A VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA BY WILLIAM BLIGH. A VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA, UNDERTAKEN BY COMMAND OF HIS MAJESTY, FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONVEYING THE BREAD-FRUIT TREE TO THE WEST INDIES, IN HIS MAJESTY'S SHIP THE BOUNTY, COMMANDED BY LIEUTENANT WILLIAM BLIGH. INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF THE MUTINY ON BOARD THE SAID SHIP, AND THE SUBSEQUENT VOYAGE OF PART OF THE CREW, IN THE SHIP'S BOAT, FROM TOFOA, ONE OF THE FRIENDLY ISLANDS, TO TIMOR, A DUTCH SETTLEMENT IN THE EAST INDIES. THE WHOLE ILLUSTRATED WITH CHARTS, ETC. . .. PUBLISHED BY PERMISSION OF THE LORDS COMMISSIONERS OF THE ADMIRALTY. . .. LONDON: PRINTED FOR GEORGE NICOL, BOOKSELLER TO HIS MAJESTY, PALL-MALL. 1792. . .. ADVERTISEMENT. At the time I published the Narrative of the Mutiny on Board the Bountyit was my intention that the preceding part of the Voyage should becontained in a separate account. This method I have since been induced toalter. The reason of the Narrative appearing first was for the purpose ofcommunicating early information concerning an event which had attractedthe public notice: and, being drawn up in a hasty manner, it requiredmany corrections. Some circumstances likewise were omitted; and thenotation of time used in the Narrative being according to sea reckoning, in which the days begin and end at noon, must have produced a degree ofobscurity and confusion to readers accustomed only to the civil mode. Andthis would have increased as the remainder of the voyage, on account ofthe numerous shore occurrences at Otaheite and elsewhere, could not, withclearness and propriety, have been related in any other than the usualmanner of reckoning. Besides remedying these inconveniencies I have thought a fuller accountof our passage from Timor to Europe than that contained in the Narrativewould not be unacceptable. These reasons, with the manifest convenienceof comprising the whole Voyage in one continued narrative, in preferenceto letting it appear in disjointed accounts will, it is hoped, be alloweda sufficient excuse for having varied from the original intention. Nevertheless for the accommodation of the purchasers of the Narrativealready published those who desire it will be supplied with the otherparts of the Voyage separate; i. E. The part previous to the mutiny andthe additional account after leaving Timor. . .. CONTENTS. CHAPTER 1. Plan of the Expedition. Outfit and Occurrences to the time of leaving England. Description of the Breadfruit. CHAPTER 2. Departure from England. Arrival at Tenerife. Sail from thence. Arrival off Cape Horn. Severity of the Weather. Obliged to bear away for the Cape of Good Hope. CHAPTER 3. Passage towards the Cape of Good Hope and Search after Tristan da Cunha. Arrival at False Bay. Occurrences there. Reports concerning the Grosvenor's People. Departure from the Cape. CHAPTER 4. Passage towards Van Diemen's Land. Make the Island of St. Paul. Arrival in Adventure Bay. Natives seen. Sail from Van Diemen's Land. CHAPTER 5. Rocky Islands discovered. See the Island Maitea and arrive at Otaheite. Ship crowded by the Natives. CHAPTER 6. Account of an English Ship lately sailed from Otaheite. Death of Omai. Captain Cook's Picture sent on board. Otoo visits the Ship. His Visit returned. Natives well disposed towards us. Account of the Cattle left by Captain Cook. Breadfruit plants promised. Visit to the Earee Rahie. Presents made to the Arreoys. CHAPTER 7. A theft committed. Deception of the painted Head. Conversation with a Priest. A Wrestling Match. Reports of the Natives concerning other Islands. Some Account of Omai. CHAPTER 8. Expedition to Tettaba after a Heifer. Extraordinary domestic Arrangements. Tinah's Mother visits the Ship. A Sheep brought from Ulietea. Heavy Storm. Death of the Surgeon. Taowne and Toahroah Harbours examined. CHAPTER 9. A Walk into the Country. The Peeah Roah. Prevailed on by the Kindness of the Chiefs to defer our Departure. Breadfruit Plants collected. Move the Ship to Toahroah Harbour. Fishing. Three of the Ship's Company desert. Indiscretion of our People on Shore. Instances of Jealousy. Mourning. Bull brought to Oparre by a Prophet. The Deserters recovered. Tinah proposes to visit England. CHAPTER 10. The Ship's Cable cut in the Night. Coolness with the Chiefs on that Account. Visit to an old Lady. Disturbance at a Heiva. Tinah's Hospitality. A Thief taken and punished. Preparations for sailing. CHAPTER 11. Arrival of an Arreoy Woman from Tethuroa. A Present delivered by Tinah for his Majesty. Other Occurrences to the Time of the Ship's Departure from Otaheite. CHAPTER 12. At the Island Huaheine. A Friend of Omai visits the Ship. Leave the Society Islands. A Water-spout. The Island Whytootackee discovered. Anchor in Annamooka Road. Our Parties on Shore robbed by the Natives. Sail from Annamooka. The Chiefs detained on board. Part friendly. CHAPTER 13. A Mutiny in the Ship. CHAPTER 14. Proceed in the Launch to the Island Tofoa. Difficulty in obtaining Supplies there. Treacherous Attack of the Natives. Escape to Sea and bear away for New Holland. CHAPTER 15. Passage towards New Holland. Islands discovered in our Route. Our great Distresses. See the Reefs of New Holland and find a Passage through them. CHAPTER 16. Progress to the Northward along the Coast of New Holland. Land on different Islands in search of Supplies. CHAPTER 17. Passage from New Holland to the Island Timor. Arrive at Coupang. Reception there. CHAPTER 18. At Coupang. CHAPTER 19. From Timor to Batavia. CHAPTER 20. Occurrences at Batavia and Passage thence to England. . .. (LIST OF THE PLATES. Head of Lieutenant Bligh. Plan and profile of the deck of the Bounty. Sections of the Breadfruit. Plan of Toahroah harbour. Copy of the draught from which the Bounty's launch was built. Chart of Islands discovered from the launch. Chart of part of the north-east coast of New Holland. Chart of the track of the launch from Tofoa to Timor. ) . .. A VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEAS, ETC. CHAPTER 1. Plan of the Expedition. Outfit and Occurrences to the time of leaving England. Description of the Breadfruit. 1787. The King having been graciously pleased to comply with a request from themerchants and planters interested in his Majesty's West India possessionsthat the breadfruit tree might be introduced into those islands, a vesselproper for the undertaking was bought and taken into dock at Deptford tobe provided with the necessary fixtures and preparations for executingthe object of the voyage. These were completed according to a plan of mymuch honoured friend, Sir Joseph Banks, which in the event proved themost advantageous that could have been adopted for the intended purpose. August 16. The ship was named the Bounty: I was appointed to command her on the 16thof August 1787. Her burthen was nearly two hundred and fifteen tons; herextreme length on deck ninety feet ten inches; extreme breadthtwenty-four feet three inches; and height in the hold under the beams atthe main hatchway ten feet three inches. In the cockpit were the cabinsof the surgeon, gunner, botanist, and clerk, with a steward-room andstorerooms. The between decks was divided in the following manner: thegreat cabin was appropriated for the preservation of the plants andextended as far forward as the after hatchway. It had two largeskylights, and on each side three scuttles for air, and was fitted with afalse floor cut full of holes to contain the garden-pots in which theplants were to be brought home. The deck was covered with lead, and atthe foremost corners of the cabin were fixed pipes to carry off the waterthat drained from the plants into tubs placed below to save it for futureuse. I had a small cabin on one side to sleep in, adjoining to the greatcabin, and a place near the middle of the ship to eat in. The bulk-headof this apartment was at the after-part of the main hatchway, and on eachside of it were the berths of the mates and midshipmen; between theseberths the arm-chest was placed. The cabin of the master, in which wasalways kept the key of the arms, was opposite to mine. This particulardescription of the interior parts of the ship is rendered necessary bythe event of the expedition. The ship was masted according to the proportion of the navy; but on myapplication the masts were shortened, as I thought them too much for her, considering the nature of the voyage. September 3. On the 3rd of September the ship came out of dock; but the carpenters andjoiners remained on board much longer, as they had a great deal of workto finish. The next material alteration made in the fitting out was lessening thequantity of iron and other ballast. I gave directions that only nineteentons of iron should be taken on board instead of the customary proportionwhich was forty-five tons. The stores and provisions I judged would befully sufficient to answer the purpose of the remainder; for I am ofopinion that many of the misfortunes which attend ships in heavy stormsof wind are occasioned by too much dead weight in their bottoms. The establishment of men and officers for the ship were as follows: 1 Lieutenant to command. 1 Master. 1 Boatswain. 1 Gunner. 1 Carpenter. 1 Surgeon. 2 Master's Mates. 2 Midshipmen. 2 Quartermasters. 1 Quartermaster's Mate. 1 Boatswain's Mate. 1 Gunner's Mate. 1 Carpenter's Mate. 1 Carpenter's Crew. 1 Sailmaker. 1 Armourer. 1 Corporal. 1 Clerk and Steward. 23 Able Seamen. ---44. Two skilful and careful men were appointed, at Sir Joseph Banks'srecommendation, to have the management of the plants intended to bebrought home: the one, David Nelson, who had been on similar employmentin Captain Cook's last voyage; the other, William Brown, as an assistantto him. With these two our whole number amounted to forty-six. It was proposed that our route to the Society Islands should be roundCape Horn; and the greatest dispatch became necessary as the season wasalready far advanced: but the shipwrights not being able to completetheir work by the time the ship was ready in other respects, our sailingwas unavoidably retarded. October. Thursday 4. However by the 4th of October the pilot came on board to take us down theriver. Tuesday 9. On the 9th we fell down to Long Reach where we received our gunner'sstores and guns, four four-pounders and ten swivels. The ship was stored and victualled for eighteen months. In addition tothe customary allowance of provisions we were supplied with sourkraut, portable soup, essence of malt, dried malt, and a proportion of barleyand wheat in lieu of oatmeal. I was likewise furnished with a quantity ofironwork and trinkets to serve in our intercourse with the natives in theSouth Seas: and from the board of Longitude I received a timekeeper, madeby Mr. Kendal. Monday 15. On the 15th I received orders to proceed to Spithead. November. Sunday 4. But the winds and weather were so unfavourable that we did not arrivethere till the 4th of November. On the 24th I received from Lord Hood, who commanded at Spithead, my final orders. The wind, which for severaldays before had been favourable, was now turned directly against us. Wednesday 28. On the 28th the ship's company received two months pay in advance, and onthe following morning we worked out to St. Helen's, where we were obligedto anchor. 1787. December. Sunday 23. We made different unsuccessful attempts to get down Channel, but contrarywinds and bad weather constantly forced us back to St. Helen's, orSpithead, until Sunday the 23rd of December when we sailed with a fairwind. During our stay at Spithead, the rate of the timepiece was several timesexamined by Mr. Bailey's observations at the Portsmouth observatory. Onthe 19th of December, the last time of its being examined on shore, itwas 1 minute 52 seconds, 5 too fast for meantime, and then losing at therate of 1 second, 1 per day; and at this rate I estimate its going whenwe sailed. The object of all the former voyages to the South Seas undertaken by thecommand of his present majesty, has been the advancement of science andthe increase of knowledge. This voyage may be reckoned the first theintention of which has been to derive benefit from those distantdiscoveries. For the more fully comprehending the nature and plan of theexpedition, and that the reader may be possessed of every informationnecessary for entering on the following sheets, I shall here lay beforehim a copy of the instructions I received from the admiralty, andlikewise a short description of the breadfruit. BY THE COMMISSIONERS FOR EXECUTING THE OFFICE OF LORD HIGH ADMIRAL OFGREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, ETC. Whereas the king, upon a representation from the merchants and plantersinterested in his Majesty's West India possessions that the introductionof the breadfruit tree into the islands of those seas, to constitute anarticle of food, would be of very essential benefit to the inhabitants, hath, in order to promote the interests of so respectable a body of hissubjects (especially in an instance which promises general advantage)thought fit that measures should be taken for the procuring some of thosetrees, and conveying them to the said West India islands: And whereas thevessel under your command hath, in consequence thereof, been stored andvictualled for that service, and fitted with proper conveniences andnecessaries for the preservation of as many of the said trees as, fromher size, can be taken on board her; and you have been directed toreceive on board her the two gardeners named in the margin, David Nelson, and William Brown, who, from their knowledge of trees and plants, havebeen hired for the purpose of selecting such as shall appear to be of aproper species and size: You are, therefore, in pursuance of his majesty's pleasure, signified tous by Lord Sydney, one of his principal secretaries of state, herebyrequired and directed to put to sea in the vessel you command, the firstfavourable opportunity of wind and weather, and proceed with her, asexpeditiously as possible, round Cape Horn, to the Society Islands, situate in the Southern ocean, in the latitude of about eighteen degreessouth, and longitude of about two hundred and ten degrees east fromGreenwich, where, according to the accounts given by the late CaptainCook, and persons who accompanied him during his voyages, the breadfruittree is to be found in the most luxuriant state. Having arrived at the above-mentioned islands, and taken on board as manytrees and plants as may be thought necessary (the better to enable you todo which, you have already been furnished with such articles ofmerchandise and trinkets as it is supposed will be wanted to satisfy thenatives) you are to proceed from thence through Endeavour Straits (whichseparate New Holland from New Guinea) to Prince's Island in the Straitsof Sunda, or, if it should happen to be more convenient, to pass on theeastern side of Java to some port on the north side of that island, whereany breadfruit trees which may have been injured, or have died, may bereplaced by mangosteens, duriens, jacks, nancas, lanfas, and other finefruit trees of that quarter, as well as the rice plant which grows upondry land; all of which species (or such of them as shall be judged mosteligible) you are to purchase on the best terms you can from theinhabitants of that island with the ducats with which you have also beenfurnished for that purpose; taking care however, if the rice plantsabove-mentioned cannot be procured at Java, to touch at Prince's Islandfor them, where they are regularly cultivated. From Prince's Island, or the Island of Java, you are to proceed round theCape of Good Hope to the West Indies (calling on your way thither at anyplaces which may be thought necessary) and deposit one half of such ofthe above-mentioned trees and plants as may be then alive at hismajesty's botanical garden at St. Vincent, for the benefit of theWindward Islands, and then go on to Jamaica: and, having delivered theremainder to Mr. East, or such person or persons as may be authorised bythe governor and council of that island to receive them, refreshed yourpeople, and received on board such provisions and stores as may benecessary for the voyage, make the best of your way back to England;repairing to Spithead, and sending to our secretary an account of yourarrival and proceedings. And whereas you will receive herewith a copy of the instructions whichhave been given to the above-mentioned gardeners for their guidance, aswell as in procuring the said trees and plants, and the management ofthem after they shall be put on board, as for bringing to England a smallsample of each species, and such others as may be prepared by thesuperintendent of the botanical garden at St. Vincent's, and by the saidMr. East, or others, for his majesty's garden at Kew; you are herebyrequired and directed to afford, and to give directions to your officersand company to afford, the said gardeners every possible aid andassistance, not only in the collecting of the said trees and plants atthe places before mentioned, but for their preservation during theirconveyance to the places of their destination. Given under our hands the 20th November 1787. HOWE, CHARLES BRETT, RD. HOPKINS, J. LEVESON GOWER. To Lieutenant William Bligh, commanding his majesty's armed vessel theBounty at Spithead. By command of their Lordships, P. STEPHENS. . .. In the foregoing orders it is to be observed that I was particularlydirected to proceed round Cape Horn but, as the season was so faradvanced and we were so long detained by contrary winds, I madeapplication to the Admiralty for discretional orders on that point; towhich I received the following answer: BY THE COMMISSIONERS FOR EXECUTING THE OFFICE OF LORD HIGH ADMIRAL OFGREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, ETC. ETC. The season of the year being now so far advanced as to render it probablethat your arrival with the vessel you command on the southern coast ofAmerica will be too late for your passing round Cape Horn without muchdifficulty and hazard, you are in that case at liberty (notwithstandingformer orders) to proceed in her to Otaheite, round the Cape of GoodHope. Given under our hands the 18th December 1787. HOWE, CHARLES BRETT, BAYHAM. To Lieutenant William Bligh, commanding His Majesty's armed vesselBounty, Spithead. By command of their Lordships, P. Stephens. . .. The Breadfruit is so well known and described that to attempt a newaccount of it would be unnecessary and useless. However as it maycontribute to the convenience of the reader I have given the followingextracts respecting it with the plate annexed. EXTRACT FROM THE ACCOUNT OF DAMPIER'S VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD PERFORMED IN1688. The breadfruit (as we call it) grows on a large tree, as big and high asour largest apple-trees: It hath a spreading head, full of branches anddark leaves. The fruit grows on the boughs like apples; it is as big as apenny-loaf when wheat is at five shillings the bushel; it is of a roundshape, and hath a thick tough rind. When the fruit is ripe it is yellowand soft, and the taste is sweet and pleasant. The natives of Guam use itfor bread. They gather it, when full-grown, while it is green and hard;then they bake it in an oven, which scorches the rind and makes it black;but they scrape off the outside black crust, and there remains a tenderthin crust; and the inside is soft, tender, and white like the crumb of apenny-loaf. There is NEITHER SEED NOR STONE in the inside, but all is ofa pure substance, like bread. It must be eaten new; for, if it is keptabove twenty-four hours, it grows harsh and choaky; but it is verypleasant before it is too stale. This fruit lasts in season EIGHT MONTHSin the year, during which the natives eat NO OTHER SORT OF FOOD OF BREADKIND. I did never see of this fruit anywhere but here. The natives toldus that there is plenty of this fruit growing on the rest of the Ladroneislands; and I DID NEVER HEAR OF IT ANYWHERE ELSE. Volume 1 page 296. . .. EXTRACT FROM THE ACCOUNT OF LORD ANSON'S VOYAGE, PUBLISHED BY MR. WALTER. There was at Tinian a kind of fruit, peculiar to these (Ladrone) islands, called by the Indians rhymay, but by us the breadfruit; for it wasconstantly eaten by us, during our stay upon the island, * instead ofbread; and so UNIVERSALLY PREFERRED that no ship's bread was expended inthat whole interval. It grew upon a tree which is somewhat lofty, andwhich towards the top divides into large and spreading branches. Theleaves of this tree are of a remarkable deep green, are notched about theedges, and are generally from a foot to eighteen inches in length. Thefruit itself is found indifferently on all parts of the branches; it isin shape rather elliptical than round; it is covered with a tough rindand is usually seven or eight inches long; each of them grows singly andnot in clusters. This fruit is fittest to be used when it is full-grownbut still green; in which state, after it is properly prepared by beingroasted in the embers, its taste has some distant resemblance to that ofan artichoke's bottom, and its texture is not very different, for it issoft and spongy. (*Footnote. About two months, namely from the latter end of August to thelatter end of October, 1742. ) . .. EXTRACTS FROM THE ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN COOK. HAWKESWORTH, VOLUME 2. IN THE SOCIETY ISLANDS. The breadfruit grows on a tree that is about the size of a middling oak;its leaves are frequently a foot and a half long, of an oblong shape, deeply sinuated like those of the fig-tree, which they resemble inconsistence and colour, and in the exuding of a white milky juice uponbeing broken. The fruit is about the size and shape of a child's head, and the surface is reticulated not much unlike a truffle: it is coveredwith a thin skin, and has a core about as big as the handle of a smallknife. The eatable part lies between the skin and the core; it is aswhite as snow, and somewhat of the consistence of new bread: it must beroasted before it is eaten, being first divided into three or four parts. Its taste is insipid, with a slight sweetness somewhat resembling that ofthe crumb of wheaten bread mixed with a Jerusalem artichoke. Pages 80, 81. See also the plate there and at page 232. Of the many vegetables that have been mentioned already as serving themfor food, the principal is the breadfruit, to procure which costs them notrouble or labour but climbing a tree. The tree which produces it doesnot indeed shoot up spontaneously, but if a man plants ten of them in hislifetime, which he may do in about an hour, he will as completely fulfilhis duty to his own and future generations as the native of our lesstemperate climate can do by ploughing in the cold winter, and reaping inthe summer's heat, as often as these seasons return; even if, after hehas procured bread for his present household, he should convert a surplusinto money, and lay it up for his children. It is true indeed that the breadfruit is not always in season; butcoconuts, bananas, plantains, and a great variety of other fruits supplythe deficiency. Page 197. EXTRACT FROM THE ACCOUNT OF CAPTAIN COOK'S LAST VOYAGE. IN THE SOCIETY ISLANDS. I (Captain Cook) have inquired very carefully into their manner ofcultivating the breadfruit tree at Otaheite; but was always answered thatthey never planted it. This indeed must be evident to everyone who willexamine the places where the young trees come up. It will be alwaysobserved that they spring from the roots of the old ones which run alongnear the surface of the ground. So that the breadfruit trees may bereckoned those that would naturally cover the plains, even supposing thatthe island was not inhabited, in the same manner that the white-barkedtrees, found at Van Diemen's Land, constitute the forests there. And fromthis we may observe that the inhabitant of Otaheite, instead of beingobliged to plant his bread, will RATHER be under the necessity ofpreventing its progress; which I suppose is sometimes done to give roomfor trees of another sort, to afford him some variety in his food. Volume2 page 145. IN THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. The breadfruit trees are planted, and flourish with great luxuriance, onrising grounds. Where the hills rise almost perpendicularly in a greatvariety of peaked forms, their steep sides and the deep chasms betweenthem are covered with trees, amongst which those of the breadfruit wereobserved particularly to abound. Volume 3 pages 105 and 114, containingCaptain King's Narrative. The climate of the Sandwich Islands differs very little from that of theWest India Islands, which lie IN THE SAME LATITUDE. Upon the wholeperhaps it may be rather more temperate. Captain King ib page 116. The breadfruit trees thrive in these islands, not in such abundance, butproduce double the quantity of fruit they do on the rich plains ofOtaheite. The trees are nearly of the same height, but the branches beginto strike out from the trunk much lower, and with greater luxuriance. Captain King ib page 120. CHAPTER 2. Departure from England. Arrival at Tenerife. Sail from thence. Arrival off Cape Horn. Severity of the Weather. Obliged to bear away for the Cape of Good Hope. 1787. December. Sunday 23. On Sunday morning the 23rd of December 1787 we sailed from Spithead and, passing through the Needles, directed our course down channel with afresh gale of wind at east. In the afternoon one of the seamen, infurling the main-top-gallant-sail, fell off the yard and was so fortunateas to save himself by catching hold of the main-top-mast-stay in hisfall. At night the wind increased to a strong gale with a heavy sea. Tuesday 25. It moderated however on the 25th and allowed us to keep our Christmaswith cheerfulness; but the following day it blew a severe storm of windfrom the eastward, which continued till the 29th, in the course of whichwe suffered greatly. One sea broke away the spare yards and spars out ofthe starboard main chains. Another heavy sea broke into the ship andstove all the boats. Several casks of beer that had been lashed upon deckwere broke loose and washed overboard, and it was not without greatdifficulty and risk that we were able to secure the boats from beingwashed away entirely. Saturday 29. On the 29th we were in latitude 39 degrees 35 minutes north and longitude14 degrees 26 minutes west when the gale abated and the weather becamefair. Besides other mischief done to us by the storm, a large quantity ofour bread was damaged and rendered useless, for the sea had stove in ourstern and filled the cabin with water. From this time to our arrival atTenerife we had moderate weather and winds mostly from the northward. 1788. January. January 4. This forenoon we spoke a French ship bound to the Mauritius. Saturday 5. Tenerife. The next day at nine in the forenoon we saw the island of Tenerifebearing west-south-west half west about twelve leagues distant. It wascovered with a thick haze except the north-westernmost part which is aremarkable headland, resembling a horse's head, the ears very distinct. To the eastward of this head* lie two round rocks, the northern boundaryof Tenerife. I had a good observation at noon by which I make thelatitude of the two rocks 28 degrees 44 minutes north and their longitudeby our timekeeper 16 degrees 5 minutes west. To the southward of theseand near the shore is a high needle rock: about four leagues farther tothe southward the coast inclines towards the west to the road of SantaCruz, where we anchored at half-past nine on Sunday morning intwenty-five fathoms water, and moored along shore in the same depth, withthe cupola tower of the church of St. Francis bearing west half north onemile, the east part of the road east by north, the castle on the southpoint south-west, and the west part of the Grand Canary south-south-east. A Spanish packet bound to Corunna, an American brig, and several othervessels, were lying here. (*Footnote. South 82 degrees east by the compass. ) As soon as the ship was anchored I sent an officer (Mr. Christian) towait on the governor and to acquaint him I had put in to obtainrefreshments and to repair the damages we had sustained in bad weather. To this I had a very polite answer from the governor, * that I should besupplied with whatever the island afforded. I had also directed theofficer to acquaint him that I would salute, provided an equal number ofguns were to be returned but, as I received an extraordinary answer tothis part of my message, purporting that his excellency did not returnthe same number but to persons equal in rank to himself, this ceremonywas omitted. (*Footnote. Marquis de Brancheforte. ) During this interval I was visited by the port-master (Captain Adams) andshortly afterwards several officers came on board from his excellency tocompliment me on my arrival. As soon as the ship was moored I went onshore and paid my respects to him. Monday 7. On Monday morning I began to forward the ship's business with the utmostdispatch, and gave the necessary directions to Messrs. Collogan and sons, the contractors, for the supplies I wanted. I also got leave of thegovernor for Mr. Nelson to range the hills and examine the country insearch of plants and natural curiosities. As there was a great surf on the shore I bargained for everything Iwanted to be brought off by the shore boats, and agreed to give fiveshillings per ton for water. Very good wine was bought at ten pounds perpipe, the contract price; but the superior quality was fifteen pounds;and some of this was not much inferior to the best London Madeira. Ifound this was an unfavourable season for other refreshments: Indiancorn, potatoes, pumpkins, and onions, were all very scarce and double theprice of what they are in summer. Beef also was difficult to be procuredand exceedingly poor; the price nearly sixpence farthing per pound. Thecorn was three current dollars per fanega, which is full five shillingsper bushel; and biscuit at twenty-five shillings for the hundred pounds. Poultry was so scarce that a good fowl cost three shillings. This istherefore not a place for ships to expect refreshments at a reasonableprice at this time of the year, wine excepted; but from March to Novembersupplies are plentiful, particularly fruit, of which at this time wecould procure none except a few dried figs and some bad oranges. NAUTICAL REMARKS. During our stay here the weather was fair with north-east winds and calmsand small drizzling rain in the night. The thermometer from 66 to 69degrees at noon in the shade. I could make no lunar observations for thelongitude, but by the help of the timekeeper I have computed thesituation of the town of Santa Cruz to be 28 degrees 28 minutes northlatitude and 16 degrees 18 minutes west longitude. I observed thevariation by two compasses to be 20 degrees 1 minute west: this muchexceeded what I could have imagined; for in 1776 I observed it only 14degrees 40 minutes west; a difference of above five degrees in elevenyears: and this makes me reflect on the uncertainty of obtaining theexact deviation of the magnetic pole, and of course its annual variationwhich never can be accurately ascertained unless the observations aremade always in one spot and with the same compass. Tenerife, though considerably without the tropic, is so nearly within thelimits of the tradewind that navigators generally steer to it from theeastward. The road of Santa Cruz lies on the east side of the island, atthe end of a range of craggy hills, barren and very lofty, along with yousail west by south by compass into the road, with a sea unfathomableuntil near the shore. The anchoring ground may be accounted from fiftyfathoms to twenty, or even fifteen. The bank is very steep and gives butlittle time to sound; for which reason it should be done effectually witha heavy lead, or a ship will be too near in before a stranger is aware ofit: he will likewise too soon expect to find bottom, owing to the greatdeception of the adjacent high land. To obviate these difficulties it isnecessary to observe that while a town which lies some distance to thesouthward of Santa Cruz is open with the castle on the south part of theroad, though you may appear near to the shore, there is no anchorage; butafter it is shut entirely in you get on the bank. The church bearing westor west by south and the south point of the road south-west half south tosouth-west by west is a good situation for anchoring: the depth abouttwenty-five fathoms. The distance from the shore will be three quartersof a mile; and the southernmost land that can be seen then will be a halfor quarter point of the compass farther out than the south point of theroad. The bottom is black soft mud, with some patches of rocks; for whichreason vessels that lie here any length of time buoy their cables. Thisprecaution, besides being useful in that particular, they think makesthem ride more easy when there is much sea setting into the road, which, with the wind any way to the southward of east or at south-west, must bevery considerable; it is therefore usual to moor with four anchors, though more than two are scarce ever of use. Mooring is however advisableif a ship is only to remain twenty-four hours, and the tighter thebetter, that the cables may keep clear of the ground. The landing on the beach is generally impracticable with our own boats, at least without great risk; but there is a very fine pier on whichpeople may land without difficulty if there is not much swell in theroad. To this pier the water is conveyed by pipes for the use ofshipping, and for which all merchant-ships pay. There is a degree of wretchedness and want among the lower class ofpeople which is not anywhere so common as among the Spanish andPortuguese settlements. To alleviate these evils the present governor ofTenerife has instituted a most charitable society which he takes thetrouble to superintend; and by considerable contributions a large airydwelling that contains one hundred and twenty poor girls and as many menand boys has been built and endowed with a sufficiency of land round it, not only for all present purposes but for enlarging the building for moreobjects of charity as their funds increase. I had the honour to be shownby his excellency this asylum (Hospicio they call it) where thereappeared in every countenance the utmost cheerfulness and content. Thedecency and neatness of the dress of the young females, with the order inwhich they were arranged at their spinning-wheels and looms in anextensive airy apartment, was admirable. A governess inspected andregulated all their works, which were the manufacturing of ribbons of allcolours, coarse linens, and tapes; all which were managed and brought toperfection by themselves from the silk and flax in their first state;even the dying of the colours is performed by them. These girls arereceived for five years, at the end of which they are at liberty tomarry, and have for their portions their wheel and loom, with a sum ofmoney proportioned to the state of the fund, which is assisted by theproduce of their labour, and at this time was estimated at two thousanddollars per annum. The men and boys are not less attended to: they are employed in coarserwork, blanketing and all kinds of common woollens: if they become infirmthey spend the remainder of their days here comfortably and under awatchful inspector who attends them in the same manner as the governessdoes the girls. They are all visited every day by the governor, and aclergyman attends them every evening. By this humane institution a numberof people are rendered useful and industrious in a country where thepoor, from the indulgence of the climate, are too apt to prefer a life ofinactivity, though attended with wretchedness, to obtaining the comfortsof life by industry and labour. The number of inhabitants in the island I was informed were estimated atbetween eighty and one hundred thousand. Their annual export of wine istwenty thousand pipes and of brandy half that quantity. Vessels arefrequently here from St. Eustatia, and from thence a great quantity ofTenerife wine is carried to the different parts of the West Indies, underthe name of Madeira. Tenerife is considered of more value than all the other Canaries: theinhabitants however, in scarce seasons, receive supplies from the GrandCanary; but their vineyards here are said to be greatly superior. Theirproduce of corn, though exceedingly good, is not sufficient for theirconsumption; and owing to this the Americans have an advantageous tradehere for their flour and grain, and take wine in return. The town of Santa Cruz is about half a mile in extent each way, built ina regular manner, and the houses in general large and airy, but thestreets are very ill paved. I am told that they are subject to fewdiseases; but if any epidemic distemper breaks out it is attended withthe most fatal consequences, particularly the smallpox, the bad effectsof which they now endeavour to counteract by inoculation. For this reasonthey are very circumspect in admitting ships to have communication withthe shore without bills of health. A sloop from London, called the Chance, William Meridith, master, boundto Barbados, out nineteen days from the Downs, came into the road the daybefore we sailed. She had suffered much by the bad weather but, havingbrought no bill of health, the governor would not allow any person tocome on shore unless I could vouch for them that no epidemic diseaseraged in England at the time they sailed, which I was able to do, itbeing nearly at the same time that I left the land; and by that meansthey had the governor's permission to receive the supplies they wantedwithout being obliged to perform quarantine. Thursday 10. Having finished our business at Tenerife on Thursday the 10th we sailedwith the wind at south-east, our ship's company all in good health andspirits. I now divided the people into three watches, and gave the charge of thethird watch to Mr. Fletcher Christian, one of the mates. I have alwaysconsidered this as a desirable regulation when circumstances will admitof it on many accounts; and am persuaded that unbroken rest not onlycontributes much towards the health of a ship's company but enables themmore readily to exert themselves in cases of sudden emergency. As it was my wish to proceed to Otaheite without stopping I orderedeverybody to be at two-thirds allowance of bread: I also directed thewater for drinking to be filtered though dripstones that I had bought atTenerife for that purpose. In the evening we passed the south end of Tenerife which is a round lumpof land that, from the lowness of the contiguous land, has at a distancethe appearance of a separate island. By our run from the bay of SantaCruz I make the latitude of the south end of Tenerife to be 28 degrees 6minutes north. We ran all night towards the south-south-west having the wind atsouth-east. The next morning we could see nothing of the land. I now madethe ship's company acquainted with the intent of the voyage and, havingbeen permitted to hold out this encouragement to them, I gave assurancesof the certainty of promotion to everyone whose endeavours should meritit. The winds for some days after leaving Tenerife were mostly from thesouthward. Fishing-lines and tackle were distributed amongst the peopleand some dolphins were caught. Thursday 17. On the 17th the wind came round to the north-east and continued steady inthat quarter till the 25th on which day at noon we were in 3 degrees 54minutes north. As the cloudiness of the sky gave us reason to expect muchrain we prepared the awnings with hoses for the convenience of savingwater, in which we were not disappointed. From this time to our meetingwith the south-east tradewind we had much wet weather, the air close andsultry with calms, and light variable winds generally from the southward. Tuesday 29. On the 29th there was so heavy a fall of rain that we caught sevenhundred gallons of water. Thursday 31. On the 31st, latitude at noon 2 degrees 5 minutes north, found a currentsetting to the north-east at the rate of fourteen miles in thetwenty-four hours. The thermometer was at 82 degrees in the shade, and 811/2 degrees at the surface of the sea, so that the air and the water werewithin half a degree of the same temperature. At eight o'clock in theevening we observed a violent rippling in the sea about half a mile tothe north-west of us which had very much the appearance of breakers. ThisI imagine to have been occasioned by a large school (or multitude) offish as it was exactly in the track the ship had passed, so that if anyreal shoal had been there we must have seen it at the close of theevening when a careful lookout was always kept. However if it hadappeared ahead of us instead of astern I should certainly have tacked toavoid it. To such appearances I attribute the accounts of many shoalswithin the tropics which cannot be found anywhere but in maps. Ourlatitude at this time was 2 degrees 8 minutes north and longitude 19degrees 43 minutes west. The next day we had more of these appearancesfrom the number of schools of fish by which the ship was surrounded. February. Saturday 2. This morning we saw a sail to the north-north-west but at too great adistance to distinguish what she was. Monday 4. Had very heavy rain during which we nearly filled all our empty watercasks. So much wet weather, with the closeness of the air, coveredeverything with mildew. The ship was aired below with fires andfrequently sprinkled with vinegar; and every little interval of dryweather was taken advantage of to open all the hatchways, and clean theship, and to have all the people's wet things washed and dried. With this weather and light unsteady winds we advanced but 2 1/2 degreesin twelve days; at the end of which time we were relieved by thesouth-east tradewind which we fell in with on the 6th at noon in latitude1 degree 21 minutes north and longitude 20 degrees 42 minutes west. Thursday 7. The next afternoon we crossed the equinoctial line in longitude 21degrees 50 minutes west. The weather became fine and the south-easttradewind was fresh and steady, with which we kept a point free from thewind and got to the southward at a good rate. The weather continuing dry we put some of our bread in casks, properlyprepared for its reception, to preserve it from vermin: this experimentwe afterwards found answered exceedingly well. Saturday 16. On the 16th at daylight we saw a sail to the southward. The next day wecame up with her and found her to be the British Queen, Simon Paul, master, from London, bound to the Cape of Good Hope on the whale-fishery. She sailed from Falmouth the 5th of December, eighteen days before I leftSpithead. By this ship I wrote to England. At sunset she was almost outof sight astern. Monday 18. In the course of this day's run the variation changed from west to east. According to our observations the true and magnetic meridians coincidedin latitude 20 degrees 0 minutes south and longitude 31 degrees 15minutes west. At noon we were in latitude 20 degrees 44 minutes south andlongitude 31 degrees 23 minutes west. In our advances towards the souththe wind had gradually veered round to the east and was at this time ateast-north-east. The weather after crossing the Line had been fine andclear, but the air so sultry as to occasion great faintness, thequicksilver in the thermometer in the daytime standing at between 81 and83 degrees, and one time at 85 degrees. In our passage through thenorthern tropic the air was temperate, the sun having then high southdeclination and the weather being generally fine till we lost thenorth-east tradewind; but such a thick haze surrounded the horizon thatno object could be seen except at a very small distance. The hazecommonly cleared away at sunset and gathered again at sunrise. Betweenthe north-east and south-east tradewinds the calms and rains, if of longcontinuance, are very liable to produce sickness unless great attentionis paid to keeping the ship clean and wholesome by giving all the airpossible, drying between decks with fires, and drying and airing thepeople's clothes and bedding. Besides these precautions we frequentlywetted with vinegar, and every evening the pumps were used asventilators. With these endeavours to secure health we passed the lowlatitudes without a single complaint. The currents we met with were by no means regular, nor have I ever foundthem so in the middle of the ocean. However from the channel to thesouthward as far as Madeira there is generally a current setting to thesouth-south-east. Thursday 21. On the evening of the 21st a ship was seen in the north-east but at toogreat a distance to distinguish of what country. Friday 22. The next day the wind came round to the north and north-west so that wecould no longer consider ourselves in the tradewind. Our latitude at noonwas 25 degrees 55 minutes south, longitude 36 degrees 29 minutes west. Variation of the compass three degrees east. Saturday 23. Towards night the wind died away and we had some heavy showers of rain ofwhich we profited by saving a ton of good water. The next day we caught ashark and five dolphins. Tuesday 26. We bent new sails and made other necessary preparations for encounteringthe weather that was to be expected in a high latitude. Our latitude atnoon was 29 degrees 38 minutes south, longitude 41 degrees 44 minuteswest. Variation 7 degrees 13 minutes east. In the afternoon, the windbeing westerly and blowing strong in squalls, some butterflies and otherinsects like what we call horseflies were blown on board of us. No birdswere seen except shearwaters. Our distance from the coast of Brazil atthis time was above 100 leagues. March. Sunday 2. In the forenoon, after seeing that every person was clean, divine servicewas performed according to my usual custom on this day. I gave to Mr. Fletcher Christian, whom I had before directed to take charge of thethird watch, a written order to act as lieutenant. Saturday 8. We were at noon in latitude 36 degrees 50 minutes south and longitude 52degrees 53 minutes west. The last four days we several times tried forsoundings without finding bottom, though considerably to the westward ofCaptain Wallis' track, who had soundings at fifty-four fathoms depth inlatitude 35 degrees 40 minutes south and longitude 49 degrees 54 minuteswest. This day we tried with two hundred and forty fathoms of line butdid not find bottom; at the same time, observing a rippling in the water, we tried the current by mooring a keg with one hundred fathoms of line, by which it appeared to run to the north-north-west at the rate of a mileand a half per hour. By the noon observation however we were eighteenmiles to the southward of our reckoning. In the afternoon we saw a turtlefloating and, not having much wind, hoisted a boat out and sent after it;but it was found to be in a putrid state with a number of crabs feedingupon it. The change of temperature began now to be sensibly felt, there being avariation in the thermometer since yesterday of eight degrees. That thepeople might not suffer by their own negligence I gave orders for theirlight tropical clothing to be put by, and made them dress in a mannermore suited to a cold climate. I had provided for this before I leftEngland by giving directions for such clothes to be purchased as werenecessary. Monday 10. In the forenoon we struck soundings at eighty-three fathoms depth; ourlatitude 40 degrees 8 minutes south and longitude 55 degrees 40 minuteswest. This I conclude to have been near the edge of the bank for, thewind being at south-south-west, we stood towards the south-east; andafter running fourteen miles in that direction we could find no bottomwith one hundred and sixty fathoms of line. In the night we stood towardsthe west-south-west with a southerly wind and got again into soundings. The next day we saw a great number of whales of an immense size that hadtwo spout-holes on the back of the head. Upon a complaint made to me bythe master I found it necessary to punish Matthew Quintal, one of theseamen, with two dozen lashes for insolence and mutinous behaviour. Before this I had not had occasion to punish any person on board. Wednesday 12. On the 12th we caught a porpoise by striking it with the grains. Everyoneeat heartily of it; and it was so well liked that no part was wasted. Friday 14. On the 14th in the afternoon we saw a land-bird like a lark, and passedpart of a dead whale that had been left by some whalers after they hadtaken the blubber off. Saw likewise two strange sail. The next day atnoon our latitude was 43 degrees 6 minutes south and longitude 58 degrees42 minutes west. Had soundings at seventy-five fathoms; the bottom a finegreenish sand. Saw two hawks. Sunday 16. On the 16th another ship was seen to the west-north-west standing to thenorthward. Latitude at noon 43 degrees 34 minutes south. We continuedrunning to the southward keeping in soundings. Wednesday 19. On the 19th at noon by my account we were within twenty leagues of PortDesire; but the wind blowing fresh from the north-west with thick foggyweather I did not attempt to make the land. We passed a good deal ofrock-weed and saw many whales, and albatrosses and other seabirds. Thursday 20. On the 20th at noon our latitude was 50 degrees 24 minutes south andlongitude 65 degrees 50 minutes west. In the afternoon the wind, whichhad for some time past been northerly, suddenly shifted to thewest-south-west and blew hard. Sunday 23. We steered to the south-south-east and on the 23rd at two o'clock in themorning we discovered the coast of Tierra del Fuego bearing south-east. At nine in the forenoon we were off Cape St. Diego, the eastern part ofTierra del Fuego. Observed the variation here to be 21 degrees 23 east. The wind being unfavourable I thought it more advisable to go round tothe eastward of Staten Land than to attempt passing through Straits leMaire. The two opposite coasts of the Straits exhibited very differentappearances. The land of Tierra del Fuego hereabouts, though the interiorparts are mountainous, yet near the coast is of a moderate height and, atthe distance we were from it, had not an unpromising appearance. Thecoast of Staten Land near the Straits is mountainous and craggy, andremarkable for its high peaked hills. Straits le Maire is a fair openingwhich cannot well be mistaken; but if any doubt could remain, thedifferent appearances of the opposite shores would sufficiently make theStraits known. I did not sail within less than six leagues of the coast that we mighthave the wind more regular and avoid being exposed to the heavy squallsthat came off from the land. At noon Cape St. Anthony bore south and thewesternmost of New Year's Isles south-east one-quarter south, five or sixleagues. Latitude observed 54 degrees 28 minutes south, longitude 64degrees 4 minutes west. The sight of New Year's Harbour almost tempted me to put in; but thelateness of the season and the people being in good health determined meto lay aside all thoughts of refreshment until we should reach Otaheite. At two o'clock in the afternoon the easternmost of New Year's Isles, where Captain Cook observed the latitude to be 55 degrees 40 minutessouth, bore from us south four leagues. We saw the entrance isles of NewYear's harbour at the back of which the land is very craggy andmountainous. This must be a very convenient port to touch at as theaccess to it is safe and easy. The harbour lies south-south-east bycompass from the north-east part of the easternmost of the New Year'sIslands. About two leagues to the westward of Cape St. John I observed theseparation of the mountains that Captain Cook has taken notice of, whichhas the appearance of Staten Land being there divided into two islands. At sunset Cape St. John bore south-south-east five or six leagues. Theland hereabouts is of less height and not so rugged as near New Year'sHarbour. The night coming on I could get no good view of the coast nearthe Cape; and at daylight next morning we were at too great a distance. Monday 24. We had stood to the southward all night with the wind at west-south-westand south-west. At eight in the morning Cape St. John bore north-west tenleagues distant. Soon after we lost sight of the land. From the result of my lunar observations, assisted by the timekeeper, Imake the longitude of the west side of Straits le Maire 64 degrees 48minutes west; the easternmost of the New Year's isles 63 degrees 52minutes west; and the longitude of Cape St. John 63 degrees 19 minuteswest. In our run from the latitude of 12 degrees south to 48 degrees south theship was set 2 degrees 30 minutes to the eastward by currents; and fromthe latitude of 48 degrees south to Staten Land the currents set us tothe westward 2 degrees 43 minutes; which I imagine to have beenoccasioned by an indraught into the Straits of Magellan. From the time we lost sight of the land to the end of the month we werestruggling with bad weather and contrary winds. Monday 31. But on the morning of the 31st the wind came to the north-north-east andmade us entertain great hopes that we should be able to accomplish ourpassage round the Cape without much difficulty. At noon we were inlatitude 60 degrees 1 minute south and in 71 degrees 45 minutes westlongitude, which is 8 degrees 26 minutes west of the meridian of Cape St. John. This flattering appearance was not of long continuance: in thenight the wind became variable and next day settled again in the west andnorth-west with very bad weather. April. Wednesday 2. On the 2nd in the morning the wind, which had blown fresh all night fromthe north-west, came round to the south-west and increased to a heavygale. At six in the morning the storm exceeded what I had ever met withbefore; and the sea, from the frequent shifting of the wind, running incontrary directions, broke exceeding high. Our ship however lay to verywell under a main and fore-stay sail. The gale continued with severesqualls of hail and sleet the remainder of this and all the next day. Friday 4. On the 4th the wind was less violent but far from moderate. With so muchbad weather I found it necessary to keep a constant fire night and day;and one of the watch always attended to dry the people's wet clothes: andthis I have no doubt contributed as much to their health as to theircomfort. Our companions in this in hospitable region were albatrosses and twobeautiful kinds of birds, the small blue petrel and pintada. A great manyof these were frequently about the wake