A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay

W >> Watkin Tench >> A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay

whitespace; small checks; poetry; italics; dashes; gut;



A NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION TO BOTANY BAY


by Watkin Tench




INTRODUCTION



In offering this little tract to the public, it is equally the writer's
wish to conduce to their amusement and information.

The expedition on which he is engaged has excited much curiosity, and
given birth to many speculations, respecting the consequences to arise
from it. While men continue to think freely, they will judge variously.
Some have been sanguine enough to foresee the most beneficial effects to
the Parent State, from the Colony we are endeavouring to establish;
and some have not been wanting to pronounce the scheme big with folly,
impolicy, and ruin. Which of these predictions will be completed, I
leave to the decision of the public. I cannot, however, dismiss the
subject without expressing a hope, that the candid and liberal of each
opinion, induced by the humane and benevolent intention in which it
originated, will unite in waiting the result of a fair trial to an
experiment, no less new in its design, than difficult in its execution.

As this publication enters the world with the name of the author,
candour will, he trusts, induce its readers to believe, that no
consideration could weigh with him in an endeavour to mislead them.
Facts are related simply as they happened, and when opinions are
hazarded, they are such as, he hopes, patient inquiry, and deliberate
decision, will be found to have authorised. For the most part he has
spoken from actual observation; and in those places where the relations
of others have been unavoidably adopted. He has been careful to search
for the truth, and repress that spirit of exaggeration which is almost
ever the effect of novelty on ignorance.

The nautical part of the work is comprized in as few pages as possible.
By the professional part of my readers this will be deemed judicious;
and the rest will not, I believe, be dissatisfied at its brevity. I beg
leave, however, to say of the astronomical calculations, that they
may be depended on with the greatest degree of security, as they were
communicated by an officer, who was furnished with instruments, and
commissioned by the Board of Longitude, to make observations during the
voyage, and in the southern hemisphere.

An unpractised writer is generally anxious to bespeak public attention,
and to solicit public indulgence. Except on professional subjects,
military men are, perhaps, too fearful of critical censure. For the
present narrative no other apology is attempted, than the intentions of
its author, who has endeavoured not only to satisfy present curiosity,
but to point out to future adventurers, the favourable, as well as
adverse circumstances which will attend their settling here. The candid,
it is hoped, will overlook the inaccuracies of this imperfect sketch,
drawn amidst the complicated duties of the service in which the Author
is engaged, and make due allowance for the want of opportunity of
gaining more extensive information.

Watkin Tench, Capt. of the Marines.

Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, New South Wales, 10 July, 1788.





CHAPTER I



From the Embarkation of the Convicts, to the Departure of the Ships from
England.


The marines and convicts having been previously embarked in the River,
at Portsmouth, and Plymouth, the whole fleet destined for the expedition
rendezvoused at the Mother Bank, on the 16th of March 1787, and remained
there until the 13th of May following. In this period, excepting a
slight appearance of contagion in one of the transports, the ships were
universally healthy, and the prisoners in high spirits. Few complaints
or lamentations were to be heard among them, and an ardent wish for the
hour of departure seemed generally to prevail.

As the reputation, equally with the safety of the officers and
soldiers appointed to guard the convicts, consisted in maintaining due
subordination, an opportunity was taken, immediately on their being
embarked, to convince them, in the most pointed terms, that any attempt
on their side, either to contest the command, or to force their escape,
should be punished with instant death; orders to this effect were given
to the centinels in their presence; happily, however, for all parties,
there occurred not any instance in which there was occasion to have
recourse to so desperate a measure; the behavior of the convicts being
in general humble, submissive, and regular: indeed I should feel myself
wanting in justice to those unfortunate men, were I not to bear this
public testimony of the sobriety and decency of their conduct.

Unpleasant as a state of inactivity and delay for many weeks appeared
to us, it was not without its advantages; for by means of it we were
enabled to establish necessary regulations among the convicts, and to
adopt such a system of defence, as left us little to Apprehend for our
own security, in case a spirit of madness and desperation had hurried
them on to attempt our destruction.

