A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 14
by
Robert Kerr
Part 6 out of 11
their table with variety in preference to that of the common sailor,
was now so far consumed, that they were nearly upon a level,
especially as the seamen were inured to that way of life, by constant
habit, almost from their infancy; and the others had never experienced
it before. The hope of meeting with new lands was vanished, the topics
of common conversation were exhausted, the cruise to the south could
not present any thing new, but appeared in all its chilling horrors
before us, and the absence of our consort doubled every danger. We had
enjoyed a few agreeable days between the tropics, we had feasted as
well as the produce of various islands would permit, and we had been
entertained with the novelty of many objects among different nations;
but according to the common vicissitudes of fortune, this agreeable
moment was to be replaced by a long period of fogs and frosty weather,
of fasting, and of tedious uniformity. If any thing alleviated the
dreariness of the prospect, with a great part of our shipmates, it was
the hope of completing the circle round the South Pole, in a high
latitude, during the next inhospitable summer, and of returning to
England within the space of eight months. This hope contributed to
animate the spirits of our people during the greatest part of our
continuance in bad weather; but in the end it vanished like a dream,
and the only thought which could make them amends, was the certainty
of passing another season among the happy islands in the torrid
zone."--G.F.
SECTION VI.
_Route of the Ship from New Zealand in Search of a Continent; with an
Account of the various Obstructions met with from the Ice, and the Methods
pursued to explore the Southern Pacific Ocean._
AT eight o'clock in the evening of the 26th, we took our departure from
Cape Palliser, and steered to the south, inclining to the east, having a
favourable gale from the N.W. and S.W. We daily saw some rock-weeds, seals,
Port Egmont hens, albatrosses, pintadoes, and other peterels; and on the 2d
of December, being in the latitude of 48 deg. 23' south, longitude 179 deg. 16'
west, we saw a number of red-billed penguins, which remained about us for
several days. On the 5th, being in the latitude 50 deg. 17' south, longitude
179 deg. 40' east, the variation was 18 deg. 25' east. At half an hour past eight
o'clock the next evening, we reckoned ourselves antipodes to our friends in
London, consequently as far removed from them as possible.[1]
On the 8th, being in the latitude 55 deg. 39', longitude 178 deg. 53' west, we
ceased to see penguins and seals, and concluded that those we had seen,
retired to the southern parts of New Zealand, whenever it was necessary for
them to be at land. We had now a strong gale at N.W., and a great swell
from S.W. This swell we got as soon as the south point of New Zealand came
in that direction; and as we had had no wind from that quarter the six
preceding days, but, on the contrary, it had been at east, north, and N.W.,
I conclude there can be no land to the southward, under the meridian of New
Zealand, but what must lie very far to the south. The two following days we
had very stormy weather, sleet and snow, winds between the north and south-
west.
The 11th the storm abated, and the weather clearing up, we found the
latitude to be 61 deg. 15' south, longitude 173 deg. 4' W. This fine weather was of
short duration; in the evening, the wind increased to a strong gale at S.
W., blew in squalls, attended with thick snow showers, hail, and sleet. The
mercury in the thermometer fell to thirty-two; consequently the weather was
very cold, and seemed to indicate that ice was not far off.[2]
At four o'clock the next morning, being in the latitude of 62 deg. 10' south,
longitude 172 deg. west, we saw the first ice island, 11 deg. 1/2 farther south
than the first ice we saw the preceding year after leaving the Cape of Good
Hope. At the time we saw this ice, we also saw an antarctic peterel, some
grey albatrosses, and our old companions pintadoes and blue peterels. The
wind kept veering from S.W. by the N.W. to N.N.E. for the most part a
fresh gale, attended with a thick haze and snow; on which account we
steered to the S.E. and E., keeping the wind always on the beam, that it
might be in our power to return back nearly on the same track, should our
course have been interrupted by any danger whatever. For some days we had a
great sea from the N.W. and S.W., so that it is not probable there can be
any land near, between these two points.
We fell in with several large islands on the 14th, and about noon, with a
quantity of loose ice, through which we sailed. Latitude 64 deg. 55' south,
longitude 163 deg. 20' west. Grey albatrosses, blue peterels, pintadoes, and
fulmers, were seen. As we advanced to the S.E. by E. with a fresh gale at
west, we found the number of ice islands increase fast upon us. Between
noon and eight in the evening we saw but two; but before four o'clock in
the morning of the 15th, we had passed seventeen, besides a quantity of
loose ice which we ran through. At six o'clock, we were obliged to haul to
the N.E., in order to clear an immense field that lay to the south and S.
E. The ice, in most part of it, lay close packed together; in other places,
there appeared partitions in the field, and a clear sea beyond it. However,
I did not think it safe to venture through, as the wind would not permit us
to return the same way that we must go in. Besides, as it blew strong, and
the weather at times was exceedingly foggy, it was the more necessary for
us to get clear of this loose ice, which is rather more dangerous than the
great islands. It was not such ice as is usually found in bays or rivers
and near shore; but such as breaks off from the islands, and may not
improperly be called parings of the large pieces, or the rubbish or
fragments which fall off when the great islands break loose from the place
where they are formed.[3]
We had not stood long to the N.E. before we found ourselves embayed by the
ice, and were obliged to tack and stretch to the S.W., having the field,
or loose ice, to the south, and many huge islands to the north. After
standing two hours on this tack, the wind very luckily veering to the
westward, we tacked, stretched to the north, and soon got clear of the
loose ice; but not before we had received several hard knocks from the
larger pieces, which, with all our care, we could not avoid. After clearing
one danger we still had another to encounter; the weather remained foggy,
and many large islands lay in our way; so that we had to luff for one, and
bear up for another. One we were very near falling aboard of, and, if it
had happened, this circumstance would never have been related.[4] These
difficulties, together with the improbability of finding land farther
south, and the impossibility of exploring it, on account of the ice, if we
should find any, determined me to get more to the north. At the time we
last tacked, we were in the longitude of 159 deg. 20' W., and in the latitude
of 66 deg. 0' S. Several penguins were seen on some of these islands, and a few
antarctic peterels on the wing.
We continued to stand to the north, with a fresh gale at west, attended
with thick snow showers, till eight o'clock in the evening, when the wind
abated, the sky began to clear up, and at six o'clock in the morning of the
16th it fell calm. Four hours after, it was succeeded by a breeze at N.E.
with which we stretched to the S.E., having thick hazy weather, with snow
showers, and all our rigging coated with ice. In the evening, we attempted
to take some up out of the sea, but were obliged to desist; the sea running
too high, and the pieces being so large, that it was dangerous for the boat
to come near them.
The next morning, being the 17th, we succeeded better; for, falling in with
a quantity of loose ice, we hoisted out two boats; and by noon got on board
as much as we could manage. We then made sail for the east, with a gentle
breeze northerly, attended with snow and sleet, which froze to the rigging
as it fell. At this time we were in the latitude of 64 deg. 41' south,
longitude 155 deg. 44' west. The ice we took up proved to be none of the best,
being chiefly composed of frozen snow; on which account it was porous, and
had imbibed a good deal of salt water; but this drained off, after lying a
while on deck, and the water then yielded was fresh. We continued to
stretch to the east, with a piercing cold northerly wind, attended with a
thick fog, snow, and sleet, that decorated all our rigging with icicles. We
were hourly meeting with some of the large ice islands, which, in these
high latitudes, render navigation so very dangerous: At seven in the
evening, falling in with a cluster of them, we narrowly escaped running
aboard of one, and, with difficulty, wore clear of the others. We stood
back to the west till ten o'clock; at which time the fog cleared away, and
we resumed our course to the east. At noon, the next day, we were in the
latitude of 64 deg. 49' S., longitude 149 deg. 19' W. Some time after, our
longitude, by observed distance of the sun and moon, was 149 deg. 19' W.; by Mr
Kendal's watch 148 deg. 36'; and, by my reckoning, 148 deg. 43', latitude 64 deg. 48'
S.
The clear weather, and the wind veering to N.W., tempted me to steer south;
which course we continued till seven in the morning of the 20th, when the
wind changing to N.E. and the sky becoming clouded, we hauled up S.E. In
the afternoon the wind increased to a strong gale, attended with a thick
fog, snow, sleet, and rain, which constitutes the very worst of weather.
Our rigging, at this time, was so loaded with ice, that we had enough to do
to get our topsails down, to double the reef. At seven o'clock in the
evening, in the longitude of 147 deg. 46', we came, the second time, within the
antarctic or polar circle, continuing our course to the S.E. till six
o'clock the next morning. At that time, being in the latitude of 67 deg. 5' S.,
all at once we got in among a cluster of very large ice islands, and a vast
quantity of loose pieces; and as the fog was exceedingly thick, it was with
the utmost difficulty we wore clear of them. This done, we stood to the
N.W. till noon, when, the fog being somewhat dissipated, we resumed our
course again to the S.E. The ice islands we met with in the morning were
very high and rugged, forming at their tops, many peaks; whereas the most
of those we had seen before, were flat at top, and not so high; though many
of them were between two and three hundred feet in height, and between two
and three miles in circuit, with perpendicular cliffs or sides, astonishing
to behold.[5] Most or our winged companions had now left us; the grey
albatrosses only remained; and, instead of the other birds, we were visited
by a few antarctic peterels.
The 22d we steered E.S.E. with a fresh gale at north, blowing in squalls,
one of which took hold of the mizen top-sail, tore it all to rags, and
rendered it forever after useless. At six o'clock in the morning, the wind
veering towards the west, our course was east northerly. At this time we
were in the latitude of 67 deg. 31', the highest we had yet been in, longitude
142 deg. 54' W.
We continued our course to the E. by N. till noon, the 23d, when being in
the latitude of 67 deg. 12', longitude 138 deg. 0', we steered S.E.; having then
twenty-three ice islands in sight, from off the deck, and twice that number
from the mast-head; and yet we could not see above two or three miles round
us. At four o'clock in the afternoon, in the latitude of 67 deg. 20', longitude
137 deg. 12', we fell in with such a quantity of field, or loose ice, as
covered the sea in the whole extent from south to east, and was so thick
and close as wholly to obstruct our passage. At this time, the wind being
pretty moderate, and the sea smooth, we brought-to, at the outer edge of
the ice, hoisted out two boats, and sent them to take some up. In the mean
time, we laid hold of several large pieces along-side, and got them on
board with our tackle. The taking up ice proved such cold work, that it was
eight o'clock by the time the boats had made two trips, when we hoisted
them in, and made sail to the west, under double-reefed top-sails and
courses, with a strong gale at north, attended with snow and sleet, which
froze to the rigging as it fell, making the ropes like wires, and the sails
like boards or plates of metal. The sheaves also were frozen so fast in the
blocks, that it required our utmost efforts to get a top-sail down and up;
the cold so intense as hardly to be endured; the whole sea, in a manner,
covered with ice; a hard gale, and a thick fog.[6]
Under all these unfavourable circumstances, it was natural for me to think
of returning more to the north; seeing no probability of finding any land
here, nor a possibility of getting farther south. And to have proceeded to
the east in this latitude, must have been wrong, not only on account of the
ice, but because we must have left a vast space of sea to the north
unexplored, a space of 24 deg. of latitude; in which a large tract of land
might have lain. Whether such a supposition was well-grounded, could only
be determined by visiting those parts.
While we were taking up ice, we got two of the antarctic peterels so often
mentioned, by which our conjectures were confirmed of their being of the
peterel tribe. They are about the size of a large pigeon; the feathers of
the head, back, and part of the upper side of the wings, are of a light-
brown; the belly, and under side of the wings white, the tail feathers are
also white, but tipped with brown; at the same time, we got another new
peterel, smaller than the former, and all of a dark-grey plumage. We
remarked that these birds were fuller of feathers than any we had hitherto
seen; such care has nature taken to clothe them suitably to the climate in
which they live. At the same time we saw a few chocolate-coloured
albatrosses; these, as well as the peterels above-mentioned, we no where
saw but among the ice; hence one may with reason conjecture that there is
land to the south. If not, I must ask where these birds breed? A question
which perhaps will never be determined; for hitherto we have found these
lands, if any, quite inaccessible. Besides these birds, we saw a very large
seal, which kept playing about us some time. One of our people who had been
at Greenland, called it a sea-horse; but every one else took it for what I
have said. Since our first falling in with the ice, the mercury in the
thermometer had been from 33 to 31 at noon-day.
