Whether the information contained in this letter was true or false, Captain Carteret put his ship in the best posture of defence possible. He even suspected that the Resident was privy to the horrid scheme; but he had afterwards reason to be convinced to the contrary: though it appeared that one of the Princes subject to the King of Bony, and a minister of that monarch, had been privately at Bonthain; but of eight hundred men, who were said to be there, no traces could be found.
On the 7th of May the Captain received, through the hands of the Resident, a letter from the Governor of Macassar, denying his having any knowledge of the above-mentioned project, and requiring that the writer of the letter might be given up; but this requisition was not complied with, as the Captain knew he would be equally punished, whether his information was or was not true.
At this place they purchased plenty of fresh provisions at moderate prices; and, among the rest, beef of an excellent quality. The bullocks of this place are those that have the bunch on the back; and it likewise abounds in buffaloes, horses, sheep, deer, and goats. The natives neither eat pork nor turtle; but they sold the latter, as well as other fish, to Captain Carteret.
Having taken in wood and water, they sailed hence on the 22d of May, and, steering along the shore, came to an anchor the same evening, between the islands of Celebes and Tonikaky. They sailed again in the morning, and at night saw the southernmost of the islands of Salombo. On the 26th they saw the island of Luback; and on the 29th a number of small islands called Carimon-Java.
On the 2d of June they had sight of the land of Java, and on the following day came to an anchor in the road of Batavia, after having with difficulty prevented the ship from sinking, by the constant working of the pumps, during her whole passage from Celebes. Having fired guns of salutation, the Captain attended the Governor, requesting permission to repair the defects of the ship; but he was directed to petition the Council.
The Council met on the Monday following, when the Captain sent a letter, stating the defects of the ship, and requesting permission to repair her. The time from this day till the 18th of the month was lost in altercations respecting the affair at Bonthain Bay; the Governor and Council insisting, that Captain Carteret should sign a formal declaration, that he believed the report of an intention formed at Celebes, for cutting off the ship, was false and malicious; and the Captain on his part resolutely persisting in his refusal to sign any such paper.
On the 18th the Captain learnt that orders had been given for repairing the ship at Onrust, whither a pilot attended her, and where she came to an anchor on the 22d of June; but as the wharfs were pre-engaged by other ships, the repairs did not commence till the 24th of July. On examination, the vessel was found in so very rotten and decayed a condition, that the Dutch carpenter would not undertake her repair, without shifting her whole bottom, till the Captain had certified under his hand, that what should be done was in consequence of his own express direction. This the Dutchman thought necessary, lest the ship should never reach England, and the blame consequently rest with him.
During Captain Carteret’s stay at this port, he frequently visited M. Houting, an Admiral in the service of the Dutch, a gentleman remarkable for his politeness and affability, from whom the Captain received several distinguishing marks of kindness.--The Governor of Batavia lives with the state of a sovereign Prince. When he goes publicly abroad he is escorted by horse-guards, and has two black footmen who run before his coach. When any other coach meets that of the Governor, it is drawn on one side, and the persons in it get out to pay their respects; nor, if a coach is behind, must it be driven by the Governor’s, whatever necessity may require its greater speed. The like homage is paid to the members of the Council, only that the person does not quit his carriage, but salutes them standing in it; one black man, with a stick in his hand, runs before the coach of a member of the Council, and thinks himself at liberty to punish those who do not make a proper obedience.
It was hinted to Captain Carteret, by the landlord of the hotel where he lodged, that his carriage must stop, if he should meet the Governor’s, or those of the Council; but the Captain disdaining to pay a degree of homage to the servants of the States of Holland, which is not paid to the King of Great Britain, refused to comply; and when the black men were mentioned, he said he knew how to defend himself, and pointed to his pistols. In a few hours afterwards he was told, from the Governor, that he might act as he pleased.
Captain Carteret having engaged some English seamen, sailed from Onrust on the 15th of September, and came to an anchor off Princes Island, in the Streight of Sunda, on the following day. Having here taken in wood and water, they sailed on the 25th with a fine gale of wind, which held them during a passage of 700 leagues; and on the 23d of November they came to an anchor in Table Bay in the Cape of Good Hope. The Captain having received numberless civilities from the Governor and other gentlemen of this place, sailed on the 6th of January, and on the 20th anchored off the Island of St. Helena, from whence he again sailed on the 24th. On the 31st of January they anchored in a bay off the Island of Ascension, where they found an abundance of turtle, many of which were taken; and the ship sailed again on the following day.
It had been accustomed to leave on this island (which is uninhabited) a letter in a bottle, containing an account of the name and destination of any ship which might touch there; and with this custom Captain Carteret complied.
On the 20th of this month a ship which had been seen the preceding day far to the leeward, but had out-sailed the Swallow in the night, tacked and stood towards her. A boat was sent on board, in which was a young officer, who, by many artful questions, endeavoured to learn from Captain Carteret all the most important particulars of his voyage; and this piece of ill manners was aggravated, by his inventing a tale to disguise those of his own voyage; for the vessel he had just left was no other than that of M. Bougainville, which was then returning from a voyage round the world. Captain Carteret learnt this circumstance afterwards from the Lieutenant; for the boat’s crew, which had brought the French officer on board, had discovered every secret to one of the English crew who spoke French. Happily, Captain Carteret had kept his own secret so well, that Monsieur Bougainville was not at all the wiser for the time he had lost in the negotiation of this illiberal business. The Frenchman learnt the name of the English ship from the letter left in the bottle at the island of Ascension.
Our adventurers had sight of the western islands on the 7th of March 1769, and came to an anchor at Spithead on the 20th of the same month, without meeting with any accident worth recording.
Considering the extreme unfitness of the Swallow to perform such a voyage; the length of time she was in doing it; the amazing dangers she escaped; and the apparently insurmountable difficulties she went through; to what can we ascribe her arriving safe in England at last, but the merciful interposition of a particular providence.
CAPTAIN COOK’s VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. In 1768, 1769, 1770 and 1771.
Mr. Banks, a gentleman of considerable fortune in Lincolnshire, was induced to undertake this voyage from his natural curiosity, and invincible desire of attaining knowledge. He had already visited the banks of Newfoundland and Labradore, and was now happy in having an opportunity of observing the transit of Venus in the southern part of America. He accordingly engaged his friend Dr. Solander to accompany him in this voyage. This gentleman, who was born in Sweden, and educated under the celebrated Linnæus, had, from his extensive learning, been appointed to a place been appointed to a place in the British Museum, and given the greatest satisfaction in that capacity. Mr. Banks also took with him two draftsmen, one to delineate views and figures; the other to paint such subjects of natural history as might present themselves. He had besides a secretary and four servants.
On the 26th of August, 1768, the Endeavour sailed from Plymouth, and on the 2d of September they saw land between Cape Finister and Cape Ortegal, on the coast of Gallicia in Spain. Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander had, during this course, an opportunity of viewing many marine animals, hitherto unnoticed; among these was a new species of an angular figure, near three inches in length and one in thickness, having a hollow quite through it, and a brown spot at one end. Four of these animals were joined together; but upon being put into water they separated and swam about. They resembled a gem in brightness, and shone in the water with fine colours. There was another animal of a more beautiful and lively colour, which was not unlike an opal. About ten leagues from Cape Finister, various birds were observed, which had not been described by Linnæus.