A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 12 by Robert Kerr

R >> Robert Kerr >> A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 12

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At this place I continued between three and four months, and during all
that time I had the honour to see the governor but twice. The first time
was at my arrival, when I waited upon him at one of his houses, a little
way in the country; the next was in town, as he was walking before his
house there, when I addressed him upon a particular occasion. Soon after
the news of the Prince of Orange's marriage arrived here, he gave a
public entertainment, to which I had the honour of being invited; but
having heard that Commodore Tinker, upon a like occasion, finding that
he was to be placed below the gentlemen of the Dutch council, had
abruptly left the room, and was followed by all the captains of his
squadron; and being willing to avoid the disagreeable dilemma of either
sitting below the council, or following the commodore's example, I
applied to the governor to know the station that would be allotted me
before I accepted his invitation; and finding that I could not be
permitted to take place of the council, I declined it. On both these
occasions I spoke to his excellency by an English merchant, who acted as
an interpreter. The first time he had not the civility to offer me the
least refreshment, nor did he the last time so much as ask me to go into
the house.

The defects of the ship were at length repaired, much to my
satisfaction, and I thought she might then safely proceed to Europe,
though the Dutch carpenters were of a different opinion. The proper
season for sailing was not yet arrived, and my worthy friend, Admiral
Houting, represented, that if I went to sea before the proper time, I
should meet with such weather off the Cape of Good Hope as would make me
repent it; but being very ill myself, and the people being sickly, I
thought it better to run the risk of a few hard gales off the Cape, than
remain longer in this unhealthy place, especially as the west monsoon
was setting in, during which the mortality here is yet greater than at
other times.

On Wednesday the 15th of September, therefore, we set sail from Onrust,
where the ship had been refitted, without returning, as is usual, into
Batavia Road; and as I was not well, I sent my lieutenant to take leave
of the governor on my behalf, and offer my service, if he had any
dispatches for Europe. It was happy for me that I was able to procure a
supply of English seamen here, otherwise I should not at last have been
able to bring the ship home; for I had now lost no less than
four-and-twenty of the hands I had brought out of Europe, and had
four-and-twenty more so ill, that seven of them died in our passage to
the Cape.

On the 20th, we anchored on the south-east side of Prince's Island, in
the Streight of Sunda, and the next morning, I sent out the boats for
wood and water: Of water, however, we could not get a sufficient
quantity to complete our stock, for there had not yet been rain enough
to supply the springs, the wet monsoon having but just set in. At this
time we had the wind so fresh from the south-east, which made this part
of the island a lee-shore, that I could not get under sail till the
25th, when, it being more moderate, we weighed and worked over to the
Java shore. In the evening, we anchored in a bay called by some New Bay,
and by others Canty Bay, which is formed by an island of the same name.
We had fourteen fathoms water, with a fine sandy bottom. The peak of
Prince's Island bore N. 13 W. the westermost point of New Island S. 82
W. and the eastermost point of Java that was in sight, N.E. Our distance
from the Java shore was about a mile and a quarter, and from the
watering-place a mile and a half. New Bay is the best place for wooding
and watering of any in these parts: The water is extremely clear, and so
good that I made my people stave all that we had taken in at Batavia and
Prince's Island, and supply it from this place. It is procured from a
fine strong run on the Java shore, which falls down from the land into
the sea, and by means of a hoase it may be laded into the boats, and the
casks filled without putting them on shore, which renders the work very
easy and expeditious. There is a little reef of rocks within which the
boats go, and lie in as smooth water, and as effectually sheltered from
any swell, as if they were in a mill-pond; nor does the reef run out so
far as to be dangerous to shipping, though the contrary is asserted in
Herbert's Directory; and if a ship, when lying there, should be driven
from her anchors by a wind that blows upon the shore, she may, with the
greatest ease, run up the passage between New Island and Java, where
there is a sufficient depth of water for the largest vessel, and a
harbour, in which, being landlocked, she will find perfect security.
Wood may be had any where either upon Java or New Island, neither of
which, in this part, are inhabited.

Having in a few days completed our wood and water, we weighed and stood
out of the Streight of Sunda, with a fine fresh gale at south-east,
which did not leave us till the island of Java was seven hundred leagues
behind us.

