A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xii Part 4

The cutter returned the next morning, at six o'clock, having been about five leagues to the westward upon the north sh.o.r.e, and found two anchoring-places. The officer reported, that having been on sh.o.r.e, he had fallen in with some Indians, who had with them a canoe of a construction very different from any that they had seen in the strait before: This vessel consisted of planks sewed together, but all the others were nothing more than the bark of large trees, tied together at the ends, and kept open by short pieces of wood, which were thrust in transversely between the two sides, like the boats which children make of a bean-sh.e.l.l. The people, he said, were the nearest to brutes in their manner and appearance of any he had seen: They were, like some which we had met with before, quite naked, notwithstanding the severity of the weather, except part of a seal-skin which was thrown over their shoulders; and they eat their food, which was such as no other animal but a hog would touch, without any dressing: They had with them a large piece of whale blubber, which stunk intolerably, and one of them tore it to pieces with his teeth, and gave it about to the rest, who devoured it with the voracity of a wild beast. They did not, however, look upon what they saw in the possession of our people with indifference; for while one of them was asleep, they cut off the hinder part of his jacket with a sharp flint which they use as a knife.

About eight o'clock, we made sail, and found little or no current. At noon, Cape Upright bore W.S.W. distant three leagues; and at six in the evening, we anch.o.r.ed in the bay, on the southern sh.o.r.e, which lies about a league to the eastward of the cape, and had fifteen fathom water.

While we were lying here, and taking in wood and water, seven or eight Indians in a canoe came round the western point of the bay, and having landed opposite to the s.h.i.+p, made a fire. We invited them to come on board by all the signs we could devise, but without success; I therefore took the jolly-boat, and went on sh.o.r.e to them. I introduced myself by making them presents of several trifles, with which they seemed to be much gratified, and we became very intimate in a few minutes: After we had spent some time together, I sent away my people, in the boat, for some bread, and remained on sh.o.r.e with them alone. When the boat returned with the bread, I divided it among them, and I remarked with equal pleasure and surprise, that if a bit of the biscuit happened to fall, not one of them offered to touch it till I gave my consent. In the mean time some of my people were cutting a little gra.s.s for two or three sheep which I had still left on board, and at length the Indians perceiving what they were doing, ran immediately, and tearing up all the weeds they could get, carried them to the boat, which in a very short time was filled almost up to her gunwale. I was much gratified by this token of their good-will, and I could perceive that they were pleased with the pleasure that I expressed upon the occasion: They had indeed taken such a fancy to us, that when I returned on board the boat, they all got into their canoe, and followed me. When we came near the s.h.i.+p, however, they stopped, and gazed at her as if held in surprise by a mixture of astonishment and terror; but at last, though not without some difficulty, I prevailed upon four or five of them to venture on board.

As soon as they entered the s.h.i.+p I made them several, presents, and in a very little time they appeared to be perfectly at ease. As I was very desirous to entertain them, one of the mids.h.i.+pmen played upon the violin, and some of my people danced; at this they were so much delighted, and so impatient to show their grat.i.tude, that one of them went over the s.h.i.+p's side into the canoe, and fetched up a seal-skin bag of red paint, and immediately smeared the fiddler's face all over with it: He was very desirous to pay me the same compliment, which, however, I thought fit to decline; but he made many very vigorous efforts to get the better of my modesty, and it was not without some difficulty that I defended myself from receiving the honour he designed me in my own despight. After having diverted and entertained them several hours, I intimated to them that it would be proper for them to go on sh.o.r.e; but their attachment was such, that it was by no means an easy matter to get them out of the s.h.i.+p. Their canoe was not of bark, but of planks sewed together.

On Sunday the 7th, at six o'clock in the morning, we weighed, with a moderate breeze at E.N.E. and fine weather. At seven, we were abreast of Cape Upright; and at noon, it bore E.S.E. distant four leagues: Soon after we tried the current, and found it set to the eastward at the rate of a knot and a half an hour. At three it fell calm, and the current driving us to the eastward very fast, we dropped an anchor, which before it took the ground was in one hundred and twenty fathom.

This day, and not before, the Tamar's boat returned from the westward: She had been within two or three leagues of Cape Pillar, and had found several very good anchoring-places on the south sh.o.r.e.

