The next morning, Captain Phillip sent an officer to wait on the governor with the usual information of whom we were, and our business at that island; but, previous to our anchoring, the master attendant, and some other officers, were on board the Sirius for this very purpose; a ceremony which I believe is seldom neglected. When the officer returned, he brought a very polite reply from the governor, signifying his sincere wishes that the island might be capable of supplying us with such articles as we were in want of, and his assurances that every refreshment the place afforded we should certainly have. Captain Phillip then waited on the governor, accompanied by Major Ross, myself, and several other officers; we were most politely received by him, and he repeated his hope that Teneriffe might afford every refreshment which we had occasion for.
Two days after this visit, the governor, who was then the Marquis Branceforte, and captain-general of the whole of the Canary Islands, notwithstanding he had the day before returned Captain Phillip's visit by an officer, came on board himself, attended by several officers. He remained about an hour on board, and asked many questions respecting the extent of our voyage, and situation of the place where we were going to settle, all of which we explained to him by a general chart of the world. A day or two after this visit, Captain Phillip received an invitation to dine with him, and to bring as many of the principal officers as could be spared from the ships: we waited on him in a party about twelve, and were very hospitably and politely entertained; in short, on the whole, I never met with so polite and so pleasant a man in any foreign port I have ever visited.
During the time we lay in this road, the ships companies, the marines, and convicts, were every day supplied with fresh provisions, of which there appeared to be great abundance on the island: vegetables and fruit were at this time scarce; potatoes, onions, and pumpkins only were to be had, and those but in small quantities. It was Captain Phillip's intention, when we arrived here, to have remained only three or four days, but we found that the watering of the ships was a business which could not be completed in so short a time. During our stay, the watering the ships was our principal consideration, and it was often unavoidable to be employed in this necessary business on board the transports after dark; the watering-place being only contrived to load two boats at a time.
A convict one evening, while every body was employed in clearing a boat of water, contrived to slip into a small boat, and dropt away from the ship unperceived; when he got to some considerable distance off, he then exerted himself at his oars, and got on board a foreign East-India ship, which was lying here, and offered himself as a seaman, but was refused; finding himself disappointed in his hope of getting off in that ship, he judged it necessary, knowing that he would very soon be missed, and search made after him, to quit that ship; he landed to the westward of the town, but on a place where there was a good deal of surf, and where the rocks behind him were inaccessible. The officer of marines on board that transport, having ordered the convicts to be mustered as usual at setting the watch, when they were always put below, found this man was missing, and immediate information of it sent to Captain Phillip; who next morning sent an officer from the Sirius to the governor, requesting his assistance in recovering the deserter; orders were immediately given by the governor for that purpose; in the morning early, boats were dispatched from the ships to row along shore to the westward, to endeavour to recover the boat he had taken away, and a little to the westward of the town, they discovered the boat beating on the rocks; and rowing in to pick her up, they discovered the fellow concealing himself in the cliff of a rock, not having been able to get up the precipice: the officer presented a musket at him, and threatened if he did not immediately come down and get into the boat he would shoot him; the fellow complied, rather than run the hazard of being shot, and was taken on board, punished, and put in irons until we got to sea, when he was liberated in the same manner as the rest.
Before we were ready to put to sea, a party of us had determined to make a short excursion into the country, where we had no doubt of finding its aspect more inviting than the prospect from the ships: for this purpose, we set out one morning very early, accompanied by two British gentlemen, who were merchants resident here, (Mr. Little and Mr. Armstrong,) and who had shown us upon every occasion much civility and attention: those gentlemen had previously provided horses, mules, provisions, &c. We directed our journey to the city of Laguna, which was, and is still called the capital of the island; it is said to be but three or four miles from Santa Cruz; but, whether from the badness of the road, (which is certainly the worst I ever saw in any country,) or the slowness of our progress from that cause, I thought it not less than twice that distance.
When we arrived at Laguna, we walked through many of the streets, which are very regular, and cross each other at right angles; the buildings in general are good, and some of the streets are wider than you generally see them in any of the Spanish or Portuguese towns: there are two parish churches, which have short square steeples, but they appear above all the other buildings; there are also two nunneries, and three or four convents, which are built in a quadrangular form, and have good gardens. In the middle of the town is a conduit, which supplies the inhabitants with water. This city stands on a plain of considerable extent, over part of which we rode, until we came to the foot of the hill from whence the town is supplied with water. We ascended the mountain, and traced the stream to its fountain-head, where we found it issuing from cavities in several parts of the hill, and was conveyed down the declivity in stone-troughs, and received on the plain by troughs of wood, supported about seven or eight feet above the ground by props; through this aqueduct, the water is carried to the center of the city, over a plain, from a distance of four or five miles.
The plain on which Laguna stands, is pleasant and fertile; it was now the height of their harvest, and many people were employed in cutting down the corn, with which this plain seemed to be well planted; there were also many pleasant gardens here, and the soil in general appeared rich. The plain is surrounded by very high mountains, down the sides of which in the rainy season, (for their rains are periodical,) vast torrents of water run, from which cause, I apprehend, its unhealthiness must proceed; for I was told, when remarking how thinly the town of Laguna appeared to be inhabited, that very few, who had it in their power to choose their place of residence, would continue in Laguna. The governor has a palace here, but generally resides at Santa Cruz; and this city, once the residence of persons in great authority, is now quite deserted by people of any distinction. I saw nothing of the lake from which it derives its name, but was given to understand that it was now a very inconsiderable piece of water; probably the accounts given of there having been a large lake here, may have originated from the plain being quite a swamp during the fall of the heavy rains. We returned to Santa Cruz the same evening, very much pleased with our excursion: I regretted much, that the time proposed for settling our business here, would not admit of a visit to the Peak, a mountain so much spoken of by all who have visited this island, for its wonderful height.
The bay of Santa Cruz is defended by many small batteries of four or five guns each, which are placed at certain distances from each other, round the bay, and close to the water-side, which exposes them much to the annoyance of ships; but their principal fort is near the landing place, and is a strong work, but the water being deep very near in, they are all exposed to the attack of ships: on the whole, it is said, they mount near one hundred pieces of cannon.
The town of Santa Cruz is very irregularly built; the principal street is broad, and has more the appearance of a square than a street; the governor's house stands at the upper end; it is but a mean looking building, and has more the appearance of a country inn, than the palace of a governor: at the lower end of the street there is a square monument, commemorating the appearance of Notre Dame to the Guanches, the original inhabitants of the island. The out-skirts of the town have more the appearance of a place deserted and in ruins, than a place of trade, for many of the houses there are either left half built, or have fallen to decay from some other cause, and the stone walls, which were their principal fences, are broken down and in ruins.
On the ninth of June, in the afternoon, the transports having completed their watering, the signal was made from the Sirius for every person of our fleet to repair immediately on board their respective ships, and on the 10th, in the morning, we put to sea with a light air of wind from the land.