A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 15 (of 18) by Robert Kerr

R >> Robert Kerr >> A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 15 (of 18)

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[Footnote 80: On board his majesty's ship Elizabeth, from 1758 to 1764;
by William Nichelson, master of the said ship.--London, 1773.]

While we were amongst these islands, we had light breezes of wind,
varying from the S.E. to E., and some calms. This shews that the Cape de
Verde islands are either extensive enough to break the current of the
trade wind, or that they are situated just beyond its verge, in that
space where the variable winds, found on getting near the Line, begin.
The first supposition, however, is the most probable, as Dampier found
the wind westerly here in the month of February; at which time the trade
wind is supposed to extend farthest toward the equinoctial.[81] The
weather was hot and sultry, with some rain; and, for the most part, a
dull whiteness prevailed in the sky, that seems a medium between fog and
clouds. In general, the tropical regions seldom enjoy that clear
atmosphere observable where variable winds blow; nor does the sun shine
with such brightness. This circumtance, however, seems an advantage; for
otherwise, perhaps, the rays of the sun, being uninterrupted, would
render the heat quite unsupportable. The nights are, nevertheless, often
clear and serene.

[Footnote 81: Dampier's Voyages, vol. iii. p.10.--Captain Krusenstern
appears to be of the same opinion, as to the Cape de Verde islands being
of sufficient magnitude to alter the direction of the trade winds,
remarking that S.W. winds are frequently met with there, and that if
they are not, the wind is always very moderate in their vicinity. He
recommends vessels, on their passage to the equator, to take their
course to the westward of these islands, so as to cross the parallel of
17 deg., or that of the island of Antonio in 26-1/2 deg., or even that of 27 deg.,
and then to steer S.E. by S. directly to the equator. He further
advises, that, if possible, the passage of the Line be effected in 20 deg.
or 21 deg., as then there is the advantage of a directly free wind as soon
as the S.E. trade sets in, and of course the ship gets quicker to the
southward. But this can rarely be done. He himself crossed the equator
in 24 deg. 20' W., after a passage of thirty days from Santa Cruz. Ships, he
informs us, when crossing in a more westerly direction than 25 deg. and 26 deg.,
have been driven by strong currents, and a too southerly trade wind, so
near the coast of Brazil, as not to be able to clear Cape St Augustin.
The present opportunity is taken of mentioning, that this very cautious
and intelligent navigator agrees, in general, with Cook, as to
Nichelson's rule. "His instructions for crossing the Line, on the voyage
to India, with 6 deg. 30' and 7 deg. 00' west variation, but in returning to
Europe, with eight degrees, might have been of use forty years ago, when
the method of finding the longitude at sea by distances of the sun and
moon was known to very few navigators, and for a time no great error was
committed by pursuing them; but at present a variation of seven degrees
would hardly be found on the coast of Africa."--The reason is, as the
scientific reader must know, that the variation has been on the western
increase since the period alluded to. Thus Nichelson found it at St
Helena, in 1764, to be 11 deg. 38', and Captain Krusenstern, in 1806, a
space of forty-two years, 17 deg. 18' 10".--E.]

At nine o'clock in the morning of the 13th, we arrived before Port
Praya, in the island of St Jago, where we saw two Dutch East India
ships, and a small brigantine, at anchor. As the Discovery was not
there, and we had expended but little water in our passage from
Teneriffe, I did not think proper to go in, but stood to the southward.
Some altitudes of the sun were now taken, to ascertain the true time.
The longitude by the watch, deduced therefrom, was 23 deg. 48' west; the
little island in the bay bore W.N.W., distant near three miles, which
will make its longitude 23 deg. 51'. The same watch, on my late voyage, made
the longitude to be 23 deg. 30' W.; and we observed the latitude to be 14 deg.
53' 30" N.

The day after we left the Cape de Verde islands, we lost the N.E. trade
wind; but did not get that which blows from the S.E. till the 30th, when
we were in the latitude of 2 deg. north, and in the twenty-fifth degree of
west longitude.

During this interval,[82] the wind was mostly in the S.W. quarter.
Sometimes it blew fresh, and in squalls; but for the most part a gentle
breeze. The calms were few, and of short duration. Between the latitude
of 12 deg. and of 7 deg. N., the weather was generally dark and gloomy, with
frequent rains, which enabled us to save as much water as filled most of
our empty casks.