At one o'clock the next morning, having a fresh gale at west, we weighed, notwithstanding the weather was thick, and made sail; at eleven it blew very hard, with violent rain and a great sea, and as we perceived that we rather lost than gained ground, we stood in for a bay on the south sh.o.r.e, about four leagues to the westward of Cape Upright, and anch.o.r.ed in twenty fathom: The ground was not good, but in other respects this was one of the best harbours that we had met with in the streight, for it was impossible that any wind should hurt us. There being less wind in the afternoon, and it inclining a little towards the south, we unmoored at two, and at four, the wind having then come round to the S.S.E. and being a moderate breeze, we weighed and steered to the westward: We made about two leagues and a half, but night then coming on, we anch.o.r.ed, not without great difficulty, in a very good bay on the south sh.o.r.e in twenty fathom. As very violent gusts came from the land, we were very near being driven off before we could let go an anchor, and if we had not at last succeeded we must have pa.s.sed a dreadful night in the strait; for it blew a hurricane from the time we came to an anchor till the morning, with violent rain, which was sometimes intermingled with snow.

At six o'clock, the wind being still fresh and squally at S.S.E. we weighed and steered W. by N. along the south sh.o.r.e. At eleven, we were abreast of Cape Pillar, which by compa.s.s is about fourteen leagues W.1/2 N. from Cape Upright. Cape Pillar may be known by a large gap upon the top, and when it bears W.S.W. an island appears off it which has an appearance somewhat like a hay-stack, and about which lie several rocks.

The strait to the eastward of the cape is between seven and eight leagues over; the land on each side is of a moderate height, but it is lowest on the north sh.o.r.e, the south sh.o.r.e being much the boldest, though both are craggy and broken. Westminster Island is nearer to the north than the south sh.o.r.e; and, by the compa.s.s, lies N.E. from Cape Pillar. The land on the north sh.o.r.e, near the west end of the strait, makes in many islands and rocks, upon which the sea breaks in a tremendous manner. The land about Cape Victory is distant from Cape Pillar about ten or eleven leagues, in the direction of N.W. by N. From the cape westward, the coast trends S.S.W.1/2 W. to Cape Deseada, a low point, off which lie innumerable rocks and breakers. About four leagues W.S.W. from Cape Deseada, lie some dangerous rocks, called by Sir John Narborough the Judges, upon which a mountainous surf always breaks with inconceivable fury. Four small islands, called the Islands of Direction, are distant from Cape Pillar about eight leagues, in the direction of N.W. by W. When we were off this cape it was stark calm; but I never saw such a swell as rolled in here, nor such a surge as broke on each sh.o.r.e.

I expected every moment that the wind would spring up from its usual quarter, and that the best which could happen to us would be to be driven many leagues up the streight again. Contrary, however, to all expectation, a fine steady gale sprung up at S. E. to which I spread all the sail that it was possible for the s.h.i.+p to bear, and ran off from this frightful and desolate coast at the rate of nine miles an hour; so that by eight o'clock in the evening we had left it twenty leagues behind us. And now, to make the s.h.i.+p as stiff as possible, I knocked down our after bulk-head, and got two of the boats under the half-deck; I also placed my twelve-oared cutter under the boom; so that we had nothing upon the skids but the jolly-boat; and the alteration which this made in the vessel is inconceivable: For the weight of the boats upon, the skids made her crank, and in a great sea they were also in danger of being lost.

It is probable, that whoever shall read this account of the difficulties and dangers which attended our pa.s.sage through the Streight of Magellan, will conclude, that it ought never to be attempted again; but that all s.h.i.+ps which shall hereafter sail a western course from Europe into the South Seas ought to go round Cape Horn. I, however, who have been twice round Cape Horn, am of a different opinion. I think that at a proper season of the year, not only a single vessel, but a large squadron might pa.s.s the streight in less than three weeks; and I think, to take the proper season, they should be at the eastern entrance some time in the month of December.[33] One great advantage of this pa.s.sage, is the facility with which fish is almost every where to be procured, with wild celery, scurvy-gra.s.s, berries, and many other vegetables in great abundance; for to this I impute the healthiness of my s.h.i.+p's company, not a single man being affected with the scurvy in the slightest degree, nor upon the sick list for any other disorder, notwithstanding the hards.h.i.+p and labour which they endured in the pa.s.sage, which cost us seven weeks and two days, as we entered the streight on Sunday the 17th of February, and quitted it on Tuesday the 9th of April. Wood and water are also to be procured almost at every anchoring-place beyond Freshwater Bay. Our sufferings I impute wholly to our pa.s.sing the streight just as the sun approached the equinox, when, in this high lat.i.tude, the worst weather was to be expected; and indeed the weather we had was dreadful beyond all description.

