy, have
not passed one night there quietly, yet they regained their strength,
and were so far recovered in the short space of time they staid on
shore, that some of them were afterwards perfectly cured on board. In
short, what better proofs can we desire of the salubrity of the air, and
the good regimen which the inhabitants observe, than the health and
strength of these same islanders, who inhabit huts exposed to all the
winds, and hardly cover the earth which serves them as a bed with a few
leaves; the happy old age to which they attain without feeling any of
its inconveniences; the acuteness of all their senses; and lastly, the
singular beauty of their teeth, which they keep even in the most
advanced age?
[Sidenote: Their nourishment.]
Vegetables and fish are their principal food; they seldom eat flesh,
their children and young girls never eat any; and this doubtless serves
to keep them free from almost all our diseases. I must say the same of
their drink; they know of no other beverage than water. The very smell
of wine or brandy disgusted them; they likewise shewed their aversion to
tobacco, spices, and in general to every thing strong.
[Sidenote: There are two races of men in the isle.]
The inhabitants of Taiti consist of two races of men, very different
from each other, but speaking the same language, having the same
customs, and seemingly mixing without distinction. The first, which is
the most numerous one, produces men of the greatest size; it is very
common to see them measure six (Paris) feet and upwards in height. I
never saw men better made, and whose limbs were more proportionate: in
order to paint a Hercules or a Mars, one could no where find such
beautiful models. Nothing distinguishes their features from those of the
Europeans: and if they were cloathed; if they lived less in the open
air, and were less exposed to the sun at noon, they would be as white as
ourselves: their hair in general is black. The second race are of a
middle size, have frizzled hair as hard as bristles, and both in colour
and features they differ but little from mulattoes. The Taiti man who
embarked with us, is of this second race, though his father is chief of
a district: but he possesses in understanding what he wants in beauty.
[Sidenote: Account of some of their customs.]
Both races let the lower part of the beard grow, but they all have their
whiskers, and the upper part of the cheeks shaved. They likewise let all
their nails grow, except that on the middle finger of the right hand.
Some of them cut their hair very short, others let it grow, and wear it
fastened on the top of the head. They have all got the custom of
anointing or oiling it and their beard with cocoa-nut oil. I have met
with only a single cripple amongst them; and he seemed to have been
maimed by a fall. Our surgeon assured me, that he had on several of them
observed marks of the small-pox; and I took all possible measures to
prevent our people’s communicating the other sort to them; as I could
not suppose that they were already infected with it.
[Sidenote: Their dress.]
The inhabitants of Taiti are often seen quite naked, having no other
clothes than a sash, which covers their natural parts. However, the
chief people among them generally wrap themselves in a great piece of
cloth, which hangs down to their knees. This is likewise the only dress
of the women; and they know how to place it so artfully, as to make this
simple dress susceptible of coquetry. As the women of Taiti never go out
into the sun, without being covered; and always have a little hat, made
of canes, and adorned with flowers, to defend their faces against its
rays; their complexions are, of course, much fairer than those of the
men. Their features are very delicate; but what distinguishes them, is
the beauty of their bodies, of which the _contour_ has not been
disfigured by a torture of fifteen years duration.
[Sidenote: Custom of puncturing the skin.]
Whilst the women in Europe paint their cheeks red, those of Taiti dye
their loins and buttocks of a deep blue. This is an ornament, and at the
same time a mark of distinction. The men are subject to the same
fashion. I cannot say how they do to impress these indelible marks,
unless it is by puncturing the skin, and pouring the juice of certain
herbs upon it, as I have seen it practised by the natives of Canada. It
is remarkable, that this custom of painting has always been found to be
received among nations who bordered upon a state of nature. When Cæsar
made his first descent upon England, he found this fashion established
there; _omnes vero Britanni se vitro insiciunt, quod cæruleum efficit
Colorem_. The learned and ingenious author of the _Recherches
philosophiques sur les Americains_[101], thinks this general custom owes
its rise to the necessity of defending the body from the puncture of
insects, multiplying beyond conception in uncultivated countries. This
cause, however, does not exist at Taiti, since, as we have already said
above, the people there are not troubled with such insupportable
insects. The custom of painting is accordingly a mere fashion, the same
as at Paris. Another custom at Taiti, common to men and women, is, to
pierce their ears, and to wear in them pearls or flowers of all sorts.
The greatest degree of cleanliness further adorns this amiable nation;
they constantly bathe, and never eat nor drink without washing before
and after it.
[Sidenote: Interior policy.]
The character of the nation has appeared mild and beneficent to us.
Though the isle is divided into many little districts, each of which has
its own master, yet there does not seem to be any civil war, or any
private hatred in the isle. It is probable, that the people of Taiti
deal amongst each other with unquestioned sincerity. Whether they be at
home or no, by day or by night, their houses are always open. Every one
gathers fruits from the first tree he meets with, or takes some in any
house into which he enters. It should seem as if, in regard to things
absolutely necessary for the maintainance of life, there was no personal
property amongst them, and that they all had an equal right to those
articles. In regard to us, they were expert thieves; but so fearful, as
to run away at the least menace. It likewise appeared, that the chiefs
disapproved of their thefts, and that they desired us to kill those who
committed them. Ereti, however, did not himself employ that severity
which he recommended to us. When we pointed out a thief to him, he
himself pursued him as fast as possible; the man fled; and if he was
overtaken, which was commonly the case, for Ereti was indefatigable in
the pursuit, some lashes, and a forced restitution of the stolen goods,
was all the punishment inflicted on the guilty. I at first believed they
knew of no greater punishment; for when they saw that some of our people
were put in irons, they expressed great concern for them; but I have
since learnt, that they have undoubtedly the custom of hanging thieves
upon trees, as it is practised in our armies.
[Sidenote: They are at war with the neighbouring islands.]
They are almost constantly at war with the inhabitants of the
neighbouring isles. We have seen the great periaguas, which they make
use of to make descents, and even in sea-fights. Their arms are the bow,
the sling, and a kind of pike of a very hard wood. They make war in a
very cruel manner. According to Aotourou’s information, they kill all
the men and male children taken in battle; they strip the skins, with
the beards from the chins, and carry them off as trophies of their
victory, only preferring the wives and daughters of their enemies, whom
the conquerors do not disdain to admit to their bed. Aotourou himself is
the son of a chief of Taiti, and of a captive woman from the isle of
Oopoa, which is near Taiti, and often at war with its inhabitants. To
this mixture I attribute the difference of the races we have observed
among them. I am not acquainted with their method of healing wounds: our
surgeons admired the scars which they saw.
[Sidenote: Important custom.]
I shall, towards the end of this chapter, give an account of what I have
been able to discover, concerning their form of government, the extent
of the power of their petty sovereigns, the kind of distinction existing
between the men of note and the common people; and, lastly, the ties
which unite together, under the same authority, this multitude of robust
men, whose wants are so few. I shall only observe here, that in matters
of consequence, the lord of the district does not give his decision
without the advice of a council. I have mentioned above, that a
deliberation of the people of note in the nation was required on the
subject of our establishing a camp on shore. I must add too, that the
chief seems to be implicitly obeyed by every body; and that the men of
note have likewise people to serve them, and over whom they have an
authority.
[Illustration:
_Canoe, of the isle of Navigators, under sail._
_Indian Canoe, of the isle of Choiseul._
_Canoe, of the isle of Taiti, under sail._
]
[Sidenote: Customs on the subject of their dead.]
It is very difficult to give an account of their religion. We have seen
wooden statues among them, which we took for idols; but how did they
worship them? The only religious ceremony, which we have been witnesses
to, concerns the dead. They preserve their corpses a long while,
extended on a kind of scaffold, covered by a shed. The infection which
they spread does not prevent the women from going to weep around the
corpse, during part of the day, and from anointing the cold relicks of
their affection with cocoa-nut oil. Those women, with whom we were
acquainted, would sometimes allow us to come near these places, which
are consecrated to the manes of the deceased; they told us _emoé_, he
sleeps. When nothing but the skeletons remain, they carry them into
their houses, and I do not know how long they keep them there. I only
know, because I have seen it, that then a man of consideration among the
people comes to exercise his sacred rites there; and that in these awful
ceremonies, he wears ornaments which are much in request.
[Sidenote: Superstition of the islanders.]
We have asked Aotourou many questions concerning his religion; and
believe, we understood that, in general his countrymen are very
superstitious; that the priests have the highest authority amongst them;
that besides a superior being, named _Eri-t-Era_, king of the sun or of
light, and whom they do not represent by any material image, they have
several divinities; some beneficent, others mischievous; that the name
of these divinities or genii is _Eatoua_; that they suppose, that at
each important action of human life, there presides a good and an evil
genius; and that they decide its good or bad success. What we understand
with certainty is, that when the moon has a certain aspect, which they
call _Malama Tamai_, or moon in state of war[102], (an aspect in which
we have not been able to distinguish any characteristic mark, by which
it could be defined) they sacrifice human victims. Of all their customs,
one which most surprised me, is that of saluting those who sneeze by
saying, _Evaroua-t-eatoua_, that the good _eatoua_ may awaken thee, or
that the evil _eatoua_ may not lull thee asleep. These are marks which
prove, that they have the same origin with the people of the old
continent. Upon the whole, scepticism is reasonable, especially when we
treat of the religion of different nations; as there is no subject in
which it is more easy to be deceived by appearances.
[Sidenote: Polygamy.]
Polygamy seems established amongst them; at least it is so amongst the
chief people. As love is their only passion, the great number of women
is the only luxury of the opulent. Their children are taken care of,
both by their fathers and their mothers. It is not the custom at Taiti,
that the men occupied only with their fishery and their wars, leave to
the weaker sex the toilsome works of husbandry and agriculture. Here a
gentle indolence falls to the share of the women; and the endeavours to
please, are their most serious occupation. I cannot say whether their
marriage is a civil contract, or whether it is consecrated by religion;
whether it is indissoluble, or subject to the laws of divorce. Be this
as it will, the wives owe their husbands a blind submission; they would
wash with their blood any infidelity committed without their husbands’
consent. That, it is true, is easily obtained; and jealousy is so
unknown a passion here, that the husband is commonly the first who
persuades his wife to yield to another. An unmarried woman suffers no
constraint on that account; every thing invites her to follow the
inclination of her heart, or the instinct of her sensuality; and public
applause honours her defeat: nor does it appear, that how great soever
the number of her previous lovers may have been, it should prove an
obstacle to her meeting with a husband afterwards. Then wherefore should
she resist the influence of the climate, or the seduction of examples?
The very air which the people breathe, their songs, their dances, almost
constantly attended with indecent postures, all conspire to call to mind
the sweets of love, all engage to give themselves up to them. They dance
to the sound of a kind of drum, and when they sing, they accompany their
voices with a very soft kind of flute, with three or four holes, which,
as I have observed above, they blow with their nose. They likewise
practise a kind of wrestling; which, at the same time, is both exercise
and play to them.
[Sidenote: Character of the islanders.]
Thus accustomed to live continually immersed in pleasure, the people of
Taiti have acquired a witty and humorous temper, which is the offspring
of ease and of joy. They likewise contracted from the same source a
character of fickleness, which constantly amazed us. Every thing strikes
them, yet nothing fixes their attention: amidst all the new objects,
which we presented to them, we could never succeed in making them attend
for two minutes together to any one. It seems as if the least reflection
is a toilsome labour for them, and that they are still more averse to
the exercises of the mind, than to those of the body.
[Sidenote: Account of some of their works.]
I shall not, however, accuse them of want of understanding. Their skill
and ingenuity in the few necessary instances of industry, which
notwithstanding the abundance of the country, and the temperature of the
climate they cannot dispense with, would be sufficient to destroy such
assertion. It is amazing with how much art their fishing tackle is
contrived; their hooks are made of mother-of-pearl, as neatly wrought as
if they were made by the help of our tools; their nets are exactly like
ours; and knit with threads, taken from the great American _Aloes_. We
admired the construction of their extensive houses, and the disposition
of the leaves of the _Thatch-palm_, with which they are covered.
[Sidenote: Construction of their boats.]
They have two sorts of periaguas; some are little, and without much
ornament; being made of a single stem of a tree hollowed out; the others
are much larger, and wrought with much art. A hollow tree forms the
bottom of the periagua; from the head, to two-thirds of the intended
length, another tree forms the back part, which is bent, and greatly
elevated; in so much, that the extremity of the stern rises five or fix
feet above the water. These two pieces are joined together, as an arch
of a circle; and as they have no nails to fasten them together with,
they pierce the extremity of both pieces in several places, and by the
means of strings, (made of the filaments which surround cocoa-nuts) they
tie them together. The sides of the periagua are raised by two boards,
about one foot broad, sewed to the bottom, and to each other, with the
preceding sort of strings. They fill the seams with the fibrous
substance round cocoa-nuts; but do not cover or pay them with any
coating. A plank, which covers the head of the periagua, and projects
about five or six feet beyond it, prevents its plunging entirely into
the water, when there is a great sea. To make these light boats less
subject to overset, they fix an out-rigger to one of its sides. This is
nothing more than a pretty long piece of wood, supported by two cross
pieces, of about four or five feet in length; the other end of which is
fastened to the periagua. When she is sailing, a plank projects along
the side, opposite to the out-rigger; a rope is fastened to it, which
supports the mast, and it likewise makes the periagua stiffer, by
placing a man or a weight at the end of the plank.
Their ingenuity appears still more to advantage in the means they employ
to render these vessels proper to transport them to the neighbouring
isles, with which they have a communication, having no other guides than
the stars on such navigations. They fasten two great periaguas together
alongside of each other, (leaving about four feet distance between them)
by means, of some cross pieces of wood tied very fast to the starboard
of one and larboard of the other boat. Over the stern of these two
vessels thus joined, they place a hut, of a very light construction,
covered by a roof of reeds. This apartment shelters them from the sun
and rain, and at the same time affords them a proper place for keeping
their provisions dry. These double periaguas can contain a great number
of persons, and are never in danger of oversetting. We have always seen
the chiefs make use of them; they are navigated both by a sail and by
oars, as the single periaguas: the sails are composed of mats, extended
on a square frame, formed by canes, of which one of the angles is
rounded.
The Taiti people have no other tool for all these works than a chissel,
the blade of which is made of a very hard black stone[103]. It is
exactly of the same form as that of our carpenters, and they use it with
great expertness: they use very sharp pieces of shells to bore holes
into the wood.
[Sidenote: Their cloths.]
The manufacturing of that singular cloth, of which their dress is made
up, is likewise one of their greatest arts. It is prepared from the rind
of a shrub, which all the inhabitants cultivate around their houses. A
square piece of hard wood, fluted on its four sides by furrows of
different sizes, is made use of in beating the bark on a smooth board:
they sprinkle some water on it during this operation, and thus they at
last form a very equal fine cloth, of the nature of paper, but much more
pliable, and less apt to be torn, to which they give a great breadth.
They have several sorts of it, of a greater or less thickness, but all
manufactured from the same substance: I am not acquainted with their
methods of dying them.
[Sidenote: Account of the Taiti-man,
whom I brought to France.]
I shall conclude this chapter in exculpating myself, for people oblige
me to use this word, for having profited of the good will of Aotourou,
and taken him on a voyage, which he certainly did not expect to be of
such a length; and likewise, in giving an account of the information he
has given me concerning his country, during the time that he has been
with me.
[Sidenote: Reasons for which I took him.]
The zeal of this islander to follow us was unfeigned. The very first day
of our arrival at Taiti, he manifested it to us in the most expressive
manner, and the nation seemed to applaud his project. As we were forced
to sail through an unknown ocean, and sure to owe all the assistance and
refreshments on which our life depended, to the humanity of the people
we should meet with, it was of great consequence to us to take a man on
board from one of the most considerable islands in this ocean. It was to
be supposed that he spoke the same language as his neighbours, that his
manners were the same, and that his credit with them would be decisive
in our favour, when he should inform them of our proceedings towards his
countrymen, and our behaviour to him. Besides, supposing our country
would profit of an union with a powerful people, living in the middle of
the finest countries in the world, we could have no better pledge to
cement such an alliance, than the eternal obligation which we were going
to confer on this nation, by sending back their fellow-countryman well
treated by us, and enriched by the useful knowledge which he would bring
them. Would to God that the necessity and the zeal which inspired us,
may not prove fatal to the bold Aotourou!
[Sidenote: His stay at Paris.]
I have spared neither money nor trouble to make his stay at Paris
agreeable and useful to him. He has been there eleven months, during
which he has not given any mark at all of being tired of his stay. The
desire of seeing him has been very violent; idle curiosity, which has
served only to give false ideas to men whose constant practice it is to
traduce others, who never went beyond the capital, never examine any
thing; and who being influenced by errors of all sorts, never cast an
impartial eye upon any object; and yet pretend to decide with
magisterial severity, and without appeal! How, said some of them to me,
in this man’s country the people speak neither French, nor English, nor
Spanish? What could I answer them? I was struck dumb; however, it was
not on account of the surprize at hearing such a question asked. I was
used to them, because I knew that at my arrival, many of those who even
pass for people of abilities, maintained that I had not made the voyage
round the world, because I had not been in China. Some other sharp
critics conceived and propagated a very mean idea of the poor islander,
because, after a stay of two years amongst Frenchmen, he could hardly
speak a few words of the language. Do not we see every day, said they,
that the Italians, English, and Germans learn the French in so short a
time as one year at Paris? I could have answered them perhaps with some
reason, that, besides the physical obstacle in the organs of speech of
this islander, (which shall be mentioned in the sequel) which prevented
his becoming conversant in our language, he was at least thirty years
old; that his memory had never been exercised by any kind of study, nor
had his mind ever been at work; that indeed an Italian, an Englishman, a
German could in a year’s time speak a French jargon tolerably well, but
that was not strange at all, as these strangers had a grammar like ours,
as their moral, physical, political, and social ideas were the same with
ours, and all expressed by certain words in their language as they are
in French; that they had accordingly no more than a translation to fix
in their memory, which had been exerted from their very infancy. The
Taiti-man, on the contrary, only having a small number of ideas,
relative on the one hand to a most simple and most limited society, and
on the other, to wants which are reduced to the smallest number
possible; he would have been obliged, first of all, as I may say, to
create a world of previous ideas, in a mind which is as indolent as his
body, before he could come so far as to adapt to them the words in our
language, by which they are expressed. All this I might perhaps have
answered: but this detail required some minutes of time, and I have
always observed, that, loaded with questions as I was, whenever I was
going to answer, the persons that had honoured me with them were already
far from me. But it is common in a capital to meet with people who ask
questions, not from an impulse of curiosity, or from a desire of
acquiring knowledge, but as judges who are preparing to pronounce their
judgment; and whether they hear the answer or no, it does not prevent
them from giving their decision[104].
However, though Aotourou could hardly blabber out some words of our
language, yet he went out by himself every day, and passed through the
whole town without once missing or losing his way. He often made some
purchases, and hardly ever paid for things beyond their real value. The
only shew which pleased him, was the opera, for he was excessively fond
of dancing. He knew perfectly well upon what days this kind of
entertainment was played; he went thither by himself, paid at the door
the same as every body else, and his favourite place was in the
galleries behind the boxes[105]. Among the great number of persons who
have been desirous of seeing him, he always distinguished those who were
obliging towards him, and his grateful heart never forgot them. He was
particularly attached to the duchess of Choiseul, who has loaded him
with favours, and especially shewed marks of concern and friendship for
him, to which he was infinitely more sensible than to presents.
Therefore, he would, of his own accord, go to visit this generous
benefactress as often as he heard that she was come to town.
[Sidenote: His departure from France.]
He left Paris in March, 1770, and embarked at Rochelle, on board the
Brisson, which was to carry him to the Isle de France. [Sidenote: Steps
taken to send him home.] During this voyage he has been trusted to the
care of a merchant, who went a passenger in the same ship, which he had
equipped in part. The ministry have sent orders to the governor and the
intendant of the Isle of France, to send Aotourou home to his isle from
thence. I have given a very minute account of the course that must be
taken in order to go thither, and thirty-six thousand francs, (about
fifteen hundred pounds sterling) which is the third part of my whole
fortune, towards the equipment of the ship intended for this navigation.
The duchess of Choiseul has been so humane as to consecrate a sum of
money for bringing to Taiti a great number of the most necessary tools,
a quantity of seeds, and a number of cattle; and the king of Spain has
been pleased to permit that this ship might, if necessary, touch at the
Philippines. O may Aotounou soon see his countrymen again!—I shall now
give an account of what I have learnt in my conversations with him,
concerning the customs of his country.
[Sidenote: Farther accounts of the customs of Taiti.]
I have already observed that the Taiti people acknowledge a supreme
Being, who cannot be represented by any factitious image, and inferior
divinities of two classes, represented by wooden figures. They pray at
sun-rise and at sun-set; but they have besides a great number of
superstitious practices, in order to conciliate the influence of the
evil genii. The comet, visible at Paris in 1769, and which Aotourou has
very well taken notice of, has given me an opportunity of learning that
the people of Taiti know this kind of stars, which do not appear again,
as Aotourou said, till after a great number of moons. They call comets
_evetou-eave_, and do not combine any sinister ideas with their
apparition. Those meteors, however, which are here called shooting
stars, are known to the people of Taiti by the name of _epao_, and are
by them thought to be evil genii _eatoua toa_.
The better instructed people of this nation (without being astronomers,
as our gazettes have pretended) have, however, a name for every
remarkable constellation; they know their diurnal motion, and direct
their course at sea by them, from isle to isle. In these navigations,
which sometimes extend three hundred leagues, they lose all sight of
land. Their compass is the sun’s course in day-time, and the position of
the stars during the nights, which are almost always fair between the
tropics.
[Sidenote: Neighbouring isles.]
Aotourou has mentioned several isles to me; some of which are allies of,
and others at war with Taiti. The friendly isles are Aimeo, Maoroua,
Aca, Oumaitia, and Tapouamassou. The enemies isles are Papara, Aiatea,
Otaa, Toumaraa, Oopoa. These isles are as big as Taiti.
The isle of Pare, which is very abundant in pearls, is sometimes in
alliance, and sometimes at war with Taiti. Enoua-motou, and Toupai, are
two little uninhabited isles, abounding with fruits, hogs, fowls, fish,
and turtle; but the people believe, that they are the habitation of the
genii; they are their domains; and unhappy are the boats which chance or
curiosity has conducted to these sacred isles. Almost all those, who
endeavour to land there, must lose their lives in the attempt. These
isles ly at different distances from Taiti. The greatest distance, which
Aotourou mentioned to me, was fifteen days sail. It was, doubtless,
about the same distance that he supposed our country was at, when he
resolved to go with us.
[Sidenote: Inequality of ranks.]
I have mentioned above, that the inhabitants of Taiti seemed to live in
an enviable happiness. We took them to be almost equal in rank amongst
themselves; or at least enjoying a liberty, which was only subject to
the laws established for their common happiness. I was mistaken; the
distinction of ranks is very great at Taiti, and the disproportion very
tyrannical. The kings and grandees have power of life and death over
their servants and slaves, and I am inclined to believe, they have the
same barbarous prerogative with regard to the common people, whom they
call _Tata-einou_, vile men; so much is certain, that the victims for
human sacrifices are taken from this class of people. Flesh and fish are
reserved for the tables of the great; the commonalty live upon mere
fruits and pulse. Even the very manner of being lighted at night, shews
the difference in the ranks; for the kind of wood, which is burnt for
people of distinction, is not the same with that which the common people
are allowed to make use of. Their kings, alone, are allowed to plant
before their houses, the tree which we call the _Weeping-willow_, or
_Babylonian-willow_[106]. It is known, that by bending the branches of
this tree, and planting them in the ground, you can extend its shadow as
far as you will, and in what direction you please; at Taiti, their shade
affords the dining-hall of their kings.
The grandees have liveries for their servants. In proportion as the
master’s rank is more or less elevated, their servants wear their sashes
more or less high. This sash is fastened close under the arms, in the
servants of the chiefs, and only covers the loins in those belonging to
the lowest class of nobility. The ordinary hours of repast, are when the
sun passes the meridian, and when he is set. The men do not eat with the
women; the latter serving up the dishes, which the servants have
prepared.
[Sidenote: Custom of going into mourning.]
At Taiti they wear mourning regularly, and call it _ceva_. The whole
nation wear mourning for their kings. The mourning for the fathers is
very long. The women mourn for their husbands; but the latter do not do
the same for them. The marks of mourning, are a head-dress of feathers;
the colour of which is consecrated to death, and a veil over the face.
When the people in mourning go out of their houses, they are preceded by
several slaves, who beat the castanets in a certain cadence; their
doleful sound gives everybody notice to clear the way, whether out of
respect for the grief of the persons in mourning, or because meeting
them is feared as an unlucky and ominous accident. However at Taiti, as
in every other part of the world, the most respectable customs are
abused; Aotourou told me, that this practice of mourning was favourable
to the private meetings; doubtless, as I believe, of lovers with wives,
whose husbands are not very complaisant. The instrument, whose sound
disperses every body, and the veil which covers the face, secure to the
lovers both secrecy and impunity.
[Sidenote: Reciprocal assistance in their diseases.]
In all diseases, which are any way dangerous, all the near relations
assemble in the sick person’s house. They eat and sleep there as long as
the danger lasts; every one nurses him, and watches by him in his turn.
They have likewise the custom of letting blood; but this operation is
never performed at the foot or arm. A _Taoua_, i. e. a doctor, or
inferior priest, strikes with a sharp piece of wood on the cranium of
the patient; by this means he opens the _sagittal_ vein; and when a
sufficient quantity of blood is run out, he surrounds the head with a
bandage, which shuts up the opening; the next day he washes the wound
with water.
This is all that I have learnt concerning the customs of this
interesting country, both upon the spot, and from my conversations with
Aotourou. At the end of this work I shall add a Vocabulary of as many
Taiti words as I could collect. When we arrived at this island, we
observed that some of the words pronounced by the islanders stood in the
vocabulary at the end of Le Maire’s Voyage, under the name of Vocabulary
of Cocos island. Indeed those islands, according to Le Maire and
Schouten’s reckoning, cannot be far from Taiti, and perhaps may be some
of those which Aotourou named to me. The language of Taiti is soft,
harmonious, and easy to be pronounced; its words are composed of almost
mere vowels, without aspirates[107]. You meet with no nasal, nor no mute
and half sounded syllables, nor that quantity of consonants, and of
articulations which render some languages so difficult. Therefore our
Taiti-man could never learn to pronounce the French. The same reasons
for which our language is accused of not being very musical, rendered it
inaccessible to his organs. It would have been easier to make him
pronounce Spanish or Italian.
M. Pereire, celebrated for his art of teaching people, who are born deaf
and dumb, to speak and articulate words, has examined Aotourou several
times, and has found that he could not naturally pronounce most of our
consonants, nor any of our nasal vowels. M. Pereire has been so obliging
as to communicate to me a memoir on this subject. Upon the whole, the
language of this island is abundant enough; I think so, because
Aotourou, during the course of the voyage, pronounced every thing that
struck him in rhythmic stanzas. It was a kind of blank verse, which he
spoke extempore. These were his annals; and it seems as if his language
furnished him with expressions sufficient to describe a number of
objects unknown to him. We further heard him pronounce every day such
words as we were not yet acquainted with; and he likewise spoke a long
prayer, which he calls the prayer of the kings, and of all the words
that compose it, I do not understand ten.
I learnt from Aotourou, that about eight months before our arrival at
his island, an English ship had touched there. It is the same which was
commanded by Mr. Wallace. The same chance by which we have discovered
this isle, has likewise conducted the English thither, whilst we lay in
Rio de la Plata. They stayed there a month; and, excepting one attack of
the islanders, who had conceived hopes of taking the ship, every thing
has passed very friendly between them. From hence, doubtless, proceeds
the knowledge of iron, which we found among the natives of Taiti, and
the name of _aouri_, by which they call it, and which sounds pretty like
the English word _iron_. I am yet ignorant, whether the people of Taiti,
as they owe the first knowledge of iron to the English, may not likewise
be indebted to them for the venereal disease, which we found had been
naturalized amongst them, as will appear in the sequel.
-----
Footnote 99:
The cocoa-nuts, or the fruit of the _cocos nucifera_, Linn. is too
well known to want any description. The plantains, or fruit of the
_musa paradisiaca_, Linn. is likewise well known to all navigators, as
the produce of hot countries. The bread-fruit is a production of a
tree not yet described by Dr. Linnæus; Lord Anson found it upon the
isle of Tinian; Dampier and the great Ray take notice of this very
useful and curious tree. Yams are the roots of a plant known under the
name of _dioscorea alata_. The okra is the fruit of the _hibiscus
esculentus_, Linn. The curassol is one of the _annonas_ or
custard-apples. In general it must be observed that the botanical
knowledge of our author is very superficial, and though he enumerates
these fruits as the growth of the isle of Otahitee, it cannot be
ascertained with any degree of precision, whether our author is right
or wrong; and the new light in which, by the indefatigable industry of
our philosophers, the natural history of these countries will be
placed, makes us the more ardently wish for the publication of their
great discoveries. F.
Footnote 100:
This assertion of Mr. de B. proves him to be little acquainted with
mining; since our best writers on that subject give a gently sloping
ridge of mountains, with a fine turf, covered with groves of trees,
and well supplied with water, amongst many more, as the
characteristics of a place where it is probable to find minerals in:
See _Lehman’s Art des Mines Metalliques_, vol. i. p. 17. But the whole
isle of Otahitee seems to be produced by a Volcano, and the rocks on
it are chiefly lava, consequently there are very little hopes of
finding any regular veins with minerals on it, except some iron-stone,
which has been liberally scattered by the benevolent hand of nature
all over the various parts of the globe. F.
Footnote 101:
Supposed to be the marquis de Pau. F.
Footnote 102:
_Lune en état de Guerre._
Footnote 103:
The stone employed by the inhabitants of Otahitee for chissels and
other tools, and even for ornaments to be hung in the ears, is by all
appearances a kind of _lapis nephriticus_, which when transparent is
pale-green, very soft, and employed for the latter purpose; but when
opaque, it is of a deeper hue and harder. In South America the same
kind of stone is employed by the natives for ornaments; and is much
valued among the _Topayos_, or Tapuyas, a nation in the interior parts
of Brasil, living along the river of that name, which falls into the
river of Amazons. This stone is called _tapuravas_ by the Galibis, a
nation in Guiana; the Europeans settled in these parts of the world,
call it the _Amazon’s-stone_; the European jewellers think it to be
_jade_, a kind of precious stone of the same colour brought from the
east. It is said that stones of this kind are found near the river St.
Jago, forty miles from Quito, in the province of las Esmeraldas, in
Peru. They grow more and more scarce, being much coveted by the
nations of Guiana, the Tapuyas, and some other Indian nations, and
likewise frequently bought up by the Europeans. BARRERE _Nouvelle
Relation de la France equinoxiale_, Paris 1743, and CONDAMINE
_Relation abregée d’un Voyage fait en descendant la Riviere des
Amazones_, Paris 1746. F.
Footnote 104:
Though our author has strongly pleaded in this paragraph in behalf of
Aotourou, it cannot, however, be denied that he was one of the most
stupid fellows; which not only has been found by Englishmen who saw
him at Paris, during his stay there, and whose testimony would be
decisive with the public, were I at liberty to name them; but the very
countrymen of Aotourou were, without exception, all of the same
opinion, that he had very moderate parts, if any at all. F.
Footnote 105:
In the French theatre there is, in the door of each box, a small
window or hole, where people may peep through, which made it possible
to Aotourou to enjoy even in the galleries the sight of the dancers.
F.
Footnote 106:
_Arbre du Grand Seigneur._
Footnote 107:
The contrary, of the last mentioned circumstance, has been observed by
our English navigators; and it is therefore highly probable Mr. de B.
picked up his vocabulary of words from Aotourou, who had an impediment
in his speech. F.
-----
_CHAP. IV._
_Departure from Taiti; discovery of other islands; navigation to our
clearing the great Cyclades._
Our touching at Taiti has been productive of good, and of disagreeable
consequences; danger and alarms followed all our steps to the very last
moments of our stay; yet we considered this country as a friend, whom we
must love with all his faults. [Sidenote: 1768. April.] On the 16th of
April, at eight o’clock in the morning, we were about ten leagues N. E.
by N. of the north point of the island, and from hence I took my
departure. [Sidenote: Sight of Oumaitia.] At ten o’clock we perceived
land to leeward, seeming to form three isles, and we were still in sight
of Taiti. At noon we plainly saw, that what we had taken for three
isles, was no more than a single one, whose eminences had appeared as
separate isles at a distance. Beyond this new land, we thought we saw
another at a greater distance. This isle is of a middling height, and
covered with trees; it may be seen at sea, about eight or ten leagues
distant. Aotourou called it Oumaitia. He gave us to understand, in a
manner which admitted of no doubt, that it was inhabited by a nation
allied to his, that he had been there several times, that he had a
mistress there, and that we should meet with the same reception and
refreshments there as at Taiti.
[Sidenote: Direction of the course.]
We lost sight of Oumaitia this day, and I directed my course so as to
avoid the Pernicious Isles, which we were taught to shun, by the
disasters of admiral Roggewein. Two days afterwards, we had an
incontestable proof, that the inhabitants of the isles in the Pacific
Ocean communicate with each other, even at considerable distances. The
night was very fair, without a single cloud, and all the stars shone
very bright. Aotourou, after attentively observing them, pointed at the
bright star in Orion’s shoulder, saying, we should direct our course
upon it; and that in two days time we should find an abundant country,
which he well knew, and where he had friends: we even believed his
gestures meant that he had a child there. As I did not alter my course,
he repeated several times, that there were cocoa-nuts, plantains, fowls,
hogs, and above all, women, whom by many expressive gestures he
described as very complaisant. Being vexed that these reasons did not
make any impression upon me, he ran to get hold of the wheel of the
helm, the use of which he had already found out, and endeavoured in
spite of the helm’s-man to change it, and steer directly upon the star,
which he pointed at. We had much ado to quiet him and he was greatly
vexed at our refusal. The next morning by break of day, he climbed up to
the top of the mast, and stayed there all the morning, always looking
towards that part where the land lay, whither he intended to conduct us,
as if he had any hopes of getting sight of it. He had likewise told us
that night, without any hesitation, all the names which the bright stars
that we pointed at, bear in his language. We have since been assured
with certainty, that he knows the phases of the moon perfectly well, and
is well acquainted with different prognosticks, which often give notice
to navigators of the changes of weather that are to happen at sea some
time after. One of the opinions of these people, which Aotourou made
very intelligible to us is, that they positively believe that the sun
and moon are inhabited. What Fontenelle taught them the plurality of
worlds?
