Читать книгу Northmost Australia - Robert Logan Jack - Страница 45

BLIGH COMMISSIONED TO CONVEY BREADFRUIT FROM TAHITI TO WEST INDIES. FLINDERS, A JUNIOR OFFICER ON THE "PROVIDENCE," THE HISTORIAN OF THE EXPEDITION. LIEUTENANT PORTLOCK COMMANDING THE "ASSISTANT." BLIGH PLANS TO KEEP CLOSE TO NEW GUINEA. THE PORTLOCK REEFS. DARNLEY ISLANDS. "ASSISTANT'S" BOATS ATTACKED BY ISLANDERS IN CANOES. NEPEAN ISLAND. DARNLEY ISLANDERS COME OUT TO BARTER. IRON IN GREAT DEMAND, STEPHENS' AND CAMPBELL ISLANDS. DALRYMPLE ISLAND. NATIVES BARTER FRUIT AND ORNAMENTS FOR IRON. DUNGENESS REEF AND ISLAND. WARRIOR REEF AND ISLAND. THE CHANNEL (LATER, BASILISK PASS) THROUGH THE REEF. DETERMINED ATTACK BY ISLANDERS. TURTLE-BACKED ISLAND. CAP ISLAND. BANKS ISLAND SEEN AND NAMED. BURKE'S ISLAND. MT. CORNWALLIS (CORNWALLIS ISLAND). TURN-AGAIN AND JERVIS ISLANDS. ORMAN REEF. MULGRAVE ISLAND. NORTH POSSESSION ISLAND. BLIGH TAKES POSSESSION OF TORRES STRAIT ISLANDS. JERVIS ISLAND AND BLIGH CHANNEL (PREVIOUSLY USED BY TORRES). THREATENING ISLANDERS. SHOAL CLEARED. BLIGH'S FAREWELL. SEA-ROOM ENOUGH. TIMOR. PROMOTION OF BLIGH AND HIS SUBSEQUENT NAVAL SERVICES. BLIGH APPOINTED GOVERNOR OF NEW SOUTH WALES. A STERN DISCIPLINARIAN, BUT ARROGANT AND BRUTAL. HLS ATTEMPT TO STOP THE RUM SCANDAL IN NEW SOUTH WALES. ARRESTED AND DEPOSED BY THE NEW SOUTH WALES CORPS. PROMOTION TO VICE-ADMIRAL. DEATH. A FRENCH APPRECIATION OF HIS QUALITIES.

Having reached England after his perilous voyage in the open boat, following on the mutiny of the "Bounty" and written his Narrative, BLIGH was given command of H.M.S. "Providence" and was accompanied by the brig "Assistant" under LIEUTENANT J. NATHANIEL PORTLOCK, in a second expedition having for its object the transference of breadfruit from Tahiti to the West Indies. He had thus another opportunity of traversing Torres Strait, and this time he succeeded in his mission. So far as is known, he wrote no report on this voyage, but he lodged his charts in the Admiralty Office. The only available record of the voyage is the journal kept by MATTHEW FLINDERS, who accompanied Bligh as a junior officer. (Terra Australis, Vol. I, pp. xix. et seq.}. Bligh's charts, "with other authorities," were incorporated in Plate XIII of Flinders' Atlas, and the journal was sanctioned by Bligh, so that there is every reason for accepting it as authoritative. The expedition left

England in 1791. The quotations which follow are from Flinders' Journal.

Having come to the conclusion, when he threaded Torres Strait in the open boat three years before, that ships attempting the passage from the east should keep in touch with the New Guinea coast, Bligh took the "Providence" and "Assistant" north of his former course. After passing south of the Louisiade Archipelago and the south-eastern part of New Guinea, he sighted the REEFS which he named after Captain PORTLOCK on 1st September, 1792. After seeking vainly for a passage to the south, he steered to the north till he had cleared the Portlock Reef, when he bore NW. and SSW. for the high land which he named DARNLEY ISLAND, and anchored NE. of the island on 4th September, 1792. He might, had he known the soundings, have set a straight course SW. for Dalrymple Island, through what is now charted as "BLIGH ENTRANCE," but he did not, preferring to make for the landmark to which he gave the name of Darnley. (SEE MAP A.)