[Footnote 33: Bougainville gives the same advice as to preferring the pa.s.sage through the streights, from the month of September till the end of March, but at all other periods he recommends to go round Cape Horn.

He was 52 days in going the whole length of the streights, reckoning from Cape Virgin Mary to Cape Pillar, a distance of 342 miles, and he says that 36 hours of fair wind were sufficient to carry him from Port Gallant to the Pacific Ocean. Captain Wallis, we shall see, did not realize this opinion, or the hopes formed on it--he was almost four months in getting through the streights, although he attempted the pa.s.sage at the very time recommended by Byron. On the other hand, Captain Krusenstern doubled the cape in four weeks only, after his leaving St Catharine's Island, which the reader will observe is considerably northward of the river La Plata, "a voyage," says he, "which perhaps was never made in a shorter time." In weathering the cape, he took the advice of Cook, not to approach the land nearer than 30 or 36 miles, by which means he avoided the strong currents which, according to our great navigator's a.s.sertion, seem to lose all their force at that distance.--E.]

SECTION VIII.

_The Run from the Western Entrance of the Streight of Magellan to the Islands of Disappointment._

Having cleared the streight, we pursued our course to the westward, till Friday, April the 26th, when we discovered the island of Ma.s.safuero, bearing W.N.W.1/2 W. distant about sixteen leagues; but as to the northward it was hazy, the island of Don Juan Fernandez was not in sight. During this run, the variation had gradually decreased from 22 to 9 36'. E.

We bore away for Masafuero,[34] and at sun-set, being within about seven leagues of it, we brought-to, and afterwards kept the wind all night. At day-break the next day, we bore away again for the island, at the same time sending an officer, with a boat from each s.h.i.+p, to sound the eastern side of it. About noon, the middle of the island bore W. distant about three miles, and as I saw the boats run along the sh.o.r.e, without being able to land any where for the surf, I bore down to the north part of the island, off which a reef runs for the distance of about two miles, and lay by for them. This island is very high, and the greater part of it is covered with wood; but towards the north end, where I lay, some spots seemed to have been cleared, upon which great numbers of goats were feeding, and they had a green and pleasant appearance. When the boats returned, the officer informed me that he had found a bank, on the east side of the island nearest to the south point, at a considerable distance from the sh.o.r.e, where we might anchor, and opposite to which there was a fine fall of fresh water; but near the north point, he said, he could find no anchorage. The boats brought off a great quant.i.ty of very fine fish, which they had caught with hook and line near the sh.o.r.e; and as soon as we had taken them on board, which was late in the afternoon, we made sail, and worked to windward in the night.

[Footnote 34: "The commodore thought it more advisable to touch at this island than at Juan Fernandez; it being rather more secure than the latter, from any discoveries which the Spaniards might make of our designs; in consequence of which our voyage, and all our farther discoveries; might have been prevented."]

At seven o'clock in the morning, we anch.o.r.ed with the small bower, on the bank which the boats had discovered, in twenty-four fathom, with black sandy ground. The extreme points bore from S. to N.W. and the fall of water bore S.S.W. distant about a mile from the s.h.i.+p's station. This part of the island lies north and south, and is about four miles long: The soundings are very regular, from twenty to fifteen fathom, within two cables' length of the sh.o.r.e. Soon after we were come to an anchor, I sent out the boats to endeavour to get some wood and water, but as I observed the sh.o.r.e to be rocky, and a surf to break with great violence upon it, I ordered all the men to put on cork-jackets, which had been sent with us to be made use of upon such occasions. By the help of these jackets, which not only a.s.sisted the men in swimming, but prevented their being bruised against the rocks, we got off a considerable quant.i.ty of water and wood, which, without such a.s.sistance, we could not have done: There was, however, another species of danger here, against which cork-jackets afforded no defence, for the sea abounded with sharks of an enormous, size, which, when they saw a man in the water, would dart into the very surf to seize him: Our people, however, happily escaped them, though they were many times very near: One of them, which was upwards of twenty feet-long, came close to one of the boats that was watering, and having seized a large seal, instantly devoured it at one mouthful; and I myself saw another of nearly the same size do the same thing under the s.h.i.+p's stern. Our people killed and sent off several of the goats, which we thought as good as the best venison in England; and I observed, that one of them appeared to have been caught and marked, its right ear being slit in a manner that could not have happened by accident.[35] We had also fish in such plenty, that one boat would, with hooks and lines, catch, in a few hours, as much as would serve a large s.h.i.+p's company two days: They were of various sorts, all excellent in their kind, and many of them weighed from twenty to thirty pounds.