of the ship, which induced thepeople to float a line with hooks baited to endeavour to catch them andtheir attempts were successful. The method they used was to fasten thebait a foot or two before the hook and, by giving the line a sudden jerkwhen the bird was at the bait, it was hooked in the feet or body. Sunday 6. On the 6th the weather was moderate and continued so till the 9th withthe wind veering between the north-west and south-west; of which we wereable to take advantage. Monday 7. On the 7th observed the variation 27 degrees 9 minutes east; our latitude60 degrees 24 minutes south and longitude 75 degrees 54 minutes west. Wednesday 9. On the 9th at noon we were in latitude 59 degrees 31 minutes south andour longitude 76 degrees 58 minutes west, which is farther to the westthan we had yet been. The weather was now unfavourable again, blowingstrong from the westward with a high sea. On the 10th we saw some fish which appeared spotted and about the size ofbonetos: these were the only fish we had seen in this high latitude. Saturday 12. The stormy weather continued with a great sea. The ship now began tocomplain and required to be pumped every hour; which was no more than wehad reason to expect from such a continuance of gales of wind and highseas. The decks also became so leaky that it was obliged to allot thegreat cabin, of which I made little use except in fine weather, to thosepeople who had wet berths to hang their hammocks in, and by this meansthe between decks was less crowded. Every morning all the hammocks were taken down from where they hung, andwhen the weather was too bad to keep them upon deck they were put in thecabin; so that the between decks were cleaned daily and aired with firesif the hatchways could not be opened. With all this bad weather we hadthe additional mortification to find at the end of every day that we werelosing ground; for notwithstanding our utmost exertions and keeping onthe most advantageous tacks (which if the weather had been at allmoderate would have sufficiently answered our purpose) yet the greaterpart of the time we were doing little better than drifting before thewind. Sunday 13. Birds as usual were about the ship and some of them caught; and for thefirst time since we left Staten Land we saw some whales. This morning, owing to the violent motion of the ship, the cook fell and broke one ofhis ribs, and another man, by a fall, dislocated his shoulder. The gunnerwho had the charge of a watch was laid up with the rheumatism: and thiswas the first sicklist that appeared on board the ship. The time of fullmoon which was approaching made me entertain hopes that after that periodwe should experience some change of wind or weather in our favour; butthe event did not at all answer our expectations. The latitude at noonthis day was 58 degrees 9 minutes south and longitude 76 degrees 1 minutewest. As we caught a good many birds but which were all lean and tasted fishywe tried an experiment upon them which succeeded admirably. By keepingthem cooped up and cramming them with ground corn they improvedwonderfully in a short time; so that the pintada birds became as fine asducks, and the albatrosses were as fat, and not inferior in taste to, fine geese. Some of the latter birds were caught that measured seven feetbetween the extremities of the wings when spread. This unexpected supplycame very opportunely; for none of our livestock remained except hogs, the sheep and poultry not being hardy enough to stand the severity of theweather. Sunday 20. This morning the wind died away and we had a calm for a few hours whichgave us hopes that the next would be a more favourable wind. A hog waskilled for the ship's company which gave them an excellent meal. Towardsnoon, to our great disappointment, the wind sprang up again from thewestward and in the afternoon blew strong with snow and hailstorms. Monday 21. This was the second day after the full moon but, as I have remarkedbefore, it had no influence on the weather. At noon our latitude was 58degrees 31 minutes south and longitude 70 degrees 7 minutes west, whichis near seven degrees to the eastward of our situation on the morning ofthe 9th instant, when we had advanced the farthest in our power to thewestward, being then in 76 degrees 58 minutes west, three degrees to thewest of Cape Deseada, the west part of the Straits of Magellan; and atthis time we were 3 degrees 52 minutes to the east of it and hourlylosing ground. It was with much concern I saw how hopeless and even unjustifiable it wasto persist any longer in attempting a passage this way to the SocietyIslands. We had been thirty days in this tempestuous ocean. At one timewe had advanced so far to the westward as to have a fair prospect ofmaking our passage round; but from that period hard gales of westerlywind had continued without intermission, a few hours excepted, which, toborrow an expression in Lord Anson's voyage, were "like the elementsdrawing breath to return upon us with redoubled violence. " The season wasnow too far advanced for us to expect more favourable winds or weather, and we had sufficiently experienced the impossibility of beating roundagainst the wind, or of advancing at all without the help of a fair windfor which there was little reason to hope. Another consideration whichhad great weight with me was that, if I persisted in my attempt this wayand should after all fail to get round, it would occasion such a loss oftime that our arrival at Otaheite soon enough to return in the properseason by the East Indies would be rendered precarious. On the other handthe prevalence of the westerly winds in high southern latitudes left meno reason to doubt of making a quick passage to the Cape of Good Hope andthence to the eastward round New Holland. Tuesday 22. Having maturely considered all circumstances I determined to bear awayfor the Cape of Good Hope; and at five o'clock on the evening of the22nd, the wind then blowing strong at west, I ordered the helm to be puta weather, to the great joy of every person on board. Our sicklist atthis time had increased to eight, mostly with rheumatic complaints: inother respects the people were in good health, though exceedingly jaded. The passage round Cape Horn into the South Seas during the summer monthshas seldom been attended with difficulty and is to be preferred in themoderate seasons to the more distant route to the eastward round the Capeof Good Hope and New Holland. If we had been one month earlier, orperhaps less, I doubt not but we should have effected our passage. The soundings that are met with off the coast of America, from thelatitude of 36 degrees south to the southward, are very convenient toenable ships to judge of their distance from the land, as thick fogs arevery frequent near that coast. If the winds are favourable, to go throughStraits le Maire must considerably shorten the passage round Cape Horn, as all the distance saved is so much gained to the westward. I aminformed that several harbours have been lately discovered by the SouthSea whalers on the north side of Staten Island that afford safe anchoragewith supplies of wood and water. While we were off Cape Horn I did not observe that our situation was atall affected by currents. CHAPTER 3. Passage towards the Cape of Good Hope and Search after Tristan da Cunha. Arrival at False Bay. Occurrences there. Reports concerning the Grosvenor's People. Departure from the Cape. 1788. April. Friday 25. The westerly winds and stormy weather continuing gave me no reason torepent of my determination. On the 25th at noon we were in latitude 54degrees 16 minutes south and longitude 57 degrees 4 minutes west. Thenearest of the Falkland Islands by my reckoning then bore north 13degrees west; distance 23 leagues. Our stock of water being sufficient toserve us to the Cape of Good Hope I did not think it worth while to stopat these islands as the refreshment we might obtain there would scarcerepay us for the expense of time: we therefore continued our coursetowards the north-east and east-north-east. May. Friday 9. On the 9th of May at eight o'clock in the evening we were near thesituation of Tristan da Cunha, our latitude being 37 degrees 7 minutessouth and longitude 15 degrees 26 minutes west. All the afternoon theweather had been clear enough for land of a moderate height to be seen atleast seven leagues; I therefore concluded that we had not yet passed themeridian of the island; for the most western position given to it fromany authority is 15 degrees 0 minutes west. As I wished to make this island we kept our wind on different tacksduring the night, that we might be nearly in the same place at daylightin the morning as on the preceding evening: in the morning no land beingin sight we continued to steer to the eastward. Saturday 10. We ran on all day having clear weather but without seeing anything toindicate our being near land. At noon our latitude observed was 37degrees 27 minutes south which, being more to the southward than we hadreason to expect, I altered the course to the northward and steerednorth-east all the afternoon. At six o'clock in the evening we were inlatitude 37 degrees 0 minutes south and longitude 12 degrees 42 minuteswest, having a clear horizon but not the least sign of being in theneighbourhood of land. With the night came thick rainy weather and wewere now to the eastward of the situation ascribed to Tristan da Cunha; Itherefore determined to give over the search and to resume our coursetowards the Cape of Good Hope. The island of Tristan da Cunha, by Robertson's Elements, is laid down in37 degrees 12 minutes south latitude and 13 degrees 23 minutes westlongitude. In Captain Cook's general map, prefixed to his last voyage, itis placed in the same latitude but in 15 degrees west longitude. From ourtrack and the clearness of the weather I am convinced, if the latitudeascribed to it as above is correct, that it is not to be found betweenthe meridians of 16 degrees 30 minutes west and 12 degrees 30 minuteswest. On the 13th I had a number of lunar observations for the longitude, the mean of which agreed exactly with the timekeeper. * (*Footnote. In Mr. Dalrymple's Collection of Plans which I had not withme the northernmost of the Islands of Tristan d'Acunha is placed inlatitude 37 degrees 22 minutes south and longitude 13 degrees 17 minuteswest. I think it probable we missed them by being too much to thenorthward. ) In this passage the weather was generally so cloudy that I had fewopportunities to make observations of any kind except for the noonlatitudes. I could not determine when we crossed the line of novariation. The two nearest observations to it were: the first in 39degrees 51 minutes south latitude and 26 degrees 11 minutes westlongitude, where the variation of the compass was found to be 3 degrees17 minutes east; and the other in latitude 35 degrees 30 minutes southand longitude 5 degrees 21 minutes west, where I observed the variation11 degrees 35 minutes west; between these we had no intermediateobservation for the variation. Thursday 22. At two in the afternoon we saw the Table Mountain of the Cape of GoodHope. As it is reckoned unsafe riding in Table Bay at this time of year Isteered for False Bay. The next evening we anchored in the outer part. Saturday 24. And on the forenoon of the 24th got the ship secured in Simon's Bay, which is in the inner part of False Bay. When moored, Noah's ark boresouth 35 degrees east three-quarters of a mile, and the hospital south 72west. We found lying here one outward bound Dutch Indiaman, five otherDutch ships, and a French ship. After saluting the fort, which was returned by an equal number of guns, Iwent on shore and dispatches were sent away to Cape Town to acquaint thegovernor of our arrival. A Dutch ship at this time lying in Table Baybound for Europe, I sent letters by her to the Admiralty. It is veryunusual for ships to be in Table Bay so late in the year, on account ofthe strong north-west winds. April is the time limited. I gave the necessary directions for getting our wants supplied. The shiprequired to be caulked in every part for she was become so leaky that wehad been obliged to pump every hour in our passage from Cape Horn. Thiswe immediately set about, as well as repairing our sails and rigging. Thesevere weather we had met with and the leakiness of the ship made itnecessary to examine into the state of all the stores and provisions. Ofthe latter a good deal was found damaged, particularly the bread. Thetimekeeper I took on shore to ascertain its rate, and other instrumentsto make the necessary astronomical observations. Fresh meat, with softbread and plenty of vegetables, were issued daily to the ship's companythe whole time we remained here. A few days after our arrival I went overto Cape Town and waited on his excellency M. Vander Graaf, the governor, who obligingly arranged matters so much to our advantage that we scarcelyfelt the inconvenience of being at a distance from the Cape Town, whencewe received all our supplies. The Cape Town is considerably increased within the last eight years. Itsrespectability with regard to strength has kept pace with its otherenlargements and rendered it very secure against any attempt which is notmade with considerable force. Great attention is paid to military orderand discipline; and monthly signals are established to communicate withtheir shipping as they arrive near the coast that they may not rununawares into the hands of an enemy. I found everything much dearer thanwhen I was here in 1780. Sheep cost four Spanish dollars each and were sosmall that it answered better to purchase the mutton for the ship's dailyuse at fourpence per pound. During our stay here I took care to procure seeds and plants that wouldbe valuable at Otaheite and the different places we might touch at in ourway thither. In this I was greatly assisted by colonel Gordon, thecommander of the troops. In company with this gentleman the loss of theGrosvenor East Indiaman was mentioned: on this subject colonel Gordonexpressed great concern that from anything he had said hopes were stillentertained to flatter the affectionate wishes of the surviving friendsof those unfortunate people. He said that in his travels into the Caffrecountry he had met with a native who described to him that there was awhite woman among his countrymen who had a child, and that she frequentlyembraced the child and cried most violently. This was all he (thecolonel) could understand and, being then on his return home with hishealth much impaired by fatigue, the only thing that he could do was tomake a friend of the native by presents and promises of reward oncondition that he would take a letter to this woman and bring him back ananswer. Accordingly he wrote letters in English, French, and Dutchdesiring that some sign or mark might be returned, either by writing witha burnt stick or by any means she should be able to devise, to satisfyhim that she was there; and that on receiving such token from her everyeffort should be made to ensure her safety and escape. But the Caffre, although apparently delighted with the commission which he hadundertaken, never returned, nor has the colonel ever heard anything moreof him, though he had been instructed in methods of conveying informationthrough the Hottentot country. To this account, that I may not again have occasion to introduce somelancholy a subject, I shall add the little information I receivedrespecting it when I revisited the Cape in my return towards Europe. Areputable farmer of the name of Holhousen, who lives at Swellendam, eightdays journey from the Cape, had information from some Caffre Hottentotsthat at a kraal or village in their country there were white men andwomen. On this intelligence Mr. Holhousen asked permission of thegovernor to make an expedition with some of the farmers into the country, requiring a thousand rix-dollars to bear his expenses. The governorreferred him to Mr. Wocke, the Landros of Graaf Rienet, a new colony inhis way. But from the place where Mr. Holhousen lives to the Landros, Mr. Wocke's residence, is a month's journey, which he did not choose toundertake at an uncertainty, as Mr. Wocke might have disapproved of theenterprise. It was in October last that Mr. Holhousen offered to go onthis service. He was one of the party who went along the sea-coast insearch of these unfortunate people when a few of them first made theirappearance at the Cape. I am however informed that the Dutch farmers arefond of making expeditions into the country, that they may haveopportunities of taking away cattle; and this I apprehend to be one ofthe chief reasons why undertakings of this kind are not encouraged. On the 13th of June the Dublin East Indiaman arrived from England, onboard of which ship was a party of the 77th regiment under the command ofcolonel Balfour. The result of my lunar observations gave for the longitude of Simon's Bay18 degrees 48 minutes 34 seconds east; the latitude 34 degrees 11 minutes34 seconds south. The timekeeper likewise made the longitude 18 degrees47 minutes east. The longitude as established by former observations is18 degrees 33 minutes east. The variation of the compass on shore was 24degrees 4 minutes west; but on board of the ship it was only 22 degrees28 minutes west. The time of high-water was three-quarters past two onthe full and change and it then flowed six feet. With respect to the Cape Promontory it lies about three miles east of themeridian of Simon's Town. All the tables of latitude and longitude placethe Cape in 34 degrees 29 minutes south latitude; but from manyobservations off it with good instruments I make it to lie in 34 degrees23 minutes south, which agrees with its situation as laid down in majorRennel's map. The part which I call the Cape is the southernmost point ofthe land between Table Bay and False Bay; but the Dutch consider thewesternmost part of the coast to be the Cape. Sunday 29. On the 29th, being ready for sea, I took the timekeeper and instrumentson board. The error of the timekeeper was 3 33 seconds, 2 too slow forthe mean time at Greenwich, and its rate of going 3 seconds per day, losing. The thermometer during our stay here was from 51 to 66 degrees. July. Tuesday 1. We had been thirty-eight days at this place, and my people had receivedall the advantage that could be derived from the refreshments of everykind that are here to be met with. We sailed at four o'clock thisafternoon, and saluted the platform with thirteen guns as we ran out ofthe bay, which were returned. CHAPTER 4. Passage towards Van Diemen's Land. Make the Island of St. Paul. Arrival in Adventure Bay. Natives seen. Sail from Van Diemen's Land. 1788. July. We lost sight of the land the day after leaving False Bay and steeredtowards the east-south-east, having variable winds the first week withmuch thunder, lightning and rain. The remainder of this passage the windswere mostly between the south and west blowing strong. There were almostevery day great numbers of pintada, albatrosses, blue petrels, and otheroceanic birds about us; but it was observed that if the wind came fromthe northward, only for a few hours, the birds generally left us, andtheir presence again was the forerunner of a southerly wind. Sunday 13. The variation of the compass was 30 degrees 34 minutes west which was thegreatest variation we found in this track. Our latitude 36 degrees 28minutes south and longitude 39 degrees 0 minutes east. Sunday 20. The latitude at noon was 40 degrees 30 minutes south and longitude 60degrees 7 minutes east. We were at this time scudding under the fore-sailand close-reefed main-top-sail, the wind blowing strong from the west. Anhour after noon the gale increased and blew with so much violence thatthe ship was almost driven forecastle under before we could get the sailsclewed up. As soon as the sails were taken in we brought the ship to thewind, lowered the lower yards, and got the top-gallant-masts upon deck, which eased the ship very much. Monday 21. We remained lying to till eight the next morning when we bore away undera reefed fore-sail. In the afternoon the sea ran so high that it becamevery unsafe to stand on: we therefore brought to the wind again, andremained lying to all night without accident excepting that the man atthe steerage was thrown over the wheel and much bruised. Tuesday 22. Towards noon the violence of the storm abated and we again bore awayunder the reefed fore-sail. Our latitude at noon 38 degrees 49 minutessouth: in the afternoon saw some whales. We continued running to the eastward in this parallel, it being myintention to make the island St. Paul. Monday 28. On Monday the 28th at six in the morning we saw the island bearing eastby north 12 leagues distant: between 10 and 11 o'clock we ran along thesouth side at about a league distant from the shore. There was a verdurethat covered the higher parts of the land, but I believe it was nothingmore than moss which is commonly found on the tops of most rocky islandsin these latitudes. We saw several whales near the shore. The extent ofthis island is five miles from east to west; and about two or three fromnorth to south. As we passed the east end we saw a remarkable highsugarloaf rock, abreast of which I have been informed is good anchoragein 23 fathoms, the east point bearing south-west by south by truecompass. I had this information from the captain of a Dutch packet inwhich I returned to Europe. He likewise said there was good fresh wateron the island and a hot spring which boiled fish in as great perfectionas on a fire. By his account the latitude which he observed in the roadis 38 degrees 39 minutes south; and from the anchoring place the islandof Amsterdam was in sight to the northward. We had fair weather all theforenoon, but just at noon a squall came on which was unfavourable forour observation. I had however two sets of double altitudes and a goodaltitude exactly at noon according to the timekeeper. The result of thesegave for the latitude of the centre of St. Paul 38 degrees 47 minutessouth. The longitude I make 77 degrees 39 minutes east. The variation ofthe compass, taking the mean of what it was observed to be the day beforewe saw the island and the day after, is 19 degrees 30 minutes west. At noon we were three leagues past the island. We kept on towards theeast-south-east, and for several days continued to see rock-weed, whichis remarked to be generally the case after ships pass St. Paul's; but tothe westward of it very seldom any is seen. August. Wednesday 13. In latitude 44 degrees 16 minutes south, longitude 122 degrees 7 minuteseast, I observed the variation of the compass to be 6 degrees 23 minuteswest. I had no opportunity to observe it again till in the latitude of 43degrees 56 minutes south, longitude 133 degrees 16 minutes east, when itwas 1 degree 38 minutes east; so that we had passed the line of novariation. In 1780, on board the Resolution in latitude 44 degrees 23minutes south, longitude 131 degrees 28 minutes east, the variation wasobserved 6 degrees 0 minutes west, which is a remarkable difference. Wehad much bad weather with snow and hail, and in our approach to VanDiemen's Land nothing was seen to indicate the nearness of the coast, except a seal, when we were within the distance of 20 leagues. Tuesday 19. At ten o'clock this afternoon we saw the rock named the Mewstone, thatlies near the south-west cape of Van Diemen's Land, bearing north-eastabout six leagues. The wind blew strong from the north-west. As soon aswe had passed the Mewstone we were sheltered from a very heavy sea whichran from the westward. At eight o'clock at night we were abreast of thesouth cape when the wind became light and variable. Saw several firesinland. The Mewstone is a high bold rock that lies five leagues to the south-eastof the south-west cape and is the part that all ships bound this wayshould endeavour to make. Its latitude is 43 degrees 46 or 47 minutes. Several islands lie to the northward between that and the main, amongwhich, bearing north by west from the Mewstone, is a high rock muchresembling it; and north-north-east from the Mewstone, on the mainland, is a remarkable high mountain, which in this direction appears notchedlike a cock's comb; but as viewed from the eastward seems round. Wednesday 20. All the 20th we were endeavouring to get into Adventure Bay but wereprevented by variable winds. The next morning at five o'clock we anchoredin the outer part, and at sunrise weighed again: at noon we anchored wellin the bay and moored the ship, Penguin Island bearing north 57 1/2degrees east, about two miles distant; Cape Frederic Henry north 23degrees east; and the mouth of the Lagoon south 16 degrees east. In our passage from the Cape of Good Hope the winds were mostly from thewestward with very boisterous weather: but one great advantage that thisseason of the year has over the summer months is in being free from fogs. I have already remarked that the approach of strong southerly winds isannounced by many kinds of birds of the albatross or petrel tribe, andthe abatement of the gale, or a shift of wind to the northward, by theirkeeping away. The thermometer also very quickly shows when a change ofthese winds may be expected by varying sometimes six and seven degrees inits height. I have reason to believe that, after we passed the island St. Paul, there was a westerly current; the ship being every day to thewestward of the reckoning, which in the whole, from St. Paul to VanDiemen's land, made a difference of four degrees between the longitude bythe reckoning and the true longitude. Thursday 21. The ship being moored I went in a boat to look out for the mostconvenient place to wood and water at, which I found to be at the westend of the beach: for the surf, though considerable, was less there thanat any other part of the bay. The water was in a gully about sixty yardsfrom the beach; it was perfectly good but, being only a collection fromthe rains, the place is always dry in the summer months; for we found nowater in it when I was here with Captain Cook in January 1777. We hadvery little success in hauling the seine; about twenty small flounders, and flat-headed fish called foxes were all that were taken. I found no signs of the natives having lately frequented this bay or ofany European vessels having been here since the Resolution and Discoveryin 1777. From some of the old trunks of trees then cut down I saw shootsabout twenty-five feet high and fourteen inches in circumference. In the evening I returned on board. Friday 22. The next morning, the 22nd, at daylight, a party was sent on shore forwooding and watering under the command of Mr. Christian and the gunner;and I directed that one man should be constantly employed in washing thepeople's clothes. There was so much surf that the wood was obliged to berafted off in bundles to the boat. Mr. Nelson informed me that in hiswalks today he saw a tree in a very healthy state which he measured andfound to be thirty-three feet and a half in girt; its height wasproportioned to its bulk. Saturday 23. The surf was rather greater than yesterday which very much interruptedour wooding and watering. Nelson today picked up a male opossum that hadbeen recently killed, or had died, for we could not perceive any woundunless it had received a blow on the back where there was a bare placeabout the size of a shilling. It measured fourteen inches from the earsto the beginning of the tail which was exactly the same length. Most of the forest trees were at this time shedding their bark. There arethree kinds, which are distinguished from each other by their leaves, though the wood appears to be the same. Many of them are full one hundredand fifty feet high; but most of those that we cut down were decayed atthe heart. There are, besides the forest trees, several other kinds thatare firm good wood and may be cut for most purposes except masts; neitherare the forest trees good for masts, on account of their weight, and thedifficulty of finding them thoroughly sound. Mr. Nelson asserted thatthey shed their bark every year, and that they increase more from theseed than by suckers. I found the tide made a difference of full two feet in the height of thewater in the lake at the back of the beach. At high water it was verybrackish, but at low tide it was perfectly fresh to the taste, and soapshowed no sign of its being the least impregnated. We had better successin fishing on board the ship than by hauling the seine on shore; for withhooks and lines a number of fine rock-cod were caught. I saw todayseveral eagles, some beautiful blue-plumaged herons, and a great varietyof parakeets. A few oyster-catchers and gulls were generally about thebeach, and in the lake a few wild ducks. Monday 25. Being in want of plank I directed a saw-pit to be dug and employed someof the people to saw trees into plank. The greater part of this week thewinds were moderate with unsettled weather. Friday 29. On Friday it blew strong from the south-west with rain, thunder, andlightning. We continued to catch fish in sufficient quantities foreverybody and had better success with the seine. We were fortunate alsoin angling in the lake where we caught some very fine tench. Some of thepeople felt a sickness from eating mussels that were gathered from therocks; but I believe it was occasioned by eating too many. We found somespider-crabs, most of them not good, being the female sort and out ofseason. The males were tolerably good and were known by the smallness oftheir two fore-claws or feeders. We saw the trunk of a dead tree on whichhad been cut A. D. 1773. The figures were very distinct; even the slipsmade with the knife were discernible. This must have been done by some ofcaptain Furneaux's people in March 1773, fifteen years before. The marksof the knife remaining so unaltered, I imagine the tree must have beendead when it was cut; but it serves to show the durability of the woodfor it was perfectly sound at this time. I shot two gannets: these birdswere of the same size as those in England; their colour is a beautifulwhite, with the wings and tail tipped with jet black and the top and backof the head of a very fine yellow. Their feet were black with four claws, on each of which was a yellow line the whole length of the foot. The billwas four inches long, without nostrils, and very taper and sharp-pointed. The east side of the bay being not so thick of wood as the other parts, and the soil being good, I fixed on it, at Nelson's recommendation, asthe most proper situation for planting some of the fruit-trees which Ihad brought from the Cape of Good Hope. A circumstance much againstanything succeeding here is that in the dry season the fires made by thenatives are apt to communicate to the dried grass and underwood, and tospread in such a manner as to endanger everything that cannot bear asevere scorching. We however chose what we thought the safest situations, and planted three fine young apple-trees, nine vines, six plantain-trees, a number of orange and lemon-seed, cherry-stones, plum, peach, andapricot-stones, pumpkins, also two sorts of Indian corn, and apple andpear kernels. The ground is well adapted for the trees, being of a richloamy nature. The spot where we made our plantation was clear ofunderwood; and we marked the trees that stood nearest to the differentthings which were planted. Nelson followed the circuit of the bay, planting in such places as appeared most eligible. I have great hopesthat some of these articles will succeed. The particular situations I haddescribed in my survey of this place, but I was unfortunately preventedfrom bringing it home. Near the watering place likewise we planted on aflat, which appeared a favourable situation, some onions, cabbage-roots, and potatoes. For some days past a number of whales were seen in the bay. They were ofthe same kind as those we had generally met with before, having twoblow-holes on the back of the head. September. Monday 1. On the night of the 1st of September we observed for the first time signsof the natives being in the neighbourhood. Fires were seen on the lowland near Cape Frederick Henry, and at daylight we saw the natives withour glasses. As I expected they would come round to us I remained all theforenoon near the wooding and watering parties, making observations, themorning being very favourable for that purpose. I was howeverdisappointed in my conjecture for the natives did not appear, and therewas too great a surf for a boat to land on the part where we had seenthem. Tuesday 2. The natives not coming near us, I determined to go after them, and we setout in a boat towards Cape Frederick Henry, where we arrived about eleveno'clock. I found landing impracticable and therefore came to a grapnel, in hopes of their coming to us, for we had passed several fires. Afterwaiting near an hour I was surprised to see Nelson's assistant come outof the wood: he had wandered thus far in search of plants and told methat he had met with some of the natives. Soon after we heard theirvoices like the cackling of geese, and twenty persons came out of thewood, twelve of whom went round to some rocks where the boat could getnearer to the shore than we then were. Those who remained behind werewomen. We approached within twenty yards of them, but there was no possibilityof landing and I could only throw to the shore, tied up in paper, thepresents which I intended for them. I showed the different articles as Itied them up, but they would not untie the paper till I made anappearance of leaving them. They then opened the parcels and, as theytook the articles out, placed them on their heads. On seeing this Ireturned towards them when they instantly put everything out of theirhands and would not appear to take notice of anything that we had giventhem. After throwing a few more beads and nails on shore I made signs forthem to go to the ship, and they likewise made signs for me to land, butas this could not be effected I left them, in hopes of a nearer interviewat the watering-place. When they first came in sight they made a prodigious clattering in theirspeech and held their arms over their heads. They spoke so quick that Icould not catch one single word they uttered. We recollected one man whomwe had formerly seen among the party of the natives that came to us in1777, and who is particularised in the account of Captain Cook's lastvoyage for his humour and deformity. Some of them had a small stick, twoor three feet long, in their hands, but no other weapon. Their colour, as Captain Cook remarks, is a dull black: their skin isscarified about their shoulders and breast. They were of a middlestature, or rather below it. One of them was distinguished by his bodybeing coloured with red ochre, but all the others were painted black witha kind of soot which was laid on so thick over their faces and shouldersthat it is difficult to say what they were like. They ran very nimbly over the rocks, had a very quick sight, and caughtthe small beads and nails which I threw to them with great dexterity. They talked to us sitting on their heels with their knees close intotheir armpits and were perfectly naked. In my return towards the ship I landed at the point of the harbour nearPenguin Island, and from the hills saw the water on the other side of thelow isthmus of Cape Frederick Henry, which forms the bay of that name. Itis very extensive and in, or near, the middle of the bay there is a lowisland. From this spot it has the appearance of being a very good andconvenient harbour. The account which I had from Brown, the botanist's assistant, was that inhis search for plants he had met an old man, a young woman, and two orthree children. The old man at first appeared alarmed, but becamefamiliar on being presented with a knife. He nevertheless sent away theyoung woman who went very reluctantly. He saw some miserable wigwams, inwhich were nothing but a few kangaroo skins spread on the ground, and abasket made of rushes. Among the wood that we cut here we found many scorpions and centipedes, with numerous black ants that were an inch long. We saw no mosquitoes, though in the summer months they are very troublesome. What is called the New Zealand tea plant grew here in great abundance; sothat it was not only gathered and dried to use as tea but made excellentbrooms. It bears a small pointed leaf of a pleasant smell, and its seedis contained in a berry, about the size of a pea, notched into five equalparts on the top. The soil on the west and south sides of the bay isblack mould with a mixture of fine white sand and is very rich. The treesare lofty and large, and the underwood grows so close together that inmany places it is impassable. The east side of the bay is a rich loamysoil; but near the tops of the hills is very much encumbered with stonesand rocks: the underwood thinly placed and small. The trees on the south, south-east, and south-west sides of the hills grow to a larger size thanthose that are exposed to the opposite points; for the sides of the treesopen or exposed to the north winds are naked with few branches; while theother sides are in a flourishing state. From this I do not infer that theequatorial are more hurtful than the polar winds; but that the trees bytheir situation were more sheltered from the one for from the other. Wednesday 3. A calm prevented our sailing today. The friendly interview which we hadhad with the natives made me expect that they would have paid us a visit;but we saw nothing more of them except fires in the night upon the lowland to the northward. The result of the observations which I made here, reduced to PenguinIsland, place it in 43 degrees 21 minutes 11 seconds south latitude andin longitude 147 degrees 33 minutes 29 seconds east, which scarcelydiffers from the observations made in 1777. The variation of the compassobserved on shore was 8 degrees 38 minutes east; and on board the ship 8degrees 29 minutes east. It was high-water at the change of the moon at49 minutes past six in the morning. The rise was two feet eight inches. Southerly winds, if of any continuance, make a considerable difference inthe height of the tides. Thursday 4. This forenoon, having a pleasant breeze at north-west, we weighed anchorand sailed out of Adventure Bay. At noon the southernmost part of Maria'sIsles bore north 52 degrees east, about five leagues distant; PenguinIsland south 86 degrees west; and Cape Frederick Henry north 65 degreeswest. In this position we had soundings at 57 fathoms, a sandy bottom. Latitude observed 43 degrees 22 minutes south. The southern part of Maria's Islands lie in latitude 43 degrees 16minutes south. The country is not in general woody, but in some of theinterior parts there appeared great abundance. Among these islands I haveno doubt of there being many convenient places for shipping. On the eastside in latitude 42 degrees 42 minutes south and longitude 148 degrees 24minutes east in July, 1789, Captain Cox of the Mercury found a convenientand secure harbour from all winds which he named Oyster Bay. Here hefound wood, water, and fish in great abundance. It has two outlets andlies north, a little easterly, distant 34 miles from thesouth-easternmost island, or point, seen from Adventure Bay. Adventure Bay is a convenient and safe place for any number of ships totake in wood and water during the summer months: but in the winter, whenthe southerly winds are strong, the surf, on all parts of the shore, makes the landing exceedingly troublesome. The bay of Frederick Henry mayperhaps be found preferable, as it appears to be equally easy of access. The soundings in Adventure Bay are very regular: near the west shore aresome patches of weed but no shoal or danger, the depth on them being fromfive to nine fathoms. CHAPTER 5. Rocky Islands discovered. See the Island Maitea and arrive at Otaheite. Ship crowded by the Natives. 1788. September. Being clear of the land we steered towards the east-south-east, it beingmy intention to pass to the southward of New Zealand, as I expected inthat route to meet with constant westerly winds; in which however I wasdisappointed, for they proved variable and frequently from the eastwardblowing strong, with thick misty weather. The thermometer varied from 41to 46 degrees. Sunday 14. On the 14th at noon we were in 49 degrees 24 minutes south latitude andin 168 degrees 3 minutes east longitude, which is on the same meridianwith the south end of New Zealand. We altered our course, steering to thenorthward of east, and frequently saw rock-weed which I supposed to havedrifted from New Zealand. The sea now became rougher from our beingexposed to a long swell which came from the north-east. Friday 19. On the 19th at daylight we discovered a cluster of small rocky islandsbearing east by north four leagues distant from us. We had seen no birdsor anything to indicate the nearness of land except patches of rock-weed, for which the vicinity of New Zealand sufficiently accounted. The windbeing at north-east prevented our near approach to these isles; so thatwe were not less than three leagues distant in passing to the southwardof them. The weather was too thick to see distinctly: their extent wasonly 3 1/2 miles from east to west and about half a league from north tosouth: their number including the smaller ones was thirteen. I could notobserve any verdure on any of them: there were white spots like patchesof snow but, as Captain Cook, in describing the land of New Zealand, nearCape South, says, in many places there are patches like white marble, itis probable that what we saw might be of the same kind as what he hadobserved. The westernmost of these islands is the largest; they are ofsufficient height to be seen at the distance of seven leagues from aship's deck. When the easternmost bore north I tried for soundings, beingthen 10 miles distant from the nearest of them, and found bottom at 75fathoms, a fine white sand: and again at noon, having run six leaguesmore to the east-south-east, we had soundings at 104 fathoms, a finebrimstone-coloured sand. The latitude of these islands is 47 degrees 44minutes south; their longitude 179 degrees 7 minutes east, which is about145 leagues to the east of the Traps, near the south end of New Zealand. Variation of the compass here 17 degrees east. While in sight of theislands we saw some penguins, and a white kind of gull with a forkedtail. Captain Cook's track in 1773 was near this spot, but he did not seethe islands: he saw seals and penguins hereabouts, but considered NewZealand to be the nearest land. I have named them after the ship theBounty Isles. Sunday 21. This day we saw a seal, some rock-weed, and a great many albatrosses. Itried for soundings but found no bottom at 230 fathoms depth. Ourlatitude 47 degrees 32 minutes south, longitude 182 degrees 36 minuteseast. October. Thursday 2. Were in 40 degrees 27 minutes south latitude and 214 degrees 4 minuteseast longitude. It being calm, and a number of small blubbers about theship, I took up some in a bucket, but I saw no difference between themand the common blubbers in the West Indies. We frequently in thenight-time observed the sea to be covered with luminous spots caused byprodigious quantities of small blubbers that, from the strings whichextend from them, emit a light like the blaze of a candle, while the bodycontinues perfectly dark. Friday 3. The 3rd in the morning we saw a seal. Captain Cook has remarked seeingseaweed when nearly in the same place. Our latitude 40 degrees 21 minutessouth, longitude 215 degrees east. Variation of the compass 7 degrees 45minutes east. Being now well to the eastward of the Society Islands Isteered more to the northward. We continued to have the southern oceanic birds accompany us and a fewwhales. The people caught albatrosses and fattened them in the samemanner which they had done when off Cape Horn. Some of these measurednear eight feet between the tips of the wings when spread. Thursday 9. On Thursday the 9th we had the misfortune to lose one of our seamen, James Valentine, who died in the night of an asthmatic complaint. Thispoor man had been one of the most robust people on board until ourarrival at Adventure Bay, where he first complained of some slightindisposition for which he was bled, and got better. Some time afterwardsthe arm in which he had been bled became painful and inflamed: theinflammation increased, with a hollow cough, and extreme difficulty ofbreathing, to his death. Monday 13. The 13th in the afternoon we saw two land birds like what are calledsand-larks. Our latitude at this time was 28 degrees 3 minutes south andlongitude 223 degrees 26 minutes east. Tuesday 14. The next morning we saw a tropic bird and some fish. The winds were lightand variable with calms from this time to the 19th, when a breeze sprangup from the north-east, which gradually came round to the eastward andproved to be the tradewind. Our latitude on the 19th at noon was 24degrees 13 minutes south, longitude 222 degrees 17 minutes east. Variation of the compass 5 degrees 19 minutes east. Saturday 25. On the 25th at half-past seven in the morning we saw the Island Maitea, called Osnaburg by Captain Wallis, who first discovered it. At noon itbore south-west by west one-quarter west, six miles distant. Our latitude17 degrees 50 minutes south, longitude 212 degrees 24 minutes east. Variation five degrees east. As Captain Wallis and Captain Cook had bothpassed near the south side, I ran along the north side, which isremarkably steep. The island is high and round and not more than threemiles in its greatest extent. The south side, where the declivity fromthe hill is more gradual, is the chief place of residence of the natives;but the north side, from the very summit down to the sea, is so steepthat it can afford no support to the inhabitants. We steered pretty closein to the northward of the east end, where we saw but few habitations: avery neat house on a small eminence, delightfully situated in a grove ofcoconut-trees, particularly attracted our notice. About twenty of thenatives followed us along shore, waving and showing large pieces ofcloth; but the surf on the shore was too high to think of having anycommunication with them. I observed a great number of coconut-trees butdid not see one plantain-tree. There were other trees but of what kind wecould not distinguish: near the east end are two remarkable rocks, and areef runs off to the eastward about half a league. The latitude of Maitea is 17 degrees 53 minutes south; and by ourtimekeeper its longitude is 1 degree 24 minutes east from Point Venus. Variation of the compass 5 degrees 36 minutes east. We continued our course to the westward, and at six in the evening sawOtaheite bearing west three-quarters south; the island Maitea, then insight, bearing east half south, eight leagues distant. As there was greatprobability that we should remain a considerable time at Otaheite, itcould not be expected that the intercourse of my people with the nativesshould be of a very reserved nature: I therefore ordered that everyperson should be examined by the surgeon, and had the satisfaction tolearn from his report that they were all perfectly free from any venerealcomplaint. Sunday 26. On the 26th at four o'clock in the morning, having run twenty-fiveleagues from Maitea, we brought to till daylight, when we saw Point Venusbearing south-west by west, distant about four leagues. As we drew near agreat number of canoes came off to us. Their first enquiries were if wewere tyos, which signifies friends; and whether we came from Pretanie(their pronunciation of Britain) or from Lima: they were no soonersatisfied in this than they crowded on board in vast numbers, notwithstanding our endeavours to prevent it, as we were working the shipin; and in less than ten minutes the deck was so full that I could scarcefind my own people. At nine in the forenoon we were obliged to anchor inthe outer part of Matavai Bay, in thirteen fathoms, being prevented bylight variable winds from placing the ship in a proper berth. In thisstation the west part of One-tree hill bore south by east half east onemile distant. This passage of fifty-two days from Van Diemen's Land may be rated asmoderate sailing. We passed New Zealand with the spring equinox and thewinds, though strong, were at no time violent. To the southward of 40degrees 0 minutes south they were variable; between the latitudes of 40and 33 degrees south the wind kept in the north-west quarter; afterwardstill we got into the trade the winds were variable, mostly from theeastward, but light and inclinable to calms. The ship was 3 degrees 22minutes in longitude to the eastward of the dead reckoning, which thetimekeeper almost invariably proved to be owing to a current giving usmore easting than the log. Our track was as distant from any course offormer ships as I could conveniently make it and, though we made no newdiscoveries, except the small cluster of islands near New Zealand, yet inother parts of the track, as has been noticed, we met with signs of beingin the neighbourhood of land. It may not be unworthy of remark that the whole distance which the shiphad run by the log, in direct and contrary courses, from leaving Englandto our anchoring at Otaheite, was twenty-seven thousand and eighty-sixmiles which, on an average, is at the rate of a hundred and eight mileseach twenty-four hours. CHAPTER 6. Account of an English Ship lately sailed from Otaheite. Death of Omai. Captain Cook's Picture sent on board. Otoo visits the Ship. His Visit returned. Natives well disposed towards us. Account of the Cattle left by Captain Cook. Breadfruit plants promised. Visit to the Earee Rahie. Presents made to the Arreoys. 