A Voyage to the South Sea | Page 9

about half a mile in extent each way, built in a regular manner, and the houses in general large and airy, but the streets are very ill paved. I am told that they are subject to few diseases; but if any epidemic distemper breaks out it is attended with the most fatal consequences, particularly the smallpox, the bad effects of which they now endeavour to counteract by inoculation. For this reason they are very circumspect in admitting ships to have communication with the shore without bills of health.
A sloop from London, called the Chance, William Meridith, master, bound to Barbados, out nineteen days from the Downs, came into the road the day before we sailed. She had suffered much by the bad weather but, having brought no bill of health, the governor would not allow any person to come on shore unless I could vouch for them that no epidemic disease raged in England at the time they sailed, which I was able to do, it being nearly at the same time that I left the land; and by that means they had the governor's permission to receive the supplies they wanted without being obliged to perform quarantine.
Thursday 10.
Having finished our business at Tenerife on Thursday the 10th we sailed with the wind at south-east, our ship's company all in good health and spirits.
I now divided the people into three watches, and gave the charge of the third watch to Mr. Fletcher Christian, one of the mates. I have always considered this as a desirable regulation when circumstances will admit of it on many accounts; and am persuaded that unbroken rest not only contributes much towards the health of a ship's company but enables them more readily to exert themselves in cases of sudden emergency.
As it was my wish to proceed to Otaheite without stopping I ordered everybody to be at two-thirds allowance of bread: I also directed the water for drinking to be filtered though dripstones that I had bought at Tenerife for that purpose.
In the evening we passed the south end of Tenerife which is a round lump of land that, from the lowness of the contiguous land, has at a distance the appearance of a separate island. By our run from the bay of Santa Cruz I make the latitude of the south end of Tenerife to be 28 degrees 6 minutes north.
We ran all night towards the south-south-west having the wind at south-east. The next morning we could see nothing of the land. I now made the ship's company acquainted with the intent of the voyage and, having been permitted to hold out this encouragement to them, I gave assurances of the certainty of promotion to everyone whose endeavours should merit it.
The winds for some days after leaving Tenerife were mostly from the southward. Fishing-lines and tackle were distributed amongst the people and some dolphins were caught.
Thursday 17.
On the 17th the wind came round to the north-east and continued steady in that quarter till the 25th on which day at noon we were in 3 degrees 54 minutes north. As the cloudiness of the sky gave us reason to expect much rain we prepared the awnings with hoses for the convenience of saving water, in which we were not disappointed. From this time to our meeting with the south-east tradewind we had much wet weather, the air close and sultry with calms, and light variable winds generally from the southward.
Tuesday 29.
On the 29th there was so heavy a fall of rain that we caught seven hundred gallons of water.
Thursday 31.
On the 31st, latitude at noon 2 degrees 5 minutes north, found a current setting to the north-east at the rate of fourteen miles in the twenty-four hours. The thermometer was at 82 degrees in the shade, and 81 1/2 degrees at the surface of the sea, so that the air and the water were within half a degree of the same temperature. At eight o'clock in the evening we observed a violent rippling in the sea about half a mile to the north-west of us which had very much the appearance of breakers. This I imagine to have been occasioned by a large school (or multitude) of fish as it was exactly in the track the ship had passed, so that if any real shoal had been there we must have seen it at the close of the evening when a careful lookout was always kept. However if it had appeared ahead of us instead of astern I should certainly have tacked to avoid it. To such appearances I attribute the accounts of many shoals within the tropics which cannot be found anywhere but in maps. Our latitude at this time was 2 degrees 8 minutes north and longitude 19 degrees 43 minutes west. The next