During the latter end of April we had very fine weather, but not much
wind, and the easterly winds kept more to the northward than southward.
On the night between the 26th and 27th, our pilot of the coast of France
died suddenly of an apoplexy. These pilots generally are called coasting
pilots[108], and all the king’s ships have a pilot of the coast of
France[109]. They differ from those of the crew who are called pilots,
and under-pilots, or pilot’s boys[110]. The world has a very inaccurate
idea of the functions which these pilots exercise on board our ships.
They are generally thought to be the persons who direct the course, and
who serve as a staff and support to the blind. I know not whether there
is still any nation where they leave the art of piloting, that essential
part of navigation, to those subaltern people. In our ships, the
business of the pilot is to take care that the helmsman exactly follows
the course, for which the captain alone gives the orders, to mark down
all the alterations of the course that happen, either in consequence of
the changes of winds, or of the orders of the commander, and likewise to
observe the signals; nor have they the care of all these particulars,
but under the direction of the officer of the watch. The superior
officers of the king’s navy certainly know more of geometry, even at
leaving school, than is necessary to have a perfect knowledge of all the
laws of pilotage. The class of pilots, properly so called, are moreover
charged with the care of the common and azimuth compasses, of the log
and sounding lines, of the lanthorns, the colours, &c. and it is plain,
that these particulars require nothing more than exactness. Nor was my
master-pilot above twenty years old, the second pilot was of the same
age, and the pilots boys[111] were making their first voyage.
[Sidenote: Astronomical observations.]
My reckoning compared, twice during this month, with M. Verron’s
astronomical observations, differed, the first time, and that was at
Taiti, only 13′ 10″, which I was more to the westward. The second time,
which was the 27th at noon, 1° 13′ 37″, which I was to the eastward of
the observation. [Sidenote: Second division of isles.] The different
isles discovered during this month, form the second division of isles in
this vast ocean; I named them Archipelago of Bourbon.
[Sidenote: May.]
The third of May, almost at day-break, we discovered more land to the
north west, about ten or twelve leagues off. The wind was north
easterly, and I gave orders to stand to windward of the north point of
the land, which was very high, intending to reconnoitre it. [Sidenote:
Sight of new islands.] The nautical knowledge of Aotourou did not extend
to these places, for his first idea when he saw this land, was, that it
was our country. During the day we had some squalls, followed by calms,
rain, and westerly breezes, such as are observed in this ocean at the
approach of the least land. Before sun-set we distinguished three isles,
one of which was much more considerable than the others. During the
night, which happened to be moon-light, we kept sight of the land; we
stood in for it the next day, and ranged the eastern shore of the
greater isle, from its south to its north point; that was its longest
side, being about three leagues long. The isle extends two leagues east
and west. Its shores are every where steep, and the whole isle is as it
were nothing more than a high mountain, covered with trees up to its
summit, without either vallies or plains. The sea broke very violently
upon the shore. We saw fires on the island, some huts covered with
reeds, and terminating in a point, built under the shadow of
cocoa-trees, and about thirty men running along the sea shore. The two
little isles bear W. N. W. corrected, and one league distant from the
great one, and have likewise the same situation among themselves. A
narrow arm of the sea separates them, and at the W. point of the
westermost isle, there is a small isle or key. Each of the above two is
not more than half a league long, and their shores are equally high and
steep.
[Sidenote: Exchanges made with the islanders.]
At noon I made sail to pass between the little isles and the great one,
when the sight of a periagua coming towards us, made me bring-to. She
approached within pistol shot of the ship, but none of her people would
come on board, notwithstanding all the signs of friendship which we
could possibly invent and give to five men who conducted her. They were
naked, excepting their natural parts, and shewed us cocoa-nuts and
roots. Our Taiti-man stripped naked as they were, and spoke his language
to them, but they did not understand him: they are no more of the same
nation here. Being tired to see that they did not venture to come
nearer, notwithstanding the desire they expressed of having several
trifles which were displayed to them, I hoisted out the pinnace. As soon
as they saw her, they made all the haste they could to get off, and I
would not pursue them. Soon after we saw several other periaguas arrive,
some of them under sail. They seemed less mistrustful than the former
one, and came near enough to make exchanges, though none of them would
come on board. We got from them yams, cocoa-nuts, a water hen of a
superb plumage, and some pieces of a very fine shell. One of them had a
cock which he would never exchange. They likewise brought stuffs of the
same make as those of Taiti, but much coarser, and died with ugly red,
brown, and black colours; bad fish hooks, made of the bones of fish,
some mats, and some lances, six feet long, made of a kind of wood which
was hardened in the fire. They did not choose to have any iron: they
preferred little bits of red stuffs to nails, knives, and ear-rings,
which had had so great a success at Taiti. I do not believe that these
men are so gentle as those of Taiti; their features were more savage,
and we were always obliged to be upon our guard against their cunning
tricks to cheat us by their barter.
[Sidenote: Description of these islanders.]
These islanders appeared to be of a middle size, but active and nimble.
They paint their breast and their thighs, almost down to the knee, of a
dark blue; their colour is bronzed; but we observed one man among them
who was much whiter than the rest. They shave or tear out their beards,
and only one of them wore a pretty long one. They all had black hair,
which stood upright on the head. [Sidenote: Description of their
periaguas.] Their periaguas are made with a good deal of skill, and have
an out-rigger. Neither the head nor the stern is raised, but there is a
kind of deck over each of them, and in the middle of these decks is a
row of wooden pegs, ending in form of large nails, but their heads are
covered with a fine shell, which is of a clear white. The sail of their
periaguas is of a triangular shape, composed of several mats. Two of its
sides are bent to two sticks, one of which supported it up along the
mast; and the other, which is fixed in the outer clew, answers the
purpose of a boom. These periaguas followed us pretty far out to sea,
when we filled the sails; some came likewise from the two little isles,
and in one of them was an ugly old woman. Aotourou expressed the
greatest contempt for these islanders.
We met with some calms, being to leeward of the larger island, which
made me give up the scheme of passing between it and the little ones.
The channel between them is a league and a half in breadth, and it seems
as if there was some anchorage to be found. At six in the evening we
discovered from the masts more land to W. S. W. appearing as three
detached hummocks. We steered S. W. and two hours after mid-night we saw
the same land again, in W. 2° S. The first islands which by the help of
the moon-shine we still could perceive, then bore N. E. of us.
[Sidenote: Continuation of islands.]
On the 5th in the morning we saw that this new land was a very fine
isle, of which we had only seen the summits the day before. It was
interspersed with mountains and vast plains, covered with cocoa-nut and
many other trees. We ranged its southern coast, at one or two leagues
distance, without seeing any appearances of anchorage, the sea breaking
upon the shore very violently. There are even breakers to the westward
of its westermost point, which runs about two leagues into the sea. We
have from several bearings got the exact position of this coast. A great
number of periaguas sailing, and similar to those of the last isles,
came around the ships, without however venturing to come close to us; a
single one came alongside of the Etoile. The Indians seemed to invite us
by signs to come on shore: but the breakers prevented it. Though we ran
seven or eight knots at this time, yet the periaguas sailed round us
with the same ease as if we had been at anchor. Several of them were
seen from the masts sailing to the southward.
At six o’clock in the morning we had got sight of another land to
westward; some clouds then intercepted it from our sight, and it
appeared again at ten. Its shore ran S. W. and appeared to be at least
as high, and of as great extent as the former ones, with which it lies
nearly E. and W. about twelve leagues asunder. A thick fog which rose in
the afternoon, and continued all the next night and ensuing day,
prevented our viewing it more particularly. We only distinguished at its
N. E. extremity two little isles, of unequal sizes.
[Sidenote: Position of these isles which form the second division.]
The longitude of these isles is nearly the same in which Abel Tasman
was, by his reckoning, when he discovered the isles of Amsterdam,
Rotterdam, Pylstaart, those of Prince William, and the shoals of
Fleemskerk[112]. It is likewise the same which, within a very little, is
assigned to the Solomon’s isles. Besides, the periaguas, which we saw
sailing to the southward, seem to shew that there are other isles in
that part. Thus these isles seem to form a chain under the same
meridian; they make the third division, which we have named _l’Archipel
des Navigateurs_, or Archipelago of the Navigators[113].
On the 11th in the morning, having steered W. by S. since we got sight
of the last isles, we discovered a land bearing W. S. W. seven or eight
leagues distant. At first it was thought they were two separate isles,
and we were kept at a distance from them all day by a calm. On the 12th
we found that it was only one isle, of which, the two elevated parts
were connected by a low land, seemingly bending like a bow, and forming
a bay open to the N. E. The high land lies N. N. W. A head wind
prevented our approaching nearer than six or seven leagues of this
island, which I named _l’Enfant Perdu_, or the Forlorn Hope.
[Sidenote: Meteorological observations.]
The bad weather which began already on the 6th of this month, continued
almost uninterrupted to the 20th, and during all that time we had calms,
rains, and west winds to encounter. In general, in this ocean which is
called Pacific, the approach to lands is attended with tempests, which
are still more frequent during the decrease of the moon. When the
weather proves squally, and there are thick clouds fixed upon the
horizon, they are almost certain signs of some isles, and give timely
notice to be upon guard against them. It cannot be comprehended with
what precautions and what apprehensions, these unknown seas must be
navigated, as you are there on all sides threatened with the unexpected
appearance of lands and shoals, and these apprehensions are heightened
by the length of the nights in the torrid zone. We were obliged to make
way as it were blindfold, altering our course when the horizon appeared
too black before us. The scarcity of water, the want of provisions, and
the necessity of making advantage of the wind whenever it blew, would
not allow us to proceed with the slowness of a prudent navigation, and
to bring to, or stand on our boards, whenever it was dark.
[Sidenote: Critical situation we are in.]
The scurvy in the mean while made its appearance again. A great part of
the crew, and almost all the officers, had their gums affected, and the
mouth inflamed with it. We had no refreshments left, except for the
sick, and it is difficult to use one’s self to eat nothing but salt
flesh and dried pulse. At the same time there appeared in both ships
several venereal complaints, contracted at Taiti. They had all the
symptoms known in Europe. I ordered Aotourou to be searched; he was
quite ruined by it; but it seems in his country this disease is but
little minded; however, he consented to be taken care of by the
surgeons. Columbus brought this disease from America; here it is in an
isle in the midst of the greatest ocean. Have the English brought it
thither? Or ought the physician to win, who laid a wager, that if four
healthy stout men were shut up with one healthy woman, the venereal
complaint would be the consequence of their commerce?
The 22d at day break, as we stood to the westward, we saw a long high
land a-head. When the sun rose we discovered two isles; the most
southerly one bore from S. by E. to S. W. by S. and seemed to run N. N.
W. corrected, being about twelve leagues long in that direction. It
received the name of the day, _Isle de la Pentecôte_, Whitsuntide isle.
The second bore from S. W. ½ S. to W. N. W. the time when it first
appeared to us was the occasion of our giving it the name of Aurora. We
immediately stood as near as possible on the larboard tack, in order to
pass between the two isles. The wind failed us, and we were obliged to
bear away in order to pass to the leeward of the isle of Aurora. As we
advanced to the northward, along its eastern shore, we saw a little isle
rising like a sugar-loaf, bearing N. by W. which we called Peak of the
Etoile (_Pic de l’Etoile_). We continued to range the isle of Aurora a
league and a half distant. It runs N. and S. corrected from its
southermost point to about the middle of its length, which in the whole
is ten leagues. It then declines to the N. N. W. it is very narrow,
being to the utmost two leagues broad. Its shores are steep, and covered
with woods. At two o’clock in the afternoon we perceived the summits of
high mountains over this island, and about ten leagues beyond it. They
belonged to a land, of which at half past three we saw the S. W. point,
bearing S. S. W. by the compass, above the northern extremity of Aurora
island. After doubling the latter we steered S. S. W. when at
sun-setting a new elevated coast, of considerable extent, came in sight.
It extended from W. S. W. to N. W. by N. about fifteen leagues distant.
We made several boards during night to get to the S. E. in order to
discover whether the land which lay to S. S. W. of us joined to
Whitsuntide isle, or whether it formed a third isle. This we verified on
the 23d at day-break. We discovered the separation of the three islands.
The isles of Whitsuntide and Aurora are nearly under the same meridian,
two leagues distant from each other. The third isle lies S. W. of
Aurora, and in the nearest part, they are three or four leagues asunder.
Its north-west coast has at least twelve leagues in extent, and is high,
steep, and woody. We coasted it during part of the morning on the 23d.
Several periaguas appeared along the shore, but none seemed desirous to
come near us. We could see no huts, only a great number of smokes rising
out of the woods, from the sea-shore, up to the tops of the mountains.
We sounded several times very near the shore; but found no bottom with
fifty fathom of line.
[Sidenote: Landing up on one of the isles.]
About nine o’clock the sight of a coast, where it seemed landing would
prove easy, determined me to send on shore, in order to take in some
wood, which we were much in need of, to gain intelligence concerning the
country, and to endeavour to get refreshments from thence for our sick.
I sent off three armed boats, under the command of ensign[114] the
chevalier de Kerué, and we stood off and on, ready to send them any
assistance, and to support them by the artillery from both ships, if
necessary. We saw them land, without the islanders seeming to have
opposed their landing. In the afternoon, I and some other persons went
in a yawl to join them. We found our people employed in cutting wood,
and the natives helping them to carry it to the boats. The officer who
commanded our party, told me, that when he arrived, a numerous troop of
islanders were come to receive them on the beach, with bows and arrows
in hand, making signs that they should not come ashore; but that when,
notwithstanding their threats, he had given orders for landing, they had
drawn back several yards; that in proportion as our people advanced, the
savages retired; but always in the attitude of being ready to let go
their arrows, without suffering our people to come nearer them; that at
last, having given his people orders to stop, and the prince of Nassau
having desired to advance alone towards them, the islanders had ceased
to retire, seeing only one man come to them; that some pieces of red
cloth being distributed amongst them, had brought about a kind of
confidence between them. The chevalier de Kerué immediately posted
himself at the entrance of the wood, made the workmen cut down trees,
under the protection of the troops he had with him, and sent a
detachment in search of fruits. Insensibly the islanders approached in a
more friendly manner to all appearance; they even let our people have
some fruits. They would not have any nails or other iron, and likewise
constantly refused to exchange their bows and their clubs, only giving
us some arrows. They always kept in great numbers around our people,
without ever quitting their arms; and those who had no bows, held stones
ready to throw at our men. They gave us to understand, that they were at
war with the inhabitants of a neighbouring district. There actually
appeared an armed troop of them, coming in good order from the west part
of the island; and those who were near us seemed disposed to give them a
warm reception; but no attack was made.
[Sidenote: They attack the French.]
In this situation we found things when we came ashore. We staid there
till our boats were laden with fruits and wood. I likewise buried at the
foot of a tree, the act of taking possession of these isles, engraved on
an oak plank, and after that we embarked in our boats again. This early
departure, doubtless, ruined the project of the islanders to attack us,
because they had not yet disposed every thing for that purpose; at least
we were inclined to think so, by seeing them advance to the sea-shore,
and send a shower of stones and arrows after us. Some muskets fired off
into the air, were not sufficient to rid us of them; many advanced into
the water, in order to attack us with more advantage; another discharge
of muskets, better directed, immediately abated their ardour, and they
fled to the woods with great cries. One of our sailors was slightly
wounded by a stone.
[Sidenote: Description of the islanders.]
These islanders are of two colours, black and mulattoes. Their lips are
thick, their hair woolly, and sometimes of a yellowish colour. They are
short, ugly, ill-proportioned, and most of them infected with leprosy; a
circumstance from which we called the island they inhabit, Isle of
Lepers (_Isle des Lepreux_). There appeared but few women; and they were
not less disagreeable than the men; the latter are naked, and hardly
cover their natural parts; the women wear some bandages to carry their
children on their backs; we saw some of the cloths, of which they are
made, on which were very pretty drawings, made with a fine crimson
colour. I observed that none of the men had a beard; they pierce their
nose, in order to fix some ornaments to it. They likewise wear on the
arm, in form of a bracelet, the tooth of a babyroussa, or a ring of a
substance which I take to be ivory; on the neck they hang pieces of
tortoise-shells, which they signified to us to be very common on their
shores.
[Sidenote: Their weapons.]
Their arms are bows and arrows, clubs of iron-wood, and stones, which
they use without slings. The arrows are reeds, armed with a long and
very sharp point made of a bone. Some of these points are square, and
armed on the edges with little prickles in such a manner as to prevent
the arrow’s being drawn out of a wound. They have likewise sabres of
iron-wood. Their periaguas did not come near us; at a distance they
seemed built and rigged like those in the Isles of Navigators.
[Sidenote: Description of the place we landed at.]
The beach where we landed was of very little extent. About twenty yards
from the sea, you are at the foot of a mountain, which is covered with
trees, notwithstanding its great declivity. The soil is very light, and
of no great depth: accordingly the fruits, though of the same species
with those at Taiti, are not so fine and not so good here. We found a
particular species of figs here. There are many paths through the woods,
and spots enclosed by pallisadoes three feet high. We could not
determine whether they are intrenchments, or merely limits of different
possessions. We saw no more than five or six little huts, into which one
could not enter otherwise than by creeping on all-fours; and we were
however surrounded by a numerous people; I believe they are very
wretched, on account of the intestine war, of which we were witnesses,
and which brings great hardships upon them. We repeatedly heard the
harsh sound of a kind of drum, coming from the interior parts of the
wood, towards the summit of the mountain. This certainly gives the
signal to rally; for at the moment when the discharge of our muskets had
dispersed them, it began to beat. It likewise redoubled its sound, when
that body of enemies appeared, whom we saw several times. Our Taiti-man,
who desired to go on shore with us, seemed to think this set of men very
ugly; he did not understand a single word of their language.
[Sidenote: Continuation of our course among the lands.]
When we came on board, we hoisted in our boats, and made sail standing
to the S. W. for a long coast which we discovered, extending as far as
the eye could reach from S. W. to W. N. W. During night there was but
little wind, and it constantly veered about; so that we were left to the
mercy of the currents, which carried us to the N. E. This weather
continued all the 24th, and the night following; and we could hardly get
three leagues off the Isle of Lepers. On the 25th, at five in the
morning, we had a very fine breeze at E. S. E. but the Etoile, being
still under the land, did not feel it, and remained in a calm. I
advanced, however, all sails set, in order to observe the land, which
lay to westward. At eight o’clock we saw land in all parts of the
horizon; and we were, as it were, shut up in a great gulph. The isle of
Whitsuntide extended on the south side towards the new coast we had just
discovered; and we were not sure whether it was not connected, or
whether what we took to be the separation was any more than a great bay.
Several places in the remainder of the coast likewise shewed appearances
of passages, or of great gulphs. Among the rest there seemed to be a
very considerable one to the westward. Some periaguas crossed from one
land to the other. At ten o’clock we were obliged to stand towards the
Isle of Lepers again. The Etoile, which could no longer be seen from the
mast-head, was still becalmed there, though the E. S. E. breeze held out
at sea. We stood for the store-ship till four o’clock in the evening;
for it was not till then that she felt the breeze. It was too late when
she joined us to think of further discoveries. Thus the day of the 25th
was lost, and we passed the night making short tacks.
[Sidenote: Aspect of the country.]
The bearings we took on the 26th, at sun-rising, shewed us that the
currents had carried us several miles to the southward, beyond our
reckoning. Whitsuntide isle still appeared separated from the S. W.
land, but the passage seemed narrower. We discovered several other
openings on that coast, but were not able to distinguish the number of
isles which composed the Archipelago around us. The land seemed to us to
extend from E. S. E. to W. N. W. by the south (by compass); and we could
not see the termination of it. We steered from N. W. by W. gradually
coming round to west, along a fine shore covered with trees, on which
there appeared great pieces of ground, which were either actually
cultivated, or seemed to be so. The country appeared fertile; and some
of the mountains being barren, and here and there of a red colour,
seemed to indicate that it contained minerals. As we continued our
course we came to the great inlet, which we had observed to the westward
the day before. At noon we were in the middle of it, and observed the
sun’s height there. Its opening is five or six leagues wide; and it runs
due E. by S. and W. by N. Some men appeared on the south coast, and some
others came near the ships in a periagua; but as soon as they were
within musket shot, they would not come nearer, though we invited them;
these men were black.
We ranged the north coast at the distance of three quarters of a league;
it is not very high, and covered with trees. A number of negroes
appeared on the shore; even some periaguas came towards us; but with as
little confidence as that which came from the opposite coast. After
having run along this, for the space of two or three leagues, we saw a
great inlet, seeming to form a fine bay, at the entrance of which were
two islands. I immediately sent our boats well armed to reconnoitre it;
and during this time we stood on our boards, at one or two leagues
distance off more, often sounding without finding bottom, with 200
fathom of line.
[Sidenote: Attempts to search an anchorage.]
About five o’clock we heard a discharge of muskets, which gave us much
concern: it came from one of our boats, which, contrary to my orders,
had separated from the others, and unluckily was exposed to the attacks
of the islanders, being got quite close to the shore. Two arrows, which
were shot at the boat, served as a pretence for the first discharge. She
then went along the coast, and kept up a brisk fire from her muskets and
pedereroes, directing them both upon the shore, and upon three periaguas
which passed by her within reach of shot, and had shot some arrows at
her. A point of land intercepted the boat from our sight, and her
continual firing gave me reason to fear that she was attacked by a whole
fleet of periaguas. I was just going to send the long-boat to her
assistance, when I saw her quite alone, doubling the point, which had
concealed her. The negroes howled excessively in the woods, whither they
had all retired, and where we could hear their drum beating. I
immediately made signal to the boat to come on board, and I took my
measures to prevent our being dishonoured for the future, by such an
abuse of the superiority of our power.
[Sidenote: What prevents our anchoring there.]
The boats of the Boudeuse found that this coast, which we took to be
continued, was a number of isles; so that the bay is formed by the
junction of several channels, which separate them. However, they found a
pretty good sandy bottom there, in 40, 30, and 20 fathom; but its
continual inequality rendered this anchorage unsafe, especially for us,
who had no anchors to venture. It was, besides, necessary to anchor
there above half a league off shore, as the bottom was rocky nearer the
coast. Thus the ships could not have protected the boats, and the
country is so woody, that we would have been obliged always to have our
arms in hand, in order to cover the workmen against surprizes. We could
not flatter ourselves that the natives should forget the bad treatment
they had just received, and should consent to exchange refreshments. We
observed the same productions here as as upon the Isle of Lepers. The
inhabitants were likewise of the same species, almost all black, naked,
except their nudities, wearing the same ornaments of collars, and
bracelets, and using the same weapons.
[Sidenote: Another attempt to put in here.]
We passed this night on our boards. On the 27th in the morning we bore
away, and ranged the coast at about a league’s distance. About ten
o’clock we saw, on a low point, a plantation of trees, laid out in
walks, like those of a garden. Under the trees there was a beaten track,
and the soil seemed to be sandy. A considerable number of inhabitants
appeared about this part; on the other side of this point there was an
appearance of an inlet, and I hoisted the boats out. This was a
fruitless attempt; for it was nothing but an elbow formed by the coast,
and we followed it to the N. W. point, without finding any anchorage.
Beyond that point the land returned to N. N. W. and extended as far as
the eye could reach; it was of an extraordinary height, and shewed a
chain of mountains above the clouds. The weather was dark, with squalls
and rain at intervals. Often in day-time we thought we saw land a-head
of us; mere fog banks, which disappeared when it cleared up. We passed
all the night, which was a very stormy one, in plying with short boards,
and the tides carried us to the southward far beyond our reckoning. We
saw the high mountains all day on the 28th till sun-set, when they bore
from E. to N. N. E. twenty or twenty-five leagues distant.
[Sidenote: Conjectures concerning these lands.]
The 29th in the morning we saw no more of the land, having steered W. N.
W. I called the lands we had now discovered, Archipelago of the great
Cyclades (_Archipel des grandes Cyclades_). To judge of this Archipelago
by what we have gone through, and by what we have seen of it at a
distance, it contains at least three degrees of latitude, and five of
longitude. I likewise readily believe that Roggewein saw its northern
extremity in 11° of latitude, and called it _Thienhoven_ and
_Groningen_. As for ourselves, when we fell in with it, every thing
conspired to persuade us that it was the _Tierra Austral del Espiritù
Santo_. Appearances seemed to conform to Quiros’s account, and what we
daily discovered, encouraged our researches. It is singular enough, that
exactly in the same latitude and longitude where Quiros places his bay
of St. Philip and St. Jago, on a coast which at first sight seemed to be
that of a continent, we should find a passage exactly of the same
breadth which he assigns to the entrance of his bay. Has this Spanish
navigator seen things in a wrong light? Or, has he been willing to
disguise his discoveries? Was it by guess that the geographers made this
Tierra del Espiritu Santo the same continent with New Guinea? To resolve
this problem, it was necessary to keep in the same latitude for the
space of three hundred and fifty leagues further. I resolved to do it,
though the condition and the quantity of our provisions seemed to give
us reason to make the best of our way to some European settlement. The
event has shewn that little was wanting to make us the victims of our
own perseverance.
[Sidenote: Difference between the reckoning and the observations.]
M. Verron made several observations during the month of May, and their
results determined our longitude on the 5th, 9th, 13th, and 22d. We had
not till now found so many differences between the observations and the
ship’s reckoning, all falling on one side. On the 5th at noon I was more
to the east than the observed longitude, by 4° 00′ 42″; on the 9th, by
4° 23′ 4″; on the 13th, by 3° 38′ 15″; and lastly, on the 22d, by 3°
35′. All these differences shew, that from the isle of Taiti, the
currents had carried us much to the westward. By this means it might be
explained, why all the navigators who have crossed the Pacific ocean
have fallen in with New Guinea much sooner than they ought. They have
likewise given this ocean not by far so great an extent from east to
west as it really has. I must however observe, that whilst the sun was
in the southern hemisphere, our reckoning has been to the westward of
the observations; and that, after he passed to the other side of the
line, our differences have changed. The thermometer during this month
was commonly between 19° and 20°, it fell twice to 18°, and once to 15°.
Whilst we were amidst the great Cyclades, some business called me on
board the Etoile, and I had an opportunity of verifying a very singular
fact. For some time there was a report in both ships, that the servant
of M. de Commerçon, named Baré, was a woman. His shape, voice, beardless
chin, and scrupulous attention of not changing his linen, or making the
natural discharges in the presence of any one, besides several other
signs, had given rise to, and kept up this suspicion. But how was it
possible to discover the woman in the indefatigable Baré, who was
already an expert botanist, had followed his master in all his botanical
walks, amidst the snows and frozen mountains of the the straits of
Magalhaens, and had even on such troublesome excursions carried
provisions, arms, and herbals, with so much courage and strength, that
the naturalist had called him his beast of burden? A scene which passed
at Taiti changed this suspicion into certainty. M. de Commerçon went on
shore to botanize there; Baré had hardly set his feet on shore with the
herbal under his arm, when the men of Taiti surrounded him, cried out,
It is a woman, and wanted to give her the honours customary in the isle.
The Chevalier de Bournand, who was upon guard on shore, was obliged to
come to her assistance, and escort her to the boat. After that period it
was difficult to prevent the sailors from alarming her modesty. When I
came on board the Etoile, Baré, with her face bathed in tears, owned to
me that she was a woman; she said that she had deceived her master at
Rochefort, by offering to serve him in mens cloaths at the very moment
when he was embarking; that she had already before served a Geneva
gentleman at Paris, in quality of a valet; that being born in Burgundy,
and become an orphan, the loss of a law-suit had brought her to a
distressed situation, and inspired her with the resolution to disguise
her sex; that she well knew when she embarked that we were going round
the world, and that such a voyage had raised her curiosity. She will be
the first woman that ever made it, and I must do her the justice to
affirm that she has always behaved on board with the most scrupulous
modesty. She is neither ugly nor handsome, and is no more than
twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age. It must be owned, that if the
two ships had been wrecked on any desart isle in the ocean, Baré’s fate
would have been a very singular one.
-----
Footnote 108:
_Pilotes-côtiers._
Footnote 109:
_Pilote-pratique de la côte de France._
Footnote 110:
_Pilotes, Aide-pilotes, ou Pilotins._
Footnote 111:
_Aides-pilotes._
Footnote 112:
Valentyn and others say _Heemskirk_. See Dalrymple’s Historical
Collection of Voyages in the South Pacific Ocean, p. 83.
Footnote 113:
Tobia, the man who went away from Otahitee, on board the Endeavour,
according to the published _Journal of a Voyage round the World_, gave
our circumnavigators accounts of many more islands in these seas, some
of which were really found by our people; but many more were known
only from his narrative of an expedition of these islanders to the
west. As the number of these isles seems to be so considerable, it
would certainly deserve another expedition to discover them all; and
though at present the advantages seem to be of no great consequence,
which might be reaped from an intercourse with these islanders; it is
however certain, that the same objection might have been made to the
first discoverers of America; and every body is at present sensible of
the benefit accruing to these kingdoms from its American settlements.
F.
Footnote 114:
_Enseigne de la Marine._
-----
_CHAP. V._
_Run from the great Cyclades; discovery of the gulph of Louisiade;
extremity to which we are reduced there; discovery of new isles;
putting into a port on New Britain._
From the 29th of May, when we lost sight of the land, I sailed westward
with a very fresh east, or south east wind. [Sidenote: Direction of our
course after leaving the Cyclades.] The Etoile considerably retarded our
sailing. We sounded every four and twenty hours, finding no bottom with
a line of two hundred and forty fathom. In day time we made all the sail
we could, at night we ran under reefed top-sails, and hauling upon a
wind when the weather was too dark. [Sidenote: 1768. June.] The night
between the 4th and 5th of June, we were standing to the westward under
our top-sails by moon-shine, when at eleven o’clock we perceived some
breakers, and a very low sand bank, to the southward, half a league from
us. [Sidenote: Meeting with breakers.] We immediately got the other
tacks on board, at the same time making a signal of danger to the
Etoile. Thus we ran till near five in the morning, and then we resumed
our former course to W. S. W. in order to view this land. We saw it
again at eight o’clock, at about a league and a half distance. It is a
little sandy isle, which hardly rises above the water; and which, on
that account, is a dangerous shoal for ships sailing at night, or in
hazy weather. It is so flat, that at two leagues distance, with a very
clear horizon, it can only be seen from the mast head; it is covered
with birds; I called it the Shoal of Diana (_la Bâture de Diane_).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
CHART
_of the Discoveries_
in the
_SOUTH PACIFICK OCEAN_
_made by_
M. de Bougainville
_in 1768_.
_Continued._
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Sidenote: Signs of land.]
On the 5th, at four o’clock in the afternoon, some of our people thought
they saw the land and breakers to the westward; they were mistaken, and
we continued our course that way till ten in the evening. The remaining
part of the night we lay-to, or made short boards, and at day-break we
resumed our course, all sails set. For twenty-four hours past, several
pieces of wood, and some fruits which we did not know, came by the ship
floating: the sea too was entirely fallen, notwithstanding the very
fresh S. E. wind that blew, and these circumstances together gave me
room to believe that we had land pretty near us to the S. E. We likewise
saw a new kind of flying fish in those parts; they are black, with red
wings, seem to have four wings instead of two, and somewhat exceed the
common ones in size.
The 6th, at half an hour past one o’clock in the afternoon, a sand-bank
appeared about three quarters of a league distant a-head, and convinced
me that it was time to alter the course, which I had always continued to
westward. This sand extended at least half a league from W. by S. to W.
N. W. Some of our people even were of opinion they saw a low land to the
S. W. of the breakers. We stood to the northward till four o’clock, and
then again to the westward. This, however, did not last long; for at
half pass five o’clock, the men at the mast-heads saw fresh breakers to
the N. W. and N. W. by W. about a league and a half from us. We
approached nearer, in order to view them better. They were seen to
extend above two miles from N. N. E. to S. S. W. and we could not see an
end of them. In all probability they joined those which we had
discovered three hours before. The sea broke with great violence on
these shoals, and some summits of rocks appeared above water from space
to space. This last discovery was the voice of God, and we were obedient
to it. [Sidenote: Necessary alteration of the course.] Prudence not
permitting us to pursue an uncertain course at night, in these dangerous
parts, we spent it making short boards in that space, with which we had
made ourselves acquainted in the preceding day; and on the 7th, in the
morning, I gave orders to steer N. E. by N. abandoning the scheme of
proceeding further westward in the latitude of 15°.
We had certainly great reason to believe, that the Tierra Austral del
Espiritù Santo was no more than the Archipelago of the great Cyclades,
which Quiros took to be a continent, and represented in a romantic
light. When I persevered in keeping in the parallel of 15°, it was
because I wanted to verify our conjectures, by getting sight of the
eastern coasts of New Holland. Thus, according to the Astronomical
Observations, (of which the uniformity for a month, and upwards, was a
sufficient proof of their accuracy) we were already, on the 6th at noon,
in 146° east latitude; that is one degree more to the westward than the
Tierra del Espiritù Santo, as laid down by M. Bellin. Besides this, our
repeated meeting with the breakers, which we had seen these three days;
those trunks of trees, these fruits and sea-weeds, which we found at
every moment; the smoothness of the sea, and the direction of the
currents, all sufficiently marked the vicinity of a great land; and that
it already surrounded us to the S. E. [Sidenote: Geographical
reflections.] This land is nothing else than the eastern coast of New
Holland. Indeed these numerous shoals, running out to sea, are signs of
a low land; and when I see Dampier abandoning in our very latitude of
15° 35′, the western coast of this barren region, where he did not so
much as find fresh water, I conclude that the eastern coast is not much
better. I should willingly believe, as he does, that this land is a
cluster of isles, the approach to which is made difficult by a dangerous
sea, full of shoals and sand-banks. After such an explanation, it would
have been rashness to risk running in with a coast, from whence no
advantage could be expected, and which one could not get clear of, but
by beating against the reigning winds. We had only bread for two months,
and pulse for forty days; the salt-meat was in greater quantities; but
it was noxious, and we preferred the rats to it, which we could catch.