1788. October. Sunday 26. The ship being anchored, our number of visitors continued to increase;but as yet we saw no person that we could recollect to have been of muchconsequence. Some inferior chiefs made me presents of a few hogs and Imade them presents in return. We were supplied with coconuts in greatabundance but breadfruit was scarce. Many enquiries were made after Captain Cook, Sir Joseph Banks, and manyof their former friends. They said a ship had been here from which theyhad learnt that Captain Cook was dead; but the circumstances of his deaththey did not appear to be acquainted with; and I had given particulardirections to my officers and ship's company that they should not bementioned. The ship spoken of, they informed me, stayed at Otaheite onemonth and had been gone four months, by some of their accounts; accordingto others only three months. The captain they called Tonah. I understoodlikewise from them that Lieutenant Watts was in the ship who, having beenhere in the Resolution with Captain Cook, was well known to them. One ofmy first enquiries, as will naturally be imagined, was after our friendOmai; and it was a sensible mortification and disappointment to me tohear that not only Omai, but both the New Zealand boys who had been leftwith him, were dead. Everyone agreed in their information that they dieda natural death. Otoo, who was the chief of Matavai when Captain Cook washere the last time, was absent at another part of the island; they toldme messengers were sent to inform him of our arrival, and that he wasexpected to return soon. There appeared among the natives in generalgreat goodwill towards us, and they seemed to be much rejoiced at ourarrival. This whole day we experienced no instance of dishonesty. We wereso much crowded that I could not undertake to remove to a more properstation without danger of disobliging our visitors by desiring them toleave the ship: this business was therefore deferred till the nextmorning. Monday 27. Early in the morning, before the natives began to flock off to us, weweighed anchor to work farther into the bay, and moored at about aquarter of a mile distance from the shore; Point Venus bearing north 16degrees east; the west part of One-tree hill south-west by south; and thepoint of the reef north 37 degrees west; the ship lying in seven fathomswater. Several chiefs now came on board and expressed great pleasure at seeingme. Among these were Otow, the father of Otoo, and Oreepyah, his brother;also another chief of Matavai called Poeeno: and to these men I madepresents. Two messengers likewise arrived from Otoo to acquaint me of hisbeing on his way to the ship; each of whom brought me as a present fromOtoo a small pig and a young plantain-tree as a token of friendship. Theship was now plentifully supplied with provisions; every person having asmuch as he could consume. As soon as the ship was secured I went on shore with the chief Poeeno, and accompanied by a multitude of the natives. He conducted me to theplace where we had fixed our tents in 1777 and desired that I would nowappropriate the spot to the same use. We then went across the beach andthrough a walk delightfully shaded with breadfruit trees to his ownhouse. Here we found two women at work staining a piece of cloth red. These I found were his wife and her sister. They desired me to sit downon a mat which was spread for the purpose, and with great kindnessoffered me refreshments. I received the congratulations of severalstrangers who came to us and behaved with great decorum and attention. The people however thronged about the house in such numbers that I wasmuch incommoded by the heat, which being observed they immediately drewback. Among the crowd I saw a man who had lost his arm just above theelbow; the stump was well covered and the cure seemed as perfect as couldbe expected from the greatest professional skill. I made enquiries about the cattle that had been left here by CaptainCook, but the accounts I received were very unfavourable and so variousthat for the present I shall forebear speaking of them. After stayingabout an hour I got up to take leave, when the women in a very obligingmanner came to me with a mat and a piece of their finest cloth, whichthey put on me after the Otaheite fashion. When I was thus dressed theyeach of them took one of my hands, and accompanied me to the waterside, and at parting promised that they would soon return my visit. In this walk I had the satisfaction to see that the island had receivedsome benefit from our former visits. Two shaddocks were brought to me, afruit which they had not, till we introduced it. And among the articleswhich they brought off to the ship and offered for sale were capsicums, pumpkins, and two young goats. On my return to the ship I found that a small disturbance had beenoccasioned by one of the natives making an attempt to steal a tin pot;which, on being known to Oreepyah, he flew into a violent rage, and itwas with some difficulty that the thief escaped with his life. He droveall his countrymen out of the ship; and when he saw me he desired if atany time I found a thief that I would order him to be tied up andpunished with a severe flogging. This forenoon a man came on board with Captain Cook's picture which hadbeen drawn by Mr. Webber in 1777 and left with Otoo. It was brought to meto be repaired. The frame was broken but the picture no way damagedexcept a little in the background. They called it Toote (which has alwaysbeen their manner of pronouncing Captain Cook's name) Earee no Otaheite, chief of Otaheite. They said Toote had desired Otoo, whenever any Englishship came, to show the picture, and it would be acknowledged as a tokenof friendship. The youngest brother of Otoo, named Whydooah, visited methis afternoon: he appeared stupefied with drinking ava. At sunset allour male visitors left the ship. Tuesday 28. The next morning early I received a message from Otoo to inform me of hisarrival and requesting that I would send a boat for him; which Iimmediately did with an officer (Mr. Christian) to conduct him on board. He came with numerous attendants and expressed much satisfaction at ourmeeting. After introducing his wife to me we joined noses, the customarymanner of saluting, and to perpetuate our friendship he desired we shouldexchange names. I was surprised to find that instead of Otoo, the name bywhich he formerly went, he was now called Tinah. The name of Otoo, withthe title of Earee Rahie, I was informed had devolved to his eldest sonwho was yet a minor, as is the custom of the country. The name of Tinah'swife was Iddeah: with her was a woman dressed with a large quantity ofcloth in the form of a hoop, which was taken off and presented to me witha large hog and some breadfruit. I then took my visitors into the cabinand after a short time produced my presents in return. The present I madeto Tinah (by which name I shall hereafter call him) consisted ofhatchets, small adzes, files, gimblets, saws, looking-glasses, redfeathers, and two shirts. To Iddeah I gave earrings, necklaces, andbeads; but she expressed a desire also for iron, and therefore I made thesame assortment for her as I had for the husband. Much conversation tookplace among them on the value of the different articles and they appearedextremely satisfied, so that they determined to spend the day with me andrequested I would show them all over the ship, and particularly the cabinwhere I slept. This though I was not fond of doing I indulged them in;and the consequence was as I had apprehended that they took a fancy to somany things that they got from me nearly as much more as I had beforegiven them. Afterwards Tinah desired me to fire some of the great guns:this I likewise complied with and, as the shot fell into the sea at agreat distance, all the natives expressed their surprise by loud shoutsand acclamations. I had a large company at dinner; for besides Tinah and his wife there wasOtow, the father of Tinah, Oreepyah, and Whydooah, two of his brothers, Poeeno, and several other chiefs. Tinah is a very large man, much abovethe common stature, being not less than six feet four inches in heightand proportionably stout: his age about thirty-five. His wife (Iddeah) Ijudged to be about twenty-four years of age: she is likewise much abovethe common size of the women at Otaheite and has a very animated andintelligent countenance. Whydooah, the younger brother of Tinah, washighly spoken of as a warrior but had the character of being the greatestdrunkard in the country; and indeed to judge from the withered appearanceof his skin he must have used the pernicious drink called ava to greatexcess. Tinah was fed by one of his attendants who sat by him for thatpurpose, this being a particular custom among some of the superiorchiefs; and I must do him the justice to say he kept his attendantconstantly employed: there was indeed little reason to complain of wantof appetite in any of my guests. As the women are not allowed to eat inpresence of the men Iddeah dined with some of her companions about anhour afterwards in private, except that her husband Tinah favoured themwith his company and seemed to have entirely forgotten that he hadalready dined. Provisions were brought off to the ship in the greatest plenty and, toprevent as much as possible anything which might occasion disputes, Idesired Mr. Peckover, the gunner, to undertake the management of ourtraffic with the natives. Some of the hogs brought today weighed 200pounds and we purchased several for salting. Goats were likewise broughtoff for sale, and I bought a she-goat and kid for less than would havepurchased a small hog. Our friends here expressed much disappointmentthat there was no portrait-painter on board; Tinah in particular, whowished to have had pictures of his father and family. An intimacy between the natives and our people was already so generalthat there was scarce a man in the ship who had not his tyo or friend. Tinah continued with me the whole afternoon, in the course of which heate four times of roast pork besides his dinner. When he left the ship herequested I would keep for him all the presents I had given to him as hehad not at Matavai a place sufficiently safe to secure them from beingstolen; I therefore showed him a locker in my cabin for his use and gavehim a key to it. This is perhaps not so much a proof of his want of poweras of the estimation in which they hold European commodities and whichmakes more than the common means of security requisite to prevent theft. I had sent Nelson and his assistant to look for plants, and it was nosmall pleasure to me to find by their report that according toappearances the object of my mission would probably be accomplished withease. I had given directions to everyone on board not to make known tothe islanders the purpose of our coming lest it might enhance the valueof the breadfruit plants, or occasion other difficulties. Perhaps so muchcaution was not necessary but at all events I wished to reserve to myselfthe time and manner of communication. Nelson met with two fineshaddock-trees which he had planted in 1777: they were full of fruit butnot ripe. Wednesday 29. In the morning I returned Tinah's visit for I found he expected it. Hewas in a small shed about a quarter of a mile to the eastward of Matavaipoint with his wife and three children, not their own but who they saidwere relations. In my walk I had picked up a numerous attendance foreveryone I met followed me; so that I had collected such a crowd that theheat was scarce bearable, everyone endeavouring to get a look to satisfytheir curiosity: they however carefully avoided pressing against me, andwelcomed me with cheerful countenances and great good nature. I made Tinah understand that my visit was particularly to him, and gavehim a second present, equal to the first, which he received with greatpleasure; and to the people of consequence that were about him I alsopresented some article or other. There were great numbers of childrenand, as I took notice of the little ones that were in arms and gave thembeads, both small and great, but with much drollery and good humour, endeavoured to benefit by the occasion. Boys of ten and twelve years oldwere caught up in arms and brought to me, which created much laughter; sothat in a short time I got rid of all I had brought on shore. In my return I called on Poeeno, and an elderly chief, a relation of his, called Moannah, the principal men of this district and with whom I judgedit my interest to be on good terms. I gave them several valuable articlesand, as the situation here was eligible for a garden, I planted melon, cucumber, and salad-seeds. I told them many other things should be sownfor their use; and they appeared much pleased when they understood Iintended to plant such things as would grow to be trees and producefruit. I saw large patches of tobacco growing without culture and manypumpkin vines. The breadfruit trees and coconut trees at this time werefull of fruit. I went on board to dinner and Moannah accompanied me. In the afternoon Ireturned to Poeeno's with some additional seeds to improve the littlegarden I had begun to make in the forenoon. While I was giving directionsI received a message from Tinah inviting me to come to him at his brotherOreepyah's house, which was near the beach. At this place I found a greatnumber of people collected who, on my appearance, immediately made wayfor me to sit down by Tinah. The crowd being ordered to draw back, apiece of cloth about two yards wide and forty-one yards in length wasspread on the ground; and another piece of cloth was brought by Oreepyah, which he put over my shoulders and round my waist in the manner thechiefs are clothed. Two large hogs, weighing each above two hundredpounds, and a quantity of baked breadfruit and coconuts were then laidbefore me as a present, and I was desired to walk from one end of thecloth spread on the ground to the other, in the course of which Tyo andEhoah* were repeated with loud acclamations. This ceremony being endedTinah desired I would send the things on board, which completely loadedthe boat; we therefore waited till she came back and then I took them onboard with me; for I knew they expected some return. The present which Imade on this occasion was equal to any that I had made before; but Idiscovered that Tinah was not the sole proprietor of what he had given tome for the present I gave was divided among those who, I guessed, hadcontributed to support his dignity; among whom were Moannah, Poeenah, andOreepyah; Tinah however kept the greatest part of what I had given andeveryone seemed satisfied with the proportion he allotted them. (*Footnote. Tyo and Ehoah are words of the same signification, i. E. Friend. ) The Otaheite breed of hogs seems to be supplanted by the European. Originally they were of the China sort, short and very thick-necked; butthe superior size of the European have made them encourage our breed. Thursday 30. At break of day Tinah and his wife came again to the ship and, as theirattendants were numerous, I provided a breakfast for them of broiled androasted pork, which they preferred to tea. Our arrival being known allover the island, we had this day a great number of strangers on board whocame from the most remote parts, and in the forenoon some hooks andthimbles were cut out from the blocks. This induced me to order all thenatives out of the ship except the chiefs and their attendants. Inexecuting these orders a daring fellow attacked the sentinel but escapedamong the crowd. Everyone knew the consequence of offending the sentineland were exceedingly alarmed at the appearance of anger I thoughtnecessary to assume. Among those who visited us today were two chiefs of great consequence, Marremarre and his son Poohaitaiah Otee, Earees of the districts ofItteeah and Attahooroo. Otee was fed at dinner in the same manner asTinah. It was evident that the attention which I showed to these chiefsseemed to give uneasiness to Tinah. At sunset my visitors took leave andwere carried on shore by one of the ship's boats, which has always beenregarded as a mark of distinction, and on that account preferred by themto going in their own canoes. At their request a race was rowed betweenour five-oared cutter and one of their double canoes with four paddles. Great exertions were used on both sides but the cutter first reached theshore. In their return to the ship Oreepyah stopped them till a largepiece of cloth that he had sent for was brought; which he tied to theboat-hook and desired should be carried off as a trophy of their victory. Friday 31. The next morning at sunrise Moannah came on board with a message fromTinah to acquaint me that he was mattow (afraid to see me) till he hadrecovered some things that had been stolen from the ship and which he hadsent after. I knew there was something wrong, as no canoes came off to usand, on looking about, we found the buoy of the best bower anchor hadbeen taken away, I imagine for the sake of some iron hoops that were onit. That this might not create any coolness I sent a boat to Tinah toinvite him and his friends to come on board; which they immediately didand were no longer under any apprehensions. I had made an appointmentwith Oreepyah for him to go with me to Oparre this morning; but theaccident just mentioned caused him to break his engagement, he havinggone, I was informed, in search of what had been stolen. Oparre is the district next to the westward of Matavai. One of my reasonsfor going to Oparre was to see if Nelson would be able to procure plantsthere; but I gave the credit of my visit to young Otoo, the son of Tinah, who was the Earee Rahie, and lived with the rest of Tinah's children atOparre. I prepared a magnificent present for this youth, who wasrepresented to me as the person of the greatest consequence, or rather ofthe highest rank, in the island. At noon I left the ship, accompanied byTinah, his wife Iddeah, and Poeeno. Moannah was to have been of the partybut he insisted on remaining in the ship to prevent his countrymen fromattempting to steal anything. After half an hour's sailing we arrived at Oparre. During this time Tinahgave me a more circumstantial account of the cattle and sheep that hadbeen left with him: he related that, after five years from the time ofCaptain Cook's departure (counting 63 moons) the people of the IslandEimeo joined with those of Attahooroo, a district of Otaheite, and made adescent on Oparre: that after some resistance by which many men werekilled Tinah and his people fled to the mountains, leaving all theirproperty to the mercy of the victorious party who destroyed almosteverything which they found not convenient to take away with them. Someof the cattle were killed and eaten but the greater part were taken toEimeo. The cows he said had produced eight calves and the ewes ten youngones. The ducks, among which they classed the geese, had greatlyincreased; but the turkeys and peacocks, whatever was the cause, had notbred. It seemed to give Tinah great pleasure to observe how much I wasconcerned for the destruction of so many useful animals; but the cause ofhis satisfaction, I found, did not proceed from any expectation that Ishould replace them, but from the belief that I would take vengeance onthe people who had deprived him of them; for with respect to the loss ofthe cattle he appeared so unconcerned and indifferent that I was veryangry with him. There is however sufficient excuse for his resentmentagainst the people of Eimeo; for the large extensive houses which we hadseen in this part of Otaheite in the year 1777 were all destroyed, and atpresent they had no other habitations than light sheds which might betaken by the four corners and removed by four men: and of the many largecanoes which they then had not more than three remained. Tinah, understanding from my conversation that I intended visiting some of theother islands in this neighbourhood, very earnestly desired I would notthink of leaving Matavai. "Here, " said he, "you shall be suppliedplentifully with everything you want. All here are your friends andfriends of King George: if you go to the other islands you will haveeverything stolen from you. " I replied that, on account of their goodwilland from a desire to serve him and his country, King George had sent outthose valuable presents to him; "and will not you, Tinah, send somethingto King George in return?" "Yes, " he said, "I will send him anything Ihave;" and then began to enumerate the different articles in his power, among which he mentioned the breadfruit. This was the exact point towhich I wished to bring the conversation and, seizing an opportunitywhich had every appearance of being undesigned and accidental, I told himthe breadfruit trees were what King George would like; upon which hepromised me a great many should be put on board, and seemed muchdelighted to find it so easily in his power to send anything that wouldbe well received by King George. On landing at Oparre an immense crowd of natives as usual immediatelythronged about us. I enquired for Oreepyah, whom I expected to have metme here, but he was not yet returned from his search after the thieves;we therefore went under a shed of his to wait for him, and in about aquarter of an hour he joined us, bringing with him an iron scraper andone of the hoops of the buoy. I thanked him for the trouble which he hadtaken, and assured him that I was perfectly satisfied, for he stillseemed apprehensive of my displeasure. We took leave for a short time of Oreepyah and I proceeded with Tinah tomake my visit to the young Otoo, the Earee Rahie. When we had walkedabout five minutes Tinah stopped and informed me that no person could bepermitted to see his son, who was covered above the shoulders. He thentook off his upper garments and requested I would do the same. I repliedthat I had no objection to go as I would to my own king, who was thegreatest in all the world and, pulling off my hat, he threw a piece ofcloth round my shoulders and we went on. About a quarter of a milefarther towards the hills, through a delightful shade of breadfruittrees, we stopped at the side of a small serpentine river: here I was inview of a house on the other side at about fifty yards distance. Fromthis house the young king was brought out on a man's shoulders, clothedin a piece of fine white cloth, and I was desired by Tinah to salute himby the name of Too Earee Rahie. The present which I had prepared wasdivided into three parts, and two other children made their appearance inthe same manner. The first present I gave to a messenger who attended forthat purpose; and I was instructed by Tinah to say that it was for theEaree Rahie; that I was his friend; that I hated thieves; and that I camefrom Britannia. The second present was sent in the same manner, with asimilar message, to one of the other children and likewise the third. As I could not see the Earee Rahie distinctly I desired to be permittedto go over the river to him; but this, it seems, could not be compliedwith: therefore after seeing the presents delivered I returned with Tinahtowards Oreepyah's house. I was informed that Tinah had four children byhis wife Iddeah. Otoo, or Too, the Earee Rahie, appeared to be about sixyears old: the second is a girl named Terrenah Oroah: the third a boy, Terreetappanooai; and a fourth, an infant girl, whom I did not see, namedTahamydooah. When we came to the place where we had first stopped Tinah took the clothfrom my shoulders and desired me to put my hat on; I expressed a desireto see more of the place and he took me back by a different way. Onpassing a trunk of a tree, rudely carved, I was desired again to pull myhat off, and all uncovered their shoulders. This I discovered to benothing more than the boundary of the king's land; on which whoever settheir feet uncovered themselves out of respect. We stopped at a house belonging to Tinah where I was treated with aconcert of one drum and three flutes with singing by four men. I madesome presents to the performers and we removed to Oreepyah's house where, after paying my compliments to him, which I found was expected, Tinahmade me a present of a large hog and some coconuts. He then introduced anuncle of his called Mowworoah, a very old man much tattooed and almostblind. To this chief I made a present and soon after I embarked withTinah, Oreepyah, their wives, and Poeeno. A vast number of people werecollected on the beach to see us depart and as soon as the boat had putoff Tinah desired me to fire my pocket pistol, the poopooe ete ete, as hecalled it: the report seemed to electrify the whole crowd but, finding noharm done, they gave great shouts of approbation. Nelson, who accompanied me in this expedition, had but little opportunityto search after plants, the natives having crowded so much about him: hesaw enough however to assure him that they were to be procured here asplentifully as at Matavai. In our passage to the ship, which we rowed in one hour, nothing butBritannie was enquired after and of the number of ships and guns. When Itold them we had ships of 100 guns they could not believe it till I drewone on paper: they then asked me if it was not as big as Tarrah, which isa high projecting headland halfway between Matavai and Oparre, called byus One-tree Hill. Tinah much wished that one of these large ships shouldbe sent to Otaheite and that myself should come in her, and bring him anumber of things that he wanted; among which he particularly desired bedsand high-backed elbow chairs might not be forgotten: a request perfectlyaccording with the indolent character of Tinah. November. Saturday 1. As we had occasion to fix a tent on Point Venus this morning we moved theship nearer to it and moored again in six fathoms, the point bearingnorth-north-east. Tinah and several other chiefs dined on board with me. After dinner Iwent on shore with Tinah and made a visit to his father Otow. I likewisewent to the garden which I had made near Poeeno's house and foundeverything had been taken care of. After this I was invited to anentertainment called Heiva, which Tinah had ordered and which consistedof singing and dancing by three men and a young girl. When thisperformance was finished I returned to the ship. Sunday 2. At daylight I sent Mr. Christian with a party to erect our tent and soonafter followed myself with Tinah, Moannah, and Poeeno. With their consentI fixed a boundary, within which the natives were not to enter withoutleave and the chiefs cautioned them against it. The principal use of the tents on shore was for a lodgment for theplants; and I had now, instead of appearing to receive a favour, broughtthe chiefs to believe that I was doing them a kindness in carrying theplants as a present from them to the Earee Rahie no Britanee. The partyat the tent consisted of nine persons, including Nelson and hisassistant. Tinah dined with me on board and was today my only visitor: neverthelessthe ceremony of being fed he so scrupulously observed that, even afterall the attendants were sent away and we were left by ourselves, I wasobliged to lift the wine to his mouth. The wives of the Earees aresometimes subject to this restriction after the birth of a child but arereleased after a certain time on performing a ceremony called Oammo. After dinner Tinah invited me to accompany him with a present ofprovisions to a party of the Arreoys, a society described in the accountsof the former voyages: in this ceremony he made me the principal person. Our way to the place where the offering was to be made was by the side ofa river along the banks of which I had always walked before this time;but on the present occasion a canoe was provided for me and dragged byeight men. On arriving at the landing-place I saw a large quantity ofbreadfruit with some hogs ready dressed and a quantity of cloth. At aboutforty yards distant sat a man who, I was informed, was a principalArreoy. A lane being made by the crowd he was addressed by one of Tinah'speople, standing on the canoe, in a speech composed of short sentenceswhich lasted about a quarter of an hour. During this a piece of cloth wasproduced, one end of which I was desired to hold, and five men, one witha sucking pig and the others having each a basket of breadfruit, preparedto follow me. In this order we advanced to the Arreoy and laid the wholedown before him. I then spoke several sentences dictated to me by Tinah, the meaning of which I did not understand and, my pronunciation not beingvery exact, caused a great deal of mirth. This speech being finished Iwas shown another Arreoy, who had come from Ulietea, and to him likewiseI was required to deliver an oration. Tinah understanding from me that Ihad children in my own country he desired me to make one more offering ontheir account. There still remained three baskets of breadfruit, a smallpig, and another piece of cloth: with these, assisted as before, I madethe offering in favour of my children to the man whom I had firstaddressed. He made no reply to all my fine speeches but sat with greatgravity and received everything as a matter of right and not of courtesy. All that I could make out of this strange ceremony was that the Arreoysare highly respected and that the society is chiefly composed of mendistinguished by their valour or some other merit, and that great trustand confidence is reposed in them; but I could not comprehend what thishad to do with my children or why it should be imagined that an offeringmade on their account to a society of men who destroy all their childrenshould be propitious. I learnt from Tinah, in talking about his children, that his first-born child was killed as soon as it came into the world, he being then an Arreoy; but before his second child was born he quittedthe society. The Arreoys are allowed great latitude in their amoursexcept in times of danger. Then as they are almost all fighting men (tatatoa) they are restricted that they may not weaken or enervate themselves. These ceremonies being ended I returned to the ship. Such of the natives as I conversed with about the institution of soextraordinary a society as the Arreoy asserted that it was necessary toprevent an overpopulation. Worrow worrow no te mydidde, worrow worrow tetata. We have too many children and too many men was their constantexcuse. Yet it does not appear that they are apprehensive of too great anincrease of the lower class of people, none of them being ever admittedinto the Arreoy society. The most remarkable instance related to me ofthe barbarity of this institution was of Teppahoo, the Earee of thedistrict of Tettaha, and his wife, Tetteehowdeeah, who is sister to Otowand considered as a person of the first consequence. I was told that theyhave had eight children, every one of which was destroyed as soon asborn. That any human beings were ever so devoid of natural affection asnot to wish to preserve alive one of so many children is not credible. Itis more reasonable to conclude that the death of these infants was not anact of choice in the parents; but that they were sacrificed in compliancewith some barbarous superstition with which we are unacquainted. Whatstrengthens this conjecture is that they have adopted a nephew as theirheir, of whom they are excessively fond. In countries so limited as the islands in the South Seas, the natives ofwhich, before they were discovered by European navigators, probably hadnot an idea of the existence of other lands, it is not unnatural that anincreasing population should occasion apprehensions of universaldistress. Orders of celibacy which have proved so prejudicial in othercountries might perhaps in this have been beneficial; so far at least asto have answered their purpose by means not criminal. The number ofinhabitants at Otaheite have been estimated at above one hundredthousand. The island however is not cultivated to the greatest advantage:yet were they continually to improve in husbandry their improvement couldnot for a length of time keep pace with an unlimited population. An idea here presents itself which, however fanciful it may appear atfirst sight, seems to merit some attention: While we see among theseislands so great a waste of the human species that numbers are born onlyto die, and at the same time a large continent so near to them as NewHolland, in which there is so great a waste of land uncultivated andalmost destitute of inhabitants, it naturally occurs how greatly the twocountries might be made to benefit each other, and gives occasion toregret that the islanders are not instructed in the means of emigratingto New Holland, which seems as if designed by nature to serve as anasylum for the superflux of inhabitants in the islands. Such a plan ofemigration, if rendered practicable to them, might not only be the meansof abolishing the horrid custom of destroying children as it would removethe plea of necessity but might lead to other important purposes. A greatcontinent would be converted from a desert to a populous country; anumber of our fellow-creatures would be saved; the inhabitants of theislands would become more civilised; and it is not improbable but thatour colonies in New Holland would derive so much benefit as to more thanrepay any trouble of expense that might be incurred in endeavouring topromote so humane a plan. The latter however is a remote consideration for the intertropical partsof New Holland are those most suited to the habits and manner of livingof the islanders; and likewise the soil and climate are the best adaptedto their modes of agriculture. Man placed by his Creator in the warmclimates perhaps would never emigrate into the colder unless under thetyrannous influence of necessity; and ages might elapse before the newinhabitants would spread to our settlers though they are but barelywithin the limits of frost, that great cause of nine-tenths of thenecessities of Europeans. Nevertheless besides forwarding the purposes ofhumanity and general convenience in bringing a people without land to aland without people the benefit of a mutual intercourse with aneighbouring and friendly colony would in itself be no inconsiderableadvantage. Among people so free from ostentation as the Otaheiteans, and whosemanners are so simple and natural, the strictness with which thepunctilios of rank are observed is surprising. I know not if any action, however meritorious, can elevate a man above the class in which he wasborn unless he were to acquire sufficient power to confer dignity onhimself. If any woman of the inferior classes has a child by an Earee itis not suffered to live. Perhaps the offspring of Teppahoo andTetteehowdeeah were destined to satisfy some cruel adjustment of rank andprecedency. CHAPTER 7. A theft committed. Deception of the painted Head. Conversation with a Priest. A Wrestling Match. Reports of the Natives concerning other Islands. Some Account of Omai. 1788. November. Monday 3. The trade for provisions I directed to be carried on at the tent by Mr. Peckover the gunner. Moannah likewise resided there as a guard over hiscountrymen; but though it appeared to be the wish of all the chiefs thatwe should remain unmolested it was not possible entirely to prevent themfrom pilfering. My table at dinner was generally crowded. Tinah, Oreepyah, Poeeno, andMoannah, were my regular guests and I was seldom without some chiefs fromother districts. Almost every individual of any consequence has severalnames which makes it frequently perplexing when the same person is spokenof to know who is meant. Every chief has perhaps a dozen or more names inthe course of thirty years; so that the person who has been spoken of byone visitor will not perhaps be known to another unless othercircumstances lead to a discovery. The father of Tinah, at this timecalled Otow, was known in 1769 by the name of Whappai. I showed Tinah the preparations I was making to take on board thebreadfruit plants which pleased him exceedingly, but he did not forget toremind me that when the next ship came out he hoped King George wouldsend him large axes, files, saws, cloth of all kinds, hats, chairs, andbedsteads, with arms, ammunition, and in short everything he could thinkof mentioning. This afternoon the gudgeon of the rudder belonging to the large cutterwas drawn out and stolen without being perceived by the man that wasstationed to take care of her. Several petty thefts having been committedby the natives, mostly owing to the negligence of our own people and, asthese kind of accidents generally created alarm and had a tendency tointerrupt the good terms on which we were with the chiefs, I thought itwould have a good effect to punish the boat-keeper in their presence, many of them happening to be then on board; and accordingly I ordered hima dozen lashes. Tinah with several of the chiefs attended the punishmentand interceded very earnestly to get it mitigated: the women showed greatsympathy and that degree of feeling which characterises the amiable partof their sex. The natives brought off today two different kinds of roots that grow likeyams: one they call Ettee, which is a sweet root, common also to theFriendly Islands, and may be eaten as a sweetmeat: the other they callAppay, a root like the Tyah or Eddie in the West Indies. A fruit calledAyyah, which is the jambo of Batavia, was likewise brought off to us:they are as large as middle-sized apples, very juicy and refreshing, andmay be eaten in large quantities. Also some Avees, which are the realOtaheite apple; but they were not yet in season. These are a delicioushigh-flavoured fruit and before they are ripe answer the culinarypurposes of our apples. Tuesday 4. A chief called Tootaha, who came from the island Ulietea, was introducedto me today by Tinah as one of his particular friends. I was told that hewas a priest and a person of great knowledge. I desired Tinah to takewhat he thought proper as a present for him; and I must do Tinah thejustice to say he was more sparing than I should have been. I likewisereceived a visit today from Oedidee, the man who had been at sea withCaptain Cook in 1773 and 1774, as related in the account of that voyage. He still retained some of the English words which he had learnt in thatexpedition. Wednesday 5. The weather variable with lightning and frequent showers of rain. Windeast-north-east. This was the first day of our beginning to take up plants: we had muchpleasure in collecting them for the natives offered their assistance andperfectly understood the method of taking them up and pruning them. The crowd of natives was not so great as hitherto it had been: thecuriosity of strangers was satisfied and, as the weather began to beunsettled and rainy, they had almost all returned to their homes so thatonly the people of Matavai and Oparre remained with us, except a fewchiefs from other islands: our supplies however were abundant and what Iconsidered as no small addition to our comforts, we ceased to beincommoded when on shore by the natives following us, and could take ourwalks almost unnoticed. In any house that we wished to enter we alwaysexperienced a kind reception and without officiousness. The Otaheiteanshave the most perfect easiness of manners, equally free from forwardnessand formality. When they offer refreshments if they are not accepted theydo not think of offering them the second time; for they have not theleast idea of that ceremonious kind of refusal which expects a secondinvitation. In like manner at taking leave we were never troubled withsolicitations to prolong our visit, but went without ceremony exceptmaking use of a farewell expression at parting. Another advantage, seldomfound in warm countries, was, in this part of Otaheite being free frommosquitoes, though at particular times of the year the inhabitants arepestered with great numbers of flies. Moannah continued our constant friend at the tent and with Tinah and allhis friends dined with me every day. The ship's barber had brought with him from London a painted head such asthe hair-dressers have in their shops to show the different fashions ofdressing hair; and it being made with regular features and well-coloured, I desired him to dress it, which he did with much neatness, and with astick and a quantity of cloth he formed a body. It was then reported tothe natives that we had an Englishwoman on board and the quarter-deck wascleared of the crowd that she might make her appearance. Being handed upthe ladder and carried to the after-part of the deck there was a generalshout of "Huaheine no Brittane myty. " Huaheine signifies woman and mytygood. Many of them thought it was living and asked if it was my wife. Oneold woman ran with presents of cloth and breadfruit and laid them at herfeet; at last they found out the cheat; but continued all delighted withit, except the old lady who felt herself mortified and took back herpresents for which she was laughed at exceedingly. Tinah and all thechiefs enjoyed the joke and, after making many enquiries about theBritish women, they strictly enjoined me when I came again to bring aship full of them. Some very fine sugarcane was brought to me; each of the pieces was sixinches round. I had before told Tinah that our sugar was made of it andhe was very desirous to discover the means; for they were so fond of ourloaf sugar that a present to any chief would have been incomplete withouta piece of it. Another article in great estimation and likewise expectedto make part of a present was scissors, which they made use of to keeptheir beards in order. By this time Nelson had, with assistance from the ship, completed a largegarden near the tents in which were sown seeds of different kinds that wehad collected at the Cape of Good Hope. I likewise distributedfruit-stones and almonds for planting among the chiefs, who I hope willendeavour to make them succeed and, as they are very fond ofsweet-smelling flowers with which the women delight to ornamentthemselves, I gave them some rose-seed. Thursday 6. We had very variable weather, much rain, and some westerly winds; so thata considerable swell ran into the bay and a number of spotted white andblack porpoises made their appearance. I had the mortification to see that our garden-ground had been much trodover; and what was worse the chiefs appeared but little concerned at it. To this kind of carelessness and indifference I attribute the miscarriageof many of the plants left here by Captain Cook. I had now in aflourishing state two orange plants, some vines, a fig-tree, and twopineapple plants, which I gave to Poeeno whose residence is a placefavourable for their growth. We got on successfully with our plants, having a hundred potted at thetent and in a fair way of doing well. The cabin also was completed andready to receive them on board. I have before remarked that my friend Tinah was rather of a selfishdisposition and this afternoon he showed a stronger instance of it than Iwas witness to at any time before or after. His brother Oreepyah sent onboard to me a present of a large hog and a quantity of breadfruit: butthese kind of presents are much more expensive than purchasing at themarket. Soon after Oreepyah himself came on board. Tinah was with me atthe time and whispered me to tell Oreepyah not to bring any more hogs orfruit and to take those back which he had sent. This advice as may besupposed did not produce the effect intended. Oreepyah appears to be aman of great spirit, and is highly respected by his countrymen. Amongother visitors today was one of the men who had been to Lima in 1776. Saturday 8. Our plants had now increased to 252: as they were all kept on shore atthe tent I augmented the guard there, though from the general conduct ofthe natives there did not appear the least occasion for so much caution. While I was at dinner Tinah desired I would permit a man to come downinto the cabin whom he called his Taowah or priest; for I was obliged tokeep a sentinel at the hatchway to prevent being incommoded at my mealswith too much company; a restriction which pleased the chiefs who alwaysasked leave for any particular person to be admitted of whom they wishedme to take notice. The company of the priest brought on a religiousconversation. He said their great God was called Oro; and that they hadmany others of less consequence. He asked me if I had a God? if he had ason? and who was his wife? I told them he had a son but no wife. Who washis father and mother? was the next question. I said he never had fatheror mother; at this they laughed exceedingly. You have a God then whonever had a father or mother and has a child without a wife! Many otherquestions were asked which my little knowledge of the language did notenable me to answer. The weather was now fine again and a great number of people were comefrom other parts of the island. Tinah informed me that there was to be aheiva and a wrestling-match on shore, and that the performers waited forour attendance; we therefore set off with several of our friends and, about a quarter of a mile from the tents, we found a great concourse ofpeople formed into a ring. As soon as we were seated a dancing heivabegan, which was performed by two girls and four men: this lasted half anhour and consisted of wanton gestures and motions such as have beendescribed in the account of former voyages. When the dance ended Tinahordered a long piece of cloth to be brought; his wife Iddeah and myselfwere desired to hold the two first corners and, the remaining part beingsupported by many others, we carried it to the performers and gave itthem. Several other chiefs made a like present or payment. The performerswere strollers that travelled about the country as in Europe. After this the wrestling began and the place soon became a scene of riotand confusion. A party of the Arreoys also began to exercise a privilege, which it seems they are allowed, of taking from the women such of theirclothes as they thought worth it; so that some of them were left littlebetter than naked. One young woman who was attacked opposed them with allher strength and held fast her cloth, though they almost dragged heralong the ground. Observing that I took notice of her she held out herhand and begged my assistance; and at my request she escaped beingpillaged. Soon after a ring was again made but the wrestlers were so numerouswithin it that it was impossible to restore order. In the challenges theylay one hand upon their breast and, on the bending of the arm at theelbow, with the other hand they strike a very smart blow which, as thehand is kept hollow, creates a sound that may be heard at a considerabledistance; and this they do so frequently and with such force that theflesh becomes exceedingly bruised and, the skin breaking, bleedsconsiderably. At this time the sound from so many resembled that of anumber of people in a wood felling trees. This is the general challenge;but when any two combatants agree to a trial they present their handsforward, joining them only by the extremities of the fingers. They beginby watching to take an advantage; at length they close, seize each otherby the hair and are most commonly parted before either receives a fall. Only one couple performed anything like the part of good wrestlers; andas they were an equal match this conflict lasted longer than any of theothers; but they also were parted. Iddeah was the general umpire and she managed with so much address as toprevent any quarrelling, and there was no murmuring at her decisions. Asher person was large she was very conspicuous in the circle. Tinah tookno part in the management. Upon the whole this performance gave me abetter opinion of their strength than of their skill or dexterity. Tuesday 11. For some time past Tinah had talked of going to the island of Tethuroawhich lies eight or ten leagues north from Otaheite to fetch his mother;but I found I had only half understood him; for this morning he enquiredwhen we were to sail there in the ship: however he seemed to feel nogreat disappointment at my not complying with his wish. Tethuroa heinformed me is the property of his family. He likewise spoke to me aboutan island called Rooopow, the situation of which he described to be tothe eastward of Otaheite four or five days sail, and that there werelarge animals upon it with eight legs. The truth of this account he verystrenuously insisted upon and wished me to go thither with him. I was ata loss to know whether or not Tinah himself gave credit to this whimsicaland fabulous account; for though they have credulity sufficient tobelieve anything, however improbable, they are at the same time so muchaddicted to that species of wit which we call humbug that it isfrequently difficult to discover whether they are in jest or earnest. Their ideas of geography are very simple: they believe the world to be afixed plane of great extent; and that the sun, moon, and stars are all inmotion round it. I have been frequently asked by them if I have not beenas far as the sun and moon; for they think we are such great travellersthat scarce any undertaking is beyond our ability. Another island called Tappuhoi, situated likewise to the eastward, wasdescribed to me by Tinah, the inhabitants of which were said to be allwarriors, and that the people of Otaheite did not dare to go there. Hetold me that very lately a canoe from Tappuhoi was at the island Maitea;that as soon as they landed they began to fight with the people of Maiteawho killed them all except a young lad and a woman who have since been atOtaheite. I saw the boy but could get no information from him. It is mostprobable that this unfortunate visit of the canoe from Tappuhoi was notdesigned but occasioned by adverse winds which forced them so far fromtheir own island, and that the people of Maitea began the attack, takingadvantage of their superior numbers, on account of some former quarrel. Thursday 13. I had a large company to dine with me today. Some of my constant visitorshad observed that we always drank His Majesty's health as soon as thecloth was removed; but they were by this time become so fond of wine thatthey would frequently remind me of the health in the middle of dinner bycalling out King George Earee no Brittannee; and would banter me if theglass was not filled to the brim. Nothing could exceed the mirth andjollity of these people when they met on board. I was assured by Oediddee and several others that the vines planted atthe island Huaheine by Captain Cook had succeeded and bore fruit; andthat some of the other plants, both at Huaheine and at Oaitepeha, adistrict on the south-east part of Otaheite, had been preserved and werein a thriving state. I was likewise informed that there was a bull and acow alive at Otaheite but on different parts of the island, the former ata place called Itteah, the latter at the district of Tettaha. All therest were taken away or destroyed by the people of Eimeo. As Tettaha wasat no great distance I determined to go thither myself the firstopportunity, and make enquiries in hopes that the breed might still bepreserved. I had much discourse with my guests about Omai: they confirmed to me thathe died about thirty months after Captain Cook left the islands. Soonafter Captain Cook's departure from Huaheine there were some disputesbetween the people of that island and those of Ulietea in which also thenatives of Bolabola took a part. Omai, who was become of consequence fromthe possessing three or four muskets and some ammunition, was consultedon the occasion. Such was his opinion and assurances of success that awar was determined on and took place immediately. Victory soon followedthrough the means of those few arms and many of the Ulietea and Bolabolamen were killed. In this contest their flints proved bad, or probably thelocks of the muskets had got out of order: this they remedied by alighted stick, one man presenting the musket and another with the burntstick setting fire to the priming; without which contrivance their armswould have proved useless. This expedition it seems consumed all theirammunition. Peace was soon after established, but I did not understandthat Omai had increased his possessions or his rank. Nevertheless I havereason to conclude that he was in some degree of favour with hiscountrymen from the general good character which they give of him. Itappears that he always remembered England with kindness; for his accountsto his countrymen have been such as to give them not only a great idea ofour power and consequence but of our friendship and goodwill towards him. Tyvarooah, the eldest of the New Zealand boys that were left with him, died a short time after Omai: about Coah, the youngest, I had alwaysdoubtful accounts till I came to Huaheine, where I learnt that helikewise was dead. CHAPTER 8. Expedition to Tettaba after a Heifer. Extraordinary domestic Arrangements. Tinah's Mother visits the Ship. A Sheep brought from Ulietea. Heavy Storm. Death of the Surgeon. Taowne and Toahroah Harbours examined. 