The French Charting Was So Inferior That It Is
Scarcely Possible To Identify The Ile Lucas, Which Is Not Marked
At all
on the large Carte Generale, probably because that was finished before
Trafalgar was fought; though the passage in
Peron's book is somewhat
valuable as showing that the pepper-box sprinkling of names along coasts
explored with less sufficiency than pretentiousness was not entirely
Baudin's work. The commander of the expedition died before Trafalgar was
fought, so that, as on other grounds we have reason to infer, he was less
responsible for the nomenclature than Freycinet made it appear when that
feature of the work became somewhat discreditable.
Scurvy broke out on Le Geographe while the voyage along the western and
north-western coasts was in progress. Water, too, was becoming scarce,
and there seemed to be little opportunity of replenishing the supply on
these barren shores. The ship had likewise become separated from her
consort, Le Naturaliste, "owing to the false calculations of the chief
charged with directing their common movements," as averred by Freycinet.
Baudin decided to sail to the Dutch possession at Timor, where he might
be able to re-victual, take in fresh water, and enable his crew to
recover from their disease, which was fast reducing them to helplessness.
He therefore discontinued the further exploration of the north-west
coast, and, on August 18, entered Kupang.
There Le Naturaliste also appeared rather more than a month later, and
the two ships remained in the Dutch port till November 13, Baudin's
vessel having thus been at anchor fifty-six days.
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