A Voyage Round the World

However, he was soon relieved from these disturbing thoughts by discovering that the two boats in the offing were Indian proas; and perceiving that they made towards the shore, he directed every appearance that could give them any suspicion to be removed, concealing his people in the adjacent thickets, ready to secure the Indians when they should land: but after the proas had stood in within a quarter of a mile of the beach, they suddenly stopt short, and remaining there motionless for near two hours, they then got under sail again, and steered to the southward. Let us now return to the projected enlargement of the bark.

If we examine how they were prepared for going through with this undertaking, on which their safety depended, we shall find that, independent of other matters which were of as much consequence, the lengthning of the bark alone was attended with great difficulty. Indeed, in a proper place, where all the necessary materials and tools were to be had, the embarrassment would have been much less; but some of these tools were to be made, and many of the materials were wanting, and it required no small degree of invention to supply all these deficiencies. And when the hull of the bark should be compleated, this was but one article, and there were others of equal weight which were to be well considered: these were the rigging it, the victualling it, and lastly the navigating it, for the space of six or seven hundred leagues, through unknown seas where no one of the company had ever passed before. And in these particulars such obstacles occurred, that without the intervention of very extraordinary and unexpected accidents, the possibility of the whole enterprize would have fallen to the ground, and their utmost industry and efforts must have been fruitless. Of all these circumstances I shall make a short recital.

It fortunately happened that the carpenters, both of the Gloucester and of the Tryal, with their chests of tools, were on shore when the ship drove out to sea; the smith too was on shore, and had with him his forge and several of his tools, but unhappily his bellows had not been brought from on board, so that he was incapable of working, and without his assistance they could not hope to proceed with their design. Their first attention, therefore, was to make him a pair of bellows, but in this they were for some time puzzled by their want of leather; however, as they had hides in sufficient plenty, and they had found a hogshead of lime, which the Indians or Spaniards had prepared for their own use, they tanned a few hides with this lime; and though we may suppose the workmanship to be but indifferent, yet the leather they thus procured answered the intention tolerably well, and the bellows, to which a gun-barrel served for a pipe, had no other inconvenience than that of being somewhat strong scented from the imperfection of the tanner's work.

Whilst the smith was preparing the necessary iron-work, others were employed in cutting down trees and sawing them into planks; and this being the most laborious task, the commodore wrought at it himself for the encouragement of his people. But there being neither blocks nor cordage sufficient for tackles to haul the bark on shore, this occasioned a new difficulty; however, it was at length resolved to get her up on rollers, since for these the body of the coconut tree was extremely well fitted, as its smoothness and circular turn prevented much labour, and suited it to the purpose with very little workmanship. A number of these trees were therefore felled, and the ends of them properly opened for the insertion of hand-spikes; and in the meantime a dry dock was dug to receive the bark, and ways were laid from thence quite into the sea to facilitate the bringing her up. Neither were these the whole of their occupations, since, besides those who were thus busied in preparing measures towards the future enlargement of the bark, a party was constantly ordered to kill and provide provisions for the rest. And though in these various employments, some of which demanded considerable dexterity, it might have been expected there would have been great confusion and delay, yet good order being once established and all hands engaged, their preparations advanced apace. Indeed, the common men, I presume, were not the less tractable for their want of spirituous liquors: for there being neither wine nor brandy on shore, the juice of the coconut was their constant drink; and this, though extremely pleasant, was not at all intoxicating, but kept them very temperate and orderly.

