Ah Sam's Toast Descended
From Ethereal Altitudes And Took A Purely Personal View Of The Situation.
He Drank "Aux Francais,
Bons amis d'A Sam."* (* Moniteur, 21st
Vendemiaire.) The Chinaman had reason to be grateful, for the First
Consul had, by
An order over his own signature, directed that he should
be placed under Baudin's charge, and conveyed to his own country at the
expense of the Government, and that there should be shown to him that
consideration which he merited, both because he was a stranger and
because of his good conduct while residing within the territories of the
Republic.* (* Correspondence of Napoleon, 1861 collection Volume 6,
letter dated 7th Vendemiaire, Revolutionary Year 9 (September 29, 1800).)
The treatment of Ah Sam was an example of that kindness which Napoleon,
ruthless in war, so often displayed towards those who touched his
sympathies.* (* Peron mentioned Ah Sam's case (1 11), but Freycinet, in
his second edition, cut out the paragraph, in pursuance of his policy of
suppressing references to Napoleon; Peron having written that the
Chinaman had reason to bless the generosity and goodness of the First
Consul. It was not politic in 1824 to talk about Napoleon's generosity
and goodness. But how paltry was the spirit thus displayed!)
The expedition sailed from Havre on the morning of October 19, 1800,
amidst cordial popular demonstrations from the inhabitants of that
bustling seaport, and many wishes that fortune might crown the efforts of
the explorers with success. The captain of the English frigate Proselite,
which was watching the harbour mouth, scrutinised the passports and
permitted the ships to pass; and, with a fair wind to fill his sails,
Baudin put out into the Channel and steered for the open ocean, bound due
south.
Peron, in his history of the voyage, severely blamed the obstinacy of
"notre chef" - mention of his name being carefully avoided - for the delay
occasioned on the run down to the Cape of Good Hope. Captain Baudin,
disregarding the advice of his officers, insisted on sailing fairly close
to the African coast, instead of making a more westerly course. He
argued, according to Peron, that the route which he favoured was nearer,
and as a matter of mileage he was right. But winds and currents should
have been considered rather than bare distance; and the simple result of
bad seamanship was that Baudin's vessels occupied one hundred and
forty-five days on the voyage from Havre to Mauritius, where they stayed
to refit, whilst Flinders brought out the Investigator from Spithead the
whole way to Cape Leeuwin, where he first made the Australian coast, in
one hundred and forty-two days. The French vessels lay at Mauritius for
the leisurely space of forty days, and did not reach Australia till May
27, two hundred and twenty days after their departure from France.
Even then, had reasonable diligence been exercised in the pursuit of the
exploratory work for which his ships had been commissioned, Baudin would
have had the honour of discovering the unknown southern coast; for
Flinders was not allowed to leave England till July 17, 1801, fifty-one
days after the French actually arrived on the shores of Australia. The
prize of discovery slipped from Baudin's reach in consequence of his
"dawdling" methods, which brought about those "consequences facheuses et
irreparables" deplored by the naturalist.
Soon after the expedition left Mauritius, the officers and crew were
surprised to learn that the supplies of bread were short "and that for
the future ships' biscuit and salt meat would constitute the principal
part of the diet. The wine brought from France had also been nearly
consumed. Instead of the latter, a cheap, unwholesome drink, tafia,
bought at the island, was to be served out. This was amazing and
depressing news, considering the lavishness with which the Government had
fitted out the ships, and that nearly six weeks had been spent at a
French colonial possession. By this time, too, as is clear from Peron's
narrative, very little affection for the commander remained. The delays
already permitted had brought the expedition in face of the prospect of
exploring the southern coasts of New Holland in the winter season. Baudin
considered it unwise to undertake the work in Tasmanian seas, according
to the programme prepared for him, during months when severe storms would
probably be encountered; and he consequently determined not to sail
farther south on making Cape Leeuwin, but to explore the western coasts
of the continent, reserving the work which the Institute had put first to
be done in the following spring. Peron blamed him for this decision,
inasmuch as the course prescribed in the instructions was the result of
careful thought and extensive research. But though the procrastination
which had let slip the months best suited for exploration in southern
waters was caused by Baudin's own lack of energy and knowledge, his
resolve not to entrust his ships on an unknown coast, where he knew of no
secure harbours, in the months of tempest and cold, was prudent.
On making the Leeuwin, therefore, Baudin steered north. Geography Bay and
Cape Naturaliste, upon current maps, mark the commencement of his work on
the shores of Western Australia. From Sharks Bay the vessels pursued the
course of the first Englishman to explore any portion of the Australian
coast, the resolute, observant, tough old salt, William Dampier. The
biographical dictionary was here for the first time brought forth, and
the names within it were scattered liberally over the lands traversed.
Some of them have adhered, though Baudin's voyage along these shores was
by no means one of discovery, and there is clear evidence that names were
applied to parts which his ships did not investigate with any approach to
care. The Golfe Joseph Bonaparte of the large French chart, if traced
with some degree of particularity, would have led to several highly
important discoveries. But it was not carefully investigated at all, and
thus Baudin totally missed Bathurst Island and Melville Island, which
together stretch for over one hundred miles across the entrance to Van
Diemen's Gulf.
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