[Footnote 35: The other account says the same of two of the goats caught here, and conjectures, as no traces of inhabitants were then to be discovered in the island, that "some solitary Selkirk had dwelt there, who, like his namesake at Juan Fernandez, when he caught more than he wanted, marked them and let them go." Captain Carteret gives some particulars respecting this island, to which the reader is referred.--E.]

This evening, the surf running very high, the gunner and one of the seamen who were on sh.o.r.e with the waterers, were afraid to venture off, and the boat therefore, when she came on board the last time, left them behind her.

The next day we found a more convenient watering-place about a mile and a half to the northward of the s.h.i.+p, and about the middle-way between the north and south points of the island, there being at this place less surf than where the boats first went on sh.o.r.e. The tide here set twelve hours to the northward, and twelve to the southward, which we found very convenient, for as the wind was southerly, with a great swell, the boats could not otherwise have got on board with their water. We got off ten tons of water from the new watering-place this day, and in the afternoon I sent a boat to fetch off the gunner and seaman, who had been left on sh.o.r.e at the old watering-place the night before; but the surf was still so great, that the seaman, who could not swim, was afraid to venture: He was therefore again, left behind, and the gunner stayed with him.

As soon as this was reported to me, I sent another boat to inform them, that as, by the appearances of the weather, there was reason to believe it would soon blow hard, I was afraid I might be driven off the bank in the night, the consequence of which would be that they must be left behind upon the island. When the boat came to the surf, the people on board delivered my message, upon which the gunner swam through the surf, and got on board her; but the seaman, though he had a cork-jacket on, said he was sure he should be drowned if he attempted to get off to the boat, and that, chusing rather to die a natural death, he was determined at all events to remain upon the island: He then took an affectionate leave of the people, wis.h.i.+ng them all happiness, and the people on board returned his good wishes. One of the mids.h.i.+pmen, however, just as the boat was about to return, took the end of a rope in his hand, jumped into the sea, and swam through the surf to the beach, where poor John still continued ruminating upon his situation, in a dejected att.i.tude, and with a most disconsolate length of countenance. The mids.h.i.+pman began to expostulate with him upon the strange resolution he had taken, and in the mean time having made a running knot in his rope, he dexterously contrived to throw it round his body, calling out to his companions in the boat, who had hold of the other end of it, to haul away; they instantly took the hint, and the poor seceder was very soon dragged through the surf into the boat: He had, however, swallowed so great a quant.i.ty of water that he was to all appearance dead, but, being held up by the heels, he soon recovered his speech and motion, and was perfectly well the next day. In the evening I removed Captain Mouat from the Tamar, and appointed him captain of the Dolphin under me; Mr c.u.mming, my first lieutenant, I appointed captain of the Tamar, taking Mr Carteret, her first lieutenant, on board in his room, and gave Mr Kendal, one of the mates of the Dolphin, a commission as second lieutenant of the Tamar.

On the 30th, at seven o'clock in the morning, we weighed, and steered, to the northward, along the east and northeast side of the island, but could find no anchoring-place; we bore away, therefore, with a fresh gale at S.E. and hazy weather, and at noon, the middle of the island was distant eight leagues, in the direction of S.S.E. I continued to steer N.3W. the next day, and at noon on the 2d of May I changed my course, and steered W. intending, if possible, to make the land, which is called Davis's Land in the charts, and is laid down in lat.i.tude 2730'S. and about 500 leagues west of Copiapo in Chili; but on the 9th, finding little prospect of getting to the westward, in the lat.i.tude which I at first proposed, being then in lat.i.tude 2646'S. longitude 9445'W. and having a great run to make, I determined to steer a north-west course till I got the true trade-wind, and then to stand to the westward till I should fall in with Solomon's Islands, if any such there were, or make some new discovery.

On the 10th we saw several dolphins and bonnettas about the s.h.i.+p, and the next day some straggling birds, which were brown on the back and the upper part of their wings, and white on the rest of the body, with a short beak, and a short pointed tail. The variation was now decreased to 4 43' E. our lat.i.tude was 24 30' S. our longitude 97 45' W.