The main work now proceeding successfully, the officers began to consider of all the articles which would be necessary to the fitting out the bark for the sea. On this consultation it was found that the tents on shore and the spare cordage accidentally left there by the Centurion, together with the sails and rigging already belonging to the bark, would serve to rig her indifferently well when she was lengthened. And as they had tallow in plenty, they proposed to pay her bottom with a mixture of tallow and lime, which it was known was not ill adapted to that purpose: so that with respect to her equipment she would not have been very defective. There was, however, one exception, which would have proved extremely inconvenient, and that was her size: for as they could not make her quite forty tun burthen, she would have been incapable of containing half the crew below the deck, and she would have been so top-heavy that if they were all at the same time ordered upon deck, there would be no small hazard of her oversetting; but this was a difficulty not to be removed, as they could not augment her beyond the size already proposed. After the manner of rigging and fitting up the bark was considered and regulated, the next essential point to be thought on was how to procure a sufficient stock of provisions for their voyage; and here they were greatly at a loss what expedient to have recourse to, as they had neither grain nor bread of any kind on shore, their bread-fruit, which would not keep at sea, having all along supplied its place; and though they had live cattle enough, yet they had no salt to cure beef for a sea-store, nor would meat take salt in that climate. Indeed, they had preserved a small quantity of jerked beef, which they found upon the place at their landing; but this was greatly disproportioned to the run of near six hundred leagues which they were to engage in, and to the number of hands they should have on board. It was at last, however, resolved to put on board as many coconuts as they possibly could, to prolong to the utmost their jerked beef by a very sparing distribution of it, and to endeavour to supply their want of bread by rice; to furnish themselves with which, it was proposed, when the bark was fitted up, to make an expedition to the island of Rota, where they were told that the Spaniards had large plantations of rice under the care of the Indian inhabitants. But as this last measure was to be executed by force, it became necessary to examine what ammunition had been left on shore, and to preserve it carefully; and on this enquiry, they had the mortification to find that their firelocks would be of little service to them, since all the powder that could be collected, by the strictest search, did not amount to more than ninety charges, which was considerably short of one apiece to each of the company, and was indeed a very slender stock of ammunition for such as were to eat no grain or bread during a whole month, except what they were to procure by force of arms.

But the most alarming circumstance, and which, without the providential interposition of very improbable events, would have rendered all their schemes abortive, remains yet to be related. The general idea of the fabric and equipment of the vessel was settled in a few days; and this being done, it was not difficult to frame some estimation of the time necessary to compleat her. After this, it was natural to expect that the officers would consider the course they were to steer, and the land they were to make. These reflections led them to the disheartning discovery that there was neither compass nor quadrant on the island. Indeed the commodore had brought a pocket-compass on shore for his own use, but Lieutenant Brett had borrowed it to determine the position of the neighbouring islands, and he had been driven to sea in the Centurion without returning it. And as to a quadrant, that could not be expected to be found on shore, since as it was of no use at land, there could be no reason for bringing it from on board the ship. There were now eight days elapsed since the departure of the Centurion, and yet they were not in any degree relieved from this terrible perplexity. At last, in rumaging a chest belonging to the Spanish bark, they discovered a small compass, which, though little better than the toys usually made for the amusement of schoolboys, was to them an invaluable treasure. And a few days after, by a similar piece of good fortune, they met with a quadrant on the sea-shore, which had been thrown overboard amongst other lumber belonging to the dead. The quadrant was eagerly seized, but on examination it unluckily wanted vanes, and therefore in this present state was altogether useless; however, fortune still continuing in a favourable mood, it was not long before a person, through curiosity pulling out the drawer of an old table which had been driven on shore, found therein some vanes which fitted the quadrant very well; and it being thus compleated, it was examined by the known latitude of the place, and upon trial answered to a sufficient degree of exactness.