"5th September, 1792. Boats were again sent to sound the passage. Several large sailing canoes were seen, and the cutter making the signal for assistance, the pinnace was sent to her, well manned and armed. On the return of the boats in the afternoon, it appeared that of four canoes which used their efforts to get up to the cutter, one succeeded. There were in it 15 INDIANS...and they made signs which were interpreted to be amicable. These signs the officer imitated, but not thinking it prudent to go so near as to take a green coco-nut which was held up to him, he continued rowing for the ship. A man who was sitting upon the shed erected in the centre of the canoe then said something to those below, and immediately they began to string their bows. Two of them had already fitted arrows, when the officer judged it necessary to fire in his own defence. Six muskets were discharged, and the Indians fell flat into the bottom of the canoe, all except the man on the shed. The seventh musket was fired at him. and he fell also. During this time, the canoe dropped astern, and the three others having joined her, they all gave chase to the cutter, trying to cut her off from the ship; in which they would probably have succeeded had not the pinnace arrived at that juncture to their assistance. The Indians then hoisted their sails and steered for Darnley's Island.

"No boats could have been manoeuvred better in working to windward than were these long canoes by the naked savages. Had the four been able to reach the cutter, it is difficult to say whether the superiority of our arms would have been equal to the great difference of numbers, considering the ferocity of these people and the skill with which they seemed to manage their weapons.

"6th September. Two boats were sent ahead and the vessels followed them, between Canoe Key and the reef lying from it half a mile to the north. After running 12 miles beyond this narrow pass, they anchored in 13 fathoms, the latitude being 9° 37' and longitude 143° 41' [east of Tobin Cay.—R. L. J.]. In the afternoon, they proceeded 5 miles further to the NNW., and Darnley's Island then bore S. 74-75 E., 2 leagues. Except on the north side, this island appears to be surrounded with reefs and sandbanks to a considerable distance. In sailing for [from.—R. L. J.] Canoe Key, the vessels had left on the larboard hand a long chain of reefs and banks, at the north end of which were three low woody islands, the nearest of these, bearing S. 41° W., 2 or 3 miles from the anchorage, was named NEPEAN ISLAND...

"This day, several canoes from DARNLEY ISLAND came off to both vessels. On approaching, the Indians clapped upon their heads and exclaimed 'Whou! whou! whou!' repeatedly, with much vehemence; at the same time they held out arrows

and other weapons, and asked for 'toree, toree,' by which they meant iron...Their arms were bows, arrows and clubs, which they bartered for every kind of ironwork with eagerness, but appeared to set little value on anything else...

"Their canoes are about 50 feet in length, and appear to have been hollowed out of a single tree...These vessels are low forward, but rise abaft, and being narrow are fitted with an outrigger on each side to keep them steady. A raft, of greater breadth than the canoe, extends over about half the length, and upon this is fixed a shed or hut, thatched with palm leaves. These people, in short, appeared to be dextrous sailors and formidable warriours, and to be as much at ease in the water as in their canoes.

"7th September. The boats having found deep water round the north end of the three low islands, the vessels followed them, but anchored again soon after noon, in lat. 9° 31' and long. 143° 31', being sheltered by the two western ISLANDS, named STEPHENS' and CAMPBELL'S, and the reefs which surround them...

"8th September. The vessels steered westward...No land or other obstruction had been seen in that quarter, but at 10 o'clock they were forced to haul the wind to the southward, their course being impeded by reefs, upon one of which was PEARCE'S SANDY KEY. At noon they had anchored in 15 fathoms under the lee of DALRYMPLE'S ISLAND, the westernmost before seen; but two other islands were then visible in the S. by W...The latitude here was 9° 37' and longitude 143° 31'-143° 15'E. In the afternoon, NATIVES came out from the beach and exchanged ornaments and plums for iron. A moderate-sized dog, of a brown chestnut colour, was observed amongst the party."