Among many other troublesome parts of duty which the service we were
engaged on required, the inspection of all letters brought to, or sent
from the ships, was not one of the least tiresome and disagreeable. The
number and contents of those in the vessel I was embarked in, frequently
surprised me very much; they varied according to the dispositions of
the writers: but their constant language was, an apprehension of the
impracticability of returning home, the dread of a sickly passage,
and the fearful prospect of a distant and barbarous country. But this
apparent despondency proceeded in few instances from sentiment. With too
many it was, doubtless, an artifice to awaken compassion, and call forth
relief; the correspondence invariably ending in a petition for money
and tobacco. Perhaps a want of the latter, which is considered a great
luxury by its admirers among the lower classes of life, might be the
more severely felt, from their being debarred in all cases whatever,
sickness excepted, the use of spirituous liquors.

It may be thought proper for me to mention, that during our stay at the
Mother Bank, the soldiers and convicts were indiscriminately served
with fresh beef. The former, in addition, had the usual quantity of beer
allowed in the navy, and were at what is called full allowance of all
species of provisions; the latter, at two thirds only.




CHAPTER II.



From the Departure, to the Arrival of the Fleet at Teneriffe.


Governor Phillip having at length reached Portsmouth, and all things
deemed necessary for the expedition being put on board, at daylight
on the morning of the 13th, the signal to weigh anchor was made in the
Commanding Officer's ship the Sirius. Before six o'clock the whole
fleet were under sail; and, the weather being fine and wind easterly,
proceeded through the Needles with a fresh leading breeze. In addition
to our little armament, the Hyena frigate was ordered to accompany us
a certain distance to the westward, by which means our number was
increased to twelve sail: His Majesty's ships 'Sirius', 'Hyena', and
'Supply', three Victuallers with two years stores and provisions on
board for the Settlement, and six Transports, with troops and convicts.
In the transports were embarked four captains, twelve subalterns,
twenty-four serjeants and corporals, eight drummers, and one hundred and
sixty private marines, making the whole of the military force, including
the Major Commandant and Staff on board the Sirius, to consist of two
hundred and twelve persons, of whom two hundred and ten were volunteers.
The number of convicts was five hundred and sixty-five men, one hundred
and ninety-two women, and eighteen children; the major part of the
prisoners were mechanics and husbandmen, selected on purpose by order of
Government.

By ten o'clock we had got clear of the Isle of Wight, at which time,
having very little pleasure in conversing with my own thoughts, I
strolled down among the convicts, to observe their sentiments at this
juncture. A very few excepted, their countenances indicated a high
degree of satisfaction, though in some, the pang of being severed,
perhaps for ever, from their native land, could not be wholly
suppressed; in general, marks of distress were more perceptible among
the men than the women; for I recollect to have seen but one of those
affected on the occasion, "Some natural tears she dropp'd, but wip'd
them soon." After this the accent of sorrow was no longer heard; more
genial skies and change of scene banished repining and discontent, and
introduced in their stead cheerfulness and acquiescence in a lot, now
not to be altered.

To add to the good disposition which was beginning to manifest
itself, on the morning of the 20th, in consequence of some favorable
representations made by the officers commanding detachments, they were
hailed and told from the Sirius, that in those cases where they judged
it proper, they were at liberty to release the convicts from the fetters
in which they had been hitherto confined. In complying with these
directions, I had great pleasure in being able to extend this humane
order to the whole of those under my charge, without a single exception.
It is hardly necessary for me to say, that the precaution of ironing the
convicts at any time reached to the men only.

In the evening of the same day, the Hyena left us for England, which
afforded an early opportunity of writing to our friends, and easing
their apprehensions by a communication of the favourable accounts it was
in our power to send them.

From this time to the day of our making the land, little occurred worthy
of remark. I cannot, however, help noticing the propriety of employing
the marines on a service which requires activity and exertion at sea, in
preference to other troops. Had a regiment recruited since the war
been sent out, sea-sickness would have incapacitated half the men from
performing the duties immediately and indispensably necessary; whereas
the marines, from being accustomed to serve on board ship, accommodated
themselves with ease to every exigency, and surmounted every difficulty.

At daybreak, on the morning of the 30th of May we saw the rocks named
the Deserters, which lie off the south-east end of Madeira; and found
the south-east extremity of the most southerly of them, to be in the
latitude of 32 deg 28 min north, longitude 16 deg 17 1/2 min west of
Greenwich. The following day we saw the Salvages, a cluster of rocks
which are placed between the Madeiras and Canary Islands, and determined
the latitude of the middle of the Great Salvage to be 30 deg 12 min
north, and the longitude of its eastern side to be 15 deg 39 min west.
It is no less extraordinary than unpardonable, that in some very modern
charts of the Atlantic, published in London, the Salvages are totally
omitted.

