They had given to this island, before this unfortunate affair, the name of the Island of Recreation,[3] which is in lat. 16° S. and long. 285°. It is about twelve leagues in compass, with a fertile soil, producing a great number of trees, especially cocoa nuts, palms, and iron-wood. The Dutch conceived that there might be rich mines in the heart of the country, and other valuable things, but were not allowed to search. The natives were of middle size, but robust and active, having long black shining hair, which they anoint with cocoa-nut oil, a practice very common among the Indians. They were painted all over, like the inhabitants of Easter island; the men wearing a kind of net-work round their middles, which they stick up between their legs. The women were entirely covered by a kind of mantles of their own manufacture, the stuff of which to the sight and touch resembled silk;[4] and they wear long strings of pearls about their necks and wrists.
Roggewein thought proper to sail from this island without farther loss of time, and before his departure held a council of his officers, in which he stated his instructions, which were,If no discovery of importance could be made in the latitude and longitude in which they then were, that he should return home. Some of the council were much astonished at this, and remonstrated, That having already gone so far, and met with such encouragement to hope for discoveries of great importance, they thought it would betray a great want of spirit not to proceed. To this Roggewein answered, That they had now been out ten months, having still a long voyage to make to the East Indies; that provisions began to grow scarce, and, above all, that the crews were already so much diminished in number, and the survivors in so weak a condition, that if twenty more were to die or fall sick, there would not be a sufficient number remaining to navigate both ships. The true reason, however, in the opinion of the author of this voyage, was the anxiety to get to the East Indies before the change of the monsoon, in which case they must have remained six months longer in these seas. Some of the officers opposed this motion to the last, earnestly entreating the commodore that he would rather winter at the land mentioned by Ferdinand de Quiros, from which they could not now be more than 150 leagues distant. They insisted that it was wrong to think of going to the East Indies, that being directly contrary to the design of their instructions: And that by continuing in the same western course, they could not fail to fall in with some island, where they might land and procure refreshments, remaining on shore till all their sick men were recovered, and erecting a fort to defend themselves against the natives. If this were complied with, they said they might afterwards return home by an eastern coarse; and, by taking time, might effectually complete the discoveries on which they were sent.
These reasons were listened to with patience and civility, but had not the weight they deserved; and a resolution was formed to continue their coarse for New Britain and New Guinea, and thence to the East Indies, by way of the Moluccas, being in hopes to procure there a supply of provisions and necessaries, together with a reinforcement of seamen, in case they should then be too weak for navigating their ships home to Europe. In consequence of this resolution, an end was put to all hope of visiting the land of Quiros, which the best seamen on board thought might have been easily discovered, called by him and Torres the Islands of Solomon, and reported to be beautiful and fertile, and abounding in gold, silver, precious stones, and spices.[5]
Leaving the island of Recreation, Roggewein steered a coarse towards the N.W. pursuant to the resolution of the council, in order to get into the latitude of New Britain. On the third day, in lat. 12° S. and long. 29° they discovered several islands which appeared very beautiful at a distance, and, on a nearer approach, were seen to be well planted with all sorts of trees, and produced herbs, corn, and roots in great plenty, to which they gave the name of Bowman's Islands, after the captain of the Tienhoven, by whom they were first seen.[6] As soon as they were seen by the natives, they came off in their canoes to the ships, bringing fish, cocoa-nuts, Indian figs, and other refreshments, in return for which the Dutch gave them small mirrors, strings of beads, and other trifles. These islands were very fully peopled, as many thousands of men and women came down to the shore to view the ships, most of the men being armed with bows and arrows. Among the rest, they saw a majestic personage, who, from the peculiar dress he wore, and the honours that were paid him, evidently appeared to be chief or king of these islanders. This person soon afterwards went into a canoe, accompanied by a fair young woman, who sat close by his side, and his canoe was immediately surrounded by a vast number of others, which seemed intended for his guard.
All the inhabitants of these islands were white, differing only from Europeans in being sun-burnt, and they seemed a very harmless good sort of people, of brisk and lively dispositions, behaving to each other with much civility, and shewing no appearance of wildness or savageness in their behaviour. Their bodies were not painted like those of the islanders they had seen hitherto, but very handsomely cloathed from the waist downwards, with a sort of silk fringes very neatly arranged. On their heads they wore hats of a very neat-looking stuff, very large and wide spreading, in order to keep off the sun, and their necks were adorned with collars or garlands of beautiful odoriferous flowers. The islands appeared quite charming, being agreeably diversified with beautiful hills and intermediate vallies. Each family or tribe appeared to have its separate district, and to compose a separate government or community, all the land being regularly laid out into regular and fair plantations, as had formerly been observed at Pasch, or Easter island. In all respects, the natives were the most civilized and best disposed people they had seen in the South Seas. Instead of shewing any terror or apprehension at the arrival of the Dutch, the natives expressed the utmost joy and satisfaction, treating them with the utmost kindness and respect, and manifested the most sincere and deep concern at their departure. Many of the Dutch also felt a similar regret, and would have been well pleased to have made a longer stay in this delightful and plenteous country, among so kind a people, as, by the help of the excellent provisions in great abundance with which these good islands furnished them, all their sick people would have been perfectly recovered in a month. These islands had also one convenience greatly superior to those they had met with before, as there was good anchorage almost every where along their coasts, where they rode in the utmost safety, in from fifteen to twenty fathoms.
