right; and, therefore, ordered me to spread a few miles to the south. At noon the weather became hazy; the latitude, by reckoning, was 21° 2', and longitude 118° 30'; and at six, having got to the westward of the Bashees, by Mr. Byron's account, Captain Gore hauled his wind to the north-west under an easy sail, the wind blowing very strong, and there being every appearance of a dirty boisterous night. At four in the morning of the 28th, we saw the Resolution, then half a mile ahead of us, wear, and immediately perceived breakers close under our lee. At daylight we saw the island of Prata; and at half past six we wore again, and stood toward the shoal, and finding we could not weather it, bore away and ran to leeward. As we passed the south side, within a mile of the reef, we observed two remarkable patches on the edges of the breakers that looked like wrecks. At noon, the latitude found by double altitudes was 20° 39′, longitude 116° 45'. The island bore north three quarters cast, distant three or four leagues. On the south-west side of the reef, and near the south end of the island, we thought we saw from the mast-head openings in the reef, which promised safe anchorage.

The Prata shoal is of a considerable extent, being six leagues from north to south, and stretching three or four leagues to the eastward of the island; its limit to the westward we were not in a situation to determine. The north-east extremity we place in latitude 20° 58', and longitude 117°; and the south-west in latitude 20° 45', and longitude 116° 44′. For the remaining part of the day we carried a press of sail, and kept the wind, which was north-east by north, in order to secure our passage to Macao. It was fortunate that, toward evening, the wind favoured us by changing two points more to the east; for, had the wind and weather continued the same as during the preceding week, I doubt whether we could have fetched that port, in which case we must have borne away for Batavia; a place we all dreaded exceedingly, from the sad havoc the unhealthiness of the climate had made in the crews of the former ships that had been out on discovery, and had touched there.

In the forenoon of the 29th, we passed several Chinese fishing-bonts, who eyed us with great indifference. They fish with a large dredge-net, shaped like a hollow cone, having a flat iron rim fixed to the lower part of its mouth. The net is made fast with cords to the head and stern of the boat, which being left to drive with the wind, draws the net after it, with the iron part dragging along the bottom. We were sorry to find the sea covered with the wrecks of boats that had been lost, as we conjectured, in the late boisterous weather. At noon we were in latitude, by observation, 22' 1', having run one hundred and ten miles upon a north-west course since the preceding noon. Being now nearly in the latitude of the Lema Islands, we bore away west by north, and, after running twenty-two miles, saw one of them nine or ten leagues to the westward. At six, the extremes of the islands in sight bore north north-west half west, and west north-west half west; distant from the nearest four or five leagues; the depth of water twenty-two fathoms, over a soft muddy bottom. We now shortened sail, and kept upon our tacks for the night. By Mr. Baily's time-keeper, the Grand Lema bore from the Prata Island north 60° W. one hundred and fifty-three miles; and by our run, north 57° W. one hundred and forty-six miles.

In the morning of the 30th, we ran along the Lema Isles, which, like all the other islands on this coast, are without wood, and, as far as we could observe, without cultivation. At seven o'clock, we had precisely the same view of these islands, as is represented in a plate of Lord Anson's voyage. At nine o'clock, a Chinese boat, which had been before with the Resolution, came alongside, and wanted to put on board us a pilot, which however we declined, as it was our business to follow our consort. We soon after passed the rock marked R, in Lord Anson's plate; but, instead of hauling up to the northward of the Grand Ladrone Island, as was done in the Centurion, we proceeded to leeward. It is hardly necessary to caution the mariner not to take this course, as the danger is sufficiently obvious; for, should the wind blow strong, and the current set with it, it will be extremely difficult to fetch Macao. Indeed we might, with great safety, by the direction of Mr. Dalrymple's map, have gone either entirely to the north of the Lema Isles, or between them, and made the wind fair for Macao. Our fears of missing this port, and being forced to Batavia, added to the strong and eager desires of hearing news from Europe, made us rejoice to see the

