The next day our people were employed in setting up more tents, getting the water-casks on shore, and clearing the well at which they were to be filled. This well I imagined to be the same that the Centurion watered at; but it was the worst that we had met with during the voyage, for the water was not only brackish, but full of worms. The road also where the ships lay was a dangerous situation at this season, for the bottom is hard sand and large coral rocks, and the anchor having no hold in the sand, the cable is in perpetual danger of being cut to pieces by the coral; to prevent which as much as possible, I rounded the cables, and buoyed them up with empty water-casks. Another precaution also was taught me by experience, for at first I moored, but finding the cables much damaged, I resolved to lie single for the future, that by veering away or heaving in, as we should have more or less wind, we might always keep them from being slack, and consequently from rubbing, and this expedient succeeded to my wish. At the full and change of the moon, a prodigious swell tumbles in here, so that I never saw ships at anchor roll so much as ours did while we lay here; and it once drove in from the westward with such violence, and broke so high upon the reef, that I was obliged to put to sea for a week; for if our cable had parted in the night, and the wind had been upon the shore, which sometimes, happens for two or three days together, the ship must have inevitably been lost upon the rocks.
As I was myself very ill with the scurvy, I ordered a tent to be pitched for me, and took up my residence on shore; where we also erected the armourer's forge, and began to repair the iron-work of both the ships. I soon found that the island produced limes, sour oranges, cocoa-nuts, breadfruit,[42] guavas, and paupas in great abundance; but we found no water-melons, scurvy-grass, or sorrel.
[Footnote 42: See a particular description of the bread-fruit, in the 8th chapter of Lieut. Cook's voyage.]
Notwithstanding the fatigue and distress that we had endured, and the various climates we had passed through, neither of the ships had yet lost a single man since their sailing from England; but while we lay here two died of fevers, a disease with which many were seized, though we all recovered very fast from the scurvy. I am indeed of opinion that this is one of the most unhealthy spots in the world, at least during the season in which we were here. The rains were violent, and almost incessant, and the heat was so great as to threaten us with suffocation. The thermometer, which was kept on board the ship, generally stood at eighty-six, which is but nine degrees less than the heat of the blood at the heart; and if it had been on shore it would have risen much higher. I had been upon the coast of Guinea, in the West Indies, and upon the island of Saint Thomas, which is under the Line, but I had never felt any such heat as I felt here. Besides the inconvenience which we suffered from the weather, we were incessantly tormented by the flies in the day, and by the musquitos in the night. The island also swarms with centipedes and scorpions, and a large black ant, scarcely inferior to either in the malignity of its bite. Besides these, there were venomous insects without number, altogether unknown to us, by which many of us suffered so severely, that we were afraid to lie down in our beds; nor were those on board in a much better situation than those on shore, for great numbers of these creatures being carried into the ship with the wood, they took possession of every birth, and left the poor seamen no place of rest either below or upon the deck.
As soon as we were settled in our new habitations, I sent out parties to discover the haunts of the cattle, some of which were found, but at a great distance from the tents, and the beasts were so shy that it was very difficult to get a shot at them. Some of the parties which, when their haunts had been discovered, were sent out to kill them, were absent three days and nights before they could succeed; and when a bullock had been dragged seven or eight miles through such woods and lawns as have just been described, to the tents, it was generally full of flyblows, and stunk so as to be unfit for use: Nor was this the worst, for the fatigue of the men in bringing down the carcase, and the intolerable heat they suffered from the climate and the labour, frequently brought on fevers which laid them up.[43] Poultry however we procured upon easier terms: There was great plenty of birds, and they were easily killed; but the flesh of the best of them was very ill-tasted, and such was the heat of the climate that within an hour after they were killed it was as green as grass, and swarmed with maggots. Our principal resource for fresh meat was the wild hog, with which the island abounds. These creatures are very fierce, and some of them so large that a carcase frequently weighed two hundred pounds. We killed them without much difficulty, but a black belonging to the Tamar contrived a method to snare them, so that we took great numbers of them alive, which was an unspeakable advantage; for it not only ensured our eating the flesh while it was sweet, but enabled us to send a good number of them on board as sea-stores.
[Footnote 43: "But we had cast anchor on the wrong side of the island, and, to our great disappointment, found cattle very scarce," &c. &c.]
In the mean time we were very desirous of procuring some beef in an eatable state, with less risk and labour, and Mr Gore, one of our mates, at last discovered a pleasant spot upon the north-west part of the island, where cattle were in great plenty, and whence they might be brought to the tents by sea. To this place, therefore, I dispatched a party, with a tent for their accommodation, and sent the boats every day to fetch what they should kill; sometimes however there broke such a sea upon the rocks, that it was impossible to approach them, and the Tamar's boat unhappily lost three of her best men by attempting it. We were now, upon the whole, pretty well supplied with provisions; especially as we baked fresh bread every day for the sick and the fatigue of our people being less, there were fewer ill with the fever; But several of them were so much disordered by eating of a very fine-looking fish which we caught here, that their recovery was for a long time doubtful. The author of the Account of Lord Anson's Voyage says,[44] that the people on board the Centurion thought it prudent to abstain from fish, as the few which they caught at their first arrival surfeited those who eat of them. But not attending sufficiently to this caution, and too hastily taking the word surfeit in its literal and common acceptation, we imagined that those who tasted the fish when Lord Anson first came hither, were made sick merely by eating too much; whereas, if that had been the case, there would have been no reason for totally abstaining afterwards, but only eating temperately. We however bought our knowledge by experience, which we might have had cheaper; for though all our people who tasted this fish, eat sparingly, they were all soon afterwards dangerously ill.