We made the island of Teneriffe on the 3d of June, and in the evening
anchored in the road of Santa Cruz, after an excellent passage of three
weeks from the day we left England.




CHAPTER III.



From the Fleet's Arrival at Teneriffe, to its Departure for Rio de
Janeiro, in the Brazils.


There is little to please a traveller at Teneriffe. He has heard wonders
of its celebrated Peak, but he may remain for weeks together at the town
of Santa Cruz without having a glimpse of it, and when its cloud-topped
head emerges, the chance is, that he feels disappointed, for, from the
point of view in which he sees it, the neighbouring mountains lessen its
effect very considerably. Excepting the Peak, the eye receives little
pleasure from the general face of the country, which is sterile and
uninviting to the last degree. The town, however, from its cheerful
white appearance, contrasted with the dreary brownness of the back
ground, makes not an unpleasing coup d'oeil. It is neither irregular in
its plan, nor despicable in its style of building; and the churches and
religious houses are numerous, sumptuous, and highly ornamented.

The morning of our arrival, as many officers as could be spared from the
different ships were introduced to the Marquis de Brancifort, Governor
of the Canary Islands, whose reception was highly flattering and polite.
His Excellency is a Sicilian by birth, and is most deservedly popular in
his government. He prefers residing at Teneriffe, for the conveniency
of frequent communication with Europe, to the Grand Canary, which is
properly the seat of power; and though not long fixed here, has already
found means to establish a manufactory in cotton, silk, and thread,
under excellent regulations, which employs more than sixty persons, and
is of infinite service to the common people. During our short stay we
had every day some fresh proof of his Excellency's esteem and attention,
and had the honour of dining with him, in a style of equal elegance and
splendor. At this entertainment the profusion of ices which appeared in
the desert was surprising, considering that we were enjoying them under
a sun nearly vertical. But it seems the caverns of the Peak, very far
below its summit, afford, at all seasons, ice in abundance.

The restless importunity of the beggars, and the immodesty of the lowest
class of women, are highly disgusting. From the number of his countrymen
to be found, an Englishman is at no loss for society. In the mercantile
houses established here, it is from gentlemen of this description that
any information is derived, for the taciturnity of the Spaniards is not
to be overcome in a short acquaintance, especially by Englishmen, whose
reserve falls little short of their own. The inland country is described
as fertile, and highly romantic; and the environs of the small town of
Laguza mentioned as particularly pleasant. Some of our officers who made
an excursion to it confirmed the account amply.

It should seem that the power of the Church, which has been so long
on the decline in Europe, is at length beginning to be shaken in the
colonies of the Catholic powers: some recent instances which have taken
place at Teneriffe, evince it very fully. Were not a stranger, however,
to be apprized of this, he would hardly draw the conclusion from his own
observations. The Bishop of these islands, which conjunctively form a
See, resides on the Grand Canary. He is represented as a man in years,
and of a character as amiable as exalted, extremely beloved both by
foreigners and those of his own church. The bishopric is valued at ten
thousand pounds per annum; the government at somewhat less than two.

In spite of every precaution, while we lay at anchor in the road, a
convict had the address, one night, to secrete himself on the deck, when
the rest were turned below; and after remaining quiet for some hours,
let himself down over the bow of the ship, and floated to a boat that
lay astern, into which he got, and cutting her adrift, suffered himself
to be carried away by the current, until at a sufficient distance to
be out of hearing, when he rowed off. This elopement was not discovered
till some hours after, when a search being made, and boats sent to the
different parts of the island, he was discovered in a small cove, to
which he had fled for refuge. On being questioned, it appeared he had
endeavoured to get himself received on board a Dutch East Indiaman in
the road; but being rejected there, he resolved on crossing over to
the Grand Canary, which is at the distance of ten leagues, and when
detected, was recruiting his strength in order to make the attempt. At
the same time that the boats of the fleet were sent on this pursuit,
information was given to the Spanish Governor of what had happened,
who immediately detached parties every way in order to apprehend the
delinquent.

