\m
1772.
Oflober.
Friday 30«
acceptable to perfons coming from fea. The purport of the
j Matter Attendant s vilit was, according to cuftom, to take
an account of the ffiips; to inquire into the health of the
crews ; and, in particular, if the fmall-pox was on board ;
a thing they dread, above all others, at the Cape, and for
thefe purpofes a furgeon is always one of the vifitants.
My firft ttep after anchoring, was to fend an officer to
wait on Baron Plettenberg, the governor, to acquaint him
with our arrival, and the reafons which induced me to put
in there. To this the officer received a very polite anfwer;
and, upon his return, we faluted the garrifon with eleven
guns, which compliment was returned. Soon after I went
on Ihore myfelf, and waited upon the governor, accompanied
by Captain Furneaux, and the two Mr. Forfters. He
received us with great politenefs, and promifed me every
affittance the place could afford. From him I learned that
two French ihips franuthe Mauritius, about eight months
before, had difcovered land, in the latitude of 48° South,
and in the meridian of that ifland, along which they failed
forty miles, till they came to a bay into which they were
about to enter, when they were driven off and feparated
in a hard gale of wind, after having loft fome of their boats
and people, which they had fent to found the bay. One of
the Ihips, viz. the La Fortune, foon after arrived at the
Mauritius, the Captain of which was fent home to France
with an account of the difcovery. The Governor alfo informed
me, that in March laft, two other French ffiips from
the ifland of Mauritius, touched at the Cape in their way
to the South Pacific Ocean; where they were going to make
difcoveries, under the command of M. Marion. Aotourou,
the man M. de Bougainville brought from Otaheite, was to
have returned with M. Marion, had he been living.
After
Ilf
AND ROUND THE WO ELD. n
After having vifited the governor and foftie other principal 1772!
perfons of the place, we fixed ourfelye's: at Mr.'Brandt’s, the . 0£tober’..
ufual refidence of moft officers belonging to Engliffi ffiips;
This gerttleman fpares neither trouble nor expence to make
his hoiife agreeable to thofe who favour him with their company,
and to accommodate them With every thing they
want. With him I concerted meafures' for fupplyitag the
ffiips with pfovifions, and all other ireceflaries they wanted;
which he* fet about procuring without delay, while the fea-
men on board were employed in overhauling the rigging ;
and the carpenters in caulking the ffiips fides and decks, See.
Meffis. Wales and Bayley got all their inftruments on
Ihore, in order to make aftronomical obfervations for afeer-
taining the going of the watches, and other purpofes. The
rel’ult of fome of thefe obfervations flaewed, that Mr. Kendal
s watch had anfwered beyond all expectation, by pointing
out the longitude of this place to within one minute of
time to what it was obferved by Meffrs. Mafon and Dixon
in 1761.
Three or four days after us, two Dutch Indiamen arrived
here from Holland j after a paffage of between four and
five months, in which one loft, by the feurvy and other
putrid difeafes, 150 men; and the other 41. They fent, on
their arrival, great numbers to the hofpital in very dreadful
circumftances. It is remarkable that one of thefe ffiips
touched at Port Praya, and left it a month before we arrived
there; and yet we got here three days before her. The
Dutch at the Cape, having found their hofpital too fmall
for the reception of their fick, were going to build a new
one at the eaft part of the town ; the foundation of which
was laid with great ceremony while we were there.
Von. I. d By