A voyage to the South Sea : $b Undertaken by command of His Majesty for the purpose of conveying the bread-fruit tree to the West Indies in His Majesty's ship the Bounty commanded by Lieutenant William Bligh; including an account of the mutiny on board the said ship and the subsequent voyage of part of the crew in the ship's boat from Tofoa, one of the Friendly Islands, to Timor, a Dutch settlement in the East IndiesBligh, William
History
A voyage to the South Sea : $b Undertaken by command of His Majesty for the purpose of conveying the bread-fruit tree to the West Indies in His Majesty's ship the Bounty commanded by Lieutenant William Bligh; including an account of the mutiny on board the said ship and the subsequent voyage of part of the crew in the ship's boat from Tofoa, one of the Friendly Islands, to Timor, a Dutch settlement in the East Indies
Bligh, William
Bounty (Ship); Bounty Mutiny, 1789; Oceania -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800; Voyages and travels
At dawn of day some of my people seemed half dead: our appearances were
horrible, and I could look no way but I caught the eye of someone in
distress. Extreme hunger was now too evident, but no one suffered from
thirst, nor had we much inclination to drink, that desire perhaps being
satisfied through the skin. The little sleep we got was in the midst of
water, and we constantly awoke with severe cramps and pains in our bones.
This morning I served about two teaspoonfuls of rum to each person and
the allowance of bread and water as usual. At noon the sun broke out and
revived everyone. I found we were in latitude 14 degrees 49 minutes
south; longitude made 25 degrees 46 minutes west; course south 88 degrees
west distance 75 miles.
All the afternoon we were so covered with rain and salt water that we
could scarcely see. We suffered extreme cold and everyone dreaded the
approach of night. Sleep, though we longed for it, afforded no comfort:
for my own part I almost lived without it.
Thursday 21.
About two o'clock in the morning we were overwhelmed with a deluge of
rain. It fell so heavy that we were afraid it would fill the boat, and
were obliged to bale with all our might. At dawn of day I served a larger
allowance of rum. Towards noon the rain abated and the sun shone, but we
were miserably cold and wet, the sea breaking constantly over us so that,
notwithstanding the heavy rain, we had not been able to add to our stock
of fresh water. Latitude by observation 14 degrees 29 minutes south, and
longitude made by account from Tofoa 27 degrees 25 minutes west; course
since yesterday noon north 78 degrees west 99 miles. I now considered
myself nearly on a meridian with the east part of New Guinea.
Friday 22.
Strong gales from east-south-east to south-south-east, a high sea, and
dark dismal night.
Our situation this day was extremely calamitous. We were obliged to take
the course of the sea, running right before it and watching with the
utmost care as the least error in the helm would in a moment have been
our destruction.
At noon it blew very hard and the foam of the sea kept running over our
stern and quarters; I however got propped up and made an observation of
the latitude in 14 degrees 17 minutes south; course north 85 degrees west
distance 130 miles; longitude made 29 degrees 38 minutes west.
The misery we suffered this night exceeded the preceding. The sea flew
over us with great force and kept us baling with horror and anxiety.
Saturday 23.
At dawn of day I found everyone in a most distressed condition, and I
began to fear that another such night would put an end to the lives of
several who seemed no longer able to support their sufferings. I served
an allowance of two teaspoonfuls of rum, after drinking which, having
wrung our clothes and taken our breakfast of bread and water, we became a
little refreshed.
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