[Footnote 82: On the 18th, I sunk a bucket with a thermometer seventy
fathoms below the surface of the sea, where it remained two minutes; and
it took three minutes more to haul it up. The mercury in the thermometer
was at 66, which before, in the air, stood at 78, and in the surface of
the sea at 79. The water which came up in the bucket, contained, by Mr
Cavendish's table, 1/25, 7 part salt; and that at the surface of the sea
1/29, 4. As this last was taken up after a smart shower of rain, it
might be lighter on that account.--_Captain Cook's log-book_.]

These rains, and the close sultry weather accompanying them, too often
bring on sickness in this passage. Every bad consequence, at least, is
to be apprehended from them; and commanders of ships cannot be too much
upon their guard, by purifying the air between decks with fires and
smoke, and by obliging the people to dry their clothes at every
opportunity. These precautions were constantly observed on board the
Resolution[83] and Discovery; and we certainly profited by them, for we
had now fewer sick than on either of my former voyages. We had, however,
the mortification to find our ship exceedingly leaky in all her upper
works. The hot and sultry weather we had just passed through, had opened
her seams, which had been badly caulked at first, so wide, that they
admitted the rain-water through as it fell. There was hardly a man that
could lie dry in his bed; and the officers in the gun-room were all
driven out of their cabins, by the water that came through the sides.
The sails in the sail-room got wet; and before we had weather to dry
them, many of them were much damaged, and a great expence of canvas and
of time became necessary to make them in some degree serviceable. Having
experienced the same defect in our sail-rooms on my late voyage, it had
been represented to the yard-officers, who undertook to remove it. But
it did not appear to me that any thing had been done to remedy the
complaint. To repair these defects the caulkers were set to work, as
soon as we got into fair and settled weather, to caulk the decks and
inside weather-works of the ship; for I would not trust them over the
sides while we were at sea.

[Footnote 83: The particulars are mentioned in his log-book. On the 14th
of August a fire was made in the well, to air the ship below. On the
15th, the spare sails were aired upon deck, and a fire made to air the
sail-room. On the 17th, cleaned and smoked betwixt decks, and the
bread-room aired with fires. On the 21st, cleaned and smoked betwixt
decks; and on the 22d, the men's bedding was spread on deck to air.--D.]

On the first of September[84] we crossed the equator, in the longitude
of 27 deg. 38' W., with a fine gale at S.E. by S.; and notwithstanding my
apprehensions of falling in with the coast of Brazil in stretching to
the S.W., I kept the ship a full point from the wind. However, I found
my fears were ill-grounded; for on drawing near that coast, we met with
the wind more and more easterly; so that, by the time we were in the
latitude of 10 deg. S., we could make a south-easterly course good.

[Footnote 84: The afternoon, as appears from Mr Anderson's Journal, was
spent in performing the old and ridiculous ceremony of ducking those who
had not crossed the equator before. Though Captain Cook did not suppress
the custom, he thought it too trifling to deserve the least mention of
it in his Journal, or even in his log-book. Pernetty, the writer of
Bougainville's Voyage to the Falkland Islands, in 1763 and 1764, thought
differently; for his account of the celebration of this childish
festival on board his ship, is extended through seventeen pages, and
makes the subject of an entire chapter, under the title of _Bapteme de
la Ligne_.

It may be worth while to transcribe his introduction to the description
of it. "C'est un usage qui ne remonte pas plus haut que ce voyage
celebre de Gama, qui a fourni au Camoens le sujet de la Lusiade. L'idee
qu'on ne scauroit etre un bon marin, sans avoir traverse l'Equateur,
l'ennui inseparable d'une longue navigation, un certain esprit
republicain qui regne dans toutes les petites societes, peut-etre toutes
ces causes reunies, ont pu donner naissance a ces especes de saturnales.
Quoiqu'il en soi, elles furent adoptees, en un instant, dans toutes les
nations, et les hommes les plus eclaires furent obliges de se soumettre
a une coutume dont ils reconnoissoient l'absurdite. Car, partout, des
que le peuple parle, il faut que le sage se mette a l'unison."--_Histoire
d'un Voyage aux Isles Malouines_, p. 107, 108.--D.]