[Footnote 44: The other account indicates a little more gratitude:--"Our people had as much good beef and broth as we could possibly expend; with guavas, oranges, lemons, limes, plenty of excellent cabbages, which grow on the cocoa-trees, and the bread-fruit, for which these islands are justly famous; and not only poultry like those in England, but wild fowl of various sorts,">[
Besides the fruit that has been mentioned already, this island produces cotton and indigo in abundance, and would certainly be of great value if it were situated in the West Indies. The surgeon of the Tamar enclosed a large spot of ground here, and made a very pretty garden; but we did not stay long enough to derive any advantage from it.[45]
[Footnote 45: The descriptions of this island given by the author of Anson's Voyage, and in the other account of this one, so often referred to, are both more favourable than Byron's; a circumstance which may, perhaps, be accounted for on very common principles, without any impeachment of the respective authorities. The former description was purposely omitted in our 10th volume, as it was judged advisable to introduce it in this place, so that the reader might directly compare it with that which is given in the text. Here it follows entire:--
"Its length is about twelve miles, and its breadth about half as much; it extending from the S.S.W to N.N.E. The soil is every where dry and healthy, and somewhat sandy, which being less disposed than other soils to a rank and over luxuriant vegetation, occasions the meadows and the bottoms of the woods to be much neater and smoother than is customary' in hot climates. The land rises by easy slopes, from the very beach where we watered to the middle of the island; though the general course of its ascent is often interrupted and traversed by gentle descents and valleys; and the inequalities that are formed by the different combinations of these gradual swellings of the ground; are most beautifully diversified with large lawns, which are covered with a very fine trefoil, intermixed with a variety of flowers, and are skirted by woods of tall and well-spread trees, most of them celebrated either for their aspect or their fruit. The turf of the lawns is quite clean and even, and the bottoms of the woods in many places clear of all bushes and underwoods; and the woods themselves usually terminate on the lawns with a regular outline, not broken, nor confused with straggling trees, but appearing uniform as if laid out by art. Hence across a great variety of the most elegant and entertaining prospects formed by the mixture of these woods and lawns, and their various intersections with each other, as they spread themselves differently through the vallies and over the slopes and declivities with which the place abounds. The fortunate animals too, which for the greatest part of the year are the sole lords of this happy soil, partake in some measure of the romantic cast of the island, and are no small addition to its wonderful scenery: For the cattle, of which it is not uncommon to see herds of some thousands feeding together in a large meadow, are certainly the most remarkable in the world; for they are all of them milk-white, except their ears, which are generally black. And though there are no inhabitants here, yet the clamour and frequent parading of domestic poultry, which range the woods in great numbers, perpetually excite the ideas of the neighbourhood of farms and villages, and greatly contribute to the cheerfulness and beauty of the place. The cattle on the island we computed were at least ten thousand; and we had no difficulty in getting near them, as they were not shy of us. Our first method of killing them was shooting them; but at last, when by accidents to be hereafter recited, we were obliged to husband our ammunition, our men ran them down with ease. Their flesh was extremely well tasted, and was believed by us to be much more easily digested, than any we had ever met with. The fowls too were exceeding good, and were likewise run down with little trouble; for they could scarce fly further than an hundred yards at a flight, and even that fatigued them so much, that they could not readily rise again; so that, aided by the openness of the woods, we could at all times furnish ourselves with whatever number we wanted. Besides the cattle and the poultry, we found here abundance of wild hogs: These were most excellent food; but as they were a very fierce animal, we were obliged either to shoot them, or to hunt them with large dogs, which we found upon the place at our landing, and which belonged to the detachment which was then upon the island amassing provisions for the garrison of Guam. As these dogs had been purposely trained to the killing of the wild hogs, they followed us very readily, and banted for us; but though they were a large bold breed, the hogs fought with so much fury, that they frequently destroyed them, so that we by degrees lost the greatest part of them."