Soon after, a

Resolution soon after fire a gun, and hoist her colours as a signal for a pilot. On repeating the signal, we saw an excellent race between four Chinese boats; and Captain Gore having engaged with the man who arrived first, to carry the ship to the Typa for thirty dollars, sent me word, that, as we could easily follow, that expense might be saved to us. second pilot getting on board the Resolution, insisted on conducting the ship, and, without further ceremony, laid hold of the wheel, and began to order the sails to be trimmed. This occasioned a violent dispute, which at last was compromised, by their agreeing to go shares in the money. At noon, the latitude, by observation, was 21° 57′ N., and longitude 114° 2' E.; the Grand Ladrone Island extending from north-west half north, to north half west, distant four miles. The land of which the bearings are here given, we conceived to be one island; but afterward found the western part to be the island marked Z in Mr. Dalrymple's chart of part of the coast of China, &c. which, at that time, we unfortunately had not on board. In obedience to the instructions given to Captain Cook by the Board of Admiralty, it now became necessary to demand of the officers and men their journals, and what other papers they might have in their possession, relating to the history of our voyage. The execution of these orders seemed to require some delicacy, as well as firmness. I could not be ignorant, that the greatest part of our officers, and several of the seamen, had amused themselves with writing accounts of our proceedings for their own private satisfaction, or that of their friends, which they might be unwilling, in their present form, to have submitted to the inspection of strangers. On the other hand, I could not, consistently with the instructions we had received, leave in their custody papers which, either from carelessness or design, might fall into the hands of printers, and give rise to spurious and imperfect accounts of the voyage, to the discredit of our labours, and perhaps to the prejudice of officers, who, though innocent, might be suspected of having been the authors of such publications. As soon, therefore, as I had assembled the ship's company on deck, I acquainted them with the orders we had received, and the reasons which I thought ought to induce them to yield a ready obedience. At the same time, I told them, that any papers which they were desirous not to have sent to the Admiralty, should be sealed up in their presence, and kept in my own custody, till the intentions of the Board, with regard to the publication of the history of the voyage, were fulfilled; after which they should faithfully be restored back to them. It is with the greatest satisfaction I can relate, that my proposals met with the approbation and the cheerful compliance both of the officers and men; and I am persuaded, that every scrap of paper, containing any transactions relating to the voyage, were given up. Indeed it is doing bare justice to the seamen of this ship to declare, that they were the most obedient and the bestdisposed men I ever knew, though almost all of them were very young, and had never before served in a ship of war.

CHAPTER

IX.-WORKING UP TO MACAO.-A

CHINESE COMPRADOR.-SENT ON SHORE TO VISIT THE PORTUGUESE GOVERNOR.-EFFECTS OF THE INTELLIGENCE WE RECEIVED FROM EUROPE.-ANCHOR IN THE TYPA.-PASSAGE UP TO CANTON.-BOCCA TYGRIS.WAMPU.-DESCRIPTION OF A SAMPANE.-RECEPTION AT THE ENGLISH FACTORY.-INSTANCE OF THE SUSPICIOUS CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE.-OF THEIR MODE OF TRADING.-OF THE CITY OF CANTON.-ITS SIZE.-POPULATION.-NUMBER OF SAMPANES.-MILITARY FORCE.— OF THE STREETS AND HOUSES.-VISIT TO A CHINESE.-RETURN TO MACAO.-GREAT DEMAND FOR THE SEA-OTTER SKINS.-PLAN OF A VOYAGE FOR OPENING A FUR TRADE ON THE WESTERN COAST OF AMERICA, AND PROSECUTING FURTHER DISCOVERIES IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF JAPAN.-DEPARTURE FROM MACAO.-PRICE OF PROVISIONS IN CHINA.

We kept working to windward till six in the evening, when we came to anchor, by the direction of the Chinese pilot on board the Resolution, who imagined the tide was setting against us. In this, however, he was much deceived; as we found, upon making the experiment, that it set to the northward till ten o'clock. The next morning he fell into a similar mistake; for, at five, on the appearance of slack water, he gave orders to get under

VOL. II.

M M

weigh; but the ignorance he had discovered having put us on our guard, we chose to be convinced, by our own observations, before we weighed; and, on trying the tide, we found a strong under-tow, which obliged us to keep fast till eleven o'clock. From these circumstances, it appears that the tide had run down twelve hours. During the afternoon, we kept standing on our tacks, between the island of Potoe and the Grand Ladrone, having passed to the eastward of the former. At nine o'clock the tide beginning to ebb, we again came to anchor in six fathoms' water; the town of Macao bearing north-west, three leagues distant, and the island of Potoe south half-west, two leagues distant. This island lies two leagues to the north north-west of the island marked Z in Mr. Dalrymple's chart, which we at first took to be part of the Grand Ladrone. It is small and rocky; and off the west end there is said to be foul ground, though we passed near it without perceiving any.

In the forenoon of the 2d, one of the Chinese contractors, who are called Compradors, went on board the Resolution, and sold to Captain Gore two hundred pounds' weight of beef, together with a considerable quantity of greens, oranges, and eggs. A proportionable share of these articles was sent to the Discovery; and an agreement made with the man to furnish us with a daily supply, for which, however, he insisted on being paid beforehand. Our pilot pretending he could carry the ships no farther, Captain Gore was obliged to discharge him, and we were left to our own guidance.

At two in the afternoon, the tide flowing, we weighed, and worked to windward; and at seven anchored in three and a half fathoms of water, Macao bearing west, three miles distant. This situation was, indeed, very ineligible, being exposed to the north-east, and having shoal water, not more than two fathoms and a half deep, to leeward; but as no nautical description is given in Lord Anson's voyage of the harbour in which the Centurion anchored, and Mr. Dalrymple's general map, which was the only one on board, was on too small a scale to serve for our direction, the ships were obliged to remain there all night.

