year 1787 month March I THIS day left London, charged with diſpatches from the Secretary of State's office, and from the Admiralty, relative to the embarkation of that part of the marines and convicts intended for Botany Bay; and on the evening of the ſeventh, after travelling two days of the moſt inceſſant rain I ever remember, arrived at Plymouth, where the Charlotte and Friendſhip tranſports were in readineſs to receive them.

General Collins, commander in chief at that port, loſt no time in carrying the orders I had brought into execu⯑tion: ſo that on the morning of the ninth, the detachment of marines were on board, with all the baggage. But the [2]next day being uſhered in with a very heavy gale of wind,1787. March. made it impracticable to remove the convicts from on board the Dunkirk priſon-ſhip, where they were confined. So violent was the gale, that his Majeſty's ſhip the Druid, of thirty-two guns, was forced to cut away her main-maſt to prevent her driving on ſhore.

The weather being moderate the following day, the con⯑victs were put on board the tranſports, and placed in the different apartments allotted for them; all ſecured in irons, except the women. In the evening, as there was but little wind, we were towed by the boats belonging to the guardſhips out of the Hamaoze, where the Dunkirk lay, into Plymouth Sound. When this duty was completed, the boats returned; and the wind now freſhening ſo as to enable us to clear the land, we proceeded to Spithead, where we arrived the ſeventeenth, and anchored on the Mother Bank, among the reſt of the tranſports and victuallers intended for the ſame expedition, under the conduct of his Majeſty's ſhip the Sirius. As ſoon as the ſhip came to anchor, I viſited all the other tranſports, and was really ſurpriſed to find the convicts on board them ſo very healthy. When I got on board the Alexander, I found there a medi⯑cal [3]gentleman from Portſmouth, among whoſe acquaintance I had not the honour to be numbered. He ſcarcely gave me time to get upon the quarter-deck, before he thus addreſſed me—‘I am very glad you are arrived, Sir; for your people have got a malignant diſeaſe among them of a moſt dangerous kind; and it will be neceſſary, for their preſervation, to get them immediately relanded!’ Sur⯑priſed at ſuch a ſalutation, and alarmed at the purport of it, I requeſted of my aſſiſtant, Mr. Balmain, an intelligent young man, whom I had appointed to this ſhip for the voyage, to let me ſee the people who were ill. "Sir," re⯑turned Mr. Balmain, taking me aſide, ‘you will not find things by any means ſo bad as this gentleman repreſents them to be: they are made much worſe by him than they really are. Unlike a perſon wiſhing to adminiſter comfort to thoſe who are afflicted, either in body or in mind, he has publicly declared before the poor creatures who are ill, that they muſt inevitably fall a ſacrifice to the malignant diſorder with which they are afflicted;— the malignity of which appears to me to exiſt only in his own imagination. I did not, however,’ continued Mr. Bal⯑main, ‘think proper to contradict the gentleman; ſuppoſing, [4]from the conſequence he aſſumed, and the eaſe with which he had given his opinion, or more properly his directions, that he was ſome perſon appointed by the Secretary of State to officiate for you till your arrival. When you go among the people you will be better able to judge of the propriety of what I have ſaid.’ Mr. Balmain had no ſooner concluded than I went between decks, and found every thing juſt as he had repreſented it to be. There were ſeveral in bed with ſlight inflammatory complaints; ſome there were who kept their bed to avoid the inconvenience of the cold, which was at this time very piercing, and whoſe wretched clothing was but a poor defence againſt the rigour of it; others were confined to their bed through the effects of long impriſonment, a weakened habit, and low⯑neſs of ſpirits; which was not a little added to by the de⯑claration of the medical gentleman above mentioned, whom they concluded to be the principal ſurgeon to the expedi⯑tion. However, on my undeceiving them in that point, and at the ſame time confirming what Mr. Balmain had from the firſt told them, viz. that their complaints were neither malig⯑nant nor dangerous, their fears abated. To this I added, that I would immediately give orders for ſuch as were in [5]want of clothing, to be ſupplied with what was needful; a power delegated to me by Captain Phillip, together with the liberty of giving ſuch other directions as I thought would tend to the recovery or preſervation of their health. And further, as they had been nearly four months on board, and during that time had been kept upon ſalt proviſions, I would endeavour to get freſh for them while in port. This ſhort converſation had ſo ſudden an effect on thoſe I addreſſed, and was of ſo oppoſite a tendency to that of the gentleman alluded to, that before we got from between decks, I had the pleaſure to ſee ſeveral of them put on ſuch clothes as they had, and look a little cheerful. I then pointed out to Lieutenant Johnſon, commanding officer of the marines on board, and to the maſter of the ſhip, the neceſſity there was of admitting the convicts upon the deck, one half at a time, during the courſe of the day; in order that they might breathe a purer air, as nothing would conduce more to the preſerva⯑tion of their health. To this theſe gentlemen readily aſſent⯑ed; adding, that they had no objection to the whole num⯑ber coming upon deck at once, if I thought it neceſſary, as they were not apprehenſive of any danger from the indul⯑gence. On returning to the quarter-deck, I found my new [6]medical acquaintance ſtill there; and before I could give ſome directions to Mr. Balmain, as I was about to do, he thus once more addreſſed me—‘I ſuppoſe you are now convinced of the dangerous diſeaſe that prevails among theſe people, and of the neceſſity of having them landed, in order to get rid of it.’ Not a little hurt at the abſurd part the gentleman had acted, and at his repeated importu⯑nity, I replied with ſome warmth, ‘that I was very ſorry to differ ſo eſſentially in opinion from him, as to be obliged to tell him that there was not the leaſt appearance of malignity in the diſeaſe under which the convicts labour⯑ed, but that it wholly proceeded from the cold; and was nearly ſimilar to a complaint then prevalent, even among the better ſort of people, in and about Portſmouth.’ Notwithſtanding this, he ſtill perſiſted ſo much in the pro⯑priety of their being landed, and the neceſſity there was for an application to the Secretary of State upon the occaſion, that I could no longer keep my temper; and I freely told him, ‘that the idea of landing them was as improper as it was abſurd. And, in order to make him perfectly eaſy on that head, I aſſured him, that when any diſeaſe ren⯑dered it neceſſary to call in medical aid, he might reſt [7]ſatisfied I would not trouble him; but would apply to Doctor Lind, Phyſician to the Royal Hoſpital at Haſler, a gentleman as eminently diſtinguiſhed for his profeſ⯑ſional abilities as his other amiable qualities; or elſe to ſome of the ſurgeons of his Majeſty's ſhips in Portſmouth harbour, or at Spithead, moſt of whom I had the plea⯑ſure of knowing, and on whoſe medical knowledge I was certain I could depend.’ This peremptory declaration had the deſired effect. The gentleman took his leave, to my great ſatisfaction, and thereby gave me an opportunity of writing by that evening's poſt, to inform the Secretary of State, and Captain Phillip, of the real ſtate of the ſick; and at the ſame time to urge the neceſſity of having freſh pro⯑viſions ſerved to the whole of the convicts while in port, as well as a little wine for thoſe who were ill. Freſh provi⯑ſions I dwelt moſt on, as being not only needful for the recovery of the ſick, but otherwiſe eſſential, in order to prevent any of them commencing ſo long and tedious a voyage as they had before them with a ſcorbutic taint; a conſequence that would moſt likely attend their living upon ſalt food; and which, added to their needful confinement and great numbers, would, in all probability, prove fatal [8]to them, and thereby defeat the intention of Govern⯑ment.

The return of the poſt brough me an anſwer; and like⯑wiſe an order to the contractor for ſupplying the marines and convicts daily with freſh beef and vegetables, while in port. A ſimilar order I found had been given long before my arrival; but, by ſome ſtrange miſtake or other, had not been complied with. The ſalutary effect of this change of diet, with the addition of ſome wine and other neceſſaries ordered for the ſick, through the humanity of Lord Sydney, manifeſted itſelf ſo ſuddenly, that in the ſpace of a fort⯑night, on comparing my liſt of ſick with that of a ſurgeon belonging to one of the guardſhips, allowing for the diſpro⯑portion of numbers, mine did not exceed his. And yet, not⯑withſtanding this, which is a well known fact, the report of a moſt malignant diſeaſe ſtill prevailed: and ſo induſtriouſly was the report promulgated and kept alive by ſome evil-minded people, who either wiſhed to throw an odium on the humane promoters of the plan, or to give uneaſineſs to the friends and relations of thoſe engaged in the expedition, that letters from all quarters were pouring in upon us, commiſerating our ſtate. The newſpapers were daily filled with alarming [9]accounts of the fatality that prevailed among us; and the rumour became general, notwithſtanding every ſtep was taken to remove theſe fears, by aſſurances (which were ſtrictly true) that the whole fleet was in as good a ſtate of health, and as few in it would be found to be ill, at that cold ſeaſon of the year, as even in the moſt healthy ſituation on ſhore. The cleareſt teſtimony that there was more ma⯑lignity in the report than in the diſeaſe, may be deduced from the very inconſiderable number that have died ſince we left England; which I may ſafely venture to ſay is much leſs than ever was known in ſo long a voyage (the numbers being proportionate), even though not labouring under the diſadvantages we were ſubject to, and the crowded ſtate we were in.

During the abſence of Captain Phillip, I mentioned to Captain Hunter of the Sirius, that I thought whitewaſhing with quick lime the parts of the ſhips where the convicts were confined, would be the means of correcting and preventing that unwholeſome dampneſs which uſually ap⯑peared on the beams and ſides of the ſhips, and was occa⯑ſioned by the breath of the people. Captain Hunter agreed with me on the propriety of the ſtep: and with that oblig⯑ing [10] month May willingneſs which marks his character, made the neceſ⯑ſary application to commiſſioner Martin; who, on his part, as readily ordered the proper materials. The proceſs was accordingly ſoon finiſhed; and fully anſwered the purpoſe intended.

May 12. His Majeſty's ſhip the Hyaena joined us this day, and put herſelf under the command of Captain Phillip, who had inſtructions to take her with him as far as he ſhould think needful. In the evening the Sirius made the ſignal to weigh, and attempted to get down to St. Helen's; but the wind ſhifting, and ſeveral of the convoy not getting under way, through ſome irregularity in the ſeamen, ſhe was obliged to anchor. When this was done, Captain Phillip ſent Lieutenant King on board the ſhips which had occaſioned the detention, who ſoon adjuſted the difficulties that had ariſen; as they were found to proceed more from intoxication than from any nautical cauſes.

13th. This morning the Sirius and her convoy weighed again, with an intention of going through St. Helen's; but the wind being fair for the Needles, we run through them, with a pleaſant breeze. The Charlotte, Captain Gilbert, on board of which I was, ſailing very heavy, the [11]Hyaena took us in tow, until ſhe brought us ahead of the Sirius, and then caſt us off.

15th. An accident of a ſingular nature happened to-day. Corporal Baker of the marines, on laying a loaded muſquet down, which he had juſt taken out of the arms cheſt, was wounded by it in the inner ankle of the right foot. The bones, after being a good deal ſhattered, turned the ball; which taking another direction, had ſtill force enough left to go through a harneſs-caſk full of beef, at ſome diſtance, and, after that, to kill two geeſe that were on the other ſide of it. Extraordinary as this incident may appear, it is no leſs true. The corporal being a young man, and in a good habit of body, I had the pleaſure, contrary to the general expectation, of ſeeing him return to his duty in three months, with the perfect uſe of the wounded joint.

20th. A diſcovery of a futile ſcheme, formed by the convicts on board the Scarborough, was made by one of that body, who had been recommended to Captain Hunter previous to our ſailing. They had laid a plan for making themſelves maſters of the ſhip; but being prevented by this diſcovery, two of the ringleaders were carried on board the Sirius, where they were puniſhed; and afterwards put on [12] month June board the Prince of Wales tranſport, from which time they behaved very well. Being now near one hundred leagues to the weſtward of Scilly, and all well, Captain Phillip found it no longer neceſſary to keep the Hyaena with him; there⯑fore, having committed his letters to the care of the Hon. Captain De Courcey, he in the courſe of this day ſent her back.

28th. Departed this life, Iſmael Coleman, a convict, who, worn out by lowneſs of ſpirits and debility, brought on by long and cloſe confinement, reſigned his breath without a pang.

30th. In the forenoon paſſed to the ſouthward of Ma⯑deira, and ſaw ſome turtle of the hawks-bill kind.

June 2d. Saw and paſſed the Salvages. Theſe iſlands are not laid down in any of the charts we had on board, except a ſmall one, by Hamilton Moore, in the poſſeſſion of the ſecond mate. They lie, by our obſervation, in lat. 30°. 10′. N. long. 15°. 9′. W.

3d. This evening, after ſeeing many ſmall fiſh in our way from the Salvages, we arrived at Teneriffe, and an⯑chored in Santa Cruz road, about a mile to the N. E. of the town of that name, in ſixteen fathom water; ſome of the [13]ſhips came to in twenty fathom. We were viſited the ſame night, as is the cuſtom of the port, by the harbour maſter, and gained permiſſion to water, and procure ſuch refreſh⯑ments as the iſland afforded. The marines were now ſerved with wine in lieu of ſpirits; a pound of freſh beef was like⯑wiſe daily diſtributed to them as well as to the convicts; to⯑gether with a pound of rice inſtead of bread, and ſuch vege⯑tables as could be procured. Of the latter indeed the por⯑tion was rather ſcanty, little beſides onions being to be got; and ſtill leſs of fruit, it being too early in the ſeaſon.

4th. Captain Phillip, as governor of his Majeſty's ter⯑ritories in New South Wales, and commander in chief of the expedition, accompanied by twenty of the principal officers, paid his reſpects to the Marquis de Brancifort, governor of this and the other Canary iſlands. We were received by his Excellency with great politeneſs and cor⯑diality; and after the ceremony of introduction was over, he entered into familiar converſation with Captain Phillip on general topics. In perſon the Marquis is genteel; he is rather above the middle ſize, but cannot boaſt of much embonpoint; his countenance is animated; his deportment eaſy and graceful; and both his appearance and manners [14]perfectly correſpond with the idea univerſally entertained of the dignity of a grandee of Spain. This accompliſhed nobleman, as I have been informed, is not a Spaniard by birth, but a Sicilian; and deſcended from ſome of the princes of that iſland. On this anceſtry and deſcent, it is viſible that he prides himſelf not a little. The people he is placed over will have it, that he carries himſelf with too much ſtatelineſs to be long a favourite there; they cannot, however, help acknowledging that he preſerves a degree of diſintereſtedneſs, moderation, and juſtice, in his conduct to⯑wards them, that is not to be objected to.

6th. A convict, named James Clark, died of a dropſy; he had been tapped ten days before, and diſcharged twelve quarts of water.

8th. During the night, while the people were buſily employed in taking in water on board the Alexander, a ſervice in which ſome of the convicts aſſiſted, one of them, of the name of Powel, found means to drop himſelf unper⯑ceived into a ſmall boat that lay along-ſide; and under cover of the night to caſt her off without diſcovery. He then drifted to a Dutch Eaſt Indiaman that had juſt come to an anchor, to the crew of which he told a plauſible ſtory, [15]and entreated to be taken on board; but, though they much wanted men, they would have nothing to do with him. Having committed himſelf again to the waves, he was driven by the wind and the current, in the courſe of the night, to a ſmall iſland lying to leeward of the ſhips, where he was the next morning taken. The boat and oars, which he could not conceal, led to a diſcovery; otherwiſe he would probably have effected his eſcape. When brought back by the party ſent after him, Captain Phillip ordered him into irons, in which ſtate he remained for ſome time; but at length, by an artful petition he got written for him, he ſo wrought on the governor's humanity, as to procure a releaſe from his confinement.

As you approach the iſland of Teneriffe, and even when you are near to it, the appearance from the ſea conveys no very favourable idea of its fertility; one rugged, barren hill or mountain terminating in another, until it forms the famous Peak. The town of Santa Cruz is large and populous, but very irregular and ill built; ſome of the private houſes, however, are ſpacious, convenient, and well conſtructed. Although this town is not conſidered as the capital, Laguna enjoying that pre-eminence, yet I can⯑not [16]help thinking it ought to be ſo; not only from its being more frequented by ſhips of various nations, and having a greater ſhare of trade than any other port in the Canaries, but on account of its being the reſidence of the governor-general.

Among other ſteps for its improvement, the Marquis ſet on foot a contribution, and from the produce of it has cauſed to be built an elegant and commodious mole, or pier, about the center of the town. To this pier, water of an ex⯑cellent quality is conveyed by pipes; ſo that boats may come along-ſide, and by applying a hoſe to the cocks placed there for this purpoſe, fill the caſks without the uſual trouble and fatigue. The landing or ſhipping of goods is likewiſe, by means of this pier, rendered both convenient and expe⯑ditious. In ſhort, I think I may ſafely recommend this port as a very good one for ſhips undertaking long voyages to water at, and refreſh their crews; more eſpecially in the time of the fruit ſeaſon.

About four or five miles, inland, from Santa Cruz, ſtands the city of Laguna; ſo called from a lake near which it is ſituated. This lake, during the winter, or in rainy weather, is full of ſtagnant water, that in a little time [17]becomes putrid, and, in very dry hot weather, is to⯑tally exhaled. I have before obſerved, that Laguna is conſidered as the capital of the iſland, and added my rea⯑ſons for thinking this an ill-judged diſtinction. The road from Santa Cruz to it is a pretty ſteep aſcent, until you ap⯑proach the town, which is ſituated at the extremity, or rather on a corner, of a plain three or four miles long. This city has two churches, one of them richly ornamented; and ſeveral convents both of friars and nuns. It has like⯑wiſe three hoſpitals; two of which were originally inſtituted for the wiſe, but ineffectual, purpoſe of eradicating the lues venerea; a diſeaſe that has long been, and ſtill continues to be, very common in this iſland. I was however informed, that perſons afflicted with other diſorders are now received into theſe two charitable inſtitutions; and that the third is appropriated to the reception of foundlings. Beſides the foregoing, there are ſome other public, as well as private buildings, that tend to improve the appearance of the town. There is very little trade carried on at Laguna, it being rather the retired reſidence of the gentry of the iſland, and of the merchants of Santa Cruz, which is the principal ſeat of commerce. The officers of juſtice likewiſe reſide here; [18]ſuch as the corrigedor, lieutenant of the police, &c. and a judge whoſe buſineſs it is to regulate commercial affairs. An office of inquiſition, with the proper officers, delegated from, and ſubject to, the tribunal of the holy office held at Grand Canary, is beſides eſtabliſhed here.

The preſent natives of this iſland ſeem to have in them very little of the ſtock from whence they ſprung; intermar⯑riages with the Spaniards have nearly obliterated all traces of the original ſtamina: they are of a middle ſtature, in⯑clining to be ſlender, and of a dark complexion, with large animated black eyes. The peaſants in general are wretch⯑edly clothed; when they do appear better, they are habited in the Spaniſh faſhion. The men, in a genteeler line, dreſs very gaily, and are ſeldom ſeen without long ſwords. It is remarked, that few of them walk with dignity and eaſe; which may be attributed to the long cloaks they uſually wear, except on particular occaſions.

The women wear veils: thoſe worn by the lower ranks are of black ſtuff, thoſe of the higher, of black ſilk; and ſuch among the latter as have any claim to beauty, are far from being over careful in concealing their faces by them. The young ladies, ſome of whom I ſaw that were [19]really pretty, wear their fine long black hair plaited, and faſtened with a comb, or a ribbon, on the top of the head.

The common people, and in this they reſemble the inha⯑bitants of moſt of the iſlands in the Pacific Ocean lately diſ⯑covered, have a ſtrong ſpice of furacity in them; they are beſides lazy; and the moſt importunate beggars in the world: I obſerved likewiſe, that the itch was ſo common among them, and had attained ſuch a degree of virulence, that one would almoſt be led to believe it was epidemic there.

Some of the women are ſo abandoned and ſhameleſs, that it would be doing an injuſtice to the proſtitutes met with in the ſtreets of London, to ſay they are like them. The fe⯑males of every degree are ſaid to be of an amorous conſtitu⯑tion, and addicted to intrigue; for which no houſes could be better adapted than thoſe in Teneriffe.

The manufactures carried on here are very few, and the product of them little more than ſufficient for their own conſumption. They conſiſt of taffeties, gauze, coarſe linens, blankets, a little ſilk, and curious garters. The principal dependance of the inhabitants is on their wine (their ſtaple commodity), oil, corn, and every kind of ſtock for ſhipping. [20]With theſe the iſland abounds; and, in their ſeaſon, pro⯑duces not only the tropical fruits, but the vegetable produc⯑tions of the European gardens, in the greateſt plenty. Te⯑neriffe enjoys an agreeable and healthful mediocrity of climate. Indeed I know of none better adapted for the reſtoration of a valetudinarian; as, by going into the mountains, he may graduate the air, and chuſe that ſtate of it which beſt ſuits his complaint. But although the inhabitants are thus healthy, and have ſo little occaſion for medical aid, they loudly com⯑plain of the want of knowledge in the profeſſional gentlemen of the iſland.

The preſent governor has eſtabliſhed a manufactory of ſilk and woollen goods in the ſuburbs of Santa Cruz, which is carried on by poor children, old and infirm people, and by abandoned females, with a view to reclaiming them: an inſtitution that will ever do honour both to his excellency, and to thoſe who have liberally aided him in ſo laudable a ſcheme.

Like the inhabitants of moſt catholic countries, the people of this iſland are very profuſe in decorating their churches, and even their dwelling-houſes, on the feſtivals held in honour of their ſaints. This being Corpus Chriſti, a [21]day of much ſolemnity and parade, I went on ſhore with Lieutenant Ball of the Supply to ſee the proceſſion incident to the occaſion. Before we landed we formed a reſolution to avoid, as much as lay in our power, giving offence even to the moſt zealous devotee. But we found this was not to be done. When we arrived at the church, from whence the proceſſion commenced, the Hoſt was juſt making its appear⯑ance; a circumſtance that is announced by ringing of bells, and firing of guns. As it paſſed by us we fell on our knees, as we obſerved thoſe around us to do; but it unfortunately happening, that the ſpot we knelt upon conſiſted of ſand intermixed with ſmall rough pebbles, the poſture we were in ſoon became ſo exceedingly painful, that, in order to pro⯑cure a momentary eaſe, we only let one knee remain on the ground. This heretical act did not eſcape the obſervation of one of the holy fathers, all of whom were intent on the exact performance of every ceremonious etiquette. It procured for us a frown from him, and treatment that was not of the moſt civil kind; ſo that, in order to pacify him, we again dropped on both knees. He did not, however, paſs on, without exhi⯑biting ſtrong marks of ill-nature and reſentment in his coun⯑tenance, at this trivial and unintended breach of reſpectful [22]attention to the religious rights of the country. The pro⯑ceſſion, in which the governor and all the principal inhabi⯑tants joined, having paſſed through moſt of the ſtreets, returned, with the ſame ſolemnity, to the church it had ſet out from; which was richly ornamented, and ſplendidly illuminated with large wax tapers, upon the occaſion. During our ſtay here, his excellency the governor entertained Captain Phillip and all the officers belonging to the expedi⯑tion with a very elegant dinner.

Before we ſailed from the Motherbank, a ſporatic diſeaſe had appeared among the marines and convicts. On its firſt appearance it reſembled the mumps, or ſwellings of the chaps; and as that diſtemper ſometimes terminates in a tranſlation of the inflammation to the teſticles, ſo this complaint (after the ſwelling and induration of the jaws had ſubſided, which uſually happened on the ſixth or ſeventh day) never in one inſtance failed to fix on thoſe parts; and that in ſo very obſtinate a manner, as not to give way to the treatment generally found effectual in ſimilar inflammations. One of the convicts, thus affected, was ſeized with an intermitting fever: between the paroxyſm I gave him an emetic; which had ſuch a ſudden and wonderful effect on this ſtrange com⯑plaint, [23]that I was induced to repeat it; and I found it effectual in this, as well as in all ſubſequent caſes. As ſoon as we got to ſea, the motion of the ſhip acted on all thoſe who were affected, to the number of ſeventeen, in a moſt ſurpriſing and extraordinary manner. Indeed it was ſo ſud⯑den, that it was like a placebo. I could never account, with any ſatisfaction to myſelf, for the origin of this uncommon diſeaſe, though much acquainted with thoſe incident to ſeamen; nor did I ever ſee or hear of any that reſembled it. The moſt ſteady and prudent of the mariners, even thoſe who had their wives on board, were equally affected with thoſe who led more irregular lives. At firſt I attributed it to the verdigreaſe that might gather on the copper utenſils wherein the proviſions were cooked; but I am now fully perſuaded that this was not the ſource from which it pro⯑ceeded; for at the very time it was moſt prevalent, and at⯑tended with the greateſt degree of inveteracy, the coppers were cleaned, and made as bright as they could be, every day, under my own inſpection. Another proof, and a very ſtrong one, that it did not proceed from the before-mentioned cauſe is, that the proviſions ſtill continued to be dreſſed in the ſame coppers, when the ſmalleſt trace of the diſeaſe was no [24]longer to be perceived; which was the caſe after being four or five days at ſea.

9th, P. M. the Sirius made the ſignal for all officers to repair on board their reſpective ſhips; an officer was likewiſe ſent to the governor, to inform him that we intended to put to ſea in the morning, and, at the ſame time, to thank him for the civilities and politeneſs he had ſhown us. His excel⯑lency returned, in anſwer to this meſſage, that his beſt and moſt ſincere good wiſhes ſhould attend us; and that he ſhould ever feel a very particular intereſt in our ſucceſs; which he hoped would anſwer the intention of government, and the expectations of thoſe who had ſo cheerfully entered as volunteers on ſo novel and very uncertain a ſervice.

10th. This morning the fleet got under way with a light breeze, which carried us out of Santa Cruz, but left us two days becalmed between Teneriffe and the Grand Canary. After this a fine breeze ſprung up from the north-eaſt; and no oc⯑currence worthy of notice happened for ſome days. We croſſed the tropical line in 18°. 20′. weſt longitude, and was nearly preſſed on board the Lady Penrhynn tranſport, whoſe people did not attend to her ſteerage, being deeply engaged in ſluicing and ducking all thoſe on board who had never croſſed it.

17th. In the morning ſaw a ſtrange ſail to the north⯑ward, and at night the Sirius made the ſignal for the convoy to ſhorten ſail.

18th. Early this morning the Sirius threw out the Sup⯑ply's ſignal to make ſail, and look out ahead. She imme⯑diately obeyed, and at eight o'clock made the ſignal for ſeeing land; which was repeated by the Sirius to the con⯑voy. At eleven we paſſed the Iſle of Sal, in lat. 16° 38′ N. long. 22° 5′ W., and in the evening Bonaviſta; two of the Cape de Verd iſlands, a cluſter of iſlands ſo called from a cape of that name ſituated oppoſite to them on the continent of Africa. We paſſed the latter iſland ſo cloſe, that we ſaw the breakers which endangered Captain Cook's ſhip in his laſt voyage. It blew at the time pretty freſh, and was ſo hazy, that we could make no other obſervation, than that the land was high, and the ſhore (what we could per⯑ceive of it through the haze, for the horizon line did not exceed two miles) had a white appearance, as if ſand or chalk cliffs. At ſix in the evening, the Sirius made a ſignal for the convoy to obſerve a cloſe order of ſailing, and to ſhorten ſail for the night; and at twelve, running under an eaſy ſail, [26]ſhe made the ſignal for the ſhips to bring to, with their heads to the ſouth-eaſt.