On the 24th, the wind abated, veering to the N.W., and the sky cleared up,
in the latitude of 67 deg. 0' longitude 138 deg. 15'. As we advanced to the N.E.
with a gentle gale at N.W., the ice islands increased so fast upon us, that
this day, at noon, we could see near 100 round us, besides an immense
number of small pieces. Perceiving that it was likely to be calm, I got the
ship into as clear a birth as I could, where she drifted along with the
ice, and by taking the advantage of every light air of wind, was kept from
falling aboard any of these floating isles. Here it was we spent Christmas
day, much in the same manner as we did the preceding one. We were fortunate
in having continual day-light, and clear weather, for had it been as foggy
as on some of the preceding days, nothing less than a miracle could have
saved us from being dashed to pieces.[7]
In the morning of the 26th, the whole sea was in a manner covered with ice,
200 large islands, and upwards, being seen within the compass of four or
five miles, which was the limits of our horizon, besides smaller pieces
innumerable. Our latitude at noon was 66 deg. 15', longitude 134 deg. 22'. By
observation we found that the ship had drifted, or gone about 20 miles to
the N.E. or E.N.E.; whereas, by the ice islands, it appeared that she had
gone little or nothing; from which we concluded that the ice drifted nearly
in the same direction, and at the same rate. At four o'clock a breeze
sprung up at W.S.W., and enabled us to steer north, the most probable
course to extricate ourselves from these dangers.
We continued our course to the north with a gentle breeze at west, attended
with clear weather, till four o'clock the next morning, when meeting with a
quantity of loose ice, we brought-to, and took on board as much as filled
all our empty casks, and for several days present expence. This done, we
made sail, and steered N.W. with a gentle breeze at N.E., clear frosty
weather. Our latitude at this time was 65 deg. 53' S., longitude 133 deg. 42' W.;
islands of ice not half so numerous as before.[8]
At four in the morning of the 28th, the wind having veered more to the E.
and S.E., increased to a fresh gale, and was attended with snow showers.
Our course was north till noon the next day. Being then in the latitude of
62 deg. 24', longitude 134 deg. 37', we steered N.W. by N. Some hours after, the
sky cleared up, and the wind abating, veered more to the south.
On the 30th, had little wind westerly; dark gloomy weather; with snow and
sleet at times; several whales seen playing about the ship, but very few
birds; islands of ice in plenty, and a swell from W.N.W.
On the 31st, little wind from the westward, fair and clear weather, which
afforded an opportunity to air the spare sails, and to clean and smoke the
ship between decks. At noon our latitude was 59 deg. 40' S., longitude 135 deg. 11'
W. Our observation to-day gave us reason to conjecture that we had a
southerly current. Indeed, this was no more than what might reasonably be
supposed, to account for such huge masses of ice being brought from the
south. In the afternoon we had a few hours calm, succeeded by a breeze from
the east, which enabled us to resume our N.W. by N. course.[9]
January 1st, the wind remained not long at east, but veered round by the
south to the west; blew fresh, attended with snow showers. In the evening,
being in the latitude of 58 deg. 39' S., we passed two islands of ice, after
which we saw no more till we stood again to the south.
At five o'clock in the morning on the 2d, it fell calm; being at this time
in the latitude of 58 deg. 2', longitude 137 deg. 12'. The calm being succeeded by
a breeze at east, we steered N.W. by W. My reason for steering this course,
was to explore part of the great space of sea between us and our track to
the south.
On the 3d, at noon, being in latitude 56 deg. 46', longitude 139 deg. 45', the
weather became fair, and the wind veered to S.W. About this time we saw a
few small divers (as we call them) of the peterel tribe, which we judged to
be such as are usually seen near land, especially in the bays, and on the
coast of New Zealand. I cannot tell what to think of these birds; had there
been more of them, I should have been ready enough to believe that we were,
at this time, not very far from land, as I never saw one so far from known
land before. Probably these few had been drawn thus far by some shoal of
fish; for such were certainly about us, by the vast number of blue
peterels, albatrosses, and such other birds as are usually seen in the
great ocean; all or most of which left us before night. Two or three pieces
of seaweed were also seen, but these appeared old and decayed.
At eight o'clock in the evening, being in the latitude of 56 deg. S., longitude
140 deg. 31' W., the wind fixing in the western board, obliged us to steer
north-easterly, and laid me under the necessity of leaving unexplored a
space of the sea to the west, containing near 40 deg. of longitude, and half
that of latitude. Had the wind continued favourable, I intended to have run
15 or 20 degrees of longitude more to the west in the latitude we were then
in, and back again to the east in the latitude of 50 deg.. This route would
have so intersected the space above mentioned, as hardly to have left room
for the bare supposition of any land lying there. Indeed, as it was, we
have little reason to believe that there is; but rather the contrary, from
the great hollow swell we had had, for several days, from the W. and N.W.,
though the wind had blown from a contrary direction great part of the time;
which is a great sign we had not been covered by any land between these two
points.
While we were in the high latitudes, many of our people were attacked with
a slight fever, occasioned by colds. It happily yielded to the simplest
remedies; was generally removed in a few days; and, at this time, we had
not above one or two on the sick list.[10]
We proceeded N.E. by N. till the 6th, at noon. Being then in the latitude
of 52 deg. 0' S., longitude 135 deg. 32' W., and about 200 leagues from our track
to Otaheite, in which space it was not probable, all circumstances
considered, there is any extensive land, and it being still less probable
any lay to the west, from the great mountainous billows we had had, and
still continued to have, from that quarter, I therefore steered N.E., with
a fresh gale at W.S.W.
At eight o'clock in the morning, on the 7th, being in the latitude of 50 deg.
49' S., we observed several distances of the sun and moon, which gave the
longitude as follows, viz.
By Mr. Wales, 133 deg. 24' 0" West.
Gilbert, 133 10 0
Clarke, 133 0 0
Smith, 133 37 25
Myself, 133 37 0
-------------
Mean, 133 21 43
By the Watch, 133 44 0 west.
My reckoning, 133 39 0
-------------
Variation of the compass, 6 2 0 East.
thermometer, 50 0 0
The next morning we observed again, and the results were agreeable to the
preceding observations, allowing for the ship's run. I must here take
notice, that our longitude can never be erroneous, while we have so good a
guide as Mr Kendall's watch. This day, at noon, we steered E.N.E. 1/2 E.,
being then in the latitude of 49 deg. 7' S., longitude 131 deg. 2' W.
On the 9th, in latitude 48 deg. 17' S., longitude 127 deg. 10' W., we steered east,
with a fine fresh gale at west, attended with clear pleasant weather, and a
great swell from the same direction as the wind.
In the morning of the 10th, having but little wind, we put a boat in the
water, in which some of the officers went and shot several birds. These
afforded us a fresh meal; they were of the peterel tribe, and such as are
usually seen at any distance from land. Indeed, neither birds, nor any
other thing was to be seen, that could give us the least hopes of finding
any; and, therefore, at noon the next day, being then in the latitude of
47 deg. 51' S., longitude 122 deg. 12' W., and a little more than 200 leagues from
my track to Otaheite in 1769, I altered the course, and steered S.E., with
a fresh gale at S.W. by W. In the evening, when our latitude was 48 deg. 22'
S., longitude 121 deg. 29' W., we found the variation to be 2 deg. 34' E., which is
the least variation we had found without the tropic. In the evening of the
next day, we found it to be 4 deg. 30' E., our latitude, at that time, was 50 deg.
5' S., longitude 119 deg. 1/2 W.
Our course was now more southerly, till the evening of the 13th, when we
were in the latitude of 53 deg. 0' S., longitude 118 deg. 3' W. The wind being then
at N.W. a strong gale with a thick fog and rain, which made it unsafe to
steer large, I hauled up S.W., and continued this course till noon the next
day, when our latitude was 56 deg. 4' S., longitude 122 deg. 1' W. The wind having
veered to the north, and the fog continuing, I hauled to the east, under
courses and close-reefed top-sails. But this sail we could not carry long;
for before eight o'clock in the evening, the wind increased to a perfect
storm, and obliged us to lie-to, under the mizen-stay-sail, till the
morning of the 16th, when the wind having a good deal abated, and veered to
west, we set the courses, reefed top-sails, and stood to the south. Soon
after, the weather cleared up, and, in the evening, we found the latitude
to be 56 deg. 48' S., longitude 119 deg. 8' W.[11] We continued to steer to the
south, inclining to the east, till the 18th, when we stood to the S.W.,
with the wind at S.E., being at this time in the latitude of 61 deg. 9' S.,
longitude 116 deg. 7' W. At ten o'clock in the evening, it fell calm, which
continued till two the next morning, when a breeze sprung up at north,
which soon after increased to a fresh gale, and fixed at N.E. With this we
steered south till noon on the 20th, when, being now in the latitude of 62 deg.
34' S., longitude 116 deg. 24' W., we were again becalmed.
In this situation we had two ice islands in sight, one of which seemed to
be as large as any we had seen. It could not be less than two hundred feet
in height, and terminated in a peak not unlike the cupola of St Paul's
church. At this time we had a great westerly swell, which made it
improbable that any land should lie between us and the meridian of 133 deg.
1/2, which was our longitude, under the latitude we were now in, when we
stood to the north. In all this route we had not seen the least thing that
could induce us to think we were ever in the neighbourhood of any land. We
had, indeed, frequently seen pieces of sea-weed; but this, I am well
assured, is no sign of the vicinity of land; for weed is seen in every part
of the ocean. After a few hours calm, we got a wind from S.E.; but it was
very unsettled, and attended with thick snow-showers; at length it fixed at
S. by E., and we stretched to the east. The wind blew fresh, was piercing
cold, and attended with snow and sleet. On the 22d, being in the latitude
of 62 deg. 5' S., longitude 112 deg. 24' W., we saw an ice island, an antartic
peterel, several blue peterels, and some other known birds; but no one
thing that gave us the least hopes of finding land.
On the 23d, at noon, we were in the latitude of 62 deg. 22' S., longitude 110 deg.
24'. In the afternoon, we passed an ice island. The wind, which blew fresh,
continued to veer to the west; and at eight o'clock the next morning it was
to the north of west, when I steered S. by W. and S.S.W. At this time we
were in the latitude of 63 deg. 20' S., longitude 108 deg. 7' W., and had a great
sea from S.W. We continued this course till noon the next day, the 25th,
when we steered due south. Our latitude, at this time, was 65 deg. 24' S.,
longitude 109 deg. 31' W.; the wind was at north; the weather mild and not
unpleasant; and not a bit of ice in view. This we thought a little
extraordinary, as it was but a month before, and not quite two hundred
leagues to the east, that we were in a manner blocked up with large islands
of ice in this very latitude. Saw a single pintadoe peterel, some blue
peterels, and a few brown albatrosses. In the evening, being under the same
meridian, and in the latitude of 65 deg. 44' S., the variation was 19 deg. 27' E.;
but the next morning, in the latitude of 66 deg. 20' S., longitude the same as
before, it was only 18 deg. 20' E.; probably the mean between the two is the
nearest the truth. At this time, we had nine small islands in sight; and
soon after we came, the third time, within the antartic polar circle, in
the longitude of 109 deg. 31' W. About noon, seeing the appearance of land to
the S.E., we immediately trimmed our sails and stood towards it. Soon after
it disappeared, but we did not give it up till eight o'clock the next
morning, when we were well assured that it was nothing but clouds, or a fog
bank; and then we resumed our course to the south, with a gentle breeze at
N.E., attended with a thick fog, snow, and sleet.
We now began to meet with ice islands more frequently than before; and, in
the latitude of 69 deg. 38' S., longitude 108 deg. 12' W., we fell in with a field
of loose ice. As we began to be in want of water, I hoisted out two boats
and took up as much as yielded about ten tons. This was cold work, but it
was now familiar to us. As soon as we had done, we hoisted in the boats,
and afterwards made short boards over that part of the sea we had in some
measure made ourselves acquainted with. For we had now so thick a fog, that
we could not see two hundred yards round us; and as we knew not the extent
of the loose ice, I durst not steer to the south till we had clear weather.
Thus we spent the night, or rather that part of twenty-four hours which
answered to night; for we had no darkness but what was occasioned by fogs.
At four o'clock in the morning of the 29th, the fog began to clear away;
and the day becoming clear and serene, we again steered to the south with a
gentle gale at N.E. and N.N.E. The variation was found to be 22 deg. 41' E.
This was in the latitude of 69 deg. 45' S., longitude 108 deg. 5' W.; and, in the
afternoon, being in the same longitude, and in the latitude of 70 deg. 23' S.,
it was 24 deg. 31' E. Soon after, the sky became clouded, and the air very
cold. We continued our course to the south, and passed a piece of weed
covered with barnacles, which a brown albatross was picking off. At ten
o'clock, we passed a very large ice island; it was not less than three or
four miles in circuit. Several more being seen a-head, and the weather
becoming foggy, we hauled the wind to the northward; but in less than two
hours, the weather cleared up, and we again stood south.
