An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island Part 1

An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island.

by John Hunter.

A VOYAGE TO NEW SOUTH WALES

Chapter I

October 1786 to September 1787

The s.h.i.+ps destined for Botany-Bay rendezvous at the Mother-Bank.--Leave that place, and proceed on the voyage.--The convicts on board one of the transports attempt an insurrection.--Are timely discovered, and the ring-leaders punished.--Arrived at Santa Cruz.--Transactions there.--Attempt of a convict to escape.--Description of Laguna, and the adjacent country. Departure from Santa Cruz.--Pa.s.s Cape Frio.--Arrive at Rio Janeiro. Transactions there.--City of St. Sebastian described.-- Table of Winds, Weather_, etc.

It being the intention of government to remove the inconvenience, which this country suffered, from the goals being so exceedingly crouded with criminals, who had been by the laws condemned to transportation, the east coast of New Holland was the place determined upon to form a settlement for this salutary purpose. The east coast of New Holland is that country, which was discovered and explored by Captain James Cook, in his first voyage round the world, and by him called New South Wales. Botany Bay, the only place he entered with the s.h.i.+p, which could be called a harbour, having been mentioned in the narrative of that voyage, as a convenient place for a settlement, was fixed upon by government for the intended design.

On the 25th of October, 1786, his Majesty's s.h.i.+p Sirius, lying in the dock at Deptford, was commissioned, and the command given to Arthur Phillip, Esq; the Supply armed tender was also put in commission, and Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball was appointed to command her.

The Sirius was a s.h.i.+p of about 540 tons burthen, exceedingly well calculated for such a service; she mounted 20 guns, and had a spar deck over them, was of a round full built, and was all together a very capacious and convenient vessel. The Supply armed tender was a brig, and was one of the vessels which were employed in carrying naval stores from one of his Majesty's dock-yards to another; she was a very firm strong little vessel, very flat floored, and roomy, mounted eight guns, and had a deep waist, which I feared would be found a very great, if not a dangerous inconvenience in so low a vessel on so long a voyage. The Sirius's compliment was 160 men; that of the Supply, 55 men.

These two s.h.i.+ps were intended, after having performed the service of escorting the convicts to the place of their destination, to remain in the country to be employed as the governor might find necessary for the public service, until they should be relieved by other s.h.i.+ps from England.

I had some reason, during the equipment of those s.h.i.+ps, to think I might be employed upon this service, in some way or other; and as Captain Phillip was appointed governor of the new settlement, and of course had much business to transact in London, I frequently visited the Sirius, and frequently received his directions in any thing that related to the fitting her; she was out of the dock and the rigging in hand when I first went on board, On the 9th of December, the s.h.i.+p being ready to fall down the river, we slipped the moorings and sailed down to Long-Reach, where we took in the guns and ordnance stores. On the 15th, I was informed by a letter from Mr. Stephens, Secretary to the Admiralty, that there was a commission signed for me in that office, and desiring I would come to town and take it up. The nature of the service upon which the Sirius might be employed in those seas to which she was bound, having been considered, it was judged necessary that an officer, bearing a certain rank, should command that s.h.i.+p in the absence of Captain Phillip, whose prefence, it was to be supposed, would be requisite at all times wherever the seat of government in that country might be fixed.

In consequence of Mr. Stephens's letter, I repaired to the Admiralty, and received a commission, appointing me Second Captain of his Majesty's s.h.i.+p Sirius, with the rank of Post Captain, and with power to command her in the absence of her princ.i.p.al Captain; subject nevertheless to his controul, and to such orders and directions for my proceedings as he might see occasion to give me, for the good of the service. This appointment of a Second Captain, to a private s.h.i.+p, being the first instance in our service, it could not, consistent with the established regulations of the navy, take place, but by the authority of the King's order in council: an order from his Majesty in council, authorizing the Lords of the Admiralty to make such appointment, was therefore given.