"9th September. The ships still followed the boats, "between the cluster of islands to the southward and an extensive reef to the west. [1]...At noon, the lat. was 9° 48', long. 143° 6', and two other islands came in sight to the westward. Before 2 o'clock, an extensive reef, partly dry, to which the name of Dungeness was given, made it necessary to heave to until the boats had time to sound; after which Captain Bligh bore away along the north side of the reef, and anchored a mile from it...In this situation DUNGENESS ISLAND, which is low and woody, bore N. 64-87° W., 3 miles, and a small sandy isle, named WARRIOUR'S ISLAND, N. 6-1° W., 4 miles...Besides these, there were other low isles, called the Six SISTERS, in sight to the SE., and a long fiat island, bearing S. 33-46° W., over the dry Dungeness Reef. In the west also there were islands visible, at a greater distance, and much higher, than the others. The strait, instead of becoming clearer, seemed to be more and more embarrassed with dangers as the vessels proceeded westward. The latitude of this anchorage was 9° 50½' S. and longitude 142° 55' E. "l0th September. The boats sounded the channel [BASILISK PASS, so named in 1871 by Captain Moresby, of the "Basilisk."—R. L. J.] to the north-west between Dungeness and Warriour's Islands, and finding sufficient water the vessels got under way at noon to follow them. There were many NATIVES collected upon the shore of Dungeness Island, and several canoes from Warriour's Island were about the brig. Presently Captain Portlock made the signal for assistance, and there was a discharge of musketry and some guns from his vessel and from the boats. Canoes were also coming towards the "Providence" and when a musket was fired at the headmost, the natives set up a great shout and paddled forward in a body; nor was musketry sufficient to make them desist. The second great gun, loaded with grape, was directed at the foremost of eight canoes, full of men, and the round shot, after raking the whole length, struck the high stern. The Indians leaped out and swam towards their companions, plunging constantly to avoid the musket-balls which showered thickly about them. The squadron then made off as fast as the people could paddle, but afterwards rallied at a greater distance, until a shot which passed over their heads made them disperse and give up all idea of any further attack. "In passing the deserted canoe, one native was observed still sitting in it. The other canoes afterwards returned to him, and, with glasses, signals were perceived

[1) Warrior Reef—R. L. J.]

to be made by the Indians to their friends on Dungeness Island, expressive, as was thought, of grief and consternation.

"No arrows fell on board the "Providence" but three men were wounded in the 'Assistant' and one of them afterwards died. The depth to which the arrows penetrated into the deck and sides of the brig was reported to be truly astonishing. "The vessels passed between Dungeness and Warriour's Islands [BASILISK PASS.—R. L. J.]...and anchored at 4 o'clock under the lee of DUNGENESS ISLAND and reef. The passage to the westward then appeared clearer, three high islands bearing from S. 60° W., 3 leagues, to N. 76° W., 5 leagues, forming the sole visible obstructions. "11th September—...Course WNW., and passed two islands, to which the descriptive names of TURTLE-BACKED ISLAND and THE CAP were given, and soon, after noon, the vessels anchored in 7 fathoms...Lat. 9° 43', long. 142° 40'...Besides the islands above mentioned, there was in sight a mountainous land, to which the name of BANKS was given, bearing S. 43° W., 12 or 13 leagues; also BURKE'S ISLAND, S. 13° W., 8 or 10 leagues, and MOUNT CORNWALLIS, on another island, N. 29° W., 6 or 8 leagues; and from behind this last, to N. 7° W., there extended a level land, which was supposed to be a part of the coast of NEW GUINEA. "12th September. The vessels followed the boats to the westward reefs, [1] and anchored before noon. Lat. 9° 41' S., long. 142° 24' E. Two other islands were then in sight. A low one, named TURN-AGAIN ISLAND, bore N. 53° W., about 4 leagues, and JERVIS ISLAND, which is rather high, S. 48° W., 9 leagues..."