On the 14th we saw several grampuses, and more of the birds which have just been described, so that, imagining we might be near some land, we kept a good look-out, but saw nothing. In lat.i.tude 23 2' S. longitude 101 28' W. the variation, by azimuth, was 3 20' E.

On the morning of the 16th we saw two very remarkable birds; they flew very high, were as large as geese, and all over as white as snow, except their legs, which were black: I now began to imagine that I had pa.s.sed some land, or islands, which lay to the southward of us, for the last night we observed, that, although we had generally a great swell from that quarter, the water became quite smooth for a few hours, after which the swell returned.

On the 22d, being in lat.i.tude 20 52' S. longitude 115 38' W. with a faint breeze at E.S.E. we had so great a swell from the southward, that we were in perpetual danger of our masts rolling over the s.h.i.+p's side, so that I was obliged to haul more to the northward, as well to ease the s.h.i.+p, as in hopes of getting the true trade-wind, which we had not yet; and now, to my great concern, some of my best men began to complain of the scurvy. This day, for the first time, we caught two bonnettas; we also saw several tropic birds about the s.h.i.+p, and observed that they were larger than any we had seen before; their whole plumage was white, and they had two long feathers in the tail. The variation now had changed its direction, and was 19' W.

On the 26th we saw two large birds about the s.h.i.+p, which were all black, except the neck and the beak, which were white; they had long wings, and long feathers in their tails, yet we observed that they flew heavily, and therefore imagined that they were of a species which did not usually fly far from the sh.o.r.e. I had flattered myself, that, before we had run six degrees to the northward of Masafuero, we should have found a settled trade-wind to the S.E. but the winds still continued to the north, though we had a mountainous swell, from the S.W. Our lat.i.tude was now 16 55' S. longitude 127 55' W. and here the needle, at this time, had no variation.

On the 28th we saw two fine large birds about the s.h.i.+p, one of which was brown and white, and the other black and white; they wanted much to settle upon the yards, but the working of the s.h.i.+p frighted them.

On the 31st the wind s.h.i.+fted from N. by W. to N.W. by W. and the number of birds that were now about the s.h.i.+p was very great; from these circ.u.mstances, and our having lost the great south-west swell, I imagined some land to be near, and we looked out for it with great diligence, for our people began now to fall down with the scurvy very fast.

We saw no land, however, till one o'clock in the morning of Friday the 7th of June, when we were in lat.i.tude 14 5' S. longitude 144 58' W.

and observed the variation to be 4 30' E. After making the land, I hauled upon a wind under an easy sail till the morning, and then a low small island bore from us W.S.W. at the distance of about two leagues.

In a very short time we saw another island to windward of us, bearing E.S.E. distant between three and four leagues: This appeared to be much larger than that which we first discovered, and we must have pa.s.sed very near it in the night.

I stood for the small island, which, as we drew near it, had a most beautiful appearance; it was surrounded by a beach of the finest white sand, and within, it was covered with tall trees, which extended their shade to a great distance, and formed the most delightful groves that can be imagined, without underwood. We judged this island to be about five miles in circ.u.mference, and from each end of it we saw a spit running out into the sea, upon which the surge broke with great fury; there was also a great surf all round it. We soon perceived that it was inhabited, for many of the natives appeared upon the beach, with spears in their hands that were at least sixteen feet long. They presently made several large fires, which we supposed to be a signal; for we immediately perceived several fires upon the larger island that was to windward of us, by which we knew that also to be inhabited. I sent the boat with an officer to look for an anchoring-place, who, to our great regret and disappointment, returned with an account that he had been all round the island, and that no bottom could be found within less than a cable's length of the sh.o.r.e, which was surrounded close to the beach with a steep coral rock.[36] The scurvy by this time had made dreadful havock among us, many of my best men being now confined to their hammocks; the poor wretches who were able to crawl upon the deck, stood gazing at this little paradise, which Nature had forbidden them to enter, with sensations which cannot easily be conceived; they saw cocoa-nuts in great abundance, the milk of which is, perhaps, the most powerful antis...o...b..tic in the world: They had reason to suppose that there were limes, bananas, and other fruits which are generally found between the tropics; and, to increase their mortification, they saw the sh.e.l.ls of many turtle scattered about the sh.o.r.e. When I knew the soundings; I could not forbear standing close round the island with the s.h.i.+p, though I also knew it was impossible to procure any of the refreshments which it produced. The natives ran along the sh.o.r.e abreast of the s.h.i.+p, shouting and dancing; they also frequently brandished their long spears, and then threw themselves backward, and lay a few minutes motionless, as if they had been dead: This we understood as a menace that they would kill us, if we ventured to go on sh.o.r.e. As we were sailing along the coast, we took notice that in one place the natives had fixed upright in the sand two spears, to the top of which they had fastened several things that fluttered in the air, and that some of them were every moment kneeling down before them, as we supposed invoking the a.s.sistance of some invisible being to defend them against us. While I was thus circ.u.mnavigating the island with the s.h.i.+p, I sent the boats out again to sound, and when they came near the sh.o.r.e, the Indians set up one of the most hideous yells I had ever heard, pointing at the same time to their spears, and poising in their hands large stones which they took up from the beach. Our men on the contrary made all the signs of amity and good-will that they could devise, and at the same time threw them bread and many other things, none of which they vouchsafed so much as to touch, but with great expedition hauled five or six large canoes, which we saw lying upon the beach, up into the wood.

