Nov 6, 1792 Home Flinders's Log Nov 8, 1792
Revised Sep 16 2021
1 pm: Fresh Breezes and fine Weather
2 pm: Saw Tropic Birds
3 pm: The Effects of Thomas Lickman, Marine deceased, sold at the Mast
4 pm: Ditto Weather
5 pm: Saw a Carey chicken
6 pm: Cloudy Weather and inclinable to rain
7 pm: In 1st reefs and all but the Fore topmast Studding sail
8 pm: Fine open cloudy Weather the Air of an agreeable Temperature – Shifted the Topmast studding sail over on the Starboard side
12 mid: Fine Weather but Dark
4 am: Fresh Breezes & Cloudy with Haze
5 am: Watch scrubbing their Hammocks – Out 1st reefs and set Studding sails
6 am: Saw some Tropic Birds
8 am: Fine Weather rather Hazey – Exercised great Guns and small Arms – Cleared the Boatswains storeroom to destroy Cockroaches – People employed upon occasional Duty – Sailmakers repairing the old Jibb – A Cask of Spruce Beer broached for the Ships Company as before
12 noon: At Noon Fresh Breezes & fine Weather Assistant in Company
The poor Man who died yesterday, had contracted the Flux at Timor but neglected to complain some Time
about a Fortnight since it began to make violent Attacks and obliged him to keep his Bed. from that
Time he waisted away and his strength decreased very fast. the last two Days he was senseless, his speech
became a hoarse guttural Sound and his Pulse sensibly weaker, yet in the Morning he seem to have recovered
himself a little and asked for some Coffee but this seemed to be the last Effort of Nature, and in the
Evening he silently departed without a Sigh or a Groan – Timor like other Parts of the East Indies
is unhealthy, but more from the Quantity of Arrack which Strangers and particularly common Sailors
will drink, that the Climate – What ill Effects may not be expected by a Man, who having drank
freely of Liquor, not wholesome in itself, lays himself down to sleep in the open Air, exposed to all these
Dews and noxious Vapours of the Night yet it was found wholly impossible to keep our Men from the one when
they could get it, and nothing but Threats or Violence prevent the other, and that not always. The Heat
of the Climate makes it almost intolerable sleeping below, especially on board a Ship where they are
obliged to stow so close, so that we are not to be surprised that a Man who is not immediately sensible
of the danger will get into the open Air – a week after leaving the Island we had 10 or 15 Men
in the sick list, with Fluxes, and Colds which generally preceeded, at present these are mostly gone off
and the sick list much reduced, but there still remains one or two very weak – At Otaheite the Number
of Sick was very small, but there neither rum nor Arrack were to be procured, but if we rank the Venereal
under the sick Head, more than half the Ships Company would have been found unfitt for Duty
Nov 6, 1792 Home Flinders's Log Nov 8, 1792