A Voyage to the South Atlantic and round Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean, etc.

Front matter

A TO THE AND ROUND CAPE HORN INTO THE FOR THE PURPOSE OF EXTENDING THE SPERMACETI WHALE FISHERIES, AND OTHER OBJECTS OF COMMERCE, BY ASCERTAINING THE PORTS, BAYS, HARBOURS, AND ANCHORING BIRTHS, IN CERTAIN ISLANDS AND COASTS IN THOSE SEAS AT WHICH THE SHIPS OF THE BRITISH MERCHANTS MIGHT BE REFITTED.

UNDERTAKEN AND PERFORMED OF THE ROYAL NAVY, IN THE SHIP RATTLER.

1798.

Dedication

Sir,

n dedicating to you the voyage, which is the ubject of the following pages, my gratification would indeed be incere, (did the work poes an importance which might fully claim your regard:) humble, however, as it's pretenions are, the opportunity, it gives, mut erve to tetify my incere repect, my lating gratitude, for your favors; and I repoe with ome ecurity, on an extenion, of that protection, towards this volume, which has o often been the encouragement, of my profeional exertions.

The difficulties which navigators have experienced, in travering the South Seas and Pacific Ocean, have evidently, from the commencement of your connection with the Admiralty, excited your particular conideration: and it is certain, in all the changes to which that Board has been ubject, that the explorer of remote eas, has found in you, a zealous advocate to repreent his claims to thoe, with whom it remained, to betow the reward due to his endeavours and merits.

Introduction

t will not, I preume, be conidered as altogether unneceary or unintereting, if I offer to the public attention a ummary account of my voyages previous to that which is the ubject of this volume.

I had been already engaged in various commercial undertakings on the North-Wet coat of America, during a period of even years: But I never ceaed to blend the zeal of my naval character with the pirit of commercial enterprize, and accordingly earched the coat from 36° to 60° North; the inland part of which was before little known to European navigators. I alo urveyed everal bays, harbours and creeks, and dicovered many coniderable inlets, particularly between 50° and 53° North, which were uppoed to communicate with Hudon's Bay. I likewie made two voyages to China, but, on my return from the firt of them, was unfortunately captured by the Spaniards at Nootka-Sound, and ent a prioner to the port of St. Blas in the Gulph of California. From thence I was permitted to go to Mexico, to make my appeal to the Viceroy; a journey, including my return to St. Blas, of eighteen hundred miles. But after being detained as a prioner thirteen months, and having lot four of my five veels, with mot of my Officers and half the crew, who had become the victims of dieae, I was at length indebted for my liberty to the pirited conduct of the Court of Great-Britain, as oon as it was officially informed of the inult offered to her colours, of the piracy committed on her merchants, and the cruelty exercied towards her ubjects.

I now returned to Nootka, in the only veel which remained to me; and, after uffering incredible hardhips from a want of proviions, and the hip getting everal times on hore, I procured another valuable cargo of furs and proceeded to China. A prohibition, however, of the ale of thee articles, having taken place at that port during my abence, I did not remain there, but, in a hort time, et ail, and, at the requet of thoe gentlemen who were joint agents with me, coated for a market to the Wet ide of Japan, and Eatide of Corea; a coat which had never before been viited by an European veel. Here an encouraging propect of a new and valuable commerce for my country unfolded itelf before me; when, in a typhoon, in the Latitude of 38° North, on the coat of Corea, I was o unfortunate as to loe my rudder, which obliged me to put back into the port of Chuan in the Northern parts of China, where my los was repaired, as well as could be contrived, without the profeional aid of a carpenter. At this place, I was, by no means, well treated by the Chinee: indeed, to prevent the being plundered of our cargo, and to ave ourelves from the ill-uage which we might peronally uffer, if we hould fall into their hands, we cut from our anchor, and, baffling the puruit of thirty-ix armed junks, returned to Canton. Here I was threatened with till greater evils, for being obliged from the wretched tate of the hip, which was almot a wreck, to pas the Bocca Tigris, without topping to obtain the neceary paport, the Chinee made this act of neceity on my part, an official pretext on theirs to eize the veel and cargo; and having contrived by tratagem, to get me out of her, detained me as a prioner in Canton during five days: But when the various unfortunate circumtances which had befallen me were explained, and the truth of them duly atteted, before the judicial Mandarins, I was ordered to be enlarged, while my veel was ent for me, at the expene of the Chinee Government, to Macao to be old, and myelf and cargo, by the ame uperior interpoition, put on board the Eat-India Company's hip, General Coote, bound for England. On my arrival there, the India Company purchaed my cargo for nine thouand even hundred and ixty pounds terling. A full account of this voyage and the circumtances connected with it, together with the charts and drawings made to illutrate it, were left in England when I proceeded on my lat voyage; a narrative of which, as well as of that I made to Japan and Corea, will hereafter, I trut, be communicated to the public.