19th. At day break we made fail, the Supply being a⯑head on the look-out. At eight o'clock ſhe made the ſig⯑nal for ſeeing land; which proved to be the iſle of Mayo, another of the Cape de Verd iſlands, lying in lat. 15° 10′ N. long. 23° W. The Sirius now made the ſignal to prepare to anchor; which was followed by one, that the boats from the victuallers and tranſports may land, as ſoon as the ſhips came to an anchor, without aſking permiſſion as at Teneriffe. We ran down the eaſt ſide of the iſland, cloſe in with the ſhore, on which we could perceive a high ſurf, or rather the ſea, breaking violently among the rocks. The haze ſtill con⯑tinued ſo thick that we could only obſerve the ſhore to be rough, craggy, and bold; and that ſeveral parts of the iſland ſeemed high and mountainous. At twelve, through the haze, ſaw the iſland of Saint Jago, the principal of the Cape de Verd iſlands, lying in lat. 14° 54′ N. long. 23° 29′ W. Half after one, the Sirius leading into Port Praya Bay, on a ſudden brought to, as we imagined, to wait for the ſtern⯑moſt ſhips, which, as they all came up, likewiſe brought to, [27]on the outſide of the entrance into the bay. After the pre⯑parations which had been made for anchoring, and the diſ⯑poſition ſhown by the Sirius to run in, we were not a little ſurpriſed to ſee her, at two o'clock, throw out the ſignal for the convoy to keep nearer the commanding officer; then make ſail and bear away, ſteering ſouth-weſt. At ſix in the evening we loſt ſight of the iſland, running with a ſmart top-gallant, and ſteering ſail, breeze at north-eaſt. A ſmall Portugueze brig lay at anchor in Por Praya, which was the only veſſel of any kind at that time there. This bay is rendered memorable by the action that took place there, on the 16th of April 1781, between Commodore Johnſtone and Monſieur Suffrein; in giving an account of which, the French admiral (in a letter ſaid to be written by him) humorouſly thus obſerves: ‘In leading into the bay, I was ſome time at a loſs to diſtinguiſh which was the commodore's ſhip: but on getting more in, I at length ſaw his pendant bluſhing through a foreſt of maſts; the Romney being ſecurely placed in ſhore of the merchant ſhips and ſmaller men of war.’

The entrance into this bay appeared to be about a mile, between two bluff points, which makes it ſecure from every [28]wind, except a ſoutherly one; and when that prevails, a very high ſea tumbles into it. On an eminence, in the cen⯑ter of the bay, ſtands a fort, where the Portugueze colours were diſplayed. Many people appeared on the batteries, look⯑ing at the ſhips; which were probably more in number than had been ſeen there ſince the memorable 16th of April. The appearance of the town and the iſland, from the diſtant view we had, gave us no very favourable opinion of them. The face of the country ſeemed to be ſterile in the extreme. The lifeleſs brown of the Iſle of Mayo, deſcribed by Cap⯑tain Cook, may very well be applied to this iſland; for as far as my eye or glaſs could reach, not the ſmalleſt trace of vegetation or verdure was to be perceived, except at the weſt end of the fort, on the left ſide of the bay, where a few trees of the cocoa nut or palm kind appeared. But not⯑withſtanding the ſterile picture it exhibits when viewed from the ſea, geographers, and thoſe who have been on ſhore, deſcribe it to be, in many places, well cultivated and very fertile; producing ſugar canes, a little wine, ſome cotton, Indian corn, cocoa nuts, and oranges, with all the other tropi⯑cal fruits in great plenty; and point it out as a place where ſhips, bound on long voyages, may be conveniently ſupplied [29]with water, and other neceſſaries; ſuch as fowls, goats, and hogs; all which are to be purchaſed at a very eaſy rate.

20th. This evening, ſtanding to the ſouthward with all ſail; the wind moderate; the air warm and damp, with haze; the Sirius made the Alexander's ſignal, who had dropped conſiderably aſtern, and reprimanded the maſter for hoiſting out a boat without permiſſion. The two following days the weather was moderately warm, with ſome flaſhes of light⯑ning.

23d. The weather became exceedingly dark, warm, and cloſe, with heavy rain; a temperature of the atmoſphere very common on approaching the equator, and very much to be dreaded, as the health is greatly endangered thereby. Every attention was therefore paid to the people on board the Charlotte, and every exertion uſed to keep her clean and wholeſome between decks. My firſt care was to keep the men, as far as was conſiſtent with a regular diſcharge of their duty, out of the rain; and I never ſuffered the con⯑victs to come upon deck when it rained, as they had neither linen nor clothing ſufficient to make themſelves dry and comfortable after getting wet: a line of conduct which cannot be too ſtrictly obſerved, and enforced, in thoſe lati⯑tudes. [30]To this, and to the frequent uſe of oil of tar, which was uſed three times a week, and oftener if found neceſſary, I attribute, in a great degree, the uncommon good health we enjoyed. I moſt ſincerely wiſh oil of tar was in more gene⯑ral uſe throughout his Majeſty's navy than it is. If it were, I am certain that the advantage accruing from it to the health of ſeamen, that truly uſeful and valuable claſs of the commu⯑nity, and for whoſe preſervation too much cannot be done, would ſoon manifeſt itſelf. This efficacious remedy won⯑derfully reſiſts putrefaction, deſtroys vermin and inſects of every kind; wherever it is applied overcomes all diſ⯑agreeable ſmells; and is in itſelf both agreeable and whole⯑ſome.

In the evening it became calm, with diſtant peals of thunder, and the moſt vivid flaſhes of lightning I ever remember. The weather was now ſo immoderately hot, that the female con⯑victs, perfectly overcome with it, frequently fainted away; and theſe faintings generally terminated in fits. And yet, notwithſtanding the enervating effects of the atmoſpheric heat, and the inconveniences they ſuffered from it; ſo pre⯑dominant was the warmth of their conſtitutions, or the de⯑pravity of their hearts, that the hatches over the place [31]where they were confined could not be ſuffered to lay off, during the night, without a promiſcuous intercourſe imme⯑diately taking place between them and the ſeamen and ma⯑rines. What little wind there was, which was only at intervals, continuing adverſe, and the health of theſe wretches being ſtill endangered by the heat, Captain Phillip, though anxious to prevent as much as poſſible this intercourſe, gave an order, on my repreſenting the neceſſity of it, that a grating ſhould be cut, ſo as to admit a ſmall wind ſail being let down among them. In ſome of the other ſhips, the deſire of the women to be with the men was ſo uncontrol⯑lable, that neither ſhame (but indeed of this they had long loſt ſight), nor the fear of puniſhment, could deter them from making their way through the bulk heads to the apart⯑ments aſſigned the ſeamen.

25th. Still inclinable to calms, in lat. 8° 30′ N. long. 22° 36′ W. we perceived a ſtrong current ſetting to the north-weſt; ſo that on the following day, though by our log we had run thirty miles ſouth by eaſt, yet by obſerva⯑tion we found ourſelves in lat. 8° 45′; which ſhows the current againſt us to be nearly a knot an hour. I viſited the different tranſports, and found the troops and convicts, [32] month July from the very great attention paid to cleanlineſs, and airing the ſhips, in much better health than could be expected in ſuch low latitudes and unfavourable weather.

27th. Still calm, with loud thunder, and inceſſant heavy rain.

28th. A gentle breeze ſprung up to the weſtward, and the next day, about eleven in the forenoon, we ſaw a ſtrange ſail ſtanding to the ſouth-weſt. At twelve ſhe tacked, ſtood towards us, and hoiſted Portugueze colours. The Sirius ſpoke her; after which we all made ſail again, ſteering ſouth-eaſt by eaſt.

July 2d. The wind continuing ſoutherly, in latitude 6° 36′ N. and being ſtill ſo far to the eaſtward as 20° 23′ W. longitude, the Sirius made the ſignal for the convoy to tack; and ſtood to the weſtward. This day we ſaw ſome re⯑markable flights of flying fiſh; they were ſo very numerous as to reſemble flights of ſmall birds. The poor creatures were ſo cloſely purſued, on all ſides, by their common ene⯑my, bonitoes, albacores, and ſkip-jacks, that their wings availed them little. The ſucceeding night was a continua⯑tion of heavy rain. Every evening, while we continued be⯑tween nine and ſix degrees of north latitude, we were baffled [33]with calms, and adverſe winds. For ſeven days together I obſerved that each day generally cloſed with heavy rains, and ſome ſqualls of wind, which were always remarked to be from the northward.

5th. The wind ſouth-weſt by ſouth, the fleet tacked by ſignal and ſtood to the eaſtward. In the evening, a more numerous ſhoal of porpoiſes than ever remembered to be ſeen by the oldeſt ſeaman on board, preſented themſelves to our view. They were, as we conjectured, in purſuit of ſome wounded fiſh; and ſo very intent were they on the object of their chace, that they paſſed through the fleet, and cloſe to ſome of the ſhips, without ſhowing any diſpoſition to avoid them. The ſailors and mariners compared them to a nu⯑merous pack of hounds, ſcouring through watery ground; and indeed, when the rays of the ſun beamed upon them, I know not what they reſembled more. The weather being moderate, I went round the ſhips, and was really ſurpriſed, conſidering the damp and unfavourable weather we had had, to find the people look ſo well, and to be in ſo good a ſtate of health.

6th. In lat. 5° 38′ N. long. 21° 39′ W. the wind S. S. W. we tacked by ſignal, and in the courſe of the day ſpoke [34]a ſloop bound to the coaſt of Africa, belonging to the houſe of Mether in London; had been out four months, and was then ſtanding to the weſtward.

The wind continuing adverſe, and the fleet making little progreſs in their voyage, Captain Phillip put the officers, ſea⯑men, marines, and convicts to an allowance of three pints of water per day (not including a quart allowed each man a day for boiling peaſe and oatmeal); a quantity ſcarcely ſufficient to ſupply that waſte of animal ſpirits the body muſt neceſſarily undergo, in the torrid zone, from a conſtant and violent perſpiration, and a diet conſiſting of ſalt proviſions. Neceſſity, however, has no law in this inſtance as well as in every other; and I am fully perſuaded the commander acted upon this occaſion from the beſt of motives, and for the good of the whole. Were it by any means poſſible, people ſubject to long voyages ſhould never be put to a ſhort allowance of water; for I am ſatisfied that a liberal uſe of it (when freed from the foul air, and made ſweet by a ma⯑chine now in uſe on board his Majeſty's navy) will tend to prevent a ſcorbutic habit, as much, if not more, than any thing we are acquainted with. My own ex⯑perience in the navy has convinced me, that when ſcor⯑butic [35]patients are reſtrained in the uſe of water (which I believe is never the caſe but through abſolute ne⯑ceſſity), and they have nothing to live on but the ſhip's proviſion, the ſurgeon's neceſſaries being ill-choſen and very inadequate to the wiſe and ſalutary purpoſes for which go⯑vernment intended them, all the antiſeptics and antiſcorbu⯑tics we know of will avail very little in a diſeaſe ſo much to be guarded againſt, and dreaded, by ſeamen. In one of his Ma⯑jeſty's ſhips, I was liberally ſupplied with that powerful anti⯑ſcorbutic, eſſence of malt; we had alſo ſour krout; and be⯑ſides theſe, every remedy that could be compriſed in the ſmall compaſs of a medicine cheſt; yet, when neceſſity forced us to a ſhort allowance of water, although, aware of the conſequence, I freely adminiſtered the eſſence, &c. as a pre⯑ſervative, the ſcurvy made its appearance with ſuch haſty and rapid ſtrides, that all attempts to check it proved fruitleſs, until good fortune threw a ſhip in our way, who ſpared us a ſufficient quantity of water to ſerve the ſick with as much as they could uſe, and to increaſe the ſhip's allowance to the ſeamen. This fortunate and very ſeaſonable ſupply, added to the free uſe of the eſſence of malt, &c. which I had before [36]ſtrictly adhered to, made in a few days ſo ſudden a change for the better in the poor fellows, who had been covered with ulcers and livid blotches, that every perſon on board was ſurpriſed at it: and, in a fortnight after, when we got into port, there was not a man in the ſhip, though, at the time we received the water, the gums of ſome of them were formed into ſuch a fungus as nearly to envelope the teeth, but what had every appearance of health.

7th. Dark, cloudy, unpleaſant, ſultry weather; the wind fouth by eaſt. We ſaw many fiſh, and caught two bonitoes. The boatſwain ſtruck, with a pair of grains, out of the cabin window, a moſt beautiful fiſh, about ten pounds weight. In ſhape it a good deal reſembled a ſalmon, with this differ⯑ence, that its tail was more forked. It was in colour of a lovely yellow; and when firſt taken out of the water, it had two beautiful ſtripes of green on each ſide, which, ſome minutes after, changed to a delightful blue, and ſo continued. In the internal formation of this fiſh I obſerved nothing particular, except that its heart was larger, and its reſpirations con⯑tracted and dilated longer, than I had ever ſeen before in any aquatic animal, a tortoiſe not excepted. As we were at a loſs [37]what appellation to give it, having never met with a fiſh of this ſpecies, and it being a non-deſcript, the ſailors gave it the name of the Yellow Tail.

8th. The wind ſtill S. by E. in lat. 4° 36′ N. long. 23° W. we ſaw a large veſſel ſtanding to the northward under a preſs of ſail. Her colours, though at a conſiderable diſtance, were judged to be Imperial. Again ſaw fiſh of various kinds in chaſe of the flying fiſh, whoſe enemies ſeem to be innu⯑merable. In order to avoid being devoured by their purſuers, they frequently ſought for ſhelter in the ſhips; but much oftener flew with ſuch force againſt their ſides as to drop lifeleſs into the water. We caught three fine bonitoes, and thereby rid the poor flying fiſh, whoſe wings ſeemed to excite the enmity of all the larger finny race, of three formidable enemies.

9th and 10th. Caught a great number of fiſh, as did the Alexander, who was near us. At night, in the wake of the ſhip the ſea appeared quite luminous; a phaenomenon we attributed to the ſpawn of the fiſh which ſurrounded us on all ſides.

14th. About five in the evening we croſſed the equator, without any wiſh or inclination being ſhewn by the ſeamen [38]to obſerve the ceremony uſually practiſed in paſſing under it. The longitude was 26° 37′ W. the wind at eaſt, the weather moderate and clear. In lat. 1° 24′ S. long. 26° 22′ W. the boatſwain caught ſixteen fine bonitoes, which proved a very ſeaſonable and acceptable ſupply. At night the ſea, all around the ſhip, exhibited a moſt delightful ſight. This appearance was occaſioned by the gambols of an incredible number of various kinds of fiſh, who ſported about us, and whoſe ſudden turnings cauſed an emanation, which reſem⯑bled flaſhes of lightning darting in quick ſucceſſion. What I before ſpoke of as the ſpawn, I am now fully convinced were rather the fiſh themſelves, turning up their white bellies at ſome little diſtance below the ſurface of the water, and theſe ſudden evolutions were what gave the ſea the luminous appearance obſerved on it before. I can the more readily affirm this to be the cauſe, as, one evening, when we had immenſe quantities about us, I carefully at⯑tended to them till it became dark, and was fully ſatisfied, from the obſervations I was then able to make, that it was the fiſh, and not the ſpawn, which occaſioned the appear⯑ance; for there was not an officer or perſon on board but what was able very plainly to perceive their frolicſome turn⯑ings [39]and windings. Indeed, ſome of them came ſo near the ſurface, that we frequently attempted to ſtrike them with a pair of grains.

18th. Being informed that ſeveral of the mariners and convicts on board the Alexander were ſuddenly taken ill, I immediately viſited that ſhip, and found that the illneſs complained of was wholly occaſioned by the bilge water, which had by ſome means or other riſen to ſo great a height, that the pannels of the cabin, and the buttons on the clothes of the officers, were turned nearly black, by the noxious effluvia. When the hatches were taken off, the ſtench was ſo powerful, that it was ſcarcely poſſible to ſtand over them. How it could have got to this height is very ſtrange; for I well know, that Captain Phillip gave ſtrict orders (which orders I myſelf delivered) to the maſters of the tranſports to pump the ſhips out daily, in order to keep them ſweet and wholeſome; and it was added, that if the ſhips did not make water enough for that purpoſe, they were to employ the convicts in throwing water into the well, and pumping it out again, until it became clear and untinged. The people's health, however, being endangered by the circum⯑ſtance, I found a repreſentation upon the ſubject to Captain [40]Phillip needful; and accordingly went on board the Sirius for that purpoſe. Captain Phillip, who upon every occaſion ſhowed great humanity and attention to the people, with the moſt obliging readineſs ſent Mr. King, one of his lieu⯑tenants, on board the Alexander with me, in order to exa⯑mine into the ſtate of the ſhip; charging him, at the ſame time, with the moſt poſitive and pointed inſtructions to the maſter of the ſhip inſtantly to ſet about ſweetening and purifying her. This commiſſion Mr. King executed with great propriety and expedition; and by the directions he gave, ſuch effectual means were made uſe of, that the evil was ſoon corrected: and not long after all the people, who, ſuffering from the effects of it, were under Mr. Balmain, my aſſiſtant's, care, got quite rid of the complaint. I now returned to the Sirius, and ſolicited an increaſe of water; which Captain Phillip with equal readineſs complied with; and as we had by this time got into a regular ſouth-eaſt trade wind, our allowance ſerved tolerably well; every man having three quarts a day.

22d. The weather moderate and cloudy, in lat 9° 6′ S. long. 26° 4′ W. we ſaw a noddy and two pintado birds. At night, the commanding officer of marines having re⯑ceived [41]information that three men had made their way, through the hole cut for the admiſſion of the windſail, into the apartment of the female convicts, againſt an expreſs order iſſued for that purpoſe, he apprehended them, and put them in confinement for trial.

23d. The weather being dark and cloudy, with heavy rain and ſtrong breezes, the Sirius carried away her main⯑topſail-yard, in the ſlings; which, however, in a little time ſhe got replaced. In the evening we ſaw ſome grampuſes ſporting about.

26th. In latitude 15° 18′ ſouth, the Sirius made the ſignal for the longitude by lunar obſervation, which was found to be 29° 34′ W. Strong breezes and cloudy weather. The Borrowdale victualler carried away her foretop-gallant-maſt. This evening we obſerved ſome flying fiſh, very different from thoſe we had before ſeen. They had wings on both the head and tail, and when in the act of flying, were ſaid by our people to reſemble a double-headed ſhot. About ſix o'clock the Alexander brought to, and hoiſted out a boat in order to pick up a man who had fallen over board from the ſpanker boom; but, as he ſunk before the boat could reach him, the attempt proved ineffectual.

27th. The Sirius made the ſignal to cloſe, and keep nearer the commanding officer. The weather rainy and unſettled, with ſtrong breezes, and a heavy ſwell from the eaſtward.

28th. Freſh breezes and cloudy weather. At ten in the morning the Sirius made the Supply's ſignal to come within hail, and deſired the commanding officer to acquaint the different tranſports, that in the track we then were, lat. 18° 9′ S. long. 28° 2′ W. there were ſome ſunken rocks, for which we were directed to keep a good look-out. This ſig⯑nal was followed by one, for the ſhips to take their proper ſtations in the order of ſailing; and for the Lady Penrhyn, who was conſiderably to windward, and aſtern withal, to come into the wake of the Sirius. After theſe orders were complied with, we bore away, ſteering S. by W. the wind E. S. E.

30th. The Supply hailed us, and acquainted me, that a female convict, on board the Prince of Wales, had met with an accident which endangered her life. It being then nearly dark, and the ſhips making quick way through the water, it was judged imprudent to hoiſt a boat out. Lieutenant Ball, of the Supply, therefore promiſed to ſend a boat early [43] month August in the morning, in order that I might go and ſee her: but it was then too late, as ſhe died in the night. Her death was occaſioned by a boat, which rolled from the booms, and jammed her in a moſt ſhocking manner againſt the ſide of the ſhip.

Auguſt 1ſt. In latitude 22° 39′ S. Captain Phillip for the firſt time diſplayed his broad pendant; and in the even⯑ing made the ſignal for the longitude; which, being conſi⯑derably aſtern, we could not diſcern.

2d. Early in the morning paſſed and ſpoke a Portu⯑gueze brig ſteering the ſame courſe with us, which was to the coaſt of Brazil. She ſailed ſo very dull, that we paſſed her as if ſhe lay at anchor, although we had not a faſt ſailing ſhip in the fleet. At eight in the morning ſaw a ganet, which are ſeldom ſeen out of ſoundings. Being now in expectation of ſoon ſeeing land, the commodore made the Supply's ſignal to look out ahead; and the Alexander's and Prince of Wales's to take their ſtation in the order of ſail⯑ing, being too far ahead. At three in the afternoon the Supply made the ſignal for ſeeing land, which was repeated by the commodore to the convoy. At nine at night, being well in with Cape Frio, we ſhortened ſail, running at an [44]eaſy rate until morning; when the wind was little and variable.

3d. This evening, finding it impoſſible to get hold of anchorage, the commodore diſpatched Lieutenant King in the Supply, which ſailed well in light winds, to the viceroy, with information that he was, with his convoy, arrived near the mouth of the harbour. He then made the ſignal for the ſhips to bring to, with their heads to the fouthward, about ſix miles from the ſhore, Rio de Janeiro Sugar Loaf bearing weſt half north, diſtant about ſix leagues. In the courſe of the day we ſaw many whales playing about.

4th. This morning, ſtanding in for the harbour, the wind headed us; which obliged us to tack, and ſtand out to ſea a little, in order to prevent our falling to leeward of the port, which it would have been no eaſy matter to have regained.

5th. Still calm. This morning a boat came alongſide, in which were three Portugueze and ſix ſlaves; from whom we purchaſed ſome oranges, plantains, and bread. In trafficking with theſe people, we diſcovered, that one Thomas Barret, a convict, had, with great ingenuity and addreſs, paſſed ſome quarter dollars which he, aſſiſted by two others, had [45]coined out of old buckles, buttons belonging to the marines, and pewter ſpoons, during their paſſage from Teneriffe. The impreſſion, milling, character, in a word, the whole was ſo inimitably executed, that had their metal been a little better, the fraud, I am convinced, would have paſſed unde⯑tected. A ſtrict and careful ſearch was made for the appa⯑ratus wherewith this was done, but in vain; not the ſmalleſt trace or veſtige of any thing of the kind was to be found among them. How they managed this buſineſs without diſcovery, or how they could effect it at all, is a matter of inexpreſſible ſurpriſe to me; as they never were ſuffered to come near a fire; and a centinel was conſtantly placed over their hatchway, which, one would imagine, rendered it impoſ⯑ſible for either fire or fuſed metal to be conveyed into their apartments. Beſides, hardly ten minutes ever elapſed, without an officer of ſome degree or other going down among them. The adroitneſs, therefore, with which they muſt have managed, in order to complete a buſineſs that required ſo complicated a proceſs, gave me a high opinion of their ingenuity, cunning, caution, and addreſs; and I could not help wiſhing that theſe qualities had been employed to more laudable purpoſes. The officers of marines, the maſter of [46]the ſhip, and myſelf, fully explained to the injured Portu⯑gueze, what villians they were who had impoſed upon them. We were not without apprehenſions that they might entertain an unfavourable opinion of Engliſhmen in ge⯑neral from the conduct of theſe raſcals; we therefore thought it neceſſary to acquaint them, that the perpetrators of the fraud were felons doomed to tranſportation by the laws of their country, for having committed ſimilar offences there.

About one o'clock a gentle breeze from the eaſt carried us within about a mile of the bar; where, at nine o'clock, we anchored in ſixteen fathom water. The calms had baffled the Supply ſo much, that ſhe had only dropped her anchor a little while before us.

6th. Early this morning, it being quite calm, the com⯑modore diſpatched an officer to the viceroy, who met with a courteous reception, and about eleven o'clock returned with the boat nearly full of fruit and vegetables, ſent as preſents to the commodore from ſome of his old friends and acquaintance. Some years ago Captain Phillip was on this coaſt, commander of a Portugueze man of war. During that time he performed ſeveral gallant acts, which, aided by [47]his other amiable qualities, rendered him extremely popular here, and recommended him to the notice of the court of Liſbon. Shortly after, his own country having a claim to his ſervices, on the breaking out of a war, he declined a command offered him by the Portugueze, and returned to the Engliſh navy; where he ſerved ſome time as lieutenant (a rank he had held before he had engaged in the ſervice of Portugal) on board the Alexander, under the command of that brave and exemplary character, Lord Longford.

About two o'clock we got under way, with a gentle ſea⯑breeze, which ran us into the harbour. In paſſing Santa Cruz fort, the commodore ſaluted it with thirteen guns, which was returned with an equal number. This day a Portugueze ſhip ſailed for Liſbon, which gave us an oppor⯑tunity of writing ſhort letters to our friends in England.

8th. In the forenoon, the commodore, attended by moſt of the officers on the expedition, paid the viceroy a viſit of ceremony. On our landing, we were received by an officer and a friar, who conducted us to the palace. As we paſſed the guard on duty there, the colours were laid at the feet of the commodore; than which nothing could have been a higher token of reſpect. We then proceeded up ſtairs into [48]a large anti-chamber, crowded with officers, ſoldiers, and do⯑meſtics. Here we were received by ſeveral officers belonging to the houſehold, and the ſurgeon-general to the army, who ſpoke good Engliſh, having acquired his profeſſional know⯑ledge in London. A few minutes after our arrival, a curtain, which hung over the door of the preſence-chamber, was drawn aſide; and on our entrance we were individually in⯑troduced to the viceroy by the commodore. The ceremony being ended, and a ſhort converſation having taken place, we were uſhered into another ſpacious room, where we all ſat down. I could not help remarking that the viceroy placed himſelf in ſuch a manner as to have his back turned on moſt of the officers. I was told afterwards that he apo⯑logized for this; but I did not hear him, though very near. Neither the room we were now in, nor that into which we were firſt introduced, exhibited any marks of magnificence or elegance. I acknowledge, that for my own part I was exceedingly diſappointed. From the parade without, ſuch as the number of guards, &c. I was led to ſuppoſe that we ſhould find every thing within the palace proportionably magnificent and princely. But this was by no means the caſe. The only furniture I ſaw in the room we were in, [49]except chairs, were ſix card tables, and portraits of two of the ſovereigns of Portugal; one of which was that of King Sebaſtian the Firſt, the other of her preſent majeſty; the former placed in the centre, the latter at the upper end of the room. The viceroy appeared to be of a middle age, ſomewhere between forty and fifty, ſtout and corpulent, with a ſtrong caſt or defect in both his eyes. He ſeemed to be a perſon of few words, but at the ſame time civil and attentive. I could not, however, help obſerving the very great differ⯑ence there was between his excellency's manner and addreſs, and that of the elegant and accompliſhed Marquis de Bran⯑cifort.

9th. The contract being ſettled, the commiſſary ſup⯑plied the troops and convicts with rice (in lieu of bread), with freſh beef, vegetables, and oranges; which ſoon re⯑moved every ſymptom of the ſcurvy prevalent among them.

11th. The commodore ordered ſix female convicts, who had behaved well, to be removed from the Friendſhip into the Charlotte; and at the ſame time an equal number, whoſe conduct was more exceptionable, to be returned to the Friendſhip in their ſtead. The commodore's view was (a matter not eaſily accompliſhed) to ſeparate thoſe whoſe de⯑cent [50]behaviour entitled them to ſome favour from thoſe who were totally abandoned and obdurate.

13th. Cornelius Connell, a private in the marines, was, according to the ſentence of a court martial, puniſhed with a hundred laſhes, for having an improper intercourſe with ſome of the female convicts, contrary to orders. Thomas Jones was alſo ſentenced to receive three hundred laſhes, for attempting to make a centinel betray his truſt, in ſuffering him to go among the women; but in conſideration of the good character he bore previous to this circumſtance, the court recommended him to the clemency of the commanding officer; and, in conſequence thereof, he was forgiven. John Jones and James Reiley, privates, accuſed of ſimilar offences to that of Connell's, were acquitted for want of evidence, there being no witneſſes to ſupport the charge except convicts, whoſe teſtimony could not be admitted.

