A Voyage Round the World. Anson George
this occasion I cannot but observe, how much it is the duty of all those who either by office or authority have any influence in the direction of our naval affairs, to attend to this important article, the preservation of the lives and health of our seamen. If it could be supposed that the motives of humanity were insufficient for this purpose, yet policy, and a regard to the success of our arms, and the interest and honour of each particular commander, should naturally lead us to a careful and impartial examination of every probable method proposed for maintaining a ship's crew in health and vigour. But hath this been always done? Have the late invented plain and obvious methods of keeping our ships sweet and clean by a constant supply of fresh air been considered with that candour and temper which the great benefits promised hereby ought naturally to have inspired? On the contrary, have not these salutary schemes been often treated with neglect and contempt? And have not some of those who have been entrusted with experimenting their effects, been guilty of the most indefensible partiality in the accounts they have given of these trials? Indeed, it must be confessed that many distinguished persons, both in the direction and command of our fleets, have exerted themselves on these occasions with a judicious and dispassionate examination becoming the interesting nature of the inquiry; but the wonder is, that any could be found irrational enough to act a contrary part in despight of the strongest dictates of prudence and humanity. I must, however, own that I do not believe this conduct to have arisen from motive so savage as the first reflection thereon does naturally suggest: but I rather impute it to an obstinate, and in some degree, superstitious attachment to such practices as have been long established, and to a settled contempt and hatred of all kinds of innovations, especial such as are projected by landmen and persons residing on shore. But let us return from this, I hope not, impertinent digression.
We crossed the equinoxial with a fine fresh gale at S.E. on Friday the 28th of November, at four in the morning, being then in the longitude of 27° 59' west from London. And on the 2d of December, in the morning, we saw a sail in the N.W. quarter, and made the Gloucester's and Tryal's signals to chace, and half an hour after we let out our reefs and chased with the squadron; and about noon a signal was made for the Wager to take our remaining victualler, the Anna pink, in tow. But at seven in the evening, finding we did not near the chace, and that the Wager was very far astern, we shortened sail, and made a signal for the cruizers to join the squadron. The next day but one we again discovered a sail, which on a nearer approach we judged to be the same vessel. We chased her the whole day, and though we rather gained upon her, yet night came on before we could overtake her, which obliged us to give over the chace, to collect our scattered squadron. We were much chagrined at the escape of this vessel, as we then apprehended her to be an advice-boat sent from Old Spain to Buenos Ayres with notice of our expedition. But we have since learnt that we were deceived in this conjecture, and that it was our East India Company's packet bound to St. Helena.
On the 10th of December, being by our accounts in the latitude of 20° S., and 36° 30' longitude west from London, the Tryal fired a gun to denote soundings. We immediately sounded, and found sixty fathom water, the bottom coarse ground with broken shells. The Tryal being ahead of us, had at one time thirty-seven fathom, which afterwards increased to ninety: and then she found no bottom, which happened to us too at our second trial, though we sounded with a hundred and fifty fathom of line. This is the shoal which is laid down in most charts by the name of the Abrollos; and it appeared we were upon the very edge of it; perhaps farther in it may be extremely dangerous. We were then, by our different accounts, from ninety to sixty leagues east of the coast of Brazil. The next day but one we spoke with a Portuguese brigantine from Rio Janeiro, bound to Bahia del todos Santos, who informed us that we were thirty-four leagues from Cape St. Thomas, and forty leagues from Cape Frio, which last bore from us W.S.W. By our accounts we were near eighty leagues from Cape Frio; and though on the information of this brigantine we altered our course and stood more to the southward, yet by our coming in with the land afterwards, we were fully convinced that our reckoning was much correcter than our Portuguese intelligence. We found a considerable current setting to the southward after we had passed the latitude of 16° S. And the same took place all along the coast of Brazil, and even to the southward of the river of Plate, it amounting sometimes to thirty miles in twenty-four hours, and once to above forty miles.
If this current is occasioned (as it is most probable) by the running off of the water accumulated on the coast of Brazil by the constant sweeping of the eastern trade-wind over the Ethiopic Ocean, then it is most natural to suppose that its general course is determined by the bearings of the adjacent shore. Perhaps too, in almost every other instance of currents, the same may hold true, as I believe no examples occur of considerable currents being observed at any great distance from land. If this then could be laid down for a general principle, it would be always easy to correct the reckoning by the observed latitude. But it were much to be wished, for the general interests of navigation, that the actual settings of the different currents which are known to take place in various parts of the world were examined more frequently and accurately than hitherto appears to have been done.
We now began to grow impatient for a sight of land, both for the recovery of our sick, and for the refreshment and security of those who as yet continued healthy. When we departed from St. Helens, we were in so good a condition that we lost but two men on board the Centurion in our long passage to Madera. But in this present run between Madera and St. Catherine's we were remarkably sickly, so that many died, and great numbers were confined to their hammocks, both in our own ship, and in the rest of the squadron, and several of these past all hopes of recovery. The disorders they in general laboured under were such as are common to the hot climates, and what most ships bound to the southward experience in a greater or less degree. These are those kind of fevers which they usually call calentures: a disease which was not only terrible in its first instance, but even the remains of it often proved fatal to those who considered themselves as recovered from it; for it always left them in a very weak and helpless condition, and usually afflicted either with fluxes or tenesmus's. By our continuance at sea all these complaints were every day increasing, so that it was with great joy we discovered the coast of Brazil on the 16th of December, at seven in the morning.
The coast of Brazil appeared high and mountainous land, extending from W. to W.S.W., and when we first saw it, it was about seventeen leagues distant. At noon we perceived a low double land bearing W.S.W. about ten leagues distant, which we took to be the island of St. Catherine's. That afternoon and the next morning, the wind being N.N.W., we gained very little to windward, and were apprehensive of being driven to the leeward of the island; but a little before noon the next day the wind came about to the southward, and enabled us to steer in between the north point of St. Catherine's and the neighbouring island of Alvoredo. As we stood in for the land, we had regular soundings, gradually decreasing from thirty-six to twelve fathom, all muddy ground. In this last depth of water we let go our anchor at five o'clock in the evening of the 18th, the north-west point of the island of St. Catherine's bearing S.S.W., distant three miles; and the island Alvoredo N.N.E., distant two leagues. Here we found the tide to set S.S.E. and N.N.W., at the rate of two knots, the tide of flood coming from the southward. We could from our ships observe two fortifications at a considerable distance within us, which seemed designed to prevent the passage of an enemy between the island of St. Catherine's and the main. And we could soon perceive that our squadron had alarmed the coast, for we saw the two forts hoist their colours and fire several guns, which we supposed were signals for assembling the inhabitants. To prevent any confusion, the commodore immediately sent a boat with an officer on shore to compliment the governor, and to desire a pilot to carry us into the road. The governor returned a very civil answer, and ordered us a pilot. On the morning of the 20th we weighed and stood in, and towards noon the pilot came on board us, who, the same afternoon, brought us to an anchor in five fathom and an half, in a large commodious bay on the continent side, called by the French Bon Port. In standing from our last anchorage to this place we everywhere found an ouzy bottom, with a depth of water first regularly decreasing to five fathom, and then increasing to seven, after which we had six and five fathom alternately. The next morning we weighed again with the squadron, in order to run above the two fortifications we have mentioned, which are called the castles of Santa Cruiz and St. Juan. Our soundings now between the island and the main were four, five, and six fathom, with muddy ground. As we passed by the castle of Santa Cruiz, we saluted it with eleven guns, and were answered by an equal