In a hort time after my arrival in England, an application was made to me by different merchants to undertake another voyage to the countries I had lately viited, on a alary of ix hundred pounds per ann. and the reimburement of all my expences, which were the conditions of my former voyages, or to go on my own terms.

So long an abence from my country as a period of even years, had occaioned a very coniderable change in my ituation. During that interval, death had deprived me of my nearet relations; many of thoe friends alo whom I left in England, when I departed from it, and whom I hoped to ee again on my return to it, were now no more; o that few or no objects were left to check or interrupt the honet ambition I had never ceaed to poes of riing in the Royal Navy, which was my original and favourite profeion. I had erved on the Quarter-deck of a man of war from the year 1769, and performed the econd circumnavigating voyage with Capt. Cooke as a midhipman, on board the Reolution: I had alo enjoyed for ixteen years the rank of a lieutenant. I accordingly addreed a letter to the Right Honourable the Lords Commiioners of the Admiralty, in which, after etting forth my ervices and ituation, I requeted their Lordhips, if the profeional exertions of my pat life did not appear, in their opinion, to merit profeional promotion, or if they had no employment to offer me in order to obtain it, that they would be pleaed to grant me permiion to re-engage in my commercial puruits. Captain Marhall, one of the Commiioners of the Victualling Office, under whoe command I had the honour to erve, during everal years, in the rank of firt lieutenant, upported me in this application, which was effectually forwarded by Mr. Stephens; who was uninfluenced by any claim in my favour, but uch as my ervices, whatever they might have been, uggeted to the jutice and generoity of his character.

In conequence of this application, I was informed that the Board of Admiralty had nominated me to undertake a voyage, planned in conequence of a memorial from merchants of the City of London, concerned in the South Sea Fiheries, to the Board of Trade; for the purpoe of dicovering uch parts for the South Whale Fihers who voyage round Cape Horn, as might afford them the neceary advantages of refrehment and ecurity to refit.

This memorial tated the calamitous ituation of the hip's crews employed in this trade, from the curvy and other dieaes, incident to thoe who are obliged to keep the eas, from the want of that relief and refrehment, which is afforded by intermediate harbours.

The Spaniards, it is true, had, of late, admitted hips into their ports for the purpoe of refitting; but, from the latet accounts received before I ailed from England, this permiion was o retricted as to amount almot to a prohibition, in which it was continually expected to end. It became therefore an object of great importance to obtain uch a ituation as our commerce required, independent of the Spaniards; as it would, in a great meaure, leen their jealouy, and, at the ame time, accomplih the anguine wihes of our merchants. Impelled by thee views and interets, thoe gentlemen made a propoal to Government to carry out an Officer in one of their hips, in order to dicover uch a ituation, for a gratuity of 500l. terling. This propoal was accordingly accepted, and Mers. Enderby and Sons, merchants of great property as well as commercial character in London, and who poeed the larget concern in this branch of the Whale Fihery, were pleaed to expres their atisfaction at my being named to conduct the intended voyage.