On Monday the 23d of November, we discovered the coast of Africa; at
day-break on the 28th we made the Table Land of the Cape of Good Hope,
and the same evening anchored in the bay. We found here only a Dutch
ship from Europe, and a snow belonging to the place, which however was
in the Company's service, for the inhabitants are not permitted to have
any shipping.

Table Bay is a good harbour in summer, but not in winter; so that the
Dutch will not permit any of their vessels to lie here longer than the
15th of May, which answers to our November. After that time, all ships
go to False Bay, which is well sheltered from the north-west winds,
which blow here with great violence.

At this place we breathed a pure air, had wholesome food, and went
freely about the country, which is extremely pleasant, so that I began
to think myself already in Europe. We found the inhabitants open,
hospitable, and polite, there being scarcely a gentleman in the place,
either in a public or private station, from whom I did not receive some
civility; and I should very ill deserve the favours they bestowed, if I
did not particularly mention the first and second governor, and the
fiscal.

The recovery of my people made it necessary to continue here till the
6th of January, 1769; in the evening of this day I set sail, and before
it was dark cleared the land.

On the 20th, after a fine and pleasant passage, we made the island of St
Helena; and set sail again on the morning of the 24th. At midnight on
the 30th, we made the northeast part of the Island of Ascension, and
brought-to till daylight, when we ran in close to it. I sent a boat out
to discover the anchoring-place, which is called Cross-hill bay, while
we kept running along the north-east and north side of the island, till
we came to the north-west extremity of it, and in the afternoon anchored
in the bay we sought. The way to find this place at once, is to bring
the largest and most conspicuous hill upon the island to bear S.E.; when
the ship is in this position, the bay will be open, right in the middle,
between two other hills, the westermost of which is called Cross-hill,
and gives name to the bay. Upon this hill there is a flag-staff, which
if a ship brings to bear S.S.E. 1/2 E. or S.E. by E. and runs in,
keeping it so till she is in ten fathom water, she will be in the best
part of the bay. In our run along the north-east side of the island, I
observed several other small sandy bays, in some of which my boat found
good anchorage, and saw plenty of turtle, though they are not so
convenient as this, where we had plenty of turtle too. The beach here is
a fine white sand; the landing-place is at some rocks, which lie about
the middle of the bay, and may be known by a ladder of ropes which hangs
from the top to mount them by. In the evening I landed a few men to turn
the turtle that should come on shore during the night, and in the
morning I found that they had thus secured no less than eighteen, from
four hundred to six hundred weight each, and these were as many as we
could well stow on the deck. As there are no inhabitants upon this
island, it is a custom for the ships that touch at it to leave a letter
in a bottle, with their names and destination, the date, and a few other
particulars. We complied with this custom, and in the evening of Monday
the 1st of February, we weighed anchor and set sail.