15th. This being a day of great parade and gaiety with the Portugueze, the inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro, arrayed in their beſt and richeſt attire, as their cuſtom is on regale days, began to ſhow themſelves, during the forenoon, be⯑tween the city and the church of St. Gloria, which is about a mile diſtant, and ſituated on a riſing ground near the ſea. [51]Perſons of all ranks, as well in carriages as equeſtrians and pedeſtrians, joined in the crowd; but what was the purpoſe of this cavalcade, or to what circumſtances it owed its origin, I am ſtill at a loſs to know. Gloria church, which is rather neat than rich, was decorated with various flowers (in the diſpoſal of which ſome taſte was diſplayed), and moſt brilliantly illuminated. I obſerved that the multitude ge⯑nerally ſtopped here, in ſucceſſion, and employed themſelves in ſome religious ceremonies, ſuch as praying and ſinging hymns, before they returned to the city. This kind of parade was continued the whole day; the better ſort of peo⯑ple, however, made their appearance only in the afternoon. Returning with the reſt of the crowd, after it was dark, to the town, I perceived a ſmall church, in one of the bye ſtreets, richly ornamented and elegantly illuminated. As I ſaw men, women, and children, ſtruggling for entrance, I joined in the throng out of mere curioſity, and with no little difficulty made my way in; but all the ſatisfaction I reaped from being thus ſqueezed and joſtled was, ſeeing ſuch as could gain admiſſion fall on their knees, and praying with more fervor, to appearance, than real devotion. On one ſide of the church ſtood a ſhabby ill-looking fellow, [52]ſelling to the multitude conſecrated beads; as did another, on the outſide of the door. I own I could not help re⯑ſembling them to mountebanks vending and diſtributing their noſtrums. There were many more of theſe religious hawkers in the ſtreets; from ſome of whom, as I ſaw it was the cuſtom, I purchaſed a few of their beads. At a little diſtance from the door of the church was erected a ſtage, on which was placed a band of vocal and inſtrumental per⯑formers, who exerted themſelves with might and main to pleaſe the ſurrounding audience. I cannot, however, ſay that they ſucceeded in pleaſing me. About ten o'clock a diſplay of fireworks and rockets, of which the Portugueze ſeem to be very fond, concluded the entertainments of the day. Some intrigues, I have reaſon to believe, followed. I was led to this concluſion from ſeeing many well-dreſſed women in the crowd quite unattended; and this was the only time, during my ſtay in the country, that I ever ſaw any circumſtances which could warrant my forming ſuch an opinion. I know it has been aſſerted by ſome writers, that the women of Rio de Janeiro are not uncenſurable in this point. They have affirmed, that as ſoon as it became dark, the generality of them expoſed themſelves at their doors [53]and windows, diſtinguiſhing, by preſents of noſegays and flowers, thoſe on whom they had no objection to beſtow their favours; a diſtinction in which ſtrangers ſhared as well as their acquaintance. That this might have been the caſe I will not take upon me to deny; and, impreſſed with the idea, on my firſt arrival, I conſidered every woman as a proper object of gallantry; but a month's reſidence among them convinced me that this imputed turn for intrigue is chiefly confined to the lower claſs, and that, in general, the higher ranks are as undeſerving of the imputation as the females of any other country.

The popularity of our commodore with the viceroy and principal inhabitants here, procured for the officers the liberty of going wherever they pleaſed. It has always been the cuſtom, for a ſoldier to follow every foreign officer that landed at this port; and it was ſcarcely ever diſpenſed with. It was, however, unknown to us; and this unaccuſ⯑tomed liberty gave us an opportunity of inſpecting more minutely into the manners and diſpoſition of the women as well as the men.

21ſt. This being the Prince of Brazil's birth-day, the commodore, with moſt of his officers, went to court, to [54]compliment the viceroy on the occaſion. As ſoon as we landed, we were received by an officer, who conducted us to the preſence-chamber; where his excellency ſtood under a canopy of ſtate, receiving the compliments of the officers of the garriſon, the principal inhabitants, and ſuch foreign⯑ers as were in the place. After having paid our reſpects, we withdrew, as did every other perſon, except the principal officers of ſtate, ſome general and law officers, and thoſe of the governor's houſehold. The Sirius and one of the forts fired royal ſalutes. The court was brilliant, if a place where a female does not appear can be ſaid to be brilliant; but this, I was informed, is always the caſe here. Thoſe gentlemen who appeared in the circle were richly and elegantly dreſſ⯑ed. The officers of the army and of the militia were parti⯑cularly ſo, and that in a ſtile and faſhion which did no ſmall credit to their taſte. The viceroy wore a ſcarlet coat trimmed with very broad rich gold lace; and his hair, according to his uſual mode of wearing it, in a remarkable long queue, with very little powder; an article of dreſs to which I ob⯑ſerved the Portugueze were not very partial; while, on the contrary, they were profuſe in the uſe of pomatum. The day ended without any other demonſtrations of joy. As the [55] month September Portugueze ſeemed fond of fireworks and illuminations, and never fail to exhibit them on every religious feſtival, we were not a little diſappointed in finding them omitted on the birth-day of their prince.

31ſt. James Baker, a private marine, received two hun⯑dred laſhes, agreeable to the ſentence of a court-martial, for endeavouring to get paſſed on ſhore, by means of one of the ſeamen, a ſpurious dollar, knowing it to be ſo; and one he had undoubtedly got from ſome of the convicts, as it was of a ſimilar baſe metal to thoſe which they had coined dur⯑ing the paſſage, and had attempted to put off on our firſt arrival at this port.

September 1ſt. Having now procured every thing at Rio de Janeiro that we ſtood in need of, and thoroughly reco⯑vered and refreſhed our people, the commodore, with ſuch officers of the fleet as could be ſpared from duty, waited on the viceroy to take leave, and to return our acknowledgments for the indulgence and attention ſhown us; which, I think we may ſay, we experienced in a greater extent and latitude than any foreigners had ever before done. On our landing, the ſame officer who had attended us upon every other pub⯑lic occaſion, conducted us to the preſence-chamber. As we [56]paſſed, every military and public honour was paid to the commodore; the colours were laid at his feet, as they hitherto had been whenever he landed in his public cha⯑racter; a token of reſpect that is never beſtowed on any perſon but the governor himſelf. When we arrived at the palace, an officer of the houſehold, who was waiting to re⯑ceive us, conducted us through a moſt delightful receſs, hung round with bird-cages, whoſe inhabitants ſeemed to vie with each other, both in the melody of their notes and the beauty of their plumage. The paſſage we walked through was adorned on each ſide with odoriferous flowers, and aromatic ſhrubs; which, while they charmed the eye, ſpread a delightful fragrance around. This paſſage led to a private room, on the outſide of the door of which we were received by the viceroy, who ſtood uncovered, and noticed each perſon ſeparately in the moſt friendly and polite man⯑ner. His excellency preceded us into the room, and having requeſted all of us to be ſeated, placed himſelf by the commodore, in a poſition that fronted us. In return for our thanks and acknowledgments, he ſaid, ‘it gave him infinite pleaſure and ſatisfaction to find that the place had afforded us the ſupplies we ſtood in need of:’ to this he [57]added, ‘that the attention of the inhabitants, which we were good enough to notice, was much ſhort of his wiſhes.’ We then aroſe and took our leave; but not before his ex⯑cellency had expreſſed a deſire of hearing from the commo⯑dore, with an account of his ſucceſs in the eſtabliſhment of the new colony. He concluded with ſaying, ‘that he hoped, nay did not doubt, from the character the En⯑gliſh bore for generoſity of diſpoſition, but that thoſe who had ſo cheerfully engaged in a ſervice, ſtrange and uncer⯑tain in itſelf, would meet with an adequate reward—a recompence that every one muſt allow they juſtly merited.’ The room in which the governor received us was that wherein he uſually ſat in his retired moments. It was fur⯑niſhed and painted in a neat and elegant ſtile; the roof diſplaying well-executed repreſentations of all the tropical fruits, and the moſt beautiful birds of the country. The walls were hung round with prints, chiefly on religious ſubjects.

Rio de Janeiro is ſaid to derive its name from being diſ⯑covered on St. Januarius's day. It is the capital of the Portugueze ſettlements in South America, and is ſituated on [58]the weſt ſide of a river, or, more properly (in my opinion), of a bay. Except that part which fronts the water, the city is ſurrounded by high mountains, of the moſt romantic form the imagination can faſhion to itſelf any idea of. The plan on which it is built has ſome claim to merit. The principal ſtreet, called Strait Street, runs from the viceroy's palace, which is near the ſouth-eaſt end of the town, to the north-weſt extremity, where it is terminated by a large convent belonging to the Benedictine friars, ſituated on an eminence. The ſtreet is broad, well built, and has in it a great number of handſome ſhops. All the others are much inferior to this, being in general only wide enough to admit two carriages to paſs each other in the centre. The pave⯑ment for foot-paſſengers (except in Strait Street, which is without any) is ſo very unſociably narrow, that two perſons cannot walk with convenience together. The houſes are commonly two, and ſometimes three ſtories high; of which, even though inhabited by the moſt wealthy and reſpectable families, the lower part is always appropriated to ſhops, and to the uſe of the ſervants and ſlaves (who are here extremely numerous), the family rather chuſing to reſide in the upper [59]part, that they might live in a leſs confined air. To every houſe there is a balcony, with lattice-work before it; and the ſame before all the windows.

The churches are very numerous, elegant, and richly de⯑corated; ſome of them are built and ornamented in a modern ſtile, and that in a manner which proclaims the genius, taſte, and judgment of the architects and artiſts. Two or three of the handſomeſt are at this time either un⯑finiſhed or repairing; and they appear to go on but very ſlowly, notwithſtanding large ſums are conſtantly collecting for their completion. As they are erected or repaired by charitable contributions, public proceſſions are frequently made for that purpoſe; and the mendicant friars, belong⯑ing to them, likewiſe exert themſelves in their line. At theſe proceſſions, which are not unfrequent, perſons of every age and deſcription aſſiſt. They uſually take place after it is dark, when thoſe who join in it are dreſſed in a kind of cloak adapted to religious purpoſes, and carry a lanthorn fixed at the end of a pole of a convenient length: ſo that upon theſe occaſions you ſometimes ſee three or four hun⯑dred moving lights in the ſtreets at the ſame time; which has an uncommon and a pleaſing effect. Conſiderable ſums [60]are collected by this mode. At the corner of every ſtreet, about ten feet from the ground, is placed the image of a ſaint, which is the object of the common people's adoration.

The town is well ſupplied with water from the neigh⯑bouring mountains; which is conveyed over a deep valley by an aqueduct formed of arches of a ſtupendous height, and from thence diſtributed by pipes to many parts of the city. The principal fountain is cloſe to the ſea, in a kind of ſquare, near the palace; where ſhips water at a good wharf, nearly in the ſame manner as at Teneriffe, and with equal expedition and convenience. On the oppoſite ſide of the fountain are cocks, from which the people in the neighbourhood are ſupplied. This convenient and capital watering place is ſo near the palace, that when diſputes or contentions ariſe between the boats crews of different ſhips, the ſlaves, &c. they are ſuppreſſed and adjuſted by the ſol⯑diers on guard; who, in the Portugueze ſervice, have great power, and often treat the people with no little ſeverity.

While we ſtaid at this place, we made ſeveral ſhort ex⯑curſions into the country; but did not go near the mines, as we knew the attempt would not only prove hazardous, but ineffectual: and as the liberty and indulgence granted [61]us was on the commodore's account, we never extended our trips beyond a few miles, leſt our doing ſo ſhould appear ſuſpicious, and reflect diſcredit on him; we conſidering him in ſome degree reſponſible for our conduct. As far as we did go, we experienced the ſame polite and attentive beha⯑viour we met with from the inhabitants of the city. Never was more diſtinguiſhed urbanity ſhown to ſtrangers, than was ſhown to us by every rank.

From its complicated ſtate, I could learn but few parti⯑culars relative to the government of Brazil. The viceroy is inveſted with great power and authority, ſubject in ſome caſes to an appeal to the court of Liſbon; but, like a wiſe and prudent ruler, he ſeldom exerts it, unleſs in inſtances where ſound judgment and true policy render it expedient and neceſſary. He is a man of little parade, and appears not to be very fond of pomp and grandeur, except on public days, when it is not to be diſpenſed with. When he goes abroad for amuſement, or to take the air, his guard conſiſts only of ſeven dragoons; but on public occaſions he makes his appearance in a grander ſtile. I once ſaw him go in ſtate to one of the courts of juſtice; and, though it was ſituated not a hundred yards from his palace, he was at⯑tended [62]by a troop of horſe. His ſtate carriage is tolerably neat, but by no means elegant or ſuperb; it was drawn by four horſes irregularly mottled.

Carriages are pretty common at this place; there is ſcarcely a family of reſpectability without one. They are moſtly of the chaiſe kind, and drawn in general by mules, which are found to anſwer better than horſes, being more indefatigable and ſurer footed; conſequently better calcu⯑lated to aſcend their ſteep hills and mountains.

The military force of Brazil conſiſts of a troop of horſe, which ſerve as guards for the viceroy, twelve regiments of regulars from Europe, and ſix raiſed in the country: theſe laſt enliſt men of a mixed colour, which the former are by no means ſuffered to do. Beſides the foregoing, there are twelve regiments of militia always embodied. This whole force, regulars and militia, except thoſe on out-poſts and other needful duties, appear early in the morning, on every firſt day of the month, before the palace, where they un⯑dergo a general muſter, and review of arms and neceſſaries. The private men, although they are conſidered as perſons of great conſequence by the populace, are, on the other hand, equally ſubmiſſive and obedient to their officers. This ſtrict [63]diſcipline and regularity, as the city is in a great meaſure under military orders, renders the inhabitants extremely civil and polite to the officers, who, in return, ſtudy to be on the moſt agreeable and happy terms with them.

A captain's guard (independent of the cavalry, who are always in readineſs to attend the viceroy) is mounted every day at the palace. Whenever Commodore Phillip paſſed, which he did as ſeldom as poſſible, the guard was turned out, with colours, &c. and, as I before obſerved, the ſame mark of honour paid to him as to the governor. To ob⯑viate this trouble and ceremony, he moſt frequently landed and embarked at the north-weſt ſide of the town, where his boat conſtantly waited for him.

On both ſides of the river which forms the bay or har⯑bour, the country is pictureſque and beautiful to a degree, abounding with the moſt luxuriant flowers and aromatic ſhrubs. Birds of a lovely and rich plumage are ſeen hop⯑ping from tree to tree in great numbers; together with an endleſs variety of inſects, whoſe exquiſite beauty and gaudy colours exceed all deſcription. There is little appearance of cultivation in the parts we viſited; the land ſeemed chiefly paſturage. The cattle here are ſmall, and when killed do [64]not produce ſuch beef as is to be met with in England: it is not, however, by any means ſo bad as repreſented by ſome travellers to be; on the contrary, I have ſeen and eat here tolerably good, ſweet, and well-taſted beef. I never ſaw any mutton: they have indeed a few ſheep, but they are ſmall, thin, and lean. The gardens furniſh moſt ſorts of European productions, ſuch as cabbages, lettuce, parſley, leeks, white radiſhes, beans, peaſe, kidney beans, turnips, water melons, excellent pumpkins, and pine-apples of a ſmall and indifferent kind. The country likewiſe pro⯑duces, in the moſt unbounded degree, limes, acid and ſweet lemons, oranges of an immenſe ſize and exquiſite flavour, plantains, bananas, yams, cocoa-nuts, caſhoo apples and nuts, and ſome mangos. For the uſe of the ſlaves and poorer ſort of people, the capado is cultivated in great plenty; but this cannot be done through a want of corn for bread, as I never ſaw finer flour than at this place, which is plentiful, and remarkably cheap.

Brazil, particularly towards the northern parts, furniſhes a number of excellent drugs. In the ſhops of the druggiſts and apothecaries of Rio de Janeiro, of which there are many, hippo, oil of caſtor, balſam capiva, with moſt of the valu⯑able [65]gums, and all of an excellent quality, are to be found; but they are ſold at a much dearer rate than could poſſibly have been conceived or expected in a country of which they are the natural produce.

The riches of this country, ariſing from the mines, are certainly very great. To go near, or to get a ſight of theſe inexhauſtible treaſuries, is impoſſible, as every paſs leading to them is ſtrongly guarded; and even a perſon taken on the road, unleſs he be able to give a clear and unequivocal account of himſelf and his buſineſs, is impriſoned, and per⯑haps compelled ever after to work in thoſe ſubterraneous cavities, which avarice, or an ill-timed and fatal curioſity, may have prompted him to approach. Theſe circumſtances made a trial to ſee them without permiſſion (and that per⯑miſſion I underſtand has never been granted the moſt fa⯑voured foreigners) too dangerous to be attempted.

In addition to the above ſource of wealth, the country produces excellent tobacco, and likewiſe ſugar canes, from which the inhabitants make good ſugar, and draw a ſpirit called aquadente. This ſpirit, by proper management, and being kept till it is of a proper age, becomes tolerable rum. As it is ſold very cheap, the commodore purchaſed a [66]hundred pipes of it for the uſe of the garriſon when arrived at New South Wales. Precious and valuable ſtones are alſo found here. Indeed they are ſo very plenty, that a certain quantity only is ſuffered to be collected annually. At the jewellers and lapidaries, of which occupation there are many in Rio, I ſaw ſome valuable diamonds, and a great number of excellent topazes, with many other ſorts of ſtones of inferior value. Several topazes were purchaſed by myſelf and others; but we choſe to buy them wrought, in order to avoid impoſition, which is not unfrequent when the ſtones are ſold in a rough ſtate. One of the principal ſtreets of this city is nearly occupied by jewellers and the workers of theſe ſtones; and I obſerved that perſons of a ſimilar profeſſion generally reſided in the ſame ſtreet.

The manufactures here are very few, and thoſe by no means extenſive. All kinds of European goods ſell at an immoderate price, notwithſtanding the ſhops are well ſtored with them.

The Brazil, or native Indians, are very adroit at making elegant cotton hammocks of various dyes and forms. It was formerly the cuſtom for the principal people of Rio to be carried about in theſe hammocks; but that faſhion is ſuc⯑ceeded by the uſe of ſedan chairs, which are now very com⯑mon [67]among them; but they are of a more clumſy form than thoſe uſed in England. The chair is ſuſpended from an aukward piece of wood, borne on the ſhoulders of two ſlaves, and elevated ſufficiently to be clear of the inequalities of the ſtreet. In carrying, the foremoſt ſlave takes the pavement, and the other the ſtreet, one keeping a little be⯑fore the other; ſo that the chair is moved forward in a ſidelong direction, and very unlike the procedure of the London chairmen. Theſe fellows, who get on at a great rate, never take the wall of the foot-paſſengers, nor incom⯑mode them in the ſmalleſt degree.

The inhabitants in general are a pleaſant, cheerful people, inclining more to corpulency than thoſe of Portugal; and, as far as we could judge, very favourably inclined to the Engliſh. The men are ſtrait and well-proportioned. They do not accuſtom themſelves to high living, nor indulge much in the juice of the grape.

The women, when young, are remarkably thin, pale, and delicately ſhaped; but, after marriage, they generally in⯑cline to be luſty, without loſing that conſtitutional pale, or rather ſallow appearance. They have regular and better teeth than are uſually obſervable in warm climates, where [68]ſweet productions are plentiful. They have likewiſe the moſt lovely, piercing, dark eyes; in the captivating uſe of which they are by no means unſkilled. Upon the whole, the women of this country are very engaging; and rendered more ſo by their free, eaſy, and unreſtrained manner. Both ſexes are extremely fond of ſuffering their hair, which is black, to grow to a prodigious length. The ladies wear it plaited, and tied up in a kind of club, or large lump; a mode of hair-dreſſing that does not ſeem to correſpond with their delicate and feminine appearance. Cuſtom, however, reconciles us to the moſt outré faſhions; and what we thought unbecoming, the Portugueze conſidered as highly ornamental. I was one day at a gentleman's houſe, to whom I expreſſed my wonder at the prodigious quantity of hair worn by the ladies; adding, that I did not conceive it poſ⯑ſible for it to be all of their own growth. The gentleman aſſured me that it was; and, in order to convince me that it was ſo, he called his wife, and untied her hair, which, notwithſtanding it was in plaits, dragged at leaſt two inches upon the floor as ſhe walked along. I offered my ſervice to tie it up again; which was politely accepted, and con⯑ſidered as a compliment by both. It has been ſaid that [69]the Portugueze are a jealous people; a diſpoſition I never could perceive among any of thoſe with whom I had the pleaſure of forming an acquaintance; on the contrary, they ſeemed ſenſible of, and pleaſed with, every kind of attention paid to their wives or daughters.

The current coin here is the ſame as that in Portugal, but ſilver as well as gold is coined at this place, where they have an eſtabliſhed mint. The pieces of gold are of various ſizes, and have marked on them the number of thouſand rees they are worth. The moſt common coin is a 4000 ree piece, which paſſes for £. 1.2.6, though not ſo heavy as an Engliſh guinea. The ſilver pieces, called petacks, value two ſhillings, are alſo marked with the number of rees they are worth. You get ten of theſe in exchange for a guinea; and for a Spaniſh dollar two petacks, five vintins and a half, which is about four ſhillings and eight-pence. Here, as in Portugal, they have five, ten, and twenty thouſand ree pieces. A ree is a nominal coin; twenty make a vintin, value about three half-pence; eight vintins make one ſhil⯑ling; a petack is worth two ſhillings, and of theſe there are ſome double pieces, value four ſhillings ſterling.

One morning, as I attended Mr. Il de Fonſo, ſurgeon ge⯑neral [70]to the army, and a man of ingenuity and abilities in his profeſſion, to a large public hoſpital, a ſoldier was brought in with a wound in his left ſide. The inſtrument had penetrated the abdomen, without injuring the inteſ⯑tines; and from its form and nature the wound muſt have been inflicted with the point of a knife, or a ſtiletto. The patient, after being dreſſed, acquainted us, that the preced⯑ing night he had had ſome words with another man about a woman; who, notwithſtanding blows had not paſſed, ſtab⯑bed him with ſome ſharp inſtrument, of what kind he could not ſee, as it was then dark, and afterwards made his eſcape. This account led me to believe that aſſaſſinations were not unfrequent in Brazil; but Mr. Il de Fonſo aſſured me to the contrary; telling me that ſuch inſtances ſeldom happened, except among the negroes, whoſe vindictive and treacherous diſpoſitions led them wonderful lengths to gratify their revenge, whenever night and a convenient opportunity conſpired, at once to aid and to conceal their horrid acts.

While we remained here, the weather being cool and favourable, I prevailed on the ſurgeon who was about to amputate a limb, to allow me to take it off according to [71]Allenſon's method. During the operation I could plainly ſee, that he and his pupils did not ſeem much pleaſed with it; and he afterwards told me it was impoſſible it could ever anſwer. A very ſhort ſpace of time, however, made them of a different opinion; and in eighteen days after, when we ſailed, I had the ſatisfaction to leave the patient with his ſtump nearly cicatrized, to the no ſmall joy of the ſurgeon, who ſaid, that if the man had died, he ſhould have been heavily cenſured for making him the ſubject of experi⯑ments. The circumſtance of a man's leg being cut off, and almoſt healed in as many days as it generally takes weeks, ſoon became known, and added very much to the eſtima⯑tion in which the people of this place held Engliſh ſurgeons. Whenever I viſited the hoſpital afterwards, the objects of pity with which it was filled, uſed to crowd around me in ſuch a manner, and in ſuch numbers, for my advice, that I found it difficult to get from them. And they now would readily have ſubmitted to any operation I ſhould have propoſed; but as I ſaw the ſurgeon did not much approve of my inter⯑ference, I gave up all ideas of it.

The harbour of Rio de Janeiro lies in 22° 54′ ſouth lati⯑tude, and 43° 19′ weſt longitude, about eighteen or twenty [72]leagues to the weſtward of Cape Frio. The entrance is good, and cannot be miſtaken, on account of a remarkable hill, reſembling a ſugar loaf, that is on the left hand ſide; and ſome iſlands before it, one of which is oblong, and does not, at ſome diſtance, look unlike a thatched houſe: they lie from the mouth of the harbour S. by W. about two leagues. Ships going in may run on either ſide. The bar, over which we carried ſeven fathom water, is not more than three⯑fourths of a mile acroſs, and well defended by forts. The ſtrongeſt is called Santa Cruz, built on a rock, on the ſtar⯑board ſide as you run in, from which every ſhot fired at ſhips paſſing muſt take effect. The other, named Fort Lozia, is ſmaller, and built on an iſland or rock, on the larboard ſide, a little higher up, and lying contiguous to the main land. The tide in the harbour rarely ebbs and flows more than ſeven feet; however, ſhips, if poſſible, never anchor in this narrow paſs between the forts, as the bottom is foul, and the tide runs with conſiderable rapidity. All danger in going in, or running out, may be avoided by keeping the mid channel, or a little bordering on the ſtarboard ſhore. After Santa Cruz fort is paſſed, the courſe is nearly N. by W. and N. N. W.; but, as I before obſerved, the eye is the beſt [73]pilot. When you get within a mile of a ſtrong fortified iſland which lies before the town (only ſeparated by a nar⯑row paſs), called the Iſle of Cobras, you are then in the great road; where we anchored in fifteen fathom water; or, ſhould you have occaſion to get nearer the town, you may run round this iſland, on the north ſide, and anchor above it, before the convent of Benedictine friars at the N. W. end of the city, before ſpoken of.

The city and harbour are ſtrongly defended and fortified, but with very little judgment or regularity. The hills are very high, and ſo is the coaſt, which has ſuch ſtrange, romantic, and almoſt inacceſſible terminations, that nature of her own accord, without the aid of military ſkill, ſeems diſpoſed to defend them. Taking every thing into the account, I think it one of the beſt harbours I have ever ſeen; and, upon the whole, better calculated to ſupply the wants of people who have long been at ſea, and ſtand in need of refreſhment, than any part of the world, every thing being ſo remarkably cheap. Beef may be purchaſed at ſeven farthings per pound; hogs, turkeys, and ducks, both Engliſh and Muſcovy, were equally reaſonable. Fowls were dearer, but ſtill ſold at a lower rate than in England. Fiſh [74]was not very plentiful, but I was told, that at other ſeaſons they have a moſt excellent market for that article. Their market for vegetables, however, abounded with fruit, roots, and garden ſtuff, of every kind, notwithſtanding it was not the beſt ſeaſon for fruit, it then being too early in the ſpring to expect abundance. Oranges, which we had in the greateſt plenty, coſt only five-pence the hundred.

On a hill, about half a mile S. E. of the city, ſtands a con⯑vent, named Convento de Santa Thereſa; the nuns of which, amounting to about forty, are not allowed to unveil when they come to the grate: and on a plain between this con⯑vent and the city, ſtands another, called Convento A. de Juda, a very large building, governed by an abbeſs and ſe⯑veral nuns, all under the direction of a biſhop. Here about ſeventy young ladies are placed to be educated, who are ſubject to all the reſtrictions of a monaſtic life, only they are permitted to be frequently at the grate, and that unveiled. But what is ſingular, the nuns of this convent, when they arrive at a proper age, are allowed either to take a huſband, or to take the veil, juſt as their inclination leads. They are not however ſuffered to quit the convent on any other terms than that of marriage; to which the conſent and approba⯑tion [75]of the biſhop is always neceſſary. If they do not get a huſband early in life, it is common for them to take the veil. Many of theſe young ladies were very agreeable both in perſon and diſpoſition; and by frequently converſing with them at the grate, we formed as tender an inter⯑courſe with them as the bolts and bars between us would admit of. Myſelf, and two other gentlemen belonging to the fleet, ſingled out three of thoſe who appeared to be the moſt free and lively, to whom we attached ourſelves during our ſtay, making them ſuch preſents as we thought would prove moſt acceptable, and receiving more valuable ones in return. Theſe little attentions were viewed by them in ſo favourable a light, that when we took a laſt farewel they gave us many evident proofs of their concern and regret. Indeed every circumſtance while we continued at this charming place (except there being no inns or coffee-houſes, where a ſtranger could refreſh himſelf, or be accommodated when he choſe to ſtay a night or two on ſhore) conſpired to make us pleaſed and delighted with it; and I can truly ſay, that I left it with reluctance, which I believe was the caſe with many of my companions.

September 3d. The commodore ſent Mr. Moreton, the [76]maſter of the Sirius, and two of his midſhipmen, who had been put on the invalid liſt, aboard an Engliſh ſhip return⯑ing from the Southern whale fiſhery to England, which, be⯑ing leaky, had been forced into Rio. As this ſhip was to ſail in a few days, it furniſhed us with an opportunity of writing to our friends. About two in the afternoon the commodore made the ſignal for all officers to repair on board their reſpective ſhips, and for the tranſports to hoiſt in their boats.

4th. At ſix the fleet weighed with a light land breeze. On the commodore's approaching Santa Cruz Fort, he was ſaluted from the batteries with twenty-one guns; which he returned from the Sirius with an equal number. About ten o'clock we got clear of the land, ſteering to the eaſtward with a gentle breeze. Thomas Brown, a convict, was pu⯑niſhed with a dozen laſhes, for behaving inſolently to one of the officers of the ſhip. This was the firſt that had received any puniſhment, ſince their embarkation on board the Char⯑lotte.

5th. Wind variable and cloudy; Rio Sugar-loaf ſtill in ſight, about eight or nine leagues diſtant.

6th. The officers, ſhip's company, marines, and convicts, [77]were, by ſignal from the Sirius, put to an allowance of three quarts of water per day, including that uſually allowed for cooking their proviſions. In the courſe of the day a ſteady breeze ſprung up at N. E. About ſix in the evening, the Fiſhburne victualler carried away her fore-top-gallant yard, which ſhe ſoon got replaced with another.

