cerned in the South-Sea fisheries, for the purpose of making such discoveries as might afford fifhers, who pafs round Cape Horn, the necessary advantages of refreshment, and fecurity to refit.

There being at this time no private veffel for fale, that was properly constructed for this undertaking, the gentlemen prihcipally interested purchased from government the Rattler, a floop of war of 374 tons burthen; and, on the 4th of January, 1793, Captain Colnett failed from the Isle of Wight, having a crew of 25 perfons, men and boys, and a whaling mafter on board. He entered Rio Janeiro on the 24th of February; on the 18th of March, being in latitude 40° 12′ S. and longitude 35° 34' W. he paffed feveral birch twigs, and quantities of drift-wood and fea-weed; and, from thefe various appearances, was in great expectation of falling in with the Ifle Grande, which he had often heard Captain Cook mention as lying in these latitudes. The number of black whales which he here faw, afforded him a fair opportunity of making a profitable voyage in the article of black oil. He fays, "if half the whalers belonging to London had been with him, they might have filled their veffels with oil*." But his predomi nant object was to fearch for the island which was discovered by Anthony La Roche, a native of England, in his paffage from the South Seas, in the year 1675. Having cruifed in its fuppofed neighbourhood feveral days, and feeing nothing to encourage his hopes of difcovery, Captain Colnett bore away for the coaft of Patagonia, and on the 11th of April doubled Cape Horn. He thinks that the beginning of winter, or even winter itself, with moon-light nights, is the best season for paffing the Capet. He recommends Staten Land (an ifland to the eastward of it) as a place of rendezvous both for men of war and merchant fhips; and expreffes his opinion, that a fettlement here would enable us to carry on the blackwhale fishery in the highest southern latitudest.

From Cape Horn Captain Colnett proceeded to the island where the Wager man of war was loft in 1741, to Mocha, and to the ifles of St. Felix and Ambrofe; the latter of which (he fays) is so inacceffible that it can never be of much ufe, except as a place for catching fish, or taking feals. We doubt whether the island of St. Felix is worth the attention of our navigators. Captain C. fays, it

"might be made to anfwer as a place of rendezvous in war or peace. It contains a space, where tents might be pitched, and the fick

P. 14.

+ P. 19. + P. 20.

accom

accommodated, if the want of wood, water, and vegetables, could, by any means, be furmounted. As to the first, an hull, or two, of a prize," (this could only be expected in war)" would afford a fufficient fupply; and, as for the fecond, a ftill might he provided to diftil faltwater; and a fmall quantity of foil would be fufficient to raise falad herbs." P. 36.

From St. Felix, Captain C. failed to the coaft of Peru, and vifited the ifle of Lobos le Mar, which was formerly the refort of buccaneers*. On the 24th of June, he made the Galapago iflands, and anchored in a small bay on the north fide of one (which he named Lord Chatham's ifle) in order to refresh his men, and to determine its fituation. He gives a very circumftantial account of it. We felect fome of his remarks, which we doubt not will prove interefting to the naturalift.

"I was very much perplexed to form a fatifactory conjecture, how the finall birds, which appeared to remain in one fpot, fupported themfelves without water; but the party on their return informed me, that, having exhausted all their water, and repofing beneath a prickly peartree, almost choaked with thirst, they obferved an old bird in the act of fupplying three young ones with drink, by fqueezing the berry of a tree into their mouths. It was about the fize of a pea, and contained a watery juice, of an acid, but not unpleafant taste. The bark of the tree produces a confiderable quantity of moifture; and, on being eaten, allays the thirst. In dry feafons the land-tortoife is feen to gnaw and fuck it. The leaf of this tree is like that of the bay-tree; the fruit grows like cherries; whilft the juice of the bark dies the flesh a deep purple, and emits a grateful odor: a quality in common with the greater part of the trees and plants in this ifland; though it is foon loft, when the branches are feparated from the trunks or items. The leaves of thefe trees alfo abforb the copious dews which fall during the night, but in larger quantities at the full and change of the moon; the birds then pierce them with their bills, for the moisture they retain, and which, I believe, they alfo procure from the various plants and evergreens. But, when the dews fail in the fummer feafon, thoufands of thefe creatures perish; for, on our return hither, we found great numbers dead in their nefts, and fome of them almoft fledged. It may, however, be remarked, that this curious inftinctive mode of finding a fubititute for water, is not peculiar to the birds of this island; as nature has provided them with a fimilar refource in the fountaintree, that flourishes on the ifle Ferro, one of the Canaries; and feveral other trees and canes, which, Churchill tells us in his voyages, are to be found on the mountains of the Phillipine (Philippine) islands." P. 53.