When now all these obstacles were in some degree removed (which were always as much as possible concealed from the vulgar, that they might not grow remiss with the apprehension of labouring to no purpose), the business proceeded very successfully and vigorously. The necessary iron-work was in great forwardness, and the timbers and planks (which, tho' not the most exquisite performances of the sawyer's art, were yet sufficient for the purpose) were all prepared; so that on the 6th of October, being the 14th day from the departure of the ship, they hauled the bark on shore, and on the two succeeding days she was sawn asunder, though with the caution not to cut her planks: and her two parts being separated the proper distance from each other, and the materials being all ready beforehand, they, the next day, being the 9th of October, went on with no small dispatch in their proposed enlargement of her; whence by this time they had all their future operations so fairly in view, and were so much masters of them, that they were able to determine when the whole would be finished, and had accordingly fixed the 5th of November for the day of their putting to sea. But their projects and labours were now drawing to a speedier and happier conclusion; for on the 11th of October, in the afternoon, one of the Gloucester's men being upon a hill in the middle of the island, perceived the Centurion at a distance, and running down with his utmost speed towards the landing-place, he, in the way, saw some of his comrades, to whom he hallooed out with great extasy, "The ship, the ship!" This being heard by Mr. Gordon, a lieutenant of marines, who was convinced by the fellow's transport that his report was true, Mr. Gordon directly hastened towards the place where the commodore and his people were at work, and being fresh and in breath easily outstripped the Gloucester's man, and got before him to the commodore, who, on hearing this pleasing and unexpected news, threw down his axe, with which he was then at work, and by his joy broke through, for the first time, the equable and unvaried character which he had hitherto preserved: whilst the others who were present instantly ran down to the seaside in a kind of frenzy, eager to feast themselves with a sight they had so ardently longed after, and of which they had now for a considerable time despaired. By five in the evening the Centurion was visible in the offing to them all; and, a boat being sent off with eighteen men to reinforce her, and with fresh meat and fruits for the refreshment of her crew, she, the next afternoon, happily cast anchor in the road, where the commodore immediately came on board her, and was received by us with the sincerest and heartiest acclamations: for, by the following short recital of the fears, the dangers, and fatigues we in the ship underwent during our nineteen days' absence from Tinian, it may be easily conceived that a harbour, refreshments, repose, and the joining of our commander and shipmates were not less pleasing to us than our return was to them.

CHAPTER IV

PROCEEDINGS ON BOARD THE "CENTURION" WHEN DRIVEN

OUT TO SEA

The Centurion being now once more safely arrived at Tinian, to the mutual respite of the labours of our divided crew, it is high time that the reader, after the relation already given of the projects and employment of those left on shore, should be apprized of the fatigues and distresses to which we, whom the Centurion carried off to sea, were exposed during the long interval of nineteen days that we were absent from the island.

It has been already mentioned that it was the 22d of September, about one o'clock, in an extreme dark night, when by the united violence of a prodigious storm and an exceeding rapid tide, we were driven from our anchors and forced to sea. Our condition then was truly deplorable; we were in a leaky ship with three cables in our hawses, to one of which hung our only remaining anchor: we had not a gun on board lashed, nor a port barred in; our shrouds were loose, and our top-masts unrigged, and we had struck our fore and main-yards close down before the hurricane came on, so that there were no sails we could set, except our mizen. In this dreadful extremity we could muster no more strength on board to navigate the ship than an hundred and eight hands, several negroes and Indians included: this was scarcely the fourth part of our complement, and of these the greater number were either boys, or such as, being but lately recovered from the scurvy, had not yet arrived at half their former vigour. No sooner were we at sea, but by the violence of the storm and the working of the ship we made a great quantity of water through our hawse-holes, ports, and scuppers, which, added to the constant effect of our leak, rendered our pumps alone a sufficient employment for us all. But though we knew that this leakage, by being a short time neglected, would inevitably end in our destruction, yet we had other dangers then hanging over us which occasioned this to be regarded as a secondary consideration only. For we all imagined that we were driving directly on the neighbouring island of Aguiguan, which was about two leagues distant; and as we had lowered our main and fore-yards close down, we had no sails we could set but the mizen, which was altogether insufficient to carry us clear of this imminent peril. Urged therefore by this pressing emergency, we immediately applied ourselves to work, endeavouring with the utmost of our efforts to heave up the main and fore-yards, in hopes that if we could but be enabled to make use of our lower canvass, we might possibly weather the island, and thereby save ourselves from this impending shipwreck. But after full three hours' ineffectual labour, the jeers broke, and the men being quite jaded, we were obliged, by mere debility, to desist, and quietly to expect our fate, which we then conceived to be unavoidable. For we soon esteemed ourselves to be driven just upon the shore, and the night was so extremely dark that we expected to discover the island no otherwise than by striking upon it; so that the belief of our destruction, and the uncertainty of the point of time when it should take place, occasioned us to pass several hours under the most serious apprehensions that each succeeding moment would send us to the bottom. Nor did these continued terrors of instantly striking and sinking end but with the daybreak, when we with great transport perceived that the island we had thus dreaded was at a considerable distance, and that a strong northern current had been the cause of our preservation.

