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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichi. 11 est ffilm6 d partir de I'angle sup6rieur gauche, de nauche d droite. et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. irrata to pelure, n d □ 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 A C H A K T rftfie ^\ 't L AN TIC and S O I' T H >; a "N H A X S. " f . yt (.. » :«.« — ""f ;F ■<•■« "ff/wf S4 ■il- •♦ THE HISTORY of a VOYAGE T O T H E Malouine (or Falkland) Iflands, Made in 1763 and 1764, Under the Command of M.de BOUGAINVILLE,!,, in Order to form a Settlement there : i ,/: iiAi. AND OF \.->i// Two Voyages to the STREIGHTS of MAGELLAN, W I T H A N Account of the P A T A G O N I A N S. Tranflated from Dom PERNETY's Historical Journal, written in French. ILLUSTRATED WITH COPPER-PLATES. THE SECOND EDITION. LONDON: Printed for WILLIAM GOLDSMITH, Number 24, Pater-Noster Row; and DAVID STEEL, Number 1, Union-Row, the Lower-End of the MiNORiEs, Little Tower-Hiil. M.DCCLXXIIL \ ) m ■■/■■■' ^ Kt '.?::-M . -..■rL ADVERTISEMENT to the READER. 't- ■ :'\- THE Editor thinks it neceflary to acquaint the Reader, that, in this tranflation of Dom Pernety's Journal, no- thing has been omitted, but the detail of ordinary occurrences,, which appeared common to every voyage. Whatever Teemed ini any view peculiar to this expedition has been retained.. In refpe^l to the cuts and plans, fome alterations and addi* tions have been made. A general chart (hewing the fituatioa of Falkland's Iflands in the Southern Ocean, which was not given in the original, is here inserted. PFans of the iflands of St. Catherine, and of Buenos Ayres, are alfo added. The birds, fi(h, Sec. are clafled in their proper order, and placed at the end of the book with references to the page in which they are mentioned. The Editor hopes the work will meet with the approbation- of the public, as he has fpared neither coft nor pains to aiaks, it ufeful and exa£l.. ■■■i>iL^~^.':^7^/ji\ .- .♦ih I* Note of the Tranflator omitted in page 242. The PInguin here mentioned, is difFerent from that which is defcribed by our ingenious couotrymui Mr. Pennant, under the name of the Patagonian Pinguin ; and anfwers more exaAly to the fecond fpecies or lefler Pinguin fpoken of by that gentleman, and which is otherwife called, Anfer Magellanicus Clufii, 6tc. It is probable that Don Pernety never faw the Patagonian Pinguin, fince he fays nothing of it. The Re?der will find an accurate account of the different fpecies of this Angular bird, in the jBth volume of the Phitofophical Tranfa^iontf W^ich contains Mr. Peonaot's piiper on that fubjed. 9 -■W '*!??■' jn i'l .;■) "•v,J»|; K-i Dire£lions to the Book Binder for placing the Plates. I. The general Chart to front the Title. Page 2. St.- Catherines Ifland, &c - > » . - 41 3. Rio dc la Plata - . - - - lOI 4. Plan of Montevideo - - - 139 5. Spaniards at Montevideo - . _ - 142 6. Spanifti Lady of Montevideo r - H3 7. A Spaniard of Montevideo - 144 8. A Spanilh Gentleman of Montevideo - 145 9. An Indian of Montevideo ." " " - 163 10. Malouine or Falkland Iflands - ^77 1 1. Plan and View of Acarron Bay ' 189 12. Streights of Magellan . - - - 263 13. The Patagonians - - • - ^73 14. Fifties found in this Voyage - "i 15. Birds, ditto - - - > at the End of the Book. J 6. Sea Lyons, &c. ^ .' If. THE .i»;i '■■ VI c.V A U T H O R's P R E F A C E. THE difcovery and knowledge of the Malouine Iflands has been looked upon as an objef^ of fo much import- ance, that the EngU(h, having been informed of the expedition we made there in 1^64, thought it necelTary to eftablifh them- felves in thofe iflands, notwithftanding that we had already taken pofleflion of them in the name of tlte crown of France. In preparing for this voyage, which excited the attention of all Europe, they took extraordinary precautions. Commodore Byron was employed on this expedition with two fliips, the Dol- phin and the Tamer frigate, under his command. The Florida was afterwards difpatched to carry them provifions of all kinds. We had taken pofleflion of thefe iflands in the beginning of April, before the Dolphin was off the flocks, and we quitted them the 8th of the fame month on our return to France, where we landed the 26th of June. The Englifli did not fail till fome days after. On the 4th of December they left Port Deflre, and took their courfe towards the South of the fuppofed Pepys's Ifland, at 48 degrees South latitude, where they made feveral unfuccefsful attempts for the difcovery of that ifland. They were then obliged, as they obferve p. 69, of the Voyage round the world in 1764 and 1765 on board the Dolphin, to abandon that refearch, being well perfuaded of the impoflibility of finding this fuppofed ifland. The 2 2d of the fame month (December) being in the Streights of Magellan, five leagues diftance from Terra del Fucgo, they obfei ved a Imoke riflng in feveral places on the oppofite coaft, which is that of Patagonia. They fleered towards it, and cafling B anchor ,.^-. u PREFACE. anchor at about a mile from fhore, faw dillin£l!y men on horfe- back, who beckoned to them. On approaching the coad tHcre' appeared manifefl figns of fear in the countenances of thofe, who were going on fhore in the boat, when they perceived at the water fide men of a pro- digious ftature. ^The Commodofe, animated with the idea of making a difcovery relative to thefe Pata^^onians, the queflion of whofc exiftcnce had for a long time furnilhed matter of conver- fation in England, was the firft who leaped on ihore, and was followed by his officers and feamen well armed, whom be drew up in a pofture of ddfence. The favages, to the number of about 200, immediately ran up to them, looking at them with an air of the greateft Airprize, and fmiling at the difproportion ia fizQ between the Engli(h#id themfelvesJ ni rro'::: io i\iihMt rr ; ^ t The Commodore made ffgns to them to fit down, which they complied with ; and he put about their necks collars of enamelled beads, and ribbands, giving to each of them fome fuch trifling ornament. Their fize is fo extraordinary, that even fitting they were almoft as high as the Commodore when he flood upright* (p. 77.) IP^-i'^^'r, >:ywM. 'YJ; 'o c i t > ' '.-'i; 't,\yiAS\ .,',>■ '* The Commodbre is faid, in the preface-to the fame Account, (p. 61.) to be £x feet high. It mud be remembered, that the £ngliOi foot is near an inch lela than the French flandard foot.. P R E F A . C E. m ing very fwift, b\it their height is not in proportion to .th^t of their riders, and they feemed befides to be in but indiflferent con- dition, (p. 85.) They appeared to be of a mild and friendly difpofition. (p. 83.) . t- .. >ii,if» ,5 fpi i^fp^^p ^^.. ^i.^^t-.j .;u ^jj Among the Englifli was Lieutenant Cummms, w|ibm the Patagonians feemed to regard wi|h particular fattsfafllonj ou account of his height, which was not lefs than fix fe£t ten inches. Some of them clapped him on the back ; but though this was intended only as a mark of their kindnefs, their hand< fell fo heavy upon him» that he ilaggered uilder the weight of them; unyUfr itiu jt f On this 23d of the fame month, the EngllAi having advanced farther into the Streights difcovered feveral favages, on the Ifland of Saint Elizabeth, who made figns to tliem to come on Ihore. Both the men and women were of middling (lature, and well ihaped. Their hair was blacky their fkin, which is naturally of an olive colour, appeared red, becaufe they paint their bodies with a compofition of reddifli earth mixed with greafe. They are cloathed with the (kins of fea-calves, otters, or Peruvian fheep, fewed together, fo as to make one piece of about four feet and one half fquare. They wear caps made of the {kins of birds with the featheis, and have alfo fkins on their feet, which ferve them inftead of fhoes. Some of the women had girdles alfo made of fkins ; but none of them wore caps ; they were only diftinguifhed by a necklace of iliells. (p. 92.) After having provided therofelves with wood and water at Port Famine^ the Englifli failed from thence the 5th of January 9765, and fleering eaflward, cleared the Streights, and faw land the 13th of the fame month. The next day they entered a very commodious bay, within which were feveral fmall ones, and dif- ferent harbours : to the third of thefe they gave the name of Port Egmont. The entrance to this bay is by the North $ it is half a mile in width, and has from {even to thirteen fathon) depth on a muddy bottom, (p. 121). . B 2 The t» P R iJ F A C E. !« The 23(1 of January, the Commodore took poneflion of all thefe iflands in the name of the King of Great Britain, and left them the a7th, without having eftabiifhed any fettiement there. Thefe iflands are fltuated in 51 degrees 21 minutes South lati- tude, and 66 degrees ten minutes Weft longitude, (p. 134). From hence they returned, coafting along to tiie Streights of Magellan. It will appear by the particulars of this Englifli account, and by thofe of my Journal, that we were acquainted with the Malouine Iflands, and had formed a fettiement there, near a twelvemonth before the two fliips under the command of Mr. Byron had even difcovered them. At the time even when thefe two veflfels arrived there, Monf. de Bougainville was then re- turned } and having feen them from the port where he lay at anchor, fet fail for the Streights of Magellan, where he met vvith them, as will be feen at the end of my Journal. I have entered into the detail of this Englifli expedition to the Malouines in order to convince the public of the inconteft- able right of the crown of France to the pofleflicm of them, in oppofition to the injurious pretenfions of the Englifli. I have alfo given a flcetch of the account, which one of the officers of Mr. Byron's fliip has printed concerning the giants of Patagonia, that the Reader might compare it with what is faid of them in the extracts from the journals of the French Cap- tains, who have feen and made a longer flay with thefe Pata* gonians than the Englifli have. Such a comparifon will prove to thofe who are incredulous, or who have too much vanity to fuffer themfelves to appear ignorant of what has never come to their knowledge, or, from the fame principle, make a point of denying every thing they have not feen, that there exifls^ neverthelefs, a race of men, the bulk and enormity of whofe fize may teach thefe unbelieving, vain, and felf-conceited. perfons, to reduce their magnificent pretenfions, and be contented to confider themfelves as not the fmalleft among the race of dwarfis.. The ' H ■M PREFACE. \ The The Strelghts of Magellan were little ktiown. The accounts we had of it till this time, though many in number, were not to be depended upon ) the obfei vations were either deficient in exaftnefs or in perfpicuity. This has determined me to give thofe of our two French Captains, and a chart of the Streights, cor- rc6\ei\ according to their obfervations. It may be conje*Slured, and indeed with great appearance of probability, that the Malouine Iflands formerly made a part of Patagonia and Terra del Fucgo, and that they were feparated from them by violent earthquakes, which opened a pafl'age for the Tea through a cleft caufed by the eruption, and formed in time the channel, by which thofe iflands are divided from the continent. This conjeflure is the more reafonable, as the Terra del Fuego took its name from the volcanos, which were fuppofed to have been feen there, and as at fome diftance from that par€ of the Malouine Iflands, where we have made our fettlement, the hills and vallies (hew clearly, by the diforder of the beds of free flone, and the irregular heaps in which they lie, that this confufion is the efTeft of earthquakes. See what is faid on this fubjcdt in my Journal. But what will adonifli the Reader is, that a country fo exten- five as the Malouines fliould neither be inhabited by men, nor by any of thofe quadrupeds, which are commonly met with among the Patagonians ; and that the fmall fpider with long legs, which is called in France Faucbeufi^ and the little brown cri ' et TalJed Cri-crit which is alfo found in chimneys, are the only two infefls we faw there. It is lefs wonderful, that we fliould not meet with any of the reptile fpecies, as travellers aflTure us, that there are none to be found in the territory of Chily, which lies to the Weft of Patagonia, in the fame parallel with the Malouine Iflands. Another motive, which induces me to believe, that the Ma- louines were originally joined to Patagonia, is, that there are no trees on them, and that the whole coafl: to the Eaft of the Pata- gonians, and of Terra del Fuego, is without trees, to about 25 ~ kague* I ^ PREFACE. leagues up the country. At that diftancc Tome trees begui to appear, but from thence to the fea fide there h nothing to be found but fhrubs and heath. It is the fame on the Malouines. The difcoveries which the Englifli, who have fettled mbrfc to the Wef-, may make 6n that fide, will give us more light into thefe particulars. The Spaniards, who have fucceeued my countrymen in :he Eaflern settlement will inform us with regard to thofe parts. •* 1* ■■"^*^''»-";»**'^i'*'^ fii'.if; I. - >^ .Oft::-'", •,.:; n •; .T"'-'*'''! . ':! The exa6hiefs of the plana and charts, as well as that of th« figures of animals in the plates of ray Journal, may be depended upoh. The chart I give of the Rio de la Plata is the more in- terefting as it was taken with the utmoft accuracy, and as it is the only one of that river, the navigation of which is fo dan- gerous*' ■^*'"' ^^■i^irf^%nt:^i'n'i(yi ::di tifju "turn -^Tf ; .. >! o;-,,:;'! '■ ', . _ ...:>■/' r^icA irj r/;Jh<>, -J iya ts «b I :'ii /iint'll nyl rt'i'^t ■;;';'' ,•) ■ ■}'■ ■'i- :'ii,)' " U'J t I ll {.-.'! • .i; > ■ . I. :>;;' ) fi. ■{ -■-<'■' V.i, •M- INTRO- .K C i'tI vii.J; y, J r^ l-^UH^l ^^^ -^'^ '"*^''^- \ >■■'>:. :i:.i!di-\ ua :.f' *M . I N T R O DiX C X J Q ;N, rt?*:« t , lu: Jo j.'irjj Af^'tlER We" i)eac6 was' ctJricruW By a ceffibn of all Canada on the part of France to England, M. de Bou- gainville, Knight of St. Loui?, and Colonel of infantry,, conceived the defign of indemnifying France for this lofs, if pof- fible, by; a difcovery of the fouthern continent, and of thofe large iflands, which lie in the way to it, A perufal of admiral Anfon's voyage round the world fixed his ideas for finding the Malpuine Iflands, and determined him to make them .>e firft ohjedl of his expedition, and to form a fettlement there; He eommunicated hi§ proje'^ to the miniftry, who approved it. To earry it therefore into execution, M. de Bougainville caufed a ^igate an4 a Hoop to be built at St. Malo at his own expence,> under the dire^ions of the Sieurs Guyot du Clos and Cheiart de la Gyraudais, who were to have the command of them under him* But bein§ defirous to' make the execution of his defign as. advantageous as polTibJe, and imagining that I might be of fer- vicc to him in that refpeft, he propofed to jne, juft before he quitted Paris, to undertake the voyage with him. A few days after, I received the King's orders in a letter from the Duke de Choifeul, minifter for the marine department, to embark with- M. de Bougainville. I made my difpofitions immediately for the voyage, and fet off with him for St. Malo. Thofe, who are acquainted with the fituation of the Malouine Iflands, will applaud the projc6t of M. de Bougainville j but few people have heard of thofe iflands, becaufe they were almoft unknown. Some navigators had feen them, but, I think, I may aflert, that no one before ourfelves had ever landed there, at Icaft in the part where we did. For this reafon it will be proper to give feme idea of the difcovery of them from the accounts givea by authors of cftabliftied reputation* ■:■■-,..■. , * " ,- ' , Frezier,,- Vlli INTRODUCTION. t tS iS Frezier, in his relation du Foyagt k Mer du Sud, printed in 4to, Paris 171 6, p. 264, exprefles L.tnfelf thus: " If in this chart I have fuppreft fome fuppofed countries, I have added others which are real, in the latitude of 51 degrees, and 40 which I have given the name of new IJlands j becaufe they have been difcovered fince the year 1700, the greatefl; part of them by the lliips of St. Malo. I have placed them according to the reports of the Maurepas and St. Louis, Aiips belonging to the India Company, which had a near view of them, and the latter even took in frefh water there from a pond, which I have marked near Port St. Louis. The water here was reddifh and fomewhat infipid, in other refpefls good for the Tea. Both thefe vefiels paffed them in different parts, but the one which kept clofeft along the coaft was the St. John Baptift, commanded by Dou- blet of Havre, who attempted to pafs through an opening he faw towards the middle of them ; but perceiving fcveral froall iflands juft rifing to the furface of the water, he thought proper to tack about. This clufler of iflands is the fame which was dif. covered by Fouquet of St. Malo, and to which he gave the name of Anican, his owner. The routs I have traced will fliew the bearing of thefe lands from the Streights of Le Maire, in her paflage from which the St. John Baptift faw them, and from Statenland, which the two other (hips had had a prolped of before they found it. / The northern part of thefe lands, which is here called the the Coa/h of the Afjumpt'ion^ was difcovered the 16th of July 1708, by Pore of St. Malo *, who named it after the fliip he failed in. It was thought to be a new land, at the diftance of about a hun- dred leagues eaft of the new iflands I am fpeaking of; but I • ... ■ , •-' have * It appears that Pore was not acquainted with the fituation of the coafts of the Patagonians, nor that of the new or Malouine lfl:inds, or that he was miflakca in his point. Thefe iflands are in faiSt no more than 90 or ico leagues dif^anc from the Streights of Magellan; how then could they be at the diftance of 100 leagues Weft of the coaft of the AHumption, as it is called by Pore ? If he had known the fituation of the Malouine iflands, he would have feen clearly by the latitude and longituJe of the coail he ran along, that it could be no other than the coaft of thofe iflands. INTRODUCTION. have made no fcruple of joining it with them, having convincing reafons to juftify my opinion. The firft is, that the latitudes obferved on the North and South of thefe iflands, and the bearing of the known parts* anfwer per- feftly to the fame point of reunion on the Eaft fide without leaving any fpace between them. The fecond, that there is no reafon to imagine this coaft lies eaftward of the ides of Anican. For M. Gobien of the St. John, who was pleafed to communicate to me an extra6b of his journal, fuppofes it to lie South of the river Plata*; which account, taken ftridlly, will not admit of its being at a greater diftance than two or three degrees eaftward, that is to fay, five and twenty or thirty leagues f. But the dif- ference of computations is always a mark of uncertainty. The firfi; time they faw this coaft on their paflage from Saint Cathe- rine's to the Brafils,'they reckoned it at 329 degrees; the fecond, in pafling from the river Plata, where contrary winds obliged them to put in, after having tried to pafs Cape Horn : they fup- pofed it at 322 degrees, and according to fome 324; following the charts of Peter Goos, the errors of which we have taken notice of, fo that little regard ought to be paid to them. However, as they relied upon them, they thought themfelves at a great diflance from the Continent, and reckoning that they were too far eaftward, ran three hundred leagues loo far to Weft in the South Sea, infomuch that they imagined themfelves on the coaft of Guinea, when they landed at Ylo. But the third and convincing * The fuppofition of M. Gobien, of the St. John, is falfe, in placing this coaft of Aflumption South of the river Plata. We were on ihore there, as he was, and in the fame place, according to Frezier's chart, and found it by our com- putation about 64 degrees and a half W. longitude from the meridian of Paris, and the mouth of the river Plata 56° 30' ; which carries that part of the coaft where M. Gobien and we landed eight degrees farther S. W. and anfwers nearly to the miftake attributed by the author of Admiral Anfon's Voyage (p. 78.) to Frezier's chart in regard to the fituation of the coaft of Patagonia. t If we place the. coaft of the Aflumption three degrees farther to the Weft, it will be more conformable to our eftimation, which makes our landing place four degrees, or thereabouts, more to Weft than it would be according to Frezier's chart, which is formed on the extract M. Gobien furnifhed him with from hie own journal. C 3r INTRODUCTION. convincing argument is, that we ought to pafs to windward of this new land according to the longitude it was placed in, in the manufcript chart; and that it is morally impoffible any fliip could pais without feeing it, it being about 50 leagues in length; from E. S. E, to W. N. W. No doubt therefore remains, that this was the northern part of the new iflands, the weftern part of which will be difcovered in time, but is yet unknown. Thefe iflands are certainly the fame, which were difcovered by Sir Richard Hawkins in 1 593, to the eaft of the uninhabited coaft, and in 50 degrees latitude. He was thrown by a ftorm on an unknown land : he ran along the coaft about fixty leagues, and faw fires, from whence he concluded the place was inhabited *. Hitherto thefe lands have been called Sebald's Iflands, it being fuppofed that the three which go under this name in the charts were fituated there at pleafure, for want of a proper knowledge of them. But the fliip L' Incarnation, commanded by the Sieur Brignon of St. Malo, took a near view of them in fine weather in the year 1711, on her departure from Rio Janeiro. They are in fadt three fmall iflands -f- of about half a league in length, ; ranged • I do not know whether the iflands, which SirRkhard Hawkins faw in 159J, to the Eaft of the defart coaft of Patagonia, in 50 degrees S. latitude, are the northern part of the new or Malouine Iflands. We ran fixty degrees at leaft along the coaft, as well as he, and faw no fire, or appearance of habitation, though we were very often at no greater diftance than that of half a league or a league. t At our landing we difcovered three iflands about half a league in length, pretty high, and forming a kind of triangle, agreeable to the account of Sebald's Iflands. This refemblance in pofition and figure made us take them at firft for Sebald's Ifldiids ; but we difcovered near them feveral fmall flat iflands, almoft even with the furface of the water, of which no mention is made in the Sieur Brignon's journals, nor in thofe of other people, who fpeak of Sebald's Iflands. A few hours after, having difcovered other eminences, one behind another, we judged that thefe three iflands were not Sebald's Iflands, but fome of the Malauines, which ftand out !v fore the principal' one, and we found rcafon to confirm ourfelves in this opinion. If thefe three iflands were really Sebald's Iflands, they would be about two leagues diftance from land, or the principal ifland, and not feven or eight, as Frexier fays. See the chart of our route along the coaft. However in the two voyages of the Eagle and the Siar Pink, which have taken a later view of thefe three iflands in their pafl'age from the Malouines to the Straits of Magellan, the Eagle in 1765, and the Eagle with the Star in 1766 ; thefe veflcls found no more iflands than thofe three, and have fince looked upon them to be Sebald's Iflands. '.i INTRODUCTION. XI ard of in the y fliip length iS, that part of ;red by i coaft, on an zs, and :ed*. it being 5 charts Dwledge le Sieur weather 'hey are length, ranged r in 1593, e northern along the h we were gth, pretty I's Iflands. }r Sebald's even with Brignon's few hours that thcfe hich ftand ves in this be about I or eight, in the two :w of thefe gellm, the no more Iflands. ranged in ^ triangular form, as they are reprefented in the charts. They pafTed at the diftancc of three or four leagues from them, and faw no land, though the weather was very fine, which is a proof that they are feparated from the new idands by at leafl feven or eight leagues. ..,;.><,:,.. ,..i..r . ..,. . , r _ In the memorial prefented to the Compagnie des Indes by the Sieur de Lozier Bouvet in the year 17351 foliciting their aflift- ance in furnifhing him the means of obferving the countries difcovered by Gonneville, he reports, among other advantages of the eftablifliment they might form there after that obfervation, the opportunities of fixing an immediate commerce with the Spaniards of the river Plata and the Portuguefe of Brafil. He even aflerts, that the fhips, in putting into the fouthern coafts, would fleer very little out of their ordinary courfe for India. By the edablifhment we have made on the Malouine Illands * we have put the India Company, and all the French navigators in the moft favourable fituation for accompliftiing thefe two objeds. The Malouine Iflands are not near fo far to the South : the climate is much more temperate j they fland more convenient for the river Plata and the Brafils ; more in the neighbourhood of Magellan's lands and Patagonia, with the inhabitants of which it would be fo much the more eafy to fix a commerce, as they are already acquainted with the Europeans by the traffic they carry on with the Spaniards. Let us confider the fituation of the fouthern lands difcovered by Monficur de Gonneville, a gentleman of Normandy. In 1503 he fitted out a vefTel at Honficur, and fet fail in the month of June for the Eaft Indies. After doubling the Cape of Good Hope, and meeting with a guft of wind, which was fucceeded by calms, he thought of nothing but gaining fome land, where he might recover the fatigues of the voyage. He had the good fortune to difcover fome, and called them the South Indies. He lay there fix months, during which time he refitted, formed an C 2 intercourfe * Since this journal was written, France has ceded the Malouine Iflands to Spain. xu I N T R O I> U C T I O N. intercourfe with the natives, and eftabllfhed himfelf To far in their confidence, that their King, Arofca, trufted his fon Eflbmeric ta him to make the voyage of France, on condition that he fliould bring him back in twenty months. Gonneville failed from thence the third of July 1504 laden with the produce of the country. In the Channel he met with an Englifh privateer, which took him, and carried him into Guemfey. This unlucky accident pre- vented his arriving in France till the year 1505$ where he made his complaint and declaration to the admiralty at Honfleur. No- advantage was made at that time of M. de Gonneville's difcovery ; who to make amends to Eflbmeric for not being able to keep his word with him, married him to one of his relations, and left him at his death half his fortune. The Sieur Bouvet, who had fome notion of this difcovery, pre* fented a memorial to the Compagnie des Indes, who fitted out two (hips for him, the Eagle, and Mary, with which he failed from rOrient the 19th of July 1738. The 26th of November he got into 35 degrees South latitude and 344.° longitude from the French meridian. Here he began to meet with fogs, which con- tinued almoft conftantly while the two fliips remained in com- pany. They were often fo thick, that the Eagle's crew could not difcover the Mary at the diftance of mufquet (hot; fo that they had the greateft difficulty to keep together. The 3d of December, being in 39 degrees 20 minutes latitude, and 351 longitude, they began to difcover fome fearweed, and more birds than ordinary, which made them imagine they were not far from land : they therefore took all the precautions neceflary in fuch circumftances. The 5th, they found themfelves in 42 degrees 40 minutes latitude, and 354* longitude. Tiie 7th, in 44 latitude, and 355 longitude. The loth, 44" latitude, and the fird meri- dian, where feveral geographers place the neareft point of the Southern Continent. The j 2th, they made 7 degrees longitude j the 15th, 48 degrees, 50 minutes latitude, which is equal to that of Paris, in 7° longitude. Here they faw ice, which they looked upon as a certain indication of land. They even obfcrved a change INTRODUCTION. xia change in the colour of the Tea, and faw a great number of Puffins, and other birds, feveral of which flapped their wings, like land birds. They perceived Penguins alfo, an amphibious bird, a defcription of which is given in my journal. In proportion as they got farther to the South, the ice increafed. The 1 6th they faw Penguins again, and a fea wolf j the fogs and ice pre- vented their rifmg to the 54th degree of latitude before the lafl: day of December. At length, on the firfl: of January, about three in the afternoon, they difcovered a high land, covered with fnow,. and very foggy, which they took for a large head>land, and called it Cape Circumcifion. It lies, according to the account of the Sieur Bouvet, in 54 degrees South latitude, and from 27 to 28 degrees longitude from the French meridian. The 6th, they faw a pro- digious quantity of birds, of a very fine white, and of the fize of pigeons : they thought they faw land at the diflance of one or two leagues. The next day they perceived a new land, nearly North North Eaft of Cape Circumcifion. They continued in fearch of it till the 9th, at four in the moining, when the weather being fair and the fog gone off, they found that the fuppofed land was nothing more than a mift. From the time they came within fight of land, they had reaped no other benefit from it than that of concluding, that it extended from eight to ten leagues E. N. E. and from fix to f-ven leagues Eafl-. They had not been able to difcover even, whether what they faw was an ifland, or whether it made part of the Con- tinent. At length the bad weather came on, the feafon was advanced, and the crew were in a bad ftate of health. All thefe confideiations induced M. de Lozier Bouvet to take the refoiution of going to fee for feme place to put in at, which might be more eafy and more convenient for their landing. He took his courle with a view of finding the place where GonnevlHe had landed '; which, according to the account of it, is. fituated in a latitude equal to that of fome of the provinces of. France. The nioft northern lie in 51 degrees, which is the latitude of the Malouine Iflands. He made therefore for the parallel fiom 51 to 52, and palled mf tW- INTRODUCTION. pafTcd it with the fame inconveniencies, without reaping any kind of advantage. They reckoned themfclves in 51° longitude, when they were really in 55°, as they found on landing at the Cape of Good Hope. They kept the Cape to the North of them, and continued that courfe till the 5th of February, when the two vcffels feparated, the Mary fleering for the Cape with M. Bouvet, and the Eagle for the ifle of France with Mr. Hay. M. Bouvet left the Cape of Good Hope the 31ft of March, on his return to France, and in his route faw Trinity Ifland in 351 degrees longitude from the meridian of TenerifF, and 348° 30' from the French meridian, 20 degrees 20 minutes latitude. He likewife faw the ifle of Afcenfion, which he places in 349 degrees longitude. He fays, that Trinity Ifland is^ without that name, very well defcribed by the Flambeau Angloi:. After we had got, fays M. Bouvet, within gun fliot of this ifland, we faw three- fourths of it diftindly. It is properly fpeaking, nothing more than a rock inacccflible on all fides. There are four little iflands between 8 and 9 leagues Eafl: of it. Oliver de Noort, who had the command of four Dutch ftiips in 1^99, followed this parallel of 20 degrees 20 minutes from this ifland as far as the coafl of Brazil, and found no other in his courfe. This has made it imagined, that what is called Martin de Vaz's Ifland, and the Ifland of Alj;enrion are the fame with Trinity Ifland*, which goes under thefe three different names. We have been more fortunate in our enterprize than M. Bouvet was in his. The fettlement we made at the Malouine Iflands would anfwer all the purpofes of that he defigned to make on the Southern Continent, if * What M. Bouvet fays here of Trinity Ifland is very conformable to what we /iw near the ifland of Afcenfion, which is recounted in this journal, on 27th April 1764. But though their ficuation in refpedl of latitude docs not differ more than 12 minutes, the longitude is abfolutely different; fince, according to his cftimation, Trinity Ifland is at 348 degrees 30 minutes from the French meridian, which anfwers to about 10 degrees from the meridian of Paris. While we were recon- noitring the ifland of Afcenfion, I eftimated its fituation at 32 degrees 25 minutes from the latter meridian. It (hould follow from thence that Trinity Ifland and the Ifland of Afcenfion are really diftinit itom each other j which is contrary to the cpinion of feveral navigators. 7 INTRODUCTION. sv- if the India Company's fhips would take their route by the South Sea to China, the Philippine Iflands, &c. and for the South Sea trade. The author of Anfon's Voyage exprefles him- felf upon this point in the following manner page 54 &c feq. 4to edition, printed for Charles Anthony Jombert. *• I have proved above, that all our future expeditions to the South Seas muft run a confiderable rifque of proving abortive, whilft we are under the necelTity of touching at Brazil in our paflage thither i an expedient therefore, that might relieve us from this difficulty, would furely be a fubjeft worthy of the attention of the public." We may add, that this port is too far from the neareft that can be found in the South Sea to be of fufficient advantage. We put into St. Catherine's as well as Admiral Anfon: we had not indeed, like him, reafon to complain of the reception we met with; on the contrary, we owe our acknowledgements to the Governor, as will be feen in this journal j but the other incon- veniences of this harbour are fuch as he has reported them. The unhealthy air and perpetual fogs, which are found there, are enough to create a difguft. " The beft method of effefting this, (fays the fame author) would without doubt be by a difcovery of fome place more to the fouthward, where fliips might refrefli, and fupply themfelves with the neceflary fea flock for their voyage round Cape Horn. And we have in reality the imperfed knowledge of two places, which might perhaps, on examination, prove extremely con- venient for this purpofe : the firft of them is Pepys's Ifland * in the latitude tof 47 degrees South, and laid down by Dr. Halley about eighty leagues to the eaftward of Cape Blanco, on the coaft of Patagonia; the fecond is Falkland's Illes in the latitude of 51° f nearly South of Pepys's Ifland. The firft of thefe was • ' ' ' dil'covered • In the fecond voyage to the Malouines M. de Bougainville endeavoured for fcvcral days, without fuccefs, to find this fuppofed Pepys's Ifland : the fame attempt was made in the third voyage, and proved equally unfucccfsful. t Note of the tranftator. The original Englilh fsys 5i'> .;. The reft, there being no very material difference, is copied verbatim from the original". i I i> I i XVI INTRODUCTION. lunteers and paflenfgcrS; and, fw my part, I would much rather have ftaid in France, than have embarked on fuch conditions. All this difcourfe was reported to M. de Bougainville, who. was piqued a* it^ and with rcafon.i Theft: Acadian families had. lived at St. Servant, and St. Malo, ever flnce the. Englifli took Acadia from us. The King allowed them fo much a head, in the fame manner as his regular troops ; and thefe families had fcarce any other refource than this (ort of pay and their own labour.. M.de Bougainville offered td take them on board with him, and to carry them to « country where he would give them a landed pro- perty, and many other advantages, which they could never expc;^ in France. He had even furnifned them with goods and money in advance. Upon the report tliat was made to him of the difcourfe of this Acadian, he faid, there was nothing more to be done tlian to 6 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE to fet them on fhore, and fend them back to St. Servant j fincc they were fond of mifcry, they might go there and enjoy it. As foon as this was told to the other families, it made fo great an impreflion on them, that the women burft into tears, and the men upbraided the Acddian, who had been the caufe of it, and a difagreemcnt among them enfued. Of this M. de Bougain- ville was foon informed. The next day, the 2i(k, after prayers, he called them all before him; there are^ faid he, fome difcon- tented perfons among you, who repent of having embarked with me. I do not require you to do the duty of common failors : I did not take you on board with me upon that footing ; but, at the fame time, I did not mean that you fliould confider your- felvcs as mere pafTcngers, and not lend a hand upon occafion. You are at liberty to go back to St. Malo, St, Servant, or what- ever place you think fit ; you have only to fpeak, and you will be fet on fhore immediately. The Acadian and his father declared, they chofe to return to St. Servant. The two other families defired to go the voyage. Early in the afternoon the father, the fon and his wife were landed near St. Caft, with their effedls -, and M. de Bougainville, out of charity, left them the money he had obtained in advance for them from the King. The othc; two families were rejoiced at this feparation and congratulated each other upon their depar- ture. The wife was of a peevifh temper, and her huiband was fo jealous of her, that he would fcarce leave her an inflant ; he watched even her flighteH; motions, and would infallibly have difturbed the good underftanding they were defirous of preferv- ing among themfelves. A perfeft union prevailed between the two families, that made the voyage with us, and were landed and fettled by us on the Malouine Iflands. One of them con- fided of a man, his wife, two children, one a boy of three years old, the other a girl of one year, and two fitters of the wife, one twenty, and the other fevcnteen. The other family was com- pofed of a man, his wife, a boy of four years old, and the wife's fifter, TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. return to fifter, about fixtecn. The wife was ready to lie in, when we left the ifland on our return to France. In the morning of the 23d of September, the wind got to E. N. E. an eafy gale. As it Teemed (teddy in that point, M. Ducios our Captain made a fignal to bring in our long-lx)at, and yawl, which were on fhorc, the long boat to get water, and the yawl to fetch the Tailors, and the women that waihed the linen. M. de Bou* gainville, M. de Belcourt, M. I'Huiliier, and M. Donat were out in purTuit of game, near two leagues up the country, and pro- posed to dine at the Caflle of la Latte, where M. Mauclair and myfelf expeded them till half part two. M. Ducios Teeing that none of them came on board fired a gun, which haftened the return of our Tportfmen j but as the time prefied, and they had dined in the country, they would not make any (lay at the cadle of la Latte. We Tent the dinner on board again, where M, Mauclair, and I contented our(elves with a Tmgle glaTs tin fupper. At three, Tignal was given to the Sphinx to weigh anchor. At fix, our boats being embarked, we Tet Tail from Cape Frehel j and after Tevcral tacks to double the caftle of la Latte, at nine we were North and South of the point of the Cape. On Monday, the 25th, about four in the afternoon, we threw out a line with a double hook. The hook was Tcarcely in the water, before a (ifli, in (liape and colour reTembling a mackrel, bit at it, and was taken. It weighed about thirty pounds, and had not two handfuls of entrails, liver, &cc. All the reft was Tolid fle(h, like that of the thunny, of which it had the colour and flavour. An excellent Toup was made of it the next day. Seve- ral, (lices of it were brought up with different fauces, and we found it very good : it is fomewhat dry, but not To much as the bonito. It is called by the French, Grand-Oreille. The hook, with which it was caught, was not baited with fle(h, fifli, or any infe6lr It is compofed of two (lems of iron, about the thicknefs of the quill of a pen, fattened together. They cover this double (liank with tow, To as to give it the form of a E Tpindle : I iiJ 8 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE fpindle : the tow is covered with a piece of ftrong white cloth and a plate of lead ; to this they join two or four white feathers from the wing of a goofe or fowl, placing them in fuch a man- ner as to refemble fins when extended. In this flate, the hook has nearly the appearance of a flying fidi. The end of tlie iliank is turned in a ring, through which they put a brafs wire of almofl the fame thicknefs, and about two feet and a half in kngth } the whole of this is thrown into the water, being faHiencd to a cord about the thicknefs of one's little finger, and of the length of twelve fathom. One end of tbis cord is fattened to the Hern of the fhip ; the other, where the hook is, drags at a great diftance in the track of the Hiip. We continued our voyage for feveral days without any thing remarkable, wind varying, and weather generally ftormy. We faw feveral fliips at a diftance, which we took to be on their return from the cod fifhery on the banks of Newfoundland. One of them brought to, and fpoke with us. .iiq; , ^ On the 2d of Oftober, about nine in the morning, we defcried a veflfel without mafts, and bore down upon her in order to giva her what afTiftance we could. At ten we fpoke with her. She proved to be a Dutch Merchantman of Amilerdam ; (lie was coming from Curafol, and meeting with a guft of wind at about a hundred leagues from Bermudas, they were obliged to cub away the mizzen and main maft. We inquired if they were in want of any thing j they anfwered, that they had five French' ladies on board whom they were carrying to France, but that they could not put their boat to fea. We acquainted them, that? we were juft come from France, and fliould not return thither for feveral months, for which reafon we could not take charge of the ladies j but if they were in want of any thing elfe, they might come and fetch it. They again told us, that they could. Hot put tlieir boat to lea. The lea indeed ran high, and we not caring to expofe ours to it, wiflicd them a better voyage anck contiJiued our courfe S, W. 4 W.. 6 Tho if -i TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 9 The 5th, at break of day we difcovcred a fail. We were in thofe latitudes, where the Sallee Rovers fometimes cruize ; and we knew, they had a Frigate at fea, called the Bird, of 36 guns and 300 men, which the Englifh had fold to the Salletines, and they had given the command of it to a renegade captain of Provence, a good fcaman and of approved courage. They had alfo a floop of 12 guns and a hundred men. In confequence of this, the commandant of our two frigates had ilfucd out ordeis, that they might be able to aft in concert, in cafe of an attack. The plan of the engagement was fixed up ; the guns and fmall arms were prepared ; every man repaired to the port allotted him, and we bore down. It was fettled, that if this was the Salletine frigate, the Sphinx fhould hoift Englifh colours, and feem to make all the fail fhe could to get under the fire of the frigate, to avoid falling into our hands. We in confequence were to hoift French colours, and make a fliew of purfuing the Sphinx, firing at her at the fame time as if to bring her to. As foon as the Salletine frigate (hould be got between the Sphinx and us, the Sphinx was to hoift French colours, and then make her a compliment of her whole broadfide, fo that ihe fhould find herfelf between two fires. It was hoped, that by this manoeuvre, we might make up for our want of numbers, and fliatter her fo by a vigorous attack, that (he (hould be obliged to ftrike. Our men were brave fellows, arid difplayed at this time an air of gaiety and refolution. They had indeed a great confidence in the Ikill and courage of our captains, and other officers, with whom they had made cruizes in the laft war, and under whofe command they had taken many prizes, and had even made themfelves mafters of fome Englilh fliips at dofe quarters. As we neared the ihip we had feen, we thought we could difcover that fhe was Englifh built. But as we knew, the Englifh had fold feveral fhips to the Salletines j and this, not- withftanding we bore down upon her, hoifted no colours, we took her for a Salletine fcout. On this we fired a gun, and ad- vanced upon her. Still ihe hoifted no colours. We now fired a E 2 loaded II 10 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE loaded gun, and it is probable (he felt the wind of the ball. She then lay to for a moment, and afterwards ftood for us, without hoifting. When flie was got pretty near, (he hoified Englilh colours, and palled fo clofc to us, that we difcovered the capiain to be the fame Guernfey man, wiio ferved as pilot to the Englilh in the laft war, when they made their defcenta at Caiicale and St. Cas. The ufual queftions were put to him in French, as, from what port, and whither he was bound, and what was the name of his fliip. He made no anfwer. M. de Belcourt took the fpeaking trumpet, and put the fame queftions to him in Englilh, with all the cmbelUniments of the emphatic fea ftyle,. adding, that he deferved to have had his iliip funk for not hoift- ing, after having been twice fired at. To this he replied in Englilh, and alledged, that his colours had been entangled among the goods. It proved to be a merchant (hip with two marts, bound, as he told us, from Lifbon to St. Michael's, one of the Azores. , " ; .• ; ; . The 8 til in the morning being calmed, we fent out our cutter" for M. de la Gyraudais, captain of the Sphinx. He came on board us at ("even. M. de Bougainville, and M. du Clos our captain, had a conference with him. He received orders for his rendezvous in cafe of feparation, and exact drawings of the places we were to touch at, and of thofe we expedlcd to find in our courfe. M. de la Gyraudais returned to his own (hip about nine. The 9th and 10th, the calms continued with fogs, and feme rtorms of rain. The i ith the fame. The currents here feem to- nni North ; as may be coi^jefturcd from the difference we found between our reckonings and obfervation of ycfterday and to-day, in whith time we had made feveii leagues and a half of way. The 13th in the morning, the fea being fallen after a ftorm which roie the evening before, we caught three filh called bonitos. Tiierc were net le(s than fifteen of them and two gold fifli, play- hvj, ahout on the fbarboard of our ftern. We faw at the fame time fome other fiilics which go under the name of pilots. Ojie of thefe was taken in a net i the bonitos were caught with a line. TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. u line, baited with the figure of a flying fi(h. Thefe weighed each of them about twenty pounds ; the pilot was not more than eight inches long. The 14th, being between 29' and 30° latitude, we expefled to meet with the trade winds, of which we had hitherto had no figns. Some of our failors, who had the molt experience, had allured us they were commonly found under this parallel. M. de Bougainville was fo impatient for them, that he never ftirred out of his cabin without going to examine the compafs. He was obliged however to put up with fuch winds as happened to blow. At two in the afternoon, the Sphinx, which was to caftward of us, attracted our attention by hoifting a white flag at the foreniaft head, wliich was the fignal agreed upon in cafe of feeing land. We a;ifwered her with the fame lignal, and found it to be Palm Ifland, the fartheft to the North Weft of the Canary Illands. It bore E. S. E. of us by the compafs, and appeared to us, at about 15 or 18 leagues diftance, in the forni it is reprc- fcnted in the plate. :,,^,;-' . -•• '• . '•■ • We difcovered another at the fame time, more to the South Weft, which exhibited nearly the figure B. The fight of thefe Iflands was of ufe in coiTe6ting our reckon- ings and obfervations, and we found that we were about 20 leagues farther Weft than we had reckoned. The 16th, at three in tlie afternoon, we made a fignal to the Sphinx, that we were going to make all our fail ; which we had not hitherto done fince our departure, in order that flie might be able to keep up with us. The Sphinx was not near fo ;aft a failer as our fliip, and had kept us back at leaft a hundred leagues ; but we did not choofe to quit company fooner, for fear of meeting with the Sallee Rovers, which would have required our mutual afiillance to extricate us from them. At this time that we had got out of the latitudes, in which they cruize, \vc refolved to ftretch away for the place of rendezvous ; that by arriving there as foon as poflible, we might have ail the refrtfli^ mems »• J2 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE i ' (M \>h lii ments, which the Sphinx might Hand in need of, ready agalnd licr coming in, by which means our ftay might be fliortened. As foon as the Sphinx had anfwcred our fignal, we fet more fails, the wind blowing frcHi, and by fix o'clock in the evening (lie was at Icall three leagues a flcrn of us ; and before next morning we loft fight of her. On the J 8th and 19th, we faw a great number of flying fiflies. They were purfued by thunnies and gold fidi, which fprang three or four feet out of the water to feize them. We threw out fcver'.l hooks, but not one of them would bite. During great part of both thefe days, our weather had been very ftoi my and the fea ran high. On the morning of the 20th, a calm fucceeded, with fome rain at intervals. Thefc calms and the winds which never blew frefli, and were continually changing, did not promife us a fhort trip. Wc began all of us to be impatient at not meeting with the trade winds, which would have been fo ufeful, and were fo much the object of our wiflies. M. de Bougainville particularly exclaimed againft all former navigators, who have laid it down as a cer- tainty, that thofe winds never fail to blow in thefe latitudes. He told us, that, as we had experience of the contrary, he was refolved on his relurn to Paris, to prefent a memorial to the Academy of Sciences, to prove the non-exiftence of trade winds ; at leaft, the little dependence that navigators ought to have on what is related of their conftant influence. The 2 1 ft in the afternoon, we faw a great number of flying fifliea', and of their enemies the bonitos, gold fifh, and thunnies. The morning of the 2 2d prefented us with about half a fcore of flying fifli, which attempting to fly over the frigate had fallen foul of the fails, and dropped upon deck. They were drefled for dinner, and we found them extremely good and very delicate eating. I kept one in oidcr to paint it from the life, the figure of it is to be found in the plate. This fifli in thefe latitudes is of a fine blue on the back, wliich fades or grows flronger infenfibly towards the bottom of the belly, "^O TI/ : M.AT OUINE ISLANDS. »3 which of (he bdly, fcelly, icie the lour is a blue with a filver cafh Jts wings •re fill >f a gi-e«^cr length, which in general extend as far as the ta , buf in me do not reach farther than tc the middle of the body; though the fifli is of the fame fhape, length and tliicknefs. The one, whofe figure is reprcfentcd in the plate, was 'about ten inches from oi^c extremity Ic the other. On the 23d in the afternoon, fome of the failors feeing a number of thunnies, got on tlie prow of the frigate with a harpoon, and caught one of them, which weighed 72 poundsi On a clofe examination of it, I pcixeived fome animals ftickingi and as it were glued upon its ears. See the figure of them in their natural fize in the plate. The figure marked D is the upper- part of the animal, which refemblcd a compofition of firings of catgut almoft tranfparent. Its eyes were two little black fpots placed above the mouth B. They faften themfelves on the thunny by means of two legs marked C, and. two others confiderably fmaller marked D. I took fome fea water and put it in a clean glafs tumbler, that I might keep this animal alive and fee its motions. I perceived in this water a black fpot, which at firfl: I took for a fpeck of- diiti but when 1 attempted to take it out with the end of my finger, I obferved the fuppofed atom to avoid my touch, and plunge* under water. I attended to its motions^ and found it to be a- living creature of the ftruclure and fise defcribed in the plate.; It was a fpecies of cylinder formed by ten rings, (6 flight and tranfparent, that it was necelTary to put the glafs between the light and the eye of the obferver in order to perceive it. If fwam by means of two long fibres B B, and two others that are almofl: imperceptible C, which in gathering up and lengthening out again, gave the rings of the cylinder a motion perfedtly cor- refponding to that of a quail-pipe, or a powder-machine ufed by hair-dreflers. The body A, was of a violet colour towards C, and of a light brown towards B B. We faw likewife a great quantity of flying fifli, and we caught- with a hook a bonito and a pilot, which 1 have painted from the. life. , t\ I »4 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE V9' The uatuialirts pretend, on the authoiity no doubt of feme fcamen, that the pilot always goes before the (hark, and that it is for this rcafon that tilh has obtained the name of the pilot, as being dircdor of the other's courfii. For my own part, I have Ibmctimcs chferved one or two pilots before or after each fliark we caught j but we have often iccn pilots without (harks, as well as fliaiks without pilots. Father Feuillce, p. 173, confounds the pilot with the fucking filli, and makes them both the fame. " The fliarks, fays he, are accompanied by little fiO^es, which keep continually with them, and choofc rather to fliaic their fate than to abandon them ; they fwim always a head of them, at fuch a diftancc that the fliarks cannot catch them, which has procured them the name of pilots. We did not catch a fingle fliark without find- ing fome of thcfc fmall fifties flicking to his back, by means of a ycUowifli, cartilaginous membrane of a circular form, which they have on the top of their heads : this membrane has an intiiiitc number of fmall holes filled with fibres, which, to all appearance, ferve to draw from the Ikin of the Ihark fome fub- {\aucc for their nourifhment. The fame author allows the fliark but three rows of teeth, one of which, he fays, is coiMpofcd of triangular teeth, and thefe are of a greater length than the others ; I have countexl feven rows of them in the mouths of all the (harks we took, all of them moveable and triangular. Nor '.vere the fuckers of thefe fucking fjfli of a circular, but of an elliptical form, fuch as is ^efci ibed in the figure I have given of them in the fequel. The 24th the fame winds continued, which we had had for fome days. Thefe were in faft, the trade winds we had fo long lookai out for, under which name are comprehended all thole which blow f;om S. S. E. through the eafterly point to N. N. E. inclufive. Thefe are the moll favourable winds that can blow, for Ihips bound from Europe to South America, the windward and leeward Iflands, and the Gulph of Mexico. About eight in the morning on the 25th, we had fight of land on our ftarboard fide. At noon, we judged it to be the 7 Ifland TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. is Ifiand of Bonnvifta, one of tlic Cape de Vcrd Iflatids, fitiinfcd North liart of St. Jngo, the largcfl and molt populous oi tludc ides. It bore North Weft of us, about nine leagues : the fii^uic of it, in the moll cxtnilivc view wc had, appeared according to tlic rei>rcfcntation in the plate. ' / This illand, like the rcU, abounds in wild horfer?, gonts, and feveral other animals, notwiihftanding the full is rocky and barren. It is Teen ;'.t a great dillancc by means of its vvliite tiilfi, from which circumftance it derives its name. Wc now found that wc were near twenty leagues farthc ejft- ward than our reckoning. The wind blowing frelh from N. E. to N. N. E, accompanied with fine weather, atFordcd us a view of another of the Cape de Verd lllands, about four o'clock in the afternoon, which goes by the name of Mayo's Ifland. The foil here likcwife is rocky and barren. There are ncverthelefs a great number of bulls, cows, goats and afles. A confiderablc quantity of fait alfo is made liert. The air is hot and unhealthy. The mofl fouthern point of the ifland bore 8. W. ^ W. and the mofl northern W. ^ S. W, of us, and the whole appeared as exhibited in the plate. The 27th, after having had fome lightning in the night, and in the morning a cloudy flcy, with a high fea, and a Tquall of wind at half paft ten, fucceeded by a ftorm at E. S. E. which was of fliort duration, the wind came about to the ufual points with an eafy gale ; and about three in the afternoon, we caught a bonito, which weighed forty pounds. The 28th and 29th, proved very ftormy, but notwithftanding this we were not driven out of our courfe. On Sunday the 30th, in the morning, the iky cleared up and the wind came fair again. At eight o'clock, Peter Lainez of St. Malo, a cabbin boy, about twelve years of age, going into the forccaflle fell over- board, without any one's knowing how the accident happened. The fecond mate, who was going a ftern, iceing him float along the Ilarboard fide, cried out immediately, that there was one of F ' the. i6 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE 4h the crew oveiboaid. Wc ran at this time four knofs an lioiir, 1^itIl a quarter wind. They threw out a plank ciirc«5tly from the litrn gallery, and whatever dte was at hand either of board or any other buoyant materials, in hopes the poor fellow n)ight be able to reach fome one of them, and keep himfelf by that means above water, till the boat could be put out to take him up. The whole crew was in motion, and every polliblc means v\ tre ufal to ftop the flitp. Many ran up the main mart, others got on the quarter deck, all intent on louking for, and difcover- ing the cabbin boy. After this, the boat was put to fea, though it was then very rough j it was manned with fix ftout failors,. under the command of the mate, who went in fearch of the cabbin boy to the right and left, wherever they thought they had a chance of finding him, to the dirtancc of half a league from the fhip, but without fuccefs. When they had been out about tJuce quarters of an hour, a fignal was made for the return of the boat, which was effected with much difficulty. We rc- cnibaikeil her, and continued our route. The names of the crew were then called over, in. order to find, out who was the perfon miffing ; for we did not yet know that it was the cabbin boy I have juft now mentioned. He was the only one, that did not appear. They looked in his hammock and fearchcd the whole fliip over for him, and not finding him any where, it was eafy to conclude, that this Peter Lainez was- the hand we had loft. At four in the afternoon, after vefpers, the cloaths of the deceafcd cabbin boy, an inventory of wlith had been taken in tlic morning, were fold by auction. Our commandant, M. de Bougainville, bought almofl every thing, and dillributed them gratis among the cabbin boys, who weic Itall in a condition to procure any for thcmfelves. The fale amounted to fifty crowns. The 31ft, the weather was flormy at intervals, each ftorni bting fucceeded by an almoft dead calm. During thcfe calms we caught, in lefs than two hours, two (liarks, which weighed about a hundred pounds each. 1 hey had both of them fiihcs Uickin^ aJ. TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 17 in lioiir, tly from )f board w might by that lake him k means [, others tliifcover- , though t failois, 1 of the they had ;ue from lit about return of We rc- sr to find now that e was the lammock diiig him inez was- IS of the taken in It, M. de ttcd them uiition to- y crowns, ich ftorm cfe calms 1 weighed lem filhes iVickin^ flicklnc to their bodies near the head. Thefe fifli are called fucking fifli. I painted one after the life, in two figures j the fii il fliews the fide of the fucker, which is upon the head; the otl vr figure reprefents the belly of the fifli. It was fcven inches in length. A few hours before, fome hundred porpolfes, whofe figure may be fecn in the phite, made their appearance within piltol fliot, and feemed as if they had come on purpofe to amufe us. They fprang out of the water in an extraordinary manner. Several of them in cutting their capers, leaped at Icaft three or four feet high, and turned round not lefs than three times in the air, as if tliey had been on a fpit. One may judge from hence of the ftrength of this fiih. On the 2d of November, at three in the afternoon, a ftorm rofe at South Eaft attended with a heavy rain. During this ftorm one of the failors brought me a flying fi(h, eight inches and a half long, which had juft fallen on the forecaftle. We had feen, before the florm came on, flioals of thunnies and bonitos. They leaped out of the water, and made the fea foara, as if they were fighting with each other. On the 3d, a fhark of a middling fize, and about a hundred «nd fifty pound weight, came a ftern of us. He bit at the bait, as foon as it was offered to him. When he was raifed out of the water, he gave a fudden jirk, by which he difengaged himfelf from the hook, leaving part of his jaw behind him. Not difmayed or difheaitened by this lofs, the Qiark perceiving the fame ' iece of bacon, which had been made ufe of as a bait for him the ilrfl- time, thrown out again, returned to it with tlie fame greedincfs, and fwallowed at once not only the bacon, but the piece of his jaw, without however being caught by the hook. Another piece of bacon was immediately pui on : the fliaik was without doubt very hungry, for he came again to fcize that. But as at this time there was a dead calm, and befides, tins fifh is neither wholefome nor palatable food, inftead of endea- vouring to take him, we amufcd ourfelves near an hour with F 2 only i8 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAuE only ittting him fmell tlie bait. When he attempted to fwallow it, we chew it uiddenly out of the water, and this was repeated at lead a dozen times without producing the efFe6l, which is faid to be fo common upon thefe occafions, of making the fliark, i"])ring out of the water in order to fcize it. Anotiicr thing I muft obferve, is, that I did not fee him turn upon his back to fwallow the bait, but only a very little on one fide. M. dc Bougainville, while we were amufing ourfelves in this manner, fired at him twice with mufquet ball, but whether he milled him, though almoft at the muzzle of his piece, or whether the Ikin was too tough for the ball to penetrate, the flui k was not in the leafl: diiturbed in his motions by it -, he kejit fwimming round and round the ftern, and at laft fwal- lowcd tliis fecond bait without being hooked. A fquall of wind jifing about this time, we left the fliark to employ himfelf cKewheie. The 4th and 5th, we had ftorms and cairns at intervals. The 6th, about ten at night, we had a fquall of wind, which cleared ihe (ky. At this time we favv fome ftars j a fight we bad not had for near a week, the iky having been always gloomy and covered. Ti;e morning of the 7th, the fun rofc fine, but with fcverai clouds fcattered round it. Before it appeared, the rays darting upon thefe clouds exhibited one of the mod beautiful fights in the world for variety and brightncfs of colours. I was mortified more than can be imagined, not having it in my power to paint fuch a day-break, which would have made a mod brilliant picture. I have only been able to prcferve a vciy impcrft6l Ikctch of a fetting fun, which vvc all of us admired for near half an hour. But it is not pofiible with water colours to execute a picture, upon which any exaCt idea of it might be formed. '1 heff colours are too faint to cxprefs the brilliancy and luilrc, v.itii v.hich the borders of the clouds v.cre illuminated by the r;iyj of the iiiii. Oil colours would without doubt be Itfs titkdtivc in the rcpreftiuation > but I had not any with me. jjcrijtsj TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 19 I fwallovr repeated which is the fliark. liim turn ,e on one rfelves in t whether piece, or trate, the by it; he laft fwal- 1 of wind y himfelf als. The ch cleared ! had not lomy and th fcveral fs darting fights in moitifisd • to paint brilliant imperfect near half o execute e formed. nd luihf, I'd by the 3t be k(s with rnc. U cfiJcs, Befides, it would require a (kilful painter to execute fuch a pidlure properly -, and I have not that qualification. The weather continuing fine and very hot, we had all the hammocks between decks taken down, in order to dry the cloaths of the crew, which had been all wetted in the rainy days. This dampnefs of cloaths is a much more immediate caufe of the fcurvy, and many other diforders, than the fait provifions which are ufed at fea. A captain cannot pay too great an attention to the preferving of cleanlinefs among his crew, and to the airing of the hammocks, cotts, &c. if he would prevent diforders. Our captain aflured me of the truth of this obfervation, from his own experience in the different voyages he has made to China, India, Peru, and Canada. He told me, he had always paid ftrift attention to this article, to which as well as to the choice of proper food, he attributed the general good health liis crews had enjoyed during thole voyages. In the afternoon, we faw a large bird called by fome Goellan, or Gull, and by others Caigmrd. At night a fingle fwallow came and perched on the main maft yard, and the next morning con- tinued flying round the (hip. During the night feveral flying fifh dropped upon our deck. They were all of that fpecies, which have the fins, that ferve them for wings, reaching to their tail. At five in the morning of the 9th, a bird pretty nearly of the fize of a pigeon, but fomething longer, coming to perch on the foremaft yard, one of" the Tailors caught him in his hand. This bird, which I have painted, and wnofe figure in half the natural fize may be ktn in the plate, is of a light brown inchning to redj almoft the colour of a nut. The iargeft feathers of the wing and tail, are of a darker brown, or rather biackifli. The . bill is black, ftrair, and fmall, pierced through in the middle, with a fmall protuberance bcluvv, about the length of the bird's head. The upper part of the head near the bill is white; it then becomes of a pearl colour, growing deeper tov/ards the neck, which is pretty long in proportion to its thicknels. The feet are of 1 . ■'«•» 20 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE of a dark grey, webbed like thofe of water fowl. After having made ufe of this bird in the manner I Ihall mention hereafter, ■ M. de Bougainville gave him to me to paint. I put him in a fmall prefs in niy cabbin, where I found him the next day very lively, and To little alarmed at having been taken, that when I fet him on my table, he put himfelf in the attitude, in which I have drawn him. I gave him fome food, and he eat of it, ftill keeping in the l^me pofturc, and continued fo for three days, by which means I had full time to paint him to the life. Some of our fcamen faid, it was a fpecies of the booby bird, becaufe it fuffercd itfelf to be caught in the hand, and grew tame, as foon as it was taken : but he had not however the crow bill, which belongs to the booby, and has procured it the name of the duck with the narrow bill. Our Teamen gave the fame name to ano- ther bird alfo, very much refembling this, except that it has a crooked bill, like that of a parrot. About ten o'clock in the forenoon the fea appearing of a light green caft, inftead of its ufual blue, and the colour continuing the fame at fix in the evening, we fufpefted that this appearance was occafioned by our being in the neighbourhood of fome land, or fhoal. We therefore took the precaution of founding ; but though we founded with a hundred and twenty fathom of line, we found no botmm. Thus we were freed from the apprehen- Cons we had encertained, and which arofe from an error of the charts ; almort all of them placing Brazil near fifty leagues far- ther Weft, than it is found to be by the obfervations of our feamen. We refolved however to found a fecond time, if the Jea had continued of the fame colour ; but as it appeared the next morning of its ufual blue caft, we continued our courfe without taking the trouble of founding. Our mates, boatfwain, and thofe of the crew, who in former voyages had palled the line, had for the laft week been making preparations for the ceremony of Daptlfm, which is performed on the part and in the name of the Bon-homme la ligne, to ail thofe, who ill ■ "w! 'tu- TO THE M'ALOUINE ISLANDS. 21 er having hereafter, him in a ( "?-•■ day very U when I ■' ''^ 1 which I '1 .f ir, flill ^-J 2 days, by Some of J 1 Decaufe it S} e, as foon ■1 ill, which the duck X ■'■i e to ano- 1 : it has a f-f of a light ^-'B ontinuing Ks ppearance bme land. lir'g ; UUL n of line. ipprehen- 'or of the igues far- is of our le, if the eared the -^1 ur courfe <5l in former • ?