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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/10842-0.txt b/10842-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..93460c5 --- /dev/null +++ b/10842-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9344 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10842 *** + +(PLATE: CAPTAIN COOK. +FROM THE PORTRAIT BY N. DANCE, R.A., IN THE PAINTED HALL, GREENWICH +HOSPITAL.) + + + +THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN JAMES COOK + +THE CIRCUMNAVIGATOR + +BY ARTHUR KITSON. + + +WITH PORTRAIT AND MAP. + + + +1907 + + + +TO +MY WIFE +LINDA DOUGLAS KITSON. + + + +PREFACE. + +In publishing a popular edition of my work, Captain James Cook, R.N., +F.R.S., it has, of course, been necessary to condense it, but care has +been taken to omit nothing of importance, and at the same time a few +slight errors have been corrected, and some new information has been +added, chiefly relating to the disposition of documents. + +I must not omit this opportunity of thanking the Reviewers for the +extremely kind manner in which they all received the original work--a +manner, indeed, which far exceeded my highest hopes. + +ARTHUR KITSON. + +LONDON, 1912. + + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAPTER 1. EARLY YEARS. + +CHAPTER 2. 1755 TO 1757. H.M.S. EAGLE. + +CHAPTER 3. 1757 TO 1759. H.M.S. PEMBROKE. + +CHAPTER 4. 1759 TO 1762. H.M.S. NORTHUMBERLAND. + +CHAPTER 5. 1763 TO 1767. NEWFOUNDLAND. + +CHAPTER 6. 1768. PREPARATIONS FOR FIRST VOYAGE. + +CHAPTER 7. 1768 TO 1769. PLYMOUTH TO OTAHEITE. + +CHAPTER 8. 1769. SOCIETY ISLANDS. + +CHAPTER 9. 1769 TO 1770. NEW ZEALAND. + +CHAPTER 10. 1770. AUSTRALIA. + +CHAPTER 11. 1770 TO 1771. NEW GUINEA TO ENGLAND. + +CHAPTER 12. 1771. PREPARATIONS FOR SECOND VOYAGE. + +CHAPTER 13. 1772 TO 1774. SECOND VOYAGE. + +CHAPTER 14. 1774 TO 1775. SECOND VOYAGE CONCLUDED. + +CHAPTER 15. 1775 TO 1776. ENGLAND. + +CHAPTER 16. 1776 TO 1777. THIRD VOYAGE. + +CHAPTER 17. 1777 TO 1779. THIRD VOYAGE CONTINUED. + +CHAPTER 18. 1779 TO 1780. THIRD VOYAGE CONCLUDED. + +CHAPTER 19. APPRECIATION AND CHARACTER. + + + +JAMES COOK, R.N., F.R.S. + + + +CHAPTER 1. EARLY YEARS. + +James Cook, the Circumnavigator, was a native of the district of +Cleveland, Yorkshire, but of his ancestry there is now very little +satisfactory information to be obtained. Nichols, in his Topographer and +Genealogist, suggests that "James Cooke, the celebrated mariner, was +probably of common origin with the Stockton Cookes." His reason for the +suggestion being that a branch of the family possessed a crayon portrait +of some relation, which was supposed to resemble the great discoverer. He +makes no explanation of the difference in spelling of the two names, and +admits that the sailor's family was said to come from Scotland. + +Dr. George Young, certainly the most reliable authority on Cook's early +years, who published a Life in 1836, went to Whitby as Vicar about 1805, +and claims to have obtained much information about his subject "through +intercourse with his relatives, friends, and acquaintances, including one +or two surviving school companions," and appears to be satisfied that +Cook was of Scotch extraction. Dr. George Johnston, a very careful +writer, states in his Natural History of the Eastern Borders, that in +1692 the father of James Thomson, the author of The Seasons, was minister +of Ednam, Roxburghshire, and a man named John Cook was one of the Elders +of the Kirk. This John Cook married, on the 19th January 1693, a woman +named Jean Duncan, by whom he had a son, James, baptised 4th March 1694, +and this child, Johnston positively asserts, was afterwards the father of +the future Captain Cook. The dates of the marriage and baptism have been +verified by the Reverend John Burleigh, minister of Ednam, and they agree +with the probable date of the birth of Cook's father, for he died in 1778 +at the age of eighty-five. Owing to the loss of the church records for +some years after 1698, Mr. Burleigh is unable to trace when this James +Cook left Ednam to "better himself," but he would take with him a +"testificate of church membership" which might possibly, but not +probably, still exist. Attracted, perhaps, by the number of Scotch people +who flocked into the north of Yorkshire to follow the alum trade, then at +its height, James Cook settled down and married; and the first positive +information to be obtained is that he and his wife Grace (her maiden name +has so far escaped identification, though she is known to have been a +native of Cleveland) resided for some time at Morton, in the parish of +Ormsby, and here their eldest child, John, was born in January 1727. Dr. +Young says that James Cook had a superstition that his mother's farewell +was prophetic of his marriage, for her words were "God send you Grace." + +BIRTH-PLACE. + +Shortly after the birth of John, the Cooks left Morton for Marton, a +village a few miles away, and the similarity of the two names has caused +some confusion. At Marton the father worked for a Mr. Mewburn, living in +a small cottage built of mud, called in the district a clay biggin. This +cottage was pulled down in 1786, when Major Rudd erected a mansion near +the spot. Afterwards, when the mansion was burned to the ground, the site +of the cottage was planted with trees, and was popularly known as Cook's +Garth. Dr. Young was shown the spot by an old shoemaker whose wife's +mother was present at Captain Cook's birth, and he says there was a +willow-tree occupying the site, but no vestige of the walls was left. Mr. +Bolckow, the present owner of Marton Hall, says: "The cottage was found +destroyed when my uncle bought Marton in 1854, but we came across the +foundations of it when the grounds were laid out." A granite vase has +been erected on the spot. The pump which Besant says still exists, and +was made by Cook's father to supply his house with water, was "put there +after Cook's time," and has disappeared. + +In this humble clay biggin James Cook, the Circumnavigator, was born on +27th October 1728, and was registered as baptised on 3rd November in the +Marton church records, being entered as "ye son of a day labourer." He +was one of several children, most of whom died young; John, the eldest, +who lived till he was twenty-three, and Margaret, who married a Redcar +fisherman named James Fleck, being the only two that came to maturity. + +The Cooks remained at Marton for some years, during which time they +removed to another cottage, and young James received some instruction +from a Mistress Mary Walker, who taught him his letters and a little +reading. Dr. Young and Kippis call her the village schoolmistress, but +Ord, who was a descendant on his mother's side, says: + +"she was the daughter of the wealthiest farmer in the neighbourhood, and +wife of William Walker, a respectable yeoman of the first class residing +at Marton Grange." + +Young James, a lad of less than eight years old, worked for Mr. Walker: + +"tended the stock, took the horses to water, and ran errands for the +family, and in return for such services the good lady, finding him an +intelligent, active youth, was pleased to teach him his alphabet and +reading." + +In 1736 Cook's father was appointed to the position of hind or bailiff by +Mr. Skottowe, and removed with his family to Airy Holme Farm, near Ayton. +According to Besant, a hind was one who, residing on a farm, was paid a +regular wage for carrying on the work, and handed over the proceeds to +the landlord. Young James, now eight years of age, was sent to the school +on the High Green kept by a Mr. Pullen, where he was instructed in +writing and arithmetic as far as the first few rules--"reading having +apparently been acquired before." He is said to have shown a special +aptitude for arithmetic, and it is believed that owing to the good +reports of his progress, Mr. Skottowe paid for his schooling. According +to Dr. Young, his schoolfellows gave him the character of being fond of +his own way, and, when any project was on foot for birds-nesting or other +boyish amusement, and discussion arose as to the method to be pursued, he +would propound his own plans, and insist on their superiority; should his +views not meet with approval, he would pertinaciously adhere to them, +even at the risk of being abandoned by his companions. + +STAITHES. + +Most authorities say that Cook was bound apprentice to Mr. Saunderson, a +grocer and haberdasher of Staithes, at the age of thirteen; but Mrs. +Dodds, Saunderson's daughter, told Dr. Young that, after leaving school, +he remained on the farm, helping his father, till 1745, when he was +seventeen years old and then went to Staithes to her father on a verbal +agreement without indentures, and would thus be free to leave or be +discharged at any time. + +The shop and house where he was engaged was situated about three hundred +yards from the present slipway, and close to the sea, in fact so close +that in 1812 it was threatened by the water, and was pulled down by +Saunderson's successor, Mr. John Smailey, and the materials, as far as +possible, were used in erecting the building in Church Street which is +now pointed out as Cook's Shop. The late Mr. Waddington of Grosmont, near +Whitby, says he visited Staithes in 1887 and found the original site +covered by deep water. He was informed by an old man, who, as a boy, had +assisted in removing the stock from the old shop, that not only were the +stones used again in Church Street, but also most of the woodwork, +including the present door with its iron knocker, at which, probably, +Cook himself had knocked many a time. + +At Staithes Cook remained as Saunderson's assistant for about eighteen +months, and it may easily be imagined how this growing lad listened with +all his ears to the tales of the old sailors recalling brave deeds and +strange experiences in storm and shine on that element which for so many +years was to be his home, and at length, impelled by some instinctive +feeling that on it lay the path ready at his feet to lead him on to +future distinction, he vowed to himself that he would not bind down his +life to the petty round of a country storekeeper. + +At length the opportunity came, which is related, in a breezy and +life-like manner, by Besant as follows. After painting Saunderson's +character in colours of a rather disagreeable hue, as one too fond of his +grog for himself and his stick for his apprentices, he says that Cook +stole a shilling out of the till, packed up his luggage in a single +pocket-handkerchief, ran away across the moors to Whitby, found a ship on +the point of sailing, jumped on board, offered his services as cabin boy, +was at once accepted, showed himself so smart and attentive that he +completely won the heart of the sour-visaged mate, and through his good +graces was eventually bound apprentice to the owners of the ship, and +thus laid the foundation of his fortunes. This account does not explain +how it was that the dishonest runaway apprentice it depicts continued to +retain the friendship and esteem of his master and Mrs. Dodds. + +APPRENTICED TO THE SEA. + +There undoubtedly was a difficulty about a shilling, and Dr. Young's +version, gathered from those who knew Cook personally and lived in +Staithes and Whitby at the time, is more probable. He says that Cook had +noticed a South Sea shilling, and being struck by the unusual design (it +was only coined in 1723), changed it for one of his own. Saunderson had +also noticed it, and when he missed it, enquired for it perhaps in +somewhat unmeasured terms, but, on the matter being explained, was fully +satisfied. Afterwards, seeing that the boy was bent upon a sea life, he +obtained the father's permission, and took young James to Whitby himself, +where he introduced him to Mr. John Walker, a member of a shipping firm +of repute, to whom he was bound apprentice (not to the firm), and with +whom he never lost touch till the end of his life. The period of +apprenticeship was, on the authority of Messrs. John and Henry Walker, +three years, and not either seven or nine as is usually stated, and the +difficulty about being apprenticed to both Saunderson and Walker is, of +course, set at rest by Mrs. Dodd's explanation. + +Whitby was at the time a very important centre of the coasting trade, and +possessed several shipbuilding yards of good reputation, and it was in a +Whitby-built ship, the Freelove, that Cook made his first voyage. She was +a vessel of about 450 tons (some 80 tons larger than the celebrated Bark +Endeavour), was employed in the coal trade up and down the east coast, +and no doubt Cook picked up many a wrinkle of seamanship and many a +lesson of the value of promptitude in the time of danger which would +prove of service when he came to the days of independent command: for the +North Sea has, from time immemorial, been reckoned a grand school from +which to obtain true sailormen for the Royal Service. + +As usual in those days, Cook stayed in his employer's house in the +intervals between his trips, and his time ashore was longer during the +winter months as the ships were generally laid up. The house in Grape +Street, at present occupied by Mr. Braithwaite, is pointed out as the one +where he lived whilst with Mr. Walker; but this is incorrect, for Mr. +Waddington ascertained from the rate books that Mr. Walker's mother was +living there at that time, and Mr. Walker lived in Haggargate from 1734 +to 1751, removing thence to the north side of Bakehouse Yard in that +year, and to Grape Street in 1752, after his mother's death. That is, he +did not reside in Grape Street till three years after Cook's +apprenticeship was ended, when, following the usual custom, he would have +to fend for himself. During these periods of leisure between his voyages, +Cook endeavoured to improve his store of knowledge, and it is believed he +received some instruction in elementary navigation. He made great friends +with Mr. Walker's housekeeper, Mary Prowd, from whom he obtained the +concession of a table and a light in a quiet corner away from the others, +where he might read and write in peace. That he worked hard to improve +himself is evident from the fact that Mr. Walker pushed him on at every +opportunity, and gave him as varied an experience of things nautical as +lay in his power. + +After several voyages in the Freelove (which is stated by the Yorkshire +Gazette to have been "lost, together with one hundred and fifty +passengers and the winter's supply of gingerbread for Whitby, off either +the French or Dutch coast" one stormy Christmas, the date not given) Cook +was sent to assist in rigging and fitting for sea a vessel, called the +Three Brothers, some 600 tons burden, which was still in existence +towards the close of last century. When she was completed, Cook made two +or three trips in her with coals, and then she was employed for some +months as a transport for troops from Middleburg to Dublin and Liverpool. +She was paid off by the Government at Deptford in the spring of 1749, and +then traded to Norway, during which time Cook completed his +apprenticeship, that is, in July 1749. Cook told the naturalist of the +second South Sea voyage, Mr. Forster, that on one of his trips to Norway +the rigging of the ship was completely covered with birds that had been +driven off the land by a heavy gale, and amongst them were several hawks +who made the best of their opportunities with the small birds. + +OFFERED COMMAND. + +When his apprenticeship had expired he went before the mast for about +three years. In 1750 he was in the Baltic trade on the Maria, owned by +Mr. John Wilkinson of Whitby, and commanded by Mr. Gaskin, a relative of +the Walkers. The following year he was in a Stockton ship, and in 1752 he +was appointed mate of Messrs. Walker's new vessel, the Friendship, on +board of which he continued for three years, and of which, on the +authority of Mr. Samwell, the surgeon of the Discovery on the third +voyage, who paid a visit to Whitby on his return and received his +information from the Walkers, he would have been given the command had he +remained longer in the mercantile marine. This was rapid promotion for a +youth with nothing to back him up but his own exertions and strict +attention to duty, and tends to prove that he had taken full advantage of +the opportunities that fell in his way, and had even then displayed a +power of acquiring knowledge of his profession beyond the average. + +About this time Cook's father seems to have given up his position at Airy +Holme Farm and turned his attention to building. A house in Ayton is +still pointed out as his work, but has apparently been partially rebuilt, +for Dr. Young speaks of it as a stone house, and it is now partly brick, +but the stone doorway still remains, with the initials J.G.C., for James +and Grace Cook, and the date 1755. The old man has been represented as +completely uneducated, but this cannot have been true. Colman in his +Random Recollections, writing of a visit he paid to Redcar about 1773, +relates how a venerable old man was pointed out who: + +"only two or three years previously had learnt to read that he might +gratify a parent's pride and love by perusing his son's first voyage +round the world. He was the father of Captain Cook." + +If it is true that he was the son of an Elder of the Scottish Church, it +is extremely improbable that he was entirely uneducated, and the position +he held as hind to Mr. Skottowe would necessitate at any rate some +knowledge of keeping farming accounts. More convincing information still +is to be found in the Leeds Mercury of 27th October 1883, where Mr. +George Markham Tweddell, of Stokesley, writes: + +"I may mention that Captain Cook's father was not the illiterate man he +has been represented; and I have, lying on my study table as I write, a +deed bearing his signature, dated 1755; and the father's signature bears +a resemblance to that of his distinguished son." + +Reading is invariably learnt before writing, and as in 1755 the old man +was sixty-one, it is evident he did not wait till he was eighty to learn +to read. + +FATHER'S GRAVE. + +He claimed to have carved the inscription on the family tombstone in +Great Ayton churchyard, and after spending the last years of his life +under the roof of his son-in-law, James Fleck of Redcar, he died on 1st +April 1778, aged eighty-four years. He was buried in Marske churchyard, +but there was nothing to mark his grave, and its place has long been +forgotten. His death is registered as that of a "day labourer." + + +CHAPTER 2. 1755 TO 1757. H.M.S. EAGLE. + +Notwithstanding the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, troubles were +constantly arising between the French and English in which the American +Colonies of both nations took a conspicuous part, and ultimately led to +open war. The first shot was fired on 10th June 1755, although war was +not formally declared till May 1756. In June 1755 the Friendship was in +the Thames, and it is said that to avoid the hot press which had been +ordered Cook first went into hiding for some time and then decided to +volunteer. This is untrue, for, as has been shown, he had already made up +his mind and had refused Messrs. Walker's offer of the command of one of +their ships, the acceptance of which would have saved him from the press +as Masters were exempt. He now saw his opportunity had come. He knew that +experienced men were difficult to obtain, that men of a certain amount of +nautical knowledge and of good character could soon raise themselves +above the rank of ordinary seamen, and had doubtless in his mind many +cases of those who entering as seamen found their way to the quarterdeck, +and knowing he had only to ask the Walkers for letters of recommendation +for them to be at his service, he determined to take the important step +and volunteer into the Royal Navy. It must be remembered that this act of +leaving employment which, to most men of his position, would have seemed +most satisfactory, was not the act of hot-headed youth, no step taken in +mere spirit of adventure, but the calmly reasoned act of a man of +twenty-seven years and some eight or nine years experience of both the +rough and smooth sides of maritime life. + +Several letters were written to Mr. Walker, one or two of which relating +to a later period were seen and copied by Dr. Young, but they fell into +the hand of a niece, who unfortunately, not recognising their value, +destroyed them shortly before her death, which occurred some years ago. +However, it is certain that he wrote one about this time and evidently +received a favourable reply, for he shortly afterwards wrote again +acknowledging the service done him. + +ENTERS NAVY. + +Having made up his mind how to proceed, Cook went to a rendezvous at +Wapping and volunteered into H.M.S. Eagle, a fourth-rate, 60-gun ship, +with a complement of 400 men and 56 marines, at that time moored in +Portsmouth Harbour. On the Muster Roll, preserved in the Records Office, +the following entry occurs: "161 from London rendezvous, James Cook, +A.B., entry, June 17th 1755, first appearance June 25th 1755." On the +24th July, that is, thirty-seven days after the date of entry into the +Navy, he is rated as Master's mate, a position he held till 30th June +1757, when he quitted H.M.S. Eagle. + +His appointment was facilitated by the difficulty experienced in +obtaining men for the Service, as may be gathered from Captain Hamar's +letters, who writes applying to the Admiralty for permission to break up +his London Rendezvous, as he says it has "procured very few men, and +those only landsmen." Again, he complains of the quality of the men he +has received, and says he is one hundred and forty short of his +complement. In another letter: + +"I do not believe there is a worse man'd ship in the Navy. Yesterday I +received from the Bristol twenty-five supernumeraries belonging to +different ships, but not one seaman among them: but, on the contrary, all +very indifferent Landsmen." + +These complaints were endorsed by Captain Pallisser, who succeeded Hamar +on the Eagle, for he wrote that some of the crew were turned over from +ship to ship so often that he was quite unable to make out their original +one: + +"they being such that none choose to own them. Of forty-four said to +belong to the Ramilies, she wanted only six the other day, but her +boatswain could find out only those amongst them that he thought worth +having." + +In the face of these deficiencies in quantity and quality of men, and +remembering the good character he doubtless obtained from Mr. Walker, +there can be no surprise that when Cook sailed out of an English port for +the first time as a Royal Navy sailor he held the rating of Master's +mate. It is usual to look upon him as an explorer and surveyor only, but +a little enquiry shows that he played an active part in some of the most +stirring events of the next few years. The records of his personal deeds +are wanting, but his ships saw service, and from his character it is +certain that when duty called, James Cook would not be found wanting. +Many of the men under whom he served have left behind names that will +always be associated with the construction of the present British Empire, +and with most of them he was in immediate personal contact, and obtained +in every case their respect, in some their close personal friendship. + +PALLISSER COMMANDS. + +On the 1st July the Eagle was ordered to fit and provision for the +Leeward Islands, but having received 62 men and 53 marines, the orders +were changed to cruise between Scilly and Cape Clear, and she sailed on +the 4th August. She was caught in a gale off the old Head of Kinsale and +received some damage, and her main mast was reported as sprung, so she +returned to Plymouth for survey and repairs. Thinking that the removal of +the mast would be a good opportunity to scrape his ship, which was very +foul, Captain Hamar had her lightened for that purpose, but on +examination the mast was found to be in good order, and the Admiralty was +so annoyed at the absence of the ship from her cruising ground that they +ordered Captain Pallisser to take over the command and prepare for sea +without further loss of time. This he did on the 1st October, and sailed +from Plymouth on the 7th, and after cruising about in the Channel and +making a few small captures he returned on the 22nd November, remaining +till the 13th March; and during this time Cook had a short spell of +sickness, but it can hardly be called serious, as he was only in hospital +for ten days, being back to his duty on the 17th February. In April, when +"off the Isle of Bass, brought to and sent on board the cutter a petty +officer and five men with arms, provisions, etc." This extract from the +log records Cook's first independent command; the cutter was one of two +hired vessels which had joined the squadron the previous day under +convoy, and the armed party was probably put on board as a precaution +against privateers who were at that time pretty busy on the French coast. +Cook took her into Plymouth Sound, and he and his five men went on board +the St. Albans, and in her rejoined his own ship on the 2nd May, and then +returned to Plymouth on the 4th June. Pallisser, in reporting his arrival +to the Secretary of the Admiralty, said that he had: + +"put ashore to the hospital 130 sick men, most of which are extremely +ill: buried in the last month twenty-two. The surgeon and four men died +yesterday, and the surgeon's two mates are extremely ill: have +thirty-five men absent in prizes and thirty-five short of complement, so +that we are now in a very weak condition." + +This sickness and mortality was attributed to the absolute want of proper +clothing, many of the men having come on board with only what they stood +in and some in rags, so the Captain asked for permission to issue an +extra supply of slops, a request that was immediately granted. + +DUC D'AQUITAINE. + +After another short cruise the Eagle returned to Plymouth with Pallisser +very ill with fever. He obtained sick leave, and Captain Proby was +ordered to take command, but was detained so long in the Downs by +contrary winds that Pallisser, who had heard a rumour of a French +squadron having been seen in the Channel, shook off his fever and resumed +the command of his ship, which was almost ready for sea. Every part of +the Channel mentioned in the rumour was carefully searched, but no signs +of the enemy were seen, and the author of the report, a Swede, was +detained in Portsmouth for some months. + +On the 19th November the Eagle's crew was increased to 420 men, and she +was kept cruising throughout the winter, and on the 4th January 1757 she +was caught in a heavy gale off the Isle of Wight, where she had most of +her sails blown out of her. On 25th May she sailed from Plymouth Sound in +company with H.M.S. Medway, and a day or two afterwards they fell in with +and chased a French East Indiaman, the Duc d'Aquitaine, in rather heavy +weather. The Medway was leading, but when getting close, had to bring to +in order to clear for action, as otherwise she would be unable to open +her lee ports. Pallisser, on the other hand, was all ready, and pressed +on, bringing the chase to action. After a hard set-to, lasting about +three-quarters of an hour, the Frenchman struck, having lost 50 men +killed and 30 wounded, whilst the Eagle lost 10 killed and 80 wounded; +and the list of damages to the ship reported to the Admiralty shows that +the action was sharp though short. The Medway was only able to afford +assistance by firing a few raking shots, and suffered no damage except +having ten men wounded by an accidental explosion of gunpowder. The masts +and sails of the prize were so much damaged that she lost them all in the +night; one of the masts in falling sank the Medway's cutter. It was found +she had a complement of 493 men, and was armed with 50 guns. She had +landed her East Indian cargo at Lisbon, and then proceeded to cruise for +fourteen days on the look-out for an English convoy sailing in charge of +H.M.S. Mermaid. She had succeeded in picking up one prize, an English +brig, which was ransomed for 200 pounds. This was Cook's first experience +of an important naval action, and Pallisser was complimented by the Lords +of the Admiralty for his gallant conduct. The Duc d'Aquitaine was +purchased for the Navy, and was entered under her own name as a +third-rate, 64 gun ship, with a complement of 500 men. + +The Eagle returned with her consort and her prize to Plymouth, and soon +afterwards Cook's connection with her came to an end. According to Dr. +Kippis, Mr. Walker had interested the Member for Scarborough, Mr. +Osbaldiston, on the subject of Cook's promotion, but the rule was that +candidates for Lieutenancy must have been employed on board a king's ship +for a period of not less than six years, and an order had recently been +issued that this regulation was to be strictly adhered to. Captain +Pallisser therefore wrote to Mr. Osbaldiston that Cook: + +"had been too short a time in the service for a commission, but that a +Master's warrant might be given him, by which he would be raised to a +station that he was well qualified to discharge with ability and credit." + +The result of this correspondence is shown in the Eagle's muster roll, +for on 27th June James Cook attended his last muster, and on the 30th he +was discharged. The succeeding rolls registering "D. 30th June 1757. +Solebay prefmnt." + +THE MERCURY COOK. + +At this point all the writers on Captain Cook have been led into error by +following the lead of Dr. Kippis. Everyone (with the single exception of +Lord Brougham, who by an evident slip of the pen puts him on board the +Mersey) writes that he was appointed Master of H.M.S. Mercury, and that +he joined the fleet of Admiral Saunders in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at +the time of the capture of Quebec in that ship. From the Public Records +it has been ascertained that the Mercury was not in the Gulf of St. +Lawrence with Saunders, but in the latter half of 1759 was sent to New +York, thence to Boston, and was at Spithead in April the following year. +The same source also shows that not only was the Circumnavigator never on +board the Mercury in any capacity, but in all probability he never even +saw her. He is also said to have been Master's mate on the Pembroke, and +Dr. Kippis has him appointed to three different ships on three +consecutive days: the Grampus, but she sailed before Cook could join her; +the Garland, but she was found to have a Master when Cook joined; and, +lastly, the Mercury. + +The explanation of this confusion as far as the Mercury is concerned (the +rest was imagination) is that there was a second James Cook in the +service, who was appointed Master of the Mercury under a warrant dated +15th May 1759 and entered on his duties immediately. He was with his ship +at Sheerness on 12th July, at which time his namesake was before Quebec. +On the return of the Mercury from Boston her Master was returned for some +time as "sick on shore," and on 11th June 1760 was superseded by one John +Emerton. Soon after he was appointed third lieutenant of the Gosport, his +commission bearing date 1st April 1760, that is before he left the +Mercury. He was with his new ship at the recapture of St. John's, +Newfoundland, in 1762, with John Jervis, afterwards Lord St. Vincent, as +his Captain. In 1765 he was on the Wolf on the Jamaica station, and was +selected by Admiral Burnaby to carry despatches to the Governor of +Yucatan. This duty he successfully carried out, and in 1796 published a +pamphlet describing his adventures during the journey. On his return to +England he applied to the Duke of Newcastle for the command of a cutter, +and the letter is now in the British Museum, having been included in a +collection in mistake for one written by his celebrated namesake. There +is a certain similarity in the writing, but in the signature he writes +the Christian name as Jas, whilst Captain Cook usually wrote Jams. The +Mercury Cook was lieutenant of the Speedwell in 1773, and having had some +property left him in Jersey he received leave of absence in August. He +never rose above lieutenant, and disappears from the Navy List after July +1800. + +A manuscript log kept by James Cook whilst Master's mate of the Eagle is +now in the possession of Mr. Alexander Turnbull of Wellington, New +Zealand. + + +CHAPTER 3. 1757 TO 1759. H.M.S. PEMBROKE. + +Cook joined H.M.S. Solebay on the 30th July 1757 at Leith, where she was +then stationed, but the date of his warrant has not been ascertained, +although the Public Records and Trinity House have both been searched for +the purpose. His stay was not long, for after a cruise of a few days she +returned to Leith, and on 17th September Cook was superseded by John +Nichols; in fact, his time on board was so short that his signature is +not appended to any of the rolls. + +In April 1757 Mr. Bissett, who was Master of the Eagle when Cook was +Master's mate, and who therefore would have a better chance than any one +else to measure his subordinate's character and capabilities, was +appointed Master of H.M.S. Pembroke, a new ship, and superintended her +fitting for sea. On 26th October he found himself transferred to the +Stirling Castle, and it is only reasonable to suppose that, having formed +a high opinion of Cook's work, and knowing of his ambition to rise in the +service, he would give information of the opportunity and, as far as he +could, push forward his friend's interests. At any rate, the Muster Rolls +show that in less than six weeks from leaving the Solebay, Cook was +established on board the Pembroke as Master, under a warrant bearing date +18th October 1757, and entered upon his duties on 27th October, the +twenty-ninth anniversary of his birth; and from that date to his +discharge into the Northumberland he signed the usual documents. At the +time of his joining, the ship was fitting and victualling for sea at +Portsmouth, and on 8th November she sailed for the Bay of Biscay, under +the command of Captain Simcoe, returning to Plymouth on 9th February +1758. + +LOUISBERG. + +The British Government had decided on making a determined effort to wrest +the Colony of New France from the hands of the French, and one of the few +steps was to attempt the capture of the port of Louisburg, at the +entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence; a place which the enemy were said +to have rendered almost impregnable at an expenditure of some million and +a quarter pounds. They looked upon it as second only to Quebec in its +importance to the safe keeping of the colony. In order to carry out this +design a fleet was prepared under Admiral Boscawen (known to his men as +Old Dreadnought, and, from a peculiar carriage of the head, said to have +been contracted from a youthful habit of imitating one of his father's +old servants, Wry-necked-Dick), to convey a small army under +Major-General Amherst to the scene of action. Boscawen sailed with his +fleet, one member of which was the Pembroke, for Halifax, where they +arrived, via Madeira and the Bermudas, on 8th May. + +Having completed his arrangements, Boscawen left Halifax on 28th May with +17 sail of the Royal Navy and 127 transports, picking up 2 more +men-of-war and 8 transports just outside, and a couple more of the latter +a few hours later. He had to leave behind at Halifax, with orders to +rejoin him as soon as they were fit, several ships, the Pembroke being +one, as their crews were so weakened by scurvy during the voyage from +England. The Pembroke had lost 29 men, but was sufficiently recovered to +be able to sail with 3 transports, 2 schooners, and a cattle sloop on 7th +June, and arrived off Louisburg on the 12th, four days too late to take +part in the landing which had been successfully carried out in the face +of great difficulties caused by the roughness of the weather, the rocky +coast, and the opposition of the enemy. In fact, James Wolfe, who was a +Brigadier throughout the siege, and on whose shoulders a very large +portion of the work seems to have fallen, says: "Our landing was next to +miraculous." There were 3 officers and 49 men killed; 5 officers and 59 +men wounded of the army; 11 men killed, and 4 officers and 29 men wounded +of the navy; and 19 men wounded of the transport service. The weather was +so bad that no stores or artillery could be landed for several days, the +first gun being got ashore on the 16th, so Cook was in plenty of time to +take his share in the difficult task of landing supplies; a task so +dangerous that the fleet lost one hundred boats in this duty alone. As +well as forming the supply base for the army, the fleet also provided 583 +men to act as gunners and engineers ashore; but none of these were from +the Pembroke. The nature of the ground rendered the work of constructing +the approaches and batteries extremely difficult, and it was not till +20th June that the first gun opened fire. Wolfe formed a battery on +Lighthouse Point, one side of the entrance to the harbour whilst the town +was on the other side, with a fortified island in between; and the +harbour held a French fleet which, at the time of the arrival of the +British, consisted of nine men-of-war. One escaped on the very day of the +landing, and was shortly afterwards followed by two more. One L'Echo, was +captured by Sir Charles Hardy, and was taken into the British Navy; +whilst the other, though chased for some distance, made good its escape +to L'Orient with the first news of the siege. Previously to the coming of +the British, two ships had been sunk in the harbour's mouth to render +entrance therein difficult; two more were added to these, and then a +fifth. One ship was blown up by a British shell, and setting fire to two +others that lay alongside her, they also were destroyed. + +The fate of the other two is described in the Pembroke's log, kept by +Cook, as follows: + +"In the night 50 boats man'd and arm'd row'd into the harbour under the +command of the Captains La Foure [Laforey] of the Hunter, and Balfour [of +the Etna] in order to cut away the 2 men-of-warr and tow them into the +North-East Harbour one of which they did viz.: the Ben Fison +[Bienfaisant] of 64 guns, the Prudon [Prudent] 74 guns being aground was +set on fire. At 11 A.M. the firing ceased on both sides." + +The boats concerned in this attack, which Boscawen describes as "a very +brilliant affair, well carried out," were a barge and pinnace or cutter +from all the ships, except the Northumberland, which was too sickly, +commanded by a lieutenant, mate or midshipman, and Dr. Grahame in his +History of the United States of North America, says: + +"The renowned Captain Cook, then serving as a petty officer on board of a +British ship-of-war, co-operated in this exploit, and wrote an account of +it to a friend in England. That he had distinguished himself may be +inferred from his promotion to the rank of lieutenant in the Royal Navy, +which took place immediately after." + +This statement that he was in the affair may be true, but there is no +evidence on the point, and as he was a warrant and not petty officer, and +as his promotion did not take place for several years, Dr. Grahame's +story may well be doubted. It is believed that Cook did write to Mr. +Walker from Louisburg, but the letter was one of those so unfortunately +destroyed. + +The loss on this occasion to the British was very slight, there being +only 7 killed and 9 wounded. The Bienfaisant having been surveyed, was +received into the Navy and given to Captain Balfour whilst the command of +L'Echo was conferred on Captain Laforey. + +In consequence of this success and the threat of an immediate assault on +the town, the French commander, M. Drucour, decided to surrender on the +following day. This success was highly esteemed in England, and Admiral +Boscawen and General Amherst received the thanks of the Houses of +Parliament. + +WOLFE AND HARDY. + +After the siege Wolfe wrote to Lord George Sackville, speaking in warm +terms of Boscawen and his men, and says: + +"Sir Charles Hardy, too, in particular, and all the officers of the Navy +in general have given us their utmost assistance, and with the greatest +cheerfulness imaginable. I have often been in pain for Sir Charles's +squadron at an anchor off the harbour's mouth. They rid out some very +hard gales of wind rather than leave an opening for the French to escape, +but, notwithstanding the utmost diligence on his side, a frigate found +means to get out and is gone to Europe charge de fanfaronades. I had the +satisfaction of putting 2 or 3 hautvizier shells into her stern and to +shatter him a little with some of your Lordship's 24 pound shot, before +he retreated, and I much question whether he will hold out the voyage." + +The Pembroke formed one of this squadron under Sir Charles Hardy, and +after the capitulation of the town, was despatched with nine other ships, +and a small body of troops under Wolfe to harry the French settlements +around Gaspe Bay as a preparation for the attack on Quebec it was +intended to make in the following year. Several settlements and magazines +were destroyed, four guns and a pair of colours were captured, and then +the squadron returned to Halifax for the winter. + +Admiral Sir Charles Saunders was selected to command the fleet that was +to be employed in this new movement against the capital of New France; a +man of whom Horace Walpole wrote: + +"The Admiral was a pattern of the most sturdy bravery, united with the +most unaffected modesty. No man said less, or deserved more. Simplicity +in his manners, generosity, and good-nature adorned his genuine love of +his country." + +WITH DURELL'S SQUADRON. + +He left Spithead on 17th February 1759, with the intention of calling at +Louisburg, the appointed rendezvous for the expedition, on his way to +Halifax; but the season had been so severe that Louisburg, usually free +from ice, was found to be unapproachable, so he went on, arriving at +Halifax on 30th April. Admiral Durell had been sent out earlier from +England, and was now despatched from Halifax with a squadron, of which +the Pembroke was one, to prevent, if possible, the entry into the river +of the usual spring fleet from France with supplies and reinforcements +for Quebec, and to keep the French from putting up any fortifications on +the Ile aux Coudres, thereby adding to the difficulties of the fleet in +ascending this dangerous portion of river. The weather was bad, and the +trouble caused by fog and ice so great that Durell found the fleet of 18 +sail, convoyed by two frigates, had escaped him, but one or two small +store ships were captured which proved of service to the British +afterwards. On the way up the Gulf, Captain Simcoe of the Pembroke died, +and the ship was given temporarily to Lieutenant Collins of Durell's +ship, and afterwards to Captain Wheelock, who remained in her till after +Cook left. + +Durell's squadron arrived off the Ile aux Coudres on the 25th, and on the +28th the Pembroke landed the troops she had on board, "as did ye rest of +ye men of warr," and they took possession of the island, which was found +to be deserted by its inhabitants. The troops that were on board Durell's +ships were under the command of Colonel Carleton, the +Quartermaster-General of the force, and Wolfe's great friend, whose +services had only been obtained from the king with the greatest +difficulty. Whilst awaiting the arrival of Saunders with the remainder of +the expeditionary force, every endeavour was made to gain knowledge of +the difficulties of the river, and Cook's log notes how the boats were +out "sounding ye channel of ye Traverse"; and on the 11th June there is: +"Returned satisfied with being acquainted with ye Channel." The Traverse +here spoken of is that channel running from a high black-looking cape, +known as Cape Torment, across into the south channel, passing between the +east end of the Ile d'Orleans and Ile Madame. It is still looked upon as +one of the worst pieces of the river navigation. + +The British had some charts of the river showing the course taken by the +French vessels, for in a note to the orders issued by Saunders on 15th +May to the Masters of Transports, special attention is called to "a plan +or chart showing the route which His Excellency intends to make from +Louisburg Harbour to the Island of Bic"; and this chart was most probably +taken from one captured by Boscawen in 1755, and published in September +1759 by T. Kitchen in the London Magazine having the Traverse shown on a +larger scale. The soundings taken at the time Durell was waiting would be +to verify those shown on this chart. + +After a short delay in Halifax, Saunders left for Louisburg to gather up +the remainder of the forces and stores, and on his arrival still found +the port hampered by ice; in fact, Major Knox, of the 43rd Regiment, +relates that even so late as 1st June men were able to get ashore from +their ships, stepping from one piece of ice to another. There was also +further cause for dissatisfaction, delay in the arrival of the ships with +soldiers and stores. Some of the troops had been directed to other work +without any intimation to Wolfe, whilst others were in a very bad state +from scurvy and measles; some had lost their entire equipment, and it was +with the greatest difficulty replaced; the supply of money was criminally +small, and yet it is pleasant to read on the authority of Major Knox +that: + +"I had the inexpressible pleasure to observe at Louisburg that our whole +armament, naval and military, were in high spirits; and though, by all +accounts, we shall have a numerous army and a variety of difficulties to +cope with, yet, under such Admirals and Generals, among whom we have the +happiness to behold the most cordial unanimity, together with so +respectable a fleet and a body of well-appointed regular troops, we have +every reason to hope for the greatest success." + +ORDERS TO TRANSPORTS. + +Before leaving, Saunders issued his instructions as to the order of +sailing. He divided the transports into two divisions, the Starboard +flying a red flag, and the Larboard a white one: he assigned to each +vessel its position and duties, and pointed out to each Master of a hired +transport that if the orders of his officers were not promptly and +exactly carried out they would be fired on, adding with a touch of grim +humour that the cost of the powder and shot so expended would be +carefully noted and charged against the hire of the offending ship. On +the 6th June Saunders was off Newfoundland with 22 men-of-war and 119 +transports, and the cold winds blowing off the snow-covered hills of that +island were severely felt by the troops. On the 18th, when off the Island +of Bic, they were joined by Wolfe in the Richmond, and five days after +picked up Durell at the Ile aux Coudres. Here Saunders transferred his +flag to the Stirling Castle, which he had selected in England for the +purpose, owing to her handiness (Cook's friend, Mr. Bissett, was still on +board), and leaving Durell with eleven of the deepest draught to guard +against any interference from a French fleet, he proceeded up the river +with the remainder. The work was hard, constantly anchoring and weighing +to take every advantage of wind and tide, and the progress was slow; but +at length the whole of the ships passed the Traverse, and on the 26th the +fleet anchored off St. Laurent, on the Ile d'Orleans, and the troops were +landed on the following day. Thus the much-dreaded passage up the St. +Lawrence had been carried out, and the fact that no loss of any kind had +occurred to either man-of-war or transport, reflects the very greatest +credit on all engaged in the operation. Knox relates how the Master of +the transport he was on, a Brother of Trinity House and Thames pilot, +named Killick, refused the services of a French prisoner as pilot, and +observing, "Damme, I'll show them an Englishman can go where a Frenchman +dar'n't show his nose," took his ship up himself, chaffing the occupants +of the mark boats as he passed, and in the end declared that it was no +worse than the Thames. + +The wonderful success of their passage was emphasised the afternoon after +their arrival at St. Laurent when a heavy gale struck the fleet, driving +several ships into collision or ashore, and causing considerable loss in +anchors and cables. As soon as possible the men-of-war boats were out +rendering every assistance, and all the vessels were secured but two, +which were too firmly fixed to be towed off shore, and these were soon +afterwards burnt by the enemy. + +FIREWORKS. + +Thinking to profit by the disorder which must necessarily have been +caused by the storm, the French made a determined attempt to destroy the +fleet by means of eight fireships which were floated down stream on the +unsuspecting British. Fortunately they were ignited prematurely, and the +boats of the Pembroke and other ships were again out, employed in the +hazardous task of towing these undesired visitors into such places as +would permit them to burn themselves out without danger to the shipping. +Six were quickly got into safety, whilst the other two grounded and burnt +out without causing further inconvenience. Captain Knox describes the +scene as a display of "the grandest fireworks that can possibly be +conceived." The only result was to cause the retirement of a picket at +the western end of the Ile d'Orleans, and the officer in command, who +thought he was about to be attacked in force, was to have been tried by +court-martial, but being advised to throw himself on Wolfe's mercy, was +pardoned for his error of judgment. To guard against a repetition of such +an attack, a system of guard boats, some moored across the river and some +patrolling, was established, entailing considerable extra work on the +sailors. + +An examination of the position showed Admiral Saunders that the safety of +the fleet, and therefore the interests of the army, would be best +consulted if he proceeded into the Basin of Quebec, as to remain cooped +up in the south channel added to the danger if a further attempt should +be made to fire the fleet. He therefore pointed out to Wolfe that the +small battery established by the French on Point Levi, which threatened +any ship entering into the Basin, should be taken, and the Point +occupied. This was at once carried out by Monckton's brigade, and a +battery was established which did serious damage to the town. When too +late the French sent over three floating batteries to aid in repulsing +the English, but they were driven back by one broadside from a frigate +Saunders moved up for the purpose. + +Montcalm had entrenched his army on the north bank of the St. Lawrence, +between the rivers Charles and Montmorenci, and Wolfe determined to seize +on a piece of high ground to the east of the Montmorenci, to form a camp +there, and endeavour to force on a general action. In pursuance of this +design, a body of about 3000 men were landed successfully on 9th July, +under the protecting fire of some of the fleet, and a camp was formed, +and the next few days provided employment for the boats of the Pembroke +and other ships in landing men, stores, and artillery. The bombardment of +the town opened on 12th July from the batteries erected at Point Levi and +a portion of the fleet, and continued with little intermission till 13th +September. When fire was opened on the town other ships in the Basin and +guns at the camp at Montmorenci opened on Montcalm's lines at Beauport. +On the 18th two men-of-war, two armed sloops and two transports succeeded +in passing the town without loss, but a third ship, the Diana, ran +aground in trying to avoid collision with a transport, and was attacked +by the enemy's boats, but was brought off by the Pembroke and Richmond. +She was so seriously damaged that she had to be sent to Boston for +repairs and then returned to England. On the 20th Wolfe joined the +up-river squadron in a barge, and in passing the town had his mast +carried away by a shot from the Sillery Battery, but no further damage +was done. He made a short reconnaissance which led to nothing at the +time, but may have had an important influence in the choice of a +landing-place afterwards. + +ATTACK ON BEAUPORT. + +On his return to his camp at Montmorenci he decided to make an attack on +the left of the French lines from boats and from his camp over a ford +which was available at low tide between the falls of Montmorenci and the +St. Lawrence. This attack was to be supported by the Centurion, moored in +the north channel, and by two armed cats which were to be run aground as +near as possible to some small redoubts, the first object of the attack. +Here it is certain that Wolfe and Cook came into personal contact, for on +the latter fell the duty of taking the necessary soundings for the +position to be occupied by the cats, and Wolfe refers in a despatch to a +conversation he had with Cook upon the matter. The attack took place on +31st July, aided by the fire of the Pembroke, Trent, and Richmond, which +were "anchored clear over to the north shore before Beauport, a brisk +firing on both sides," but the boats were thrown into confusion by a reef +(marked on the chart as visible at low water), and were some time before +they could effect a landing, then a heavy storm of rain came on, +rendering the ground, which was steep, very slippery. The troops occupied +one redoubt, but were so dominated by the French musketry that they could +get no further, and Wolfe deemed it desirable to recall them and to stop +the advance across the ford. The two cats were burnt to prevent them +falling into the hands of the enemy, and the losses of the English in +killed, wounded, and missing were 443, those of the French being +estimated at 200. Cook says the repulse was solely owing to the heavy +fire from the entrenchments, "which soon obliged our Troops to retreat +back to the Boats and Montmorency"; whilst Wolfe, in a general order, +throws the blame on the Louisburg Grenadiers, a picked body of men from +several regiments, whom he considers got out of hand. He also, in a +despatch submitted to Saunders, threw some amount of blame on the Navy, +but to this the Admiral strongly objected, and it was withdrawn, Wolfe +saying: "I see clearly wherein I have been deficient; and think a little +more or less blame to a man that must necessarily be ruined, of little or +no consequence." + +It has been asserted that Cook led the boats to the attack, but as this +was done by Wolfe himself, according to his own letters, and as Saunders +was also out with them, both officers having narrow escapes, it seems +more probable that Cook would be on his own ship, where, as she was +engaged, his services would be wanted, for it was one of the Master's +most important duties to work her under the Captain's orders when in +action. + +A few days before this attack on Beauport was made, the French again paid +the fleet the undesired attention of a large fire raft composed of +several small vessels chained together and laden with all sorts of +combustibles--shells, guns loaded to the muzzle, tar barrels, etc., and +again this was grappled by the boats and towed away to a place of safety; +and then Wolfe, sending in a flag of truce the next morning, said that if +the performance were repeated he should cause the instrument of +destruction to be towed alongside two ships in which he had Canadian +prisoners, and there let it do its worst. This somewhat cold-blooded +threat was sufficient, and the experiment was not repeated. + +A NARROW ESCAPE. + +During the time the fleet was occupying the Basin, the Masters of the +ships were constantly out making observations and sounding, partly for +the necessities of the fleet and partly to throw dust in the eyes of the +French; and on one occasion Cook had a narrow escape from capture, his +men had to row for it to get away from the enemy, and reaching the Isle +of Orleans landed just in time, for as Cook, the last man, sprang ashore +from the bows an Indian boarded over the stern. The hospital picket +turned out, and the French retreated. His friend, Mr. Bissett, was not so +fortunate, being taken prisoner on 7th July whilst sounding in the north +channel; but he was either exchanged or escaped, for he was only absent +from his ship for a few days. + +Wolfe, who was almost always ailing, had an attack of fever, and the +worry of the repulse at Beauport rendered him incapable of duty for some +days; he therefore laid before his Brigadiers plans of future movements, +asking their opinions and advice. These plans were not approved, but it +was suggested that an attempt should be made to land on the western side +of the town and there bring the enemy to action, and Wolfe writes: "I +have acquiesced in their Proposal, and we are preparing to put it into +execution." + +The up-river detachment had been strengthened by the addition of a few +more vessels, and Murray with 1200 men had joined in an unsuccessful +attempt to get at the French supply fleet which had retreated to a place +of safety. He had outwitted De Bougainville, who was detached to watch +him, and succeeded in destroying a magazine containing clothing, powder, +and other stores, and intercepted letters which told of the surrender of +Niagara and the retirement of Bourlemaque upon the Ile aux Noix, to which +place Amherst was preparing to follow. + +When Wolfe's resolve was taken to follow the advice of his Brigadiers, +Saunders again strengthened the force above the town, placing the +squadron under the command of Admiral Holmes, and on 3rd September his +boats withdrew the artillery and troops from Montmorenci to Point Levi, +and on the night of the 4th all the available boats and small craft were +sent up, one of the last to pass being a small schooner armed with a few +swivels, and called by the sailors The Terror of France. She sailed by in +broad daylight, drawing the fire of every gun that could be brought to +bear on her, but was untouched, and, anchoring close alongside the +Admiral's ship, gave him a salute from the whole of her armament. + +The troops which had been quietly marched some distance up the south bank +from Point Levi were taken on board the ships, the last detachment on the +night of the 12th; and Admiral Holmes sailed up the river as if to beat +up the French communications, but when night fell he returned, and the +landing was successfully accomplished, and is described by Saunders in +his despatch as follows: + +"The night of their landing, Admiral Holmes with the ships and troops was +about three leagues above the intended landing-place. General Wolfe with +about half his troops set off in the boats, and dropped down with the +tide, and were by that means less liable to be discovered by the +sentinels posted all along the coast. The ships followed them about +three-quarters of an hour afterwards, and got to the landing-place just +at the time that had been concerted to cover the landing, and considering +the darkness of the night, and the rapidity of the current, this was a +very critical operation, and very properly and successfully conducted." + +In the meantime the ships in the Basin, some fifteen in number, +distracted the attention of the French by a heavy cannonade on the +Beauport lines, and the boats made a feint as if an attack were +contemplated; buoys had been laid in such a way as to lead to the idea +that the ships were going to moor as close in as possible as if to +support an assault, and every effort was made to draw attention away from +the movement up above. + +THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM. + +Lieutenant Norman, of the Pembroke, shortly describes the battle in his +log: + +"At 4 A.M. General Wolfe landed just below Cape Diamond with the whole +army. At 8 the signal of Boats man'd and arm'd to go to Point Levi, +weighed and dropped hier up. About 10 the enemy march'd up and attacked +General Wolfe, the action lasted not 10 minutes before the Enemy gave way +and run in the Greatest Confusion and left us a compleat Victuary. Our +Army encamped on the plain a back of the Town and made the necessary +disposition for carrying on ye siege. Admiral Holmes hoisted his flag on +board the Lowestaff, just off the Landing place. In this action fell +General Wolfe, of the enemy General Montcalm and his two seconds." + +Cook does not mention the death of Wolfe, but says "the troops continued +the pursuit to the very gates of the city, afterward they begun to form +the necessary dispositions for carrying on the siege." + +Cook is said by some writers to have piloted the troops to the +landing-place, and has even been set within hearing of the legendary +recitation by Wolfe of Gray's Elegy, but as he was out with the +Pembroke's boats in the Basin at the time Holmes started up the river, +and was probably on his ship, with his hands full driving the +bombardment, and the recital of the Elegy at such a time was probably a +myth, the traditions may be put down to imagination. The boats were +piloted to the landing by Captain Chads of H.M.S. Vesuvius. + +The town having surrendered five days after the battle, the movements +made by Saunders in the Basin no doubt aiding M. de Ramesay, the +Governor, in coming to a decision, General Murray was left with a +garrison, and the fleet sailed for England, sending a detachment of the +Northumberland and six others to Halifax with orders that Captain Lord +Colville was to hoist the Broad Pennant as Commander-in-Chief of the +North American Station, and as soon as the season opened he was to return +to the St. Lawrence to render support to any further movements made in +Canada. + +APPOINTMENT TO H.M.S. NORTHUMBERLAND. + +Before the fleet left, however, Cook's connection with H.M.S. Pembroke +came to an end. Captain King, who was with Cook on his last voyage, +writes to Dr. Douglas that he does not know the exact date of Cook's +appointment to the Northumberland, but he was certainly Master of that +ship in 1758. Here King is in error, for Lieutenant James Norman, of the +Pembroke, has the following entry in his log under date 23rd September +1759: "Mr. Cook, Master, superseded and sent on board the Northumberland, +per order of Admiral Saunders." It has been said that Lord Colville made +this appointment, but of course he could not do so, though he may perhaps +have applied for Cook's services, but it is far more probable that the +appointment was made by Saunders for the special purpose of having the +survey of the St. Lawrence thoroughly well carried out. + + +CHAPTER 4. 1759 TO 1762. H.M.S. NORTHUMBERLAND. + +On the way down the river from Quebec, the fleet appears to have found +the passage very difficult, the dangers of the Channel being aggravated +by the strength of the current and bad weather. The Captain, Vesuvius, +and Royal William were aground for some time, but were ultimately got off +again without much damage; and the Terrible, which was drifting and in +great danger, was only brought up by means of an anchor constructed for +the occasion by lashing one of the quarter-deck guns to two small +anchors. When her large anchors were hauled up they were found to be +broken; and so great was the loss of these articles that Lord Colville +was obliged to press the Admiralty for a fresh supply to be sent out +immediately, as he found it impossible to replace those lost in the +Traverse either at Boston or any other place in America. + +RELIEF OF QUEBEC. + +Colville's squadron arrived in Halifax on 27th October, Cook's +thirty-first birthday, and as soon as the winter was over, and the ships +were cleaned and fitted for sea as well as the limited appliances would +permit, it left for the St. Lawrence, sailing on 22nd April 1760, but was +"so retarded by frozen fogs, seas of compacted ice, and contrary winds," +that it did not arrive off the Ile de Bic before 16th May. Here they were +met by a sloop with the news that Quebec was in urgent need of help. +General Murray, hearing of the approach of General de Levis, with a +French force, had left the shelter of the forts, and notwithstanding he +was greatly outnumbered, had offered battle in the open. He had at first +chosen a strong position, but hearing from spies that the French were +busy cleaning their arms after being caught in a heavy storm the night +before, he advanced upon them, and owing to the sudden attack and the +superiority of his artillery, at first gained a considerable advantage, +but afterwards the weight of numbers told, and the British were forced to +retire to the town with sadly reduced numbers, and Quebec was again +besieged. On receipt of this news Colville pushed on with his squadron, +and the arrival of the Vanguard and Diamond on the 17th, followed by the +Northumberland and the remainder on the next day, caused the French to +retire. + +During the next four months the fleet passed an uneventful time in the +Canadian waters, the flagship being moored in the Basin, and then on the +12th September they received the acceptable news that Montreal and the +rest of the province of New France had surrendered to General Amherst, +and on 10th October the squadron again returned to Halifax to winter +quarters. + +On 19th January 1761, Lord Colville records in his Journal that he had +"directed the storekeeper to pay the Master of the Northumberland, fifty +pounds in consideration of his indefatigable industry in making himself +master of the pilotage of the River St. Lawrence." This is the first +official recognition that has been found of the fact that Cook had gone +beyond the ordinary duties incumbent on every Master in His Majesty's +Service, namely: "To observe all coasts, shoals, and rocks, taking +careful notes of the same." There is no record in any of the official +documents that Cook was specially engaged in surveying the river, but it +is very evident from this entry that he must have done the work during +the four months that his ship was moored in the Basin of Quebec. That is +to say, his promotion to the Northumberland was previous to, and not a +consequence of his survey of the river, and that it was on account of his +fitness for the work, and not because it had been done, as is constantly +asserted, that he had been selected. + +THE NORTH AMERICAN PILOT. + +Admiral Saunders had issued orders the previous year, that the general +instructions of the Admiralty as to taking observations, soundings, and +bearings were to be carefully carried out, and the information obtained +was, as opportunity offered, to be forwarded to him "so that all existing +charts may be corrected and improved." This information, in the ordinary +course, would be handed to Mr. Bissett, the Master of the flagship, for +comparison and compilation, and he, knowing Cook's fitness for the work, +may have asked for his assistance and thus introduced him to the notice +of Saunders, noted for his quick eye for merit, who, seeing his aptitude, +selected him for the completion of the task. Saunders, after his return +to England, wrote to the Secretary of the Admiralty, on 22nd April 1760, +saying that he had, ready for publication, a Draught of the River St. +Lawrence with its harbours, bays, and islands, and asked for their +Lordships' directions thereon. With their Lordships' approval it was +published, and may be found at the end of The North American Pilot, +London, 1775, together with other maps, some of which are Cook's work. At +the commencement of the book is a letter from Cook to the compiler of the +volume, congratulating him on the collection, and referring to the fact +that some of the charts contain his work, but he does not lay claim to +any special ones. On Saunders' chart there is a long note which +concludes: + +"The distances between Isle Coudre and Isle of Orleans, the Pillar Rocks +and Shoals in the south channel were accurately determined by triangles. +The other parts of this chart were taken from the best French Draughts of +this River." + +It is doubtful if this triangulation could have been carried out by Cook +during his passage up and then down the river, the only time he had in +1759, but if it were, it argues much greater knowledge of nautical +surveying than he is generally supposed to have had at the time. + +During the winters that the Northumberland stayed in Halifax Harbour, +Cook employed his spare time in improving his knowledge of all subjects +that were likely to be of service to him in his profession. He read +Euclid for the first time, and entered upon a study of higher +mathematics, especially devoting himself to astronomy. King in his sketch +of Cook's life, says, on the authority of the man himself, that these +studies were carried on "without any other assistance than what a few +books and his own industry afforded him." + +At the opening of the season, Lord Colville dispersed his squadron to +those stations where their services appeared most necessary, and remained +with his ship at Halifax, as it was considered inadvisable to leave such +an important naval post open to attack from the French or the Spaniards. +He had been advised by despatches, dated 26th December 1761, that war had +been declared with the latter nation. During this period of waiting the +words "nothing remarkable" are in constant use in Captain Adams's (the +second Captain of the Northumberland) Journal. Cook utilised this time to +make a thorough survey of Halifax Harbour, the notes of which are now in +the United Service Museum, Whitehall. + +At length the period of inaction was ended. Captain Charles Douglas, +H.M.S. Syren, who was cruising off Cape Race, received information that a +squadron of four French ships of the line, having some 1500 picked troops +on board, had made a descent on Newfoundland, and had captured St. +John's, the capital, which had been most shamefully neglected, and its +garrison reduced to 63 men. The Grammont, 22-gun sloop, was unfortunately +in harbour at the time, and was also taken. Douglas at once pressed two +English merchant vessels into the service, and putting a petty officer in +command of one, the William, and his Master in the other, the Bonetta, +despatched them to cruise in search of Captain Graves, the reappointed +Governor of Newfoundland, who was daily expected from England. The +Bonetta soon fell in with the Antelope, Graves's ship, and she +immediately joined Douglas, and then proceeded to strengthen the Isle of +Boys as far as time would allow. Then going to Placentia, a place of as +much importance as St. John's, and more capable of defence, they set +about making preparations to beat off any attack, leaving a garrison of +99 men and as many marines as could be spared. Graves then despatched +Douglas with the remainder of the Syren's marines to take possession of +Ferryland, and sent the ship herself off with letters to Lord Colville, +but the William having missed the Antelope, made her way to Halifax with +the news of what had occurred. + +RECAPTURE OF ST. JOHN'S. + +Colville at once sent word to General Amherst, Commander-in-Chief in +America, asking him to forward any troops he could spare, and started, +accompanied by the Gosport, and an armed colonial vessel, the King +George, 20 guns, to cruise off the Newfoundland coast in order to prevent +the arrival of French reinforcements or supplies. He met Graves at +Placentia on 14th August, and landed all the marines he could, and then +continued his cruise. Amherst collected every available man from New +York, Halifax, and Louisberg, and putting them under the command of his +brother, Colonel William Amherst, ordered him to use every despatch and +join Lord Colville without delay. This the Colonel succeeded in doing on +12th September off Cape Spear, and the next day they landed at Torbay, +some three leagues north of St. John's. They drove in the French outposts +and took possession of a small harbour named Quidi Vidi, which had been +blocked at the entrance by the French. Clearing away the obstructions +they landed their stores and some artillery, and advancing on St. John's, +compelled its surrender on the 17th. Notwithstanding that, as Captain +Graves reported, "the French had put St. John's in a better state of +defence than ever we had it in." + +On the 16th a strong gale blew the English ship some distance off the +coast, and was followed by a thick fog, during which the French squadron +managed to tow out of the harbour, but were in such a hurry to get away +that they did not stop to pick up their boats and immediately made sail, +being so far out of reach in the morning, that though some of them were +seen by the British, it was not realised that they could be the French +escaping from a squadron inferior in strength. Lord Colville, writing to +the Admiralty, says: + +"At six next morning it being calm with a great swell, we saw from the +masthead, but could not bring them down no lower than halfway to topmast +shrouds, four sail bearing South-South-East, distance 7 leagues. We lost +sight about seven, though very clear, and sometime after a small breeze +springing up from the South-West quarter, I stood towards Torbay in order +to cover the shallops that might be going from thence to Kitty Vitty. In +the afternoon I received a note from Colonel Amherst, acquainting me that +the French fleet got out last night. Thus after being blocked up in St. +John's Harbour for three weeks by a squadron of equal number, but smaller +ships with fewer guns and men, M. de Ternay made his escape in the night +by a shameful flight. I beg leave to observe that not a man in the +squadron imagined the four sail, when we saw them, were the enemy; and +the pilots were of opinion that they must have had the wind much stronger +than with us to overcome the easterly swell in the harbour's mouth. I +sent the King George as far as Trepassy, to bring me intelligence if the +enemy should steer towards Placentia; and I directed Captain Douglas of +the Syren to get the transports moved from Torbay, a very unsafe road, to +the Bay of Bulls." + +As soon as information was received in England that an expedition had +been sent from France, the Admiralty despatched a squadron under Captain +Pallisser in pursuit, and as it arrived in St. John's only four days +after M. de Ternay left, they must have been very close to a meeting. + +COOK MEETS COOK. + +Whilst the movements leading up to the recapture of St. John's were being +carried on, communication between Colville and Amherst was kept up by the +boats of the fleet under the charge of the third lieutenant of H.M.S. +Gosport, Mr. James Cook, formerly Master of H.M.S. Mercury, who performed +this duty to the complete satisfaction of Lord Colville as signified in +his despatches to the Admiralty. It is certain, therefore, that the two +namesakes must have come face to face here, and most probably previously +in Halifax Harbour. + +Entering St. John's Harbour on 19th September, the flagship remained till +7th October, during which time Cook was very busily employed in assisting +to place the island in a better state of defence. In a despatch of Lord +Colville's, dated "Spithead, 25th October 1762," he says: + +"I have mentioned in another letter, that the fortifications on the +Island of Carbonera were entirely destroyed by the enemy. Colonel Amherst +sent thither Mr. Desbarres, an engineer, who surveyed the island and drew +a plan for fortifying it with new works: when these are finished the +Enterprise's six guns will be ready to mount on them. But I believe +nothing will be undertaken this year, as the season is so far advanced, +and no kind of materials on the spot for building barracks or sheds for +covering the men, should any be sent there. Mr. Cook, Master of the +Northumberland, accompanied Mr. Desbarres. He has made a draught of +Harbour Grace and the Bay of Carbonera, both of which are in a great +measure commanded by the Island, which lies off a point of land between +them. Hitherto we have had a very imperfect knowledge of these places, +but Mr. Cook, who was particularly careful in sounding them, has +discovered that ships of any size may lie in safety both in Harbour Grace +and the Bay of Carbonera." + +Mr. Desbarres's design for the fortification of Carbonera, drawn by John +Chamberlain, dated 7th April 1763, is to be found in the British Museum; +he was afterwards Governor of Cape Breton. + +On the return of the Northumberland to Spithead, where she arrived on +24th October, her Master, James Cook, was discharged, the Muster Roll +merely noting "superseded" on 11th November, and the pay sheet records +the deductions from his wages as: "Chest, 2 pounds 1 shilling 0 pence; +Hospital, 1 pound 0 shillings 6 pence. Threepence in the pound, 3 pounds +14 shillings 9 pence," leaving a balance due of 291 pounds 19 shillings 3 +pence. He also received from Lord Colville for the Secretary to the +Admiralty the following letter which shows the estimation he was held in +by his immediate superiors, and would doubtless be of weight when the +appointment of a man to execute greater undertakings came under the +consideration of their Lordships. + +London, 30th December 1762. + +Sir, + +Mr. Cook, late Master of the Northumberland, acquaints me that he has +laid before their Lordships all his draughts and observations relating to +the River St. Lawrence, part of the coast of Nova Scotia, and of +Newfoundland. + +On this occasion I beg to inform their Lordships that from my experience +of Mr. Cook's genius and capacity, I think him well qualified for the +work he has performed and for greater undertakings of the same kind. +These draughts being made under my own eye, I can venture to say they may +be the means of directing many in the right way, but cannot mislead any. + +I am, sir, your most obedient and most humble servant, + +Colville. + +MARRIAGE. + +Before the close of the year Cook took upon himself further +responsibilities as set forth in the following extract from the register +of St. Margaret's Church, Barking, Essex: + +"James Cook of ye Parish of St. Paul, Shadwell, in ye County of +Middlesex, Bachelor, and Elizabeth Batts, of ye parish of Barking in ye +County of Essex, Spinster, were married in this Church by ye Archbishop +of Canterbury's Licence, this 21st day of December, one thousand seven +hundred and sixty-two, by George Downing, Vicar of Little Wakering, +Essex." + +Besant, who obtained his information from Mrs. Cook's second cousin, the +late Canon Bennett, who as a boy knew her well, speaks most highly of her +mental qualities and personal appearance, and says the union appears to +have been a very happy one. It covered a period of about sixteen years; +but taking into consideration the times he was away on duty, sometimes +for long periods, Cook's home life in reality only extended to a little +more than four years, and Mrs. Cook must often have been months, +sometimes years, without even hearing of the existence of her husband. +Her family were fairly well-to-do; her grandfather, Mr. Charles Smith, +was a currier in Bermondsey; her cousin, also Charles Smith, was a +clockmaker of repute in Bunhill Row. Her mother, Mary Smith, married +first John Batts of Wapping, and secondly, John Blackburn of Shadwell. +Miss Batts is described as of Barking in the Marriage Register, so may +perhaps have been living with relations there, and may have met Cook when +on a visit to her mother in Shadwell, where he was residing. The +engagement must have been very short, for from the time of his joining +the Navy in 1755 to his return from Newfoundland in 1762, his leave on +shore had been very limited, and, with the exception perhaps of a day or +two between leaving the Eagle and joining the Solebay, and again when +leaving the latter ship for the Pembroke, none of his time was spent in +London. There is a story that he was godfather to his wife, and at her +baptism vowed to marry her, but as at that time, 1741, Cook was assisting +his father on Airy Holme Farm, the tale is too absurd, but has for all +that been repeatedly published. + +After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cook lived for a time in Shadwell, and +then removed to Mile End Old Town, where Cook purchased a house, which +was their home till after his death. This house, which he left to his +wife, has been identified as Number 88 Mile End Road, and a tablet has +been placed on the front to mark the fact. + + +CHAPTER 5. 1763 TO 1767. NEWFOUNDLAND. + +The commission as Governor of Newfoundland, which now included Labrador +from Hudson's Straits to the St. John's River, the island of Anticosti, +the islands off the Labrador coast, and the Madelines in the Gulf of St. +Lawrence, had again been conferred on Captain (afterwards Admiral Lord) +Graves. He had early recognised the fact that it was necessary to have a +thorough survey of the coasts of his territory, and therefore made an +application to the Board of Trade to have the one commenced as far back +as 1714 by Captain Taverner, but only carried on in a desultory fashion, +put in hand and completed as quickly as possible. This application +resulted in a Representation from the Board to His Majesty, dated 29th +March 1763, to be found in the Shelbourne manuscripts, asking that an +allowance should be made for the purpose. + +Graves had seen during the previous year the work done by Cook at Harbour +Grace and Carbonera, and had evidently made up his mind that he had found +the man for his purpose, in which opinion he would be backed up by +Colville and further supported by the favourable knowledge that the +Admiralty had of his work. The Representation was immediately acted on, +for in the Records Office is a hurried note from Graves to Mr. Stephens, +Secretary to the Admiralty, probably written on the 5th April, in which +he asks: + +"what final answer he shall give to Mr. Cook, late Master of the +Northumberland, who is very willing to go out to survey the Harbours and +Coasts of Labradore." + +A draughtsman is also mentioned, and one is recommended who was on the +Bellona and was willing to go out, ranking as schoolmaster; he did join +Cook after a time. On 6th April Graves again wrote to Stephens, telling +him he had instructed Cook to get ready to start as soon as the Board +gave him orders, and that he was to have ten shillings per diem whilst +employed on that service. He also says that Cook had been to the Tower to +try to secure a draughtsman, and towards the end of the letter applies +for the instruments necessary to carry on the operations. Graves was +hurriedly called away to his ship, the Antelope, as the spirit of +discontent, then very rife in the Navy, was developing itself in a very +threatening manner during his absence. However, on his arrival on board, +by judicious reforms, which he saw were carried out, and by quietly +replacing some few of the most dangerous of the malcontents, he was very +shortly able to report himself ready for sea with a complete and fairly +contented crew. + +On 15th April he writes to Stephens asking if there was "any change of +resolution taken about Mr. Cook, the Master, and an assistant for him, +and whether they are to go out with me?" On the 18th he writes again, +saying that when in London he had been informed that he was to receive +orders to purchase two small vessels of about 60 tons each when he +arrived in Newfoundland, one of which he was "to send with Mr. Cook upon +the surveys of the coast and harbours," but he was afraid the orders had +been forgotten, and he again makes suggestions as to instruments, etc., +required for the work. Cook had at the same time made application in +proper form for the articles he would require, and was informed that some +would be supplied to him from the Government Stores, and for the +remainder, he was to purchase them and transmit the bills to their +Lordships. + +COOK'S SAILING ORDERS. + +On 19th April Cook received his orders as follows: + +Sir, + +My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, having directed Captain Graves, +of His Majesty's Ship, the Antelope, at Portsmouth, to receive you on +board and carry you to Newfoundland in order to your taking a Survey of +Part of the Coast and Harbours of that Island. I am commanded by their +Lordships to acquaint you therewith: that you must repair immediately on +board the said ship, she being under sailing orders, that you are to +follow such orders as you shall receive from Captain Graves relative to +the said service and that you will be allowed ten shillings a day during +the time you are employed therein. + +I am, etc. etc., PHILLIP STEPHENS. + +Mr. James Cook, ---- Town. + +Mr. William Test, Tower, to be paid 6 shillings per day. + +On 8th May Graves acknowledged the receipt of the orders he had asked +for, authorising him to purchase two small vessels, and announced that +Mr. Cook had joined the ship, but that the assistant, Mr. Test, had not +been heard of; he therefore proposed that he should endeavour to obtain +someone else to fill the vacancy. Mr. Stephens replied that a difficulty +had arisen with the Board of Ordnance with regard to Mr. Test's pay; they +were not inclined to continue it during his absence as they would have to +put some one else in his place, and since hearing this, as the Admiralty +had heard nothing further from Mr. Test, Captain Graves was authorised to +fill the vacancy at a suitable allowance, and he at once secured the +services of Mr. Edward Smart, who sailed from Plymouth in H.M.S. Spy, and +joined Cook in Newfoundland. + +In this letter Graves also says that he intends to start Cook on the +survey of St. Pierre and Miquelon as they had to be handed over to the +French under treaty, whilst he should make some stay upon the coast in +order to afford proper time for survey before they had to be surrendered. +The possession of these islands carried with it certain fishing and +curing rights conferred by the Treaty of Utrecht and confirmed by that of +Paris, and the possession of the islands and rights have been a continual +cause of irritation to the fishermen of both nations till lately, but now +the differences have been satisfactorily settled. It is said that the +Earl of Bute was the cause of the inclusion of the clause concerning +these islands in the Treaty, and that he received the sum of 300,000 +pounds for permitting it to stand. It was specially stipulated that the +islands were not to be fortified, and the number of the garrison was to +be strictly limited to a number sufficient for police duty alone; but +from the very commencement of the peace, it was one continual struggle to +evade the terms by one side, and to enforce them by the other, without +coming to an actual rupture. + +JUDICIOUS PROCRASTINATION. + +According to his expressed intention, Captain Graves, on arriving at St. +John's, despatched Captain Charles Douglas in the Tweed to superintend +the removal of the British settlers from the two islands, and Cook +accompanied him with orders to press on the survey as rapidly as possible +in order that it might be completed before the arrival of the French. +Unfortunately, M. d'Anjac, who was charged with the duty of receiving the +islands on behalf of the French king, arrived on the same day as the +Tweed, off the islands. Captain Douglas refused to permit the French to +land until the islands had been formally handed over by his superior +officer, and by a little judicious procrastination in communicating with +Captain Graves, and persistent energy on the part of Cook in conducting +the survey, sufficient time was gained to complete it. Graves writes to +the Admiralty on 20th October 1763: + +"Meanwhile the survey went on with all possible application on the part +of Mr. Cook. At length, Monsieur d'Anjac's patience being quite +exhausted, I received a letter from him on the 30th of June, of which I +enclose a copy together with my answer returned the same day. This +conveyance brought me a letter from Captain Douglas, expressing his +uneasiness on the part of Monsieur d'Anjac and pressing to receive his +final instructions, and at the same time gave me the satisfaction to +learn St. Peter's was completely surveyed, Miquelon begun upon and +advanced so as to expect it would be finished before the French could be +put in possession: so that any interruption from them was no longer to be +apprehended." + +In a paper amongst the Shelbourne manuscripts, said to be an extract from +a Journal of Cook's, there is a short description of these islands, and +it conveys the impression that the writer looked upon them as absolutely +worthless as either naval or military stations, but for all that Captain +Graves's successor, Pallisser, was kept continually on the alert to +defeat the efforts of the French to strengthen their position. + +THE KING'S SURVEYOR. + +After the official surrender of these islands, Cook was engaged in +surveying different places which the Admiralty had specially marked out, +and was borne on the books of either the Antelope or Tweed as might be +convenient. He is to be found on the latter ship, entered "for victuals +only," as "Mr. James Cook, Engineer, and Retinue." As the dates in the +two ships often run over each other it is somewhat difficult to place +him, but he was certainly in the neighbourhood of St. John's for some two +months, and on 5th November he was discharged from the Antelope into the +Tweed, together with Mr. Smart, for the passage to England, where he +remained till the spring of the following year. On 4th January the +Admiralty authorised the payment up to the end of the previous year of +the allowances of 10 shillings and 6 shillings per day, respectively, to +Mr. Cook and Mr. Smart. This allowance of 10 shillings per day was the +same as that made to the Commander of a Squadron, so, from a financial +point of view, Cook's position must be considered one of importance. It +was apparently superior to that of a Master surveying under the +directions of the Governor, for in a report that Captain Pallisser, when +Governor of Newfoundland, gives of an interview between the French +Ambassador and himself in London in 1767, on the subject of the +fisheries, he says he produced Cook's chart, and decided the question of +the rights of France to the use of Belle Isle for fishing purposes +against the Ambassador by its means, and he speaks of Cook officially as +the King's Surveyor. + +Pallisser was appointed to succeed Graves as Governor in 1764, and at +once set aside the schooner Grenville, which Graves had used as a +despatch boat for the sole use of the survey party. She had been manned +from the ships on the station, but Pallisser wrote to the Admiralty on +the subject, and the Navy Board were instructed to establish her with a +proper person to take command of her, and a complement of men sufficient +to navigate her to England when the surveying season was over, in order +that she might be refitted and sent out early in the spring, instead of +being laid up in St. John's and waiting for stores from England, "whereby +a great deal of time is lost." The establishment was to consist of ten +men, i.e. a Master, a Master's mate, one Master's servant, and seven men. +The Master and mate were to receive the pay of a sixth rate, and the +former was "to be charged with the provisions and stores which shall be +supplied to the schooner from time to time, and to pass regular accounts +for the same." On 2nd May Stephens wrote to Pallisser that Cook was +appointed Master of the Grenville, and as soon as the season was over he +was to be ordered to Portsmouth, and on arrival to transmit his Charts +and Draughts to the Admiralty. On receipt of this letter Pallisser wrote +to Cook, and this communication, together with autograph copies of +letters written by Cook having reference to the Grenville, a receipt for +her husband's pay, signed by Mrs. Cook, and some other papers of interest +relating to his voyages, are now in the hands of Mr. Alexander Turnbull, +of Wellington, New Zealand. + +It would appear that it was at this time that the friendship between +Pallisser and Cook really commenced, for previously there can have been +no opportunity for the former to have known anything of Cook's +personality. A Captain of a man-of-war saw nothing of a Master's mate, +and knew nothing of him except whether he did his duty or not, and that +only through the Master's report. In this particular case, as soon as his +attention was called to him by outside influence, Cook was withdrawn from +his knowledge, and when they again came in contact had already made his +mark. Had they been on the very friendly terms that Kippis suggests, it +is unlikely that he would have made so many incorrect statements as to +Cook's early career in the Navy. + +On 23rd April Cook received his orders, and was told at the same time +that as he had expressed a doubt about being able to get suitable men in +Portsmouth, he would be provided with conduct money and free carriage of +chests and bedding for those he could raise in London, and they should be +transferred to Portsmouth in the Trent. Mr. William Parker was appointed +Master's mate, and the whole crew left Portsmouth on 7th May in H.M.S. +Lark, arriving in St. John's on the 14th June. They took possession of +their ship on the same day, and the first entry in the Grenville's log +runs as follows: + +"June 14th, 1764, St. John's, Newfoundland. The first and middle parts +moderate and hazy Weather, the Later foggy. At 1 P.M. His Majesty's Ship +the Lark anchored here from England, on board of which came the Master +and the company of this Schooner. Went on board and took possession of +Her. Read over to the crew the Master's Warrant, Articles of War, and +Abstract of the late Act of Parliament." + +ACCIDENT TO HAND. + +After getting the guns and stores on board, and fitting the ship for her +new duties, they left St. John's on 4th July for the north. A base line +was laid out at Noddy's Harbour, and the latitude of Cape Norman was +found to be 51 degrees 39 minutes North; soundings were taken every mile. +On 3rd August Cook left the ship in the cutter to continue his work, but +having met with a nasty accident he had to return on the 6th. It seems he +had a large powder horn in his hand, when, by some means not stated, the +powder ignited, and the horn "was blown up and burst in his hand, which +shattered it in a terrible manner, and one of the people which was hard +by suffered greatly by the same accident." The Grenville left at once for +Noddy's Harbour, where there was a French ship which had a doctor on +board, arriving there at eleven o'clock, was able to secure some sort of +medical assistance, though probably in the eye of a modern medical man, +of a very rough nature. At that time surgery, especially on board ship, +was very heroic; a glass of spirits the only anodyne, and boiling pitch +the most reliable styptic. + +In reference to this accident the Lords of the Admiralty wrote to Lord +Halifax, quoting a letter they had received from Captain Pallisser, dated +14th November 1764: + +"Mr. Cook, the surveyor, has returned. The accident to him was not so bad +as it was represented. Nor had it interrupted his survey so much as he +(Captain Pallisser) expected. He continued on the coast as long as the +season would permit, and has executed his survey in a manner which, he +has no doubt, will be satisfactory to their Lordships. I have ordered him +to proceed to Woolwich to refit his vessel for the next season, and to +lay before the Board, Draughts of his surveys with all his remarks and +observations that may be useful to Trade and Navigation in those parts." + +Pallisser did not see Cook till some time after the accident, when the +worst was over, and it is quite in keeping with Cook's character to +minimise his sufferings, and to insist on the work being kept going as +far as possible. The surgeon, Mr. Samwell, relates that after the murder +at Owhyee they were enabled to identify his hand by the scar which he +describes as "dividing the thumb from the fingers the whole length of the +metacarpal bones." Whilst Cook was laid up with his hand, and Mr. Parker +was engaged with the survey, some of the men were employed brewing, and +either the brew was stronger than usual or, the officer's eye being off +them, they indulged too freely, for on 20th August it is noted that three +men were confined to the deck for drunkenness and mutinous conduct, and +the next day the ringleader was punished by being made to "run the +Gantelope." + +Early in September, being then in the Bay of St. Genevieve, Cook went +ashore for six days and ran roughly the course of several small rivers, +noting the chief landmarks, and then on their way back to St. John's, off +Point Ferrol, their small boat was dashed to pieces on a ledge of rock, +and its occupants were saved with great difficulty by the cutter which by +great good fortune happened to be near at the time. They returned to +England for the winter, and crossing the Banks, a series of soundings +were made and the nature of the bottom carefully noted. + +When Cook arrived at Woolwich, he pointed out to their Lordships that the +completion of his charts would entail his being absent from his ship, and +he would be unable to supervise everything that had to be done on board, +he therefore suggested that she should be sent to Deptford yard. This was +at once agreed to, and Cook was able to devote his whole time to his +charts. His own work had to be supplemented by the observations made by +six men-of-war stationed in Newfoundland waters as their commanding +officers had received special instructions to take ample soundings and +careful observations, and to make charts which were to be sent to Captain +Pallisser, who was informed that he would be held responsible if these +orders were not carried out in their entirety. It is very certain that an +order so emphatically enforced on his notice would not be permitted to +remain a dead letter. + +GRENVILLE'S RIG CHANGED. + +Whilst at Deptford, the rig of the Grenville was altered from schooner to +brig, as Cook thought that her sailing qualities would be improved by the +change, and she also received a thorough overhaul. In the previous year +her armament had been supplied from the flagship, and of course had to be +returned, so now she was established with "6 swivel guns, 12 Musquets, +and powder and shot" of her own, and her crew was augmented to twenty, +including a midshipman and a carpenter's mate, paid as on board a sixth +rate. Isaac Smith, Mrs. Cook's cousin, afterwards Admiral, who lived with +her at Clapham, was the midshipman. On 25th March 1765 the Grenville +again left for Newfoundland, arriving at St. Lawrence Harbour on 2nd June +to recommence her work. On 14th July, whilst "moored in a bay by Great +Garnish, we picked up two men who had been lost in the woods for near a +month. They came from Barin, intending to go to St. Lawrence Harbour, and +were almost perishing for want of subsistence." Going into Long Harbour, +23rd July, the Grenville ran on a rock and remained so fast that she had +to be unloaded before she could be floated off the next day, when she was +found to have suffered considerable damage to her forefoot. + +From the log of the Grenville it appears that the survey was not carried +out continuously, and this may be accounted for by the fact that the +Governor was being called upon to settle disputes with the French +fishermen, who were only too apt to place the broadest construction on +the treaty rights accorded to them. It is very possible that Cook, during +this year, rendered assistance to Captains Debbieg and Bassett, +engineers, who were engaged in surveying important points and harbours +with a view to fortification, and Pallisser had been instructed to give +them every help. There is no positive record that Cook did assist, but +his ship was several times engaged near where they were at work, and it +seems very reasonable to suppose that he worked with them, especially as +such work might be very important to both parties. + +Cook returned to Spithead on 30th November, and from thence to Deptford +for the winter, and in February obtained permission from the Admiralty to +publish the charts he had completed; Captain Pallisser, who made the +application, said he was of opinion that they "would be of great +encouragement to new adventurers on the fisheries upon those coasts." + +ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. + +He again left Deptford on 20th April 1766, and arrived at Bon Bon Bay, +1st June, to survey the south-west and south coasts. At the Burgeo +Islands, near Cape Ray, which were reached on 24th July, Cook was able to +take an observation of an eclipse of the sun occurring on 5th August. On +his return to England at the end of the year, he handed the results of +his observations to Dr. Bevis, a prominent Fellow of the Royal Society, +who communicated them to that body on 30th April 1767, and the account is +to be found in the Philosophical Transactions of that year. Dr. Bevis +describes Cook as "a good mathematician, and very expert at his +business," and says he was supplied with very good instruments; that +there were three observers "with good telescopes, who all agreed as to +the moment of beginning and ending"; that he had shown Cook's results to +Mr. George Mitchell, who had calculated therefrom the difference of +longitude between the Burgeo Islands and Oxford, where another good +observation had been taken. + +Cook makes no reference to the eclipse in the log of the Grenville, but +it appears that he was peculiarly lucky in the weather, for the five days +preceding are described as "foggy," and the four or five succeeding are +"raining with squalls." This observation was a most fortunate one for +Cook, as it brought him to the favourable notice of the Royal Society, a +body of eminent men, outside his own profession, which was able, soon +after, to advance his interests, and in course of time to admit him into +its own ranks as an ornament of which it is still proud. + +On 4th November the Grenville left St. John's for winter quarters at +Deptford, and the log ends on 24th November, "Dungeness light North-East +by East 2 miles." Mr. Parker, his assistant, was promoted to a +lieutenancy, and Mr. Michael Lane, who was mentioned for the post by +Captain Graves in 1763, and who was now schoolmaster on the Guernsey, was +appointed in his place. + +On 5th April 1767 the Grenville had completed her refit, warped out of +dock, and was at anchor waiting for the tide to turn in order to drop +down to Woolwich, when the Three Sisters, a Sunderland collier, Thomas +Boyd, Master, "fell athwart her hawse and carried away her bowsprit, cap, +and jibboom," which had to be replaced. The story is that this accident +happened to the Endeavour, and that Mr. Cook, who was naturally very +indignant, sent for the offending Master of the collier to give him a +sound rating for running foul of one of His Majesty's ships; but when he +found himself face to face with an old schoolfellow of the Ayton days, he +took him down into his cabin, treated him to the best he had on board, +and spent a good time with him talking over the old days when they were +boys together. From Cook's character the story may well be true, +excepting it has been applied to the wrong ship. + +When the repairs were executed the Grenville sailed for Newfoundland, +arriving off Cape Race on 9th May, and Cook at once set to work on the +survey of the west coast. He landed in September at the mouth of the +Humber, and made a rapid examination of that river, discovering several +lakes, and getting a good general idea of that part of the island. He +returned to St. John's for the last time on 14th October, having +practically completed the survey of the general run of the coast, and +added very considerably to the knowledge of some of the interior parts of +the island. In 1762 a map was published, compiled from the very latest +information, and on it is the note: "The inland parts of this island are +entirely unknown." Cook is said to have discovered valuable seams of +coal, but there is no note of anything of the kind amongst his records. + +THE GRENVILLE ASHORE. + +He sailed for England on 23rd October, and anchored off the Nore in very +heavy weather on 11th November. It was soon found that the anchors would +not hold, and at length one parted and the ship "trailed into shallow +water, striking hard." After a while she again struck heavily, and "lay +down on her larboard bilge." As there seemed no prospect of the gale +moderating, everything was made as snug as time would allow, and, putting +his crew into the boats, Cook made for Sheerness. The weather at length +improved, so obtaining assistance he returned and found that fortunately +his ship had sustained very little damage, and the next day he +successfully floated her, and got her up to Deptford yards on the +following Sunday, and then Cook was able to set to work on his charts. On +3rd February, Pallisser wrote to Mr. Stephens asking him to obtain +permission from the Lords to publish, and at once obtained the necessary +authority. + +Some of these charts had been published in 1766, and now the complete +series appeared with sailing directions for the south and east coasts of +the islands. Admiral Sir W.J.L. Wharton, the late hydrographer to the +Admiralty, says: + +"The Charts he made during these years in the schooner Grenville were +admirable. The best proof of their excellence is that they are not yet +wholly superseded by the more detailed surveys of modern times. Like all +first surveys of a practically unknown shore, and especially when that +shore abounds in rocks and shoals, and is much indented with bays and +creeks, they are imperfect in the sense of having many omissions; but +when the amount of the ground covered, and the impediments of fogs and +bad weather on that coast is considered, and that Cook had at the most +only one assistant, their accuracy is truly astonishing." + +On the publication of his charts, Cook's connection with Newfoundland was +concluded, and on 12th April 1768 Mr. Lane was "appointed to act as +Master of the brig Grenville, and surveyor of the coasts of Newfoundland +and Labrador in the absence of Mr. Cook, who is to be employed +elsewhere." Mr. Lane was to be paid an allowance of five shillings per +day over and above his pay as Master of a sixth rate. Cook and he were +paid their allowances up to 31st December 1767, and on 17th June the Navy +Board were ordered to complete Cook's allowance up to 12th April. From +the wording of Mr. Lane's appointment it would appear that the surveyor's +position was to be left open for Cook if it was thought desirable for him +to resume it. + + +CHAPTER 6. 1768. PREPARATIONS FOR FIRST VOYAGE. + +Till a few years ago writers on the subject were content to draw their +information as to the first voyage of Cook to the South Seas from the +so-called history of Dr. Hawkesworth. This gentleman, who posed as a +stylist (Boswell calls him a "studious imitator of Dr. Johnson"), was +introduced by Dr. Charles Burney to Lord Sandwich for the express purpose +of writing an account of the expedition, and was supplied with all the +records in the possession of the Admiralty relating to it, he had access +to the Journal of Sir Joseph Banks, the Notes of Dr. Solander and others +who accompanied Cook, and, more than all, he had the opportunity of +personal communication with the leaders of the party. Notwithstanding +these advantages he interpolated so much of his own speculations, +conclusions, and dissertations, as to render his voluminous work not only +extremely unreliable but often extremely ridiculous. Travellers to the +South Seas record that the accounts of things and places described as +seen by Cook are remarkably correct, but that the inferences drawn are +wrong. They do not realise that the statements of fact are Cook's, whilst +the deductions and ornamentations are Hawkesworth's, and were strongly +resented by Cook. Boswell relates that he told Johnson that he had met +Captain Cook at dinner at Sir John Pringle's (then President of the Royal +Society), and gave him an account of a conversation they had together. +Johnson: + +"was much pleased with the conscientious accuracy of that celebrated +circumnavigator, who set me right as to many of the exaggerated accounts +given by Dr. Hawkesworth of his voyages." + +Cook's opinion on the subject may be seen from his determination to +prepare his Journals for the press himself in the future. + +Within the last few years the Journal of the Endeavour has been published +under the able supervision of the late Admiral Sir W.J.L. Wharton, and +the Journal of Sir Joseph Banks, which was missing for a long time, has +been recovered and published by Sir Joseph Hooker; and these two books +may be preferred with safety over all others that have been written on +the subject. + +MEMORIAL TO THE KING. + +It had been calculated that a Transit of Venus would occur in 1769, +observations of which would be of great importance to astronomical +science, and several of the European nations, notably Russia, were +intending to establish points of observation. The Royal Society decided +that as England had hitherto taken a lead in astronomy, she should not +now fall behind, and appointed a committee to report on the places where +it would be desirable to take observations, the methods to be pursued, +and the persons best fitted to carry out the work. This committee advised +that two observers should be sent to Hudson's Bay, two to the South +Pacific and, if Sweden did not send there, two to the North Cape. They +also advised that the Government should be asked to supply a ship to +convey the party to some island to be decided on in the South Seas, and +several gentlemen were suggested as observers, Mr. Maskelyne, President +of the Society, especially recommending Mr. Dalrymple as "a proper person +to send to the South Seas, having a particular turn for discoveries, and +being an able navigator and well skilled in observation." Mr. Maskelyne +estimated the voyage would take about two years, and that a sum of ten +shillings and six pence per day would be a reasonable allowance for +expenses, together with a gratuity the amount of which was to be settled +hereafter. A Memorial on the subject was prepared and forwarded to the +King, setting forth that as a Transit of Venus over the Sun's disc was +expected to occur, and that other nations were intending to take +observations thereof in the interests of navigation, it would be +desirable that as the British Nation had been justly celebrated for its +knowledge of Astronomy, and an Englishman, Mr. Jeremiah Horrox, had been +the first person who calculated the passage of the planet over the sun, +in 1639, the Government should support the Royal Society in its attempt +to take a proper position in the matter, by a grant of money and a ship +to take a party to the South Seas. Four thousand pounds was the sum +named, and on 24th March the President was able to inform the Council +that the King had been pleased to order that it should be placed in his +hands, "clear of fees," for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the +expedition. In the end, after paying all accounts, there was a +considerable balance left, which the King placed at the disposal of the +Society, and a portion of it was expended on the bust of His Majesty, by +Nollekins, now in its possession. + +The gentlemen whose names had been suggested as observers were asked to +appear before the Council if they were willing to accept the position, +and Mr. Dalrymple wrote in reply to say there was only one part of the +world where he would go to take observations, that was the South Seas, +and he would only go if he had "the management of the ship intended for +the service." Mr. Maskelyne told the Council he had recommended Mr. +Dalrymple to the Admiralty for the command of the ship, the use of which +had been granted, but had been informed that such an appointment would be +"entirely repugnant to the regulations of the Navy." It is said that Sir +Edward Hawke, having in his mind the disastrous result of giving Halley +the command of a King's ship in 1698, when a serious mutiny occurred, +positively refused to sign such a commission, saying that he would +"rather cut off his right hand than permit any one but a King's officer +to command one of the ships of His Majesty's Navy." + +Dalrymple, originally a clerk in the East India Company's service, had +spent some years trading amongst the islands of the Malay Archipelago and +China, returned to England and published a couple of pamphlets on the +East Indies, and in 1767 a book on the discoveries in the South Pacific +Ocean, which brought him to the notice of the Royal Society. He was +afterwards for a time hydrographer to the East India Company, and was +then appointed the first hydrographer to the Admiralty. He was dismissed +from this position for exceeding his powers, and soon afterwards died. He +appears to have been a clever man, but of an extremely overbearing +disposition and a very high opinion of himself. In writing to Dr. +Hawkesworth on one occasion, he said: "I never write on any subject I do +not thoroughly understand." What makes the remark more interesting is +that he was quite in the wrong on the subject under discussion. He +appears never to have forgiven Cook for having been successful in +obtaining the command of the expedition to observe the Transit of Venus, +and for completely upsetting his pet theory of a large continent in the +Southern Ocean. + +PURCHASE OF THE ENDEAVOUR. + +The Navy Board, having been ordered by the Admiralty to propose a proper +vessel to convey the observers to the South Seas, first suggested the +Tryal Sloop, and then the Rose, but both being found unsuitable they were +ordered to purchase one. On 29th March the Board wrote to Stephens that +they had bought: + +"a cat-built Bark, in Burthen 368 Tuns and of the age of three years and +nine months, for conveying such persons as shall be thought proper to the +Southward..." + +At the same time, instructions were sought as to fitting and arming her +for the service, and as to the name under with she was to be registered +on the list of the Navy. A cat-built ship is described in the +Encyclopaedias as one with round bluff bows, a wide deep waist, and +tapering towards the stern. The name is derived from the Norwegian kati, +a ship. + +The cat-built bark, the now immortal Endeavour, was built by Messrs. +Fishburn of Whitby, and owned by Mr. William Milner of that port. Dr. +Young says that her original name was the Earl of Pembroke, but Sir Evan +Macgregor wrote to Mr. Waddington in 1888 that she was purchased "under +the name of the Endeavour, and was entered as a barque." The Warrant +Entry Book from Board of Trade proves that Dr. Young was right, as the +following entries will show: + +"Deptford, March 23rd 1768. Two cats called the Valentine and the Earl of +Pembroke to be surveyed and report which is the properest to be +purchased." + +"Deptford, March 28th 1768. Ship Earl of Pembroke to be received." + +"Deptford, April 7th 1768. Ship purchased to be sheathed, filled, and +fitted for a voyage to the southward. To be called The Endeavour Bark." + +From the Records of the Survey Office, List of H.M. Navy, 1771 to 1776, +it has been ascertained that her price was 2,800 pounds, and the cost of +fitting her for the voyage was 2,294 pounds. The reason she was named +officially either the Bark Endeavour or Endeavour Bark, was that there +was another Endeavour in the Navy, stationed at that time at the Nore. +Kippis says that Pallisser was entrusted with the selection of the ship, +and that he called on Cook for assistance in the matter, and the fact +that a Whitby-built ship was chosen, of a kind in which Cook had had +considerable experience, adds to the probability of his statement. +Dalrymple enters a claim, in letters to Dr. Hawkesworth, to having chosen +the Endeavour for the voyage, but as she was not ordered to be surveyed, +with a view to purchase, till 23rd March, when it was well-known the +Admiralty had refused to allow him the command of the expedition, there +is little force in his claim. + +COPPER SHEATHING. + +Admiral Wharton assumes that as Cook expresses himself averse from having +exploring ships sheathed in copper, owing to the difficulty of making +repairs in case of accident far from proper facilities, and from the +frequent mention of "heeling and boot-topping" in the Journal of the +Endeavour, it is most probable that she was sheathed in wood. This +assumption is correct, for there is no mention of copper sheathing in the +Surveyor's books, nor at the time of her being repaired at the Endeavour +River, nor at Batavia, when it is impossible that any account of her +damaged bottom could be given without the mention of copper if any such +sheathing had been used. The Naval Chronicle says the first ship of the +Royal Navy to be sheathed with copper was the Alarm frigate in 1758; and +it is also said that the Dolphin, the ship in which Captain Wallis sailed +round the world, was the only coppered ship in the service at this time, +and she remained the only one for some years. + +On 5th May, at a Council Meeting of the Royal Society, Captain John +Campbell, R.N., proposed that Cook, who was in attendance, and had been +appointed by the Admiralty to the command of the Endeavour, was a fit and +proper person to be one of the observers for the Society in the Southern +Seas. Cook was called in, and accepted the position in consideration of +such a gratuity as the Society should think proper, and an allowance of +120 pounds per year "for victualling himself and another observer in +every particular." Mr. Green was also called in, and accepted the place +as the other observer for the gratuity of 200 guineas for the two years +the voyage was expected to take, and at the rate of 100 guineas a year +afterwards. A list of the instruments to be supplied by the Society was +also prepared at the same meeting, and the workmen engaged on them were +ordered to show them to Messrs. Green and Cook, and give any desired +information. A portable observatory, said to have been designed by +Smeaton, the builder of the Eddystone Lighthouse, framed of wood and +covered with canvas, was also prepared. Mr. Maskelyne, knowing the value +of a good watch when observing for longitude, lent the Society one of his +own, made by Graham, to be entrusted to Mr. Green, and it was signed for +with the other instruments supplied. Chronometers, of course, at that +time were in process of evolution, several makers were endeavouring to +gain the prize which had been offered for a reliable timekeeper. Shortly +after, at a second meeting, Cook agreed to accept a gratuity from the +Society of 100 guineas for taking the observations, and was paid 120 +pounds sustenance money for Mr. Green and himself, with authority to draw +on the Society during the voyage for a further amount not exceeding 120 +pounds. + +In the Commissions and Warrants Book, under date 26th May 1768, appears +the following entry: + +MR. JAMES COOK (2nd) 1st Lieutenant Endeavour Bark. E.H., C.T., C.S. + +The initials signify Edward Hawke, Charles Townshend, and Lord Charles +Spencer. The "(2nd)" evidently refers to the fact that there was already +one James Cook, a lieutenant in the Navy, namely, the former Master of +the Mercury, and Third Lieutenant of the Gosport. + +PENDANT HOISTED. + +Having received his orders Cook proceeded to Deptford and hoisted his +pendant on H.M.S. Endeavour on 27th May, and at once started to prepare +for sea. A considerable quantity of coal was taken on board to use for +drying the ship, as it occupied so much less room than wood. + +Captain Wallis returned from his voyage round the world about this time, +and in consequence of his report, the Island of Georgeland, afterwards +called by Cook Otaheite and now Tahiti, was fixed upon by the Royal +Society as the most desirable place for the observations, and the +Admiralty were requested to issue the proper orders, notifying at the +same time that Mr. Charles Green and Lieutenant James Cook had been +appointed observers. They also in the same letter write that: + +"Joseph Banks, Esquire, Fellow of this Society, a Gentleman of large +fortune, who is well versed in Natural History, being desirous of +undertaking the same voyage, the council very earnestly request their +Lordships that in regard to Mr. Banks' great personal merit and for the +advancement of useful knowledge, he also, together with his suite, being +seven persons more (that is eight persons in all) together with their +baggage, be received on board of the ship under command of Captain Cook." + +They also requested that the expedition might be landed a month or six +weeks before the 3rd June in order that the instruments might be got into +proper working order, and for fear the ship might not be able to reach +Georgeland, a table of the limits within which the observations might be +taken, was enclosed. Full instructions were also given to the two +observers, and a list of the fixed stars to be observed was drawn up by +Mr. Maskelyne. + +The order to receive Mr. Green and Mr. Banks and party was issued on 22nd +July, "for victuals only"--i.e., they were to be supplied with the same +as the rest of the ship's company whilst on board. The members of Banks's +party were: Dr. Solander, naturalist; H. Sporing, assistant naturalist; +A. Buchan, S. Parkinson, and Jno. Reynolds, artists; James Roberts and +Peter Briscoe, white servants; Thomas Richmond and J. Dorlton, coloured +servants. + +It was owing to the personal friendship between them that Banks was +permitted by Lord Sandwich, the First Lord of the Admiralty, to accompany +Cook. He had taken up the study of Botany when at Eton, and at an early +age had been elected F.R.S. He seems quickly to have formed a just +estimate of Cook's worth; indeed, Sir John Barrow says he took a liking +to him at the first interview, and a firm friendship sprang up between +them which endured to the end. Many instances are to be found of his +interest in and his support to Cook after their return home; and this +friendship speaks volumes for Cook, for, though Banks was a most kindly +natured man, he had at times a very overbearing manner. + +Sir Joseph Hooker, in his introduction, quotes a most interesting letter +from Mr. John Ellis, F.R.S., to Linnaeus, the great botanist, in which he +says that Mr. Banks, a gentleman of 6000 pounds a year, has persuaded Dr. +Solander to go out with him to the South Seas to collect "all the natural +curiosities of the place," and after the observations are taken, they are +"to proceed on further discoveries." He goes on to mention the library of +Natural History and splendid outfit Banks is taking, and says, "in short, +Solander assured me this expedition would cost Mr. Banks 10,000 pounds." + +The Endeavour left Deptford on 21st July, and, calling at Galleons Reach, +took in her guns and gunners' stores. Her armament was originally to have +been six carriage guns, four pounders, and eight swivels, but they were +increased to ten carriage guns and eight swivels, and at Plymouth four +more swivels were added for use in the boats. The complement of men was +also increased to 85, including 12 marines who were to join at Plymouth, +and a third Lieutenant had been appointed in July. + +She had dropped down the river and anchored in the Downs on 3rd August, +Cook joining her on the 7th and, discharging his pilot, sailed the next +day. He had a very tedious passage down the Channel, and did not arrive a +Plymouth till the 14th, when he immediately sent word to Messrs. Banks +and Solander, who were still in London, that he was ready for sea, and +was only waiting for a fair wind to sail. They therefore started at once, +their baggage being already on board, and joined Cook on 20th August. + +CREW WELL SATISFIED. + +Having received his extra guns, marines, twelve barrels of powder, and +other stores, Cook mustered his men, paid them two months advance, and +explained to them that they were not to expect any additional pay for the +intended voyage. He says, "they were well satisfied, and expressed great +cheerfulness and readiness to prosecute the voyage." + +The orders under which he sailed were secret, and, unfortunately, are not +to be found. Admiral Wharton says the covering letter is in existence, +but the orders which should be on the next page are missing. Cook writes: + +"I was ordered, therefore, to proceed directly to Otaheite; and, after +the astronomical observations should be completed, to prosecute the +design of making discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean by proceeding to +the South as far as the latitude of 40 degrees: then, if I found no land, +to proceed to the west between 40 and 35 degrees till I fell in with New +Zealand, which I was to explore, and thence return to England by such +route as I should think proper." + +His last letter to the Admiralty, before leaving England, was written on +the day of his arrival at Plymouth, informing them of that fact, and +announcing his intention of proceeding to sea with all possible despatch. + + +CHAPTER 7. 1768 TO 1769. PLYMOUTH TO OTAHEITE. + +After waiting for some days for a fair wind, Cook eventually sailed at 2 +P.M. on 26th August, having, as he says in his Journal, "94 persons, +including officers, seamen, Gentlemen and their servants; near 18 months' +provisions, 10 carriage guns, 12 swivels, with good store of ammunition, +and stores of all kinds" on board. On 1st September they had heavy gales +lasting for about four-and-twenty hours, and a small boat belonging to +the boatswain was washed away, and "between three and four dozen of our +poultry, which was worst of all," were drowned. The ship was found to be +very leaky in her upper works, and the sails in the store got very wet. +Banks notes that they caught two birds in the rigging that had evidently +been blown off the coast of Spain. On 13th September they anchored in +Funchal Roads, and during the night "the Bend of the Hawser of the stream +anchor slip'd owing to the carelessness of the person who made it fast." +The anchor was hauled up into a boat in the morning, and carried further +out, but, unfortunately, in heaving it into the water, a Master's mate, +named Weir, got entangled in the buoy rope, was carried overboard, and +drowned before any assistance could be rendered. + +Whilst shifting her berth to a more convenient spot, the Endeavour was +fired on by one of the forts owing to some misunderstanding, but +satisfactory apologies and explanations were made, and it was thought so +little of that neither Cook nor Banks mention it in their Journals. This +incident is probably the origin of the story told by Forster in his +Journal of the Second Voyage. He says: + +"Captain Cook in the Endeavour battered the Loo Fort at Madeira in +conjunction with an English Frigate, thus resenting an affront which had +been offered to the British flag." + +When the Endeavour arrived at Funchal, the only British man-of-war there +was H.M.S. Rose, which sailed the following day with her convoy, and +neither her Captain's Journal nor his ship's log make any reference +whatever to a dispute with the Portuguese. No other British man-of-war +came into the port whilst the Endeavour was there, and afterwards, at +Rio, Cook expressly informed the Viceroy that he had been well received +by the Portuguese at Madeira. + +Fresh water, meat, vegetables, and wine were taken on board; wine, fruit, +and water being good and cheap, but the meat and poultry, obtained as a +favour, were dear. Two men, a marine and a sailor, received twelve lashes +for refusing to eat their allowance of fresh meat. This appears to be +harsh treatment, but it must be remembered that the lash was at that time +almost the only recognised method of punishment in the Navy, however +trivial the offence might be; and Cook knew from experience how important +it was to prevent the scurvy from getting foothold on board, and he +already had determined to fight, by every means in his power, this dread +scourge, almost his most dangerous foe. He did conquer it even on this +first voyage, and, considering his means, in a most marvellous manner. He +would have claimed the victory had it not been for an untoward event, +which will be told hereafter, leading him to postpone his claim till he +could give further proof. It is important to notice how on every possible +occasion he obtained, wherever he could, some change of diet and fresh +water. + +EDEN BEFORE THE FALL. + +Whilst they were at Funchal, Banks spent five days with the English +Consul, and he describes the place as very pretty, but the people as +primitive, idle, and uninformed; all their instruments of the rudest +make; and he thought that the appliances used in the manufacture of wine +must have been similar to those used by Noah, "although it is not +impossible that he might have used better if he remembered the methods he +had seen before the flood." One of the Governors left it on record that, +so averse from change were the people, he thought it most fortunate the +island was not Eden before the fall, as in that case the inhabitants +could never have been induced to wear clothes. He explored as much of the +island as he could, but says he could never get more than three miles +away from the town as his time was so much broken up. The Governor +visited them on one of the days he says was so wasted, but relates, with +evident glee, how he took his revenge. There was an electrical machine on +board, and His Excellency was most curious on the subject; it was sent +for and explained to him, and Banks goes on, "they gave him as many +shocks as he cared for; perhaps more." A visit was paid to a convent, +where the nuns, hearing they were distinguished scientists, plied them +with all sorts of questions, and for the half-hour the visit lasted their +tongues were going "all the time at an uncommonly nimble rate." At a +monastery they visited they were well received, and the monks, regretting +they were then unprepared, invited them to come the next day and, though +it would be Friday, they would have roast turkey for dinner. + +On 19th September, at midnight, they weighed, sighted Teneriffe on the +23rd, and the day following their first flying fish found its way into +Mr. Green's cabin. On the 28th they tried steaks for dinner cut from a +young shark, which Banks and Solander reported as very good, but the crew +refused to taste them. Cape de Verde was seen on the 30th, and about a +fortnight afterwards the line was crossed in 29 degrees 24 minutes West +longitude, and the following day the event was celebrated. Lieutenant +Hicks had crossed before, so a list was given to him of all on board, +including the dogs and cats, and all were mustered on deck, those who had +already crossed being separated from the others. Any one who wished could +purchase immunity for four days' allowance of wine, but the others had to +pay the penalty of ducking. Banks compounded for himself and party, and +Cook also seems to have got off, but the others were hauled up to the end +of the main-yard on a boatswain's chair, and then at the sound of the +whistle dropped into the sea, an operation repeated three times. Cook +says the "ceremony was performed to about twenty or thirty, to the no +small diversion of the rest." + +Whilst near the Equator, great inconvenience was felt from the damp heat; +everything was mouldy or rusty, and several of the crew were on the +sick-list with a sort of bilious complaint; but it fortunately did not +grow into a serious matter. + +RECEPTION AT RIO. + +They struck soundings on 6th November, and on heaving the lead again +found a difference of less than a foot in three or four hours. Land was +sighted near Cape Frio, Brazil, in latitude 21 degrees 16 minutes South, +on the 8th, and they came across a boat manned by eleven blacks who were +engaged in catching and salting fish. Banks purchased some fish, and was +surprised to find they preferred to be paid in English rather than +Spanish coin. On the 13th they arrived off Rio de Janeiro, where they +were very ungraciously received by the Viceroy. They were not permitted +to land except under a guard; some of the men who had been sent ashore on +duty were imprisoned. Mr. Hicks, who had gone to report their arrival and +ask for the services of a pilot, was detained for a time, and it was only +with difficulty, and at an exorbitant rate, that they obtained fresh food +and water. Consequently little was seen of the place, except from the +ship, and Cook took all possible observations from thence, and made a +sketch map of the harbour, to which he added all the information he was +able to pick up from the pilot. Writing to the Royal Society, he says he +is quite unable to understand the true reason of his treatment, and +contrasts it with that received by a Spanish ship which came in whilst he +was there. This Spanish ship willingly undertook to carry to Europe and +forward to the Admiralty copies of the correspondence that passed between +Cook and the Viceroy, which Cook describes as + +"a paper war between me and His Excellency, wherein I had no other +advantage than the racking his invention to find reasons for treating us +in the manner he did, for he never would relax the least from any one +point." + +To every remonstrance the Viceroy pleaded his instructions and the custom +of the port. He seems to have been quite unable to grasp the object of +the expedition, and Cook says his idea of the transit of Venus was, "the +North Star passing through the South Pole. His own words." The crew were +accused of smuggling, and it was repeatedly asserted that the Endeavour +was not a king's ship. Parkinson, one of Mr. Banks's staff, says that +frequently some of them let themselves down from the cabin window at +midnight into a boat, and driving with the tide till they were out of +hearing of the guard boat established over them, rowed ashore and made +short excursions into the country, "though not so far as we could have +wished to have done." + +Banks, speaking of the supplies obtained at Rio, says the beef was cheap +but very lean and dry; the bread tasted as if made with sawdust, and +justified its name of Farinha de Pao (wooden meal); the fruits, excepting +the oranges, were very indifferent, and he takes particular exception to +the banana, which he had not tasted before, it was not at all to his +liking. The water also was very bad, and the crew preferred what they had +brought with them, though it was very stale. + +M. de Bougainville reports that when he visited Rio he was at first +received in a very friendly manner by this same Viceroy, but after a time +the treatment was altered, and he had to put up with even greater +insolence than Cook. + +THE SECOND DEATH. + +When the stores had been received on board, the anchor was weighed in +order to take up a more favourable position for making a start, but, +unfortunately, shortly after the ship got underway, a man named Peter +Flowers fell from the main-shrouds into the sea and was drowned before +assistance could be rendered: the second death since leaving England. The +next day the wind was contrary, but every one was so anxious to turn +their backs on the place that Cook ordered out the boats to tow, but they +were immediately brought up by a shot from the fort of Santa Cruz. A +remonstrance was sent ashore, and received the lame excuse that the +permit for leaving had been signed but had been delayed on its way, and +the officer in command could not allow the vessel to leave till it was +received. Another attempt to get away was soon after made, but the anchor +fouled a rock, and there was again delay; at length, on the 7th December, +they were able to make a start, discharge their pilot, and bid farewell +to the guard boat which had so constantly kept watch over them. They were +informed that an Englishman, named Foster, an officer in the Portuguese +service, who had been of great use to them, was imprisoned for his kind +attentions. + +On 9th December they met with bad weather and lost their foretop-gallant +mast, but the rough handling they got was credited with improving the +sailing qualities of the ship, as it took some of the stiffness out of +her upperworks. A meteor was noted on the 23rd, like a small bright +cloud, emitting flames, travelling rapidly westward, and disappearing +slowly with two sharp explosions. The same day an eclipse of the sun was +observed. + +Christmas Day, for which the men had been saving up their allowances of +grog, passed in the usual manner, that is, in considerable +over-indulgence. Banks speculates as to what might have happened if they +had had bad weather, whilst Cook dismisses the occurrence very shortly: +"The people none of the soberest." On the 27th they crossed the mouth of +the River Plate, the water being very discoloured, and a good many land +insects were found in it. On 2nd January 1769, they saw some of the +shoals of red lobsters like those mentioned by Dampier and Cowley, but +they were not found in such quantities as those navigators reported. + +On the 11th the shores of Tierra del Fuego were sighted, and on working +in closer, the country was found to be less desolate in appearance than +they had expected from Anson's description. Arriving off the entrance of +the Straits of Le Maire, between Staten Island and the mainland, they +were driven back by the tide and a strong adverse wind, and trying to +shelter under Cape Diego they were carried past, and only after three and +a half days' hard work were they able to get through the straits. Cook +has left sailing directions for this passage which are followed to the +present day. Banks and Solander were ashore for a short time on Staten +Island, and returned delighted with the addition of some hundred new +plants for their collection. Cook, with an eye to the welfare of his +crew, remarks: "They returned on board, bringing with them several plants +and flowers, etc., most of them unknown in Europe, and in that consisted +their whole value." Cook and Green made a series of observations, "the +first ever made so far south in America," and fixed the position of Cape +Diego at 66 degrees West, 54 degrees 39 South; Wharton places it at 65 +degrees eight minutes West, 54 degrees 40 minutes South. + +On the 15th they anchored in the Bay of Success, for wood and water, and +met with some of the inhabitants, with whom, by means of gifts of beads +and other trifles, they established friendly relations, and three of them +were persuaded to go on board the ship. Though by no means a small race +of men, they were found to be nothing like the giants reported by the +early navigators in this part of the world. They had in their possession +buttons, glass, canvas, brown cloth, etc., showing conclusively they had +previously some communication with Europeans. Their clothing consisted +chiefly of skins, roughly cured, and a plentiful covering of paint and +dirt. The only personal property on which they appeared to set any store +were their bows and arrows, which were carefully made and always in good +order. Their food appeared to consist of seal and shell-fish; their +houses, merely shelters of boughs covered with grass and leaves built to +windward of a small fire. + +A SNOWSTORM. + +On 16th January, Banks, Solander, Buchan, Green, Monkhouse, two seamen, +and Banks's two coloured servants, tried to get up the hills to see +something of the surrounding country, but they found their progress +hampered by the dwarf vegetation. To add to their discomfort a heavy +snowstorm came on. Several of the party experienced that desire to sleep +which is produced by cold, and were warned by Solander of the danger of +giving way to it, yet he was almost the first one to give in, and was +with great difficulty kept awake. Buchan, most unfortunately, had a fit, +so a large fire was made at the first convenient spot, but a sailor and +the two coloured men lagged behind. During the night the sailor was heard +shouting, and was brought in to the fire, but in the morning the two +coloured men were found frozen to death. Cook attributed their death to +overindulgence in spirits, the supply for the party being left in their +charge. Not intending to remain away the night, supplies ran short, so a +vulture was shot and carefully divided amongst them, each man cooking his +own, which amounted to about three mouthfuls. At length the weather +cleared up and a start back was made, and after three hours they struck +the beach, only to find they had never been any great distance away but +had been describing a circle and came back almost to the place whence +they had started. Banks notes the vegetation as more exuberant than he +expected; the dominant colour of the flowers, white; and he collected +wild celery and scurvy grass in large quantities, which was mixed with +the food on board ship as long as it could be preserved in a wholesome +condition. Whilst at the Bay of Success the guns were lowered into the +hold so as to allow more room on deck for working the ship in the bad +weather they expected to encounter when rounding the Horn. + +THE BALANCE OF THE GLOBE. + +On 27th January Cape Horn was passed, but owing to fog and contrary wind +they did not approach very closely, so they were unable to fix its exact +position, but the description they were able to give of its appearance +(there is a sketch of it by Mr. Pickersgill, Master's mate, in the +Records Office), and twenty-four observations taken in the immediate +neighbourhood, settled any doubts they may have had, and Cook puts it at +55 degrees 53 minutes South, 68 degrees 13 minutes West, and Wharton +gives the corrected position as 55 degrees 58 minutes South, 67 degrees +16 minutes West. Three days after they reached their furthest south, +according to Cook 60 degrees 4 minutes South, 74 degrees 10 West, and the +course was then altered to West by North. The continuous and careful +observations of the state of the sea, and the absence of currents during +the following month, caused Cook to come to the conclusion that the vast +southern continent so long supposed to exist somewhere in that part of +the globe, and by some people esteemed necessary to preserve its balance, +was non-existent. Banks expresses his pleasure in having upset this +theory, and observes: "Until we know how the globe is fixed in its +position, we need not be anxious about its balance." + +The weeks following the change of the course to the north were +uneventful, only marked by an occasional success of the naturalists in +obtaining a fresh specimen, some of which were experimented on by the +cook; an albatross, skinned, soaked all night in salt water, was stewed, +served with savoury sauce, and was preferred to salt pork; a cuttle-fish +of large size, freshly killed by the birds, and too much damaged for +classification, was made into soup, of which Banks says: "Only this I +know that, of it was made one of the best soups I ever ate." The water +obtained at Tierra del Fuego turned out very good: a great boon, as one +of their great troubles and a source of great anxiety to Cook was the bad +quality of the water so often obtained. + +Towards the end of March a change was noticed in the kinds of birds +flying round the ship, some being recognised as ones that were known to +stay near land, and consequently a sharp look-out was kept. On the night +of the 24th a tree-trunk was reported, but when morning came nothing +further was seen. It has since been ascertained they were then a little +to the north of Pitcairn Island, afterwards the home of the mutineers of +the Bounty; but Cook did not feel himself at liberty to make any +deviation from his course "to look for what he was not sure to find," +although he thought he was "not far from those islands discovered by +Quiros in 1606." + +On 26th march one of the marines committed suicide by drowning. It seems +he had misappropriated a piece of sealskin, and his fellow-soldiers, +indignant that such a thing should have been done by one of the cloth, +made his life uncomfortable and threatened that he should be reported for +theft. This was the fifth death since leaving England, and none by +disease. + +The 4th April, at 10.30 A.M., Banks's servant, Peter Briscoe, sighted +land, and the course of the ship was altered to give them a chance of +inspecting it. It was found to be one of those peculiar circular reefs +surrounding a lagoon, called atolls, which exist in some quantity in the +Pacific. There was no anchorage, so they made no attempt to land, but +were able to see it was inhabited. Some twenty-four persons were counted +through the glasses, and were described as copper-coloured, with black +hair; they followed the ship as if prepared to oppose a landing. The reef +was covered with trees, amongst which the coconut palm was conspicuous. +Cook gave it the name of Lagoon Island; it is now known as Vahitahi, and +is one of the Low Archipelago. Being now in Wallis's track, islands were +sighted almost every day, and almost all appeared inhabited, but owing to +the want of safe anchorage, no communication could be held with the +natives. + +On 10th April Osnaburg Island was passed, and next day King George Land +was sighted; but the wind failed, and they did not get close in till the +12th, when canoes came out to the ship, bringing branches of trees which +were handed up the side, with signs directing they should be placed +conspicuously in the rigging, as a token of friendship offered and +accepted. When this had been done the natives produced a good supply of +trade in the shape of vegetables and fruit; amongst the last Banks +enumerates bread-fruit, bananas, coconuts, and apples (a species of hog +plum). These were very acceptable and beneficial to the crew after such a +lapse of time without vegetable food except the wild plants gathered in +Tierra del Fuego. + +AT TAHITI. + +At 7 A.M. on the 13th they anchored in the bay described by Wallis, known +as Matavai, in thirteen fathoms, and Cook says of his route from Cape +Horn, "I Endeavoured to make a direct course, and in part succeeded." + + +CHAPTER 8. 1769. SOCIETY ISLANDS. + +PRODIGIOUS EXPERT THIEVES. + +Hardly had the anchor reached the bottom, before they were surrounded by +canoes, whose occupants were anxious to sell the supplies of fruits, raw +and cooked fish, and a pig they had brought. The price asked for the pig +was a hatchet, and as these were scarce, it was not purchased. When all +was made safe, a party went ashore and was well received by the natives, +but those who had previously been there with Wallis reported that those +who were at that time said to be chiefs, were keeping in the background. +The next day, however, two men, evidently of rank, came on board, and +being invited into the cabin, went through a ceremony described by Banks: +"Each singled out his friend; one took the captain, and the other chose +myself. Each took off a part of his clothes and dressed his friend with +what he took off; in return for this we presented them with a hatchet and +some beads." They were then invited by their new friends to go ashore. On +landing they were escorted to a building and introduced to an old man +they had not seen before, and he presented Cook with a cock, and Banks +with a hen, and each with a piece of native cloth. Banks gave in return +for his share his large laced silk neckcloth and a linen handkerchief. +After this they were permitted to stroll about, and received many tokens +of amity in the shape of green boughs, and were then entertained at a +banquet, the principal dishes being fish and bread-fruit. Whilst at +dinner, Solander had his pocket picked of an opera glass, and Monkhouse +lost his snuff-box. As soon as this was made known, Lycurgus, as they had +named one of their friends, drove off the people, striking them and +throwing anything he could lay his hand to, at them. He offered pieces of +cloth as compensation, and when these were refused, extended his offer to +everything he possessed. He was, at last, made to understand that all +that was wanted was the return of the stolen articles, and after a time +the snuff-box and the case of the glass were returned, and, by and by, +the glass itself. During the whole of the stay at the island they had the +greatest difficulties with the natives for stealing, an accomplishment at +which, Cook says, they were "prodigious expert." + +On the whole, their first visit ashore was satisfactory, and was thought +to augur well for the observations of the Transit. A site was selected +for a camp on the eastern point of the bay, to which the name of Point +Venus was given, the longitude, according to Cook, 149 degrees 31 minutes +West, and to Wharton, 149 degrees 29 minutes West. Lines were traced for +the boundaries, and Banks's largest tent was pitched and a guard mounted, +and then the others went for a walk of inspection. They passed through +some woods that Mr. Hicks had been prevented from exploring the day +before, and Banks had the luck to bring down three ducks with one shot, a +deed thought likely to impress the natives with respect for the white +man's weapon. On their road back to camp they were alarmed by a musket +shot, and hurrying on, found that one of the sentries had been pushed +down and his musket stolen, so the midshipman in command had ordered a +shot to be fired at the thief, who was killed, but the musket was not +recovered. All the natives ran away but one, whom Cook calls Awhaa, and +whom the Master, Mr. Molineaux, who had been out with Wallis, recognised +as being a man of some authority. Through Awhaa an attempt was made to +arrange matters, but the natives were very shy when the English landed +the next day. However, the two chiefs who had first made friends, to whom +the names of Lycurgus and Hercules had been given, again came on board, +bringing presents of pigs and bread-fruit; they concluded as Hercules's +present was the larger, he was the richer and therefore the more +important chief. To lessen the chances of disagreements in trading and to +keep some control of prices, Cook ordered that only one person should +conduct the purchasing for the ship, and as Banks had shown aptitude in +dealing with the natives, he was appointed. The natives were to be +treated "with every imaginable humanity." + +On the 16th Mr. Buchan, the artist, had another epileptic fit, which was +unfortunately fatal, and he was buried at sea in order to run no risk of +offending against any of the customs or superstitions of the natives. +Cook, in referring to his death, says: "He will be greatly missed in the +course of this voyage." + +In the afternoon the ship was brought into such a position as to command +the site of the proposed camp, and as there was to be an eclipse of one +of Jupiter's satellites, Cook and Green stayed ashore to get an +observation, but the weather was unpropitious. + +COOK SKETCHES. + +The camp was now got into order; the north and south sides were protected +by a bank 4 feet 6 inches high on the inside, having a ditch 10 feet wide +and 6 feet deep on the outside. The west side, facing the bay, had a 4 +foot bank crowned by a palisade, with no ditch; and the east side, on the +bank of the river, was protected by a double row of water casks. The +armament consisted of two carriage guns on the weakest or east side, and +six swivel guns, two on each of the other sides. The garrison was +forty-five men, including civilians, and Cook considered it was +practically impregnable. In the manuscripts department of the British +Museum is a pen and ink sketch and plan of the fort, drawn by Cook, which +agrees much better with the description than the engraving of Parkinson's +drawing published in the History of the Voyage. The natives were +disturbed by these preparations, some even leaving the bay, but when no +dreadful results occurred, they took courage and returned. + +The fort completed, the instruments were landed and put into the required +positions to be prepared for their work, and the following morning the +quadrant, which had not been removed from the case in which it was packed +in London, was found to be missing, although a sentry had been stationed +within five yards of it the whole night. Enquiries were made, and it was +elicited that the thief had been seen making off with it. Banks, his +native friend, and one or two of the English at once started, closely +followed by Cook and a party of marines. After a long chase the quadrant +was recovered, but some of the smaller parts were missing. After a time +these also were returned in the case of a horse-pistol which had been +stolen from Banks, and soon after the pistol was recovered, and they were +able to return to camp. On their arrival they found Cook's friend, +Dootahah (Hercules), had been detained as a hostage, so he was at once +released, to the great delight of the natives, who had been much alarmed +to see the armed party go into the woods. In order to show his gratitude +for his release Dootahah sent a present of two hogs to Cook, for which he +refused to take any return; but, afterwards, second thoughts proved best, +and he sent a man to ask for an axe and a shirt, and to say he was going +away, and would not be back for ten days. As the supplies of vegetables +and fruit in the market had been decreasing in quantity, it was thought +better to refuse the present in hopes he would apply for it in person, +and arrangements could then be made for a regular market, but he sent +some one else again, and so word was returned that Cook and Banks would +bring it to him the following day. For fear this promise should be +forgotten, Dootahah again sent his man, and Cook and Banks started off in +the pinnace. On their arrival they were received by a large crowd, which +was kept in order by a man in an immense turban, armed with a long white +stick, "which he applied to the people with great judgment and relish." +The party were conducted to a large tree, and very graciously received by +Dootahah, who immediately asked for his axe, which was given him, +together with a shirt and a piece of broadcloth made into a boat-cloak. +He put on the cloak and gave the shirt to the man with the stick, and +refreshments were served. They were afterwards entertained with dancing +and wrestling, and then Dootahah accompanied them back to the ship, +taking his supplies for dinner; and when it became known he was on board, +trading was resumed. + +A day or two after, Banks received an urgent message from his friend +Taburai (Lycurgus), saying he was very ill. He complained of having been +poisoned by one of the sailors. It seems he had noticed the sailors +chewing, and had ask for a quid, had bitten off a piece and swallowed it. +Banks prescribed large draughts of coconut milk, with happy results. + +SURF RIDING. + +Flies were a terrible pest; they got into everything, and ate off the +artist's colours almost as fast as they were laid on. Tar and molasses +was tried as a trap for them, but the natives stole it and used it as +ointment for sores. The surf-riding struck the visitors with admiration. +Swimming out with a piece of board they would mount it, and come in on +the crests of the waves; and Banks says he does not believe that any +European could have lived amongst the breakers as they did; he especially +admired the manner they timed the waves and dived beneath on their way +out from shore. + +A blacksmith's forge had been set up, and in spare time the smith would +fashion old iron into axes or repair old axes for the natives; and it was +noticed that some of these old axes were not of English make, and it +appeared unlikely they were obtained from the Dolphin. At length it was +ascertained that since Wallis's visit in that vessel, two ships had +anchored off the east coast, and it was concluded from the description +given by the natives of the flags that they were Spanish, but on the +arrival of the Endeavour at Batavia they were able to identify them as +the French ships commanded by M. de Bougainville, whose crews were +suffering very severely from scurvy at the time. + +Paying a visit to Dootahah to see if a supply of fresh meat, which was +running very short, could be obtained, they were received in a very +friendly manner, but being delayed till it was too late to return to the +ship by daylight, they remained all night, and as a consequence nearly +every one found they had lost some property; Cook's stockings were stolen +from under his pillow, where he had placed them for safety. Perhaps as +consolation for their losses they were entertained during the night to a +concert. Three drums and four flutes, the latter having four holes into +one of which the performer blew with his nostrils, were the orchestra, +and Cook's criticism is hardly complimentary: "The music and singing were +so much of a piece that I was very glad when it was over." They waited +till noon the next day in hopes of meat and the return of the stolen +articles, but in vain, though Dootahah promised he would bring all to the +ship--"a promise we had no reason to expect he would fulfil." + +THE TRANSIT OF VENUS. + +The important day of the observation was now approaching, and everything +was in readiness. In order to diminish the risk of disappointment through +local atmospheric disturbance, Cook sent a party to Eimeo (York Island), +and a second one to the south-east of Otaheite, as far to the east of +Point Venus as possible. The first party consisted of Lieutenant Gore, +Banks, Sporing, and Monkhouse, and the second of Lieutenant Hicks, +Clerke, Pickersgill, and Saunders, Mr. Green providing the necessary +instruments. At Fort Venus everything was in good working order. The +astronomical clock was set up in the large tent, being placed in a strong +frame made for the purpose at Greenwich, and was then planted in the +ground as firmly as possible and fenced round to prevent accidental +disturbance. Twelve feet away the observatory was placed, comprising the +telescopes on their stands, the quadrant securely fixed on the top of a +cask of wet sand firmly set in the ground, and the journeyman clock. The +telescopes used by Cook and Green were two reflecting ones made by Mr. J. +Short. + +"The 3rd of June proved as favourable to our purposes as we could wish. +Not a cloud to be seen the whole day and the air was perfectly clear, so +that we had every advantage we could desire in observing the whole +passage of the Planet Venus over the Sun's Disk. We very distinctly saw +the atmosphere or Dusky Shade round the body of the planet, which very +much disturbed the time of contact, particularly the two internal ones. +Dr. Solander observed as well as Mr. Green and myself, and we differ'd +from one another in observing the times of contact much more than could +be expected. Mr. Green's telescope and mine were of the same magnifying +power, but that of the Doctor was greater than ours. It was nearly calm +the whole day, and the thermometer exposed to the sun about the middle of +the day rose to a degree of heat we have not before met with." + +In the report published in the Philosophical Transactions he also refers +to the heat: + +"Every wished-for favourable circumstance attended the whole of the day, +without one single impediment excepting the heat, which was intolerable; +the thermometer which hung by the clock and was exposed to the sun, as we +were, was one time as high as 119 degrees." + +This report is accompanied by diagrams illustrating the different +contacts and the effects of the penumbra, which Cook believed was better +seen by Solander than by himself or Green. It was estimated at about +seven-eighths of the diameter of the planet, and was visible to Cook +throughout the whole Transit. + +The times taken by Green were: + +The first external contact: 9 hours 25 minutes 42 seconds A.M. +The first internal contact: 9 hours 44 minutes 4 seconds A.M. +The second internal contact: 3 hours 14 minutes 8 seconds P.M. +The second external contact: 3 hours 22 minutes 10 seconds P.M. + +The other two parties were equally successful, and at times Banks was +able to employ himself in trading with the natives, with whom he soon got +on friendly terms; in fact, he had to decline further purchases as he had +as much as they could take away with them. He was also successful in his +botanical enquiries, obtaining several plants he had not seen in +Otaheite. + +Whilst the observations were being taken some of the crew broke into the +store and stole a quantity of the large nails that were used as a medium +of trade with the islanders. One man was found with seven in his +possession, and after careful enquiry was sentenced to two dozen lashes, +which seems to have been the severest sentence meted out by Cook during +the voyage. The sentence was carried out, and though it was well known +that more than one was implicated, he refused to name any one else, but +suffered in silence. + +A DOG DINNER. + +The King's Birthday being on 5th June, Cook entertained several of the +chiefs at dinner, and the health of Kilnargo was toasted so many times by +some of them that the result was disastrous. One of the presents received +from a chief was a dog, which they were informed was good to eat. After +some discussion it was handed to a native named Tupia, who had made +himself very useful, and afterwards accompanied them on the voyage; and +he having smothered it with his hands, and drawn it, wrapped it in leaves +and baked it in a native oven. With some hesitation it was tasted, and +met with general approval. Cook says: "Therefore we resolved for the +future never to despise dog flesh"; and in another place he says they put +dog's flesh "next only to English lamb." These dogs were bred for eating, +and lived entirely on vegetable food. + +The main object of their stay at Otaheite having been attained, steps +were taken for further prosecution of the voyage; the ship was careened, +her bottom scraped and found free from worm, but the boats had suffered, +particularly the long-boat, which had to have a new bottom. She had been +varnished only; the other boats, painted with white lead, had not +suffered so much. The stores were overhauled, and the ship was fitted for +sea. Whilst these preparations were being made, Cook and Banks made a +circuit of the island in the pinnace to examine the coast. Several good +anchorages were found, with from sixteen to twenty-four fathoms and good +holding ground. The south-east portion was almost cut off from the +mainland by a narrow, marshy isthmus about two miles wide, over which the +natives dragged their canoes with little difficulty. On the south coast +one of the large burying-places was seen; by far the most extensive one +on the island. It is described as: + +"a long square of stonework built pyramidically; its base is 267 feet by +87 feet; at the Top it is 250 feet by 8 feet. It is built in the same +manner as we do steps leading up to a sun-dial or fountain erected in the +middle of a square, where there is a flite of steps on each side. In this +building there are 11 of such steps; each step is about 4 feet in height, +and the breadth 4 feet 7 inches, but they decreased both in height and +breadth from the bottom to the Top. On the middle of the Top stood the +image of a Bird carved in wood, near it lay the broken one of a Fish, +carved in stone. There was no hollow or cavity in the inside, the whole +being filled up with stones. The outside was faced partly with hewn +stones, and partly with others, and these were placed in such a manner as +to look very agreeable to the eye. Some of the hewn stones were 4 feet 7 +inches by 2 feet 4 inches, and 15 inches thick, and had been squared and +polished with some sort of an edge tool. On the east side was, enclosed +with a stone wall, a piece of ground in form of a square, 360 feet by +354, in this was growing several cypress trees and plantains. Round about +this Morie were several smaller ones, all going to decay, and on the +Beach, between them and the sea, lay scattered up and down, a great +quantity of human bones. Not far from the Great Morie, was 2 or 3 pretty +large altars, where lay the scull bones of some Hogs and Dogs. This +monument stands on the south side of Opooreanoo, upon a low point of land +about 100 yards from the sea. It appeared to have been built many years +and was in a state of decay, as most of their Mories are. " + +They were quite unable to gain information as to the history of these +remains, nor of the religious belief of the islander, though they +appeared to have some vague notions of a future life. + +AN EXCURSION INLAND. + +When the party returned to Point Venus, they found the refitting nearly +complete, but the anchor stocks all had to be renewed owing to the +ravages of the sea worms, so Banks and Monkhouse made an excursion up the +river on which the camp was situated. In about nine miles the precipitous +banks had completely closed them in, and further advance was blocked by a +cliff, at least 100 feet high, over which the river fell. The natives +with them said they had never been further, so the expedition returned. +Charles Darwin, in 1835, made an attempt to ascend the same river, and +though he penetrated some distance further, he describes the country as +extremely difficult; he saw several places where two or three determined +men could easily hold at bay many times their own number. + +Gardens had been laid out during their stay, and European seeds were +planted which were very fairly successful; except some brought out by +Cook in carefully sealed bottles, none of which turned out well. + +Some of the sailors were either enticed away, or attempted to desert, so +Cook seized one or two of the chiefs as hostages, and the runaways were +quickly returned. Some of the natives were anxious to go away with them, +and Banks persuaded Cook to let him take Tupia, a man supposed to be of +priestly rank, who had proved himself very useful on several occasions, +and he was allowed to take with him a boy as servant. Cook records, on +leaving, that during the three months' stay they had been on very good +terms with the natives, and the few misunderstandings that did occur rose +either from the difficulty of explaining matters to each other, or else +from the inveterate habits of theft on the part of the natives--iron in +any shape being simply irresistible. + +On 13th July the Endeavour sailed for Huaheine, anchoring inside the reef +on the north-west, on the 17th. Banks, Solander, Monkhouse, and Tupia at +once accompanied Cook ashore, where a ceremony, presumed to be a sort of +treaty of peace, was gone through, and then they were permitted to go +where they liked. On this ceremonial Cook says: + +"It further appear'd that the things which Tupia gave away, was for the +God of this people, as they gave us a hog and some coconuts for our God, +and thus they have certainly drawn us in to commit sacrilege, for the Hog +hath already received sentence of Death and is to be dissected tomorrow." + +A CAREFUL PILOT. + +A market was organised by Monkhouse, and as soon as the natives +understood that the stay of the ship would be very short, they managed to +produce a fairly good supply of fruits and vegetables. The people were +found to be rather lighter complexioned, and certainly not so addicted to +thieving as the Otaheitans. As a memorial of the visit, Cook gave the +chief a plate with the inscription, "His Britannick Majesty's Ship, +Endeavour, Lieutenant Cook, Commander, 16th July, 1769, Huaheine." He +also added "some medals, or counters of the English coins, struck in +1761, and other presents," and the recipient promised he would never part +with them. From this place they went on to Ulietea (Raiatea), landing on +the 21st; and after another ceremonial the English "Jack" was hoisted, +and possession taken of the whole group in the name of King George. Tupia +proved himself an excellent pilot, with great knowledge of the +localities, and, having sent down a diver at Huaheine to ascertain the +exact draught of the ship, he was very careful she never went into less +than five fathoms of water. He had evidently had great experience in +navigating these seas in canoes, boats of whose construction and sailing +qualities Cook speaks in the highest terms. Banks at this time remarks, +"we have now seen 17 islands in these seas, and have landed on five of +the most important; the language, manners and customs agreed most +exactly." + +Detained by adverse wind off Ataha, and finding the water coming badly +into the fore sail-room and powder-room, Cook put into the west side to +repair and take in ballast, as the ship was getting too light to carry +sail on a wind. He took the opportunity to survey to the north with Banks +and Solander. Putting into one place, they were well received and +entertained with music and dancing, and Cook's verdict was that "neither +their Musick or Dancing were at all calculated to please a European." A +sort of farce was also acted, but they could make nothing of it, except +that it "showed that these people have a notion of Dramatic +Performances." + +During the whole stay in the Society Group they had been very well off +for fresh food, consequently their sea stores had been little called on. + +Jarvis, in his History of the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands, says that +with Cook "a silence in regard to the maritime efforts of his +predecessors is observable throughout his Journals"; and as a proof that +he traded on the knowledge of others, he remarks that at Otaheite he made +enquiries if there were any islands to the north; and afterwards evinced +no surprise when he discovered them. Now Cook in his Journals constantly +shows that he compares his knowledge with that of others, and often +regrets he has not further records to consult. As for his enquiries, he +would have been grossly neglecting his duty had he not made them, for it +was only a commonsense method of procedure, which evidently Mr. Jarvis +could not understand. The result of these enquiries can be seen in the +British Museum in the shape of a map drawn by Cook from information given +by Tupia. On it are some sentences in the Otaheitan language. + + +CHAPTER 9. 