A Voyage to New Holland, Etc. in the Year 1699

CHAPTER 1.. The Author's Departure From the Downs.

The Author's departure from the Downs. A caution to those who sail in the Channel. His arrival at the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz in Tenerife; the road and town, and Spanish wreck. Laguna Town lake and country; and Oratavia town and road. Of the wines and other commodities of Tenerife, etc. and the governors at Laguna and Santa Cruz. Of the winds in these seas. The Author's arrival at Mayo. Of the Cape Verde Islands; its salt pond compared with that of Salt Tortuga; its trade for salt, and frape-boats. Its vegetables, silk-cotton, etc. Its soil, and towns; its guinea-hens and other fowls, beasts, and fish. Of the sea turtles, etc. laying in the wet season. Of the natives, their trade and livelihood. The Author's arrival at St. Jago; Praya and St. Jago Town. Of the inhabitants and their commodities. Of the custard-apple, St. Jago Road. Fogo.

CHAPTER 2.

The Author's deliberation on the sequel of his voyage, and departure from St. Jago. His course, and the winds, etc. in crossing the Line. He stands away for the Bay of All-Saints in Brazil; and why. His arrival on that coast and in the bay. Of the several forts, the road, situation, town, and buildings of Bahia. Of its Governor, ships and merchants; and commodities to and from Europe. Claying of sugar. The season for the European ships, and coir cables: of their Guinea trade and of the coasting trade, and whale killing. Of the inhabitants of Bahia; their carrying in hammocks: their artificers, crane for goods, and negro slaves. Of the country about Bahia, its soil and product. Its timber-trees; the sapiera, vermiatico, commesserie, guitteba, serrie, and mangroves. The bastard-coco, its nuts and cables; and the silk-cotton-trees. The Brazilian fruits, oranges, etc. Of the soursops, cashews and jennipahs. Of their peculiar fruits, arisahs, mericasahs, petangos, petumbos, mungaroos, muckishaws, ingwas, otees, and musteran-de-ovas. Of the palmberries, physick-nuts, mendibees, etc. and their roots and herbs, etc. Of their wildfowl, macaws, parrots, etc. The yemma, carrion-crow and chattering-crow, bill-bird, curreso, turtledove and wild pigeons; the jenetee, clocking-hen, crab-catcher, galden, and black heron: the ducks, widgeon and teal; and ostriches to the southward, and of the dunghill-fowls. Of their cattle, horses, etc. Leopards and tigers. Of their serpents; the rattlesnake, small green snake. Amphisbaena, small black and small grey snake; the great land-, and the great watersnake; and of the water-dog. Of their sea-fish and turtle; and of St. Paul's Town.

CHAPTER 3.

The Author's stay and business at Bahia: of the winds, and seasons of the year there. His departure for New Holland. Cape Salvador. The winds on the Brazilian coast; and Abrolho Shoal; fish and birds: the shearwater bird, and cooking of sharks. Excessive number of birds about a dead whale; of the pintado bird, and the petrel, etc. Of a bird that shows the Cape of Good Hope to be near: of the sea-reckonings, and variations: and a table of all the variations observed in this voyage. Occurrences near the Cape; and the Author's passing by it. Of the westerly winds beyond it: a storm, and its presages. The Author's course to New Holland; and signs of approaching it. Another Abrolho Shoal and storm, and the Author's arrival on part of New Holland. That part described, and Shark's Bay, where he first anchors. Of the land there, vegetables, birds, etc. A particular sort of iguana: fish, and beautiful shells; turtle, large shark, and water-serpents. The Author's removing to another part of New Holland: dolphins, whales, and more sea-serpents: and of a passage or strait suspected here: of the vegetables, birds, and fish. He anchors on a third part of New Holland, and digs wells, but brackish. Of the inhabitants there, and great tides, the vegetables and animals, etc.

MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

MAP. CAPTAIN DAMPIER'S NEW VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND ETC. IN 1699 ETC.

TABLE 1. CANARY ISLANDS.

TABLE 2. CAPE VERDE ISLANDS.

TABLE 3. BRAZIL.

BIRDS OF THE VOYAGE: FIGURE 1: THE PINTADO BIRD. FIGURE 2: THIS VERY MUCH RESEMBLES THE GUARAUNA, DESCRIBED AND FIGURED BY PISO.

TABLE 4. NEW HOLLAND.

BIRDS OF NEW HOLLAND: FIGURE 3: THE HEAD AND GREATEST PART OF THE NECK OF THIS BIRD IS RED AND THEREIN DIFFERS FROM THE AVOFETTA OF ITALY. FIGURE 4: THE BILL AND LEGS OF THIS BIRD ARE OF A BRIGHT RED. FIGURE 5: A NODDY OF NEW HOLLAND. FIGURE 6: A COMMON NODDY.