On the 30th of January, 1787, two transports, one having male, the other female convicts on board, dropt down to Long-Reach, but they having business to transact with the owners of the s.h.i.+ps, relative to their s.h.i.+ps companies, were permitted to proceed as low as Gravesend, where the Sirius joined them the next day, and proceeded immediately to the Nore, where we anch.o.r.ed the same day, and were joined by his Majesty's armed tender Supply: on the 4th of February, we anch.o.r.ed in the Downs, and were detained there by bad weather and contrary winds, until the 19th, when we put to sea in company with the Supply and transports, and arrived on the Mother-Bank on the 21st: at this anchorage, all the transports and store-s.h.i.+ps were directed to rendezvous; the latter were already arrived, and, while we lay here, the other transports joined us from the westward.

On the 9th of May, Captain Phillip arrived in Portsmouth, and the next day came on board, and issued the signals and other necessary orders to Lieutenant John Shortland, the agent for transports, to be delivered to the masters of the different s.h.i.+ps.

On Sunday the 13th, we sailed from the Mother-Bank in company with the Supply armed tender, six transports, having on board 600 male, and 200 female convicts, and three store-s.h.i.+ps, carrying provisions and various other stores: on board the s.h.i.+ps carrying convicts, were embarked 160 marines, with their proper officers; Major Robert Ross was commandant of the battalion, and appointed lieutenant-governor of the new settlement; a surgeon and three a.s.sistants were also embarked in the transports, with medicines and necessaries for the people under their care. The wind being easterly, we ran out at the Needles, and were accompanied by his Majesty's s.h.i.+p Hyena, Captain De Coursey, who had received orders from the Admiralty to see us 100 leagues to the westward.

We had light breezes with fair and pleasant weather down the channel, but had the mortification to find that two of our transports sailed exceedingly bad; one of which, the Hyena towed two or three days. On the 15th, at sun-set, the Start Point bore north-east half east by compa.s.s, distant seven or eight leagues: at noon on this day (which finishes the nautical and begins the astronomical day) the longitude, by account, was 5. 01'.

west of the meridian of Greenwich, and by a timepiece made by Mr.

Kendal, with which the Board of Longitude had supplied us, it was 4. 59'. west; we had a variety of weather from this time till the 21st. when being in lat.i.tude 47. 52'. north, and longitude 12. 14'. west, Captain Phillip put his dispatches on board the Hyena; she saluted us with three cheers, and we parted company; the wind was now, and had been for some days before, in the south-west quarter, with hazy weather, our progress to the southward was therefore but slow; much attention was required on our part to the rate of sailing of the different transports, in order to prevent separation.

At this time a report was made from one of the transports, both by the commanding marine officer on board, and the master of the s.h.i.+p, that a discovery had been made of an intended insurrection amongst the convicts in that s.h.i.+p; in which, if they had succeeded, they were to have quitted the fleet in the night, and afterwards to have made such use of the s.h.i.+p, as they should, upon farther consideration of the matter, determine amongst themselves. Captain Phillip had very humanely, a few days previous to this scheme, directed that the irons with which most of the male convicts had hitherto been confined, should be taken off them generally, that they might have it more in their power to strip their cloaths off at night when they went to rest, be also more at their ease during the day, and have the farther advantage of being able to wash and keep themselves clean; this indulgence had no doubt left it more in the power of those who might be disposed to exert their ingenuity, in so daring an attempt, to carry their plan into execution with a greater probability of success; but I am thoroughly convinced, that so strict an attention to duty was paid by the whole of the marines employed on this service, that such an attempt would have terminated in the destruction of those who appeared most active and forward in it. Two of the princ.i.p.als were brought on board the Sirius, severely punished, and sent on board another transport, properly secured in heavy irons.

On the 23d, the wind inclined to the north-west, and, after heavy rain, settled in that quarter; by the favour of this change we proceeded to the southward, at the rate of between 70 and 100 miles in 24 hours. On the 26th, the wind s.h.i.+fted to the northward, and from that to the north-east; our lat.i.tude at this time was 42. 10'. north, and the longitude 11. 36'.

west; variation of the compa.s.s, 20. 19'. west.