1769 TO 1770. NEW ZEALAND. + +Leaving the Society Islands on 9th August, they were off Ohetiroa +(Rurutu), in the Central Group, on the 14th, but the natives were +unfriendly, and they did not land. A canoe came out to meet the pinnace +which had been sent to obtain information. The occupants, on being +presented with gifts, tried to steal the lot, and were fired over, but by +some mischance one of the natives was slightly wounded in the head, +whereupon they hurriedly retreated, and further attempts at communication +were abandoned. From this place the course was laid to the south to +strike the much-talked-of Southern Continent. The weather rapidly got +colder, and the pigs and fowls began to sicken and die. On 26th August +they celebrated the anniversary of leaving England by cutting a Cheshire +cheese and tapping a cask of porter, which proved excellent. + +On the 28th an unfortunate death occurred; the boatswain's mate, John +Reading, was given some rum by his chief, and it is supposed drunk it off +at once, for he was shortly afterwards found to be very drunk, and was +taken to his berth, but next morning was past recovery. + +On 2nd September, in latitude 40 degrees 22 minutes South, the weather +was very bad, and "having not the least visible signs of land," Cook +again turned northwards, in order to get better weather and then to push +west. The continuous swell convinced him there was no large body of land +to the south for many leagues. Towards the end of September frequent +signs were noted of being near land, floating seaweed, wood, the +difference in the birds, etc., so a gallon of rum was offered to the +first to sight land, and on 7th October the North Island of New Zealand, +never before approached from the east by Europeans, was seen by a boy +named Nicholas Young, the servant of Mr. Perry, surgeon's mate. The boy's +name is omitted from the early muster sheets of the ship, but appears on +18th April 1769, entered as A.B. in the place of Peter Flower, drowned. +Cook named the point seen, the south-west point of Poverty Bay, Young +Nick's Head. + +Tasman had discovered the west coast in 1642, and had given it the name +of Staten Land, but he never set foot on shore. He was driven away by the +natives, who killed four of his men, and naming the place Massacre (now +Golden) Bay, he sailed along the north-west coast, giving the headlands +the names they still bear. Dalrymple held that this land discovered by +Tasman was the west coast of the looked-for Terra Australis Incognita, +and his theory was now shattered. + +LAND IN NEW ZEALAND. + +Nearing the coast a bay was discovered into which the ship sailed, and +let go her anchor near the mouth of a small river, not far from where the +town of Guisborne now stands. Plenty of smoke was seen, showing the +country was inhabited, and the pinnace and yawl were manned and armed, +and Cook landed on the east side of the river. Some natives were seen on +the other side, and, to try to open communications, the yawl, pulled by +four boys, entered the river, whilst Cook followed up the natives, who +had retreated towards some huts about 300 yards away. Some Maoris, +thinking the boys would be an easy prey, tried to steal on the yawl, but +the coxswain of the pinnace observing them called the boat back. One of +the Maoris raised his spear to throw, and the coxswain fired over his +head, causing a moment's pause of surprise; but, seeing nothing further, +he again prepared to throw his spear, so the coxswain shot him, and his +friends retreated at once, leaving the body behind. Cook at once ordered +a return to the ship, as it was now getting dark. + +The next morning, seeing some men near the same place, Cook again landed +with Banks, Solander, and an armed party; and Solander went forward to +the brink of the river to try and speak with the natives, but was +received with a threatening waving of spears and a war dance. Cook +retired to the boats, and landing the marines, again advanced with Green, +Monkhouse, and Tupia. The latter spoke to the natives; and, to the great +delight of the party, found he could make himself understood. After a +little parley an unarmed native swam across the river, and was then +followed by twenty or thirty more with their arms. Presents were given, +but they seemed dissatisfied, and wanted arms. At last one stole Green's +hanger, and they all became very aggressive and insolent, whilst more +were seen to be preparing to cross; so Cook, thinking the position was +getting too serious, ordered the one who had taken the hanger, and who +was apparently the leader, to be shot, whereon the rest beat a hasty +retreat. + +The next day the boats tried to find another landing-place, but the surf +was too heavy; and when two canoes were seen coming in from the sea, Cook +determined to intercept them and try to come to friendly terms. However, +they would not stop when called on, and on a musket being fired over +them, the occupants seized their weapons and fiercely attacked the +nearest boat, its crew being compelled to fire in self-defence, and Cook +says two natives were killed. Banks gives the number as four, and the +Maori account agrees with him. Three jumped overboard to swim ashore, but +were picked up by the boats and taken on board ship. They were at first +very depressed, but soon recovered their spirits on finding themselves +well treated, and after eating and drinking enormously, entertained the +crew with songs and dances. Cook deeply regretted this incident, and +candidly confesses that he was not justified in trying to seize the +canoes, but having once committed himself, he was obliged for his own +safety to go to the bitter end. Banks says the day is "the most +disagreeable my life has yet seen; black be the mark for it, and heaven +send that such may never return to embitter future reflection." + +The next day a party landed to cut wood, and was accompanied by the three +captives, whom they tried to persuade to join their friends. The +suggestion was declined, as they professed to be afraid of being eaten, +and after a time went and hid in some bushes. Cook, noticing several +parties of armed natives advancing in a threatening manner, retired his +woodcutters across the river. About 150 to 200 Maoris gathered on the +opposite bank. Tupia was put forward to parley, and some presents were +shown, and at length one man came over who received a present from each +of the British and then rejoined his friends. Cook then returned to the +ship, taking with him the three youths, who still seemed afraid of their +own countrymen. They were again landed the next morning as the ship was +about to sail, and though they still professed to be frightened, were +soon seen walking away in friendly converse with some who had come to +meet them. + +NATIVE ACCOUNT. + +Mr. Polack, a New Zealand resident, gives an account in his New Zealand, +which he gathered from the children of natives who were present at the +landing of Cook. The tribe then living in the neighbourhood were recent +arrivals, their leader being Te Ratu--the first man killed by the +English. The natives were anxious to avenge him, but were afraid of the +"thunderbolts which killed at a long distance," some indeed went so far +as to say they felt ill if an Englishman looked at them. The idea of +revenge was only ended on the vessel leaving. Mr. Polack's chief witness +was the son of a man who was wounded by a ball in the shoulder, but +survived his wound till within a year or two of 1836, the time the +information was obtained. Before the ship left, a sort of peace was +patched up by means of presents, and the dead bodies which had been left +where they fell, apparently as a protest, were removed. + +Cook describes the country as a narrow slip of low sand, backed by +well-wooded hills, rising in the interior into high mountains, on which +patches of snow could be seen. That it was fairly populated was evident +from the smoke rising through the trees, more especially in the valleys +leading into Poverty Bay as he named it, because they were unable to get +anything but a small quantity of wood. + +At Hawke's Bay, whilst trading was going on, a large war canoe came up, +and the occupants received some presents. Cook noticed a man wearing a +cloak of some black skin, and offered a piece of red cloth for it. The +owner took it off, but would not part with it till he received the cloth, +and then his boat was pushed off from the ship, and Cook lost both his +cloak and his cloth. Soon after a determined attempt was made to steal +Tupia's boy, Tayeto, who was handing some things down to a canoe; the +Maoris had to be fired on, and in the consequent confusion the boy jumped +into the water and swam to the ship. The point off which this occurred +was named Cape Kidnapper. As there was no appearance of a harbour, Cook +altered his course to the north at Cape Turnagain, 40 degrees 34 minutes +South, to see if he could not do better in the other direction. + +All the canoes seen along this coast were well made, far in advance of +anything they had seen before, and the grotesque carving and ornamental +work was admirably executed. The dresses warn were usually two +cloak-shaped garments, one warn round the shoulders, the other round the +loins, and were made of a substance like hemp, some being very fine. +Banks had purchased something like them at Rio de Janeiro, for which he +gave thirty-six shillings, thinking it cheap, but these were as fine, if +not finer, in texture. Dogs, which were used as food, and rats were the +only quadrupeds seen. Whilst Banks and Solander were collecting, they +discovered a large natural arch, which the former describes as the most +magnificent surprise he had ever met with. It was sketched by Parkinson, +and is engraved in the History. Cook also made a pen-and-ink sketch of +it, which is in the British Museum. + +COOK'S WASHING STOLEN. + +On 31st October they rounded East Cape, and following the coast, which +trended more to the west, they saw a great number of villages and patches +of cultivation, some of the last looking as if freshly ploughed. The +whole aspect of the country was changing for the better, but the +inhabitants did not seem more peaceably inclined. Five canoes came out to +the ship fully armed, and apparently bent on mischief. Cook was very +busy, and did not want them on board, so to keep them off ordered a +musket to be fired over them; but as it only caused them to stop for a +moment, a round shot was sent over them, and they hurriedly turned tail. +The place was given the name Cape Runaway. White Island was named, but it +must have been quiescent as there is no note of its being a volcano. As +they sailed along the coast they met with canoes from which fish, +lobsters, and mussels were purchased, and trading seemed well +established, when one gentleman took a fancy to Cook's sheets, which were +trailing overboard (they were in the wash), and refused to give them up. +Muskets were fired over them and they fled, and Cook lost his sheets. +From near White Island, Mount Edgecombe was seen, named after the +sergeant of marines. It is a high round mountain, and forms a conspicuous +landmark on both sides of the North Island. During this day they had +noticed several small villages perched on difficult eminences and +surrounded by palisades, which Tupia declared were "Mories or places of +worship," but, says Cook: + +"I rather think they are places of retreat or strongholds, where they +defend themselves against the attack of an enemy, as some of them seem'd +not ill design'd for that purpose." + +British soldiers have since discovered that a Maori Pah is "not ill +designed for that purpose." Cook most unfortunately missed the Harbour of +Tauranga, the only safe port on the east coast between Auckland and +Wellington for ships of any size. + +NATIVE ACCOUNT. + +In what is now known as Cook's Bay, they managed to induce the natives to +trade, and purchased crayfish, over which Parkinson waxes enthusiastic, +and "Mackerell as good as ever was eat," the latter in such large +quantities that they were able to salt a considerable number, thus saving +their sea stores. After an observation of a transit of Mercury, in which +they were not very successful (Wharton thinks they were taken by +surprise, the transit occurring somewhat earlier than expected; Green +says: "Unfortunately for the seamen, their look-out was on the wrong side +of the sun. The end was likewise as grossly mistaken"), they returned to +the ship and found that there had been a difficulty with the natives, who +had assumed a very threatening manner, and one attempted to run off with +a piece of calico which was at that time a subject of barter. Mr. Gore +seized a musket and fired, killing his man. Colonel Mundy, in Our +Antipodes, says he saw a man named Taniwha, in 1848, who remembered +Cook's visit, and imitated his walk, with the peculiar manner he had of +waving his right hand, and also told of the kindly way Cook had with the +children. Taniwha told Mundy that after the man was shot, the Maoris +landed, consulted over the body, and decided that as the corpse +"commenced the quarrel by the theft of the calico, his death should not +be revenged, but that he should be buried in the cloth which he had paid +for with his life." Colonel Wynyard took down the same story from +Taniwha's lips in 1852, when he was supposed to be about ninety-three, +and says: "His faculties were little impaired, and his great age +perceptible more from a stoop and grey hairs than any other infirmity." +Cook expressed very strong disapproval of Mr. Gore's conduct. + +Next day Cook and Banks explored a river that entered near where they +were anchored, the east side of which was very barren, but the west was +much better, no signs of cultivation showing on either. Wild fowl were +plentiful, and oysters, "as good as ever came from Colchester," and of +about the same size, says Banks, were taken on board in large quantities: + +"laid down under the booms, and employed the ship's company very well, +who, I sincerely believe, did nothing but eat them from the time they +came on board till night, by which time a large part were expended. But +this gave us no kind of uneasiness, since we well knew that not the boat +only, but the ship might be loaded in one tide almost, as they are dry at +half ebb." + +Cook thinks the inhabitants lived on fish, and shell-fish, with fern +roots for bread, for very large heaps of shells were found, but no signs +of cultivation. + +A fortified village was visited, the inhabitants good-naturedly +conducting them all over, and showing whatever they expressed a wish to +see. It was built on a high promontory, whose sides were in some places +quite inaccessible, in others very difficult, except where it faced the +narrow edge of the hill. Here it was defended by a double ditch and bank, +with two rows of pickets, the inner row being on the bank, leaving +standing-room for the defenders. The inner ditch was 24 feet from bottom +to top of the bank. A stage about 30 feet high, 40 feet long, and 6 feet +wide, was erected inside the fence, with a second, a few paces from it, +placed at right angles; from these the garrison were able to throw their +spears and stones on to the heads of their enemies. The whole village was +surrounded by a strong picket fence, running close to the edge of the +hill. The entire surface of the top of the hill was cut up into small +squares, each surrounded by its own fence, and communicating by narrow +lanes, with little gateways, so that if the outer defences were forced +each square could be defended in turn. Cook says: + +"I look upon it to be a very strong and well choose Post, and where a +small number of resolute men might defend themselves a long time against +a vast superior force, armed in the manner as these people are." + +He noticed, with quick eye, the great failing in these native fortresses, +that is, the want of storage for water. In these Maori villages it was +remarked that sanitary arrangements were provided, such as, says Beckmann +in his History of Inventions, did not exist in the palace of the King of +Spain at that time. + +Large quantities of iron sand were noted here, but the use was quite +unknown to the natives, who were indifferent to the iron tools or spikes +which had hitherto been such a valuable medium of exchange elsewhere. A +large supply of wild celery and a fresh boat-load of oysters were put on +board; a tree was marked with the name of the ship, the date, and one or +two other particulars, the flag was hoisted, saluted, and possession +taken of the country, and the ship sailed again on her journey. + +AT THE THAMES. + +Running closely along the coast, they hauled round Cape Colville into +"the Entrance of a Straight, Bay or River," and anchored for the night, +and in the morning they stood on along the east side. Canoes came off, +and from the behaviour of the occupants, some of whom came on board at +the first invitation, it was judged that favourable accounts had been +heard of the ship. After running about 5 leagues the water shoaled to +about 6 fathoms, and the ship anchored, and boats were sent out to sound. +No great increase of depth being found, the pinnace and long-boat went up +a river about 9 miles away, and on account of a fancied resemblance named +it the Thames. They landed at a village near the mouth, being well +received, but desiring to take advantage of the flood-tide which ran "as +strong as it does in the River Thames below bridge," they made no stay; +they went up about 14 miles, and then, finding little alteration in the +appearance of the country, landed to inspect some large trees of a kind +they had previously noticed. One was carefully measured, and was found to +be 19 feet 6 inches girth at 6 feet from the ground, and, by means of +Cook's quadrant, 89 feet to the lowest branch. It was perfectly straight, +and tapered very slightly, and some were seen that were even larger. This +was the Black Pine; to the Maoris, Matoi, and to the naturalist, +Podocarpus. + +On the way down the river their friends of the morning came out and +"traffick'd with us in the most friendly manner imaginable, until they +had disposed of the few trifles they had." When the boats got outside +they had to anchor, as a strong tide and breeze were against them, and +they did not reach the ship till next morning, when the breeze had +increased to a gale, and topgallant yards had to be struck. When the wind +dropped, what was left was against them, and the Endeavour would only go +with the tide, so Cook took a run ashore to the west side of the bay, but +saw nothing of interest, and concluded it was but sparsely inhabited. +Whilst he was away natives went off to trade and behaved remarkably well, +with the exception of one man who was caught making off with the +half-hour glass, so Mr. Hicks had him triced up, and he was given a dozen +lashes. When it was explained to his friends why this was done, they +expressed their approval, and on his release an old man gave him another +thrashing. + +The weather now became very unsettled, and they were not able to keep as +near the coast as they desired, but on 26th November some cultivated +spots were seen, and several canoes came off. + +"Some of the natives ventur'd on board; to two, who appeared to be +chiefs, I gave presents. After these were gone out of the ship, the +others became so Troublesome that in order to get rid of them, we were at +the expense of two or three Musquet Balls and one 4 pound shott, but as +no harm was intended them, none they received, unless they happened to +overheat themselves in pulling ashore." + +A STAMPEDE. + +To the west side of Cape Brett is a deep bay which was seen but not +named, and here the town of Russell is now established, said to possess +one of the finest harbours in the world, into which vessels of any +draught can enter in all weathers and at any state of the tide. The +natives were found difficult to deal with, and "would cheat whenever they +had an opportunity." The ship left its anchorage, but was after a time +driven back again, and Cook, with a party, took the opportunity to land. +They were followed up by the Maoris, and were soon surrounded by about +two hundred of them, some of whom tried to seize the boats, but being +driven off tried to break in on the party. Several charges of small shot, +which did no serious damage, were fired into them, and then the ship +fired a 4 pounder over them, which caused a stampede, and during the rest +of the stay there was no further trouble, but Cook had to punish three of +his own men for stealing potatoes from one of the plantations. He +invariably tried to hold the balance fairly between his men and the +natives. + +The country is described as very similar to that seen before, but the +number of inhabitants was greater, and though apparently not under the +same chiefs, they were on good terms with each other, and inclined to be +civil to their visitors. A good deal of the ground was under cultivation, +producing good sweet-potatoes. A few trees of the paper-mulberry were +seen, from which the natives made a cloth in a similar manner to the +Otaheitans, but the quantity was so small that it was only used for +ornament. Tupia, who had been instructed to gain as much information +about the people as he could, was informed that some of their ancestors +once went off in large canoes and discovered a country to the north-west +after a passage of about a month, only a small number returning. These +reported they had been to a place where the people ate hogs, using the +same word for the animal as the Otaheitans, Tupia asked if they had any +in New Zealand, and the reply was "no." He asked if their ancestors +brought any back, again the answer was "no"; whereon he told them their +story must be a lie, for their ancestors could never have been such fools +as to come back without some. The land said to have been discovered may +have been New Caledonia. + +One of the men who had been wounded at the first coming of the ship was +seen by Banks. A ball had gone through his arm and grazed his chest. He +did not seem to have any pain, and the wound though exposed to the air, +was perfectly healthy, and he was greatly pleased to receive a musket +ball like the one which had wounded him. + +When leaving the bay they nearly grounded, being set by the current +towards a small island, but the boats towed them clear. Very soon after +they struck on an unseen rock, which was named Whale Rock, but almost +immediately got clear, with no "perceptible damage," into twenty fathoms. + +BLOWN OFF THE LAND. + +Progress was now very slow, owing either to want of, or adverse wind. On +10th December they discovered two bays separated by a low neck of land, +Knuckle Point; one bay was named Doubtless Bay and the other Sandy Bay; +the country is described as nothing but irregular white sandhills, and +Cook concluded from its appearance that the island was here very narrow +and exposed to the open sea on the west. This he soon proved to be +correct. Foster, in his account of the Second Voyage, says that when the +Endeavour was passing Doubtless Bay, M. de Surville was anchored under +the land, in the Saint Jean Baptiste, and saw Cook's ship, though himself +unseen. In the account of De Surville's voyage, published by the Academie +Francaise, it is stated that New Zealand was not sighted till 12th +December 1769, and owing to bad weather no anchorage was gained till +17th. No mention whatever is made of the Endeavour being sighted, and M. +l'Abbe Rochon, the editor, thinks it most probable that neither navigator +knew anything of the movements of the other. De Surville mentions having +lost anchors in a place he calls Double Bay, during a storm "ABOUT 22nd +December," and it may possibly have been the one Cook encountered on the +28th off the north end of the island. They were blown out of sight of +land on the 13th, the main topsail being split, and next day both fore +and mizzen topsails were lost, but they managed to bring up under shelter +of a small island off Knuckle Point. On the 15th the latitude was found +to be 34 degrees 6 minutes South, with land visible to the south-west, +and a large swell was coming from the west, so Cook concluded this was +the most northerly point of the island, and named it North Cape. + +After beating about for some days against westerly winds, they ran up +north, returning southwards 23rd December, and the following day sighted +land to the south-east, which proved to be Tasman's Three Kings. Here +Banks provided the Christmas dinner, shooting several solan geese, which +were made into a pie, and were "eaten with great approbation; and in the +evening all hands were as drunk as our forefathers used to be upon like +occasions." + +On the 27th, when about thirty leagues west of North Cape, and about the +same latitude as the Bay of Islands, no land in sight, the wind rose so +that they had to bring to, under the mainsail, but moderated a little the +next day so that they could run in towards the land. Again it freshened +up and blew a perfect hurricane, accompanied by heavy rain, and a +"prodidgeous high sea," which caused the ship to go greatly to leeward. +On the 30th, Cape Maria van Diemen was seen about six leagues off, the +land extending east and south. On the last day of the year their position +was given as "34 degrees 42 minutes South, Cape Maria van Diemen +North-East by North about 5 leagues." Cook says: + +"I cannot help thinking but what it will appear a little strange that, at +this season of the year, we should be three weeks in getting fifty +leagues, for so long is it since we pass'd Cape Brett; but it will hardly +be credited that in the midst of summer and in the latitude of 35 degrees +South such a gale of wind as we have had could have happened, which for +its strength and continuance was such as I hardly was ever in before. +Fortunately at this time we were a good distance from land, otherwise it +would have proved fatal to us." + +VEGETABLE SHEEP. + +On 2nd January 1770 Cook fixed the position of Cape Maria van Diemen, +giving it as 34 degrees 30 minutes South, 187 degrees 18 minutes West of +Greenwich. Admiral Wharton remarks that this is extraordinarily correct, +seeing that the ship was never close to the Cape, and the observations +were all taken in very bad weather. The latitude is exact, and the +longitude only three miles out. He missed seeing Kaipara Harbour, one of +the few good ones on the west coast, and describes the land as having a +most desolate and inhospitable appearance, nothing but sandhills with +hardly a sign of vegetation on them, and says: "If we was once clear of +it, I am determined not to come so near again if I can avoid it, unless +we have a very favourable wind indeed." On the 11th, a high mountain, its +summit covered with snow, was seen, and named Mount Egmont; Wharton gives +its height as 8,300 feet, and describes it as a magnificent conical +mountain surrounded on three sides by the sea. Banks notes on the sides +of the hill "many white lumps in companies which bore much resemblance to +flocks of sheep." These were a peculiar plant, Raoulia mammillaris +(Hooker), known in New Zealand as vegetable sheep. Fires were seen, the +first sign of inhabitants on the west coast. + +On the 14th, thinking he was in the entrance of a large bay, Cook ran in +under the southern coast, and finding it broken into promising-looking +bays, determined to run into one and careen the ship, as she was very +foul; it is now called Ship Cove, in Queen Charlotte's Sound. Here they +were at once visited by canoes, whose fully armed occupants commenced +acquaintance by "heaving a few stones against the ship." Tupia opened a +conversation, and a few ventured on board, but did not make a long stay. +Cook then landed to look for water, and soon found an excellent supply, +and "as to wood the land is here an entire forest." Whilst he was away, +the crew got out the nets, and caught about 300 pounds of fish. Some +natives also came off with fish, and though it was not good, Cook ordered +it to be bought, in order to open up trade with them. However, they soon +found these people were inclined to be quarrelsome and threatening, and +as the ship was in an awkward position, being already hove down for +cleaning, a charge of small shot was fired at the worst offender, which +quickly taught them to behave better in future. + +They had long suspected the natives were addicted to cannibalism, and now +they proved it, as they purchased the bone of a forearm of a man, from +which the flesh had been recently picked, and were given to understand +that a few days before a strange canoe had arrived, and its occupants had +been killed and eaten. They only ate their enemies, but held all +strangers to be such. The place where the ship was careened was, +according to Wharton, about 70 miles from Massacre Bay, where Tasman's +men were killed, and Cook endeavoured to find out if there were any +traditions of visits from ships to the neighbourhood, but could gain no +information. The natives became friendly as time went on, and brought +good fish which they sold for nails, cloth, paper (a great favourite at +first, but when they found it would not stand water, worthless), and Cook +says: "In this Traffic they never once attempted to defraud us of any one +thing, but dealt as fair as people could do." + +The surrounding country was too thickly timbered for them to see much, +but one day, being out in a boat trying to find the end of the inlet, +Cook took the opportunity of climbing a thickly timbered hill, and from +there saw, far away to the eastward, that the seas which washed both west +and eastern coasts were united, and that one part of New Zealand, at any +rate, was an island, and he had thus solved one of the problems he had +given him in England. They also saw that much of their immediate +neighbourhood was not mainland as they had thought, but consisted of a +number of small islands. + +A MORE SENSIBLE PEOPLE. + +The population of the district was estimated at only some three or four +hundred, and appeared to subsist on fish and fern roots. They were +evidently poorer than those seen previously, and their canoes are +described as "mean and almost without ornament." They soon understood the +value of iron, and readily took spike nails when trading, and greatly +preferred "Kersey and Broadcloth to the Otaheite cloth, which show'd them +to be a more sensible people than many of their neighbours," says Cook. + +An old man, who had previously paid several visits, complained that one +of the ships boats had fired on and wounded two Maoris, one of whom was +since dead. On enquiry, Cook found that the Master and five petty +officers, fishing beyond the usual limits, were approached by two canoes +in what they thought was a threatening manner and had fired to keep them +off. A second native assured Cook no death had occurred, and enquiry +failed to discover one; but Cook very severely condemned the action of +his men as totally unjustifiable. The ship had, by this time, been +brought into fairly good trim, being clean, freshly caulked and tarred, +and broken ironwork all repaired, so preparations were made to push +through the straits; but, before leaving, two posts were set up, one near +the watering place, and the other on the island, Motuara, on which the +name of the ship and the date of the visit had been cut, and possession +was taken of this land, the king's health being drunk, and the empty +bottle presented to the old man who had complained about the shooting, +and who was greatly delighted with his present; he also was given some +silver threepenny pieces, dated 1763, and spike nails marked with the +broad arrow. + +On getting out into the strait a very strong current nearly drove them on +to a small island, the anchor would not hold, and only a change in the +current, probably caused by the tide, saved them. The southern point of +the North Island was named "Cape Pallisser, in honour of my worthy +friend, Captain Pallisser," and the north point of the South Island was +called Cape Campbell, after Captain John Campbell, F.R.S., who had been +one of Cook's strongest supporters as Observer for the Royal Society. + +When through the straits Cook was turning south, but finding some of his +people were not quite satisfied as to the part they had passed being an +island, he took a northerly course till Cape Turnagain was recognised, +when he at once went about for the south. Banks says: + +"At this time there were two parties on board, one who wished that the +land in sight might, and the others that it might not, prove to be a +continent. I myself have always been most firm in the former wish, though +sorry I am to say that my party is so small that there are none heartily +of it than myself, and one poor midshipman, the rest begin to sigh for +roast beef." + +The east coast was followed down to Banks Peninsula, which was at first +thought might be an island, and is marked by dotted lines as doubtful in +Cook's chart, when Gore thought he had seen land to the east, and Cook, +though convinced it was a mistake, ran out to make sure. On returning the +winds proved contrary, and their progress was very slow, but they several +times succeeded in running close in to the land, and from what they could +see concluded it was very barren, with high ranges in the interior and +with very few evidences of inhabitants. A favourable breeze springing up +from the north, they tried to make the most of it, "and by that means +carried away the main topgallant mast and fore topmast steering-sail +boom, but these were soon replaced by others." A high bluff was named +after Admiral Saunders, and near were several bays, "wherein there +appear'd to be anchorage and shelter from South-West, Westerly, and +North-West winds." One of these is now Otago Harbour, the port of +Dunedin. + +THE TRAPS. + +On 26th February it blew hard from west-south-west, so they stood +southward. They lost the fore-sail, and then the wind moderated, only to +come on with increased fury about daylight, when their main topsail went. +The storm continued for forty-eight hours, and half that time they lay +to, heading south. After being lost for seven days the land was again +sighted near Cape Saunders, and at night a large fire was seen on shore. +On 6th March, being satisfied that he had passed the south point of the +island, Cook altered his course to the west, and nearly ran on some +partially submerged rocks a few miles to the south-east of Stewart +Island, to which he gave the suggestive name of the Traps. They were +again blown off, but picked up the land again at the western end of +Foveaux Straits. Again they had to run off, returning to near Dusky Bay, +which he wished to enter as he thought it looked a likely harbour, but +the difficulty of getting out again and consequent waste of time +prevented him. Off Cape Foulwind--suggestive name--they were again blown +out to sea, but soon recovered their position, and Cook describes the +land: + +"No country upon earth can appear with a more rugged and barren aspect +than this does from the sea, for as far inland as the eye can reach +nothing is to be seen but the summits of these rocky mountains, which +seem to lay so near one another as not to admit any vallies between +them." + +On the 24th they rounded the north point of the South Island, and on the +27th Cook writes: "As we have now circumnavigated the whole of this +country, it is time for me to think of quitting it." He had thus carried +out to the fullest extent the instructions to determine the situation and +nature of the land seen by Tasman in 1642, and had done it in the most +conclusive manner possible--by sailing round it--and thus upset Mr. +Dalrymple's favourite theory that it formed part of a continent. + +In Admiralty Bay, which he entered to refit for the homeward voyage, the +sails were found to require a thorough overhaul, for, as Banks says, +they: + +"were ill-provided from the first, and were now worn and damaged by the +rough work they had gone through, particularly on the New Zealand coast, +and they gave no little trouble to get into order again." + +The two points forming the bay were appropriately named after the +Secretaries of the Admiralty, Stephens and Jackson. + +The opinion was expressed that European fruits, grain, etc., would grow +well in New Zealand, and an agricultural population would be successful. +Timber of excellent quality was plentiful, and it was believed that New +Zealand flax promised to be of considerable commercial value. Fish was +found in great quantities, the lobsters and oysters being specially +remarkable for quality and quantity. No quadrupeds except dogs and rats +were seen, and birds did not seem very plentiful. The minerals, in Cook's +opinion, did not appear of much value, but he admitted that he was not an +authority on the subject. Banks notes the southern islanders appeared to +be an inferior race to those of the north, the latter probably more +closely allied to the Otaheitan type; many of their customs were similar, +and their language practically identical. Tupia had no difficulty in +making himself understood. + +It would seem that even at this time founding a colony in the southern +hemisphere had been under discussion, for Cook says that if a settlement +were decided on in New Zealand, he would recommend the Estuary of the +Thames and the Bay of Islands as most suitable for the purpose. + +Speaking of his chart of New Zealand, Cook points out frankly the places +where he thinks he may have fallen into error, and gives his reasons for +so thinking, and the opinions of others are worth recording. + +A DULL SAILOR. + +Admiral Wharton says: + +"Never has a coast been as well laid down by a first explorer, and it +must have required unceasing vigilance and continual observation in fair +weather and foul, to arrive at such a satisfactory conclusion, and with +such a dull sailor as the Endeavour was, the six and a half months +occupied in the work (2,400 miles of coast) must be counted as a short +interval in which to do it." + +M. Crozet, second to M. Marion du Fresne in command of the French +expedition that was out in the following year, says: + +"As soon as I obtained information of the voyage of Cook, I carefully +compared the chart I had prepared of that part of the coast of New +Zealand along which we had coasted, with that prepared by Captain Cook +and his officers. I found it of an exactitude and of a thoroughness of +detail which astonished me beyond all power of expression. I doubt +whether our own coasts of France have been delineated with more +precision. I think therefore that I cannot do better than to lay down our +track of New Zealand on the chart prepared by the celebrated English +navigator." + + +CHAPTER 10. 1770. AUSTRALIA. + +The next thing to be done was to decide the course to be taken towards +England. Cook would have liked to have returned by the Horn and thus +settle the existence or non-existence of a large body of land in the +South Pacific, but the time of year and the condition of his ship +suggested that would be to court disaster. The same reasons held good +against a direct course to the Cape of Good Hope, with the added +disadvantage of there being no probability of any fresh discoveries, as +that part of the Ocean had been frequently traversed. + +"It was therefore resolved to return by way of the East Indies by the +following route. Upon leaving this coast to the Westward until we fall in +with the East coast of New Holland, and then to follow the direction of +that coast to the Northward or what other direction it might take us, +until we arrive at its Northern extremity; and if it should be found +impracticable then to Endeavour to fall in with the Land or Islands +discovered by Quiros." + +This extract from Cook's Journal shows that he made no claim to the +discovery of Australia, and settles the stupid story that his connection +with the discovery of the east coast was an accident. It was a course +laid down after thorough consideration of the best charts, very poor at +best, in his possession. + +BOTANY BAY. + +The good ship Endeavour got under way on 31st March 1770, with a +favourable wind and clear sky, heading a little north of west. On the +16th a change in the birds denoted the neighbourhood of land, and after a +touch of contrary wind, on 19th April 1770 Lieutenant Hicks sighted land +extending from north-east to west, distant five or six leagues. This was +the looked-for east coast of New Holland, and the ship was at the +entrance of Bass Straits, but on his chart Cook shows by a dotted line +that he felt uncertain whether van Diemen's Land was joined to New +Holland or no. The low hill which was first seen was named Point Hicks +after its discoverer, and its position is given as 38 degrees 0 minutes +South, 211 degrees 7 minutes West. Three waterspouts were seen a short +distance from the ship, and are remarkable as being the first ones +mentioned in the log. The course was altered to the north, and the +country is described as rather low, not very hilly, covered with green +woods, and the shore of white sand. Cape Howe was named the following +day, and the position fixed as 37 degrees 28 minutes South, 210 degrees 3 +minutes West, which Wharton says is almost exact. The country now +appeared to be improving in character, and smoke proved the existence of +inhabitants, but none were visible till Cape Dromedary and Bateman's Bay +were passed, when some were seen on the shore, but too far away for +observation. Cook wished to land at Jervis Bay, but the wind was against +him, and he could not afford time to beat in. An attempt was +unsuccessfully made at a place that has been identified a little north of +Five Islands, near Illawarra, but the surf was too heavy. At daylight on +Sunday, 29th April, a bay was discovered, and the Master was sent in to +sound the entrance, the ship following closely, and soon the Endeavour +anchored for the first time in Australian waters, about two miles within +the entrance of Sting Ray, now Botany, Bay. (For note see below.) The +time when the name of the Bay was changed has been much disputed, but it +is probable it was done some time after leaving the place. It was called +Sting Ray on account of the big haul of that fish made soon after their +arrival and the name stands in all the logs; Banks refers to it under +that name in a general description of the country, written when leaving +Cape York. Cook is however, decisive, for under date 6th May he says: +"The great quantity of plants Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander found in this +place occasioned my giving it the name of Botany Bay." + +On coming to an anchor, Cook, Banks, and Tupia went on shore, and Canon +Bennett, a second cousin of Mrs. Cook's, and one who knew her personally, +relates that the family legend was that on reaching the shore Cook +ordered the midshipman to "Jump out, Isaac," and Isaac Smith (afterwards +Admiral) also a cousin of Mrs. Cook's, was the first Englishman to set +his foot on the soil of New South Wales. The few natives who were near +ran away, excepting two, who came forward to oppose any landing. A musket +was fired over them, and they retired to where they had left their +spears, and then one threw a stone at the boat, and as they were too far +away for any serious damage to be done, Cook fired a charge of small shot +at him. He then ran off to a small hut near, picked up a wooden shield, +and returned to take up his position alongside his comrade, and they +threw a couple of spears, receiving a second discharge of small shot in +return, which caused them to retire slowly. As Banks, suspicious of some +gummy substance on the points of the spears, suggested poison, they were +not followed up. The huts, found near the landing-place, were constructed +of sticks covered with pieces of bark somewhat similar to those seen in +Tierra del Fuego. Some children found carefully covered up were left +undisturbed, but forty or fifty spears were taken, and payment in the +shape of beads, cloth, nails, etc., was left, but still untouched, on +visiting the camp the next morning. The canoes from which the natives +were seen fishing are described by Cook as the worst he ever saw, being +merely sheets of bark tied with withies at the end and kept open in the +middle by a stick. + +Considerable difficulty was experienced in obtaining water, and whilst +the crew were procuring it, Cook made a survey of the harbour. He +describes the country as lightly timbered, with a sandy soil growing a +plentiful crop of coarse grass, of which a quantity was cut for the +sheep. The soil was interspersed with rocks and swamps, but at the head +of the bay appeared richer. A few natives were seen, who ran away when +observed, and though one or two spears were thrown no damage was done to +any one. Large heaps of oyster, mussel, and cockle shells were found, +amongst them, says Cook, "being some of the largest oyster shells I ever +saw." An account, said to have been obtained from the blacks, published +in a work on Australian discovery (anonymous, Sydney), agrees as far as +it goes with those of Cook and Banks, and it is almost unnecessary to say +the ship was at first taken for a large bird. + +SUTHERLAND'S DEATH. + +Whilst here, a seaman named Forbes (Forby, in the Muster Roll) +Sutherland, died of consumption, from which he had suffered throughout +the voyage, was buried on shore, and the point named Point Sutherland in +his memory. The anonymous pamphlet referred to above, says that Cook does +not give the cause of Sutherland's death, and that he had been fatally +wounded by the blacks whilst trying to secure a metal plate he had found +affixed to a tree, recording that the Dutch had previously been on the +spot. The pamphlet goes on to say that Cook suppressed these facts in +order to have the credit of being the first discoverer, but that the +plate had been secured by some one and deposited in the British Museum. +Unfortunately, Cook does give the cause of Sutherland's death, and the +plate is not in the British Museum, nor has it ever been heard of there. +Before leaving, an inscription was cut on a tree near the watering place, +giving the ship's name and date; the English colours were displayed on +shore every day during their stay, but they could not establish any +friendly intercourse with the blacks. A plate has since been attached to +the rocks about fifteen feet above high water, and as near as possible to +the supposed place of landing. + +After leaving Botany Bay the coast was followed up to the north, and Cook +noted an "entrance" which he thought might prove a safe anchorage, to +which he gave the name of Port Jackson, after Mr. George Jackson, one of +the Secretaries to the Admiralty. Within this entrance is now the city of +Sydney, and it was to this place that Captain Phillip removed his +headquarters when he had discovered the unsuitability of Botany Bay for +settlement. Broken Bay, named from the number of small islands therein, +was passed, and the voyage was rendered very slow by the light northerly +winds, and passing Cape Hawke, he found the set of the current had placed +him twelve miles in advance, when reckoned by the log, of his real +position given by observation. + +Almost the only thing to be seen beyond the outline of the coast was the +constantly recurring smoke; one point received the name of Smoky Cape on +account of the great quantity seen in its vicinity. Cook, of course, was +unaware that these "smokes" were probably, many of them, signals from one +party of blacks to another of the arrival of something strange on the +coast. That these "smokes" are used by the blacks as a means of +communication is a well recognised fact, and the news they can convey by +this means is perfectly astonishing to a white man. + +The country appeared to increase in height with: + +"an agreeable variety of Hills, Ridges, and Valleys, and large plains all +clothed with wood, which to all appearance is the same as I have before +mentioned as we could discover no visible difference in the soil." + +After escaping a reef off Point Danger they discovered a bay, which Cook +called Morton Bay after the Earl of Morton, P.R.S.; now wrongly spelt as +Moreton Bay. Here, from the colour of the water, they supposed a river +emptied into the sea; the surmise was correct, for they were at the mouth +of the Brisbane River. At the same time some curiously-shaped hills were +given the name of the Glasshouses, from their resemblance to the +buildings in which glass is manufactured, and the resemblance is most +striking. + +After rounding Breaksea Spit, Cook found himself in a large bay, and +conjectured, from the birds and the direction of their flight, that there +was fresh water to the south-west; and rightly, for here the Mary River +enters Hervey's Bay. On 23rd May they landed for the second time, and +Cook says this was "visibly worse than the last place," that is Botany +Bay. They managed to shoot a bustard of 17 1/2 pounds, and Banks says it +was "as large as a good turkey, and far the best we had eaten since we +left England." It was so much appreciated that its name was conferred on +Bustard Head and Bustard Bay. This bird is known in Australia as the +Plain Turkey. Oysters of good quality were also obtained, and Banks made +the personal acquaintance of the green tree ant and the Australian +mosquito, neither of which were appreciated. + +CAPE CAPRICORN. + +On 24th May a moderately high, white, barren-looking point was passed, +which being found by observation to be directly under the tropic was +named Cape Capricorn, and soon after the mouth of the Fitzroy was +crossed, with the remark from Cook that from general appearances he +believed there was a river in the immediate vicinity. Soundings becoming +very irregular, he ran out between the Keppel Islands, on one of which +natives were seen. Cape Townshend was named after Charles Townshend, one +of the Lords of the Admiralty when the Endeavour left England, and not +the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as stated by Wharton. + +Rounding the point into Shoalwater Bay they had to haul sharp up to the +west to get within the Northumberland Islands, and the water was found to +be so shallow that they anchored and sounded from the boats, gradually +working nearer in, as Cook was anxious to clean the ship's bottom, which +was very foul; and he desired to take advantage of the full moon in these +dangerous waters. They landed to take some observations and look for +water. The observations were unsatisfactory, for the compass was +unreliable, a fault attributed to the ironstone in the neighbourhood, of +which signs were very evident, and water was not to be found. The country +is reported on as follows: "No signs of fertility is to be seen upon the +Land; the soil of the uplands is mostly a hard, reddish clay." + +Passing Cape Hillsborough, they entered Whitsunday Passage, described by +Cook as "one continued safe harbour, besides a number of small bays and +coves on each side, where ships might lay as it were in a Basin." The +land on both sides was green and pleasant-looking, but on account of the +moonlight Cook could not waste any time in landing. + +Entering Cleveland Bay, the compass was again very much disturbed; the +cause was found to be Magnetical, now Magnetic, Island, lying just off +the present Port of Townsville. Blacks were seen, near Rockingham Bay, +through the glasses; they were said to be very dark and destitute of +clothing, but no communication with them was possible. + +ON THE ROCKS. + +On 10th June, after leaving a small bay north of Cape Grafton, where they +had searched in vain for a watering place, the watch had just turned in, +the lead had been cast and given seventeen fathoms, when the unfortunate +ship brought all hands on deck, with a crash on a sunken rock. Soundings +taken all round showed her to be on the very edge of a coral reef. Making +but little water, an attempt was made to warp her off, but +unsuccessfully. Steps were then taken to lighten her; decayed stores, oil +jars, staves, casks, ballast, and her six quarter-deck guns were thrown +overboard, some forty to fifty tons, but with no effect. The tide now +rising, the leaks increased rapidly, two pumps being kept constantly at +work. Thinking things could only go from bad to worse, Cook determined to +heave her off at all hazards, and every one who could be spared from the +pumps was sent to the capstan or windlass, and at length, after a stay of +twenty-three hours on the rocks, she was hove into deep water. Now, +however, it was a case of all hands to the pumps, and for a time it +seemed as if they were slowly gaining on the in-rushing water, but +suddenly there was an increase reported in the well, casting a shadow of +gloom over all, but not for an instant staying the steady beat of the +pumps. Shortly it was discovered that a fresh hand had been sent to the +well and had sounded from a different mark than his predecessor, +accounting for the sixteen to eighteen inches difference in the depth of +water reported. This discovery acted like a charm: each one redoubled his +exertions, and by morning they had gained considerably on the leak, so +sail was made, and they slowly crawled in towards the land. + +Midshipman Monkhouse had been on a ship which was leaking at the rate of +forty-eight inches per hour, and had seen the operation called +"fothering" so successfully performed on her, that, without further +repair, she had sailed from Virginia to London. This being brought to +Cook's ear, he gave Monkhouse the charge of carrying out a similar +experiment. A studding sail was taken, on which oakum and wool was +lightly sewn and smothered with dirt; it was then lowered over the bows +and dragged by ropes over the place where the worst of the leak was +situated, and there secured, with the result, according to Banks, that in +a quarter of an hour after it was in position they were able to pump the +ship clear, and Cook says one pump was sufficient to keep her free. + +Of the conduct of the crew, Cook says: + +"In justice to the ship's company, I must say that no men ever behaved +better than they have done on this occasion; animated by the behaviour of +every Gentleman on board, every man seem'd to have a just sense of the +Danger we were in, and exerted himself to the very utmost." + +Banks adds his testimony: + +"Every man exerts his utmost for the preservation of the ship. The +officers during the whole time never gave an order that did not show them +to be perfectly composed and unmoved by the circumstances, however +dreadful they might appear." + +A point off which the reef was situated was given the suggestive name of +Cape Tribulation, and some small islands near, Hope Islands, because, as +Cook says, he hoped, at the time of their greatest danger, they might be +able to reach them. What a prospect to hope for! No possibility of ever +seeing a friendly sail, and but little probability of ever being able to +reach a civilised port. + +THE ENDEAVOUR RIVER. + +A boat sent off to search for some spot where temporary repairs could be +executed, soon returned and reported a small river had been found which +appeared suitable. This was the Endeavour River, and into it the ship was +safely taken, and deep water being found close to the bank, a stage was +rigged, and most of the stores and ballast were taken on shore; a +hospital was erected for the sick, "which amounted at this time to some +eight or nine afflicted with different disorders, but none very +dangerously ill." Green and Tupia were showing symptoms of scurvy, but +the remainder appear to have been free from it. + +As soon as the ship was sufficiently lightened she was warped a little +further up the river, and at the top of the tide her bows were hauled +well into the bank, so that when the tide fell they were able to examine +the leak. The damage was found to be very serious; the rock had cut +through four planks into the timbers, and three other planks had been +badly injured. The manner in which the ship had been injured was "hardy +credible, scarce a splinter was to be seen, but the whole was cut away as +if done with a blunt-edged tool." A piece of the rock was found wedged in +the hole, and had greatly assisted in arresting the influx of water. The +sheathing and false keel were very badly damaged, but it was believed +that she was not much injured aft, as she made but little water when once +the main wound was dry. + +At what is believed to be the exact spot at which the Endeavour was +beached, a monument has been erected by the inhabitants of Cooktown, a +seaport now at the mouth of the river. + +There being no danger from the natives the crew were allowed as much +liberty as possible, and a good supply of fish, a few pigeons and a small +quantity of vegetables, in the shape of yam tops, cabbage palm, and wild +plantains, had a very beneficial effect on their health. The longitude +was calculated from an observation of "the Emersion of Jupiter's First +Satelite," as 214 degrees 42 minutes 30 seconds West, which Wharton +remarks on as being an excellent observation, the true longitude being +214 degrees 45 minutes West. + +INCENDIARISM BY BLACKS. + +On 4th July the good ship was afloat again, so well repaired that only +about an inch of water per hour was taken in, easily kept under by the +pumps. She was laid over on a sandbank on the opposite side of the river +and more carefully examined, the sheathing being found to be very badly +damaged. The carpenter, in whom Cook had every confidence, reported that, +with the means at his disposal, he could not make a satisfactory job, but +he thought they might push on to some place where greater facilities +could be obtained. She was therefore taken alongside the staging, the +stores and ballast replaced, everything got ready for the prosecution of +the voyage, and the Master sent off in the pinnace to look for a passage +to the north-east; but was unsuccessful. He was again sent out, but again +reported badly; the shoals appeared to get worse the further he went. He, +however, brought back with him three turtles weighing about 800 pounds, +which were most welcome as the crew had now been some months without +fresh meat; a second trip to where these were caught resulted in getting +three or four more, and a large supply of shell-fish. They had made +several attempts to get on good terms with the few natives they had seen, +and on one occasion two or three who were fishing had a long and animated +conversation with Tupia, in which neither party could understand the +other, though one or two were persuaded to visit the camp. Shortly before +the last of the stores were taken in, Cook and Banks received friendly +overtures from a small party, and ten of them visited the ship. They were +offered various gifts, but seemed to set little value on anything except +the turtles. They made signs they wanted them, and when they found these +signs ignored, attempted to carry off two, and when their aim was +frustrated, went ashore to where some of the crew were at work. One of +them took a lighted stick from under the pitch kettle, and, making a wide +circuit round the place, fired the grass as he ran. Fortunately there +were not many things left ashore, and the powder had just been safely got +on board, so the most serious damage appears to have been the premature +roasting of a young pig. They then went off to where others of the crew +were washing, and drying the fishing nets, and another attempt was made +to burn the grass; but a charge of small shot caused a retreat, and on +their way they set fire to the undergrowth to cover their repulse. Banks +was greatly impressed with the manner in which the grass and undergrowth +burnt, and declared he would never pitch tents again without first +burning the grass for some distance round. + +Gore, Banks, and three men made a few days' excursion up the river, but, +with the exception of a kangaroo being shot by Gore, the first ever +killed by a European, they met with nothing worth noting. On 18th July +Cook, Banks, and Solander went up a hill some six or eight miles along +the coast to see if they could form any idea of the general run of the +coast and the surrounding reefs, and Cook says: "In whatever direction we +looked, it [the sea] was covered with shoals as far as the eye could +see." + +Before leaving the river, Banks gives some notes as to the country, and +puts it down as "in every respect the most barren country we have yet +seen." The animals were not numerous; he gives kangaroo, wolf (the dingo +or native dog), bats (flying foxes), wild cats (dasyurus), and opossums. +Amongst the birds, several kinds of duck, shags, pelicans, crows, and +flock pigeons, all, with the exception of the last, difficult to shoot. +Of the crow he says: "A crow in England though in general sufficiently +wary is, I must say, a fool to a New Holland crow." None of the beasts or +birds seem to have come amiss to the pot; all that was necessary was the +meat should not be salt, "that alone was sufficient to make it a +delicacy." He quotes the description given by a sailor of an animal he +saw: + +"It was as black as the devil and had wings, indeed I took it for the +devil, or I might have catched it, for it crawled away very slowly +through the grass." + +After some little trouble Banks discovered this to have been a large bat +(flying fox). Of the insect life seen, he was particularly struck by the +white ants and their nests, and formed a very respectful opinion of the +mosquito. + +Cook's opinion agrees fairly well with that of Banks, but on the whole he +thought the east coast was not so barren and desolate as Dampier had +described the west coast, and adds: + +"We are to consider that we see this country in the pure state of nature; +the Industry of Man has had nothing to do with any part of it, and yet we +find all such things as Nature hath bestowed upon it, in a flourishing +state. In this Extensive Country, it can never be doubted, but what most +sorts of grain, Fruit, roots, etc., of every kind would flourish here +were they once brought hither, planted and cultivated by the hands of +Industry; and here are provender for more cattle, at all seasons of the +year, than ever can be brought into the country." + +This is a fair example of the observations and deductions to be found +scattered through Cook's Journals, and an improvement on the would-be +scientific and classical rubbish put into his mouth by his editors. + +A MASTHEAD WATCH. + +At last, on 4th August, they got away from the Endeavour River, only to +find themselves surrounded by difficulties. Cook or one of the other +officers was continually at the masthead on the look-out, and at length, +by keeping very close in shore, they managed to creep past Cape Flattery, +and thought the worst was over, but a landing at Point Lookout showed a +very unsatisfactory prospect. In hopes of getting a better view Cook went +out to Lizard Island, and from there could see, far away to the east, the +white breakers on the Great Barrier Reef. This island, on which the only +living things to be seen were lizards, they found, from the large piles +of shells and remains of fires, was visited periodically by the blacks; a +remarkable voyage for their miserable canoes. + +Having only three months' supplies at short allowance left, Cook, after a +consultation with his officers, made out through an opening in the +Barrier Reef that he had seen from Lizard Island, and observes: + +"Having been entangled among Islands and Shoals more or less ever since +the 26th May, in which time we have sailed 360 leagues by the Lead, +without ever having a Leadsman out of the chains, when the ship was under +sail, a Circumstance that perhaps never happened to any ship before, and +yet it was here absolutely necessary." + +But their satisfaction in getting outside was diminished when it was +found that the increased working of the ship's timbers necessitated the +continual use of one pump. + +Cook was afraid that being forced outside the Barrier Reef he would be +unable to put to the proof the opinion he had formed that New Guinea and +New Holland were not joined. He did not know till after his return to +England, that the point had already been settled in 1606, by Louis Vaez +de Torres, and he readily yields the honour of the discovery in the +Introduction to his Second Voyage. The log of Torres's voyage was lost +for many years, and was found at Manilla, when that place was taken by +Admiral Cornish in 1762. Cook had with him a copy of De Brye's Voyages, +published in 1756, which contained three charts that he found to be +"tolerably good" with regard to New Guinea, and he evidently formed the +opinion that both the Spaniards and the Dutch had circumnavigated that +island. + +"I always understood, before I had a sight of these maps, that it was +unknown whether or no New Holland and New Guinea was one continued land, +and so it is said in the very History of Voyages these maps are bound up +in. However, we have now put this wholly out of dispute; but as I believe +it was known before, but not publickly, I claim no other merit than the +clearing up of a doubtful point." + +With this question of New Guinea and New Holland in view, he again made +to the west, sighting the Barrier again on 15th August, and on the +following morning, the wind having changed in the night, the breakers +were heard very distinctly. The lead gave no bottom at 140 fathoms, but +at daybreak the reef was not a mile away, and they found themselves in a +dead calm, rapidly drifting with the current towards the breakers. The +yawl and long-boat were got out, the pinnace being under repair, and the +sweeps were used from the gun-room ports. By six o'clock she was heading +north again, but: + +"not above 80 or 100 yards from the breakers. The same sea that washed +the side of the ship rose in a breaker prodigiously high the very next +time it did rise, so that between us and destruction was only a dismal +valley, the breadth of one wave, and even now no ground could be felt +with 120 fathoms." + +A PERILOUS POSITION. + +The carpenter had by this time fastened a temporary streak on the +pinnace, and it was sent off to assist in towing. Cook had almost given +up hope, but he says: + +"In this truly terrible situation, not one man ceased to do his utmost, +and that with as much calmness as if no danger had been near." + +Admiral Wharton draws special attention to the fact that in the very +height of the danger, Green, Charles Clerke, and Forwood, the gunner, +were engaged in taking a Lunar for the longitude. Green notes: + +"These observations were very good, the limbs of the sun and moon very +distinct, and a good horizon. We were about 100 yards from the reef, +where we expected the ship to strike every minute, it being calm, no +soundings, and the swell heaving us right on." + +When things seemed perfectly hopeless, a small breath of air, "so small +that at any other time in a calm we should not have observed it," came, +and every advantage being taken, the distance from the reef was slightly +increased, but then again it fell calm. A small opening of the reef was +seen and an attempt was made to push through, but the ebb tide was found +to be "gushing out like a mill stream." Advantage was taken of this, and +they succeeded in getting about a quarter of a mile away, but the current +was so narrow they soon lost it. A second opening was seen, and, the tide +having changed, they were carried rapidly through Providential Channel +and safely anchored in nineteen fathoms of water. Cook says: + +"It is but a few days ago that I rejoiced at having got without the Reef, +but that joy was nothing when compared to what I now felt at being safe +at an anchor within it." + +Having arrived at a place of safety, Cook resolved to remain till he had +his boats in thorough repair and had made a complete study of his +difficulties. From the masthead it appeared as if the shoals and reefs +offered less obstruction than he had previously towards the north, and he +hoped, by keeping as close to the shore as possible, to be able to solve +the problem of the passage between New Guinea and New Holland. At this +place, boats that had been out fishing brought back a sort of cockle, +some requiring two men to lift them, and containing "as much as twenty +pounds of good wholesome meat." + +TAKE POSSESSION. + +Proceeding slowly through a network of reefs, shoals, and islands, the +boats always sounding ahead, he had the satisfaction of passing the +straits between Cape York and New Guinea, leaving Torres's track +considerably to the north. On getting clear of the straits, they landed +for the last time in Australian waters, and hoisting the English flag: + +"took possession of the whole Eastern Coast from the above latitude (38 +degrees 0 minutes South) down to this place by the name of New Wales. We +fired three volleys of small arms, which were answer'd by the like number +from the ship." + +Admiral Wharton says that in the King's and the Admiralty's copies of +Cook's Journal the name is given as New South Wales, and in a letter +written to Mr. John Walker, of Whitby, dated 13th September 1771, Cook +says: "The East coast of New Holland, or what I call New South Wales." + +After a narrow escape of running on a reef near Booby Island, from which +they were only saved by letting go the anchors with all sails set, they +left the difficulties of the New Holland coast behind and sighted New +Guinea on 29th August. + +*** + +FOOTNOTE: STING RAY BAY. + +"The great number of New Plants, etc., our Gentlemen Botanists have +collected in this place occasion'd my giving in [sic] the Name of +Botanist Bay." + +Extract from the only page known to exist of the Journal of the first +voyage written by Cook, and dated 6th May, 1770. It was, July 1911, +purchased by Mr. F.T. Sabin for 451 pounds. + + +CHAPTER 11. 1770 TO 1771. NEW GUINEA TO ENGLAND. + +The water on the New Guinea coast was very shallow, and kept them far out +in running westward, but on 3rd September they got a little nearer in, so +Cook decided to attempt a landing, and then to leave, as he considered it +was only wasting valuable time to go over ground that had already been +explored by the Dutch. Banks says the crew were rather sickly, they: + +"were pretty far gone with the longing for home, which the physicians +have gone so far as to esteem a disease under the name of Nostalgia. +Indeed, I can find hardly anybody in the ship clear of its effects, but +the Captain, Dr. Solander, and myself, and we three have ample constant +employment for our minds, which I believe to be the best if not the only +remedy for it." + +They were also on short allowance of food, which would necessarily have a +depressing effect, and when they learnt that Cook would return to +civilisation where fresh supplies could be obtained, there was a marked +improvement in the general health. + +Calling in at the island of Savu, some supplies were obtained, and the +country is described as very lovely, although there had been no rain for +seven months; the contrast with the monotonous and barren-looking country +of New Holland was very marked. + +AT BATAVIA. + +According to strict orders from the Admiralty, Cook on 30th September +collected all logs and journals that had been kept on board the ship, and +enjoined every one that they were on no account to divulge where they had +been on their arrival at Batavia. Off Java Head the main topsail was +split in a squall, and Cook remarks that all his sails are now in such a +condition that "they will hardly stand the least puff of wind." No +observations had been possible since leaving Savu, and the strong western +current had thrown out their dead reckoning, causing them to run past the +Straits of Sunda; but, picking themselves up on 1st October, they got +into the straits, and after a wearisome beat up arrived in Batavia on the +10th; and Hicks was sent on shore to announce their arrival, and offer an +apology for failing to salute the Dutch flag in a proper manner--the +reason being that they had only three guns available. + +The ship was thoroughly surveyed, and on the carpenter's report, Cook +applied to the Governor for a convenient place in which to heave down and +repair, and for permission to purchase such stores as might be necessary. +Every assistance was promised, and on Cook's finding a difficulty in +getting any private person to cash the bills he would have to draw for +his expenses, the Governor ordered the officer in charge of the port to +supply whatever amount might be necessary. + +During a heavy thunderstorm on the 12th, a Dutch East Indiaman, about two +cables away from the Endeavour, had mainmast "split all to shivers." The +Endeavour was also struck: + +"and in all probability we should have shared the same fate as the +Dutchman, had it not been for the electric chain which we had but just +before got up; this carried the Lightning or Electrical matter over the +side clear of the ship." + +On 25th October Cook reopened communication with the Admiralty, +forwarding to Mr. Stephens, by the Dutch East Indiaman Kronenberg, +Captain F. Kelgar, a packet containing a copy of his Journal (sold to Mr. +John Corner in 1890), charts of the South Seas, New Zealand, and the East +Coast of Australia. He also wrote a letter giving an outline of his +voyage up to date, and concludes: + +"In this Journal, I have with undisguised Truth and without gloss, +inserted the whole transactions of the Voyage, and made such remarks and +have given such descriptions of things as I thought was necessary, in the +best manner I was capable of. Although the discoverys made in the Voyage +are not great, yet I flatter myself they are such as may merit the +Attention of their Lordships, and altho' I have failed in discovering the +so much talked of Southern Continent (which perhaps do not exist), and +which I myself had much at heart, yet I am confident that no part of the +failure of such discovery can be laid to my charge. Had we been so +fortunate not to have run ashore, much more would have been done in the +latter part of the Voyage than what was, but as it is, I presume this +Voyage will be found as compleat as any before made to the South Seas on +the same account. + +PRAISES HIS CREW. + +"The plans I have drawn of the places I have been at, were made with all +the care and accuracy that Time and Circumstances would admit of. Thus +far I am certain that the Latitude and Longitude of few parts of the +World are better settled than these, in this I was very much assisted by +Mr. Green, who let slip no one opportunity for making observations for +settling the Longitude during the whole course of the Voyage, and the +many valuable discoverys made by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander in Natural +History and other things useful to the learned World, cannot fail of +contributing very much to the success of the Voyage. In justice to the +officers and the whole of the crew, I must say, they have gone through +the fatigues and dangers of the Whole Voyage with that cheerfulness and +alertness that will always do honour to the British Seamen, and I have +the satisfaction to say that I have not lost one man by Sickness during +the whole Voyage. I hope that the repairs wanting to the Ship will not be +so great as to detain us any length of time; You may be assured that I +shall make no unnecessary delay either here or at any other place, but +shall make the best of my way home." + +Banks, too, notes that there were no sick on board, and contrasts the +rosy, healthy appearance of the crew with the pallid faces of the +Europeans of Batavia. But on 26th October a series of disastrous entries +commence in the Journal. + +"Set up the ship's tents for the reception of the ship's company, several +of them begin to be taken ill, owing as I suppose to the extream hot +weather." + +Batavia had an ill-omened reputation, and it has been estimated that from +1735 to 1755 no less than 1,000,000 deaths took place, chiefly from +malarial fever and dysentery, and Cook had soon cause to regret that the +Dutch had undertaken the repairs of the ship, leaving his men to look on. +He knew well the evil effects of want of occupation in such a climate, +though he could not guess what it was to cost him. Up to this time he had +only seven deaths to record since leaving Plymouth; three from drowning, +two frozen (Mr. Banks's servants), one consumption, and one alcoholic +poisoning: probably a record never equalled in the history of navigation. +On 5th November Mr. Monkhouse, the surgeon, died, and Cook, Banks, and +Solander were very ill. The two last went up into the hills, but Cook +would not leave his ship. + +Meanwhile the repairs went on; the ship was found to be worse than had +been expected; two planks and a half had been rasped by the rocks to the +thickness of one eighth of an inch for a distance of six feet: + +"and here the worms had made their way quite into the timbers, so that it +was a matter of surprise to every one who saw her bottom, how we had kept +her above water, and yet in this condition we had sailed some hundreds of +leagues in as dangerous a navigation as in any part of the world, happy +in being ignorant of the continual danger we were in." + +By the 14th her bottom was thoroughly repaired, and Cook speaks highly of +the Dutch workmen: + +"I do not believe there is a Marine Yard in the World where work is done +with more alertness than here, or where there are better conveniences for +heaving ships down, both in point of safety and Despatch." + +The water, a perquisite of the Commodore of the Dutch East Indian fleet, +was very unsatisfactory, and was found to keep very badly at sea, +although its keeping properties had been loudly vaunted by the Commodore. +Cook was present at his appointment: + +"one of the grandest sights Batavia afforded; that may be too, and yet it +did not recompense us for our trouble. I thought that the whole was but +ill conducted, and the fleet appeared to be very badly mann'd." + +A seaman who had run from a Dutch ship entered on the Endeavour, was +claimed by the Dutch on the grounds that he was a Dane from Elsinore. +Cook promised he should be given up if he proved not to be a British +subject, and enquiry by Mr. Hicks resulted in a report to the Governor +that he was an Irishman, so the matter dropped. His name was James Marra, +and he will be again met with as gunner's mate on the Resolution. + +DEATH OF TUPIA. + +Before leaving Batavia there had been seven deaths, including Mr. +Reynolds, artist, and Tupia and his boy servant, and Cook gives the +number of sick as "forty or more." Hoping the sea breezes might have a +beneficial effect, preparations were hurried forward, and they managed to +leave the day after Christmas Day, being duly saluted by the garrison +with fourteen guns, and the Earl of Elgin with thirteen guns and three +cheers, "all of which we return'd." + +Calling at Prince's Island in the straits of Sunda, where some of the +Batavian water was replaced by better, the sailors were allowed to +purchase whatever they fancied in hopes of diminishing the dysentery +which was rampant. Every precaution that could be thought of was tried, +but in vain. Mr. Banks lost Messrs. Sporing and Parkinson, and on 29th +January Mr. Green died; he had been long ill, but Cook says he would not +take proper care of himself. To judge from his own Journal, he must have +been rather a difficult man to get on with, but his services as observer +were invaluable, and he at all times and seasons was devoted to his +special duty: indeed, at times he appears to have thought that every +other work should give way to his. It is a somewhat suggestive fact that +Banks hardly makes any reference to Mr. Green throughout his Journal. On +27th February the terrible list of losses was closed by the deaths of +three of the crew, making in all thirty deaths since their arrival at +Batavia. + +It was afterwards discovered that the season in Batavia had been +unusually unhealthy, and several ships that had called in there had to +report heavy losses. Cook says: + +"Thus we find that ships which have been little more than twelve months +from England have suffer'd as much or more by sickness than we have done, +who have been out near three times as long. Yet their sufferings will +hardly, if at all, be mentioned or known in England; when, on the other +hand, those of the Endeavour, because her voyage is uncommon, will very +probably be mentioned in every News Paper, and, what is not unlikely, +with Additional hardships we never Experienced; for such are the +dispositions of men in general in these Voyages, that they are seldom +content with the Hardships and Dangers which will naturally occur, but +they must add others which hardly ever had existence but in their +imaginations, by magnifying the most Trifling accidents and Circumstances +to the greatest Hardships, and unsurmountable Dangers without the +immediate interposition of Providence, as if the whole merit of the +Voyages consisted in the real dangers and Hardships they underwent, or +that the real ones did not happen often enough to give the mind +sufficient anxiety. Thus Posterity are taught to look upon these Voyages +as hazardous to the highest degree." + +AT THE CAPE. + +On 6th March land was sighted at daylight, about two leagues away, near +Cape Natal, and on the 15th the Cape of Good Hope was seen. The first +thing to be done was to provide shelter ashore for his sick, of whom he +landed twenty-eight, and during the stay the remainder of the crew were +given every possible opportunity of being on land, as Cook recognised the +value of an entire change of life in shaking off the remnants of +sickness. He lost three more of his men here, and hearing from a Dutch +ship just in from Europe that war was threatening between England and +Spain, he hurried up his preparations for departure and got all his men +on board, though some were still very ill. In addition he managed to +enter some half-dozen men for the voyage home. + +In writing of the Cape, Cook draws attention to the fact: + +"that a stranger is at once struck with surprise and disappointment, for +no country we have seen this voyage affords so barren a prospect as this, +and not only so in appearance but in reality." + +Then further on he says: + +"Notwithstanding the many disadvantages this country labours under, such +is the industry, economy, and good management of the Dutch, that not only +the necessary, but all the Luxuries of Life are raised here in great +abundance, and are sold as cheap, if not cheaper, than in any part of +Europe, some few articles excepted." + +On the other hand, he complains of the exorbitant charges made by the +Dutch East India Company for naval stores. As at Batavia, they were sold +at a certain fixed price from which there was no deviation. + +Calling in at St. Helena, they found H.M.Ss. Portland and Swallow, with a +convoy, in the roads, and received some few much-needed stores from them, +together with the information that all danger of war between Spain and +England was over. They all sailed in company on 5th May, but after a few +days Cook explained to Captain Elliott, of the Portland, who had come on +board the Endeavour, that his ship, sails, and rigging were naturally not +in very good order after his lengthy voyage, and therefore he should +probably be unable to keep up with the other ships. He requested the +Portland to take charge of letters, charts, and journals for the +Admiralty. These papers only arrived in England three days in advance of +the Endeavour. For some days the good Bark kept within easy reach of the +fleet, and was able to obtain extra medical advice for Mr. Hicks, who was +suffering from consumption when he left England, but had held out well +till stricken with the Batavian fever, when he gradually sank and died on +25th May; Mr. Charles Clerke was appointed third lieutenant, in place of +Mr. Gore, promoted. Since leaving the Cape they had also lost their +Master, Mr. Molineaux, of whose intelligence Cook speaks very highly, but +deplores his want of steadiness, the true cause of his early death. Mr. +Pickersgill was appointed to the vacancy. + +ANCHOR IN THE DOWNS. + +On the 21st June they were still in sight of some of the convoy, but +during the night they had their main topgallant sail split, and the +topmast sprung, in a heavy squall; in fact, their gear was in such a bad +state that something gave way daily. On 7th July they spoke a brig from +London, three days out from Scilly, and learnt that no account of their +proceedings had yet been made public, and that wagers were being laid +that the Endeavour was lost. On 10th July Nicholas Young, who had sighted +New Zealand, sighted the Land's End, and the Lizard was seen the next +day. On Saturday, 13th July 1771, "at 3 o'clock in the P.M. anchor'd in +the Downs and soon after I landed in order to repair to London." + +Before leaving, Cook wrote to Mr. Stephens informing him of his arrival, +and announcing that he was coming up to the Admiralty to lay before their +Lordships a full account of the whole voyage, and that the ship was to +await further orders. He hopes that the appointments that he has made +will meet with approval, and requests that his charts, plans, and +drawings may be laid before the authorities. + +On 2nd August, Stephens wrote to him at Mile End, saying he had received +the papers sent from Batavia, those by the Portland and those from the +Downs, and that they had been laid before their Lordships. He goes on: + +"I have the pleasure to acquaint you that their Lordships extremely well +approve of the whole of your proceedings and that they have great +satisfaction in the account you have given them of the good behaviour of +your officers and men and of the cheerfulness and alertness with which +they went through the fatigues and dangers of their late Voyage." + +He also notifies at the same time that the appointments made have all +been confirmed. + +Cook himself was appointed Commander of the Scorpion on 29th August, but +owing to other arrangements being made did not put in an appearance on +his new ship. Isaac Smith and Isaac Manly were appointed respectively +Master's mate and midshipman, taking part in the Second Voyage, being too +young for further promotion. + +The newspapers, of course, blossomed out into paragraphs on the subject +of the voyage, more or less correct, and Bingley's Journal on 23rd July +stated: + +"In consequence of this discovery, more ships will be destined in search +of this new terrestrial acquisition." + +Evidently it was quickly decided that Cook's rest was to be short. On +27th the same Journal says: + +"His Majesty's Ship, the Endeavour, which is lately arrived in the River +from the East Indies, lost by the unhealthiness of the climate, 70 of her +hands, tho' they were picked men, and had been several times in the +Indies. However, those who survive will have made their fortunes by +traffic, having brought home some of the richest goods made in the east, +which they are suffered to dispose of without the inspection of the +Custom House officers. This, our correspondent says, is allowed them by +the Government as a reward for their hard and dangerous service during a +voyage of three years." + +The amount of the "richest goods made in the East" obtained from New +Zealand, Australia, and Otaheite would be but a poor reward for three +years' strenuous service; and Cook here finds his premonition as to his +losses being exaggerated, only too true. + +It is worthy of note that the number of punishments throughout the voyage +was remarkably small, those entered in the ship's log being twenty-one, +and the heaviest sentence, two dozen lashes for theft. In one case, that +of Mathew Cox, A.B., for disobedience and mutinous conduct, the culprit +proceeded civilly against Cook, on arrival in England, and the Admiralty +solicitors were instructed to defend. The case was probably allowed to +drop, as no result can be found. + +LAST OF THE ENDEAVOUR. + +The good ship which had so bravely borne her part, was not given much +rest; but after being paid off at Woolwich, was despatched, under +lieutenant James Gordon, to the Falkland Islands on 16th October, and +returned with "perishable and unserviceable" stores; in 1772 and 1773 she +again made voyages to the same destination, the last one to bring away +the garrison and stores, as those islands were to be handed over to +Spain. She was paid off at Woolwich in September 1774, and shortly +afterwards was sold out of the Navy for the sum of 645 pounds. She is +then believed to have been employed as a collier in the North Seas. Mr. +Gibbs, of the firm of Gibbs and Canning of Newport, Rhode Island, one day +pointed out to the English Consul the remains of an old vessel falling +into decay, and informed him that it was Captain Cook's ship, the +Endeavour. His story was that the French Government being anxious to +compete with England in the whale fishery, offered a bounty to the ships +in that trade sailing under the French flag. A Mr. Hayden purchased the +old ship from a Dunkirk firm and re-christened her La Liberte, loaded her +with oil and consigned her, under French colours, to Gibbs and Canning at +Newport. She was chased by an English ship, but escaped, and after laying +alongside a wharf for some months received a cargo, but running aground +in trying to leave the harbour, she was found in such a bad condition +that she was allowed to remain to drop to pieces. Enquiries into this +story gave satisfactory results, and a box made from her timbers was +presented to J. Fennimore Cooper, the American author, with letters +authenticating, as far as possible, the vessel from which the wood had +been taken. Miss Cooper mentions this box in her preface to her father's +Red Rover, and several other relics of the old ship are still to be found +in the neighbourhood of Newport. + + +CHAPTER 12. 1771. PREPARATIONS FOR SECOND VOYAGE. + +After reporting himself to the Admiralty on his arrival in England, Cook +proceeded to his home at Mile End Old Town, where he was for some time +employed in completing his Charts and Journals, and on 14th August, the +Annual Register announces, he was introduced to His Majesty at St. +James's, when he: + +"presented his Journal of his Voyage, with some curious maps and charts +of different places that he had drawn during the voyage; he was presented +with a captain's commission." + +He also found time to write two long and instructive letters to his old +master and good friend, Mr. John Walker of Whitby, which are to be found +in Dr. Young's work. They give a rapid glance at the different places +visited, with a few pithy remarks as to their peoples and productions; +mention the pleasing reception he had from the king, and he alludes to +the probability of being despatched on a second voyage with two ships. + +Edgeworth, in his Memoirs, states that about this time Cook was a +frequent visitor at Denham Place, the home of Mr. Louis Way, F.R.S., but +as that gentleman died in this year, and Edgeworth also refers to events +of a later date as occurring at the same time, it is more probable that +these visits were paid after the Second Voyage to Mr. Benjamin Way, also +F.R.S., and a Director of the South Sea Company. In another place +Edgeworth infers that Banks, Solander, and Cook were members of a club +which met at Slaughter's Coffee House in 1765. Of course, this is an +error, for Cook was then engaged in Newfoundland, and unknown to the +Royal Society, whose members composed the club spoken of; in fact, Cook, +though a frequent guest in after times, was never a member of the Royal +Societies Club. + +Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay) says that in September her father, Dr. +Charles Burney, spent a few days at Hinchinbroke, Lord Sandwich's place, +in order to meet Cook, Banks, and Solander, and it is evident that the +second voyage had been resolved on, for Dr. Burney's son, James, was +introduced to Cook by Lord Sandwich, with a view to going on the +expedition. Shortly after this, Sandwich met Dr. Burney at Lord Oxford's, +Houghton, and asked him if he could recommend any one capable of writing +the history of the voyage of the Endeavour; he gave Dr. Hawkesworth's +name, and was requested to introduce him to Lord Sandwich on his return +to town. + +The object of the Second Voyage was, to use Cook's own words: + +"To put an end to all diversity of opinion about a matter so curious and +important, was His Majesty's principal motive in directing this voyage to +be undertaken, the history of which is now submitted to the public, i.e., +the existence of another continent in the South." + +The discussion on the subject had been resumed with renewed vigour after +the return of the Endeavour, and Dalrymple led one party, who held that +Cook had not set the matter at rest as he had left far too much space +untraversed. + +WHITBY SHIPS AGAIN. + +The two ships that were to be employed were probably selected in the +Thames by Cook himself, and, like the good ship Endeavour, were built by +Fishburn of Whitby, and purchased from Captain W. Hammond of Hull. The +reasoning which guided Cook in his selection is thus laid down by him in +his introduction to the account of the Second Voyage: + +"The success of such undertakings as making discoveries in distant parts +of the world, will principally depend on the preparations being well +adapted to what ought to be the first consideration, namely, the +preservation of the adventurers and ships; and this will chiefly depend +on the kind, the size, and the properties of the ships chosen for the +service. These primary considerations will not admit of any other, that +may interfere with the necessary properties of the ships. Therefore, in +chusing the ships, should any of the most advantageous properties be +wanting, and the necessary room in them be, in any degree, diminished for +less important purposes, such a step would be laying a foundation for +rendering the undertaking abortive in the first instance. The ship must +not be of great draught, but of sufficient capacity to carry a proper +quantity of provisions and stores for the crew, and of such construction +that she will bear to take the ground, and of such a size that she can be +conveniently laid on shore if necessary for repairing any damages or +defects, and these qualities are to be found in North Country built +ships, such as are built for the coal trade, and in none other." + +The larger of the two chosen was 462 tons, purchased for 4,151 pounds, +and received into the Royal Navy under the name of the Drake. She was +fitted as a sloop at Deptford, at a cost of 6,568 pounds (this sum, +probably, covering both the original alterations which proved +unsatisfactory and those made immediately before sailing), and at the +time of her purchase was about fourteen months old. The second ship was +of 336 tons, also fitted at Deptford as a sloop, was eighteen months old +at time of purchase, cost 2,103 pounds, and was received under the name +of Raleigh. + +The complement of the Raleigh was eighty, but two additional carpenters' +mates were added to each ship later on. Cook was also instructed not to +bear, as was then usual, any servants on the books, but to enter A.B.s +instead, and each officer who was entitled to a servant was "to be paid +an allowance by Bill equal to the wages of the number of servants +respectively allowed them." + +On 25th December the names of the two ships were changed, the Drake +becoming the Resolution, and the Raleigh the Adventure. The lieutenants +appointed to the Resolution were Robert Pallisser Cooper, Charles Clerke, +and Richard Pickersgill, and Mr. Tobias Furneaux, Commander, and Joseph +Shank first lieutenant, of the Adventure. Of these officers Cook writes: + +"I had all the reason in the World to be perfectly satisfied with the +choice of the officers. The Second and Third Lieutenants, the Lieutenant +of Marines, two of the Warrant officers, and several of the Petty +officers had been with me during the former voyage. The others were men +of known abilities, and all of them on every occasion showed their zeal +for the service in which they were employed during the whole voyage." + +ALTERATIONS TO THE RESOLUTION. + +Two days after receiving his orders, Cook hoisted his pendant and +superintended the alterations that were to be made for the accommodation +of Mr. Banks and his party of scientists. These comprised Dr. Solander, +Zoffani, the portrait painter, Dr. Lynd of Edinburgh, to secure whose +services Parliament had made a special grant of 4000 pounds (though "what +discoveries they expected him to make I could not understand," says +Cook), and nine others, draughtsmen and servants; at least three more +than had been thought necessary when the vessel was purchased. These +alterations were: + +"to raise her upper works about a foot, to lay a spar deck upon her from +the quarter-deck to the forecastle (she having at this time a low waist), +and to build a round house or coach for my accommodation, so that the +great cabin might be appropriated to the use of Mr. Banks alone." + +The Comptroller of the Navy, Captain Pallisser, was strongly opposed to +these alterations as likely to be detrimental to the ship's sailing +qualities, and though his opinions were overborne, they in the end proved +to be correct. + +When he had seen the alterations fairly on the way, Cook applied for +three weeks' leave of absence, on the plea that he had "some business to +transact in Yorkshire, as well as to see an aged father," and his +application was at once granted. He therefore went to Ayton, where for +the first time for seventeen years he was again amongst his own people. +From Ayton he went on to Whitby, and was met some miles out from that +town by many of the leading men of the place. From the Walkers he +received the heartiest of welcomes, and it is related that the old +housekeeper, Mary Prowd, had been carefully instructed that a Commander +in His Majesty's Navy was a very different person from one of her +master's apprentices, and must be received with all the marks of respect +due to his rank. She promised obedience, but, alas, when the time came +her memory fled, and opening wide her arms, she exclaimed: "O honey +James! How glad I is to see thee!" A welcome, probably, more dear to Cook +than any other could have been, and a proof of the affectionate regard he +could inspire. + +In February he was back in London, and Dr. Burney says in his Memoirs: + +"I had the honour of receiving the illustrious Captain Cook to dine with +me in Queen's Square [Bloomsbury] previously to his second voyage round +the world. Observing upon a table, Bougainville's Voyage Autour du Monde, +he turned it over, and made some curious remarks on the illiberal conduct +of that circumnavigator towards himself when they met and crossed each +other; which made me desirous to know, in examining the chart of M. de +Bougainville, the several tracks of the two navigators, and exactly where +they had crossed or approached each other. + +"Captain Cook instantly took a pencil from his pocket book and said he +would trace the route; which he did in so clear and scientific a manner +that I would not take fifty pounds for my book. The pencil marks, having +been fixed by skim milk, will always be visible." + +This volume is now in the British Museum, and the pencil marks on the +chart are as distinct as on the day they were made. + +The alterations to the ship were completed early in February, and on the +6th she was hauled out of dock, and rigging, ballasting, and storing +commenced. Cook says: + +"Every department seemed to vie with the other in equiping these two +ships, every standing rule and order in the Navy was dispensed with, +every alteration, every necessary and useful article, was granted as soon +as asked for." + +SUPPLIES INCREASED. + +In another passage he again refers to the anxiety of the Navy Board to +see that the quality of the stores was everything that could be wished, +and the quantity was increased from one to two and a half years' supply. + +On the 22nd April the two sloops were at Longreach to take in their guns +and gunners' stores; twelve carriage guns and twelve swivel musketoons +for the Resolution, and ten carriage guns and ten swivels for the +Adventure. These should have been taken on board at Galleon's Reach, but +the Resolution was drawing too much water--seventeen feet. When here Cook +showed that he thought she was rather over-weighted with her new upper +works, and might prove crank, but: + +"as the Gentlemen's apartments were full of heavy baggage and the sloop a +good deal lumbered aloft with heavy and some useless articles, which we +might soon get rid of or get into the hold after we had consumed some of +our provisions, I still entertained hopes that she would bear all her +additional works, and suspended giving any other opinion until a full +trial had been made of her, foreseeing what would be the consequence in +case she did not answer in the manner she was now fitted." + +On 29th April, Mr. Banks gave an entertainment on board to Lord Sandwich, +the French Ambassador, and other distinguished personages, and Cook notes +that the first named had been on board several times, "a laudable tho ' +rare thing in a First Lord of the Admiralty." + +Cook obtained a few days' leave to make his final arrangements, and the +Resolution was ordered to the Downs under the first lieutenant, whilst +the Adventure proceeded to Plymouth; both vessels sailing from Longreach +on 10th May. The Resolution, contending against adverse winds, made a +very slow trip down to the Nore, being four days on the journey, and Mr. +Cooper reported to Cook that she was very crank. The latter at once wrote +to the Admiralty that he considered it unsafe to proceed any further with +her in that condition, and proposed that her poop should be cut down, her +masts shortened, and her guns exchanged to four-pounders. The Navy Board, +however, decided that she should be restored to her original state as far +as it was possible to do so; she was therefore ordered to Sheerness, and +her Captain was instructed to join his ship and see the alterations were +properly carried out. + +Before leaving London Cook, who had heard it was said that he was not +satisfied with the vessels chosen for the voyage, wrote to Mr. Stephens +on the subject, giving his opinion that the crankness of the Resolution +"was owing to the additional works that have been built upon her in order +to make large accommodation for the several gentlemen passengers intended +to embark in her." He added that the proposed alterations of the Navy +Board would "render her as fit to perform the voyage as any ship +whatever"; and, referring to the report that he did not approve of the +type of ship, he says, "from the knowledge and experience I have had of +these sort of vessels, I shall always be of opinion that only such are +proper to be sent on Discoveries to very distant parts." On the 21st he +again wrote Stephens that the alterations were making satisfactory +progress, and that a man had been in the yard who had known the ship +before her purchase, and he had "with some warmth asserted that at that +time she was not only a stiff ship, but had as many good qualities as any +ship ever built in Whitby." In reply to a rumour that the men were afraid +to sail in her, he points out that she is moored alongside a wharf, and +the men could go ashore whenever they pleased, yet he had not lost a +single man. + +BANKS WITHDRAWS. + +Mr. Banks did not approve of the reduction in his accommodation +necessitated by these alterations, and tried to get a 40-gun ship in +place of the Resolution, and he and his friends succeeded in raising a +very acrimonious discussion on the subject; but the admiralty stood firm, +and the alterations went on under the superintendence of Cook. On 24th +May Banks and Solander went to inspect her, and on their return to town +Banks wrote to the Admiralty that he should not go the voyage as "the +ship was neither roomy nor convenient enough for my purpose, nor no ways +proper for the voyage." Cook, who says the preparations had cost Banks +"about five Thousand Pounds," does not think that the reasons given by +Banks were the only ones he had for not taking part in the voyage, and +then continues, "their baggage, etc., were got out of the sloop and sent +to London, after which no more complaints were heard of want of room, +etc." + +Lieutenant Clerke, who was very friendly with Banks, wrote to him on 31st +May: + +"Indeed I am sorry I'm not to have the honour of attending you the other +bout...They are going to stow the major part of the cables in the hold to +make room for the people now. I asked Gilbert [the Master], if such was +the present case, what the devil should we have done if we had all gone? +'Oh, by God, that was impossible,' was his answer." + +Marra (the gunner's mate), in a Journal of the voyage, published by +Newberry, 1775, says the success of the voyage was due to their having +shaken off: + +"the train of gentlemen, who with their attendants occupied the chief +accommodations of the ship," and whose presence would have rendered it +"out of the power of the most determined officer to have carried such a +princely retinue through the icy regions which they were to pass, without +murmurs, or perhaps mutiny." + +Some of the newspapers tried to make political matter out of the affair, +and one at any rate roundly declared that "the true reason" of Banks's +withdrawal was on account of a remonstrance from the Spanish Ambassador +against any further exploration of the South Seas. + +The withdrawal of Banks made no difference to his friendship with Cook, +and in the future he was always ready to afford his support whenever it +could be of any service either to his friend or family. + +JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER. + +As soon as it was known that Mr. Banks had withdrawn, Mr. John Reinhold +Forster, a German of some scientific reputation, applied for the position +of naturalist for the voyage, and, through the interest of Lord Sandwich, +was successful. He was to receive the 4000 pounds granted by Parliament +for Dr. Lynd, and was to pay all expenses, except ship's allowance of +food, and provide all necessary instruments. He was accompanied by his +son as assistant, a youth of about twenty years, who afterwards attained +some note by his writings and translations. Messrs. Wales and Bayley were +appointed astronomers by the Board of Longitude, with instructions to +take and compare observations at every possible opportunity, and to take +under their special charge the timepieces which were being carried on the +two ships for the purpose of testing their accuracy and capabilities in +assisting in ascertaining the longitude. Two of these instruments, made +by Arnold, were placed in Mr. Bayley's charge on the Adventure, and two, +one by Arnold, and the other by Kendal on Harrison's principle, under the +care of Mr. Wales on the Resolution. Great precautions were taken to +prevent any accident or tampering with these instruments; they were kept +in boxes having three locks, the keys were held one by the Captain, one +by the first lieutenant, and the third by the astronomer, so they could +not even be wound up except in the presence of all three. William Hodges, +a painter of repute, was appointed as artist, and his pictures were to +become the property of the Admiralty. + +The celebrated Dr. Joseph Priestley, at that time minister at Mill Hill +Chapel, Leeds, had been invited by Mr. Banks to accompany him as +astronomer, and his congregation had undertaken to guarantee his position +on his return; but the Board of Longitude took objection to his religious +views, and so his application was withdrawn. + + +CHAPTER 13. 1772 TO 1774. SECOND VOYAGE. + +Saying goodbye to his family on 21st June, Cook, accompanied by Mr. +Wales, left London for Sheerness, and the next day dropped down to the +Nore. The Resolution was now drawing only fifteen feet ten inches of +water instead of seventeen, a very satisfactory improvement. She was +given a good trial on a wind, and was found "to answer exceeding well." +On 3rd July they arrived at Plymouth, having been boarded the day before +by Lord Sandwich and Captain Pallisser, who were on a tour of inspection, +and Cook had the pleasure of giving them a satisfactory account of his +ship: "I had not one fault to allege." + +On arrival at Plymouth, Cook found that orders had been given to the +stores that he was to be supplied with whatever he thought necessary, but +the only things required were larger coppers for the distilling +apparatus, the ones they had on board having proved far too small. The +officers and crew were paid up to 28th May, and the petty officers and +men also received two months' advance to enable them to provide +necessaries and extras for the voyage. Cook remarks: + +"The payment of six months' wages to the officers, and crews of these two +sloops, being nearly all they had due, was an indulgence never before +granted to any of His Majesty's Ships." + +Cook now received his final orders, which he had assisted to draw up--in +fact, "nothing was inserted that I did not fully comprehend and approve +of." He was to call at Madeira for a supply of wine; to sail for the Cape +of Good Hope and there refresh his men; then to look for Cape +Circumcision, placed by M. Bouvet in 54 degrees South, 11 degrees 20 +minutes East, to determine if it formed part of a continent, and if so to +explore it, following the coast and endeavouring to get as near to the +South Pole as he could without endangering his ships or crews. Should +Cape Circumcision prove to be an island, or should he be unable to find +it, he was to proceed as far south as he thought there was a probability +of meeting with land, and then steering east, circumnavigate the world in +as high a latitude as he could. In case of meeting with land he was to +explore as far as time would permit. When the season rendered it unsafe +to remain in high latitudes he was to retire to the north to refit and +recruit, and at a proper season to return to the south. In any unforeseen +circumstances he was to use his own discretion, and if the Resolution +should be lost, he was to prosecute his voyage in the Adventure. A copy +of these orders was given to Captain Furneaux, and in case of separation +the following rendezvous were named: Madeira, Port Praya in the island of +St. Iago, the Cape of Good Hope, and New Zealand. + +FORSTER SAVES SHIP! + +The Forsters evidently were far from pleasant travelling companions, and +at one time or another seem to have quarrelled with every one on board +the ship. At the very first the father was dissatisfied with the +accommodation allotted to him, and offered Mr. Cooper 100 pounds to turn +out of his cabin; when this offer was declined, he tried to force Mr. +Gilbert, the Master, to give up his, threatening if he refused he should +be reported to the king and turned out of the Navy; this threat appears +to have been a favourite one, and soon became a by-word with the seamen, +who, according to Mr. Wales, would use it to each other on every possible +occasion. But, according to his own account, Mr. Forster was able to save +the expedition from a very great disaster on 12th July. He says he came +on deck and noticed the ship was adrift from her moorings; neither the +officer of the watch nor the look-out had seen it till he called +attention, and then, after a scene of the greatest confusion, the ship +was fortunately brought up within a few feet of the rocks. On the other +hand, the Master's log admits the Resolution got adrift, but before Mr. +Forster reached the deck the fact had been reported to the Captain, all +hands turned up, the jib and forestay sail set, and the ship quietly +dropped down into the Sound and anchored, never having been in the +slightest danger. The only other one to notice the affair was Midshipman +Willis, who simply states, "dropped from the Buoy and anchored in the +Sound." + +Having received the private signals of the East India Company's Navy, and +letters of introduction from the Prince of Orange to all the principal +officers of the Dutch East India Company, instructing them to afford +every assistance that might be required, Cook hoisted the signal to the +Adventure to weigh anchor at 5 A.M. on 13th July, and with a north-west +breeze the two ships sailed for Madeira. When well out in the Channel the +Resolution's crew was mustered, and it was found that, owing to a mistake +of the clerk, there was one man more than the complement, so John Coghlan +was entered on the Supernumerary List for Wages and Victuals. + +On the 23rd they were able to relieve a small French boat, from Ferrol to +Corunna, which had been blown far off her course, and had been short of +water for a fortnight. The day following they fell in with three Spanish +men-o'-war; Cook says: "The sternmost hoisted English colours and fired a +gun to leeward, and soon after hoisted his own proper colours, and spoke +with the Adventure." It appears she enquired who they were, and where +they were going, and finally wished them a good voyage. This account did +not satisfy Mr. Forster, who waxes eloquent and describes the event as "a +scene so humiliating to the masters of the sea." He must have formed a +strange opinion of Cook if he thought for a moment he was one to put up +silently with anything humiliating to the British flag. Marra, in his +Journal, points out that the build and rig of the ships were unusual for +men-o'-war, and that when the Spaniards found they had stopped king's +ships, they "made a proper apology, and very politely took leave, wishing +them a good voyage." + +THE FIRST LOSS. + +At Madeira, where they arrived on 29th July, they were kindly received by +Mr. Loughnan, a merchant of Funchal, who entertained some of the party at +his house throughout the stay, obtained permission for the Forsters to +explore the island, and procured for the ships the stores that were +required. Here Cook, with his eye on the scurvy, purchased as many onions +as he thought would keep good, and ordered them to be served out +regularly to the crews as long as they lasted. A further stock of fresh +food in the shape of fowls, pigs, goats, and fruits--chiefly oranges and +bananas--was laid in at Port Praya, where they had called for water. On +the 19th the first death occurred; one of the carpenter's mates, Henry +Smook, was at work on one of the scuttles and, falling overboard, was +seen under the stern; every effort was made to save him, but it was too +late. Cook says he was a good, steady man, whose loss was often felt +during the voyage. + +On 27th August Cook learnt that the Adventure had also had her losses. +Two midshipman, Lambrecht and Kemp, had died of fever, brought on, +Captain Furneaux believed, by bathing and drinking too much water under +the hot sun of Port Praya. At this time the Resolution had a clean bill +of health, but for fear lest the heavy rains, to which they were +continually subjected, might cause sickness, the ship was constantly +fumigated, washed down, and thoroughly dried by means of stoves, as +advised by Captains Pallisser and Campbell, with satisfactory results. On +nearing the Cape a sharp but unavailing look-out was kept for a bank +which had been reported, and on 30th October they arrived in Table Bay. +The run from home was considered to have been good, as they had in great +measure escaped the calms they had been told to expect at that season of +the year, and the currents, though very strong, had only caused a +difference between the longitude obtained by observation and that by dead +reckoning of three-quarters of a degree, so Cook concluded that those +north of the Equator in the one direction were balanced by those to the +south in the contrary one. + +On landing they were received by the Governor, Baron Plattenberg, who +told Cook he had received orders from Holland that the two sloops were to +have every assistance that the place afforded. He also said that two +French ships, commanded by M. de Kerguelen, had discovered land in 48 +degrees South, near the meridian of Mauritius, but after sailing along +the coast for about forty miles, he had been blown off by a heavy gale, +in which he had lost both boats and men. Two other French ships had also +called in March, which were on their way to explore the South Pacific +under M. Marion. + +Wales and Bayley got their instruments ashore in order to make +observations for the purpose of correcting the watch machines. That made +by Kendal was found to be working well, and gave the longitude within one +minute of time when compared with that fixed by Messrs. Mason and Dixon +in 1761. The first lieutenant of the Adventure, Mr. Shank, who had been +ill almost from the day of leaving England, applied for leave to return +home, as he felt unfit to proceed, and Mr. Arthur Kemp was made first +lieutenant, his place being taken by Mr. James Burney. Mr. Sparrman, a +former pupil of Linnaeus, was engaged by Mr. Forster as an assistant, and +makes his appearance on the rolls as servant. The crews were well looked +after, as much time granted on shore as possible, and fresh meat, fresh +vegetables, and fresh baked bread were served out daily in ample +quantity, so that when the ships sailed to the southward they were all +"in as good a condition as when they left England." Cook found time to +write a letter of farewell to Mr. Walker, as it was: + +"customary for men to take leave of their friends before they go out of +the world; for I can hardly think myself in it, so long as I am deprived +of having any connection with the civilised part of it, and this will +soon be my case for two years at least." + +He at the end speaks of his ships, both "well provided and well mann'd," +and of the Resolution he says: "I can assure you I never set foot in a +finer ship." + +THE FIRST ICE. + +On 22nd November they sailed for the south, and soon began to feel the +colder climate; the warm jackets and trousers provided by the Admiralty +were served out, extra cuffs to protect the hands being sewn on, and +warmly-lined canvas capes being made. From the 29th till 6th December +they were involved in such a heavy gale that the ships were unable to +carry any sail, and a large quantity of the live stock bought at the Cape +perished from the effects of wet and cold. A scuttle which had been +insecurely fastened was burst open by the sea, and a considerable +quantity of water was taken on board, but beyond necessitating some work +at the pumps and rendering things unpleasantly damp for a time, no damage +was done. It, however, gave Mr. Forster an opportunity for an account of +the terrible danger they were in, and, most wonderful to relate, to speak +well of the conduct of the crew. The ships were carried so far to the +east by the gale, that Cook gave up the idea of searching for Cape +Circumcision for the present. On the 10th the first ice was encountered +in latitude 50 degrees 40 minutes South, and a little higher they were +stopped by a large field, to which they "could see no end, either to the +east, west, or south." This field was followed along to the south-east +for some days, but no opening was found, so being in constant danger from +detached pieces, Cook reluctantly gave orders to change the course to the +northward. About the middle of December signs of scurvy began to show, +and extra precautions were at once taken; fresh wort was served out +regularly to all hands and the worst case received considerable benefit +from the treatment, although "Rob of Lemons and Oranges" (a sort of jelly +made from the fruits) had had no effect. Furneaux reported at this time +that he had cured two very bad cases with the Rob. + +SHIPS PARTED. + +When they had got thoroughly clear of all signs of ice, Cook once again +turned south, and by 26th December had worked down as far as 50 degrees +31 minutes South, 26 degrees 57 minutes East, where, though surrounded by +large masses of floating ice, they steered to the west, leaving the main +ice field to the north of them. Gradually working down to 60 degrees +South in the longitude given for Cape Circumcision, and being some +ninety-five leagues further south, with no signs of land, Cook concluded +that M. Bouvet must have been deceived by the ice. (Bouvet Island was +discovered by the German Deep Sea Discovery ship Valdivia on 25th +November 1898. The position was fixed as 54 degrees 26.4 minutes South, 3 +degrees 24.2 minutes ??South, and not 54 degrees South, 11 degrees 20 +East, as given to Cook, which will account for his want of success in his +search for it.) Here Mr. Wales was enabled to get a sight of the moon for +the second time since leaving the Cape of Good Hope, and, taking several +observations, fixed the position of the ship with tolerable accuracy. +Changing the course to East-South-East, very foggy weather was +encountered, accompanied by great cold, which coated the rigging with +ice, rendering it very pretty to the eye but difficult and unpleasant to +work. Cook says that, though this suggested very intense cold to the +mind, in reality the thermometer was rather higher than it had been, and +the sea was far less encumbered with ice. Taking large blocks of ice on +board it was found that, when the sea water was drained off, they +provided perfectly fresh water on melting, thus removing a great weight +from Cook's shoulders, and he determined on venturing further to the +southward. On 17th January 1773 they crossed the Antarctic Circle in +longitude 39 degrees 35 minutes East, and at noon their latitude, by +observation, was 66 degrees 36 minutes 30 seconds South, the sea being +free from ice. However, in the evening they found themselves completely +blocked by an enormous field, extending, as far as the eye could reach, +from the south-east round to the west; and as the summer was nearly over, +Cook decided it was unwise to attempt anything further southwards, and +ordered a retreat to the north. Again making for the land claimed to have +been discovered by the French, he spent some days searching for it, but +nothing was seen except some floating weed and a few birds that are +supposed never to get far away from land. On 8th February a brisk gale +sprang up, accompanied by very hazy weather, thickening into fog, and the +two vessels separated. The Resolution cruised about, firing guns and +burning flares, but no response was heard, and when the weather cleared +up, the Adventure was not to be seen. Poor Mr. Forster was dreadfully +scared when he realised the two ships had parted company; he says that +none of the crew "ever looked around the ocean without expressing concern +on seeing our ship alone on this vast and unexplored expanse." He seems +to have been thoroughly unhappy, for he describes the whole voyage, from +the Cape to New Zealand, as a series of hardships such as had never +before been experienced by mortal man. Cook conjectured, rightly as it +proved, that being a little to the south of Tasman's track, Furneaux +would make for the rendezvous he had been given at New Zealand, and +therefore felt himself free to push on to the south-east, as he judged +that if any large body of land was in the vicinity, it must lie in that +direction, for the swell coming from the south-west precluded the +possibility of any mass of land being in that quarter. + +On 17th February a display of the Aurora Australis was reported to Cook, +who speaks of it as something quite new to him, although Banks noted a +display during the voyage of the Endeavour between Timor and Batavia. The +present one is described as having a spiral motion, the direction not +strongly defined, and at times strong flashes of light. A second display +was seen on the 25th, but not so marked. On this day, too, some of the +ship's boats engaged in watering from a small iceberg, had a narrow +escape from destruction as the berg turned completely over whilst they +were at work. + +The weather becoming very unsettled the Resolution was obliged to make to +the north, and on 8th March, the finest day they had experienced since +leaving the Cape, they were able to fix their position by observation as +59 degrees 44 minutes South, 121 degrees 9 minutes East, the thermometer +registering 40 degrees. Of course this pleasant break was followed by a +heavy gale, with a tremendously heavy sea, and the ship ran before it for +New Zealand. Cook's wish was to touch at Van Diemen's Land, so as to +satisfy himself as to its forming a part of New Holland, but the wind +kept obstinately between west and north, having shifted after the gale, +and he thought it would occupy a longer time than he could spare, so he +bore up for the South Island. It was soon found that a few degrees of +latitude made a great difference in the temperature, "which we felt with +an agreeable satisfaction." + +On 25th March at 10 A.M., New Zealand was sighted, and Cook steered in to +the land with the intention of putting in to the first port that appeared +suitable, but as the weather became very hazy, he thought it safer to +stand off again. He had picked up the land at a point which he had only +seen from a distance on his previous visit, and "now saw it under so many +disadvantageous circumstances, that the less I say about it, the fewer +mistakes I shall make." + +DUSKY BAY. + +The following day they got safely into Dusky Bay, finding forty-four +fathoms at the entrance and a sandy bottom. In about a couple of leagues +they found a good anchorage in fifty fathoms, a hawser's length or so +from the shore. This was found to be rather inconvenient, but another one +was soon found by Lieutenant Pickersgill, and received in consequence the +name Pickersgill Harbour. Here the observatory, forge, and tents were set +up. Spruce beer was brewed, to which molasses and some of their +inspissated malt juice was added, fish caught, and, in fact, everything +possible for the comfort of the crew for a short time, was done. They had +been a hundred and seventeen days at sea, had sailed 3,600 leagues +without a sight of land, and had arrived with only one man sick with the +scurvy, "occasioned, chiefly, by a bad habit of body and a complication +of other disorders." + +One day, passing an island whilst out surveying, Cook was called by a +Maori and landed to meet him. The native was accompanied by two women, +and after an attempt at conversation, presented Cook with a piece of +native cloth, asking, as far as could be understood, for a boat-cloak in +return. One was made for him out of red baize, and gave so much +satisfaction that he presented Cook with his pattou, a sort of short flat +club made of stone. He visited the ship, and took great interest in all +that was going on, particularly with the saw pit. After watching the men +some time, he intimated his desire to try his hand in the pit, but found +the work not quite so easy as it looked, and soon required very little +persuasion to relinquish his task. + +Cook speaks very favourably of Dusky Bay, a good anchorage, plenty of +good water, game, fish, and easy to enter. The timber he describes as the +best he had seen in New Zealand, with the exception of that at the +Thames. There was but little edible herbage, but he tried to remedy this +by planting a quantity of European seeds, and he also left, in a place +where he hoped they might be undisturbed, a pair of geese. Whilst here +Cook was for a time confined to his cabin by what he describes as a +slight cold, but Mr. Forster says was a severe attack of rheumatism. +After several unsuccessful attempts, owing to contrary winds, they left +Dusky Bay on 11th May, and on the 17th, when near Cape Stephens, fell in +with six water-spouts, one of which came within fifty yards of the ship, +and Cook regretted he had not fired a gun at it, as he had heard that +course recommended. He says he had one ready, but was so busy noting the +phenomena that he did not think of it in time. On the other hand, Forster +says that one "was ordered to be got ready, but our people being, as +usual, very desultory about it, the danger was passed before we could try +the experiment." + +FURNEAUX REPORTS. + +On 18th May they arrived in Queen Charlotte's Sound, finding, as Cook had +expected, the Adventure there before them. Furneaux immediately reported +himself to his commanding officer, and said they had been there for six +weeks. After they had lost sight of the Resolution on 8th February, they +heard a gun and bore up for it, firing every half-hour, but heard no +reply. They then cruised about for three days as near the spot as the +weather would permit, and then, following Tasman's track, as Cook had +surmised, made for New Zealand, sighting Van Diemen's Land on 9th March, +near Tasman's South Cape. He sent a boat ashore at the first opportunity, +and a few traces of natives were seen, but the weather was so threatening +that the boat had to return to the ship. They then put in to Adventure +Bay, and staying five days took in wood and water; they had been reduced +to a quart per day of the last for some time. A few deserted huts and +occasional smokes were seen, but no other signs of the inhabitants. They +then continued up the coast till it trended away to the west, forming, +Furneaux thought, a deep bay. Passing the islands which now bear +Furneaux's name, bad weather came on, and he judged it wise to make for +his rendezvous, firmly convinced that Van Diemen's Land was joined to New +Holland. On 30th March they sighted the South Island, and were greatly +retarded in their run up the coast by the heavy swell from the north. On +their arrival in Queen Charlotte's Sound, they found the pole erected on +Motuara, with the name of the Endeavour and date on it, and several of +the inhabitants came forward to trade and enquire after Cook and Tupia. +On 11th May they experienced the shock of an earthquake, but no damage +was done. + +Finding that several of the Adventure's crew were very sick, Cook +immediately sent out boats for a supply of scurvy grass, and: + +"gave orders that it should be boiled with wheat and portable broth every +morning for breakfast, and with peas and broth for dinner, knowing from +experience that these vegetables, thus dressed, are extremely beneficial +in removing all manner of scorbutic complaints." + +Furneaux had prepared to winter in Queen Charlotte's Sound, but Cook +thought it too soon to settle down to rest and decided to push on. He was +half inclined to go over to Van Diemen's Land and settle the question of +its being a part of New Holland, but Furneaux appeared convinced, and the +winds were contrary, so he decided on proceeding eastwards, and the +Adventure was ordered to refit as rapidly as possible. A boat sent out +for timber on 3rd June was chased by a large canoe filled with men, but +Cook thought no harm was intended; on a second occasion some natives were +on the ship, when a large canoe came up, and those on board requested +Cook to fire on it, saying its occupants were enemies. This Cook declined +to do, and, instead, invited them to come on board, an invitation that +was accepted after a brief ceremonial, and the newcomers behaved +themselves quite properly; but soon Cook had to get rid of them all, for +he found his men were selling their clothing, which they would shortly +require, for things of no value either as curiosities or otherwise. The +newcomers went off to Motuara, and Cook followed them up. He had some +little conversation with them, but did not remember having seen any of +them at his previous visit, and thought none of them recognised him. They +had their cooking utensils with them, and he concluded they intended to +settle down, at any rate for a time. + +Gardens had been started by Furneaux on his arrival, and Cook tried to +interest the Maoris in them; he showed them the potatoes, carrots, and +parsnips, which they seemed to understand and appreciate, and they +promised to look after them. He remarks that the intercourse between the +Maoris and the whites did not tend to improve the morals of the former, +whom he had hitherto looked upon as superior in that respect to the other +South Sea Islanders he had come across. + +THE WATCH MACHINE. + +On 7th June the two ships put to sea, and on the 8th some accident +happened to Arnold's timepiece on board the Resolution, and they were +unable to wind it up. So far it had been working very well, but not quite +so accurately as Kendal's. On the return of the ship to England, Arnold +was informed that either by carelessness or wilfully Mr. Wales had caused +this difficulty. Wales attributed this rumour to the Forsters, to whom he +wrote on the subject, and it is very evident from their replies that +though they did not admit having circulated the report, they were not +ignorant that Arnold had been so informed. There does not appear to be +any ground for the accusation, but it does appear very probable it +originated with the Forsters. + +Throughout the rest of June they experienced very rough weather, and it +was not till 18th July that they reached 133 degrees West, having seen no +signs of land on their way. Cook therefore turned northwards so as to +cross the space between his track north and return south in 1769. This +course would practically settle one view about the supposed Southern +Continent, for it had been laid down by some of the theorists that it +must be in the middle latitudes of the South Pacific. New Zealand had +been said to be the western side of this continent (already disproved by +Cook in his previous voyage), and what Forster calls "the pretended +discoveries near America," the eastern side. The proposed course would +take the ships through the centre of the part of the ocean in dispute. + +On 29th July, Cook sent a boat to the Adventure, as he had heard her crew +were very sickly, and found that about twenty of her men were down with +scurvy, and the cook had died of the disease. Orders were given that the +utmost precautions were to be taken, and wort, carrot marmalade, and rob +of lemon were to be freely served out. On the Resolution, at the same +time, three men were on the sick list, only one of whom had scurvy, but +some of the others were showing symptoms, so similar precautions were +taken, with good results. + +DANGEROUS WATERS. + +Cook was so anxious about the Adventure's crew that he would not look for +Pitcairn Island, discovered by Carteret, although he believed he was in +its neighbourhood on 1st August (he was about fifteen leagues to the +west), but a day or so after was able to have Furneaux on board to +dinner, who reported a great improvement. He had some cider on board, +which he had served out with gratifying results. Two islands were sighted +on the 11th, which Cook named Resolution and Doubtful Islands; he +believed them to have been discovered by De Bougainville. The following +morning at daylight they found themselves almost on the top of what Cook +calls "a half drowned island, or rather large coral shoal of about 20 +leagues in circuit." In the lagoon which it surrounded they saw a large +canoe under sail. The island was named after Furneaux. As they were now +in such a dangerous neighbourhood, Cook ordered that at night the cutter +with an officer and seven men should keep in advance of the ships until +they arrived in sight of Maitea (Osnaburg Island) on 15th July, when, +being in waters he knew, its services were discontinued. He steered for +the south side of Otaheite in order to get fresh vegetables as soon as +possible, and on the 16th at daybreak they found themselves about two +miles from the reef. The wind dropped, and the set of the current was +taking them on to the reef, so the boats were ordered out to tow, but +getting near an opening through which the tide was rushing with great +force, they were unable to keep the ships off. The anchors were let go, +and the Adventure, finding holding ground, was brought up; but the +Resolution was not so fortunate, and was carried on to the reef and +struck two or three times, fortunately without doing any serious damage. +A land breeze springing up and the tide slackening enabled them to get in +safely, with the loss of three anchors, a cable, and a couple of hawsers; +the bower anchor was recovered by Mr. Gilbert the next day. Cook says +that though he thought they had a remarkably narrow escape, the natives +who saw them did not seem to appreciate that they had been in any danger. + +They remained at this anchorage for a week, and obtained plenty of +coconuts and bananas; but though they saw hogs, they were unable to +purchase any, as the people declared they all belonged to their chief; +so, hearing he was in the neighbourhood, Cook landed to call on him, and +at once recognised him as Tearee, whom he had seen in 1769. The chief +also remembered him, and enquired after several of the Endeavour people. +He tried to get Cook to make a longer stay, promising supplies of fresh +meat as an inducement, but as such promises had so often been broken +before, Cook replied he should leave the next day. Whilst here one of the +marines, who had been ailing more or less all the voyage, and had become +dropsical, died, and the one man who was suffering from scurvy still +remained on the sick list. On the other hand, the Adventure's crew had +greatly improved in health with the change to fresh vegetables. One of +the natives was found to have picked up coconuts from which the sailors +had drunk the milk, and having carefully sealed up the holes, resold +them, and did not seem disconcerted when his trick was found out. + +Before the ships reached their anchorage at Matavai Bay they were crowded +with natives, many of whom Cook recognised, and almost all of whom knew +him. Otoo, the king, at once recognised Cook, and enquired after Banks, +Solander, and others of the Endeavour; yet Forster gravely asserts that +he never saw them at the former visit. The old fort on Point Venus was +reoccupied, tents pitched, and the observatory set up, and the camp was +placed under the command of Lieutenant Edgecombe of the Marines. + +SPANIARDS HANGED. + +The king gave a theatrical entertainment in honour of their arrival, at +which his sister was the only female performer. It had some reference to +the coming of the ships, but they were not able to follow the thread of +the story. Cook could see that Otoo was nervous and uncomfortable, and +felt dissatisfied with his reception, so determined to cut short his +stay. No one could understand the reason of the unsatisfactory feeling, +but Forster suggests that it was owing to the advice of a Spanish +deserter, who had left his ship about March 1773. This vessel was +commanded by Don Juan de Langara y Huarto, and was from Callao; her +voyage has not been published, but the natives gave Forster to understand +that four of her sailors had been hanged on her arrival. Cook refers to +the presence of a white man, who, when he thought he had been observed, +disappeared and was not seen again. Young Forster made an attempt to +explore the interior, but finding the climbing more difficult than he +expected, soon returned. In the gardens which had been planted at the +Endeavour's visit, pumpkins seemed to be the only things which had done +well, and for these the natives did not care, "which is not to be +wondered at," says Cook. Further enquiries as to the religious ceremonies +were made, but nothing very definite was ascertained; it appeared that on +very rare occasions special criminals, selected by the high priest, were +sacrificed at the Moris. Cook also formed the opinion that the standard +of morality amongst the women was much higher than had previously been +admitted. + +Sailing with a favourable wind on 1st September for Huaheine, the +Adventure ran ashore going through the reef, but with the assistance of +the Resolution's boats, she was soon towed off without serious damage. +Forster, as usual, tries to cause trouble by declaring that Cook would +not send assistance till the Resolution was safely anchored, and thus +added to the danger of his consort. As the boats were in the water before +the accident occurred, in order to render immediate assistance if +required, Mr. Forster's story is too thin. + +On arrival Cook was informed his old friend Oree was coming to see him, +so he went ashore to meet him. The boat was hauled up close to the +chief's house, and then five young plantain trees, as emblems of peace, +were carried on board one by one, the first three being each accompanied +by a young pig with his ears ornamented with coconut fibre; the fourth +was accompanied by a dog; and the fifth by the bag which Cook had given +Oree in 1769, containing the pewter plate with the inscription relating +to the Endeavour's visit, and the beads, and imitation coins. On the +advice of his guide, Cook decorated three of the plantains with nails, +medals, beads, etc., and he, Furneaux, and Forster, landed with them in +their hands. They were requested to sit down, and the trees were taken +from them and placed before Oree, the first for God, the second for the +king, and the third for Friendship. The chief then came forward and +greeted Cook in a most affectionate manner, the tears trickling down his +cheeks. Further presents were then exchanged, and the ceremony was over. + +SPARRMAN'S MISADVENTURE. + +Here they were able to purchase a plentiful supply of everything, pigs, +fowls, and fruit, and Cook says if he had been able to stay longer he +might have bought as much more as everything seemed abundant. The only +disagreeable thing that happened was to Mr. Sparrman, who, out by himself +botanising, was set upon and stripped of everything but his +trousers--Besant substitutes spectacles for trousers. He made his way +towards the boats, and was befriended by a native, who gave him some +cloth to put over his shoulders and escorted him to the others. When Oree +heard of the affair he placed himself in Cook's hands, and did his best +to find out the culprits, and after a time Sparrman's hanger and the +greater part of his things were recovered. It seems probable that some +native law had been unwittingly broken and Sparrman's treatment was meant +as a punishment, for every one else had been particularly well treated. +Before leaving Cook added to Oree's treasures a copper plate on which was +inscribed, "Anchored here, His Britannic Majesty's Ships Resolution and +Adventure, September 1773." Some medals were also given him, and he was +requested to show them to any visitors that came. + +At Ulietea they were received at a heava or dramatic performance, one +portion of which illustrated robbery by two men, and Cook says it was +acted "in such a masterly manner as sufficiently displayed the genius of +the people in this vice." Fruit and vegetables being rather scarce, Mr. +Pickersgill was despatched with a boat from each ship to an island Cook +calls O'Taha, where they were said to be plentiful, and he was able to +purchase as much as they had means to pay for, at a very reasonable rate; +but during negotiations the bag containing the trade was stolen. +Pickersgill at once seized everything of value he could lay his hands on, +signifying at the same time that all should be returned when the bag and +its contents were produced. In the evening a chief, who had been friendly +all day, went off and soon after came back with the bag and about half +its contents. Eventually all was recovered, and the boats left with good +loads in a perfectly friendly manner. When the boats went from Ulietea +the crews of the two vessels were again entertained, but during the night +all the natives disappeared, to the surprise and annoyance of Cook, who +thought something serious had happened to offend them. It turned out +that, seeing the boats did not return, the natives thought it was a case +of desertion, and were afraid they might be held responsible. + +BAGPIPES APPRECIATED. + +Leaving here, the course was to the south of west so as to clear the +tracks of other explorers, and then to call at Middleburg and Amsterdam. +Each night the ships lay to in order that they might not overlook any +unknown island, and on 23rd September Harvey's Islands were sighted and +named. On 1st October Middleburg was reached, but no good anchorage being +found, they went on to Amsterdam. Before they got clear away, however, +two canoes came out, and the coast opening up in a more promising manner, +they ran in again and found ground in twenty-five fathoms. Plenty of the +natives, quite unarmed, came off to the ships, some, amongst whom was a +chief named Tioony, were invited on board; the traders were so anxious to +do business, that those who could not get near enough to hand their goods +into the boats, pitched them over the heads of their friends. Some of the +party accompanied Tioony to his house, which was delightfully situated, +and were entertained with refreshments, in the shape of coconuts, +bananas, and a few shaddocks, called by Forster pumplemoses, and music; +and in return the ship's bagpipes played, to the great enjoyment of the +natives. Turnbull, who visited the Pacific during the years 1800 to 1804, +says that these instruments were remembered, and in Otaheite were +specially asked for. The musical contribution of the natives commenced +with a song by three girls, who sang rather nicely, and were duly +rewarded with presents, whereon all the women began singing in a manner +which Cook describes as "both musical and harmonious." A short walk +disclosed plantations "well laid out and kept," but as eatables seemed +scarce, a departure was made the next day for Amsterdam, the waves +breaking high upon the rocks as they followed the coast. + +Off the southern point of Amsterdam several canoes came out, and their +occupants came aboard without hesitation, presenting cava root as a +peace-offering. The ships anchored in eighteen fathoms, and were soon +crowded with visitors. Nothing but cloth was offered for sale, so Cook, +finding the sailors were parting with clothing they would soon be +wanting, issued an order that no curiosities were to be purchased, with +the result that next morning hogs, fowls, coconuts, and bananas were +forthcoming. Cook, Forster, and some of the others went ashore and found +a chief, Attago, who had attached himself to Cook, very useful in their +trading. Mr. Hodges painted a picture of this landing, but, as Mr. +Forster very justly points out, the attire of the natives is far too +classical. It was noticed that many of the natives had lost the top joint +of the little finger of one, and in some cases, of both hands. This was +understood to be a mark of mourning for the loss of parents. + +The fowls here were remarkably good, and the sailors purchased some for +the purpose of cock-fighting, but they proved much more successful in the +pot. The island is described as well cultivated, not an inch of ground +being wasted in roads or fences. Forster reported having seen a large +casuarina tree loaded with crows, but they proved to be that pest of the +fruit grower--flying foxes. He also states that the Resolution anchored +in the same spot as Tasman when he discovered the island. + +The natives proved as adept at thieving as the majority of the South Sea +Islanders. One man, who had stolen some books from the Master's cabin, +got off in his canoe, and being chased, took to the water, and diving +under his pursuers' boat, unshipped the rudder, and got clear away. Mr. +Wales, in going ashore, took off his shoes and stockings to save them +from the wet, when they were at once snatched up by a native, who ran off +with them over the coral rocks, leaving poor Wales in what Cook calls "an +unpleasant but laughable position," unable to follow over the sharp +stone; however, Attago soon afterwards recovered them. + +The language was closely allied to that used in the Society Group, many +words being identical; and Cook concluded they had some form of religious +worship, as he noted enclosed pieces of ground in which one or two +particular men were accustomed to repeat speeches apparently of a set +nature. + +NEW ZEALAND ONCE MORE. + +On 7th October, sailing for New Zealand, they were delayed by contrary +winds, and did not sight the neighbourhood of Table Cape till the 21st. +They stood in to Tolago and Poverty Bays with the intention of presenting +any chiefs who came off, with pigs, fowls, and garden seeds in hopes of +making a commencement in stocking the island, but none were seen till +Cape Kidnappers was reached, when two made their appearance, and were +duly given two boars and two sows, and four hens and two cocks, first +obtaining a promise that they should not be killed; to these were added a +supply of seeds, such as peas, beans, cabbage, turnips, etc. Standing on +through a series of heavy squalls, in one of which the Resolution lost +her fore topgallant mast, they ran into a violent gale which lasted for a +week, and, after a slight moderation, came on with increased fury, and +the two vessels parted company. + +On 3rd November the Resolution reached her old anchorage in Ship Cove, +Queen Charlotte's Sound; but the Adventure was seen no more during the +voyage. Forster was much upset by the stormy weather, "the dreadful +energy of the language" of the sailors, the absence of their consort +which "doubled every danger," the shortness of the table supplies and his +own dislike to a further trip to southern latitudes. Hoping the Adventure +might yet come in, Cook pushed on with his refit, and thoroughly +overhauled his stores. About 4000 pounds weight of ship's bread was found +unfit for food, and another 3000 pounds nearly as bad; they were very +fortunate, therefore, in getting a plentiful supply of scurvy grass and +wild celery, and a small quantity of vegetables from the gardens they had +previously laid out. + +Any doubts that may have been felt about the cannibalism of the New +Zealanders was set at rest by some of the officers who surprised a party +engaged in a feast. A human head was purchased from the feasters and +taken on board, and a piece of the flesh being offered to a Maori, it was +greedily devoured. A South Sea Islander, Odidie, was intensely horrified, +and refused to touch the knife with which it had been cut, nor would he +be in any way friendly with the eater. Cook firmly believed that only +enemies killed in battle were eaten, and did not think the custom arose +from any shortness of food. + +Enclosing in a bottle, which was buried under a marked tree in the +garden, a memorandum giving the dates of his arrival and departure, the +direction he intended to steer, and other information he thought might be +useful to Furneaux, Cook sailed on 25th November, and as they passed +through the straits, guns were continually fired, and a sharp lookout +kept for signs of the Adventure; but nothing was seen, and as no other +rendezvous had been appointed, Cook gave up all hope of her rejoining +him. The Resolution, when clear, bore up for the south-east, but had the +course at the first been north of east, the two ships might possibly have +met, for the Adventure was then on her way from Tolago Bay and arrived in +Ship Cove four days after the departure of her consort. Cook says his +crew were in good spirits, and in no way dejected, "or thought the +dangers we had yet to go through were in the least increased by being +alone." They were quite ready to go, "wherever I might think proper to +lead them." Even Mr. Forster had to admit at a little later date, that: + +"notwithstanding the constant perils to which our course exposed us, in +this unexplored ocean, our ship's company were far from being so uneasy +as might have been expected." + +ARMOUR OF ICE. + +On 6th December, at 8.30 A.M., they reckoned they were "at the Antipodes +to our friends in London, consequently as far removed from them as +possible." Here a swell coming from the south-west showed there was no +great body of land in that direction, except at a considerable distance. +The first ice was seen on 12th December in 62 degrees 10 minutes South, +and on the 15th, in 66 degrees South, they were obliged to edge away +north as they were surrounded by large quantities of loose ice, and it +was very foggy. Working up to between 64 and 65 degrees, they again +headed east still hampered by ice and fog, but in a few days the weather +improved a little, and they recovered the Antarctic Circle, and reached +67 degrees 31 minutes South on the 23rd, the highest south latitude +hitherto attained. The rigging was so coated with ice that it was +difficult to work the ship, and Cook altered his course to the +north-east. Marra says, under 18th December: + +"Icicles frequently hung to the noses of the men, more than an inch +long...the men, cased in frozen snow, as if clad in armour, where the +running rigging has been so enlarged by frozen sleet as hardly to be +grasped by the largest hand...yet, under all these hardships, the men +cheerful over their grog, and not a man sick, but of old scars." + +Cook says that some of the men suffered from fever brought on by the +unavoidable exposure to cold and wet, but it was slight, and "happily +yielded to the simplest remedies." The ship was so surrounded by masses +of ice as to cause some apprehension, but by taking advantage of every +breath of air the danger was averted. Christmas Day was passed in +constant watchfulness. + +"We were fortunate in having continual daylight, and clear weather, for +had it been foggy as on some of the preceding days, nothing less than a +miracle could have saved us from being dashed to pieces." + +On 7th January 1774, five very successful observations gave the mean +longitude as 123 degrees 21 minutes West, the watch gave it 123 degrees +44 minutes, and the dead reckoning as 123 degrees 39 minutes. Cook +signifies his keen appreciation of the watch machine, and says: "I must +here take notice that our longitude can never be erroneous while we have +so good a guide as Mr. Kendal's watch." + +OBEDIENT AND ALERT. + +A further attempt to the south was made, and on 30th January the high +latitude of 71 degrees 10 minutes South was reached, in longitude 106 +degrees 54 minutes West, further progress being stopped by a large and +solid field of ice. This record was not beaten till 1823, by Weddell, and +until recent years very few of the attempts on Antarctic discovery had +proved as successful. Satisfied that there was no continent existing +within the Arctic Circle except so far south as to be practically +inaccessible on account of ice, he acknowledged he did not regret he +found it impossible to go further, and, thinking that in the unexplored +parts of the South Pacific there was room for many large islands, and +also that discoveries already made had been imperfectly laid down on the +charts, he decided that it was his duty, as he had a well-found ship and +a healthy crew, to remain in these waters and add what he could to the +knowledge of geography. He therefore planned to find the land discovered +by Juan Fernandez in 38 degrees South, and, if unsuccessful, to proceed +to Easter Island and fix its position, as it was very uncertain, then to +proceed to Otaheite, where he had a faint hope he might hear of the +Adventure, and, proceeding further west, settle the position of Tierra +Austral del Espiritu Santo of de Quiros. Afterwards to turn south-east, +and, reaching Cape Horn in November, he would have the best part of the +summer for exploration in the South Atlantic. He says: + +"Great as this design appears to be, I however thought it possible to be +executed; and when I came to communicate it to the officers, I had the +satisfaction to find they all heartily concurred in it. I should not do +these gentlemen justice if I did not take some opportunity to declare +that they always showed the utmost readiness to carry into execution in +the most effectual manner, every measure I thought proper to take. Under +such circumstances it is hardly necessary to say, that the seamen were +always obedient and alert; and on this occasion they were so far from +wishing the voyage at an end, that they rejoiced at the prospect of its +being prolonged another year and of soon enjoying the benefits of a +milder climate." + +Mr. Forster does not agree with this account, for he says: + +"The long continuance in these cold climates began now to hang heavily on +our crew, especially as it banished all hope of returning home this year, +which had hitherto supported their spirits. At first a painful +despondence owing to the dreary prospect of another year's cruise to the +south seemed painted in every countenance; till by degrees they resigned +themselves to their fate with a kind of sullen indifference. It must be +owned, however, that nothing could be more dejecting than the entire +ignorance of our future destination which, without any apparent reason +was constantly kept a secret to every person in the ship." + +It is evident that Cook and his officers did not think it necessary to +consult Mr. Forster as to the movements of the ship, or, what is more +probable, he was in one of his irritable moods and must say something +nasty about someone. + +The decision to turn northwards was taken none too soon, for on 6th +February a furious storm came on, playing havoc with the sails and +running rigging, and though it abated somewhat next morning, it blew very +strong till the 12th, and would have been highly dangerous if it had +caught them amongst the ice. On the 17th Cook judged he had crossed his +outward track of 1769, and on the 20th he notes the thermometer rising to +66 degrees, the only real summer day they had experienced since leaving +New Zealand. Having arrived at the position laid down for the land +supposed to have been seen by Juan Fernandez, he cruised about but found +no signs, so on the 25th stood away for Easter Island. + +Cook was now taken seriously ill and was confined to his bed for several +days by what he calls the bilious cholic, during which time "Mr. Patten, +the surgeon, was to me, not only a skilful physician, but an affectionate +nurse." He recovered very slowly, and the want of fresh food told against +him when it came to the question of gathering strength. The only fresh +meat on board was a dog belonging to Mr. Forster, which was duly +sacrificed and made into soup: "Thus I received nourishment and strength +from food which would have made most people in Europe sick." Marra's +Journal says, under 23rd February: + +"This day the Captain was taken ill, to the grief of all the ship's +company." 