INTRODUCTION. 13 



last three or four years, on board a ship built of 

 fir. It was Ukewise determined to build this ship 

 laro-er than was at tirst intended, not onlv because, 

 for the money destined for the purchase of the 

 vessel, one of double the size might be built of fir; 

 but because another circumstance was to be parti- 

 cularly considered, to which, if it had been built 

 of oak, as at first intended, no regard could have 

 been paid. It was now decided that it should tra- 

 verse the great ocean, and would therefore often 

 come in contact with the inhabitants of the islands 

 already known, as well as of those that might be 

 discovered. Were the ship small, the crew must be 

 small in })roportion, and be therefore in danger of 

 being attacked by the savages, of which there have 

 been instances in the South Sea. The size of the 

 ship was fixed at 180 tons instead of 80, with a 

 crew of 20 sailors. Even a ship of 180 tons is 

 certainly small for such a voyage, not from any 

 danger of being swallowed up by the waves in a 

 violent storm, as some readers, who are not seamen, 

 might believe, but from the want of accommoda- 

 tion for officers and men, as well for their repose 

 as for their scientific labours ; no trifling consider- 

 ation on a long and fatiguing voyage ; and like- 

 wise from want of room for the collections of natu- 

 ral history. On the other hand, the smallnessofa 

 vessel designed for a voyage of discovery has ad- 

 vantages which are useful even to the sciences ; a 

 small ship, for instance, can approach much nearer 