On Friday the 19th, we discovered a ship at a considerable distance to
leeward in the south-west quarter, which hoisted French colours; she
continued in sight all day, and the next morning we perceived that she
had greatly outsailed us during the night; she made a tack, however, in
order to get farther to windward, and as it is not usual for ships to
turn to windward in these parts, it was evident that she had tacked in
order to speak with us. By noon she was near enough to hail us, and, to
my great surprise, made use both of my name and that of the ship,
enquiring after my health, and telling me, that after the return of the
Dolphin to Europe, it was believed we had suffered shipwreck in the
Streight of Magellan, and that two ships had been sent out in quest of
us. I asked, in my turn, who it was that was so well acquainted with me
and my ship, and with the opinions that had been formed of us in Europe
after the return of our companion, and how this knowledge had been
acquired. I was answered, that the ship which hailed us was in the
service of the French East India Company, commanded by M. Bougainville;
that she was returning to England from the Isle of France; that what was
thought of the Swallow in England, had been learnt from the French
Gazette at the Cape of Good Hope; and that we were known to be that
vessel by the letter which had been found in the bottle at the Island of
Ascension, a few days after we had left that place. An offer was then
made of supplying me with refreshments, if I wanted any, and I was asked
if I had any letters to send to France. I returned thanks for the offer
of refreshments, which however was a mere verbal civility, as it was
known that I had lately sailed from the places where M. Bougainville
himself had been supplied; but I said that I had received letters for
France from some gentlemen of that country at the Cape, and if he would
send his boat on board, they should be delivered to his messenger. Thus
was an occasion furnished for what I have reason to believe was the
principal object of M. Bougainville in speaking with us: A boat was
immediately sent on board, and in her a young officer, dressed in a
waistcoat and trowsers; whether he was thus dressed by design I shall
not determine, but I soon perceived that his rank was much superior to
his appearance. He came down to me in my cabin, and after the usual
compliments had passed, I asked him how he came to go home so soon in
the season; to which he replied, that there had been some disagreement
between the governor and inhabitants of the Isle of France, and that he
had been sent home in haste with dispatches: This story was the more
plausible, as I had heard of the dispute between the governor and
inhabitants of the Isle of France, from a French gentleman who came from
thence, at the Cape of Good Hope; yet I was not perfectly satisfied:
For, supposing M. Bougainville to have been sent in haste to Europe with
dispatches, I could not account for his losing the time which it cost
him to speak with me; I therefore observed to this gentleman, that
although he had accounted for his coming before the usual time from the
Isle of France, he had not accounted for his coming at an unusual time
from India, which must have been the case. To this, however, he readily
replied, that they had made only a short trading voyage on the western
coast of Sumatra. I then enquired, what commodities he had brought from
thence; and he answered, cocoa-nut oil, and rattans: But, said I, these
are commodities which it is not usual to bring into Europe: It is true,
said he, but these commodities we left at the Isle of France, the oil
for the use of the island, and the rattans for ships which were to touch
there in their way to China, and in exchange we took in another freight
for Europe; this freight I think he said was pepper, and his whole tale
being at least possible, I asked him no more questions. He then told me,
he had heard at the Cape, that I had been with Commodore Byron at
Falkland's Islands; and, said he, I was on board the French ship that
met you in the Streight of Magellan, which must have been true, for he
mentioned several incidents that it was otherwise highly improbable he
should know, particularly the store-ship's running a-ground, and many of
the difficulties that occurred in that part of the Streight which we
passed together: By this conversation he contrived to introduce several
enquiries, concerning the western part of the Streight, the time it cost
me to get through, and the difficulties of the navigation; but
perceiving that I declined giving any account of these particulars, he
changed his subject. He said, he had heard that we lost an officer and
some men in an engagement with the Indians; and taking notice that my
ship was small, and a bad sailer, he insinuated that we must have
suffered great hardship in so long a voyage; but, said he, it is thought
to be safer and pleasanter sailing in the South Sea than any where else.
As I perceived that he waited for a reply, I said, that the great ocean,
called the South Sea, extended almost from one pole to the other; and
therefore, although that part of it which lay between the tropics might
justly be called the Pacific, on account of the trade-winds that blow
there all the year, yet without the tropics, on either side, the winds
were variable, and the seas turbulent. In all this he readily
acquiesced, and finding that he could not draw from me any thing to
satisfy his curiosity, by starting leading subjects of conversation, he
began to propose his questions in direct terms, and desired to know on
which side the equator I had crossed the South Seas. As I did not think
proper to answer this question, and wished to prevent others of the same
kind, I rose up somewhat abruptly, and I believe with some marks of
displeasure: At this he seemed to be a little disconcerted, and I
believe was about to make an apology for his curiosity, but I prevented
him, by desiring that he would make my compliments to his captain, and
in return for his obliging civilities presented him with one of the
arrows that had wounded my men, which I immediately went into my
bed-room to fetch: He followed me, looking about him with great
curiosity, as indeed he had done from the time of his first coming on
board, and having received the arrow, he took his leave.