| n making armed oa "■-■. V ail thofe. ■^'^ who - -M who have never before pafled the line, without diftindion of rank, or quality, or exception of perfon. About feven o'clock, as we were at fupper, we heard the fmacking of a whipi which announced to us the arrival of a courier from the Bon-homme la iig/ie, according to cuftom, the evening before the ceremony I juft now mentioned is to be per- formed. This was the cocklwain properly equipped for a courier. He knocked at the cabbin door. We called out, who is there? A meflenger, fays he, from the Bon-homme la lignCt lord and governor of thefe latitudes. Let him in, fays M. de Bougainville. The door was opened, the meffenger alighted, and came in, leaving his equipage at the door. This equipage was formed by two failors tied back to back, and going upon all fours. One of them had on his head a fwab, to reprefent the tail of the beaft, the other had one for the mane, and a maflc of pafteboard in the (hape of a horfe's head. The furniture confifted of the quarter cloths belonging to one of the boats ; that is to fay, of a carpet, or large piece of blue cloth, adorned with flowers de luce made of yellow fluff. The meflenger being introduced addrelTed our Commandant in- the following terms : " the Bon-homme la ligney lord governor of thefe latitudes i underftanding, that the brave Chevalier de Bou- gainville, commander of the Eagle frigate, is arrived in his do- minions, has ordered me to come and compliment him on his part, to let him knov/ with how much joy he hath received the news of his arrival, to bring the beft wiflies for his health, and to deliver him a letter, in which my mafter harh exprefled his own fenti merits. M. de Bougainville read the ktter, which was conceived in the following terms ; Bran^e Chevalier^ your illufirhii^ aSlions have ren- dered the French name highly celebrjted in Cano '^a : your renown has reached the latitudes over which I r 'ign, on the wings of fame, and the hearts of my fubj^6is are fo filled with veneration for you, that the gold fifh and bonitos, the t bunnies and porpoifes as foon as they drfcried the frigate Eagle, which you command, came in fJioals to me yejierday to I' I.. \r ^A' 22 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE io aniioufice your arrhal. The joy, with which your prefence had animated their hearts, they exprejjed by repeated bounds and leaps^ idnch they continued for a long time as they pojfed by your fAp. I Ji'nd this ambajjador to notify to you my own particular JJ.yare in the general joy, at the fame time that he delivers this letter into your hands, and I hope to-morrow to acquaint you in perjon, how much 1 am ikligbted with the vifit you pay me. Signed Bon-homme la Ligne." Given at the 54th minute of the fiift degree of latitude, and in 29 degrees three minutes longitude, of my northern dominions, the Qth day of November in »he year of my reign, 7763. M. de Bougainville, when he had read :he letter, told the envoy, that he expected to have the honour of prefenting him- I'elf before the Bon-homme the next day, and of giving an anfwer to his letter in perfon. Let the courier drink, added he, and take care of his horfe : it muft be a fine one ; lead it in, I have a great curiofity to fee it. The horfe was introduced curvetting, tcJing his head, pawing, and neighing. As it was poflible he might be tired with his journey, and might be thirfty, a glafs pf wine was offered him, which he drank. The courier informed us, that his horfe had two heads, one at his ftem and the other at his flern, upoKi which the head at his flern alfo was treated with a glafs of wine. The courier, before he retired, prefented to the commandant a bird on the part of the Bon-homme la ligne, the illuftrious pre- lident of thcfe latitudes having requefted his acceptance of it as a token of his goodwill and affeftion. This was the bird which tlicy had juft before caught in the hand, and which I 'lave men- tioned above. But as we knew nothing of this at the time, we were not a little furprifed at the prefent. We took it at firll for an artificial bird, till by pecking with his beak he convinced us, that he was njt only a real bird, but alfo in full vigour. On examination, we found it to be a frefli water bird, which ferved only to increafe our furprize. 5 Aftei- !' I ^i TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. ^3 1 Aftei- After flipper, we aflembled on the quarter-deck, and danced minuets, country dances, &c. to the tabor, and after that to two violins till near ten o'clock, when we retired to our cabbins. ' '^ Thurfday, the loth of November, at five in the morning we pafled the line, at 29 degrees 3 minutes longitude according to our reckoning. At ten o'clock we faw a bird called the Frigate. This bird is frequently found at four hundred leagues diftance from land, though it is faid not to be able to fupport itfelf on the water without perilhing, which is the cafe with birds, that are not ufed to live in that element. Its legs are fliort, thick, and gathered up clofe to the body. Its feet are not webbed, but furniflied with ftrong pointed claws. Some of them meafure nine feet from the tip of one wing to that of the other. By the extent of its wings when they are fpread, this bird eafily fupports itfelf in the air,, the motion it gives them being almoft imper- ceptible. Sometimes it rifes to fo great a height, that the ftrongeft eye lofes fight of it. When it comes near any (hips, it flies round the vanes of the maft head, going and returning very frequently, but never perching on any part. The fize of it is nearly the fame as that of a fowl. Its look is (Veady and piercing. It darts upon its prey with an incredible fwiftnefs and ieizes it both with its talons and bill, the upper part of which is unciform. The males have a red granulated membrane def- cending from their bill as far as the middle of their neck. The feathers on the belly are of a light grey, which at a diflance make it appear white. Thofe on the back and wings are brown. This bird faw fome flying fifli, which he caught very artfully, by Ikimming along the furface of the fca, while they were flying to avoid becoming a prey to the bonitos, and other fifties, which are enemies to them. It is faid, that he purfues the gull likewife and other fea birds, to make them difgorge the fifh they have fwallowed that he may feize upon them himfelf. I do not well know for what reafon this bird is calltd the frigate, unlefs it be by way of comparifon between the fwiftnefs G of H JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE " on the rope, and made them dance for a quarter of an hou to the tabor. After this they approached the bathing tub, ard the failor threw ftveral buckets of water over tlietii. G 2 This 26 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE ■m This ceremony being finiftied, the dcfccnt of tlie lord governor of the line was announced by the throwing of white kiehiey beans, for fugar plumbs, from the main mart top on the quarter- deck. The Bonrhomme la ligne, preceded by his whole court,. took the fame route as the failor and the cnbbin boys; he dcl- cended flowly and majeftically. His court was cbmpofed of the f'econd mate, the boatfwain, the pilot, and the gunner. TIic firft mate reprcfented the Bon-homme la ligne. Me was covered with white Ihcep Ikins fewed together fo as to make a garment of one piece. His cap, which was compofed of the fame mate- rials came down over his eyes. A quantity of tow mixed with wool ferved him for a peruke and a beard. He had a falfe nofc made of painted wood. Indead of a ribband, he wore acrofs his fhoulders a firing of trucks of the parrels, as large as goofe eggs, ,t..»rti y " ,-. • ? ." . ■».•." .,.,,f.r,.;.,n ..: • ..^ .. ... i i' , ., His attendants were drefled up much In the fame manner.s except that fome of them had their arms or their legs naked, and painted red and yellow, as likewife their faces ornamented with large black whifkers, and Ion..* wooden nofes. One carried a mace, or club fuch as the favages ufe, another a bow, a third an ax, and a fourth a calumet. Near the lord governor was his chancellor bearing the fcepter, which was a fort of mop, fuch as is ufed in fpunging a cannon, after it has been Bred. The cockfwain drelled like a wompn, and painted with coarfe red paint mixed up in oil, flood dofe to the Bon-homme, who called him his daughter. As to the vicar, he was cloathed in a fort of linen robe, covered with pitch and tar j a cord about the thick- nefs of one's thumb ferved him for a fafli. He wore a fquare cap of pafteboard blacked over, a maflc of the fame, and a linen gown painted red, and carried a book in his hand. One cabbin boy had a fquare cap painted red and black, another held a wooden cenfer, hanging by pack threads platted in the Hiape of a chain, and in the other hand a chafing difli with Bre to heat the perfumes, which were made of pitch and tar. A third cabbin -'1 .#1 TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 27 cabbin cabbin boy carried a bow and an arrow; and a fourtli a bafon and watering pot full of fea water for the baptifm. The whole proceffion being come down upon the deck, and the crew aflembled there, the lord governor defired a conference with the commandant, who immediately advanced to receive him. You are ivelcomc hither, M. le Chevalier ; 1 am happy to fee you, faid the j^on homme la ligne : excufe me if I do not make you a long compliment ; my lungs are fo feeble ^ I con fcarcely Jpeak. Tou mil ft not be furprifcd at this -, for I am 7763 years old : it is even ' with difficulty that I can 'write. I have therefore ordered my fecretary t6 id it for me ; and here is a letter, 'which ivill acquaint you ivith every thing! had to fay to you, as "well as my chancellor. I am come down from my palace on purpofe to admit you into my fociety. I hope you will make no fcruple of fubmitting to the ceremony of being baP' tized agreeable to the cuflom on this occafion. M. de Bougainville received the letter, read it, and replied ^ la bonne heure. After this he fainted the daughter of the Bon-homme, ami after con- gratulating him on his having fo handfome a daughter, drew near the line, or rope, which was ftretched acrofs. The officers of the Bon-homme accompanied him to it, s.->d the lord governor fcated himfelf on his throne with his daughter and his chan- cellor. The officers tied M. de Bougainville's left thumb on the line with a red ribband. The reft of us gathered round, viz. Meflf. de Nerville, de Belcourt, I'Huillier and myfelf, and they tied our left thumbs with the fame ribband. The vicar with a folemn air, and with his book in his hand, , approached M. de Bougainville. At the left hand of the vicar was the fcepter-bearer of the lord governor } and at his left hand two cabbin boys drefled like favages ; one of whom carried a plate covered with a napkin folded, to receive the tribute, which - is called ranfom, becaufe they content themfelves with pouring a • fmall quantity of fea water on the heads of thofc-, wha ranfom themfelves, inftead of plunging them in the fea, as is done in the puni(hment of ducking: the other held a bow in one hand and 'ii JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE i and a cenfcr in the other, Tlie ccnfcr vvas a piece of wood, hollowed in the (hape of a porringer, with three handle.?, and fufpcndcd by three pieces of cord. The cuftom of dipping in the fca in performing this ceremony of baptifm is abolilhcd ; it having been confidered that that pra(5tice might be attended with much danger on account of the iharks, which are apt to luik near the fliips, and carry away a thigh at lead from any unfor- tunate perfon, whom they happen to feizc. In lieu of this, they have fubftituted the baptifm of the bath, oi- bathing tub, on the edge of which they caufe the p(.'rfon to fit, v/ho has not ranl'omed himfclf, or whom they have a mind to plague, ^s will be fcen in the progrcfs of this account. Things being thus fettled, the vicar addrefled himfeif to M. dc Bougainville in the following manner : " In order to be admitted into the noble and puifl'ant fociety of the lord governor of the line, it is necefihry to enter into certain preliminary engagements, which you will promife to obfervc. Thefe engagements have nothing for their object but what is entirely reafonable." " A la bonne heure," replied M. de Bougainville. " Do you then pro- mife," purfued the vicar, •• to be a good citizen, and to that end to labour at the work of population, and not to fuffer young women to languilh away their time, whenever a favourable oppoitunity ftiall offer itfclf? — I do promife. — Do you promife never to lye with a failor's wife ? — I do prorrifc.- Do you pro- mife to caufe the lame engagements to be laken, and the fame, or fimilar xeremoiiies to be obfcrved b\ all thole who have not j)affed the line, wiien they happen to be \>ith you ? — I do pro- mife. — Put your hand then upon i\.s holy book in token of your obligation." M. dc Bougaiir. ille laid his hand on a cur, which reprefents a genius or angel and a young girl tenderly embracing each other. It is the cut at the 47th pag3 of a book intitled, Sentiincns (tun Chretien, louche de tamour de Dicu. At the bottom of the cut is this I'cntence : quis mihi det te jratrcm meum fugentcm ubera matris mea & imaii'am fe Jon's & deofculer te. Cant. 8. The vicar went to the lord govtrnor of the line, and reported ^'v^' TO THE MAL0UINE ISLANDS. 89 fccn in reported to him that M. de Bougainville had taken the engage- ments : to which the Bon-homme anlwered : dignus eft tntrare in noflro doSlo corpore : admittatur> The vicar then returned toM. de Bougainville and faid j the lord governor of the line is pleafcd to admit you into the focicty of which he is the head, and has ordered me to receive you therein by adminiftration of his baptifm. What is your name ? Louis, faid M. de Bougainville. Very well ; ego, -fOKtine revrrendijinii domini domini & ferenijimi ' prafUentis aquatoris tCy Ludovicf, admitto in focietate ejus. In pro- nouncing thefe words, he fprinkled over his head fome drops of fea water. Then they untied M. de Bougainville's thumb, who put fome money in the plate undir the napkin, and the vicar threw incenfe on him. After this the vicar proceeded to M. de Nerville, to whom he propofed the fame queftions, and after lum to the other palTengers and officers with all the fame- ceremonies. It was now come to the turn of a midHiipman, who was a; fad dog, and hated by aln^oft every body. The vicar told him,> that the lord governor had given orders for his being admitted' with all the ceremonies in form. In confequencc of thefe orders, he threw one end of his robe over the fellow's head, muttered a- few words, and afterwards gave him the robe, which had been . frefli painted in oil, to kifs. He then took fome blacking, mixed • with oil, in a fmall pot born by one of the cabbin boys, and fmeared his forehead and cheeks with it. This being performed ' they untied his thumb frOm the line, and conduced hirri ..o the ■ bath, on the fides of which were two notches large enough to receive a ftick, that was laid acrofs, and was to I'erve 3s a feat for him. He had no fooner fat down, than they luddenly with- drew the ttick from under him, and he fell with his pofteriors into the water, the tub being about half full, to which there was a cord likewife adjufted in fuch a mannei , that by pulling one end of it, at the inftant the catechumen tumbles in, it faflens round his middle, and keeps him under, without his being able to difcngage himfelf, till the by-ftanders arc plcafed - to I i 1 mm* .^ 30 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE to give him his liberty. As foon as the midlhipun^n was ncofed, tliey fmeared his head and face all over with black and red : after that they threw at leaft five or fix buckets of watef_ over his head, and then fufFered him to go abput his bufmefs. , . . ... After this they came to the two Acadian girls. The vicai* afkcd them, if they were virgins ? they faid, Yes. Do you pro- niife then, faid he, to preferve your marriage vow inviolable, in cafe you fhall have a failor for your huiband ? The promife being made, he juft marked their foreheads, nofe^, cheeks, and chins with black, in the ilighteli manner poflTible, and then poured fome water over their heads, after which they retired. The fifter of one of thefe had hid herl'elf in order to avoid this wetting. She was found however, and they were going to oblige, her to fubmit to the ceremony ; but the vicar being apprized, that there were reafons, why ihe ftiould not be expofed to that part of it, ,vyhich was to be performed with the water, told her, that he would content himfelf with making fome patches upon her face. She fubmitted to this, and he kept his word. The two married women were not baptized, becaufe their children, who were too- young to be left by themfelves, were fo affrighted at the gror tefque figures of the attendants «n the Bon-homme.la ligne, that they could not be pacified or brought out from the corner^ where they had hid themfelves. Several others were afterwards baptized and bedaubed with black and red, but none of them were feated on the tub } becaufe when the others had begun to throw fome buckets of water over them, they, to be even with them, returned the compliment, Thofe who had been wetted, chole to wet others : the ftruggle was who fliould throw mod water, fo that all thofe who re- mained on the deck were as wet, as if they had beer dipped in the fea. But they were not fatisfied with fluicing one another j thofe who had had their faces blacked rubbed them againll others who had not undergone that ceremony, and by this means there was fcarce a man in the whole ihip's company wl.o efcaped a daubing } and they did not give over the fpurt, till th y TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 31 they were all tired. This proved an unlucky circumftance for the Bon-homme and his attendants, who loft part of the tribute they would have received from thofe, who were not baptized with the ordinary ceremonies. The reft of the day was paffed io„ dancing, and other kind of amufements. ^'.'r:^'v ^s-hn^aiUxMi^vi -'V This farce is performed in every European fhip on paffing the line. But there is no precife uniformity obferved in the cere- monies ufed upon this occafion. Each nation has invented Aich as are moft conformable to its genius and character j and every ihip is regulated according to the degrees of humour in thofe who happen to prefide. Sometimes the perfon, whofe office it is to adminifter the baptifm, gives each perfon a name taken from . fome bay, fome cape, or fome remarkable promontory on an ifland or coaft} taking care at the fame time to apply them in fuch a manner as to exptefs the character, temper, figure or dif- poHtion of the perfon fo named. The ceremony is in general called the baptifm, or the ranfom : the baptifm, becaufc of the water thrown over thofe, who are then paffing the line for the firft time : the ranfom, on account of the tribute, which is paid, by thofe perfons who are not willing to be wetted. The *.:ibute is ufuaily whatever the perfon, who pays it, thinks fit to give. Sometimes it is impofed by the aftors themfelves : however they always take care to make, their levy proportionable to the cir- curnftances of the perfons. from whom the tribute is exadted. Thus it is not always required in money, but fometimes in wine, or brandy, or hams, or fuch like ; as when the captain of the vcfld, who is not exempt any more than his palTengers, paffes the line for the firft time. When the fhip is not to pafs the line, but only the tropic, tiiofe of the crew, who have aheady paffed it, not being willing to lofe the tribute, which they look upon as their due, have taken it into their heads to call the tropic, the ^A/^y? fon of the Bon-hommc la ligne, prefumpti've heir of his pojjeffiom. Upon the ilrength of this they play the fame farce at paffing the tropic, t4iat others do on palling the equator. They have even thought H fit 3* JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE 'i "I m 1 ,h2& fit to perform this ceremony, when a fhip for the firft time doubles Cape St. Vincent to pafs the Straits of Gibraltar. The (hips which are employed on the cod fishery obfei'vd the fame- pra£lice> when they Come within fight of the gre caught in the handover ray cabbin. We Ihut him up in a hen-coop. The next morning one of our boatfwains having taken him. out of his place of confinement to put him upon his hand, the bird took wing and flew away. A ftiort time after we difcovered ii frigate : this bird kept wheeling round our weather flag, and feemed to peck at it moiv? *uan once. We made the fame obfer- vation on the currents il. as the day before. We found thisclima uch the fame as that of France in the month of May, the mornings and evenings being rather cold, though we were under the torrid zone ; nor did we expe- rience any of that bunding heat, which is complained of in the relations of fo many porfons, who have failed through thefe parts. It is true that fmce we had pafTed the line, we had always had fome little wind at leaft, had never been furprifed by calms, and had been fecured by itie clouds from the rays of the fun. Whether it were owing to our cleanlinefs, or to our frigate being *^ew we were not troubled with thofe infe6ls, which are mentioned m the fame accounts; nor had we to this time one perfon fick on board. In order to contiibute to the prefervation of health, every evening after fupper, the failors were fet to dancing on ths ikrn-calHe. And indeed they were fo difpofed to jollity, that they would play at hot cockles, hunt the flipper, or any other game, tliat promoted exercife and encouraged mirth. ■?■* %• TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. ril time r. The he fdme- batik of' kable. ifpedlcd, > the 16- nilar to itc, fuf- n. We f in the gh thefe we had prifed by l^s of the ir frigate hich are time one fervation e fet to difpofed e flipper, couraged miith. 33 ■I milrth. Some of them, who were naturally of a comic turn, would drefs themfelves up in mafquerade, affuming very gro. tefque figures, and would pafs in proceffion, or make their appearance in groups on the ftern-caftle, where they would dance minuets, cotillons, allemandcs, country dances, and horn- pipes. Moft of them had learned thefe dances, while they were prifoneis of war in the ports of Great Britain. The greateft part of them had made their efcape from thence at the rifque of their lives, in neutral velTels, filhing boats, and even fmall boats, which they found means to carry off. Several of them have afTured me, that the Englirti connived at their efcape, and would even bargain with the neutral veflels for their paflfage, or fell them boats ^ that fome lent them cloaths to difguife them, others advanced them money, others again gave them money out of charity, and others furniflied them with letters of recommen- dation to their friends in London, or in iiich ports, where they thought the prifoners might embark with the leaft danger. They even went farther ; and in order to give them the means of living comfortably in the prifons, where they were confined, made them prefents, and paid them very liberally for little toys, which fome of them employed themfelves in making, even to the buying of them little images of the Virgin Mary, of Saints, &c. made out of wood, and as ill fhaped as may be imagined, where the artifts had no other tools but their knives, and had never learned the trade. One ot our crew, who had amufed himfelf in this way, has told me more than once, that they would give him to the value of half a crown for one of his figures, with this caution only, not to boaft of it among the Englifli. A fine leflbn of humanity and charity 1 Mirth and clcanlinefs are two points, to the promotion of which fea captains ought to pay great^attention. They con- tribute in no fmall degree to prevent all thofe diforders to which feamen are ufually fubje^t. For the fame reafon they ought always to mix a little vinegar with their daily allowance of water, which tliey put in a. calk, called charnifr. What was H 2 ufed I i i t 1 \i I 'i*^ 34 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE ufed for the chamber, oi- ffjived up at the officers mefs was put into great eart^?n veflels, »A/n'ich were filled to the height of half a foot or more svith ftn?il pebbles. After the water has been drawn off from the calks into tliefe large veffels, called Jarrif which are expofed to the open air on the ftern-caftle or there- abouts, it is left there to purify for three or four days before it is drunk. It is imagined that the pebbles ferve to clear it from flime. I muft not omit to obferve here, that the water we had takeu on board at St. Malo, had not fulfered the lead change, . as it ufually happens between the tropics. Our bifcuit was equally well preferved. There were only ibme pickled cabbage, and fome fmall calks of veal, which weie rather fpoiled : and that probably was more owing to a fault in tlie fcafoning of them, than to the heat of the climate we were in. ' On the 2Qth of November at eight in the morniiig we took a porpoife of about a hundred weight. I painted him from the life, but without preferving any proportion to his bulk. For the figure of him fee the plate annexed. Seieral writers confuler the porpoife, as a fpccies of whale, and give it the name oi Jbufkur, There are different kinds of them. Some of them have their backs of a dark grey, almoft black, and their bellies much lighter. Others are of a grey approach- ing nearly to white, from whence they have the name of white porpoifeu Thofe which we took, and whofe figure is reprcfented in the plate, had their heads formed, not like the fnout of a hog, but almoit in the fhape of a bird's head, covered with a thick grey fkin, and the beak armed throughout with (harp white teeth like thofe of a pike. They had an opening (A.) on the top of their head, through which they fpouted water, and this was followed by a ftream of air attended with a noife fomething like the grunting of a hog. Their tail is horizontal, contrary to what is ufually found among other fifh, who have it perpen- dicular, when they are lyiig upon their bellies. It is of great ufe, no doubt, in aflifting the porpoile to fpring out of the water, ^ \^-- TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 35 was put : of half as been d jarri^ r there- before ii U from 5^, id taken as it equally gC, and and that if them, e took a Tom the k. For lale, and >f them. ): black, )proach- of white )icrented tf a hog, a thick p white on the and this mcthing contrary perpen- of great : of the water, water, and to turn round in the air with fo much eafe, as I have mentioned in a former article; to effed which they only incline a little more on one fide of their tail than on the other. From- this pofition of their tail probably it is, that they derive that peculiar method of fwimming, as if they were alternately rifintg above the water and diving under it. The porpQife, which I am defciiblng here (and all thofe we took were of the fame kind) is, as I apprehend, of that fpecies, which are called moines de mer. The fore part of the head terminates in a roll near the. beginning of the fnout or beak, anfwering to. the border of the cowl. The back is blackifli, and. the belly of a grey, confining, pf a pearl colour, fomewhat inclining,, to yellow, interfpgrfed with black and iron-grey fpots. It has three fins, curved and very thick.; one on the back, the other two under the belly, Thefe, as well as the . tail,, are covered with a membrane, or thick coarfe (kin, which being, removed, five white cartilages appear, difpofed like fingers and articulated in phalanxes* J- f ;, r, ; . ;> I dl(Ie£ted the head and fins with an intention of preferving them } but having hung them up over our cabbins near the Hag ftafF, fome of our crew, in working, the fhip, inadvertently threw them overboard.. Porpoifes almo(i always are found in .nxoais, fv\^imming in a line, as if they wf re dravm up for an engagement. They feeni . to go in fcarch of the wind ; for we remarked that in a fiiort time after they had paffed us, the wind would rife on that fide, to which.. they diiefted their courfc. , There- is no fifti perhaps., confidering its fize, that has fo much ftrength as the porpoife. Among thofe, .which, we flre French frigate, Eagle, the 20th of Nwember 1763, in 16 deg. 44 min. lat. 35 deg. 10 min. long. aHiwai Jet at liberty the 21ft in the morning. At midnight we founded a fecond time without finding any bottom. Tuefday the 21ft, at half part fix in the morning, one of the mates being defirous of examining the bird, which had been taken the evening before, and not holding him with fufficient caution, our prifoner efcaped, and deprived us of the pleafure we propofcd to ouiftflves in faftening about him the ribband I have mentioned. From the time we had fuffered the fecond of thefe Jbirds that we met with to fly away, we never failed to have 7 . • one TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 37 thought ; latitudes dence on azil near iccording itude, we 'es called e not fo :an fafely ;h a hun- m. Im- have ex- jofe they d of the ; efcaped^ ig on the ind. We > faften a ken on toe 6 deg. 44 61? 21ft in •■ without ne of the had been fufficient safurc we nd I have i of thefc 1 to have ■ one one of them every evening about eight o'clock fluttering round our cabbins. Having obferved an alteration in the colour of the fea all this' day, we founded at eight in the evening. At the depth of 35, fathoms we found bottom, and brought up pieces of coraly fliel Is, and rotten ftone. At ten we founded again, and found 30; fathom with the fame bottom. At midnight, no foundings. At two in the morning of the 2 2d, founded again j 49 fathom, fame bottom as before. At four, no foundings. TI>? Abrollhos e;c tend farther to the foutliward than is marked in the French . chartf .- , ■;,, ;j,:oi.i.;' -. ■■=;<■; ;^;i3 , ■. fLv/ ; ■)OUINE ISLANDS. 43 ' After dinner M. de Bougainville, accompanied by MefT. de Nerville, de Belcourt, and rHdillierde la Serre, went to vifitthe Gdmmandant of this foit. Here they found a general officer of Rio Janeiro, who bad been confined prifoner in it for four years, . the commanding officer having received orders, never to fuffer him' toftir out of the gates. The crime laid to his charge was, that ht had not punClually executed the orders of the court of Lifbon, , in refpe^ to the expulfion of the Jefuits of Brazil, and had ex- ■ tended fome favor to them. This gentleman had with him a - Portuguefe, who ac^ed as his fteward and fccretary ; he ^vas a i man of good fenfe and had been page to one of the Portuguelc am bafladors at Paris, where he had lived folir yea rsi The pleafure ■ of feeing Frenchmen again delighted him, and he was happy in i fervingas an interpreter to M. de Bougainville. His attachment ' to the impriforieid general had induced him to facrifice his liberty, . and for the fake of bearing him company he voluntarily partook of his confinement. This fecretary accompanied M. de Bougain- ville, and the reft on their return. In the account he gave us of the caufes of the general's imprifonment, he exadpated him as much as he could, and told us even in the prefence of two offi- cers, who had come on board with him, that he was indeed • guilty of not having carried the orders of his court into execu- tion as foon as he received them ; but that the archbifliop, who favored the Jefuits had prevented it by giving him afllirances that ; he had received counter orders; and that the other, as command- ing officer, ought not to obey thofe he had received, till they ■ ihould be conHrmed. The execution therefore of them, whether ' out of rci'i^efl to the archbifliop or from other motives not known, , was delayed too long, and ''^e reneral waspunilhed for it by the lofs of h's liberty. After this re -ion he begged of M. de Bougain- ville to take charge of a mem' m J u ft i neat ion of the prifoner, and to deliver it to the Portugucie ambaflador in Fi ance upon oiir return, that it might be tranfmitted to the court of Lilbon. ' But no fuch paper, I believe, ever came to the hands of M. de Bougainville. When I M JOURNAL .OF MY VOYAGE m 'When M. Alejjander Guyot paid his vifif to the governor, he Deceived an invitation from him, and was likewife defired to deliver one on his part to M. de Bougainville and the Officers as well as the principal paflengers on board our frigate to dine with . the goverxior the next day, Thurfday the firft of December. As foon as it was light we fet otfj, M. de Bougainville, de Ner- ville, de Belcourt, 1' Huillier, Alex. Guyot and myfelf j and at half pad one we arrived at the town, the name of which tranf- Uted into French is, Notre Dame de tExil, or la Vierge Exilie^ Our La The diflies were drefled after the manner of the country, which is not very agreeable to a French palate. In eating their foup, , which is a kind of folid glue, they do not make ufe of fpoons, but , eat it with the help of a fork. The bread was miferable, brown, , heavy dough, or rather pafte made in the fliape of a roll, about three inches diameter, and an inch and a half in height. The outfide had fcarcely felt the fire, and was only a liKle drier than the reft. The infide was folid, and looked like that buck-wheat flummery, which is the chief food of the inhabitants of Limoges, jiiid is by them called Galktte. The TO THE MAL0UINE ISLANDS. 4'S s.^-ch' The fecond courfe was compofed of a great number of dirties; all drefled with fugar, which is alfoan ingredient in moft of their fauces., as well 'as Carthamum, or the flower of baftard faft'ron. Theplates were pewter, not well rcowercd.and of an antique form; - 1 lie covers were likewife very old fafliioned, but they v\rtre \ 'er, and very heavy ; fo were the dirties, and fc^me drinking veiiels; , which were of an o^ogonal cylindrical formi and about fcven of • eight inches high. Our liquor was at firft brought to us in very fmall glalTes, fuch as were foi merly ufed for liqueursy having a long ftemi and the bowl ending'in a point. But as it would have been neccffary to drink one of thefe glafles at leafl: with every mouthful, I asked for- a larger to mix wine and water in. Upon ■■. this they brought me one of the fdver cylinders full. Another time I had a large goblet of crylial, thconly one-tha'^ appeared, . and which held near a bottle, Paris meafuie. The other guells • were ferved- in the fame manner. Thefe great cups were handed . from one to another, till they were empty. The wine we drarik was port, and very good. After dinner the cloth 'was removed," but we continued at table : todrinkxoffee andto converfe.- At this time I perceived that the Franciscan bad-quitted the company. My defignt hr.d beerr . toaddrefs myfelf to him ii> order to obtain fome knowledge of the country and inhabitants ; for though he knew nothing of th€' Fi'ench language^- nor I of the Portuguefe, I made myfelf fure of • being able to converfewith him in Latin. I acquainted the go-' • vcrnor's fon with my intention, and aflced him why the Francif-- can had retited. He told me, I might have perceived from- the* moment wc came in, that the Friar »iad taken pains to avoid me, . forefeeir»g my defign ; for not underftanding Latin, Jie chole ra-' ther to. keep at adirtance from me, than be obliged to-acknow- ^ ledge his ignorance ^of that language. This want of learning,' however, fays he, isnot peculiar to hi-m $■ it is th* cafe of almolt-* all the ecclefiartics'in-the country* - The governor's fon, from whom I received'^this intelligence is*^ a captaia in his father's ' "••ment, and one of fifteen childietr as . m i^ JOyP.NAL OF MY VOYAGE :.S' •as he infoirncJ us, that he had haJ, not by his lawful wife, for l.e never was man icd, but by one or fcveral niiftrefles. The reft of liis '■'lildren then alive were at Lilbon, wher. js befoiv by fome Frenchmen, who had put into the harbour. The water of this fpring is very good ; and we laid in a large ito^A of it. As to our wood, we got that from tl'.e place which had bcci mentioned to us on the con- tinent, it being exceedingly con .odious for that purpofe : for after cutting down the wood on the brow of the hill, it was very eafy to roll it down the fide cloi'e to the water edge, and fo load our boats with it. What we cut was moftly cedar, falfafras, cinnamon, and Brazil wood, which is ufed in dying. There was ver.y little of any other kind in this place. The TO THE MALOUINE ISIJANDS. 51 The next day (Saturday the 3d) we went on fliore upon the continent, and walked along the coaft with an intention of fporting. We found two or three foldiers ported by the Com- mandant in the next cottage to that of our Acadians, who endea- voured to prevent us from going forward, and told us they had orders from the governor to do fo. We pretended not to under- ftand what they faid to us, as they fpoke in Portuguefe, and continued our route, upon which they made no refiflance. In fadl, it was not the governor, but the Commandant of the fort of Santa Cruz, who had given thefc orders. We proceeded above a league along the new road, which they arc making to go by land to Rio Janeiro, and by the fide of a chain of woods which cover all the eminences. Thefe woods are fo thick, tliat it is not poflible for any thing But wild beafts and ferpents to penetrate into them. Wc killed fome toucans, parrots, tiepiran- gas, and one dove. Sunday the 4th, M. de Bougainville accompanied by four or five officers went to dine with the governor, who had given us an invitation the Thurfday before. I remained on board to fay mafs to the crew. The gentlemen who went were received and entertained fplendidly as before. The wind and tide being againfl: them hindered their returning to the (hip that day, notwithftanding all their endeavours to accomplifh it ; they refolved therefore to go back again to the town. The governor had apprized them of the impoffibility of their getting on board at that time, and had done every thing in his power to engage them to flay. He reprefented to them, the rifque they muft run by expofing themfelves in fuch a manner to the dangers of a channel full of (hallows, banks of fand, and rocks, which they would have the greateft difficulty in the world to avoid, if the night (hould come upon them before they reached the fhipj that fuch an accident would put it entirely out of their power to difcover the fea maris, and confequently to keep the channel, Befides, he had intended to give them the pleafure of a ball, and had already invited feveral ladies, wives to officers of the garrifon. 6 The 5* JOUIINAL OF MY VOYAGE r n r^ 4' Tiif. 'jariy being broke up by the departure of our gentlemen, lie fent to all the perfons who had been invited, to prevent their coming. But as foon as he underOood that M. de Bougainville, and his companions were coming back to the town, he fcnt out to meet them, and without acquainting them of his intentions, difpatched fre(h invitations for the Aipper and the ball, which was to follow. After fuppcr was over, at which the ladies were not prefcnt, the governor, without giving our gentlemen the Icalt hint of what they were to expe£l, engaged them only to go and pafs a few hours at the houfe of an officer of the garrifon, where, as he faid, they would find a very agreeable company. M. de- Bougainville and the red confented at fird merely out of com- plaifance, but they were agreeably furprifed to find there feveral' ladies, by whom they were perfeftly well received. They had. never imagined from the reputation the Portuguefe have of being extremely fufceptible of jealoufy, that they would have permitted their women to appear in fuch aflemblies. They flruck up however a kind of dance, in which the ladies figured as well as the gentlemen, and about two or three in the morning they retired very well fatisfied with each other. At this interview, M. de Bougainville took an opportunity of complaining to the governor of the behaviour of the Com- mandant of Santa Cruz, and obtained a general permidion to^ take whatever meafures he (hould judge proper for fporting, fifhing, wooding, and watering wherever we pleafed. At part- ing M. de Bougainville invited the governor, with the Oviodore, and fuch officers as he fhould think fit to bring with him, to dine on board our fhip. « In confequence of this permiffion we fent our yawl out to fifh almofl every day, and fhe conflantly came back loaded with fifh of many kinds, and in fuch abundance as to ferve the whole crew. The figures of them may be feen in the plates. We went alfo every day a (hooting eitlier on the continent or in the illand ; though we Coon left off going to the former, as wc TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 53 we found fcar.^ u' y tiling there but parrots, toucans, and feme doves. In tK.- iO^n i, befule thcfe birds, which I have mentioned, there were ki larks, plovers, fnipes, and fome others in good number. The officers of tne garrifon, and the people of the country, whether from want of courage, or from indolence, or from the danger of meeting with wild beads and ferpents, which are in great plenty among the woods and morafles, never go out a fporting, and advifed us to follow their example. It muft be confeifed indeed, that the cottagers are not provided with arms i and the few which <»ne meets with are old, the greateft part made after the old fafhion, with wheels for the trigger, and very bad. They had fcarcely even powder or ball. > Lefs timid than they, and to fay the truth better armed, we more than once penetrated into the acceflible parts of the idand. By the afTidance of our light boots we furmounted the obftacles which prefented themfelves to us among the woods and thickets, from a fpecies of thorny aloes, of which they are full. Wc never went alone, but always two or three in a company in order to affiil each other in cafe of an attack from any over- grown ferpent, or wild beaft, particularly ounces ; fome claws of which we had feen here in the hands of fome of the inhabitants mounted in filver, and which, as we were informed by them, were very common, and were more ravenous than even tygers. One day when we were out in fearch of game upon the ifland, and had feparated into different parties, I, with M. de Belcourt and his fervant, kept along the fide of a creek, which runs a confiderable way within the land, and was called by us the river, M. de Belcourt amufed himfelf with (hooting at water-fowl. As we advanced along the border of this creek I perceived on the fand recent traces of fome four-footed animal, which, to judge by the marks, muft be very large, and feemed to be a tyger. We followed thefe traces till we came to a very marftiy Ipot, where we did not dare to venture ourfelvcs, not knowing either the bottom or the extent of it. Returning by the fame way Il '» i iiW i«^'. II 54 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE way that wc came, I perceived M. de Belcourt advancing towards us, and fliewed him the traces. Thefe, faid he to me, muft certainly be the traces of a bead I faw hereabouts but juft now, at the very inftant he was darting into the thickets. He is about the heighth of the largeft fized Danifli dog, and of a greyifli colour. He went in at that place, let us purfue him. With all my heart, replied I. Wc made our way as well as we could among thefe marfhy thickets, which were fo chcaked up with a (harp fpecies of aloes, whofe leaves are fomctimes not lefs than five feet in height, that we had all the trouble in the world to difengage ourfelves from them. We beat about in vain for near two hours without feeing any thing of the beaft we were in purfuit of : we only got fight of the hind part of another, the hair of which feemed to be of a greenilh grey : his height about that of the largeft kind of Ipaniel : his tail feemed to be as green as the leaves of the plants, which furrounded it, and to refemble that of a fox in thicknefs and in length. He hid himfclf among the bufhes at tlie inftant M. de Belcourt was going to fire at him. The heat was now fufFocating. We flopped and fat down on the ends of fome branches, leaning our backs againft a tree. We had with us fome oranges and fome fea bifcuit. While we were regaling ourfelves in this pofture, we were ftunned with the inceflant hiffings of ferpcnts, which furrounded us, and reduced us to the neceffity of keeping conftantly upon our guard with drawn fabres. After this breakfaft, of which we had ftood in great need, we continued our fport, drawing towards an eminence, at the top of which we difcovered a cottage. Being arrived liere, we found M. de Bougainville and his fcivant. Two Portuguefe women, whofe figures were not very inviting, received us, and difplayed for near two houis, that we continued, with them, the utmoft freedom in their air and conveilation. They had a tame parrot, which was tolera51y pretty, and talked well. We propofed to purchafe this bird ; but the women tefufed to part with it. They longed for every thing we had, handkerchiefs, .« 'Mil TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 5S 'handkerchiefs, knives, hats, and even our fuzils and fabrcs : tl.ey alked us for all thefe without ceremony, and if we had been willing to give into their way of thinking, neither our cloaths nor even our fhirts would have incommoded us on our return. We contented ourfelvcs with a few oranges, and fet out to dine on board. On entering the wood we feparated again from M. de Bougainville and his fervant without intending it. The path which M. de Belcourt and I took led us to a morafs, where the trees were luckily at a fufficicnt diftance from each other : Here we faw feveral ferpents about the thicknefs of the fmall of a man's leg, and others lefs, fomc of a reddifli colo ir, otliers red and yellow, and others grey, which laft a good deal refem- ibled adders of the largeft fize ; but inftead of attacking, they fled before us. When we were almoft got to our boat, M. de Bel- court fired at a bird, called the fpoon-hillt and broke only one of his wings. He took it up and brought it on board. It was a young one, and all its plumage was of a faint rofe colour ; the procefs of the quill from which the beards of the wing featliers rife, was of a bright rofe .colour. Its legs were a foot long in- cluding the thighs, and of a light grey as well as tl e feet, which were webbed, like thofe of geefe. Its beak was fix inches in length, nnd'both the upper and under part flat grey towards the root, and white towards the extremity : it bc^an to fpread at about two thirds of its length, and ended ' a fpatula, of two inches and a half diameter in its grea' ^c breadth. We cairied it to the fhip, where it lived three '-ays on fome fmall fidies, and bits of frefh meat, which were forced down its throatj for it would not eat of itfelf. When any one came near it, it made ^ noife with its bill as loud as that of two wooden battle- dores (Iruck one againfl the other. Some of our failors gave it the name of flamingo, but that of fpoon-billt ox palette (battledore) is more fuitable, on account of the fliape of its bill, very unlike to that of the flamingo, which is made almoft in the commoneft form of a bird-bill, L The I «»i it. ija Iff. ! cC JOURNAL OF MrVOYAGE The next day we went again on the ifland in purfuit of the animal we had not been able to meet with the evening before. There were feveral that made their way into the fame wood. M. I'Huillier found there another beaft of the fame !ize as that J have mentioned, but of the yellow colour, and nearly of the fhnpc, of a lion. He fired three times at him loaded with bullet, two of which wounded without flopping him, and without making him go one ftep cither fafter or flower. We followed him by the traces of the blood, but he rufhed in among the thickets, and we favv no more of him. The heat being very intenfe, and we having fcarcely more than time fufficient to get on board for dinner, contented ourfclves with killing parrots, plovers, fnipcs and fome other birds. As I was curious to have a humming bird, of which I faw many flying round our heads, ana could not, oi at lead did not know how to take them alive, I ventured to fire p.t one, which was fluttering about like a butterfly, and hovered in the fame manner over a fmall branch of a tree. The littls bird, whether through fear or the violent concuffion of the air, dropped inftan'ly. After having looked for it a long time, 1 found it at lafl; dead on a lea^ of the fame branch. The figure of it in its natural fize is lO be feen m the plate. Some call tins bird, Lifongere or Beequefleursy becaufe it is con- tinually fluttc injLi: about flowers, like the butterfly, and fucks the moiflure of them in the fame manner. The whole compafs of its body with the feathers is not larger than a common nut. -Jt has a tail near three times as long as its body ; its neck is rather fmall, its head in proportion, and its eyes arc very fliarp. The bill is fomewhat whitifli at the root, t!ic rclt of it is black ; it is as long as the body of tlie bird, is fmall and very (harp. The wings are long, thin, and very extcnfive in proportion -, i.* ex- tr-jmity of the feathers reaches to two-thirds or thereabouts of the tail, which as well as the wings is of a purplcifli brown. The relt cf the plumage is green with a gold cafl, as if one had fpiead a layer of green alinoft tranfparent over a leaf of gold. Tiic THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. The neck and head are of a deep b.'iie, gi!t in the fame manner. Thefe colours vaiy according as the light ftrikcs more or lefs forcibly on the different parts. Sometimes the whole plumage of this bird refembles a pigeon's neck, or the green feathers on the wings of wild ducks ; fometimes it is of a fine blue, fometimcs of a fine green, fometimes of a purple, and all thefe mixed with the fplendor of a lively gold colour, bright and burnilhcd. The tongue of this bird in miniature is forked, and has the appear- ance of two twifts of red filk. Its feet are (hort, black, and furniflied with very long claws. There are feveral fpecies of them, which dilTer both in fize ind colour. One of the fmall kind, which I have preferved in braqdy, has white feathers from the breaft to the tail. The colour of the reft of its plumage is like that of the others. The female lays but two eggs, of the fize of a fmall pea. They build their nefts in orange trees with the fmalleft ftraws they can find. The Portuguefe, who lived in the cottage near which we watered, gave us one of thefe nefts with two young ones in it, which were not yet covered with the firft down. He had juft taken it with the father and mother, clofe by his habi- tation } we put it down on a ftone bench at the door of the houfe, while we were eating an orange, and had fcarcely turned our backs, when a cat came and carried off both neft and young ones. Thefe nefts are of an admirable conftruflion, and about the fize of a half crown. The Brazilians call this bird by the names of Guainumbi^ Guinambi, Aratica, ArcJarataguacu. The Portuguefe call it PegafroJ. We had befide thefe a third kind, fomewhat larger than thofe I have been defcribing, but much lefs than the fmalleft wrens we have in Europe. The feathers of their head begin towards the middle of their upper bill. They are exceedingly fmall at their rife, are difpofed in fcales, and giow larger as they are rearer to the head, at the top of which they form a little tuft of uncommon beauty for the brilliancy of the gold, and the variety of colours, which change according to the dirc6lion of the rays L 2 of /•£ I m^ s» Journal of my voyage ■ of lighr, or the pofition of the fpcdator's eye. Sometimes tire plumage of this binl is of a black equal to that of t!ic fiiicft black velvet, foiT.ctimes of a pea giecn, fomctimcs yellow. At other times it refenibles cloth of gold fliaded with all ihefe colours. The back is of a dark green fliot with gold. The large feathers of the uing are of a deep violet, approaching fometimes to purple. The tail is compofcd of nine feathers as long as the whole body^ and of a black mixed with brown, purple, and violet, which form a jnort agreeable allemblage of colours, and have the fame change- able property as above. The whole lower part of the belly likewife exhibits a mixture of black, violet, green, and yellow, which always ftrike the eye of the obferver differently, according to tfe fhe had coil him about eighteen French livres. About four o'clock in the afternoon we went over to the main land, and vifited feveral cottages on the coaft, where we made provifion of lemons, orangesj and fome pine-apples, . which we found ripe. This fruit, and the plant which bears it are known at prefent in Europe, as they bear the voyage very well, but there is a very great difference both in flavour and finell between the fpecimens of this fruit produced in France, even in Pj ovence and Languedoc, and what is found in Brazil. It grows there of itfelf without cuhivation, and in great abundance. It turns tlic knives, with which it is cut, black, and fpoiis themi which pro- '<'i4 • Pwyict, babty I !<''< ' m ■ 60 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE bably has given occafion to fome authors to fay, that the rind of it is fo haul, that it blunts the edge of a knife. It is true, that if, after cutting the pine-apple in dices, you negledl: to wafh and wipe your knife very well, you will find it after a few hours fpoiled and rufty, as if you had put aguajiriis fomewhat lowered upon it. The juice of this fruit is of great efficacy in taking fpots out of cloaths. That of Brazil, they will tell you, is a prefervative againll fca.ficknefs. In my walk I gathered fome feeds of plants, and fome grenadillas^ with a fmall red fruit of the colour of cinnabar, \vhich bears a pretty near reicnblance to the love-apple. A Portuguefe, who was with us, told me, they call it Maracuja, the figure of it is in the plate annexed. The plant which bears this fruit is prickly, the leaf is very like that of the Stramonium furiofumy but not fo large. Under the rind of the fruit is a pulp, of one fixth part of an inch in depth, white, and of the confiftence of that of the Calville apple, of a fweetifli but infipid flavour. The infide is intirely filled with flat feeds, of the fame form asthofe of the large Pimento or long pepper. The Portuguefe informed me, that the fruit, Maracuja., was nevoi- eaten, altho' he did not know tjiat it had any dangerous qualitieSo The Grenadilla of Brazil is round, yet rather flat at the ends, and of the fize of a pullet's egg. Its bark is very fmooth, glittering on the outfide, and of a carnation colour, when the fruit is ripe. On the infide it is white and foft, its thicknefs about the eighth part of an inch. The fubftance which itinclofes is vifcous, it is of a refrefliing and cordial nature, the tafte of it is between fweet and four. It may be eaten in quantities without any inconvenience. There are to be found in it a number of fmall feeds or kernels much refembling linfeed in fliape, and not fo hard as thofe of the common pomegranate. This whole fubllance is feparated from the bark by a very thin Ikin. The plant which bears this fruit twines about the trees, and refembles as to its leaves and flower, what we call the paflion flower. It diff"ufes a very fweet fcent. To eat the Grenadilla in peifeftion, it (hould not be fuf- fered m^' <*■ TO THE MAL0UINE ISLANDS. 6i ftred to ripen entirely upon the plant. It would decay and dry up. It muft be gathered a little before it is ripe, and kept a few days. t Since our arrival at Brazil we were conftantly in fearch of par- rots, but could not find any tame ones to be bought. In the tour that wfc made, we had the good luck to meet with fome complaifant Portuguefe, who parttd with one to Mr. r Huillier ; this officer found means alfo to get one for Mr. de Belcourt. Upon our returning on board, a Spaniard who talked a little French, and whom we had commiflioned to procure us fome, offered us four, two of which were already reared, and talked the Portuguefe language, as did the two of which I have already fpoken. The other two were but juft taken from their neft, and could not feed themfelves. I gave a ftripcd ribband for one ofthefe laftj and I preferred it with an idea that it would learn the French language with greater facility. I kept him till the beginning of May, when he died of a catarrh in the head. This catarrh had caufed his eyes to fwell. It fell upon his lungs, and having rendered him aftmatic, it wa^ impoffible for me to fave him. . Among thefe parrots there were three kinds, which differed in their plumage and fize. One of M. 1* Huillier's had the feathers of his neck and ftomach of a tawny and changeable red, mixed with a little grey ; the top of the fore part of the head of a ver- milion colour, rather faded and extinguiQied, the tips of the wings of a brighter red than that of the rofe, and fcveral of the feathers in the wings and tail of a fine carmine j others of a very fine azure blue, and fome black : all the reft of the body was green. He fpoke Portuguefe extremely well, and learned French very cafily. He died juft upon our arrival at the Malouinc iflands. The fecond was bigger than any we had : the top of his head was of a vermilion red, the two fides of a light blue to- wards the ears, and which grew fainter even fo much as to be- come grey in proportion as the feathers were at a gieater diftance from them. The wings and tail were like thofe ct UiC firft. The 5 others a^ M m V If t]l \f\ «'l M JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE others were fcarce above half that fize $ they refembled them Irow- ever as to their plumage, except that the red ujx>n their heads was much more lively, which might perhaps be owing to their being younger. Monf. de Bougainville's parrot died of the fame difordcr as mine, during our iiay at the Malcuine irtaiids.; M. de Belcourt's fell into the fea and was dro i ?d, fo that out of feven, we brought no mote than two to France, Mr. 1' Huil- lier's large one, which I delivered to him fafc and found at Ver- failles, and one of the fmallcr kind which had no tail, for he plucked out the feathers of it as faft as they grew. The failor to whom it belonged, had not taken near the fame care of him as we had done of ours, and yet preferved him. It was impofli- ble to fpeak better than he did j and he imitated the. cries of the children we had on board, and thofe of the cabbin boys when they were whipt for any fault they had committed, the cackling of the hens, and the noife of all the other animals we had m the frigate, fo well, as to deceive every body that heard him. Faffing by the habitation in which wc had lodged our Acadian families, we. heard a noife like that of a wood-cutter felling of wood. We a(ked a freed negro, what it was? It is, anfwered he, a monkey that ranges about the garden to eat the fruit and the corn, and is giving notice to his comrades to come and aflift him ; but if I had a good gun like yours, I would foon diflodge him. He has been two or three days making this racket. One of our boatfwains lent him his gun; the negro loaded it with large ihot, followed the noife, and (hot at the monkey twice without . making him run away : at the third fliot he fell dead at the foo» of the tree. 1 he boatfwain brought the monkey on board the frigate where we had opportunity to examine him at our leifurw. He was near two feet eight inches high, when (landing upon his hind legs ; his hair was long, and of a fawn coloured brown all over hi« body except under the belly, which approached the clear fawn colour. His brown beard began from his ear* and /ell near five inches upon his breaft j his feet and handai were black J his ears, dcftitute of hair, were well detached from each 'i .Ji ■ -w TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 63 each other and his face covered with a tawny down, fo clofe as to be haidly diftinguifliabic from the Ikin. His eye brows were of a darker hue and prominent. His tail was as long as his body including his head. I know not at what fport he had loft his left eye : this, how- ever, was not to be perceived without a clofe examination j for in the focket he had fubftitutcd a ball, compofcd of a gum which was unknown to us, of rotten wood and fome very fine mofs, the wh^Ie mixed up together. The eya-lid coveifed this ball as if it had been really the globe of the eye. Whether he had contrived this falfc eye to appear lefs deformed, or to cure his wounded eye, or to de- fend it from the infults of flies and other infefts, Heave toconjefture. We obferved alfo, that this monkey appeared old, for the Ikin of his face was greatly wrinkled, and he had fome white hairs in his beard. We faw but this one during our ftay at the ifland of St. Catherine's, though we were told that there were a great number, and that the inhabitants eat the young ones, which are very good. They endeavoured even to perfuade me that one of the ragouts of which I ate at the Governor's, and which I took to be an excel- lent rabbit, was really a monkey. Be this as it would, many others ate of it as well as myfelf, and appeared well pleafed with it. The mafter of the habitation near which we got our wai- ter, having perceived that Mr. le Roy, lieutenant of our fhip, had a great inclination for a pretty little bird that he had in a cage, and which fang very well, made him a prefent of it. This bird is called in the Brazils, Guranb^ Engera, It is of the fize of a Canary bird. Its wings, back, neck and tail are jlue, with fome white fpots about the middle of the large feathers of the wings and tail, difpofed in the fame manner as thefe fpots are in the wings and tail of the gold-finch. From the under part of the bill along the breaft to the under part of the tail, all the feathers are of a golden yellow, bright and glittering ; its warbling varies like that of the Canary, and it imitates the finging of other M birds. iA «4 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE p^ •i Ft". birds. There ar: 't^vcral forts of them. The Brazilians call them alfo Teitei, For its Figure, fee the Plate. As I was walking in the fields with our captain, I perceived him gathering a large quantity of a plant with yellow flowers, iiich I took at the firft glance for the yellow amtianth, which abounds on the rifmg grounds on the coaft of Terra Firma. Curiofity led me to a(k him the ufe which he meant to put it to. He told me, that it was the Doradilla-, that when he was at Valparafo, he had heard it called by that natuc ; and that in that town, as well as in all the others in cr' where he had been, they ufed a great deal of it in infufion ^ >r the cure of pains in the fliomach. Our captain was fubje6^ the.n at times. I gathered a pretty large quantity of it, and drank it fometimes by way of tea. The tafte of it is agreeable enough. Others call it Vira-verda\ this is the name that i» ,lvcn to it at Montevideo alfo. Frezier, in his account of his voyage to the South feas, fays, that a French furgeon made ufe of it with great fuccefs in the cure of the tertian ague. But the Doradilla which the Spaniards have, is a kind of fplecn-wort, the leaf of which is curled. They attribute great virtues to it. The ftalk and leaves of the vira-verda, which we fpeak of at prefent, are fpongy, and like the yellow amaranth, its flower is an aflemblagc of fmall yellow buds, the leaves of which are point- ed. The flowers of the amaranth are in form of a rofe, and the leaves of it are difpofed in the fame manner. At our return from fifliing, abundantly fupplied as ufual, we examined the different forts of fifli, and among them found that which is called in the Brazils Panapana. The one that I give the figure of was two feet and a half long from the head to the beginning of the tail, the diftance between the eyes was ten inches. Its Ikin was rough and hard like that of a fliark, but confiderably finer, nearly the fame as that of the Ikin of a litind of (hark, commonly Aim and of a middling fize, which our faiMis call Demoifelk], we catched three or four of them during our TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 65 our ftay at the ifland of St. Catherine's, ar:^ two at the Maldo- nades at the mouth of Rio de la Plata. The head of the Panapana ib flat, ill-l( med, and In the fliape of a hammer. Its eyes are at a great difcance from each other j being placed at the oppofitt extremities of the head. Its mouth and tail are like thofe of the fhark, its teeth are very (liarp ; but 1 did not find feven rows of them. Our failors gave it the name of marteau or hammer, which is very applicable to its fhape. Among the number of plants which I p; uhered, was a fort of pepper, or pirn ^ e, vciy common in the fields along the ikirts of the woods. < :s I it. .s infinitely (harper than that of the pimento or long pepper, \i :icU we are accuftomed to in France. On this account our failors called it pitnent enrage. This fruit is of the lame length form and colour, but at lead t vice as thick as that of the Barberry tree. It is at firft green, and grow ^ red as it be- comes ripe. The flower which precedes it, is like that of the pimento. The plant which bears it, grows to the height of about two feet. It is full of branches and joints j its ftem is round, green, and rather flender. The leaves of it are in fliape like thofe of the Jblanum hortenfe^ or garden nightfliadc -, but as fmall as thofe of the chempodium fcetidum or vulvariuy which they re- femble much. One of the finall fruits of the pitnent enrage put into fauce, heightens the flavour as much as an entire one of the larger fort. This induced our failors to lay in a large provifion of them. I had alfo furniflied myfelf with all the ripe feeds of the plants which I found, and having met with fome Portuguelc women in a hut, who were picking cotton to leparate it from its feeds, they gave me a handful of them. They did me the greater plea- lure, as I was very defirous of having fome, and as I could not gather any from the plant, the flirub being jull then in flower. The wood of it is tender and fpongy ; the bark thin and grey. Its leaves are of a bright green when young, but grow of a deeper colour as they approach to maturity, or as the flirub old. They are large, and divided into five parts, which M 2 terminate grows IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 t^ ^ I.I m m ■ 2.2 Hi II I i£ 12.0 L25 iU |l.6 -► 7 HiotDgraphic Sdaices Corporation 23 WBT MAIN STRiET WiBSTER.N.Y. 14510 (716) •72-4503 l\ iV •S5§ ;\ \ 6^" %^ 6^" '<^ (6 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE terminate in a point. Thofe which are neareft the fbwer are only in three parts, and refemble much thofe of the RicirtHs, Its flowers are almoft like thofe of a fmall (hruba which is now in faflnon for the decoration of our parterres, calkd ^kbam \ They are not however quite fo op^n. They are yellow tqward$ the end, and fpotted with rcj at the bottom. It is a pentapetaknu plant, fupported by a calix of fmall green leaves, which are hard and pointed. To the piilil iucceeds a bud, or oval fruit, which in its ftate of maturity is of the bignefs of a duck's egg. This fruit is divided into three or four different cells, fiUed with 9 white ftringy fubftancc, which inclofe$ ten or twelve {tsid& of ^ dark brown colour flicking together two by two,, like wheat in the ear. Thefe ieeds are of the fizc of a pea, and about three or four lines in length. - This flringy fubflance is that whidi WQ knovM by the i^me of cotton. It fwells and fprings in the (hell, which contart^s it, in fucha manner as to force it open when the fruit is ripe. At that time the feeds, full of an oily fubflance, feparate themfelvcs, with the locks of cotton which inclofe them> and fall from the fruit, unlefs care is taken to gather them in time. The Portuguele muft certainly be unacquainted with the mar chines which are made ufc of in our Antilles^ for feparating the cotton from the feeds which it indofes, and to which it flicks \ or elfe the Portuguefe women I have feen employed at this work, did it merely by way of amufement j for they feparated it bit hy bit, only by pinching the cotton between their fingers. They fpin it afterwards to make cloth of it ; but I do not know with what machine, as I never faw them at that work. y* > .. This is the only kind of cotton tree which I found cultivated in the ifland of St. Catherine's, and upon the coafls of the Continent in its neighbourhood. It is very di^crent from the cotton tree in the Brazils, of which Dampier fpeaks in the following terms : " Its flower is compofed of fmall filaments air *-' mofl as loofe as hair, three or four inches long, and of a dark '- red except the tips, which are of an aili colour. At the bof* " torn. -■?'(>*'*''' ■'■ '■ *' TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. «7 " torn of the ftalk tliere are five narrow ftiff leaves about fix ** inches long." The kind which Frezier fpeaks of, refembles in every refpecl that which I have defcribed, except that the feeds of the latter are not feparated - fi'om each other, and difperfed in the cotton, as that author fays, and as he has reprefented them in the figure which he has given oi the fruit. It feems as if fa- ther Labat had copied from this figure of the cotton tree the one which he has inferted in the fecond volume of his new voyage to the American iflands, or perhaps Frezier may have taken it from him. The figures given by each of them are exa£lly alike. In a hut a little farther on, where we went to beg fome water to drink, the woman who gave us fome Was employed in Grip- ping leaves, with long thin thorns on the ftalk, from a kind of reed very common along the fides of the woods and roads. She drew froin them a fort of green thread extremely fine-, much like raw-filk, and of a light green cotour. She told Us, that (he after- wards fpun this ftringy fubftance to make tines and fifhing nets of it, which fhe faid lalled a long time. Perhaps it might be made ufe of for other purpofes. ■yy Not far from thence, I faw for the fii-ft time, a kind of aloes called pitbey xhQ leaf of which when fteeped like hemjp affords a fubftance fit for fpinning, and of which tliey make linen cloth in the Baft. From the mid^ of a fcore of leaves, about five feet high, and at leaft three inches thick at the bottom, their edges thorny, ending in a point, hollowed out, and of a fine green, fprang up a green ftalk of about eight inches diameter at the bottom, which diminiihed gradually to the top, and grew to the heighth of at leaft thirty feet. From the heighth of about twenty feet of this ft a!k quite to its fummit, there fprang branches to the number ot twelve or fifteen, adorned with a number of fprigs, almott likfi the growing ftalk of the lilly plant, when rifing about two inches fiom the earth. Tbefe tufts of fprigs grow irre* gularly along the branches, which are deftitute of any other foliage, and fprcad thcmfclves almoft hoi-izontally. Without doubt, thefe fprigs when arrived to a certain pitch of matoritf,. 