7th and 8th. The weather continued dark and cloudy, with ſome heavy ſhowers of rain. On the evening of the 8th, between the hours of three and four, Mary Broad, a convict, was delivered of a fine girl.

9th and 10th. Fine, clear, dry weather. The commodore made a ſignal for the convoy to cloſe, being ſcattered about at a conſiderable diſtance from him.

11th, 12th, and 13th. Freſh breezes, with ſudden ſqualls and heavy rain. The four ſucceeding days, light airs, and hazy, with ſome ſhowers, and a damp moiſt air. On the evening of the 17th, our longitude being, by ſignal from the commodore, 31° 34′ W. we caught a ſhark ſix feet long, of which the people made a good meſs.

18th. Heavy rain, with dark and cold weather. Saw ſeveral albatroſſes and pintado birds.

19th. William Brown, a very well behaved convict, in [78] month October bringing ſome clothing from the bowſprit end, where he had hung them to dry, fell overboard. As ſoon as the alarm was given of a man being overboard, the ſhip was in⯑ſtantly hove to, and a boat hoiſted out, but to no purpoſe. Lieutenant Ball of the Supply, a moſt active officer, knowing from our proceedings (as we were at the time ſteering with a⯑fair wind, and going near ſix knots an hour) that ſome acci⯑dent muſt have happened, bore down; but notwithſtanding every exertion, the poor fellow ſunk before either the Supply or our boat could reach him. The people on the forecaſtle, who ſaw him fall, ſay, that the ſhip went directly over him, which, as ſhe had quick way through the water, muſt make it impoſſible for him to keep on the ſurface long enough to be taken up, after having received the ſtroke from ſo heavy a body.

23d. From the 19th, the weather had been cold, dry, and pleaſant; it now became wet, ſqually, and unſettled; the wind weſterly, with a high ſea; albatroſſes, pintado birds, and ſome ſmall hawks, hovering round the ſhip.

30th. The weather became more moderate and pleaſant, the wind variable, inclining to calms.

October 1ſt. Light airs, with haze and rain. Saw a [79]great number of different birds; we were then in latitude 34° 42′ S. longitude 1° 10′ E. of the meridian of London.

13th. The Sirius made the ſignal for ſeeing land; and at ſeven in the evening we came to, in Table Bay, at the Cape of Good Hope, in ſeventeen fathom water, abreaſt of Cape Town, diſtant about a mile or a mile and half. As ſoon as the Sirius anchored, the commodore and commiſſary went on ſhore, and took up their reſidence in lodgings at the houſe of Mrs. De Witt. They were ſoon followed by ſuch officers as could be ſpared from the duty of the fleet, all wiſhing to prepare themſelves, by the comforts and re⯑freſhments to be enjoyed on ſhore, for the laſt and longeſt ſtage of their voyage.

14th. The contract for proviſions being ſettled with Meſſrs. De Witts and Caſton, the troops, men, women, and children, were ſerved with a pound and half of ſoft bread, and an equal quantity of beef or mutton daily; and with wine in lieu of ſpirits. The convicts, men, women, and children, had the ſame allowance as the troops, except wine.

16th. Commodore Phillip, attended by moſt of the officers of the fleet, paid a complimentary viſit to his excel⯑lency [80]Mynheer Van Graaf, the Dutch governor, by whom we were received with extreme civility and politeneſs. A few hours after we had taken leave, he called on the commodore at his lodgings, to return his viſit; and the next day re⯑turned the viſit of ſuch officers, reſiding on ſhore, as had paid their reſpects to him.

Notwithſtanding this ſtudied politeneſs, ſeveral days elapſed before the commodore could obtain a categorical an⯑ſwer to the requiſition he had made for the ſupplies he ſtood in need of for the expedition: and had it not been for the judicious perſeverance Commodore Phillip obſerved, in urg⯑ing his particular ſituation, and the uncommon exigency of the ſervice he was engaged in; it was believed the governor, fiſcal, and council, would have ſheltered their refuſal under the pretence that a great ſcarcity had prevailed in the Cape colony the preceding ſeaſon, particularly of wheat and corn, which were the articles we ſtood moſt in want of. This idea they wiſhed to impreſs us with; but, as juſt obſerved, the commodore's ſagacity and induſtrious zeal for the ſervice ſubdued and got over the ſupineneſs ſhown by the governor, &c. and procured permiſſion for the contractor to ſupply us with as much ſtock, corn, and other neceſſaries, as we could [81]ſtow. It is, however, much to be lamented that the quantity we could find room for fell very ſhort of what we ought to have taken in; as the only ſpare room we had, was what had been occaſioned by the conſumption of proviſions, &c. ſince we left Rio de Janeiro, and the removal of twenty female convicts from the Friendſhip into the Charlotte, the Lady Pen⯑rhyn, and the Prince of Wales.

After the ſupplies had been granted, his excellency Governor Graaf invited the commodore, and many of the officers of the expedition, to a very handſome dinner at his town reſidence. The houſe at which we were entertained, is delightfully ſituated, nearly in the centre of an extenſive garden, the property of the Dutch Eaſt India company, uſefully planted, and at the ſame time elegantly laid out. The governor's family make what uſe they pleaſe of the produce of the garden, which is various and abundant; but the original intention of the company in appropriating ſo extenſive a piece of ground to this purpoſe was, that their hoſpital, which is generally pretty full when their ſhips arrive after long voyages, may be well ſupplied with fruits and vegeta⯑bles, and likewiſe that their ſhips may receive a ſimilar ſupply.

[82]This garden is as public as St. James's park; and, for its handſome, pleaſant, and well-ſhaded walks, is much fre⯑quented by perſons of every deſcription, but particularly by the faſhionable and gay. There are many other agreeable walks about Cape Town, but none to be compared with theſe. At the upper end of the principal of them is a ſmall ſpace walled in for the purpoſe of confining ſome large oſtriches, and a few deer. A little to the right of this is a ſmall menagery, in which the company have half a dozen wild animals, and about the ſame number of curious birds.

As you approach the Cape of Good Hope, a very re⯑markable mountain may, in clear weather, be diſcovered at a conſiderable diſtance; it is called the Table Land, from its flat ſurface, which reſembles that piece of furniture. Mr. Dawes, lieutenant of marines on board the Sirius, an ingenious and accurate obſerver, who has undertaken during the voyage the aſtronomical obſervations; accompanied by Meſſrs. Fowell and Waterhouſe, midſhipmen of the Sirius; Lieutenant De Witt, of the Dutch navy; and myſelf, went to the top of this mountain; an undertaking which we found to be of a far more ſerious nature than we at firſt were aware of. For my own part, I ſuffered ſo much from heat [83]and thirſt, that had not the fear of ſhame urged me on, my companions being determined to accompliſh it at all events, I ſhould moſt certainly have given it up, before I reached the top. During this ſultry and fatiguing expedition, I found great benefit, towards alleviating my thirſt, by keep⯑ing a ſmall pebble in my mouth; and ſometimes by chewing ruſhes, which we met with in our way. But, when we had reached the ſummit, the delightful and extenſive proſpect we there enjoyed, the weather being uncommonly fine, fully atoned for the trouble, fatigue, and every ſuffering, we had undergone. From this elevation we could overlook all the country about the Cape.

As ſoon as we got to the top, our firſt buſineſs was to look out for water; but all we could find was ſome ſtagnant rain, which lay in the hollow of the ſtones. Our thirſt, however, was ſo intolerable, that the diſcovery even of this gave us inexpreſſible pleaſure; and, notwithſtanding we all perſpired moſt violently, and were ſenſible of the danger and impropriety of drinking a quantity of bad water in ſuch a ſituation, yet we could not refrain. As for my own part, it was utterly out of my power to liſten at that time to the dictates of prudence; and I believe it was equally difficult [84]to my companions, if I might judge from the avidity with which they drank out of the little pools, lying on the ground at full length, that being the only poſture in which it was to be obtained.

The regularity of the ſtreets of the town, which interſect each other at right angles; the buildings, gardens, caſtle, and forts; with twenty-three ſhips then at anchor in the bay; all which appeared directly underneath us; was a ſight beautiful and pleaſing beyond deſcription. The per⯑pendicular height of this land is 1857 feet from the ſurface of the water. On the top of it we gathered ſeveral ſpecies of heath, ſome wild celery, a few ſhrubs, and ſome non-deſcript plants; we found alſo ſome little ſtones of a fine poliſh and ſingular whiteneſs.

In our deſcent, which proved nearly as difficult and trou⯑bleſome as going up, we ſaw ſome runaway negroes, round a fire, on the clift of a ſtupendous rock, where it was en⯑tirely out of the power of their owners to get at them. To look at their ſituation, one would think it beyond the utmoſt ſtretch of human ingenuity to deviſe a way to reach it. Here they remain all day in perfect ſecurity, and during the night make frequent excurſions to the town and the parts [85]adjacent, committing great depredations on the inhabitants. The whole ſubſiſtence of theſe fugitives depends on this precarious method: and even this method would prove in⯑ſufficient, were it not for the aſſiſtance they receive from thoſe who were once their fellow ſlaves. Nor is it always that they ſucceed in the depredatory trips, which neceſſity thus urges them to take; they are often betrayed by their quondam friends; and when this happens, as the Dutch are not famed for their lenity in puniſhing crimes, they are made horrid examples of. But neither the fear of pu⯑niſhment, nor hunger, thirſt, cold, and wretchedneſs, to which they are often unavailably expoſed, can deter them from making Table Land their place of refuge from what they conſider to be greater evils. Scarcely a day paſſes but a ſmoke may be ſeen from ſome of theſe inacceſſible re⯑treats.

In the mild or ſummer ſeaſon, which commences in Sep⯑tember, and continues till March, the Table Land is ſome⯑times ſuddenly capped with a white cloud, by ſome called the ſpreading of the Table-cloth. When this cloud ſeems to roll down the ſteep face of the mountain, it is an unerring indication of an approaching gale of wind from the ſouth-eaſt; [86]which generally blows with great violence, and ſome⯑times continues a day or more, but in common is of ſhort duration. On the firſt appearance of this cloud, the ſhips in Table Bay begin to prepare for it, by ſtriking yards and top-maſts, and making every thing as ſnug as poſſible.

A little to the weſtward of the Table Land, divided by a ſmall valley, ſtands, on the right hand ſide of Table Bay, a round hill, called the Sugar Loaf; and by many the Lion's Head, as there is a continuance from it contiguous to the ſea, called the Lion's Rump; and when you take a general view of the whole, it very much reſembles that animal with his head erect. The Sugar Loaf or Lion's Head, and the Lion's Rump, have each a flag-ſtaff on them, by which the approach of ſhips is made known to the governor, par⯑ticularizing their number, nation, and the quarter from which they come. To the eaſtward, ſeparated by a ſmall chaſm from the Table Land, ſtands Charles's Mount, well known by the appellation of the Devil's Tower; and ſo called from the violent guſts of wind ſuppoſed to iſſue from it, when it partakes of the cap that covers the Table Land; though theſe guſts are nothing more than a degree of force the wind acquires in coming through the chaſm. When [87]this phaenomenon appears in the morning, which is by no means ſo frequent as in the evening, the ſailors have a ſaying, as the Devil's Tower is almoſt contiguous to the Table Land, that the old gentleman is going to breakfaſt; if in the middle of the day, that he is going to dinner; and if in the evening, that the cloth is ſpread for ſupper.

The foregoing high lands form a kind of amphitheatre about the Table Valley, where the Cape Town ſtands. From the ſhipping the town appears pleaſantly ſituated, but at the ſame time ſmall; a deception that ariſes from its being built in a valley with ſuch ſtupendous mountains directly behind it. On landing, however, you are ſurpriſed, and agreeably diſappointed, to find it not only extenſive, but well built, and in a good ſtile; the ſtreets ſpacious, and interſecting each other at right angles with great preciſion. This exact⯑neſs in the formation of the ſtreets, when viewed from the Table Land, is obſerved to be very great. The houſes in ge⯑neral are built of ſtone, cemented together with a glutinous kind of earth which ſerves as mortar, and afterwards neatly plaſtered, and whitewaſhed, with lime. As to their height, they do not in common exceed two ſtories, on account of the violence of the wind, which at ſome ſeaſons of the year [88]blows with great ſtrength and fury; indeed ſometimes ſo violently as to ſhake the houſes to the very foundation. For the ſame reaſon, thatch has been uſually preferred to tiles or ſhingles; but the bad effects that have proceeded from this mode when fires happen, has induced the inhabi⯑tants in all their new buildings to give the preference to ſlates and tiles. The lower parts of the houſes, according to the cuſtom of the Dutch nation, are not only uncommonly neat and clean in appearance, but they are really ſo; and the furniture is rather rich than elegant. But this is by no means the caſe with the bed-rooms or upper apartments; which are more barely and worſe furniſhed than any I ever beheld: and the ſtreets ſeem to be much upon a par with them, they being rough, uneven, and unpaved. I was, however, upon the whole, extremely well pleaſed with the town. Many of the houſes have a ſpace flagged before the door, and others have trees planted before them, which form a pleaſant ſhade, and give pleaſing novelty to the ſtreets.

The only landing-place is at the eaſt end of the town, where there is a wooden quay running ſome paces into the ſea, with ſeveral cranes on it, for the convenience of loading and unloading the ſcoots that come along ſide. To [89]this place excellent water is conveyed by pipes, which makes the watering of ſhips both eaſy and expeditious.

Cloſe to this quay, on the left hand, ſtands the caſtle and principal fortreſs; a ſtrong extenſive work, having excellent accommodations for the troops, and for many of the civil officers belonging to the company. Within the gates, the company have their principal ſtores; which are ſpa⯑cious as well as convenient. This fort covers and defends the eaſt part of the town and harbour, as Amſterdam fort does the weſt part. The latter, which has been built ſince commo⯑dore Johnſtone's expedition, and whereon both French and Dutch judgment have been united to render it effectual and ſtrong, is admirably planned and calculated to annoy and haraſs ſhips coming into the bay. Some ſmaller de⯑tached fortifications extend along the coaſt, both to the eaſt and weſt, and make landing, which was not the caſe before the late war, hazardous and difficult. In a word, Cape Town is at this time fortified with ſtrength, regularity, and judgment.

There are two churches here; one large, plain, and unadorned, for the Calviniſts, the prevailing ſect; and a ſmaller one for the Lutherans.

The hoſpital, which is large and extenſive, is ſituated [90]at the upper end of the town, cloſe to the company's garden. It is an honour to that commercial body, and no ſmall orna⯑ment to the town. The only objection that can be made to it as a building, is its ſituation: had it been erected on an eminence, and a little detached from the town, which might eaſily have been done, no fault could have been found with it. As it is, the convaleſcents have free acceſs to the com⯑pany's gardens, where they reap the benefit of a wholeſome pure air, perfumed with the exhalations of a great variety of rich fruit trees, aromatic ſhrubs, and odorous plants and flowers; and likewiſe have the uſe of every production of it, as before obſerved; advantages that compenſate, in a great meaſure, for the flat ſituation of the hoſpital.

The inhabitants are all exceedingly fond of gardens, which they keep in moſt excellent order. The doing this is very little trouble to them, the climate and ſoil being moſt benign and friendly to vegetation. Among the many which afforded me delight, I muſt not forget that belonging to Coloned Gordon, commander in chief of the Dutch troops at the Cape; where not only the taſte and inge⯑nuity of the gardener, but the ſkill and knowledge of the botaniſt, are at once manifeſt. The colonel is a man of ſcience, of an active and well-cultivated genius, and who [91]appropriates thoſe hours he can ſpare from his military duties (in which he is ſaid to excel), to a peruſal of the book of nature, and reſearches after uſeful knowledge. Theſe purſuits tend not only to this amuſement, but to his honour; and they will, doubtleſs, at ſome time or other, further conduce to the advancement of natural hiſtory, and to the honour of his country; as it is ſaid he intends to publiſh the obſervations and remarks which have been the reſult of his reſearches. Thoſe he has made on the Hotten⯑tots, Caffres, and the countries they inhabit, will doubt⯑leſsly be valuable; he having made himſelf better acquainted with the ſubject, and penetrated farther into the interior parts, than any traveller or naturaliſt that has hitherto viſited the Cape. It is to be lamented, that he has ſo long withheld from the world the gratification and improvement, which moſt aſſuredly muſt be derived from the obſervations of a perſon ſo well and ſo extenſively informed. His polite attention and civility, during our ſtay at the Cape, claim our moſt grateful acknowledgments.

Beſides their hoſpital, the Dutch Eaſt India company have ſeveral other public buildings, which tend to improve the appearance of the town. The two principal of theſe [92]are, the ſtables, and a houſe for their ſlaves. The former is a handſome range of buildings, capable of containing an incredible number of horſes. Thoſe they have at the Cape are ſmall, ſpirited, and full of life. The latter is a building of conſiderable extent, where the ſlaves, both male and female, have ſeparate apartments, in a very comfortable ſtile, to reſide in after the fatigues and toil of the day; which undoubtedly is great, but by no means equal, in my opinion, to that endured by the ſlaves in our own colonies. How⯑ever ſevere and cruel the Dutch may be conſidered in other reſpects, they certainly treat their ſlaves with great humanity and kindneſs; which, I am ſorry to ſay, I ſcarcely ever ſaw done in the Weſt Indies, during a reſidence there of three years. On the contrary, I have frequently been witneſs to the in⯑fliction of the moſt brutal, cruel, and wanton puniſhments on theſe poor creatures, who are the ſource and immediate ſup⯑port of the ſplendour of the Creoles. The bare retroſpect of the cruelties I have ſeen exerciſed there, excites a kind of hor⯑ror that chills my blood. At the Cape, there are ſeveral officers placed over the ſlaves, who have commodious apart⯑ments, and treat them humanely.

The firſt week after our arrival at this place, the militia, [93]conſiſting both of horſe and foot, were embodied, and held their annual meeting: I ſay annual, as that is the uſual period; but this was the firſt time of their aſſembling ſince the concluſion of the war in 1783. The Cape militia differ from the Engliſh, in not receiving pay, or wearing regimentals. In fact they ſhould rather be called volunteers, who turn out for the protection of their own property, and are not ſubject to ſtrict military diſcipline. Moſt of them wore blue coats, with white metal buttons, aukwardly long, and in the cut and ſhape of which uniformity had not been attended to. Neither was it viſible in the other parts of their dreſs or accoutrements; ſome wore powder, others none; ſo that, upon the whole, they made a very unmilitary appearance. The officers are choſen annually from among themſelves. Some of theſe, indeed, I obſerved to be very well dreſſed. Neglect, non-attendance, and every other breach of their military rules, is puniſhed by fine or forfeiture, and not corporally. At this burleſque on the profeſſion of a ſoldier, I could not help obſerving, that many of them had either got intoxicated that morning, or were not recovered from their overnight's debauch; notwithſtanding which they marched to the field, and went through their evolutions [94]with a ſteadineſs and regularity that was really aſtoniſhing, conſidering the ſtate they were in: but it is ſaid, and I believe with ſome truth, that a Dutchman, when half drunk, is more capable of performing every kind of buſi⯑neſs, than if he were perfectly ſober. After theſe annual exhibitions, the members of the corps meet their wives, daughters, &c. (who take care to be preſent, that they may be witneſſes of their military ſkill and atchievements) at ſome friend's houſe, where they crown the night in dancing, of which they are uncommonly fond. To danc⯑ing are added ſubſtantial ſuppers, and potent libations; in which they indulge not only upon this, but on all other occaſions. A Dutch ſupper to me, at firſt, was a matter of wonder, as I could never ſee any kind of differ⯑ence, either in the quality or quantity, between them and their dinners, which were always abundant, and conſiſting chiefly of heavy food.

The inhabitants of the Cape, though in their perſons large, ſlout, and athletic, have not all that phlegm about them which is the characteriſtic of Dutchmen in general. The phyſical influence of climate may in ſome degree account for this; for it is well known that in all [95]ſouthern latitudes the temper and diſpoſition of the people are more gay, and that they are more inclined to luxury and amuſements of every kind, than the inhabitants of the northern hemiſphere.

The ladies at the Cape are lively, good natured, fami⯑liar, and gay. They reſemble the women of England more than any foreigners I have ever ſeen. Engliſh faſhions prevail among them (the female part of the governor's family excepted, who imitate the French), notwithſtanding their intercourſe with France is now by far greater than with England. The habits and cuſtoms of the women of this place are extremely contraſted to thoſe of the inhabit⯑ants of Rio de Janeiro. Among the latter a great deal of reſerve and modeſty is apparent between the ſexes in public. Thoſe who are diſpoſed to ſay tender and civil things to a lady, muſt do it by ſtealth, or breathe their ſoft ſighs through the lattice-work of a window, or the grates of a convent. But at the Cape, if you wiſh to be a favourite with the fair, as the cuſtom is, you muſt in your own defence (if I may uſe the expreſſion) grapple the lady, and paw her in a manner that does not partake in the leaſt of gentleneſs. Such a rough and uncouth [96]conduct, together with a kiſs raviſhed now and then in the moſt public manner and ſituations, is not only pleaſing to the fair one, but even to her parents, if preſent; and is conſidered by all parties as an act of the greateſt gal⯑lantry and gaiety. In fact, the Dutch ladies here, from a peculiar gay turn, admit of liberties that may be thought reprehenſible in England; but perhaps as ſeldom overſtep the bounds of virtue, as the women of other countries.

During my reſidence on ſhore, whenever I heard of any Hottentots being in town, I made a point of endea⯑vouring to get a ſight of them, in order to ſee whether their manners and appearance correſponded with the deſcription given of them by travellers; ſuch as being beſmeared with greaſe, and decorated with the ſtinking entrails of animals; on which they likewiſe, when preſſed by hunger, are ſaid to feed.

I ſaw many of the men, without being able to make any other remarks on them, than that they were thin, of rather a low ſtature, but formed for activity: and further, that their hair, which was ſhort and woolly, as well as their whole bodies, was bedaubed with ſome unctuous or greaſy ſubſtance, which was very offenſive. [97]They were of a dark brown colour, had a flat noſe, thick lips, large full eyes, and were ornamented with ivory rings, and wore narrow ſtrips of the ſkin of ſome animal, devoid of its hair, around their neck, legs, and arms. The only female of that nation I could get a ſight of, was during a little excurſion in the environs of Cape Town: walking one evening with a Dutch getleman, to ſee a garden about a mile from the town, I accidentally met one of theſe ladies, who was equally as offenſive as the male I had met.

The heavy draft work about the Cape is moſtly performed by oxen; which are here brought to an uncommon degree of uſefulneſs and docility. It is not uncommon to ſee fourteen, ſixteen, and ſometimes eighteen, in one of their teams; when the roads are heavy, they ſometimes, though rarely, yoke twenty; all which the Hottentots, Malayes, and Cape ſlaves, have in the moſt perfect ſubjection and obedience. One of theſe fellows places himſelf on the fore part of the waggon, or, when loaded, on the top of the load, and with a tremendous long whip, which, from its ſize, he is obliged to hold in both his hands, manages theſe creatures with inexpreſſible addreſs. I have often [98]ſeen the driver, when he has found expedition needful, make them keep whatever pace he thought proper; either trot or gallop (a gait performed or kept up with diffi⯑culty by European oxen), and that with as much eaſe as if he was driving horſes. This immenſe whip, the only thing with which they guide the team, the drivers uſe ſo dexterouſly, that they make them turn a corner with the utmoſt nicety; hitting even the leading pair, in whatever part they pleaſe. The blows thus given muſt inflict intolerable pain, or theſe ſlow animals could never be brought to go with the velocity they do at the Cape. Theſe ſooty charioteers likewiſe manage horſes with the ſame dexterity. To ſee one of them driving three, four, five, and ſometimes ſix pair, in hand, with one of theſe long whips, as I have often done with great ſurpriſe, would make the moſt complete maſter of the whip in England cut a deſpicable figure. Carriages are not very numerous at the Cape, as the inhabitants in general travel in covered waggons, which better ſuit the roughneſs of the country. The governor and ſome few of the principal people keep coaches, which are a good deal in the Engliſh ſtile, and always drawn by ſix horſes. The only chariot [99] month November I ſaw there belonged to the governor; I however heard there were ſome others.

November 11th. Having got on board ſuch animals, pro⯑viſions, &c. as we could ſtow, the commodore, with all the officers that had lodgings on ſhore, embarked. Previous to the commodore's embarkation he gave a public dinner to ſome of the gentlemen of the town and the officers of his fleet. The Dutch governor was to have been of the party, but by ſome unforeſeen event was detained in the country, where he had been for ſome days before. Commodore Phillip had his band of muſic on ſhore upon the occaſion, and the day was ſpent with great cheerfulneſs and conviviality.

13th. About half paſt one o'clock we ſailed from the Cape of Good Hope. A ſmall American ſhip had arrived during the forenoon, bound on a trading voyage to China, with ſeveral paſſengers on board. We learnt from her, that the Hartwell Eaſt Indiaman had been loſt, by bordering too cloſe on the iſland of Bonaviſta, in order to land ſome recruits, who had mutinied, and occaſioned great diſorder and confuſion in the ſhip. It gave us pleaſure to hear from [100]the carpenter of the Hartwell, who was on board the American ſhip, that no lives were loſt by the accident. The principal part of the crew, we found, had got to Madeira, on their return to England. Abreaſt of Penguin Iſland, about three o'clock, we paſſed a large Dutch ſhip from Holland, bound to the Cape, with troops on board. A little before it was dark, we ſpoke the Kent whaler, from London, who had been four months out. She with ourſelves was endeavouring to get to the eaſtward. On our firſt diſcovering her, as ſhe ſeemed deſirous of joining or ſpeaking to the fleet, we were in hopes of her being from England, probably to us; or at leaſt that we might get letters by her; but our ſuſpenſe on theſe points, a ſuſpenſe only to be conceived by perſons on long voyages, was ſoon put an end to by hearing ſhe had been ſo many months out. A few days before we left the Cape, ſome of the officers of the expe⯑dition received letters from England by the Ranger Eaſt India packet, Captain Buchanan, who had put in to water, and ſtop a leak; both of which being ſoon accompliſhed, ſhe proceeded on her voyage.

14th. This morning Catherine Pryor, one of the con⯑victs, [101]was delivered of a male child. The officers, ſeamen, troops, and convicts, were put to an allowance of three quarts of water a day.

17th. The wind variable, inclining to the ſouthward and eaſtward, with hazy weather, an epidemic dyſentry appeared among the convicts, which very ſoon made its way among the marines, and prevailed with violence and obſtinacy until about Chriſtmas, when it was got under by an unremitting attention to cleanlineſs, and every other method proper and eſſential for the removal and prevention of contagion. It gives me pleaſure to be able to add, that we only loſt one perſon by this diſeaſe, violent and dangerous as it was; and that was Daniel Creſſwell, one of the troops intended for the garriſon; who was ſeized on the 19th of November, and died the 30th of the ſame month, the eleventh day of his illneſs. From the commencement of his diſorder, he was in the moſt acute agonizing pain I ever was witneſs to; nor was it in the power of medicine to procūre him the ſhorteſt interval of eaſe. His caſe being a very ſingular one, I have tranſmitted it, with ſome others, to a medical friend in London, with permiſſion to make what uſe of them he may think proper. The wind kept to the ſouthward and [102]eaſtward until the 21ſt, without veering a point in our favour, which carried us far out of our way to the weſt⯑ward; but that day it ſhifted.

23d. We ſpoke the Prince of Wales, who informed us, that the preceding night one of the ſeamen had fallen from the top-ſail yard, and was drowned. Indeed it was ſo dark, and the ſhip went ſo faſt through the water, that all efforts to ſave him, had any been made, would have proved fruit⯑leſs. This day and the following running to eaſtward, with the wind to the ſouthward and weſtward, we ſaw many aquatic birds.

25th. The commodore removed into the Supply armed tender, and took with him Lieutenant King of the Sirius, and Mr. Dawes of the marines, whom I had before occaſion to mention as having undertaken the aſtronomical obſerva⯑tions during the voyage. Having likewiſe ſelected ſome arti⯑ficers from among the convicts, he went on, taking the Alex⯑ander, Scarborough, and Friendſhip with him, being faſt ſail⯑ing veſſels; leaving the heavy ſailers, both tranſports and victuallers, under the direction of Captain Hunter of the Si⯑rius. Major Roſs, commanding officer of the troops, re⯑moved into the Scarborough, as did the adjutant.

month December 26th. We had not loſt ſight of the Supply and other ſhips, though they were conſiderably ahead. Between nine and ten at night the wind came to the S. S. E. which made us tack and ſtand to the S. W. In the morning could ſee nothing of the flying ſquadron, as the ſeamen termed them. The wind continued all this day at E. S. E. with pleaſant clear weather.

