In 1697 there was published in London a volume entitled A New Voyage Round the World by William Dampier. The “voyage” lasted from 1679 to 1691, during which period Dampier visited a large portion of the globe. The book contains 550 pages of extremely interesting descriptive matter relating to the lands and oceans he visited, with considerable detail regarding the navigating of the ships and the meteorological conditions encountered.
Because Guam has been so much in the public eye lately, and because I believe Dampier’s to be the earliest day-to-day description extant of a voyage from North America to Guam, this bit of his itinerary should be of particular interest now.
Dampier sailed from England early in 1679 in the ship Loyal Merchant, of London. He went first to Jamaica, where he stayed for several months, thence to Panama, and then around Cape Horn and up the west coast of South and Central America to Mexico. He made many and long stops on the way and traveled on several different vessels, finally arriving at Cape Corrientes, Mexico, in March, 1686. For those who are not familiar with this locality, Cape Corrientes is approximately 90 miles northwest of the important Mexican port of Manzanillo.
On March 31, 1686, he sailed for Guam from Cape Corrientes in a ship commanded by Captain Swan, accompanied by a bark commanded by Captain Teat. There were 100 men aboard the ship, 50 men aboard the bark, and a number of slaves.
Regarding the outset of this voyage, Dampier says:
. . . having more calmly considered on the length of our Voyage, from hence to Guam, one of the Ladrone islands, which is the first place that we could touch at, and there also being not certain to find Provision, most of our men were almost daunted at the thoughts of it; for we had not 60 days Provision, at a little more than half a pint of Maiz a day for each man, and no other Provision except 3 Meals of salted Jew-fish; and we had a great many Rats aboard, which we could not hinder from eating part of our Maiz.
Truly these were conditions to daunt the stoutest heart, and the extreme uncertainty regarding the distance made the voyage appear even more hazardous. The distance on a rhumb line is actually about 6,350 nautical miles, but here is what Dampier says about it:
Beside, the great distance between Cape Corrientes and Guam; which is variously set down. The Spaniards, who have the greatest reason to know best, make it between 2300 and 2400 leagues; our books also reckon it differently, between 90 and 100 degrees, which all comes short of 2000 leagues, but even that was a voyage enough to frighten us, considering our scanty Provisions. Captain Swan, to encourage his men to go with him, perswaded them that the English books did give the best account of the distance; his reasons were many, although weak . . . But of all Captain Swan’s arguments, that which prevailed most with them was, his promising them, as I have said, to cruize off the Manila’s. So he and his men being now agreed, and they in-couraged with the hope of gain, which works its way through all difficulties, we set out from Cape Corrientes March the 31st 1686.
Dampier’s tables reproduced show the day-by-day progress from Cape Corrientes (Lat. 20°-24' N., Long. 105°-43' W.) to Guam (Lat. 13°-27' N., Long. 144°-37' E.). In explanation of the tables, he says:
The Table consists of 7 columns. The first is of the days of the moneth. The 2d Column contains each days course, or the Point of the Compass we ran upon. The 3d gives the distance or length of such course in Italian or Geometrical miles, at the rate of 60 to a degree, or the progress the Ship makes every day; and is reckoned always from noon to noon. But because the course is not always made upon the same Rumb in a direct line, therefore the fourth and fifth columns shew how many miles we ran to the South every day, and how many to the West, which last was our main run in the Voyage . . . The sixth Column shews the lat. we were in every day, where R. signifies the dead Reckoning, by the running of the Logs, and Ob. shews the lat. by observation. The 7th Column shows the Wind and Weather.
It will be noted that following the usual custom of the times, Dampier’s ship headed direct for the supposed latitude of Guam (southwest and then west by several degrees south), until they reached about 13° north; from then on they attempted to keep a due westerly course along this parallel of latitude until they sighted the island. It took them 17 days to reach 12°-47' N.; they then spent 33 days running approximately due west to Guam.
Like the navigator of today, Dampier was by no means free from error in his arithmetic. By no stretch of the Burroughs can the summary of his westings be made to reach 7,323 miles, as stated by him, and how he arrived at such a figure except by careless addition is beyond my comprehension. The actual figure is 7,281 miles, westing. He made another egregious error near the bottom of page 285, on April 22, where he shows his distance run as 18 miles, no northing or southing, with a westing of 180 miles. This does not make sense, especially in view of the fact that the wind that day blew from the same direction as on the preceding and following days, and that on each of those days the ship made approximately 170 miles. It is only reasonable to assume that 180 miles is the correct figure for the distance run, as well as for the westing, on April 22.
The total distance run, according to Dampier’s figures, is only 7,251 miles, but allowing for the error mentioned above, it should actually be 7,413 miles, which sounds reasonable with total westings of 7,281 miles. He shows a difference in longitude of 125°-11': actually the difference is 109°-40'. The middle latitude distance between the longitude of Cape Corrientes and that of Guam is 6,301 nautical miles, figuring 57.459 miles to the degree of longitude. We may now ask, why should there be such a tremendous discrepancy as 980 miles between the actual distance as we know it, 6,301 miles, and Dampier’s total westing of 7,281 miles.
The answer to this question lies presumably in the fact that navigators in those days figured their longitudes entirely by dead reckoning: the time sight and the line of position were not even dreamed of. In so doing, they used a chip log or some similar device, which might prove very inaccurate under varying conditions. On this voyage, Dampier’s ship did no beating to windward and for most of the distance the wind was well abaft the beam, so they could not have made much leeway. Under these conditions the log should have given a reasonably accurate record of the distance traversed. So while this may be the only obvious explanation of the large error, it certainly is not a very satisfactory one.
Dampier makes these comments:
To conclude, May 20th at noon, when we began to call it 21st, we were in lat. 12d. 50m. N. by R. [dead reckoning] having run since the noon before 134 miles directly West. We continued the same course till 2 that afternoon, for which I allow 10 miles more, West still, and then, finding the parallel we ran upon to be too much Southerly, we clapt on a Wind and sailed directly North, till 5 in the afternoon, having in that time run 8 miles, and increased our latitude so many minutes, making it 12d. 58m. We then saw the Island Guam bearing N.N.E., distant from us about 8 leagues, which gives the latitude of the Island 13d. 20m. And according to the foregoing, its Longitude is 125d. 11m. West from Cape Corrientes on the Coast of Mexico, allowing 58 and 59 Italian miles to a degree in these latitudes, at the common rate of 60 miles to a degree of the Equator, as before computed.
Although Dampier was far off in his longitude, he hit the latitude right on the nose at 13°-20' N., for Cape Apra light on the west side of the island a few miles north of its southernmost point is in Lat. 13°-27' N. Evidently the astrolabe which he used was a pretty accurate instrument.
He discusses the action of the log and makes the apparent error in longitude even worse by saying:
As to this course of ours to Guam particularly, we should rather increase than shorten our estimate of the length of it, considering that the Easterly Wind and Current being so strong, and bearing therefore our Log after us, as is usual in such cases; should we therefore in casting up the run of the Log, make allowance for so much space as the Log itself drove after us, which is commonly 3 or 4 miles in 100 in so brisk a gale as this was, we must have reckoned more than 125 degrees, but in this Voyage we made no such allowance; though it be usual to do it, so that how much soever this computation of mine exceeds the common Draughts [charts], yet is it of the shortest according to our experiment and calculation.
The problem of longitude in Dampier’s day was a very, very serious one, and the wide variation in the “draughts” (charts) of the day was undoubtedly responsible for a heavy toll of ships and men. Regarding this problem, he gives an amusing illustration:
... as to the Aethiopic or Indian Sea, its breadth must be considerably less than ’tis generally calculated to be: if it be true what I have heard over and over, from several able Seamen whom I have conversed with in those parts, that ships sailing from the Cape of Good Hope to New Holland [Australia], as many ships bound to Java, or thereabouts, keep that lat., find themselves there, and sometimes to their cost, running aground when they have thought themselves to be a great way off; and ’tis from hence possibly, that the Dutch call that part of this Coast the Land of Indraught, as if it magnetically drew Ships too fast to it, and give cautions to avoid it: but I rather think ’tis the nearness of the land, than any whirlpool, that surprizes them.
