An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island Part 17

During the night, we had light winds from the south-west; and a current, or tide, had set us a considerable distance to the north-east of the island; which, at eight o'clock the next morning, bore south-east, eight miles distant: from this time, until three in the afternoon, we were employed in working up under the north-east point of the island, where we anch.o.r.ed in nineteen fathoms, distant from the nearest sh.o.r.e one mile. A boat was hoisted out, and after two attempts, I landed with Lieutenant Ball, on the side of a large rock, which lies close to the sh.o.r.e, at the west end of a small stony beach; it must have been on this rock that Captain Cook landed, as there is no other place at this side of the island, where it is possible to attempt a landing at any time, and that is only practicable here, from half ebb to half flood, in very fine weather, and the wind off the island. As it was near the evening when we landed, we very soon returned on board again, with a quant.i.ty of sorrel that we had gathered. We found this a very improper place to land either people or stores, it being impracticable to get them further than the beach, and there was no fresh water near it.

At day-light in the morning of the 3d, I left the Supply, and went in her boat along with Mr. Cunningham, to examine the south-west side of the island, which we rowed round, until we opened Phillip and Nepean Isles off the south point; but it blew too hard, and there was too great a sea running for us to pull the boat any farther, so that at two in the afternoon we returned on board.

There is only one place on this side of the island, where landing is at all practicable, and that is in a small bay just within the west point: the bottom of it is a fine sandy beach, but the surf broke on it with such violence, as to put landing out of the question.

As it blew very fresh all night, I landed the next morning abreast of the Supply, with the mids.h.i.+pman and surgeon: we walked across the island to the bay which I had seen the day before.

After ascending a very steep hill, we got to the top of the island, which we found to be a plain, but every foot of ground was covered with trees, or the large roots of trees which rose above the surface of the earth; these were not the only impediments to our march, as it was impossible for us to walk four yards, without encountering an almost impenetrable net-work, composed of a large kind of supple-jack, or vine; which was so very strong, as to suppress the growth of several trees, by bending them in every direction; and they so completely stopped our progress, that we were obliged to cut our way through them.

No gra.s.s, or herb of any kind, grew between the roots of these trees, although the soil every where was extremely rich and good; but this may be attributed to the total exclusion of the sun, and the want of air, which doubtless prevent this sort of vegetation.

The pines, which are numerous, are of an incredible growth: one of them, which had been blown down, or had fallen by age, measured 140 feet in length, and several which were measured standing, were 30 feet in circ.u.mference: they grow quite straight, and have no branches for near 80 feet from the ground.

We found it impracticable to get into Anson's bay, although we saw down into it; but the hill over it was a perpendicular cliff, with a large kind of iris growing on the sides of it, which was a providential circ.u.mstance, for, in our endeavour to get into the bay, we were all in the greatest danger of falling down the cliff; indeed, if the iris had not been sufficiently strong to have supported our weight, we must have fallen down a depth of 90 feet. We were too much pleased with, and thankful for our escape, to attempt a second trial, as the whole of this side of the island had the same steep appearance.

In our return, we frequently heard a very distinct cry of "yaho," which seemed as if it was uttered by an animal or bird.

During this excursion, we did not see a leaf of flax, or any herb whatever; the ground, although a rich and deep soil, being quite bare, which is rather extraordinary, as Captain Cook says that the flax plant is rather more luxuriant here than at New Zealand. We saw pigeons, parrots, parroquets, doves, and a variety of other birds, in great numbers, and so very tame, that they might be knocked down with a stick.

Large pieces of pumice stone were seen in every part; probably a crater, or the remains of one, may be found at, or near a mountain, which rises to a considerable height in the middle of the island, and which I called Mount Pitt, in honour of the chancellor of the exchequer.

As the sandy bay, on the south-west side of the island, had not been examined to my satisfaction, Lieutenant Ball proposed going round in the brig, and endeavour to land, which there was a great probability of effecting, as the wind was then at east-north-east: accordingly, at day-light in the morning of the 5th, we weighed, and ran round to the bay, which I had named Anson-bay, after the parliamentary representative for Litch-field. We found the surf too violent to land there, and I now began to think it would be impossible to land on the island; as I had nearly made a circuit of it, and had not found a place where I could attempt landing.

