A Voyage Towards the South pole and Around the World/Volume I/Chapter IX

Route from New Zealand to Otaheite, with an Account of some low Islands, supposed to be the same that were seen by M. de Bougainville.

1773 June

On the 7th of June, at four in the morning, the wind being more favourable, we unmoored, and at seven weighed and put to sea, with the Adventure in company. We had no sooner got out of the sound, than we found the wind at south, so that we had to ply through the straits. About noon the tide of ebb setting out in our favour, made our boards advantageous; so that, at five o'clock in the evening. Cape Palliser, on the island of Eahei-nomauwe, bore S.S.E. 1/2 S., and Cape Koamaroo, or the S.E. point of the sound, N. by W. 3/4 W.; presently after it fell calm, and the tide of flood now making against us, carried us at a great rate back to the north. A little before high-water, the calm was succeeded by a breeze from the north, which soon increased to a brisk gale. This, together with the ebb, carried us by eight o'clock the next morning quite through the strait. Cape Palliser at this time bore E.N.E., and at noon N. by W. distant seven leagues.

This day at noon, when we attended the winding-up of the watches, the fusee of Mr Arnold's would not turn round, so that after several unsuccessful trials we were obliged to let it go down.

After getting clear of the straits, I directed my course S.E. by E., having a gentle gale, but variable between the north and west. The late S.E. winds having caused a swell from the same quarter, which did not go down for some days, we had little hopes of meeting with land in that direction. We however continued to steer to the S.E., and on the 11th crossed the meridian of 180°, and got into the west longitude, according to my way of reckoning.

On the 16th, at seven in the morning, the wind having veered round to S.E., we tacked and stretched to N.E., being at this time in the latitude of 47° 7', longitude 173° W. In this situation we had a great swell from N.E.

The wind continued at S.E. and S.S.E., blew fresh at intervals, and was attended with sometimes fair, and at other times rainy weather, till the 20th, on which day, being in the latitude of 44° 30', longitude 165° 45' W., the wind shifted to the west, blew a gentle gale, and was attended with fair weather. With this we steered E. by N., E. by S., and E., till the 23d at noon, when, being in the latitude of 44° 38' S., longitude 161° 27' W., we had a few hours calm. The calm was succeeded by a wind at east, with which we stood to the north. The wind increased and blew in squalls, attended with rain, which at last brought us under our courses; and at two o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, we were obliged to lie-to under the foresail, having a very hard gale from E.N.E., and a great sea from the same direction.

At seven o'clock in the morning of the 25th, the gale being more moderate, we made sail under the courses, and in the afternoon set the top-sails close-reefed. At midnight, the wind having veered more to the north, we tacked and stretched to the S.E., being at this time in the latitude of 42° 53' S., longitude 163° 20' W.

We continued to stretch to the S.E., with a fresh gale and fair weather, till four o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, when we stood again to the N.E., till midnight between the 27th and 28th. Then we had a few hours calm, which was succeeded by faint breezes from the west. At this time we were in the latitude of 42° 32', longitude 161° 15' W. The wind remained not long at west, before it veered back to the E. by the N., and kept between the S.E. and N.E., but never blew strong.

1773 July

On July 2d, being in the latitude of 53° 3', longitude 156° 17' W., we had again a calm, which brought the wind back to the west; but it was of no longer continuance than before. For the next day it returned to the E. and S.E., blew fresh at times, and by squalls, with rain.

On the 7th, being in the latitude of 41° 22', longitude 156° 12' W., we had two hours calm; in which time Mr Wales went on board the Adventure to compare the watches, and they were found to agree, allowing for the difference of their rates of going: A probable, if not a certain proof, that they had gone well since we had been in this sea.

The calm was succeeded by a wind from the south; between which point and the N.W., it continued for the six succeeding days, but never blew strong. It was, however, attended with a great hollow swell from the S.W. and W., a sure indication that no large land was near in those directions. We now steered east, inclining to the south, and on the 10th, in the latitude of 43° 39', longitude 144° 43' W., the variation was found, by several azimuths, to be more than 3° E., but the next morning it was found to be 4° 5' 30", and in the afternoon, 5° 56' E. The same day, at noon, we were in the latitude of 43° 44', longitude 141° 56' W.

At nine o'clock in the morning of the 12th, the longitude was observed as follows, viz.

