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

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Neither will I take upon me to affirm, that murders are frequently
committed here; but the churches afford an asylum to the criminal: And
as our cockswain was one day looking at two men, who appeared to be
talking together in a friendly manner, one of them suddenly drew a knife
and stabbed the other; who not instantly falling, the murderer withdrew
the weapon, and stabbed him a second time. He then ran away, and was
pursued by some negroes, who were also witnesses of the fact; but
whether he escaped or was taken I never heard.

The country, at a small distance round the town, which is all that any
of us saw, is beautiful in the highest degree; the wildest spots being
varied with a greater luxuriance of flowers, both as to number and
beauty, than the best gardens in England.

Upon the trees and bushes sat an almost endless variety of birds,
especially small ones, many of them covered with the most elegant
plumage; among which were the humming-bird. Of insects too there was a
great variety, and some of them very beautiful; but they were much more
nimble than those of Europe, especially the butterflies, most of which
flew near the tops of the trees, and were therefore very difficult to be
caught, except when the sea-breeze blew fresh, which kept them nearer to
the ground. The banks of the sea, and of the small brook which water
this part of the country, are almost covered with the small crabs,
called _cancer vocans_; some of these had one of the claws, called by
naturalists the hand, very large; others had them both remarkably small,
and of equal size, a difference which is said to distinguish the sexes,
that with the large claw being the male.

There is the appearance of but little cultivation; the greater part of
the land is wholly uncultivated, and very little care and labour seem to
have been bestowed upon the rest; there are indeed little patches or
gardens, in which many kinds of European garden stuff are produced,
particularly cabbages, pease, beans, kidney-beans, turnips, and white
radishes, but all much inferior to our own: Watermelons and pine-apples
are also produced in these spots, and they are the only fruits that we
saw cultivated, though the country produces musk, melons, oranges,
limes, lemons, sweet lemons, citrons, plantains, bananas, mangos,
mamane-apples, acajou or cashou apples and nuts; jamboira of two kinds,
one of which bears a small black fruit; cocoa-nuts, mangos, palm nuts of
two kinds, one long, the other round; and palm berries, all which were
in season while we were there.

Of these fruits the water-melons and oranges are the best in their kind;
the pine-apples are much inferior to those that I have eaten in England;
they are indeed more juicy and sweet, but have no flavour; I believe
them to be natives of this country, though we heard of none that at this
time grow wild; they have, however, very little care bestowed upon them,
the plants being set between beds of any kind of garden-stuff, and
suffered to take the chance of the season. The melons are still worse,
at least those that we tasted, which were mealy and insipid; but the
water-melons are excellent; they have a flavour, at least a degree of
acidity, which ours have not. We saw also several species of the
prickle-pear, and some European fruits, particularly the apple and
peach, both which were very mealy and insipid. In these gardens also
grow yams, and mandihoca, which in the West Indies is called cassada or
cassava, and to the flower of which the people here, as I have before
observed, give the name of _farinha de pao_, which may not improperly be
translated, powder of post. The soil, though it produces tobacco and
sugar, will not produce bread-corn; so that the people here have no
wheat-flour, but what is brought from Portugal, and sold at the rate of
a shilling a pound, though it is generally spoiled by being heated in
its passage. Mr Banks is of opinion, that all the products of our West
Indian islands would grow here; notwithstanding which, the inhabitants
import their coffee and chocolate from Lisbon.[76]

[Footnote 76: The Portuguese government, it appears, from Mr Barrow's
representation, have taken effectual measures to preserve this colony in
a state of dependance on the mother country: "It no sooner discovered,"
says that gentleman, "that sugar could be raised in any quantity, and
afforded, in the markets of Europe, at reasonable prices, than it
thought proper to impose on them an export duty of 20 _per cent._ which
operated as an immediate check on the growth of this article. When the
cultivation of the indigo plant had been considerably extended, and the
preparation sufficiently understood, so as to enable the colonists to
meet their competitors in the markets of Europe, this article was
assumed as a royal monopoly." Salt, he says, is another royal monopoly,
and yields the sum of L. 15,000 annually: But one of the immediate
effects of its being so, is the entire destruction of the valuable
fisheries. Does the reader remember the fable of the hen that laid
golden eggs? Would not certain governments do well to study the moral of
it?--E.]

Most of the land, as far as we saw of the country, is laid down in
grass, upon which cattle are pastured in great plenty; but they are so
lean, that an Englishman will scarcely eat of their flesh: The herbage
of these pastures consists principally of cresses, and consequently is
so short, that though it may afford a bite for horses and sheep, it can
scarcely be grazed by horned cattle in a sufficient quantity to keep
them alive.

