A voyage to the South-Seas, in the years 1740-1.

Containing, a faithful narrative of the loss of His Majesty’s ship the Wager on a desolate island in the latitude 47 south, longitude 81:40 west: with the proceedings and conduct of the officers and crew, and the hardships they endured in the said island for the space of five months; their bold attempt for liberty, in coasting the southern part of the vast region of Patagonia; setting out with upwards of eighty souls in their boats; the loss of the cutter; their passage through the steights of Mageilan; an account of their manner of living on the voyage on seals, wild horses, dogs, &c. and the incredible hardships they frequently underwent for want of food of any kind; a description of the several places where they touch’d in the streights of Magellan, with an account of the inhabitants, &c. and their safe arrival to the Brazil, after sailing one thousand leagues in a long-boat; their reception from the Portugese; an account of the disturbances at Rio Grand; their arrival at Rio Janeiro; their passage and usage on board a Portugese ship to Lisbon; and their return to England. Interspersed with many entertaining and curious observations, not taken notice of by Sir John Narborough, or any other journalist. The whole compiled by persons concerned in the facts related, viz. John Bulkeley and John Cummins, late gunner and carpenter of the Wager. London : printed for Jacob Robinson, publisher, at the Golden-Lion in Ludgate-Street, 1743. Octavo (200 x 130 mm), later half calf over marbled papered boards, spine with contrasting leather title labels lettered in gilt; pp. xx, 220; woodcut head- and tailpieces and initials; scattered light foxing and browning, most leaves with pale water-stain around the foot of the gutter, but overall a good copy.

First edition (with the authors’ names stated) of this account of the eventful voyage of HMS Wager, one of the ships in Anson’s fleet. It was written by two of the ship’s crew – John Bulkeley, a gunner, and John Cummins, carpenter. Another 1743 edition was published anonymously.

The Wager became separated from the squadron soon after rounding Cape Horn, and ran aground in the Guayaneco Archipelago off the southern coast of Chile on 13 May 1741. The majority of the crew, led by Bulkeley and Cummins, mutinied against Captain David Cheap. Leaving Cheap and a small group of loyal sailors behind on what would become known as Wager Island, the mutineers commandeered a modified schooner, the Speedwell, and were able to successfully navigate their way back through the Straits of Magellan, reaching Rio de Janeiro after a harrowing four-month journey. However, only 29 out of the original group of 81 who had set out in the Speedwell survived the ordeal. Bulkeley, Cummins and several other mutineers eventually arrived back in England on New Year’s Day, 1743. Of the group of twenty men who had remained on Wager Island, only Cheap himself and three others would ultimately survive following their rescue by a group of Chono people. They would not return to England until 1745.

Sabin 9108; Borba de Moraes I, 133; Hill 210; Howgego B-186