Remarks on a passage from the river Balise in the bay of Honduras, to Merida

by Lieutenant James Cook

LONDON:

Printed for C. Parker, the Upper Part of New Bond

Street. MDCCLXIX.

REMARKS, &c.

The first part of this passage from the road of Baleise to Baccalar, is entirely by water; first coast-ways to the entrance of the Rio Hondo, from thence through an arm of that river, that leads to three small Lagoons, till you arrive at the lake of Baccalar, on whose banks the town and castle of St. Philips is situated. The distance from Baleise to the entrance of the Rio Hondo, is near thirty leagues, and in sailing has much the appearance of a straight or broad river, from the number of small island or quays, (as they are there called) that lay at about five or six leagues distance from the main, and parallel with it; both the islands and main are very flat, the former of which are for the most part covered with the Mangrove and palmeta trees; ’tis rare to see a beach, on either the main or the quays, for the Mangrove; the course up is about the N.N.W. and in general very shoaly, so much so at many places, that the Flatts which (the baymen use to carry their logwood) of about four or five feet draught of water often ground, and in some particular places, raise the mud for a mile together. In short, the navigation on this part of the coast, from Baleise to the Rio Hondo, is as much a pilot’s water for those boats, as the Thames is for ships from London to the Nore; the quays abound with Goannas, of which we shot several, going ashore for that purpose, and many Allegators lurk in the shoal water under the Mangrove bushes; we were accompanied by a master of a merchant ship (a lieutenant in the navy) in his long boat, partly out of compliment, and partly out of curiosity, to see the country and Baccalar; myself going into the Rio Hondo, with one Maud, one of the most considerable bay merchants, in one of his Flatts, which boats have a tolerable good cabbin, and are schooner rigg’d. The entrance of the Rio Hondo is narrow, not more than a hundred yards over, or a half cables length, and is very deep, as from its name Hondo, signifying the same in the Spanish. About a quarter of a mile from the river’s mouth, and open to the sea, on the north shore, is a look out, which is generally kept by a sergeant’s, but sometimes a corporal’s guard, which is weekly relieved from the garrison at Baccalar, from which, thro’ the woods, it is distant only about five Spanish leagues, and from hence notice is given of whatever comes into the river to the commandant; this is called the lower look out. I must not here omit observing, how much it is the interest of the baymen (and which indeed they never fail to avail themselves of) to be on good terms with the guards of these outposts; this my friend the merchant did, by making the sergeant and his guard very drunk, that he not only told him where they had discovered a good spot of logwood, but am persuaded, had he discovered a mine as rich as Potosi, he would have made no scruple of informing him of it; the officer of these commands, which is generally a sergeant, is besides this scene of jollitry, often complimented with a piece of strip’d cotton, or some such light stuff, to make him a shirt, waistcoat or trowsers, or perhaps a pair of European shoes for his wife. These little presents the commandant of Baccalar is not totally insensible of, and is often mean enough to be very jealous of, as it in a manner affects him, who is both commander and clothier; this Mr. Maud told me was one of the principal reasons of the late disturbances in the bay; the commandant of Baccalar being offended at this generosity of the English, hurting his priviledge so much, as to make him persuade the late governor of the province, that it had never been customary for the English to cut wood in the Rio Hondo, and in doing which they had gone beyond the limits of the treaty of Paris.

Tho’ the baymen consider their right by that treaty, from Cape Catouch to Cape Honduras; this was redressed by virtue of an order from the court of Spain, in favour of the cutters, in consequence of a remonstrance of our ministry in 1764, the duplicate of which order, together with Sir William’s letter, I was encharged with.

In sailing from this to the next look out, you open a fine Lagoon on the south side of the river, about a league and a half from the lower look out; its called by the baymen the four mile Lagoon, but by the Spaniards the Zaho Mal; its of an oval form, about half a league in its shortest breadth, and pretty deep; in this Lagoon our companion, the master of the merchantman, lost his long boat, oversetting in a squall, in turning out of the Lagoon, to get into the river, where we had, to avoid the insects, musquetoes, &c. anchored for the night; the river here abouts is so narrow, as scarce to afford room for the boom of the mainsail to gibe; they have a custom when they stop in the river on any occasion, to bush the Flatt, as they term it, which is no more than to luff round and drive her bowsprit and entangle it in the bush, which sides the Flatt, the stream being very weak.

The upper look out is from the river’s mouth, about four Spanish leagues, and is situated at the entrance of a small creek (almost hid by the Mangroves) on the north shore of the river that opens to the passage to Baccalar; the course up the river to this place is about N. S. W. here also is a sergeant’s guard; it was at this place the commandant of Baccalar came in his Parriagua, to carry me up, having advice from the lower look out of my arrival in the river.—Here, on my coming on shore, I was saluted with four patereroes, brought seemingly on purpose, the guard in every respect like the lower lookout.—We were prevented the pleasure of returning this salute, by the loss of our long boat, which the master had equipped with swivels for the purpose, as we were apprized of these compliments. This Creek is called the Cheeque, where, after the ceremony of signing vouchers for the commandants having admitted us into the river, &c. and a repast of chocolate, we all imbark’d on board his Parriagua for Baccalar. The passage now becomes very intricate, through a very narrow channel, and rapid stream, that often throws the boat into the bushes. At the extremity of this narrow rivulet is a corporal’s guard, open to the first of the three beforementioned Lagoons; the passages between which are so very difficult, that none but a well acquainted person could navigate one of those kind of boats of five or six inches draught to Baccalar; but I observed that the general course was about N.N.E. and the distance six or seven leagues. We arrived at Baccalar after seven or eight hours passage, about ten at night, during which nothing material happen’d, unless our being disturb’d by an Allegator; which our boat in its passage had awaked, as it lay on the water: our boat was frequently trackt by hand, thro’ many of the channels, being very narrow and shoaly.