A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 17: Arranged in Systematic Order: 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 17: Arranged in Systematic Order: 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
At eight o'clock in the evening, it began to blow afresh from the westward,
with violent thunder, lightning, and rain; and at three the next morning,
we weighed and stood over for Prince's Island, but the westerly wind dying
away, was succeeded by a breeze from the S.E., and at the same time a
strong tide setting to the S.W., prevented our fetching the island, and
obliged us, at two in the afternoon, to drop anchor in sixty-five fathoms,
over a muddy bottom, at three leagues distance from it; the high hill
bearing S.W. by S., and the peak on Cracatoa N. by E. We had light airs and
calms till six next morning, when we weighed and made sail, having, in our
endeavours to heave the anchor out of the ground, twice broken the old
messenger, and afterwards a new one, cut out of our best hawser. This,
however, was entirely owing to the wretched state of our cordage; as the
strain was not very considerable, and we had besides assisted the cable in
coming in, by clapping the cat-tackle on it. The wind continuing fair, at
noon we came to an anchor off the S.E. end of Prince's Island, in twenty-
six fathoms, over a sandy bottom; the east end of the island bearing
N.N.E., the southernmost point in sight S.W. by S., the high peak N.W. 1/2
W., distant from the nearest shore half a mile.
As soon as we had come to anchor, Lieutenant Lannyon, who had been here
before with Captain Cook, in the year 1770, was sent, along with the
master, to look for the watering-place. The brook from which, according to
the best of his recollection, the Endeavour had been supplied, was found
quite salt. Further inland, they saw a dry bed, where the water seemed to
have lodged in rainy seasons; and, about a cable's length below, another
run, supplied from an extensive pool, the bottom of which, as well, as the
surface, was covered with dead leaves. This, though a little brackish,
being much preferable to the other, we began watering here early the next
morning, and finished the same day.
The natives, who came to us soon after we anchored, brought a plentiful
supply of large fowls, and some turtles; but the last were, for the most
part, very small. In the course of the night we had heavy rain; and on the
14th, at daylight, we saw the Resolution to the northward, standing toward
the island; and at two in the afternoon, she dropped anchor close to us. In
the course of the day we heeled the ship, and scrubbed and hogged her
bottom, which was very foul; and got ready for sea.
The next day, Captain Gore not having completed his stock of water at
Cracatoa, sent his men on shore, who now found the brook that was first
mentioned rendered perfectly sweet by the rain, and flowing in great
abundance. This being too valuable a treasure to be neglected, I gave
orders, that the casks we had filled before should be started, and
replenished with the fresh water, which was accordingly done before noon
the next day; and in the evening we cleared the decks, and both ships were
ready for sea.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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