6 break I If i A «^*''-*- 6S JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE r break of themfelves, and take root in the earth where they hap- pen to fall. I picked up about fifteen with their roots* which I carried on board, where we planted them in boxes placed over our cabbins. They did very well there, and we fliould in all pro- bability have preserved the greated part of them, if* notwith- ftanding all our care, two cats which we had on board had not fcratched up the earth Of thefe boxes, and poifoned it with' their urine and excrement. We refolved at lafl:, though rather late, to cover them with ^fhing nets, fupported by hoops, and we preferved two plants of them as well as fome cottbh trees, raifed from the feeds which we had fown. They were all tranfplanted at our arrival at St. Malo's, into the garden of Beau Sejour at St. Servant, vvhich w^s occupied by 3^. Duclos ,Guyot our captain. '»^••■!^]^**• .of-'*^;';*; «,<■''?'"<''^*^'''''*ft'>*> V'-'-iV !>•»,'- » The Portuguefe have perhaps remarked that the fprigs of the ffitbet which have thus taken root of themfelves, do not thiive fo well as thofe, which have been carefully put into ground well tilled. This is probably what induces them to make holes of about a foot fquare in the earth beneath the branches, and about the plant itfelf, where I found five or fix of thefe fprigs planted { and which, in reality, feemed to have thriven better than thofe which had been wholly abandoned to nature. I can- not fay, whether the pitbe bears any other fruit, or whether it multiplier by, any other means. Befides lemons and c-'nges, there is in the ifle of St. Cathe- rine's a fort of refrcfhn for fportfmen. This fruit, which is very common, is called tue American Indian fig. It is in fhape much like cur figs. Its firfl fkin is green ; it then grows rather yellow, and afterwards aflfumes the colour of red lacker on the fide which has been expofed to the rays of the fun. This fkin is fluck full of very fmall prickles. Thofe who gather this fruit and peal it muft be very dextrous, not to fill their fingers with thefe prickles, which are almofl imperceptible. Happily they caufe more uneafinefs than mifchief, till one has found the method of getting rid of them. " ; r i ,; ,» Under TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 69 Under the (kin, which is about as thick as that of a fig is found a. white covering, thin and tenderer than the other. It inclofes a foft fubftance, of a bright red, mixed with fmall grains^ like thofe of the fig. This fubftance has an acid tafte, a little fweet, and extremely grateful. When people eat a confiderable quantity of it their urine becomes red, but without any harm refulting from it. This fruit is even cooling. Our captain, his two fons and mylelf, were almoft the only people who eat of it : the others did not dare to follow our example through apprehenfion of fuffering fome ijiconvenience from it. .; an'i ,rrirn .:;ir nrvrc-i::;).;) :r":\ ■:; " In order to avoid nmning any of the rifques which I have mentioned in gathering thefe prickly figs, get a fmall piece of wood (haped like a bodkin, and flick it into the fig near the ftalk ; cut off this ftalk with a knife, and holding the fruit in this manner at the end of the bit of wood, peal it lightly all round, without touching it with your fingers. - ■' On Saturday the tenth of December we feht out fome people to flioot in the ifland, in order to procure fome game to treat ^he Governor, whom M. de Bougainville had invited to dine on board our frigate the next day. They brought nothing but parrots, fnipes, and fome other Mrds. We found in a wet marlhy foil a prodigious quantity of a fort of crab which live on fhore, and make their retreat in holes which they dig. They give them tlie name of tourlourous ; the big- geft are not above two inches wide. The fhape of their fliell is almoft fquare, of a brownifh red, growing lighter by degrees towards the belly, which is of a clear red. This fliell or helmet is pretty (Irong though thin. Their eyes are of a fliining black and as hard as horn. They flioot out and drawn in again like thofe of lobfters. Thefe crabs have four legs on each fide, each of them com- pofed of four joints, the lail of which is fiat and terminates in a point. They make ufe of them to walk fideways, like common crabs, and to dig up the earth. Befide thefe, they have two othec i A >*» 7* JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE other legs or claws bigger than the former, but efpecially the right, which is at leaft double che fize of the other. Thefe claws or pincers are of a br^ht red, fhaped like thofe of iea-^crabs; they make u(e of tiiem for cutting leaves^ and the roots: of plants on which they feed. When they fee any thing which' frightens them they H-rlke thcfe two claws againft each other, as it were to frighten their enemy, and lift up the biggeft of them perpendicularly, matching thus in a flate of defence ; but retiring at the (ame tioae into their holes. Thefe claws as well as their legs, aix. foilightly Bxed ta^ their body that they come ofF in the hands of thofe who endeavour to take them, and the tourlon- rou efcapes. Both fexes have their tails bent under their bellies, where it enters fo exa6tly; into a cavity which is in the fhell of the belly that it can hardly be diftinguiihed. That of the male diminifhes in fi2e quite to the end. The fieniale's is equally large to its extremity. As faft as the female laya her eggs, they attach themfelves to the long rough hairs with which the under part of the tail is furuilhed. Thefe fupport, cover, and prevent them from falling, or from being detached by the fand, herbs, or other unequal furfaces. which fall in her way. Thefe animals were fo numerous in this raarfhy ground, that it was impoffible to fet down one's foot without crufhing feveral of them. I cannot fay whether the inhabitants of the coafts eat thefe animals, as they do in the Antilles, where they are of great fervice to the Carribbees and negroes^ The Creoles them- felves, according to father Labat, regale themfelves with them. About ten o'clock in the morning, on Sunday the eleventh of December, we received the Governor on board. He left the town by two in the morning, in his canoe, with his foni accompanied by a minifter from the King of Portugal, who was firft prefident of the fovereign council of Rio Janeiro, by the Oviodore, the major, and fome other officers of the garrifon. The tide and a contrary wind had prevented their arriving fooner. The TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 71 The tent was pitched upon the quarter-deck, which was fct out in form for the company } the fhip was fpread with the quarter-cloths, and the French flag difplayed. When every body was ieated, I faid mafs with the ufual folemnities ; and at noon a dinner was fcrved up as elegant as polTible in our prefent fituation. The King of Portugal's health was drunk, under a difcharge of eleven pieces of cannon, which were all anfwered regularly from the fort of Santa Cruz. '>» -I' After dinner fome inferior ofHcers, the fame who had played on different inftruments at the Governor's, played again, and made a kind of concert, which laded about two hours. During this amufement, a wind arofe unfavourable to the Governor's return, the weather became overcaft, and fo heavy a rain fell that it was fcarce pofTible to think of going back to the town, or even to one of the forts. M. de Bougainville propofed a party of play to amufe thefe gentlemen, which was accepted. The wind and rain continuing, M. de Bougainville pcrfuaded the governor and his company to lie on board. While we were waiting for fupper, which confifl:cd only of the remains of the dinner, and at which the Governor, as well as moft of the reft of the company, drank only a glafs of water, 1 converfed all the time with the Portuguefe minifter, who wanted no- thing but practice to fpeak the French language well, and who made ufe of very exprefllvc Latin words, whenever he was at a lofs for a French term. This minifter, who was well ac- quainted with Brazil, and was at that time upon his tour through the country, according to cuftom, was fo obliging as tq anfwer all my queftions, and gave me all the information I could wifti relative to the country and its inhabitants, of which I fliall give an account hereafter. Meflieurs de Bougainville, and de Nerville, gave up their beds to the governor, and the Portuguefe minifter ; the Oviodore lay in the cabbin of M. Duclos Guyot our captain, and the other officers would abfolutely lie upon the table under the tent, where niatraffes were fpread for them. We all pailed the night as well as we could. At four o'clock in the moining, the governor and N his V 7« JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE his company fet off in his boat for Fort Santa Cruz, to give orders that we might be fupplied with oxen, &:c. and every thing we wanted. At his going away, we faluted him with nine pieces of cannon, which were immediately returned by the fort. Before We fat down to fupper, M. de Bougainville had begged the favour of the Governor, to get the letters we bad written to give our friends fome intelligence about us, convey^ to Portugal, and from thence to France. A few days after, a Portuguele fnow, which then lay at anchor before the town of Our Lady in Exik, intended to fet fail f )r Rio de Janeiro, and had pro- mifed us to deliver our paclf ets to fome one of the captains of the fleet, which was to fet r ut from thence towards the end of the month. The Ooverno very readily took this comminioii upon himfelf} and M. df< Bougainville fent him our parcels. But whether the Rio de Janeiro fleet was gone, before our let- ters reached that place, or whether from any other accident, it is certain that our parcela never came to hand. Five or fix hours after the Governor's landing at Fort Santa Cruz, a prefent came to us from him of two oxen, las many cows, a heifer, two turkeys, twenty-fix Brasil ducks and drakes with large red tufts, and other refrefhments. M. de Bougainville had m the evening prefented him with a box full of fnuff-boxes» painted and varnifhed by Martin, and with fome very hand- fome fans. The two following days were employed in compleating our provifion of wood for firing j it was compofed of faffafras, cedar* and of yellow wood of Brazil. Having been told l^ a free negro, that the tree which bears the balfam of copaiba, known under the name of copahu, is not rare in this country, I did my utmoft to get fome of it, but could not fucceed. The Por- tuguefe who had promifed to procure me fome, aflured me that this balfam only flows during the full moon. As our deliination was for a country, where our failors had never yet been, and whofe feas and weather were reputed tern- peftuous. TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 71 peAuous, before we fet fail from Saint Catherine's, our captain, with his ufual prudence and foiefight, took care to provide himf- felf with fmall, top-mails and top-gallant (ails, to ferve in cafe of bad weather. For this purpofe he applied to the free negro, of whom I have made mention more than once i he rendered us all the fervice in his power with the greated readlnefs, and even made a propofal to M. de Bougainville of going witJi him \ adding, that he wa» leady to go to any place where we pleafed to take him. He was a (lout fellow, and worked hard \ M. de Bougainville would wil- lingly have acquieiced in his demand, if he had not been appre- henfive that the Portuguefe might have complained we had put in to decoy away the negroes of the country ; and that fuch a report or fufpicion might be of dilTervice to thofe Frcnd^ vjfeiTels which might afterwards put in at St. Catherine's. This negro went himfelf into the fored, to look out for fuch trees as he thought might bed fuit our captain's purpofe. When he had found them he informed him of it, and condufted us there through thickets and bullies, in the midd of which we tvcre obliged to climb up the mountain to get at thefe trees, which were in the thick of the fored. We went thither well armed, and in a pretty large body, as well for the convenience of cutting down thefe trees, as to be able to convey them to the fea fide. We met with no wild beads in the fored, but only two or three large ferpents which we killed. As we were going along I cut feven or eight bamboo canes ; they are a kind of knotty reed, the joints of which are very clofe, and the clofer they are the more bf f 'tiful are the canes. Thefe bamboos were of .a good fize, froii; tive feet and a half to fix feet long j but unfor- tunately were not come to their maturity. In drying them they (htivelled up, and became as it were duted. I left them at St. Malo's. Ill 01 der to convey our wood to the water fide, we were obliged to tie them with cords, and to drag them, fomctimes even to lift them, over branches which dopped up our way. We were often N 2 forced 1^1 1 . i • ■ « i 7+ JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE forced to make a road, which wc did with hatchets. I obferved palm trees there of a prodigious heighth, of about a foot dia- meter, and as (Iraight as bulruHies -, this is a kind of tree whole trunk and branches are quite covered with fmall thorny excref- fences, of about fix or eight lines in diameter, or fometimes more at their bafe, projecting about half an inch, and the thorn, which grows in the center, being about four lines long. The bark of this tree is grey, and refembles that of the beach tree. May not this be the fame, which is in our Antilles called iot's epineuxl ■ On Tuefday morning a failor, after having cut fome grafs for our cattle, fitting down by it with his legs bare, was bit near the ancle by a ferpent, as he told us, about a foot and a half long, of a reddifli yellow colour in ftreaks. He paid no atten- tion to the bite, and as foon as he came on board he dined heartily without uneafinefs, faying he was hungry. In about half an hour after he found himfelf fick ; and perceiving his leg very much fwelled and painful, he came and acquainted m€ with it. I began by endeavouring to keep up his fpirits, and to eafe him of the fear which had feized upon him. Whilft I was giving notice of this to the two furgeons of our frigate, he •vomited, and did the fame once or twice in the fpace of an hour. We made him take two drams of theriaca mixed in a glafs of wine, with ten drops of volatile fpirit of fal ammoniac, and after having fcarified the wound, which was already become black, applied to it a plaifter of theriaca pounded with garlick. Not- withrtanding this his ficknefs continued, and he vomited two or three times more. The fame remedy was repeated. In the mean- while, a Portuguefe officer from Fort Santa Cruz came on board, to whom we related what had happened. The failor's account, with the defcription of the reptile, gave the officer rcafon to judge, that this ferpent was of one of thofe kinds which the j)eople of the country call Jararaca. ** Its venom, faid he, is fo dangerous, that it canfes inevitable death to thofe, who are not excited by it to vomit witiun the four and twenty hours. But fuicc TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 75 fince your failor has vomited, you may make yourfclvcs eafy upon his account. Continue however to give him the fame medicine, with the addition of an emetic. There are fevcral other kinds of Jararaca, which are equally to be dreaded; efpccially one, which is of an earth or cinder colour, with fome ftreaks on the head which are rather darker." The next day, neither the blacknefs of the wound, nor the inflammation of the leg being increafed, the emetic was given to the patient, and a frefh plaifter of the fame kind as the former was applied. After this no other accident happened to him, and the wound was treated as a common one. He was pinged twice afterwards, and from that time was very well. In going into the woods and fields, you are almoft always liable to be bit by thcfc dangerous reptiles, which are very numerous there. We very frequently faw in the fand on the fea fule, winding furrows formed by the traces of ferpents which had palled there. If any one who has the mif- fortune to bj bit by one of them, does not immediately meet with proper afiirtancc, he muft expeft to die in the molt cruel tortures. Some forts, efpecially thofe of the Juraracas, exhale a very ftrong fmell of mulk. This fmell is of great fervice to thofe who know it, to prevent their being furprifed by them. The only lizard which I faw in the ifle of St. Catherine's, might be about two feet long, and three or four inches broad. Its fkin was black, fpotted with white from the head to the end of the tail. The belly was much the fame, but the white was rather prevalent ; all over the reft of the body, the black and white was almoft equally difpofed in fpots of a regular figure : its ftiape in other refpects was like that of the green lizards in France. M. de Nerville, who was wuh me, was preparing his gun to fire at him, when I perceived that the animal was dead. We went towards it ; but as it already ftank very much, we did not think proper to examine it with greater attention. Might not this be what is called by the people of the country the Maboya^ or Tejuguacu, and Iguana by Pifon and Margiaft ? The H fri •if 76 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE The rattle fnake is very common there : its length extends as far as three feet, but very (clclom exceeds above halt' a foot more. Its colour is of an iron grey, regularly (hcaktd. At the extremity of its tail is fadened what the iipaniards call its cafcabelle^ and for the fame reafon the ferpcnt caJcabiHa. This cafcabellc, which we have chofe to call the rattle, on account of the noife it makes, refembles the hulks of |)eas dried u(X)n the plant. It is divided in the fame manner into feveral joints, which contain fmall round little bones, whofe fri^ion produces a found much like that of two or three rattlts, or (mall bells which make but a dull noife. The day that M. de Belcourt and I were in the woods looking for the animal whofe traces we had feen in the fand, wc thought we heard this found Mixed whh a kind of hilling; which alfo was much like the noile ufually made by gralhoppcrs. The bite of this ferpent is fo dangerous, that it is happy for the in- habitants of the countries where it is found, that nature has given to this reptile a fign to warn them of its approach } without which, its colour diHering very little from that of the earth, it would be very difficult for them not to be furprifed by it, and to avoid it. Tills animal is alfo called boicinininga. To feed the cattle which we were taking with us from the ifland of St. Catherine, we laid in a provifion of the flalks of the banana tree^ with which we covered our quarter-deck, both within and without. This forrage is the moft convenient for tranfportation j as it takes up very little room, and was therefore lefs cumberfome than any ether, licfides, meadows are very fcarce in this iiland, as well as along the coa(^ of the Continent, and the little grafs which grows there is marlhy. It would have been difficult to have procured a fufficient quantity of it; and that even, not being come to a ftate of maturity fit for keeping, would have heated, and afforded a very bad fubfiflence for thefc cattle. The ftalks of the banana were a very good fubftitute, as much on account of their keeping very well, as becaufc they are very nourilhing. We had dniy to cut them in pieces with a knife, TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 77- a knife, after which our oxen and (heep ate them with great eagcrncfs. The banana is a plant, the ftcm of which is compoftd only of leaves rolled one upon the other, of a reddifli white colour in fome places, and a grecnilh yellow in others. When the root flioots out a fprig, there arc only two leaves rolled one within the other, which appear coming out at the edge of the ground. Thcfc leaves unfold and expand thcmfelves, to give way to two others, ariling from the fame center. Thefc being rolled up as the former, expand themfelves in the fame manner, and are fol- lowed by feveral others, which growing higher and broader as they fiicceed each other, and being always rolled up in the fame manner, form at length the ftcm of this arboreous plant, which rifcs to eight, ten, and even twelve feet ', but not any higher. Then the leaves grow out from the top, and the middle of the ftem, to which they are connefled merely by a foot ftalk about an inch in diameter, a fnot long, round on one fide, and hol- lowed on the other by a groove in the middle. This foot ftalk being continued, forms the vein or band which runs along the • middle of the leaf, which is fometimes fifteen or eighteen inches wide, and fix or feven feet long. The fupine dilk of this leaf is of a fine green colour, th^ prone diik of a green inclining to grey, which makes it appear filvered. It is nearly of the fub- ftance of very thick parchment ; yet it is fo delicate, and its fize expofes it fo much to the action of the wind, that it is divided into- feveral flips. Thefc flips extend from the vein running in the middle towards the edges of the leaf, by the fide of the fmaller veins running in the fame direftion, and appearing, fome like narrow filver ribbands, others like flips of the fame colour, fixed to the vein in the middle, and rolled upon themfelves. When the banana is grown up to its natural height, it is from nine to ten inches in diameter, and the f^em of it is fo tender,, that, though the leaves of which it is compofcd, are joined very clofe to each other, it may eafily be cut with a knife, or even with a fingle ftroke of a hedging bill, taken a little aflant > for 3 the i km k I- It I il ■' J 78 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE the leaves are pulpy and ftill of juice, and this is the reafbii why it always thrives bed in a rich and rtioift foil. When it is come to fuch maturity as to be capable of bearing fruit, it puihes out, from the middle of the top of its flem, an- other ftem of about an inch and half in diameter, and three or four feet in length, which is covered with circular rows of buds of a yellow colour bordering on green. A large bud in the fhape of a heart, from fix to feven inches in length and three in diame- ter, terminates this ftem. It is compofed of feveral pellicles laid one over another, the outfide of which is red, and has a fecond covering which is compact, fmooth, and of the colour of the lilack. This bud rifes from an aperture made by the divifion of the ftem into four parts. -At firft the ftem is ftrait, but in pro- portion as the bloflbms difappear, and give way to the fruit, which fucceeds them, the increafe of weight bends it infenfibly, and draws it more and more towards the ground. In our Antilles, this ftaik laden j^rith fruit is called a regime. I know not by what name the Portuguefe call it. One of thefe flalks is foraetimes furniftied with as many bananas, as one man can carry. The fruit is faftened to the part which before fup- ported the flower. It is cuftomary to cut off the ftalk, as foon as the fruit upon it begins to change from green to yellow. It is then fufpended in an airy part of the houfe, and the fruit is eaten as it grows ripe, which is difcovered, by its giving way to the finger, and becoming yellow. We hung up about a fcore of thefe ftalks round the quarter deck ; and fomc of our officers were fo fond of this fruit, and eat it fp eagerly, that they would not give it time to ripen. The banana is about two inches in diameter, and the longeft I have feen of them did not exceed fix inches in length. The two ends terminate in a rounded point : the figure of it is angular, but the angles are very obtufe. The fkin is fmooth, pliable, rather thicker than that of a fig, and much more firm. The pulp is of a yellowifli white, and of the con- fidence of very fat new theefe, blended with its cream; or of butter recently churned, which the banana refembles very much, efpecially TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 79 efpecially when roafted. It tafVes indeed much like this kind of butter, fuppoflng it to have been mixed with the pulp of quinces rather too ripe. It is efleemed an excellent kind of food ; for my part, I found nothing extraordinary in it ; though I eat the fruit both raw and roafted, ripe and unripe, in order to judge of the difference of the tafte. We had been very defirous of providing ourfelvcs with a quan* tity of batatas and yamst but they were not yet in a ftatc fit to be taken out of the ground. The batata is a fpecies of pota- toe, or topinambou, but much more delicate. The yam is a creeping plant, furnifhed with branches which take root, and fpring up again without cultivation ; fo that if care is not taken to root out a number of them, they will foon fpread all over the foil, though there (liould not have been more than one or two roots planted at firft. The ftem is fquare, of the iize of one's little finger, or thereabouts. Its leaves are cordiform, having their apey a little lengthened out and pointed. They are of a dark green colour, as large as thofe of the lappa major or greater bardana. They grow lefs in fize as tkey are placed farther from the root ; but they are ftill fmooth, thick, and pulpy, fixed to the ftem in pairs, by fliort petioles, fquare, and rather curvated. From the ftem arife fome clufters of fmall campanulate fiowers, the piflii of which becomes a filiqua or pod, filled with fmall black feeds. Thefe feeds are feldom fown, becaufe the plant thrives better and fader from (lips. For this purpofe, the head of the fruit, with part of the ftem fupporting it, is put into the ground. The root is more or lefs thick in proportion to the goodnefs of the foil in which it grows. The rind is unequal, rough, thick, of a deep violet colour, and very hairy. The infide is of the confiftence of beet-root, of a greyifli white, bordering fome- times upon a flefti colour. It is eaten prepared in the fame man- ner as the beet-root, boiled in water, or roafted on the embers, fometimes with the meat. It is well tafted, very nourifhing, and O eafy »! li ^ 8o JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE cafy of digcftlon. The negroes and Portuguefe are remarkably fond of it. One of the two married Acadians, who were lodged in a hut on fliore, was afflidled with a violent diarrhoea, which baffled all the Ikill of the two furgeons of our frigate. The freed negro offered to cure him with a ptifan, and might probably have fuc- ceeded, if he had had more time for the application, for the man found himfelf much better after having taken it only for two days. What this negro called a ptifan, was no more than a fimple de- codlion of the ends of the buds and infant fruit of the guaiava. If this fruit had been a little farther advanced, perhaps it might have been ftill more ferviceable. The Acadian not having laid in a ftock of thefe buds, before we failed, had it not in his power to continue the medicine : his diforder returned upon him with greater force, and did not leave him till about a fortnight before our departure from the Malouine iflands, where he began to find himfelf better a few days after our landing. The wholefomenefs of the air, added to the exercile he took, made him ftronger every day, and at the time we fet fail from thence, he thought himfelf perfeftly cured. The fame negro had cured the Acadian's wife's fifter, whofe name is Benoit, in a few days of an inflammation in her legs, which had got to fuch a height, that ihe could fcarcely ftaind. This inflammation was attributed to a fcorbutic habit. However this was, fhe complained of great pains in her ancle-bones, which went off after the negro had applied a fomentation made of fome herbs of the country boiled in clear water. In fix or feven days file was cured; and they afTured me, that the negro had ufed no- thing but the guaiava. The guaiava is a tree well known in our American iflands. Thofc which were called by that name on the ifland of St. Catherine's, were not more than eight feet higl), and the trunk between feven and eight inches in diameter. None of thofe i faw were of a larger fize. The bark of it was fomething whiter than that of the apple tree, its branches extended in the farne manner, li I TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 8i manner, and the fruit, which was very young, refembled apples of about a month's growth. By the leaves and the fliape of the tree, I took it at firfl for a quince-tree, I was told, that the fruit when ripe is excellent, and it was reprefentcd to me as of the fame kind as our guaiavas of the Antilles ; although the de- fcription, which father Labat gives of this tree and its leaves, does not anfwer to the guaiava tree of Brazil. In other rcfpef^s, the Portuguefe afcribe the fame properties to their guaiava tree, as father Labat does to that of Martinico. The fame Acadian, when he came on board again found him- felf very much incommoded with a fmall tumor, which had come a few days before on the great toe of his left foot. This tumor increafed, and the pain it occafioned, increhfed in proportion. He fhewed it to the dodor (for fo we call the two principal fur- geons on board) who immediately difcovered it to be anigua or nigue^ or the piqugy as it is called at Peru. This is an infe£l fo exceedingly fmall, that it is fcarcely vifible. A particular defcrip- tion of it may be found in M. Ulloa's voyage to Peru, which exa£Uy agrees with what we faw at the ifland of St. Catherines. Our Acadian was cured by extracting the neft, and applying to- bacco alhes to the part. The legs of this infe(5V, fays the author I have juft referred to, are not formed for fpringing like thofe of fleas, which is a very providential circumflance, for if it had the power of leaping, there is no living creature in the parts where thefe infe6ls are found, but what would be full of them. Such a breed would deftroy three fourths of mankind, by the dif- ferent accidents it might bring upon them. The nigua always harbours in the duft, and particularly in dirty places. It faftens upon one's feet, even upon the foles of them, and upon one's fingers, and pierces the skin fo fubtilely, that it makes its way almoft without being felt. It is I'eldom per- ceived, till it begins to extend itfelf. At firft, there is no great difficulty in pulling it out 5 but if it has once got in only irs head, it fixes itfelf fo firmly, that it cannot be got rid of without the lofs of fome of the parts adjacent. If it happens not to be dif- O 2 covered ■1 i.- i > 1 9$ JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE covered foon enough, it pierces through the firft (kin without refiftance, and lodges itfelf there, where it continues, fucking the blood, and makes itfelf a neft of a fine white membrane refem- bling in ihape a flat pearl. Within this fpace it lies fo that its head and feet are turned towards the outfide for the convenience of nourishment, and the reft of its body towards the infidc of the membrane in order to depofit its eggs there. As the eggs are laid, the membrane grows larger} and in four or five days time, becomes one fixth of an inch in diameter. It is of the utmoft confequence to remove this, otherwife, it will burft, and fpread about an infinite number of fpawns, like nits; that is to fay, fo many niguas, which will infinuate themfelves prefently into the parts about, and create a great deal of pain, not to mention the difficulty of diflodging them. Sometimes they will penetrate even to the bone { and after one has fucceeded fo far as to get rid of them, the pain continues till the fiefh and fkin are entirely healed. The operation is tedious and painful. It confifts in feparating with the point of a needle the fle[h which touches the mem- brane, wherein the eggs are contained ; and this is not eafy to be done without cracking the membrane, a circumftance abfo- lutely neceflary to be guarded againft. After having detached every ligament even to the fmalleft, the pearl is next to be re- moved, which is larger or fmaller in proportion to the time the infed has been lodged there. If unfortunately the neft fhould be broken, double care muft be taken in feparating all the roots, and particularly in fecuring the principal nigua ; who, if (he efcapes, will begin again to lay her eggs before the wound is clofed, and burying herfelf in the fiefli would make it much more difiicult to remove her. In the cavity made by the tumor, they put fome hot aflies of chewed tobacco. Ahhough this infedl is not felt at ihe time of its penetrating through the (kin, by the next day it caufes a violent and very painful itching, particularly in fome parts, fuch as under the nails. Tke I TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. h The pain is not fo great at the bottom of the foot, the (kin there being thicker. It is obfervedl that the nigua has a mortal antipathy to certain animals, particularly the Cerda, which it devours by degrees, and whofe fore and hind feet are found after its death full of holes. ' -'■■■*' ^•■'- '"•_• ■• ■■■•' ■•'- •"'-: "- ' -■ - -J Notwithftanding the fmallnefs of this infefl, it has been ob- ferved to be diftinguifhed into two fpecies, the one venomous^ the other not. The latter is of the colour of fieas, and makes- the membrane white, in which it depofits its eggs. The other fort is yellowifh, and its neft is of the colour of afhes. One of the properties of this fpecies is, when it has infinuated itfelf into the extremity of the great toe, to caufe a very high inflammation in the glands of the groin, accompanied with (harp pains, which do not go off till the eggs are extirpated. It is to M. de Juflieu that we owe this didinClion of the niguas into two fpecies. That gentlemen, as well as the other French Academicians, wha accompanied him in his voyage to Peru, having had the morti- fication of repeatedly experiencing thefe pains, which they knew not how to account for. ' '' ^' - ' ' '-'• During the great heats, the utmoft care is neceflary to avoid wetting one's feet. Without this precaution as appears by expe- rience a man is liable to a diforder of fo dangerous a nature,, that it is generally mortal. On Wednefday, the 14th of December, having got our pro- vifions on board, and the wind being foutherly, at ten in the morning we unmoored and fent our longboat on (hore for the reft of our things, and the Acadians. Before they were takea into the boat, their baggage was examined with great care to fee if no Cancrelas. bad got in amongft it, fome of them having, been feen in their hut. Thefe are infeds of the (ize of a May bug, and fomething of the fame form, though rather flatter and longer, having a coat of a very dark green, but neither fo bard nor fo folid. They do an incredible deal of mifchief ia (hips, as they multiply very faft, and lodge themfelves every where,. m \'\ i 84 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE f '!it: where, eating through paper, books, cloaths,. bifcuits and even wood itfelf. They fpoil every thing with their excrements and tlie difagreeablenefs of their fmell. As fome of them had been feen in the hut, where the Acadians lived, it had been recom- mended to them to clean their cloaths thoroughly : and wc had the good fortune to be as free from them as from other infeds ufually met with at fea. At the Antilles, thefe infe£ls are known by the name of Ravels. At the fame time we difpatched M. Alexander Guyot to Fort Santa Cruz, to make our apology to the Commandant for not faluting him at our departure, which we could not do on account of the live ftock we had on board. j= ^, .' >,j* v. ^'..,./. . ^ -, At eleven we fet fail, and after doubling the point of Bon-port anchored in Hx fathom water, muddy ground, about two thirds of the diftance of one (hore from the other towards the north fidej here we waited for our longboat and yawl, and to take in ten oxen, which was finiflied by five in the afternoon. We lay to after this with one anchor all night, the weather being dull and hazy. -•.-;- vnifrr •■;.»*» ^--'.-^ -■■f>'* •'^.'.■iw^v, ^j Thus we took leave of the ifland of St. Catherine's, where, as has been fcen, we did not meet with the fame caufe of complaint as admiral Anfon had done. It might be made an excellent habitation, if they would take the pains to clear it. Befides the little town I have fpoken of, there are only a few huts or plan- tations on the coart of the ifland and continent adjacent. All the reft is a foreft covered with lofty trees, and, as it were, choaked up with underwood. On the ifland particularly, the fpecies of thorny aloe grows fo thick, as to render it in many parts almcft impenetrable. On the Ikirts of the woods to- wards the coaft, there are many different forts of trees of the height and thicknefs of apple- trees, but whofe leaves are for the moft part fmooth, of a beautiful green, and fliaped like thofe of the wild laurel. There is fcarce any other di&rence between tJiem than in theii' height or thicknefs. i obfcrved one amongft them, which at tiiil: fight might have been taken for an almond tree: TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. ?5 tree : but the leaves were a little too large : the fruit had the ap- pearance of a green almond, but on a clofe examination was found to be made fomewhat in the ftiape of a heart. Another bore a flower or fruit, refembling the vefides or membranes which encompafs the fruit of the plant called Alkakengas. This Brazilian fruit is of the fize of a fmall nut, and the outfide is of a whiiifli yellow. It opens itfelf into four parts, and is com- pofcd of feveral fimilar coats, whofe internal furface is of the colour of the fineft carmine. ' Thefe barks, or parts of the fruit or flower are fo ranged, that the middle of the upper coat forms a covering to the edges, by which the four internal divifions are conne£ted. Thefe coats are eight in number, four external, and four internal, each of them about the thicknefs of the twen- tieth part of an inch : on the infide is fafliened to the center, a fmall white ball, which is undoubtedly the piftillum j if it is a flower I am defcribing. I fliewed it to a Portuguefe, who could not inform me either of its name or properties. The caraguata is a plant very common in thefe woods, and moft of the rocks upon the coaft are covered with it. It is like- wife found in great plenty upon the branches of large trees, like the mifletoe upon our apple-trees and oaks. It has a long, fharp, prickly leaf, almoft like that of the flags, which plant it refembles both in the fhape of its leaves and their fituation, as they all come out from the root : but this produces a round ftem furniflied with fome leaves that are of the colour of the fineft carnation, as is likewife the tip of feme of the internal leaves of the tufr, which are neareft to the flcm. At the top of this ftem are produced fpikes of flowers of a lively red, which are fucceeded by a kind of fruit half an inch long, of the thick- nefs of a large quill, and of a violet colour. It contains a white vifcous fubftance full of feeds, which are flattifh, reddifli, and very fmall. I iTiould imagine, that the caraguata is a fpecies of the algae or flags. la a narrow path traced out near the border of the woods, we found fome plants called by the Bra- zilians juquiriy and ciiaco^ and by us ferijftive. Of thefe we faw twa l! 26 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE two forts } that which I am going to fpeak of, produces (lems about two feet high, full of branches, and (Iriated, nearly qua- drangular, of a green colour, and pretty well defended with fmall yellowifh prickles. The leaves are ftatiotled oppofitely upon the pliant branches : the prone diik is of a whitifh green, the fupine diflc of a pale green. From the length of the ftem feveral branches pu(h out, whofe extremities are ornamented with a fmall round head, which is hairy, and of a whitifh purple. This is the flower, which is fucceeded by a hulk or fmall pod, crooked, and of a chefnut colour ; when ripe, it is covered with fmall white hairs. The fecond fort does not rife to any great height from the ground } I have only feen it in the Tandy lands along the coaft : ic feeros to creep as it were, and does not differ from the former. Both of them fliut their leaves and let their branches fall, as if they were blafled, almoft at the ini^ant they are touched with the hand. The next moment they appear again in their full vigour. It is from this circumdance, no doubt, that they have obtained the names of the cbajle beri>, herba cafta^ mimofa. The leaves when eaten are a deadly poifon, which can only be countera6led by eating the root itfelf. The fame leaves, when applied as a cataplafm, are a cure for fcrophulous humours. The foil of St. Catherine's ifland, and the coafts of the con- tinent are fo prodigioufly fertile, that the bed fruit grows there in abundance almoft without culture. The foreils abound with odoriferous Ihrubs. The road affords a very great variety of excellent fi(h. The figures of thofe, to which our feamen have given the names of BaJaou, Lune, Brune, Lame d'epee^ Crapaux de mett &c. may be feen in the plates. The long beak by which the Balaou is didinguifhed induced me to name it the BeccaJJinc ' de mer, or fnipe-fifh. The extremity of this beak which is very folid, and as hard as that of a bird, is about a quarter of an inch in length, and of the colour of the fined vermillion. Its body is almoft tranfparent : a Hllet or flripe of greenifh blue runs. from the gill, to the tail : its fcales are fo fine that they are hardly 6 difcernable. Ta THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 87 cUfcernable. Its fle(h is firm, and has an excellent flavour. This Lune, or moon-fi,(h, appears to be covered with a flieetof filver. The Lifme d' ipic^ or fword- blade, could hardly have a name better adapted to its figure. The Oapauv de mer^ or porcupine fi(h, might have been called fea-urchins their body being covered with prickles about two lines in length. In the fpecies which approached the neareil to the ordinary fiiape of fifhcs, the jaw, was armed with teeth, which were pretty large and flat like the canine-teeth in the human fpecies, and was not unlil^e tj^^.|)i^tna|| mouth even in the lips. ,^j? ..,;* ..^;i « .,..-.1.' * .j, ..^ ^uu f,..,. < We did not catch any beautiful fhell-fifh here j the only one deferving notice was a helmet (liell, which was at lead eight inches in diameter. We met, with a foldier-filh, and fome fmall fea-horfes. Our filhing was always accompanied with fear; on account of the fliarks which very much infeft this road. The fliarks taken by us, a fpecimen of which is exhibited in the plate?, were not of an extraordinary fize j they were of that fpeci'^3 called the dog-fifli. On an attentive examination of thar rows of teeth, we thought they atpounted to feven in number, inftead of fix, which a^e generally attributed to them. Thpy were flat, tiiangular, fliarp, and their edges were fi^rrated. They did not appear to be firmly fixed in the jaw fike thofe of* other animals. They were moveable, openiiig and (hutt'^ng lik^ the fingers, in fuch a manner that each rpw in recovering its fituation lay over the next to it, fo that the upper row; ben^jng towards the inner part of tlie gullet, filled up the vacuity or in- terval between the lower row of teeth. They are difpofed like the dates of a roof, or, perhaps, like the leaves of an artichoke, , It is faid that the fliaik is conftantly preceded by another fifli called the Pilot : we can affirm the contrary; at leaft we h^vc fcveral times feen fliarks without this harbinger. The pilot is among the number of beautiful and good Tea firfi;. It is of a blue colour difpofed in ftripes j fome of them, to the, number of fix are pf a fine blue, which upon the back is of a deep cafl;, but becomes gradually lighter as they verge towards P ' ' the « r' ft, • 88 • JOURNAL OF MY • •• VOYAGE ' • the belly. Four other ftripcs, together with the h^ad and tail, are of a very clear blue, oi •of a white dafhed with blue. The eyeball is of a fine gold colour, except the pupil which is black i the two forks of the tail are white. I did not recollect this fifh by the defcription given of it in M. Valmont de Bomare's dictionary of natural hiftory. It feems ^rather to belong to fome fpecies of the Remora. Is he midaken in this article, as he is in feveral others ? Or have I been im- pofed upon by being told that a fifh was called the Pilots which has no title to that name ? See the figure of it in the plate. As we did not fee any fharks preceded by pilots ; fo neither did we catch any one that had not upon it feveral fucking fifhes faftened clofe to it about the head. The Brazilians call the fucking fifh Iperuquibay and Piraquibay the Portuguefe, Piexepo- gador. The largefl: that we caught was about eight inches long, and two and a half over in the broadefl part. The upper part of the head, which is two inches long, is flat, refembling an ox's palate, furrowed acrofs, and faftened to it in fuch a manner that the edges fhould not adhere. Thefe furrows are armed with prickles fo hard and folid, that when rubbed upon wood, they a£l as a fine file. By means of thefe, the fucking lifh faftens himfelf fo ftrongly about the gills and belly of the Aiark, that he fufFers himfelf to be taken along with him. He cannot even be feparated without a knife or fome other inflru- Bient. The under jaw is longer than the upper. _ This filh has- finall eyes of a gold-coloured yellow, and the pupil is black. An- infinite number of fmall tubercles, that are pretty folid, fupply the place of teeth. Near each of the gills is a triangular fin about an inch long r there are two others near the belly, which unite at the place of infertion, and one under the belly and' another upon the back, which extend from the middle of the body to the tail. Its fkin is fmooth and flippery like that of an. eel, and of the colour of brown flate. Fvfany have miflaken the back of the fucking fifli for the belly, on account of the part by which it fallens itfelf to the- Ilurk«. TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 89 fhark. I have obferved it with all the attention I was maAer of, and am convinced of the milUkea of authors as to this parti- cular ) as appears by the plates, ,. ■i'Ml*) >- j«./ f i .;!.■.♦ :tu' {t> V One of our officers had a prefent made him of two young Tucantt called by Tome Tukan, and by the Spaniards in the JdhtQus of America, Preacher^ becaufe this bird, it h faid, perching on the top of a tree whi'e others are afleep below, makes a noife with his tongue refembling words ill articulated, and Ipreads the found on every fide, led the birds of prey fhould feize the opportunity of devouring the others while they are aileep. The Toucan is pretty nearly of the fize of a wood-pigeon ; but ftands higher on its legs, which are of a blueilh grey as well as its feet, which are armed with pretty long claws ; its tail is about four inches long, fometimes black, and rounded at the end ) but ufually variegated with blue, purple, and yellow upon a dark brown. The back and wings are of this laft colour, except fome black feathers in the wings. Its head, though very large, is very fmall in proportion to its bill, which is between feven and eight inches long from the place of infertion to the end. The upper part near the head is about two inches at the bafe, and as it lengthens forms a figure pretty neaily triangular, and at the fame time convex at the upper part, the two lateral furfaces being a little raifed and rounded. The upper one which forms the infide of the bill is hollow, having ferrated edges or lips. The lower one is (haped like the upper, only it is i:ather con- <:ave underneath. Thefe two arc of an equal length, arc in- ferted into each other, and grow gradually lefs towards the extremity, which is rather crooked and fliarp underneath. The tongue is a whitifh membrane almoft as long as the bill, but very narrow and flat, and has the appearance of the point of a peui its eyes are round, beautiful, lively, and fparkling, znd are inferted into two bare cheeks, which are covered wiih a fky-coloured membrane. In fome the iris is of a clear blue enciicled with white, in others it is quite black. There ! . P 2 are M 1*1 i. ti 90 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE I' are different fptcies of them, nt le^fl; thiey dWHer from each other in tbe, colour of their bill, and their feathers. The bill o1 fointf ii green, having a black circle and two white fpots near the root. That of others is black, the infide red, with a greeniih yellow circle near tlie head. They arc very coirvmcn in this country. Wc were liktwife affurcd that great in/subcjs of pheafants were found here } but wc faw nor»«. The gieen parrots fly here in flocks 1 e tlve fparrows in Prance. We kilted great numbers of theMi, and found them to be as good as the pigeons in our dove*- cotes. Lions, panthers, leoj^ards, ounces, and tygers, inf -fl ' ^e woods and make travelling dangerous. It is happily v v ' 'Jc i* that they come near inhabited places. The water J ju i. • i ii of am excellent quality. But all thefe advantage? irr Icfeattd' by the inconvenience arifing from a vei7 Mnw) '''-fome a*', which^ is probably the catife of the pale complcxirr r i»e white pcopJe' who iaiiafeit this country. From th^/e wodds, which the Am never penetrates, grofs vapours arifc without intermlflion, which form continually thick fogs on the tops of the mountains fur- roundinp the illand. The low grounds which are very marfhy, are equally mi,, v.imes c ^etween five or fix leagues, w^en the wind iu towards us from the fhore. They t !i. " - 5 would TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 91 tvoiHci even give us notice of a fail, at the fame diftancc, if to windward of us. Thty ftaycd there about half a quarter of an hour, and returned more than once to the place after they had i]uitted it. Befidcs the birds ah^ady ntcntioned, wc frequently met with Ltiards. The Portugviefe give this name to a kind of crow, whofe plumage i J of a fine pale blue. Thcfe, they fay, are the ravens of the coimtry. Their ftiapc is the (iiinc, and they are almoll as unpalatable. The Tu'perangas are of the "0 uf the thrufli j their wings, tail, and part of their bill arc of a dc^ > brown j the reft of their plumage is of a beautiful vermilion tiiu nrcd with carmine, and inclining to fcarlet. They are called by lo u: of our Jeamen Lorys, by others C four wings, two of v hich were tranfparent like mon flies, and two opaque, Imooth, brown an outer ones of the May 'bug, and like thofe, fer^ inclofe the under ones. The head is black, flia foil, and furnifhed witi two antenna: which arc four lines long, and fc m to be compofed of fma into each other by theii points. The eyes which aie [)laced near thel'e antennse, are round, black and firm as horr they arc fparkling and prominent, and of the fize of the fma, .ft poppy- feed. The body and k^s which are fix in number, are of a darkifti brown. With tl e naked eye one may eafily perceive fix. rings gradually decreafin in fize from the neck to the extremity of the body, which term lates in a rounded point. Thefe rings- are as folid as thofe of wiich the body of the May-fly is com- pofed. The laigeft ring which forms all the fore part of the body. ne. They had ofeof our com., folid like the as a cafe to like the tre- kewife black, orns infertcd r3 !i If' I.' I m pa JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE m body, to which the legs are articulated, is fotnething more than two lines broad, and two in length, and is covered with a down or Jight duft like the wings of butterflies. From this part, and from the head proceed rays of light, refembling that of the glow- worms which are ken in France during the fummer feafon, and at the beginning of autumn. I put one of thefe flies into a piece of paper when I went to bed, intending the next day to make a drawing of it. But when I was going to fet about it, the fly was not to be found. It had gnawed its way through the paper, and made its efcape. The day following, when I was laid down, I perceived a light in one of the places where I had put my books. I thought no more of the iire-flies, and imagined at firfl: that this light proceeded from the lamp in the binnacle, which was near the window of my cabbin; but perceiving the light change its place, I recollef^ed that it rauft be the fly which had got away the preceding night. Having caught and indofed it in a glafs veflel, the next day I obferved it at my leifure, and drew a sketch of it. When we left Montevideo, we faw the fame appearance upon the river of Plata, or Rio de la Plata, during the unexpedled calm that happened on the day of our departure. As thefe ditfufed, a more brilliant and Iparkling light than thofe of the idand of St. Catherine, I put fome of them with frefli grafs into a glafs vefTel which I inclofed in another, and having placed it upon my table, fetched a book which I read with great eafe without the alCftance of any other light, though the print was very fmall. ' The next morning I took one out of the velTel, and transfixing it with a pin, which I ftuck into the table, I made a drawinij. of it. It was four lines broad, and eleven and an half long includ- ing the cap of three lines which covered the head. The body was furnilhed with four wings. The two upper ones were of a fine black velvet lace, having a ftreak of gold coloured yellow near the outward edge. This reached fi oin the nepk to two thirds of the length of the wing. The hood was intircly 4 TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 93 intirely of the fame colour, except a large black fpot in the middle near the neck. This hood had the fame motions as the head, which was round, and ferved it for an helmet : extending the breadth of a line beyond it, quite round. On the fore-part of th» head, two black antennae, as flender as a fme hair, and three lines in length, were placed above the eyes, which were black, not very prominent, and refembled the feed of the amaranth. Three fmall legs, equally black, came out from each fide of the body ; quite covered at the place of infertion, with very fhort. fmall, fine hair of a yellow orange colour. The hind part was t y^ ipofed of five rings, the two neareft the body, were black and covered with a fliort velvet fliag ; the two next were invefted with golden hair, and the fifth, which was as broad as either of the other two taken together, and which alfo completed the termination of the body in a rounded point, was likewife befet with a black velvet (hag, but rather longer than that of the other rings, Thefe lings were not fo firni as thofe which formed the body of the preceding fly ; they bent under the flighteft preflare of the finger,. The firft fly emitted fcarce any rays of light but from the head ? this diffufcd them from every part of its body, the head alone excepted. Thofe which I had kept clofe in frefli giafs, lived four days, and preferved the fplendor of their light with almofi! as much brilliancy as at firfl:, even to the time of their death. Before we quit the road of St. Catherine's, I Ihall mention x few circumftances relative to the Brazilians, which I learned from the firft prefident of the fupreme council of Rio Janeiro, whom I have fpoken of above. I did not fee any bread made of corn, except at the Governor's ©f St. Catherine's. In every other houfe the Caflavi bread was fubftituted in its room. This is a kind of a baked pafte made «f the flower of the root of the Manioc, which is looked upon as a ibong poifon, when it is eaten raw. I have however feerr chikiren, who were employed in taking off the rind of it to make the Caliavi) eat it taw without finding any ill confequence. Semo. (II I 111 ^h. I.' 1*1 94 JOURNAb OF MY VOYAGE Some of the mhabitants u&d to roaft it onthecoals, then ftrlp off the outflde and eat it. There was but one fort of Manioc, which I met with on the ifi^fid of St. Catherine'^, and about the homfi^s on the continent. Laet, who is quoted in the colkdion of voyages publidied by the Abbe Prevot, afiirm^ that there are feveral forts of it, one in particular at Brazil, whi( h is there called jiyf>i, and may be eaten raw without any danger. Some nations, add? he, o/'tke rac^ dftbe Topouyai eat likewifc the common^J^anioc raiVt which h$i the eff^Sf of poifon on all other people : hut the/e are not hurt by it, being accujlomed to eat it jrom their infancy. Tjiofe however, wliom we faw eat- ing it raw, were not of the race of the Tapouyas. Th?y were white childien born of Portuguefe parents. The leaves of this Manioc come very near in fhape to thofe of the Fiony. The roots are dried before the fire on hurdles, and ' then being fcraped with fliarp ftones, are made into a kind of meal, the fmell of which lefembles that of ftarch. This meal is put into large pots, where it is ftirred till it grows thick, as is done in France with the black wheat. When it is cold and become of the confluence of a ftiff jelly, its tafte differs little from that of white bread. What they provide for their cruiises and land expeditions is thoroughly baked, and is therefore firmer and harder for the convenience of carriage. It is fometimcs boiled in broth, and makes a ■ very nourifliing difli, much like our rice- Ibup. Thefe roots pounded or grated fre(b, and before they have been expofed to the fire, yield a juice as white as milk, which, if it is but fet in. the fun, curciles like cheefe, and becomes very good food with the leaft affillance of thie fire. The method of fcraping the Manioc roots with fharp ftones, is an invention of the Brazilians, who are not at all acquainted with the me- chanic arts of Europe. The Portuguefe, who were born or merely fettled on the ifland of St. Catherine's, and on the coaft of the main-land, which cncompaffes it, ufe for this purpofe a large wooden wheel, the points of which have on the outer furface a groove. This groove is covered with an iron grater, upon which the TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 95 I •■ the roots are placed, one perfon prcfTing them a little down, while another turns the wheel, which has the fame efTefl as a tobacco grater. By this contrivance much time and labour is favcd. But they did not preferve the white juice, which drop- ped from thefe roots as faft as they grated them, and falling into a fmall hole, ran off upon the ground. After this operation the roots are dried in order to be reduced to meal, and to make the Caflavi. But this is not their only ufe. The Brazilians make a drink of them. The procefe in making of which is very dilgufting, as well as the liquor itfelf, to thofe who know how it is made. The females are employed in this bufinefs, efpecially the old women. Laet gives a particular defcription of tlje whole. - -M^i' The laws of every country form the maflHctS of its inhabit- ants ; hence it is, the manners of different nations have fo little rcfemblance to each other. The climate likewife contribates very much to produce this effeft, it being evident that a law highly falutary in Norway may be equally pernicious in Guinea. The improvements introduced among thofe, which we call civilized nations, have alfo given rife to many laws unknown among, what we are pleafed to call, barbarous nations. Among the Brazilians, the girls before marriage not only give themfelves up freely, and without any fenfe of fliame, to unmar- ried men, but even their parents offer them to the fiift comer, and carefs their lovers exceedingly ; infomuch that perhaps there is not one giil who is a virgin at the time of her marriage. On the other hand, when they have once given their promil'e, which is the only ceremony on that occafion, they are no longer folicitel, neither do they liiten to any other addrefles. Tiie only education they give their children is to make them expert in hunting, fifliing, and war. They live peaceably not- withftanding among themfelves, and vc;y Ridom have any piivatc quarrels. If by chance any of them fall out and fight, they let them go on till they are fatisfied ; but as tiie law of re- Q^ taliation i!|| ' <*i ' ifi 'i 96 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE taxation is ftriflly obftrvcd among them, the man, who har wounded another, is wounded in the fame manner by his relap- tions, or if he has killed him, is kiUed in his turn by them. All this is done by conlent of the relations on both fides, and without appeal. This law is probaUy the fouxce of that impla- cable hatred they bear to their avowed enemies. If tliis rule was introduced among us, we fliould icarcely fee fo many quarrels ending in the effufion of human blood ; our only weapons then would be our tongues and our pens. It is an injuflice to the Brazilians to coniider them as the mod cruel of all men againU every other nation : they are only fo to their avowed enemies : and excepting fome few of certain nations whofe ferocity approaches to that of wild beafts, perhaps from the continued infults of their neighbours, the Brazilians are very humane, particularly to ftrangers, whom they receive with great kindnefs, and in the manner f^kted by Lcry s the particulars of which are as follow, - - > ' If one has occafion to go oftener than once to the fame habi- tation or village, one mufl take up' one's lodging with the Moujiecaf, or head of the Family j becaufe the perfon to whom one goes firft would be extremely offended at one's leaving him him to go to another. One muff: always lodge with the fame perfon. As foon as the traveller appears at the door, the Mouflacat, or whoever is mafter of the houfe, prefles him to fit down on a hammock or bed of cotton. Hung in the air, on which they leave him for fome time without faying a word. They take this opportunity to afiemble the women, who come and fit on the ground round the bed, with their hands over their eyes. They melt with joy ; they weep, and in the midft of their tears addrefs a thoufand flattering compliments to their gueff : " How good ! How valiant you are ! What ol)ligations we have to you ! What trouble you have undergone incoming hither! How beautiful you are ! How happy you have made us by coming hithci'j" and ClIjCIS TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 97 '©♦licrs to the fame effecl. If the ftranger wifhes to imprefs on them a good opinion of himfelf, he muft appear to be afFefted in his turn. Lery affirms, that he has feen Frenchmen really affected and crying, as he expreffes it, like calves. But he advifes thofc, whofe hearts do not happen to be fufceptible of fuch ten- der emotions (that is to fay, to the fliame of us, Europeans, who pique ourfelves, but with fo little reafon, on having more hu- manity than the Brazilians) to figh, or at leail pretend to figh. Is not this reproaching us in few words, with having only the outfide of politenefs and hofpitality, while the Brazilians are really polite and hofpitable ? •■ ? ; After the firft falutation, the Mouflacat, who has retired into a corner on pretence of making an arrow, or fome other bufi- nefs, as if he was not taking any notice of what pafled, comes near the bed, aiks the gueft how he does, receives his anfwer, and enquires the reafon of his coming. If the gueft underftands the language, he muft anfwer all thcfe queftions. After this, if the Mair (for that is the name they give to Europeans) came on foot, they bring him water, and*the women wafli his feet and legs. They then inquire if he is hungry or thirfty. If he an- fwers, that he is both, they immediately fet upon the table as much fifti, fowl, venifon, and other provifions as they have in the houfe, with the liquors of the country. Should the gueft choofe to pafs the night there, the Mouflacat not only caufes a fine white inis (or hammock) to be prepared for him ; but, notwithftanding the continual heat of the climate at Brazil, makes a pretence of the dampnefs of the night to kindle three or four fmall fires round the hammock, which are kept np all the time the Mair is afleep with a fort of fmall fan, called 'Tatapecoutiy which refembles very much our fire-fcreens. In the evening, fays Lery, who had been in this fituation himfelf, they ||move their children out of the way j fo careful are they to get rid of every thing that may interrupt the ftran- ger's repofe. *^ 0^2 As i\ i u $« JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE "■'■ As foon as he wakes in the morning, the MoufTacat comes to inquire if he has flept well, and how he finds his health ; and though the ftranger by his aniwer appear ever fo well fatisficdi he cries, " Go to fleep again, my child, you have occafion for it: I am fure you were very much fatigued yefterday." It is cuf- tomary with Europeans to make them fome prefents upon thefe occafions, and no man ought to ftir abroad without -carrying fomething for that purpofe about him. For this rcafon travel- lers provide themfelves with fome trifling commodities, fuch as knives, fciflars, tweezers (which laft are in great requcfl:, both men and women being accuftomed to pull out the hair from all parts of" their bodies, except their eyebrows) combs, little look- ing-glafles, bracelets, glafs beads and buttons, and even lilh* hooks. . -ivi ■-,.• :i , .i . Some doubts perhaps may be entertained in refpe^ to the condu6t of the Brazilians as reprefcnted in this account ; but thefe will ceafe, when it is known, that thefe men, whom we look upon as barbarians on account of their cruelty towards their enemies, never eat any other men but fuch as are their de- clared enemies: that they bear a ftrong affeiSion to their friends^ and allies; and that they would fuffer themfelves to be cut in pieces, to defend thofe with whom they live in amity from the fmalleft inconvenience. It is not to ftrangers alone that the Brazilians fliew themfelves tender and afFe6lionate. When they happen to be afflicted with diforders, they treat each other with the mofl: humane, attention land regard. If any one is wounded, his neighbour immediately offers himfelf to fuck the wound, and performs every other of- fice of kindnefs with the fame zeal. Yet religion has no fliare in regulating the conduct of the Brazilians. They have no notion of a Deity: they do not adore any thing, and their language has not even any word to exprefs the name or idea of a God. In their fabulous hiftoi ics, there is nothing to be found that has any relation to tiicir origin or to the TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 99 the creation of the world. They have only a kind of ftory, that feems to refer to the general idea of a deluge, which de- ftroyed the whole race of mankind except one brother and fifter, who peopled the earth again. They unite fome idea of power to thunder, which they call I'upan, for they are afraid of it, and believe, that they derive from it the knowledge of agriculture. They have not the moft dirtant conception that this life is to be followed by another, and they have no terms to exprefs heaven or hell. It feems, however, that they have a notion of I'omething remaining of them after their death j for they have a tradition, that feveral of their people have been changed into genii, and daemons, and that they rejoice and dance continually in charming fields planted with all forts of trees. The Indians of Brazil are paflionately fond of dogs of the European breed ; and they bring them up for fporting. Thofe of the country, though they rel'emble ours, are never l)roke of their favage and carnivorous appetite. A Portuguefe made us a prefent of two, one grown up, the other fo young that he could icarct'ly walk. We were obliged to get rid of them both in tim^, for it was found that no corretlion could keep them from the Iheep and fowls. But the Governor had given M. de Bou- gainville a brace of pointers out of the fame bitch, about four months old, and of the befl breed in Portugal. When we were landed at the Malouines, and went out a fliooting, they pointed naturally without any teaching. M. de Bougainville carried them to France, and made a prefent of them to a nobleman at court. Ihe 15th we failed out of the ro.ul, and continued our route the i6ih and 17th, wit'iout meeting any thing remarkable. The 1 8th, in the morning, we faw a great number of birds, which our fcamen called Dtuiins, and fome ilucbranta-huejjos or Olpreys. One of the latter flying too near our veilel was fnor, and taken up out of tlic fea. It is an oj)inion which pre\'aiis in the South Sea, that the Qutbj anta-huciibs never appear but a day or t>vQ before a ftorm o »• '11 ^1 M^ \ t6o JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE or very bad weather. But we faw many of them in fine weather, when it was what the failors call a longjea, and no ftorm followed. The fame thing is faid of the Halcyons or King-fifliers, or as they are otherwife called Puants. Whether it is that they really have a bad fmcll, or whether it is, that mariners have an averfion to feeing them, as they look upon them to be birds of ill omen, it is true we never faw any King-fifhers but we had hard wea- ther afterwards. The Quebranta-hueflbs are frequently feen to (loop and hover on the furface of the water, fkimming the waves, and following the direction of them, without appearing to move their wings, which they conftantly keep open and fpread out. When they do not float on the waves, they fly round the (hip at a finali diftance. ; . . i . .