FISH OF NEW HOLLAND: FIGURE 1: THE MONKFISH. FIGURE 3: A FISH TAKEN ON THE COAST OF NEW HOLLAND. FIGURE 6: A REMORA TAKEN STICKING TO SHARKS BACKS. FIGURE 8: A CUTTLE TAKEN NEAR NEW HOLLAND. FIGURE 9: A FLYING-FISH TAKEN IN THE OPEN SEA.

PLANTS FOUND IN BRAZIL. TABLE 1 PLANTS.

PLANTS FOUND IN NEW HOLLAND. TABLE 2 PLANTS.

PLANTS FOUND IN NEW HOLLAND. TABLE 3 PLANTS.

PLANTS FOUND IN NEW HOLLAND AND TIMOR. TABLE 4 PLANTS.

PLANTS FOUND IN THE SEA NEAR NEW GUINEA. TABLE 5 PLANTS.

FISH OF NEW HOLLAND. PLATE 3 FISHES: FIGURE 4: A FISH CALLED BY THE SEAMEN THE OLD WIFE. FIGURE 5: A FISH OF THE TUNNY KIND TAKEN ON THE COAST OF NEW HOLLAND.

DOLPHINS. PLATE 2 FISHES: FIGURE 2: THE DOLPHIN OF THE ANCIENTS TAKEN NEAR THE LINE, CALLED BY OUR SEAMEN A PORPOISE. FIGURE 7: A DOLPHIN AS IT IS USUALLY CALLED BY OUR SEAMEN TAKEN IN THE OPEN SEA.

A VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND, ETC. IN THE YEAR 1699.

DEDICATION.

To the Right Honourable Thomas, Earl of Pembroke,

Lord President of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council.

My Lord,

The honour I had of being employed in the service of his late Majesty of illustrious memory, at the time when Your Lordship presided at the Admiralty, gives me the boldness to ask your protection of the following papers. They consist of some remarks made upon very distant climates, which I should have the vanity to think altogether new, could I persuade myself they had escaped Your Lordship's knowledge. However I have been so cautious of publishing any thing in my whole book that is generally known that I have denied myself the pleasure of paying the due honours to Your Lordship's name in the Dedication. I am ashamed, My Lord, to offer you so imperfect a present, having not time to set down all the memoirs of my last voyage: but, as the particular service I have now undertaken hinders me from finishing this volume, so I hope it will give me an opportunity of paying my respects to Your Lordship in a new one.

The world is apt to judge of everything by the success; and whoever has ill fortune will hardly be allowed a good name. This, My Lord, was my unhappiness in my late expedition in the Roebuck, which foundered through perfect age near the island of Ascension. I suffered extremely in my reputation by that misfortune; though I comfort myself with the thoughts that my enemies could not charge any neglect upon me. And since I have the honour to be acquitted by Your Lordship's judgment I should be very humble not to value myself upon so complete a vindication. This and a world of other favours which I have been so happy as to receive from Your Lordship's goodness, do engage me to be with an everlasting respect,

My Lord,

Your Lordship's most faithful and obedient servant,

WILL. DAMPIER.

THE PREFACE.

The favourable reception my two former volumes of voyages and descriptions have already met with in the world gives me reason to hope that, notwithstanding the objections which have been raised against me by prejudiced persons, this third volume likewise may in some measure be acceptable to candid and impartial readers who are curious to know the nature of the inhabitants, animals, plants, soil, etc. in those distant countries, which have either seldom or not at all been visited by any Europeans.

It has almost always been the fate of those who have made new discoveries to be disesteemed and slightly spoken of by such as either have had no true relish and value for the things themselves that are discovered, or have had some prejudice against the persons by whom the discoveries were made. It would be vain therefore and unreasonable in me to expect to escape the censure of all, or to hope for better treatment than far worthier persons have met with before me. But this satisfaction I am sure of having, that the things themselves in the discovery of which I have been employed are most worthy of our diligentest search and inquiry; being the various and wonderful works of God in different parts of the world: and however unfit a person I may be in other respects to have undertaken this task, yet at least I have given a faithful account, and have found some things undiscovered by any before, and which may at least be some assistance and direction to better qualified persons who shall come after me.

It has been objected against me by some that my accounts and descriptions of things are dry and jejune, not filled with variety of pleasant matter to divert and gratify the curious reader. How far this is true I must leave to the world to judge. But if I have been exactly and strictly careful to give only true relations and descriptions of things (as I am sure I have) and if my descriptions be such as may be of use not only to myself (which I have already in good measure experienced) but also to others in future voyages; and likewise to such readers at home as are more desirous of a plain and just account of the true nature and state of the things described than of a polite and rhetorical narrative: I hope all the defects in my style will meet with an easy and ready pardon.

Continue reading A Voyage to New Holland, Etc. in the Year 1699 free in the Wunder reader →