There being at this time, no private veel in the Thames for ale, which was properly contructed for the purpoes of this expedition, a propoition was made to the Lords Commiioners of the Admiralty to lend one of his Majety's mall hips of war for the ervice, to be returned in the ame tate, at the concluion of the enterprie. This plan was favoured with their Lordhips approbation; and everal veels being propoed and examined with this view, the Rattler loop of three hundred and eventy-four tons burthen, was elected, then laying at his Majety's yard at Woolwich, for coniderable repairs. It was, however, found, on more mature conideration, that the alterations neceary to be made for the whaling trade, would render her unfit for his Majety's future ervice. An offer was therefore made to the Lords of the Admiralty to purchae the aid loop; and their Lordhips thought proper to favour it with their acquiecence; a proof of their indulgent attention to any propoal that may tend to advance the interet or extend the limits of the Britih commerce, and fiheries. An official order was accordingly given for the delivery of the loop, on the purchae-money being paid, according to her valuation; and, on the following day, he was received from the Officers of the King's yard, and tranported to Mr. Perry's dock, at Blackwall, in order to be repaired and fitted for the particular ervice in which he was to be employed.

Of this veel I was appointed ole Commander, which, however, was a mere complimentary nomination, as no pecuniary advantage whatever was attached to it; excluive of what I might derive from the ubequent generoity of Government. A whaling mater and a crew, coniting of twenty-five perons, men and boys, were alo appointed; and with the advice and aitance of my kinman Mr. Binmer, firt aitant urveyor of the Navy, who had uperintended the original contruction of the loop, uch alterations were made, as, without diminihing her trength, or leening her powers of ailing, were perfectly adapted to the commercial undertaking in which he was about to be employed: o that he was equipped and ready to leave the river by the eleventh day of November, 1792. Every nautical intrument, neceary for determining the longitude and making other ueful obervations, were alo put on board and I purchaed of Mers. Enderby's one half of the hip, which mut at once have checked any apprehenion on their part, that their private concern would be interrupted or receive any detriment from the attention I might pay to uch intructions as were communicated to me by Mr. Stephens.

Mers. Enderby and Sons had fitted out the hip: but nevertheles, I pared no expene in providing myelf with all things which my experience of long voyages, as well as my knowledge of the eas, I was preparing once more to travere, uggeted to me as neceary for preerving the health of thoe who were to ail with me. I alo purchaed the various voyages of former navigators, and uch books on the ubjects of natural hitory, as might ait me in my puruits, and enable me to furnih intruction in thoe branches of cience connected with my own; and which remote navigation might tend to advance. In hort, I determined to pare no exertion in fulfilling every object of the voyage, which had been entruted to my care and direction.

As my intructions were not ready by the eleventh of November, the hip was ordered round to Portmouth, to wait for me. But while I was in daily expectation of receiving my dipatches, the unexpected and alarming conduct of the French Nation, demanded the whole attention of Government, and occaioned an unavoidable upenion of my final intructions. At this delay, however, the hip's company, who engaged in the voyage on proportionable hares of the profits reulting from it, began to expres their diatisfaction; while the owners of different properties in the South Seas, particularly Mers. Enderby's, Mers. Champion and Mers. Mether's, being anxious to convey early intelligence to their veels, of the ituation of our dometic affairs, and the change that appeared to be taking place in Europe, earnetly and anxiouly recommended me to proceed on the voyage, without any other intructions than uch as had been verbally communicated to me, and the maps with which Mr. Stephens had been o kind as to furnih me. It was, however, thought neceary that, previous to my departure, I hould apply for the uual letter of leave of abence, which I immediately obtained.

After this long detention, and the great expences which accompanied it, I hould not have been induced to undertake uch a voyage, for the mere caual advantages which the fihery might produce, if I had not received the tronget aurances from the beginning, that, if I executed the commiion aigned me by the Board of Admiralty, I hould not fail of particular promotion; and that in any general promotion which might take place, during my abence, I hould not be forgotten.

