Journeys in Time: 1809

28 June - 5 August 1809

[O]n the 28^th.. we discover'd land, and at noon pass'd the Island of Buenavista, on the 29^th.. we made the Island of Mayo, and came to anchor at Porto Prayo Island of S^t. Jago on the 30th.. -- from the Sea this place had a very barren appearance, the ground appearing cover'd with sand, & a very few Palm Trees scatter'd upon the plain; the few houses there are, seem'd of the most miserable appearance. Neither Colonel Macquarie nor I went on shore, there seem'd little inducement, & the weather was extremely hot. Those who did go, were shock'd at the miserable state of the people even the military were in rags, the Sailors sold their old cloths at a much greater price than they cost when new. [A]ny thing of a military uniform would have been purchased almost at any price -- the people were much disappointed that nothing of that description could be had. The Governor[']s house was described to us to be more like a shed, than a house, and the Cows & horses occupied the ground floor. This Island however must have a very different appearance in the interior, as we were supplied with Bullocks Poultry & fruit in the greatest abundance, and at very moderate prices. --- We only remain'd here twenty eight hours, when we sail'd again to prosecute our voyage; which we continued to do with moderate weather and nothing particular occurring till the 5^th.. of July; when we were sent in chase of a Strange sail, when we came near she appear'd to be a very large Ship, & so far from wishing to avoid us, hove down full sail to meet us. [E]very thing was prepared for action, the Strange Sail shew'd no colours; Colonel Macquarie & his men were on the Poop; just as the Ship was coming along side he went to Captain Pritchard to beg he would not be too hasty in firing, till he was confirm'd in the certainty of her being an enemy; this was a fortunate precaution; for she proved to be an American bound to Canton, and had hoisted her colours, but in so awkward a manner as not to be seen by us -- we have had many alarms about fighting, but none that came so great a length as this; I felt a great deal of uneasiness, & was very much relieved when the alarm was over. ---We occupied our time in reading I work'd at my needle occasionally, every Sunday when the weather was moderate M^r.. Bent perform'd Divine Service in the most agreeable manner. [H]e even read to us in the evening, but this agreeable entertainment was of short duration -- we have regularly every evening a game of whist, of which Cap^tn.. Pritchard is particularly fond, but if his Partner commits a mistake, he is sure to be severely reprimanded. When the weather is such as to permit the ships sailing in a steady manner, & that every person appears in good humour, I think being at Sea a very agreeable life; our society on board I consider as particularly good; Cap^tn.. Pritchard being a man of extreme good understanding, and general information; & I must say uniformly desirous of being attentive to his Passengers. ---M^r.. & M^rs.. Bent are both pleasant people & I enjoy'd his society extremely at the beginning of our voyage, what the cause is I cannot tell, but he is now more silent, & by no means so much inclined sociability as at first. ---When we left England it was the intention of Ministers that the ships should touch at Madeira, and the Cape of Good Hope only; they considering that two stops on the voyage was all that was necessary for the refreshment of the Troops, and if the Hindostan had been as fortunate as this ship, it would have been quite sufficient. ---The People on board being very healthy; those few in the Hospital being mostly confined by accidents, or sore legs, and never from the time of our sailing having any infectious complaints. [A] letter from Captain Pascoe gave a very different account of the state of his ship[.][H]e inform'd Col^l.. M. that the Disentary [sic] had lately spread to an alarming degree, both among the Soldiers & Sailors of his Ship, that the Sick list increased daily, nor could they hope for a favorable change having nothing but Salt Provisions; and that his supply of water had run so short, that he had not sufficient to carry him on to the Cape -- he therefore hoped his proceeding to Rio Janeiro would be favorably thought of at home. [T]he case was too urgent to admit of debate, and we proceeded for that Port. [O]n the third of August we boarded a Portuguese Brigg [sic] from Bengola to Rio Janiero [sic] laden with female slaves, this was a more hazardous service than we had any idea of, the officers found on getting on board that an infectious fever prevail'd among them, to which the Captain and a great number of the slaves had fallen victims -- to put a stop if possible to the complaint, they had resorted to a precaution at which humanity shudders, namely, that of throwing the unfortunate slaves overboard as soon as they were taken ill. When we hear'd of this we all thought on M^r.. Wilberforce. ---We received a visit from three Gentlemen on board the Oxford Transport, Col^l.. Cox of the Artilery, [sic] Cap^tns.. Hawkes & Wallace of the Dragoons; they brought a living Albatross on board which one of the Sailors had taken on the water by knocking it with an oar, we suppose the Bird was in a sickly state, tho' apparently very well. ---[W]e saw great numbers of them about this time, but this was the only one caught on the voyage, it is an extreme [sic] beautiful Bird, & of great size. ---The Gentlemen did us the favor to dine with us, & we were very much pleased with Cap^tn.. Hawkes, who with extreme good looks combines the most pleasing manners. He told us that he had a young wife on board, which surprised me he seem'd so young a man. Soon after we left S^t. Jago we were deserted by every living creature, & left to navigate an immense ocean without even a Bird to keep us company, we met no Ships, so that for a time it seem'd as if we had the whole world to ourselves; the first Birds which paid their compliments to us were the albatross's [sic] & their appearance was an event of the greatest interest and importance to us; we next saw sea weed floating on the surface of the water, another indication of our near approach to land, & on the 5^th.. of August we sounded, and found a sandy bottom; about the same time we boarded a very small Sloop trading from one part of the coast of South America to the other. ---I felt quite rejoiced at the sight of human beings again, it gave rise to a kind of feeling new to me till that moment, connected with the idea of being totally seperated [sic] from our Country, & the people belonging to it, seeing that here we were on another quarter of the Globe, with a new Race of beings, which I could not help regretting were not our own people. So that there was a great mixture of melancholy reflection, combined in the satisfaction which I felt. ----

During this voyage one day when the Ship was going at eight knots an hour, a sea man fell overboard -- he fell over the poop & past our Cabbin [sic] window, I saw something fall, but had no idea it was a man till I hear'd him cry out, which he did in the most disturbing manner. Col^l.. Macquarie ran forward and encouraged him by every means in his power to keep a hold which he had fortunately caught of a fishing line, which hung over the stern -- the Ship was put about, and a Boat lower'd, by which the man was saved. ----

19 June 1809 | 6 August 1809