28th February: "The Captain this day much better, which each +might read in the countenance of the other, from the highest officer to +the meanest boy on board the ship." 4th March: "The Captain perfectly +recovered from his illness, to the great joy of the ship's company." + +EASTER ISLAND. + +At 8 A.M., on 11th March, Easter Island was sighted from the masthead, +and shortly after noon some of the gigantic statues mentioned in +Roggewin's Voyages were clearly distinguished through the glasses. The +position of the ship at noon had been fixed as 27 degrees 3 minutes +South, 109 degrees 46 minutes West. Standing on and off till next +morning, fair anchorage was found in thirty-six fathoms, but it proved +too near the edge of a bank, and they were driven off it in the night. +One or two canoes came out to meet them as they were working back, from +which plantains were purchased, and Cook proceeded ashore, where he was +immediately surrounded by natives; indeed, some even swam out to meet +him. Many of them possessed European hats, jackets, handkerchiefs, etc., +which they were said to have obtained from the Spaniards in 1770. Their +language was very similar to that of Otaheite, and Odidie was able to +understand them fairly well. There were no trees exceeding ten feet in +height, and the land is described as extremely parched and dreary, though +a few plantations were seen. Some remarkable pieces of stonework were +noticed, enclosing small areas of ground, in some of which were the +statues already mentioned. These were not looked upon by the natives as +objects of worship, although they did not like the pavements by which +they were surrounded being walked over, or the statues being closely +examined. Mr. Forster regarded the enclosures as burial grounds, and the +statues (portions of some of them are at the British Museum) as monuments +to chiefs. + +The water supply being found very bad, though Gonzales is said to have +found good springs, and the fresh food for sale but scanty, the stay was +cut short, and on 16th March sail was made for the Marquesas, discovered +by Mendana in 1595. The next day, according to Marra, the fresh +provisions obtained were served out to the crew at the Captain's expense: + +"namely, two pounds of potatoes a man, and a bunch of bananas to each +mess; and this without reducing their ordinary allowance; an act of +generosity which produced its effect; it preserved the crew in health, +and encouraged them to undergo cheerfully the hardships that must +unavoidably happen in the course of so long a voyage." + +MARKET SPOILT. + +The Marquesas were reached on 7th April, and after a narrow escape from +running on the rocks, satisfactory anchorage was obtained, and they were +visited by some of the natives, from whom breadfruit and fish were +purchased. The next day further trading was done, nails being the chief +medium of exchange, but the natives were inclined to be smart in their +dealings, and on several occasions obtained payment without delivery. +Cook here suffered from a relapse, but was able to get about, and after +warning the officer on watch to keep a smart look-out, or something of +importance would be stolen, took his seat in a boat to go in search of a +better anchorage. He was then informed that a stanchion had been stolen +from the gangway, and the thief had got away to his canoe on the other +side of the ship. He ordered a shot to be fired over the canoes, but no +one was to be hurt, and he would pull round and secure the thief. The +order was apparently misunderstood, for the thief was killed, and the +rest of the natives hurried ashore. Soon after trading recommenced, and +the lesson appeared forgotten, for an attempt was made to steal the kedge +anchor by which the ship was being warped nearer the shore. Cook landed, +and the trading went on as if nothing out of the common had occurred, and +some pigs (so small that it required forty or fifty to provide one meal +for the crew!) and fruit were purchased; but in the afternoon, when the +boats went in for water, all the natives had disappeared. This Cook +attributed to his not being with them, for the next morning, when he +landed, trading was resumed. A short trip was made in the boats along the +coast, and when they returned it was found the market was closed. It +seems one of the young gentlemen had given a small handful of red +feathers he had obtained at Tonga for a small pig, and now nothing else +would be accepted, so they sailed for Otaheite on the 11th. Cook was very +much annoyed at the ill success in obtaining fresh provisions, for though +none of the crew were ill, he thought they stood in need of a change of +food. He describes the inhabitants as the finest race he had seen in the +South Seas, almost as fair as Europeans, and their language very similar +to that of Otaheite. Their arms consisted of clubs, spears, and slings, +the two former very neatly made, and with the latter they threw stones a +considerable distance but without accuracy. Mr. Forster managed to secure +a quantity of small birds with very beautiful plumage. + +On the 17th April they sighted the George Islands, discovered by Byron +(native name, Tiookea), but, after sending the Master to report on the +lagoon, Cook decided it was too dangerous to enter, and Mr. Cooper went +off with two boats to see if it were possible to trade. He obtained a few +dogs and coconuts, but the attitude of the natives was so uncertain he +would not land, and returned to the ship. One of the sailors exchanged a +plantain for a dog, so it was concluded the fruit was unknown. On the +19th four more islands were discovered, and named Pallisser Islands, and +on rounding one a strong swell rolling in from the south was encountered, +"a sure sign that we were clear of these low islands." On the 21st, land +a little to the east of Point Venus was sighted, and next morning they +anchored in Matavai Bay, being immediately visited by the natives, who +seemed greatly pleased to see them again. The old camp was reoccupied, +the observatory set up for Mr. Wales, and Cook had again the pleasure to +record he had no one on the sick list. + +The king, Otoo, came to visit the camp, bringing as his present a dozen +pigs and some fruit, and then with some of his friends went on board ship +to dinner, and to receive the return present. It was then found that the +red feathers were greatly valued, a very fortunate thing as articles of +trade were running short. Cook, after the disappointment in securing +supplies at the last visit, intended to make a very short stay, but the +place now appeared to be very thriving, houses and canoes were being +built in all directions, and there was every sign of prosperity, so he +decided to remain and refit. On 25th April they had a thunderstorm +lasting three hours, such as no one on board had experienced before. + +THE OTAHEITAN FLEET. + +Going to visit Otoo on the next day, Cook was surprised to see a large +number of fully-manned canoes ranged along the coast, and a large body of +armed men on the land near them. On landing, he was surrounded by people, +and seized by two chiefs, one of whom wanted to carry him off to see the +king, and the other to see the fleet, and between the two, "I was like to +be pulled to pieces," the crowd making way with cries of "Tiya no +Tootee." He was gradually drawn towards the fleet, but refused to go on +board, and after a time was allowed to return to his own boats, when he +found his companions had been subject to similar treatment. They put out +from shore in order to have a good look at the fleet, and counted one +hundred and sixty large double canoes, all well equipped and fully +manned. The chiefs were swathed in vast quantities of cloth, so that to +the Englishmen it seemed almost a miracle they were able to move. The +vessels were decorated with flags and streamers, and made a very fine +appearance. These were the first line, and, in addition, there were one +hundred and seventy smaller double canoes, each having a small house or +castle on it, which were thought to be transports and store ships, as the +larger ones, as far as could be seen, carried no supplies on board. The +number of men on board was estimated to be no less than 7,500, and it was +ascertained this armada was intended for the subjugation of Eimeo which +had lately rebelled against Otaheite. + +Cook was informed Otoo was waiting at the camp for him, but on going +there he found he had not been there, and on looking for him again in the +afternoon he was still invisible. The fleet had also gone away; and then +it was discovered that some of Cook's clothes had been stolen from the +wash, and the king and Admiral were both in dread of his anger. However, +Cook sent word he should take no steps to recover the stolen articles, +and things resumed a friendly aspect, the Admiral, Towha, sending Cook a +present of two large pigs and some fruit, giving orders to the bearers +that they were to receive nothing in exchange. He soon after paid a visit +to the ship, and as it was his first, he examined everything with great +curiosity, and appeared greatly impressed with what he saw. One of the +natives having been caught making off with a small water cask, Cook +determined he should be punished, and made a ceremonial affair of it. The +culprit was first sent on board and put in irons, the natives and the +crew mustered, and then the thief was taken on shore and triced up. Cook +then made a short speech in which he pointed out that when his men were +caught stealing from the natives they were always punished, but the +natives were always stealing from the ship and crew and getting away +unpunished, he therefore ordered the man to be given two dozen lashes. +These were duly administered, and Towha made a speech in which he was +understood to admit the justice of Cook's action. The marines were then +put through their drill, and fired a few volleys with ball, and the +proceedings terminated; but Cook declares he did not know whether the +natives were pleased or frightened by the ceremony. The king's brother +then took some of the officers out to see a part of their fleet at +exercise, and they were just in time to see the conclusion and the +landing of the men. Cook says the canoes were handled very smartly, and +"five minutes after putting ashore you could not tell anything of the +kind had been going forward." + +The sea stores were again overhauled, and although the greatest care had +been taken with the packing, large quantities of the bread were found to +be uneatable, rendering the purchase of fresh food at every opportunity +of the greatest importance. + +A state visit was paid on board by Otoo's father and some other members +of the royal family, who presented Cook with: + +"a complete mourning dress, a curiosity we most valued. In return I gave +him whatever he desired, which was not a little, and having distributed +red feathers to all the others, conducted them ashore in my boat." + +MUSKET STOLEN. + +On 7th May the king expressed a wish to see Cook, so the latter went +ashore, but found his Majesty and many of his leading men had +disappeared, and the sergeant of marines reported that one of his men had +had his musket stolen whilst on duty. Cook gave orders that if the musket +was returned nothing further was to be said, and returned to his ship. +Suspicion was attracted to six canoes laden with fruit and baggage, so +Cook gave chase in his own boat. One of the canoes then made for the +ship, and the occupants, women whom he recognised, informed him they were +taking some things to the Resolution, and that the king was at Point +Venus. Cook went to the camp, to find this was only a story to put him +off, and he once again gave chase, ordering another boat to follow. A few +shots were fired over the canoes, and five out of the six surrendered, +the one he had spoken with getting away. He was now told that the gun had +been stolen by a native of Tiarabou, and therefore Otoo was unable to get +it back, so after a little discussion he decided to put up with the loss, +and sent word to the king that he would say no more about it. In the +evening, however, the musket and some articles that had not been missed +were returned, and the men who brought them were duly rewarded. Cook says +it was remarkable how many had been actively engaged in their recovery. +One man in particular described most vividly how he had followed up, +attacked and killed the thief of the musket, but at the same time every +one was well aware that this hero had never been away from his own house +throughout the day. A state call was made on Otoo, and with the usual +exchange of presents the old footing was re-established. On the return +from this visit a stop was made "at the dockyards, for such they deserve +to be called," and the canoes in construction were inspected, two of them +being the largest the Englishmen had yet seen. + +The king soon after returned the visit, and requested that the big guns +should be fired, but Cook thinks it was very doubtful if the experience +was enjoyed. A display of fireworks in the evening was much more to the +native taste. Referring to the numerous robberies that had been +committed, Cook says he found it far the best to deal mildly with the +delinquents, and the regulations he made were, as a rule, well kept by +the natives. He was now better pleased with his reception, and concluded +that the island was in a more prosperous condition than at his last +visit. When the ship was ready to resume her voyage, several young +natives volunteered to accompany her, and Mr. Forster was most anxious to +take one as a servant, but as Cook could see no prospect of returning +them to their homes, he would not permit one to go. + +MARRA DESERTS. + +When the anchor was weighed on 14th May, Marra, the gunner's mate, whose +Journal has been quoted, quietly slipped into the water, and endeavoured +to reach a canoe which was hanging about to pick him up, but he was seen +and taken on board again. In his notes he expresses his regret that the +scientific world thus lost the chance of having the experiences of a +prolonged residence amongst these people placed before it. At the time of +leaving there was great talk of the expedition against Eimeo, and Cook +would have liked to have watched the proceedings, but he soon saw that +nothing would be done whilst he remained in the vicinity. + +On their arrival at Huaheine on the 15th the ship was immediately boarded +by Cook's old friend Oree with the usual present, and he and his friends +were invited to dine on board. He was asked what he would like for the +return present, and named axes and nails, which were given him with the +request that he would distribute them amongst his people; this he at once +did, to the apparent satisfaction of all. The thieving propensities of +the natives were still as bad as ever; a shooting party was robbed of its +stock of trade goods, and the day after three officers were seized and +stripped, so Cook took an armed party ashore, captured two of the leading +chiefs and a large house, and said he should keep them till the things +stolen were returned. This had the desired effect, and everything was +soon brought back. + +On 23rd May they sailed for Ulietea, and on their arrival the next day +were well received, though it was evident provisions were rather scarce. +They were informed here that two ships had arrived at Huaheine, one +commanded by Banks, and the other by Furneaux, and their informant +describes both Captains so well that it was some time before Cook +ventured to reject the tale as too improbable. It is possible that there +was some foundation for the story that ships had been seen, for it +afterwards became known that M. St. Dennis had been in the South Pacific +about this time with two vessels. + +Notwithstanding pressing invitations from the natives to stay, Cook +sailed for Lord Howe's Island, discovered by Wallis, reaching it on the +6th June, but as it seemed uninhabited it offered no inducement for any +stay. On the 16th a chain of sand-banks and islets surrounding a lagoon +into which no practicable entrance could be seen, was named Palmerston's +Islands; and on the 20th a landing was effected on Savage Island, but as +the natives were very threatening, and the country enabled them to +approach closely without exposing themselves, the party retired to the +boats. A few spears were thrown, and Marra says that one would have +struck Cook had he not seen it coming and stooped in time to avoid it, +and then aimed with his gun loaded with small shot at the thrower, but it +missed fire; a short time afterwards he again tried it, aiming in the +air, and it was discharged. Forster attributes the constant misfires to +the bad quality of the flints supplied by the Government, and says that +English flints had a very unsatisfactory reputation on the Continent. + +MORE THIEVING. + +The course was now set for Rotterdam, where they arrived on 26th June, +and were fairly well received by the natives, who brought supplies of +fruit before the anchorage had been reached; but they soon began to play +the old game of trying to annex anything that took their fancy. One +seized the lead which was in use, whilst a second tried to cut the line +with a stone, and was only persuaded to desist by a charge of small shot +fired at his legs. A small party of sailors went ashore for water, and a +quantity was obtained; but again the natives became too pressing in their +attentions. The doctor's musket was stolen, then Mr. Clerke's, then some +other things and a cooper's adze; and Cook, though at first inclined to +take no notice, felt compelled to seize two canoes, and himself wounded a +man, who had rendered himself conspicuous by his disorderly conduct, with +a charge of small shot, and it was at first rumoured he was killed. This +Cook would not believe as he had been very careful not to fire at a vital +spot. After a time the muskets and some of the other things were given +up, so the canoes were returned to their owners, and the adze was +demanded. Instead of the adze, however, the reported corpse was brought +on board, and proved, on examination by the doctor, to be very little the +worse for his experience, having a slight wound on the thigh and a second +one on the wrist. He was soon on his feet, and the adze was then +produced. The next day the people were very civil, and the crew were able +to water without interruption. + +On 16th July they sighted Aurora Island, discovered by Bougainville, but +it came on to blow hard, so they did not attempt to anchor. The natives +came down fully armed as if to oppose a landing, and the ship passed on +to Whitsunday Island. Off Malicolo good anchorage was found, and the +natives came on board, and were so pleased with their reception they +returned next day in greater numbers, and whilst Cook was in his cabin +with some who appeared to be chiefs, a great noise arose on deck. A boat +keeper had declined to allow a native to get into his boat, and the +islander was fitting an arrow to his bow as Cook came on deck, with the +intention of shooting the sailor. Cook shouted at him, and he at once +diverted his aim to the Captain, but the latter was too quick, and +peppered him with small shot, spoiling his aim. He was not much hurt, and +proceeded to fit another arrow to his bow, when Cook gave him the second +barrel and induced him to retire. Some of the others also discharged a +few arrows, so a musket was fired over them, without any effect. A +four-pound gun was tried, and the effect was truly marvellous; the +natives in the rigging and on deck threw themselves into the water, +whilst those in the cabin jumped from the ports, and the ship was left in +peace. Cook was not favourably impressed by these islanders, and +describes them as "in general, the most ugly ill-proportioned people I +ever saw." Forster, however, thought they were very intelligent. They +were judged to be a different race from the Society or Friendly +Islanders, and spoke a different language. + +POISONOUS FISH. + +After leaving, many of those on board were very ill for a week or ten +days from having eaten of a fish which Forster calls a red sea bream, and +Cook believed to be the same as those which poisoned de Quiros's people, +and in his account says that: + +"The fish had eaten of poisonous plants, all parts of the flesh became +empoisoned. The ship appeared like the Hospital of a city which had the +plague; there was none who could stand on their feet." + +Owing to the care of the surgeons, however "all were recovered." + +The next land seen was a small group of islands, named Shepherd's +Islands, "in honour of my worthy friend, the Plumian Professor of +Astronomy at Cambridge"; and Mr. Forster complains that Cook's "rashness +and reliance on good fortune become the principal roads to fame, by being +crowned with great and undeserved success." This was very out of place at +the time, for Cook was exercising the very greatest precautions, as he +fully recognised the dangers by which they were surrounded. He always +stood off and on during the night, and only proceeded through unknown +waters by day. Several of these islets were of a peculiar formation, and +one high columnar rock was named the Monument; Forster gives its height +as 140 yards, the other accounts are satisfied with feet. Many of the +group were inhabited, but no favourable opportunity for landing occurred. + +On 1st August a fire broke out on board, and Forster writes: + +"Confusion and horror appeared in all our faces at the bare mention of +it, and it was some time before proper measures were taken to stop its +progress, for in these moments of danger few are able to collect their +faculties and act with cool deliberation." + +After about half a page of this, on fires in general, he observes: + +"Providentially the fire of this day was very trifling and extinguished +in a few moments." + +Then a few days after a marine, who had fallen overboard, was smartly +picked up, and being well looked after by his comrades, was soon showing +no ill effects of his accident, thus giving Mr. Forster an opportunity to +write of it as an example of "the result of an esprit du corps to which +sailors, at present, are utter strangers." An utterly unwarranted sneer. + +At Erromango, on 4th August, Cook went in with the boats, and the natives +tried to induce them to come on shore, but something roused suspicion +after he and one man had got into the water, so, making signs that he +would come back later, he stepped back. The natives then rushed the +boats, trying to drag them onto the beach, and succeeded in stealing two +oars, at the same time wounding several of the boats' crews, amongst them +Mr. Gilbert, the Master, with a shower of stones, spears, and arrows. +Cook attempted to give one of the chiefs a charge of small shot, but his +gun missed fire, and he was obliged, very reluctantly, to order the +marines to fire, with the result that several of the natives were +wounded. Under the circumstances it was not considered worth while +remaining, so the ship left for Tanna, some twelve leagues to the south. +A bright light had been noticed in that direction the night before, which +proved to have been caused by a volcanic eruption. + +A good anchorage was found at Tanna, and the ship warped close in. +Several natives coming on board to trade soon developed the usual +propensity to carry off anything that took their fancy--on this occasion +the anchor buoys were the special attraction. Muskets were fired over +their head to no purpose, so a four-pounder was discharged, which for a +time had a good result; but soon they were as bad as ever, so two or +three musquetoons were fired close to them, and though none were hurt, +the crew were able to get their dinner in peace. + +HOT SPRINGS. + +An old man, called by Cook Paowang, appeared to be inclined to be +friendly, so Cook landed with a strong party to look for water under his +guidance, and met with some of the elders, exchanging presents with them. +The next day the ship was warped in, and three boats went ashore, but the +natives were very threatening, and after some futile attempts to put +things on a peaceable footing a signal was given to the ship and several +guns were fired, when all the natives ran away except Paowang, who was +suitably rewarded for his confidence. After a time permission was +obtained to get wood, water, and ballast, and whilst trying to lift a +stone out of a pool below high-water mark, one of the crew scalded his +hand badly. The pool proved to be one of a series of springs running down +a spur of the volcano into the sea. Several were tested with the +thermometer, and as much as 202 degrees Fahrenheit was attained. Forster +found a number of cracks on the ridge from which sulphurous vapour and +smoke issued, and one of the crew who had been suffering severely from +rheumatism received great temporary benefit from bathing in one of the +springs. + +Many good plantations of yams, sugar-cane, and plantains were seen, but +they could purchase very little as their articles of trade were not +appreciated. The natives did not understand the use of iron, and did not +require cloth as they went almost entirely naked. Though no direct signs +of cannibalism had been found, Cook was convinced that the practice was +not unknown. + +After leaving Tanna, the western coasts of the different islands were +followed up till De Bougainville's Passage was reached, when the course +was set for Espiritu Santo. In passing Malicolo canoes put off for the +ship, but the wind being favourable, Cook would not delay, and gave +Forster the opportunity to remark that the main object of the voyage, +i.e. the obtaining a knowledge of the natural history of the islands, was +made subservient to the production of a new track on the chart of the +Southern Hemisphere. + +CARDINAL MORAN'S GEOGRAPHY. + +On 25th August they entered the bay which Cook believed to be that +discovered by De Quiros, and named by him the Bay of St. Philip and St. +Iago in the Tierra Austral del Espiritu Santo, now known as the New +Hebrides. In this conclusion Cook has the support of Dalrymple and modern +geographers, but Forster, for some reason which is not quite clear, felt +compelled to differ. Cardinal Moran, the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, +also believes Cook to have been mistaken, for in his History of the +Catholic Church in Australia, he places De Quiros's discovery in Port +Curtis, Queensland, where he claims that the first Catholic service ever +celebrated in Australia was held. He puts aside the fact that the +latitude of Port Curtis, 24 degrees South, does not agree with that given +by De Quiros, 15 degrees 20 minutes South, by saying that the positions +of newly discovered places were, in those days, "often purposely +concealed lest other navigators might appropriate to themselves and their +respective countries, the results of the discovery." He quotes details +given in De Quiros's petitions to the King of Spain, and says: "All these +details fit in admirably with Port Curtis on the Queensland coast." Now +De Quiros says the country he discovered was thickly inhabited by a +people who were armed with bows and arrows, possessed vessels of +earthenware, lived in houses of wood, roofed with palm leaves, were amply +supplied with oranges, limes, pears, almonds larger than those of Spain, +hogs, fowls, goats, capons, etc. That in the bay where he anchored there +was no sandy barren ground, no mangroves, no ants, no mosquitoes, and +that his anchorage lay between two considerable rivers. How these details +fit in with Port Curtis may be evident to his Eminence, but is not +apparent to less distinguished mortals. The district of Port Curtis when +discovered was very thinly populated, and shows no signs of ever having +been otherwise. Bows and arrows and earthenware vessels were absolutely +unknown throughout Australia; houses did not exist, except in the form of +temporary shelters of branches, leaves, and bark; the fruits and animals +mentioned were unknown; and sandy barren country with mangroves, ants, +and mosquitoes does exist in considerable quantity. The anchorage, had De +Quiros ever been there, might have been between two rivers, the Boyne and +Calliope (both of small size), but Cardinal Moran, to make this detail +"fit in admirably", has recourse to the bold measure of moving the mouth +of the Burnett River from Wide Bay to Port Curtis--some 2 1/2 degrees to +the north of its real position. + +On the other hand, Cook's description of the New Hebrides fits in with +much greater accuracy. The latitude was found to be 15 degrees 5 minutes +South, and Mr. Cooper, who went ashore with the boats, reported that he +landed near a fine stream of fresh water, "probably one of those +mentioned by De Quiros; and if we were not deceived, we saw the other." +The country was described by Cook thus: + +"an uncommonly luxuriant vegetation was everywhere to be seen; the sides +of the hills were chequered with plantations; and every valley watered by +a stream; of all the productions of nature this country was adorned with, +the coconut trees were the most conspicuous." + +A few canoes ventured near enough to have some presents thrown to them, +but here the intercourse ended, for Cook felt that, notwithstanding the +inviting appearance of the place, he had no time to spare from the great +object of the expedition, namely, the exploration of the Southern Ocean, +and, as the wind was favourable, sailed for New Zealand for a refit. + + +CHAPTER 14. 1774 TO 1775. SECOND VOYAGE CONCLUDED. + +On 4th September Midshipman Colnett sighted a large island, which was +named New Caledonia, the point first seen being called Cape Colnett. An +opening in the surrounding reef having been found by the boats, the +Resolution worked up to an anchorage and was quickly surrounded by canoes +whose occupants were totally unarmed. At first they were shy of coming +near, but at length one canoe was persuaded to receive some small +presents, and in return gave some fish which "stunk intolerably," but for +all that it was received in hopes more satisfactory trading might result. +To some who came on board dinner was offered, but they would touch +nothing but yams. They appeared to know nothing of dogs, goats, or hogs, +but greatly appreciated both red cloth and nails. Cook landed and was +well received, and water was pointed out, but it was too inconvenient of +access; the land near a village was well cultivated and irrigated, the +products being chiefly yams, plantains, and coconuts, the latter were not +bearing much fruit. + +On 6th September Mr. Wales secured a moderately satisfactory observation +of an eclipse of the sun, and was able to fix their position as 20 +degrees 17 minutes 39 seconds South, 164 degrees 41 minutes 21 seconds +East. On the same day the ship's butcher, Monk, "a man much esteemed in +the ship," fell down the forehatch, and died the following day from the +injury received. Whilst some of the crew were engaged in watering, a +small party went up the hills to view the surrounding country, but as all +the natives they met turned back to follow them, Cook remarks, "at last +our train was numerous." They were able to see right across the island, +and estimated the width to be not more than ten leagues. On returning it +was found the clerk had purchased a fish, something like a sun-fish; and +as the artist was engaged in drawing and describing it, the cook took the +liver and roe for supper in the cabin, with the result that Cook and the +Forsters were nearly poisoned, and were only cured by the most careful +attention of the surgeon. When the natives saw the fish the next morning +they immediately signified it was unfit to eat, but Cook says nothing of +the kind had been intimated when it was purchased. + +NORFOLK ISLAND. + +The natives were described as robust and well made, "and not in the least +addicted to pilfering, which is more than can be said of any other nation +in this sea." The only tame animals they had were large fowls with very +bright plumage. The country was said to consist of rocky hills, and the +trees identical with those seen in New South Wales. Leaving a sow and +boar behind, in hopes of their being allowed to breed, and marking a tree +with the name of the ship and the date, they left for the Isle of Pines, +where they arrived on the 19th. Here they were in very dangerous waters, +and Cook says the safety of the ship was owing to the splendid way in +which the watch was kept, and the brisk manner in which she was handled +by the crew. Forster noted "innumerable columnar forms of a considerable +height which we distinguished by the help of our glasses"; he put them +very proudly down as of basaltic formation, and afforded considerable +amusement to Cook when he was able to prove they were only trees of the +Pine family; in fact, some were afterwards cut down on Botany Island and +used for spars. They were unable to effect a landing on the Isle of Pines +owing to the rocky nature of the shore, but by some unknown means Mr. +Hodges painted a view of the interior of the island, published under that +title in Cook's Voyages. Norfolk Island was discovered on 10th October, +and a landing was effected, but no sign of inhabitants was seen, though a +welcome supply of fish, birds, and cabbage palm was obtained. The +vegetation bore a resemblance to that of New Zealand. + +On 17th October Mount Egmont was sighted, and anchoring in Queen +Charlotte's Sound an immediate search was made for a bottle containing +letters which had been left for the Adventure. It was not to be found, +nor was there anything to show by whom it had been taken, but the next +day they saw where an observatory had been set up, and trees cut down +with axes, and so came to the conclusion their consort had been there. +The natives, who were at first very shy, but when they recognised Cook +"went jumping and skipping about like madmen," informed them that the +Adventure came in soon after they had left, and remained two or three +weeks. A story also was told that a ship had been lost on the north side +of the straits shortly before Cook arrived, and some of the people having +had their clothes stolen by the natives, fired on them, but when their +ammunition was exhausted were all killed. This story, evidently a +distorted account of what happened to some of the Adventure's crew, was +disbelieved by Cook, who thought there had been some misunderstanding. +Cook, from fresh observations, found that he had placed the South Island +on his chart some 40 minutes too far to the east, and had made the +distance between Queen Charlotte's Sound and Cape Pallisser 10 minutes +nearer to each other than they should have been. In this connection he +speaks in the highest terms of the desire of Mr. Wales to have everything +as accurate as possible. + +On 11th November the Resolution left the Sound at daybreak to cross the +South Pacific between latitudes 54 and 55 degrees, and the course +convinced Cook there was no possibility of there being any large piece of +land in that portion of the ocean. He therefore stood for the western +entrance of Magellan's Straits, sighting Cape Descada on 17th December, +following the coast round to Christmas Sound, which they reached on the +20th, the country passed being described as "the most desolate and barren +I ever saw." At Christmas Sound they were more fortunate, for wood, +water, wild celery, and a large number of geese provided them with a +welcome banquet for Christmas Day. They were visited by some of the +natives, described as "a little, ugly, half-starved, beardless race; I +saw not a tall person amongst them." The scent of dirt and train oil they +carried with them was "enough to spoil the appetite of any European," +consequently none were invited to join the festivities. They had European +knives, cloth, handkerchiefs, etc., showing they had been in +communication with white men; and Forster notes they had canoes which +could not have been made in the neighbourhood, for there was no timber of +sufficient size. + +CAPE HORN CORRECTED. + +Cape Horn was passed on 29th December, and Cook made his longitude 68 +degrees 13 minutes West, a little too far to the westward; it should be +67 degrees 16 minutes West. This is absolutely correct, according to +Wharton. On 1st January 1775 they landed on a small island off Staten +Island, and then put in to a fine sheltered harbour on the main island, +which consequently was named New Year Harbour. The weather proved +unfavourable for surveying, but enough was ascertained to convince them +that the Tierra del Fuego and Staten Island coasts were not so dangerous +to navigation as they had been represented. + +On 3rd January they left to look for Dalrymple's Gulf of Sebastian, which +Cook thought was non-existent, and on the 6th they reached the position +given on the chart, but could find no signs of any land. Bearing up to +the north, Georgia Island was seen on the 14th, and was found to be +entirely covered with snow, creating surprise as it was now the height of +summer. The ship ran in between Georgia and Willis Islands, and +possession was formally taken of the group, though Cook did not think +that "any one would ever be benefited by the discovery." Working as far +south as 60 degrees, he turned to the east, being "tired of these high +southern latitudes where nothing was to be found but ice and thick fogs," +and a long hollow swell coming from the westward convinced him that he +was correct in his assumption that the Gulf of Sebastian and a large body +of land did not exist. On the 30th two large islands were seen, and then +three rocky islets to the north; the largest was named Freezeland Peak, +after the sailor who sighted it, S. Freesland; and behind these was an +elevated coast which received the name of Southern Thule, as being the +most southerly land then discovered. The position of the ship was given +as 59 degrees 13 minutes 30 seconds South, 27 degrees 45 minutes West. + +During the early part of February they ran down east between 58 and 59 +degrees South, frequently having to throw the ship up into the wind to +shake the snow out of her sails, for the weather was very bad. After +another unsuccessful attempt to find Cape Circumcision, the ship's head +was turned towards the Cape of Good Hope on 23rd February, and Cook had +the satisfaction of feeling he had solved the problem of the +non-existence of any southern continent except in close proximity to the +Pole. He firmly believed from his observations of the icefields that such +a continent in the far south did exist, but he asserted that further +exploration in that direction would be of little service to navigation, +and would be hardly worth the cost and danger that must be incurred. + +On 16th March two Dutch ships were seen steering to the west, and a boat +was sent off to the nearest, which proved to be the Bownkirke Polder, +from Bengal. They were offered any supplies the Dutchman had, +notwithstanding the latter was rather short, owing to his being some time +out from port. Some English sailors on board told of the Adventure having +been at the Cape of Good Hope some twelve months previously, and that she +had reported the massacre of a boat's crew in New Zealand. At the same +time three more sail came up, one, an English ship, did not intend to +call at the Cape, so Cook forwarded by her a letter to the Admiralty and +received some provisions, and, most valuable gift, a packet of old +newspapers. On the 22nd the Resolution anchored in Table Bay, saluting +the Dutch flag with thirteen guns, and the next morning Cook waited on +the Governor, who did everything he could to assist him and render his +stay agreeable. + +THREE ON THE SICK LIST. + +Cook was greatly pleased to be able to report three men only on the sick +list, and the remainder were granted as much leave as the refitting of +the ship would permit. The rigging, of course, had suffered severely, and +had to be replaced at an exorbitant cost from the Government Stores; but +Cook calls attention to the state of the masts, which he considered, +after sailing some 20,000 leagues, bore testimony to the care and ability +of his officers and men, and also to the high qualities of his ship. + +M. de Crozet put in on his way to Pondicherry, and was impressed with +Cook's courtesy and qualifications as an explorer. He was able to give +the first information of M. de Surville's voyage, and that he had cleared +away a mistake Cook had made in assuming that the New Caledonia reefs +extended to the Great Barrier Reef on the east of Australia. Forster says +that Cook pointedly avoided having any intercourse with any of the +Spaniards who were there, but gives no reason for it. He also bought a +quantity of wild animals and birds, many of which died before reaching +England, and he roundly but unjustly accused the crew of having killed +them. + +Touching at St. Helena, where Kendal's watch was found to differ by about +two miles from the observations of Mason and Dixon at the Cape and those +of Maskelyne at St. Helena, he proceeded to Ascension, where he obtained +a good supply of fresh turtle, and then to Fernando de Noronho, fixing +the position as 3 degrees 50 minutes South, 32 degrees 34 minutes West, +and crossed the line on 11th June. Calling in at the Azores, land was +sighted near Plymouth on the 29th, and next day they anchored at +Spithead; and Cook, Wales, Hodges, and the two Forsters immediately +started for London, having been away from England three years and +eighteen days. During this time they had lost four men, three from +accident and one from disease--a record unprecedented in the annals of +British Naval history. + +The war with the American colonies was naturally occupying the attention +of the public, but the newspapers found space to publish more or less +authentic information as to their arrival and proceedings on the voyage. +One paper gravely said that: + +"Captain Cooke will be appointed Admiral of the Blue, and command a fleet +which is preparing to go out in the spring, as a reward for the +discoveries he has made in his last voyage in the South Seas." + +On 9th August Cook was summoned to St. James's Palace and had a long +audience with the King, presenting several charts and maps and submitting +several drawings, some of which were ordered to be engraved for the +private museum. In return the King presented him with his commission as +Post-Captain and his appointment to H.M.S. Kent. The commission, signed +by Sandwich, Penton, and Pallisser, bears date 9th August. Furneaux was +made Captain. He sailed for America in October, and was present at the +attack on New Orleans in 1777; he died at the age of forty-six, some four +years later. Kempe, Cooper, and Clerke were promoted to Commanders; and +Isaac Smith, Lieutenant. Mr. Wales was appointed Mathematical Master at +Christ's Hospital, and Charles Lamb mentions him as having been a severe +man but: + +"a perpetual fund of humour, a constant glee about him, heightened by an +inveterate provincialism of North Country dialect, absolutely took away +the sting from his severities." + +Mr. Forster was received by the King at Kew, and was afterwards presented +to the Queen, to whom he gave some of the birds bought at the Cape. He +also attracted attention from another quarter, for Lloyd's Evening Post +reports that on 6th August, his house at Paddington "was broke open and +robbed of effects of considerable value." Again the Morning Post, 23rd +August, reports: + +"Monday night, as Mr. John Reynold Forster was returning from Chelsea in +a post chaise, he was attacked by three highwaymen, near Bloody Bridge, +who robbed him of three guineas and a watch set with diamonds." + +GREENWICH HOSPITAL. + +Acting on advice from the Admiralty, Cook, on 12th August, applied for +the position of one of the Captains of Greenwich Hospital, vacant through +the death of Captain Clements, stipulating that if occasion arose in +which his services would be of use elsewhere, he might be permitted to +resign. This application was immediately granted, and his appointment is +dated on the same day as his application. The salary was 200 pounds per +year, with a residence and certain small allowances such as fire and +light, and one shilling and twopence per day table money. It is apparent +from his letters that though he may have taken over some of the duties +(but that is improbable, owing to his time being fully occupied preparing +his Journal for the press and then making arrangements for his final +voyage), he never entered upon residence but remained at Mile End. He, +however, found time to write two letters to Mr. Walker of Whitby, in the +first of which he speaks rather despondingly of being "confined within +the limits of Greenwich Hospital, which are far too small for an active +mind like mine"; and in the second he gives a rapid sketch of the voyage, +which, by its clear conciseness, proves the worthlessness of Mr. +Forster's sneer, repeated by later writers, that the public account of +the voyage owed more to the editing of Canon Douglas than to the writing +of Cook. + +Soon after Cook's arrival in London, Furneaux handed him his Journal of +the proceedings of the Adventure from the time of their separation off +the coast of New Zealand. They were blown off the land near Table Cape in +the beginning of November 1773, again sighting it near Cape Pallisser, +only to be blown off again, their sails and rigging suffering severely. +They put into Tolago Bay for temporary repairs and water, and left again +on the 13th, but had to put back till the 16th, and even then the weather +was so bad that they did not reach Queen Charlotte's Sound till the 30th, +when the bottle left by Cook was at once found, telling they were six +days too late. They pushed on as rapidly as possible with the refit, and +then were further delayed by finding a large quantity of the bread +required rebaking, but they were ready to sail by 17th December. Mr. Rowe +was sent out with a boat to get a supply of vegetables, and the ship was +to have sailed the following day, but the boat did not return. Burney was +then sent off with a party of marines in search, and after a time +discovered the missing men had been all killed and some of them eaten by +the Maoris. Portions of the bodies were found and identified--Rowe's +hand, by an old scar, Thomas Hill's hand, had been tattooed in Otaheite; +Captain Furneaux's servant's hand; and midshipman Woodhouse's shoes were +found, and a portion of the boat. The natives who had these remains were +fired on, but Burney could take no further steps, for he estimated there +were fifteen hundred of the natives near the place. Furneaux believed +that the attack was unpremeditated as the Maoris had been quite friendly, +and both he and Cook had been at the place during their previous visit. +He concluded that some sudden quarrel had arisen and the boat's crew had +been incautious. + +MASSACRE. + +On his next voyage Cook obtained an account of the affair from the +natives, when they said that the crew was at dinner and some of the +Maoris attempted to steal some bread and fish, whilst one tried to get +something from the boat which had been left in charge of the Captain's +black servant. The thieves were given a thrashing, and a quarrel arose, +during which two muskets were discharged and two natives were shot. The +Maoris then closed in and killed all the sailors immediately. The +Yorkshire Gazette of 4th June 1887 states that it was reported that a +midshipman escaped the massacre, and after many wanderings reached +England in 1777. If this improbable story is true he must have been Mr. +Woodhouse, whose shoes were found, for he was the only midshipman in the +boat. + +On 23rd December the Adventure sailed, but owing to contrary winds did +not get away from the coast for some days. She stood south-east till 56 +degrees South was reached, and then the cold being extreme and the sea +high, her course was set for the Horn, reaching as high as 61 degrees +South with a favourable wind. Stores were running short, so after an +unsuccessful search for Cape Circumcision she sailed for Table Bay, and +having refitted, again left on 16th April for England, and dropped her +anchor at Spithead on 14th July 1774. + +Mr. Forster states that this second voyage of Cook cost 25,000 pounds, +but does not give the source of his information. + + +CHAPTER 15. 1775 TO 1776. ENGLAND. + +After his return Cook was busily engaged preparing his Journal and charts +for publication, which had been sanctioned by the Admiralty, and was +considerably annoyed and delayed by the conduct of Mr. Forster, who +immediately on his return complained that the 4,000 pounds granted him to +cover the whole of his expenses had proved totally inadequate. He claimed +that Lord Sandwich had promised, verbally, that he was to have the +exclusive duty of writing the History of the Voyage, was to receive the +whole of the profits thereof, and to be provided with permanent +employment for the remainder of his life. This promise was totally denied +by Lord Sandwich, and it certainly does not appear to have been a +reasonable one to make on behalf of the Admiralty. + +After a protracted discussion, it was agreed that Cook should write the +account of the voyage and the countries visited; whilst Forster was to +write a second volume containing his observations as a scientist; the +Admiralty was to pay the expenses of engraving the charts, pictures, +etc., and, on completion of the work, the plates were to be equally +divided between Cook and Forster. Cook was to proceed with his part at +once and submit it to Forster for revision, and Forster was to draw up a +plan of the method he intended to pursue and forward it to Lord Sandwich +for approval. + +Cook proceeded to carry out his share, and furnished Forster with a large +amount of manuscript; but the latter proved obstinately insistent in +having his own way in everything, with the result that, after submitting +two schemes to Lord Sandwich, both extremely unsatisfactory, he was +forbidden to write at all, and it was decided that Cook should complete +the whole work, and it should be revised by the Reverend John Douglas, +Canon of Windsor, afterwards Bishop of Carlisle. + +FORSTER'S YARNS. + +Notwithstanding the prohibition against Forster, a book was published +under his son's name, and the latter claims that he started on the voyage +with the intention of writing, took copious notes, and, excepting that he +utilised those taken by his father, the work was entirely his own. He +forgets, however, to say that a quantity of Cook's manuscripts had been +in his father's hands, and does not explain how so much of his book +corresponds with curious exactitude with that of Cook (in many cases word +for word), and how, when the papers of Cook failed to provide him with +further facts, he was obliged to rely on would-be philosophical +dissertations which it is to be hoped were not obtained from his father's +notebooks. Young Forster says that the appointment was first of all given +to his father in a spirit of pique on the part of Lord Sandwich, and then +the order forbidding him to write was made because the father had refused +to give Miss Ray, Lord Sandwich's mistress, who had admired them when on +board the ship, some birds brought home from the Cape of Good Hope as a +present to the Queen. In the end the Forsters forestalled Cook's book by +about six weeks, and as this was after Cook had left England on his last +voyage, Mr. Wales undertook the defence of the absent against the sneers +and insinuations that were plentifully given out all round. The Forsters +infer that Cook was unreliable because he suppresses mention of the +bombardment of the Loo fort at Madeira, an event which never happened; +and because he places Valparaiso (where he had never been) in the +position given on the Admiralty chart supplied to him, which proved to be +some 10 degrees out. The Master who had refused to give up his cabin was, +of course, never forgiven; and as for Mr. Wales, who had observed the +Transit of Venus at Hudson's Bay in 1769, for the Royal Society, he, poor +man, had neither knowledge nor experience in astronomical science. The +crews of the two ships also, carefully selected men though they were, +some of whom had been the previous voyage, were morally and physically +bad, and utterly incapable of performing their duty in a proper and +seamanlike manner. A little allowance must be made for the two authors, +for the father suffered severely from rheumatism, the son was of a +scorbutic tendency, and both were unaccustomed to sea life, and doubtless +the hardships inseparable from such a voyage pressed heavily upon them. + +A second Journal was published by F. Newbery about the same time, and +Cook hearing of it, sent Anderson, the gunner, to find out the author. +With little difficulty he was found to be Marra, the gunner's mate who +tried to desert at Otaheite, and the publication was stayed till after +the authorised version was out. + +A volume of Cook's letters to Dr. Douglas relating to the preparation of +his Journal for the press is preserved at the British Museum, and it +shows how Cook to the very last endeavoured to serve Mr. Forster's +interests, and to smooth matters over so that they could work together. +The last one Dr. Douglas received before Cook's departure was dated from +Mile End, 23rd June 1776, the day before he joined his ship at the Nore. + +Dear Sir, + +It is now settled that I am to publish without Mr. Forster, and I have +taken my measures accordingly. When Captain Campbell has looked over the +manuscript it will be put into the hands of Mr. Strahan and Mr. Stuart to +be printed, and I shall hope for the continuation of your assistance in +correcting the press. I know not how to recompense you for the trouble +you have had and will have in the work. I can only beg you will accept of +as many copies after it is published as will serve yourself and friends, +and I have given directions for you to be furnished with them. When you +have done with the Introduction, please send it to Mr. Strahan or bring +it with you when you come to Town, for there needs be no hurry about it. +Tomorrow morning I set out to join my ship at the Nore, and with her +proceed to Plymouth where my stay will be but short. Permit me to assure +you that I shall always have a due sense of the favour you have done me, +and that I am with great esteem and regard, Dear Sir, your obliged and +very humble servant, + +James Cook. + +Notwithstanding the Forsters' endeavour to discount its success by +forestalling the publication by some weeks, Cook's work was well received +by the public, and Mrs. Cook, to whom the whole of the profits were +given, reaped considerable benefit from its sale. + +FELLOW OF ROYAL SOCIETY. + +On 29th February 1776, Captain James Cook was unanimously elected a +Fellow of the Royal Society, and his certificate of election was signed +by no less than twenty-six of the Fellows. He was formally admitted on +17th March, on which date a paper written by him, on the means he had +used for the prevention and cure of scurvy, was read. That he valued his +success in dealing with this disease, which, at that time, even in +voyages of very moderate length was the most terrible danger to be +encountered, is plainly set forth in his Journal of the voyage. He says: + +"But whatever may be the public judgment about other matters, it is with +real satisfaction and without claiming any merit but that of attention to +my duty, that I can conclude this account with an observation which facts +enable me to make, that our having discovered the possibility of +preserving health amongst a numerous ship's company, for such a length of +time in such varieties of climate and amidst such continued hardships and +fatigues, will make this voyage remarkable in opinion of every benevolent +person, when the disputes about a Southern Continent shall have ceased to +engage the attention and to divide the judgment of philosophers." + +During his early days at sea it was no unusual thing for a man-of-war to +be short-handed through scurvy after a cruise of a few weeks, and in a +voyage across the Atlantic as many as twenty per cent of the crew are +known to have perished. To give some of his own experiences in the Navy: +On 4th June 1756, H.M.S. Eagle arrived in Plymouth Sound, after cruising +for two months in the Channel and off the French coast, and Captain +Pallisser reported landing 130 sick, buried at sea 22, and since his +arrival in port his surgeon and 4 men had died, and both his surgeon's +mates were very ill; this out of a complement of 400! + +Boscawen, sailing from Halifax for Louisberg in 1758, left several ships +behind on account of scurvy, one being the Pembroke, of which Cook was +Master; she had lost 29 men crossing the Atlantic, but she was able to +rejoin before the others as they were in a worse plight. Wolfe reported +to Lord George Sackville that some of the regiments employed at Louisburg +had "300 or 400 men eat up with scurvy." Of the Northumberland when at +Halifax, Lord Colville wrote that frozen (fresh) beef from Boston kept +his men healthy when in port, "but the scurvy never fails to pull us down +in great numbers upon our going to sea in spring." + +Having had such experiences Cook appears to have made up his mind to +fight the dreadful scourge from the very first, and though the popular +idea is that he only turned his mind to it during the second voyage, it +is very evident that on the Endeavour he fought it successfully, and it +is most probable would have laid claim to victory had it not been for the +serious losses incurred through the malarial fever and its usual +companion, dysentery, contracted at Batavia. In proof of this reference +may be made to the report of Mr. Perry, surgeon's mate, and, after Mr. +Monkhouse's death, surgeon on board. He states they rounded the Horn with +the crew "as free from scurvy as on our sailing from Plymouth," i.e. +after five months. He reports FOR THE WHOLE OF THE VOYAGE, FIVE CASES OF +SCURVY, "three in Port at New Holland, and two while on the Coast of New +Zealand, not a man more suffered any inconvenience from this distemper." +He was one of the five cases, but, at the same time, it must not be +understood that no others developed symptoms of scurvy, only they were so +closely watched and at once subjected to such treatment that the disease +was not able to gain the upper hand. Cook wrote to the Secretary to the +Admiralty immediately after his arrival at Batavia, saying, "I have not +lost one man from sickness." He means here, as elsewhere in his Journals, +"sickness" to be taken as scurvy, and at that time he had lost only seven +men: two of Mr. Banks's servants from exposure; three men drowned; Mr. +Buchan, a fit, probably apoplectic; and one man, alcoholic poisoning. He +arrived at home with a total loss of forty-one, including Tupia and his +boy; thirty-two of these deaths were from fever and dysentery, and 2, Mr. +Hicks and Sutherland, from consumption. + +TREATMENT OF SCURVY. + +The chief anti-scorbutics used on the Endeavour, according to Mr. Perry's +report, were: + +"Sour Kraut, Mustard, Vinegar, Wheat (whole), Inspissated Orange and +Lemon juice, Saloup, Portable Soup, Sugar, Molasses, Vegetables (at all +times when they could possibly be got), were some in constant, others in +occasional use." + +Saloup was a decoction made from the Orchis mascula root, a common meadow +plant, or else from Sassafras, and was at one time sold in the streets as +a drink before the introduction of tea and coffee. In the United Service +Museum there is a cake of the portable soup which was on board the +Endeavour, in appearance like a square of "whitish glue, which in effect +it is," says Sir John Pringle, President of the Royal Society. + +Mr. Perry continues: + +"Cold bathing was encouraged and enforced by example. The allowance of +Salt Beef and Pork was abridged from nearly the beginning of the voyage, +and the usual custom of the sailors mixing the Salt Beef fat with the +flour was strictly forbidden. Salt Butter and Cheese was stopped on +leaving England, and throughout the voyage Raisins were issued in place +of the Salt Suet; in addition to the Malt, wild Celery was collected in +Tierra del Fuego, and, every morning, breakfast was made from this herb, +ground wheat and portable soup." + +Of the personal cleanliness of the crew, which Cook looked upon as of the +first importance, Marra says (when writing of the Resolution's voyage) he +was very particular: + +"never suffering any to appear dirty before him, in so much that when +other Commanders came on board, they could not help declaring they +thought EVERY DAY Sunday on board of Captain Cook." + +He inspected the men at least once a week, and saw they had changed their +clothing and were dry; the bedding was dried and aired when occasion +offered, and the whole ship was stove-dried; special attention being paid +to the well, into which an iron pot containing a fire was lowered. + +Fresh water was obtained when possible, for Cook remarks, "nothing +contributes more to the health of seamen than having plenty of water." He +was provided with a condenser, but it was too small and unsatisfactory, +and he looked upon it as "a useful invention, but only calculated to +provide enough to preserve life without health." He attributed the losses +on the Adventure to Furneaux's desire to save his men labour, and +neglecting to avail himself of every opportunity of obtaining fresh +water. Cook throughout the voyage was never short of water; Furneaux was +on two or three occasions. + +Dr. McBride advised the use of fresh wort made from malt as an +anti-scorbutic, and the Endeavour was ordered to give it a thorough +trial. Fresh ground malt was treated with boiling water and allowed to +stand, then the liquid was boiled with dried fruit or biscuit into a +panada, and the patient had one or two meals with a quart or more of the +liquid per diem. This treatment was favourably reported on, but, at the +same time, so many other precautions were taken that it was not possible +to say which was the most successful. Banks, who was threatened, tried +the wort, but thinking it affected his throat, substituted a weak punch +of lemon juice and brandy, which had satisfactory results. After a time +the malt, though dry and sweet, had lost much strength, so as strong a +wort was made as possible, and ground wheat boiled with it for breakfast, +"a very pleasant mess which the people were very fond of," and Cook "had +great reason to think that the people received much benefit from it." + +SOUR KRAUTE. + +Cook set great store on the Sour Kraute, and says: + +"The men at first would not eat it, until I put it in practice--a method +I never once knew to fail with seamen--and this was to have some of it +dressed every day for the Cabin Table, and permitted all the officers, +without exception, to make use of it, and left it to the option of the +men to take as much as they pleased, or none at all; but this practice +was not continued above a week before I found necessary to put every one +on board to an allowance, for such are the Tempers and Disposition of +seamen in general, that whatever you give them out of the common way, +although it be ever so much for their good, it will not go down, and you +will hear nothing but murmurings against the man that first invented it, +but the moment they see their superiors set a value upon it, it becomes +the finest stuff in the world, and the inventor is an honest fellow." + +A pound of this was served to each man, twice a week, at sea, or oftener +if thought necessary. + +Portable soup, at the rate of an ounce per man, was boiled with the pease +thrice a week, and when vegetables could be obtained it was boiled with +them, and wheat or oatmeal for breakfast, and with pease and vegetables +for dinner, and "was the means of making the people eat a greater +quantity of vegetables than they would otherwise have done." The Rob of +Lemon and Orange was a doubtful quantity, for though Cook had no great +confidence in its efficacy, Furneaux reported very favourably on its use, +but it was expensive. Of vinegar, Cook was of opinion that it was of +little service, and preferred smoking the ship with wood-fires to washing +with vinegar, which had been strongly advised. He substituted sugar for +oil, as he esteemed it "a very good anti-scorbutic, whereas oil (such as +the navy is usually supplied with) I am of opinion has the contrary +effect." + +Cook says that the introduction of the most salutary articles would prove +unsuccessful unless accompanied by strict regulations so the crew were +divided into three watches except on some extraordinary occasion, in +order that they might not be so exposed to the weather, and had a better +chance to get into dry clothes if they happened to get wet. Hammocks, +bedding, clothes, and ship were kept as clean and dry as possible, and +when the ship could not be "cured with fires," once or twice a week she +was smoked with gunpowder, mixed with vinegar or water: + +"to cleanliness, as well in the ship as amongst the people, too great +attention cannot be paid: the least neglect occasions a putrid and +disagreeable smell below which nothing but fires will remove." + +He finishes his paper read before the Royal Society as follows: + +"We came to few places where either the art of man or the bounty of +nature had not provided some sort of refreshment or other, either in the +animal or vegetable way. It was my first care to procure whatever of any +kind could be met with, by every means in my power, and to oblige our +people to make use thereof, both by my example and authority; but the +benefits arising from refreshments of any kind soon became so obvious +that I had little occasion to recommend the one or exert the other." + +COPLEY GOLD MEDAL. + +On the 30th November 1776 Sir John Pringle, President of the Royal +Society, in his address to the Fellows, announced that the Copley Gold +Medal had been conferred on Captain Cook for his paper on the Treatment +of Scurvy, and gave some corroborative facts which had come under his own +observation, concluding his speech as follows: + +"If Rome decreed the Civic Crown to him who saved the life of a single +citizen, what wreaths are due to that man, who, having himself saved +many, perpetuates in your Transactions the means by which Britain may +now, on the most distant voyages, preserve numbers of her intrepid sons, +her mariners; who, braving every danger, have so liberally contributed to +the fame, to the opulence, and to the Maritime Empire of this country." + +Before Cook left England on his last voyage he had been informed that the +medal had been conferred on him, but he never received it, and it was +presented to Mrs. Cook, and is now in the British Museum. + +During May 1776 Cook sat for his portrait, now in the Painted Hall, +Greenwich, to Sir Nathaniel Dance. There are several portraits of him in +existence; three by Webber, one being in the National Portrait Gallery; +one by Hodges; and one or two others by unknown artists. Mr. Samwell, +surgeon on the third voyage, says of an engraving by Sherwin, from the +portrait by Dance, that it "is a most excellent likeness of Captain Cook; +and more to be valued, as it is the only one I have seen that bears any +resemblance to him." This portrait of Dance's represents Cook dressed in +his Captain's uniform, seated at a table on which is a chart. The figure +is evidently that of a tall man--he was over six feet in height--with +brown unpowdered hair, neatly tied back from the face; the clear +complexion shows little effect of exposure to the sea breezes, the +pleasant brown eyes look from under rather prominent brows, the nose +rather long, and a good firm mouth. The whole face gives a very pleasant +impression of the man, and conveys the idea that it was a good likeness. + +COOK VOLUNTEERS. + +Omai, a native of Otaheite, was brought to England by Furneaux, was +introduced to the King, made much of in Society, was painted by Reynolds, +Dance, and Hodges, and seems to have conducted himself fairly well. He +was to be sent back to his own country; and from the orders given to the +Resolution, when she returned, it was evident she was to be the ship to +take him. There was some difficulty as to the man to take command of the +new expedition, as the Admiralty felt they could not send out Cook again +so soon after his return. However, early in February 1776, he was invited +to dine with Lord Sandwich, to meet Sir Hugh Pallisser and Mr. Stephens, +the Secretary, when the proposed expedition was discussed and the +difficulty of finding a commander was brought forward. It is said that +after some conversation Cook jumped up and declared he would go, and as +the result of this resolve he called at the Admiralty Office on 10th +February, and made formal application for the command, which was accepted +on the same day, and he there and then went to Deptford and hoisted his +pendant on the Resolution. Her complement was the same as the previous +voyage, i.e. 112 men, including 20 marines; and the Quarter Bill, +preserved in the Records Office, shows the stations and duties of each of +the crew, and the positions of the civilians who in cases of necessity +were expected to take their places as small arms men. + +The companion ship, the Discovery, was built by Langborne of Whitby, and +was purchased for 2,450 pounds from W. Herbert of Scarborough. According +to the Records she was 229 tons burthen, but Cook puts her down as 300 +tons; and Burney says the two ships were splendid sailing company, any +advantage there might be resting with the Discovery. The command was +given to Charles Clerke, who had been both the previous voyages. + +The Resolution hauled out of dock, 10th March, completed her rigging and +took in stores and provisions, "which was as much as we could stow and +the best of every kind that could be got." On the 6th May the pilot went +on board to take her down to Longreach for her guns and powder, but owing +to contrary winds she did not reach there till the 30th. On 8th June she +was visited by Lord Sandwich, Sir Hugh Pallisser, and others from the +Admiralty, "to see that everything was compleated to their desire and to +the satisfaction of all who were to embark in the voyage." A bull, two +cows and their calves, with some sheep, were embarked as a present from +King George to the Otahietans in hopes to start stocking the island. A +good supply of trade was shipped, and extra warm clothing for the crew +was supplied by the Admiralty: + +"and nothing was wanting that was thought conducive to either conveniency +or health, such was the extraordinary care taken by those at the head of +the Naval Departments." + +Cook and King were to take observations on the Resolution, and Bailey, +who was with the Adventure the previous voyage, was appointed as +astronomer to the Discovery; the necessary instruments being supplied by +the Board of Longitude. The chronometer, made by Kendal, which had given +such satisfaction last voyage, was again on board the Resolution. It was +afterwards with Bligh in the Bounty, sold by Adams after the Mutiny to an +American, who sold it again in Chili. It was then purchased for 52 pounds +10 shillings, repaired, and rated, and after keeping fair time for some +years was presented by Admiral Sir Thomas Herbert to the United Service +Museum, and is still in working order. + +CLERKE IN THE FLEET. + +On 15th June the two ships sailed for the Nore; there the Resolution +waited for her Captain, whilst the Discovery, under the command of +Burney, went on to Plymouth, but, meeting with damage in a gale, had to +put into Portland for temporary repairs. Captain Clerke was detained in +London, "in the Rules of the Bench," as he had become financially +responsible for a friend who left him in the lurch. He wrote to Banks, +saying, "the Jews are exasperated and determined to spare no pains to +arrest me." It appears that he contracted the illness which led to his +death at this period. + + +CHAPTER 16. 1776 TO 1777. THIRD VOYAGE. + +On 24th June Cook and Omai joined the ship at the Nore, leaving next day +for Plymouth, arriving there on 30th, three days after the Discovery. On +8th July the final orders, which Cook had helped to draw up, were +received. They were to the effect that he was to proceed by the Cape of +Good Hope; to look for some islands said to have been seen by the French +in latitude 48 degrees, about the longitude of Mauritius; to touch at New +Zealand, if he thought proper; and then to proceed to Otaheite and leave +Omai there, or at the Society Islands, as the latter might wish. Leaving +Otaheite about February he was to strike the North American coast in +about 45 degrees latitude, avoiding, if possible, touching at any of the +Spanish dominions, and proceeding northwards to explore any rivers or +inlets that seemed likely to lead to Hudson's or Baffin's Bay. For the +winter he was to proceed to the Port of St. Peter and St. Paul in +Kamtschatka, or other suitable place, and in the ensuing spring he was +again to try and find a passage either to the east or west; failing that, +the ships were then to return to England. A reward of 20,000 pounds had +been offered to any British merchant ship that discovered a passage +between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific; and now this offer was thrown open +to any ship flying the British flag, and the passage might be to the east +or west so long as it was north of latitude 52 degrees. + +On 9th July the marines, who had been carefully selected, embarked under +the command of Lieutenant Molesworth Phillips, and the following day +officers and men were paid up to 30th June, and petty officers and seamen +received in addition two months' advance. + +THE RESOLUTION SAILS. + +The Resolution sailed on 12th July, the crew looking on it as a lucky +day, being the anniversary of the day they had sailed on the last voyage; +but as Clerke had not yet arrived, the Discovery remained behind. Putting +in to Teneriffe, Cook purchased a supply of wine, which he did not think +as good as that of Madeira, but remarks that the best Teneriffe wine was +"12 pounds a pipe, whereas the best Madeira is seldom under 27 pounds." +Here they met "Captain Baurdat" (the Chevalier de Borda), who was making +observations in order to time two watch machines, and were afforded an +opportunity of comparing them with their own. Looking into Port Praya in +hopes to find the Discovery they crossed the line on 1st September in +longitude 27 degrees 38 minutes West, and sighted the Cape of Good Hope +on 17th October, anchoring in Table Bay the next day. The ship was found +to be very leaky in her upper works, as the great heat had opened up her +seams which had been badly caulked at first. "Hardly a man that could lie +dry in his bed; the officers in the gun-room were all driven out of their +cabin by the water that came in through the sides." The sails were +damaged, some being quite ruined before they could be dried. + +The reception accorded by the Dutch was all that could be desired, and +all the resources of the place were at Cook's disposal. Letters were sent +to England and one invalid, Cook wishing afterwards that he had sent one +or two more, but he had at the time hopes of their complete recovery. On +31st October they were unable to communicate with the shore owing to a +heavy south-easterly gale which did not blow itself out for three days, +and the Resolution was the only ship in the bay that rode through it +without dragging her anchors. On the 10th November the Discovery arrived, +having left Plymouth on 1st August. She sighted land above twenty-five +leagues north of Table Bay, but had been blown off the coast in the +storm. + +It may be noted here that the French, Spanish, and United States +Governments issued instructions to their naval officers that Captain Cook +and his ships were to be treated with every respect, and as belonging to +a neutral and allied power. An honour to Cook, and also to the nations +who conferred it on him. + +When her consort arrived Cook was almost ready for sea, so the refit of +the Discovery was pushed on as quickly as possible, but some delay arose +in the delivery of bread ordered. Cook says he believes the bakers would +not put it in hand till they saw the Discovery safely at anchor. However, +on 30th November Clerke was handed his instructions, and the two Captains +went on board their respective ships to find them fully supplied for a +voyage which was expected to last at least two years. Live stock had been +purchased at the Cape, and one journalist says that on leaving, the +Resolution reminded him of Noah's Ark. + +They did not get clear of the coast till 3rd December owing to light +winds, and then on the 6th "a sudden heavy squall" cost the Resolution +her mizzen topmast; not a very serious loss, for they had a spare stick, +and the broken one "had often complained," but Burney says that owing to +the weather it took them three days to complete the repairs. The cold, +rough weather also had a bad effect on the live stock, several of them +perishing. + +DENSE FOG. + +On 12th December the islands discovered by Marion du Fresne and Crozet in +1772 were sighted, and as they were unnamed in the map, dated 1775, given +by Crozet to Cook, he called them Prince Edward's Islands, and a small +group further to the east was named Marion and Crozet Islands. Then +sailing south through fog so dense that, Burney says, they were often for +hours together unable to see twice the length of the ship, and, though it +was the height of summer, the cold was so intense that the warm clothing +had to be resorted to, they sighted Kerguelen's Land on 24th December. +The Chevalier de Borda had given Cook 48 degrees 26 minutes South, 64 +degrees 57 minutes East of Paris as the position of Rendezvous Island; +this Cook took to be an isolated rock they only just weathered in the +fog, to which he gave the name of Bligh's Cap, for he said: "I know +nothing that can Rendezvous at it but fowls of the air, for it is +certainly inaccessible to every other animal." Cook, unaware that +Kerguelen had paid two visits to the place, found some difficulty in +recognising the places described. The country was very desolate, the +coarse grass hardly worth cutting for the animals; no wood, but a good +supply of water was obtained; and here the Christmas Day was spent on the +27th, as the 25th and 26th had been full of hard work. A bottle was found +by one of the crew containing a parchment record of the visit of the +French in 1772; on the back Cook noted the names of his ships and the +year of their visit, and adding a silver twopenny piece of 1772, replaced +it in the bottle which was sealed with lead and hidden in a pile of +stones in such a position that it could not escape the notice of any one +visiting the spot. Running along the coast to the south-east they +encountered very blowy weather, and finding the land even more desolate +than that at Christmas Harbour, they left on the 31st for New Zealand. +Anderson, the surgeon, on whom Cook relied for his notes on Natural +History, says: + +"Perhaps no place hitherto discovered in either hemisphere under the same +parallel of latitude affords so scanty a field for the naturalist as this +barren spot." + +The whole catalogue of plants, including lichens, did not exceed sixteen +or eighteen. + +A SOUTHERLY BUSTER. + +The first part of January 1777 was foggy, and Cook says they "ran above +300 leagues in the dark." On the 19th a squall carried away the fore +topmast and main topgallant mast, and it took the whole day to replace +the first, but they had nothing suitable for the top gallant mast. On +26th January they put into Adventure Bay, Van Diemen's Land, and obtained +a spar; Cook spoke of the timber as being good but too heavy. A few +natives were seen, but did not create a favourable impression, still Cook +landed a couple of pigs in hopes to establish the breed, a hope doomed to +be unsatisfied. The Marquis de Beauvoir relates that in 1866 he saw in +Adventure Bay a tree on which was cut with a knife: Cook, 26th Jan. 1777, +and he was informed it had been cut by the man himself. They seem to have +seen nothing to raise a doubt about Furneaux's conclusion that Van +Diemen's Land formed a part of Australia, so no attempt was made to +settle the question, and they sailed for New Zealand on the 30th, meeting +with a "perfect storm" from the south; the thermometer rose: + +"almost in an instant from about 70 degrees to near 90 degrees, but fell +again when the wind commenced, in fact the change was so rapid that there +were some on board who did not notice it." + +These storms are of frequent occurrence, and are locally known as +Southerly Busters. + +On 10th February Rocks Point, near Cape Farewell, was sighted, and on the +12th they anchored near their old berth in Queen Charlotte's Sound, and a +camp was immediately established. Here they were visited by a few of the +natives, some of whom remembered Cook and were recognised by him. At +first they thought he had come to avenge the Adventure's losses, but +after a time were persuaded to put aside their distrust, and they flocked +down to the shore, every available piece of ground being quickly occupied +by their huts. Cook describes how one party worked. The ground was +selected, the men tearing up the grass and plants, and erected the huts, +whilst the women looked after the canoes, properties, and provisions, and +collected firewood; and he kept the children and some of the oldest of +the party out of mischief by scrambling the contents of his pockets +amongst them. At the same time he noticed that however busy the men might +be, they took care to be within easy reach of their weapons; and he on +his side had a strong party of marines on duty, and any party working at +a distance from the ship was always armed and under the command of an +officer experienced in dealing with the natives. Cook was pleased to +notice his men were not inclined to associate with the Maoris, and he +always tried to discourage familiarity between his crew and the natives +of the islands he visited. It is worthy of remark that two of the +Resolution were on the sick list, whilst the Discovery had a clean bill +of health. + +One of their constant visitors was a man Cook calls Kahoura, who was +pointed out as having been the leader at the massacre of the Adventure's +men, and it was a matter of surprise to the natives that having him in +his power Cook did not kill him; but after the fullest possible enquiry +Cook believed it was best to let matters rest, as the attack had +evidently arisen out of a sudden quarrel, and was totally unpremeditated. +Burney thinks the Maoris felt a certain contempt for the English, either +because they were too generous in their dealings, or else because the +murders were unavenged. + +The gardens that had been made at the last visit had in some respects +prospered; in particular the potatoes from the Cape had improved in +quality, but as they had been appreciated by the natives, there were few +to be got. Burney, on the other hand, declares that nothing could be +heard of the pigs and fowls that had been left. Omai was anxious to take +a New Zealander away with him, and soon found one to volunteer. It was +explained that he must make up his mind that he would not be able to +return, and as he seemed satisfied he and a boy were taken. When they +were seasick they deeply and loudly lamented leaving their home, but on +recovery they soon became "as firmly attached to us as if they had been +born amongst us." + +THE WEEKLY PAPER. + +Sailing on 25th February, they crossed the tropic on 27th March, some 9 +degrees further west than Cook wished to have done, and had seen nothing +of importance. It is interesting to note that Burney says each ship +published a weekly paper, and on signal being made a boat was sent to +exchange when possible. He says Cook was a "Constant Reader," but not a +"Contributor." It is to be regretted that no copies exist of this, +probably the first oceanic weekly. + +On 29th March, a small island Cook calls Manganouia was discovered in 21 +degrees 57 minutes South, 201 degrees 53 minutes East (Burney gives 21 +degrees 54 minutes South, 202 degrees 6 minutes East.) but the +landing-places were too dangerous on account of the surf. A native came +on board who was able to converse with Omai, and said they had plenty of +plantains and taro, but neither yams, hogs, nor dogs. He unfortunately +fell over a goat, which he took to be a large bird, and was so frightened +he had to be put ashore. The next day another island was seen, and as +they were very short of fodder for the animals, Gore was sent to see if +trade could be opened up with the inhabitants. In this he was fairly +successful, and obtained a quantity of plantain stems, which were found +to be a satisfactory substitute for grass; but the trading was not brisk, +for the people wished to receive dogs in return, and it was evident that +though they had none, they knew what they were. They were afraid of the +horses and cattle, and took the sheep and goats for some kind of large +birds. A party went ashore and were treated fairly well, but when they +wished to return to their boats all sorts of difficulties were raised, +and Cook credits Omai with their safe return; for it seems he gave +judiciously boastful replies to the many questions that were asked him, +and at the psychological moment exploded a handful of powder, with the +result that opposition to their departure was withdrawn. Burney says Omai +was most useful on a landing party, as he was a good sportsman and cook, +and was never idle. After this experience Cook would not run further +risks, so made for a small uninhabited island where some vegetables were +obtained and branches of trees, which, cut into short lengths, were +eagerly eaten by the cattle, and Cook says: "It might be said, without +impropriety, that we fed our cattle on billet wood." Payment for what had +been taken was left in a deserted village. + +On 6th April they reached Hervey's Island, and were somewhat surprised to +be visited by several canoes, as on Cook's previous visit no signs of +inhabitants had been noticed. Omai gathered from one or two natives who +came on board to sell a few fish, that the Resolution and Adventure had +been seen in 1776 when passing the island. King was sent to look for a +landing-place, but, seeing that the women were quietly bringing down arms +to their menfolk on the beach, he thought it better to return to the +ship, and sail was made for the Friendly Islands, the Discovery being +sent on about a league ahead, as she was better able "to claw off a lee +shore than mine." At this time Cook was getting rather short of water, so +he set the still to work, and obtained from "13 to 16 gallons of fresh +water" between 6 A.M. and 4 P.M. "There has lately been made some +IMPROVEMENT, as they are pleased to call it, to this machine, which in my +opinion is much for the worse." Falling in with repeated thunderstorms in +which they caught more water in an hour "than by the still in a month, I +laid it a side as a thing attended with more trouble than profit." + +At one of the Palmerston Group they found, amongst other things drifted +over the reef, some planks, one of which was very thick, with trunnell +holes in it, and a piece of moulding from some ship's upper works, +painted yellow, with nail holes showing signs of iron rust: probably the +remains of some wrecked European ship. At Comango, where they anchored on +28th April, Cook notes: + +"It was remarkable that during the whole day the Indians would hardly +part with any one thing to anybody but me; Captain Clerke did not get +above one or two hogs." + +A supply of water was obtained and wood was cut, but most of the trees +were what Cook calls Manchineel, the sap from which produced blisters on +the men's skin, and Burney says some of them were blind for a fortnight, +having rubbed their faces with their juice-stained hands. One of the +carpenters had a bad fall and broke his leg, but for the rest, says +Burney, they were "in good health; thank God, no appearance of scurvy." + +FLOGGING NO GOOD. + +Cook again complains of the thefts committed so continually, and says +that no punishment they could devise was effectual, for "flogging made no +more impression than it would have done upon the mainmast." The chiefs +would advise him to kill those caught, but as he would not proceed to +such a length the culprits generally escaped unpunished. Here the +Discovery lost her best bower anchor, the cable having been chafed by the +coral and parted when weighing; Burney describes how by pouring oil on +the water they were able to see and recover it from a depth of seventeen +fathoms. Landing on Happi they were very well received, and obtained +plentiful supplies of fresh food, which was most opportune. An +entertainment of boxing, wrestling, and combats with clubs made from +green coconut boughs was held in their honour; and Cook says that they +were carried on with the greatest good-humour in the presence of some +three thousand spectators, "though some, women as well as men, have +received blows they must feel some time after." When this was over the +chief, Feenough, presented Cook with supplies that required four boats to +take to the ships; it "far exceeded any present I had ever before +received from an Indian Prince." The donor was invited on board to +receive his return present, which proved so satisfactory that on his +return to the shore he forwarded still more in addition to his first +gift, and was amused by a drill of the marines and a display of +fireworks, which, though some were spoilt, were the cause of astonishment +and pleasure to the wondering natives. During one of his walks on shore +Cook saw a woman just completing a surgical operation on a child's eyes. +She was removing a film growing over the eyeballs, and the instruments +used are described as slender wooden probes. He was not able to say if +the operation were successful. + +The chief, Feenough, went off to an island about two days' sail away, in +order to obtain some of the feather caps which were held in high +estimation; and Cook promised to wait for his return, but finding the +fresh supplies were running short, he sailed along the south of the reef +and put in to a bay in Lefooga. On the way the Discovery ran on a shoal, +but managed to back off without damage. Although he was not short of +water, Cook went ashore to inspect some well which he had been informed +contained water of a very superior quality, but he found it very bad, and +says: "This will not be the only time I shall have to remark that these +people do not know what good water is." Near these wells was a large +artificial mound about forty feet high, and fifty feet diameter on the +top, on which large trees were growing. At the foot was a hewn block of +coral, four feet broad, two and a half feet thick, and fourteen feet +high, but the natives present said that there was only one half of it +above ground. It was supposed to have been erected to the memory of a +great chief, but how many years ago it was impossible to guess. + +KING POLAHO. + +Whilst anchored here, a large sailing canoe arrived, having on board a +chief who was treated by the natives with the utmost respect, and the +visitors were given to understand that Tattafee Polaho was the king of +all the islands. He was invited on board, and brought with him as a +present: + +"two good fat hogs, though not so fat as himself, for he was the most +corporate, plump fellow we had met with. I found him to be a sedate, +sensible man; he viewed the ship and the several new objects with +uncommon attention, and asked several pertinent questions." + +In return Cook was invited ashore, and when they were seated, the natives +who had been trading submitted the articles they had received for +Polaho's inspection, who enquired what each one had sold, and seemed +pleased with the bargains made. Everything was returned to its owner, +excepting a red glass bowl to which the king had taken a great fancy. +According to Mr. Basil Thomson, who was for some years in the Pacific +Islands, a red glass bowl was given by the King of Tonga to the notorious +Mr. Shirley Baker, as a relic of Captain Cook, but was unfortunately +broken in New Zealand. It was most probably the one in question. Before +leaving, Polaho presented Cook with one of the red feather caps made from +the tail feathers of the bird the Sandwich Islanders call Iiwi (Vestiaria +coicinea), which were evidently considered of extreme value. At the same +time he gave Cook, Clerke, and Omai some of the red feathers of paraquets +which, though much in demand, were not to be purchased. + +On 29th May they sailed for Tongatabu, but, the wind failing, they nearly +ran ashore on the 31st on a low sandy island on which the sea was +breaking very heavily. Fortunately all hands had just been engaged in +putting the ship about, "so that the necessary movements were not only +executed with judgment but with alertness, and this alone saved the +ship." Cook confesses that he was tired of beating about in these +dangerous waters, and felt relieved to get back to his old anchorage off +Annamooka. Feenough here rejoined the ship, and his behaviour before +Polaho was sufficient evidence as to the high position held by the +latter, for he made a deep reverence to him, and afterwards would not eat +or drink in his presence, but left the cabin as soon as dinner was +announced. + +AN ENTERTAINMENT. + +On 6th June they sailed for Tongatabu again, accompanied by some sailing +canoes which could all easily outdistance the two ships. A good anchorage +was found, and Cook's old friends, Otago and Toobough, were soon on board +to greet them. As it was proposed to make a short stay, the cattle were +landed, the observatory set up, and the sail-makers set to work to +overhaul the sails, for much-required repairs. Cook speaks very highly of +the orderly behaviour of the natives, many of whom had never seen a white +man before. Hearing much of an important chief named Mariwaggee, Cook +persuaded the king to escort a party to his residence, which was found to +be pleasantly situated on an inlet where most of the chiefs resided, +surrounded by neatly fenced plantations; but they were informed that +Mariwaggee had gone to see the ships. This was found to be untrue, but +the next day he appeared, accompanied by a large number of both sexes, +and Cook at once landed with some presents for him, only to find he was +accompanied by another chief, to whom something had to be given as well. +Fortunately the two were easily satisfied, and the present was divided +between them. Mariwaggee was found to be the father of Feenough, and the +father-in-law of the king. He gave a grand entertainment of singing and +dancing in honour of the strangers, which commenced about eleven in the +morning and lasted till between three and four in the afternoon, and +wound up with a presentation of a large number of yams, each pair of the +roots being tied to a stick about six feet long, and decorated with fish. +Cook says it was hard to say which was the most valuable, the yams for +food or the sticks for firewood; but, as for the fish, "it might serve to +please the sight, but was very offensive to the smell, as some of it had +been kept two or three days for this occasion." More singing and dancing +then took place, and then the English gave a display of fireworks, which +"astonished and highly entertained" the natives. + +Being afraid that some of his live stock might be stolen, Cook tried to +interest some of the chiefs in them by presenting the king with a bull +and cow and some goats; to Feenough a horse and mare, and to Mariwaggee a +ram and two ewes. Some one, however, was not satisfied, and a kid and two +turkey cocks were stolen; and as thefts had been frequent and very +daring, including an attempt to steal one of the anchors of the +Discovery, which would have been successful had not one of the flukes of +the anchor got fixed in one of the chain plates, Cook determined to put +his foot down. He seized three canoes, and, hearing Feenough and some +other chiefs were in a house together, he placed a guard over them and +informed them they would be detained till the stolen goods were returned. +They took the matter coolly, and said that everything should be returned. +Some of the things being produced, Cook invited his prisoners on board +ship to dine, and when they came back the kid and a turkey were brought, +so the prisoners and canoes were released. At one time a small hostile +demonstration was made by the natives, but the landing of a few marines +and an order from the king put an end to it. + +SMART WORKMEN. + +The following day Cook was invited on shore and found some natives busy +erecting two sets of poles, one on each side of the place set apart for +the guests. Each set consisted of four placed in a square about two feet +apart, secured from spreading by cross pieces, and carried up to a height +of about thirty feet, the intervening space being filled with yams. On +the top of one structure were two baked pigs, and on the other alive one, +with a second tied by its legs about half way up. Cook was particularly +struck by the way the men raised these two towers, and says if he had +ordered his sailors to do such a thing, they would have wanted carpenters +and tools and at least a hundredweight of nails, and would have taken as +many days as it did these people hours. When the erections were +completed, piles of bread-fruit and yams were heaped on either side, and +a turtle and some excellent fish were added, and then the whole was +presented to Cook. + +A party of officers from both ships went off to an island without leave, +and returned two days after without their muskets, ammunition, and other +articles which had been stolen. They persuaded Omai to make a private +complaint to the king, which resulted in the chiefs leaving the +neighbourhood. Their disappearance annoyed Cook, and when the affair was +explained to him he severely reprimanded Omai for speaking on the matter +without orders. This put Omai on his mettle, and he managed to persuade +Feenough to return, and informed the king that no serious consequences +should ensue. Matters were then easily smoothed over; most of the stolen +goods, including the missing turkey, were returned, and the king said he +ought not to have been held responsible, for, if he had known that any +one wished to see the island, he would have sent a chief who would have +ensured their safety. + +An eclipse of the sun was to occur on 5th July, and Cook decided to +remain so as to secure observations, and meanwhile employed himself in +exploring the neighbourhood and studying the customs of the natives. On +one occasion, thinking to see an interesting ceremony, he accompanied +Polaho, who was going to do state mourning for a son who had been dead +some time. The result was disappointing, and the chief impression left +with Cook seems to have been that over their clothing of native cloth, +those present wore old and ragged mats; those of the king being the +raggedest, and "might have served his great-grandfather on some such like +occasion." + +July 5th proved dark and cloudy, with heavy showers of rain, and the +observations were unsatisfactory, especially as the clouds came up +thickly in the middle of the eclipse, and the sun was seen no more for +the rest of the day. This failure was not of great importance, for the +longitude had already been satisfactorily ascertained by several very +good lunar observations, so as soon as the eclipse was over everything +was sent on board the ships, including the sheep which had been presented +to Mariwaggee. No one had taken any notice of them since they were +landed, and Cook felt sure they would be killed by the dogs as soon as +the ships left. + +A NATIVE CEREMONY. + +As the wind proved contrary, and it was understood that the king's son +was to be initiated into the estate of manhood, eating with his father +for the first time, Cook determined to remain a few days longer. A party +of the officers went over to the island of Moa, where the ceremony was to +be held, and found the king in a very dirty enclosure, drinking kava; and +as the method of preparing this beverage was uninviting to Europeans, +they went for a walk till about ten o'clock. Finding large numbers of +people assembling in an open space near a large building they rejoined +the king, taking off their hats and untying their hair, "that we might +appear the more decent" in the eyes of the natives. The proceedings +consisted of marching of men laden with yams tied on to sticks, of +considerable speech-making, and various performances of which the +signification could not be understood, and then the prince made his +appearance. He seated himself with a few of his friends on the ground, +and some women wound a long piece of cloth round them, and after some +more speech-making and mysterious pantomime with sticks representing +yams, the proceedings ended for the day. As there were signs that so many +white onlookers was not altogether acceptable to the natives, some of the +party returned to the ships; but Cook resolved to see it out, and joined +the king at supper, and the latter enjoyed some brandy and water so much +that Cook says "he went to bed quite grogish. " + +After breakfast Cook paid a visit to the prince and presented him was +enough English cloth to make a suit, receiving native cloth in return. +After dinner the people mustered for the remains of the ceremony, and +Cook determined to join the principal party, so he seated himself with +it, and would not understand when requested to leave. He was then +requested to bare his shoulders as a mark of respect, and immediately did +so, and was then no further molested. A somewhat similar performance was +gone through as the day before, but the significance of which could not +be ascertained, and then suddenly all the people turned their backs on +king and prince, who, Cook was afterwards informed, had had pieces of +roast yam given them to eat. An exhibition of boxing and wrestling was +then given, and after a speech or two the proceedings terminated. Cook +was informed that in about three months a much greater affair would take +place at which ten men would be sacrificed. + +On 10th July the ships sailed through a very difficult passage, arriving +off Middleburg on the 12th, where they were visited by their old friend +Taoofa. The country appeared flourishing, and they obtained some turnips +raised from seed sown at Cook's last visit. An exhibition of boxing was +given, and was to have been repeated the following night, but +unfortunately some of the natives fell upon a sailor and stripped him of +his clothes. Cook thereupon seized two canoes and a pig, demanding that +the culprits should be given up. A man who had the shirt and trousers was +brought, and so the canoes were returned and the pig paid for, and next +day the thief was liberated. The remainder of the sailor's clothes were +afterwards found, but so much torn as to be worthless. + +They left the Friendly Islands on the 17th, after a stay of more than two +months, during which time they had been living almost entirely on food +they had purchased from the natives, with whom they had been on fairly +good terms. The 29th brought them into a very heavy squall which cost the +Resolution a couple of staysails and her consort a main topmast and main +topgallant yard, springing the head of her main-mast so badly that the +rigging of a jury-mast was attended with some danger, but it was at +length accomplished, a spare jibboom being furnished for the purpose by +the Resolution. Otaheite was reached on 12th August, and amongst the +first visitors on board were Omai's brother-in-law and others who knew +him before he went away; they treated him as if he was an Englishman and +a stranger, but when he took his brother-in-law to his cabin and gave him +some of the valuable red feathers a change came over them all, and they +expressed the greatest interest in him. Cook says Omai "would take no +advice, but permitted himself to be made the dupe of every designing +knave." Of these red feathers Cook says they were of such value that "not +more than might be got from a tomtit, would purchase a hog of 40 or 50 +pounds weight." Nails and beads were not looked at, although they had +previously been very acceptable. + +SPANISH SHIPS. + +Two ships from Lima were found to have visited the island twice since +Cook's last call, and the first time the Spaniards built a house with +material they had with them. They left four men in charge, and were away +for about ten months. At the second visit their Commodore died, and was +buried near the house which was left at their departure, and the natives +built a shade over it to protect it from the weather. It consisted of two +rooms, furnished with table, bed, bench, and a few other trifles, and the +timbers were found to have been carefully marked to facilitate erection. +Near by was a cross having the following inscription cut on it: + +CHRISTUS VINCIT, +CAROLUS III. IMPERAT, 1774. + +Cook caused to be cut on the back: + +GEORGIUS TERTIUS REX. +ANNIS 1767, 69, 73, 74, ET 78. + +At the end of their first visit the Spaniards took away four natives to +Lima; one died, one remained at Lima, and the other two returned with the +ships; but Cook thinks they were not improved by their experience, and +had not added to their respectability in the eyes of their countrymen. + +In view of the cold climate to be faced in the near future, Cook was +desirous to save his stock of spirits, and mustered the crew of the +Resolution in order to explain the position; he pointed out that the +supply of coconuts was abundant, and the benefit of the spirits would be +appreciated amongst the cold winds and ice of the north, but left the +decision to them. He was gratified to find the crew was willing to accept +his suggestion, and ordered Clerke to put the matter before the crew of +the Discovery, when it was again well received. An order was accordingly +issued to stop: + +"serving grog except on Saturday nights, when they had full allowance to +drink to their female friends in England, lest amongst the pretty girls +of Otaheite, they should be wholly forgotten." + +During a state visit paid by the chief of the district, at which Omai +attended "dressed in a strange medley of all he was possessed of," Cook +was informed that the Spaniards laid claim to the country, and had given +instructions that Cook was not to be allowed to land if he returned. +However, the chief executed a formal surrender of his province to Cook, +and presents were exchanged, the whole ceremony ending with a display of +fireworks which "both pleased and astonished" the natives. Some of the +civilians reported that they had discovered a Roman Catholic chapel in +their walks; but on inspection it proved to be what Cook at once +suspected, the grave of a chief decorated with different coloured cloths +and mats, and a piece of scarlet broadcloth which had been given by the +Spaniards. + +RED FEATHERS. + +On the 23rd August the two ships arrived in Matavai Bay, where they were +well received by Otoo, who was gratified by a present of a fine linen +suit, a hat with a gold band, some tools, a feather helmet from the +Friendly Islands, and, what he seemed to value most, a large bunch of the +celebrated red feathers. In return he sent on board the ships enough food +to have lasted both crews for a week, if it had only been possible to +keep it good for that length of time. The royal family dined on board the +Resolution; and after dinner Cook and Omai called on Oparee, taking with +them a peacock and peahen sent to the island by Lord Bessborough, a +turkey cock and hen, a gander and three geese, a drake and four ducks to +make a start in stocking the island. A gander was seen, which the natives +said had been left by Wallis ten years previously; several goats and a +bull left by the Spaniards were also seen, so Cook landed three cows as +company for the last. The horses and sheep were also landed, and Cook +remarks that getting rid of all these animals lightened him: + +"of a very heavy burden; the trouble and vexation that attended the +bringing these animals thus far is hardly to be conceived. But the +satisfaction I felt in having been so fortunate as to fulfil His +Majesty's design in sending such useful animals to two worthy nations +sufficiently recompensed me for the many anxious hours I had on their +account." + +Whilst here, the two ships were thoroughly overhauled and everywhere put +into as good a state of repair as the appliances available would permit. +The stores were found to be in a better state than had been expected, and +very little of the bread was damaged. Gardens were laid out and planted +with potatoes, melons, pineapples, etc.; but Cook was not very sanguine +of their success, for he had seen how a vine planted by the Spaniards had +been spitefully trampled down, as the natives, tasting the grapes before +they were ripe, had concluded it was poisonous. It was carefully pruned +into proper shape again, and Omai was instructed to set forth its merits +and how it should be cultivated. + +Towards the end of the month a man reported that the two Spanish ships +had returned, and showed a piece of cloth he said he had obtained from +them, so Cook, not knowing if England and Spain were on friendly terms, +prepared for the worst, and the two ships made ready for defence if +necessary. Lieutenant Williamson was despatched in a boat for news, but +could see no ships, nor signs of any having been on the coast since the +English left their last port of call. + +A HUMAN SACRIFICE. + +At their last visit an expedition was being prepared against the revolted +island of Eimeo, but it did not seem to have been very successful in its +object, for there were still disturbances going on between the two +nations, and on 30th August news came that the Otaheitans had been driven +up into the hills. A grand meeting was held to discuss matters, and great +efforts were made to enlist the services of Cook; but he would not assist +in any way, as he did not understand the cause of the quarrel, and he had +always found the inhabitants of Eimeo friendly towards him. Having heard +that a chief named Towha had killed a man as a sacrifice to their God, +Cook obtained permission to witness the remaining ceremonies as he +thought it offered an opportunity to learn something of the religion of +this people. He therefore started with Dr. Anderson, Mr. Webber, and the +chief Potatow in a boat, accompanied by Omai in a canoe, for the scene of +action. On their arrival the sailors were instructed to remain in the +boat, and the gentlemen were requested to remove their hats as soon as +they reached the Morai where the ceremonial was to take place. When they +got there the body of the victim was seen in a small canoe in front of +the Morai and just in the wash of the sea, in charge of four priests and +their attendants, the king and his party some twenty or thirty paces +away, and the rest of the spectators a little further still. Two priests +came forward to Otoo, one placing a young plantain tree in front of him, +and the other touching his foot with a bunch of red feathers, and then +rejoining the others, who immediately went off to a smaller Morai near, +and, seating themselves facing the sea, one commenced reciting a long +prayer, occasionally sending one of his attendants to place a young +plantain on the body. Whilst this recitation was going on an attendant +stood near holding two small bundles "seemingly of cloth; in one, as we +afterwards found, was the Royal Maro, and the other, if I may be allowed +the expression, was the ark of the Eatua" [God]. + +This prayer being ended, the priests returned to the beach, and more +prayers were said, the plantains being moved, one by one, from the body +and placed in front of the priests. Then the body, wrapped in leaves, was +put on the beach, with the feet to the sea, and the priests gathered +round, some sitting, some standing, the prayers still going on. The +leaves were then stripped off the body, and it was turned sideways on to +the sea, and one priest standing at the feet repeated another long prayer +in which he was occasionally joined by the others. Each priest at this +time held in his hand a bunch of the red feathers. Some hair was now +pulled from the head of the corpse, and an eye taken out, wrapped in +leaves and presented to Otoo, who did not touch them, but sent them back +with a bunch of feathers, soon after sending a second bunch he had asked +Cook to put in his pocket for him when starting. At this time a +king-fisher made a noise in some trees near, and Otoo remarked, "That is +the Eatua," evidently looking on it as a good omen. + +The body was now moved away to the foot of one of the small Morais, the +two bundles of cloth being placed on the Morai at its head and the tufts +of feathers at its feet, the priests surrounding the body and the people +gathering in closer. More speeches were made, and a second lock of hair +plucked from the head and placed on the Morai. Then the red feathers were +placed on the cloth bundles, which were carried over to the great Morai +and laid against a pile of stones, to which the body was also brought, +and the attendants proceeded to dig a grave, whilst the priests continued +their recitations. The body was then buried, and a dog Towha had sent +over (a very poor one, says Cook) was partially cooked and presented to +the priests, who called on Eatua to come and see what was prepared for +him, at the same time putting it on a small altar on which were the +remains of two dogs and three pigs, which smelt so intolerably that the +white men were compelled to move further away than they wished. This +ended the ceremony for the day. + +THE KING'S MARO. + +Next morning they all returned to the Morai; a pig was sacrificed and +placed on the same altar, and about eight o'clock the priests, Otoo, and +a great number of people assembled. The two bundles were still in the +same place as on the previous night, but two drums were now standing in +front of them between which Otoo and Cook seated themselves. The priests, +placing a plantain tree in front of the king, resumed their praying, each +having his bunch of feathers in his hand. They then moved off to a place +between the Morai and the king and placed the feathers bunch by bunch on +the bundles, the prayers still going on. Four pigs were then produced, +one immediately killed, and the others put in a sty for future use. The +bundle containing the king's Maro was now untied and spread carefully on +the ground before the priests. The Maro was about five yards long by +fifteen inches broad, composed of red and yellow feathers, chiefly +yellow. At one end was a border of eight pieces about the size and shape +of horse-shoes fringed with black pigeon's feathers; the other end was +forked, the ends being of unequal length. The feathers were arranged in +two rows and had a very good effect. They were fastened on a piece of +native cloth, and then sewn to the English pendant which Wallis left +flying when he sailed from Matavai Bay. After the priests had repeated +another prayer, the emblem of royalty was carefully folded up and +replaced on the Morai, and then one end of what Cook called the Ark of +the Eatua was opened, but the visitors were not permitted to see what it +contained. The entrails of the pig were then prayed over, and one of the +priests stirred them gently with a stick, evidently trying to draw a +favourable omen from their movements. They were then thrown on the fire, +the partly-cooked pig was deposited on the altar, and when the bunches of +feathers that had been used had been placed in the Ark, the ceremony was +over. + +The meanings of all this could not be discovered, but it was found that +when a victim was wanted, a chief picked him out and sent his servants to +kill him. This was done without any warning to the man who was to suffer, +usually by a blow with a stone on the head, and it appeared that at the +subsequent ceremony the presence of the king was absolutely +indispensable. Chiefs of an enemy's tribe who were killed in battle were +buried with some state in the Morais, the common men at the foot. + +On the way back to the ship Cook called on Towha, who had supplied the +victim. He was anxious to ascertain Cook's opinion of the affair, and was +not pleased to learn that Cook thought such a proceeding was more likely +to offend the Deity than to please him. He then enquired if the English +ever practised such ceremonies, and was very angry when he was informed +that if the greatest chief in England killed one of his men he would be +hanged; and Cook says they left him "with as great a contempt for our +customs as we could possibly have for theirs." The servants evidently +listened to Omai with great interest and a different opinion on the +subject than that of their master. + +They went to inspect the body of a chief who had been embalmed; they were +not allowed to examine it very closely, but it was so well done that they +were unable to perceive the slightest unpleasant smell, though the man +had been dead some months. All chiefs who died a natural death were +preserved in this manner, and from time to time were exposed to public +view, the intervals between the exposures gradually extending till at +length they were hardly ever seen. The method of preservation was not +ascertained, and was probably a secret of the priests. + +EQUESTRIAN EXERCISE. + +Cook and Clerke astonished the natives by riding the horses that had been +brought out; their progress through the country was always watched with +great interest, and Cook thought that this use of the animals impressed +the people more than anything else done by the whites. Omai tried his +powers on several occasions, but as he was always thrown before he got +securely into the saddle, his efforts only produced entertainment for the +spectators. It is curious to note that forty years afterwards the people +had so thoroughly lost even the tradition of such use of the horse that +Mr. Ellis relates how, when one was landed for the use of Pomare, the +natives assisted to get it ashore, but when once landed they ran away and +hid in fear of the "man-carrying pig." About this time Cook suffered from +a bad attack of rheumatism in the legs, and was successfully treated by +Otoo's mother, three sisters, and eight other women. The process he +underwent, called Romy, consisted of squeezing and kneading from head to +foot, more especially about the parts affected. Cook says he was glad to +escape from their ministrations after about a quarter of an hour, but he +felt relief, and, after submitting to four operations of the kind he was +completely cured. + +Otoo was very desirous to send a present of a canoe to King George, and +Cook was very willing to take it, but when he found it was a large double +canoe he was obliged to decline from want of space. As the desire to send +it was quite spontaneous on Otoo's part, and as the canoe was a very fine +specimen of native work, the refusal was given with great regret. + +In a journal published by Newbery, the anonymous writer says that two +officers fought a duel whilst the ships were at Otaheite. He does not +give the cause, but says three shots were exchanged, resulting in one hat +being spoiled, and then the antagonists shook hands and were better +friends afterwards. The story is not confirmed by any of the other +journals. + +On 29th September, after giving Otoo a short run out to sea and back, the +two ships sailed for the north side of Eimeo, arriving the next day, and +were greeted by a chief, Maheine, who was bald-headed. Of this defect he +seemed much ashamed, and always appeared with his head covered with a +sort of turban. Cook thinks perhaps this shame rose from the fact that +natives caught stealing on the ships were often punished by having their +heads shaved, and adds that "one or two of the gentlemen whose heads were +not overburdened with hair, lay under violent suspicions of being titos +(thieves)." + +One of the few remaining goats was stolen, but after threats of serious +reprisals was given up, together with the thief, who was eventually +discharged with a caution; but on a second one disappearing and not being +found after careful search, Cook felt that he must make an example, or +nothing would be safe, so he ordered one or two houses and canoes to be +destroyed, and sent word to Maheine that he would not leave a canoe on +the island if the goat was not returned. The goat was recovered, and the +next day the people were as friendly as if nothing had occurred. Cook was +particularly annoyed, for he had sent a present of red feathers to Otoo, +and requested him to send in return a couple of goats to Eimeo. + +OMAI SETTLED. + +On 11th October the ships sailed for Huaheine, and when they arrived Cook +was so ill he had to be landed from the ship, but he makes no mention of +it in his Journal. He thought this island would be more suitable for Omai +than Otaheite, and as Omai was agreeable a piece of ground was obtained +from the chief and a small house erected and a garden laid out and +planted. The interest of the different chiefs of the neighbourhood was +sought on Omai's behalf, and as it was seen that some of the natives were +inclined to take advantage of his good nature, Cook let it be understood +that if, should he return and find Omai in an satisfactory condition, +some one would feel the weight of his displeasure. Then the most serious +thing that can be brought against Cook's treatment of the natives +occurred. In extenuation it must be remembered that he admits that he was +inclined to be hot-tempered, though it did not last; he had been +constantly irritated by repeated losses, and he was at the time really +seriously ill, and also when all was over he sincerely regretted he had +taken such strong measures. + +Mr. Bayley's sextant was stolen from the observatory: Cook at once +demanded from the chiefs that it should be returned, but they paid no +attention. The thief, however, was pointed out, seized, and taken on +board ship; the sextant was recovered, but Cook says, finding the thief +to be "a hardened scoundrel, I punished him with greater severity than I +have ever done any one before, and then dismissed him." He is said to +have had his head shaved and his ears cut off, but Gilbert (midshipman on +the Discovery) says this was not done till he had been rearrested for +damaging Omai's garden, trying to set fire to the house, and threatening +to kill Omai as soon as the ships left. Cook had intended to remove him +from the island, but, being in irons, he stole the keys from a sleeping +guard and made his escape. Omai found that many of the articles which +were practically useless to him, would be appreciated on the ships, so he +very wisely changed them for hatchets and other useful articles. A notice +of the visit with the names of the ships was cut on the end of Omai's +house, and, after firing a salute of five guns, the ships sailed on 2nd +November. Omai accompanied them for a short way, and Mr. King says that +when he parted from Cook he completely broke down and cried all the way +ashore. Cook speaks well of him, saying he seldom had to find fault with +him, that he had many good qualities, but, like the rest of his race, he +lacked powers of observation, application, and perseverance. + +DESERTIONS. + +On the 3rd they were off Ulietea, and as they were able to run in close +to the shore a staging was erected, and the ballast ports were opened so +as to give the rats, which had become very troublesome, a chance of going +ashore. One of the marines also took the opportunity to desert, taking +his musket with him, but after a little trouble was arrested; and having +previously borne a very good character, he was let off with a short +imprisonment. A second desertion occurred from the Discovery, Mr. Mouat, +midshipman, and a seaman getting away. Cook says the affair gave him more +trouble than both men were worth, but he insisted on getting them back to +prevent others following their example, and "to save the son of a brother +officer from being lost to the world." They were found to have gone off +in a canoe to another island, and Cook ordered Clerke to detain the +chief, his son, daughter, and son-in-law on the Discovery, where they had +gone to dine, and to inform them they would be kept as hostages till the +runaways were returned. Three days afterwards the deserters were brought +back, and the hostages were at once released. It was afterwards found out +that there had been a plot to seize Cook in retaliation, when he went for +his usual bath in the evening, but, as it happened, he was so much +worried that he put it off and so escaped. Burney notes that Cook could +not swim. Before leaving they received a message from Omai, saying he was +all right, but asking for another goat as one of his was dead. Clerke was +able to oblige him with two kids, one of each sex. + + +CHAPTER 17. 1777 TO 1779. THIRD VOYAGE CONTINUED. + +In case of separation, Clerke was ordered to cruise for five days near +where his consort had been last seen, and then to steer for New Albion +(so-called by Sir Francis Drake), endeavouring to fall in with it about +latitude 45 degrees North, and there cruise for ten days; then, if his +consort was not picked up, to proceed north to the first suitable port +and recruit his men, keeping a good look-out for his companion. Then he +was to sail on 1st April to 56 degrees North, and again cruise about +fifteen leagues from the coast till 10th May, when he was to proceed +north and endeavour to find a passage to the Atlantic, according to the +Admiralty instructions already in his hands. If unsuccessful he was to +winter in some suitable port of Kamtschatka, leaving word with the +commandant of St. Peter and St. Paul Harbour, where he was to be found, +and to be at the last-named place not later than 10th May of the +following year. Then, if he had no news of the Resolution, he was to +follow out the Admiralty instructions to the best of his ability. + +The two ships left for Bolabola on 7th December to get an anchor left by +De Bougainville, in order to make hatchets for exchange, as the demand +had been so great their stock was running short. They had no difficulty +in purchasing it, and it was good enough for their purpose, though not so +heavy as they expected. + +They crossed the line on the 23rd in longitude 203 degrees 15 minutes +East without having seen land since leaving Bolabola. Two days after they +picked up a low island and managed to get some turtle, and also a rather +unsatisfactory observation of an eclipse of the sun, the clouds +interfering with the view of the commencement. Their position had been +settled by other observations, so the ill-luck was unimportant. About +three hundred turtle were obtained, averaging from 90 to 100 pounds each, +and as much fish as they could consume during their stay was caught. +Coconuts, yams, and melons were planted, and the island received the name +of Christmas Island. + +SANDWICH ISLANDS. + +Leaving on 2nd January they did not sight land till the Sandwich Islands +were reached, in latitude 21 degrees 12 minutes 30 seconds North. At the +second one seen, called Atoui by the natives, they were quickly +surrounded by canoes; the occupants, very like the Otaheitans in +appearance and language, were armed with stones, which they threw +overboard as soon as they found they were not likely to be wanted, and +though none could be persuaded to come on board the ships, they freely +parted with fish for anything they could get in exchange. As the ships +sailed on, more canoes came out bringing further supplies, and Cook +rejoiced at arriving at a land of plenty, for his stock of turtle was +just finished, and he was anxious to save his sea stores. At length some +were tempted on board, and were greatly astonished at what they saw, but +their wonder did not last long, and stealing soon broke out as usual. +When they came to an anchor Cook landed and found a favourable place for +watering, so a party was set to work the next day, and found no +difficulty in getting assistance from the islanders, whilst at the same +time a brisk trade was carried on in pigs and potatoes. Cook says: "No +people could trade with more honesty than these people, never once +attempting to cheat us, either ashore or alongside the ship." They seem +to have dropped their thieving very quickly. At night a nasty sea got up, +and as Cook did not like the position of his ship he weighed to run a +little further out, but the wind suddenly dropping round to the east, he +had to set all sail to clear the shore. For a day or two no very +satisfactory anchorage could be found, and the weather was rather +unsettled, so, making one of the chiefs a present of an English sow and +boar, and a male and two female goats, the ship bore away to the +northwards. + +According to Baron von Humboldt these islands were discovered by a +Spaniard, Gaetano, sailing from Manilla to Acapulco in 1542, and it was +one of the few discoveries made by the Spaniards during this passage, for +they were strictly forbidden to deviate from the track laid down on their +charts. The name La Mesa (the table) down on the chart Cook had with him, +describes the island, says Burney, but the longitude is several degrees +out. It is undoubtedly a fact that Europeans had been at the islands +previously to Cook's visit, for at least two pieces of iron were found, +one being a portion of a broad-sword and the other a piece of hoop-iron. + +NEW ALBION. + +On 7th March, New Albion was sighted at a distance of ten or twelve +leagues, and the position of the ship at noon was 44 degrees 33 minutes +North, 236 degrees 30 minutes East; Cook's orders were to make the coast +"about 45 degrees North," so they may be said to have been carried out +with fair exactness. Cook says that on the charts he had, a large +entrance or strait was represented, and in the account of Martin +d'Aguilar's voyage in 1603 mention is made of a large river, near where +he struck the coast, but he did not see any signs of either. Proceeding +up the coast the progress was very slow as the weather was very stormy. +On 22nd March they passed the position of the strait of Juan de Fuch, but +again no sign of its existence was seen. On the 29th the style of the +coast changed, and high snowy mountains with well-wooded valleys running +down to the sea came into view, and at length Hope Bay opened out. Here +they came in contact with the first natives they had seen, who put off in +their canoes to the ships, showing signs neither of fear nor distrust. At +first they appeared mild and inoffensive, and would trade anything they +had with them; but when they got used to the ships it turned out that +they were adepts at thieving; no piece of iron, brass, or copper was +safe. Fish-hooks were cut from the lines and boats were stripped of their +fittings. They sold bladders of oil for the lamps, and it was found that +they were often partly filled with water, but this was winked at in order +to get on a thoroughly friendly footing. This being a favourable +opportunity to put the two vessels in order and to give the crews a spell +of rest ashore, a good anchorage was sought out, and the observatory set +up. On 4th April, whilst wood and water was being got in, the natives, +who had given no trouble beyond their stealing, were observed to be +arming, and precautions were taken, but the Indians explained that their +preparations were made against some of their own countrymen who were on +their way to fight them. After a time some canoes made their appearance, +and on a deputation going out to meet them a discussion took place, and +some sort of an agreement was made between the two parties, but the +newcomers were not allowed to approach the ships nor to join in the +trading. + +The stay here was longer than was intended, for the Resolution's fore and +mizzen masts were found to be very defective, and her rigging had got +into a very bad state. The fore-mast was repaired and the mizzen replaced +with a new stick, and when a great deal of work had been done this proved +faulty, and a second one had to be cut. New standing rigging was fitted +to the main-mast, and a set made from the best of the old, for the +fore-mast. When the heaviest part of this work was completed Cook visited +the country about King George's Sound, and was courteously received at a +village by the natives, to most of whom he was known. Here he found the +women employed making dresses out of bark in much the same way as that +employed by the New Zealanders. Sending some sailors to cut grass for the +sheep and goats he had left, the natives made a claim which was at once +satisfied; but when the men were ordered to go on cutting, fresh +claimants sprung up, till Cook says he thought each blade of grass had a +separate owner. When at last the natives found that they could get no +more, the cutting was allowed to go on without the slightest further +objection. + +PUNCH AND THE DEVIL. + +The people are described as being short, with broad flat faces, high +cheek-bones, swarthy complexions, and no pretensions to good looks. +Burney says that it was only after much cleaning that their skins were +found to be "like our people in England." Cook says they were docile, +courteous, and good-natured, but liable to fits of passion. + +"I have often seen a man rave and scold for more than half an hour +without any one taking the least notice of it, nor could any one of us +tell who it was he was abusing." + +Burney describes their language as harsh, and when in a warm discussion, +apparently insufficient, and then they had to eke it out with such nods +and jumps as reminded one of "Punch and the Devil." Their clothing was +chiefly made of skins, and a kind of cloth made from fibre or wool and +hair, or a mixture of both. "In these clothes and a coarse mat and straw +hat they would sit in their canoes in the heaviest rain as unconcernedly +as if they were in perfect shelter." Their houses of logs and boards made +by splitting large trees, were some as much as 150 feet long by 20 to 30 +feet wide, and 7 or 8 feet high; they were divided into two compartments, +each apparently the property of one family. The roof was of loose planks, +which they moved about so as to let the light fall where it was wanted. +Cook judged these were only summer residences, and that they had better +houses inland. The furniture consisted of a few boxes, some wooden +vessels for their food, and a few mat bags. Their cooking was fairly +good, but excessively dirty, and their persons and houses "filthy as +hogs' sties." They often had two wooden figures in their houses +resembling human figures, of which they spoke mysteriously; but as they +could have been purchased in every case for a small quantity of old iron +or brass, they could not have been much venerated. Their arms were bows +and arrows, slings, spears, and a small club of wood or stone, something +like the New Zealander's patoo, and a stone tomahawk, the handle +fashioned like a human head, the stone cutting-part being a large tongue, +and they were decorated with human hair. The defensive armour was a +double cloak of hide, usually moose, serviceable against arrows or +spears, but they were greatly surprised to see a bullet fired through a +cloak folded four times. The only vegetables obtained were a few nettles +and wild garlic, but Burney says that at the back of the village was a +plantation of cherry trees, gooseberries and currants, raspberries and +strawberries, "but unluckily for us none of them in season." On 20th +April a man who had been allowed to go into Cook's cabin, made off with +his watch, and got away from the ship. Fortunately his canoe was seen +alongside the Discovery, and notice being given a search was made, and +the watch found in a box unharmed. Such a loss would have been serious. +Two old-fashioned silver table-spoons, supposed to be Spanish, and a +pewter wash-basin were purchased from the Indians. + +RESOLUTION LEAKS. + +On 26th April a start was made, and before leaving, an Indian, who had +specially attached himself to Cook, gave him a valuable beaver skin, and +was so pleased with the return present he received that he insisted on +Cook taking from him a beaver cloak upon which he had always set great +store. In return "he was made as happy as a prince by a gift of a new +broadsword with a brass hilt." The next day, when well clear of the land, +a perfect hurricane arose, and the ships lay to, heading to the +south-east. The Resolution sprang a leak, and the water could be seen and +heard rushing in, but after some little anxiety one pump was found to be +sufficient to keep the upper hand. The gale lasted two days, but on the +second they were able to get an observation which gave the position of +the ship as 50 degrees 1 minute North, 229 degrees 26 minutes East, about +opposite to where the Straits of de Fonte were marked on his chart. They +were now able to run along the coast and see and name the most salient +points, but time was too valuable to make any halts by the way. The land +appeared to be of considerable height, the hills covered with snow, but +near the sea, well wooded. Mount St. Elias was sighted 4th May, at a +distance of forty leagues, and on the 6th they arrived in the bay in +which Behring had anchored, so his name was given to it on the chart. +Here the land trended away to the west; the wind was westerly and light, +and consequently their progress was very slow. Landing on an island to +try to get a view of the other side from the top of a hill, it was found +so steep and thickly wooded he had to give up the attempt. He therefore +left a bottle containing some coins given him by his friend, Dr. Kaye, +and named the island after him. Here they found currant and strawberry +plants, but the season was too early for fruit. + +Near Cape Hinchinbroke Gore went off to an island to shoot, but seeing +two large canoes containing about twenty Indians, he thought it wiser to +return to the ship. He was followed up, but none of the natives would +come on board, and after a time intimating they would return next day, +retired. Two men in small canoes did return during the night, but finding +that every one on board was not asleep, beat a hurried retreat. The next +day the ships got into a better position, and more Indians turned up, +with whom they had little difficulty in entering into trading relations; +but as they desired pieces of iron about ten inches long by three wide, +and it was rather a scarce article on board, very little, chiefly skins, +was purchased. At first only one man came on board, and as he saw only +two or three people on the Discovery, he went to the Resolution and +brought over some of his friends, who rushed the deck with their knives +drawn. However, the crew quickly ran up with their cutlasses ready, so +the natives retired, remarking that the white men's knives were longer +than theirs. At the Resolution they broke every glass scuttle they could +reach with their paddles, says Burney. Cook points out that they must +have been quite ignorant of the use of firearms, and concludes by saying: + +"However, after all these tricks, we had the good fortune to leave them +as ignorant as we found them, for they neither heard nor saw a musket +fired unless at birds." + +The leak on the Resolution was attended to, and in places the oakum +caulking was found to have disappeared completely; one writer says it was +caused by rats, and that the ship was saved by rubbish having choked up +the leak. + +TWO SETS OF TEETH. + +Bad weather detaining them, Cook had an opportunity of studying the +inhabitants. He had with him a description of the Esquimaux, by Crantz, +and found these men to be very similar in appearance, dress, and +appliances. They all had the bottom lip slit horizontally, giving them +the appearance of having two mouths. In these slits pieces of bone were +fixed to which were tied other pieces, forming a great impediment to +their speech, and in some cases giving the idea that the wearer had two +sets of teeth. Some also had pieces of bone, cord, or beads run through +the cartilage of the nose, and all had their faces plentifully smeared +with black and red paint. + +After examining an inlet, which received the name of Sandwich Sound, they +got away, steering to the south-west past Cape Elizabeth, sighted on that +Princess's birthday, which they hoped would prove the western extremity +of the coast, but on getting round, land was reported further on to the +west-south-west, and a gale sprang up, forcing them off their course. In +two days they worked back again, discovering more land behind what they +had seen already. This Cook believed to be Cape Saint Hermogenes +mentioned by Behring, but his chart was so inaccurate he could not +positively identify it, or any other place mentioned on it. Cape Douglas, +after the Dean of Windsor, was named, and placed in 58 degrees 56 minutes +North, 206 degrees 10 minutes East; and the next day a high point in a +range was called Mount St. Augustine, after the saint whose day it +happened to be. They then worked into an estuary formed by the rivers +(one being afterwards named Cook's River, by orders of Lord Sandwich), in +order to satisfy some of the officers who thought there might be a +possible communication with Hudson's Bay. A good supply of very fine +salmon was obtained from natives in the neighbourhood, and Cook formed +the opinion that a paying fur trade might be opened up as the skins +offered were of considerable value. + +Working slowly up the coast they passed through the islands off Quelpart +on the 18th, when the Discovery signalled to speak; a boat was sent, and +returned with a small box curiously tied up with neatly-made twine. It +had been delivered on board by an Indian, who first attracted attention +by displaying a pair of old plush breeches and a black cloth waistcoat, +and when he came on board, took off his cap and bowed like a European. +The box was found to contain a paper written in Russian, but +unfortunately the only things that could be understood were the two +dates, 1776 and 1778. It was supposed to have been written by a Russian +trader, and given to the Indian to place it on board the first ship he +met with. + +On the 20th, in 54 degrees 18 minutes North, 195 degrees 45 minutes East, +a volcano throwing out dense smoke was observed; and in the afternoon +they received a visit from a man who had evidently been in contact with +Europeans, for he was wearing green cloth breeches and a stuff jacket. He +took off his cap and bowed as the visitor to the Discovery had done, but +unfortunately they were unable to understand his language. + +On 26th June they had a narrow escape during a thick fog, when it was not +possible to see anything a hundred yards away. Breakers were heard, so +the anchors were let go and fortunately held. An hour or so after the fog +lifted, and they found themselves about three-quarters of a mile from a +rocky island, having passed between two elevated rocks, a place through +with, Cook says, "I should have ventured on a clear day," for all that +they found themselves in "such an anchoring place that I could not have +chosen a better." + +ANDERSON DIES. + +On 27th June they were off the island of Onalaschka, and came across a +party of natives who were towing two whales they had killed; they were +somewhat shy, but had evidently seen ships before, and were more polite +than those previously met with. One was upset from his canoe, and Cook +took him down into the cabin and provided him with dry clothes; "he +dressed himself with as much ease as I could have done." His clothes were +of birds' skins, the feathers inside, and patched in places with silk, +and over all he wore a sort of shirt of whale's intestine, which, secured +round the edge of the hole in which he sat in his canoe, rendered him +practically waterproof. Whilst in this neighbourhood they received a +second letter in Russian, but having no one on board who could translate, +it was returned with some presents to the bearer, who retired bowing his +thanks. After some detention from fogs and adverse winds they got away +once more and pushed slowly northwards. On 3rd August Mr. Anderson the +surgeon, who had been ill for some months, died, and Cook, having named +an island, sighted soon after his death, Anderson's Island, "to +perpetuate the memory of the deceased, for whom I had a very great +regard," appointed Mr. Law to the Resolution and Mr. Samwell to the +Discovery as surgeons. + +On 9th August, Cape Prince of Wales, 65 degrees 46 minutes North, 191 +degrees 45 minutes East, was sighted, and they believed it to be the most +westerly point of North America. They landed on what, from Heydinger's +Chart, was the eastern end of the island of Alaska, but it afterwards was +found to be the eastern extremity of Asia. This chart, says Burney, was +found "not only to be incorrect but almost unintelligible." The country +was very desolate, neither tree nor shrub to be seen, and the inhabitants +seemed afraid of their visitors, though not absolutely unfriendly. They +were taller and stouter than those on the American side, and their +clothing very superior. + +The ships fell in with the ice blink on the 17th, in 70 degrees 33 +minutes North, 197 degrees 41 minutes East, rather earlier than had been +expected, and soon afterwards with the ice itself in the shape of a large +field extending as far as the eye could reach from west to east. Here +they got a supply of fresh meat in the shape of sea-horse, of which +animal they killed a good many. The flesh was fishy and indifferent +eating, but Cook says anything was preferable to salt meat. + +They still slowly but steadily pushed north along the American shore, +but, being hampered by fog and ice, they crossed over to the west side +with no better fortune, for on the 26th they found themselves embayed in +the field with large quantities of heavy loose ice along the edges. +Having sighted Cape North on 29th August, Cook decided the season was too +far advanced, and that it would be better to proceed to winter quarters, +and accordingly ran down the Asiatic coast in search of wood and water, +of which he stood in need; but was disappointed, and making over to the +other side was fortunate to find a considerable quantity of driftwood +which served his purpose. Before leaving the straits, Cook remarks: + +"In justice to Behring's memory, I must say he delineated this coast very +well, and fixed the latitude and longitude of the points better than +could be expected from the methods he had to go by." + +SALMON PIE. + +Anchoring in Norton Sound, Cook sent away the boats to explore, and set +to work to determine between the correctness of the chart drawn by +Stocklin and his own observations, and after a series of no less than +seventy-seven sets of observations he was able to show that Stocklin was +wrong. It was at this place that he decided to winter in the Sandwich +Islands, as a port in Kamtschatka would oblige his crews to remain idle +for nearly six months before further exploration to the north could be +undertaken. The course was now set for Samgoonoodha Harbour, but they did +not arrive there till 3rd October, having met with very heavy weather, in +which the Resolution again began to leak badly. On 8th September an +Indian brought a singular present in the form of a pie made like a loaf, +containing some highly seasoned salmon, accompanied by a letter in +Russian. In return Corporal Ledyard of the Marines, "an intelligent man," +was sent with a few bottles of rum, wine, and porter, to obtain further +information, and with orders, if he met with any Russians, he was to +"make them understand that we were English, Friends, and Allies." On the +10th Ledyard returned, bringing three Russian sailors, but as there was +no interpreter there was difficulty in understanding anything thoroughly. +One of the newcomers was understood to say he had been out with Behring, +but Cook thought he was too young. They appeared to have great respect +for that officer, and Ledyard said he had seen a sloop which he +understood was his ship. They stayed on the Resolution all night, and +promised to return with a chart of the islands that lay between that +place and Kamtschatka. It was understood that there were several +settlements in the immediate neighbourhood employing altogether about +four hundred Russians. + +LETTERS TO LONDON. + +On the 14th Cook and Webber were at an Indian village a short distance +from the ships, when they saw a canoe arrive containing three men and +accompanied by some twenty or thirty single canoes. A tent was rigged up +for one of the first three, a Russian named Ismyloff (Ismailoff) the +chief trader of the district, whilst the others made shelters of their +canoes and grass, and so all were independent of the Indians. Ismailoff +invited Cook to join him at his meal, which consisted of dried salmon and +berries, and some sort of conversation was carried on by means of signs +and figures. Ismailoff proved to be well acquainted with the geography of +the district, and pointed out several errors in the modern maps. He said +he had been with Lieutenant Lindo's expedition as far north as +Tchukotskoi Nos, and saw Clerke's Island; but when he could or would not +say what else they had done during the two years the expedition was out, +Cook began to have doubts. He also said the Russians had several times +tried to gain a footing on the American shore, but the Indians had driven +them off with the loss of two or three of their leaders. He also spoke of +a sledge expedition in 1773 to three islands opposite the Kolyma River, +which Cook thought might be the one mentioned by Muller, he related that +he had sailed, in 1771, from a Russian settlement called Bolscheretski, +in the Kurile Islands, to Japan, but the ship was ordered away because +they were Christians, so they went to Canton and sailed on a French ship +to France, and from thence he went to Petersburg, and was then sent out +again. He was quite clear as to his dates, and put them on paper; but as +he was perfectly ignorant of any French, "not even the names of the +commonest articles," though he had been such a long time amongst French +people, Cook was again inclined to be sceptical. He stayed all night, +dining with Clerke, and returned again on the 19th, with charts, which he +permitted to be copied, and some manuscripts. One chart showed the +Asiatic coast as far as 41 degrees North, with the Kurile Islands and +Kamtschatka, and the second, the more interesting to the English, showed +the discoveries made by the Russians to the east of Kamtschatka, +exclusive of the voyages of Behring and Tcherikoff. Cook found the +longitudes in places were very different from those on the Russian maps, +and was afraid the mistake might be carried through, but the latitudes +were fairly correct. As far as he could ascertain, the instrument used +for the survey had been the theodolite. Before leaving, Ismailoff gave +Cook letters for the Governor of Kamtschatka and the Commandant of +Petropaulowsk; and Cook, finding "he was tolerably well versed in +astronomy," gave him a Hadley's octant, and though it was the first one +he had seen, he soon made himself acquainted with its uses. A letter to +the English Admiralty was also entrusted to him to be forwarded via +Petersburg, as opportunity might offer. This letter and a chart of the +northern coasts was delivered in London the following year. + +On 26th October the two ships got away, and, in case of separation, +Clerke was given his rendezvous, first, the Sandwich Islands, and second, +Petropaulowsk in the middle of May. On 28th the discovery met with a +nasty accident during a gale; the fore and main tacks carried away, +killing one man, and seriously injuring the boatswain and two others. On +25th November the islands were sighted, and the customary orders as to +the officers appointed to trade with the natives were issued, and no +curiosities were to be purchased before the ships had received +satisfactory supplies. They first called in at Mowee, where the natives +soon came out and appeared friendly, and traded with less suspicion than +any of the South Sea Islanders they had met with before. + +Having procured a quantity of sugar-cane, Cook ordered it to be used in +brewing, as he found a strong decoction of the juice produced a wholesome +and palatable beer, and would enable him to save the spirits for the +colder climates. However, the crews would have none of it, so Cook and +his officers made use of it whenever cane was procurable, and gave +himself: + +"no trouble either to oblige or persuade them to drink it, knowing there +was no danger of scurvy so long as we had plenty of other vegetables, but +that I might not be disappointed in my views, I gave orders that no grog +should be served in either ship." He then goes on to say: "Every +innovation whatever, tho' ever so much to their advantage, is sure to +meet with the highest disapprobation from seaman. Portable soup and sour +kraut were at first both condemned by them as stuff not fit for human +beings to eat. Few men have introduced into their ships more novelties in +the way of victuals and drink than I have done; indeed, few men have had +the same opportunity or been driven to the same necessity. It has, +however, in a great measure been owing to such little innovations that I +have always kept my people, generally speaking, free from that dreadful +distemper, the Scurvy." + +This extract shows how bitterly Cook felt the stupid ingratitude of his +men for the constant care he took of them, and is one of the very few +passages in his Journals in which he speaks in their disfavour. This, +curiously, was erased by some unknown hand; King asserts it must have +been done by Gore, as he is certain it was not by either Cook or Clerke, +who took command after Cook's death. + +FAULTY SAILS. + +In trying to weather the south-east end of Mowee in heavy weather, the +leach ropes of the main topsail and two topgallant sails gave way, and +the sails were blown to pieces. Cook says, "neither the cordage, canvas, +nor indeed hardly any other stores used in the Navy, are equal in quality +to those in general use in the merchant service"; and he relates how such +failures have constantly resulted in "infinite trouble, vexation, and +loss." He illustrates his complaint by the fact that rigging, blocks, and +sails that were purchased with his ship, although they had been fourteen +months in use, wore longer than any of the things of the same kind put on +board new from the king's stores. + +On 24th December they succeeded in getting to windward of the island, but +the signal to the Discovery to tack having been omitted she stood on, and +it was some days before she rejoined company. January 1779 was ushered in +with heavy rain, but clearing away before noon they were able to approach +to about five miles from the shore, where they lay to and traded with the +natives. The next three days were spent working slowly down the coast and +keeping a good look-out for their consort, occasionally stopping to do a +little trading with the islanders, some of whom came as much as fifteen +miles out to them. The chief article of commerce was salt, which was of +very good quality. On the 5th January the southern point of Owhyhee was +rounded, and they lay off a large village, where they were quickly +surrounded by canoes laden "with hogs and women": the latter are not held +up as patterns of all the virtues. Vegetables seemed to be scarce, and +Cook concluded that either the land could not produce them, or the crops +had been destroyed by volcanic action, very recent traces of which were +to be seen. + +"Wednesday 6th January 1779. The next morning the people visited us +again, bringing with them the same articles as before. Being near the +shore I sent Mr. Bligh, the Master, in a boat to sound the coast, with +orders to land and look for fresh water. On his return he reported that +at two cable lengths from the shore he had no soundings with a 160 +fathoms of line; that when he landed he found no fresh water, but rain +water lying in holes in the rocks, and that brackish with the spray of +the sea, and that the surface of the country was wholly composed of large +slags and ashes, here and there partly covered with plants. Between 10 +and 11 o'clock we saw the Discovery coming round the south point of the +Island and at 1 P.M. she joined us, when Captain Clerke came on board and +informed me that he had cruised four or five days where we were separated +and then plyed round the last part of the Island, but meeting with +unfavourable winds, was carried some distance from the coast. He had one +of the islanders on board all the time; it was his own choice, nor did +not leave them the first opportunity that offered." + +This is the last entry made by Cook in the Journal he was preparing for +publication, and is a fair sample of the manner in which the entire +Journal was written, and certainly does not justify the sneers that have +been uttered about bad grammar and spelling, the double negative +notwithstanding. In handwriting, spelling, and grammar he can compare +well with his press either in the Navy or civil life; and many of the +examples of bad spelling given have been abbreviations common in the +Navy, which his critics did not understand. + +KARAKAKOA BAY. + +On 17th January they anchored in Karakakoa Bay, where large numbers of +canoes laden with provisions for sale came out; Cook estimates that at +one time there were no less than a thousand round the ship, their +occupants entirely unarmed. They soon proved to be adepts at thieving; +one man stole the rudder of a boat, so Cook ordered a shot or two to be +fired over the escaping thief, but "as it was not intended that any of +the shot should take effect, the Indians seemed rather more surprised +than frightened," and the man got away. The lids of the Resolution's +coppers were stolen, and the discovery had her rigging much cut about for +the sake of the iron. The decks were so crowded with the natives that +Burney says it kept a quarter of the crew hard at work to make room for +the working of the ship. + +AN INSECURE POSITION. + +The last entry made by Cook in his Ship's Journal, and probably the last +words he ever wrote, runs as follows: + +"Sunday 17. Fine pleasant weather and variable faint breezes of wind. In +the evening Mr. Bligh returned and reported that he had found a bay in +which was good anchorage and fresh water, tolerable easy to come at. Into +this bay I resolved to go to refit the ships and take in water. As the +night approached, the Indians retired to the shore, a good [many] however +desired to sleep on board, curiosity was not their only motive, at least +not with some of them, for the next morning several things were missing, +which determined me not to entertain so many another night. At 11 A.M. +anchored in the bay which is called by the natives [a blank, filled in by +another hand, Karakakoa] in 13 fathoms of water over a sandy bottom, and +a quarter of a mile from the North-East shore. In this situation the +South point of the bay bore South 1/4 West, and the North point West 1/4 +South. Moored with the stream anchor to the Northward. Unbent the sails +and struck yards and topmasts. The ships very much crowded with Indians +and surrounded by a multitude of canoes. I have nowhere in this sea seen +such a number of people assembled at one place, besides those in the +canoes, all the shore of the bay was covered with people and hundreds +were swimming about the ships like shoals of fish. We should have found +it difficult to have kept them in order had not a chief or servant of +Terreeoboo's, named Parea, now and then [shown] his authority by turning +or rather driving them all out of the ship. + +"Among our numerous visitors was a man named Touahah, who we soon found +belonged to the church; he introduced himself with much ceremony, in the +course of which he presented me with a small pig, two coconuts and a +piece of red cloth which he wrapped round me. In this manner all or most +of the chiefs introduced themselves, but this man went further, he +brought with him a large hog and a quantity of fruits and roots, all of +which he included in the present. In the afternoon I went ashore to view +the place accompanied by Touahah, Parea, Mr. King and others; as soon as +we landed Touahah took me by the hand and conducted me to a large Morai, +the other gentlemen with Parea, and four or five more of the natives +followed." + +Mr. King describes this Morai as being about forty yards long by twenty +broad, and about fourteen feet high, the top flat, well paved, and +surrounded by a wooden railing. An old building stood in the centre from +which a stone wall ran to the fence dividing the top into two parts. On +the landward side were five poles upwards of twenty feet high, supporting +an irregular kind of scaffold, and on the sea-side half were two small +houses with a covered communication between. On their arrival Cook was +presented with two ugly images wrapped with red cloth, and a sort of hymn +was sung. Then they were marched to the scaffolding, where was a table on +which lay fruits and vegetables surmounted by a very much decomposed pig, +and in a semicircle round one end of this table were twelve images. +Placing Cook near the scaffolding, Koah, as King and others call Touahah, +took up the pig and holding it towards him made a long speech. Then, +dropping the offensive porker, he made signs that the two were to climb +on to the uncertain scaffolding. This being done, a procession came +forward bearing a live hog and a piece of red cloth. This last article +was handed up to Koah, who proceeded to wrap it round Cook, who was +clinging to his elevated but not very safe position. The pig was then +offered to Cook and a long address chanted. The two principal performers +then descended and returned to the table, Koah snapping his fingers at +the figures and making what appeared to be sarcastic remarks, till he +came to the centre one, when he prostrated himself and kissed it, +requesting Cook to do the same. The party then proceeded to the other +part of the Morai, and Cook was seated between two images with his arms +stretched out, one upheld by Koah, the other by King. A cooked pig and +other food was then presented with much ceremony, the meat cut up and +kava prepared; whilst Koah's assistant chewed some coconut, wrapped it in +cloth, and then rubbed it over Cook's face, head, shoulders, and arms. +Koah and Parea then pulled pieces of the pig and put them into the mouths +of the two officers. King says that Parea was a particularly cleanly +person, so he did not so much mind this feeding, but Cook, remembering +how Koah had handled the putrid hog, was unable to swallow a mouthful, +"and his reluctance, as may be supposed, was not diminished, when the old +man, according to his own mode of civility, had chewed it for him." Cook +then put an end to further proceedings by distributing some presents to +the attendants and returning to the ship. + +Though the meaning of this ceremony could only be a matter of conjecture, +it was very evident that it was intended as a mark of high respect to the +person of Captain Cook. The title of Orono given to him, and often quoted +as evidence that he had permitted himself to be looked upon as a god by +the natives was also given to one, if not more, of their own chiefs; and +Burney says that the marks of honour conferred on him were exactly the +same as those conferred on any one of their own superior chieftains. The +grotesque description given by some of the missionary writers of the +whole population crawling after him on hands and knees as a mark of +adoration is utterly untrue, for Mr. King, who was ashore almost the +whole time of the ship's stay, and was continually with Cook, distinctly +says: + +"The crowd which had collected on the shore, retired at our approach; and +not a person was to be seen, except a few lying prostrate on the ground, +near the huts of the adjoining village." + +None of those who were on the voyage and have left any record behind +them, suggest that Cook was treated in any respect otherwise than as a +great chief and a man. + +A small potato field was placed under tabu, near the Morai, for the +purpose of the observatory, and a camp under the command of King was +established there. This camp was daily supplied with meat and vegetables, +even more than could be consumed, and several canoe-loads were sent off +to the ships. After enquiry it was found that the whole expense of this +food was borne by Koah, and no return whatever was demanded. + +A ROYAL VISIT. + +A tabu was placed on the whole of the bay on the 24th, and trading came +to a complete standstill, the reason given being the coming of the king, +Terreeoboo. He arrived the next day, and commerce at once revived. He +paid a private visit, with his wife and children, to the Resolution, +remaining on board some time, and proved to be the same chief they had +seen at the Island of Mowee. The next day he, accompanied by several +important chiefs, all dressed in rich feather cloaks and armed with long +spears and daggers, paid a state visit. Koah was also present in a canoe +with other priests and two large basket-work idols, whose distorted faces +were adorned with pearl-shell eyes and dog's teeth; he was attended by +two other canoes, one filled with pigs and vegetables, and these paddled +round the ships, the priests singing "in most solemn fashion," and +returned to the shore. Cook followed; King turned out the guard and +saluted Terreeoboo, and then conducted him to the tent, where, after +seating himself for a few moments, he took off his helmet and cloak and +placed them on Cook, at the same time ordering five or six more, of great +value, to be placed at his feet. Hogs, bread-fruit, etc., were then +brought in. Cook and Terreeoboo exchanged names as a peculiar mark of +friendship, and the ceremony ended by the presentation of the two +boat-loads of provisions by a deputation of the priests. One of those +present was a nephew of the king, called by the English Maiha-Maiha, +afterwards known to the world as Kamehameha I. + +As many of the chiefs as the Resolution's pinnace would hold were taken +off with the king to the ship, and the latter was duly invested with a +white linen shirt and Cook's own sword. During the whole of this +performance no canoes excepting those actually engaged were to be seen in +the bay, and all the natives remained lying on the ground or in their +houses. Clerke, who had been too ill to share in these ceremonies, landed +for the first time on the 28th, and, though quite unexpected, he received +a very handsome present of food, and Terreeoboo paid the Discovery a +state call, taking with him presents similar to those given to Cook. In +the afternoon he paid a second (private) call in a small canoe with three +paddles, one of which he wielded himself. On this occasion there were no +prostrations, but if any native met his chief he simply got out of the +way unless some service was required of him. + +The ships were running very short of firewood, and as there was none +growing less than a mile and a half off the sea, Mr. King was ordered to +try and purchase the fence surrounding the top of the Morai. He +hesitated, as he thought that: + +"even the bare mention of it might be considered by them [the priests] as +a piece of shocking impiety. In this, however, I found myself mistaken. +Not the smallest surprise was expressed at the application, and the wood +was readily given, even without stipulating for anything in return." + +He saw the sailors were carrying away the figures as well, and spoke to +Koah on the subject, who raised no objection, except with regard to the +centre one, which was at once returned. Burney says that two launch-loads +for each ship were obtained, "a seasonable supply, as we had been four +months since we wooded." + +On 31st January Whatman, one of the gunner's crew, and greatly attached +to Cook, died and was buried in the Morai. Besant thinks that this had +some influence on the minds of the natives, and may have contributed to +Cook's death, but as it was done by Terreeoboo's special request it is +difficult to see how the idea can be justified. + +A LARGE PRESENT. + +Enquiries were several times made as to the date of the departure of the +ships, and hints were given that supplies were running short; but at the +same time they were informed that if they returned the next bread-fruit +season, their wants should be again supplied. When the news went forth +that they would leave in two days, Terreeoboo issued a proclamation for +food to be brought in so that he might make a large present on their +departure; and on the appointed day Cook and King were invited to +Terreeoboo's residence, where they found all that had been given in +exchange to the natives was laid out on the ground, and a short distance +away a large quantity of vegetables of all kinds and a herd of pigs, +which were handed over on a return present being made. King says that the +gift "far exceeded everything of the kind we had seen." The camp ashore +was then broken up, and a great effort was made to persuade Cook to +permit Mr. King to remain, as he had succeeded in making himself a great +favourite with all. A house that had been used by the sailmakers was +accidentally set on fire, Burney says by natives looking for a knife lost +by one of the sailors; but Besant, who places the fire at a later period, +says it was done intentionally in revenge for the sailors having enticed +some of the women there, and infers that Gilbert is his authority, but in +the extracts he publishes from Gilbert's manuscript there is nothing of +the kind, and no one refers to any other fire till after Cook's death. + + +CHAPTER 18. 