1788. November. After dinner I went on shore and, while I was at the tents, from havingexposed myself too much in the sun, I was taken ill and continued in muchpain for near an hour. This was soon known among the natives and I wasexceedingly surprised to see Tinah and all the principal people, both menand women, collecting round me and offering their assistance. For thisshort illness I was made ample amends by the pleasure I received from theattention and appearance of affection in these kind people. Friday 14. This morning I had numberless enquiries after my health. The weatherbeing fine I invited Tinah, Oreepyah, and Poeeno, to accompany me toTettaha in order to enquire after the cow; and soon after sunrise we setoff in the launch. Tettaha is nearly four leagues from Point Venus. Onour arrival Tinah sent a man to give notice of our visit. The chief ofthe district, whose name was Teppahoo, did not appear, but sent amessenger to demand if I came only to see the cow or to take it away withme. In answer to this I sent assurances that I only desired to see it, and the chiefs who were with me spoke to the same effect. I was thendesired to proceed in the boat farther along shore to the westward. Inour way Tinah made me stop among some fishing canoes to purchase fish forhim, which he eat raw with salt water for sauce. When we arrived at thelanding-place a great number of people had collected, and soon afterTeppahoo arrived. Oreepyah and I went with him about a quarter of a mile, when I was shown one of the most beautiful heifers I ever saw. I asked ifthey had any more but they all said there was no other than a bull atItteah, as before mentioned. I could not refrain from expressing mydispleasure at the destruction and the foolish separation of these fineanimals. I had shared with Captain Cook in the trouble of this businessand had been equally anxious for the success. The district of Tettaha is not so luxuriant and fruitful as the countryabout Matavai. As I saw nothing of consequence to detain me I made apresent to Teppahoo and, after inviting him to visit me on board theship, which he promised to do, I took leave. Tinah had remained all thistime in the boat. I observed that no respect was shown to him at thisplace, nor was he able to procure a coconut or a breadfruit otherwisethan by purchasing it. The heifer being here is a proof of this districtnot having been friendly to the people of Matavai and Oparre. In our way back, having to row against the wind, we stopped to refresh atOparre, and it was eight o'clock by the time we arrived at the ship. Ikept my fellow travellers on board to supper and they did not fail toremind me of the king's health. Monday 17. Our collection of breadfruit plants at the tents continued increasing. This morning I sent twelve on board, in pots, to discover where theywould thrive the best, the air being more temperate on board the shipthan on shore. While I was absent from the ship Teppahoo had been onboard and left a hog as a present for me. After dinner today Tinah, who was my constant visitor, left the tablesooner than usual. When he was gone Oreepyah, his brother, and Oedidde, told me a piece of scandal, which had been before hinted to me but whichtill now I had not heard of with certainty: this was that Iddeah, Tinah'swife, kept a gallant, who was a towtow, or servant, and the very personwho always fed Tinah at dinner: and this was so far from being withoutTinah's knowledge or consent that they said it was by his desire. Theyadded many other circumstances and, as I appeared to doubt, they tookseveral opportunities in the course of the day of mentioning it to otherpeople, who all declared it was true. Tuesday 18. This afternoon I saw Teppahoo and invited him on board: before we partedI bargained with him for the heifer which he promised to bring in fivedays. My intention was that if I got the heifer I would endeavour topurchase the bull at Itteah: but if that could not be done then I couldsend the heifer as a present to the possessor of the bull, which mightequally well answer my purpose. It has been mentioned that Tinah had a place in my cabin to keep thosethings which I gave him as being more secure on board than on shore. Ihad remarked lately that his hoard seemed to diminish the more Iendeavoured to increase it: at length I discovered that Iddeah keptanother hoard in the master's cabin, which she regularly enriched fromher husband's whenever I made him a present, apprehending that I shouldcease giving when I saw Tinah's locker full. At his request I set thecarpenters to work to make him a chest large enough for himself and wifeto sleep on. Captain Cook had formerly given him such a chest but it hadbeen taken from him by the Eimeo people. Friday 21. This forenoon I received a message from Teppahoo to acquaint me theheifer was brought to Matavai. I immediately went on shore and found thathe had been as good as his word. The purchase money was paid, whichconsisted of a shirt, a hatchet, a spike nail, a knife, a pair ofscissors, a gimlet, and file; to which was added a small quantity ofloaf-sugar. Teppahoo appeared well pleased with his bargain; and I sentthe heifer to Poeeno's residence near which was plenty of grass. In the afternoon I was invited to a heiva, the most extraordinary part ofwhich was an oration, with some ceremonies in compliment to us. Twelvemen were divided into four ranks, with two women in the front; behindthem all stood a priest who made a speech which lasted ten minutes andwhich was listened to with some attention. During this the picture ofCaptain Cook, which had been brought for that purpose, was placed by myside. When the priest left off speaking a piece of white cloth waswrapped round the picture and another piece round me. The priest thenspoke again for a short time, and an old man placed a piece of plaitedcoconut leaf at my feet; the same was done to Tinah, and one piece wasput under the picture. After this the dancing began, which was in thesame style that we had already seen. The head of the ship was the figure of a woman, and not ill carved. As wewere painting the ship's upper works I directed this figure to be paintedin colours, with which the islanders were much pleased. Not only the menbut the women desired me to bring English women when I came again. TodayOedidde, thinking I was not convinced of the truth of what he had told meabout Iddeah, mentioned the affair to the lady herself in my hearing, atwhich she laughed, but said he did ill to tell me of it. However it wasevident she was not much offended for they were both very much divertedin discoursing upon the subject. I find it is not at all uncommon for brothers to have connection with thewives of each other, particularly elder brothers with the wives of theiryounger brothers, which is generally allowed and no offence taken: but ifany person not belonging to the family endeavours at the same intimacy itis resented as an injury. Inclination seems to be the only binding law ofmarriage at Otaheite. As I purposed to get instruments on shore at Point Venus to makeobservations I desired Tinah to order a house to be brought there for me, which was done and fixed in half an hour, being only a light shedsupported by posts. Monday 24. Today I bought a turtle that was caught on the reefs. As Tinah was goingto leave me for a few days I had it dressed for his dinner. He told methat his mother, Oberreeroah, was arrived from the island Tethuroa, andbegged that I would send for her in the morning and take care of her tillhe returned, which I willingly promised. Tuesday 25. This morning I sent a boat to Oparre, which returned in the afternoonwith Oberreeroah and two women, her servants. As she was old andcorpulent it was with difficulty that we helped her up the ship's side. As soon as she was in the ship she sat down on the gangway and, claspingmy knees in her arms, expressed her pleasure at seeing me by a flood oftears. Her servants then produced three pieces of cloth which, with alarge hog, some breadfruit, plantains, and coconuts, she had brought as apresent. As she was fatigued by her journey she wished to remain on boardall night, and I directed accommodations to be prepared, which was donewith little trouble as nothing more was necessary than a mat and somecloth spread on the deck. She had with her a favourite cat, bred from onethat had been given her by Captain Cook. She told me all the misfortunesthat had befallen her son and friends since Captain Cook left Otaheite. All the accounts agree in some of the cattle being now alive at theisland Eimeo: in the number they differ but that there were eight is theleast account. Wednesday 26. In the morning, Oberreeroah being desirous to go on shore, I made her apresent of several things, which she did not care to take with her then, but requested that I would keep them safe for her. Only Moannah andPoeeno dined with me today. They told me that Tinah and his brotherOreepyah were not on good terms together, and it was imagined that theywould fight as soon as the ship was gone. I had observed a coolnessbetween them, and had at times endeavoured to make them more cordial, butwith very little effect. Their quarrel has arisen from a disagreementbetween their wives. In the afternoon a canoe from Ulietea arrived in which was an Earee orchief of that island, who is a nephew to Oberreeroah. He brought a sheepwith him: the poor animal was infected with the mange and in very poorcondition. The climate had not as far as I could judge altered thequality of the wool, with which he was well covered except a part aboutthe shoulders. I imagine this animal to be the English ewe left byCaptain Cook. The owner assured me that there were ten sheep at Huaheine;the truth of which I much doubted. I was surprised and rather mortifiedto find that he set so little value on this as to let me have it, at thefirst word, for a small adze. I sent it to be kept at Poeeno's with theheifer. Friday 28. Tinah and his wife returned to Matavai and, from appearances which I haveno reason to mistrust, were sincerely glad to see me again after theirshort absence. They brought as usual a present of a hog and fruit. Thismorning there was an eclipse of the sun, but the weather was so cloudythat I had only an opportunity of observing the end of the eclipse, whichwas at 19 hours 43 minutes 53 seconds. Saturday 29. I sent a man to shear the ewe, by which a remedy could more easily beapplied to cure the disease with which it was infected. The garden madenear the tents was not in a prosperous condition: most of the melons andcucumbers were destroyed by insects; and the soil being sandy was notfavourable to the other seeds. I therefore chose another spot of groundfarther from the seaside and had an assortment of seeds sown. December. Monday 1. In the night the rudder of one of the boats was stolen from the tents. Onlanding in the morning neither Tinah nor any of his family came near me, being, I was informed, afraid of my displeasure. As the loss was notgreat I immediately sent to assure them that I had no anger exceptagainst the person who committed the theft. In consequence of thismessage Tinah and some of the other chiefs came to the tents and promisedthat they would exert themselves to discover the thief and get the rudderrestored. This was the first theft of any consequence that had beencommitted since the tents were on shore, and my suspicions fell chieflyon the people who were here from some of the other islands. Tinah hadjust begun to build a house for himself and I promised that ourcarpenters should assist him. Whydooah, the youngest brother of Tinah, had lately been one of my constant visitors and seemed to have left offhis former custom of getting drunk with the Ava. He was esteemed one oftheir best warriors; and I was told that in the quarrel with the peopleof Eimeo he killed Maheine the chief of that island. Friday 5. The weather for some time past had been very unsettled. This afternoonthe wind blew fresh from the north-west, which occasioned the sea tobreak very high across the Dolphin bank; and in the night such a heavybroken sea came into the bay that we were obliged to batten all thehatchways down, and to keep everybody upon deck all night though the raincame down in torrents. The ship rolled in a most violent manner. Saturday 6. In the morning the wind increasing and, there being no possibility ofputting to sea, we struck yards and topmasts and trusted to our anchors. The river swelled so much with the rain that the point of land on whichthe tents stood became an island; and to preserve the breadfruit plantsfrom being endangered the people were obliged to cut a passage for theriver through a part of the beach at a distance from the tents. The seabroke very high on the beach; nevertheless a canoe put off and to mysurprise Tinah, his wife, and Moannah made their way good through thesurf and came on board to see me. There was no other person in the canoefor the weather did not admit of useless passengers: each of them had apaddle which they managed with great activity and skill. These kindpeople embraced me with many tears and expressed their apprehensions forthe safety of the ship. Towards noon however the sea abated considerably, but the wind continued to blow strong from the north-west. At sunsetIddeah went on shore but Tinah would remain with me the whole night. Sunday 7. The wind continued between the north and north-west but had so muchmoderated that I no longer considered our situation to be alarming. Atnoon Iddeah returned to the ship with a large hog and a supply ofbreadfruit and coconuts; and soon after she and Tinah left the ship, having exacted a promise from me that if the weather was moderate I wouldgo on shore in the morning and visit their parents and sister who, theytold me, had been much alarmed on our account. I received a visitlikewise from Poeeno and his wife. This woman had always shown greatregard for us; and now, on our meeting, before I could be aware of it, she began beating her head violently with a shark's tooth so that herface was covered with blood in an instant. I put a stop to this as soonas I could, and with the drying up of the blood her agitation subsided. This ceremony is frequently performed upon occasions either of joy orgrief. Her husband said that if any accident happened to the ship Ishould live with him and that they would cut down trees and build meanother ship. From this sample of the weather and the information of the natives I wasconvinced it would not be safe to continue in Matavai Bay much longer;and I determined to get everything ready for sailing as speedily as Icould. Monday 8. The night proved moderate and in the morning I went on shore where I wasreceived by Oberreeroah, and several other friends with great affection. The plants received no injury from the bad weather having been carefullycovered from the spray of the sea: some were in a dormant state andothers were striking out young shoots. Nelson thought that it was betterto refrain a few days from taking them on board; I therefore consented todefer it. He was of opinion that the plants could be propagated from theroots only, and I directed some boxes to be filled as we could stow themwhere no others could be placed. Tuesday 9. This afternoon, in hauling the launch on shore to be repaired, many ofthe natives assisting, one of them, a fine boy about ten years old, wasthrown down and a roller which was placed under the boat went over him. The surgeon being ill I sent off for his assistant. Fortunately no limbwas broken nor did he receive any material injury. The surgeon had been along time ill, the effect of intemperance and indolence. He had latterlyscarce ever stirred out of his cabin but was not apprehended to be in adangerous state; nevertheless this evening he appeared to be so muchworse than usual that it was thought necessary to remove him to someplace where he could have more air; but to no effect for he died in anhour afterwards. This unfortunate man drank very hard and was so averseto exercise that he never would be prevailed on to take half a dozenturns upon deck at a time in the course of the voyage. Wednesday 10. As I wished to bury the surgeon on shore I mentioned it to Tinah, whosaid there would be no objection but that it would be necessary to askhis father's consent first; which he undertook to do and immediately leftme for that purpose. By this circumstance it appears that, though theeldest son of an Earee succeeds to the title and honours of the father assoon as he is born, yet a considerable portion of authority remains withthe father even after the son is of age. When Tinah returned I went withhim to the spot intended for the burial place, taking with us two men todig the grave; but on our arrival I found the natives had already begunit. Tinah asked me if they were doing right? "There, " says he, "the sunrises and there it sets. " The idea that the grave should be east and westI imagine they learnt from the Spaniards, as the captain of one of theirships was buried at Oeitepeha in 1774. Certain it is they had not theinformation from anybody belonging to our ship; for I believe we shouldnot have thought of it. The grave however was marked out very exactly. Atfour in the afternoon the body was interred: the chiefs and many of thenatives came to see the ceremony and showed great attention during theservice. Some of the chiefs were very inquisitive about what was to bedone with the surgeon's cabin on account of apparitions. They said when aman died in Otaheite and was carried to the Tupapow that as soon as nightcame he was surrounded by spirits, and if any person went there byhimself they would devour him: therefore they said that not less than twopeople together should go into the surgeon's cabin for some time. I didnot endeavour to dissuade them from this belief otherwise than bylaughing and letting them know that we had no such apprehensions. In the afternoon the effects of the deceased were disposed of and Iappointed Mr. Thomas Denman Ledward the surgeon's mate to do duty assurgeon. Friday 12. I went in a boat to examine the harbours about Oparre and found twoformed by the reefs. The westernmost is the most convenient for sailingin or out but is not well sheltered from a north-west wind or sea. Thisharbour is called by the natives Taowne: it is about a league and a halfdistant from Point Venus and may be known by a remarkable mountain, called by the natives Wawry, which bears south-south-east from theentrance. The easternmost harbour is called Toahroah. It is small but as secure asa reef harbour can well be. It is about three miles distant from PointVenus. The chief objection to this harbour is the difficulty of gettingout with the common tradewind, the entrance being on the east side, notmore than one hundred yards wide and the depth without inconvenient forwarping. On the south side of the entrance is a Morai: the reef side isto be kept on board and a lookout to be kept from aloft, whence the shoalwater is better discerned than from the deck. Sunday 14. This forenoon we performed divine service. Many of the principal nativesattended and behaved with great decency. Some of the women at one timebetrayed an inclination to laugh at our general responses; but on mylooking at them they appeared much ashamed. After the service I was askedif no offering was to be made for the Eatua to eat. The weather had been fair all the last week and at this time appearedquite settled, so that I was under no apprehensions of danger fromcontinuing a little longer in Matavai bay. CHAPTER 9. A Walk into the Country. The Peeah Roah. Prevailed on by the Kindness of the Chiefs to defer our Departure. Breadfruit Plants collected. Move the Ship to Toahroah Harbour. Fishing. Three of the Ship's Company desert. Indiscretion of our People on Shore. Instances of Jealousy. Mourning. Bull brought to Oparre by a Prophet. The Deserters recovered. Tinah proposes to visit England. 1788. December. Wednesday 17. This morning I took a walk into the country accompanied by Nelson and myold friend Moannah. The breadth of the border of low land before wearrived at the foot of the hills was near three miles. This part of ourjourney was through a delightful country, well covered with breadfruitand coconut-trees, and strewed with houses in which were swarms ofchildren. We then proceeded along a valley, still among houses, withplantations of yams, tarro, the cloth-plant, and their favourite root theAva: there were breadfruit trees on the sides of the hills which weredwarfs in comparison of those on the low land. Our walk was very muchinterrupted by a river, the course of which was so serpentine that we hadto cross it several times, being carried over on men's shoulders. On arriving at a Morai I saw a number of the natives collected and wasinformed that the priests were performing their devotions. Sixteen menwere sitting on their heels; in the front was a pole covered with aplaited coconut branch, and before each of the men there was a number ofsmall pieces of the same leaf plaited, which they call Hahyree, and eachhad likewise a piece round his wrist. One who appeared to be the chiefpriest prayed aloud, and was answered by all the rest together: after afew short sentences and responses they rose and each carried an Hahyree, which they placed at the foot of the pole and returned to prayer: thiswas repeated till all the Hahyree were delivered and then the ceremonyended. I must not forget to mention that they had placed near the pole anoffering of plantains and breadfruit, which they left for the Eatua. Theyvery kindly asked us to partake of a roasted hog that had been preparedfor them whilst they were praying; but as I wished to make the most ofthe morning before the sun was too high I declined their offer, andMoannah bespoke refreshments to be ready for us when we returned. We continued our walk up the valley, which became very narrow, and hadadvanced a considerable way beyond all the houses and plantations when wewere suddenly stopped by a cascade that fell into the river from a heightof above 200 feet: the fall at this time was not great but in the heavyrains must be considerable. The natives look upon this as the mostwonderful sight in the island. The fall of water is the least curiouspart; the cliff over which it comes is perpendicular, forming anappearance as if supported by square pillars of stone, and with aregularity that is surprising. Underneath is a pool eight or nine feetdeep into which the water falls; and in this place all the natives make apoint of bathing once in their lives, probably from some religious idea. The hills here approach each other within a few yards and are wellcovered with wood. As the road appeared difficult I did not care toproceed towards the mountain. I cannot with certainty say how far thiscurious precipice is from the bay, but think in the road by which we wentit cannot be less than seven miles. It is called Peeah Roah. In our return we found a young pig prepared for us and we made a heartymeal. We dined in the house of an old acquaintance of Nelson's for whomhe had in 1777 planted the two shaddock plants formerly mentioned whichhe had brought from the Friendly Islands. These we had the satisfactionto see were grown to fine trees and full of fruit. In their plantations they do not take much pains except with the Ava andthe Cloth-plant, both of which they are careful to keep clear of weeds. Many of the plantations of the cloth-plant were fenced with stone andsurrounded with a ditch. The yams and plantains are mostly on the highergrounds. As soon as we had finished our dinner we returned towards theship. I was much delighted in this walk with the number of children thatI saw in every part of the country: they are very handsome and sprightlyand full of antic tricks. They have many diversions that are common withthe boys in England such as flying kites, cats cradle, swinging, dancingor jumping in a rope, walking upon stilts and wrestling. Friday 19. The wind today blew fresh but continued regular from the east andeast-south-east. We had likewise much rain and a long swell set into thebay. I had not yet determined whether, on leaving Matavai bay, I would goto the island Eimeo or to the harbour of Toahroah near Oparre: thisuncertainty made Tinah and the rest of my friends very anxious; and theyappeared much distressed on my desiring them this afternoon to send onboard all the things which they wished to have repaired by the forgewithout delay, that what they wanted might be done before the ship leftMatavai, which I told them would be in a few days. They very earnestlyentreated I would stay one month longer. I represented this as impossibleand asked Tinah if he would not go with me to Eimeo; but he said thatnotwithstanding my protection he was certain the Eimeo people would watchfor an opportunity to kill him. He remained on board with me all nightbut his wife went on shore and returned early in the morning, bringingwith her some axes and other things that were in need of repair. Saturday 20. When I went on shore I found Otow, Oberree-roah, Moannah, and severalothers in great tribulation at the thoughts that we were so soon to leavethem. All the people of Matavai I saw were much concerned at my intentionof going to Eimeo, and took every opportunity to prejudice me against thepeople of that island; to which I paid very little attention as theirmotive was obvious. Sunday 21. Their expressions of friendship and affection for me however I could notdisregard, as I had no doubt of their being genuine and unaffected, and Ifelt my unwillingness to leave these kind people so much increased thatthe next day I sent the master in the launch to reexamine the depth ofwater between this bay and Toahroah harbour. He returned in the eveningand acquainted me that he found a good bottom with not less than sixteenfathoms depth all the way. The harbour of Toahroah appearing every waysafe I determined to get the ship there as speedily as possible, and Iimmediately made my intention public, which occasioned great rejoicing. Wednesday 24. This day we took the plants on board, being 774 pots, all in a healthystate; for whenever any plant had an unfavourable appearance it wasreplaced by another. The number of those rejected was 302, of which notone in ten but was found to be growing at the root. The natives reckon eight kinds of the breadfruit tree, each of which theydistinguish by a different name. 1. Patteah. 2. Eroroo. 3. Awanna. 4. Mi-re. 5. Oree. 6. Powerro. 7. Appeere. 8. Rowdeeah. In the first, fourth, and eighth class the leaf differs from the rest; the fourth ismore sinuated; the eighth has a large broad leaf not at all sinuated. Thedifference of the fruit is principally in the first and eighth class. Inthe first the fruit is rather larger and more of an oblong form: in theeighth it is round and not above half the size of the others. I enquiredif plants could be produced from the seed and was told they could not butthat they must be taken from the root. The plants are best collectedafter wet weather, at which time the earth balls round the roots and theyare not liable to suffer by being moved. The most common method of dividing time at Otaheite is by moons; but theylikewise make a division of the year into six parts, each of which isdistinguished by the name of the kind of breadfruit then in season. Inthis division they keep a small interval called Tawa in which they do notuse the breadfruit. This is about the end of February when the fruit isnot in perfection; but there is no part of the year in which the treesare entirely bare. Thursday 25. At daylight we unmoored and I sent the tents in the launch to Oparre withdirections that, after landing them, the launch should meet the ship inthe entrance of Toahroah harbour to show the safest part of the channel. At half-past ten we got the ship under sail and ran down under top-sails:when we were near the launch it fell calm and the ship shot past her. Weimmediately let the anchor go but to our great surprise we found the shipwas aground forwards. She had run on so easy that we had not perceived itat the time. This accident occasioned us much trouble as we were obligedto send anchors out astern to get the ship afloat: in doing this one ofthe cables swept a rock and was not got clear again without muchdifficulty. When the ship was moored Point Venus bore north 46 degreeseast. The east point of the harbour north 65 degrees east one-quarter ofa mile. Our distance from the shore half a cable's length; depth of water8 1/2 fathoms. Friday 26. The next morning on my landing I was welcomed by all the principalpeople; I may say by the whole crowd, and congratulated on the safety ofthe ship. Tinah showed me a house near the waterside abreast the ship, which he desired I would make use of and which was large enough for allour purposes. He and his brother Oreepyah then desired I would stay andreceive a formal address and present which they called Otee. To this Iassented and a stool was brought for me to sit on. They then left me withMoannah and in a short time I saw Tinah returning with about twenty menwho all made a stop at some distance, and a priest said a short prayer tothe Eatua, to which the rest made reply. A man was then sent to me threeseveral times, at each time bringing me a small pig and the stem of aplantain leaf. The first they told me was for the God of Brittannee, thenext for King George, and the last for myself. Moannah then got up and, without being dictated to, made an oration for me; the purport of which Iunderstood to be that I received their offering with thanks; that we weregood people and friends; and therefore he exhorted them to commit nothefts: he told them to bring their pigs, coconuts, and breadfruit, andthey would receive good things in return; that we took nothing withouttheir consent; and finally that every man was to quit the place (thehouse we occupied) at night; for if they made any visit in the dark theywould be killed. With this speech the ceremony ended. I found this a delightful situation and in every respect convenient. Theship was perfectly sheltered by the reefs in smooth water and close to afine beach without the least surf. A small river with very good waterruns into the sea about the middle of the harbour. I gave directions forthe plants to be landed and the same party to be with them as at Matavai. Tinah fixed his dwelling close to our station. Monday 29. Some of the natives took advantage of the butcher's negligence and stolehis cleaver. I complained of this to the chiefs who were on board andthey promised that they would endeavour to recover it; but an article sovaluable as this was to the natives I had no great expectation of seeingrestored. The ship continued to be supplied by the natives as usual. Coconuts werein such plenty that I believe not a pint of water was drunk on board theship in the twenty-four hours. Breadfruit began to be scarce though wepurchased without difficulty a sufficient quantity for our consumption:there was however another harvest approaching which they expected wouldbe fit for use in five or six weeks. The better kind of plantains alsowere become scarce; but a kind which they call vayhee were in greatplenty. This fruit does not hang on the trees like the other kinds butgrows upon an upright stalk of considerable strength and substance. Though this plantain is inferior in quality to most of the others itaffords great subsistence to the natives. We received almost every daypresents of fish, chiefly dolphin and albacore, and a few small rockfish. Their fishing is mostly in the night when they make strong lightson the reefs which attract the fish to them. Sometimes in fine weatherthe canoes are out in such numbers that the whole sea appearsilluminated. In the canoes they fish with hook and line and on the reefsthey struck the fish with a spear. Some likewise carry out small netswhich are managed by two men. In the daytime their fishing canoes gowithout the reefs, sometimes to a considerable distance, where they fishwith rods and lines and catch bonetas and other fish. Whenever there is ashow of fish a fleet of canoes immediately proceeds to sea. Their hooksbeing bright are used without bait in the manner of our artificial flies. Their rods are made of bamboo; but when there are any very large fishthey make use of an outrigger over the fore part of the canoe, abouttwenty-five feet in length, which has two prongs at the extremity, toeach of which is fastened a hook and line; and when a fish takes the hookit is raised by ropes managed by two men in the stern of the canoe. January 1789. Thursday 1. Contrary to my expectation Tinah this afternoon brought on board thecleaver that had been stolen. The thief had taken it to Attahooroo, andTinah told me, which I could easily believe, that it was given up withreluctance. Friday 2. The next morning I offered Tinah a present of axes and other things but, as he suspected this was meant by way of return for getting the cleaverrestored, he would not be prevailed with to accept a single article. I had constantly the company of Tinah, his wife, and some of hisrelations; but the royal children, though so near us, never came in sightof the ship. The river separated them from the place occupied by ourpeople on shore and, for fear of giving alarm or offence, I gave strictorders that no one should attempt to go near their place of residence. Monday 5. At the relief of the watch at four o'clock this morning the small cutterwas missing. I was immediately informed of it and mustered the ship'scompany, when it appeared that three men were absent: Charles Churchill, the ship's corporal and two of the seamen, William Musprat and JohnMillward, the latter of whom had been sentinel from twelve to two in themorning. They had taken with them eight stand of arms and ammunition; butwhat their plan was, or which way they had gone, no one on board seemedto have the least knowledge. I went on shore to the chiefs and soonreceived information that the boat was at Matavai; and that the desertershad departed in a sailing canoe for the island Tethuroa. On thisintelligence I sent the master to Matavai to search for the small cutter, and one of the chiefs went with him; but before they had got halfway theymet the boat with five of the natives who were bringing her back to theship. This service rendered me by the people of Matavai pleased me muchand I rewarded the men accordingly. I told Tinah and the other chiefs that I expected they would get thedeserters brought back; for that I was determined not to leave Otaheitewithout them. They assured me that they would do everything in theirpower to have them taken and it was agreed that Oreepyah and Moannahshould depart the next morning for Tethuroa. Oreepyah enquired if theyhad pocket pistols "for, " said he, "though we may surprise and seize thembefore they can make use of their muskets, yet if they have pistols theymay do mischief, even while they are held. " I quietened theseapprehensions by assuring them that the deserters had no pistols withthem. Tuesday 6. At daylight Oreepyah and Moannah set off in two canoes for Tethuroa, butthe weather became so boisterous that they were obliged to return in theforenoon, and I was happy to see them get safe in as the sea ran veryhigh without the harbour. From the first of this month the weather andwinds had been much unsettled with a great deal of rain. Our formerstation at Matavai appeared not at all safe, the sea at times breakinghigh over the Dolphin bank and making a great swell in the bay. Oreepyahand Moannah both promised me that they would sail again as soon as theweather should be fine. Friday 9. The wind continued to blow strong at sea though in the harbour we had attimes but light breezes. Poeeno, from Matavai, came to see me today: hesaid he was apprehensive that I was displeased with him on account of ourdeserters having been carried to Tethuroa by a canoe from Matavai. Thishe declared had been done before he heard of it; and that the onlyservice in his power he had not neglected to do for me, which was thesending our boat back. As this was really an act of friendship I receivedhim with great cordiality; and he assured me that there could be no doubtfrom the directions Tinah had given of the deserters being brought to theship as soon as the weather would admit canoes to go after them. Saturday 10. One of the officers this morning on shore inadvertently plucked a branchfrom a tree called Tutuee, that bears the oil nut, which was growing at aMorai. On entering with it into the house occupied by our people all thenatives, both men and women, immediately went away. When I went on shoreI found this branch tied to one of the posts of the house, although theeffect it had on the natives was known. I was much displeased at thispiece of wantonness and ordered the branch to be taken away; but thenatives notwithstanding would not come near the place. They said thehouse was taboo, which I understand to signify interdicted, and that noneof them might approach it till the taboo was taken off, which could onlybe done by Tinah. To take anything away from a Morai is regarded as akind of sacrilege and, they believe, gives great offence to the Eatua. Atmy request Tinah took off the taboo, but not before the afternoon. Thiswas performed by an offering of a plantain leaf at the Morai, and aprayer made to the Eatua. After this ceremony the house was resorted toby the natives as usual. I had not yet given up the hope of obtaining the bull from Itteah, thoughI had hitherto received no satisfactory answer to the messages whichTinah had sent at my desire: I therefore spoke to Poeeno who undertook tonegotiate this business, and I commissioned him to make very liberaloffers. He left me after dinner to return to Matavai. In the evening amessenger arrived from him to acquaint me that, in his absence, the sheepwhich I had trusted to his care had been killed by a dog; and that he hadsent the culprit, hoping that I would kill him for the offence he hadcommitted. This poor sheep had been so much diseased that I could nothelp suspecting he died without the dog's assistance, and that the storyof the dog was invented to prevent my attributing it to want of care. This doubt did not appear in my answer; as for the dog I told themessenger to do with him what he pleased. Tuesday 13. This morning, the weather being more moderate than it had been for somedays past, Oreepyah sailed with two canoes for Tethuroa. Wednesday 14. Some business prevented Moannah from accompanying him but he followed thenext day with two other canoes. The wood that we had got at Matavai beingexpended I applied to Tinah, who sent three trees down to the watersidebefore night, which when cut up made a good launch load. I saw two instances of jealousy today one of which had nearly producedfatal consequences. A man was detected with a married woman by thehusband, who stabbed him in the belly with a knife: fortunately theintestines escaped and the wound did not prove dangerous. The otherinstance was a girl, who had constantly lived with my coxswain, beatinganother girl that she discovered to have been too intimate with him. Friday 16. In walking today with Tinah near a tupapow I was surprised by a suddenoutcry of grief. As I expressed a desire to see the distressed personTinah took me to the place where we found a number of women, one of whomwas the mother of a young female child that lay dead. On seeing us theirmourning not only immediately ceased, but to my astonishment they allburst into an immoderate fit of laughter, and while we remained appearedmuch diverted with our visit. I told Tinah the woman had no sorrow forher child otherwise her grief would not have so easily subsided; on whichhe jocosely told her to cry again: they did not however resume theirmourning in our presence. This strange behaviour would incline us tothink them hardhearted and unfeeling, did we not know that they are fondparents and in general very affectionate: it is therefore to be ascribedto their extreme levity of disposition; and it is probable that deathdoes not appear to them with so many terrors as it does to people of amore serious cast. Sunday 18. I received a message from Poeeno to acquaint me that he had beensuccessful in his negotiation for the bull, which he had driven part ofthe way by land, but could not get farther on account of the rivers andtherefore desired a boat should be sent for him. I accordingly orderedthe launch to be got ready and at two o'clock the next morning Mr. Fryer, the master, set off in her. Monday 19. In the afternoon the launch returned with the bull and my friend Poeeno. For the night I directed that the bull should remain at Oparre and thenext day he was taken to the cow at Matavai. Wednesday 21. Today Poeeno brought to me the person from whom he had the bull toreceive the stipulated payment, which was one of every article of trafficthat I had in my possession. This man, whose name was Oweevee, they toldme was inspired by a divine spirit; and that in all matters ofconsequence he was consulted, for that he conversed with the Eatua. Itwas, they said, the Eatua that ordered him to demand the bull from Tinah, which not to have complied with would have been the height of impiety. Iendeavoured to convince them of the roguery of this man, thinking I had afair argument to prove it by his selling that which the Eatua had orderedhim to keep; but here I was easily defeated for it seems the Eatua toldhim to sell me the beast. This being the case I said I would not give theanimals to any person; that they were now mine and that I would leavethem under the protection of Poeeno and Tinah who I hoped would take careof them for me till I returned. They both entered into my views andpromised the animals should be attended to, and told me that, while theywere considered as my property, no one would attempt to take them away. Thursday 22. This afternoon I received a message from Teppahoo to inform me that ourdeserters had passed this harbour and were at Tettaha, about five milesdistant. I ordered the cutter to be got ready, and a little before sunsetleft the ship, taking Oedidee with me. By his advice I landed at somedistance from the place where the deserters were but, thinking itnecessary to have the boat within call, and Oedidee assuring me thatthere was safe landing farther on, I directed the boat to proceed alongshore whilst Oedidee and I walked along the beach. The night was verydark and windy and the shore being rocky I soon lost sight of the boat. Afew of the natives had joined us in our walk and from their manner I hadreason to suspect them of a design to close upon us, with an intention nodoubt to plunder: I was provided with pocket-pistols and on producing onethey left us. Oedidee was so much alarmed that I could scarce prevail onhim to proceed. When we arrived at Teppahoo's house we were very kindlyreceived by him and his wife. The cutter was arrived but there being avery high surf she could not come within a hundred yards of the shore. The deserters I was informed were in a house close to us, and I imaginedthere would be no great difficulty in securing them with the assistanceof the natives. They had however heard of my arrival; and when I was nearthe house they came out without their arms and delivered themselves up. Isent directions off to the boat for one of my people to come on shore andfor the boat to return to the place where I had landed. My next businesswas to secure the arms, which I delivered to Teppahoo to take charge offor the night. One musket and two bayonets were missing, which they saidwere lost by the canoe in which they came from Tethuroa having overset. Ithen took leave of Teppahoo who presented us with a plentiful supply ofprovisions, and we proceeded with the deserters towards the boat but, asthe wind had increased and it rained hard, I determined to remain onshore till the morning; and having found shelter for the people we passedthe remainder of the night without accident. At daylight I sent for thearms and we returned to the ship. Friday 23. I learnt from the deserters that at Tethuroa they had seen Oreepyah andMoannah, who had made an attempt to secure them. They said it was theirintention to have returned to the ship; and it is probable that they wereso much harassed by the natives watching for an opportunity to surprisethem that they might wish to have the merit of returning of their ownaccord, to avoid the disgrace of being seized and brought back. At thetime they delivered themselves up to me it was not in their power to havemade resistance, their ammunition having been spoiled by the wet. In consequence of my having been kept all night from the ship by thetempestuous weather the timekeeper went down at 10 hours 5 minutes 36seconds. Its rate previous to this was 1 second, 7 losing in 24 hours, and its error from the mean time at Greenwich was 7 minutes 29 seconds, 2too slow. I set it going again by a common watch, corrected byobservations, and endeavoured to make the error the same as if it had notstopped; but being over cautious made me tedious in setting it in motion, and increased the error from mean time at Greenwich. The rate of going Idid not find to have altered. At dinner Tinah congratulated me on having recovered my men, butexpressed some concern that they had not been brought by Oreepyah andMoannah, lest I should imagine they had not done everything in theirpower. To this I replied that I was perfectly satisfied of their goodintentions to serve me, and that I considered myself under greatobligations to them for the trouble they had been at on my account. Ilearnt afterwards that they had actually seized and bound the desertersbut had been prevailed upon, by fair promises of their returningpeaceably to the ship, to let them loose: the deserters however, findingan opportunity to get possession of their arms, again set the natives atdefiance. Friday 30. This afternoon I punished one of the seamen, Isaac Martin, with nineteenlashes for striking an Indian. This was a transgression of so serious anature and such a direct violation of my orders that I would on noaccount be prevailed on to forgive it, though great intercession was madeby some of the chiefs. Oreepyah and Moannah were not yet returned from Tethuroa. This place isresorted to by the principal people of this part of Otaheite atparticular seasons when fish are in great plenty there. It was describedto me to be a group of small keys surrounded by a reef: their produce ischiefly coconuts and plantains. During the season breadfruit and otherprovisions are daily carried over from Otaheite. Not less than a hundredsail of canoes were at Tethuroa when our deserters were there. Teppahoo and his wife were become my constant visitors: he had for sometime past been ill, and had made Oparre his place of residence for thebenefit of our surgeon's advice and assistance. At this time hecomplained of a hoarseness and sore throat. Mr. Ledward, on examininghim, discovered there had been two holes in the roof of his mouth which, though healed, had the appearance of having been large: the adjacentparts appeared sound, yet the surgeon was of opinion that they werecancerous and would in the end occasion his death. Saturday 31. This morning I ordered all the chests to be taken on shore, and theinside of the ship to be washed with boiling water to kill thecockroaches. We were constantly obliged to be at great pains to keep theship clear of vermin on account of the plants. By the help of traps andgood cats we were freed from rats and mice. When I was at Otaheite withCaptain Cook there were great numbers of rats about all the houses, andso tame that they flocked round the people at their meals for the offalswhich were commonly thrown to them; but at this time we scarce ever saw arat which must be attributed to the industry of a breed of cats left hereby European ships. After breakfast I walked with Tinah to Matavai to see the cattle and thegardens. Tinah had already taken so large a dose of the Ava that he wasperfectly stupefied. Iddeah however was with us, and she is one of themost intelligent persons I met with at Otaheite. We went first toPoeeno's house and saw the bull and cow together in a very fine pasture. I was informed that the cow had taken the bull; so that if no untowardaccident happens there is a fair chance of the breed being established. In the garden near Poeeno's house many things had failed. The Indian cornwas in a fine state and I have no doubt but they will cultivate it allover the country. A fig-tree was in a very thriving way, as were twovines, a pineapple plant, and some slips of a shaddock-tree. From thisplace we walked to the garden at Point Venus, but I had the mortificationto find almost everything there destroyed by the hogs. Some undergroundpeas and Indian corn had escaped, and likewise the caliloo green and ocraof Jamaica. We returned to the ship, and after dinner I was not a little surprised tohear Tinah seriously propose that he and his wife should go with me toEngland. He said he would only take two servants; that he much wished tosee King George who he was sure would be glad to see him. Tinah and manyof his countrymen were become extremely eager to get a knowledge of othercountries, and were continually enquiring about the situations of theislands which we told them of in these seas. To quiet his importunity Iwas obliged to promise that I would ask the king's permission to carrythem to England if I came again; that then I should be in a larger shipan could have accommodations properly fitted up. I was sorry to find thatTinah was apprehensive he should be attacked by his enemies as soon asour ship left Otaheite, and that if they joined they would be toopowerful for him. The illness of Teppahoo, with whom he was on goodterms, gave him much uneasiness, Teppahoo's wife being a sister of Otow'sand aunt to Tinah. They have no children as has been before related, andif Teppahoo were to die he would be succeeded as Earee of the district ofTettaha by his brother who is an enemy to Tinah. I have on every occasionendeavoured to make the principal people believe that we should returnagain to Otaheite and that we should revenge any injury done in ourabsence to the people of Matavai and Oparre. The wife of Oedidee is likewise an aunt to Tinah, and sister to Otow. Hisnative place is Ulietea, where he has some property, but which I imagineis not of such consequence to him as the countenance of the chiefs withwhom he is connected at Otaheite. CHAPTER 10. The Ship's Cable cut in the Night. Coolness with the Chiefs on that Account. Visit to an old Lady. Disturbance at a Heiva. Tinah's Hospitality. A Thief taken and punished. Preparations for sailing. 1789. February. Tuesday 3. I was present this afternoon at a wrestling match where a young man, byan unlucky fall, put his arm out of joint at the elbow: three stout menimmediately took hold of him and, two of them fixing their feet againsthis ribs, replaced it. I had sent for our surgeon but before he arrivedall was well, except a small swelling of the muscles in consequence ofthe strain. I enquired what they would have done if the bone had beenbroken and, to show me their practice, they got a number of sticks andplaced round a man's arm, which they bound with cord. That they haveconsiderable skill in surgery is not to be doubted. I have beforementioned an instance of an amputated arm being perfectly healed andwhich had every appearance of having been treated with great propriety. The part of the beach nearest the ship was become the general place ofresort towards the close of the day. An hour before sunset theinhabitants began to collect, and here they amused themselves withexercising the lance, dancing, and various kinds of merriment, tillnearly dark, when they retired to their homes. Of this cheerful scene wewere spectators and partakers every fine evening. Friday 6. An occurrence happened today that gave me great concern, not only onaccount of the danger with which the ship had been threatened, but as ittended greatly to diminish the confidence and good understanding whichhad hitherto been constantly preserved between us and the natives. Thewind had blown fresh in the night, and at daylight we discovered that thecable by which the ship rode had been cut near the water's edge in such amanner that only one strand remained whole. While we were securing theship Tinah came on board. I could not but believe he was perfectlyinnocent of the transaction; nevertheless I spoke to him in a veryperemptory manner, and insisted upon his discovering and bringing to methe offender. I was wholly at a loss how to account for this maliciousact. My suspicions fell chiefly, I may say wholly, on the strangers thatcame to us from other parts of the island; for we had on every occasionreceived such unreserved and unaffected marks of goodwill from the peopleof Matavai and Oparre that in my own mind I entirely acquitted them. Theanger which I expressed however created so much alarm that old Otow andhis wife (the father and mother of Tinah) immediately quitted Oparre, andretired to the mountains in the midst of heavy rain, as did Teppahoo andhis family. Tinah and Iddeah remained and expostulated with me on theunreasonableness of my anger against them. He said that he would exerthis utmost endeavours to discover the guilty person, but it mightpossibly not be in his power to get him delivered up, which would be thecase if he was either of Tiarraboo, Attahooroo, or of the island Eimeo. That the attempt might have been made as much out of enmity to the peopleof Matavai and Oparre as to me, everyone knowing the regard I had forthem, and that I had declared I would protect them against their enemies. All this I was inclined to believe, but I did not think proper to appearperfectly satisfied lest Tinah, who was naturally very indolent, shouldbe remiss in his endeavours to detect the offender. To guard as much aspossible against future attempts of this kind I directed a stage to bebuilt on the forecastle so that the cables should be more directly underthe eye of the sentinel; and I likewise gave orders that one of themidshipman should keep watch forward. In the afternoon Oreepyah returned from Tethuroa. He told me that Moannahand himself had narrowly escaped being lost in the bad weather and thatMoannah had been obliged to take shelter at Eimeo. Several canoes hadbeen lost lately in their passage to or from Tethuroa. The oversetting oftheir canoes is not the only risk they have to encounter, but isproductive of another danger more dreadful; for at such times many becomea prey to the sharks which are very numerous in these seas. I wasinformed likewise that they were sometimes attacked by a fish which bytheir description I imagine to be the barracoota, as they attribute to itthe same propensity. Saturday passed without my seeing anything of Tinah the whole day. Sunday 8. The next morning he and Iddeah came to me and assured me that they hadmade the strictest enquiries concerning the injury intended us but hadnot been able to discover any circumstance which could lead them tosuspect who were concerned in it. This was not at all satisfactory and Ibehaved towards them with great coolness, at which they were muchdistressed, and Iddeah at length gave vent to her sorrow by tears. Icould no longer keep up the appearance of mistrusting them, but Iearnestly recommended to them, as they valued the King of England'sfriendship, that they would exert their utmost endeavours to find out theoffenders, which they faithfully promised. Our reconciliation accordinglytook place and messengers were sent to acquaint Otow and Teppahoo, and toinvite them to return. It has since occurred to me that this attempt to cut the ship adrift wasmost probably the act of some of our own people; whose purpose ofremaining at Otaheite might have been effectually answered without dangerif the ship had been driven on shore. At the time I entertained not theleast thought of this kind, nor did the possibility of it enter into myideas, having no suspicion that so general an inclination or so strong anattachment to these islands could prevail among my people as to inducethem to abandon every prospect of returning to their native country. A messenger came to me this afternoon from the Earee of Tiarrabou, thesouth-east division of Otaheite, with an invitation for me to visit him. I excused myself on account of the distance and, at Tinah's request, sentback by the messenger a handsome present which I hope Tinah will get thecredit of. I observed with much satisfaction that a great part of whatTinah had received from me he had distributed; to some out of friendshipand esteem, and to others from motives of political civility. Tuesday 10. Teppahoo and his family left us today to go to Tettaha, where a grandheiva was to be performed, at which their presence was required. Wednesday 11. A small party of heiva people passed through Oparre this morning in theirway to Tettaha, where they were going by appointment. They had thecivility to send me word that if I chose they would stay to perform ashort heiva before me; and I immediately attended. It began by a dance oftwo young girls to the music of drums and flutes which lasted no longtime; at the conclusion they suddenly dropped all their dress, which wasleft as a present for me, and went off without my seeing them any more. After this the men danced: their performance was more indecent than any Ihad before seen, but was not the less applauded on that account by thenatives, who seemed much delighted. After this entertainment I went with Tinah and Iddeah to pay a visit toan old lady named Wanowoora, widow to Towah the late Earee of Tettaha, who conducted the expedition against Eimeo when Captain Cook was here in1777. The old lady had just landed and we found her sitting on the beachby the head of her canoe. With Tinah was a priest and three men, whocarried a young dog, a fowl, and two young plantain boughs: these wereintended for the offering, or present, called Otee. Tinah and his partyseated themselves at about ten yards distance from Wanowoora and wereaddressed by her in short sentences for a few minutes, and received herOtee, which was exactly the same as his. Tinah's priest in return made ashort prayer and his offering was presented to the old lady. Tinah thenrose and went to her, and embraced her in a very affectionate manner; andshe returned his kindness with tears and many expressions which I couldnot understand. Soon after he conducted her to a shed and we remainedwith her till it was time to go on board to dinner. I invited her to beof the party but she excused herself on account of age and infirmity. Tinah gave directions for her and her attendants to be supplied withwhatever they had occasion for, and we went off to the ship. Friday 13. This forenoon Tinah sent to inform me that many strangers were arrivedfrom all parts to be present at a grand heiva which he had prepared incompliment to me. I accordingly went on shore and found a great crowd ofpeople collected together. A ring was made at a little distance from ourpost, and Tinah and several other chiefs came to meet me. When we wereall seated the heiva began by women dancing; after which a present ofcloth and a tawme or breastplate was laid before me. This ceremony beingover the men began to wrestle and regularity was no longer preserved. OldOtow came to me and desired I would help to put a stop to the wrestlingas the people came from different districts, some of which were illdisposed towards others. What Otow had apprehended was not without reasonfor in an instant the whole was tumult: every man took to his arms and, as I found my single interference could be of no service, I retired toour post and ordered all my people there under arms. At the time thedisturbance began Tinah and Iddeah were absent: their first care was forme, and Iddeah came to see if I was safe at the post. She had a doublecovering of cloth round her and her waist was girded with a large rope. Idesired her to stay under my protection: this she would not consent tobut said she would return as soon as all was over; and away she went. I immediately gave orders for two guns to be fired from the ship withoutshot, which had a good effect: and as no chief was concerned in thetumult but, on the contrary, all of them exerted their influence toprevent mischief, everything was soon quiet and Tinah and Iddeah returnedto let me know that all was settled. They went on board with some otherchiefs and dined with me. After dinner I went on shore with Tinah and his friends, and I foundthree large hogs dressed, and a quantity of breadfruit which he hadordered to be prepared before he went on board, and now desired I wouldpresent them to the different parties that had come to see theentertainment: one to the chief people of Attahooroo, one to the Arreoys, and a third to the performers of the