"But this place was not only extremely grateful to us from the plenty and excellency of its fresh provisions, but was as much perhaps to be admired for its fruits and vegetable productions, which were most fortunately adapted to the cure of the sea scurvy, which had so terribly reduced us. For in the woods there were inconceivable quantities of cocoa-nuts, with the cabbages growing on the same tree; There were besides guavoes, limes, sweet and sour oranges, and a kind of fruit peculiar to these islands, called by the Indians Rima, but by us the Bread-fruit, for it was constantly eaten by us during our stay upon the island instead of bread, and so universally preferred to it, that no ship's bread was expended during that whole interval. It grew upon a tree which is somewhat lofty, and which, towards the top, divides into large and spreading branches. The leaves of this tree are of a remarkable deep green, are notched about the edges, and are generally from a foot to eighteen inches in length. The fruit itself grows indifferently on all parts of the branches; it is in shape rather elliptical than round, is covered with a rough rind, and is usually seven or eight inches long; each of them grows singly and not in clusters. This fruit is fittest to be used when it is full grown, but is still green; in which state its taste has some distant resemblance to that of an artichoke bottom, and its texture is not very different, for it is soft and spungy. As it ripens it grows softer and of a yellow colour, and then contracts a luscious taste, and an agreeable smell, not unlike a ripe peach; but then it is esteemed, unwholesome, and is said to produce fluxes. Besides the fruits already enumerated, there were many other vegetables extremely conducive to the cure of the malady we had long laboured under, such as water-melons, dandelion, creeping purslain, mint, scurvy-grass, and sorrel; all which, together with the fresh meats of the place, we devoured with great eagerness, prompted thereto by the strong inclination which nature never fails of exciting in scorbutic disorders for these powerful specifics. It will easily be conceived from what hath been already said, that our cheer upon this island was in some degree luxurious, but I have not yet recited all the varieties of provision which we here indulged in. Indeed we thought it prudent totally to abstain from fish, the few we caught at our first arrival having surfeited those who eat of them; but considering how much we had been inured to that species of food, we did not regard this circumstance as a disadvantage, especially as the defect was so amply supplied by the beef, pork, and fowls already mentioned, and by great plenty of wild fowl; for I must observe, that near the centre of the island there were two considerable pieces of fresh water, which abounded with duck, teal, and curlew: Not to mention the whistling plover, which we found there in prodigious plenty."
"And now perhaps it may be wondered at, that an island so exquisitely furnished with the conveniences of life, and so well adapted, not only to the subsistence, but likewise to the enjoyment of mankind, should be entirely destitute of inhabitants, especially as it is in the neighbourhood of other islands, which in some measure depend upon this for their support. To obviate this difficulty, I must observe, that it is not fifty years since the island was depopulated. The Indians we had in our custody assured us, that formerly the three islands of Tinian, Rota, and Guam, were all full of inhabitants; and that Tinian alone contained thirty thousand souls: But a sickness raging amongst these islands, which destroyed multitudes of the people, the Spaniards, to recruit their numbers at Guam, which were greatly diminished by this mortality, ordered all the inhabitants of Tinian thither; where, languishing for their former habitations, and their customary method of life, the greatest part of them in a few years died of grief. Indeed, independent of that attachment which all mankind have ever shown to the places of their birth and bringing up, it should seem from what has been already said, that there were few countries more worthy to be regretted than this of Tinian."
"These poor Indians might reasonably have expected, at the great distance from Spain, where they were placed, to have escaped the violence and cruelty of that haughty nation, so fatal to a large proportion of the whole human race: But it seems their remote situation could not protect them from sharing in the common destruction of the western world, all the advantage they received from their distance being only to perish an age or two later. It may perhaps be doubted, if the number of the inhabitants of Tinian, who were banished to Guam, and who died there pining for their native home, was so great, as what we have related above; but, not to mention the concurrent assertion of our prisoners, and the commodiousness of the island, and its great fertility, there are still remains to be met with on the place, which evince it to have been once extremely populous: For there are, in all parts of the island, a great number of ruins of a very particular kind; they usually consist of two rows of square pyramidal pillars, each pillar being about six feet from the next, and the distance between the rows being about twelve feet; the pillars themselves are about five feet square at the base, and about thirteen feet high; and on the top of each of them there is a semi-globe, with the flat part upwards; the whole of the pillars and semi-globe is solid, being composed of sand and stone cemented together, and plastered over. If the account our prisoners gave us of these structures was true, the island must indeed have been extremely populous; for they assured us that they were the foundations of particular buildings set apart for those Indians only, who had engaged in some religious vow; and monastic institutions are often to be met with in many Pagan nations. However, if these ruins were originally the bases of the common dwelling-houses of the natives, their numbers must have been considerable; for in many parts of the island they are extremely thick planted, and sufficiently evince the great plenty of former inhabitants. But to return to the present state of the island."
"Having mentioned the conveniences of this place, the excellency and quantity of its fruits and provisions, the neatness of its lawns, the stateliness, freshness, and fragrance of its woods, the happy inequality of its surface, and the variety and elegance of the views it afforded, I most now observe, that all these advantages were greatly enhanced by the healthiness of its climate, by the almost constant breezes which prevail there, and by the frequent showers which fall, and which, though of a very short and almost momentary duration, are extremely grateful and refreshing, and are perhaps one cause of the salubrity of the air, and of the extraordinary influence it was observed to have upon us, in increasing and invigorating our appetites and digestion. This was so remarkable, that those amongst our officers, who were at all other times spare and temperate eaters, who, besides a slight breakfast, made but one moderate repast a day, were here, in appearance, transformed into gluttons; for instead of one reasonable flesh meal, they were now scarcely satisfied with three, and each of them so prodigious in quantity, as would at another time have produced a fever or a surfeit: And yet our digestion so well corresponded with the keenness of our appetites, that we were neither disordered nor even loaded by this repletion; for after having, according to the custom of the island, made a large beef breakfast, it was not long before we began to consider the approach of dinner as a very desirable, though somewhat tardy incident."
"And now having been thus large in my encomiums on this island, in which, however, I conceive I have not done it justice, it is necessary I should speak of those circumstances in which it is defective, whether in point of beauty or utility."