This country may possibly produce many valuable drugs; but we could not
find any in the apothecaries shops, except pariera brava, and balsam
capivi; both of which were excellent in their kind, and sold at a very
low price. The drug trade is probably carried on to the northward, as
well as that of the dying woods, for we could get no intelligence of
either of them here.

As to manufactures, we neither saw nor heard of any except that of
cotton hammocks, in which people are carried about here, as they are
with us in sedan chairs; and these are principally, if not wholly,
fabricated by the Indians.

The riches of the place consist chiefly in the mines which we supposed
to lie far up the country, though we could never learn where, or at what
distance; for the situation is concealed as much as possible, and troops
are continually employed in guarding the roads that lead to them: It is
almost impossible for any man to get a sight of them, except those who
are employed there; and indeed the strongest curiosity would scarcely
induce any man to attempt it, for whoever is found upon the road to
them, if he cannot give undeniable evidence of his having business
there, is immediately hanged up upon the next tree.

Much gold is certainly brought from these mines, but at an expence of
life that must strike every man, to whom custom has not made it
familiar, with horror. No less than forty thousand negroes are annually
imported, on the king's account, to dig the mines; and we were credibly
informed, that, the last year but one before we arrived here, this
number fell so short, probably from some epidemic disease, that twenty
thousand more were draughted from the town of Rio.

Precious stones are also found here in such plenty, that a certain
quantity only is allowed to be collected in a year; to collect this
quantity, a number of people are sent into the country where they are
found, and when it is got together, which sometimes happens in a month,
sometimes in less and sometimes in more, they return; and after that,
whoever is found in these precious districts, on any pretence, before
the next year, is immediately put to death.

The jewels found here, are diamonds, topazes of several kinds, and
amethysts. We did not see any of the diamonds, but were informed that
the viceroy had a large quantity by him, which he would sell on the king
of Portugal's account, but not at a less price than they are sold for in
Europe. Mr Banks bought a few topazes and amethysts as specimens: Of the
topazes there are three sorts, of very different value, which are
distinguished by the names of pinga d'agua qualidade primeiro, pinga
d'agua qualidade secundo, and chrystallos armerillos: They are sold,
large and small, good and bad together, by octavos, or the eighth part
of an ounce; the best at 4s. 9d. All dealing, however, in these stones,
it prohibited to the subject under the severest penalties: There were
jewellers here formerly, who purchased and worked them on their own
account; but about fourteen months before our arrival, orders came from
the court of Portugal, that no more stones should be wrought here,
except on the king's account: The jewellers were ordered to bring all
their tools to the viceroy, and left without any means of subsistence.
The persons employed here to work stones for the king are slaves.

The coin that is current here, is either that of Portugal, consisting
chiefly of thirty-six shillings pieces; or pieces both of gold and
silver, which are struck at this place: The pieces of silver, which are
very much debased, are called petacks, and are of different value, and
easily distinguished by the number of rees that is marked on the
outside. Here is also a copper coin, like that in Portugal, of five and
ten ree pieces. A ree is a nominal coin of Portugal, ten of which are
equal in value to about three farthings sterling.

The harbour of Rio de Janeiro is situated W. by N. 18 leagues from Cape
Frio, and may be known by a remarkable hill, in the form of a
sugar-loaf, at the west point of the bay;[77] but as all the coast is
very high, and rises in many peaks, the entrance of this harbour may be
more certainly distinguished by the islands that lie before it; one of
which, called Rodonda, is high and round like a hay-stack, and lies at
the distance of two leagues and a half from the entrance of the bay, in
the direction of S. by W.; but the first islands which are met with,
coming from the east, or Cape Frio, are two that have a rocky
appearance, lying near to each other, and at the distance of about four
miles from the shore: There are also, at the distance of three leagues
to the westward of these, two other islands which lie near to each
other, a little without the bay on the east side, and very near the
shore. This harbour is certainly a good one; the entrance indeed is not
wide, but the sea-breeze, which blows every day from ten or twelve
o'clock till sunset, makes it easy for any ship to go in before the
wind; and it grows wider as the town is approached, so that a-breast of
it there is room for the largest fleet, in five or six fathom water,
with an oozy bottom. At the narrow part, the entrance is defended by two
forts. The principal is Santa Cruz, which stands on the east point of
the bay, and has been mentioned before; that on the west side is called
Fort Lozia, and is built upon a rock that lies close to the main; the
distance between them is about three quarters of a mile, but the channel
is not quite so broad, because there are sunken rocks which lie off each
fort, and in this part alone there is danger: The narrowness of the
channel causes the tides, both flood and ebb, to run with considerable
strength, so that they cannot be stemmed without a fresh breeze. The
rockiness of the bottom makes it also unsafe to anchor here: Put all
danger may be avoided by keeping in the middle of the channel. Within
the entrance, the course up the bay is first N. by W. 1/2 W. and N.N.W.
something more than a league; this will bring the vessel the length of
the great road; and N.W. and W.N.W. one league more will carry her to
the isle dos Cobras, which lies before the city: She should then keep
the north side of this island close on board, and anchor above it,
before a monastery of Benedictines which stands upon a hill at the N.W.
end of the city.