On the 8th, we were in the latitude of 8 deg. 57' S.; which is a little to
the southward of Cape St Augustine, on the coast of Brazil. Our
longitude, deduced from a very great number of lunar observations, was
34 deg. 16' W.; and by the watch, 34 deg. 47'. The former is 1 deg. 43', and the
latter 2 deg. 14' more westerly than the island of Fernando de Noronha, the
situation of which was pretty well determined during my late voyage.
Hence I concluded that we could not now be farther from the continent
than twenty or thirty leagues at most; and perhaps not much less, as we
neither had soundings nor any other signs of land. Dr Halley, however,
in his voyage, published by Mr Dalrymple, tells us,[85] that "he made no
more than one hundred and two miles, meridian distance, from the island
[Fernando de Noronha] to the coast of Brazil;" and seems to think that
"currents could not be the whole cause" of his making so little. But I
rather think that he was mistaken, and that the currents had hurried him
far to the westward of his intended course. This was, in some measure,
confirmed by our own observations; for we had found, during three or
four days preceding the 8th, that the currents set to the westward; and,
during the last twenty-four hours, it had set strong to the northward,
as we experienced a difference of twenty-nine miles between our observed
latitude and that by dead reckoning. Upon the whole, till some better
astronomical observations are made on shore on the eastern coast of
Brazil, I shall conclude that its longitude is thirty-five degrees and a
half, or thirty-six degrees W., at most.

[Footnote 85: Page 11.]

We proceeded on our voyage, without meeting with any thing of note, till
the 6th of October. Being then in the latitude of 35 deg. 15' S., longitude
7 deg. 45' W., we met with light airs and calms by turns, for three days
successively. We had, for some days before, seen albatrosses, pintadoes,
and other petrels; and here we saw three penguins, which occasioned us
to sound; but we found no ground with a line of one hundred and fifty
fathoms. We put a boat in the water, and shot a few birds; one of which
was a black petrel, about the size of a crow, and, except as to the bill
and feet, very like one. It had a few white feathers under the throat;
and the under-side of the quill-feathers were of an ash-colour. All the
other feathers were jet black, as also the bill and legs.

On the 8th, in the evening, one of those birds which sailors call
noddies, settled on our rigging, and was caught. It was something larger
than an English black-bird, and nearly as black, except the upper part
of the head, which was white, looking as if it were powdered; the
whitest feathers growing out from the base of the upper bill, from which
they gradually assumed a darker colour, to about the middle of the upper
part of the neck, where the white shade was lost in the black, without
being divided by any line. It was web-footed; had black legs and a black
bill, which was long, and not unlike that of a curlew. It is said these
birds never fly far from land. We knew of none nearer the station we
were in, than Gough's or Richmond Island, from which our distance could
not be less than one hundred leagues. But it must be observed that the
Atlantic Ocean, to the southward of this latitude, has been but little
frequented; so that there may be more islands there than we are
acquainted with.

We frequently, in the night, saw those luminous marine animals mentioned
and described in my first voyage. Some of them seemed to be considerably
larger than any I had before met with; and sometimes they were so
numerous, that hundreds were visible at the same moment.

This calm weather was succeeded by a fresh gale from the N.W., which
lasted two days. Then we had again variable light airs for about
twenty-four hours; when the N.W. wind returned, and blew with such
strength, that on the 17th we had sight of the Cape of Good Hope; and
the next day anchored in Table Bay, in four fathoms water, with the
church bearing S.W. 1/4 S., and Green Point N.W. 1/4 W.

As soon as we had received the usual visit from the master attendant and
the surgeon, I sent an officer to wait on Baron Plettenberg, the
governor; and, on his return, saluted the garrison with thirteen guns,
which compliment was returned with the same number.

We found in the bay two French East India ships; the one outward, and
the other homeward bound. And two or three days before our arrival,
another homeward-bound ship of the same nation had parted from her
cable, and been driven on shore at the head of the bay, where she was
lost. The crew were saved; but the greatest part of the cargo shared the
same fate with the ship, or (which amounted to the same) was plundered
and stolen by the inhabitants, either out of the ship, or as it was
driven or carried on shore. This is the account the French officers gave
to me; and the Dutch themselves could not deny the fact. But, by way of
excusing themselves from being guilty of a crime disgraceful to every
civilized state, they endeavoured to lay the whole blame on the French
captain, for not applying in time for a guard.

As soon as we had saluted, I went on shore, accompanied by some of my
officers, and waited on the Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor, the
Fiscal, and the Commander of the troops. These gentlemen received me
with the greatest civility; and the Governor, in particular, promised me
every assistance that the place afforded. At the same time I obtained
his leave to set up our observatory on any spot I should think most
convenient; to pitch tents for the sail-makers and coopers; and to
bring the cattle on shore, to graze near our encampment. Before I
returned on board, I ordered soft bread, fresh meat, and greens, to be
provided, every day, for the ship's company.