When this was done, they waded into the water, and seemed to watch for an opportunity of laying hold of the boat, that they might drag her on sh.o.r.e: The people on board her, apprehending that this was their design, and that if they got them on sh.o.r.e they would certainly put them to death, were very impatient to be before-hand with them, and would fain have fired upon them; but the officer on board, having no permission from me to commit any hostilities, restrained them. I should indeed have thought myself at liberty to have obtained by force the refreshments, for want of which our people were dying, if it had been possible to have come to an anchor, supposing we could not have made these poor savages our friends; but nothing could justify the taking away their lives for a mere imaginary or intentional injury, without procuring the least advantage to ourselves. They were of a deep copper colour, exceedingly stout and well-limbed, and remarkably nimble and active, for I never saw men run so fast in my life. This island lies in lat.i.tude 14 5'S., longitude 1454'W. from the meridian of London. As the boats reported a second time that there was no anchoring ground about this island, I determined to work up to the other, which was accordingly done all the rest of the day and the following night.

[Footnote 36: "Other objections stood also in our way: for the Indians had surrounded the sh.o.r.e with staves and javelins 16 feet long, with a piece of bone at the end in the form of a harpoon, in their hands, hallooing and shouting in the most hideous manner, at the same time making signs with their hands for us to be gone; always taking care, as the boat sailed along the sh.o.r.e, to move in the same direction and accompany it; and though the men saw some turtle at a distance, they could get at none, as those Indians still kept opposite to them."--"They altogether amounted to about 50 in number, including women and children; and to the south-west we could perceive their huts, under the shade of the most lovely grove we ever saw."]

At six o'clock in the morning of the 8th, we brought-to on the west side of it, at the distance of about three quarters of a mile from the sh.o.r.e, but we had no soundings with one hundred and forty fathom of line. We now perceived several other low islands, or rather peninsulas, most of them being joined one to the other by a neck of land, very narrow, and almost level with the surface of the water, which breaks high over it.

In approaching these islands the cocoa-nut trees are first discovered, as they are higher than any part of the surface. I sent a boat with an officer from each s.h.i.+p to sound the lee-side of these islands for an anchoring-place; and as soon as they left the s.h.i.+p, I saw the Indians run down to the beach in great numbers, armed with long spears and clubs; they kept abreast of the boats as they went sounding along the sh.o.r.e, and used many threatening gestures to prevent their landing; I therefore fired a nine-pound shot from the s.h.i.+p over their heads, upon which they ran into the woods with great precipitation.[37] At ten o'clock the boats returned, but could get no soundings close in with the surf, which broke very high upon the sh.o.r.e. The middle of this cl.u.s.ter of islands lies in lat.i.tude 1410'S., longitude 14452'W.; the variation of the compa.s.s was here 430'E.

At half an hour after ten, we bore away and made sail to the westward, finding it impossible to procure at these islands any refreshment for our sick, whose situation was becoming more deplorable every hour, and I therefore called them the _Islands of Disappointment._

SECTION IX.