On the 29th in the evening, (as we intended making the islands of Porto Sancto and Madeira) being but a little distance from the former, and the weather being hazy, we shortened sail, to prevent the convoy from falling suddenly in with the land in the night: at day-light the next morning, we saw the Deserters off Madeira, bearing west-south-west, five leagues distant; we had pa.s.sed the island of Porto Sancto in the night, having steered to pa.s.s eight or nine leagues to the eastward of it; we found the s.h.i.+p set this last 24 hours 12 miles to the southward of the log. At noon the south-easternmost Deserter bore by compa.s.s north 17. west, by which we made its lat.i.tude 32. 29'. north, and its longitude by the time-keeper 16. 38'. west of Greenwich; the variation of the compa.s.s was here 17. 00' west: from hence, with a light breeze from the northward, we steered south half west, by compa.s.s, and at five P.M. on the 1st of June, we made the Salvages; which was rather sooner than we expected, by the distance we had run from the Deserters off Madeira, and the lat.i.tude observed the preceding noon, by which we judged ourselves not less than 17 leagues from them. At midnight we were exactly in their parallel, and saw them very distinctly by the light of the moon, which was very clear; their lat.i.tude, deduced from the preceding, as well as following meridian observations, is 30. 12'. north, which is 12 miles to the northward of what they are generally placed, either in tables or charts; their longitude, by our time-keeper, is 15. 53'. west. I had never seen these rocks before, and always understood them to be small inconsiderable spots, but the largest is so high as to be seen at the distance of seven or eight leagues, and appears to be about a mile and a half in length, from north-west to south-east; there are a few scattered rocks appear above water, to the westward; and I have been told, that a reef of considerable extent stretches out from them to the westward.

From the time of our pa.s.sing these rocks until the evening of the 3d, we had very light airs and variable, but mostly from the south-west quarter, and every day found we were affected by a southerly current of 10 or 12 miles in 24 hours. The wind now sprung up from the northward, and we steered for the island of Teneriffe, directing our course by the longitude determined from the time-keeper, the account being 1. 04'. to the westward of it, and our lunar observations within three miles of it: at day-light in the morning we saw the island of Teneriffe, and at noon Point de Nagara, or north-east point, bore south-west by south, distant five leagues; some of the convoy being considerably astern we brought to, and in the afternoon, there being a fresh of wind from the north-east, we bore away and made the signal for the convoy to make all the sail possible, in order, as we were strangers to Sancta Cruz road, that we might save day-light to the anchorage, which we effected, and had the whole convoy in before dark; at half past six in the evening we anch.o.r.ed in 15 fathoms water, soft ground, being a mixture of sand and black mud: we moored with the bower anchors, and had the church of St. Francisco south 73. 00'. west, the easternmost point in sight, called Point Roquet, (from a small rock which lies a little detached from it) north 78. 00'. east, and a fort to the south-west of the town, south 45. 00'. west, distant from the nearest sh.o.r.e about two and a half cables length. The ground all over this bay is said to be foul; we therefore buoyed up our cables, but had no reason, upon examining them afterwards, to believe there was any foul ground where we lay.

The next morning, Captain Phillip sent an officer to wait on the governor with the usual information of whom we were, and our business at that island; but, previous to our anchoring, the master attendant, and some other officers, were on board the Sirius for this very purpose; a ceremony which I believe is seldom neglected. When the officer returned, he brought a very polite reply from the governor, signifying his sincere wishes that the island might be capable of supplying us with such articles as we were in want of, and his a.s.surances that every refreshment the place afforded we should certainly have. Captain Phillip then waited on the governor, accompanied by Major Ross, myself, and several other officers; we were most politely received by him, and he repeated his hope that Teneriffe might afford every refreshment which we had occasion for.

Two days after this visit, the governor, who was then the Marquis Branceforte, and captain-general of the whole of the Canary Islands, notwithstanding he had the day before returned Captain Phillip's visit by an officer, came on board himself, attended by several officers. He remained about an hour on board, and asked many questions respecting the extent of our voyage, and situation of the place where we were going to settle, all of which we explained to him by a general chart of the world. A day or two after this visit, Captain Phillip received an invitation to dine with him, and to bring as many of the princ.i.p.al officers as could be spared from the s.h.i.+ps: we waited on him in a party about twelve, and were very hospitably and politely entertained; in short, on the whole, I never met with so polite and so pleasant a man in any foreign port I have ever visited.

