Letter from E. Sabine [Edward Sabine] to Joseph Sabine esq [secretary of the Horticultural Society of London], Horticultural Society's House, Regent Street, St James, London
Information
Title - Letter from E. Sabine [Edward Sabine] to Joseph Sabine esq [secretary of the Horticultural Society of London], Horticultural Society's House, Regent Street, St James, London
Record type - Archive
Original Reference - RHS/Col/2/Z1/31
Date - 29 Nov 1822
Scope & content - Written from HMS Pheasant in the Gulf of Florida [United States of America]
They have left the tropics, and the 'vile fevers which render the equatorial regions so unsafe to all who are not natives'; the passage from Jamaica to Havana [Cuba] was long as they were detained by a convoy, which sailed under their protection due to the 'frequent piracies'; Port Royal [Jamaica] was not healthy while they were there, but only one of their crew was slightly ill: 'there is no comparison between the unhealthiness of Jamaica and of the coast of Africa, so much is Jamaica worse'; the fever is so rapid that it is almost impossible to treat, and also has greater spread and insolence than that of Africa; the rapidity is the key difference, as in Africa there is a period of 'languor' and 'debility' between the exposure to the fever and appearance of symptoms in which medication will be successful, whereas in Jamaica this interval is rarely if ever seen, and people often become severely ill a mere hour after seeming in perfect health; the fever spreads so rapidly in close quarters that it can run through an entire ship in a few days, with three in seven men dying; it does not stop spreading at sea, and the only way to stop it is total abandonment, which cannot be resorted to in the Navy; he hears the Iphigenia became sickly at Havana, where they stopped for freight at the worst season, and fears they have suffered considerable loss, although this should be mitigated by the cold of higher latitudes; they stayed in Jamaica four days longer than his observations required in order to carry out repairs on the Pheasant, and he and Clavering [Douglas Charles Clavering, captain of HMS Pheasant] visited the mountains, and sent Don [George Don] off in the company of Dr Gordon [Joseph Gordon, slave holder and attorney in Jamaica] who is 'almost as uncivilised as himself, but not so good a botanist'; Don returned to them the day before they sailed with a sprained wrist from falling off his horse, and a few plants, satisfied with what he had seen; Don found Mr Wiles [James Wiles, slave holder and botanist in Jamaica], but not Dr West [Stewart West, physician and botanist in Jamaica], who lived too far away and it was not worth the long journey to reach him; 'the people at Jamaica were disposed to be civil, but are without exception so enervated and unenergetic, that we could receive but little assistance from them'; they stayed in the mountains with Mr Chisholm [Robert Chisholm, slave holder and merchant in Jamaica], an agent of the Mitchells of Wimpole Street [merchants and slave holders in London and Jamaica], who was 'the most astute person' he met, and has the best coffee plantation in the island ('which we examined with great care'); Jamaica is far below his expectations and 'declining fast', whereas Trinidad exceeds them due to Woodford's [Ralph Woodford, British governor of Trinidad] governance; a day or two after arriving at Port Royal he received a letter from Mrs Henry Sabine [?Mary Duncomb Sabine, married to Henry Sabine, unidentified] to let him know of the death of her husband in February, and her plans to return to England with her two children ('a boy and a girl') in March to her father at Alfred Place, Bedford Square [London; the Duncombs owned plantations and had slaves in Jamaica, so it is possible that Henry Sabine and Mary Duncomb lived in Jamaica after their marriage]; Edward believes she has 'little prosperity', but did not seem distressed, and is an 'active, cheerful person', who will probably marry again; her late husband was doing very well before he died; they got a few birds in the mountains of Jamaica, including one or two 'handsome' woodpeckers and flycatchers, but there was too much rain for great success; Don landed for one day at Grand Cayman Island, west of Jamaica, where he found plants which he knew; Joseph will receive the bulbs in a box which Don is packing at this moment to send on the merchant ship Victoria which is under their convoy through the Gulf and bound for London, due to arrive in the first week of January; Don has decided that his live plants will stand the best chance remaining under his watch on the Pheasant, rather than on the Victoria, though Edward fears that they will lose many; the live birds remain in good health, though the eagle is not so strong as before; he will land the eagle at New York [United States of America] 'to stretch his limits. He has become extremely tame & gentle. The vulture will certainly do well, but is very fierce. They both do better on board ship than I could have supposed'; he asks if the birds are to go to Cassiobury [seat of George Capel-Coningsby, 5th earl of Essex] or the Horticultural Garden [Chiswick Garden, London]; they