[Footnote 77: Mr Barrow, during his stay at Rio de Janeiro, had an
opportunity of ascertaining the height of the Sugar-loaf, as it is
called from its conical appearance. It is, he says, 680 feet high, above
the surface out of which it rises, and is a solid mass of hard sparkling
granite. On the eastern side of the chasm which forms the entrance into
the bay, there is a mountain of the same material, but so far different
in form, that it slopes easily and gradually from the water's edge to
the summit, which however is about as high as the cone. This side is
well defended by forts and batteries. Mr Barrow's description of the
magnificent scenery of this harbour, is perhaps somewhat poetically
conceived, but may be advantageously consulted by the reader.--E.]

The river, and indeed the whole coast, abounds with a greater variety of
fish than we had ever seen; a day seldom passed in which one or more of
a new species were not brought to Mr Banks: The bay also is as well
adapted for catching these fish as can be conceived; for it is full of
small islands, between which there is shallow water, and proper beaches
for drawing the seine. The sea, without the bay, abounds with dolphins,
and large mackerel of different kinds, which readily bite at a hook, and
the inhabitants always tow one after their boats for that purpose.

Though the climate is hot, the situation of this place is certainly
wholesome;[78] while we stayed here the thermometer never rose higher
than 83 degrees. We had frequent rains, and once a very hard gale of
wind.

[Footnote 78: Mr Barrow seems to think otherwise; according to him, it
is by no means healthy, and the interminable annoyance of the musquitoes
renders it as injurious to intellectual, as it is on other accounts to
bodily welfare. Perhaps, however, he assigns too much agency to these
very vexatious insects, when he says it is impossible for any man to
think at all profitably in their company. His description then, it may
be inferred, was written at a very respectful distance from the din and
venom of the noisome pest.--E.]

Ships water here at the fountain in the great square, though, as I have
observed, the water is not good; they land their casks upon a smooth
sandy beach, which is not more than a hundred yards distant from the
fountain, and upon application to the viceroy, a centinel will be
appointed to look after them, and clear the way to the fountain where
they are to be filled.

Upon the whole, Rio de Janeiro is a very good place for ships to put in
at that want refreshment: The harbour is safe and commodious; and
provisions, except wheaten-bread and flour, may be easily procured: As a
succedaneum for bread, there are yams and cassada in plenty; beef, both
fresh and jerked, may be bought at about two-pence farthing a pound;
though, as I have before remarked, it is very lean. The people here jerk
their beef by taking out the bones, cutting it into large but thin
slices, then curing it with salt, and drying it in the shade: It eats
very well, and, if kept dry, will remain good a long time at sea. Mutton
is scarcely to be procured, and hogs and poultry are dear; of
garden-stuff and fruit-trees there is abundance, of which, however, none
can be preserved at sea but the pumpkin; rum, sugar, and molasses, all
excellent in their kind, may be had at a reasonable price; tobacco also
is cheap, but it is not good. Here is a yard for building shipping, and
a small hulk to heave down by; for, as the tide never rises above six or
seven feet, there is no other way of coming at a ship's bottom.

When the boat which had been sent on shore returned, we hoisted her on
board, and stood out to sea.

SECTION III.