On the 22d, we set up the tents and observatory, and began to send the
several articles out of the ship which I wanted on shore. This could not
be done sooner, as the militia of the place were exercising on, or near,
the ground which we were to occupy.

The next day, we began to observe equal altitudes of the sun, in order
to ascertain the rate of the watch, or, which is the same thing, to find
whether it had altered its rate. These observations were continued every
day, whenever the weather would permit, till the time of our departure
drew near. But before this, the caulkers had been set to work to caulk
the ship; and I had concerted measures with Messrs Brandt and Chiron,
for supplying both ships with such provisions as I should want. Bakers,
likewise, had been ordered, immediately after our arrival, to bake such
a quantity of bread as I thought would be requisite. As fast as the
several articles destined for the Resolution were got ready, they were
carried on board.

On the 26th, the French ship sailed for Europe, and by her we sent
letters to England. The next day, the Hampshire East India ship, from
Bencoolen, anchored in the bay, and saluted us with thirteen guns, which
we returned with eleven.

Nothing remarkable happened till the evening of the 31st, when it came
on to blow excessively hard at S.E., and continued for three days;
during which time there was no communication between the ship and the
shore. The Resolution was the only ship in the bay that rode out the
gale without dragging her anchors. We felt its effects as sensibly on
shore. Our tents and observatory were torn to pieces; and our
astronomical quadrant narrowly escaped irreparable damage. On the 3d of
November the storm ceased, and the next day we resumed our different
employments.

On the 6th, the Hampshire India ship sailed for England. In her I sent
home an invalid, whom Captain Trimble was so obliging as to receive on
board. I was afterward sorry that I had not availed myself of this
opportunity to part with two or three more of my crew, who were troubled
with different complaints; but, at this time, there was some hope of
their health being re-established.

In the morning of the 10th, the Discovery arrived in the bay. Captain
Clerke informed me that he had sailed from Plymouth on the 1st of
August, and should have been with us here a week sooner, if the gale of
wind had not blown him off the coast. Upon the whole, he was seven days
longer in his passage from England than we had been. He had the
misfortune to lose one of his marines, by falling overboard; but there
had been no other mortality amongst his people, and they now arrived
well and healthy.

Captain Clerke having represented to me that his ship was in want of
caulking; that no time might be lost in repairing this defect, next day
I sent all my workmen on board her, having already completed this
service on board the Resolution. I lent every other assistance to the
captain to expedite his supply of provisions and water, having given him
an order to receive on board as much of both articles as he could
conveniently stow. I now found that the bakers had failed in baking the
bread I had ordered for the Discovery. They pretended a want of flour;
but the truth was, they were doubtful of her coming, and did not care to
begin till they saw her at anchor in the bay.

I have before made mention of our getting our cattle on shore. The bull
and two cows, with their calves, were sent to graze along with some
other cattle; but I was advised to keep our sheep, sixteen in number,
close to our tents, where they were penned up every night. During the
night preceding the 14th, some dogs having got in amongst them, forced
them out of the pen, killing four, and dispersing the rest. Six of them
were recovered the next day; but the two rams, and two of the finest
ewes in the whole flock, were amongst those missing. Baron Plettenberg
being now in the country, I applied to the Lieutenant-Governor, Mr
Hemmy, and to the Fiscal. Both these gentlemen promised to use their
endeavours for the recovery of the lost sheep. The Dutch, we know,
boasted that the police at the Cape was so carefully executed, that it
was hardly possible for a slave, with all his cunning and knowledge of
the country, to effectuate his escape. Yet my sheep evaded all the
vigilance of the Fiscal's officers and people. However, after much
trouble and expence, by employing some of the meanest and lowest
scoundrels in the place (who, to use the phrase of the person who
recommended this method to me, would, for a ducatoon, cut their master's
throat, burn the house over his head, and bury him and the whole family
in the ashes), I recovered them all but the two ewes. Of these I never
could bear the least tidings; and I gave over all enquiry after them,
when I was told that, since I had got the two rams, I might think
myself very well off. One of these, however, was so much hurt by the
dogs, that there was reason to believe he would never recover.