Though my former voyages were principally undertaken with the views of commercial advantage, I was never inattentive to the advancement of nautical cience: my obervation was always awake to every object which might intruct myelf and enable me to intruct others; and I contantly committed my thoughts to paper as they aroe in my mind from the appearance of things around me, or the circumtances, whatever they might be, in which I happened to be involved. I cannot be uppoed to poes any claim to literary qualifications, which are only to be obtained in the calm of life, while o many of my years have been pat amid the winds and waves, in various climes and ditant oceans. Nevertheles, I poes the hope that my work may contain ome portion of profeional utility, or I hould not have preumed to preent it to Mr. Stephens, as a tetimony, humble as it may be, of my gratitude for his condecending kindnes to me.

The owners, Mers. Enderby and Sons, being perfectly acquainted with the intention and bais of the plan on which the voyage was to be conducted, made out their orders in a manner altogether comformable to the views of Government; and as a proof of their confidence, furnihed me with full powers to act as I hould think bet for our common interet.

I accordingly joined the hip on the 24th of December, 1792, but was unfortunately detained by contrary winds. During this accidental delay, a bounty of five pounds was offered for eamen to enter into his Majety’s ervice, which proved too great a temptation for all my crew to withtand, as it afforded a favourable opportunity to thoe who felt no compunction at robbing their employers of the advance given them to perform a long voyage, to helter themelves under the proclamation. I employed every poible precaution to prevent the defection of any of my people; nevertheles, three of them contrived to make their ecape: and I could not obtain any to upply their place, but by paying a bounty equal to that of the Royal Navy. On this condition I procured three men, natives of the Ile of Wight.

The firt day of January, 1793, at length arrived, and by this delay, we lot the propect of obtaining the premium given by the Britih Government to whalers ailing round Cape Horn, without clearing out again, for which I received the owners intructions: but the collector at Cowes informed me, that it could not be allowed.

On the econd day of January, in the afternoon, the weather promiing to be fair, and the wind inclining to the North, I dropped down to Yarmouth Roads. We had a thick fog and Southerly wind all night, and during the next day and following night, there was a heavy gale to the South, with drizzling rain. At noon on the fourth, the wind hifted to the Northward and brought clear weather, with which we ailed.

Chapter I

he lant of wind with which we et ail continued to be fair no longer than midnight, and we were obliged to ply to windward until the ſeventh of January at noon; when, being cloe in with the Start, and threatened with a gale of wind from the Southward, we bore up and anchored in Torbay for the night. The wind at day-light hifting to the North North Wet, we weighed and tood out of the bay. This pirt carried us as far as the Eddytone Light-houe, when it again hifted to the Southward and blew freh. We had now to beat off a lee-hore, and, by the pres of ail which we were obliged to carry, in order to accomplih that object, and to get ten leagues to the Southward and Wetward of the Lizard, we had three feet water in the hold from a leak in the trunks that were sunk to the hawse for the cables, in consequence of a spar-deck being fixed to join the fore-castle and quarter-deck, and bringing the cables on the upper deck. At this time the gale had so increased, as to reduce our sails to the three storm stay-sails; and, at times, during the twenty-four hours it lasted, we could not carry all of them, from the rain, hail, snow and blowing weather which we had experienced more or less every day, since we sailed: while our crew consisted of no more than seventeen, officers and seamen, with three landmen and five boys, to work a ship that, in his Majesty's service, had a complement of 130 men: and all the alteration I had made was cutting four feet off the lower yards, two feet off the top-sail yards, and reducing the sails in proportion. Thus weak handed, we were all obliged to be on deck when there was an extra duty, which our situation and the state of the ship often required. The crew also, at this time, began to grow weary, and, in addition to our other exertions, it was necessary to keep the pump in continual employment. We were, however, greatly indebted to the marine barometer, as it warned me against making sail when there was an appearance only of moderate, and to shorten sail on the approach of foul and tempestuous, weather. At length, however, on the thirteenth at noon, when we were within a few leagues of the Lizard, the wind shifting to the North West, and from thence to the North Eat, a trong wind and great well carried us to Madeira in ix days; on one of which alone we had fair weather. On the twentieth I had run that ditance by two of Arnold's time-pieces and account: it alo blew a trong gale, very variable, with dark cloudy weather and heavy rain. I had not made any obervation this day to be relied on, but uch as pointed out to me the like was not far ditant, and that it became abolutely neceary for me to acertain our true ituation before night. I depended on the qualities of the hip for clearing the land if caught on a lee-hore, and accordingly hortened ail to cloe-reefed main-top-ail and fore-ail. We then hove too and houed our boats: but we had no ooner bore up, than, half a mile on the lea-beam, we decried the Deerters Rocks: and as it was impoible to weather them on the tack we were then on, we wore and tretched out between Porto Sancto and the Eat end of Madeira; while it blew o heavy at intervals, that the hip lurched three treaks of the main-deck under water: at the ame time, he made a better way through the water than we could expect or would generally be believed. When the gale had ceaed, calms, light winds, and baffling weather, prevented our clearing the Wet end of Madeira, until the evening of the twenty-econd of January.