^ The body of this bird is about the fize of a large capon, but its long clofe feathers give it the appearance of being as big as a Turkey. Its neck is (hort, and fomewhat bent : its head large, and its beak very Angular, fuch as I have fketched it out in the plate. The beak is divided as it were into four or five pieces. The tail of the bird is fliort, its back high, legs low, feet black and webbed, with three claws before, and a fourth very fliort behind,- each of which are furniflied with black talons, which are blunt, and not very long. There are feveral kinds of Quebranta-hueflbs. Some of them have a whitifli plumage, fpotted with a dark brown, or red i in others, the breafl", the under part of the wings, the lower part of the neck, and the whole head, are all extremely white ; but the back, the outfide of the wings, and the upper part of the neck, are of a dark red, fpeckled with a few fpots of a blueifli grey colour. The one we fliot was of this kind. They may perhaps be all of one fpecies, and the differences may. ferve only to diftinguifli the male from the female. Their wings are very long. Seven feet two inches and a half was the lene^th of our bird's wings, meafuring from the extreme points 1 of \ -r '\X' • •■ \ /■ i \ I iit li ^ * I lf;t Ir/^ititJe HU/t /nm tWn> Ll.m.l A t'alMm/ thini/i Y //.tjjpita/ I) fhrnyvi/ r'/Ar .ifi-nr (J /i' /ir/u- Ufivr Vi. tya/i'i.'cnn f'lyarj t/i<'ir tiyuini'a w .* .k" HT mm> f,v '../{• ( J// vc.i \KS / y nil i\ V ^ ,/ ACniiiT OK RTO r K I.A I* LAI A irum thr Spnmih . Hrm<-I ftd |hll»l «Mnra^i* S H h'lii.l thf\ ri.t,- ,r t..th.»i TV/' i«»«r ■f/ m v«' ,^ t< fk A . \V«'J ^Z ^ />tie«f ^KeliwSlMtf 'y .^>.^ Hfthtl .(/if/if ^ 6' ,| (il.'tf//l,V Pftfll^fV Soil nwn 9 t //> 10 u Siuittmun/wu/i ,''Ml' ''^v/>nwx'(f^.' / / .S- / ■^"m^'^%Jy^><'<^"» fc" ■ ■''f'''^.«,.,>Ws. ■ ' J^^'"^^'"""* i0 if/i .Wijvyvwt ^ #^; -i# -1 ..■;-.>^''''' V ^^I'^f /. •■'• / \ .*«/' 1'^ ..S*^ J"" ilY" 4.,* '- IlU» .^ 4^"" ,Jwik« 5^ •l^ V'" .'i'/ ■Jtf. R .1 I ■fB'fe'aw— *•>•■•> — f ' ' ' • < *'f*^, li- TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. loi of' the feathers of one wing to thofc of the other. Thefe birdt 31*6 found at the diOance of more than 300 leagues from any land, neither is it known from whence they come, or in what j)laccs they build their ncfts. On the aift in the morning, the colour of the fea appearing different, we refolved to found, and found bottom at the depth of fifteen fathom?. The end of the bank, which is at St. Mary's Point, may pofTibly make this bo«om. According to our obfervaiions, the currents from the line tend to the South when the fun is in the Southern point. On the 22d, about two oMock, we faw land pretty clearly. We ftecred immediately towards it, in order to dilcover it well; the tides carried us S. 8. E. from 14 to 15 minutes. This circumf^ance muft be attended to, in making tlie entrance of Rio de la Plata. The courfc fliould be to the North. As we came near the land, we judged it to be the mod Eaflein point of St. Mary's cij^e. Perceiving then fome lands more to the South, we turned the head of the fhip South Weft ■^ W. : and at fix o'clock difcovered the ifland of Lotos : fo called from its being inhabited only by fca wolves, which arc here met with in great abundance. As we came nearer to it we fleered South l- South Wefl, in order to keep a league and a half out to lea, that we might avoid a ridge of rocks Eartvvard of this illand. This ridge extends near a league out at lea. As it- was dark, we did not perceive the mouth of the canal, which forms the ifland and port of the Maldonnados ; fo that we ad- vanced nearly two leagues too far up the Rio di' la PLita, or river Plata, in which we cafl anchor at eight o'clock in the evening. On the morning of the ayi, our yawl went on (liore with Mefiis. dc Bougainville, dc Ncrvillc, de Belcourt, rHuillitr, and Alexander Guyot, our fecond Captain, to acquaint the Com- mander of the fort of the ifland of Maldonnado of our anchor- age. They alked leave to fupply tLemfclves with fVt.lh water and provifions, wliich tlic Cemnuinlant gave rliem in the politetl Its ^4 % r t i % f0 2 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE politcft manner. He was even Co kind as to tell us, that we had not anchored (o well as we might have done at the mouth of the canal leading to the port : that the anchorage at the port was by no means fafe, and that we fliould do very well to quit it J which we accordingly refolved to do, as loon as the weather ihould permit, and the Commandant Hiould fend us a coaling pilot. The whole coaft difcovers nothing to the eye but low banks of fand, fonie few remote eminences only appearing, which are called the mountains of Maldonnado, and are at the diiiance of fome leagues from the coaft. There are no trees to be feen, but a great quantity of cattle, very large oxen, and horfes. All the trade indeed of the country of Plata confills in filver, and the hides of oxen. On coming from the Eaft, to enter into the Rio de la Plata, the illand of Lobos is feen VV. S. W. of the compafs. The weather had been calm, very fine, and very hot ever fmce the morning. Many of the crew employed themfelves ia angling ; and no fooner was the line thrown into the fea, than it was brought up again with a fi(h. Sometimes there were as many fifh caught as there were hooks to the line, Tiie fiOi were only of four or five different kinds. Some of them were what the Spaniards call Fiagrios, and our failors Machoirans, The others were Carangues or Guarencas, dog and cat-fifli of dif- ferent fizes, and fome Iharks. We caught one cat-fifh, one dog- filli, and two young (harks. TheMachoiian, or beard-fifli, has its belly flat, and feme beards, as the little barbel ; the head large, the Ikin covered with fr.iall brown and almoft imperceptible I'cales, nearly rcfcmbliug thoil; of the tench ; at the root of the finsneaieft the head, there is a fmall ferratcd bony proceG-, the teeth of which arc iiulined towards the body. This procefs is as long as the fin, and has tliC fame motions. When the fifh wants to defend himfclf again(t other fiili, or againft the filherman, lie puflies out thele procefics, r.nd thrutts i TO TH^ MALOUINE ISLANDS. 103 thrufls them into the bodies of other fifli, into the fiflierman's hand, or, into any thing that is near him, even into wood if he can, to which he fometimes fattens himfelf by the ftroke. His punfture is venomous, fo that fifhermen take care to guard againft it. I know not whether there are any larger than thole we caught. The biggeft of thefe was one foot and a half long, and four inches broad. It is a very well tafled fifli. The Guarenca is an excellent flat fifli. We caught fuch a quantity of a kind of barbel fifli, that after the whole crew had been fupplied with it for this day and the next, the remainder of it was falted and dried, in the fame manner as the dried cod is prepared at Newfoundland. The largeft of thefe barbels, was of the fame fize in every way as the beard-fifli, defcribed above. The cat-fifli, and the dog-fifti, are kinds of ftiarks or fea dogs -, they refemble them fo much in their figure that they are not eafily diftinguiflied : they were about two feet and a half long. About three o'clock in the morning of the 24tb, there arofe a violent South wind. At five o'clock the wind being fomewhat abated, we put ouffelves in readinefs to fet fail for Monte- video. The wind rifing again at (even o'clock, we cafl: our beft bower, by ten fathoms, on a muddy bottom of fine fand, and remained part of the day in this ft ate. M. de Bougainville, trufl:ing to the mildnefs of the weather, had been gone ever fince the morning, to the Fort Maldonnado, with the lame perfons who had accompanied him the preceding e moft elegantly contrived, the beft kept up;, and the moft diveifified, could not poifibly exhibit any thing to* be compared to what we now faw in tlic lieavens for the fpace of an hour. We did not then fufpedt, that this prorpeft would ibon give way to one of a much le^ pleafing kind y from which». our captain, who was better acquainted with the danger and the confequences, was all this time endeavouring to (hdter us, by taking all the neceffary precautions againft a itorm. We tliought tlie florm would pafs off along fide of us, as it appeared to be going that wayj but in an inftant a moft violent wind arofe, and the thunder and lightning came upon us at the fame time. We pafied the whole night ftriving againft the impetuofity of the wind, and the roarings of an extremely boifterous and angry fea, which broke in upon us. This wind is called in the country Pamperos^ bccaufe it comes from the plains of Pampas, beyond Buenos Ayres. Thefe plains extend as far as the Cordeleirias mountains, which divide them from Chili. They are at leaft three hundred leagues in length, without the intervention of any wood, or eminence, to check the violence of this wind ; which fwells the river Plata, raifing its waves as high as mountains, fo as often to deftroy the vefTels in that river, breaking them upon the coaft oppofite the wind. The anchorage where we were was extrenwly unfafe, from the vicinity of the ifland of Maldonnado, and the circumjacent eoafts, all bordered with rocks and fands. Thirty years ago, afi Englifli veffel laden with platters, or pieces of eight, was loft in this place. The inhabitants of the ifland, in the neighbourhood of the fpot where the wreck happened, are ftill endeavouring to this day, to recover part of tlie cargo. On the evening before our arrival, they had taken up with the drag, two thoufand four hundred of thefe piafters. ;. The wind Pamperos is much more frequent in winter than in fummer, and always blows ftrong, which makes the Rio de la Plata a dangerous road. This river is fit only for the trade of R • ^ TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. »05 of piaders and oxen, the largeft of which are fold her« for five pieces of eight, or five and twenty livres of French coin. In general, they are fold for three piafters, or fifteen livres. It is very difficult to get wood here ; not only becaufe it is very fcarce, but alfo becaufe the little there is of it, is found a long fide the rivers, the only places of fhelter for tigers, leopards, and other wild beafts, which are here found in great number, much more igerce and larger than thofe of Africa and the Eafl Indies. Figa and peaches are to be found all the way from Maldonnade and Montevideo to Buenos Ayres. . The Pamperos blew with equal violence the whole night} and the fea was terrible. Notwithftanding the continual rol> ling and pitching of the (hip, I was fallen into a pretty found fleep, when I was fuddenly awakened by a violent fhake the vefTel received, which made it crack in all it$ parts, as if it was breaking againft the rocks. It was then near five o'ck>ck- in the morning. I jumped out of bed, opened my window, and afked the helms-man if we had (Iruck againft any rock. He anfwered, that we had not yet flruck, but that the fhip dragge<* her anchors, and that we were in a fair way for it. He told me that the cable of our befl bower had failed j and that the other anchor was loofibned from the ground. This was the reafon of the violent fhake we had felt } our only hope was now in the flieet anchor, which we had jufl dropped. I drcfTed myfclf, and went upon deck, and I perceived indeed we had dragged fo much, that tive coafts towards which the wind and tlK waves were driving us, did not feem to be more than half a league diflrant. But our fiieet anchor luckily keeping her hold, we continued in the fame manner, labouring. very hard for our prefervation, till about fix in the evening, when the wind and ftorm began to ceafp. As they were working the fliip yefterday evening, a pully broke. A failor received a flroke on the forehead frofm one of the fplinters, and prefcntly after fainted away.' The furgeons gave it as their opinion, that the flroke had only grazed the R 2 part, If i I 1 1 i I io6 ^'JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE ' part> from the fmall quantity of blood loft, and the little appa- rent conti^fipn. The man was pretty quiet to-day, complaining of nothing more th^n a great head-ach, which was looked upon as the, effedt of the fliock. He was blooded twice and very carefully attended, having even had a bed made for him in the cabbin. -.-.ji vu ^ During the tempeft, the ki was agitated quite to its bottom : two or three hours after the dorm began, the fea formed fuch deep cavities, th^t one would have thought we were going to touch the bottom } and the billows followed fo clofe that they did not allow us time to breathe. I faw moie than once the end of the main maft yard, which indeed was brought very low, dip three feet or thereabouts into the wave, part of which often bifoke, upon the deck. Our (ituation was more dangerous from our :l^eing fo near the coaft. Our fea officers, who were all able men, having had the command of (hips, and privateers, were fo fenfible of the danger that threatened us, that mod of them were confidering how they fhould fave themfelves from the fliipwreck. The danger appeared even fo urgent to them, that the guns were already difpofed fo as to ferve inAead of anchors, in cafe the cables (hould happen to break. . ;The night of the 26th was fine, and xhs wind having fhifted tq the North, blowing a gentle gale, about four o'clock we began to prepare j and we fet fail about feven. On the 27th at fun rife, the land neareft to us bore N. N. E. about four leagues didant : and the land moil to the South Weft, bore N. W. five degrees North of us. We founded the whole night from hour to hour, and even more frequently, and found fometimes at twelve, fometimes at thirteen fathoms, a muddy bottom. Thofc who fail along this road, will do well to found as often as they can, efpecially if it is the firft time of their going to Montevideo or Buenos Ayres. The liver Plata is ex- tremely dangerous, from the number and extent of its fand banks, which leave but a very narrow channel, for the palTagc cf iliipSi and that very ferpentine. The bank called the Bank <■ . of It f I. ^ ! TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 107 of the EngU(h advances near five leagues from the coaft ; and the idands we meet with, form flats, proje£ling conHderably. All this coaft is flat, except .the part where the Maldonnado mountains are,.vyhich are of a moderate. height« and at a.fmall^ diftance. i niodj itbrrs- i ni-v/; -.lo-Hf-'/'ifUijid Hyi'^H'^ VfC h'/M'^ s'i ,r On the 28th we tacked about towards th6 iflahd of Flora, till we came within about a league and a half from it, and till we were two leagues clear of the coafl;. One muft. take care not to go too near either of thefe places, on account of the ridges of rocks, which extend pretty near a league out at iea. At nine o'clock we were about two leagues diftant from Montevideo, Half an hour afterwards we difpatched M. Alexander Guy.pt in our yawl, to give notice of our arrival to the Governor. About half an hour after four, as we. were going to fail into the bay, the .captain of a Spaniih vefTel, named Saint Barbe^ came on board of us with offers of fervice from the Governor, and in order to pilot us. About five o'clock we caft anchor in this road a little beyond the Spanifh veflel, in three fathoms depth of water, on a muddy bottom -, after which we faluted the citadel with twelve ihots, which were returned (hot for iliot. . The firft days we lay af, anchor were taken up in fettling' with the Governor of Montevideo, what we had to do during our ftay. He feemed firrt to ftait feveral difficulties, not only with regard to allowing us the liberty of fifhing along the coafl', but alfo to the fuffering our longboat and yawl to come on Ihore. He required that we fhould give him previous notice every time wc wanted to land, that he might pofl guards at the place where we iliould put to fhore, with orders to wait till our long- boat or yawl went back, to prevent us from carrying on any kind of trade whatever. ; .hjU^tqai;;. k^H la..; ^i \ J ., .: :a jlniin . Not forefeeing any of .thefe difficulties, we had fent our /mail boat a filling at the foot of the mount, the veiy next day, afiei? we ha J caft anchor. The Governor who received intclliger :e of this, fent two dragoons of the garrifon, to take the men into cuftody, together with the boat and goods, in cafe they fliould have fii i I It »? toS JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE r have brought any on ihore. MeflT. dc Bougainville, de Nerville, Guyot, and myfclf, came into the palace, immediately after this order had been given, which the Governor communicated to M. de BougainviHe.. The Governor, ap})rehending certainly that he could not exprefs bimfelf properly in French, fpoke in Spani(hy and had a provincial, fettled in this «ity for nftocn years paft, for his interpreter. This provincial explained the Governor's intentions to us in fuch a manner, a& induced us to believe, that he was not inclined to do us all tlie fervices he had offered, and we had reafon to expe£^ from hinu This however, was far from being his way of thinking $ of which we were thoroughly con- vinced by the fequd of our conference. The order given, which fcemed to agree whh the provincial's interpretation, was far from being agreeable to M. de Bougain- ville, who exprefled his refentment of it to the Governor, nearly in tiie following terms : It is very farprizing,- Sir, and at the fame time very mortifying for us, to meet with difficulties among our friends the Spaniards, which we have not experienced among the Portugucfe, with whor we have juft been at war. I will ft fail immediately, and give notice of this to the King my mafter. The Governor replied; that he did not intend to difoblige us, but on the contrary, to do us all the fervice in.his power ; that he was not the mailer : that the laws and orders of his court were, not to allow any kind of trade to be carried on' by fhips which were not SpaniAi, or privileged for that purpofe by the court of Jr^painj and even to put a flop to any trade canied on by the Spaniards themfelves for otlier nations j that a frigate belonging to the Eaft India Company, which had anchored in the fame port three years before, had made no fcruple of fub- mitting to what he had juft propofcd. M. de Bougainville anfwered, there is a wide difiercnce, between a trading frigate, and a King's frigate of war. We have no trailing commodities on board ) and are come here only with intent to take in fome icfrcfliments, and to wait for the Sphinx, which we have parted fiom, and which we Ivavq appointed to meet in the Rio de la ria;a. It » TO THE MALOUINB ISLANDS. 109 Plata, As foon as you give me your word, replied the Governor, that no goods fhall be difletnbarked ; you are welcome *<^ land or lend on (hore as often as you pleafe. But the cuIVom eflablifhed by the ltws» being to fend a foldier or guard wherever the boot puts into (hone* I defire you would not take it ami(^ that I com- < ply with it } it is for your quiet as well as mine f for I do not chufc to lay myfelf open to any blame from my court. In every other refpefV, you may depend on my doing every thing in my power to oblige yoir: for I am prompted by my own inclination, as well a9 by the orders I have received, «0 treat the French with the fame ctvrlity as the Spaniards. Matters being thus foftened on both fides, the dragoons were ordered to the boat» and went accordingly. A.r>riii-,-v:Mi.5jj|£ii-;jaH'nm>-v/ k 51 ujjfn? .jj .injii ■ .. The Governor afterwards dcfired M. de Bougainville to per- mit him to take a copy of the orders he had received from the king of France for the command of the two frigates, becaufe he was obliged to fend it to the court of Spain, together with a circumflantial account of our anchorage. M. de Bougainville readily complied with his requeft : the red; of the converfation was carried on amicably, and we parted good friends. The Governor had more reafons than one for a■ " 9' I * Thefe officers left Montevideo the fame day that we did. The frigate upon which they embarked was commanded by Don Pedro de Florcs, laden with 15 or 1,800,000 piafters, bulls hides, and other merchandize. She had fee fail from Cadiz in 1755, bound to th.- coad cf Guinea, fitted out on the Englilh account, and . S deltined ^i 111 112 Two d^ys after inU cohveriatipnj I went to vidt the chaplain of £^ Spao'iUi £iig>te« wll^ich had been lying, at anchor in the port of ^qenos Ayres foji;', (iveij^omhs ; I knew he was mqch inclined to tlic Jefwitf. It.was.f^vjft faid. pretty openly that he had been fent by .^he^.to li^qntevjaeoi iu or4er 19 J|uy up any trifles ifie might ^nd on board ,our frigate. He mdeed bought up every thing we would leU him. After tl\e firft cQipplimepts had j)alted bet\ycen us, he asked me why I had not been to fee the Jefuits, according to their in- vitation, and my promile, .1 told Kim U was tVqe I hadpromlfcd, but that I had been Informed that one of thofe fathers, had lately fpoken very ill of the king of France, my mafteV, in a fermon preached at fiueno^ Ayre$ ; and, if \his was a fadl, it was not proper th?tl* who, was. a tJIfue Frenchman, fliquld pay a vifit to the bretbren of {jo rafh a,|lr^acbei:. Vou certainly heard the fer- mon, faid, I. — r-I did: and »t « certj^inthat the Father did not cxprefs nimfelf in the moft cautjoqs manner,— What faid he then particularly of the King of Friance? That he was a tyrant, a perfecutor of the church, and many other things. But wefhould furely, forgive them, fo^ this is nothing more than the efFeft of their refentment having been e^^pclled the jcingdom of France. We had fcarce finiflied this converfation, when two of the three Jefuits of Montevideo came into the room v/here we were, the Abbe, M. Mauclair our furgeon, and myfelf. After having bowed to us, one of the Jefuits, addreffing himfelf to me, faid he was very glad to fee me ; and that in confequence of what he had heard from Jofeph (this was the name of the provincial before mentioned) he and his brethren had expe£led me for two days. He afterwards alked me why I had not kept my word ; 1 anfwered that li dcftined to carry over negroes to Buenos Ayres ; but not meeting at Cape Verd with the Englifli veflel from which (he was to have received them, Don Pedro de Flores continued his courfe, and failed into the Rio de la Plata. Here he had remained ever fince that time, in order to avoid running the ri(k of being taken prifoner by the Englifh during the laft war, as he was laden for Spain. From the obfervations he had coUedcd for making a chart of this river, joiaed to my own, the chart infert- ed in this work has been traced. •^ TO THE MALO.UINE ISJ.ANDS. ii ? that I had juft been giving my reafon to the Abbe, vyho might explain it to him. I am hot furprifed, ff id he, I know the Bene, diflines do nof: think properly, and that they are not our friends. I told him he was miflaken, and that if they did not think pro- perly, they would be his friends. As he did not like my anfwer, he made no reply } but (ook his leave of the company, and went away with his companion. Bctvveen four and five in the evening, vve fpied a fail. We judged immediately by her courfe, that ihe was making for Buenos Ayres. But as we expelled from day to day t|ie ar- rival of the Sphinx floop, vvhich we had appointed to ri^eet i^ the Rio de la Plata, many of us imagined this was (he. As (he advanced, and came more within our notice, we were fo far confirmed in our opinion, as almoft to perfuade oucfelves that we were aflured of it. Notwithftanding the uncertainty, M. de Bougainville difpatched the tong boat with the lieutenants, ponat and Le Roi, to pilot her. The flgnals were agreed upon, powder and other necefTary articles were given to put them in "execution, and they fet off about feven o'clock. The night grew very dark, the winds contrary, and the fcja rather high, fo that not having perceived theic- fignals, we grew very anxious abont .them. The Sphinx had difcovered us by the fignals agreed upon, and in order not to lofe fight of us, had ione nothing but ply to windward, and make feveral tacks, which together with the darknefs had prevented our long boat frqm boarding her : this ihe did however at midnight. The Sphinx then anchored, and fctting fail the next morning, being the firft of January, (he came up, and cad her anchor near us about nine o'clock in the morning. The joy we had at feeing her, after a feparation of more than two months, may readily be conceived. M. de la Gyraudais had been previoufly told of the defeft in the maps, with rel'peft to the bearing of the coaft of Brazil ; but though we had ourfclve^ been upon our guard, vve were very near run- ning aground upon the bank which is not marked in the French charts. This bank lay in his courfe as it had done in ours} :* S 2 nor I f i |i ■^1' . • t^ fr ' Jt. * /^ tl- »I4 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE « 1 . nor are the Abrolhos made to extend fo far upon the charts as they really do: all thefe circumllances contributed to make "us uneafy, on account o( her delay, cfpecially after the ftay wc had made at the ifland of St. Catherine. ,,. , . , Aj foon as the Sphinx had cad her anchor, M. de la Gyrau- ilais came to us in our long boat, and told us he had been obliged to put in atTogny on thecoaft of Eiazil, becaufe noiwithftand- •■ ing they had been apprifcd of the errors in the charts, yet they had fallen upon the Abrolhos at a time when they thought •« themfelves at leaft thirty leagues diftant from them. They found themfelves Auck upon them in the middle of the night } it hap- pened luckily that the weather was calm, and that the rock up- on which they ftruck was of rotten ftoiic. The Sphinx being faft upon this rock, in order to avoid the- •dreadful confequences of a wreck, they quickly hoided out the fifliing boat they had, put the long boat and the yawl to fea ; . and having carefully examined the fliip, they recovered a littre, from their apprehenfions, when they found Hie liad received no •damage. The next trouble they had was to difengage the Sphinx fiom the rock: as foon as it was day light, they found themfelves furrounded with rocks of the fame kind -, and at the diftance of half a quarter of a league, a vefTel lying on her fide, without mafts. M. dc la Gyraudais imagining they were then upon ^ the Abrolhos, and that land could not be far off, fent the boat towards tlie Ihore for afliftance. They met with feveral "canocs of fifliciinen, negroes and Indians. They fpokc to them in the Portuguefe language, and fix of them agreed to go on hoard tlie Sphinx," where they were well feaftcd. They promifed to give them all the help in their power. Two of them were kept on board, and the other four difpatched in the boat, to bring up their comrades from the coaft. They came back the next day attended by a great number of canoes. With their airiAance, the Sphinx was at laft difengaged from the rock, after iiavlng icfted upon it for three days. M. de la Gyraudais came TO THE MALdUINE ISLANDS. 115 ofFwith the lofs of the fiihing boat only. The negroes piloted him as far as Togny, where the inhabitants treated him and his crew, for fix days, with the greateft humanity, and as well as if thfiy had themfelves been of this country : although they are moft of them negroes or Brazilians. After this interview, we went to Montevideo to pay our com- pliments to the Governor upon the new year, not knowing th^t it was cuftomary in this country to defer this ceremony to the fixlh day of the nionih, the Epiphany. The Governor was hold- ing a council for the nomination of officers of juflice. Being in- formed that, after the finifhing of this bufinef?, he was to go with all the retinue to the parifh church, which they call the cathe- dral, we went to the fpot, and waited for him upon our legs a whole hour, under the Ihadc of a-hoirfe, converfing with fonie officers of the gacrifon. At half an hour after twelve, he made his appearance in the midft of the new officers of juftice, who liad each of them large white "wands in their hands, which they made ufe of, as walking flicks. He crofFed the fquar.% which is very large, in the middle of thcfe officers, all ranged in one line, having their large black cloaks on, and their fmall (Hcks ; as the Oviodore of the ifland of St. Catherine. We followed them into church. Mafs was performed by the prieft^ whom they called le Signor Vicari ; when this %vas over, we paid our compliments to the Governor, wlo invited us to dinner. As we were already engaged to dine with him the next day by appointment, M. de Bougainville thought proper to decline the acceptance of this kind invitation, and went on board with M. de Nerville. • •" > ' I ftaycd behind in expcclation of dining with the vicar; M. Dliclos our captain having told me the evening before* that I fliould do this gentleman a great pleafurc, and that they had talked about it. After having faluted the governor, I went up to the vicar in the vcfti y, but did not fj^eak a word to him about ^dinner. We came out of church with the two Spanifh officers, •who were to embark on board the St. Barbej we went along «itii the vicar a little way witiiout reccivi-n^ any invitation to ilinncX' s m %^ P' r in i -.il '. J^ ti6 JOURNAL ^F MY VOYAGE dinner j ^pd I took care not to invite myfelf. When we had left him, the captain afked me where I (hould dine. \ anfwered ^hat I did not know } that I had expelled to dine with the vicar ; but as he had not mentioned any thing about it, I in- tended to fcek my fortune fomewhere elfe. He immediately faid, that I fhould go with the colonel to the Governor's. I ilarted many objedions to this, not thinking myfelf fufiiciently known to go in this manner ; tlie colonel infilled, and taking me by the hand, told me the Governor would be pleafed with him for bringing me ; and that he certainly would t^ke it amifs if he ihould know that I had refufed. I confented therefore, ^nd was received by the Governor and his lady, with all poflible marks' of politeneis and favour. He fpeaks French well enough to be underftood ; his lady underflands it without bein^ able, or rather without vertturing to (peak it. Her hufband and the ■ colonel were her interpreters. She was a native of Bifcay, tall, well made, of a brown complexion, but her .features were rather too mafculine. She is a woman of great wit and vivacity, and abput thirty-four or thirty-five years of age. At eleven o'clock on Monday morning the fecond of January, M. de Bougainville, Meflrs. de Nerville, de Belcourt, 1' Huillier, the two Pu Clos brothers, our firft and fecond captain, Donat cur firft lieutenant, de St. Simon a Canadian, lieutsnant of in- fantry, de la Gyraudais, captain of the Sphinx, and myfelf, all went to the Governor's, where we had as elegant a dinner as the country v/ould afFord i but the dilhes were drell according to the cuflom of the place : that is to fay, mofl of them with the fat of oxen clarified which they ufc inftead of butter and oil j and feafoned with fuch a quantity of pimento and caithamum that the victuals were quite covered with them. Care had been taken however not to put thefe fpices upon all the dilhes, and many of us eat of none but thefe laft. The only wines offered us were Spaniftj, and wines from tlie country of Chili ; the plates and diflies were filver, and fome of them china. The table was co- vered with a very fliort cloth, and the napkins were rather lefs 1 than TO tHE MALOUINB ISLANDS, ii; tto handkerchiiefs of a riioderate fize, naturally fringed, or, to fpcak more propetly, Unravelled at both ends. The diflies were fdved up obe iftet ahotheir. When drink was called for, it was neceffary Vo (ky, 'Whether one chofe wine or Vvattfr, or in mixture of both } for the Spaniards generally drink nothing but water at their meals : at the end of which it is cuftbiiiary to bring a large glafs of wine to every body in company, even without its being afked. When wine and Water was Called for, they were brought oiie after another, and we were obliged to drink them feparately. The wine of Chili is of the colour of phyfic, com- pounded of rhubarb and fenna, and very much of the fame tafte. It takes this tafte perhaps from the foil, perhaps from the goat flcins lined with pitch, in which it is conveyed. There is fcarce any other "wine drunk in f'araguay. Onefoon accuftoms one's felf to this tafte; and after having drunk it for a few days, one finds it good. It is very warm upon thcftomach. But, whe- ther from tafte or fancy, the Spaniards preferred the wine we had brought with us from France. The defert was entirely compofed of fweet-meats. The bread though made with excel- lent flour, was not good, bccaufe it was not well leavened nor properly kneaded; neither do they know how to bake it. In the evening M. de Belcourt, who had taken a lodging in the town, met with a ftranger in company, perhaps in difguife, who fpoke' a gafcoon French. Pron>pted in all probability by the Jefuits, who had already taken care to acquaint thernfelves by the people belonging to our frigates, of M. de Belcourt's military iieputation ; this man propofed to him to enter into the fervice at Paraguay, in order to form the troops. He made him pro- rnifes from the Jefuits, of the higheft emoluments to induce him to accept of the propofal. M. de Belcourt pretended to liften to him, but without entering into any engagements ; and the very next day acquainted M. de Bougainville with this circum- ftancc. This gentleman anfwered, that fome political advantage might poffibly be made of this, and that if he chofe to facrifice himfelf for the good of his countiy, it might then be proper to give ! , I •* ■if u8 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE give an ear to thefe propofals. M. de Belcourt anfwered, that in cafe he fhould think of engaging in this buflnefs, it would be neceflary that M. de Bougainville ihould give him a note, certi- fying that he went with his confent* and, fof the prefumptive good of the ftate. . ^ ;• '• :^,iii r ? ' ; % The next day the ftrangcr renewed his folicitations to M. de Belcourt with greater earneftnefs, defuing him to take his refo- lution fpeedily ; that he need not trouble himfelf about his cloaths or any thing elfe ; that care (hould be taken to fupply him with every thing he might want; and that, in order to prevent the Spanilh government from knowing any thing of the matter, he fliould be conduced, by ways unknown to the Spa- 4iiards, to the place of his dedination. M. de Belcourt inquired which was the place, and what were the advantages propofed ; but the firanger not giving any fatisfaftory anfwer, and having talked to him in a flighting manner of the Jefuits, on purpofe to conceal his defigns more effectually, M. de Belcourt declared at once, that he would not comply with his folicitations. But as he was under fome apprehenfions how he fhould get awav \iC kept himfelf on his guard. About the dufk of the fame ev i; i;, he found himfelf (o ciofely prefled by three men, that he thought himfelf obliged to draw his fword, and carry it out of the fcab- bard, to make his way, in cafe they fhould have furrounded him i which, however, they did not attempt. I had ail thefe « circuniftances from his own mouth, and it is with his confent I make them public. Towards eight o'clock in the evening, M. Mauclair, firfl fur- geon of our frigate, came and told me, that after having had a confultation with M. Bifle the fecond furgeon, and M. Front- goulle furgeon of the Sphinx, upon the prcfent ftate of the failor who had been wounded in turning the cap-ftern during the late ftorm, they had agreed that he was growing much worfe, and that he himfelf dcfired to be confelfcd. I went down imme- jiiately, and finding him indeed very ill, received his confcfTlon. He m TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 119 He loft his fenfes an hour after; about ten o'clock I admihiftered the extreme un£tion, and at eleven he died. On Tuefday morning the 3d inftant, having previoufly ap- prized the vicar, we fent away the corpfe in our yawl. It was depofited with the guard of the port, till the vicar fhould come to meet it. He came an hour afterwards, with his fexton. On his arrival, I made him a compliment in Latin, to which he gave no other anfwer, but a very low bow. He had a Roman furplice on, and a gown j his fexton, a lay-man, had a black pet- ticoat on by way of caflbck, and a very dirty furplice. Meff. Duclos, Guyot, his brother Alexander, his two fons, fix failors, and myfelf attended the proceflion. At each turning the vicar chanted a refponfe, and a prayer, and fang alfo the mafs for the dead. He did the failor all the honours he could have done to the captain himfelf, and Had him buried in the church. The fervice being over, he invited us to dinner, and could not be prevailed upon to accept of any fee. After dinner, I took a walk towards the extremity of the creek which forms the port, where our people were getting water. I went all over the coaft and the adjacent foil, in ex- peftation of finding fome curious plants or (hells ; but my fearch was fruitlefs. I met with one fingle plant only in a ftate of per- fection i the ftem, which is eight or ten inches high, and the leaves were covered over with a fhort white down, fo clofe and fo thick, that it concealed the green part from the fight. I am unacquainted with the name and properties of this plant. At the diftance of two ftiots or thereabouts from the creek or bay, there are two fountains. The people of the country wafli their linen in that which is neareft the river. It is forbidden to wafti in the other j becaufe that is the one from whence' they draw the water ufed for drink in the town, which is at the diftance of half a league from it. This fountain is bordered with a little wall of ftone, and is very b"dly kept up, though at the king's expence j fo lazy are the inhabitants, and fo carelefs even of what concerns them nearly. T As II m I 1 m I'Afi JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE As I was pafling by this fountain, I faw thr€e or* four Mulatoes, who had brought there Ibme ftones upon a cart, drawn bv four large oxen ; and three others, who were filling a ~^{k with . 'it^i, *- ^rder to carry it into thv town. An Indian or Mulator. wo- man, with a negro woman coming to the fame place to draw water alfo, one of the Mulatoes, who looked very much like an Indian born of Spanifh parents, took the negro woman by the hand, and they both of them danced together upwards of a quarter of an hour, the dance called Calcnda. Travellers who fpeak much of this dance in their accounts, do not exaggerate, when they defcribe it as the moil lafcivious of all dances, at leaft judging of it by our manners. It is thought, that this dance has been brought into America, by the negroes of the kingdom of Arda, upon the coaft of Guinea. The Spaniards dance it as well as the natives, through- out all their trcfcbliflim.cnts in America, without making the leaft fcruple about it j although the dance is fo very indecent as to aftonifli people who are not ufed to fee it. It is fo univerfally, and fo much liked, that even children, as foon as they are able to ftand, imitate in this particular perfons more advanced in hfe. It is danced to inftrumental as well as vocal mufic, by two or by feveral perfons together. They are all difpofed in two rows, one before the other, the men oppofite to the women. Thofe who grow tired, as well as the fpeclators, form a circle round the dancers, and the mufic. Some one of the dancers fings a fong, the chorus of which is repeated by the fpedlators, with clapping of hands. All the dancers keep their arms half raifed up, jump, turn round, make contorfions with their backfides, advance within two feet or thereabouts of one another, then fall back in time, till the found of the mufic or tone of the voice brings them together again. Then they ftrike their bellies one againft another'two or three times following, and retreat after- v/ards, whirling about, to begin the fame motion over again, with jells, which are extremely lafcivious, indicated by the foiiiid 7 of TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 121 of the inftrument or voice. Sometimes they mix their arms, turning round two or three times, and continuing to ftrike them- felves upon the belly, and to kifV <. other, without being in the leaft out of time. ' One may readily judge, how furprifing fuch a dance muft ap- pear to French manners, and how much our modefty muft be offended Ly it. Neverthelefs we are aflured from the accounts of travellers, that it is fo very agreeable even to the Spaniards of America, and is become fo much an eftabliOicd cuftom among them, that it is even introduced among their a6ls of devotion : that they dance it in church, and in their proceflions : that even the nuns themfelves, fcarce ever fail to dance it on Chriftmas- eve, upon a ftage raifed up in their choir oppofite the grate, which is left open, that the people may partake of the fight •, but they do not admit men to dance with them. On Wednefday the fourth of January, while Meff. de Bou- gainville and de Nerville were gone to the Governor, to invite him to dine on board our frigate for the Sunday following^ I went to fee an officer whofe name was Belia, who had been brought up in France, in our royal college of Pontlevoy near Elois. He had promifed me fome curious and medicinal plants of the country, and fome pieces of natural hiftory. With refpedl to the laft article he had nothing worthy of attention ; but he fliewcd me the plants, which I ihall now defcribe : his brother- in-law and himfelf acquainted me with their names, properties, and ufes. One called Meona, is very much like the wild thyme, but the leaf is round, and the green not fo dark -, the ftem red, creeping, taking root at each joint, affording a white milky juice, like the fpurge. The feed grows in a fpiral, briftly pod j this pod con- tains only a yellowifh feed in form almofl like a kidney. It throws off from its root feveral woody ftalks, which fpread themfelves circularly on the ground, as thofe of the biftort. This plant taken in infufion, like tea, is faid to cure a ftoppage of urine as by miracle. T 2 JibrcnOt I ^\ If ■m- %f^ 121 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGS Ebreno, or Mio-mio, is an nlmoft repent plant, not lifing' more than half a foot from the ground. The leaf is fmaller than fennc; it has a very fmall herbaceous flower, growing ia chifters, and pretty nearly umbellated : the root is reddifh out- wardly, and as well as the plant has the tafte of the parfnip. It is taken in infufion againf^ fluxions and colds. It feems to me to be a fpccies of the Mettm, or fpignel. The MatJ has a round ftrait branched ftem, growing about a foot and a half high, and covered with a grey down a little in- clining to red. The leaves arc an inch and a quarter in length, only three or four lines in breadth, of a whitifti green colour, and ciowny on the flem. The flowers flioot out one by one along the branches, and are compofed of a fingle yellow leaf, flit into four, and almofl without fmell. They are fucceeded by a hijfk or pod, of the thicknefs of a quill, an inch in lengthy which opens itfelf into four parts when dried, and lets fall fome exceedingly fmall feeds pointed at each end, of a grey brown colour. It is faid to be of admirable efficacy when applied to wounds, either recent or of long (landing. M. Simoneti told me, that, after having been fix months under the care of the phyficidns and furgeons of the array, for a wound he had re- ceived in the fide near the kidneys, and which had degenerated into an ulcer, he had cured himfelf in a fhort time merely by the outward application of the leaves of this plant. The Cachen-lagum or the Canchalagua, which is alfo called at Chili, Cachinlagua, is in every refpeft like the lefTer Centaury of Europe. It is the Centaury of Chili, but does not grow quite (o high as ours. A cold infufion is made of it, by throwing fix or fcven of the plants whole and dry into a glafs of water for the fpace of the whole night, or from morning to evening. This in- fufion is then ufed as a gargte, and afterwards fwallowed, by which method a fore throat is foon cured. Some frclh water is then poured upon the refiduum, which is futfered to (land as long as the firft ; after which tlie gargling and deglutition is repeated, , This is done alio a third time. M. de Bougainville, and M. du Clos TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 123 Clos our captain, had experienced the efficacy of it more than once. When the infufion is taken warm in the manner of tea, it heats very much but purifies the blood. This plant is very famous in Chili, from whence it is brought. I believe it to be a better febrifugfe than the Centaury of Europe. Might not the latter be .ed with equal advantage in fore throats ? Mechoacan, is a name the Spaniards pf Montevideo give to a plant bearing no refemblance to that which is fold in our (hops under the fame name. That of Montevideo, which is very common there, as well as in the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres>, is a fmall creeping plant, the root of which runs under ground like the liquorice. It is whitifh, and flender as a writing pen >, ibme fliort branches fhoot out from this root, which creep upon, tlie ground, are covered with a very few fmall leaves, and thefe only at the extremity, almoft refembling thofe of the lefler Tithy- malus, known in feveral provinces of France by the name of Reveil-matin. M. Bella told me, that the Englifli who trade at: the colony of St. Sacrament, always carry away feveral of thefe roots. It has a purgative quality like the Mechoacan of our fliops. When it purges too violently, its effect is foon ilopped, only by fwallowing a large fpoonful of brandy. Another plant which they hold in great efleem i? '^■'^Guay^ curu } it bears a leaf of a beautiful green colour, rather thick, , and fhooting forth in great abundance from the root, which is of a red brown colour, externally fhining, and reddifli within, as the ftrawberry plant. From the middle of the root, the fteni- grows out to the height of half a foot, of the thicknefs of a common quill, folic!, without leaves, of a greyifli coloured green,, fpreading out at the upper part into a dozen fmall branches,, bearing at their extremity very fmall herbaceous flowers, without faiell, and forming altogether a kind of umbrella. This plant, efpecially the root, is one of the mod powerful '■ ailringents in botany ; and experience has proved, that it never fails in drying up and curing ulcers fpeedily ; and even, as the vicar told us, in curing the fcrophula, and flopping a dy Tenter y. H«. i •^ti 'i^% s.:^ V: 124 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE jf lie made us a prcfcnt of a dozen of the plants which he had icnt for on purpofc, at the diltancc of a few leagues, from a country j^lace belonging to him. The Paxco is a plant, which throws cut from its root fevcral creeping branches : thefe are afterwards fubdivided into many others. The leaves are but three hnes in length, and two in breadth, Icrrated, thick, and fixed to the branches without any foot-rtalk. The flower. is fo fmall that it is confounded with tlic feed, which fucceeds it, and with which the brandies are ahnoft entirely covered. At fii ft fight, it might be taken for the Rup- iure-worf, or Htrnian'a, if the branches were fliorter. The whole plant is of a pale green colour, fometimcs reddifli, as well as the ftcm, when it approaches to maturity. It fmclls like a lemon jull beginning to fpoil. It is an excellent remedy for dilbrders of the ftomach, and indigeftion. Its decofbion is fudo- rifjc, and its virtue's are much extolled in the pleuriiy. The method of taking it, is, by chewing one of the green ftems about the fize of one's little finger, and fwallowing afterwards the faliva together with the chewed plant. When taken in this man- ner it is a mild purgative. When there is none of the green plant to be had, it is taken in infufion like tea. M. Delia (poke highly of the anti-venereal virtues of the Co/a- guala, which fome call Calagucla. It grows in barren and fandy Ibils, to the height of kven or eight inches. Its item confifts of icvcral fmall branches, which Ihoot up through the fand or gravel. They are but two or three lines in thicknefs, full of joints placed at fmall diftances from each other, and covered with a pellicle which falls off of itfelf when it is dry. The leaves are very fmall, few in number, and arife immediately from the ftem. The colaguala is looked upon as an admirable fpecific for dilTipating impoftumatlons in a fliort time. Three or four dofes, that is to fay, three or four pieces of it in fimple decodion, or infufed in wine, and taken in the courfe of the day, are fuflicient to eifect this purpofe. Being a very hot plant, it would become injurious <'«•;■■' %^i TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 125 injurious if taken in too large a quantity. The root, which is the only part of *he plant in ufc, is of a reddifh brown colour outwardly, and refembles much the Guaycuru root. When cut horizontally, it has a brown fpot in the center, and a vvhitifli circle in the middle of its fubftance. A Francifcan named fa- ther Rock, famous for his knowledge in phyfic, told me, that he prcfcribed the Colaguala in the epilepfy, as well as in ther venereal dii'eafe; that when it did not fucceed perfe6ll> in the cure of tlie epilepfy, he had affifted it with the following pre— fcription, which had never failed of fuccefs. He makes the patient drink, in the courfc of the day, a quart of water, in which. a young virgin arrived at the age of puberty, or a found healthy woman, has well waflied the parts of generation on getting out of bed ; with particular directions that two glafles of this water lliould be taken fafting, one half an hour after the otiier. This remedy is continued for eight or nine days confecutively, at the decline of the moon j and is repeated for feveral months, efpe- cially in the fpring. The method of ufing the Ca/agua/a, m venereal diforders, is by infufion in wine, or in boiling water. The fame Francifcan being with us at the Governor's coun- try houfe, (hewed me another plant which he called Carqueja^ and which he told us was admirable, in infufion like tea, for diflblving coagulated blood in the body, for purifying it, and removing obftrudions. But it muft be ufed very fparingly, as it agitates the Mood violently, efpecially the root of it. The Carqueja grows like a fmall fhrub, to the height of one foot, and its head is naturally rounded. It has no leaves diftinft from the ftem, which refembles much that of the Genifta or broom, with which I fancy it may be clafled. This ftem divides itfeif into many branches to form the head. Thefe branches are very flexible and thin. The Tgiteril/a, the Zarca, and the Charrua, are plants greatly valued in this country j as well as the Birabida^ or Viravicia, which is reckoned refrelhing and cooling in the highell degree. A French furgeon prefcribed an infufion of the Birabida with good fucctTs III II (I k •I iij m •tl ?». 126 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE I fuccels in a tertian. Frczier reckons ic among the cvcr-grecns. May it not probably be the fame as I mentioned before under the name of Doradilla ? But the plant they make the moft ufe of is the Sifrun, It is properly a kind of thiflle, known under the name of Car- thamum. The defcription of it is found in every botanical trea- tife. Its flower is called the baflard faffron. It has the colour and form of the true fafFronj but has not either its tafte or faiell. At Montevideo and at Brazil they fow the Sifran plenti- fully in their gardens ; becaufe they ufe the flower of it to cover ail their viiitiials, and even the foup. Parrots and Paroquetes are very fond of the feed, which is white, fmooth, and made like that of the Corona Solis, or Sun-flower, but much iliortcr. M. de Bougainville having told me, before he went to invite the Governor, that we Ihould fet out early to go on board again, I went to the yawl at half an hour paft four. There I found M. de la Gyraudais, and the furgeon of the Sphinx. After having converfed fome time about the plants I had been collect- ing, finding that M. de Bougainville did not return, M. de la Gyraudais propofed taking a walk about a mile ofl; behind the citadel, telling us, that the plant Mate had been ihewn him ; and that there was a great quantity of it near a fountain. M. Frontgoufle, who had alfo heard of its properties, came with us in order to gather fome. We colle6led likewife fome of Kji the feed, which I gave, as I did all the feeds I coUedtsd in the courfe of my voyage, to M. de Juflleu, to fow them in the Kinr, s Garden at Paris. While we were fupplying ourfelves with this plant, we heard a plaintive found iflijuig from between a laige heap of (tones and rocks, which cover and furround the fountain: we were not more than feven or eight toifes dirtant from the found. We thought at firft it proceeded from a cat confined among thefe rtoncs, whicii might have efcaped from a iioufe about half a mile diftant. As we came nearer the foun- lain, the ci'j feemed like that of a child. We were advancing towards i TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS.'" 127 towards It, when M. Frontgoufle defired us not to proceed, fay- ing, it was not the cry of a child, but that of an alligator. He told us, he remembered to have heard them more than once in our iflands, and that had we proceeded it would have been to our coft. We found indeed that there were alligators in this country ; M. de St. Simon having already told us, he had fecn one of them on the bank of a fmall river, running behind the mountain, feparated from the town only by the bay in which the port is fituated. Not daring therefore to pu(h our curiofity any farther, we contented ourfelves with gathering a few more plants, and went back towards the town, in order to go on board again. As we were walking along, we met with feveral Cur- lews, by thirty in a body. They came within piftol (hot of us, but we had only flicks in our hands. About feven o'clock we reached the yawl, where we met with MelT. de Bougainville, de Nerville, de St. Simon, and Martin, Lieutenant of the Sphinx. It was very fine weather when we left the Port j and we had already made three parts of our way, when a South Eaft wind arofe fo brilkly as to oblige us to ply our oars, in order to get on board, before it fliould become more violent. It blew however harder and harder. Each cloud as it rofe on the horizon brought a frefli fquall, more violent than the preceding. The waters being confiderably fwelled by thcfe repeated attacks, formed waves which grew bigger and bigger, and retarded our progrefs. Although the fea and the wind were againil us, we were now within gun fliot of the Sphinx, which was the neareft vellel, and on board of which we thought of fetiing M. de la Gyraudais, with the other officers belonging to her. The fine clear Iky had difappeared. Th clouds made the night ftill more dark, fo that we could but juft dilcern the figure 01 a boat, bearing towards us. We then imagined that M. Du- dos, furpe61ing our diftrefs, had fcnt out the longboat to our adiftance. We haied her, but received no anfwer. The fea however drove her towards us with fo much fvviftnefs, that we fooa difcovered her to be our fmall boat, floating at the mercy U of II •" J "t fe i; i» . B '\^ t J23 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE of the waves, witli no pcrfon in her. Wc fliiftcd our courfe to try to favc her j wc cnmc up with hsr, put two men into her with oai9, ami a grappling, and tlien endeavoured to get on our way. It might tli>:n be half an hour after eight. We drove in vain againll the tide, the violence of the waves and the wind. While we were putting the men and the oars into the fmall boar, we had been driven to leeward more than three quarters of a league, on the fide of the French iflSnd, fituated near the coafl, almoft oppofite the citadel. The darknefs prevented us from feeing land, and indeed we could hardly difcern the lights they had put out on board our two frigates. Perceiving therefore, that we got farther and farther from the fliips inftead of coming nearer them, we determined to make for land, and fleered to the point where we thought the city was» for its fituation as pointed out to us only by two lights, at a great diftancc from each other. The waves which broke againfl: our boat, had already thrown in a great deal of water, which wc emptied with our hats j wc were wet to the flcin, and the boat-men were much fatigued. M. de la Gyraudais, after having rowed for an hour, had now taken the helm j we knew not where we were, and had no brandy to keep up our flrength and fpirits. In this, diftrcfs we thoug;ht tiiere was no better expe- dient for us, than to let fall our giappling, to give the men time to reft themfelves. I then put on a great coat I found near me, and wc diftributed the quarter- cloths among the men, to cover themfelves with j not indeed to keep them from the waves, for we could not be more wet than we were, but to flielter them from the wind, which made us fo very cold, that we were ob- obliged to fqueeze as clofe as poflible to each other, in order to keep ourfelves warm. We were almoft refolved to remain in this condition all night, when M. de la Gyraudais thouglit lie perceived, that we were drr/iiging our grappling. He ordered the ftcerfman to lay his hand on the hawfer, that he might judge by the motion, whether our grappling was really aweigh or not. Th.c ftcerfman thought at tirft, that the motion he felt wa» TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 129 was can fed by the fliocks the boat received from the waves j but he icon found out his miftakc, and gave us notice of it. He was ordered to found with the boat-hook, which he did, and found only three feet water, with a bottom of rocks, which are on the borders of tlic whole coa/l, and advance pretty for- ward in the river. The oars were placed in the row-locks, the grappling vvas drawn up, and we rowed for a full quarter of an hour, fou'iding all the while, and finding the fame bottom. At laft wc came to a muddy bottom, with feven or eight feet water. Wc were going to cafl: our grappling here, when the men forefceing they fliould get no fupper in this place, faid, that as we were now in the way, we mult continue, and go and lay on fliore. We were extremely well fatisfied with their rcfo- lution, and fleered to Awards a light, which we imagined to be that of the guard place i at the only port where it is poflible to land. Soon after, as we were al' looking about us, endeavouring t3 find our fituation, we percc red a fchooncr, which we knew to be at anchor very near the j^oit. The fight of this velFel revived our Spirits, and we fxcrted ourfelve;; fo much, that in little more than half an ho ir \'e gained the port. The officer of the guard came out to reconnoitre us. Another officer was fent with the fteerfman to give the Governor notice of our being returned to the city, becaufc wc had not been able to reach our vcifel. He fent us compliments of condolance, and at the fame time invited us to fupper, and defired us to take up our night's lodging at his hcufe. • ' ' We were apprehenfive of being troublcfome to him, not only on account of the late hour, for it was midnight, but alfo becaufe we were too numerous a company: befides, as we- were very . ..':, and in a ftrange pickle, wc thought it better to go in fearcii i a Frenchmnn named Lacombc, of St. Flour in Au- vergne, fettled at Buenos Ayres, and having a houfe alfo ft Montevideo: he was already known to many of our officers, from whom he had made fevcral purchafes. A foldier of the guard, who fpoke French, offered to conduct us. Inftead of U 2 leadinn ii r 1! fill" " '1*1 ^11 MB m itl (1 130 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE i' -^ leading us to the place where M. Lacombe lived, he brought ui to the houfe of a friend of his, where the foldier had feen him feveral times. We knocked near a quarter of an hour before we could get any anfwer. At length they anfwered, the door was opened, and we found M. de Belcourt in bed in this houfe, as it was the place where he lodged. Thinking that we were playing him a trick, he did nothing but laugh at us. As we were nut much in a humour for laughing, we enquired which was M. Lacombe's houfe, and were informed. We were making the beft of our way to it when we met tha. 132 JOURNAL OF r,iY VOYAGE boat of the Sphinx, which had been fent after her, had got to the bottom of the bay, in the place where we ufed to water. They were both returned when we came on board. In the morning of the fixth of January wc went back to the town, to return our thanks to the Governor, and to pay him the compliments of the new year. He detained us to dinner. The converfation turned much upon the curiofities of the country. This made the Governor rccolleft that he had a fhell which he thought very fcarce. H'd Ihcwed it us : it was a papy- raceous Nautilus, as large and beautiful as any I ever faw. He made a prefent of it to M. de Bougainville. It had been fent to him from Rio de Janeiro ; and he told us, he had found a fimi- lar one on the coaft of the ifland Maldonnadoj but that it had been broken. The Governor's lady gave me a parcel of the Canchalagua, which was all fhe had left of it. A few days before (he had made M. de Bougainville a prefent of a paro- quete, which fpoke very prettily, and had alfo given him a cup made of the Calabafli of Peru, mounted in filver, with a Botri' bilia, or tube of the fame metal, ufed to fuck up the mate. Many authors of voyages have mentioned the Paraguay plant, or Caflioberry bufli, as one of the principal fources of the riches of the Spaniards, of the Indians, and efpecially of the Jefuits inhabiting this province. That my readers may be perfedlly acquainted with this plant and its ufe, I fliall infert the account given of it by M. Ullou, which he had from the miflionaries of the country j for as they fuffer none but their own brethren to penetrate into the country, this account can only be had from them. • " It IS affirmed, fays M. Ulloa, that the fale of this plant was at firft fo confiderable, and became fo great a fund of riches, that luxury foon introduced itfelf among the conquerors of this country, who were at firft reduced to the bare neceflarics of life. As their tafte for luxury was always increafing, in order to fup- port their prodigious expenccs, they were obliged to have lecourfc to the Indians fubdued by force of arms, or who had 3 voluntarily ^X'K'^'^ • TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 133 voluntarily furrendered themfelves:of thefe they made their fervants, and foon after their flaves. They worked them too hard, (o that many of them fell under the weight of labour they were iinufcd to i and more of them under the opprefiion of the cruel treat- ment they were expofed to, rather from the lofs of their ftrength, than from their indolence. Others efcaped by flighty and became moft irreconcileable enemies to the Spaniards. The Spaniards fell into their former ftate of indigence j which however did not make them more induflrious. Luxury had increafed their wants fo much, that the fale of the Paraguay plant alone was not fuf- ficient to fupply them : moft of them indeed ^ere now no longer able to buy it, for the great confumption of it had enhanced its price." Tom. L page 13. This plant, fo famous in South America, is the leaf of a tree about the bignefs of a middling fized apple-tree. Its tafte is like that of the mallow, and in figure it nearly refembles the orange leaf. It alfo bears forae refemblance to the leaf of the Cocoa of Peru, where a great deal of it is carried, efpecially among the mountains, and in all places wh'ere tliey work the mines. The Spaniards think it the more neceflary, as the uib of the wines of the country is hurtful there. It is brought dry, and almoft reduced to powder. It is never fuffered to remain long in infufion, becaule it would then turn the water as black as ink. It is diftinguiflied into two kinds, though they arc both one and the fame leaf. The firft is called Caa, or Caamini ; the other Caacuysy or Terva de Pales ; but Father del Tccho afTerts that the name of the genus is Gj^ ; and ditiinguifhes three Ipecies, under the names Caacuis, Caamini. and Luaguazu. According to the lame travcll-r, v.ho palled great part -of his life in the Paraguay, the Cn:icuyn is the firft bud, juii u'/<'lp,r-!ing to expand its lea\es. TJie Caamini is the leaf in full • th, from which the ftalks are taken, before it is roafted: if ••: _ .lalks are left on, it is cciilcd Caaguazu or Palos. The leaves when roafted are prefervcd in pits digged in the earth, and covered with I ' fome faid that one of them was a Maltcfe, others that bf cams from Bifcay : they had given him the pick-name of Spaniard.- The other came from lower Britanny, We fearched for them in vain. We learnt afterwards that they had offered to enter on board the Spanilh frigate, 8t. Barbc, but the owner a^^urcd me he had refufed them. A few days after four failors deferted from the Sphinx : one of them named Plai£ance, who had been for«> mcrly a dragoon, and had ferved in Canada under M. de Bou. gainville. This man had been very prefling fo let hiai embark with us, when we left 8t. Malo. M. de Bougainville had al« ways looked upon him as a very honeft and brave man, very fit to become an inhabitant of a colony. He had given him two complete fuits, and other cloaths. Two days before he had de« ierted, he had been trufted with & fu^l* and a rich fwo< 1 to fell. He gave out that they had been flolen from him. Whether this report was true, or whether he had really fold them, it is certain that one of the inhabitants declared that Plaifance had fold the fword to an officer's iervant. Plaifance finding himfelf fufpefled, and not being able to dear himfelf properly of the accufation, ran away, for fear of being puni(hed for his di(honefly. The Governor, at M. de Bougainville's felicitation, who had pro- mifed ten piafters for every deftrt€r that fhould be brought back to him, fent fome dragoons after them, but they came back without any tidings of them. I believe that if one had even pro- mifed a reward of one hundred piafters, they would not have flopped any of them : for it «s the intereft of Spain to re* tain as many men as pofllbie in the country for the fake of popu]i».tion. '.-;C5S V-'(V,'j/,.:!!; ■ n(ci.;b -A;:'.,:',:? •\ Monte — ■ t # * ■ '"> '-•■-- • « \ ■» • ■ i ■ •,. ■/ ./ % w < CC O 2 ^,1 ■J5l^' TO THE MALOVINE ISLANDS. m Moutevideo is a new colony. Five and twenty years 'Ig6 there were only a few huts in it. It is, however, the only toler^ able place for the anchorage of flups that come up the Rio de la PU^<*. At prefent it is a fmall town which improves every day. The flreets are made perfectly Arait, and wide enough to admit three coaches abreall;. I have given a view of it, taken ae it appeared from on board the Eagle frigate, while we lay at anchor between the mountain and the town, according to tW defcriptioti I have given above. The houiies confiftonly of ground floors, under the roof) ont of them only is co be excepted ) this is fituated in the great fquare, and belongs to the engineer, who built it and lives in tt. It has one ftory, and a kind of a double roof with a pretty long proje^^ion, which fupports a balcony in the middle of tho front. I have given the plan of this town. Each tradefman's houfe generally confU^s of a hall, which ibrves by way of entrance, a few bed'chambers, and a kitchen, the only place in which there is a chimney, and where they make any fire. Thefe houfes are therefoie properly a ground floor, fourteen or fifteen feet high, including the roof. The entrance into the Governor's houfe is a long fquare hall, which receives light only from one fmall fafh> half filled with paper and half with glafs. The bottom of the fafli is clofed with planks of polilhed wood. This hall may, perhaps, be about fif<* teen feet wide, by eighteen feet long. From hence one goes into the room for receiving company, which is almoft fquare, but rather longer than it is wide. At the bottom, oppoiite the only window in the room, made much in the fame tafte as that I- have before defcribed, there is a kind of alcove fix feet wide, clofed with bars of iron, and covered with tigers Ikins. In the- middle of this is an arm chair for the Governor's Lady, and on each fide Gk (lools covered, as the arm chair is, with crimfori velvet. All the ornament confilis in three fmall bad pictures, and a fev.^ large plans, half- pencilled and half coloured, ftlll worfe in point of drawing than the pictures. The tv^o <^her fides rl."*'... 4 ^ ?if^.. --4jU :^ ■• 1 "^l 1 *• V .'^.- ^ iim '^ .;,.« ■H : .<..,, f- •<. 