Capt. C. concludes his defcription of Lord Chatham's ifle, with obferving, that it is one of the most delightful climates

under heaven, although fituated within a degree of the equator. The thermometer was never higher than 731; and in the morning, evening, and night, it was below fummer heat in England*

On the roth of July, fpermaceti whales were feen near the iland La Plata, fo named by the Spaniards, from Sir Francis Drake having divided his plunder at it. Capt. C. thinks that, in a war with Spain, this island would form an excellent station, as it is only four leagues from the maint. On the 25th of July, he made the ifle of Cocas (Cocos) which he fays is Otaheite on a fmallfcale, but without the advantage of its climate or the hofpitality of its inhabitants. A minure defcription of it may be found in the third volume of Capt. Vancouver's voyage, lately publifhed, from which we learn that, in January, 1795, a young hog was feen here in good condition; fo that there are great hopes, that future vifitors will be benefited by Capt. Colnett's liberality for, in return for 2000 cocoa nuts which the island afforded him, he left on thore a boar and fow, with a male and female goats. This fpecies of benevolence, which is often practifed by modern navigators, cannot be too highly commended.

From Cocos, Capt. C. failed to the coaft of Mexico; and, towards the end of Auguft, in latitude 16° 13′ N. he faw feveral fpermaceti whales, three different times in the courfe of fixteen days, and killed three of them.

"One," he fays, "was a fmall one, measuring 15 feet, which we hoifted on board, and of which I made a drawing;" a print from this drawing is annexed to the work; " its heart was cooked in a fea-pye, and afforded an excellent meal." Why should we be astonished at our ancestors feafting on congers, porpuffes, and dolphins? "Thefe whales were very poor, having fcarce blubber enough to float them on the furface of the water, and when flinched (i. e. deprived of their fat) their carcafes funk like a ftone. They yielded altogether but fifteen barrels of oil." P. 80.

At this time the whole crew were, more or lefs, affected by the yellow fever; from which horrid disorder, Capt. C. was fo fortunate as to recover them, by adopting the method that he faw practifed by the natives of Spanish America, when he was a prisoner among them. He says,

"On the firft fymptoms appearing, the fore-part of the head was immediately fhaved, and the temples, and pole, washed with vinegar and water. The whole body was then immersed in warm water

• P. 58.

+ P.63.

P. 68.

§ P.73. || P. 29.

to

to give a free courfe to perfpiration: fome opening medicine was afterwards administered, and, every four hours, a dofe of ten grains of James's powders. If the patient was thirsty, the drink was weak white wine and water, and a flice of bread to fatisfy an inclination to eat. An increafing appetite was gratified by a fmall quantity of foup, made from the mucilaginous parts of the turtle, with a little vinegar in it, I alfo gave the fick fweetmeats and other articles from my private stock, whenever they expressed a distant with for any which I could fupply them with. By this mode of treatment the whole crew improved in their health, except the carpenter, who, though a very stout, robust, man, was at one time in fuch a state of delirium, and fo much reduced, that I gave him over; but he at length recovered." P. 81.

The following remarks refpecting diet appear to us to be judicious.