1779 TO 1780. THIRD VOYAGE CONCLUDED. + +On 4th February the ships unmoored and sailed from the bay, steering to +the north in hopes of finding a better anchorage. The wind was very +light, and the progress was so slow that it gave Terreeoboo an +opportunity of sending off a further present of food. Soon after a gale +sprang up, and the canoes which had accompanied them beat a hasty +retreat, leaving a good many, mostly women, on board the ships. About +midnight the fore and main topsails were split, but towards morning the +wind died away and they were able to bend fresh sails. A second gale came +on again at night, putting them under double-reefed topsails, with +topgallant yards sent down, and at daybreak the fore-mast was found to be +so badly sprung that it was absolutely necessary it should be unstepped +for immediate repairs. After considerable hesitation, for he fully +recognised that the place must be almost denuded of surplus provisions, +Cook decided to return to Karakakoa Bay as no other convenient place was +known, and the ships again anchored there on the 11th, starting +immediately to unstep and get the mast ashore, when it was found to be +rotten at the heel as well as sprung. Wood that had been cut at Eimeo for +anchor stocks was used for fishing the head, and the work proceeded +rapidly: the priests making the camp tabu, so that there should be no +interference with the workmen. + +When the ships arrived in the bay, hardly a canoe was to be seen, and +none came out to the ships. This, contrasted with their first reception, +was the cause of some surprise, and, in view of what happened afterwards, +of some suspicion; but Mr. King, who had more intercourse with the +natives than any of the other officers, was thoroughly satisfied that +"they neither meant nor apprehended any change of conduct." Burney says +that Terreeoboo and some of the chiefs visited them on the 12th, and +asked many questions about their return, and did not seem well satisfied +with the answers received. + +TROUBLE COMMENCES. + +Everything went smoothly till the afternoon of the 13th, when the officer +in charge of the watering party complained to King that the conduct of +some of the natives was suspicious, and some of the chiefs were driving +away men he had engaged to help in rolling the casks to the boats. King +sent a marine with side arms to help to restore order, but shortly after +was informed the natives were arming with stones and getting very noisy, +so he went down himself, with a marine armed with his musket, and +succeeded in setting matters right. Just at this time Cook came ashore, +and King reported what had occurred, receiving orders to fire with ball +if he received any insolence or stones were thrown. Soon afterwards shots +were heard from the Discovery, and a canoe was seen making for the shore, +closely pursued by one of the ship's boats. Cook, King, and a marine ran +to intercept them, but were too late, as the occupants of the canoe +landed before they could reach the spot. Burney says the disturbance +commenced by a native stealing a pair of carpenter's tongs, jumping +overboard with them, and placing them in a canoe which at once paddled +off. The thief was caught, flogged, and put in irons till the tongs were +returned from the shore. The same tongs were again stolen in the +afternoon, and the thief got away with them, pursued by Edgar, the +Master, in the ship's cutter, and joined by the Resolution's pinnace. The +thief reaching shore first, put the tongs, the lid of a harness cask, and +a chisel in a second canoe which went out, and handed them over to Edgar. +Edgar, seeing Cook and King running along the shore, thought it right to +detain the second canoe, which unfortunately belonged to Parea, who at +the time of the theft was in Clerke's cabin and, promising to obtain the +tongs, had immediately left for the shore. He tried to regain possession +of his canoe, but was knocked down by a sailor, and then some of the +natives, who before this had been quietly looking on, began to throw +stones, and so roughly handled the sailors in the pinnace that, being +unarmed, they beat a retreat, swimming to some rocks out of reach of the +missiles. Edgar and Vancouver remained ashore and fared badly, till +Parea, who had recovered from his blow and apparently forgotten it, +ordered his countrymen to stay their hands, and managed to save the +pinnace from being broken up. He wanted the boats to go back to the +ships, but as the oars had been taken away this was impossible. He then +started to find them, and as soon as his back was turned the throwing +began again. Edgar wished to go to the camp to find Cook, but some of the +natives advised him to follow them and they would take him to Parea. He +soon met him carrying one oar, followed by a man with a broken one, so +they were able to make shift in the boats to the camp, being overtaken on +the way by Parea in his canoe bringing Vancouver's cap, which had been +lost in the scuffle. + +Owing to his pursuit of the thief Cook did not hear of all this trouble +till after dark, too late to take any further steps, but King says he +appeared very disturbed by the news, and remarked: "I am afraid these +people will oblige me to use some violent measures, for they must not be +left to imagine that they have gained an advantage over us." He then went +on board his ship and ordered all natives ashore, whilst King returned to +the camp, and doubling his sentries, gave orders he was to be called if +any natives were seen about. At eleven, five were seen hovering near, but +when they found they were observed they made off, and later one got close +to the observatory, but ran when the sentry fired over his head. When on +his way to the ship the next morning for the chronometer, King was +informed that the Discovery's cutter had been stolen; it had been moored +to the anchor buoy. On board the Resolution he found Cook busy loading +his double-barreled gun and a landing party of marines being prepared. +Cook said he was going ashore to try to gain possession of some of the +principal chiefs in order to keep them prisoners till the boat was +returned, and that he had already sent out boats to prevent any one +leaving the bay, with the intention of destroying their canoes if he +could not recover the cutter by more peaceable means. The Resolution's +great cutter was sent after a large sailing canoe that was making off, +the small cutter was guarding the western point of the bay, and Cook, +with the pinnace and launch, were going to Kowrowa to try and get +Terreeoboo on board the ship. He, and in fact every one else, were +confident the natives would offer no resistance if they heard the sound +of but one musket. + +A little before eight o'clock Captain Cook, Lieutenant Phillips, a +sergeant, corporal, and seven marines left the ship for Kowrowa, and King +returned to his camp after being ordered to try and assure the natives +near the observatory that they would not be hurt, to keep his men +together, and to be prepared to meet any outbreak. Having seen his men +were on the alert, King visited the priests and satisfied them that +Terreeoboo would receive neither injury nor insult. + +COOK LANDS. + +Having picked up the Resolution's launch, under the command of Lieutenant +Williamson, on his way, Cook landed the marines, and marched into the +village, where he received the usual marks of respect. He asked to see +the king and his two young sons. The two boys came forward and conducted +him to the hut where their father was, and after a short conversation he +felt assured that Terreeoboo knew nothing about the stealing of the boat. +He invited the three to accompany him to the Resolution, and the king at +once consented and got up to go. However, the boys' mother came up with a +few chiefs and tried to persuade him not to go, and then they caught hold +of him and forced him to sit down. Meanwhile a large crowd had gathered +round, and Phillips, who seems to have acted with coolness and judgment +throughout the affair, drew up his men in line on some rocks near the +water, about thirty yards away. After trying for some time to persuade +the natives to allow their chief to go with him, Cook gave up the +attempt, observing to Phillips that it would be impossible to compel them +to do so without great risk of bloodshed. Unfortunately, just at this +time news arrived that a chief of the first rank had been killed at the +other side of the bay. The shots had been heard soon after the landing of +Cook's party. + +It was now recognised that matters had become very serious; the natives +were seen to be donning their war mats, and one man, armed with a stone +in one hand and a large iron spike in the other, threatened Cook in a +very insulting manner. He was told to keep quiet, but only became more +furious, so Cook fired a charge of small shot into him, but his mats +saved him from injury. Stones were thrown at the marines, and a chief +attempted to stab Phillips, but was promptly knocked down with the butt +of the latter's musket. Cook now fired his second barrel loaded with ball +and killed one of the natives, but Sergeant Gibson told him it was the +wrong man, so he received orders to kill the right one, and did so. The +stone-throwing became heavier, and the marines responded with a volley, +but before they had time to reload the natives rushed them, killing four +out of the seven and wounding the rest, Phillips being stabbed between +the shoulders, but, before the blow could be repeated he managed to shoot +his assailant. + +COOK'S DEATH. + +Cook was now close to the water's edge, and had turned round to order the +boats' crews to cease firing and pull in. This is believed to have caused +his death, for, whilst he faced the natives, none of them, except the one +shot by Gibson, had offered him actual violence, but when he turned to +give orders he was struck on the head and stabbed in the back, falling +with his face in a pool of water. As soon as he fell a great shout arose; +he was dragged ashore, and the natives, snatching the dagger from each +other, showed savage eagerness to share in his destruction. Phillips and +his wounded marines plunged into the water and, covered by musketry fire, +gained the boats; their officer, though wounded, jumping out again to the +assistance of the last man who, severely injured by a blow on the face, +was in great danger of being captured. The boats, seeing there was no +possibility of recovering the bodies of the five who were killed, were +ordered to return at once to the ships from which they had only been +absent an hour. Nine stand of arms, Cook's double-barreled gun and his +hanger fell into the hands of the natives. As soon as this was reported, +the boats were recalled from the bay, and a strong reinforcement was sent +to Mr. King with orders to strike his camp and get the Resolution's +foremast off to the ship. The Indians were seen to be assembling to the +right of the tents, so the guns were turned on them, and a party was +posted on the Morai to cover the place where the mast lay. About one +o'clock everything was got away from the shore, only a few stones being +thrown by natives who thought their mats were proof against bullets, and +only found out their mistake too late. + +Notwithstanding what had occurred, one of the priests, whom Burney calls +Kerriakair, remained with the English till everything had been removed, +and supplied the men with food and water. King, about four o'clock, was +sent to try to recover the bodies of the Captain and marines. He was at +first received with a volley of stones, which fortunately fell short; he +displayed a white flag and pulled inshore, whilst the remaining boats lay +off to cover him with their fire if needed, but the stone-throwing was +stopped, and the natives also showed the white flag. In answer to King's +demand some of the chiefs promised that the bodies should be delivered +the next day, and Koah, swimming off to one of the boats, explained that +they could not be given up at once as they had already been taken some +distance up country. Burney, however, says that they gathered, from signs +made by some other Indians, that the bodies had already been cut to +pieces, and one man came down into the water flourishing Cook's hanger +"with many tokens of exultation and defiance." + +KOAH FRIENDLY. + +On the 15th Captain Clerke formally took over the command of the +Resolution, and appointed Lieutenant Gore to the Discovery. During the +day Koah visited the ship several times, and in vain tried to persuade +Clerke or King to go ashore, but it was thought inadvisable to run any +further risks. In the evening Kerriakair and a friend came off in a small +canoe bringing a bundle containing the flesh of Cook's thighs, saying +that the body had been burned and the limbs distributed amongst the +chiefs. They had brought all they could get unknown to the others, and +Kerriakair strongly advised Clerke not to trust too much to Koah; he said +that the inhabitants of the island were not inclined for peace except +those in the immediate neighbourhood, who would of course, in case of +hostilities, be the chief sufferers. He gave the number of natives killed +as twenty-six, with a large number of wounded. + +On the 17th the ships were warped inshore so as to command the watering +place, the launches were sent in for water, with the other boats fully +armed, in support. They were received with showers of stones from the +houses, and from behind stone walls, notwithstanding guns fired from the +ships and musketry from the boats at any of the natives who exposed +themselves. Meanwhile Koah again visited the ships, offering a pig as a +present, and asking for someone to be sent ashore for the bodies; but he +was sent away, and was soon afterwards seen amongst the stone-throwers. +In the afternoon the boats went again for water, but as the natives +recommenced hostilities they were ordered to keep clear, whilst the +ships' guns were worked for a quarter of an hour; then the boats' crews +landed and burned all the houses between the watering place and the +Morai, killing some six or seven of the natives. In the evening, about +five o'clock, some dozen natives bearing white flags and sugar-cane +marched down to the beach headed by Kerriakair carrying a small pig. He +said he came as an envoy from Terreeoboo to make peace, and was +accordingly taken on board the Resolution. It was ascertained from him +that the boat had been stolen by some of Parea's people and had been +broken up after Cook's death. During the night some canoes came out and +did a little trading; and the next morning the bay was seen to be planted +with white flags in different directions, and the waterers were allowed +to work unmolested, whilst Kerriakair asked permission, at once granted, +to make an offering to one of the images on the Morai. Soon after Koah +came off with a pig, but was not admitted to either ship; he then went +off to the waterers, who sent him away. So he amused himself by throwing +stones at a small party of sailors on the Morai, and drew a couple of +shots from them, but escaped unhurt. Soon after a party of natives +marched down to the beach with bread-fruit, etc., which they left on the +beach and was afterwards taken on board. A chief, Eapoo, carried a +message on board from Terreeoboo, and next day brought presents of food. +On the 20th the foremast of the Resolution was stepped and rigging +commenced, and in the middle of the day a large body of natives marched +in procession to the watering place, beating drums, yelling, carrying +white flags, sugar-cane, etc., with Eapoo at their head bearing a parcel +wrapped in cloth containing some of Cook's bones. He went off to the +Resolution with Clerke, and soon after a boat was sent ashore for a +present of food from Terreeoboo. The next day, with the same ceremonial, +Eapoo again appeared with all the remaining bones it was possible to +recover, and was this time accompanied by Karowa, Terreeoboo's youngest +son. + +"The 21st February. At sunset the Resolution fired ten minute guns, with +the colours half staff up, when the remains of our late Commander were +committed to the deep." + +Lieutenant Williamson was severely blamed by his brother officers for not +going to the assistance of the pinnace at the time of the attack on his +Captain, and it is said that had it not been for Clerke's ill health he +would have been tried by court-martial. He was afterwards, when in +command of the Agincourt, tried for "disaffection, cowardice, +disobedience to signals, and not having done his duty in rendering all +assistance possible." He was found guilty on the last two counts only, +and was "placed at the bottom of the list of Post-Captains, and rendered +incapable of ever serving on board of any of His Majesty's ships." + +COOK'S REMAINS. + +Ellis, in his Tour through Hawaii, says that King's account of Cook's +death, from which the above has been largely drawn, agrees in a +remarkable manner with that given by the natives. They in no way blamed +their visitors for what occurred, and even after his death appear to have +looked upon Cook as a man of a superior race to themselves. His +breastbone and ribs were long preserved as relics, and in 1832 Ellis +states there were many living who remembered the occasion, and all agreed +that Cook's conduct to their countrymen was humane. + +Captain Clerke says: + +"Upon examining the remains of my late honoured and much lamented friend, +I found all his bones, excepting those of the back, jaw, and feet--the +two latter articles Earpo brought me in the morning--the former, he +declared, had been reduced to ashes with the trunk of the body. As +Carnacare (Kerriakair) had told us, the flesh was taken from all the +bones, excepting those of the hands, the skin of which they had cut +through in many places, and salted, with the intention, no doubt, of +preserving them; Earpo likewise brought with him the two barrels of +Captain Cook's gun--the one beat flat with the intention of making a +cutting instrument of it; the other a good deal bent and bruised, +together with a present of thirteen hogs from Terreaboo." + +The hands, as has been mentioned before, were identified by the scar left +by the explosion of his powder flask in Newfoundland, which almost +severed the thumb from the fingers. + +On 22nd February they were able to sail from this unlucky place, and +touching at one or two of the islands worked their way northwards to +Kamtschatka, the Resolution reaching Owatska Bay on 29th April, followed +by the discovery on 1st May. They were very handsomely treated by Major +Behm, the Governor of Bolcheretsk, a place about 135 miles from the town +of St. Peter and St. Paul in Awatska Bay, notwithstanding Mr. Ismailoff's +letters of introduction were on somewhat unsatisfactory lines. Mr. Webber +was fortunately able to converse in German, which the Russian officers +understood; and he ascertained that Ismailoff had represented the two +vessels as very small, and hinted that he believed them to be little +better than pirates. The Governor provided the ships with what he could +give them, and promised to obtain further stores from Okotsk for them +against their return. For these kindnesses the English could make but +little return, and even then it was with difficulty that the Russians +could be persuaded to receive anything, for they said they were only +acting up to the wishes of their Empress, who desired all her allies +should be treated with courtesy. One return, however, they were able to +make which was of great service. At the time of the visit of the ships a +large number of the soldiers and inhabitants were suffering very +seriously from scurvy, and Clerke at once put them under the care of his +medical officers, who, by the use of sour kraut and sweet wort made from +the ship's stock of malt, soon caused "a surprising alteration in the +figures of most of them and their speedy recovery was chiefly attributed +to the effects of the sweet wort." + +They were informed by the Major that on the day of the arrival of the +English party at Bolcheretsk he had received a letter from the most +northerly outpost on the Sea of Okotsk, stating that the tribe of +Tschutski, which had been long at feud with the Russians, had sent in an +embassy offering friendship and tribute, giving as a reason that they had +been visited by two large vessels in the preceding summer, and had been +received on board with great kindness, and had entered into a league of +friendship with their visitors: they therefore thought it their duty to +ratify this treaty formally. These two ships could have been none other +than the Resolution and Discovery, though evidently the Tschutski thought +they were Russian. + +DEATH OF CLERKE. + +Leaving on 13th June, the Asiatic coast was followed up, and 1st July +they were off the Gulf of Anadyr, where fogs and ice began seriously to +interfere with their progress, so they abandoned the Asiatic for the +American side, but with no better luck. They reached the latitude of 70 +degrees 33 minutes North, about five leagues short of the point reached +the previous year, and at length, realising further efforts were useless +and resulting in serious damage to the ships from continual contact with +the loose ice, Clerke determined to return to Awatska Bay and refit and +then return to England. On 22nd August, the day before they reached the +Bay, Captain Clerke, who had long been suffering from serious ill health, +died, and was buried under a tree a little to the north of the post of +St. Peter and St. Paul; the crews of both ships and the Russian garrison +taking part in the funeral ceremony, and the Russian priest reading the +service at the grave. Clerke had been all three voyages with Cook, and +was only thirty-eight years of age. + +Gore now took command of the Resolution, Burney, Rickman, and Lanyon +being his lieutenants, whilst King was the new Captain of the Discovery, +and Williamson and Hervey his lieutenants; Bayley going with Gore in +charge of the astronomical observations. On 9th October they left Awatska +and were off Cape Nambu, Japan, on the 26th, but were driven off the +coast by bad weather, and anchored in Macao Roads on 1st December. Here, +after considerable delay, stores were obtained from Canton, and the +seaman managed to dispose of most of the furs they had obtained in the +north. King estimates that the two ships received, in money and goods, as +much as 2000 pounds for the skins, and says that the men were so anxious +to return for more that they were almost in a state of mutiny. + +On 11th April the ships reached the Cape, where the officers were +cordially received by Governor Plattenberg, who expressed the deepest +regret to hear of the loss of Cook, and requested that he should be sent +a portrait of the Captain to place in a blank space he pointed out +between two portraits of De Ruyter and Van Tromp--a gracious compliment. +Sailing from Simon's Bay on 9th May, the trades were picked up on the +14th, and on 13th June the line was crossed in longitude 26 degrees 16 +minutes West. The coast of Ireland was sighted on 12th August, and an +attempt was made to get into Galway Bay, but strong southerly winds drove +them to the north, and at length, rounding the north of Scotland, they +put into Stromness, whence Captain King was despatched overland to the +Admiralty. The ships arrived off the Nore on 4th October, after an +absence of "four years, two months, and twenty-two days." + +KING MEETS KING. + +On 14th February 1781, the second anniversary of Cook's death, King, +accompanied by Mr. Banks, was presented to His Majesty, who was pleased +to accept the Journals of the Resolution and Discovery kept during this +eventful voyage. + + +CHAPTER 19. APPRECIATION AND CHARACTER. + +Of course as nothing had been heard of the expedition for a considerable +time, a certain amount of anxiety was felt, which at length found vent in +paragraphs in the public press, and on 11th January 1780 the London +Gazette contained the following: + +"Captain Clerke of His Majesty's Sloop the Resolution, in a letter to Mr. +Stephens, dated the 8th of June 1779, in the harbour of St. Peter and St. +Paul, Kampschatka, which was received yesterday, gives the melancholy +account of the celebrated Captain Cook, late Commander of that Sloop, +with four of his private Marines having been killed on the 14th of +February last at the island of Owhyhe, one of a Group of new-discovered +Islands in the 22nd degree of North Latitude, in an affray with a +numerous and tumultuous Body of the Natives." + +"Captain Clerke adds, that he received every friendly supply from the +Russian Government; and that as the Companies of the Resolution and her +Consort, the Discovery, were in perfect Health, and the two Sloops had +twelve months Stores and Provisions on board, he was preparing to make +another Attempt to explore a Northern Passage to Europe." + +THE EMPRESS OF RUSSIA. + +The London Gazette of 8th February says: + +"The Empress of Russia expressed a most deep concern at the Loss of +Captain Cook. She was the more sensibly affected from her very partial +regard to his merits; and when she was informed of the hospitality shown +by the Russian Government at Kamschatka to Captain Clerke, she said no +Subject in her Dominions could show too much Friendship to the Survivors +of Captain Cook." + +The letter written by Clerke was sent by express through Petersburg; that +is to say, it was written in the extreme east of Asia in June, and was +sent overland across Siberia to Petersburg, and thence via Berlin to +London, and was there published in under the six months. A wonderful +journey when the difficulties of transit are taken into consideration. + +In the numerous appreciative notices that appeared in the press relating +to Cook and his work, the Morning Chronicle alone strikes a jarring +string, which is at once met by a reply; and a day or two after the same +paper publishes a long letter signed Colombus (the style suggests the pen +of Sir Joseph Banks) in which the character and methods of Cook are most +strenuously defended, the writer claiming to have obtained his knowledge +of the man "through long intercourse with him." + +The Gazetter of 24th January says: + +"His Majesty, who had always the highest opinion of Captain Cook, shed +tears when Lord Sandwich informed him of his death, and immediately +ordered a pension of 300 pounds a year for his widow." + +The amount really granted to Mrs. Cook was 200 pounds per annum, and the +Admiralty in addition gave her half the proceeds of the Journal of the +Third Voyage, a share in the Journal of the Second Voyage, and a share of +the plates used in illustrating the two publications: a very considerable +addition to her income. A Coat of Arms was also granted to the family by +order of the King, and Sir W. Besant records his belief that it was the +last one ever granted as a direct "recognition of Service." His +description of it is: + +"Azure, between the two polar stars Or, a sphere on the plane of the +meridian, showing the Pacific Ocean, his track thereon marked by red +lines. And for a crest, on a wreath of the colours, is an arm bowed, in +the uniform of a Captain of the Royal Navy. In the hand is the Union Jack +on a staff proper. The arm is encircled by a wreath of palm and laurel. A +very noble shield indeed." + +The notes of appreciation of his talents and services came from all parts +of the world, and none more kindly than from the series of brilliant +Frenchmen who followed in his footsteps. De Crozet did not hesitate to +throw away his own charts when he recognised the superiority of Cook's; +and Dumont d'Urville calls him "the most illustrious navigator of both +the past and future ages whose name will for ever remain at the head of +the list of sailors of all nations." + +MRS. COOK'S LETTER. + +The Royal Society was naturally amongst the first to recognise the great +worth of its late Fellow, and the loss the Society had suffered from his +death. It had already granted him one of its highest honours in the form +of the Copley Gold Medal for his successful contest with the scurvy, and +it now decided to mark its appreciation by striking a special gold medal +in his honour. This was forwarded by Sir Joseph Banks, President of the +Royal Society, to Mrs. Cook, and acknowledged by her in the following +touching letter: + +Mile End, + +16th August 1784. + +Sir, + +I received your exceeding kind letter of the 12th instant, and want words +to express in any adequate degree my feelings on the very singular honour +which you, Sir, and the honourable and learned Society over which you so +worthily preside, have been pleased to confer on my late husband, and +through him on me and his children who are left to lament the loss of +him, and to be the receivers of those most noble marks of approbations +which, if Providence had been pleased to permit him to receive, would +have rendered me very happy indeed. + +Be assured, Sir, that however unequal I may be to the task of expressing +it, I feel as I ought the high honour which the Royal Society has been +pleased to do me. My greatest pleasure now remaining is in my sons, who, +I hope, will ever strive to copy after so good an example, and, animated +by the honours bestowed on their Father's memory, be ambitious of +attaining by their own merits your notice and approbation. Let me entreat +you to add to the many acts of friendship which I have already received +at your hands, that of expressing my gratitude and thanks to that learned +body in such a manner as may be acceptable to them. + +I am, Sir, etc., etc., + +Elizabeth Cook. + +The medal actually presented to Mrs. Cook is now in the British Museum. + +DEATHS OF THE SONS. + +It is greatly to be regretted that so little can be ascertained about +Cook's private life that would be of service in forming an intimate +knowledge of his character, but this is accounted for by the fact that +after he had joined the Navy his time was so fully occupied by that +service that he had but little opportunity to form private friendships +such as fall to the lot of most men. The intimacies that he did form were +mostly connected very closely with his naval duties, and his +opportunities of correspondence were necessarily limited by absence from +all ordinary means of communication. For a man of his marked celebrity it +is very curious that there should be such a dearth of anecdote that it is +difficult to find anything that is unconnected with his profession. Of +his own family relations there is also little known, as Mrs. Cook, +probably esteeming the few letters she had from him as too sacred to be +seen by any other eye than her own, as the late Canon Bennett suggests, +destroyed them before her death. Still some idea of their life together, +short as it really was, notwithstanding it lasted, in name, for over +sixteen years, may be gained from the manner in which his widow always +spoke of him after his death. She always wore a ring containing a lock of +his hair, and measured everything by his standard of morality and honour. +The greatest disapprobation she could express was "Mr. Cook would never +have done so." He was always Mr. Cook to her. She kept four days each +year as solemn fasts, remaining in her own room. The days were those on +which she lost her husband and three sons, passing them in reading her +husband's Bible, prayer and meditation, and during bad weather she could +not sleep for thinking of those at sea. For her husband's sake she +befriended her nephews and nieces whom she never saw. Of her three sons, +two entered the Navy. One, Nathaniel, was lost with his ship, the +Thunderer, in a hurricane off Jamaica in 1780. The eldest, James, rose to +the rank of Commander, and in January 1794 was appointed to H.M. sloop +Spitfire. He was at Poole when he received his orders to join his ship at +Portsmouth without delay. Finding an open boat with sailors returning +from leave about to start, he joined them. It was blowing rather hard, +and nothing was ever heard of the passengers or crew, except that the +broken boat and the dead body of the unfortunate young officer, stripped +of all money and valuables, with a wound in the head, was found ashore on +the Isle of Wight. The third son, Hugh, was entered at Christ's College, +Cambridge, in 1793, but contracting scarlet fever he died on 21st +December of that year, and was buried in the church of St. Andrew the +Great, being joined by his brother James a few weeks afterwards, when the +mother was left indeed alone. She survived her husband for the long +period of fifty-six years, living at Clapham with her cousin, Admiral +Isaac Smith, and at length joined her two sons at Cambridge at the +advanced age of ninety-three. + +Cook's character as given by those with whom he worked, men who day after +day were by his side, was a fine one. His greatest fault seems to have +been his hasty temper, which he admitted himself, often most regretfully; +but Captain King says it was "disarmed by a disposition the most +benevolent and humane," and it never was displayed in such a manner as to +cause the loss of respect and affection of his people. He was healthy and +vigorous in mind and body, clear-headed and cool in times of danger, +broad minded and temperate, and plain and unaffected in manner. His +powers of observation were of the first rank, his knowledge of Naval +mathematics far surpassed the ordinary level and amounted to genius, but, +above all, his devotion to duty was the commanding feature of his +character. Nothing was allowed to interfere when he saw his course before +him; personal convenience was not allowed to weigh for one moment, but at +the same time he never lost sight of the interests of those under him and +spared them when possible. He was somewhat silent and reserved in manner, +but when questioned on any subject on which he felt he was an authority, +his answers were clearly and distinctly given, and his reasons disclosed +his powers of observation to the full. He was kindly, generous, and +hospitable, and by no means the stern character that has been painted, +for even in such a matter-of-fact document as his official Journal, a +spirit of fun occasionally gleams out. + +Such was the man whose name will ever stand in the very first ranks of +the British Empire Builders; honest, kindly, generous, a faithful servant +and a noble leader. + + +INDEX. + +Adventure: +purchased. +arrives home. + +Airy Holme Farm. + +Amherst, General. + +Amherst, Colonel W. + +Amsterdam. + +Anderson, Surgeon: death. + +Anjac, M. d'. + +Antelope, H.M.S. + +Arnold. See Timepieces. + +Aurora Australis. + +Australia. + +Ayton: +revisited. + +Banks, Joseph: +joins Endeavour. +refuses Second Voyage. + +Batavia. + +Bayley, W. + +Behm, Major. + +Behring. + +Bennett, Canon. + +Besant, W. + +Bligh, W. + +Boscawen, Admiral. + +Boswell. + +Bougainville, De. + +Buchan, A. + +Burgeo Islands. + +Burney, Charles. + +Burney, Fanny. + +Burney, James. + +Campbell, Captain J. + +Cape Circumcision. + +Cape Horn. + +Cape of Good Hope. + +Clerke, Charles. + +Colville, Lord. + +Cook, James (Master of Mercury). + +Cook, James, R.N. F.R.S.: +birth. +Eagle. +Solebay. +Pembroke. +Northumberland. +marriage. +King's Surveyor. +Grenville. +Endeavour. +Scorpion. +Resolution. +Post-Captain. +death. + +Cook, Mrs. + +Cooper, R.P. + +Crozet, De. + +Dalrymple. + +Dance, Sir N. + +Darwin, Charles. + +Discovery purchased. + +Dodds, Mrs. + +Douglas, Captain Charles. + +Douglas, Dr. + +Duc d'Aquitaine. + +Du Fresne, Marion. + +Dumont d'Urville. + +Eagle. + +Easter Island. + +Eclipse of sun. + +Edgar. + +Edgecombe. + +Endeavour: +purchased. +end of. + +Erromango. + +Espiritu Santo. + +Fernando de Noronho. + +Fishburn of Whitby. + +Forster, G.A. + +Forster, J.R. + +Freelove. + +Friendship. + +Funchal. + +Furneaux, Tobias. + +Garland. + +Gaspe Bay. + +Gilbert, G. + +Gilbert, J. + +Gore, J. + +Grampus. + +Graves, Captain. + +Green, Charles. +death. + +Grenville. + +Halifax, N.B. + +Hardy, Sir C. + +Harrison. See Timepieces. + +Hawke, Lord. + +Hawkesworth, Dr. + +Hicks, Lieutenant. + +Hodges, W. + +Holmes, Admiral. + +Horrox, J. + +Huaheine. + +Isle aux Coudres. + +Isle d'Orleans. + +Japan. + +Jervis, Captain J. + +Johnson, Dr. + +Karakakoa Bay. + +Kemp, A. + +Kemp, S. + +Kendal. See Timepieces. + +Kerguelen's Land. + +King, Captain J. + +Knox, Major. + +Koah. + +Lambrecht. + +Lane, M. + +Lark. + +Law, Surgeon. + +Ledyard. + +Leeds Mercury. + +Lightning Rods. + +Loo Fort. + +Louisburg. + +MacGregor, Sir E. + +Magellan's Straits. + +Malicolo. + +Marra, James. + +Marton. + +Maskelyne. + +Massacre Bay, New Zealand. + +Medway. + +Mercury. + +Middleburg. + +Mile End. + +Miquelon. + +Molineaux. + +Monkhouse, Dr. + +Montcalm. + +Moran, Cardinal. + +Moreton Bay. + +New Albion. + +New Caledonia. + +New Zealand. + +Newfoundland. + +Newspapers on ship. + +Northumberland. + +Norton Sound. + +Omai. + +Otaheite. + +Pallisser, Sir H. + +Parkinson, S. + +Pembroke, Earl of. + +Pembroke. + +Petropaulowsk. + +Phillips, Lieutenant. + +Pickersgill. + +Pines, Isle of. + +Pitcairn Island. + +Priestley, Dr. + +Pringle, Sir J. + +Prowd, Mary. + +Quebec. + +Quiros, De. + +Raleigh. See Adventure. + +Redcar. + +Resolution purchased. + +Rio. + +Rotterdam. + +Royal Society. + +Russia, Empress of. + +St. Helena. + +St. John's. + +St. Lawrence. + +St. Pierre. + +Samwell, D. + +Sandwich Islands. + +Sandwich, Lord. + +Saunders, Sir C. + +Scurvy, paper on. + +Smith, Isaac. + +Solander, Dr. + +Solebay. + +Sparrman, H. + +Staten Island. + +Stirling Castle. + +Straits le Maire. + +Tanna. + +Tasman. + +Tatafee Polaho. + +Terreeoboo. + +Three Sisters. + +Three Kings, New Zealand. + +Timepieces. + +Torres, De. + +Transit of Venus. + +Traverse, the. + +Tupia. + +Ulietea. + +Vancouver, G. + +Vegetable Sheep. + +Waddington, G.W. + +Walker, John. + +Webber, J. + +Wolfe, General. + +Young, Dr. + +Young, N. + +Zeehaan. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Life of Captain James Cook, by Arthur Kitson + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10842 *** diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7d28187 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #10842 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10842) diff --git a/old/10842-8.txt b/old/10842-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b003eb0 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10842-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9762 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Life of Captain James Cook, by Arthur Kitson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Life of Captain James Cook + +Author: Arthur Kitson + +Release Date: January 27, 2004 [EBook #10842] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN JAMES COOK *** + + + + +Produced by Sue Asscher <asschers@bigpond.com> + + + + +(PLATE: CAPTAIN COOK. +FROM THE PORTRAIT BY N. DANCE, R.A., IN THE PAINTED HALL, GREENWICH +HOSPITAL.) + + + +THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN JAMES COOK + +THE CIRCUMNAVIGATOR + +BY ARTHUR KITSON. + + +WITH PORTRAIT AND MAP. + + + +1907 + + + +TO +MY WIFE +LINDA DOUGLAS KITSON. + + + +PREFACE. + +In publishing a popular edition of my work, Captain James Cook, R.N., +F.R.S., it has, of course, been necessary to condense it, but care has +been taken to omit nothing of importance, and at the same time a few +slight errors have been corrected, and some new information has been +added, chiefly relating to the disposition of documents. + +I must not omit this opportunity of thanking the Reviewers for the +extremely kind manner in which they all received the original work--a +manner, indeed, which far exceeded my highest hopes. + +ARTHUR KITSON. + +LONDON, 1912. + + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAPTER 1. EARLY YEARS. + +CHAPTER 2. 1755 TO 1757. H.M.S. EAGLE. + +CHAPTER 3. 1757 TO 1759. H.M.S. PEMBROKE. + +CHAPTER 4. 1759 TO 1762. H.M.S. NORTHUMBERLAND. + +CHAPTER 5. 1763 TO 1767. NEWFOUNDLAND. + +CHAPTER 6. 1768. PREPARATIONS FOR FIRST VOYAGE. + +CHAPTER 7. 1768 TO 1769. PLYMOUTH TO OTAHEITE. + +CHAPTER 8. 1769. SOCIETY ISLANDS. + +CHAPTER 9. 1769 TO 1770. NEW ZEALAND. + +CHAPTER 10. 1770. AUSTRALIA. + +CHAPTER 11. 1770 TO 1771. NEW GUINEA TO ENGLAND. + +CHAPTER 12. 1771. PREPARATIONS FOR SECOND VOYAGE. + +CHAPTER 13. 1772 TO 1774. SECOND VOYAGE. + +CHAPTER 14. 1774 TO 1775. SECOND VOYAGE CONCLUDED. + +CHAPTER 15. 1775 TO 1776. ENGLAND. + +CHAPTER 16. 1776 TO 1777. THIRD VOYAGE. + +CHAPTER 17. 1777 TO 1779. THIRD VOYAGE CONTINUED. + +CHAPTER 18. 1779 TO 1780. THIRD VOYAGE CONCLUDED. + +CHAPTER 19. APPRECIATION AND CHARACTER. + + + +JAMES COOK, R.N., F.R.S. + + + +CHAPTER 1. EARLY YEARS. + +James Cook, the Circumnavigator, was a native of the district of +Cleveland, Yorkshire, but of his ancestry there is now very little +satisfactory information to be obtained. Nichols, in his Topographer and +Genealogist, suggests that "James Cooke, the celebrated mariner, was +probably of common origin with the Stockton Cookes." His reason for the +suggestion being that a branch of the family possessed a crayon portrait +of some relation, which was supposed to resemble the great discoverer. He +makes no explanation of the difference in spelling of the two names, and +admits that the sailor's family was said to come from Scotland. + +Dr. George Young, certainly the most reliable authority on Cook's early +years, who published a Life in 1836, went to Whitby as Vicar about 1805, +and claims to have obtained much information about his subject "through +intercourse with his relatives, friends, and acquaintances, including one +or two surviving school companions," and appears to be satisfied that +Cook was of Scotch extraction. Dr. George Johnston, a very careful +writer, states in his Natural History of the Eastern Borders, that in +1692 the father of James Thomson, the author of The Seasons, was minister +of Ednam, Roxburghshire, and a man named John Cook was one of the Elders +of the Kirk. This John Cook married, on the 19th January 1693, a woman +named Jean Duncan, by whom he had a son, James, baptised 4th March 1694, +and this child, Johnston positively asserts, was afterwards the father of +the future Captain Cook. The dates of the marriage and baptism have been +verified by the Reverend John Burleigh, minister of Ednam, and they agree +with the probable date of the birth of Cook's father, for he died in 1778 +at the age of eighty-five. Owing to the loss of the church records for +some years after 1698, Mr. Burleigh is unable to trace when this James +Cook left Ednam to "better himself," but he would take with him a +"testificate of church membership" which might possibly, but not +probably, still exist. Attracted, perhaps, by the number of Scotch people +who flocked into the north of Yorkshire to follow the alum trade, then at +its height, James Cook settled down and married; and the first positive +information to be obtained is that he and his wife Grace (her maiden name +has so far escaped identification, though she is known to have been a +native of Cleveland) resided for some time at Morton, in the parish of +Ormsby, and here their eldest child, John, was born in January 1727. Dr. +Young says that James Cook had a superstition that his mother's farewell +was prophetic of his marriage, for her words were "God send you Grace." + +BIRTH-PLACE. + +Shortly after the birth of John, the Cooks left Morton for Marton, a +village a few miles away, and the similarity of the two names has caused +some confusion. At Marton the father worked for a Mr. Mewburn, living in +a small cottage built of mud, called in the district a clay biggin. This +cottage was pulled down in 1786, when Major Rudd erected a mansion near +the spot. Afterwards, when the mansion was burned to the ground, the site +of the cottage was planted with trees, and was popularly known as Cook's +Garth. Dr. Young was shown the spot by an old shoemaker whose wife's +mother was present at Captain Cook's birth, and he says there was a +willow-tree occupying the site, but no vestige of the walls was left. Mr. +Bolckow, the present owner of Marton Hall, says: "The cottage was found +destroyed when my uncle bought Marton in 1854, but we came across the +foundations of it when the grounds were laid out." A granite vase has +been erected on the spot. The pump which Besant says still exists, and +was made by Cook's father to supply his house with water, was "put there +after Cook's time," and has disappeared. + +In this humble clay biggin James Cook, the Circumnavigator, was born on +27th October 1728, and was registered as baptised on 3rd November in the +Marton church records, being entered as "ye son of a day labourer." He +was one of several children, most of whom died young; John, the eldest, +who lived till he was twenty-three, and Margaret, who married a Redcar +fisherman named James Fleck, being the only two that came to maturity. + +The Cooks remained at Marton for some years, during which time they +removed to another cottage, and young James received some instruction +from a Mistress Mary Walker, who taught him his letters and a little +reading. Dr. Young and Kippis call her the village schoolmistress, but +Ord, who was a descendant on his mother's side, says: + +"she was the daughter of the wealthiest farmer in the neighbourhood, and +wife of William Walker, a respectable yeoman of the first class residing +at Marton Grange." + +Young James, a lad of less than eight years old, worked for Mr. Walker: + +"tended the stock, took the horses to water, and ran errands for the +family, and in return for such services the good lady, finding him an +intelligent, active youth, was pleased to teach him his alphabet and +reading." + +In 1736 Cook's father was appointed to the position of hind or bailiff by +Mr. Skottowe, and removed with his family to Airy Holme Farm, near Ayton. +According to Besant, a hind was one who, residing on a farm, was paid a +regular wage for carrying on the work, and handed over the proceeds to +the landlord. Young James, now eight years of age, was sent to the school +on the High Green kept by a Mr. Pullen, where he was instructed in +writing and arithmetic as far as the first few rules--"reading having +apparently been acquired before." He is said to have shown a special +aptitude for arithmetic, and it is believed that owing to the good +reports of his progress, Mr. Skottowe paid for his schooling. According +to Dr. Young, his schoolfellows gave him the character of being fond of +his own way, and, when any project was on foot for birds-nesting or other +boyish amusement, and discussion arose as to the method to be pursued, he +would propound his own plans, and insist on their superiority; should his +views not meet with approval, he would pertinaciously adhere to them, +even at the risk of being abandoned by his companions. + +STAITHES. + +Most authorities say that Cook was bound apprentice to Mr. Saunderson, a +grocer and haberdasher of Staithes, at the age of thirteen; but Mrs. +Dodds, Saunderson's daughter, told Dr. Young that, after leaving school, +he remained on the farm, helping his father, till 1745, when he was +seventeen years old and then went to Staithes to her father on a verbal +agreement without indentures, and would thus be free to leave or be +discharged at any time. + +The shop and house where he was engaged was situated about three hundred +yards from the present slipway, and close to the sea, in fact so close +that in 1812 it was threatened by the water, and was pulled down by +Saunderson's successor, Mr. John Smailey, and the materials, as far as +possible, were used in erecting the building in Church Street which is +now pointed out as Cook's Shop. The late Mr. Waddington of Grosmont, near +Whitby, says he visited Staithes in 1887 and found the original site +covered by deep water. He was informed by an old man, who, as a boy, had +assisted in removing the stock from the old shop, that not only were the +stones used again in Church Street, but also most of the woodwork, +including the present door with its iron knocker, at which, probably, +Cook himself had knocked many a time. + +At Staithes Cook remained as Saunderson's assistant for about eighteen +months, and it may easily be imagined how this growing lad listened with +all his ears to the tales of the old sailors recalling brave deeds and +strange experiences in storm and shine on that element which for so many +years was to be his home, and at length, impelled by some instinctive +feeling that on it lay the path ready at his feet to lead him on to +future distinction, he vowed to himself that he would not bind down his +life to the petty round of a country storekeeper. + +At length the opportunity came, which is related, in a breezy and +life-like manner, by Besant as follows. After painting Saunderson's +character in colours of a rather disagreeable hue, as one too fond of his +grog for himself and his stick for his apprentices, he says that Cook +stole a shilling out of the till, packed up his luggage in a single +pocket-handkerchief, ran away across the moors to Whitby, found a ship on +the point of sailing, jumped on board, offered his services as cabin boy, +was at once accepted, showed himself so smart and attentive that he +completely won the heart of the sour-visaged mate, and through his good +graces was eventually bound apprentice to the owners of the ship, and +thus laid the foundation of his fortunes. This account does not explain +how it was that the dishonest runaway apprentice it depicts continued to +retain the friendship and esteem of his master and Mrs. Dodds. + +APPRENTICED TO THE SEA. + +There undoubtedly was a difficulty about a shilling, and Dr. Young's +version, gathered from those who knew Cook personally and lived in +Staithes and Whitby at the time, is more probable. He says that Cook had +noticed a South Sea shilling, and being struck by the unusual design (it +was only coined in 1723), changed it for one of his own. Saunderson had +also noticed it, and when he missed it, enquired for it perhaps in +somewhat unmeasured terms, but, on the matter being explained, was fully +satisfied. Afterwards, seeing that the boy was bent upon a sea life, he +obtained the father's permission, and took young James to Whitby himself, +where he introduced him to Mr. John Walker, a member of a shipping firm +of repute, to whom he was bound apprentice (not to the firm), and with +whom he never lost touch till the end of his life. The period of +apprenticeship was, on the authority of Messrs. John and Henry Walker, +three years, and not either seven or nine as is usually stated, and the +difficulty about being apprenticed to both Saunderson and Walker is, of +course, set at rest by Mrs. Dodd's explanation. + +Whitby was at the time a very important centre of the coasting trade, and +possessed several shipbuilding yards of good reputation, and it was in a +Whitby-built ship, the Freelove, that Cook made his first voyage. She was +a vessel of about 450 tons (some 80 tons larger than the celebrated Bark +Endeavour), was employed in the coal trade up and down the east coast, +and no doubt Cook picked up many a wrinkle of seamanship and many a +lesson of the value of promptitude in the time of danger which would +prove of service when he came to the days of independent command: for the +North Sea has, from time immemorial, been reckoned a grand school from +which to obtain true sailormen for the Royal Service. + +As usual in those days, Cook stayed in his employer's house in the +intervals between his trips, and his time ashore was longer during the +winter months as the ships were generally laid up. The house in Grape +Street, at present occupied by Mr. Braithwaite, is pointed out as the one +where he lived whilst with Mr. Walker; but this is incorrect, for Mr. +Waddington ascertained from the rate books that Mr. Walker's mother was +living there at that time, and Mr. Walker lived in Haggargate from 1734 +to 1751, removing thence to the north side of Bakehouse Yard in that +year, and to Grape Street in 1752, after his mother's death. That is, he +did not reside in Grape Street till three years after Cook's +apprenticeship was ended, when, following the usual custom, he would have +to fend for himself. During these periods of leisure between his voyages, +Cook endeavoured to improve his store of knowledge, and it is believed he +received some instruction in elementary navigation. He made great friends +with Mr. Walker's housekeeper, Mary Prowd, from whom he obtained the +concession of a table and a light in a quiet corner away from the others, +where he might read and write in peace. That he worked hard to improve +himself is evident from the fact that Mr. Walker pushed him on at every +opportunity, and gave him as varied an experience of things nautical as +lay in his power. + +After several voyages in the Freelove (which is stated by the Yorkshire +Gazette to have been "lost, together with one hundred and fifty +passengers and the winter's supply of gingerbread for Whitby, off either +the French or Dutch coast" one stormy Christmas, the date not given) Cook +was sent to assist in rigging and fitting for sea a vessel, called the +Three Brothers, some 600 tons burden, which was still in existence +towards the close of last century. When she was completed, Cook made two +or three trips in her with coals, and then she was employed for some +months as a transport for troops from Middleburg to Dublin and Liverpool. +She was paid off by the Government at Deptford in the spring of 1749, and +then traded to Norway, during which time Cook completed his +apprenticeship, that is, in July 1749. Cook told the naturalist of the +second South Sea voyage, Mr. Forster, that on one of his trips to Norway +the rigging of the ship was completely covered with birds that had been +driven off the land by a heavy gale, and amongst them were several hawks +who made the best of their opportunities with the small birds. + +OFFERED COMMAND. + +When his apprenticeship had expired he went before the mast for about +three years. In 1750 he was in the Baltic trade on the Maria, owned by +Mr. John Wilkinson of Whitby, and commanded by Mr. Gaskin, a relative of +the Walkers. The following year he was in a Stockton ship, and in 1752 he +was appointed mate of Messrs. Walker's new vessel, the Friendship, on +board of which he continued for three years, and of which, on the +authority of Mr. Samwell, the surgeon of the Discovery on the third +voyage, who paid a visit to Whitby on his return and received his +information from the Walkers, he would have been given the command had he +remained longer in the mercantile marine. This was rapid promotion for a +youth with nothing to back him up but his own exertions and strict +attention to duty, and tends to prove that he had taken full advantage of +the opportunities that fell in his way, and had even then displayed a +power of acquiring knowledge of his profession beyond the average. + +About this time Cook's father seems to have given up his position at Airy +Holme Farm and turned his attention to building. A house in Ayton is +still pointed out as his work, but has apparently been partially rebuilt, +for Dr. Young speaks of it as a stone house, and it is now partly brick, +but the stone doorway still remains, with the initials J.G.C., for James +and Grace Cook, and the date 1755. The old man has been represented as +completely uneducated, but this cannot have been true. Colman in his +Random Recollections, writing of a visit he paid to Redcar about 1773, +relates how a venerable old man was pointed out who: + +"only two or three years previously had learnt to read that he might +gratify a parent's pride and love by perusing his son's first voyage +round the world. He was the father of Captain Cook." + +If it is true that he was the son of an Elder of the Scottish Church, it +is extremely improbable that he was entirely uneducated, and the position +he held as hind to Mr. Skottowe would necessitate at any rate some +knowledge of keeping farming accounts. More convincing information still +is to be found in the Leeds Mercury of 27th October 1883, where Mr. +George Markham Tweddell, of Stokesley, writes: + +"I may mention that Captain Cook's father was not the illiterate man he +has been represented; and I have, lying on my study table as I write, a +deed bearing his signature, dated 1755; and the father's signature bears +a resemblance to that of his distinguished son." + +Reading is invariably learnt before writing, and as in 1755 the old man +was sixty-one, it is evident he did not wait till he was eighty to learn +to read. + +FATHER'S GRAVE. + +He claimed to have carved the inscription on the family tombstone in +Great Ayton churchyard, and after spending the last years of his life +under the roof of his son-in-law, James Fleck of Redcar, he died on 1st +April 1778, aged eighty-four years. He was buried in Marske churchyard, +but there was nothing to mark his grave, and its place has long been +forgotten. His death is registered as that of a "day labourer." + + +CHAPTER 2. 1755 TO 1757. H.M.S. EAGLE. + +Notwithstanding the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, troubles were +constantly arising between the French and English in which the American +Colonies of both nations took a conspicuous part, and ultimately led to +open war. The first shot was fired on 10th June 1755, although war was +not formally declared till May 1756. In June 1755 the Friendship was in +the Thames, and it is said that to avoid the hot press which had been +ordered Cook first went into hiding for some time and then decided to +volunteer. This is untrue, for, as has been shown, he had already made up +his mind and had refused Messrs. Walker's offer of the command of one of +their ships, the acceptance of which would have saved him from the press +as Masters were exempt. He now saw his opportunity had come. He knew that +experienced men were difficult to obtain, that men of a certain amount of +nautical knowledge and of good character could soon raise themselves +above the rank of ordinary seamen, and had doubtless in his mind many +cases of those who entering as seamen found their way to the quarterdeck, +and knowing he had only to ask the Walkers for letters of recommendation +for them to be at his service, he determined to take the important step +and volunteer into the Royal Navy. It must be remembered that this act of +leaving employment which, to most men of his position, would have seemed +most satisfactory, was not the act of hot-headed youth, no step taken in +mere spirit of adventure, but the calmly reasoned act of a man of +twenty-seven years and some eight or nine years experience of both the +rough and smooth sides of maritime life. + +Several letters were written to Mr. Walker, one or two of which relating +to a later period were seen and copied by Dr. Young, but they fell into +the hand of a niece, who unfortunately, not recognising their value, +destroyed them shortly before her death, which occurred some years ago. +However, it is certain that he wrote one about this time and evidently +received a favourable reply, for he shortly afterwards wrote again +acknowledging the service done him. + +ENTERS NAVY. + +Having made up his mind how to proceed, Cook went to a rendezvous at +Wapping and volunteered into H.M.S. Eagle, a fourth-rate, 60-gun ship, +with a complement of 400 men and 56 marines, at that time moored in +Portsmouth Harbour. On the Muster Roll, preserved in the Records Office, +the following entry occurs: "161 from London rendezvous, James Cook, +A.B., entry, June 17th 1755, first appearance June 25th 1755." On the +24th July, that is, thirty-seven days after the date of entry into the +Navy, he is rated as Master's mate, a position he held till 30th June +1757, when he quitted H.M.S. Eagle. + +His appointment was facilitated by the difficulty experienced in +obtaining men for the Service, as may be gathered from Captain Hamar's +letters, who writes applying to the Admiralty for permission to break up +his London Rendezvous, as he says it has "procured very few men, and +those only landsmen." Again, he complains of the quality of the men he +has received, and says he is one hundred and forty short of his +complement. In another letter: + +"I do not believe there is a worse man'd ship in the Navy. Yesterday I +received from the Bristol twenty-five supernumeraries belonging to +different ships, but not one seaman among them: but, on the contrary, all +very indifferent Landsmen." + +These complaints were endorsed by Captain Pallisser, who succeeded Hamar +on the Eagle, for he wrote that some of the crew were turned over from +ship to ship so often that he was quite unable to make out their original +one: + +"they being such that none choose to own them. Of forty-four said to +belong to the Ramilies, she wanted only six the other day, but her +boatswain could find out only those amongst them that he thought worth +having." + +In the face of these deficiencies in quantity and quality of men, and +remembering the good character he doubtless obtained from Mr. Walker, +there can be no surprise that when Cook sailed out of an English port for +the first time as a Royal Navy sailor he held the rating of Master's +mate. It is usual to look upon him as an explorer and surveyor only, but +a little enquiry shows that he played an active part in some of the most +stirring events of the next few years. The records of his personal deeds +are wanting, but his ships saw service, and from his character it is +certain that when duty called, James Cook would not be found wanting. +Many of the men under whom he served have left behind names that will +always be associated with the construction of the present British Empire, +and with most of them he was in immediate personal contact, and obtained +in every case their respect, in some their close personal friendship. + +PALLISSER COMMANDS. + +On the 1st July the Eagle was ordered to fit and provision for the +Leeward Islands, but having received 62 men and 53 marines, the orders +were changed to cruise between Scilly and Cape Clear, and she sailed on +the 4th August. She was caught in a gale off the old Head of Kinsale and +received some damage, and her main mast was reported as sprung, so she +returned to Plymouth for survey and repairs. Thinking that the removal of +the mast would be a good opportunity to scrape his ship, which was very +foul, Captain Hamar had her lightened for that purpose, but on +examination the mast was found to be in good order, and the Admiralty was +so annoyed at the absence of the ship from her cruising ground that they +ordered Captain Pallisser to take over the command and prepare for sea +without further loss of time. This he did on the 1st October, and sailed +from Plymouth on the 7th, and after cruising about in the Channel and +making a few small captures he returned on the 22nd November, remaining +till the 13th March; and during this time Cook had a short spell of +sickness, but it can hardly be called serious, as he was only in hospital +for ten days, being back to his duty on the 17th February. In April, when +"off the Isle of Bass, brought to and sent on board the cutter a petty +officer and five men with arms, provisions, etc." This extract from the +log records Cook's first independent command; the cutter was one of two +hired vessels which had joined the squadron the previous day under +convoy, and the armed party was probably put on board as a precaution +against privateers who were at that time pretty busy on the French coast. +Cook took her into Plymouth Sound, and he and his five men went on board +the St. Albans, and in her rejoined his own ship on the 2nd May, and then +returned to Plymouth on the 4th June. Pallisser, in reporting his arrival +to the Secretary of the Admiralty, said that he had: + +"put ashore to the hospital 130 sick men, most of which are extremely +ill: buried in the last month twenty-two. The surgeon and four men died +yesterday, and the surgeon's two mates are extremely ill: have +thirty-five men absent in prizes and thirty-five short of complement, so +that we are now in a very weak condition." + +This sickness and mortality was attributed to the absolute want of proper +clothing, many of the men having come on board with only what they stood +in and some in rags, so the Captain asked for permission to issue an +extra supply of slops, a request that was immediately granted. + +DUC D'AQUITAINE. + +After another short cruise the Eagle returned to Plymouth with Pallisser +very ill with fever. He obtained sick leave, and Captain Proby was +ordered to take command, but was detained so long in the Downs by +contrary winds that Pallisser, who had heard a rumour of a French +squadron having been seen in the Channel, shook off his fever and resumed +the command of his ship, which was almost ready for sea. Every part of +the Channel mentioned in the rumour was carefully searched, but no signs +of the enemy were seen, and the author of the report, a Swede, was +detained in Portsmouth for some months. + +On the 19th November the Eagle's crew was increased to 420 men, and she +was kept cruising throughout the winter, and on the 4th January 1757 she +was caught in a heavy gale off the Isle of Wight, where she had most of +her sails blown out of her. On 25th May she sailed from Plymouth Sound in +company with H.M.S. Medway, and a day or two afterwards they fell in with +and chased a French East Indiaman, the Duc d'Aquitaine, in rather heavy +weather. The Medway was leading, but when getting close, had to bring to +in order to clear for action, as otherwise she would be unable to open +her lee ports. Pallisser, on the other hand, was all ready, and pressed +on, bringing the chase to action. After a hard set-to, lasting about +three-quarters of an hour, the Frenchman struck, having lost 50 men +killed and 30 wounded, whilst the Eagle lost 10 killed and 80 wounded; +and the list of damages to the ship reported to the Admiralty shows that +the action was sharp though short. The Medway was only able to afford +assistance by firing a few raking shots, and suffered no damage except +having ten men wounded by an accidental explosion of gunpowder. The masts +and sails of the prize were so much damaged that she lost them all in the +night; one of the masts in falling sank the Medway's cutter. It was found +she had a complement of 493 men, and was armed with 50 guns. She had +landed her East Indian cargo at Lisbon, and then proceeded to cruise for +fourteen days on the look-out for an English convoy sailing in charge of +H.M.S. Mermaid. She had succeeded in picking up one prize, an English +brig, which was ransomed for 200 pounds. This was Cook's first experience +of an important naval action, and Pallisser was complimented by the Lords +of the Admiralty for his gallant conduct. The Duc d'Aquitaine was +purchased for the Navy, and was entered under her own name as a +third-rate, 64 gun ship, with a complement of 500 men. + +The Eagle returned with her consort and her prize to Plymouth, and soon +afterwards Cook's connection with her came to an end. According to Dr. +Kippis, Mr. Walker had interested the Member for Scarborough, Mr. +Osbaldiston, on the subject of Cook's promotion, but the rule was that +candidates for Lieutenancy must have been employed on board a king's ship +for a period of not less than six years, and an order had recently been +issued that this regulation was to be strictly adhered to. Captain +Pallisser therefore wrote to Mr. Osbaldiston that Cook: + +"had been too short a time in the service for a commission, but that a +Master's warrant might be given him, by which he would be raised to a +station that he was well qualified to discharge with ability and credit." + +The result of this correspondence is shown in the Eagle's muster roll, +for on 27th June James Cook attended his last muster, and on the 30th he +was discharged. The succeeding rolls registering "D. 30th June 1757. +Solebay prefmnt." + +THE MERCURY COOK. + +At this point all the writers on Captain Cook have been led into error by +following the lead of Dr. Kippis. Everyone (with the single exception of +Lord Brougham, who by an evident slip of the pen puts him on board the +Mersey) writes that he was appointed Master of H.M.S. Mercury, and that +he joined the fleet of Admiral Saunders in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at +the time of the capture of Quebec in that ship. From the Public Records +it has been ascertained that the Mercury was not in the Gulf of St. +Lawrence with Saunders, but in the latter half of 1759 was sent to New +York, thence to Boston, and was at Spithead in April the following year. +The same source also shows that not only was the Circumnavigator never on +board the Mercury in any capacity, but in all probability he never even +saw her. He is also said to have been Master's mate on the Pembroke, and +Dr. Kippis has him appointed to three different ships on three +consecutive days: the Grampus, but she sailed before Cook could join her; +the Garland, but she was found to have a Master when Cook joined; and, +lastly, the Mercury. + +The explanation of this confusion as far as the Mercury is concerned (the +rest was imagination) is that there was a second James Cook in the +service, who was appointed Master of the Mercury under a warrant dated +15th May 1759 and entered on his duties immediately. He was with his ship +at Sheerness on 12th July, at which time his namesake was before Quebec. +On the return of the Mercury from Boston her Master was returned for some +time as "sick on shore," and on 11th June 1760 was superseded by one John +Emerton. Soon after he was appointed third lieutenant of the Gosport, his +commission bearing date 1st April 1760, that is before he left the +Mercury. He was with his new ship at the recapture of St. John's, +Newfoundland, in 1762, with John Jervis, afterwards Lord St. Vincent, as +his Captain. In 1765 he was on the Wolf on the Jamaica station, and was +selected by Admiral Burnaby to carry despatches to the Governor of +Yucatan. This duty he successfully carried out, and in 1796 published a +pamphlet describing his adventures during the journey. On his return to +England he applied to the Duke of Newcastle for the command of a cutter, +and the letter is now in the British Museum, having been included in a +collection in mistake for one written by his celebrated namesake. There +is a certain similarity in the writing, but in the signature he writes +the Christian name as Jas, whilst Captain Cook usually wrote Jams. The +Mercury Cook was lieutenant of the Speedwell in 1773, and having had some +property left him in Jersey he received leave of absence in August. He +never rose above lieutenant, and disappears from the Navy List after July +1800. + +A manuscript log kept by James Cook whilst Master's mate of the Eagle is +now in the possession of Mr. Alexander Turnbull of Wellington, New +Zealand. + + +CHAPTER 3. 1757 TO 1759. H.M.S. PEMBROKE. + +Cook joined H.M.S. Solebay on the 30th July 1757 at Leith, where she was +then stationed, but the date of his warrant has not been ascertained, +although the Public Records and Trinity House have both been searched for +the purpose. His stay was not long, for after a cruise of a few days she +returned to Leith, and on 17th September Cook was superseded by John +Nichols; in fact, his time on board was so short that his signature is +not appended to any of the rolls. + +In April 1757 Mr. Bissett, who was Master of the Eagle when Cook was +Master's mate, and who therefore would have a better chance than any one +else to measure his subordinate's character and capabilities, was +appointed Master of H.M.S. Pembroke, a new ship, and superintended her +fitting for sea. On 26th October he found himself transferred to the +Stirling Castle, and it is only reasonable to suppose that, having formed +a high opinion of Cook's work, and knowing of his ambition to rise in the +service, he would give information of the opportunity and, as far as he +could, push forward his friend's interests. At any rate, the Muster Rolls +show that in less than six weeks from leaving the Solebay, Cook was +established on board the Pembroke as Master, under a warrant bearing date +18th October 1757, and entered upon his duties on 27th October, the +twenty-ninth anniversary of his birth; and from that date to his +discharge into the Northumberland he signed the usual documents. At the +time of his joining, the ship was fitting and victualling for sea at +Portsmouth, and on 8th November she sailed for the Bay of Biscay, under +the command of Captain Simcoe, returning to Plymouth on 9th February +1758. + +LOUISBERG. + +The British Government had decided on making a determined effort to wrest +the Colony of New France from the hands of the French, and one of the few +steps was to attempt the capture of the port of Louisburg, at the +entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence; a place which the enemy were said +to have rendered almost impregnable at an expenditure of some million and +a quarter pounds. They looked upon it as second only to Quebec in its +importance to the safe keeping of the colony. In order to carry out this +design a fleet was prepared under Admiral Boscawen (known to his men as +Old Dreadnought, and, from a peculiar carriage of the head, said to have +been contracted from a youthful habit of imitating one of his father's +old servants, Wry-necked-Dick), to convey a small army under +Major-General Amherst to the scene of action. Boscawen sailed with his +fleet, one member of which was the Pembroke, for Halifax, where they +arrived, via Madeira and the Bermudas, on 8th May. + +Having completed his arrangements, Boscawen left Halifax on 28th May with +17 sail of the Royal Navy and 127 transports, picking up 2 more +men-of-war and 8 transports just outside, and a couple more of the latter +a few hours later. He had to leave behind at Halifax, with orders to +rejoin him as soon as they were fit, several ships, the Pembroke being +one, as their crews were so weakened by scurvy during the voyage from +England. The Pembroke had lost 29 men, but was sufficiently recovered to +be able to sail with 3 transports, 2 schooners, and a cattle sloop on 7th +June, and arrived off Louisburg on the 12th, four days too late to take +part in the landing which had been successfully carried out in the face +of great difficulties caused by the roughness of the weather, the rocky +coast, and the opposition of the enemy. In fact, James Wolfe, who was a +Brigadier throughout the siege, and on whose shoulders a very large +portion of the work seems to have fallen, says: "Our landing was next to +miraculous." There were 3 officers and 49 men killed; 5 officers and 59 +men wounded of the army; 11 men killed, and 4 officers and 29 men wounded +of the navy; and 19 men wounded of the transport service. The weather was +so bad that no stores or artillery could be landed for several days, the +first gun being got ashore on the 16th, so Cook was in plenty of time to +take his share in the difficult task of landing supplies; a task so +dangerous that the fleet lost one hundred boats in this duty alone. As +well as forming the supply base for the army, the fleet also provided 583 +men to act as gunners and engineers ashore; but none of these were from +the Pembroke. The nature of the ground rendered the work of constructing +the approaches and batteries extremely difficult, and it was not till +20th June that the first gun opened fire. Wolfe formed a battery on +Lighthouse Point, one side of the entrance to the harbour whilst the town +was on the other side, with a fortified island in between; and the +harbour held a French fleet which, at the time of the arrival of the +British, consisted of nine men-of-war. One escaped on the very day of the +landing, and was shortly afterwards followed by two more. One L'Echo, was +captured by Sir Charles Hardy, and was taken into the British Navy; +whilst the other, though chased for some distance, made good its escape +to L'Orient with the first news of the siege. Previously to the coming of +the British, two ships had been sunk in the harbour's mouth to render +entrance therein difficult; two more were added to these, and then a +fifth. One ship was blown up by a British shell, and setting fire to two +others that lay alongside her, they also were destroyed. + +The fate of the other two is described in the Pembroke's log, kept by +Cook, as follows: + +"In the night 50 boats man'd and arm'd row'd into the harbour under the +command of the Captains La Foure [Laforey] of the Hunter, and Balfour [of +the Etna] in order to cut away the 2 men-of-warr and tow them into the +North-East Harbour one of which they did viz.: the Ben Fison +[Bienfaisant] of 64 guns, the Prudon [Prudent] 74 guns being aground was +set on fire. At 11 A.M. the firing ceased on both sides." + +The boats concerned in this attack, which Boscawen describes as "a very +brilliant affair, well carried out," were a barge and pinnace or cutter +from all the ships, except the Northumberland, which was too sickly, +commanded by a lieutenant, mate or midshipman, and Dr. Grahame in his +History of the United States of North America, says: + +"The renowned Captain Cook, then serving as a petty officer on board of a +British ship-of-war, co-operated in this exploit, and wrote an account of +it to a friend in England. That he had distinguished himself may be +inferred from his promotion to the rank of lieutenant in the Royal Navy, +which took place immediately after." + +This statement that he was in the affair may be true, but there is no +evidence on the point, and as he was a warrant and not petty officer, and +as his promotion did not take place for several years, Dr. Grahame's +story may well be doubted. It is believed that Cook did write to Mr. +Walker from Louisburg, but the letter was one of those so unfortunately +destroyed. + +The loss on this occasion to the British was very slight, there being +only 7 killed and 9 wounded. The Bienfaisant having been surveyed, was +received into the Navy and given to Captain Balfour whilst the command of +L'Echo was conferred on Captain Laforey. + +In consequence of this success and the threat of an immediate assault on +the town, the French commander, M. Drucour, decided to surrender on the +following day. This success was highly esteemed in England, and Admiral +Boscawen and General Amherst received the thanks of the Houses of +Parliament. + +WOLFE AND HARDY. + +After the siege Wolfe wrote to Lord George Sackville, speaking in warm +terms of Boscawen and his men, and says: + +"Sir Charles Hardy, too, in particular, and all the officers of the Navy +in general have given us their utmost assistance, and with the greatest +cheerfulness imaginable. I have often been in pain for Sir Charles's +squadron at an anchor off the harbour's mouth. They rid out some very +hard gales of wind rather than leave an opening for the French to escape, +but, notwithstanding the utmost diligence on his side, a frigate found +means to get out and is gone to Europe charge de fanfaronades. I had the +satisfaction of putting 2 or 3 hautvizier shells into her stern and to +shatter him a little with some of your Lordship's 24 pound shot, before +he retreated, and I much question whether he will hold out the voyage." + +The Pembroke formed one of this squadron under Sir Charles Hardy, and +after the capitulation of the town, was despatched with nine other ships, +and a small body of troops under Wolfe to harry the French settlements +around Gaspe Bay as a preparation for the attack on Quebec it was +intended to make in the following year. Several settlements and magazines +were destroyed, four guns and a pair of colours were captured, and then +the squadron returned to Halifax for the winter. + +Admiral Sir Charles Saunders was selected to command the fleet that was +to be employed in this new movement against the capital of New France; a +man of whom Horace Walpole wrote: + +"The Admiral was a pattern of the most sturdy bravery, united with the +most unaffected modesty. No man said less, or deserved more. Simplicity +in his manners, generosity, and good-nature adorned his genuine love of +his country." + +WITH DURELL'S SQUADRON. + +He left Spithead on 17th February 1759, with the intention of calling at +Louisburg, the appointed rendezvous for the expedition, on his way to +Halifax; but the season had been so severe that Louisburg, usually free +from ice, was found to be unapproachable, so he went on, arriving at +Halifax on 30th April. Admiral Durell had been sent out earlier from +England, and was now despatched from Halifax with a squadron, of which +the Pembroke was one, to prevent, if possible, the entry into the river +of the usual spring fleet from France with supplies and reinforcements +for Quebec, and to keep the French from putting up any fortifications on +the Ile aux Coudres, thereby adding to the difficulties of the fleet in +ascending this dangerous portion of river. The weather was bad, and the +trouble caused by fog and ice so great that Durell found the fleet of 18 +sail, convoyed by two frigates, had escaped him, but one or two small +store ships were captured which proved of service to the British +afterwards. On the way up the Gulf, Captain Simcoe of the Pembroke died, +and the ship was given temporarily to Lieutenant Collins of Durell's +ship, and afterwards to Captain Wheelock, who remained in her till after +Cook left. + +Durell's squadron arrived off the Ile aux Coudres on the 25th, and on the +28th the Pembroke landed the troops she had on board, "as did ye rest of +ye men of warr," and they took possession of the island, which was found +to be deserted by its inhabitants. The troops that were on board Durell's +ships were under the command of Colonel Carleton, the +Quartermaster-General of the force, and Wolfe's great friend, whose +services had only been obtained from the king with the greatest +difficulty. Whilst awaiting the arrival of Saunders with the remainder of +the expeditionary force, every endeavour was made to gain knowledge of +the difficulties of the river, and Cook's log notes how the boats were +out "sounding ye channel of ye Traverse"; and on the 11th June there is: +"Returned satisfied with being acquainted with ye Channel." The Traverse +here spoken of is that channel running from a high black-looking cape, +known as Cape Torment, across into the south channel, passing between the +east end of the Ile d'Orleans and Ile Madame. It is still looked upon as +one of the worst pieces of the river navigation. + +The British had some charts of the river showing the course taken by the +French vessels, for in a note to the orders issued by Saunders on 15th +May to the Masters of Transports, special attention is called to "a plan +or chart showing the route which His Excellency intends to make from +Louisburg Harbour to the Island of Bic"; and this chart was most probably +taken from one captured by Boscawen in 1755, and published in September +1759 by T. Kitchen in the London Magazine having the Traverse shown on a +larger scale. The soundings taken at the time Durell was waiting would be +to verify those shown on this chart. + +After a short delay in Halifax, Saunders left for Louisburg to gather up +the remainder of the forces and stores, and on his arrival still found +the port hampered by ice; in fact, Major Knox, of the 43rd Regiment, +relates that even so late as 1st June men were able to get ashore from +their ships, stepping from one piece of ice to another. There was also +further cause for dissatisfaction, delay in the arrival of the ships with +soldiers and stores. Some of the troops had been directed to other work +without any intimation to Wolfe, whilst others were in a very bad state +from scurvy and measles; some had lost their entire equipment, and it was +with the greatest difficulty replaced; the supply of money was criminally +small, and yet it is pleasant to read on the authority of Major Knox +that: + +"I had the inexpressible pleasure to observe at Louisburg that our whole +armament, naval and military, were in high spirits; and though, by all +accounts, we shall have a numerous army and a variety of difficulties to +cope with, yet, under such Admirals and Generals, among whom we have the +happiness to behold the most cordial unanimity, together with so +respectable a fleet and a body of well-appointed regular troops, we have +every reason to hope for the greatest success." + +ORDERS TO TRANSPORTS. + +Before leaving, Saunders issued his instructions as to the order of +sailing. He divided the transports into two divisions, the Starboard +flying a red flag, and the Larboard a white one: he assigned to each +vessel its position and duties, and pointed out to each Master of a hired +transport that if the orders of his officers were not promptly and +exactly carried out they would be fired on, adding with a touch of grim +humour that the cost of the powder and shot so expended would be +carefully noted and charged against the hire of the offending ship. On +the 6th June Saunders was off Newfoundland with 22 men-of-war and 119 +transports, and the cold winds blowing off the snow-covered hills of that +island were severely felt by the troops. On the 18th, when off the Island +of Bic, they were joined by Wolfe in the Richmond, and five days after +picked up Durell at the Ile aux Coudres. Here Saunders transferred his +flag to the Stirling Castle, which he had selected in England for the +purpose, owing to her handiness (Cook's friend, Mr. Bissett, was still on +board), and leaving Durell with eleven of the deepest draught to guard +against any interference from a French fleet, he proceeded up the river +with the remainder. The work was hard, constantly anchoring and weighing +to take every advantage of wind and tide, and the progress was slow; but +at length the whole of the ships passed the Traverse, and on the 26th the +fleet anchored off St. Laurent, on the Ile d'Orleans, and the troops were +landed on the following day. Thus the much-dreaded passage up the St. +Lawrence had been carried out, and the fact that no loss of any kind had +occurred to either man-of-war or transport, reflects the very greatest +credit on all engaged in the operation. Knox relates how the Master of +the transport he was on, a Brother of Trinity House and Thames pilot, +named Killick, refused the services of a French prisoner as pilot, and +observing, "Damme, I'll show them an Englishman can go where a Frenchman +dar'n't show his nose," took his ship up himself, chaffing the occupants +of the mark boats as he passed, and in the end declared that it was no +worse than the Thames. + +The wonderful success of their passage was emphasised the afternoon after +their arrival at St. Laurent when a heavy gale struck the fleet, driving +several ships into collision or ashore, and causing considerable loss in +anchors and cables. As soon as possible the men-of-war boats were out +rendering every assistance, and all the vessels were secured but two, +which were too firmly fixed to be towed off shore, and these were soon +afterwards burnt by the enemy. + +FIREWORKS. + +Thinking to profit by the disorder which must necessarily have been +caused by the storm, the French made a determined attempt to destroy the +fleet by means of eight fireships which were floated down stream on the +unsuspecting British. Fortunately they were ignited prematurely, and the +boats of the Pembroke and other ships were again out, employed in the +hazardous task of towing these undesired visitors into such places as +would permit them to burn themselves out without danger to the shipping. +Six were quickly got into safety, whilst the other two grounded and burnt +out without causing further inconvenience. Captain Knox describes the +scene as a display of "the grandest fireworks that can possibly be +conceived." The only result was to cause the retirement of a picket at +the western end of the Ile d'Orleans, and the officer in command, who +thought he was about to be attacked in force, was to have been tried by +court-martial, but being advised to throw himself on Wolfe's mercy, was +pardoned for his error of judgment. To guard against a repetition of such +an attack, a system of guard boats, some moored across the river and some +patrolling, was established, entailing considerable extra work on the +sailors. + +An examination of the position showed Admiral Saunders that the safety of +the fleet, and therefore the interests of the army, would be best +consulted if he proceeded into the Basin of Quebec, as to remain cooped +up in the south channel added to the danger if a further attempt should +be made to fire the fleet. He therefore pointed out to Wolfe that the +small battery established by the French on Point Levi, which threatened +any ship entering into the Basin, should be taken, and the Point +occupied. This was at once carried out by Monckton's brigade, and a +battery was established which did serious damage to the town. When too +late the French sent over three floating batteries to aid in repulsing +the English, but they were driven back by one broadside from a frigate +Saunders moved up for the purpose. + +Montcalm had entrenched his army on the north bank of the St. Lawrence, +between the rivers Charles and Montmorenci, and Wolfe determined to seize +on a piece of high ground to the east of the Montmorenci, to form a camp +there, and endeavour to force on a general action. In pursuance of this +design, a body of about 3000 men were landed successfully on 9th July, +under the protecting fire of some of the fleet, and a camp was formed, +and the next few days provided employment for the boats of the Pembroke +and other ships in landing men, stores, and artillery. The bombardment of +the town opened on 12th July from the batteries erected at Point Levi and +a portion of the fleet, and continued with little intermission till 13th +September. When fire was opened on the town other ships in the Basin and +guns at the camp at Montmorenci opened on Montcalm's lines at Beauport. +On the 18th two men-of-war, two armed sloops and two transports succeeded +in passing the town without loss, but a third ship, the Diana, ran +aground in trying to avoid collision with a transport, and was attacked +by the enemy's boats, but was brought off by the Pembroke and Richmond. +She was so seriously damaged that she had to be sent to Boston for +repairs and then returned to England. On the 20th Wolfe joined the +up-river squadron in a barge, and in passing the town had his mast +carried away by a shot from the Sillery Battery, but no further damage +was done. He made a short reconnaissance which led to nothing at the +time, but may have had an important influence in the choice of a +landing-place afterwards. + +ATTACK ON BEAUPORT. + +On his return to his camp at Montmorenci he decided to make an attack on +the left of the French lines from boats and from his camp over a ford +which was available at low tide between the falls of Montmorenci and the +St. Lawrence. This attack was to be supported by the Centurion, moored in +the north channel, and by two armed cats which were to be run aground as +near as possible to some small redoubts, the first object of the attack. +Here it is certain that Wolfe and Cook came into personal contact, for on +the latter fell the duty of taking the necessary soundings for the +position to be occupied by the cats, and Wolfe refers in a despatch to a +conversation he had with Cook upon the matter. The attack took place on +31st July, aided by the fire of the Pembroke, Trent, and Richmond, which +were "anchored clear over to the north shore before Beauport, a brisk +firing on both sides," but the boats were thrown into confusion by a reef +(marked on the chart as visible at low water), and were some time before +they could effect a landing, then a heavy storm of rain came on, +rendering the ground, which was steep, very slippery. The troops occupied +one redoubt, but were so dominated by the French musketry that they could +get no further, and Wolfe deemed it desirable to recall them and to stop +the advance across the ford. The two cats were burnt to prevent them +falling into the hands of the enemy, and the losses of the English in +killed, wounded, and missing were 443, those of the French being +estimated at 200. Cook says the repulse was solely owing to the heavy +fire from the entrenchments, "which soon obliged our Troops to retreat +back to the Boats and Montmorency"; whilst Wolfe, in a general order, +throws the blame on the Louisburg Grenadiers, a picked body of men from +several regiments, whom he considers got out of hand. He also, in a +despatch submitted to Saunders, threw some amount of blame on the Navy, +but to this the Admiral strongly objected, and it was withdrawn, Wolfe +saying: "I see clearly wherein I have been deficient; and think a little +more or less blame to a man that must necessarily be ruined, of little or +no consequence." + +It has been asserted that Cook led the boats to the attack, but as this +was done by Wolfe himself, according to his own letters, and as Saunders +was also out with them, both officers having narrow escapes, it seems +more probable that Cook would be on his own ship, where, as she was +engaged, his services would be wanted, for it was one of the Master's +most important duties to work her under the Captain's orders when in +action. + +A few days before this attack on Beauport was made, the French again paid +the fleet the undesired attention of a large fire raft composed of +several small vessels chained together and laden with all sorts of +combustibles--shells, guns loaded to the muzzle, tar barrels, etc., and +again this was grappled by the boats and towed away to a place of safety; +and then Wolfe, sending in a flag of truce the next morning, said that if +the performance were repeated he should cause the instrument of +destruction to be towed alongside two ships in which he had Canadian +prisoners, and there let it do its worst. This somewhat cold-blooded +threat was sufficient, and the experiment was not repeated. + +A NARROW ESCAPE. + +During the time the fleet was occupying the Basin, the Masters of the +ships were constantly out making observations and sounding, partly for +the necessities of the fleet and partly to throw dust in the eyes of the +French; and on one occasion Cook had a narrow escape from capture, his +men had to row for it to get away from the enemy, and reaching the Isle +of Orleans landed just in time, for as Cook, the last man, sprang ashore +from the bows an Indian boarded over the stern. The hospital picket +turned out, and the French retreated. His friend, Mr. Bissett, was not so +fortunate, being taken prisoner on 7th July whilst sounding in the north +channel; but he was either exchanged or escaped, for he was only absent +from his ship for a few days. + +Wolfe, who was almost always ailing, had an attack of fever, and the +worry of the repulse at Beauport rendered him incapable of duty for some +days; he therefore laid before his Brigadiers plans of future movements, +asking their opinions and advice. These plans were not approved, but it +was suggested that an attempt should be made to land on the western side +of the town and there bring the enemy to action, and Wolfe writes: "I +have acquiesced in their Proposal, and we are preparing to put it into +execution." + +The up-river detachment had been strengthened by the addition of a few +more vessels, and Murray with 1200 men had joined in an unsuccessful +attempt to get at the French supply fleet which had retreated to a place +of safety. He had outwitted De Bougainville, who was detached to watch +him, and succeeded in destroying a magazine containing clothing, powder, +and other stores, and intercepted letters which told of the surrender of +Niagara and the retirement of Bourlemaque upon the Ile aux Noix, to which +place Amherst was preparing to follow. + +When Wolfe's resolve was taken to follow the advice of his Brigadiers, +Saunders again strengthened the force above the town, placing the +squadron under the command of Admiral Holmes, and on 3rd September his +boats withdrew the artillery and troops from Montmorenci to Point Levi, +and on the night of the 4th all the available boats and small craft were +sent up, one of the last to pass being a small schooner armed with a few +swivels, and called by the sailors The Terror of France. She sailed by in +broad daylight, drawing the fire of every gun that could be brought to +bear on her, but was untouched, and, anchoring close alongside the +Admiral's ship, gave him a salute from the whole of her armament. + +The troops which had been quietly marched some distance up the south bank +from Point Levi were taken on board the ships, the last detachment on the +night of the 12th; and Admiral Holmes sailed up the river as if to beat +up the French communications, but when night fell he returned, and the +landing was successfully accomplished, and is described by Saunders in +his despatch as follows: + +"The night of their landing, Admiral Holmes with the ships and troops was +about three leagues above the intended landing-place. General Wolfe with +about half his troops set off in the boats, and dropped down with the +tide, and were by that means less liable to be discovered by the +sentinels posted all along the coast. The ships followed them about +three-quarters of an hour afterwards, and got to the landing-place just +at the time that had been concerted to cover the landing, and considering +the darkness of the night, and the rapidity of the current, this was a +very critical operation, and very properly and successfully conducted." + +In the meantime the ships in the Basin, some fifteen in number, +distracted the attention of the French by a heavy cannonade on the +Beauport lines, and the boats made a feint as if an attack were +contemplated; buoys had been laid in such a way as to lead to the idea +that the ships were going to moor as close in as possible as if to +support an assault, and every effort was made to draw attention away from +the movement up above. + +THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM. + +Lieutenant Norman, of the Pembroke, shortly describes the battle in his +log: + +"At 4 A.M. General Wolfe landed just below Cape Diamond with the whole +army. At 8 the signal of Boats man'd and arm'd to go to Point Levi, +weighed and dropped hier up. About 10 the enemy march'd up and attacked +General Wolfe, the action lasted not 10 minutes before the Enemy gave way +and run in the Greatest Confusion and left us a compleat Victuary. Our +Army encamped on the plain a back of the Town and made the necessary +disposition for carrying on ye siege. Admiral Holmes hoisted his flag on +board the Lowestaff, just off the Landing place. In this action fell +General Wolfe, of the enemy General Montcalm and his two seconds." + +Cook does not mention the death of Wolfe, but says "the troops continued +the pursuit to the very gates of the city, afterward they begun to form +the necessary dispositions for carrying on the siege." + +Cook is said by some writers to have piloted the troops to the +landing-place, and has even been set within hearing of the legendary +recitation by Wolfe of Gray's Elegy, but as he was out with the +Pembroke's boats in the Basin at the time Holmes started up the river, +and was probably on his ship, with his hands full driving the +bombardment, and the recital of the Elegy at such a time was probably a +myth, the traditions may be put down to imagination. The boats were +piloted to the landing by Captain Chads of H.M.S. Vesuvius. + +The town having surrendered five days after the battle, the movements +made by Saunders in the Basin no doubt aiding M. de Ramesay, the +Governor, in coming to a decision, General Murray was left with a +garrison, and the fleet sailed for England, sending a detachment of the +Northumberland and six others to Halifax with orders that Captain Lord +Colville was to hoist the Broad Pennant as Commander-in-Chief of the +North American Station, and as soon as the season opened he was to return +to the St. Lawrence to render support to any further movements made in +Canada. + +APPOINTMENT TO H.M.S. NORTHUMBERLAND. + +Before the fleet left, however, Cook's connection with H.M.S. Pembroke +came to an end. Captain King, who was with Cook on his last voyage, +writes to Dr. Douglas that he does not know the exact date of Cook's +appointment to the Northumberland, but he was certainly Master of that +ship in 1758. Here King is in error, for Lieutenant James Norman, of the +Pembroke, has the following entry in his log under date 23rd September +1759: "Mr. Cook, Master, superseded and sent on board the Northumberland, +per order of Admiral Saunders." It has been said that Lord Colville made +this appointment, but of course he could not do so, though he may perhaps +have applied for Cook's services, but it is far more probable that the +appointment was made by Saunders for the special purpose of having the +survey of the St. Lawrence thoroughly well carried out. + + +CHAPTER 4. 1759 TO 1762. H.M.S. NORTHUMBERLAND. + +On the way down the river from Quebec, the fleet appears to have found +the passage very difficult, the dangers of the Channel being aggravated +by the strength of the current and bad weather. The Captain, Vesuvius, +and Royal William were aground for some time, but were ultimately got off +again without much damage; and the Terrible, which was drifting and in +great danger, was only brought up by means of an anchor constructed for +the occasion by lashing one of the quarter-deck guns to two small +anchors. When her large anchors were hauled up they were found to be +broken; and so great was the loss of these articles that Lord Colville +was obliged to press the Admiralty for a fresh supply to be sent out +immediately, as he found it impossible to replace those lost in the +Traverse either at Boston or any other place in America. + +RELIEF OF QUEBEC. + +Colville's squadron arrived in Halifax on 27th October, Cook's +thirty-first birthday, and as soon as the winter was over, and the ships +were cleaned and fitted for sea as well as the limited appliances would +permit, it left for the St. Lawrence, sailing on 22nd April 1760, but was +"so retarded by frozen fogs, seas of compacted ice, and contrary winds," +that it did not arrive off the Ile de Bic before 16th May. Here they were +met by a sloop with the news that Quebec was in urgent need of help. +General Murray, hearing of the approach of General de Levis, with a +French force, had left the shelter of the forts, and notwithstanding he +was greatly outnumbered, had offered battle in the open. He had at first +chosen a strong position, but hearing from spies that the French were +busy cleaning their arms after being caught in a heavy storm the night +before, he advanced upon them, and owing to the sudden attack and the +superiority of his artillery, at first gained a considerable advantage, +but afterwards the weight of numbers told, and the British were forced to +retire to the town with sadly reduced numbers, and Quebec was again +besieged. On receipt of this news Colville pushed on with his squadron, +and the arrival of the Vanguard and Diamond on the 17th, followed by the +Northumberland and the remainder on the next day, caused the French to +retire. + +During the next four months the fleet passed an uneventful time in the +Canadian waters, the flagship being moored in the Basin, and then on the +12th September they received the acceptable news that Montreal and the +rest of the province of New France had surrendered to General Amherst, +and on 10th October the squadron again returned to Halifax to winter +quarters. + +On 19th January 1761, Lord Colville records in his Journal that he had +"directed the storekeeper to pay the Master of the Northumberland, fifty +pounds in consideration of his indefatigable industry in making himself +master of the pilotage of the River St. Lawrence." This is the first +official recognition that has been found of the fact that Cook had gone +beyond the ordinary duties incumbent on every Master in His Majesty's +Service, namely: "To observe all coasts, shoals, and rocks, taking +careful notes of the same." There is no record in any of the official +documents that Cook was specially engaged in surveying the river, but it +is very evident from this entry that he must have done the work during +the four months that his ship was moored in the Basin of Quebec. That is +to say, his promotion to the Northumberland was previous to, and not a +consequence of his survey of the river, and that it was on account of his +fitness for the work, and not because it had been done, as is constantly +asserted, that he had been selected. + +THE NORTH AMERICAN PILOT. + +Admiral Saunders had issued orders the previous year, that the general +instructions of the Admiralty as to taking observations, soundings, and +bearings were to be carefully carried out, and the information obtained +was, as opportunity offered, to be forwarded to him "so that all existing +charts may be corrected and improved." This information, in the ordinary +course, would be handed to Mr. Bissett, the Master of the flagship, for +comparison and compilation, and he, knowing Cook's fitness for the work, +may have asked for his assistance and thus introduced him to the notice +of Saunders, noted for his quick eye for merit, who, seeing his aptitude, +selected him for the completion of the task. Saunders, after his return +to England, wrote to the Secretary of the Admiralty, on 22nd April 1760, +saying that he had, ready for publication, a Draught of the River St. +Lawrence with its harbours, bays, and islands, and asked for their +Lordships' directions thereon. With their Lordships' approval it was +published, and may be found at the end of The North American Pilot, +London, 1775, together with other maps, some of which are Cook's work. At +the commencement of the book is a letter from Cook to the compiler of the +volume, congratulating him on the collection, and referring to the fact +that some of the charts contain his work, but he does not lay claim to +any special ones. On Saunders' chart there is a long note which +concludes: + +"The distances between Isle Coudre and Isle of Orleans, the Pillar Rocks +and Shoals in the south channel were accurately determined by triangles. +The other parts of this chart were taken from the best French Draughts of +this River." + +It is doubtful if this triangulation could have been carried out by Cook +during his passage up and then down the river, the only time he had in +1759, but if it were, it argues much greater knowledge of nautical +surveying than he is generally supposed to have had at the time. + +During the winters that the Northumberland stayed in Halifax Harbour, +Cook employed his spare time in improving his knowledge of all subjects +that were likely to be of service to him in his profession. He read +Euclid for the first time, and entered upon a study of higher +mathematics, especially devoting himself to astronomy. King in his sketch +of Cook's life, says, on the authority of the man himself, that these +studies were carried on "without any other assistance than what a few +books and his own industry afforded him." + +At the opening of the season, Lord Colville dispersed his squadron to +those stations where their services appeared most necessary, and remained +with his ship at Halifax, as it was considered inadvisable to leave such +an important naval post open to attack from the French or the Spaniards. +He had been advised by despatches, dated 26th December 1761, that war had +been declared with the latter nation. During this period of waiting the +words "nothing remarkable" are in constant use in Captain Adams's (the +second Captain of the Northumberland) Journal. Cook utilised this time to +make a thorough survey of Halifax Harbour, the notes of which are now in +the United Service Museum, Whitehall. + +At length the period of inaction was ended. Captain Charles Douglas, +H.M.S. Syren, who was cruising off Cape Race, received information that a +squadron of four French ships of the line, having some 1500 picked troops +on board, had made a descent on Newfoundland, and had captured St. +John's, the capital, which had been most shamefully neglected, and its +garrison reduced to 63 men. The Grammont, 22-gun sloop, was unfortunately +in harbour at the time, and was also taken. Douglas at once pressed two +English merchant vessels into the service, and putting a petty officer in +command of one, the William, and his Master in the other, the Bonetta, +despatched them to cruise in search of Captain Graves, the reappointed +Governor of Newfoundland, who was daily expected from England. The +Bonetta soon fell in with the Antelope, Graves's ship, and she +immediately joined Douglas, and then proceeded to strengthen the Isle of +Boys as far as time would allow. Then going to Placentia, a place of as +much importance as St. John's, and more capable of defence, they set +about making preparations to beat off any attack, leaving a garrison of +99 men and as many marines as could be spared. Graves then despatched +Douglas with the remainder of the Syren's marines to take possession of +Ferryland, and sent the ship herself off with letters to Lord Colville, +but the William having missed the Antelope, made her way to Halifax with +the news of what had occurred. + +RECAPTURE OF ST. JOHN'S. + +Colville at once sent word to General Amherst, Commander-in-Chief in +America, asking him to forward any troops he could spare, and started, +accompanied by the Gosport, and an armed colonial vessel, the King +George, 20 guns, to cruise off the Newfoundland coast in order to prevent +the arrival of French reinforcements or supplies. He met Graves at +Placentia on 14th August, and landed all the marines he could, and then +continued his cruise. Amherst collected every available man from New +York, Halifax, and Louisberg, and putting them under the command of his +brother, Colonel William Amherst, ordered him to use every despatch and +join Lord Colville without delay. This the Colonel succeeded in doing on +12th September off Cape Spear, and the next day they landed at Torbay, +some three leagues north of St. John's. They drove in the French outposts +and took possession of a small harbour named Quidi Vidi, which had been +blocked at the entrance by the French. Clearing away the obstructions +they landed their stores and some artillery, and advancing on St. John's, +compelled its surrender on the 17th. Notwithstanding that, as Captain +Graves reported, "the French had put St. John's in a better state of +defence than ever we had it in." + +On the 16th a strong gale blew the English ship some distance off the +coast, and was followed by a thick fog, during which the French squadron +managed to tow out of the harbour, but were in such a hurry to get away +that they did not stop to pick up their boats and immediately made sail, +being so far out of reach in the morning, that though some of them were +seen by the British, it was not realised that they could be the French +escaping from a squadron inferior in strength. Lord Colville, writing to +the Admiralty, says: + +"At six next morning it being calm with a great swell, we saw from the +masthead, but could not bring them down no lower than halfway to topmast +shrouds, four sail bearing South-South-East, distance 7 leagues. We lost +sight about seven, though very clear, and sometime after a small breeze +springing up from the South-West quarter, I stood towards Torbay in order +to cover the shallops that might be going from thence to Kitty Vitty. In +the afternoon I received a note from Colonel Amherst, acquainting me that +the French fleet got out last night. Thus after being blocked up in St. +John's Harbour for three weeks by a squadron of equal number, but smaller +ships with fewer guns and men, M. de Ternay made his escape in the night +by a shameful flight. I beg leave to observe that not a man in the +squadron imagined the four sail, when we saw them, were the enemy; and +the pilots were of opinion that they must have had the wind much stronger +than with us to overcome the easterly swell in the harbour's mouth. I +sent the King George as far as Trepassy, to bring me intelligence if the +enemy should steer towards Placentia; and I directed Captain Douglas of +the Syren to get the transports moved from Torbay, a very unsafe road, to +the Bay of Bulls." + +As soon as information was received in England that an expedition had +been sent from France, the Admiralty despatched a squadron under Captain +Pallisser in pursuit, and as it arrived in St. John's only four days +after M. de Ternay left, they must have been very close to a meeting. + +COOK MEETS COOK. + +Whilst the movements leading up to the recapture of St. John's were being +carried on, communication between Colville and Amherst was kept up by the +boats of the fleet under the charge of the third lieutenant of H.M.S. +Gosport, Mr. James Cook, formerly Master of H.M.S. Mercury, who performed +this duty to the complete satisfaction of Lord Colville as signified in +his despatches to the Admiralty. It is certain, therefore, that the two +namesakes must have come face to face here, and most probably previously +in Halifax Harbour. + +Entering St. John's Harbour on 19th September, the flagship remained till +7th October, during which time Cook was very busily employed in assisting +to place the island in a better state of defence. In a despatch of Lord +Colville's, dated "Spithead, 25th October 1762," he says: + +"I have mentioned in another letter, that the fortifications on the +Island of Carbonera were entirely destroyed by the enemy. Colonel Amherst +sent thither Mr. Desbarres, an engineer, who surveyed the island and drew +a plan for fortifying it with new works: when these are finished the +Enterprise's six guns will be ready to mount on them. But I believe +nothing will be undertaken this year, as the season is so far advanced, +and no kind of materials on the spot for building barracks or sheds for +covering the men, should any be sent there. Mr. Cook, Master of the +Northumberland, accompanied Mr. Desbarres. He has made a draught of +Harbour Grace and the Bay of Carbonera, both of which are in a great +measure commanded by the Island, which lies off a point of land between +them. Hitherto we have had a very imperfect knowledge of these places, +but Mr. Cook, who was particularly careful in sounding them, has +discovered that ships of any size may lie in safety both in Harbour Grace +and the Bay of Carbonera." + +Mr. Desbarres's design for the fortification of Carbonera, drawn by John +Chamberlain, dated 7th April 1763, is to be found in the British Museum; +he was afterwards Governor of Cape Breton. + +On the return of the Northumberland to Spithead, where she arrived on +24th October, her Master, James Cook, was discharged, the Muster Roll +merely noting "superseded" on 11th November, and the pay sheet records +the deductions from his wages as: "Chest, 2 pounds 1 shilling 0 pence; +Hospital, 1 pound 0 shillings 6 pence. Threepence in the pound, 3 pounds +14 shillings 9 pence," leaving a balance due of 291 pounds 19 shillings 3 +pence. He also received from Lord Colville for the Secretary to the +Admiralty the following letter which shows the estimation he was held in +by his immediate superiors, and would doubtless be of weight when the +appointment of a man to execute greater undertakings came under the +consideration of their Lordships. + +London, 30th December 1762. + +Sir, + +Mr. Cook, late Master of the Northumberland, acquaints me that he has +laid before their Lordships all his draughts and observations relating to +the River St. Lawrence, part of the coast of Nova Scotia, and of +Newfoundland. + +On this occasion I beg to inform their Lordships that from my experience +of Mr. Cook's genius and capacity, I think him well qualified for the +work he has performed and for greater undertakings of the same kind. +These draughts being made under my own eye, I can venture to say they may +be the means of directing many in the right way, but cannot mislead any. + +I am, sir, your most obedient and most humble servant, + +Colville. + +MARRIAGE. + +Before the close of the year Cook took upon himself further +responsibilities as set forth in the following extract from the register +of St. Margaret's Church, Barking, Essex: + +"James Cook of ye Parish of St. Paul, Shadwell, in ye County of +Middlesex, Bachelor, and Elizabeth Batts, of ye parish of Barking in ye +County of Essex, Spinster, were married in this Church by ye Archbishop +of Canterbury's Licence, this 21st day of December, one thousand seven +hundred and sixty-two, by George Downing, Vicar of Little Wakering, +Essex." + +Besant, who obtained his information from Mrs. Cook's second cousin, the +late Canon Bennett, who as a boy knew her well, speaks most highly of her +mental qualities and personal appearance, and says the union appears to +have been a very happy one. It covered a period of about sixteen years; +but taking into consideration the times he was away on duty, sometimes +for long periods, Cook's home life in reality only extended to a little +more than four years, and Mrs. Cook must often have been months, +sometimes years, without even hearing of the existence of her husband. +Her family were fairly well-to-do; her grandfather, Mr. Charles Smith, +was a currier in Bermondsey; her cousin, also Charles Smith, was a +clockmaker of repute in Bunhill Row. Her mother, Mary Smith, married +first John Batts of Wapping, and secondly, John Blackburn of Shadwell. +Miss Batts is described as of Barking in the Marriage Register, so may +perhaps have been living with relations there, and may have met Cook when +on a visit to her mother in Shadwell, where he was residing. The +engagement must have been very short, for from the time of his joining +the Navy in 1755 to his return from Newfoundland in 1762, his leave on +shore had been very limited, and, with the exception perhaps of a day or +two between leaving the Eagle and joining the Solebay, and again when +leaving the latter ship for the Pembroke, none of his time was spent in +London. There is a story that he was godfather to his wife, and at her +baptism vowed to marry her, but as at that time, 1741, Cook was assisting +his father on Airy Holme Farm, the tale is too absurd, but has for all +that been repeatedly published. + +After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cook lived for a time in Shadwell, and +then removed to Mile End Old Town, where Cook purchased a house, which +was their home till after his death. This house, which he left to his +wife, has been identified as Number 88 Mile End Road, and a tablet has +been placed on the front to mark the fact. + + +CHAPTER 5. 1763 TO 1767. NEWFOUNDLAND. + +The commission as Governor of Newfoundland, which now included Labrador +from Hudson's Straits to the St. John's River, the island of Anticosti, +the islands off the Labrador coast, and the Madelines in the Gulf of St. +Lawrence, had again been conferred on Captain (afterwards Admiral Lord) +Graves. He had early recognised the fact that it was necessary to have a +thorough survey of the coasts of his territory, and therefore made an +application to the Board of Trade to have the one commenced as far back +as 1714 by Captain Taverner, but only carried on in a desultory fashion, +put in hand and completed as quickly as possible. This application +resulted in a Representation from the Board to His Majesty, dated 29th +March 1763, to be found in the Shelbourne manuscripts, asking that an +allowance should be made for the purpose. + +Graves had seen during the previous year the work done by Cook at Harbour +Grace and Carbonera, and had evidently made up his mind that he had found +the man for his purpose, in which opinion he would be backed up by +Colville and further supported by the favourable knowledge that the +Admiralty had of his work. The Representation was immediately acted on, +for in the Records Office is a hurried note from Graves to Mr. Stephens, +Secretary to the Admiralty, probably written on the 5th April, in which +he asks: + +"what final answer he shall give to Mr. Cook, late Master of the +Northumberland, who is very willing to go out to survey the Harbours and +Coasts of Labradore." + +A draughtsman is also mentioned, and one is recommended who was on the +Bellona and was willing to go out, ranking as schoolmaster; he did join +Cook after a time. On 6th April Graves again wrote to Stephens, telling +him he had instructed Cook to get ready to start as soon as the Board +gave him orders, and that he was to have ten shillings per diem whilst +employed on that service. He also says that Cook had been to the Tower to +try to secure a draughtsman, and towards the end of the letter applies +for the instruments necessary to carry on the operations. Graves was +hurriedly called away to his ship, the Antelope, as the spirit of +discontent, then very rife in the Navy, was developing itself in a very +threatening manner during his absence. However, on his arrival on board, +by judicious reforms, which he saw were carried out, and by quietly +replacing some few of the most dangerous of the malcontents, he was very +shortly able to report himself ready for sea with a complete and fairly +contented crew. + +On 15th April he writes to Stephens asking if there was "any change of +resolution taken about Mr. Cook, the Master, and an assistant for him, +and whether they are to go out with me?" On the 18th he writes again, +saying that when in London he had been informed that he was to receive +orders to purchase two small vessels of about 60 tons each when he +arrived in Newfoundland, one of which he was "to send with Mr. Cook upon +the surveys of the coast and harbours," but he was afraid the orders had +been forgotten, and he again makes suggestions as to instruments, etc., +required for the work. Cook had at the same time made application in +proper form for the articles he would require, and was informed that some +would be supplied to him from the Government Stores, and for the +remainder, he was to purchase them and transmit the bills to their +Lordships. + +COOK'S SAILING ORDERS. + +On 19th April Cook received his orders as follows: + +Sir, + +My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, having directed Captain Graves, +of His Majesty's Ship, the Antelope, at Portsmouth, to receive you on +board and carry you to Newfoundland in order to your taking a Survey of +Part of the Coast and Harbours of that Island. I am commanded by their +Lordships to acquaint you therewith: that you must repair immediately on +board the said ship, she being under sailing orders, that you are to +follow such orders as you shall receive from Captain Graves relative to +the said service and that you will be allowed ten shillings a day during +the time you are employed therein. + +I am, etc. etc., PHILLIP STEPHENS. + +Mr. James Cook, ---- Town. + +Mr. William Test, Tower, to be paid 6 shillings per day. + +On 8th May Graves acknowledged the receipt of the orders he had asked +for, authorising him to purchase two small vessels, and announced that +Mr. Cook had joined the ship, but that the assistant, Mr. Test, had not +been heard of; he therefore proposed that he should endeavour to obtain +someone else to fill the vacancy. Mr. Stephens replied that a difficulty +had arisen with the Board of Ordnance with regard to Mr. Test's pay; they +were not inclined to continue it during his absence as they would have to +put some one else in his place, and since hearing this, as the Admiralty +had heard nothing further from Mr. Test, Captain Graves was authorised to +fill the vacancy at a suitable allowance, and he at once secured the +services of Mr. Edward Smart, who sailed from Plymouth in H.M.S. Spy, and +joined Cook in Newfoundland. + +In this letter Graves also says that he intends to start Cook on the +survey of St. Pierre and Miquelon as they had to be handed over to the +French under treaty, whilst he should make some stay upon the coast in +order to afford proper time for survey before they had to be surrendered. +The possession of these islands carried with it certain fishing and +curing rights conferred by the Treaty of Utrecht and confirmed by that of +Paris, and the possession of the islands and rights have been a continual +cause of irritation to the fishermen of both nations till lately, but now +the differences have been satisfactorily settled. It is said that the +Earl of Bute was the cause of the inclusion of the clause concerning +these islands in the Treaty, and that he received the sum of 300,000 +pounds for permitting it to stand. It was specially stipulated that the +islands were not to be fortified, and the number of the garrison was to +be strictly limited to a number sufficient for police duty alone; but +from the very commencement of the peace, it was one continual struggle to +evade the terms by one side, and to enforce them by the other, without +coming to an actual rupture. + +JUDICIOUS PROCRASTINATION. + +According to his expressed intention, Captain Graves, on arriving at St. +John's, despatched Captain Charles Douglas in the Tweed to superintend +the removal of the British settlers from the two islands, and Cook +accompanied him with orders to press on the survey as rapidly as possible +in order that it might be completed before the arrival of the French. +Unfortunately, M. d'Anjac, who was charged with the duty of receiving the +islands on behalf of the French king, arrived on the same day as the +Tweed, off the islands. Captain Douglas refused to permit the French to +land until the islands had been formally handed over by his superior +officer, and by a little judicious procrastination in communicating with +Captain Graves, and persistent energy on the part of Cook in conducting +the survey, sufficient time was gained to complete it. Graves writes to +the Admiralty on 20th October 1763: + +"Meanwhile the survey went on with all possible application on the part +of Mr. Cook. At length, Monsieur d'Anjac's patience being quite +exhausted, I received a letter from him on the 30th of June, of which I +enclose a copy together with my answer returned the same day. This +conveyance brought me a letter from Captain Douglas, expressing his +uneasiness on the part of Monsieur d'Anjac and pressing to receive his +final instructions, and at the same time gave me the satisfaction to +learn St. Peter's was completely surveyed, Miquelon begun upon and +advanced so as to expect it would be finished before the French could be +put in possession: so that any interruption from them was no longer to be +apprehended." + +In a paper amongst the Shelbourne manuscripts, said to be an extract from +a Journal of Cook's, there is a short description of these islands, and +it conveys the impression that the writer looked upon them as absolutely +worthless as either naval or military stations, but for all that Captain +Graves's successor, Pallisser, was kept continually on the alert to +defeat the efforts of the French to strengthen their position. + +THE KING'S SURVEYOR. + +After the official surrender of these islands, Cook was engaged in +surveying different places which the Admiralty had specially marked out, +and was borne on the books of either the Antelope or Tweed as might be +convenient. He is to be found on the latter ship, entered "for victuals +only," as "Mr. James Cook, Engineer, and Retinue." As the dates in the +two ships often run over each other it is somewhat difficult to place +him, but he was certainly in the neighbourhood of St. John's for some two +months, and on 5th November he was discharged from the Antelope into the +Tweed, together with Mr. Smart, for the passage to England, where he +remained till the spring of the following year. On 4th January the +Admiralty authorised the payment up to the end of the previous year of +the allowances of 10 shillings and 6 shillings per day, respectively, to +Mr. Cook and Mr. Smart. This allowance of 10 shillings per day was the +same as that made to the Commander of a Squadron, so, from a financial +point of view, Cook's position must be considered one of importance. It +was apparently superior to that of a Master surveying under the +directions of the Governor, for in a report that Captain Pallisser, when +Governor of Newfoundland, gives of an interview between the French +Ambassador and himself in London in 1767, on the subject of the +fisheries, he says he produced Cook's chart, and decided the question of +the rights of France to the use of Belle Isle for fishing purposes +against the Ambassador by its means, and he speaks of Cook officially as +the King's Surveyor. + +Pallisser was appointed to succeed Graves as Governor in 1764, and at +once set aside the schooner Grenville, which Graves had used as a +despatch boat for the sole use of the survey party. She had been manned +from the ships on the station, but Pallisser wrote to the Admiralty on +the subject, and the Navy Board were instructed to establish her with a +proper person to take command of her, and a complement of men sufficient +to navigate her to England when the surveying season was over, in order +that she might be refitted and sent out early in the spring, instead of +being laid up in St. John's and waiting for stores from England, "whereby +a great deal of time is lost." The establishment was to consist of ten +men, i.e. a Master, a Master's mate, one Master's servant, and seven men. +The Master and mate were to receive the pay of a sixth rate, and the +former was "to be charged with the provisions and stores which shall be +supplied to the schooner from time to time, and to pass regular accounts +for the same." On 2nd May Stephens wrote to Pallisser that Cook was +appointed Master of the Grenville, and as soon as the season was over he +was to be ordered to Portsmouth, and on arrival to transmit his Charts +and Draughts to the Admiralty. On receipt of this letter Pallisser wrote +to Cook, and this communication, together with autograph copies of +letters written by Cook having reference to the Grenville, a receipt for +her husband's pay, signed by Mrs. Cook, and some other papers of interest +relating to his voyages, are now in the hands of Mr. Alexander Turnbull, +of Wellington, New Zealand. + +It would appear that it was at this time that the friendship between +Pallisser and Cook really commenced, for previously there can have been +no opportunity for the former to have known anything of Cook's +personality. A Captain of a man-of-war saw nothing of a Master's mate, +and knew nothing of him except whether he did his duty or not, and that +only through the Master's report. In this particular case, as soon as his +attention was called to him by outside influence, Cook was withdrawn from +his knowledge, and when they again came in contact had already made his +mark. Had they been on the very friendly terms that Kippis suggests, it +is unlikely that he would have made so many incorrect statements as to +Cook's early career in the Navy. + +On 23rd April Cook received his orders, and was told at the same time +that as he had expressed a doubt about being able to get suitable men in +Portsmouth, he would be provided with conduct money and free carriage of +chests and bedding for those he could raise in London, and they should be +transferred to Portsmouth in the Trent. Mr. William Parker was appointed +Master's mate, and the whole crew left Portsmouth on 7th May in H.M.S. +Lark, arriving in St. John's on the 14th June. They took possession of +their ship on the same day, and the first entry in the Grenville's log +runs as follows: + +"June 14th, 1764, St. John's, Newfoundland. The first and middle parts +moderate and hazy Weather, the Later foggy. At 1 P.M. His Majesty's Ship +the Lark anchored here from England, on board of which came the Master +and the company of this Schooner. Went on board and took possession of +Her. Read over to the crew the Master's Warrant, Articles of War, and +Abstract of the late Act of Parliament." + +ACCIDENT TO HAND. + +After getting the guns and stores on board, and fitting the ship for her +new duties, they left St. John's on 4th July for the north. A base line +was laid out at Noddy's Harbour, and the latitude of Cape Norman was +found to be 51 degrees 39 minutes North; soundings were taken every mile. +On 3rd August Cook left the ship in the cutter to continue his work, but +having met with a nasty accident he had to return on the 6th. It seems he +had a large powder horn in his hand, when, by some means not stated, the +powder ignited, and the horn "was blown up and burst in his hand, which +shattered it in a terrible manner, and one of the people which was hard +by suffered greatly by the same accident." The Grenville left at once for +Noddy's Harbour, where there was a French ship which had a doctor on +board, arriving there at eleven o'clock, was able to secure some sort of +medical assistance, though probably in the eye of a modern medical man, +of a very rough nature. At that time surgery, especially on board ship, +was very heroic; a glass of spirits the only anodyne, and boiling pitch +the most reliable styptic. + +In reference to this accident the Lords of the Admiralty wrote to Lord +Halifax, quoting a letter they had received from Captain Pallisser, dated +14th November 1764: + +"Mr. Cook, the surveyor, has returned. The accident to him was not so bad +as it was represented. Nor had it interrupted his survey so much as he +(Captain Pallisser) expected. He continued on the coast as long as the +season would permit, and has executed his survey in a manner which, he +has no doubt, will be satisfactory to their Lordships. I have ordered him +to proceed to Woolwich to refit his vessel for the next season, and to +lay before the Board, Draughts of his surveys with all his remarks and +observations that may be useful to Trade and Navigation in those parts." + +Pallisser did not see Cook till some time after the accident, when the +worst was over, and it is quite in keeping with Cook's character to +minimise his sufferings, and to insist on the work being kept going as +far as possible. The surgeon, Mr. Samwell, relates that after the murder +at Owhyee they were enabled to identify his hand by the scar which he +describes as "dividing the thumb from the fingers the whole length of the +metacarpal bones." Whilst Cook was laid up with his hand, and Mr. Parker +was engaged with the survey, some of the men were employed brewing, and +either the brew was stronger than usual or, the officer's eye being off +them, they indulged too freely, for on 20th August it is noted that three +men were confined to the deck for drunkenness and mutinous conduct, and +the next day the ringleader was punished by being made to "run the +Gantelope." + +Early in September, being then in the Bay of St. Genevieve, Cook went +ashore for six days and ran roughly the course of several small rivers, +noting the chief landmarks, and then on their way back to St. John's, off +Point Ferrol, their small boat was dashed to pieces on a ledge of rock, +and its occupants were saved with great difficulty by the cutter which by +great good fortune happened to be near at the time. They returned to +England for the winter, and crossing the Banks, a series of soundings +were made and the nature of the bottom carefully noted. + +When Cook arrived at Woolwich, he pointed out to their Lordships that the +completion of his charts would entail his being absent from his ship, and +he would be unable to supervise everything that had to be done on board, +he therefore suggested that she should be sent to Deptford yard. This was +at once agreed to, and Cook was able to devote his whole time to his +charts. His own work had to be supplemented by the observations made by +six men-of-war stationed in Newfoundland waters as their commanding +officers had received special instructions to take ample soundings and +careful observations, and to make charts which were to be sent to Captain +Pallisser, who was informed that he would be held responsible if these +orders were not carried out in their entirety. It is very certain that an +order so emphatically enforced on his notice would not be permitted to +remain a dead letter. + +GRENVILLE'S RIG CHANGED. + +Whilst at Deptford, the rig of the Grenville was altered from schooner to +brig, as Cook thought that her sailing qualities would be improved by the +change, and she also received a thorough overhaul. In the previous year +her armament had been supplied from the flagship, and of course had to be +returned, so now she was established with "6 swivel guns, 12 Musquets, +and powder and shot" of her own, and her crew was augmented to twenty, +including a midshipman and a carpenter's mate, paid as on board a sixth +rate. Isaac Smith, Mrs. Cook's cousin, afterwards Admiral, who lived with +her at Clapham, was the midshipman. On 25th March 1765 the Grenville +again left for Newfoundland, arriving at St. Lawrence Harbour on 2nd June +to recommence her work. On 14th July, whilst "moored in a bay by Great +Garnish, we picked up two men who had been lost in the woods for near a +month. They came from Barin, intending to go to St. Lawrence Harbour, and +were almost perishing for want of subsistence." Going into Long Harbour, +23rd July, the Grenville ran on a rock and remained so fast that she had +to be unloaded before she could be floated off the next day, when she was +found to have suffered considerable damage to her forefoot. + +From the log of the Grenville it appears that the survey was not carried +out continuously, and this may be accounted for by the fact that the +Governor was being called upon to settle disputes with the French +fishermen, who were only too apt to place the broadest construction on +the treaty rights accorded to them. It is very possible that Cook, during +this year, rendered assistance to Captains Debbieg and Bassett, +engineers, who were engaged in surveying important points and harbours +with a view to fortification, and Pallisser had been instructed to give +them every help. There is no positive record that Cook did assist, but +his ship was several times engaged near where they were at work, and it +seems very reasonable to suppose that he worked with them, especially as +such work might be very important to both parties. + +Cook returned to Spithead on 30th November, and from thence to Deptford +for the winter, and in February obtained permission from the Admiralty to +publish the charts he had completed; Captain Pallisser, who made the +application, said he was of opinion that they "would be of great +encouragement to new adventurers on the fisheries upon those coasts." + +ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. + +He again left Deptford on 20th April 1766, and arrived at Bon Bon Bay, +1st June, to survey the south-west and south coasts. At the Burgeo +Islands, near Cape Ray, which were reached on 24th July, Cook was able to +take an observation of an eclipse of the sun occurring on 5th August. On +his return to England at the end of the year, he handed the results of +his observations to Dr. Bevis, a prominent Fellow of the Royal Society, +who communicated them to that body on 30th April 1767, and the account is +to be found in the Philosophical Transactions of that year. Dr. Bevis +describes Cook as "a good mathematician, and very expert at his +business," and says he was supplied with very good instruments; that +there were three observers "with good telescopes, who all agreed as to +the moment of beginning and ending"; that he had shown Cook's results to +Mr. George Mitchell, who had calculated therefrom the difference of +longitude between the Burgeo Islands and Oxford, where another good +observation had been taken. + +Cook makes no reference to the eclipse in the log of the Grenville, but +it appears that he was peculiarly lucky in the weather, for the five days +preceding are described as "foggy," and the four or five succeeding are +"raining with squalls." This observation was a most fortunate one for +Cook, as it brought him to the favourable notice of the Royal Society, a +body of eminent men, outside his own profession, which was able, soon +after, to advance his interests, and in course of time to admit him into +its own ranks as an ornament of which it is still proud. + +On 4th November the Grenville left St. John's for winter quarters at +Deptford, and the log ends on 24th November, "Dungeness light North-East +by East 2 miles." Mr. Parker, his assistant, was promoted to a +lieutenancy, and Mr. Michael Lane, who was mentioned for the post by +Captain Graves in 1763, and who was now schoolmaster on the Guernsey, was +appointed in his place. + +On 5th April 1767 the Grenville had completed her refit, warped out of +dock, and was at anchor waiting for the tide to turn in order to drop +down to Woolwich, when the Three Sisters, a Sunderland collier, Thomas +Boyd, Master, "fell athwart her hawse and carried away her bowsprit, cap, +and jibboom," which had to be replaced. The story is that this accident +happened to the Endeavour, and that Mr. Cook, who was naturally very +indignant, sent for the offending Master of the collier to give him a +sound rating for running foul of one of His Majesty's ships; but when he +found himself face to face with an old schoolfellow of the Ayton days, he +took him down into his cabin, treated him to the best he had on board, +and spent a good time with him talking over the old days when they were +boys together. From Cook's character the story may well be true, +excepting it has been applied to the wrong ship. + +When the repairs were executed the Grenville sailed for Newfoundland, +arriving off Cape Race on 9th May, and Cook at once set to work on the +survey of the west coast. He landed in September at the mouth of the +Humber, and made a rapid examination of that river, discovering several +lakes, and getting a good general idea of that part of the island. He +returned to St. John's for the last time on 14th October, having +practically completed the survey of the general run of the coast, and +added very considerably to the knowledge of some of the interior parts of +the island. In 1762 a map was published, compiled from the very latest +information, and on it is the note: "The inland parts of this island are +entirely unknown." Cook is said to have discovered valuable seams of +coal, but there is no note of anything of the kind amongst his records. + +THE GRENVILLE ASHORE. + +He sailed for England on 23rd October, and anchored off the Nore in very +heavy weather on 11th November. It was soon found that the anchors would +not hold, and at length one parted and the ship "trailed into shallow +water, striking hard." After a while she again struck heavily, and "lay +down on her larboard bilge." As there seemed no prospect of the gale +moderating, everything was made as snug as time would allow, and, putting +his crew into the boats, Cook made for Sheerness. The weather at length +improved, so obtaining assistance he returned and found that fortunately +his ship had sustained very little damage, and the next day he +successfully floated her, and got her up to Deptford yards on the +following Sunday, and then Cook was able to set to work on his charts. On +3rd February, Pallisser wrote to Mr. Stephens asking him to obtain +permission from the Lords to publish, and at once obtained the necessary +authority. + +Some of these charts had been published in 1766, and now the complete +series appeared with sailing directions for the south and east coasts of +the islands. Admiral Sir W.J.L. Wharton, the late hydrographer to the +Admiralty, says: + +"The Charts he made during these years in the schooner Grenville were +admirable. The best proof of their excellence is that they are not yet +wholly superseded by the more detailed surveys of modern times. Like all +first surveys of a practically unknown shore, and especially when that +shore abounds in rocks and shoals, and is much indented with bays and +creeks, they are imperfect in the sense of having many omissions; but +when the amount of the ground covered, and the impediments of fogs and +bad weather on that coast is considered, and that Cook had at the most +only one assistant, their accuracy is truly astonishing." + +On the publication of his charts, Cook's connection with Newfoundland was +concluded, and on 12th April 1768 Mr. Lane was "appointed to act as +Master of the brig Grenville, and surveyor of the coasts of Newfoundland +and Labrador in the absence of Mr. Cook, who is to be employed +elsewhere." Mr. Lane was to be paid an allowance of five shillings per +day over and above his pay as Master of a sixth rate. Cook and he were +paid their allowances up to 31st December 1767, and on 17th June the Navy +Board were ordered to complete Cook's allowance up to 12th April. From +the wording of Mr. Lane's appointment it would appear that the surveyor's +position was to be left open for Cook if it was thought desirable for him +to resume it. + + +CHAPTER 6. 1768. PREPARATIONS FOR FIRST VOYAGE. + +Till a few years ago writers on the subject were content to draw their +information as to the first voyage of Cook to the South Seas from the +so-called history of Dr. Hawkesworth. This gentleman, who posed as a +stylist (Boswell calls him a "studious imitator of Dr. Johnson"), was +introduced by Dr. Charles Burney to Lord Sandwich for the express purpose +of writing an account of the expedition, and was supplied with all the +records in the possession of the Admiralty relating to it, he had access +to the Journal of Sir Joseph Banks, the Notes of Dr. Solander and others +who accompanied Cook, and, more than all, he had the opportunity of +personal communication with the leaders of the party. Notwithstanding +these advantages he interpolated so much of his own speculations, +conclusions, and dissertations, as to render his voluminous work not only +extremely unreliable but often extremely ridiculous. Travellers to the +South Seas record that the accounts of things and places described as +seen by Cook are remarkably correct, but that the inferences drawn are +wrong. They do not realise that the statements of fact are Cook's, whilst +the deductions and ornamentations are Hawkesworth's, and were strongly +resented by Cook. Boswell relates that he told Johnson that he had met +Captain Cook at dinner at Sir John Pringle's (then President of the Royal +Society), and gave him an account of a conversation they had together. +Johnson: + +"was much pleased with the conscientious accuracy of that celebrated +circumnavigator, who set me right as to many of the exaggerated accounts +given by Dr. Hawkesworth of his voyages." + +Cook's opinion on the subject may be seen from his determination to +prepare his Journals for the press himself in the future. + +Within the last few years the Journal of the Endeavour has been published +under the able supervision of the late Admiral Sir W.J.L. Wharton, and +the Journal of Sir Joseph Banks, which was missing for a long time, has +been recovered and published by Sir Joseph Hooker; and these two books +may be preferred with safety over all others that have been written on +the subject. + +MEMORIAL TO THE KING. + +It had been calculated that a Transit of Venus would occur in 1769, +observations of which would be of great importance to astronomical +science, and several of the European nations, notably Russia, were +intending to establish points of observation. The Royal Society decided +that as England had hitherto taken a lead in astronomy, she should not +now fall behind, and appointed a committee to report on the places where +it would be desirable to take observations, the methods to be pursued, +and the persons best fitted to carry out the work. This committee advised +that two observers should be sent to Hudson's Bay, two to the South +Pacific and, if Sweden did not send there, two to the North Cape. They +also advised that the Government should be asked to supply a ship to +convey the party to some island to be decided on in the South Seas, and +several gentlemen were suggested as observers, Mr. Maskelyne, President +of the Society, especially recommending Mr. Dalrymple as "a proper person +to send to the South Seas, having a particular turn for discoveries, and +being an able navigator and well skilled in observation." Mr. Maskelyne +estimated the voyage would take about two years, and that a sum of ten +shillings and six pence per day would be a reasonable allowance for +expenses, together with a gratuity the amount of which was to be settled +hereafter. A Memorial on the subject was prepared and forwarded to the +King, setting forth that as a Transit of Venus over the Sun's disc was +expected to occur, and that other nations were intending to take +observations thereof in the interests of navigation, it would be +desirable that as the British Nation had been justly celebrated for its +knowledge of Astronomy, and an Englishman, Mr. Jeremiah Horrox, had been +the first person who calculated the passage of the planet over the sun, +in 1639, the Government should support the Royal Society in its attempt +to take a proper position in the matter, by a grant of money and a ship +to take a party to the South Seas. Four thousand pounds was the sum +named, and on 24th March the President was able to inform the Council +that the King had been pleased to order that it should be placed in his +hands, "clear of fees," for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the +expedition. In the end, after paying all accounts, there was a +considerable balance left, which the King placed at the disposal of the +Society, and a portion of it was expended on the bust of His Majesty, by +Nollekins, now in its possession. + +The gentlemen whose names had been suggested as observers were asked to +appear before the Council if they were willing to accept the position, +and Mr. Dalrymple wrote in reply to say there was only one part of the +world where he would go to take observations, that was the South Seas, +and he would only go if he had "the management of the ship intended for +the service." Mr. Maskelyne told the Council he had recommended Mr. +Dalrymple to the Admiralty for the command of the ship, the use of which +had been granted, but had been informed that such an appointment would be +"entirely repugnant to the regulations of the Navy." It is said that Sir +Edward Hawke, having in his mind the disastrous result of giving Halley +the command of a King's ship in 1698, when a serious mutiny occurred, +positively refused to sign such a commission, saying that he would +"rather cut off his right hand than permit any one but a King's officer +to command one of the ships of His Majesty's Navy." + +Dalrymple, originally a clerk in the East India Company's service, had +spent some years trading amongst the islands of the Malay Archipelago and +China, returned to England and published a couple of pamphlets on the +East Indies, and in 1767 a book on the discoveries in the South Pacific +Ocean, which brought him to the notice of the Royal Society. He was +afterwards for a time hydrographer to the East India Company, and was +then appointed the first hydrographer to the Admiralty. He was dismissed +from this position for exceeding his powers, and soon afterwards died. He +appears to have been a clever man, but of an extremely overbearing +disposition and a very high opinion of himself. In writing to Dr. +Hawkesworth on one occasion, he said: "I never write on any subject I do +not thoroughly understand." What makes the remark more interesting is +that he was quite in the wrong on the subject under discussion. He +appears never to have forgiven Cook for having been successful in +obtaining the command of the expedition to observe the Transit of Venus, +and for completely upsetting his pet theory of a large continent in the +Southern Ocean. + +PURCHASE OF THE ENDEAVOUR. + +The Navy Board, having been ordered by the Admiralty to propose a proper +vessel to convey the observers to the South Seas, first suggested the +Tryal Sloop, and then the Rose, but both being found unsuitable they were +ordered to purchase one. On 29th March the Board wrote to Stephens that +they had bought: + +"a cat-built Bark, in Burthen 368 Tuns and of the age of three years and +nine months, for conveying such persons as shall be thought proper to the +Southward..." + +At the same time, instructions were sought as to fitting and arming her +for the service, and as to the name under with she was to be registered +on the list of the Navy. A cat-built ship is described in the +Encyclopaedias as one with round bluff bows, a wide deep waist, and +tapering towards the stern. The name is derived from the Norwegian kati, +a ship. + +The cat-built bark, the now immortal Endeavour, was built by Messrs. +Fishburn of Whitby, and owned by Mr. William Milner of that port. Dr. +Young says that her original name was the Earl of Pembroke, but Sir Evan +Macgregor wrote to Mr. Waddington in 1888 that she was purchased "under +the name of the Endeavour, and was entered as a barque." The Warrant +Entry Book from Board of Trade proves that Dr. Young was right, as the +following entries will show: + +"Deptford, March 23rd 1768. Two cats called the Valentine and the Earl of +Pembroke to be surveyed and report which is the properest to be +purchased." + +"Deptford, March 28th 1768. Ship Earl of Pembroke to be received." + +"Deptford, April 7th 1768. Ship purchased to be sheathed, filled, and +fitted for a voyage to the southward. To be called The Endeavour Bark." + +From the Records of the Survey Office, List of H.M. Navy, 1771 to 1776, +it has been ascertained that her price was 2,800 pounds, and the cost of +fitting her for the voyage was 2,294 pounds. The reason she was named +officially either the Bark Endeavour or Endeavour Bark, was that there +was another Endeavour in the Navy, stationed at that time at the Nore. +Kippis says that Pallisser was entrusted with the selection of the ship, +and that he called on Cook for assistance in the matter, and the fact +that a Whitby-built ship was chosen, of a kind in which Cook had had +considerable experience, adds to the probability of his statement. +Dalrymple enters a claim, in letters to Dr. Hawkesworth, to having chosen +the Endeavour for the voyage, but as she was not ordered to be surveyed, +with a view to purchase, till 23rd March, when it was well-known the +Admiralty had refused to allow him the command of the expedition, there +is little force in his claim. + +COPPER SHEATHING. + +Admiral Wharton assumes that as Cook expresses himself averse from having +exploring ships sheathed in copper, owing to the difficulty of making +repairs in case of accident far from proper facilities, and from the +frequent mention of "heeling and boot-topping" in the Journal of the +Endeavour, it is most probable that she was sheathed in wood. This +assumption is correct, for there is no mention of copper sheathing in the +Surveyor's books, nor at the time of her being repaired at the Endeavour +River, nor at Batavia, when it is impossible that any account of her +damaged bottom could be given without the mention of copper if any such +sheathing had been used. The Naval Chronicle says the first ship of the +Royal Navy to be sheathed with copper was the Alarm frigate in 1758; and +it is also said that the Dolphin, the ship in which Captain Wallis sailed +round the world, was the only coppered ship in the service at this time, +and she remained the only one for some years. + +On 5th May, at a Council Meeting of the Royal Society, Captain John +Campbell, R.N., proposed that Cook, who was in attendance, and had been +appointed by the Admiralty to the command of the Endeavour, was a fit and +proper person to be one of the observers for the Society in the Southern +Seas. Cook was called in, and accepted the position in consideration of +such a gratuity as the Society should think proper, and an allowance of +120 pounds per year "for victualling himself and another observer in +every particular." Mr. Green was also called in, and accepted the place +as the other observer for the gratuity of 200 guineas for the two years +the voyage was expected to take, and at the rate of 100 guineas a year +afterwards. A list of the instruments to be supplied by the Society was +also prepared at the same meeting, and the workmen engaged on them were +ordered to show them to Messrs. Green and Cook, and give any desired +information. A portable observatory, said to have been designed by +Smeaton, the builder of the Eddystone Lighthouse, framed of wood and +covered with canvas, was also prepared. Mr. Maskelyne, knowing the value +of a good watch when observing for longitude, lent the Society one of his +own, made by Graham, to be entrusted to Mr. Green, and it was signed for +with the other instruments supplied. Chronometers, of course, at that +time were in process of evolution, several makers were endeavouring to +gain the prize which had been offered for a reliable timekeeper. Shortly +after, at a second meeting, Cook agreed to accept a gratuity from the +Society of 100 guineas for taking the observations, and was paid 120 +pounds sustenance money for Mr. Green and himself, with authority to draw +on the Society during the voyage for a further amount not exceeding 120 +pounds. + +In the Commissions and Warrants Book, under date 26th May 1768, appears +the following entry: + +MR. JAMES COOK (2nd) 1st Lieutenant Endeavour Bark. E.H., C.T., C.S. + +The initials signify Edward Hawke, Charles Townshend, and Lord Charles +Spencer. The "(2nd)" evidently refers to the fact that there was already +one James Cook, a lieutenant in the Navy, namely, the former Master of +the Mercury, and Third Lieutenant of the Gosport. + +PENDANT HOISTED. + +Having received his orders Cook proceeded to Deptford and hoisted his +pendant on H.M.S. Endeavour on 27th May, and at once started to prepare +for sea. A considerable quantity of coal was taken on board to use for +drying the ship, as it occupied so much less room than wood. + +Captain Wallis returned from his voyage round the world about this time, +and in consequence of his report, the Island of Georgeland, afterwards +called by Cook Otaheite and now Tahiti, was fixed upon by the Royal +Society as the most desirable place for the observations, and the +Admiralty were requested to issue the proper orders, notifying at the +same time that Mr. Charles Green and Lieutenant James Cook had been +appointed observers. They also in the same letter write that: + +"Joseph Banks, Esquire, Fellow of this Society, a Gentleman of large +fortune, who is well versed in Natural History, being desirous of +undertaking the same voyage, the council very earnestly request their +Lordships that in regard to Mr. Banks' great personal merit and for the +advancement of useful knowledge, he also, together with his suite, being +seven persons more (that is eight persons in all) together with their +baggage, be received on board of the ship under command of Captain Cook." + +They also requested that the expedition might be landed a month or six +weeks before the 3rd June in order that the instruments might be got into +proper working order, and for fear the ship might not be able to reach +Georgeland, a table of the limits within which the observations might be +taken, was enclosed. Full instructions were also given to the two +observers, and a list of the fixed stars to be observed was drawn up by +Mr. Maskelyne. + +The order to receive Mr. Green and Mr. Banks and party was issued on 22nd +July, "for victuals only"--i.e., they were to be supplied with the same +as the rest of the ship's company whilst on board. The members of Banks's +party were: Dr. Solander, naturalist; H. Sporing, assistant naturalist; +A. Buchan, S. Parkinson, and Jno. Reynolds, artists; James Roberts and +Peter Briscoe, white servants; Thomas Richmond and J. Dorlton, coloured +servants. + +It was owing to the personal friendship between them that Banks was +permitted by Lord Sandwich, the First Lord of the Admiralty, to accompany +Cook. He had taken up the study of Botany when at Eton, and at an early +age had been elected F.R.S. He seems quickly to have formed a just +estimate of Cook's worth; indeed, Sir John Barrow says he took a liking +to him at the first interview, and a firm friendship sprang up between +them which endured to the end. Many instances are to be found of his +interest in and his support to Cook after their return home; and this +friendship speaks volumes for Cook, for, though Banks was a most kindly +natured man, he had at times a very overbearing manner. + +Sir Joseph Hooker, in his introduction, quotes a most interesting letter +from Mr. John Ellis, F.R.S., to Linnaeus, the great botanist, in which he +says that Mr. Banks, a gentleman of 6000 pounds a year, has persuaded Dr. +Solander to go out with him to the South Seas to collect "all the natural +curiosities of the place," and after the observations are taken, they are +"to proceed on further discoveries." He goes on to mention the library of +Natural History and splendid outfit Banks is taking, and says, "in short, +Solander assured me this expedition would cost Mr. Banks 10,000 pounds." + +The Endeavour left Deptford on 21st July, and, calling at Galleons Reach, +took in her guns and gunners' stores. Her armament was originally to have +been six carriage guns, four pounders, and eight swivels, but they were +increased to ten carriage guns and eight swivels, and at Plymouth four +more swivels were added for use in the boats. The complement of men was +also increased to 85, including 12 marines who were to join at Plymouth, +and a third Lieutenant had been appointed in July. + +She had dropped down the river and anchored in the Downs on 3rd August, +Cook joining her on the 7th and, discharging his pilot, sailed the next +day. He had a very tedious passage down the Channel, and did not arrive a +Plymouth till the 14th, when he immediately sent word to Messrs. Banks +and Solander, who were still in London, that he was ready for sea, and +was only waiting for a fair wind to sail. They therefore started at once, +their baggage being already on board, and joined Cook on 20th August. + +CREW WELL SATISFIED. + +Having received his extra guns, marines, twelve barrels of powder, and +other stores, Cook mustered his men, paid them two months advance, and +explained to them that they were not to expect any additional pay for the +intended voyage. He says, "they were well satisfied, and expressed great +cheerfulness and readiness to prosecute the voyage." + +The orders under which he sailed were secret, and, unfortunately, are not +to be found. Admiral Wharton says the covering letter is in existence, +but the orders which should be on the next page are missing. Cook writes: + +"I was ordered, therefore, to proceed directly to Otaheite; and, after +the astronomical observations should be completed, to prosecute the +design of making discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean by proceeding to +the South as far as the latitude of 40 degrees: then, if I found no land, +to proceed to the west between 40 and 35 degrees till I fell in with New +Zealand, which I was to explore, and thence return to England by such +route as I should think proper." + +His last letter to the Admiralty, before leaving England, was written on +the day of his arrival at Plymouth, informing them of that fact, and +announcing his intention of proceeding to sea with all possible despatch. + + +CHAPTER 7. 1768 TO 1769. PLYMOUTH TO OTAHEITE. + +After waiting for some days for a fair wind, Cook eventually sailed at 2 +P.M. on 26th August, having, as he says in his Journal, "94 persons, +including officers, seamen, Gentlemen and their servants; near 18 months' +provisions, 10 carriage guns, 12 swivels, with good store of ammunition, +and stores of all kinds" on board. On 1st September they had heavy gales +lasting for about four-and-twenty hours, and a small boat belonging to +the boatswain was washed away, and "between three and four dozen of our +poultry, which was worst of all," were drowned. The ship was found to be +very leaky in her upper works, and the sails in the store got very wet. +Banks notes that they caught two birds in the rigging that had evidently +been blown off the coast of Spain. On 13th September they anchored in +Funchal Roads, and during the night "the Bend of the Hawser of the stream +anchor slip'd owing to the carelessness of the person who made it fast." +The anchor was hauled up into a boat in the morning, and carried further +out, but, unfortunately, in heaving it into the water, a Master's mate, +named Weir, got entangled in the buoy rope, was carried overboard, and +drowned before any assistance could be rendered. + +Whilst shifting her berth to a more convenient spot, the Endeavour was +fired on by one of the forts owing to some misunderstanding, but +satisfactory apologies and explanations were made, and it was thought so +little of that neither Cook nor Banks mention it in their Journals. This +incident is probably the origin of the story told by Forster in his +Journal of the Second Voyage. He says: + +"Captain Cook in the Endeavour battered the Loo Fort at Madeira in +conjunction with an English Frigate, thus resenting an affront which had +been offered to the British flag." + +When the Endeavour arrived at Funchal, the only British man-of-war there +was H.M.S. Rose, which sailed the following day with her convoy, and +neither her Captain's Journal nor his ship's log make any reference +whatever to a dispute with the Portuguese. No other British man-of-war +came into the port whilst the Endeavour was there, and afterwards, at +Rio, Cook expressly informed the Viceroy that he had been well received +by the Portuguese at Madeira. + +Fresh water, meat, vegetables, and wine were taken on board; wine, fruit, +and water being good and cheap, but the meat and poultry, obtained as a +favour, were dear. Two men, a marine and a sailor, received twelve lashes +for refusing to eat their allowance of fresh meat. This appears to be +harsh treatment, but it must be remembered that the lash was at that time +almost the only recognised method of punishment in the Navy, however +trivial the offence might be; and Cook knew from experience how important +it was to prevent the scurvy from getting foothold on board, and he +already had determined to fight, by every means in his power, this dread +scourge, almost his most dangerous foe. He did conquer it even on this +first voyage, and, considering his means, in a most marvellous manner. He +would have claimed the victory had it not been for an untoward event, +which will be told hereafter, leading him to postpone his claim till he +could give further proof. It is important to notice how on every possible +occasion he obtained, wherever he could, some change of diet and fresh +water. + +EDEN BEFORE THE FALL. + +Whilst they were at Funchal, Banks spent five days with the English +Consul, and he describes the place as very pretty, but the people as +primitive, idle, and uninformed; all their instruments of the rudest +make; and he thought that the appliances used in the manufacture of wine +must have been similar to those used by Noah, "although it is not +impossible that he might have used better if he remembered the methods he +had seen before the flood." One of the Governors left it on record that, +so averse from change were the people, he thought it most fortunate the +island was not Eden before the fall, as in that case the inhabitants +could never have been induced to wear clothes. He explored as much of the +island as he could, but says he could never get more than three miles +away from the town as his time was so much broken up. The Governor +visited them on one of the days he says was so wasted, but relates, with +evident glee, how he took his revenge. There was an electrical machine on +board, and His Excellency was most curious on the subject; it was sent +for and explained to him, and Banks goes on, "they gave him as many +shocks as he cared for; perhaps more." A visit was paid to a convent, +where the nuns, hearing they were distinguished scientists, plied them +with all sorts of questions, and for the half-hour the visit lasted their +tongues were going "all the time at an uncommonly nimble rate." At a +monastery they visited they were well received, and the monks, regretting +they were then unprepared, invited them to come the next day and, though +it would be Friday, they would have roast turkey for dinner. + +On 19th September, at midnight, they weighed, sighted Teneriffe on the +23rd, and the day following their first flying fish found its way into +Mr. Green's cabin. On the 28th they tried steaks for dinner cut from a +young shark, which Banks and Solander reported as very good, but the crew +refused to taste them. Cape de Verde was seen on the 30th, and about a +fortnight afterwards the line was crossed in 29 degrees 24 minutes West +longitude, and the following day the event was celebrated. Lieutenant +Hicks had crossed before, so a list was given to him of all on board, +including the dogs and cats, and all were mustered on deck, those who had +already crossed being separated from the others. Any one who wished could +purchase immunity for four days' allowance of wine, but the others had to +pay the penalty of ducking. Banks compounded for himself and party, and +Cook also seems to have got off, but the others were hauled up to the end +of the main-yard on a boatswain's chair, and then at the sound of the +whistle dropped into the sea, an operation repeated three times. Cook +says the "ceremony was performed to about twenty or thirty, to the no +small diversion of the rest." + +Whilst near the Equator, great inconvenience was felt from the damp heat; +everything was mouldy or rusty, and several of the crew were on the +sick-list with a sort of bilious complaint; but it fortunately did not +grow into a serious matter. + +RECEPTION AT RIO. + +They struck soundings on 6th November, and on heaving the lead again +found a difference of less than a foot in three or four hours. Land was +sighted near Cape Frio, Brazil, in latitude 21 degrees 16 minutes South, +on the 8th, and they came across a boat manned by eleven blacks who were +engaged in catching and salting fish. Banks purchased some fish, and was +surprised to find they preferred to be paid in English rather than +Spanish coin. On the 13th they arrived off Rio de Janeiro, where they +were very ungraciously received by the Viceroy. They were not permitted +to land except under a guard; some of the men who had been sent ashore on +duty were imprisoned. Mr. Hicks, who had gone to report their arrival and +ask for the services of a pilot, was detained for a time, and it was only +with difficulty, and at an exorbitant rate, that they obtained fresh food +and water. Consequently little was seen of the place, except from the +ship, and Cook took all possible observations from thence, and made a +sketch map of the harbour, to which he added all the information he was +able to pick up from the pilot. Writing to the Royal Society, he says he +is quite unable to understand the true reason of his treatment, and +contrasts it with that received by a Spanish ship which came in whilst he +was there. This Spanish ship willingly undertook to carry to Europe and +forward to the Admiralty copies of the correspondence that passed between +Cook and the Viceroy, which Cook describes as + +"a paper war between me and His Excellency, wherein I had no other +advantage than the racking his invention to find reasons for treating us +in the manner he did, for he never would relax the least from any one +point." + +To every remonstrance the Viceroy pleaded his instructions and the custom +of the port. He seems to have been quite unable to grasp the object of +the expedition, and Cook says his idea of the transit of Venus was, "the +North Star passing through the South Pole. His own words." The crew were +accused of smuggling, and it was repeatedly asserted that the Endeavour +was not a king's ship. Parkinson, one of Mr. Banks's staff, says that +frequently some of them let themselves down from the cabin window at +midnight into a boat, and driving with the tide till they were out of +hearing of the guard boat established over them, rowed ashore and made +short excursions into the country, "though not so far as we could have +wished to have done." + +Banks, speaking of the supplies obtained at Rio, says the beef was cheap +but very lean and dry; the bread tasted as if made with sawdust, and +justified its name of Farinha de Pao (wooden meal); the fruits, excepting +the oranges, were very indifferent, and he takes particular exception to +the banana, which he had not tasted before, it was not at all to his +liking. The water also was very bad, and the crew preferred what they had +brought with them, though it was very stale. + +M. de Bougainville reports that when he visited Rio he was at first +received in a very friendly manner by this same Viceroy, but after a time +the treatment was altered, and he had to put up with even greater +insolence than Cook. + +THE SECOND DEATH. + +When the stores had been received on board, the anchor was weighed in +order to take up a more favourable position for making a start, but, +unfortunately, shortly after the ship got underway, a man named Peter +Flowers fell from the main-shrouds into the sea and was drowned before +assistance could be rendered: the second death since leaving England. The +next day the wind was contrary, but every one was so anxious to turn +their backs on the place that Cook ordered out the boats to tow, but they +were immediately brought up by a shot from the fort of Santa Cruz. A +remonstrance was sent ashore, and received the lame excuse that the +permit for leaving had been signed but had been delayed on its way, and +the officer in command could not allow the vessel to leave till it was +received. Another attempt to get away was soon after made, but the anchor +fouled a rock, and there was again delay; at length, on the 7th December, +they were able to make a start, discharge their pilot, and bid farewell +to the guard boat which had so constantly kept watch over them. They were +informed that an Englishman, named Foster, an officer in the Portuguese +service, who had been of great use to them, was imprisoned for his kind +attentions. + +On 9th December they met with bad weather and lost their foretop-gallant +mast, but the rough handling they got was credited with improving the +sailing qualities of the ship, as it took some of the stiffness out of +her upperworks. A meteor was noted on the 23rd, like a small bright +cloud, emitting flames, travelling rapidly westward, and disappearing +slowly with two sharp explosions. The same day an eclipse of the sun was +observed. + +Christmas Day, for which the men had been saving up their allowances of +grog, passed in the usual manner, that is, in considerable +over-indulgence. Banks speculates as to what might have happened if they +had had bad weather, whilst Cook dismisses the occurrence very shortly: +"The people none of the soberest." On the 27th they crossed the mouth of +the River Plate, the water being very discoloured, and a good many land +insects were found in it. On 2nd January 1769, they saw some of the +shoals of red lobsters like those mentioned by Dampier and Cowley, but +they were not found in such quantities as those navigators reported. + +On the 11th the shores of Tierra del Fuego were sighted, and on working +in closer, the country was found to be less desolate in appearance than +they had expected from Anson's description. Arriving off the entrance of +the Straits of Le Maire, between Staten Island and the mainland, they +were driven back by the tide and a strong adverse wind, and trying to +shelter under Cape Diego they were carried past, and only after three and +a half days' hard work were they able to get through the straits. Cook +has left sailing directions for this passage which are followed to the +present day. Banks and Solander were ashore for a short time on Staten +Island, and returned delighted with the addition of some hundred new +plants for their collection. Cook, with an eye to the welfare of his +crew, remarks: "They returned on board, bringing with them several plants +and flowers, etc., most of them unknown in Europe, and in that consisted +their whole value." Cook and Green made a series of observations, "the +first ever made so far south in America," and fixed the position of Cape +Diego at 66 degrees West, 54 degrees 39 South; Wharton places it at 65 +degrees eight minutes West, 54 degrees 40 minutes South. + +On the 15th they anchored in the Bay of Success, for wood and water, and +met with some of the inhabitants, with whom, by means of gifts of beads +and other trifles, they established friendly relations, and three of them +were persuaded to go on board the ship. Though by no means a small race +of men, they were found to be nothing like the giants reported by the +early navigators in this part of the world. They had in their possession +buttons, glass, canvas, brown cloth, etc., showing conclusively they had +previously some communication with Europeans. Their clothing consisted +chiefly of skins, roughly cured, and a plentiful covering of paint and +dirt. The only personal property on which they appeared to set any store +were their bows and arrows, which were carefully made and always in good +order. Their food appeared to consist of seal and shell-fish; their +houses, merely shelters of boughs covered with grass and leaves built to +windward of a small fire. + +A SNOWSTORM. + +On 16th January, Banks, Solander, Buchan, Green, Monkhouse, two seamen, +and Banks's two coloured servants, tried to get up the hills to see +something of the surrounding country, but they found their progress +hampered by the dwarf vegetation. To add to their discomfort a heavy +snowstorm came on. Several of the party experienced that desire to sleep +which is produced by cold, and were warned by Solander of the danger of +giving way to it, yet he was almost the first one to give in, and was +with great difficulty kept awake. Buchan, most unfortunately, had a fit, +so a large fire was made at the first convenient spot, but a sailor and +the two coloured men lagged behind. During the night the sailor was heard +shouting, and was brought in to the fire, but in the morning the two +coloured men were found frozen to death. Cook attributed their death to +overindulgence in spirits, the supply for the party being left in their +charge. Not intending to remain away the night, supplies ran short, so a +vulture was shot and carefully divided amongst them, each man cooking his +own, which amounted to about three mouthfuls. At length the weather +cleared up and a start back was made, and after three hours they struck +the beach, only to find they had never been any great distance away but +had been describing a circle and came back almost to the place whence +they had started. Banks notes the vegetation as more exuberant than he +expected; the dominant colour of the flowers, white; and he collected +wild celery and scurvy grass in large quantities, which was mixed with +the food on board ship as long as it could be preserved in a wholesome +condition. Whilst at the Bay of Success the guns were lowered into the +hold so as to allow more room on deck for working the ship in the bad +weather they expected to encounter when rounding the Horn. + +THE BALANCE OF THE GLOBE. + +On 27th January Cape Horn was passed, but owing to fog and contrary wind +they did not approach very closely, so they were unable to fix its exact +position, but the description they were able to give of its appearance +(there is a sketch of it by Mr. Pickersgill, Master's mate, in the +Records Office), and twenty-four observations taken in the immediate +neighbourhood, settled any doubts they may have had, and Cook puts it at +55 degrees 53 minutes South, 68 degrees 13 minutes West, and Wharton +gives the corrected position as 55 degrees 58 minutes South, 67 degrees +16 minutes West. Three days after they reached their furthest south, +according to Cook 60 degrees 4 minutes South, 74 degrees 10 West, and the +course was then altered to West by North. The continuous and careful +observations of the state of the sea, and the absence of currents during +the following month, caused Cook to come to the conclusion that the vast +southern continent so long supposed to exist somewhere in that part of +the globe, and by some people esteemed necessary to preserve its balance, +was non-existent. Banks expresses his pleasure in having upset this +theory, and observes: "Until we know how the globe is fixed in its +position, we need not be anxious about its balance." + +The weeks following the change of the course to the north were +uneventful, only marked by an occasional success of the naturalists in +obtaining a fresh specimen, some of which were experimented on by the +cook; an albatross, skinned, soaked all night in salt water, was stewed, +served with savoury sauce, and was preferred to salt pork; a cuttle-fish +of large size, freshly killed by the birds, and too much damaged for +classification, was made into soup, of which Banks says: "Only this I +know that, of it was made one of the best soups I ever ate." The water +obtained at Tierra del Fuego turned out very good: a great boon, as one +of their great troubles and a source of great anxiety to Cook was the bad +quality of the water so often obtained. + +Towards the end of March a change was noticed in the kinds of birds +flying round the ship, some being recognised as ones that were known to +stay near land, and consequently a sharp look-out was kept. On the night +of the 24th a tree-trunk was reported, but when morning came nothing +further was seen. It has since been ascertained they were then a little +to the north of Pitcairn Island, afterwards the home of the mutineers of +the Bounty; but Cook did not feel himself at liberty to make any +deviation from his course "to look for what he was not sure to find," +although he thought he was "not far from those islands discovered by +Quiros in 1606." + +On 26th march one of the marines committed suicide by drowning. It seems +he had misappropriated a piece of sealskin, and his fellow-soldiers, +indignant that such a thing should have been done by one of the cloth, +made his life uncomfortable and threatened that he should be reported for +theft. This was the fifth death since leaving England, and none by +disease. + +The 4th April, at 10.30 A.M., Banks's servant, Peter Briscoe, sighted +land, and the course of the ship was altered to give them a chance of +inspecting it. It was found to be one of those peculiar circular reefs +surrounding a lagoon, called atolls, which exist in some quantity in the +Pacific. There was no anchorage, so they made no attempt to land, but +were able to see it was inhabited. Some twenty-four persons were counted +through the glasses, and were described as copper-coloured, with black +hair; they followed the ship as if prepared to oppose a landing. The reef +was covered with trees, amongst which the coconut palm was conspicuous. +Cook gave it the name of Lagoon Island; it is now known as Vahitahi, and +is one of the Low Archipelago. Being now in Wallis's track, islands were +sighted almost every day, and almost all appeared inhabited, but owing to +the want of safe anchorage, no communication could be held with the +natives. + +On 10th April Osnaburg Island was passed, and next day King George Land +was sighted; but the wind failed, and they did not get close in till the +12th, when canoes came out to the ship, bringing branches of trees which +were handed up the side, with signs directing they should be placed +conspicuously in the rigging, as a token of friendship offered and +accepted. When this had been done the natives produced a good supply of +trade in the shape of vegetables and fruit; amongst the last Banks +enumerates bread-fruit, bananas, coconuts, and apples (a species of hog +plum). These were very acceptable and beneficial to the crew after such a +lapse of time without vegetable food except the wild plants gathered in +Tierra del Fuego. + +AT TAHITI. + +At 7 A.M. on the 13th they anchored in the bay described by Wallis, known +as Matavai, in thirteen fathoms, and Cook says of his route from Cape +Horn, "I Endeavoured to make a direct course, and in part succeeded." + + +CHAPTER 8. 1769. SOCIETY ISLANDS. + +PRODIGIOUS EXPERT THIEVES. + +Hardly had the anchor reached the bottom, before they were surrounded by +canoes, whose occupants were anxious to sell the supplies of fruits, raw +and cooked fish, and a pig they had brought. The price asked for the pig +was a hatchet, and as these were scarce, it was not purchased. When all +was made safe, a party went ashore and was well received by the natives, +but those who had previously been there with Wallis reported that those +who were at that time said to be chiefs, were keeping in the background. +The next day, however, two men, evidently of rank, came on board, and +being invited into the cabin, went through a ceremony described by Banks: +"Each singled out his friend; one took the captain, and the other chose +myself. Each took off a part of his clothes and dressed his friend with +what he took off; in return for this we presented them with a hatchet and +some beads." They were then invited by their new friends to go ashore. On +landing they were escorted to a building and introduced to an old man +they had not seen before, and he presented Cook with a cock, and Banks +with a hen, and each with a piece of native cloth. Banks gave in return +for his share his large laced silk neckcloth and a linen handkerchief. +After this they were permitted to stroll about, and received many tokens +of amity in the shape of green boughs, and were then entertained at a +banquet, the principal dishes being fish and bread-fruit. Whilst at +dinner, Solander had his pocket picked of an opera glass, and Monkhouse +lost his snuff-box. As soon as this was made known, Lycurgus, as they had +named one of their friends, drove off the people, striking them and +throwing anything he could lay his hand to, at them. He offered pieces of +cloth as compensation, and when these were refused, extended his offer to +everything he possessed. He was, at last, made to understand that all +that was wanted was the return of the stolen articles, and after a time +the snuff-box and the case of the glass were returned, and, by and by, +the glass itself. During the whole of the stay at the island they had the +greatest difficulties with the natives for stealing, an accomplishment at +which, Cook says, they were "prodigious expert." + +On the whole, their first visit ashore was satisfactory, and was thought +to augur well for the observations of the Transit. A site was selected +for a camp on the eastern point of the bay, to which the name of Point +Venus was given, the longitude, according to Cook, 149 degrees 31 minutes +West, and to Wharton, 149 degrees 29 minutes West. Lines were traced for +the boundaries, and Banks's largest tent was pitched and a guard mounted, +and then the others went for a walk of inspection. They passed through +some woods that Mr. Hicks had been prevented from exploring the day +before, and Banks had the luck to bring down three ducks with one shot, a +deed thought likely to impress the natives with respect for the white +man's weapon. On their road back to camp they were alarmed by a musket +shot, and hurrying on, found that one of the sentries had been pushed +down and his musket stolen, so the midshipman in command had ordered a +shot to be fired at the thief, who was killed, but the musket was not +recovered. All the natives ran away but one, whom Cook calls Awhaa, and +whom the Master, Mr. Molineaux, who had been out with Wallis, recognised +as being a man of some authority. Through Awhaa an attempt was made to +arrange matters, but the natives were very shy when the English landed +the next day. However, the two chiefs who had first made friends, to whom +the names of Lycurgus and Hercules had been given, again came on board, +bringing presents of pigs and bread-fruit; they concluded as Hercules's +present was the larger, he was the richer and therefore the more +important chief. To lessen the chances of disagreements in trading and to +keep some control of prices, Cook ordered that only one person should +conduct the purchasing for the ship, and as Banks had shown aptitude in +dealing with the natives, he was appointed. The natives were to be +treated "with every imaginable humanity." + +On the 16th Mr. Buchan, the artist, had another epileptic fit, which was +unfortunately fatal, and he was buried at sea in order to run no risk of +offending against any of the customs or superstitions of the natives. +Cook, in referring to his death, says: "He will be greatly missed in the +course of this voyage." + +In the afternoon the ship was brought into such a position as to command +the site of the proposed camp, and as there was to be an eclipse of one +of Jupiter's satellites, Cook and Green stayed ashore to get an +observation, but the weather was unpropitious. + +COOK SKETCHES. + +The camp was now got into order; the north and south sides were protected +by a bank 4 feet 6 inches high on the inside, having a ditch 10 feet wide +and 6 feet deep on the outside. The west side, facing the bay, had a 4 +foot bank crowned by a palisade, with no ditch; and the east side, on the +bank of the river, was protected by a double row of water casks. The +armament consisted of two carriage guns on the weakest or east side, and +six swivel guns, two on each of the other sides. The garrison was +forty-five men, including civilians, and Cook considered it was +practically impregnable. In the manuscripts department of the British +Museum is a pen and ink sketch and plan of the fort, drawn by Cook, which +agrees much better with the description than the engraving of Parkinson's +drawing published in the History of the Voyage. The natives were +disturbed by these preparations, some even leaving the bay, but when no +dreadful results occurred, they took courage and returned. + +The fort completed, the instruments were landed and put into the required +positions to be prepared for their work, and the following morning the +quadrant, which had not been removed from the case in which it was packed +in London, was found to be missing, although a sentry had been stationed +within five yards of it the whole night. Enquiries were made, and it was +elicited that the thief had been seen making off with it. Banks, his +native friend, and one or two of the English at once started, closely +followed by Cook and a party of marines. After a long chase the quadrant +was recovered, but some of the smaller parts were missing. After a time +these also were returned in the case of a horse-pistol which had been +stolen from Banks, and soon after the pistol was recovered, and they were +able to return to camp. On their arrival they found Cook's friend, +Dootahah (Hercules), had been detained as a hostage, so he was at once +released, to the great delight of the natives, who had been much alarmed +to see the armed party go into the woods. In order to show his gratitude +for his release Dootahah sent a present of two hogs to Cook, for which he +refused to take any return; but, afterwards, second thoughts proved best, +and he sent a man to ask for an axe and a shirt, and to say he was going +away, and would not be back for ten days. As the supplies of vegetables +and fruit in the market had been decreasing in quantity, it was thought +better to refuse the present in hopes he would apply for it in person, +and arrangements could then be made for a regular market, but he sent +some one else again, and so word was returned that Cook and Banks would +bring it to him the following day. For fear this promise should be +forgotten, Dootahah again sent his man, and Cook and Banks started off in +the pinnace. On their arrival they were received by a large crowd, which +was kept in order by a man in an immense turban, armed with a long white +stick, "which he applied to the people with great judgment and relish." +The party were conducted to a large tree, and very graciously received by +Dootahah, who immediately asked for his axe, which was given him, +together with a shirt and a piece of broadcloth made into a boat-cloak. +He put on the cloak and gave the shirt to the man with the stick, and +refreshments were served. They were afterwards entertained with dancing +and wrestling, and then Dootahah accompanied them back to the ship, +taking his supplies for dinner; and when it became known he was on board, +trading was resumed. + +A day or two after, Banks received an urgent message from his friend +Taburai (Lycurgus), saying he was very ill. He complained of having been +poisoned by one of the sailors. It seems he had noticed the sailors +chewing, and had ask for a quid, had bitten off a piece and swallowed it. +Banks prescribed large draughts of coconut milk, with happy results. + +SURF RIDING. + +Flies were a terrible pest; they got into everything, and ate off the +artist's colours almost as fast as they were laid on. Tar and molasses +was tried as a trap for them, but the natives stole it and used it as +ointment for sores. The surf-riding struck the visitors with admiration. +Swimming out with a piece of board they would mount it, and come in on +the crests of the waves; and Banks says he does not believe that any +European could have lived amongst the breakers as they did; he especially +admired the manner they timed the waves and dived beneath on their way +out from shore. + +A blacksmith's forge had been set up, and in spare time the smith would +fashion old iron into axes or repair old axes for the natives; and it was +noticed that some of these old axes were not of English make, and it +appeared unlikely they were obtained from the Dolphin. At length it was +ascertained that since Wallis's visit in that vessel, two ships had +anchored off the east coast, and it was concluded from the description +given by the natives of the flags that they were Spanish, but on the +arrival of the Endeavour at Batavia they were able to identify them as +the French ships commanded by M. de Bougainville, whose crews were +suffering very severely from scurvy at the time. + +Paying a visit to Dootahah to see if a supply of fresh meat, which was +running very short, could be obtained, they were received in a very +friendly manner, but being delayed till it was too late to return to the +ship by daylight, they remained all night, and as a consequence nearly +every one found they had lost some property; Cook's stockings were stolen +from under his pillow, where he had placed them for safety. Perhaps as +consolation for their losses they were entertained during the night to a +concert. Three drums and four flutes, the latter having four holes into +one of which the performer blew with his nostrils, were the orchestra, +and Cook's criticism is hardly complimentary: "The music and singing were +so much of a piece that I was very glad when it was over." They waited +till noon the next day in hopes of meat and the return of the stolen +articles, but in vain, though Dootahah promised he would bring all to the +ship--"a promise we had no reason to expect he would fulfil." + +THE TRANSIT OF VENUS. + +The important day of the observation was now approaching, and everything +was in readiness. In order to diminish the risk of disappointment through +local atmospheric disturbance, Cook sent a party to Eimeo (York Island), +and a second one to the south-east of Otaheite, as far to the east of +Point Venus as possible. The first party consisted of Lieutenant Gore, +Banks, Sporing, and Monkhouse, and the second of Lieutenant Hicks, +Clerke, Pickersgill, and Saunders, Mr. Green providing the necessary +instruments. At Fort Venus everything was in good working order. The +astronomical clock was set up in the large tent, being placed in a strong +frame made for the purpose at Greenwich, and was then planted in the +ground as firmly as possible and fenced round to prevent accidental +disturbance. Twelve feet away the observatory was placed, comprising the +telescopes on their stands, the quadrant securely fixed on the top of a +cask of wet sand firmly set in the ground, and the journeyman clock. The +telescopes used by Cook and Green were two reflecting ones made by Mr. J. +Short. + +"The 3rd of June proved as favourable to our purposes as we could wish. +Not a cloud to be seen the whole day and the air was perfectly clear, so +that we had every advantage we could desire in observing the whole +passage of the Planet Venus over the Sun's Disk. We very distinctly saw +the atmosphere or Dusky Shade round the body of the planet, which very +much disturbed the time of contact, particularly the two internal ones. +Dr. Solander observed as well as Mr. Green and myself, and we differ'd +from one another in observing the times of contact much more than could +be expected. Mr. Green's telescope and mine were of the same magnifying +power, but that of the Doctor was greater than ours. It was nearly calm +the whole day, and the thermometer exposed to the sun about the middle of +the day rose to a degree of heat we have not before met with." + +In the report published in the Philosophical Transactions he also refers +to the heat: + +"Every wished-for favourable circumstance attended the whole of the day, +without one single impediment excepting the heat, which was intolerable; +the thermometer which hung by the clock and was exposed to the sun, as we +were, was one time as high as 119 degrees." + +This report is accompanied by diagrams illustrating the different +contacts and the effects of the penumbra, which Cook believed was better +seen by Solander than by himself or Green. It was estimated at about +seven-eighths of the diameter of the planet, and was visible to Cook +throughout the whole Transit. + +The times taken by Green were: + +The first external contact: 9 hours 25 minutes 42 seconds A.M. +The first internal contact: 9 hours 44 minutes 4 seconds A.M. +The second internal contact: 3 hours 14 minutes 8 seconds P.M. +The second external contact: 3 hours 22 minutes 10 seconds P.M. + +The other two parties were equally successful, and at times Banks was +able to employ himself in trading with the natives, with whom he soon got +on friendly terms; in fact, he had to decline further purchases as he had +as much as they could take away with them. He was also successful in his +botanical enquiries, obtaining several plants he had not seen in +Otaheite. + +Whilst the observations were being taken some of the crew broke into the +store and stole a quantity of the large nails that were used as a medium +of trade with the islanders. One man was found with seven in his +possession, and after careful enquiry was sentenced to two dozen lashes, +which seems to have been the severest sentence meted out by Cook during +the voyage. The sentence was carried out, and though it was well known +that more than one was implicated, he refused to name any one else, but +suffered in silence. + +A DOG DINNER. + +The King's Birthday being on 5th June, Cook entertained several of the +chiefs at dinner, and the health of Kilnargo was toasted so many times by +some of them that the result was disastrous. One of the presents received +from a chief was a dog, which they were informed was good to eat. After +some discussion it was handed to a native named Tupia, who had made +himself very useful, and afterwards accompanied them on the voyage; and +he having smothered it with his hands, and drawn it, wrapped it in leaves +and baked it in a native oven. With some hesitation it was tasted, and +met with general approval. Cook says: "Therefore we resolved for the +future never to despise dog flesh"; and in another place he says they put +dog's flesh "next only to English lamb." These dogs were bred for eating, +and lived entirely on vegetable food. + +The main object of their stay at Otaheite having been attained, steps +were taken for further prosecution of the voyage; the ship was careened, +her bottom scraped and found free from worm, but the boats had suffered, +particularly the long-boat, which had to have a new bottom. She had been +varnished only; the other boats, painted with white lead, had not +suffered so much. The stores were overhauled, and the ship was fitted for +sea. Whilst these preparations were being made, Cook and Banks made a +circuit of the island in the pinnace to examine the coast. Several good +anchorages were found, with from sixteen to twenty-four fathoms and good +holding ground. The south-east portion was almost cut off from the +mainland by a narrow, marshy isthmus about two miles wide, over which the +natives dragged their canoes with little difficulty. On the south coast +one of the large burying-places was seen; by far the most extensive one +on the island. It is described as: + +"a long square of stonework built pyramidically; its base is 267 feet by +87 feet; at the Top it is 250 feet by 8 feet. It is built in the same +manner as we do steps leading up to a sun-dial or fountain erected in the +middle of a square, where there is a flite of steps on each side. In this +building there are 11 of such steps; each step is about 4 feet in height, +and the breadth 4 feet 7 inches, but they decreased both in height and +breadth from the bottom to the Top. On the middle of the Top stood the +image of a Bird carved in wood, near it lay the broken one of a Fish, +carved in stone. There was no hollow or cavity in the inside, the whole +being filled up with stones. The outside was faced partly with hewn +stones, and partly with others, and these were placed in such a manner as +to look very agreeable to the eye. Some of the hewn stones were 4 feet 7 +inches by 2 feet 4 inches, and 15 inches thick, and had been squared and +polished with some sort of an edge tool. On the east side was, enclosed +with a stone wall, a piece of ground in form of a square, 360 feet by +354, in this was growing several cypress trees and plantains. Round about +this Morie were several smaller ones, all going to decay, and on the +Beach, between them and the sea, lay scattered up and down, a great +quantity of human bones. Not far from the Great Morie, was 2 or 3 pretty +large altars, where lay the scull bones of some Hogs and Dogs. This +monument stands on the south side of Opooreanoo, upon a low point of land +about 100 yards from the sea. It appeared to have been built many years +and was in a state of decay, as most of their Mories are. " + +They were quite unable to gain information as to the history of these +remains, nor of the religious belief of the islander, though they +appeared to have some vague notions of a future life. + +AN EXCURSION INLAND. + +When the party returned to Point Venus, they found the refitting nearly +complete, but the anchor stocks all had to be renewed owing to the +ravages of the sea worms, so Banks and Monkhouse made an excursion up the +river on which the camp was situated. In about nine miles the precipitous +banks had completely closed them in, and further advance was blocked by a +cliff, at least 100 feet high, over which the river fell. The natives +with them said they had never been further, so the expedition returned. +Charles Darwin, in 1835, made an attempt to ascend the same river, and +though he penetrated some distance further, he describes the country as +extremely difficult; he saw several places where two or three determined +men could easily hold at bay many times their own number. + +Gardens had been laid out during their stay, and European seeds were +planted which were very fairly successful; except some brought out by +Cook in carefully sealed bottles, none of which turned out well. + +Some of the sailors were either enticed away, or attempted to desert, so +Cook seized one or two of the chiefs as hostages, and the runaways were +quickly returned. Some of the natives were anxious to go away with them, +and Banks persuaded Cook to let him take Tupia, a man supposed to be of +priestly rank, who had proved himself very useful on several occasions, +and he was allowed to take with him a boy as servant. Cook records, on +leaving, that during the three months' stay they had been on very good +terms with the natives, and the few misunderstandings that did occur rose +either from the difficulty of explaining matters to each other, or else +from the inveterate habits of theft on the part of the natives--iron in +any shape being simply irresistible. + +On 13th July the Endeavour sailed for Huaheine, anchoring inside the reef +on the north-west, on the 17th. Banks, Solander, Monkhouse, and Tupia at +once accompanied Cook ashore, where a ceremony, presumed to be a sort of +treaty of peace, was gone through, and then they were permitted to go +where they liked. On this ceremonial Cook says: + +"It further appear'd that the things which Tupia gave away, was for the +God of this people, as they gave us a hog and some coconuts for our God, +and thus they have certainly drawn us in to commit sacrilege, for the Hog +hath already received sentence of Death and is to be dissected tomorrow." + +A CAREFUL PILOT. + +A market was organised by Monkhouse, and as soon as the natives +understood that the stay of the ship would be very short, they managed to +produce a fairly good supply of fruits and vegetables. The people were +found to be rather lighter complexioned, and certainly not so addicted to +thieving as the Otaheitans. As a memorial of the visit, Cook gave the +chief a plate with the inscription, "His Britannick Majesty's Ship, +Endeavour, Lieutenant Cook, Commander, 16th July, 1769, Huaheine." He +also added "some medals, or counters of the English coins, struck in +1761, and other presents," and the recipient promised he would never part +with them. From this place they went on to Ulietea (Raiatea), landing on +the 21st; and after another ceremonial the English "Jack" was hoisted, +and possession taken of the whole group in the name of King George. Tupia +proved himself an excellent pilot, with great knowledge of the +localities, and, having sent down a diver at Huaheine to ascertain the +exact draught of the ship, he was very careful she never went into less +than five fathoms of water. He had evidently had great experience in +navigating these seas in canoes, boats of whose construction and sailing +qualities Cook speaks in the highest terms. Banks at this time remarks, +"we have now seen 17 islands in these seas, and have landed on five of +the most important; the language, manners and customs agreed most +exactly." + +Detained by adverse wind off Ataha, and finding the water coming badly +into the fore sail-room and powder-room, Cook put into the west side to +repair and take in ballast, as the ship was getting too light to carry +sail on a wind. He took the opportunity to survey to the north with Banks +and Solander. Putting into one place, they were well received and +entertained with music and dancing, and Cook's verdict was that "neither +their Musick or Dancing were at all calculated to please a European." A +sort of farce was also acted, but they could make nothing of it, except +that it "showed that these people have a notion of Dramatic +Performances." + +During the whole stay in the Society Group they had been very well off +for fresh food, consequently their sea stores had been little called on. + +Jarvis, in his History of the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands, says that +with Cook "a silence in regard to the maritime efforts of his +predecessors is observable throughout his Journals"; and as a proof that +he traded on the knowledge of others, he remarks that at Otaheite he made +enquiries if there were any islands to the north; and afterwards evinced +no surprise when he discovered them. Now Cook in his Journals constantly +shows that he compares his knowledge with that of others, and often +regrets he has not further records to consult. As for his enquiries, he +would have been grossly neglecting his duty had he not made them, for it +was only a commonsense method of procedure, which evidently Mr. Jarvis +could not understand. The result of these enquiries can be seen in the +British Museum in the shape of a map drawn by Cook from information given +by Tupia. On it are some sentences in the Otaheitan language. + + +CHAPTER 9. 1769 TO 1770. NEW ZEALAND. + +Leaving the Society Islands on 9th August, they were off Ohetiroa +(Rurutu), in the Central Group, on the 14th, but the natives were +unfriendly, and they did not land. A canoe came out to meet the pinnace +which had been sent to obtain information. The occupants, on being +presented with gifts, tried to steal the lot, and were fired over, but by +some mischance one of the natives was slightly wounded in the head, +whereupon they hurriedly retreated, and further attempts at communication +were abandoned. From this place the course was laid to the south to +strike the much-talked-of Southern Continent. The weather rapidly got +colder, and the pigs and fowls began to sicken and die. On 26th August +they celebrated the anniversary of leaving England by cutting a Cheshire +cheese and tapping a cask of porter, which proved excellent. + +On the 28th an unfortunate death occurred; the boatswain's mate, John +Reading, was given some rum by his chief, and it is supposed drunk it off +at once, for he was shortly afterwards found to be very drunk, and was +taken to his berth, but next morning was past recovery. + +On 2nd September, in latitude 40 degrees 22 minutes South, the weather +was very bad, and "having not the least visible signs of land," Cook +again turned northwards, in order to get better weather and then to push +west. The continuous swell convinced him there was no large body of land +to the south for many leagues. Towards the end of September frequent +signs were noted of being near land, floating seaweed, wood, the +difference in the birds, etc., so a gallon of rum was offered to the +first to sight land, and on 7th October the North Island of New Zealand, +never before approached from the east by Europeans, was seen by a boy +named Nicholas Young, the servant of Mr. Perry, surgeon's mate. The boy's +name is omitted from the early muster sheets of the ship, but appears on +18th April 1769, entered as A.B. in the place of Peter Flower, drowned. +Cook named the point seen, the south-west point of Poverty Bay, Young +Nick's Head. + +Tasman had discovered the west coast in 1642, and had given it the name +of Staten Land, but he never set foot on shore. He was driven away by the +natives, who killed four of his men, and naming the place Massacre (now +Golden) Bay, he sailed along the north-west coast, giving the headlands +the names they still bear. Dalrymple held that this land discovered by +Tasman was the west coast of the looked-for Terra Australis Incognita, +and his theory was now shattered. + +LAND IN NEW ZEALAND. + +Nearing the coast a bay was discovered into which the ship sailed, and +let go her anchor near the mouth of a small river, not far from where the +town of Guisborne now stands. Plenty of smoke was seen, showing the +country was inhabited, and the pinnace and yawl were manned and armed, +and Cook landed on the east side of the river. Some natives were seen on +the other side, and, to try to open communications, the yawl, pulled by +four boys, entered the river, whilst Cook followed up the natives, who +had retreated towards some huts about 300 yards away. Some Maoris, +thinking the boys would be an easy prey, tried to steal on the yawl, but +the coxswain of the pinnace observing them called the boat back. One of +the Maoris raised his spear to throw, and the coxswain fired over his +head, causing a moment's pause of surprise; but, seeing nothing further, +he again prepared to throw his spear, so the coxswain shot him, and his +friends retreated at once, leaving the body behind. Cook at once ordered +a return to the ship, as it was now getting dark. + +The next morning, seeing some men near the same place, Cook again landed +with Banks, Solander, and an armed party; and Solander went forward to +the brink of the river to try and speak with the natives, but was +received with a threatening waving of spears and a war dance. Cook +retired to the boats, and landing the marines, again advanced with Green, +Monkhouse, and Tupia. The latter spoke to the natives; and, to the great +delight of the party, found he could make himself understood. After a +little parley an unarmed native swam across the river, and was then +followed by twenty or thirty more with their arms. Presents were given, +but they seemed dissatisfied, and wanted arms. At last one stole Green's +hanger, and they all became very aggressive and insolent, whilst more +were seen to be preparing to cross; so Cook, thinking the position was +getting too serious, ordered the one who had taken the hanger, and who +was apparently the leader, to be shot, whereon the rest beat a hasty +retreat. + +The next day the boats tried to find another landing-place, but the surf +was too heavy; and when two canoes were seen coming in from the sea, Cook +determined to intercept them and try to come to friendly terms. However, +they would not stop when called on, and on a musket being fired over +them, the occupants seized their weapons and fiercely attacked the +nearest boat, its crew being compelled to fire in self-defence, and Cook +says two natives were killed. Banks gives the number as four, and the +Maori account agrees with him. Three jumped overboard to swim ashore, but +were picked up by the boats and taken on board ship. They were at first +very depressed, but soon recovered their spirits on finding themselves +well treated, and after eating and drinking enormously, entertained the +crew with songs and dances. Cook deeply regretted this incident, and +candidly confesses that he was not justified in trying to seize the +canoes, but having once committed himself, he was obliged for his own +safety to go to the bitter end. Banks says the day is "the most +disagreeable my life has yet seen; black be the mark for it, and heaven +send that such may never return to embitter future reflection." + +The next day a party landed to cut wood, and was accompanied by the three +captives, whom they tried to persuade to join their friends. The +suggestion was declined, as they professed to be afraid of being eaten, +and after a time went and hid in some bushes. Cook, noticing several +parties of armed natives advancing in a threatening manner, retired his +woodcutters across the river. About 150 to 200 Maoris gathered on the +opposite bank. Tupia was put forward to parley, and some presents were +shown, and at length one man came over who received a present from each +of the British and then rejoined his friends. Cook then returned to the +ship, taking with him the three youths, who still seemed afraid of their +own countrymen. They were again landed the next morning as the ship was +about to sail, and though they still professed to be frightened, were +soon seen walking away in friendly converse with some who had come to +meet them. + +NATIVE ACCOUNT. + +Mr. Polack, a New Zealand resident, gives an account in his New Zealand, +which he gathered from the children of natives who were present at the +landing of Cook. The tribe then living in the neighbourhood were recent +arrivals, their leader being Te Ratu--the first man killed by the +English. The natives were anxious to avenge him, but were afraid of the +"thunderbolts which killed at a long distance," some indeed went so far +as to say they felt ill if an Englishman looked at them. The idea of +revenge was only ended on the vessel leaving. Mr. Polack's chief witness +was the son of a man who was wounded by a ball in the shoulder, but +survived his wound till within a year or two of 1836, the time the +information was obtained. Before the ship left, a sort of peace was +patched up by means of presents, and the dead bodies which had been left +where they fell, apparently as a protest, were removed. + +Cook describes the country as a narrow slip of low sand, backed by +well-wooded hills, rising in the interior into high mountains, on which +patches of snow could be seen. That it was fairly populated was evident +from the smoke rising through the trees, more especially in the valleys +leading into Poverty Bay as he named it, because they were unable to get +anything but a small quantity of wood. + +At Hawke's Bay, whilst trading was going on, a large war canoe came up, +and the occupants received some presents. Cook noticed a man wearing a +cloak of some black skin, and offered a piece of red cloth for it. The +owner took it off, but would not part with it till he received the cloth, +and then his boat was pushed off from the ship, and Cook lost both his +cloak and his cloth. Soon after a determined attempt was made to steal +Tupia's boy, Tayeto, who was handing some things down to a canoe; the +Maoris had to be fired on, and in the consequent confusion the boy jumped +into the water and swam to the ship. The point off which this occurred +was named Cape Kidnapper. As there was no appearance of a harbour, Cook +altered his course to the north at Cape Turnagain, 40 degrees 34 minutes +South, to see if he could not do better in the other direction. + +All the canoes seen along this coast were well made, far in advance of +anything they had seen before, and the grotesque carving and ornamental +work was admirably executed. The dresses warn were usually two +cloak-shaped garments, one warn round the shoulders, the other round the +loins, and were made of a substance like hemp, some being very fine. +Banks had purchased something like them at Rio de Janeiro, for which he +gave thirty-six shillings, thinking it cheap, but these were as fine, if +not finer, in texture. Dogs, which were used as food, and rats were the +only quadrupeds seen. Whilst Banks and Solander were collecting, they +discovered a large natural arch, which the former describes as the most +magnificent surprise he had ever met with. It was sketched by Parkinson, +and is engraved in the History. Cook also made a pen-and-ink sketch of +it, which is in the British Museum. + +COOK'S WASHING STOLEN. + +On 31st October they rounded East Cape, and following the coast, which +trended more to the west, they saw a great number of villages and patches +of cultivation, some of the last looking as if freshly ploughed. The +whole aspect of the country was changing for the better, but the +inhabitants did not seem more peaceably inclined. Five canoes came out to +the ship fully armed, and apparently bent on mischief. Cook was very +busy, and did not want them on board, so to keep them off ordered a +musket to be fired over them; but as it only caused them to stop for a +moment, a round shot was sent over them, and they hurriedly turned tail. +The place was given the name Cape Runaway. White Island was named, but it +must have been quiescent as there is no note of its being a volcano. As +they sailed along the coast they met with canoes from which fish, +lobsters, and mussels were purchased, and trading seemed well +established, when one gentleman took a fancy to Cook's sheets, which were +trailing overboard (they were in the wash), and refused to give them up. +Muskets were fired over them and they fled, and Cook lost his sheets. +From near White Island, Mount Edgecombe was seen, named after the +sergeant of marines. It is a high round mountain, and forms a conspicuous +landmark on both sides of the North Island. During this day they had +noticed several small villages perched on difficult eminences and +surrounded by palisades, which Tupia declared were "Mories or places of +worship," but, says Cook: + +"I rather think they are places of retreat or strongholds, where they +defend themselves against the attack of an enemy, as some of them seem'd +not ill design'd for that purpose." + +British soldiers have since discovered that a Maori Pah is "not ill +designed for that purpose." Cook most unfortunately missed the Harbour of +Tauranga, the only safe port on the east coast between Auckland and +Wellington for ships of any size. + +NATIVE ACCOUNT. + +In what is now known as Cook's Bay, they managed to induce the natives to +trade, and purchased crayfish, over which Parkinson waxes enthusiastic, +and "Mackerell as good as ever was eat," the latter in such large +quantities that they were able to salt a considerable number, thus saving +their sea stores. After an observation of a transit of Mercury, in which +they were not very successful (Wharton thinks they were taken by +surprise, the transit occurring somewhat earlier than expected; Green +says: "Unfortunately for the seamen, their look-out was on the wrong side +of the sun. The end was likewise as grossly mistaken"), they returned to +the ship and found that there had been a difficulty with the natives, who +had assumed a very threatening manner, and one attempted to run off with +a piece of calico which was at that time a subject of barter. Mr. Gore +seized a musket and fired, killing his man. Colonel Mundy, in Our +Antipodes, says he saw a man named Taniwha, in 1848, who remembered +Cook's visit, and imitated his walk, with the peculiar manner he had of +waving his right hand, and also told of the kindly way Cook had with the +children. Taniwha told Mundy that after the man was shot, the Maoris +landed, consulted over the body, and decided that as the corpse +"commenced the quarrel by the theft of the calico, his death should not +be revenged, but that he should be buried in the cloth which he had paid +for with his life." Colonel Wynyard took down the same story from +Taniwha's lips in 1852, when he was supposed to be about ninety-three, +and says: "His faculties were little impaired, and his great age +perceptible more from a stoop and grey hairs than any other infirmity." +Cook expressed very strong disapproval of Mr. Gore's conduct. + +Next day Cook and Banks explored a river that entered near where they +were anchored, the east side of which was very barren, but the west was +much better, no signs of cultivation showing on either. Wild fowl were +plentiful, and oysters, "as good as ever came from Colchester," and of +about the same size, says Banks, were taken on board in large quantities: + +"laid down under the booms, and employed the ship's company very well, +who, I sincerely believe, did nothing but eat them from the time they +came on board till night, by which time a large part were expended. But +this gave us no kind of uneasiness, since we well knew that not the boat +only, but the ship might be loaded in one tide almost, as they are dry at +half ebb." + +Cook thinks the inhabitants lived on fish, and shell-fish, with fern +roots for bread, for very large heaps of shells were found, but no signs +of cultivation. + +A fortified village was visited, the inhabitants good-naturedly +conducting them all over, and showing whatever they expressed a wish to +see. It was built on a high promontory, whose sides were in some places +quite inaccessible, in others very difficult, except where it faced the +narrow edge of the hill. Here it was defended by a double ditch and bank, +with two rows of pickets, the inner row being on the bank, leaving +standing-room for the defenders. The inner ditch was 24 feet from bottom +to top of the bank. A stage about 30 feet high, 40 feet long, and 6 feet +wide, was erected inside the fence, with a second, a few paces from it, +placed at right angles; from these the garrison were able to throw their +spears and stones on to the heads of their enemies. The whole village was +surrounded by a strong picket fence, running close to the edge of the +hill. The entire surface of the top of the hill was cut up into small +squares, each surrounded by its own fence, and communicating by narrow +lanes, with little gateways, so that if the outer defences were forced +each square could be defended in turn. Cook says: + +"I look upon it to be a very strong and well choose Post, and where a +small number of resolute men might defend themselves a long time against +a vast superior force, armed in the manner as these people are." + +He noticed, with quick eye, the great failing in these native fortresses, +that is, the want of storage for water. In these Maori villages it was +remarked that sanitary arrangements were provided, such as, says Beckmann +in his History of Inventions, did not exist in the palace of the King of +Spain at that time. + +Large quantities of iron sand were noted here, but the use was quite +unknown to the natives, who were indifferent to the iron tools or spikes +which had hitherto been such a valuable medium of exchange elsewhere. A +large supply of wild celery and a fresh boat-load of oysters were put on +board; a tree was marked with the name of the ship, the date, and one or +two other particulars, the flag was hoisted, saluted, and possession +taken of the country, and the ship sailed again on her journey. + +AT THE THAMES. + +Running closely along the coast, they hauled round Cape Colville into +"the Entrance of a Straight, Bay or River," and anchored for the night, +and in the morning they stood on along the east side. Canoes came off, +and from the behaviour of the occupants, some of whom came on board at +the first invitation, it was judged that favourable accounts had been +heard of the ship. After running about 5 leagues the water shoaled to +about 6 fathoms, and the ship anchored, and boats were sent out to sound. +No great increase of depth being found, the pinnace and long-boat went up +a river about 9 miles away, and on account of a fancied resemblance named +it the Thames. They landed at a village near the mouth, being well +received, but desiring to take advantage of the flood-tide which ran "as +strong as it does in the River Thames below bridge," they made no stay; +they went up about 14 miles, and then, finding little alteration in the +appearance of the country, landed to inspect some large trees of a kind +they had previously noticed. One was carefully measured, and was found to +be 19 feet 6 inches girth at 6 feet from the ground, and, by means of +Cook's quadrant, 89 feet to the lowest branch. It was perfectly straight, +and tapered very slightly, and some were seen that were even larger. This +was the Black Pine; to the Maoris, Matoi, and to the naturalist, +Podocarpus. + +On the way down the river their friends of the morning came out and +"traffick'd with us in the most friendly manner imaginable, until they +had disposed of the few trifles they had." When the boats got outside +they had to anchor, as a strong tide and breeze were against them, and +they did not reach the ship till next morning, when the breeze had +increased to a gale, and topgallant yards had to be struck. When the wind +dropped, what was left was against them, and the Endeavour would only go +with the tide, so Cook took a run ashore to the west side of the bay, but +saw nothing of interest, and concluded it was but sparsely inhabited. +Whilst he was away natives went off to trade and behaved remarkably well, +with the exception of one man who was caught making off with the +half-hour glass, so Mr. Hicks had him triced up, and he was given a dozen +lashes. When it was explained to his friends why this was done, they +expressed their approval, and on his release an old man gave him another +thrashing. + +The weather now became very unsettled, and they were not able to keep as +near the coast as they desired, but on 26th November some cultivated +spots were seen, and several canoes came off. + +"Some of the natives ventur'd on board; to two, who appeared to be +chiefs, I gave presents. After these were gone out of the ship, the +others became so Troublesome that in order to get rid of them, we were at +the expense of two or three Musquet Balls and one 4 pound shott, but as +no harm was intended them, none they received, unless they happened to +overheat themselves in pulling ashore." + +A STAMPEDE. + +To the west side of Cape Brett is a deep bay which was seen but not +named, and here the town of Russell is now established, said to possess +one of the finest harbours in the world, into which vessels of any +draught can enter in all weathers and at any state of the tide. The +natives were found difficult to deal with, and "would cheat whenever they +had an opportunity." The ship left its anchorage, but was after a time +driven back again, and Cook, with a party, took the opportunity to land. +They were followed up by the Maoris, and were soon surrounded by about +two hundred of them, some of whom tried to seize the boats, but being +driven off tried to break in on the party. Several charges of small shot, +which did no serious damage, were fired into them, and then the ship +fired a 4 pounder over them, which caused a stampede, and during the rest +of the stay there was no further trouble, but Cook had to punish three of +his own men for stealing potatoes from one of the plantations. He +invariably tried to hold the balance fairly between his men and the +natives. + +The country is described as very similar to that seen before, but the +number of inhabitants was greater, and though apparently not under the +same chiefs, they were on good terms with each other, and inclined to be +civil to their visitors. A good deal of the ground was under cultivation, +producing good sweet-potatoes. A few trees of the paper-mulberry were +seen, from which the natives made a cloth in a similar manner to the +Otaheitans, but the quantity was so small that it was only used for +ornament. Tupia, who had been instructed to gain as much information +about the people as he could, was informed that some of their ancestors +once went off in large canoes and discovered a country to the north-west +after a passage of about a month, only a small number returning. These +reported they had been to a place where the people ate hogs, using the +same word for the animal as the Otaheitans, Tupia asked if they had any +in New Zealand, and the reply was "no." He asked if their ancestors +brought any back, again the answer was "no"; whereon he told them their +story must be a lie, for their ancestors could never have been such fools +as to come back without some. The land said to have been discovered may +have been New Caledonia. + +One of the men who had been wounded at the first coming of the ship was +seen by Banks. A ball had gone through his arm and grazed his chest. He +did not seem to have any pain, and the wound though exposed to the air, +was perfectly healthy, and he was greatly pleased to receive a musket +ball like the one which had wounded him. + +When leaving the bay they nearly grounded, being set by the current +towards a small island, but the boats towed them clear. Very soon after +they struck on an unseen rock, which was named Whale Rock, but almost +immediately got clear, with no "perceptible damage," into twenty fathoms. + +BLOWN OFF THE LAND. + +Progress was now very slow, owing either to want of, or adverse wind. On +10th December they discovered two bays separated by a low neck of land, +Knuckle Point; one bay was named Doubtless Bay and the other Sandy Bay; +the country is described as nothing but irregular white sandhills, and +Cook concluded from its appearance that the island was here very narrow +and exposed to the open sea on the west. This he soon proved to be +correct. Foster, in his account of the Second Voyage, says that when the +Endeavour was passing Doubtless Bay, M. de Surville was anchored under +the land, in the Saint Jean Baptiste, and saw Cook's ship, though himself +unseen. In the account of De Surville's voyage, published by the Academie +Francaise, it is stated that New Zealand was not sighted till 12th +December 1769, and owing to bad weather no anchorage was gained till +17th. No mention whatever is made of the Endeavour being sighted, and M. +l'Abbe Rochon, the editor, thinks it most probable that neither navigator +knew anything of the movements of the other. De Surville mentions having +lost anchors in a place he calls Double Bay, during a storm "ABOUT 22nd +December," and it may possibly have been the one Cook encountered on the +28th off the north end of the island. They were blown out of sight of +land on the 13th, the main topsail being split, and next day both fore +and mizzen topsails were lost, but they managed to bring up under shelter +of a small island off Knuckle Point. On the 15th the latitude was found +to be 34 degrees 6 minutes South, with land visible to the south-west, +and a large swell was coming from the west, so Cook concluded this was +the most northerly point of the island, and named it North Cape. + +After beating about for some days against westerly winds, they ran up +north, returning southwards 23rd December, and the following day sighted +land to the south-east, which proved to be Tasman's Three Kings. Here +Banks provided the Christmas dinner, shooting several solan geese, which +were made into a pie, and were "eaten with great approbation; and in the +evening all hands were as drunk as our forefathers used to be upon like +occasions." + +On the 27th, when about thirty leagues west of North Cape, and about the +same latitude as the Bay of Islands, no land in sight, the wind rose so +that they had to bring to, under the mainsail, but moderated a little the +next day so that they could run in towards the land. Again it freshened +up and blew a perfect hurricane, accompanied by heavy rain, and a +"prodidgeous high sea," which caused the ship to go greatly to leeward. +On the 30th, Cape Maria van Diemen was seen about six leagues off, the +land extending east and south. On the last day of the year their position +was given as "34 degrees 42 minutes South, Cape Maria van Diemen +North-East by North about 5 leagues." Cook says: + +"I cannot help thinking but what it will appear a little strange that, at +this season of the year, we should be three weeks in getting fifty +leagues, for so long is it since we pass'd Cape Brett; but it will hardly +be credited that in the midst of summer and in the latitude of 35 degrees +South such a gale of wind as we have had could have happened, which for +its strength and continuance was such as I hardly was ever in before. +Fortunately at this time we were a good distance from land, otherwise it +would have proved fatal to us." + +VEGETABLE SHEEP. + +On 2nd January 1770 Cook fixed the position of Cape Maria van Diemen, +giving it as 34 degrees 30 minutes South, 187 degrees 18 minutes West of +Greenwich. Admiral Wharton remarks that this is extraordinarily correct, +seeing that the ship was never close to the Cape, and the observations +were all taken in very bad weather. The latitude is exact, and the +longitude only three miles out. He missed seeing Kaipara Harbour, one of +the few good ones on the west coast, and describes the land as having a +most desolate and inhospitable appearance, nothing but sandhills with +hardly a sign of vegetation on them, and says: "If we was once clear of +it, I am determined not to come so near again if I can avoid it, unless +we have a very favourable wind indeed." On the 11th, a high mountain, its +summit covered with snow, was seen, and named Mount Egmont; Wharton gives +its height as 8,300 feet, and describes it as a magnificent conical +mountain surrounded on three sides by the sea. Banks notes on the sides +of the hill "many white lumps in companies which bore much resemblance to +flocks of sheep." These were a peculiar plant, Raoulia mammillaris +(Hooker), known in New Zealand as vegetable sheep. Fires were seen, the +first sign of inhabitants on the west coast. + +On the 14th, thinking he was in the entrance of a large bay, Cook ran in +under the southern coast, and finding it broken into promising-looking +bays, determined to run into one and careen the ship, as she was very +foul; it is now called Ship Cove, in Queen Charlotte's Sound. Here they +were at once visited by canoes, whose fully armed occupants commenced +acquaintance by "heaving a few stones against the ship." Tupia opened a +conversation, and a few ventured on board, but did not make a long stay. +Cook then landed to look for water, and soon found an excellent supply, +and "as to wood the land is here an entire forest." Whilst he was away, +the crew got out the nets, and caught about 300 pounds of fish. Some +natives also came off with fish, and though it was not good, Cook ordered +it to be bought, in order to open up trade with them. However, they soon +found these people were inclined to be quarrelsome and threatening, and +as the ship was in an awkward position, being already hove down for +cleaning, a charge of small shot was fired at the worst offender, which +quickly taught them to behave better in future. + +They had long suspected the natives were addicted to cannibalism, and now +they proved it, as they purchased the bone of a forearm of a man, from +which the flesh had been recently picked, and were given to understand +that a few days before a strange canoe had arrived, and its occupants had +been killed and eaten. They only ate their enemies, but held all +strangers to be such. The place where the ship was careened was, +according to Wharton, about 70 miles from Massacre Bay, where Tasman's +men were killed, and Cook endeavoured to find out if there were any +traditions of visits from ships to the neighbourhood, but could gain no +information. The natives became friendly as time went on, and brought +good fish which they sold for nails, cloth, paper (a great favourite at +first, but when they found it would not stand water, worthless), and Cook +says: "In this Traffic they never once attempted to defraud us of any one +thing, but dealt as fair as people could do." + +The surrounding country was too thickly timbered for them to see much, +but one day, being out in a boat trying to find the end of the inlet, +Cook took the opportunity of climbing a thickly timbered hill, and from +there saw, far away to the eastward, that the seas which washed both west +and eastern coasts were united, and that one part of New Zealand, at any +rate, was an island, and he had thus solved one of the problems he had +given him in England. They also saw that much of their immediate +neighbourhood was not mainland as they had thought, but consisted of a +number of small islands. + +A MORE SENSIBLE PEOPLE. + +The population of the district was estimated at only some three or four +hundred, and appeared to subsist on fish and fern roots. They were +evidently poorer than those seen previously, and their canoes are +described as "mean and almost without ornament." They soon understood the +value of iron, and readily took spike nails when trading, and greatly +preferred "Kersey and Broadcloth to the Otaheite cloth, which show'd them +to be a more sensible people than many of their neighbours," says Cook. + +An old man, who had previously paid several visits, complained that one +of the ships boats had fired on and wounded two Maoris, one of whom was +since dead. On enquiry, Cook found that the Master and five petty +officers, fishing beyond the usual limits, were approached by two canoes +in what they thought was a threatening manner and had fired to keep them +off. A second native assured Cook no death had occurred, and enquiry +failed to discover one; but Cook very severely condemned the action of +his men as totally unjustifiable. The ship had, by this time, been +brought into fairly good trim, being clean, freshly caulked and tarred, +and broken ironwork all repaired, so preparations were made to push +through the straits; but, before leaving, two posts were set up, one near +the watering place, and the other on the island, Motuara, on which the +name of the ship and the date of the visit had been cut, and possession +was taken of this land, the king's health being drunk, and the empty +bottle presented to the old man who had complained about the shooting, +and who was greatly delighted with his present; he also was given some +silver threepenny pieces, dated 1763, and spike nails marked with the +broad arrow. + +On getting out into the strait a very strong current nearly drove them on +to a small island, the anchor would not hold, and only a change in the +current, probably caused by the tide, saved them. The southern point of +the North Island was named "Cape Pallisser, in honour of my worthy +friend, Captain Pallisser," and the north point of the South Island was +called Cape Campbell, after Captain John Campbell, F.R.S., who had been +one of Cook's strongest supporters as Observer for the Royal Society. + +When through the straits Cook was turning south, but finding some of his +people were not quite satisfied as to the part they had passed being an +island, he took a northerly course till Cape Turnagain was recognised, +when he at once went about for the south. Banks says: + +"At this time there were two parties on board, one who wished that the +land in sight might, and the others that it might not, prove to be a +continent. I myself have always been most firm in the former wish, though +sorry I am to say that my party is so small that there are none heartily +of it than myself, and one poor midshipman, the rest begin to sigh for +roast beef." + +The east coast was followed down to Banks Peninsula, which was at first +thought might be an island, and is marked by dotted lines as doubtful in +Cook's chart, when Gore thought he had seen land to the east, and Cook, +though convinced it was a mistake, ran out to make sure. On returning the +winds proved contrary, and their progress was very slow, but they several +times succeeded in running close in to the land, and from what they could +see concluded it was very barren, with high ranges in the interior and +with very few evidences of inhabitants. A favourable breeze springing up +from the north, they tried to make the most of it, "and by that means +carried away the main topgallant mast and fore topmast steering-sail +boom, but these were soon replaced by others." A high bluff was named +after Admiral Saunders, and near were several bays, "wherein there +appear'd to be anchorage and shelter from South-West, Westerly, and +North-West winds." One of these is now Otago Harbour, the port of +Dunedin. + +THE TRAPS. + +On 26th February it blew hard from west-south-west, so they stood +southward. They lost the fore-sail, and then the wind moderated, only to +come on with increased fury about daylight, when their main topsail went. +The storm continued for forty-eight hours, and half that time they lay +to, heading south. After being lost for seven days the land was again +sighted near Cape Saunders, and at night a large fire was seen on shore. +On 6th March, being satisfied that he had passed the south point of the +island, Cook altered his course to the west, and nearly ran on some +partially submerged rocks a few miles to the south-east of Stewart +Island, to which he gave the suggestive name of the Traps. They were +again blown off, but picked up the land again at the western end of +Foveaux Straits. Again they had to run off, returning to near Dusky Bay, +which he wished to enter as he thought it looked a likely harbour, but +the difficulty of getting out again and consequent waste of time +prevented him. Off Cape Foulwind--suggestive name--they were again blown +out to sea, but soon recovered their position, and Cook describes the +land: + +"No country upon earth can appear with a more rugged and barren aspect +than this does from the sea, for as far inland as the eye can reach +nothing is to be seen but the summits of these rocky mountains, which +seem to lay so near one another as not to admit any vallies between +them." + +On the 24th they rounded the north point of the South Island, and on the +27th Cook writes: "As we have now circumnavigated the whole of this +country, it is time for me to think of quitting it." He had thus carried +out to the fullest extent the instructions to determine the situation and +nature of the land seen by Tasman in 1642, and had done it in the most +conclusive manner possible--by sailing round it--and thus upset Mr. +Dalrymple's favourite theory that it formed part of a continent. + +In Admiralty Bay, which he entered to refit for the homeward voyage, the +sails were found to require a thorough overhaul, for, as Banks says, +they: + +"were ill-provided from the first, and were now worn and damaged by the +rough work they had gone through, particularly on the New Zealand coast, +and they gave no little trouble to get into order again." + +The two points forming the bay were appropriately named after the +Secretaries of the Admiralty, Stephens and Jackson. + +The opinion was expressed that European fruits, grain, etc., would grow +well in New Zealand, and an agricultural population would be successful. +Timber of excellent quality was plentiful, and it was believed that New +Zealand flax promised to be of considerable commercial value. Fish was +found in great quantities, the lobsters and oysters being specially +remarkable for quality and quantity. No quadrupeds except dogs and rats +were seen, and birds did not seem very plentiful. The minerals, in Cook's +opinion, did not appear of much value, but he admitted that he was not an +authority on the subject. Banks notes the southern islanders appeared to +be an inferior race to those of the north, the latter probably more +closely allied to the Otaheitan type; many of their customs were similar, +and their language practically identical. Tupia had no difficulty in +making himself understood. + +It would seem that even at this time founding a colony in the southern +hemisphere had been under discussion, for Cook says that if a settlement +were decided on in New Zealand, he would recommend the Estuary of the +Thames and the Bay of Islands as most suitable for the purpose. + +Speaking of his chart of New Zealand, Cook points out frankly the places +where he thinks he may have fallen into error, and gives his reasons for +so thinking, and the opinions of others are worth recording. + +A DULL SAILOR. + +Admiral Wharton says: + +"Never has a coast been as well laid down by a first explorer, and it +must have required unceasing vigilance and continual observation in fair +weather and foul, to arrive at such a satisfactory conclusion, and with +such a dull sailor as the Endeavour was, the six and a half months +occupied in the work (2,400 miles of coast) must be counted as a short +interval in which to do it." + +M. Crozet, second to M. Marion du Fresne in command of the French +expedition that was out in the following year, says: + +"As soon as I obtained information of the voyage of Cook, I carefully +compared the chart I had prepared of that part of the coast of New +Zealand along which we had coasted, with that prepared by Captain Cook +and his officers. I found it of an exactitude and of a thoroughness of +detail which astonished me beyond all power of expression. I doubt +whether our own coasts of France have been delineated with more +precision. I think therefore that I cannot do better than to lay down our +track of New Zealand on the chart prepared by the celebrated English +navigator." + + +CHAPTER 10. 1770. AUSTRALIA. + +The next thing to be done was to decide the course to be taken towards +England. Cook would have liked to have returned by the Horn and thus +settle the existence or non-existence of a large body of land in the +South Pacific, but the time of year and the condition of his ship +suggested that would be to court disaster. The same reasons held good +against a direct course to the Cape of Good Hope, with the added +disadvantage of there being no probability of any fresh discoveries, as +that part of the Ocean had been frequently traversed. + +"It was therefore resolved to return by way of the East Indies by the +following route. Upon leaving this coast to the Westward until we fall in +with the East coast of New Holland, and then to follow the direction of +that coast to the Northward or what other direction it might take us, +until we arrive at its Northern extremity; and if it should be found +impracticable then to Endeavour to fall in with the Land or Islands +discovered by Quiros." + +This extract from Cook's Journal shows that he made no claim to the +discovery of Australia, and settles the stupid story that his connection +with the discovery of the east coast was an accident. It was a course +laid down after thorough consideration of the best charts, very poor at +best, in his possession. + +BOTANY BAY. + +The good ship Endeavour got under way on 31st March 1770, with a +favourable wind and clear sky, heading a little north of west. On the +16th a change in the birds denoted the neighbourhood of land, and after a +touch of contrary wind, on 19th April 1770 Lieutenant Hicks sighted land +extending from north-east to west, distant five or six leagues. This was +the looked-for east coast of New Holland, and the ship was at the +entrance of Bass Straits, but on his chart Cook shows by a dotted line +that he felt uncertain whether van Diemen's Land was joined to New +Holland or no. The low hill which was first seen was named Point Hicks +after its discoverer, and its position is given as 38 degrees 0 minutes +South, 211 degrees 7 minutes West. Three waterspouts were seen a short +distance from the ship, and are remarkable as being the first ones +mentioned in the log. The course was altered to the north, and the +country is described as rather low, not very hilly, covered with green +woods, and the shore of white sand. Cape Howe was named the following +day, and the position fixed as 37 degrees 28 minutes South, 210 degrees 3 +minutes West, which Wharton says is almost exact. The country now +appeared to be improving in character, and smoke proved the existence of +inhabitants, but none were visible till Cape Dromedary and Bateman's Bay +were passed, when some were seen on the shore, but too far away for +observation. Cook wished to land at Jervis Bay, but the wind was against +him, and he could not afford time to beat in. An attempt was +unsuccessfully made at a place that has been identified a little north of +Five Islands, near Illawarra, but the surf was too heavy. At daylight on +Sunday, 29th April, a bay was discovered, and the Master was sent in to +sound the entrance, the ship following closely, and soon the Endeavour +anchored for the first time in Australian waters, about two miles within +the entrance of Sting Ray, now Botany, Bay. (For note see below.) The +time when the name of the Bay was changed has been much disputed, but it +is probable it was done some time after leaving the place. It was called +Sting Ray on account of the big haul of that fish made soon after their +arrival and the name stands in all the logs; Banks refers to it under +that name in a general description of the country, written when leaving +Cape York. Cook is however, decisive, for under date 6th May he says: +"The great quantity of plants Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander found in this +place occasioned my giving it the name of Botany Bay." + +On coming to an anchor, Cook, Banks, and Tupia went on shore, and Canon +Bennett, a second cousin of Mrs. Cook's, and one who knew her personally, +relates that the family legend was that on reaching the shore Cook +ordered the midshipman to "Jump out, Isaac," and Isaac Smith (afterwards +Admiral) also a cousin of Mrs. Cook's, was the first Englishman to set +his foot on the soil of New South Wales. The few natives who were near +ran away, excepting two, who came forward to oppose any landing. A musket +was fired over them, and they retired to where they had left their +spears, and then one threw a stone at the boat, and as they were too far +away for any serious damage to be done, Cook fired a charge of small shot +at him. He then ran off to a small hut near, picked up a wooden shield, +and returned to take up his position alongside his comrade, and they +threw a couple of spears, receiving a second discharge of small shot in +return, which caused them to retire slowly. As Banks, suspicious of some +gummy substance on the points of the spears, suggested poison, they were +not followed up. The huts, found near the landing-place, were constructed +of sticks covered with pieces of bark somewhat similar to those seen in +Tierra del Fuego. Some children found carefully covered up were left +undisturbed, but forty or fifty spears were taken, and payment in the +shape of beads, cloth, nails, etc., was left, but still untouched, on +visiting the camp the next morning. The canoes from which the natives +were seen fishing are described by Cook as the worst he ever saw, being +merely sheets of bark tied with withies at the end and kept open in the +middle by a stick. + +Considerable difficulty was experienced in obtaining water, and whilst +the crew were procuring it, Cook made a survey of the harbour. He +describes the country as lightly timbered, with a sandy soil growing a +plentiful crop of coarse grass, of which a quantity was cut for the +sheep. The soil was interspersed with rocks and swamps, but at the head +of the bay appeared richer. A few natives were seen, who ran away when +observed, and though one or two spears were thrown no damage was done to +any one. Large heaps of oyster, mussel, and cockle shells were found, +amongst them, says Cook, "being some of the largest oyster shells I ever +saw." An account, said to have been obtained from the blacks, published +in a work on Australian discovery (anonymous, Sydney), agrees as far as +it goes with those of Cook and Banks, and it is almost unnecessary to say +the ship was at first taken for a large bird. + +SUTHERLAND'S DEATH. + +Whilst here, a seaman named Forbes (Forby, in the Muster Roll) +Sutherland, died of consumption, from which he had suffered throughout +the voyage, was buried on shore, and the point named Point Sutherland in +his memory. The anonymous pamphlet referred to above, says that Cook does +not give the cause of Sutherland's death, and that he had been fatally +wounded by the blacks whilst trying to secure a metal plate he had found +affixed to a tree, recording that the Dutch had previously been on the +spot. The pamphlet goes on to say that Cook suppressed these facts in +order to have the credit of being the first discoverer, but that the +plate had been secured by some one and deposited in the British Museum. +Unfortunately, Cook does give the cause of Sutherland's death, and the +plate is not in the British Museum, nor has it ever been heard of there. +Before leaving, an inscription was cut on a tree near the watering place, +giving the ship's name and date; the English colours were displayed on +shore every day during their stay, but they could not establish any +friendly intercourse with the blacks. A plate has since been attached to +the rocks about fifteen feet above high water, and as near as possible to +the supposed place of landing. + +After leaving Botany Bay the coast was followed up to the north, and Cook +noted an "entrance" which he thought might prove a safe anchorage, to +which he gave the name of Port Jackson, after Mr. George Jackson, one of +the Secretaries to the Admiralty. Within this entrance is now the city of +Sydney, and it was to this place that Captain Phillip removed his +headquarters when he had discovered the unsuitability of Botany Bay for +settlement. Broken Bay, named from the number of small islands therein, +was passed, and the voyage was rendered very slow by the light northerly +winds, and passing Cape Hawke, he found the set of the current had placed +him twelve miles in advance, when reckoned by the log, of his real +position given by observation. + +Almost the only thing to be seen beyond the outline of the coast was the +constantly recurring smoke; one point received the name of Smoky Cape on +account of the great quantity seen in its vicinity. Cook, of course, was +unaware that these "smokes" were probably, many of them, signals from one +party of blacks to another of the arrival of something strange on the +coast. That these "smokes" are used by the blacks as a means of +communication is a well recognised fact, and the news they can convey by +this means is perfectly astonishing to a white man. + +The country appeared to increase in height with: + +"an agreeable variety of Hills, Ridges, and Valleys, and large plains all +clothed with wood, which to all appearance is the same as I have before +mentioned as we could discover no visible difference in the soil." + +After escaping a reef off Point Danger they discovered a bay, which Cook +called Morton Bay after the Earl of Morton, P.R.S.; now wrongly spelt as +Moreton Bay. Here, from the colour of the water, they supposed a river +emptied into the sea; the surmise was correct, for they were at the mouth +of the Brisbane River. At the same time some curiously-shaped hills were +given the name of the Glasshouses, from their resemblance to the +buildings in which glass is manufactured, and the resemblance is most +striking. + +After rounding Breaksea Spit, Cook found himself in a large bay, and +conjectured, from the birds and the direction of their flight, that there +was fresh water to the south-west; and rightly, for here the Mary River +enters Hervey's Bay. On 23rd May they landed for the second time, and +Cook says this was "visibly worse than the last place," that is Botany +Bay. They managed to shoot a bustard of 17 1/2 pounds, and Banks says it +was "as large as a good turkey, and far the best we had eaten since we +left England." It was so much appreciated that its name was conferred on +Bustard Head and Bustard Bay. This bird is known in Australia as the +Plain Turkey. Oysters of good quality were also obtained, and Banks made +the personal acquaintance of the green tree ant and the Australian +mosquito, neither of which were appreciated. + +CAPE CAPRICORN. + +On 24th May a moderately high, white, barren-looking point was passed, +which being found by observation to be directly under the tropic was +named Cape Capricorn, and soon after the mouth of the Fitzroy was +crossed, with the remark from Cook that from general appearances he +believed there was a river in the immediate vicinity. Soundings becoming +very irregular, he ran out between the Keppel Islands, on one of which +natives were seen. Cape Townshend was named after Charles Townshend, one +of the Lords of the Admiralty when the Endeavour left England, and not +the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as stated by Wharton. + +Rounding the point into Shoalwater Bay they had to haul sharp up to the +west to get within the Northumberland Islands, and the water was found to +be so shallow that they anchored and sounded from the boats, gradually +working nearer in, as Cook was anxious to clean the ship's bottom, which +was very foul; and he desired to take advantage of the full moon in these +dangerous waters. They landed to take some observations and look for +water. The observations were unsatisfactory, for the compass was +unreliable, a fault attributed to the ironstone in the neighbourhood, of +which signs were very evident, and water was not to be found. The country +is reported on as follows: "No signs of fertility is to be seen upon the +Land; the soil of the uplands is mostly a hard, reddish clay." + +Passing Cape Hillsborough, they entered Whitsunday Passage, described by +Cook as "one continued safe harbour, besides a number of small bays and +coves on each side, where ships might lay as it were in a Basin." The +land on both sides was green and pleasant-looking, but on account of the +moonlight Cook could not waste any time in landing. + +Entering Cleveland Bay, the compass was again very much disturbed; the +cause was found to be Magnetical, now Magnetic, Island, lying just off +the present Port of Townsville. Blacks were seen, near Rockingham Bay, +through the glasses; they were said to be very dark and destitute of +clothing, but no communication with them was possible. + +ON THE ROCKS. + +On 10th June, after leaving a small bay north of Cape Grafton, where they +had searched in vain for a watering place, the watch had just turned in, +the lead had been cast and given seventeen fathoms, when the unfortunate +ship brought all hands on deck, with a crash on a sunken rock. Soundings +taken all round showed her to be on the very edge of a coral reef. Making +but little water, an attempt was made to warp her off, but +unsuccessfully. Steps were then taken to lighten her; decayed stores, oil +jars, staves, casks, ballast, and her six quarter-deck guns were thrown +overboard, some forty to fifty tons, but with no effect. The tide now +rising, the leaks increased rapidly, two pumps being kept constantly at +work. Thinking things could only go from bad to worse, Cook determined to +heave her off at all hazards, and every one who could be spared from the +pumps was sent to the capstan or windlass, and at length, after a stay of +twenty-three hours on the rocks, she was hove into deep water. Now, +however, it was a case of all hands to the pumps, and for a time it +seemed as if they were slowly gaining on the in-rushing water, but +suddenly there was an increase reported in the well, casting a shadow of +gloom over all, but not for an instant staying the steady beat of the +pumps. Shortly it was discovered that a fresh hand had been sent to the +well and had sounded from a different mark than his predecessor, +accounting for the sixteen to eighteen inches difference in the depth of +water reported. This discovery acted like a charm: each one redoubled his +exertions, and by morning they had gained considerably on the leak, so +sail was made, and they slowly crawled in towards the land. + +Midshipman Monkhouse had been on a ship which was leaking at the rate of +forty-eight inches per hour, and had seen the operation called +"fothering" so successfully performed on her, that, without further +repair, she had sailed from Virginia to London. This being brought to +Cook's ear, he gave Monkhouse the charge of carrying out a similar +experiment. A studding sail was taken, on which oakum and wool was +lightly sewn and smothered with dirt; it was then lowered over the bows +and dragged by ropes over the place where the worst of the leak was +situated, and there secured, with the result, according to Banks, that in +a quarter of an hour after it was in position they were able to pump the +ship clear, and Cook says one pump was sufficient to keep her free. + +Of the conduct of the crew, Cook says: + +"In justice to the ship's company, I must say that no men ever behaved +better than they have done on this occasion; animated by the behaviour of +every Gentleman on board, every man seem'd to have a just sense of the +Danger we were in, and exerted himself to the very utmost." + +Banks adds his testimony: + +"Every man exerts his utmost for the preservation of the ship. The +officers during the whole time never gave an order that did not show them +to be perfectly composed and unmoved by the circumstances, however +dreadful they might appear." + +A point off which the reef was situated was given the suggestive name of +Cape Tribulation, and some small islands near, Hope Islands, because, as +Cook says, he hoped, at the time of their greatest danger, they might be +able to reach them. What a prospect to hope for! No possibility of ever +seeing a friendly sail, and but little probability of ever being able to +reach a civilised port. + +THE ENDEAVOUR RIVER. + +A boat sent off to search for some spot where temporary repairs could be +executed, soon returned and reported a small river had been found which +appeared suitable. This was the Endeavour River, and into it the ship was +safely taken, and deep water being found close to the bank, a stage was +rigged, and most of the stores and ballast were taken on shore; a +hospital was erected for the sick, "which amounted at this time to some +eight or nine afflicted with different disorders, but none very +dangerously ill." Green and Tupia were showing symptoms of scurvy, but +the remainder appear to have been free from it. + +As soon as the ship was sufficiently lightened she was warped a little +further up the river, and at the top of the tide her bows were hauled +well into the bank, so that when the tide fell they were able to examine +the leak. The damage was found to be very serious; the rock had cut +through four planks into the timbers, and three other planks had been +badly injured. The manner in which the ship had been injured was "hardy +credible, scarce a splinter was to be seen, but the whole was cut away as +if done with a blunt-edged tool." A piece of the rock was found wedged in +the hole, and had greatly assisted in arresting the influx of water. The +sheathing and false keel were very badly damaged, but it was believed +that she was not much injured aft, as she made but little water when once +the main wound was dry. + +At what is believed to be the exact spot at which the Endeavour was +beached, a monument has been erected by the inhabitants of Cooktown, a +seaport now at the mouth of the river. + +There being no danger from the natives the crew were allowed as much +liberty as possible, and a good supply of fish, a few pigeons and a small +quantity of vegetables, in the shape of yam tops, cabbage palm, and wild +plantains, had a very beneficial effect on their health. The longitude +was calculated from an observation of "the Emersion of Jupiter's First +Satelite," as 214 degrees 42 minutes 30 seconds West, which Wharton +remarks on as being an excellent observation, the true longitude being +214 degrees 45 minutes West. + +INCENDIARISM BY BLACKS. + +On 4th July the good ship was afloat again, so well repaired that only +about an inch of water per hour was taken in, easily kept under by the +pumps. She was laid over on a sandbank on the opposite side of the river +and more carefully examined, the sheathing being found to be very badly +damaged. The carpenter, in whom Cook had every confidence, reported that, +with the means at his disposal, he could not make a satisfactory job, but +he thought they might push on to some place where greater facilities +could be obtained. She was therefore taken alongside the staging, the +stores and ballast replaced, everything got ready for the prosecution of +the voyage, and the Master sent off in the pinnace to look for a passage +to the north-east; but was unsuccessful. He was again sent out, but again +reported badly; the shoals appeared to get worse the further he went. He, +however, brought back with him three turtles weighing about 800 pounds, +which were most welcome as the crew had now been some months without +fresh meat; a second trip to where these were caught resulted in getting +three or four more, and a large supply of shell-fish. They had made +several attempts to get on good terms with the few natives they had seen, +and on one occasion two or three who were fishing had a long and animated +conversation with Tupia, in which neither party could understand the +other, though one or two were persuaded to visit the camp. Shortly before +the last of the stores were taken in, Cook and Banks received friendly +overtures from a small party, and ten of them visited the ship. They were +offered various gifts, but seemed to set little value on anything except +the turtles. They made signs they wanted them, and when they found these +signs ignored, attempted to carry off two, and when their aim was +frustrated, went ashore to where some of the crew were at work. One of +them took a lighted stick from under the pitch kettle, and, making a wide +circuit round the place, fired the grass as he ran. Fortunately there +were not many things left ashore, and the powder had just been safely got +on board, so the most serious damage appears to have been the premature +roasting of a young pig. They then went off to where others of the crew +were washing, and drying the fishing nets, and another attempt was made +to burn the grass; but a charge of small shot caused a retreat, and on +their way they set fire to the undergrowth to cover their repulse. Banks +was greatly impressed with the manner in which the grass and undergrowth +burnt, and declared he would never pitch tents again without first +burning the grass for some distance round. + +Gore, Banks, and three men made a few days' excursion up the river, but, +with the exception of a kangaroo being shot by Gore, the first ever +killed by a European, they met with nothing worth noting. On 18th July +Cook, Banks, and Solander went up a hill some six or eight miles along +the coast to see if they could form any idea of the general run of the +coast and the surrounding reefs, and Cook says: "In whatever direction we +looked, it [the sea] was covered with shoals as far as the eye could +see." + +Before leaving the river, Banks gives some notes as to the country, and +puts it down as "in every respect the most barren country we have yet +seen." The animals were not numerous; he gives kangaroo, wolf (the dingo +or native dog), bats (flying foxes), wild cats (dasyurus), and opossums. +Amongst the birds, several kinds of duck, shags, pelicans, crows, and +flock pigeons, all, with the exception of the last, difficult to shoot. +Of the crow he says: "A crow in England though in general sufficiently +wary is, I must say, a fool to a New Holland crow." None of the beasts or +birds seem to have come amiss to the pot; all that was necessary was the +meat should not be salt, "that alone was sufficient to make it a +delicacy." He quotes the description given by a sailor of an animal he +saw: + +"It was as black as the devil and had wings, indeed I took it for the +devil, or I might have catched it, for it crawled away very slowly +through the grass." + +After some little trouble Banks discovered this to have been a large bat +(flying fox). Of the insect life seen, he was particularly struck by the +white ants and their nests, and formed a very respectful opinion of the +mosquito. + +Cook's opinion agrees fairly well with that of Banks, but on the whole he +thought the east coast was not so barren and desolate as Dampier had +described the west coast, and adds: + +"We are to consider that we see this country in the pure state of nature; +the Industry of Man has had nothing to do with any part of it, and yet we +find all such things as Nature hath bestowed upon it, in a flourishing +state. In this Extensive Country, it can never be doubted, but what most +sorts of grain, Fruit, roots, etc., of every kind would flourish here +were they once brought hither, planted and cultivated by the hands of +Industry; and here are provender for more cattle, at all seasons of the +year, than ever can be brought into the country." + +This is a fair example of the observations and deductions to be found +scattered through Cook's Journals, and an improvement on the would-be +scientific and classical rubbish put into his mouth by his editors. + +A MASTHEAD WATCH. + +At last, on 4th August, they got away from the Endeavour River, only to +find themselves surrounded by difficulties. Cook or one of the other +officers was continually at the masthead on the look-out, and at length, +by keeping very close in shore, they managed to creep past Cape Flattery, +and thought the worst was over, but a landing at Point Lookout showed a +very unsatisfactory prospect. In hopes of getting a better view Cook went +out to Lizard Island, and from there could see, far away to the east, the +white breakers on the Great Barrier Reef. This island, on which the only +living things to be seen were lizards, they found, from the large piles +of shells and remains of fires, was visited periodically by the blacks; a +remarkable voyage for their miserable canoes. + +Having only three months' supplies at short allowance left, Cook, after a +consultation with his officers, made out through an opening in the +Barrier Reef that he had seen from Lizard Island, and observes: + +"Having been entangled among Islands and Shoals more or less ever since +the 26th May, in which time we have sailed 360 leagues by the Lead, +without ever having a Leadsman out of the chains, when the ship was under +sail, a Circumstance that perhaps never happened to any ship before, and +yet it was here absolutely necessary." + +But their satisfaction in getting outside was diminished when it was +found that the increased working of the ship's timbers necessitated the +continual use of one pump. + +Cook was afraid that being forced outside the Barrier Reef he would be +unable to put to the proof the opinion he had formed that New Guinea and +New Holland were not joined. He did not know till after his return to +England, that the point had already been settled in 1606, by Louis Vaez +de Torres, and he readily yields the honour of the discovery in the +Introduction to his Second Voyage. The log of Torres's voyage was lost +for many years, and was found at Manilla, when that place was taken by +Admiral Cornish in 1762. Cook had with him a copy of De Brye's Voyages, +published in 1756, which contained three charts that he found to be +"tolerably good" with regard to New Guinea, and he evidently formed the +opinion that both the Spaniards and the Dutch had circumnavigated that +island. + +"I always understood, before I had a sight of these maps, that it was +unknown whether or no New Holland and New Guinea was one continued land, +and so it is said in the very History of Voyages these maps are bound up +in. However, we have now put this wholly out of dispute; but as I believe +it was known before, but not publickly, I claim no other merit than the +clearing up of a doubtful point." + +With this question of New Guinea and New Holland in view, he again made +to the west, sighting the Barrier again on 15th August, and on the +following morning, the wind having changed in the night, the breakers +were heard very distinctly. The lead gave no bottom at 140 fathoms, but +at daybreak the reef was not a mile away, and they found themselves in a +dead calm, rapidly drifting with the current towards the breakers. The +yawl and long-boat were got out, the pinnace being under repair, and the +sweeps were used from the gun-room ports. By six o'clock she was heading +north again, but: + +"not above 80 or 100 yards from the breakers. The same sea that washed +the side of the ship rose in a breaker prodigiously high the very next +time it did rise, so that between us and destruction was only a dismal +valley, the breadth of one wave, and even now no ground could be felt +with 120 fathoms." + +A PERILOUS POSITION. + +The carpenter had by this time fastened a temporary streak on the +pinnace, and it was sent off to assist in towing. Cook had almost given +up hope, but he says: + +"In this truly terrible situation, not one man ceased to do his utmost, +and that with as much calmness as if no danger had been near." + +Admiral Wharton draws special attention to the fact that in the very +height of the danger, Green, Charles Clerke, and Forwood, the gunner, +were engaged in taking a Lunar for the longitude. Green notes: + +"These observations were very good, the limbs of the sun and moon very +distinct, and a good horizon. We were about 100 yards from the reef, +where we expected the ship to strike every minute, it being calm, no +soundings, and the swell heaving us right on." + +When things seemed perfectly hopeless, a small breath of air, "so small +that at any other time in a calm we should not have observed it," came, +and every advantage being taken, the distance from the reef was slightly +increased, but then again it fell calm. A small opening of the reef was +seen and an attempt was made to push through, but the ebb tide was found +to be "gushing out like a mill stream." Advantage was taken of this, and +they succeeded in getting about a quarter of a mile away, but the current +was so narrow they soon lost it. A second opening was seen, and, the tide +having changed, they were carried rapidly through Providential Channel +and safely anchored in nineteen fathoms of water. Cook says: + +"It is but a few days ago that I rejoiced at having got without the Reef, +but that joy was nothing when compared to what I now felt at being safe +at an anchor within it." + +Having arrived at a place of safety, Cook resolved to remain till he had +his boats in thorough repair and had made a complete study of his +difficulties. From the masthead it appeared as if the shoals and reefs +offered less obstruction than he had previously towards the north, and he +hoped, by keeping as close to the shore as possible, to be able to solve +the problem of the passage between New Guinea and New Holland. At this +place, boats that had been out fishing brought back a sort of cockle, +some requiring two men to lift them, and containing "as much as twenty +pounds of good wholesome meat." + +TAKE POSSESSION. + +Proceeding slowly through a network of reefs, shoals, and islands, the +boats always sounding ahead, he had the satisfaction of passing the +straits between Cape York and New Guinea, leaving Torres's track +considerably to the north. On getting clear of the straits, they landed +for the last time in Australian waters, and hoisting the English flag: + +"took possession of the whole Eastern Coast from the above latitude (38 +degrees 0 minutes South) down to this place by the name of New Wales. We +fired three volleys of small arms, which were answer'd by the like number +from the ship." + +Admiral Wharton says that in the King's and the Admiralty's copies of +Cook's Journal the name is given as New South Wales, and in a letter +written to Mr. John Walker, of Whitby, dated 13th September 1771, Cook +says: "The East coast of New Holland, or what I call New South Wales." + +After a narrow escape of running on a reef near Booby Island, from which +they were only saved by letting go the anchors with all sails set, they +left the difficulties of the New Holland coast behind and sighted New +Guinea on 29th August. + +*** + +FOOTNOTE: STING RAY BAY. + +"The great number of New Plants, etc., our Gentlemen Botanists have +collected in this place occasion'd my giving in [sic] the Name of +Botanist Bay." + +Extract from the only page known to exist of the Journal of the first +voyage written by Cook, and dated 6th May, 1770. It was, July 1911, +purchased by Mr. F.T. Sabin for 451 pounds. + + +CHAPTER 11. 1770 TO 1771. NEW GUINEA TO ENGLAND. + +The water on the New Guinea coast was very shallow, and kept them far out +in running westward, but on 3rd September they got a little nearer in, so +Cook decided to attempt a landing, and then to leave, as he considered it +was only wasting valuable time to go over ground that had already been +explored by the Dutch. Banks says the crew were rather sickly, they: + +"were pretty far gone with the longing for home, which the physicians +have gone so far as to esteem a disease under the name of Nostalgia. +Indeed, I can find hardly anybody in the ship clear of its effects, but +the Captain, Dr. Solander, and myself, and we three have ample constant +employment for our minds, which I believe to be the best if not the only +remedy for it." + +They were also on short allowance of food, which would necessarily have a +depressing effect, and when they learnt that Cook would return to +civilisation where fresh supplies could be obtained, there was a marked +improvement in the general health. + +Calling in at the island of Savu, some supplies were obtained, and the +country is described as very lovely, although there had been no rain for +seven months; the contrast with the monotonous and barren-looking country +of New Holland was very marked. + +AT BATAVIA. + +According to strict orders from the Admiralty, Cook on 30th September +collected all logs and journals that had been kept on board the ship, and +enjoined every one that they were on no account to divulge where they had +been on their arrival at Batavia. Off Java Head the main topsail was +split in a squall, and Cook remarks that all his sails are now in such a +condition that "they will hardly stand the least puff of wind." No +observations had been possible since leaving Savu, and the strong western +current had thrown out their dead reckoning, causing them to run past the +Straits of Sunda; but, picking themselves up on 1st October, they got +into the straits, and after a wearisome beat up arrived in Batavia on the +10th; and Hicks was sent on shore to announce their arrival, and offer an +apology for failing to salute the Dutch flag in a proper manner--the +reason being that they had only three guns available. + +The ship was thoroughly surveyed, and on the carpenter's report, Cook +applied to the Governor for a convenient place in which to heave down and +repair, and for permission to purchase such stores as might be necessary. +Every assistance was promised, and on Cook's finding a difficulty in +getting any private person to cash the bills he would have to draw for +his expenses, the Governor ordered the officer in charge of the port to +supply whatever amount might be necessary. + +During a heavy thunderstorm on the 12th, a Dutch East Indiaman, about two +cables away from the Endeavour, had mainmast "split all to shivers." The +Endeavour was also struck: + +"and in all probability we should have shared the same fate as the +Dutchman, had it not been for the electric chain which we had but just +before got up; this carried the Lightning or Electrical matter over the +side clear of the ship." + +On 25th October Cook reopened communication with the Admiralty, +forwarding to Mr. Stephens, by the Dutch East Indiaman Kronenberg, +Captain F. Kelgar, a packet containing a copy of his Journal (sold to Mr. +John Corner in 1890), charts of the South Seas, New Zealand, and the East +Coast of Australia. He also wrote a letter giving an outline of his +voyage up to date, and concludes: + +"In this Journal, I have with undisguised Truth and without gloss, +inserted the whole transactions of the Voyage, and made such remarks and +have given such descriptions of things as I thought was necessary, in the +best manner I was capable of. Although the discoverys made in the Voyage +are not great, yet I flatter myself they are such as may merit the +Attention of their Lordships, and altho' I have failed in discovering the +so much talked of Southern Continent (which perhaps do not exist), and +which I myself had much at heart, yet I am confident that no part of the +failure of such discovery can be laid to my charge. Had we been so +fortunate not to have run ashore, much more would have been done in the +latter part of the Voyage than what was, but as it is, I presume this +Voyage will be found as compleat as any before made to the South Seas on +the same account. + +PRAISES HIS CREW. + +"The plans I have drawn of the places I have been at, were made with all +the care and accuracy that Time and Circumstances would admit of. Thus +far I am certain that the Latitude and Longitude of few parts of the +World are better settled than these, in this I was very much assisted by +Mr. Green, who let slip no one opportunity for making observations for +settling the Longitude during the whole course of the Voyage, and the +many valuable discoverys made by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander in Natural +History and other things useful to the learned World, cannot fail of +contributing very much to the success of the Voyage. In justice to the +officers and the whole of the crew, I must say, they have gone through +the fatigues and dangers of the Whole Voyage with that cheerfulness and +alertness that will always do honour to the British Seamen, and I have +the satisfaction to say that I have not lost one man by Sickness during +the whole Voyage. I hope that the repairs wanting to the Ship will not be +so great as to detain us any length of time; You may be assured that I +shall make no unnecessary delay either here or at any other place, but +shall make the best of my way home." + +Banks, too, notes that there were no sick on board, and contrasts the +rosy, healthy appearance of the crew with the pallid faces of the +Europeans of Batavia. But on 26th October a series of disastrous entries +commence in the Journal. + +"Set up the ship's tents for the reception of the ship's company, several +of them begin to be taken ill, owing as I suppose to the extream hot +weather." + +Batavia had an ill-omened reputation, and it has been estimated that from +1735 to 1755 no less than 1,000,000 deaths took place, chiefly from +malarial fever and dysentery, and Cook had soon cause to regret that the +Dutch had undertaken the repairs of the ship, leaving his men to look on. +He knew well the evil effects of want of occupation in such a climate, +though he could not guess what it was to cost him. Up to this time he had +only seven deaths to record since leaving Plymouth; three from drowning, +two frozen (Mr. Banks's servants), one consumption, and one alcoholic +poisoning: probably a record never equalled in the history of navigation. +On 5th November Mr. Monkhouse, the surgeon, died, and Cook, Banks, and +Solander were very ill. The two last went up into the hills, but Cook +would not leave his ship. + +Meanwhile the repairs went on; the ship was found to be worse than had +been expected; two planks and a half had been rasped by the rocks to the +thickness of one eighth of an inch for a distance of six feet: + +"and here the worms had made their way quite into the timbers, so that it +was a matter of surprise to every one who saw her bottom, how we had kept +her above water, and yet in this condition we had sailed some hundreds of +leagues in as dangerous a navigation as in any part of the world, happy +in being ignorant of the continual danger we were in." + +By the 14th her bottom was thoroughly repaired, and Cook speaks highly of +the Dutch workmen: + +"I do not believe there is a Marine Yard in the World where work is done +with more alertness than here, or where there are better conveniences for +heaving ships down, both in point of safety and Despatch." + +The water, a perquisite of the Commodore of the Dutch East Indian fleet, +was very unsatisfactory, and was found to keep very badly at sea, +although its keeping properties had been loudly vaunted by the Commodore. +Cook was present at his appointment: + +"one of the grandest sights Batavia afforded; that may be too, and yet it +did not recompense us for our trouble. I thought that the whole was but +ill conducted, and the fleet appeared to be very badly mann'd." + +A seaman who had run from a Dutch ship entered on the Endeavour, was +claimed by the Dutch on the grounds that he was a Dane from Elsinore. +Cook promised he should be given up if he proved not to be a British +subject, and enquiry by Mr. Hicks resulted in a report to the Governor +that he was an Irishman, so the matter dropped. His name was James Marra, +and he will be again met with as gunner's mate on the Resolution. + +DEATH OF TUPIA. + +Before leaving Batavia there had been seven deaths, including Mr. +Reynolds, artist, and Tupia and his boy servant, and Cook gives the +number of sick as "forty or more." Hoping the sea breezes might have a +beneficial effect, preparations were hurried forward, and they managed to +leave the day after Christmas Day, being duly saluted by the garrison +with fourteen guns, and the Earl of Elgin with thirteen guns and three +cheers, "all of which we return'd." + +Calling at Prince's Island in the straits of Sunda, where some of the +Batavian water was replaced by better, the sailors were allowed to +purchase whatever they fancied in hopes of diminishing the dysentery +which was rampant. Every precaution that could be thought of was tried, +but in vain. Mr. Banks lost Messrs. Sporing and Parkinson, and on 29th +January Mr. Green died; he had been long ill, but Cook says he would not +take proper care of himself. To judge from his own Journal, he must have +been rather a difficult man to get on with, but his services as observer +were invaluable, and he at all times and seasons was devoted to his +special duty: indeed, at times he appears to have thought that every +other work should give way to his. It is a somewhat suggestive fact that +Banks hardly makes any reference to Mr. Green throughout his Journal. On +27th February the terrible list of losses was closed by the deaths of +three of the crew, making in all thirty deaths since their arrival at +Batavia. + +It was afterwards discovered that the season in Batavia had been +unusually unhealthy, and several ships that had called in there had to +report heavy losses. Cook says: + +"Thus we find that ships which have been little more than twelve months +from England have suffer'd as much or more by sickness than we have done, +who have been out near three times as long. Yet their sufferings will +hardly, if at all, be mentioned or known in England; when, on the other +hand, those of the Endeavour, because her voyage is uncommon, will very +probably be mentioned in every News Paper, and, what is not unlikely, +with Additional hardships we never Experienced; for such are the +dispositions of men in general in these Voyages, that they are seldom +content with the Hardships and Dangers which will naturally occur, but +they must add others which hardly ever had existence but in their +imaginations, by magnifying the most Trifling accidents and Circumstances +to the greatest Hardships, and unsurmountable Dangers without the +immediate interposition of Providence, as if the whole merit of the +Voyages consisted in the real dangers and Hardships they underwent, or +that the real ones did not happen often enough to give the mind +sufficient anxiety. Thus Posterity are taught to look upon these Voyages +as hazardous to the highest degree." + +AT THE CAPE. + +On 6th March land was sighted at daylight, about two leagues away, near +Cape Natal, and on the 15th the Cape of Good Hope was seen. The first +thing to be done was to provide shelter ashore for his sick, of whom he +landed twenty-eight, and during the stay the remainder of the crew were +given every possible opportunity of being on land, as Cook recognised the +value of an entire change of life in shaking off the remnants of +sickness. He lost three more of his men here, and hearing from a Dutch +ship just in from Europe that war was threatening between England and +Spain, he hurried up his preparations for departure and got all his men +on board, though some were still very ill. In addition he managed to +enter some half-dozen men for the voyage home. + +In writing of the Cape, Cook draws attention to the fact: + +"that a stranger is at once struck with surprise and disappointment, for +no country we have seen this voyage affords so barren a prospect as this, +and not only so in appearance but in reality." + +Then further on he says: + +"Notwithstanding the many disadvantages this country labours under, such +is the industry, economy, and good management of the Dutch, that not only +the necessary, but all the Luxuries of Life are raised here in great +abundance, and are sold as cheap, if not cheaper, than in any part of +Europe, some few articles excepted." + +On the other hand, he complains of the exorbitant charges made by the +Dutch East India Company for naval stores. As at Batavia, they were sold +at a certain fixed price from which there was no deviation. + +Calling in at St. Helena, they found H.M.Ss. Portland and Swallow, with a +convoy, in the roads, and received some few much-needed stores from them, +together with the information that all danger of war between Spain and +England was over. They all sailed in company on 5th May, but after a few +days Cook explained to Captain Elliott, of the Portland, who had come on +board the Endeavour, that his ship, sails, and rigging were naturally not +in very good order after his lengthy voyage, and therefore he should +probably be unable to keep up with the other ships. He requested the +Portland to take charge of letters, charts, and journals for the +Admiralty. These papers only arrived in England three days in advance of +the Endeavour. For some days the good Bark kept within easy reach of the +fleet, and was able to obtain extra medical advice for Mr. Hicks, who was +suffering from consumption when he left England, but had held out well +till stricken with the Batavian fever, when he gradually sank and died on +25th May; Mr. Charles Clerke was appointed third lieutenant, in place of +Mr. Gore, promoted. Since leaving the Cape they had also lost their +Master, Mr. Molineaux, of whose intelligence Cook speaks very highly, but +deplores his want of steadiness, the true cause of his early death. Mr. +Pickersgill was appointed to the vacancy. + +ANCHOR IN THE DOWNS. + +On the 21st June they were still in sight of some of the convoy, but +during the night they had their main topgallant sail split, and the +topmast sprung, in a heavy squall; in fact, their gear was in such a bad +state that something gave way daily. On 7th July they spoke a brig from +London, three days out from Scilly, and learnt that no account of their +proceedings had yet been made public, and that wagers were being laid +that the Endeavour was lost. On 10th July Nicholas Young, who had sighted +New Zealand, sighted the Land's End, and the Lizard was seen the next +day. On Saturday, 13th July 1771, "at 3 o'clock in the P.M. anchor'd in +the Downs and soon after I landed in order to repair to London." + +Before leaving, Cook wrote to Mr. Stephens informing him of his arrival, +and announcing that he was coming up to the Admiralty to lay before their +Lordships a full account of the whole voyage, and that the ship was to +await further orders. He hopes that the appointments that he has made +will meet with approval, and requests that his charts, plans, and +drawings may be laid before the authorities. + +On 2nd August, Stephens wrote to him at Mile End, saying he had received +the papers sent from Batavia, those by the Portland and those from the +Downs, and that they had been laid before their Lordships. He goes on: + +"I have the pleasure to acquaint you that their Lordships extremely well +approve of the whole of your proceedings and that they have great +satisfaction in the account you have given them of the good behaviour of +your officers and men and of the cheerfulness and alertness with which +they went through the fatigues and dangers of their late Voyage." + +He also notifies at the same time that the appointments made have all +been confirmed. + +Cook himself was appointed Commander of the Scorpion on 29th August, but +owing to other arrangements being made did not put in an appearance on +his new ship. Isaac Smith and Isaac Manly were appointed respectively +Master's mate and midshipman, taking part in the Second Voyage, being too +young for further promotion. + +The newspapers, of course, blossomed out into paragraphs on the subject +of the voyage, more or less correct, and Bingley's Journal on 23rd July +stated: + +"In consequence of this discovery, more ships will be destined in search +of this new terrestrial acquisition." + +Evidently it was quickly decided that Cook's rest was to be short. On +27th the same Journal says: + +"His Majesty's Ship, the Endeavour, which is lately arrived in the River +from the East Indies, lost by the unhealthiness of the climate, 70 of her +hands, tho' they were picked men, and had been several times in the +Indies. However, those who survive will have made their fortunes by +traffic, having brought home some of the richest goods made in the east, +which they are suffered to dispose of without the inspection of the +Custom House officers. This, our correspondent says, is allowed them by +the Government as a reward for their hard and dangerous service during a +voyage of three years." + +The amount of the "richest goods made in the East" obtained from New +Zealand, Australia, and Otaheite would be but a poor reward for three +years' strenuous service; and Cook here finds his premonition as to his +losses being exaggerated, only too true. + +It is worthy of note that the number of punishments throughout the voyage +was remarkably small, those entered in the ship's log being twenty-one, +and the heaviest sentence, two dozen lashes for theft. In one case, that +of Mathew Cox, A.B., for disobedience and mutinous conduct, the culprit +proceeded civilly against Cook, on arrival in England, and the Admiralty +solicitors were instructed to defend. The case was probably allowed to +drop, as no result can be found. + +LAST OF THE ENDEAVOUR. + +The good ship which had so bravely borne her part, was not given much +rest; but after being paid off at Woolwich, was despatched, under +lieutenant James Gordon, to the Falkland Islands on 16th October, and +returned with "perishable and unserviceable" stores; in 1772 and 1773 she +again made voyages to the same destination, the last one to bring away +the garrison and stores, as those islands were to be handed over to +Spain. She was paid off at Woolwich in September 1774, and shortly +afterwards was sold out of the Navy for the sum of 645 pounds. She is +then believed to have been employed as a collier in the North Seas. Mr. +Gibbs, of the firm of Gibbs and Canning of Newport, Rhode Island, one day +pointed out to the English Consul the remains of an old vessel falling +into decay, and informed him that it was Captain Cook's ship, the +Endeavour. His story was that the French Government being anxious to +compete with England in the whale fishery, offered a bounty to the ships +in that trade sailing under the French flag. A Mr. Hayden purchased the +old ship from a Dunkirk firm and re-christened her La Liberte, loaded her +with oil and consigned her, under French colours, to Gibbs and Canning at +Newport. She was chased by an English ship, but escaped, and after laying +alongside a wharf for some months received a cargo, but running aground +in trying to leave the harbour, she was found in such a bad condition +that she was allowed to remain to drop to pieces. Enquiries into this +story gave satisfactory results, and a box made from her timbers was +presented to J. Fennimore Cooper, the American author, with letters +authenticating, as far as possible, the vessel from which the wood had +been taken. Miss Cooper mentions this box in her preface to her father's +Red Rover, and several other relics of the old ship are still to be found +in the neighbourhood of Newport. + + +CHAPTER 12. 