On the 30th, at four o'clock in the morning, we perceived the clouds, over
the horizon to the south, to be of an unusual snow-white brightness, which
we knew denounced our approach to field-ice. Soon after, it was seen from
the top-mast-head; and at eight o'clock, we were close to its edge. It
extended east and west, far beyond the reach of our sight. In the situation
we were in, just the southern half of our horizon was illuminated, by the
rays of light reflected from the ice, to a considerable height. Ninety-
seven ice hills were distinctly seen within the field, besides those on the
outside; many of them very large, and looking like a ridge of mountains,
rising one above another till they were lost in the clouds. The outer or
northern edge of this immense field, was composed of loose or broken ice
close packed together, so that it was not possible for any thing to enter
it. This was about a mile broad, within which, was solid ice in one
continued compact body. It was rather low and flat (except the hills), but
seemed to increase in height, as you traced it to the south; in which
direction it extended beyond our sight. Such mountains of ice as these, I
believe, were never seen in the Greenland seas, at least, not that I ever
heard or read of, so that we cannot draw a comparison between the ice here
and there.
It must be allowed, that these prodigious ice mountains must add such
additional weight to the ice fields which inclose them, as cannot but make
a great difference between the navigating this icy sea and that of
Greenland.
I will not say it was impossible any where to get farther to the south; but
the attempting it would have been a dangerous and rash enterprise, and
what, I believe, no man in my situation would have thought of. It was,
indeed, _my_ opinion, as well as the opinion of most on board, that
this ice extended quite to the pole, or perhaps joined on some land, to
which it had been fixed from the earliest time; and that it is here, that
is to the south of this parallel, where all the ice we find scattered up
and down to the north, is first formed, and afterwards broken off by gales
of wind, or other causes, and brought to the north by the currents, which
we always found to set in that direction in the high latitudes. As we drew
near this ice some penguins were heard, but none seen; and but few other
birds or any other thing that could induce us to think any land was near.
And yet I think, there must be some to the south behind this ice; but if
there is, it can afford no better retreat for birds, or any other animals,
than the ice itself, with which it must be wholly covered. I, who had
ambition not only to go farther than any one had been before, but as far as
it was possible for man to go, was not sorry at meeting with this
interruption, as it in some measure relieved us, at least shortened the
dangers and hardships inseparable from the navigation of the southern polar
regions. Since, therefore, we could not proceed one inch farther to the
south, no other reason need be assigned for my tacking and standing back to
the north; being at this time in the latitude of 71 deg. 10' S., longitude 106 deg.
54' W.[12]
It was happy for us that the weather was clear when we fell in with this
ice, and that we discovered it so soon as we did; for we had no sooner
tacked than we were involved in a thick fog. The wind was at east, and blew
a fresh breeze, so that we were enabled to return back over that space we
had already made ourselves acquainted with. At noon, the mercury in the
thermometer stood at 32-1/2, and we found the air exceedingly cold. The
thick fog continuing with showers of snow, gave a coat of ice to our
rigging of near an inch thick. In the afternoon of the next day the fog
cleared away at intervals; but the weather was cloudy and gloomy, and the
air excessively cold; however, the sea within our horizon was clear of ice.
We continued to stand to the north, with the wind easterly, till the
afternoon on the first of February, when falling in with some loose ice
which had been broken from an island to windward we hoisted out two boats,
and having taken some on board, resumed our course to the N. and N.E., with
gentle breezes from S.E., attended sometimes with fair weather, and at
other times with snow and sleet. On the 4th we were in the latitude of 65 deg.
42' S., longitude 99 deg. 44'. The next day the wind was very unsettled both in
strength and position, and attended with snow and sleet. At length, on the
6th, after a few hours calm, we got a breeze at south, which soon after
freshened, fixed at W.S.W., and was attended with snow and sleet.
I now came to the resolution to proceed to the north, and to spend the
ensuing winter within the tropic, if I met with no employment before I came
there. I was now well satisfied no continent was to be found in this ocean,
but what must lie so far to the south, as to be wholly inaccessible on
account of ice; and that if one should be found in the southern Atlantic
Ocean, it would be necessary to have the whole summer before us to explore
it. On the other hand, upon a supposition that there is no land there, we
undoubtedly might have reached the Cape of Good Hope by April, and so have
put an end to the expedition, so far as it related to the finding a
continent; which indeed was the first object of the voyage. But for me at
this time to have quitted the southern Pacific Ocean, with a good ship
expressly sent out on discoveries, a healthy crew, and not in want either
of stores or of provisions, would have been betraying not only a want of
perseverance, but of judgment, in supposing the south Pacific Ocean to have
been so well explored, that nothing remained to be done in it. This,
however, was not my opinion; for though I had proved that there was no
continent but what must lie far to the south, there remained nevertheless
room for very large islands in places wholly unexamined; and many of those
which were formerly discovered, are but imperfectly explored, and their
situations as imperfectly known. I was besides of opinion, that my
remaining in this sea some time longer, would be productive of improvements
in navigation and geography, as well as in other sciences. I had several
times communicated my thoughts on this subject to Captain Furneaux; but as
it then wholly depended on what we might meet with to the south, I could
not give it in orders, without running a risk of drawing us from the main
object. Since now nothing had happened to prevent me from, carrying these
views into execution, my intention was first to go in search of the land
said to have been discovered by Juan Fernandez, above a century ago, in
about the latitude of 38 deg.; if I should fail in finding this land, then to
go in search of Easter Island or Davis's Land, whose situation was known
with so little certainty, that the attempts lately made to find it had
miscarried. I next intended to get within the tropic, and then proceed to
the west, touching at, and settling the situations of such islands as we
might meet with till we arrived at Otaheite, where it was necessary I
should stop to look for the Adventure. I had also thoughts of running as
far west as the Tierra Austral del Espiritu Santo, discovered by Quiros,
and which M. de Bougainville calls the Great Cyclades. Quiros speaks of
this land as being large, or lying in the neighbourhood of large lands; and
as this was a point which M. de Bougainville had neither confirmed nor
refuted, I thought it was worth clearing up. From this land my design was
to steer to the south, and so back to the east, between the latitudes of
50 deg. and 60 deg.; intending, if possible, to be the length of Cape Horn in
November next, when we should have the best part of the summer before us to
explore the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. Great as this design
appeared to be, I however thought it possible to be executed; and when I
came to communicate it to the officers, I had the satisfaction to find,
that they all heartily concurred in it. I should not do these gentlemen
justice, if I did not take some opportunity to declare, that they always
shewed the utmost readiness to carry into execution, in the most effectual
manner, every measure I thought proper to take. Under such circumstances,
it is hardly necessary to say, that the seamen were always obedient and
alert; and, on this occasion, they were so far from wishing the voyage at
an end, that they, rejoiced at the prospect of its being prolonged another
year, and of soon enjoying the benefits of a milder climate.
I now steered north, inclining to the east, and in the evening we were
overtaken with a furious storm at W.S.W., attended with snow and sleet. It
came so suddenly upon us, that before we could take in our sails, two old
top-sails, which we had bent to the yards, were blown to pieces, and the
other sails much damaged. The gale lasted, without the least intermission,
till the next morning, when it began to abate; it continued, however, to
blow very fresh till noon on the 12th, when it ended in a calm.
At this time we were in the latitude of 50 deg. 14' S., longitude 95 deg. 18' W.
Some birds being about the ship, we took the advantage of the calm to put a
boat in the water, and shot several birds, on which we feasted the next
day. One of these birds was of that sort which has been so often mentioned
in this journal under the name of Port Egmont hens. They are of the gull
kind, about the size of a raven, with a dark-brown plumage, except the
under-side of each wing, where there are some white feathers. The rest of
the birds were albatrosses and sheer-waters.
After a few hours calm, having got a breeze at N.W., we made a stretch to
the S.W. for twenty-four hours; in which route we saw a piece of wood, a
bunch of weed, and a diving peterel. The wind having veered more to the
west, made us tack and stretch to the north till noon on the 14th, at which
time we were in the latitude of 49 deg. 32' S., longitude 95 deg. 11' W. We had now
calms and light breezes, succeeding each other, till the next morning, when
the wind freshened at W.N.W., and was attended with a thick fog and
drizzling rain the three following days, during which time we stretched to
the north, inclining to the east, and crossed my track to Otaheite in 1769.
I did intend to have kept more to the west, but the strong winds from that
direction put it out of my power.
On the 18th, the wind veered to S.W., and blew very fresh, but was attended
with clear weather, which gave us an opportunity to ascertain our longitude
by several lunar observations made by Messrs Wales, Clarke, Gilbert, and
Smith. The mean result of all, was 94 deg. 19' 30" W.; Mr Kendal's watch, at
the same time, gave 94 deg. 46' W.; our latitude was 43 deg. 53' S. The wind
continued not long at S.W. before it veered back to the west and W.N.W.
As we advanced to the north, we felt a most sensible change in the weather.
The 20th, at noon, we were in the latitude of 39 deg. 58' S., longitude 94 deg. 37'
W. The day was clear and pleasant, and I may say, the only summer's day we
had had since we left New Zealand. The mercury in the thermometer rose to
66.
We still continued to steer to the north, as the wind remained in the old
quarter; and the next day, at noon, we were in the latitude 37 deg. 54' S.;
which was the same that Juan Fernandez's discovery is said to lie in. We,
however, had not the least signs of any land lying in our neighbourhood.
The next day at noon, we were in latitude 36 deg. 10' S., longitude 94 deg. 56' W.
Soon after, the wind veered to S.S.E., and enabled us to steer W.S.W.,
which I thought the most probable direction to find the land of which we
were in search; and yet I had no hopes of succeeding, as we had a large
hollow swell from the same point. We however continued this course till the
25th, when the wind having veered again round to the westward, I gave it
up, and stood away to the north, in order to get into the latitude of
Easter Island: our latitude, at this time, was 37 deg. 52', longitude 101 deg. 10'
W.
I was now well assured that the discovery of Juan Fernandez, if any such
was ever made, can be nothing but a small island; there being hardly room
for a large land, as will fully appear by the tracks of Captain Wallis,
Bougainville, of the Endeavour, and this of the Resolution. Whoever wants
to see an account of the discovery in question, will meet with it in Mr
Dalrymple's collection of voyages to the south seas. This gentleman places
it under the meridian of 90 deg., where I think it cannot be; for M. de
Bougainville seems to have run down under that meridian; and we had now
examined the latitude in which it is said to lie, from the meridian of 94 deg.
to 101 deg.. It is not probable it can lie to the east of 90 deg.; because if it
did, it must have been seen, at one time or other, by ships bound from the
northern to the southern parts of America. Mr Pengre, in a little treatise
concerning the transit of Venus, published in 1768, gives some account of
land having been discovered by the Spaniards in 1714, in the latitude of
38 deg., and 550 leagues from the coast of Chili, which is in the longitude of
110 deg. or 111 deg. west, and within a degree or two of my track in the Endeavour;
so that this can hardly be its situation. In short, the only probable
situation it can have must be about the meridian of 106 deg. or 108 deg. west; and
then it can only be a small isle, as I have already observed.
I was now taken ill of the bilious cholic, which was so violent as to
confine me to my bed, so that the management of the ship was left to Mr
Cooper the first officer, who conducted her very much to my satisfaction.
It was several days before the most dangerous symptoms of my disorder were
removed; during which time, Mr Patten the surgeon was to me, not only a
skilful physician, but an affectionate nurse; and I should ill deserve the
care he bestowed on me, if I did not make this public acknowledgment. When
I began to recover, a favourite dog belonging to Mr Forster fell a
sacrifice to my tender stomach. We had no other fresh meat on board, and I
could eat of this flesh, as well as broth made of it, when I could taste
nothing else. Thus I received nourishment and strength from food which
would have made most people in Europe sick: So true it is, that necessity
is governed by no law.[13]
On the 28th, in the latitude of 33 deg. 7' S., longitude 102 deg. 33' W., we began
to see flying-fish, egg-birds, and nodies, which are said not to go above
sixty or eighty leagues from land; but of this we have no certainty. No one
yet knows to what distance any of the oceanic birds go to sea; for my own
part, I do not believe there is one in the whole tribe that can be relied
on, in pointing out the vicinity of land.
In the latitude of 30 deg. 30' S., longitude 101 deg. 45' W., we began to see men-
of-war birds. In the latitude of 29 deg. 44', longitude 100 deg. 45' W., we had a
calm for nearly two days together, during which time the heat was
intolerable; but what ought to be remarked, there was a great swell from
the S.W.
On the 6th of March, the calm was succeeded by an easterly wind, with which
we steered N.W. till noon the 8th, when being in the latitude of 27 deg. 4' S.,
longitude 103 deg. 58' W., we steered west; meeting every day with great
numbers of birds, such as men-of-war, tropic, and egg-birds, podies,
sheer-waters, &c. and once we passed several pieces of sponge, and a small
dried leaf not unlike a bay one. Soon after, we saw a sea-snake, in every
respect like those we had before seen at the tropical islands. We also saw
plenty of fish, but we were such bad fishers that we caught only four
albacores, which were very acceptable, to me especially, who was just
recovering from my late illness.