"And first, with respect to its water. I must own, that before I had seen this spot, I did not conceive that the absence of running water, of which it is entirely destitute, could have been so well replaced by any other means, as it is in this island; for though there are no streams, yet the water of the wells and springs, which are to be met with every where near the surface, is extremely good; and in the midst of the island there are two or three considerable pieces of excellent water, whose edges are as neat and even, as if they had been basons purposely made for the decoration of the place. It must, however, be confessed, that with regard to the beauty of the prospects, the want of rills and streams is a very great defect, not to be compensated either by large pieces of standing water, or by the neighbourhood of the sea, though that; by reason of the smallness of the island, generally makes a part of every extensive view."
"As to the residence upon the island, the principal inconvenience attending it is the vast numbers of musquitoes, and various other species of flies, together with an insect called a tick, which, though principally attached to the cattle, would yet frequently fasten upon our limbs and bodies, and if not perceived and removed in time, would bury its head under the skin, and raise a painful inflammation. We found here, too, centipedes and scorpions, which we supposed were venomous, but none of us ever received any injury from them.">[
While we lay here, I sent the Tamar to examine the island of Saypan, Which is much larger than Tinian, rises higher, and, in my opinion, has a much pleasanter appearance. She anchored to the leeward of it, at the distance of a mile from the shore, and in about ten fathom water, with much the same kind of ground as we had in the road of Tinian.
Her people landed upon a fine sandy beach which is six or seven miles long, and walked up into the woods, where they saw many trees which were fit for top-masts.
They saw no fowls, nor any tracks of cattle; but of hogs and guanicoes there was plenty. They found no fresh water near the beach, but saw a large pond inland, which they did not examine. They saw large heaps of pearl oyster-shells thrown up together, and other signs of people having been there not long before: Possibly the Spaniards may go thither at some season of the years, and carry on a pearl fishery. They also saw many of those, square pyramidal pillars which are to be found at Tinian, and which are particularly described in the account of Lord Anson's voyage.
On Monday the 30th of September, having now been here nine weeks, and our sick being pretty well recovered, I ordered, the tents to be struck, and with the forge and oven carried back to the ship; I also laid in about two thousand cocoa-nuts, which I had experienced to be so powerful a remedy for the scurvy, and the next day I weighed, hoping, that before we should get the length of the Bashé Island, the N.E. monsoon would be set in. I stood along the shore to take in the beef-hunters; but we had very little wind this day and the next till the evening, when it came to the westward and blew fresh: I then stood to the northward till the morning of the 3d, when we made Anatacan, an island that is remarkably high, and the same that was first fallen in with by Lord Anson.
SECTION XII.
The Run from Tinian to Pulo Timoan, with some Account of that Island, its Inhabitants and Productions, and thence to Batavia. We continued our course till Thursday the 10th, when being in latitude 18°33'N. longitude 136°50'E. we found the ship two-and-twenty miles to the southward of her account, which must have been the effect of a strong current in that direction. The variation here was 5°10'E. and for some time we found it regularly decreasing, so that on the 19th, being in latitude 21°10'N. longitude 124°17'E. the needle pointed due north.
On the 18th, we had found the ship eighteen miles to the northward of her account, and saw several land-birds about the ship, which appeared to be very much tired: We caught one as it was resting upon the booms, and found it very remarkable. It was about as big as a goose, and all over as white as snow, except the legs and beak which were black; the beak was curved, and of so great a length and thickness, that it is not easy to conceive now the muscles of the neck, which was about a foot long, and as small as that of a crane, could support it. We kept it about four months upon biscuit and water, but it then died, apparently for want of nourishment, being almost as light as a bladder. It was very different from every species of the toucan that is represented by Edwards, and I believe has never been described. These birds appeared to have been blown off some island to the northward of us, that is not laid down in the charts.
The needle continued to point due north till the 22d, when, at six o'clock in the morning, Grafton's Island, the northermost of the Bashee Islands, bore south, distant six leagues. As I had designed to touch at these islands, I stood for that in sight; but as the navigation from hence to the strait of Banca is very dangerous, and we had now both a fine morning and a fine gale, I thought it best to proceed on our way, and therefore steered westward again. The principal of these islands are five in number, and by a good observation Grafton's Island lies in latitude 21°8'N. longitude 118°14'E. The variation of the compass was now 1° 20'W.
On the 24th, being in latitude 16°59'N. longitude 115° 1'E. we kept a good look-out for the Triangles, which lie without the north end of the Prasil, and form a most dangerous shoal.[46] On the 30th we saw several trees and large bamboos floating about the ship, and upon sounding had three-and-twenty fathom, with dark brown sand, and small pieces of shells. Our latitude was now 7°17'N. longitude 104°21'E, the variation was 30°W. The next day we found the ship thirteen miles to the northward of her account, which we judged to be the effect of a current; and on the 2d of November, we found her thirty-eight miles to the southward of her account. Our latitude by observation was 3°54'N. longitude 103°20'E. We had here soundings at forty-two and forty-three fathom, with soft mud.
[Footnote 46: The Prasil, or Pracels, is a congeries of rocks and small islands, about sixty miles eastward of the coast of Cochin China, and reckoned very dangerous to navigators, on account of breakers and counter currents.--E.]