The turbulent weather which forced us from Tinian did not abate till three days after, and then we swayed up the fore-yard, and began to heave up the main-yard, but the jeers broke again and killed one of our people, and prevented us at that time from proceeding. The next day, being the 26th of September, was a day of most severe fatigue to us all, for it must be remembered that in these exigences no rank or office exempted any person from the manual application and bodily labour of a common sailor. The business of this day was no less than an endeavour to heave up the sheet-anchor, which we had hitherto dragged at our bows with two cables an end. This was a work of great importance to our future preservation: for not to mention the impediment it would be to our navigation, and hazard to our ship, if we attempted to make sail with the anchor in its present situation, we had this most interesting consideration to animate us, that it was the only anchor we had left, and without securing it we should be under the utmost difficulties and hazards whenever we fell in with the land again; and therefore, being all of us fully apprized of the consequence of this enterprize, we laboured at it with the severest application for twelve hours, when we had indeed made a considerable progress, having brought the anchor in sight; but it growing dark, and we being excessively fatigued, we were obliged to desist, and to leave our work unfinished till the next morning, and then, refreshed by the benefit of a night's rest, we compleated it, and hung the anchor at our bow.

It was the 27th of September, that is, five days after our departure, before we had thus secured our anchor. However, we the same day got up our main-yard, so that having now conquered, in some degree, the distress and disorder which we were necessarily involved in at our first driving out to sea, and being enabled to make use of our canvass, we set our courses, and for the first time stood to the eastward in hopes of regaining the island of Tinian, and joining our commodore in a few days, since, by our accounts, we were only forty-seven leagues distant to the south-west. Hence, on the first day of October, having then run the distance necessary for making the island according to our reckoning, we were in full expectation of seeing it: but here we were unhappily disappointed, and were thereby convinced that a current had driven us considerably to the westward. This discovery threw us into a new perplexity; for as we could not judge how much we might hereby have deviated, and consequently how long we might still expect to be at sea, we had great apprehensions that our stock of water would prove deficient, since we were doubtful about the quantity we had on board, finding many of our casks so decayed as to be half leaked out. However, we were delivered from our uncertainty the next day, having then a sight of the island of Guam, and hence we computed that the currents had driven us forty-four leagues to the westward of our accounts. Being now satisfied of our situation by this sight of land, we kept plying to the eastward, though with excessive labour; for the wind continuing fixed in the eastern board, we were obliged to tack often, and our crew was so weak that, without the assistance of every man on board, it was not in our power to put the ship about. This severe employment lasted till the 11th of October, being the nineteenth day from our departure, when arriving in the offing of Tinian, we were reinforced from the shore, as hath been already related; and on the evening of the same day we, to our inexpressible joy, came to an anchor in the road, thereby procuring to our shipmates on shore, as well as to ourselves, a cessation from the fatigues and apprehensions which this disastrous incident had given rise to.