1771. PREPARATIONS FOR SECOND VOYAGE. + +After reporting himself to the Admiralty on his arrival in England, Cook +proceeded to his home at Mile End Old Town, where he was for some time +employed in completing his Charts and Journals, and on 14th August, the +Annual Register announces, he was introduced to His Majesty at St. +James's, when he: + +"presented his Journal of his Voyage, with some curious maps and charts +of different places that he had drawn during the voyage; he was presented +with a captain's commission." + +He also found time to write two long and instructive letters to his old +master and good friend, Mr. John Walker of Whitby, which are to be found +in Dr. Young's work. They give a rapid glance at the different places +visited, with a few pithy remarks as to their peoples and productions; +mention the pleasing reception he had from the king, and he alludes to +the probability of being despatched on a second voyage with two ships. + +Edgeworth, in his Memoirs, states that about this time Cook was a +frequent visitor at Denham Place, the home of Mr. Louis Way, F.R.S., but +as that gentleman died in this year, and Edgeworth also refers to events +of a later date as occurring at the same time, it is more probable that +these visits were paid after the Second Voyage to Mr. Benjamin Way, also +F.R.S., and a Director of the South Sea Company. In another place +Edgeworth infers that Banks, Solander, and Cook were members of a club +which met at Slaughter's Coffee House in 1765. Of course, this is an +error, for Cook was then engaged in Newfoundland, and unknown to the +Royal Society, whose members composed the club spoken of; in fact, Cook, +though a frequent guest in after times, was never a member of the Royal +Societies Club. + +Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay) says that in September her father, Dr. +Charles Burney, spent a few days at Hinchinbroke, Lord Sandwich's place, +in order to meet Cook, Banks, and Solander, and it is evident that the +second voyage had been resolved on, for Dr. Burney's son, James, was +introduced to Cook by Lord Sandwich, with a view to going on the +expedition. Shortly after this, Sandwich met Dr. Burney at Lord Oxford's, +Houghton, and asked him if he could recommend any one capable of writing +the history of the voyage of the Endeavour; he gave Dr. Hawkesworth's +name, and was requested to introduce him to Lord Sandwich on his return +to town. + +The object of the Second Voyage was, to use Cook's own words: + +"To put an end to all diversity of opinion about a matter so curious and +important, was His Majesty's principal motive in directing this voyage to +be undertaken, the history of which is now submitted to the public, i.e., +the existence of another continent in the South." + +The discussion on the subject had been resumed with renewed vigour after +the return of the Endeavour, and Dalrymple led one party, who held that +Cook had not set the matter at rest as he had left far too much space +untraversed. + +WHITBY SHIPS AGAIN. + +The two ships that were to be employed were probably selected in the +Thames by Cook himself, and, like the good ship Endeavour, were built by +Fishburn of Whitby, and purchased from Captain W. Hammond of Hull. The +reasoning which guided Cook in his selection is thus laid down by him in +his introduction to the account of the Second Voyage: + +"The success of such undertakings as making discoveries in distant parts +of the world, will principally depend on the preparations being well +adapted to what ought to be the first consideration, namely, the +preservation of the adventurers and ships; and this will chiefly depend +on the kind, the size, and the properties of the ships chosen for the +service. These primary considerations will not admit of any other, that +may interfere with the necessary properties of the ships. Therefore, in +chusing the ships, should any of the most advantageous properties be +wanting, and the necessary room in them be, in any degree, diminished for +less important purposes, such a step would be laying a foundation for +rendering the undertaking abortive in the first instance. The ship must +not be of great draught, but of sufficient capacity to carry a proper +quantity of provisions and stores for the crew, and of such construction +that she will bear to take the ground, and of such a size that she can be +conveniently laid on shore if necessary for repairing any damages or +defects, and these qualities are to be found in North Country built +ships, such as are built for the coal trade, and in none other." + +The larger of the two chosen was 462 tons, purchased for 4,151 pounds, +and received into the Royal Navy under the name of the Drake. She was +fitted as a sloop at Deptford, at a cost of 6,568 pounds (this sum, +probably, covering both the original alterations which proved +unsatisfactory and those made immediately before sailing), and at the +time of her purchase was about fourteen months old. The second ship was +of 336 tons, also fitted at Deptford as a sloop, was eighteen months old +at time of purchase, cost 2,103 pounds, and was received under the name +of Raleigh. + +The complement of the Raleigh was eighty, but two additional carpenters' +mates were added to each ship later on. Cook was also instructed not to +bear, as was then usual, any servants on the books, but to enter A.B.s +instead, and each officer who was entitled to a servant was "to be paid +an allowance by Bill equal to the wages of the number of servants +respectively allowed them." + +On 25th December the names of the two ships were changed, the Drake +becoming the Resolution, and the Raleigh the Adventure. The lieutenants +appointed to the Resolution were Robert Pallisser Cooper, Charles Clerke, +and Richard Pickersgill, and Mr. Tobias Furneaux, Commander, and Joseph +Shank first lieutenant, of the Adventure. Of these officers Cook writes: + +"I had all the reason in the World to be perfectly satisfied with the +choice of the officers. The Second and Third Lieutenants, the Lieutenant +of Marines, two of the Warrant officers, and several of the Petty +officers had been with me during the former voyage. The others were men +of known abilities, and all of them on every occasion showed their zeal +for the service in which they were employed during the whole voyage." + +ALTERATIONS TO THE RESOLUTION. + +Two days after receiving his orders, Cook hoisted his pendant and +superintended the alterations that were to be made for the accommodation +of Mr. Banks and his party of scientists. These comprised Dr. Solander, +Zoffani, the portrait painter, Dr. Lynd of Edinburgh, to secure whose +services Parliament had made a special grant of 4000 pounds (though "what +discoveries they expected him to make I could not understand," says +Cook), and nine others, draughtsmen and servants; at least three more +than had been thought necessary when the vessel was purchased. These +alterations were: + +"to raise her upper works about a foot, to lay a spar deck upon her from +the quarter-deck to the forecastle (she having at this time a low waist), +and to build a round house or coach for my accommodation, so that the +great cabin might be appropriated to the use of Mr. Banks alone." + +The Comptroller of the Navy, Captain Pallisser, was strongly opposed to +these alterations as likely to be detrimental to the ship's sailing +qualities, and though his opinions were overborne, they in the end proved +to be correct. + +When he had seen the alterations fairly on the way, Cook applied for +three weeks' leave of absence, on the plea that he had "some business to +transact in Yorkshire, as well as to see an aged father," and his +application was at once granted. He therefore went to Ayton, where for +the first time for seventeen years he was again amongst his own people. +From Ayton he went on to Whitby, and was met some miles out from that +town by many of the leading men of the place. From the Walkers he +received the heartiest of welcomes, and it is related that the old +housekeeper, Mary Prowd, had been carefully instructed that a Commander +in His Majesty's Navy was a very different person from one of her +master's apprentices, and must be received with all the marks of respect +due to his rank. She promised obedience, but, alas, when the time came +her memory fled, and opening wide her arms, she exclaimed: "O honey +James! How glad I is to see thee!" A welcome, probably, more dear to Cook +than any other could have been, and a proof of the affectionate regard he +could inspire. + +In February he was back in London, and Dr. Burney says in his Memoirs: + +"I had the honour of receiving the illustrious Captain Cook to dine with +me in Queen's Square [Bloomsbury] previously to his second voyage round +the world. Observing upon a table, Bougainville's Voyage Autour du Monde, +he turned it over, and made some curious remarks on the illiberal conduct +of that circumnavigator towards himself when they met and crossed each +other; which made me desirous to know, in examining the chart of M. de +Bougainville, the several tracks of the two navigators, and exactly where +they had crossed or approached each other. + +"Captain Cook instantly took a pencil from his pocket book and said he +would trace the route; which he did in so clear and scientific a manner +that I would not take fifty pounds for my book. The pencil marks, having +been fixed by skim milk, will always be visible." + +This volume is now in the British Museum, and the pencil marks on the +chart are as distinct as on the day they were made. + +The alterations to the ship were completed early in February, and on the +6th she was hauled out of dock, and rigging, ballasting, and storing +commenced. Cook says: + +"Every department seemed to vie with the other in equiping these two +ships, every standing rule and order in the Navy was dispensed with, +every alteration, every necessary and useful article, was granted as soon +as asked for." + +SUPPLIES INCREASED. + +In another passage he again refers to the anxiety of the Navy Board to +see that the quality of the stores was everything that could be wished, +and the quantity was increased from one to two and a half years' supply. + +On the 22nd April the two sloops were at Longreach to take in their guns +and gunners' stores; twelve carriage guns and twelve swivel musketoons +for the Resolution, and ten carriage guns and ten swivels for the +Adventure. These should have been taken on board at Galleon's Reach, but +the Resolution was drawing too much water--seventeen feet. When here Cook +showed that he thought she was rather over-weighted with her new upper +works, and might prove crank, but: + +"as the Gentlemen's apartments were full of heavy baggage and the sloop a +good deal lumbered aloft with heavy and some useless articles, which we +might soon get rid of or get into the hold after we had consumed some of +our provisions, I still entertained hopes that she would bear all her +additional works, and suspended giving any other opinion until a full +trial had been made of her, foreseeing what would be the consequence in +case she did not answer in the manner she was now fitted." + +On 29th April, Mr. Banks gave an entertainment on board to Lord Sandwich, +the French Ambassador, and other distinguished personages, and Cook notes +that the first named had been on board several times, "a laudable tho ' +rare thing in a First Lord of the Admiralty." + +Cook obtained a few days' leave to make his final arrangements, and the +Resolution was ordered to the Downs under the first lieutenant, whilst +the Adventure proceeded to Plymouth; both vessels sailing from Longreach +on 10th May. The Resolution, contending against adverse winds, made a +very slow trip down to the Nore, being four days on the journey, and Mr. +Cooper reported to Cook that she was very crank. The latter at once wrote +to the Admiralty that he considered it unsafe to proceed any further with +her in that condition, and proposed that her poop should be cut down, her +masts shortened, and her guns exchanged to four-pounders. The Navy Board, +however, decided that she should be restored to her original state as far +as it was possible to do so; she was therefore ordered to Sheerness, and +her Captain was instructed to join his ship and see the alterations were +properly carried out. + +Before leaving London Cook, who had heard it was said that he was not +satisfied with the vessels chosen for the voyage, wrote to Mr. Stephens +on the subject, giving his opinion that the crankness of the Resolution +"was owing to the additional works that have been built upon her in order +to make large accommodation for the several gentlemen passengers intended +to embark in her." He added that the proposed alterations of the Navy +Board would "render her as fit to perform the voyage as any ship +whatever"; and, referring to the report that he did not approve of the +type of ship, he says, "from the knowledge and experience I have had of +these sort of vessels, I shall always be of opinion that only such are +proper to be sent on Discoveries to very distant parts." On the 21st he +again wrote Stephens that the alterations were making satisfactory +progress, and that a man had been in the yard who had known the ship +before her purchase, and he had "with some warmth asserted that at that +time she was not only a stiff ship, but had as many good qualities as any +ship ever built in Whitby." In reply to a rumour that the men were afraid +to sail in her, he points out that she is moored alongside a wharf, and +the men could go ashore whenever they pleased, yet he had not lost a +single man. + +BANKS WITHDRAWS. + +Mr. Banks did not approve of the reduction in his accommodation +necessitated by these alterations, and tried to get a 40-gun ship in +place of the Resolution, and he and his friends succeeded in raising a +very acrimonious discussion on the subject; but the admiralty stood firm, +and the alterations went on under the superintendence of Cook. On 24th +May Banks and Solander went to inspect her, and on their return to town +Banks wrote to the Admiralty that he should not go the voyage as "the +ship was neither roomy nor convenient enough for my purpose, nor no ways +proper for the voyage." Cook, who says the preparations had cost Banks +"about five Thousand Pounds," does not think that the reasons given by +Banks were the only ones he had for not taking part in the voyage, and +then continues, "their baggage, etc., were got out of the sloop and sent +to London, after which no more complaints were heard of want of room, +etc." + +Lieutenant Clerke, who was very friendly with Banks, wrote to him on 31st +May: + +"Indeed I am sorry I'm not to have the honour of attending you the other +bout...They are going to stow the major part of the cables in the hold to +make room for the people now. I asked Gilbert [the Master], if such was +the present case, what the devil should we have done if we had all gone? +'Oh, by God, that was impossible,' was his answer." + +Marra (the gunner's mate), in a Journal of the voyage, published by +Newberry, 1775, says the success of the voyage was due to their having +shaken off: + +"the train of gentlemen, who with their attendants occupied the chief +accommodations of the ship," and whose presence would have rendered it +"out of the power of the most determined officer to have carried such a +princely retinue through the icy regions which they were to pass, without +murmurs, or perhaps mutiny." + +Some of the newspapers tried to make political matter out of the affair, +and one at any rate roundly declared that "the true reason" of Banks's +withdrawal was on account of a remonstrance from the Spanish Ambassador +against any further exploration of the South Seas. + +The withdrawal of Banks made no difference to his friendship with Cook, +and in the future he was always ready to afford his support whenever it +could be of any service either to his friend or family. + +JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER. + +As soon as it was known that Mr. Banks had withdrawn, Mr. John Reinhold +Forster, a German of some scientific reputation, applied for the position +of naturalist for the voyage, and, through the interest of Lord Sandwich, +was successful. He was to receive the 4000 pounds granted by Parliament +for Dr. Lynd, and was to pay all expenses, except ship's allowance of +food, and provide all necessary instruments. He was accompanied by his +son as assistant, a youth of about twenty years, who afterwards attained +some note by his writings and translations. Messrs. Wales and Bayley were +appointed astronomers by the Board of Longitude, with instructions to +take and compare observations at every possible opportunity, and to take +under their special charge the timepieces which were being carried on the +two ships for the purpose of testing their accuracy and capabilities in +assisting in ascertaining the longitude. Two of these instruments, made +by Arnold, were placed in Mr. Bayley's charge on the Adventure, and two, +one by Arnold, and the other by Kendal on Harrison's principle, under the +care of Mr. Wales on the Resolution. Great precautions were taken to +prevent any accident or tampering with these instruments; they were kept +in boxes having three locks, the keys were held one by the Captain, one +by the first lieutenant, and the third by the astronomer, so they could +not even be wound up except in the presence of all three. William Hodges, +a painter of repute, was appointed as artist, and his pictures were to +become the property of the Admiralty. + +The celebrated Dr. Joseph Priestley, at that time minister at Mill Hill +Chapel, Leeds, had been invited by Mr. Banks to accompany him as +astronomer, and his congregation had undertaken to guarantee his position +on his return; but the Board of Longitude took objection to his religious +views, and so his application was withdrawn. + + +CHAPTER 13. 1772 TO 1774. SECOND VOYAGE. + +Saying goodbye to his family on 21st June, Cook, accompanied by Mr. +Wales, left London for Sheerness, and the next day dropped down to the +Nore. The Resolution was now drawing only fifteen feet ten inches of +water instead of seventeen, a very satisfactory improvement. She was +given a good trial on a wind, and was found "to answer exceeding well." +On 3rd July they arrived at Plymouth, having been boarded the day before +by Lord Sandwich and Captain Pallisser, who were on a tour of inspection, +and Cook had the pleasure of giving them a satisfactory account of his +ship: "I had not one fault to allege." + +On arrival at Plymouth, Cook found that orders had been given to the +stores that he was to be supplied with whatever he thought necessary, but +the only things required were larger coppers for the distilling +apparatus, the ones they had on board having proved far too small. The +officers and crew were paid up to 28th May, and the petty officers and +men also received two months' advance to enable them to provide +necessaries and extras for the voyage. Cook remarks: + +"The payment of six months' wages to the officers, and crews of these two +sloops, being nearly all they had due, was an indulgence never before +granted to any of His Majesty's Ships." + +Cook now received his final orders, which he had assisted to draw up--in +fact, "nothing was inserted that I did not fully comprehend and approve +of." He was to call at Madeira for a supply of wine; to sail for the Cape +of Good Hope and there refresh his men; then to look for Cape +Circumcision, placed by M. Bouvet in 54 degrees South, 11 degrees 20 +minutes East, to determine if it formed part of a continent, and if so to +explore it, following the coast and endeavouring to get as near to the +South Pole as he could without endangering his ships or crews. Should +Cape Circumcision prove to be an island, or should he be unable to find +it, he was to proceed as far south as he thought there was a probability +of meeting with land, and then steering east, circumnavigate the world in +as high a latitude as he could. In case of meeting with land he was to +explore as far as time would permit. When the season rendered it unsafe +to remain in high latitudes he was to retire to the north to refit and +recruit, and at a proper season to return to the south. In any unforeseen +circumstances he was to use his own discretion, and if the Resolution +should be lost, he was to prosecute his voyage in the Adventure. A copy +of these orders was given to Captain Furneaux, and in case of separation +the following rendezvous were named: Madeira, Port Praya in the island of +St. Iago, the Cape of Good Hope, and New Zealand. + +FORSTER SAVES SHIP! + +The Forsters evidently were far from pleasant travelling companions, and +at one time or another seem to have quarrelled with every one on board +the ship. At the very first the father was dissatisfied with the +accommodation allotted to him, and offered Mr. Cooper 100 pounds to turn +out of his cabin; when this offer was declined, he tried to force Mr. +Gilbert, the Master, to give up his, threatening if he refused he should +be reported to the king and turned out of the Navy; this threat appears +to have been a favourite one, and soon became a by-word with the seamen, +who, according to Mr. Wales, would use it to each other on every possible +occasion. But, according to his own account, Mr. Forster was able to save +the expedition from a very great disaster on 12th July. He says he came +on deck and noticed the ship was adrift from her moorings; neither the +officer of the watch nor the look-out had seen it till he called +attention, and then, after a scene of the greatest confusion, the ship +was fortunately brought up within a few feet of the rocks. On the other +hand, the Master's log admits the Resolution got adrift, but before Mr. +Forster reached the deck the fact had been reported to the Captain, all +hands turned up, the jib and forestay sail set, and the ship quietly +dropped down into the Sound and anchored, never having been in the +slightest danger. The only other one to notice the affair was Midshipman +Willis, who simply states, "dropped from the Buoy and anchored in the +Sound." + +Having received the private signals of the East India Company's Navy, and +letters of introduction from the Prince of Orange to all the principal +officers of the Dutch East India Company, instructing them to afford +every assistance that might be required, Cook hoisted the signal to the +Adventure to weigh anchor at 5 A.M. on 13th July, and with a north-west +breeze the two ships sailed for Madeira. When well out in the Channel the +Resolution's crew was mustered, and it was found that, owing to a mistake +of the clerk, there was one man more than the complement, so John Coghlan +was entered on the Supernumerary List for Wages and Victuals. + +On the 23rd they were able to relieve a small French boat, from Ferrol to +Corunna, which had been blown far off her course, and had been short of +water for a fortnight. The day following they fell in with three Spanish +men-o'-war; Cook says: "The sternmost hoisted English colours and fired a +gun to leeward, and soon after hoisted his own proper colours, and spoke +with the Adventure." It appears she enquired who they were, and where +they were going, and finally wished them a good voyage. This account did +not satisfy Mr. Forster, who waxes eloquent and describes the event as "a +scene so humiliating to the masters of the sea." He must have formed a +strange opinion of Cook if he thought for a moment he was one to put up +silently with anything humiliating to the British flag. Marra, in his +Journal, points out that the build and rig of the ships were unusual for +men-o'-war, and that when the Spaniards found they had stopped king's +ships, they "made a proper apology, and very politely took leave, wishing +them a good voyage." + +THE FIRST LOSS. + +At Madeira, where they arrived on 29th July, they were kindly received by +Mr. Loughnan, a merchant of Funchal, who entertained some of the party at +his house throughout the stay, obtained permission for the Forsters to +explore the island, and procured for the ships the stores that were +required. Here Cook, with his eye on the scurvy, purchased as many onions +as he thought would keep good, and ordered them to be served out +regularly to the crews as long as they lasted. A further stock of fresh +food in the shape of fowls, pigs, goats, and fruits--chiefly oranges and +bananas--was laid in at Port Praya, where they had called for water. On +the 19th the first death occurred; one of the carpenter's mates, Henry +Smook, was at work on one of the scuttles and, falling overboard, was +seen under the stern; every effort was made to save him, but it was too +late. Cook says he was a good, steady man, whose loss was often felt +during the voyage. + +On 27th August Cook learnt that the Adventure had also had her losses. +Two midshipman, Lambrecht and Kemp, had died of fever, brought on, +Captain Furneaux believed, by bathing and drinking too much water under +the hot sun of Port Praya. At this time the Resolution had a clean bill +of health, but for fear lest the heavy rains, to which they were +continually subjected, might cause sickness, the ship was constantly +fumigated, washed down, and thoroughly dried by means of stoves, as +advised by Captains Pallisser and Campbell, with satisfactory results. On +nearing the Cape a sharp but unavailing look-out was kept for a bank +which had been reported, and on 30th October they arrived in Table Bay. +The run from home was considered to have been good, as they had in great +measure escaped the calms they had been told to expect at that season of +the year, and the currents, though very strong, had only caused a +difference between the longitude obtained by observation and that by dead +reckoning of three-quarters of a degree, so Cook concluded that those +north of the Equator in the one direction were balanced by those to the +south in the contrary one. + +On landing they were received by the Governor, Baron Plattenberg, who +told Cook he had received orders from Holland that the two sloops were to +have every assistance that the place afforded. He also said that two +French ships, commanded by M. de Kerguelen, had discovered land in 48 +degrees South, near the meridian of Mauritius, but after sailing along +the coast for about forty miles, he had been blown off by a heavy gale, +in which he had lost both boats and men. Two other French ships had also +called in March, which were on their way to explore the South Pacific +under M. Marion. + +Wales and Bayley got their instruments ashore in order to make +observations for the purpose of correcting the watch machines. That made +by Kendal was found to be working well, and gave the longitude within one +minute of time when compared with that fixed by Messrs. Mason and Dixon +in 1761. The first lieutenant of the Adventure, Mr. Shank, who had been +ill almost from the day of leaving England, applied for leave to return +home, as he felt unfit to proceed, and Mr. Arthur Kemp was made first +lieutenant, his place being taken by Mr. James Burney. Mr. Sparrman, a +former pupil of Linnaeus, was engaged by Mr. Forster as an assistant, and +makes his appearance on the rolls as servant. The crews were well looked +after, as much time granted on shore as possible, and fresh meat, fresh +vegetables, and fresh baked bread were served out daily in ample +quantity, so that when the ships sailed to the southward they were all +"in as good a condition as when they left England." Cook found time to +write a letter of farewell to Mr. Walker, as it was: + +"customary for men to take leave of their friends before they go out of +the world; for I can hardly think myself in it, so long as I am deprived +of having any connection with the civilised part of it, and this will +soon be my case for two years at least." + +He at the end speaks of his ships, both "well provided and well mann'd," +and of the Resolution he says: "I can assure you I never set foot in a +finer ship." + +THE FIRST ICE. + +On 22nd November they sailed for the south, and soon began to feel the +colder climate; the warm jackets and trousers provided by the Admiralty +were served out, extra cuffs to protect the hands being sewn on, and +warmly-lined canvas capes being made. From the 29th till 6th December +they were involved in such a heavy gale that the ships were unable to +carry any sail, and a large quantity of the live stock bought at the Cape +perished from the effects of wet and cold. A scuttle which had been +insecurely fastened was burst open by the sea, and a considerable +quantity of water was taken on board, but beyond necessitating some work +at the pumps and rendering things unpleasantly damp for a time, no damage +was done. It, however, gave Mr. Forster an opportunity for an account of +the terrible danger they were in, and, most wonderful to relate, to speak +well of the conduct of the crew. The ships were carried so far to the +east by the gale, that Cook gave up the idea of searching for Cape +Circumcision for the present. On the 10th the first ice was encountered +in latitude 50 degrees 40 minutes South, and a little higher they were +stopped by a large field, to which they "could see no end, either to the +east, west, or south." This field was followed along to the south-east +for some days, but no opening was found, so being in constant danger from +detached pieces, Cook reluctantly gave orders to change the course to the +northward. About the middle of December signs of scurvy began to show, +and extra precautions were at once taken; fresh wort was served out +regularly to all hands and the worst case received considerable benefit +from the treatment, although "Rob of Lemons and Oranges" (a sort of jelly +made from the fruits) had had no effect. Furneaux reported at this time +that he had cured two very bad cases with the Rob. + +SHIPS PARTED. + +When they had got thoroughly clear of all signs of ice, Cook once again +turned south, and by 26th December had worked down as far as 50 degrees +31 minutes South, 26 degrees 57 minutes East, where, though surrounded by +large masses of floating ice, they steered to the west, leaving the main +ice field to the north of them. Gradually working down to 60 degrees +South in the longitude given for Cape Circumcision, and being some +ninety-five leagues further south, with no signs of land, Cook concluded +that M. Bouvet must have been deceived by the ice. (Bouvet Island was +discovered by the German Deep Sea Discovery ship Valdivia on 25th +November 1898. The position was fixed as 54 degrees 26.4 minutes South, 3 +degrees 24.2 minutes ??South, and not 54 degrees South, 11 degrees 20 +East, as given to Cook, which will account for his want of success in his +search for it.) Here Mr. Wales was enabled to get a sight of the moon for +the second time since leaving the Cape of Good Hope, and, taking several +observations, fixed the position of the ship with tolerable accuracy. +Changing the course to East-South-East, very foggy weather was +encountered, accompanied by great cold, which coated the rigging with +ice, rendering it very pretty to the eye but difficult and unpleasant to +work. Cook says that, though this suggested very intense cold to the +mind, in reality the thermometer was rather higher than it had been, and +the sea was far less encumbered with ice. Taking large blocks of ice on +board it was found that, when the sea water was drained off, they +provided perfectly fresh water on melting, thus removing a great weight +from Cook's shoulders, and he determined on venturing further to the +southward. On 17th January 1773 they crossed the Antarctic Circle in +longitude 39 degrees 35 minutes East, and at noon their latitude, by +observation, was 66 degrees 36 minutes 30 seconds South, the sea being +free from ice. However, in the evening they found themselves completely +blocked by an enormous field, extending, as far as the eye could reach, +from the south-east round to the west; and as the summer was nearly over, +Cook decided it was unwise to attempt anything further southwards, and +ordered a retreat to the north. Again making for the land claimed to have +been discovered by the French, he spent some days searching for it, but +nothing was seen except some floating weed and a few birds that are +supposed never to get far away from land. On 8th February a brisk gale +sprang up, accompanied by very hazy weather, thickening into fog, and the +two vessels separated. The Resolution cruised about, firing guns and +burning flares, but no response was heard, and when the weather cleared +up, the Adventure was not to be seen. Poor Mr. Forster was dreadfully +scared when he realised the two ships had parted company; he says that +none of the crew "ever looked around the ocean without expressing concern +on seeing our ship alone on this vast and unexplored expanse." He seems +to have been thoroughly unhappy, for he describes the whole voyage, from +the Cape to New Zealand, as a series of hardships such as had never +before been experienced by mortal man. Cook conjectured, rightly as it +proved, that being a little to the south of Tasman's track, Furneaux +would make for the rendezvous he had been given at New Zealand, and +therefore felt himself free to push on to the south-east, as he judged +that if any large body of land was in the vicinity, it must lie in that +direction, for the swell coming from the south-west precluded the +possibility of any mass of land being in that quarter. + +On 17th February a display of the Aurora Australis was reported to Cook, +who speaks of it as something quite new to him, although Banks noted a +display during the voyage of the Endeavour between Timor and Batavia. The +present one is described as having a spiral motion, the direction not +strongly defined, and at times strong flashes of light. A second display +was seen on the 25th, but not so marked. On this day, too, some of the +ship's boats engaged in watering from a small iceberg, had a narrow +escape from destruction as the berg turned completely over whilst they +were at work. + +The weather becoming very unsettled the Resolution was obliged to make to +the north, and on 8th March, the finest day they had experienced since +leaving the Cape, they were able to fix their position by observation as +59 degrees 44 minutes South, 121 degrees 9 minutes East, the thermometer +registering 40 degrees. Of course this pleasant break was followed by a +heavy gale, with a tremendously heavy sea, and the ship ran before it for +New Zealand. Cook's wish was to touch at Van Diemen's Land, so as to +satisfy himself as to its forming a part of New Holland, but the wind +kept obstinately between west and north, having shifted after the gale, +and he thought it would occupy a longer time than he could spare, so he +bore up for the South Island. It was soon found that a few degrees of +latitude made a great difference in the temperature, "which we felt with +an agreeable satisfaction." + +On 25th March at 10 A.M., New Zealand was sighted, and Cook steered in to +the land with the intention of putting in to the first port that appeared +suitable, but as the weather became very hazy, he thought it safer to +stand off again. He had picked up the land at a point which he had only +seen from a distance on his previous visit, and "now saw it under so many +disadvantageous circumstances, that the less I say about it, the fewer +mistakes I shall make." + +DUSKY BAY. + +The following day they got safely into Dusky Bay, finding forty-four +fathoms at the entrance and a sandy bottom. In about a couple of leagues +they found a good anchorage in fifty fathoms, a hawser's length or so +from the shore. This was found to be rather inconvenient, but another one +was soon found by Lieutenant Pickersgill, and received in consequence the +name Pickersgill Harbour. Here the observatory, forge, and tents were set +up. Spruce beer was brewed, to which molasses and some of their +inspissated malt juice was added, fish caught, and, in fact, everything +possible for the comfort of the crew for a short time, was done. They had +been a hundred and seventeen days at sea, had sailed 3,600 leagues +without a sight of land, and had arrived with only one man sick with the +scurvy, "occasioned, chiefly, by a bad habit of body and a complication +of other disorders." + +One day, passing an island whilst out surveying, Cook was called by a +Maori and landed to meet him. The native was accompanied by two women, +and after an attempt at conversation, presented Cook with a piece of +native cloth, asking, as far as could be understood, for a boat-cloak in +return. One was made for him out of red baize, and gave so much +satisfaction that he presented Cook with his pattou, a sort of short flat +club made of stone. He visited the ship, and took great interest in all +that was going on, particularly with the saw pit. After watching the men +some time, he intimated his desire to try his hand in the pit, but found +the work not quite so easy as it looked, and soon required very little +persuasion to relinquish his task. + +Cook speaks very favourably of Dusky Bay, a good anchorage, plenty of +good water, game, fish, and easy to enter. The timber he describes as the +best he had seen in New Zealand, with the exception of that at the +Thames. There was but little edible herbage, but he tried to remedy this +by planting a quantity of European seeds, and he also left, in a place +where he hoped they might be undisturbed, a pair of geese. Whilst here +Cook was for a time confined to his cabin by what he describes as a +slight cold, but Mr. Forster says was a severe attack of rheumatism. +After several unsuccessful attempts, owing to contrary winds, they left +Dusky Bay on 11th May, and on the 17th, when near Cape Stephens, fell in +with six water-spouts, one of which came within fifty yards of the ship, +and Cook regretted he had not fired a gun at it, as he had heard that +course recommended. He says he had one ready, but was so busy noting the +phenomena that he did not think of it in time. On the other hand, Forster +says that one "was ordered to be got ready, but our people being, as +usual, very desultory about it, the danger was passed before we could try +the experiment." + +FURNEAUX REPORTS. + +On 18th May they arrived in Queen Charlotte's Sound, finding, as Cook had +expected, the Adventure there before them. Furneaux immediately reported +himself to his commanding officer, and said they had been there for six +weeks. After they had lost sight of the Resolution on 8th February, they +heard a gun and bore up for it, firing every half-hour, but heard no +reply. They then cruised about for three days as near the spot as the +weather would permit, and then, following Tasman's track, as Cook had +surmised, made for New Zealand, sighting Van Diemen's Land on 9th March, +near Tasman's South Cape. He sent a boat ashore at the first opportunity, +and a few traces of natives were seen, but the weather was so threatening +that the boat had to return to the ship. They then put in to Adventure +Bay, and staying five days took in wood and water; they had been reduced +to a quart per day of the last for some time. A few deserted huts and +occasional smokes were seen, but no other signs of the inhabitants. They +then continued up the coast till it trended away to the west, forming, +Furneaux thought, a deep bay. Passing the islands which now bear +Furneaux's name, bad weather came on, and he judged it wise to make for +his rendezvous, firmly convinced that Van Diemen's Land was joined to New +Holland. On 30th March they sighted the South Island, and were greatly +retarded in their run up the coast by the heavy swell from the north. On +their arrival in Queen Charlotte's Sound, they found the pole erected on +Motuara, with the name of the Endeavour and date on it, and several of +the inhabitants came forward to trade and enquire after Cook and Tupia. +On 11th May they experienced the shock of an earthquake, but no damage +was done. + +Finding that several of the Adventure's crew were very sick, Cook +immediately sent out boats for a supply of scurvy grass, and: + +"gave orders that it should be boiled with wheat and portable broth every +morning for breakfast, and with peas and broth for dinner, knowing from +experience that these vegetables, thus dressed, are extremely beneficial +in removing all manner of scorbutic complaints." + +Furneaux had prepared to winter in Queen Charlotte's Sound, but Cook +thought it too soon to settle down to rest and decided to push on. He was +half inclined to go over to Van Diemen's Land and settle the question of +its being a part of New Holland, but Furneaux appeared convinced, and the +winds were contrary, so he decided on proceeding eastwards, and the +Adventure was ordered to refit as rapidly as possible. A boat sent out +for timber on 3rd June was chased by a large canoe filled with men, but +Cook thought no harm was intended; on a second occasion some natives were +on the ship, when a large canoe came up, and those on board requested +Cook to fire on it, saying its occupants were enemies. This Cook declined +to do, and, instead, invited them to come on board, an invitation that +was accepted after a brief ceremonial, and the newcomers behaved +themselves quite properly; but soon Cook had to get rid of them all, for +he found his men were selling their clothing, which they would shortly +require, for things of no value either as curiosities or otherwise. The +newcomers went off to Motuara, and Cook followed them up. He had some +little conversation with them, but did not remember having seen any of +them at his previous visit, and thought none of them recognised him. They +had their cooking utensils with them, and he concluded they intended to +settle down, at any rate for a time. + +Gardens had been started by Furneaux on his arrival, and Cook tried to +interest the Maoris in them; he showed them the potatoes, carrots, and +parsnips, which they seemed to understand and appreciate, and they +promised to look after them. He remarks that the intercourse between the +Maoris and the whites did not tend to improve the morals of the former, +whom he had hitherto looked upon as superior in that respect to the other +South Sea Islanders he had come across. + +THE WATCH MACHINE. + +On 7th June the two ships put to sea, and on the 8th some accident +happened to Arnold's timepiece on board the Resolution, and they were +unable to wind it up. So far it had been working very well, but not quite +so accurately as Kendal's. On the return of the ship to England, Arnold +was informed that either by carelessness or wilfully Mr. Wales had caused +this difficulty. Wales attributed this rumour to the Forsters, to whom he +wrote on the subject, and it is very evident from their replies that +though they did not admit having circulated the report, they were not +ignorant that Arnold had been so informed. There does not appear to be +any ground for the accusation, but it does appear very probable it +originated with the Forsters. + +Throughout the rest of June they experienced very rough weather, and it +was not till 18th July that they reached 133 degrees West, having seen no +signs of land on their way. Cook therefore turned northwards so as to +cross the space between his track north and return south in 1769. This +course would practically settle one view about the supposed Southern +Continent, for it had been laid down by some of the theorists that it +must be in the middle latitudes of the South Pacific. New Zealand had +been said to be the western side of this continent (already disproved by +Cook in his previous voyage), and what Forster calls "the pretended +discoveries near America," the eastern side. The proposed course would +take the ships through the centre of the part of the ocean in dispute. + +On 29th July, Cook sent a boat to the Adventure, as he had heard her crew +were very sickly, and found that about twenty of her men were down with +scurvy, and the cook had died of the disease. Orders were given that the +utmost precautions were to be taken, and wort, carrot marmalade, and rob +of lemon were to be freely served out. On the Resolution, at the same +time, three men were on the sick list, only one of whom had scurvy, but +some of the others were showing symptoms, so similar precautions were +taken, with good results. + +DANGEROUS WATERS. + +Cook was so anxious about the Adventure's crew that he would not look for +Pitcairn Island, discovered by Carteret, although he believed he was in +its neighbourhood on 1st August (he was about fifteen leagues to the +west), but a day or so after was able to have Furneaux on board to +dinner, who reported a great improvement. He had some cider on board, +which he had served out with gratifying results. Two islands were sighted +on the 11th, which Cook named Resolution and Doubtful Islands; he +believed them to have been discovered by De Bougainville. The following +morning at daylight they found themselves almost on the top of what Cook +calls "a half drowned island, or rather large coral shoal of about 20 +leagues in circuit." In the lagoon which it surrounded they saw a large +canoe under sail. The island was named after Furneaux. As they were now +in such a dangerous neighbourhood, Cook ordered that at night the cutter +with an officer and seven men should keep in advance of the ships until +they arrived in sight of Maitea (Osnaburg Island) on 15th July, when, +being in waters he knew, its services were discontinued. He steered for +the south side of Otaheite in order to get fresh vegetables as soon as +possible, and on the 16th at daybreak they found themselves about two +miles from the reef. The wind dropped, and the set of the current was +taking them on to the reef, so the boats were ordered out to tow, but +getting near an opening through which the tide was rushing with great +force, they were unable to keep the ships off. The anchors were let go, +and the Adventure, finding holding ground, was brought up; but the +Resolution was not so fortunate, and was carried on to the reef and +struck two or three times, fortunately without doing any serious damage. +A land breeze springing up and the tide slackening enabled them to get in +safely, with the loss of three anchors, a cable, and a couple of hawsers; +the bower anchor was recovered by Mr. Gilbert the next day. Cook says +that though he thought they had a remarkably narrow escape, the natives +who saw them did not seem to appreciate that they had been in any danger. + +They remained at this anchorage for a week, and obtained plenty of +coconuts and bananas; but though they saw hogs, they were unable to +purchase any, as the people declared they all belonged to their chief; +so, hearing he was in the neighbourhood, Cook landed to call on him, and +at once recognised him as Tearee, whom he had seen in 1769. The chief +also remembered him, and enquired after several of the Endeavour people. +He tried to get Cook to make a longer stay, promising supplies of fresh +meat as an inducement, but as such promises had so often been broken +before, Cook replied he should leave the next day. Whilst here one of the +marines, who had been ailing more or less all the voyage, and had become +dropsical, died, and the one man who was suffering from scurvy still +remained on the sick list. On the other hand, the Adventure's crew had +greatly improved in health with the change to fresh vegetables. One of +the natives was found to have picked up coconuts from which the sailors +had drunk the milk, and having carefully sealed up the holes, resold +them, and did not seem disconcerted when his trick was found out. + +Before the ships reached their anchorage at Matavai Bay they were crowded +with natives, many of whom Cook recognised, and almost all of whom knew +him. Otoo, the king, at once recognised Cook, and enquired after Banks, +Solander, and others of the Endeavour; yet Forster gravely asserts that +he never saw them at the former visit. The old fort on Point Venus was +reoccupied, tents pitched, and the observatory set up, and the camp was +placed under the command of Lieutenant Edgecombe of the Marines. + +SPANIARDS HANGED. + +The king gave a theatrical entertainment in honour of their arrival, at +which his sister was the only female performer. It had some reference to +the coming of the ships, but they were not able to follow the thread of +the story. Cook could see that Otoo was nervous and uncomfortable, and +felt dissatisfied with his reception, so determined to cut short his +stay. No one could understand the reason of the unsatisfactory feeling, +but Forster suggests that it was owing to the advice of a Spanish +deserter, who had left his ship about March 1773. This vessel was +commanded by Don Juan de Langara y Huarto, and was from Callao; her +voyage has not been published, but the natives gave Forster to understand +that four of her sailors had been hanged on her arrival. Cook refers to +the presence of a white man, who, when he thought he had been observed, +disappeared and was not seen again. Young Forster made an attempt to +explore the interior, but finding the climbing more difficult than he +expected, soon returned. In the gardens which had been planted at the +Endeavour's visit, pumpkins seemed to be the only things which had done +well, and for these the natives did not care, "which is not to be +wondered at," says Cook. Further enquiries as to the religious ceremonies +were made, but nothing very definite was ascertained; it appeared that on +very rare occasions special criminals, selected by the high priest, were +sacrificed at the Moris. Cook also formed the opinion that the standard +of morality amongst the women was much higher than had previously been +admitted. + +Sailing with a favourable wind on 1st September for Huaheine, the +Adventure ran ashore going through the reef, but with the assistance of +the Resolution's boats, she was soon towed off without serious damage. +Forster, as usual, tries to cause trouble by declaring that Cook would +not send assistance till the Resolution was safely anchored, and thus +added to the danger of his consort. As the boats were in the water before +the accident occurred, in order to render immediate assistance if +required, Mr. Forster's story is too thin. + +On arrival Cook was informed his old friend Oree was coming to see him, +so he went ashore to meet him. The boat was hauled up close to the +chief's house, and then five young plantain trees, as emblems of peace, +were carried on board one by one, the first three being each accompanied +by a young pig with his ears ornamented with coconut fibre; the fourth +was accompanied by a dog; and the fifth by the bag which Cook had given +Oree in 1769, containing the pewter plate with the inscription relating +to the Endeavour's visit, and the beads, and imitation coins. On the +advice of his guide, Cook decorated three of the plantains with nails, +medals, beads, etc., and he, Furneaux, and Forster, landed with them in +their hands. They were requested to sit down, and the trees were taken +from them and placed before Oree, the first for God, the second for the +king, and the third for Friendship. The chief then came forward and +greeted Cook in a most affectionate manner, the tears trickling down his +cheeks. Further presents were then exchanged, and the ceremony was over. + +SPARRMAN'S MISADVENTURE. + +Here they were able to purchase a plentiful supply of everything, pigs, +fowls, and fruit, and Cook says if he had been able to stay longer he +might have bought as much more as everything seemed abundant. The only +disagreeable thing that happened was to Mr. Sparrman, who, out by himself +botanising, was set upon and stripped of everything but his +trousers--Besant substitutes spectacles for trousers. He made his way +towards the boats, and was befriended by a native, who gave him some +cloth to put over his shoulders and escorted him to the others. When Oree +heard of the affair he placed himself in Cook's hands, and did his best +to find out the culprits, and after a time Sparrman's hanger and the +greater part of his things were recovered. It seems probable that some +native law had been unwittingly broken and Sparrman's treatment was meant +as a punishment, for every one else had been particularly well treated. +Before leaving Cook added to Oree's treasures a copper plate on which was +inscribed, "Anchored here, His Britannic Majesty's Ships Resolution and +Adventure, September 1773." Some medals were also given him, and he was +requested to show them to any visitors that came. + +At Ulietea they were received at a heava or dramatic performance, one +portion of which illustrated robbery by two men, and Cook says it was +acted "in such a masterly manner as sufficiently displayed the genius of +the people in this vice." Fruit and vegetables being rather scarce, Mr. +Pickersgill was despatched with a boat from each ship to an island Cook +calls O'Taha, where they were said to be plentiful, and he was able to +purchase as much as they had means to pay for, at a very reasonable rate; +but during negotiations the bag containing the trade was stolen. +Pickersgill at once seized everything of value he could lay his hands on, +signifying at the same time that all should be returned when the bag and +its contents were produced. In the evening a chief, who had been friendly +all day, went off and soon after came back with the bag and about half +its contents. Eventually all was recovered, and the boats left with good +loads in a perfectly friendly manner. When the boats went from Ulietea +the crews of the two vessels were again entertained, but during the night +all the natives disappeared, to the surprise and annoyance of Cook, who +thought something serious had happened to offend them. It turned out +that, seeing the boats did not return, the natives thought it was a case +of desertion, and were afraid they might be held responsible. + +BAGPIPES APPRECIATED. + +Leaving here, the course was to the south of west so as to clear the +tracks of other explorers, and then to call at Middleburg and Amsterdam. +Each night the ships lay to in order that they might not overlook any +unknown island, and on 23rd September Harvey's Islands were sighted and +named. On 1st October Middleburg was reached, but no good anchorage being +found, they went on to Amsterdam. Before they got clear away, however, +two canoes came out, and the coast opening up in a more promising manner, +they ran in again and found ground in twenty-five fathoms. Plenty of the +natives, quite unarmed, came off to the ships, some, amongst whom was a +chief named Tioony, were invited on board; the traders were so anxious to +do business, that those who could not get near enough to hand their goods +into the boats, pitched them over the heads of their friends. Some of the +party accompanied Tioony to his house, which was delightfully situated, +and were entertained with refreshments, in the shape of coconuts, +bananas, and a few shaddocks, called by Forster pumplemoses, and music; +and in return the ship's bagpipes played, to the great enjoyment of the +natives. Turnbull, who visited the Pacific during the years 1800 to 1804, +says that these instruments were remembered, and in Otaheite were +specially asked for. The musical contribution of the natives commenced +with a song by three girls, who sang rather nicely, and were duly +rewarded with presents, whereon all the women began singing in a manner +which Cook describes as "both musical and harmonious." A short walk +disclosed plantations "well laid out and kept," but as eatables seemed +scarce, a departure was made the next day for Amsterdam, the waves +breaking high upon the rocks as they followed the coast. + +Off the southern point of Amsterdam several canoes came out, and their +occupants came aboard without hesitation, presenting cava root as a +peace-offering. The ships anchored in eighteen fathoms, and were soon +crowded with visitors. Nothing but cloth was offered for sale, so Cook, +finding the sailors were parting with clothing they would soon be +wanting, issued an order that no curiosities were to be purchased, with +the result that next morning hogs, fowls, coconuts, and bananas were +forthcoming. Cook, Forster, and some of the others went ashore and found +a chief, Attago, who had attached himself to Cook, very useful in their +trading. Mr. Hodges painted a picture of this landing, but, as Mr. +Forster very justly points out, the attire of the natives is far too +classical. It was noticed that many of the natives had lost the top joint +of the little finger of one, and in some cases, of both hands. This was +understood to be a mark of mourning for the loss of parents. + +The fowls here were remarkably good, and the sailors purchased some for +the purpose of cock-fighting, but they proved much more successful in the +pot. The island is described as well cultivated, not an inch of ground +being wasted in roads or fences. Forster reported having seen a large +casuarina tree loaded with crows, but they proved to be that pest of the +fruit grower--flying foxes. He also states that the Resolution anchored +in the same spot as Tasman when he discovered the island. + +The natives proved as adept at thieving as the majority of the South Sea +Islanders. One man, who had stolen some books from the Master's cabin, +got off in his canoe, and being chased, took to the water, and diving +under his pursuers' boat, unshipped the rudder, and got clear away. Mr. +Wales, in going ashore, took off his shoes and stockings to save them +from the wet, when they were at once snatched up by a native, who ran off +with them over the coral rocks, leaving poor Wales in what Cook calls "an +unpleasant but laughable position," unable to follow over the sharp +stone; however, Attago soon afterwards recovered them. + +The language was closely allied to that used in the Society Group, many +words being identical; and Cook concluded they had some form of religious +worship, as he noted enclosed pieces of ground in which one or two +particular men were accustomed to repeat speeches apparently of a set +nature. + +NEW ZEALAND ONCE MORE. + +On 7th October, sailing for New Zealand, they were delayed by contrary +winds, and did not sight the neighbourhood of Table Cape till the 21st. +They stood in to Tolago and Poverty Bays with the intention of presenting +any chiefs who came off, with pigs, fowls, and garden seeds in hopes of +making a commencement in stocking the island, but none were seen till +Cape Kidnappers was reached, when two made their appearance, and were +duly given two boars and two sows, and four hens and two cocks, first +obtaining a promise that they should not be killed; to these were added a +supply of seeds, such as peas, beans, cabbage, turnips, etc. Standing on +through a series of heavy squalls, in one of which the Resolution lost +her fore topgallant mast, they ran into a violent gale which lasted for a +week, and, after a slight moderation, came on with increased fury, and +the two vessels parted company. + +On 3rd November the Resolution reached her old anchorage in Ship Cove, +Queen Charlotte's Sound; but the Adventure was seen no more during the +voyage. Forster was much upset by the stormy weather, "the dreadful +energy of the language" of the sailors, the absence of their consort +which "doubled every danger," the shortness of the table supplies and his +own dislike to a further trip to southern latitudes. Hoping the Adventure +might yet come in, Cook pushed on with his refit, and thoroughly +overhauled his stores. About 4000 pounds weight of ship's bread was found +unfit for food, and another 3000 pounds nearly as bad; they were very +fortunate, therefore, in getting a plentiful supply of scurvy grass and +wild celery, and a small quantity of vegetables from the gardens they had +previously laid out. + +Any doubts that may have been felt about the cannibalism of the New +Zealanders was set at rest by some of the officers who surprised a party +engaged in a feast. A human head was purchased from the feasters and +taken on board, and a piece of the flesh being offered to a Maori, it was +greedily devoured. A South Sea Islander, Odidie, was intensely horrified, +and refused to touch the knife with which it had been cut, nor would he +be in any way friendly with the eater. Cook firmly believed that only +enemies killed in battle were eaten, and did not think the custom arose +from any shortness of food. + +Enclosing in a bottle, which was buried under a marked tree in the +garden, a memorandum giving the dates of his arrival and departure, the +direction he intended to steer, and other information he thought might be +useful to Furneaux, Cook sailed on 25th November, and as they passed +through the straits, guns were continually fired, and a sharp lookout +kept for signs of the Adventure; but nothing was seen, and as no other +rendezvous had been appointed, Cook gave up all hope of her rejoining +him. The Resolution, when clear, bore up for the south-east, but had the +course at the first been north of east, the two ships might possibly have +met, for the Adventure was then on her way from Tolago Bay and arrived in +Ship Cove four days after the departure of her consort. Cook says his +crew were in good spirits, and in no way dejected, "or thought the +dangers we had yet to go through were in the least increased by being +alone." They were quite ready to go, "wherever I might think proper to +lead them." Even Mr. Forster had to admit at a little later date, that: + +"notwithstanding the constant perils to which our course exposed us, in +this unexplored ocean, our ship's company were far from being so uneasy +as might have been expected." + +ARMOUR OF ICE. + +On 6th December, at 8.30 A.M., they reckoned they were "at the Antipodes +to our friends in London, consequently as far removed from them as +possible." Here a swell coming from the south-west showed there was no +great body of land in that direction, except at a considerable distance. +The first ice was seen on 12th December in 62 degrees 10 minutes South, +and on the 15th, in 66 degrees South, they were obliged to edge away +north as they were surrounded by large quantities of loose ice, and it +was very foggy. Working up to between 64 and 65 degrees, they again +headed east still hampered by ice and fog, but in a few days the weather +improved a little, and they recovered the Antarctic Circle, and reached +67 degrees 31 minutes South on the 23rd, the highest south latitude +hitherto attained. The rigging was so coated with ice that it was +difficult to work the ship, and Cook altered his course to the +north-east. Marra says, under 18th December: + +"Icicles frequently hung to the noses of the men, more than an inch +long...the men, cased in frozen snow, as if clad in armour, where the +running rigging has been so enlarged by frozen sleet as hardly to be +grasped by the largest hand...yet, under all these hardships, the men +cheerful over their grog, and not a man sick, but of old scars." + +Cook says that some of the men suffered from fever brought on by the +unavoidable exposure to cold and wet, but it was slight, and "happily +yielded to the simplest remedies." The ship was so surrounded by masses +of ice as to cause some apprehension, but by taking advantage of every +breath of air the danger was averted. Christmas Day was passed in +constant watchfulness. + +"We were fortunate in having continual daylight, and clear weather, for +had it been foggy as on some of the preceding days, nothing less than a +miracle could have saved us from being dashed to pieces." + +On 7th January 1774, five very successful observations gave the mean +longitude as 123 degrees 21 minutes West, the watch gave it 123 degrees +44 minutes, and the dead reckoning as 123 degrees 39 minutes. Cook +signifies his keen appreciation of the watch machine, and says: "I must +here take notice that our longitude can never be erroneous while we have +so good a guide as Mr. Kendal's watch." + +OBEDIENT AND ALERT. + +A further attempt to the south was made, and on 30th January the high +latitude of 71 degrees 10 minutes South was reached, in longitude 106 +degrees 54 minutes West, further progress being stopped by a large and +solid field of ice. This record was not beaten till 1823, by Weddell, and +until recent years very few of the attempts on Antarctic discovery had +proved as successful. Satisfied that there was no continent existing +within the Arctic Circle except so far south as to be practically +inaccessible on account of ice, he acknowledged he did not regret he +found it impossible to go further, and, thinking that in the unexplored +parts of the South Pacific there was room for many large islands, and +also that discoveries already made had been imperfectly laid down on the +charts, he decided that it was his duty, as he had a well-found ship and +a healthy crew, to remain in these waters and add what he could to the +knowledge of geography. He therefore planned to find the land discovered +by Juan Fernandez in 38 degrees South, and, if unsuccessful, to proceed +to Easter Island and fix its position, as it was very uncertain, then to +proceed to Otaheite, where he had a faint hope he might hear of the +Adventure, and, proceeding further west, settle the position of Tierra +Austral del Espiritu Santo of de Quiros. Afterwards to turn south-east, +and, reaching Cape Horn in November, he would have the best part of the +summer for exploration in the South Atlantic. He says: + +"Great as this design appears to be, I however thought it possible to be +executed; and when I came to communicate it to the officers, I had the +satisfaction to find they all heartily concurred in it. I should not do +these gentlemen justice if I did not take some opportunity to declare +that they always showed the utmost readiness to carry into execution in +the most effectual manner, every measure I thought proper to take. Under +such circumstances it is hardly necessary to say, that the seamen were +always obedient and alert; and on this occasion they were so far from +wishing the voyage at an end, that they rejoiced at the prospect of its +being prolonged another year and of soon enjoying the benefits of a +milder climate." + +Mr. Forster does not agree with this account, for he says: + +"The long continuance in these cold climates began now to hang heavily on +our crew, especially as it banished all hope of returning home this year, +which had hitherto supported their spirits. At first a painful +despondence owing to the dreary prospect of another year's cruise to the +south seemed painted in every countenance; till by degrees they resigned +themselves to their fate with a kind of sullen indifference. It must be +owned, however, that nothing could be more dejecting than the entire +ignorance of our future destination which, without any apparent reason +was constantly kept a secret to every person in the ship." + +It is evident that Cook and his officers did not think it necessary to +consult Mr. Forster as to the movements of the ship, or, what is more +probable, he was in one of his irritable moods and must say something +nasty about someone. + +The decision to turn northwards was taken none too soon, for on 6th +February a furious storm came on, playing havoc with the sails and +running rigging, and though it abated somewhat next morning, it blew very +strong till the 12th, and would have been highly dangerous if it had +caught them amongst the ice. On the 17th Cook judged he had crossed his +outward track of 1769, and on the 20th he notes the thermometer rising to +66 degrees, the only real summer day they had experienced since leaving +New Zealand. Having arrived at the position laid down for the land +supposed to have been seen by Juan Fernandez, he cruised about but found +no signs, so on the 25th stood away for Easter Island. + +Cook was now taken seriously ill and was confined to his bed for several +days by what he calls the bilious cholic, during which time "Mr. Patten, +the surgeon, was to me, not only a skilful physician, but an affectionate +nurse." He recovered very slowly, and the want of fresh food told against +him when it came to the question of gathering strength. The only fresh +meat on board was a dog belonging to Mr. Forster, which was duly +sacrificed and made into soup: "Thus I received nourishment and strength +from food which would have made most people in Europe sick." Marra's +Journal says, under 23rd February: + +"This day the Captain was taken ill, to the grief of all the ship's +company." 28th February: "The Captain this day much better, which each +might read in the countenance of the other, from the highest officer to +the meanest boy on board the ship." 4th March: "The Captain perfectly +recovered from his illness, to the great joy of the ship's company." + +EASTER ISLAND. + +At 8 A.M., on 11th March, Easter Island was sighted from the masthead, +and shortly after noon some of the gigantic statues mentioned in +Roggewin's Voyages were clearly distinguished through the glasses. The +position of the ship at noon had been fixed as 27 degrees 3 minutes +South, 109 degrees 46 minutes West. Standing on and off till next +morning, fair anchorage was found in thirty-six fathoms, but it proved +too near the edge of a bank, and they were driven off it in the night. +One or two canoes came out to meet them as they were working back, from +which plantains were purchased, and Cook proceeded ashore, where he was +immediately surrounded by natives; indeed, some even swam out to meet +him. Many of them possessed European hats, jackets, handkerchiefs, etc., +which they were said to have obtained from the Spaniards in 1770. Their +language was very similar to that of Otaheite, and Odidie was able to +understand them fairly well. There were no trees exceeding ten feet in +height, and the land is described as extremely parched and dreary, though +a few plantations were seen. Some remarkable pieces of stonework were +noticed, enclosing small areas of ground, in some of which were the +statues already mentioned. These were not looked upon by the natives as +objects of worship, although they did not like the pavements by which +they were surrounded being walked over, or the statues being closely +examined. Mr. Forster regarded the enclosures as burial grounds, and the +statues (portions of some of them are at the British Museum) as monuments +to chiefs. + +The water supply being found very bad, though Gonzales is said to have +found good springs, and the fresh food for sale but scanty, the stay was +cut short, and on 16th March sail was made for the Marquesas, discovered +by Mendana in 1595. The next day, according to Marra, the fresh +provisions obtained were served out to the crew at the Captain's expense: + +"namely, two pounds of potatoes a man, and a bunch of bananas to each +mess; and this without reducing their ordinary allowance; an act of +generosity which produced its effect; it preserved the crew in health, +and encouraged them to undergo cheerfully the hardships that must +unavoidably happen in the course of so long a voyage." + +MARKET SPOILT. + +The Marquesas were reached on 7th April, and after a narrow escape from +running on the rocks, satisfactory anchorage was obtained, and they were +visited by some of the natives, from whom breadfruit and fish were +purchased. The next day further trading was done, nails being the chief +medium of exchange, but the natives were inclined to be smart in their +dealings, and on several occasions obtained payment without delivery. +Cook here suffered from a relapse, but was able to get about, and after +warning the officer on watch to keep a smart look-out, or something of +importance would be stolen, took his seat in a boat to go in search of a +better anchorage. He was then informed that a stanchion had been stolen +from the gangway, and the thief had got away to his canoe on the other +side of the ship. He ordered a shot to be fired over the canoes, but no +one was to be hurt, and he would pull round and secure the thief. The +order was apparently misunderstood, for the thief was killed, and the +rest of the natives hurried ashore. Soon after trading recommenced, and +the lesson appeared forgotten, for an attempt was made to steal the kedge +anchor by which the ship was being warped nearer the shore. Cook landed, +and the trading went on as if nothing out of the common had occurred, and +some pigs (so small that it required forty or fifty to provide one meal +for the crew!) and fruit were purchased; but in the afternoon, when the +boats went in for water, all the natives had disappeared. This Cook +attributed to his not being with them, for the next morning, when he +landed, trading was resumed. A short trip was made in the boats along the +coast, and when they returned it was found the market was closed. It +seems one of the young gentlemen had given a small handful of red +feathers he had obtained at Tonga for a small pig, and now nothing else +would be accepted, so they sailed for Otaheite on the 11th. Cook was very +much annoyed at the ill success in obtaining fresh provisions, for though +none of the crew were ill, he thought they stood in need of a change of +food. He describes the inhabitants as the finest race he had seen in the +South Seas, almost as fair as Europeans, and their language very similar +to that of Otaheite. Their arms consisted of clubs, spears, and slings, +the two former very neatly made, and with the latter they threw stones a +considerable distance but without accuracy. Mr. Forster managed to secure +a quantity of small birds with very beautiful plumage. + +On the 17th April they sighted the George Islands, discovered by Byron +(native name, Tiookea), but, after sending the Master to report on the +lagoon, Cook decided it was too dangerous to enter, and Mr. Cooper went +off with two boats to see if it were possible to trade. He obtained a few +dogs and coconuts, but the attitude of the natives was so uncertain he +would not land, and returned to the ship. One of the sailors exchanged a +plantain for a dog, so it was concluded the fruit was unknown. On the +19th four more islands were discovered, and named Pallisser Islands, and +on rounding one a strong swell rolling in from the south was encountered, +"a sure sign that we were clear of these low islands." On the 21st, land +a little to the east of Point Venus was sighted, and next morning they +anchored in Matavai Bay, being immediately visited by the natives, who +seemed greatly pleased to see them again. The old camp was reoccupied, +the observatory set up for Mr. Wales, and Cook had again the pleasure to +record he had no one on the sick list. + +The king, Otoo, came to visit the camp, bringing as his present a dozen +pigs and some fruit, and then with some of his friends went on board ship +to dinner, and to receive the return present. It was then found that the +red feathers were greatly valued, a very fortunate thing as articles of +trade were running short. Cook, after the disappointment in securing +supplies at the last visit, intended to make a very short stay, but the +place now appeared to be very thriving, houses and canoes were being +built in all directions, and there was every sign of prosperity, so he +decided to remain and refit. On 25th April they had a thunderstorm +lasting three hours, such as no one on board had experienced before. + +THE OTAHEITAN FLEET. + +Going to visit Otoo on the next day, Cook was surprised to see a large +number of fully-manned canoes ranged along the coast, and a large body of +armed men on the land near them. On landing, he was surrounded by people, +and seized by two chiefs, one of whom wanted to carry him off to see the +king, and the other to see the fleet, and between the two, "I was like to +be pulled to pieces," the crowd making way with cries of "Tiya no +Tootee." He was gradually drawn towards the fleet, but refused to go on +board, and after a time was allowed to return to his own boats, when he +found his companions had been subject to similar treatment. They put out +from shore in order to have a good look at the fleet, and counted one +hundred and sixty large double canoes, all well equipped and fully +manned. The chiefs were swathed in vast quantities of cloth, so that to +the Englishmen it seemed almost a miracle they were able to move. The +vessels were decorated with flags and streamers, and made a very fine +appearance. These were the first line, and, in addition, there were one +hundred and seventy smaller double canoes, each having a small house or +castle on it, which were thought to be transports and store ships, as the +larger ones, as far as could be seen, carried no supplies on board. The +number of men on board was estimated to be no less than 7,500, and it was +ascertained this armada was intended for the subjugation of Eimeo which +had lately rebelled against Otaheite. + +Cook was informed Otoo was waiting at the camp for him, but on going +there he found he had not been there, and on looking for him again in the +afternoon he was still invisible. The fleet had also gone away; and then +it was discovered that some of Cook's clothes had been stolen from the +wash, and the king and Admiral were both in dread of his anger. However, +Cook sent word he should take no steps to recover the stolen articles, +and things resumed a friendly aspect, the Admiral, Towha, sending Cook a +present of two large pigs and some fruit, giving orders to the bearers +that they were to receive nothing in exchange. He soon after paid a visit +to the ship, and as it was his first, he examined everything with great +curiosity, and appeared greatly impressed with what he saw. One of the +natives having been caught making off with a small water cask, Cook +determined he should be punished, and made a ceremonial affair of it. The +culprit was first sent on board and put in irons, the natives and the +crew mustered, and then the thief was taken on shore and triced up. Cook +then made a short speech in which he pointed out that when his men were +caught stealing from the natives they were always punished, but the +natives were always stealing from the ship and crew and getting away +unpunished, he therefore ordered the man to be given two dozen lashes. +These were duly administered, and Towha made a speech in which he was +understood to admit the justice of Cook's action. The marines were then +put through their drill, and fired a few volleys with ball, and the +proceedings terminated; but Cook declares he did not know whether the +natives were pleased or frightened by the ceremony. The king's brother +then took some of the officers out to see a part of their fleet at +exercise, and they were just in time to see the conclusion and the +landing of the men. Cook says the canoes were handled very smartly, and +"five minutes after putting ashore you could not tell anything of the +kind had been going forward." + +The sea stores were again overhauled, and although the greatest care had +been taken with the packing, large quantities of the bread were found to +be uneatable, rendering the purchase of fresh food at every opportunity +of the greatest importance. + +A state visit was paid on board by Otoo's father and some other members +of the royal family, who presented Cook with: + +"a complete mourning dress, a curiosity we most valued. In return I gave +him whatever he desired, which was not a little, and having distributed +red feathers to all the others, conducted them ashore in my boat." + +MUSKET STOLEN. + +On 7th May the king expressed a wish to see Cook, so the latter went +ashore, but found his Majesty and many of his leading men had +disappeared, and the sergeant of marines reported that one of his men had +had his musket stolen whilst on duty. Cook gave orders that if the musket +was returned nothing further was to be said, and returned to his ship. +Suspicion was attracted to six canoes laden with fruit and baggage, so +Cook gave chase in his own boat. One of the canoes then made for the +ship, and the occupants, women whom he recognised, informed him they were +taking some things to the Resolution, and that the king was at Point +Venus. Cook went to the camp, to find this was only a story to put him +off, and he once again gave chase, ordering another boat to follow. A few +shots were fired over the canoes, and five out of the six surrendered, +the one he had spoken with getting away. He was now told that the gun had +been stolen by a native of Tiarabou, and therefore Otoo was unable to get +it back, so after a little discussion he decided to put up with the loss, +and sent word to the king that he would say no more about it. In the +evening, however, the musket and some articles that had not been missed +were returned, and the men who brought them were duly rewarded. Cook says +it was remarkable how many had been actively engaged in their recovery. +One man in particular described most vividly how he had followed up, +attacked and killed the thief of the musket, but at the same time every +one was well aware that this hero had never been away from his own house +throughout the day. A state call was made on Otoo, and with the usual +exchange of presents the old footing was re-established. On the return +from this visit a stop was made "at the dockyards, for such they deserve +to be called," and the canoes in construction were inspected, two of them +being the largest the Englishmen had yet seen. + +The king soon after returned the visit, and requested that the big guns +should be fired, but Cook thinks it was very doubtful if the experience +was enjoyed. A display of fireworks in the evening was much more to the +native taste. Referring to the numerous robberies that had been +committed, Cook says he found it far the best to deal mildly with the +delinquents, and the regulations he made were, as a rule, well kept by +the natives. He was now better pleased with his reception, and concluded +that the island was in a more prosperous condition than at his last +visit. When the ship was ready to resume her voyage, several young +natives volunteered to accompany her, and Mr. Forster was most anxious to +take one as a servant, but as Cook could see no prospect of returning +them to their homes, he would not permit one to go. + +MARRA DESERTS. + +When the anchor was weighed on 14th May, Marra, the gunner's mate, whose +Journal has been quoted, quietly slipped into the water, and endeavoured +to reach a canoe which was hanging about to pick him up, but he was seen +and taken on board again. In his notes he expresses his regret that the +scientific world thus lost the chance of having the experiences of a +prolonged residence amongst these people placed before it. At the time of +leaving there was great talk of the expedition against Eimeo, and Cook +would have liked to have watched the proceedings, but he soon saw that +nothing would be done whilst he remained in the vicinity. + +On their arrival at Huaheine on the 15th the ship was immediately boarded +by Cook's old friend Oree with the usual present, and he and his friends +were invited to dine on board. He was asked what he would like for the +return present, and named axes and nails, which were given him with the +request that he would distribute them amongst his people; this he at once +did, to the apparent satisfaction of all. The thieving propensities of +the natives were still as bad as ever; a shooting party was robbed of its +stock of trade goods, and the day after three officers were seized and +stripped, so Cook took an armed party ashore, captured two of the leading +chiefs and a large house, and said he should keep them till the things +stolen were returned. This had the desired effect, and everything was +soon brought back. + +On 23rd May they sailed for Ulietea, and on their arrival the next day +were well received, though it was evident provisions were rather scarce. +They were informed here that two ships had arrived at Huaheine, one +commanded by Banks, and the other by Furneaux, and their informant +describes both Captains so well that it was some time before Cook +ventured to reject the tale as too improbable. It is possible that there +was some foundation for the story that ships had been seen, for it +afterwards became known that M. St. Dennis had been in the South Pacific +about this time with two vessels. + +Notwithstanding pressing invitations from the natives to stay, Cook +sailed for Lord Howe's Island, discovered by Wallis, reaching it on the +6th June, but as it seemed uninhabited it offered no inducement for any +stay. On the 16th a chain of sand-banks and islets surrounding a lagoon +into which no practicable entrance could be seen, was named Palmerston's +Islands; and on the 20th a landing was effected on Savage Island, but as +the natives were very threatening, and the country enabled them to +approach closely without exposing themselves, the party retired to the +boats. A few spears were thrown, and Marra says that one would have +struck Cook had he not seen it coming and stooped in time to avoid it, +and then aimed with his gun loaded with small shot at the thrower, but it +missed fire; a short time afterwards he again tried it, aiming in the +air, and it was discharged. Forster attributes the constant misfires to +the bad quality of the flints supplied by the Government, and says that +English flints had a very unsatisfactory reputation on the Continent. + +MORE THIEVING. + +The course was now set for Rotterdam, where they arrived on 26th June, +and were fairly well received by the natives, who brought supplies of +fruit before the anchorage had been reached; but they soon began to play +the old game of trying to annex anything that took their fancy. One +seized the lead which was in use, whilst a second tried to cut the line +with a stone, and was only persuaded to desist by a charge of small shot +fired at his legs. A small party of sailors went ashore for water, and a +quantity was obtained; but again the natives became too pressing in their +attentions. The doctor's musket was stolen, then Mr. Clerke's, then some +other things and a cooper's adze; and Cook, though at first inclined to +take no notice, felt compelled to seize two canoes, and himself wounded a +man, who had rendered himself conspicuous by his disorderly conduct, with +a charge of small shot, and it was at first rumoured he was killed. This +Cook would not believe as he had been very careful not to fire at a vital +spot. After a time the muskets and some of the other things were given +up, so the canoes were returned to their owners, and the adze was +demanded. Instead of the adze, however, the reported corpse was brought +on board, and proved, on examination by the doctor, to be very little the +worse for his experience, having a slight wound on the thigh and a second +one on the wrist. He was soon on his feet, and the adze was then +produced. The next day the people were very civil, and the crew were able +to water without interruption. + +On 16th July they sighted Aurora Island, discovered by Bougainville, but +it came on to blow hard, so they did not attempt to anchor. The natives +came down fully armed as if to oppose a landing, and the ship passed on +to Whitsunday Island. Off Malicolo good anchorage was found, and the +natives came on board, and were so pleased with their reception they +returned next day in greater numbers, and whilst Cook was in his cabin +with some who appeared to be chiefs, a great noise arose on deck. A boat +keeper had declined to allow a native to get into his boat, and the +islander was fitting an arrow to his bow as Cook came on deck, with the +intention of shooting the sailor. Cook shouted at him, and he at once +diverted his aim to the Captain, but the latter was too quick, and +peppered him with small shot, spoiling his aim. He was not much hurt, and +proceeded to fit another arrow to his bow, when Cook gave him the second +barrel and induced him to retire. Some of the others also discharged a +few arrows, so a musket was fired over them, without any effect. A +four-pound gun was tried, and the effect was truly marvellous; the +natives in the rigging and on deck threw themselves into the water, +whilst those in the cabin jumped from the ports, and the ship was left in +peace. Cook was not favourably impressed by these islanders, and +describes them as "in general, the most ugly ill-proportioned people I +ever saw." Forster, however, thought they were very intelligent. They +were judged to be a different race from the Society or Friendly +Islanders, and spoke a different language. + +POISONOUS FISH. + +After leaving, many of those on board were very ill for a week or ten +days from having eaten of a fish which Forster calls a red sea bream, and +Cook believed to be the same as those which poisoned de Quiros's people, +and in his account says that: + +"The fish had eaten of poisonous plants, all parts of the flesh became +empoisoned. The ship appeared like the Hospital of a city which had the +plague; there was none who could stand on their feet." + +Owing to the care of the surgeons, however "all were recovered." + +The next land seen was a small group of islands, named Shepherd's +Islands, "in honour of my worthy friend, the Plumian Professor of +Astronomy at Cambridge"; and Mr. Forster complains that Cook's "rashness +and reliance on good fortune become the principal roads to fame, by being +crowned with great and undeserved success." This was very out of place at +the time, for Cook was exercising the very greatest precautions, as he +fully recognised the dangers by which they were surrounded. He always +stood off and on during the night, and only proceeded through unknown +waters by day. Several of these islets were of a peculiar formation, and +one high columnar rock was named the Monument; Forster gives its height +as 140 yards, the other accounts are satisfied with feet. Many of the +group were inhabited, but no favourable opportunity for landing occurred. + +On 1st August a fire broke out on board, and Forster writes: + +"Confusion and horror appeared in all our faces at the bare mention of +it, and it was some time before proper measures were taken to stop its +progress, for in these moments of danger few are able to collect their +faculties and act with cool deliberation." + +After about half a page of this, on fires in general, he observes: + +"Providentially the fire of this day was very trifling and extinguished +in a few moments." + +Then a few days after a marine, who had fallen overboard, was smartly +picked up, and being well looked after by his comrades, was soon showing +no ill effects of his accident, thus giving Mr. Forster an opportunity to +write of it as an example of "the result of an esprit du corps to which +sailors, at present, are utter strangers." An utterly unwarranted sneer. + +At Erromango, on 4th August, Cook went in with the boats, and the natives +tried to induce them to come on shore, but something roused suspicion +after he and one man had got into the water, so, making signs that he +would come back later, he stepped back. The natives then rushed the +boats, trying to drag them onto the beach, and succeeded in stealing two +oars, at the same time wounding several of the boats' crews, amongst them +Mr. Gilbert, the Master, with a shower of stones, spears, and arrows. +Cook attempted to give one of the chiefs a charge of small shot, but his +gun missed fire, and he was obliged, very reluctantly, to order the +marines to fire, with the result that several of the natives were +wounded. Under the circumstances it was not considered worth while +remaining, so the ship left for Tanna, some twelve leagues to the south. +A bright light had been noticed in that direction the night before, which +proved to have been caused by a volcanic eruption. + +A good anchorage was found at Tanna, and the ship warped close in. +Several natives coming on board to trade soon developed the usual +propensity to carry off anything that took their fancy--on this occasion +the anchor buoys were the special attraction. Muskets were fired over +their head to no purpose, so a four-pounder was discharged, which for a +time had a good result; but soon they were as bad as ever, so two or +three musquetoons were fired close to them, and though none were hurt, +the crew were able to get their dinner in peace. + +HOT SPRINGS. + +An old man, called by Cook Paowang, appeared to be inclined to be +friendly, so Cook landed with a strong party to look for water under his +guidance, and met with some of the elders, exchanging presents with them. +The next day the ship was warped in, and three boats went ashore, but the +natives were very threatening, and after some futile attempts to put +things on a peaceable footing a signal was given to the ship and several +guns were fired, when all the natives ran away except Paowang, who was +suitably rewarded for his confidence. After a time permission was +obtained to get wood, water, and ballast, and whilst trying to lift a +stone out of a pool below high-water mark, one of the crew scalded his +hand badly. The pool proved to be one of a series of springs running down +a spur of the volcano into the sea. Several were tested with the +thermometer, and as much as 202 degrees Fahrenheit was attained. Forster +found a number of cracks on the ridge from which sulphurous vapour and +smoke issued, and one of the crew who had been suffering severely from +rheumatism received great temporary benefit from bathing in one of the +springs. + +Many good plantations of yams, sugar-cane, and plantains were seen, but +they could purchase very little as their articles of trade were not +appreciated. The natives did not understand the use of iron, and did not +require cloth as they went almost entirely naked. Though no direct signs +of cannibalism had been found, Cook was convinced that the practice was +not unknown. + +After leaving Tanna, the western coasts of the different islands were +followed up till De Bougainville's Passage was reached, when the course +was set for Espiritu Santo. In passing Malicolo canoes put off for the +ship, but the wind being favourable, Cook would not delay, and gave +Forster the opportunity to remark that the main object of the voyage, +i.e. the obtaining a knowledge of the natural history of the islands, was +made subservient to the production of a new track on the chart of the +Southern Hemisphere. + +CARDINAL MORAN'S GEOGRAPHY. + +On 25th August they entered the bay which Cook believed to be that +discovered by De Quiros, and named by him the Bay of St. Philip and St. +Iago in the Tierra Austral del Espiritu Santo, now known as the New +Hebrides. In this conclusion Cook has the support of Dalrymple and modern +geographers, but Forster, for some reason which is not quite clear, felt +compelled to differ. Cardinal Moran, the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, +also believes Cook to have been mistaken, for in his History of the +Catholic Church in Australia, he places De Quiros's discovery in Port +Curtis, Queensland, where he claims that the first Catholic service ever +celebrated in Australia was held. He puts aside the fact that the +latitude of Port Curtis, 24 degrees South, does not agree with that given +by De Quiros, 15 degrees 20 minutes South, by saying that the positions +of newly discovered places were, in those days, "often purposely +concealed lest other navigators might appropriate to themselves and their +respective countries, the results of the discovery." He quotes details +given in De Quiros's petitions to the King of Spain, and says: "All these +details fit in admirably with Port Curtis on the Queensland coast." Now +De Quiros says the country he discovered was thickly inhabited by a +people who were armed with bows and arrows, possessed vessels of +earthenware, lived in houses of wood, roofed with palm leaves, were amply +supplied with oranges, limes, pears, almonds larger than those of Spain, +hogs, fowls, goats, capons, etc. That in the bay where he anchored there +was no sandy barren ground, no mangroves, no ants, no mosquitoes, and +that his anchorage lay between two considerable rivers. How these details +fit in with Port Curtis may be evident to his Eminence, but is not +apparent to less distinguished mortals. The district of Port Curtis when +discovered was very thinly populated, and shows no signs of ever having +been otherwise. Bows and arrows and earthenware vessels were absolutely +unknown throughout Australia; houses did not exist, except in the form of +temporary shelters of branches, leaves, and bark; the fruits and animals +mentioned were unknown; and sandy barren country with mangroves, ants, +and mosquitoes does exist in considerable quantity. The anchorage, had De +Quiros ever been there, might have been between two rivers, the Boyne and +Calliope (both of small size), but Cardinal Moran, to make this detail +"fit in admirably", has recourse to the bold measure of moving the mouth +of the Burnett River from Wide Bay to Port Curtis--some 2 1/2 degrees to +the north of its real position. + +On the other hand, Cook's description of the New Hebrides fits in with +much greater accuracy. The latitude was found to be 15 degrees 5 minutes +South, and Mr. Cooper, who went ashore with the boats, reported that he +landed near a fine stream of fresh water, "probably one of those +mentioned by De Quiros; and if we were not deceived, we saw the other." +The country was described by Cook thus: + +"an uncommonly luxuriant vegetation was everywhere to be seen; the sides +of the hills were chequered with plantations; and every valley watered by +a stream; of all the productions of nature this country was adorned with, +the coconut trees were the most conspicuous." + +A few canoes ventured near enough to have some presents thrown to them, +but here the intercourse ended, for Cook felt that, notwithstanding the +inviting appearance of the place, he had no time to spare from the great +object of the expedition, namely, the exploration of the Southern Ocean, +and, as the wind was favourable, sailed for New Zealand for a refit. + + +CHAPTER 14. 1774 TO 1775. SECOND VOYAGE CONCLUDED. + +On 4th September Midshipman Colnett sighted a large island, which was +named New Caledonia, the point first seen being called Cape Colnett. An +opening in the surrounding reef having been found by the boats, the +Resolution worked up to an anchorage and was quickly surrounded by canoes +whose occupants were totally unarmed. At first they were shy of coming +near, but at length one canoe was persuaded to receive some small +presents, and in return gave some fish which "stunk intolerably," but for +all that it was received in hopes more satisfactory trading might result. +To some who came on board dinner was offered, but they would touch +nothing but yams. They appeared to know nothing of dogs, goats, or hogs, +but greatly appreciated both red cloth and nails. Cook landed and was +well received, and water was pointed out, but it was too inconvenient of +access; the land near a village was well cultivated and irrigated, the +products being chiefly yams, plantains, and coconuts, the latter were not +bearing much fruit. + +On 6th September Mr. Wales secured a moderately satisfactory observation +of an eclipse of the sun, and was able to fix their position as 20 +degrees 17 minutes 39 seconds South, 164 degrees 41 minutes 21 seconds +East. On the same day the ship's butcher, Monk, "a man much esteemed in +the ship," fell down the forehatch, and died the following day from the +injury received. Whilst some of the crew were engaged in watering, a +small party went up the hills to view the surrounding country, but as all +the natives they met turned back to follow them, Cook remarks, "at last +our train was numerous." They were able to see right across the island, +and estimated the width to be not more than ten leagues. On returning it +was found the clerk had purchased a fish, something like a sun-fish; and +as the artist was engaged in drawing and describing it, the cook took the +liver and roe for supper in the cabin, with the result that Cook and the +Forsters were nearly poisoned, and were only cured by the most careful +attention of the surgeon. When the natives saw the fish the next morning +they immediately signified it was unfit to eat, but Cook says nothing of +the kind had been intimated when it was purchased. + +NORFOLK ISLAND. + +The natives were described as robust and well made, "and not in the least +addicted to pilfering, which is more than can be said of any other nation +in this sea." The only tame animals they had were large fowls with very +bright plumage. The country was said to consist of rocky hills, and the +trees identical with those seen in New South Wales. Leaving a sow and +boar behind, in hopes of their being allowed to breed, and marking a tree +with the name of the ship and the date, they left for the Isle of Pines, +where they arrived on the 19th. Here they were in very dangerous waters, +and Cook says the safety of the ship was owing to the splendid way in +which the watch was kept, and the brisk manner in which she was handled +by the crew. Forster noted "innumerable columnar forms of a considerable +height which we distinguished by the help of our glasses"; he put them +very proudly down as of basaltic formation, and afforded considerable +amusement to Cook when he was able to prove they were only trees of the +Pine family; in fact, some were afterwards cut down on Botany Island and +used for spars. They were unable to effect a landing on the Isle of Pines +owing to the rocky nature of the shore, but by some unknown means Mr. +Hodges painted a view of the interior of the island, published under that +title in Cook's Voyages. Norfolk Island was discovered on 10th October, +and a landing was effected, but no sign of inhabitants was seen, though a +welcome supply of fish, birds, and cabbage palm was obtained. The +vegetation bore a resemblance to that of New Zealand. + +On 17th October Mount Egmont was sighted, and anchoring in Queen +Charlotte's Sound an immediate search was made for a bottle containing +letters which had been left for the Adventure. It was not to be found, +nor was there anything to show by whom it had been taken, but the next +day they saw where an observatory had been set up, and trees cut down +with axes, and so came to the conclusion their consort had been there. +The natives, who were at first very shy, but when they recognised Cook +"went jumping and skipping about like madmen," informed them that the +Adventure came in soon after they had left, and remained two or three +weeks. A story also was told that a ship had been lost on the north side +of the straits shortly before Cook arrived, and some of the people having +had their clothes stolen by the natives, fired on them, but when their +ammunition was exhausted were all killed. This story, evidently a +distorted account of what happened to some of the Adventure's crew, was +disbelieved by Cook, who thought there had been some misunderstanding. +Cook, from fresh observations, found that he had placed the South Island +on his chart some 40 minutes too far to the east, and had made the +distance between Queen Charlotte's Sound and Cape Pallisser 10 minutes +nearer to each other than they should have been. In this connection he +speaks in the highest terms of the desire of Mr. Wales to have everything +as accurate as possible. + +On 11th November the Resolution left the Sound at daybreak to cross the +South Pacific between latitudes 54 and 55 degrees, and the course +convinced Cook there was no possibility of there being any large piece of +land in that portion of the ocean. He therefore stood for the western +entrance of Magellan's Straits, sighting Cape Descada on 17th December, +following the coast round to Christmas Sound, which they reached on the +20th, the country passed being described as "the most desolate and barren +I ever saw." At Christmas Sound they were more fortunate, for wood, +water, wild celery, and a large number of geese provided them with a +welcome banquet for Christmas Day. They were visited by some of the +natives, described as "a little, ugly, half-starved, beardless race; I +saw not a tall person amongst them." The scent of dirt and train oil they +carried with them was "enough to spoil the appetite of any European," +consequently none were invited to join the festivities. They had European +knives, cloth, handkerchiefs, etc., showing they had been in +communication with white men; and Forster notes they had canoes which +could not have been made in the neighbourhood, for there was no timber of +sufficient size. + +CAPE HORN CORRECTED. + +Cape Horn was passed on 29th December, and Cook made his longitude 68 +degrees 13 minutes West, a little too far to the westward; it should be +67 degrees 16 minutes West. This is absolutely correct, according to +Wharton. On 1st January 1775 they landed on a small island off Staten +Island, and then put in to a fine sheltered harbour on the main island, +which consequently was named New Year Harbour. The weather proved +unfavourable for surveying, but enough was ascertained to convince them +that the Tierra del Fuego and Staten Island coasts were not so dangerous +to navigation as they had been represented. + +On 3rd January they left to look for Dalrymple's Gulf of Sebastian, which +Cook thought was non-existent, and on the 6th they reached the position +given on the chart, but could find no signs of any land. Bearing up to +the north, Georgia Island was seen on the 14th, and was found to be +entirely covered with snow, creating surprise as it was now the height of +summer. The ship ran in between Georgia and Willis Islands, and +possession was formally taken of the group, though Cook did not think +that "any one would ever be benefited by the discovery." Working as far +south as 60 degrees, he turned to the east, being "tired of these high +southern latitudes where nothing was to be found but ice and thick fogs," +and a long hollow swell coming from the westward convinced him that he +was correct in his assumption that the Gulf of Sebastian and a large body +of land did not exist. On the 30th two large islands were seen, and then +three rocky islets to the north; the largest was named Freezeland Peak, +after the sailor who sighted it, S. Freesland; and behind these was an +elevated coast which received the name of Southern Thule, as being the +most southerly land then discovered. The position of the ship was given +as 59 degrees 13 minutes 30 seconds South, 27 degrees 45 minutes West. + +During the early part of February they ran down east between 58 and 59 +degrees South, frequently having to throw the ship up into the wind to +shake the snow out of her sails, for the weather was very bad. After +another unsuccessful attempt to find Cape Circumcision, the ship's head +was turned towards the Cape of Good Hope on 23rd February, and Cook had +the satisfaction of feeling he had solved the problem of the +non-existence of any southern continent except in close proximity to the +Pole. He firmly believed from his observations of the icefields that such +a continent in the far south did exist, but he asserted that further +exploration in that direction would be of little service to navigation, +and would be hardly worth the cost and danger that must be incurred. + +On 16th March two Dutch ships were seen steering to the west, and a boat +was sent off to the nearest, which proved to be the Bownkirke Polder, +from Bengal. They were offered any supplies the Dutchman had, +notwithstanding the latter was rather short, owing to his being some time +out from port. Some English sailors on board told of the Adventure having +been at the Cape of Good Hope some twelve months previously, and that she +had reported the massacre of a boat's crew in New Zealand. At the same +time three more sail came up, one, an English ship, did not intend to +call at the Cape, so Cook forwarded by her a letter to the Admiralty and +received some provisions, and, most valuable gift, a packet of old +newspapers. On the 22nd the Resolution anchored in Table Bay, saluting +the Dutch flag with thirteen guns, and the next morning Cook waited on +the Governor, who did everything he could to assist him and render his +stay agreeable. + +THREE ON THE SICK LIST. + +Cook was greatly pleased to be able to report three men only on the sick +list, and the remainder were granted as much leave as the refitting of +the ship would permit. The rigging, of course, had suffered severely, and +had to be replaced at an exorbitant cost from the Government Stores; but +Cook calls attention to the state of the masts, which he considered, +after sailing some 20,000 leagues, bore testimony to the care and ability +of his officers and men, and also to the high qualities of his ship. + +M. de Crozet put in on his way to Pondicherry, and was impressed with +Cook's courtesy and qualifications as an explorer. He was able to give +the first information of M. de Surville's voyage, and that he had cleared +away a mistake Cook had made in assuming that the New Caledonia reefs +extended to the Great Barrier Reef on the east of Australia. Forster says +that Cook pointedly avoided having any intercourse with any of the +Spaniards who were there, but gives no reason for it. He also bought a +quantity of wild animals and birds, many of which died before reaching +England, and he roundly but unjustly accused the crew of having killed +them. + +Touching at St. Helena, where Kendal's watch was found to differ by about +two miles from the observations of Mason and Dixon at the Cape and those +of Maskelyne at St. Helena, he proceeded to Ascension, where he obtained +a good supply of fresh turtle, and then to Fernando de Noronho, fixing +the position as 3 degrees 50 minutes South, 32 degrees 34 minutes West, +and crossed the line on 11th June. Calling in at the Azores, land was +sighted near Plymouth on the 29th, and next day they anchored at +Spithead; and Cook, Wales, Hodges, and the two Forsters immediately +started for London, having been away from England three years and +eighteen days. During this time they had lost four men, three from +accident and one from disease--a record unprecedented in the annals of +British Naval history. + +The war with the American colonies was naturally occupying the attention +of the public, but the newspapers found space to publish more or less +authentic information as to their arrival and proceedings on the voyage. +One paper gravely said that: + +"Captain Cooke will be appointed Admiral of the Blue, and command a fleet +which is preparing to go out in the spring, as a reward for the +discoveries he has made in his last voyage in the South Seas." + +On 9th August Cook was summoned to St. James's Palace and had a long +audience with the King, presenting several charts and maps and submitting +several drawings, some of which were ordered to be engraved for the +private museum. In return the King presented him with his commission as +Post-Captain and his appointment to H.M.S. Kent. The commission, signed +by Sandwich, Penton, and Pallisser, bears date 9th August. Furneaux was +made Captain. He sailed for America in October, and was present at the +attack on New Orleans in 1777; he died at the age of forty-six, some four +years later. Kempe, Cooper, and Clerke were promoted to Commanders; and +Isaac Smith, Lieutenant. Mr. Wales was appointed Mathematical Master at +Christ's Hospital, and Charles Lamb mentions him as having been a severe +man but: + +"a perpetual fund of humour, a constant glee about him, heightened by an +inveterate provincialism of North Country dialect, absolutely took away +the sting from his severities." + +Mr. Forster was received by the King at Kew, and was afterwards presented +to the Queen, to whom he gave some of the birds bought at the Cape. He +also attracted attention from another quarter, for Lloyd's Evening Post +reports that on 6th August, his house at Paddington "was broke open and +robbed of effects of considerable value." Again the Morning Post, 23rd +August, reports: + +"Monday night, as Mr. John Reynold Forster was returning from Chelsea in +a post chaise, he was attacked by three highwaymen, near Bloody Bridge, +who robbed him of three guineas and a watch set with diamonds." + +GREENWICH HOSPITAL. + +Acting on advice from the Admiralty, Cook, on 12th August, applied for +the position of one of the Captains of Greenwich Hospital, vacant through +the death of Captain Clements, stipulating that if occasion arose in +which his services would be of use elsewhere, he might be permitted to +resign. This application was immediately granted, and his appointment is +dated on the same day as his application. The salary was 200 pounds per +year, with a residence and certain small allowances such as fire and +light, and one shilling and twopence per day table money. It is apparent +from his letters that though he may have taken over some of the duties +(but that is improbable, owing to his time being fully occupied preparing +his Journal for the press and then making arrangements for his final +voyage), he never entered upon residence but remained at Mile End. He, +however, found time to write two letters to Mr. Walker of Whitby, in the +first of which he speaks rather despondingly of being "confined within +the limits of Greenwich Hospital, which are far too small for an active +mind like mine"; and in the second he gives a rapid sketch of the voyage, +which, by its clear conciseness, proves the worthlessness of Mr. +Forster's sneer, repeated by later writers, that the public account of +the voyage owed more to the editing of Canon Douglas than to the writing +of Cook. + +Soon after Cook's arrival in London, Furneaux handed him his Journal of +the proceedings of the Adventure from the time of their separation off +the coast of New Zealand. They were blown off the land near Table Cape in +the beginning of November 1773, again sighting it near Cape Pallisser, +only to be blown off again, their sails and rigging suffering severely. +They put into Tolago Bay for temporary repairs and water, and left again +on the 13th, but had to put back till the 16th, and even then the weather +was so bad that they did not reach Queen Charlotte's Sound till the 30th, +when the bottle left by Cook was at once found, telling they were six +days too late. They pushed on as rapidly as possible with the refit, and +then were further delayed by finding a large quantity of the bread +required rebaking, but they were ready to sail by 17th December. Mr. Rowe +was sent out with a boat to get a supply of vegetables, and the ship was +to have sailed the following day, but the boat did not return. Burney was +then sent off with a party of marines in search, and after a time +discovered the missing men had been all killed and some of them eaten by +the Maoris. Portions of the bodies were found and identified--Rowe's +hand, by an old scar, Thomas Hill's hand, had been tattooed in Otaheite; +Captain Furneaux's servant's hand; and midshipman Woodhouse's shoes were +found, and a portion of the boat. The natives who had these remains were +fired on, but Burney could take no further steps, for he estimated there +were fifteen hundred of the natives near the place. Furneaux believed +that the attack was unpremeditated as the Maoris had been quite friendly, +and both he and Cook had been at the place during their previous visit. +He concluded that some sudden quarrel had arisen and the boat's crew had +been incautious. + +MASSACRE. + +On his next voyage Cook obtained an account of the affair from the +natives, when they said that the crew was at dinner and some of the +Maoris attempted to steal some bread and fish, whilst one tried to get +something from the boat which had been left in charge of the Captain's +black servant. The thieves were given a thrashing, and a quarrel arose, +during which two muskets were discharged and two natives were shot. The +Maoris then closed in and killed all the sailors immediately. The +Yorkshire Gazette of 4th June 1887 states that it was reported that a +midshipman escaped the massacre, and after many wanderings reached +England in 1777. If this improbable story is true he must have been Mr. +Woodhouse, whose shoes were found, for he was the only midshipman in the +boat. + +On 23rd December the Adventure sailed, but owing to contrary winds did +not get away from the coast for some days. She stood south-east till 56 +degrees South was reached, and then the cold being extreme and the sea +high, her course was set for the Horn, reaching as high as 61 degrees +South with a favourable wind. Stores were running short, so after an +unsuccessful search for Cape Circumcision she sailed for Table Bay, and +having refitted, again left on 16th April for England, and dropped her +anchor at Spithead on 14th July 1774. + +Mr. Forster states that this second voyage of Cook cost 25,000 pounds, +but does not give the source of his information. + + +CHAPTER 15. 1775 TO 1776. ENGLAND. + +After his return Cook was busily engaged preparing his Journal and charts +for publication, which had been sanctioned by the Admiralty, and was +considerably annoyed and delayed by the conduct of Mr. Forster, who +immediately on his return complained that the 4,000 pounds granted him to +cover the whole of his expenses had proved totally inadequate. He claimed +that Lord Sandwich had promised, verbally, that he was to have the +exclusive duty of writing the History of the Voyage, was to receive the +whole of the profits thereof, and to be provided with permanent +employment for the remainder of his life. This promise was totally denied +by Lord Sandwich, and it certainly does not appear to have been a +reasonable one to make on behalf of the Admiralty. + +After a protracted discussion, it was agreed that Cook should write the +account of the voyage and the countries visited; whilst Forster was to +write a second volume containing his observations as a scientist; the +Admiralty was to pay the expenses of engraving the charts, pictures, +etc., and, on completion of the work, the plates were to be equally +divided between Cook and Forster. Cook was to proceed with his part at +once and submit it to Forster for revision, and Forster was to draw up a +plan of the method he intended to pursue and forward it to Lord Sandwich +for approval. + +Cook proceeded to carry out his share, and furnished Forster with a large +amount of manuscript; but the latter proved obstinately insistent in +having his own way in everything, with the result that, after submitting +two schemes to Lord Sandwich, both extremely unsatisfactory, he was +forbidden to write at all, and it was decided that Cook should complete +the whole work, and it should be revised by the Reverend John Douglas, +Canon of Windsor, afterwards Bishop of Carlisle. + +FORSTER'S YARNS. + +Notwithstanding the prohibition against Forster, a book was published +under his son's name, and the latter claims that he started on the voyage +with the intention of writing, took copious notes, and, excepting that he +utilised those taken by his father, the work was entirely his own. He +forgets, however, to say that a quantity of Cook's manuscripts had been +in his father's hands, and does not explain how so much of his book +corresponds with curious exactitude with that of Cook (in many cases word +for word), and how, when the papers of Cook failed to provide him with +further facts, he was obliged to rely on would-be philosophical +dissertations which it is to be hoped were not obtained from his father's +notebooks. Young Forster says that the appointment was first of all given +to his father in a spirit of pique on the part of Lord Sandwich, and then +the order forbidding him to write was made because the father had refused +to give Miss Ray, Lord Sandwich's mistress, who had admired them when on +board the ship, some birds brought home from the Cape of Good Hope as a +present to the Queen. In the end the Forsters forestalled Cook's book by +about six weeks, and as this was after Cook had left England on his last +voyage, Mr. Wales undertook the defence of the absent against the sneers +and insinuations that were plentifully given out all round. The Forsters +infer that Cook was unreliable because he suppresses mention of the +bombardment of the Loo fort at Madeira, an event which never happened; +and because he places Valparaiso (where he had never been) in the +position given on the Admiralty chart supplied to him, which proved to be +some 10 degrees out. The Master who had refused to give up his cabin was, +of course, never forgiven; and as for Mr. Wales, who had observed the +Transit of Venus at Hudson's Bay in 1769, for the Royal Society, he, poor +man, had neither knowledge nor experience in astronomical science. The +crews of the two ships also, carefully selected men though they were, +some of whom had been the previous voyage, were morally and physically +bad, and utterly incapable of performing their duty in a proper and +seamanlike manner. A little allowance must be made for the two authors, +for the father suffered severely from rheumatism, the son was of a +scorbutic tendency, and both were unaccustomed to sea life, and doubtless +the hardships inseparable from such a voyage pressed heavily upon them. + +A second Journal was published by F. Newbery about the same time, and +Cook hearing of it, sent Anderson, the gunner, to find out the author. +With little difficulty he was found to be Marra, the gunner's mate who +tried to desert at Otaheite, and the publication was stayed till after +the authorised version was out. + +A volume of Cook's letters to Dr. Douglas relating to the preparation of +his Journal for the press is preserved at the British Museum, and it +shows how Cook to the very last endeavoured to serve Mr. Forster's +interests, and to smooth matters over so that they could work together. +The last one Dr. Douglas received before Cook's departure was dated from +Mile End, 23rd June 1776, the day before he joined his ship at the Nore. + +Dear Sir, + +It is now settled that I am to publish without Mr. Forster, and I have +taken my measures accordingly. When Captain Campbell has looked over the +manuscript it will be put into the hands of Mr. Strahan and Mr. Stuart to +be printed, and I shall hope for the continuation of your assistance in +correcting the press. I know not how to recompense you for the trouble +you have had and will have in the work. I can only beg you will accept of +as many copies after it is published as will serve yourself and friends, +and I have given directions for you to be furnished with them. When you +have done with the Introduction, please send it to Mr. Strahan or bring +it with you when you come to Town, for there needs be no hurry about it. +Tomorrow morning I set out to join my ship at the Nore, and with her +proceed to Plymouth where my stay will be but short. Permit me to assure +you that I shall always have a due sense of the favour you have done me, +and that I am with great esteem and regard, Dear Sir, your obliged and +very humble servant, + +James Cook. + +Notwithstanding the Forsters' endeavour to discount its success by +forestalling the publication by some weeks, Cook's work was well received +by the public, and Mrs. Cook, to whom the whole of the profits were +given, reaped considerable benefit from its sale. + +FELLOW OF ROYAL SOCIETY. + +On 29th February 1776, Captain James Cook was unanimously elected a +Fellow of the Royal Society, and his certificate of election was signed +by no less than twenty-six of the Fellows. He was formally admitted on +17th March, on which date a paper written by him, on the means he had +used for the prevention and cure of scurvy, was read. That he valued his +success in dealing with this disease, which, at that time, even in +voyages of very moderate length was the most terrible danger to be +encountered, is plainly set forth in his Journal of the voyage. He says: + +"But whatever may be the public judgment about other matters, it is with +real satisfaction and without claiming any merit but that of attention to +my duty, that I can conclude this account with an observation which facts +enable me to make, that our having discovered the possibility of +preserving health amongst a numerous ship's company, for such a length of +time in such varieties of climate and amidst such continued hardships and +fatigues, will make this voyage remarkable in opinion of every benevolent +person, when the disputes about a Southern Continent shall have ceased to +engage the attention and to divide the judgment of philosophers." + +During his early days at sea it was no unusual thing for a man-of-war to +be short-handed through scurvy after a cruise of a few weeks, and in a +voyage across the Atlantic as many as twenty per cent of the crew are +known to have perished. To give some of his own experiences in the Navy: +On 4th June 1756, H.M.S. Eagle arrived in Plymouth Sound, after cruising +for two months in the Channel and off the French coast, and Captain +Pallisser reported landing 130 sick, buried at sea 22, and since his +arrival in port his surgeon and 4 men had died, and both his surgeon's +mates were very ill; this out of a complement of 400! + +Boscawen, sailing from Halifax for Louisberg in 1758, left several ships +behind on account of scurvy, one being the Pembroke, of which Cook was +Master; she had lost 29 men crossing the Atlantic, but she was able to +rejoin before the others as they were in a worse plight. Wolfe reported +to Lord George Sackville that some of the regiments employed at Louisburg +had "300 or 400 men eat up with scurvy." Of the Northumberland when at +Halifax, Lord Colville wrote that frozen (fresh) beef from Boston kept +his men healthy when in port, "but the scurvy never fails to pull us down +in great numbers upon our going to sea in spring." + +Having had such experiences Cook appears to have made up his mind to +fight the dreadful scourge from the very first, and though the popular +idea is that he only turned his mind to it during the second voyage, it +is very evident that on the Endeavour he fought it successfully, and it +is most probable would have laid claim to victory had it not been for the +serious losses incurred through the malarial fever and its usual +companion, dysentery, contracted at Batavia. In proof of this reference +may be made to the report of Mr. Perry, surgeon's mate, and, after Mr. +Monkhouse's death, surgeon on board. He states they rounded the Horn with +the crew "as free from scurvy as on our sailing from Plymouth," i.e. +after five months. He reports FOR THE WHOLE OF THE VOYAGE, FIVE CASES OF +SCURVY, "three in Port at New Holland, and two while on the Coast of New +Zealand, not a man more suffered any inconvenience from this distemper." +He was one of the five cases, but, at the same time, it must not be +understood that no others developed symptoms of scurvy, only they were so +closely watched and at once subjected to such treatment that the disease +was not able to gain the upper hand. Cook wrote to the Secretary to the +Admiralty immediately after his arrival at Batavia, saying, "I have not +lost one man from sickness." He means here, as elsewhere in his Journals, +"sickness" to be taken as scurvy, and at that time he had lost only seven +men: two of Mr. Banks's servants from exposure; three men drowned; Mr. +Buchan, a fit, probably apoplectic; and one man, alcoholic poisoning. He +arrived at home with a total loss of forty-one, including Tupia and his +boy; thirty-two of these deaths were from fever and dysentery, and 2, Mr. +Hicks and Sutherland, from consumption. + +TREATMENT OF SCURVY. + +The chief anti-scorbutics used on the Endeavour, according to Mr. Perry's +report, were: + +"Sour Kraut, Mustard, Vinegar, Wheat (whole), Inspissated Orange and +Lemon juice, Saloup, Portable Soup, Sugar, Molasses, Vegetables (at all +times when they could possibly be got), were some in constant, others in +occasional use." + +Saloup was a decoction made from the Orchis mascula root, a common meadow +plant, or else from Sassafras, and was at one time sold in the streets as +a drink before the introduction of tea and coffee. In the United Service +Museum there is a cake of the portable soup which was on board the +Endeavour, in appearance like a square of "whitish glue, which in effect +it is," says Sir John Pringle, President of the Royal Society. + +Mr. Perry continues: + +"Cold bathing was encouraged and enforced by example. The allowance of +Salt Beef and Pork was abridged from nearly the beginning of the voyage, +and the usual custom of the sailors mixing the Salt Beef fat with the +flour was strictly forbidden. Salt Butter and Cheese was stopped on +leaving England, and throughout the voyage Raisins were issued in place +of the Salt Suet; in addition to the Malt, wild Celery was collected in +Tierra del Fuego, and, every morning, breakfast was made from this herb, +ground wheat and portable soup." + +Of the personal cleanliness of the crew, which Cook looked upon as of the +first importance, Marra says (when writing of the Resolution's voyage) he +was very particular: + +"never suffering any to appear dirty before him, in so much that when +other Commanders came on board, they could not help declaring they +thought EVERY DAY Sunday on board of Captain Cook." + +He inspected the men at least once a week, and saw they had changed their +clothing and were dry; the bedding was dried and aired when occasion +offered, and the whole ship was stove-dried; special attention being paid +to the well, into which an iron pot containing a fire was lowered. + +Fresh water was obtained when possible, for Cook remarks, "nothing +contributes more to the health of seamen than having plenty of water." He +was provided with a condenser, but it was too small and unsatisfactory, +and he looked upon it as "a useful invention, but only calculated to +provide enough to preserve life without health." He attributed the losses +on the Adventure to Furneaux's desire to save his men labour, and +neglecting to avail himself of every opportunity of obtaining fresh +water. Cook throughout the voyage was never short of water; Furneaux was +on two or three occasions. + +Dr. McBride advised the use of fresh wort made from malt as an +anti-scorbutic, and the Endeavour was ordered to give it a thorough +trial. Fresh ground malt was treated with boiling water and allowed to +stand, then the liquid was boiled with dried fruit or biscuit into a +panada, and the patient had one or two meals with a quart or more of the +liquid per diem. This treatment was favourably reported on, but, at the +same time, so many other precautions were taken that it was not possible +to say which was the most successful. Banks, who was threatened, tried +the wort, but thinking it affected his throat, substituted a weak punch +of lemon juice and brandy, which had satisfactory results. After a time +the malt, though dry and sweet, had lost much strength, so as strong a +wort was made as possible, and ground wheat boiled with it for breakfast, +"a very pleasant mess which the people were very fond of," and Cook "had +great reason to think that the people received much benefit from it." + +SOUR KRAUTE. + +Cook set great store on the Sour Kraute, and says: + +"The men at first would not eat it, until I put it in practice--a method +I never once knew to fail with seamen--and this was to have some of it +dressed every day for the Cabin Table, and permitted all the officers, +without exception, to make use of it, and left it to the option of the +men to take as much as they pleased, or none at all; but this practice +was not continued above a week before I found necessary to put every one +on board to an allowance, for such are the Tempers and Disposition of +seamen in general, that whatever you give them out of the common way, +although it be ever so much for their good, it will not go down, and you +will hear nothing but murmurings against the man that first invented it, +but the moment they see their superiors set a value upon it, it becomes +the finest stuff in the world, and the inventor is an honest fellow." + +A pound of this was served to each man, twice a week, at sea, or oftener +if thought necessary. + +Portable soup, at the rate of an ounce per man, was boiled with the pease +thrice a week, and when vegetables could be obtained it was boiled with +them, and wheat or oatmeal for breakfast, and with pease and vegetables +for dinner, and "was the means of making the people eat a greater +quantity of vegetables than they would otherwise have done." The Rob of +Lemon and Orange was a doubtful quantity, for though Cook had no great +confidence in its efficacy, Furneaux reported very favourably on its use, +but it was expensive. Of vinegar, Cook was of opinion that it was of +little service, and preferred smoking the ship with wood-fires to washing +with vinegar, which had been strongly advised. He substituted sugar for +oil, as he esteemed it "a very good anti-scorbutic, whereas oil (such as +the navy is usually supplied with) I am of opinion has the contrary +effect." + +Cook says that the introduction of the most salutary articles would prove +unsuccessful unless accompanied by strict regulations so the crew were +divided into three watches except on some extraordinary occasion, in +order that they might not be so exposed to the weather, and had a better +chance to get into dry clothes if they happened to get wet. Hammocks, +bedding, clothes, and ship were kept as clean and dry as possible, and +when the ship could not be "cured with fires," once or twice a week she +was smoked with gunpowder, mixed with vinegar or water: + +"to cleanliness, as well in the ship as amongst the people, too great +attention cannot be paid: the least neglect occasions a putrid and +disagreeable smell below which nothing but fires will remove." + +He finishes his paper read before the Royal Society as follows: + +"We came to few places where either the art of man or the bounty of +nature had not provided some sort of refreshment or other, either in the +animal or vegetable way. It was my first care to procure whatever of any +kind could be met with, by every means in my power, and to oblige our +people to make use thereof, both by my example and authority; but the +benefits arising from refreshments of any kind soon became so obvious +that I had little occasion to recommend the one or exert the other." + +COPLEY GOLD MEDAL. + +On the 30th November 1776 Sir John Pringle, President of the Royal +Society, in his address to the Fellows, announced that the Copley Gold +Medal had been conferred on Captain Cook for his paper on the Treatment +of Scurvy, and gave some corroborative facts which had come under his own +observation, concluding his speech as follows: + +"If Rome decreed the Civic Crown to him who saved the life of a single +citizen, what wreaths are due to that man, who, having himself saved +many, perpetuates in your Transactions the means by which Britain may +now, on the most distant voyages, preserve numbers of her intrepid sons, +her mariners; who, braving every danger, have so liberally contributed to +the fame, to the opulence, and to the Maritime Empire of this country." + +Before Cook left England on his last voyage he had been informed that the +medal had been conferred on him, but he never received it, and it was +presented to Mrs. Cook, and is now in the British Museum. + +During May 1776 Cook sat for his portrait, now in the Painted Hall, +Greenwich, to Sir Nathaniel Dance. There are several portraits of him in +existence; three by Webber, one being in the National Portrait Gallery; +one by Hodges; and one or two others by unknown artists. Mr. Samwell, +surgeon on the third voyage, says of an engraving by Sherwin, from the +portrait by Dance, that it "is a most excellent likeness of Captain Cook; +and more to be valued, as it is the only one I have seen that bears any +resemblance to him." This portrait of Dance's represents Cook dressed in +his Captain's uniform, seated at a table on which is a chart. The figure +is evidently that of a tall man--he was over six feet in height--with +brown unpowdered hair, neatly tied back from the face; the clear +complexion shows little effect of exposure to the sea breezes, the +pleasant brown eyes look from under rather prominent brows, the nose +rather long, and a good firm mouth. The whole face gives a very pleasant +impression of the man, and conveys the idea that it was a good likeness. + +COOK VOLUNTEERS. + +Omai, a native of Otaheite, was brought to England by Furneaux, was +introduced to the King, made much of in Society, was painted by Reynolds, +Dance, and Hodges, and seems to have conducted himself fairly well. He +was to be sent back to his own country; and from the orders given to the +Resolution, when she returned, it was evident she was to be the ship to +take him. There was some difficulty as to the man to take command of the +new expedition, as the Admiralty felt they could not send out Cook again +so soon after his return. However, early in February 1776, he was invited +to dine with Lord Sandwich, to meet Sir Hugh Pallisser and Mr. Stephens, +the Secretary, when the proposed expedition was discussed and the +difficulty of finding a commander was brought forward. It is said that +after some conversation Cook jumped up and declared he would go, and as +the result of this resolve he called at the Admiralty Office on 10th +February, and made formal application for the command, which was accepted +on the same day, and he there and then went to Deptford and hoisted his +pendant on the Resolution. Her complement was the same as the previous +voyage, i.e. 112 men, including 20 marines; and the Quarter Bill, +preserved in the Records Office, shows the stations and duties of each of +the crew, and the positions of the civilians who in cases of necessity +were expected to take their places as small arms men. + +The companion ship, the Discovery, was built by Langborne of Whitby, and +was purchased for 2,450 pounds from W. Herbert of Scarborough. According +to the Records she was 229 tons burthen, but Cook puts her down as 300 +tons; and Burney says the two ships were splendid sailing company, any +advantage there might be resting with the Discovery. The command was +given to Charles Clerke, who had been both the previous voyages. + +The Resolution hauled out of dock, 10th March, completed her rigging and +took in stores and provisions, "which was as much as we could stow and +the best of every kind that could be got." On the 6th May the pilot went +on board to take her down to Longreach for her guns and powder, but owing +to contrary winds she did not reach there till the 30th. On 8th June she +was visited by Lord Sandwich, Sir Hugh Pallisser, and others from the +Admiralty, "to see that everything was compleated to their desire and to +the satisfaction of all who were to embark in the voyage." A bull, two +cows and their calves, with some sheep, were embarked as a present from +King George to the Otahietans in hopes to start stocking the island. A +good supply of trade was shipped, and extra warm clothing for the crew +was supplied by the Admiralty: + +"and nothing was wanting that was thought conducive to either conveniency +or health, such was the extraordinary care taken by those at the head of +the Naval Departments." + +Cook and King were to take observations on the Resolution, and Bailey, +who was with the Adventure the previous voyage, was appointed as +astronomer to the Discovery; the necessary instruments being supplied by +the Board of Longitude. The chronometer, made by Kendal, which had given +such satisfaction last voyage, was again on board the Resolution. It was +afterwards with Bligh in the Bounty, sold by Adams after the Mutiny to an +American, who sold it again in Chili. It was then purchased for 52 pounds +10 shillings, repaired, and rated, and after keeping fair time for some +years was presented by Admiral Sir Thomas Herbert to the United Service +Museum, and is still in working order. + +CLERKE IN THE FLEET. + +On 15th June the two ships sailed for the Nore; there the Resolution +waited for her Captain, whilst the Discovery, under the command of +Burney, went on to Plymouth, but, meeting with damage in a gale, had to +put into Portland for temporary repairs. Captain Clerke was detained in +London, "in the Rules of the Bench," as he had become financially +responsible for a friend who left him in the lurch. He wrote to Banks, +saying, "the Jews are exasperated and determined to spare no pains to +arrest me." It appears that he contracted the illness which led to his +death at this period. + + +CHAPTER 16. 