ADVENTURERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 89, 16 April 1927, Page 21

ADVENTURERS.

WILLIAM DAMPIER.

BUCCAXEER, EXPLORER,

AUTHOR.

(Written by X. E. (OAD. for tbc

livening St.ar.")

The first of the mariner- wa* bo 1c note the Mindi. and tide*, In many a chart and scroll, for Jong the shipman's surest guide*. Dampier'* life read* like a romance, lie was born in Somerset, but »« pa** o\cr the detail*, of hi*, lender year*, which arc of the usual variety. In bin early youth be served in the Dutch War < Charles ll.|, and was wounded. Then he went to the East Indie*, and became for a time a trader. In those day* the West Indie* were the happy hunting ground of pirate* bold, and in the natural course of c»ent* Dampier forsook hi* plantation and became one of them. " The curse of the wandering foot" was upon him, and from thenceforth be elected to li\<. dangerously. He began hi* wild career in the company of some logwood cutters at Campeachy, who were planning an attack on Spanish towns j n South America, Hut space forbids an adequate account of his opera lions a* a buccaneer—thrilling adventure*, hairbreadth escapes. and fierce fighting were hi« portion. Town after town, ship after ship, were attacked by the fearless band, and with varying fortunes. They tramped through forests, aerosn swamps and bog* that steamed in the glaring sunlight; they lorded wide, deep river* infested with alligators, and encountered a hundred risks and danger* that only ruthless resolution could overcome. Dampier'* own writing* are full of hair-raising incidents, of which the following are interesting sample*. He relates with picturesque detail how on one occasion in Panama he *tumbled over a man-eating alligator and fainted with terror. He describe* an attack made by a canoe load of buccaneers on the Spanish town of Alvarado. The fighting force of that town was 2<W strong; yet these sixty English buccaneers managed to secure from it all the provisions they wanted, and two fine prtM cutter*, in which they sailed triumphantly out ta sea. At sea seven Spanish ship* bore down on them, intent on exterminating them. Hut the seven Spanish ship* could not stand up to the *upcrior seamanship of Knglish buccaneer*. These gentlemen in their cutter* dodged about, here, there, and everywhere, and eluded the formidable Spanish fleet. They got away without one man being injured. Dampier in the East ladies. Thirsting for new adventures. Dam pier undertook a xoyage across the Pacific to the East Indie*. He sailed under the command of Captain Swan In a ship appropriately named tbe Cygnet. The \oyajrc was a terrible onc. Tbe men suffered the same privation* as did Magellan lOC year* before. Indeed, on one occasion both Captain Swan and Dampier were in danger of being killed and eaten to provide a meal for the crew, who were almost mad* from hunger and thirst. The unexpected appearance of land—the Island of Guan, ts It turned out, narrowly averted this calamity. At the Philippine*, however, a mutiny broke out. Ihe crew wired Ihc ship and sailed away, leaving Captain Swan behind. He ™.i« afterward* killed by natives. But the mutineer*, with Dampier on board, cruised about in a southerly direction, until they fell in with that great, mysterious southern land then called New Holland. This «f in the year 16SS—the year of the Great Revolution in .England. And so Uampicr was actually the first Englishman to catch sight of Australia, and he wrote down a valuable account of what be saw. I>ampicr's writings had a remarkable effect in stimulating public interest in the unknown iands of the South £*ak a* the Pacific Ocean was then called. So in the year 1699. William 111. bcim: King, he was placed in command of an expedition to explore in these jH'fari.K William 111., himself a Dutchman, would naturally be interested in these regions, adjacent as they were to the Dutch colonies in the East Indies. So away Dampier sailed in a ship called tbe Roebuck. He explored the W<M Coast of Australia and the Island of New Guinea, making careful observations as he went along. However, to return to the Roebuck. It was wrecked on the return journey at Ascension Island, but no lives were lost. In one respect, this voyage was Dampier'* most meritorious undertaking. But. on the other hand, it «amost disastrous to hi* reputation a* a commander, and closed his career as a naval explorer. On his return to England complaints were made about the way be treated his men. and a court martial was held to make inquiries. Tbe evidence brought out an instance of savage cruelty to one of his lieutenant*, whom he had unmercifully flogged, placed in irons, and then imprisoned on shore in a foreign country. After considering all the circumstances, (he court found thai Dampier was not a fit person to be emploved a* a commander of anv of Hi< Majesty's ships. That closed his career a* a naval commander. Robinson Crusoe. Dampier. being still a poor man, had lo put to sea once more. He now look .barge of a prhateering expedition financed by some Hri*toi merchants. The expedition consisted of two ships —the St. George and the Cinque PojTs lialley—and the instructions were to ?ruis« about the Pacific and attack Spanish ships, England being then at svar with Spain and France, An incident in this voyage has been immortalised in that wc>l-known book. Robinson Crusoe.' Captain Stradling. *i the Cinque Ports Galley, quarrelled with his chief mate. Alexander Selkirk, md marooned him on the lonely island »f Juan Fcrnandea, which is "off the of Chile. Here Selkirk lived for four years in complete solitude until be *as rescued by Dampier in 170 S. Selkirk was thirty years old at the time, »nd his vivid account of how he conquered the terror, melancholy, and awful loneliness of his position* makes one »f the most fascinating stories in English literature. Selkirk himself told lib story to Defoe, and the result, as arc have seen, was * Robinson Crusoe.' But to return to Dampier. He made still one more voyage, but this time as i pilot to a privateering expedition, under the command of Captain Woodcs Roger*. It looted Spanish ships and returned with a booty worth £400.000 —a large sum in those days. Dampier'*., fchare of this would enable him to live in comparative ease for tbe rest of hi* life—be was then sixtr years old. From! that lime on be did not put to sea again, and nothing more was beard of' btOaj i