But He Had Neither Taken This Simple Precaution, Nor Had He
Even Intimated To Captain Hamelin The Route That He
Intended to pursue.
When, therefore, the storm abated, the commander of the second ship
neither knew where to look for
Le Geographe, nor had he any certain
information to enable him to follow her.
Before making up his mind as to what he should do, Captain Hamelin had
the good luck to pick up an open boat containing Boullanger, one of the
scientific staff of Le Geographe, a lieutenant, and eight sailors. They
were absent from the ship when the storm burst, and Baudin had sailed
away without them. His conduct on this occasion had been inexplicable.
Boullanger and his party had gone out in the boat to chart a part of the
coast with more detail than was possible from the deck of the corvette.
But they had not been away more than a quarter of an hour, according to
Peron, when Baudin, "without any apparent reason," bore off the coast.
Then came the tempest, night fell, the following days were too stormy for
putting off another boat to search for the missing men; and in the end,
Baudin left them to their fate. They had no chart or compass, merely
enough food and water to last for a day, and were abandoned on an
uninhabited coast, in an open boat, in bitterly cold, squally weather,
with the rain falling in sheets at frequent intervals. Here again,
British kindness saved the Frenchmen. Before having the good fortune to
perceive the sails of Le Naturaliste, the starved, drenched, and
miserable men had attracted the attention of a sealing brig, the
Snow-Harrington, from Sydney. Her skipper, Campbell, took them on board,
supplied them with warm food, and offered to convey them to Port Jackson
forthwith. They remained on the Snow-Harrington for the night, but on the
following morning sighted Le Naturaliste, and, after profusely thanking
Captain Campbell for his generosity, soon picked her up.
Hamelin, having no instructions as to where he should go, resolved to
devote himself to work in Bass Strait. Eight days were spent in
Westernport, the limit of Bass's discoveries in January 1798; and the
name French Island preserves the memory of their researches there. They
found the soil fertile, the vegetation abundant, the timber plentiful;
the port was, they considered, "one of the most beautiful that it would
be possible to find, and it unites all the advantages which will make it
some day a precious possession."
But the supplies on board Le Naturaliste were becoming exhausted, and,
being still without news of his chief, Hamelin decided to sail for Port
Jackson. He arrived there on April 24. As far as he knew, however, the
war between England and France still raged. News of the Treaty of Amiens
was not received at Sydney till the middle of June. He was therefore
gravely concerned about the reception that would be accorded him. He had
his passport, which protected him from molestation, but he feared that
the British would "at least refuse him succour," of which he was
desperately in need. Evidently the Snow-Harrington had not communicated
to him the same welcome news as the sealing craft had given to Baudin,
concerning the instructions of King George's Government.
How different was his welcome from his anticipation! He found "nothing
but sweet peace and gentle visitation." "The English received him, from
the first instant, with that great and cordial generosity which the
perfection of European civilisation can alone explain, and which it alone
can produce. The most distinguished houses in the colony were thrown open
to our companions, and during the entire length of their sojourn, they
experienced that delicate and affectionate hospitality, which honours
equally those who bestow and those who receive it." So Peron testified;
but one cannot transcribe his words without a reflection on the sort of
"European hospitality" that Matthew Flinders received by way of contrast
when he was compelled to seek, shelter in Mauritius.
Le Naturaliste was lying at anchor when Flinders' arrived with the
Investigator in May. Learning from him of the meeting with Le Geographe
in Encounter Bay in the previous month, and inferring that Baudin would
sail for Mauritius after finishing what he had to do on the southern
coast, Hamelin determined also to make his way to the French colony. He
left Sydney harbour on May 18, with the intention of rounding the
southern extremity of Tasmania, and striking across the Indian Ocean from
that point. But here again fearful storms were encountered. "The sea was
horrible; the winds blew with fury and in squalls; torrents of rain fell
incessantly"; and, increasing the misfortunes, the westerly winds were so
strong at the time when the ship was endeavouring to turn westward, that
no headway could be made. Hamelin's men were already on short rations,
but even so the supplies would not suffice for a voyage to Mauritius,
unless a fairly rapid passage could be made. The contrary winds, fogs,
and storms of "the roaring forties" offered no such assurance; and the
French captain, casting a "longing, lingering look behind" at the
comforts and hospitalities of Port Jackson, determined to double back on
his tracks. He re-traversed the east coast of Tasmania, and entered Port
Jackson for the second time on July 3, to find that his chief and the
leading ship of the expedition had been snugly berthed there during the
past fortnight. "And so," Peron comments, "were united for the second
time, and by the most inconceivable luck, two ships which, owing to the
obstinacy of the commandant, had had no appointed rendezvous, and were
twice forced to navigate independently at two periods of the voyage when
it would have been most advantageous for them to act in concert."
As the two French vessels lay at Sydney for nearly six months, during
which time the officers and men mingled freely with the population of the
colony, whilst the naturalists and artists occupied themselves busily
with the work of their special departments, the occurrences have a
two-fold interest for one who wishes to appreciate the significance of
Baudin's expedition.
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