Even in the Atlantic Ocean, surprising as it may seem after nearly 200 years since the discovery of America, there existed great uncertainty and wide differences of opinion regarding distances and longitudes. Dampier comments:
As to the breadth of the Atlantick Sea, I am from good hands assured, that it is over-reckoned by 6, 7, 8, or 10 degrees; for besides my different draughts of the concurrent Accounts of several experienced men, who have confirmed the same to me: Mr. Canby particularly, who hath sailed as a Mate in a great many Voyages, from Cape Lopez on the Coast of Guinea to Barbadoes, and is much esteemed as a very sensible man, hath told me that he constantly found the distance between 60 and 62 degrees; whereas ’tis laid down in 68, 69, 70, and 72 degrees in the common draughts.
Mr. Canby might have been “much esteemed as a very sensible man,” but his navigation was sadly defective, for the distance from Cape Lopez to Barbadoes is 68°- 14'.
Because of the great uncertainty regarding longitude and distances in those days, extraordinary precautions were often taken. For example, Dampier says of the Spaniards making the run from Acapulco, Mexico, to Guam:
. . . that although they are 60 days in their Voyage, it is because they are great ships, deep laden, and very heavy sailers; besides, wanting nothing are in no great haste in their way, but sail with a great deal of their usual caution. And when they come near the Island Guam, they lye by in the night for a week, before they make land. In prudence we also should have contrived to lye by in the night when we came near land . . . but our bold adventurers seldom proceed with such wariness when in any streights.
Regarding the human side of the long voyage from Cape Corrientes to Guam, he gives a few interesting details:
We made great runs every day, having very fair clear weather, and a fresh Trade wind, which we made good use of with all our Sails, and we made many good Observations of the Sun. At our first starting out, we steer’d into the lat. of 13 degrees, which is near the lat. of Guam; then we steer’d West keeping in that lat. By that time we had sailed 20 days, our men seeing we made such great runs, and the Wind like to continue, repined because they were kept at such short allowance. Captain Swan endeavoured to perswade them to have a little patience; yet nothing but an augmentation of their daily allowance would appease them.
Captain Swan, though with reluctance, gave way to a small enlargement of our commons, for now we had not above 10 spoonfuls of Maiz a man, once a day, whereas we had had 8: I do believe that this short allowance did me a great deal of good, though others weakened by it; for I found that my strength increased, and my Dropsy wore off. Yet I drank 3 times every 24 hours; but many of our men did not drink in 9 or 10 days, and some not in 12 days; one of our men did not drink in 17 days time, and said he was not adry when he did drink: yet he made water every day more or less.
One of our men in the midst of these hardships was found guilty of theft, and condemned for the same, to have three blows from each man on the Ship, with a 2 inch and a half rope on his bare back. Captain Swan began first, and struck with a good will, whose example was followed by all of us.
On the 20th of May, the day before they reached Guam, the bark which accompanied Dampier’s ship sailed over a shoal in which there were only 4 fathoms of water and an abundance of fish. The captain lay to, waiting for the ship to come up. Dampier then goes on:
When we came up with them, Captain Teat came aboard us, and related what he had seen. We were then in lat. 12d. 55m. steering West. The Island Guam is laid down in 13d. N. by the Spaniards, who are Masters of it, keeping it as a baiting place as they go to the Philippine Islands. Therefore, we clapt on a Wind and stood to Northward, being somewhat troubled and doubtful whither we were right, because there is no Shole laid down in the Spanish draughts about the Island Guam. At 4 o’clock, to our great joy, we saw the Island Guam, at about 8 leagues distance.
It was well for Captain Swan that we got sight of it before our Provision was spent, of which we had but enough for 3 days more; for as I was afterwards informed, the men had contrived first to kill Captain Swan and eat him when the victuals was gone, and after him all of us who were accessory in promoting the undertaking this Voyage.
This made Captain Swan say to me after our arrival at Guam, “Ah! Dampier, you would have made them but a poor meal,” for I was as lean as the Captain was lusty and fleshy. The Wind was at E.N.E. and the land bore at N.N.E. therefore we stood to the Northward, till we brought the Island to bear East, and then we turned to get in to an anchor.
Wooden ships and iron men, indeed!