1 H 140 J JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE fides of the room are filled witi; lafi for the men. Theft ore wooden chairs with very high backs, refenibllng thofe made in the time of Henry the fourth of France, having two turned pillars fupporting a frame which adorns the middle, covered with leatlier, curioufly ftainped and wrought, as well as the feat. The door which leads from this room into the next, where tho Governor and his lady fleep, is only dofed by a kind of curtain made of tapeftry. The two angles of this room on each fide of the window are filled up, one with a wooden table, upon which the veflfel for taking the Mat^ always (tands ; the other with a kind of cupboard, having two or three fhelves, fumKhed with a few china dilhes and cups. The lady of the houfe is the only perfon who fits in the alcove when there are only men in company, except (he fliould invite fome of them to fit on the ftools near her. Thefe rooms have, generally fpeaking, neither flooring, nor pavement. From the infide of them one may fee the reeds which fupport the tiling of the roof. The white people fpend their time in idle converfation, in taking the Mat^, or in fmoaking a Sigare or Cigare, which is a kind of fmall cylinder, fix or feven inches long, and about half an inch in diameter, compofed of tobacco leaves rolled one over the other. The merchants, and a very few artifts, are the only perfons who have any employment at Montevideo. There are no (hops, no figns, nor no outward ftiow, by which they can be found. But one is fure of meeting with them, if one goes into any houfe fituated in an angle formed by the meeting of two ftreets. The fame merchant fells wine, brandy, woollen drapery, linen, toys, &c. In the ftreets one meets with nothing but white or black people, or mulatoes on horfcback i and horfes ftanding at the doors of the houfes without being faftened. This country might well be called a hell for horles. They often make them work tliree days following, without giving them either meat or drink ; Ibmetimes * ( TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 1411 fomctimes they arc kept tied up for as Ic ii[; a time, with the fame treatment, and doing nothing exc .)t ri'ining from the end of one ftreet to another. At the end vi three days, they are fcnt back again into tlie country to feed upon what grafs they can find. The perfon who goes with them, takes off the faddle, and puts it upon another horfc, whom he bringS' to the town' to be treated in the fame manner, ' • -• -4 ^ ^^ ■ -m *• • 11^ A Notwithftanding this they are excellent cattle, having pre* ferved the fpirit of the SpaniHi hoifcs, from which they are bred. They are extremely fure footed, and furprizingly fwift. Their flep is fo (harp, and fo long, that it is equal to the full trot^ or fmall gallop of our horfes. Some of them are fo light that nothing can be compared to them. When they ftep they raife the fore foot and the hind foot at the fame time ; jnd inftead of bringing tlie hind foot in the place where the fore foot was,, they Aretch it out much farther, bringing it oppofite to and> even beyond the fore foot of the other fide { which makes their motion as, quick again as that of other horfes, and at the fame time much eafier for the rider. They are not remarkable for beauty -, but deferve much encomium for their fwiftnefs, mild- nefs, courage, and abflemioufnefs. The inhabitants make no provifion of hay or ftraw for thefe animals. Their only food alii the year is in the fields. It is true, that in this country it is. never cold enough to freeze either the rivers or the plants. The environ: of Montevideo are an extenfive plain. The foil is a black thick earth, exticmely fertile with very little ma- nurement. This country only wants fome perfons to be em- ployed in cultivating it to become one of the beft in the world. The air of it is wholefome, the fky ferene, and the heat not exceffive. It is rather deficient in wood, which is found only a long fide the rivers. Here tigers, leopards,, and other wild hearts chiefly refort. The tigers cfpccially are rather numerous,, larger, and more fierce than thole of Africa. The Governor had one of thefe ti^u's brought up from a, whelp in his court yard. He was faftentd near the enUaiice of the door, with a. fingje: W'M jt, V 14$ JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE Tingle ftrap of leather, pafTed rounid hit neck* The dragoons and fervants ufed to play with him, and he never gave any figns of his natural ferocity. They ufed to turn him about, to puU him, to throw him over and over u one would do a tame cat. The Governor feeing that M. de BQUgainville took a fancy to him, had him carried on boifd,,'and made a prefent of him. A cage was made for him of tliick planks, fix inches in fquarei and he was kept eight days. At the end of this time, he began to roar now and then, efpeciidty in the night. It was then ap- prehended that he would grovf lurioos, or that, even in play, he might fwallow the arm of fomt of the (hip boys, or children who went to &e him, and who fometimes put their hands between the planks of hti cage. Bcfides, it was neceflary to fupply him with frefh meiJb B» .hi» food, ati4 we had none of thattofpare. Thefe condlc^itioilB detenniad^M. de Bougain> vilie to haw him ftianglrJ^ He was then but' four months old, and his height, when he GxnA upri^hi^ was two feet three inches. By this one may judge how high he would have grown. The Spaniards of Moatcvideo live, asl have faid before> in great indolence. They are doathed nearly a0 the t^ortuguefe at the iflandof St. Catherine^ but they very fitquently wear white hats, the Asps of which ^k«f!|^lo(^e over their fhoulders, and cannot be made too large for them. The wonoien are pretty wdS ihaped, but one cannot fay with truth that they have a oonT{^xion of lilies and rofes $ on the contrary they are much tanned, have commonly but few teeth, and thole not white. -»= . t;*4p# |., - Their drefs confifb Sdtwiffdly of a plant white or coloutied waiftcoat, wdl itted to the waift, the ikirts of which fall four fingers in length iqion the petticoat. This petticoat is made of r> i\uff more or lefs rich, according to the circumftances or fancy of the pcrlbn who wears it. It is edged with gold lace, or with a fringe of filver, gold, or filk ; fometimes in double rows, but without flounces. They wear no caps of linen or lace, A (im- ple nbbon palled round the head keeps the hair together at the 6 top, fff f/ta/N{(rf/ (>/t f(f>7i/ri>f/n'^r-^ •■ f^J !«• *' t^"* ^^.fUt^f,,^ n -.,,»^<»jfri*» -.«^-*wp»irta>* '^^ 'ff? '■ 1 i ' Pit' ^-tM/irNrt/i.Jmiu <'/* f//t fh>//f//'/4/t\ ^^' %Hl.pi**- m ii," lift, 'Iv l|Ki| "Ii // 1 ///////Mrff (>/t "f'/rr/f/// 'f/lo . 'is i rttll •^.•" ■*^ ►if^ TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 145 ther at the door of a houCc, talking and fmoking; Others mount their horfes, and go out, not to take a ride about the country, but through the flreet. If they have a fancy for it, tliey get off their horfes, mix with any company they meet, goflip for two hours without faying any thing of confequcnce, fmoke, take fome Mattft then mount theii horfes again ho has been all thi^ while (landing as ftock Hill as a V joden horfe, without being i^aftened, and as if he was liftning to the converfation. Sometimes there are as many horfes ■•s men. 1^,^^ .,,,., I mg this interval, the women remain /' -.ird on a ftool at •ttorn of their apartment i having r ^ ;.t;ir feet next to Ho( a mat made of reeds, and over the /out fome cloaks c favagcs, or Ikins of tigers. There they play upon the ^o.iur, or upon any other inftrument, which they accompany with the voice j or they take the MtJtJt while the negro women are drelTing the dinner in the fame room. About half an hour after twelve, or one o'clock, the dinner is fcrved up ; this confifts of beef drefled in various ways, but always with a great quantity of pimento and fefran. Sometimes ragoos of mutton are brought up, which they call Camera j and fomeilmes fifli, but veiy feldom any poultry, which is rather icarce. There is great plenty of game, but the Spaniards do not go in queft of it, as that would be too fatiguing. The defert is compofed of fweetmeats. Immediately after dinner, both mafters and flaves indulge wi the Sie^a, that is, they lie down -, fomeiimes they undrcfs them- fclves and go to bed, where they fleep for two or three hours. Workmen, who live by the labour of their hands, do not deny themfclves thefe hours of indulgence. A great part of the day being thus lol>, this is the reafon of their doing but little work, ami makes all handicrafts exceflively ilear. This circumftance may alfo proceed from the plenty of money there is here. It is not furprizing they fliould be indolent and lazy. Their meat colls them only the trouble of killing, Ikinning, and cut- Y 2 ting Am iti ..>^. v^. V. ^ "°' .o>«. v^ \> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I UiUlA |2.5 Ui 1^ |2.2 i "^ IIIIM m 1.25 1.4 1.6 Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14530 (716) 873-4S03 ^>^ '^O K-V' . t>^ k'^.'""^ "4 i4« JOtk^AL OP MV VOr AO£- T ting lip thf ox todrefi it» ftread is V«-y clwfep. Il'ht Ikihs 6^ dxth sttid eo^ f(irv« to Hiake llWfil all kinds of feck^, to >£o^«t' p^rt dF their honfe^, ahd for « thbiilahd d!h(k* pui-pofes, for \Ar^kh difitrent {biffs of inateri^ls are Ufed ih Europe. Thefe (Idils &x (o cotniiion, that many flips of thetii tire found fc^ttered here aiid there along the ftitets the leitft frei^uen(!ecl, ih the fquares^ atid upon the walls of the gardens. ' '*« fwe^smof at ; a , , « PeA*r bf thefe gfcrdfeiis are cultivated, ifiOttgli thcit is o:ie bc» longing r« eafch hoaft^. Thb ground is' left fbiloVv'. I fa# but one garden tolerably well kept, and this undoubtedly was becaufe the gardener v/as an. Eh^iJhman. Vegfetables therefore are ftarce here. The plant they cultivate the moft is the fefran or Carthamtim, for their foiip And faucts^^ /' n ^ jw; r . ^ lit is very comnUMi among theth to keep a ftiiflrefs. Thoie- v^ have children 1^ them, give thefe children a kind of legi- timacy, by acknowledging theitifelves piiblickly to be their fathers : after which, thefe children inherit nearly «s the legitimates do. There is no ignoMitiy fixed upon illegitimate births; be- caufe the laws iauthorize theim fo far, as even to beflow the title of gentlemen to baftarrfs : in which thefe lAWs appear more agreeable to Immaiiity, not making the innocent fufBer for the guilty. I have obferved, while I Was ait mafs, that the Chaflbble Mtras* compofed only of thfcte (lips of (tuff, fewed together lengthways, without being in the form of a crofs. The middle flip only is of a different colour from the other two. During the time of mafs, one of the inhabitants plays upon the harp^ in a gallery r this harp certainly ferves inffead of an organ. I faw no par- ticular demon(tration of devotion, but that of ftriking their breafb pretty hard five or fix different times, from the t)eginning of the fervice till after the communion. The Ro(ary is much in ufe here ; and the Ave Maria is atmoft the only prayer they^ fay. Many of them wear the Rofary round their necks. The Portuguefe of St. Catherine's ifland, white men, negroes, and Inulatoes, had likewise almoft all of them Rofaries ; fome wore them :»f-- \ TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 147 them outv«rardiy, cfpccitdly the blacks, the others wore them under their cloaths. They are alfo very devoutly inclined to the fcapulary of mount Carmel ; which i» worn by both men and women. They think the fcapulary and the Aviilas will preferve them from all dangers, and infure their eternal falvation. Tl ey are fcru[niloiK only about the externals of devotion. Thei^ Avillas which one fees hanging at their necks are a kind of fea chefnut, refembling a flat round bean, of the fize of a half- crown, and two lines and a half in thicknefs } the ikin is gra- nated, and very finely (hagreened, of a pale chefnut colour } at its circumference there is a black band, which almoft furrounds it. I picked up a great many of them on the fea coail, at the illand of St. Catherine, without knowing what they were : and I have leeh many of them mounted in filver, at a goldfmith's fbop in Montevideo. He tdd me, that when it was worn round the neck it prefervedfrom in£e£iious air and witches. At each altar there b a veil which reaches from top to bot- tom, always hanging before the principal image, hi tbe fame manner as Hiat they place in France befove die hoft, when taken out of tbe tabern.de, during the time of a fermon or a dif- courfe. This veil always remains. At the beginning of mafs» the ftring which fa^ns the veil is pulled up, and the veil railed like a curtain,, (c^ as to difcover the image : when mafs is oveiv the veil is let down agaiz>. Two days after failing from Cape Frehel, near St. Malo, we put into a fmali barrel of water a liquor which had been given us by M. Seguin, a chymift, who lives in the rue des pojle^t prh de tEjlrapadtt at Paris, as a prefervative of fweet water from corruption, as wf;ll by fea as by land, and as having the pro- perty not only of preventing, but likewife of curing the fea fcurvy. As we had hitherto kept the water we brought with us> from St. Malo's, fweet ; we now compared it with the other, and finding no difference, v^ determined not to open this cafk again» in which we had put the liquor, till the frelh water ihould un- dergo fome confiderable change^ 8 The lu 148 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE T f The very night in which the ftorm obliged us to lie at the Governor's, it produced more fatal confequences, at the diftance of two cannon (hot from our frigates. The thunder was very : loud, and the lightning fell upon the Spanifli vef^l the St. Barbe, which had fliifted her anchorage two days before, in order to be more at hand for failing out of the river with the iirft favour, able wind. Their change of pofition brought on this accident, by which they had one man killed, and fourteen wounded, five of whom were dangeroufly hurt} and their mizen mafl: was fhattered. The next day we carried to the Governor's houfe, the compafs invented by captain Mandillo a Genoefe, for finding out the longitude. We wanted to make fome obfervations upon land, which we had not been able to do upon the veflel ail the time of our voyage, even when it was calm ; becaufe the fault of this compafs, is, that the lead motion didurbs 4he fteadinefs of the needle. During a calm, even when it lies quite even, it is more or lefs agitated. Notwithftanding all poflible care was taken to preferve this compafs, yet the damp of the fea air, which pene- trates every where, had affeded the needles, fo as to make them a little rufly at the center, and near the parts which keep them in equilibrio. They had therefore loft that property which is neceflary, and their magnetic virtue was likcwife fomewhat im- paired. We cleared them from the ruft, and recovered their magnetic powers; bdt we remitted oiir obfervations till another day, becaufe it was now lat d we left the inftrument with the Governor. ■'*n«»i\ •• ^ ;'*' ■ . ■ ^ f' On this occafion we exprefled our aftcnifhment to the Go- vernor, that the inhabitants of Montevideo fliould not think of procuring themfelves (hade in their gardens, and other extenfive places, by planting of trees; and we mentioned our furprize alfo at obferving, that the country feemed totally deprived of that benefit. He told us there were fome trees along fide the rivers, and that a country houfe which he had at the diftance of about two leagues from the city was well furni(hed with them. ^: (, (^' •H- T<5 THE MALOUiNE ISLANDS. 149 them. He propofed a party to go there on horfeback the next day in the afternoon, after dining with him. We accepted of the ride with an intent not only of feeing the country, but at the fame time to convince ourfelves of the many won- derful and incredible things he and many others had told us of the horfes of Paraguay. The party being concluded on, the Governor took upon him- felf to provide us with a fulRcient number of horfes, which were to be ready about three or four o'ck>ck. ,r3ii:/^y-i:> eid 2« ^.uvi? j->;>The vicar had invited me to dine with him that day, in com- pany with Me(r. Duclos, the two brothers, firft and iecond cap- tain, M. de Belcourt, the paymafter of the SpaniHi troops, a Fleming who fpoke the French language well, and the two Tons of M. Duclos the elder. We went there, and during the whole dinner time, a mulatto played upon the harp. About the middle of dinner, another man, whom they called a civilized Indian, joined the former and accompanied him with his guitar. Then the vicar, who was the only eclefiaftic in town, called in four or five little blacks about eight or ten years old, and as many negro girls of the fame age. He made them dance to the found of his inftruments, and the caflancts they had in their hands. The children acquitted themfelves with furprifuig agility and clevernefs. One circumllance a little tirefome in thefe Indian dances, is, that almotl all the fame motions are repeated in every dance, it mufl; alfo be allowed that there is no great variety in the tunes they fmg or play. The mufick of fome of them, efpecially of the Sapateo is pricked down in Frezier's account of a voyage to the South Sea. They knew in this country, not only what the King of Por- tugal had done againft the JeCuits in his dominions, but alfo what the parliaments of France, and the governmeiu, had en- a6led againft this fociety. The vicar defired me to give him in writing an account of what was reprelented in that famous pidure found among the Jefuits at Billom, in Auvergne, at the time when an inventory was there taken of tlie furniture ami .. . - * effcas W" 156 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE r .*" ** ^ eflfefls of thofe fathers, after the condemnation and fuppreflion of their inftitution in 1762, and 1763 } and the fecularization of its members. I fatisfud his curiofity with regard to this au- thentic monument of Jefuitical folly. This vicar is a man of good fenfe, and generally beloveds He has thirty flaves, negroes and negro- women, great and fniall. It is his pleafure always to have fomebody to dine with him. He gives his company a hearty welcome, and treats them well. He looks upon all his Haves as his children, and is beloved by them. He educates them well in order to give them afterwards their liberty, with forty or fifty cows or oxen, to put them in a way of keeping up their freedom. But he pajrs a particular regard, I may indeed fay, he (hews an uncommon degree of aJSedion, for a little mulatto, almoft white, who is the Ton of one of his mulatto flaves, as he was pleafed to fay by an Irifh officer, but who bears in all the features of his face the (Vrongeft marks of being the vicar's own Ton. He told us he mtended to fend him into France to ftudy, and to make a phyfician of him. The child is at prefent feven years old. When there is company, he makes him dine by himfelf, and when there ia nobody, often with him. He has already fettled five and twenty thoufand piafters upon him. His living, and his own private income bring him in about four thoufand, and he is now about fixty years old. We were waited on at table by four negro women, by the mother of the little mulatto, who is alfo a mulatto, and by an Indian woman the wife of a Cacique, taken at tlie colony of St. Sacrament from the Poituguefe, in the laft fiege the Spa- niards laid to it. Thefe women were all with child, though neither of them was married except the Indian, who knew not whether her hufband was alive or dead. Neither men nor women in this country, are in the leaft fcrupulous upon this article. -f;ir:^r -L^^i'A'^j r':i^.>-*'f -.>-i.'in .;: At the defert, MeflT. de Bougainville, de Nerville, and I'Huillier de la Serre, came to meet us ; and we all went together to the Governor s houie, where we found hodes i-eady for us. The * Governor's TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 151 43overnor's lady, drelTed like an Amazon, and having a gold laced hat on, cocked after the military fafliion, put herfelf at the head of our cavalcade, mounted upon a beautiful horfe, whofe value anfwered to his appearance. M. de Bougainville's horfe was equally fine. With a kind of doubled pace, which refembled ambling, they always left us behind. It was all we could do to keep with them, fome of us trotting, others on a canter. We continued this pace till jve reached the country houfe, which we did not do till more than a full hour after our firft fetting out, though they told us it was no more than one league diftant from Montevideo. Father Rock, a Francifcan, was here waiting for us, with the Governor's fon, a child of three years and a half, to whom this father was preceptor. We found a plentiful collation ready for us ; and after drinking a glafs, merely on account of the heat of the weather, we went to fee the Governor's orchard, which he called a wood. ^ ' •::•■, it - This country feat is nothing extraordinary with regard to the houfe; which confifts of one fingle ground floor, as all the other houfes do j on account of the violent winds, very frequent in this country, which might blow them down if they were built higher. The only remarkable thing here is a tolerably pretty room, which however has no other ornament than fome geogra- phical maps, fixed on the bare wall, and fome wooden chairs covered with leather, which is figured with flower work. At the diftance of two or three gun (hots from the houfe, the orchard is planted : this confifts of apple, pear, peach, and fig trees, difpofed in alleys^ which are not very regular, except the middle walk, which reaches from one end of the orchard to the other, and is about a mile and a half in length. A pretty con- fiderable brook winds through the orchard; which has probably hindered the walks from being cut ftrait. They are however extremely rural, on account of the number of tall, as well as low plants growing in them without cultivation. The balm efpecially abounds there, I acquainted the Governor, M. Bella, Z and ¥ '5a JOURNAL OF MY VOVAOB and another officer, with Its virtues. They were the more pleafcd with my account, as the olant is extremely plentiful in this country, and they thought it might perhaps be uTed inftead of the Mat^. „' » ; '^ ' . , . ; v i r The trees were fo laden with fruit, that moft of the branches, unable to dipport the weight, were already broken. We advi£bd the Governor to have the others fupported with props, more efpecially as he told us, that all thefe fruits were of the beft and mod excellent kind. We could not judge of this ourfdves, as the time of their being ripe, was not till the end of February % at prefent however they had an exceeding fine appearance. One might make a delightful walk of this orchard } but the Governor does not employ any body about it, hecauTe it is his intention to Return to Europe, where he propo&s to fix entirely. As we v^ere coming back, I fpoke to fadier Rodi, and held a converfation with him in Latin, upon feveral points of philor fophy ; which I foon found he had only fludied in Ariftotle's fchool, both by the barbarous and ob£)lete terms he made uie of, and by the fyftem he followied. He indeed coofelTed himfeif to be much attached to k. He told lae, he was a Peripatetie and a Scotijit itnd wou/d remain Jo all bis life. He fpoke pretty good Latin, and with facility. The greateft difficulty to me viras his pronunciation of u as ou, and his manner of pronouncing the g, which the Spaniards always lofe in their dicoats, pro* nouncing it nearly as an afpirate. Befides the attention this required of me in order to underiland him, I was alfo obliged to confidei' of what I had to fay, and at the fame time to epdea-p vour to catch his pronunciation, without which, be might not perhaps have comprehended me. A £ew days before, for the firft time, I had been exadly in this fituation with him. Having heard that he was a man of learning, I had been to pay him a vifit at his convent. I inquired for him, in the Latin tongue, of one of his brethren who opened me the door. He made me a fign to walk in, without anfwering a fingle word, i went in, 7 and TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 153 and meeting with three more brethren, I inquired for father Roch in the fame language : and one of them anfwered me only. Padre Fratre Rocb? fuoras. This was all I could get out of him. On this occafton as on many others I felt how difagree- able it was for a traveller to be unacquainted with the language of the country he is in. The want of comprehending exa£lly what others fay j and the being obliged to be filent, when one has fomething oS confequence to fay, for fear of not being rightly underftood, is a fituation worfe than that of a deaf man, who has at leaft the fati8fa6tion of fpeaking, and making him- felf underftood. On returning a fecond time to the convent, I had the good fortune to meet with the fuperior, who anfwered me in good Latin, which he (poke, though with kmt little faditation. He brought me kite his cell, where we converfed together for a full iialf hour, after whtdi father Roch came and jomed us. In the courfe of this converfatton, he informed me of iamQ remedies, the fuccefs of which he had feen in repeated experiments. I give the receipts of fome of them here, that any perfon who thinks proper may have an opportunity of trying them. *]^ootb'acb, Extraft from the fuller's thiftle, a worm which is always found in it when it is ripe. Rub this worm between the thumb and fore-finder, prefTnig it gently till it dies through weakne(s. One or other of thefe two fingers applied to the tooth will have, at lead: for a whole year after, the |)roperty of removing tUi pain. The Farcy in Horfes* At the end of autumn colled the bearded protuberances, or kinds of chefftuts belonging to the eglantine : bruife the worm you will find in them, and make the horfe fwallow it in a glals of wine, or any other liquid j then cover him up warm. Z 2 A ) »54 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE ■ •- * ' ' A foundered Horfe. '; ' • ' Let him take one or two fpoonfuUs of common Talt, in lialf a pint of common water. ^HT ,{\ \ ' ' v* ' V" . .1 Malignant Fevers, Under each fole of the patient's feet, apply a tench quite alive, without flitting them, or doing them any injury. Bind them on with linen rollers, take them off at the end of twelve hours,, taking care if poITible, not to infpire the fmell that comes from them, then bury them quickly, or throw them down the houfe of ofHce ; and the patient will foon recover. t'S^-t-n .'-••^i. '■W'' ^infey. Take as many earth worms alive as will make up the iize of an egg } put them between two pieces of thin muflin, and apply them round the patient's bare throat. Renew the application ■ every three hours for two days fucceflively. "'^ • ■> Bleeding of the nofe. Put into the patient's two noflrils, or behind both his earff,^ a fmall quantity of hair taken from the private parts of the fex different from the patient s and the blood will (lop almoft in* ftantaneoufly. < *' ' ' ' i i. ; , ., . An infallible plaijler for Bringing out the fmall'Pox when It has Seen driven in. Take fome rye meal ; mix it up with fome rain water, (bme verjuice, a new laid egg, and half an ounce of orpiment finely powdered. Beat the whole well together, and fpread it upon« blotting paper. Sprinkle it with cloves in powder, and apply this poultice to the foles of the feet ; it mult be left there for the fpace of four and twenty hours, then taken off, and thrown q^aickly into the fire* . ,^ . Fmff TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 155 - Fluor jllbus, Bruife the leaves of the plant called moufe-ear, and fqueeze out the juice to the quantity of two ounces, which the patient mud take fading, in a cup of broth, or a glafs of white wine. The dofe muft be repeated for fome days fucccfllvely, after fome purging phyfic has been given to the patient} who will feed only upon meats of eafy digedion, and will abflain from all kind of excefs. The father aifured me that this medicine had cured women in five or fix days, who had been aiHi£ted with, this diforder for eight or ten years.^ ' T Immoderate Menftrual Fluxi ^ Torrefy, upon a new earthen plate, or upon the fire^fhovel well cleaned, as much hair, taken from the private parts of a healthy middle aged man, as one can hold between the finger and thumb. Reduce it to powder j and let the patient take it fading in a glafs of good red wine. For a fuppredion of the menfes it mufl be taken in white wine. The remedy may b& repeated a fecond time. Swelled Glands and other fcropbulous Tumors. Apply one or two dead plantain leaves to them. Renew the application, with frefh plantain, twice a day. At the fame time,: let the patient take, every morning fading, a warm infufion o£ walnut-tree leaves, in the fame manner as tea.. \h sh Colic t and Stitch in the Side. Let the root of the fun-flower be applied under the armpit o£ the fame fide where the pain is. As foon as it is grown warni> there the colic goes off. This application, was tried with fuc<^ cefs in aa obdinate ditch of the fide* \'M. Exoftoju, Flatten a ball, which has killed an animal, and apply it im^ mediately upon the part adefted. ' \i\ I-f;.-. ^%5i!{f^ >"'*.'« * ' . 156 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAOt Palfy. Boil fume radiflies in water, with a fmall quantity of gin, and ' drink it for common drinic. One may alio put radifhes into the foup inftead of common foup herbs. ' '■ ■' Ulcers, • ' . Chew the dried treadles of (heep, and apply them by way of of pouhice to the fore. Let the application be renewed morning and evening. Cancer aini Ulcerst Put a large live toad into a new earthen pot, and over it put two ounces of rolls of fulphur in powder. Lute the pot well, and calcine the whole. Apply the afhes to the cancer. Cirrts and Warts, After having fcratched them and taken off the hard part, rub them well with tlie mufhrooms which grow naturally upon a dunghill. Pains after Cbild-birfb, Boil two new laid eggs, and put into each of them a piece of fugar ill powder, as big as a filbert j mix it well with the yolks, and let the lying-in woman take it, drinking over it a glafs of good wirte daflied with a little water. To premcle ihe Difchetrge of the Lochia, Put two drachms of flower of fulphur into two glafles of boiling water, let this boil for a few minutes, then ftrain it through a linen rag, and let the liquor be taken. An Amulet a^ainjl the Falling Sieknefs. • - Put into a crucible, upon a flow fire, 6ne ounce of SpaniAi mercury, or mercury feparated from cinnaber. When the mer- cury acquires a little heat, and begins to fimmer, throw in one drachm of filver beaten very thin, ami ftir the whole 'K'ell with a rod of iron, a little heated. Afterwards remove the CfucJble ..' -T- * quickly •' ?*/ J J| tLu. ,**^ TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 157 quickly from the fire, and pour out the contents, leaving them to grow cold, Put this amalgama into a fiQall leathern bag, cloTely fowed up, Faften this bag vound the neck with a Aring, To as it (hould fall upon the pit of the ftomach, where it muft be conAantly worn, fiefore this amulet is applied, the patient muft be blooded in the cephalic vein, at the new moon. The ^ bleeding muft be repeated, at the new moon, the two following months. Broncbocele, ^, Apply fome common fait, wdl dried and a little warm, \o the tumor. When the fait grows damp, let it be taken ofFy well dried, and then applied again } this proccfs is to be re- - peated till the diforder is cured. Specks on the Eyes. T^ke of dragon's blood, of fuccotrine alces, and of royrrh, fq^ual quantities, and let them all be very finely powdered. Mix a Aifiic^ent quantity of this ^< 'W<^er with the yolk of a new laid egg* fo 3s to form a plai(ler, which is to be applied to the tem- ple on the fame fide as the eye afFefted. When the plaifter falls off of itfelf, put another on, and continue in this manner till the cur« is completed. Pain in the 'Teeth, and bow to make them fall out without Pain. Pu^ into the hollow of die tooth three drops of ipirit of fal aniQioniac, and a fmall bit of cotton over it. Corns in the feet. Take off the indurated part, without making them bleed, then apply feverdi times, the red fediment found at the bottom of a chamber pot, when the urine has been left any time in it. Then cover them with a piece of thin leather, repeating this till the corns are removed. Fluxiow 9. ■xi^.'.' -'*. i5« JOURNAL OF MV VOYAGE %. Fluxion in the Breaft. Set a pint of good cow's milk upon the fire } when it boils fkim it two or three times, then throw in a large glafs of good Spanish wine, and after it has boiled up twice, take it from the £re. When the milk is turned, ((rain off the whey through a linen rag, and let the patient drink a fmall glafs full of it warm every quarter of an hour. - • - . ; . to bring about the Delivery of a dead Child, Take fome of the feed of the greater burdock, reduce it to powder, and let the patient take one drachm of it in a glafs x)f wine. ' . '■ ' f > Convulfions in Children caufed by Teething, Cut fome of the root of wild valerian into fmall pieces. String them like the beads of a necklace, fo as to make a neck- lace of them for the child j who is to wear it 'till the teeth Jiave pierced the gum. The application may be renewed every fortnight. . . . • , Dropfy. Let the patient take, fading, as mlich of the mifletoe of eg- lantine in powder as will cover a farthing, after it is infufed the whole night in a glafs of white wine, which is alfo to be taken. Half of this dofe only is given to women and children. This medicine was communicated to me by a Lieutenant of our fri- gate named Le Roy. He told me his father had tried it fe- veral times, and with fuccefs. Hyfteric Vapour i. Rub the infide of a faucer with garlic laid on very thick; Then apply the fide rubbed with garlic to the navel. Hold it on 'till it flicks, and let it not be removed till it falls off of itfelf. Ftjlulce :. • . *• '<:' TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. i^y / - MJUdatf aUKinis, Take the leaves of St. John's wort, of the lefler. worm wood, and of the round birthwort, ofeach one handful: fuccotrine aloes, and myrrh in powder, of each one ounce. Let the whole be in- fufed in two quarts of good white*wine, in a pot well glazed, and Arongly luted upon a gentle heat, for three quarters of an hour : let it afterwards boil for a quarter of an hour: ftrain off the liquor when cold, and add to it one pint of good fpirit of wine. Keep the whole in a, bottle weU,coi;ked. Thi& liquor is to be inje^ed into the fiftula five or fix times a day, applying a tent or comprefs dipped tn the fame to the vround. This remedy has been tried feveral times iuccefsfuUy, l)y M. Duvwnay, aiurgeon of Chambery. .., . ..^ Jpor X^jfordtrj ^the Byes^ ewn the Gutta Sereffa,ian Optbalmk won- , t. . . , . _ , ^ ^erful in its 'E^e&si, *:■,-,' Take thirly-one live cray-fi(h, caught precifely when the fun and moon ace in Cancer, and not at any other time. Take alfo pf the xoots, Aalks, leaves and flowers of the celandine, gathered before fttn-*rife, as much as will equal the weight of the cray- jfilh. When all this has been well pounded together in a wooden or ftone mortar, add of fienneUfeed one ounce, of bean flower and camphor eadi half an ounce; doves, hepatic aloes, pre- pared tutty, all in powder, of each two drachms. Mix the whole well in a mortar, and divide it afterwards into three parts. Put one of the parts into an alembic» and diftil in B. M. till it is dry : take out the refiduum, preferve it, and put a fecond part of the compOfition into the. alembic, together with the water drawn ofl^ from the firft diflillation. Diflil this again till it is dry. Take out the refidnum a fecond time, keep it, and put in, in its ilead, the third part of the compodtion, with all the water diftilled. Let the diftillation be xe|>eated a third time. After- wards c&lcine the three refiduums in a cloTe veflel, extract the fait by diflblution, filtration, and evaporation, fecundum or- ttm. Let the ialt obtained be added to the diililled water, and A a after i6i» •' JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE '^^ after the whole has digefted on a flow fire, keep the liquor in 4 bottle well corked. . .♦w. 5;, -^if-...^ !,,:.! t.-. -o^ i.jjj'ie. ^{(3^ i\r:vr:i hiffn ,|,eJii«' teucl. j^^^^^j ofujing the foregoing Application. ^ ' Let the patient be'purged at leaft twice with a mild cephalic medicine, leaving the interval of a day between the two dofes; and if he is plethoric he muft be blooded once at the decline of the moon. Two or diree drops of this collyrium are afterwards to be introduced into the eye morning and evening, with the black feather of a fowl's wing, and let a flight comprefs dipped in the liquor be applied over the eye. ' During the ufe of this remedy, which muft be continued about forty days for a gutta ferena, one muft be careful to keep the boj'iJ> 'jf„ eifcellent and almofl univerfal Balfam. ^ ' '^ * ~ Put into a glazed earthen pan,' which will bear the fire, and which holds about five or fix quarts of water, three pints of fine olive oiF, ' half a pound of frefli yellow wax, cut into fmall pieces, half a' pint of rofe water, three pints of good red wine, and two ounces of red faunders in powder. Let the whole boil together for half an hour, ftirring' the mixture all the while with a wooden fpatula. When this is done, throw in a pound of fine Venice turpentine, not of the common fort, with four ounces of good honey, and two drachms of camphor in powder. The finer fort of Venice turpentine is not fliarp to the tongue, and has no difagreeable fmell ; it Is white and not yellow. Mix the wholfe together by ftiiring it well vwth- the ijpatula TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. idi fpatula for one or two minutes; take the pan off the fire, ftra'm tiiebalfam throu|;h' a linen rag, and let it be kept in earthen pots. ^^■'A n'^ 'tm^i^ IOC ■""'i •' '• .lavictj ImUliffU 'Iknil ' -i \-ir. \ ru ,k-' XJfe of the foregoing Balfam. , For wounds, ulcers, mortifications, contufions, burns, rheu- matic and other pains, tlie part affected is firfl; either wadied or fomented with a little warm red wine ; afterwards the part is v£ry freely anc^nted with the Balfam, and a piece of blotting- . paper, fteeped in it is applied. This drefTing is repeated morning and evening. If ^ the wound penetrates any of the cavities of the .body, the balfaip is to be thrown up with a fyringe, and the pa- tient niuft take a drachm and a half, or two drachms of it, in each bafon of broth, or in fome deco6tion of vulnerary herbs. The iame doze of this medicine may alfo be taken in the pleu- rify, the cholic, and other internal pains, taking care at the fame time to apply it warm externally, rubbuig it in on the part where the pain is feated. I have tried this Balfam and always with fuccefs. , , . , .. .,*! ■•■•'!• • ■' ! ■'■:' ■''■••■'•■ ■ ■. :-:,'. }■■ ' ' " ■ ■ For an inveterate Head-ach, caufed by a FhtxioB of Humours, and • ♦ • ;, '- c, . for/fn Hj/drecepba/us, , .,f^ ,.',,.\^ ... r Pound, in a wooden or ftone mortar, ten or twelve tops of vervain, with fome rye-meal, and five, or fix, or more whites of eggs : the vervain may be omitted. Make a cataplafm of this, vvhich mud be applied to the nape of the neck, and over the ihoulders, io as to cover almoft the whole fcapula. Let a fine nap- kjn four times double be laid over it, and let it be left on for fix or eight hours. If the patient is not then cured, a fecond poultice of the fame kind is to be applied, which is to be left on as long as the other, or thereabouts. It very feldom happens that a third poultice is neceffary. The patient niuft afterwards be purged. This poultice is equally beneficial in rheumatifi^s* A a 2 /i Kwijl :!• jfmoi0 J^biha; GJA*. dnd B^iM of tSt BHti/f\ '-'- "^ ht ah eartheii or rttj deitii'coppto partj hf oMfe'ikyuftcFdfi^ juniper berries, well broifcd, be boiled for half an hour, with^ al pound of frefh unfalted butter, which has not been wafhed,' Then let the butter Kd ftiVnied off, wM af very ftrong exprefllon of thd jtiti^r mMi To m ^m&iy fl^ihed^ <^ adtt" an equal weight of thbbdl hbiltiy, a»doonfbf, is to be UXi^ in' thdi mornihgrfttftihg^ fuilbiinijB^ ittb'ihelt intiieihdhth^likt arbzanto^.; The (iSit doze is t6 be reiieMtfed it ni^ht gcnhg tb'kd. WU^ the diforder is dangdroiksi a thihi ddfb'miy bb tkkeh'.tiifeiKdrTc^ui^ hours aPier dinh^r. Ih cottimon dUbi^ddrs 6f tlsef bre^ tii^ Jfh^ ^m/ikkttiif I^ left out. '^'^ i All th(ire rbm^di^s have nbt bash (!orhn!i^catid tb'iMe by im Franciftan father whom t have b^tfore itlehtioned; but' AaVhig^ feen the good effects of almoft all thofe I have givdi bdf6re, t have been very ^ad of this opportunity^ of making them known for thegood of thfe jJttbfic' The day after our pai^^df pldaRirelnib the country, which I havci|^6ie^h of, fobrlndiaiM orKfd^vii^ df the cbun% dhib to pi'cfeht tkmffl^es tb thfc GbVembi^, vflSe Wi vT^wftH hhit <^ji- amining Cap^alh Mahdtifo's com|»is. k& (btih. ak the Goverhor faw thehi coming iin/td his cburt-yaWf, hfc hiatf aM the ddbri of his rooms fhut up. Upon our afkihg him the rcstfon of this, Ut told us, that the r66m wohhf be itrfe^ted for ei^t d^ys; if thiy were fiiffered to cotiie into it; dnd th^ die fntdll «^hitdi e)(- haled from them ^id itiHf even^ the ^atfs. I^hls fhidl ptt>. celeds from their ainbihtihg thKr bodies with a certain kind of oil and greafe to prefeVve thtmielves fkom infefh^ Thefe indiahs finding the door (hiot, came up to the itiiidow^ where we were, and one of them pulled out of a bag made of a tiger's (kin, a paper written and fblded up, which he prefented; .--t" - ' r - -■-■'> ■ ^ The '■■^ I -J: I /'. l\./>.lf\1. / TO THE IVtALOiriNE ISLAN'DS. 163 The Governor received and read it, being written in the Spanifh tongue, ft was a ccrtififcate, iil Which feveral Spanifti Governors declared fucceffively, that the bearer of it was of the race of their Caciques or Princes, and that hfc htmffelf w^s tht chief of a vil- lage. The Governor returned the Certificate, and the Indians aTked him by figns for ai Iheet of'paper ihftbad of the one which before held the certificate, and which i chief, and without whofe order, thcfc Indians would not have «(lvauc il one ftcp, nor have fired a fingle mufket. Tlic Governor oi Mo4itevidco, who commanded the Spaniards, and feveral other officers prcfci! at this attack, told me, they were obliged to fettle the plan of o{-ciation8 with the Jefuit, "vho afterwards gave out his orders in his own name to the Indians, who were encamped fcparatcly from the Spaniards. Dragooi .J arc almoft the only troops of that country. Their horfcs are equipped in the fame manner as at Paraguay. AH the men wear the Ponchos, which they find more cgnvenieut than J\n cloke both for the horfe and his rider. The Ponchos, as I have faid before, is a piece of ftM"*fc i>ied like the coverlet of a bed, two or three ells lone^. an.! t cUb wide. One muft pafs one's head through a (lit in i! •- middle, to put it on. It hangs down on both fides, anu ucluiid as well as before. It is wore on hordbback and on foot. The poor people and the negroes never take it off till they go to bed. It does not hinder them from working, becaufe it may be thrown back at the fides over the flioulders ; by which means the arms and the fore-part of the body are at liberty. This kind of garment is fafliionable on horfeback, even for both fcxes, and among perfons of all ranks. It is eafy, however, to di(%ingt7i'> ranks and fexes, notwithftanding the fimplicity of the Ponchos. Riding on horfeback is fo common among the women, that they are as ready and alert at this exercife as the men. The differences by which the rank and fex may be diftin- guiflied with regard to the Ponchos, confifl in the finenefs, light- nefs and richncls of the fluff. The horfcs are not (hod in this country. The faddle and fur- niture are alio different from thofe ufed in Europe. They firft put upon the horfe's bare back a piece of coarfe foft fluff, of a loofe texture, which they call Schurd''ros \ over that a girth, then a piece of ftr'^'^g leather of the h^ti o/ tlic (addle, which !u jging, over the horle's crupper fervf'. ' r n^v. ..g. Th.j is called G/r- neros. Over this leather is placed the faddle, made like that we 5 ufe TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 169 ufe for pack-horfes, and over the faddlc they throw one or more fliccp Ikins, fewcd together. This they call the /V/i&w. Above all this they put a ft-cond girth, 01 lurcingle, tofaftcn the whole. The lliirnps are fmall and nariow, for they only put the end of the (hoe into them j and thole who go bare-footed, reft only the point of the great toe. The bit of the bridle is iron, all of one piece, and without ftuds. The reins are compofed of fe- veral fmall ftraps, interwoven with each other, as the firings of a bell or clock } arnl are at leaft fix feet ami . ^If, or feven feet in length, as they ferve at the fame timef for a vhip. A femi- circular bar of iron, attached to the fame piece whu n receives the horfe's lower jaw, produces the fame efft^ as the urb. That part of the Carneros which projcfts beyond \..it ladti c, and falls upon the crupper, is figured. On the 9th inftant, the Governor, t c ma) of tfic trooj^s, and their ladies, came on board the Euglc frigate ab< it noon, where we gave them as good a dinner as we could. 7 he Uii of the lea, or the motion of he Ihip, though fcarce pei t -^ible, were rather troublefome to the major's lady, and ma« her ib fick, that fhe could neither tit nor drink any thing, .k t a couple of oranges, and was obli £;ed to quit the cabbin wliei we were at dinner, to go and breath the frelh air upon deck. s circum- llance rather difturbed our entertainment, and oblig the com' pany to return to the city very early. As we were attending them to Ihore in our cuttf we per- ceived an exceeding foetid imell, much relismbling the utrid ex- halation from the carcafe )f an animal that has bee; dead a great while. We thought at firft that it had proceeded from the dead body of fome bull, kili^d and left upon the fhore til t was putrificd, from whence the w ind might bring it to us. The Go- vernor undeceived us ) afTurin g us, that it was the exhalation of the urine of an animal namec ZoriJ/os, who was cither angry, or purfued by fome other animal- The Zorillos is of the fize c a weafel, not quite fo long, with iedd;& ha r, lighter under the belly which is almoft grey. Two B b 2 vfhitQ I ' fi «i » 170 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE If ii* white lines extend the whole length of the back, forming, from the neck to the tall, almoft an oval. The tail is very bufliy, and the animal always keeps it raifed up as the fquirrel does. When he finds hlmfelf purfued, or is provoked by any thing, he immediately expels his urine, which infe£ts the air, to the ex- tent of more than a mile and a half, with an almolt infupportable fmell of carrion. We perceived this fmell two or three times while we weie on board our frigate, though we were more than four miles and a half diftant from land : it is true indeed, that the wind blew from the land. M. Duclos, our captain, had already told us of this, but we had not taken his word for it. The faft was confirmed to us by the vicar of Montevideo, who made a prefent to M. Duclos of a fur lining made with the fkins of this animal fewed together. Thefe fkins have no bad fmell. The Zorillos is perhaps the fame as the Stinkbingfem, or en- fant du diable (devil's child) of Canada, the urine of which pro- duces nearly the fame effect?. The Chincbe of the fouthern parts of America alfo refembles much the Zorillos. -^v . ^ a ; ; , i Another animal very common in thefe parts, and about Buenos Ayrcs, is the Tatu-apara, which we call T^atou. the Spaniards Armadillo^ and the Portuguefe Encubertado. As this animal is very well known, 1 (hall not give any defcription of it. Ximenez fftys, that the fcales of the Armadillo, reduced to powder and taken to the quantity of one drachm in a decoilion of fage, brings on a perfpiration fo falutary, that it cures the venereal dif- eafe ; and that it throws out fplinters from all parts of the body : and according to Monades, liv. xv. pag. 552, the fmall bones of this animal's tail cure a deafnefs. Notwithftanding the rilk there was in felling of any mer- chandize at Montevideo, and the difficulties our people met with in difembarking them, to prevent their being feized $ yet fevcral of our officers and many of the crew, who had got together fome few things, in hopes of felhng them at the French ifland, and at the Eaft Indies, where they thought they were going, got rid of them, and were felling them every day. TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 171 day. Our (hip being the firft veflel which had put in at this place fince the peace, our things fold very well. The guards feized upon fome packets brought on Hiore w\th too little cau- tion. They even threw yefterday into prifo:i two cockfwains, on whom thefe packets were found. M. de Bougainville being informed of this, exclaimed and ftormed very much againd thefe cockfwains, faying, they deferved to be treated as they were. He went to the officer, repeated the fame thing to him, and deflred only that his uniform, which the prifoners had on ..^n they were taken up, might be delivered ; that as for the K.en they might keep them, to intimidate the reft, and that he hitn- feif would put them in irons if they were releafed. By this behaviour, M. de Bougainville perfuaded them that he did not countenance this pradice. The parcels and the men were both given upi and it was even defired that the men might be excufed. From this circumftance, it was eafily found out that our people had not taken proper meafures. A ferjeant having complained on this occafion, that he had not received the value of one real, though he had aflifted in bringing many parcels on fhore, and that he had, as he faid, wore out a pair of fhocs in going about the town to (hew fuch of our people as had any thing to fell, into the proper houfes; this declaration made us underftand that we ftiould not meet with fo many difficulties, if we did but diftribute a few piafters among the officers and guards. We began therefore by giving away a few pieces of eight, a few (hiits, &c. and every body was very ready to let us do as we pleafed, even the officer himfelf placed there on purpofe to prevent any kind of trade. As we were fuppofed not to have any Spanifti coin, and that French coin was not cursent in that country, M. dc Bougainville alked and obtained leave to fell fome butts of wine, brandy, oil, and fome other fuperflnous goods he had, in order to pay for the flour, and the frcrti meat, the Governor had always taken care to provide for us every day at the port ; as well as for the oxen, cows, horfes and other animals, he wanted to buy. It was now time to think of quit- ting ill ^1 I mi "liiitl m jyz JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE f ; 1 1^ ting Montevideo, in order to go to the place of our deftinationJ We therefore provided ourfelves with every thing we thought neceflary for this purpofe : the quantity of water, ilour, and animals M. de Bougainville aiked for, excited the curiofity of the Governor with regard to the defign of our voyage. AH the crew, even the oiiicers themfelves, were perfedly ignorant as to this point, and thought, as I faid before, that we were going to the Eaft Indies. This report had been propagated, and M. de Bougainville conBrmed it, by telling the Governor we were going to the Indies, without fpecifying to which of them. The trouble neceflfarily attending thefe preparations prevented us from day to day from trying to make any accurate obfer- vations with the inftrument or compafs of captain Maudillo, fo that we did not think of fetching it from the Governor's till we were juft preparing to fet fail. As it is of the greateft confe- quence to take advantage of the firft favourable wind, efpecially in the harbour of Rio de la Plata, where the anchorage is fo dangerous ; and as we faw that this compafs could not be of much ufe to us with regard to the longitude, M. de Bougainville' lefolved to leave it with the Governor. He wrote to him by the Captain of a fchooner, to defire that he would keep this inftrument, and at his return into Spain • fend it to him in France. All the reR of the time we f^aid in the harbour, was employed in preparations for our voyage. Our frigates were carefully in- ipe£ted, and every poflible precaution taken. Having brought . . on * The Governor had told us, he expe£)ed to go back into Europe towards the end o( the )ear ; but we learned, on our arrival at Paris, that he would not quit his government fo foon. M. de Grimaldi, the SpaniAi ambaflador in France, afked M. de Bougainville feveral queftions, upon this Governor's behaviour to us. M. de Bougainville having given by his anfwers a proper teftimony of the probity of Dm Jofeph Joachim de Viana, and of his itridt obfervance of the duties of his fiation ; the amb.ifl'ador confeiTcJ, that the Jefuits and their friends had fent over to Madrid memorials agaiad him, to injure him- in the King's opinion, that he might be recalled, ai d that they might have fome Governor devoted to them in his ftead. M. de Grimaldi juAified Don de Viana to his court ; which probably prevented the King frum recalling him as foon as he wilhed. The public news-papers have informed us of this gentleman's being continued in the fame government. TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 17^ on board twelve cows, or heifers, fix mares, two colts, and two Hungarian horfes, twelve goats or kids, eleven fows, and ono boar, fourteen or fifteen fheep, two rams, and a great quantity of fowls and ducks, we fet fail on Tuefday the i6th of January 1764. At three in the morning, the wind, which for ten days paft had been conftantly South Eafi, (hifted to the North. The gale being moderate, we took this opportunity to unmoor. We heaved apeek to our befl: bower anchor, ihipped the longboat and other boats, one of which had landed the Sieur Sirandri Lieutenant, with a letter of thanks to the Governor, from M. de Bougainville and the refl. At nine o'clock we fet fail with the Sphinx and the Spanilh frigate the St. Barbe, which we foon forereached, though (he was at leaft two full leagues and a half ahead of us. We fleered half a league S. E. 4 §. about as far S. E. then dire6ted our courfe S. E. 4 E. in order to double a point, which ccnfifls of a chain of rocks on the South Wefl of the fortrefs, extending near a league out in the river. When we fet fail it blew a pretty frcfh gale at North Wefl. The wind abated gradually and a calm fucceeded ; infomuch that, at half an hour paft three in the afternoon, the fhip making no way, we anchored in fix fathom and a half water, muddy bottom. The Sphinx, together with the St. Barbe, anchored at the diftance of a long mufket fhot from our flern. During the calm we caught three very beautiful butterflies, particularly one delineated :~ the plate *. Our anchorage in the road of Montevideo was not abfolutely bad ; but I am of opinion it would have been better higher up in the bay. During the whole time that we remained there, we were conftantly on the alarm, as well on account of the Pdw/tVw, which almoft always rifes on a fudden, as of the South Eaft and South Weft winds, which blow full into the mouth of * I gave it the name of the parrot, becaufe the various colours of its wing* exaiSlly lefemble thofe of the tnoft beautiful parrot of Brazil. Its body is of the fined ?recn, ftreaked with red* the »74 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE r lit. , the bay^ and occafion fo high a Tea as to make it impofllble to leave any of our boats along-fide the veffel. We were every night obliged to fhip them. The iittle boat being only once forgot, it got loofe and had like to have been loft, as I have before related. When you are farther within the bay, you have nearly the fame depth of water, the fame bottom, and are fheltered by the mountain on one fide, and the town on the other. We fet fail about eight in the evening, and continued our courfe the next day without any remarkable occurrence. On the nineteenth, near two o'clock in the afternoon, an extra^ ordinary kind of fi(h pafl'ed near the veflel. Wc had feen a great many before ; but they being at too great a diftance from the (hip, we had not been able to catch any of them. Per- ceiving that they aflembled to-day round the fide of the frigate, I got a failor to throw a bucket faftened to the end of a rope into the fea, and he had the good fortune to take one. Our mariners give them the name of Ga/ere^ or fea-ncttle. It is a kind, of bladder, which may be ranked under the fame genus with what the naturalifts call Heloturia^ which, without any re- femblance either of a plant or a fifli, are neverthelefs, really poflefled of life, and tranfpott themfelves like animals from place to place with a motion peculiar to themfelves, independently of the afliftance of wind and waves on which you fee thefe blad- ders carried like fmall veftels. Any one who did not obfervc this appearance of a bladder with a nice and judicious eye, would take it for a bubble of air floating on the furface and driven by the waves and winds. But the failor who had caught it having brought it to me, I had fufiicient time to examine it. I obferved in it a periftaltic motion, fuch as anatomifts afcribe to the inteftines and ftomach. I was juft on the point of taking it out of the bucket with my hand, when M. Duclos our cap- tain caught hold of my arm, and bid me take care left I ftiould foon have reafon to repent of fo doing, by the acute pains i iliould feel in every part of my hand, which (liould happen to come TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS; 175 come in contafl with the filaments, of a violet blue colour at- tached to this bladder. I therefore contented myfelf with view- ing this fea-nettle and taking a (ketch of it. The captain's obfervation was verified the fame day. A cabbin- boy having caught another of thefe fifh, had the imprudence to take hold of it with his hand. The filaments, twifled themfelves round it. The moment after, he began to cry out that he felt a fmarting and very painful heat on all the back of the hand, and the wrift. He (hook it inmiediately to get rid of the fi(h } but it was now too late. His cries haflened us to his aflliftance } he wept, and ftamped, complaining that his hand feemed to be in a fire. It was bathed in oil ; a comprefs dipt in the fame liquid was applied to it, but the pain ftiU continued more than two hours i when it went oflF gradually. The fea-nettle is an oblong bladder, flattened underneath, rounded in its circumference, and blunted as it were at its extre- mities ; from whence proceed thofe filaments, the touch of which occafions fo much pain. One of thefe extremities is more rounded than the other ; which is rather lengthened. The part which forms the bafe or refting point of this bladder is plaited about the edges. The whole is a membrane of a very delicate firuflure, tranfparent, and nearly of the fame figure as thole half globules, which rife on the furface of the water in fummer ihowers, efpecially when they fall in large drops. It is always empty, but diftended like a football. This membrane has fibres, fome of which are circular, others longitudinal, by means of which the periftaltic motion is carried on. At the longed of its extremities it contains a fmall quantity of the cleareft water, which is prevented from communicating with the reft of the cavity by a membranous partition. The fibre which paflfes over the back, from the fore to the hind part, is raifed, fcolloped at the edges, plaited like a beautiful tuft, of a lively green, blue, and purple colour, extended in the form of a fail. It lowers, elevates or fhifts, as it were to fet itfelf for the wind. From the two extremities of the plait, proceed fome C c filaments m HI? ^01 nil "I ^^ JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE ..filaments of different lengths, and of the fame colour with thU kind of fail : two of them are very 0iort, and as thick as a large quill; thefc afterwards branch out into feveral others of lei^r . thickne^, but much longer ; and thefe again into others, ftill , longer and fmaller, to the number of eight in all. They are .about a foot long} but not^all of equal length. Thefe firings, interwoven with each other, referable a net whofe mafhes are of different fi/es. They have a kind of articulation, formed by . fmall circular rings, in which one may likewife obferve a con- tradiie motion. Thefe filaments refembl^ loofe taffels, compofed of firings of a iky cok>ur tin^ured with purple, and of a green- ifh cafl, nearly tranfparent, and of dificrent lengths, the edges .of which appear to be indented, and alternately intermixed with grey violet and flame colour. The la^gefl &a-netties I havefeen wereabout ^ven inche»long at their under part, and &ve in height. It would be very difii- ' cult to determine precifely the colour of this extraordinary fifh. The bladder is as dear and transparent as thefinefl chryflal; but ks edges, back and Iqgs may be faid to contain the colours of the ,1 rainbow, or of the iiame of fulphur. We law a great number • in our paffage, particularly in the ftreight which forms the ..ifland of St. Catheiine, at Bra^lj and I believe they are com- ^mon in thefe latitudes. If the bare touch of this animal caufes ' fb much pain, what can we think its effeft mufl be in the bodies-. «f fiili or other animals who feed upon it ? It has this furpriz- -jing quality, fays Father Labat, that it taints and poifons the flefh of fifhes without occafioning their death.-— This is pretty nearly the effe£l of the fruit of the manchineel-tree. On the 20th we perceived that the currents ran to the S.S.W. •which confirms the obfervation in the account of Admiral An- ion's voyage. The tides carried us 30 min. Southward; and there is reafon to believe that their courfe is to the S.S.W. agree- able to the bearing of the coaft. On Sunday the 2 2d in the morning the wind, which the day {►efore had blown very frefli till four in the afternoon, grew calm^ , . with ^ - I - m *1JU svw.,,. m bo/' CC 2 a very m m i "■ ^ 1 Hawkins's MyiiDEN-LANn; caUed a/ierrvnrds , Falkland's Islands, thmby iheFrencliJSLES Noiri'IJLLES Sc IslESMalOUINES , {>y t/itJ)iiU/iMOVA JiKLOIA, ufu/ lutely by the Spaniardf o^' Jiuenoi-aynw , YSLyiS nji ALlOALLANKS. Uy'ilHniiaii JeiTeiys.Oeographfr, to the Kino . r.x. a* ^ t4 Tfif tVnrUrru/uxr/ StdaMiru Sfveit Zea^iua tv tAf Eu /,'. Variti/n'ii , in i/t>'4 . KJih'jltnu Kt'ci- iiAat TourdeHifrY SO Cape .Dolphin 1 r^,&Jm ,;*:•«; ('affH^l ]Xi-'; f'ck T.X. before had blown very fiefli till four in the afternoon, grew calm^ > with \i ^JMm*h \. i I i I ^ ! . •-• -*r- TO THE ivl ALO V /NE LAN S. 1 with fair weather and a fine Tea. We w fiNM Dadins, feiM* fowls which are found common in almo 1 latitoAn, «id (brae large birds called ^dranta-buej/ot, r«8 well a^ fotuj King-Jijherst '*'lwhicK our maiiners call likewiie Puans. 'Tis faid that when thele lad appear, there feldom fails to be foul weather, and often Aorms, either on that or the next day. - In fad, the S. 3.W. wind wc had, fuon after blew with via* Jbnce: the f«a ran high, the W£atba' .hCQanie foggy, and it rained a httle at intervals. '4>«'i ^ ' ' .'-'■* In the evening of the »3d we faw fcveral birds, and fome very long and large and well formed beds of fi(hes fry, of a reddiUt cafl:. Mod of them extended beyond our fight in length, and fome were about a hundred feet in breadth. On the 24th we faw eight or ten whales, a great number of birds, and a kind of iea.-weed, which our mariners called Bau- On the 25th the wind blew very frefti from the N.W. till five in the evening. The rolling of the fhip was fo conHant and violent, that we loft a goat, two (heep, and three cows. Several others fell fick, as well aa the horfes we took on board at Montevideo. ^oi^ ^*- Iht weather grew dark and rauiy. At fix o'clock the wind rather abated^ and ftiifted to the Weft, then to the Weft South Weft;, to the South, a gentle gale. The lea likewife gradually fuhAded. On the 26th we obferved that the tides turned towards the Noith. We again met with feveral birds, and fome iea-grafs. The fea ftill continued much agitated till feven in the evening. We were obliged to kill one cow and a goat, taken ill with the rolling of the ftiip. The fca foon after grew calm, and conti- nued fo almoft the whole night. In the evening of the 27th we faw a quantity of birds, among which were feveral king-fiftiers. 