We advanced but little each day. Since our arrival on the coast of New Guinea, we had pretty regularly a light breeze from east to N. E. which began about two or three o’clock in the afternoon, and lasted till about midnight; this breeze was succeeded with a longer or shorter interval of calm, which was followed by the land-breeze, varying from S. W. to S. S. W. and that terminated also towards noon, in two or three hours calm. The 15th, in the morning, we again saw the westmost of the two islands we had seen the preceding evening. We discovered at the same time other land, which seemed to us to be islands, extending from S. E. to W. S. W. very low, over which, in a distant point of view, we perceived the high mountains of the continent. The highest, which we set at eight o’clock in the morning, bearing S. S. E. by compass, detached from the others, we called the Giant of Moulineau, and we gave the name of la Nymphe Alice to the westmost of the low islands, to the N. W. of Moulineau. At ten in the morning we fell into a race of a tide, where the current seemed to carry us with violence to N. and N. N. E. It was so violent, that till noon it prevented our steering; and as it carried us much into the offing, it became impossible for us to fix a positive judgment of its true direction. The water, in the first tide-line, was covered with the trunks of drift trees, sundry fruits and rock-weeds; it was at the same time so agitated, that we dreaded being on a bank; but sounding, we had no bottom at 100 fathom. This race of a tide seems to indicate either a great river in the continent, or a passage which would here divide New Guinea; a passage whose entrance would be almost north and south. According to two distances, between the sun and moon, observed with an octant, by the chevalier du Bouchage and M. Verron, our longitude, the 15th at noon, was 136° 16′ 30″ east of Paris. |Observations compared with the reckoning.| My reckoning continued from the determined longitude of Port Praslin; differed from it 2° 47′. We observed the same day 1° 17′ south latitude.
The 16th and 17th it was almost calm; the little wind that did blow, was variable. The 16th, we did not see the land till seven in the morning; and then only from the mast-head, extremely high and rugged. We lost all that day in waiting for the Etoile, who, overcome by the current, could not keep her course; and the 17th, as she was very far from us, I was obliged to bear down to join her; but this we did not accomplish, till the approach of night, which proved very stormy, with a deluge of rain and frightful thunder. The six following days were all as unpropitious to us; we had rain and calms; and the little wind that did blow was right a-head. It is impossible to form an idea of this, without being in the situation we were then in. The 17th, in the afternoon, we had seen from S. by W. ½ W. to S. W. ½ W. by compass, at about sixteen leagues distance, a high coast, which we did not lose sight of till night came on. The 18th, at nine in the morning, we discovered a high island, bearing S. W. by W. distance about twelve leagues: we saw it again the next day; and at noon it bore from S. S. W. to S. W. at the distance of 15 or 20 leagues. During these three last days, the currents gave us ten leagues northing: we could not determine what they had helped us in longitude.
We cross the Equator.
The 20th we crossed the line, for the second time the voyage. The currents continued to set us from the land; and we saw nothing of it the 20th or 21st, although we had kept on those tacks by which we approached it most. It became, however, necessary to make the coast, and to range along it, near enough, so as not to commit any dangerous error, which might make us miss the passage into the Indian Sea, and carry us into one of the gulphs of Gilolo. The 22d, at break of day, we had sight of a higher coast than any part of New Guinea that we had yet seen. We steered for it, and at noon we set it, when it bore from S. by E. ½ E. to S. W. where it did not seem to terminate. We passed the line for the third time. |Cross the line again.| The land ran W. N. W. and we approached it, being determined not to quit it any more till we arrived at its extremity, which geographers call Cape Mabo. In the night we doubled a point, on the other side of which the land, still very high, trenched away W. by S. and W. S. W. The 23d at noon, we saw an extent of coast, of about twenty leagues; the westmost part of which bore from us S. W. thirteen or fourteen leagues. We were much nearer two low islands, covered with wood, distant from each other about four leagues. |Unsuccessful attempt on shore.| We stood within about half a league; and whilst we waited for the Etoile, who was a great distance from us, I sent the chevalier de Suzannet, with two of our boats armed, to the northermost of the two islands. We thought we saw some habitations there, and were in hopes of getting some refreshments. A bank, which lies the length of the island, and extends even pretty far to the eastward, obliged the boats to take a large circuit to double it. The chevalier de Suzannet found neither dwellings, inhabitants, nor refreshments. What had seemed to us at a distance to form a village, was nothing but a heap of rocks, undermined and hollowed into caverns by the sea. The trees that covered the island, bore no fruits proper to be eaten by man. We buried an inscription here. The boats did not return on board till ten o’clock at night, when the Etoile had joined us. The constant sight of the land shewed us that the currents set here to the N. W.
Continuation of New Guinea.
After hoisting in our boats, we strove to keep the shore on board, as well as the winds, which were constantly at S. and S. S. W. would permit us. We were obliged to make several boards, with an intent to pass to windward of a large island, which we had seen at sun-set, bearing W. and W. by N. The dawn of day surprised us, still to leeward of this island. Its eastern side, which may be about five leagues long, runs nearly N. and S. and off the south point lies a low island of small extent. Between it and the coast of New Guinea, which runs here nearly S. W. by W. there appeared a large passage, the entrance of which, of about eight leagues, lay N. E. and S. W. The wind blew out of it, and the tide set to the N. W. it was not possible to gain in turning to windward against wind and sea; but I strove to do it till nine in the morning. I saw with concern that it was fruitless, and resolved to bear away, in order to range the northern side of the island, abandoning with regret a passage, which I thought a fine one, to extricate me out of this everlasting chain of islands.
Hidden danger.
We had two successive alarms this morning. The first time they called from aloft, that they saw a long range of breakers a-head, and we immediately got the other tacks on board. These breakers, at length, more attentively examined, turned out to be the ripling of a violent tide, and we returned to our former course. An hour after, several persons called from the forecastle, that they saw the bottom under us; the affair was pressing; but the alarm was fortunately as short as it had been sudden. We should even have thought it false, if the Etoile, who was in our wake, had not perceived the same shoal for near two minutes. It appeared to them a coral-bank. Almost north and south of this bank, which may have still less water in some places, there is a sandy creek, in which are built some huts, surrounded with cocoa-trees. This mark may so much the better serve for a direction, as hitherto we had not seen any traces of habitations on this coast. At one o’clock in the afternoon, we doubled the N. E. point of the great island; which from thence extended W. and W. by S. near 20 leagues. We were obliged to hug our wind to coast it; and it was not long ere we perceived other islands, bearing W. and W. by N. We saw one at sun-set, which bore even N. E. by N. to which there joined a ledge, which seemed to extend as far as N. by W. thus were we once more hemmed in.
Loss of the master of the ship.
This day we lost our first master, called Denys, who died of the scurvy. He was a native of St. Malo’s, and aged about fifty years; most of them spent in the king’s service. The sentiments of honour, and extensive knowledge, that distinguished him in his important charge, caused him to be universally regretted among us. Forty-five other persons were afflicted with the scurvy; lemonade and wine only suspended its fatal progress.