So many advantageous circumstances ought to have induced Roggewein and his officers to have remained here longer; but their heads were so full of proceeding for the East Indies, that they were fearful of missing the favourable monsoon, while they afterwards discovered, to their cost, that they were two months too early, instead of two months too late. By this indiscreet step, they sacrificed the health and strength of their crew to such a degree, that they were at length hardly able to navigate their ships, and at one time were on the point of burning one of their ships, that they might be better able to manage the other: All of which inconveniences might have been avoided, had they embraced this opportunity afforded them by Divine Providence, and been contented to remain in a place of safety, plenty, and pleasure, till their sick were recovered, instead of wilfully seeking new dangers which they were so little able to encounter.
Leaving Bowman's islands, and continuing their course towards the N.W. they came next morning in sight of two islands, which they took to be Coccos and Traitor's islands,[7] so called by Schouten, who discovered them. The island of Coccos, at a distance, for Roggewein would not stop to examine it, seemed very high land, and about eight leagues in circuit. The other seemed much lower, composed of a red soil, and destitute of trees. They soon after saw two other islands of large extent, one of which they named Tienhoven,[8] and the other Groninguen; which last many of their officers were of opinion was no island, but the great southern continent they were sent out to discover. The island of Tienhoven appeared a rich and beautiful country, moderately high, its meadows or low lands, by the sea, exceedingly green, and the interior well provided with trees. They coasted along this island for a whole day without reaching its extremity, yet noticed that it extended semi-circularly towards the island of Groninguen, so that those which they took for islands might be contiguous lands, and both of them parts of the Terra Australis incognita.
A great part of the company were for anchoring on this coast, and making a descent, but the officers were so intent on proceeding for India, that they alleged it might be very dangerous to attempt landing, lest any of the men might be cut off, and they should not have enough left to carry on the ships. They continued in their course, therefore, not doubting that they should soon see the coasts of New Britain or New Guinea: But, after sailing many days without seeing any land at all, they began to see the vanity of these calculations, and could not forbear murmuring at their effects, as the scurvy began to cut off three, four, or five of their best hands daily. At this time nothing was to be seen but sick people, struggling with inexpressible pains, or dead carcasses just relieved from their intolerable distress. From these there arose so abominable a stench, that even those who were yet sound often fainted away, unable to endure it. Cries and groans were incessantly heard in all parts of the ships, and the sight of the poor diseased wretches who were still able to crawl about, excited horror and compassion. Some were reduced to such mere skeletons that their skins seemed to cleave to their bones, and these had this consolation, that they gradually consumed away without pain. Others were swelled out to monstrous sizes, and were so tormented with excruciating pain, as to drive them to furious madness. Some were worn away by the dysentery, and others were racked with excruciating rheumatism, while others again dragged their dead limbs after them, having lost feeling through the palsy. To these numerous and complicated diseases of the body, many had superadded distemperature of the mind. An anabaptist of twenty-five years old called out continually to be baptized, and when told with a sneer that there was no parson on board, he became quiet, and died with great resignation. Two papists on board gave what little money they had to their friends, beseeching them, if they ever got back to Holland, to lay it out in masses to St Anthony of Padua for the repose of their souls. Others again would listen to nothing that had the smallest savour of religion, for some time before they died. Some refused meat and drink for twenty-four hours before death, while others were suddenly carried off in the midst of conversation.
All these various appearances of disease are attributed by the author of this voyage principally to the bad quality of their provisions; their salt meat being corrupted, their bread full of maggots, and their water intolerably putrid. Under these circumstances medicines were of no avail, being utterly unable to work a cure, and could at best only defer death for a little, and protract the sufferings of the sick. Though as well as any one in either ship, the author of this journal had the scurvy to such a degree that his teeth were all loose, his gums inflamed and ulcerated, and his body all over covered with livid spots. Even such as were reputed in best health, were low, weak, and much afflicted with the scurvy. Nothing could effectually relieve or even alleviate their sufferings, except fresh meat, vegetables, and sweet water. At length it pleased God to put a period to their miseries, by giving them sight of the coast of New Britain, the joy of which filled the sick with new spirits, and encouraged those who were still able to move, with the enlivening hope of once more revisiting their native land. Our author was fully of opinion, that if they had been many days longer at sea, they must all have perished by the continuance and necessary increase of the miseries which they endured, which no description can possibly express in any thing like adequate terms.
Footnote 1: [(return)]
Aurora and Vesper are called in modern geography Roggewein's or Palliser's Islands, in lat. 15° 32' S, about 10 leagues N. by W. of Pernicious Islands.E.