In the evening, Captain Gore sent me on shore to visit the Portuguese governor, and to request his assistance in procuring refreshments for our crews, which he thought might be done on more reasonable terms than the Comprador would undertake to furnish them. At the same time I took a list of the naval stores, of which both vessels were greatly in want, with an intention of proceeding immediately to Canton, and applying to the servants of the East India Company who were at that time resident there. On my arrival at the citadel, the fort-major informed me that the governor was sick, and not able to see company; but that we might be sure of receiving every assistance in their power. This, however, I understood would be very inconsiderable, as they were entirely dependent on the Chinese, even for their daily subsistence. Indeed, the answer returned to the first request I made, gave me a sufficient proof of the fallen state of the Portuguese power; for, on my acquainting the Major with my desire of proceeding immediately to Canton, he told me, that they could not venture to furnish me with a boat, till leave was obtained from the Hoppo, or officer of the customs; and that the application for this purpose must be made to the Chinese government at Canton.

The mortification I felt at meeting with this unexpected delay, could only be equalled by the extreme impatience with which we had so long waited for an opportunity of receiving intelligence from Europe. It often happens, that, in the eager pursuit of an object, we overlook the easiest and most obvious means of attaining it. This was actually my case at present; for I was returning under great dejection to the ship, when the Portuguese officer who attended me asked me, if I did not mean to visit the English gentlemen at Macao. I need not add with what transport I received the information this question conveyed to me; nor the anxious hopes and fears, the conflict between curiosity and apprehension, which passed in my mind, as we walked toward the house of one of our countrymen. In this state of agitation, it was not surprising that our reception, though no way deficient in civility or kindness, should appear cold and formal. In our inquiries, as far as they related to objects of private concern, we met, as was indeed to be expected, with little or no satisfaction; but the events of a public nature which had happened since our departure, and now, for the first time, burst all at once upon us, overwhelmed every other feeling, and left us for some time

almost without the power of reflection. For several days we continued questioning each other about the truth of what we had heard, as if desirous of seeking, in doubt and suspense, for that relief and consolation which the reality of our calamities appeared totally to exclude. These sensations were succeeded by the most poignant regret at finding ourselves cut off at such a distance from the scene, where, we imagined, the fate of fleets and armies was every moment deciding.

The intelligence we had just received of the state of affairs in Europe *, made us the more exceedingly anxious to hasten our departure as much as possible; and I therefore renewed my attempt to procure a passage to Canton, but without effect. The difficulty arising from the established policy of the country, I was now told, would probably be much increased by an incident that had happened a few weeks before our arrival. Captain Panton, in the Seahorse, a ship of war of twenty-five guns, had been sent from Madras, to urge the payment of a debt owing by the Chinese merchants of Canton to private British subjects in the East Indies and Europe, which, including the principal and compound interest, amounted, I understood, to near a million sterling. For this purpose, he had orders to insist on an audience with the viceroy of Canton, which, after some delay, and not without recourse being had to threats, was at length obtained. The answer he received on the subject of his mission was fair and satisfactory; but, immediately after his departure, an edict was stuck up on the houses of the Europeans, and in the public places of the city, forbidding all foreigners, on any pretence, to lend money to the subjects of the emperor.

This measure had occasioned very serious alarms at Canton. The Chinese merchants, who had incurred the debt, contrary to the commercial laws of their own country, and denied, in part, the justice of the demand, were afraid that intelligence of this would be carried to Pekin, and that the emperor, who has the character of a just and rigid prince, might punish them with the loss of their fortunes, if not of their lives. On the other hand, the Select Committee, to whom the cause of the claimants was strongly recommended by the Presidency of Madras, were extremely apprehensive lest they should embroil themselves with the Chinese government at Canton, and by that means bring, perhaps, irreparabl emischief on the Company's affairs in China. For I was further informed, that the Mandarins were always ready to take occasion, even on the slightest grounds, to put a stop to their trading; and that it was often with great difficulty, and never without certain expense, that they could get such restraints taken off. These impositions were daily increasing; and, indeed, I found it a prevailing opinion, in all the European factories, that they should soon be reduced either to quit the commerce of that country, or to bear the same indignities to which the Dutch are subjected in Japan.