At seven o'clock the next morning, we saw the island of Timoan, bearing S.W. by W. distant about twelve leagues. As Dampier has mentioned Pulo Timoan as a place where some refreshments are to be procured, I endeavoured to touch there, having lived upon salt provisions, which were now become bad, ever since we were at Tinian; but light airs, calms, and a southerly current, prevented our coming to an anchor till late in the evening of the 5th. We had sixteen fathom at about the distance of two miles from the shore, on a bay on the east side of the island.
The next day I landed to see what was to be got, and found the inhabitants, who are Malays, a surly insolent set of people. As soon as they saw us approaching the shore, they came down to the beach in great numbers, having a long knife in one hand, a spear headed with iron in the other, and a cressit or dagger by their side. We went on shore, however, notwithstanding these hostile appearances, and a treaty soon commenced between us; but all we could procure, was about a dozen of fowls, and a goat and kid. We had offered them knives, hatchets, bill-hooks, and other things of the same kind; but these they refused with great contempt, and demanded rupees: As we had no rupees, we were at first much at a loss how to pay for our purchase; but at last we bethought ourselves of some pocket-handkerchiefs, and these they vouchsafed to accept, though they would take only the best.
These people were of a small stature; but extremely well made, and of a dark copper-colour. We saw among them one old man who was dressed somewhat in the manner of the Persians; but all the rest were naked, except a handkerchief, which they wore as a kind of turban upon their heads, and some pieces of cloth which were fastened with a silver plate or clasp round their middles. We saw none of their women, and probably some care was taken to keep them out of our sight. The habitations are very neatly built of slit bamboo, and are raised upon posts about eight feet from the ground. Their boats are also well made, and we saw some of a large size, in which we supposed that they carried on a trade to Malacca.
The island is mountainous and woody, but we found it pleasant when we were ashore; it produces the cabbage and cocoa-nut tree in great plenty, but the natives did not chuse to let us have any of the fruit. We saw also some rice grounds, but what other vegetable productions Nature has favoured them with, we had no opportunity to learn, as we stayed here but two nights and one day. In the bay where the ship rode, there is excellent fishing, though the surf runs very high: We hauled our seine with great success, but could easily perceive that it gave umbrage to the inhabitants, who consider all the fish about these islands as their own. There are two fine rivers that run into this bay, and the water is excellent: It was indeed so much better than what we had on board, that I filled as many casks with it as loaded the boat twice. While we lay here, some of the natives brought down an animal which had the body of a hare, and the legs of a deer; one of our officers bought it, and we should have been glad to have kept it alive, but it was impossible for us to procure for it such food as it would eat; it was therefore killed, and we found it very good food. All the while we lay here, we had the most violent thunder, lightning, and rain, that I had ever known; and, finding that nothing more was to be procured, we sailed again on Thursday morning, with a fine breeze off the land. In the afternoon, we tried the current, and found it set S.E. at the rate of a mile an hour. The variation here was 38' W. We certainly made this passage at an improper season of the year; for after we came into the latitude of Pulo Condore, we had nothing but light airs, calms, and tornadoes, with violent rain, thunder, and lightning.
At seven o'clock in the morning of Sunday the 10th, we saw the east end of the island of Lingen, bearing S.W. by W. distant eleven or twelve leagues. The current set E.S.E. at the rate of a mile an hour. At noon it fell calm, and I anchored with the kedge in twenty fathom. At one o'clock, the weather having cleared up, we saw a small island bearing S.W. 1/2 S. distant ten or eleven leagues.
At one o'clock the next morning, we weighed and made sail; and at six the small island bore W.S.W. distant about seven leagues, and some very small islands, which we supposed to be Domines Islands, W. 1/2 N. distant about seven or eight leagues, a remarkable double peak on the island of Lingen, bearing at same time W. by N. distant about ten or twelve leagues. Our latitude by observation was now 18'S. The latitude of the east end of Lingen is 10' S. longitude 105° 15' E. Pulo Taya bears from it nearly S. by W. and is distant about twelve leagues.
At ten o'clock in the morning of Tuesday the 12th, we, saw a small Chinese junk to the north-east; and at seven the next morning a small island, called Pulo Toté, bearing S.E. by E. distant about twelve leagues. A little to the northward of Pulo Taya, is a very small island, called Pulo Toupoa.
The next day, at four in the afternoon, there being no wind, we came to an anchor in fourteen fathom with soft ground, Palo Taya bearing N.W. distant about seven leagues. We tried the current, and found it set E. by S. at the rate of two knots two fathoms an hour. We saw a sloop at anchor about four miles from us, which hoisted Dutch colours. In the night we had violent rain, with hard squalls, during one of which we parted the stream cable, and therefore let go the small bower. At eight in the morning, the wind became moderate and variable, from N.N.W. to W.S.W. We got out our long-boat and weighed the stream anchor, and at nine made sail. We found the current still very strong to the eastward; and at two we anchored again in fourteen fathom, Palo Taya bearing N.W. 1/2 N. distant between seven and eight leagues. The vessel which we had seen the day before under Dutch colours, still lying at anchor in the same place, I sent a boat with an officer to speak with her: The officer was received on board with great civility; but was extremely surprised to find that he could not make himself understood, for the people on board were Malays, without a single white man among them: They made tea for our men immediately, and behaved with great cheerfulness and hospitality. The vessel was of a very singular construction; her deck was of slit bamboo, and she was steered, not by a rudder, but by two large pieces of timber, one upon each quarter.
