James Cook — The Three Voyages of Captain James Cook Round the World

CHAP. X.

PROGRESS OF THE VOYAGE, AFTER LEAVING THE SOCIETY ISLANDS.—CHRISTMAS ISLAND DISCOVERED, AND STATION OF THE SHIPS THERE.—BOATS SENT ASHORE.—GREAT SUCCESS IN CATCHING TURTLE.—AN ECLIPSE OF THE SUN OBSERVED.—DISTRESS OF TWO SEAMEN, WHO HAD LOST THEIR WAY.—INSCRIPTION LEFT IN A BOTTLE.—ACCOUNT OF THE ISLAND.—ITS SOIL.—TREES AND PLANTS.—BIRDS.—ITS SIZE.--FORM.--SITUATION.--ANCHORING-GROUND.

After leaving Bolabola, I steered to the northward, close hawled, with the wind between N. E. and E., hardly ever having it to the southward of E., till after we had crossed the line, and had got into north latitudes. So that our course, made good, was always to the W. of N., and sometimes no better than N. W.

Though seventeen months had now elapsed since our departure from England, during which we had not, upon the whole, been unprofitably employed, I was sensible that, with regard to the principal object of my instructions, our voyage was at this time only beginning; and, therefore, my attention to every circumstance that might contribute toward our safety and our ultimate success, was now to be called forth anew. With this view I had examined into the state of our provisions at the last islands; and as soon as I had left them and got beyond the extent of my former discoveries, I ordered a survey to be taken of all the boatswain’s and carpenter’s stores that were in the ships, that I might be fully informed of the quantity, state, and condition of every article; and, by that means, know how to use them to the greatest advantage.

Before I sailed from the Society Islands, I lost no opportunity of inquiring of the inhabitants, if there were any islands in a N. or a N. W. direction from them; but I did not find that they knew of any. Nor did we meet with any thing that indicated the vicinity of land, till we came to about the latitude of 8° S., where we began to see birds, such as boobies, tropic, and men-of-war birds, tern, and some other sorts. At this time, our longitude was 205° E. Mendana, in his first voyage in 1568 [22] , discovered an island which he named Isla de Jesus, in latitude 6° 45ʹ S., and 1450 leagues from Callao, which is 200° E. longitude from Greenwich. We crossed this latitude nearly a hundred leagues to the eastward of this longitude, and saw there many of the above-mentioned birds; which are seldom known to go very far from land.

In the night, between the 22d and 23d, we crossed the line in the longitude of 203° 15ʹ E. Here the variation of the compass was 6° 30ʹ E. nearly.

On the 24th, about half an hour after day-break, land was discovered bearing N. E. by E. 1⁄2 E. Upon a nearer approach, it was found to be one of those low islands so common in this ocean; that is, a narrow bank of land inclosing the sea within. A few cocoa-nut trees were seen in two or three places; but in general the land had a very barren appearance. At noon, it extended from N. E. by E. to S. by E. 1⁄2 E., about four miles distant. The wind was at E. S. E.; so that we were under a necessity of making a few boards to get up to the lee or west side, where we found from forty to twenty and fourteen fathoms water, over a bottom of fine sand; the least depth about half a mile from the breakers, and the greatest about one mile. The meeting with soundings determined me to anchor, with a view to try to get some turtle; for the island seemed to be a likely place to meet with them, and to be without inhabitants. Accordingly, we dropped anchor in thirty fathoms; and then a boat was dispatched to examine whether it was practicable to land, of which I had some doubt, as the sea broke in a dreadful surf all along the shore. When the boat returned, the officer whom I had intrusted with this examination, reported to me that he could see no place where a boat could land; but that there was great abundance of fish in the shoal water, without the breakers.

At day-break the next morning I sent two boats, one from each ship, to search more accurately for a landing-place; and, at the same time, two others to fish at a grappling near the shore. These last returned about eight o’clock with upward of two hundred weight of fish. Encouraged by this success, they were dispatched again after breakfast, and I then went in another boat, to take a view of the coast and attempt landing; but this I found to be wholly impracticable. Toward noon, the two boats sent on the same search returned. The master, who was in that belonging to the Resolution, reported to me, that about a league and a half to the north, was a break in the land, and a channel into the lagoon, consequently, that there was a fit place for landing; and that he had found the same soundings off this entrance as we had where we now lay. In consequence of this report the ships weighed anchor, and after two or three trips came to again in twenty fathoms water, over a bottom of fine dark sand, before a small island that lies at the entrance of the lagoon; and on each side of which there is a channel leading into it; but only fit for boats. The water in the lagoon itself is all very shallow.

On the 26th, in the morning, I ordered Captain Clerke to send a boat with an officer to the S. E. part of the lagoon, to look for turtle; and Mr. King and I went each in a boat to the N. E. part. I intended to have gone to the most easterly extremity; but the wind blew too fresh to allow it, and obliged us to land more to leeward, on a sandy flat, where we caught one turtle, the only one that we saw in the lagoon. We walked, or rather waded, through the water, to an island; where finding nothing but a few birds, I left it, and proceeded to the land that bounds the sea to the N. W., leaving Mr. King to observe the sun’s meridian altitude. I found this land to be even more barren than the island I had been upon; but walking over to the sea-coast, I saw five turtles close to the shore. One of these we caught, and the rest made their escape. Not seeing any more, I returned on board, as did Mr. King soon after, without having seen one turtle. We, however, did not despair of getting a supply, for some of Captain Clerke’s officers who had been ashore on the land to the southward of the channel leading into the lagoon, had been more fortunate, and caught several there.

In the morning of the 27th, the pinnace and cutter under the command of Mr. King, were sent to the S. E. part of the island, within the lagoon, and the small cutter to the northward where I had been the day before; both parties being ordered upon the same service, to catch turtle. Captain Clerke having had some of his people on shore all night, they had been so fortunate as to turn between forty and fifty on the sand, which were brought on board with all expedition this day. And in the afternoon, the party I had sent northward returned with six. They were sent back again and remained there till we left the island, having in general pretty good success.

On the 28th, I landed in company with Mr. Bayly, on the island which lies between the two channels into the lagoon, to prepare the telescopes for observing the approaching eclipse of the sun; which was one great inducement to my anchoring here. About noon, Mr. King returned with one boat and eight turtles, leaving seven behind to be brought by the other boat, whose people were employed in catching more; and, in the evening, the same boat was sent with water and provisions for them. Mr. Williamson now went to superintend this duty in the room of Mr. King, who remained on board, to attend the observation of the eclipse.

The next day, Mr. Williamson dispatched the two boats back to the ship, laden with turtle. At the same time, he sent me a message, desiring that the boats might be ordered round by sea, as he had found a landing-place on the S. E. side of the island, where most of the turtle were caught; so that, by sending the boats thither, the trouble would be saved of carrying them over the land to the inside of the lagoon, as had been hitherto done. The boats were accordingly dispatched to the place which he pointed out.

On the morning of the 30th, the day when the eclipse was to happen, Mr. King, Mr. Bayly, and myself went ashore on the small island above-mentioned, to attend the observation. The sky was over-cast till past nine o’clock, when the clouds about the sun dispersed long enough to take its altitude, to rectify the time by the watch we made use of. After this it was again obscured, till about thirty minutes past nine, and then we found that the eclipse was begun. We now fixed the micrometers to the telescopes, and observed or measured the uneclipsed part of the sun’s disk. At these observations, I continued about three quarters of an hour before the end, when I left off, being, in fact, unable to continue them longer, on account of the great heat of the sun, increased by the reflection from the sand.

The sun was clouded at times, but was clear when the eclipse ended, the time of which was observed as follows:

Mr. Bayly

Apparent Time P. M.

Mr. King

Myself

Mr. Bayly and I observed with the large achromatic telescopes, and Mr. King with a reflector. As Mr. Bayly’s telescope and mine were of the same magnifying power, I ought not to have differed so much from him as I did. Perhaps it was in part, if not wholly, owing to a protuberance in the moon which escaped my notice, but was seen by both the other gentlemen.

In the afternoon the boats and turtling party at the south-east part of the island, all returned on board except a seaman belonging to the Discovery, who had been missing two days. There were two of them at first, who had lost their way; but disagreeing about the most probable track to bring them back to their companions, they had separated; and one of them joined the party, after having been absent twenty-four hours, and been in great distress. Not a drop of fresh water could be had, for there is none upon the whole island; nor was there a single cocoa-nut tree on that part of it. In order to allay his thirst, he had recourse to the singular expedient of killing turtle, and drinking their blood. His mode of refreshing himself when weary, of which he said he felt the good effects, was equally whimsical. He undressed himself and lay down for some time in the shallow water upon the beach.

It was a matter of surprise to every one, how these two men could contrive to lose themselves. The land over which they had to travel, from the sea-coast to the lagoon, where the boats lay, was not more than three miles across; nor was there any thing to obstruct their view; for the country was a flat, with a few shrubs scattered upon it; and from many parts of it, the masts of the ships could easily be seen. But this was a rule of direction they never once thought of; nor did they recollect in what quarter of the island the ships had anchored; and they were as much at a loss how to get back to them, or to the party they had straggled from, as if they had just dropped from the clouds. Considering how strange a set of beings the generality of seamen are, when on shore, instead of being surprised that these two men should thus lose their way, it is rather to be wondered at, that no more of the party were missing. Indeed, one of those who landed with me, was in a similar situation; but he had sagacity enough to know that the ships were to leeward, and got on board almost as soon as it was discovered that he had been left behind.

As soon as Captain Clerke knew that one of the stragglers was still in this awkward situation, he sent a party in search of him; but neither the man nor the party having come back, the next morning I ordered two boats into the lagoon, to go different ways in prosecution of the search. Not long after, Captain Clerke’s party returned with their lost companion; and my boats having now no object left, I called them back by signal. This poor fellow must have suffered far greater distress than the other straggler; not only as having been lost a longer time, but as we found that he was too squeamish to drink turtle’s blood.