"Other voyagers have alledged that living on turtle causes the flux, fcurvy, and fever; I can firft account for fuch a confequence by its not being fufficiently boiled, or cooked in unclean utenfils; and, fecondly, any man, who has experienced a long voyage, is well informed, that a fudden change of food, and particularly from an ordinary fea or falt diet, to an entirely fresh one, will produce the flux, ficknels of stomach, and other complaints. My method, to prevent fuch effects, was to allow the crew as much vinegar as they could ufe, and fuperintend myfelf the preparation of the feamen's meal. Iufed to taste the broth, in order to know if it was properly done, that it contained a fufficient quantity of pearl barley, and was duly feasoned by boiling it with falt beef or pork. I alfo ordered that the proportion of the falt meats, cooked with the turtle, fhould be previously towed and freshened, and when the crew were tired of foup, I gave them flour to make their turtle-meat into pies, and, at other times, fat pork to chop up with it, and make faufages. But in moft of their meffes I took care that fo powerful an antifeptic as four crout should not be forgotten." P. 83.

On the 20th of September, Captain C. reached the ifle of Socoro, and, a few days after, Santo Berto, and Rocca Partida. He named this clufter of iflands Rivella Gigeda, after the Viceroy of Mexico, who had treated him with great humanity during his detention by the Spaniards in 1790*.

During the month of October, Captain C. cruifed off the fouthern parts of California, as high as the latitude 25° N. in hopes of meeting with fpermaceti whales; but being difappointed in his expectations, he returned to the ifland of Socoro where he narrowly escaped being fhipwreckedt. Socoro, in the Spanish language, means fupply; but Capt. C. fays, that during his ftay there, he was not fo fortunate as to difcover any

* P. 116.

+ P. 111.

grea

great affinity between the name and the character of the place. He adds, however, that

"It must be acknowledged, that Socoro is an excellent place of refort for a veffel with a fcorbutic crew, or to refit if engaged in a cruise against the Spaniards off the coaft of Mexico, or employed in the whaling fervice." P. 117,

In his return to the fouthward, on the 27th of January, 1794, Captain C. fell in with feveral fpermaceti whales, between Cape Dolce and Quibo; he killed four, and got three on board. In February he touched at Quibo, where he found the huts, mentioned in Lord Anfon's voyage, ftill ftanding; and obtained plenty of wood and water. He fays,

"The rivulet, from whence we collected our stock, was about twelve feet in breadth, and we might have got timber for any purpofe for which it could have been wanted. There are trees of the cedar kind of a fufficient fize to form mafts for a ship of a first rate, and of the quality which the Spaniards in their dock-yards ufe for every purpose of fhip building, making mafts, &c. A veffel may lay so near the fhore as to haul off its water; but the time of anchoring must be confidered, as the flats run off a long way, and it is poffible to be deceived in the distance." P. 135.

At this island he met with two dangerous adventures, of which he gives the following account :

"As I was walking along the fea coaft, with a gun, and very attentive to the woods, in expectation of seeing fome kind of fowl or game proceed from the thickets, fuddenly my danger was discovered of having paffed over a large alligator, laying afleep under a ledge of the rock, and appeared to be a part of it; and being in a deep hollow I could not have efcaped, if a little boy, the nephew of Captain Marfhall, who accompanied me, had not alarmed me with his out-cry. I had just time enough to put a ball in my gun, the noise having roufed the hideous animal, and he was in the act of fpringing at me, when I difcharged my piece at him; its contents, entering befide his eye, and lodging in his brain, instantly killed him; it was then taken on board where part of him was eaten.' Of another escape he fays; "as I was Jetting on a bank at the fide of a rivulet, one of the smaller (kind of fnakes) bit me by the left knee, which caufed it to fwell to that degree, that I had a doubt for fome time whether it would not coft me my life." P. 134.

On the 12th of March, Captain C. got back to Lord Chatham's ifland, and furveyed a good bay, which he named after Sir Philip Stephens. Off Albemarle isle, another of the Galapagos, he faw fpermaceti whales in great numbers; and killed four on the 8th of April. He thinks this is the general rendezvous of the fpermaceti whales, who come hither, from the coafts of Mexico and Peru, and the gulph of Panama, to

This is very carelefs language. Rev.

calve: