Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
pany of raucous sailors - and French sailors at that - can have kept
themselves from the simple and pleasurable task of verifying such a
rumour, Bougainville does not tell us. Bare was, apparently, a strong
and attentive servant. Commercon was the expedition's botanist and
Bare always accompanied him ashore, frequently carrying his heavy
equipment over long distances. It was when Commercon landed at
Tahiti to explore the local flora that all was discovered. The Polyne-
sian men were, apparently, more observant than their French coun-
terparts.
Bare had hardly set his feet on shore with the herbal under his
arm, when the men of Tahiti surrounded him, cried out 'It is a woman!',
and wanted to give her the honours customary in the isle. The Cheva-
lier de Bournand, who was upon guard on shore, was obliged to come
to her assistance, and escort her to the boat.
13
The story she told, amidst many tears, to the commander was
that she was a country girl orphaned at a young age, who, finding
herself without money or friends, had refused to turn to the only oc-
cupation open to young women in such a situation. Instead she had
donned masculine attire and found employment as valet to a Swiss
gentleman. When she heard that the
Étoile
was bound for a voyage
round the world she had been seized by a desire for the kind of ad-
venture denied to all members of her sex. That was why she had ap-
proached M. de Commercon.
One would love to know more about Mlle Bare. Bougainville
assures us that she completed the voyage with her honour intact,
which says as much for the discipline of his men as it does for her
resolution. Strange that she did not become a celebrity on her re-
turn, the subject of romanticised biography or ribald broadsheet.