_The Discovery of King George's Islands, with a Description of them, and an Account of several Incidents that happened there._

At half an hour after five o'clock in the afternoon of the 9th, we saw land again, bearing W.S.W. at the distance of six or seven leagues; and at seven we brought-to for the night. In the morning, being within three miles of the sh.o.r.e, we discovered it to be a long low island, with a white beach, of a pleasant appearance, full of cocoa-nut and other trees, and surrounded with a rock of red coral. We stood along the north-east side of it, within half a mile of the sh.o.r.e; and the savages, as soon as they saw us, made great fires, as we supposed, to alarm the distant inhabitants of the island, and ran along the beach, abreast of the s.h.i.+p, in great numbers, armed in the same manner as the natives of the Islands of Disappointment. Over the land on this side of the island we could see a large lake of salt water, or lagoon, which appeared to be two or three leagues wide, and to reach within a small distance of the opposite sh.o.r.e. Into this lagoon we saw a small inlet about a league from the south-west point, off which we brought-to. At this place the natives have built a little town, under the shade of a fine grove of cocoa-nut trees. I immediately sent off the boats, with an officer in each, to sound; but they could find no anchorage, the sh.o.r.e being every where as steep as a wall, except at the very mouth of the inlet, which was scarcely a s.h.i.+p's length wide, and there they had thirteen fathom, with a bottom of coral rock. We stood close in with the s.h.i.+ps, and saw hundreds of the savages, ranged in very good order, and standing up to their waists in water; they were all armed in the same manner as those that we had seen at the other islands, and one of them carried a piece of mat fastened to the top of a pole which we imagined was an ensign.

They made a most hideous and incessant noise, and in a short time many large canoes came down the lake to join them. Our boats were still out, and the people on board them made all the signs of friends.h.i.+p that they could invent, upon which some of the canoes came through the inlet and drew near them. We now began to hope that a friendly intercourse might be established; but we soon discovered that the Indians had no other design than to haul the boats on sh.o.r.e: Many of them leaped off the rocks, and swam to them; and one of them got into that which belonged to the Tamar, and in the twinkling of an eye seized a seaman's jacket, and jumping over board with it, never once appeared above water till he was close in sh.o.r.e among his companions. Another of them got hold of a mids.h.i.+pman's hat, but not knowing how to take it off, he pulled it downward instead of lifting it up so that the owner had time to prevent its being taken away, otherwise it would probably have disappeared as suddenly as the jacket. Our men bore all this with much patience, and the Indians seemed to triumph in their impunity.

[Footnote 37: "They were in much greater number than at the other island, and followed us in the same manner, several hundreds of them running along the coast in great disorder."--"They had many canoes, which, on our approaching the sh.o.r.e, they dragged into the woods, and at the same time, the women came with great stones in their hands to a.s.sist the men in preventing our landing."--"We had now 50 sick on board, to whom the land air, the fruit and vegetables, that appeared so beautiful and attractive, would doubtless have afforded immediate relief." It seems very probable, from the conduct of these islanders, and of the others mentioned in the next section, that some former visitants had used them so ill, as to unite them in determined opposition to the entrance of all strangers. Would it be unfair to imagine, from a circ.u.mstance afterwards narrated, that these visitants were Dutch? All the seafaring nations of Europe, alas! are too deeply implicated in the animosities and miseries of the South Sea inhabitants.--E.]

About noon, finding there was no anchorage here, I bore away and steered along the sh.o.r.e to the westermost point of the island: The boats immediately followed us, and kept sounding close to the beach, but could get no ground.

When we came to the westermost point of this island, we saw another, bearing S.W. by W. about four leagues distant. We were at this time about a league beyond the inlet where we had left the natives, but they were not satisfied with having got rid of us quietly; for I now perceived two large double canoes sailing after the s.h.i.+p, with about thirty men in each, all armed after the manner of their country. The boats were a good way to leeward of us, and the canoes pa.s.sing between the s.h.i.+p and the sh.o.r.e, seemed very eagerly to give them chace. Upon this I made the signal for the boats to speak with the canoes, and as soon as they perceived it, they turned, and made towards the Indians, who, seeing this, were seized with a sudden panic, and immediately hauling down their sails, paddled back again at a surprising rate. Our boats however came up with them; but notwithstanding the dreadful surf that broke upon the sh.o.r.e, the canoes pushed through it, and the Indians immediately hauled them up upon the beach. Our boats followed them, and the Indians, dreading an invasion of their coast, prepared to defend it with clubs and stones, upon which our men fired, and killed two or three of them: One of them received three b.a.l.l.s which went quite through his body; yet he afterwards took up a large stone, and died in the action of throwing it against his enemy. This man fell close to our boats, so that the Indians who remained unhurt did not dare to attempt the carrying off his body, which gave us an opportunity to examine it; but they carried off the rest of their dead, and made the best of their way back to their companions at the inlet. Our boats then returned, and brought off the two canoes, which they had pursued. One of them was thirty-two feet long, and the other somewhat less, but they were both of a very curious construction, and must have cost those who made them infinite labour.