During the time we lay in this road, the s.h.i.+ps companies, the marines, and convicts, were every day supplied with fresh provisions, of which there appeared to be great abundance on the island: vegetables and fruit were at this time scarce; potatoes, onions, and pumpkins _only_ were to be had, and those but in small quant.i.ties. It was Captain Phillip's intention, when we arrived here, to have remained only three or four days, but we found that the watering of the s.h.i.+ps was a business which could not be completed in so short a time. During our stay, the watering the s.h.i.+ps was our princ.i.p.al consideration, and it was often unavoidable to be employed in this necessary business on board the transports after dark; the watering-place being only contrived to load two boats at a time.

A convict one evening, while every body was employed in clearing a boat of water, contrived to slip into a small boat, and dropt away from the s.h.i.+p unperceived; when he got to some considerable distance off, he then exerted himself at his oars, and got on board a foreign East-India s.h.i.+p, which was lying here, and offered himself as a seaman, but was refused; finding himself disappointed in his hope of getting off in that s.h.i.+p, he judged it necessary, knowing that he would very soon be missed, and search made after him, to quit that s.h.i.+p; he landed to the westward of the town, but on a place where there was a good deal of surf, and where the rocks behind him were inaccessible. The officer of marines on board that transport, having ordered the convicts to be mustered as usual at setting the watch, when they were always put below, found this man was missing, and immediate information of it sent to Captain Phillip; who next morning sent an officer from the Sirius to the governor, requesting his a.s.sistance in recovering the deserter; orders were immediately given by the governor for that purpose; in the morning early, boats were dispatched from the s.h.i.+ps to row along sh.o.r.e to the westward, to endeavour to recover the boat he had taken away, and a little to the westward of the town, they discovered the boat beating on the rocks; and rowing in to pick her up, they discovered the fellow concealing himself in the cliff of a rock, not having been able to get up the precipice: the officer presented a musket at him, and threatened if he did not immediately come down and get into the boat he would shoot him; the fellow complied, rather than run the hazard of being shot, and was taken on board, punished, and put in irons until we got to sea, when he was liberated in the same manner as the rest.

Before we were ready to put to sea, a party of us had determined to make a short excursion into the country, where we had no doubt of finding its aspect more inviting than the prospect from the s.h.i.+ps: for this purpose, we set out one morning very early, accompanied by two British gentlemen, who were merchants resident here, (Mr. Little and Mr. Armstrong,) and who had shown us upon every occasion much civility and attention: those gentlemen had previously provided horses, mules, provisions, etc. We directed our journey to the city of Laguna, which was, and is still called the capital of the island; it is said to be but three or four miles from Santa Cruz; but, whether from the badness of the road, (which is certainly the worst I ever saw in any country,) or the slowness of our progress from that cause, I thought it not less than twice that distance.

When we arrived at Laguna, we walked through many of the streets, which are very regular, and cross each other at right angles; the buildings in general are good, and some of the streets are wider than you generally see them in any of the Spanish or Portuguese towns: there are two parish churches, which have short square steeples, but they appear above all the other buildings; there are also two nunneries, and three or four convents, which are built in a quadrangular form, and have good gardens. In the middle of the town is a conduit, which supplies the inhabitants with water. This city stands on a plain of considerable extent, over part of which we rode, until we came to the foot of the hill from whence the town is supplied with water.

We ascended the mountain, and traced the stream to its fountain-head, where we found it issuing from cavities in several parts of the hill, and was conveyed down the declivity in stone-troughs, and received on the plain by troughs of wood, supported about seven or eight feet above the ground by props; through this aqueduct, the water is carried to the center of the city, over a plain, from a distance of four or five miles.