Self  1st set              139°  47'  15"  Ditto, 2d set               140    7   30  Mr Wales 1st set            141   22   15  Mr Wales 2d set             140   10    0  Mr Clerke                   140   56   45  Mr Gilbert                  140    2    0                              --  Mean                        140   24   17-1/2 West.

This differed from my reckoning only 2° 1/2. The next morning, in the latitude of 43° 3', longitude 139° 20' W., we had several lunar observations, which were consonant to those made the day before, allowing for the ship's run in the time. In the afternoon we had, for a few hours, variable light airs next to a calm; after which we got a wind from the N.E., blowing fresh and in squalls, attended with dark gloomy weather, and some rain.

We stretched to the S.E. till five o'clock in the afternoon on the 14th, at which time, being in the latitude of 43° 15', longitude 137° 39' W., we tacked and stood to the north under our courses, having a very hard gale with heavy squalls, attended with rain, till near noon the next day, when it ended in a calm. At this time we were in the latitude of 42° 39', longitude 137° 58' W. In the evening, the calm was succeeded by a breeze from S.W., which soon after increased to a fresh gale; and fixing at S.S.W, with it we steered N.E. 1/2 E. in the latitude of 41° 25', longitude 135° 58' W., we saw floating in the sea a billet of wood, which seemed to be covered with barnacles; so that there was no judging how long it might have been there, or from whence or how far it had come.

We continued to steer N.E. 1/2 E., before a very strong gale which blew in squalls, attended with showers of rain and hail, and a very high sea from the same quarter, till noon, on the 17th. Being then in the latitude of 39° 44', longitude 133° 32' W., which was a degree and a half farther east than I intended to run; nearly in the middle between my track to the north in 1769, and the return to the south in the same year, and seeing no signs of land, I steered north-easterly, with a view of exploring that part of the sea lying between the two tracks just mentioned, down as low as the latitude of 27°, a space that had not been visited by any preceding navigator that I knew of.

On the 19th, being in the latitude of 36° 34', longitude 133° 7' W., we steered N. 1/2 W., having still the advantage of a hard gale at south, which the next day veered to S.E. and E., blew hard and by squalls, attended with rain and thick hazy weather. This continued till the evening of the 21st, when the gale abated, the weather cleared up, and the wind backed to the S. and S.E.

We were now in the latitude of 32° 30', longitude 133° 40' W., from this situation we steered N.N.W. till noon the next day, when we steered a point more to the west; being at this time in the latitude of 31° 6', longitude 134° 12' W. The weather was now so warm, that it was necessary to put on lighter clothes; the mercury in the thermometer at noon rose to 63. It had never been lower than 46, and seldom higher than 54, at the same time of the day, since we left New Zealand.

This day was remarkable by our not seeing a single bird. Not one had passed since we left the land, without seeing some of the following birds, viz. albatrosses, sheerwaters, pintadoes, blue peterels, and Port Egmont hens. But these frequent every part of the Southern Ocean in the higher latitudes: Not a bird, nor any other thing, was seen that could induce us to think that we had ever been in the neighbourhood of any land.

The wind kept veering round from the S. by the W. to N.N.W., with which we stretched north till noon the next day, when, being in the latitude of 29° 22', we tacked and stretched to the westward. The wind soon increased to a very hard gale, attended with rain, and blew in such heavy squalls as to split the most of our sails. This weather continued till the morning of the 25th, when the wind became more moderate, and veered to N.W. and W.N.W., with which we steered and stretched to N.E., being at that time in the latitude of 29° 51', longitude 130° 28' W. In the afternoon the sky cleared up, and the weather became fair and settled. We now met the first tropic bird we had seen in this sea.

On the 26th, in the afternoon, being in the latitude of 28° 44', we had several observations of the sun and moon, which gave the longitude 135° 30' W. My reckoning at the same time was 135° 27', and I had no occasion to correct it since I left the land. We continued to stretch to the north, with light breezes from the westward, till noon, the next day, when we were stopped by a calm; our latitude at this time being 27° 53', longitude 135° 17' W. In the evening, the calm was succeeded by a breeze from the N. and N.W., with which we plied to the N.

On the 29th I sent on board the Adventure to enquire into the state of her crew, having heard that they were sickly; and this I now found was but too true. Her cook was dead, and about twenty of her best men were down in the scurvy and flux. At this time we had only three men on the sick list, and only one of them attacked with the scurvy. Several more, however, began to shew symptoms of it, and were accordingly put upon the wort, marmalade of carrots, rob of lemons and oranges.

