A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 15: Forming A Complete History Of The Origin And Progress Of Navigation, Discovery, And Commerce, By Sea And Land, From The Earliest Ages To The Present TimeKerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 15: Forming A Complete History Of The Origin And Progress Of Navigation, Discovery, And Commerce, By Sea And Land, From The Earliest Ages To The Present Time
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
In the morning of the 10th, the Discovery arrived in the bay. Captain
Clerke informed me that he had sailed from Plymouth on the 1st of
August, and should have been with us here a week sooner, if the gale of
wind had not blown him off the coast. Upon the whole, he was seven days
longer in his passage from England than we had been. He had the
misfortune to lose one of his marines, by falling overboard; but there
had been no other mortality amongst his people, and they now arrived
well and healthy.
Captain Clerke having represented to me that his ship was in want of
caulking; that no time might be lost in repairing this defect, next day
I sent all my workmen on board her, having already completed this
service on board the Resolution. I lent every other assistance to the
captain to expedite his supply of provisions and water, having given him
an order to receive on board as much of both articles as he could
conveniently stow. I now found that the bakers had failed in baking the
bread I had ordered for the Discovery. They pretended a want of flour;
but the truth was, they were doubtful of her coming, and did not care to
begin till they saw her at anchor in the bay.
I have before made mention of our getting our cattle on shore. The bull
and two cows, with their calves, were sent to graze along with some
other cattle; but I was advised to keep our sheep, sixteen in number,
close to our tents, where they were penned up every night. During the
night preceding the 14th, some dogs having got in amongst them, forced
them out of the pen, killing four, and dispersing the rest. Six of them
were recovered the next day; but the two rams, and two of the finest
ewes in the whole flock, were amongst those missing. Baron Plettenberg
being now in the country, I applied to the Lieutenant-Governor, Mr
Hemmy, and to the Fiscal. Both these gentlemen promised to use their
endeavours for the recovery of the lost sheep. The Dutch, we know,
boasted that the police at the Cape was so carefully executed, that it
was hardly possible for a slave, with all his cunning and knowledge of
the country, to effectuate his escape. Yet my sheep evaded all the
vigilance of the Fiscal's officers and people. However, after much
trouble and expence, by employing some of the meanest and lowest
scoundrels in the place (who, to use the phrase of the person who
recommended this method to me, would, for a ducatoon, cut their master's
throat, burn the house over his head, and bury him and the whole family
in the ashes), I recovered them all but the two ewes. Of these I never
could bear the least tidings; and I gave over all enquiry after them,
when I was told that, since I had got the two rams, I might think
myself very well off. One of these, however, was so much hurt by the
dogs, that there was reason to believe he would never recover.
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