After he was gone, and we had made sail, I went upon the deck, where my
lieutenant asked me, if my visitor had entertained me with an account of
his voyage. This led me to tell him the general purport of our
conversation, upon which he assured me that the tale I had heard was a
fiction, for, says he, the boat's crew could not keep their secret so
well as their officer, but after a little conversation told one of our
people who was born at Quebec, and spoke French, that they had been
round the globe as well as we. This naturally excited a general
curiosity, and with a very little difficulty we learnt that they had
sailed from Europe in company with another ship, which, wanting some
repair, had been left at the Isle of France; that they had attempted to
pass the Streight of Magellan the first summer, but not being able, had
gone back, and wintered in the river de la Plata; that the summer
afterwards they had been more successful, and having passed the
Streight, spent two months at the island of Juan Fernandes. My
lieutenant told me also, that a boy in the French boat said he had been
upon that island two years, and that while he was there, an English
frigate put into the road, but did not anchor, mentioning the time as
well as he could recollect, by which it appeared that the frigate he had
seen was the Swallow. On the boy's being asked how he came to be so long
upon the island of Juan Fernandes, he said that he had been taken upon
the Spanish coast in the West Indies in a smuggling party, and sent
thither by the Spaniards; but that by the French ship, in whose boat he
came on board us, having touched there, he had regained his liberty.
After having received this information from my lieutenant, I could
easily account for M. Bougainville's having made a tack to speak to me,
and for the conversation and behaviour of my visitor; but I was now more
displeased at the questions he had asked me than before, for if it was
improper for him to communicate an account of his voyage to me, it was
equally improper for me to communicate an account of my voyage to him:
And I thought an attempt to draw me into a breach of my obligation to
secrecy, while he imposed upon me by a fiction that he might not violate
his own, was neither liberal nor just. As what the boat's crew told my
people, differs in several particulars from the account printed by M.
Bougainville, I shall not pretend to determine how much of it is true;
but I was then very sorry that the lieutenant had not communicated to me
the intelligence he received, such as it was, before my guest left me,
and I was now very desirous to speak with him again, but this was
impossible; for though the French ship was foul from a long voyage, and
we had just been cleaned, she shot by us as if we had been at anchor,
notwithstanding we had a fine fresh gale, and all our sails set.[61]

[Footnote 61: Bougainville passes over the circumstance of meeting with
the Swallow in a very cursory manner: "The 28th we perceived a ship to
windward, and a-head of us; we kept sight of her during the night, and
joined her the next morning; it was the Swallow. I offered Capt. C. all
the services that one may render to another at sea. He wanted nothing;
but upon his telling me that they had given him letters for France at
the Cape, I sent on board for them. He presented me with an arrow which
he had got in one of the isles he had found in his voyage round the
world, _a voyage that he was far from suspecting we had likewise made_.
His ship was very small, went very ill, and when we took leave of him,
he remained as it were at anchor. How much he must have suffered in so
bad a vessel, may well be conceived. There were eight leagues difference
between his estimated longitude and ours; he reckoned himself so much
more to the westward." A little before, he had spoken of his wishing to
join Carteret, over whom he knew he had great advantage in sailing. This
was in leaving the Cape of Good Hope, at which time Carteret was eleven
days gone before him.--E.]

On the 7th of March we made the Western Islands, and went between St
Michael and Tercera; in this situation we found the variation 13 deg.36'W.,
and the winds began to blow from the S.W. The gale, as we got farther to
the westward, increased, and on the 11th, having got to W.N.W. it blew
very hard, with a great sea; we scudded before it with the foresail
only, the foot-rope of which suddenly breaking, the sail blew all to
pieces, before we could get the yard down, though it was done instantly.
This obliged us to bring the ship to, but having, with all possible
expedition, bent a new foresail, and got the yard up, we bore away
again; this was the last accident that happened to us during the voyage.
On the 16th, being in latitude 49 deg. 15' N. we got soundings. On the 18th,
I knew by the depth of water that we were in the Channel, but the wind
being to the northward, we could not make land till the next day, when
we saw the Star Point; and on the 20th, to our great joy, we anchored at
Spithead, after a very fine passage, and a fair wind all the way from
the Cape of Good Hope.

_A Table of the Variation of the Compass, as observed on board the
Swallow, in her Voyage round the Globe, in the Years_ 1766, 1767, 1768,
_and_ 1769.

N.B. The days of the month in this Table are not by the nautical
account, as is the custom, but, for the convenience of those that are
not used to that way of reckoning, are reduced to the civil account.
A.M. denotes that the observation was made in the forenoon, and P.M. in
the afternoon of that day on the noon of which the latitude and
longitude of the ship were taken.

TIME. Lat. in Long. in Variation. REMARKS.
at Noon at Noon
from
_________________________________________________________________

North. West. West.
1766,August. English Channel 22 deg.30' }
30, P.M. 45 deg.22 18 deg.17' 20 25 }From the Downs to
Sept. 3,P.M. 38 36 13 40 19 04 } of Madeira.
4,A.M. 37 27 14 12 20 17 }

Island Madeira. 32 34 16 35 16 00
17,A.M. 24 33 19 22 13 00
21,A.M. 17 19 22 19 11 14 }The island of Sall
}in sight, S.
}by W. ten leagues
22,P.M, 16 34 22 29 8 20 }Was then between the
}island of Sall
}and the island of May.
Porto Praya 15 00 23 00 8 00 }Island of St. Jago.