Having remained a week at Teneriffe, and in that time completed our
stock of water, and taken on board wine, &c. early on the morning of
the 10th of June we weighed anchor, and stood out to sea with a light
easterly breeze. The shortness of our stay, and the consequent hurry,
prevented our increasing much any previous knowledge we might have had
of the place. For the information of those who may follow us on this
service, it may not, however, be amiss to state the little that will be
found of use to them.

The markets afford fresh meat, though it is neither plentiful nor good.
Fish is scarce; but poultry may be procured in almost any quantity, at
as cheap a rate as in the English sea-ports. Vegetables do not abound,
except pumpkins and onions, of which I advise all ships to lay in a
large stock. Milch goats are bought for a trifle, and easily procured.
Grapes cannot be scarce in their season; but when we were here, except
figs and excellent mulberries, no fruit was to be procured. Dry wines,
as the merchants term them, are sold from ten to fifteen pounds a pipe;
for the latter price, the very best, called the London Particular, may
be bought: sweet wines are considerably dearer. Brandy is also a cheap
article. I would not advise the voyager to depend on this place for
either his hogs or sheep. And he will do well to supply himself with
dollars before he quits England, to expend in the different ports he may
happen to touch at. Should he, however, have neglected this precaution,
let him remember when he discounts bills, or exchanges English money
here, not to receive his returns in quarter dollars, which will be
tendered to him, but altogether in whole ones, as he will find the
latter turn to better account than the former, both at Rio de Janeiro
and the Cape of Good Hope.

The latitude of the town of Santa Cruz is 28 deg 27 1/2 min north, the
longitude 16 deg 17 1/2 min west of Greenwich.




CHAPTER IV.



The Passage from Teneriffe to Rio de Janeiro, in the Brazils.


In sailing from Teneriffe to the south-east, the various and picturesque
appearances of the Peak are beautiful to the highest degree. The
stupendous height, which before was lost on the traveller, now strikes
him with awe and admiration, the whole island appearing one vast
mountain with a pyramidal top. As we proceeded with light winds, at an
easy rate, we saw it distinctly for three days after our departure,
and should have continued to see it longer, had not the haziness of the
atmosphere interrupted our view. The good people of Santa Cruz tell some
stories of the wonderful extent of space to be seen from the summit
of it, that would not disgrace the memoirs of the ever-memorable Baron
Munchausen.

On the 18th of June we saw the most northerly of the Cape de Verd
Islands, at which time the Commodore gave the fleet to understand, by
signal, that his intention was to touch at some of them. The following
day we made St. Jago, and stood in to gain an anchorage in Port Praya
Bay. But the baffling winds and lee current rendering it a matter of
doubt whether or not the ships would be able to fetch, the signal for
anchoring was hauled down, and the fleet bore up before the wind. In
passing along them we were enabled to ascertain the south end of the
Isle of Sal to be in 16 deg 40 min north latitude, and 23 deg 5 min west
longitude. The south end of Bonavista to be in 15 deg 57 min north, 23
deg 8 min west. The south end of the Isle of May in 15 deg 11 min north,
23 deg 26 min west; and the longitude of the fort, in the town of Port
Praya, to be 23 deg 36 1/2 min west of Greenwich.

By this time the weather, from the sun being so far advanced in the
northern tropic, was become intolerably hot, which, joined to the heavy
rains that soon after came on, made us very apprehensive for the health
of the fleet. Contrary, however, to expectation, the number of sick in
the ship I was embarked on was surprisingly small, and the rest of the
fleet were nearly as healthy. Frequent explosions of gunpowder, lighting
fires between decks, and a liberal use of that admirable antiseptic,
oil of tar, were the preventives we made use of against impure air; and
above all things we were careful to keep the men's bedding and wearing
apparel dry. As we advanced towards the Line, the weather grew gradually
better and more pleasant. On the 14th of July we passed the Equator, at
which time the atmosphere was as serene, and the temperature of the air
not hotter than in a bright summer day in England. From this period,
until our arrival on the American coast, the heats, the calms, and
the rains by which we had been so much incommoded, were succeeded by a
series of weather as delightful as it was unlooked for. At three o'clock
in the afternoon of the 2nd of August, the 'Supply', which had been
previously sent a-head on purpose, made the signal for seeing the land,
which was visible to the whole fleet before sunset, and proved to be
Cape Frio, in latitude 23 deg 5 min south, longitude 41 deg 40 1/4 min
west.