The next morning, at six o'clock, we weighed and made sail; at two Monopin Hill bore S. by E. distant about ten or eleven leagues, and had the appearance of a small island. It bears S. by W. from the Seven Islands, and is distant from them about twelve leagues: Its latitude is 2° S. From the Seven Islands we steered S.W. by S. and had regular soundings from twelve to seven fathom, and soon after saw the coast of Sumatra, bearing from W.S.W. to W. by N. at the distance of about seven leagues. In the evening, we anchored in seven fathom; and the next morning at four we made sail again, and continued our course S. by E. till the peak of Monopin Hill bore east, and Batacarang Point, on the Sumatra shore, S.W. to avoid a shoal, called Frederick Hendrick, which is about midway between the Banca and Sumatra shore: The soundings were thirteen and fourteen fathom. We then steered E.S.E. and kept mid channel to avoid the banks of Palambam river, and that which lies off the westernmost point of Banca. When we were abreast of Patambam river, we regularly shoaled our water from fourteen to seven fathom; and when we had passed it, we deepened it again to fifteen and sixteen fathom. We continued to steer E.S.E. between the third and fourth points of Sumatra, which are about ten leagues distant from each other: The soundings, nearest to the Sumatra shore, were all along from eleven to thirteen fathom; and the high land of Queda Banca appeared over the third point of Sumatra, bearing E.S.E. From the third point to the Second, the course is S.E. by S. at the distance of about eleven or twelve leagues. The high land of Queda Banca, and the second point of Sumatra, bear E.N.E. and W.S.W. of each other. The strait is about five leagues over, and in the mid-channel there is twenty-four fathom. At six o'clock in the evening we anchored in thirteen fathom, Monopin Hill bearing N.1/2 W. and the third point of Sumatra, S.E. by E. distant between two and three leagues. Many small vessels were in sight, and most of them hoisted Dutch colours. In the night we had fresh gales and squalls, with thunder and lightning, and hard rain; but as our cables were good, we were in no danger, for in this place the anchor is buried in a stiff clay.
In the morning the current or tide set to the S.E. at the rate of three knots; at five we weighed, with a moderate gale at west and hazy weather, and in the night the tide shifted, and ran as strongly to the N.W. so that it ebbs and flows here twelve hours.
On the 19th we spoke with an English snow, belonging to the East India company, which was bound from Bencoolen to Malacca and Bengal. We had now nothing to eat but the ship's provisions, which were become very bad, for all our beef and pork stunk intolerably, and our bread was rotten and full of worms; but as soon as the master of this snow learnt our situation, he generously sent me a sheep, a dozen fowls, and a turtle, which I verily believe was half his stock, besides two gallons of arrack, and would accept nothing but our thanks in return. It is with great pleasure that I pay this tribute to his liberality, and am very sorry that I cannot recollect his name, or the name of his vessel. In the afternoon we worked round the first point of Sumatra, and our soundings on the north side, at the distance of about a mile and a half from the shore, were fourteen fathom. At half an hour after three we anchored, and sent a boat to sound for the shoals which lie to the northward of the island called Lasipara, which bore from us S.E. by S. distant about six leagues. Little wind, and a strong tide of flood to the northward, prevented our working between these shoals and the coast of Sumatra till the afternoon of the 20th; the soundings were very regular, being nine or ten fathom as we stood over to the island, and five or six when we stood over to Sumatra. As this strait has been often navigated, and is well known, it is not necessary to insert all the particulars of our passage through it; I shall therefore only say, that at six o'clock in the evening of Tuesday the 27th, we steered between the islands Edam and Horn, and entered the road of Batavia. At eight we anchored without the ships, Onrust bearing W.N.W. distant five or six miles.
SECTION XIII.
Transactions at Batavia, and Departure from that Place. The next day, which by our account was the 28th, but by the account of the Dutch at this place; was the 29th, we having lost a day by having steered westward a year, we anchored nearer to the town, and saluted the water-fort with eleven guns, which were returned. We found here above a hundred sail great and small, and among others, a large English ship belonging to Bombay, which saluted us with thirteen guns.
There is always lying here a Dutch commodore belonging to the company, who, among his countrymen, is a person of very great consequence. This gentleman thought fit to send his boat on board of me, with only the cockswain, in her, who was a very dirty ragged fellow: As soon as he was brought to me, he asked whence I came, whither I was bound, and many other questions, which I thought equally impertinent, at the same time pulling out a book, and pen and ink, that he might set down the answers; but as I was impatient to save him this trouble, he was desired immediately to walk over the ship's side, and put off his boat, with which he was graciously pleased to comply.