Oct. 10,P.M. 6 34 21 41 5 36 }
11,P.M. 6 40 21 35 6 00 }
South. }
22,A.M. 0 06 25 03 6 23 }On the passage from
}the island
25,A.M. 4 14 27 23 4 30 }of St Jago to the
27,A.M 7 03 28 49 3 52 }Streights
28,A.M. 8 46 29 14 1 50 }of Magellan.
30,P.M. 10 57 30 09 0 30 }
31,A.M. 12 30 30 30 Novar }
East.
Oct.31,P.M. 12 56 30 46 1 24 }
Nov. 2,P.M. 17 22 32 09 1 40 }
7,A.M. 23 54 38 10 4 56 }
P.M. - - - - 5 56 }
8,P.M. 25 49 39 21 6 45 } Coast of Patagonia.
11,A.M. 29 57 42 27 8 50 }
15,A.M. 34 12 46 41 12 00 }
16,A.M. 34 38 47 58 12 36 }
17,A.M. 34 46 48 28 13 03 }
P.M. - - - - 14 20 }

Nov.18, AM 35 deg. 37' 49 deg. 49' 30' }Soundings 54 fathoms of
}water,with a bottom of fine
}black sand, rather muddy.
PM. 15 45 }Ditto depth and bottom.
20, PM. 36 57 51 48 15 33 }Ditto depth, find sand, but
}not so black, with small
}shells.
21, AM. 37 40 51 05 15 52 }Had no bottom with 80 fathoms
}of line.
38 53 53 12 }Had soundings a 70 fathoms
}water.
40 34 53 47 }No bottom with 90 fathoms of
}line.
41 34 55 39 }45 fathoms, dark brown sandy
}bottom.
41 57 56 06 }42 fathoms, fine grey sand.

41 06 57 18 }46 fathoms, fine dark brown
}sand.
28, AM. 41 14 56 48 19 00 }39 fathoms ditto bottom. Here
}we caught very good fish
}with hooks and lines.
29, AM. 42 08 58 41 19 02 }32 fathoms of water, with
}ditto bottom.
PM. 19 45 }33 fathoms depth.
43 18 58 56 }Depth 45 fathoms, the same
}bottom; we had here a calm,
}and we caught good fish.
44 04 58 53 }52 fathoms water, the same
}bottom.
45 00 59 34 }58 fathoms, fine light brown
}sand.
Dec, 4, PM. 47 00 60 51 20 20
47 15 61 10 }60 fathoms, fine dark sand.
5, AM. 48 01 61 28 }56 fathoms, with ditto
}bottom,and grains of
}sparkling sand mixed with it.
6, AM. 47 35 62 50 20 34
47 30 63 08 }45 fathoms of water, dark
}sand,with small stones, and
47 30 63 08 }in going west about 10 miles
}we had 52 fathoms, a bottom
}of soft mud
7, AM. 47 14 63 37 }54 fathoms, soft mud, with
}small stones; at this time
}the land was seen from the
}mastheads, somewhere about
}Cape Blanco.
8, PM. 48 54 64 14 20 30
9, AM. 49 12 65 31 20 35
1766.
Dec. 9, A.M. 50 deg. 15' 66 deg.02' - - }53 fathoms. dark grey sand,
}with small stones.
17, Cape Virgin Mary, eastermost entrance of the Streight
Magellan - 52 23 68 02 22 50
Elizabeth Island 22 36
Port Famine 22 22
Off C. Forward 22 10
York Road Ditto }In the Streights
Swallow Har. }of Magellan.
Off C. Notch. 22 00
1767, Off C. Upr.
Off C. Pillar 52 45 75 10 21 50 }Westernmost entrance of
}the Streights.
April 18, P.M. 49 18 79 06 17 36
20, A.M. 48 04 80 56 17 20 }Coast of Chili, in the
}South Sea.
26, P.M. 45 57 81 22 16 17
28, P.M. 44 27 81 24 15 10