heiva. I presented them according tohis directions and they were received with thankfulness and pleasure. This I looked upon as very handsomely done on the part of Tinah, and Iwas glad to see that it was regarded in the same light by his guests. These instances of liberality make full amends for the little slips whichI have formerly noticed in Tinah. At this time a day seldom passed thathe did not give proofs of his hospitality by entertaining the principalpeople that came from different parts of the island to visit him, or tosee the ship. Some of the chiefs he commonly invited to dine on board, and made provision for others on shore. Scarce any person of consequencewent away without receiving some present from him. This I encouraged andwas glad it was in my power to assist him. But besides the politicalmotives that I have alluded to it would be unjust to Tinah not toacknowledge that his disposition seemed improved: he was more open andunreserved in his manners than formerly, and his hospitality was naturaland without ostentation. Monday 16. I was present this afternoon at a wrestling match by women. The manner ofchallenging and method of attack was exactly the same as among the men. The only difference that I could observe was not in favour of the softersex; for in these contests they showed less temper and more animositythan I could have imagined them capable of. The women, I was told, notonly wrestle with each other but sometimes with the men; of this I havenever seen an instance and imagine it can happen but seldom, as the womenin general are small and by no means masculine. Iddeah is said to be veryfamous at this exercise. Tuesday 17. I walked with Tinah towards the hills to see his country residence whichwas at a very neat house, pleasantly situated and surrounded withplantations. From this place we saw the island Tethuroa. The next morningI went to Matavai to look after the Indian corn which I judged would befull ripe for gathering; but on my arrival I found that the natives hadbeen beforehand with me, the whole being taken away. This I was not atall sorry for as it shows that they value it too much to neglectcultivating it. Monday 23. Iddeah sent on board for our dinners today a very fine tarro pudding; andTinah brought a bunch of bananas that weighed 81 pounds, on which were286 fine fruit: ten had broken off in the carriage. The tarro pudding isexcellent eating and easily made: I shall describe this piece of cookeryas the knowledge of it may be useful in the West Indies. The tarro beingcleared of the outside skin is grated down, and made up in rolls of abouthalf a pound each, which they cover neatly with leaves and bake for nearhalf an hour. An equal quantity of ripe coconut meat is likewise grated, from which through a strainer the rich milky juice is expressed. Thisjuice is heated by putting smooth hot stones in the vessel that containsit, and the tarro is then mixed with it and kept constantly stirring toprevent burning till it is ready, which is known by the coconut juiceturning to a clear oil. Wednesday 25. Iddeah was very uneasy today on account of her youngest child being ill. She would not accept of assistance from our surgeon but said she had sentto Tettaha for a man who she expected would come and tell her what to do. These physical people are called tata rapaow. Thursday 26. This morning a man died of a consumption about two miles from our post. Iwas informed of it by Mr. Peckover, the gunner, who I had desired to lookout for such a circumstance. I therefore went accompanied by Iddeah inhopes of seeing the funeral ceremony; but before we arrived the body wasremoved to the Toopapow. It lay bare except a piece of cloth round theloins and another round the neck: the eyes were closed: the hands wereplaced, one over the pit of the stomach and the other upon his breast. Ona finger of each hand was a ring made of plaited fibres of thecoconut-tree, with a small bunch of red feathers. Under the Toopapow ahole was dug, in which at the end of a month the corpse was to be buried. The deceased was of the lower class; the Toopapow however was neat, andofferings of coconuts and plaited leaves lay on the ground. The dead are sometimes brought to the Toopapow in wood coffins, which arenot shaped like ours but are simply a long box. This custom Iddeahinformed me they learnt from the Europeans, and is not very common, asmaking plank is a work of great labour. March. Monday 2. When I landed this morning I found the inhabitants that lived near to ushad left their houses and retired towards the mountains; and was informedthat in the night a water cask, part of an azimuth compass, and Mr. Peckover's bedding, had been stolen from the post on shore; the knowledgeof which had caused a general alarm. I sent a message to complain of thistheft to Tinah who did not come near me. About two hours elapsed, duringwhich time I went on board to breakfast and returned when I saw Tinah andOreepyah with a number of people at a house at some distance; and soonafter they all marched to the eastward, passing close by our post. Oedidee, who was with me, told me that they had intelligence of thethief, and were gone in quest of him: and in less than an hour news wasbrought that they had taken him. Shortly after the whole party appearedwith the water-cask and compass. Tinah had hold of the thief by the armand, showing him to me, desired that I would kill him. The bedding, hesaid, he had not heard of, but would go in search of it. I applauded himfor the pains he had taken in this business, and explained with somesuccess the injustice of stealing from us: that if any of our peoplecommitted the least offence against them it did not pass unnoticed; andthat friendship required on their part that those who injured us shouldnot be protected by them. Tinah stopped me from saying more by embracingme and the whole crowd cried out Tyo myty (i. E. Good friend). Tinah thenleft me to enquire after the bedding, and I sent the offender on board, whom I punished with a severe flogging. I was glad to find this man wasnot of Oparre or Matavai. The fine fruit called Avee was just coming into season: it was likewisein season at the time of our arrival in October. The breadfruit trees Ihave no doubt bear all the year round: we have seen a scarcity ofbreadfruit but have never been wholly without it. Some fern-root wasshown to me which in scarce seasons is used by the natives as bread. Itbears a long even-edged leaf about an inch wide; the taste somewhatresembled that of a yam. I was informed by our people that in their walksthey saw in many places patches of Indian corn just making theirappearance through the ground. This convinces me that the corn taken fromMatavai could not have been better disposed of. Goats are frequently offered for sale, but I rather discouraged thebuying of them for fear of injuring the breed. The natives will not eatthem, neither will they taste the milk, and ask with some appearance ofdisgust why we do not milk the sows? I endeavoured to prevail on Tinahand Iddeah to eat the goats milk by mixing it with fruit, but they wouldonly try one spoonful. We had begun to make preparations for sailing, and Tinah supplied us witha sufficient stock of wood by ordering trees to be brought down from thecountry. He had frequently expressed a wish that I would leave somefirearms and ammunition with him, as he expected to be attacked after theship sailed, and perhaps chiefly on account of our partiality to him: Itherefore thought it but reasonable to attend to his request, and I wasthe more readily prevailed on as he said his intentions were to act onlyon the defensive. This indeed seems most suited to his disposition, whichis neither active nor enterprising. If Tinah had spirit in proportion tohis size and strength he would probably be the greatest warrior inOtaheite: but courage is not the most conspicuous of his virtues. When Ipromised to leave with him a pair of pistols, which they prefer tomuskets, he told me that Iddeah would fight with one and Oedidee with theother. Iddeah has learnt to load and fire a musket with great dexterityand Oedidee is an excellent marksman. It is not common for women in thiscountry to go to war, but Iddeah is a very resolute woman, of a largemake, and has great bodily strength. Friday 6. I sent Mr. Fryer the master to sound Taowne harbour. The knowledge thatwe intended shortly to sail having spread among the natives a great manybroken iron tools were brought from all parts of the island to berepaired at our forge; and this morning a messenger arrived fromWaheatua, the Earee of Tiarraboo, with several pieces of Spanish ironwhich he desired to have made into small adzes. This request was ofcourse complied with. CHAPTER 11. Arrival of an Arreoy Woman from Tethuroa. A Present delivered by Tinah for his Majesty. Other Occurrences to the Time of the Ship's Departure from Otaheite. 1789. March. From the 5th to the 14th of this month the wind blew constantly frombetween the north-west and south-west with a great deal of rain. This wasthe longest continuance of westerly winds without interruption that weexperienced. On the 13th several canoes arrived here and at Matavai fromTethuroa: in these were a large tribe of Arreoys, and among them HuheineMoyere, the wife of Oreepyah, who is an Arreoy woman, and remained atTethuroa after Oreepyah came away. On her arrival a ceremony wasperformed called Hooepippee, which seemed to be designed as a publicvisit to all their friends, who are collected on the occasion. In thisceremony there was nothing remarkable: the Arreoy men took theiropportunity to plunder the women who were near them, and Iddeah made apresent of some cloth to Huheine Moyere, and a baked hog to the Arreoys. Friday 13. After this ceremony a present was produced from many of the principalpeople for young Otoo, the Earee Rahie, which was received by Iddeah, Tinah being absent. This present consisted of five hogs, and forty-eightbaskets filled with breadfruit, coconuts, tarro, and different kinds ofpuddings. The baskets were decorated with slips of cloth, stained withvariety of colours and carried by 24 men, each of whom had a pole on hisshoulder, at each end of which was a basket. I have seldom spoken of Otoo who was too young to have any share in themanagement of affairs, and with whom we were not permitted to have anyintercourse, except speaking to him now and then across a river; at whichtimes I did not neglect to send the children some little presents, sothat they always rejoiced to see me. I might have been admitted to anearer acquaintance if I would have gone with my shoulders uncovered, ashis parents did, but this I declined. The children do not all live underthe same roof, the two sisters eating and sleeping in a separate house, though at other times they are generally together. The island Tethuroa may very properly be compared to some of ourwatering-places in England, producing a similar effect upon those whovisit it. Many who went there covered with scurf returned plump and fair, and scarce like the same people. This alteration for the better is in agreat measure to be attributed to the discontinuance of the Ava, whichTethuroa does not produce: the coconut trees, likewise, which supply themwith their only beverage, growing on low sandy keys and having theirroots below the level of the sea may probably have qualities differentfrom the coconuts of Otaheite which, with a plenty of fish, that at othertimes they are not accustomed to, must no doubt contribute to theamendment described. Saturday 14. I was visited today by a very old man, an uncle to Tupia, the person whowent from these islands in the Endeavour in the year 1769, and who diedat Batavia. He appeared to be near 70 years old and was treated with muchrespect by the natives. He made several enquiries concerning his nephewand requested that when I came again I would bring his hair. At the timethat Tinah mentioned to me his desire of visiting England I asked whataccount I could give to his friends if he should not live to return; towhich he replied that I must cut off his hair and carry it to them andthey would be perfectly satisfied. Monday 16. On the 16th I was informed that a stop was put to the sale of hogs in thedistrict of Tettaha. Teppahoo, the Earee of that district, told me thatthey had very few hogs left there, and that it was necessary for acertain time to prohibit every person from killing or selling, that theymight have time to breed. I did not think it reasonable to solicit anyindulgence on this head: my friends at Matavai and Oparre promised tosupply us as long as we remained here, though we had considerably thinnedtheir stock. After our departure the same restriction was to take placein these districts, and it being delayed on our account certainlydeserves to be regarded among their acts of friendship towards us. As it was generally known that we were preparing to sail a number of thenatives from other parts of the island were constantly with us, and pettythefts were committed whenever the negligence of our people afforded anopportunity: but no attempt of any consequence was made. Thursday 19. This evening Mr. Samwel my clerk returned from an excursion to themountains, having been two days absent. He described the hills to be wellclothed with wood, except the tops of the higher mountains which onlyproduced bushes and fern. The birds he saw were blue parakeets and greendoves, except one which he found burrowing in the ground and brought tome. This bird was about the size of a pigeon, and proved to be awhite-bellied petrel of the same kind as those seen in high latitudes, which are called shearwaters. He likewise brought a branch of a plantlike the New Zealand tea-plant, and which at Van Diemen's land we hadmade use of for brooms. From the hills he saw the islands Maitea andHuaheine, which are situated nearly in opposite directions from Otaheiteand are 70 leagues distant from each other. Friday 27. For some days past Tinah had been busied in getting two parais, ormourning-dresses, made, which he intended as a present to King George. Being finished they were this morning hung up in his house as a publicexhibition, and a long prayer made on the occasion, the substance ofwhich was that the King of England might forever remain his friend andnot forget him. When he presented the parais for me to take on board hecould not refrain from shedding tears. During the short remainder of ourstay here there appeared among the natives an evident degree of sorrowthat we were so soon to leave them, which they showed by unusual kindnessand attention. We began this afternoon to remove the plants to the ship. They were inexcellent order: the roots had appeared through the bottom of the potsand would have shot into the ground if care had not been taken to preventit. The weather was considerably altered for the better and the tradewindappeared settled. The rainy and bad season of the year may be reckoned tobegin towards the end of November and to continue till near the end ofMarch. During this time the winds are variable and often westerly, thoughwe seldom found them to blow strong in that direction. We likewiseexperienced frequent intervals of fine weather; but during these monthsso open a road as Matavai bay is not a safe anchoring-place for shipsthat intend remaining any length of time at Otaheite. Tuesday 31. Today all the plants were on board, being in 774 pots, 39 tubs, and 24boxes. The number of breadfruit plants were 1015, besides which we hadcollected a number of other plants. The avee, which is one of thefinest-flavoured fruits in the world. The ayyah, which is a fruit not sorich but of a fine flavour and very refreshing. The rattah, not muchunlike a chestnut, which grows on a large tree in great quantities: theyare singly in large pods from one to two inches broad, and may be eatenraw or boiled in the same manner as Windsor beans, and so dressed areequally good. The oraiah, which is a very superior kind of plantain. Allthese I was particularly recommended to collect by my worthy friend, SirJoseph Banks. I had also taken on board some plants of the ettow andmatte, with which the natives here make a beautiful red colour; and aroot called peeah, of which they make an excellent pudding. I now made my last presents to several of my friends with whom I had beenmost intimate, particularly to Teppahoo. Several people expressed greatdesire to go with us to England. Oedidee, who was always very muchattached to us, said he considered it as his right, having formerly lefthis native place to sail with Captain Cook. Scarce any man belonging tothe ship was without a tyo, who brought to him presents, chiefly ofprovisions for a sea store. April. Friday 3. Tinah and his wife, with his parents, brothers, and sister, dined with metoday and, as I meant to sail early the next morning, they all remainedon board for the night. The ship was crowded the whole day with thenatives, and we were loaded with coconuts, plantains, breadfruit, hogs, and goats. In the evening there was no dancing or mirth on the beach suchas we had been accustomed to, but all was silent. Saturday 4. At daylight we unmoored: the stock of the best bower anchor was so mucheaten by the worms that it broke in stowing the anchor: the small bowerhad an iron stock, and in these voyages it is very necessary that shipsshould be provided with iron anchor stocks. At half-past six there beingno wind we weighed and, with our boats and two sweeps, towed the ship outof the harbour. Soon after the sea breeze came, and we stood off towardsthe sea. The outlet of Toahroah harbour being narrow I could permit only a few ofthe natives to be on board: many others however attended in canoes tillthe breeze came, when I was obliged to leave them. We stood off and onalmost all the remainder of the day. Tinah and Iddeah pressed me verystrongly to anchor in Matavai bay and stay one night longer but, as I hadalready taken leave of most of my friends, I thought it better to keep tomy intention of sailing. After dinner I ordered the presents which I hadpreserved for Tinah and his wife to be put in one of the ship's boats, and as I had promised him firearms I gave him two muskets, a pair ofpistols, and a good stock of ammunition. I then represented to them thenecessity of their going away, that the boat might return to the shipbefore it was dark, on which they took a most affectionate leave of meand went into the boat. One of their expressions at parting was "Yourahno t' Eatua tee eveerah. " "May the Eatua protect you, for ever and ever. " All the time we remained at Otaheite the picture of Captain Cook, at thedesire of Tinah, was kept on board the ship. On delivering it to him Iwrote on the back the time of the ship's arrival and departure, with anaccount of the number of plants on board. Tinah had desired that I would salute him at his departure with the greatguns, which I could not comply with for fear of disturbing the plants;but as a parting token of our regard we manned ship with all hands andgave him three cheers. At sunset the boat returned and we made sail, bidding farewell to Otaheite where for twenty-three weeks we had beentreated with the utmost affection and regard, and which seemed toincrease in proportion to our stay. That we were not insensible to theirkindness the events which followed more than sufficiently proves: for tothe friendly and endearing behaviour of these people may be ascribed themotives for that event which effected the ruin of an expedition thatthere was every reason to hope would have been completed in the mostfortunate manner. To enter into a description of the island or its inhabitants I look uponas superfluous. From the accounts of former voyages and the facts which Ihave related the character of the people will appear in as true a lightas by any description in my power to give. The length of time that weremained at Otaheite, with the advantage of having been there before, gave me opportunities of making perhaps a more perfect vocabulary of thelanguage than has yet appeared; but I have chosen to defer it for thepresent as there is a probability that I may hereafter be betterqualified for such a task. We left Otaheite with only two patients in the venereal list, which showsthat the disease has not gained ground. The natives say that it is oflittle consequence, and we saw several instances of people that had beeninfected who, after absenting themselves for 15 or 20 days, made theirappearance again without any visible symptom remaining of the disease. Their method of cure I am unacquainted with; but their customary diet andmode of living must contribute towards it. We saw a great many peoplehowever with scrofulous habits and bad sores: these they denied to beproduced from any venereal cause; and our surgeon was of the sameopinion. The result of the mean of 50 sets of lunar observations taken by me onshore gives for the Longitude of Point Venus 210 degrees 33 minutes 57seconds east. Captain Cook in 1769 places it in 210 degrees 27 minutes 30 seconds east. In 1777, his last voyage, 210 degrees 22 minutes 28 seconds east. The tide in Toahroah harbour was very inconsiderable and not regular. Thegreatest rise that I observed was 11 inches; but what was most singularthe time of high-water did not appear to be governed by the moon, itbeing at the highest every day between noon and two o'clock. The variablewinds and weather at this time of the year has no doubt an influence onthe tides: on some days scarce any rise was perceptible. CHAPTER 12. At the Island Huaheine. A Friend of Omai visits the Ship. Leave the Society Islands. A Water-spout. The Island Whytootackee discovered. Anchor in Annamooka Road. Our Parties on Shore robbed by the Natives. Sail from Annamooka. The Chiefs detained on board. Part friendly. 1789. April. Sunday 5. We steered towards the island Huaheine, which we got sight of the nextmorning. At noon we brought to near the entrance of Owharre harbour, itnot being my intention to anchor. We could see every part of the harbourdistinctly, but my attention was particularly directed to the spot whereOmai's house had stood, no part of which was now visible. It was nearthree o'clock before any canoes came off to us, for the people on shoreimagined that the ship was coming into the harbour. The first thatarrived had three men in it, who brought a few coconuts. I enquired aboutthe chief or Earee Rahie; and one of the fellows with great gravity saidhe was the Earee Rahie, and that he had come to desire I would bring theship into the harbour. I could not help laughing at his impudence:however I gave him a few nails for his coconuts and he left us. Immediately after a double canoe in which were ten men came alongside;among them was a young man who recollected and called me by my name. Several other canoes arrived with hogs, yams, and other provisions, whichwe purchased. My acquaintance told me that he had lived with our friendOmai. He confirmed the account that had already been given and informedme that of all the animals which had been left with Omai the mare onlyremained alive. He said that Omai and himself had often rode together, and I observed that many of the islanders who came on board had therepresentation of a man on horseback tattooed on their legs. After thedeath of Omai his house was broken to pieces and the materials stolen. The firearms were at Ulietea but useless. I enquired after the seeds andplants and was informed that they were all destroyed except one tree, butof what kind that was I could not make out from their description. I wasmuch pressed to take the ship into the harbour, and Omai's companionrequested me to let him go to England. When they found that I would notstop among them they seemed jealous of our going to Ulietea, and itappeared to give them some satisfaction when I told them that I shouldnot go near that island. The canoes had left us and we were making sail when we discovered anIndian in the water swimming towards the shore, which in all probabilityhe would not have been able to reach. We took him up and luckily anothercanoe coming alongside we put him in her. The people of the canoe saidthat the man was insane, but how he came to be swimming so far from theland we could not conjecture. At six o'clock we made sail and ran allnight to the south-west and south-west by south, between the islandsHuaheine and Ulietea. The next morning I altered the course, steeringmore to the westward for the Friendly Islands. Thursday 9. On the 9th at nine o'clock in the morning the weather became squally anda body of thick black clouds collected in the east. Soon after awater-spout was seen at no great distance from us, which appeared togreat advantage from the darkness of the clouds behind it. As nearly as Icould judge it was about two feet diameter at the upper part, and abouteight inches at the lower. I had scarce made these remarks when Iobserved that it was advancing rapidly towards the ship. We immediatelyaltered our course and took in all the sails except the foresail, soonafter which it passed within ten yards of our stern, making a rustlingnoise but without our feeling the least effect from its being so near us. The rate at which it travelled I judged to be about ten miles per hourgoing towards the west in the direction of the wind. In a quarter of anhour after passing us it dispersed. I never was so near a water-spoutbefore: the connection between the column, which was higher than ourmastheads, and the water below was no otherwise visible than by the seabeing disturbed in a circular space of about six yards in diameter, thecentre of which, from the whirling of the water round it, formed ahollow; and from the outer part of the circle the water was thrown upwith much force in a spiral direction, and could be traced to the heightof fifteen or twenty feet. At this elevation we lost sight of it andcould see nothing of its junction with the column above. It is impossibleto say what injury we should have suffered if it had passed directly overus. Masts I imagine might have been carried away, but I do not apprehendit would have endangered the loss of a ship. Saturday 11. As we sailed very near the track made in former voyages I had littlereason to expect that we should at this time make any new discovery:nevertheless on the 11th at daylight land was seen to thesouth-south-west at about five leagues distance, which appeared to be anisland of a moderate height. On the north part was a round hill: thenorth-west part was highest and steep: the south-east part sloped off toa low point. The wind had been westerly since the preceding noon, and at the time wesaw the land the ship was standing to the north-west. At six we tacked tothe southward, and as we advanced in that direction discovered a numberof low keys, of which at noon we counted nine: they were all covered withtrees. The large island first seen had a most fruitful appearance, itsshore being bordered with flat land, on which grew innumerable coconutand other trees; and the higher grounds beautifully interspersed withlawns. The wind being light and unfavourable we endeavoured all day butwithout success to get near the land. In the night we had a heavy squallwhich obliged us to clew up all our sails and soon after it fell calm. Sunday 12. The winds were light and variable all day with calms. At two in theafternoon we were within three miles of the southernmost key and couldsee a number of people within the reefs. Shortly after a canoe, in whichwere four men, paddled off to us and came alongside without showing anysigns of apprehension or surprise. I gave them a few beads and they cameinto the ship. One man, who seemed to have an ascendancy over the others, looked about the ship with some appearance of curiosity, but none of themwould venture to go below. They asked for some boiled fresh pork whichthey saw in a bowl belonging to one of the seaman, and it was given themto eat with boiled plantains. Being told that I was the Earee or chief ofthe ship the principal person came and joined noses with me, andpresented to me a large mother of pearl shell, which hung with plaitedhair round his neck; this he fastened round my neck with signs of greatsatisfaction. They spoke the same language as at Otaheite, with very little variationas far as I could judge. In a small vocabulary that I made whilstconversing with these men only four words out of twenty-four differedfrom the Otaheite. The name of the large island they told me wasWytootackee, and the Earee was called Lomakkayah. They said that therewere no hogs, dogs, or goats upon the island, nor had they yams, ortarro; but that plantains, coconuts, fowls, breadfruit, and avees, werethere in great abundance. Notwithstanding they said that no hogs were onthe island it was evident they had seen such animals; for they calledthem by the same name as is given to them at Otaheite, which made mesuspect that they were deceiving me. However I ordered a young boar andsow to be put into their canoe with some yams and tarro, as we couldafford to part with some of these articles. I also gave to each of them aknife, a small adze, some nails, beads, and a looking-glass. The latterthey examined with great curiosity; but with the ironwork they appearedto be acquainted; calling it aouree, which is the common name for ironamong the islands where it is known. As they were preparing to leave us the chief of the canoe took possessionof everything that I had given to the others. One of them showed somesigns of dissatisfaction, but after a little altercation they joinednoses and were reconciled. I now thought they were going to leave theship, but only two of them went into the canoe, the other two purposingto stay all night with us and to have the canoe return for them in themorning. I would have treated their confidence with the regard it meritedbut it was impossible to say how far the ship might be driven from theisland in the night. This I explained to them and they reluctantlyconsented to leave us. They were very solicitous that somebody from theship should go on shore with them, and just before they quitted us theygave me a wooden spear which was the only thing, the paddles excepted, they had brought with them in the canoe. It was a common longstaffpointed with the toa wood. The island of Wytootackee is about ten miles in circuit; its latitudefrom 18 degrees 50 minutes to 18 degrees 54 minutes south, and longitude200 degrees 19 minutes east. A group of small keys, eight in number, lieto the south-east, four or five miles distant from Wytootackee and asingle one to the west-south-west; the southernmost of the group is inlatitude 18 degrees 58 minutes south. Variation of the compass 8 degrees14 minutes east. The people that came off to us did not differ in appearance from thenatives of Hervey's Islands, seen in Captain Cook's last voyage, thoughmuch more friendly and inoffensive in their manners. They were tattooedacross the arms and legs, but not on the loins or posteriors, like thepeople of Otaheite. From their knowledge of iron they have doubtlesscommunication with Hervey's Islands, which are not more than eighteenleagues distant from them. In the night a breeze sprang up from the south and we continued ourcourse to the westward. Saturday 18. On the 18th at sunset we saw Savage Island, and in the night passed by tothe southward of it. Tuesday 21. At eleven o'clock in the forenoon of the 21st we saw the island Caow fromthe masthead, bearing north-west by west three-quarters west. This islandis a high mountain with a sharp-pointed top, and is the north-westernmostof all the Friendly Islands. At noon we saw it very distinctly from thedeck, it being then nineteen leagues distant from us. Thursday 23. The wind being to the southward we could not fetch Annamooka, at whichisland I intended to stop, before the evening of the 23rd, when weanchored in the road in twenty-three fathoms, the extremes of Annamookabearing east by north and south by east, our distance from the shorebeing half a league. In the middle of the day a canoe had come off to usfrom the island Mango in which was a chief named Latoomy-lange, who dinedwith me. Immediately on our anchoring several canoes came alongside withyams and coconuts, but none of the natives offered to come on boardwithout first asking permission. As yet I had seen no person with whom Icould recollect to have been formerly acquainted. I made enquiries aftersome of our old friends, particularly the chiefs, but I found myself notsufficiently master of the language to obtain the information I wanted. Friday 24. Our station being inconvenient for watering at daylight we weighed, andworked more to the eastward where we anchored in twenty-one fathoms; theextremes of Annamooka bearing north 85 degrees east and south 33 degreeswest; the Sandy bay south 73 degrees east; our distance from the shorehalf a league. Sounded all round the ship and found the ground to be acoarse coral bottom, but with even soundings. By this time some large sailing canoes were arrived from differentislands in the neighbourhood of Annamooka; and an old lame man namedTepa, whom I had known in 1777 and immediately recollected, came onboard. Two other chiefs whose names were Noocaboo and Kunocappo were withhim. Tepa having formerly been accustomed to our manner of speaking theirlanguage I found I could converse with him tolerably well. He informed methat Poulaho, Feenow, and Tubow, were alive and at Tongataboo, and thatthey would come hither as soon as they heard of our arrival, of which hepromised to send them immediate notice. He said that the cattle which wehad left at Tongataboo had all bred, and that the old ones were yetliving. He enquired after several people who were here with Captain Cook. Being desirous to see the ship I took him and his companions below andshowed them the breadfruit and other plants, at seeing which they weregreatly surprised. I made each of them a present, and when they hadsatisfied their curiosity I invited them to go on shore with me in theship's boat. I took Nelson with me to procure some breadfruit plants, one of our stockbeing dead and two or three others a little sickly. When we landed therewere about two hundred people on the beach, most of them women andchildren. Tepa showed me a large boat-house which he told me we mightmake use of, thinking we should have a party on shore as our ships hadformerly. I went with him in search of water but could find no betterplace than where Captain Cook had watered, which is a quarter of a mileinland from the east end of the beach. I next walked to the west point ofthe bay where some plants and seeds had been sown by Captain Cook; andhad the satisfaction to see in a plantation close by about twenty finepineapple plants but no fruit, this not being the proper season. Theytold me that they had eaten many of them, that they were fine and large, and that at Tongataboo there were great numbers. When I returned to the landing-place I was desired to sit down and apresent was brought me which consisted of some bundles of coconuts only. This fell short of my expectations; however I appeared satisfied anddistributed beads and trinkets to the women and children near me. Numerous were the marks of mourning with which these people disfigurethemselves, such as bloody temples, their heads deprived of most of thehair, and what was worse almost all of them with the loss of some oftheir fingers. Several fine boys, not above six years old, had lost boththeir little fingers; and some of the men besides these had parted withthe middle finger of the right hand. The chiefs went off with me to dinner, and I found a brisk trade carryingon at the ship for yams; some plantains and breadfruit were likewisebrought on board but no hogs. In the afternoon more sailing canoesarrived, some of which contained not less than ninety passengers. Wepurchased eight hogs, some dogs, fowls, and shaddocks. Yams were in greatabundance, very fine and large; one yam weighed above forty-five pounds. Among the people that came this afternoon were two of the name of Tubow, which is a family of the first distinction among the Friendly Islands;one of them was chief of the island Lefooga; with him and Tepa I went onshore to see the wooding place. I found a variety of sizable trees butthe kind which I principally pitched upon was the Barringtonia ofForster. I acquainted Tepa with my intention of sending people to cutwood, which meeting with his approbation, we parted. Saturday 25. On the 25th at daylight the wooding and watering parties went on shore. Ihad directed them not to cut the kind of tree* which, when Captain Cookwooded here in 1777, blinded for a time many of the woodcutters. They hadnot been an hour on shore before one man had an axe stolen from him andanother an adze. Tepa was applied to, who got the axe restored but theadze was not recovered. In the evening we completed wooding. (*Footnote. Excoecaria agallocha Linn. Sp. Pl. Called in the Malaylanguage caju mata boota, which signifies the the tree that wounds theeyes. ) Sunday 26. In the morning Nelson went on shore to get a few plants but, no principalchief being among the people, he was insulted, and a spade taken fromhim. A boat's grapnel was likewise stolen from the watering party. Teparecovered the spade for us, but the crowd of natives was become so great, by the number of canoes that had arrived from different islands, that itwas impossible to do anything where there was such a multitude of peoplewithout a chief of sufficient authority to command the whole. I thereforeordered the watering party to go on board and determined to sail, for Icould not discover that any canoe had been sent to acquaint the chiefs ofTongataboo of our being here. For some time after the thefts werecommitted the chiefs kept away, but before noon they came on board. At noon we unmoored, and at one o'clock got under sail. The two Tubows, Kunocappo, Latoomy-lange, and another chief, were on board, and Iacquainted them that unless the grapnel was returned they must remain inthe ship. They were surprised and not a little alarmed. Canoes wereimmediately despatched after the grapnel, which I was informed could notpossibly be brought to the ship before the next day, as those who hadstolen it immediately sailed with their prize to another island. Nevertheless I detained them till sunset, when their uneasiness andimpatience increased to such a degree that they began to beat themselvesabout the face and eyes and some of them cried bitterly. As this distresswas more than the grapnel was worth, and I had no reason to imagine thatthey were privy to or in any manner concerned in the theft, I could notthink of detaining them longer and called their canoes alongside. I thentold them they were at liberty to go, and made each of them a present ofa hatchet, a saw, with some knives, gimblets, and nails. This unexpectedpresent and the sudden change in their situation affected them not lesswith joy than they had before been with apprehension. They were unboundedin their acknowledgments and I have little doubt but that we partedbetter friends than if the affair had never happened. We stood to the northward all night with light winds. Monday 27. And on the next day the 27th at noon were between the islands Tofoa andKotoo. Latitude observed 19 degrees 18 minutes south. Thus far the voyage had advanced in a course of uninterrupted prosperity, and had been attended with many circumstances equally pleasing andsatisfactory. A very different scene was now to be experienced. Aconspiracy had been formed which was to render all our past labourproductive only of extreme misery and distress. The means had beenconcerted and prepared with so much secrecy and circumspection that noone circumstance appeared to occasion the smallest suspicion of theimpending calamity. CHAPTER 13. A Mutiny in the Ship. 1789. April. Monday 27. We kept near the island Kotoo all the afternoon in hopes that some canoeswould come off to the ship; but in this I was disappointed. The windbeing northerly in the evening we steered to the westward to pass to thesouth of Tofoa. I gave directions for this course to be continued duringthe night. The master had the first watch, the gunner the middle watch, and Mr. Christian the morning watch. This was the turn of duty for thenight. Tuesday 28. Just before sun-rising, while I was yet asleep, Mr. Christian, with themaster at arms, gunner's mate, and Thomas Burkitt, seaman, came into mycabin, and seizing me tied my hands with a cord behind my back, threatening me with instant death if I spoke or made the least noise: Ihowever called as loud as I could in hopes of assistance; but they hadalready secured the officers who were not of their party by placingsentinels at their doors. There were three men at my cabin door besidesthe four within; Christian had only a cutlass in his hand, the others hadmuskets and bayonets. I was hauled out of bed and forced on deck in myshirt, suffering great pain from the tightness which with they had tiedmy hands. I demanded the reason of such violence but received no otheranswer than abuse for not holding my tongue. The master, the gunner, thesurgeon, Mr. Elphinstone, master's mate, and Nelson, were kept confinedbelow; and the fore hatchway was guarded by sentinels. The boatswain andcarpenter, and also the clerk, Mr. Samuel, were allowed to come upondeck, where they saw me standing abaft the mizenmast with my hands tiedbehind my back under a guard with Christian at their head. The boatswainwas ordered to hoist the launch out with a threat if he did not do itinstantly TO TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF. When the boat was out Mr. Hayward and Mr. Hallet, two of the midshipmen, and Mr. Samuel, were ordered into it. I demanded what their intention wasin giving this order and endeavoured to persuade the people near me notto persist in such acts of violence; but it was to no effect: "Hold yourtongue, Sir, or you are dead this instant, " was constantly repeated tome. The master by this time had sent to request that he might come on deck, which was permitted but he was soon ordered back again to his cabin. I continued my endeavours to turn the tide of affairs, when Christianchanged the cutlass which he had in his hand for a bayonet that wasbrought to him and, holding me with a strong grip by the cord that tiedmy hands, he with many oaths threatened to kill me immediately if I wouldnot be quiet: the villains round me had their pieces cocked and bayonetsfixed. Particular people were called on to go into the boat and werehurried over the side; whence I concluded that with these people I was tobe set adrift: I therefore made another effort to bring about a changebut with no other effect than to be threatened with having my brainsblown out. The boatswain and seamen who were to go in the boat were allowed tocollect twine, canvas, lines, sails, cordage, an eight and twenty-galloncask of water, and Mr. Samuel got 150 pounds of bread, with a smallquantity of rum and wine, also a quadrant and compass; but he wasforbidden on pain of death to touch either map, ephemeris, book ofastronomical observations, sextant, timekeeper, or any of my surveys ordrawings. The mutineers having forced those of the seamen whom they meant to getrid of into the boat, Christian directed a dram to be served to each ofhis own crew. I then unhappily saw that nothing could be done to effectthe recovery of the ship: there was no one to assist me, and everyendeavour on my part was answered with threats of death. The officers were next called upon deck and forced over the side into theboat, while I was kept apart from everyone, abaft the mizenmast;Christian, armed with a buoyant, holding me by the bandage that securedmy hands. The guard round me had their pieces cocked, but on my daringthe ungrateful wretches to fire they uncocked them. Isaac Martin, one of the guard over me, I saw had an inclination toassist me, and as he fed me with shaddock (my lips being quite parched)we explained our wishes to each other by our looks; but this beingobserved Martin was removed from me. He then attempted to leave the ship, for which purpose he got into the boat; but with many threats theyobliged him to return. The armourer, Joseph Coleman, and two of the carpenters, McIntosh andNorman, were also kept contrary to their inclination; and they begged ofme, after I was astern in the boat, to remember that they declared theyhad no hand in the transaction. Michael Byrne, I am told, likewise wantedto leave the ship. It is of no moment for me to recount my endeavours to bring back theoffenders to a sense of their duty: all I could do was by speaking tothem in general; but it was to no purpose, for I was kept securely boundand no one except the guard suffered to come near me. To Mr. Samuel I am indebted for securing my journals and commission withsome material ship papers. Without these I had nothing to certify what Ihad done, and my honour and character might have been suspected withoutmy possessing a proper document to have defended them. All this he didwith great resolution, though guarded and strictly watched. He attemptedto save the timekeeper, and a box with my surveys, drawings, and remarksfor fifteen years past, which were numerous, when he was hurried away, with "Damn your eyes you are well off to get what you have. " It appeared to me that Christian was some time in doubt whether he shouldkeep the carpenter or his mates; at length he determined on the latterand the carpenter was ordered into the boat. He was permitted but notwithout some opposition to take his tool chest. Much altercation took place among the mutinous crew during the wholebusiness: some swore "I'll be damned if he does not find his way home, ifhe gets anything with him, " (meaning me) and, when the carpenter's chestwas carrying away, "Damn my eyes he will have a vessel built in a month. "While others laughed at the helpless situation of the boat, being verydeep and so little room for those who were in her. As for Christian heseemed as if meditating destruction on himself and everyone else. I asked for arms but they laughed at me, and said I was well acquaintedwith the people among whom I was going, and therefore did not want them;four cutlasses however were thrown into the boat after we were veeredastern. The officers and men being in the boat they only waited for me, of whichthe master at arms informed Christian, who then said: "Come, captainBligh, your officers and men are now in the boat and you must go withthem; if you attempt to make the least resistance you will instantly beput to death" and, without further ceremony, with a tribe of armedruffians about me, I was forced over the side where they untied my hands. Being in the boat we were veered astern by a rope. A few pieces of porkwere thrown to us, and some clothes, also the cutlasses I have alreadymentioned; and it was then that the armourer and carpenters called out tome to remember that they had no hand in the transaction. After havingundergone a great deal of ridicule and been kept some time to make sportfor these unfeeling wretches we were at length cast adrift in the openocean. I had with me in the boat the following persons: John Fryer: Master. Thomas Ledward: Acting Surgeon. David Nelson: Botanist. William Peckover: Gunner. William Cole: Boatswain. William Purcell: Carpenter. William Elphinston: Master's Mate. Thomas Hayward, John Hallet: Midshipman. John Norton, Peter Linkletter: Quarter Masters. Lawrence Lebogue: Sailmaker. John Smith, Thomas Hall: Cooks. George Simpson: Quarter Master's Mate. Robert Tinkler: A boy. Robert Lamb: Butcher. Mr. Samuel: Clerk. There remained on board the Bounty: Fletcher Christian: Master's Mate. Peter Haywood, Edward Young, George Stewart: Midshipmen. Charles Churchill: Master at Arms. John Mills: Gunner's Mate. James Morrison: Boatswain's Mate. Thomas Burkitt, Matthew Quintal, John Sumner, John Millward, WilliamMcKoy, Henry Hillbrant, Michael Byrne, William Musprat, Alexander Smith, John Williams, Thomas Ellison, Isaac Martin, Richard Skinner, MatthewThompson: Able Seamen. William Brown: Gardener. Joseph Coleman: Armourer. Charles Norman: Carpenter's Mate. Thomas McIntosh: Carpenter's Crew. In all 25 hands, and the most able men of the ship's company. Having little or no wind we rowed pretty fast towards Tofoa, which borenorth-east about 10 leagues from us. While the ship was in sight shesteered to the west-north-west, but I considered this only as a feint;for when we were sent away "Huzza for Otaheite" was frequently heardamong the mutineers. Christian the chief of the mutineers is of a respectable family in thenorth of England. This was the third voyage he had made with me and, as Ifound it necessary to keep my ship's company at three watches, I hadgiven him an order to take charge of the third, his abilities beingthoroughly equal to the task; and by this means the master and gunnerwere not at watch and watch. Haywood is also of a respectable family in the north of England and ayoung man of abilities as well as Christian. These two had been objectsof my particular regard and attention, and I had taken great pains toinstruct them, having entertained hopes that as professional men theywould have become a credit to their country. Young was well recommended and had the look of an able stout seaman: hehowever fell short of what his appearance promised. Stewart was a young man of creditable parents in the Orkneys, at whichplace on the return of the Resolution from the South Seas in 1780 wereceived so many civilities that on that account only I should gladlyhave taken him with me but, independent of this recommendation, he was aseaman and had always borne a good character. Notwithstanding the roughness with which I was treated the remembrance ofpast kindnesses produced some signs of remorse in Christian. When theywere forcing me out of the ship I asked him if this treatment was aproper return for the many instances he had received of my friendship? heappeared disturbed at my question and answered with much emotion: "That, captain Bligh, that is the thing; I am in hell, I am in hell. " As soon as I had time to reflect I felt an inward satisfaction whichprevented any depression of my spirits: conscious of my integrity andanxious solicitude for the good of the service in which I had beenengaged I found my mind wonderfully supported, and I began to conceivehopes, notwithstanding so heavy a calamity, that I should one day be ableto account to my King and country for the misfortune. A few hours beforemy situation had been peculiarly flattering. I had a ship in the mostperfect order and well stored with every necessary both for service andhealth: by early attention to those particulars I had as much as lay inmy power, provided against any accident, in case I could not get throughEndeavour Straits, as well as against what might befall me in them; addto this the plants had been successfully preserved in the mostflourishing state: so that upon the whole the voyage was two-thirdscompleted, and the remaining part to all appearance in a very promisingway; every person on board being in perfect health, to establish whichwas ever amongst the principal objects of my attention. It will very naturally be asked what could be the reason for such arevolt? in answer to which I can only conjecture that the mutineers hadflattered themselves with the hopes of a more happy life among theOtaheiteans than they could possibly enjoy in England; and this, joinedto some female connections, most probably occasioned the wholetransaction. The women at Otaheite are handsome, mild and cheerful in their mannersand conversation, possessed of great sensibility, and have sufficientdelicacy to make them admired and beloved. The chiefs were so muchattached to our people that they rather encouraged their stay among themthan otherwise, and even made them promises of large possessions. Underthese and many other attendant circumstances equally desirable it is nowperhaps not so much to be wondered at, though scarcely possible to havebeen foreseen, that a set of sailors, most of them void of connections, should be led away; especially when, in addition to such powerfulinducements, they imagined it in their power to fix themselves in themidst of plenty on one of the finest islands in the world, where theyneed not labour, and where the allurements of dissipation are beyondanything that can be conceived. The utmost however that any commandercould have supposed to have happened is that some of the people wouldhave been tempted to desert. But, if it should be asserted that acommander is to guard against an act of mutiny and piracy in his own shipmore than by the common rules of service, it is as much as to say that hemust sleep locked up and when awake be girded with pistols. Desertions have happened more or less from most of the ships that havebeen at the Society Islands; but it has always been in the commanderspower to make the chiefs return their people: the knowledge thereforethat it was unsafe to desert perhaps first led mine to consider with whatease so small a ship might be surprised, and that so favourable anopportunity would never offer to them again. The secrecy of this mutiny is beyond all conception. Thirteen of theparty who were with me had always lived forward among the seamen; yetneither they nor the messmates of Christian, Stewart, Haywood, and Young, had ever observed any circumstance that made them in the least suspectwhat was going on. To such a close-planned act of villainy, my mind beingentirely free from any suspicion, it is not wonderful that I fell asacrifice. Perhaps if there had been marines on board a sentinel at mycabin-door might have prevented it; for I slept with the door always openthat the officer of the watch might have access to me on all occasions, the possibility of such a conspiracy being ever the farthest from mythoughts. Had their mutiny been occasioned by any grievances, either realor imaginary, I must have discovered symptoms of their discontent, whichwould have put me on my guard: but the case was far otherwise. Christianin particular I was on the most friendly terms with: that very day he wasengaged to have dined with me, and the preceding night he excused himselffrom supping with me on pretence of being unwell; for which I feltconcerned, having no suspicions of his integrity and honour. CHAPTER 14. Proceed in the Launch to the Island Tofoa. Difficulty in obtaining Supplies there. Treacherous Attack of the Natives. Escape to Sea and bear away for New Holland. 