1 he wind blew with great violence, and the weather became dull and foggy. This lafted almoft the whole night, and deftroyed C c a. a very 'i^ ■'■*•/ 178 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE t very fine ftallion, whom we were obliged to throw overboard, as well as a goat and a fheep. On Saturday the 28th we faw a whale, two fea-wolves, and two penguins i in the afternoon there appeared great numbers of ofpreys, and fea-cobs, and we met with fome fea-grafs» with long leaves. On Sunday the 29th, about three in the afternoon, fome pretty large fiHies appeared near the furface of the water. Seve- ral of our mariners who have been ufed to fiHi at Newfoundland, aflured us, that they were flock-filh. On the 3 1 (I, at fix in the morning, we delcried land at the dif- tance of about fix leagues. We took this land for iflands. We had then a Arong gale, which abating^about eleven, we (leered E. S. E. till noon, when we made the fouthermoft point of land, bearing S. E. five degrees E. about a league diftant. The moft eadcrn point bore £. -^ S. E. dillance two leagues, and all thcfe lands appeared to be iflands. The figure of thefe iflands, which form a triangle, as the Sebald iflands are faid to do, and the idea we entertained of our being near thefe, induced us at firft to believe that thefe three iflands we faw were a6tually the Sebaldes. On this account, according to our obfervations at noon, we found them placed in Belin's French chart thirty leagues too far to the weft ; and we were the more deceived in our obfervation, on account of its agreeing with Father Feuillee's and with a ma- nufcript chart which M. de Choifeul gave to M. de Bougainville, before we left Paris. See thefe iflands in the plate as they ap- peared to us at tvvro leagues diflance, the Cape lying Eaft-South- Eaft. . ,. This chart of M. de Bougainville's extends the eaftern verges of the Malouine iflands to $7 degrees 15 minutes longitude; and Father Feuillce places the fame extremity of thefe iflands in 57=45 : the latitude agrees alfo pretty exaflly. M. Belin fixes it at 62 degrees. We fhall be better able to determine which of the two is in the right when we land, as we intend to do« • . la TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 179 In the afternoon we had a frelh gale at N. W. At we kept coading al»ng the (hore we founded at three o'clock, at 45 fathoms, a flinty bottom. At four we founded at 40 fathotns, flinty bottom mixed with broken fhells, we were then half a league diftant from two flat iflands, which at fird view appeared to be covered with fmall copfe, but thefe were only tall bulrufhes with flat and large leaves called corn-flags, as we difcovered afterwards on landing > the coaft being quite full of thefe corn-flags, as it now appeared to us. Sounded again, and found a rocky bottom tt twenty-four fathom. In th,e afternoon of the 31ft, we coafled along the /hore, at the diflance of about a league and fometimes only half a league, in order to obferve it with greater advantage. We founded from time to time at thirty-five fathom depth, grey fandy bottom. The lands are of a moderate height from the fea, with emi- nences, fome behind others i a proof that this is either the con- tinent, or the largefl; of the iflands. Almod all the fliores were covered with bulrufhes which looked like fmall trees. This apr pearance is occafioned by the corn-flags growing each of them about two feet and a half high, and afterwards fhooting forth a tuft of green leaves nearly of the fame height. This we had an opportunity of obferving more particularly when we landed. We faw no wood, and at this diflance the foil of the country appeared parched and dry; perhaps the heat of fummer might have withered the grafs. At three o'clock we faw a fmall ifland two leagues wide of the coaft. It nearly refembled in figure that on which the Fort de la Concbh near St. Malo is built. M. Bougainville gave it the name of the Tower of BifTy *. At five, we difcovered a Cape, and a fmali ifland, refembling Cape Frehel, fituated four leagues from St. Mala This Cape feemed to terminate the land to the Eaft. Oa 1i; ¥< 'If * This is the entrance of the ftreight which divides the ifland into two parts* the eaAern and the weAern. This ftieight runs from Nortb to South. ' '♦J i8o JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE It On the firfl; of February, we perceived another Cape and a fmall ifland alrnofl: fimilau to thofe which reminded us of Cape Frehel ; and after that, another fmall one intirely covered with birds. At noon, the wind blowing ftrong with fqualls and rain, caufed fo violent a rolling of the (hip, that our cattle fufiered much from it. At laft we determined to kill feveral fick cows, fearing they (hould die, and we (hould be obliged to throw them overboard, as we had the fine bull we had brought with us from St. Catherine's iiland, as well as fome goats and feveral (beep. At fix in the evening the weather being then fine, with a gentle breeze, we determined to dsnd out the fifhing-boat which was man- ned for that purpofe. Meffrs. Don at and Le Roy the lieutenant, went on board with a fufiicient number of feamen, all well armed. They were fent on ihore to cut grafs for our cattle, who began to be in want of it. We were then about two leagues from the point which apj^eared woody. We were becalmed till about eight o'clock. The tide drove us towards the fhore upon a flioal of rocks. In this embarralfing fituation, from which it was impof- fiWe to extricate ourfelves for want of wind, we founded with a view of caft'ing anchor, if the bottom fhould be good. But the bottom proving rocky at between eighteen and twenty fathom, our perplexity increafed, and with the more reafon as the tide had already carried us towards the flioal, which lined a pretty large €re«k, and we were fcarce half a quarter 06 a league from it. The Sphinx laboured under the fame difficulty, and we were already contriving means to fave our lives in cafe^ we fhould be fhipwreckcd upon thefe rocks, which the mariners call tbe Car'. pmten ; becaufe a fhip which has the misfortune to run aground here, is foon dafljed to pieces. Fortunately, about eight o'clock, a very faint breeze blew from the fliore ; and our officers, equally attentive and able to avail themfclves of the fmalleft advantage, ordered the working of the ihip fo (kilfully, that we got clear of the fliore. The fliip's crew were fo fully fenfible of the danger we were in, that in the mort tempeftuous weather, and even during the dorm we fufFcred near the Maldonnades, they never worked the ' '1 TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. i8j the (hip with fomuch alacrity and diligence. It was a fine fight to fee every one at his poft, holding in his hand the ropes he was to manage : all, in an attitude, in which was piftured anxiety and fisar mixed with hope; all, obferving the moll; profound filence, their «yes fioced upon the captain, and their ears attentive to catch the .'firft word of command : the two captains and the lieutenants, and all the Ihip's company, employed in looking, fome on the fide of the fliip towards the fea. others towards the land, to obferve if any one could perceive the fmallefi: breeze rifing, and ruffling the furface of the water which was almoll as fmooth as glafs. One turned his cheek, another held his hand, and a third wet- tmg his, extended it towards the quarter from which they ima- gined the wind began to blow in order to perceive the lead: motion. At length the long wiflied'for breeze arofe, but blew very; faintly ; fear gave place to joy and fatisfadion, and to pre- vent our being again involved in the fame difficulties, we fleered away North Ealt ^ Eaft, five degrees Eaft. About eleven our fifliing-boat returned loaded with greens, and was taken on board. Mtflis. Dunat and Le Roy informed us, that thty had feen at land, about the diftance of a muflcet-fiiot from the place they were in, an animal of a terrible appearance and aftoniihing fize lying upon thegrafs; his head and raane refembling a lien's, and his vi hole body covered with hair, of a dulky red as long as a goat's. This animal perceiving them, raifed himfelf upon his fore-feet, eyed them a moment, and then lay down again ; having afterwards fired at a buftard, which they killed, the enormous animal raifed himfelf a fecond time, eyed them as before without changing his fituaiion, and then lay- down again. According to their account, this animal feemed to be as large as two oxen, and twelve or fourteen feet in length. They had a mind to fire at him, but they were terrified, and. durft not fire for fear of wounding hi.ii llightly and hazarding their lives j or, according to their own account, they were un- willing to lofe time, as it was late, and they were defirous of. letiuning on bpard, 2. On. lirl i f t' n 182 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE On the third about noon we difcovered an opening of a bay *, the entrance of which appeared fo fine, that we went into it full fail, as into a well-known and commodious harbour. We an- chored about three leagues within the bay, which appeared to extend at leaft as many leagues beyond us. At the farthefl: ex- tremity we difcovered larger and fmaller iflands, where the fiOi- ing boat founded at four, five, fix fathoms and more, in a mud- dy bottom. The Sieur Donat havuig been fent thither immedi- ately after we came to anchor, informed us, on his return, at ten in the evening, that it was every where at leaft between eight and ten fathom, and between feven and eight to the Eaft of the ifland, with a bottom of muddy fand throughout, which fecured us a retreat in cafe of bad weather at fea. This bay, the plan and figure of which is given in the plate, is capable of containing at leaft a thoufand veflels, and as many more to the weft of the large and fmall iflands, which are fhel- tered from all winds, and are, as our mariners fay, more fafe than in the harbour of Breft. As foon as we had dined, we fent out the yawl and long-boat, and Meflrs. de Bougainville, Nerville, Belcourt, 1' Huillier, Donat, Sirandre and myfelf, landed on the fouth fide of the bay. As we were going to Aiore, a prodigious number of black and white birds, of the fame fpecies, croflcd in large flocks, no more than five or fix feet above our heads. We killed fome of them. Thofe which fell into the fea wounded, only dived when we attempted to take them up. Before we landed, we (hot buftards, geefe and ducks, which did not fly away when we approached them i but walked near us, as if they had been tame. While we were at a diftance from the land, its appearance de- ceived us. We expected to find the face of the country dry and parched, but on fetting foot upon it, we found it entirely cover- ed with herbage, or a kind of hay, a foot, or a foot and half high, * See the entrance of this bay in the plate. It is Htuated on the eaftern fide of the Malouine iflands ; and may be fccn at the diftance of three leagues. TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 183 If high, reaching even to the tops of the hills, which'we had much ado to climb, on account of this hay obftrufling our paflage. We afcended in companies, while fome took feparate routs for fhooting, both upon the hills, and along the coaft. We were much fatigued in climbing thefe hills, there being no road or path through this herbage, which is probably coeval with the foil. - • • _ We walked up to the knees in this hay; and the foil, which appears to be a dark brown, is formed into a mould by the annual decay of the hay, and rifes with a fpring under your feet, owing to the roots which are intangled with it. Hence it is evident, that one cannot walk for any time over fuch a path without being fatigued. But we were luckily provided with fome fmall bottles of brandy, and fome fea-bifcuit, which were of great fervice, As we fhould otherwife have fuffered from the intenfe heat. Here we met with fome green hillocks, raifed fometimes more tlian three feet from the furface. I examined one of thefe with attention, and found that a refinous gum oozed from it, which is white at firft while it is foft, and of an amber colour when it hardens. I gathered fome pieces of it, which I perceived had at leaft as ftrong an aromatic fmell as frankincenfe : but could not determine at that time the cxaft refemblance this gum bears to other gums or refms which have hitherto been difcovered. I brought away near the weight of half a drachm in grains or drops, fome of the fize of a round pea, others of that of a kidney bean. When I returned on board, I fhewed them to M. de Bougainville and our two furgeons. I held fome of it on the point of a knife in the flame of a candle ; it burnt like the fineft refin, emitting an agreeable fmell, and leaving behind it a blackifli oil, which did not burn, but grew hard and brittle when it was cold. I attempted to diflblve this oil in common water, but without ef- fect: from which I concluded, that it would be very proper to make an excellent varnifli. Having mentioned it the next day to M. Frontgoufle, furgeon of the Sphinx, he went on fliore, and Jaaving coUeded fome of this gum, conjectured fronj its fmell and D d tafte I'M 4:, m J4 (* 4 i;i;i tl# II -II ►' 184 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE tafte tliat it was gum ammoniac. On comparing thefe, we founJ they agreed in tafte and fmell, and were reduced to the fame fub- ftance after burning. The fmpll is retained fa ftrongly on the fin- gers, that thp' I walhed my hand? more than pnce with fca-water^ I could not get rid of it all th^t day and the next. This refmous gum only dilfolves partly in fpirit of wine, which it tinges with an amber colour. The rcfiduum becomes fpongy and burns as> it did before it was difTolved : the third reiiduum does not dif- folve in common water. Aqua-rfortis has no efle^ upon it. Thefe hillocks are formed by a fingle plant, from which proceed fmall fpongy ftalks gradually dropping their leaves like the palm- tree. Thefe leaves are tripartite, as may be fcea in the plate> where the plant is reprefented in its natural fize. They are of the thicknef? of thofe of purflain, but of a fine green, ranged very clofe to eacl\ other, difpofed in a circle, and forming a cavity in the center which is fcarce difcernible.* This is a kind of very flat funnel, the infide of which is lined with thefe leaves placed clofe one above another, imbricate like thofe of an artichoke^ See the figure of it in the plate. " From the center and edges of thefe leaves, when they are bruifed or only fcratched,'or when the refinous juice is toc» plenti- ful in them, this refinous gum, which congeals in the air, is pro- duced. On cutting, fcraping or even rubbing the furface, there iflues a kind of cream which is white and vifcous, and ropes between the fingers flicking faft to them like glue. I have givea it the name of the "varnijh plant. The infide of thefe hillocks is foimetl into a vault, fupported by ftalks -ad branches, whofe leaves, having no air, are brown and withered. Other plants fometimes (hoot forth on the infide of this vault, penetrate through the hillock, and rife above it. Thefe hillocks, when they are not broken, are fuffi- ciently firm, not only to fupport a perfon fitting upon them, but v.alkiug over them. The vault, howevei-, is eafily broken through, by ftamping upon it witji fome force, and it is eafy to tear off large pieces w;th one's hands. The root and the ftalks when 5 broken^ TO THE MALOUir^E ISLANDS; 185 broken, yield the fame white refin, which flows out like the white juice or milk of the plant called Tithymalus, which I fhall fpeak of hereafter. In the evening our fportfmen returned loaded with geefe, buf- tardsj dueks, teals, and a black and white bird already mention- ed. I had feparated from my companions, and wandered alone along the coaft a league beyond the place where the boat had landed. I fliot fome ducks four or five feet from the fliore. As I did not care to go into the water, I imprudently drew them to me with the end of my piece, "fhe plertty of game engaged me to load again without recolleding that the barrel might have taken water. The powder was fo wet that it would, not take fire : and having no fcrew, I rdfolved to repair to the boat. 1 had fcarce advariced twenty fteps, before I perceived in the grafs a path eight or nine inches brbad, very much worn, which ran parallel to the fhore at ten or twelve feet diftance from the fea. I then imagined, that the ifland was inhabited, if not by mettj at leaft by quadrupeds which frequented that fpot. But as I did not know what thefe animals were, they might poflibly be of the favage kind j and I was apprehenfive left I ftiould meet with fome of them in my way. Unattended as I was, without any other defence than a mufket now become ufelefs, 1 was ra- ther anxious for rtiy fafety. I fixed my bayonet to the end of my piece, and purfued ray journey in this tra£t, being defirou.s to know where it terminated. At the diftance of about two hundred fteps frdm the place where I' eht ^1 1 •Hi i86 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE If obliged us to tlirow into the fea a great part of what we had pro- cured in the day. On Saturday the 4th at fix in the morning we got the yawV and fifliing-boat ready to make fome difcoveries relative to the depth of the bay, which appeared to us to be a large river when we faw it from the heights the evening before. Meff. de Bougainville, de Belcourt, de St. Simon, THuillier, and Alexander Guyot, embarked in the yawl, well armed, and furniflied with provifions for four or five days, and a t€;it to ufe on the fliore. The failors too were armed with muikets, cut- lafles and bayonets. Their defign was to proceed to the northern part, and to find out whether it was covered with wood. Mefl". Donat and Arcouet, in the fi(hing-boat, were to make difcoveries- on the fouthern part, an idea having been entertained that the bottom of the bay was divided into two branches which lofl; themfelves in the vallies. ..,;». >> 1 ■ . f . MelT. Alexander Guyot and Arcouet returned on board the fame evening in the yawl, having left M. Donat with the fifli- ing-boat to )oin M. de Bougainville and his aflbciates. M. Guyot brought fome buftards, three young fea-wolves with hair, of a brownilh grey, and five fea-lioneflcs. They were about feven feet long, and three and a half in circumference, though: their in teftines were drawn. Thefe gentlemen had landed on a fmall ifland, where they found a prodigious number of thefc animals, and killed eight or nine hundred o^ them with flicks. No other weapon is neceflary on thefe occafions. A fingle, blow with a bludgeon, three feet or three feet and a half long,, aimed full at the nofe of thefe animals, knocks them down, and kills them on the fpot. This is not altogether the cafe with the fea-lions : their fize is. prodigious. Our gentlemen encountered two of them for a long, time, with the fame weapons, without being able to overcome them. They lodged three balls in the throat of one while he opened his mouth to defend himfelf, and three mufket fljot in his body. The blood gulhed from the wounds like, wine from. TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 187 from a tap. However he crawled into the water and dif- appeared. A failor attacked the other, and engaged him for a long time, ftiiking him on the head with a bludgeon, with- out being able to knock him down : the failor fell down very near his antagonift, but had the dexterity to recover himfelf at the inftant the lion was going to gorge him. Had he once feized him, the man would infallibly have been lofl : the animal would have carried him into the water as they ufually do their prey, and there feafted upon him. In his retreat to the iea this animal feized a penguin and devoured him inftantaneoufly. There are feveral kinds of fea wolves and lions f all which I have feen. The former, when at their full fize, are from ten to twenty feet in length, and upwards j and from eight to fifteen in circumference. Their Ikin is covered with hair of a clear tanr colour, or fallow like a hind's, and as fhort as that of a cow; The head is (haped like a niaftifF's, fuppofing the lips of the upper jaw were divided under the nofe like thofe of a lion of the foreft, and were not pendulous ; and that the ears were cropped clofe to the head, I (hall defcribe them more fully after- wards. The other fpecies, which is not fo large, has the fame ap- pearance J the fnout is rather rounder arid fliorter. Inftead of fore paws, it has two fins confining of articulations, covered,, as with a glove without fingers, with a very hard fkin or mem- brane of a dark grey colour. Thefe articulations are not diftin- guiftiable on the outfde, and can only be difcovered by difleding; the fin. The two hinder feet have vifible articulations like the; fingers of the hand, five in number, and of unequal length, Thefe fingers from the firft to the third articulation are joined' by the membrane : which afterwards divides itfelf, and runs along the fide of each finger, in the fame manner as the mem- brane in the feet of a diver or water-fowl, and extends much' beyond eacli finger. Its feet are fituated almoft at the extremity of the body ; where they form a kind of fplit tail when they lie down or are not in motion. Each toe is armed with a cl-aw ; ^ which t ly 1 1!; -:; f 188 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE which is not fliarp, but rather projecting, and of o. black colour. See the figure in the plate. Both kinds are bearded like tigers, and have thick (trait hairs direftly over their eyes by way of eyebrows. The female ap- peared to have a longer and more graceful neck than the male i and had dugs. In thefe animals the fat, which is white and flabby, is fo redundant, that it is leveral inches thick between the ikin and the flefli. They are full of blood, which, when they are deeply wounded, guflies out with as much force as when you orir.n a vein in a fat perfon. The animal which Mefl*. Donat and le Roy faw when they went on fliore for greens, was probably a fea-lion, of which I (hall fpeak afterwards i thougli they defcribed it with hanging ears, as long in proportion as thofe of a fpaniel. Such is the form and figure of the fca->wolves which we faw in fome little iflands in the bay where we anchored. Thofe whofe d^fcription and fliape admiral Anfon has given are fea- wolves of the larger kind. He calls them fea-lions improperly for the reafon hereafter afligned. See the plate. Thefe animals are all amphibbus^ and moll commonly pafs the night and part of the day on fhore. When you pierce the thickets of corn-flags, in which they make their retreats and where they form a kind of apartment, you almod always find them lying afleep on the dry leaves of thofe plants. When they are in the water, they every now and then raife their head and part of their neck above the fi^rface, and remain fome time in this pofition, as if attentive to what is going forward. They make a noife much refembling the roaring of a lion : the young ones feem to utter a hollow found, fometimes bleating like Iheep, fometimes lowing like calves. The larger and the fmaller kinds move heavily, and fcem rather to drag themfelves along than to walk, but with as much expedition as their bulk will allow. They live upon grafs, fiOi, and other animals when they come in their way. On the little illaad where our gentlemen killed r""""" r I r ..'"■}:> ^ * • i y^ -■//"V^l I-, Iv '^"^kf''\j V" '»<.. ^ p' ' '> ■rr • r 5 X'-v" . «. I / ;/ 't'..., I N V '*^' \ m 1 -IS 1 ^■ 3 , .V /i ■ i' • ' -■ ,- -*<» M IK TO THE MALOUINR ISLANDS. iif fcx miny of (hefe antmalt, one of the females khed a penguin at the inO<.nt it fe^ by a ina(ket-(hot. The (^a nie«wolf carried it into the water; and devoured it fo entirely in a moment that nothing remained but a flip of ftin ibatlng on the fui'Cace* M. le Roy had, the day before, brought one of theft pengUina on board, which was at lealb two ftetand a hjitf high. Wt 0lallr give the defcription and reprefentatiovy of thif hereafter. On the ittide day, while fbme of t|ie company were employed in ihootiflg, M. Duclos our captaiii'and M, Cbenard de fa Gv- raudaie went to the top of a kind of hilt toward the Souths whore they planted a croft of iprood about rhfee feet high on the ibmmit between two rocks, and ealjbi' this eminence thie meufi' ■ On Sunday morning, tlie 5th inifaint, the weathci* being pretty $ne, with a toler&ble breeae, the loi^bpat was fent on fhore» to get bay and water, which we did conveniently on theibuthern. coafl, to the S..S. W. of the fhip, where there Teemed to be a kind of fountain. Thefe people returned on board with ouir fportfmen, who brought a quantity of game of the fame kind^ z&-^? "t«> M. de la Gyraudais dined on board the Eagle, and a Teaman brought a pretty large dry root which he found on the northern coaft. It feemed to be a fpecies of the cedar. All thefe fpecimens of wood determined us to make an accu- rate fearch on the South Weft coaft. With this view M. de Bougainville, M. de Belcourt, and the Sieur Donat la Garde, lieu- tenant of our (hip, embarked in the boat. They took in pro- vifions for three weeks, and being all well armed, directed their courfe to the South Eaft. On the 8th, the fons of M. Duclos Guyot our captain, hap- pening to throw fome hooks at the ftern out of the windows of the cabbin, caught a large quantity of fifh of a mod delicate flavour, though not more than eight or nine inches long. Their eyes were red, their gills edged w'th gold, and their fins of the fame colour ; their fkin fmooth as that of a tench. I do not know their name. On Thurfday the 9th, at four in the morning, the wind being northerly, we got every thing in leadinefs to penetrate farther into the bay. When we were under fail the wind fliilted to the- North Weft, which obliged us to make feveral tacks, founding all the while. We conftantly found between twelve and fifteen fathom, the bottom of muddy fand : at eight, the wirid veering to the Weft and blowing frefli, we anchored in a green, fmooth, flimy bottom, at fifteen fathom. On the loth, the wind continued to blow frefh from N. to N. W. the weather was hazy, with fliowers of rain and hail. E e We m I; fe' 193 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE ' 1 I' M.*'! We fent out our longboat however to the peninfula on the N. W. of us, to fee whether we could find pafture for our cattle. Here we killed a great deal of game. I faw many fea- wolves of the lelfer kind, with a fmooth Ikin of a dark hi own. They had five claws on their fore fins which ferved initead of feet, but were not divided into diftind: toes. On our return we propofed to lend our cattle on fliore, not only for the fake of recovering them from the very feeble ftate to which the toffing of the veflel had reduced them, but to free ourfelves from the necelTity of employing a boat and men every day to procure fodder for them. j.fji5i;, ;ri d^iilw,,V-'*.f -;? HV'-i ''^-'-^\ u u<-;c,:,:d On the I ith, the wind hlevr too violently all the day W. S. W» to permit us to execute our defign. At fix in the evening, the yawl belonging to the Sphinx came on board, to inform us, that their longboat had jufl then brought back to their veflel, M. de St. Sision and the red of his companions } who acquainted us afterwards, that on their return they were three days on the fhore oppofite to us; and had fired feveral times to give it notice. We heard no firing, or at leaft none but what thought proceeded from our Ihooting parties, which fometimes returned very Ir^te} though always loaded with as many bu^aids^ teals, ducks, fnipes, curlews, &c. as they could carry, r The gentlemen of the Sphinx farther added, that the Tup- pofed trees which we thought we difcovered on a fmall ifland when we pafled near the verge of the current, were nothing more than a plant of the buUrufii kind, with flat leaves, known to our feamen by the name of glajeux ; that the hillocks formed by their roots afforded a retreat for the fea-wolves, three of which they killed as big and lung as our boat, befides feveral others. They likewife killed a kind of wild dog, much re- fembling a fox of the larger fize : fome of the company ima- gined it was a grey lynx. M. Martin, lieutenant of the Sphinx, had killed two of them the fame day. Thefe gentlemen met with no tree ; but difcovered a large and fine bay fome leagues diiiant from that in which we anchored. Ott t TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 193 On Sunday the lath, I faid mafs at five in the morning, for the quicker difpatch of the longboat intended for forage. M. I'Huillier went in the yawl to draw a plan of the bay where we anchored, and feveral others fet out with him on a (hootiog party. . ■ The wind being W. S. W. and the weather fine, the Sphinx's longboat put to fea on Monday the J3th, with three men to make oil of the fat of the fea-wolves, which had been killed on a fmall ifland fome days before. Thefe animals may with equal propriety be called porpoifes ; fince, befides their having fat or bacon feveral inches thick between their ikin and their flefh, they often grunt like hogs, and wallow in the fame manner in the dirt and mire, where I have feen twenty of them lying down, particularly of the fpecies defcribed by the author of admiral Anfon's voyage, under the denomination of lions. At the fame time our fmall boat was difpatched to another neighbouring ifland in fearch of penguins, which are as nume- rous as the ants in an ant-hill. Some hours after, it returned loaded with a hundred and fixty of thefe birds without wings, fome of which we faired. At feven in the morning we dif- covered our fifliing-boat, at the fouthern point of the entrance into the bay. We immediately hoifl:ed our colours, and the Sphinx followed our example. At noon, the Sphinx's longboat brought on board our veflel the Sieur Donat la Garde, and M. de Bougainville's fervant, who we thought were ftill in the fiftiing-boat in which they em- barked. The Sieur Donat informed us, that M. de Bougainville and M. He Belcourt, had been ever fince yefterday afternoon on the fouthern coaft of the continent which encompaffes the bay. Wc immediately fent out our longboat, in which M. de Nerville, M. rHnillicr, and niyfelf embarked, in qnefl of them. We found them exceedingly harafTed and fatigued, with the expe- dition they had juft made on foot, through a country where there was no beaten track. We recondufted them on board, together with a feaman who had accompanied them. Being E e 2 prefled ipj »94 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE prefled with hunger, they as it were devoufcd the dinner we p«"c«> pared for them, which however did not prevent thf r^ from pL/- ing t^ Ir part well at luppcr, though it was ferved up il.on after. They informed us, that they had traverfed the fouth-eaft coaft, tin they came to as fine a bay as that we now anchored in, about eight leagues diftant by fea, and about four by land. Here they quitted their boat, and went by land to the fouth-weH; part of the ifland, and particularly obferved that the coaft ran W. N. W. which is not probable. For there is great reafon to believe that our veflel v.'as then ftationed on the eaftern point of the ifiand, the point taken notice of by Tailors in their journals } who, as well as others, were cerlainly deceived themfelves when they reported their having feen foaie large fine trees growing upon very beautiful hills. M> de Boug£iinville told us, that in the bay where the boat was left, he found upon the (bore three trees which were very dry, and one of them, almoft as large as a wine hog- fhead. As they met with none in all the parts of the country they had traverfed, there is reafon to believe that thefe trees had. been tranfported tiiither from the Terra del Fuego, or from the neighbourhood, by the waves and currents which run towards the Eaft, the wind too ufually blowing from the S. W. and W. M. de Belcourt, M. de Bougainville's fervant, and a feaman, were attacked, if it may be called fo, by a wild dog of the fpecies I have before mentioned. This is perhaps the only animal that is fa- vage of the quadruped kind in the Malouine lilands : it is pro- bable too, that it may not have been fierce, and that it only ap- proached them out of curiofity becaufe it had never feen any of the human fpecies. The birds did not avoid us, but flocked about us as if they were familiar and tame. We have not hitherto feeu any kind of reptiles, nor any venomous animal. The whole night of the fifteenth was rainy, and very tempeftu- ous. At half paft eleven, the thunder fell at two cables length from us, and knocked down Le Sieur Guyot our fecond captain, v.!io commanded the quarter deck. He received no inconveni- ence from this accident, except being frightened. -<, Our ' i "■.I*" TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 195 Our longboat, which had been fent out Hnce the morning to carry provifions to thofe who were employed in wafliing the crews linen, could not return, on account of a contrary wind which arofe, and blew with violence from the S. S. W. On the 1 6th, about fix in the morning, the wind fell, and the weather became hazy. Some fqualls came on afterwards, ac- companied with rain and hail. The finiing-boat was however fent out to get forage. Our longboat t^turned about nine o'clock, dnd the other at three :n the afternoon. On Friday the 17th, at five in the morning, the wind blowing frefh from the South South-Eaft, Meflrs. de Bougainville, de Nerville, de Belcourt, Donat, de la Garde and myfelf, embarked in the cutter, with a tent and bedding, to eftablilh a fettlement on the land, and to form a camp on a fmali eminence almod at the bottom of the bay. As foon as we landed, we fet about pitching our tent on a fpot which we judged to be the mod commodious, at the diflance of a mufket fhot from the fea. The little hill ran from Eaft to Weft. The place where we fixed our eftablifhment is open to the North, which makes the South of the country with refpeft to the equator. Below us, at about a piftol (hot from the tent, ran a rivulet of fweet water very palatable to drink. In the front of the tent was a fmall eminence like that on the declivity of which the tent was pitched. Some paces from thence we dug a hole in the ground for a kitchen ; where, for want of oth?r fuel, we made ufe of broom. We likewife tried the large green tufts cf the refinous gum-(hrub I have mentioned. They keep up and continue a fire extremely well j but when greeri are not proper for dreffing viiStuals. . . t- As I faw the inconvenience attending the want of wood in a country where we intended to eftablifti a colony, I endeavoured to hit upon fome expedient to obviate it, at leaft till the govern- ment could take meafures for difpatching fome pinks and fchooncrs to be Rationed in this country, and to make voyages to the Terra del Fuego, to bring wood for fuel as well as for build- , ' " ing 196 JOURNAL OP MY VOYAGE ing and carpenter's work. I thought we might pofTibly find fomc coal, or at Icc turf. Accordingly I equipped myfelf with a mattock, and proceeded on my fearch. Having obferved, that the banks of the rivulet were rather marfhy, I conceived, that, as the country had never been cultivated, the grafs which grew there, might in procefs of time have formed a mafs of earth in- termixed with roots and decayed leaves, which would exa£^ly furnifh us with the fort of turf I was in queft of. In h£t, after a few ftrokes with the mattock, I di [covered a turf of a reddifh caOy which was owing to its not being arrived at the maturity requifite to give i. perfeftion. When I had gone twenty paces up the rivulet, and had found, on digging, fome turf with the properties I wanted, I carried two or three fquares of it to M. de Bougain- ville, and acquainted him with the difcovery. He was fo anxious left it fliould not prove the right kind of turf, that he declared it his opinion that it was not. It was fhewn to every body who landed with us, and thofe who were acquainted with turf, were of my opinion. M. de Bougainville ftill in fufpence, wifhing that it might be the true foit, and yet fearing the contrary, re- folved to n.ake a trial of it. Some dozen of thefe fquares were dug up and ranged round the fire. Our impatience prompt- ed us to throw a few into the fire, when we had the fatisfadion to find, that as foon as the moifture of the turf was exhale^, it burnt ar well as the beft turf produced in France and other countries. We then fent three or four feamen to cut a quantity, and to pile it in the ullial manner to dry, and be ready for any ufe we might think proper to make of it. ' f When ibme piles of this turf were raifed, the Sieur Donat recollected that he had feen in company with M. rHuillier along the coalt, a black fibrous earth which was tolerably dry, and might anfwer the fame i>urpore. But having fotgot the place, Mefli'S. de Bougainville, de Ncrville, I'Huiilicr and myfelf, went in fearch of it that day, but without fuccefs. While we were thus engaged in forming our fettlement, mea- furcs were taken on board to penetrate farther into the bay, with 2 a visw 4vi m- TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 197 ft view both to be nearer us, and to provide for the fecurity of our frigates, ^'r-'-^a,' 'if^i!,.,,"« <,:■;. "■<^rf'-''''-t -'■ ■ , k-: --^ -J' i Accordingly, as foon as we were gone, the two vefTels fet fail» and by proper manoeuvres came at lad to anchor immediately under Pengu s ifland, or the Burnt ifland, and within the nar- row channel or entrance which one mudpafs to get into the creek> on the borders of which we had fixed our eftabliihment. Near the place of anchorage there is a fmali ifland, which has fince been called Cooper's iiland ; our people having reforted thither to re- pair the caflcs belonging to the (hip. On Saturday the 1 7th, in the morning, we put into the great boat the two Acadian families we had brought with us to make a fettlement on this iiland, and to people it. At nine in the morning they landed with all their clothes, furniture and necef- fary utenfiis, provifions, and fome tents to accommodate fuch of the crew as were to remain on fhore to aflift in eftablifliing the fettlement. Marks of the new anchorage. The northern point of the burnt ifland, which concealed the mouth of the bay from our fight, bore Eaft North Eaft, three degrees North. The center of the round ifland North Eaft, three degrees Eaft. The w ern point of the ifland abreaft of us, N. N. E. five degrees Eaft. The higheft mountain at the bottom of the bay, South .Weft, five degrees Weft. The Sphinx was anchored about a cable and a half length nearer the mouth of the bay, than our frigate. Till this time eight of us, Meffis. de Bougainville, de Nerville> de Belcourt, I'Huillier, Donat, and myfelf, with two fervants. belonging to Melfrs. de Bougainville and Nerville, had lain in one tent. We placed our matreflTes upon hay and broom, to fe- cure ourfelves from the damp. Though we were very much crouded, eleven of us lay there on the night from the i8th to the 19th, our company being enlarged by the arrival of M. de St. Simon, Lieutenant of foot, Mr. Bale, fecond Surgeon, and a Pilot, who were not provided with a tent to fleep in. Oa 1^' •i;i. ii*; 198 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE ■ On Sunday the 19th we landed a great quantity of proviflons and tents, and every one difpofed of himfelf as well as lie could. We had notwithftanding no fewer than twelve in our tent on Sunday night. Finding ourfelves fo mtich crouded we refolved the next day to pitch fome additional tents, and to feparate from each other. I was the only perfon that remained with Meflrs. de Bougainville and Nerville. While fome were employed in fixing the tents, others went a fhooting, and returned laden with game of the feveral forts I have defcribed. M. de Bougainville, having in purfuit of game wan- dered a little way from his companions, difcovered another creek, formed by the fame bay, near three quarters of a league from our encampment. All along the bankj of it he found a lamellated earth of a brown colour almofl; approaching to black, which was undoubtedly the fame which Meflrs. I'Huillier and Don&t had feen fome days before. M. de Bougainville having fliewn me a piece he had brought from the place, I pronounced it excellent for the fame purpofes as turf. We made a trial of it, and it fucceeded extremely well. Thofe who intended to ilay on thefe idand^, with a view cf eftablilhing a new colony, were tranfported with joy at the difcovery, efpecially as this turf is at prefent dry and ready for burning, and as, according to M. de Bougainville's account, it is found in fuch abundance that the boats may be loaded with it every day and brought to the fettle- ment. Walking along the coafl: in the afternoon, I gathered feveral (hells, Patellar, Cociilex, Magellanic mufdes, &c. among the roots of that fea-grafs, called by our feamen Baudreu, which had been lately thrown on fhore from the bottom of the fea. - We this day landed the horfes, calves, cows, fheep and hogs, which we had taken on board at Montevideo. They were all fo harafled by fatigue and ficknefs that a mare and her foal died on the beach a few hours after they were fet on fliore. On the 21(1 we were much afraid that we Hiould not be able ^o lave any of our horfes, cows or fheep, confidering their mi- 5 ferable V <. '. TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 199 ferable and weak ftate when they were landed ; as they all feemed to be either lame or languifliing. We left them on (bore to take their chance, and thofe which could not (land upon their feet, we dragged upon the grafs, which was at a little didance. Having fent Tome perfons this morning to fee whether they were dead or alive, they were furprifed to find neither horf^s nor Hieep, and the cows and calves difperfed about the country. They were unable to conceive, that, confidering their fickly ftatc the evening before, they could in one night have acquired fufH- cient ftrength to run about the fields : and it was apprehended that they might be devoured by the fea-wolves, or fbme wild bea{l.« unknown to us; but the carcaflfes of the mare and foal which dill remained on the beach, removed this fufpicion. SirKe Sunday afternoon we were employed in chufing a pro- per place for building rn apartment for the reception of the parties who were to remain on this ifland. The fame eminence on which the tents were pitched was judged to be the moil: con- venient, M. I'Huillier, Engineer and Geographer to the King, marked out the foundation, according to a plan he had commu- nicated to Mcff. de Bougainville and de Nerville. From the Monday morning every perfon on fliore took tiie mattock or the (pade to dig the foundation. I had feen the firft plan ; feveral alterations in which having been made in confequencc of my remonftrances, I thought my- felf equally at liberty to give my opinion on the choice of the ground. I obferved that in heavy rains, or when the fnow melted, the great quantity of water which would come down from the hill would overflow the building, and if it did not inftantly demolifli it, would at length efFeft its ruin by fapping the foundation; the declivity being raiher fteejtin this place. M. I'Huillier propofed to obviate this inconvenience by cutting a trench above to receive and carry off the water j but this did not appear to me a fuificient expedient, as the trench could not (lop the impetuofity of the torrent ; befules that the water which would be detained in it, by gradually oozing through the earth, F f would seo JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE 1 1 '^ til would caufe a dampnefs in the apartments very prejudicial to the healtli of the inhabitants, their provisions and furniture. My opinion Teemed at firft to be difregarded : M. I'Huillier defent to which he gave the preference. But on mature delibert- tion he fixed upon another iituation on the fame hail, at a n^ufket-fhot diftance, where there was a very gentle declivity. The workmen were immediately fet to dig the fbundattons. Tho fAilois belonging to the two frigates were etni^oyed in this ler» vice ; M. de Bougainville paying them for their day's work« ex- dufive of their feamen's wages. On Wcdnefday the 2 ad there were only ten men left on board the Eagle ; all the reft were employed in the building. On the 23d fome proviiions ai)d utenfils were brought on (here from the veflel { and our fportfmcn furniflied an ample fupply for the fubfiftence of both the fhips companies. M. de St. Simon, one of the keeneft of our fportfmen, meet- ing with a fea-wolf larger than any we had yet fccn, near the crtck where we difcxjvercd the turf, killed it inftantly by a lucky (hot. On his return he related his adventure at fupper, aifur- ing us that this fea-wolf was fo thick and Ibng that our boat coiiid not contain it. Every body thought the account exagge- rated. But from the defcription he gave of its figure, I began to think that it might probably be ot the fpccies mentioned in Atlmiral Anfon's voyage by the name oi fea-titns. Full of this idea, and being curious to know the truth of the matter, 1 determined to go to the place the next day, being the 24th, with M. de St. Simon and two others. When we came within Ibmething more than a thoufand yards di(lance of this animal, it appeared like a finall hill, rifmg from the level of the ground where it lay. M. de St. Simon added to the deception of our fight, by pointing out this pretended hill, telling us that the animal lay dead near it j fo that we did not obferve the fea-wolf till we were near enough to lee it diftindtly. On mealuiing ue found it nineteen feet and fome inches long. 7 ^Ve TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 201 We could not at that time meafure its bulk, being unable to raife or turn it in order to pafs a cord round it. After we had thoroughly examined it, M. de St. Simon led us to the borders of another creek, thirty paces from this fpot, where there was a great quantity of cornflags. On coming to the place, he fired at a fea-wolf, no bigger than a very large calf) and killed it. We immediately heard on all fides, from among thefe coniflags, cries refembling the grunting of hogs, the bellowing of bulls, the roaring of lions, lucceeded by a found like the blowing of the largeft pipes of an organ. We could not help being rather alarmed; but recolle6ting immediately that thefe different cries muft proceed from thefe animals, and knowing that we might approach them without danger, taking care only to keep off about the dillance of their length ; we en- tered among thefe cornflags. M. de St. Simon fired at a fea-wolf which was neareft to him. The fhot entered an inch above his eye, the animal fell under the ftroke, and died almoft inflantly. A fountain of blood iiTued from the orifice, and fpouted to the diflance of at leaft half a foot. More than thirty pints ran out in lefs than half a quarter of an hour. Thirty of thefe large fea-wolves were lying two and fome- times three in the fame hole or pit, full of mud and dirt, where they wallowed like hogs. M. de St. Simon fingled out fuch as lay on dry ground, as it was more eafy to remove them when dead, and lefs troublefome to Ikin them, in order to get their greafe or lard for making oil. He killed eleven of them fuc- celTively. Two others, rather larger than the refV, being only wounded, though they had already loft twenty { its of blood, had ftrength enough left to get out of their holes, and efcaped to fen, whefe we foon loft fight of them. The reft which were not wounded remained quietly in their retreats, without fhewing any figns of fear or rage. Only one of thofe which were mor- tally wounded, in his laft ftruggles feized fome of the cornflags that furrounded him, tore them in pieces with his teeth, and F f 2 fcattered t; i «02 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE r h) M jr i> » " r fcattered them about i but without beUowing or making any •An Acadian who accompanied us fkinned a young Tea- wolf, the fird that was killed, as well as two other fmall ones which wci e killed after the largeft. Thefc are of the fame fpecies with that which wc took for a hillock. They are exactly the fame monflrous animals, as are defcribed by the author of admiral Anfon's voyage, under the article of the ifland of Juan Fer- nandes, fituated at a fmall diftance from the continent of Chili. The whole of his relation is pretty near the truth, except that in thefe fea-wolves, which he calls lionst the two feet are fur- nldied with toes having diftin£t articulations, but connected by a membrane or black pellicle, and that thefe toes areiu-med with claws; a circumfla - wanting in the figure inferted in the looth- page of that admiral's voyage. The leaft of thefe large fca- wolves which were killed by Nt de Sr. Simon, was from fifteen to fixteen feet in length. When they fee any one approach them, they ufually raifc thcmfclves upon their jiaws or fins as defcribed in the plate. Tliey open their mouth wide enough to admit eafily a- ball of a foot diameter ; and keep it open in this manner, at the fame time filling a kind of trunk they have -;pon their noflrils with wind. This trtmk is formed by the (kin of the nofe- itfclf j wliicii fubfides and remains empty when they ceafe to bellow, or do not fill it with their breath. Their head is fhaped like that of a Ihe-Iion without ears. • • K-'- - ' * .. Among tire numbers that were killed, I obferved feveral which had no trunk, the Ikin of their nofe had no wrinkles, and their fniHit aukd rather in a iharper point. Perhaps thefe were the fcinalts. AH thofe we Ikinncd were males : but fix were left >ying upon their bellies in the mire without being turned ; and ihele were jufl the number we faw without trunks. If thefe were really the females, there fliould be much lefs difference in tize between them and tho males than is reprefented by the au- . thor ifi TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. S03 thor of the voyage juft now quoted } for the difference is not even apparent. 'i';- •» if. c- .,irur:n." i:'«n' rr\' r ti / - While thefe animals kept their mouths open, two young people diverted themfelves with throwing large ftones into them, which they fwallowed as we would a Itraw berry. They move their bodies with fome difficulty, but can turn their head and neck to the . ight or left with tolerable agility confidering their bulk. It would be dangerous to come within their reach } as they could bite a man in two with a fingle bite. They have the iinefl eyes imaginable, and there is no fiercencfs in their coun- tenance : I remarked that v;hen they Arere expiring their eyes changed colour, and their cryftalline lens became of an adml« rable green. Some of thsfe animals were white, others tawny i the major part of the colour of the beaver, and fome of a light fawn colour. On Saturday the 25th, M; d Bougainville propofed at brculv- faft to both land and fea of^ ;rs, to undertake the erefting of a fort upon the rifinp" ground forming the hill, on which the habitation or place'c: i^iidence was buiit for the colonics, who were to remain on me iiland. We all unanimoufly agreed to cred it with our own hands, and to complete it without the afljftance of the refl of the Ihip's company* As foon as breakfaft was over, M. I'Huillier- and M. de Bou^ gainville went to choofe the ground, and M, rHoillier afljfled by two pilots marked it out upon the Ipot. In tlie mean time fome perfons were difpatched in- fearch of tools for the execution of our defign } others went a (hooting to procure provifions for the company. We had hitherto killed more g.-^Tve than was fufRcient for the fubfillcnce of the crews bdongii ' the two frigates. We had more than once con- iidered it as .1 lingular circumftance that we Hiould come with an intent to form a fettkment in a defert and unknown country, having no other provifion than bread, wine, and brandy ; and yet free from any care for the next day, in full confidence that the game we met with would furnifli a fufficient fubfiftence for V 204 JOURNAL OT MY VOYAGE r p > ni It ' r. r ili! above a hundred and twenty perfons, who Iiad landed and w«ni encamped under the tent. So far from experiencing any want hitherto, we had made fo plentiful a proviHon, that there was no probability of our being reduced during the ftay we propofed to make. Neverthelels each mels, confining of feven perfont^ was allowed one buftard and a gooie,, or one goofe and two ducks, or two geeie, or two budarda and fome diving water"* fowl, which we call Uecfics^ or NigautSt and which I (hall (peak -of in the fequel. j About three in the afternoon, we met at the place where the fort was marked out, which we agreed to call Fort du ttfff% or Fort Royal. Every body fet to work with (b much cheerfulnefs, and fuch incredible ardor, that we had the very fame evening dug part of the ditch fix feet broad and one deep. M. de Bou-« gainville's example animated us all. On Sunday the 26th, both the (hips companies aflembled at the habitation to hear mafs. There remained on board the Eagle only three men and two officers, one of whom had re* ceived a hurt in his leg. They all dined on (hore, and the boat did not return to the (hip till evening, . when the wind which had all day blown with fome violence, was abated. On Monday and Tuefday, the longboats took in ballad; for the Sphinx. Some poultry, beams, planks, fitc. were carried on (hore. The works were continued at the building and the fort* In ray walks, I now and then took notice of the foil of the adjacent country. I found a pretty large quantity of fpar and quartz ; which is an indication of mines. I likewife met with Come earth of a v TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 205 the taAe and ftyptic quality of this mineral was fo ftrong, that it made mc fpit for a full quarter of an hour. On Thurfday the firft of March the weather which was hazy» with fqualls. of wind and fome rain, retarded our works; but we got ballad for the two frigates. M. de Bougainville came to a refolution that the Sphinx on her return home fhould touch at Guadeloupr, to difpofe of ^ome of the merchandize we had on board $ and that our fr'gate, after we had made feme farther difcoveries of the land, fhould return to France, inftead of going to the ifland Mauritius, which was intended if the Malouine iHands hzd not been fit for eftablifhing a commodious and ad*^ vantageous fettlement. On the fecond of March, at nine in the morning, we landed four pieces of cannon out of the ten which the Eagle was to furnilh for the defence of the fort we were ere6iing. Four more will be added from on board the Sphinx ; two brafs field pieces, which were bought at St. Malo's two days before our departure,, and fix pedei-eroes. As we had determined to raife a pyramid in form of an obdiik in the center of the fort, I propofed to place a bud of Lewis tlie fifteenth upon the top, and undertook to execute it in tcita cotta. I had feen fome grey-coloured earth on the banks of a creek, which I thought vei^ fit for this purpofe. At ten o'clock I let out with our captain M. Duclos, to fearch for it, and to obferve what progrefs was made in extratling oil from the greafe or lard of the large fea-wolves, which we had killed feveral days ago, and left upon the fix)t. We went thither ia« the fi(hing-boat. Though they had been killed fo long and were expofed. to the heat of the fun, which had melted a great part of the fat, the- people employed in extrafling this oil, ailured us, that every iea-wolf yielded at leaft two hogftieads and a half, and would •liave afforded more than four, if the experiment had been made fooner. . . '■'■'. i ..■. < I wanted It 1 f.i'^.'. so6 JOURNAL OP MY VOYAGE r I < w r Kr m fl wanted to get the two largeft teeth drawn from the jaw," but it was not pradicable. In breaking the jaw*bone with a hatchet, the Aroke unfortunately fell upon the teeth fo as to fplit them. They are folid and full only towards the pomt : the whole of what is inferted into the jaw-bone being hollow. I at firfl intended to have di(Ie£ted the whole head, but the enormous fize of it obliged me to relinquiHi my defign« on account of the difficulty attending the carriage. I employed the remainder of the time in feeking (hells among the fea-weeds, lately thrown on fhore by the waves. There were fcarce any other than fome Neritae* with flripes of different colours. The bottom of the (hell is compofed of the (ineft mother of pearl. I likewife met with fome cochleae and Magellanic, as well as common mufcles. Some of the laft were between five and (ix inches long and two broad, at their greateft diameter. At fix in the evening we loaded the fifhing.boat with the pot- ter's earth and turf. Finding that it was aground, owing to its being overloaded, we lightened it to fet it afloat. We were de- ceived by the ebb ; becaufe the Tea, which is not very regular in thefe bays, except at the time of the new or full moon, did riot rife fo high as we expe(Sled. It was near an hour before the boat could be fet afloat i and that it might not be overloaded, M. Duclos and myfeif determined to return by land, and to keep along the coaft. We marched almoft a league over flints, ftones, and rocks, which line this coaft. The boatmen had orders to come to take us in at the entrance of the bay, where we told them we (hould wait for them. We reached the place with great difficulty, the weather being hazy and the wind very high. Having waited for them three quarters of an hour in vain, and while it was very dark, we concluded that the tide, ivhich was running down, and the high wind, which was con- trary, had induced the boatmen to bear away for the vefTcU. We rtfolved therefore to finifh our expedition by land, by going lound the bay, which is at leaft tluee quarters of a league, when we TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS; 207 we lieard the boat coming towards us. We hailed her and (he anfwered. After attempting in vain to put afliore at two or three places, they came near enough at laft to give us a fair opportunity of jumping into the boat. We intended only to o'ofs over to the other fide of the mouth of the creek, and to perform the reft of our journey along the fliore on foot. But tlie fteerfman alluring us that the fea ftill rofe, and that the tide was in our favour ; perfuaded us that we fhould eafily get the better of the contrary wind, and that they would engage to land us in a fhort time near our habitation. Our captain fufFered himfelf to be prevailed upon, and we got into the mouth of the bay J but we had fcarce rowed ten or twelve yards when the wind blew with exceflive violence, the waves ran high, and the ebb of the fea joined to a contrary wind was fo troublefome, that we could not get the better of it. Notwithftanding all our efforts we could fcarce proceed twenty yards. The fea grew terrible ; every wave broke with violence againft the boati and partly beat into it, fo that we were already overflowed. Tired with ftruggling in vain againft the waves, and finding ourfelves in danger of running aground upon the ftones which lay along the coaft, to which the waves and the wind drove us in fpite of all our efforts, M. Duclos faid we muft return to the mouth of the bay, and there run aground. In lefs than three minutes, in fpite of the oars and rudder, we found ourfelves driven to- wards the fliore at the diftance of about four fathoms from land. The fea which was then extremely furious, was near dafliing the boat in pieces, and we ourfelves were in ^ianger. Our cap- tain told us we muft jump into the water, and fet the example himfelf. I followed him at the inflant that a large wa. was juft breakmg againft the boat, and oveiv, helmed it entirely : ; " fnock it gave made me fall into the water when I ws"^ '..i coming to the ground. I recovered myfelf fo foon, tha: I only got wet on my left fide, and had my boots filled with water. It was fcarce more than two feet deep. I immediately fleered my courfe towards our habitation, and told M. Duclos our captain, G g that % ,i m\ 11 208 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE that I was going to give tidings of him, while he was engaged in getting the boat afloat in order to fecure it. When I arrived at the habitation, I found feveral of our company, who were under apprehenfions on our account. Finding tiie weather fo bad, fome of them imagined that we had put ourfelves on board one of the frigates, to avoid the danger of ftrugghng againll the wind and angry waves in a boat : others fancied that the darknefs had compelled us to land, and that we might have loft our way. It was near ten, arid they ftill waited fupper for us. While I changed my clothes, the fupper was ferved up, and I played my part at it handfomely. M. Duclos arrived half an hour after me, and went to-bed without taking any other refrefliment than a glafs of wine. We imagined till now, that the creeks and the bay which formed the port of ou» habitation, were not well ftocked with fifli : that the fea-wolves and the water-fowl, which were very numerous, deftroyed the fifh for food, and allowed it no time to grow large. M. de la Gyraudais yefterday convinced us of the contrary, by bringing us fome filh which made part of our fupper. Being a fliooting at the extremity of a creek about a league from our encampment, he came to the mouth of a fmali river when the fea was at ebb j where, as he told us, he caught with his hands a dozen fifli, which were left aground upon the gravel, and were endeavouring to get back to fea. The I'malleft of them was about a foot long. They were fome of them dreft au courboulllon, others fried. Every body found them excellent. On Friday morning MelT. Duclos, de la Gyraudais, Baflc, M. Duclos's youngeft fon, and myself, being defii ous of making the moft of this difcovery, without communicating our defign to the reft, got ready a net of the fize of only three fathoms and a half, and repaired to the fifliing place. We placed two catch nets at the fame place, when the fea ebbed, and caught thirty filh and upwards, the leaft of which weighed near a pound and 6 a half TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 209 a half. We afterwards caft a third net at the moutli of a fmall river two hundred paces from thence, and caught a dozen of the fame fort of fifli. Encouraged by this fuccefs, on Saturday the third inltant we returned to our fifhing. But the Tea having ebbed, we did not catch a fingle fifli. We then concluded that this fifli came into frefli water with the tide, and went back again with the ebb. Having obferved that numbers efcaped through the holes of our net which was a bad one, or jumped over it, we determined to go a fifliing with the feamen the next day, when the high tide occafioned by the new moon was expefled. Accordingly M. Du- clos went on board, and ordered the fean to be got ready. M. le Roy carried it in the boat to the entrance of the creek in the morning, and came to acquaint us with it. A party of us, to the number of fixteen, fct out immediately after dinner, with Meflrs. de Bougainville and de Nerville at our head. On carting the fean only once, we took more than five hundred large filhes, and thoufands of others half a foot long j three-fourths of which we threw into the fea. We kept but one fort of the fmall ones called by the Spaniards Pajes^ and by our mariners Gras dos. This fifli is almoft tranfparent and of a mofl: exquifite delicacy. It is excellent when fried, and not inferior to the eel pout. The net was fo full, that notwithftanding the joint efforts of fixteen perfons, it was with the utmoft difficulty imaginable that we dragged it on fhore. Several fifh jumped over it, and a great number efcaped both at the extremities, which could not be brought together, and through the holes tliat were in the net. However we loaded the boat, which could not reach our encamp- ment till the next day. The fifli were dillributed in great plenty for two days, an^ong the crews belonging to tlic two frigates : they were eaten with variety of drefling ; and that the reft might not be vvafled, we faked a barrel full of them. This fifh refcmbles in (hape what is called Meuille in Saint- ongc. It weighs four pounds and an half upon an average. 4i g 2 ■jif tSt'; ' 210 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE Tlie fame day, juft as fupper was over, M. Martin lieutenant of the Sphinx came loaded with game. While he was a (hooting, he went to difcover the fource ot tht river at the mouth of which we nad caught fo much fiih. He huormed us, that there was a vaft bay, three or four It agues nortli-yvtft of our encamp- nieni:, of which he was not able :;j difo^ver ciuher the en- tranc " or the bottom from anv of th? he!";ht'i ; l ut this bay appeared to hi-n to run at leai: eight or len lea^tv^s withii; the land, .md that a. differeni dii1a'.,« cs he faw rive:*s and iflands. We were charai xl with this Uifcovery, and rcfolvcd to pay at- tention to it.. ' The great quantry of llfli wc had caught induced us to make li fecund tiial. On Mon lay the 5th > wc rtitumcd to the place, hut whether the fifli ha u tak«ii th; alar.\, or the fea was not fii^n to a })ioper height, we caught only fome fmall fifhes and a dozen large ones. While we were engaged in fifhing, others went a fliooting, and tooiv a furvey of the newly tli (covered bay. As they were doubt- leis iefs fatigued than M. Martin, they found the journey not fo long, and declared it fhorter by two leagues. Tliis determined M. de Bougainville and feverai others to go thither the Wednef- day following, being Alh-Wednefday. The whole company being returned about noon, and the fort, on which the officers alone had been employed, being finifhed, M. de Bougainville propofed to mount the cannon which were upon their lea-carriages at the bottom of the hill. We imme- diately fet about this bufinefs. Accordingly we laid planks upon the ground, to make what is called a bridge, to prevent the wheels of the carriages from finking into the earth. By the mere ftrength of our hands, without tlie aOii^ance of any inftru- ments or engines except crows, levers and ropes, we managed to mount one cannon, notwithllanding the hcighl and fteep afcent of the hill. When we had planted it in its proi:er place, it being almoft: time to conclude our day's work, we loaded and fiied this cannon by way of fignal.' We then cried fcven times Five le Rci ! which TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. an which exclamation was repeated by the workmen employed in building the apartments. Ever fince we fet about building our habitation, we fired Z' field. piece with a pound ball, and rang a bell at five every morn- ing, and half part feven every evening, to fummon the men to their work, and give them notice when to leave off. At eight' we rang to breakfaft, and at one to dinner. Befides thefe meals M. de Bougainville now and then ordered them an allowance of brandy by way of gratuity. Thus the work was aftually in. as great forwardnefs as if two hundred workmen had been em- ployed. . -«> While we were thus bufy on fhore, the few hands which were on board the frigates were by no means idle. They landed fome- thing every day for the ufe of the encampment, as ordnance, balls, provifions, utenfils, &c. On the 6th ne began to flow our ballafl of flints, and in the. courfe of the afternoon mounted feven cannon in the fame manner as the firfl. It mufl be confefled, that feamen may challenge all the world in point of dexterity in moving great weights. When this operation was finifhed, I ordered fome bafkets to be filled with potter's clay mixed with argil for want of fand proper for the purpofe, and contrived fo as to go on board the next day, that I might work at the King's buft without interrup-' tion, which I found to be impraclicable on fliore, where I fliould have been obliged to do it in our tent, into which fomebody waa entering every quarter of an hour. On Shrove Tuefday, at feven in the morning, I got into the boat in order to return on board the Eagle. I took up my quarters again in my cabbin; after dinner, Ibegan to model the bufl in M. de Bougainville's, and being unprovided with a piece of iron to fupport the earth upon the die, I fupplied its place with a cylin- der of wood. The head was already roughly Iketched the fame evening. I; de.- .^'1 ^'ifl '■*.■ 212 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE i dedicated the 8th wholly to the finifhing of the firft (ketch, which was already reduced to a form. Two or three officers who faw it In this ftate, encouraged me to finifli the buft, and I was in hopes of fucceeding in my attempt. Animated with this expectation, I weht to work at fix in the morning on the 9th, and was not a little difconcerted to fee cre- vices and cracks in the forehead and feveral other places, though the earth was very well mixed. M. Guyot and M. Bafle coming a quarter of an hour after, were almoft as much chagrined as myfelf, to find that the earth was not proper for the ufe I de- fig ned to make of it. I aflced M. Guyot, if he had not feen on the coaft a fine fand, which when mixed with this earth might remedy its defefts. They fet out for the encampment an hour after, and gave M. de Bougainville an account of the difficulties 1 met with from the bad quality of this earth. I thought I had nothing to do but to make another attempt with frefli earth mixed with fand, but M. de Bougainville, ap- prehenfive that a new trial might prove abortive, determin fl to iubftitute a Flower de Luce in the room of this buft. M. Guyot returned on board to dinner, and communicated this refolution to me. I then defiiled from my undertaking ; and pafied the evening upon the Burnt ifland in company with M. Mauclair, where we killed ten buflards : he had killed fixteen the day be- fore. While we were in queft of game, two of our officers amufed themfelves with fifiiing with the hook from the cabbin windows, and cauglit fifh enough to furnifli a difli for three fijcceffive meals. The angle-rod would fupply an equal quantity every day, if the line was but thrown one hour before the meal. Thefc filh are of three kinds. The firft refembles a pike in fiiape, the flcfti as it were tranfparert, with a ftripe of blue, one line in width, which runs from the gi^'s to the tail between two yellow ftripcs. The Spaniards of Chili call them Rovalos. The fecond fpecies may be ranked in the clafs of the eel pouts, called by fome Loaches. The head of that here mentioned is flat and much larger ^-T^ff. TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 21^ larger than the eel pouts in France. The third fpecies is likewife cxquifite, and has yellow ftripes round the gills, as if orpiment or gum had been rubbed upon it with a pencil. Thefe three forts of fifh, which were the only ones we caught on board, are no more than between nine and ten inches long ; they are ufually from fix to feven. But all of them are excellent, particularly that which has the head, and nearly the figure of a pike. They bite fo freely, that they are caught as foon as you throw out your line. This fifli was one refource,. when the weather did not permit us to go a Hiooting. On the 10th I returned to the Burnt ifland, in hopes of gather- ing feme L^pas or Patellae, but the fea was too high j M. Duclos's youngeft fon and myfelf, after killing four wild ducks and three Becficsy returned on board at five o'clock. The wild gander is of a dazzling white; its bill is fhort and black like a buftard's, and its feet are yellow. The bill and feet of the female refemble thofe of the male, but the feathers upon t'ts back are grey. The border of the white feathers which cover the neck and breaft is black, and forms a fpot which takes the round fhape of the feather. The wings of both refemble thofe of the buftard j and have likewife a hard knob like a horn at the articulation of the pin? n. After ftripping the large feathers from ihe body of the female, there appeared a grey down ex- tren\ely fine and very thick. 1 own of the male is at lead as beautiful as that of a fwan. fiiey would both make beautiful mufi^s *. The teal of this country are much fuperior in beauty to th •^-^ of Europe. Their bills and feet are blue, their wings green a' gold, and the reft of their bodies much more fliining and beauti- ful than thofe of the Guinea hens. I Ikinned one of them, and having prefervcd the head and feet, and fluffed the coat with fine • Their beauty induced feveral of our officers to order a great number of thefe geefe and buftards to be flcinned with u view of carrying them to France } but for want of proper care, they were moft of them loft. Mine fiiared the fame fate for want of room to flow them in my cabbin. ll 214 JOURNAL OF MY. VOYAGE fine mofs, placed it in its natural attitude. I made a prefent of it to a viriuoro of St. Malo. I likcwifc brought to France and depofited in the cabinet of natural hillory, in the Abbey of St. Germain dcs Pres at Paris, the head and feet of a large water- fo'v' jt fi"'* carnivorous kind, which I have mentioned under the name ol Quebranta-huefTos. I have given its figure, on account or the fingularity of its bill. It would have been a defirable circumftance to have poflcfled the art of preferving the eyes of thefc animals in their natural (late. Diamonds and rubies can by no means equal the Hi c, the beauty and t';? 