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
We sailed from the Cape in company with the Astree French frigate. The
next morning neither ship nor land were in sight. On the 15th we passed
in sight of the island St. Helena. The 21st we saw the island Ascension.
On the 10th of February, the wind being at north-east blowing fresh, our
sails were covered with a fine orange-coloured dust. Fuego, the
westernmost of the Cape de Verde islands and the nearest land to us on
that day at noon bore north-east by east half east, distance 140 leagues.
When we had passed the latitude of the Western Islands a lookout was kept
for some rocks which Captain Couvret had been informed lay in latitude 44
degrees 25 minutes north and 2 degrees 50 minutes east longitude from the
east end of St. Michael. This information Captain Couvret had received
from a person that he knew and who said he had seen them. On the 13th of
March we saw the Bill of Portland and on the evening of the next day,
Sunday March the 14th, I left the packet and was landed at Portsmouth by
an Isle of Wight boat.
Those of my officers and people whom I left at Batavia were provided with
passages in the earliest ships; and at the time we parted were apparently
in good health. Nevertheless they did not all live to quit Batavia. Mr.
Elphinstone, master's mate, and Peter Linkletter, seaman, died within a
fortnight after my departure, the hardships they had experienced having
rendered them unequal to cope with so unhealthy a climate as that of
Batavia. The remainder embarked on board the Dutch fleet for Europe, and
arrived safe at this country, except Robert Lamb, who died on the
passage, and Mr. Ledward the surgeon who has not yet been heard of. Thus
of nineteen who were forced by the mutineers into the launch it has
pleased God that twelve should surmount the difficulties and dangers of
the voyage and live to revisit their native country.
End of Project Gutenberg's A Voyage to the South Sea, by William Bligh
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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