Having some cocoa-nuts and yams on board, in a state of vegetation, I ordered them to be planted on the little island where we had observed the eclipse; and some melon seeds were sown in another place. I also left, on the little island, a bottle containing this inscription:

Georgius Tertius, Rex, 31 Decembris, 1777.

Naves

Resolution, Jac. Cook, Pr.

Discovery, Car. Clerke, Pr.

On the 1st of January, 1778, I sent boats to bring on board all our parties from the land, and the turtle they had caught. Before this was completed, it was late in the afternoon; so that I did not think proper to sail till next morning. We got at this island, to both ships, about three hundred turtle, weighing, one with another, about ninety or a hundred pounds. They were all of the green kind; and perhaps as good as any in the world. We also caught, with hook and line, as much fish as we could consume, during our stay. They consisted principally of cavallies, of different sizes; large and small snappers; and a few of two sorts of rock-fish; one with numerous spots of blue, and the other with whitish streaks scattered about.

The soil of this island, in some places, is light and black, evidently composed of decayed vegetables, the dung of birds, and sand. There are other places again, where nothing but marine productions, such as broken coral stones, and shells, are to be seen. These are deposited in long narrow ridges, lying in a parallel direction with the sea-coast, not unlike a ploughed field; and must have been thrown up by the waves, though, at this time, they do not reach within a mile of some of these places. This seems to furnish an incontestable proof, that the island has been produced by accessions from the sea, and is in a state of increase; for not only the broken pieces of coral, but many of the shells, are too heavy and too large to have been brought by any birds, from the beach, to the places where they now lie. Not a drop of fresh water was any where to be found, though frequently dug for. We met with several ponds of salt water, which had no visible communication with the sea, and must, therefore, in all probability, be filled by the water filtrating through the sand, in high tides. One of the lost men found some salt on the south east part of the island. But, though this was an article of which we were in want, a man who could lose himself as he did, and not know whether he was travelling east, west, north or south, was not to be depended upon as a fit guide to conduct us to the place.

There were not the smallest traces of any human being having ever been here before us; and, indeed, should any one be so unfortunate as to be accidentally driven upon the island, or left there, it is hard to say, that he could be able to prolong existence. There is, indeed, abundance of birds and fish; but no visible means of allaying thirst, nor any vegetable that could supply the place of bread, or correct the bad effects of an animal diet; which in all probability would soon prove fatal alone. On the few cocoa-trees upon the island, the number of which did not exceed thirty, very little fruit was found; and, in general, what was found, was either not fully grown, or had the juice salt, or blackish. So that a ship touching here, must expect nothing but fish and turtle; and of these an abundant supply may be depended upon.

On some parts of the land were a few low trees. Mr. Anderson gave me an account, also, of two small shrubs, and of two or three small plants; all which we had seen on Palmerston’s Island, and Otakootaia. There was also a species of sida or Indian mallow; a sort of purslain; and another small plant that seemed from its leaves a mesembryanthemum; with two species of grass. But each of these vegetable productions was in so small a quantity, and grew with so much languor, that one is almost surprised that the species do not become extinct.

Under the low trees above-mentioned, sat infinite numbers of tern, or egg-bird. These are black above, and white below, with a white arch on the forehead; and are rather larger than the common noddy. Most of them had lately hatched their young; which lay under the old ones, upon the bare ground. The rest had eggs; of which they only lay one, larger than that of a pigeon, bluish and speckled with black. There were also a good many common boobies; a sort that are almost like a gannet; and a sooty, or chocolate-coloured one, with a white belly. To this list we must add men-of-war-birds; tropic birds; curlews; sand-pipers; a small land-bird like a hedge-sparrow; land-crabs; small lizards; and rats.

As we kept our Christmas here, I called this discovery Christmas Island. I judge it to be about fifteen or twenty leagues in circumference. It seemed to be of a semicircular form; or like the moon in the last quarter, the two horns being the north and south points; which bear from each other nearly north by east, and south by west, four or five leagues distant. This west side, or the little isle at the entrance into the lagoon, upon which we observed the eclipse, lies in the latitude of 1° 59ʹ north, and in the longitude of 202° 30ʹ east, determined by a considerable number of lunar observations, which differed only 7ʹ from the time-keeper; it being so much less. The variation of the compass was 6° 221⁄2ʹ E.; and the dip of the north end of the needle 11° 54ʹ.

Christmas Island, like most others in this ocean, is bounded by a reef of coral rocks, which extends but a little way from the shore. Farther out than this reef, on the west side, is a bank of sand, extending a mile into the sea. On this bank is good anchorage, in any depth between eighteen and thirty fathoms. In less than the first mentioned depth, the reef would be too near; and in more than the last, the edge of the bank would not be at a sufficient distance. During the time we lay here, the wind blew constantly a fresh gale at east, or east by south, except one or two days. We had, always, a great swell from the northward, which broke upon the reef, in a prodigious surf. We had found this swell before we came to the island; and it continued for some days after we left it.