1776 TO 1777. THIRD VOYAGE. + +On 24th June Cook and Omai joined the ship at the Nore, leaving next day +for Plymouth, arriving there on 30th, three days after the Discovery. On +8th July the final orders, which Cook had helped to draw up, were +received. They were to the effect that he was to proceed by the Cape of +Good Hope; to look for some islands said to have been seen by the French +in latitude 48 degrees, about the longitude of Mauritius; to touch at New +Zealand, if he thought proper; and then to proceed to Otaheite and leave +Omai there, or at the Society Islands, as the latter might wish. Leaving +Otaheite about February he was to strike the North American coast in +about 45 degrees latitude, avoiding, if possible, touching at any of the +Spanish dominions, and proceeding northwards to explore any rivers or +inlets that seemed likely to lead to Hudson's or Baffin's Bay. For the +winter he was to proceed to the Port of St. Peter and St. Paul in +Kamtschatka, or other suitable place, and in the ensuing spring he was +again to try and find a passage either to the east or west; failing that, +the ships were then to return to England. A reward of 20,000 pounds had +been offered to any British merchant ship that discovered a passage +between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific; and now this offer was thrown open +to any ship flying the British flag, and the passage might be to the east +or west so long as it was north of latitude 52 degrees. + +On 9th July the marines, who had been carefully selected, embarked under +the command of Lieutenant Molesworth Phillips, and the following day +officers and men were paid up to 30th June, and petty officers and seamen +received in addition two months' advance. + +THE RESOLUTION SAILS. + +The Resolution sailed on 12th July, the crew looking on it as a lucky +day, being the anniversary of the day they had sailed on the last voyage; +but as Clerke had not yet arrived, the Discovery remained behind. Putting +in to Teneriffe, Cook purchased a supply of wine, which he did not think +as good as that of Madeira, but remarks that the best Teneriffe wine was +"12 pounds a pipe, whereas the best Madeira is seldom under 27 pounds." +Here they met "Captain Baurdat" (the Chevalier de Borda), who was making +observations in order to time two watch machines, and were afforded an +opportunity of comparing them with their own. Looking into Port Praya in +hopes to find the Discovery they crossed the line on 1st September in +longitude 27 degrees 38 minutes West, and sighted the Cape of Good Hope +on 17th October, anchoring in Table Bay the next day. The ship was found +to be very leaky in her upper works, as the great heat had opened up her +seams which had been badly caulked at first. "Hardly a man that could lie +dry in his bed; the officers in the gun-room were all driven out of their +cabin by the water that came in through the sides." The sails were +damaged, some being quite ruined before they could be dried. + +The reception accorded by the Dutch was all that could be desired, and +all the resources of the place were at Cook's disposal. Letters were sent +to England and one invalid, Cook wishing afterwards that he had sent one +or two more, but he had at the time hopes of their complete recovery. On +31st October they were unable to communicate with the shore owing to a +heavy south-easterly gale which did not blow itself out for three days, +and the Resolution was the only ship in the bay that rode through it +without dragging her anchors. On the 10th November the Discovery arrived, +having left Plymouth on 1st August. She sighted land above twenty-five +leagues north of Table Bay, but had been blown off the coast in the +storm. + +It may be noted here that the French, Spanish, and United States +Governments issued instructions to their naval officers that Captain Cook +and his ships were to be treated with every respect, and as belonging to +a neutral and allied power. An honour to Cook, and also to the nations +who conferred it on him. + +When her consort arrived Cook was almost ready for sea, so the refit of +the Discovery was pushed on as quickly as possible, but some delay arose +in the delivery of bread ordered. Cook says he believes the bakers would +not put it in hand till they saw the Discovery safely at anchor. However, +on 30th November Clerke was handed his instructions, and the two Captains +went on board their respective ships to find them fully supplied for a +voyage which was expected to last at least two years. Live stock had been +purchased at the Cape, and one journalist says that on leaving, the +Resolution reminded him of Noah's Ark. + +They did not get clear of the coast till 3rd December owing to light +winds, and then on the 6th "a sudden heavy squall" cost the Resolution +her mizzen topmast; not a very serious loss, for they had a spare stick, +and the broken one "had often complained," but Burney says that owing to +the weather it took them three days to complete the repairs. The cold, +rough weather also had a bad effect on the live stock, several of them +perishing. + +DENSE FOG. + +On 12th December the islands discovered by Marion du Fresne and Crozet in +1772 were sighted, and as they were unnamed in the map, dated 1775, given +by Crozet to Cook, he called them Prince Edward's Islands, and a small +group further to the east was named Marion and Crozet Islands. Then +sailing south through fog so dense that, Burney says, they were often for +hours together unable to see twice the length of the ship, and, though it +was the height of summer, the cold was so intense that the warm clothing +had to be resorted to, they sighted Kerguelen's Land on 24th December. +The Chevalier de Borda had given Cook 48 degrees 26 minutes South, 64 +degrees 57 minutes East of Paris as the position of Rendezvous Island; +this Cook took to be an isolated rock they only just weathered in the +fog, to which he gave the name of Bligh's Cap, for he said: "I know +nothing that can Rendezvous at it but fowls of the air, for it is +certainly inaccessible to every other animal." Cook, unaware that +Kerguelen had paid two visits to the place, found some difficulty in +recognising the places described. The country was very desolate, the +coarse grass hardly worth cutting for the animals; no wood, but a good +supply of water was obtained; and here the Christmas Day was spent on the +27th, as the 25th and 26th had been full of hard work. A bottle was found +by one of the crew containing a parchment record of the visit of the +French in 1772; on the back Cook noted the names of his ships and the +year of their visit, and adding a silver twopenny piece of 1772, replaced +it in the bottle which was sealed with lead and hidden in a pile of +stones in such a position that it could not escape the notice of any one +visiting the spot. Running along the coast to the south-east they +encountered very blowy weather, and finding the land even more desolate +than that at Christmas Harbour, they left on the 31st for New Zealand. +Anderson, the surgeon, on whom Cook relied for his notes on Natural +History, says: + +"Perhaps no place hitherto discovered in either hemisphere under the same +parallel of latitude affords so scanty a field for the naturalist as this +barren spot." + +The whole catalogue of plants, including lichens, did not exceed sixteen +or eighteen. + +A SOUTHERLY BUSTER. + +The first part of January 1777 was foggy, and Cook says they "ran above +300 leagues in the dark." On the 19th a squall carried away the fore +topmast and main topgallant mast, and it took the whole day to replace +the first, but they had nothing suitable for the top gallant mast. On +26th January they put into Adventure Bay, Van Diemen's Land, and obtained +a spar; Cook spoke of the timber as being good but too heavy. A few +natives were seen, but did not create a favourable impression, still Cook +landed a couple of pigs in hopes to establish the breed, a hope doomed to +be unsatisfied. The Marquis de Beauvoir relates that in 1866 he saw in +Adventure Bay a tree on which was cut with a knife: Cook, 26th Jan. 1777, +and he was informed it had been cut by the man himself. They seem to have +seen nothing to raise a doubt about Furneaux's conclusion that Van +Diemen's Land formed a part of Australia, so no attempt was made to +settle the question, and they sailed for New Zealand on the 30th, meeting +with a "perfect storm" from the south; the thermometer rose: + +"almost in an instant from about 70 degrees to near 90 degrees, but fell +again when the wind commenced, in fact the change was so rapid that there +were some on board who did not notice it." + +These storms are of frequent occurrence, and are locally known as +Southerly Busters. + +On 10th February Rocks Point, near Cape Farewell, was sighted, and on the +12th they anchored near their old berth in Queen Charlotte's Sound, and a +camp was immediately established. Here they were visited by a few of the +natives, some of whom remembered Cook and were recognised by him. At +first they thought he had come to avenge the Adventure's losses, but +after a time were persuaded to put aside their distrust, and they flocked +down to the shore, every available piece of ground being quickly occupied +by their huts. Cook describes how one party worked. The ground was +selected, the men tearing up the grass and plants, and erected the huts, +whilst the women looked after the canoes, properties, and provisions, and +collected firewood; and he kept the children and some of the oldest of +the party out of mischief by scrambling the contents of his pockets +amongst them. At the same time he noticed that however busy the men might +be, they took care to be within easy reach of their weapons; and he on +his side had a strong party of marines on duty, and any party working at +a distance from the ship was always armed and under the command of an +officer experienced in dealing with the natives. Cook was pleased to +notice his men were not inclined to associate with the Maoris, and he +always tried to discourage familiarity between his crew and the natives +of the islands he visited. It is worthy of remark that two of the +Resolution were on the sick list, whilst the Discovery had a clean bill +of health. + +One of their constant visitors was a man Cook calls Kahoura, who was +pointed out as having been the leader at the massacre of the Adventure's +men, and it was a matter of surprise to the natives that having him in +his power Cook did not kill him; but after the fullest possible enquiry +Cook believed it was best to let matters rest, as the attack had +evidently arisen out of a sudden quarrel, and was totally unpremeditated. +Burney thinks the Maoris felt a certain contempt for the English, either +because they were too generous in their dealings, or else because the +murders were unavenged. + +The gardens that had been made at the last visit had in some respects +prospered; in particular the potatoes from the Cape had improved in +quality, but as they had been appreciated by the natives, there were few +to be got. Burney, on the other hand, declares that nothing could be +heard of the pigs and fowls that had been left. Omai was anxious to take +a New Zealander away with him, and soon found one to volunteer. It was +explained that he must make up his mind that he would not be able to +return, and as he seemed satisfied he and a boy were taken. When they +were seasick they deeply and loudly lamented leaving their home, but on +recovery they soon became "as firmly attached to us as if they had been +born amongst us." + +THE WEEKLY PAPER. + +Sailing on 25th February, they crossed the tropic on 27th March, some 9 +degrees further west than Cook wished to have done, and had seen nothing +of importance. It is interesting to note that Burney says each ship +published a weekly paper, and on signal being made a boat was sent to +exchange when possible. He says Cook was a "Constant Reader," but not a +"Contributor." It is to be regretted that no copies exist of this, +probably the first oceanic weekly. + +On 29th March, a small island Cook calls Manganouia was discovered in 21 +degrees 57 minutes South, 201 degrees 53 minutes East (Burney gives 21 +degrees 54 minutes South, 202 degrees 6 minutes East.) but the +landing-places were too dangerous on account of the surf. A native came +on board who was able to converse with Omai, and said they had plenty of +plantains and taro, but neither yams, hogs, nor dogs. He unfortunately +fell over a goat, which he took to be a large bird, and was so frightened +he had to be put ashore. The next day another island was seen, and as +they were very short of fodder for the animals, Gore was sent to see if +trade could be opened up with the inhabitants. In this he was fairly +successful, and obtained a quantity of plantain stems, which were found +to be a satisfactory substitute for grass; but the trading was not brisk, +for the people wished to receive dogs in return, and it was evident that +though they had none, they knew what they were. They were afraid of the +horses and cattle, and took the sheep and goats for some kind of large +birds. A party went ashore and were treated fairly well, but when they +wished to return to their boats all sorts of difficulties were raised, +and Cook credits Omai with their safe return; for it seems he gave +judiciously boastful replies to the many questions that were asked him, +and at the psychological moment exploded a handful of powder, with the +result that opposition to their departure was withdrawn. Burney says Omai +was most useful on a landing party, as he was a good sportsman and cook, +and was never idle. After this experience Cook would not run further +risks, so made for a small uninhabited island where some vegetables were +obtained and branches of trees, which, cut into short lengths, were +eagerly eaten by the cattle, and Cook says: "It might be said, without +impropriety, that we fed our cattle on billet wood." Payment for what had +been taken was left in a deserted village. + +On 6th April they reached Hervey's Island, and were somewhat surprised to +be visited by several canoes, as on Cook's previous visit no signs of +inhabitants had been noticed. Omai gathered from one or two natives who +came on board to sell a few fish, that the Resolution and Adventure had +been seen in 1776 when passing the island. King was sent to look for a +landing-place, but, seeing that the women were quietly bringing down arms +to their menfolk on the beach, he thought it better to return to the +ship, and sail was made for the Friendly Islands, the Discovery being +sent on about a league ahead, as she was better able "to claw off a lee +shore than mine." At this time Cook was getting rather short of water, so +he set the still to work, and obtained from "13 to 16 gallons of fresh +water" between 6 A.M. and 4 P.M. "There has lately been made some +IMPROVEMENT, as they are pleased to call it, to this machine, which in my +opinion is much for the worse." Falling in with repeated thunderstorms in +which they caught more water in an hour "than by the still in a month, I +laid it a side as a thing attended with more trouble than profit." + +At one of the Palmerston Group they found, amongst other things drifted +over the reef, some planks, one of which was very thick, with trunnell +holes in it, and a piece of moulding from some ship's upper works, +painted yellow, with nail holes showing signs of iron rust: probably the +remains of some wrecked European ship. At Comango, where they anchored on +28th April, Cook notes: + +"It was remarkable that during the whole day the Indians would hardly +part with any one thing to anybody but me; Captain Clerke did not get +above one or two hogs." + +A supply of water was obtained and wood was cut, but most of the trees +were what Cook calls Manchineel, the sap from which produced blisters on +the men's skin, and Burney says some of them were blind for a fortnight, +having rubbed their faces with their juice-stained hands. One of the +carpenters had a bad fall and broke his leg, but for the rest, says +Burney, they were "in good health; thank God, no appearance of scurvy." + +FLOGGING NO GOOD. + +Cook again complains of the thefts committed so continually, and says +that no punishment they could devise was effectual, for "flogging made no +more impression than it would have done upon the mainmast." The chiefs +would advise him to kill those caught, but as he would not proceed to +such a length the culprits generally escaped unpunished. Here the +Discovery lost her best bower anchor, the cable having been chafed by the +coral and parted when weighing; Burney describes how by pouring oil on +the water they were able to see and recover it from a depth of seventeen +fathoms. Landing on Happi they were very well received, and obtained +plentiful supplies of fresh food, which was most opportune. An +entertainment of boxing, wrestling, and combats with clubs made from +green coconut boughs was held in their honour; and Cook says that they +were carried on with the greatest good-humour in the presence of some +three thousand spectators, "though some, women as well as men, have +received blows they must feel some time after." When this was over the +chief, Feenough, presented Cook with supplies that required four boats to +take to the ships; it "far exceeded any present I had ever before +received from an Indian Prince." The donor was invited on board to +receive his return present, which proved so satisfactory that on his +return to the shore he forwarded still more in addition to his first +gift, and was amused by a drill of the marines and a display of +fireworks, which, though some were spoilt, were the cause of astonishment +and pleasure to the wondering natives. During one of his walks on shore +Cook saw a woman just completing a surgical operation on a child's eyes. +She was removing a film growing over the eyeballs, and the instruments +used are described as slender wooden probes. He was not able to say if +the operation were successful. + +The chief, Feenough, went off to an island about two days' sail away, in +order to obtain some of the feather caps which were held in high +estimation; and Cook promised to wait for his return, but finding the +fresh supplies were running short, he sailed along the south of the reef +and put in to a bay in Lefooga. On the way the Discovery ran on a shoal, +but managed to back off without damage. Although he was not short of +water, Cook went ashore to inspect some well which he had been informed +contained water of a very superior quality, but he found it very bad, and +says: "This will not be the only time I shall have to remark that these +people do not know what good water is." Near these wells was a large +artificial mound about forty feet high, and fifty feet diameter on the +top, on which large trees were growing. At the foot was a hewn block of +coral, four feet broad, two and a half feet thick, and fourteen feet +high, but the natives present said that there was only one half of it +above ground. It was supposed to have been erected to the memory of a +great chief, but how many years ago it was impossible to guess. + +KING POLAHO. + +Whilst anchored here, a large sailing canoe arrived, having on board a +chief who was treated by the natives with the utmost respect, and the +visitors were given to understand that Tattafee Polaho was the king of +all the islands. He was invited on board, and brought with him as a +present: + +"two good fat hogs, though not so fat as himself, for he was the most +corporate, plump fellow we had met with. I found him to be a sedate, +sensible man; he viewed the ship and the several new objects with +uncommon attention, and asked several pertinent questions." + +In return Cook was invited ashore, and when they were seated, the natives +who had been trading submitted the articles they had received for +Polaho's inspection, who enquired what each one had sold, and seemed +pleased with the bargains made. Everything was returned to its owner, +excepting a red glass bowl to which the king had taken a great fancy. +According to Mr. Basil Thomson, who was for some years in the Pacific +Islands, a red glass bowl was given by the King of Tonga to the notorious +Mr. Shirley Baker, as a relic of Captain Cook, but was unfortunately +broken in New Zealand. It was most probably the one in question. Before +leaving, Polaho presented Cook with one of the red feather caps made from +the tail feathers of the bird the Sandwich Islanders call Iiwi (Vestiaria +coicinea), which were evidently considered of extreme value. At the same +time he gave Cook, Clerke, and Omai some of the red feathers of paraquets +which, though much in demand, were not to be purchased. + +On 29th May they sailed for Tongatabu, but, the wind failing, they nearly +ran ashore on the 31st on a low sandy island on which the sea was +breaking very heavily. Fortunately all hands had just been engaged in +putting the ship about, "so that the necessary movements were not only +executed with judgment but with alertness, and this alone saved the +ship." Cook confesses that he was tired of beating about in these +dangerous waters, and felt relieved to get back to his old anchorage off +Annamooka. Feenough here rejoined the ship, and his behaviour before +Polaho was sufficient evidence as to the high position held by the +latter, for he made a deep reverence to him, and afterwards would not eat +or drink in his presence, but left the cabin as soon as dinner was +announced. + +AN ENTERTAINMENT. + +On 6th June they sailed for Tongatabu again, accompanied by some sailing +canoes which could all easily outdistance the two ships. A good anchorage +was found, and Cook's old friends, Otago and Toobough, were soon on board +to greet them. As it was proposed to make a short stay, the cattle were +landed, the observatory set up, and the sail-makers set to work to +overhaul the sails, for much-required repairs. Cook speaks very highly of +the orderly behaviour of the natives, many of whom had never seen a white +man before. Hearing much of an important chief named Mariwaggee, Cook +persuaded the king to escort a party to his residence, which was found to +be pleasantly situated on an inlet where most of the chiefs resided, +surrounded by neatly fenced plantations; but they were informed that +Mariwaggee had gone to see the ships. This was found to be untrue, but +the next day he appeared, accompanied by a large number of both sexes, +and Cook at once landed with some presents for him, only to find he was +accompanied by another chief, to whom something had to be given as well. +Fortunately the two were easily satisfied, and the present was divided +between them. Mariwaggee was found to be the father of Feenough, and the +father-in-law of the king. He gave a grand entertainment of singing and +dancing in honour of the strangers, which commenced about eleven in the +morning and lasted till between three and four in the afternoon, and +wound up with a presentation of a large number of yams, each pair of the +roots being tied to a stick about six feet long, and decorated with fish. +Cook says it was hard to say which was the most valuable, the yams for +food or the sticks for firewood; but, as for the fish, "it might serve to +please the sight, but was very offensive to the smell, as some of it had +been kept two or three days for this occasion." More singing and dancing +then took place, and then the English gave a display of fireworks, which +"astonished and highly entertained" the natives. + +Being afraid that some of his live stock might be stolen, Cook tried to +interest some of the chiefs in them by presenting the king with a bull +and cow and some goats; to Feenough a horse and mare, and to Mariwaggee a +ram and two ewes. Some one, however, was not satisfied, and a kid and two +turkey cocks were stolen; and as thefts had been frequent and very +daring, including an attempt to steal one of the anchors of the +Discovery, which would have been successful had not one of the flukes of +the anchor got fixed in one of the chain plates, Cook determined to put +his foot down. He seized three canoes, and, hearing Feenough and some +other chiefs were in a house together, he placed a guard over them and +informed them they would be detained till the stolen goods were returned. +They took the matter coolly, and said that everything should be returned. +Some of the things being produced, Cook invited his prisoners on board +ship to dine, and when they came back the kid and a turkey were brought, +so the prisoners and canoes were released. At one time a small hostile +demonstration was made by the natives, but the landing of a few marines +and an order from the king put an end to it. + +SMART WORKMEN. + +The following day Cook was invited on shore and found some natives busy +erecting two sets of poles, one on each side of the place set apart for +the guests. Each set consisted of four placed in a square about two feet +apart, secured from spreading by cross pieces, and carried up to a height +of about thirty feet, the intervening space being filled with yams. On +the top of one structure were two baked pigs, and on the other alive one, +with a second tied by its legs about half way up. Cook was particularly +struck by the way the men raised these two towers, and says if he had +ordered his sailors to do such a thing, they would have wanted carpenters +and tools and at least a hundredweight of nails, and would have taken as +many days as it did these people hours. When the erections were +completed, piles of bread-fruit and yams were heaped on either side, and +a turtle and some excellent fish were added, and then the whole was +presented to Cook. + +A party of officers from both ships went off to an island without leave, +and returned two days after without their muskets, ammunition, and other +articles which had been stolen. They persuaded Omai to make a private +complaint to the king, which resulted in the chiefs leaving the +neighbourhood. Their disappearance annoyed Cook, and when the affair was +explained to him he severely reprimanded Omai for speaking on the matter +without orders. This put Omai on his mettle, and he managed to persuade +Feenough to return, and informed the king that no serious consequences +should ensue. Matters were then easily smoothed over; most of the stolen +goods, including the missing turkey, were returned, and the king said he +ought not to have been held responsible, for, if he had known that any +one wished to see the island, he would have sent a chief who would have +ensured their safety. + +An eclipse of the sun was to occur on 5th July, and Cook decided to +remain so as to secure observations, and meanwhile employed himself in +exploring the neighbourhood and studying the customs of the natives. On +one occasion, thinking to see an interesting ceremony, he accompanied +Polaho, who was going to do state mourning for a son who had been dead +some time. The result was disappointing, and the chief impression left +with Cook seems to have been that over their clothing of native cloth, +those present wore old and ragged mats; those of the king being the +raggedest, and "might have served his great-grandfather on some such like +occasion." + +July 5th proved dark and cloudy, with heavy showers of rain, and the +observations were unsatisfactory, especially as the clouds came up +thickly in the middle of the eclipse, and the sun was seen no more for +the rest of the day. This failure was not of great importance, for the +longitude had already been satisfactorily ascertained by several very +good lunar observations, so as soon as the eclipse was over everything +was sent on board the ships, including the sheep which had been presented +to Mariwaggee. No one had taken any notice of them since they were +landed, and Cook felt sure they would be killed by the dogs as soon as +the ships left. + +A NATIVE CEREMONY. + +As the wind proved contrary, and it was understood that the king's son +was to be initiated into the estate of manhood, eating with his father +for the first time, Cook determined to remain a few days longer. A party +of the officers went over to the island of Moa, where the ceremony was to +be held, and found the king in a very dirty enclosure, drinking kava; and +as the method of preparing this beverage was uninviting to Europeans, +they went for a walk till about ten o'clock. Finding large numbers of +people assembling in an open space near a large building they rejoined +the king, taking off their hats and untying their hair, "that we might +appear the more decent" in the eyes of the natives. The proceedings +consisted of marching of men laden with yams tied on to sticks, of +considerable speech-making, and various performances of which the +signification could not be understood, and then the prince made his +appearance. He seated himself with a few of his friends on the ground, +and some women wound a long piece of cloth round them, and after some +more speech-making and mysterious pantomime with sticks representing +yams, the proceedings ended for the day. As there were signs that so many +white onlookers was not altogether acceptable to the natives, some of the +party returned to the ships; but Cook resolved to see it out, and joined +the king at supper, and the latter enjoyed some brandy and water so much +that Cook says "he went to bed quite grogish. " + +After breakfast Cook paid a visit to the prince and presented him was +enough English cloth to make a suit, receiving native cloth in return. +After dinner the people mustered for the remains of the ceremony, and +Cook determined to join the principal party, so he seated himself with +it, and would not understand when requested to leave. He was then +requested to bare his shoulders as a mark of respect, and immediately did +so, and was then no further molested. A somewhat similar performance was +gone through as the day before, but the significance of which could not +be ascertained, and then suddenly all the people turned their backs on +king and prince, who, Cook was afterwards informed, had had pieces of +roast yam given them to eat. An exhibition of boxing and wrestling was +then given, and after a speech or two the proceedings terminated. Cook +was informed that in about three months a much greater affair would take +place at which ten men would be sacrificed. + +On 10th July the ships sailed through a very difficult passage, arriving +off Middleburg on the 12th, where they were visited by their old friend +Taoofa. The country appeared flourishing, and they obtained some turnips +raised from seed sown at Cook's last visit. An exhibition of boxing was +given, and was to have been repeated the following night, but +unfortunately some of the natives fell upon a sailor and stripped him of +his clothes. Cook thereupon seized two canoes and a pig, demanding that +the culprits should be given up. A man who had the shirt and trousers was +brought, and so the canoes were returned and the pig paid for, and next +day the thief was liberated. The remainder of the sailor's clothes were +afterwards found, but so much torn as to be worthless. + +They left the Friendly Islands on the 17th, after a stay of more than two +months, during which time they had been living almost entirely on food +they had purchased from the natives, with whom they had been on fairly +good terms. The 29th brought them into a very heavy squall which cost the +Resolution a couple of staysails and her consort a main topmast and main +topgallant yard, springing the head of her main-mast so badly that the +rigging of a jury-mast was attended with some danger, but it was at +length accomplished, a spare jibboom being furnished for the purpose by +the Resolution. Otaheite was reached on 12th August, and amongst the +first visitors on board were Omai's brother-in-law and others who knew +him before he went away; they treated him as if he was an Englishman and +a stranger, but when he took his brother-in-law to his cabin and gave him +some of the valuable red feathers a change came over them all, and they +expressed the greatest interest in him. Cook says Omai "would take no +advice, but permitted himself to be made the dupe of every designing +knave." Of these red feathers Cook says they were of such value that "not +more than might be got from a tomtit, would purchase a hog of 40 or 50 +pounds weight." Nails and beads were not looked at, although they had +previously been very acceptable. + +SPANISH SHIPS. + +Two ships from Lima were found to have visited the island twice since +Cook's last call, and the first time the Spaniards built a house with +material they had with them. They left four men in charge, and were away +for about ten months. At the second visit their Commodore died, and was +buried near the house which was left at their departure, and the natives +built a shade over it to protect it from the weather. It consisted of two +rooms, furnished with table, bed, bench, and a few other trifles, and the +timbers were found to have been carefully marked to facilitate erection. +Near by was a cross having the following inscription cut on it: + +CHRISTUS VINCIT, +CAROLUS III. IMPERAT, 1774. + +Cook caused to be cut on the back: + +GEORGIUS TERTIUS REX. +ANNIS 1767, 69, 73, 74, ET 78. + +At the end of their first visit the Spaniards took away four natives to +Lima; one died, one remained at Lima, and the other two returned with the +ships; but Cook thinks they were not improved by their experience, and +had not added to their respectability in the eyes of their countrymen. + +In view of the cold climate to be faced in the near future, Cook was +desirous to save his stock of spirits, and mustered the crew of the +Resolution in order to explain the position; he pointed out that the +supply of coconuts was abundant, and the benefit of the spirits would be +appreciated amongst the cold winds and ice of the north, but left the +decision to them. He was gratified to find the crew was willing to accept +his suggestion, and ordered Clerke to put the matter before the crew of +the Discovery, when it was again well received. An order was accordingly +issued to stop: + +"serving grog except on Saturday nights, when they had full allowance to +drink to their female friends in England, lest amongst the pretty girls +of Otaheite, they should be wholly forgotten." + +During a state visit paid by the chief of the district, at which Omai +attended "dressed in a strange medley of all he was possessed of," Cook +was informed that the Spaniards laid claim to the country, and had given +instructions that Cook was not to be allowed to land if he returned. +However, the chief executed a formal surrender of his province to Cook, +and presents were exchanged, the whole ceremony ending with a display of +fireworks which "both pleased and astonished" the natives. Some of the +civilians reported that they had discovered a Roman Catholic chapel in +their walks; but on inspection it proved to be what Cook at once +suspected, the grave of a chief decorated with different coloured cloths +and mats, and a piece of scarlet broadcloth which had been given by the +Spaniards. + +RED FEATHERS. + +On the 23rd August the two ships arrived in Matavai Bay, where they were +well received by Otoo, who was gratified by a present of a fine linen +suit, a hat with a gold band, some tools, a feather helmet from the +Friendly Islands, and, what he seemed to value most, a large bunch of the +celebrated red feathers. In return he sent on board the ships enough food +to have lasted both crews for a week, if it had only been possible to +keep it good for that length of time. The royal family dined on board the +Resolution; and after dinner Cook and Omai called on Oparee, taking with +them a peacock and peahen sent to the island by Lord Bessborough, a +turkey cock and hen, a gander and three geese, a drake and four ducks to +make a start in stocking the island. A gander was seen, which the natives +said had been left by Wallis ten years previously; several goats and a +bull left by the Spaniards were also seen, so Cook landed three cows as +company for the last. The horses and sheep were also landed, and Cook +remarks that getting rid of all these animals lightened him: + +"of a very heavy burden; the trouble and vexation that attended the +bringing these animals thus far is hardly to be conceived. But the +satisfaction I felt in having been so fortunate as to fulfil His +Majesty's design in sending such useful animals to two worthy nations +sufficiently recompensed me for the many anxious hours I had on their +account." + +Whilst here, the two ships were thoroughly overhauled and everywhere put +into as good a state of repair as the appliances available would permit. +The stores were found to be in a better state than had been expected, and +very little of the bread was damaged. Gardens were laid out and planted +with potatoes, melons, pineapples, etc.; but Cook was not very sanguine +of their success, for he had seen how a vine planted by the Spaniards had +been spitefully trampled down, as the natives, tasting the grapes before +they were ripe, had concluded it was poisonous. It was carefully pruned +into proper shape again, and Omai was instructed to set forth its merits +and how it should be cultivated. + +Towards the end of the month a man reported that the two Spanish ships +had returned, and showed a piece of cloth he said he had obtained from +them, so Cook, not knowing if England and Spain were on friendly terms, +prepared for the worst, and the two ships made ready for defence if +necessary. Lieutenant Williamson was despatched in a boat for news, but +could see no ships, nor signs of any having been on the coast since the +English left their last port of call. + +A HUMAN SACRIFICE. + +At their last visit an expedition was being prepared against the revolted +island of Eimeo, but it did not seem to have been very successful in its +object, for there were still disturbances going on between the two +nations, and on 30th August news came that the Otaheitans had been driven +up into the hills. A grand meeting was held to discuss matters, and great +efforts were made to enlist the services of Cook; but he would not assist +in any way, as he did not understand the cause of the quarrel, and he had +always found the inhabitants of Eimeo friendly towards him. Having heard +that a chief named Towha had killed a man as a sacrifice to their God, +Cook obtained permission to witness the remaining ceremonies as he +thought it offered an opportunity to learn something of the religion of +this people. He therefore started with Dr. Anderson, Mr. Webber, and the +chief Potatow in a boat, accompanied by Omai in a canoe, for the scene of +action. On their arrival the sailors were instructed to remain in the +boat, and the gentlemen were requested to remove their hats as soon as +they reached the Morai where the ceremonial was to take place. When they +got there the body of the victim was seen in a small canoe in front of +the Morai and just in the wash of the sea, in charge of four priests and +their attendants, the king and his party some twenty or thirty paces +away, and the rest of the spectators a little further still. Two priests +came forward to Otoo, one placing a young plantain tree in front of him, +and the other touching his foot with a bunch of red feathers, and then +rejoining the others, who immediately went off to a smaller Morai near, +and, seating themselves facing the sea, one commenced reciting a long +prayer, occasionally sending one of his attendants to place a young +plantain on the body. Whilst this recitation was going on an attendant +stood near holding two small bundles "seemingly of cloth; in one, as we +afterwards found, was the Royal Maro, and the other, if I may be allowed +the expression, was the ark of the Eatua" [God]. + +This prayer being ended, the priests returned to the beach, and more +prayers were said, the plantains being moved, one by one, from the body +and placed in front of the priests. Then the body, wrapped in leaves, was +put on the beach, with the feet to the sea, and the priests gathered +round, some sitting, some standing, the prayers still going on. The +leaves were then stripped off the body, and it was turned sideways on to +the sea, and one priest standing at the feet repeated another long prayer +in which he was occasionally joined by the others. Each priest at this +time held in his hand a bunch of the red feathers. Some hair was now +pulled from the head of the corpse, and an eye taken out, wrapped in +leaves and presented to Otoo, who did not touch them, but sent them back +with a bunch of feathers, soon after sending a second bunch he had asked +Cook to put in his pocket for him when starting. At this time a +king-fisher made a noise in some trees near, and Otoo remarked, "That is +the Eatua," evidently looking on it as a good omen. + +The body was now moved away to the foot of one of the small Morais, the +two bundles of cloth being placed on the Morai at its head and the tufts +of feathers at its feet, the priests surrounding the body and the people +gathering in closer. More speeches were made, and a second lock of hair +plucked from the head and placed on the Morai. Then the red feathers were +placed on the cloth bundles, which were carried over to the great Morai +and laid against a pile of stones, to which the body was also brought, +and the attendants proceeded to dig a grave, whilst the priests continued +their recitations. The body was then buried, and a dog Towha had sent +over (a very poor one, says Cook) was partially cooked and presented to +the priests, who called on Eatua to come and see what was prepared for +him, at the same time putting it on a small altar on which were the +remains of two dogs and three pigs, which smelt so intolerably that the +white men were compelled to move further away than they wished. This +ended the ceremony for the day. + +THE KING'S MARO. + +Next morning they all returned to the Morai; a pig was sacrificed and +placed on the same altar, and about eight o'clock the priests, Otoo, and +a great number of people assembled. The two bundles were still in the +same place as on the previous night, but two drums were now standing in +front of them between which Otoo and Cook seated themselves. The priests, +placing a plantain tree in front of the king, resumed their praying, each +having his bunch of feathers in his hand. They then moved off to a place +between the Morai and the king and placed the feathers bunch by bunch on +the bundles, the prayers still going on. Four pigs were then produced, +one immediately killed, and the others put in a sty for future use. The +bundle containing the king's Maro was now untied and spread carefully on +the ground before the priests. The Maro was about five yards long by +fifteen inches broad, composed of red and yellow feathers, chiefly +yellow. At one end was a border of eight pieces about the size and shape +of horse-shoes fringed with black pigeon's feathers; the other end was +forked, the ends being of unequal length. The feathers were arranged in +two rows and had a very good effect. They were fastened on a piece of +native cloth, and then sewn to the English pendant which Wallis left +flying when he sailed from Matavai Bay. After the priests had repeated +another prayer, the emblem of royalty was carefully folded up and +replaced on the Morai, and then one end of what Cook called the Ark of +the Eatua was opened, but the visitors were not permitted to see what it +contained. The entrails of the pig were then prayed over, and one of the +priests stirred them gently with a stick, evidently trying to draw a +favourable omen from their movements. They were then thrown on the fire, +the partly-cooked pig was deposited on the altar, and when the bunches of +feathers that had been used had been placed in the Ark, the ceremony was +over. + +The meanings of all this could not be discovered, but it was found that +when a victim was wanted, a chief picked him out and sent his servants to +kill him. This was done without any warning to the man who was to suffer, +usually by a blow with a stone on the head, and it appeared that at the +subsequent ceremony the presence of the king was absolutely +indispensable. Chiefs of an enemy's tribe who were killed in battle were +buried with some state in the Morais, the common men at the foot. + +On the way back to the ship Cook called on Towha, who had supplied the +victim. He was anxious to ascertain Cook's opinion of the affair, and was +not pleased to learn that Cook thought such a proceeding was more likely +to offend the Deity than to please him. He then enquired if the English +ever practised such ceremonies, and was very angry when he was informed +that if the greatest chief in England killed one of his men he would be +hanged; and Cook says they left him "with as great a contempt for our +customs as we could possibly have for theirs." The servants evidently +listened to Omai with great interest and a different opinion on the +subject than that of their master. + +They went to inspect the body of a chief who had been embalmed; they were +not allowed to examine it very closely, but it was so well done that they +were unable to perceive the slightest unpleasant smell, though the man +had been dead some months. All chiefs who died a natural death were +preserved in this manner, and from time to time were exposed to public +view, the intervals between the exposures gradually extending till at +length they were hardly ever seen. The method of preservation was not +ascertained, and was probably a secret of the priests. + +EQUESTRIAN EXERCISE. + +Cook and Clerke astonished the natives by riding the horses that had been +brought out; their progress through the country was always watched with +great interest, and Cook thought that this use of the animals impressed +the people more than anything else done by the whites. Omai tried his +powers on several occasions, but as he was always thrown before he got +securely into the saddle, his efforts only produced entertainment for the +spectators. It is curious to note that forty years afterwards the people +had so thoroughly lost even the tradition of such use of the horse that +Mr. Ellis relates how, when one was landed for the use of Pomare, the +natives assisted to get it ashore, but when once landed they ran away and +hid in fear of the "man-carrying pig." About this time Cook suffered from +a bad attack of rheumatism in the legs, and was successfully treated by +Otoo's mother, three sisters, and eight other women. The process he +underwent, called Romy, consisted of squeezing and kneading from head to +foot, more especially about the parts affected. Cook says he was glad to +escape from their ministrations after about a quarter of an hour, but he +felt relief, and, after submitting to four operations of the kind he was +completely cured. + +Otoo was very desirous to send a present of a canoe to King George, and +Cook was very willing to take it, but when he found it was a large double +canoe he was obliged to decline from want of space. As the desire to send +it was quite spontaneous on Otoo's part, and as the canoe was a very fine +specimen of native work, the refusal was given with great regret. + +In a journal published by Newbery, the anonymous writer says that two +officers fought a duel whilst the ships were at Otaheite. He does not +give the cause, but says three shots were exchanged, resulting in one hat +being spoiled, and then the antagonists shook hands and were better +friends afterwards. The story is not confirmed by any of the other +journals. + +On 29th September, after giving Otoo a short run out to sea and back, the +two ships sailed for the north side of Eimeo, arriving the next day, and +were greeted by a chief, Maheine, who was bald-headed. Of this defect he +seemed much ashamed, and always appeared with his head covered with a +sort of turban. Cook thinks perhaps this shame rose from the fact that +natives caught stealing on the ships were often punished by having their +heads shaved, and adds that "one or two of the gentlemen whose heads were +not overburdened with hair, lay under violent suspicions of being titos +(thieves)." + +One of the few remaining goats was stolen, but after threats of serious +reprisals was given up, together with the thief, who was eventually +discharged with a caution; but on a second one disappearing and not being +found after careful search, Cook felt that he must make an example, or +nothing would be safe, so he ordered one or two houses and canoes to be +destroyed, and sent word to Maheine that he would not leave a canoe on +the island if the goat was not returned. The goat was recovered, and the +next day the people were as friendly as if nothing had occurred. Cook was +particularly annoyed, for he had sent a present of red feathers to Otoo, +and requested him to send in return a couple of goats to Eimeo. + +OMAI SETTLED. + +On 11th October the ships sailed for Huaheine, and when they arrived Cook +was so ill he had to be landed from the ship, but he makes no mention of +it in his Journal. He thought this island would be more suitable for Omai +than Otaheite, and as Omai was agreeable a piece of ground was obtained +from the chief and a small house erected and a garden laid out and +planted. The interest of the different chiefs of the neighbourhood was +sought on Omai's behalf, and as it was seen that some of the natives were +inclined to take advantage of his good nature, Cook let it be understood +that if, should he return and find Omai in an satisfactory condition, +some one would feel the weight of his displeasure. Then the most serious +thing that can be brought against Cook's treatment of the natives +occurred. In extenuation it must be remembered that he admits that he was +inclined to be hot-tempered, though it did not last; he had been +constantly irritated by repeated losses, and he was at the time really +seriously ill, and also when all was over he sincerely regretted he had +taken such strong measures. + +Mr. Bayley's sextant was stolen from the observatory: Cook at once +demanded from the chiefs that it should be returned, but they paid no +attention. The thief, however, was pointed out, seized, and taken on +board ship; the sextant was recovered, but Cook says, finding the thief +to be "a hardened scoundrel, I punished him with greater severity than I +have ever done any one before, and then dismissed him." He is said to +have had his head shaved and his ears cut off, but Gilbert (midshipman on +the Discovery) says this was not done till he had been rearrested for +damaging Omai's garden, trying to set fire to the house, and threatening +to kill Omai as soon as the ships left. Cook had intended to remove him +from the island, but, being in irons, he stole the keys from a sleeping +guard and made his escape. Omai found that many of the articles which +were practically useless to him, would be appreciated on the ships, so he +very wisely changed them for hatchets and other useful articles. A notice +of the visit with the names of the ships was cut on the end of Omai's +house, and, after firing a salute of five guns, the ships sailed on 2nd +November. Omai accompanied them for a short way, and Mr. King says that +when he parted from Cook he completely broke down and cried all the way +ashore. Cook speaks well of him, saying he seldom had to find fault with +him, that he had many good qualities, but, like the rest of his race, he +lacked powers of observation, application, and perseverance. + +DESERTIONS. + +On the 3rd they were off Ulietea, and as they were able to run in close +to the shore a staging was erected, and the ballast ports were opened so +as to give the rats, which had become very troublesome, a chance of going +ashore. One of the marines also took the opportunity to desert, taking +his musket with him, but after a little trouble was arrested; and having +previously borne a very good character, he was let off with a short +imprisonment. A second desertion occurred from the Discovery, Mr. Mouat, +midshipman, and a seaman getting away. Cook says the affair gave him more +trouble than both men were worth, but he insisted on getting them back to +prevent others following their example, and "to save the son of a brother +officer from being lost to the world." They were found to have gone off +in a canoe to another island, and Cook ordered Clerke to detain the +chief, his son, daughter, and son-in-law on the Discovery, where they had +gone to dine, and to inform them they would be kept as hostages till the +runaways were returned. Three days afterwards the deserters were brought +back, and the hostages were at once released. It was afterwards found out +that there had been a plot to seize Cook in retaliation, when he went for +his usual bath in the evening, but, as it happened, he was so much +worried that he put it off and so escaped. Burney notes that Cook could +not swim. Before leaving they received a message from Omai, saying he was +all right, but asking for another goat as one of his was dead. Clerke was +able to oblige him with two kids, one of each sex. + + +CHAPTER 17. 1777 TO 1779. THIRD VOYAGE CONTINUED. + +In case of separation, Clerke was ordered to cruise for five days near +where his consort had been last seen, and then to steer for New Albion +(so-called by Sir Francis Drake), endeavouring to fall in with it about +latitude 45 degrees North, and there cruise for ten days; then, if his +consort was not picked up, to proceed north to the first suitable port +and recruit his men, keeping a good look-out for his companion. Then he +was to sail on 1st April to 56 degrees North, and again cruise about +fifteen leagues from the coast till 10th May, when he was to proceed +north and endeavour to find a passage to the Atlantic, according to the +Admiralty instructions already in his hands. If unsuccessful he was to +winter in some suitable port of Kamtschatka, leaving word with the +commandant of St. Peter and St. Paul Harbour, where he was to be found, +and to be at the last-named place not later than 10th May of the +following year. Then, if he had no news of the Resolution, he was to +follow out the Admiralty instructions to the best of his ability. + +The two ships left for Bolabola on 7th December to get an anchor left by +De Bougainville, in order to make hatchets for exchange, as the demand +had been so great their stock was running short. They had no difficulty +in purchasing it, and it was good enough for their purpose, though not so +heavy as they expected. + +They crossed the line on the 23rd in longitude 203 degrees 15 minutes +East without having seen land since leaving Bolabola. Two days after they +picked up a low island and managed to get some turtle, and also a rather +unsatisfactory observation of an eclipse of the sun, the clouds +interfering with the view of the commencement. Their position had been +settled by other observations, so the ill-luck was unimportant. About +three hundred turtle were obtained, averaging from 90 to 100 pounds each, +and as much fish as they could consume during their stay was caught. +Coconuts, yams, and melons were planted, and the island received the name +of Christmas Island. + +SANDWICH ISLANDS. + +Leaving on 2nd January they did not sight land till the Sandwich Islands +were reached, in latitude 21 degrees 12 minutes 30 seconds North. At the +second one seen, called Atoui by the natives, they were quickly +surrounded by canoes; the occupants, very like the Otaheitans in +appearance and language, were armed with stones, which they threw +overboard as soon as they found they were not likely to be wanted, and +though none could be persuaded to come on board the ships, they freely +parted with fish for anything they could get in exchange. As the ships +sailed on, more canoes came out bringing further supplies, and Cook +rejoiced at arriving at a land of plenty, for his stock of turtle was +just finished, and he was anxious to save his sea stores. At length some +were tempted on board, and were greatly astonished at what they saw, but +their wonder did not last long, and stealing soon broke out as usual. +When they came to an anchor Cook landed and found a favourable place for +watering, so a party was set to work the next day, and found no +difficulty in getting assistance from the islanders, whilst at the same +time a brisk trade was carried on in pigs and potatoes. Cook says: "No +people could trade with more honesty than these people, never once +attempting to cheat us, either ashore or alongside the ship." They seem +to have dropped their thieving very quickly. At night a nasty sea got up, +and as Cook did not like the position of his ship he weighed to run a +little further out, but the wind suddenly dropping round to the east, he +had to set all sail to clear the shore. For a day or two no very +satisfactory anchorage could be found, and the weather was rather +unsettled, so, making one of the chiefs a present of an English sow and +boar, and a male and two female goats, the ship bore away to the +northwards. + +According to Baron von Humboldt these islands were discovered by a +Spaniard, Gaetano, sailing from Manilla to Acapulco in 1542, and it was +one of the few discoveries made by the Spaniards during this passage, for +they were strictly forbidden to deviate from the track laid down on their +charts. The name La Mesa (the table) down on the chart Cook had with him, +describes the island, says Burney, but the longitude is several degrees +out. It is undoubtedly a fact that Europeans had been at the islands +previously to Cook's visit, for at least two pieces of iron were found, +one being a portion of a broad-sword and the other a piece of hoop-iron. + +NEW ALBION. + +On 7th March, New Albion was sighted at a distance of ten or twelve +leagues, and the position of the ship at noon was 44 degrees 33 minutes +North, 236 degrees 30 minutes East; Cook's orders were to make the coast +"about 45 degrees North," so they may be said to have been carried out +with fair exactness. Cook says that on the charts he had, a large +entrance or strait was represented, and in the account of Martin +d'Aguilar's voyage in 1603 mention is made of a large river, near where +he struck the coast, but he did not see any signs of either. Proceeding +up the coast the progress was very slow as the weather was very stormy. +On 22nd March they passed the position of the strait of Juan de Fuch, but +again no sign of its existence was seen. On the 29th the style of the +coast changed, and high snowy mountains with well-wooded valleys running +down to the sea came into view, and at length Hope Bay opened out. Here +they came in contact with the first natives they had seen, who put off in +their canoes to the ships, showing signs neither of fear nor distrust. At +first they appeared mild and inoffensive, and would trade anything they +had with them; but when they got used to the ships it turned out that +they were adepts at thieving; no piece of iron, brass, or copper was +safe. Fish-hooks were cut from the lines and boats were stripped of their +fittings. They sold bladders of oil for the lamps, and it was found that +they were often partly filled with water, but this was winked at in order +to get on a thoroughly friendly footing. This being a favourable +opportunity to put the two vessels in order and to give the crews a spell +of rest ashore, a good anchorage was sought out, and the observatory set +up. On 4th April, whilst wood and water was being got in, the natives, +who had given no trouble beyond their stealing, were observed to be +arming, and precautions were taken, but the Indians explained that their +preparations were made against some of their own countrymen who were on +their way to fight them. After a time some canoes made their appearance, +and on a deputation going out to meet them a discussion took place, and +some sort of an agreement was made between the two parties, but the +newcomers were not allowed to approach the ships nor to join in the +trading. + +The stay here was longer than was intended, for the Resolution's fore and +mizzen masts were found to be very defective, and her rigging had got +into a very bad state. The fore-mast was repaired and the mizzen replaced +with a new stick, and when a great deal of work had been done this proved +faulty, and a second one had to be cut. New standing rigging was fitted +to the main-mast, and a set made from the best of the old, for the +fore-mast. When the heaviest part of this work was completed Cook visited +the country about King George's Sound, and was courteously received at a +village by the natives, to most of whom he was known. Here he found the +women employed making dresses out of bark in much the same way as that +employed by the New Zealanders. Sending some sailors to cut grass for the +sheep and goats he had left, the natives made a claim which was at once +satisfied; but when the men were ordered to go on cutting, fresh +claimants sprung up, till Cook says he thought each blade of grass had a +separate owner. When at last the natives found that they could get no +more, the cutting was allowed to go on without the slightest further +objection. + +PUNCH AND THE DEVIL. + +The people are described as being short, with broad flat faces, high +cheek-bones, swarthy complexions, and no pretensions to good looks. +Burney says that it was only after much cleaning that their skins were +found to be "like our people in England." Cook says they were docile, +courteous, and good-natured, but liable to fits of passion. + +"I have often seen a man rave and scold for more than half an hour +without any one taking the least notice of it, nor could any one of us +tell who it was he was abusing." + +Burney describes their language as harsh, and when in a warm discussion, +apparently insufficient, and then they had to eke it out with such nods +and jumps as reminded one of "Punch and the Devil." Their clothing was +chiefly made of skins, and a kind of cloth made from fibre or wool and +hair, or a mixture of both. "In these clothes and a coarse mat and straw +hat they would sit in their canoes in the heaviest rain as unconcernedly +as if they were in perfect shelter." Their houses of logs and boards made +by splitting large trees, were some as much as 150 feet long by 20 to 30 +feet wide, and 7 or 8 feet high; they were divided into two compartments, +each apparently the property of one family. The roof was of loose planks, +which they moved about so as to let the light fall where it was wanted. +Cook judged these were only summer residences, and that they had better +houses inland. The furniture consisted of a few boxes, some wooden +vessels for their food, and a few mat bags. Their cooking was fairly +good, but excessively dirty, and their persons and houses "filthy as +hogs' sties." They often had two wooden figures in their houses +resembling human figures, of which they spoke mysteriously; but as they +could have been purchased in every case for a small quantity of old iron +or brass, they could not have been much venerated. Their arms were bows +and arrows, slings, spears, and a small club of wood or stone, something +like the New Zealander's patoo, and a stone tomahawk, the handle +fashioned like a human head, the stone cutting-part being a large tongue, +and they were decorated with human hair. The defensive armour was a +double cloak of hide, usually moose, serviceable against arrows or +spears, but they were greatly surprised to see a bullet fired through a +cloak folded four times. The only vegetables obtained were a few nettles +and wild garlic, but Burney says that at the back of the village was a +plantation of cherry trees, gooseberries and currants, raspberries and +strawberries, "but unluckily for us none of them in season." On 20th +April a man who had been allowed to go into Cook's cabin, made off with +his watch, and got away from the ship. Fortunately his canoe was seen +alongside the Discovery, and notice being given a search was made, and +the watch found in a box unharmed. Such a loss would have been serious. +Two old-fashioned silver table-spoons, supposed to be Spanish, and a +pewter wash-basin were purchased from the Indians. + +RESOLUTION LEAKS. + +On 26th April a start was made, and before leaving, an Indian, who had +specially attached himself to Cook, gave him a valuable beaver skin, and +was so pleased with the return present he received that he insisted on +Cook taking from him a beaver cloak upon which he had always set great +store. In return "he was made as happy as a prince by a gift of a new +broadsword with a brass hilt." The next day, when well clear of the land, +a perfect hurricane arose, and the ships lay to, heading to the +south-east. The Resolution sprang a leak, and the water could be seen and +heard rushing in, but after some little anxiety one pump was found to be +sufficient to keep the upper hand. The gale lasted two days, but on the +second they were able to get an observation which gave the position of +the ship as 50 degrees 1 minute North, 229 degrees 26 minutes East, about +opposite to where the Straits of de Fonte were marked on his chart. They +were now able to run along the coast and see and name the most salient +points, but time was too valuable to make any halts by the way. The land +appeared to be of considerable height, the hills covered with snow, but +near the sea, well wooded. Mount St. Elias was sighted 4th May, at a +distance of forty leagues, and on the 6th they arrived in the bay in +which Behring had anchored, so his name was given to it on the chart. +Here the land trended away to the west; the wind was westerly and light, +and consequently their progress was very slow. Landing on an island to +try to get a view of the other side from the top of a hill, it was found +so steep and thickly wooded he had to give up the attempt. He therefore +left a bottle containing some coins given him by his friend, Dr. Kaye, +and named the island after him. Here they found currant and strawberry +plants, but the season was too early for fruit. + +Near Cape Hinchinbroke Gore went off to an island to shoot, but seeing +two large canoes containing about twenty Indians, he thought it wiser to +return to the ship. He was followed up, but none of the natives would +come on board, and after a time intimating they would return next day, +retired. Two men in small canoes did return during the night, but finding +that every one on board was not asleep, beat a hurried retreat. The next +day the ships got into a better position, and more Indians turned up, +with whom they had little difficulty in entering into trading relations; +but as they desired pieces of iron about ten inches long by three wide, +and it was rather a scarce article on board, very little, chiefly skins, +was purchased. At first only one man came on board, and as he saw only +two or three people on the Discovery, he went to the Resolution and +brought over some of his friends, who rushed the deck with their knives +drawn. However, the crew quickly ran up with their cutlasses ready, so +the natives retired, remarking that the white men's knives were longer +than theirs. At the Resolution they broke every glass scuttle they could +reach with their paddles, says Burney. Cook points out that they must +have been quite ignorant of the use of firearms, and concludes by saying: + +"However, after all these tricks, we had the good fortune to leave them +as ignorant as we found them, for they neither heard nor saw a musket +fired unless at birds." + +The leak on the Resolution was attended to, and in places the oakum +caulking was found to have disappeared completely; one writer says it was +caused by rats, and that the ship was saved by rubbish having choked up +the leak. + +TWO SETS OF TEETH. + +Bad weather detaining them, Cook had an opportunity of studying the +inhabitants. He had with him a description of the Esquimaux, by Crantz, +and found these men to be very similar in appearance, dress, and +appliances. They all had the bottom lip slit horizontally, giving them +the appearance of having two mouths. In these slits pieces of bone were +fixed to which were tied other pieces, forming a great impediment to +their speech, and in some cases giving the idea that the wearer had two +sets of teeth. Some also had pieces of bone, cord, or beads run through +the cartilage of the nose, and all had their faces plentifully smeared +with black and red paint. + +After examining an inlet, which received the name of Sandwich Sound, they +got away, steering to the south-west past Cape Elizabeth, sighted on that +Princess's birthday, which they hoped would prove the western extremity +of the coast, but on getting round, land was reported further on to the +west-south-west, and a gale sprang up, forcing them off their course. In +two days they worked back again, discovering more land behind what they +had seen already. This Cook believed to be Cape Saint Hermogenes +mentioned by Behring, but his chart was so inaccurate he could not +positively identify it, or any other place mentioned on it. Cape Douglas, +after the Dean of Windsor, was named, and placed in 58 degrees 56 minutes +North, 206 degrees 10 minutes East; and the next day a high point in a +range was called Mount St. Augustine, after the saint whose day it +happened to be. They then worked into an estuary formed by the rivers +(one being afterwards named Cook's River, by orders of Lord Sandwich), in +order to satisfy some of the officers who thought there might be a +possible communication with Hudson's Bay. A good supply of very fine +salmon was obtained from natives in the neighbourhood, and Cook formed +the opinion that a paying fur trade might be opened up as the skins +offered were of considerable value. + +Working slowly up the coast they passed through the islands off Quelpart +on the 18th, when the Discovery signalled to speak; a boat was sent, and +returned with a small box curiously tied up with neatly-made twine. It +had been delivered on board by an Indian, who first attracted attention +by displaying a pair of old plush breeches and a black cloth waistcoat, +and when he came on board, took off his cap and bowed like a European. +The box was found to contain a paper written in Russian, but +unfortunately the only things that could be understood were the two +dates, 1776 and 1778. It was supposed to have been written by a Russian +trader, and given to the Indian to place it on board the first ship he +met with. + +On the 20th, in 54 degrees 18 minutes North, 195 degrees 45 minutes East, +a volcano throwing out dense smoke was observed; and in the afternoon +they received a visit from a man who had evidently been in contact with +Europeans, for he was wearing green cloth breeches and a stuff jacket. He +took off his cap and bowed as the visitor to the Discovery had done, but +unfortunately they were unable to understand his language. + +On 26th June they had a narrow escape during a thick fog, when it was not +possible to see anything a hundred yards away. Breakers were heard, so +the anchors were let go and fortunately held. An hour or so after the fog +lifted, and they found themselves about three-quarters of a mile from a +rocky island, having passed between two elevated rocks, a place through +with, Cook says, "I should have ventured on a clear day," for all that +they found themselves in "such an anchoring place that I could not have +chosen a better." + +ANDERSON DIES. + +On 27th June they were off the island of Onalaschka, and came across a +party of natives who were towing two whales they had killed; they were +somewhat shy, but had evidently seen ships before, and were more polite +than those previously met with. One was upset from his canoe, and Cook +took him down into the cabin and provided him with dry clothes; "he +dressed himself with as much ease as I could have done." His clothes were +of birds' skins, the feathers inside, and patched in places with silk, +and over all he wore a sort of shirt of whale's intestine, which, secured +round the edge of the hole in which he sat in his canoe, rendered him +practically waterproof. Whilst in this neighbourhood they received a +second letter in Russian, but having no one on board who could translate, +it was returned with some presents to the bearer, who retired bowing his +thanks. After some detention from fogs and adverse winds they got away +once more and pushed slowly northwards. On 3rd August Mr. Anderson the +surgeon, who had been ill for some months, died, and Cook, having named +an island, sighted soon after his death, Anderson's Island, "to +perpetuate the memory of the deceased, for whom I had a very great +regard," appointed Mr. Law to the Resolution and Mr. Samwell to the +Discovery as surgeons. + +On 9th August, Cape Prince of Wales, 65 degrees 46 minutes North, 191 +degrees 45 minutes East, was sighted, and they believed it to be the most +westerly point of North America. They landed on what, from Heydinger's +Chart, was the eastern end of the island of Alaska, but it afterwards was +found to be the eastern extremity of Asia. This chart, says Burney, was +found "not only to be incorrect but almost unintelligible." The country +was very desolate, neither tree nor shrub to be seen, and the inhabitants +seemed afraid of their visitors, though not absolutely unfriendly. They +were taller and stouter than those on the American side, and their +clothing very superior. + +The ships fell in with the ice blink on the 17th, in 70 degrees 33 +minutes North, 197 degrees 41 minutes East, rather earlier than had been +expected, and soon afterwards with the ice itself in the shape of a large +field extending as far as the eye could reach from west to east. Here +they got a supply of fresh meat in the shape of sea-horse, of which +animal they killed a good many. The flesh was fishy and indifferent +eating, but Cook says anything was preferable to salt meat. + +They still slowly but steadily pushed north along the American shore, +but, being hampered by fog and ice, they crossed over to the west side +with no better fortune, for on the 26th they found themselves embayed in +the field with large quantities of heavy loose ice along the edges. +Having sighted Cape North on 29th August, Cook decided the season was too +far advanced, and that it would be better to proceed to winter quarters, +and accordingly ran down the Asiatic coast in search of wood and water, +of which he stood in need; but was disappointed, and making over to the +other side was fortunate to find a considerable quantity of driftwood +which served his purpose. Before leaving the straits, Cook remarks: + +"In justice to Behring's memory, I must say he delineated this coast very +well, and fixed the latitude and longitude of the points better than +could be expected from the methods he had to go by." + +SALMON PIE. + +Anchoring in Norton Sound, Cook sent away the boats to explore, and set +to work to determine between the correctness of the chart drawn by +Stocklin and his own observations, and after a series of no less than +seventy-seven sets of observations he was able to show that Stocklin was +wrong. It was at this place that he decided to winter in the Sandwich +Islands, as a port in Kamtschatka would oblige his crews to remain idle +for nearly six months before further exploration to the north could be +undertaken. The course was now set for Samgoonoodha Harbour, but they did +not arrive there till 3rd October, having met with very heavy weather, in +which the Resolution again began to leak badly. On 8th September an +Indian brought a singular present in the form of a pie made like a loaf, +containing some highly seasoned salmon, accompanied by a letter in +Russian. In return Corporal Ledyard of the Marines, "an intelligent man," +was sent with a few bottles of rum, wine, and porter, to obtain further +information, and with orders, if he met with any Russians, he was to +"make them understand that we were English, Friends, and Allies." On the +10th Ledyard returned, bringing three Russian sailors, but as there was +no interpreter there was difficulty in understanding anything thoroughly. +One of the newcomers was understood to say he had been out with Behring, +but Cook thought he was too young. They appeared to have great respect +for that officer, and Ledyard said he had seen a sloop which he +understood was his ship. They stayed on the Resolution all night, and +promised to return with a chart of the islands that lay between that +place and Kamtschatka. It was understood that there were several +settlements in the immediate neighbourhood employing altogether about +four hundred Russians. + +LETTERS TO LONDON. + +On the 14th Cook and Webber were at an Indian village a short distance +from the ships, when they saw a canoe arrive containing three men and +accompanied by some twenty or thirty single canoes. A tent was rigged up +for one of the first three, a Russian named Ismyloff (Ismailoff) the +chief trader of the district, whilst the others made shelters of their +canoes and grass, and so all were independent of the Indians. Ismailoff +invited Cook to join him at his meal, which consisted of dried salmon and +berries, and some sort of conversation was carried on by means of signs +and figures. Ismailoff proved to be well acquainted with the geography of +the district, and pointed out several errors in the modern maps. He said +he had been with Lieutenant Lindo's expedition as far north as +Tchukotskoi Nos, and saw Clerke's Island; but when he could or would not +say what else they had done during the two years the expedition was out, +Cook began to have doubts. He also said the Russians had several times +tried to gain a footing on the American shore, but the Indians had driven +them off with the loss of two or three of their leaders. He also spoke of +a sledge expedition in 1773 to three islands opposite the Kolyma River, +which Cook thought might be the one mentioned by Muller, he related that +he had sailed, in 1771, from a Russian settlement called Bolscheretski, +in the Kurile Islands, to Japan, but the ship was ordered away because +they were Christians, so they went to Canton and sailed on a French ship +to France, and from thence he went to Petersburg, and was then sent out +again. He was quite clear as to his dates, and put them on paper; but as +he was perfectly ignorant of any French, "not even the names of the +commonest articles," though he had been such a long time amongst French +people, Cook was again inclined to be sceptical. He stayed all night, +dining with Clerke, and returned again on the 19th, with charts, which he +permitted to be copied, and some manuscripts. One chart showed the +Asiatic coast as far as 41 degrees North, with the Kurile Islands and +Kamtschatka, and the second, the more interesting to the English, showed +the discoveries made by the Russians to the east of Kamtschatka, +exclusive of the voyages of Behring and Tcherikoff. Cook found the +longitudes in places were very different from those on the Russian maps, +and was afraid the mistake might be carried through, but the latitudes +were fairly correct. As far as he could ascertain, the instrument used +for the survey had been the theodolite. Before leaving, Ismailoff gave +Cook letters for the Governor of Kamtschatka and the Commandant of +Petropaulowsk; and Cook, finding "he was tolerably well versed in +astronomy," gave him a Hadley's octant, and though it was the first one +he had seen, he soon made himself acquainted with its uses. A letter to +the English Admiralty was also entrusted to him to be forwarded via +Petersburg, as opportunity might offer. This letter and a chart of the +northern coasts was delivered in London the following year. + +On 26th October the two ships got away, and, in case of separation, +Clerke was given his rendezvous, first, the Sandwich Islands, and second, +Petropaulowsk in the middle of May. On 28th the discovery met with a +nasty accident during a gale; the fore and main tacks carried away, +killing one man, and seriously injuring the boatswain and two others. On +25th November the islands were sighted, and the customary orders as to +the officers appointed to trade with the natives were issued, and no +curiosities were to be purchased before the ships had received +satisfactory supplies. They first called in at Mowee, where the natives +soon came out and appeared friendly, and traded with less suspicion than +any of the South Sea Islanders they had met with before. + +Having procured a quantity of sugar-cane, Cook ordered it to be used in +brewing, as he found a strong decoction of the juice produced a wholesome +and palatable beer, and would enable him to save the spirits for the +colder climates. However, the crews would have none of it, so Cook and +his officers made use of it whenever cane was procurable, and gave +himself: + +"no trouble either to oblige or persuade them to drink it, knowing there +was no danger of scurvy so long as we had plenty of other vegetables, but +that I might not be disappointed in my views, I gave orders that no grog +should be served in either ship." He then goes on to say: "Every +innovation whatever, tho' ever so much to their advantage, is sure to +meet with the highest disapprobation from seaman. Portable soup and sour +kraut were at first both condemned by them as stuff not fit for human +beings to eat. Few men have introduced into their ships more novelties in +the way of victuals and drink than I have done; indeed, few men have had +the same opportunity or been driven to the same necessity. It has, +however, in a great measure been owing to such little innovations that I +have always kept my people, generally speaking, free from that dreadful +distemper, the Scurvy." + +This extract shows how bitterly Cook felt the stupid ingratitude of his +men for the constant care he took of them, and is one of the very few +passages in his Journals in which he speaks in their disfavour. This, +curiously, was erased by some unknown hand; King asserts it must have +been done by Gore, as he is certain it was not by either Cook or Clerke, +who took command after Cook's death. + +FAULTY SAILS. + +In trying to weather the south-east end of Mowee in heavy weather, the +leach ropes of the main topsail and two topgallant sails gave way, and +the sails were blown to pieces. Cook says, "neither the cordage, canvas, +nor indeed hardly any other stores used in the Navy, are equal in quality +to those in general use in the merchant service"; and he relates how such +failures have constantly resulted in "infinite trouble, vexation, and +loss." He illustrates his complaint by the fact that rigging, blocks, and +sails that were purchased with his ship, although they had been fourteen +months in use, wore longer than any of the things of the same kind put on +board new from the king's stores. + +On 24th December they succeeded in getting to windward of the island, but +the signal to the Discovery to tack having been omitted she stood on, and +it was some days before she rejoined company. January 1779 was ushered in +with heavy rain, but clearing away before noon they were able to approach +to about five miles from the shore, where they lay to and traded with the +natives. The next three days were spent working slowly down the coast and +keeping a good look-out for their consort, occasionally stopping to do a +little trading with the islanders, some of whom came as much as fifteen +miles out to them. The chief article of commerce was salt, which was of +very good quality. On the 5th January the southern point of Owhyhee was +rounded, and they lay off a large village, where they were quickly +surrounded by canoes laden "with hogs and women": the latter are not held +up as patterns of all the virtues. Vegetables seemed to be scarce, and +Cook concluded that either the land could not produce them, or the crops +had been destroyed by volcanic action, very recent traces of which were +to be seen. + +"Wednesday 6th January 1779. The next morning the people visited us +again, bringing with them the same articles as before. Being near the +shore I sent Mr. Bligh, the Master, in a boat to sound the coast, with +orders to land and look for fresh water. On his return he reported that +at two cable lengths from the shore he had no soundings with a 160 +fathoms of line; that when he landed he found no fresh water, but rain +water lying in holes in the rocks, and that brackish with the spray of +the sea, and that the surface of the country was wholly composed of large +slags and ashes, here and there partly covered with plants. Between 10 +and 11 o'clock we saw the Discovery coming round the south point of the +Island and at 1 P.M. she joined us, when Captain Clerke came on board and +informed me that he had cruised four or five days where we were separated +and then plyed round the last part of the Island, but meeting with +unfavourable winds, was carried some distance from the coast. He had one +of the islanders on board all the time; it was his own choice, nor did +not leave them the first opportunity that offered." + +This is the last entry made by Cook in the Journal he was preparing for +publication, and is a fair sample of the manner in which the entire +Journal was written, and certainly does not justify the sneers that have +been uttered about bad grammar and spelling, the double negative +notwithstanding. In handwriting, spelling, and grammar he can compare +well with his press either in the Navy or civil life; and many of the +examples of bad spelling given have been abbreviations common in the +Navy, which his critics did not understand. + +KARAKAKOA BAY. + +On 17th January they anchored in Karakakoa Bay, where large numbers of +canoes laden with provisions for sale came out; Cook estimates that at +one time there were no less than a thousand round the ship, their +occupants entirely unarmed. They soon proved to be adepts at thieving; +one man stole the rudder of a boat, so Cook ordered a shot or two to be +fired over the escaping thief, but "as it was not intended that any of +the shot should take effect, the Indians seemed rather more surprised +than frightened," and the man got away. The lids of the Resolution's +coppers were stolen, and the discovery had her rigging much cut about for +the sake of the iron. The decks were so crowded with the natives that +Burney says it kept a quarter of the crew hard at work to make room for +the working of the ship. + +AN INSECURE POSITION. + +The last entry made by Cook in his Ship's Journal, and probably the last +words he ever wrote, runs as follows: + +"Sunday 17. Fine pleasant weather and variable faint breezes of wind. In +the evening Mr. Bligh returned and reported that he had found a bay in +which was good anchorage and fresh water, tolerable easy to come at. Into +this bay I resolved to go to refit the ships and take in water. As the +night approached, the Indians retired to the shore, a good [many] however +desired to sleep on board, curiosity was not their only motive, at least +not with some of them, for the next morning several things were missing, +which determined me not to entertain so many another night. At 11 A.M. +anchored in the bay which is called by the natives [a blank, filled in by +another hand, Karakakoa] in 13 fathoms of water over a sandy bottom, and +a quarter of a mile from the North-East shore. In this situation the +South point of the bay bore South 1/4 West, and the North point West 1/4 +South. Moored with the stream anchor to the Northward. Unbent the sails +and struck yards and topmasts. The ships very much crowded with Indians +and surrounded by a multitude of canoes. I have nowhere in this sea seen +such a number of people assembled at one place, besides those in the +canoes, all the shore of the bay was covered with people and hundreds +were swimming about the ships like shoals of fish. We should have found +it difficult to have kept them in order had not a chief or servant of +Terreeoboo's, named Parea, now and then [shown] his authority by turning +or rather driving them all out of the ship. + +"Among our numerous visitors was a man named Touahah, who we soon found +belonged to the church; he introduced himself with much ceremony, in the +course of which he presented me with a small pig, two coconuts and a +piece of red cloth which he wrapped round me. In this manner all or most +of the chiefs introduced themselves, but this man went further, he +brought with him a large hog and a quantity of fruits and roots, all of +which he included in the present. In the afternoon I went ashore to view +the place accompanied by Touahah, Parea, Mr. King and others; as soon as +we landed Touahah took me by the hand and conducted me to a large Morai, +the other gentlemen with Parea, and four or five more of the natives +followed." + +Mr. King describes this Morai as being about forty yards long by twenty +broad, and about fourteen feet high, the top flat, well paved, and +surrounded by a wooden railing. An old building stood in the centre from +which a stone wall ran to the fence dividing the top into two parts. On +the landward side were five poles upwards of twenty feet high, supporting +an irregular kind of scaffold, and on the sea-side half were two small +houses with a covered communication between. On their arrival Cook was +presented with two ugly images wrapped with red cloth, and a sort of hymn +was sung. Then they were marched to the scaffolding, where was a table on +which lay fruits and vegetables surmounted by a very much decomposed pig, +and in a semicircle round one end of this table were twelve images. +Placing Cook near the scaffolding, Koah, as King and others call Touahah, +took up the pig and holding it towards him made a long speech. Then, +dropping the offensive porker, he made signs that the two were to climb +on to the uncertain scaffolding. This being done, a procession came +forward bearing a live hog and a piece of red cloth. This last article +was handed up to Koah, who proceeded to wrap it round Cook, who was +clinging to his elevated but not very safe position. The pig was then +offered to Cook and a long address chanted. The two principal performers +then descended and returned to the table, Koah snapping his fingers at +the figures and making what appeared to be sarcastic remarks, till he +came to the centre one, when he prostrated himself and kissed it, +requesting Cook to do the same. The party then proceeded to the other +part of the Morai, and Cook was seated between two images with his arms +stretched out, one upheld by Koah, the other by King. A cooked pig and +other food was then presented with much ceremony, the meat cut up and +kava prepared; whilst Koah's assistant chewed some coconut, wrapped it in +cloth, and then rubbed it over Cook's face, head, shoulders, and arms. +Koah and Parea then pulled pieces of the pig and put them into the mouths +of the two officers. King says that Parea was a particularly cleanly +person, so he did not so much mind this feeding, but Cook, remembering +how Koah had handled the putrid hog, was unable to swallow a mouthful, +"and his reluctance, as may be supposed, was not diminished, when the old +man, according to his own mode of civility, had chewed it for him." Cook +then put an end to further proceedings by distributing some presents to +the attendants and returning to the ship. + +Though the meaning of this ceremony could only be a matter of conjecture, +it was very evident that it was intended as a mark of high respect to the +person of Captain Cook. The title of Orono given to him, and often quoted +as evidence that he had permitted himself to be looked upon as a god by +the natives was also given to one, if not more, of their own chiefs; and +Burney says that the marks of honour conferred on him were exactly the +same as those conferred on any one of their own superior chieftains. The +grotesque description given by some of the missionary writers of the +whole population crawling after him on hands and knees as a mark of +adoration is utterly untrue, for Mr. King, who was ashore almost the +whole time of the ship's stay, and was continually with Cook, distinctly +says: + +"The crowd which had collected on the shore, retired at our approach; and +not a person was to be seen, except a few lying prostrate on the ground, +near the huts of the adjoining village." + +None of those who were on the voyage and have left any record behind +them, suggest that Cook was treated in any respect otherwise than as a +great chief and a man. + +A small potato field was placed under tabu, near the Morai, for the +purpose of the observatory, and a camp under the command of King was +established there. This camp was daily supplied with meat and vegetables, +even more than could be consumed, and several canoe-loads were sent off +to the ships. After enquiry it was found that the whole expense of this +food was borne by Koah, and no return whatever was demanded. + +A ROYAL VISIT. + +A tabu was placed on the whole of the bay on the 24th, and trading came +to a complete standstill, the reason given being the coming of the king, +Terreeoboo. He arrived the next day, and commerce at once revived. He +paid a private visit, with his wife and children, to the Resolution, +remaining on board some time, and proved to be the same chief they had +seen at the Island of Mowee. The next day he, accompanied by several +important chiefs, all dressed in rich feather cloaks and armed with long +spears and daggers, paid a state visit. Koah was also present in a canoe +with other priests and two large basket-work idols, whose distorted faces +were adorned with pearl-shell eyes and dog's teeth; he was attended by +two other canoes, one filled with pigs and vegetables, and these paddled +round the ships, the priests singing "in most solemn fashion," and +returned to the shore. Cook followed; King turned out the guard and +saluted Terreeoboo, and then conducted him to the tent, where, after +seating himself for a few moments, he took off his helmet and cloak and +placed them on Cook, at the same time ordering five or six more, of great +value, to be placed at his feet. Hogs, bread-fruit, etc., were then +brought in. Cook and Terreeoboo exchanged names as a peculiar mark of +friendship, and the ceremony ended by the presentation of the two +boat-loads of provisions by a deputation of the priests. One of those +present was a nephew of the king, called by the English Maiha-Maiha, +afterwards known to the world as Kamehameha I. + +As many of the chiefs as the Resolution's pinnace would hold were taken +off with the king to the ship, and the latter was duly invested with a +white linen shirt and Cook's own sword. During the whole of this +performance no canoes excepting those actually engaged were to be seen in +the bay, and all the natives remained lying on the ground or in their +houses. Clerke, who had been too ill to share in these ceremonies, landed +for the first time on the 28th, and, though quite unexpected, he received +a very handsome present of food, and Terreeoboo paid the Discovery a +state call, taking with him presents similar to those given to Cook. In +the afternoon he paid a second (private) call in a small canoe with three +paddles, one of which he wielded himself. On this occasion there were no +prostrations, but if any native met his chief he simply got out of the +way unless some service was required of him. + +The ships were running very short of firewood, and as there was none +growing less than a mile and a half off the sea, Mr. King was ordered to +try and purchase the fence surrounding the top of the Morai. He +hesitated, as he thought that: + +"even the bare mention of it might be considered by them [the priests] as +a piece of shocking impiety. In this, however, I found myself mistaken. +Not the smallest surprise was expressed at the application, and the wood +was readily given, even without stipulating for anything in return." + +He saw the sailors were carrying away the figures as well, and spoke to +Koah on the subject, who raised no objection, except with regard to the +centre one, which was at once returned. Burney says that two launch-loads +for each ship were obtained, "a seasonable supply, as we had been four +months since we wooded." + +On 31st January Whatman, one of the gunner's crew, and greatly attached +to Cook, died and was buried in the Morai. Besant thinks that this had +some influence on the minds of the natives, and may have contributed to +Cook's death, but as it was done by Terreeoboo's special request it is +difficult to see how the idea can be justified. + +A LARGE PRESENT. + +Enquiries were several times made as to the date of the departure of the +ships, and hints were given that supplies were running short; but at the +same time they were informed that if they returned the next bread-fruit +season, their wants should be again supplied. When the news went forth +that they would leave in two days, Terreeoboo issued a proclamation for +food to be brought in so that he might make a large present on their +departure; and on the appointed day Cook and King were invited to +Terreeoboo's residence, where they found all that had been given in +exchange to the natives was laid out on the ground, and a short distance +away a large quantity of vegetables of all kinds and a herd of pigs, +which were handed over on a return present being made. King says that the +gift "far exceeded everything of the kind we had seen." The camp ashore +was then broken up, and a great effort was made to persuade Cook to +permit Mr. King to remain, as he had succeeded in making himself a great +favourite with all. A house that had been used by the sailmakers was +accidentally set on fire, Burney says by natives looking for a knife lost +by one of the sailors; but Besant, who places the fire at a later period, +says it was done intentionally in revenge for the sailors having enticed +some of the women there, and infers that Gilbert is his authority, but in +the extracts he publishes from Gilbert's manuscript there is nothing of +the kind, and no one refers to any other fire till after Cook's death. + + +CHAPTER 18. 1779 TO 1780. THIRD VOYAGE CONCLUDED. + +On 4th February the ships unmoored and sailed from the bay, steering to +the north in hopes of finding a better anchorage. The wind was very +light, and the progress was so slow that it gave Terreeoboo an +opportunity of sending off a further present of food. Soon after a gale +sprang up, and the canoes which had accompanied them beat a hasty +retreat, leaving a good many, mostly women, on board the ships. About +midnight the fore and main topsails were split, but towards morning the +wind died away and they were able to bend fresh sails. A second gale came +on again at night, putting them under double-reefed topsails, with +topgallant yards sent down, and at daybreak the fore-mast was found to be +so badly sprung that it was absolutely necessary it should be unstepped +for immediate repairs. After considerable hesitation, for he fully +recognised that the place must be almost denuded of surplus provisions, +Cook decided to return to Karakakoa Bay as no other convenient place was +known, and the ships again anchored there on the 11th, starting +immediately to unstep and get the mast ashore, when it was found to be +rotten at the heel as well as sprung. Wood that had been cut at Eimeo for +anchor stocks was used for fishing the head, and the work proceeded +rapidly: the priests making the camp tabu, so that there should be no +interference with the workmen. + +When the ships arrived in the bay, hardly a canoe was to be seen, and +none came out to the ships. This, contrasted with their first reception, +was the cause of some surprise, and, in view of what happened afterwards, +of some suspicion; but Mr. King, who had more intercourse with the +natives than any of the other officers, was thoroughly satisfied that +"they neither meant nor apprehended any change of conduct." Burney says +that Terreeoboo and some of the chiefs visited them on the 12th, and +asked many questions about their return, and did not seem well satisfied +with the answers received. + +TROUBLE COMMENCES. + +Everything went smoothly till the afternoon of the 13th, when the officer +in charge of the watering party complained to King that the conduct of +some of the natives was suspicious, and some of the chiefs were driving +away men he had engaged to help in rolling the casks to the boats. King +sent a marine with side arms to help to restore order, but shortly after +was informed the natives were arming with stones and getting very noisy, +so he went down himself, with a marine armed with his musket, and +succeeded in setting matters right. Just at this time Cook came ashore, +and King reported what had occurred, receiving orders to fire with ball +if he received any insolence or stones were thrown. Soon afterwards shots +were heard from the Discovery, and a canoe was seen making for the shore, +closely pursued by one of the ship's boats. Cook, King, and a marine ran +to intercept them, but were too late, as the occupants of the canoe +landed before they could reach the spot. Burney says the disturbance +commenced by a native stealing a pair of carpenter's tongs, jumping +overboard with them, and placing them in a canoe which at once paddled +off. The thief was caught, flogged, and put in irons till the tongs were +returned from the shore. The same tongs were again stolen in the +afternoon, and the thief got away with them, pursued by Edgar, the +Master, in the ship's cutter, and joined by the Resolution's pinnace. The +thief reaching shore first, put the tongs, the lid of a harness cask, and +a chisel in a second canoe which went out, and handed them over to Edgar. +Edgar, seeing Cook and King running along the shore, thought it right to +detain the second canoe, which unfortunately belonged to Parea, who at +the time of the theft was in Clerke's cabin and, promising to obtain the +tongs, had immediately left for the shore. He tried to regain possession +of his canoe, but was knocked down by a sailor, and then some of the +natives, who before this had been quietly looking on, began to throw +stones, and so roughly handled the sailors in the pinnace that, being +unarmed, they beat a retreat, swimming to some rocks out of reach of the +missiles. Edgar and Vancouver remained ashore and fared badly, till +Parea, who had recovered from his blow and apparently forgotten it, +ordered his countrymen to stay their hands, and managed to save the +pinnace from being broken up. He wanted the boats to go back to the +ships, but as the oars had been taken away this was impossible. He then +started to find them, and as soon as his back was turned the throwing +began again. Edgar wished to go to the camp to find Cook, but some of the +natives advised him to follow them and they would take him to Parea. He +soon met him carrying one oar, followed by a man with a broken one, so +they were able to make shift in the boats to the camp, being overtaken on +the way by Parea in his canoe bringing Vancouver's cap, which had been +lost in the scuffle. + +Owing to his pursuit of the thief Cook did not hear of all this trouble +till after dark, too late to take any further steps, but King says he +appeared very disturbed by the news, and remarked: "I am afraid these +people will oblige me to use some violent measures, for they must not be +left to imagine that they have gained an advantage over us." He then went +on board his ship and ordered all natives ashore, whilst King returned to +the camp, and doubling his sentries, gave orders he was to be called if +any natives were seen about. At eleven, five were seen hovering near, but +when they found they were observed they made off, and later one got close +to the observatory, but ran when the sentry fired over his head. When on +his way to the ship the next morning for the chronometer, King was +informed that the Discovery's cutter had been stolen; it had been moored +to the anchor buoy. On board the Resolution he found Cook busy loading +his double-barreled gun and a landing party of marines being prepared. +Cook said he was going ashore to try to gain possession of some of the +principal chiefs in order to keep them prisoners till the boat was +returned, and that he had already sent out boats to prevent any one +leaving the bay, with the intention of destroying their canoes if he +could not recover the cutter by more peaceable means. The Resolution's +great cutter was sent after a large sailing canoe that was making off, +the small cutter was guarding the western point of the bay, and Cook, +with the pinnace and launch, were going to Kowrowa to try and get +Terreeoboo on board the ship. He, and in fact every one else, were +confident the natives would offer no resistance if they heard the sound +of but one musket. + +A little before eight o'clock Captain Cook, Lieutenant Phillips, a +sergeant, corporal, and seven marines left the ship for Kowrowa, and King +returned to his camp after being ordered to try and assure the natives +near the observatory that they would not be hurt, to keep his men +together, and to be prepared to meet any outbreak. Having seen his men +were on the alert, King visited the priests and satisfied them that +Terreeoboo would receive neither injury nor insult. + +COOK LANDS. + +Having picked up the Resolution's launch, under the command of Lieutenant +Williamson, on his way, Cook landed the marines, and marched into the +village, where he received the usual marks of respect. He asked to see +the king and his two young sons. The two boys came forward and conducted +him to the hut where their father was, and after a short conversation he +felt assured that Terreeoboo knew nothing about the stealing of the boat. +He invited the three to accompany him to the Resolution, and the king at +once consented and got up to go. However, the boys' mother came up with a +few chiefs and tried to persuade him not to go, and then they caught hold +of him and forced him to sit down. Meanwhile a large crowd had gathered +round, and Phillips, who seems to have acted with coolness and judgment +throughout the affair, drew up his men in line on some rocks near the +water, about thirty yards away. After trying for some time to persuade +the natives to allow their chief to go with him, Cook gave up the +attempt, observing to Phillips that it would be impossible to compel them +to do so without great risk of bloodshed. Unfortunately, just at this +time news arrived that a chief of the first rank had been killed at the +other side of the bay. The shots had been heard soon after the landing of +Cook's party. + +It was now recognised that matters had become very serious; the natives +were seen to be donning their war mats, and one man, armed with a stone +in one hand and a large iron spike in the other, threatened Cook in a +very insulting manner. He was told to keep quiet, but only became more +furious, so Cook fired a charge of small shot into him, but his mats +saved him from injury. Stones were thrown at the marines, and a chief +attempted to stab Phillips, but was promptly knocked down with the butt +of the latter's musket. Cook now fired his second barrel loaded with ball +and killed one of the natives, but Sergeant Gibson told him it was the +wrong man, so he received orders to kill the right one, and did so. The +stone-throwing became heavier, and the marines responded with a volley, +but before they had time to reload the natives rushed them, killing four +out of the seven and wounding the rest, Phillips being stabbed between +the shoulders, but, before the blow could be repeated he managed to shoot +his assailant. + +COOK'S DEATH. + +Cook was now close to the water's edge, and had turned round to order the +boats' crews to cease firing and pull in. This is believed to have caused +his death, for, whilst he faced the natives, none of them, except the one +shot by Gibson, had offered him actual violence, but when he turned to +give orders he was struck on the head and stabbed in the back, falling +with his face in a pool of water. As soon as he fell a great shout arose; +he was dragged ashore, and the natives, snatching the dagger from each +other, showed savage eagerness to share in his destruction. Phillips and +his wounded marines plunged into the water and, covered by musketry fire, +gained the boats; their officer, though wounded, jumping out again to the +assistance of the last man who, severely injured by a blow on the face, +was in great danger of being captured. The boats, seeing there was no +possibility of recovering the bodies of the five who were killed, were +ordered to return at once to the ships from which they had only been +absent an hour. Nine stand of arms, Cook's double-barreled gun and his +hanger fell into the hands of the natives. As soon as this was reported, +the boats were recalled from the bay, and a strong reinforcement was sent +to Mr. King with orders to strike his camp and get the Resolution's +foremast off to the ship. The Indians were seen to be assembling to the +right of the tents, so the guns were turned on them, and a party was +posted on the Morai to cover the place where the mast lay. About one +o'clock everything was got away from the shore, only a few stones being +thrown by natives who thought their mats were proof against bullets, and +only found out their mistake too late. + +Notwithstanding what had occurred, one of the priests, whom Burney calls +Kerriakair, remained with the English till everything had been removed, +and supplied the men with food and water. King, about four o'clock, was +sent to try to recover the bodies of the Captain and marines. He was at +first received with a volley of stones, which fortunately fell short; he +displayed a white flag and pulled inshore, whilst the remaining boats lay +off to cover him with their fire if needed, but the stone-throwing was +stopped, and the natives also showed the white flag. In answer to King's +demand some of the chiefs promised that the bodies should be delivered +the next day, and Koah, swimming off to one of the boats, explained that +they could not be given up at once as they had already been taken some +distance up country. Burney, however, says that they gathered, from signs +made by some other Indians, that the bodies had already been cut to +pieces, and one man came down into the water flourishing Cook's hanger +"with many tokens of exultation and defiance." + +KOAH FRIENDLY. + +On the 15th Captain Clerke formally took over the command of the +Resolution, and appointed Lieutenant Gore to the Discovery. During the +day Koah visited the ship several times, and in vain tried to persuade +Clerke or King to go ashore, but it was thought inadvisable to run any +further risks. In the evening Kerriakair and a friend came off in a small +canoe bringing a bundle containing the flesh of Cook's thighs, saying +that the body had been burned and the limbs distributed amongst the +chiefs. They had brought all they could get unknown to the others, and +Kerriakair strongly advised Clerke not to trust too much to Koah; he said +that the inhabitants of the island were not inclined for peace except +those in the immediate neighbourhood, who would of course, in case of +hostilities, be the chief sufferers. He gave the number of natives killed +as twenty-six, with a large number of wounded. + +On the 17th the ships were warped inshore so as to command the watering +place, the launches were sent in for water, with the other boats fully +armed, in support. They were received with showers of stones from the +houses, and from behind stone walls, notwithstanding guns fired from the +ships and musketry from the boats at any of the natives who exposed +themselves. Meanwhile Koah again visited the ships, offering a pig as a +present, and asking for someone to be sent ashore for the bodies; but he +was sent away, and was soon afterwards seen amongst the stone-throwers. +In the afternoon the boats went again for water, but as the natives +recommenced hostilities they were ordered to keep clear, whilst the +ships' guns were worked for a quarter of an hour; then the boats' crews +landed and burned all the houses between the watering place and the +Morai, killing some six or seven of the natives. In the evening, about +five o'clock, some dozen natives bearing white flags and sugar-cane +marched down to the beach headed by Kerriakair carrying a small pig. He +said he came as an envoy from Terreeoboo to make peace, and was +accordingly taken on board the Resolution. It was ascertained from him +that the boat had been stolen by some of Parea's people and had been +broken up after Cook's death. During the night some canoes came out and +did a little trading; and the next morning the bay was seen to be planted +with white flags in different directions, and the waterers were allowed +to work unmolested, whilst Kerriakair asked permission, at once granted, +to make an offering to one of the images on the Morai. Soon after Koah +came off with a pig, but was not admitted to either ship; he then went +off to the waterers, who sent him away. So he amused himself by throwing +stones at a small party of sailors on the Morai, and drew a couple of +shots from them, but escaped unhurt. Soon after a party of natives +marched down to the beach with bread-fruit, etc., which they left on the +beach and was afterwards taken on board. A chief, Eapoo, carried a +message on board from Terreeoboo, and next day brought presents of food. +On the 20th the foremast of the Resolution was stepped and rigging +commenced, and in the middle of the day a large body of natives marched +in procession to the watering place, beating drums, yelling, carrying +white flags, sugar-cane, etc., with Eapoo at their head bearing a parcel +wrapped in cloth containing some of Cook's bones. He went off to the +Resolution with Clerke, and soon after a boat was sent ashore for a +present of food from Terreeoboo. The next day, with the same ceremonial, +Eapoo again appeared with all the remaining bones it was possible to +recover, and was this time accompanied by Karowa, Terreeoboo's youngest +son. + +"The 21st February. At sunset the Resolution fired ten minute guns, with +the colours half staff up, when the remains of our late Commander were +committed to the deep." + +Lieutenant Williamson was severely blamed by his brother officers for not +going to the assistance of the pinnace at the time of the attack on his +Captain, and it is said that had it not been for Clerke's ill health he +would have been tried by court-martial. He was afterwards, when in +command of the Agincourt, tried for "disaffection, cowardice, +disobedience to signals, and not having done his duty in rendering all +assistance possible." He was found guilty on the last two counts only, +and was "placed at the bottom of the list of Post-Captains, and rendered +incapable of ever serving on board of any of His Majesty's ships." + +COOK'S REMAINS. + +Ellis, in his Tour through Hawaii, says that King's account of Cook's +death, from which the above has been largely drawn, agrees in a +remarkable manner with that given by the natives. They in no way blamed +their visitors for what occurred, and even after his death appear to have +looked upon Cook as a man of a superior race to themselves. His +breastbone and ribs were long preserved as relics, and in 1832 Ellis +states there were many living who remembered the occasion, and all agreed +that Cook's conduct to their countrymen was humane. + +Captain Clerke says: + +"Upon examining the remains of my late honoured and much lamented friend, +I found all his bones, excepting those of the back, jaw, and feet--the +two latter articles Earpo brought me in the morning--the former, he +declared, had been reduced to ashes with the trunk of the body. As +Carnacare (Kerriakair) had told us, the flesh was taken from all the +bones, excepting those of the hands, the skin of which they had cut +through in many places, and salted, with the intention, no doubt, of +preserving them; Earpo likewise brought with him the two barrels of +Captain Cook's gun--the one beat flat with the intention of making a +cutting instrument of it; the other a good deal bent and bruised, +together with a present of thirteen hogs from Terreaboo." + +The hands, as has been mentioned before, were identified by the scar left +by the explosion of his powder flask in Newfoundland, which almost +severed the thumb from the fingers. + +On 22nd February they were able to sail from this unlucky place, and +touching at one or two of the islands worked their way northwards to +Kamtschatka, the Resolution reaching Owatska Bay on 29th April, followed +by the discovery on 1st May. They were very handsomely treated by Major +Behm, the Governor of Bolcheretsk, a place about 135 miles from the town +of St. Peter and St. Paul in Awatska Bay, notwithstanding Mr. Ismailoff's +letters of introduction were on somewhat unsatisfactory lines. Mr. Webber +was fortunately able to converse in German, which the Russian officers +understood; and he ascertained that Ismailoff had represented the two +vessels as very small, and hinted that he believed them to be little +better than pirates. The Governor provided the ships with what he could +give them, and promised to obtain further stores from Okotsk for them +against their return. For these kindnesses the English could make but +little return, and even then it was with difficulty that the Russians +could be persuaded to receive anything, for they said they were only +acting up to the wishes of their Empress, who desired all her allies +should be treated with courtesy. One return, however, they were able to +make which was of great service. At the time of the visit of the ships a +large number of the soldiers and inhabitants were suffering very +seriously from scurvy, and Clerke at once put them under the care of his +medical officers, who, by the use of sour kraut and sweet wort made from +the ship's stock of malt, soon caused "a surprising alteration in the +figures of most of them and their speedy recovery was chiefly attributed +to the effects of the sweet wort." + +They were informed by the Major that on the day of the arrival of the +English party at Bolcheretsk he had received a letter from the most +northerly outpost on the Sea of Okotsk, stating that the tribe of +Tschutski, which had been long at feud with the Russians, had sent in an +embassy offering friendship and tribute, giving as a reason that they had +been visited by two large vessels in the preceding summer, and had been +received on board with great kindness, and had entered into a league of +friendship with their visitors: they therefore thought it their duty to +ratify this treaty formally. These two ships could have been none other +than the Resolution and Discovery, though evidently the Tschutski thought +they were Russian. + +DEATH OF CLERKE. + +Leaving on 13th June, the Asiatic coast was followed up, and 1st July +they were off the Gulf of Anadyr, where fogs and ice began seriously to +interfere with their progress, so they abandoned the Asiatic for the +American side, but with no better luck. They reached the latitude of 70 +degrees 33 minutes North, about five leagues short of the point reached +the previous year, and at length, realising further efforts were useless +and resulting in serious damage to the ships from continual contact with +the loose ice, Clerke determined to return to Awatska Bay and refit and +then return to England. On 22nd August, the day before they reached the +Bay, Captain Clerke, who had long been suffering from serious ill health, +died, and was buried under a tree a little to the north of the post of +St. Peter and St. Paul; the crews of both ships and the Russian garrison +taking part in the funeral ceremony, and the Russian priest reading the +service at the grave. Clerke had been all three voyages with Cook, and +was only thirty-eight years of age. + +Gore now took command of the Resolution, Burney, Rickman, and Lanyon +being his lieutenants, whilst King was the new Captain of the Discovery, +and Williamson and Hervey his lieutenants; Bayley going with Gore in +charge of the astronomical observations. On 9th October they left Awatska +and were off Cape Nambu, Japan, on the 26th, but were driven off the +coast by bad weather, and anchored in Macao Roads on 1st December. Here, +after considerable delay, stores were obtained from Canton, and the +seaman managed to dispose of most of the furs they had obtained in the +north. King estimates that the two ships received, in money and goods, as +much as 2000 pounds for the skins, and says that the men were so anxious +to return for more that they were almost in a state of mutiny. + +On 11th April the ships reached the Cape, where the officers were +cordially received by Governor Plattenberg, who expressed the deepest +regret to hear of the loss of Cook, and requested that he should be sent +a portrait of the Captain to place in a blank space he pointed out +between two portraits of De Ruyter and Van Tromp--a gracious compliment. +Sailing from Simon's Bay on 9th May, the trades were picked up on the +14th, and on 13th June the line was crossed in longitude 26 degrees 16 +minutes West. The coast of Ireland was sighted on 12th August, and an +attempt was made to get into Galway Bay, but strong southerly winds drove +them to the north, and at length, rounding the north of Scotland, they +put into Stromness, whence Captain King was despatched overland to the +Admiralty. The ships arrived off the Nore on 4th October, after an +absence of "four years, two months, and twenty-two days." + +KING MEETS KING. + +On 14th February 1781, the second anniversary of Cook's death, King, +accompanied by Mr. Banks, was presented to His Majesty, who was pleased +to accept the Journals of the Resolution and Discovery kept during this +eventful voyage. + + +CHAPTER 19. APPRECIATION AND CHARACTER. + +Of course as nothing had been heard of the expedition for a considerable +time, a certain amount of anxiety was felt, which at length found vent in +paragraphs in the public press, and on 11th January 1780 the London +Gazette contained the following: + +"Captain Clerke of His Majesty's Sloop the Resolution, in a letter to Mr. +Stephens, dated the 8th of June 1779, in the harbour of St. Peter and St. +Paul, Kampschatka, which was received yesterday, gives the melancholy +account of the celebrated Captain Cook, late Commander of that Sloop, +with four of his private Marines having been killed on the 14th of +February last at the island of Owhyhe, one of a Group of new-discovered +Islands in the 22nd degree of North Latitude, in an affray with a +numerous and tumultuous Body of the Natives." + +"Captain Clerke adds, that he received every friendly supply from the +Russian Government; and that as the Companies of the Resolution and her +Consort, the Discovery, were in perfect Health, and the two Sloops had +twelve months Stores and Provisions on board, he was preparing to make +another Attempt to explore a Northern Passage to Europe." + +THE EMPRESS OF RUSSIA. + +The London Gazette of 8th February says: + +"The Empress of Russia expressed a most deep concern at the Loss of +Captain Cook. She was the more sensibly affected from her very partial +regard to his merits; and when she was informed of the hospitality shown +by the Russian Government at Kamschatka to Captain Clerke, she said no +Subject in her Dominions could show too much Friendship to the Survivors +of Captain Cook." + +The letter written by Clerke was sent by express through Petersburg; that +is to say, it was written in the extreme east of Asia in June, and was +sent overland across Siberia to Petersburg, and thence via Berlin to +London, and was there published in under the six months. A wonderful +journey when the difficulties of transit are taken into consideration. + +In the numerous appreciative notices that appeared in the press relating +to Cook and his work, the Morning Chronicle alone strikes a jarring +string, which is at once met by a reply; and a day or two after the same +paper publishes a long letter signed Colombus (the style suggests the pen +of Sir Joseph Banks) in which the character and methods of Cook are most +strenuously defended, the writer claiming to have obtained his knowledge +of the man "through long intercourse with him." + +The Gazetter of 24th January says: + +"His Majesty, who had always the highest opinion of Captain Cook, shed +tears when Lord Sandwich informed him of his death, and immediately +ordered a pension of 300 pounds a year for his widow." + +The amount really granted to Mrs. Cook was 200 pounds per annum, and the +Admiralty in addition gave her half the proceeds of the Journal of the +Third Voyage, a share in the Journal of the Second Voyage, and a share of +the plates used in illustrating the two publications: a very considerable +addition to her income. A Coat of Arms was also granted to the family by +order of the King, and Sir W. Besant records his belief that it was the +last one ever granted as a direct "recognition of Service." His +description of it is: + +"Azure, between the two polar stars Or, a sphere on the plane of the +meridian, showing the Pacific Ocean, his track thereon marked by red +lines. And for a crest, on a wreath of the colours, is an arm bowed, in +the uniform of a Captain of the Royal Navy. In the hand is the Union Jack +on a staff proper. The arm is encircled by a wreath of palm and laurel. A +very noble shield indeed." + +The notes of appreciation of his talents and services came from all parts +of the world, and none more kindly than from the series of brilliant +Frenchmen who followed in his footsteps. De Crozet did not hesitate to +throw away his own charts when he recognised the superiority of Cook's; +and Dumont d'Urville calls him "the most illustrious navigator of both +the past and future ages whose name will for ever remain at the head of +the list of sailors of all nations." + +MRS. COOK'S LETTER. + +The Royal Society was naturally amongst the first to recognise the great +worth of its late Fellow, and the loss the Society had suffered from his +death. It had already granted him one of its highest honours in the form +of the Copley Gold Medal for his successful contest with the scurvy, and +it now decided to mark its appreciation by striking a special gold medal +in his honour. This was forwarded by Sir Joseph Banks, President of the +Royal Society, to Mrs. Cook, and acknowledged by her in the following +touching letter: + +Mile End, + +16th August 1784. + +Sir, + +I received your exceeding kind letter of the 12th instant, and want words +to express in any adequate degree my feelings on the very singular honour +which you, Sir, and the honourable and learned Society over which you so +worthily preside, have been pleased to confer on my late husband, and +through him on me and his children who are left to lament the loss of +him, and to be the receivers of those most noble marks of approbations +which, if Providence had been pleased to permit him to receive, would +have rendered me very happy indeed. + +Be assured, Sir, that however unequal I may be to the task of expressing +it, I feel as I ought the high honour which the Royal Society has been +pleased to do me. My greatest pleasure now remaining is in my sons, who, +I hope, will ever strive to copy after so good an example, and, animated +by the honours bestowed on their Father's memory, be ambitious of +attaining by their own merits your notice and approbation. Let me entreat +you to add to the many acts of friendship which I have already received +at your hands, that of expressing my gratitude and thanks to that learned +body in such a manner as may be acceptable to them. + +I am, Sir, etc., etc., + +Elizabeth Cook. + +The medal actually presented to Mrs. Cook is now in the British Museum. + +DEATHS OF THE SONS. + +It is greatly to be regretted that so little can be ascertained about +Cook's private life that would be of service in forming an intimate +knowledge of his character, but this is accounted for by the fact that +after he had joined the Navy his time was so fully occupied by that +service that he had but little opportunity to form private friendships +such as fall to the lot of most men. The intimacies that he did form were +mostly connected very closely with his naval duties, and his +opportunities of correspondence were necessarily limited by absence from +all ordinary means of communication. For a man of his marked celebrity it +is very curious that there should be such a dearth of anecdote that it is +difficult to find anything that is unconnected with his profession. Of +his own family relations there is also little known, as Mrs. Cook, +probably esteeming the few letters she had from him as too sacred to be +seen by any other eye than her own, as the late Canon Bennett suggests, +destroyed them before her death. Still some idea of their life together, +short as it really was, notwithstanding it lasted, in name, for over +sixteen years, may be gained from the manner in which his widow always +spoke of him after his death. She always wore a ring containing a lock of +his hair, and measured everything by his standard of morality and honour. +The greatest disapprobation she could express was "Mr. Cook would never +have done so." He was always Mr. Cook to her. She kept four days each +year as solemn fasts, remaining in her own room. The days were those on +which she lost her husband and three sons, passing them in reading her +husband's Bible, prayer and meditation, and during bad weather she could +not sleep for thinking of those at sea. For her husband's sake she +befriended her nephews and nieces whom she never saw. Of her three sons, +two entered the Navy. One, Nathaniel, was lost with his ship, the +Thunderer, in a hurricane off Jamaica in 1780. The eldest, James, rose to +the rank of Commander, and in January 1794 was appointed to H.M. sloop +Spitfire. He was at Poole when he received his orders to join his ship at +Portsmouth without delay. Finding an open boat with sailors returning +from leave about to start, he joined them. It was blowing rather hard, +and nothing was ever heard of the passengers or crew, except that the +broken boat and the dead body of the unfortunate young officer, stripped +of all money and valuables, with a wound in the head, was found ashore on +the Isle of Wight. The third son, Hugh, was entered at Christ's College, +Cambridge, in 1793, but contracting scarlet fever he died on 21st +December of that year, and was buried in the church of St. Andrew the +Great, being joined by his brother James a few weeks afterwards, when the +mother was left indeed alone. She survived her husband for the long +period of fifty-six years, living at Clapham with her cousin, Admiral +Isaac Smith, and at length joined her two sons at Cambridge at the +advanced age of ninety-three. + +Cook's character as given by those with whom he worked, men who day after +day were by his side, was a fine one. His greatest fault seems to have +been his hasty temper, which he admitted himself, often most regretfully; +but Captain King says it was "disarmed by a disposition the most +benevolent and humane," and it never was displayed in such a manner as to +cause the loss of respect and affection of his people. He was healthy and +vigorous in mind and body, clear-headed and cool in times of danger, +broad minded and temperate, and plain and unaffected in manner. His +powers of observation were of the first rank, his knowledge of Naval +mathematics far surpassed the ordinary level and amounted to genius, but, +above all, his devotion to duty was the commanding feature of his +character. Nothing was allowed to interfere when he saw his course before +him; personal convenience was not allowed to weigh for one moment, but at +the same time he never lost sight of the interests of those under him and +spared them when possible. He was somewhat silent and reserved in manner, +but when questioned on any subject on which he felt he was an authority, +his answers were clearly and distinctly given, and his reasons disclosed +his powers of observation to the full. He was kindly, generous, and +hospitable, and by no means the stern character that has been painted, +for even in such a matter-of-fact document as his official Journal, a +spirit of fun occasionally gleams out. + +Such was the man whose name will ever stand in the very first ranks of +the British Empire Builders; honest, kindly, generous, a faithful servant +and a noble leader. + + +INDEX. + +Adventure: +purchased. +arrives home. + +Airy Holme Farm. + +Amherst, General. + +Amherst, Colonel W. + +Amsterdam. + +Anderson, Surgeon: death. + +Anjac, M. d'. + +Antelope, H.M.S. + +Arnold. See Timepieces. + +Aurora Australis. + +Australia. + +Ayton: +revisited. + +Banks, Joseph: +joins Endeavour. +refuses Second Voyage. + +Batavia. + +Bayley, W. + +Behm, Major. + +Behring. + +Bennett, Canon. + +Besant, W. + +Bligh, W. + +Boscawen, Admiral. + +Boswell. + +Bougainville, De. + +Buchan, A. + +Burgeo Islands. + +Burney, Charles. + +Burney, Fanny. + +Burney, James. + +Campbell, Captain J. + +Cape Circumcision. + +Cape Horn. + +Cape of Good Hope. + +Clerke, Charles. + +Colville, Lord. + +Cook, James (Master of Mercury). + +Cook, James, R.N. F.R.S.: +birth. +Eagle. +Solebay. +Pembroke. +Northumberland. +marriage. +King's Surveyor. +Grenville. +Endeavour. +Scorpion. +Resolution. +Post-Captain. +death. + +Cook, Mrs. + +Cooper, R.P. + +Crozet, De. + +Dalrymple. + +Dance, Sir N. + +Darwin, Charles. + +Discovery purchased. + +Dodds, Mrs. + +Douglas, Captain Charles. + +Douglas, Dr. + +Duc d'Aquitaine. + +Du Fresne, Marion. + +Dumont d'Urville. + +Eagle. + +Easter Island. + +Eclipse of sun. + +Edgar. + +Edgecombe. + +Endeavour: +purchased. +end of. + +Erromango. + +Espiritu Santo. + +Fernando de Noronho. + +Fishburn of Whitby. + +Forster, G.A. + +Forster, J.R. + +Freelove. + +Friendship. + +Funchal. + +Furneaux, Tobias. + +Garland. + +Gaspe Bay. + +Gilbert, G. + +Gilbert, J. + +Gore, J. + +Grampus. + +Graves, Captain. + +Green, Charles. +death. + +Grenville. + +Halifax, N.B. + +Hardy, Sir C. + +Harrison. See Timepieces. + +Hawke, Lord. + +Hawkesworth, Dr. + +Hicks, Lieutenant. + +Hodges, W. + +Holmes, Admiral. + +Horrox, J. + +Huaheine. + +Isle aux Coudres. + +Isle d'Orleans. + +Japan. + +Jervis, Captain J. + +Johnson, Dr. + +Karakakoa Bay. + +Kemp, A. + +Kemp, S. + +Kendal. See Timepieces. + +Kerguelen's Land. + +King, Captain J. + +Knox, Major. + +Koah. + +Lambrecht. + +Lane, M. + +Lark. + +Law, Surgeon. + +Ledyard. + +Leeds Mercury. + +Lightning Rods. + +Loo Fort. + +Louisburg. + +MacGregor, Sir E. + +Magellan's Straits. + +Malicolo. + +Marra, James. + +Marton. + +Maskelyne. + +Massacre Bay, New Zealand. + +Medway. + +Mercury. + +Middleburg. + +Mile End. + +Miquelon. + +Molineaux. + +Monkhouse, Dr. + +Montcalm. + +Moran, Cardinal. + +Moreton Bay. + +New Albion. + +New Caledonia. + +New Zealand. + +Newfoundland. + +Newspapers on ship. + +Northumberland. + +Norton Sound. + +Omai. + +Otaheite. + +Pallisser, Sir H. + +Parkinson, S. + +Pembroke, Earl of. + +Pembroke. + +Petropaulowsk. + +Phillips, Lieutenant. + +Pickersgill. + +Pines, Isle of. + +Pitcairn Island. + +Priestley, Dr. + +Pringle, Sir J. + +Prowd, Mary. + +Quebec. + +Quiros, De. + +Raleigh. See Adventure. + +Redcar. + +Resolution purchased. + +Rio. + +Rotterdam. + +Royal Society. + +Russia, Empress of. + +St. Helena. + +St. John's. + +St. Lawrence. + +St. Pierre. + +Samwell, D. + +Sandwich Islands. + +Sandwich, Lord. + +Saunders, Sir C. + +Scurvy, paper on. + +Smith, Isaac. + +Solander, Dr. + +Solebay. + +Sparrman, H. + +Staten Island. + +Stirling Castle. + +Straits le Maire. + +Tanna. + +Tasman. + +Tatafee Polaho. + +Terreeoboo. + +Three Sisters. + +Three Kings, New Zealand. + +Timepieces. + +Torres, De. + +Transit of Venus. + +Traverse, the. + +Tupia. + +Ulietea. + +Vancouver, G. + +Vegetable Sheep. + +Waddington, G.W. + +Walker, John. + +Webber, J. + +Wolfe, General. + +Young, Dr. + +Young, N. + +Zeehaan. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Life of Captain James Cook, by Arthur Kitson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN JAMES COOK *** + +***** This file should be named 10842-8.txt or 10842-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/8/4/10842/ + +Produced by Sue Asscher <asschers@bigpond.com> + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: + https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL + + diff --git a/old/10842-8.zip b/old/10842-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..144e880 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10842-8.zip diff --git a/old/10842.txt b/old/10842.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c514c02 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/10842.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9762 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Life of Captain James Cook, by Arthur Kitson + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Life of Captain James Cook + +Author: Arthur Kitson + +Release Date: January 27, 2004 [EBook #10842] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN JAMES COOK *** + + + + +Produced by Sue Asscher <asschers@bigpond.com> + + + + +(PLATE: CAPTAIN COOK. +FROM THE PORTRAIT BY N. DANCE, R.A., IN THE PAINTED HALL, GREENWICH +HOSPITAL.) + + + +THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN JAMES COOK + +THE CIRCUMNAVIGATOR + +BY ARTHUR KITSON. + + +WITH PORTRAIT AND MAP. + + + +1907 + + + +TO +MY WIFE +LINDA DOUGLAS KITSON. + + + +PREFACE. + +In publishing a popular edition of my work, Captain James Cook, R.N., +F.R.S., it has, of course, been necessary to condense it, but care has +been taken to omit nothing of importance, and at the same time a few +slight errors have been corrected, and some new information has been +added, chiefly relating to the disposition of documents. + +I must not omit this opportunity of thanking the Reviewers for the +extremely kind manner in which they all received the original work--a +manner, indeed, which far exceeded my highest hopes. + +ARTHUR KITSON. + +LONDON, 1912. + + + +CONTENTS. + +CHAPTER 1. EARLY YEARS. + +CHAPTER 2. 1755 TO 1757. H.M.S. EAGLE. + +CHAPTER 3. 1757 TO 1759. H.M.S. PEMBROKE. + +CHAPTER 4. 1759 TO 1762. H.M.S. NORTHUMBERLAND. + +CHAPTER 5. 1763 TO 1767. NEWFOUNDLAND. + +CHAPTER 6. 1768. PREPARATIONS FOR FIRST VOYAGE. + +CHAPTER 7. 1768 TO 1769. PLYMOUTH TO OTAHEITE. + +CHAPTER 8. 1769. SOCIETY ISLANDS. + +CHAPTER 9. 1769 TO 1770. NEW ZEALAND. + +CHAPTER 10. 1770. AUSTRALIA. + +CHAPTER 11. 1770 TO 1771. NEW GUINEA TO ENGLAND. + +CHAPTER 12. 1771. PREPARATIONS FOR SECOND VOYAGE. + +CHAPTER 13. 1772 TO 1774. SECOND VOYAGE. + +CHAPTER 14. 1774 TO 1775. SECOND VOYAGE CONCLUDED. + +CHAPTER 15. 1775 TO 1776. ENGLAND. + +CHAPTER 16. 1776 TO 1777. THIRD VOYAGE. + +CHAPTER 17. 1777 TO 1779. THIRD VOYAGE CONTINUED. + +CHAPTER 18. 1779 TO 1780. THIRD VOYAGE CONCLUDED. + +CHAPTER 19. APPRECIATION AND CHARACTER. + + + +JAMES COOK, R.N., F.R.S. + + + +CHAPTER 1. EARLY YEARS. + +James Cook, the Circumnavigator, was a native of the district of +Cleveland, Yorkshire, but of his ancestry there is now very little +satisfactory information to be obtained. Nichols, in his Topographer and +Genealogist, suggests that "James Cooke, the celebrated mariner, was +probably of common origin with the Stockton Cookes." His reason for the +suggestion being that a branch of the family possessed a crayon portrait +of some relation, which was supposed to resemble the great discoverer. He +makes no explanation of the difference in spelling of the two names, and +admits that the sailor's family was said to come from Scotland. + +Dr. George Young, certainly the most reliable authority on Cook's early +years, who published a Life in 1836, went to Whitby as Vicar about 1805, +and claims to have obtained much information about his subject "through +intercourse with his relatives, friends, and acquaintances, including one +or two surviving school companions," and appears to be satisfied that +Cook was of Scotch extraction. Dr. George Johnston, a very careful +writer, states in his Natural History of the Eastern Borders, that in +1692 the father of James Thomson, the author of The Seasons, was minister +of Ednam, Roxburghshire, and a man named John Cook was one of the Elders +of the Kirk. This John Cook married, on the 19th January 1693, a woman +named Jean Duncan, by whom he had a son, James, baptised 4th March 1694, +and this child, Johnston positively asserts, was afterwards the father of +the future Captain Cook. The dates of the marriage and baptism have been +verified by the Reverend John Burleigh, minister of Ednam, and they agree +with the probable date of the birth of Cook's father, for he died in 1778 +at the age of eighty-five. Owing to the loss of the church records for +some years after 1698, Mr. Burleigh is unable to trace when this James +Cook left Ednam to "better himself," but he would take with him a +"testificate of church membership" which might possibly, but not +probably, still exist. Attracted, perhaps, by the number of Scotch people +who flocked into the north of Yorkshire to follow the alum trade, then at +its height, James Cook settled down and married; and the first positive +information to be obtained is that he and his wife Grace (her maiden name +has so far escaped identification, though she is known to have been a +native of Cleveland) resided for some time at Morton, in the parish of +Ormsby, and here their eldest child, John, was born in January 1727. Dr. +Young says that James Cook had a superstition that his mother's farewell +was prophetic of his marriage, for her words were "God send you Grace." + +BIRTH-PLACE. + +Shortly after the birth of John, the Cooks left Morton for Marton, a +village a few miles away, and the similarity of the two names has caused +some confusion. At Marton the father worked for a Mr. Mewburn, living in +a small cottage built of mud, called in the district a clay biggin. This +cottage was pulled down in 1786, when Major Rudd erected a mansion near +the spot. Afterwards, when the mansion was burned to the ground, the site +of the cottage was planted with trees, and was popularly known as Cook's +Garth. Dr. Young was shown the spot by an old shoemaker whose wife's +mother was present at Captain Cook's birth, and he says there was a +willow-tree occupying the site, but no vestige of the walls was left. Mr. +Bolckow, the present owner of Marton Hall, says: "The cottage was found +destroyed when my uncle bought Marton in 1854, but we came across the +foundations of it when the grounds were laid out." A granite vase has +been erected on the spot. The pump which Besant says still exists, and +was made by Cook's father to supply his house with water, was "put there +after Cook's time," and has disappeared. + +In this humble clay biggin James Cook, the Circumnavigator, was born on +27th October 1728, and was registered as baptised on 3rd November in the +Marton church records, being entered as "ye son of a day labourer." He +was one of several children, most of whom died young; John, the eldest, +who lived till he was twenty-three, and Margaret, who married a Redcar +fisherman named James Fleck, being the only two that came to maturity. + +The Cooks remained at Marton for some years, during which time they +removed to another cottage, and young James received some instruction +from a Mistress Mary Walker, who taught him his letters and a little +reading. Dr. Young and Kippis call her the village schoolmistress, but +Ord, who was a descendant on his mother's side, says: + +"she was the daughter of the wealthiest farmer in the neighbourhood, and +wife of William Walker, a respectable yeoman of the first class residing +at Marton Grange." + +Young James, a lad of less than eight years old, worked for Mr. Walker: + +"tended the stock, took the horses to water, and ran errands for the +family, and in return for such services the good lady, finding him an +intelligent, active youth, was pleased to teach him his alphabet and +reading." + +In 1736 Cook's father was appointed to the position of hind or bailiff by +Mr. Skottowe, and removed with his family to Airy Holme Farm, near Ayton. +According to Besant, a hind was one who, residing on a farm, was paid a +regular wage for carrying on the work, and handed over the proceeds to +the landlord. Young James, now eight years of age, was sent to the school +on the High Green kept by a Mr. Pullen, where he was instructed in +writing and arithmetic as far as the first few rules--"reading having +apparently been acquired before." He is said to have shown a special +aptitude for arithmetic, and it is believed that owing to the good +reports of his progress, Mr. Skottowe paid for his schooling. According +to Dr. Young, his schoolfellows gave him the character of being fond of +his own way, and, when any project was on foot for birds-nesting or other +boyish amusement, and discussion arose as to the method to be pursued, he +would propound his own plans, and insist on their superiority; should his +views not meet with approval, he would pertinaciously adhere to them, +even at the risk of being abandoned by his companions. + +STAITHES. + +Most authorities say that Cook was bound apprentice to Mr. Saunderson, a +grocer and haberdasher of Staithes, at the age of thirteen; but Mrs. +Dodds, Saunderson's daughter, told Dr. Young that, after leaving school, +he remained on the farm, helping his father, till 1745, when he was +seventeen years old and then went to Staithes to her father on a verbal +agreement without indentures, and would thus be free to leave or be +discharged at any time. + +The shop and house where he was engaged was situated about three hundred +yards from the present slipway, and close to the sea, in fact so close +that in 1812 it was threatened by the water, and was pulled down by +Saunderson's successor, Mr. John Smailey, and the materials, as far as +possible, were used in erecting the building in Church Street which is +now pointed out as Cook's Shop. The late Mr. Waddington of Grosmont, near +Whitby, says he visited Staithes in 1887 and found the original site +covered by deep water. He was informed by an old man, who, as a boy, had +assisted in removing the stock from the old shop, that not only were the +stones used again in Church Street, but also most of the woodwork, +including the present door with its iron knocker, at which, probably, +Cook himself had knocked many a time. + +At Staithes Cook remained as Saunderson's assistant for about eighteen +months, and it may easily be imagined how this growing lad listened with +all his ears to the tales of the old sailors recalling brave deeds and +strange experiences in storm and shine on that element which for so many +years was to be his home, and at length, impelled by some instinctive +feeling that on it lay the path ready at his feet to lead him on to +future distinction, he vowed to himself that he would not bind down his +life to the petty round of a country storekeeper. + +At length the opportunity came, which is related, in a breezy and +life-like manner, by Besant as follows. After painting Saunderson's +character in colours of a rather disagreeable hue, as one too fond of his +grog for himself and his stick for his apprentices, he says that Cook +stole a shilling out of the till, packed up his luggage in a single +pocket-handkerchief, ran away across the moors to Whitby, found a ship on +the point of sailing, jumped on board, offered his services as cabin boy, +was at once accepted, showed himself so smart and attentive that he +completely won the heart of the sour-visaged mate, and through his good +graces was eventually bound apprentice to the owners of the ship, and +thus laid the foundation of his fortunes. This account does not explain +how it was that the dishonest runaway apprentice it depicts continued to +retain the friendship and esteem of his master and Mrs. Dodds. + +APPRENTICED TO THE SEA. + +There undoubtedly was a difficulty about a shilling, and Dr. Young's +version, gathered from those who knew Cook personally and lived in +Staithes and Whitby at the time, is more probable. He says that Cook had +noticed a South Sea shilling, and being struck by the unusual design (it +was only coined in 1723), changed it for one of his own. Saunderson had +also noticed it, and when he missed it, enquired for it perhaps in +somewhat unmeasured terms, but, on the matter being explained, was fully +satisfied. Afterwards, seeing that the boy was bent upon a sea life, he +obtained the father's permission, and took young James to Whitby himself, +where he introduced him to Mr. John Walker, a member of a shipping firm +of repute, to whom he was bound apprentice (not to the firm), and with +whom he never lost touch till the end of his life. The period of +apprenticeship was, on the authority of Messrs. John and Henry Walker, +three years, and not either seven or nine as is usually stated, and the +difficulty about being apprenticed to both Saunderson and Walker is, of +course, set at rest by Mrs. Dodd's explanation. + +Whitby was at the time a very important centre of the coasting trade, and +possessed several shipbuilding yards of good reputation, and it was in a +Whitby-built ship, the Freelove, that Cook made his first voyage. She was +a vessel of about 450 tons (some 80 tons larger than the celebrated Bark +Endeavour), was employed in the coal trade up and down the east coast, +and no doubt Cook picked up many a wrinkle of seamanship and many a +lesson of the value of promptitude in the time of danger which would +prove of service when he came to the days of independent command: for the +North Sea has, from time immemorial, been reckoned a grand school from +which to obtain true sailormen for the Royal Service. + +As usual in those days, Cook stayed in his employer's house in the +intervals between his trips, and his time ashore was longer during the +winter months as the ships were generally laid up. The house in Grape +Street, at present occupied by Mr. Braithwaite, is pointed out as the one +where he lived whilst with Mr. Walker; but this is incorrect, for Mr. +Waddington ascertained from the rate books that Mr. Walker's mother was +living there at that time, and Mr. Walker lived in Haggargate from 1734 +to 1751, removing thence to the north side of Bakehouse Yard in that +year, and to Grape Street in 1752, after his mother's death. That is, he +did not reside in Grape Street till three years after Cook's +apprenticeship was ended, when, following the usual custom, he would have +to fend for himself. During these periods of leisure between his voyages, +Cook endeavoured to improve his store of knowledge, and it is believed he +received some instruction in elementary navigation. He made great friends +with Mr. Walker's housekeeper, Mary Prowd, from whom he obtained the +concession of a table and a light in a quiet corner away from the others, +where he might read and write in peace. That he worked hard to improve +himself is evident from the fact that Mr. Walker pushed him on at every +opportunity, and gave him as varied an experience of things nautical as +lay in his power. + +After several voyages in the Freelove (which is stated by the Yorkshire +Gazette to have been "lost, together with one hundred and fifty +passengers and the winter's supply of gingerbread for Whitby, off either +the French or Dutch coast" one stormy Christmas, the date not given) Cook +was sent to assist in rigging and fitting for sea a vessel, called the +Three Brothers, some 600 tons burden, which was still in existence +towards the close of last century. When she was completed, Cook made two +or three trips in her with coals, and then she was employed for some +months as a transport for troops from Middleburg to Dublin and Liverpool. +She was paid off by the Government at Deptford in the spring of 1749, and +then traded to Norway, during which time Cook completed his +apprenticeship, that is, in July 1749. Cook told the naturalist of the +second South Sea voyage, Mr. Forster, that on one of his trips to Norway +the rigging of the ship was completely covered with birds that had been +driven off the land by a heavy gale, and amongst them were several hawks +who made the best of their opportunities with the small birds. + +OFFERED COMMAND. + +When his apprenticeship had expired he went before the mast for about +three years. In 1750 he was in the Baltic trade on the Maria, owned by +Mr. John Wilkinson of Whitby, and commanded by Mr. Gaskin, a relative of +the Walkers. The following year he was in a Stockton ship, and in 1752 he +was appointed mate of Messrs. Walker's new vessel, the Friendship, on +board of which he continued for three years, and of which, on the +authority of Mr. Samwell, the surgeon of the Discovery on the third +voyage, who paid a visit to Whitby on his return and received his +information from the Walkers, he would have been given the command had he +remained longer in the mercantile marine. This was rapid promotion for a +youth with nothing to back him up but his own exertions and strict +attention to duty, and tends to prove that he had taken full advantage of +the opportunities that fell in his way, and had even then displayed a +power of acquiring knowledge of his profession beyond the average. + +About this time Cook's father seems to have given up his position at Airy +Holme Farm and turned his attention to building. A house in Ayton is +still pointed out as his work, but has apparently been partially rebuilt, +for Dr. Young speaks of it as a stone house, and it is now partly brick, +but the stone doorway still remains, with the initials J.G.C., for James +and Grace Cook, and the date 1755. The old man has been represented as +completely uneducated, but this cannot have been true. Colman in his +Random Recollections, writing of a visit he paid to Redcar about 1773, +relates how a venerable old man was pointed out who: + +"only two or three years previously had learnt to read that he might +gratify a parent's pride and love by perusing his son's first voyage +round the world. He was the father of Captain Cook." + +If it is true that he was the son of an Elder of the Scottish Church, it +is extremely improbable that he was entirely uneducated, and the position +he held as hind to Mr. Skottowe would necessitate at any rate some +knowledge of keeping farming accounts. More convincing information still +is to be found in the Leeds Mercury of 27th October 1883, where Mr. +George Markham Tweddell, of Stokesley, writes: + +"I may mention that Captain Cook's father was not the illiterate man he +has been represented; and I have, lying on my study table as I write, a +deed bearing his signature, dated 1755; and the father's signature bears +a resemblance to that of his distinguished son." + +Reading is invariably learnt before writing, and as in 1755 the old man +was sixty-one, it is evident he did not wait till he was eighty to learn +to read. + +FATHER'S GRAVE. + +He claimed to have carved the inscription on the family tombstone in +Great Ayton churchyard, and after spending the last years of his life +under the roof of his son-in-law, James Fleck of Redcar, he died on 1st +April 1778, aged eighty-four years. He was buried in Marske churchyard, +but there was nothing to mark his grave, and its place has long been +forgotten. His death is registered as that of a "day labourer." + + +CHAPTER 2. 1755 TO 1757. H.M.S. EAGLE. + +Notwithstanding the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, troubles were +constantly arising between the French and English in which the American +Colonies of both nations took a conspicuous part, and ultimately led to +open war. The first shot was fired on 10th June 1755, although war was +not formally declared till May 1756. In June 1755 the Friendship was in +the Thames, and it is said that to avoid the hot press which had been +ordered Cook first went into hiding for some time and then decided to +volunteer. This is untrue, for, as has been shown, he had already made up +his mind and had refused Messrs. Walker's offer of the command of one of +their ships, the acceptance of which would have saved him from the press +as Masters were exempt. He now saw his opportunity had come. He knew that +experienced men were difficult to obtain, that men of a certain amount of +nautical knowledge and of good character could soon raise themselves +above the rank of ordinary seamen, and had doubtless in his mind many +cases of those who entering as seamen found their way to the quarterdeck, +and knowing he had only to ask the Walkers for letters of recommendation +for them to be at his service, he determined to take the important step +and volunteer into the Royal Navy. It must be remembered that this act of +leaving employment which, to most men of his position, would have seemed +most satisfactory, was not the act of hot-headed youth, no step taken in +mere spirit of adventure, but the calmly reasoned act of a man of +twenty-seven years and some eight or nine years experience of both the +rough and smooth sides of maritime life. + +Several letters were written to Mr. Walker, one or two of which relating +to a later period were seen and copied by Dr. Young, but they fell into +the hand of a niece, who unfortunately, not recognising their value, +destroyed them shortly before her death, which occurred some years ago. +However, it is certain that he wrote one about this time and evidently +received a favourable reply, for he shortly afterwards wrote again +acknowledging the service done him. + +ENTERS NAVY. + +Having made up his mind how to proceed, Cook went to a rendezvous at +Wapping and volunteered into H.M.S. Eagle, a fourth-rate, 60-gun ship, +with a complement of 400 men and 56 marines, at that time moored in +Portsmouth Harbour. On the Muster Roll, preserved in the Records Office, +the following entry occurs: "161 from London rendezvous, James Cook, +A.B., entry, June 17th 1755, first appearance June 25th 1755." On the +24th July, that is, thirty-seven days after the date of entry into the +Navy, he is rated as Master's mate, a position he held till 30th June +1757, when he quitted H.M.S. Eagle. + +His appointment was facilitated by the difficulty experienced in +obtaining men for the Service, as may be gathered from Captain Hamar's +letters, who writes applying to the Admiralty for permission to break up +his London Rendezvous, as he says it has "procured very few men, and +those only landsmen." Again, he complains of the quality of the men he +has received, and says he is one hundred and forty short of his +complement. In another letter: + +"I do not believe there is a worse man'd ship in the Navy. Yesterday I +received from the Bristol twenty-five supernumeraries belonging to +different ships, but not one seaman among them: but, on the contrary, all +very indifferent Landsmen." + +These complaints were endorsed by Captain Pallisser, who succeeded Hamar +on the Eagle, for he wrote that some of the crew were turned over from +ship to ship so often that he was quite unable to make out their original +one: + +"they being such that none choose to own them. Of forty-four said to +belong to the Ramilies, she wanted only six the other day, but her +boatswain could find out only those amongst them that he thought worth +having." + +In the face of these deficiencies in quantity and quality of men, and +remembering the good character he doubtless obtained from Mr. Walker, +there can be no surprise that when Cook sailed out of an English port for +the first time as a Royal Navy sailor he held the rating of Master's +mate. It is usual to look upon him as an explorer and surveyor only, but +a little enquiry shows that he played an active part in some of the most +stirring events of the next few years. The records of his personal deeds +are wanting, but his ships saw service, and from his character it is +certain that when duty called, James Cook would not be found wanting. +Many of the men under whom he served have left behind names that will +always be associated with the construction of the present British Empire, +and with most of them he was in immediate personal contact, and obtained +in every case their respect, in some their close personal friendship. + +PALLISSER COMMANDS. + +On the 1st July the Eagle was ordered to fit and provision for the +Leeward Islands, but having received 62 men and 53 marines, the orders +were changed to cruise between Scilly and Cape Clear, and she sailed on +the 4th August. She was caught in a gale off the old Head of Kinsale and +received some damage, and her main mast was reported as sprung, so she +returned to Plymouth for survey and repairs. Thinking that the removal of +the mast would be a good opportunity to scrape his ship, which was very +foul, Captain Hamar had her lightened for that purpose, but on +examination the mast was found to be in good order, and the Admiralty was +so annoyed at the absence of the ship from her cruising ground that they +ordered Captain Pallisser to take over the command and prepare for sea +without further loss of time. This he did on the 1st October, and sailed +from Plymouth on the 7th, and after cruising about in the Channel and +making a few small captures he returned on the 22nd November, remaining +till the 13th March; and during this time Cook had a short spell of +sickness, but it can hardly be called serious, as he was only in hospital +for ten days, being back to his duty on the 17th February. In April, when +"off the Isle of Bass, brought to and sent on board the cutter a petty +officer and five men with arms, provisions, etc." This extract from the +log records Cook's first independent command; the cutter was one of two +hired vessels which had joined the squadron the previous day under +convoy, and the armed party was probably put on board as a precaution +against privateers who were at that time pretty busy on the French coast. +Cook took her into Plymouth Sound, and he and his five men went on board +the St. Albans, and in her rejoined his own ship on the 2nd May, and then +returned to Plymouth on the 4th June. Pallisser, in reporting his arrival +to the Secretary of the Admiralty, said that he had: + +"put ashore to the hospital 130 sick men, most of which are extremely +ill: buried in the last month twenty-two. The surgeon and four men died +yesterday, and the surgeon's two mates are extremely ill: have +thirty-five men absent in prizes and thirty-five short of complement, so +that we are now in a very weak condition." + +This sickness and mortality was attributed to the absolute want of proper +clothing, many of the men having come on board with only what they stood +in and some in rags, so the Captain asked for permission to issue an +extra supply of slops, a request that was immediately granted. + +DUC D'AQUITAINE. + +After another short cruise the Eagle returned to Plymouth with Pallisser +very ill with fever. He obtained sick leave, and Captain Proby was +ordered to take command, but was detained so long in the Downs by +contrary winds that Pallisser, who had heard a rumour of a French +squadron having been seen in the Channel, shook off his fever and resumed +the command of his ship, which was almost ready for sea. Every part of +the Channel mentioned in the rumour was carefully searched, but no signs +of the enemy were seen, and the author of the report, a Swede, was +detained in Portsmouth for some months. + +On the 19th November the Eagle's crew was increased to 420 men, and she +was kept cruising throughout the winter, and on the 4th January 1757 she +was caught in a heavy gale off the Isle of Wight, where she had most of +her sails blown out of her. On 25th May she sailed from Plymouth Sound in +company with H.M.S. Medway, and a day or two afterwards they fell in with +and chased a French East Indiaman, the Duc d'Aquitaine, in rather heavy +weather. The Medway was leading, but when getting close, had to bring to +in order to clear for action, as otherwise she would be unable to open +her lee ports. Pallisser, on the other hand, was all ready, and pressed +on, bringing the chase to action. After a hard set-to, lasting about +three-quarters of an hour, the Frenchman struck, having lost 50 men +killed and 30 wounded, whilst the Eagle lost 10 killed and 80 wounded; +and the list of damages to the ship reported to the Admiralty shows that +the action was sharp though short. The Medway was only able to afford +assistance by firing a few raking shots, and suffered no damage except +having ten men wounded by an accidental explosion of gunpowder. The masts +and sails of the prize were so much damaged that she lost them all in the +night; one of the masts in falling sank the Medway's cutter. It was found +she had a complement of 493 men, and was armed with 50 guns. She had +landed her East Indian cargo at Lisbon, and then proceeded to cruise for +fourteen days on the look-out for an English convoy sailing in charge of +H.M.S. Mermaid. She had succeeded in picking up one prize, an English +brig, which was ransomed for 200 pounds. This was Cook's first experience +of an important naval action, and Pallisser was complimented by the Lords +of the Admiralty for his gallant conduct. The Duc d'Aquitaine was +purchased for the Navy, and was entered under her own name as a +third-rate, 64 gun ship, with a complement of 500 men. + +The Eagle returned with her consort and her prize to Plymouth, and soon +afterwards Cook's connection with her came to an end. According to Dr. +Kippis, Mr. Walker had interested the Member for Scarborough, Mr. +Osbaldiston, on the subject of Cook's promotion, but the rule was that +candidates for Lieutenancy must have been employed on board a king's ship +for a period of not less than six years, and an order had recently been +issued that this regulation was to be strictly adhered to. Captain +Pallisser therefore wrote to Mr. Osbaldiston that Cook: + +"had been too short a time in the service for a commission, but that a +Master's warrant might be given him, by which he would be raised to a +station that he was well qualified to discharge with ability and credit." + +The result of this correspondence is shown in the Eagle's muster roll, +for on 27th June James Cook attended his last muster, and on the 30th he +was discharged. The succeeding rolls registering "D. 30th June 1757. +Solebay prefmnt." + +THE MERCURY COOK. + +At this point all the writers on Captain Cook have been led into error by +following the lead of Dr. Kippis. Everyone (with the single exception of +Lord Brougham, who by an evident slip of the pen puts him on board the +Mersey) writes that he was appointed Master of H.M.S. Mercury, and that +he joined the fleet of Admiral Saunders in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at +the time of the capture of Quebec in that ship. From the Public Records +it has been ascertained that the Mercury was not in the Gulf of St. +Lawrence with Saunders, but in the latter half of 1759 was sent to New +York, thence to Boston, and was at Spithead in April the following year. +The same source also shows that not only was the Circumnavigator never on +board the Mercury in any capacity, but in all probability he never even +saw her. He is also said to have been Master's mate on the Pembroke, and +Dr. Kippis has him appointed to three different ships on three +consecutive days: the Grampus, but she sailed before Cook could join her; +the Garland, but she was found to have a Master when Cook joined; and, +lastly, the Mercury. + +The explanation of this confusion as far as the Mercury is concerned (the +rest was imagination) is that there was a second James Cook in the +service, who was appointed Master of the Mercury under a warrant dated +15th May 1759 and entered on his duties immediately. He was with his ship +at Sheerness on 12th July, at which time his namesake was before Quebec. +On the return of the Mercury from Boston her Master was returned for some +time as "sick on shore," and on 11th June 1760 was superseded by one John +Emerton. Soon after he was appointed third lieutenant of the Gosport, his +commission bearing date 1st April 1760, that is before he left the +Mercury. He was with his new ship at the recapture of St. John's, +Newfoundland, in 1762, with John Jervis, afterwards Lord St. Vincent, as +his Captain. In 1765 he was on the Wolf on the Jamaica station, and was +selected by Admiral Burnaby to carry despatches to the Governor of +Yucatan. This duty he successfully carried out, and in 1796 published a +pamphlet describing his adventures during the journey. On his return to +England he applied to the Duke of Newcastle for the command of a cutter, +and the letter is now in the British Museum, having been included in a +collection in mistake for one written by his celebrated namesake. There +is a certain similarity in the writing, but in the signature he writes +the Christian name as Jas, whilst Captain Cook usually wrote Jams. The +Mercury Cook was lieutenant of the Speedwell in 1773, and having had some +property left him in Jersey he received leave of absence in August. He +never rose above lieutenant, and disappears from the Navy List after July +1800. + +A manuscript log kept by James Cook whilst Master's mate of the Eagle is +now in the possession of Mr. Alexander Turnbull of Wellington, New +Zealand. + + +CHAPTER 3. 