I know not how to account for the scurvy raging more in the one ship than the other, unless it was owing to the crew of the Adventure being more scorbutic when they arrived in New Zealand than we were, and to their eating few or no vegetables while they lay in Queen Charlotte's Sound, partly for want of knowing the right sorts, and partly because it was a new diet, which alone was sufficient for seamen to reject it. To introduce any new article of food among seamen, let it be ever so much for their good, requires both the example and authority of a commander; without both, of which it will be dropt before the people are sensible of the benefits resulting from it. Were it necessary, I could name fifty instances in support of this remark. Many of my people, officers as well seamen, at first disliked celery, scurvy-grass, &c., being boiled in the peas and wheat; and some refused to eat it. But, as this had no effect on my conduct, this obstinate kind of prejudice by little and little wore off; they began to like it as well as the others; and now, I believe, there was hardly a man in the ship that did not attribute our being so free from the scurvy, to the beer and vegetables we made use of at New Zealand. After this I seldom found it necessary to order any of my people to gather vegetables, whenever we came where any were to be got, and if scarce, happy was he who could lay hold on them first. I appointed one of my seamen to be cook of the Adventure, and wrote to Captain Furneaux, desiring him to make use of every method in his power to stop the spreading of the disease amongst his people, and proposing such as I thought might tend towards it. But I afterwards found all this unnecessary, as every method had been used they could think of.

1773 August

The wind continued in the N.W. quarter, and blew fresh at times, attended with rain; with which we stood to the N.E. On the 1st of August, at noon, we were in the latitude of 25° 1', longitude 134° 6' W., and had a great hollow swell from N.W. The situation we were now in, was nearly the same that Captain Carteret assigns for Pitcairn's Island, discovered by him in 1767. We therefore looked well out for it, but saw nothing. According to the longitude in which he has placed it, we must have passed about fifteen leagues to the west of it. But as this was uncertain, I did not think it prudent, considering the situation of the Adventure's people, to lose any time in looking for it. A sight of it would, however, have been of use in verifying, or correcting, not only the longitude of this isle, but of the others that Captain Carteret discovered in this neighbourhood; his longitude not being confirmed, I think, by astronomical observations, and therefore liable to errors, which he could have no method to correct.

As we had now got to the northward of Captain Carteret's tracks, all hopes of discovering a continent vanished. Islands were all we were to expect to find, until we returned again to the south. I had now, that is on this and my former voyage, crossed this ocean in the latitude of 40° and upwards, without meeting any thing that in the least induced me to think I should find what I was in search after. On the contrary, every thing conspired to make me believe there is no southern continent, between the meridian of America and New Zealand; at least, this passage did not produce any indubitable signs of any, as will appear by the following remarks. After leaving the coasts of New Zealand, we daily saw floating on the sea rock- weed, for the space of 18° of longitude. In my passage to New Zealand in 1769, we also saw this weed, for the space of 12 or 14° of longitude before we made the land. The weed is undoubtedly the produce of New Zealand; because the nearer the coast, the greater quantity you see. At the greatest distance from the coast, we saw it only in small pieces, generally more rotten, and covered with barnacles, an indubitable sign that it had been long at sea. Were it not for this, one might be led to conjecture that some other large land lay in the neighbourhood; for it cannot be a small extent of coast to produce such a quantity of weed, as to cover so large a space of sea. It hath been already mentioned, that we were no sooner clear of the straits, than we met with a large hollow swell from the S.E., which continued till we arrived in the longitude of 177° W., and latitude 46°. There we had large billows from the N. and N.E., for five days successively, and until we got 5° of longitude more to the east, although the wind, great part of the time, blew from different directions. This was a strong indication that there was no land between us and my track to the west in 1769. After this, we had, as is usual in all great oceans, large billows from every direction in which the wind blew a fresh gale, but more especially from the S.W. These billows never ceased with the cause that first put them in motion; a sure indication that we were not near any large land, and that there is no continent to the south, unless in a very high latitude. But this was too important a point to be left to opinions and conjectures. Facts were to determine it, and these could only be obtained by visiting the southern parts; which was to be the work of the ensuing summer, agreeable to the plan I had laid down. As the winds continued to blow from the N.W. and W., we had no other choice but to stand to the north, inclining more or less every day to the east. In the latitude of 21° we saw flying-fish, gannets, and egg-birds. On the sixth, I hoisted a boat out, and sent for Captain Furneaux to dinner, from whom I learnt that his people were much better, the flux having left them, and the scurvy was at a stand. Some cyder which he happened to have, and which he gave to the scorbutic people, contributed not a little to this happy change. The weather to-day was cloudy, and the wind very unsettled. This seemed to announce the approach of the so-much-wished-for trade-wind; which, at eight o'clock in the evening, after two hours calm, and some heavy showers of rain, we actually got at S.E. We were, at this time, in the latitude of 19° 36' S., longitude 131° 32" W. The not meeting with the S.E. trade-wind sooner, is no new thing in this sea. As we had now got it, I directed my course to the W.N.W., as well to keep in the strength of it, as to get to the north of the islands discovered in my former voyage; that if any other islands lay in the way, I might have a chance to discover them. During the day-time we made all the sail we could; but, in the night, either run an easy sail, or lay-to. We daily saw flying-fish, albacores, dolphins, &c., but neither by striking, nor with hook and line, could we catch any of them. This required some art, which none of my people were masters of.