Here the ships lay at anchor for three days, the boats sounding, while a fresh gale blew from the south-east.

"16th September. The vessels passed to windward of the southern [Orman.—R. L. J.] reef, and steered south-westward, as it trended,...until half-past noon, when they anchored in lat. 10° 3' and long. 142° 14'.[2] The sole direction in which the eye could range without being obstructed was that whence the vessels had come; everywhere else the view was arrested by rocks, banks and islands. The most extensive of these was BANKS ISLAND, extending from S. 14° E. to 62° W., 2 or 3 leagues, with a little hill upon it, named MOUNT AUGUSTUS, which bore S. 14 E. [3] Another large ISLAND, named MULGRAVE'S, extended from behind the last to a cluster of rocks whose extreme bore W. 5° N. The nearest land, bearing S. 24° E., 1½ miles, was the north-westernmost of three small isles, and to this the Second-Lieutenant was sent for the purpose of taking possession of all the islands seen in the strait for His Britannic Majesty George III, with the ceremonies used on such occasions. The name bestowed upon the whole was CLARENCE ARCHIPELAGO. [The name has not been adopted by cartographers.—R. L. J.] "NORTH POSSESSION ISLAND was found to be little else than a mass of rocks surrounded by a reef, but it was covered with a variety of trees and shrubs. Amongst them was a cluster of coco-nut trees, bearing a small but delicious fruit...There did not appear to be any fixed inhabitants upon Possession Island, but from a fire which had been recently extinguished, and the shells and bones of turtle scattered about, it was supposed to have been visited not many days before... "17th September. The boats led to the westward, steering for a passage between MULGRAVE'S and JERVIS' ISLANDS; but seeing it full of rocks and shoals the vessels

[1) Charted as the "Orman Reef, 1816."]

[2) There is an error of 4 minutes in the longitude if the latitude and bearing to Mt. Augustus are right.—R. L. J.]

[3) Note by Flinders: "This mountain, in lat. 10° 12' S., long. 142° 13' E., was seen by Captain Bligh from the "Bounty's" launch, and marked in his chart (Voyage, &c., p. 220). It appears to be the same island, indistinctly laid down by Captain Cook in lat. 10° 10', long. 141° 14', and is also one of those to which the term HOGE LANDT is applied in Thevenot's Chart of 1663." (The "little hill" is 1,310 feet high, according to modern charts.—R. L. J.).]

anchored a little within the entrance...until the boats could sound ahead. The latitude here was l0° 2' and long. 142° 3'. [1]... "Whilst the boats were sounding, several INDIANS, in three canoes, were perceived making towards them, but on a swivel-shot being fired over their heads they retired to Mulgrave Island, on the south side of the passage. "On the signal being made for good anchorage further on, the 'Assistant' led to the W. by S.; but on reaching the boats, the bottom was found much inferior to what had been imagined. The approach of night, however, obliged Bligh to anchor soon afterwards... "In this situation, the vessels were so closely surrounded with rocks and reefs as scarcely to have swinging-room. The bottom was rocky. The wind blowing a fresh gale, and a tide running between 4 and 5 knots an hour. This anxious night was, however, passed without accident, and next morning. "18th September, the route was continued through the passage, between reefs and rocks which, in some places, were not three-quarters of a mile asunder... "On clearing this dangerous pass, which Captain Bligh called BLIGH'S FAREWELL, [2] he anchored in 6 fathoms...The latitude here was 10° 5', long. 141° 56'. From north nearly round by the east to S. 8° E., there was a mass of islands, rocks and reefs, at various distances; but in the western half of the compass no danger was visible. "19th September. The wind moderated, and the vessels steered W. by S. until noon...The latitude was then 10° 8½' S., longitude by timekeeper 141° 31' E., and no land was in sight; nor did anything more obstruct Captain Bligh and his associate in their route to the ISLAND TIMOR."