[1] "The remembrance of domestic felicity, and of the sweets of
society, called forth a sigh from every heart which felt the tender
ties of filial or parental affection. We are the first Europeans, and,
I believe, I may add, the first human beings who have reached this
point, where it is probable none will come after us. A common report
prevails, indeed, in England, concerning Sir Francis Drake, who is
said to have visited the antipodes, which the legend expresses by "his
having passed under the middle arch of London bridge:" but this is a
mistake, as his track lay along the coast of America, and probably
originates from his having passed the _periaeci_, or the point in 180 deg.
longitude on the same circle of north latitude, on the coast of
California."--G.F.
To the vanity of Englishmen, not always accompanied, it is to be
feared, by political honesty, the expedition of Drake afforded the
highest gratification. Swarms of wits, accordingly, who are never
wanting in any reign, either to eulogize what the government has
sanctioned, or to infuse something of literary immortality into
popular enthusiasm, were in requisition on this extraordinary
occasion, and, as usual, vied with each other in bombast and the
fervour of exaggeration. If one might credit the legends, Sir Francis
accomplished much more than a visit to the antipodes, much more
indeed, than ever man did before or since. Witness an epigram on him
preserved in the Censura Literaria. vol. iii, p. 217:--
Sir Drake, whom well the world's end knew,
Which thou didst compasse round,
And whom both poles of heaven once saw
Which north and south do bound:
The stars above would make thee known,
If men were silent here;
The Sun himselfe cannot forget
His fellow-traveller.
This is evidently a quaint version of the quaint lines said, by
Camden, to have been made by the scholars of Winchester College:--
_Drace, pererrati quem novit terminus orbis,
Quemque simul mundi vidit uterque Polus;
Si taceant homines, facient te sidera notum.
Sol nescit comitis non memor esse sui_.
Abraham Cowley seems to have availed himself of the chief thought here
embodied, in his pointed epigram on the chair formed from the planks
of Drake's vessel, and presented to the university of Oxford. His
metaphysical genius, however, has refined the _point_ with no
small dexterity--the four last lines, more especially, displaying no
small elegance. The reader will not despise them:--
To this great ship, which round the world has run,
And matcht in race the chariot of the sun;
This Pythagorean ship (for it may claim
Without presumption, so deserved a name),
By knowledge once, and transformation now,
In her new shape, this sacred port allow.
Drake and his ship could not have wish'd from fate
An happier station, or more blest estate;
For lo! a seat of endless rest is given
To her in Oxford, and to him in Heaven.
It would be unpardonable to omit, now we are on the subject of Drake's
praises, the verses given in the Biog. Brit. and said to have been
unpublished before:--
Thy glory, Drake, extensive as thy mind,
No time shall tarnish, and no limits bind:
What greater praise! than thus to match the Sun,
Running that race which cannot be outrun.
Wide as the world then compass'd spreads thy fame,
And, with that world, an equal date shall claim.
The reader, it may be presumed, has enough of this subject.--E.
[2] "At noon, on the 10th December, we had reached the latitude of 59 deg.
S., without having met with any ice, though we fell in with it the
preceding year on the 10th December, between the 50th and 51st degree
of south latitude. It is difficult to account for this difference;
perhaps a severe winter preceding our first course from the Cape of
Good Hope, might accumulate more ice that year than the next, which is
the more probable, as we learnt at the Cape that the winter had been
sharper there than usual; perhaps a violent storm might break the
polar ice, and drive it so far to the northward as we found it; and,
perhaps, both these causes might concur with others, to produce this
effect."--G.F.
"It is remarkable, that in different years, seasons, and places of the
sea, we found the ice differently situated. In the year 1772, December
10th, we saw the ice between 50 deg. and 51 deg. of southern latitude. In
1773, on December 12th, we found the first ice in 62 deg. S. In 1775, on
January 27th, we saw the ice in about 60 deg. S. On February 24th, we came
to the same place, where, about twenty-six months before, we had met
with such an impenetrable body of ice, as had obliged us to run to the
east, but where, at this last time, no vestige of it appeared, no more
than at the place where Bouvet had placed his Cape Circumcision, we
having sailed over the whole tract which he suspected to be land; nor
could we be mistaken in its situation, as we had been on the same
parallel for a considerable time; so that it is impossible to have
missed the land, if any had existed, as we had frequent opportunities
to ascertain our latitude."--F.
It is well known, that considerable masses of ice have been met with
as low down as 46 deg. of south latitude; but hitherto no very
satisfactory solution has been given of the phenomenon.--E.
[3] "Our friend Mahine had already expressed his surprise at several
little snow and hail showers on the preceding days, this phenomenon
being utterly unknown in his country. The appearances of "white
stones," which melted in his hand, was altogether miraculous in his
eyes, and though we endeavoured to explain to him that cold was the
cause of their formation, yet I believe his ideas on that subject were
never very clear. A heavy fall of snow surprised him more than what he
had seen before, and after a long consideration of its singular
qualities, he told us he would call it the _white rain_ when be came
back to his country. He did not see the first ice, on account of the
early hour in the morning; but two days after, in about 65 deg. S., he was
struck with astonishment upon seeing one of the largest pieces, and
the day following presented him with an extensive field of ice, which
blocked up our farther progress to the south, and gave him great
pleasure, supposing it to be land, We told him that so far from being
land, it was nothing but fresh water, which we found some difficulty
to convince him of at first, till we shewed him the ice which was
formed in the scuttled cask on the deck. He assured us, however, that
he would, at all events, call this the _white land_, by way of
distinguishing it from all the rest."--G.F.
[4] "About one o'clock, whilst the people were at dinner, we were
alarmed by the sudden appearance of a large island of ice just a-head
of us. It was absolutely impossible either to wear or tack the ship,
on account of its proximity, and our only resource was to keep as near
the wind as possible, and to try to weather the danger. We were in the
most dreadful suspension for a few minutes, and though we fortunately
succeeded, yet the ship passed within her own length to windward of
it,"--G.F.
[5] On a moderate calculation, one may reckon the bulk of immersed ice
to be ten times greater than that which appears above the surface.
This will afford the reader some notion of the prodigious magnitude of
these floating islands; and he will readily comprehend the hazard of
sailing amongst them, when he considers the mischief occasioned by the
collision of a large ship and a small boat.--E.
[6] "About this time many persons were afflicted with violent
rheumatic pains, headaches, swelled glands, and catarrhal fevers,
which some attributed to the use of ice-water."--G.F.
Without any way calling in question, what is so often said of the
injurious effects of sea-water, when long used, it is evidently more
rational, in the present instance, to ascribe these complaints to the
inclemency of the weather.--E.
[7] There is something very peculiarly affecting in the following
observations of Mr. G.F.--"This being Christmas day, the captain,
according to custom, invited the officers and mates to dinner, and one
of the lieutenants entertained the petty officers. The sailors feasted
on a double portion of pudding, regaling themselves with the brandy of
their allowance, which they had saved for this occasion some months
beforehand, being solicitous to get very drunk, though they are
commonly solicitous about nothing else. The sight of an immense number
of icy masses, amongst which we drifted at the mercy of the current,
every moment in danger of being dashed in pieces against them, could
not deter the sailors from indulging in their favourite amusement. As
long as they had brandy left, they would persist to keep Christmas
"like Christians," though the elements had combined together for their
destruction. Their long acquaintance with a sea-faring life had inured
them to all kinds of perils, and their heavy labour, with the
inclemencies of weather, and other hardships, making their muscles
rigid and their nerves obtuse, had communicated insensibility to the
mind. It will easily be conceived, that as they do not feel for
themselves sufficiently to provide for their own safety, they must be
incapable of feeling for others. Subjected to a very strict command,
they also exercise a tyrannical sway over those whom fortune places in
their power. Accustomed to face an enemy, they breathe nothing but
war. By force of habit, even killing is become so much their passion,
that we have seen many instances during our voyage, where they have
expressed a horrid eagerness to fire upon the natives on the slightest
pretences. Their way of life in general, prevents their enjoying
domestic comforts; and gross animal appetites fill the place of purer
affections.
At last, extinct each social feeling, fell
And joyless inhumanity pervades
And petrifies the heart.--
THOMSON.
Though they are members of a civilized society, they may, in some
measure, be looked on as a body of uncivilized men, rough, passionate,
revengeful, but likewise brave, sincere, and true to each other."
In place of inveighing against the illiberality of this statement, or
attempting to dispute its truth, as many persons, from an affectation
of enthusiastic regard for the honour of our tars, or positive
ignorance or contempt of the most incontrovertible obligations of
morality and religion, would incline, it will be vastly more
philosophical to investigate what are the principles of human nature
and the circumstances in their situation, which give rise to such a
character, that if possible some adequate remedy, or check at least,
may be discovered. This is certainly not the place for such a
discussion, as the importance of the subject demands; and the writer
can by no means imagine himself called on to enter upon it. But he
hazards a remark. He would consider British sailors as made up of
precisely the same elements as the rest of men, and that the obvious
peculiarities in which they differ from others, are the result of the
circumstances of their professional situation. It follows, that his
censure falls on the profession itself, rather than on those who are
members of it. But in fact, he conceives that there has been a
culpable neglect on the part of those who at different periods acquire
authority, to the moral condition of this class of men. It is obvious
indeed, that governments in general are little careful about the
characters of their subordinate agents, unless in so far as is
essential to the purposes for which they are employed; and
accordingly, where the base and savage principles of mankind can be
converted into so powerful an instrument, as we know they are in the
present case, we shall find, that scarcely any pains have been taken
to superinduce refinement, or even to favour the salutary operation of
those causes, by which, in the ordinary course of things, society is
gradually emancipated from barbarism. The rough virtues of the seaman
are in their estimation of sufficient excellence, without the
enhancement of moral attainments; and it is questionable, indeed, if a
sort of prejudice may not lurk in the minds of many, that the latter
would be the destruction of the former. Clearly, however, it seems to
be conceived, that there is no adequate inducement to run the risk of
the experiment; and, therefore, some gross immoralities are connived
at, under the plausible title of necessary evils, provided they do not
interfere with the technical duties of the profession. Though it be
admitted, that the reformation of men's manners forms no part of the
office of a politician, yet it may be fairly pleaded, on the other
hand, as vice is in its own nature a debilitating power, independent
altogether of reference to a Supreme Being, that to eradicate it, or
to apply a restraint to its influence, may be no injudicious labour of
his vocation. This, it is presumed, may be attempted in three ways,
(in addition to certain indulgences, which there appears to be an
imperious necessity to admit, with a view of preventing greater
evils,) viz. the improvement of discipline, the increase of knowledge,
and the application of a higher tone of public sentiment. There cannot
be room for a moment's controversy, that to the efficacy of these
three causes, is to be ascribed, the superiority in the appearance, at
least, of the morals and conduct of the present day, above that of
even the preceding half century. Who can deny, e.g, that the odious
vice of drunkenness is much more disreputable now than formerly,
throughout the whole of Europe? It may be said to be almost unknown in
genteel circles; and there seems not the least reason to doubt, that
as improvements in arts and sciences advance, and as education extends
to the lower classes, so as to supply sources of mental enjoyment and
exercise, it will be almost altogether extirpated from society. Let
this and other vices be held as positively dishonourable, because
unfitting for professional duty, and inconsistent with professional
dignity--let them be visited by certain punishment--give free scope to
the emulation of intellect and to the cultivation of proper self-
interest--and vindicate to popular opinion, the claims of this most
useful class, to the character of moral and rational beings, so that
no flattering but injurious unction may be applied to film over the
real turpitude of their offences--then, and then only, may it be
safely asserted, that such descriptions as we have been considering,
are the offspring of prudery or inflamed imagination, and have no
prototype in nature.--E.
[8] "We had scarcely any night during our stay in the frigid zone, so
that I find several articles in my father's journal, written by the
light of the sun, within a few minutes before the hour of midnight.
The sun's stay below the horizon was so short, that we had a very
strong twilight all the time. Mahine was struck with great
astonishment at this phenomenon, and would scarcely believe his
senses. All our endeavours to explain it to him miscarried, and he
assured us he despaired of finding belief among his countrymen, when
he should come back to recount the wonders of petrified rain, and of
perpetual day."--G.F.
[9] "To-day, while we were observing the meridian altitude of the sun,
a shower of snow came from the west, and passed a-head of the ship;
during which, a large island of ice, considerably within the visible
horizon, and directly under the sun, was entirely hid by it; yet the
horizon appeared as distinct, and much the same as it usually does in
dark hazy weather. When the shower was over, I found that it required
the sun to be dipped something more than his whole diameter to bring
his lower limb to the nearest edge of the ice island, which must have
been farther off than the visible horizon, during the shower; and yet
this would have been taken as the real horizon, without any suspicion,
if it had been every where equally obscure. Hence may be inferred the
uncertainty of altitudes taken in foggy, or what seamen, in general,
call hazy weather.--W.
