1763.
O lobcr.

a

1

November.
Wednes. 2

Sunday 6.

board had the appearance of metal violently heated, and cmitted a white light: with these animals were taken some very small crabs, of three different species, each of which gave as much light as a glow-worm, though the creature was not so large by nine tenths: upon examination of these animals Mr. Banks had the satisfaction to find that they were all entirely new.

On Wednesday the ad of November, about noon, being in the latitude of 10° 38' S. and longitude 32° 13' 43" W. we passed the line in which the needle at this time would have pointed due north and south, without any variation : for in the morning, having decreased gradually in its deviation for fome days, it was no more than 18'W. and in the afternoon it was 34' East.

On the 6th, being in latitude 19o 3 South, longitude 35° 50 West, the colour of the water was observed to change, upon which we founded, and found ground at the depth of 32 fathoms; the lead was cast three times within about four hours, without a foot difference in the depth or quality of the bottom, which was coral rock, fine fand, and shells; we therefore supposed that we had passed over the tail of the great shoal which is laid down in all our charts by the name of Abrothos, on which Lord Anson ftruck soundings in his passage outwards: at four the next morning we had no ground with ico fathom.

As several articles of our stock and provisions now began to fall short, I determined to put into Rio de Janeiro, rather than at any port in Brazil or Falkland's lilands, knowing that it could better supply us with what we wanted, and making no doubt but that we should be well received.

On the 8th, at day-break, we saw the coast of Brazil, and about ten o'clock we brought to, and spoke with a fishing

a

Monday 7.

Tuesda; 3.

a

1968. November.

boat; the people on board told us that the land which we faw, lay to the southward of Sancto Espirito, but belonged to the captainship of that place.

Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander went on board this vessel, in which they found eleven men, nine of whom were Blacks; they all fished with lines, and their fresh cargo, the chief part of which Mr. Banks bought, consisted of dolphins, large pelagic scombers of two kinds, sea bream, and some of the fish which in the West Indies are called Welshmen. Mr. Banks had taken Spanish silver with him, which he imagined to be the currency of the continent, but to his great surprise the people asked him for English shillings; he gave them two which he happened to have about him, and it was not without fome dispute that they took the rest of the money in piftereens. Their business seemed to be to catch large fish at a good distance from the shore, which they salted in bulk, in a place made for that purpose in the middle of their boat: of this merchandize they had about two quintals on board, which they offered for about 16 fhillings, and would probably have sold for half the money. The fresh fish, which was bought for about nineteen shillings and fix pence, served the whole ship’s company; the falt was not wanted.

The sea provision of these fishermen consisted of nothing more than a cask of water, and a bag of Cassada flour, which they called Farinha de Pao, or wooden flour, which indeed is a name which very well suits its taste and

appearance. Their water cask was large, as wide as their boat, and exactly fitted a place that was made for it in the ballast ; it was impossible therefore to draw out any of its contents by a tap, the sides being, from the bottom to the top, wholly inaccessible ; neither could any be taken out by dipping a

1768. November

а.

vesel in at the head, for an opening sufficiently wide for that purpose would have endangered the loss of great part of it by the rolling of the vessel : their expedient to get at their water, so fituated, was curious; when one of them wanted to drink, he applied to his neighbour, who accompanied him to the water cask with a hollow cane about three feet long, which was open at both ends ; this he thrust into the cask through a small hole in the top, and then, stopping the upper end with the palm of his hand, drew it out; the pressure of the air against the other end keeping in the water which it contained; to this end the person who wanted to drink applied his mouth, and the assistant then taking his hand from the other, and admitting the air above, the cane immediately parted with its contents, which the drinker

drew off till he was satisfied. Saturday 12. We stood off and on along the shore till the 12th, and

successively saw a remarkable hill near Santo Espirito, then Cape St. Thomas, and then an island just without Cape Frio, which in fome maps is called the island of Frio, and which being high, with a hollow in the middle has the

appearance of two islands when seen at a distance. On this day

we stood along the shore for Rio de Janeiro, and at nine the Sunday 13 next morning made sail for the harbour, I then sent Mr.

Hicks, my First Lieutenant, before us in the pinnace, up to the city, to acquaint the Governor, that we put in there to procure water and refreshments; and to desire the assistance of a pilot to bring us into proper anchoring-ground. I continued to stand up the river, trusting to Mr. Bellifle's draught, published in the Petit Atlas maritime, Vol. II. N° 54, which we found very good, till five o'clock in the evening, expecting the return of my Lieutenant; and just as I was about to anchor, above the island of Cobras, which lies before the city, the pinnace came back without him, having

1768.

November, on board a Portuguese officer, but no pilot. The people in the boat told me, that my Lieutenant was detained by the Viceroy till I should go on shore. We came immediately to an anchor; and, almost at the same time, a ten oared boat, full of soldiers, came up and kept rowing round the ship, without exchanging a word: in less than a quarter of an hour, another boat came on board with several of the Viceroy's officers, who asked, Whence we came; what was our cargo; the number of men and guns on board ; the object of our voyage, and several other questions, which we directly and truly answered: they then told me, as a kind of apology for detaining my Lieutenant, and putting an officer on board my pinnace, that it was the invariable custom of the place, to detain the first officer who came on Thore from any lhip on her arrival, till a boat from the Viceroy had visited her, and to suffer no boat to go either from or to a ship, while she lay there, without having a soldier on board. They said that I might go on shore when I pleased; but wished that every other person might remain on board till

, the paper which they should draw up had been delivered to the Viceroy, promising that, immediately upon their return, the Lieutenant should be sent on board.

This promise was performed; and on the next morning, Monday * the 14th, I went on fhore, and obtained leave of the Viceroy to purchase provisions and refreshments for the ship, provided I would employ one of their own people as a factor, but not otherwise. I made fome objections to this, but he infifted upon it as the custom of the place. I objected also against the putting a soldier into the boat every time she went between the thip and the Thore; but he told me, that this was done by the express orders of his court, with which he could in no case dispense. I then requested, that the Gentlemen VOL. II,

D

whom

1768. November.

whom I had on board might reside on shore during our stay,
and that Mr. Banks might go up the country to gather plants;
but this he absolutely refused. I judged from his extreme
caution, and the severity of these restrictions, that he suf-
pected we were come to trade; I therefore took some pains
to convince him of the contrary. I told him, that we were
bound to the southward, by the order of his Britannic Ma-
jesty, to observe a tranfit of the planet Venus over the Sun,
an astronomical phænomenon of great importance to navi-
gation. Of the transit of Venus, however, he could form no
other conception, than that it was the passing of the North
Star through the South Pole ; for these are the very words
of his interpreter, who was a Swede, and spoke English very
well. I did not think it necessary to ask permission for the
Gentlemen to come on shore during the day, or that, when
I was on shore myself, I might be at liberty, taking for
granted that nothing was intended to the contrary; but in
this. I was unfortunately mistaken. As soon as I took leave
of his Excellency, I found an officer who had orders to at-
tend me wherever I went: of this I desired an explanation,
and was told that it was meant as a compliment; I earnestly

I
desired to be excused from accepting such an honour, but
the good Viceroy would by no means suffer it to be dispensed
with.

With this officer, therefore, I returned on board, about
swelve o'clock, where I was impatiently expected by Mr.
Banks and Dr. Solander, who made no doubt but that a fair
account of us having been given by the officers who had
been on board the evening before, in their paper called a
Practica, and every scruple of the Viceroy removed in my
conference with his Excellency, they should immediately be
at liberty to go on shore, and dispose of themselves as they
pleased. Their disappointment at receiving my report may

easily

2