They consisted of planks exceedingly well wrought, and in many places adorned with carving; these planks were sewed together, and over every seam there was a stripe of tortoise-sh.e.l.l, very artificially fastened, to keep out the weather: Their bottoms were as sharp as a wedge, and they were very narrow; and therefore two of them were joined laterally together by a couple of strong spars, so that there was a s.p.a.ce of about six or eight feet between them: A mast was hoisted in each of them, and the sail was spread between the masts: The sail, which I preserved, and which is now in my possession, is made of matting, and is as neat a piece of work as ever I saw: their paddles were very curious, and their cordage was as good and as well laid as any in England, though it appeared to be made of the outer covering of the cocoa-nut. When these vessels sail, several men sit upon the spars which hold the canoes together.

As the surf, which broke very high upon the sh.o.r.e, rendered it impossible to procure refreshments for the sick in this part of the island, I hauled the wind, and worked back to the inlet, being determined to try once more what could be done there.

I recovered that station in the afternoon, and immediately sent the boats to sound the inlet again, but they confirmed the account which had been made before, that it afforded no anchorage for a s.h.i.+p. While the boats were absent, I observed a great number of the natives upon the point near the spot where we had left them in the morning, and they seemed to be very busy in loading a great number of large canoes which lay close to the beach. As I thought they might be troublesome, and was unwilling that they should suffer by another unequal contest with our people, I fired a shot over their heads, which produced the effect I intended, for they all disappeared in a moment.

Just before the evening closed in, our boats landed, and got a few cocoa-nuts, which they brought off, and saw none of the inhabitants. In the night, during which we had rain and hard squalls, I stood off and on with the s.h.i.+ps, and at seven o'clock in the morning brought-to off the inlet. I immediately sent the boats on sh.o.r.e in search of refreshments, and made all the men who were not so ill of the scurvy as to be laid up, go in them; I also went on sh.o.r.e myself, and continued there the whole day. We saw many houses or wigwams of the natives, but they were totally deserted, except by the dogs, who kept an incessant howling from the time we came on sh.o.r.e till we returned to the s.h.i.+p: They were low mean hovels, thatched with cocoa-nut branches; but they were most delightfully situated in a fine grove of stately trees, many of which were the cocoa-nut, and many such as we were utterly unacquainted with.

The cocoa-nut trees seem to furnish them with almost all the necessaries of life; particularly food, sails, cordage; timber, and vessels to hold water; so that probably these people always fix their habitations where the trees abound. We observed the sh.o.r.e to be covered with coral, and the sh.e.l.ls of very large pearl oysters; so that I make no doubt but that as profitable a pearl fishery might be established here as any in the world. We saw but little of the people, except at a distance; we could however perceive that the women had a piece of cloth of some kind, probably fabricated of the same stuff as their sail, hanging from the waist as low as the knee; the men were naked.

Our people, in rummaging some of the huts, found the carved head of a rudder, which--had manifestly belonged to a Dutch long-boat, and was very old and worm-eaten. They found also a piece of hammered iron, a piece of bra.s.s, and some small iron tools, which the ancestors of the present inhabitants of this place probably obtained from the Dutch s.h.i.+p to which the long-boat had belonged, all which I brought away with me.

Whether these people found means to cut off the s.h.i.+p, or whether she was lost upon the island, or after she left it, cannot be known; but there is reason to believe that she never returned to Europe, because no account of her voyage, or of any discoveries that she made, is extant.

If the s.h.i.+p sailed from this place in safety, it is not perhaps easy to account for her leaving the rudder of her long-boat behind her: And if she was cut off by the natives, there must be much more considerable remains of her in the island, especially of her iron-work, upon which all Indian nations, who have no metal, set the highest value; we had no opportunities however to examine this matter farther. The hammered-iron, bra.s.s, and iron tools, I brought away with me; but we found a tool exactly in the form of a carpenter's adze, the blade of which was a pearl oyster-sh.e.l.l; possibly this might have been made in imitation of an adze which had belonged to the carpenter of the Dutch s.h.i.+p, for among the tools that I brought away there was one which seemed to be the remains of such an implement, though it was worn away almost to nothing.