_The Passage from Rio de Janeiro to the entrance of the Streight of Le
Maire, with a Description of some of the Inhabitants of Terra del
Fuego._

On the 9th of December, we observed the sea to be covered with broad
streaks of a yellowish colour, several of them a mile long, and three or
four hundred yards wide: Some of the water thus coloured was taken up,
and found to be full of innumerable atoms pointed at the end, of a
yellowish colour, and none more than a quarter of a line, or the
fortieth part of an inch long: In the microscope they appeared to be
_fasciculi_ of small fibres interwoven with each other, not unlike the
nidus of some of the _phyganeas_, called caddices; but whether they were
animal or vegetable substances, whence they came, or for what they were
designed, neither Mr Banks nor Dr Solander could guess. The same
appearance had been observed before, when we first discovered the
continent of South America.[79]

[Footnote 79: The Portuguese have a name for what is here spoken of.
They call it the grassy sea. There is reason to think that it is a
vegetable, and not an animal production. But, on the whole, the subject
has been little investigated.--E.]

On the 11th we hooked a shark, and while we were playing it under the
cabin window, it threw out, and drew in again several times what
appeared to be its stomach: It proved to be a female, and upon being
opened six young ones were taken out of it; five of them were alive, and
swam briskly in a tub of water, but the sixth appeared to have been dead
some time.

Nothing remarkable happened till the 30th, except that we prepared for
the bad weather, which we were shortly to expect, by bending a new suit
of sails; but on this day we ran a course of one hundred and sixty miles
by the log, through innumerable land insects of various kinds, some
upon the wing, and more upon the water, many of which were alive; they
appeared to be exactly the same with the _carabi_, the _grylli_, the
_phalanae_, _aranea_, and other flies that are seen in England, though
at this time we could not be less than thirty leagues from land; and
some of these insects, particularly the _grylli aranea_, never
voluntarily leave it at a greater distance than twenty yards. We judged
ourselves to be now nearly opposite to _Baye sans fond_, where Mr
Dalrymple supposes there is a passage quite through the continent of
America; and we thought from the insects that there might be at least a
very large river, and that it had overflowed its banks.[80]

[Footnote 80: The place alluded to is denominated Sin-fondo bay in
Jeffrey's map, which, however imperfect as to actual geography, is
perhaps the best companion to the account of the voyages published about
the same period. Mr Dalrymple is an example of those warm-fancied men
that make discoveries with the celerity of mushroom beds, and from as
unimportant materials too. Some Spanish charts, often the very worst
authority in the world, had drawn a connection betwixt the branches of
two rivers, on opposite sides of the continent, and hence was deduced,
in his lively imagination, a passage from sea to sea. See Jeffrey's
American Atlas, where the imaginary communication is represented by
dotted lines.--E.]

On the 3d of January, 1769, being in latitude 47 deg. 17' S. and longitude
61 deg. 29' 45" W. we were all looking out for Pepy's island, and for some
time an appearance was seen in the east which so much resembled land,
that we bore away for it; and it was more than two hours and a half
before we were convinced that it was nothing but what sailors call a
fog-bank.

The people now beginning to complain of cold, each of them received what
is called a Magellanic jacket, and a pair of trowsers. The jacket is
made of a thick woollen stuff, called _Fearnought_, which is provided by
the government. We saw, from time to time, a great number of penguins,
albatrosses, and sheer-waters, seals, whales, and porpoises: And on the
11th, having passed Falkland's islands, we discovered the coast of Terra
del Fuego, at the distance of about four leagues, extending from the W*
to S.E. by S. We had here five-and-thirty fathom, the ground soft, small
slate stones. As we ranged along the shore to the S.E. at the distance
of two or three leagues, we perceived smoke in several places, which was
made by the natives, probably as a signal, for they did not continue it
after we had passed by. This day we discovered that the ship had got
near a degree of longitude to the westward of the log, which, in this
latitude, is thirty-five minutes of a degree on the equator: Probably
there is a small current setting westward, which may be caused by the
westerly current coming round Cape Horn, and through the Streight of Le
Maire, and the indraught of the Streight of Magellan.

