The Wind Blew Strong From That Quarter, And Our
Ships Were Too Heavy Sailers To Surmount The Force Of The Wind And The
Currents Combined; But That Day We Had A Spectacle To Which We Had Been
Altogether Unaccustomed Since Our Departure From Manilla.
This was a
British squadron, at anchor in Botany Bay, the pennants and ensigns of
which we could plainly distinguish.
All Europeans are countrymen at
such a distance from home, and we had the most eager impatience to
fetch the anchorage; but the next day the weather was so foggy that it
was impossible to discern the land, and we did not get in till the
26th, at nine in the morning, when we let go our anchor a mile from the
north shore, in seven fathoms of water, on a good bottom of grey sand,
abreast of the second bay.
"The moment I made my appearance in the entrance of the Bay, a
lieutenant and midshipman were sent aboard my vessel by Captain Hunter,
commanding the British frigate SIRIUS. They offered from him all the
services in his power; adding, however, that, as he was just getting
under way to proceed to the northward, circumstances would not allow
him to furnish us with provision, ammunition or sails; so that his
offers of service were reduced to good wishes for the future success of
our voyage.
"I despatched an officer to return my thanks to Captain Hunter, who by
this time had his anchor a-peak, and his topsails hoisted; telling him
that my wants were confined to wood and water, of which we could not
fail in this Bay; and I was sensible that vessels intended to settle a
colony at such a distance from Europe, could not be of any assistance
to navigators.
"From the lieutenant we learnt that the English squadron was commanded
by Commodore Phillip, who had sailed from Botany Bay the previous
evening in the SUPPLY, sloop, with four transports, in search of a more
commodious place for a settlement further north. The lieutenant
appeared to make a great mystery of Commodore Phillip's plan, and we
did not take the liberty of putting any questions to him on the
subject; but we had no doubt that the intended settlement must be very
near Botany Bay, since several boats were under sail for the place, and
the passage certainly must be very short, as it was thought unnecessary
to hoist them on board. The crew of the English boat, less discreet
than their officer, soon informed our people that they were only
going to Port Jackson, sixteen miles north of Point Banks, where
Commander Phillip had himself reconnoitred a very good harbour, which
ran ten miles into the land, to the south-west, and in which the ships
might anchor within pistol-shot of the shore, in water as smooth as
that of a basin. We had, afterwards, but too frequent opportunities of
hearing news of the English settlement, the deserters from which gave
us a great deal of trouble and embarrassment."
Pieced together thus is nearly all we know about Laperouse during his
visit to Botany Bay. It is not much. We would gladly have many more
details. What has become of the letter he wrote to Phillip recommending
(according to King) the Pacific Islands as worthy of the attention of
the new colony, "for the great quantity of stock with which they
abound"? Apparently it is lost. The grave and the deep have swallowed
up the rest of this "strange eventful history," and we interrogate in
vain. We should know even less than we do were it not that Laperouse
obtained from Phillip permission to send home, by the next British ship
leaving Port Jackson, his journal, some charts, and the drawings of his
artists. This material, added to private letters and a few
miscellaneous papers, was placed in charge of Lieutenant Shortland to
be delivered to the French Ambassador in London, and formed part of the
substance of the two volumes and atlas published in Paris.
* * * * *
It may be well to cite, as a note to this chapter, the books in
which contemporary accounts of the visit of Laperouse and his ships to
Botany Bay are to be found. Some readers may thereby be tempted to look
into the original authorities. Laperouse's own narrative is contained
in the third and fourth volumes of his "Voyage autour du Monde," edited
by Milet-Mureau (Paris, 1797). There are English translations. A few
letters at the end of the work give a little additional information.
Governor Phillip's "Voyage to Botany Bay" (London, 1789) contains a
good but brief account. Phillip's despatch to the Secretary of State,
Lord Sydney, printed in the "Historical Records of New South Wales,"
Vol. I., part 2, p. 121, devotes a paragraph to the subject. King's
Journal in Vol. II. of the "Records," p. 543-7, gives his story.
Surgeon Bowes' Journal, on page 391 of the same volume, contains a
rather picturesque allusion. Hunter's "Voyage to Botany Bay" (London,
1793) substantially repeats King's version. Captain Watkin Tench, of
the Marines, has a good account in his "Narrative of an Expedition to
Botany Bay" (London, 1789), and Paterson's "History of New South Wales"
(Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1811) makes an allusion to the French expedition.
Chapter VIII.
THE MYSTERY, AND THE SECRET OF THE SEA.
The BOUSSOLE and the ASTROLABE sailed from Botany Bay on March 10,
1788. After recording that fact we might well inscribe the pathetic
last words of Hamlet, "the rest is silence."
We know what Laperouse intended to do. He wrote two letters to friends
in France, explaining the programme to be followed after sailing from
Botany Bay. They do not agree in every particular, but we may take the
last letter written to express his final determination. According to
this, his plan was to sail north, passing between Papua ( New Guinea)
and Australia by another channel than Endeavour Strait, if he could
find one.
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