As to currents it did not appear that they were at all considerable, till we came within a little distance of the meridian of Madagascar; for, after we had made 52° of longitude from Java Head, we found, by observation, that our error in longitude was only two degrees, and it was the same when we had made only nineteen. This error might be owing partly to a current setting to the westward, partly to our not making proper allowances for the setting of the sea before which we run, and perhaps to an error in the assumed longitude of Java Head. If that longitude is erroneous, the error must be imputed to the imperfection of the charts of which I made use in reducing the longitude from Batavia to that place, for there can be no doubt but that the longitude of Batavia is well determined. After we had passed the longitude of 307°, the effects of the westerly currents began to be considerable; for in three days, our error in longitude was 1° 5ʹ: the velocity of the current kept increasing, as we proceeded to the westward, in so much that, for five days successively after we made the land, we were driven to the S. W. or S. W. by W., not less than twenty leagues a day; and this continued till we were within sixty or seventy leagues of the Cape, where the current set sometimes one way, and sometimes the other, though inclining rather to the westward.
After the boobies had left us, we saw no more birds till we got nearly abreast of Madagascar, where, in latitude 27-¾° S., we saw an albatross, and after that time we saw them every day in great numbers, with birds of several other sorts, particularly one about as big as a duck, of a very dark brown colour with a yellowish bill. These birds became more numerous as we approached the shore, and as soon as we got into soundings, we saw gannets, which we continued to see as long as we were upon the bank which stretches off Anguillas to the distance of forty leagues, and extends along the shore to the eastward, from Cape False, according to some charts, one hundred and sixty leagues. The real extent of this bank is not exactly known; it is however useful as a direction to shipping when to haul in, in order to make the land.
While we lay here, the Houghton Indiaman sailed for England, who, during her stay in India, lost by sickness between thirty and forty men; and when she left the Cape had many in a helpless condition with the scurvy. Other ships suffered in the same proportion, who had been little more than twelve months absent from England; our sufferings therefore were comparatively light, considering that we had been absent near three times as long.
Having lain here to recover the sick, procure stores, and perform several necessary operations upon the ship and rigging, till the 13th of April, I then got all the sick on board, several of whom were still in a dangerous state, and having taken leave of the governor, I unmoored the next morning, and got ready to sail.
The Cape of Good Hope has been so often described, and is so well known in Europe, that I shall mention only a few particulars, which, in other relations, are omitted or misrepresented.
Notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary, no country that we saw during the voyage makes a more forlorn appearance, or is in reality a more sterile desert. The land over the Cape, which constitutes the peninsula formed by Table Bay on the north, and False Bay on the south, consists of high mountains, altogether naked and desolate: the land behind these to the east, which may be considered as the isthmus, is a plain of vast extent, consisting almost wholly of a light kind of sea-sand, which produces nothing but heath, and is utterly incapable of cultivation. All the spots that will admit of improvement, which together bear about the same proportion to the whole as one to one thousand, are laid out in vineyards, orchards, and kitchen-grounds; and most of these little spots lie at a considerable distance from each other. There is also the greatest reason to believe, that, in the interior parts of this country, that which is capable of cultivation does not bear a greater proportion to that which is incorrigibly barren; for the Dutch told us, that they had settlements eight-and-twenty days’ journey up the country, a distance equal to at least nine hundred miles, from which they bring provisions to the Cape by land; so that it seems reasonable to conclude that provisions are not to be had within a less compass. While we were at the Cape, a farmer came thither from the country, at the distance of fifteen days’ journey, and brought his young children with him. We were surprised at this, and asked him, if it would not have been better to have left them with his next neighbour. Neighbour! said the man, I have no neighbour within less than five days’ journey of me. Surely the country must be deplorably barren in which those who settle only to raise provisions for a market, are dispersed at such distances from each other. That the country is every where destitute of wood appears to demonstration; for timber and planks are imported from Batavia, and fuel is almost as dear as food. We saw no tree, except in plantations near the town, that was six feet high; and the stems, that were not thicker than a man’s thumb, had roots as thick as an arm or a leg; such is the influence of the winds here to the disadvantage of vegetation, setting the sterility of the soil out of the question.
The only town which the Dutch have built here is, from its situation, called Cape Town, and consists of about a thousand houses, neatly built of brick, and in general whited on the outside; they are, however, covered only with thatch, for the violence of the south east-winds would render any other roof inconvenient and dangerous. The streets are broad and commodious, all crossing each other at right angles. In the principal street, there is a canal, on each side of which is planted a row of oaks, that have flourished tolerably well, and yield an agreeable shade: there is a canal also in one other part of the town, but the slope of the ground in the course of both is so great, that they are furnished with flood-gates, or locks, at intervals of little more than fifty yards.
A much greater proportion of the inhabitants are Dutch in this place than in Batavia; and as the town is supported principally by entertaining strangers, and supplying them with necessaries, every man, to a certain degree, imitates the manners and customs of the nation with which he is chiefly concerned. The ladies, however, are so faithful to the mode of their country, that not one of them will stir without a chaudpied or chauffet, which is carried by a servant, that it may be ready to place under her feet whenever she shall sit down. This practice is the more remarkable, as very few of these chauffets have fire in them, which indeed the climate renders unnecessary.
The women, in general, are very handsome; they have fine clear skins, and a bloom of colour that indicates a purity of constitution, and high health. They make the best wives in the world, both as mistresses of a family and mothers; and there is scarcely a house that does not swarm with children.
The air is salutary in a high degree; so that those who bring diseases hither from Europe, generally recover perfect health in a short time; but the diseases that are brought from India are not so certainly cured.