Mr Hemmy very obligingly offered to make up this loss, by giving me a
Spanish ram, out of some that he had sent for from Lisbon. But I
declined the offer, under a persuasion that it would answer my purpose
full as well, to take with me some of the Cape rams: the event proved
that I was under a mistake. This gentleman had taken some pains to
introduce European sheep at the Cape; but his endeavours, as he told me,
had been frustrated by the obstinacy of the country people, who held
their own breed in greater estimation, on account of their large tails,
of the fat of which, they sometimes made more money than of the whole
carcase besides; and who thought that the wool of European sheep would,
by no means, make up for their deficiency in this respect.[86] Indeed, I
have heard some sensible men here make the same observation. And there
seems to be foundation for it. For, admitting that European sheep were
to produce wool of the same quality here as in Europe, which experience
has shewn not to be the case, the Dutch had not hands, at the Cape of
Good Hope, to spare for the manufacturing even their own clothing. It is
certain that, were it not for the continual importation of slaves, this
settlement would have been thinner of people than any other inhabited
part of the world.

[Footnote 86: "The most remarkable thing in the Cape sheep, is the
length and thickness of their tails, which weigh from fifteen to twenty
pounds. The fat is not so tallowish as that of European mutton, and the
poorer sort use it for butter."--_Kolben's Cape of Good Hope_ (English
translation), vol. ii. p. 65. De la Caille, who finds every thing wrong
in Kolben, says, the weight of the tails of the Cape sheep is not above
five or six pounds.--_Voyage de la Caille_, p. 343. If the information
given to Captain Cook may be depended upon, it will prove, that, in this
instance at least, Kolben is unjustly accused of exaggeration.--D.

According to Mr Bingley and others, the tail of this sheep sometimes
weighs nearly one-third of the whole carcase, and consists of a
substance intermediate betwixt fat and marrow, which is often used
instead of butter. The fleeces are very fine, long and beautiful; and,
in Thibet, where the breed is also found, are worked into shawls. A
similar breed is said to be found in other countries, as Barbary,
Ethiopia, the vicinity of Aleppo, Persia, and Asiatic Russia. Kolben's
account is conceived to be perfectly credible.--E.]

While the ships were getting ready for the prosecution of our voyage,
some of our officers made an excursion to take a view of the
neighbouring country. Mr Anderson, my surgeon, who was one of the party,
gave me the following relation of their proceedings.[87]

[Footnote 87: In the Philosophical Transactions, vol. lxvi. p. 268 to
319, is an Account of Three Journies from the Cape Town into the
Southern Parts of Africa, in 1772, 1773, and 1774; by Mr Francis Masson,
who had been sent from England for the discovery of new plants, towards
the improvement of the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew. Much curious
information is contained in Mr Masson's account of these journies. M. de
Pages, who was at the Cape in 1773, gives some remarks on the state of
that settlement, and also the particulars of his journey from False Bay
to the Cape Town.--_Voyage vers le Pole du Sud_, p. 17 to 32.--D.

It is unnecessary to apprise the reader, that our acquaintance with the
Cape has been most materially increased since the date of this
publication, and that several travellers have devoted their labours to
the illustration of its natural history.--E.]

"On the 16th, in the forenoon, I set out in a waggon, with five more, to
take a view of some part of the country. We crossed the large plain that
lies to the eastward of the town, which is entirely a white sand, like
that commonly found on beaches, and produces only heath, and other small
plants of various sorts. At five in the afternoon we passed a large
farm-house, with some corn-fields, and pretty considerable vineyards,
situated beyond the plain, near the foot of some low hills, where the
soil becomes worth cultivating. Between six and seven we arrived at
Stellenbosh, the colony next to that of the Cape for its importance.

"The village does not consist of more than thirty houses, and stands at
the foot of the range of lofty mountains, above twenty miles to the
eastward of the Cape Town. The houses are neat; and, with the advantage
of a rivulet which runs near, and the shelter of some large oaks,
planted at its first settling, forms what may be called a rural prospect
in this desert country. There are some vineyards and orchards about the
place, which, from their thriving appearance, seem to indicate an
excellent soil; though, perhaps, they owe much to climate, as the air
here has an uncommon serenity.

"I employed the next day in searching for plants and insects about
Stellenbosh, but had little success. Few plants are in flower here at
this season, and insects but scarce. I examined the soil in several
places, and found it to consist of yellowish clay, mixed with a good
deal of sand. The sides of the low hills, which appear brown, seem to be
constituted of a sort of stone marl.