1789. April. My first determination was to seek a supply of breadfruit and water atTofoa, and afterwards to sail for Tongataboo, and there risk asolicitation to Poulaho the king to equip our boat and grant us a supplyof water and provisions, so as to enable us to reach the East Indies. The quantity of provisions I found in the boat was 150 pounds of bread, 16 pieces of pork, each piece weighing 2 pounds, 6 quarts of rum, 6bottles of wine, with 28 gallons of water, and four empty barrecoes. Fortunately it was calm all the afternoon till about four o'clock, whenwe were so far to windward that, with a moderate easterly breeze whichsprung up, we were able to sail. It was nevertheless dark when we got toTofoa where I expected to land, but the shore proved to be so steep androcky that we were obliged to give up all thoughts of it and keep theboat under the lee of the island with two oars, for there was noanchorage. Having fixed on this mode of proceeding for the night I servedto every person half a pint of grog, and each took to his rest as well asour unhappy situation would allow. Wednesday 29. In the morning at dawn of day we rowed along shore in search of alanding-place, and about ten o'clock we discovered a cove with a stonybeach at the north-west part of the island, where I dropped the grapnelwithin 20 yards of the rocks. A great surf ran on the shore but, as I wasunwilling to diminish our stock of provisions, I landed Mr. Samuel andsome others, who climbed the cliffs and got into the country to searchfor supplies. The rest of us remained at the cove, not discovering anyother way into the country than that by which Mr. Samuel had proceeded. It was great consolation to me to find that the spirits of my people didnot sink, notwithstanding our miserable and almost hopeless situation. Towards noon Mr. Samuel returned with a few quarts of water which he hadfound in holes; but he had met with no spring or any prospect of asufficient supply in that particular, and had seen only the signs ofinhabitants. As it was uncertain what might be our future necessities Ionly issued a morsel of bread and a glass of wine to each person fordinner. I observed the latitude of this cove to be 19 degrees 41 minutes south. This is the north-west part of Tofoa, the north-westernmost of theFriendly Islands. The weather was fair but the wind blew so strong from the east-south-eastthat we could not venture to sea. Our detention made it absolutelynecessary to endeavour to obtain something towards our support; for Idetermined if possible to keep our first stock entire. We thereforeweighed and rowed along shore to see if anything could be got; and atlast discovered some coconut trees; but they were on the top of highprecipices and the surf made it dangerous landing: both one and the otherwe however got the better of. Some of the people with much difficultyclimbed the cliffs and got about 20 coconuts, and others flung them toropes, by which we hauled them through the surf into the boat. This wasall that could be done here and, as I found no place so safe as the onewe had left to spend the night at, I returned to the cove and, havingserved a coconut to each person, we went to rest again in the boat. Thursday 30. At daylight we attempted to put to sea; but the wind and weather provedso bad that I was glad to return to our former station where, afterissuing a morsel of bread and a spoonful of rum to each person, welanded, and I went off with Mr. Nelson, Mr. Samuel, and some others, intothe country, having hauled ourselves up the precipice by long vines whichwere fixed there by the natives for that purpose, this being the only wayinto the country. We found a few deserted huts and a small plantain walk but little takencare of, from which we could only collect three small bunches ofplantains. After passing this place we came to a deep gully that ledtowards a mountain near a volcano and, as I conceived that in the rainyseason very great torrents of water must pass through it, we hoped tofind sufficient for our use remaining in some holes of the rocks; butafter all our search the whole that we collected was only nine gallons. We advanced within two miles of the foot of the highest mountain in theisland, on which is the volcano that is almost constantly burning. Thecountry near it is covered with lava and has a most dreary appearance. Aswe had not been fortunate in our discoveries, and saw nothing toalleviate our distresses except the plantains and water above-mentioned, we returned to the boat exceedingly fatigued and faint. When I came tothe precipice whence we were to descend into the cove I was seized withsuch a dizziness in my head that I thought it scarce possible to effectit: however by the assistance of Nelson and others they at last got medown, in a weak condition. Every person being returned by noon I gaveabout an ounce of pork and two plantains to each, with half a glass ofwine. I again observed the latitude of this place 19 degrees 41 minutessouth. The people who remained by the boat I had directed to look forfish or what they could pick up about the rocks; but nothing eatablecould be found: so that upon the whole we considered ourselves on asmiserable a spot of land as could well be imagined. I could not say positively from the former knowledge I had of this islandwhether it was inhabited or not; but I knew it was considered inferior tothe other islands, and I was not certain but that the Indians onlyresorted to it at particular times. I was very anxious to ascertain thispoint for, in case there had been only a few people here, and those couldhave furnished us with but very moderate supplies, the remaining in thisspot to have made preparations for our voyage would have been preferableto the risk of going amongst multitudes, where perhaps we might loseeverything. A party therefore sufficiently strong I determined should goanother route as soon as the sun became lower, and they cheerfullyundertook it. About two o'clock in the afternoon the party set out but, after sufferingmuch fatigue, they returned in the evening without any kind of success. At the head of the cove about 150 yards from the waterside there was acave; the distance across the stony beach was about 100 yards, and fromthe country into the cove there was no other way than that which I havealready described. The situation secured us from the danger of beingsurprised, and I determined to remain on shore for the night with a partof my people that the others might have more room to rest in the boatwith the master, whom I directed to lie at a grapnel and be watchful incase we should be attacked. I ordered one plantain for each person to beboiled and, having supped on this scanty allowance with a quarter of apint of grog, and fixed the watches for the night, those whose turn itwas laid down to sleep in the cave, before which we kept up a good fireyet notwithstanding we were much troubled with flies and mosquitoes. May. Friday 1. At dawn of day the party set out again in a different route to see whatthey could find, in the course of which they suffered greatly for want ofwater: they however met with two men, a woman, and a child: the men camewith them to the cove and brought two coconut shells of water. Iendeavoured to make friends of these people and sent them away forbreadfruit, plantains, and water. Soon after other natives came to us;and by noon there were thirty about us, from whom we obtained a smallsupply; but I could only afford one ounce of pork and a quarter of abreadfruit to each man for dinner, with half a pint of water, for I wasfixed in my resolution not to use any of the bread or water in the boat. No particular chief was yet among the natives: they were notwithstandingtractable, and behaved honestly, exchanging the provisions they broughtfor a few buttons and beads. The party who had been out informed me oftheir having seen several neat plantations, so that it remained no longera doubt of there being settled inhabitants on the island, for whichreason I determined to get what I could, and to sail the first momentthat the wind and weather would allow us to put to sea. I was much puzzled in what manner to account to the natives for the lossof my ship: I knew they had too much sense to be amused with a story thatthe ship was to join me, when she was not in sight from the hills. I wasat first doubtful whether I should tell the real fact or say that theship had overset and sunk, and that we only were saved: the latterappeared to be the most proper and advantageous for us, and I accordinglyinstructed my people, that we might all agree in one story. As I expectedenquiries were made about the ship, and they seemed readily satisfiedwith our account; but there did not appear the least symptom of joy orsorrow in their faces, although I fancied I discovered some marks ofsurprise. Some of the natives were coming and going the whole afternoon, and we got enough of breadfruit, plantains, and coconuts for another day;but of water they only brought us about five pints. A canoe also came inwith four men and brought a few coconuts and breadfruit which I bought asI had done the rest. Nails were much enquired after, but I would notsuffer any to be shown as they were wanted for the use of the boat. Towards evening I had the satisfaction to find our stock of provisionssomewhat increased, but the natives did not appear to have much to spare. What they brought was in such small quantities that I had no reason tohope we should be able to procure from them sufficient to stock us forour voyage. At sunset all the natives left us in quiet possession of thecove. I thought this a good sign, and made no doubt that they would comeagain the next day with a better supply of food and water, with which Ihoped to sail without farther delay: for if in attempting to get toTongataboo we should be driven to leeward of the islands there would be alarger quantity of provisions to support us against such a misfortune. At night I served a quarter of a breadfruit and a coconut to each personfor supper and, a good fire being made, all but the watch went to sleep. Saturday 2. At daybreak the next morning I was pleased to find everyone's spirits alittle revived, and that they no longer regarded me with those anxiouslooks which had constantly been directed towards me since we lost sightof the ship: every countenance appeared to have a degree of cheerfulness, and they all seemed determined to do their best. As there was no certainty of our being supplied with water by the nativesI sent a party among the gullies in the mountains with empty shells tosee what could be found. In their absence the natives came about us as Iexpected, and in greater numbers; two canoes also came in from round thenorth side of the island. In one of them was an elderly chief calledMaccaackavow. Soon after some of our foraging party returned, and withthem came a good-looking chief called Egijeefow, or perhaps more properlyEefow, Egij or Eghee, signifying a chief. To each of these men I made apresent of an old shirt and a knife, and I soon found they either hadseen me or had heard of my being at Annamooka. They knew I had been withcaptain Cook, who they inquired after, and also captain Clerk. They werevery inquisitive to know in what manner I had lost my ship. During thisconversation a young man named Nageete appeared, whom I remembered tohave seen at Annamooka: he expressed much pleasure at our meeting. Ienquired after Poulaho and Feenow, who they said were at Tongataboo; andEefow agreed to accompany me thither if I would wait till the weathermoderated. The readiness and affability of this man gave me muchsatisfaction. This however was but of short duration for the natives began to increasein number and I observed some symptoms of a design against us. Soon afterthey attempted to haul the boat on shore, on which I brandished mycutlass in a threatening manner and spoke to Eefow to desire them todesist, which they did and everything became quiet again. My people whohad been in the mountains now returned with about three gallons of water. I kept buying up the little breadfruit that was brought to us, andlikewise some spears to arm my men with, having only four cutlasses, twoof which were in the boat. As we had no means of improving our situationI told our people I would wait till sunset, by which time perhapssomething might happen in our favour: for if we attempted to go atpresent we must fight our way through, which we could do moreadvantageously at night; and that in the meantime we would endeavour toget off to the boat what we had bought. The beach was lined with thenatives and we heard nothing but the knocking of stones together, whichthey had in each hand. I knew very well this was the sign of an attack. At noon I served a coconut and a breadfruit to each person for dinner, and gave some to the chiefs, with whom I continued to appear intimate andfriendly. They frequently importuned me to sit down but I as constantlyrefused: for it occurred both to Nelson and myself that the intended toseize hold of me if I gave them such an opportunity. Keeping thereforeconstantly on our guard we were suffered to eat our uncomfortable meal insome quietness. After dinner we began by little and little to get our things into theboat, which was a troublesome business on account of the surf. Icarefully watched the motions of the natives, who continued to increasein number, and found that, instead of their intention being to leave us, fires were made, and places fixed on for their stay during the night. Consultations were also held among them and everything assured me weshould be attacked. I sent orders to the master that when he saw uscoming down he should keep the boat close to the shore that we might themore readily embark. I had my journal on shore with me, writing the occurrences in the caveand in sending it down to the boat, it was nearly snatched away but forthe timely assistance of the gunner. The sun was near setting when I gave the word, on which every person whowas on shore with me boldly took up his proportion of things and carriedthem to the boat. The chiefs asked me if I would not stay with them allnight. I said: "No, I never sleep out of my boat; but in the morning wewill again trade with you, and I shall remain till the weather ismoderate that we may go, as we have agreed, to see Poulaho atTongataboo. " Maccaackavow then got up and said: "You will not sleep onshore? then Mattie" (which directly signifies we will kill you) and heleft me. The onset was now preparing; everyone as I have described beforekept knocking stones together, and Eefow quitted me. All but two or threethings were in the boat, when I took Nageete by the hand, and we walkeddown the beach, everyone in a silent kind of horror. While I was seeing the people embark Nageete wanted me to stay to speakto Eefow, but I found he was encouraging them to the attack, and it wasmy determination if they had then begun to have killed him for histreacherous behaviour. I ordered the carpenter not to quit me till theother people were in the boat. Nageete, finding I would not stay, loosedhimself from my hold and went off, and we all got into the boat exceptone man who, while I was getting on board, quitted it and ran up thebeach to cast the stern fast off, notwithstanding the master and otherscalled to him to return while they were hauling me out of the water. I was no sooner in the boat than the attack began by about 200 men; theunfortunate poor man who had run up the beach was knocked down, and thestones flew like a shower of shot. Many Indians got hold of the sternrope and were near hauling the boat on shore, which they would certainlyhave effected if I had not had a knife in my pocket with which I cut therope. We then hauled off to the grapnel, everyone being more or lesshurt. At this time I saw five of the natives about the poor man they hadkilled, and two of them were beating him about the head with stones intheir hands. We had no time to reflect for to my surprise they filled their canoeswith stones, and twelve men came off after us to renew the attack, whichthey did so effectually as nearly to disable us all. Our grapnel was foulbut Providence here assisted us; the fluke broke and we got to our oarsand pulled to sea. They however could paddle round us, so that we wereobliged to sustain the attack without being able to return it, exceptwith such stones as lodged in the boat, and in this I found we were veryinferior to them. We could not close because our boat was lumbered andheavy, of which they knew how to take advantage: I therefore adopted theexpedient of throwing overboard some clothes which, as I expected, theystopped to pick up and, as it was by this time almost dark, they gaveover the attack and returned towards the shore leaving us to reflect onour unhappy situation. The poor man killed by the natives was John Norton: this was his secondvoyage with me as a quartermaster, and his worthy character made melament his loss very much. He has left an aged parent I am told, whom hesupported. I once before sustained an attack of a similar nature with a smallernumber of Europeans against a multitude of Indians: it was after thedeath of Captain Cook on the Morai at Owhyhee, where I was left byLieutenant King. Yet notwithstanding this experience I had not an ideathat the power of a man's arm could throw stones from two to eight poundsweight with such force and exactness as these people did. Here unhappilywe were without firearms, which the Indians knew; and it was a fortunatecircumstance that they did not begin to attack us in the cave; for inthat case our destruction must have been inevitable, and we should havehad nothing left for it but to sell our lives as dearly as we could, inwhich I found everyone cheerfully disposed to concur. This appearance ofresolution deterred them, supposing that they could effect their purposewithout risk after we were in the boat. Taking this as a sample of the disposition of the natives there was butlittle reason to expect much benefit by persevering in the intention ofvisiting Poulaho; for I considered their good behaviour formerly to haveproceeded from a dread of our firearms, and which therefore was likely tocease, as they knew we were now destitute of them: and even supposing ourlives not in danger the boat and everything we had would most probably betaken from us, and thereby all hopes precluded of ever being able toreturn to our native country. We set our sails and steered along shore by the west side of the islandTofoa, the wind blowing fresh from the eastward. My mind was employed inconsidering what was best to be done when I was solicited by all hands totake them towards home: and when I told them that no hopes of relief forus remained (except what might be found at New Holland) till I came toTimor, a distance of full 1200 leagues, where there was a Dutchsettlement, but in what part of the island I knew not, they all agreed tolive on one ounce of bread and a quarter of a pint of water per day. Therefore after examining our stock of provisions and recommending tothem in the most solemn manner not to depart from their promise, we boreaway across a sea where the navigation is but little known, in a smallboat twenty-three feet long from stem to stern, deep laden with eighteenmen. I was happy however to see that everyone seemed better satisfiedwith our situation than myself. Our stock of provisions consisted of about one hundred and fifty poundsof bread, twenty-eight gallons of water, twenty pounds of pork, threebottles of wine, and five quarts of rum. The difference between this andthe quantity we had on leaving the ship was principally owing to our lossin the bustle and confusion of the attack. A few coconuts were in theboat and some breadfruit, but the latter was trampled to pieces. CHAPTER 15. Passage towards New Holland. Islands discovered in our Route. Our great Distresses. See the Reefs of New Holland and find a Passage through them. 1789. May. It was about eight o'clock at night when we bore away under a reefed lugfore-sail and, having divided the people into watches and got the boat ina little order, we returned God thanks for our miraculous preservationand, fully confident of his gracious support, I found my mind more atease than it had been for some time past. Sunday 3. At daybreak the gale increased; the sun rose very fiery and red, a sureindication of a severe gale of wind. At eight it blew a violent storm andthe sea ran very high, so that between the seas the sail was becalmed, and when on the top of the sea it was too much to have set: but we couldnot venture to take in the sail for we were in very imminent danger anddistress, the sea curling over the stern of the boat, which obliged us tobale with all our might. A situation more distressing has perhaps seldombeen experienced. Our bread was in bags and in danger of being spoiled by the wet: to bestarved to death was inevitable if this could not be prevented: Itherefore began to examine what clothes there were in the boat and whatother things could be spared and, having determined that only two suitsshould be kept for each person, the rest was thrown overboard with somerope and spare sails, which lightened the boat considerably, and we hadmore room to bale the water out. Fortunately the carpenter had a goodchest in the boat, in which we secured the bread the first favourablemoment. His tool chest also was cleared and the tools stowed in thebottom of the boat so that this became a second convenience. I served a teaspoonful of rum to each person (for we were very wet andcold) with a quarter of a breadfruit, which was scarce eatable, fordinner: our engagement was now strictly to be carried into execution, andI was fully determined to make our provisions last eight weeks, let thedaily proportion be ever so small. At noon I considered our course and distance from Tofoa to bewest-north-west three-quarters west 86 miles, latitude 19 degrees 27minutes south. I directed the course to the west-north-west that we mightget a sight of the islands called Feejee if they laid in the directionthe natives had pointed out to me. The weather continued very severe, the wind veering from north-east toeast-south-east. The sea ran higher than in the forenoon, and the fatigueof baling to keep the boat from filling was exceedingly great. We coulddo nothing more than keep before the sea, in the course of which the boatperformed so well that I no longer dreaded any danger in that respect. But, among the hardships we were to undergo, that of being constantly wetwas not the least. Monday 4. The night was very cold and at daylight our limbs were so benumbed thatwe could scarce find the use of them. At this time I served a teaspoonfulof rum to each person, from which we all found great benefit. As I have mentioned before I determined to keep to the west-north-westtill I got more to the northward, for I not only expected to have betterweather but to see the Feejee Islands, as I have often understood fromthe natives of Annamooka that they lie in that direction. Captain Cooklikewise considered them to be north-west by west from Tongataboo. Justbefore noon we discovered a small flat island of a moderate heightbearing west-south-west 4 or 5 leagues. I observed our latitude to be 18degrees 58 minutes south; our longitude was by account 3 degrees 4minutes west from the island of Tofoa, having made a north 72 degreeswest course, distance 95 miles, since yesterday noon. I divided fivesmall coconuts for our dinner and everyone was satisfied. A little after noon other islands appeared, and at a quarter past threeo'clock we could count eight, bearing from south round by the west tonorth-west by north, those to the south which were the nearest being fourleagues distant from us. I kept my course to the north-west by west between the islands, the galehaving considerably abated. At six o'clock we discovered three othersmall islands to the north-west, the westernmost of them bore north-westhalf west 7 leagues. I steered to the southward of these islands awest-north-west course for the night under a reefed sail. Served a few broken pieces of breadfruit for supper and performedprayers. The night turned out fair and, having had tolerable rest, everyone seemedconsiderably better in the morning, and contentedly breakfasted on a fewpieces of yams that were found in the boat. After breakfast we examinedour bread, a great deal of which was damaged and rotten; thisnevertheless we were glad to keep for use. I had hitherto been scarcely able to keep any account of our run, but wenow equipped ourselves a little better by getting a log-line marked and, having practised at counting seconds, several could do it with somedegree of exactness. The islands we had passed lie between the latitude of 19 degrees 5minutes south and 18 degrees 19 minutes south, and according to myreckoning from 3 degrees 17 minutes to 3 degrees 46 minutes westlongitude from the island Tofoa: the largest may be about six leagues incircuit; but it is impossible for me to be very correct. To show wherethey are to be found again is the most my situation enabled me to do. Thesketch I have made will give a comparative view of their extent. Ibelieve all the larger islands are inhabited as they appeared veryfertile. At noon I observed in latitude 18 degrees 10 seconds south and consideredmy course and distance from yesterday noon north-west by west half west94 miles; longitude by account from Tofoa 4 degrees 29 minutes west. For dinner I served some of the damaged bread and a quarter of a pint ofwater. About six o'clock in the afternoon we discovered two islands, one bearingwest by south 6 leagues and the other north-west by north 8 leagues; Ikept to windward of the northernmost and, passing it by 10 o'clock, Iresumed our course to the north-west and west-north-west for the night. Wednesday 6. The weather was fair and the wind moderate all day from theeast-north-east. At daylight a number of other islands were in sight fromsouth-south-east to the west and round to north-east by east; betweenthose in the north-west I determined to pass. At noon a small sandyisland or key two miles distant from me bore from east to souththree-quarters west. I had passed ten islands, the largest of which Ijudged to be 6 or 8 leagues in circuit. Much larger lands appeared in thesouth-west and north-north-west, between which I directed my course. Latitude observed 17 degrees 17 minutes south; course since yesterdaynoon north 50 degrees west; distance 84 miles; longitude made by account5 degrees 37 minutes west. Our allowance for the day was a quarter of a pint of coconut milk and themeat, which did not exceed two ounces to each person: it was receivedvery contentedly but we suffered great drought. I durst not venture toland as we had no arms and were less capable of defending ourselves thanwe were at Tofoa. To keep an account of the boat's run was rendered difficult from beingconstantly wet with the sea breaking over us but, as we advanced towardsthe land, the sea became smoother and I was enabled to form a sketch ofthe islands which will serve to give a general knowledge of their extentand position. Those we were near appeared fruitful and hilly, some verymountainous and all of a good height. To our great joy we hooked a fish, but we were miserably disappointed byits being lost in trying to get it into the boat. We continued steering to the north-west between the islands which by theevening appeared of considerable extent, woody and mountainous. At sunsetthe southernmost bore from south to south-west by west and thenorthernmost from north by west half west to north-east half east. At sixo'clock we were nearly midway between them and about 6 leagues distantfrom each shore when we fell in with a coral bank, on which we had onlyfour feet water, without the least break on it or ruffle of the sea togive us warning. I could see that it extended about a mile on each sideof us, but as it is probable that it may extend much further I have laidit down so in my sketch. I directed the course west by north for the night, and served to eachperson an ounce of the damaged bread and a quarter of a pint of water forsupper. As our lodgings were very miserable and confined for want of room Iendeavoured to remedy the latter defect by putting ourselves at watch andwatch; so that one half always sat up while the other lay down on theboat's bottom or upon a chest, with nothing to cover us but the heavens. Our limbs were dreadfully cramped for we could not stretch them out, andthe nights were so cold, and we so constantly wet, that after a few hourssleep we could scarce move. Thursday 7. At dawn of day we again discovered land from west-south-west towest-north-west, and another island north-north-west, the latter a highround lump of but little extent: the southern land that we had passed inthe night was still in sight. Being very wet and cold I served a spoonfulof rum and a morsel of bread for breakfast. The land in the west was distinguished by some extraordinary high rockswhich, as we approached them, assumed a variety of forms. The countryappeared to be agreeably interspersed with high and low land, and in someplaces covered with wood. Off the north-east part lay some small rockyislands, between which and an island 4 leagues to the north-east Idirected my course; but a lee current very unexpectedly set us very nearto the rocky isles, and we could only get clear of it by rowing, passingclose to the reef that surrounded them. At this time we observed twolarge sailing canoes coming swiftly after us along shore and, beingapprehensive of their intentions, we rowed with some anxiety, fullysensible of our weak and defenceless state. At noon it was calm and theweather cloudy; my latitude is therefore doubtful to 3 or 4 miles. Ourcourse since yesterday noon north-west by west, distance 79 miles;latitude by account 16 degrees 29 minutes south, and longitude by accountfrom Tofoa 6 degrees 46 minutes west. Being constantly wet it was withthe utmost difficulty I could open a book to write, and I am sensiblethat what I have done can only serve to point out where these lands areto be found again, and give an idea of their extent. All the afternoon we had light winds at north-north-east: the weather wasvery rainy, attended with thunder and lightning. Only one of the canoesgained upon us, which by three o'clock in the afternoon was not more thantwo miles off, when she gave over chase. If I may judge from the sail of these vessels they are of a similarconstruction with those at the Friendly Islands which, with the nearnessof their situation, gives reason to believe that they are the same kindof people. Whether these canoes had any hostile intention against us mustremain a doubt: perhaps we might have benefited by an intercourse withthem, but in our defenceless situation to have made the experiment wouldhave been risking too much. I imagine these to be the islands called Feejee as their extent, direction, and distance from the Friendly Islands answers to thedescription given of them by those Islanders. Heavy rain came on at fouro'clock, when every person did their utmost to catch some water, and weincreased our stock to 34 gallons, besides quenching our thirst for thefirst time since we had been at sea; but an attendant consequence made uspass the night very miserably for, being extremely wet and having no drythings to shift or cover us, we experienced cold and shiverings scarce tobe conceived. Most fortunately for us the forenoon turned out fair and westripped and dried our clothes. The allowance I issued today was an ounceand a half of pork, a teaspoonful of rum, half a pint of coconut milk, and an ounce of bread. The rum though so small in quantity was of thegreatest service. A fishing-line was generally towing from the stern ofthe boat but though we saw great numbers of fish we could never catchone. At noon I observed in latitude 16 degrees 4 minutes south and found wehad made a course from yesterday noon north 62 degrees west distance 62miles; longitude by account from Tofoa 7 degrees 42 minutes west. The land passed yesterday and the day before is a group of islands, 14 or16 in number, lying between the latitude of 16 degrees 26 minutes southand 17 degrees 57 minutes south, and in longitude by my account 4 degrees47 minutes to 7 degrees 17 minutes west from Tofoa. Three of theseislands are very large, having from 30 to 40 leagues of sea-coast. In the afternoon we cleaned out the boat and it employed us till sunsetto get everything dry and in order. Hitherto I had issued the allowanceby guess, but I now made a pair of scales with two coconut shells and, having accidentally some pistol-balls in the boat, 25 of which weighedone pound or 16 ounces, I adopted one, * as the proportion of weight thateach person should receive of bread at the times I served it. I alsoamused all hands with describing the situation of New Guinea and NewHolland, and gave them every information in my power that in case anyaccident happened to me those who survived might have some idea of whatthey were about, and be able to find their way to Timor, which at presentthey knew nothing of more than the name and some not even that. At nightI served a quarter of a pint of water and half an ounce of bread forsupper. (*Footnote. It weighed 272 grains. ) Saturday 9. In the morning a quarter of a pint of coconut milk and some of thedecayed bread was served for breakfast, and for dinner I divided the meatof four coconuts with the remainder of the rotten bread, which was onlyeatable by such distressed people. At noon I observed the latitude to be 15 degrees 47 minutes south; coursesince yesterday north 75 degrees west distance 64 miles; longitude madeby account 8 degrees 45 minutes west. In the afternoon I fitted a pair of shrouds for each mast, and contriveda canvas weather cloth round the boat, and raised the quarters about nineinches by nailing on the seats of the stern sheets, which proved of greatbenefit to us. The wind had been moderate all day in the south-east quarter with fineweather; but about nine o'clock in the evening the clouds began togather, and we had a prodigious fall of rain with severe thunder andlightning. By midnight we caught about twenty gallons of water. Beingmiserably wet and cold I served to the people a teaspoonful of rum eachto enable them to bear with their distressed situation. The weathercontinued extremely bad and the wind increased; we spent a very miserablenight without sleep except such as could be got in the midst of rain. Theday brought no relief but its light. The sea broke over us so much thattwo men were constantly baling; and we had no choice how to steer, beingobliged to keep before the waves for fear of the boat filling. The allowance now regularly served to each person was one 25th of a poundof bread and a quarter of a pint of water, at eight in the morning, atnoon, and at sunset. Today I gave about half an ounce of pork for dinnerwhich, though any moderate person would have considered only as amouthful, was divided into three or four. The rain abated towards noon and I observed the latitude to be 15 degrees17 minutes south; course north 67 degrees west distance 78 miles;longitude made 10 degrees west. The wind continued strong from south-south-east to south-east with verysqually weather and a high breaking sea, so that we were miserably wetand suffered great cold in the night. Monday 11. In the morning at daybreak I served to every person a teaspoonful of rum, our limbs being so cramped that we could scarce move them. Our situationwas now extremely dangerous, the sea frequently running over our stern, which kept us baling with all our strength. At noon the sun appeared, which gave us as much pleasure as in a winter'sday in England. I issued the 25th of a pound of bread and a quarter of apint of water, as yesterday. Latitude observed 14 degrees 50 minutessouth; course north 71 degrees west distance 102 miles; and longitude byaccount 11 degrees 39 minutes west from Tofoa. In the evening it rained hard and we again experienced a dreadful night. Tuesday 12. At length the day came and showed to me a miserable set of beings, fullof wants, without anything to relieve them. Some complained of great painin their bowels, and everyone of having almost lost the use of his limbs. The little sleep we got was no ways refreshing as we were covered withsea and rain. I served a spoonful of rum at day-dawn, and the usualallowance of bread and water for breakfast, dinner, and supper. At noon it was almost calm, no sun to be seen, and some of us shiveringwith cold. Course since yesterday west by north distance 89 miles;latitude by account 14 degrees 33 minutes south; longitude made 13degrees 9 minutes west. The direction of our course was to pass to thenorthward of the New Hebrides. The wet weather continued and in the afternoon the wind came from thesouthward, blowing fresh in squalls. As there was no prospect of gettingour clothes dried I recommended to everyone to strip and wring themthrough the salt water, by which means they received a warmth that whilewet with rain they could not have. This afternoon we saw a kind of fruit on the water which Nelson told mewas the Barringtonia of Forster and, as I saw the same again in themorning, and some men-of-war birds, I was led to believe that we were notfar from land. We continued constantly shipping seas and baling, and were very wet andcold in the night; but I could not afford the allowance of rum atdaybreak. Wednesday 13. At noon I had a sight of the sun, latitude 14 degrees 17 minutes south. Course west by north 79 miles; longitude made 14 degrees 28 minutes west. All this day we were constantly shipping water and suffered much cold andshiverings in the night. Thursday 14. Fresh gales at south-east and gloomy weather with rain and a high sea. Atsix in the morning we saw land from south-west by south eight leagues tonorth-west by west three-quarters west six leagues, which soon afterappeared to be four islands, one of them much larger than the others, andall of them high and remarkable. At noon we discovered a small island andsome rocks bearing north-west by north four leagues, and another islandwest eight leagues, so that the whole were six in number; the four I hadfirst seen bearing from south half east to south-west by south; ourdistance three leagues from the nearest island. My latitude observed was13 degrees 29 minutes south, and longitude by account from Tofoa 15degrees 49 minutes west; course since yesterday noon north 63 degreeswest distance 89 miles. At four in the afternoon we passed thewesternmost island. Friday 15. At one in the morning another island was discovered bearingwest-north-west five leagues distance, and at eight o'clock we saw it forthe last time bearing north-east seven leagues. A number of gannets, boobies, and men-of-war birds were seen. These islands lie between the latitude of 13 degrees 16 minutes and 14degrees 10 minutes south: their longitude according to my reckoning 15degrees 51 minutes to 17 degrees 6 minutes west from the island Tofoa. *The largest island I judged to be about twenty leagues in circuit, theothers five or six. The easternmost is the smallest island and mostremarkable, having a high sugar loaf hill. (*Footnote. By making a proportional allowance for the error afterwardsfound in the dead reckoning I estimate the longitude of these islands tobe from 167 degrees 17 minutes east to 168 degrees 34 minutes east fromGreenwich. ) The sight of these islands served only to increase the misery of oursituation. We were very little better than starving with plenty in view;yet to attempt procuring any relief was attended with so much danger thatprolonging of life, even in the midst of misery, was thought preferable, while there remained hopes of being able to surmount our hardships. Formy own part I consider the general run of cloudy and wet weather to be ablessing of Providence. Hot weather would have caused us to have diedwith thirst; and probably being so constantly covered with rain or seaprotected us from that dreadful calamity. As I had nothing to assist my memory I could not then determine whetherthese islands were a part of the New Hebrides or not: I believe them tobe a new discovery which I have since found true but, though they werenot seen either by Monsieur Bougainville or Captain Cook, they are sonearly in the neighbourhood of the New Hebrides that they must beconsidered as part of the same group. They are fertile and inhabited, asI saw smoke in several places. The wind was at south-east with rainy weather all day. The night was verydark, not a star could be seen to steer by, and the sea broke continuallyover us. I found it necessary to counteract as much as possible theeffect of the southerly winds to prevent being driven too near NewGuinea, for in general we were forced to keep so much before the sea thatif we had not, at intervals of moderate weather, steered a more southerlycourse we should inevitably from a continuance of the gales have beenthrown in sight of that coast: in which case there would most probablyhave been an end to our voyage. Saturday 16. In addition to our miserable allowance of one 25th of a pound of breadand a quarter of a pint of water I issued for dinner about an ounce ofsalt pork to each person. I was often solicited for this pork, but Iconsidered it more proper to issue it in small quantities than to sufferit to be all used at once or twice, which would have been done if I hadallowed it. At noon I observed in 13 degrees 33 minutes south, longitude made fromTofoa 19 degrees 27 minutes west; course north 82 degrees west, distance101 miles. The sun breaking out through the clouds gave us hopes ofdrying our wet clothes, but the sunshine was of short duration. We hadstrong breezes at south-east by south and dark gloomy weather with stormsof thunder, lightning, and rain. The night was truly horrible, and not astar to be seen; so that our steerage was uncertain. Sunday 17. At dawn of day I found every person complaining, and some of themsolicited extra allowance, which I positively refused. Our situation wasmiserable: always wet, and suffering extreme cold in the night withoutthe least shelter from the weather. Being constantly obliged to bale tokeep the boat from filling was perhaps not to be reckoned an evil as itgave us exercise. The little rum we had was of great service: when our nights wereparticularly distressing I generally served a teaspoonful or two to eachperson: and it was always joyful tidings when they heard of myintentions. At noon a water-spout was very near on board of us. I issued an ounce ofpork in addition to the allowance of bread and water; but before we beganto eat every person stripped and, having wrung their clothes through theseawater, found much warmth and refreshment. Course since yesterday noonwest-south-west distance 100 miles; latitude by account 14 degrees 11minutes south and longitude made 21 degrees 3 minutes west. The night was dark and dismal: the sea constantly breaking over us andnothing but the wind and waves to direct our steerage. It was myintention if possible to make New Holland to the southward of Endeavourstraits, being sensible that it was necessary to preserve such asituation as would make a southerly wind a fair one, that we might rangealong the reefs till an opening should be found into smooth water, and wethe sooner be able to pick up some refreshments. Monday 18. In the morning the rain abated, when we stripped and wrung our clothesthrough the seawater as usual, which refreshed us greatly. Every personcomplained of violent pain in their bones; I was only surprised that noone was yet laid up. The customary allowance of one 25th of a pound ofbread and a quarter of a pint of water was served at breakfast, dinner, and supper. At noon I deduced my situation by account, for we had no glimpse of thesun, to be in latitude 14 degrees 52 minutes south; course sinceyesterday noon west-south-west 106 miles; longitude made from Tofoa 22degrees 45 minutes west. Saw many boobies and noddies, a sign of being inthe neighbourhood of land. In the night we had very severe lightning withheavy rain and were obliged to keep baling without intermission. Tuesday 19. Very bad weather and constant rain. At noon latitude by account 14degrees 37 minutes south; course since yesterday north 81 degrees west, distance 100 miles; longitude made 24 degrees 30 minutes west. With theallowance of bread and water served half an ounce of pork to each personfor dinner. Wednesday 20. Fresh breezes east-north-east with constant rain, at times a deluge. Always baling. At dawn of day some of my people seemed half dead: our appearances werehorrible, and I could look no way but I caught the eye of someone indistress. Extreme hunger was now too evident, but no one suffered fromthirst, nor had we much inclination to drink, that desire perhaps beingsatisfied through the skin. The little sleep we got was in the midst ofwater, and we constantly awoke with severe cramps and pains in our bones. This morning I served about two teaspoonfuls of rum to each person andthe allowance of bread and water as usual. At noon the sun broke out andrevived everyone. I found we were in latitude 14 degrees 49 minutessouth; longitude made 25 degrees 46 minutes west; course south 88 degreeswest distance 75 miles. All the afternoon we were so covered with rain and salt water that wecould scarcely see. We suffered extreme cold and everyone dreaded theapproach of night. Sleep, though we longed for it, afforded no comfort:for my own part I almost lived without it. Thursday 21. About two o'clock in the morning we were overwhelmed with a deluge ofrain. It fell so heavy that we were afraid it would fill the boat, andwere obliged to bale with all our might. At dawn of day I served a largerallowance of rum. Towards noon the rain abated and the sun shone, but wewere miserably cold and wet, the sea breaking constantly over us so that, notwithstanding the heavy rain, we had not been able to add to our stockof fresh water. Latitude by observation 14 degrees 29 minutes south, andlongitude made by account from Tofoa 27 degrees 25 minutes west; coursesince yesterday noon north 78 degrees west 99 miles. I now consideredmyself nearly on a meridian with the east part of New Guinea. Friday 22. Strong gales from east-south-east to south-south-east, a high sea, anddark dismal night. Our situation this day was extremely calamitous. We were obliged to takethe course of the sea, running right before it and watching with theutmost care as the least error in the helm would in a moment have beenour destruction. At noon it blew very hard and the foam of the sea kept running over ourstern and quarters; I however got propped up and made an observation ofthe latitude in 14 degrees 17 minutes south; course north 85 degrees westdistance 130 miles; longitude made 29 degrees 38 minutes west. The misery we suffered this night exceeded the preceding. The sea flewover us with great force and kept us baling with horror and anxiety. Saturday 23. At dawn of day I found everyone in a most distressed condition, and Ibegan to fear that another such night would put an end to the lives ofseveral who seemed no longer able to support their sufferings. I servedan allowance of two teaspoonfuls of rum, after drinking which, havingwrung our clothes and taken our breakfast of bread and water, we became alittle refreshed. Towards noon the weather became fair, but with very little abatement ofthe gale and the sea remained equally high. With some difficulty Iobserved the latitude to be 13 degrees 44 minutes south: course sinceyesterday noon north 74 degrees west, distance 116 miles; longitude made31 degrees 32 minutes west from Tofoa. The wind moderated in the evening and the weather looked much better, which rejoiced all hands so that they ate their scanty allowance withmore satisfaction than for some time past. The night also was fair but, being always wet with the sea, we suffered much from the cold. Sunday 24. A fine morning, I had the pleasure to see, produced some cheerfulcountenances and, the first time for 15 days past, we experienced comfortfrom the warmth of the sun. We stripped and hung our clothes up to dry, which were by this time become so threadbare that they would not keep outeither wet or cold. At noon I observed in latitude 13 degrees 33 minutes south; longitude byaccount from Tofoa 33 degrees 28 minutes west; course north 84 degreeswest, distance 114 miles. With the usual allowance of bread and water fordinner I served an ounce of pork to each person. This afternoon we hadmany birds about us which are never seen far from land, such as boobiesand noddies. ALLOWANCE LESSENED. As the sea began to run fair, and we shipped but little water, I took theopportunity to examine into the state of our bread and found that, according to the present mode of issuing, there was a sufficient quantityremaining for 29 days allowance, by which time I hoped we should be ableto reach Timor. But as this was very uncertain and it was possible that, after all, we might be obliged to go to Java, I determined to proportionthe allowance so as to make our stock hold out six weeks. I wasapprehensive that this would be ill received, and that it would requiremy utmost resolution to enforce it for, small as the quantity was which Iintended to take away for our future good, yet it might appear to mypeople like robbing them of life, and some, who were less patient thantheir companions, I expected would very ill brook it. However on myrepresenting the necessity of guarding against delays that might beoccasioned in our voyage by contrary winds, or other causes, andpromising to enlarge upon the allowance as we got on, they cheerfullyagreed to my proposal. It was accordingly settled that every personshould receive one 25th of a pound of bread for breakfast, and the samequantity for dinner, so that by omitting the proportion for supper, wehad 43 days allowance. Monday 25. At noon some noddies came so near to us that one of them was caught byhand. This bird was about the size of a small pigeon. I divided it withits entrails into 18 portions, and by a well-known method at sea of Whoshall have this?* it was distributed with the allowance of bread andwater for dinner, and ate up bones and all, with salt water for sauce. Iobserved the latitude 13 degrees 32 minutes south; longitude made 35degrees 19 minutes west; course north 89 degrees west, distance 108miles. (*Footnote. One person turns his back on the object that is to bedivided: another then points separately to the portions, and each of themasking aloud, "Who shall have this?" to which the first answers by namingsomebody. This impartial method of division gives every man an equalchance of the best share. ) In the evening several boobies flying very near to us we had the goodfortune to catch one of them. This bird is as large as a duck: like thenoddy it has received its name from seamen for suffering itself to becaught on the masts and yards of ships. They are the most presumptiveproofs of being in the neighbourhood of land of any seafowl we areacquainted with. I directed the bird to be killed for supper, and theblood to be given to three of the people who were the most distressed forwant of food. The body, with the entrails, beak, and feet, I divided into18 shares, and with an allowance of bread, which I made a merit ofgranting, we made a good supper, compared with our usual fare. Tuesday 26. Fresh breezes from the south-east with fine weather. In the morning wecaught another booby so that Providence appeared to be relieving ourwants in an extraordinary manner. Towards noon we passed a great manypieces of the branches of trees, some of which appeared to have been nolong time in the water. I had a good observation for the latitude, andfound our situation to be in 13 degrees 41 minutes south; longitude byaccount from Tofoa 37 degrees 13 minutes west; course south 85 degreeswest, 112 miles. The people were overjoyed at the addition to theirdinner which was distributed in the same manner as on the precedingevening, giving the blood to those who were the most in want of food. To make the bread a little savoury most of the people frequently dippedit in salt water; but I generally broke mine into small pieces and ate itin my allowance of water, out of a coconut shell with a spoon, economically avoiding to take too large a piece at a time, so that I wasas long at dinner as if it had been a much more plentiful meal. The weather was now serene, which nevertheless was not without itsinconveniences, for we began to feel distress of a different kind fromthat which we had lately been accustomed to suffer. The heat of the sunwas so powerful that several of the people were seized with a languor andfaintness which made life indifferent. We were so fortunate as to catchtwo boobies in the evening: their stomachs contained several flying-fishand small cuttlefish, all of which I saved to be divided for dinner thenext day. Wednesday 27. A fresh breeze at east-south-east with fair weather. We passed muchdriftwood this forenoon and saw many birds; I therefore did not hesitateto pronounce that we were near the reefs of New Holland. From myrecollection of Captain Cook's survey of this coast I considered thedirection of it to be north-west, and I was therefore satisfied that, with the wind to the southward of east, I could always clear any dangers. At noon I observed in latitude 13 degrees 26 minutes south; course sinceyesterday north 82 degrees west, distance 109 miles; longitude made 39degrees 4 minutes. After writing my account I divided the two birds withtheir entrails and the contents of their maws into 18 portions and, asthe prize was a very valuable one it was divided as before, by callingout Who shall have this? so that today, with the allowance of a 25th of apound of bread at breakfast, and another at dinner, with the proportionof water, I was happy to see that every person thought he had feasted. In the evening we saw a gannet; and the clouds remained so fixed in thewest that I had little doubt of our being near the land. The people, after taking their allowance of water for supper, amused themselves withconversing on the probability of what we should find. Thursday 28. At one in the morning the person at the helm heard the sound of breakers, and I no sooner lifted up my head than I saw them close under our lee, not more than a quarter of a mile distant from us. I immediately hauledon a wind to the north-north-east and in ten minutes time we couldneither see nor hear them. I have already mentioned my reason for making New Holland so far to thesouthward: for I never doubted of numerous openings in the reef throughwhich I could have access to the shore and, knowing the inclination ofthe coast to be to the north-west and the wind mostly to the southward ofeast, I could with ease range such a barrier of reefs till I should finda passage, which now became absolutely necessary, without a moment's lossof time. The idea of getting into smooth water and finding refreshmentskept my people's spirits up: their joy was very great after we had gotclear of the breakers to which we had approached much nearer than Ithought was possible, without first discovering them. Friday 29. In the morning at daylight, we could see nothing of the land or of thereefs. We bore away again and at nine o'clock saw the reefs. The seabroke furiously over every part, and we had no sooner got near to themthan the wind came at east, so that we could only lie along the line ofthe breakers, within which we saw the water so smooth that every personalready anticipated the heart-felt satisfaction he should receive as soonas we could get within them. I now found we were embayed for we could notlie clear with the sails, the wind having backed against us; and the seaset in so heavy towards the reef that our situation was become unsafe. Wecould effect but little with the oars, having scarce strength to pullthem, and I began to apprehend that we should be obliged to attemptpushing over the reef. Even this I did not despair of effecting withsuccess when happily we discovered a break in the reef, about one milefrom us, and at the same time an island of a moderate height within it, nearly in the same direction, bearing west half north. I entered thepassage with a strong stream running to the westward and found it about aquarter of a mile broad, with every appearance of deep water. On the outside the reef inclined to the north-east for a few miles, andfrom thence to the north-west: on the south side of the entrance itinclined to the south-south-west as far as I could see it, and Iconjecture that a similar passage to this which we now entered may befound near the breakers that I first discovered which are 23 miles southof this channel. I did not recollect what latitude Providential channel* lies in, but Iconsidered it to be within a few miles of this, which is situate in 12degrees 51 minutes south latitude. (*Footnote. Providential Channel is laid down by Captain Cook in 12degrees 34 minutes south, longitude 143 degrees 33 minutes east. ) Being now happily within the reefs and in smooth water I endeavoured tokeep near them to try for fish, but the tide set us to the north-west, Itherefore bore away in that direction and, having promised to land on thefirst convenient spot we could find, all our past hardships seemedalready to be forgotten. At noon I had a good observation by which our latitude was 12 degrees 46minutes south, whence the foregoing situations may be considered asdetermined with some exactness. The island first seen borewest-south-west five leagues. This, which I have called the islandDirection, will in fair weather always show the channel, from which itbears due west, and may be seen as soon as the reefs from a ship'smasthead: it lies in the latitude of 12 degrees 51 minutes south. Thesehowever are marks too small for a ship to hit unless it can hereafter beascertained that passages through the reef are numerous along the coastwhich I am inclined to think they are, in which case there would belittle risk even if the wind was directly on the shore. My longitude made by dead reckoning from the island Tofoa to our passagethrough the reef is 40 degrees 10 minutes west. Providential channel, Iimagine, must lie very nearly under the same meridian with our passage, by which it appears we had out-run our reckoning 1 degree 9 minutes. We now returned God thanks for his gracious protection, and with muchcontent took our miserable allowance of a 25th of a pound of bread and aquarter of a pint of water for dinner. CHAPTER 16. Progress to the Northward along the Coast of New Holland. Land on different Islands in search of Supplies. May 1789. As we advanced within the reefs the coast began to show itself verydistinctly in a variety of high and low land, some parts of which werecovered with wood. In our way towards the shore we fell in with a pointof a reef which is connected with that towards the sea, and here we cameto a grapnel and tried to catch fish but had no success. The islandDirection at this time bore south three or four leagues. Two islands layabout four miles to the west by north, and appeared eligible for aresting-place, if for nothing more; but on our approach to the nearestisland it proved to be only a heap of stones, and its size tooinconsiderable to shelter the boat. We therefore proceeded to the next, which was close to it and towards the main. On the north-west side ofthis I found a bay and a fine sandy point to land at. Our distance wasabout a quarter of a mile from a projecting part of the main, which borefrom south-west by south to north-north-west three-quarters west. Welanded to examine if there were any signs of the natives being near us:we saw some old fireplaces but nothing to make me apprehend that thiswould be an unsafe situation for the night. Everyone was anxious to findsomething to eat, and it was soon discovered that there were oysters onthe rocks for the tide was out; but it was nearly dark and only a fewcould be gathered. I determined therefore to wait till the morning, whenI should better know how to proceed, and I directed that one half of ourcompany should sleep on shore and the other half in the boat. We wouldgladly have made a fire but, as we could not accomplish it, we took ourrest for the night, which happily was calm and undisturbed. Friday 29. The dawn of day brought greater strength and spirits to us than Iexpected for, notwithstanding everyone was very weak, there appearedstrength sufficient remaining to make me conceive the most favourablehopes of our being able to surmount the difficulties we might yet have toencounter. As there were no appearances to make me imagine that any of the nativeswere near us I sent out parties in search of supplies, while others ofthe people were putting the boat in order that we might be ready to go tosea, in case any unforeseen cause should make it necessary. One of thegudgeons of the rudder had come out in the course of the night and waslost. This, if it had happened at sea, might have been attended with themost serious consequences, as the management of the boat could not havebeen so nicely preserved as these very heavy seas required. I had beenapprehensive of this accident, and had in some measure prepared for it, by having grummets fixed on each quarter of the boat for oars; but ourutmost readiness in using them would not probably have saved us. Itappears therefore a providential circumstance that it happened in a placeof safety, and that it was in our power to remedy the defect; for bygreat good luck we found a large staple in the boat, which answered thepurpose. The parties returned, highly rejoiced at having found plenty of oystersand fresh water. I had also made a fire by the help of a small magnifyingglass and, what was still more fortunate, we found among the few thingswhich had been thrown into the boat and saved a piece of brimstone and atinderbox, so that I secured fire for the future. One of the people had been so provident as to bring away with him fromthe ship a copper pot: by being in possession of this article we wereenabled to make a proper use of the supply we now obtained for, with amixture of bread and a little pork, we made a stew that might have beenrelished by people of far more delicate appetites, and of which eachperson received a full pint. The general complaints of disease among us were a dizziness in the head, great weakness of the joints, and violent tenesmus, most of us having hadno evacuation by stool since we left the ship. I had constantly a severepain at my stomach but none of our complaints were alarming: on thecontrary, everyone retained marks of strength that, with a mind possessedof a tolerable share of fortitude, seemed able to bear more fatigue thanI imagined we should have to undergo in our voyage to Timor. As I would not allow the people to expose themselves to the heat of thesun, it being near noon, everyone took his allotment of earth where itwas shaded by the bushes for a short sleep. The oysters which we found grew so fast to the rocks that it was withdifficulty they could be broken off, and at length we discovered it to bethe most expeditious way to open them where they were fixed. They were ofa good size, and well tasted. To add to this happy circumstance in thehollow of the land there grew some wire-grass, which indicated a moistsituation. On forcing a stick, about three feet long, into the ground wefound water, and with little trouble dug a well which produced as much asour occasions required. It was very good, but I could not determine if itwas a spring or not. We were not obliged to make the well deep for itflowed as fast as we emptied it, which, as the soil was apparently tooloose to retain water from the rains, renders it probable to be a spring. On the south side of the island likewise we found a small run of goodwater. Besides places where fires had been made there were other signs of thenatives sometimes resorting to this island. I saw two ill-constructedhuts or wigwams which had only one side loosely covered, and a pointedstick was found, about three feet long, with a slit in the end of it tosling stones with, the same as the natives of Van Diemen's land use. The track of some animal was very discernible and Nelson agreed with methat it was the kangaroo; but whether these animals swim over from themainland, or are brought here by the natives to breed, it is impossibleto determine. The latter is not improbable as they may be taken with lessdifficulty in a confined spot like this than on the continent. The island is about a league in circuit: it is a high lump of rocks andstones covered with wood; but the trees are small, the soil, which isvery indifferent and sandy, being barely sufficient to produce them. Thetrees that came within our knowledge were the manchineal and a species ofpurow; also some palm trees, the tops of which we cut down, and the softinterior part or heart of them was so palatable that it made a goodaddition to our mess. Nelson discovered some fern-roots which I thoughtmight be good roasted as a substitute for bread, but in this I wasmistaken: it however was very serviceable in its natural state to allaythirst, and on that account I directed a quantity to be collected to takeinto the boat. Many pieces of coconut shells and husk were found aboutthe shore, but we could find no coconut trees, neither did I see any onthe main. I had cautioned the people not to touch any kind of berry or fruit thatthey might find; yet they were no sooner out of my sight than they beganto make free with three different kinds that grew all over the island, eating without any reserve. The symptoms of having eaten too much beganat last to frighten some of them but, on questioning others who had takena more moderate allowance, their minds were a little quieted. The othershowever became equally alarmed in their turn, dreading that such symptomswould come on, and that they were all poisoned, so that they regardedeach other with the strongest marks of apprehension, uncertain what wouldbe the issue of their imprudence. Fortunately the fruit proved wholesomeand good. One sort grew on a small delicate kind of vine; they were thesize of a large gooseberry and very like in substance, but had only asweet taste; the skin was a pale red, streaked with yellow the long wayof the fruit: it was pleasant and agreeable. Another kind grew on busheslike that which is called the seaside grape in the West Indies, but thefruit was very different, being more like elderberries, and grew inclusters in the same manner. The third sort was a blackberry; this wasnot in such plenty as the others and resembled a bullace, or large kindof sloe, both in size and taste. When I saw that these fruits were eatenby the birds I no longer doubted of their being wholesome, and those whohad already tried the experiment, not finding any bad effect, made it acertainty that we might eat of them without danger. Wild pigeons, parrots, and other birds were about the summit of theisland but, having no firearms, relief of that kind was not to beexpected unless we should find some unfrequented spot where the birdswere so tame that we might take them with our hands. The shore of this island is very rocky except the place at which welanded, and here I picked up many pieces of pumice-stone. On the part ofthe main nearest to us were several sandy bays which at low water becamean extensive rocky flat. The country had rather a barren appearanceexcept in a few places where it was covered with wood. A remarkable rangeof rocks lay a few miles to the south-west, and a high peaked hill seemedto terminate the coast towards the sea, with islands to the southward. Ahigh fair cape showed the direction of the coast to the north-west aboutseven leagues distant; and two small isles lay three or four leagues tothe northward of our present station. I saw a few bees or wasps and several lizards; and the blackberry busheswere full of ants nests, webbed like a spider's but so close and compactas not to admit the rain. A trunk of a tree about 50 feet long lay on thebeach, from which I conclude that a heavy sea sets in here with anortherly wind. This day being the anniversary of the restoration of King Charles theSecond, and the name not being inapplicable to our present situation (forwe were restored to fresh life and strength) I named this RestorationIsland; for I thought it probable that Captain Cook might not have takennotice of it. The other names which I have presumed to give the differentparts of the coast are meant only to show my route more distinctly. At noon I observed the latitude of the island to be 12 degrees 39 minutessouth, our course having been north 66 degrees west, distance 18 milesfrom yesterday noon. The wind was at east-south-east with very fineweather. In the afternoon I sent parties out again to gather oysters, with whichand some of the inner part of the palm-top we made another good stew forsupper, each person receiving a full pint and a half; but I refused breadto this meal for I considered that our wants might yet be very great, andwas intent on saving our principal support whenever it was in my power. After supper we again divided and those who were on shore slept by a goodfire. Saturday 30. In the morning I discovered a visible alteration in our company for thebetter, and I sent them away again to gather oysters. We had now only twopounds of pork left. This article, which I could not keep under lock andkey as I did the bread, had been pilfered by some inconsiderate person, but everyone denied having any knowledge of this act; I thereforeresolved to put it out of their power for the future by sharing whatremained for our dinner. While the party was out picking up oysters I gotthe boat in readiness for sea, and filled all our water vessels, whichamounted to nearly 60 gallons. The party being returned, dinner was soon ready, which was as plentiful ameal as the supper on the preceding evening, and with the pork I gave anallowance of bread. As it was not yet noon I sent the people once more togather oysters for a sea store, recommending to them to be as diligent aspossible for that I was determined to sail in the afternoon. At noon I again observed the latitude 12 degrees 39 minutes south; it wasthen high-water, the tide had risen three feet, but I could not becertain from whence the flood came. I deduce the time of high-water atfull and change to be ten minutes past seven in the morning. Early in the afternoon the people returned with the few oysters that theyhad collected and everything was put into the boat. I then examined thequantity of bread remaining and found 38 days allowance, according to thelast mode of issuing a 25th of a pound at breakfast and at dinner. Fair weather and moderate breezes at east-south-east and south-east. Being ready for sea I directed every person to attend prayers. At fouro'clock we were preparing to embark when about twenty of the nativesappeared, running and hallooing to us, on the opposite shore. They wereeach armed with a spear or lance and a short weapon which they carried intheir left hand: they made signs for us to come to them. On the top ofthe hills we saw the heads of many more: whether these were their wivesand children or others who waited for our landing, meaning not to showthemselves lest we might be intimidated, I cannot say but, as I found wewere discovered to be on the coast, I thought it prudent to make the bestof our way for fear of being pursued by canoes, though, from the accountsof Captain Cook, the chance was that there were very few if any ofconsequence on any part of the coast. I passed these people as near as Icould with safety: they were naked and apparently black, and their hairor wool bushy and short. I directed my course within two small islands that lie to the north ofRestoration Island, passing between them and the mainland towards FairCape with a strong tide in my favour, so that I was abreast of it byeight o'clock. The coast we passed was high and woody. As I could see noland without Fair Cape I concluded that the coast inclined to thenorth-west and west-north-west: I therefore steered more towards thewest; but by eleven o'clock at night we met with low land which inclinedto the north-east, and at three o'clock in the morning I found that wewere embayed, which obliged us to stand back for a short time to thesouthward. Sunday 31. At daybreak I was exceedingly surprised to find the appearance of thecountry entirely changed, as if in the course of the night we had beentransported to another part of the world; for we had now a low sandycoast in view, with very little verdure or anything to indicate that itwas at all habitable to a human being except a few patches of small treesor brushwood. Many small islands were in sight to the north-east about six milesdistant. The eastern part of the main bore north four miles, and FairCape south-south-east five or six leagues. I took the channel between thenearest island and the mainland, which were about one mile apart, leavingall the islands on the starboard side. Some of these were very prettyspots, covered with wood and well situated for fishing: large shoals offish were about us but we could not catch any. In passing this strait wesaw another party of Indians, seven in number, running towards us, shouting and making signs for us to land. Some of them waved greenbranches of the bushes which were near them as a token of friendship; butsome of their other motions were less friendly. A little farther off wesaw a larger party who likewise came towards us. I therefore determinednot to land though I much wished to have had some intercourse with thesepeople. Nevertheless I laid the boat close to the rocks and beckoned tothem to approach but none of them would come within 200 yards of us. Theywere armed in the same manner as the people we had seen from RestorationIsland; they were stark naked, their colour black, with short bushy hairor wool, and in their appearance were similar to them in every respect. An island of a good height bore north half west four miles from us, atwhich I resolved to land and from thence to take a look at the coast. Atthis isle we arrived about eight o'clock in the morning. The shore wasrocky but the water was smooth and we landed without difficulty. I senttwo parties out, one to the northward and the other to the southward, toseek for supplies, and others I ordered to stay by the boat. On thisoccasion fatigue and weakness so far got the better of their sense ofduty that some of the people expressed their discontent at having workedharder than their companions, and declared that they would rather bewithout their dinner than go in search of it. One person in particularwent so far as to tell me, with a mutinous look, that he was as good aman as myself. It was not possible for me to judge where this might havean end if not stopped in time, therefore to prevent such disputes infuture I determined either to preserve my command or die in the attemptand, seizing a cutlass, I ordered him to take hold of another and defendhimself, on which he called out that I was going to kill him andimmediately made concessions. I did not allow this to interfere furtherwith the harmony of the boat's crew and everything soon became quiet. The parties continued collecting what they could find, which were somefine oysters and clams and a few small dog-fish that were caught in theholes of the rocks. We also found some rainwater in the hollow of therocks on the north part of the island, so that of this essential articlewe were again so fortunate as to obtain a full supply. After regulating the mode of proceeding I walked to the highest part ofthe island to consider our route for the night. To my surprise no more ofthe mainland could be seen here than from below, the northernmost part insight, which was full of sandhills bearing west by north about threeleagues. Except the isles to the east-south-east and south that we hadpassed I could only discover a small key north-west by north. As this wasconsiderably farther from the main than the spot on which we were atpresent I judged it would be a more secure resting-place for the night, for here we were liable to an attack, if the Indians had canoes, as theyundoubtedly must have observed our landing. My mind being made up on thispoint I returned after taking a particular look at the island we were on, which I found only to produce a few bushes and some coarse grass, theextent of the whole not being two miles in circuit. On the north side ina sandy bay I saw an old canoe about 33 feet long, lying bottom upwardsand half buried in the beach. It was made of three pieces, the bottomentire, to which the sides were sewed in the common way. It had a sharpprojecting prow rudely carved in resemblance of the head of a fish; theextreme breadth was about three feet and I imagine it was capable ofcarrying 20 men. The discovery of so large a canoe confirmed me in thepurpose of seeking a more retired place for our night's lodging. At noon the parties were all returned but had found much difficulty ingathering the oysters from their close adherence to the rocks, and theclams were scarce: I therefore saw that it would be of little use toremain longer in this place, as we should not be able to collect morethan we could eat. I named this Sunday Island: it lies north by westthree-quarters west from Restoration Island; the latitude by a goodobservation 11 degrees 58 minutes south. We had a fresh breeze at south-east by south with fair weather. At twoo'clock in the afternoon we dined, each person having a full pint and ahalf of stewed oysters and clams, thickened with small beans which Nelsoninformed me were a species of Dolichos. Having eaten heartily andcompleted our water I waited to determine the time of high-water, which Ifound to be at three o'clock, and the rise of the tide about five feet. According to this it is high-water on the full and change at 19 minutespast 9 in the morning: I observed the flood to come from the southward, though at Restoration Island I thought it came from the northward. Ithink Captain Cook mentions that he found great irregularity in the setof the flood on this coast. We steered for the key seen in the north-west by north where we arrivedjust at dark, but found it so surrounded by a reef of rocks that I couldnot land without danger of staving the boat; and on that account we cameto a grapnel for the night. Monday June 1. At dawn of day we got on shore and tracked the boat into shelter for, thewind blowing fresh without and the ground being rocky, it was not safe totrust her at a grapnel lest she should be blown to sea: I was thereforeobliged to let her ground in the course of the ebb. From appearances Iexpected that if we remained till night we should meet with turtle as wediscovered recent tracks of them. Innumerable birds of a noddy kind madethis island their resting-place; so that we had reason to flatterourselves with hopes of getting supplies in greater abundance than it hadhitherto been in our power. Our situation was at least four leaguesdistant from the main. We were on the north-westernmost of four smallkeys which were surrounded by a reef of rocks connected by sandbanksexcept between the two northernmost, and there likewise it was dry at lowwater, the whole forming a lagoon island into which the tide flowed: atthis entrance I kept the boat. As usual I sent parties away in search of supplies but, to our greatdisappointment, we could only get a few clams and some dolichos: withthese and the oysters we had brought from Sunday Island I made up a messfor dinner with the addition of a small quantity of bread. Towards noon Nelson and some others who had been to the easternmost keyreturned, but Nelson was in so weak a condition that he was obliged to besupported by two men. His complaint was a violent heat in his bowels, aloss of sight, much drought, and an inability to walk. This I found wasoccasioned by his being unable to support the heat of the sun and that, when he was fatigued and faint, instead of retiring into the shade torest he had continued to attempt more than his strength was equal to. Iwas glad to find that he had no fever; and it was now that the littlewine which I had so carefully saved became of real use. I gave it in verysmall quantities with some pieces of bread soaked in it; and he soonbegan to recover. The boatswain and carpenter also were ill andcomplained of headache and sickness of the stomach. Others who had nothad any evacuation by stool became shockingly distressed with thetenesmus so that there were but few without complaints. An idea prevailedthat the sickness of the boatswain and carpenter was occasioned by eatingthe dolichos. Myself however and some others who had taken the same foodfelt no inconvenience; but the truth was that many of the people hadeaten a large quantity of them raw, and Nelson informed me that they wereconstantly teasing him whenever a berry was found to know if it was goodto eat; so that it would not have been surprising if many of them hadbeen really poisoned. Our dinner was not so well relished as at Sunday Island because we hadmixed the dolichos with our stew. The oysters and soup however were eatenby everyone except Nelson whom I fed with a few small pieces of breadsoaked in half a glass of wine, and he continued to mend. In my walk round the island I found several coconut shells, the remainsof an old wigwam, and the backs of two turtless, but no sign of anyquadruped. One of the people found three seafowl's eggs. As is common on such spots the soil is little other than sand, yet itproduced small toa-trees and some others that we were not acquaintedwith. There were fish in the lagoon, but we could not catch any. Ourwants therefore were not likely to be supplied here, not even with waterfor our daily expense: nevertheless I determined to wait till themorning, that we might try our success in the night for turtle and birds. A quiet night's rest also, I conceived, would be of essential service tothose who were unwell. The wigwam and turtle shell were proofs that the natives at times visitedthis place, and that they had canoes the remains of the large canoe thatwe saw at Sunday Island left no room to doubt: but I did not apprehendthat we ran any risk by remaining here a short time. I directed our firehowever to be made in the thicket that we might not be discovered by itslight. At noon I observed the latitude of this island to be 11 degrees 47minutes south. The mainland extended towards the north-west and was fullof white sandhills: another small island lay within us, bearing west bynorth one quarter north three leagues distant. Our situation being verylow we could see nothing of the reef towards the sea. The afternoon was advantageously spent in sleep. There were however a fewnot disposed to it, and those were employed in dressing some clams totake with us for the next day's dinner: others we cut up in slices todry, which I knew was the most valuable supply we could find here, butthey were very scarce. Towards evening I cautioned everyone against making too large a fire orsuffering it after dark to blaze up. Mr. Samuel and Mr. Peckover hadsuperintendence of this business, while I was strolling about the beachto observe if I thought it could be seen from the main. I was justsatisfied that it could not when on a sudden the island appeared all in ablaze that might have been discerned at a much more considerabledistance. I ran to learn the cause and found that it was occasioned bythe imprudence and obstinacy of one of the party who in my absence hadinsisted on having a fire to himself, in making which the flames caughtthe neighbouring grass and rapidly spread. This misconduct might haveproduced very serious consequences by discovering our situation to thenatives for, if they had attacked us, we had neither arms nor strength tooppose an enemy. Thus the relief which I expected from a little sleep wastotally lost and I anxiously waited for the flowing of the tide that wemight proceed to sea. It was high-water at half-past five this evening whence I deduced thetime on the full and change of the moon to be 58 past 10 in the morning:the rise was nearly five feet. I could not observe the set of the floodbut imagined it to come from the southward, and that I was mistaken atRestoration Island as I found the time of high-water gradually later themore we advanced to the northward. At Restoration Island high-water full and change : 7 hours 10. Sunday Island high-water full and change : 9 hours 19. Here high-water full and change : 10 hours 58. After eight o'clock Mr. Samuel and Mr. Peckover went out to watch forturtle and three men went to the east key to endeavour to catch birds. All the others, complaining of being sick, took their rest, except Mr. Hayward and Mr. Elphinston whom I directed to keep watch. About midnightthe bird party returned with only twelve noddies, birds which I havealready described to be about the size of pigeons: but if it had not beenfor the folly and obstinacy of one of the party, who separated from theother two and disturbed the birds, they might have caught a great number. I was so much provoked at my plans being thus defeated that I gave thisoffender a good beating. * I now went in search of the turtling party whohad taken great pains but without success. This did not surprise me as itwas not to be expected that turtle would come near us after the noisewhich had been made at the beginning of the evening in extinguishing thefire. I therefore desired them to come back, but they requested to stay alittle longer as they still hoped to find some before daylight: howeverthey returned by three o'clock without any reward for their labour. (*Footnote. Robert lamb. This man when he came to Java acknowledged hehad eaten nine birds raw after he separated from his two companions. ) Tuesday 2. The birds we half dressed that they might keep the better: and these witha few clams made the whole of the supply procured here. I tied a few giltbuttons and some pieces of iron to a tree for any of the natives thatmight come after us and, finding my invalids much better for theirnight's rest, we embarked and departed by dawn of day. Wind atsouth-east; course to the north by west. When we had run two leagues to the northward the sea suddenly becamerough which, not having before experienced since we were within thereefs, I concluded to be occasioned by an open channel to the ocean. Soonafterwards we met with a large shoal on which were two sandy keys;between these and two others, four miles to the west, I passed on to thenorthward, the sea still continuing to be rough. Towards noon I fell in with six other keys, most of which produced somesmall trees and brushwood. These formed a pleasing contrast with themainland we had passed which was full of sandhills. The country continuedhilly and the northernmost land, the same we had seen from the lagoonisland, appeared like downs, sloping towards the sea. Nearly abreast ofus was a flat-topped hill which on account of its shape I calledPudding-pan hill; and a little to the northward were two other hillswhich we called the Paps; and here was a small tract of country withoutsand, the eastern part of which forms a cape whence the coast inclines tothe north-west by north. At noon I observed in the latitude of 11 degrees 18 minutes south thecape bearing west distant ten miles. Five small keys bore from north-eastto south-east, the nearest of them about two miles distant, and a lowsandy key between us and the cape bore west distant four miles. My coursefrom the lagoon island had been north half west distant 30 miles. I am sorry it was not in my power to obtain a sufficient knowledge of thedepth of water but in our situation nothing could be undertaken thatmight have occasioned delay. It may however be understood that to thebest of my judgment from appearances a ship may pass wherever I haveomitted to represent danger. I divided six birds and issued one 25th of a pound of bread with half apint of water to each person for dinner, and I gave half a glass of wineto Nelson, who was now so far recovered as to require no otherindulgence. The gunner when he left the ship brought his watch with him, by which wehad regulated out time till today, when unfortunately it stopped; so thatnoon, sunrise, and sunset, are the only parts of the 24 hours of whichfrom henceforward I can speak with certainty as to time. The wind blew fresh from the south-south-east and south-east all theafternoon with fair weather. As we stood to the north by west we foundmore sea, which I attributed to our receiving less shelter from the reefsto the eastward: it is probable they did not extend so far north as this;at least it may be concluded that there is not a continued barrier toprevent shipping having access to the shore. I observed that the streamset to the north-west, which I considered to be the flood. In some placesalong the coast we saw patches of wood. At five o'clock, steering to thenorth-west, we passed a large and fair inlet into which I imagine thereis a safe and commodious entrance; it lies in latitude 11 degrees south. About three leagues to the northward of this is an island, at which wearrived about sunset, and took shelter for the night under a sandy pointwhich was the only part we could land at. This being rather a wildsituation I thought it best to sleep in the boat: nevertheless I sent aparty away to see if anything could be got, but they returned withoutsuccess. They saw a great number of turtle bones and shells where thenatives had been feasting, and their last visit seemed to be of latedate. The island was covered with wood, but in other respects it was alump of rocks. Wednesday 3. We lay at a grapnel till daylight with a very fresh gale and cloudyweather. The main bore from south-east by south to north-north-west halfwest three leagues, and a mountainous island with a flat top, north bywest four or five leagues, between which and the mainland were severalother islands. The spot we were at, which I call Turtle Island, lies inlatitude by account 10 degrees 52 minutes south and 42 miles west fromRestoration Island. Abreast of it the coast has the appearance of a sandydesert, but improves about three leagues farther to the northward whereit terminates in a point, near to which are many small islands. I sailedbetween these islands where I found no bottom at twelve fathoms; the highmountainous island with a flat top and four rocks to the south-east ofit, that I call the Brothers, being on my starboard hand. Soon after anextensive opening appeared in the mainland, in which were a number ofhigh islands. I called this the Bay of Islands. We continued steering tothe north-west. Several islands and keys were in sight to the northward:the most northerly island was mountainous, having on it a very high roundhill, and a smaller was remarkable for a single peaked hill. The coast to the northward and westward of the Bay of Islands is high andwoody and has a broken appearance, with many islands close to it, amongwhich there are fine bays and convenient places for shipping. Thenorthernmost of these islands I call Wednesday Island: to the north-westof this we fell in with a large reef which I believe joins a number ofkeys that were in sight from the north-west to the east-north-east. Wetherefore stood to the south-west half a league when it was noon, and Ihad a good observation of the latitude in 10 degrees 31 minutes south. Wednesday Island bore east by south five miles; the westernmost land insight south-west two or three leagues; the islands to the northward fromnorth-west by west to north-east, and the reef from west to north-eastdistant one mile. I was now tolerably certain that we should be clear ofNew Holland in the afternoon. I know not how far this reef extends. It may be a continuation or adetached part of the range of shoals that surround the coast. I believethe mountainous islands to be separate from the shoals, and have no doubtthat near them may be found good passages for ships. But I ratherrecommend to those who are to pass this strait from the eastward to taketheir direction from the coast of New Guinea: yet I likewise think that aship coming from the southward will find a fair strait in the latitude of10 degrees south. I much wished to have ascertained this point but in ourdistressful situation any increase of fatigue or loss of time might havebeen attended with the most fatal consequences. I therefore determined topass on without delay. As an addition to our dinner of bread and water I served to each personsix oysters. At two o'clock in the afternoon as we were steering to the south-westtowards the westernmost part of the land in sight we fell in with somelarge sandbanks that run off from the coast: I therefore called thisShoal Cape. We were obliged to steer to the northward again till we gotround the shoals, when I directed the course to the west. At four o'clock the westernmost of the islands to the northward borenorth four leagues; Wednesday Island east by north five leagues, andshoal cape south-east by east two leagues. A small island was seenbearing west, at which we arrived before dark and found that it was onlya rock where boobies resort, for which reason I called it Booby Island. Here terminated the rocks and shoals of the north part of New Holland forexcept Booby Island no land was seen to the westward of south after threeo'clock this afternoon. I find that Booby island was seen by Captain Cook and, by a remarkablecoincidence of ideas, received from him the same name, but I cannot withcertainty reconcile the situation of some parts of the coast that I haveseen to his survey. I ascribe this to the various forms in which landappears when seen from the different heights of a ship and a boat. Thechart I have given is by no means meant to supersede that made by CaptainCook, who had better opportunities than I had and was in every respectproperly provided for surveying. The intention of mine is chiefly torender this narrative more intelligible, and to show in what manner thecoast appeared to me from an open boat. I have little doubt but that theopening which I named the Bay of Islands is Endeavour Straits; and thatour track was to the northward of Prince of Wales' Isles. Perhaps, bythose who shall hereafter navigate these seas, more advantage may bederived from the possession of both our charts than from either of themsingly. CHAPTER 17. Passage from New Holland to the Island Timor. Arrive at Coupang. Reception there. June 1789. Wednesday 3. At eight o'clock in the evening we once more launched into the openocean. Miserable as our situation was in every respect I was secretlysurprised to see that it did not appear to affect anyone so strongly asmyself; on the contrary it seemed as if they had embarked on a voyage toTimor in a vessel sufficiently calculated for safety and convenience. Somuch confidence gave me great pleasure and I may venture to assert thatto this cause our preservation is chiefly to be attributed. I encouraged everyone with hopes that eight or ten days would bring us toa land of safety; and, after praying to God for a continuance of his mostgracious protection, I served an allowance of water for supper anddirected our course to the west-south-west to counteract the southerlywinds in case they should blow strong. We had been just six days on the coast of New Holland in the course ofwhich we found oysters, a few clams, some birds, and water. But perhaps abenefit nearly equal to this we received by having been relieved from thefatigue of being constantly in the boat and enjoying good rest at night. These advantages certainly preserved our lives and, small as the supplywas, I am very sensible how much it alleviated our distresses. By thistime nature must have sunk under the extremes of hunger and fatigue. Somewould have ceased to struggle for a life that only promised wretchednessand misery; and others, though possessed of more bodily strength, mustsoon have followed their unfortunate companions. Even in our presentsituation we were most deplorable objects; but the hopes of a speedyrelief kept up our spirits. For my own part, incredible as it may appear, I felt neither extreme hunger nor thirst. My allowance contented me, knowing that I could have no more. Thursday 4. I served one 25th of a pound of bread and an allowance of water forbreakfast and the same for dinner with an addition of six oysters to eachperson. At noon latitude observed 10 degrees 48 minutes south; coursesince yesterday noon south 81 degrees west, distance 111 miles; longitudeby account from Shoal Cape 1 degree 45 minutes west. A strong tradewindat east-south-east with fair weather. This day we saw a number of water-snakes that were ringed yellow andblack, and towards noon we passed a great deal of rock-weed. Though theweather was fair we were constantly shipping water, which kept two menalways employed to bale the boat. Friday 5. At noon I observed in latitude 10 degrees 45 minutes south; our coursesince yesterday west one quarter north, 108 miles; longitude made 3degrees 35 minutes west. Six oysters were, as yesterday, served to eachman, in addition to the usual allowance of bread and water. In the evening a few boobies came about us, one of which I caught with myhand. The blood was divided among three of the men who were weakest, butthe bird I ordered to be kept for our dinner the next day. Served aquarter of a pint of water for supper, and to some who were most in needhalf a pint. In the course of the night, being constantly wet with thesea, we suffered much cold and shiverings. Saturday 6. At daylight I found that some of the clams which had been hung up to dryfor sea-store were stolen; but everyone solemnly denied having anyknowledge of it. This forenoon we saw a gannet, a sand-lark and somewater-snakes which in general were from two or three feet long. The usual allowance of bread and water was served for breakfast, and thesame for dinner with the bird, which I distributed in the usual way, ofWho shall have this? I proposed to make Timor about the latitude of 9degrees 30 minutes south, or 10 degrees south. At noon I observed thelatitude to be 10 degrees 19 minutes south; course north 77 degrees west, distance 117 miles; longitude made from the Shoal Cape, the north part ofNew Holland, 5 degrees 31 minutes west. In the afternoon I took an opportunity of examining our store of bread, and found remaining 19 days allowance, at the former rate of serving one25th of a pound three times a day: therefore, as I saw every prospect ofa quick passage, I again ventured to grant an allowance for supper, agreeable to my promise at the time it was discontinued. Sunday 7. We passed the night miserably wet and cold and in the morning I heardheavy complaints. The sea was high and breaking over us. I could onlyafford the allowance of bread and water for breakfast, but for dinner Igave out an ounce of dried clams to each person, which was all thatremained. At noon I altered the course to the west-north-west to keep more from thesea, as the wind blew strong. Latitude observed 9 degrees 31 minutessouth; course north 57 degrees west, distance 88 miles; longitude made 6degrees 46 minutes west. The sea ran very high all this day and we had frequent showers of rain sothat we were continually wet and suffered much cold in the night. Mr. Ledward the surgeon, and Lawrence Lebogue, an old hardy seaman, appearedto be giving way very fast. I could only assist them by a teaspoonful ortwo of wine which I had carefully saved, expecting such a melancholynecessity. Monday 8. Wind at south-east. The weather was more moderate than it had been forsome days past. A few gannets were seen. At noon I observed in 8 degrees45 minutes south; course west-north-west one quarter west, 106 miles;longitude made 8 degrees 23 minutes west. The sea being smooth I steeredwest by south. At four in the afternoon we caught a small dolphin, which was the firstrelief of the kind that we obtained. I issued about two ounces to eachperson, including the offals, and saved the remainder for dinner the nextday. Towards evening the wind freshened and it blew strong all night, sothat we shipped much water and suffered greatly from the wet and cold. Tuesday 9. At daylight as usual I heard much complaining, which my own feelingsconvinced me was too well founded. I gave the surgeon the Lebogue alittle wine but I could afford them no farther relief except encouragingthem with hopes that a very few days longer, at our present fine rate ofsailing, would bring us to Timor. Gannets, boobies, men of war and tropic birds, were constantly about us. Served the usual allowance of bread and water and at noon we dined on theremains of the dolphin, which amounted to about an ounce per man. Iobserved the latitude to be 9 degrees 9 minutes south; longitude made 10degrees 8 minutes west; course since yesterday noon south 76 degreeswest; distance 107 miles. This afternoon I suffered great sickness from the nature of part of thestomach of the fish which had fallen to my share at dinner. At sunsetserved an allowance of bread and water for supper. Wednesday 10. In the morning after a very comfortless night there was a visiblealteration for the worse in many of the people which gave me greatapprehensions. An extreme weakness, swelled legs, hollow and ghastlycountenances, a more than common inclination to sleep, with an apparentdebility of understanding, seemed to me the melancholy presages of anapproaching dissolution. The surgeon and Lebogue, in particular, weremost miserable objects. I occasionally gave them a few teaspoonfuls ofwine out of the little that remained, which greatly assisted them. Thehopes of being able to accomplish the voyage was our principal support. The boatswain very innocently told me that he really thought I lookedworse than anyone in the boat. The simplicity with which he uttered suchan opinion amused me and I returned him a better compliment. Our latitude at noon was 9 degrees 16 minutes south. Longitude from thenorth part of New Holland 12 degrees 1 minute west. Course sinceyesterday noon west half south 111 miles. Birds and rock-weed showed thatwe were not far from land, but I expected such signs here as there aremany islands between the east part of Timor and New Guinea. The night wasmore moderate than the last. Thursday 11. Everyone received the customary allowance of bread and water, and anextra allowance of water was given to those who were most in need. Atnoon I observed in latitude 9 degrees 41 minutes south; course 77 degreeswest, distance 109 miles; longitude made 13 degrees 49 minutes west. Ihad little doubt of having now passed the meridian of the eastern part ofTimor which is laid down in 128 degrees east. This diffused universal joyand satisfaction. In the afternoon we saw gannets and many other birds, and at sunset wekept a very anxious lookout. In the evening we caught a booby which Ireserved for our dinner the next day. Friday 12. At three in the morning, with an excess of joy, we discovered Timorbearing from west-south-west to west-north-west, and I hauled on a windto the north-north-east till daylight, when the land bore from south-westby south to north-east by north. Our distance from the shore two leagues. It is not possible for me to describe the pleasure which the blessing ofthe sight of this land diffused among us. It appeared scarce credible toourselves that, in an open boat and so poorly provided, we should havebeen able to reach the coast of Timor in forty-one days after leavingTofoa, having in that time run, by our log, a distance of 3618 miles; andthat, notwithstanding our extreme distress, no one should have perishedin the voyage. I have already mentioned that I knew not where the Dutch settlement wassituated but I had a faint idea that it was at the south-west part of theisland. I therefore, after daylight, bore away alongshore to thesouth-south-west, which I was the more readily induced to do as the windwould not suffer us to go towards the north-east without great loss oftime. The day gave us a most agreeable prospect of the land which wasinterspersed with woods and lawns; the interior part mountainous, but theshore low. Towards noon the coast became higher with some remarkableheadlands. We were greatly delighted with the general look of the countrywhich exhibited many cultivated spots and beautiful situations; but wecould only see a few small huts whence I concluded that no Europeanresided in this part of the island. Much sea ran on the shore which madelanding impracticable. At noon we were abreast of a high headland; theextremes of the land bore south-west half west, and north-north-east halfeast; our distance offshore being three miles; latitude by observation 9degrees 59 minutes south; and my longitude by dead reckoning from thenorth part of New Holland 15 degrees 6 minutes west. With the usual allowance of bread and water for dinner I divided the birdwe had caught the night before, and to the surgeon and Lebogue I gave alittle wine. The wind blew fresh at east and east-south-east with very hazy weather. During the afternoon we continued our course along a low shore coveredwith innumerable palm-trees, called the Fan Palm from the leaf spreadinglike a fan; but here we saw no signs of cultivation, nor had the countryso fine an appearance as to the eastward. This however was only a smalltract, for by sunset it improved again and I saw several great smokeswhere the inhabitants were clearing and cultivating their grounds. We hadnow run 25 miles to the west-south-west since noon and were west fivemiles from a low point which, in the afternoon, I imagined had been thesouthernmost land, and here the coast formed a deep bend with low land inthe bight that appeared like islands. The west shore was high; but fromthis part of the coast to the high cape which we were abreast of at noonthe shore is low and I believe shoal. I particularly remark thissituation because here the very high ridge of mountains that run from theeast end of the island, terminate, and the appearance of the countrychanges for the worse. That we might not run past any settlement in the night I determined topreserve my station till the morning and therefore brought to under aclose-reefed foresail. We were here in shoal water, our distance from theshore being half a league, the westernmost land in sight bearingwest-south-west half west. Served bread and water for supper and, theboat lying to very well, all but the officer of the watch endeavoured toget a little sleep. Saturday 13. At two in the morning we wore and stood in shore till daylight when Ifound we had drifted during the night about three leagues to thewest-south-west, the southernmost land in sight bearing west. Onexamining the coast and not seeing any sign of a settlement we bore awayto the westward having a strong gale against a weather current whichoccasioned much sea. The shore was high and covered with wood, but we didnot run far before low land again formed the coast, the points of whichopening at west I once more fancied we were on the south part of theisland; but at ten o'clock we found the coast again inclining towards thesouth, part of it bearing west-south-west half west. At the same timehigh land appeared in the south-west; but the weather was so hazy that itwas doubtful whether the two lands were separated, the opening onlyextending one point of the compass. For this reason I stood towards theouter land and found it to be the island Roti. I returned to the shore we had left and brought to a grapnel in a sandybay that I might more conveniently calculate my situation. In this placewe saw several smokes where the natives were clearing their grounds. During the little time we remained here the master and carpenter verymuch importuned me to let them go in search of supplies; to which atlength I assented but, not finding any other person willing to be oftheir party, they did not choose to quit the boat. I stopped here nolonger than for the purpose just mentioned, and we continued steeringalongshore. We had a view of a beautiful-looking country as if formed byart into lawns and parks. The coast is low and covered with woods inwhich are innumerable fan palm-trees that look like coconut walks. Theinterior part is high land but very different from the more eastern partsof the island where it is exceedingly mountainous and to appearance thesoil better. At noon the island Roti bore south-west by west seven leagues. I had noobservation for the latitude but by account we were in 10 degrees 12minutes south; our course since yesterday noon being south 77 degreeswest 54 miles. The usual allowance of bread and water was served forbreakfast and dinner, and to the surgeon and Lebogue I continued to givewine. We had a strong breeze at east-south-east with hazy weather all theafternoon. At two o'clock, having run through a very dangerous breakingsea, the cause of which I attributed to be a strong tide setting towindward, and shoal water, we discovered a spacious bay or sound with afair entrance about two or three miles wide. I now conceived hopes thatour voyage was nearly at an end as no place could appear more eligiblefor shipping or more likely to be chosen for a European settlement: Itherefore came to a grapnel near the east side of the entrance in a smallsandy bay where we saw a hut, a dog, and some cattle, and I immediatelysent the boatswain and gunner away to the hut to discover theinhabitants. The south-west point of the entrance bore west half south three miles;the south-east point south by west three-quarters of a mile; and theisland Roti from south by west one quarter west to south-west one quarterwest about five leagues. While we lay here I found the ebb came from the northward, and before ourdeparture the falling of the tide discovered to us a reef of rocks abouttwo cables length from the shore, the whole being covered at high-waterrenders it dangerous. On the opposite shore also appeared very highbreakers; but there is nevertheless plenty of room and certainly a safechannel for a first-rate man of war. The bay or sound within, seemed to be of a considerable extent, thenorthern part being about five leagues distant. Here the land made inmoderate risings joined by lower grounds. But the island Roti to thesouthward is the best mark by which to know this place. I had just time to make these remarks when I saw the boatswain and gunnerreturning with some of the natives: I therefore no longer doubted of oursuccess and that our expectations would be fully gratified. They broughtfive Indians and informed me that they had found two families where thewomen treated them with European politeness. From these people I learnedthat the governor resided at a place called Coupang which was somedistance to the north-east. I made signs for one of them to go in theboat and show us the way to Coupang, intimating that I would pay him forhis trouble: the man readily complied and came into the boat. These people were of a dark tawny colour, had long black hair, and cheweda great deal of betel. Their dress was a square piece of cloth round thehips in the folds of which was stuck a large knife; a handkerchiefwrapped round the head, and another hanging by the four corners from theshoulders, which served as a bag for their betel equipage. They broughtus a few pieces of dried turtle and some ears of Indian corn. This lastwas the most welcome; for the turtle was so hard that it could not beeaten without being first soaked in hot water. They offered to bring ussome other refreshments if I would wait, but as the pilot was willing Idetermined to push on. It was about half an hour past four when wesailed. By direction of the pilot we kept close to the east shore under all oursail; but as night came on the wind died away and we were obliged to tryat the oars which I was surprised to see we could use with some effect. At ten o'clock, finding we advanced but slowly, I came to a grapnel andfor the first time I issued double allowance of bread and a little wineto each person. Sunday 14. At one o'clock in the morning, after the most happy and sweet sleep thatever men enjoyed, we weighed and continued to keep the east shore onboard in very smooth water; when at last I found we were again open tothe sea, the whole of the land to the westward that we had passed beingan island which the pilot called Pulo Samow. The northern entrance ofthis channel is about a mile and a half or two miles wide and I had noground at ten fathoms. The report of two cannon that were fired gave new life to everyone; andsoon after we discovered two square-rigged vessels and a cutter at anchorto the eastward. We endeavoured to work to windward but were obliged totake to our oars again, having lost ground on each tack. We kept close tothe shore and continued rowing till four o'clock when I brought to agrapnel and gave another allowance of bread and wine to all hands. Assoon as we had rested a little we weighed again, and rowed till neardaylight when we came to a grapnel off a small fort and town which thepilot told me was Coupang. Among the things which the boatswain had thrown into the boat before weleft the ship was a bundle of signal flags that had been used by theboats to show the depth of water in sounding; with these we had in thecourse of the passage made a small jack which I now hoisted in the mainshrouds as a signal of distress, for I did not think proper to landwithout leave. Soon after daybreak a soldier hailed us to land, which I immediately didamong a crowd of Indians, and was agreeably surprised to meet with anEnglish sailor who belonged to one of the vessels in the road. Hiscaptain he told me was the second person in the town; I therefore desiredto be conducted to him as I was informed the governor was ill and couldnot then be spoken with. Captain Spikerman received me with great humanity. I informed him of ourdistressed situation; and requested that care might be taken of those whowere with me without delay. On which he gave directions for theirimmediate reception at his own house, and went himself to the governor toknow at what time I could be permitted to see him, which was fixed to beat eleven o'clock. I now desired my people to come on shore which was as much as some ofthem could do, being scarce able to walk: they however were helped to thehouse and found tea with bread and butter provided for their breakfast. The abilities of a painter, perhaps, could seldom have been displayed tomore advantage than in the delineation of the two groups of figures whichat this time presented themselves to each other. An indifferent spectatorwould have been at a loss which most to admire, the eyes of faminesparkling at immediate relief, or the horror of their preservers at thesight of so many spectres, whose ghastly countenances, if the cause hadbeen unknown, would rather have excited terror than pity. Our bodies werenothing but skin and bones, our limbs were full of sores, and we wereclothed in rags: in this condition, with the tears of joy and gratitudeflowing down our cheeks, the people of Timor beheld us with a mixture ofhorror, surprise, and pity. The governor, Mr. William Adrian van Este, notwithstanding extremeill-health, became so anxious about us that I saw him before theappointed time. He received me with great affection and gave me thefullest proofs that he was possessed of every feeling of a humane andgood man. Sorry as he was, he said, that such a calamity could ever havehappened to us, yet he considered it as the greatest blessing of his lifethat we had fallen under his protection and, though his infirmity was sogreat that he could not do the office of a friend himself, he would givesuch orders as I might be certain would procure us every supply wewanted. A house should be immediately prepared for me, and with respectto my people he said that I might have room for them either at thehospital or on board of captain Spikerman's ship which lay in the road;and he expressed much uneasiness that Coupang could not afford thembetter accommodations, the house assigned to me being the only oneuninhabited and the situation of the few families that lived at thisplace such that they could not conveniently receive strangers. For thepresent till matters could be properly regulated he gave directions thatvictuals for my people should be dressed at his own house. On returning to Captain Spikerman's house I found that every kind reliefhad been given to my people. The surgeon had dressed their sores and thecleaning of their persons had not been less attended to, several friendlygifts of apparel having been presented to them. I desired to be shown to the house that was intended for me, which Ifound ready with servants to attend. It consisted of a hall, with a roomat each end, and a loft overhead; and was surrounded by a piazza with anouter apartment in one corner and a communication from the back part ofthe house to the street. I therefore determined, instead of separatingfrom my people, to lodge them all with me; and I divided the house asfollows: one room I took to myself, the other I allotted to the master, surgeon, Mr. Nelson, and the gunner; the loft to the other officers, andthe outer apartment to the men. The hall was common to the officers andthe men had the back piazza. Of this disposition I informed the governor, and he sent down chairs, tables and benches, with bedding and othernecessaries for the use of everyone. The governor when I took my leave had desired me to acquaint him witheverything of which I stood in need; but it was only at particular timesthat he had a few moments of ease, or could attend to anything, being ina dying state with an incurable disease. On this account I transactedwhatever business I had with Mr. Timotheus Wanjon, the second of thisplace, who was the you governor's son-in-law, and who also contributedeverything in his power to make our situation comfortable. I had been, therefore, misinformed by the seaman who told me that captain Spikermanwas the next person in command to the governor. At noon a dinner was brought to the house sufficiently good to makepersons more accustomed to plenty eat too much. Yet I believe few in sucha situation would have observed more moderation than my people did. Mygreatest apprehension was that they would eat too much fruit, of whichthere was great variety in season at this time. Having seen everyone enjoy this meal of plenty I dined myself with Mr. Wanjon; but I felt no extraordinary inclination to eat or drink. Rest andquiet I considered as more necessary to the reestablishment of my healthand therefore retired soon to my room which I found furnished with everyconvenience. But instead of rest my mind was disposed to reflect on ourlate sufferings, and on the failure of the expedition; but above all onthe thanks due to Almighty God who had given us power to support and bearsuch heavy calamities and had enabled me at last to be the means ofsaving eighteen lives. In times of difficulty there will generally arise circumstances that bearparticularly hard on a commander. In our late situation it was not theleast of my distresses to be constantly assailed with the melancholydemands of my people for an increase of allowance which it grieved me torefuse. The necessity of observing the most rigid economy in thedistribution of our provisions was so evident that I resisted theirsolicitations and never deviated from the agreement we made at settingout. The consequence of this care was that at our arrival we had stillremaining sufficient for eleven days at our scanty allowance: and if wehad been so unfortunate as to have missed the Dutch settlement at Timorwe could have proceeded to Java where I was certain that every supply wewanted could be procured. Another disagreeable circumstance to which my situation exposed me wasthe caprice of ignorant people. Had I been incapable of acting they wouldhave carried the boat on shore as soon as we made the island of Timorwithout considering that landing among the natives at a distance from theEuropean settlement might have been as dangerous as among any otherIndians. The quantity of provisions with which we left the ship was not more thanwe should have consumed in five days had there been no necessity forhusbanding our stock. The mutineers must naturally have concluded that wecould have no other place of refuge than the Friendly Islands for it wasnot likely they should imagine that, so poorly equipped as we were inevery respect, there could have been a possibility of our attempting toreturn homewards: much less can they suspect that the account of theirvillainy has already reached their native country. When I reflect how providentially our lives were saved at Tofoa by theIndians delaying their attack and that, with scarce anything to supportlife, we crossed a sea of more than 1200 leagues, without shelter fromthe inclemency of the weather; when I reflect that in an open boat withso much stormy weather we escaped foundering, that not any of us weretaken off by disease, that we had the great good fortune to pass theunfriendly natives of other countries without accident, and at lasthappily to meet with the most friendly and best of people to relieve ourdistresses; I say when I reflect on all these wonderful escapes theremembrance of such great mercies enables me to bear, with resignationand cheerfulness, the failure of an expedition the success of which I hadso much at heart and which was frustrated at a time when I wascongratulating myself on the fairest prospect of being able to completeit in a manner that would fully have answered the intention of HisMajesty and the humane promoters of so benevolent a plan. With respect to the preservation of our health during a course of 16 daysof heavy and almost continual rain I would recommend to everyone in asimilar situation the method we practised which is to dip their clothesin the salt-water and wring them out as often as they become filled withrain: it was the only resource we had, and I believe was of the greatestservice to us, for it felt more like a change of dry clothes than couldwell be imagined. We had occasion to do this so often that at length allour clothes were wrung to pieces: for, except the few days we passed onthe coast of New Holland, we were continually wet either with rain orsea. Thus through the assistance of Divine Providence we surmounted thedifficulties and distresses of a most perilous voyage and arrived safe inan hospitable port where every necessary and comfort were administered tous with a most liberal hand. CHAPTER 18. At Coupang. JUNE 1789. TIMOR. From the great humanity and attention of the governor and the gentlemenat Coupang we received every kind of assistance and were not long withoutevident signs of returning health. Shortly after our arrival I presentedto the governor a formal account of the loss of the Bounty; and arequisition in His Majesty's name that instructions might be sent to allthe Dutch settlements to stop the ship if she made her appearance. Withthis a complete descriptive list of the mutineers was given. I likewise requested in one of my first visits to the governor thatNelson might have permission to walk about the country in search ofplants, which was readily granted with an offer of whatever assistance Ishould think necessary: and the governor assured me that the country waswell worth examination as it abounded with many curious and medicinalplants. From this indulgence I derived no benefit, for Nelson, who sincewe left New Holland had been but in a weak condition, about this time wastaken ill in consequence of a cold caused by imprudently leaving off warmclothing. To secure our arrival at Batavia before the October fleet sailed forEurope I gave public notice of my intention to hire a vessel to carry usto Batavia. In consequence of this notice several offers were made butnone that I thought reasonable; which determined me to purchase a smallschooner in the road, that was 34 feet long, for which I gave 1000rix-dollars and fitted her for sea under the name of His Majesty'sschooner Resource. As the coast of Java is frequently infested with smallpiratical vessels it was necessary that we should be provided with theproper means of defence. In this I was assisted by the friendship of Mr. Wanjon who supplied me with four brass swivels, 14 stand of small arms, and ammunition, which he obligingly let me have as a loan to be returnedat Batavia. July 20. On the 20th of July I had the misfortune to lose Mr. David Nelson: hedied of an inflammatory fever. The loss of this honest man I very muchlamented: he had with great care and diligence attended to the object forwhich he was sent, and had always been ready to forward every plan thatwas proposed, for the good of the service in which we were engaged. Hewas not less useful in our voyage hither, in the course of which he gaveme great satisfaction, by the patience and fortitude with which heconducted himself. July 21. This day I was employed attending the funeral of Mr. Nelson. The corpsewas carried by twelve soldiers dressed in black preceded by the minister;next followed myself and the second governor; then ten gentlemen of thetown and the officers of the ships in the harbour; and after them my ownofficers and people. After reading our burial-service the body was interred behind the chapel, in the burying-ground appropriated to the Europeans of the town. I wassorry I could get no tombstone to place over his remains. This was the second voyage Mr. Nelson had undertaken to the South Seas, having been sent out by Sir Joseph Banks to collect plants, seeds, etc. In Captain Cook's last voyage. And now, after surmounting so manydifficulties, and in the midst of thankfulness for his deliverance, hewas called upon to pay the debt of nature at a time least expected. August 20. Our schooner being victualled and ready for sea, on the 20th of August Itook an affectionate leave of the hospitable and friendly inhabitants ofCoupang and embarked. In the afternoon we sailed, having the launch whichhad so much contributed to our preservation in tow. We exchanged saluteswith the fort and shipping as we ran out of the harbour. The town of Coupang is situated in a great bay which is an excellent roadfor shipping. The latitude of the town is 10 degrees 12 minutes south. According to the Dutch charts it is in 121 degrees 51 minutes eastlongitude. Taking the mean between the longitude by my reckoning on ourarrival at Coupang, and the longitude afterwards calculated from our runto Batavia, gives me for the longitude of Coupang 124 degrees 41 minuteseast. This settlement was formed in the year 1630 and is the only one the Dutchhave on the island Timor. They have residents in different parts of thecountry. On the north side of Timor there is a Portuguese settlement. Theproduce of the island is chiefly sandalwood and beeswax: the formerarticle is now scarce. Wax they have in great plenty. The bees buildtheir nests in bushes and in the boughs of trees to which the nativescannot approach but with fire. The honey is put into jars and the wax isrun into blocks of three feet in length and from 12 to 15 inches square. The natives, at least those who live in the neighbourhood of Coupang, areof a very indolent disposition, of which the Chinese have takenadvantage, for, though the Malays are very fond of traffic, most of theirtrade is carried on in small Chinese vessels of from 10 to 30 tonsburden. There is a market at Coupang for the country people in whichhowever there is little business done. I have seen a man from the countrycome to market with two potatoes: and this is not unusual. These beingsold for two doits (equal to a halfpenny English) serve to supply himwith betel to chew; and the remainder of the day is passed in loungingabout the town. The inland people, who live at a distance from theEuropeans, are strong and active, but their want of cleanliness subjectsthem to filthy diseases. The chief of the natives, or king of the island, is by the Dutch styledKeyfer (Emperor). This prince lives at a place called Backennassy, aboutfour miles distant from Coupang. His authority over the natives is notwholly undisputed; which is by the Dutch attributed to the intrigues ofthe Portuguese, who are on the north part of Timor. The island has latelysuffered much by a competition between the present king and one of hisnephews, which caused a civil war that lasted from the beginning of theyear 1786 to 1788, when their differences were settled by a treaty, chiefly in favour of the king. The ravages committed in these disputeshave occasioned a scarcity of provisions that probably, from the want ofindustry in the natives, will not soon be remedied. I had an opportunityof making a visit to the king. His dwelling was a large house which wasdivided into only three apartments and surrounded by a piazza, agreeablysituated but very dirty, as was all the furniture. The king, who is anelderly man, received me with much civility and ordered refreshments tobe set before me, which were tea, rice cakes, roasted Indian corn, anddried buffalo flesh, with about a pint of arrack, which I believe was allhe had. His dress was a check wrapper girded round his waist with a silkand gold belt, a loose linen jacket, and a coarse handkerchief about hishead. A few of his chiefs were with him who partook of our repast; afterwhich the king retired with three of them for a short time and when hereturned presented me with a round plate of metal about four inchesdiameter on which was stamped the figure of a star. As I had beeninformed that arrack would be an acceptable present I was prepared tomake a return which was well received. They never dilute their liquor andfrom habit are able to drink a large quantity of spirits at a timewithout being intoxicated. When a king dies a large feast is made to which all the inhabitants areinvited. The body after a few days is put into a coffin which is closedup and kept three years before it is interred. The Dutch have been at some pains to establish Christianity among thenatives: but it has not gained much ground, except in the neighbourhoodof Coupang. The present king was christened by the name of Barnardus. HisIndian name is Bachee Bannock. The scriptures are translated into theMalay language and prayers are performed in the church at Coupang by aMalay clergyman, in that language. I met at Timor with most of the fruits that are described in CaptainCook's first voyage as natives of Batavia, except the mangosteen. Thebreadfruit tree, called by the Malays soccoom, likewise grows here withgreat luxuriance and appears to be as much a native of this island as itis of Otaheite. The fruit is exactly of the same kind but not so good. Abreadfruit of Timor weighs half as much more as one of equal size atOtaheite. It is not used here as bread but generally eaten with milk andsugar. At Backennassy I saw about twenty of the trees, larger than any Ihave seen at Otaheite. Here is also a sort of breadfruit tree thatproduces seeds not unlike Windsor beans and equally palatable eitherboiled or roasted. No other part of the fruit is eatable and, though thetree I am told is to all appearance the same as the other, the fruitshave but little resemblance, the fruit of this being covered withprojecting points nearly half an inch in length. I received a present of some fine plants from the governor, which I wasafterwards unfortunately obliged to leave at Batavia for want of properroom to take care of them in the packet by which I returned to Europe. Mr. Wanjon likewise favoured me with some seeds for His Majesty's gardenat Kew which I had the good fortune to deliver safe on my return: andsome of the mountain rice cultivated at Timor on the dry land, which wasforwarded to His Majesty's botanic garden at St. Vincent, and to otherparts in the West Indies. A resemblance of language between the people of the South Sea islands andthe inhabitants of many of the islands in the East Indies has beenremarked in Captain Cook's first voyage. Here the resemblance appearedstronger than has yet been noticed; particularly in their numerals. Butbesides the language I observed some customs among the people of Timorstill more striking for their similarity. They practise the tooge-tooge*of the Friendly Islands which they call toombock: and the roomee ofOtaheite which they call ramas. I likewise saw, placed on their graves, offerings of baskets with tobacco and betel. (*Footnote. The tooge-tooge is described in Captain Cook's last voyageVolume 1 page 323; and the roomee in the same voyage Volume 2 page 64. ) I left the governor Mr. Van Este at the point of death. To this gentlemanour most grateful thanks are due for the humane and friendly treatmentthat we received from him. His ill state of health only prevented himfrom showing us more particular marks of attention. Unhappily it is tohis memory only that I now pay this tribute. It was a fortunatecircumstance for us that Mr. Wanjon, the next in place to the governor, was equally humane and ready to relieve us. His attention was unremittingand, when there was a doubt about supplying me with money to enable me topurchase a vessel, he cheerfully took it upon himself; without which itwas evident, I should have been too late at Batavia to have sailed forEurope with the October fleet. I can only return such services by everretaining a grateful remembrance of them. Mr. Max the town surgeon likewise behaved to us with the mostdisinterested humanity: he attended everyone with the utmost care, forwhich I could not prevail on him to receive any payment, or to render meany account, or other answer than that it was his duty. CHAPTER 19. From Timor to Batavia. AUGUST 1789. Thursday 20. From Coupang we steered north-west by west having a moderate breeze atsouth-east with fair weather. Saturday 22. At daylight we saw the island Flores to the northward. At noon latitudeobserved 9 degrees 27 minutes south, and longitude by account fromCoupang 2 degrees 10 minutes west. Our distance from the coast of Floreswas about 10 leagues; and two high peaked mountains bore north half eastand north-north-west. These two mountains resemble each other in shapeand the westernmost is a volcano. The interior parts of Flores aremountainous and woody: but near the sea-coast is a fine open country. ADutch map with which I was provided places the south part of Flores in 9degrees 3 minutes south which I am of opinion is too far south. Westeered along the south side of Flores, mostly with light winds and hazyweather, so that we did not constantly keep sight of the coast. Tuesday 25. At noon we were off Toorns island which bore north-west by north three orfour leagues distant. Our latitude observed was 8 degrees 57 minutessouth and longitude made by dead reckoning from Coupang 3 degrees 27minutes west. Toorns island is about four leagues in circuit and has acraggy and uneven appearance. There is a curious high peak on thesouth-west part: the land near the shore is low and woody. Thursday 27. On the 27th at noon we were near the entrance of the Straits of Mangaryn, which not appearing so open and clear as represented in the map, Isteered for the straits of Sapi, intending to pass through; but wasobliged to give up this plan by strong currents setting to the south-eastwhich there was not sufficient wind to enable us to stem. Saturday 29. I therefore again stood for the Straits of Mangaryn which we ran throughin the afternoon of the 29th, being favoured with a fresh breeze from thesouth-south-east. On our first entering the straits we got close to theFlores shore: our course through was north half east. We tried forsoundings but could not anywhere find bottom at 25 and 30 fathoms depth. On the Flores side there are many good harbours and bays where vesselsmay anchor; but the country hereabouts appears burnt up and desolate. I had no azimuth-compass and consequently could not observe veryaccurately the variation; but I believe there is so little in MangarynStraits that no great error will be occasioned by considering the trueand magnetic bearings to be the same. When we had passed the straits we kept to the westward, running along thenorth side of the island Sumbawa, where there is a very high mountainnear the coast, at the foot of which I am informed, are many runs of goodwater, conveniently situated for ships to supply themselves. The latitudeof the north part of Sumbawa I make by my observations and bearings to be8 degrees 6 minutes south, which differs very little from the Dutchcharts. Monday 31. In the night of the 31st several prows were rowing about us, on whichaccount we kept all night under arms. September. Thursday 3. This and the two following days we were sailing along the north side ofthe island Lombok, on which is a high mountain. Most of the islands inthis route are distinguished by high mountains. Lombok appears to be wellclothed with wood. In the nights we saw fires upon the high lands at adistance from the coast. Sunday 6. In the afternoon we saw the high land of Cape Sandana, which is thenorth-east part of Java. Monday 7. The next day we were off cape Sandana which is a low cape projecting fromthe high land already mentioned. This cape is placed by the Dutch maps in7 degrees 52 minutes south. But according to my observation and ourestimated distance from the land I make it in 7 degrees 46 minutes southlatitude. The longitude by my dead reckoning from Coupang to Cape Sandanawas 11 degrees 33 minutes west. Thursday 10. We steered to the westward along the coast of Java and on the 10th atnoon we anchored off Passourwang, a Dutch settlement on the coast ofJava, in two fathoms, distant from the shore half a league, the entranceof the river bearing south-west. The coast hereabouts so is shoal thatlarge ships are obliged to anchor three or four miles from the land. Assoon as we were at anchor I got in my boat and went on shore. The banksof the river near the entrance were mud, on which grew a few mangrovebushes. Among them we saw hogs running and many were laying dead in themud, which caused a most intolerable stench and made me heartily repenthaving come here; but after proceeding about a mile up the river, thecourse of which was serpentine, we found a very pleasant country andlanded at a small and well-constructed fort, where I was received in afriendly and polite manner by M. Adrian van Rye, the commandant. By thereturn of the boat I sent on board a small bullock and other provisions. I likewise took a pilot to conduct us to Sourabaya. The houses at Passourwang are neatly built and the country appears to bewell cultivated. The produce of this settlement is rice, of which theyexport large quantities. There are but few Dutch here: the Javanese arenumerous and their chief lives with considerable splendour. They havegood roads and posts are established along the coast; and it appears tobe a busy and well-regulated settlement. Latitude 7 degrees 36 minutessouth. Longitude 1 degree 44 minutes west of Cape Sandana. Friday 11. The next day about noon we sailed. Saturday 12. And on the 12th in the evening anchored in Sourabaya road in sevenfathoms: the flagstaff bearing south one quarter west; distance from theshore one mile. We found riding here seven square-rigged and severalsmaller vessels. It was too late when we anchored to send a boat on shore. Sunday 13. The next morning before daylight three guard-boats stationed themselvesnear us and I was informed that I must not land or send a boat on shore. This restriction I learnt from the officer of the guard-boats was inconformity to general orders concerning all strange vessels on theirfirst arrival. At nine in the forenoon leave came off for us to land andsoon after the guard-boats quitted us. I was received on shore with great civility and friendship by thegovernor or Opperhoost M. Ant. Barkay, and the commandant of the troopsM. De Bose. By these gentlemen I was hospitably entertained, and advisedto remain till the 16th when some vessels were to sail, with whom I mightkeep company, which they recommended on account of pirates. Sourabaya is one of the most pleasant places I ever saw. It is situatedon the banks of a river and is a mile and a half distant from theseashore so that only the flagstaff can be seen from the road. The riveris navigable up to the town for vessels of 100 tons burden, and the bankon one side is made convenient for tracking. The Chinese carry on aconsiderable trade here, and have a town or camp on the side of the riveropposite to Sourabaya. The country near the town is flat and the soillight, so that they plow with a single bullock or buffalo (karrabow). Theinterior parts of the country near the mountains are infested with abreed of fierce tigers, which makes travelling inland very dangerous. They have here a breed of horses which are small but they are handsomeand strong. The Javanese in this neighbourhood are numerous. M. Barkay and M. De Bosetook me with them to pay a visit to two of the principal natives, whom wefound attended by a number of men armed with pikes in great militaryorder. We were entertained with a concert of music; the instruments weregongs, drums, and a fiddle with two strings. I hired a pilot here tocarry us to Batavia. Our latitude observed in Sourabaya road was 7degrees 11 minutes south. Longitude made from Cape Sandana 1 degree 52minutes west. Thursday 17. On the 17th we sailed from Sourabaya in company with three prows. At noonwe anchored at Crissey which is a town with a small fort belonging to theDutch. We remained here about two hours and then weighed. Latitude ofCrissey 7 degrees 9 minutes south. Longitude from Cape Sandana 1 degree55 minutes west. The navigation through the Straits of Madura is so intricate that withthe little opportunity I had I am unable to undertake a description ofit. Friday 18. The next day, having passed the straits, we bore away to the westwardalong the coast of Java in company with the prows before mentioned. Tuesday 22. We had regular soundings all the way to Samarang, off which place weanchored on the 22nd in the afternoon; the church bearing south-east;distance from the shore half a league: depth of water two fathoms. Theshoalness of the coast here makes the road of Samarang very inconvenient, both on account of the great distance that large ships (of which therewere several in the road) are obliged to lay from the shore, and of thelanding which is in a river that cannot be entered before half-flood. This river resembles the one at Passourwang, the shores being low withoffensive dead animals laying about. I was met at the landing-place bythe equipage-master, and he furnished me with a carriage to carry me tothe governor, whose residence is about two miles from the town ofSamarang. I requested and obtained leave to have our wants supplied, which were to recruit our provisions, and to get a any mainmast, havingsprung ours in the passage from Sourabaya. Samarang is a fortified town surrounded by a wall and ditch, and is themost considerable settlement next to Batavia that the Dutch have in Java. Here is a very good hospital and a public school, chiefly for teachingthe mathematics. They have likewise a theatre. Provisions are remarkablycheap here, beef being at ten doits per pound and the price of a fowl 12doits. I experienced great civility from some of the gentlemen at Samarang, particularly from M. Le Baron de Bose, a merchant, brother to the M. DeBose, commandant of the troops at Sourabaya: and from M. Abegg, thesurgeon of the hospital, to whom we were indebted for advice andmedicines for which he would not consent to receive payment. The latitude of Samarang is 6 degrees 57 minutes. Longitude by myreckoning from Cape Sandana 4 degrees 7 minutes west. Saturday 26. On the 26th we sailed from Samarang and with us a galley mounting sixswivels which the governor had directed to accompany us to Batavia. October. Thursday 1. On the 1st of October we anchored in Batavia road, where we found ridinga Dutch ship of war and 20 sail of Dutch East India ships, besides manysmaller vessels. CHAPTER 20. Occurrences at Batavia and Passage thence to England. OCTOBER 1789. In the afternoon at four o'clock I went on shore and landed at a house bythe river where strangers first stop and give an account who they are, whence they came, etc. From this place a Malay gentleman took me in acarriage to Sabandar, Mr. Engelhard, whose house was in the environs ofthe city on the side nearest the shipping. The Sabandar is the officerwith whom all strangers are obliged to transact their business: at leastthe whole must go through his hands. With him I went to pay my respectsto the governor-general who received me with great civility. I acquaintedhis excellency with my situation and requested my people might be takencare of and that we should be allowed to take a passage to Europe in thefirst ship that sailed. I likewise desired permission to sell theschooner and launch. All this his excellency told me should be granted. Ithen took leave and returned with the Sabandar who wrote down theparticulars of my wants in order to form from them a regular petition tobe presented to the council the next day. I had brought from the governorof Coupang, directed for the governor-general at Batavia, the account ofmy voyage and misfortune, translated into Dutch from an account that Ihad given to Mr. Van Este. So attentive had they been at Timor toeverything that related to us. There is a large hotel at Batavia fitted up purposely for theaccommodation of strangers, who are not allowed to reside at any otherplace. It is situated near the great river in a part of the city that isreckoned the most airy and healthy. Nevertheless I found the air hot andsuffocating and was taken ill in the night with a violent pain in myhead. Friday 2. The next morning at nine the council sat and I attended, accompanied bythe Sabandar; and was informed that the council had complied with all Ihad requested. When I returned to the hotel my headache increased and a violent fevercame on. I sent to acquaint the Sabandar of my situation and was soonafter attended by the head surgeon of the town hospital Mr. Aansorp, bywhose care and skill in less than 24 hours the fever considerably abatedbut a severe headache continued. I had an invitation from thegovernor-general to dine with him, which of course I was obliged todecline. I hired a carriage which cost three dollars per day for the benefit oftaking an airing. My lodgings at the hotel were so close and hot that Idesired the Sabandar to apply to the Governor-General for leave to hire ahouse in the country; which request his excellency not only immediatelycomplied with but gave directions for my being accommodated at the houseof the physician or surgeon-general Mr. Sparling. One of my people, Thomas Hall, being ill with a flux I obtained leave forhim to be sent to the country hospital which is a convenient airybuilding. Tuesday 6. This morning at sunrise I left the hotel and was carried to Mr. Sparling's house, about four miles distant from the city and near theconvalescent hospital which at this time had also sick men in it, thewhole number of patients amounting to 800. I found everything preparedfor my comfort and convenience. Mr. Sparling would suffer me to take nomedicine though I had still considerable fever with headache: but I foundso much relief from the difference of the air that in the evening I wasable to accompany Mr. Sparling on a visit to the governor-general at oneof his country seats, where we found many ladies all dressed in the Malayfashion, some of them richly ornamented with jewels. I had invitationsfrom several gentlemen and some very kindly pressed me to make theircountry houses my abode till my health should be reestablished. My indisposition increasing, Mr. Sparling advised me to quit Batavia asspeedily as possible and represented the necessity of it to thegovernor-general. I was informed from his excellency that thehomeward-bound ships were so much crowded that there would be nopossibility of all my people going in one ship, and that they could beaccommodated no other way than by dividing them into different ships. Seeing therefore that a separation was unavoidable I determined to followthe advice of the physician and, as a packet was appointed to sail forEurope on the 16th instant, I sent to request of the governor that Imight be allowed to take a passage in her for myself and as many of mypeople as they were able to receive. In answer to this I was acquaintedthat myself and two more could be accommodated in the packet, she beingtoo small to admit a greater number; but that I might rest assured ofpassages being provided for those that remained by the earliestopportunities. Friday 9. This day anchored in the road the General Elliot, an English shipcommanded by Captain Lloyd. In the Straits of Banca he had met with someboats belonging to the East India Company's ship Vansittart that was lostin the straits of Billaton by having struck on a rock that went throughher bottom. Captain Wilson, who commanded the Vansittart, I was informedhad just finished a survey of those Straits and was hoisting his boat inwhen the ship struck. Immediately on receiving the intelligence CaptainLloyd, in the General Elliot and another ship in company called theNonsuch, sailed for the wreck. They found the ship had been burnt down tothe water's edge by the Malays. They however saved 40 chests of treasureout of 55 which were said to have been on board. Most of the ship'scompany were saved: one man only was lost in the ship, and five others ina small boat were missing who were supposed to have taken some of thetreasure. The greater part of the people went with Captain Wilson toChina, and some were with Captain Lloyd. Saturday 10. This morning the Resource was sold by public auction: the custom atBatavia is to begin high and to lower the price till some person bids;and the first bidder is the buyer. She was accordingly put up at 2000rix-dollars but to my great disappointment no one offered to purchasebefore the auctioneer had lowered the demand to 295 rix-dollars, forwhich price she was sold, the purchaser being an Englishman, Captain JohnEddie, who commanded an English ship from Bengal. If no strangers hadbeen present at the sale I imagine they would have let her run down to200 dollars, in which case I should have had no alternative. The launch likewise was sold. The services she had rendered us made mefeel great reluctance at parting with her; which I would not have done ifI could have found a convenient opportunity of getting her conveyed toEurope. Little as the schooner had sold for I found I was in danger of having thesum lessened; for the Sabandar informed me that by an order of thecouncil there was a duty on the sale of all vessels. With this demand Iwould by no means comply for I thought I had sufficiently suffered insustaining a loss of 705 rix-dollars out of 1000 by the purchase and saleof the vessel, she having cost 1000 rix-dollars. This day Thomas Hall, whom I had sent to be taken care of at thehospital, died. He had been ill of a flux from the time of our arrival atTimor. Monday 12. I agreed with the captain of the packet for a passage to Europe formyself, my clerk, and a servant. The Sabandar informed me it wasnecessary that my officers and people should be examined before a notaryrespecting the loss of the Bounty, as otherwise the governor and councilwere not legally authorised to detain her if she should be found in anyof the Dutch settlements. They were therefore at my desire examined, andafterwards made affidavit before the governor and council at theStadthouse. My officers complaining to me of the unreasonableness of some tradesmen'sbills I spoke to the Sabandar. A bill of 51 dollars for five hats hereduced to 30 dollars and in other articles made proportionabledeductions. Paper money is the currency of Batavia and is so understood in allbargains. At this time paper was at 28 per cent discount: there islikewise a difference in the value of the ducatoon which at Batavia is 80stivers and in Holland only 63 stivers: this occasions a loss of 21 1/4per cent on remittance of money. It therefore follows that if any personat Batavia remits money by bills of exchange to Europe they lose by thediscount and the exchange 49 1/4 per cent. Those who have accounts to pay and can give unexceptionable bills onEurope will find a considerable saving by negotiating their bills withprivate people who are glad to give for them a premium of 20 per cent atthe least. This discovery I made somewhat too late to profit by. One of the greatest difficulties that strangers have to encounter istheir being obliged to live at the hotel. This hotel was formerly twohouses which by doors of communication have been made one. It is in themiddle of a range of buildings more calculated for a cold country thanfor such a climate as Batavia. There is no free circulation of air andwhat is equally bad it is always very dirty; and there is great want ofattendance. What they call cleaning the house is another nuisance; forthey never use any water to cool it or to lay the dust, but sweep dailywith brooms in such a manner that those in the house are almostsuffocated by a cloud of dust. The months of December and January are reckoned the most unhealthy of theyear, the heavy rains being then set in. The account of the seasons asgiven to me here I believe may be relied on. The middle of November the west monsoon begins and rain. December and January. Continual rain with strong westerly wind. February. Westerly wind. Towards the end of this month the rain begins toabate. March. Intervals of fine weather. Wind westerly. April. In this month the east monsoon begins. Weather generally fine withshowers of rain. May. East monsoon fixed. Showery. June and July. Clear weather. Strong east wind. August and September. Wind more moderate. October. In this month the wind begins to be variable with showers ofrain. The current is said always to run with the wind. Nevertheless I found thereverse in sailing from Timor to Java. Between the end of October and thebeginning of the ensuing year no Dutch ship bound for Europe is allowedto sail from Batavia for fear of being near the Mauritius at the time ofthe hurricanes which are frequent there in December and January. My illness prevented me from gaining much knowledge of Batavia. Of theirpublic buildings I saw nothing that gave me so much satisfaction as theircountry hospital for seamen. It is a large commodious and airy buildingabout four miles from the town, close to the side of the river, or ratherin the river: for the ground on which it stands has by labour been madean island of, and the sick are carried there in a boat: each ward is aseparate dwelling and the different diseases are properly classed. Theyhave sometimes 1400 patients in it: at this time there were 800, but morethan half of these were recovered and fit for service, of whom 300 weredestined for the fleet that was to sail for Europe. I went through mostof the wards and there appeared great care and attention. The sheets, bedding, and linen of the sick were perfectly neat and clean. The houseof the physician, Mr. Sparling, who has the management of the hospital isat one extremity of the building: and here it was that I resided. To theattention and care of this gentleman, for which he would receive nopayment, I am probably indebted for my life. The hospital in the town is well attended, but the situation is so illchosen that it certainly would be the saving of many lives to build onein its stead up the river, which might be done with great advantage aswater carriage is so easy and convenient. A great neglect in some of thecommanders of the shipping here was suffering their people to go dirtyand frequently without frock, shirt, or anything to cover their bodies, which, besides being a public nuisance, must probably be productive ofill health in the most robust constitution. The governor-general gave me leave to lodge all my people at the countryhospital which I thought a great advantage and with which they wereperfectly satisfied. The officers however at their own request remainedin the town. The time fixed for the sailing of the packet approaching, I settled myaccounts with the Sabandar, leaving open the victualling account to beclosed by Mr. Fryer the master previous to his departure, who I likewiseauthorised to supply the men and officers left under his command with onemonth's pay to enable them to purchase clothing for their passage toEngland. I had been at great pains to bring living plants from Timor, in six tubs, which contained jacks, nancas, karambolas, namnams, jambos, and threethriving breadfruit plants. These I thought might be serviceable at theCape of Good Hope if brought no farther: but I had the mortification ofbeing obliged to leave them all at Batavia. I took these plants on boardat Coupang on the 20th of August: they had experienced a passage of 42days to my arrival here. The breadfruit plants died to the root andsprouted afresh from thence. The karambolas, jacks, nancas, and namnams Ihad raised from the seed and they were in fine order. No judgment canhence be formed of the success of transporting plants, as in the presenttrial they had many disadvantages. Friday 16. This morning being sunrise I embarked on board the Vlydte packetcommanded by Captain Peter Couvret, bound for Middleburgh. With melikewise embarked Mr. John Samwell, clerk, and John Smith, seaman. Thoseof our company who stayed behind the governor promised me should followin the first ships and be as little divided as possible. At 7 o'clock thepacket weighed and sailed out of the road. Sunday 18. On the 18th we spoke the Rambler, an American brig belonging to Boston, bound to Batavia. After passing the Straits of Sunda we steered to thenorth of the Cocos Isles. These islands, Captain Couvret informed me, arefull of coconut trees: there is no anchorage near them but good landingfor boats. Their latitude 12 degrees 0 minutes south. Longitude 96degrees 5 minutes east. In the passage to the Cape of Good Hope there occurred nothing worthremark. I cannot however forbear noticing the Dutch manner of navigating. They steer by true compass, or rather endeavour so to do, by means of asmall movable central card, which they set to the meridian: and wheneverthey discover the variation has altered 2 1/2 degrees since the lastadjustment they again correct the central card. This is steering within aquarter of a point, without aiming at greater exactness. The officer ofthe watch likewise corrects the course for leeway by his own judgmentbefore it is marked down in the log board. They heave no log: I was toldthat the company do not allow it. Their manner of computing their run isby means of a measured distance of 40 feet along the ship's side: theytake notice of any remarkable patch of froth when it is abreast theforemost end of the measured distance, and count half seconds till themark of froth is abreast the after end. With the number of half secondsthus obtained they divide the number 48, taking the product for the rateof sailing in geographical miles in one hour, or the number of Dutchmiles in four hours. It is not usual to make any allowance to the sun's declination on accountof being on a different meridian from that for which the tables arecalculated: they in general compute with the numbers just as they arefound in the table. From all this it is not difficult to conceive thereason why the Dutch are frequently above ten degrees out in theirreckoning. Their passages likewise are considerably lengthened by notcarrying a sufficient quantity of sail. December 16. In the afternoon we anchored in Table Bay. December 17. The next morning I went on shore and waited on his excellency M. VanderGraaf who received me in the most polite and friendly manner. TheGuardian, commanded by Lieutenant Riou, had left the Cape about eightdays before with cattle and stores for Port Jackson. This day anchored intable bay the Astree, a French frigate, commanded by the Count de St. Rivel from the Isle of France, on board of which ship was the lategovernor, the Chevalier d'Entrecasteaux. Other ships that arrived duringmy stay at the Cape were a French 40-gun frigate, an East India ship, anda brig, of the same nation: likewise two other French ships with slavesfrom the coast of Mozambique bound to the West Indies: a Dutch packetfrom Europe, after a four months passage: and the Harpy, a South SeaWhaler with 500 barrels of spermaceti, and 400 of seal and other oils. There is a standing order from the Dutch East India Company that noperson who takes a passage from Batavia for Europe in any of their shipsshall be allowed to leave the ship before she arrives at her intendedport. According to which regulation I must have gone to Holland in thepacket. Of this I was not informed till I was taking leave of thegovernor-general at Batavia, when it was too late for him to give theCaptain an order to permit me to land in the channel. He however desiredI would make use of his name to governor Vander Graaf, who readilycomplied with my request and gave the necessary orders to the Captain ofthe packet, a copy of which his excellency gave to me; and at the sametime recommendatory letters to people of consequence in Holland in case Ishould be obliged to proceed so far. I left a letter at the Cape of Good Hope to be forwarded to governorPhillips at Port Jackson by the first opportunity, containing a shortaccount of my voyage with a descriptive list of the pirates: and fromBatavia I had written to Lord Cornwallis, so that every part of Indiawill be prepared to receive them. Saturday 2. We sailed from the Cape in company with the Astree French frigate. Thenext morning neither ship nor land were in sight. On the 15th we passedin sight of the island St. Helena. The 21st we saw the island Ascension. On the 10th of February, the wind being at north-east blowing fresh, oursails were covered with a fine orange-coloured dust. Fuego, thewesternmost of the Cape de Verde islands and the nearest land to us onthat day at noon bore north-east by east half east, distance 140 leagues. When we had passed the latitude of the Western Islands a lookout was keptfor some rocks which Captain Couvret had been informed lay in latitude 44degrees 25 minutes north and 2 degrees 50 minutes east longitude from theeast end of St. Michael. This information Captain Couvret had receivedfrom a person that he knew and who said he had seen them. On the 13th ofMarch we saw the Bill of Portland and on the evening of the next day, Sunday March the 14th, I left the packet and was landed at Portsmouth byan Isle of Wight boat. Those of my officers and people whom I left at Batavia were provided withpassages in the earliest ships; and at the time we parted were apparentlyin good health. Nevertheless they did not all live to quit Batavia. Mr. Elphinstone, master's mate, and Peter Linkletter, seaman, died within afortnight after my departure, the hardships they had experienced havingrendered them unequal to cope with so unhealthy a climate as that ofBatavia. The remainder embarked on board the Dutch fleet for Europe, andarrived safe at this country, except Robert Lamb, who died on thepassage, and Mr. Ledward the surgeon who has not yet been heard of. Thusof nineteen who were forced by the mutineers into the launch it haspleased God that twelve should surmount the difficulties and dangers ofthe voyage and live to revisit their native country.