The plain on which Laguna stands, is pleasant and fertile; it was now the height of their harvest, and many people were employed in cutting down the corn, with which this plain seemed to be well planted; there were also many pleasant gardens here, and the soil in general appeared rich. The plain is surrounded by very high mountains, down the sides of which in the rainy season, (for their rains are periodical,) vast torrents of water run, from which cause, I apprehend, its unhealthiness must proceed; for I was told, when remarking how thinly the town of Laguna appeared to be inhabited, that very few, who had it in their power to choose their place of residence, would continue in Laguna. The governor has a palace here, but generally resides at Santa Cruz; and this city, once the residence of persons in great authority, is now quite deserted by people of any distinction. I saw nothing of the lake from which it derives its name, but was given to understand that it was now a very inconsiderable piece of water; probably the accounts given of there having been a large lake here, may have originated from the plain being quite a swamp during the fall of the heavy rains. We returned to Santa Cruz the same evening, very much pleased with our excursion: I regretted much, that the time proposed for settling our business here, would not admit of a visit to the Peak, a mountain so much spoken of by all who have visited this island, for its wonderful height.

The bay of Santa Cruz is defended by many small batteries of four or five guns each, which are placed at certain distances from each other, round the bay, and close to the water-side, which exposes them much to the annoyance of s.h.i.+ps; but their princ.i.p.al fort is near the landing place, and is a strong work, but the water being deep very near in, they are all exposed to the attack of s.h.i.+ps: on the whole, it is said, they mount near one hundred pieces of cannon.

The town of Santa Cruz is very irregularly built; the princ.i.p.al street is broad, and has more the appearance of a square than a street; the governor's house stands at the upper end; it is but a mean looking building, and has more the appearance of a country inn, than the palace of a governor: at the lower end of the street there is a square monument, commemorating the appearance of Notre Dame to the Guanches, the original inhabitants of the island. The out-skirts of the town have more the appearance of a place deserted and in ruins, than a place of trade, for many of the houses there are either left half built, or have fallen to decay from some other cause, and the stone walls, which were their princ.i.p.al fences, are broken down and in ruins.

On the ninth of June, in the afternoon, the transports having completed their watering, the signal was made from the Sirius for every person of our fleet to repair immediately on board their respective s.h.i.+ps, and on the 10th, in the morning, we put to sea with a light air of wind from the land.

The island of Teneriffe is situated in lat.i.tude as observed in the road, 28 29' 5" north, and longitude, determined by the time-keeper, 16 18' 00" west.

We steered to the south-west until we were near the meridian of the island of Sal, the northernmost of the Cape De Verde Islands, and then shaped our course so as to fall in a little to the eastward of it. At 10 in the evening of the 18th, being at no great distance from the island, we made the signal for the convoy to shorten sail, the distance not being sufficient to admit of our carrying sail all night; at nine the next morning we saw the island bearing north-west by north, distant four leagues: I make the lat.i.tude of the north end 16 48' north, and its longitude, determined by the time-keeper, is 23 03' west, the south end is in lat.i.tude 16 39' north. We steered from abreast the center of this island, south half east by compa.s.s, which carried us about three or four miles wide of the reef, which extends from the north-east part of Bonavista, and runs from the sh.o.r.e in a south-east direction three or four miles: it was about two o'clock in the afternoon when we made the island of Bonavista, so that we had a very good opportunity of seeing the reef, from which I observe Captain Cook says, in one of his voyages, he was in great danger, and that it lies off the south-east part of the island; which is certainly a mistake, for we ran down the east side of the island, at the distance of three miles from the reef, and I make its lat.i.tude and longitude as follows:--

Island of Bonavista: Lat.i.tude of the north end 16 13' north.

Longitude by time-keeper 22 51' west.

Lat.i.tude of the south end 16 00' north.

Variation of the compa.s.s 11 19' west.

At twelve o'clock at night, having an intention of anchoring in Port Praya Bay, in the island of Saint Jago, we made the signal and brought-to till day-light; we then made sail, the weather very hazy, which is generally the case among these islands: we ran close round the south end of the isle of May, and stretched over for the south end of Saint Jago; but when we opened Port Praya Bay, we were suddenly taken aback with the wind from north-west, and every s.h.i.+p appeared to have the wind in a different direction. In this situation it was thought that any attempt to gain the anchorage under such unfavourable circ.u.mstances might be attended with the danger of some of the s.h.i.+ps getting on board each other; it was therefore determined to give up the intention, and the signal was made for that purpose.