Thus it was by all means time to go to the northward, and even to
deviate a little to the eastward of our course.
Unluckily the S. E. wind left us here; and when it returned, it put us
into the most dangerous situation we had as yet been in. From the 7th,
our course made good, was no better than N. by E. when on the 10th, at
day-break, the land was discovered, bearing from east to N. W.
[Sidenote: Discovery of new lands.] Long before the break of day, a
delicious smell announced us the vicinity of this land, which forms a
great gulph open to the S. E. I have seen but few lands, which bore a
finer aspect than this; a low ground, divided into plains and groves,
lay along the sea-shore, and from thence it rose like an amphitheatre up
to the mountains, whose summits were lost in the clouds. There were
three ranges of mountains; and the highest chain was above twenty-five
leagues in the interior parts of the country. The wretched condition to
which we were reduced, did not allow us, either to spend some time in
visiting this beautiful country, that by all appearances, was fertile
and rich; nor to stand to westward in search of a passage on the south
side of New Guinea, which might open a new and short navigation to the
Molucas, by the gulph of Carpentaria. Nothing, indeed, was more
probable, than the existence of such a passage; it was even believed,
that the land had been seen as far as W. by S. We were now obliged to
endeavour to get out of this gulph as soon as possible, and by the way
which seemed to be most open: indeed we were engaged much deeper in it
than we at first thought. Here the S. E. wind waited us, to put our
patience to the greatest trials.
[Sidenote: Critical situation in which we are.]
During the 10th, the calm left us at the mercy of a great south-eastern
swell, which hove us towards the land. At four o’clock in the evening,
we were no more than three quarters of a league distance from a little
low isle, to the eastern point of which lies connected a ledge, which
extends two or three leagues to the eastward. Towards five o’clock we
had brought our head off, and we passed the night in this dreadful
situation, making all our efforts to get off shore with the least
breezes. On the 11th, in the afternoon, we were got to about four
leagues from the coast; at two leagues distance you are out of
soundings. Several periaguas sailed along the shore, on which we always
saw great fires. Here are turtles; for we found the remains of one in
the belly of a shark.
The same day, at sun-setting, we set the eastermost land, bearing E. by
N. 2° E. by compass, and the westermost bearing W. N. W. both about
fifteen leagues distant. The following days were dreadful; every thing
was against us; the wind constantly blowing very fresh at E. S. E. and
S. E. the rain; a fog so thick, that we were obliged to fire guns, in
order to keep company with the Etoile, which still contained part of our
provisions; and, lastly, a very great sea, which hove us towards the
shore. We could hardly keep our ground by plying, being obliged to wear,
and to carry but very little sail. Thus were we forced to make our
boards; in the dark, in the midst of a sea, strewed with shoals; being
obliged to shut our eyes to all signs of danger. The night between the
11th and 12th, seven or eight of the fish, which are called
_cornets_[115], and which always keep at the bottom of the sea, leaped
upon the gang-boards. There likewise came some sand and weeds from the
bottom upon our fore-castle; it being left there by the waves that beat
over it. [Sidenote: Multiplied dangers which we run.] I did not choose
to sound; it would not have lessened the certainty of the danger, which
was always the same, whatever expedient we could take. Upon the whole,
we owe our safety to the knowledge we had of the land on the 10th in the
morning, immediately before this continuance of bad and foggy weather.
Indeed the winds being E. S. E. and S. E. I should have thought steering
N. E. an excess of precaution against the obscurity of the weather.
However this course evidently brought us into the most imminent danger
of being lost, as the land extended even to E. S. E.
The weather cleared up on the 16th, the wind still remaining contrary;
but we had at least got day-light again. At six o’clock in the morning
we saw the land from north to N. E. by E. by compass, and we plyed in
order to double it. On the 17th, in the morning, we did not see any land
at sun-rising; but at half past nine o’clock we perceived a little
island to the N. N. E. by compass, five or six leagues distant, and
another land to N. N. W. about nine leagues off. Soon after we
discovered in N. E. ½ E. four or five leagues distant, another little
isle; which from its resemblance to _Ushant_[116], obtained the same
name. We continued our board to N. E. by E. hoping to double all these
lands, when, at eleven o’clock, we discovered more land, bearing N. E.
by E. ½ E. and breakers to E N. E. which seemed to join Ushant. To the
N. W. of this little isle, we saw another chain of breakers, extending
half a league. The first isle likewise seemed to be between two chains
of breakers.
All the navigators, who ever came into these parts, always dreaded to
fall to the southward of New Guinea, and of finding a gulph there
corresponding to that of Carpentaria, which it would have proved
difficult for them to clear. Consequently they have all in good time got
into the latitude of New Britain, at which they touched. They all
followed the same track; we opened a new one, and paid dear for the
honour of the first discovery. [Sidenote: Extremities to which we are
reduced.] Unhappily hunger, the most cruel of our enemies, was on board.
I was obliged to make a considerable diminution in the allowance of
bread and pulse. It likewise became necessary to forbid the eating of
that leather, which is wrapped round the yards, and any other old
leather, as it might have had the most dreadful consequences. We had a
goat remaining, which had been our faithful companion since we left the
Malouines, where we had taken her on board. Every day she gave us some
milk. The hungry stomachs of the crew, in a capricious instant,
condemned her to death; I could only pity her; and the butcher who fed
her such a long time, shed tears over the victim which he thus
sacrificed to our hunger. A young dog, taken in the straits of
Magalhaens, shared the same fate soon after.
On the 17th, in the afternoon, the currents had been so favourable, that
we had again taken the N. N. E. board, standing much to windward of
Ushant, and the shoals around it. But at four o’clock we were convinced,
that these breakers extend much farther than we were at first aware of;
some of them were seen even in E. N. E. and there was yet no end of
them. We were obliged, during night, to return upon the S. S. W. tack,
and in day-time the eastern one. On the 18th, during the whole morning,
we saw no land; and we already gave ourselves up to the hope of having
doubled these isles and breakers. Our joy was short; about one o’clock
in the afternoon, an isle was seen in N. E. by N. by compass; and soon
after it was followed by nine or ten others. Some of them bore E. N. E.
and behind them a higher land extended to N. E. about ten leagues
distant. We plyed to windward all night; the day following gave us a
view of the same double chain of lands running nearly east and west,
viz. to the southward, a number of little isles connected by reefs, even
with the surface of the water, to the northward of which extended the
higher lands. The lands we discovered on the 20th seemed to be less
southward, and only to run E. S. E. This was an amendment in our
position. I resolved to run boards of four and twenty hours; we lost too
much time in putting about more frequently; the sea being extremely
rough, and the wind blowing very hard and constantly from the same
point: we were likewise obliged to make very little sail, in order to
spare our crazy masts, and damaged rigging; our ships too went very ill,
being in a bad sailing trim, and not having been careened for so long a
time.
We saw the land on the 25th at sun-rising, extending from N. to N. N. E.
but it was now no longer low; on the contrary we saw a very high land,
seemingly terminating in a large cape. It was probable that the coast
after that should tend to the northward. We steered all day N. E. by E.
and E. N. E. without seeing any land more easterly than the cape which
we were doubling, with such a joy as I am not able to describe. On the
26th in the morning, the cape being much to leeward of us, and seeing no
other lands to windward, we were at last enabled to alter our course
again towards N. N. E. [Sidenote: We at last double the lands of the
gulph.] This cape which we had so long wished for, was named Cape
Deliverance, and the gulph, of which it forms the eastermost point,
Gulph of the Louisiade (_golfe de la Louisiade_). I think we have well
acquired the right of naming these parts. During the fortnight we passed
in this gulph, the currents have pretty regularly carried us to the
eastward. On the 26th and 27th it blew a hard gale, the sea was
frightful, the weather squally and dark. It was impossible to make any
way during night.
We were about sixty leagues to the northward from Cape Deliverance, when
on the 28th in the morning, we discovered land to the N. W. nine or ten
leagues, distant. It proved to consist of two isles, the most southern
of which, at eight o’clock, bore N. W. by W. by compass. Another long
and high coast appeared at the same time, bearing from E. S. E. to E. N.
E. This coast extended to the northward, and as we advanced north
eastward, it lengthened more, and turned to N. N. W. We however
discovered a space where the coast was discontinued, either by a
channel, or the opening of a large bay; for we thought we saw land at
the bottom of it. [Sidenote: We meet with new islands.] On the 29th in
the morning, the coast which lay to the eastward of us continued to
extend N. W. though our horizon was not terminated by it on that side. I
intended to come near it, and then to go along it in search of an
anchorage. At three o’clock in the afternoon, being near three leagues
off shore, we found bottom in forty-eight fathoms, white sand and broken
shells: we then stood for a creek which seemed convenient; but we were
becalmed, and thus the rest of the day was passed away fruitlessly.
During night we made several short boards, and on the 30th, by break of
day, I sent the boats with a detachment under the command of the
chevalier Bournand, to visit several creeks along the shore, which
seemed to promise an anchorage, as the bottom we had found at sea was a
favourable sign. I followed him under an easy sail, ready to join him at
the first signal he should give for that purpose.
[Sidenote: Description of the islanders.]
Towards ten o’clock, a dozen periaguas, of different sizes, came pretty
near the ships, but would not come along-side of them. There were
twenty-two men in the largest, in the middling ones eight or ten, and in
the least two or three. These periaguas seemed well built; their head
and stern are raised very much; they are the first we saw in these seas
that had no outriggers. These islanders are as black as the negroes of
Africa; their hair is curled, but long, and some of a reddish colour.
They wear bracelets, and plates on the neck and forehead; I know not of
what substance they were, but they seemed to be white. They are armed
with bows and lances (_sagayes_); they made a great noise, and it seemed
as if their disposition was far from pacific. [Sidenote: Unsuccessful
attempt to find anchorage here.] I recalled our boats at three o’clock;
the chevalier de Bournand reported that he had almost every where found
good anchoring ground, from thirty, twenty-five, twenty, fifteen to
eleven fathoms, oozy sand, but that it was in open road, and without any
river; that he had only seen one rivulet in all that extent. The open
coast is almost inaccessible, the sea breaks upon it every where, the
mountains extend to the very sea shore, and the ground is entirely
covered with woods. In some little creeks there are some huts, but they
are in very small number, for the islanders inhabit the mountains. Our
pinnace was followed by three or four periaguas, that seemed willing to
attack her. An islander actually rose several times to throw his lance
(_sagaye_); however, he did not throw it, and the boat returned on board
without skirmishing.
Our situation was upon the whole very hazardous. We had lands, hitherto
unknown, extending on one side from S. to N. N. W. by the E. and N. on
the other side from W. by S. to N. W. Unhappily the horizon was so foggy
from N. W. to N. N. W. that we could not distinguish any thing on that
side further than two leagues off. However, I hoped in that interval to
find a passage; we were too far advanced to return. It is true that a
strong tide coming from the north and setting to the S. E. gave us hopes
of finding an opening there. The strength of the tide was most felt from
four o’clock to half an hour past five in the evening; the ships, though
they had a very fresh gale, steered with much difficulty. The tide
abated at six o’clock. During night we plyed from S. to S. S. W. on one
tack, and from E. N. E. to N. E. on the other. The weather was squally,
with much rain.
[Sidenote: 1768. July.]
The 1st of July, at six in the morning, we found ourselves at the same
point which we left the preceding evening; a proof that there was both
flood and ebb. We steered N. W. and N. W. by N. At ten o’clock we
entered into a passage about four or five leagues broad, between the
coast which extended hither on the east side, and the land to the
westward. A very strong tide, whose direction is S. E. and N. W. forms,
in the middle of this passage, a race which crosses it, and where the
sea rises and breaks, as if there were rocks even with the surface of
the water. [Sidenote: Dangerous shores.]I called it Denis’s race
(_raz[117] Denis_), from the name of the master of my ship, an old and
faithful servant of the king. The Etoile, who passed it two hours after
us, and more to the westward, found herself there in five fathoms of
water, rocky bottom. The sea was so rough at that time, that they were
obliged to lay the hatch-ways. On board the frigate we sounded
forty-four fathoms, bottom of sand, gravel, shells, and coral. The
eastern coast began here to lower and tend to the northward. On it we
perceived, being nearly in the middle of the passage, a fine bay, which
to all appearance promised a good anchorage. It was almost a calm, and
the tide which then set to the N. W. carried us past it in an instant.
We immediately hauled our wind, intending to visit this bay. A very
violent shower of rain coming on at half an hour past eleven, prevented
our seeing the land and the sun, and obliged us to defer this scheme.
[Sidenote: New attempts to find an anchorage.]
At half an hour past one o’clock in the afternoon, I sent the boats,
well armed, under the command of the ensign[118] chevalier d’Oraison, to
sound and visit the bay; and during this operation, we endeavoured to
keep near enough to follow his signals. The weather was fair, but almost
calm. At three o’clock we saw the rocky bottom under us, in ten and in
eight fathoms. At four our boats made signal of a good anchorage, and we
immediately worked with all sails set to gain it. It blew very little,
and the tide set against us. At five we repassed the rocky bank in ten,
nine, eight, seven and six fathoms. We likewise saw an eddy within a
cable’s length to the S. S. E. seeming to indicate that there was no
more than two or three fathoms of water. By steering to N. W. and N. W.
by N. we deepened our water. I made signal to the Etoile to bear away,
in order to avoid this bank, and I sent her boat to her to guide her to
the anchorage. However, we did not advance, the wind being too weak to
assist us in stemming the tide, and night coming on very fast. In two
full hours we did not gain half a league, and we were obliged to give up
all thoughts of coming to this anchorage, as we could not go in search
of it in the dark, being surrounded by shoals, reefs, and rapid and
irregular currents. Accordingly we stood W. by N. and W. N. W. in order
to get off shore again, sounding frequently. Having made the north point
of the N. E. land, we bore away N. W. afterwards N. N. W. and then
north. I now resume the account of the expedition of our boats.
[Sidenote: The islanders attack our boats.]
Before they entered the bay, they had ranged its north point, which is
formed by a peninsula, along which they found from nine to thirteen
fathoms, sand and coral bottom. They then entered into the bay, and
about a quarter of a league from the entrance, found a very good
anchorage, in nine and twelve fathoms, bottom of grey sand and gravel,
sheltered from S. E. to S. W. by the east and north. They were just
taking soundings, when they all at once saw ten periaguas appear at the
entrance of the bay, having on board about one hundred and fifty men,
armed with bows, lances, and shields. They came out of a creek, at the
bottom of which is a little river, whose banks are covered with huts.
These periaguas advanced in good order, and as fast as possible towards
our boats; and when they thought they were near enough, they divided
very dexterously into two squadrons to surround them. The Indians then
made horrible cries, and taking their bows and lances, they began an
attack, which they must have thought would be a mere play to them,
against such a handful of people. Our people discharged their arms at
them; but this did not stop them. They continued to shoot their arrows
and throw their lances, covering themselves with their shields, which
they looked upon as a defensive weapon. A second discharge put them to
flight; several of them leaped into the sea in order to swim on shore.
[Sidenote: Description of their boats.] Our people took two of their
periaguas: they are long, well wrought, their head and stern very much
raised, to shelter the people against arrows, by turning either end of
the boat towards the enemy. On the head of one of these periaguas, they
had carved the head of a man; the eyes were of mother of pearl; the ears
of tortoise-shell, and the whole figure resembled a mask with a long
beard. The lips were dyed of a bright red. In their periaguas our people
found bows, arrows in great quantity, lances, shields, cocoa-nuts, and
several other fruits, of what species we could not tell, arecca, several
little utensils employed by the Indians for various purposes, some nets
with very fine meshes, very well knit, and the jaw of a man, half
broiled. [Sidenote: Description of the islanders.] These islanders are
black, and have curled hair, which they dye white, yellow or red. Their
audacity in attacking us, their custom of bearing offensive and
defensive arms, and their dexterous management of them, prove that they
are almost constantly at war. We have in general observed in the course
of this voyage, that the black men are much more ill-natured than those
whose colour comes near to white. These islanders are naked, excepting
their privy parts, which are covered by a piece of mat. Their shields
are oval, and made of rushes, twisted above each other, and very well
connected. They must be impenetrable by arrows. We called the river and
creek from when these brave islanders came, the Warriors River (_Riviere
aux Guerriers_). The whole isle and the bay obtained the name of Isle
and Bay Choiseul. The peninsula on the north side of the bay is covered
all over with cocoa-nut trees.
[Sidenote: Farther discoveries which we made.]
It blew very little the two following days. After leaving the passage,
we discovered to the westward a long hilly coast, the tops of whose
mountains were covered with clouds. The 2d in the evening we still saw
part of the Isle of Choiseul. The 3d in the morning we saw nothing but
the new coast, which is of a surprising height, and which lies N. W. by
W. Its north part then appeared terminated by a point which insensibly
grows lower, and forms a remarkable cape. I gave it the name of Cape
_l’Averdi_. On the 3d at noon it bore about twelve leagues W. ½ N. and
as we observed the sun’s meridian altitude, we were enabled to determine
the latitude of this cape with precision. The clouds which lay on the
heights of the land dispersed at sun-setting, and shewed us mountains of
a prodigious height. On the 4th, when the first rays of the sun
appeared, we got sight of some lands to the westward of Cape l’Averdi.
It was a new coast, less elevated than the former, lying N. N. W.
Between the S. S. E. point of this land and Cape l’Averdi, there remains
a great gap, forming either a passage or a considerable gulph. At a
great distance we saw some hillocks on it. Behind, this new coast we
perceived a much higher one, lying in the same direction. We stood as
near as possible to come near the low lands. At noon we were about five
leagues distant from it, and set its N. N. W. point bearing S. W. by W.
In the afternoon three periaguas, in each of which were five or six
negroes, came from the shore to view our ships. They stopped within
musket shot, and continued at that distance near an hour, when our
repeated invitations at last determined them to come nearer. Some
trifles which were thrown to them, fastened on pieces of planks,
inspired them with some confidence. They came along-side of the ships,
shewing cocoa-nuts, and crying _bouca, bouca, onelle!_ They repeated
these words incessantly, and we afterwards pronounced them as they did,
which seemed to give them much pleasure. [Sidenote: Description of some
islanders who come near the ship.] They did not long keep along-side of
the vessel. They made signs that they were going to fetch us cocoa-nuts.
We applauded their resolution; but they were hardly gone twenty yards,
when one of these perfidious fellows let fly an arrow, which happily hit
nobody. After that, they fled as fast as they could row: our superior
strength set us above punishing them.
These negroes are quite naked; they have curled short hair, and very
long ears, which are bored through. Several had dyed their wool red, and
had white spots on different parts of the body. It seems they chew
_betel_, as their teeth are red. We found that the inhabitants of the
Isle of Choiseul likewise make use of it; for in their periaguas we
found little bags, containing the leaves, with areka and lime. From
these negroes we got bows of six feet long, and arrows armed with points
of a very hard wood. Their periaguas are less than those from the
Warriors Creek; and we were surprised to find no resemblance in their
construction. This last kind of periaguas had no great elevation at the
head and stern; they were without any out-rigger, but broad enough for
two men to work at the oar in one row. This isle, which we named
_Bouka_, seems to be extremely well peopled, if we may judge so by the
great number of huts upon it, and by the appearance of cultivation which
it has. A fine plain, about the middle of the coast, all over planted
with cocoa-nut trees, and other trees, offered a most agreeable
prospect, and made me very desirous of finding an anchorage on it; but
the contrary wind, and a rapid current, which carried to the N. W.
visibly brought us further from it. During night we stood as close as
possible, steering S. by W. and S. S. W. and the next morning the Isle
of Bouka was already very far from us to the east and S. E. The evening
before, we had perceived a little isle, bearing N. W. and N. W. by W. We
could not, upon the whole, be far from New Britain, where we hoped to
take shelter at.
[Sidenote: Anchorage on the coast of New Britain.]
On the 5th, in the afternoon, we got sight of two little isles to the N.
and N. N. W. ten or twelve leagues distant, and almost at the same
instant another more considerable one between N. W. and W. Of this last,
the nearest lands at half past five o’clock in the evening, bore N. W.
by W. about seven leagues distant. The coast was high, and seemed to
form several bays. As we had neither water nor wood left, and our sick
were growing worse, I resolved to stop here, and we made all night the
most advantageous boards to keep this land under our lee. The 6th, at
day-break, we were five or six leagues distant from it, and bore away
for it, at the same moment when we discovered another new land, which
was high, and in appearance very fine, bearing W. S. W. of the former,
from eighteen to twelve, and to ten leagues distance. At eight o’clock,
being about three leagues from the first land, I sent the chevalier du
Bouchage with two armed boats to view it, and see whether there was an
anchorage. At one o’clock in the afternoon he made signal of having
found one; and I immediately gave order to fill the sails, and bore down
for a boat, which he sent to meet us; at three o’clock we came to an
anchor in 33 fathom, bottom of fine white sand, and ooze. The Etoile
anchored nearer the shore than we did, in 21 fathom, same bottom.
[Sidenote: Qualities and marks of the anchorage.]
In entering, you have a little isle and a key to the westward, on the
larboard side; they are about half a league off shore. A point,
advancing opposite the key, forms within a true port, sheltered against
all the winds; the bottom being, in every part of it, a fine white sand,
from 35 to 15 fathom. On the eastern point there is a visible ledge,
which does not extend out to sea. You likewise see, to the northward of
the bay, two small ledges, which appear at low water. Close to the reefs
there is 12 fathom of water. The entrance to this port is very easy; the
only precaution which must be taken, is to range the eastern point very
near, and to carry much sail; for as soon as you have doubled it, you
are becalmed, and can enter only by the head-way, which the ship makes.
Our bearings, when at an anchor, were as follows: The key, at the
entrance, bore W. 9° 45′ S. the eastern point of the entrance, W. 10° S.
the western point, W. by N. the bottom of the harbour, S. E. by E. We
moored east and west, spending the rest of the day with those manœuvres,
and with striking yards and top-masts, hoisting out our boats, and
visiting the whole circuit of the harbour.
[Sidenote: Description of the port and its environs.]
It rained all the next night, and almost the whole day of the 7th. We
sent all our water-casks on shore, pitched some tents, and began to fill
water, take in wood, and make lies for washing, all which were
absolutely necessary occupations. The landing-place was handsome, on a
fine sand, without any rocks or surf; in the bottom of the port, in the
space of four hundred yards, we found four brooks. We took three for our
use; the one for the Boudeuse, and the other for the Etoile to water at,
and the third for washing. The wood was near the sea-side, and there
were several sorts of it, all very good fuel; some excellent for
carpenters, joiners, and even for veneering. The two ships were within
hail of each other, and of the shore. Besides this, the harbour and its
environs were not inhabited within a great distance, by which means we
enjoyed a very precious and undisturbed liberty. Thus we could not wish
for a safer anchorage, a more convenient place for taking in water and
wood, making those repairs which the ships most urgently wanted, and
letting our people, who were sick of the scurvy, ramble about the woods
at their ease.
Such were the advantages of this harbour; but it likewise had its
inconveniencies. Notwithstanding all our searches, we could neither find
cocoa-nut trees and bananas, nor had we any other resources, which by
good-will, or by force could have been obtained in an inhabited country.
If the fishery should not happen to be abundant, we could expect nothing
else here than safety and the mere necessaries. We had therefore great
reason to fear, that our sick would not recover. It is true, we had none
that were very ill, but many were infected; and if they did not mend,
the progress of the disease must of course become more rapid.
[Sidenote: Extraordinary adventure.]
On the first day we found a periagua, as it were deposited, and two
huts, on the banks of a rivulet, at a mile’s distance from our camp. The
periagua had an out-rigger, was very light, and in good order. Near it
there were the remains of several fires, some great calcined shells, and
some skeletons of the heads of animals, which M. de Commerçon said were
wild boars. The savages had but lately been in this place; for some
bananas were found quite fresh in the huts. Some of our people really
thought they heard the cries of men towards the mountains; but we have
since verified, that they have mistaken for such the plaintive notes of
a large crested pigeon, of an azure plumage, and which has the name of
_crowned bird_[119] in the Moluccas. We found something still more
extraordinary on the banks of this river. A sailor, belonging to my
barge, being in search of shells, found buried in the sand, a piece of a
plate of lead, on which we read these remains of English words,
HOR’D HERE
ICK MAJESTY’s
There yet remained the mark of the nails, with which they had fastened
this inscription, that did not seem to be of any ancient date. The
savages had, doubtless, torn off the plate, and broke it in pieces.
[Sidenote: Marks of an English camp.]
This adventure engaged us carefully to examine all the neighbourhood of
our anchorage. We therefore ran along the coast within the isle which
covers the bay; we followed it for about two leagues, and came to a deep
bay of very little breadth, open to the S. W. at the bottom of which we
landed, near a fine river. Some trees sawed in pieces, or cut down with
hatchets, immediately struck our eyes, and shewed us that this was the
place where the English put in at. We now had little trouble to find the
spot where the inscription had been placed. It was a very large, and
very apparent tree, on the right hand shore of the river, in the middle
of a great place, where we concluded that the English had pitched their
tents; for we still saw several ends of rope fastened to the trees; the
nails stuck in the tree; and the plate had been torn off but a few days
before; for the marks of it appeared quite fresh. In the tree itself,
there were notches cut, either by the English or the islanders. Some
fresh shoots, coming up from one of the trees which was cut down, gave
us an opportunity of concluding, that the English had anchored in this
bay but about four months ago. The rope, which we found, likewise
sufficiently indicated it; for though it lay in a very wet place, it was
not rotten. I make no doubt, but that the ship which touched here, was
the Swallow; a vessel of fourteen guns, commanded by captain Carteret,
and which sailed from Europe in August 1766, with the Dolphin, captain
Wallace. We have since heard of this ship at Batavia, where I shall
speak of her; and where it will appear, that we from thence followed her
track to Europe. This is a very strange chance, by which we, among so
many lands, come to the very spot where this rival nation had left a
monument of an enterprise similar to our’s.
[Sidenote: Productions of the country.]
The rain was almost continual to the 11th. There seemed to be a very
high wind out at sea; but the port is sheltered on all sides, by the
high mountains which surround it. We accelerated our works, as much as
the bad weather would permit. I likewise ordered our longboat to
under-run the cables, and to weigh an anchor, in order to be better
assured concerning the nature of the bottom; we could not wish for a
better. One of our first cares had been to search, (and certainly it was
our interest to do so) whether the country could furnish any
refreshments to our sick, and some solid food to the healthy. Our
searches were fruitless. The fishery was entirely unsuccessful; and we
only found in the woods a few thatch-palms, and cabbage-trees in very
small number; and even these we were obliged to dispute with enormous
ants, of which innumerable swarms forced us to abandon several of these
trees, already cut down by us. It is true, we saw five or six wild
boars; and, since that time, some huntsmen were always out in search of
them; but they never killed one. They were the only quadrupeds we saw
here.
Some people likewise thought they had seen the footsteps of a tyger-cat.
We have killed some large pigeons of great beauty. Their plumage was
green-gold; their neck and belly of a greyish-white; and they have a
little crest on the head. Here are likewise turtle-doves, some
widow-birds larger than those of the Brasils, parrots, crown-birds; and
another kind, whose cry so well resembles the barking of a dog, that
every one who hears it for the first time, must be deceived by it. We
have likewise seen turtle in different parts of the channel; but this
was not the season when they lay eggs. In this bay are fine sandy
creeks, where I believe a good number of turtle could be caught at the
proper time.
All the country is mountainous; the soil is very light, and the rocks
are hardly covered with it. However, the trees are very tall, and there
are several species of very fine wood. There we find the Betel, the
Areca, and the fine Indian-reed, which we get from the Malays. It grows
here in marshy places; but whether it requires a peculiar culture, or
whether the trees, which entirely overshadow the earth, hinder its
growth, and change its quality, or whether we were not here at the
proper season when it is in maturity, so much is certain, that we never
found any fine ones here. The pepper-tree is likewise common to this
country; but it had neither fruit nor. flowers at this season. The
country, upon the whole, is not very rich for a botanist. There remain
no marks in it of any fixed habitation: it is certain that the Indians
come this way from time to time; we frequently found places upon the
sea-shore, where they had stopped; the remnants of their meals easily
betrayed them.
[Sidenote: Cruel famine
which we suffer.]
On the 10th, a sailor died on board the Etoile, of a complication of
disorders, without any mixture of the scurvy. The three following days
were fine, and we made good use of them. We refitted the heel of our
mizen-mast, which was worm-eaten in the step; and the Etoile shortened
hers, the head of it being sprung. We likewise took in, from on board
the store-ship, the flour and biscuit which still belonged to us, in
proportion to our number. There were fewer pulse than we at first
thought, and I was obliged to cut off above a third part of the
allowance of the (_gourganes_) pease or caravanses for our soup: I say
ours, for every thing was equally distributed. The officers and the
sailors had the same nourishment; our situation, like death, rendered
all ranks of men equal. We likewise profited of the fair weather, to
make good observations.
[Sidenote: Observation of longitude.]
On the 11th, in the morning, M. Verron brought his quadrant and pendulum
on shore, and employed them the same day, to take the sun’s altitude at
noon. The motion of the pendulum was exactly determined by several
corresponding altitudes, taken for two days consecutively. On the 13th,
there was an eclipse of the sun visible to us, and we got every thing in
readiness to observe it, if the weather permitted. It was very fair; and
we saw both the moment of immersion, and that of emersion. M. Verron
observed with a telescope of nine feet; the chevalier du Bouchage with
one of Dollond’s acromatic telescopes, four feet long; my place was at
the pendulum. The beginning of the eclipse was to us, on the 13th, at
10h. 5′ 45″ in the morning, the end at 00 h. 28′ 16″ true time, and its
magnitude 3′ 22″. We have buried an inscription under the very spot
where the pendulum had been; and we called this harbour _Port Praslin_.
This observation is so much the more important, as it was now possible,
by its means, and by the astronomical observations, made upon the coast
of Peru, to determine, in a certain fixed manner, the extent of
longitude of the vast Pacific Ocean, which, till now, had been so
uncertain. Our good fortune, in having fair weather at the time of the
eclipse, was so much the greater, as from that day to our departure
there was not a single day but what was dreadful. The continued rains,
together with the suffocating heat, rendered our stay here very
pernicious to us. On the 16th, the frigate had completed her works, and
we employed all our boats to finish those of the Etoile. This store-ship
was quite light, and as there were no stones proper for ballast, we were
obliged to make use of wood for that purpose; this was a long
troublesome labour, which in these forests, where an eternal humidity
prevails, is likewise unwholesome.
[Sidenote: Description of two insects.]
Here we daily killed snakes, scorpions, and great numbers of insects, of
a singular sort. They are three or four inches long, and covered over
with a kind of armour; they have six legs, projecting points on the
sides, and a very long tail. Our people likewise brought me another
creature, which appeared extraordinary to us all. It is an insect about
three inches long, and belongs to the Mantis genus. Almost every part of
its body is of such a texture, as one would take for a leaf, even when
one looks closely at it. Each of its wings is one half of a leaf, which
is entire when the two wings are closed together; the under side of its
body resembles a leaf, of a more dead colour than the upper one. The
creature has two antennæ and six legs, of which the upper joints are
likewise similar to parts of leaves. M. de Commerçon has described this
singular insect; and I placed it in the king’s cabinet, preserved in
spirits.
Here we found abundance of shells, many of them very fine. The shoals
offered treasures for the study of Conchology. We met with ten
hammer-oysters in one place, and they are said to be a scarce
species[120]. The curiosity of some of our people was accordingly raised
to a great pitch; but an accident happening to one of our sailors abated
their zeal. [Sidenote: Sailor bit by a water-snake.] He was bit in the
water by a kind of snake as he was hauling the seine. The poisonous
effects of the bite appeared in half an hour’s time. The sailor felt an
excessive pain all over his body. The spot where he had been bit, which
was on the left side, became livid, and swelled visibly. Four or five
scarifications extracted a quantity of blood, which was already
dissolved. Our people were obliged to lead the patient walking, to
prevent his getting convulsions. He suffered greatly for five or six
hours together. At last the treacle (_theriaque_) and flower de luce
water which had been given him, brought on an abundant perspiration, and
cured him.
This accident made every one more circumspect and careful in going into
the water. Our Taiti-man curiously observed the patient during the whole
course of his sickness. He let us know that in his country were snakes
along the sea-shore, which bit the people in the sea, and that every one
who was thus bit died of the wound. They have a kind of medicinal
knowledge, but I do not believe it is extensive at all. The Taiti-man
was surprised to see the sailor return to his work, four or five days
after the accident had happened to him. When he examined the productions
of our arts, and the various means by which they augment our faculties,
and multiply our forces, this islander would often fall into an extatic
fit, and blush for his own country, saying with grief, _aouaou Taiti, fy
upon Taiti_. However, he did not like to express that he felt our
superiority over his nation. It is incredible how far his haughtiness
went. We have observed that he was as supple as he was proud; and this
character at once shews that he lives in a country where there is an
inequality of ranks, and points out what rank he holds there.
[Sidenote: Bad weather which persecutes us.]
On the 19th in the evening we were ready to sail, but it seemed the
weather always grew worse and worse. There was a high south wind, a
deluge of rain, with thunder and tempestuous squalls, a great sea in the
offing, and all the fishing birds retired into the bay. [Sidenote:
Earthquake.] On the 22d in the morning, towards half an hour past ten
o’clock, we sustained several shocks of an earthquake. They were very
sensibly felt on board our ships, and lasted about two minutes. During
this time the sea rose and fell several times consecutively, which
greatly terrified those who were fishing on the rocks, and made them
retreat to the boats. It seems upon the whole, that during this season
the rains are uninterrupted here. One tempest comes on before the other
is gone off, it thunders continually, and the nights are fit to convey
an idea of chaotic darkness. Notwithstanding this, we daily went into
the woods in search of thatch palms and cabbage trees, and endeavouring
to kill some turtle doves. [Sidenote: Unsuccessful endeavours to find
provisions.] We divided into several bodies, and the ordinary result of
these fatiguing caravans, was, that we returned wet to the skin, and
with empty hands. However, in these last days, we found some
mangle-apples, and a kind of fruit called _Prunes de Monbin_[121]. These
would have been of some service to us, had we discovered them sooner. We
likewise found a species of aromatic ivy, in which our surgeons believed
they had discovered an antiscorbutic quality; at least, the patients who
used an infusion of it, and washed with it, found themselves better.