My preent intention was to pas in light to the Wetward of the Canaries; and at noon, on the twenty ninth intant, had the weather not been o dark and clouded, we ought, by our obervations, to have een ome of them. At four in the afternoon we got ight of the Iland Ferro, ditant about five or ix leagues. From hence I was peruaded to get in the Longitude of 21° Wet, in the Latitude of the Ile of Sal one of the Cape de Verds, and run down in that parallel for the Ile with an expectation of catching whale. This was not merely a curious inclination, but a ene of duty, which inpired the wih to begin my acquaintance with that buines, at as early a period of the voyage as poible. Dark, hazy and cloudy weather accompanied us all the way from the Canaries, and our rigging was covered with dut of the colour of brown and, as if it had been laying on hore. We ran the ditance by watch and reckoning to a few miles, but the continuance of hazy weather prevented our eeing it: and as it blew trong with a heavy ea, it was the whaling mater's opinion, with uch weather we could do nothing with fih, if we fell in with them: I accordingly bore up, and run down the lee-ide of Bonavita. Light winds prevented our croing the Equator until the tenth of February, at midnight, in Longitude 24° 30′ Wet of Greenwich, and all the fih we had as yet caught, were a hark and a porpoie.

In the Latitude of 19° South, and Longitude 55° Wet, we lot the South Eat trade wind, which had accompanied us from 4° North: when a wind from the North Eat fell in with us, and continued until we reached the Latitude 21° 30′, and Longitude 36° Wet. At this time we had changeable weather, with lightning, heavy rain, and a well from the South Wet. The wind then hifted to the Southward and Eatward, and blew in that direction until the twenty-third of February, when, at midnight, we made Cape Frio: but calms and light winds prevented our getting into Rio Janeiro, until the twenty-fourth. We there found Governor Phillips on his homeward bound paage from Botany Bay, in the Atlantic Tranport; and, on the following day, a South Whaler came in to top a leak.

The rigging of the Rattler was in uch a tate as to require coniderable repairs: the new work alo wanted caulking; and that no further time might be lot, the eaon being already far advanced for doubling Cape Horn, I hired natives to upply me with water, as well as a couple of caulkers to ait our carpenter in caulking the hip and topping our leak, which was under the hawe-pieces. At length, all our repairs being completed, and our tock of proviions, including two live bullocks, being got on board, by the fifth of March, we et ail with the Mediator, the whaler already mentioned. We parted, however, with her, on getting out of the harbour, and paed, between the Razor and Round Iles, to the Sea.