[10] A few days before, according to Mr G.F.'s relation, his father
and twelve other persons were confined to bed with rheumatism; and
though the scurvy had not appeared in any dangerous form, yet a
general languor and sickly look were manifested in almost every face,
and Captain Cook himself was pale and lean, and had lost all
appetite.--E.
[11] "Our situation at present was indeed very dismal, even to those
who preserved the blessing of health; to the sick, whose crippled
limbs were tortured with excessive pain, it was insupportable. The
ocean about us had a furious aspect, and seemed incensed at the
presumption of a few intruding mortals. A gloomy melancholy air loured
on the brows of our shipmates, and a dreadful silence reigned amongst
us. Salt meat, our constant diet, was become loathsome to all, and
even to those who had been bred to a nautical life from their tender
years: The hour of dinner was hateful to us, for the well known smell
of the victuals had no sooner reached our nose, than we found it
impossible to partake of them with a hearty appetite. In short, we
rather vegetated than lived; we withered, and became indifferent to
all that animates the soul at other times. We sacrificed our health,
our feelings, our enjoyments, to the honour of pursuing a track
unattempted before. The crew were as much distressed as the officers,
from another cause. Their biscuit, which had been sorted at New
Zealand, baked over again, and then packed up, was now in the same
decayed state as before. This was owing partly to the revisal, which
had been so rigorous, that many bad biscuit was preserved among those
that were eatable; and partly to the neglect of the casks, which had
not been sufficiently fumigated and dried. Of this rotten bread the
people only received two-thirds of their usual allowance, from
economical principles; but as that portion is hardly sufficient,
supposing it to be all eatable, it was far from being so when nearly
one half of it was rotten. However, they continued in that distressful
situation till this day, when the first mate came to the capstern and
complained most bitterly that he and the people had not wherewith to
satisfy the cravings of the stomach, producing, at the same time, the
rotten and stinking remains of his biscuit. Upon this, the crew were
put to full allowance. The captain seemed to recover again as we
advanced to the southward, but all those who were afflicted with
rheumatisms, continued as much indisposed as ever."--G.F.
[12] "The thermometer here was 32 deg., and a great many penguins were
heard croaking around us, but could not be seen, on account of the
foggy weather which immediately succeeded. As often as we had hitherto
penetrated to the southward, we had met with no land, but been stopped
sooner or later by a solid ice-field, which extended before us as far
as we could see: At the same time we had always found the winds
moderate and frequently easterly in these high latitudes, in the same
manner as they are said to be in the northern frozen zone. From these
circumstances, my father had been led to suppose, that all the south
pole, to the distance of 20 degrees, more or less, is covered with
solid ice, of which only the extremities are annually broken off by
storms, consumed by the action of the sun, and regenerated in winter.
This opinion is the less exceptionable, since there seems to be no
absolute necessity for the existence of land towards the formation of
ice, and because we have little reason to suppose that there actually
is any land of considerable extent in the frigid zone."--G.F.
"Mr F. has most amply and ably discussed the point in his
observations, controverting unanswerably, as the writer thinks, the
opinion of Buffon and others, as to the existence of southern lands
being necessary for the production of such large masses of ice. The
limits of the present note preclude the insertion, in any satisfactory
shape, of the opposing arguments; but there is ground for anticipating
an opportunity of considering the subject, and some others of an
interesting nature, in a manner more suitable to their importance,
than a mere notice implies. We go on then with the narrative.--E.
[13] Captain Cook, from an excess of delicacy, rarely specifies his
personal sufferings; but one really requires to know something of
them, in order to make a proper estimate of his magnanimous resolution
in fulfilling his instructions, and to entertain a just conception of
the self-denial which such an expedition demanded. We shall be aided
by the following particulars, which, besides, imply the very extensive
distress of the whole crew: "A great number of our people were
afflicted with very severe rheumatic pains, which deprived them of the
use of their limbs; but their spirits were so low, that they had no
fever. Though the use of that excellent prophylactic, the sour krout,
prevented the appearance of the scurvy during all the cold weather,
yet, being made of cabbage, it is not so nutritive that we could live
upon it, without the assistance of biscuit and salt-beef. But the
former of these being rotten, and the other almost consumed by the
salt, it is obvious that no wholesome juices could be secreted from
thence, which might have kept the body strong and vigorous. Under
these difficulties all our patients recovered very slowly, having
nothing to restore their strength; and my father, who had been in
exquisite torments during the greatest part of our southern cruise,
was afflicted with toothaches, swelled cheeks, sore throat, and
universal pain, till the middle of February, when he went on deck
perfectly emaciated. The warm weather, which was beneficial to him,
proved fatal to Captain Cook's constitution. The disappearance of his
bilious complaint during our last push to the south, had not been so
sincere, as to make him recover his appetite. The return to the north,
therefore, brought on a dangerous obstruction, which the captain very
unfortunately slighted, and concealed from every person in the ship,
at the same time endeavouring to get the better of it by taking hardly
any subsistence. This proceeding, instead of removing, increased the
evil, his stomach being already weak enough before. He was afflicted
with violent pains, which in the space of a few days confined him to
his bed, and forced him to have recourse to medicines. He took a
purge, but instead of producing the desired effect, it caused a
violent vomiting, which was assisted immediately by proper emetics.
All attempts, however, to procure a passage through his bowels were
ineffectual; his food and medicines were thrown up, and in a few days
a most dreadful hiccough appeared, which lasted for upwards of twenty
four hours, with such astonishing violence, that his life was entirely
despaired of. Opiates and glysters had no effect, till repeated hot
baths, and plasters of theriaca applied on his stomach, had relieved
his body and intestines. This, however, was not effected till he had
been above a week in the most imminent danger. Next to providence it
was chiefly owing to the skill of our surgeon, Mr Patten, that he
recovered to prosecute the remaining part of our voyage, with the same
spirit with which it had hitherto been carried on. The care and
assiduity with which that worthy man watched him during his whole
illness, cannot be sufficiently extolled, as all our hopes of future
discoveries, as well as union in the ship, depended solely on the
preservation of the captain. The surgeon's extreme attention, however,
had nearly cost him his own life. Having taken no rest for many nights
together, and seldom venturing to sleep an hour by day, he was so much
exhausted, that we trembled for his life, upon which that of almost
every man in the ship, in a great measure, depended. He was taken ill
with a bilious disorder, which was dangerous on account of the extreme
weakness of his stomach, and it is more than probable, that if we had
not speedily fallen in with land, from whence we collected some slight
refreshments, he must have fallen a sacrifice to that rigorous
perseverance and extreme punctuality with which he discharged the
several duties of his profession."--G.F.
SECTION VII.
_Sequel of the Passage from New Zealand to Easter Island, and
Transactions there, with an Account of an Expedition to discover the Inland
Part of the Country, and a Description of some of the surprising gigantic
Statues found in the Island._
At eight o'clock in the morning, on the 11th, land was seen, from the mast-
head, bearing west, and at noon from the deck, extending from W. 3/4 N. to
W. by S., about twelve leagues distant.[1] I made no doubt that this was
Davis's Land, or Easter Island; as its appearance from this situation,
corresponded very well with Wafer's account; and we expected to have seen
the low sandy isle that Davis fell in with, which would have been a
confirmation; but in this we were disappointed. At seven o'clock in the
evening, the island bore from north 62 deg. W., to north 87 deg. W., about five
leagues distant; in which situation, we sounded without finding ground with
a line of an hundred and forty fathoms. Here we spent the night, having
alternately light airs and calms, till ten o'clock the next morning, when a
breeze sprung up at W.S.W. With this we stretched in for the land; and by
the help of our glass, discovered people, and some of those Colossean
statues or idols mentioned in the account of Roggewein's voyage.[2] At four
o'clock p.m. we were half a league S.S.E. and N.N.W. of the N.E. point of
the island; and, on sounding, found thirty-five fathoms, a dark sandy
bottom. I now tacked, and endeavoured to get into what appeared to be a
bay, on the west side of the point or S.E. side of the island; but before
this could be accomplished, night came upon us, and we stood on and off,
under the land, till the next morning; having sounding from seventy-five to
an hundred and ten fathoms, the same bottom as before.
On the 13th, about eight o'clock in the morning, the wind, which had been
variable most part of the night, fixed at S.E., and blew in squalls,
accompanied with rain; but it was not long before the weather became fair.
As the wind now blew right to the S.E. shore, which does not afford that
shelter I at first thought, I resolved to look for anchorage on the west
and N.W. sides of the island. With this view I bore up round the south
point, off which lie two small islets, the one nearest the point high and
peaked, and the other low and flattish. After getting round the point, and
coming before a sandy beach, we found soundings thirty and forty fathoms,
sandy ground, and about one mile from the shore. Here a canoe, conducted by
two men, came off to us. They brought with them a bunch of plantains, which
they sent into the ship by a rope, and then they returned ashore. This gave
us a good opinion of the islanders, and inspired us with hopes of getting
some refreshments, which we were in great want of.
I continued to range along the coast, till we opened the northern point of
the isle, without seeing a better anchoring-place than the one we had
passed. We therefore tacked, and plied back to it; and, in the mean time,
sent away the master in a boat to sound the coast. He returned about five
o'clock in the evening; and soon after we came to an anchor in thirty-six
fathoms water, before the sandy beach above mentioned. As the master drew
near the shore with the boat, one of the natives swam off to her, and
insisted on coming a-board the ship, where he remained two nights and a
day. The first thing he did after coming a-board, was to measure the length
of the ship, by fathoming her from the tafferel to the stern, and as he
counted the fathoms, we observed that he called the numbers by the same
names that they do at Otaheite; nevertheless his language was in a manner
wholly unintelligible to all of us.[3]
Having anchored too near the edge of a bank, a fresh breeze from the land,
about three o'clock the next morning, drove us off it; on which the anchor
was heaved up, and sail made to regain the bank again. While the ship was
plying in, I went ashore, accompanied by some of the gentlemen, to see what
the island was likely to afford us. We landed at the sandy beach, where
some hundreds of the natives were assembled, and who were so impatient to
see us, that many of them swam off to meet the boats. Not one of them had
so much as a stick or weapon of any sort in their hands. After distributing
a few trinkets amongst them, we made signs for something to eat, on which
they brought down a few potatoes, plantains, and sugar canes, and exchanged
them for nails, looking-glasses, and pieces of cloth.[4]
We presently discovered that they were as expert thieves and as tricking in
their exchanges, as any people we had yet met with. It was with some
difficulty we could keep the hats on our heads; but hardly possible to keep
any thing in our pockets, not even what themselves had sold us; for they
would watch every opportunity to snatch it from us, so that we sometimes
bought the same thing two or three times over, and after all did not get
it.
Before I sailed from England, I was informed that a Spanish ship had
visited this isle in 1769. Some signs of it were seen among the people now
about us; one man had a pretty good broad-brimmed European hat on, another
had a grego jacket, and another a red silk handkerchief. They also seemed
to know the use of a musquet, and to stand in much awe of it; but this they
probably learnt from Roggewein, who, if we are to believe the authors of
that voyage, left them sufficient tokens.
Near the place where we landed, were some of those statues before
mentioned, which I shall describe in another place. The country appeared
barren and without wood; there were, nevertheless, several plantations of
potatoes, plantains, and sugar-canes; we also saw some fowls, and found a
well of brackish water. As these were articles we were in want of, and as
the natives seemed not unwilling to part with them, I resolved to stay a
day or two. With this view I repaired on board, and brought the ship to an
anchor in thirty-two fathoms water; the bottom a fine dark sand. Our
station was about a mile from the nearest shore, the south point of a small
bay, in the bottom of which is the sandy beach before mentioned, being
E.S.E., distant one mile and a-half. The two rocky islets lying off the
south point of the island, were just shut behind a point to the north of
them; they bore south 3/4 west, four miles distant; and the other extreme
of the island bore north 25 deg. E., distant about six miles. But the best mark
for this anchoring-place is the beach, because it is the only one on this
side of the island. In the afternoon, we got on board a few casks of water,
and opened a trade with the natives for such things as they had to dispose
of. Some of the gentlemen also made an excursion into the country to see
what it produced; and returned again in the evening, with the loss only of
a hat, which one of the natives snatched off the head of one of the
party.[5]
Early next morning, I sent Lieutenants Pickersgill and Edgecumbe with a
party of men, accompanied by several of the gentlemen, to examine the
country. As I was not sufficiently recovered from my late illness to make
one of the party, I was obliged to content myself with remaining at the
landing-place among the natives. We had, at one time, a pretty brisk trade
with them for potatoes, which we observed they dug up out of an adjoining
plantation; but this traffic, which was very advantageous to us, was soon
put a stop to by the owner (as we supposed) of the plantation coming down,
and driving all the people out of it. By this we concluded, that he had
been robbed of his property, and that they were not less scrupulous of
stealing from one another, than from us, on whom they practised every
little fraud they could think of, and generally with success; for we no
sooner detected them in one, than they found out another. About seven
o'clock in the evening, the party I had sent into the country returned,
after having been over the greatest part of the island.