On the 11th at day-break, land was seen to the south. This, upon a nearer approach, we found to be an island of about two leagues in extent, in the direction of N.W. and S.E., and clothed with wood, above which the cocoa- nut trees shewed their lofty heads. I judged it to be one of those isles discovered by Mr Bougainville. It lies in the latitude of 17° 24', longitude 141° 39' W., and I called it after the name of the ship, Resolution Island. The sickly state of the Adventure's crew made it necessary for me to make the best of my way to Otaheite, where I was sure of finding refreshments. Consequently I did not wait to examine this island, which appeared too small to supply our wants, but continued our course to the west, and at six o'clock in the evening, land was seen from the mast-head, bearing W. by S. Probably this was another of Bougainville's discoveries. I named it Doubtful Island, and it lies in the latitude of 17° 20', longitude 141° 38' W. I was sorry I could not spare time to haul to the north of Mr Bougainville's track; but the getting to a place where we could procure refreshments, was more an object at this time than discovery.

During the night we steered W. by N., in order to pass the north of the island above-mentioned. At day-break the next morning, we discovered land right a-head, distant about two miles; so that day-light advised us of our danger but just in time. This proved another of these low or half-drowned islands, or rather a large coral shoal of about twenty leagues in circuit. A very small part of it was land, which consisted of little islets ranged along the north side, and connected by sand-banks and breakers. These islets were clothed with wood, among which the cocoa-nut trees were only distinguishable. We ranged the south side of this isle or shoal at the distance of one or two miles from the coral-bank, against which the sea broke in a dreadful surf. In the middle is a large lake or inland sea, in which was a canoe under sail.

This island, which I named after Captain Furneaux, lies in the latitude of 17° 5', longitude 143° 16' W. The situation is nearly the same that is assigned for one of those discovered by Bougainville. I must here observe, that amongst these low and half-drowned isles (which are numerous in this part of the ocean,) Mr Bougainville's discoveries cannot be known to that degree of accuracy which is necessary to distinguish them from others. We were obliged to have recourse to his chart for the latitudes and longitudes of the isles he discovered, as neither the one nor the other is mentioned in his narrative. Without waiting to examine this island we continued to steer to the west, all sails set, till six o'clock in the evening, when we shortened sail to three top-sails, and at nine brought-to.

The next morning at four a.m. we made sail, and at daybreak saw another of these low islands, situated in the latitude of 17° 4', longitude 144° 30' W., which obtained the name of Adventure Island. M. de Bougainville very properly calls this cluster of low overflowed isles the Dangerous Archipelago. The smoothness of the sea sufficiently convinced us that we were surrounded by them, and how necessary it was to proceed with the utmost caution, especially in the night.

At five o'clock p.m. we again saw land, bearing S.W. by S., which we afterwards found to be Chain Island, discovered in my former voyage. But as I was not sure of it at this time, and being desirous of avoiding the delay which lying by in the night occasioned, I hoisted out the cutter, and manned her with an officer and seven men, with orders to keep as far a-head of the ships, with a light at her masthead, as a signal could be distinguished, which she was to make in case she met with any danger. In this manner we continued to run all night; and, at six o'clock the next morning, I called her on board, and hoisted her in. For it did not appear she would be wanted again for this purpose, as we had now a large swell from the south, a sure sign that we were clear of the low islands; therefore I steered for Otaheite without being apprehensive of meeting with any danger.