28th. The wind ſhifted to the E. N. E.; the weather hazy, with ſmall rain and ſtrong breezes. The Sirius made a ſignal for the convoy to cloſe.

30th. The wind variable, with ſome heavy ſhowers, and in the intervals clear weather.

December 1ſt and 2d. The wind from W. S. W. to S. W. by W. in lat. 40° ſouth, long. 35° 10′ eaſt; the weather moderate, cold, clear, and pleaſant. We ſaw birds of different kinds.

3d. In the evening, and on the ſucceeding day, the wind to northward and weſtward; freſh gales, dark, wet, unplea⯑ſant weather, with a high ſea. The Sirius, for fear of ſepa⯑ration, as the weather did not look kindly, made the ſignal for the convoy to keep nearer the commanding officer.

5th. In the morning almoſt calm, with a heavy ſwell; in the evening a ſmall breeze ſprung up at the N. E. which next day ſhifted to the weſtward.

16th. In lat. 41° 7′ ſouth, long. 74° 54′ eaſt, clear wea⯑ther, with a ſmall breeze at N. N. W. we ſaw ſome large whales, ſeveral birds, moſtly of the peteral kind, a ſeal, and ſome rock weed.

17th. Dark, cold, and gloomy. Had ſome gulls and whales round the ſhip.

20th. Wind variable, inclining to the ſouth. I viſited the Prince of Wales, where I found ſome of the female con⯑victs with evident ſymptoms of the ſcurvy, brought on by the damp and cold weather we had lately experienced. The two ſucceeding days the wind to the weſtward, though at times variable, with dark, wet, gloomy weather; in lat. 41° 18′ ſouth, long. 90° 7′ eaſt. We ſaw and paſſed ſome ſea weed. On thoſe days the ſcurvy began to ſhow itſelf in the Charlotte, moſtly among thoſe who had the dyſentery to a violent degree; but I was pretty well able to keep it under, by a liberal uſe of the eſſence of malt, and ſome good wine, which ought not to be claſſed among the [105] year 1788 month January moſt indifferent antiſcorbutics. For the latter we were in⯑debted to the humanity of Lord Sydney and Mr. Nepean, principal and under ſecretaries of ſtate.

24th. The weather ſtill dark and gloomy. Had ſeveral birds round the ſhip of the albatroſs and peteral kind; with what appeared to me to be ſomething of the ſea-hawk ſpecies.

27th. Dark hazy weather, with ſome light ſqualls. We paſſed more ſea weed; ſome gulls, and many of the before-mentioned birds, about the ſhip.

30th and 31ſt. Strong breezes, with unſettled-looking weather; birds ſtill about us, and likewiſe ſome whales.

January 1ſt, 1788. The new year was introduced with a pretty heavy gale of wind from the northward and weſtward, which was the firſt we had encountered ſince we left England. It began a little before 12 o'clock the preceding night, and continued till ſeven this evening. The Sirius was the whole day under her ſtay-ſails; and the convoy under their fore-ſail and ſtay-ſails.

2d and 3d. Smart gales, with dark gloomy weather. Some ſeals and oceanic birds about the ſhip.

4th. Cloudy weather, in latitude 44° 2′ S. The Sirius [106]made the ſignal for the longitude by lunar obſervation, which was found to be 135° 30′ Eaſt. In the evening ſome birds, called Mother Cary's Chickens, were round the ſhip.

5th. The weather cold and clear, the wind N. W. Paſſed ſome ſea weed. In the morning the third mate thought he ſaw ſome divers; but as they were not ſeen by any other perſon, not much attention was paid to the report. At night we had ſome ſqualls, with light ſhowers of rain.

7th. Early in the morning the Lady Penrhyn made the ſignal for ſeeing land; but it only proved to be a fog-bank; a circumſtance that often deceives the anxious mariner. About two o'clock in the afternoon the Prince of Wales, being the headmoſt ſhip, made the ſame ſignal. The Charlotte being next in ſucceſſion, the ſignal was ſcarcely diſplayed, before we alſo diſcovered it very plainly through the haze; and repeated the ſignal, which was an⯑ſwered by the Sirius. By our laſt lunar obſervation this land appears to be well laid down in Maſkelyne's Tables, and in the journals of the celebrated Cook: but to the ſurpriſe of every one on board, we found a ſmall chart, pub⯑liſhed by Steele, and which was held in little eſtimation, to be not only accurate as to the ſituation, but alſo to give a to⯑lerable [107]appearance and deſcription of Van Diernan's Land: indeed ſuch as may prove extremely uſeful to ſhips coming this way, and fully ſufficient to enable them to avoid all danger if the weather be clear. For my own part, I ſee no hazard that attends making this land by day (ſuch an attempt by night would be very incautious and abſurd), as nature has been very particular in pointing out where it lies, by rocks which jutt out of the ſea, like ſo many beacons. I believe a convoy was never conducted with more care, or made the land with greater accuracy and certainty, than this. Indeed, ability and experienced nautical knowledge were never more fully evinced on all occaſions than by Captain Hunter; who, I may venture to pronounce, without much riſk of having my veracity called in queſtion, one of the moſt aſſiduous and accurate obſervers, and able navigators, the preſent day furniſhes. His appointment to this expedition by Lord Howe is ſtrongly marked with that prudence and wiſdom which are known to govern his Lord⯑ſhip's conduct. Captian Hunter has a pretty turn for draw⯑ing, which will enable him, no doubt, to give ſuch a deſcription of this coaſt as will do credit to himſelf, and be of ſingular advantage, as well to thoſe whoſe lot it may [108]to viſit, hereafter, this extenſive coaſt, as to navigation at large. The aſſiſtance of Lieutenant Bradley, firſt of the Sirius, (who likewiſe is an officer of more than common abilities), as a navigator in conducting a convoy in a track ſo little known, muſt have been pleaſing to Captain Hun⯑ter.

As we run in with the land, which is pretty high, we were ſurpriſed to ſee, at this ſeaſon of the year, ſome ſmall patches of ſnow. The haze being diſperſed, by a gentle breeze at N. N. W. we could obſerve, and hear, as we were not more than ſix or ſeven miles from the ſhore, the ſurf beating high and loudly againſt ſome uneven rocks which jutted out, in ſtrange projections, into the ſea. This part of the coaſt, as far as we could ſee, is bold, irregular, and craggy; and very few trees, or appearance of verdure, to be ſeen. At four in the afternoon, being about ſix or eight miles to the eaſtward of the eaſtward-moſt rock, called the Mewſtone (there being ſeveral others which we diſtinctly ſaw), bearing N. N. W. we diſcovered to the weſtward of them ſome eminences, which probably might be iſlands; or, if not, ſome land running a conſi⯑derable way into the ſea. For my own part I am inclined [109]to believe the latter to be the caſe; though the diſtance was too great to hazard a concluſive opinion upon it, as a large ſmoke was ſeen cloſe to the innermoſt height.

About ſeven, ſteering to the eaſtward, along ſhore, nearly at the diſtance of four miles, being well in with the weſtward-moſt point of a very large bay, called Storm Bay, laid down in lat. 44° 3′ S. and long. 146° E. we diſcovered Swilly bearing S. E. ½ S. and a little to the eaſtward of it a ſmall rock riſing out of the ſea, diſtinguiſhed by the name of the Eddyſtone, from its reſemblance to the Eddy⯑ſtone light-houſe off Plymouth, which was very per⯑ceptible at the diſtance we were then from it. Our being cloſe in with the land, prevented us from ſeeing either of theſe before, as they lie at leaſt ſix or ſeven leagues out to ſea. From the S. W. cape, which lies in lat. 43° 39′ S. and long. 145° 50′ E. to the S. E. cape, which is admitted to be Taſman's South Cape, is about the diſtance of fifteen or ſixteen leagues. As we got to the eaſtward, we ſaw many trees, moſtly of a dwarf or ſtunted kind, with a whitiſh bark, and perfectly leafleſs. This part of the country ſtill continued to be a rough, rugged, uneven tract, with very little appearance of fertility. [110]Some ſmall patches of verdure were diſcovered about Storm Bay, and the trees ſeemed to increaſe in number and ſize. Between eight and nine at night, we ſaw a large fire on the eaſt point of land which forms this bay, made by the natives; none of whom could we ſee during the day, though cloſe in with the ſhore: nor did we perceive any other indication of its being inhabited, but this fire, and the ſmoke mentioned to be ſeen on our firſt falling in with the land. The diſtance between the ſmoke and the fire was eight leagues, a ſpace that would ſurely have exhibited ſome other proofs of populoſity had it been thickly peopled.

About 10 o'clock, off Storm Bay, the weather moderately pleaſant, the ſhip was taken aback. The Lady Penrhyn was then under our lee quarter, which obliged us to tack; after which we immediately wore, brought the ſhip to the wind on the other tack, and ſtood to ſea with the reſt of the ſhips. The wind was then at N. E. which juſt enabled us to weather Swilly and the Eddyſtone. As we got to ſea the wind increaſed moderately.

8th. The wind and weather variable; could perceive no⯑thing of the land. I went on board the Fiſhburne, to ſee [111]the boatſwain, who, on the firſt night of the new year, having probably drank more grog than he ought, and the ſhip labouring much, had fallen from the top-ſail yard; by which he bruiſed himſelf in a dreadful manner. The man being highly ſcorbutic, the parts ſoon mortified, and he died about half an hour after I got on board. The maſter of the ſhip ſhowed evident marks of great concern for this invaluable man, as he termed him. He declared to me, that ſooner than venture again on ſo long a voyage without a ſurgeon, he would put to ſea with leſs than half his complement of men; for he was ſtrongly of opinion, that if the poor fellow had received immediate aſſiſtance he would have recovered. I ſhould have ſeen him ſooner, but was prevented by my own indifferent ſtate of health. How owners of ſhips can think of ſending them through ſuch a variety of climates, and a voyage of ſo great a length, without a ſurgeon, is to me a matter of ſurpriſe. The Lady Penrhyn, owned by Alderman Curtis, was the only mer⯑chant ſhip in our fleet that had a ſurgeon. What the others will do on their return, Heaven only knows; but this I well know, that they would never have reached [112]thus far but for the ſuccour given them by myſelf and my aſſiſtants.

9th. Wind variable, and weather hazy, damp and dark; with ſome vivid flaſhes of lightning, ſucceeded by diſtant peals of loud thunder. On the morning of this day died Edward Thomſon, a convict, worn out with a melancholy and long confinement. Had he lived, I think he would have proved a deſerving member of ſociety, as he ſeemed ſenſible of the impropriety and imprudence of his former life, and ſtudious to atone for it.

10th. The wind variable, and weather dark and gloomy, with a very troubleſome high ſea. About two o'clock P. M. we had one of the moſt ſudden guſts of wind I ever remember to have known. In an inſtant it ſplit our main⯑ſail; and but for the activity ſhewn by the ſailors, in let⯑ting fly the ſheets, and lowering the top-ſails, the maſts muſt have gone over the ſide. The Prince of Wales, who was cloſe to us, had her main yard carried away in the ſlings. Fortunately for us the ſquall was of ſhort dura⯑tion, otherwiſe the ſhips muſt have ſuffered conſiderably from the uncommon croſs ſea that was running; which [113]we had found to be the caſe ever ſince we reached this coaſt.

11th. and 12th. The wind variable, inclining to the ſouthward and weſtward, and ſtill an unpleaſant croſs troubleſome ſea. We ſaw a whale, ſeveral ſeals, and many large oceanous birds, which we frequently fired at, without their betraying the ſmalleſt ſymptom of fear either at the report, or at the balls, which frequently dropped cloſe to them. A concluſion may be drawn from hence, that they had never been haraſſed with fire arms before; if they had, they would undoubtedly have ſhown ſome fear; a ſenſation they ſeemed to be totally unacquainted with. In all our firings we did not kill one of them.

19th. In the evening we ſaw the land over Red Point, bearing W. by N. the extremes of the land from S. S. W. to N. We were then about three leagues from the ſhore; and finding it unlikely to get in that night, Captain Hunter made the ſignal for the convoy to come within hail; when he acquainted them, that the entrance into Botany Bay bore N. N. W.: adding, that for the night he intended to ſtand off and on, and early in the morning make ſail for the bay.

20th. At four in the morning the Sirius and convoy made ſail, and at eight o'clock anchored in eight fathom water; Cape Banks E. S. E. Point Solander S. S. E. and the entrance of the bay, between theſe two lands, W. S. W. We found here the Supply tender, which had arrived the 18th, and the Alexander, Scarborough, and Friendſhip tranſports, who had only arrived the day before. To fee all the ſhips ſafe in their deſtined port, without ever having, by any accident, been one hour ſeparated; and all the people in as good health as could be expected or hoped for, after ſo long a voyage, was a ſight truly pleaſing, and at which every heart muſt rejoice. As we ſailed into the bay, ſome of the natives were on the ſhore, looking with ſeeming attention at ſuch large moving bodies coming amongſt them. In the evening the boats were permitted to land on the north ſide, in order to get water and graſs for the little ſtock we had remaining. An officer's guard was placed there to prevent the ſeamen from ſtraggling, or having any improper inter⯑courſe with the natives. Captain Hunter, after anchoring, waited on the governor, on board the Supply; who, with ſeveral other officers, landed. As they rowed along the ſhore, ſome of the natives followed the boat; but on her [115]putting in for the ſnore, they ran into the woods. Some of the gentlemen, however, before they returned on board, ob⯑tained an interview with them; during which they ſhowed ſome diſtruſt, but, upon the whole, were civilly inclined. The boats ſent to haul the ſeine returned, having had tolerable ſucceſs. The fiſh they caught were bream, mullet, large rays, beſides many other ſmaller ſpecies.

21ſt. The governor, Captain Hunter, and the two maſters of the men of war, with a party of marines, ſet off this morning, in two rigged long boats, to examine Port Jackſon, a harbour lying a little to the northward, which was diſcovered by Captain Cook.

23d. The party returned this evening, full of praiſes on the extent and excellence of the harbour, as well as the ſuperiority of the ground, water, and ſituation, to that of Botany Bay; which, I own, does not, in my opinion, by any means merit the commendations beſtowed on it by the much-lamented Cook, and others, whoſe names and judg⯑ments are no leſs admired and eſteemed. During his excel⯑lency's abſence the lieutenant governor had iſſued his orders to land all the artificers that could be found among the con⯑victs, and a party of others, to clear the ground for the in⯑tended [116]town, to dig ſawpits, and to perform every thing that was eſſential towards the works purpoſed to be carried on. Although the ſpot fixed on for the town was the moſt eligible that could be choſen, yet I think it would never have anſwered; the ground around it being ſandy, poor, and ſwampy, and but very indifferently ſupplied with water. The fine meadows talked of in Captain Cook's voyage, I could never ſee, though I took ſome pains to find them out; nor have I ever heard of a perſon that has ſeen any parts reſembling them. While the people were employed on ſhore, the natives came ſeveral times among them, and behaved with a kind of cautious friendſhip. One evening, while the ſeine was hauling, ſome of them were preſent, and expreſſed great ſurpriſe at what they ſaw; giving a ſhout expreſſive of aſtoniſhment and joy, when they per⯑ceived the quantity that was caught. No ſooner were the fiſh out of the water, than they began to lay hold of them, as if they had a right to them, or that they were their own; upon which the officer of the boat, I think very properly, reſtrained them; giving, however, to each of them a part. They did not at firſt ſeem very well pleaſed with this mode of procedure, but on obſerving [117]with what juſtice the fiſh was diſtributed, they appeared content.

While we remained at Botany Bay, as I was one morning on board the Supply, we ſaw twenty-nine of the natives on the beach, looking towards the ſhipping; upon which Lieutenants Ball and King, Mr. Dawes, and my⯑ſelf, went on ſhore, landing at the place where they were. They were friendly and pacific, though each of them was arm⯑ed with a ſpear or long dart, and had a ſtick, with a ſhell at the end, uſed by them in throwing their weapons. Beſides theſe, ſome few had ſhields made of the bark of the cork tree, of a plain appearance, but ſufficient to ward off or turn their own weapons, ſome of which were pointed and barbed with the bones of fiſh, faſtened on with ſome kind of adheſive gum. One of the moſt friendly, and who appeared to be the moſt confident, on ſigns being made to him, ſtuck the end of his ſhield in the ſand, but could not be prevailed upon to throw his ſpear at it. Finding he declined it, I fired a piſtol ball through it. The exploſion frightened him, as well as his companions, a little; but they ſoon got over it, and on my putting the piſtol into my pocket, he took up the ſhield, and appeared to be much [118]ſurpriſed at finding it perforated. He then, by ſigns and geſtures, ſeemed to aſk if the piſtol would make a hole through him; and on being made ſenſible that it would, he ſhowed not the ſmalleſt ſigns of fear; on the contrary he endeavoured, as we conſtrued his motions, to impreſs us with an idea of the ſuperiority of his own arms, which he applied to his breaſt, and by ſtaggering, and a ſhow of falling, ſeemed to wiſh us to underſtand that the force and effect of them was mortal, and not to be reſiſted. How⯑ever, I am well convinced that they know and dread the ſuperiority of our arms, notwithſtanding this ſhow of indif⯑ference; as they, on all occaſions, have diſcovered a diſlike to a muſquet: and ſo very ſoon did they make themſelves acquainted with the nature of our military dreſs, that, from the firſt, they carefully avoided a ſoldier, or any perſon wearing a red coat, which they ſeem to have marked as a fighting veſture. Many of their warriors, or diſtinguiſhed men, we obſerved to be painted in ſtripes, acroſs the breaſt and back, which at ſome little diſtance appears not unlike our ſoldiers croſs belts.

24th. The boats were employed in getting water and graſs for the live ſtock; as the governor, finding Port Jack⯑ſon [119]more ſuited to his wiſhes, had determined to remove to that place, and form the ſettlement there. While theſe preparations were making, every perſon in the fleet were ſurpriſed to ſee, in this part of the world, two large ſhips plying hard in the offing to get into the bay. It was ſeen, in the evening, that they had French colours flying; but the wind blowing pretty ſtrong out of the bay, they were unable to get in; and the weather becoming thick and hazy, we ſoon loſt ſight of them.

25th. Nothing of the ſtrange ſhips to be ſeen. The governor, with a detachment of marines, ſailed in the Supply tender for Port Jackſon; leaving inſtructions with Captain Hunter to follow him with all the tranſports and victuallers, as ſoon as the wind and weather would permit.

26th. We again deſcried the French ſhips ſtanding in for the bay, with a leading wind; upon which Captain Hunter ſent his firſt lieutenant on board the commanding officer's ſhip, which was diſtinguiſhed by a broad pendant, to aſſiſt them in coming in. 'Soon after the lieutenants were returned to the Sirius, Captain Clonnard, the French commodore's captain (who during the late war commanded [120]the Artois, taken by the Bienfaiſant, Captain Macbride), wait⯑ed on Captain Hunter, and informed him, that the ſhips were the Aſtrolabe and the Bouſſale, which ſailed from France in the year 1786, under the command of Meſſieurs de la Perouſe, and De Langle. He further acquainted him, that having touched at Navigator's Iſles, they had had the misfor⯑tune to loſe Captain De Langle, the ſecond in command, with ten other officers, and two boats crews, all of whom were cut off by the natives of thoſe iſlands, who appeared to be numerous and warlike. This accident induced them to put into this port, in order to build ſome boats, which they had in frames. It alſo had afforded room for the promotion of Monſieur Clonnard, who, on their leaving France, was only the commodore's firſt lieutenant.

At ten o'clock the Sirius, with all the ſhips, weighed, and in the evening anchored in Port Jackſon, with a few trifling damages done to ſome of them, who had run foul of each other in working out of Botany Bay. Port Jackſon I believe to be, without exception, the fineſt and moſt exten⯑ſive harbour in the univerſe, and at the ſame time the moſt ſecure; being ſafe from all the winds that blow. It is divided into a great number of coves, to which his [121]excellency has given different names. That on which the town is to be built, is called Sydney Cove. It is one of the ſmalleſt in the harbour, but the moſt convenient, as ſhips of the greateſt burden can with eaſe go into it, and heave out cloſe to the ſhore. Trincomalé, acknowledged to be one of the beſt harbours in the world, is by no means to be compared to it. In a word, Port Jackſon would afford ſuffi⯑cient and ſaſe anchorage for all the navies of Europe. The Supply had arrived the day before, and the governor, with every perſon that could be ſpared from the ſhip, were on ſhore, clearning the ground for the encampment. In the evening, when all the ſhips had anchored, the Engliſh colours were diſplayed; and at the foot of the flag-ſtaff his Majeſty's health, and ſucceſs to the ſettlement, was drank by the governor, many of the principal officers, and private men, who were preſent upon the occaſion.

27th. A number of convicts from the different tranſ⯑ports were landed to aſſiſt in clearing the ground for the encampment. His excellency marked the outlines, and as much as poſſible to prevent irregularity, and to keep the convicts from ſtraggling, the provoſt marſhal, aided by the patrole, had orders to take into cuſtody all convicts that [122]ſhould be found without the lines, and to leave them in charge of the main or quarter guard. The boats ſent this day to fiſh were ſucceſsful. Some of the natives came into the little bay or cove where the ſeine was hauled, and behaved very friendly. Indeed they carried their civility ſo far, although a people that appeared to be averſe to work, as to aſſiſt in dragging it aſhore. For this kind office they were liberally rewarded with fiſh, which ſeemed to pleaſe them, and give general ſatisfaction.

29th. A convenient place for the cattle being found, the few that remained were landed. The frame and materials for the governor's houſe, conſtructed by Smith in St. George's Fields, were likewiſe ſent on ſhore, and ſome preparations made for erecting it. This day Captain Hunter and Lieutenant Bradley began to take a ſurvey of the harbour. In the courſe of the laſt week, all the marines, their wives and children, together with all the convicts, male and female, were landed. The laboratory and ſick tents were erected, and, I am ſorry to ſay, were ſoon filled with patients afflicted with the true camp dyſentery and the ſcurvy. More piti⯑able objects were perhaps never ſeen. Not a comfort or convenience could be got for them, beſides the very few we [123] month February had with us. His excellency ſeeing the ſtate theſe poor ob⯑jects were in, ordered a piece of ground to be incloſed, for the purpoſe of raiſing vegetables for them. The ſeeds that wee ſown upon this occaſion, on firſt appearing above ground, looked promiſing and well, but ſoon after withered away; which was not indeed extraordinary, as they were not ſown at a proper ſeaſon of the year. The ſick have increaſed ſince our landing to ſuch a degree, that a ſpot for a general hoſpital has been marked out, and arti⯑ficers already employed on it. A proper ſpot, contiguous to the hoſpital, has been choſen, to raiſe ſuch vegetables as can be produced at this ſeaſon of the year; and where a permanent garden for the uſe of the hoſpital is to be eſtabliſhed.

February 1ſt. We had the moſt tremendous thunder and lightning, with heavy rain, I ever remember to have ſeen.

2d. This morning five ſheep, belonging to the lieutenant-governor and quarter-maſter, were killed by the lightning under a tree, at the foot of which a ſhed had been built for them. The branches and trunk of the tree were ſhivered and rent in a very extraordinary manner.

5th. A ſtorehouſe has been begun, for the purpoſe of receiving the ſtores and proviſions of the three tranſports bound to China. On a muſter of the convicts this morning, ſome were found to be miſſing, and ſuppoſed to have gone to Botany Bay, in hopes of being received on board the French ſhips; which are ſaid to be ſhort of hands, and made more ſo by the loſs they had recently ſuſtained, as before mentioned.

7th. The governor's commiſſion, and that for eſtabliſh⯑ing a criminal court of judicature, admiralty court, &c. were read. After this was done the troops under arms fired three volleys; when his excellency thanked the ſoldiers for their ſteady and good conduct; which Major Roſs cauſed to be inſerted in the general order book. The governor then addreſſed the convicts in a ſhort ſpeech, extremely well adapted to the people he had to govern, and who were then before him. Among many circumſtances that would tend to their future happineſs and comfort, he recommended marriage; aſſuring them that an indiſcriminate and illegal intercourſe would be puniſhed with the greateſt ſeverity and rigour. Honeſty, obedience, and induſtry, he told them, would make their ſituation comfortable; whereas [125]a contrary line of conduct would ſubject them to ignominy, ſeverities, and puniſhment. When the ceremony was con⯑cluded, his excellency, attended by all the officers of the colony, withdrew to a tent pitched for the occaſion, where a cold dinner was laid out; and after the cloth was removed, many loyal and public toaſts were drank.

8th. A party of the gentlemen of the garriſon ſet out by land to pay a viſit to the French at Botany Bay; from whom they met with the moſt hoſpitable, polite, and friendly reception and treatment. Many of the convicts who had been miſſing had been at Botany Bay. They had offered themſelves to the French navigators on any terms, but not one of them had been received. This refuſal obliged them to return; and when they came back they were real objects of pity. Conſcious of the puniſhment that awaited ſo imprudent and improper an experiment, they had ſtayed out as long as the cravings of nature would per⯑mit, and were nearly half ſtarved. A woman named Ann Smith, and a man, have never ſince been heard of. They are ſuppoſed to have miſſed their way as they returned, and to have periſhed for want. As the French commodore had given his honour that he would not admit any of them on [126]board, it cannot be thought he would take them. The convict, it is true, was a Frenchman, named Peter Paris, and it is poſſible, on that account, he might have been con⯑cealed through pity, by his countrymen, and carried off without the knowledge of the commanding officer. At the very time the party from hence were gone by land to Botany Bay, Captain Clonnard came round in a boat, on a viſit of ceremony from Monſieur de la Peyrouſe to the governor. He brought with him ſome diſpatches, which he requeſted might be forwarded to the French ambaſſador at the court of London, by the firſt tranſports that ſailed for England. The captain ſtayed all night, and returned the next morn⯑ing. This day, for the firſt time, a Kangaroo was ſhot and brought into camp. Some of the natives paſſed pretty cloſe to the Sirius, without ſeeming to expreſs, by their counte⯑nance or actions, either fear, curioſity, or ſurpriſe. During the courſe of this week fourteen marriages were ſolemnized. The criminal court, conſiſting of ſix officers of his Majeſ⯑ty's forces by land or ſea, with the judge advocate, ſat for the firſt time; before whom ſeveral convicts were tried for petty larceny. Some of them were acquitted, others ſentenced to receive corporal puniſhment, and one or two were, by [127]the deciſion of the court, ordered to a barren rock, or little iſland, in the middle of the harbour, there to remain on bread and water for a ſtated time.

12th. The commiſſions were read a ſecond time, at the deſire of ſome of the officers, whoſe ſituation with the battalion prevented them from being preſent at the firſt reading; after which, the lieutenant governor and judge advocate were ſworn in juſtices of the peace; and Lieute⯑nant King (ſecond of the Sirius) ſuperintendant and command⯑ing officer of New Norfolk Iſland; an appointment given him by the governor.

14th. The Supply ſailed for Norfolk Iſland, with Lieu⯑tenant King and his detachment, conſiſting of Mr. Cunning⯑ham, maſter's mate, and Mr. Jameſon, ſurgeon's firſt mate, of the Sirius, two marines, and twelve male and female convicts. The governor furniſhed him with proviſions and ſtores of every kind for ſix months, and with tools for cutting down timber; which laſt employment was the purpoſe of his miſſion.

27th. Thomas Barrett, Henry Lovel, and Joſeph Hall, were brought before the criminal court, and tried for feloniouſly and fraudulently taking away from the public [128]ſtore beef and peaſe, the property of the crown. They were convicted on the cleareſt evidence; and ſentence of death being paſſed on them, they were, about ſix o'clock the ſame evening, taken to the fatal tree; where Barrett was launch⯑ed into eternity, after having confeſſed to the Rev. Mr. Johnſon, who attended him, that he was guilty of the crime, and had long merited the ignominious death which he was about to ſuffer, and to which he ſaid he had been brought by bad company and evil example. Lovel and Hall were reſpited until ſix o'clock the next evening. When that awful hour arrived, they were led to the place of execution, and juſt as they were on the point of aſcending the ladder, the judge advocate arrived with the governor's pardon, on condition of their being baniſhed to ſome unin⯑habited place.