They left the beach about nine o'clock in the morning, and took a path
which led across to the S.E. side of the island, followed by a great crowd
of the natives, who pressed much upon them. But they had not proceeded far,
before a middle-aged man, punctured from head to foot, and his face painted
with a sort of white pigment, appeared with a spear in his hand, and walked
along-side of them, making signs to his countrymen to keep at a distance,
and not to molest our people. When he had pretty well effected this, he
hoisted a piece of white cloth on his spear, placed himself in the front,
and led the way, with his ensign of peace, as they understood it to be. For
the greatest part of the distance across, the ground had but a barren
appearance, being a dry hard clay, and every where covered with stones; but
notwithstanding this, there were several large tracts planted with
potatoes; and some plantain walks, but they saw no fruit on any of the
trees. Towards the highest part of the south end of the island, the soil,
which was a fine red earth, seemed much better, bore a longer grass, and
was not covered with stones as in the other parts; but here they saw
neither house nor plantation.
On the east side, near the sea, they met with three platforms of stone-
work, or rather the ruins of them. On each had stood four of those large
statues, but they were all fallen down from two of them, and also one from
the third; all except one were broken by the fall, or in some measure
defaced. Mr Wales measured this one, and found it to be fifteen feet in
length, and six feet broad over the shoulders, Each statue had on its head
a large cylindric stone of a red colour, wrought perfectly round. The one
they measured, which was not by far the largest, was fifty-two inches high,
and sixty-six in diameter. In some, the upper corner of the cylinder was
taken off in a sort of concave quarter-round, but in others the cylinder
was entire.
From this place they followed the direction of the coast to the N.E., the
man with the flag still leading the way. For about three miles they found
the country very barren, and in some places stript of the soil to the bare
rock, which seemed to be a poor sort of iron ore. Beyond this, they came to
the most fertile part of the island they saw, it being interspersed with
plantations of potatoes, sugar-canes, and plantain trees, and these not so
much encumbered with stones as those which they had seen before; but they
could find no water except what the natives twice or thrice brought them,
which, though brackish and stinking, was rendered acceptable, by the
extremity of their thirst. They also passed some huts, the owners of which
met them with roasted potatoes and sugar-canes, and, placing themselves a-
head of the foremost party (for they marched in a line in order to have the
benefit of the path), gave one to each man as he passed by. They observed
the same method in distributing the water which they brought; and were
particularly careful that the foremost did not drink too much, lest none
should be left for the hindmost. But at the very time these were relieving
the thirsty and hungry, there were not wanting others who endeavoured to
steal from them the very things which had been given them. At last, to
prevent worse consequences, they were obliged to fire a load of small shot
at one who was so audacious as to snatch from one of the men the bag which
contained every thing they carried with them. The shot hit him on the back,
on which he dropped the bag, ran a little way, and then fell; but he
afterwards got up and walked, and what became of him they knew not, nor
whether he was much wounded. As this affair occasioned some delay, and drew
the natives together, they presently saw the man who had hitherto led the
way and one or two more, coming running towards them; but instead of
stopping when they came up, they continued to run round them, repeating, in
a kind manner, a few words, until our people set forwards again. Then their
old guide hoisted his flag, leading the way as before, and none ever
attempted to steal from them the whole day afterwards. As they passed
along, they observed on a hill a number of people collected together, some
of whom had spears in their hands; but on their being called to by their
countrymen, they dispersed, except a few, amongst whom was one seemingly of
some note. He was a stout well-made man, with a fine open countenance, his
face was painted, his body punctured, and he wore a better _Ha hou_,
or cloth, than the rest. He saluted them as he came up, by stretching out
his arms, with both hands clenched, lifting them over his head, opening
them wide, and then letting them fall gradually down to his sides. To this
man, whom they understood to be chief of the island, their other friend
gave his white flag, and he gave him another, who carried it before them
the remainder of the day.
Towards the eastern end of the island, they met with a well whose water was
perfectly fresh, being considerably above the level of the sea; but it was
dirty, owing to the filthiness or cleanliness (call it which you will) of
the natives, who never go to drink without washing themselves all over as
soon as they have done; and if ever so many of them are together, the first
leaps right into the middle of the hole, drinks, and washes himself without
the least ceremony; after which another takes his place and does the same.
They observed that this side of the island was full of those gigantic
statues so often mentioned; some placed in groupes on platforms of masonry,
others single, fixed only in the earth, and that not deep; and these latter
are, in general, much larger than the others. Having measured one, which
had fallen down, they found it very near twenty-seven feet long, and
upwards of eight feet over the breast or shoulders; and yet this appeared
considerably short of the size of one they saw standing; its shade, a
little past two o'clock, being sufficient to shelter all the party,
consisting of near thirty persons, from the rays of the sun. Here they
stopped to dine; after which they repaired to a hill, from whence they saw
all the east and north shores of the isle, on which they could not see
either bay or creek fit even for a boat to land in; nor the least signs of
fresh water. What the natives brought them here was real salt water; but
they observed that some of them drank pretty plentifully of it, so far will
necessity and custom get the better of nature! On this account they were
obliged to return to the last-mentioned well, where, after having quenched
their thirst, they directed their route across the island towards the ship,
as it was now four o'clock.
In a small hollow, on the highest part of the island, they met with several
such cylinders as are placed on the heads of the statues. Some of these
appeared larger than any they had seen before; but it was now too late to
stop to measure any of them. Mr Wales, from whom I had this information, is
of opinion that there had been a quarry here, whence these stones had
formerly been dug; and that it would have been no difficult matter to roll
them down the hill after they were formed. I think this a very reasonable
conjecture, and have no doubt that it has been so.
On the declivity of the mountain towards the west, they met with another
well, but the water was a very strong mineral, had a thick green scum on
the top, and stunk intolerably. Necessity, however, obliged some to drink
of it; but it soon made them so sick, that they threw it up the same way
that it went down.
In all this excursion, as well as the one made the preceding day, only two
or three shrubs were seen. The leaf and seed of one (called by the natives
_Torromedo_) were not much unlike those of the common vetch; but the
pod was more like that of a tamarind in its size and shape. The seeds have
a disagreeable bitter taste; and the natives, when they saw our people chew
them, made signs to spit them out; from whence it was concluded that they
think them poisonous. The wood is of a reddish colour, and pretty hard and
heavy, but very crooked, small, and short, not exceeding six or seven feet
in height. At the S.W. corner of the island, they found another small
shrub, whose wood was white and brittle, and in some measure, as also its
leaf, resembling the ash. They also saw in several places the Otaheitean
cloth plant, but it was poor and weak, and not above two and a half feet
high at most.
They saw not an animal of any sort, and but very few birds; nor indeed any
thing which can induce ships that are not in the utmost distress, to touch
at this island.
This account of the excursion I had from Mr Pickersgill and Mr Wales, men
on whose veracity I could depend; and therefore I determined to leave the
island the next morning, since nothing was to be obtained that could make
it worth my while to stay longer; for the water which we had sent on board,
was not much better than if it had been taken up out of the sea.[6]
We had a calm till ten o'clock in the morning of the 16th, when a breeze
sprung up at west, accompanied with heavy showers of rain, which lasted
about an hour. The weather then clearing up, we got under sail, stood to
sea, and kept plying to and fro, while an officer was sent on shore with
two boats, to purchase such refreshments as the natives might have brought
down; for I judged this would be the case, as they knew nothing of our
sailing. The event proved that I was not mistaken; for the boats made two
trips before night, when we hoisted them in, and made sail to the N.W.,
with a light breeze at N.N.E.
[1] "The joy which this fortunate event spread on every countenance,
is scarcely to be described. We had been one hundred and three days
out of sight of land; and the rigorous weather to the south, the
fatigues of continual attendance during storms, or amidst dangerous
masses of ice, the sudden changes of climate, and the long continuance
of a noxious diet, all together had emaciated and worn out our crew.
The expectation of a speedy end to their sufferings, and the hope of
finding the land stocked with abundance of fowls and planted with
fruits, according to the accounts of the Dutch navigator, now filled
them with uncommon alacrity and cheerfulness."--G.F.
Captain Cook was much indebted for now falling in with this island, to
the superior means he possessed of ascertaining his longitude. Byron,
Carteret, and Bouganville, all missed it, although they took their
departure from no greater a distance than the islands of Juan
Fernandez. Most of the writers who mention Easter Island, agree pretty
well together as to its latitude, but the Spanish accounts are not less
than thirty leagues erroneous as to its longitude.--E.
[2] See this in vol. XI. p. 95 of this collection; but the description
afterwards given is much more satisfactory.--E.
[3] "He was of the middle size, about five feet eight inches high, and
remarkably hairy on the breast, and all over the body. His colour was
a chesnut brown, his beard strong, but clipped short, and of a black
colour, as was also the hair of his head, which was likewise cut
short. His ears were very long, almost hanging on his shoulders, and
his legs punctured in compartments after a taste which we had observed
no where else. He had only a belt round his middle, from whence a kind
of net-work descended before, too thin to conceal any thing from the
sight. A string was tied about his neck, and a flat bone, something
shaped like a tongue, and about four inches long, was fastened to it,
and hung down on the breast. This he told us, was a porpoise's bone
(eavee toharra) expressing it exactly by the same words which an
Otaheitean would have made use of. Mahine, who had already expressed
his impatience to go ashore, was much pleased to find that the
inhabitants spoke a language so similar to his own, and attempted to
converse with our new visitor several times, but was interrupted by
the questions which many other persons in the ship put to him."--G.F.
[4] "Almost all of them were naked, some having only a belt round the
middle, from whence a small bit of cloth, six or eight inches long, or
a little net, hang down before. A very few of them had a cloak which
reached to the knees, made of cloth, resembling that of Otaheite in
the texture, and stitched or quilted with thread to make it the more
lasting. Most of these cloaks were painted yellow with the turmeric
root."--G.F.
[5] "After staying among the natives for some time on the beach, we
began to walk into the country. The whole ground was covered with
roots and stones of all sizes, which seemed to have been exposed to a
great fire, where they had acquired a black colour and porous
appearance. Two or three shrivelled species of grasses grew up among
these stones, and in a slight degree softened the desolate appearance
of the country. About fifteen yards from the landing place, we saw a
perpendicular wall of square hewn stones, about a foot and a half or
two feet long, and one foot broad. Its greatest height was about seven
or eight feet, but it gradually sloped on both sides, and its length
might be about twenty yards. A remarkable circumstance was the
junction of these stones, which were laid after the most excellent
rules of art, fitting in such a manner as to make a durable piece of
architecture. The stone itself, of which they are cut, is not of great
hardness, being a blackish brown cavernous and brittle stony lava. The
ground rose from the water side upwards; so that another wall,
parallel to the first, about twelve yards from it, and facing the
country, was not above two or three feet high. The whole area between
the two walls was filled up with soil and covered over with grass.
About fifty yards farther to the south, there was another elevated
area, of which the surface was paved with square stones exactly
similar to those which formed the walls. In the midst of this area,
there was a pillar consisting of a single stone, which represented a
human figure to the waist, about twenty feet high, and upwards of five
feet wide. The workmanship of this figure was rude, and spoke the arts
in their infancy. The eyes, nose, and mouth, were scarcely marked on a
lumpish ill-shaped head; and the ears, which were excessively long,
quite in the fashion of the country, were better executed than any
other part, though a European artist would have been ashamed of them.
The neck was clumsy and short, and the shoulders and arms very
slightly represented. On the top of the head a huge round cylinder of
stone was placed upright, being above five feet in diameter and in
height. This cap, which resembled the head-dress of some Egyptian
divinity, consisted of a different stone from the rest of the pillar,
being of a more reddish colour; and had a hole on each side, as if it
had been made round by turning. The cap, together with the head, made
one half of the whole pillar which appeared above ground. We did not
observe that the natives paid any worship to these pillars, yet they
seemed to hold them in some kind of veneration, as they sometimes
expressed a dislike when we walked over the paved area or pedestals,
or examined the stones of which it consisted. A few of the natives
accompanied us farther on into the country, where we had seen some
bushes at a distance, which we hoped would afford us something new.