The arrival of the Resolution and Discovery at such a time, could not fail of occasioning fresh alarms; and, therefore, finding there was no probability of my proceeding to Canton, I despatched a letter to the English supercargoes, to acquaint them with the cause of our putting into the Tygris, to request their assistance in procuring me a passport, and in forwarding the stores we wanted, of which I sent them a list, as expeditiously as possible. The next morning I was accompanied on board by our countryman, who pointing out to us the situation of the Typa, we weighed at half-past six, and stood toward it; but the wind failing, we came to, at eight, in three and a half fathoms' water; Macao bearing west northwest, three miles distant; the Grand Ladrone, south-east by south. The Resolution here saluted the Portuguese fort with eleven guns, which were returned by the same number. Early on the 4th, we again weighed, and stood in to the Typa, and moored with the stream anchor and cable to the westward. The Comprador whom we at first engaged with, having disappeared with a small sum of money, which had been given him to purchase provisions, we contracted with another, who continued to supply both ships, during our whole stay. This was done secretly, and in the night-time, under pretence that it was contrary to the regulations of the port; but we suspected all this caution to have been used with a view either of enhancing the price of the articles he furnished, or of securing to himself the profits of his employment, without being obliged to share them with the Mandarins.

The declaration of war with France in 1777, on account of the assistance she rendered to the Americans, whose independence she had acknowledged.-ED.

On the 9th, Captain Gore received an answer from the committee of the English supercargoes at Canton, in which they assured him that their best endeavours should be used to procure the supplies we stood in need of, as expeditiously as possible; and that a passport should be sent for one of his officers, hoping, at the same time, that we were sufficiently acquainted with the character of the Chinese government, to attribute any delays that might unavoidably happen to their true cause. The day following, an English merchant, from one of our settlements in the East Indies, applied to Captain Gore for the assistance of a few hands to navigate a vessel he had purchased at Macao, up to Canton. Captain Gore, judging this a good opportunity for me to proceed to that place, gave orders that I should take along with me my second lieutenant, the lieutenant of marines, and ten seamen. Though this was not precisely the mode in which I could have wished to visit Canton, yet as it was very uncertain when the passport might arrive, and my presence might contribute materially to the expediting of our supplies, I did not hesitate to put myself on board, having left orders with Mr. Williamson to get the Discovery ready for sea as soon as possible, and to make such additions and alterations in her upper works, as might contribute to make her more defensible. That the series of our astronomical observations might suffer no interruption by my absence, I entrusted the care of continuing them to Mr. Trevenen, in whose abilities and diligence I could repose an entire confidence.

We left the harbour of Macao on the 11th of December, and sailing round the south-eastern extremity of the island, we steered to the northward, leaving, as we passed along, Lantao Lintin, and several smaller islands, to the right. All these islands, as well as that of Macao, which lie to the left, are entirely without wood; the land is high and barren, and uninhabited, except occasionally by fishermen. As we approached the Bocca Tygris, which is thirteen leagues from Macao, the Chinese coast appears to the eastward in steep white cliffs; the two forts commanding the mouth of the river are exactly in the same state as when Lord Anson was here; that on the left is a fine old castle, surrounded by a grove of trees, and has an agreeable romantic appearance. We were here visited by an officer of the customs; on which occasion the owner of the vessel, being apprehensive that, if we were discovered on board, it would occasion some alarm, and might be attended with disagreeable consequences, begged us to retire into the cabin below. The breadth of the river above these forts is variable, the banks being low and flat, and subject to be overflowed by the tide to a great extent. The ground on each side is level, and laid out in rice-fields; but, as we advanced, it rose gradually into hills of considerable declivity, the sides of which are cut into terraces, and planted with sweet potatoes, sugar-canes, yams, plantains, and the cotton-tree. We saw many lofty pagodas, scattered over the country, and several towns at a distance, some of which appeared to be of a considerable size.

We did not arrive at Wampû, which is only nine leagues from the Bocca Tygris, till the 18th, our progress having been retarded by contrary winds and the lightness of the vessel. Wampû is a small Chinese town, off which the ships of the different nations who trade here lie, in order to take in their lading. The river, higher up, is said by M. Sonnerat not to be deep enough to admit heavy-laden vessels, even if the policy of the Chinese had suffered the Europeans to navigate them up to Canton; but this circumstance I cannot take upon me to decide on, as no stranger, I believe, has been permitted to inform himself with certainty of the truth. The small islands that lie opposite to the town are allotted to the several factories who have built warehouses for the reception of the merchandise that is brought down from Canton.

From Wampû I immediately proceeded in a sampane, or Chinese boat, to Canton, which is about two leagues and a half higher up the river. These boats are the neatest and most convenient for passengers I ever saw. They are of various sizes, almost flat at the bottom, very broad upon the beam, and narrow at the head and stern, which are raised and ornamented; the middle, where we sat, was arched over with a roof of bamboo, which may be raised or lowered at pleasure; in the sides were small windows with shutters, and the apartment was furnished with handsome mats, chairs, and tables. In the stern was placed a small waxen idol, in a case of gilt leather, before which stood a pot containing lighted tapers made of dry chips or matches, and gum. The hire of this boat was a Spanish dollar.