29th. Daniel Gordon and John Williams were tried and convicted of ſtealing wine, the property of Mr. Zachariah Clarke. Williams being an ignorant black youth, the court recommended him to the governor as a proper object of mercy, and he was accordingly pardoned. Gordon, who was another black, had his ſentence of death, while at the gallows, changed to baniſhment with Lovel and Hall.

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30th. John Freeman was tried for ſtealing from another convict ſeven pounds of flour. He was convicted, and ſentenced to be hanged; but while under the ladder, with the rope about his neck, he was offered his free pardon on condition of performing the duty of the common exe⯑cutioner as long as he remained in this country; which, after ſome little pauſe, he reluctantly accepted. William Sheerman, his accomplice, was ſentenced to receive on his bare back, with a cat-o'nine-tails, three hundred laſhes, which were inflicted.

A New Holland Caſſowary was brought into camp. This bird ſtands ſeven feet high, meaſuring from the ground to the upper part of the head, and, in every reſpect, is much larger than the common Caſſowary of all authors, and differs ſo much therefrom, in its form, as to clearly prove it a new ſpecies. The colour of the plumage is greatly ſimilar, conſiſting of a mixture of dirty brown and grey; on the belly it was ſomewhat whiter; and the remarkable ſtructure of the feathers, in having two quills with their webs ariſing out of one ſhaft, is ſeen in this as well as the common ſort. It differs materially in wanting the horny appendage on the top of the head. The head and beak [130]are much more like thoſe of the oſtrich than the common Caſſowary, both in ſhape and ſize. Upon the upper part of the head the feathers, with which it is but thinly covered, are very ſmall, looking more like hair than fea⯑thers, and in having the neck pretty well clothed with them, except the chin and throat, which are ſo thinly covered, that the ſkin, which is there of a purpliſh colour, may be ſeen clearly. The ſmall wings are exceedingly ſhort, which form a ridiculous contraſt with the body, as they are even leſs than thoſe of the Caſſowary: they have no large quills in them, being only covered with the ſmall feathers that grow all over the body. Another ſingu⯑larity alſo preſents itſelf in this ſpecies, which is in reſpect to the legs. As to the back part of them, the whole length is indented, or ſawed, in a remarkable manner. The toes are three in number, the middle one long, the other two ſhort, with ſtrong claws, not unlike the ſame part of the common ſpecies. On examining the viſcera, they differed from that of every other ſpecies of the fea⯑thered kind which I had ever ſeen; particularly in having no gizzard, or ſecond ſtomach; and the liver was ſo very ſmall, that it did not exceed in ſize that of a black⯑bird. [131] month March To this liver was joined a large gall-bladder, well diſtended with bile. The crop, or ſtomach, was filled with at leaſt ſix or ſeven pounds of graſs, flowers, and a few berries and ſeeds. The inteſtinal canal was at leaſt ſix yards long, very wide, and of a regular cylindrical ſhape from the opening of the ſtomach to the vent. The heart and lungs were ſeparated by a diaphragm or midriff, and bore a tolerable proportion to the ſize of the bird. The fleſh of this bird was very good, and taſted not unlike young tender beef.

This bird is ſuppoſed to be not uncommon in New Holland, as it has been frequently ſeen by our Settlers both at Botany Bay and Port Jackſon, but is exceedingly ſhy, and runs faſter than a greyhound. One of them however has been ſhot^*

March 9th. The governor, with two long boats manned and armed, returned from Broken Bay, ſituated a little to the northward, which he had been exploring for ſeveral days. It affords good ſhelter for ſhipping, and the entrance is bold; [132]it cannot, however, be compared to Port Jackſon. While he was there, he ſaw a great many of the natives, ſome of whom he thinks he had obſerved before, either at Botany Bay or in the neighbourhood of Port Jackſon. One of the females happened to fall in love with his great coat; and to obtain it, ſhe uſed a variety of means. Firſt, ſhe danced, and played a number of antic tricks; but finding this mode ineffectual, ſhe had recourſe to tears, which ſhe ſhed plenti⯑fully. This expedient not anſwering, ſhe ceaſed from weeping, and appeared as cheerful as any of the party around her. From this little incident it may be ſeen that they are not a people devoid of art. At Broken Bay many of the females, young and old, had the firſt joint of the little finger, on their left hand, cut off. As this was the caſe with thoſe who were married, or appeared to be ſo from their having young children, as well as with thoſe who were too young for a connection of that nature, it was not poſſible to ac⯑count for the cauſe of ſuch an amputation. Thefts and depre⯑dations on one another have become ſo very frequent and glaring among the convicts, that ſcarcely a day paſſes without ſome of theſe miſerable delinquents being puniſhed. So hardened in wickedneſs and depravity are many of them, that they ſeem [133]inſenſible to the fear of corporal puniſhment, or even death itſelf.

The principal buſineſs going forward at preſent is erecting cabbage-tree huts for the officers, ſoldiers, and convicts; ſome ſtore-houſes, &c.; and a very good hoſpital; all which in the completion will coſt a great deal of time and trouble, as the timber of this country is very unfit for the purpoſe of building. Nor do I know any one purpoſe for which it will anſwer, except for fire-wood; and for that it is excellent: but, in other reſpects, it is the worſt wood that any country or climate ever produced; although ſome of the trees, when ſtanding, appear fit for any uſe whatever, maſts for ſhipping not excepted. Strange as it may be ima⯑gined, no wood in this country, though ſawed ever ſo thin, and dried ever ſo well, will float. Repeated trials have only ſerved to convince me that, immediately on immerſion, it ſinks to the bottom like a ſtone.

The ſtone of this country is excellent for building, could any kind of cement be found to keep it together. There is not any lime-ſtone (I believe) in New South Wales. The governor, notwithſtanding that he had collected together all the ſhells which could be found, for the purpoſe of [134]obtaining from them the lime neceſſary to the conſtruction of a houſe for his own reſidence, did not procure even a fourth part of the quantity which was wanted. The foun⯑dation ſtone of a private houſe for him has been laid; and a plate of copper, with the following inſcription engraved on it, is to be placed in the wall: ‘ARTHUR PHILLIP, ESQ. Captain General in and over his Majeſty's Territory of New South Wales, and its Dependencies; Arrived in this Country on the 18th Day of January, 1788, with the firſt Settlers; And on the 15th Day of May, in the ſame Year, the firſt of theſe Stones was laid.’

The Supply tender returned from Norfolk Iſland; where, with great difficulty and danger, the ſtores ſent with Lieu⯑tenant King were landed, on account of the rockyneſs of its ſhore, and the violence of the ſurf that almoſt continually beats upon it. In her paſſage there ſhe fell in with an [135]iſland, in lat. 31° 36′ S. long. 159° 4′ E. never before diſ⯑covered, to which Lieutenant Ball, who commanded the Supply on this occaſion, gave the name of Lord Howe's Iſland. On her return to this port ſhe ſtopped at it, and found the landing nearly, if not quite, as difficult as at Norfolk Iſland. The ſhore in many places was covered with excellent turtle, eighteen of which were brought here, and proved a ſeaſonable ſupply to the convicts afflicted with the ſcurvy, many of whom were in a deplorable ſituation.

The ſmalleſt turtle brought from Lord Howe's Iſland did not weigh leſs than 150lb. They alſo found on it, in great plenty, a kind of fowl, reſembling much the Guinea fowl in ſhape and ſize, but widely different in colour; they being in general all white, with a red fleſhy ſubſtance riſing, like a cock's comb, from the head, and not unlike a piece of ſealing-wax. Theſe not being birds of flight, nor in the leaſt wild, the ſailors availing themſelves of their gentleneſs and inability to take wing from their purſuits, eaſily ſtruck them down with ſticks. There were alſo many birds of the dove kind, as tame as the former, and caught with equal facility. Some of them were brought alive to this place. Beſides theſe, the ſhore abounded with ſea [136] month April birds of ſeveral ſpecies. The iſland is very barren, and not more than twenty miles in circumference.

25th. The Scarborough, Lady Penrhyn, and Charlotte, tranſports, being cleared of government ſtores, were diſ⯑charged from the ſervice, and are ſhortly to depart for China, in order to load home with tea, they being chartered by the Eaſt India company for that purpoſe.

This bird is not uncommon in many iſlands of the South Seas, being pretty frequent at New Guinea, from whence the ſpecimen came from which Mr. Latham took his de⯑ſcription: it is alſo an inhabitant of New Holland, from whence ſeveral have been ſent over to England.

Theſe birds have been met with in ſeveral parts of New Holland.

We likewiſe ſaw ſeveral Blue-bellied Parrots. This is a very beautiful bird; and Mr. Latham, whoſe leave we have to copy the account of it, from his Syn. vol. i. p. 213, N^o 14. B. deſcribes it thus: ‘The length is fifteen inches; the bill is reddiſh; orbits black; head and throat dark blue, with a mixture of lighter blue feathers; back part of the head green; towards the throat yellow green; back and wings green; prime quills duſky, barred with yellow; breaſt red, mixed with yellow; belly of a fine blue; thighs green and yellow; tail cuneiform; the two middle feathers green; the others the ſame, but bright yellow on the outer edges; legs duſky.’

This bird is a very common ſpecies in various parts of New Holland, and in great plenty both at Botany Bay and Port Jackſon. It is found to differ much in plumage, [141]ſeveral other varieties having been met with, which are natives of Amboina and others of the Molucca Iſlands.

16th. We purſued our route weſtward, proceeding many miles inland, without being able to trace, by a ſingle veſtige, that the natives had been recently in thoſe parts. We ſaw, however, ſome proofs of their ingenuity, in various figures cut on the ſmooth ſurface of ſome large ſtones. They con⯑ſiſted chiefly of repreſentations of themſelves in different attitudes, of their canoes, of ſeveral ſorts of fiſh and animals; and, conſidering the rudeneſs of the inſtruments with which the figures muſt have been executed, they ſeemed to ex⯑hibit tolerably ſtrong likeneſſes. On the ſtones, where the natives had been thus exerciſing their abilities in ſculpture, were ſeveral weather-beaten ſhells. The country all around this place was rather high and rocky; and the ſoil arid, parched, and inhoſpitable.

In the evening, after a long and fatiguing march, we fell in with the north-weſt branch of Port Jackſon harbour. Here the two ſeamen, overcome with fatigue, and having their ſhoes torn from their feet through the ruggedneſs of the road along which we had travelled, could proceed no further. This circumſtance induced the governor to conſign them to [142]the care of Lieutenant Ball, and a marine, ſupplying them with proviſions ſufficient to laſt them till they reached the ſhips. His excellency, with the reſt of the party, puſhed on to the weſtward, by the water ſide, in hopes of finding better land, and a more open country. About four o'clock in the afternoon we came to a ſteep valley, where the flow⯑ing of the tide ceaſed, and a freſh-water ſtream commenced. Here, in the moſt deſert, wild, and ſolitary ſecluſion that the imagination can form any idea of, we took up our abode for the night; dreſſed our proviſions, waſhed our ſhirts and ſtockings, and turned our inconvenient ſituation to the beſt advantage in our power. Saw this day the Anomalous Hornbill, of which a plate is annexed. This bird is ſo very ſingular in its ſeveral characteriſtics, that it can ſcarcely be ſaid to which of the preſent known genera to refer it. In the bill it ſeems moſt allied to the hornbill, but the legs are thoſe of a toucan, and the tongue is more like that of a crow than any other: it muſt therefore be left to future ornitho⯑logiſts to determine the point, reſting here ſatisfied with deſcribing its external appearance.

This ſingular bird was met with at New Holland, from whence three or four ſpecimens have found their way to England, but whether it is a numerous ſpecies has not been mentioned.

The next morning we hid our tents and the remains of our proviſions, and with only a little rum, and a ſmall quantity of bread, made a forced march into the country, to the weſtward, of about fourteen miles, without being able to ſucceed in the object of our ſearch, which was for good land well watered. Indeed, the land here, although covered with an endleſs wood, was better than the parts which we had already explored. Finding it, however, very unlikely that we ſhould be able to penetrate through this immenſe foreſt, and circumſtanced as we were, it was [144]thought more prudent to return. We, accordingly, after an expeditious walk, reached the ſtream from whence we had ſet out in the morning, and taking up the tents and proviſions which we had left, proceeded a little farther down, to the flowing of the tide, and there pitched our tents for the night; during which it rained very heavily, with thunder and lightning. The Wattled Bee-eater, of which a plate is annexed, fell in our way during the courſe of the day. This bird is the ſize of a miſſel thruſh, but much larger in proportion; its total length being about fourteen inches. The feathers on the upper part of the head, longer than the reſt, give the appearance of a creſt; thoſe of the un⯑der part are ſmooth; the plumage for the moſt part is brown, the feathers long and pointed, and each feather has a ſtreak of white down the middle; under the eye, on each ſide, is a kind of wattle, of an orange colour; the middle of the belly is yellow; the tail is wedge-ſhaped, ſimilar to that of the magpie, and the feathers tipped with white; the bill and legs are brown.

This bird ſeems to be peculiar to New Holland, and is un⯑doubtedly a ſpecies which has not hitherto been deſcribed.

We were likewiſe able, during this excurſion, to take one of the Gold-winged Pigeons, of which a plate is annexed. This bird is a curious and ſingular ſpecies, remarkable for having moſt of the feathers of the wing marked with a brilliant ſpot of golden yellow, changing, in various reflections of light, to green and copper-bronze; and, when the wing is cloſed, [146]forming two bars of the ſame acroſs it. The general colour of the bird otherwiſe is brown, changing to vinaceous red on the breaſt, in the manner of our domeſtic ſpecies. The fore part of the head and chin are buff colour, with a ſtreak of browniſh red paſſing on each ſide through the eye. The quills and tail are darker than the reſt of the plumage, but all the feathers of the laſt, except the two middle ones, incline to lead colour, with a bar of black near the tip. The bill and legs are of a dull red.

This ſpecies is a native of New South Wales, ſeveral of them having been ſent from Port Jackſon.

22d. On the morning of this day the governor, accom⯑panied by the ſame party, with the addition of Lieutenant Creſſwell of the marines and ſix privates, landed at the head of the harbour, with an intention of penetrating into the country weſtward, as far as ſeven days proviſions would admit of; every individual carrying his own allowance of bread, beef, rum, and water. The ſoldiers, beſide their own proviſions, carried a camp kettle, and two tents, with their poles, &c. Thus equipped, with the additional weight of ſpare ſhoes, ſhirts, trowſers, together with a great coat, or Scotch plaid, for the purpoſe of ſleeping in, as []

[147]the nights were cold we proceeded on our deſtination. We likewiſe took with us a ſmall hand hatchet, in order to mark the trees as we went on; thoſe marks (called in America blazing) being the only guide to direct us in our return. The country was ſo rugged as to render it almoſt impoſſible to explore our way by the aſſiſtance of the compaſs.

In this manner we proceeded for a mile or two, through a part well covered with enormous trees, free from under⯑wood. We then reached a thicket of bruſh-wood, which we found ſo impervious, as to oblige us to return nearly to the place from whence we had ſet out in the morning. Here we encamped, near ſome ſtagnant water, for the night, during which it thundered, lightened, and rained. About eleven o'clock the governor was ſuddenly attacked with a moſt violent complaint in his ſide and loins, brought on by cold and fatigue, not having perfectly gotten the better of the laſt expedition. The next morning being fine, his excellency, who was rather better, though ſtill in pain, would not relinquiſh the object of his purſuit; and therefore we proceeded, and ſoon got round the wood or thicket which had haraſſed us ſo much the day before. [148]After we had paſſed it, we fell in with an hitherto unper⯑ceived branch of Port Jackſon harbour, along the bank of which the graſs was tolerably rich and ſucculent, and in height nearly up to the middle, interſperſed with a plant much reſembling the indigo. We followed this branch weſtward for a few miles, until we came to a ſmall freſh water ſtream that emptied itſelf into it. Here we took up, our quarters for the night, as our halts were always regulated by freſh water, an eſſential point by no means to be diſpenſed with, and not very abundant, or frequently to be met with, in this country. We made a kettle of excellent ſoup out of a white cockatoo and two crows which I had ſhot, as we came along. The land all around us was ſimilar to that which we had paſſed. At night we had thunder, lightning, and rain. The governor, though not free from pain, was rather recovering.

24th. As ſoon as the dew, which is remarkably heavy in this country, was off the ground, we proceeded to trace the river, or ſmall arm of the ſea. The banks of it were now pleaſant, the trees immenſely large, and at a conſiderable diſtance from each other; and the land around us flat, and rather low, but well covered with the kind of graſs juſt [149]mentioned. Here the tide ceaſed to flow; and all further progreſs for boats was ſtopped by a flat ſpace of large broad ſtones, over which a freſh water ſtream ran. Juſt above this flat, cloſe to the water-ſide, we diſcovered a quarry of ſlates; from which we expected to derive great advantage in reſpect to covering our houſes, ſtores, &c. it being a material beyond conception difficult to be procured in this country; but on trial it was found of no uſe, as it proved to be of a crumbling and rotten nature. On this freſh water ſtream, as well as on the ſalt, we ſaw a great many ducks and teal; three of which we ſhot in the courſe of the day, beſides two crows, and ſome loraquets. About four in the after⯑noon, being near the head of the ſtream, and ſomewhat apprehenſive of rain, we pitched our tents, before the graſs became wet; a circumſtance which would have proved very uncomfortable during the night. Here we had our ducks picked, ſtuffed with ſome ſlices of ſalt beef, and roaſted; and never did a repaſt ſeem more delicious; the ſalt beef, ſerving as a palatable ſubſtitute for the want of ſalt, gave it an agreeable reliſh. The evening cleared up, and the night proved dry. During the latter, we heard a noiſe which not a little ſurpriſed us, on acoount of its reſemblance [150]to the human voice. What it proceeded from we could not diſcover; but I am of opinion that it was made by a bird, or ſome animal. The country round us was by no means ſo good, or the graſs ſo abundant, as that which we had paſſed. The water, though neither clear, nor in any great quantity, was neither of a bad quality nor ill-taſted.

The next day, after having ſowed ſome ſeeds, we purſued our route for three or four miles weſt, where we met with a mean hut, belonging to ſome of the natives, but could not perceive the ſmalleſt trace of their having been there lately. Cloſe to this hut we ſaw a Kangaroo, which had come to drink at an adjacent pool of ſtagnated water, but we could not get within ſhot of it. A little farther on, we fell in with three huts, as deſerted as the former, and a ſwamp, not unlike the American rice grounds. Near this we ſaw a tree in flames, without the leaſt appearance of any natives; from which we ſuſpected that it had been ſet on fire by lightning. This circumſtance was firſt ſuggeſted by Lieutenant Ball; who had remarked, as well as myſelf, that every part of the country, though the moſt inacceſſible and rocky, appeared as if, at certain times of the year, it had been all on fire. Indeed in [151]many parts we met with very large trees, the trunks of which and branches were evidently rent, and demoliſhed by lightning. Cloſe by the burning tree we ſaw three kangaroos. Though by this time very much fatigued, we proceeded about two miles farther on, in hopes of finding ſome good water, but without effect; and about half paſt four o'clock we took up our quarters near a ſtagnant pool. The ground was ſo very dry and parched, that it was with ſome difficulty we could drive either our tent pegs or poles into it. The country about this ſpot was much clearer of underwood than that which we had paſſed during the day. The trees around us were immenſely large, and the tops of them filled with loraquets and paroquets of exquiſite beauty, which chattered to ſuch a degree, that we could ſcarcely hear each other ſpeak. We fired ſeveral times at them, but the trees were ſo very high that we killed but few.

26th. We ſtill directed our courſe weſtward, and paſſed another tree on fire; and others which were hollow, and perforated by a ſmall hole at the bottom, in which the natives ſeemed to have ſnared ſome animal. It was certainly done by the natives, as the trees where theſe [152]holes or perforations were, had in general many knotches cut, for the purpoſe of getting to the top of them. After this we croſſed a water-courſe; which ſhews, that at ſome ſeaſons the rain is very heavy here, notwithſtanding that there was, at preſent, but little water in it. Beyond the chaſm, we came to a pleaſant hill, the top of which was tolerably clear of trees, and perfectly free from underwood. His excellency gave it the name of Belle Veüe. From the top of this hill we ſaw a chain of hills or mountains, which appeared to be thirty or forty miles diſtant, running in a north and ſouth direction. The northernmoſt being conſpicuouſly higher than any of the reſt, the governor called it Richmond Hill; the next, or thoſe in the centre, Lanſdown Hills; and thoſe to the ſouthward, which are by much the loweſt, Carmarthen Hills.

In a valley below Belle Veüe, we ſaw a fire, and by it found ſome chewed root of a ſaline taſte, which ſhewed that the natives had recently been there. The country hereabout was pleaſant to the eye, well wooded, and covered with long ſour graſs, growing in tufts. At the bottom of this valley or flat, we croſſed another water-courſe, and [153]aſcended a hill, where the wood was ſo very thick as to obſtruct our view. Here, finding our proviſions to run ſhort, our return was concluded on, though with great reluctance; as it was our wiſh, and had been our deter⯑mination, to reach the hills before us if it had been poſſible. In our way back, which we eaſily diſcovered by the marks made in the trees, we ſaw a hollow tree on fire, the ſmoke iſſuing out of the top part as through a chimney. On coming near, and minutely examining it, we found that it had been ſet on fire by the natives; for there was ſome dry graſs lighted and put into the hole wherein we had ſuppoſed they uſed to ſnare or take the animal before alluded to. In the evening, where we pitched our tents, we ſhot two crows and ſome loraquets, for ſupper. The night was fine and clear; during which we often heard, as before, a ſound like the human voice, and, from its continuance on one ſpot, we concluded it to proceed from a bird perched on ſome of the trees near us.

27th. We now found ourſelves obliged to make a forced march back, as our proviſions were quite exhauſted; a circumſtance rather alarming, in caſe of loſing our way; which, however, we met with no difficulty in diſcovering, [154]by the marked trees. By our calculation we had penetrated into the country, to the weſtward, not leſs than thirty-two, or thirty-three miles. This day we ſaw the dung of an animal as large as that of a horſe, but it was more like the excrement of a hog, intermixed with graſs. When we got as far back as the arm or branch of the ſea which forms the upper part of Port Jackſon harbour, we ſaw many ducks, but could not get within ſhot of any of them. It was now growing late; and the governor being appre⯑henſive that the boats which he had ordered to attend daily, might be, for that day, returning before we could reach them, he ſent Lieutenants Johnſton and Creſſwell, with a marine, a-head, in order to ſecure ſuch proviſions as might have been ſent up; and to give directions for the boats to come for us the next morning, as it then appeared very unlikely that all the party, who were, without excep⯑tion, much fatigued, could be there ſoon enough to ſave the tide down. Thoſe gentlemen accordingly went forward, and were ſo fortunate as to be juſt in time; and they returned to us with a ſeaſonable ſupply of bread, beef, rum, and wine. As ſoon as they had joined us, we encamped for the night, on a ſpot about the diſtance of a [155]mile from the place where the boats were to take us up in the morning. His excellency was again indiſpoſed, occa⯑ſioned by a return of his complaint, which had been brought on by a fall into a hollow place in the ground, that being concealed by the long graſs, he was unable to diſcern. We paſſed the next day in examining different inlets in the upper part of the harbour. We ſaw there ſome of the natives, who, in their canoes, came along-ſide of the boat, to receive ſome trifles which the governor held out to them. In the evening we returned to Sydney Cove.

May 1ſt. James Bennet, a youth, was executed for robbing a tent belonging to the Charlotte tranſport, of ſugar and ſome other articles. Before he was turned off he confeſſed his guilt, and acknowledged, that young as he was he had been an old offender. Some other trifling thefts were brought before the court at the ſame time, and thoſe concerned in them ſentenced to receive corporeal puniſhment.

The Supply tender ſailed for Lord Howe's Iſland to fetch turtle; as did the Lady Penrhyn tranſport for China. The Scarborough dropped down the harbour; ſhe was followed the next day by the Charlotte, and they ſailed in company for [156] month May China. Some of the natives came along-ſide the Sirius, and made ſigns to have their beards taken off. One of them pa⯑tiently, and without fear or diſtruſt, underwent the operation from the ſhip's barber, and ſeemed much delighted with it.

21ſt. William Ayres, a convict, who was in a ſtate of convaleſcence, and to whom I had given permiſſion to go a little way into the country, for the purpoſe of gathering a few herbs wherewith to make tea, was, after night, brought to the hoſpital, with one of the ſpears uſed by the natives ſticking in his loins. It had been darted at him as he was ſtooping, and while his back was turned to the aſſailant. The weapon was barbed; and ſtuck ſo very faſt, that it would admit of no motion. After dilating the wound to a conſiderable length and depth, with ſome difficulty I ex⯑tracted the ſpear, which had penetrated the fleſh nearly three inches. After the operation, he informed us that he received his wound from three of the natives, who came behind him at a time when he ſuſpected no perſon to be near him except Peter Burn, whom he had met a little before, employed on the ſame buſineſs as himſelf. He added, that after they had wounded him, they beat him in a cruel manner, and ſtripping the cloaths from his back, []

[157]carried them off; making ſigns to him (as he interpreted them) to return to the camp. He further related, that after they had left him, he ſaw Burn in the poſſeſſion of another party of the natives, who were dragging him along, with his head bleeding, and ſeemingly in great diſtreſs; while he himſelf was ſo exhauſted with loſs of blood, that, inſtead of being able to aſſiſt his companion, he was happy to eſcape with his life.

The Port Jackſon thruſh, of which a plate is annexed, inhabits the neighbourhood of Port Jackſon. The top of the head in this ſpecies is blueiſh-grey; from thence down the hind part of the neck, and the back, the colour is a fine chocolate brown; the wings and tail are lead colour, the edges of the feathers pale; the tail itſelf pretty long, and even at the end; all the under parts from chin to vent are duſky-white, except the middle of the neck, juſt above the breaſt, which inclines to chocolate. The bill is of a dull yellow; legs brown.

25th. The Supply arrived from Lord Howe's Iſland without a ſingle turtle, the object for which ſhe was ſent: a dreadful diſappointment to thoſe who were languiſhing under the ſcurvy; many of whom are ſince dead, and there [158]is great reaſon to fear that ſeveral others will ſoon ſhare the ſame fate. This diſorder has now riſen to a moſt alarming height, without any poſſibility of checking it until ſome vegetables can be raiſed; which, from the ſeaſon of the year, cannot take place for many months. And even then I am apprehenſive that there will not be a ſufficiency pro⯑duced, ſuch are the labour and difficulty which attend the clearing of the ground. It will ſcarcely be credited, when I declare that I have known twelve men employed for five days, in grubbing up one tree; and when this has been effected, the timber (as already obſerved) has been only fit for fire⯑wood; ſo that in conſequence of the great labour in clearing of the ground, and the weak ſtate of the people; to which may be added the ſcarcity of tools, moſt of thoſe we had being either worn out by the hardneſs of the timber, or loſt in the woods among the graſs, through the careleſſneſs of the convicts; the proſpect before us is not of the moſt pleaſing kind. All the ſtock that was landed, both public and private, ſeems, inſtead of thriving, to fall off exceedingly. The number at firſt was but inconſiderable, and even that number is at preſent much diminiſhed. The ſheep, in parti⯑cular, decreaſer apidly, very few being now alive in the [159]colony, although there were numbers, the property of Go⯑vernment or individuals, when firſt landed.

26th. Two men of the Sirius were brought before the criminal court, and tried for aſſaulting, and beating, in a cruel manner, another man belonging to the ſame veſſel, while employed on an iſland appropriated by the governor to the uſe of the ſhip. They were ſentenced to receive five hundred laſhes each, but could not undergo the whole of that puniſhment, as, like moſt of the perſons in the colony, they were much afflicted with the ſcurvy.

28th. Captain Hunter, his firſt lieutenant, and the ſurgeon of the Sirius, went to the point of land which forms the north head of Port Jackſon. In going there they diſcovered an old man, with a little girl about five years of age, lying cloſe to the ground watching their mo⯑tions, and at the ſame time endeavouring to conceal them⯑ſelves. The ſurgeon had his gun with him, the effects of which he let the old man ſee, by ſhooting a bird, which fell at his feet. The exploſion at firſt greatly alarmed him, but perceiving that they intended him no ill, he ſoon got over his fears. The bird was then given to him, which (having barely plucked, and not more than half broiled it) he de⯑voured, [160]entrails, bones, and all. The little girl was much frightened, and endeavoured to hide herſelf behind the old man, to eſcape the leaſt obſervation.