After his voyage in the "Bounty," Bligh was promoted to Commander and afterwards to Post Captain. In 1794, he was Captain of the 74-gun "Warrior" off Ushant. In 1797, he commanded the 64-gun "Director" at Camper down and distinguished himself on the occasion of the mutiny at the Nore. On 21st May, 1801, he commanded the 64-gun "Glatton" at Copenhagen, and was personally thanked by Nelson.

During the administration of John Hunter and Philip Gidley King as Governors of New South Wales, the colony had got somewhat out of hand, chiefly on account of the "rum"-currency, the usurpation of authority by the New South Wales Corps and questions arising out of the status of freed convicts. To the Government in England, it appeared that the only remedy lay in the appointment of a strict disciplinarian, and his whole career indicated that Bligh was such a man. He took up the reins in 1806.

"Bligh's insistence on discipline," says Professor Scott, [3] "was indeed sufficiently stiff, but unfortunately he was also a quarrelsome, ill-tempered, coarse-speaking man. His manner of doing business with those who had to see him was repellent. He would, with no regard for the dignity of his position, pour forth a stream of personal abuse, loaded with dire threats; and if he felt angry with anyone he would blurt out his displeasure, no matter where he was—on the parade ground, in the street, in his own house, or in church. One who had experience of the Governor

[1) More like 142° 11.' At 142° 3', they would have been clear of all reefs and beyond the Farewell Islands.—R. L. J.]

[2) It is now charted as Bligh Channel. There are very strong grounds for believing that Torres passed through it in 1606.—R. L. J.]

[3) A Short History of Australia, 1916, p. 66.]

in his tantrums wrote that he would not brook contradiction or protest; 'his features became distorted, he foamed at the mouth, stamped on the ground, and shook his fist at the person so presuming.' He was a law unto himself, and he said so. It can hardly be contended that Bligh's acts were more arbitrary than those of his predecessors, and he had the same refractory material to deal with; but his manner soon made him hated by those who came into personal contact with him, and at length brought about the mutiny by which he was deposed from office."

He was deposed and put under arrest on 26th January, 1808, by the New South Wales Corps, whose officers administered the colony until the arrival of Governor Macquarie in December, 1809. After his return to England, Bligh was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral in 1811, and to that of Vice-Admiral in 1814, but he was never again entrusted with official responsibility. He died on 7th December, 1817.

A foreign, and therefore presumably unbiassed, estimate of Bligh's character, that of the Surgeon-Major of the French warship "La Zèelée" [1] may be given here.

"He was a sea-wolf, a rude, brutal, intrepid, indefatigable man. He never slept, and could not bear that any of his crew should sleep. He was a poor eater, and he desired that his crew should diet themselves on his scale. All his words were words of wrath. All his orders were threats. All his threats were of the lash. The day comes when his crew revolt and Jay hold of the shark that has no pity. 'Cease your cries!' say the mutinous sailors. 'We don't want to kill you, but we will not obey you. We will put the launch in the water, and you in it, with four sailors, all good swimmers. Then you can beat the waves with those hands that are always so ready to strike. Farewell, Bligh, and a good voyage. Here is the compass. Search for and find..."

Such was the imaginary scene conjured up by the dramatic imagination of the Surgeon while his ship lay fast on a sandbank in the "Canal Mauvais," near Warrior Island and within a few miles of Bligh's track, and when it seemed more than likely that the crews of the "Astrolabe" and "Zèelée" might have to make for Timor in open boats, as Bligh had done forty-eight years before.

[1) Voyage autour du Monde de l'"Astrolabe" et de la "Zèelée," sous les ordres du Contre-Amiral Dumont D'Urville, 1837-40, par Elie Le Guillou. Paris, 1843.]