Owing to light airs we did not get a-breast of the city of St.
Sebastian, in the harbour of Rio de Janeiro, until the 7th of the month,
when we anchored about three quarters of a mile from the shore.




CHAPTER V.



From the Arrival of the Fleet at Rio de Janeiro, till its Departure for
the Cape of Good Hope; with some Remarks on the Brazils.


Brazil is a country very imperfectly known in Europe. The Portugueze,
from political motives, have been sparing in their accounts of it.
Whence our descriptions of it, in the geographical publications in
England, are drawn, I know not: that they are miserably erroneous and
defective, is certain.

The city of St. Sebastian stands on the west side of the harbour, in a
low unhealthy situation, surrounded on all sides by hills, which
stop the free circulation of air, and subject its inhabitants to
intermittents and putrid diseases. It is of considerable extent: Mr.
Cook makes it as large as Liverpool; but Liverpool, in 1767, when Mr.
Cook wrote, was not two-thirds of its present size. Perhaps it
equals Chester, or Exeter, in the share of ground it occupies, and is
infinitely more populous than either of them. The streets intersect each
other at right angles, are tolerably well built, and excellently paved,
abounding with shops of every kind, in which the wants of a stranger,
if money is not one of them, can hardly remain unsatisfied. About the
centre of the city, and at a little distance from the beach, the Palace
of the Viceroy stands, a long, low building, no wise remarkable in
its exterior appearance; though within are some spacious and handsome
apartments. The churches and convents are numerous, and richly
decorated; hardly a night passes without some of the latter being
illuminated in honour of their patron saints, which has a very brilliant
effect when viewed from the water, and was at first mistaken by us for
public rejoicings. At the corner of almost every street stands a little
image of the Virgin, stuck round with lights in an evening, before which
passengers frequently stop to pray and sing very loudly. Indeed, the
height to which religious zeal is carried in this place, cannot fail
of creating astonishment in a stranger. The greatest part of the
inhabitants seem to have no other occupation, than that of paying visits
and going to church, at which times you see them sally forth richly
dressed, en chapeau bras, with the appendages of a bag for the hair,
and a small sword: even boys of six years old are seen parading about,
furnished with these indispensable requisites. Except when at their
devotions, it is not easy to get a sight of the women, and when
obtained, the comparisons drawn by a traveller, lately arrived from
England, are little flattering to Portugueze beauty. In justice,
however, to the ladies of St. Sebastian, I must observe, that the custom
of throwing nosegays at strangers, for the purpose of bringing on an
assignation, which Doctor Solander, and another gentleman of Mr. Cook's
ship, met with when here, was never seen by any of us in a single
instance. We were so deplorably unfortunate as to walk every evening
before their windows and balconies, without being honoured with a single
bouquet, though nymphs and flowers were in equal and great abundance.

Among other public buildings, I had almost forgot to mention an
observatory, which stands near the middle of the town, and is tolerably
well furnished with astronomical instruments. During our stay here, some
Spanish and Portuguese mathematicians were endeavouring to determine
the boundaries of the territories belonging to their respective crowns.
Unhappily, however, for the cause of science, these gentleman have not
hitherto been able to coincide in their accounts, so that very little
information on this head, to be depended upon, could be gained. How far
political motives may have caused this disagreement, I do not presume to
decide; though it deserves notice, that the Portuguese accuse the Abbee
de la Caille, who observed here by order of the King of France, of
having laid down the longitude of this place forty-five miles too much
to the eastward.

Until the year 1770, all the flour in the settlement was brought
from Europe; but since that time the inhabitants have made so rapid a
progress in raising grain, as to be able to supply themselves with it
abundantly. The principal corn country lies around Rio Grande, in the
latitude of 32 deg south, where wheat flourishes so luxuriantly, as to
yield from seventy to eighty bushels for one. Coffee also, which they
formerly received from Portugal, now grows in such plenty as to enable
them to export considerable quantities of it. But the staple commodity
of the country is sugar. That they have not, however, learnt the art
of making palatable rum, the English troops in New South Wales can bear
testimony; a large quantity, very ill flavoured, having been bought and
shipped here for the use of the garrison of Port Jackson.