When we came to this place, we had not one man sick in either of the ships; but as I knew it to be more unhealthy than any other part of the East Indies, as the rainy season was at hand, and arrack was to be procured in great plenty, I determined to make my stay here as short as possible. I went on shore to wait upon the Dutch governor, but was told that he was at his country-house, about four miles distant from the town. I met however with an officer, called a shebander, who is a kind of master of the ceremonies, and he acquainted me, that if I chose to go to the governor immediately, rather than wait for his coming to town, he would attend me; I accepted his offer, and we set out together in his chariot. The governor received me with great politeness, and told me, that I might either take a house in any part of the city that I should like, or be provided with lodgings at the hotel. This hotel is a licensed lodging-house, the only one in the place, and kept by a Frenchman, an artful fellow, who is put in by the governor himself. It has indeed more the appearance of a palace than a house of entertainment, being the most magnificent building in Batavia; nor would a small edifice answer the purpose, for as there is a penalty of five hundred dollars upon any person in the city who shall suffer a stranger to sleep a single night at his house, the strangers who make it their residence are never few: All the houses indeed have a stately appearance on the outside, and are elegantly fitted up within, and we were told that the Chinese, of whom there are great numbers at this place, were the architects. The city is large, and the streets well laid out, but they have greatly the appearance of those in the cities of Holland, for a canal runs through most of them, with a row of trees planted on each side: This is convenient for the merchants, who have every thing brought up to their own doors by water, but it probably contributes to the unhealthiness of the place; the canal, indeed, as the city is built in a swamp, might be necessary as a drain, but the trees, though they have a pleasant appearance, must certainly prevent the noxious vapours that are perpetually arising, from being dispersed, by obstructing the circulation of the air. The number of people here is incredible, and they are of almost every nation in the world, Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese, Persians, Moors, Malays, Javanese, and many others: The Chinese, however, have a large town to themselves, without the walls, and carry on a considerable trade, for they have annually ten or twelve large junks from China; and to these the opulence of the Dutch at Batavia is in a great measure owing. The beef here is bad, and the mutton scarce, but the poultry and fish are excellent and in great plenty. Here are also the greatest variety and abundance of the finest fruit in the world, but the musquitos, centipedes, scorpions, and other noxious vermin, which are innumerable, are extremely troublesome, especially to strangers. The roads, for many miles about the city, are as good as any in England: They are very broad, and by the side of them runs a canal, shaded by tall trees, which, is navigable for vessels of a very large size: On the other side of the canal are gardens of a very pleasant appearance, and country-houses of the citizens, where they spend as much of their time as possible, the situation being less unwholesome than the city; and there are so few of them who do not keep a carriage, that it is almost a disgrace to be seen on foot.
At this place I continued from the 28th of November to the 10th of December, when, having procured what refreshments I could for my people, and taken on board a sufficient quantity of rice and arrack, to serve for the rest of the voyage, I weighed anchor and made sail. The fort saluted me with eleven guns, and the Dutch commodore with thirteen, which I returned; we were saluted also by the English ship. We worked down to Prince's Island, in the strait of Sunda, and came to an anchor there on the 14th. In this passage, the boats came off to us from the Java shore, and supplied us with turtle in such plenty, that neither of the ship's companies eat any thing else. We lay at Prince's Island till the 19th, and during all that time we subsisted wholly upon the same food, which was procured from the inhabitants at a very reasonable rate. Having now taken on board as much wood and water as we could stow, we weighed, and got without Java Head before night: But by this time a dangerous putrid fever had broken out among us; three of my people had died, and many others now lay in so dangerous a condition that there were little hopes of their recovery: We did not, however, bury one at Batavia, which, notwithstanding our stay was so short, was thought to be a very extraordinary instance of good fortune; and our sick gradually recovered after we had been a week or two at sea.
SECTION XIV.
The Passage from Batavia to the Cape of Good Hope, and from thence to England. We continued our course, without any event worthy of notice, (except that one of my best men unhappily fell overboard and was drowned,) till Monday the 10th of February, when, at six o'clock in the morning, we saw the coast of Africa, bearing from N.N.W. to N.E. distant about seven leagues: It made in several high hills, and white sandy cliffs, and its latitude was 34° 15' S. longitude 21° 45' E.; the variation here was 22° W. and our depth of water fifty-three fathom, with a bottom of coarse brown sand.
I stood in for the land, and when I was within about two leagues of it, I saw a great smoke rising from a sandy beach. I imagined the smoke to be made by the Hottentots; yet I was astonished at their chusing this part of the coast for their residence, for it consisted of nothing but sand-banks as far as we could see, without the least bush or a single blade of verdure, and so heavy a sea broke upon the coast, that it was impossible to catch any fish.
On Wednesday the 12th, at three o'clock in the afternoon, we were abreast of Cape Lagullas, from which the coast lies W.N.W. to the Cape of Good Hope, which is distant about thirty leagues. The next day we passed between Penguin Island and Green Point, and worked into Table Bay with our top-sails close reefed, there being a strong gale, with hard squalls, at S.S.E. At three o'clock in the afternoon, we anchored, and saluted the fort, which was returned. The Dutch told me, that none of their ships could have worked in such a gale of wind, and that we seemed to come in faster than they were generally able to do when the wind was fair.
