Opiates And Glysters Had No Effect, Till Repeated Hot
Baths, And Plasters Of Theriaca Applied On His Stomach, Had Relieved
His Body And Intestines.
This, however, was not effected till he had
been above a week in the most imminent danger.
Next to providence it
was chiefly owing to the skill of our surgeon, Mr Patten, that he
recovered to prosecute the remaining part of our voyage, with the same
spirit with which it had hitherto been carried on. The care and
assiduity with which that worthy man watched him during his whole
illness, cannot be sufficiently extolled, as all our hopes of future
discoveries, as well as union in the ship, depended solely on the
preservation of the captain. The surgeon's extreme attention, however,
had nearly cost him his own life. Having taken no rest for many nights
together, and seldom venturing to sleep an hour by day, he was so much
exhausted, that we trembled for his life, upon which that of almost
every man in the ship, in a great measure, depended. He was taken ill
with a bilious disorder, which was dangerous on account of the extreme
weakness of his stomach, and it is more than probable, that if we had
not speedily fallen in with land, from whence we collected some slight
refreshments, he must have fallen a sacrifice to that rigorous
perseverance and extreme punctuality with which he discharged the
several duties of his profession." - G.F.
SECTION VII.
Sequel of the Passage from New Zealand to Easter Island, and
Transactions there, with an Account of an Expedition to discover the Inland
Part of the Country, and a Description of some of the surprising gigantic
Statues found in the Island.
At eight o'clock in the morning, on the 11th, land was seen, from the mast-
head, bearing west, and at noon from the deck, extending from W. 3/4 N. to
W. by S., about twelve leagues distant.[1] I made no doubt that this was
Davis's Land, or Easter Island; as its appearance from this situation,
corresponded very well with Wafer's account; and we expected to have seen
the low sandy isle that Davis fell in with, which would have been a
confirmation; but in this we were disappointed. At seven o'clock in the
evening, the island bore from north 62 deg. W., to north 87 deg. W., about five
leagues distant; in which situation, we sounded without finding ground with
a line of an hundred and forty fathoms. Here we spent the night, having
alternately light airs and calms, till ten o'clock the next morning, when a
breeze sprung up at W.S.W. With this we stretched in for the land; and by
the help of our glass, discovered people, and some of those Colossean
statues or idols mentioned in the account of Roggewein's voyage.[2] At four
o'clock p.m. we were half a league S.S.E. and N.N.W. of the N.E. point of
the island; and, on sounding, found thirty-five fathoms, a dark sandy
bottom.
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