[Sidenote: Description of a fine cascade.]
We all went to see a prodigious cascade, which furnished the Etoile’s
brook with water. In vain would art endeavour to produce in the palaces
of kings, what nature has here lavished upon an uninhabited spot. We
admired the assemblage of rocks, of which the almost regular gradations
precipitate and diversify the fall of the waters; with admiration we
viewed all these masses, of various figures, forming an hundred
different basons, which contain the limpid sheets of water, coloured and
shaded by trees of immense height, some of which have their roots in the
very reservoirs themselves. Let it suffice that some men exist, whose
bold pencil can trace the image of these inimitable beauties: this
cascade deserves to be drawn by the greatest painter.
[Sidenote: Our situation grows worse every day.]
Mean while our situation grew worse every moment of our stay here, and
during all the time which we spent without advancing homeward. The
number of those who were ill of the scurvy, and their complaints
encreased. The crew of the Etoile was in a still worse condition than
ours. Every day I sent boats out to sea, in order to know what kind of
weather there was. The wind was constantly at south, blowing almost a
storm with a dreadful sea. Under these circumstances it was impossible
to get under sail, especially as this could not be done without getting
a spring upon an anchor that was to be slipped all at once; and in that
case it would have been impossible in the offing to hoist in the boats
that must have remained to weigh the anchor, which we could not afford
to leave behind us. These obstacles determined me to go on the 23d to
view a passage between Hammer island and the main land. I found one,
through which we could go out with a south wind, hoisting in our boats
in the channel. This passage had indeed great inconveniences, and
happily we were not obliged to make use of it. [Sidenote: We leave Port
Praslin.] It rained without intermission all the night between the 23d
and 24th. At day-break the weather became fair and calm. We immediately
weighed our small bower, fastened a warp to some trees, bent a hawser to
a stream-anchor, and hove a-peek on the off-anchor. During the whole day
we waited for the moment of setting sail; we already despaired of it,
and the approach of night would have obliged us to moor again, when at
half past five o’clock a breeze sprung up from the bottom of the
harbour. We immediately slipt our shore-fast, veered out the hawser of
the stream-anchor, from which the Etoile was to set sail after us, and
in half an hour’s time we were got under sail. The boats towed us into
the middle of the passage, where there was wind enough to enable us to
proceed without their assistance. We immediately sent them to the Etoile
to bring her out. Being got two leagues out to sea, we lay-to in order
to wait for her, holding in our long-boat and small boats. At eight
o’clock we began to see the Etoile which was come out of port; but the
calm did not permit her to join us till two hours after midnight. Our
barge returned at the same time, and we hoisted her in.
During night we had squalls and rain. The fair weather returned at day
break. The wind was at S. W. and we steered from E. by S. to N. N. E.
turning to northward with the land. It would not have been prudent to
endeavour to pass to windward of it: we suspected that this land was New
Britain, and all the appearances confirmed us in it. Indeed the lands
which we had discovered more to the westward came very close to this,
and in the midst of what one might have taken for a passage, we saw
separate hummocks, which doubtless joined to the other lands, by means
of some low grounds. Such is the picture Dampier gives of the great bay,
which he calls St. George’s Bay, and we have been at anchor at the N. E.
point of it, as we verified on the first days after our leaving the
port. Dampier was more successful than we were. He took shelter near an
inhabited district, which procured him refreshments, and whereof the
productions gave him room to conceive great hopes concerning this
country; and we, who were as indigent as he was, fell in with a desart,
which, instead of supplying all our wants, has only afforded us wood and
water.
When I left Port Praslin, I corrected my longitude by that which we
obtained from the calculation of the solar eclipse, which we observed
there; my difference was about 3°, which I was to the eastward. The
thermometer during the stay which we made there, was constantly at 22°
or 23°; but the heat was greater than it seemed to shew. I attribute the
cause of this to the want of air, which is common here; this bason being
closed in on all sides, and especially on the side of the reigning
winds.
-----
Footnote 115:
_Cornets_ are a species of shell-fish. F.
Footnote 116:
_Ouessant._
Footnote 117:
_Raz_ (or _rat_, a race or whirlpool) is a place in the sea where
there is some rapid and dangerous current, or where there are
different tides. Such a _rat_ is commonly to be met with in a strait
or channel, but sometimes likewise in the high seas. See the
_Dictionnaire Militaire portatif_, 12mo. 3 vols. 1758. Paris. F.
Footnote 118:
_Enseigne de Vaisseau._
Footnote 119:
This bird is a native of the Isle of Banda, one of the Moluccas, and
is called by the Dutch _Kroon-Vogel_. Mr. Loten presented one, some
years ago, alive to the late princess royal of England and of Orange.
Mr. Brisson, in his Ornithology, vol. i. p. 279. t. 26. f. 1. very
improperly calls it a crowned Indian pheasant (_Faisan couronné des
Indes_); and Mr. Buffon, in his Planches Enluminées, tab. 118. follows
Brisson, though everyone will be convinced that it is a pigeon, at the
very first examination of its bill. Mr. Edwards has described and
figured it, p. 269. t. 338. of the third volume of his Gleanings. Its
plumage is blue, or lead-coloured; the size, that of a turkey. In that
noble repository of natural history and learning, the British Museum,
there is a fine specimen of it. F.
Footnote 120:
They were found in a creek of the great isle, which forms this bay;
and which for that reason has been called Hammer Island, (_Isle aux
Marteaux_).
Footnote 121:
It is not known to what genus this plant belongs; a general, but not
systematical, description of it may be found in Mr. _Valmont de
Bomare’s Dictionnaire d’ Histoire Naturelle_, article MONBAIN. F.
-----
_CHAP. VI._
_Run from Port Praslin to the Moluccas; stay at Boero._
We put to sea again after a stay of eight days, during which time, as we
have before observed, the weather had been constantly bad, and the wind
almost always southerly. The 25th it returned to S. E. veering round to
E. and we followed the direction of the coast at about three leagues
distance. It rounded insensibly, and we soon discovered in the offing a
succession of islands, one after the other. We passed between them and
the main, and I gave them the names of the principal officers. We now no
longer doubted that we were coasting New Britain. This land is very
high, and seemed to be intersected with fine bays, in which we perceived
fires, and other marks of habitations.
[Sidenote: Distribution of cloaths to the sailors.]
The third day after our departure I caused our field-tents to be cut up,
and distributed trowsers to the two ships companies. We had already, on
several occasions, made the like distributions of cloathing of all
kinds. Without that, how would it have been possible that these poor
fellows should be clad during so long a voyage, on which they were
several times obliged to pass alternately from cold to hot, and to
endure frequent deluges of rain? [Sidenote: Extreme want of victuals.] I
had, upon the whole, nothing more to give them, all was exhausted, and I
was even forced to cut off another ounce of the daily allowance of
bread. Of the little provisions that remained, part was spoiled, and in
any other situation all our salt provisions would have been thrown
over-board; but we were under the necessity of eating the bad as well as
the good, for it was impossible to tell when our situation would mend.
Thus it was our case to suffer at once by what was past, which had
weakened us; by our present situation, of which the melancholy
circumstances were every instant repeated before us; and lastly, by what
was to come, the indeterminate duration of which was the greatest of all
our calamities. My personal sufferings encreased by those of others.
However, I must declare that not one suffered himself to be dejected,
and that our patience under sufferings has been superior to the most
critical situations. The officers set the example, and the seamen never
ceased dancing in the evenings, as well in the time of scarcity, as in
that of the greatest plenty. Nor has it been necessary to double their
pay[122].
[Sidenote: Description of the inhabitants of New Guinea.]
We had New Britain constantly in sight till the 3d of August, during
which time we had little wind, frequent rain, the currents against us,
and the ships went worse than ever. The coast trenched more and more to
the westward, and on the 29th in the morning, we found ourselves nearer
it than we had yet been: this approach procured us a visit from some
periaguas; two came within hail of the frigate, and five others went to
the Etoile. They carried each of them five or fix black men, with
frizled woolly hair, and some of them had powdered it white. They had
pretty long beards, and white ornaments round their arms, in form of
bracelets. Their nudities were but indifferently covered with the leaves
of trees. They are tall, and appeared active and robust. They shewed us
a kind of bread, and invited us by signs to go ashore. We desired them
to come on board; but our invitations, and even the gift of some pieces
of stuff which we threw over-board, did not inspire them with confidence
sufficient to make them venture along-side. They took up what was thrown
into the water, and by way of thanks one of them with a sling flung a
stone, which did not quite reach on board; we would not return them evil
for evil, so they retired, striking all together on their canoes, and
setting up loud shouts. They without doubt carried their hostilities
farther on board the Etoile, for we saw our people fire several muskets,
which put them to flight. Their periaguas are long, narrow, and with
out-riggers; they all have their heads and sterns more or less
ornamented with sculptures, painted red, which does honour to their
skill.
The next day there came a much greater number of them, who made no
difficulty of coming along-side the ship. One of their conductors, who
seemed to be the chief, carried a staff about two or three feet long,
painted red, with a knob at each end, which, in approaching us, he
raised with both hands over his head, and continued some time in that
attitude. All these negroes seemed to be dressed out in their best, some
had their woolly hair painted red, others had plumes on their heads,
certain seeds in their ears by way of ear-rings, or large white round
plates hanging to their necks; some had rings passed through the
cartilage of the nose; but an ornament pretty common to them all was
bracelets, made of the mouth of a large shell, sawed asunder. We were
desirous of forming an intercourse, in order to engage them to bring us
some refreshments, but their treachery soon convinced us that we could
not succeed in that attempt. They strove to seize what was offered them,
and would give nothing in exchange. We could scarce get a few roots of
yams from them; therefore we left off giving them, and they retired. Two
canoes rowed towards the frigate at the beginning of night, but a rocket
being fired for some signal, they fled precipitately.
[Sidenote: They attack the Etoile.]
Upon the whole, it seemed that the visits they made us these two last
days had been with no other view than to reconnoitre us, and to concert
a plan of attack; for the 31st, at day-break, we saw a swarm of
periaguas coming off shore, a part of them passed athwart us without
stopping, and all directed their course for the Etoile, which they had
no doubt observed to be the smallest vessel of the two, and to keep
astern. The negroes made their attacks with stones and arrows, but the
action was short, for one platoon disconcerted their scheme, many threw
themselves into the sea, and some periaguas were abandoned: from this
time we did not see any more of them.
[Sidenote: Description of the northern part of New Britain.]
The coast of New Britain now ran W. by N. and W. and in this part it
became considerably lower. It was no longer that high coast adorned with
several rows of mountains; the northern point which we discovered was
very low land, and covered with trees from space to space. The five
first days of the month of August were rainy, the weather thick and
unsettled, and the wind squally. We discovered the coast only by
piecemeal, in the clear intervals, without being able to distinguish the
particulars of it: however, we saw enough of it to be convinced that the
tides continued to carry us a part of the moderate run we made each day.
I then steered N. W. and N. W. by W. to avoid a cluster of islands that
ly off the northern extremity of New Britain. [Sidenote: 1768. August.]
The 4th in the afternoon we discovered two islands, which I take to be
those that Dampier calls Matthias Island and Stormy or Squally Island.
Matthias Island is high and mountainous, and extends to N. W. about
eight or nine leagues. The other is not above three or four leagues
long, and between the two lies a small isle. An island which we thought
we perceived the 5th, at two o’clock in the morning, to the westward,
caused us again to stand to the northward. We were not mistaken; for at
ten o’clock the fog, which till then had been thick, being dissipated,
we saw that island, which is small and low, bearing S. E. by S. The
tides then ceased to set to the southward and eastward which seemed to
arise from our having got beyond the northern point of New Britain,
which the Dutch have called Cape Salomaswer. We were then in no more
than 00° 41′ south lat. We had sounded almost every day without finding
bottom.
[Sidenote: Isle of Anchorets.]
We steered west till the 7th, with a pretty fresh gale and fair weather,
without seeing land. The 7th in the evening, the sky being very hazy,
and appearing at sun-set to be a horizon of land from W. to W. S. W. I
determined to steer S. W. by S. for the night; at daylight we steered
west again. In the morning we saw a low land, about five or six leagues
a-head of us. We steered W. by S. and W. S. W. to pass to the southward
of it, and we ranged along it at about a league and a half distance. It
was a flat island, about three leagues long, covered with trees, and
divided into several parts, connected together by breakers and
sand-banks. There are upon this island a great quantity of cocoa-nut
trees, and the sea-shore is covered with a great number of habitations,
from which it may be supposed to be extremely populous. The huts were
high, almost square, and well covered. They seemed to us larger and
handsomer than the huts built with reeds generally are, and we thought
we again beheld the houses of Taiti. We discovered a great number of
periaguas employed in fishing all round the island; none of them seemed
to be disturbed at seeing us pass, from which we judged that these
people, who were not curious, were contented with their fate. We called
this island the Isle of Hermits, or Anchorets. Three leagues to the
westward of this, we saw another low island from the mast-head.
[Sidenote: Archipelago; by us called the _Echiquier_.]
The night was very dark, and some fixed clouds to the southward made us
suppose there was land; and, in fact, at day-light we discovered two
small isles, bearing S. S. E. ¾ E. at eight or nine leagues distance. We
had not yet lost sight of them, at half past eight o’clock, when we
discovered another low island, bearing W. S. W. and a little after, an
infinite number of little islands extending to W. N. W. and S. W. of
this last, which might be about two leagues long; all the others,
properly speaking, are nothing but a chain of little flat isles, or
keys, covered with wood; which, indeed, was a very disagreeable
discovery to us. There was, however, an island separated from the
others, and more to the southward, which seemed to us more considerable.
We shaped our course between that and the Archipelago of isles, which I
called the Chess-board, (_l’Echiquier_) and which I wanted to leave to
the northward. We were not yet near getting clear of it, This chain
discovered, ever since the morning, extended much farther to the
south-westward, than we were at that time able to determine.
[Sidenote: Danger which we run there.]
We endeavoured, as I have observed before, to double it to the
southward; but in the beginning of the night, we were still engaged with
it, without knowing precisely how far it extended. The weather being
continually squally, had never shewn us at once, all that we had to
fear; to add to our embarrassment, it became calm in the beginning of
the night, and the calm scarce ended at the return of day. We passed the
night under continual apprehensions of being cast ashore by the
currents. I ordered two anchors to be got clear, and the cables bitted
with a range along the deck, which was almost an unnecessary precaution;
for we sounded several times without finding bottom. This is one of the
greatest dangers of these coasts; for you have not the resource of
anchoring at twice the ship’s length from the ledges, by which they are
bounded. The weather fortunately continued without squalls; and about
midnight a gentle breeze sprung up from the northward, which enabled us
to get a little to the south-eastward. The wind freshened in proportion
as the sun ascended, and carried us from these low islands; which, I
believe, are uninhabited; at least, during the time we were carried near
enough to discern them, we distinguished neither fires, nor huts, nor
periaguas. The Etoile had been, during the night, in still greater
danger than us; for she was a very long time without steerage-way, and
the tide drew her insensibly towards the shore, when the wind sprung up
to her relief. At two o’clock, in the afternoon, we doubled the
westermost of the islands, and steered W. S. W.
[Sidenote: We get sight of New Guinea.]
The 11th, at noon, being in 2° 17′ south latitude, we perceived, to the
southward, a high coast, which seemed to us to be that of New Guinea.
Some hours after, we saw it more distinctly. The land is high and
mountainous, and in this part extends to the W. N. W. The 12th, at noon,
we were about ten leagues from the nearest land; it was impossible to
observe the coast minutely at that distance there: it appeared to us
only a large bay, about 2° 25′ south latitude; in the bottom of which,
the land was so low, that we only saw it from the mast-head. We also
judged from the celerity with which we doubled the land, that the
currents were become favourable to us; but in order to determine with
any exactness, the difference they occasioned in our estimated run, it
would have been necessary to sail at a less distance from the coast. We
continued ranging along it, at ten or twelve leagues distance; its
direction was constantly W. N. W. and its height immense. We remarked
particularly two very high peaks, neighbours to each other, which
surpassed all the other mountains in height. We called them the Two
Cyclops. We had occasion to remark, that the tides set to the N. W. The
next day we actually found ourselves further off from the coast of New
Guinea; which here tended away west. The 14th, at break of day, we
discovered two islands and a little isle or key, which seemed to be
between them, but more to the southward. Their corrected bearings are E.
S. E. and W. N. W. They are at about two leagues distance from each
other, of a middling height, and not above a league and a half in extent
each.
[Sidenote: Direction of the winds and currents.]
We advanced but little each day. Since our arrival on the coast of New
Guinea, we had pretty regularly a light breeze from east to N. E. which
began about two or three o’clock in the afternoon, and lasted till about
midnight; this breeze was succeeded with a longer or shorter interval of
calm, which was followed by the land-breeze, varying from S. W. to S. S.
W. and that terminated also towards noon, in two or three hours calm.
The 15th, in the morning, we again saw the westmost of the two islands
we had seen the preceding evening. We discovered at the same time other
land, which seemed to us to be islands, extending from S. E. to W. S. W.
very low, over which, in a distant point of view, we perceived the high
mountains of the continent. The highest, which we set at eight o’clock
in the morning, bearing S. S. E. by compass, detached from the others,
we called the _Giant of Moulineau_, and we gave the name of _la Nymphe
Alice_ to the westmost of the low islands, to the N. W. of Moulineau. At
ten in the morning we fell into a race of a tide, where the current
seemed to carry us with violence to N. and N. N. E. It was so violent,
that till noon it prevented our steering; and as it carried us much into
the offing, it became impossible for us to fix a positive judgment of
its true direction. The water, in the first tide-line, was covered with
the trunks of drift trees, sundry fruits and rock-weeds; it was at the
same time so agitated, that we dreaded being on a bank; but sounding, we
had no bottom at 100 fathom. This race of a tide seems to indicate
either a great river in the continent, or a passage which would here
divide New Guinea; a passage whose entrance would be almost north and
south. According to two distances, between the sun and moon, observed
with an octant, by the chevalier du Bouchage and M. Verron, our
longitude, the 15th at noon, was 136° 16′ 30″ east of Paris. [Sidenote:
Observations compared with the reckoning.] My reckoning continued from
the determined longitude of Port Praslin; differed from it 2° 47′. We
observed the same day 1° 17′ south latitude.
The 16th and 17th it was almost calm; the little wind that did blow, was
variable. The 16th, we did not see the land till seven in the morning;
and then only from the mast-head, extremely high and rugged. We lost all
that day in waiting for the Etoile, who, overcome by the current, could
not keep her course; and the 17th, as she was very far from us, I was
obliged to bear down to join her; but this we did not accomplish, till
the approach of night, which proved very stormy, with a deluge of rain
and frightful thunder. The six following days were all as unpropitious
to us; we had rain and calms; and the little wind that did blow was
right a-head. It is impossible to form an idea of this, without being in
the situation we were then in. The 17th, in the afternoon, we had seen
from S. by W. ½ W. to S. W. ½ W. by compass, at about sixteen leagues
distance, a high coast, which we did not lose sight of till night came
on. The 18th, at nine in the morning, we discovered a high island,
bearing S. W. by W. distance about twelve leagues: we saw it again the
next day; and at noon it bore from S. S. W. to S. W. at the distance of
15 or 20 leagues. During these three last days, the currents gave us ten
leagues northing: we could not determine what they had helped us in
longitude.
[Sidenote: We cross the Equator.]
The 20th we crossed the line, for the second time the voyage. The
currents continued to set us from the land; and we saw nothing of it the
20th or 21st, although we had kept on those tacks by which we approached
it most. It became, however, necessary to make the coast, and to range
along it, near enough, so as not to commit any dangerous error, which
might make us miss the passage into the Indian Sea, and carry us into
one of the gulphs of Gilolo. The 22d, at break of day, we had sight of a
higher coast than any part of New Guinea that we had yet seen. We
steered for it, and at noon we set it, when it bore from S. by E. ½ E.
to S. W. where it did not seem to terminate. We passed the line for the
third time. [Sidenote: Cross the line again.] The land ran W. N. W. and
we approached it, being determined not to quit it any more till we
arrived at its extremity, which geographers call Cape Mabo. In the night
we doubled a point, on the other side of which the land, still very
high, trenched away W. by S. and W. S. W. The 23d at noon, we saw an
extent of coast, of about twenty leagues; the westmost part of which
bore from us S. W. thirteen or fourteen leagues. We were much nearer two
low islands, covered with wood, distant from each other about four
leagues. [Sidenote: Unsuccessful attempt on shore.] We stood within
about half a league; and whilst we waited for the Etoile, who was a
great distance from us, I sent the chevalier de Suzannet, with two of
our boats armed, to the northermost of the two islands. We thought we
saw some habitations there, and were in hopes of getting some
refreshments. A bank, which lies the length of the island, and extends
even pretty far to the eastward, obliged the boats to take a large
circuit to double it. The chevalier de Suzannet found neither dwellings,
inhabitants, nor refreshments. What had seemed to us at a distance to
form a village, was nothing but a heap of rocks, undermined and hollowed
into caverns by the sea. The trees that covered the island, bore no
fruits proper to be eaten by man. We buried an inscription here. The
boats did not return on board till ten o’clock at night, when the Etoile
had joined us. The constant sight of the land shewed us that the
currents set here to the N. W.
[Sidenote: Continuation of New Guinea.]
After hoisting in our boats, we strove to keep the shore on board, as
well as the winds, which were constantly at S. and S. S. W. would permit
us. We were obliged to make several boards, with an intent to pass to
windward of a large island, which we had seen at sun-set, bearing W. and
W. by N. The dawn of day surprised us, still to leeward of this island.
Its eastern side, which may be about five leagues long, runs nearly N.
and S. and off the south point lies a low island of small extent.
Between it and the coast of New Guinea, which runs here nearly S. W. by
W. there appeared a large passage, the entrance of which, of about eight
leagues, lay N. E. and S. W. The wind blew out of it, and the tide set
to the N. W. it was not possible to gain in turning to windward against
wind and sea; but I strove to do it till nine in the morning. I saw with
concern that it was fruitless, and resolved to bear away, in order to
range the northern side of the island, abandoning with regret a passage,
which I thought a fine one, to extricate me out of this everlasting
chain of islands.
[Sidenote: Hidden danger.]
We had two successive alarms this morning. The first time they called
from aloft, that they saw a long range of breakers a-head, and we
immediately got the other tacks on board. These breakers, at length,
more attentively examined, turned out to be the ripling of a violent
tide, and we returned to our former course. An hour after, several
persons called from the forecastle, that they saw the bottom under us;
the affair was pressing; but the alarm was fortunately as short as it
had been sudden. We should even have thought it false, if the Etoile,
who was in our wake, had not perceived the same shoal for near two
minutes. It appeared to them a coral-bank. Almost north and south of
this bank, which may have still less water in some places, there is a
sandy creek, in which are built some huts, surrounded with cocoa-trees.
This mark may so much the better serve for a direction, as hitherto we
had not seen any traces of habitations on this coast. At one o’clock in
the afternoon, we doubled the N. E. point of the great island; which
from thence extended W. and W. by S. near 20 leagues. We were obliged to
hug our wind to coast it; and it was not long ere we perceived other
islands, bearing W. and W. by N. We saw one at sun-set, which bore even
N. E. by N. to which there joined a ledge, which seemed to extend as far
as N. by W. thus were we once more hemmed in.
[Sidenote: Loss of the master of the ship.]
This day we lost our first master, called Denys, who died of the scurvy.
He was a native of St. Malo’s, and aged about fifty years; most of them
spent in the king’s service. The sentiments of honour, and extensive
knowledge, that distinguished him in his important charge, caused him to
be universally regretted among us. Forty-five other persons were
afflicted with the scurvy; lemonade and wine only suspended its fatal
progress.
[Sidenote: Difficult course.]
We spent the night upon our tacks; and the 25th, at day-light, found
ourselves surrounded with land. Three passages presented themselves to
us; one opened to the S. W. the second to W. S. W. and the third almost
east and west. The wind was fair for none but the east; and I did not
approve of it, as I did not doubt that it would carry us into the midst
of the isles of Papua. It was necessary to avoid falling any farther to
the northward; for fear, as I have before observed, we should be imbayed
in one of the gulphs, on the east side of Gilolo. The essential means
for getting out of these critical parts, was therefore to get into a
southern latitude; for on the other side of the S. W. passage we
observed to the southward an open sea, to the utmost extent of our view,
therefore I resolved to ply to windward, in order to gain that outlet.
All these islands, which inclosed us, are very steep, of a moderate
height, and covered with trees. We did not perceive the least appearance
of their being inhabited.
[Sidenote: Fourth passage of the line.]
At eleven o’clock in the afternoon, we sounded 45 fathom, a sandy
bottom; this was one resource. At noon we observed in 00° 5′ N.
latitude, having crossed the line a fourth time. At six in the evening
we were so far to windward, as to be able to fetch the W. S. W. passage,
having gained about three leagues by working the whole day. The night
was more favourable, thanks to the moon-shine, which enabled us to turn
to windward between the rocks and islands. The current, which had been
against us whilst we were passing by the two first passages, likewise
became favourable for us as soon as we opened the S. W. passage.
[Sidenote: Description of the channel through which we pass.]
The channel through which we at last passed out this night, may be about
three leagues broad. It is bounded to the westward by a cluster of
pretty high islands and keys. Its eastern side, which at first sight we
took for the westmost point of the great island, is also nothing but a
heap of small islands and rocks, which, at a distance, seemed to form
only one body; and the separations between these islands shew at first
the appearance of fine bays; this is what we discovered in each tack,
that we made towards that shore. It was not till half past four o’clock
in the morning, that we were able to double the southmost of the little
islands of the new passage, which we called the _French Passage_. We
deepened our water in the midst of this Archipelago of Islands, in
advancing to the southward. Our soundings were from 55 to 75 and 80
fathom, grey sand, ooze, and rotten shells. When we were entirely out of
the channel, we sounded and found no bottom. We then steered S. W.
[Sidenote: Pass the line a fifth time.]
The 26th, at break of day, we discovered an island, bearing S. S. W. and
a little after another bearing W. N. W. At noon we saw no more of the
labyrinth of islands we had left, and the meridian altitude gave us 00°
23′ south latitude. This was the fifth time of our passing the line. We
continued close on a wind, with the larboard tacks on board, and in the
afternoon we had sight of a small island in the S. E. The next day, at
sun-rise, we saw it somewhat elevated, bearing N. E. about nine or ten
leagues distance, seeming to extend N. E. and S. W. about two leagues. A
large hummock, very steep, and of a remarkable height, which we named
Big Thomas, (_Gros Thomas_) shewed itself at ten in the forenoon. At its
southern point there is a small island, and there are two at the
northern one. The currents ceased setting us to the northward; we had,
on the contrary, a difference to the southward. This circumstance,
together with our observed latitude, which made us to the southward of
Cape Mabo, totally convinced me that we were at length entered into the
Archipelago of the Moluccas.
[Sidenote: Discussion concerning Cape Mabo.]
Let me now ask, which this Cape Mabo is, and where it is situated? Some
make it the Cape, which, to the northward, terminates the western part
of New Guinea. Dampier and Woods Rogers place it the former, in one of
the gulphs of Gilolo in 30′ S. lat. The second, eight leagues at
farthest from this great island. But all this part is an extensive
Archipelago of little isles; which, on account of their number, were
called the Thousand Isles, by admiral Roggewein, who passed through them
in 1722. Then in what manner does this Cape Mabo, which is in the
neighbourhood of Gilolo, belong to New Guinea? Where shall we place it,
if (as there is so much reason to believe) all New Guinea itself is a
heap of great islands? the various channels between which are as yet
unknown. It must certainly belong to the westmost of these considerable
isles.
[Sidenote: Entrance into the Archipelago of the Moluccas.]
On the 27th, in the afternoon, we discovered five or six islands,
bearing from W. S. W. ½ W. to W. N. W. by compass. During night we kept
the S. S. E. tack; so that we did not see them again the 28th in the
morning. We then perceived five other little isles, which we stood in
for. At noon they bore from S. S. W. 1° W. to S. 10° W. at the distance
of two, three, four, and five leagues. We still saw Big Thomas bearing
N. E. by E. ½ E. about five leagues. We likewise got sight of another
island, bearing W. S. W. seven or eight leagues distant. During the last
twenty-four hours we felt several strong tides, which seemed to set from
the westward. However, the difference between my reckoning, and the
observation at noon, and at the setting of the bearings, gave us ten or
eleven miles to S. W. by S. and S. S. W. At nine o’clock in the morning
I ordered the Etoile to mount her guns, and sent her cutter to the S. W.
isles, in order to see whether there was any anchorage, and whether
these isles had any interesting productions.
[Sidenote: Meeting with a negro.]
It was almost a calm in the afternoon, and the boat did not return
before nine o’clock in the evening. She had landed on two isles, where
our people had found no signs of habitation, or cultivation, and not
even any kind of fruits. They were going to return, when, to their great
surprise, they saw a negro, quite by himself, coming towards them in a
periagua, with two outriggers. In one ear he had a golden ring, and his
arms were two lances. He came up to our boat without shewing any marks
of fear or surprize. Our people asked him for something to eat and to
drink, and he offered them water, and a small quantity of a sort of
flour, which seemed to be his ordinary food. Our men gave him a
handkerchief, a looking-glass, and some other trifles of that sort. He
laughed when he received these presents, and did not admire them. He
seemed to know the Europeans, and we thought that he might possibly be a
run-away negro from one of the neighbouring islands where the Dutch have
settlements; or that he had perhaps been sent out a-fishing. The Dutch
call these islands the Five Isles, and send some people to visit them
from time to time. They told us that they were formerly seven in number,
but that two have been sunk by earthquakes, which happen frequently in
these parts. Between these isles there is a prodigious current, without
any anchorage. The trees and plants are almost all the same here as upon
New Britain. Our people took a turtle here of about two hundred weight.
[Sidenote: Sight of Ceram.]
From this time we continued to meet with violent tides, which set to the
southward, and we kept the course which came nearest to their direction.
We sounded several times without finding bottom, and till the 30th in
the afternoon, we got sight of no other land than a single isle to the
westward, ten or twelve leagues from us; but then we saw a considerable
land bearing south at a great distance. The current, which was of more
service to us than the wind, brought us nearer to it during night, and
on the 31st at day-break we were about seven or eight leagues from it.
This was the Isle of Ceram. Its coast, which is partly woody and partly
cleared, runs nearly east and west, and we could not see it terminated.
This isle is very high; prodigious mountains rise on it from space to
space, and the numerous fires which we saw on all sides of it, indicate
its being very populous. We passed the day and the next night in ranging
the northern coast of this isle, making our tacks in order to gain to
the westward, and double its westermost point. The current was
favourable to us, but the wind was scant.
[Sidenote: Observations on the monsoons in these parts.]
I shall here take an opportunity from the contrary winds we had now met
with for a long time, to observe, that in the Moluccas, they call the
westerly monsoon the northern one, and the easterly monsoon the southern
one; because, during the former, the winds blow more generally from N.
N. W. than from W. and during the latter, they come most frequently from
S. S. E. These winds likewise prevail in the isles of Papua, and on the
coasts of New Guinea; we got this information by fatal experience,
having employed thirty-six days to make four hundred and fifty leagues
in.
[Sidenote: 1768. September.]
The first of September, at the dawn of day, we were at the entrance of a
bay, in which we saw several fires. Soon after we perceived two vessels
under sail, built in form of the Malay boats. We hoisted a Dutch ensign
and pendent, and fired a gun, by which I committed a fault without
knowing it. We have since learnt that the inhabitants of Ceram are at
war with the Dutch, and that they have expelled the latter from almost
every part of their isle. Therefore we made a board into the bay without
success, the boats retreated on shore, and we profited of the fresh
breeze to proceed on our course. The shore at the bottom of the bay is
low and level, surrounded by high mountains; and the bay itself contains
several islands. We were obliged to steer W. N. W. in order to double a
pretty large island, at the point of which you see a little isle or key,
and a sand bank, with some breakers which seem to extend a league out to
sea. This island is called _Bonao_; it is divided into two by a very
narrow channel. When we had doubled it, we steered W. by S. till noon.
It blew very fresh from S. S. W. to S. S. E. and we plyed the remainder
of the day between _Bonao_, _Kelang_, and _Manipa_, endeavouring to make
way to the S. W. At ten o’clock in the evening we discovered the lands
of the isle of Boero, by means of the fires which burnt on it; and as it
was my intention to put in there, we passed the night on our tacks, in
order to keep within reach, and if possible to the windward of it.
[Sidenote: Project for our safety.] I knew that the Dutch had a weak
factory on this isle, which was however abundant in refreshments. As we
were perfectly ignorant of the situation of affairs in Europe, it was
not prudent to venture to learn the first intelligence concerning them
among strangers, but at a place where we were almost the strongest.
[Sidenote: Sad condition of the ship’s companies.]
Excessive marks of joy accompanied our discovering the entrance of the
gulph of Cajeli, at break of day. There the Dutch have their settlement;
there too was the place where our greatest misery was to have an end.
The scurvy had made cruel havock amongst us after we had left Port
Praslin; no one could say he was absolutely free from it, and half of
our ship’s companies were not able to do any duty. If we had kept the
sea eight days longer, we must have lost a great number of men, and we
must all have fallen sick. The provisions which we had now left were so
rotten, and had so cadaverous a smell, that the hardest moments of the
sad days we passed, were those when the bell gave us notice to take in
this disgusting and unwholesome food. I leave every one to judge how
much this situation heightened in our eyes the beautiful aspect of the
coasts of Boero. Ever since midnight, a pleasant scent exhaled from the
aromatic plants with which the Moluccas abound, had made an agreeable
impression upon our organs of smell, several leagues out at sea, and
seemed to be the fore-runner which announced the end of our calamities
to us. The aspect of a pretty large town situated in the bottom of the
gulph; of ships at anchor there, and of cattle rambling through the
meadows caused transports which I have doubtless felt, but which I
cannot here describe.
We were obliged to make several boards before we entered into this
gulph, of which the northern point is called the point of _Lissatetto_,
and that on the S. E. side, point Rouba. It was ten o’clock before we
could stand in for the town. Several boats were sailing in the bay; we
hoisted Dutch colours, and fired a gun, but not one of them came
along-side; I then sent a boat to sound a-head of the ship. I was afraid
of a bank which lies on the S. E. side of the gulph. At half an hour
past noon, a periagua conducted by Indians came near the ship; the chief
person asked us in Dutch who we were, but refused to come on board.
However, we advanced, all sails set, according to the signals of our
boat, which sounded a-head. [Sidenote: Shoal of the gulph of Cajeli.]
Soon after we saw the bank of which we had dreaded the approach. It was
low water, and the danger appeared very plain. It is a chain of rocks
mixed with coral, stretching from the S. E. shore of the gulph to within
a league of point Rouba, and its extent from S. E. to N. W. is half a
league. About four times the length of a boat from its extremities, you
have five or six fathoms of water, a foul coral bottom, and from thence
you immediately come into seventeen fathoms, sand and ooze. Our course
was nearly S. W. three leagues, from ten o’clock to half past one, when
we anchored opposite the factory, near several little Dutch vessels, not
quite a quarter of a league off shore. We were in twenty-seven fathoms,
sand and ooze, and had the following bearings:
_Point Lissatetto_, N. 4° E. two leagues.
_Point Rouba_, N. E. 2° E. half a league.
_A peninsula_, W. 10° N. three quarters of a league.
_The point of a shoal, which extends above half a league to the offing
from the peninsula_, N. W. by W.
_The flag of the Dutch factory_, S. by W. ½ W.
[Sidenote: We put in at Boero.]
The Etoile anchored near us more to the W. N. W. We had hardly let go
our anchor, when two Dutch soldiers, without arms, one of them speaking
French, came on board to ask me on the part of the chief of the factory,
what motives brought us to this port, when we could not be ignorant that
the ships of the Dutch India company alone had the privilege of entering
it. I sent them back with an officer to declare to the chief, that the
necessity of taking in provisions forced us to enter into the first port
we had met with, without permitting us to pay any regard to the treaties
that exclude our ships from the ports in the Moluccas, and that we
should leave the harbour as soon as he should have given us what help we
stood most in need of. [Sidenote: Embarrassment of the chief.]The two
soldiers returned soon after, to communicate to me an order, signed by
the governor of Amboina, upon whom the chief of Boero immediately
depends, by which the latter is expressly forbid to receive foreign
ships into his port. The chief at the same time begged me to give him a
written declaration of my motives for putting in here, in order that he
might thereby justify his conduct in receiving us here, before his
superior, to whom he would send the above declaration. His demand was
reasonable, and I satisfied it by giving him a signed deposition, in
which I declared, that having left the Malouines, and intending to go to
India by the South Seas, the contrary monsoon, and the want of
provisions, had prevented our gaining the Philippinas, and obliged us to
go in search of the indispensable supplies at the first port in the
Moluccas, and that I desired him to grant me these supplies in
consideration of humanity, the most respectable of obligations.
[Sidenote: Good reception he gives us.]
From this moment we found no difficulties; the chief having done his
duty for his company, happily acted a very good natured character, and
offered us all he had in as easy a manner as if he had every thing in
his disposal. Towards five o’clock I went on shore with several
officers, in order to pay him a visit. Notwithstanding the embarrassment
which our arrival had caused him, he received us extremely well. He even
offered us a supper, and we did not fail to accept of it. When he saw
with what pleasure and avidity we devoured it, he was better convinced
than by our words, that we had reason to complain of being pinched by
hunger. All the Hollanders were struck with the highest degree of
surprise, and none of them durst eat any thing for fear of wronging us.
One must have been a sailor, and reduced to the extremities which we had
felt for several months together, in order to form an idea of the
sensation which the sight of greens and of a good supper produced in
people in that condition. This supper was for me one of the most
delicious moments of my life, especially as I had sent on board the
vessels what would afford as good a supper as ours to every one there.
We agreed that we should have venison every day to supply our companies
with fresh meat, during their stay; that at parting we were to receive
eighteen oxen, some sheep, and almost as much poultry as we should
require. We were obliged to supply the want of bread with rice, which
the Dutch live upon. The islanders live upon sago bread, which they get
out of a palm of that name; this bread looks like the cassava. We could
not get great quantities of pulse, which would have been extremely
salutary to us. The people of this country do not cultivate them. The
chief was so good as to give some to our sick from the company’s garden.
[Sidenote: Police of the company.]
Upon the whole, every thing here, directly or indirectly, belongs to the
company; neat and small cattle, grain, and victuals of all kinds. The
company alone buys and sells. The Moors indeed have sold us fowls,
goats, fish, eggs, and some fruit, but the money which they got for them
will not long remain in their hands. The Dutch know how to get at it, by
selling them very coarse kinds of cloth, which however bear a very great
price. Even stag-hunting is not allowed to every one, for the chief
alone has a right to it. He gives his huntsmen three charges of powder
and shot, in return they are obliged to bring him two deer, for which
they are paid six-pence a-piece. If they bring home only one, he deducts
from what is due to them the value of one charge of powder and shot.
On the 3d in the morning we brought our sick on shore, to ly there
during our stay. We likewise daily sent the greatest part of the crews
on shore, to walk about and divert themselves. I got the slaves of the
company, whom the chief hired to us by the day, to fill the water of
both ships, and to transport every thing from the shore to the ships,
&c. The Etoile profited of this time to adjust the caps of her lower
masts, which had much play. We had moored at our arrival, but from what
the Dutch told us of the goodness of the bottom, and of the regularity
of the land and sea breezes; we weighed our small bower. Indeed, we saw
all the Dutch vessels riding at single anchor.
During our stay here we had exceeding fine weather. The thermometer
generally rose to 23° during the greatest heat of the day; the breeze
from N. E. and S. E; blowing in day time, changed in the evenings; it
then came from the shore, and the nights were very cool. We had an
opportunity of seeing the interior parts of the isle; we were allowed to
go out a stag-hunting several times, in which we took a great deal of
pleasure. The country is charmingly interspersed with woods, plains, and
hillocks, between which the vallies are watered by fine rivulets. The
Dutch have brought the first stags hither, which have multiplied
prodigiously, and are delicious eating. Here are likewise wild boars in
great plenty, and some species of wild fowls.
[Sidenote: Particulars concerning the isle of Boero.]
The extent of the isle of Boero or Burro from east to west is reckoned
at eighteen leagues, and from north to south at thirteen. It was
formerly subject to the king of Ternate, who got a tribute from thence.
The principal place in it is Cajeli, situated at the bottom of the gulph
of that name, in a marshy plain, stretching about four miles between the
rivers _Soweill_ and _Abbo_. The latter is the greatest river in the
whole island, and its water is always very muddy. The landing is very
inconvenient here, especially at low water, during which, the boats are
obliged to stop at a good distance from the beach. The Dutch settlement,
and fourteen Indian habitations, formerly dispersed in several parts of
the isle, but now drawn together round the factory, form the village or
town of Cajeli. At first, the Dutch had built a fort of stone here; it
was blown up by accident in 1689, and since that time they have
contented themselves with a simple enclosure of pallisadoes, mounted
with six small cannon, forming a kind of battery; this is called Fort of
Defence, and I took this name for a sort of ironical appellation. The
garrison is commanded by the chief, and consists of a serjeant and
twenty-five men; on the whole island are not above fifty white people.
Some habitations of black people are dispersed on it, and they cultivate
rice. Whilst we were here, the Dutch forces were encreased by three
vessels, of which, the biggest was the Draak, a snow, mounting fourteen
guns, commanded by a Saxon, whose name was Kop-le-Clerc; she was manned
by fifty Europeans, and destined to cruise among the Moluccas, and
especially to act against the people of Papua and Ceram.
[Sidenote: Account of the natives of the country.]
The natives of the country are of two classes, the Moors (_Maures_) and
the Alfourians (_Alfouriens_). The former live together under the
factory, being entirely submitted to the Dutch, who inspire them with a
great fear of all foreign nations. They are zealous observers of the
Mahomedan religion, that is, they make frequent ablutions, eat no pork,
and take as many wives as they can support, being very jealous of them,
and keeping them shut up. Their food is sago, some fruits, and fish. On
holidays they feast upon rice, which the company sells them. Their
chiefs or _orencaies_ are always about the Dutch chief, who seems to
have some regard for them, and by their means keeps the people in order.
The company have had the art of sowing the seeds of a reciprocal
jealousy among these chiefs; this allures them of a general slavery, and
the police which they observe here with regard to the natives, is the
same in all their other factories. If one chief forms a plot, another
discovers it, and immediately informs the Dutch of it.
These moors are, upon the whole, ugly, lazy, and not at all warlike.
They are greatly afraid of the Papous, or inhabitants of Papua; who come
sometimes in numbers of two or three hundred to burn their habitations,
and to carry off all they can, and especially slaves. The remembrance of
their last visit, made about three years ago, was still recent. The
Dutch do not make slaves of the natives of Boero; for the company gets
those, whom they employ that way, either from Celebes, or from Ceram, as
the inhabitants of these two isles sell each other reciprocally.
[Sidenote: Wise people.]
The Alfourians are a free people, without being enemies of the company.
They are satisfied with being independent, and covet not those trifles,
which the Europeans sell or give them in exchange for their liberty.
They live dispersed in the inaccessible mountains, which the interior
parts of this isle contain. There they subsist upon sago, fruits, and
hunting. Their religion is unknown; it is said, that they are not
Mahommedans; for they feed hogs, and likewise eat them. From time to
time the chiefs of the Alfourians come to visit the Dutch chief; they
would do as well to stay at home.
[Sidenote: Productions of the Boero.]
I do not know whether there were formerly any spice plantations on this
isle; but be this as it will, it is certain that there are none at
present. The company get from this station nothing but black and white
ebony, and some other species of wood, which are much in request with
joiners. There is likewise a fine pepper plantation; the sight of which
has convinced us, that pepper is common on New Britain, as we
conjectured before. Fruits are but scarce here; there are cocoa-nuts,
bananas, shaddocks, some lemons, citrons, bitter-oranges, and a few
pine-apples. There grows a very good sort of barley, called _ottong_,
and the _sago-borneo_, of which they make soups, which seemed abominable
to us. The woods are inhabited by a vast number of birds of various
species, and beautiful plumage; and among them are parrots of the
greatest beauty. Here is likewise that species of wild cat[123], which
carries its young in a bag under its belly; the kind of bat, whose wings
are of a monstrous extent[124]; enormous serpents, which can swallow a
whole sheep at once, and another species of snakes, which is much more
dangerous; because it keeps upon trees, and darts into the eyes of those
who look into the air as they pass by. No remedy is as yet found against
the bite of this last kind; we killed two of them in one of our
stag-hunts.
The river Abbo, of which the banks are almost every where covered with
trees of a thick foliage, is infested by enormous crocodiles, which
devour men and beasts. They go out at night; and there are instances of
their taking men out of their periaguas. The people keep them from
coming near, by carrying lighted torches. The shores of Boero do not
furnish many fine shells. Those precious shells, which are an article of
commerce with the Dutch, are found on the coast of Ceram, at Amblaw, and
at Banda, from whence they are sent to Batavia. At Amblaw they likewise
find the most beautiful kind of cockatoes.
[Sidenote: Good proceedings of the resident on our account.]
Henry Ouman, the chief at Boero, lives there like a sovereign. He has a
hundred slaves for the service of his house, and all the necessaries and
conveniencies of life in abundance. He is an Under-Merchant[125]; and
this degree is the third in the company’s service. This man was born at
Batavia, and has married a Creole from Amboina. I cannot sufficiently
praise his good behaviour towards us. I make no doubt, but the moment
when we entered this port, was a critical one for him; but he behaved
like a man of sense. After he had done what his duty to his superiors
required, he did what he could not be exempted from, with a good grace,
and with the good manners of a frank and generous man. His house was
ours; we found something to eat and drink there at all times; and I
think this kind of civility was as good as any other, especially to
people who still felt the consequences of famine. He gave us two repasts
of ceremony; the good order, elegance, and plenty of which, quite
surprised us in so inconsiderable a place. The house of this honest
Dutchman was very pretty, elegantly furnished, and built entirely in the
Chinese taste. Every thing is so disposed about it as to make it cool;
it is surrounded by a garden, and a river runs across it. You come to it
from the sea-shore, through an avenue of very great trees. His wife and
daughter were dressed after the Chinese fashion, and performed the
honours of the house very well. They pass their time in preparing
flowers for distillation, in making nosegays, and getting some betel
ready. The air which you breathe in this agreeable house is most
deliciously perfumed, and we should all very willingly have made a long
stay there: how great was the contrast between this sweet and peaceful
situation, and the unnatural life we had now led for these ten months
past?
[Sidenote: Conduct of
Aotourou at Boero.]
I must mention what impression the sight of this European settlement
made upon Aotourou. It will easily be conceived that his surprise must
have been great at seeing men dressed like ourselves, houses, gardens,
and various domestick animals in abundance, and great variety. He could
not be tired with looking at these objects, which were new to him. He
valued above all that hospitality, which was here exercised with an air
of sincerity and of acquaintance. As he did not see us make any
exchanges, he apprehended that the people gave us every thing without
being paid for it. Upon the whole, he behaved very sensibly towards the
Dutch. He began with giving them to understand, that in his country he
was a chief, and that he had undertaken this voyage with his friends for
his own pleasure. In the visits, at table, and in our walks, he
endeavoured to imitate us exactly. As I had not taken him with me on the
first visit which we made, he imagined it was because his knees are
distorted, and absolutely wanted some sailors to get upon them, to set
them to rights. He often asked us, whether Paris was as fine as this
factory?
[Sidenote: Goodness of the provisions there.]
On the 6th, in the afternoon, we had taken on board our rice, cattle,
and all other refreshments. The good chief’s bill was of a considerable
amount; but we were assured, that all the prices were fixed by the
company, and that he could not depart from their tariff. The provisions
were indeed excellent; the beef and mutton are better by a great deal,
than in any other hot country I know; and the fowls are most delicious
there. The butter of Boero has a reputation in this country, which our
sailors from Bretany found it had not lawfully acquired.
The 7th, in the morning, I took on board the sick people, and we made
every thing ready, in order to set sail in the evening with the
land-breeze. The fresh provisions, and the salubrious air of Boero, had
done our sick much good. This stay on shore, though it lasted only six
days, brought them so far, that they could be cured on board, or at
least prevented from growing worse, by means of the refreshments which
we could now give them.
[Sidenote: Observations on the monsoons and currents.]
It would doubtless have been very desirable for them, and even for the
healthy men, to have made a longer stay here; but the end of the eastern
monsoon being at hand, pressed us to set sail for Batavia. If the other
monsoon was once set in, it became impossible for us to go there;
because at that time, besides having the winds contrary to us, we had
likewise the currents against us, which follow the direction of the
reigning monsoon. It is true, they keep the direction of the preceding
monsoon for near a month after it; but the changing of the monsoon,
which commonly happens in October, may come a month sooner, as well as a
month later. In September there is little wind: in October and November
still less; that being the season of calms. The governor of Amboina
chooses at this season to go his rounds to all the isles which depend
upon his government. June, July, and August, are very rainy. The eastern
monsoon generally blows S. S. E. and S. S. W. to the north of Ceram and
Boero; in the isles of Amboina and Bandas it blows E. and S. E. The
western monsoon blows from W. S. W. and N. W. The month of April is the
term when the western winds cease blowing; this is the stormy monsoon,
as the easterly one is the rainy monsoon. Captain Clerk told us, that he
had in vain cruized before Amboina, in order to enter it, during the
whole month of July: he had there suffered continual rains, which had
made all his people sick. It was at the same time that we were so well
soaked in Port Praslin.
[Sidenote: Remarks on the earthquakes.]
There had been three earthquakes this year at Boero, almost close after
each other, on the 7th of June, the 12th and on the 17th of July. It was
the 22d of the same month that we felt one on New Britain. These
earthquakes have terrible consequences for navigation in this part of
the world. Sometimes they sink known isles and sand-banks, and sometimes
they raise some, where there were none before; and we gain nothing by
such accidents. Navigation would be much safer, if every thing remained
as it is.
[Sidenote: We leave Boero.]
On the 7th after noon, all our people were on board, and we only waited
for the land-breeze, in order to set sail. It was not felt till eight
o’clock at night. I immediately sent a boat with a light to anchor at
the point of the bank, which lies on the S. E. side, and we began to
make every thing ready for setting sail. We had not been misled, when we
were informed that the bottom was very good in this anchorage. We made
fruitless efforts at the capstan for a long time; at last the voyal
broke, and we could only by the help of our winding-tackle get our
anchor out of this strong ooze, in which it was buried. We did not get
under sail before eleven o’clock. Having doubled the point of the bank,
we hoisted in our boats, as the Etoile did hers, and we steered
successively N. E. N. E. by N. and N. N. E. in order to go out of the
gulph of Cajeli.
[Sidenote: Astronomical observations.]
During our stay here, M. Verron had made several observations of
distances on board; the mean result of which enabled him to determine
the longitude of this gulph; and places it 2° 53′ more to the westward
than our reckoning, which we had followed after determining the
longitude on New Britain. Upon the whole, though we found the true
European date current in the Moluccas, from which it was very natural,
we had lost a day by going round the world with the sun’s course, yet I
shall continue the date of our journals, only mentioning, that instead
of Wednesday the 7th, they reckoned Thursday the 8th in India. I shall
not correct my date, till I come to the isle of France.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
_CHART_ _CHART_
_of the Straits of_ _shewing the Track of the_
_BOUTON._ French Ships
_through the_ MOLUCCAS,
_to_ Batavia, _in_
1768.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
Footnote 122:
M. de B. it seems can never sufficiently elevate the courage and
perseverance of his countrymen; on all occasions he praises their
disinterestedness, and endeavours to depreciate the merits of the
British sailors, by balancing their sufferings with the rewards which
an equitable government distributed to them. I have already said
something on this subject in a note to our author’s Introduction
(placed at the head of this work) and shall only add, that I should be
apt to suspect M. de B. to envy the British circumnavigators those
very rewards which he seems so much to despise, if I could combine
such base sentiments with his otherwise generous way of thinking. F.
Footnote 123:
M. de Buffon has denied the existence of the _Opossum_ or _Didelphis_,
Linn. in East India, though Piso, Valentyn, and Le Brun have seen it
in the Moluccas and in Java: M. de Buffon’s own countryman, M. de
Bougainville, now likewise asserts their being upon Boero, in a manner
so little equivocal, that there can be no doubt of the Opossum genus
inhabiting the East Indies, though the particular species is unknown.
F.
Footnote 124:
This is the great _Bat of Ternate_, Penn. Syn. Quad. p. 359. and
Linnæus’s _Vespertilio Vampyrus_. F.
Footnote 125:
_Sous-Marchand._
-----
_CHAP. VII._
_Run from Boero to Batavia._
[Sidenote: 1768. September.]
Although I was convinced that the Dutch represent the navigation between
the Moluccas as much more dangerous than it really is, yet I well knew
that it was full of shoals and difficulties. [Sidenote: Difficulties of
the navigation in the Moluccas.] The greatest difficulty for us was to
have no accurate chart of these parts of India, the French charts of
them being more proper to cause the loss of ships than to guide them. I
could get nothing but vague information, and imperfect instructions from
the Dutch at Boero. When we arrived there, the Draak was going to leave
the port in a few days, in order to bring an engineer to Macassar, and I
intended to follow her to that place; but the resident gave orders to
the commander of this snow to stay at Cajeli till we were gone.
Accordingly we set sail alone, and I directed my course so as to pass to
the northward of Boero, and to go in search of the straits of Button,
which the Dutch call Button-straat.
[Sidenote: Course which we take.]
We ranged the coast of Boero at the distance of about a league and a
half, and the currents did not seem to make any sensible difference till
noon. On the 8th in the morning we perceived the isles of Kilang and
Manipa. From the low land which you find after going out of the gulph of
Cajeli, the coast is very high, and runs W. N. W. and W. by N. On the
9th in the morning we got sight of the isle of Xullabessie; it is a very
inconsiderable one, and the Dutch have a factory there, in a redoubt,
called _Cleverblad_, or the Clover-leaf. The garrison consists of a
serjeant and twenty-five men, under the command of M. Arnoldus Holtman,
who is only book-keeper. This isle formerly was one of the dependences
of the government of Amboina, at present it belongs to that of Ternate.
Whilst we ran along Boero we had little wind, and the settled breezes
almost the same as in the bay. The currents during these two days set us
near eight leagues to the westward. We determined this difference with
precision enough, on account of the frequent bearings which we took. On
the last day they likewise set us a little to the southward, which was
verified by the meridian altitude observed on the 10th.
We had seen the last lands of Boero on the 9th, at sun-setting; we found
pretty fresh S. and S. S. E. winds out at sea, and we passed several
very strong races of a tide. We steered S. W. whenever the winds
permitted, in order to fall in with the land between Wawoni and Button,
as I intended to pass through the straits of that name. [Sidenote:
Nautical advice.] It is pretended that during this season it is
dangerous to keep to the eastward of Button, that one runs the risk of
being thrown upon the coast by the winds and currents, and that then it
is necessary, in order to lay it again, to wait for the western
monsoon’s being perfectly set in. This I have been told by a Dutch
mariner, but I will not answer for the truth of it. I will however
positively assert that the passage of the straits is infinitely
preferable to the other course, either to the northward or to the
southward of the shoal called Toukanbessie: this latter being full of
visible and hidden dangers, which are dreaded even by those who know the
coast.
On the 10th in the morning, one Julian Launai, taylor, died of the
scurvy. He began already to grow better, but two excesses in drinking
brandy carried him off.
[Sidenote: Sight of the straits of Button.]
The 11th, at eight o’clock in the morning, we saw the land, bearing from
W. by S. to S. S. W. ½ W. At nine o’clock, we found that it was the isle
of Wawoni, which is high, especially in its middle: at eleven o’clock we
discovered the northern part of Button. At noon we observed in 4° 6′ of
south lat. The northermost point of the isle of Wawoni then bore W. ½ N.
its southermost point S. W. by W. 4° W. eight or nine leagues distant,
and the N. E. point of Button, S. W. ½ W. about nine leagues distant. In
the afternoon we stood within two leagues of Wawoni, then stood out into
the offing, and kept plying all night, in order to keep to windward of
the straits of Button, and be ready to enter them at day-break. The
12th, at six o’clock in the morning, it bore between N. W. by W. and W.
N. W. and we stood in for the north point of Button. At the same time we
hoisted out our boats, and kept them in tow. At nine o’clock we opened
the straits, with a fine breeze, which lasted till half past ten
o’clock, and freshened again a little before noon.
[Sidenote: Description of the entrance.]
When you enter these straits, it is necessary to range the land of
Button, of which the north point is of a middling height, and divided
into several hummocks. The cape on the larboard side of the entrance is
steep and bold-to. Several white rocks ly before it, pretty high above
the water, and to the eastward is a fine bay, in which we saw a small
vessel under sail. The opposite point of Wawoni is low, tolerably level,
and projects to the westward. The land of Celebes then appears before
you, and a passage opens to the north, between this great isle and
Wawoni; this is a false passage: the southern one indeed appears almost
entirely shut up; there you see at a great distance a low land, divided
as it were into little isles or keys. As you advance in the straits, you
discover upon the coast of Button, great round capes, and fine creeks.
Off one of these capes are two rocks, which one must absolutely take at
a distance for two ships under sail; the one pretty large, and the other
a small one. About a league to the eastward of them, and a quarter of a
league off the coast, we sounded in forty-five fathoms, sand and ooze.
The straits from the entrance run successively S. W. and south.
At noon we observed in 4° 29′ south lat. and were then somewhat beyond
the rocks. They ly off a little isle, behind which there appears to be a
fine inlet. There we saw a kind of vessel in form of a square chest,
having a periagua in tow. She made way both by sailing and rowing, and
ranged the shore. A French sailor, whom we took in at Boero, and who for
these four years past had sailed with the Dutch in the Moluccas, told us
that it was a boat of piratical Indians, who endeavour to make prisoners
in order to sell them. They seemed to be rather troubled at meeting with
us. They furled their sail, and set their vessel with setting poles
close under the shore, behind the little isle.
[Sidenote: Aspect of the country.]
We continued our course in the straits, the winds turning round with the
channel, and permitting us to come by degrees from S. W. to south.
Towards two o’clock in the afternoon we thought the tide began to set
against us; the sea then washed the lower parts of the trees upon the
coast, which seems to prove that the flood-tide comes here from the
northward, at least during this season. At half an hour after two
o’clock we passed a very fine port upon the coast of Celebes. This land
offers a charming prospect, on account of the variety of low lands,
hills, and mountains. The landscape is adorned with a fine verdure, and
every thing announces a rich country. Soon after, the isle of Pangasani,
and the keys to the northward of it, appear separated, and we
distinguished the several channels which they form. The high mountains
of Celebes appeared above, and to the northward of these lands. The
straits are afterwards formed by this long isle of Pangasani, and by
that of Button. At half past five o’clock we were locked in so that we
could not see either the entrance or the out-let, and we sounded in
twenty-seven fathoms of water, and an excellent oozy bottom.
[Sidenote: First anchorage.]
The breeze which then came from E. S. E. obliged us to sail close upon
it, in order to keep the coast of Button on board. At half past six
o’clock, the wind coming more contrary, and the tide setting pretty
strong against us, we let go a stream-anchor almost in the midst of the
channel, in the same soundings which we had before, twenty-seven
fathoms, soft ooze; which is a mark of an equal depth in all this part.
The breadth of the straits from the entrance to this first anchorage,
varies from seven to eight, nine and ten miles. The night was very fine.
We supposed there were habitations on this part of Button, because we
saw several fires there. Pangasani appeared much better peopled to us,
if we judge by the great number of fires on every part of it. This isle
is here low, level, and covered with fine trees, and I should not wonder
if it contained spices.
[Sidenote: Traffic with the inhabitants.]
On the 13th, a great many periaguas, with outriggers, surrounded the
ships. The Indians brought us fowls, eggs, bananas, perrokeets and
cockatoes. They desired to be paid in Dutch money, and especially in a
plated coin, which is of the value of two French sous and a half. They
likewise willingly took knives with red handles. These islanders came
from a considerable plantation on the heights of Button, opposite our
anchorage, occupying the skirts of five or six mountains. The land is
there entirely cleared, intersected with ditches, and well planted. The
habitations lay together in villages, or solitary in the midst of
fields, surrounded by hedges. They cultivate rice, maize, potatoes,
yams, and other roots. We have no where eaten better bananas than we got
at this place. Here are likewise abundance of cocoa-nuts, citrons,
mangle-apples, and ananas or pine-apples. All the people are very tawny,
of a short stature, and ugly. Their language, the same as that of the
Molucca isles, is the Malays, and their religion the Mahometan. They
seem to have a great experience in their trade, but are gentle and
honest. They offered us for sale some pieces of coloured but very coarse
cotton. I shewed them some nutmegs and cloves, and asked them to give me
some. They answered that they had some dried in their houses, and that
whenever they wanted any, they went to get it upon Ceram, and in the
neighbourhood of Banda, where the Dutch certainly are not the people to
provide them with it. They told me that a great ship belonging to the
company had passed through the straits about ten days ago.
From sun-rising the wind was weak and contrary, varying from south to S.
W. I set sail at half past ten, with the first of the flood, and we made
many boards without gaining much way. At half past four o’clock in the
afternoon we entered a passage, which is only four miles broad. It is
formed on the side of Button, by a low, but much projecting point, and
leaves to the northward a great bay, in which are three isles. On the
side of Pangasani it is formed by seven or eight little isles or keys,
covered with wood, and lying at most half a quarter of a league from the
coast. In one of our boards we ranged these keys almost within pistol
shot, sounding close to them with fifteen fathoms without finding
bottom. In the channel our soundings were in thirty-five, thirty, and
twenty-seven fathoms, oozy bottom. We passed without, that is, on the
west side of the three isles, upon the coast of Button. They are of a
considerable size, and inhabited.
[Sidenote: Second anchorage.]
The coast of Pangasani here rises like an amphitheatre, with a low land
at bottom, which I believe is often overflowed. I conclude it from
seeing the islanders always fix their habitations upon the sides of the
mountains. Perhaps too, as they are almost always at war with their
neighbours, they choose to leave an interval of wood between their huts
and the enemies who should attempt the landing. It seems even that they
are dreaded by the inhabitants of Button, who consider them as pirates,
upon whom no reliance can be had. Both parties are likewise used to wear
the _criss_ or dagger constantly in their girdle. At eight o’clock in
the evening, the wind dying away entirely, we let go our stream-anchor
in thirty-six fathoms, bottom of soft ooze. The Etoile anchored to the
northward, nearer the land. Thus we had passed the first narrow gut or
gullet.
[Sidenote: Third and fourth anchorage.]
The 14th, at eight o’clock in the morning, we weighed and made all the
sail possible, the breeze being faint, and we plied till noon; when,
upon seeing a bank to the S. S. W. we anchored in twenty fathoms, sand
and ooze, and I sent a boat to sound round the bank. In the morning
several periaguas came alongside, one among them displaying Dutch
colours at her poop. At her approach, all the others retired to make way
for her. She had on board one of their _orencaies_ or chiefs. The
company allow them their colours, and the right to carry them. At one
o’clock in the afternoon we set sail again, with a view to gain some
leagues farther; but this was impossible, the wind being too light and
scant; we lost about half a league, and at half past three o’clock we
let go our anchor again, in thirteen fathom bottom of sand, ooze,
shells, and coral.
[Sidenote: Nautical advice.]
Mean while M. de la Corre, whom I had sent in the boat, to sound between
the bank and the shore, returned and made the following report: Near the
bank there is eight or nine fathom of water; and as you go nearer the
coast of Button, which is high and deep, opposite a fine bay, you always
deepen your water, till you find no bottom with eighty fathom of line,
almost mid-channel between the bank and the land. Consequently, if one
was becalmed in this part, there would be no anchoring, except near the
bank. The bottom is, upon the whole, of a good quality hereabouts.
Several other banks ly between this and the coast of Pangasani. We
cannot therefore sufficiently recommend it, to keep as close as possible
to the land of Button in all this strait. The good anchorages are along
this coast; it hides no danger; and, besides this, the winds most
frequently blow from thence. From hence, almost to the out-let of the
strait, it seems to be nothing but a chain of isles; but the reason of
this is, its being intersected by many bays, which must form excellent
ports.
[Sidenote: Continuation and description of the straits.]
The night was very fair and calm. The 15th, at five o’clock in the
morning, we set sail with a breeze at E. S. E. and we steered so as to
come close to the east of Button. At half past seven o’clock we doubled
the bank, and the breeze dying away, I hoisted out the long-boat and
barge, and made signal for the Etoile to do the same. The tide was
favourable, and our boats towed us till three o’clock in the afternoon.
We passed by two excellent bays, where I believe an anchorage might be
found; but all along, and very near the high-shores, there is no bottom.
At half after three o’clock the wind blew very fresh at E. S. E. and we
made sail to find an anchorage near the narrow pass, by which one must
go out of these straits. We did not yet discover any appearances of it.
On the contrary, the farther we advanced, the less issue did we
perceive. The lands of both shores, which over-lap here, appear as one
continued coast, and do not so much as let one suspect any out-let.
At half past four o’clock we were opposite, and to the westward of a
very open bay, and saw a boat of the country-people’s, which seemed to
advance into it, to the southward. I sent my barge after her, with
orders to bring her to me, as I intended to get a pilot by this means.
During this time our other boats were employed in sounding. Somewhat off
shore, and almost opposite the north point of the bay, they found
twenty-five fathom, sand and coral bottom; and after that they were out
of soundings. I put about, then lay-to under top-sails, in order to give
the boats time to sound. After passing by the entrance of the bay, you
find bottom again, all along the land which joins to its southerly
point. Our boats made signal of 45, 40, 35, 29, and 28 fathom, oozy
bottom; and we worked to gain this anchorage with the help of our
long-boats. At half past five, we let go one of our bower-anchors there,
in thirty-five fathom of water, bottom of soft ooze. The Etoile anchored
to the southward of us.
[Sidenote: Fifth anchorage.]
As we were just come to an anchor, my barge returned with the Malayo
boat. He had not found it difficult to determine the latter to follow
her; and we took an Indian, who asked four ducatoons (about thirteen
shillings sterling) for conducting us; this bargain was soon concluded.
The pilot came to ly on board, and his periagua went to wait for him on
the other side of the passage. He told us, she was going thither through
the bottom of a neighbouring bay, from whence there was but a short
portage, or carrying-place, for the periagua. We were, upon the whole,
enabled to do without the assistance of this pilot; for some moments
before we anchored, the sun shining very favourably upon the entrance of
the gut, was the occasion of our discovering the larboard point of the
out-let, bearing S. S. W. 4° W. but one must guess which it is; for it
laps over a double rock, which forms the starboard point. Some of our
gentlemen employed the rest of the day in walking about on shore; they
found no habitations near our anchorage. They likewise searched the
woods, with which all this part is entirely covered, but found no
interesting production in it. They only met with a little bag near the
shore, containing some dried nutmegs.
The next morning we began to heave a-head at half past two o’clock in
the morning, and it was four before we got under sail. We could hardly
perceive any wind; however being towed by our boats, we got to the
entrance of the passage.
The water was then quite low on both shores; and as we had hitherto
found that the flood-tide set from the northward, we expected the
favourable return of it every instant; but we were much deceived in our
hopes; for here the flood sets from the southward, at least during this
season, and I know not which are the limits of the two powers. The wind
had freshened considerably, and was right aft. In vain did we with its
assistance endeavour to stem the tide for an hour and a half; the
Etoile, which first began to fall astern, anchored near the entrance of
the passage, on the side of Button, in a kind of elbow, where the tide
forms a sort of eddy, and is not very sensibly felt. [Sidenote: Sixth
anchorage.] With the help of the wind I still struggled near an hour
without losing ground; but the wind having left me, I soon lost a good
mile, and anchored at one o’clock in the afternoon, in thirty fathom,
bottom of sand and coral. I kept all the sails set, and steering the
ship, in order to ease my anchor, which was only a light stream-anchor.
[Sidenote: Leaving the Straits of Button; description of the passage.]
All this day our ships were surrounded with periaguas. They went to and
fro as at a fair, being laden with refreshments, curiosities, and pieces
of cotton. This commerce was carried on without hindering our manœuvres.
At four o’clock in the afternoon, the wind having freshened, and it
being almost high water, we weighed our anchor, and with all our boats
a-head of the frigate we entered the passage, and were followed by the
Etoile, who was towed in the same manner by her boats. At half past five
o’clock, the narrowest pass was happily cleared; and at half an hour
after six we anchored without, in the bay called Bay of Bouton, under
the Dutch settlement.
Let us now return to the description of the passage. When you come from
the northward, it does not begin to open till you are within a mile of
it. The first object which strikes one, on the side of Button, is a
detached rock, hollow below, representing exactly the figure of a tented
galley[126], half of whose cut water is carried away; the bushes which
cover it seem to form the tent; at low water, this galley joins to the
bay; at high water, it is a little isle. The land of Button, which is
tolerably high in this part, is covered with houses, and the sea-shore
full of enclosures, for catching fish in. The other shore of the passage
is perpendicular; its point is distinguishable by two sections, which
form as it were two stories in the rock. After passing the galley, the
lands on both sides are quite steep, and in some parts even hang over
the channel. One would think, that the god of the sea had opened a
passage here for his swelled waters, by a stroke of his trident.
However, the aspect of the coast is charming; that of Button is
cultivated, rises like an amphitheatre, and every where full of
habitations, unless in such places, which by their steepness exclude men
from coming at them. The coast of Pangasani, which is scarce any thing
but one solid rock, is however covered with trees; but there appear only
two or three habitations on it.
About a mile and a half to the northward of the passage, nearer Button
than Pangasani, we find 20, 18, 15, 12, and 10 fathom, oozy bottom; as
we advance to the southward in the channel, the bottom changes; there is
sand and coral at different depths, from thirty-five to twelve fathom,
and after that you are out of soundings.
[Sidenote: Advice on this navigation.]
The passage is about half a league long; its breadth varies from about
150 to 400 toises[127], as we judged from appearance. The channel goes
winding, and on the side of Pangasani; for at about two-thirds of its
length, there is a fishery, which must be considered as a mark to avoid
this shore, and range that of Button. In general it is necessary, as
much as possible, to keep the middle of the gut. It is likewise fit,
unless you have a brisk and favourable wind, to have your boats out
a-head, in order to steer well in the sinuosities of the channel. The
current, upon the whole, is strong enough there to carry you past in a
calm, and even when there is a light contrary wind; but it is not
sufficient to overcome a brisk head-wind, and to permit your passing the
channel, making short boards under top-sails. When you come out of the
gullet, the land of Button, several isles to the S. W. of it, and the
lands of Pangasani look as the entrance of a great gulph. The best
anchorage there, is opposite the Dutch settlement, about a mile off
shore.
Our pilot from Button, had assisted us with his knowledge, as far as was
possible for a man who knows the particular situation of these parts,
but understands nothing of the manœuvres of our ships. He took the
greatest care to inform us of all dangers, banks, and anchorages; only
he always required, that we should steer right in for the place where we
wanted to go, making no allowance for our manner of hugging the wind, in
order to be to windward, and to secure our point. He likewise believed,
that we drew eight or ten fathom of water. In the morning another Indian
came on board; he was an experienced old man, and we took him to be the
father of our pilot. They stayed with us till the evening, and I sent
them back in one of my boats. Their habitation is near the Dutch
factory. They would absolutely eat none of our provisions, not even
bread; some bananas and betel were their only food. They were not so
religious about drinking. Both the pilot and his father drank great
quantities of brandy; being, doubtless, assured that Mahomed had only
forbid them wine.
[Sidenote: Great visit of the islanders.]
The 17th, at five o’clock in the morning, we were under sail. The wind
was on-end; at first faint, then pretty fresh, and we continued plying.
At day-break we saw a whole swarm of periaguas come out from all parts;
they soon surrounded the ships, and a commerce was established, with
which all parties were pleased. The Indians, without doubt, disposed of
their provisions to us, to much greater advantage than they could have
done to the Dutch; however they sold them at a low rate, and all our
sailors could get poultry, eggs, and fruit. Both ships were full of
fowls, up as high as the tops. I must here advise those that pass this
way, to provide themselves, if they can, with the coin which the Dutch
make use of in the Moluccas; and especially with the plated pieces; the
value of which is 2½ sous. As the Indians did not know the coin which we
had, they did not value the Spanish reals, nor our pieces of 12 and 24
sous; and often refused to take them. These Indians likewise offered to
sell some finer and handsomer cottons than we had hitherto seen, and a
prodigious quantity of cockatoes and parroquets, of the finest plumage.
Towards nine o’clock in the morning, we were visited by five _orencaies_
of Button. They came in a boat, which looked like a European one, except
its being managed with paddles instead of oars. They had a great Dutch
flag at their poop. These _orencaies_ are well dressed; they have long
breeches, jackets with metal buttons, and turbans; whereas the other
Indians are naked. They have likewise the distinctive mark which the
company gives them; and which is a cane with a silver head, and this
mark [[Symbol]] on it. The oldest amongst them had above this mark an M,
in the following manner, [[Symbol with M]]. They came, as they said, to
be obedient to the company, and when they heard that we were French,
they were not disconcerted; and said, that they very willingly did
homage to France. They accompanied their first compliments of welcoming
us, with the gift of a roe-buck; I presented them in the king’s name
with some silk stuffs, which they divided into five lots; and I taught
them how to distinguish the colours of our nation. I offered them some
liquor; this was what they expected, and Mahomed permitted them to drink
some to the health of the sovereign of Button, and to that of France; to
the prosperity of the Dutch company, and to our happy voyage. They then
offered me all the assistance they were able to give; and told me, that
within three years there had passed at different times, three English
ships, which they had furnished with water, wood, fowls, and fruit; that
they were their friends, and that they conceived, we should be their
friends also. That instant their glasses were filled, and they had
already drank off several bumpers. They further informed me, that the
king of Button resided in this district; and I saw plainly that they
were used to the more civilized manners of the capital. They call him
Sultan[128]; and have certainly received that name from the Arabians,
together with their religion. The Sultan is despotic and powerful, if
power can be said to consist in the number of subjects; for his isle is
large and well peopled. The _orencaies_, after taking leave of us, made
a visit on board the Etoile. There they likewise drank to the health of
their new friends, who were obliged to hand them down into their
periaguas.
[Sidenote: Situation of the Dutch at Button.]
I asked them when they were drinking, whether their isle produced
spices? and they answered in the negative; and I readily believe they
spoke the truth, considering the weak settlement which the Dutch have
here. This station is composed of seven or eight bamboo huts, with a
kind of pallisadoes, decorated by the pole of a tent. There a serjeant
and three men reside for the company. This coast, upon the whole, offers
a most pleasing prospect; it is every where cultivated and covered with
huts. The plantations of cocoa-nut trees are very frequent on it. The
land rises with a gentle slope, and every where offers cultivated and
enclosed fields. The sea-shore is all full of fisheries. The coast,
which is opposite Button, is no less pleasing, nor less peopled.
[Sidenote: Nautical advice.]
Our pilot likewise returned to see us in the morning, and brought me
some cocoa-nuts, which were the best I had as yet tasted. He told me,
that when the sun should be at its greatest height, the S. E. breeze
would be very fresh, and I gave him a good draught of brandy for such
good news. We actually saw all the periaguas retire towards eleven
o’clock; they would not venture out to sea at the approach of the brisk
wind, which did not fail to blow as the Indian had foretold. A fresh and
pretty strong breeze at S. E. took us as we made a board upon an isle to
the west of Button; it permitted us to steer W. S. W. and made us gain a
good way against the tide. I must here observe, that one must take heed
of a bank, which runs pretty far out to sea from the isle of which I
have just spoken. As we plied in the morning, we sounded several times
without finding bottom, with fifty fathoms of line.
At noon we observed in 5° 31′ 30″ south lat. and this observation,
together with that which we had made at the entrance of the strait,
served to determine its length with precision. At three o’clock we
perceived the southern extremity of Pangasani. We had ever since this
morning seen the high mountains of the isle of Cambona, on which there
is a peak, whose summit rises up above the clouds. About half an hour
after four we discovered a part of the land of Celebes. We hoisted in
our boats at sun-setting, and set all sails, steering W. S. W. till ten
o’clock in the evening, when we stood W. by S. and we continued this
course all night, with studding-sails set alow and aloft.
[Sidenote: Remarks on this navigation.]
My intention was to fall in with the isle of Saleyer, about three or
four leagues from its northern point, that is, in 5° 55′ or 6° of
latitude, in order afterwards to go in search of the strait of the same
name, between this isle and that of Celebes, along which you sail
without seeing it, as its coast almost from Pangasani forms a gulph of
immense depth. It is likewise necessary to return in search of the
strait of Saleyer, when you pass through the Toukan-bessie; and from the
above details it must certainly be concluded, that the course through
the strait of Button is in every respect preferable. [Sidenote:
Advantages of the preceding track.] It is one of the safest and most
agreeable navigations that can be made. It joins all the advantages of
the best harbour to excellent anchorage, and to the pleasure of making
way at one’s ease. We had now as great an abundance of fresh provisions
on board our ships as there had been want before. The scurvy disappeared
visibly; a great many fluxes were indeed complained of, occasioned by
the change of food; this inconvenience, which is dangerous in the hot
countries, where it commonly is converted into a bloody-flux, still more
frequently becomes a severe sickness in the Moluccas. Both on shore and
at sea it is deadly there to sleep in the open air, especially when the
dew falls.
[Sidenote: Passing the straits of Saleyer.]
The 18th in the morning we did not see land, and I believe, that, during
night, we lost three leagues by the currents; we still continued our
course to W. by S. At half past nine o’clock we had a fair view of the
high lands of Saleyer, bearing from W. S. W. to W. by N. and as we
advanced, we discovered a less elevated point, which seems to terminate
this isle to the northward. I then steered from W. by N. successively to
N. W. by N. in order to view the straits well. This passage, which is
formed by the lands of Celebes and those of Saleyer, is likewise made
more narrow by three isles which seem to shut it up. The Dutch call them
Bougerones; and the passage, the Bout-saron. They have a settlement upon
Saleyer, commanded at present by Jan Hendrik Voll, book-keeper.
[Sidenote: Description of this passage.]
At noon we observed in 5° 55′ south lat. At first, we thought we saw an
island to the northward of the middle land, which we had taken for the
point of Saleyer; but this is a pretty high land, terminated by a point
which is connected with Saleyer, by an exceeding low neck of land.
Afterwards we discovered at once two pretty long isles, of a middle
height, about four or five leagues asunder. And lastly, between those
two we perceived a third, which is very little and very low. The good
passage is near this little isle, either to the northward or southward
of it. I determined upon the latter, which appeared to me to be the
largest. In order to facilitate the description, we shall call the
little isle, _Isle of the Passage_; and the two others, the one _South
Island_, and the other _North Island_.
[Sidenote: Description of this part of
Celebes.]
When we had sufficiently viewed them, I lay-to at the beginning of
night, to wait for the Etoile. She did not come up with us till eight
o’clock in the evening, and we entered the passage, keeping in the
middle of the channel, which is about six or seven miles broad. At half
past nine o’clock we bore north and south with the Isle of the Passage,
and the middle of South Island bore from south to S. by E. I then
steered W. by S. at one o’clock in the morning, then lay-to with the
larboard-tack till four o’clock in the morning. Before, and in the
passage, we sounded several times with the hand-lead, finding no bottom
with twenty and twenty-five fathoms of line. On the 19th at day-break we
came near, and ranged the coast of Celebes at the distance of three or
four miles, It is really difficult to see a finer country in the world.
In the back-ground there appear high mountains, at the foot of which
extends an immense plain, every where cultivated, and covered with
houses. The sea-shore forms a continued plantation of cocoa-nut trees,
and the eye of a sailor, who has but just left off salt provisions, sees
with rapture great herds of cattle grazing in these agreeable plains,
embellished with groves at various distances. The population seems to be
considerable in this part. At half an hour after noon we were opposite a
great village, of which, the habitations, situated amidst the cocoa-nut
trees, for a considerable space, followed the direction of the coast,
along which you find eighteen and twenty fathoms of water, bottom of
grey sand; but this depth decreases as you approach the shore.
This southern part of Celebes is terminated by three long points, which
are level and low, and between which there are two pretty deep bays.
Towards two o’clock we chased a Malayo boat, hoping to find somebody in
it who might have practical knowledge of these shores. The boat
immediately fled towards the shore, and when we joined her within reach
of musket-shot, she was between the land and us, and we were in no more
than seven fathoms of water. I fired three or four guns at her, which
she did not attend to. She certainly took us for a Dutch ship, and was
afraid of slavery. Almost all the people of this coast are pirates, and
the Dutch make slaves of them whenever they take any. Being obliged to
abandon the pursuit of this boat, I ordered the Etoile’s canoe to sound
a-head of us.
[Sidenote: Difficulty of the navigation in this part.]
We were at this time almost opposite the third point of Celebes, named
Tanakeka, after which, the coast tends to N. N. W. Almost to the N. W.
of this point are four isles, of which the most considerable named
Tanakeka, like the S. W. point of Celebes, is low, level, and about
three leagues long. The three others, more northerly than these, are
very small. It was not necessary to double the dangerous shoal of
_Brill_ or the Spectacles, which I take to be north and south of
Tanakeka, at the distance of four or five leagues to the utmost. Two
passages lay before us, one between point Tanakeka and the isles, (and
it is pretended that this is followed by the Dutch) the other between
the isle of Tanakeka and the Spectacles; I preferred the latter, through
which the course is more simple, and which I took to be the widest.
I ordered the Etoile’s boat to direct her course in such a manner as to
pass within a league and a half of the isle of Tanakeka, and I followed
her under top-sails, the Etoile keeping in our wake. We passed over
eight, nine, ten, eleven and twelve fathoms of water, steering from W.
N. W. to W. by N. and then west, when we came into thirteen, fourteen,
fifteen, and sixteen fathoms, the northermost isle bearing N. N. E. I
then recalled the Etoile’s boat, and stood S. W. by S. sounding every
half hour, and always finding fifteen or sixteen fathoms, bottom of
coarse grey sand and gravel. At ten o’clock in the evening, the depth
encreased; at half past ten o’clock we sounded in seventy fathoms, sand
and coral; then we found none with 120 fathoms of line. At midnight I
made signal for the Etoile to hoist in her boat, and carry as much sail
as she could, and I steered S. W. in order to pass mid-channel, between
the Spectacles and a bank called Saras, sounding every hour without
finding bottom. Whenever the wind is not brisk or favourable for
doubling the Spectacles, it is necessary to anchor on the coast of
Celebes, in one of the bays, and to wait for settled weather there;
otherwise you run the risk of being thrown upon this dangerous shoal by
the currents, without your being able to prevent it.
[Sidenote: Continuation of the direction of our course.]
The next day we saw no land; at ten o’clock we stood to W. S. W. and at
noon had an observation in 6° 10′ south latitude. Then reckoning that we
had doubled the bank of Saras, at least being sure, by observation, of
being to the southward of it, I steered west, and after making five or
six leagues by this course, I stood W. by N. sounding every hour without
finding bottom. Thus we kept in the channel between the Sestenbank and
the Hen (_Poule_), to the northward, and the Pater-noster and Tangayang
to the southward, carrying all sails set, both night and day, in order
to get time to sound, by gaining upon the Etoile. I was told, that the
currents here set towards the isles and bank of Tangayang. By the
observation at noon, which was in 5° 44′, we had, on the contrary, at
least nine minutes of difference north. The best advice I can give, is
to keep such a course as to be out of soundings; you are then sure of
being in the channel; if you approach too near the southern isles, you
would begin to find only thirty fathom of water.
We made sail all the day of the 21st, in order to view the isles of
Alambaï. The French charts mark three of them together, and a much
larger one to the S. E. of them, seven leagues distant. This last does
not exist where they place it; and the isles of Alambaï are all the four
isles together. I reckoned myself in their latitude at sun-set, and
steered W. by S. till we had run the length of them. During day-time we
had dispensed with sounding. At eight o’clock in the evening we had
forty fathom of water, bottom of sand and ooze. We then stood S. W. by
W. and W. S. W. till six in the morning; then reckoning that we had
passed the isles of Alambaï, we stood W. by S. till noon. During night
we always found forty fathom, bottom of soft ooze, till four o’clock,
when we found only thirty-eight. At mid-night we saw a boat coming
towards us; as soon as she perceived us, she hauled her wind, and would
not bear down to us, though we twice fired a gun. These people are more
afraid of the Dutch, than of the firing of guns. Another boat, which we
saw in the morning, was not more curious to come near us. At noon we
observed in 6° 8′ of latitude, and this observation further gave us a
distance of 8′ north of our reckoning.
[Sidenote: General remarks on this navigation.]
We were now past all the dangers which are so much dreaded in the
navigation from the Moluccas to Batavia. The Dutch take the greatest
precautions to keep those charts secret by which they sail in these
parts. It is probable that they magnify the dangers; at least I have
seen very few in the straits of Button, Saleyer, and in the last passage
we had now left, though all these three parts had been described to us
at Boero, as perilous beyond measure. I own that this navigation would
be much more difficult from east to west. The points of landfall to the
eastward are not fine, and can easily be missed, whereas those to the
west are fine and safe. However, in both courses, it is essential to
have good observations of latitude every day. The want of this help
might lead one into dangerous mistakes. We could not, in these last
days, compute whether the currents set us eastward or westward, as we
had had no bearings.
[Sidenote: Inexactness of the known charts of this part.]
I must here mention, that all the French charts of these parts cannot be
depended upon. They are inaccurate, not only in regard to the position
of the coasts and isles, but even in the essential latitudes. The
straits of Button and Saleyer are extremely faulty; our charts even have
omitted the three isles which make this last passage narrower, and those
which ly to the N. N. W. of the isle of Tanakeka. M. d’Après, at least
mentions, that he does not answer for the exactness of his chart of the
Moluccas and Philippines, because he had not been able to obtain
satisfactory memoirs concerning that part. For the safety of navigators,
I wish that all those, who compile charts, would display the same
candour. The map which gave me the greatest assistance, is that of Asia,
by M. d’ Anville, published in 1752. It is very good from Ceram to the
isles of Alambaï. On the whole course I have verified, by my
observation, the exactness of his positions, and of the bearings which
he gives to the most interesting parts of this difficult navigation. I
shall add, that New Guinea, and the isles of Papua come nearer the truth
in this map, than in any other which I had in my hands. I do this
justice to M. d’Anville’s work with pleasure. I have known him
particularly; and he seemed to me to be as good a citizen as he was a
good critic, and a man of great erudition.
From the 22d in the morning, we continued our course W. by S. till the
23d, at eight o’clock in the morning, when we steered W. S. W. We found
47, 45, 42, and 41 fathom; and the bottom, I shall say it once for all,
is here, and upon the whole coast of Java, an excellent bottom of soft
ooze. We still found seven minutes difference north by the altitude at
noon, which we observed in 6° 24′. The Etoile had made signal of seeing
the land by six o’clock in the morning; but the weather becoming
squally, we did not then perceive it. After noon I shaped our course
more to the southward, and at two o’clock we discovered at masthead the
north coast of the isle of Maduré. At six o’clock we set it, bearing
from S. E. by S. to W. ½ S. The horizon was too thick to enable us to
compute at what distance it was. The soundings in the afternoon
constantly gave forty fathom. We saw a great many fishing-boats, some of
which were at anchor, and had thrown out their nets.
[Sidenote: Sight of the isle of Java.]
The winds, during night, varied from S. E. to S. W. We ran close-hauled,
with the larboard tacks on board; and from ten o’clock in the evening
had soundings in 28, 25, and 20 fathom. At nine o’clock in the morning,
when we had approached the land, we found 17 fathom, and at noon only
ten. The great lands of point Alang upon Java, then bore S. E. by S. of
us, about two leagues; the isle of Mandali S. W. 9° W. two miles; and
the most westerly lands, W. S. W. four leagues. Having these bearings,
we observed in 6° 22′ 30″, which was pretty conformable to our estimated
latitude, pricking off our point at noon upon the chart of M. d’ Après,
according to the bearings I found.
[Sidenote: Geographical observations.]
1st, That the coast of Java is there placed nine or twelve minutes more
to the southward than it ought to be, by the mean result of our meridian
observation.
2d, That the position of point Alang is not exact in it, as he makes it
run W. S. W. and S. W. by W. whereas it really runs from the isle of
Mandali W. by S. for about 15 miles; after which it turns to the
southward, and forms a great gulph.
3d, That he gives too little extent to this part of the coast; and that
if we had followed the bearings on his chart, we must, from noon to
noon, have made thirteen miles less to the westward; either because the
coast had really so much more extent, or because the currents set us to
the eastward.
[Sidenote: Meeting some Dutch ships.]
Besides a great number of fishing-boats, we saw in the morning four
ships, of which two stood the same course as ourselves, and displayed
Dutch colours. Towards three o’clock we joined one of them, and spoke
with her; she was a snow from Malacca, bound for Japara. Her consort, a
three-masted ship, likewise coming from Malacca, was bound for Saramang.
They soon came to an anchor upon the coast. We ranged it, at the
distance of about three quarters of a league, till four o’clock in the
evening. We then steered W. by N. in order not to get deeper into this
gulph, and to pass on the off side of a coral-bank, which is about five
or six leagues off shore. As far as this part, the coast of Java is not
much elevated near the sea-shore, but in the interior parts we perceived
high mountains. At half past five o’clock, the middle of the isles of
Carimon-Java bore N. 2° W. about eight leagues.
[Sidenote: Course along Java.]
We stood W. by N. till four o’clock in the morning, then west till noon.
The day before we had sounded in nine and ten fathom near the shore; we
deepened our water by seven o’clock in the evening; when we found 30,
and in the night 32, 34, and 35 fathom. At sunrise we saw no lands, only
some ships; and, as usual, an infinite number of fishing-boats.
Unluckily it was a calm almost the whole 25th, till five o’clock in the
evening. I say unluckily, by so much the more, as it was necessary we
should have sight of the land before night, in order to direct our
course in consequence thereof, between Point Indermay, and the Isles of
Rachit, and afterwards to keep towards the offing of some rocks under
water, which are to the westward of them. From noon, when we had
observed in 6° 26′ of latitude, we steered W. and W. by S. but the sun
set before we could see the land. Some of our people thought, but
without any certainty, that they perceived the blue mountains, which are
forty leagues off Batavia. From six o’clock in the evening to midnight,
we steered W. and W. by N. sounding every hour in twenty-five,
twenty-four, twenty-one, twenty, and nineteen fathoms. At one o’clock in
the morning we ran W. by N. from two o’clock to four, N. W. then N. W.
by W. till six o’clock. My intention, expecting to be in the middle of
the channel between the isles of Rachit and the land of Java at one
o’clock in the morning, was to get to the northward of the rocks. We
sounded thrice in twenty fathoms, than twenty-two, next twenty-three,
and I then reckoned myself three or four leagues to the N. N. W. of the
isles of Rachit.
[Sidenote: Error in the reckoning of our course.]
I was very much out in my reckoning. On the 26th, the rays of the rising
sun shewed us the coast of Java, bearing from S. by W. to west, some
degrees north, and at half past seven o’clock we saw from mast-head the
isles of Rachit, about seven leagues distant, bearing N. N. W. and N. W.
by N. These bearings gave me a prodigious and dangerous difference with
the chart of M. d’Après. But I suspended my judgment till the
observation at noon should determine whether this difference was to be
attributed to the currents, or whether the chart ought to be charged
with it. I steered W. by N. and W. N. W. in order to view the coast
well, it being in this part extremely low, and without any mountains in
the interior parts. The wind was at S. S. E. S. E. and E. pretty fresh.
[Sidenote: Causes of this error.]
At noon the southermost point of Indermay bore E. by S. 2° S. about four
leagues distant; the middle of the isles of Rachit, N. E. five leagues
distant, and the mean result of the altitude observed on board, placed
us in 6° 12′ of latitude. By this observation, and the bearings, it
seemed to me that the gulph between the isle of Mandali and point
Indermay, is in the chart laid down less broad from E. to W. by
twenty-two minutes than it really is, and that the coast is therein laid
down 16′ more southerly than our observations place it. The same
correction must take place in regard to the isles of Rachit, by adding,
that the distance between these isles and the coast of Java, is at least
two leagues greater than that which is expressed in the chart. In regard
to the bearings of the several parts of the coast from each other, they
appeared to me to be exact enough, as much as we could judge of it by
our successive estimations made by sight, and as we ran along. Upon the
whole, the differences above-mentioned are very dangerous for one who
sails in this part in night-time.
All this morning we had found twenty-one, twenty-three, nineteen, and
eighteen fathoms. The E. S. E. breeze continued, and we ranged the coast
at three or four miles distance, in order to pass to the southward of
the hidden rocks, of which I have already spoken, and which are laid
down five or six leagues to the westward of the isles of Rachit. At one
o’clock in the afternoon, a boat which lay at anchor a-head of us, made
sail upon the starboard-tack, which made me think that the current then
changed, and became contrary to us. We spoke with her at two o’clock; a
Dutchman who commanded her, and who seemed to be the only white man on
board, having some mulattoes with him, said, he was bound for Amboina
and Ternate; and that he came from Batavia, from whence he was
twenty-six leagues by his reckoning. After coming out of the passage of
Rachit, and passing within the rocks which are under water, I wanted to
stand N. W. in order to double two sand-banks, named Perilous Banks,
which run pretty far out to sea, between the points Indermay and Sidari.
The wind would not admit of it, and as I could only stand W. N. W. I let
go a stream anchor, at seven o’clock in the evening, in thirteen
fathoms, oozy bottom, about a league off shore. We could only ply with
very short and unsafe tacks between the rocks under water on one side,
and the perilous banks on the other. We had sounded since noon in
nineteen, fifteen, fourteen, and ten fathoms. Before we anchored, we
made a short board to the offing, which brought us into thirteen
fathoms.
We weighed on the 27th, at two o’clock in the morning, with the
land-breeze, which this night came from the west, whereas on the
preceding nights they had veered all round from north to south by the
east. Having steered N. W. we did not see the land again till eight
o’clock in the morning, it being then very low, and almost overflowed;
we kept the same course till noon, and from our setting sail to that
hour, our soundings varied from thirteen to sixteen, twenty, twenty-two,
twenty-three, and twenty-four fathoms. At half past ten o’clock we found
a coral bottom; I sounded again the moment after, and the bottom was
oozy as usual.
At noon we observed 5° 48′ of latitude; we could not see the land from
the deck, as it is so very low. We set it from mast-head, bearing from
south to S. W. by W. at the computed distance of five or six leagues.
This day’s observation, compared with the bearings, did not differ above
two or three minutes, which this part of Java is placed too much south
in the chart of M. d’Après; but this difference is equal to nothing,
because, to make it real, we must suppose the computation of the
distances of the bearings perfectly exact. The currents had still set us
to the northward, and I believe likewise to the westward.
[Sidenote: New error in our reckoning.]
The weather was very fine all day, and the wind favourable; in the
afternoon I shaped our course a little more to the northward, in order
to avoid the shallows of the point of Sidari. At midnight, thinking to
have past them, we stood W. by S. and W. S. W. then S. W. seeing that
the water, which was nineteen fathoms at one o’clock, was successively
encreased to twenty-seven fathoms. At three o’clock in the morning we
perceived an isle, bearing N. W. ½ N. about three leagues. Being then
convinced that I was more advanced than I at first thought, and even
being afraid of passing by Batavia, I came to an anchor, in order to
wait for day-light. At sun-rise we discerned all the isles of the bay of
Batavia; the isle of Edam, on which there is a flag, bore S. E. by S.
about four leagues, and the isle of Onrust, or of Careening, S. by W. ½
W. near five leagues: thus we were ten leagues more to the westward than
we had thought; a difference which may have been occasioned both by the
currents, and by the inaccuracy with which the coast is laid down in the
chart.
At half past ten o’clock in the morning I attempted to set sail, but the
wind dying away immediately, and the tide being contrary, I let go a
stream-anchor under sail. We weighed again at half an hour after noon,
standing in for the middle of the isle of Edam, till we were within
three quarters of a league of it. The cupola of the great church at
Batavia then bearing south, we steered for it, passing between the
beacons which indicate the channel. [Sidenote: Anchorage at Batavia.] At
six o’clock we anchored in the road in six fathoms, oozy bottom, without
mooring, as it is usual here to be content only with having another
anchor ready to let go. An hour after, the Etoile anchored to the E. N.
E. at two cable’s lengths from us. Thus, after keeping the sea for ten
months and a half, we arrived on the 28th of September, 1768, at one of
the finest colonies in the universe, where we all looked upon each other
as having completed our voyage.
Batavia, by my reckoning is in 6° 11′ south latitude, and 104° 52′ east
longitude, from the meridian of Paris.
-----
Footnote 126:
_Galere tentée_: we suppose M. de Bougainville means a galley, with
her awnings spread. F.
Footnote 127:
Of six feet French measure each.
Footnote 128:
The word Sultan is not of Arabic, but of Tartarian origin; but early
introduced into the Arabian language by the Turks that were in the
service of the Caliphs. F.
-----
_CHAP. VIII._
_Stay at Batavia, and particulars concerning the Moluccas._
The unhealthy season, which here generally begins at the end of the
monsoon, and the approach of the rainy western monsoon, determined us to
make our stay at Batavia as short as possible. [Sidenote: Ceremonies at
our arrival.] However, notwithstanding our impatient desire of leaving
it, our wants forced us to pass a certain number of days there, and the
necessity of getting some biscuit baked, which we did not find ready,
detained us longer than we had imagined. On our arrival, there were
thirteen or fourteen of the Dutch company’s ships in the road, one of
which was a flag ship. This is an old ship which is left at this
station; it has the jurisdiction of the road, and returns the salute of
all the merchant ships. I had already sent an officer to inform the
governor-general of our arrival, when a barge from this flag ship came
on board, with a paper written in Dutch, which I knew nothing of. There
was no officer in the barge, and the cockswain, who doubtless acted in
his stead, asked me who we were, and required a certificate, written and
signed by me. I answered him, that I had sent my declaration on shore,
and so I put him off. He returned soon after, insisting upon his first
demand; I sent him away once more with the same answer, and he put up
with it. The officer who had been sent to the general, did not return
till nine o’clock in the evening. He had not seen his excellency, who
was in the country, and he was brought before the _Sabandar_, or
introducer of strangers, who appointed him to return the next morning,
and told him, that if I would come on shore, he would conduct me to the
general.
[Sidenote: Visit to the general in the country.]
Visits are made very early in this country, on account of the excessive
heat. We set out at six o’clock in the morning, conducted by the
sabandar M. Vanderluys, and we went to M. Vander Para, general of the
East-Indies, who was at one of his country-houses, about three leagues
from Batavia. We found him a plain, but civil man, who received us
perfectly well, and offered us all the assistance we could be in need
of. He appeared neither surprised nor displeased at our having touched
at the Moluccas; he even approved of the conduct of the chief resident
at Boero, and of his good proceedings in our behalf. He consented to
have our sick put into the hospital of the company, and immediately sent
orders thither for their reception. As to the supplies which the king’s
ships were in want of, it was agreed, that we should give in an account
of our demands to the sabandar, who should be charged with providing us
with every thing. One of the perquisites of his place was to gain
something by us, and something by the undertakers. When all was settled,
the general asked me, whether I would not salute the flag; I answered I
would, on condition that the salute was returned gun for gun from the
place. Nothing, says he, is more equitable, and the citadel has got the
proper orders. As soon as I was returned on board, I saluted with
fifteen guns, and the town answered with the same number.
I immediately sent our sick to the hospital, from both ships, being in
number twenty-eight, some still afflicted with the scurvy, but the
greater part ill of a bloody-flux. We likewise prepared to give in to
the sabandar an account of our wants, in biscuit, wine, flour, fresh
meat, and pulse; and I begged him to let us have our provision of water
by the company’s people. We at the same time thought of getting a
lodging in town, during our stay: this we got in a great and fine house,
here called the _inner logement_, where you are lodged and boarded for
two rix dollars a day, servants not included, which amounts to about a
pistole of our money. This house belongs to the company, who let it to a
private person, and by that means give him the exclusive privilege of
lodging all strangers. However, men of war are not subject to this law,
and therefore the officers of the Etoile went to lodge in a private
family. We likewise hired several carriages, which one cannot absolutely
do without in this great town, especially as we intended to visit its
environs, which are infinitely more beautiful than the town itself.
These hired carriages have room for two persons, are drawn by horses,
and their price every day is somewhat more than ten francs (between
eight and nine shillings sterling).
On the third day of our arrival, we went in a body to pay a visit of
ceremony to the general, the sabandar having previously given him notice
of it. He received us in another country-seat, named Jacatra, of which
the distance from Batavia is only about a third of that of the house
where I had been on the first day. The road which leads to it cannot be
better compared than to the place called Boulevards, at Paris, supposing
them to be embellished with a canal of running water on the right and
the left. We ought to have made several other visits of ceremony;
likewise introduced by the sabandar, namely, to the director-general,
the president of justice, and the chief of the marine. M. Vanderluys
told us nothing of it, and we only visited the latter. His title is
Scopenhagen[129]. Though this officer only ranks as rear-admiral in the
company’s service, the present is however vice-admiral of the states
general, by a particular favour of the stadtholder. This prince was
willing thus to distinguish a man of quality, who, on account of his
broken fortune, has been obliged to leave the service of the states,
whom he has well served, and to take the place which he now occupies.
The _Schout-by-Nacht_ is a member of the high regency, in whose assembly
he has a seat, and a vote in their debates for the marine affairs; he
likewise enjoys all the honours which are due to the Edel-heers. He
keeps a great retinue, lives very high, and makes himself amends for the
bad moments he has often passed at sea, by spending his time in a
delicious villa.
[Sidenote: Amusements which are to be found at Batavia.]
The principal inhabitants of Batavia endeavoured to make our stay
agreeable to us. Great feasts in the town and country, concerts,
charming walks, the variety of objects united here, and most of them new
to us, the sight of the emporium of the richest commerce in the world;
and, more than this, the appearance of several people who, though of
entirely opposite manners, customs, and religion, however form one
society; every thing in fine concurred to charm the eye, instruct the
navigator, and interest even the philosopher. Here is likewise a pretty
good play-house; we could judge only of the theatre itself, which seemed
handsome to us; as we did not understand the language, we had seen
enough of it by going there once. We were much more curious to see the
Chinese comedies, though we did not understand any more what was said
there; it would not be very agreeable to see them every day, but one
ought to see one of each kind. Independent of the great pieces which are
represented on a theatre, there are every day small pieces and
pantomimes, represented on scaffolds, built at every corner in the
Chinese quarter. The Roman people called for bread and shows; the
Chinese must have commerce and farces. God forbid I should ever again
hear the declamations of their actors and actresses, which is always
accompanied with some instruments. It is an overstrained recitative
accompanied, and I know of nothing that can be more ridiculous, except
their gestures. I must likewise observe, that I cannot properly speak of
their actors, because the parts of men are always acted by women. I
shall add too, and allow the reader to make what inferences he pleases,
that I have seen blows as frequent on the Chinese stage, and gain as
much applause there, as at the Italian comedy, or at Nicolet’s.
[Sidenote: Beauty of is environs.]
We could never be tired with walking in the environs of Batavia. Every
European, though he be used to live in the greatest capitals, must be
struck with the magnificence of the country around it. This is adorned
with houses and elegant gardens, which are kept in order, in that taste
and with that neatness which is peculiarly observable in all the Dutch
possessions. I can venture to assert that these environs surpass those
of the greatest cities in France, and approach the magnificence of those
of Paris. I ought not to omit mentioning a monument, which a private
person has there erected to the Muses. Mr. Mohr, the first clergyman at
Batavia, a man of immense riches, but more valuable on account of his
knowledge and taste for the sciences, has built an observatory, in a
garden belonging to one of his country-houses, which would be an
ornament to any royal palace. This building, which is scarce completed,
has cost prodigious sums. Its owner now does something still better, he
makes observations in it. He has got the best instruments of all kinds
from Europe, necessary for the nicest observations, and he is capable of
making use of them. This astronomer, who is doubtless the richest of all
the children of Urania, was charmed to see M. Verron. He desired he
should pass the nights in his observatory; unluckily, not a single one
has been favourable to their purposes. M. Mohr has observed the last
transit of Venus, and has communicated his observations to the academy
of Harlem; they will serve to determine the longitude of Batavia with
precision.
[Sidenote: Interior parts of the town.]
Though this city is really very fine, it is however far from answering
what one may expect, after seeing its environs. We see few great
buildings in it; but it is well laid out: the houses are convenient and
pleasant; the streets large, and adorned with a well embanked canal, and
bordered with trees; the first to promote cleanliness, and the latter to
procure conveniency by their shade. It is true, these canals keep up an
unwholsome humidity, which renders the stay at Batavia pernicious to
Europeans. The insalubrity of this climate is likewise in part
attributed to the bad quality of the water; therefore the rich people at
Batavia drink nothing but Seltzer water, which they get from Holland at
a vast expence. The streets are not paved; but on each side there is a
broad and fine foot-pavement of free-stone, or of bricks; and Dutch
cleanliness constantly keeps it in the best repair. I do not pretend to
give an exact and particular description of Batavia; that subject has
often been exhausted. One may form an idea of that famous place, by
knowing that it is built in the taste of the finest towns in Holland,
with this difference, that on account of the frequent earthquakes, the
people cannot raise their houses very high, and consequently they have
only one story. I shall likewise not describe the Chinese camp, which is
out of town, nor the police it is subject to, nor their customs, nor a
number of other things, which have already been repeatedly said by
others.
[Sidenote: Riches and luxury of the inhabitants.]
The luxury which prevails at Batavia is very striking; the magnificence
and taste, with which the interior parts of the houses are decorated,
are proofs of the riches of their inhabitants. We have however been
told, that Batavia was not near so great as it had been. For some years
past, the company have forbid private persons to carry on the commerce
between the two Indies, which was to them the source of an immense
circulation of riches. I do not censure this new regulation of the
company, as I do not know what advantages they may have in view in this
prohibition. I only know, that the persons in their service still know
the secret of making thirty, forty, an hundred, and up to two hundred
thousand livres, of yearly revenues, of their places, to which the
salaries of fifteen hundred, three thousand, and at most, six thousand
livres are annexed. But almost all the inhabitants of Batavia are
employed by the company. However it is certain, that the price of
houses, both in the town and country, is more than two thirds below
their ancient value; yet Batavia will always remain more or less rich;
both by means of the secret I have just spoken of, and because those who
make a fortune here, find it difficult to bring it over to Europe. There
are no other means of conveying it to Holland than through the hands of
the company, who take charge of it at the rate of eight per cent.
discount; but they take but a very little at a time from each person.
Besides this, it is impossible to send over such cash by stealth; the
specie, which is current here, losing twenty-eight per cent. in Europe.
The company employs the emperor of Java to strike a particular coin,
which is the currency throughout India.
[Sidenote: Particulars concerning the administration of the company.]
In no place in the world the different classes of people are less
confounded together, than at Batavia; every one has his rank assigned to
him; this is fixed unalterably by some exterior marks; and the stiff
_etiquette_ is more rigidly observed here than it ever was at any
congress. The ranks of the different states are the high regency, the
court of justice, the clergy, the servants of the company, the officers
of the marine, and, last of all, the military.
The high regency consists of the general, who presides there; of the
counsellors of the Indies, whose title is _Edele-heeren_, of the
president of the court of justice, and of the Schout-by-Nacht. They meet
at the castle twice a week. The counsellors of the Indies are now
sixteen in number; but they are not all at Batavia; Some of them have
the important governments of the Cape of Good Hope, of Ceylon, of the
coast of Coromandel, of the eastern part of Java, of Macassar, and of
Amboina, and they reside there. These _Edele-heeren_ have the
prerogative of gilding their carriages all over, and having two
running-footmen before them; whereas every private person can only keep
one. It is further settled, that all coaches must stop, when those of
the _Edele-heeren_ pass by; and the people within, either men or women,
are obliged to rise up.
The general, besides this distinction, is alone permitted to go with six
horses; he is always followed by a guard on horseback, or at least by
the officers of that guard, and some of the private men; when he passes
by, both men and women must step out of their carriages; and the coaches
of none but those of the _Edele-heeren_ can drive to the flight of steps
before his door. I have seen some of them, who had good sense enough to
laugh with us in private at all these pompous prerogatives.
The court of Justice decides without appeal in all civil and criminal
causes. About twenty years ago, they condemned a governor of Ceylon to
death. That Edele-heer was convicted of exercising horrible oppressions
in his government, and was executed at Batavia, on the place opposite
the citadel. The appointment of the general of the Indies, of the
Edele-heeren, and of the members of the court of Justice, is made out in
Europe. The general, and the high regency of Batavia, propose persons
for the other employments, and their choice must always be confirmed in
Holland. However, the general has the right of giving away all the
military preferments. One of the most considerable and best places, in
point of emolument after the governments, is that of commissary of the
country. This officer has the inspection over every thing, which forms
the company’s demesnes upon the Isle of Java, even over the possessions
and conduct of the several sovereigns of the island; he has likewise an
absolute jurisdiction over those Javanese, who are the company’s
subjects. The regulations of the police concerning them are very severe,
and every considerable offence is rigorously punished. The constancy of
the Javanese, in suffering the most barbarous torments, is incredible;
but when they are executed, they must have white drawers on, and never
be beheaded. If the company should refuse to have this complaisance for
them, their authority would be in danger, and the Javanese would revolt.
The reason of this is obvious: as, according to their tenets, they
believe that they would meet in the other world with a bad reception, if
they should arrive there without their heads, and without white drawers;
they likewise dare to believe, that despotism has a power over them only
in this world.
Another employment, which is much sought after, of which the functions
are agreeable, and the revenues considerable, is that of Sabandar, or
minister for foreigners. There are two of them, the sabander of the
Christians, and that of the Pagans. The former is charged with every
thing that regards the European foreigners. The latter is vested with
the affairs relative to all the divers nations of India, comprising the
Chinese. [Sidenote: Order of the places in the service of the company.]
These last are the brokers of all the interior commerce of Batavia,
where their numbers at present exceeds a hundred thousand. The abundance
which has reigned for some years past in the markets of this great city,
is likewise owing to their labour and care. In general, the order of
employments in the company’s service is as follows: assistant,
book-keeper, under-merchant, merchant, great-merchant, governor. All
these civil degrees have a uniform, and the military ranks have a kind
of correspondence with them. Thus for example; the major ranks as
great-merchant, the captain as under-merchant, &c., but the military can
never come to any places in the administration, without changing their
condition. It is very natural, that in a trading company, the military
body should have no influence at all; they are there looked upon merely
as a body who are kept in pay; and this idea is here so much the more
applicable, as it consists entirely of strangers.
[Sidenote: Demesnes of the company upon the isle of Java.]
The company possesses, in their own right, a considerable part of the
isle of Java. All the north coast, to the eastward of Batavia, belongs
to them. They have added, several years ago, to their possessions, the
isle of Maduré, of which the sovereign had revolted; and the son is at
present the governor of that isle, where his father had been king. The
company have likewise profited of the revolt of the king of Balimbuan,
in order to appropriate to themselves that fine province, which forms
the eastermost point of Java. That prince, who was the brother of the
emperor, ashamed of being subject to merchants, and by the advice, as it
is said, of the English, (who furnished him with arms and gunpowder, and
even built him a fort) attempted to throw off the yoke. The company
spent two years, and great sums, in conquering him, and had concluded
the war but two months before we came to Batavia. The Dutch had been
worsted in the first battle; but in the second, the Indian prince had
been taken with all his family, and conducted to the citadel of Batavia,
where he died a few days after. His son, and the other persons of that
unhappy family, were to be put aboard the first vessels; and brought to
the Cape of Good Hope, where they will end their days upon the Isle of
Roben.
[Sidenote: Number of principalities into which the isle of Java is
divided.]
The remaining part of the isle of Java is divided into several kingdoms.
The emperor of Java, whose residence lies in the southern part of the
island, has the first rank; next to him is the sultan of Mataran, and
the king of Bantam. Tseribon is governed by three kings, vassals of the
company, whose consent is likewise necessary to all the other sovereigns
on the isle, for mounting their tottering thrones. They place a European
guard round every one of these kings, and oblige them to answer for
their persons. The company have likewise four fortified factories in the
emperor’s dominion; one in the sultan’s, four in Bantam, and two in
Tseribon. These sovereigns are obliged to furnish the company with
provisions, at a certain rate fixed by the latter. The company receives
rice, sugar, coffee, tin, and arrack from them; and again have the
exclusive right of furnishing them with opium, of which the Javanese
consume great quantities, and the sale of which brings in considerable
profits.
[Sidenote: Commerce of Batavia.]
Batavia is the emporium or staple of all the productions of the
Moluccas. The whole crop of spices is carried thither: the ships are
annually laden with as much as is necessary for the consumption in
Europe, and what remains is burnt. This commerce alone forms the riches,
and I may say assures the existence of the Dutch East India Company; it
enables them to bear, not only the immense expences, which they must
incur, but likewise the depredations of the people whom they employ, and
which often come to as much as the expences themselves. They accordingly
direct their principal cares to this exclusive commerce, and that of
Ceylon. I shall say nothing of Ceylon, because I do not know that isle;
the company have just put an end there to an expensive war, with more
success than to another in the Persian gulph, where all their factories
have been destroyed. But as we are almost the only ships of the king
that penetrated into the Moluccas, I must beg leave to give some
particulars concerning the present state of that important part of the
world, which is kept from the knowledge of other nations by the silence
of the Dutch, and its great distance.
[Sidenote: Particulars concerning the Moluccas.]
Formerly they only comprised under the name of Moluccas, the little
isles situated almost under the line between 15′ S. lat. and 50′ N. lat.
along the western coast of Gilolo; of which the most considerable were
Ternate, Tidor, Mothier or Mothir, Machian, and Bachian. By degrees that
name became common to all the isles which produced spices. Banda,
Amboina, Ceram, Boero, and all the adjacent isles are ranged under the
same denomination, under which some have unsuccessfully attempted to
bring Bouton and Celebes. The Dutch now divide these countries, which
they call the _Countries of the East_, into four principal governments,
from which the other factories depend, and which again stand under the
high regency of Batavia. These four governments are Amboina, Banda,
Ternate, and Macassar.
[Sidenote: Government of Amboina.]
Amboina, of which an Edel-heer is governor, has six factories dependent
upon it, viz. on Amboina itself, Hila, and Larique; of which the chiefs
rank, the one as merchant, and the other as under-merchant; to the
westward of Amboina, the isles of Manipa and Boero, on the former of
which is only a book-keeper, on the latter our benefactor Hendrick
Ouman, under-merchant; Haroeko, a little isle, nearly to the E. S. E. of
Amboina, where an under-merchant resides; and, lastly, Saparoea, an isle
likewise to the S. E. and about 15 leagues off Amboina. There resides a
merchant, in whose dependency is the little isle of Neeslaw, whither he
sends a serjeant and fifteen men: there is a little fort built upon a
rock at Saparoea, and a good anchorage in a fine bay. This isle, and
that of Neeslaw, could furnish a whole ship’s lading of cloves. All the
forces of the government of Amboina actually consist of no more than 150
men, under the command of a captain, a lieutenant, and five ensigns:
they have likewise two artillery officers, and an engineer.
[Sidenote: Government of Banda.]
The government of Banda is more considerable, as to its fortifications,
and its garrison is likewise more numerous; it consists of three hundred
men, commanded by a captain, captain-lieutenant, two lieutenants, four
ensigns, and one artillery officer. This garrison, the same as that of
Amboina, and of the other chief places, supplies all the detached
stations. The entrance to Banda is very difficult to those who are
unacquainted with it. It is necessary to range close along the mountain
of Gunongapi, on which there is a fort, taking care to avoid a bank of
rocks, which must be left on the larboard side. The pass is only a mile
broad, and there are no soundings in it. You must then range along the
bank, in order to get to the anchorage in eight or ten fathom under the
fort London, where five or six ships can ly at anchor.
Three stations depend upon the government of Banda; Ouriën, where a
book-keeper resides; Wayer, where an under-merchant is stationed; and
the isle of Pulo Ry en Rhun, which is nearer Banda, and covered with
nutmegs. A great-merchant commands upon this isle, where the Dutch have
a fort; none but sloops can anchor in the harbour; and they must ly upon
a bank, which prevents their approaching the fort. It would even be
necessary (in case of an attack) to canonade it under sail; for close to
the bank there is no bottom to be found. There is no fresh-water upon
the isle; the garrison is obliged to get it from Banda. I believe that
the Isle of Arrow is likewise in the district of this government. There
is a factory on it, with a serjeant and fifteen men, and the company get
pearls from thence. Timor and Solor, though they are pretty near it,
depend immediately upon Batavia. These isles furnish sandal-wood. It is
singular enough, that the Portuguese should keep a station upon Timor;
and still more singular, that they make but little advantage of it.
[Sidenote: Government of Ternate.]
Ternate has four principal factories in its dependency, viz. Gorontalo,
Manado, Limbotto, and Xullabessie. The chiefs of the two first rank as
under-merchants; the latter are only book-keepers; several little
stations, commanded by serjeants, likewise depend upon it. Two hundred
and fifty men are garrisoned in the government of Ternate, under the
command of a captain, a lieutenant, nine ensigns, and one artillery
officer.
[Sidenote: Government of
Macassar.]
The government of Macassar, upon the isle of Celebes, which is occupied
by an Edel-heer, has four factories in its department; Boelacomba en
Bonthain, and Bima, where two under-merchants reside; Saleyer and Maros,
of which the chiefs are only book-keepers. Macassar, or Jonpandam, is
the strongest place in the Moluccas; however, the natives are careful to
confine the Dutch there within the limits of their station. The garrison
there consists of three hundred men, commanded by a captain,
captain-lieutenant, two lieutenants, and seven ensigns; there is
likewise an artillery officer.
There are no spices to be found within the district of this government,
unless it is true that Button produces some, which I have not been able
to ascertain. The intention in establishing it, was to make sure of a
passage, which is one of the keys to the Moluccas, and to open an
advantageous trade with Celebes and Borneo. These two great isles
furnish the Dutch with gold, silk, cotton, precious sorts of wood, and
even diamonds, in return for iron, cloths, and other European or Indian
merchandizes.
[Sidenote: Dutch politics in the Moluccas.]
This account of the different stations which the Dutch occupy in the
Moluccas, is pretty exact. The police which they have there established
does honour to the understanding of those who were then at the head of
the company. When they had driven the Spaniards and Portuguese from
thence, by the most sensible combination of courage with patience, they
well guessed that the expulsion of the Europeans from the Moluccas would
not secure them the exclusive spice-trade. The great number of these
isles made it almost impossible for them to guard them all; and it was
not less difficult to prevent an illicit intercourse of these islanders
with China, the Phillippinas, Macassar, and all smuggling vessels or
interlopers that should attempt it. The company had still more to fear,
that some of the trees might be carried off, and that people might
succeed in planting them elsewhere. They resolved therefore to destroy
as far as they could the spice trees in all the islands, only leaving
them on some small islands, which might easily be kept; then nothing
remained, but to fortify well these precious depositories. They were
obliged to keep those sovereigns in pay, whose revenues consisted
chiefly of this drug, in order to engage them to consent, that the
fountain thereof should be annihilated. Such is the subsidy of 20,000
rix-dollars, which the Dutch company pays annually the king of Ternate,
and some other princes of the Moluccas. When they could not prevail on
any one of these sovereigns to burn his spice-plants, they burnt them in
spite of him, if they were the strongest; or else they annually bought
up the green leaves of the trees, well knowing that they would perish,
after being for three years thus robbed of their foliage, which the
Indians were doubtless ignorant of.
By this means, whilst cinnamon is gathered upon Ceylon only, Banda alone
has been consecrated to the culture of nutmegs; Amboina, and Uleaster,
adjoining to it, to that of cloves, without its being allowed to
cultivate either cloves at Banda, or nutmegs at Amboina. These places
furnish more than the whole world can consume. The other stations of the
Dutch, in the Moluccas, are intended to prevent other nations from
settling there, to make continual searches for discovering and burning
all the spice-trees, and to furnish subsistence for those isles where
they are cultivated. Upon the whole, all the engineers and mariners
employed in this part, are obliged when they leave the service, to give
up all their charts and plans, and to make oath that they keep none. It
is not long since that an inhabitant of Batavia has been whipped,
branded, and banished to a distant isle, for having shewed a plan of the
Moluccas to an Englishman.
The spice-harvest begins in December, and the ships which are destined
to take in ladings of it, arrive at Amboina and Banda in the course of
January, and go from thence for Batavia in April and May. Two ships
likewise go annually to Ternate, and their voyages are regulated by the
monsoons. There are likewise some snows of twelve, or fourteen guns,
destined to cruize in these parts.
Every year the governors of Amboina and Banda assemble, towards the
middle of September, all the orencaies or chiefs in their department.
They at first give them feasts and entertainments for several days; and
then they set out with them in a kind of large boats, called
_coracores_, in order to visit their governments, and burn all the
superfluous spice-plants. The chiefs of every particular factory are
obliged to come to their governors-general, and to accompany them on
this visitation, which generally ends with the end of October, or at the
beginning of November; and the return from this tour is celebrated by
new festivals. When we were at Boero, M. Ouman was preparing to set out
for Amboina, with the Orencaies of his island.
The Dutch are now at war with the inhabitants of Ceram; an island that
is very rich in cloves. Its inhabitants would not suffer their plants to
be extirpated, and have driven the company from the principal stations
which they occupied on their ground; they have only kept the little
factory of Savaï, situated in the northern part of the isle, where they
keep a serjeant and fifteen men. The Ceramese have fire-arms and
gun-powder, and they all speak the Malayo pretty well, besides their
national jargon. The inhabitants of Papua are likewise constantly at war
with the company and their vassals. They have been seen in vessels armed
with pedereroes, and containing two hundred men. The king of
Salviati[130], which is one of their greatest islands, has been taken by
surprize, as he was going to do homage to the king of Ternate, whose
vassal he was, and the Dutch keep him prisoner.
Nothing can be better contrived than the above plan and no measures
could be better concerted for establishing and keeping up an exclusive
commerce. Accordingly the company have long enjoyed it; and owe that
splendour to it, which makes them more like a powerful republic, than a
society of merchants. But I am much mistaken, or the time is nigh at
hand, when this commerce will receive a mortal stroke. I may venture to
say, that to desire the destruction of this exclusive trade, would be
enough to effect it. The greatest safety of the Dutch consists in the
ignorance of the rest of Europe concerning the true state of these
isles, and in the mysterious clouds which wrap this garden of the
Hesperides in darkness. But there are difficulties which the force of
man cannot overcome, and inconveniencies for which all his wisdom cannot
find a remedy. The Dutch may construct respectable fortifications at
Amboina and Banda; they may supply them with numerous garrisons; but
when some years have elapsed, an almost periodical earthquake ruins
these works to the very foundations; and every year the malignity of the
climate carries off two thirds of the soldiers, mariners, and workmen
which are sent thither. These are evils without remedy; the forts of
Banda, which have thus been overthrown three years ago, are but just
rebuilt; and those of Amboina are still in ruins. The company may
likewise have been able to destroy in some isles, a part of the known
spices; but there are isles which they do not know, and others too,
which they are acquainted with, but which defend themselves against
their efforts.
The English now frequent the Moluccas very much; and this is doubtless
not done without some design. Several years ago, some small vessels
sailed from Bencoolen, and came to examine the passages, and pick up the
necessary intelligence concerning this difficult navigation. We have
seen above, that the natives of Bouton told us of three English ships
lately passing through those straits; we have likewise made mention of
the assistance they gave to the unfortunate sovereign of Balimbuan; and
it seems to be certain, that they likewise furnish the Ceramese with
powder and arms; they had even built them a fort, which captain le Clerc
told us he had destroyed, and in which he had found two pieces of
cannon. In 1764, M. Watson, who commanded the Kingsberg, a frigate of
twenty-six guns, came to the entrance of Savaï, obliged the people, by
firing muskets at them, to give him a pilot, who could bring him to the
anchorage, and committed many outrages in that weak factory. He likewise
made some attempt against the people of Papua; but it did not succeed.
His long-boat was seized by the Indians, and all the Europeans in it,
among the rest, a son of lord Sandwich’s, who was a midshipman, and
commanded the boat, were fastened to posts, circumcised, and then
cruelly murdered[131].
It seems, upon the whole, as if the English do not mean to hide their
projects from the Dutch company. About four years ago they formed a
station in one of the isles of Papua, called _Soloo_ or _Tafara_. M.
Dalrymple, who founded it, was its first governor; but the English kept
it only for three years. They have now abandoned it, and M. Dalrymple
came to Batavia in 1768, on board the Patty, captain Dodwell, from
whence he went to Bencoolen, where the Patty sunk in the road[132]. This
station furnished bird’s nests, mother of pearl, ivory, pearls, and
_tripans_ or _swallops_, a kind of glue or froth, of which the Chinese
are very fond. What I find extraordinary is, their coming to sell their
cargoes at Batavia; which I know from the merchant who bought them. The
same man assured me that the English likewise got spices by means of
this station; perhaps they obtained them from the Ceramese. I cannot say
why they have abandoned it. It is possible, that they may already have
got a great number of spice-trees transplanted in one of their
possessions in India, and that believing they were sure of their
success, they have abandoned an expensive station, which is but too
sufficient to alarm one nation, and give information to another. At
Batavia we had the first account of the ships, of which we had met with
the traces several times on our voyage. Mr. Wallace arrived at Batavia
in January 1768, and sailed from thence again almost immediately. Mr.
Carteret, who was involuntarily separated from his chief, soon after
leaving the straits of Magalhaens, has made a much longer voyage, and
his adventures I believe must have been far more complicated. He came to
Macassar at the end of March of the same year, having lost almost all
his crew, and his ship being in a rotten condition. The Dutch would not
bear him at Jonpandam, and sent him back to Bontain, hardly consenting
to his taking Moors to replace the loss of his people; after staying two
months in the isle of Celebes, he came to Batavia on the 3d of June,
careened there, and sailed from thence the 15th of September, that is,
only twelve days before we arrived there. M. Carteret has said very
little about his voyage here; however, he has mentioned enough to let
the people know, that in a passage by him called St. George’s strait, he
had had a fight with the Indians, whose arrows he shewed, with which
they have wounded several of his people, and among the rest, the next in
command after him, who even left Batavia without being cured.
[Sidenote: 1768. October.]
We had scarce been above eight or ten days at Batavia, when the diseases
began to make their appearance. [Sidenote: Diseases contracted at
Batavia.] From the best state of health, in all appearance, people were
in three days brought to the grave. Several of us fell ill of violent
fevers, and our sick found no relief at the hospital. I accelerated as
much as I could the dispatch of our affairs; but our sabandar likewise
falling sick, and not being able to do any business, we met with
difficulties and delays. I was not ready before the 16th of October to
go out, and I weighed, in order to anchor without the road. The Etoile
was to get her biscuit on board that day. She completed the stowing of
it in the night, and as soon as the wind permitted, she came to anchor
near us. Almost every officer on board my ship was already sick, or felt
a disposition towards it. The number of fluxes had not decreased among
the crews, and if we had made a longer stay at Batavia, it would
certainly have made greater havock among us than the whole voyage. Our
man from Taiti, who had doubtless been sheltered from the influence of
the climate by the extasy into which every thing that he saw threw him,
fell sick during the last days, and his illness has been of a long
duration, though his docility in taking physick was quite equal to that
of a man born at Paris: however, when he speaks of Batavia, he always
calls it the land which kills, _enoua maté_.
-----
Footnote 129:
This name is wretchedly disfigured from the Dutch, _Schout-by-Nacht_,
which signifies _Rear Admiral_. F.
Footnote 130:
_Salawati._ F.
Footnote 131:
Lord Sandwich’s son never was in any of these expeditions; it
therefore is evident, that M. de Bougainville has been misinformed in
regard to this particular. F.
Footnote 132:
Mr. Dalrymple never was at Batavia, nor Bencoolen; he left China in
January 1765, and arrived in England in July 1765, since when he has
never been out of the kingdom. From whence it must be obvious, M. de
Bougainville is entirely mistaken in what he says concerning M.
Dalrymple.
-----
_CHAP. IX._
_Departure from Batavia; touching at the isle of France; return to
France._
The 16th of October, I set sail alone from the road of Batavia, in order
to anchor in seven fathom and a half, bottom of soft ooze, about a
league in the offing. I was thus half a mile W. N. W. of the beacon,
which is left on the starboard side, when you enter the road of Batavia.
The isle of Edam bore N. N. E. ½ E. three leagues. Onrust, N. W. by W.
two leagues and a third. Rotterdam, N. 2° W. a league and a half. The
Etoile, who could not get her bread before it was late, weighed at three
o’clock in the morning; and steering for the lights, which I kept
lighted all night, she came to an anchor near me.
[Sidenote: Particulars concerning the course which must be taken
in going out from Batavia.]
As the course for leaving Batavia is interesting, I hope I shall be
allowed to mention the particulars of that which I have taken. On the
17th we were under sail, by five o’clock in the morning, and we steered
N. by E. in order to pass to the eastward of the isle of Rotterdam,
about half a league; then N. W. by N. in order to pass to the southward
of Horn and Harlem; then W. by N. and W. by S. to range to the northward
of the isles of Amsterdam and Middelburg, upon the last of which there
is a flag; then west, leaving on the starboard side a beacon, placed
south of the Small Cambuis. At noon we observed in 5° 55′ of south
latitude, and we were then north and south with the S. E. point of the
Great Cambuis, about one mile. From thence I steered between two
beacons, placed, the one to the southward of the N. W. point of the
Great Cambuis, the other east and west of the isle of Anthropophagi, or
Canibals, otherwise called Pulo Laki. Then you range the coast at what
distance you will or can. At half past five o’clock, the currents
setting us towards the shore, I let go a stream-anchor in eleven
fathoms, oozy bottom, the N. W. point of the bay of Bantam bearing W. 9°
N. about five leagues, and the middle of Pulo Baby, N. W. ½ W. three
leagues.
In order to sail out of Batavia, there is another passage besides that
which I have taken. When you leave the road, range the coast of Java,
leaving on the larboard side a buoy, which serves as a beacon, about two
leagues and a half from the town; then you range the isle of Kepert to
the southward; you follow the direction of the coast, and pass between
two beacons, situated, the one to the southward of Middelburg island,
the other opposite this, on a bank which joins to the point of the main
land; you then find the beacon, which lies to the southward of the small
Cambuis, and then the two routes unite. The particular chart which I
give of the run from Batavia, exactly points out both tracks.
[Sidenote: Clearing the straits of Sonda.]
The 18th, at two o’clock in the morning we were under sail; but we were
forced to anchor again in the evening: it was not till the 19th in the
afternoon that we cleared the straits of Sonda, passing to the northward
of Prince’s island. At noon we observed in 6° 30′ south latitude, and at
four o’clock in the afternoon, being about four leagues off the N. W.
point of Prince’s island, I took my departure upon the chart of M.
d’Après, in 6° 21′ south lat. and 102° east longitude, from the meridian
of Paris. In general, you can anchor every where along the coast of
Java. The Dutch keep some small stations on it, at short distances from
each other, and every station has orders to send a soldier on board the
ships which pass, with a register, on which he begs that the ship’s
name, from whence she come, and whither she is bound, may be inscribed.
You put into this register what you please; but I am far from blaming
the custom of keeping it, as it may be the means of getting news of a
ship, concerning which, one is often in great anxiety, and as the
soldier who carries it on board always brings along with him fowls,
turtle, and other refreshments, which he turns to good account. There
was now no longer any scorbutic complaint, at least, no apparent one on
board my ships; but several of the crew were ill of a bloody-flux. I
therefore resolved to shape my course for the Isle of France, without
waiting for the Etoile, and on the 20th I made her the signal for that
purpose.
[Sidenote: Run to the isle of France.]
In this run we found nothing remarkable, except the fine weather, which
has much shortened the voyage. We had constantly a very fresh wind at S.
E. Indeed we stood in need of it, for the number of the diseased
encreased daily, they recovered but slowly, and besides the bloody-flux,
some were likewise afflicted with hot fevers, of which one of my
carpenters died in the night between the 30th and the 31st. My masts
likewise gave me much concern; I had reason to fear that the main-mast
would break five or six feet below the cat-harpings; we fished it, and
to ease it, we got down the main-top-gallant-mast, and always kept two
reefs in the main-top-sail. [Sidenote: 1768. November.] [Sidenote: Sight
of the isle of Rodrigue.]These precautions considerably retarded our
run; yet notwithstanding this, on the 18th day after leaving Batavia, we
got sight of the Isle of Rodrigue[133], and the second day after that,
of the Isle of France.
The 5th of November, at four o’clock in the evening, we were north and
south of the north east point of the Isle of Rodrigue, whence I
concluded the following difference in, our reckoning from Prince’s
island to Rodrigue. M. Pingré has there observed 60° 52′ east longitude
from Paris, and at four o’clock, I was, by my reckoning, in 61° 26′.
These supposing, that the observation made upon the isle at the
habitation, had been taken two minutes to the westward of the point with
which I bore north and south at four o’clock, my difference in a run of
twelve hundred leagues, was thirty-four minutes a-stern of the ship; the
difference of the observations made on the 3d, by M. Verron, gave for
the same time 1° 12′ a-head of the ship.
[Sidenote: Land-fall at the Isle of France.]
We had sight of Round Island the 7th at noon; at five o’clock in the
evening we bore north and south with its middle. We fired some guns at
the beginning of night, hoping that the fire on the Cannoniers Point
would be lighted; but this fire, which M. d’Aprés mentions in his
instructions, is now never lighted; so that, after doubling the Coin de
Mire, which you may range as close as you please, I was much embarrassed
in order to avoid a dangerous shoal, which runs above half a league out
into the sea off the Cannoniers Point. I kept plying, in order to keep
to windward of the port, firing a gun from time to time; at last,
between eleven and twelve o’clock at night, one of the pilots of the
harbour, who are paid by the king, came on board. I then thought I was
out of danger, and had given him the charge of the ship, when at half
past three o’clock he run us a-ground, near the Bay of Tombs. [Sidenote:
Danger which the frigate runs.] Luckily there was no swell; and the
manœuvre which we quickly made, in order to endeavour to cast the ship
off shore, succeeded; but it may easily be conceived, how great our
grief would have been, if after happily avoiding so many dangers, we had
been cast away close to our port, through the fault of an ignorant
fellow, to whom we were obliged to leave the management of the ship, by
the regulation of the service. We got off with the loss of only
forty-five feet of our false keel, which was carried away.
[Sidenote: Nautical advice.]
This accident, of which we had like to have been the victims, gives me
an opportunity of making the following reflection: When you are bound
for the Isle of France, and see that it is impossible to reach the
entrance of the port in day-time, prudence requires, that you must take
care in time, not to be too much entangled with the land. It is
necessary to keep all night on the off side, and to windward of
Round-island, not lying-to, but plying to windward, under a good deal of
sail, on account of the currents. Besides, there is anchorage between
the little isles; we have found from thirty to twenty-five fathom there,
and a sandy bottom; but one must only anchor there in an extreme case of
necessity.
[Sidenote: Anchorage of the Isle of France.]
On the 8th, in the morning, we entered the port, where we moored that
day. The Etoile appeared at six o’clock in the evening, but could not
come in till the next morning. Here we found our reckoning was a day too
late, and we again followed the date of the whole world.
