1769.

January.

north-eaft fide of the island, I obferved feveral
other small fandy bays, in fome of which my
boat found good anchorage, and faw plenty of Saturd. 30.
turtle, though they are not fo convenient as
this, where we had plenty of turtle too. The
beach here is a fine white fand; the landing-
place is at fome rocks, which lie about the
middle of the Bay, and may be known by a
ladder of ropes which hangs from the top to
mount them by. In the evening I landed a few
men to turn the turtle that should come on shore
during the night, and in the morning I found
that they had thus secured no less than eighteen,
from four hundred to fix hundred weight each,
and these were as many as we could well ftow
on the deck. As there are no inhabitants upon
this ifland, it is a custom for the ships that
touch at it to leave a letter in a bottle, with
their names and destination, the date, and a few
other particulars. We complied with this cuf-
tom, and in the evening of Monday the 1st of
February, we weighed anchor and fet fail.

February.
Monday 1.

On Friday the 19th, we difcovered a fhip at Friday 19. a confiderable diftance to leeward in the fouthweft quarter, which hoisted French colours; fhe continued in fight all day, and the next morning we perceived that she had greatly outfailed us during the night; fhe made a tack however in order to get farther to windward, and as it is not usual for ships to turn to wind

1769. February.

Friday 19.

ward in these parts, it was evident that she had tacked in order to speak with us. By noon fhe was near enough to hail us, and, to my great furprise, made ufe both of my name and that of the fhip, inquiring after my health, and telling me, that after the return of the Dolphin to Europe, it was believed we had fuffered fhipwreck in the Streight of Magellan, and that two fhips had been fent out in quest of us. I afked, in my turn, who it was that was fo well acquainted with me and my fhip, and with the opinions that had been formed of us in Europe after the return of our companion, and how this knowledge had been acquired. I was anfwered that the ship which hailed us was in the fervice of the French East India Company, commanded by M. Bougainville; that she was returning to England from the Isle of France; that what was thought of the Swallow in England, had been learnt from the French Gazette at the Cape of Good Hope; and that we were known to be that veffel by the letter which had been found in the bottle at the Island of Afcenfion a few days after we had left that place. An offer was then made of fupplying me with refreshments, if I wanted any, and I was asked if I had any letters to fend to France. I returne ed thanks for the offer of refreshments, which however was a mere verbal civility, as it was known that I had lately failed from the places

where

February.

Friday 19

where M. Bougainville himself had been fup- 1769. plied; but I faid that I had received letters for France from fome gentlemen of that country at the Cape, and if he would fend his boat on board, they should be delivered to his meffenger. Thus was an occafion furnished for what I have reason to believe was the principal object of M. Bougainville in fpeaking with us: a boat was immediately fent on board, and in her a young officer, dreft in a waistcoat and trowfers; whether he was thus dreffed by design I shall not determine, but I foon perceived that his rank was much fuperior to his appearance. He came down to me in my cabbin, and after the usual compliments had paffed, I asked him how he came to go home fo foon in the season; to which he replied, that there had been fome difagreement between the governor and inhabitants of the Isle of France, and that he had been fent home in hafte with dispatches: this ftory was the more plaufible, as I had heard of the difpute between the governor and inhabit-, ants of the Ifle of France, from a French gentleman, who came from thence, at the Cape of Good Hope; yet I was not perfectly satisfied: for, fuppofing M. Bougainville to have been. fent in hafte to Europe with dispatches, I could not account for his losing the time which it coft him to speak with me; I therefore obferved to this gentleman, that although he had accountVOL. II. O

ed

1769, ed for his coming before the ufual time from February the Inle of France, he had not accounted for his Friday 19. coming at an unusual time from India, which must have been the cafe." To this, however, he readily replied, that they had made only a fhort trading voyage on the western coaft of Sumatra. I then inquired, what commodities he had brought from thence; and he anfwered, cocoanut oil, and rattans: but, faid 1, these are commodities which it is not ufual to bring into Europe: it is true, faid he, but thefe commodities we left at the Ifle of France, the oil for the use of the island, and the rattans for fhips which were to touch there in their way to China, and in exchange we took in another freight for Europe; this freight I think he said was pepper, and his whole tale being at least poffible, I afked him no more questions. He then told me, he had heard at the Cape, that I had been with Commodore Byron at Falkland's Iflands, and, faid he, I was on board the French ship that met you in the Streight of Magellan, which must have been true, for he mentioned feveral incidents that it was otherwife highly improbable he fhould know, particularly the ftorefhip's running a-ground, and many of the difficulties that occurred in that part of the Streight which we paffed together: by this converfation he contrived to introduce feveral inquiries, concerning the western part of the Streight, the

time it coft me to get through, and the difficul-
ties of the navigation; but perceiving that I de-
clined giving any account of these particulars,
he changed his fubject. He faid, he had heard
that we loft an officer and fome men in an
engagement with the Indians; and taking no-
tice that my ship was fmall, and a bad failer;
he infinuated that we must have fuffered great
hardship in fo long a voyage; but, faid he, it is
thought to be fafer and pleasanter failing in the
South Sea than any where elfe. As I perceived
that he waited for a reply, I faid, that the great
ocean, called the South Sea, extended almost
from one pole to the other; and therefore al-
though that part of it which lay between the
Tropics might juftly be called the Pacific, on
account of the trade-winds that blow there all
the year; yet without the Tropics, on either
fide, the winds were variable, and the feas tur-
bulent. In all this he readily acquiefced, and
finding that he could not draw from me any
thing to fatisfy his curiofity, by starting leading
fubjects of converfation, he began to propose
his questions in direct terms, and defired to
know on which fide the equator I had croffed
the South Seas. As I did not think
As I did not think proper to
anfwer this question, and wished to prevent
others of the fame kind, I rofe up fomewhat ab-
ruptly, and I believe with fome marks of difplea-
fure: at this he feemed to be a little difcon-
certed,

1769.

February

Friday 19.