Our road was intolerably rugged, over heaps of volcanic stones, which
rolled away under our feet, and against which we continually hurt
ourselves. The natives who were accustomed to this desolate ground,
skipped nimbly from stone to stone without the least difficulty. In
our way we saw several black rats running about, which it seems are
common to every island in the South Sea. Being arrived at the
shrubbery which we had in view, we found it was nothing but a small
plantation of the paper mulberry, of which here, as well as at
Otaheite, they make their cloth. Its stems were from two to four feet
high, and planted in rows, among very large rocks, where the rains had
washed a little soil together. In the neighbourhood of these we saw
some bushes of the _hibiscus populneus_, Linn, which is common also in
the Society Isles, where it is one of the numerous plants made use of
to dye yellow; and likewise a _mimosa_, which is the only shrub that
affords the natives sticks for their clubs and patoo-patoos, and wood
sufficient to patch up a canoe. We found the face of the country more
barren and ruinous the farther we advanced. The small number of
inhabitants, who met us at the landing-place, seemed to have been the
bulk of the nation, since we met no other people on our walk; and yet
for these few we did not see above ten or twelve huts, though the view
commanded a great part of the island. One of the sightliest of these
was situated on a little hillock, about half a mile from the sea,
which we ascended. Its construction was such as evinced the poverty
and wretched condition of its owners. The natives told us they passed
the night in these huts; and we easily conceived their situation to be
uncomfortable, especially as we saw so very few of them, that they
must be crammed full, unless the generality of the people lie in the
open air, and leave these wretched dwellings to their chiefs, or make
use of them only in bad weather. Besides these huts, we observed some
heaps of stones piled up into little hillocks, which had one steep
perpendicular side, where a hole went under ground. The space within
could be but very small, and yet it is very probable that these
cavities served to give shelter to the people during night. They may,
however, communicate with natural caverns, which are very common in
the lava currents of volcanic countries. We should have been glad to
have ascertained this circumstance, but the natives always denied us
admittance into these places."--G.F.
[6] "Captain Cook had not been very fortunate in trading with the
people. They seemed indeed to be so destitute as to have no provisions
to spare. A few matted baskets full of sweet potatoes, some sugar-
canes, bunches of bananas, and two or three small fowls ready dressed,
were the whole purchase which he had made for a few iron tools, and
some Otaheite cloth. He had presented the people with beads, but they
always threw them away with contempt, as far as ever they could.
Whatever else they saw about us, they were desirous of possessing,
though they had nothing to give in return.--G.F.
SECTION VIII.
_A Description of the Island, and its Produce, Situation, and
Inhabitants; their Manners and Customs; Conjectures concerning their
Government, Religion, and other Subjects; with a more particular Account of
the gigantic Statues._
I shall now give some farther account of this island, which is undoubtedly
the same that Admiral Roggewein touched at in April 1722; although the
description given of it by the authors of that voyage does by no means
agree with it now. It may also be the same that was seen by Captain Davis
in 1686; for, when seen from the east, it answers very well to Wafer's
description, as I have before observed. In short, if this is not the land,
his discovery cannot lie far from the coast of America, as this latitude
has been well explored from the meridian of 80 deg. to 110 deg.. Captain Carteret
carried it much farther; but his track seems to have been a little too far
south. Had I found fresh water, I intended spending some days in looking
for the low sandy isle Davis fell in with, which would have determined the
point. But as I did not find water, and had a long run to make before I was
assured of getting any, and being in want of refreshments, I declined the
search; as a small delay might have been attended with bad consequences to
the crew, many of them beginning to be more or less affected with the
scurvy.
No nation need contend for the honour of the discovery of this island, as
there can be few places which afford less convenience for shipping than it
does. Here is no safe anchorage, no wood for fuel, nor any fresh water
worth taking on board. Nature has been exceedingly sparing of her favours
to this spot. As every thing must be raised by dint of labour, it cannot be
supposed that the inhabitants plant much more than is sufficient for
themselves; and as they are but few in number, they cannot have much to
spare to supply the wants of visitant strangers. The produce is sweet
potatoes, yams, tara or eddy root, plantains, and sugar-canes, all pretty
good, the potatoes especially, which are the best of the kind I ever
tasted. Gourds they have also, but so very few, that a cocoa-nut shell was
the most valuable thing we could give them. They have a few tame fowls,
such as cocks and hens, small but well tasted. They have also rats, which
it seems they eat; for I saw a man with some dead ones in his hand, and he
seemed unwilling to part with them, giving me to understand they were for
food. Of land-birds there were hardly any, and sea-birds but few; these
were men-of-war, tropic, and egg-birds, noddies, tern, &c. The coast seemed
not to abound with fish, at least we could catch none with hook and line,
and it was but very little we saw among the natives.
Such is the produce of Easter Island, or Davis's Land, which is situated in
latitude 27 deg. 5' 30" S., longitude 109 deg. 46' 20" W. It is about ten or twelve
leagues in circuit, hath a hilly and stony surface, and an iron-bound
shore. The hills are of such a height as to be seen fifteen or sixteen
leagues. Off the south end, are two rocky islets, lying near the shore. The
north and east points of the island rise directly from the sea to a
considerable height; between them and the S.E. side, the shore forms an
open bay, in which I believe the Dutch anchored. We anchored, as hath been
already mentioned, on the west side of the island, three miles to the north
of the south point, with the sandy beach bearing E.S.S. This is a very good
road with easterly winds, but a dangerous one with westerly; as the other
on the S.E. side must be with easterly winds.
For this, and other bad accommodations already mentioned, nothing but
necessity will induce any one to touch at this isle, unless it can be done
without going much out of the way; in which case, touching here may be
advantageous, as the people willingly and readily part with such
refreshments as they have, and at an easy rate. We certainly received great
benefit from the little we got; but few ships can come here without being
in want of water, and this want cannot be here supplied. The little we took
on board, could not be made use of, it being only salt water which had
filtered through a stony beach into a stone well; this the natives had made
for the purpose, a little to the southward of the sandy beach so often
mentioned, and the water ebbed and flowed into it with the tide.
The inhabitants of this island do not seem to exceed six or seven hundred
souls, and above two-thirds of those we saw were males. They either have
but few females amongst them, or else many were restrained from making
their appearance during our stay, for though we saw nothing to induce us to
believe the men were of a jealous disposition, or the women afraid to
appear in public, something of this kind was probably the case.[1]
In colour, features, and language, they bear such an affinity to the people
of the more western isles, that no one will doubt they have had the same
origin. It is extraordinary that the same nation should have spread
themselves over all the isles in this vast ocean, from New Zealand to this
island, which is almost one-fourth part of the circumference of the globe.
Many of them have now no other knowledge of each other, than what is
preserved by antiquated tradition; and they have, by length of time,
become, as it were, different nations, each having adopted some peculiar
custom or habit, &c. Nevertheless, a careful observer will soon see the
affinity each has to the other. In general, the people of this isle are a
slender race. I did not see a man that would measure six feet; so far are
they from being giants, as one of the authors of Roggewein's voyage
asserts. They are brisk and active, have good features, and not
disagreeable countenances; are friendly and hospitable to strangers, but as
much addicted to pilfering as any of their neighbours.
_Tattowing_, or puncturing the skin, is much used here. The men are
marked from head to foot, with figures all nearly alike; only some give
them one direction, and some another, as fancy leads. The women are but
little punctured; red and white paint is an ornament with _them_, as
also with the men; the former is made of turmeric, but what composes the
latter I know not.
Their clothing is a piece or two of quilted cloth, about six feet by four,
or a mat. One piece wrapped round their loins, and another over their
shoulders, make a complete dress. But the men, for the most part, are in a
manner naked, wearing nothing but a slip of cloth betwixt their legs, each
end of which is fastened to a cord or belt they wear round the waist. Their
cloth is made of the same materials as at Otaheite, viz. of the bark of the
cloth-plant; but, as they have but little of it, our Otaheitean cloth, or
indeed any sort of it, came here to a good market.
Their hair in general is black; the women wear it long, and sometimes tied
up on the crown of the head; but the men wear it, and their beards, cropped
short. Their headdress is a round fillet adorned with feathers, and a straw
bonnet something like a Scotch one; the former, I believe, being chiefly
worn by the men, and the latter by the women. Both men and women have very
large holes, or rather slits, in their ears, extending to near three inches
in length. They sometimes turn this slit over the upper part, and then the
ear looks as if the flap was cut off. The chief ear-ornaments are the white
down of feathers, and rings, which they wear in the inside of the hole,
made of some elastic substance, rolled up like a watch-spring. I judged
this was to keep the hole at its utmost extension. I do not remember seeing
them wear any other ornaments, excepting amulets made of bone or shells.[2]
As harmless and friendly as these people seemed to be, they are not without
offensive weapons, such as short wooden clubs and spears; the latter of
which are crooked sticks about six feet long, armed at one end with pieces
of flint. They have also a weapon made of wood, like the _Patoo patoo_
of New Zealand.
Their houses are low miserable huts, constructed by setting sticks upright
in the ground, at six or eight feet distance, then bending them towards
each other, and tying them together at the top, forming thereby a kind of
Gothic arch. The longest sticks are placed in the middle, and shorter ones
each way, and a less distance asunder, by which means the building is
highest and broadest in the middle, and lower and narrower towards each
end. To these are tied others horizontally, and the whole is thatched over
with leaves of sugar-cane. The door-way is in the middle of one side,
formed like a porch, and so low and narrow, as just to admit a man to enter
upon all fours. The largest house I saw was about sixty feet long, eight or
nine feet high in the middle, and three or four at each end; its breadth,
at these parts, was nearly equal to its height. Some have a kind of vaulted
houses built with stone, and partly under ground; but I never was in one of
these.
I saw no household utensils among them, except gourds, and of these but
very few. They were extravagantly fond of cocoa-nut shells, more so than of
any thing we could give them. They dress their victuals in the same manner
as at Otaheite; that is, with hot stones in an oven or hole in the ground.
The straw or tops of sugar-cane, plantain heads, &c. serve them for fuel to
heat the stones. Plantains, which require but little dressing, they roast
under fires of straw, dried grass, &c. and whole races of them are ripened
or roasted in this manner. We frequently saw ten or a dozen, or more, such
fires in one place, and most commonly in the mornings and evenings.
Not more than three or four canoes were seen on the whole island, and these
very mean, and built of many pieces sewed together with small line. They
are about eighteen or twenty feet long, head and stem carved or raised a
little, are very narrow, and fitted with out-riggers. They do not seem
capable of carrying above four persons, and are by no means fit for any
distant navigation. As small and mean as these canoes were, it was a matter
of wonder to us, where they got the wood to build them with; for in one of
them was a board six or eight feet long, fourteen inches broad at one end,
and eight at the other; whereas we did not see a stick on the island that
would have made a board half this size, nor, indeed, was there another
piece in the whole canoe half so big.
There are two ways by which it is possible they may have got this large
wood; it might have been left here by the Spaniards, or it might have been
driven on the shore of the island from some distant land. It is even
possible that there may be some land in the neighbourhood, from whence they
might have got it. We, however, saw no signs of any, nor could we get the
least information on this head from the natives, although we tried every
method we could think of to obtain it. We were almost as unfortunate in our
enquiries for the proper or native name of the island; for, on comparing
notes, I found we had got three different names for it, viz. Tamareki,
Whyhu, and Teapy. Without pretending to say which, or whether any of them
is right, I shall only observe, that the last was obtained by Oedidee, who
understood their language much better than any of us, though even he
understood it but very imperfectly.
It appears by the account of Roggewein's voyage, that these people had no
better vessels than when he first visited them. The want of materials, and
not of genius, seems to be the reason why they have made no improvement in
this art. Some pieces of carving were found amongst them, both well
designed and executed.[3] Their plantations are prettily laid out by line,
but not inclosed by any fence; indeed they have nothing for this purpose
but stones.
I have no doubt that all these plantations are private property, and that
there are here, as at Otaheite, chiefs (which they call _Areekes_) to
whom these plantations belong. But of the power or authority of these
chiefs, or of the government of these people, I confess myself quite
ignorant.
Nor are we better acquainted with their religion. The gigantic statues, so
often mentioned, are not, in my opinion, looked upon as idols by the
present inhabitants, whatever they might have been in the days of the
Dutch; at least I saw nothing that could induce me to think so. On the
contrary, I rather suppose that they are burying-places for certain tribes
or families. I, as well as some others, saw a human skeleton lying in one
of the platforms, just covered with stones. Some of these platforms of
masonry are thirty or forty feet long, twelve or sixteen broad, and from
three to twelve in height; which last in some measure depends on the nature
of the ground; for they are generally at the brink of the bank facing the
sea, so that this face may be ten or twelve feet or more high, and the
other may not be above three or four. They are built, or rather faced, with
hewn stones, of a very large size; and the workmanship is not inferior to
the best plain piece of masonry we have in England. They use no sort of
cement, yet the joints are exceedingly close, and the stones morticed and
tenanted one into another, in a very artful manner. The side-walls are not
perpendicular, but inclining a little inwards, in the same manner that
breast-works, &c. are built in Europe; yet had not all this care, pains,
and sagacity, been able to preserve these curious structures from the
ravages of all-devouring time.
The statues, or at least many of them, are erected on these platforms,
which serve as foundations. They are, as near as we could judge, about half
length, ending in a sort of stump at the bottom, on which they stand. The
workmanship is rude, but not bad; nor are the features of the face ill
formed, the nose and chin in particular; but the ears are long beyond
proportion; and, as to the bodies, there is hardly any thing like a human
figure about them.
I had an opportunity of examining only two or three of these statues, which
are near the landing-place; and they were of a grey stone, seemingly of the
same sort as that with which the platforms were built. But some of the
gentlemen, who travelled over the island, and examined many of them, were
of opinion that the stone of which they were made, was different from any
they saw on the island, and had much the appearance of being factitious. We
could hardly conceive how these islanders, wholly unacquainted with any
mechanical power, could raise such stupendous figures, and afterwards place
the large cylindric stones before mentioned upon their heads. The only
method I can conceive, is by raising the upper end by little and little,
supporting it by stones as it is raised, and building about it till they
got it erect; thus a sort of mount or scaffolding would be made, upon which
they might roll the cylinder, and place it upon the head of the statue, and
then the stones might be removed from about it. But if the stones are
factitious, the statues might have been put together on the place, in their
present position, and the cylinder put on by building a mount round them,
as above mentioned. But, let them have been made and set up by this or any
other method, they must have been a work of immense time, and sufficiently
shew the ingenuity and perseverance of these islanders in the age in which
they were built; for the present inhabitants have most certainly had no
hand in them, as they do not even repair the foundations of those which are
going to decay. They give different names to them, such as Gotomoara,
Marapate, Kanaro, Goway-too-goo, Matta Matta, &c. &c. to which they
sometimes prefix the word Moi, and sometimes annex Areeke. The latter
signifies chief, and the former burying, or sleeping-place, as well as we
could understand.[4]
Besides the monuments of antiquity, which were pretty numerous, and no
where but on or near the sea-coast, there were many little heaps of stones,
piled up in different places along the coast. Two or three of the uppermost
stones in each pile were generally white, perhaps always so, when the pile
is complete. It will hardly be doubted that these piles of stone had a
meaning; probably they might mark the place where people had been buried,
and serve instead of the large statues.
The working-tools of these people are but very mean, and, like those of all
the other islanders we have visited in this ocean, made of stone, bone,
shells, &c. They set but little value on iron or iron tools, which is the
more extraordinary, as they know their use; but the reason may be, their
having but little occasion for them.
[1] "It was impossible for us to guess at the cause of this
disproportion in the number of the different sexes; but as all the
women we saw were very liberal of their favours, I conjectured at that
time, that the married and the modest, who might be supposed to form
the greater part, did not care to come near us, or were forced by the
men to stay at their dwellings in the remote parts of the island.
These few who appeared were the most lascivious of their sex, that
perhaps have ever been noticed in any country, and shame seemed to be
entirely unknown to them."--G.F.
[2] "They were inferior in stature to the natives of the Society and
Friendly Isles, and to those of New Zealand, there being not a single
person amongst them, who might be reckoned tall. Their body was
likewise lean, and their face much thinner than that of any people we
had hitherto seen in the South Sea. Both sexes had thin, but not
savage features, though the little shelter which their barren country
offers against the sunbeams, had contracted their brows sometimes, and
drawn the muscles of their face up towards the eye. Their noses were
not very broad, but rather flat between the eyes; their lips strong,
though not so thick as those of negroes; and their hair black and
curling, but always cut short, so as not to exceed three inches. Their
eyes were dark-brown, and rather small, the white being less clear
than in other nations of the South Seas."--G.F.
[3] "These were human figures made of narrow pieces of wood about
eighteen inches or two feet long, and wrought in a much neater and
more proportionate manner than we could have expected, after seeing
the rude sculpture of the statues. They were made to represent persons
of both sexes; the features were not very pleasing, and the whole
figure was much too long to be natural; however, there was something
characteristic in them, which shewed a taste for the arts. The wood of
which they were made was finely polished, close grained, and of a
dark-brown, like that of the casuarina. Mahine was most pleased with
these carved human figures, the workmanship of which much excelled
those of the _e tees_ in his country, and he purchased several of
them, assuring us they would be greatly valued at Otaheite. As he took
great pains to collect these curiosities, he once met with a figure of
a woman's hand, carved of a yellowish wood, nearly of the natural
size. Upon examination, its fingers were all bent upwards, as they are
in the action of dancing at Otaheite, and its nails were represented
very long, extending at least three-fourths of an inch beyond the
fingers end. The wood of which it was made was the rare perfume wood
of Otaheite, with the chips of which they communicate fragrance to
their oils. We had neither seen this wood growing, nor observed the
custom of wearing long nails at this island, and therefore were at a
loss to conceive how this piece of well-executed carving could be met
with there. Mahine afterwards presented this piece to my father, who
in his turn made a present of it to the British Museum."--G.F.
[4] "The most diligent enquiries on our part, have not been sufficient
to throw clear light on the surprising objects which struck our eyes
in this island. We may, however, attempt to account for these gigantic
monuments, of which great numbers exist in every part; for as they are
so disproportionate to the present strength of the nation, it is most
reasonable to look upon them as the remains of better times. The
nearest calculation we could make, never brought the number of
inhabitants in this island beyond seven hundred, who, destitute of
tools, of shelter and clothing, are obliged to spend all their time in
providing food to support their precarious existence. It is obvious
that they are too much occupied with their wants, to think of forming
statues, which would cost them ages to finish, and require their
united strength to erect. Accordingly, we did not see a single
instrument among them in all our excursions, which could have been of
the least use in masonry or sculpture. We neither met with any
quarries, where they had recently dug the materials, nor with
unfinished statues, which we might have considered as the work of the
present race. It is therefore probable, that these people were
formerly more numerous, more opulent and happy, when they could spare
sufficient time, to flatter the vanity of their princes, by
perpetuating their names by lasting monuments. The remains of
plantations found on the summits of the hub, give strength and support
to this conjecture. It is not in our power to determine by what
various accidents a nation so flourishing, could be reduced in number,
and degraded to its present indigence. But we are well convinced that
many causes may produce this effect, and that the devastation which a
volcano might make, is alone sufficient to heap a load of miseries on
a people confined to so small a space. In fact, this island, which may
perhaps, in remote ages, have been produced by a volcano, since all
its minerals are merely volcanic, has at least in all likelihood been
destroyed by its fire. All kinds of trees and plants, all-domestic
animals, nay a great part of the nation itself, may have perished in
the dreadful convulsion of nature: Hunger and misery must have been
but too powerful enemies to those who escaped the fire. We cannot well
account for these little carved images which we saw among the natives,
and the representation of a dancing woman's hand, which are made of a
kind of wood at present not to be met with upon the island. The only
idea which offers itself is, that they were made long ago, and have
been saved by accident or predilection, at the general catastrophe
which seems to have happened. In numberless circumstances the people
agree with the tribes who inhabit New Zealand, the Friendly and the
Society Islands, and who seem to have had one common origin with them.
Their features are very similar, so that the general character may
easily be distinguished. Their colour a yellowish brown, most like the
hue of the New Zealanders; their art of puncturing, the use of the
mulberry-bark for clothing, the predilection for red paint and red
dresses, the shape and workmanship of their clubs, the mode of
dressing their victuals, all form a strong resemblance to the natives
of these islands. We may add, the simplicity of their languages, that
of Easter Island being a dialect, which, in many respects, resembles
that of New Zealand, especially in the harshness of pronunciation and
the use of gutturals, and yet, in other instances, partakes of that of
Otaheite. The monarchical government likewise strengthens the affinity
between the Easter Islanders and the tropical tribes, its prerogatives
being only varied according to the different degrees of fertility of
the islands, and the opulence or luxury of the people. The statues,
which are erected in honour of their kings, have a great affinity to
the wooden figures called Tea, on the chief's marais or burying-
places, at Otaheite; but we could not possibly consider them as idols.
The disposition of these people is far from being warlike; their
numbers are too inconsiderable and their poverty too general, to
create civil disturbances amongst them. It is equally improbable that
they have foreign wars, since hitherto we know of no island near
enough to admit of an interview between the inhabitants; neither could
we obtain any intelligence from those of Easter Island upon the
subject. This being premised, it is extraordinary that they should
have different kinds of offensive weapons, and especially such as
resemble those of the New Zealanders; and we must add this
circumstance to several others which are inexplicable to us. Upon the
whole, supposing Easter Island to have undergone a late misfortune
from volcanic fires, its inhabitants are more to be pitied than any
less civilized society, being acquainted with a number of
conveniences, comforts, and luxuries of life, which they formerly
possessed, and of which the remembrance must embitter the loss."--G.P.
Forster the father is decided in opinion, as to the revolution that
has undoubtedly occurred in this island, being occasioned by a volcano
and earthquake, and gives a very curious account of a notion prevalent
amongst the Society Isles, and forming indeed part of their
mythological creed, which, if to be credited, affords support to it.
The subject altogether is of a most interesting and important nature,
but cannot possibly be investigated or even specified in an adequate
manner in this place. We hope to do it justice hereafter.--E.
SECTION IX.
_The Passage from Easter Island to the Marquesas Islands. Transactions
and Incidents which happened while the Ship lay in Madre de Dios, or
Resolution Bay, in the Island of St Christina._
After leaving Easter Island, I steered N.W. by N. and N.N.W., with a fine
easterly gale, intending to touch at the Marquesas, if I met with nothing
before I got there. We had not been long at sea, before the bilious
disorder made another attack upon me, but not so violent as the former. I
believe this second visit was owing to exposing and fatiguing myself too
much at Easter Island.
On the 22d, being in the latitude of 19 deg. 20' S., longitude 114 deg. 49' W.,
steered N.W. Since leaving Easter Island, the variation had not been more
than 3 deg. 4', nor less than 2 deg. 32' E.; but on the 26th, at six a.m., in
latitude 15 deg. 7' S., longitude 119 deg. 45' W., it was no more than 1 deg. 1' E.;
after which it began to increase.
On the 29th, being in the latitude of 10 deg. 20', longitude 123 deg. 58' W.,
altered the course to W.N.W., and the next day to west, being then in
latitude 9 deg. 24', which I judged to be the parallel of Marquesas; where, as
I have before observed, I intended to touch, in order to settle their
situation, which I find different in different charts. Having now a steady
settled trade-wind, and pleasant weather, I ordered the forge to be set up,
to repair and make various necessary articles in the iron way; and the
caulkers had already been some time at work caulking the decks, weather-
works, &c.
As we advanced to the west, we found the variation to increase but slowly;
for, on the 3d of April, it was only 4 deg. 40' E., being then in the latitude
of 9 deg. 32', longitude 132 deg. 45', by observation made at the same time.
I continued to steer to the west till the 6th, at four in the afternoon, at
which time, being in the latitude of 9 deg. 20', longitude 138 deg. 14' W., we
discovered an island, bearing west by south, distant about nine leagues.
Two hours after we saw another, bearing S.W. by S., which appeared more
extensive than the former. I hauled up for this island, and ran under an
easy sail all night, having squally unsettled rainy weather, which is not
very uncommon in this sea, when near high land. At six o'clock the next
morning, the first island bore N.W., the second S.W. 1/2 W., and a third W.
I gave orders to steer for the separation between the two last; and soon
after, a fourth was seen, still more to the west. By this time, we were
well assured that these were the Marquesas, discovered by Mendana in 1595.
The first isle was a new discovery, which I named Hood's Island, after the
young gentleman who first saw it, the second was that of Saint Pedro, the
third La Dominica, and the fourth St Christina. We ranged the S.E..coast of
La Dominica, without seeing the least signs of anchorage, till we came to
the channel that divides it from St Christina, through which we passed,
hauled over for the last-mentioned island, and ran along the coast to the
S.W. in search of Mendana's Port. We passed several coves in which there
seemed to be anchorage; but a great surf broke on all the shores. Some
canoes put off from these places, and followed us down the coast.
At length, having come before the port we were in search of, we attempted
to turn into it, the wind being right out; but as it blew in violent
squalls from this high land, one of these took us just after we had put in
stays, payed the ship off again, and before she wore round, she was within
a few yards of being driven against the rocks to leeward. This obliged us
to stand out to sea, and to make a stretch to windward; after which we
stood in again, and without attempting to turn, anchored in the entrance of
the bay in thirty-four fathoms water, a fine sandy bottom. This was no
sooner done, than about thirty or forty of the natives came off to us in
ten or twelve canoes; but it required some address to get them alongside.
At last a hatchet, and some spike-nails, induced the people in one canoe to
come under the quarter-gallery; after which, all the others put alongside,
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