CHAPTER V

EMPLOYMENT AT TINIAN TILL THE FINAL DEPARTURE OF THE "CENTURION" FROM THENCE; WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE LADRONES

When the commodore came on board the Centurion after her return to Tinian, he resolved to stay no longer at the island than was absolutely necessary to compleat our stock of water, a work which we immediately set ourselves about. But the loss of our long-boat, which was staved against our poop before we were driven out to sea, put us to great inconveniences in getting our water on board, for we were obliged to raft off all our cask, and the tide ran so strong, that besides the frequent delays and difficulties it occasioned, we more than once lost the whole raft. Nor was this our only misfortune; for on the 14th of October, being but the third day after our arrival, a sudden gust of wind brought home our anchor, forced us off the bank, and drove the ship out to sea a second time. The commodore, it is true, and the principal officers were now on board; but we had near seventy men on shore, who had been employed in filling our water and procuring provisions. These had with them our two cutters: but as they were too many for the cutters to bring off at once, we sent the eighteen-oared barge to assist them, and at the same time made a signal for all that could to embark. The two cutters soon came off to us full of men; but forty of the company, who were busied in killing cattle in the woods, and in bringing them down to the landing-place, remained behind; and though the eighteen-oared barge was left for their conveyance, yet as the ship soon drove to a considerable distance, it was not in their power to join us. However, as the weather was favourable, and our crew was now stronger than when we were first driven out, we in about five days' time returned again to an anchor at Tinian, and relieved those we had left behind us from their second fears of being deserted by their ship.

On our arrival, we found that the Spanish bark, the old object of their hopes, had undergone a new metamorphosis: for those on shore despairing of our return, and conceiving that the lengthening the bark, as formerly proposed, was both a toilsome and unnecessary measure, considering the small number they consisted of, they had resolved to join her again and to restore her to her first state; and in this scheme they had made some progress, for they had brought the two parts together, and would have soon compleated her, had not our coming back put a period to their labours and disquietudes.

These people we had left behind informed us that just before we were seen in the offing two proas had stood in very near the shore, and had continued there for some time; but on the appearance of our ship they crowded away, and were presently out of sight. And on this occasion I must mention an incident, which though it happened during the first absence of the ship, was then omitted, to avoid interrupting the course of the narration.

It hath been already observed that a part of the detachment sent to this island under the command of the Spanish Serjeant lay concealed in the woods. Indeed we were the less solicitous to find them out, as our prisoners all assured us that it was impossible for them to get off, and consequently that it was impossible for them to send any intelligence about us to Guam. But when the Centurion drove out to sea and left the commodore on shore, he one day, attended by some of his officers, endeavoured to make the tour of the island. In this expedition, being on a rising ground, they observed in the valley beneath them the appearance of a small thicket, which by attending to more nicely they found had a progressive motion. This at first surprized them; but they soon perceived that it was no more than several large coco bushes, which were dragged along the ground by persons concealed beneath them. They immediately concluded that these were some of the Serjeant's party, which was indeed true; and therefore the commodore and his people made after them, in hopes of tracing out their retreat. The Indians, remarking that they were discovered, hurried away with precipitation; but Mr. Anson was so near them that he did not lose sight of them till they arrived at their cell, which he and his officers entering, found to be abandoned, there being a passage from it which had been contrived for the conveniency of flight, and which led down a precipice. They here met with an old firelock or two, but no other arms. However, there was a great quantity of provisions, particularly salted sparibs of pork, which were excellent; and from what our people saw, they concluded that the extraordinary appetite which they had acquired at this island was not confined to themselves alone; for it being about noon, the Indians laid out a very plentiful repast, considering their numbers, and had their bread-fruit and coconuts prepared ready for eating, in a manner too which plainly evinced that with them a good meal was neither an uncommon nor an unheeded article. The commodore having in vain searched after the path by which the Indians had escaped, he and his officers contented themselves with sitting down to the dinner which was thus luckily fitted to their present hunger; after which they returned back to their old habitation, displeased at missing the Indians, as they hoped to have engaged them in our service, if they could have had any conference with them. I must add, that notwithstanding what our prisoners had asserted, we were afterwards assured that these Indians were carried off to Guam long before we left the place. But to return to our history.