The object for which we endeavoured to get into this bay, was, a supply of fresh vegetables for the s.h.i.+ps companies and convicts, an article with which we had been but scantily provided at Teneriffe. Port Praya Bay, on the island of Saint Jago, is situated in lat.i.tude 14 54' north, and longitude 23 37'

west. This was about noon of the 20th of June, and we took our leave of these islands, and steered to the southward, intending to cross the equator, if possible, two or three to the eastward of the meridian of Saint Jago.

We had a fresh gale from the north-east until we were in the lat.i.tude of 10 30' north; the north-east trade now became faint and variable, and in 9 30' north we had frequent calms, with dark cloudy weather, and heavy showers of rain; squalls were seen now rising from every part of the horizon, and appeared to threaten much wind, but they seldom contained any thing but torrents of rain; the breezes, which were very light, and were generally from the southward, very much r.e.t.a.r.ded our progress towards the line. In lat.i.tude 8 30' north, the wind fixed in the south-west quarter (rather an extraordinary circ.u.mstance in these lat.i.tudes) and blew a fresh gale, with which we stood to the eastward; but as it was generally far southerly, we were soon in longitude 18 26' west, by the time-piece, on which we had more reliance than on the dead reckoning, for here we found a current setting considerably strong to the eastward; our lunar observations, which we never failed to make at every opportunity, constantly confirmed the truth of the watch.

Finding no prospect of a change of wind by continuing to stand to the eastward, we tacked in the above longitude, and lat.i.tude 6 48' north, and stood to the westward; for the wind now appeared fixed between south-west and south, a steady gale with a large sea from the southward; many of the convoy sailed so heavy, and were so leewardly, that to gain ground thus circ.u.mstanced was impossible; we had therefore only to hope, that by standing off to a greater distance from the coast of Africa, we might find the wind incline to the eastward of south: we, therefore, kept working in this manner for twelve days, in the course of which time our dead reckonings were four to the westward of the truth, occasioned by the the strong easterly currents; in the lat.i.tude of 4 30' north, and longitude, by the time-keeper, 19 40' west, the wind began to incline to the south-south-east, which gave us some reason to hope that the south-east trade wind was at no great distance.

It continued wavering between the south by east and south-east until we had got another degree to the southward, when it settled at south-east a steady breeze; but the easterly current, which would now have been an advantage to us by keeping the transports to windward, had ceased, and we found a strong westerly one running for several days, from 30 to 45 miles in 24 hours, by which our account was brought back to its original agreement with the time-keeper and lunar observations. The greatest velocity of the westerly current, was between lat.i.tude 3 00' north and the line, and its direction appeared to have been nearly west, for we never found our observations for the lat.i.tude materially affected by it; the same was the case with the easterly current, which may account for the s.h.i.+ps from the northward, bound to the coast of Brazil, who may have no other way of determining their longitude but by account, scarcely having been sensible of any current; so very nearly does the westerly set, counteract, in the pa.s.sage, that to the eastward.

On the 14th of July, in the evening, we crossed the equator in longitude 26 10' west, and with 5 00' of west variation. The south-east trade wind now made us ample amends for the failure of the north-east, for it blew a fresh and steady breeze from east-south-east to east, which I believe is rather uncommon when the sun has so great north declination: if the wind had not favoured us so much, we must have fallen in with the coast of Brazil, far to the northward, which, with this convoy, would have been attended with much loss of time, and some degree of danger; however, with this favourable slant, we carried all the sail possible, and were enabled to keep at a distance from the coast, but not so far as to be able to make the island of Trinidada, which it was Captain Phillip's intention to have done, had the wind permitted.

We pa.s.sed its parallel 4 30' to the westward of it, and had for several days kept a look out for an island, which the Portuguese call Ascencao, and is said to lie between Trinidada and the coast of Brazil; but the existence of which there is much reason to doubt. We did not see any thing until the 3d of August, when we made Cape Frio; at 12 o'clock at night we were right abreast of it, and had it bearing north half west five or six miles; its longitude, by the time-keeper, is 41 40' west of the meridian of Greenwich* and its lat.i.tude is 22 58' south.