1'jJt.v, s-T the* eyes of a certain fpecics of water- fowl or diver, which is frequently feen on the fea-fliore. The pupil is furrpunded with a circle of the fineP- vermilllon or carmine. The head is black, but the feathers from the eye to the back of the head are of a fliining white mixed with fome Areaks of b ick. ^ •, ♦ , ', In thefe iflands there are likewifc prodigious numbers of fmall eagles or brown hawks, of the fize of the largell of our rocks j but the wings of which when extended, were at leaft three feet acrofs. The large feathers of the wings are of a bi ight yellow, mixed with brown in tranfverfe ftripes. There is like wife a kind of eagle, of the fize and colour of a ii.rkey hen, whii red, or yellow. In this kind of eagle, at the bottom of the bill here is a (kin of a very fine red, ftrewed witii pretty long black hairs. When this bird is dead, the red colour fades, and the Ikin < ' - jes to a very pale rofe colour. Tts talons are fcaly and ot a light grey, as well C.3 thofe of fome of the fn.aller kinds I have mentioned. The reft have yellow feet. The talons of this laft mentioned fuecies .re as ft"^ng and large as thofe of the larger kind. Spar- row-hawks arc likewife found here, with white breads and necks ; thofe of others arc variegatcil with white, grey and red. iViufcles are very commo! ly found along the coaft. We more than once atti mpted to eat fome of th.m ; but found them lb full of pearls, th" it was impoflible to ':hew them : as thefe pearls being very ' rd e:idangercd the breaking of our teetfi, and when they TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 215 they were broken in pieces, they left a kind of fand in the mouth which was very difagrccable. As I believed the prod action of thefe pearls to be owing to fome diforder in this IhcU-fiih, I ima> gined that this diforder might be owing to this animal's futfering from the want of water during the ebb of the fea. I therefore fancied, that if we took fuch as were conftantly fupplied with water, we fliould find them without pearls. The mufcles I had found among the roots of the fea grafs, confirmed me in this opinion. I opened fome both of the common and Magellanic forts i they were without pearls and excellent. I carried two or three dozen to the encampment j they were liked by all the lovers of this ihell-fifli, and we afterwards ate them fre- quently. No remarkable occurrence happened from the i ith to Thurf- day the 2 2d of March. Provifions and other articles were landed for the ufe of the people who ftaid to eftablifli this new colony. On the 2 1 ft, we laid the firft ftone of the pyramid. There was one circumftance however that deferved notice, and occafioned various I'efleftlons among thofe who were witneiies of it. It was related to me on my return to the encampment. On Thurfday the 22d of March, I was defirous of knowing the truth of this circumftance, and have fince been convinced of it more than once by ocular evidence. We carried over about a dozen hogs male and female. One of thefe was caftrated. After they were all landed they went to feek their livelihood in the fields, and never failed to return every evening to pafs the night together near the encampment. At firft they had a kind of litter of hay made for them, which though in the open air they cer- tainly enjoyed very much, as they repaired to it fo pun6tually. Somebody obferved that the caftrated hog generally returned about half an hour fooner than the reft, took fcveral turns round the litter and placed the hay in order; that he took and carried it in his teeth to their lodging, and filled every place where it was wanting. When the reft returned they lay down together, and he took his place laft. If any one of them found his fituatioii H h unea/y, •'*H ' i 2l6 JOURNAL OF MV VOYAGB xineafy, he got up, and falling upo>< iit caflrated hog, bit hirts and obliged him to fetch more hay to make up the litter. The females in paiticular were very nice in this article. During our (lay one of them brought forth eleven pigs, ami another twelve, fkfidcs thefc young ones, we left there eight fows and one boar. It is eafy to judge how faft tli^ will multiply. I "^^ , , ( : V I returned to the encampment with an intention of ftnying t)nly three days, and fetting out on the 23d, to go by land to a bay iituatcd to the South Eaft of the iiland. M. de Bougain- ville having feen it in the tour he made fome days after our arrival, thought it delightful, and called it Beau-port, as it was well adapted for a commodious harbour. I was to accompany M. I'Huillier, and two or three others thither to take a draught of it. But as foon as M. de Bougainville and myfclf came to the encampment, M. THuillier urged the neceflity of poftponing the expedition to Bean-port to the Thurfday following, his prel'ence being abfolutcly neccfTary to carry on the building. M. de la Gyraudais was the only perfon who returned on board the Sphinx. M. de Boogainville lay in his cottj I fpread a mattrefs u|X)n fome hay in the fame tent, a'.d lay in this manner nine nights. I employed the day in vifiting the adjacent parts, in botanical refearches, and in other inquiries into natural hiftory. On Saturday the a+th of March, it was propofed that we ihould go in iearch of the three ftray horfcs, to ^cure them with ropes, and bring them to the encampment. A party of thirty who fet out on this errand, found and furrounded them. They fuffered us to approach io near, that M. de St. Simon feized one of them by the mane ; but the mare which he held difengaged hcrfelf by a violent effort which threw him down, and leaped with the reft over the ropes we had put round them. They ran fo far, that it was thought proper to give over the puriuit. 2 « We TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 217 We had better fucccfs with the cows anc' iijiKrs. Thefc were in the fame manner fcattered and difperfco ■vjc: .ne country i but a little calf that had been caught being brought near the encampment, and tied to a flake, the dam heating it low in the evening came to give it the teat, and the reft followed her. By returning in this manner two or three days fuccefTively, thefe animals bixame accuftomed to it, and repaired punflually every evening to the ftabic that was built for them. On the 27th, M. de Bougainville and M. I'Huillier ordered their cotts to be carried to the chamber in the new building, Which was inlended for M. de Nerville. They propofcd to me the removal of my bed, but I rather chofe to ftay in the tent, as the damp ilTuing from the walls, which were rough-caft thi' very ' Difcovery. Settlement of the Mahuine IJlandsy fituated 51 d. 30 m. South latit. and 60 d. 50 m. Weft long. E. of the mer. of P/=, Captain of a fiie-fliip, and the Sphinx Sloop Captain F. Chinardy Gyraudais Lieutenant of a Frigate, fitted out by Lenvis de Bougainville Colonel of Foot, Captain of the vefl'el. Commander of the expedition, G. de Bougainville de Nerville Volunteer, and P. Darboulin Adminillrator General of the Pofts in France. Conftruflion of a Fort and Obeliik embellidied with a medallion of his Majerty Lewis XV. agreeable to the plans of A, tHuillier de la St ^re Engineer Geographer of the Camps and Armies ferving on this Expedition under the Miniftry of E. de Choifeulf Duke of Stainville. In February 1764. [With thefe words for the exergue, Conamur tenues grandia.] This kind of medal is inclofed between two leaden plates, and the whole in a hollowed ftone. Near it is placed a double glafs bottle well flopped with miftic to refift the wet, containing a roll of paper on v.hich were infcribed the names, firnames, ranks, and countries of all the perfons who compofed both the fhip's companies employed on this expedition, and of the volunteers *. This fort was called Fort de St. Louis. It is fituated on a rifing ground, not overlooked by the neighbouring heights which • This lift rcll which is infert:d in the original, is omitted by tb? Trandator, as not beinjj intrefling to the Eiiglifli reader. The number of perfons on board the two (hips, including officers, failors, paftengers, fervants, &c. amounted in all to 1 ^8, and 28 of ihcfe, including women and children, remained in the ifland lor the cilabiilhaicnt of the colony. arc TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 219 are at the diflance of at lead two full leagues. It commands all the adjacent country, and efpecially the entrance of the creek, at the txtremity of which the new habitation is built. This entrance is with good reafon called the Goukt, or GuJIet j becaufe when the fes is high, the opening is no more than a full piftoU fliot in breadth. M. Bafle and myfelf went on the 28th to fee the large bay, where I gathered a great quantity of the mod beautiful Limas^ or cochleae, with mother of pearl, and fafciated, and fome flat patellae, which were extremely fine. On the 29th, it blew a ftorm, and there fell a great deal of fleet, attended with fqualls of wind. On the 30th the wind blew very cold, with hazy and dark weather, which continued all night, a circumftance unufual in this country, at leaft fince our arrival. Till this day, the 31ft, the fky had almoft conftantly been fine and ferene. We had white frofs two or three times, and once only the fl^anding waters were flcirnmed over with ice ; but for fcveral days pafl: there had been a coolnefs in the mornings and evenings, which in hot countries we fliould call cold. However from ten in the morning to five in the afternoon, you feel the warmth of May in thofe places which are flieltered from the wind. The weather was hazy all night, and Sunday morning the firft: of April. About ten the wind difperfed the fog, and veered to the North North VVefl-, where it blew with fome violence, but fubfided at four in the afternoon, when I returned on board with almofl all the officers who were not to winter in the new colony. M. de Bougainville and M. I'Huiilier, were the only perfons who ftaid to fuperintend the work on the roof of the building, which was almofl: finiflied. The lame day Laurence Lucas, carpenter of the Sphinx', put the finiftiing hand to the carving of the double flower-de-luce in ftone, which was to be placed on the top of the pyramid. The two medallions in wood, one reprefenting the buft of Lewis XV, and the other the arms of France, which were to he fixed on two M" *k .229 JOURNAL OF PIY VOYAGE *wo bppofite fides of the pyramid were in great forwardnefs. All the provifions and other aiticles which were intended to be kft upon the ifland were landed, and lodged in the Magazine, On Monday morning the ii(\, M. Duclos Guyot went in the yawl to found the bay, round the fmall illand covered with corn- flags, which was the neaieft to the place where we were moored, and was called I/e au Tcnnclier, or Cooper's ifland, becaufe our cooper was fettled there in order to carry on his bufinefs, M. Duclos every where found a good bottom, and con- cluded from the depth, that the true channel of the tiJe is on the fide of this ifland opjjofite to that wliere \vc were moored. The afternoon was very windy. On Tucfday the 3d, it was calm all day, and tiie weather fine. M. de Bougainville repaired to the habitation, to make every preparation for taking pofleflion of thefe illands, having fixed the day for Thurfday next. M. de NerviUe and myfelf, pafl'ed the wliolc afternoon upon the Burnt ifland, where we gathered a large falad of creflcs and celery upon the banks of a pond at tlic eafttin point. The latter of thefe plants is very common in all the parts of diis ifland that we have vifited. On the 4th, the wind which blew very frefli, x aried from the South South Weft, to the Weft North Weft, thi weather was iine, and the fea ran very high ; which did not however prevent our fportfmen from going out to kill buftards. Four officers belonging to the Sphinx, had brought fiom thence a hundred and th'ee fome days before. Our oflicers, encouraged by this fucce.j, determined 10 go thither, and killed eighty-three. Two of them killed but 36 this day, with fourteen ducks and teals. They gave 18 buftards to the Sphinv, on account of the pre- parations that were making for their departure, which was fixed for the next day. The fort fired one and twenty cannon to announce the ceremony of taking pofi'eflion, which was to be performed the next day. M TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. azx At four o'clock on Thurfday morning the fifth of April, oiir longboat was fent with her hawfer and anchor, on board the Sphinx J after which ftie weighed her two anchors, and got under fail at half an hour paft feven, with a favourable wind and fine weather. ; At day-break tlie foit made a difcharge of oiie and twenty pieces of cannon. The moment the Sf hinx failed, we all embarked in our yawls and one fiOiing-boat to go to the fort. As foon as we landed at the gullet, the fort faluted us with feveral guns. A party of the inhabitants, who had taken the refolution to remain in this new colony appeared in arms at the gullet. They conducled us to the fort, at the foot of which we found all the reft under ^rms. After the parade they accompanied us to the fort with drums beating. All the company being airembled at the fort, the pyramid was opened ; I then folemnly fang the 71? Deum ; after that the pfalm Exciudiaty then tiirice Domine fahum fac regent. After this I rehearfed tiie verfe Fiat mama tua, Domine^ fuper virum dextcra tuce ; the reiponfe was, ^ fuper Jilium bojiihns quern confirmafii iiin, then the prayer ^afumns, omnipotens Deus, ut famulm ttius Litciovicus Rex nofter, &c. for the profperity of his reign. We tried Five le Roy feven times and fired twenty-one cannon. We cried again kvcn times Vhe le Roy, M. de Bougainville then produced the king's commiinon, appointing a governor in the new colony, which was delivered to M. de Nerville, wlio was in< mediately received and acknowledged as fuch. M. de Bou- gainviHc, in the king's name, likewife proclaimed the other offi- cers, who were in the fame manner unanimoufly acknowledged. ■ i\v\ altar was likewife erected in the fort at the very bafe of the pyramid. I intended to have faid mafs thcr(\ to miike the ceremony of taking poUelTion more facred anu folemn. But the wind blew with fucii violence, that notwithftanding a tent was ercdttd there, i*: was thought proper to content oyrfelves v. ith the ceremony I have defcribed. We afterwards repaired to the apaitiTienrSi n 222 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE apartments in the habitation, where at eleven o'clock we had a plentiful breakfaft, the allowance to all the (hip's company being doubled on the occafion. As foon as breakfaft was over, we went to vifit the feveral fpots on which different forts of grain had been fown eight or ten days before; and found them fprung up, and in a very healthy and flourifhing ftate. On our return, I flopped at a place where I had obferved a pretty common plant, which makes an excellent infufion : this I fliall defcribe hereafter. Having only time to gather a little of it, we took our leave, and returned on board. On Friday the 6th, at fix in the morning, M. de St. Simon and two others went on Ihore in the longboat to water, and killed fevcnty buftards, twelve ducks, fome teals, and feveral fnipes. Thefe buftards, together with a great number that were killed before, were put in barrels ; fo that we had two tierces and fome barrels to fupply us on our return to France. The calm and the fine weather at fun-rife, favoured the exe- cution of M. de Bougainville's defign to furvey and take draughts of the great bay where we lay at anchor, of its creeks and the environs. With this view, Mcfl'. I'Huillier, Duclos, his two fons, MefT. de St. Simon, Dcnat, le Roy and myfelf, embarked in the longboat, and landed at the bottom of the bay in a creek, which runs up a great way within the land. You fee it in the chart of the harbour. MelT. de St. Simon, Donat, and le Roy, went out a fporting, while Melf. I'Huillier, Duclos, Seigneurie, fbrne others and myfelf, made obiervations from the eminence or mountain E. Wlien we had finiftied our obfervations, and taken a draught of the bay with the graphometer, we amufed ourfelves with obferving a ruin, produced, as it fliould feem, by fome earthquake. It afforded a profped fo dreadfully pleafmg that I was extremely mortified at my want of time, and the neceffary inftruments, to iketch out a perfe6l reprefentation of it. A painter might here find materials to compofe a pidure of the finert TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 223 fineft ruins. A (ketch of it is given in the plate, as alfo of a kind of amphitheatre fituated a hundred paces from it. We were no lefs aftonilhed at the fight of the infinite number of ftones of all fizes thrown one upon another, and yet ranged as if they had been piled negligently f :» fill up fome hollows. We admired with infatiable delight tne prodigious works of nature. I attempted in vain to engrave a name upon one of thefe ftones, which formed a table a foot and an half thick, ten feet long, and fix broad j it was fo hard that neither my knife nor a punch could make any imprellion upon it. I tried feveral in the fame manner which were equally hard. I broke off a piece by flriking a corner with another ftone, and all the pieces that were broken off had the appearance of freeftone por- phyrized. This freeftone as it is found in its beds, which run in all di- reftions, is every where cut into tables of a different fize and thicknefs j but in fuch a manner as if art had been ufed. Thefe ruins reprefented in the plate, refemble in feveral places the gates of a city, whofe arches are demolilhed ; and of which there remain only fome walls to the right and left, ftljl raifed twenty or five and twenty feet, in the parallel angles forming the entrance. They are I'ke the walls of a town, the ftones of whicl\ have been ranged according to the level and the per- pendicular, as they are in our walls compofed of freeftone. Some angles are likevvife to be feen here, both faliant and re- entraiit, fome out-works more than fifteen feet high, and fome redihneal proje(5tions 1l j corninies, advancing at Icaft half a foot, and which run at the fame height all along the pofterior or internal, as well as the anterior or external parts of the ruins. The only things wanting arc the mouldings. To the left of the track leading from the fpot where we landed, we met with the eminence on which the ftones are ranged like the arches of an amphitheatre : the figure of which I have given. Beyond thefe ruins lies a valley more than two hundred feet deep, a:id about half a quarter of a league I i broad, »^( it *i'l 224 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE broad, the bottom of which is covered with ftones thrown to- gether jironiifcuoufly, and feems to have ferved as a bed to a river or feme large torrent, which running through the hollows made by thefe eminences, probably difcharged itfelf into the great weftern bay I have mentioned. The eminence which is beyond the valley appears to be covered with ruins, fimilar to thofe upon the eminence on this fide. Before you come to thefe you meet with an efplanade, or platform of earth, about twenty or twenty-four yards broad, which runs from the bafe of the amphitheatre, beyond the fiift opening of thefe ruins, which I faid rcfembleJ the entrance or gate of a city. The rubbidi of thefe feeming walls obftrudts the continuation of this efplanade where you fee two pieces of water, or refervoirs, one nearly round, the other oval, at a hnall diilance from each other j the firfl: about twenty«five feet in diameter, the other thiity. A gentle decliviiy fifty feet broad k-ads from the efplanade to the ruins. From the bottom of the hill you fee kinds of hollows intirely filled with thefe promifcuous heaps of flones. Between thefe hollows are irregular fpots of ground, twelve, fifteen, twenty, and twenty-five feet in breadth, and twenty, thirty, and at leafl fifty in length, covered with herbage and heath, as if they had cfcaped the fliock. Between thele pro- mifcuous heaps of flones, are every where left void fpaces or interftices, whofe depth cannot be cftimated. The fmalleft of thefe ftones, none of which are angular, the corners being rounded, are two feet in length, and one in breadth or there- abouts ; their figure however is not regular. They are likewife compofed of a fpecies of freeftone which is of a very hard quality. It is an hour's walk from the place of our landing to the rubbifli, and the road is level all the way as far as the toot of the eminence on which the ruins are feen. As we returned, I gathered a little bag full of a plant which I fliall defcribe in the fequel under the name of Luce mujque, or 7hi de: JJks Malouines : I ate twenty of the fruits of a fmall herb which u M TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 225 which our mariners call PJai de bierre : and we retifcrned (ao. board loaded with game. After the ceremony of taking pofTeflion, M. de Ncrville invited us to a dinner he intended to give the Sunday following^ by way of taking leave, and wiftiing us a fpeedy return to France. We agreed to wait upon him. But our captG n M. Diiclos Cuyot, having reprefented to M. de Bougainville, cji4t the longer we deferred our drparture, the greater would be our danger of meeting with bad weather and a tempeftuous fee;, on account of the approach of winter in this country j that, two days fooner or later were of confequence, elpecially as M. de Bougainville wifhed to give the court as early an account of his expedition as poffible i and that, it was tlierefore necefl'ary to feize the firft opportunity of gettuig under fail : the refolution was accordingly taken on Saturday evening, to fail the next morning if the weather proved favourable. On Sunday the 8th of April, we failed at half pafl four in the afternoon, the fort fainting us with twenty difcharges of cannon. M. I'Huillier and fome others were difpatched early in tlie morn- ing to the habitation, to make our compliments of departure, and to bring two hogs and two dozen of fowls to make broth for thofe who might have the misfortune to be ill. When we arrived in the great bay, that is, when we had got beyond the illands fituated in it, we lay by to wait for our longboat, which arrived at fix with our great anchor. When we had taken them and our yawl on board, we got under way at half jiaft feven. At half paft nine we were North and South of the ifland at the entrance of the bay. From this time to midnight, we diic6led our courfe to the Baft, at the rate of three leagues and two thirds an hour. I could not have conceived, tliat at fifty-one decrees and an half latitude, and fixty longitude from the nicridian of Paris, a climate could have been found fo temperate as that of the Malouine lilands. We landed at the eallem point, a part of the illand expolcd perhaps more than any other to cold, white I i 2 frofls, 1; «' '•^i ri W I 226 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE I - frofts, and other inconveniences incident to a fituation almoft intirely encompafTcd with the fea, or with bays, forming a peninCula Iwept by the South Weft and Weft winds, which are the moft frequent in tliofc parts. We had reafon to draw this conclufion during more than two months ftay in the country even in the time of autumn, when the cold might be expedled to be felt early in that latitude ; and from the Jierbagc in all the parts we vifited, inclining to the North Eaft and Eaft. Notwithftanding this, except the grafs which was withered by the heats of fummer, as is ui'ual in all other countries, the other plants, and even the grafs of the fccond growth, were ftill very green at the time of oar departure. In the quarter of the ifland which we faw, the land every where prej'ents a very agreeable afpedt. Mountains, or rather eminences which we called mountains, encompafs plains farther than the eye can fee, divided by little rifing grounds and hills which communicate by gentle declivities. At the foot of each a rivulet, more or kfs confiderable runs in winding mazes, and difcharges itfclf into the fea through the numerous creeks of the bays. That in which we anchored (which might be called Bay€ de St. Louis on account of the fort of this name wiiich is crcfted on the land which terminates it, or rather Btjye Roya/e, on account of the pyramid dedicated to Louis XV. our well- beloved monarch) runs up more than fu leagues within land, and naturally forms a good harbour in which more than two thouHinci ftiips may ride at anchor. There is every where a good bottom, idands of different fizes, peninfulas to the number of about twelve, which afford fuch Ihelter from the moft violent winds, that perhaps there is never any (well in thofe parts. The entrance of this bay is at leaft two leagues over, and is contradled by a pretty large ifland at fome diilancc from the South Eat! point, as may be lecii in the chart. Tiiis great bay which was difcovered fifteen days before we Lft the iilaiid, has been examined and traced in part by M, de Belcourt and M. Martin, who made an excurfion thither of two or TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 227 or three days and nights. As we were defirous of obtaining a more perfeft knowledge of its extent, Mefl'. de St. Simon and Donat fet out fome days after the return of the two gentlemen I have juft now mentioned. They went at firfl: to the place where it approaches Jieaieft to the habitation, which is at the diftance of two little leagues, and then kept along the fliore till they came to the bottom of it. They palled here to tlie oppo- fite fhore, and followed it ten leagues. The brooks and a con- fiderable river which it was difficult to crofs, obftrufting their farther progrefs, they determined to climb the higheft mountain they could find -, from whence they thought they Ihould be able to difcover the entrance of this bay and the rd\ of its courle. They judged at that time that it ran at kart fifjeen leagues within the land, and formed into a peninfula that part of the country where we had eftabliflied our fettlement. According to their account, the coaft of this bay prefents to the view an excellent foil, and an agreeable profpef.. At every quarter of a league it is watered by brooks and imall rivers, one of which, that runs from the Weft, appeared to them to be fixty feet broad. They found a prodigious number of buftards in flocks of twenty or forty, and a great many other birds. Upon the whole, they counted twenty-lix pretty large iflands in that part of the hay which they furveyed. It may be doubted, whether there is not actually a ftreight which divides thefe iilands, and communicates from North to Sou*^'i as fome navigators have imagined, and whether the ap- pear "ice of this bay might not have led them to form fuch a con- je6ture> Perhaps they law only its entrance, or not venturing on account of itsruniiing lb deep within the land and its great breadth, to proceed farther into it, concluded that it formed a flreight *. After an attentive examination of the foil at the habitation, and that of its environs, I think I may venture to pronounce it of * It was found on ;i fccond voyige, that fuch a ftreight a£tu:illy exifts ; and thafc its entrance on tlic northi-rn fide, is at the place called by us la Comhic. 228 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE of a mineral nature. The ochreous earths, b-^ m ind and yellow, the fpars, the quartz, which are every where to be foiinci, are evident proofs of it. The rocks which are commonly covered with '^rcy and reddilh fl''^", I'ufficiently indicate a great quantity of fvilphur. On bre? ; ■ j the tops of the rocks of quartz which appear on the fuiface, with crows and mattocks, I found in the crevices, marks of a vitiiolick and coppery ma- trix. I likewile difcovered a fubftance < *^^ a grceniih call, which had the aftrijigency and acidity of verdegreafc : 1 applied a little of it to the tip of my tongue, and was forced to fpit very much for a full quaiter of an hour. Here you frequently meet with pyrites which are round, and fulphurcous ; and with others of irregular figures, which one wou'd conclude belonged to an iron- mine, both on account of their weight and their brown colour, mixed with an ochreous c?rth of a reddiih yellow, or of the colour of ruft. In digging to lay the fou iations of the houfes, M. de Bougainville obferved in the earth that was thrown up, fcveral pieces of broken quartz, wliich exhibited to the eye fjiangles that glittered like gold. He picked up ibme which he brought to me, and I imagined ai firft fight that it might be wica, or the yellow talc. However as the talc is not ufually lound in the quartz, I thought it might be that fpecies of fulphur which glitters in the pyrites. We were luifortunately unprovided with the necedary materials for making experiments ; we had no coals, or wood, no furnace, or even aqua regia, nor could any he made with fo fmall a quantity of aqua fortis. The crucibles I brought were ultlefs to me. There was befulcs, too fmall a quantity of thefe little gluiering particles, and v\c had too many other objcils to engage our attention, to be at leifure to ran- fack the earth for fuch a colleftion of them, as would be fuHicicnt to make an experinient. I therefore contented myfelf witli vifitiiig the place where the ground had been dug, and examining the earths tliat were thrown up. In a hollow at the depth of about fix feet, I perceived a bed of earth lying ob- liquely , fix inches broad in feme places, the reft of an unequal 6 breadth, TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 229 brcadtli, which entered the ground in the fame dircflion. This bed was compofed of quartz covered with a rufty earth, yellow and red ochre, and a fort of hollow flints, feveral of which were filled with a fpecics of fine bole, of a flelh or rofe. colour in fomc, and of the colour of fine lacca in others ; feveral, with a very fine eartl^ of a brownifli red colour. The cover, or I^ony cruft which urrounds thefe fine earths, is commonly of the fame colour with the inclofcd fubftance. I have met with fome of them grcv, very much refembling filver ore. Their colour bee '•^•^ht deeper when expofed to the fire, rJlch gave me reafo onclude that they are of an ochre iuo tju;;rity, and t ^c'^lill chiefly of iron. On my ret;irji France, I, ft: ic of thefe pieces of quartz to perfons verfcd in expe- rimer folfils, who likewife judged them to be iron 01 e. Havii,^ therefore no hopes of making difcoveries of this kind, I turned my attention on the plants of the country. I met with, only four or five of thofe kinds which grow in France. Here is plenty of red and white celery, which has a fweet and plcafant tafte, though produced without culture. We ate it in fallads and foiips every day. Some of our mariners called it Macedonian Par/ley, and were afraid of it at firfl:, but ate it afterwards with- out fcruple, efpecially as the country afforded no other greens. M. Duclos, captain of the Eagle, found fome hartfhorn, or rocket which he called Crefonetie, and brought it to the encamp- ment. On tafting it, we found it rather too poignant. As M. de Nerville and myfelf were walking along the fide of a pond, we met with fome very good creflTes, and frequently ate them> mixed with celery. Along the banks of a little rivulet, I have I'een the Gremuillette or crowfoot, as well as the ranunculus, which is cultivated in gardens for the beauty of its flowers. Our pilots obferving that v/e were fond of a plant which had rather a fingular appearance, were induced to tafte it. It has a milder and more agreeable acidity than even the round leaved forrel. They found it fo palatable that they put it into their foupi rs^ii o M-' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1^121 |2.5 |jo ^^~ Mi^ MUw U£ L25 III 1.4 2.0 1.8 1.6 J^ V. ^> '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 .y'Tit"- ^• .' ,'■■■■;■7^rs;'■v:*^/,7■l 230 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE foup the fame day, and as we did not perceive that they fufFered any inconvenience from it, we ordered fome of it in our own. This plant produces leaves ranged in a circular form, fome- times eighteen or twenty in number, at the extremity of a cherry-roloured petiole as thick as a crow quill, round and generally from feven to eight inches high, always rifing above the plants which furround it. The leaf is of a light green. It has only one ftem nearly Hmilar to the footilalk of the leaves, which fupports a fingle white flower confiHiing of a pen- taphyllus calix, and having the figure of a very fmall tulip ; it expands in the fame mannc, and emits a very fweet fmell like the almond. The leaf of the plant is (haped like a heart, the extremity of which is very much lengthened : each leaf is faftened to the petiole or footftalk by this extremity, and forms a kind of hoop. See the figure in the plate. I have never (sen any of thefe leaves quite expanded ; they are almofl always funk into a channel. Ten, twelve, and often more of thefe leaves or leafy ftems proceed from the point of a long twiftf^d roof, covered with fmall pointed fcales of a red colour inclining to Vermillion, lying horizontally two or three fingers deep. This plant is very common. We called it Vinaigrette from its talle. Perhaps it belongs to the clafs of wild forrel. The plant reprefented in the figure next to that of the Vinai- grettCy may be ranked among the Satyrions : its leaf Teems at firft fight to fuggeft this conje<£lture : however as the orchifes have ufually no more than two tubercles at their root, and this plant has twelve roots or more, fhapcd like thofe of the goat's beard and very long, I think it ought not to be placed in the clals of the orchifes. I take it to be the Epipaftis, mentioned by Father Fcuillee, page 729. pi. 29. under the denomination of Epipii^ii amplo fore luteo vulgo gravilla : the root of the Epi- pactis of the Malouine Klands, bears however a greater refera- blance to that of the Epipatlis fioribm um verfu difpofitis vulgo Null, which he mentions p. 726. and is reprefented in pi. 17. It grows in the dry and barren parts of Chili, and the Epipadlis Jlore \ ■■*■.-' •f*t-"^"'^-''*^-'c''f-'^-'*^ * ' yj -"r** 7 V" ■>'»;■. ■■^^iV^rt't '-^ ,"^F"'-v":'?^-'-''- TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 231 fore Juteo in the moi(l parts of the fame ' couhtry : that of the Malouine Iflands likewife grows in low and moift places. The root of this confifts of feveral knobs, which are formed into a bunch. I have feen from ten to twelve of them, and fometimes more. Their length on an average is three inches, and feme of them are more than half an inch in thick nefs. They are covered with a fmall thin fkin, incloHng a friable, foft, watery fubftance, which at firfl has a fweetifh tafte, but when it is chewed leaves fo ftrong a flavour or relifti of ambergreafe in the mouth, that it a little refembles cat's urine. I have not been able to difcover the flowers of this plant, though I have feen feveral of every fize. The higheft of them have capfules filled with feed, and a kind of tuft at the extre- mity refembling a clufter of dried petals of a reddifli caft, without any determinate fmell. The feed is a very fine red dufl:, that fills the hollow part of the capfule, which is divided into four or five compartments. After the moil careful examination, I have not been able to difcover any other kind of feed. The ftcm of the plant never rifes higher than feven or eight inches, and is covered with pretty long leaves, which frequently form a fliallow channel ; fome are perfedly flat : they are all fmooth, and of a green colour, refembling that of the leaf of the orchis. In all places wafhed by the water there Is found a fpecies of fpleen-wort, which grows like a fungus, and fupports a ftem with hollow leaves, in which the feed is contained : a circum- ftance not common in any fpecies of the maidenhair, in which the feed is a duft adhering to the verge of the prone difk of the leaf. In this plant we are defcribing, the ftem that fupports the feed rifes fingly on the right fide of the root, the leaves being at t))e fame time circularly difpofed, or vertical. The ftem itfelf, or it you will, the only leaf in the whole plant, which fupports the feed, is in proportion near an inch longer than the longeft K k of r farts are of a brown tortoife-flieli col ..r, and the bottom is variegated with mother of pearl and gilt tcrtoife-fliell. " 1. - '.. I have feen fome that were three inches and upwards at their greatefl diameter. There are five or fix forts of them which are more or fcfs oval j in fome the cavity is of a confiderable depth, in others, though of the fame diameter, it is lefs deep by three- fourths. I have fome in my pofleflion an inch and an half' broad at their fmall diameter, which are not three Unes in depth :• 'a^l ll tr ■' '. I a3^ JOURNAL OF MV VOYAGE • *' depth } and others an inch broad whofe cavity is aiv inch deep.^ The inner furface of thefc is mod commonly of the colour of fine white porcelain, and the bottom of the cavity of gilt tortoife- ftiell. - There are feme of this kind very large and beautiful, having an oval aperture in the center of the top, white within, and ftained with flripes of purple and violet, which widen as they ex- tend from the center to the circumference. The fourth fort is by fome called Dragoon's cap } the largeft aperture I have had an opportunity of obferving does not exceed from nine to ten lines in diameter, and fix or fevcn in depth j the outward fuperficies is grey, almoft fmooth, and has fame- times ftripes inclining to brown ; the infide is ufually of the colour of the lees of red wine with a little tin£lure of brown. In many of thefc patellae the perforation in their convex part is not placed direftly in the middle, but rather towards one of the edges of the greateft diameter. In one of them it is fituated as near as poflible to one of the extremities. This patella is very flat ; its fheil is fo thin, that it requires great nicety and care not to break it. The two furfaces are fmooth, and filvered over when the external one is ftripped of its outward covering, which is of a filemot colour. Here is likewife found a concamerated na- tella which is fmall and white, both within and without i I never faw any of this fort but upon the fliore, and they were always without the fifli. Tp thefe may be added that fort which our Teamen call Gondolas or Boats ; becaufe it rcfembles them in fi- gure when the bottom is turned uppermoft : but their upper furface is like the coat of the millepedes. It is compofed of eight pieces,, inferted into each other ii\ fuch a manner, that the fifli can roll itfelf up, form itfelf into a round ball, and inclofe itftlf in its (hell. A flefhy fubftance runs quite round with rough hairs three or four lines in length. The (hell is variegated with fti ipes or flreaks of a fine bluifh green, a milky-coloured white, and a darkifli brown. jr The TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS; 239 The Malouine iflands abound with four kinds of mufcles j the common, the Magellanic, and two other forts which differ in (liape both from the common and Magellanic. I have fcen fome of thefe laft forts, the (hell of which was from five to fix inches long, and three inches broad. Thofe which are gathered from the rocks left dry when the fea retires, are common^ ly full of pearls, fome of which are pretty enough. Thofe which adhere to the (hell, or are difperfed over the body of the mufcle, are of a violet blue inclining to black ; they are often uneven, and bear a great refemblance to turnip-feed. The pearls of the large Magellanic kinds are white, but feldom of a good fize, and clear colour. They are likewife very apt to break in attempting to feparate them from the (liell. Thole which are found on the body of the mufcle, arc properly nothing more than feeds. It is highly probable that thefe pearls proceed from Ibme diforder in the fi(h, as they are feldom found in mufcles which are conftantly wa(hed by the fca-water. The want of water, at a time when the fun darts his rays fiercely, undoubt- edly occafions an extreme third-, and a languor that impairs them, and creates an obdrudionj from which thefe pearls are generated. The (hell of one of the other two kinds of mufcles is white, tranfparejnt, and fo light that the leaft breath of air blows it off the hand. The other, though larger, is of a very fliining red brown gold colour, particularly when under water, and the fun fhines upon it. When empty, it is fcarce heavier than the pre- ceding one, for the wind alone throws it upon the (hore. See the plate, &c. : . The large and fmall Magellanic mufcles are of the whitenefs of mother of pearl, divided by purple ftripcs, adapted to the cir- cular figure of the fliell. The coat which covers the external furface is of a muddy brown ; but when this is taken off, it dii- plays a fine (ky-blue veined with purple ftripes. The channels diminifh infenfibly as they approach the (harp end, which is fine ' ^ - . 'LI mother 1' .« 240 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE motlicr oi pearl, and from vvliich they proceed as from their center. Sec the figure of tlicfc nmfcles in the plate. ~ > A great number of other difTcrent ihclls engage the attention' of the curious upon the cpafl of thcfe iflunds : foliated buccina, fpinofe buccina, fcrcw fhells, of different kinds, Purpura^ fafciated Cochleae, concamerated Cochlese, Ncritae, fmouth Chamae, ftriatcd Chamx, Scollop (hells, Pe^tines, Echini, Sea-Aderiae, and a fpecics of Concha, which our feamen call Guiulle deRttyes. This laft Ihell has not till lately been known except among the foflil (hells, and it has been doubted whether it exidcd in nature. In the fubfequent voyages made to the fame iflands, fo great a quantity of them has been colle«^ed, that they have been diftributed among the cabinets in Paris : fo that the only (hell of the kind which I de- pofited, on my return, in the cabinet of the Abbey of St. Ger- main des Pros, is no longer a rarity. There are probably feveral other (hells along the coaft of the main fea, which I have not had an opportunity of feeing, be* caufe the place where we anchored was about fix leagues in the bottom of the bay } and the fpot on which we pitched our tentSi and fixed our habitation was near two leagues farther. Through* out this whole bay, J have feen no other kinds of (liells than thofe I have defcribed : nor did we meet with any fifh befidcs thofe I have mentioned, except fomc white porpoifes, and feveral whales* There are three kinds of amphibious animals very commonly found on thefe iflands ; fea-wolves, fea-lions, and penguins. I have faid fomething of each of tlicfe j but (hould add, with re- gard to the fccond, that the name of fea-tion does not fo pro-< perly bJong to thofe I have defcribed, (and of which the author of Admiral Anfon's Voyage treats pretty largely) as to another fpe- cics, in which the hair that covers the bjfck part of the head, neck and Ihouliiers, is at Icaft as long as the hair of a goat. It gives this amphibious animal an air of rcfcmblance to the common lion of the foieft, excepting the difference of li^e. The fea-lions of the kind I I'peak of, are twenty-five feet in length, and from nine- teen to twenty in their greateft circumference. See the plate. In other 4 TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 241 other rcfpcfts they refemblc the fca-lions, of whicli I have given the Hguic. Thofe of the fmall kind have a head iclcinbling a maf^iff's with clofe cropt cars. The teeth of the fea-Hons which have manes, arc much l.irgcr and more folid than thofc of the red. In thcfe all the tcttli which are infertcd into the jaw-bone arc hollow. They have only four large ones, two in the lower and two in the upper jaw. The reft are not even fo large as thofe of a hori'e. I brought home one belonging to the true fca-lion, which is at lead three inches in diameter, and feven in length, though not one of the larged. We counted twenty-two of the fame fort in the jaw* bone of one of thefe lions where five or fix were wanting. They were intirely folid, and projected fcarce more than an inch, or an inch and an half beyond their fockets. They are nearly equal in folidity to flint, and are of a dazzling white. Several of our fea- men took them for white flints when they found them upon the fhore. I could not even perfuade them that they were not real flints, except L/y rubbing them againfl each other, or breaking fome pieces off, to make them fenfible that they exhaled the fame fmell as bones and ivory do when they are rubbed or fcraped. Thefe fea-lions that have manes, are not more mifchievous or formidable than the others. They are equally unwieldy and heavy in their motions s and are rather difpofed to avoid than to fall upon thofe who attack them. Both kinds live upon fifh, and water-fowl, which they catch by furprize, and upon grafs. They bring forth and fuckle their young ones among the dorn- flags, where they retire at night, and continue to give them fuck till they are large enough to go to fea. In the evening you fee them afl'embling in herds upon the fhore, and calling their dams in cries fo much like lambs, calves and goats, that, unlefs apprifed of it, you would eafily be deceived. The tongue of thefe animals is very good eating : we preferred it to that of an ox or calf. For a trial we cut off the tip of the tongue hanging out of the mouth of one of thefe lions which was juft killed. About fixteen or eighteen of us eat each a pretty large piece, and we all L 1 2 thought Ul #1 24a JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE f thouglat it fo good, that we regretted we could not cut more of it. *Tis faid that their flefli is not abfolutely difagrecable. I have not tafted it : but the oil which is extrafted from their greafe is of great ufe. This oil is extrailed two ways j either by cut- ting the fat in pieces and melting it in large cauldrons upon the tire } or by cutting it in the fame manner upon hurdles, or pieces of board, and expofing them to the fun, or only to the air : this greafe diflblves of itfelf, and runs into vefl'els placed underneath to receive it. Some of our feamen pretended that this laft fort of oil, when it is frefli, is very good for kitchen ufes : this, as well as the other, is commonly ufed for drefling leather, for veflels, and for lamps. It is preferred to that of the whale : it is always clear, and leaves no fediment. The (kins of the fea-lions are ufed chiefly in making port* manteaus, and in covering trunks. When they are tanned, they have a grain almofl like Morocco. They are not fo fine, but are lefs liable to tear, and keep frem a longer time. They make good fhoes and boots, which, when well feafoned, are water* proof. The Penguin is fo (ingular an animal, that it is not eafy to fay to what genus or fpecies it belongs. It has a bill like a bird, and feathers -, but they are fo fine and fo unlike common feathers, that they have properly the appearance of hair as fine as filk, even when you. are near enough to examine and touch them; You can only be convinced of the contrary by plucking one of them, upon which you difcover the barrel and feathers of a quill. Inftead of wings it has two fins, which are articulated in the fame manner as the wings nf birds, and are covered with very fiiiall feathers which might be taken for fcales. At firft fight it appears to have no thighs, and its feet, which are rough like thofe of geefe, feem to come out dijedlly from the body on each fide of the tail, which is nothing more than a continuation of the fea- thers, nearly in the fame manner as in ducks, but much fiiorter. The neck, the back, and the fins are of a bluiih grey, blended jti^itiilt J : ,1 through- TO* THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 243 throughout with a, pearl-coloured grey. The belly down from' the neck is white. The old ones have a white ftripe round their ' eyes mixed with yellow, which is not unlike fpedVacIes. From thence this ftripe extends on both fides along the neck, where it is fortietimes double, and pafllng clofe to the fins, terminates at the feet which are of a darkilh grey, and have very thick toes. Its noife is like the braying of an afs. Its afpefl and its motion are different from that of birds. It walk^ upright, with its head and body ereQ, like a man^ At the diftance of an hundred pacesy you would take it for one of the children of the choir in his ha- bit. The largeft of jhofe we have taken ijjay, be about two fee9 ten inches high. '5wJr>?ii(tii^*'*>'«*€t''-<*fff-^'^*»<*«j*rr .#. ■'4r-; I They live aniong the corn- flags like the fea- wolves, and eartlv themfelvcs in holes like foxes. They futferone to come fo neap them without ftirring, that one mayikill them with a ftick. As you approach them, they look at you, turning their head to the right and then to the left, as if they made a jeft of you, and mut- tered ironically Wfetf^ a fine fellow have we got here ! They fome- times retreat when you are five or fix feet from them, and run pretty mudh like a goofe. If they are furprifed and attacke^d, they run in upon you, and endeavour to defend themfelves by ftriking at your legs with theii? bills ; they have recourfe to ftra- tagem to gain their point, and pretending to retreat fideways, turn back in an inltant, and bite fo hard that they take the piece out, if you have nothing to fecure your legs. They are ufually feen in floCks, fometinles to the number of forty, ranged in order of battlCj and eye you as you pafs at the diftance of twenty paces. Their fleih is black, and has rather a perfumed tafte. We ate of them feveral times in ragouts, which we found to be as good as thofe made of a hare. We took off the. (kins from feveral, with a view of preferving them, but they were fo oily that we threw them into the fea :. it was likewife their moulting- feafon. L wrapped the fkin of a young one in ftraw, which is in very ^ood prefervation ;. I have deppfited it in the cabinet of natu- *..- . ,, ->.. . . ... ... . ,, .. .. ,, ..,: ral. p jiii 244 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE ral curiftfities belonging to the Abbey of St. Germain dcs Pf* ^ See the Plate. When they take to the water, and find it deep enough to covcf their neck and Hioulders, they pJonge into it, and fwim as quick as any fiili. If they meet with any obftacle, they fpring four or five feet out of the water, .and then plunge again, in order to purfue their courfe. Their dung exhibits only an exceeding fine earth, of a yellowifh red, intorfperfed with fmall (hining points like mica -, it might be taken for the Lapis fortuitus. As for the birds in thefe iflands, there are biit few found upon land. There is a flock of birds upon the (hore like fmall thrulhes, of a brown grey, fo tame that they come flying almofl; upon your finger. I killed t^ with a fmall fwitch in lefs than half an hour, without changing my place. They fct'atch among the fea- grafs which is thrown ondiofe, and e&t the woi^ms and fmall fhrimps, which we call PMes de meti becaufe they ai« (kipping Inceflantly like fA»&, Blackbirds are likewife found here, and a kind of thrafh with a yellowilh belly. They feed in the feme manner as the bird I have jufV now defcribed. We killed a kind of ftarling in the fields, the upper part df whofe neck, back, and wings, is marked and fpeckled almoft like thofe in France j the bill is likewife /haped in the fame manner : but the lower part of the neck and belly are of a very fine red, fomewhat inclining to a flame co- lour ; this red k befprinkled with fome black fpots. I could not give a true refemblance of it without making ufe of the minium or red lead. See the Plates. Here are great numbers of wrens like thofe in France, fnipcs, curlieus and (ea-larks : likewife a fmall bird, not often feen, like thofe that hover about flocks of fheep; thefe birds have all an ex- cellent flavour. ■"' ' '' ' ?! -• .' ♦' - ' Upon the fea-coaft is almofl always feen a kind of duck, which flies in pairs and fometimes in flocks : the feathers of its wings are very fhort, and c«ily ferve to fupport it in running upon the water, for it never flics. Its plumage is grey, its bill and feet 5 yellow. TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 345. yellow. When it is not fhot dead, it continues its flight upoa the furface as long as the lead breath of life remains. Its fleOi is. oily, and has a fenny tafle : it was eaten however by our (hips companies when no budrards were given them. Thefe ducks ufually weigh at leaft between nineteen and twenty pounds each. We called them grey geefe, to diftinguifh them from the kind which affords that fine down of which rauifs are made. They are not better eating than the ducks } their flefh has even a difagreeable {(hell, which their oily (kin retains a confiderable time, thought expofed to tlie air. This difgulling circum(tance prevented our making a collection of them. They may probably be of the kind* caW&fX Cahiiitabu du Para, ■ -''■m^Jh'-'-- ' ■ : > The large feathers in their wifigs are of an iron grey ; the fmall" ones a mixture of green and gold, and vary their colour like thofe of a wild duck ; the reft- of their body is white. The arti- culation of the wing is armed with a fpur as hard as horn, not. very (harp, but rounded like a cone, «nd about half an inch long. Their bill and feet are black. The ftrokes they give with their wings in defending themielves, are accompanied with fuch force that they bruife the fle/h where the blow lights. The buftards; are likewife armed with a fpur of the fame kind. I received a blow upon my hand from one that was even mortally wounded with (hot. I felt a very acute pain for a full quarter of an hour, and the mark of the briiifs remained more than two days. The wild Ducks, which are here very common> are like thofe of France, but not near fogoodj having, in general, the tafte of mufcles : but the Teal and the Divers, which are no lefs nu- merous, are excellent. There are likewife found prodigious numbers of another fpecies> of Divers which are tolerably good, though they have rather an oily tafte. Our Teamen called them at firft Bec/ics, and after- wards Coyons and Niga-uts, hecaufe they fuffered themfelves to b& killed with (tones, not attempting to flyaway unleis they were hit. They aliemble in flocks upon the rocks near the fea-coa(V^ fOmetimes to the number.of an hundred and upwards. When we "! li fa 1' m I VII I i\6 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE we went on fliore in the (loop, feveral companies of them, con- filling of two ©r three hundred, paffed only eight or ten feet above our heads. There are three kinds of them j all nearly of the fame fize. Some are quite black ; in others the fore-part of tJie neck and all the belly is white : in the third kind, the belly and breafl is white, and the reft black. Their bill, which is of the fame length as their head, is black and Hiarp, like that of birds which are not aquatic. Their feet are of a dark grey and webbed ; but inftead of four toes, they are only furnilhed with three, which differ inihapefroRi thofe of other water- fowl. See the Plate. Our feamen preferred them to wild ducks i and in- deed they had not near fo difagreeable a tafle. Red-lhanks and fea-pies are very good here; but the budards in particular are exquifite, either boiled, roafted, or fricafleed. It appeared from the account we kept that we ate fifteen hundred. It is indeed hardly to be conceived, that the fhip's company of our two frigates, confifting of an hundred and fifty men, all in perfed health, and with good ftomachs, fhould have found a quantity of thefe birds fufficient for their fubfiftence during a liay of more than two months, within a tra£t of country not cceding three leagues. Thefe are almoA all the kinds of animals we faw in that part of the ifland where we fixed our encampment, except two or three kinds of fmall birds, fome of which refcmble the Siikin, others the linnet ; and a kind of wagtail that has not fo long a tail nor fuch darkifh ilripes as thofe of France. There is like- wife found a kind of white gull, and a carnivorous bird of the fize of a common hen, with reddifh grey plumage. The peo- [^e on board called them grey gulls. They came very near us, and, when we were in purfuit of game, flew fo dofe to our heads that more than once they fwept off the caps and hats of our peo- j^e. They make a noijfe much like a duck ; and though they are water-fowl their feet are not webbed j but they feize their prey voracioufly, by means of^ the very fharp talons with which their toes are ^rmed } and when their prey is either not large enough TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 247 enough to fupport upon the furface, or too heavy for them to carry off, they tear it in pieces with their beak and talons, flap- ping their wings all the time^ They fettle however upen the vya- ter, and remain upon it like ducks, but I never (aw any of them dive. Nobody thought it worth while to (hoot them, conclud- ing they would be very bad eating. A fmall heron with a crown is likewife found here, whofe feathers are of an afh-coloured bluifh grey : the erown is com- pofed of three white feathers three inches long, refembling in (hape the crown of the peacock. Upon the breaft, round the neck, under the wings, on the lower part of the back, and under the thighs, there is a down, part white and part of a citron co- loured yellow, at leaft an inch long, exactly refembling a piece of the fineft raw filk. In the fecond voyage we faw fome paroquetes, and a kind of fwan with a red bill, the whole neck being of a mod beautiful black, and the reft of the plumage white. The climate and the air appear to be fo wholefome, that all . the perfons we left behind remained on the ifland of their own accord, and live under the fame roof, in the apartments provided for them in the building ereded near Fort St. Louis ; where they will fublift as well by (hooting, as on the proviHons with which their magazine is plentifully (Vored for two years. One of the two Acadian families which we carried over confifts of the hul^ band, his wife, two children, one a boy three years and an half old, the other a girl about a year old, and of two young women, fitters of the mother, the eldeft nineteen, and the youngeft eighteen. The other family confifts of the hu(ban(i, his wife, who is pregnant and ready to lie in, a fon four years old, and the mother's fifter, a girl of (ixteen. There remain here all kinds of artificers, as fmiths, iron- mongers, carpenters, joiners, mafons, bricklayers, (hoemakers, bakers, a captain of a (hip, failors, &c. The foil is very pro- miling, and it is very probable that thefe aitificers will make M m good i! <*n (1.1. m ltd |llt|. m I ml it«|p"-" •'t the fmall wolf or fox I have mentioned. This will not be furfififmg if we re- collect that travellers affuj'e us, that no reptiles or infeifts are found in the fouthcrn part of Chili, which is pretty nearly in the fame latitude with, and almoH; oppofite ta the Malouine Idands. See the chart of the coaft which we made a furvey of from our place of landing on the three illands, which we took at firft to be the Stbalds, to the port or caftern bay where we anchored. .;,:-/ In the fecond and third voyages the fhips, in returning from the freights of Magellan, failed along the fouthern coaft of thefe iflands, as it will be defcribed in the extratl of the journals of M. Alexander Guyot, and M. de Bougainville ; and they have made a chart of it, which is given in the plates. On Tuefday the loth of April, we perceived feveral whales and a great number of birds, among which were fome Petterils, called D^miers, or chefs-boards, on account of their plumage being chequered with black and wliite. The head and part of the neck, likewife the tip and middle of the wings, are black ; the reft of the body is not white, though it appears to be fo at the diftance of piftol-fliot. On a nearer view you find that the extremity of the wings is black j they have the appearance of round fcalcs edged with black. It is of the fize of a large pigeon. As W€ had now very frelh gales, the rolling was fo conltiiit and violent, that it was impoOible to keep the difties upon the table without holding them, and every perfon was obliged to have his plate in one hand and bis fork in the other. Notwith- TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 24^ Notwithftanding every poffibic precaution, a foup-difli, fome plates and drinklng-glafl'es were bix>ken at dinner. Thefe rol- iir»g3 were fo violent in the night-time, that thofe who did not He in cots or haninsocks, could not reft in their beds. . On the nth, the fame weather continued all the morning. In the afternoon we faw feveral birds and whales. We were flill fo exceflively rocked with the rollings, that it was almoft impoflible 10 keep the deck. We faw a quantity of birds, and a Very large whak> which accompanied tlie fhip for a confider- able time, at the diilance of a mu(ket-fhot. : On tlie i.4.th, we faw a number of grey fea-mews, and fome •Q^ebrantQ-Uefibs. From the i4Jtli to the 24tht nothing remarkable happened: but on this day^ foon after feven in the morning, we faw a flying fi(h by fome called. Adonis^ but for what reafon I cannot fay. There are feveral kinds of them. Some are diftinguiflied by the colour, others by the length of their fins which ferve them as wings. There is a third kind with four wings inftead of two, which is the ufual number. None of thofe we caught between the tropics had more than two wings, fome of a larger, others of a fmallcr fize. They were all of a fine deep blue, filvered over on the back to half the breadth of their body, and the whole belly was of a very bright blue, filvered over in the fame manner. The largeft of them which fell into our frigate was eight inches in length, including the head and tail. In fome the wings were only two inches long, in others they ex- tended as far as the tail. Few animals have fo many enemies as the flying fifh. They fpring out of the fca to efcape being devoured by thunnies, bo- iiitos, Jharks, 6cc. and in the air meet with birds that are always upon the watch for them. They rife fo high above the water that they flrike againft the fails and flirouds of fliips into which they fall : and this is the only way of catching them. Their fleih is good and delicate. You fee them fpring out of M m 2 the i \u *M 11 ftj IM iiiiii liii -liilj 111 850 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAOE the water by hundreds like flocks of larks, at which time their wings make them appear white. On the 25th in the morning, we pafled the Tropic of Capri- corn, and entered a calm and warm climate. Accordingly laft Sunday, which was Eafter-day, we all put on our lighter clothing. On the 27th, we fpied land before us, and fteered N. E. 4 N. then direded our courfe fo as to pafs within half a league of it. At half an hour pad fix we found by obfervation that this land was the ifland of Afcenfion, which appeared to us as de- fcribed in the plate. We computed its diftance at about fix leagues. As we approached this ifland, it appeared to me to be compofed of feveral rocks joined together, or of a fingle rock having different fummits, between which there was a little earth or fand, covered here and there with fome herbage, which gives a little verdure to the floping declivity which runs down to the fea on the fide towards the N. E. and E. N. E. At half an hour paft nine, feveral of our people fancied they faw trees, buC on taking an accurate view of the whole with perfpeftive glalTes, we concluded that what had the appearance of trees was no- thing moi e than broom or (hrubs. At the bottom of the de- clivity juft now mentioned, you fee a kind of Tandy flat, flightly covered with verdure, upon the coafl: and to the N. N. E. of the ifland. At half an hour pafl eight, we were at two leagues diftance or thereabouts. At eight o'clock, we difcovercd another ifland to the £. 4 N. E. about fix leagues from the ifland of Afcenfion i three fmall iflands foon after appeared clofe to the laft difeovered one. This ifland, with the iflets about it, might probably be the fame that fome feamen pafllng too far eaftward, and not feeing the ifland of Afcenfion, have called Trinity ifland ; fince many navigators pretend that the ifland of Afcenfion, and Trinity ifland are one and the fame ; at leaft an ifland, and three rocks or iflets, are found £. 4 N. E. of that of Afcen- fion, as they are laid down in the charts. 7 This ifland of the Trinity 4 TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. ajj Trinity will then be the largeft, or rather the largeft of the four iflets I have been defcribing. Indeed the latitude in which Trinity ifland is placed, and the latitude of Afccnfion, would not be found to coincide: but the charts^ which are fo faulty in placing other iflands, may pofTibly be miflaken in the pofition of thefe. The largeft of the iflets, which I took for Trinity ifland, was feen by us at the di(lance of five leagues or thereabouts, but appeared lefs extenflve than the ifland of Afcenfion, when obferved at the fame diftance. The two iflets, or rocks, at^ firft^ view had greatly the appear- ance of fliips under fail. lim 6i 4 '» ^! '" n»»^' V ' 554 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE fituated at about two>thlrds of the length of the body, are of a gold colour, as well as fome parts refembling the teeth of a faw and extending from the fins to the tail, which is arched. On the outfide, their gills do not api^ear to be double. Their fnout, which is not thick, is pointed, and has fmall teeth that are very /liarp. M. Valmont fays, that this fifh dies foon after it is out of the water. That which 1 delineated, lived near half an hour hung up by the tail near the main-maft. It would probably have lived much longer, if, by (Iruggling to difengage itfelf, it had not difgorged its heart, which fell upon deck in my prefence, 'and on taking it into my hand continued 'it'> ^/ilpitation near a quarter of an hour. In voiding it, it iTc' ^rged a great quantity of blood through its gullet, (^ .ve drops oi which I have reprefented upon the furface of tiie (o^^er jaw. Its ilefh is ibmething like veal ; but dri r an I '^ore firm. The bonito is a large fifli : 'iV^ ii^ure from the head to three- fourths of its length is round j from thence it begins to grow flatter, and terminates in a pretty thick tail, which is forked, and like that of other filhes. As it has little or no neck, it has two fins which are pretty long, but not broad in proportion to the bulk of the bonito. On the back is a fin, which, as it ap- proaches towards the tail, feems to form there, as well as on the oppofite part under the belly, triangular projedions of a gold colour. On each fide are placed two other fins of a blue colour, terminating in a point at the tail. Two fmall fins appear under the belly. The back is of a very deep blue, which grows brighter towards the middle of the body. The belly is white with a cad of greenifli yellow, and is variegated with feveral ilripes of a greyifli colour, which feem to be blended together promifcuoufly. The eye is large, and has a circle of gold round the pupil. Its head is not To long as that of the thunny. It is jieccllary to lard it well, as its flelh is very dry. See the plate. Thefefilh always appear inflioals; the fea fometimes fcems to be intirely ttvc.ed with them. The) are caught with the ipear, oral' .\ bii- '. with ai. artificial flying-fifh. The flefh of *-* TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. •5S t( the honito, which u taken on the coafts of the kingdom of Angola, is faid to be hurtfuJ. In the middle of the fleOi of fome we found €ame live worms. They were white, of the thicknefi of the barrel of the fieathers in a hen's wing, and about four lines in length. . - • On the evening of the 25th, we again met with Tome Tea* grafs, which the feamen call Goemon i grappet de raifin* I have aire i'ly obferved, that the feeds with which it abounds are fmall bladders, of the fize of tb^ latgeft fwan^fhot. They are not colle£ted into feparate duAers but difperfed over the ftems and brancho. When the feeds gro v dry, they dwindle to the fize of a middling pin's head. The i<^ves which are very fmall, almuft like thofe of parflcy ^iert, come brittle. Some of the ftems, and a great number ot e fecis, are inc ifted with a very fmall kind of ihell, 01 fpawn r filh which .s white and hard, and when rubbed agaii i\ woo. ai^ls s a file, or the herb called ihavc-grafs. On the a6th, in the mornmp ^uancity of the fea^grafs I have k almoO covered with it. Amon^ iound rabs df different fizes, ol a 'fpots. They have eight feet, an. <;uirars, is almoil fquare on the fia jeft from the extremity of the two See the plate. Several beds of this fea-grafs, fon -broad as mr veflfei, and loiter, paila are faid to come from the coafts of the Canary Illaiuls j others pretend that they are diflodged from the "-ottom of the fea. Tins opinion feems to be the moft probab. , fmce all the Canary Iflands coiiUi hardly produce the prodigious quantity which ap- peared for ; ourteen or fifteen days paft. On the 5 ift, in the morning, being Afcenfion-day, the wea- ther being c Im, after faying mafs we felzed this opportunity of Scraping and breaming the veflel. At four in the afternoon we N n . faw we faw fuch a prodigious rpeaking of, that the fea was ne large bundles of it, we ight red, marked with brown two claws. The body, or ^' the head. The eyes pro- i;ics that form this fquare. of which were almoft as .lofe to our frigate. Tliey f \ ! 1; tS 'I. * I li", i m ft5« JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE faw a fail which feemed to be fleering W. N. W. at the diflanc« of about fix leagues. We loft fight of it at night. On Sunday, the 3d of June, the fea-grafs, which had not been fcen for a day or two, appeared again in large quantities, and a whale of middle fize played round the (hip a quarter of an hour, at the diftance of gun-Ihot. A few da5's after we faw a bird, which our Teamen call Equ^ret^ and another called the tailor-bird hovered aboui our velfel. On the 13th, we caught a fifh with our drag-net called Grande Oreille, It refembles the bonito in every particular ex- cept the two fins, which ai'e fituated near the gills. Thsfe fins are falciforn, and are at lead as large as thofe of the thunny. Its flefli is not fo dry. On the 15th, at five in the morning, we difcovered a fail l)eajing N. W. of us, which appeared to fteer the fame courfe. Upon this we clued up our fails, hoifted our flag and broad- pendant, and made a fignal by firing a gun. After failing as "near the wind as poflible, in order to wait for her, fhe likewife hauled the wind, and continued at two cannon-ihot or there- abouts to windward. Concluding that they did not hear the firft gun, we fired another to windward j when they difplayed a flag of peace, and fired a gun. Perceiving afterwards that they took no further notice, we hoifted the enfign with a waft j which flie equally difregarded, and always kept to windward nearly at the fame diftance. As ftie failed at leaft as well as our fliip, flie doubtlefs depended upon her failing. We refolved to give over the chace, as it would have diverted us from our courfe. The French Captain could not make any proper excufe for dif- obeying the King's regulations refpeding the marine, by which every fnip belonging to the nation is obliged to bring to, when a King's fliip gives the fignal by firing a gun, and hoifting the broad-pendant on the proper maft, according to the rank of the commander. We went ftill farther, by hoifting the enfign with a waft, which is a fignal of diftrefs agreed upon by all civilized natioce. This TO THE MALOUINE ISLANDS. 