stayed in Havana for six days in the hope of getting freight, and he is glad that he did not land instruments for a pendulum station as the government is too weak to offer protection and 'the people on the island are extremely jealous [suspicious or wary] of foreigners'; he asked permission of the governor to make a few magnetic observations, to which he did not object but declined to give written permission, and as a result they were sent into the city 'as prisoners' until they could alert the governor to their situation; they succeeded better two days later by finding a spot in the country away from 'the habitation of the peasantry' and near their boat; Havana is not as strongly fortified as he expected; the harbour is inaccessible to enemy ships, but the forts commanding the entrance, especially the celebrated Morr castle [Morro Castle, Havana], 'might easily be reduced by troops on shore, were it ever likely to be worth the attack. The coast abounds with pirates, and the city with desperate characters of all kinds. Assassination is frequent in the streets at night, both from jealousy, and for plunder. In consequence no one goes out at night unarmed. I need not add that six days were a sufficient residence at Havana. Gambling is the principal resource of those not engaged in trade, and [...] forms the only amusement of the place'; he is anxious for his observations at New York, as he has only one letter of introduction, given to the British consul Mr Buchanan [James Buchanan, British consul in New York] by Sir Charles Rowley [British Royal Navy officer]; he will do well in New York if they allow him access to an observatory; once he lands he will go to Eastburne [James Eastburn, printer and publisher in New York] ('the Murray [John Murray, printer and publisher in Edinburgh] of New York'), who will give him 'all the information' he needs; Rowley has also given him a letter to explain to the general government the object of the visit; they arrive at New York around 10 Dec, and will sail between Christmas and New Year's Day to arrive at Portsmouth between 18 and 20 Jan; he asks for a letter from Joseph directed to remain at the Royal Artillery Mess until his arrival from New York; he is pleased that his proposals for a northern voyage have been well received and that the packages have arrived safely, especially those from St Thomas's [Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe]; 'Don [George Don] and Smith [John Smith, Edward Sabine's assistant] are getting very fat, the first especially, whose health is much improved on the whole by this voyage'; he will write once more from New York if a vessel sails more than 10 days before they do. Written from HMS Pheasant in the Gulf of Florida [United States of America]
They have left the tropics, and the 'vile fevers which render the equatorial regions so unsafe to all who are not natives'; the passage from Jamaica to Havana [Cuba] was long as they were detained by a convoy, which sailed under their protection due to the 'frequent piracies'; Port Royal [Jamaica] was not healthy while they were there, but only one of their crew was slightly ill: 'there is no comparison between the unhealthiness of Jamaica and of the coast of Africa, so much is Jamaica worse'; the fever is so rapid that it is almost impossible to treat, and also has greater spread and insolence than that of Africa; the rapidity is the key difference, as in Africa there is a period of 'languor' and 'debility' between the exposure to the fever and appearance of symptoms in which medication will be successful, whereas in Jamaica this interval is rarely if ever seen, and people often become severely ill a mere hour after seeming in perfect health; the fever spreads so rapidly in close quarters that it can run through an entire ship in a few days, with three in seven men dying; it does not stop spreading at sea, and the only way to stop it is total abandonment, which cannot be resorted to in the Navy; he hears the Iphigenia became sickly at Havana, where they stopped for freight at the worst season, and fears they have suffered considerable loss, although this should be mitigated by the cold of higher latitudes; they stayed in Jamaica four days longer than his observations required in order to carry out repairs on the Pheasant, and he and Clavering [Douglas Charles Clavering, captain of HMS Pheasant] visited the mountains, and sent Don [George Don] off in the company of Dr Gordon [Joseph Gordon, slave holder and attorney in Jamaica] who is 'almost as uncivilised as himself, but not so good a botanist'; Don returned to them the day before they sailed with a sprained wrist from falling off his horse, and a few plants, satisfied with what he had seen; Don found Mr Wiles [James Wiles, slave holder and botanist in Jamaica], but not Dr West [Stewart West, physician and botanist in Jamaica], who lived too far away and it was not worth the long journey to reach him; 'the people at Jamaica were disposed to be civil, but are without exception so enervated and unenergetic, that we could receive but little assistance from them'; they stayed in the mountains with Mr Chisholm [Robert Chisholm, slave holder and merchant