[Sidenote: Particulars of our proceedings there.]
The first day of my arrival, I sent all my sick people to the hospital,
I gave in an account of what I wanted in provisions and stores, and we
immediately fell to work in preparing the frigate for heaving down. I
took all the workmen in the port, that could be spared, and those of the
Etoile, being determined to depart as soon as I should be ready. The
16th and 18th we breamed the frigate. We found her sheathing worm-eaten,
but her bottom was as sound as when she came off the stocks.
We were obliged to change some of our masts here. Our main-mast had a
defect in the heel, and therefore might give way there, as well as in
the head, where the main-piece was broken. I got a main-mast all off one
piece, two top-masts, anchors, cables, and some twine, which we were in
absolute want of. I returned my old provisions into the king’s stores,
and took others for five months. I likewise delivered to M. Poivre, the
_intendant_ of the Isle of France, all the iron and nails embarked on
board the Etoile; my alembic and recipient, many medicines, and a number
of merchandises, which now became useless to us, and were wanted in this
colony. I likewise gave three and twenty soldiers to the legion, as they
asked my leave to be incorporated in it. Messieurs Commerçon and Verron,
both consented to defer their return to France; the former, in order to
enquire into the natural history of these isles, and of Madagascar; the
latter, in order to be more ready to go and observe the transit of Venus
in India; I was likewise desired to leave behind M. de Romainville, an
engineer, some young volunteers, and some under-pilots, for the
navigation in the several parts of India.
[Sidenote: Loss of two officers.]
We were happy, after so long, a voyage, to be still in a condition to
enrich this colony with men and necessary goods. The joy which I felt
on this occasion, was cruelly converted into grief, by the loss which
we here suffered, by the death of the chevalier du Bouchage, ensign of
the king’s ships, and a man of distinguished merit, who joined all the
qualities of the heart and mind which endear a man to his friends, to
that knowledge which forms a complete sea-officer. The friendly care
and all the skill of M. de la Porte, our surgeon, could not save him.
He expired in my arms, the 19th of November, of a flux, which had
begun at Batavia. A few days after, a young son of M. le Moyne,
_commissaire-ordonnateur_ of the marine, who embarked as a volunteer
with me, and had lately been made a _garde de la marine_[134], died of
a pectoral disease.
In the Isle of France I admired the forges, which have been established
there by Messrs. Rosting and Hermans. There are few so fine ones in
Europe, and the iron which they make is of the best kind. It is
inconceiveable how much perseverance, and how great abilities have been
necessary to make this undertaking more complete, and what sums it has
cost. He has now nine hundred negroes, from which M. Hermans has drawn
out and exercised a battalion of two hundred men, who are animated by a
kind of ambition. They are very nice in the choice of their comrades,
and refuse to admit all those who have been guilty of the least roguery.
Thus we see sentiments of honour combined with slavery[135].
[Sidenote: 1768. December.]
During our stay here, we constantly enjoyed the fairest weather
imaginable. The 5th of December, the sky began to be covered with thick
clouds, the mountains were wrapt in fogs; and every thing announced the
approaching season of rain, and the hurricane which is felt in these
isles almost every year. [Sidenote: Departure from the Isle of France.]
The 10th I was ready to set sail. The rain and the wind right on end did
not allow it. I could not sail till the 12th in the morning, leaving the
Etoile just when she was going to be careened. This vessel could not be
fit for going out before the end of the month, and our junction was now
no longer necessary. This store-ship left the isle of France towards the
end of December, and arrived in France a month after me. I took my
departure at noon, in the observed S. lat. of 20° 22′ and 54° 40′ east
longitude from Paris.
[Sidenote: Run to the Cape of Good Hope.]
The weather was at first very cloudy, with squalls and rain. We could
not see the isle of Bourbon. As we got further from the land, the
weather cleared up by degrees. The wind was fair and blew fresh; but our
new main-mast soon caused us as much anxiety as the first. It described
so considerable an arch at the head, that I durst not make use of the
top gallant-sail, nor carry the top-sails hoisted up.
[Sidenote: Bad weather which we meet with.]
From the 22d of December to the 8th of January, we had a constant
head-wind, bad weather, or calms. I was told, that these west winds were
quite without example at this season. They however retarded us for a
fortnight successively, during which we kept trying or beating to
windward with a very great sea. We got sight of the coast of Africa
before we had any soundings. When we first saw this land, which we took
to be the Cape of Shoals, (_Cabo dos Baxos_) we had no bottom. On the
30th we sounded 78 fathom, and from that day we kept on Bank Aguilhas,
being almost constantly in sight of the land. [Sidenote: 1768. January.]
We soon fell in with several Dutch ships, of the Batavia fleet; their
fore-runner set sail from thence on the 20th of October, and the fleet
the 6th of November; the Dutch were still more surprised than we were at
the westerly winds blowing so much out of season.
At last, on the 18th of January in the morning, we had sight of Cape
False, and soon after of the land of the Cape of Good Hope. [Sidenote:
Nautical advice.] I must here observe, that five leagues E. S. E. of
Cape False, there is a very dangerous rock under the water; that to the
eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, there is a reef extending about one
third of a league to the offing, and that at the foot of the Cape itself
there is a rock running out to sea to the same distance. I was come up
with a Dutch ship, which I had perceived in the morning, and I had
shortened sail, in order not to pass by her, but to follow her if she
intended to enter in the night-time. At seven o’clock in the evening,
she took in her top-gallant-sails, studding-sails, and even top-sails; I
then stood out to sea, and plyed all night, with a very fresh southerly
wind, varying from S. S. E. to S. S. W.
At day-break, the currents had set us near nine leagues to the W. N. W.
the Dutch ship was above four leagues to the leeward of us, and we were
obliged to croud sail, in order to make good again what we had lost.
Therefore those who must pass the night on their boards, with the
intention of entering the bay of the Cape in the morning, would do well
to bring-to at the eastern point of the Cape of Good Hope, keeping about
three leagues off shore; being in this position, the currents will set
them in a good situation for entering early in the morning. At nine
o’clock in the morning we anchored in Table-bay, at the Cape, at the
head of the road, and we moored N. N. E. and S. S. W. Here were fourteen
ships of several nations, and several others arrived during our stay.
Captain Carteret had sailed from hence on Epiphany-day. We saluted the
town with fifteen guns, and they returned the salute with an equal
number.
[Sidenote: We touch at the Cape of Good Hope.]
We had all possible reasons to be content with the governor and
inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope; they were desirous of procuring us
all that is useful and agreeable. I shall not stop to describe this
place, which every body knows. The Cape immediately depends upon Europe,
and not upon Batavia, neither with regard to its civil and military
administration, nor to the appointment of persons to places. It is even
sufficient to have had an employment at the Cape, to exclude one from
obtaining one at Batavia. However, the council of the Cape corresponds
with that of Batavia, with regard to commercial affairs. It consists of
eight persons, among which is the governor, who is the president. The
governor does not belong to the court of justice, where the second in
command presides; he only signs the sentences of death.
There is a military station at False Bay, and one at the bay of
Saldagna. The latter, which forms an excellent harbour, sheltered from
all winds, could not be made the chief place, because it has no water.
They are now working to encrease the settlement at False Bay; there the
ships anchor in winter, when they are forbid lying in the bay of the
Cape. There you find the same assistance, and every thing as cheap as at
the Cape itself. The distance over land of these two places, is eight
leagues, and the road very bad.
[Sidenote: Particulars concerning the vineyards at Constantia.]
Nearly half way between them both is the district of Constantia, which
produces the famous wine of that name. This vineyard, where they
cultivate the Spanish muscade vines, is very small, but it is not true
that it belongs to the company, or that it is surrounded, as people
believe here, by walls, and watched. It is distinguished into High and
Little Constantia, separated by a hedge, and belonging to two different
proprietors. The wine which is made there is nearly alike in quality,
though each of the two Constantias has its partisans. In common years
they make a hundred and twenty or a hundred and thirty _barriques_ of
this wine, of which the company takes a third at a stated price, and the
rest is sold to every buyer that offers. The price at present is thirty
piastres or dollars the barrel of seventy bottles of white wine, and
thirty-five piastres for the same quantity of red wine. My officers and
myself went to dine with M. Vanderspie, the proprietor of High
Constantia. He treated us in the best manner possible, and we there
drank a good deal of his wine, both at dinner, and in tasting the
different sorts, in order to make our provision of them.
The soil of Constantia is a sandy gravel, lying on a gentle slope. They
cultivate the vines without props, and leave only a small number of buds
when they cut them. They make the wine by putting the grapes without
their grains into the vessel. The full casks are kept in a cellar level
with the ground, in which the air has a free circulation. As we returned
from Constantia, we visited two country-houses belonging to the
governor. The largest, named Newland, has a garden which is much larger
than the company’s, at the Cape. This last we have found much inferior
to the reputation it has acquired. Some long walks of very high
horn-beams, give it the appearance of a garden for fryars, and it is
planted with oaks, which thrive very ill there.
[Sidenote: Situation of the Dutch at the Cape.]
The Dutch plantations have spread very much on the whole coast, and
plenty is every where the consequence of cultivation, because the
cultivator is free, subject to the laws only, and sure of his property.
There are inhabitants almost a hundred and fifty leagues off the
capital; they have no other enemies to fear than the wild beasts; for
the Hottentots do not molest them. One of the finest parts of the Cape
is the colony, which has been called Little Rochelle. This is a
settlement of French, driven out of France by the repeal of the edict of
Nantes. It surpasses all the rest in the fertility of the soil, and the
industry of the colonists. They have given this adopted mother the name
of their old country, which they still love, though it has treated them
so hardly.
The government sends caravans, out from time to time to search the
interior parts of the country. One was out for eight months in 1763.
This detachment advanced to the northward, and made, as I was told, some
important discoveries; however, this journey had not the success which
one might have expected; discontent and discord got amongst them, and
forced the chief to return home, leaving his discoveries imperfect. The
Dutch got sight of a yellow nation, with long hair, and seeming very
ferocious to them.
On this journey they found a quadruped of seventeen feet high, of which
I have given the drawing to M. de Buffon; it was a female suckling a
young one, (fawn) which was only seven feet high. They killed the
mother, and took the fawn alive, but it died after a few days march. M.
de Buffon assured me that this is the animal which naturalists call the
_giraffe_. None of them had been seen after that which was brought to
Rome in the time of Cæsar, and shewn there in the amphitheatre. About
three years ago they have likewise found and brought to the Cape, a
quadruped of great beauty, which is related to the ox, horse, and stag,
and of which the genus is entirely new. It only lived two months at the
Cape; I have likewise given M. de Buffon an exact drawing of this
animal, whose strength and fleetness equal its beauty. It is not without
reason that Africa has been named the mother of monsters.
[Sidenote: Departure from the Cape.]
Being provided with good provisions, wines, and refreshments of all
sorts, we set sail from the road of the Cape the 17th in the afternoon.
We passed between the isle of Roben and the coast; at six o’clock in the
evening, the middle of that isle bore S. by E. ½ E. about four leagues
distant, from whence I took my departure in 33° 40′ south latitude, and
15° 48′ east longitude from Paris. I wanted to join M. Carteret, over
whom I had certainly a great advantage in sailing; but he was still
eleven days before me.
I directed my course so as to get sight of St. Helena, in order to make
sure of putting in at Ascension island, an anchorage which I intended to
make beneficial to my crew. [Sidenote: Sight of St. Helena.]Indeed we
got sight of it the 29th, at two o’clock after noon, and the bearings
which we set of it gave us no more than eight or ten leagues difference
in our reckoning. [Sidenote: 1769. February.] In the night between the
3d to the 4th of February, being in the latitude of Ascension island,
and being about eighteen leagues from it by my reckoning, I went only
under the two top-sails. At day-break we saw the isle nearly nine
leagues distant, and at eleven o’clock we anchored in the north west
creek, or Creek of the Mountain of the Cross, in twelve fathoms, bottom
of sand and coral. According to the Abbé la Caille’s observations, this
anchorage is in 7° 54′ south latitude, and 16° 19′ west longitude from
Paris.
[Sidenote: Stopping at Ascension.]
We had hardly cast anchor, when I hoisted out the boats, and sent out
three detachments to catch turtle; the first in the N. E. creek, the
second in the N. W. creek, opposite which we were; and the third in the
English creek, which is in the S. W. of the island. Every thing promised
a favourable capture; there was no other ship than ours, the season was
advantageous, and we entered with the new moon. As soon as the
detachments, were set off, I made every thing ready for fishing my two
greater masts under the rigging, viz. the main mast with a
fore-top-mast, the heel upwards; and the fore-mast which was split
horizontally between the cheeks, with an oak fish.
In the afternoon the bottle was brought to me which contains the paper
whereon the ships of every nation generally write their name, when they
touch at Ascension island. This bottle is deposited in a cavity of the
rocks of this bay, where it is equally sheltered from rain and the spray
of the sea. In it I found written the Swallow, that English ship which
captain Carteret commanded, and which I was desirous of joining. He
arrived here the 31st of January, and set sail again on the first of
February; thus we had already gained six days upon him, after leaving
the cape of Good Hope. I inscribed the Boudeuse, and sent back the
bottle.
The 5th was spent in fishing our masts under the rigging, which is a
very nice operation in a road where the sea is rough; in over-hauling
our rigging, and embarking the turtle. The fishery was abundant; seventy
turtle had been turned in the night, but we could only take on board
fifty-six, the others were set at liberty again. We observed at our
anchorage 9° 45′, variation N. W. [Sidenote: Departure from Ascension.]
The 6th, at three o’clock in the morning, the turtle being got on board,
and the boats hoisted in, we began to weigh our anchors; at five o’clock
we were under sail, happy on account of our capture, and of the hope
that our next anchorage would be in our own country. Indeed, we had had
a great many since our departure from Brest.
In leaving Ascension isle, I kept my wind in order to range the Cape
Verd isles as close as possible. [Sidenote: Passing of the line.] The
11th in the morning we passed the line for the sixth time on this
voyage, in 20° of estimated longitude. Some days after, when,
notwithstanding the fish with which we had strengthened our fore-mast,
it cut a very bad figure, we were obliged to support it by
preventer-shrouds, getting down the fore-top-gallant-mast, and almost
always keeping the fore-top-sail close reefed, and sometimes handed.
[Sidenote: Meeting with the Swallow.]
The 25th in the evening we perceived a ship to windward, and a-head of
us; we kept sight of her during the night, and joined her the next
morning; it was the Swallow. I offered captain Carteret all the services
that one may render to another at sea. He wanted nothing, but upon his
telling me that they had given him letters for France at the Cape, I
sent on board for them. He presented me with an arrow which he had got
in one of the isles he had found on his voyage round the world, a voyage
that he was far from suspecting we had likewise made. His ship was very
small, went very ill, and when we took leave of him, he remained as it
were at anchor. How much he must have suffered in so bad a vessel, may
well be conceived. There were eight leagues difference between his
estimated longitude and ours; he reckoned himself so much more to the
westward.
[Sidenote: Error in the reckoning of our course.]
We expected to pass to the eastward of the Açores, when the 4th of March
in the morning we had sight of the Isle of Tercera, which we doubled in
day-time, ranging very close along it. [Sidenote: 1769. March.] The
sight of this isle, supposing it well placed on M. Bellin’s great chart,
would give us about sixty-seven leagues of error to the westward, in the
reckoning of our run; which indeed is a considerable error on so short a
track as that from Ascension to the Açores. It is true that the position
of these isles in longitude, is still uncertain. But I believe, that in
the neighbourhood of the Cape Verd islands, there are very strong
currents. However, it was essential to us to determine the longitude of
the Açores by good astronomical observations, and to settle their
distances and bearings among themselves. Nothing of all this is accurate
on the charts of any nation. They only differ by a greater or lesser
degree of error. This important task has just been executed by M. de
Fleurieu, ensign of the king’s ships.
I corrected my longitude in leaving the Isle of Tercera, by that which
M. de Bellin’s great chart assigns to it. [Sidenote: Sight of Ushant.]
We had soundings the 13th in the afternoon, and the 14th in the morning
we had sight of Ushant. As the wind was scant, and the tide contrary to
double this island, we were forced to stand off, the wind blowing very
fresh at west, and a very great sea. [Sidenote: Squall which damaged our
rigging.] About ten o’clock in the morning, in a violent squall, the
fore-yard broke between the two jear-blocks, and the main-sail at the
same instant was blown out of the bolt-rope from clue to ear-ring. We
immediately brought to under our main, fore, and mizen-stay-sails, and
we set about repairing the damage; we bent a new main-sail, made a
fore-yard with a mizen-yard, a main-top sail-yard, and a
studding-sail-boom, and at four o’clock we were again enabled to make
sail. We had lost sight of Ushant, and whilst we lay-to, the wind and
sea drove us into the channel.
[Sidenote: Arrival at St. Maloes.]
Being determined to put into Brest, I resolved to ply with variable
winds, from S. W. to N. W. when the 15th in the morning our people came
to inform me, that our fore-mast was near being carried away under the
rigging. The shock it had received when its yard broke, had made it
worse; and though we had eased its head by lowering the yard, taking in
the reefs in the fore-sail, and keeping, the fore-top-sail upon the cap
close reefed, yet we found, after an attentive examination, that this
mast could not long resist the pitching caused by the great sea, we
being close-hauled; besides this, all our rigging and blocks were
rotten, and we had none to replace them; then how was it possible in
such a condition to combat the bad weather of the equinoxes between two
coasts? I therefore resolved to bear away, and conduct the frigate to
St. Maloes. That was then the nearest port, which could serve us as an
asylum. I entered it on the 16th in the afternoon, having lost only
seven men, during two years and four months, which were expired since we
had left Nantes.
Puppibus & læti Nautæ imposuere Coronas. VIRG. Æneid. Lib. iv.
VOCABULARY
OF THE LANGUAGE OF
TAI TI ISLAND.
A.
Abobo[136] _Tomorrow._
Aibou _Come._
Ainé _Girl, (fille)._
Aiouta _There is some._
Aipa _The term of negation, there is
none._
Aneania _Importune, tedious._
Aouaou _Fy; term of contempt, and of
displeasure._
Aouereré _Black._
Aouero _Egg._
Aouri _Iron, gold, silver, every metal, or
instrument of metal._
Aoutti _Flying fish._
Aouira _Lightning._
Apalari _To break or destroy._,
Ari _Cocoa-nut._
Arioi _Bachelor, and a man without
children._
Ateatea _White._
_I know of no word that begins with these consonants of
ours, B, C, D._
E.
Ea _Root._
Eaï _Fire._
Eaia _Parroquet._
Eaiabou _Vase._
Eaiabou-maa _Vase which is used to put their
victuals in._
Eame _Drink made of cocoa nuts._
Eani _All manner of fighting._
Eao _Clouds, also a flower in bud,
before it opens._
Eatoua _Divinity. The same word likewise
expresses his ministers, and also
the subordinate good or evil
genii._
Eeva _Mourning._
Eie _Sail of a periagua._
Eiva-eoura _Dance or festival of the Taitians._
Eivi _Little._
Eite _To understand._
Elao _A fly._
Emaa _A sling._
Emao _A shark; it likewise signifies to
bite._
Emeitai _To give._
Emoé _To sleep._
Enapo _Yesterday._
Enene _To discharge._
Enia _In, upon._
Enninnito _To stretch one’s self yawning._
Enoanoa _To smell well._
Enomoi _Term to call, come hither._
Enoo-te-papa _Sit down._
Enoua _The earth and its different parts
(a country)._
Enoua-Taiti _The country of Taiti._
Enoua-Paris _The country of Paris._
Eo _To sweat._
Eoe-tea _An arrow._
Eoe-pai _A paddle or oar._
Emoure-papa _The tree from which they get the
cotton, or substance for their
stuffs, the cloth-tree._
Eone _Sand, dust._
Eonou _Turtle._
Eote _To kiss (baiser)._
Eouai _Rain._
Eonao _To steal or rob._
Eououa _Pimples in the face._
Eoui _To belch or eruct._
Eounoa _Daughter-in-law._
Eouramaï _Light (not darkness)._
Eouri _A dancer._
Eouriaye _A dancing girl._
Epao _Luminous vapour in the atmosphere,
called a_ shooting-star. _At Taiti
they are looked upon as evil
genii._
Epata _Exclamation to call one’s wife._
Epepe _Butterfly._
Epija _Onion._
Epoumaa _Whistle; they make use of it to
call the people to their meals._
Epouponi _To blow the fire._
Epouré _To pray._
Epouta _A wound; this
word likewise signifies the scar._
Era _The sun._
Era-ouao _Rising sun._
Era-ouopo _Setting sun._
Era-ouavatea _Noon sun._
Eraï _Heaven._
Erepo _Dirty, unclean._
Ero _Ant._
Eri _King._
Erie _Royal._
Eroï _To wash, to cleanse._
Eroleva _Slate._
Eroua _A hole._
Erouai _To vomit._
Eroupe _Very large species of blue pigeon,
like those which are in the
possession of marshal Soubise._
Etai _Sea._
Etao _To dart, or throw._
Etaye _To weep._
Eteina _Elder brother or sister._
Etouana _Younger brother
or sister._
Etere _To go._
Etere-maine _To come back._
Etio _Oyster._
Etipi _To cut, cut (particip.)_
Etoi _A hatchet._
Etoumou _A turtle-dove._
Etouna _An eel._
Etooua _To grate._
Evaï _The water._
Evaie _Moist._
Evaine _A woman._
Evana _A bow._
Evare _A house._
Evaroua-t-eatoua _A wish to persons when they sneeze,
meaning that the evil genius may
not lull thee asleep, or that the
good genius may awaken thee._
Evero _A lance._
Evetou _A star._
Evetou-eave _A comet._
Evi _An acid fruit, like a pear, and
peculiar to Taiti._
Evuvo _A flute._
_The following words are pronounced with a long_ e, _like
the Greek_ η.
ηti _Wooden figures representing
subordinate genii, and called_
ηti-tane, _or_ ηti-aine,
_according as they, are of the
masculine or feminine gender.
These figures are employed in
religious ceremonies, and the
people of Taiti have several of
them in their houses._
ηieie _Basket._
ηou _A fart. They detest it, and burn
every thing in a house where one
has farted._
ηouou _A muscle-shell (moule.)_
ηreou-tataou _Colour for marking the body; with
it they make indelible impressions
on different parts of the body._
ηriri, _and
likewise_
ouariri _To be vexed, to be angry._
_I know of no word beginning with the consonants F, G._
H.
Horreo _A kind of instrument for sounding,
made of the heaviest shells._
I.
Ióre _A rat._
Ioiroi _To fatigue._
Iroto _In._
Ivera _Hot._
_I do not know any of their words beginning with the
consonant L._
M.
Maa _Eating._
Maea _Twin children._
Maeo _To scratch one’s self, to itch._
Maï _More, is likewise said_ maine; _it
is an adverb of repetition_ etere,
_to go_, etere-maï _or_
etere-maine, _to go once more, to
go and come again._
Maglli _Cold._
Mala _More._
Malama _The moon._
Malou _Considerable, great._
Mama _Light, not heavy._
Mamaï _Sick._
Manoa _Good-day, your servant; expression
of politeness or friendship._
Manou _A bird, swift_ (_leger._)
Mao _Hawk for fishing._
Mataï _Wind._
Mataï-malac _East or S. E. wind._
Mataï-aoueraï _West or S. W. wind._
Matao _Fish-hook._
Matapo _One-eyed, squinting._
Matari _The_ Pleïades.
Matïe _Grass-herbage._
Mato _Mountain._
Mate _To kill._
Mea _A thing_ (_chose._)
Meia _Banana-tree, bananas._
Metoua _Parents._ Metouatane, _or_ eoure,
_father_; Metouaaine, _or_ erao,
_mother_.
Mimi _To make water, to piss._
Móa _Cock, hen._
Moea _Mat._
Mona _Fine, good._
Moreou _A calm._
Motoua _Grand-son._
N.
Nate _To give._
Nie _A sail of a boat._
Niouniou _A jonquil._
O.
Oaï _Walls and stones._
Oaite _To open._
Oorah _The piece of cloth which they wrap
themselves in._
Ooróa _Generous, he that gives._
Opoupoui _To drink._
Oualilo _To steal, to rob._
Ouaouara, _Aigret of feathers._
Ouaora _To cure, or cured._
Ouanao _To ly in._
Ouare _To spit._
Ouatere _The helm’s-man._
Ouera _Hot._
Oueneo _That does not smell well, it
infects._
Ouetopa _To lose, lost._
Ouhi _Ho! ah!_ (_hé._)
Ouopé _Ripe._
Oupani _Window._
Oura _Red._
Ouri _Dog and quadrupeds._
P.
Pai _Periagua._
Paia _Enough._
Papa _Wood, chair, end every piece of
furniture of wood._
Papanit _To shut, to stop up._
Paoro _A shell, mother-of-pearl._
Parouai _Dress, cloth._
Patara _Grandfather._
Patiri _Thunder._
Picha _Coffer, trunk._
Pirara _Fish._
Piropiro _Stink of a fart, or of excrements._
Pirioi _Lame._
Piripiri _A negative, signifying a covetous
man, who gives nothing._
Po _Day_, (_light_.)
Póe _Pearl, ornament for the ears._
Poi _For, to._
Poiri _Obscure._
Poria _Fat, lusty, of a good stature._
Porotata _Dog-kennel._
Pouaa _Hog, boar._
Pouerata _Flowers._
Poupoui _Under sail._
Pouta _Wound._
Poto _Little, minute._
_I know no word that begins with Q._
R.
Rai _Great, big, considerable._
Ratira _Old, aged._
Roa _Big, very fat._
Roea _Thread._
_No word is come to my knowledge beginning with S._
T.
Taitai _Salted._
Taio _Friend._
Tamai _Enemy, at war._
Tane _Man, husband._
Tao-titi _Name of the high priestess, who is
obliged to perpetual virginity.
She has the highest consideration
in the country._
Taoa-tane _Married woman._
Taporai _To beat, abuse._
Taoua-mai _Physician._
Taoumi _Gorget of ceremony._
Taoumta _Covering of the head._
Taoura _Cord._
Tata _Man._
Tatoue _The act of generation._
Tearea _Yellow._
Teouteou _Servant, slave._
Tero _Black._
Tetouarη _Femme barée?_
Tiarai _White flowers, which they wear in
their ears instead of ornaments._
Titi _A peg, or pin._
Tinatore _A serpent._
Twa _Strong, malignant, powerful._
Tomaiti _Child._
Toni _Exclamation to call the girls. They
add_ Peio _lengthened, or_ Pijo
_softly pronounced, like the
Spanish_ j. _If the girl slaps her
hand on the outside of the knee,
it is a refusal, but if she says_
enemoi, _she thereby expresses her
consent_.
Toto _Blood._
Toua-pouou _Hump-backed._
Touaine _Brother or sister, by adding the
word which distinguishes the sex._
Toubabaou _To weep._
Touie _Lean._
Toumany _Action of fencing; this they do
with a piece of wood, armed with a
point, made of harder materials
than wood. They put themselves in
the same posture as we do for
fencing._
Toura _Without._
Toutai _To make the natural evacuations._
Toutη _Excrements._
Toupanoa _To open a window or door._
Touroutoto _A decrepit old man._
Toutoi-papa _Light or fire of the great people_;
niao-papa, _light of the common
people._
V.
Vereva _Flag which is carried before the
king and the principal people._
_I know no words beginning with the letters U, X, Y, Z._
_Names of different parts of the body._
Auopo _The crown of the
head._
Boho _The skull._
Eouttou _The face._
Mata _The eyes._
Taria _The ears._
Etaa _The jaw._
Eiou _The nose._
Lamolou _The lips._
Ourou _The hairs._
Allelo _The tongue._
Eniou _Teeth._
Eniaou. _Tooth-picks, they make them of
wood._
Oumi _The beard._
Papaourou _The cheeks._
Arapoa _The throat._
Taah _Chin._
Eou _Teats, nipples._
Asao _The heart._
Erima _The hand._
Apourima _The inside of the hand._
Eaiou _The nails._
Etoua _The back._
Etapono _The shoulders._
Obou _The bowels._
Tinai _The belly._
Pito _The navel._
Toutaba _The glands of the groin._
Etoe _Buttocks._
Aoua _Thighs._
Eanai _Legs._
Etapoué _The foot._
Eoua _Testicles._
Eoure _The male parts._
Erao _The female parts._
Eomo _The clitoris._
_Numerals._
Atai _One._
Aroua. _Two._
Atorou _Three._
Aheho _Four._
Erima _Five._
Aouno _Six._
Ahitou _Seven._
Awarou _Eight._
Ahiva _Nine._
Aourou _Ten._
_They have no words to express eleven, twelve, &c. They
repeat_ Atai, Aroua, _&c. till to twenty, which they
call_ ataitao.
Ataitao-mala-atai _Twenty, more one, or twenty-one,
&c._
Ataitao-mala-aurou _Thirty, i. e. 20 more 10._
Aroua-tao _Forty._
Aroua-tao mala _Forty-three, &c._
atorou
Aroua-tao mala _Fifty, or 40 more 10._
aourou
_I could not make Aotourou count beyond his last number._
_Names of Plants._
Amiami _Raisins._
Oporo-maa _Pepper._
Pouraou _Cayenne-rose._
Toroire _Heliotropium, or tournesol._
They have a kind of article answering to our articles _of_ and _to_ (_de
& à_). This is the word _te_. Thus they say _parouai te Aotourou_; the
clothes of or (belonging) to Aotourou; _maa-te-eri_, the eating of
kings.
-----
Footnote 133:
Diego Rays. F.
Footnote 134:
Equal to our midshipman. F.
Footnote 135:
We are very ready to do justice to Mr. Bougainville, when he presents
us with a new and interesting observation; but when he, without the
least necessity, becomes the advocate of tyranny and oppression, we
cannot let these sentiments pass unnoticed. It would have appeared to
us impossible, that such an idea as this could enter into any man’s
head who is in his right senses: he wrote down this strange assertion,
either being carried away by the itch to say something extraordinary
and paradoxical, or in order to make slavery more tolerable to his
fellow Frenchmen—Slavery endeavours to extirpate and to smother all
sentiments of honour, which only can operate in the breast of a really
free man; true honour, therefore, and slavery, are in direct
opposition, and can be combined as little as fire and water. If Mr. B.
threw this sentence out, in order to alleviate the yoke of tyranny his
country groans under, we think we could excuse it in some measure, as
he would then act from principles of humanity. But if the irresistible
desire of saying something new was the prevalent motive with him, it
has much the appearance as if he were willing to insult the poor
victims of despotism. The generous and amiable character which M. B.
from other instances appears in, prompts us to wish, that this
sentence had been omitted by him. F.
Footnote 136:
I must here observe, that I have not altered the spelling of the words
at all; and the reader will therefore take notice, that they should be
pronounced according to the rules of the French language. F.
-----
THE END.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ERRATA.
Page 2, line last, _for_ main-yards, _read_ lower-yards—p. 9. l. 3,
_for_ one quarter, _read_ by—ib. l. ib. _for_ one quarter, _read_ by—ib.
l. 6. _for_ one quarter, _read_ by—p. 17. l. 16. _for_ the river of
Plate, _read_ Rio de la Plata—p. 33. l. 15. _for_ top-masts handed, and
main-yards lowered, _read_ yards and top-masts struck—ib. l. 19. _for_
main-sails _read_ courses and top-sails—p. 34. l. 12. _for_ one quarter,
_read_ by—p. 245. note, l. 1. _for_ cooes nutisera, _read_ cocos
nucifera—ib. l. 2. _for_ parasidiaca, _read_ paradisiaca.
Foonotes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcriber’s Note
The Taitian Vocabulary at the end of the text was printed in two
columns, which are presented here as a single continuous table,
interspersed with notes.
Given the age of the text, any corrections to spelling is problematic.
Corrections have only been made when there are ample examples of our
modern spelling.
In the quotation from Virgil at the opening of Part II on p. 199, the
English word ‘and’ was (no doubt) mistakenly used rather than the Latin
‘et’. It is given correctly in the French original.
The name of the marquis de Buccarelli (appearing as such ten times) is
given three times (pp. 113-117) as ‘Bucarelli’. These have been
corrected to facilitate text searches.
On p. 429, the translation is missing the word ‘time’, which has been
established based on the French original. See below.
Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and
are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original.
10.5 the varia[tia]tions N. which we met with. Removed.
14.18 is insuf[fi]cient to encourage Inserted.
43.25 the wars of king Will[i]am> Inserted.
46.12 The map w[h]ich> we give Inserted.
91.6 Navigation from Montevid[e]o to Baragan. Inserted.
92.17 goes to be repa[ri/ired there Transposed.
98.11 upon this [carrier/career] Mistranslation.
113.17 the marquis de Buc[c]arelli Inserted.
113.22 upon the Ur[a/u]guay Replaced.
115.6 the marquis de Buc[c]arelli Inserted.
117.7 Don Francisco Buc[c]arelli y Ursua Inserted.
135.25 to a[ ]void the rocks Removed.
155.20 to go in my pinna[n]ce Removed.
173.22 Two other p[a/e]riaguas followed Replaced.
179.1 and mistrust amongst them[,/.] Replaced.
180.2 our chaplain administ[e]red Inserted.
190.10 bears E. 9[°] N. and W. 9° S. Restored.
199.9 errantes terris [and/et] fluctibus æstas Replaced.
199.18 make good astronomi[-/ical]observations Completed.
201.25 Mr. Bou[n]gainville writes Removed.
207.19 as the inhabi[bi]tants of the first island Removed.
235.16 [w/W]e then weighed the stream-anchor Replaced.
272.7 is soft, harmoni[o]us, and easy Inserted.
293.14 extended on the south[.] side Removed.
317.22 to assist us in stem[m]ing the tide Inserted.
358.20 The currents ceased set[t]ing us Inserted.
386.8 the isle of Pang[e/a]sani Replaced.
429.2 very little at a [time] from each person Added.
437.8 to get to the anchor[a]ge Inserted.
449.2 the isles of Amsterdam and Midd[le/le]burg Transposed.
463.22 I[s/t] is not without reason Replaced.
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