A General History & Collection of Voyages and Travels ... - Nauticus

[10] Mr G.F. speaks with much more enthusiasm, as one might have expected, of Dr Sparrman,extolling his talents and activity in the course of science, but lamenting, at the same time, that thisvoyage, on which he now set out, yielded much less matter for observation than his ardent mind hadanticipated. That gentleman's labours at the Cape, it seems, however, especially in botany, were verysuccessful; he and Dr Thunberg having, it is said, gathered above a thousand species entirelyunknown before.--E.Mr Hodges employed himself here in drawing a view of the Cape, town, and parts adjacent, in oil colours,which, was properly packed up with some others, and left with Mr Brandt, in order to be forwarded to theAdmiralty by the first ship that should sail for England.SECTION II.Departure from the Cape of Good Hope, in search of a Southern Continent.Having at length finished my business at the Cape, and taken leave of the governor and some others of thechief officers, who, with very obliging readiness, had given me all the assistance I could desire, on the 22dof November we repaired on board; and at three o'clock in the afternoon weighed, and came to sail with thewind at N. by W. As soon as the anchor was up, we saluted the port with fifteen guns, which wasimmediately returned; and after making a few trips, got out of the bay by seven o'clock, at which time thetown bore S.E. distant four miles. After this we stood to the westward all night, in order to get clear of theland, having the wind at N.N.W. and N.W., blowing in squalls attended with rain, which obliged us to reefour topsails. The sea was again illuminated for some time, in the same manner as it was the night beforewe arrived in Table Bay.Having got clear of the land, I directed my course for Cape Circumcision. The wind continued at N.W. amoderate gale, until the 24th, when it veered round to the eastward. On the noon of this day, we were in thelatitude of 35° 25' S., and 29' west of the Cape; and had abundance of albatrosses about us, several ofwhich were caught with hook and line; and were very well relished by many of the people, notwithstandingthey were at this time served with fresh mutton. Judging that we should soon come into cold weather, Iordered slops to be served to such as were in want; and gave to each man the fearnought jacket andtrowsers allowed them by the Admiralty.The wind continued easterly for two days, and blew a moderate gale, which brought us into the latitude of39° 4', and 2° of longitude west of the Cape, thermometer 52-1/2[1] The wind now came to W. and S.W.;and on the 29th fixed at W.N.W., and increased to a storm, which continued, with some few intervals ofmoderate weather, till the 6th of December, when we were in the latitude of 48° 41' S., and longitude 18°24' E. This gale, which was attended with rain and hail, blew at times with such violence that we couldcarry no sails; by which means we were driven far to the eastward of our intended course, and no hopeswere left me of reaching Cape Circumcision. But the greatest misfortune that attended us, was the loss ofgreat part of our live stock, which we had brought from the Cape, and which consisted of sheep, hogs, andgeese. Indeed this sudden transition from warm, mild weather, to extreme cold and wet, made every man inthe ship feel its effects. For by this time the mercury in the thermometer had fallen to 38; whereas at theCape it was generally at 67 and upwards. I now made some addition to the people's allowance of spirit, bygiving them a dram whenever I thought it necessary, and ordered Captain Furneaux to do the same. Thenight proved clear and serene, and the only one that was so since we left the Cape; and the next morningthe rising sun gave us such flattering hopes of a fine day, that we were induced to let all the reefs out of the