Having continued to range the coast on the 14th, we entered the Streight
of Le Maire; but the tide turning against us, drove us out with great
violence, and raised such a sea off Cape St Diego, that the waves had
exactly the same appearance as they would have had if they had broke
over a ledge of rocks; and when the ship was in this torrent, she
frequently pitched, so that the bowsprit was under water. About noon, we
got under the land between Cape St Diego and Cape St Vincent, where I
intended to have anchored; but finding the ground every where hard and
rocky, and shallowing from thirty to twelve fathoms, I sent the master
to examine a little cove, which lay at a small distance to the eastward
of Cape St Vincent. When he returned, he reported, that there was
anchorage in four fathom, and a good bottom, close to the eastward of
the first bluff point, on the east of Cape St Vincent; at the very
entrance of the cove, to which I gave the name of VINCENT'S BAY: Before
this anchoring ground, however, lay several rocky ledges, that were
covered with sea-weed; but I was told that there was not less than eight
and nine fathom over all of them. It will probably be thought strange,
that where weeds; which grow at the bottom, appear above the surface,
there should be this depth of water; but the weeds which grow upon rocky
ground in these countries, and which always distinguish it from sand and
ooze, are of an enormous size. The leaves are four feet long, and some
of the stalks, though not thicker than a man's thumb, above one hundred
and twenty: Mr Banks and Dr Solander examined some of them, over which
we sounded and had fourteen fathom, which is eighty-four feet; and as
they made a very acute angle with the bottom, they were thought to be at
least one-half longer: The foot-stalks were swelled into an air vessel,
and Mr Banks and Dr Solander called this plant _Fucus giganteus_. Upon
the report of the master, I stood in with the ship; but not trusting
implicitly to his intelligence, I continued to sound, and found but four
fathom upon the first ledge that I went over; concluding, therefore,
that I could not anchor here without risk, I determined to seek some
port in the Streight, where I might get on board such wood and water as
we wanted.

Mr Banks and Dr Solander, however, being very desirous to go on shore, I
sent a boat with them and their people, while I kept plying as near as
possible with the ship.

Having been on shore four hours, they returned about nine in the
evening, with above an hundred different plants and flowers, all of them
wholly unknown to the botanists of Europe. They found the country about
the bay to be in general flat, the bottom of it in particular was a
plain, covered with grass, which might easily have been made into a
large quantity of hay; they found also abundance of good wood and water,
and fowls in great plenty. Among other things, of which nature has been
liberal in this place, is Winter's bark, _Winteranea aromatica_; which
may easily be known by its broad leaf, shaped like the laurel, of a
light green colour without, and inclining to blue within; the bark is
easily stripped with a bone or a stick, and its virtues are well known:
It may be used for culinary purposes as a spice, and is not less
pleasant than wholesome: Here is also plenty of wild celery and
scurvy-grass. The trees are chiefly of one kind, a species of the birch,
called _Betula antarctica_; the stem is from thirty to forty feet long,
and from two to three feet in diameter, so that in a case of necessity
they might possibly supply a ship with top-masts: They are a light white
wood, bear a small leaf, and cleave very straight. Cranberries were also
found here in great plenty, both white and red.

The persons who landed saw none of the inhabitants, but fell in with two
of their deserted huts, one in a thick wood, and the other close by the
beach.

Having taken the boat on board, I made sail into the Streight, and at
three in the morning of the 15th, I anchored in twelve fathom and a
half, upon coral rocks, before a small cove, which we took for Port
Maurice, at the distance of about half a mile from the shore. Two of the
natives came down to the beach, expecting us to land; but this spot
afforded so little shelter, that I at length determined not to examine
it: I therefore got under sail again about ten o'clock, and the savages
retired into the woods.

At two o'clock, we anchored in the bay of Good Success; and after dinner
I went on shore, accompanied by Mr Banks and Dr Solander, to look for a
watering-place, and speak to the Indians, several of whom had come in
sight. We landed on the starboard side of the bay near some rocks, which
made smooth water and good landing; thirty or forty of the Indians soon
made their appearance at the end of a sandy beach on the other side of
the bay, but seeing our number, which was ten or twelve, they retreated.
Mr Banks and Dr Solander then advanced about one hundred yards before
us, upon which two of the Indians returned, and, having advanced some
paces towards them, sat down; as soon as they came up, the Indians rose,
and each of them having a small stick in his hand threw it away, in a
direction both from themselves and the strangers, which was considered
as the renunciation of weapons in token of peace: They then walked
briskly towards their companions, who had halted at about fifty yards
behind them, and beckoned the gentlemen to follow, which they did. They
were received with many uncouth signs of friendship; and, in return,
they distributed among them some beads and ribbons, which had been
brought on shore for that purpose, and with which they were greatly
delighted. A mutual confidence and good-will being thus produced, our
parties joined; the conversation, such as it was, became general; and
three of them accompanied us back to the ship. When they came on board,
one of them, whom we took to be a priest, performed much the same
ceremonies which M. Bougainville describes, and supposes to be an
exorcism. When he was introduced into a new part of the ship, or when
any thing that he had not seen before caught his attention, he shouted
with all his force for some minutes, without directing his voice either
to us or his companions.[81]