This cape is an island distant two or three miles from the main land; we had very light airs and variable weather between the Cape and Rio Janeiro, which is a distance of 18 or 20 leagues; we never approached the sh.o.r.e nearer than five or six miles, at which distance we had 30 fathoms water over a soft bottom, and at four leagues distance had 42 and 43 fathoms, with the same soft ground.

[* It will appear hereafter that we had not the true rate of the watch, and consequently that the above longitude is not correct.]

On the 6th of August, a light breeze from the sea carried us within the islands which lie off the harbour, where we anch.o.r.ed for the night, with the convoy, in 14 fathoms water, clear soft ground, the island Raz (a low flat island) bearing south by west two miles, and Rodondo (a high round island) south-west by south.

The next morning an officer was sent to the town, to wait on the viceroy, and give him information who we were, and for what purpose we had visited that port: in the afternoon of the 7th, with a breeze from the sea, we weighed, and, with the whole convoy, sailed into the harbour.

As we pa.s.sed Fort Santa Cruz, we saluted with 13 guns, which was returned by an equal number from the fort; we anch.o.r.ed off the town in 17 fathoms water, over a good soft bottom, and moored with best bower to the south-east, and the small bower to the north-west; Fort Santa Cruz south 36 00' east; the Sugar Loaf south, 7 00' east; and the Flag-Staff, on the Island Cobres, north 78 00' west, distant from the town one mile and a half. In going into the harbour, there being very little wind, some of our convoy were alongside of each other, and were drifting in with the tide; at which the master of the port, who was on board the Sirius, expressed much uneasiness; but he was told our seamen knew very well how to manage their s.h.i.+ps, and that there was no danger: the Portuguese will not allow more than one of their s.h.i.+ps in the narrows at a time.

The s.h.i.+ps in general had been remarkably healthy; the whole number buried since we left England was sixteen, six only of that number had died between Teneriffe and this place, which certainly is a very trying part of the voyage to people who have not been accustomed to warm climates, and being fed wholly on salt provisions; many of those whom we had lost since we left Portsmouth, had been lingering under diseases with which they were afflicted when they embarked; consequently little hope could be entertained of their recovery in such a situation and under such circ.u.mstances.

On our arrival here, there were but four out of the whole number in fevers, and a few others with various but trifling complaints; and between 20 and 30, in whom symptoms of the scurvy had lately appeared, the seeds of which it was hoped and expected would be effectually eradicated before we left this place. Fresh provisions were immediately provided on our arrival, and served to the s.h.i.+ps companies, marines, and convicts; vegetables were also provided, of which they were to have a proportion served with their other provisions every day whilst we remained here; oranges and other tropical fruits were in vast abundance at this time; the convicts also had a proportion of oranges with their other provisions, this fruit being in such great plenty, that the expence attending the purchase of a few for each individual a day, was too inconsiderable to be noticed. Indeed, it was no uncommon thing to see the country boats, as they pa.s.sed the s.h.i.+ps, throw in a shower of oranges amongst the people.

We had not been ten days in this harbour, before we found the convicts in every s.h.i.+p much more healthy than when we left Spithead. Much pains had been taken by some (who, from whatever cause, were averse to the expedition) to make the world believe that we were, whilst lying at the Mother-Bank, so very sickly as to bury eight or ten every day; and that a malignant disease raged with great violence on board the transports: how far those reports were true, will best appear by the returns which will no doubt be sent to England from this place. Among such a number of people confined in small s.h.i.+ps, to have no sick on board, was not to be expected; but the reports spread by some industrious persons exceedingly exaggerated our numbers. I may, without a probability of being much mistaken, venture to say, that there are few country towns in the island of Great-Britain, which contain 1500 inhabitants, (the number which the s.h.i.+ps employed on this service had on board) which have not frequently as many sick as we had, at the time it was given out we buried such numbers daily.