Early the next morning the governor, lieutenants G. Johnſton and Kellow, myſelf, ſix ſoldiers, and two armed convicts, whom we took as guides, went to the place where [162]the murder had been committed, in hopes, by ſome means or other, to be able to find out, either the actual perpe⯑trators, or thoſe concerned. As moſt of their clothes, and all their working tools were carried off, we expected that theſe might furniſh us with ſome clue; but in this we were diſappointed. We could not obſerve a ſingle trace of the natives ever having been there. We then croſſed the country to Botany Bay, ſtill flattering ourſelves that we might be able to diſcover, among a tribe at that place, ſome proof that they had been concerned; as the governor was reſolved, on whomſoever he found any of the tools or clothing, to ſhew them his diſpleaſure, and, by every means in his power, endeavour to convince them of his motives for ſuch a procedure. In our route we ſaw ſeveral kangaroos, and ſhot a very fine teal. A little before ſun-ſet, after a long and fatiguing march, we arrived at Botany Bay. When we approached the bay, we ſaw eleven canoes, with two perſons in each, fiſhing; moſt of them had a fire in their canoe, a convenience which they ſeldom go without at any time or ſeaſon, but particularly at this, as the weather was very cold. Here we pitched our tents, for (as I have before obſerved) we [163]never travel without them, and kindled large fires both in front and rear; ſtill, however, the cold was ſo very intenſe that we could ſcarcely cloſe our eyes during the night. In the morning the graſs was quite white with a hoar froſt, ſo as to crackle under our feet. After breakfaſt we viſited the grave of the French abbé, who died whilſt the Count de Peyrouſe was here. It was truly humble indeed, being diſtinguiſhed only by a common head-ſtone, ſtuck ſlightly into the looſe earth which covered it. Againſt a tree, juſt above it, was nailed a board, with the following inſcription on it: ‘HIC JACET LE RECEVEUR EX F. F. MINORIBUS GALLIA SACERDOS PHYSICUS IN CIRCUMNAVIGATIONE MUNDI DUCE D. DE LA PEYROUSE. OBIIT DIE 17th FEBR. ANNO 1788.’ As the painting on the board could not be permanent, Go⯑vernor Phillip had the inſcription engraved on a plate of copper, and nailed to the ſame tree; and at ſome future day he intends to have a handſome head-ſtone placed at [164]the grave. We cut down ſome trees which ſtood be⯑tween that on which the inſcription is fixed and the ſhore, as they prevented perſons paſſing in boats from ſeeing it.

Between this and the harbour's mouth, we found forty-nine canoes hauled upon the beach, but not a native to be ſeen. After we had paſſed them, we fell in with an Indian path; and, as it took a turn towards the camp, we followed it about two miles; when on a ſudden, in a valley or little bay, to the northward of Botany Bay, we were ſurpriſed at hearing the ſound of voices, which we inſtantly found to proceed from a great number of the natives, ſitting behind a rock, who appeared to be equally aſtoniſhed with ourſelves; as, from the ſilence we obſerved, they had not perceived us till we were within twenty yards of them. Every one of them, as they got up, armed himſelf with a long ſpear, the ſhort ſtick before deſcribed, uſed in throwing it, a ſhield made of bark, and either a large club, pointed at one end, or a ſtone hatchet. At firſt they ſeemed rather hoſtilely inclined, and made ſigns, with apparent tokens of anger, for us to return; but when they ſaw the governor ad⯑vance [165]towards them, unarmed, and with his hands opened wide (a ſignal we had obſerved among them of amity and peace), they, with great confidence, came up to him, and received from him ſome trifles which he had in his pocket, ſuch as fiſh-hooks, beads, and a looking-glaſs. As there appeared not to be leſs than three hundred of them in this bay, all armed, the ſoldiers were ordered to fix their bayonets, and to obſerve a cloſe, well connected, order of march, as they deſcended the hill. Theſe people (as already mentioned) ſeem to diſlike red coats, and thoſe who carry arms; but, on the preſent occaſion, they ſhewed very little fear or diſtruſt; on the contrary they, in a few minutes, mixed with us, and conducted us to a very fine ſtream of water, out of which ſome of them drank, to ſhew that it was good. The women and children kept at ſome diſtance, one or two more forward than the reſt excepted, who came to the governor for ſome preſents. While he was diſtributing his gifts, the women danced (an exerciſe every deſcription of people in this country ſeem fond of), and threw themſelves into ſome not very decent attitudes.

The men in general had their ſkins ſmeared all over [166]with greaſe, or ſome ſtinking, oily ſubſtance; ſome wore a ſmall ſtick, or fiſh-bone, fixed croſs-ways, in the di⯑viſion of the noſe, which had a very ſtrange appearance; others were painted in a variety of ways, and had their hair ornamented with the teeth of fiſh, faſtened on by gum, and the ſkin of the kangaroo. As they conducted us to the water, a toadſtool was picked up by one of our company, which ſome of the natives perceiving, they made ſigns for us to throw it away, as not being good to eat. Soon after I gathered ſome wood-ſorrel, which grew in our way, but none of them endeavoured to prevent me from eating it; on the contrary, if a concluſion may be drawn from the ſigns which they made relative to the toadſtool, they ſhewed, by their looks, that there was nothing hurtful in it.

We halted but a ſhort time with them, as it was growing late, and we had a long way to walk. Before we parted from them, the governor gave them two ſmall hand-axes, in exchange for ſome of their ſtone axes and two of their ſpears. As we aſcended a hill, after our de⯑parture from them, eight of them followed us until we had nearly reached the top, where one of thoſe who had [167]been moſt familiar with us made ſigns for us to ſtop; which we readily complying with, he ran to the ſum⯑mit, and made a ſtrange kind of hallooing, holding at the ſame time his hands open above his head. As ſoon as we came up to him, we diſcovered another large body of them in a bay, about half a mile below us. Our new friend ſeemed anxious to carry us down to them; but it not being in our way, we declined his offer. Seeing us take another direction, he halted, and opened his hands, in order, as we ſuppoſed, to put us in mind that he had received no⯑thing from us; upon which we preſented him with a bird, the only thing we had, with which he returned, to appear⯑ance, fully content and ſatisfied. We now proceeded to⯑wards the camp, where we arrived about ſun-ſet.

This was the greateſt number of the natives we had ever ſeen together ſince our coming among them. What could be the cauſe of their aſſembling in ſuch numbers gave riſe to a variety of conjectures. Some thought they were going to war among themſelves, as they had with them a tempo⯑rary ſtore of half-ſtinking fiſh and fern-root, the latter of which they uſe for bread. This we remarked, as ſeveral of them were eating it at the time we were among them. [168]Others conjectured that ſome of them had been concerned in the murder of our men, notwithſtanding we did not meet with the ſmalleſt trace to countenance ſuch an opi⯑nion, and that fearing we ſhould revenge it, they had formed this convention, in order to defend themſelves againſt us. Others imagined that the aſſemblage might be occaſioned by a burial, a marriage, or ſome religious meeting.

The Tabuan Parrot, one of which was obſerved here, and of which a plate is annexed, is a bird about eighteen inches in length, and bigger than the Scarlet Lory. The head, neck, and under parts, are of a fine ſcarlet; the upper parts of the body and wings are of a beautiful green; acroſs the upper part of the wing coverts is an oblique bar of yellowiſh green, more gloſſy than the reſt; the lower part of the back and rump is blue; there is alſo a ſmall patch of blue at the lower part of the neck be⯑hind, between a ſcarlet and green, dividing thoſe colours; the tail is pretty long, and of an olive brown colour; the bill is reddiſh; the legs deep brown, nearly black.

The Female is moſtly green; the head, neck, and under parts olive brown; belly red; rump blue; tail, on the upper ſurface, green; beneath, duſky.

[169]The above inhabits Botany Bay, and ſeems much allied to the Tabuan Parrot deſcribed by Mr. Latham, in his Synopſis of Birds; but in that the head, neck, and under parts, incline to purpliſh or chocolate colour; both quills and tail are blue, more or leſs edged with green, and a creſcent of blue at the back part of the neck; it has alſo the under jaw ſurrounded with green feathers. It is probable, therefore, that our bird is only a variety of the Tabuan ſpecies.

June 4th. This being the anniverſary of his Majeſty's birth-day, and the firſt celebration of it in New South Wales, his excellency ordered the Sirius and Supply to fire twenty-one guns at ſun-riſe, at one o'clock, and at ſun-ſet. Im⯑mediately after the King's ſhips had ceaſed firing, at one o'clock, the Borrowdale, Friendſhip, Fiſhburne, Golden Grove, and Prince of Wales, fired five guns each. The battalion was under arms at twelve, and fired three vollies, ſucceeded by three cheers. After this ceremony had taken place, the lieutenant-governor, with all the officers of the ſettlement, civil and military, paid their reſpects to his excellency, at his houſe. At two o'clock they all met there again to dinner, during which the band of muſick [170] month June played "God ſave the King," and ſeveral excellent marches. After the cloth was removed, his Majeſty's health was drank with three cheers. The Prince of Wales, the Queen and royal family, the Cumberland family, and his Royal Highneſs Prince William Henry, ſucceeded. His Majeſty's miniſters were next given; who, it was obſerved, may be Pitted againſt any that ever conducted the affairs of Great Britain.

When all the public toaſts had gone round, the governor nominated the diſtrict which he had taken poſſeſſion of, Cumberland County; and gave it ſuch an extent of boundary as to make it the largeſt county in the whole world. His excellency ſaid, that he had intended to have named the town, and laid the firſt ſtone, on this auſpicious day; but the unexpected difficulties which he had met with, in clearing the ground, and from a want of artificers, had rendered it impoſſible; he therefore put it off till a future day. Its name, however, we underſtand, is to be ALBION. The day was paſſed in cheerfulneſs and good-humour; but it was a little damped by our perceiving that the governor was in great pain, from a return of his complaint. Though his countenance too plainly indicated [171]the torture which he ſuffered, he took every method in his power to conceal it, leſt it ſhould break in upon the feſtivity and harmony of the day. His excellency or⯑dered every ſoldier a pint of porter, beſides his allow⯑ance of grog; and every convict half a pint of ſpirits, made into grog, that they all may drink his Majeſty's health; and, as it was a day of general rejoicing and feſtivity, he likewiſe made it a day of forgiveneſs; remitting the remainder of the puniſhment to which the ſailors of the Sirius were ſubject, and pardoning Lovel, Sideway, Hall, and Gordon, who had been confined on a little ſterile iſland, or rather rock, ſituated in the harbour, until a place of baniſhment could be found. This act of lenity and mercy, added to many others which the governor had ſhewn, it is to be hoped will work ſome change on the minds of theſe men. Indeed ſome good may be expected from Hall and Gordon, who, ſince their ſentence, have appeared penitent; but from Lovel and Sideway very little change for the better can be expected, becauſe they ſeem ſo truly abandoned and incorrigible. At night every perſon attended an immenſe bonfire that was lighted for the occaſion; after which the principal officers of the ſettlement, and of [172]the men of war, ſupped at the governor's, where they termi⯑nated the day in pleaſantry, good humour and cheerfulneſs.

The next morning we were aſtoniſhed at the number of thefts which had been committed, during the general feſti⯑vity, by the villanous part of the convicts, on one another, and on ſome of the officers, whoſe ſervants did not keep a ſtrict look-out after their marquées. Availing themſelves thus of the particular circumſtances of the day, is a ſtrong inſtance of their unabated depravity and want of principle. Scarcely a day paſſes without an example being made of ſome one or other of theſe wretches; but it ſeems to have no manner of effect upon them.

10th. John Aſcott and Patrick Burn, two convicts, were brought before the criminal court, and proſecuted by Lieutenant G. William Maxwell of the Sirius, and Mr. Kelter the Maſter of the ſame ſhip, for having, a few nights before, in a riotous manner, with many more of the con⯑victs, attacked ſome ſeamen belonging to the men of war, and behaving in an inſolent and contemptuous manner to them. After a long and judicious hearing, the priſoners were acquitted, as the charge brought againſt them was by no means ſubſtantiated.

26th. About four in the afternoon a ſlight ſhock of an earthquake was felt at Sidney Cove, and its environs. This incident had ſo wonderful an effect on Edward Corbett, a convict, who had eloped about three weeks before, on a diſcovery being made of his having ſtolen a frock, that he returned and gave himſelf up to juſtice. A few days ante⯑cedent to his return, he had been outlawed; and was ſup⯑poſed to have driven off with him four cows, the only animals of this kind in the colony. This, however, he declared himſelf innocent of; but confeſſed his having com⯑mitted the theft laid to his charge. The ſtricteſt ſearch was made, but in vain, after the cows. It is probable that they have ſtrayed ſo far off in this endleſs wild, as to be irrecoverably loſt. Previouſly to the return of Corbett he muſt have ſuffered very ſeverely from hunger; his eyes were ſunk into his head, and his whole appearance ſhewed that he had been half ſtarved. While he was abſent, he ſays, he frequently fell in with the natives, who, though they never treated him ill, did not ſeem to like his com⯑pany. He informed us, that in a bay adjacent to that where the governor and his party had met with ſo many of the natives, he ſaw the head of one of the convicts lying near [174]the place where the body had been burnt in a large fire. This, in all likelihood, was Burn, who was carried off at the time Ayres was wounded, as he has not been heard of ſince.

The natives of this country, though their mode of ſub⯑ſiſting ſeems to be ſo very ſcanty and precarious, are, I am convinced, not cannibals. One of their graves, which I ſaw opened, the only one I have met with, contained a body which had evidently been burned, as ſmall pieces of the bones lay in the bottom of it. The grave was neatly made, and well covered with earth and boughs of trees.

The Pennantian Parrot (of which ſee plate annexed) was about this time firſt noticed. The general colour of the body, in the male, is crimſon; the feathers of the back black in their middle; the chin and throat blue; the wings blue, with a bar of a paler colour down the middle of them; the tail is long, and blue alſo, and all but the two middle feathers have the ends very pale.

24th. The governor revoked the decree by which Corbett was outlawed, and he was tried by the criminal court, ſimply for the theft he had committed, and ſentenced to be hanged. Samuel Payton, a convict, likewiſe received the ſame ſentence, for feloniouſly entering the marquée of Lieu⯑tenant Fuzer, on the night of the fourth of June, and ſteal⯑ing from thence ſome ſhirts, ſtockings, and combs. His trial had been put off to the preſent time, on account of a wound in his head, which he had received from Captain Lieu⯑tenant Meredith, who, on his return from the bonfire, found Payton in his marquée. When brought to the hoſpital, in conſequence of the wound which he had received, he was perfectly ſenſeleſs. During the time he remained under my care, I frequently admoniſhed him to think of the perilous ſituation he then ſtood in, and to make known the accom⯑plices whom he was ſuppoſed to have; but he firmly and uniformly denied his guilt; and diſclaimed his having any [176]knowledge of, or concern in, robbing Lieutenant Fuzer. He further ſaid, that he did not recollect how he came to Captain Lieutenant Meredith's tent, or any circumſtance relative to it. However, ſince he received his ſentence, he has confeſſed that he robbed Lieutenant Fuzer; and gave him information where to find the articles he had been robbed of: he at the ſame time acknowledged that he entered Mr. Meredith's marquée with an intention to rob him, doubting not but he ſhould be able to make his eſcape undiſcovered, as every one ſeemed ſo fully engaged on the pleaſures of the day.

When he and Corbett were brought to the fatal tree, they (particularly Payton) addreſſed the convicts in a pathetic, eloquent, and well-directed ſpeech. He acknowledged the juſtice of his ſentence; a ſentence, which (he ſaid) he had long deſerved. He added, that he hoped and truſted that the ignominious death he was about to ſuffer, would ſerve as a caution and warning to thoſe who ſaw and heard him. They both prayed moſt fervently, begging forgiveneſs of an offended GOD. They likewiſe hoped, that thoſe whom they had injured, would not only forgive them, as they themſelves did all mankind, but offer up their prayers to [177]a merciful REDEEMER that, though ſo great ſinners, they might be received into that bliſs, which the good and vir⯑tuous only can either deſerve or expect. They were now turned off; and in the agonizing moments of the ſeparation of the ſoul from the body ſeemed to embrace each other. The execution of theſe unhappy youths, the eldeſt of whom was not twenty-four years of age, which ſeemed to make a greater impreſſion on the convicts than any circumſtance had done ſince their landing, will induce them, it is to be hoped, to change their conduct, and to adopt a better mode of life than, I am ſorry to ſay, they have hitherto purſued.

The principal buſineſs now going forward, is the erecting huts for the marines and convicts, with the cabbage-tree. We have been here nearly ſix months, and four officers only as yet got huts: when the reſt will be provided with them ſeems uncertain; but this I well know, that living in tents, as the rainy ſeaſon has commenced, is truly uncomfortable, and likely to give a ſevere trial to the ſtrongeſt and moſt robuſt conſtitution.

The trees of this country are immenſely large, and clear of branches to an amazing height. While ſtanding, many [178]of them look fair and good to the eye, and appear ſufficient to make a maſt for the largeſt ſhip; but, when cut down, they are ſcarcely convertible to any uſe whatever. At the heart they are full of veins, through which an amazing quantity of an aſtringent red gum iſſues. This gum I have found very ſerviceable in an obſtinate dyſentery that raged at our firſt landing, and ſtill continues to do ſo, though with leſs obſtinacy and violence. When theſe trees are ſawed, and any way expoſed to the ſun, the gum melts, or gets ſo very brittle, that the wood falls to pieces, and appears as if the pieces had been joined together with this ſubſtance. How any kind of houſes, except thoſe built of the cabbage tree, can be raiſed up, the timber being ſo exceedingly bad, it is impoſſible to determine.

I have already ſaid that the ſtone of this country is well calculated for building, could any kind of cement be found to keep them together. As for lime-ſtone, we have not yet diſcovered any in the country; and the ſhells collected for that purpoſe have been but inconſiderable. From Captain Cook's account, one would be led to ſuppoſe that oyſter and cockle ſhells might be procured in ſuch quantities, as to make a ſufficiency of lime, for the [179]purpoſe of conſtructing at leaſt a few public buildings; but this is by no means the caſe. That great navigator, notwithſtanding his uſual accuracy and candour, was certainly too laviſh of his praiſes on Botany Bay.

The peculiarity I have mentioned relative to the wood of this place is ſtrange. There are only three kinds of it, and neither of them will float on the water. We have found another reſin here, not unlike the balſam Tolu in ſmell and effect, but differing widely in colour, being of a clear yellow, which exudes from the tree. This, however, is not to be met with in ſuch quantities as the red gum before mentioned, nor do I think that its medicinal virtues are by any means ſo powerful. A kind of earth has been diſcovered which makes good bricks, but we ſtill are in want of a cement for them as well as for the ſtone.

What animals we have yet met with have been moſtly of the Opoſſum kind. The Kangaroo, ſo very accurately delineated by Captain Cook, is certainly of that claſs, and the largeſt animal ſeen in the country. One has been brought into camp which weighed a hundred and forty-nine pounds. See plate annexed. The conformation of this animal is peculiarly ſingular. Its hinder parts have great muſcular [180]power, and are, perhaps, beyond all parallel, out of proportion, when compared with the fore parts. As it goes, it jumps on its two hind legs, from twenty to twenty-eight feet, and keeps the two fore ones cloſe to the breaſt; theſe are ſmall and ſhort, and it ſeems to uſe them much like a ſquirrel. The tail of theſe animals is thick and long; they keep it extended, and it ſerves as a kind of counterpoiſe to the head, which they carry erect, when bounding at full ſpeed. The velocity of a Kangaroo as far outſtrips that of a greyhound, as that animal exceeds in ſwiftneſs a common dog. It is a very timid, ſhy, and inoffenſive creature, evidently of the granivorous kind. Upon our firſt diſcovering one of them, as it does not uſe its fore feet to aſſiſt it in running, or rather jumping, many were of opinion that the tail, which is immenſely large and long, was made uſe of by them in the act of progreſſion; but this is by no means the caſe. Had it been uſed in ſuch a manner, the hair would probably have been worn away from the part which, of courſe, muſt be applied to the ground. The tail, from its ſize and weight, ſeems to ſerve it for a weapon both of defence and offence; for it does not appear that nature has provided it with any other. Its mouth and head, [181]even when full grown, are too ſmall for it to do much execution with the teeth; nor is the conformation of either at all calculated for the purpoſe. Indeed, its fore feet, which it uſes, as a ſquirrel or monkey, to handle any thing with, and which aſſiſt it in lying down, are too ſmall, and out of proportion, as are all the ſuperior parts, to admit of its either poſſeſſing or exerting much ſtrength. It has been reported by ſome convicts who were out one day, accompanied by a large Newfoundland dog, that the latter ſeized a very large Kangaroo, but could not preſerve its hold. They obſerved that the animal effected its eſcape by the defenſive uſe it made of its tail, with which it ſtruck its aſſailant in a moſt tremendous manner. The blows were applied with ſuch force and efficacy, that the dog was bruiſed, in many places, till the blood flowed. They obſerved that the Kangaroo did not ſeem to make any uſe of either its teeth or fore feet, but fairly beat off the dog with its tail, and eſcaped before the convicts, though at no great diſtance, could get up to ſecure it.

The female has a pouch or pocket, like the Opoſſum, in which ſhe carries her young. Some have been ſhot with a young one, not larger than a walnut, ſticking to a teat [182]in this pocket. Others, with young ones not bigger than a rat: one of which, moſt perfectly formed, with every mark and diſtinguiſhing characteriſtic of the Kangaroo, I have ſent to Mr. Wilſon, of Gower Street, Bedford Square.

There is a peculiar formation in the generative parts of this animal. Of its natural hiſtory we at preſent know little; and therefore as we are ſo unacquainted with its habits, haunts, and cuſtoms, to attempt particular and accurate deſcriptions of it might beget error, which time, or a fuller knowledge of its properties, would directly contradict. As to mere conjectures (and ſuch too often are impoſed upon the public for inconteſtible facts), it cannot be improper to ſuppreſs them.

Every animal in this country partakes, in a great meaſure, of the nature of the Kangaroo. We have the Kangaroo Opoſſum, the Kangaroo Rat, &c. In fact every quadruped that we have ſeen, except the flying ſquirrel, and a ſpotted creature, nearly the ſize of a Martin, reſembles the Kangaroo in the formation of the fore legs and feet, which bear no proportion to the length of the hind legs.

The ſcarcity of boats will prevent our being ſo well ſupplied with fiſh, as otherwiſe might be expected. Fiſh [183]is far from abounding at the cold ſeaſon of the year; but, in the ſummer, judging from the latter end of the laſt, we have every reaſon to conclude that the little bays and coves in the harbour are well ſtored with them. The fiſh caught here are, in general, excellent; but ſeveral of them, like the animals in ſome degree reſembling the Kangaroo, partake of the properties of the ſhark. The land, the graſs, the trees, the animals, the birds, and the fiſh, in their different ſpecies, approach by ſtrong ſhades of ſimilitude to each other. A certain likeneſs runs through the whole.

July 8th. A party of the natives came to the place where the Sirius's boat had been to haul the ſeine, and having beaten the crew, took from them by force a part of the fiſh which they had caught. It is a great misfortune to us that we cannot find proper wood in this place wherewith to build a boat; particularly as fiſh is not only ſo very plentiful in the ſummer, but the only change from ſalt proviſions which we can procure, there being neither wild nor domeſtic animals fit for food. Here, where no other animal nouriſhment is to be procured, the Kangaroo is conſidered as a dainty; but in any other country I am ſure that ſuch food would be thrown to [184] month July the dogs; for it has very little or no fat about it, and, when ſkinned, the fleſh bears ſome likeneſs to that of a fox or lean dog.

A few days ſince a civil court of juriſdiction (which conſiſted of the judge advocate, the Reverend Mr. Johnſon, and myſelf), was convened, by his excellency, to hear a complaint made againſt Duncan Sinclair, maſter of the Alexander tranſport, by Henry Coble and Suſannah his wife (the Norwich convicts who ſo much excited the public attention), for the non-delivery of a parcel ſent on board the Alexander, by Mrs. Jackſon of Somerſet Street, containing wearing apparel, books, and other things, for the uſe of the ſaid Henry Coble, his wife, and child, value twenty pounds. The parcel was proved (and this even by the acknowledgment of the maſter) to have been received on board; and it likewiſe appeared in evidence that, on moving it from one part of the ſhip to another, the package had broken, and the books had fallen out, which books the convict ſaid had been delivered to him. The court, after deducting five pounds (the value of the books received), gave a verdict in favour of the couple, in whoſe cauſe the world had ſeemed ſo much to intereſt [185]and in conſequence of the authority unto them granted by Act of Parliament, in ſuch caſes made and provided, they adjudged the maſter of the tranſport fully to com⯑penſate the loſs of the convicts, amounting to fifteen pounds. Sinclair conſidered it as oppreſſive to be obliged to pay for that on account of which he had not received any freightage; but this objection had no weight with the court, as the ſhip was in the ſervice of government, and paid for the ſole purpoſe of conveying theſe people, and the little property which they poſſeſſed, to this country.

July 13th. The Alexander, Friendſhip, and Prince of Wales tranſports, with the Borrowdale victualler, ſailed for England. His Majeſty's brig the Supply ſailed at the ſame time for Norfolk Iſland, with proviſions, &c. for the people there.

21ſt. I went down the harbour, with the maſter of the Golden Grove victualler, to look for a cabbage tree, as a covering for my hut. On our return, we fell in with three canoes that had been out fiſhing. We rowed towards them, when the natives in them ſuddenly appeared intimidated, and paddled away with all poſſible diſpatch. Willing to [186]convince them that they had nothing to dread from us, we rowed after them, in order to preſent them with ſome trifles which we had about us. When we approached the canoes, an old woman in one of them began to caſt her fiſh overboard, in great haſte; whether it was for fear that we ſhould take them from her, or whether ſhe threw them to us, we could not aſcertain. However, when we came along-ſide, our conduct ſoon convinced her that her alarms, with reſpect to us, were groundleſs. She had in the canoe with her a young girl, whom, as ſhe wore a complete apron, we could not help conſidering as ſuch an inſtance of female decency, as we had not at any other time obſerved among the natives. The girl did not betray the leaſt ſign of apprehenſion, but rather ſeemed pleaſed at the interview. She laughed immoderately, either at us, or at the petulance ſhown by the old woman, who, I believe, was more terrified on the girl's account than on her own. After this we left them fully ſatisfied that we did non mean to offer them any injury.

A party of convicts, who had croſſed the country to Botany Bay to gather a kind of plant reſembling balm, which we found to be a good and pleaſant vegetable, were met by a ſuperior number of the natives, armed with ſpears and clubs, who chaſed them for two miles without being able to overtake them; but if they had ſucceeded in the purſuit, it is probable that they would have put them to death; for wherever perſons unarmed, or inferior in num⯑bers, have fallen in with them, they have never failed to maltreat them. The natives had with them ſome middling ſized dogs, ſomewhat reſembling the ſpecies called, in England, fox-dogs. A ſervant of Captain Shea being [188]one day out ſhooting, he found a very young puppy, belonging to the natives, eating part of a dead Kangaroo. He brought it to the camp, and it thrives much. The dog, in ſhape, is rather ſhort and well made; has very fine hair of the nature of fur, and a ſagacious look. When found, though not more than a month old, he ſhowed ſome ſymp⯑toms of ferocity. It was a conſiderable time before he could be induced to eat any fleſh that was boiled, but he would gorge it raw with great avidity. (See plate annexed).

23d. The blackſmith's ſhop, which was built of common bruſh wood, was burnt down. Very fortunately for us, the bellows and the other tools were, through the exertion of the people, ſaved. To effect this was no eaſy point, as, in the courſe of three or four minutes, the wood being very dry, every part of the ſhop was in flames.