There yet remained one place unexamined, which was the south side of the island, in a bay, that appeared to be entirely lined with a reef, on which the surf broke with great violence. The wind being at east-north-east, we worked up for the bay, and at noon, the master was sent to examine if there were any opening through the reef; on his return he informed us, that landing in the bay was very safe and practicable, as the reef terminated about two-thirds of the bay over, and round the point of this reef, landing was easy and safe.

On hearing this report, Lieutenant Ball and myself went to examine the place, and found it exactly to answer the master's description. The sh.o.r.e, close to the beach, was covered with a long kind of iris, within which was an impenetrable forest: the soil was good. Here I resolved to fix, and was pleased at having found a place where I could make a commencement. I had no doubt but water would be procured, and that at no great distance from the spot; but as it was very late in the evening, I returned on board the Supply, and she was soon after brought to an anchor in 20 fathoms, over a sandy bottom.

At day-light on the 6th, I left the Supply with two boats, having in them all the persons belonging to the settlement, together with the tents a part of the provisions, and some of the most useful tools; all which we landed, and began clearing a small piece of ground to erect the tents on: the colours were hoisted, and before sun-set, every person and article belonging to the settlement were on sh.o.r.e, and the tents pitched. Before the colours were hauled down, I a.s.sembled my small colony under them, (Lieutenant Ball and some of his officers being present,) and drank the healths of his Majesty, the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and success to the settlement: and, as we had no other way of testifying our loyalty, we gave three cheers on the occasion.

The wind blew very hard the whole of the 7th, and the surf ran so high that no boat could land: the Supply still remained at anchor in the road. This day I began to clear a piece of ground for sowing some seeds; the spot, which I fixed on for that purpose, is on the east side of an hill which has a tolerable easy ascent, and the soil is rich and deep. Soon after landing, we found a very fine rivulet of water, which ran close at the back of the ground where the settlement was made.

I took the first opportunity of examining the island around me, and found it almost impenetrable from the size of the trees, and the entangled state of their roots, which were in general two feet above the ground, and ran along it to a considerable distance. On the s.p.a.ces of ground unoccupied by these roots, there grew a kind of supple-jack, which in general was as thick as a man's leg; these supple-jacks ran up the trees, and as they grew in every direction, they formed an impenetrable kind of net-work; bending some trees to the ground, and then taking root again, they twined round other trees in the same manner, until the whole became an impervious forest.

As I had only twelve men, (one of whom was seventy-two years old, and another a boy of fifteen,) exclusive of the mate and surgeon, my progress for some time must of course be very slow.

On the 8th we had strong gales of wind and cloudy weather: at nine in the morning, we hoisted the colours in a west, as a signal that the Supply's boat might land; and at eleven, we received the last of our baggage, provisions, and stores, and hauled the boat up. In the afternoon, Lieutenant Ball came on sh.o.r.e to ask if I had any farther occasion for the Supply, and, as I had not any, he took leave and returned on board; and in the afternoon sailed for Port Jackson. I sent by him a journal of my proceedings to Governor Phillip.

The 9th, being Sunday, every person in the settlement a.s.sembled in my tent, where I performed divine service; after which my commission from the Governor, to whom we were subordinate, was read, appointing me superintendant and commandant of this island: I then a.s.sured every person, that my intention was to forward the King's service to the utmost of my power; and (addressing myself to the convicts) I endeavoured to convince them, that those who were idle or dishonest should not escape that punishment, which is due to useless and destructive members of society: I also informed them what ration of provisions would be allowed daily, and I held out every encouragement for them to behave with propriety and industry.

In the afternoon I saw some turtle lying on a sandy beach at the east end of the bay; two of which we turned and brought to the tents for general use; they were issued out in lieu of salt provisions. Finding we had turtle on the island, I gave strict orders that no person whatever should go near the beach where they were seen, in order to prevent them from being frightened, which might occasion the loss of this valuable resource: the two turtle we had caught weighed two hundred weight each. From this time until the 15th, every person was employed in clearing away, and turning up the garden ground, which, when finished, was enclosed by a hedge, and sown with a small quant.i.ty of all the different kinds of seeds I was furnished with. The size of the enclosure was eighty-seven feet square: the soil very rich and deep.