Governor Phillips ailed the day before me, and was o kind, among other civilities, as to be the bearer of a table of the rate of the time-keepers to Phillip Stephens, Eq. as well as of letters to the owners and my friends. On my return from taking leave of him, and at the ditance of about two cables length of his hip, I truck with an harpoon the larget turtle I ever aw: it weighed at leat five hundred weight. Governor Phillips, on oberving our exertions on the occaion, immediately ent a boat to our aitance, and I requeted his acceptance of the prize.

On the arrival of a hip off Santa-Cruz at the mouth of Rio Janeiro, the Patrimore or harbour mater comes on board, takes charge of the veel, carries her into the harbour and moors her in a good birth. Sometimes the mate is firt taken out, as was the ceremony with me, to undergo an examination; but the captain is not uffered to leave the hip without orders; neither will any upplies be admitted until a viit has been made by the officers of police, to inquire into the health of the crew, from whence you come, whither you are bound, what is the particular object of your voyage, and the time you wih to tay. The mates are then taken on hore to be examined, when their declaration with that of the commanding officer, is laid before the Viceroy whoe official permiion mut be given before any commercial intercoure can take place between the hip and the hore: the captain and officers mut alo ign a declaration, acknowledging that they and their crew conider themelves as amenable to the laws of the country, while they remain in it.

The land-breeze, at this place, commences in the evening, and generally continues until the morning; the length of time it blows, as well as its trength, depends on the different eaons of the year; and all veels leaving this port mut take the advantage of the land or leading wind, the mouth of the harbour being too narrow to turn out. We had no ooner left the harbour, than the Patrimore took his leave of us. It may be proper, however, to remark in this place, that the commanders of merchant veels are required to give one day's notice, previous to their ailing from this port.

Chapter II

n leaving Rio Janeiro, I tood away to the Southward and Eatward to earch for the Iland Grand, which is aid to lay in the Latitude of 45° South, and was the firt object recommended to me by the Board of Admiralty. On the eventeenth of March, at noon, Latitude by obervation 39° 33′ South; Longitude by the mean of chronometers 34° 21′ Wet; and by account, 34° 25′; variation, 9° Eat. The ea appeared of a pale green, and we aw many birds, ome of which were aid by everal of my people, to be of thoe kinds which are uppoed to indicate the vicinity of land; uch as and-larks, and a large pecies of curlew; but neither of the latter kinds of birds were een by me. From noon of the eventeenth, until ix in the evening, the wind blew from the South, South Eat, and we tood away to the Southward and Wetward: it then became calm and continued o till midnight; when it blew from the North Wet, being, at this time, in the ituation which I had often heard my old commander, Captain Cook, mention, as the poition of the Ile of Grand: I accordingly entertained great expectations of eeing it; more epecially as the birds appeared in great numbers during the whole of the day. In the evening we tood away to the Southward, in which direction I continued my coure for the night. At day-light, on the eighteenth, the urface of the water was covered with feathers; and frequently in the forenoon we paed everal birch twigs, as well as quantities of drift-wood and ea-weed. Thee appearances continued until noon of the ame day, when our obervation was in Latitude 40° 12′ South: Longitude by obervation of Sun and Moon, 35° 34′ Wet; and by mean of chronometers 34° 8′. At this time the appearance of the ea had changed to a dirty green; which could not be the effect of the ky, as it was very clear: thoe tokens of land induced me to heave to and try for oundings with an hundred and fifty fathoms of line, but got no bottom, we had no ooner got the lead in, when to our great atonihment, at three or four miles ditance from us, the whole horizon was covered with birds of the blue petrel kind. At the ame time black whales were een pouting in every direction, and the boats purued one to harpoon it, but without ucces. Indeed, we were not very olicitous to kill black whales, and willingly gave up the chae at this time, to make all the ail we could, and to exert our utmot efforts in order, if poible, to dicover the land before night; which every one on board had poeed themelves with the idea of eeing, although at uch a coniderable ditance from the Latitude in which it was uppoed to lay.