257 This proceeding therefore, for this reafon at leaft, deferves the highefi cenfure j and fets a very bad precedent. Had we unfor- tunately been in adlual danger, he would have fuffered us to perifh before his eyes, without giving us that afTiftance which the laws of humanity require in fuch circumftances. The royal navy has ever been jealous of the trading branch. The former entertains prejudices which fet it above the feamen's employment, and does not think praflice neceffary to attain a knowledge of it. The latter, inured to the hardfhips and fatigues of fea, juftly concludes that to excel in the -^.autic art, requires the praftice of a whole life. Hence that j ty-fpirit of which tlie ftate becomes the firft viftim, fince the liberty of the Reds, or officers of the royal navy, occafions the fervitude of the Blues. If we look into the annals of the laft war, we (hall find French privateers whofe courage and intrepidity feemed to roufe the winds to fight on their fide. Could it be believed that a Captain of a veflel (M. de L.) was a calm fpedlator of an engagement between a French fnow and an Englifh privateer, and contented himfelf with commending the conduft of the Frenchman, who, attentive to every particular, exerted every effort of fkill and per- fonal bravery, to prevent the enemy from boarding him. In fliort he faw her difmafted, and obliged to ftrike, without firing a gun in her defence. How eafy was it for the Commander of a Ihip of the line well armed to favc the brave Captain of the mer- chantman, and to make himfelf mafter of the Englifli privateer 1 It is plain then that he remained inactive only becaufe it is not the mode to wafte any powder to promote the commerce of the nation, or prote6t a privateer belonging to a good citizen. It may be urged, in excufe for the condudl of the Captain of the French trading veflel, in not bringing to even when we hoifted our flag of diftrefs, that having probably no more provifions and rigging than were fufficient for his own ufe, he apprehended that, if we fhould happen to be in want of them, we fhould fcize his ftores by force, if he refufed to grant us a voluntary fupply. This is an abufe too common in the royal navy, and N n 2 has '4 '" li"'! i m'. II ■■■if. It I ii mi 258 JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE has given much offence to the trading branch : whidi^ finding itfelf defpifed and ill-treated, is glad of every opportu» nity to retaliate j and I dare fay would take fome kind of plea-> fure in their deftruftion, in hopes of being relcafed by it fromt the tyranny they experience from the royal navy. It would be for the intcreft of the ftate if matters were fo prccifely regulated by the royal autliority, that no perfon of either party (hpuid tranfgrefs the order on any pretence whatfoever, but (hould bo punifhed with the utmoft feverity. While this aniuDoiity, per- petuated by the contempt which the royal navy expreiles for the trading branch, and by the abufe of its power, continues ta> fubfift between thefe two bodies of men, the ftate muft unavoid-^ ably be expofed to very great inconveniencies. We are not di^ofed to follow the example of others, nor is- any one inclmed to follow ours. This fpirit of fingularity, wlucJH). runs through all our conduct, always tends to our deftrudtioiv. We imitate the Romans, who employed only their freedmen m biarilime affairs, and confined the land fervice to the patriciates^ The Englifh have better notions : among them the profedion of a failor is in great efteem } and is the nobled of all tlie arts, be* caufe it is exercifed by the pritKipal nolMlity in the kingdom. The French indeed diffisr from the Romans, not for the fake oi imitating the Englifh, but in order to gratify a number of inte-^ K&ed individuals, whofe opinion very improperly pafTes for that of the nation* In France the art of navigation is efleemed* a vulgar employment, though the command of (hips of the line is a pofl of honour which can only be filled by a perfon who is adlually a man of fome family. Accordingly there is more pa- rade than fcience or connection in our navy ; there is more fhew than real fklU in our ofHcers, and at the fame time their emolu> ments are not adequate to their expences. In London, the idea of merit and reward is not regulated by fafhion and court-influence, but by the good of the ftate. Nothing is regarded but merit ia a failor whatever his condition may be. If he is a good feaman he is every thing, he is confidered as a ufeful man, is employed ia TQ THE MA.LOUINE I^L,AN?>S, zs^ in honourable ftatlons, and U rcwarde.d in[ proportion to his fer- vices. It were much to be wi(hed that we >youlc| think, or ra- ther a£b, in the fame manner. Virt.qe and, s^efit qught tq bf tbe £buQdation of true nobility. ' This is the fource of that fpirit of party which is a c|ifgifaq^- to tjie Reds, an injury to tjijs l^ues, and tbf: i^usfortune of t^e French government. The reader, I an) psrfiiidjQd, wili eycufe thU ^igJ^niQi?, 9S it is diftated folely by npy, ^eaV for th.Q publijc gpod>, ai;ui the love t bear my country. It is Certain, notwithfta^A^ing th6> rivalfliip' fubfiAing between the two nations, that an English Cpniira^nder would have been fo far from ailing like the French Captain, that he would have made what hafle he could to join us, and to give us all the afliftance in his power : which conduft ever ought tO' be obferved between all nations without diflindtion. We went up to and offered our afliftance to the Captain of a Dutch vef- fel, we had met in October laft, which had loft her mafts. On the 1 6th we faw feveral whales, and a kind of thornback,> which our feamen call Rouet, We kept fight of the French- ftiip before mentioned both yefterday and to-day : it continued the fame courfe from the E. ^ N. E. at the diftance of about three leagues from us, and we had proceeded about as far in. our courfe. On the 1 8th, at half part five in the morning, we fpied a fail coming from the Eaftward. At eight it came abreaftof us, and we fpoke with it. P was the St. Paul de Grandville, Captaini Defveau, bound to Newfoundland; On the 2oth and 22d we faw feveral fhipsj and on Sunday, evening the 24th we fteered S. E. 4 E. with a gentle breeze from; N. N. W. to W. N. W. in order to obferve the land, which we faw at fix in the evening. On Monday morning, the 25th, , we heard the clocks of- St. Paul de Leon at feven, beiug N. and S. of the Ifle de Basj, we hoifted our flag, and fired a gun for a boat ta come- a ~ ta> II 1 ' ji i»ii ! •tt: t 26a JOURNAL OF MY VOYAGE, &c.' to us, which foon arrived, and carried Meflrs. de Bougainville and I'Huillier de la Serre to Morlaix. The frigate proceeded to St. Malo. At eleven at night we dropt an anchor oppofite the tower of Cape Frehel, the beacon being about a league N. W.^ [W. of us. -V 'TV'r-::^fr^mV '■ ' ,. ■, :ii) ,,' ., ;■ t On the 26th, at half pad three in the morning, wc got under fail, and about feven came to our moorings in Solidor, where the. vefl*el was difcharged. M. de Bougainville having given the King an account of our expedition, his Majefty ratified the taking pofleflion of the Malouine Iflands, and immediately iflued otdexs, for the Eagle to be got ready to return to thefe iflands. j ■.y •'•'(:':--Oj u. lis iK<;; ♦ » ■^-' .. T .j '>.. . .. ^-.'■l-l -<:•■ l)(. ■• ■, :> -Ji: ■ . I. f r , •;> ' • . > OBSERVATIONS '-:. > I 2di I » •• OBSERVATIONS ' .- "-fi^ ■-'■: ■ ON THE vo;^ ■'■ , STREIGHTS of MAGELLAN ; ' ■■/./. T- >-■; AND ON THB ' "• '''/'; '" P A T A G O N I A N S. y THE King of France having approved of the poflefilon we had taken in his name of all the Malouine Iflands,^ the minidiy ifTued out orders for the fupport and im- provement of the little eftablifhment we had formed there. The Eagle frigate was again fitted out, and M. Alexander Puclos . Guyot, who had been fecond captain ia the firft voyage, was made firft captain in the fecond, with the brevet of lieutenant of a frigate, under the command of M. de Bougainville^ Being informed of M. Duclos's fafe return to St. Malo,. and defirous of knowing in what ftate he had left the new colony, and what difcoveries^ he might have made in the Streights of Magellan^ I wrote to him to beg he would inform me of thele particulars.^, and received the following anfwer :. " I waited to know what fervice I (liould be appointed to,, before I did myfelf the honour of anfwering your letter j and therefore begin by acquainting you, that we (hall fet out from hence on the loth or 15th inftant,. for the Malouine Iflands. But I (hall firft put into the Madeiras^ to take in wine, ^nd other refFe(hments. From thence I (hall, proceed, to Port Defire,. on the Patagonian coaft, to take a view of the country > and then go on to our colony> where after having, unladen my pro- \if10n9, aiid landed all my pafTengers, I (hall return to the &trei^t» I 'ih: if, !l I f jTda OBSERVATIONS ON THE Streights of Magellan, to fetch a cargo of wood ; after which I (hall wait for frefh orders from France. This is my deflination: M. de la Oyratdais fets eut jfrom RochlFort, with a ftigalte laden with proviHons neceflary for the colony. , - You deflre an account of. ray laftiroyage, which I fliall now give you. Wc fet out from St. Malo on the 5th of Oflober 1765. We had in all on board the Eagle frigate n^ men, 53 of which were workmen, or officers going as paflengers to the colony. Among the latter were M. de Perriers, a half-pay captain of the regiment of la Sare } M. Thibe de Belcourt, a half-pay captain of the regiment Dauphin; M. Denis de St. Siiaon, captain adjutant of the colonies ; M. THuinier de la Serre, geographical engineer ; M. de Romainville, lieutenant of infantry and engineer. ^ For the firft fortnight, we had bad weather and contrary ivinds. On Sunday the 5th of November, we had a profpeft of the Cape Verd IQands. On Monday we palfed by the iflands of Fogo and Bravo. We did not nieet with much ftorm in crofling the line, any more than under the tropics ; and on Saturday the 1 6th of December, we came within fight of the coaft of Brazil, in 31 degrees 30 minutes South latitude, though we thought ourfelves, as it commonly happens, ftill wide of it, from a defeft in the charts, which you know throw this coaft too far back weftward. We ftayed afterwards fome time fearching for Pepy's ifland, where it is marked in the charts, and in the neighbourhood, without being able to find it. On Thurfday the 3d of January, we had a profpedt of the Malouine Iflands, and made to land at the Iflet, which in our firft voyage we called la ConcMe. On Saturday the fifth inftant, we failed in, and caft anchor at the diftance of half a mile from the mouth of the fmall bay of the colony J where we found every body in good health. We con- tinued unlading till the firft of February, when we were ready to fet fail. On Sunday the 27th, we had difcovered three veflels coming from the Weft. On the 2d of February, feeing that - . ' they "t m H ■■i . ^ -ff X-».i ■' -vdVMW-^r^-t-' ..v4>-3A^ STREIGHTS OF MAGELLAN. «63 they did not come into the bay, we fet fail for the Streights of MagelV"" The weather was rather changeable during our paflTage. Jn Taefday the 12th of February, we had a profpef): of Cape Lookout, on the Patagonian coalV. After having tacked about, we found ourfelves within cannon fliot of a hirktng rock as large as our longboat, which we had a great de^l of trouble to get clear of, on account of the currents, and the roughnefs of the fea. This rock is not pointed out in our charts. On Saturday the i6th we obferved three veflels ileering the fatpe courfe that we did. On the 17th we entered the Streights of Magellan, together with the three fhips. On Monday the 1 8t|i, one of the three (hips working to windward while we were at anchor, fhe ftruck on a fand bank. The \yeather \yas very fine. We fent our boats to her afliftance, with an officer, with anchors and cables; but (he foon difengaged herfelf, and got off without injury. We then found out that they were EngUfli *. On f This was in reality Commodore Byron's fmall fquadron. The hA is told in the printed account of bis voyage round the world, in the following terms : ** At four in the afternoon, the mailer of the ftorefliip (the Florida) came on board the Dolphin, bringing a packet from the Lords of the Admiralty to the Commodore. — He had likipwife been fevera! days in fearch of Pepys's ifland, but was like us obliged to defift. — To our great furprize in the morning of the fecond day, after we left the harbour in company with the Tamer and ftorelbip, we diicovered a ftrange fail, which indeed put us into no fmall confternation. The Commodore was inclined to believe, that this fhip was a Spanifli man of war of the line, who having got intelligence of our voyage, was come to intercept us ; and in confequence of that furmife, boldly gave orders, that all on board the Dolphin and Tamer (hould prepare for a warm reception, by firing all our guns, and then boarding her from both (hips } but while we were bringing to, and waiting for her, we found it grew dark, and we foon loft fight of her till the next morning, when we faw her at anchor, at three leagues diftance, and there- fore continued failing towards Port Famine. We however found that fhe ftill followed us, though at a great diftance, and even came to an anchor when we did. On the 20th we were chiefly employed in getting up our guns ; we foon got fourteen upon the deck, and then came to an anchor, having the Tamer aftern, with a fpring on our cable. Thus bufily were we employed in taking all the meafures prudence^ould fug- geft, to defend us from an imaginary danger ; when an unlucky accident, which happened to the ftoreOiip, (hewed that we had nothing to fear, and that the veuel, againft which we were arming ourfelves, ought not to be conlideicd as aa O o enemy ; lU a64 OBSERVATIONS ON THE On Wedncfilay the 20th, the EngHHi anchored in Port Famine, and \vc failed on till the 2 1 ft, when we caft anchor at the diftancc of five leagues from the Englifli, and CviUed the place tlic Eagle's bay, as it has no name on the charts. The next day, being the 2 2d, M. de Bougainville difcovcring a very fine bay or port, at the diftance of one league and a half to the South, wc went there and fallened the fiiip to four trees very much under fhtlter, at the diftance of a league from the French bay. We called it Bougainville bay. We took in fome very fine wood here and fhipped it conveniently, by hauling on board with a hawfer the wood cut upon ihe Ihore. We flayed here till the 16th cf March, it being all the time very fine weather. On the 25th of February, two Englifli vefiels, going to the South Seas, pafled by us. On the 16th of March in the morn- ing, after having left a French flag, hoifted upon a hut, and feveral doaths, kettles, hatchets, and other utenfils neceflary for the favages, we kt f.ul. After having gone a league a calm came on, and we call our anchor in Eagle's bay. On the 17th it being calm, M. de Bougainville met fome of the favages as he wa> out a fliooting. He went up to them, and they appeared very gentle. On Tuefday the 1 9th we fet fail again ; and on the 2oth in the morning, the wind being againft us, we inchored i. Port Famine. On the 21ft in the morning, fome cf the favages calling out to us, v/e went up to them. They ex>trelled a great defirc of coming on board : wc therefore took fix of them along with us, whom we entertained, and who did not appear to be much fui prized. They arc a fet of men much like enemy ; for while the ftorcfliip was working fo the windward, flie took the fhore on a hank about two leagues Ironi our (liip. About the fame time, the ftrange ftiip came up with her, call anchor, aiul immediately began to hoift out her long- boats, to give her aflilbntc. Dut before they had come to the ftorcfliip, our own boats had boarded her, and the commanding officer had received orders not to let them come on board, but to thank them in the politeil manner for their intended aflillance. We afterwards found this to be a French vefl'el ; and having no guns that we could fee, fuppofcd it to be a merchantman, who had come to thofe parts for wood and water.— On the 2ift we got into Port Famine, vhcre we moored our fliips." STRE GHTS OF MA#ti-LAN. 265 like the Indians or Mon' ^o, ha | no ot ler drefs than the Ikins of Sea- Wolves, Gu,. ..ucs, ai Vicunas ; they appear vir/ poor, have no tafte foi nt, but are very fond of fat. We dreired them in red cloutiis, and gave them fcveral nccefTary domcftic utenfils j we tlien accompanied them to land ; crying out all the way five k Roi de FrancCy wliich they rcpeatcil after us very well. We left a flag difplayed. They cxprefTc much good-will towards us, giving us their bows and arrows. When we faw them they were painted wliitc, and in fpots, but as foon as we had given them fome red lead, not cinnabcr vermillion, they immediately painted themfclvcs with it -, and feemed to be fond of this colour. As we were returning to the fliip, they faluted us with Vive le Roi in French, having remembered that expreflion 5 and then they hollowed after their own manner, {landing all round the flag. As we got farther from them, they raifed their fliouts, and increafcd their fires. This is nearly all I can tell you of thefe inhabitants of Pata- gonia. We did not land on the Terra del Fuego. I believe thefe are nearly the fame kind of people as thofe who crofs the Streights, in their canoes made of the bark of a tree. The firft time we faw them, they had kinds of hatchets $ but they took care to conceal them afterwards, as . well as their wives and children. At length, on Saturday the 23d of March, we failed out of that famous ftreight fo much dreaded, after having experienced there, as well as in other places, that it was very tine and very warm ; and that three-founhs of the time the fea was per- fectly calm. It is remarkable that the fea tbbs as it enters on the northern fide : we had a proof of this every day : in the middle the currents are diftingui (liable, but in the n.uTowefl parts of the entrance they are very Ihong ; they run at leart two leagues and a half, and Ihik about four fathoms. There is no wood at the entrance of the Streights, neither oii one fide nor the other. There are nothing but immenD plains. O o 2 About ^6 OBSERVATIONS ON THE About four and twenty leagues up the country, both on the coaft of Patagonia, and on the Terra del Fuego, the woods begin. Wc found very little game, and that much followed by the natives, very little fi(h, and in the places where we had been, none of thofc beautiful fhell fifli fo much admired. At length we fteered our courfe in order to pafs to the South of the Danicant idands. On Tuefday the 26th, we came within fight of land, which was the country to the Weft of the Malouine Ulands, about fourfcore leagues diftant from Cape Virgin, which forms the entrance of the Strcights. We afterwards failed fifty leagues to come back to cad anchor in the port } fo that we may reckon that we had pafled by fifty leagues of the coaft to the fouthward, which is not however its greateft length, as there is a ftreight which divides the North and South lands without any woods. On the 29th of March we caft anchor in the fame place where we did before, having almoft always had fine weather. We unladed our wood, and on the a/ih of April we fet fail for France, leaving 79 perfons in the Malouine Idands. Our pafTage was rather tedious, by reafon of the calm weather which obliged us to put into harbour, on account of the few provifions we had remaining, having left as many as we could behind us. On the 1 8th of July wc put into the harbour at Angra in the ifland of Tercera, where we fupplied ourfelves with plenty of every thing, having found there all we wanted. On the 25th we left this harbour, and on the 13th of Augufl arrived at St. Malo. St. Malo, I ft September, 1765. I am, SIR, Your very humble Servant, ALEXANDER DUCLOS GUYOT. I was STREIOHTS OF MAGELLAN. 267 I was not at Paris when M. dc Bougainville returned, being gone to Montbrifon in Forez. He fent me the following letter, which M. de Bougainville de Nerville his coufin, who was left commander at the Malouine Iflandj, had conHniflioncd him to deliver to me. It was accompanied with a letter from him, which I (hall give at the end of this. If I had thought, Sir, you would have had the complaifance to go and keep my mother company in her folitudc, I fhould not have omitted mentioning you to her, and defiring that favour of you. She fays fo many handfome things of you, and you fpeak fo well of her, that I have rcafon to conclude you equally fatisfied with each other. I am very glad to Hnd that her company is fo agreeable to you, and at the fame time am much flattered in thinking myfelf fometimes the fubje6t of your converfation. I (hall now fay fomeihing to you about our fituation. I have nothing particular to tell you about the winter we pafled here. It has not been feverc j for there never was fnow enough to cover one's fhoe-buckles, nor a fufRcient depth of ice to fuppcrt a (lone as big as one's flfl: : and if it had not been for the rain, which runs through our tents as through a fieve, we Ihould have had very little occafion for fire, which we were now obliged to make in order to dry ourfelves. You would not have known our colony again had you returned with M. de Bougainville. In the firft place you would have found us all very fat, the air being very healthy. You would have found all along the place where we live a fine walk of fmooth even ground, and upwards of twenty feet wide j a new magazine raifed again upon the border of the fea ; a fort completely repaired placed on a level, with platforms made with flat ftones under the cannons ; a new pow- der magazine, a bakehoufe, and a forge. By the account we kept, we killed above 1 500 buflards in the feafon -, for there is a time when they leave this country and go away to other parts, except a few ftraggling pairs whole eggs we never could find j but only their young ones which were always fix in number. 7 One P, IK 1 268 OBSERVATIONS ON THE One brood of thefe was brought me, and was taken care of by one of our hens as her own. I was in hopes of fending thenr to France, but fince my coufin's arrival here, they have expe- rienced a number of evils, and have at length all periflied by the niifchievous tricks of the fliip-boys who came to land : fo that I muft put this off till another (eafon. We have made the difcovery of a bird much more beautiful than the buftard, which is a kind of fwan, as large and as white, but whole neck is as black as jet, and his bill red. We have not been able to kill any of them, as they arc extremely wild. By other difcovcries which I have made in the ifland more than twenty leagues to the Weft, it appears that the part we dwell in is detached from other adjacent iflands, or joined only by an Iilhmus. We may perhaps come at the true knowledge of this by means of the fchooner which is to be left with us. The ftudy of natural hiftory, which we have not negleded, has furniflied us with fcveral of thofe concha; called Poulettcs, or Gueiilc dc Raye. There are few of thofe you fent me the drawings of to be found in good prefervation. The Patellar, you know, are com- mon here. We have great expedlation from our agriculture, our kitchen garden having fucceeded very well. With regard to the corn, it produced in the dry land fome beautiful ears j but tiicy were fine only in appearance, having no grain within them. Our lands having been yet unfown require a longer time for cultivation, and muft even be improved with good dung. We have not a fufficient quantity of beafts to make any trials witli them. Four of our heifers and our three horfcs are always in the open field ; ami wc have never been able to catch them again, but their wandering difpofition has made us ac- quainted with one of the great advantages of this country : which is, that cattle may remain in all feafcns, day and night, in the open fields, without being in want of either pafture or litter. We often meet with one or other of them when we go out a fliootingi they arc as fat as hogs, and their liberty feims 10 agree very well with them. I return you many thanks for I the STREIGHTS OF MAGELLAN. 269 the trouble you have taken in executing my commifllons, and have received the things. I am making up a cheft of the fliells, feeds, and ftones of this country j if you happen to be in the way when my coufm arrives he will fiiew them to you. They fay you have put a (hell into the cabinet of the Abbe of St. Germain, which is the only one of its kind. If that (hell has been found here, be fo kind as to fend me a drawing of it. From the Malouiiic Iflands, - 25th of April 1765. DE NERVILLE.. The following is M. de Bougainville's letter. I am at laft returned, my dear fellow-traveller. At my arrival I found I (hould not be able to fee you, which gives me a great deal of concern. Be alfured that no one interefts himfelf more than I do in every thing that concerns you j and that I would have given any thing in the world, if you would have accom- panied me in the fecond voyage. We have made an alliance with the Patagonians, who have been fo ill fpoken of, and we have found them neither taller, nor even fo wicked as other men. I fend you a letter from my coufin, who has behaved admirably well. None of our people have ever been feized with a fever. The winter has neither been feveie nor long, and the edablifliment fucceeds very well. I brought them this year my (liip full of the finelt wood in the world, whicli I had from my friends the Patagonians. I have not at prefent time to enter into any more particukirs, having not a moment to lofe. I believe I am going to be fcnt into Spain, to fettle ibme things with that Court relative to our new ertablilhment. I beg you would let mc hear from you, Paris, Auguft 26, 1755, and am, Sec. . DE BOUGAINVILLE. • M.de' 270 OBSERVATIONS ON THE M. de Bougainville was lent into Spain and fettled matters between that Court and the Court of France, refpefling the cefTion which the latter made to the Spanilh of the Malouine Iflands; and M. de Bougainville fet out from Nantz in 1766, on board a French frigate, and went to Buenos Ayres, taking a Spanifh Governor from thence, and fome troops of the fame nation, to put them in pofleffion of the aforefaid iflands. Before he went away, he communicated to me the obfervations he had made on the Streights of Magellan, together with a correct chart of thefe StreiglUs, which is among the plates, as well as a chart of the Eafl:, North, and South coafts of the Malouine Iflands, which they had pafled by in going and coming back through thefe Streights. By this chart, one can judge only of the extent of the Malouine Iflands to the North and South, the weftern part not having yet been difcovered. The Englifli who fettled themfelves in 1765 at Port Egmont, fituated more to the Wefl: than the French eftablifliment, may hereafter give us fome informations with regard to thofe parts yet unknown. M. Alexander Duclos Guyot, and M. Chenard de la Gyrau- dais, having communicated to me the journals of their voyage tkey made together to the Streights of Magellan in 1766, with leave to make extradls from them ; I have thought neceflary to give tliefe to the public, as well on account of the ufeful obfer- vations they contain relative to currents, the nature of the fea, and the coafts which form the Streights, as to fettle the doubts of many learned men and others, upon the real exiftence of the Patagonian giants. Extrad of the journal of M- Alexander Ducbs Guyot, Lieu- tenant of a frigate, on board the Eagle frigate, in the Streights of Magellan, in 1766. On the 24th of April, we fet fail from Acarron bay at the Malouine Iflands. On the 26th, one of the Sebald iflands that lies STR EIGHTS OF MAGELLAN. 271 lies moft to the North Weft, bore S. W. ^ S. of us, diftance 40 miles. On the 28th in the morning, we faw a great quantity of whales and pini^uins. At noon Cape las Barreras bore Weft of us nine Iciigucs. On the firft of May, at half an hour paft fevcn, we fteered W. S. W. in order to have a view of the land of Patagonia. At nine o'clock, bearing round the bank which is at the entrance of the Streights of Magellan, the fea was changed, its waters being like thofe of a river made muddy by rains. On Saturday the 3d of May, at eight o'clock, Cape Virgin bore N. N. ~ N. W. three leagues and a half, or four leagues. The moft weftern part of the Terra del Fuego S. W. I S. Cape Santo Spirito S. S. E. Cape Poflefllon W. 4 S. W. I think there are not lefs than feven leagues from one point of land to another at the entrance of the Streights. On Sunday the 4th, at break of day, we were about four leagues S. E. of Cape Poffeflion. There is a ridge of rocks and a fand bank near Cape Orange. It extends a great way, fo we were obliged to coaft the land of Patagonia. Here we faw a fire upon the fliore, and drawing nearer to it perceived fome men on horfeback, and many others on foot. When we came oppofite to them, they called out to us, but we aid not under- ftand their language. We anfvvered them with fliouts, and hoifted our flag. Five of them followed us about two leagues round the coaft, but night coming on we loft fight of them. They feemed to be good horfemen, managing their horfes well, which were very a6\ive. We hardly perceived any currents in the narrows, where it was almoft a calm. This entrance in hs narroweft part is a full league over. At five o'clock in the evening, we anchored in Boucaut bay, in nine fathoms and a half water, with a bottom of rotten ftiells. Pp REMARKS 1^ III \'^ •;:■?: C 27* J i^ii't-'' REMARKS on the TIDES. IN the laft voyage, I had obferved, when we came into the firfl narrows^ that the tide was coming in, and I reckoned it was the beginning of flood. I did not however perceive on the fhore that the fea rofe confiderably $ at which I was the more furprifed, as all failors agree in faying that it does ; neither was the fnore wet, as it generally is when the fea retires. On coming, out we were two hours and three quarters making feven or eight knots, without getting on half a league. When the current diminilhed, and we had failed half-way up the Streight, I perceived on its banks that the water had juft fallen at leaft four fathoms perpendicular. This obfervation induced me to imagine that when it is flood the fea goes out on the northern fide ; but on the contrary, when it is ebb, it comes in, and bears to the South. ; :^^:Jr-::''^'::iii'.5::'^ r'-\T.''' rr-'^c-' ^When we went along Cape Orange, we perceived a very ex- tenfive ^fiat fandy fliore, which we took for the open fea at coming in, being concealed, as all the ridges and banks of Cape Orange are, which we could not fee. This confirms me in my opinion, which is contrary to the fentiments of all thofe who have failed in thefe Streights before me. This day the tide was coming out, and was againft us for fome time ; neverthelefs the tide was very high when it began to bear to the South. Then all the banks and ridges were concealed, as well as the flat ftrands and Ihores which we had feen wet when we came out. I obferved, that the tide bore in till nine o'clock. The fea had then fallen four feet perpendicular : afterwards coming out again it rofe three fathoms; then there was a little interval v.'ithout any ftream, notwithflanding which it ftill rofe one afterwards the fea took its courfe again, when it neither fell while we went two-thirds of a league in an hour. It fathom : rofe nor ■\'is.- ff<^ ri^'" ^^ '^..^s^^^fr^ -.^»,',— -- -— ■ m % i' IM' ' '■ : ^;^ 'h ^^^vr.;"^"\ ll ' ■ ■ t M kI • '■■'■J. HV OBSERVATIONS, &c. |.0 273 iK.^^iJ ' ' It afterwards fell without any current ; which made me think the currents were not regular ; and that in bays, the turn of the tide is caufcd by i\c fwell. I fufp^nd the determination of this point, till it is confirmed by farther obfervations. v • -^ ' . • We perceived about three o'clock in the afternoon, that the fea began to enter into the narrows, the Moon being 26 days old ; which would make the fituation of the narrows E. and W. fo that it would be high water there at twelve minutes paft fix o'clock on the day of new and full moon. • ♦ ^ "^ ; f^ f' On Tuefday the 6th, the favages appeared about nine o'clock in the morning, and were kindling a fire on the fhore by the Imall river Baudran. We hoilled our flagj and M. de la Gyrau- dais his broad pendant. Afterwards we bath put our yawl and longboat to fea withlrten armed with mUflcVte and cuHaffes. In M. de la Gyraudais's longboat was an officer with prefetits for the favages. In my yawl, we had feven failors and three officers under the command of my brother. At eleven o'clock we fav^ them laiid, and fome meh on horfcback who received them $ which appeared to me a good omen of peace. Nothing partii- cular happened till twelve o'cloek. My brothers account was, that the favages, who arc natives bf this country, were not the fame as thofe we faw laft year in Savage bay, and that they fpbke a different language. "There were fix men and one woman who had but fix horfes, each guarded by a dog who never leaves them. They received our people very well, coming up to them to fhew them where they fhould put into the fhoic and land. They did not appear furprifed nor (hew the leaft fign of emotion. We meafured the (horteft of them, and my brother found him 5 feet 7 inches high French meafure. The reft were confi- derably taller. They were covered with the fkins of deer, gua- nacocs, vicunas, otters, and other anirtials. Their arms are round ftones, whofe ends are lengthened out and pointed. The round part is fixed to the end of a ftring compofed of feveral narrow ftraps, twifted and interwoven into a round form like "f P p 2 the .-.if. II i i 'Wi ijiUJ '-i ■ ■^•%^ri 274 OBSERVATIONS ON THE the firing of a clock, and making a kiixi of fling. At the other end of the ftring is another ftone in form of a pear, not more than half as big as the other, and appearing as if it was wrapt up in a bladder. They ufe ihefe weapons chiefly to catch animals ; at which fport they are very dextrous, as they fli .wed our people by an experiment made in their prefence. They have alfo other llings nearly of the fame kind of conftrudtion. They manage their horles with great dexterity, and have a kind of faddle, very much like that we ufe for packhorfcs. Thefe faddles are made with two pieces of wood, covered with leather and fluffed with draw. The bit of the bridle is a fmall flick, and the reins are twifled as the firings of their flings. They wear a kind of bufkins or half boots, of fkin with the fliag on, and two pieces of wood fitted to each fide of the heel, joined together in a point, which ferve them for I'purs. Their breeches are very fhort drawers, much refembling thofe of the favagcs of Canada, and are of a very good cut. It is evident they have had fome intercourfe with the Spaniaids, from their having a very thin two-edged knife, which they place between their legs. Their bulkins are made like thofe of the Indians of Ciiili. They pronounced fome words which were either Spanifh, or derived from that language. On point- ing out the perlbn who Teemed to be their chief, they called him Capitajt. When they wanted to fmoke and alked for tobacco, they faid Chupan. They fmoke in the fame manner as the inhabitants of Chili, throwing out the fmoke by their noflrils j and are ex- tremely fond of a pipe. While they were fmoking they cried Buenos, ftriking themfelves upon the breafl. We gave them fome new bread, and fome fca-bifcuir, which they eat with great appetite. The prelents we made them con- fifled in fome pounds of that red which we call vermilion : and fome red woollen caps, which however not one of them could put his head into : thefe caps though very large for heads of a. common STREIGHTS OF MAGELLAN. 275 common fize, were ftill too fmall for them. We alfo gave them fome bedding, fome hatchets, fome kettles, and other utcnfils. My brother put his pocket-handkerchief round the neck of the chief; who having accepted of it, immediately loofencd his girth, made of llraps twifted together like the girth of a faddlc, having at each extremity a ball of ftone half iuclofed with leather. There was alfo another ftone fixt to the middle of the belt, and a whetftone. He gave this belt to my brother, and faftened it round his waift, exprefling much friendfliip for him. We gave them to underftand we were going on much far- ther in the Streights, and they made us comprehend by figns, that they would go to bed as foon as the fun did, fliewing us at the fame time that they would lie down, and making a noife as if they were fnoring in their fleep. As foon as our boats had quitted them and got out to Tea, they mounted on horfeback, and directed their courfe towards the place to which we had made them underftand we were going. They feem to be crafty, bold people, being more inclined to receive than to give. They wrap themfelves up in beafts Ikins fewed together, as the Spaniards do in their clokes. Our people killed fome partridges ; faw fome wolves, foxes, and a great number of rats, but nothing curious^ On Thurfday at noon we caft anchor under the low lands of Cape Gregory, in 25 fathoms of water. /ifter dinner we put our yawls to fea to go a fifhing and ihootin'^. They came back in the evening without having^ taken or killed any thing, excepting one mangy vicuna, whicli M. Gyraudals fliot. There are numbers of vicunas in this country, which is very beautiful. Our people faw a great quan- tity of foxes, wolves, and rats, and met with fome few thickets of yellow wood, but no water. On Friday the ninth we ("et fail at day-break. At ten o'clock we got into the (econd narrows, and fteered our courfe in oider to pafs between the iflancis of St. Elizabeth and St. Bartholomew.. We afterwards anchored at 11 o'clock in the bay of Cape Noir,. 1^ I ■ m —I Zft OBSERVATIONS ON THE its point bearing N. N. W. 5 degrees N. where the wood begins to appear. In vifuing the woods wc found none but what was fit for fuel, and fomc yellow wood. • The foil ajjpears pretty good as well as the bay; into which we might have advanced mvjch farther, the bottom being even : at 8 or 9 fathom of water, a fine fand, and muddy nearer the land. In this bay one may be under Ihelter from the N. N. E. by the W. Wc took in filhing only one lai'ge Cornet, fome Grai-dos, with a golden fifli, which was a kind of fmelt. Our fliooting parties were much lefs fortunate. By the great quantity of buftard's excrement we found fcattercd about in the bufhes, we imagined, that that bird muft: be very j)lentiful here in the feafon. There is no frcfli water here ; but there is a lake at the diftance of a mile from the bottom of the bay. On Saturday the loth, at four in the morning, the fea run- ning eaftward, fell twelve fathoms perpendicular. This appears contrary to all my fore-mentioned • obfervations i but it might proceed from fome crofs tide. We continued along the ccift of Patagonia, and found by our foundings the depth of water increafe to 35 fathonis, muddy bottom, as we advanced towards the South. The coaft is here alfo bordered with finer wood, which is found in greater quantities. Having failed feven leagues in this direction, we came to the opening of a fmall bay, where we met with a point, even with the furface of the water, and extending half a league out. Wc had ("carce failed one quarter of a league, after finding no foundings with a hundred fathoms, when all at once we met with no more than feventeen fathoms depth of water, and a little farth.r on, only eight fathoms, then five, then four and a half, with a tine Candy muddy bottom. Soon after the depth in- crtafcd to five and twenty fathoms. It is to be obferved that it was hii;h vater. Perhaps the flialloweft of thefe places would nut have been covered at low water. There is no wood STREIGHTS OF MAGELLAN 27r wood upon this point, which is about feven leagues from Cape Noir ; and the bank is one league South Eall of this point. This bank is not marked on the charts of tlie Strcights j althougli it is very dangerous, being in the middle of the bay ; which I imagine to be that called Frclhwatcr, by its dillance fiom Port Famine. There are two fmall rivers here, and fome very line wood ; and it anfwers cxadlly the defcription given of j.t by the Englilhman, who named it Frelhwater bay. We anchored foon after in Port Famine, which we founded, and found it good in every part. One may coaft St. Ann's point at two cables length without danger, if forced to it by the wind j the leaft depth of water there is five or fix fathoms, which in- creafes gradually to twenty-five at the diftance of a quarter of. a league : but one muft not anchor here, becaufe the bottom is rocky, and there is a ftrong current. At the South Weft of this point there is a bank one cable's length from land, which is not three feet under water at low tide. When the wind will allow of it, it is better to keep out a full mile from St. Ann's point, on account of the current ; and left there fliould ftill be fome lurking rocks under water, which may have efcaped our notice : one may caft anchor in eicfht or ten fathoms water, rather towards St. Ann's point, tlian towards the South ; for here the depth of the fea fuddenly diminilhes even at high water, as well as in the bottom, where, at low water, there appears a fhallow, uncovered for more than a quarter of a league. On Saturday the 1 7th, we founded the fmall bays to the North of St. Ann's point, where we found fome banks, extending far out. On Sunday the i8th, we lent after dinner all our carpenters on Ihore, to cut fome wood for burning and building ; which was the reafon of our being fent here, as well as to fetch away fome trees for planting. On Wednefday the aStb, M. de la Gyraudais being laden and ready, fct; fail at feven in the morning to return to the Malouine lUandj. 6 On I'l' i I ayS OBSERVATIONS ON THE On Friday the 30th, in the morning, I perceived fome favagcs upon the fandy ifland, which forms the South entrance of the bay where we had left them the year hcfore. I went to them, and knew them to be the fame favagcs. They were iwo and twenty men, without women or boats. Having no } relents to give them, and not being able to make them comprehend me, I embarked again. On Sunday the ift of June, early in the morning, the favages made fome figns to us } but the bad weather prevented us tiom coming to them. They made us underftand, that they wilh'.'d we fliould get into the river with our yawl. On the 2d, two of the favages appeared at the bottom of the bay, calling out to us in their language. I fent an officer in the yawl, to alk them if they would come on board. On the arrival of the yawl they fled towards the river beckoning us to follow them. The officer thought it more prudent not to do it, and came on board again. At eleven o'clock we faw them come out again in fix canoes. They eroded the bay, pafllng within muflcet-Hiot of us, but would not come on board : they went and landed in a little creek under St. Ann's point. As I had put fix men in this place to cut fire-wood, and the favages were very numerous, I immediately armed the yawl and the longboat, and went to meet them. At my arrival, fome of them were employed in building their huts ; others were fifliing for fliell- fiOi, mufcles, patellae, fea-urchins, crabs, bucinna, taking all thefe only from the rocks. Notwithftanding this they have nets made with cat-gut. - After havin^^ renewed the alliance made laft year, I diftri- buted preCents among them, confifting in fome pounds of ver- milion, fome woollen b^d-cloaths, fmall looking-glafles, chalk, knives, ibmc clokcs, a hatchet, bread, &c. They would not tafte aiy wine. 1 did not thufe to offer them brandy, left their acceptance of it might be attended with dangerous confcquences. Their company apj)cared to confift of twenty- fix men or boys, and forty women and girls, among whom were a great number of STREIGHTS OF MAGfiLLAN. J79 ef young people. The Chief of them is called Pacha-chui. He is didinguifhed from the red by a cap of blids (kins with the feathers on. When he receives any vifits he puts it on his head, which is, no doubt, meant as a mark of his dignity. The pre- fence of the men, who Teemed exceflively jealous, obliged the women to alllime an appearance of great modedy. I quedioned the Chief as well as I could about his religion. He gave me to underftand, at lead I thought I comprehended by his figns, that they neither worfhip the fun, moon, men, nor animals, but only the heavens or the whole univerfej this he repeated feveral times, always lifting up his hands joined toge- ther over his head. During this time they continued throwing upon the fire, without any ceremony, all the wood cut down by our people. This obliged me to fend my fix men to cut wood at a greater didance from thefe favages, to avoid quarrelling with them. Tiiey exchanged with our people fome bows and arrows, and ibme necklaces of fliells in return for cloaiihs. I then left them, and invited them to come on board. Four of them accepted my invitation. I made them dine with me, and entertained them in the bed manner I could. They preferred bacon to every- thing elfe. Their defert was a candle to each, which they de- voured with great eagernefs. When dinner was over, 1 had them drcflcd from head to foot, and gave them fome trifles with which they appeared very much plcafed j and then fent them to land. In the afternoon I returned to the huts of the favages. The Pacha-chui came to meet me, and made me a prefent of a kind of flint to drike fire, like thofe which are found in Canada, ap- pearing to be a marcafite of yellow copper. He afterwards dilbibuted the prefents I had made them in the morning. One of them was continually muttering; I alked him the reafon of this. He gave me to underdand that he was faying his prayers, by pointing up to the heavens as the Pacha-chui had done in the morning. This feemed to imply that they wor- Q^q (hipped iKl I I* mi * ill' II! iKi l«. II' \V I I 2?0 OBSERVATIONS ON THE fhipped fome divinity, but I could not comprehend what the divinity was, nor under what title he was adored. Both men and women have no other drefs than the fkins of fea-wolves, vicunas, guanacoes, otters, and lynxes, which they throw on their fhouldcrs. Moft of them are bare-headed. A bird's Ikin with the feathers on, covers their private parts. The men call themfelves Pach-pacbevi i the women Cap-cap. They taught me thefe names by (hewing me firft their perlbns, and afterwards the parts which diftinguifh the fex. Both men and* women are thin. Their canoes are ill-buik, in comparifon with thofe of the favages of Canada. The women are the perfons- employed ',i\ rowing and fifliing. They have a number of dogs, refembling foxes; which they call Ouchi -, and their canoes^. Sborou. ' ' It is to be obferved, that tne morning tides are always equal • every moiningj rife very little in open fea, and are only as the neap-tides. On Wednefday morning the 4th, the favages made no fcruple of burning five or fix cords of wood, which our people had cut down, but they affifted in bringing the reft on board. At noon the Pacha-chui came on board our frigate, attended by eleven men. I made him dine with me, and gave the others fomc biCcuit, and a piece of tallow; and for their drink three pints of the oil of fea-wolves. They ate and drank all up with a n:ort excellent appetite. I afterwards dreffed the Pacha-chui, and giving fome trifles to the others, fent them all on fliore. On the 6th, all tlie favages, pleafed with the reception I had given their comrades, came in four canoes to pay me a vifit. But as they had large fires in their canoes, I would not fuffer them to come on board, at which they feemed difpleafed. I ordered them fome bifcuit and oil ; and after dinner ient them back without giving them any reafon for it. On Sunday the 8th, the favages began to be trotiblcfomc : they ftole feveral hatchets, fome provifions, and cloaths from us. As they feemed inclinable to theft and fraud, I took the rcfo- X lutioa STREIGHTS OF MAGELLAN. 281 liitlon to let nobody lie on fliore, and to fubmit to the incon- venience of having all the utenfils and tools brought back every night. On Monday the 9th, the favages ftole again fome harpoons, hatchets, iron-wedges, and mauls. I complained of this to the Pacha-chui, and defired our tools might be returned, but to no purpofe. I then gave them to undcrftand, that if they perfirted in thefe praftices, we fliould treat them in a different manner. Their boat, which had crofled the bay lafl: night, now brought them a dying man, about forty years of age, who was exceed- ingly emaciated. , In the afternoon, our wood-cutters reprefented to me, that they loft a great deal of time in coming back to lie on board, and then returning in the mornihg to the wood : they therefore aflced have to lie on fliore. I confented to this, defiring them at the fame time, to treat the favages mildly if they came to vlfit them. For this purpofe, I placed a difcreet perfon at the head of them, and with him his brother, a man of a mild difpofition, and who, from being ufed to live among the lavages of Canada, was in fome meafurc acquainted with their manners : and after recommending it to them to keep a ftri6l watch left they fliould be furprized, I returned to the fliip. On Thurfday the 1 2th, about four o'clock in the morning, we heard fome noife among the favages. Three of their canoes, with a great number of women in them and fome men, came up to our frigate. I gave them fome pieces of bread, and fome oil of Ica-vvolves, the grcateft part of v.'hicli they put into a kind of blatider they had brought on purpofe, and drank off the reft. I would not furler tliem to come on board, on account of their being fo much addided to theft, ami becaufe they had got large fiies in their canoes. This day I obfervcd, contrary to the common cuflom, that the men were not painted: only fome few of them were painted bhck, which gave them a very fiight- ful appearance. The women were ail fpottcd with black, having tlieir faces and necks bloody, as if they had fcratched themfelves Q^q 2 with aSi OBSERVATIONS ON THE with thorns. Two of their canoes doubled St. Ann's poult" going to the North. On Sunday the 15th, in the morning, I went to pay a vifit fo the favages. Not feeing the fick man, I afked them what was become of him; they made me comprehend he was dead. The cries we had heard on Thurfday morning were probably the marks of their mourning. They feemed all very much afflidled, and were all painted black, contrary to the ufual cuftom ; and the women appeared fcratched all over, as if they had been torn with pins. I obferved that they (hewed much regret for the dead man. I aflced them by figns what they had done with him. They anfwered me only by lifting up their hands to heaven, repeating the fame figns feveral times, in order I fuppofe to make me underfland the deceafed was there: from whence it may be conjefturcd that they believe in a future ftate. They would never tell me what they had done with the dead body. I am inclined to think they had tranfported it in one of their canoeSj with which they had doubled St. Ann's point. I diAri- buted fome bifcuit and oil of fea-wolves amoi.g ^ rr«. On Monday the 16th, I perceived two . r: ^ of favages coming towards us, and all the reft going out of the bay. I put myfelf into our yawl, taking fome bread and oil along with me. When I came near them, I made them a fign to follow me to land which they did very readily. I ga 'e them the bread and oil. They broke up their camp, and thofe wh:; Ctaid be- hind were gathering up the remains of it. They made me underftand that they were going to live at the diftance o." a league from that place, in one of the fmall bays to the North of St. Ann's point, becaufe the (hell-fifli became fcarce in the place where they were. The Pacha-chui was in one of the two boats, and was coming with an intention to thank me, and to apprize me of his departure. I then ventured to alk him, if any of his young people would come away with us, making him underftand as well as I could, that I would bring him back in a twelvemonth. He anfwered by STREIGHTS OF MAGELLAN. 183 by figtis that he confented, and immediately prefented one of them to me, who feemed fatisfied. We then left each other, and I brought away my young favage with me, to put him on board. I drefled him, and entertained him as well as I could. The Chief went out of the bay to join hi? troop. On Tuefday the 17th our favage feemed to be pleafed with us J and even looked contented and chearful. About ten o'clock, feventeen favages coming by land from a fmall bay which lay North of' us, and where they were encamped, paid a vifit to their companion: We went to meet them, taking him along with us } and I gave them ibme bread dnd oil for their breakfafl. As we were going back, another of them alked leave to come on board to- (lay with his comrade. As the offer was voluntary I took him along with vae. Towardis ftx ^o'clock in the evening, I perceived that our two favages were fo melancholy as even to flied tears, and that th-y were conftantly looking towards land. I was not at a lofs to find out the caufe of this uneafmefs ; and thought it natural that they muft on reflc6tion regret the relblution they had taken. Notwithftanding my defire of bringing them away, iiv hopes that I might afterwards receive fome ufeful information from them, I determined to fend them back, and redore them to that liberty which they certainly imagined they had loft. I made them get into our yawl, and had them condu^led back to land. They exprefled much joy when they carae on fliore, and delired they might go to their families. On Wednefdayj at 9 o'clock, they came to afk for feme bread and oil. I ordered fome to be diftributed to them, and having aflifted in loading our longboat, they went back to their firft encampment. At four o'clock in the afternoon tliey left us, making me underftand that they were going to reft; becaufe the moon, which they, call Sercon was up; but that they would come beak, and bring with them* the two young men who had been on board of us. When we got back to our fliip, we heard two guns fire } the fignal agreed upon between us to call for help, in cafe 284 OBSERVATIONS ON THE cafe we fhould be attacked by the favages. I then fufpefted that our people were engaged with them. I imr!^'.-:''"itt']y had our boats armed, and fent them to their a(ii.!:?»nce, but iC was too late : the vi6Vory was already gained, and the favages routed when we landed. The affair happened in the following manner : Twenty, or fix and twenty favages, as we were told, came down fecretly and filcntly through the wood behind the work- lliop } and three of them entered fuddenly into the hut where our people were, who thinking that the favages fecmed to have fome mifchievous defign, placed themfelves at the entrance of the hut to hinder the reft from coming in. They then attempted to force their way, and not fucceeding fell upon our men, . fome attempting to feize their legs, in order to throw them down, and probably to bind them, being provided with large flr^ps in form of flings, having at the end a dart about fix inches long, made of a jagged bone ; the refl beat them with large flicks. Our people, though they were furprized at fo fudden a declaratjoii of war, were not difcouraged. They fcized their cutlafTcs, and exerted themfelves bravely againft their enemies, deflroying as many of them as they could j by which means they threw the favages into confufion and routed them : our people however were but feven againft twenty-live : three favages remained dead upon the field of battle, exclufive of the wouiuied ; three of our people were wounded j the mafter carpenter received ftvei al blows upon the head with a ftick ; another was dangeroufly wounded in the head with a cutiafs ; and his brother was cut on the hand with the fame inftrument, which has quite difablcd him. The wounded were drclled as fbon as they came on board. One of the three was afterwards trepanned. On Friday the 20th, in tlie morning, 1 font the longboat to fetch away tiie timber, and to bury the three favages in the fame grave. After having raifed the ground to a certain height, we placed their fkins or cloaks, with their Oioes on the top, that the other favages might find out tlie place where their dead com- panions lay ; and that they fliould not think we had eaten them ; which STREIGHTS OF MAGELLAN. 285 which perhaps they Might do, if they were unable to find the dead bodies. On Sunday the 22d, we were at the entrance of the narrows ; and at eleven o'clock we faw feveral fires on the low lands of Cape Gregory. In coaf^ing thefe, we difcovered about 90 or 100 men, moft of them on horfeback, who followed us to the place of anchorage} thinking, without doubt, that we fliould anchor there. But I was prevented by the win 1 blowing frefli, and the weather being favourable for failing out of the Streights, We made twelvt leagues fmcc morning, the favages making figns to us all the while. At nine o'clock in the evening we cleared Cape Virgin, and left the Streights. . .,. v, .• Remarks made in 1766 in the Streights of Magellan, from Cape Virgin to Cape Rond ; by M. de la Gyraudais, Lieutenant of a Frigate, al prefent Captain of a fire-Jhip, 1 - i ;: ,, C'^APE Virgin is of the fame height as Cape Frehel, in the ' J road of St. Malo, and has the fame form. At two leagues and a half weftward, it fends forth a low point, which extend? a league out at fea to the Soath^ with a ridge of rocks, which is covered by the tide at two cables length from this point ; and againlt which the fea breaks with gieat violence. This ridge is not marked upon the chart of the Streights, : ^y more than a bay in which we anchored. T-lie-coaft is rather high and found, fiom Cape Virgin to Cape Pofl'efTion. One may fail along it at the dirtance of half a league without any danger. PoUeirion bay is large. It ihelters fhips from the wind, from the W. S. VV. to the N. E. pafiing by the N. It may cafily be known by M. ..• The words they pronounced were, Echounit Cbaoa, Didon, a&i, ahit olif Choven, ^^calU, Machariy Naticon, Pito. Thefe were the only words our people could gather, while they were warming themfelves at their Bres. M. de St. Simon, an officer, who by order of the miniftry embarked with us for the Malouine Iflands with prefents for the natives, acquitted himfelf extremely well of his commiffion. He gave them fome harpoons, bludgeons, bedding, woollen caps, vermilion, and in fhort every thing he thought would be moil agreeable to them. They appeared very well pleafed. They are clothed with the fkins of guanacos, vicunas, and other animals, fewed together in form of fquare clokes which reach below the calf of the leg almoll to the ancle. They have a fort of buikins or half-boots, made of the fame ikins, with the fhag on the inlide, as it is alfo in their clokes, which are very well fewed together in regular compartments, and painted on the outfide with blue and red figures, bearing a refemblance lo Chinefe charaders. The figures however are almoft all alike, and divided by ftraight lines which form forts of fquares and lozenges *. They have fomething like hats ornamented with feathers, much in the fame manner as ours. Some of thefe hats refemble very much the Spanifli caps. Several of our people went a (hooting at fome diftance, where they killed a few partridges, and faw fome carcafes of vicunas. R r 2 The * M. de la Gyraudais received as a prefent from thefe Patagonians, when he vifitcd them at his return .'^o the Malouine Iflands, feveral of their clokes, fome of their weapons, fome Hrngs armed with ftones, and fome iieciclaces of ihells from their women. He brought them to Paris, and gave part of them to M. d'Arboulin, who had fome of them prefentcd to the King, and icept the reft. I ex- amined them at Icifurc, and although I am rather more than five feet feven inches (French nieafure) one of thefe clokes thrown on my fhoulders, (as the Piita* gonians wear them) trailed on the ground at leaft a foot and a half. 290 OBSERVATIONS ON THE The country tlicy went over is uncultivated, barren, and dry. There is notliing but heath upon it, and very little grafs. The horfes of the favages fccm to be very bad, but they manage them with great dexterity. The Patagonians made fome prefents to our people who were returned fiom fliooting. Thefe were round rtoiics, of the fize of a two-pounder ball. They are placed in a rtrap of leather, faftcncd and fewed to the end of a firing cf catgut twilled like a rope. It is a kind of a fling, which they ufe very dcxtcroufly for killing animals a hunting. On the end, oppofite to tliat which fixes the round ftone, there is another ftone placed, half the fize of the former, and clofely covered alt over with a kind of bladder. They hold the fmall ftone in their liand after having pafled the cord between their .ingers ; and then making a turn with the arm, as in Rafting a (ling, they throw the weapon at the animal, whom they can reach, and kill at tne dilhnce of four hundred feet, 'ir'^' "^'^y- ..{i.V!f:ff. i.'i.o The comi)lcxion of the women is tolerably clear, for tliey are much kfs tanned than the men, yet they are proportioned to them in fize. They are alfo drelfcd in a clokc, wear bulkins, and a kind of fmall apron, which only hangs down half the Jength of their thighs. They certainly pluck out their eyebrows for they have none. Their hair is dreiTed in front, and they have no hats. • Thcfe Patagonians are ignorant of the pafiion of jealoufy, at leaf! there is rcafon to think fo, from their encouraging our peoj)lc to handle the breails of their wives and daughters, and making them lie promiicuouHy with them, wlicn I paid them a vifit on my return to the Malouine Klands. : - '. " • We gave them bread which they ate, and fome tobacco for chewing and fniuking. I3y their manner of iifing it, we faw plainly it v/as no novelty to them. Tliey would n A drink any wine. When we had been five or fix hours with them, the/ grew more familiarized. They were very curious, fcarched our pockets, were very defirous of feeing every tiling, and examined us with attention from head to foot, ■ ; ' • • ■ ■ ' We STREIGHTS OF MAGELLAN. 291 Wc mounted their horfcs, which were equipped with bridle, faddlc and rtinuns. They ufe both whip and fpursj and fccmcd i'atisfied and well pleafed to lee our people ride their horfes. When I had a gun fired for fignal to bring our people back, they fliewed not the leaft emotion or furprifc. When wc went away they entreated us much to ftay with them, giving us to iinderftand by figns, that they would l"u|)ply us with food, and though they had nothing to oH'er us at prelcnt, yet they foon ex- peiled fonie of their people to return from fporting, Wc an- fwcred them alio by figns that we could not pofllbly flay ; and that we were going dirtdtly to a certain place, which we attempted to point out to them, endeavouring at the fame time to make them comprehend that wc wiihed them to bring us fome oxen and horfcs. We know not whether they underflood us. On the eighth, having fet fail from Bay Boucaur, and anchored wnder Cape Gregory, we went a fliooting on fhorc, and the foil appeared the fame as on the laft fpot. After we had walked about a league, we met witli two herds of vicunas, each confift- ing of three or four hundred, of which we could not kill more than one with a mulket charged with ball. 1 alfo (liot a Stink" bhigfem, which I left on account of its offcnfive fmcll. I like- wife fired at a wolf, but all thefe animals are very wild, and will not fufFer any one to approach them.. At half pad fix in the morning of the ninth, we got under fail in very plealant weather. M. de Genncs in his draught lays down the I'econd n.irrows Eaft and Well corrected by the globcj but he has marked it two points too much to the Well. I would advife to keep tiic Patagonian (hore till you come to the North and South of Elizabeth'-^ ilandj on account ol' the ftrong tide which runs upon St. Bartiiolomcw and Lyon iflands, and upon fome flioals lying off thofe illands. We coafted clofe to Elizabeth's iiland, till wc came to Cape Noir, where we anchored in eight fathoms water, fandy and muddy bottom, with broken, fliells. i From. Mg2 OBSERVATIONS ON THE From Fritlay tlie ninth to the tentli, we kept along the Pata- gonian fhorc, at the diftance of a league and an half. The coaft ap|>eared woody, but on the return of our boat we wcic told the wood was not good for much. Bcuig near a low point we founded, and no ground at fifty fathoms. An inftant after we faw the bottom, which was Tandy, and at four fatlioms water ; this obliged us to haul off. From the roth to the nth we had much wind, and foggy weather, with a very rough fea. As we were no more than five leagues from Port Famine, 1 determined to go and anchor there. The Eagle followed us, and we foon had reafon to be plcafed with this refolution, for a quarter of an hour after we came to anchor, we could not difcern any obje£l at tlie diftance of half a cannon- iliot from us, and the wind flill continued blowing very hard. Fn the nth to the 12th, the fog and rainy weather con- tinuetl. Havinu; walked round the bay, we met with fome fine wood, and difcovered a very rapid river, on the larboard point of the mouth of the bay. This ftream makes the fea as dirty and as turbid, as a river overflowing frbra abundance of rains. On the water fide there were (even or eight huts belonging to the favages, which they had but lately quitted. I fired a gun, and hoifl-ed our flag, in order to attrafl the favages from the neighbouring parts. From the 13th to the J4th there was a high wind, followed by a prodigious violent florm, which ended in a great fall of rain, fuccceded by fnow and hail, which lafted till noon, when the weather grew calm. From the j6th to the 17th, we met with fome very fine wood, and fent an officer and thirty men on fliore, to pitch a tent, and cut roads through the woods. We were conftantly em- ployed in cutting and (hipping our wood till the 17th, when we unmoored, leaving the Eagle to complete her cargo, and bring up ours to the Malouine Iflands. STREIGHTS OF M A G I- L L A N. 293 From the 29th to the 30th, at ten in the morning, wc faw a fire on lliuic, which the lavages had kimllcd on our account, Wc (leered towards the fire, and law fomc mc;i and horfw From the 30th to the 31ft, the night coming upon . un- awares, we came to our anchorage by the hght of two fires which the lavages had made for us, one upon a mountain, the other upon the fea-lide. We anchored in nineteen fathoms, black muddy bottom, with fmall fhells. At day-break the favagcs (houted, in order that we fliould come to them. 1 put my yawl and longboat to fca well armed, and with jjfelents. I went on Ihore, where I found three hun- dred favages. including men, women, and children. Not ex- pefling tij meet with To many, I was obliged to go on board again to fefL-h Ibme more piclents. Fron the 3 ill to bunday the firft of June 1766, the wind haviiir driven our yawl fVom Ihorc, which was empty, our peo- ple ^-'.re under Ibme anxiety for fear of loling it. The lavagts perceiving il" s, one of them who was on horleback, fpurrcd his horl'c, an(' \ lunged with him into the fea, to fwim after tli« yaw'. He got hold of it, and brought it back to our feamen. Pe ti:ij s we who pujue ourlelves fo much upon our politcnefs, affability, and humanity, and who call thclc Patagonians la- vages, woulil hardly have done lb much for them, in a fimilar circumftance. At (even in the morning the longboat went to fliore with the reil of the prellnts, which the ftormy weather had prevented us lending looni.r. It came back with thirteen of our people who had Itayed witii the favages fince ycftcrday morning. They told us that thefe Fatagoiiian giants had treated them with the utmoft civility according to their manner, and given them marks of the finccrcit friendfliip, even fo fur as to invite them to lie with iheir wives and daughters -, that they had given them fome fielh of the guanacos, fcveral of their clokes, and Ibme of their flings } and the women fome of their necklaces made of ihells. They 4* f 1 -%: -.■>T>iii y ■>< • (* ^ -'-'- .■.v„v',.,.4s^!^'^'^Afc'.? ■**M*M»Mw4«*iwU ^a*»t M . ^ w i,Wfc(t ^ iH»i> i>n i, ■.Wf|'-aiiiiiTO.iiTr •-■■-. til ' •i «'^4 ,K^\ OBSEItVATlONS, &c. fa could They alfo made me a prefent of twelve horfes ; which I not keep for want of forage. ft; . : i^ The piece of civility moH: troublefome to our folks, was that \ ~ of being obliged to lie promifcuoufly among the-Patagonians j ' who often Jay three or four together upon one of our people, to keep the cold from them j fo that their mulkets and other arms became ufelefs. They would tlierefore have had no re- fource left but in their pocket-kriiveSi which wou}d not have been of much fervice for defending them, in cafe of neceffity againfl; live or fix hundred men, including women and children, and all of them proportionally of an enormous ftature, both in height and bulk. Each man or woman, had one or tWP dc^s, and as many horfes. They feemed to be of a mild difpofition, and very humane. It wo"ld be eafy to eftablifli a very profitable trade with them, for their horfes, and for the flcins of vicunas, which ^ are fo much valued, and bear fo high a price in Europe. The fkins of guanacos are alfo excellent, though not fo fine. From the 7th to the 8th, a very high wind, rainy and thick •veather. The fea was terrible, the wind blowing always by \,i Iqualls. .:, :v ^. ■ :-■;- ?^;*„.^^.,,/.4 .,.;J! ^Z ■^■^'- ■■ '"-,; ■ ,:u,-:^^- ,- From Sunday the 8th to the 9th, the fea was very rough, with rain, hail, fnow, and fogs. At nine we faw land without knowing what it was : at noon we found it to be Sebald de Wertz iflands, which bore S. E. diftance ten leagues. ; On the 15th we caft anchor in Acarron bay, in the fame placie from whence we let out. ; *^ ,. ..♦ ■, ;- t t I •i kj ^ ■r^i FINIS. A'"^' *#. 'Jf*'^'*4!|$,.i.'r~^ '■5*e- .M *-;-. r Vji^*/*-* £-V^V a i '( p.xtr. T ;:fe *'*r'W' *'*'**»■■- ' '■■-.■*• f"^"«v" ■ -«^'l^ »i-l.iS,- '•■life '•4 ■■* r i"- I. 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