29th. One of the convicts was met by ſome of the natives, who wounded him very ſeverely in the breaſt and head with their ſpears. They would undoubtedly have deſtroyed him had he not plunged into the ſea, near which he happened to be, and by that means ſaved himſelf. When he was brought to the hoſpital he was [189]very faint from the loſs of blood, which had flowed plentifully from his wounds. A piece of a broken ſpear had entered through the ſcalp and under his ear, ſo that the extraction gave him great pain. Their ſpears are made of a kind of cane which grows out of the tree that produces the yellow gum; they are ten or twelve feet long; pointed, and ſometimes barbed, with a piece of the ſame cane or the teeth of fiſh. Theſe they throw, with the aſſiſtance of the ſnort ſtick already mentioned, which has a ſhell made faſt to the end of it with the yellow gum. With this gum they likewiſe faſten their barbs to their ſpears and fiſh-gigs. The latter of theſe differ from the former by having four prongs, and being always barbed; which is not generally the caſe with the ſpears. Their ſpears, the only weapon they are ever ſeen to have that may be conſidered in any degree as dangerous, they throw thirty or forty yards with an unerring preciſion. When equipped for any exploit, they are alſo armed with a ſhield made of the bark of a tree, with which they very dexterouſly ward off any thing thrown at them. An humble kind of ſcymitar; a bludgeon, or club, about twenty inches long, with a large and pointed end; [190]and ſometimes a ſtone hatchet; make up the catalogue of their military implements.

We this day ſhot a Knob-fronted Bee-eater; (See plate annexed). This is about the ſize of a blackbird; the plumage moſtly brown above and white beneath; the head and upper part of the neck are ſparingly covered with narrow feathers, almoſt like hairs; but the fore part of the neck and breaſt are furniſhed with long ones, of a white colour and pointed at the ends; the tail is pretty long, and the feathers tipped with white; the bill is about one inch in length, and pale; but what is moſt remarkable, on the forehead, juſt at the baſe of the bill, is a ſhort blunt knob, about a quarter of an inch in length, and of a browniſh colour; the tongue is nearly of the length of the bill, and briſtly at the end; the legs are brown. This inhabits New South Wales, and is ſuppoſed to be a non-deſcript ſpecies.

[192]At ſome little diſtance from the place where we were a ſheep lay dead. As ſoon as he had diſcovered it, he took it by the horns, and, as well as we could underſtand him, he was extremely inquiſitive and anxious to know what it was. When his curioſity was ſatisfied, he went into the canoe, where the woman had been waiting for him. About ten or twenty yards from the ſhore, among the long graſs, in the ſhallow water, he ſtruck and took with his fiſh-gig ſeveral good fiſh; an acquiſition to which, at this ſeaſon of the year, it being cold and wet, we were unequal. While he was engaged in watching for them, both he and the woman chewed ſomething, which they frequently ſpit into the water; and which appeared to us, from his immediately ſtriking a fiſh, to be a lure. While they were thus employed, one of the gentlemen with me ſung ſome ſongs; and when he had done, the females in the canoes either ſung one of their own ſongs, or imitated him, in which they ſucceeded beyond conception. Any thing ſpoken by us they moſt accurately recited, and this in a manner of which we fell greatly ſhort in our attempts to repeat their language after them.

We this day ſhot the Sacred Kings-Fiſher (See Plate annexed). This bird is about the ſize of a thruſh, and meaſures nearly ten inches in length: the top of the head is blue, and creſted; ſides of the head, and back part of it, black; over the eyes, from the noſtrils, a ruſty coloured ſtreak; the chin, the middle of the neck, all round, and all the under part of the body, buff-colour, more or leſs inclining to ruſt; the upper part of the plumage chiefly blue; but the beginning of the back is black, as are alſo the quills and tail feathers within, [194] month August being blue only on the outer edges; the bill is large and black, but the baſe of the under jaw is whitiſh; the legs are brown. This bird is ſubject to great variety, ſeveral of them being mentioned by Mr. Latham in his Synopſis. The preſent ſeems to come neareſt his Var. C. See vol. ii. page 622, of that work.

Auguſt 12th. Celebrated the Prince of Wales's birth⯑day. The men of was fired a royal ſalute, and all the officers in the colony, civil and military, dined with the governor. The evening was ſpent in making bonfires, and teſtifying ſuch other demonſtrations of joy as could be ſhewn in this country. The weather is now very wet and cold, and has been ſo for the laſt ſix weeks. Several mornings we have had a hoar froſt, and a few diſtinct pelicles of ice were formed on ſhallow ſpots of water; the thermometer frequently as low as the freezing point.

16th. A convict who has been out gathering what they called ſweet tea, about a mile from the camp, met a party of the natives, conſiſting of fourteen, by whom he was beaten, and alſo ſlightly wounded with the ſhell⯑ſtick uſed in throwing their ſpears; they then made him [195]ſtrip, and would have taken from him his clothes, and probably his life, had it not been for the report of two muſquets; which they no ſooner heard, than they ran away. This party were returning from the wood with cork, which they had been cutting, either for their canoes or huts; and had with them no other inſtruments than thoſe that were neceſſary for the buſineſs on which they were engaged; ſuch as a ſtone hatchet, and the ſhell ſtick before mentioned. Had they been armed with any other weapons, the convict would probably have loſt his life.

That which we call the ſweet tea, is a creeping kind of vine, running to a great extent along the ground; the ſtalk is not ſo thick as the ſmalleſt honey-ſuckle; nor is the leaf ſo large as the common bay leaf, though ſomething ſimilar to it; and the taſte is ſweet, exactly like the liquorice root of the ſhops. Of this the convicts and ſoldiers make an infuſion which is tolerably pleaſant, and ſerves as no bad ſuccedaneum for tea. Indeed were it to be met with in greater abundance, it would be found very beneficial to thoſe poor creatures, whoſe conſtant diet is ſalt proviſions. In uſing it for medical purpoſes, [196]I have found it to be a good pectoral, and, as I before obſerved, not at all unpleaſant. (See Plate annexed). We have alſo a kind of ſhrub in this country reſembling the common broom; which produces a ſmall berry like a white currant, but, in taſte, more ſimilar to a very four green gooſeberry. This has proved a good antiſcorbutic; but I am ſorry to add, that the quantity to be met with is far from ſufficient to remove the ſcurvy. That diſorder ſtill prevails with great violence, nor can we at preſent find any remedy againſt it, notwithſtanding that the coun⯑try produces ſeveral ſorts of plants and ſhrubs, which, in this place, are conſidered as tolerable vegetables, and uſed in common. The moſt plentiful, is a plant growing on the ſea ſhore, greatly reſembling ſage. Among it are often to be found ſamphire, and a kind of wild ſpinage, beſides a ſmall ſhrub which we diſtinguiſh by the name of the vegetable tree, and the leaves of which prove rather a pleaſant ſubſtitute for vegetables.

22d. His Excellency Governor Phillip, Lieutenant George Johnſton, his Adjutant of Orders, Lieutenant Creſſwell of the Marines, myſelf, and ſix ſoldiers, landed in Manly Cove, in order to examine the coaſt to Broken Bay. At a [197]ſhort diſtance from the ſhore, we ſaw ſixteen canoes, with two perſons in each, and in ſome three, employed in fiſhing. They ſeemed to take very little notice as we paſſed them, ſo very intent were they on the buſineſs in which they were engaged. On our landing, we ſaw ſixty more of the natives, about two hundred yards diſtant from us. Some of them immediately came up to us, and were very friendly. A black man, who carried our tents, gave two of them a ſtocking each, with which they ſeemed much pleaſed; and pointing to the naked leg, expreſſed a great deſire to have that alſo clothed. The morning was ſo cold, that theſe poor wretches ſtood ſhivering on the beach, and appeared to be very ſenſible of the comfort and advantage of being clothed.

We ſent back our boats, and proceeded northward along the coaſt about ſix miles, where we were forced to halt for near two hours, until the tide had run out of a lagoon, or piece of water, ſo as to admit of its being forded. While we were detained here, an old native came to us, and, in the moſt friendly manner, pointed out the ſhalloweſt part of the water we had to croſs; but the tide ran with too much rapidity at that time for us to attempt it. After we [198]had waded through, one of our company ſhot a very fine duck, which we had dreſſed for ſupper, on a little eminence by the ſide of a cabbage tree ſwamp, about half a mile from the run of the tide. Here the whole party got as much cabbage, to eat with their ſalt proviſions, as they choſe. While we had been detained by the tide, ſeveral natives were on the oppoſite ſide, who alſo pointed out to us the ſhoaleſt water, and appeared, by their ſigns and geſtures, to wiſh us very much to come over; but before the tide was ſufficiently low, they went away. One of them wore a ſkin of a reddiſh colour round his ſhoulders. Near the place where we pitched our tent, we ſaw ſeveral quails exactly like thoſe in England. I fired four or five times at them, but without ſucceſs, as my ſhot was too large.

23d. As ſoon as the dew was off the graſs, we began our march, and about twelve o'clock fell in with the ſouth branch of Broken Bay: but finding the country round this part very rugged, and the diſtance too great for our ſtock of proviſions, we returned to the ſea ſhore, in order to examine the ſouth part of the entrance into the bay. This, like every other part of the country we have ſeen, had a very indifferent aſpect. From the entrance [199]of Port Jackſon to Broken Bay, in fome places from fifty to a hundred, in others to two hundred yards diſtant from the ſea, the coaſt indeed is very pleaſant, and tolerably clear of wood; the earth a kind of adheſive clay, covered with a thick and ſhort ſour graſs.

All along the ſhore we met the natives, who ſeem to have no fixed reſidence or abode; but, indiſcriminately, whenever they meet with a hut, or, what is more common, a convenient excavation or hole in the rocks, take poſſeſſion of it for the time. In one of their huts, at Broken Bay, which was conſtructed of bark, and was one of the beſt I had ever met with, we ſaw two very well made nets, ſome fiſhing lines not inferior to the nets, ſome ſpears, a ſtone hatchet of a very ſuperior make to what they uſually have, together with two vehicles for carrying water, one of cork, the other made out of the knot of a large tree hollowed. In this hut there were two pieces of coarſe linen, which they muſt have obtained from ſome of our people, and every thing about it beſpoke more comfort and convenience than I had obſerved in any other. A little way from it we fell in with a large party of natives, whom we ſuppoſed to be the proprietors; [200]they were armed with ſpears and ſtone hatchets. One of the latter they very earneſtly wiſhed to exchange for one of ours. Though we would readily have obliged them, it was not in our power to comply with their wiſhes, as we had only a ſufficient number wherewith to cut wood for our own fires. However, notwithſtanding our refuſal, they parted from us without appearing at all diſſatisfied.

As we proceeded along the ſandy beach, we gathered ſome beans, which grew on a ſmall creeping ſubſtance not unlike a vine. They were well taſted, and very ſimilar to the Engliſh long-pod bean. At the place where we halted, we had them boiled, and we all eat very heartily of them. Half an hourafter, the governor and I were ſeized with a violent vomiting. We drank warm water, which, carrying the load freely from our ſtomachs, gave us immediate relief. Two other gentlemen of the party ate as freely of them as we had done, without feeling the ſmalleſt incon⯑venience or bad effect. About this place we got ſome raſberries; but they had not that pleaſant tartneſs peculiar to thoſe in Europe.

24th. We returned by the ſame paſſage, along the coaſt, [201]without ſeeing any objects worth notice, until we came to a convenient ſpot to encamp for the night, where there was great plenty of cabbage trees, and tolerable water; a circumſtance, as I have already obſerved, not generally to be met with in this country, except on the ſea coaſt; and even there by no means in abundance.

While ſoup was making of ſome birds we had lately killed (which proved very good), and every thing was getting ready for the night, the governor, the two other gentlemen, and myſelf, took our guns, and aſcended a hill juſt above us. From this eminence we ſaw the ſouth⯑ern branch of Broken Bay, which ran far into the country. During our return, we picked up, in the diſtance of about half a mile, twenty-five flowers of plants and ſhurbs of different genera and ſpecies, ſpecimens of which I have tranſmitted to Mr. Wilſon, particularly the Red Gum Tree. (See Plate annexed). On the ſpot where we encamped, the graſs was long, dry, and ſour; and in ſuch abundance, that we ſet it on fire all around, for fear the natives ſhould ſurpriſe us in the night by doing the ſame; a cuſtom in which they ſeem always happy to indulge themſelves.

25th. We ſet off early in the morning to look at the [202]branch of Broken Bay which we had ſeen the evening before; and were led to it by a path not very much frequented. At the head of this branch we found a freſh water river, which took its riſe a little above, out of a ſwamp. Such is the origin and ſource of every river we have yet diſcovered in this country; though few, when compared to thoſe in any other part of the world. It is very extraordinary that in all this extenſive tract, a living ſpring has not yet been explored. On this river we ſaw many ducks and teal. Mr. Creſſwell ſhot one of the latter, and I ſhot one of the former. They were both well taſted, and good of their kind. At the head of this branch we found the country rough and impaſſable. Having followed the courſe of the river to its origin, we that day returned to Manly Cove, where we ſurpriſed two old men, an old woman, a grown-up girl, and thirteen children, in a hut. When the children ſaw us approach, they all gathered themſelves cloſely together around the girl; they cried, and ſeemed much terrified. The old men ſhowed ſuch diſlike to our looking at them, that the governor and the reſt of the party withdrew to ſome little diſtance to dine. Some of the children, on ſeeing all the party gone but [203]myſelf and another gentleman, began to laugh, and thus proved that their fears had vaniſned. When we joined the reſt of the party, the old man followed us in a very friendly manner, and took part of every kind of proviſion we had, but he ate none of it in our ſight. The women and children ſtood at ſome diſtance, and beckoned to us when the men, of whom they feemed to ſtand in very great dread, had turned their backs.

As ſoon as we had dined, and refreſhed ourſelves, the governor, by himſelf, went down to them, and diſtributed ſome preſents among them, which ſoon gained their friendſhip and confidence. By this time ſixteen canoes, that were out fiſhing, came cloſe to the ſpot where we were, and there lay on their paddles, which they managed with wonderful dexterity and addreſs; mimicking us, and indulging in their own merriment. After many ſigns and entreaties, one of the women ventured to the governor, who was by himſelf, and with ſeemingly great timidity, took from him ſome ſmall fiſhing lines and hooks; articles which they hold in great eſtimation. This made her leſs fearful; and in a little time ſhe became perfectly free and unreſtrained. Her conduct influenced many others, [204]who came on ſhore for what they could procure. Many of them were painted about the head, breaſt, and ſhoulders, with ſome white ſubſtance. None of thoſe who were thus ornamented came on ſhore, till by ſigns we made them underſtand that we intended to offer them ſome preſents; and even then, only one of them ventured. To this perſon Lieutenant Creſſwell gave a white pocket hand⯑kerchief, with which ſhe ſeemeds much pleaſed. Every gentleman now ſingled out a female, and preſented her with ſome trinkets, not forgetting, at the ſame time, to beſtow gifts upon ſome of her family, whom ſhe took conſiderable pains to make known, leſt they ſhould fall into the hands of ſuch as did not belong to her. It was remarked that all the women and children, (an old woman excepted) had the little finger of the left hand taken off at the ſecond joint; the ſtump of which was as well covered as if the operation had been performed by a ſurgeon.

While we were thus employed among the women, a body of men came out of the woods with a new canoe, made of cork. It was one of the beſt we had ob⯑ſerved in this country; though it fell very ſhort of thoſe [205]which I have ſeen among the American or Muſquito-ſhore Indians; who, in improvements of every kind, the Indians of this country are many centuries behind. The men had alſo with them ſome new paddles, ſpears, and fiſh⯑gigs, which they had juſt been making. They readily ſhowed us the uſe of every thing they had with them. Indeed they always behave with an apparent civility when they fall in with men that are armed; but when they meet perſons unarmed, they ſeldom fail to take every advantage of them.

Thoſe females who were arrived at the age of puberty did not wear a covering; but all the female children and likewiſe the girls wore a ſlight kind of covering before them, made of the fur of the kangaroo, twiſted into threads. While we went towards the party of men that came out of the woods with the new canoe, all the women landed, and began to broil their fiſh, of which they had a large quantity. There ſeemed to be no har⯑mony or hoſpitality among them. However, the female to whom I paid the moſt attention gave me, but not un⯑till I aſked her for it, ſome of the fiſh which ſhe was [206]eating. She had thrown it on the fire, but it was ſcarcely warm.

Many of the women were ſtrait, well formed, and lively. My companion continued to exhibit a number of coquettiſh airs while I was decorating her head, neck, and arms, with my pocket and neck handkerchiefs, which I tore into ribbons, as if deſirous of multiplying two preſents into ſeveral. Having nothing left, except the buttons of my coat, on her admiring them, I cut them away, and with a piece of ſtring tied them round her waiſt. Thus orna⯑mented, and thus delighted with her new acquirements, ſhe turned from me with a look of inexpreſſible arch⯑neſs.

Before the arrival of the boats, which was late, the natives pointed to a hawk, and made ſigns to us to ſhoot it. It had alighted upon an adjoining tree, and the governor deſired that I would bring it down. The report of the gun frightened them very much. Some ran away; but on perceiving that no harm was intended againſt them, they returned, and were highly pleaſed to ſee the hawk preſented by the governor to a young girl, who appeared [207]to be the daughter of the moſt diſtinguiſhed amongſt them.

While the boats were preparing for our reception, an old woman, perfectly grey with age, ſolicited us very much for ſome preſent; and in order to make us comply, threw herſelf, before all her companions, into the moſt indecent attitudes.

The cockſwain of the boat informed us, that while he was waiting for our return, the day before, two parties of the natives met, and commenced hoſtilities againſt each other. The man thus deſcribed the manner in which this encounter was carried on. A champion from each party, armed with a ſpear and a ſhield, preſſed forwards be⯑fore the reſt; and, as ſoon as a favourable opportunity offered (till which he advanced and retreated by turns), threw his ſpear, and then retired; when another imme⯑diately took his place, going through the ſame manoeuvres; and in this manner was the conflict carried on for more than two hours. The boats crew and two midſhipmen, who ſaw the whole of the proceeding, perceived that one of the natives walked off with a ſpear in his ſide. During the engagement, the women belonging to them, who ſtood [208]at ſome diſtance, diſcovered ſtrong marks of concern, and ſcreamed loudly when any of the combatants appeared to be wounded. As the boat was returning cloſe along ſhore, a ſpear was thrown at the people by ſome of the natives, who were lurking behind the trees and rocks. It was hurled with ſuch force, that it flew a conſiderable way over the boat, although we were between thirty and forty yards from the ſhore.

It was late in the evening before we arrived in Sydney Cove; and as ſoon as the governor landed, he was informed that a gold mine had been diſcovered, near the entrance of the harbour, by a convict. During his excellency's abſence, the convict had made this diſcovery known to the lieutenant governor and the judge advocate; for which, he ſaid, that he hoped and expected to have his freedom, and a pecuniary reward. The gentlemen to whom he applied anſwered, that they could not promiſe to grant his requeſt until he ſhould have put them in poſſeſſion of the mine; but, that they were well aſſured that the governor would beſtow on him a proper recompence, after ſufficient proof of the diſcovery. A boat was, in conſequence, ordered from the Sirius, to carry him and Captain Campbell down to the [209]place where he declared that the mine was ſituated. At their landing, he begged leave to withdraw a little, on ſome neceſſary occaſion; when, inſtead of returning to Captain Campbell, he went back to the camp, and waiting on the lieutenant governor and judge advocate, aſſerted that he had put Captain Campbell in poſſeſſion of the mine, who had diſpatched him over land for another officer and a proper guard. His account not being doubted, he was well fed and treated; and Lieutenant Paulden, with a guard and all neceſſary articles, was ordered to attend him to the place. But, before they could ſet out, to the great aſtoniſhment of all, Captain Campbell arrived, and unravelled the whole of this extraordinary deception. This produced an unexpected revolution. Inſtead of receiving a reward for his golden diſcoveries, the impoſtor was immediately taken into cuſtody, with two others, ſuppoſed to be concerned in carrying on the artifice. The next day he was examined, with great privacy and ſtrictneſs; but no ſatisfactory elucidation being obtained from him, he was ordered to be ſeverely whipped. Subſequently to this puniſhment, of which he was prepared to expect a weekly repetition, between the intervals of hard labour, and to be [210]loaded inceſſantly with heavy irons, during the time of his remaining in the colony, he moſt audaciouſly perſiſted in endeavouring to maintain the deluſion, and declared that if an officer was ſent with him, he would ſhow him the mine; adding, that he was heartily ſorry for what had happened. Accordingly, he was ſuffered to accompany Lieutenant G. Johnſton, the Governor's Adjutant of Orders, to the place in queſtion. Before the boat had reached its deſtination Mr. Johnſton argued with him, yet not with⯑out proteſting, that if he either attempted to deceive him as he had impoſed upon Captain Campbell, or preſumed to move five yards from him and his party, he would inſtantly order him to be ſhot. Finding that this officer was not to be trifled with, but ſeemed determined, he acknowledged that it was unneceſſary to proceed any farther; that he was ignorant of the exiſtence of any ſuch mine, and that the ſpecimens ſhown by him were only a compoſition of braſs and gold, which he had filed down and melted. Mr. Johnſton brought him back; when he was again examined, and ordered to be puniſhed. It is needleſs to add that no further diſcovery was made. He is now at liberty. He is, however, obliged to wear a large R on [211]his back. The man, whoſe name is Daily, appears inſane; yet others cannot be perſuaded that he is a lunatic, but are rather of opinion that he is a deſigning miſcreant, and that time will diſcloſe a deep-laid ſcheme, which he had planned for ſome purpoſe hitherto undiſcovered. For my own part, I freely confeſs, that I cannot coincide with their ſentiments. He was ſo artful as to circulate a report that he had ſold ſeveral pounds weight of the ore to the maſter of the Golden Grove, and ſome of his ſeamen. This rumour was received with ſuch credulity, that, in conſequence of the impreſſion which it made, none of the ſailors were ſuffered to leave the ſhip after a certain hour in the evening. In a word, ſo many ridiculous circumſtances attended this affair, that to attempt a complete enumeration of them would prove not leſs difficult than unintereſting.

26th. The Supply arrived from Norfolk Iſland, after a long and rough paſſage. She had landed, but neither in apparent ſafety nor with facility, the ſtores which ſhe carried to that place: and, upon the preſent occaſion, I am ſorry to add, that the hazard of landing and embarking from this little iſland is ſo very great, that Mr. Cunning⯑ham, a midſhipman of the Sirius (who reſided on it with [212]Lieutenant King, the ſuperintendant), was loſt, with three ſeamen, in a boat that was ſwamped by the ſurf, which on every part of the coaſt runs high, and beats againſt the ſhore with great violence; ſo that I much fear, from the difficulty of acceſs, and its ſituation, it never will prove of any great conſequence, although it promiſed ſome advan⯑tages; particularly in furniſhing us with pine trees, which grow here to a ſize nearly equal to thoſe of Norway. In the whole iſland there is not a harbour capable of admitting even ſo ſmall a veſſel as the Supply, and the anchorage on every part of the coaſt is equally bad.

The iſland produces a kind of gladiolus luteus, or iris paluſtris, of which, as may be ſeen by the ſpecimens ſent Mr. Wilſon, exceeding good hemp is to be made; and which is to be procured in any quantity, the plants growing in great abundance throughout the whole iſland. The foregoing articles, were the iſland larger and more eaſy of acceſs, with even a tolerable harbour, might, in any other country, be of the firſt conſequence to a maritime nation. But from every information which I have gained from the officers and crew of the Supply, the procuring of this bene⯑ficial acquiſition is at preſent ſomewhat doubtful. The [213]people ſettled upon it, when they can venture out, get great plenty of fiſh; and, at certain ſeaſons, turtle. In the iſland alſo are pigeons, as tame as domeſtic fowls; and the ſoil ſeems well adapted for the growth of all kinds of grain and vegetables. It produces a wild banana, or plantain tree, which, by cultivation, may aſſiſt the ſettlers, as a ſucce⯑daneum for bread: and I am not without hopes that we ſhall be able to make ſome additions from thence to ſuch neceſſaries of life as may in time be produced here.

A few days ſince the natives landed near the hoſpital, where ſome goats belonging to the Supply were browſing; when they killed, with their ſpear, a kid, and carried it away. Within this fortnight, they have alſo killed a he-goat of the governor's. Whenever an opportunity offered, they have ſeldom failed to deſtroy whatever ſtock they could ſeize upon unobſerved. They have been equally ready to attack the convicts, on every occaſion which preſented itſelf; and ſome of them have become victims to theſe ſavages. I have already obſerved that they ſtand much in fear of a muſquet, and therefore they very ſeldom approach any perſon by whom it is carried; and their apprehenſions are almoſt equally great when they perceive a red garment.

month October September 5th. About half after ſix in the evening, we ſaw an aurora auſtralis, a phaenomenon uncommon in the ſouthern hemiſphere.

October 2d. His Majeſty's ſhip the Sirius ſailed for the Cape of Good Hope, for a ſupply of flour, it being diſco⯑vered that our ſtock of this article bore no proportion to the ſalt beef and pork.

The ſame day the Golden Grove ſailed for Norfolk Iſland, with a reinforcement of male and female convicts; two free men, as gardeners; a midſhipman from the Sirius, to fill up the vacancy occaſioned by the death of Mr. Cunningham; a ſergeant, corporal, and ſix privates; and a ſupply of neceſſaries for eighteen months.

4th. A convict, named Cooper Handley, who went out with an armed party of marines to collect wild vegetables and ſweet tea, ſtrayed from them, and was afterwards met by the natives, who murdered and mutilated him in a ſhocking manner. The natives were ſo near our men, that they heard them very diſtinctly ſhouting and making a great noiſe, yet were unable to overtake them in the purſuit. In the evening, a party of ſoldiers and convicts were ſent out to bury the deceaſed.

10th. A general court martial was convened by warrant from the governor. When the members, with the deputy judge advocate, were aſſembled, they gave it as their opinion, that notwithſtanding the governor has full power and authority to grant and hold court martials among regular troops; yet, as a corps of marines, under the influence of a particular code of laws, and inſtructions from the Admiralty, and only amenable to that board, they could not proceed to trial; the board of Admiralty not having delegated any part of their authority over the marine corps, particularly that of holding court martials, to the governor; neither did any part of the act of Parliament for forming a colony in New South Wales contain directions relative to that ſubject. The marine inſtructions, with reſpect to court martials, ſtate, that no general court martial can be ordered but by the Lord High Admiral, or three commiſſioners for executing the office; nor any ſentence be carried into execution until approved of by him or them, unleſs the marines, as in America, ſhould be, by act of Parliament, conſidered as a part of the army; which is not the caſe here. They are truly and literally governed and regulated by the ſame rules and inſtructions as the marine diviſions at [216]Chatham, Portſmouth, or Plymouth; and, conſequently, their proceeding to trial would not only be illegal, but a direct inſult to the governance and power of the Board under which they act, and to whom every appeal from them muſt come; unleſs an act of Parliament, in that caſe made and provided, otherwiſe directs.

28th. A marine went to gather ſome greens and herbs, but has not returned; as he was unarmed, it is feared that he has been met and murdered by the natives.

31ſt. A ſergeant and four privates, who had been miſſing three days, returned. They were ſent by the commanding officer to look for the marine, and loſt them⯑ſelves in the woods. In the evening of this day we had very loud thunder, and a ſhower of hail; many of the hail-ſtones were meaſured, and found to be five-eights of an inch in diameter.

November 2d. This day more hail; the weather dark and gloomy, with dreadful lightning. The mercury during the whole of the day ſtood between 66 and 68.

7th. A criminal court ſentenced a convict to five hundred laſhes for ſtealing ſoap, the property of another convict, value eight pence.

10th. The Golden Grove returned from Norfolk Iſland with a few ſpars, and ſome timber for the governor. While ſhe lay there, ſhe was obliged to cut her cable and ſtand to ſea, there being (as before obſerved) no harbour in the whole iſland, where a ſhip can ride in ſafety. The maſter of the ſhip was ſwamped in the ſurf and nearly loſt, with his boat and crew.

11th. Thomas Bulmore, a private marine, died in conſequence of the blows which he received during a battle with one of his companions; who is to be tried for his life, on the 17th inſtant, by a criminal court. So ſmall is our number, and ſo neceſſary is every individual who compoſes it, for one purpoſe or another, that the loſs of even a ſingle man may truly be conſidered as an irreparable diſadvantage!

The preceding is all the account I am able at preſent to ſend you of the territories of New South Wales, and its pro⯑ductions. The unſettled ſtate in which you muſt naturally ſuppoſe every thing, as yet, to remain, will not permit me to be as copious as I could wiſh; but, by the next diſpatch, [218]I hope to be able to ſend you no inconſiderable additions to the Natural Hiſtory, and at the ſame time ſuch further in⯑formation concerning our affairs here as during the interim ſhall have occurred.