The next morning, I waited upon the governor, who had sent his coach and six to the water-side for me. He was an old man, but a favourite with all ranks of people: He received me with the greatest politeness, and not only offered me the company s house in the garden for my residence while I should continue at the Cape, but his coach whenever I should think fit to use it. As I was one day at dinner with him, and some other gentlemen, I took occasion to mention the smoke that I had seen upon one of the sandy beaches on a desolate part of the coast, and the surprise with which it had struck me: They then told me that another ship, some time before, had fallen in with that part of the coast, and had seen large smokes as I had done, although the place was uninhabited, and supposed to be an island: To account for the smokes, however, they told me also, that two Dutch East Indiamen had, about two years before, sailed from Batavia for the Cape, and had never afterwards been heard of; and it was supposed that one or both of them had been shipwrecked there, and that the smokes which had been seen were made by some of the unfortunate crew: They added, that they had more than once sent out vessels to look for them, but that there broke so dreadful a sea upon the coast, they were obliged to return without attempting to go on shore. When I heard this melancholy account, I could only regret that I had not known it before, for I would then certainly have made every effort in my power to have found these unhappy wretches, and taken them from a place where, in all probability, they would miserably perish.
The cape is certainly a most excellent place for ships to touch at; it is a healthy climate, a fine country, and abounds with refreshments of every kind. The company's garden is a delightful spot, and at the end of it there is a paddock belonging to the governor, in which are kept a great number of rare and curious animals, and among others, when I was there, there were three fine ostriches, and four zebras of an uncommon size. I gave all the people leave to go on shore by turns, and they always contrived to get very drunk with cape wine before they came back. Many ships came in while we lay here; some were Dutch, some French, some Danes, but all were outward-bound.
Having continued here three weeks, and during that time refreshed our men, and completed our water, I took leave of the good old governor on the 6th of March, and on the 7th, sailed out of the bay, with a fine breeze at S.E.
On Sunday the 16th, at six in the morning, we saw the island of St Helena, bearing W. by N. at the distance of about sixteen leagues, and about noon, a large ship, which shewed French colours. We pursued our course, and a few days afterwards, as we were sailing with a fine gale, and at a great distance from land, the ship suddenly received a rude shock, as if she had struck the ground: This instantly brought all who were below upon the deck in great consternation, and upon looking out we saw the water to a very large extent, tinged with blood; this put an end to our fears, and we concluded that we must have struck either a whale or a grampus, from which the ship was not likely to receive much damage, nor in fact did she receive any. About this time also we had the misfortune to bury our carpenter's mate, a very ingenious and diligent young man, who had never been well after our leaving Batavia.[47]
[Footnote 47: "By the tenderness and care of the Honourable Mr Byron, our excellent commodore, in causing the crews to be served with portable soup, and with the greatest humanity distributing provisions to the sick from his own table, that dreadful disease the sea-scurvy was rendered less inveterate and fatal, and we lost a less number of men, than any other ship in such a voyage: For, to the honour of that humane commander, let it be known to posterity, that under him the Dolphin and Tamar encompassed the earth, and in so long a voyage through various seas and climates, and after sailing several thousand leagues under the torrid zone, lost six men only out of each ship, including those that were drowned: A number so inconsiderable, that it is highly probable more of them would have died had they staid on shore.">[
On the 25th, we crossed the equator, in longitude 17° 10' W. and the next morning, Captain Cumming came on board, and informed me that the Tamer's three lower rudder-braces on the stem were broken off, which rendered the rudder unserviceable. I immediately sent the carpenter on board, who found the condition of the braces even worse than had been reported, so that the rudder could not possibly be new hung; he therefore went to work upon a machine, like that which had been fixed to the Ipswich, and by which she was steered home: This machine in about five days he completed, and with some little alterations of his own, it was an excellent piece of work. The Tamar steered very well with it, but thinking that it might not be sufficient to secure her in bad weather, or upon a lee-shore, I ordered Captain Cumming to run down to Antigua, that he might there heave the ship down, and get the rudder new hung, with a fresh set of braces which he had with him for that purpose; for the braces with which the ship went out, being of iron, were not expected to last as long as ours, the lower ones, with the sheathing, being of copper.
Pursuant to these orders, the Tamar parted company with us on the 1st of April, and steered for the Caribbee Islands. When we came into latitude 34° N. longitude 35° W. we had strong gales from W.S.W to W.N.W. with a great sea, which broke over us continually for six days successively, and run us into latitude 48° N. longitude 14°, W. On the 7th of May, at seven o'clock in the morning, we made the islands of Scilly, having been just nine weeks coming from the Cape of Good Hope, and somewhat more than two-and-twenty months upon the voyage; the 9th, the ship came to anchor in the Downs, and on the same day I landed at Deal, and set out for London. * * * * *
[The reader will find a short but interesting memoir of Byron prefixed, for the first time, to the Narrative of the Shipwreck of the Wager, published at Edinburgh by Ballantyne, 1812. All that it is thought necessary to quote from it here is, that in 1769, about three years after his return from this circumnavigation, he was appointed governor of Newfoundland, which office he held till 1775; that then he was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral of the blue, and successively to that of rear-admiral of the white and red; that he was appointed to command the squadron directed to watch and oppose the French fleet under Count d'Estaign, over which, however, owing to circumstances no prudence or bravery could control, he obtained no decisive advantages; that in 1779, he was promoted to the rank of vice-admiral of the white; and that he died in 1786, at the age of 73, generally respected and beloved for his eminent professional and moral qualities.--E.]