This afternoon I turned three more turtles, which were brought to the settlement. We generally saw three lying on the beach at low water, in clear weather, but when cloudy, they never land; this, together with there being no appearance of any pits where they lay their eggs, leads me to suppose that they do not breed on any part of the island; especially as this is the only place where there is a possibility for them to make their pits.

The 16th, being Sunday, I performed divine service. Two convicts, whom I had given leave the preceding day to take an excursion into the interior part of the island, returned this day at noon quite naked: they had several cuts in different parts of their bodies, some of which were deep, occasioned by the entangled state of the woods, and the sharpness of the briars: they had not been an hour from the settlement before they lost sight of the sun from the thickness of the woods; this caused them to wander about till eleven o'clock, when they heard the noise of our church bell, which was a man beating on the head of an empty cask, and presently afterwards they returned to the settlement.

As my own situation, and that of every other person was very uncomfortable, owing to the tents being close to the sea sh.o.r.e, on which a heavy surf continually beats: I set the people to work on the 17th, to clear a piece of ground to the right of the garden, and a little above it; here I intended to move the tents, or to build houses; and having two sawyers and a carpenter, I set them to work in digging a sawpit, in order to saw pine for building a store-house for the provisions and stores, they at present being lodged in my tent, which was made of the Sirius's sprit-sail.

The surgeon, in walking about the island, found out the flax-plant, which proved to be what we had hitherto called the iris: not having any description of this plant, I had no idea of its being what Captain Cook calls the flax-plant of New Zealand; the cliffs and sh.o.r.e near the settlement were covered with it; its root is bulbous, and eight leaves issue from it, which are, in general, five or six feet in length, and about four inches broad, close to the root: the plant bears a great resemblance to the iris, except that the leaves are much thicker and larger; the flaxy part is the fibres, which extend the whole length of the leaf; towards the root they are very thick and strong, and diminish in size as they approach the end of the Jeaf. This plant, in its green state, is of a surprising strength: from the quant.i.ty of dead leaves about the root, I imagine it is an annual, and that the root sends forth fresh leaves.

The method of preparing the New Zealand flax not being described by Captain Cook, I caused three bundles of ours to be put in the rivulet to soak, intending to try it after the European method of dressing flax. The sawpit being finished on the 18th, a small pine was cut down near it, which measured 115 feet in length, and two feet six inches diameter at the base: a twelve foot length was got on the pit, and the sawyers began sawing it into framings and scantlings for the store-house. By the 19th, the greatest part of the seeds we had procured at the Cape of Good Hope, and sown in the garden, were out of the ground, and seemed likely to do well; but scarcely any of the English seeds grew, they, in general, being spoiled.

From this time till the 1st of April, two men were employed in sawing up wood for the store-house; one man was building it, six were clearing away the ground, and the women burnt up the small boughs.

The store-house was finished on the 2d: its dimensions were twelve feet square, and nine feet high. All the provisions and stores were immediately brought from my tent and deposited in the store-house.

During the last three days the wind blew very strong from the south-west, which blighted every plant that was come up and doing very well; I had also the mortification to find that the rats were very numerous; they destroyed some Indian corn which was three inches out of the ground.

As there was every reason to suppose that the south-west winds would be frequent during the winter, I began to clear the ground on the north-east side of the hill, (which I named Mount George) which, of course, would be sheltered from the south and south-west winds; and it was my intention to continue clearing the ground in that situation until the middle of June, when I purposed sowing it with wheat and barley. I now found that no vegetables would thrive at this season of the year on the south side of the mount; I therefore ordered the garden ground to be turned up and sown with wheat.

The ground which we had for some time been clearing to fix the tents upon, being now ready for that purpose, all the tents were moved to it on the 3d, and some of the men began to build huts: the sawyers were employed in sawing scantling, and other necessary timber to build me a house.

I had much reason to fear that the turtle were frightened away, as we had not seen any on the beach since the 14th of March, although every precaution had been used to prevent their being molested. This resource we could not help feeling the want of, as its good effects had already been experienced by every person on the island; indeed, there was not an individual who had not the scurvy on landing, and some of the convicts had it very bad; but they were now quite recovered.

Another unfortunate circ.u.mstance was, that as yet we had not brought any vegetables to perfection; however, to make some amends for this accident, we found a vast number of cabbage-trees, the excellence of which are well known: they are a very good subst.i.tute for other vegetables, but one tree produces only a single cabbage.

The wheat, which was sown in the garden ground on the 2d, was entirely eat up with rats by the 4th; they did not leave a single grain in the ground. As I had no cats, and only one dog, these vermin were likely to prove a serious nuisance; however, in order to rid ourselves of them as much as possible, I caused all the empty casks to be converted into traps.

Behind the hill where the settlement was fixed, there was a very large swamp, occasioned by the overflowing of the rivulet: at the head of this swamp there is a fine valley, in which a number of plantain or banana trees were found on the 5th; and a small spot being near them which would not cost so much pains or trouble to clear as many other places, I judged this would be a very good place for a garden; especially as the surrounding hills entirely sheltered it from the sea winds, and, from the appearance of the banana trees, I expected they would thrive very well when cultivated; at present, they were in thick cl.u.s.ters, choaking each other; and being covered with wild vines and aquatic shrubs, their growth was considerably r.e.t.a.r.ded. Some fruit was found on them, but the birds had destroyed it before it was ripe.

The sixth, being Sunday, I performed divine service; and as some irregularities had taken place, that did not merit corporal punishment, being anxious to prevent any ill behaviour, which might render such a step necessary, I read the following orders for the preservation of regularity and decorum.

ORDERS.

As it is highly necessary, for the preservation of good order, regularity, and cleanliness, to establish certain rules and regulations, the following are to be observed and performed with the strictest attention.

I. No person is to absent himself from public wors.h.i.+p, which will begin every Sunday morning at eleven o'clock, in the commandant's house, when every one will come clean and orderly, and behave themselves devoutly.

II. The hours of work are as follow: until further orders, to begin work at day-light, and work till half past seven; at half past eight, to work again until half past eleven; and then to work again at two until sun-set.

III. In order to encourage the cultivation of gardens, every one will have the Sat.u.r.days to clear away and cultivate gardens for themselves; and those who are industrious will be encouraged, but those who misapply that indulgence will be deprived of it.

IV. On application, at the proper time of the year, seeds will be distributed to those who have cleared away garden ground; and those who raise the greatest quant.i.ty of seeds and vegetables will be encouraged and rewarded.

V. The women are to sweep round the houses or tents every morning, and to cook the victuals for the men; and every person is strictly forbid cleaning any fish or fowls in or near the houses, but to go to the sea-side for that purpose.

VI. Every person is strictly forbid going near Turtle Bay, and those who are found in it, or going there, will be instantly and severely punished.

VII. The women are to collect the dirty linen belonging to the men every Friday, and to return each man his proper linen, washed and mended, on the Sunday morning.

VIII. No person is to cut down or destroy any banana tree.

IX. Exchanging or selling cloaths by the convicts is strictly forbid. As their cloathing is the property of the crown, they are not to dispose of it. A disobedience of this order will be deemed a theft, and meet with a suitable punishment. It is recommended to every one to be careful of their cloathing and bedding, as accidents may happen which may prevent a speedy supply.

X. Great care is to be taken of all the tools; each man taking his axe or hoe to his tent, or delivering them to the store-keeper, that they may not be injured by the weather.

XI. As the future welfare of every person on this island depends on their good behaviour, it is recommended to them to persevere in that willing disposition to work which they have hitherto shown; and above all, to be honest and obliging towards each other, which will recommend them to those who may have it in their power, and who have a wish and inclination to serve them: but the dishonest or idle may not only a.s.sure themselves of being totally excluded from any present or future indulgences, but also that they will be chastised, either by corporal punishment on the island, or be sent to Port Jackson, to be tried by a criminal court there.

Chapter XII

TRANSACTIONS AT NORFOLK ISLAND