I7-.93-
F ebruary.
Friday t.
i »6 >
About fbuv ©’clock in the morning faw land-, .bearing E . iSf. EL
fuppofed iq be tea leagues, cKftanfe which* a abeutfoins hours, '%ras.
difeovered to be the ifland o f AjnfteEdam, fituate iathe Indian ocean, and?
lying in latitude thirty deg. forty-three min. fouth, and feventy-feven
deg. twenty min. eaft longitude * A s we approached foe ifland, w a
could plainly difcover three men on the foore s ia-confequence o f which,
the enfign was immediately hoifted. We- here law great numbers o f
water fnakes, and a prodigious quantity o f filh refembling co<4 and.
weighing, in general, about, three to eight pounds,. At.noon the yawf
washoifted out, and the mailer lent to found,for anchorage. In eonfe-
quenee o f his information we hove too, and* anchored with the befl.
bower, in twenty-eight fathom water, on the eaft fide-of the ifland.
The mailer alfo gave an account that' there were five men- on the«
ifland, who had come from foe Ml® de France, far. the purpofe of.
killing feak, with which this place abounds.
vyednefflayk Sir George and Mr. Staunton, with federal1 other gehtlemen. ae-.
eompanied fey- a party of artillery foldiers, properly armed, went. on.
foofe, and madrgreabdeftru&ion. among- the natives o f the plaee::
foch as feals, penguins, afoa-trof&s, &c. Great quantities of fiflvwere
alfo caught here, and faked, for the femce of the ftfip.
On the north-eail end o f the ifland, nearly oppofite to where the
Jdon at anchor, there is a vety commodious bafon, about^a-mile,
in diameter, and furrounded by inaceeflibk and1 perpendicular rocks x
at the entrance of which, on the north-weft corner, ftands a lofty,
iafulated rock, which bears the form of a fugar-loaf.. This bafon-.
«dght, at a fmall expenfe, be made a plage of fafe retreat for. ihips.
o f any burthen; as it contains, in many parts, thirteen fathom water,
and pofleffes aa excellent- landing place. Mlfe here caught- great- quantities
o f fifo which referable oug lobfter, both in ftiape and fi«e, but ©f,
a very fuperior flavour* We alfo obferved great numbers ©f ihar-ks
all round foe ifland | which is the more extraordinary,, as thefhark is
f eldom feen in thefe latitudes.
3 Qn
( 27 >
On Our landing, we were met by the five foal-hunters, whom we
have already mentioned j who,, with great civility,- conducted us to
an hut at a' fina.ll diftance from the beach. They were natives' o f
France' and America, who had made a commercial engagement' to
come and refide in this ifland fin: the fpace; o f eighteen months, in
orde^ to kill feals, 'vyhofo ikinsare fold-(to very great adyantage to (hips,
-which touch at the iile o f France. Atitnisitjmq they had only keen
fix months in their prefent Situation, wh^n, .according, to their account,
theyhad already killed eight" thoiifand foals.
At a fmall diftance from their hutf thMe’fhen had, with tnuch la-
hour, tand no. fmall hazardy formed a path, by. which they contrived
to get over a mountain to kill foals on the other fode o f the ifland.
On afeending this path, we came to a fmall fir ing, whofe jyater is
equal to boiling heat; and feme filh which we put into if,- were as
perfectly drefled in fix' minutes, ajs i f they had been cooked on- board
the fhip. .It fhould be alfo obferved, that while we were attending to
this proeefs? ^ e . diftiildly heard the fame kind o f bubbling, founds
as proceeds from- water hulling'in a veflel over the fire. On foe top
o f the mountain there is .a* volcano, from whence a febftance .iffue$r
which thefe men reprefonted as bearing the appearance, and poflefling.
the qualiri^, o f falt-petre.
This ifland is about eight mifes infoeugfo, &fid fi x in breadth; in
fomeparts it is-altogether flat, particularly to the Weft, and gradually
xifes to the very high land in the center o f if., It is a very barren
fpot, bearing neither tree non fibrub, and whofc only produce is a kind,
o f eqarfc, tufted grafo. wlth Very thiefk ftalks.’ Every thing in this
ifland bears the rftar-k o f having undergone the a&foa o f fire-. The
earth, and evehfoe rockS^and ft'ones, on approaching the volcano,
were" fo hot as to fcorch ©ur Ikinj to’ burn our ftioes, and blifter Our
fcet. We Were c-ondufted «bout this defolate place by the -five feal-
bisnkiiilssywfoefe -cane and -kind attentions pfofet'ved'-iis not only from
ifrcbnyenfonfce, but danger,- which it w,otfld Jhave been impoffible for
o s to have avoided, i f we had.riot-been fubjeft to: their direction.
. iH 2 . ■ , , " The