A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 14 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 822 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 14.

A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 14 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 822 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 14.
[4] “We had already had several false alarms from the fallacious conformation of fog-banks, or that of islands of ice half hid in snow storms, and our consort the Adventure had repeatedly made the signals for seeing land, deceived by such appearances:  but now, the imagination warmed with the idea of M. Bouvet’s discovery, one of our lieutenants, after having repeatedly been up to the mast-head, (about six o’clock in the morning on the 14th,) acquainted the captain that he plainly saw the land.  This news brought us all upon deck:  We saw an immense field of flat ice before us, broken into many small pieces on the edges, a vast number of islands of ice of all shapes and sizes rose beyond it as far as the eye could reach, and some of the most distant considerably raised by the hazy vapours which lay on the horizon, had indeed some appearance of mountains.  Several of our officers persisted in the opinion that they had seen land here, till Captain Cook, about two years and two months afterwards, (in February 1775,) on his course from Cape Horn towards the Cape of Good Hope, sailed over the same spot, where they had supposed it to lie, and found neither land nor even ice there at that time.”—­G.F.

    [5] “While we were doing this, so thick a fog came on, that it was
    with the utmost difficulty, and after some considerable time, that we
    found the ships again.”—­W.

“Their situation in a small four-oared boat, on an immense ocean, far from any habitable shore, surrounded with ice, and utterly destitute of provisions, was truly terrifying and horrible in its consequences.  They rowed about for some time, making vain efforts to be heard, but all was silent about them, and they could not see the length of their boat.  They were the more unfortunate, as they had neither mast nor sail, and only two oars.  In this dreadful suspence they determined to lie still, hoping that, provided they preserved their place, the sloops would not drive out of sight, as it was calm.  At last they heard the jingling of a bell at a distance; this sound was heavenly music to their ears; they immediately rowed towards it, and by continual hailing, were at last answered from the Adventure, and hurried on board, overjoyed to have escaped the danger of perishing by slow degrees, through the inclemencies of weather and through famine.  Having been on board some time, they fired a gun, and being within hail of the Resolution, returned on board of that sloop to their own damp beds and mouldering cabins, upon which they now set a double value:  after so perilous an expedition.”—­G.F.
[6] “The encomiums on the efficacy of malt cannot be exaggerated, and this useful remedy ought never to be forgotten on board of ships bound on long voyages; nor can we bestow too much care to prevent its becoming damp and mouldy, by which means its salutary qualities are impaired, as we experienced during the latter part of our voyage.”—­
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A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 14 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.