in Jamaica], an agent of the Mitchells of Wimpole Street [merchants and slave holders in London and Jamaica], who was 'the most astute person' he met, and has the best coffee plantation in the island ('which we examined with great care'); Jamaica is far below his expectations and 'declining fast', whereas Trinidad exceeds them due to Woodford's [Ralph Woodford, British governor of Trinidad] governance; a day or two after arriving at Port Royal he received a letter from Mrs Henry Sabine [?Mary Duncomb Sabine, married to Henry Sabine, unidentified] to let him know of the death of her husband in February, and her plans to return to England with her two children ('a boy and a girl') in March to her father at Alfred Place, Bedford Square [London; the Duncombs owned plantations and had slaves in Jamaica, so it is possible that Henry Sabine and Mary Duncomb lived in Jamaica after their marriage]; Edward believes she has 'little prosperity', but did not seem distressed, and is an 'active, cheerful person', who will probably marry again; her late husband was doing very well before he died; they got a few birds in the mountains of Jamaica, including one or two 'handsome' woodpeckers and flycatchers, but there was too much rain for great success; Don landed for one day at Grand Cayman Island, west of Jamaica, where he found plants which he knew; Joseph will receive the bulbs in a box which Don is packing at this moment to send on the merchant ship Victoria which is under their convoy through the Gulf and bound for London, due to arrive in the first week of January; Don has decided that his live plants will stand the best chance remaining under his watch on the Pheasant, rather than on the Victoria, though Edward fears that they will lose many; the live birds remain in good health, though the eagle is not so strong as before; he will land the eagle at New York [United States of America] 'to stretch his limits. He has become extremely tame & gentle. The vulture will certainly do well, but is very fierce. They both do better on board ship than I could have supposed'; he asks if the birds are to go to Cassiobury [seat of George Capel-Coningsby, 5th earl of Essex] or the Horticultural Garden [Chiswick Garden, London]; they stayed in Havana for six days in the hope of getting freight, and he is glad that he did not land instruments for a pendulum station as the government is too weak to offer protection and 'the people on the island are extremely jealous [suspicious or wary] of foreigners'; he asked permission of the governor to make a few magnetic observations, to which he did not object but declined to give written permission, and as a result they were sent into the city 'as prisoners' until they could alert the governor to their situation; they succeeded better two days later by finding a spot in the country away from 'the habitation of the peasantry' and near their boat; Havana is not as strongly fortified as he expected; the harbour is inaccessible to enemy ships, but the forts commanding the entrance, especially the celebrated Morr castle [Morro Castle, Havana], 'might easily be reduced by troops on shore, were it ever likely to be worth the attack. The coast abounds with pirates, and the city with desperate characters of all kinds. Assassination is frequent in the streets at night, both from jealousy, and for plunder. In consequence no one goes out at night unarmed. I need not add that six days were a sufficient residence at Havana. Gambling is the principal resource of those not engaged in trade, and [...] forms the only amusement of the place'; he is anxious for his observations at New York, as he has only one letter of introduction, given to the British consul Mr Buchanan [James Buchanan, British consul in New York] by Sir Charles Rowley [British Royal Navy officer]; he will do well in New York if they allow him access to an observatory; once he lands he will go to Eastburne [James Eastburn, printer and publisher in New York] ('the Murray [John Murray, printer and publisher in Edinburgh] of New York'), who will give him 'all the information' he needs; Rowley has also given him a letter to explain to the general government the object of the visit; they arrive at New York around 10 Dec, and will sail between Christmas and New Year's Day to arrive at Portsmouth between 18 and 20 Jan; he asks for a letter from Joseph directed to remain at the Royal Artillery Mess until his arrival from New York; he is pleased that his proposals for a northern voyage have been well received and that the packages have arrived safely, especially those from St Thomas's [Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe]; 'Don [George Don] and Smith [John Smith, Edward Sabine's assistant] are getting very fat, the first especially, whose health is much improved on the whole by this voyage'; he will write once more from New York if a vessel sails more than 10 days before they do
Extent - 4 page letter (1 sheet)
Repository - Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library
Copyright - John J. Timothy Jeal
Credit Line - Courtesy John J. Timothy Jeal / RHS Lindley Collections
Usage terms - Non-commercial use with attribution permitted (CC BY-NC 4.0)