1757 TO 1759. H.M.S. PEMBROKE. + +Cook joined H.M.S. Solebay on the 30th July 1757 at Leith, where she was +then stationed, but the date of his warrant has not been ascertained, +although the Public Records and Trinity House have both been searched for +the purpose. His stay was not long, for after a cruise of a few days she +returned to Leith, and on 17th September Cook was superseded by John +Nichols; in fact, his time on board was so short that his signature is +not appended to any of the rolls. + +In April 1757 Mr. Bissett, who was Master of the Eagle when Cook was +Master's mate, and who therefore would have a better chance than any one +else to measure his subordinate's character and capabilities, was +appointed Master of H.M.S. Pembroke, a new ship, and superintended her +fitting for sea. On 26th October he found himself transferred to the +Stirling Castle, and it is only reasonable to suppose that, having formed +a high opinion of Cook's work, and knowing of his ambition to rise in the +service, he would give information of the opportunity and, as far as he +could, push forward his friend's interests. At any rate, the Muster Rolls +show that in less than six weeks from leaving the Solebay, Cook was +established on board the Pembroke as Master, under a warrant bearing date +18th October 1757, and entered upon his duties on 27th October, the +twenty-ninth anniversary of his birth; and from that date to his +discharge into the Northumberland he signed the usual documents. At the +time of his joining, the ship was fitting and victualling for sea at +Portsmouth, and on 8th November she sailed for the Bay of Biscay, under +the command of Captain Simcoe, returning to Plymouth on 9th February +1758. + +LOUISBERG. + +The British Government had decided on making a determined effort to wrest +the Colony of New France from the hands of the French, and one of the few +steps was to attempt the capture of the port of Louisburg, at the +entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence; a place which the enemy were said +to have rendered almost impregnable at an expenditure of some million and +a quarter pounds. They looked upon it as second only to Quebec in its +importance to the safe keeping of the colony. In order to carry out this +design a fleet was prepared under Admiral Boscawen (known to his men as +Old Dreadnought, and, from a peculiar carriage of the head, said to have +been contracted from a youthful habit of imitating one of his father's +old servants, Wry-necked-Dick), to convey a small army under +Major-General Amherst to the scene of action. Boscawen sailed with his +fleet, one member of which was the Pembroke, for Halifax, where they +arrived, via Madeira and the Bermudas, on 8th May. + +Having completed his arrangements, Boscawen left Halifax on 28th May with +17 sail of the Royal Navy and 127 transports, picking up 2 more +men-of-war and 8 transports just outside, and a couple more of the latter +a few hours later. He had to leave behind at Halifax, with orders to +rejoin him as soon as they were fit, several ships, the Pembroke being +one, as their crews were so weakened by scurvy during the voyage from +England. The Pembroke had lost 29 men, but was sufficiently recovered to +be able to sail with 3 transports, 2 schooners, and a cattle sloop on 7th +June, and arrived off Louisburg on the 12th, four days too late to take +part in the landing which had been successfully carried out in the face +of great difficulties caused by the roughness of the weather, the rocky +coast, and the opposition of the enemy. In fact, James Wolfe, who was a +Brigadier throughout the siege, and on whose shoulders a very large +portion of the work seems to have fallen, says: "Our landing was next to +miraculous." There were 3 officers and 49 men killed; 5 officers and 59 +men wounded of the army; 11 men killed, and 4 officers and 29 men wounded +of the navy; and 19 men wounded of the transport service. The weather was +so bad that no stores or artillery could be landed for several days, the +first gun being got ashore on the 16th, so Cook was in plenty of time to +take his share in the difficult task of landing supplies; a task so +dangerous that the fleet lost one hundred boats in this duty alone. As +well as forming the supply base for the army, the fleet also provided 583 +men to act as gunners and engineers ashore; but none of these were from +the Pembroke. The nature of the ground rendered the work of constructing +the approaches and batteries extremely difficult, and it was not till +20th June that the first gun opened fire. Wolfe formed a battery on +Lighthouse Point, one side of the entrance to the harbour whilst the town +was on the other side, with a fortified island in between; and the +harbour held a French fleet which, at the time of the arrival of the +British, consisted of nine men-of-war. One escaped on the very day of the +landing, and was shortly afterwards followed by two more. One L'Echo, was +captured by Sir Charles Hardy, and was taken into the British Navy; +whilst the other, though chased for some distance, made good its escape +to L'Orient with the first news of the siege. Previously to the coming of +the British, two ships had been sunk in the harbour's mouth to render +entrance therein difficult; two more were added to these, and then a +fifth. One ship was blown up by a British shell, and setting fire to two +others that lay alongside her, they also were destroyed. + +The fate of the other two is described in the Pembroke's log, kept by +Cook, as follows: + +"In the night 50 boats man'd and arm'd row'd into the harbour under the +command of the Captains La Foure [Laforey] of the Hunter, and Balfour [of +the Etna] in order to cut away the 2 men-of-warr and tow them into the +North-East Harbour one of which they did viz.: the Ben Fison +[Bienfaisant] of 64 guns, the Prudon [Prudent] 74 guns being aground was +set on fire. At 11 A.M. the firing ceased on both sides." + +The boats concerned in this attack, which Boscawen describes as "a very +brilliant affair, well carried out," were a barge and pinnace or cutter +from all the ships, except the Northumberland, which was too sickly, +commanded by a lieutenant, mate or midshipman, and Dr. Grahame in his +History of the United States of North America, says: + +"The renowned Captain Cook, then serving as a petty officer on board of a +British ship-of-war, co-operated in this exploit, and wrote an account of +it to a friend in England. That he had distinguished himself may be +inferred from his promotion to the rank of lieutenant in the Royal Navy, +which took place immediately after." + +This statement that he was in the affair may be true, but there is no +evidence on the point, and as he was a warrant and not petty officer, and +as his promotion did not take place for several years, Dr. Grahame's +story may well be doubted. It is believed that Cook did write to Mr. +Walker from Louisburg, but the letter was one of those so unfortunately +destroyed. + +The loss on this occasion to the British was very slight, there being +only 7 killed and 9 wounded. The Bienfaisant having been surveyed, was +received into the Navy and given to Captain Balfour whilst the command of +L'Echo was conferred on Captain Laforey. + +In consequence of this success and the threat of an immediate assault on +the town, the French commander, M. Drucour, decided to surrender on the +following day. This success was highly esteemed in England, and Admiral +Boscawen and General Amherst received the thanks of the Houses of +Parliament. + +WOLFE AND HARDY. + +After the siege Wolfe wrote to Lord George Sackville, speaking in warm +terms of Boscawen and his men, and says: + +"Sir Charles Hardy, too, in particular, and all the officers of the Navy +in general have given us their utmost assistance, and with the greatest +cheerfulness imaginable. I have often been in pain for Sir Charles's +squadron at an anchor off the harbour's mouth. They rid out some very +hard gales of wind rather than leave an opening for the French to escape, +but, notwithstanding the utmost diligence on his side, a frigate found +means to get out and is gone to Europe charge de fanfaronades. I had the +satisfaction of putting 2 or 3 hautvizier shells into her stern and to +shatter him a little with some of your Lordship's 24 pound shot, before +he retreated, and I much question whether he will hold out the voyage." + +The Pembroke formed one of this squadron under Sir Charles Hardy, and +after the capitulation of the town, was despatched with nine other ships, +and a small body of troops under Wolfe to harry the French settlements +around Gaspe Bay as a preparation for the attack on Quebec it was +intended to make in the following year. Several settlements and magazines +were destroyed, four guns and a pair of colours were captured, and then +the squadron returned to Halifax for the winter. + +Admiral Sir Charles Saunders was selected to command the fleet that was +to be employed in this new movement against the capital of New France; a +man of whom Horace Walpole wrote: + +"The Admiral was a pattern of the most sturdy bravery, united with the +most unaffected modesty. No man said less, or deserved more. Simplicity +in his manners, generosity, and good-nature adorned his genuine love of +his country." + +WITH DURELL'S SQUADRON. + +He left Spithead on 17th February 1759, with the intention of calling at +Louisburg, the appointed rendezvous for the expedition, on his way to +Halifax; but the season had been so severe that Louisburg, usually free +from ice, was found to be unapproachable, so he went on, arriving at +Halifax on 30th April. Admiral Durell had been sent out earlier from +England, and was now despatched from Halifax with a squadron, of which +the Pembroke was one, to prevent, if possible, the entry into the river +of the usual spring fleet from France with supplies and reinforcements +for Quebec, and to keep the French from putting up any fortifications on +the Ile aux Coudres, thereby adding to the difficulties of the fleet in +ascending this dangerous portion of river. The weather was bad, and the +trouble caused by fog and ice so great that Durell found the fleet of 18 +sail, convoyed by two frigates, had escaped him, but one or two small +store ships were captured which proved of service to the British +afterwards. On the way up the Gulf, Captain Simcoe of the Pembroke died, +and the ship was given temporarily to Lieutenant Collins of Durell's +ship, and afterwards to Captain Wheelock, who remained in her till after +Cook left. + +Durell's squadron arrived off the Ile aux Coudres on the 25th, and on the +28th the Pembroke landed the troops she had on board, "as did ye rest of +ye men of warr," and they took possession of the island, which was found +to be deserted by its inhabitants. The troops that were on board Durell's +ships were under the command of Colonel Carleton, the +Quartermaster-General of the force, and Wolfe's great friend, whose +services had only been obtained from the king with the greatest +difficulty. Whilst awaiting the arrival of Saunders with the remainder of +the expeditionary force, every endeavour was made to gain knowledge of +the difficulties of the river, and Cook's log notes how the boats were +out "sounding ye channel of ye Traverse"; and on the 11th June there is: +"Returned satisfied with being acquainted with ye Channel." The Traverse +here spoken of is that channel running from a high black-looking cape, +known as Cape Torment, across into the south channel, passing between the +east end of the Ile d'Orleans and Ile Madame. It is still looked upon as +one of the worst pieces of the river navigation. + +The British had some charts of the river showing the course taken by the +French vessels, for in a note to the orders issued by Saunders on 15th +May to the Masters of Transports, special attention is called to "a plan +or chart showing the route which His Excellency intends to make from +Louisburg Harbour to the Island of Bic"; and this chart was most probably +taken from one captured by Boscawen in 1755, and published in September +1759 by T. Kitchen in the London Magazine having the Traverse shown on a +larger scale. The soundings taken at the time Durell was waiting would be +to verify those shown on this chart. + +After a short delay in Halifax, Saunders left for Louisburg to gather up +the remainder of the forces and stores, and on his arrival still found +the port hampered by ice; in fact, Major Knox, of the 43rd Regiment, +relates that even so late as 1st June men were able to get ashore from +their ships, stepping from one piece of ice to another. There was also +further cause for dissatisfaction, delay in the arrival of the ships with +soldiers and stores. Some of the troops had been directed to other work +without any intimation to Wolfe, whilst others were in a very bad state +from scurvy and measles; some had lost their entire equipment, and it was +with the greatest difficulty replaced; the supply of money was criminally +small, and yet it is pleasant to read on the authority of Major Knox +that: + +"I had the inexpressible pleasure to observe at Louisburg that our whole +armament, naval and military, were in high spirits; and though, by all +accounts, we shall have a numerous army and a variety of difficulties to +cope with, yet, under such Admirals and Generals, among whom we have the +happiness to behold the most cordial unanimity, together with so +respectable a fleet and a body of well-appointed regular troops, we have +every reason to hope for the greatest success." + +ORDERS TO TRANSPORTS. + +Before leaving, Saunders issued his instructions as to the order of +sailing. He divided the transports into two divisions, the Starboard +flying a red flag, and the Larboard a white one: he assigned to each +vessel its position and duties, and pointed out to each Master of a hired +transport that if the orders of his officers were not promptly and +exactly carried out they would be fired on, adding with a touch of grim +humour that the cost of the powder and shot so expended would be +carefully noted and charged against the hire of the offending ship. On +the 6th June Saunders was off Newfoundland with 22 men-of-war and 119 +transports, and the cold winds blowing off the snow-covered hills of that +island were severely felt by the troops. On the 18th, when off the Island +of Bic, they were joined by Wolfe in the Richmond, and five days after +picked up Durell at the Ile aux Coudres. Here Saunders transferred his +flag to the Stirling Castle, which he had selected in England for the +purpose, owing to her handiness (Cook's friend, Mr. Bissett, was still on +board), and leaving Durell with eleven of the deepest draught to guard +against any interference from a French fleet, he proceeded up the river +with the remainder. The work was hard, constantly anchoring and weighing +to take every advantage of wind and tide, and the progress was slow; but +at length the whole of the ships passed the Traverse, and on the 26th the +fleet anchored off St. Laurent, on the Ile d'Orleans, and the troops were +landed on the following day. Thus the much-dreaded passage up the St. +Lawrence had been carried out, and the fact that no loss of any kind had +occurred to either man-of-war or transport, reflects the very greatest +credit on all engaged in the operation. Knox relates how the Master of +the transport he was on, a Brother of Trinity House and Thames pilot, +named Killick, refused the services of a French prisoner as pilot, and +observing, "Damme, I'll show them an Englishman can go where a Frenchman +dar'n't show his nose," took his ship up himself, chaffing the occupants +of the mark boats as he passed, and in the end declared that it was no +worse than the Thames. + +The wonderful success of their passage was emphasised the afternoon after +their arrival at St. Laurent when a heavy gale struck the fleet, driving +several ships into collision or ashore, and causing considerable loss in +anchors and cables. As soon as possible the men-of-war boats were out +rendering every assistance, and all the vessels were secured but two, +which were too firmly fixed to be towed off shore, and these were soon +afterwards burnt by the enemy. + +FIREWORKS. + +Thinking to profit by the disorder which must necessarily have been +caused by the storm, the French made a determined attempt to destroy the +fleet by means of eight fireships which were floated down stream on the +unsuspecting British. Fortunately they were ignited prematurely, and the +boats of the Pembroke and other ships were again out, employed in the +hazardous task of towing these undesired visitors into such places as +would permit them to burn themselves out without danger to the shipping. +Six were quickly got into safety, whilst the other two grounded and burnt +out without causing further inconvenience. Captain Knox describes the +scene as a display of "the grandest fireworks that can possibly be +conceived." The only result was to cause the retirement of a picket at +the western end of the Ile d'Orleans, and the officer in command, who +thought he was about to be attacked in force, was to have been tried by +court-martial, but being advised to throw himself on Wolfe's mercy, was +pardoned for his error of judgment. To guard against a repetition of such +an attack, a system of guard boats, some moored across the river and some +patrolling, was established, entailing considerable extra work on the +sailors. + +An examination of the position showed Admiral Saunders that the safety of +the fleet, and therefore the interests of the army, would be best +consulted if he proceeded into the Basin of Quebec, as to remain cooped +up in the south channel added to the danger if a further attempt should +be made to fire the fleet. He therefore pointed out to Wolfe that the +small battery established by the French on Point Levi, which threatened +any ship entering into the Basin, should be taken, and the Point +occupied. This was at once carried out by Monckton's brigade, and a +battery was established which did serious damage to the town. When too +late the French sent over three floating batteries to aid in repulsing +the English, but they were driven back by one broadside from a frigate +Saunders moved up for the purpose. + +Montcalm had entrenched his army on the north bank of the St. Lawrence, +between the rivers Charles and Montmorenci, and Wolfe determined to seize +on a piece of high ground to the east of the Montmorenci, to form a camp +there, and endeavour to force on a general action. In pursuance of this +design, a body of about 3000 men were landed successfully on 9th July, +under the protecting fire of some of the fleet, and a camp was formed, +and the next few days provided employment for the boats of the Pembroke +and other ships in landing men, stores, and artillery. The bombardment of +the town opened on 12th July from the batteries erected at Point Levi and +a portion of the fleet, and continued with little intermission till 13th +September. When fire was opened on the town other ships in the Basin and +guns at the camp at Montmorenci opened on Montcalm's lines at Beauport. +On the 18th two men-of-war, two armed sloops and two transports succeeded +in passing the town without loss, but a third ship, the Diana, ran +aground in trying to avoid collision with a transport, and was attacked +by the enemy's boats, but was brought off by the Pembroke and Richmond. +She was so seriously damaged that she had to be sent to Boston for +repairs and then returned to England. On the 20th Wolfe joined the +up-river squadron in a barge, and in passing the town had his mast +carried away by a shot from the Sillery Battery, but no further damage +was done. He made a short reconnaissance which led to nothing at the +time, but may have had an important influence in the choice of a +landing-place afterwards. + +ATTACK ON BEAUPORT. + +On his return to his camp at Montmorenci he decided to make an attack on +the left of the French lines from boats and from his camp over a ford +which was available at low tide between the falls of Montmorenci and the +St. Lawrence. This attack was to be supported by the Centurion, moored in +the north channel, and by two armed cats which were to be run aground as +near as possible to some small redoubts, the first object of the attack. +Here it is certain that Wolfe and Cook came into personal contact, for on +the latter fell the duty of taking the necessary soundings for the +position to be occupied by the cats, and Wolfe refers in a despatch to a +conversation he had with Cook upon the matter. The attack took place on +31st July, aided by the fire of the Pembroke, Trent, and Richmond, which +were "anchored clear over to the north shore before Beauport, a brisk +firing on both sides," but the boats were thrown into confusion by a reef +(marked on the chart as visible at low water), and were some time before +they could effect a landing, then a heavy storm of rain came on, +rendering the ground, which was steep, very slippery. The troops occupied +one redoubt, but were so dominated by the French musketry that they could +get no further, and Wolfe deemed it desirable to recall them and to stop +the advance across the ford. The two cats were burnt to prevent them +falling into the hands of the enemy, and the losses of the English in +killed, wounded, and missing were 443, those of the French being +estimated at 200. Cook says the repulse was solely owing to the heavy +fire from the entrenchments, "which soon obliged our Troops to retreat +back to the Boats and Montmorency"; whilst Wolfe, in a general order, +throws the blame on the Louisburg Grenadiers, a picked body of men from +several regiments, whom he considers got out of hand. He also, in a +despatch submitted to Saunders, threw some amount of blame on the Navy, +but to this the Admiral strongly objected, and it was withdrawn, Wolfe +saying: "I see clearly wherein I have been deficient; and think a little +more or less blame to a man that must necessarily be ruined, of little or +no consequence." + +It has been asserted that Cook led the boats to the attack, but as this +was done by Wolfe himself, according to his own letters, and as Saunders +was also out with them, both officers having narrow escapes, it seems +more probable that Cook would be on his own ship, where, as she was +engaged, his services would be wanted, for it was one of the Master's +most important duties to work her under the Captain's orders when in +action. + +A few days before this attack on Beauport was made, the French again paid +the fleet the undesired attention of a large fire raft composed of +several small vessels chained together and laden with all sorts of +combustibles--shells, guns loaded to the muzzle, tar barrels, etc., and +again this was grappled by the boats and towed away to a place of safety; +and then Wolfe, sending in a flag of truce the next morning, said that if +the performance were repeated he should cause the instrument of +destruction to be towed alongside two ships in which he had Canadian +prisoners, and there let it do its worst. This somewhat cold-blooded +threat was sufficient, and the experiment was not repeated. + +A NARROW ESCAPE. + +During the time the fleet was occupying the Basin, the Masters of the +ships were constantly out making observations and sounding, partly for +the necessities of the fleet and partly to throw dust in the eyes of the +French; and on one occasion Cook had a narrow escape from capture, his +men had to row for it to get away from the enemy, and reaching the Isle +of Orleans landed just in time, for as Cook, the last man, sprang ashore +from the bows an Indian boarded over the stern. The hospital picket +turned out, and the French retreated. His friend, Mr. Bissett, was not so +fortunate, being taken prisoner on 7th July whilst sounding in the north +channel; but he was either exchanged or escaped, for he was only absent +from his ship for a few days. + +Wolfe, who was almost always ailing, had an attack of fever, and the +worry of the repulse at Beauport rendered him incapable of duty for some +days; he therefore laid before his Brigadiers plans of future movements, +asking their opinions and advice. These plans were not approved, but it +was suggested that an attempt should be made to land on the western side +of the town and there bring the enemy to action, and Wolfe writes: "I +have acquiesced in their Proposal, and we are preparing to put it into +execution." + +The up-river detachment had been strengthened by the addition of a few +more vessels, and Murray with 1200 men had joined in an unsuccessful +attempt to get at the French supply fleet which had retreated to a place +of safety. He had outwitted De Bougainville, who was detached to watch +him, and succeeded in destroying a magazine containing clothing, powder, +and other stores, and intercepted letters which told of the surrender of +Niagara and the retirement of Bourlemaque upon the Ile aux Noix, to which +place Amherst was preparing to follow. + +When Wolfe's resolve was taken to follow the advice of his Brigadiers, +Saunders again strengthened the force above the town, placing the +squadron under the command of Admiral Holmes, and on 3rd September his +boats withdrew the artillery and troops from Montmorenci to Point Levi, +and on the night of the 4th all the available boats and small craft were +sent up, one of the last to pass being a small schooner armed with a few +swivels, and called by the sailors The Terror of France. She sailed by in +broad daylight, drawing the fire of every gun that could be brought to +bear on her, but was untouched, and, anchoring close alongside the +Admiral's ship, gave him a salute from the whole of her armament. + +The troops which had been quietly marched some distance up the south bank +from Point Levi were taken on board the ships, the last detachment on the +night of the 12th; and Admiral Holmes sailed up the river as if to beat +up the French communications, but when night fell he returned, and the +landing was successfully accomplished, and is described by Saunders in +his despatch as follows: + +"The night of their landing, Admiral Holmes with the ships and troops was +about three leagues above the intended landing-place. General Wolfe with +about half his troops set off in the boats, and dropped down with the +tide, and were by that means less liable to be discovered by the +sentinels posted all along the coast. The ships followed them about +three-quarters of an hour afterwards, and got to the landing-place just +at the time that had been concerted to cover the landing, and considering +the darkness of the night, and the rapidity of the current, this was a +very critical operation, and very properly and successfully conducted." + +In the meantime the ships in the Basin, some fifteen in number, +distracted the attention of the French by a heavy cannonade on the +Beauport lines, and the boats made a feint as if an attack were +contemplated; buoys had been laid in such a way as to lead to the idea +that the ships were going to moor as close in as possible as if to +support an assault, and every effort was made to draw attention away from +the movement up above. + +THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM. + +Lieutenant Norman, of the Pembroke, shortly describes the battle in his +log: + +"At 4 A.M. General Wolfe landed just below Cape Diamond with the whole +army. At 8 the signal of Boats man'd and arm'd to go to Point Levi, +weighed and dropped hier up. About 10 the enemy march'd up and attacked +General Wolfe, the action lasted not 10 minutes before the Enemy gave way +and run in the Greatest Confusion and left us a compleat Victuary. Our +Army encamped on the plain a back of the Town and made the necessary +disposition for carrying on ye siege. Admiral Holmes hoisted his flag on +board the Lowestaff, just off the Landing place. In this action fell +General Wolfe, of the enemy General Montcalm and his two seconds." + +Cook does not mention the death of Wolfe, but says "the troops continued +the pursuit to the very gates of the city, afterward they begun to form +the necessary dispositions for carrying on the siege." + +Cook is said by some writers to have piloted the troops to the +landing-place, and has even been set within hearing of the legendary +recitation by Wolfe of Gray's Elegy, but as he was out with the +Pembroke's boats in the Basin at the time Holmes started up the river, +and was probably on his ship, with his hands full driving the +bombardment, and the recital of the Elegy at such a time was probably a +myth, the traditions may be put down to imagination. The boats were +piloted to the landing by Captain Chads of H.M.S. Vesuvius. + +The town having surrendered five days after the battle, the movements +made by Saunders in the Basin no doubt aiding M. de Ramesay, the +Governor, in coming to a decision, General Murray was left with a +garrison, and the fleet sailed for England, sending a detachment of the +Northumberland and six others to Halifax with orders that Captain Lord +Colville was to hoist the Broad Pennant as Commander-in-Chief of the +North American Station, and as soon as the season opened he was to return +to the St. Lawrence to render support to any further movements made in +Canada. + +APPOINTMENT TO H.M.S. NORTHUMBERLAND. + +Before the fleet left, however, Cook's connection with H.M.S. Pembroke +came to an end. Captain King, who was with Cook on his last voyage, +writes to Dr. Douglas that he does not know the exact date of Cook's +appointment to the Northumberland, but he was certainly Master of that +ship in 1758. Here King is in error, for Lieutenant James Norman, of the +Pembroke, has the following entry in his log under date 23rd September +1759: "Mr. Cook, Master, superseded and sent on board the Northumberland, +per order of Admiral Saunders." It has been said that Lord Colville made +this appointment, but of course he could not do so, though he may perhaps +have applied for Cook's services, but it is far more probable that the +appointment was made by Saunders for the special purpose of having the +survey of the St. Lawrence thoroughly well carried out. + + +CHAPTER 4. 1759 TO 1762. H.M.S. NORTHUMBERLAND. + +On the way down the river from Quebec, the fleet appears to have found +the passage very difficult, the dangers of the Channel being aggravated +by the strength of the current and bad weather. The Captain, Vesuvius, +and Royal William were aground for some time, but were ultimately got off +again without much damage; and the Terrible, which was drifting and in +great danger, was only brought up by means of an anchor constructed for +the occasion by lashing one of the quarter-deck guns to two small +anchors. When her large anchors were hauled up they were found to be +broken; and so great was the loss of these articles that Lord Colville +was obliged to press the Admiralty for a fresh supply to be sent out +immediately, as he found it impossible to replace those lost in the +Traverse either at Boston or any other place in America. + +RELIEF OF QUEBEC. + +Colville's squadron arrived in Halifax on 27th October, Cook's +thirty-first birthday, and as soon as the winter was over, and the ships +were cleaned and fitted for sea as well as the limited appliances would +permit, it left for the St. Lawrence, sailing on 22nd April 1760, but was +"so retarded by frozen fogs, seas of compacted ice, and contrary winds," +that it did not arrive off the Ile de Bic before 16th May. Here they were +met by a sloop with the news that Quebec was in urgent need of help. +General Murray, hearing of the approach of General de Levis, with a +French force, had left the shelter of the forts, and notwithstanding he +was greatly outnumbered, had offered battle in the open. He had at first +chosen a strong position, but hearing from spies that the French were +busy cleaning their arms after being caught in a heavy storm the night +before, he advanced upon them, and owing to the sudden attack and the +superiority of his artillery, at first gained a considerable advantage, +but afterwards the weight of numbers told, and the British were forced to +retire to the town with sadly reduced numbers, and Quebec was again +besieged. On receipt of this news Colville pushed on with his squadron, +and the arrival of the Vanguard and Diamond on the 17th, followed by the +Northumberland and the remainder on the next day, caused the French to +retire. + +During the next four months the fleet passed an uneventful time in the +Canadian waters, the flagship being moored in the Basin, and then on the +12th September they received the acceptable news that Montreal and the +rest of the province of New France had surrendered to General Amherst, +and on 10th October the squadron again returned to Halifax to winter +quarters. + +On 19th January 1761, Lord Colville records in his Journal that he had +"directed the storekeeper to pay the Master of the Northumberland, fifty +pounds in consideration of his indefatigable industry in making himself +master of the pilotage of the River St. Lawrence." This is the first +official recognition that has been found of the fact that Cook had gone +beyond the ordinary duties incumbent on every Master in His Majesty's +Service, namely: "To observe all coasts, shoals, and rocks, taking +careful notes of the same." There is no record in any of the official +documents that Cook was specially engaged in surveying the river, but it +is very evident from this entry that he must have done the work during +the four months that his ship was moored in the Basin of Quebec. That is +to say, his promotion to the Northumberland was previous to, and not a +consequence of his survey of the river, and that it was on account of his +fitness for the work, and not because it had been done, as is constantly +asserted, that he had been selected. + +THE NORTH AMERICAN PILOT. + +Admiral Saunders had issued orders the previous year, that the general +instructions of the Admiralty as to taking observations, soundings, and +bearings were to be carefully carried out, and the information obtained +was, as opportunity offered, to be forwarded to him "so that all existing +charts may be corrected and improved." This information, in the ordinary +course, would be handed to Mr. Bissett, the Master of the flagship, for +comparison and compilation, and he, knowing Cook's fitness for the work, +may have asked for his assistance and thus introduced him to the notice +of Saunders, noted for his quick eye for merit, who, seeing his aptitude, +selected him for the completion of the task. Saunders, after his return +to England, wrote to the Secretary of the Admiralty, on 22nd April 1760, +saying that he had, ready for publication, a Draught of the River St. +Lawrence with its harbours, bays, and islands, and asked for their +Lordships' directions thereon. With their Lordships' approval it was +published, and may be found at the end of The North American Pilot, +London, 1775, together with other maps, some of which are Cook's work. At +the commencement of the book is a letter from Cook to the compiler of the +volume, congratulating him on the collection, and referring to the fact +that some of the charts contain his work, but he does not lay claim to +any special ones. On Saunders' chart there is a long note which +concludes: + +"The distances between Isle Coudre and Isle of Orleans, the Pillar Rocks +and Shoals in the south channel were accurately determined by triangles. +The other parts of this chart were taken from the best French Draughts of +this River." + +It is doubtful if this triangulation could have been carried out by Cook +during his passage up and then down the river, the only time he had in +1759, but if it were, it argues much greater knowledge of nautical +surveying than he is generally supposed to have had at the time. + +During the winters that the Northumberland stayed in Halifax Harbour, +Cook employed his spare time in improving his knowledge of all subjects +that were likely to be of service to him in his profession. He read +Euclid for the first time, and entered upon a study of higher +mathematics, especially devoting himself to astronomy. King in his sketch +of Cook's life, says, on the authority of the man himself, that these +studies were carried on "without any other assistance than what a few +books and his own industry afforded him." + +At the opening of the season, Lord Colville dispersed his squadron to +those stations where their services appeared most necessary, and remained +with his ship at Halifax, as it was considered inadvisable to leave such +an important naval post open to attack from the French or the Spaniards. +He had been advised by despatches, dated 26th December 1761, that war had +been declared with the latter nation. During this period of waiting the +words "nothing remarkable" are in constant use in Captain Adams's (the +second Captain of the Northumberland) Journal. Cook utilised this time to +make a thorough survey of Halifax Harbour, the notes of which are now in +the United Service Museum, Whitehall. + +At length the period of inaction was ended. Captain Charles Douglas, +H.M.S. Syren, who was cruising off Cape Race, received information that a +squadron of four French ships of the line, having some 1500 picked troops +on board, had made a descent on Newfoundland, and had captured St. +John's, the capital, which had been most shamefully neglected, and its +garrison reduced to 63 men. The Grammont, 22-gun sloop, was unfortunately +in harbour at the time, and was also taken. Douglas at once pressed two +English merchant vessels into the service, and putting a petty officer in +command of one, the William, and his Master in the other, the Bonetta, +despatched them to cruise in search of Captain Graves, the reappointed +Governor of Newfoundland, who was daily expected from England. The +Bonetta soon fell in with the Antelope, Graves's ship, and she +immediately joined Douglas, and then proceeded to strengthen the Isle of +Boys as far as time would allow. Then going to Placentia, a place of as +much importance as St. John's, and more capable of defence, they set +about making preparations to beat off any attack, leaving a garrison of +99 men and as many marines as could be spared. Graves then despatched +Douglas with the remainder of the Syren's marines to take possession of +Ferryland, and sent the ship herself off with letters to Lord Colville, +but the William having missed the Antelope, made her way to Halifax with +the news of what had occurred. + +RECAPTURE OF ST. JOHN'S. + +Colville at once sent word to General Amherst, Commander-in-Chief in +America, asking him to forward any troops he could spare, and started, +accompanied by the Gosport, and an armed colonial vessel, the King +George, 20 guns, to cruise off the Newfoundland coast in order to prevent +the arrival of French reinforcements or supplies. He met Graves at +Placentia on 14th August, and landed all the marines he could, and then +continued his cruise. Amherst collected every available man from New +York, Halifax, and Louisberg, and putting them under the command of his +brother, Colonel William Amherst, ordered him to use every despatch and +join Lord Colville without delay. This the Colonel succeeded in doing on +12th September off Cape Spear, and the next day they landed at Torbay, +some three leagues north of St. John's. They drove in the French outposts +and took possession of a small harbour named Quidi Vidi, which had been +blocked at the entrance by the French. Clearing away the obstructions +they landed their stores and some artillery, and advancing on St. John's, +compelled its surrender on the 17th. Notwithstanding that, as Captain +Graves reported, "the French had put St. John's in a better state of +defence than ever we had it in." + +On the 16th a strong gale blew the English ship some distance off the +coast, and was followed by a thick fog, during which the French squadron +managed to tow out of the harbour, but were in such a hurry to get away +that they did not stop to pick up their boats and immediately made sail, +being so far out of reach in the morning, that though some of them were +seen by the British, it was not realised that they could be the French +escaping from a squadron inferior in strength. Lord Colville, writing to +the Admiralty, says: + +"At six next morning it being calm with a great swell, we saw from the +masthead, but could not bring them down no lower than halfway to topmast +shrouds, four sail bearing South-South-East, distance 7 leagues. We lost +sight about seven, though very clear, and sometime after a small breeze +springing up from the South-West quarter, I stood towards Torbay in order +to cover the shallops that might be going from thence to Kitty Vitty. In +the afternoon I received a note from Colonel Amherst, acquainting me that +the French fleet got out last night. Thus after being blocked up in St. +John's Harbour for three weeks by a squadron of equal number, but smaller +ships with fewer guns and men, M. de Ternay made his escape in the night +by a shameful flight. I beg leave to observe that not a man in the +squadron imagined the four sail, when we saw them, were the enemy; and +the pilots were of opinion that they must have had the wind much stronger +than with us to overcome the easterly swell in the harbour's mouth. I +sent the King George as far as Trepassy, to bring me intelligence if the +enemy should steer towards Placentia; and I directed Captain Douglas of +the Syren to get the transports moved from Torbay, a very unsafe road, to +the Bay of Bulls." + +As soon as information was received in England that an expedition had +been sent from France, the Admiralty despatched a squadron under Captain +Pallisser in pursuit, and as it arrived in St. John's only four days +after M. de Ternay left, they must have been very close to a meeting. + +COOK MEETS COOK. + +Whilst the movements leading up to the recapture of St. John's were being +carried on, communication between Colville and Amherst was kept up by the +boats of the fleet under the charge of the third lieutenant of H.M.S. +Gosport, Mr. James Cook, formerly Master of H.M.S. Mercury, who performed +this duty to the complete satisfaction of Lord Colville as signified in +his despatches to the Admiralty. It is certain, therefore, that the two +namesakes must have come face to face here, and most probably previously +in Halifax Harbour. + +Entering St. John's Harbour on 19th September, the flagship remained till +7th October, during which time Cook was very busily employed in assisting +to place the island in a better state of defence. In a despatch of Lord +Colville's, dated "Spithead, 25th October 1762," he says: + +"I have mentioned in another letter, that the fortifications on the +Island of Carbonera were entirely destroyed by the enemy. Colonel Amherst +sent thither Mr. Desbarres, an engineer, who surveyed the island and drew +a plan for fortifying it with new works: when these are finished the +Enterprise's six guns will be ready to mount on them. But I believe +nothing will be undertaken this year, as the season is so far advanced, +and no kind of materials on the spot for building barracks or sheds for +covering the men, should any be sent there. Mr. Cook, Master of the +Northumberland, accompanied Mr. Desbarres. He has made a draught of +Harbour Grace and the Bay of Carbonera, both of which are in a great +measure commanded by the Island, which lies off a point of land between +them. Hitherto we have had a very imperfect knowledge of these places, +but Mr. Cook, who was particularly careful in sounding them, has +discovered that ships of any size may lie in safety both in Harbour Grace +and the Bay of Carbonera." + +Mr. Desbarres's design for the fortification of Carbonera, drawn by John +Chamberlain, dated 7th April 1763, is to be found in the British Museum; +he was afterwards Governor of Cape Breton. + +On the return of the Northumberland to Spithead, where she arrived on +24th October, her Master, James Cook, was discharged, the Muster Roll +merely noting "superseded" on 11th November, and the pay sheet records +the deductions from his wages as: "Chest, 2 pounds 1 shilling 0 pence; +Hospital, 1 pound 0 shillings 6 pence. Threepence in the pound, 3 pounds +14 shillings 9 pence," leaving a balance due of 291 pounds 19 shillings 3 +pence. He also received from Lord Colville for the Secretary to the +Admiralty the following letter which shows the estimation he was held in +by his immediate superiors, and would doubtless be of weight when the +appointment of a man to execute greater undertakings came under the +consideration of their Lordships. + +London, 30th December 1762. + +Sir, + +Mr. Cook, late Master of the Northumberland, acquaints me that he has +laid before their Lordships all his draughts and observations relating to +the River St. Lawrence, part of the coast of Nova Scotia, and of +Newfoundland. + +On this occasion I beg to inform their Lordships that from my experience +of Mr. Cook's genius and capacity, I think him well qualified for the +work he has performed and for greater undertakings of the same kind. +These draughts being made under my own eye, I can venture to say they may +be the means of directing many in the right way, but cannot mislead any. + +I am, sir, your most obedient and most humble servant, + +Colville. + +MARRIAGE. + +Before the close of the year Cook took upon himself further +responsibilities as set forth in the following extract from the register +of St. Margaret's Church, Barking, Essex: + +"James Cook of ye Parish of St. Paul, Shadwell, in ye County of +Middlesex, Bachelor, and Elizabeth Batts, of ye parish of Barking in ye +County of Essex, Spinster, were married in this Church by ye Archbishop +of Canterbury's Licence, this 21st day of December, one thousand seven +hundred and sixty-two, by George Downing, Vicar of Little Wakering, +Essex." + +Besant, who obtained his information from Mrs. Cook's second cousin, the +late Canon Bennett, who as a boy knew her well, speaks most highly of her +mental qualities and personal appearance, and says the union appears to +have been a very happy one. It covered a period of about sixteen years; +but taking into consideration the times he was away on duty, sometimes +for long periods, Cook's home life in reality only extended to a little +more than four years, and Mrs. Cook must often have been months, +sometimes years, without even hearing of the existence of her husband. +Her family were fairly well-to-do; her grandfather, Mr. Charles Smith, +was a currier in Bermondsey; her cousin, also Charles Smith, was a +clockmaker of repute in Bunhill Row. Her mother, Mary Smith, married +first John Batts of Wapping, and secondly, John Blackburn of Shadwell. +Miss Batts is described as of Barking in the Marriage Register, so may +perhaps have been living with relations there, and may have met Cook when +on a visit to her mother in Shadwell, where he was residing. The +engagement must have been very short, for from the time of his joining +the Navy in 1755 to his return from Newfoundland in 1762, his leave on +shore had been very limited, and, with the exception perhaps of a day or +two between leaving the Eagle and joining the Solebay, and again when +leaving the latter ship for the Pembroke, none of his time was spent in +London. There is a story that he was godfather to his wife, and at her +baptism vowed to marry her, but as at that time, 1741, Cook was assisting +his father on Airy Holme Farm, the tale is too absurd, but has for all +that been repeatedly published. + +After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cook lived for a time in Shadwell, and +then removed to Mile End Old Town, where Cook purchased a house, which +was their home till after his death. This house, which he left to his +wife, has been identified as Number 88 Mile End Road, and a tablet has +been placed on the front to mark the fact. + + +CHAPTER 5. 1763 TO 1767. NEWFOUNDLAND. + +The commission as Governor of Newfoundland, which now included Labrador +from Hudson's Straits to the St. John's River, the island of Anticosti, +the islands off the Labrador coast, and the Madelines in the Gulf of St. +Lawrence, had again been conferred on Captain (afterwards Admiral Lord) +Graves. He had early recognised the fact that it was necessary to have a +thorough survey of the coasts of his territory, and therefore made an +application to the Board of Trade to have the one commenced as far back +as 1714 by Captain Taverner, but only carried on in a desultory fashion, +put in hand and completed as quickly as possible. This application +resulted in a Representation from the Board to His Majesty, dated 29th +March 1763, to be found in the Shelbourne manuscripts, asking that an +allowance should be made for the purpose. + +Graves had seen during the previous year the work done by Cook at Harbour +Grace and Carbonera, and had evidently made up his mind that he had found +the man for his purpose, in which opinion he would be backed up by +Colville and further supported by the favourable knowledge that the +Admiralty had of his work. The Representation was immediately acted on, +for in the Records Office is a hurried note from Graves to Mr. Stephens, +Secretary to the Admiralty, probably written on the 5th April, in which +he asks: + +"what final answer he shall give to Mr. Cook, late Master of the +Northumberland, who is very willing to go out to survey the Harbours and +Coasts of Labradore." + +A draughtsman is also mentioned, and one is recommended who was on the +Bellona and was willing to go out, ranking as schoolmaster; he did join +Cook after a time. On 6th April Graves again wrote to Stephens, telling +him he had instructed Cook to get ready to start as soon as the Board +gave him orders, and that he was to have ten shillings per diem whilst +employed on that service. He also says that Cook had been to the Tower to +try to secure a draughtsman, and towards the end of the letter applies +for the instruments necessary to carry on the operations. Graves was +hurriedly called away to his ship, the Antelope, as the spirit of +discontent, then very rife in the Navy, was developing itself in a very +threatening manner during his absence. However, on his arrival on board, +by judicious reforms, which he saw were carried out, and by quietly +replacing some few of the most dangerous of the malcontents, he was very +shortly able to report himself ready for sea with a complete and fairly +contented crew. + +On 15th April he writes to Stephens asking if there was "any change of +resolution taken about Mr. Cook, the Master, and an assistant for him, +and whether they are to go out with me?" On the 18th he writes again, +saying that when in London he had been informed that he was to receive +orders to purchase two small vessels of about 60 tons each when he +arrived in Newfoundland, one of which he was "to send with Mr. Cook upon +the surveys of the coast and harbours," but he was afraid the orders had +been forgotten, and he again makes suggestions as to instruments, etc., +required for the work. Cook had at the same time made application in +proper form for the articles he would require, and was informed that some +would be supplied to him from the Government Stores, and for the +remainder, he was to purchase them and transmit the bills to their +Lordships. + +COOK'S SAILING ORDERS. + +On 19th April Cook received his orders as follows: + +Sir, + +My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, having directed Captain Graves, +of His Majesty's Ship, the Antelope, at Portsmouth, to receive you on +board and carry you to Newfoundland in order to your taking a Survey of +Part of the Coast and Harbours of that Island. I am commanded by their +Lordships to acquaint you therewith: that you must repair immediately on +board the said ship, she being under sailing orders, that you are to +follow such orders as you shall receive from Captain Graves relative to +the said service and that you will be allowed ten shillings a day during +the time you are employed therein. + +I am, etc. etc., PHILLIP STEPHENS. + +Mr. James Cook, ---- Town. + +Mr. William Test, Tower, to be paid 6 shillings per day. + +On 8th May Graves acknowledged the receipt of the orders he had asked +for, authorising him to purchase two small vessels, and announced that +Mr. Cook had joined the ship, but that the assistant, Mr. Test, had not +been heard of; he therefore proposed that he should endeavour to obtain +someone else to fill the vacancy. Mr. Stephens replied that a difficulty +had arisen with the Board of Ordnance with regard to Mr. Test's pay; they +were not inclined to continue it during his absence as they would have to +put some one else in his place, and since hearing this, as the Admiralty +had heard nothing further from Mr. Test, Captain Graves was authorised to +fill the vacancy at a suitable allowance, and he at once secured the +services of Mr. Edward Smart, who sailed from Plymouth in H.M.S. Spy, and +joined Cook in Newfoundland. + +In this letter Graves also says that he intends to start Cook on the +survey of St. Pierre and Miquelon as they had to be handed over to the +French under treaty, whilst he should make some stay upon the coast in +order to afford proper time for survey before they had to be surrendered. +The possession of these islands carried with it certain fishing and +curing rights conferred by the Treaty of Utrecht and confirmed by that of +Paris, and the possession of the islands and rights have been a continual +cause of irritation to the fishermen of both nations till lately, but now +the differences have been satisfactorily settled. It is said that the +Earl of Bute was the cause of the inclusion of the clause concerning +these islands in the Treaty, and that he received the sum of 300,000 +pounds for permitting it to stand. It was specially stipulated that the +islands were not to be fortified, and the number of the garrison was to +be strictly limited to a number sufficient for police duty alone; but +from the very commencement of the peace, it was one continual struggle to +evade the terms by one side, and to enforce them by the other, without +coming to an actual rupture. + +JUDICIOUS PROCRASTINATION. + +According to his expressed intention, Captain Graves, on arriving at St. +John's, despatched Captain Charles Douglas in the Tweed to superintend +the removal of the British settlers from the two islands, and Cook +accompanied him with orders to press on the survey as rapidly as possible +in order that it might be completed before the arrival of the French. +Unfortunately, M. d'Anjac, who was charged with the duty of receiving the +islands on behalf of the French king, arrived on the same day as the +Tweed, off the islands. Captain Douglas refused to permit the French to +land until the islands had been formally handed over by his superior +officer, and by a little judicious procrastination in communicating with +Captain Graves, and persistent energy on the part of Cook in conducting +the survey, sufficient time was gained to complete it. Graves writes to +the Admiralty on 20th October 1763: + +"Meanwhile the survey went on with all possible application on the part +of Mr. Cook. At length, Monsieur d'Anjac's patience being quite +exhausted, I received a letter from him on the 30th of June, of which I +enclose a copy together with my answer returned the same day. This +conveyance brought me a letter from Captain Douglas, expressing his +uneasiness on the part of Monsieur d'Anjac and pressing to receive his +final instructions, and at the same time gave me the satisfaction to +learn St. Peter's was completely surveyed, Miquelon begun upon and +advanced so as to expect it would be finished before the French could be +put in possession: so that any interruption from them was no longer to be +apprehended." + +In a paper amongst the Shelbourne manuscripts, said to be an extract from +a Journal of Cook's, there is a short description of these islands, and +it conveys the impression that the writer looked upon them as absolutely +worthless as either naval or military stations, but for all that Captain +Graves's successor, Pallisser, was kept continually on the alert to +defeat the efforts of the French to strengthen their position. + +THE KING'S SURVEYOR. + +After the official surrender of these islands, Cook was engaged in +surveying different places which the Admiralty had specially marked out, +and was borne on the books of either the Antelope or Tweed as might be +convenient. He is to be found on the latter ship, entered "for victuals +only," as "Mr. James Cook, Engineer, and Retinue." As the dates in the +two ships often run over each other it is somewhat difficult to place +him, but he was certainly in the neighbourhood of St. John's for some two +months, and on 5th November he was discharged from the Antelope into the +Tweed, together with Mr. Smart, for the passage to England, where he +remained till the spring of the following year. On 4th January the +Admiralty authorised the payment up to the end of the previous year of +the allowances of 10 shillings and 6 shillings per day, respectively, to +Mr. Cook and Mr. Smart. This allowance of 10 shillings per day was the +same as that made to the Commander of a Squadron, so, from a financial +point of view, Cook's position must be considered one of importance. It +was apparently superior to that of a Master surveying under the +directions of the Governor, for in a report that Captain Pallisser, when +Governor of Newfoundland, gives of an interview between the French +Ambassador and himself in London in 1767, on the subject of the +fisheries, he says he produced Cook's chart, and decided the question of +the rights of France to the use of Belle Isle for fishing purposes +against the Ambassador by its means, and he speaks of Cook officially as +the King's Surveyor. + +Pallisser was appointed to succeed Graves as Governor in 1764, and at +once set aside the schooner Grenville, which Graves had used as a +despatch boat for the sole use of the survey party. She had been manned +from the ships on the station, but Pallisser wrote to the Admiralty on +the subject, and the Navy Board were instructed to establish her with a +proper person to take command of her, and a complement of men sufficient +to navigate her to England when the surveying season was over, in order +that she might be refitted and sent out early in the spring, instead of +being laid up in St. John's and waiting for stores from England, "whereby +a great deal of time is lost." The establishment was to consist of ten +men, i.e. a Master, a Master's mate, one Master's servant, and seven men. +The Master and mate were to receive the pay of a sixth rate, and the +former was "to be charged with the provisions and stores which shall be +supplied to the schooner from time to time, and to pass regular accounts +for the same." On 2nd May Stephens wrote to Pallisser that Cook was +appointed Master of the Grenville, and as soon as the season was over he +was to be ordered to Portsmouth, and on arrival to transmit his Charts +and Draughts to the Admiralty. On receipt of this letter Pallisser wrote +to Cook, and this communication, together with autograph copies of +letters written by Cook having reference to the Grenville, a receipt for +her husband's pay, signed by Mrs. Cook, and some other papers of interest +relating to his voyages, are now in the hands of Mr. Alexander Turnbull, +of Wellington, New Zealand. + +It would appear that it was at this time that the friendship between +Pallisser and Cook really commenced, for previously there can have been +no opportunity for the former to have known anything of Cook's +personality. A Captain of a man-of-war saw nothing of a Master's mate, +and knew nothing of him except whether he did his duty or not, and that +only through the Master's report. In this particular case, as soon as his +attention was called to him by outside influence, Cook was withdrawn from +his knowledge, and when they again came in contact had already made his +mark. Had they been on the very friendly terms that Kippis suggests, it +is unlikely that he would have made so many incorrect statements as to +Cook's early career in the Navy. + +On 23rd April Cook received his orders, and was told at the same time +that as he had expressed a doubt about being able to get suitable men in +Portsmouth, he would be provided with conduct money and free carriage of +chests and bedding for those he could raise in London, and they should be +transferred to Portsmouth in the Trent. Mr. William Parker was appointed +Master's mate, and the whole crew left Portsmouth on 7th May in H.M.S. +Lark, arriving in St. John's on the 14th June. They took possession of +their ship on the same day, and the first entry in the Grenville's log +runs as follows: + +"June 14th, 1764, St. John's, Newfoundland. The first and middle parts +moderate and hazy Weather, the Later foggy. At 1 P.M. His Majesty's Ship +the Lark anchored here from England, on board of which came the Master +and the company of this Schooner. Went on board and took possession of +Her. Read over to the crew the Master's Warrant, Articles of War, and +Abstract of the late Act of Parliament." + +ACCIDENT TO HAND. + +After getting the guns and stores on board, and fitting the ship for her +new duties, they left St. John's on 4th July for the north. A base line +was laid out at Noddy's Harbour, and the latitude of Cape Norman was +found to be 51 degrees 39 minutes North; soundings were taken every mile. +On 3rd August Cook left the ship in the cutter to continue his work, but +having met with a nasty accident he had to return on the 6th. It seems he +had a large powder horn in his hand, when, by some means not stated, the +powder ignited, and the horn "was blown up and burst in his hand, which +shattered it in a terrible manner, and one of the people which was hard +by suffered greatly by the same accident." The Grenville left at once for +Noddy's Harbour, where there was a French ship which had a doctor on +board, arriving there at eleven o'clock, was able to secure some sort of +medical assistance, though probably in the eye of a modern medical man, +of a very rough nature. At that time surgery, especially on board ship, +was very heroic; a glass of spirits the only anodyne, and boiling pitch +the most reliable styptic. + +In reference to this accident the Lords of the Admiralty wrote to Lord +Halifax, quoting a letter they had received from Captain Pallisser, dated +14th November 1764: + +"Mr. Cook, the surveyor, has returned. The accident to him was not so bad +as it was represented. Nor had it interrupted his survey so much as he +(Captain Pallisser) expected. He continued on the coast as long as the +season would permit, and has executed his survey in a manner which, he +has no doubt, will be satisfactory to their Lordships. I have ordered him +to proceed to Woolwich to refit his vessel for the next season, and to +lay before the Board, Draughts of his surveys with all his remarks and +observations that may be useful to Trade and Navigation in those parts." + +Pallisser did not see Cook till some time after the accident, when the +worst was over, and it is quite in keeping with Cook's character to +minimise his sufferings, and to insist on the work being kept going as +far as possible. The surgeon, Mr. Samwell, relates that after the murder +at Owhyee they were enabled to identify his hand by the scar which he +describes as "dividing the thumb from the fingers the whole length of the +metacarpal bones." Whilst Cook was laid up with his hand, and Mr. Parker +was engaged with the survey, some of the men were employed brewing, and +either the brew was stronger than usual or, the officer's eye being off +them, they indulged too freely, for on 20th August it is noted that three +men were confined to the deck for drunkenness and mutinous conduct, and +the next day the ringleader was punished by being made to "run the +Gantelope." + +Early in September, being then in the Bay of St. Genevieve, Cook went +ashore for six days and ran roughly the course of several small rivers, +noting the chief landmarks, and then on their way back to St. John's, off +Point Ferrol, their small boat was dashed to pieces on a ledge of rock, +and its occupants were saved with great difficulty by the cutter which by +great good fortune happened to be near at the time. They returned to +England for the winter, and crossing the Banks, a series of soundings +were made and the nature of the bottom carefully noted. + +When Cook arrived at Woolwich, he pointed out to their Lordships that the +completion of his charts would entail his being absent from his ship, and +he would be unable to supervise everything that had to be done on board, +he therefore suggested that she should be sent to Deptford yard. This was +at once agreed to, and Cook was able to devote his whole time to his +charts. His own work had to be supplemented by the observations made by +six men-of-war stationed in Newfoundland waters as their commanding +officers had received special instructions to take ample soundings and +careful observations, and to make charts which were to be sent to Captain +Pallisser, who was informed that he would be held responsible if these +orders were not carried out in their entirety. It is very certain that an +order so emphatically enforced on his notice would not be permitted to +remain a dead letter. + +GRENVILLE'S RIG CHANGED. + +Whilst at Deptford, the rig of the Grenville was altered from schooner to +brig, as Cook thought that her sailing qualities would be improved by the +change, and she also received a thorough overhaul. In the previous year +her armament had been supplied from the flagship, and of course had to be +returned, so now she was established with "6 swivel guns, 12 Musquets, +and powder and shot" of her own, and her crew was augmented to twenty, +including a midshipman and a carpenter's mate, paid as on board a sixth +rate. Isaac Smith, Mrs. Cook's cousin, afterwards Admiral, who lived with +her at Clapham, was the midshipman. On 25th March 1765 the Grenville +again left for Newfoundland, arriving at St. Lawrence Harbour on 2nd June +to recommence her work. On 14th July, whilst "moored in a bay by Great +Garnish, we picked up two men who had been lost in the woods for near a +month. They came from Barin, intending to go to St. Lawrence Harbour, and +were almost perishing for want of subsistence." Going into Long Harbour, +23rd July, the Grenville ran on a rock and remained so fast that she had +to be unloaded before she could be floated off the next day, when she was +found to have suffered considerable damage to her forefoot. + +From the log of the Grenville it appears that the survey was not carried +out continuously, and this may be accounted for by the fact that the +Governor was being called upon to settle disputes with the French +fishermen, who were only too apt to place the broadest construction on +the treaty rights accorded to them. It is very possible that Cook, during +this year, rendered assistance to Captains Debbieg and Bassett, +engineers, who were engaged in surveying important points and harbours +with a view to fortification, and Pallisser had been instructed to give +them every help. There is no positive record that Cook did assist, but +his ship was several times engaged near where they were at work, and it +seems very reasonable to suppose that he worked with them, especially as +such work might be very important to both parties. + +Cook returned to Spithead on 30th November, and from thence to Deptford +for the winter, and in February obtained permission from the Admiralty to +publish the charts he had completed; Captain Pallisser, who made the +application, said he was of opinion that they "would be of great +encouragement to new adventurers on the fisheries upon those coasts." + +ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. + +He again left Deptford on 20th April 1766, and arrived at Bon Bon Bay, +1st June, to survey the south-west and south coasts. At the Burgeo +Islands, near Cape Ray, which were reached on 24th July, Cook was able to +take an observation of an eclipse of the sun occurring on 5th August. On +his return to England at the end of the year, he handed the results of +his observations to Dr. Bevis, a prominent Fellow of the Royal Society, +who communicated them to that body on 30th April 1767, and the account is +to be found in the Philosophical Transactions of that year. Dr. Bevis +describes Cook as "a good mathematician, and very expert at his +business," and says he was supplied with very good instruments; that +there were three observers "with good telescopes, who all agreed as to +the moment of beginning and ending"; that he had shown Cook's results to +Mr. George Mitchell, who had calculated therefrom the difference of +longitude between the Burgeo Islands and Oxford, where another good +observation had been taken. + +Cook makes no reference to the eclipse in the log of the Grenville, but +it appears that he was peculiarly lucky in the weather, for the five days +preceding are described as "foggy," and the four or five succeeding are +"raining with squalls." This observation was a most fortunate one for +Cook, as it brought him to the favourable notice of the Royal Society, a +body of eminent men, outside his own profession, which was able, soon +after, to advance his interests, and in course of time to admit him into +its own ranks as an ornament of which it is still proud. + +On 4th November the Grenville left St. John's for winter quarters at +Deptford, and the log ends on 24th November, "Dungeness light North-East +by East 2 miles." Mr. Parker, his assistant, was promoted to a +lieutenancy, and Mr. Michael Lane, who was mentioned for the post by +Captain Graves in 1763, and who was now schoolmaster on the Guernsey, was +appointed in his place. + +On 5th April 1767 the Grenville had completed her refit, warped out of +dock, and was at anchor waiting for the tide to turn in order to drop +down to Woolwich, when the Three Sisters, a Sunderland collier, Thomas +Boyd, Master, "fell athwart her hawse and carried away her bowsprit, cap, +and jibboom," which had to be replaced. The story is that this accident +happened to the Endeavour, and that Mr. Cook, who was naturally very +indignant, sent for the offending Master of the collier to give him a +sound rating for running foul of one of His Majesty's ships; but when he +found himself face to face with an old schoolfellow of the Ayton days, he +took him down into his cabin, treated him to the best he had on board, +and spent a good time with him talking over the old days when they were +boys together. From Cook's character the story may well be true, +excepting it has been applied to the wrong ship. + +When the repairs were executed the Grenville sailed for Newfoundland, +arriving off Cape Race on 9th May, and Cook at once set to work on the +survey of the west coast. He landed in September at the mouth of the +Humber, and made a rapid examination of that river, discovering several +lakes, and getting a good general idea of that part of the island. He +returned to St. John's for the last time on 14th October, having +practically completed the survey of the general run of the coast, and +added very considerably to the knowledge of some of the interior parts of +the island. In 1762 a map was published, compiled from the very latest +information, and on it is the note: "The inland parts of this island are +entirely unknown." Cook is said to have discovered valuable seams of +coal, but there is no note of anything of the kind amongst his records. + +THE GRENVILLE ASHORE. + +He sailed for England on 23rd October, and anchored off the Nore in very +heavy weather on 11th November. It was soon found that the anchors would +not hold, and at length one parted and the ship "trailed into shallow +water, striking hard." After a while she again struck heavily, and "lay +down on her larboard bilge." As there seemed no prospect of the gale +moderating, everything was made as snug as time would allow, and, putting +his crew into the boats, Cook made for Sheerness. The weather at length +improved, so obtaining assistance he returned and found that fortunately +his ship had sustained very little damage, and the next day he +successfully floated her, and got her up to Deptford yards on the +following Sunday, and then Cook was able to set to work on his charts. On +3rd February, Pallisser wrote to Mr. Stephens asking him to obtain +permission from the Lords to publish, and at once obtained the necessary +authority. + +Some of these charts had been published in 1766, and now the complete +series appeared with sailing directions for the south and east coasts of +the islands. Admiral Sir W.J.L. Wharton, the late hydrographer to the +Admiralty, says: + +"The Charts he made during these years in the schooner Grenville were +admirable. The best proof of their excellence is that they are not yet +wholly superseded by the more detailed surveys of modern times. Like all +first surveys of a practically unknown shore, and especially when that +shore abounds in rocks and shoals, and is much indented with bays and +creeks, they are imperfect in the sense of having many omissions; but +when the amount of the ground covered, and the impediments of fogs and +bad weather on that coast is considered, and that Cook had at the most +only one assistant, their accuracy is truly astonishing." + +On the publication of his charts, Cook's connection with Newfoundland was +concluded, and on 12th April 1768 Mr. Lane was "appointed to act as +Master of the brig Grenville, and surveyor of the coasts of Newfoundland +and Labrador in the absence of Mr. Cook, who is to be employed +elsewhere." Mr. Lane was to be paid an allowance of five shillings per +day over and above his pay as Master of a sixth rate. Cook and he were +paid their allowances up to 31st December 1767, and on 17th June the Navy +Board were ordered to complete Cook's allowance up to 12th April. From +the wording of Mr. Lane's appointment it would appear that the surveyor's +position was to be left open for Cook if it was thought desirable for him +to resume it. + + +CHAPTER 6. 1768. PREPARATIONS FOR FIRST VOYAGE. + +Till a few years ago writers on the subject were content to draw their +information as to the first voyage of Cook to the South Seas from the +so-called history of Dr. Hawkesworth. This gentleman, who posed as a +stylist (Boswell calls him a "studious imitator of Dr. Johnson"), was +introduced by Dr. Charles Burney to Lord Sandwich for the express purpose +of writing an account of the expedition, and was supplied with all the +records in the possession of the Admiralty relating to it, he had access +to the Journal of Sir Joseph Banks, the Notes of Dr. Solander and others +who accompanied Cook, and, more than all, he had the opportunity of +personal communication with the leaders of the party. Notwithstanding +these advantages he interpolated so much of his own speculations, +conclusions, and dissertations, as to render his voluminous work not only +extremely unreliable but often extremely ridiculous. Travellers to the +South Seas record that the accounts of things and places described as +seen by Cook are remarkably correct, but that the inferences drawn are +wrong. They do not realise that the statements of fact are Cook's, whilst +the deductions and ornamentations are Hawkesworth's, and were strongly +resented by Cook. Boswell relates that he told Johnson that he had met +Captain Cook at dinner at Sir John Pringle's (then President of the Royal +Society), and gave him an account of a conversation they had together. +Johnson: + +"was much pleased with the conscientious accuracy of that celebrated +circumnavigator, who set me right as to many of the exaggerated accounts +given by Dr. Hawkesworth of his voyages." + +Cook's opinion on the subject may be seen from his determination to +prepare his Journals for the press himself in the future. + +Within the last few years the Journal of the Endeavour has been published +under the able supervision of the late Admiral Sir W.J.L. Wharton, and +the Journal of Sir Joseph Banks, which was missing for a long time, has +been recovered and published by Sir Joseph Hooker; and these two books +may be preferred with safety over all others that have been written on +the subject. + +MEMORIAL TO THE KING. + +It had been calculated that a Transit of Venus would occur in 1769, +observations of which would be of great importance to astronomical +science, and several of the European nations, notably Russia, were +intending to establish points of observation. The Royal Society decided +that as England had hitherto taken a lead in astronomy, she should not +now fall behind, and appointed a committee to report on the places where +it would be desirable to take observations, the methods to be pursued, +and the persons best fitted to carry out the work. This committee advised +that two observers should be sent to Hudson's Bay, two to the South +Pacific and, if Sweden did not send there, two to the North Cape. They +also advised that the Government should be asked to supply a ship to +convey the party to some island to be decided on in the South Seas, and +several gentlemen were suggested as observers, Mr. Maskelyne, President +of the Society, especially recommending Mr. Dalrymple as "a proper person +to send to the South Seas, having a particular turn for discoveries, and +being an able navigator and well skilled in observation." Mr. Maskelyne +estimated the voyage would take about two years, and that a sum of ten +shillings and six pence per day would be a reasonable allowance for +expenses, together with a gratuity the amount of which was to be settled +hereafter. A Memorial on the subject was prepared and forwarded to the +King, setting forth that as a Transit of Venus over the Sun's disc was +expected to occur, and that other nations were intending to take +observations thereof in the interests of navigation, it would be +desirable that as the British Nation had been justly celebrated for its +knowledge of Astronomy, and an Englishman, Mr. Jeremiah Horrox, had been +the first person who calculated the passage of the planet over the sun, +in 1639, the Government should support the Royal Society in its attempt +to take a proper position in the matter, by a grant of money and a ship +to take a party to the South Seas. Four thousand pounds was the sum +named, and on 24th March the President was able to inform the Council +that the King had been pleased to order that it should be placed in his +hands, "clear of fees," for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the +expedition. In the end, after paying all accounts, there was a +considerable balance left, which the King placed at the disposal of the +Society, and a portion of it was expended on the bust of His Majesty, by +Nollekins, now in its possession. + +The gentlemen whose names had been suggested as observers were asked to +appear before the Council if they were willing to accept the position, +and Mr. Dalrymple wrote in reply to say there was only one part of the +world where he would go to take observations, that was the South Seas, +and he would only go if he had "the management of the ship intended for +the service." Mr. Maskelyne told the Council he had recommended Mr. +Dalrymple to the Admiralty for the command of the ship, the use of which +had been granted, but had been informed that such an appointment would be +"entirely repugnant to the regulations of the Navy." It is said that Sir +Edward Hawke, having in his mind the disastrous result of giving Halley +the command of a King's ship in 1698, when a serious mutiny occurred, +positively refused to sign such a commission, saying that he would +"rather cut off his right hand than permit any one but a King's officer +to command one of the ships of His Majesty's Navy." + +Dalrymple, originally a clerk in the East India Company's service, had +spent some years trading amongst the islands of the Malay Archipelago and +China, returned to England and published a couple of pamphlets on the +East Indies, and in 1767 a book on the discoveries in the South Pacific +Ocean, which brought him to the notice of the Royal Society. He was +afterwards for a time hydrographer to the East India Company, and was +then appointed the first hydrographer to the Admiralty. He was dismissed +from this position for exceeding his powers, and soon afterwards died. He +appears to have been a clever man, but of an extremely overbearing +disposition and a very high opinion of himself. In writing to Dr. +Hawkesworth on one occasion, he said: "I never write on any subject I do +not thoroughly understand." What makes the remark more interesting is +that he was quite in the wrong on the subject under discussion. He +appears never to have forgiven Cook for having been successful in +obtaining the command of the expedition to observe the Transit of Venus, +and for completely upsetting his pet theory of a large continent in the +Southern Ocean. + +PURCHASE OF THE ENDEAVOUR. + +The Navy Board, having been ordered by the Admiralty to propose a proper +vessel to convey the observers to the South Seas, first suggested the +Tryal Sloop, and then the Rose, but both being found unsuitable they were +ordered to purchase one. On 29th March the Board wrote to Stephens that +they had bought: + +"a cat-built Bark, in Burthen 368 Tuns and of the age of three years and +nine months, for conveying such persons as shall be thought proper to the +Southward..." + +At the same time, instructions were sought as to fitting and arming her +for the service, and as to the name under with she was to be registered +on the list of the Navy. A cat-built ship is described in the +Encyclopaedias as one with round bluff bows, a wide deep waist, and +tapering towards the stern. The name is derived from the Norwegian kati, +a ship. + +The cat-built bark, the now immortal Endeavour, was built by Messrs. +Fishburn of Whitby, and owned by Mr. William Milner of that port. Dr. +Young says that her original name was the Earl of Pembroke, but Sir Evan +Macgregor wrote to Mr. Waddington in 1888 that she was purchased "under +the name of the Endeavour, and was entered as a barque." The Warrant +Entry Book from Board of Trade proves that Dr. Young was right, as the +following entries will show: + +"Deptford, March 23rd 1768. Two cats called the Valentine and the Earl of +Pembroke to be surveyed and report which is the properest to be +purchased." + +"Deptford, March 28th 1768. Ship Earl of Pembroke to be received." + +"Deptford, April 7th 1768. Ship purchased to be sheathed, filled, and +fitted for a voyage to the southward. To be called The Endeavour Bark." + +From the Records of the Survey Office, List of H.M. Navy, 1771 to 1776, +it has been ascertained that her price was 2,800 pounds, and the cost of +fitting her for the voyage was 2,294 pounds. The reason she was named +officially either the Bark Endeavour or Endeavour Bark, was that there +was another Endeavour in the Navy, stationed at that time at the Nore. +Kippis says that Pallisser was entrusted with the selection of the ship, +and that he called on Cook for assistance in the matter, and the fact +that a Whitby-built ship was chosen, of a kind in which Cook had had +considerable experience, adds to the probability of his statement. +Dalrymple enters a claim, in letters to Dr. Hawkesworth, to having chosen +the Endeavour for the voyage, but as she was not ordered to be surveyed, +with a view to purchase, till 23rd March, when it was well-known the +Admiralty had refused to allow him the command of the expedition, there +is little force in his claim. + +COPPER SHEATHING. + +Admiral Wharton assumes that as Cook expresses himself averse from having +exploring ships sheathed in copper, owing to the difficulty of making +repairs in case of accident far from proper facilities, and from the +frequent mention of "heeling and boot-topping" in the Journal of the +Endeavour, it is most probable that she was sheathed in wood. This +assumption is correct, for there is no mention of copper sheathing in the +Surveyor's books, nor at the time of her being repaired at the Endeavour +River, nor at Batavia, when it is impossible that any account of her +damaged bottom could be given without the mention of copper if any such +sheathing had been used. The Naval Chronicle says the first ship of the +Royal Navy to be sheathed with copper was the Alarm frigate in 1758; and +it is also said that the Dolphin, the ship in which Captain Wallis sailed +round the world, was the only coppered ship in the service at this time, +and she remained the only one for some years. + +On 5th May, at a Council Meeting of the Royal Society, Captain John +Campbell, R.N., proposed that Cook, who was in attendance, and had been +appointed by the Admiralty to the command of the Endeavour, was a fit and +proper person to be one of the observers for the Society in the Southern +Seas. Cook was called in, and accepted the position in consideration of +such a gratuity as the Society should think proper, and an allowance of +120 pounds per year "for victualling himself and another observer in +every particular." Mr. Green was also called in, and accepted the place +as the other observer for the gratuity of 200 guineas for the two years +the voyage was expected to take, and at the rate of 100 guineas a year +afterwards. A list of the instruments to be supplied by the Society was +also prepared at the same meeting, and the workmen engaged on them were +ordered to show them to Messrs. Green and Cook, and give any desired +information. A portable observatory, said to have been designed by +Smeaton, the builder of the Eddystone Lighthouse, framed of wood and +covered with canvas, was also prepared. Mr. Maskelyne, knowing the value +of a good watch when observing for longitude, lent the Society one of his +own, made by Graham, to be entrusted to Mr. Green, and it was signed for +with the other instruments supplied. Chronometers, of course, at that +time were in process of evolution, several makers were endeavouring to +gain the prize which had been offered for a reliable timekeeper. Shortly +after, at a second meeting, Cook agreed to accept a gratuity from the +Society of 100 guineas for taking the observations, and was paid 120 +pounds sustenance money for Mr. Green and himself, with authority to draw +on the Society during the voyage for a further amount not exceeding 120 +pounds. + +In the Commissions and Warrants Book, under date 26th May 1768, appears +the following entry: + +MR. JAMES COOK (2nd) 1st Lieutenant Endeavour Bark. E.H., C.T., C.S. + +The initials signify Edward Hawke, Charles Townshend, and Lord Charles +Spencer. The "(2nd)" evidently refers to the fact that there was already +one James Cook, a lieutenant in the Navy, namely, the former Master of +the Mercury, and Third Lieutenant of the Gosport. + +PENDANT HOISTED. + +Having received his orders Cook proceeded to Deptford and hoisted his +pendant on H.M.S. Endeavour on 27th May, and at once started to prepare +for sea. A considerable quantity of coal was taken on board to use for +drying the ship, as it occupied so much less room than wood. + +Captain Wallis returned from his voyage round the world about this time, +and in consequence of his report, the Island of Georgeland, afterwards +called by Cook Otaheite and now Tahiti, was fixed upon by the Royal +Society as the most desirable place for the observations, and the +Admiralty were requested to issue the proper orders, notifying at the +same time that Mr. Charles Green and Lieutenant James Cook had been +appointed observers. They also in the same letter write that: + +"Joseph Banks, Esquire, Fellow of this Society, a Gentleman of large +fortune, who is well versed in Natural History, being desirous of +undertaking the same voyage, the council very earnestly request their +Lordships that in regard to Mr. Banks' great personal merit and for the +advancement of useful knowledge, he also, together with his suite, being +seven persons more (that is eight persons in all) together with their +baggage, be received on board of the ship under command of Captain Cook." + +They also requested that the expedition might be landed a month or six +weeks before the 3rd June in order that the instruments might be got into +proper working order, and for fear the ship might not be able to reach +Georgeland, a table of the limits within which the observations might be +taken, was enclosed. Full instructions were also given to the two +observers, and a list of the fixed stars to be observed was drawn up by +Mr. Maskelyne. + +The order to receive Mr. Green and Mr. Banks and party was issued on 22nd +July, "for victuals only"--i.e., they were to be supplied with the same +as the rest of the ship's company whilst on board. The members of Banks's +party were: Dr. Solander, naturalist; H. Sporing, assistant naturalist; +A. Buchan, S. Parkinson, and Jno. Reynolds, artists; James Roberts and +Peter Briscoe, white servants; Thomas Richmond and J. Dorlton, coloured +servants. + +It was owing to the personal friendship between them that Banks was +permitted by Lord Sandwich, the First Lord of the Admiralty, to accompany +Cook. He had taken up the study of Botany when at Eton, and at an early +age had been elected F.R.S. He seems quickly to have formed a just +estimate of Cook's worth; indeed, Sir John Barrow says he took a liking +to him at the first interview, and a firm friendship sprang up between +them which endured to the end. Many instances are to be found of his +interest in and his support to Cook after their return home; and this +friendship speaks volumes for Cook, for, though Banks was a most kindly +natured man, he had at times a very overbearing manner. + +Sir Joseph Hooker, in his introduction, quotes a most interesting letter +from Mr. John Ellis, F.R.S., to Linnaeus, the great botanist, in which he +says that Mr. Banks, a gentleman of 6000 pounds a year, has persuaded Dr. +Solander to go out with him to the South Seas to collect "all the natural +curiosities of the place," and after the observations are taken, they are +"to proceed on further discoveries." He goes on to mention the library of +Natural History and splendid outfit Banks is taking, and says, "in short, +Solander assured me this expedition would cost Mr. Banks 10,000 pounds." + +The Endeavour left Deptford on 21st July, and, calling at Galleons Reach, +took in her guns and gunners' stores. Her armament was originally to have +been six carriage guns, four pounders, and eight swivels, but they were +increased to ten carriage guns and eight swivels, and at Plymouth four +more swivels were added for use in the boats. The complement of men was +also increased to 85, including 12 marines who were to join at Plymouth, +and a third Lieutenant had been appointed in July. + +She had dropped down the river and anchored in the Downs on 3rd August, +Cook joining her on the 7th and, discharging his pilot, sailed the next +day. He had a very tedious passage down the Channel, and did not arrive a +Plymouth till the 14th, when he immediately sent word to Messrs. Banks +and Solander, who were still in London, that he was ready for sea, and +was only waiting for a fair wind to sail. They therefore started at once, +their baggage being already on board, and joined Cook on 20th August. + +CREW WELL SATISFIED. + +Having received his extra guns, marines, twelve barrels of powder, and +other stores, Cook mustered his men, paid them two months advance, and +explained to them that they were not to expect any additional pay for the +intended voyage. He says, "they were well satisfied, and expressed great +cheerfulness and readiness to prosecute the voyage." + +The orders under which he sailed were secret, and, unfortunately, are not +to be found. Admiral Wharton says the covering letter is in existence, +but the orders which should be on the next page are missing. Cook writes: + +"I was ordered, therefore, to proceed directly to Otaheite; and, after +the astronomical observations should be completed, to prosecute the +design of making discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean by proceeding to +the South as far as the latitude of 40 degrees: then, if I found no land, +to proceed to the west between 40 and 35 degrees till I fell in with New +Zealand, which I was to explore, and thence return to England by such +route as I should think proper." + +His last letter to the Admiralty, before leaving England, was written on +the day of his arrival at Plymouth, informing them of that fact, and +announcing his intention of proceeding to sea with all possible despatch. + + +CHAPTER 7. 1768 TO 1769. PLYMOUTH TO OTAHEITE. + +After waiting for some days for a fair wind, Cook eventually sailed at 2 +P.M. on 26th August, having, as he says in his Journal, "94 persons, +including officers, seamen, Gentlemen and their servants; near 18 months' +provisions, 10 carriage guns, 12 swivels, with good store of ammunition, +and stores of all kinds" on board. On 1st September they had heavy gales +lasting for about four-and-twenty hours, and a small boat belonging to +the boatswain was washed away, and "between three and four dozen of our +poultry, which was worst of all," were drowned. The ship was found to be +very leaky in her upper works, and the sails in the store got very wet. +Banks notes that they caught two birds in the rigging that had evidently +been blown off the coast of Spain. On 13th September they anchored in +Funchal Roads, and during the night "the Bend of the Hawser of the stream +anchor slip'd owing to the carelessness of the person who made it fast." +The anchor was hauled up into a boat in the morning, and carried further +out, but, unfortunately, in heaving it into the water, a Master's mate, +named Weir, got entangled in the buoy rope, was carried overboard, and +drowned before any assistance could be rendered. + +Whilst shifting her berth to a more convenient spot, the Endeavour was +fired on by one of the forts owing to some misunderstanding, but +satisfactory apologies and explanations were made, and it was thought so +little of that neither Cook nor Banks mention it in their Journals. This +incident is probably the origin of the story told by Forster in his +Journal of the Second Voyage. He says: + +"Captain Cook in the Endeavour battered the Loo Fort at Madeira in +conjunction with an English Frigate, thus resenting an affront which had +been offered to the British flag." + +When the Endeavour arrived at Funchal, the only British man-of-war there +was H.M.S. Rose, which sailed the following day with her convoy, and +neither her Captain's Journal nor his ship's log make any reference +whatever to a dispute with the Portuguese. No other British man-of-war +came into the port whilst the Endeavour was there, and afterwards, at +Rio, Cook expressly informed the Viceroy that he had been well received +by the Portuguese at Madeira. + +Fresh water, meat, vegetables, and wine were taken on board; wine, fruit, +and water being good and cheap, but the meat and poultry, obtained as a +favour, were dear. Two men, a marine and a sailor, received twelve lashes +for refusing to eat their allowance of fresh meat. This appears to be +harsh treatment, but it must be remembered that the lash was at that time +almost the only recognised method of punishment in the Navy, however +trivial the offence might be; and Cook knew from experience how important +it was to prevent the scurvy from getting foothold on board, and he +already had determined to fight, by every means in his power, this dread +scourge, almost his most dangerous foe. He did conquer it even on this +first voyage, and, considering his means, in a most marvellous manner. He +would have claimed the victory had it not been for an untoward event, +which will be told hereafter, leading him to postpone his claim till he +could give further proof. It is important to notice how on every possible +occasion he obtained, wherever he could, some change of diet and fresh +water. + +EDEN BEFORE THE FALL. + +Whilst they were at Funchal, Banks spent five days with the English +Consul, and he describes the place as very pretty, but the people as +primitive, idle, and uninformed; all their instruments of the rudest +make; and he thought that the appliances used in the manufacture of wine +must have been similar to those used by Noah, "although it is not +impossible that he might have used better if he remembered the methods he +had seen before the flood." One of the Governors left it on record that, +so averse from change were the people, he thought it most fortunate the +island was not Eden before the fall, as in that case the inhabitants +could never have been induced to wear clothes. He explored as much of the +island as he could, but says he could never get more than three miles +away from the town as his time was so much broken up. The Governor +visited them on one of the days he says was so wasted, but relates, with +evident glee, how he took his revenge. There was an electrical machine on +board, and His Excellency was most curious on the subject; it was sent +for and explained to him, and Banks goes on, "they gave him as many +shocks as he cared for; perhaps more." A visit was paid to a convent, +where the nuns, hearing they were distinguished scientists, plied them +with all sorts of questions, and for the half-hour the visit lasted their +tongues were going "all the time at an uncommonly nimble rate." At a +monastery they visited they were well received, and the monks, regretting +they were then unprepared, invited them to come the next day and, though +it would be Friday, they would have roast turkey for dinner. + +On 19th September, at midnight, they weighed, sighted Teneriffe on the +23rd, and the day following their first flying fish found its way into +Mr. Green's cabin. On the 28th they tried steaks for dinner cut from a +young shark, which Banks and Solander reported as very good, but the crew +refused to taste them. Cape de Verde was seen on the 30th, and about a +fortnight afterwards the line was crossed in 29 degrees 24 minutes West +longitude, and the following day the event was celebrated. Lieutenant +Hicks had crossed before, so a list was given to him of all on board, +including the dogs and cats, and all were mustered on deck, those who had +already crossed being separated from the others. Any one who wished could +purchase immunity for four days' allowance of wine, but the others had to +pay the penalty of ducking. Banks compounded for himself and party, and +Cook also seems to have got off, but the others were hauled up to the end +of the main-yard on a boatswain's chair, and then at the sound of the +whistle dropped into the sea, an operation repeated three times. Cook +says the "ceremony was performed to about twenty or thirty, to the no +small diversion of the rest." + +Whilst near the Equator, great inconvenience was felt from the damp heat; +everything was mouldy or rusty, and several of the crew were on the +sick-list with a sort of bilious complaint; but it fortunately did not +grow into a serious matter. + +RECEPTION AT RIO. + +They struck soundings on 6th November, and on heaving the lead again +found a difference of less than a foot in three or four hours. Land was +sighted near Cape Frio, Brazil, in latitude 21 degrees 16 minutes South, +on the 8th, and they came across a boat manned by eleven blacks who were +engaged in catching and salting fish. Banks purchased some fish, and was +surprised to find they preferred to be paid in English rather than +Spanish coin. On the 13th they arrived off Rio de Janeiro, where they +were very ungraciously received by the Viceroy. They were not permitted +to land except under a guard; some of the men who had been sent ashore on +duty were imprisoned. Mr. Hicks, who had gone to report their arrival and +ask for the services of a pilot, was detained for a time, and it was only +with difficulty, and at an exorbitant rate, that they obtained fresh food +and water. Consequently little was seen of the place, except from the +ship, and Cook took all possible observations from thence, and made a +sketch map of the harbour, to which he added all the information he was +able to pick up from the pilot. Writing to the Royal Society, he says he +is quite unable to understand the true reason of his treatment, and +contrasts it with that received by a Spanish ship which came in whilst he +was there. This Spanish ship willingly undertook to carry to Europe and +forward to the Admiralty copies of the correspondence that passed between +Cook and the Viceroy, which Cook describes as + +"a paper war between me and His Excellency, wherein I had no other +advantage than the racking his invention to find reasons for treating us +in the manner he did, for he never would relax the least from any one +point." + +To every remonstrance the Viceroy pleaded his instructions and the custom +of the port. He seems to have been quite unable to grasp the object of +the expedition, and Cook says his idea of the transit of Venus was, "the +North Star passing through the South Pole. His own words." The crew were +accused of smuggling, and it was repeatedly asserted that the Endeavour +was not a king's ship. Parkinson, one of Mr. Banks's staff, says that +frequently some of them let themselves down from the cabin window at +midnight into a boat, and driving with the tide till they were out of +hearing of the guard boat established over them, rowed ashore and made +short excursions into the country, "though not so far as we could have +wished to have done." + +Banks, speaking of the supplies obtained at Rio, says the beef was cheap +but very lean and dry; the bread tasted as if made with sawdust, and +justified its name of Farinha de Pao (wooden meal); the fruits, excepting +the oranges, were very indifferent, and he takes particular exception to +the banana, which he had not tasted before, it was not at all to his +liking. The water also was very bad, and the crew preferred what they had +brought with them, though it was very stale. + +M. de Bougainville reports that when he visited Rio he was at first +received in a very friendly manner by this same Viceroy, but after a time +the treatment was altered, and he had to put up with even greater +insolence than Cook. + +THE SECOND DEATH. + +When the stores had been received on board, the anchor was weighed in +order to take up a more favourable position for making a start, but, +unfortunately, shortly after the ship got underway, a man named Peter +Flowers fell from the main-shrouds into the sea and was drowned before +assistance could be rendered: the second death since leaving England. The +next day the wind was contrary, but every one was so anxious to turn +their backs on the place that Cook ordered out the boats to tow, but they +were immediately brought up by a shot from the fort of Santa Cruz. A +remonstrance was sent ashore, and received the lame excuse that the +permit for leaving had been signed but had been delayed on its way, and +the officer in command could not allow the vessel to leave till it was +received. Another attempt to get away was soon after made, but the anchor +fouled a rock, and there was again delay; at length, on the 7th December, +they were able to make a start, discharge their pilot, and bid farewell +to the guard boat which had so constantly kept watch over them. They were +informed that an Englishman, named Foster, an officer in the Portuguese +service, who had been of great use to them, was imprisoned for his kind +attentions. + +On 9th December they met with bad weather and lost their foretop-gallant +mast, but the rough handling they got was credited with improving the +sailing qualities of the ship, as it took some of the stiffness out of +her upperworks. A meteor was noted on the 23rd, like a small bright +cloud, emitting flames, travelling rapidly westward, and disappearing +slowly with two sharp explosions. The same day an eclipse of the sun was +observed. + +Christmas Day, for which the men had been saving up their allowances of +grog, passed in the usual manner, that is, in considerable +over-indulgence. Banks speculates as to what might have happened if they +had had bad weather, whilst Cook dismisses the occurrence very shortly: +"The people none of the soberest." On the 27th they crossed the mouth of +the River Plate, the water being very discoloured, and a good many land +insects were found in it. On 2nd January 1769, they saw some of the +shoals of red lobsters like those mentioned by Dampier and Cowley, but +they were not found in such quantities as those navigators reported. + +On the 11th the shores of Tierra del Fuego were sighted, and on working +in closer, the country was found to be less desolate in appearance than +they had expected from Anson's description. Arriving off the entrance of +the Straits of Le Maire, between Staten Island and the mainland, they +were driven back by the tide and a strong adverse wind, and trying to +shelter under Cape Diego they were carried past, and only after three and +a half days' hard work were they able to get through the straits. Cook +has left sailing directions for this passage which are followed to the +present day. Banks and Solander were ashore for a short time on Staten +Island, and returned delighted with the addition of some hundred new +plants for their collection. Cook, with an eye to the welfare of his +crew, remarks: "They returned on board, bringing with them several plants +and flowers, etc., most of them unknown in Europe, and in that consisted +their whole value." Cook and Green made a series of observations, "the +first ever made so far south in America," and fixed the position of Cape +Diego at 66 degrees West, 54 degrees 39 South; Wharton places it at 65 +degrees eight minutes West, 54 degrees 40 minutes South. + +On the 15th they anchored in the Bay of Success, for wood and water, and +met with some of the inhabitants, with whom, by means of gifts of beads +and other trifles, they established friendly relations, and three of them +were persuaded to go on board the ship. Though by no means a small race +of men, they were found to be nothing like the giants reported by the +early navigators in this part of the world. They had in their possession +buttons, glass, canvas, brown cloth, etc., showing conclusively they had +previously some communication with Europeans. Their clothing consisted +chiefly of skins, roughly cured, and a plentiful covering of paint and +dirt. The only personal property on which they appeared to set any store +were their bows and arrows, which were carefully made and always in good +order. Their food appeared to consist of seal and shell-fish; their +houses, merely shelters of boughs covered with grass and leaves built to +windward of a small fire. + +A SNOWSTORM. + +On 16th January, Banks, Solander, Buchan, Green, Monkhouse, two seamen, +and Banks's two coloured servants, tried to get up the hills to see +something of the surrounding country, but they found their progress +hampered by the dwarf vegetation. To add to their discomfort a heavy +snowstorm came on. Several of the party experienced that desire to sleep +which is produced by cold, and were warned by Solander of the danger of +giving way to it, yet he was almost the first one to give in, and was +with great difficulty kept awake. Buchan, most unfortunately, had a fit, +so a large fire was made at the first convenient spot, but a sailor and +the two coloured men lagged behind. During the night the sailor was heard +shouting, and was brought in to the fire, but in the morning the two +coloured men were found frozen to death. Cook attributed their death to +overindulgence in spirits, the supply for the party being left in their +charge. Not intending to remain away the night, supplies ran short, so a +vulture was shot and carefully divided amongst them, each man cooking his +own, which amounted to about three mouthfuls. At length the weather +cleared up and a start back was made, and after three hours they struck +the beach, only to find they had never been any great distance away but +had been describing a circle and came back almost to the place whence +they had started. Banks notes the vegetation as more exuberant than he +expected; the dominant colour of the flowers, white; and he collected +wild celery and scurvy grass in large quantities, which was mixed with +the food on board ship as long as it could be preserved in a wholesome +condition. Whilst at the Bay of Success the guns were lowered into the +hold so as to allow more room on deck for working the ship in the bad +weather they expected to encounter when rounding the Horn. + +THE BALANCE OF THE GLOBE. + +On 27th January Cape Horn was passed, but owing to fog and contrary wind +they did not approach very closely, so they were unable to fix its exact +position, but the description they were able to give of its appearance +(there is a sketch of it by Mr. Pickersgill, Master's mate, in the +Records Office), and twenty-four observations taken in the immediate +neighbourhood, settled any doubts they may have had, and Cook puts it at +55 degrees 53 minutes South, 68 degrees 13 minutes West, and Wharton +gives the corrected position as 55 degrees 58 minutes South, 67 degrees +16 minutes West. Three days after they reached their furthest south, +according to Cook 60 degrees 4 minutes South, 74 degrees 10 West, and the +course was then altered to West by North. The continuous and careful +observations of the state of the sea, and the absence of currents during +the following month, caused Cook to come to the conclusion that the vast +southern continent so long supposed to exist somewhere in that part of +the globe, and by some people esteemed necessary to preserve its balance, +was non-existent. Banks expresses his pleasure in having upset this +theory, and observes: "Until we know how the globe is fixed in its +position, we need not be anxious about its balance." + +The weeks following the change of the course to the north were +uneventful, only marked by an occasional success of the naturalists in +obtaining a fresh specimen, some of which were experimented on by the +cook; an albatross, skinned, soaked all night in salt water, was stewed, +served with savoury sauce, and was preferred to salt pork; a cuttle-fish +of large size, freshly killed by the birds, and too much damaged for +classification, was made into soup, of which Banks says: "Only this I +know that, of it was made one of the best soups I ever ate." The water +obtained at Tierra del Fuego turned out very good: a great boon, as one +of their great troubles and a source of great anxiety to Cook was the bad +quality of the water so often obtained. + +Towards the end of March a change was noticed in the kinds of birds +flying round the ship, some being recognised as ones that were known to +stay near land, and consequently a sharp look-out was kept. On the night +of the 24th a tree-trunk was reported, but when morning came nothing +further was seen. It has since been ascertained they were then a little +to the north of Pitcairn Island, afterwards the home of the mutineers of +the Bounty; but Cook did not feel himself at liberty to make any +deviation from his course "to look for what he was not sure to find," +although he thought he was "not far from those islands discovered by +Quiros in 1606." + +On 26th march one of the marines committed suicide by drowning. It seems +he had misappropriated a piece of sealskin, and his fellow-soldiers, +indignant that such a thing should have been done by one of the cloth, +made his life uncomfortable and threatened that he should be reported for +theft. This was the fifth death since leaving England, and none by +disease. + +The 4th April, at 10.30 A.M., Banks's servant, Peter Briscoe, sighted +land, and the course of the ship was altered to give them a chance of +inspecting it. It was found to be one of those peculiar circular reefs +surrounding a lagoon, called atolls, which exist in some quantity in the +Pacific. There was no anchorage, so they made no attempt to land, but +were able to see it was inhabited. Some twenty-four persons were counted +through the glasses, and were described as copper-coloured, with black +hair; they followed the ship as if prepared to oppose a landing. The reef +was covered with trees, amongst which the coconut palm was conspicuous. +Cook gave it the name of Lagoon Island; it is now known as Vahitahi, and +is one of the Low Archipelago. Being now in Wallis's track, islands were +sighted almost every day, and almost all appeared inhabited, but owing to +the want of safe anchorage, no communication could be held with the +natives. + +On 10th April Osnaburg Island was passed, and next day King George Land +was sighted; but the wind failed, and they did not get close in till the +12th, when canoes came out to the ship, bringing branches of trees which +were handed up the side, with signs directing they should be placed +conspicuously in the rigging, as a token of friendship offered and +accepted. When this had been done the natives produced a good supply of +trade in the shape of vegetables and fruit; amongst the last Banks +enumerates bread-fruit, bananas, coconuts, and apples (a species of hog +plum). These were very acceptable and beneficial to the crew after such a +lapse of time without vegetable food except the wild plants gathered in +Tierra del Fuego. + +AT TAHITI. + +At 7 A.M. on the 13th they anchored in the bay described by Wallis, known +as Matavai, in thirteen fathoms, and Cook says of his route from Cape +Horn, "I Endeavoured to make a direct course, and in part succeeded." + + +CHAPTER 8. 1769. SOCIETY ISLANDS. + +PRODIGIOUS EXPERT THIEVES. + +Hardly had the anchor reached the bottom, before they were surrounded by +canoes, whose occupants were anxious to sell the supplies of fruits, raw +and cooked fish, and a pig they had brought. The price asked for the pig +was a hatchet, and as these were scarce, it was not purchased. When all +was made safe, a party went ashore and was well received by the natives, +but those who had previously been there with Wallis reported that those +who were at that time said to be chiefs, were keeping in the background. +The next day, however, two men, evidently of rank, came on board, and +being invited into the cabin, went through a ceremony described by Banks: +"Each singled out his friend; one took the captain, and the other chose +myself. Each took off a part of his clothes and dressed his friend with +what he took off; in return for this we presented them with a hatchet and +some beads." They were then invited by their new friends to go ashore. On +landing they were escorted to a building and introduced to an old man +they had not seen before, and he presented Cook with a cock, and Banks +with a hen, and each with a piece of native cloth. Banks gave in return +for his share his large laced silk neckcloth and a linen handkerchief. +After this they were permitted to stroll about, and received many tokens +of amity in the shape of green boughs, and were then entertained at a +banquet, the principal dishes being fish and bread-fruit. Whilst at +dinner, Solander had his pocket picked of an opera glass, and Monkhouse +lost his snuff-box. As soon as this was made known, Lycurgus, as they had +named one of their friends, drove off the people, striking them and +throwing anything he could lay his hand to, at them. He offered pieces of +cloth as compensation, and when these were refused, extended his offer to +everything he possessed. He was, at last, made to understand that all +that was wanted was the return of the stolen articles, and after a time +the snuff-box and the case of the glass were returned, and, by and by, +the glass itself. During the whole of the stay at the island they had the +greatest difficulties with the natives for stealing, an accomplishment at +which, Cook says, they were "prodigious expert." + +On the whole, their first visit ashore was satisfactory, and was thought +to augur well for the observations of the Transit. A site was selected +for a camp on the eastern point of the bay, to which the name of Point +Venus was given, the longitude, according to Cook, 149 degrees 31 minutes +West, and to Wharton, 149 degrees 29 minutes West. Lines were traced for +the boundaries, and Banks's largest tent was pitched and a guard mounted, +and then the others went for a walk of inspection. They passed through +some woods that Mr. Hicks had been prevented from exploring the day +before, and Banks had the luck to bring down three ducks with one shot, a +deed thought likely to impress the natives with respect for the white +man's weapon. On their road back to camp they were alarmed by a musket +shot, and hurrying on, found that one of the sentries had been pushed +down and his musket stolen, so the midshipman in command had ordered a +shot to be fired at the thief, who was killed, but the musket was not +recovered. All the natives ran away but one, whom Cook calls Awhaa, and +whom the Master, Mr. Molineaux, who had been out with Wallis, recognised +as being a man of some authority. Through Awhaa an attempt was made to +arrange matters, but the natives were very shy when the English landed +the next day. However, the two chiefs who had first made friends, to whom +the names of Lycurgus and Hercules had been given, again came on board, +bringing presents of pigs and bread-fruit; they concluded as Hercules's +present was the larger, he was the richer and therefore the more +important chief. To lessen the chances of disagreements in trading and to +keep some control of prices, Cook ordered that only one person should +conduct the purchasing for the ship, and as Banks had shown aptitude in +dealing with the natives, he was appointed. The natives were to be +treated "with every imaginable humanity." + +On the 16th Mr. Buchan, the artist, had another epileptic fit, which was +unfortunately fatal, and he was buried at sea in order to run no risk of +offending against any of the customs or superstitions of the natives. +Cook, in referring to his death, says: "He will be greatly missed in the +course of this voyage." + +In the afternoon the ship was brought into such a position as to command +the site of the proposed camp, and as there was to be an eclipse of one +of Jupiter's satellites, Cook and Green stayed ashore to get an +observation, but the weather was unpropitious. + +COOK SKETCHES. + +The camp was now got into order; the north and south sides were protected +by a bank 4 feet 6 inches high on the inside, having a ditch 10 feet wide +and 6 feet deep on the outside. The west side, facing the bay, had a 4 +foot bank crowned by a palisade, with no ditch; and the east side, on the +bank of the river, was protected by a double row of water casks. The +armament consisted of two carriage guns on the weakest or east side, and +six swivel guns, two on each of the other sides. The garrison was +forty-five men, including civilians, and Cook considered it was +practically impregnable. In the manuscripts department of the British +Museum is a pen and ink sketch and plan of the fort, drawn by Cook, which +agrees much better with the description than the engraving of Parkinson's +drawing published in the History of the Voyage. The natives were +disturbed by these preparations, some even leaving the bay, but when no +dreadful results occurred, they took courage and returned. + +The fort completed, the instruments were landed and put into the required +positions to be prepared for their work, and the following morning the +quadrant, which had not been removed from the case in which it was packed +in London, was found to be missing, although a sentry had been stationed +within five yards of it the whole night. Enquiries were made, and it was +elicited that the thief had been seen making off with it. Banks, his +native friend, and one or two of the English at once started, closely +followed by Cook and a party of marines. After a long chase the quadrant +was recovered, but some of the smaller parts were missing. After a time +these also were returned in the case of a horse-pistol which had been +stolen from Banks, and soon after the pistol was recovered, and they were +able to return to camp. On their arrival they found Cook's friend, +Dootahah (Hercules), had been detained as a hostage, so he was at once +released, to the great delight of the natives, who had been much alarmed +to see the armed party go into the woods. In order to show his gratitude +for his release Dootahah sent a present of two hogs to Cook, for which he +refused to take any return; but, afterwards, second thoughts proved best, +and he sent a man to ask for an axe and a shirt, and to say he was going +away, and would not be back for ten days. As the supplies of vegetables +and fruit in the market had been decreasing in quantity, it was thought +better to refuse the present in hopes he would apply for it in person, +and arrangements could then be made for a regular market, but he sent +some one else again, and so word was returned that Cook and Banks would +bring it to him the following day. For fear this promise should be +forgotten, Dootahah again sent his man, and Cook and Banks started off in +the pinnace. On their arrival they were received by a large crowd, which +was kept in order by a man in an immense turban, armed with a long white +stick, "which he applied to the people with great judgment and relish." +The party were conducted to a large tree, and very graciously received by +Dootahah, who immediately asked for his axe, which was given him, +together with a shirt and a piece of broadcloth made into a boat-cloak. +He put on the cloak and gave the shirt to the man with the stick, and +refreshments were served. They were afterwards entertained with dancing +and wrestling, and then Dootahah accompanied them back to the ship, +taking his supplies for dinner; and when it became known he was on board, +trading was resumed. + +A day or two after, Banks received an urgent message from his friend +Taburai (Lycurgus), saying he was very ill. He complained of having been +poisoned by one of the sailors. It seems he had noticed the sailors +chewing, and had ask for a quid, had bitten off a piece and swallowed it. +Banks prescribed large draughts of coconut milk, with happy results. + +SURF RIDING. + +Flies were a terrible pest; they got into everything, and ate off the +artist's colours almost as fast as they were laid on. Tar and molasses +was tried as a trap for them, but the natives stole it and used it as +ointment for sores. The surf-riding struck the visitors with admiration. +Swimming out with a piece of board they would mount it, and come in on +the crests of the waves; and Banks says he does not believe that any +European could have lived amongst the breakers as they did; he especially +admired the manner they timed the waves and dived beneath on their way +out from shore. + +A blacksmith's forge had been set up, and in spare time the smith would +fashion old iron into axes or repair old axes for the natives; and it was +noticed that some of these old axes were not of English make, and it +appeared unlikely they were obtained from the Dolphin. At length it was +ascertained that since Wallis's visit in that vessel, two ships had +anchored off the east coast, and it was concluded from the description +given by the natives of the flags that they were Spanish, but on the +arrival of the Endeavour at Batavia they were able to identify them as +the French ships commanded by M. de Bougainville, whose crews were +suffering very severely from scurvy at the time. + +Paying a visit to Dootahah to see if a supply of fresh meat, which was +running very short, could be obtained, they were received in a very +friendly manner, but being delayed till it was too late to return to the +ship by daylight, they remained all night, and as a consequence nearly +every one found they had lost some property; Cook's stockings were stolen +from under his pillow, where he had placed them for safety. Perhaps as +consolation for their losses they were entertained during the night to a +concert. Three drums and four flutes, the latter having four holes into +one of which the performer blew with his nostrils, were the orchestra, +and Cook's criticism is hardly complimentary: "The music and singing were +so much of a piece that I was very glad when it was over." They waited +till noon the next day in hopes of meat and the return of the stolen +articles, but in vain, though Dootahah promised he would bring all to the +ship--"a promise we had no reason to expect he would fulfil." + +THE TRANSIT OF VENUS. + +The important day of the observation was now approaching, and everything +was in readiness. In order to diminish the risk of disappointment through +local atmospheric disturbance, Cook sent a party to Eimeo (York Island), +and a second one to the south-east of Otaheite, as far to the east of +Point Venus as possible. The first party consisted of Lieutenant Gore, +Banks, Sporing, and Monkhouse, and the second of Lieutenant Hicks, +Clerke, Pickersgill, and Saunders, Mr. Green providing the necessary +instruments. At Fort Venus everything was in good working order. The +astronomical clock was set up in the large tent, being placed in a strong +frame made for the purpose at Greenwich, and was then planted in the +ground as firmly as possible and fenced round to prevent accidental +disturbance. Twelve feet away the observatory was placed, comprising the +telescopes on their stands, the quadrant securely fixed on the top of a +cask of wet sand firmly set in the ground, and the journeyman clock. The +telescopes used by Cook and Green were two reflecting ones made by Mr. J. +Short. + +"The 3rd of June proved as favourable to our purposes as we could wish. +Not a cloud to be seen the whole day and the air was perfectly clear, so +that we had every advantage we could desire in observing the whole +passage of the Planet Venus over the Sun's Disk. We very distinctly saw +the atmosphere or Dusky Shade round the body of the planet, which very +much disturbed the time of contact, particularly the two internal ones. +Dr. Solander observed as well as Mr. Green and myself, and we differ'd +from one another in observing the times of contact much more than could +be expected. Mr. Green's telescope and mine were of the same magnifying +power, but that of the Doctor was greater than ours. It was nearly calm +the whole day, and the thermometer exposed to the sun about the middle of +the day rose to a degree of heat we have not before met with." + +In the report published in the Philosophical Transactions he also refers +to the heat: + +"Every wished-for favourable circumstance attended the whole of the day, +without one single impediment excepting the heat, which was intolerable; +the thermometer which hung by the clock and was exposed to the sun, as we +were, was one time as high as 119 degrees." + +This report is accompanied by diagrams illustrating the different +contacts and the effects of the penumbra, which Cook believed was better +seen by Solander than by himself or Green. It was estimated at about +seven-eighths of the diameter of the planet, and was visible to Cook +throughout the whole Transit. + +The times taken by Green were: + +The first external contact: 9 hours 25 minutes 42 seconds A.M. +The first internal contact: 9 hours 44 minutes 4 seconds A.M. +The second internal contact: 3 hours 14 minutes 8 seconds P.M. +The second external contact: 3 hours 22 minutes 10 seconds P.M. + +The other two parties were equally successful, and at times Banks was +able to employ himself in trading with the natives, with whom he soon got +on friendly terms; in fact, he had to decline further purchases as he had +as much as they could take away with them. He was also successful in his +botanical enquiries, obtaining several plants he had not seen in +Otaheite. + +Whilst the observations were being taken some of the crew broke into the +store and stole a quantity of the large nails that were used as a medium +of trade with the islanders. One man was found with seven in his +possession, and after careful enquiry was sentenced to two dozen lashes, +which seems to have been the severest sentence meted out by Cook during +the voyage. The sentence was carried out, and though it was well known +that more than one was implicated, he refused to name any one else, but +suffered in silence. + +A DOG DINNER. + +The King's Birthday being on 5th June, Cook entertained several of the +chiefs at dinner, and the health of Kilnargo was toasted so many times by +some of them that the result was disastrous. One of the presents received +from a chief was a dog, which they were informed was good to eat. After +some discussion it was handed to a native named Tupia, who had made +himself very useful, and afterwards accompanied them on the voyage; and +he having smothered it with his hands, and drawn it, wrapped it in leaves +and baked it in a native oven. With some hesitation it was tasted, and +met with general approval. Cook says: "Therefore we resolved for the +future never to despise dog flesh"; and in another place he says they put +dog's flesh "next only to English lamb." These dogs were bred for eating, +and lived entirely on vegetable food. + +The main object of their stay at Otaheite having been attained, steps +were taken for further prosecution of the voyage; the ship was careened, +her bottom scraped and found free from worm, but the boats had suffered, +particularly the long-boat, which had to have a new bottom. She had been +varnished only; the other boats, painted with white lead, had not +suffered so much. The stores were overhauled, and the ship was fitted for +sea. Whilst these preparations were being made, Cook and Banks made a +circuit of the island in the pinnace to examine the coast. Several good +anchorages were found, with from sixteen to twenty-four fathoms and good +holding ground. The south-east portion was almost cut off from the +mainland by a narrow, marshy isthmus about two miles wide, over which the +natives dragged their canoes with little difficulty. On the south coast +one of the large burying-places was seen; by far the most extensive one +on the island. It is described as: + +"a long square of stonework built pyramidically; its base is 267 feet by +87 feet; at the Top it is 250 feet by 8 feet. It is built in the same +manner as we do steps leading up to a sun-dial or fountain erected in the +middle of a square, where there is a flite of steps on each side. In this +building there are 11 of such steps; each step is about 4 feet in height, +and the breadth 4 feet 7 inches, but they decreased both in height and +breadth from the bottom to the Top. On the middle of the Top stood the +image of a Bird carved in wood, near it lay the broken one of a Fish, +carved in stone. There was no hollow or cavity in the inside, the whole +being filled up with stones. The outside was faced partly with hewn +stones, and partly with others, and these were placed in such a manner as +to look very agreeable to the eye. Some of the hewn stones were 4 feet 7 +inches by 2 feet 4 inches, and 15 inches thick, and had been squared and +polished with some sort of an edge tool. On the east side was, enclosed +with a stone wall, a piece of ground in form of a square, 360 feet by +354, in this was growing several cypress trees and plantains. Round about +this Morie were several smaller ones, all going to decay, and on the +Beach, between them and the sea, lay scattered up and down, a great +quantity of human bones. Not far from the Great Morie, was 2 or 3 pretty +large altars, where lay the scull bones of some Hogs and Dogs. This +monument stands on the south side of Opooreanoo, upon a low point of land +about 100 yards from the sea. It appeared to have been built many years +and was in a state of decay, as most of their Mories are. " + +They were quite unable to gain information as to the history of these +remains, nor of the religious belief of the islander, though they +appeared to have some vague notions of a future life. + +AN EXCURSION INLAND. + +When the party returned to Point Venus, they found the refitting nearly +complete, but the anchor stocks all had to be renewed owing to the +ravages of the sea worms, so Banks and Monkhouse made an excursion up the +river on which the camp was situated. In about nine miles the precipitous +banks had completely closed them in, and further advance was blocked by a +cliff, at least 100 feet high, over which the river fell. The natives +with them said they had never been further, so the expedition returned. +Charles Darwin, in 1835, made an attempt to ascend the same river, and +though he penetrated some distance further, he describes the country as +extremely difficult; he saw several places where two or three determined +men could easily hold at bay many times their own number. + +Gardens had been laid out during their stay, and European seeds were +planted which were very fairly successful; except some brought out by +Cook in carefully sealed bottles, none of which turned out well. + +Some of the sailors were either enticed away, or attempted to desert, so +Cook seized one or two of the chiefs as hostages, and the runaways were +quickly returned. Some of the natives were anxious to go away with them, +and Banks persuaded Cook to let him take Tupia, a man supposed to be of +priestly rank, who had proved himself very useful on several occasions, +and he was allowed to take with him a boy as servant. Cook records, on +leaving, that during the three months' stay they had been on very good +terms with the natives, and the few misunderstandings that did occur rose +either from the difficulty of explaining matters to each other, or else +from the inveterate habits of theft on the part of the natives--iron in +any shape being simply irresistible. + +On 13th July the Endeavour sailed for Huaheine, anchoring inside the reef +on the north-west, on the 17th. Banks, Solander, Monkhouse, and Tupia at +once accompanied Cook ashore, where a ceremony, presumed to be a sort of +treaty of peace, was gone through, and then they were permitted to go +where they liked. On this ceremonial Cook says: + +"It further appear'd that the things which Tupia gave away, was for the +God of this people, as they gave us a hog and some coconuts for our God, +and thus they have certainly drawn us in to commit sacrilege, for the Hog +hath already received sentence of Death and is to be dissected tomorrow." + +A CAREFUL PILOT. + +A market was organised by Monkhouse, and as soon as the natives +understood that the stay of the ship would be very short, they managed to +produce a fairly good supply of fruits and vegetables. The people were +found to be rather lighter complexioned, and certainly not so addicted to +thieving as the Otaheitans. As a memorial of the visit, Cook gave the +chief a plate with the inscription, "His Britannick Majesty's Ship, +Endeavour, Lieutenant Cook, Commander, 16th July, 1769, Huaheine." He +also added "some medals, or counters of the English coins, struck in +1761, and other presents," and the recipient promised he would never part +with them. From this place they went on to Ulietea (Raiatea), landing on +the 21st; and after another ceremonial the English "Jack" was hoisted, +and possession taken of the whole group in the name of King George. Tupia +proved himself an excellent pilot, with great knowledge of the +localities, and, having sent down a diver at Huaheine to ascertain the +exact draught of the ship, he was very careful she never went into less +than five fathoms of water. He had evidently had great experience in +navigating these seas in canoes, boats of whose construction and sailing +qualities Cook speaks in the highest terms. Banks at this time remarks, +"we have now seen 17 islands in these seas, and have landed on five of +the most important; the language, manners and customs agreed most +exactly." + +Detained by adverse wind off Ataha, and finding the water coming badly +into the fore sail-room and powder-room, Cook put into the west side to +repair and take in ballast, as the ship was getting too light to carry +sail on a wind. He took the opportunity to survey to the north with Banks +and Solander. Putting into one place, they were well received and +entertained with music and dancing, and Cook's verdict was that "neither +their Musick or Dancing were at all calculated to please a European." A +sort of farce was also acted, but they could make nothing of it, except +that it "showed that these people have a notion of Dramatic +Performances." + +During the whole stay in the Society Group they had been very well off +for fresh food, consequently their sea stores had been little called on. + +Jarvis, in his History of the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands, says that +with Cook "a silence in regard to the maritime efforts of his +predecessors is observable throughout his Journals"; and as a proof that +he traded on the knowledge of others, he remarks that at Otaheite he made +enquiries if there were any islands to the north; and afterwards evinced +no surprise when he discovered them. Now Cook in his Journals constantly +shows that he compares his knowledge with that of others, and often +regrets he has not further records to consult. As for his enquiries, he +would have been grossly neglecting his duty had he not made them, for it +was only a commonsense method of procedure, which evidently Mr. Jarvis +could not understand. The result of these enquiries can be seen in the +British Museum in the shape of a map drawn by Cook from information given +by Tupia. On it are some sentences in the Otaheitan language. + + +CHAPTER 9. 1769 TO 1770. NEW ZEALAND. + +Leaving the Society Islands on 9th August, they were off Ohetiroa +(Rurutu), in the Central Group, on the 14th, but the natives were +unfriendly, and they did not land. A canoe came out to meet the pinnace +which had been sent to obtain information. The occupants, on being +presented with gifts, tried to steal the lot, and were fired over, but by +some mischance one of the natives was slightly wounded in the head, +whereupon they hurriedly retreated, and further attempts at communication +were abandoned. From this place the course was laid to the south to +strike the much-talked-of Southern Continent. The weather rapidly got +colder, and the pigs and fowls began to sicken and die. On 26th August +they celebrated the anniversary of leaving England by cutting a Cheshire +cheese and tapping a cask of porter, which proved excellent. + +On the 28th an unfortunate death occurred; the boatswain's mate, John +Reading, was given some rum by his chief, and it is supposed drunk it off +at once, for he was shortly afterwards found to be very drunk, and was +taken to his berth, but next morning was past recovery. + +On 2nd September, in latitude 40 degrees 22 minutes South, the weather +was very bad, and "having not the least visible signs of land," Cook +again turned northwards, in order to get better weather and then to push +west. The continuous swell convinced him there was no large body of land +to the south for many leagues. Towards the end of September frequent +signs were noted of being near land, floating seaweed, wood, the +difference in the birds, etc., so a gallon of rum was offered to the +first to sight land, and on 7th October the North Island of New Zealand, +never before approached from the east by Europeans, was seen by a boy +named Nicholas Young, the servant of Mr. Perry, surgeon's mate. The boy's +name is omitted from the early muster sheets of the ship, but appears on +18th April 1769, entered as A.B. in the place of Peter Flower, drowned. +Cook named the point seen, the south-west point of Poverty Bay, Young +Nick's Head. + +Tasman had discovered the west coast in 1642, and had given it the name +of Staten Land, but he never set foot on shore. He was driven away by the +natives, who killed four of his men, and naming the place Massacre (now +Golden) Bay, he sailed along the north-west coast, giving the headlands +the names they still bear. Dalrymple held that this land discovered by +Tasman was the west coast of the looked-for Terra Australis Incognita, +and his theory was now shattered. + +LAND IN NEW ZEALAND. + +Nearing the coast a bay was discovered into which the ship sailed, and +let go her anchor near the mouth of a small river, not far from where the +town of Guisborne now stands. Plenty of smoke was seen, showing the +country was inhabited, and the pinnace and yawl were manned and armed, +and Cook landed on the east side of the river. Some natives were seen on +the other side, and, to try to open communications, the yawl, pulled by +four boys, entered the river, whilst Cook followed up the natives, who +had retreated towards some huts about 300 yards away. Some Maoris, +thinking the boys would be an easy prey, tried to steal on the yawl, but +the coxswain of the pinnace observing them called the boat back. One of +the Maoris raised his spear to throw, and the coxswain fired over his +head, causing a moment's pause of surprise; but, seeing nothing further, +he again prepared to throw his spear, so the coxswain shot him, and his +friends retreated at once, leaving the body behind. Cook at once ordered +a return to the ship, as it was now getting dark. + +The next morning, seeing some men near the same place, Cook again landed +with Banks, Solander, and an armed party; and Solander went forward to +the brink of the river to try and speak with the natives, but was +received with a threatening waving of spears and a war dance. Cook +retired to the boats, and landing the marines, again advanced with Green, +Monkhouse, and Tupia. The latter spoke to the natives; and, to the great +delight of the party, found he could make himself understood. After a +little parley an unarmed native swam across the river, and was then +followed by twenty or thirty more with their arms. Presents were given, +but they seemed dissatisfied, and wanted arms. At last one stole Green's +hanger, and they all became very aggressive and insolent, whilst more +were seen to be preparing to cross; so Cook, thinking the position was +getting too serious, ordered the one who had taken the hanger, and who +was apparently the leader, to be shot, whereon the rest beat a hasty +retreat. + +The next day the boats tried to find another landing-place, but the surf +was too heavy; and when two canoes were seen coming in from the sea, Cook +determined to intercept them and try to come to friendly terms. However, +they would not stop when called on, and on a musket being fired over +them, the occupants seized their weapons and fiercely attacked the +nearest boat, its crew being compelled to fire in self-defence, and Cook +says two natives were killed. Banks gives the number as four, and the +Maori account agrees with him. Three jumped overboard to swim ashore, but +were picked up by the boats and taken on board ship. They were at first +very depressed, but soon recovered their spirits on finding themselves +well treated, and after eating and drinking enormously, entertained the +crew with songs and dances. Cook deeply regretted this incident, and +candidly confesses that he was not justified in trying to seize the +canoes, but having once committed himself, he was obliged for his own +safety to go to the bitter end. Banks says the day is "the most +disagreeable my life has yet seen; black be the mark for it, and heaven +send that such may never return to embitter future reflection." + +The next day a party landed to cut wood, and was accompanied by the three +captives, whom they tried to persuade to join their friends. The +suggestion was declined, as they professed to be afraid of being eaten, +and after a time went and hid in some bushes. Cook, noticing several +parties of armed natives advancing in a threatening manner, retired his +woodcutters across the river. About 150 to 200 Maoris gathered on the +opposite bank. Tupia was put forward to parley, and some presents were +shown, and at length one man came over who received a present from each +of the British and then rejoined his friends. Cook then returned to the +ship, taking with him the three youths, who still seemed afraid of their +own countrymen. They were again landed the next morning as the ship was +about to sail, and though they still professed to be frightened, were +soon seen walking away in friendly converse with some who had come to +meet them. + +NATIVE ACCOUNT. + +Mr. Polack, a New Zealand resident, gives an account in his New Zealand, +which he gathered from the children of natives who were present at the +landing of Cook. The tribe then living in the neighbourhood were recent +arrivals, their leader being Te Ratu--the first man killed by the +English. The natives were anxious to avenge him, but were afraid of the +"thunderbolts which killed at a long distance," some indeed went so far +as to say they felt ill if an Englishman looked at them. The idea of +revenge was only ended on the vessel leaving. Mr. Polack's chief witness +was the son of a man who was wounded by a ball in the shoulder, but +survived his wound till within a year or two of 1836, the time the +information was obtained. Before the ship left, a sort of peace was +patched up by means of presents, and the dead bodies which had been left +where they fell, apparently as a protest, were removed. + +Cook describes the country as a narrow slip of low sand, backed by +well-wooded hills, rising in the interior into high mountains, on which +patches of snow could be seen. That it was fairly populated was evident +from the smoke rising through the trees, more especially in the valleys +leading into Poverty Bay as he named it, because they were unable to get +anything but a small quantity of wood. + +At Hawke's Bay, whilst trading was going on, a large war canoe came up, +and the occupants received some presents. Cook noticed a man wearing a +cloak of some black skin, and offered a piece of red cloth for it. The +owner took it off, but would not part with it till he received the cloth, +and then his boat was pushed off from the ship, and Cook lost both his +cloak and his cloth. Soon after a determined attempt was made to steal +Tupia's boy, Tayeto, who was handing some things down to a canoe; the +Maoris had to be fired on, and in the consequent confusion the boy jumped +into the water and swam to the ship. The point off which this occurred +was named Cape Kidnapper. As there was no appearance of a harbour, Cook +altered his course to the north at Cape Turnagain, 40 degrees 34 minutes +South, to see if he could not do better in the other direction. + +All the canoes seen along this coast were well made, far in advance of +anything they had seen before, and the grotesque carving and ornamental +work was admirably executed. The dresses warn were usually two +cloak-shaped garments, one warn round the shoulders, the other round the +loins, and were made of a substance like hemp, some being very fine. +Banks had purchased something like them at Rio de Janeiro, for which he +gave thirty-six shillings, thinking it cheap, but these were as fine, if +not finer, in texture. Dogs, which were used as food, and rats were the +only quadrupeds seen. Whilst Banks and Solander were collecting, they +discovered a large natural arch, which the former describes as the most +magnificent surprise he had ever met with. It was sketched by Parkinson, +and is engraved in the History. Cook also made a pen-and-ink sketch of +it, which is in the British Museum. + +COOK'S WASHING STOLEN. + +On 31st October they rounded East Cape, and following the coast, which +trended more to the west, they saw a great number of villages and patches +of cultivation, some of the last looking as if freshly ploughed. The +whole aspect of the country was changing for the better, but the +inhabitants did not seem more peaceably inclined. Five canoes came out to +the ship fully armed, and apparently bent on mischief. Cook was very +busy, and did not want them on board, so to keep them off ordered a +musket to be fired over them; but as it only caused them to stop for a +moment, a round shot was sent over them, and they hurriedly turned tail. +The place was given the name Cape Runaway. White Island was named, but it +must have been quiescent as there is no note of its being a volcano. As +they sailed along the coast they met with canoes from which fish, +lobsters, and mussels were purchased, and trading seemed well +established, when one gentleman took a fancy to Cook's sheets, which were +trailing overboard (they were in the wash), and refused to give them up. +Muskets were fired over them and they fled, and Cook lost his sheets. +From near White Island, Mount Edgecombe was seen, named after the +sergeant of marines. It is a high round mountain, and forms a conspicuous +landmark on both sides of the North Island. During this day they had +noticed several small villages perched on difficult eminences and +surrounded by palisades, which Tupia declared were "Mories or places of +worship," but, says Cook: + +"I rather think they are places of retreat or strongholds, where they +defend themselves against the attack of an enemy, as some of them seem'd +not ill design'd for that purpose." + +British soldiers have since discovered that a Maori Pah is "not ill +designed for that purpose." Cook most unfortunately missed the Harbour of +Tauranga, the only safe port on the east coast between Auckland and +Wellington for ships of any size. + +NATIVE ACCOUNT. + +In what is now known as Cook's Bay, they managed to induce the natives to +trade, and purchased crayfish, over which Parkinson waxes enthusiastic, +and "Mackerell as good as ever was eat," the latter in such large +quantities that they were able to salt a considerable number, thus saving +their sea stores. After an observation of a transit of Mercury, in which +they were not very successful (Wharton thinks they were taken by +surprise, the transit occurring somewhat earlier than expected; Green +says: "Unfortunately for the seamen, their look-out was on the wrong side +of the sun. The end was likewise as grossly mistaken"), they returned to +the ship and found that there had been a difficulty with the natives, who +had assumed a very threatening manner, and one attempted to run off with +a piece of calico which was at that time a subject of barter. Mr. Gore +seized a musket and fired, killing his man. Colonel Mundy, in Our +Antipodes, says he saw a man named Taniwha, in 1848, who remembered +Cook's visit, and imitated his walk, with the peculiar manner he had of +waving his right hand, and also told of the kindly way Cook had with the +children. Taniwha told Mundy that after the man was shot, the Maoris +landed, consulted over the body, and decided that as the corpse +"commenced the quarrel by the theft of the calico, his death should not +be revenged, but that he should be buried in the cloth which he had paid +for with his life." Colonel Wynyard took down the same story from +Taniwha's lips in 1852, when he was supposed to be about ninety-three, +and says: "His faculties were little impaired, and his great age +perceptible more from a stoop and grey hairs than any other infirmity." +Cook expressed very strong disapproval of Mr. Gore's conduct. + +Next day Cook and Banks explored a river that entered near where they +were anchored, the east side of which was very barren, but the west was +much better, no signs of cultivation showing on either. Wild fowl were +plentiful, and oysters, "as good as ever came from Colchester," and of +about the same size, says Banks, were taken on board in large quantities: + +"laid down under the booms, and employed the ship's company very well, +who, I sincerely believe, did nothing but eat them from the time they +came on board till night, by which time a large part were expended. But +this gave us no kind of uneasiness, since we well knew that not the boat +only, but the ship might be loaded in one tide almost, as they are dry at +half ebb." + +Cook thinks the inhabitants lived on fish, and shell-fish, with fern +roots for bread, for very large heaps of shells were found, but no signs +of cultivation. + +A fortified village was visited, the inhabitants good-naturedly +conducting them all over, and showing whatever they expressed a wish to +see. It was built on a high promontory, whose sides were in some places +quite inaccessible, in others very difficult, except where it faced the +narrow edge of the hill. Here it was defended by a double ditch and bank, +with two rows of pickets, the inner row being on the bank, leaving +standing-room for the defenders. The inner ditch was 24 feet from bottom +to top of the bank. A stage about 30 feet high, 40 feet long, and 6 feet +wide, was erected inside the fence, with a second, a few paces from it, +placed at right angles; from these the garrison were able to throw their +spears and stones on to the heads of their enemies. The whole village was +surrounded by a strong picket fence, running close to the edge of the +hill. The entire surface of the top of the hill was cut up into small +squares, each surrounded by its own fence, and communicating by narrow +lanes, with little gateways, so that if the outer defences were forced +each square could be defended in turn. Cook says: + +"I look upon it to be a very strong and well choose Post, and where a +small number of resolute men might defend themselves a long time against +a vast superior force, armed in the manner as these people are." + +He noticed, with quick eye, the great failing in these native fortresses, +that is, the want of storage for water. In these Maori villages it was +remarked that sanitary arrangements were provided, such as, says Beckmann +in his History of Inventions, did not exist in the palace of the King of +Spain at that time. + +Large quantities of iron sand were noted here, but the use was quite +unknown to the natives, who were indifferent to the iron tools or spikes +which had hitherto been such a valuable medium of exchange elsewhere. A +large supply of wild celery and a fresh boat-load of oysters were put on +board; a tree was marked with the name of the ship, the date, and one or +two other particulars, the flag was hoisted, saluted, and possession +taken of the country, and the ship sailed again on her journey. + +AT THE THAMES. + +Running closely along the coast, they hauled round Cape Colville into +"the Entrance of a Straight, Bay or River," and anchored for the night, +and in the morning they stood on along the east side. Canoes came off, +and from the behaviour of the occupants, some of whom came on board at +the first invitation, it was judged that favourable accounts had been +heard of the ship. After running about 5 leagues the water shoaled to +about 6 fathoms, and the ship anchored, and boats were sent out to sound. +No great increase of depth being found, the pinnace and long-boat went up +a river about 9 miles away, and on account of a fancied resemblance named +it the Thames. They landed at a village near the mouth, being well +received, but desiring to take advantage of the flood-tide which ran "as +strong as it does in the River Thames below bridge," they made no stay; +they went up about 14 miles, and then, finding little alteration in the +appearance of the country, landed to inspect some large trees of a kind +they had previously noticed. One was carefully measured, and was found to +be 19 feet 6 inches girth at 6 feet from the ground, and, by means of +Cook's quadrant, 89 feet to the lowest branch. It was perfectly straight, +and tapered very slightly, and some were seen that were even larger. This +was the Black Pine; to the Maoris, Matoi, and to the naturalist, +Podocarpus. + +On the way down the river their friends of the morning came out and +"traffick'd with us in the most friendly manner imaginable, until they +had disposed of the few trifles they had." When the boats got outside +they had to anchor, as a strong tide and breeze were against them, and +they did not reach the ship till next morning, when the breeze had +increased to a gale, and topgallant yards had to be struck. When the wind +dropped, what was left was against them, and the Endeavour would only go +with the tide, so Cook took a run ashore to the west side of the bay, but +saw nothing of interest, and concluded it was but sparsely inhabited. +Whilst he was away natives went off to trade and behaved remarkably well, +with the exception of one man who was caught making off with the +half-hour glass, so Mr. Hicks had him triced up, and he was given a dozen +lashes. When it was explained to his friends why this was done, they +expressed their approval, and on his release an old man gave him another +thrashing. + +The weather now became very unsettled, and they were not able to keep as +near the coast as they desired, but on 26th November some cultivated +spots were seen, and several canoes came off. + +"Some of the natives ventur'd on board; to two, who appeared to be +chiefs, I gave presents. After these were gone out of the ship, the +others became so Troublesome that in order to get rid of them, we were at +the expense of two or three Musquet Balls and one 4 pound shott, but as +no harm was intended them, none they received, unless they happened to +overheat themselves in pulling ashore." + +A STAMPEDE. + +To the west side of Cape Brett is a deep bay which was seen but not +named, and here the town of Russell is now established, said to possess +one of the finest harbours in the world, into which vessels of any +draught can enter in all weathers and at any state of the tide. The +natives were found difficult to deal with, and "would cheat whenever they +had an opportunity." The ship left its anchorage, but was after a time +driven back again, and Cook, with a party, took the opportunity to land. +They were followed up by the Maoris, and were soon surrounded by about +two hundred of them, some of whom tried to seize the boats, but being +driven off tried to break in on the party. Several charges of small shot, +which did no serious damage, were fired into them, and then the ship +fired a 4 pounder over them, which caused a stampede, and during the rest +of the stay there was no further trouble, but Cook had to punish three of +his own men for stealing potatoes from one of the plantations. He +invariably tried to hold the balance fairly between his men and the +natives. + +The country is described as very similar to that seen before, but the +number of inhabitants was greater, and though apparently not under the +same chiefs, they were on good terms with each other, and inclined to be +civil to their visitors. A good deal of the ground was under cultivation, +producing good sweet-potatoes. A few trees of the paper-mulberry were +seen, from which the natives made a cloth in a similar manner to the +Otaheitans, but the quantity was so small that it was only used for +ornament. Tupia, who had been instructed to gain as much information +about the people as he could, was informed that some of their ancestors +once went off in large canoes and discovered a country to the north-west +after a passage of about a month, only a small number returning. These +reported they had been to a place where the people ate hogs, using the +same word for the animal as the Otaheitans, Tupia asked if they had any +in New Zealand, and the reply was "no." He asked if their ancestors +brought any back, again the answer was "no"; whereon he told them their +story must be a lie, for their ancestors could never have been such fools +as to come back without some. The land said to have been discovered may +have been New Caledonia. + +One of the men who had been wounded at the first coming of the ship was +seen by Banks. A ball had gone through his arm and grazed his chest. He +did not seem to have any pain, and the wound though exposed to the air, +was perfectly healthy, and he was greatly pleased to receive a musket +ball like the one which had wounded him. + +When leaving the bay they nearly grounded, being set by the current +towards a small island, but the boats towed them clear. Very soon after +they struck on an unseen rock, which was named Whale Rock, but almost +immediately got clear, with no "perceptible damage," into twenty fathoms. + +BLOWN OFF THE LAND. + +Progress was now very slow, owing either to want of, or adverse wind. On +10th December they discovered two bays separated by a low neck of land, +Knuckle Point; one bay was named Doubtless Bay and the other Sandy Bay; +the country is described as nothing but irregular white sandhills, and +Cook concluded from its appearance that the island was here very narrow +and exposed to the open sea on the west. This he soon proved to be +correct. Foster, in his account of the Second Voyage, says that when the +Endeavour was passing Doubtless Bay, M. de Surville was anchored under +the land, in the Saint Jean Baptiste, and saw Cook's ship, though himself +unseen. In the account of De Surville's voyage, published by the Academie +Francaise, it is stated that New Zealand was not sighted till 12th +December 1769, and owing to bad weather no anchorage was gained till +17th. No mention whatever is made of the Endeavour being sighted, and M. +l'Abbe Rochon, the editor, thinks it most probable that neither navigator +knew anything of the movements of the other. De Surville mentions having +lost anchors in a place he calls Double Bay, during a storm "ABOUT 22nd +December," and it may possibly have been the one Cook encountered on the +28th off the north end of the island. They were blown out of sight of +land on the 13th, the main topsail being split, and next day both fore +and mizzen topsails were lost, but they managed to bring up under shelter +of a small island off Knuckle Point. On the 15th the latitude was found +to be 34 degrees 6 minutes South, with land visible to the south-west, +and a large swell was coming from the west, so Cook concluded this was +the most northerly point of the island, and named it North Cape. + +After beating about for some days against westerly winds, they ran up +north, returning southwards 23rd December, and the following day sighted +land to the south-east, which proved to be Tasman's Three Kings. Here +Banks provided the Christmas dinner, shooting several solan geese, which +were made into a pie, and were "eaten with great approbation; and in the +evening all hands were as drunk as our forefathers used to be upon like +occasions." + +On the 27th, when about thirty leagues west of North Cape, and about the +same latitude as the Bay of Islands, no land in sight, the wind rose so +that they had to bring to, under the mainsail, but moderated a little the +next day so that they could run in towards the land. Again it freshened +up and blew a perfect hurricane, accompanied by heavy rain, and a +"prodidgeous high sea," which caused the ship to go greatly to leeward. +On the 30th, Cape Maria van Diemen was seen about six leagues off, the +land extending east and south. On the last day of the year their position +was given as "34 degrees 42 minutes South, Cape Maria van Diemen +North-East by North about 5 leagues." Cook says: + +"I cannot help thinking but what it will appear a little strange that, at +this season of the year, we should be three weeks in getting fifty +leagues, for so long is it since we pass'd Cape Brett; but it will hardly +be credited that in the midst of summer and in the latitude of 35 degrees +South such a gale of wind as we have had could have happened, which for +its strength and continuance was such as I hardly was ever in before. +Fortunately at this time we were a good distance from land, otherwise it +would have proved fatal to us." + +VEGETABLE SHEEP. + +On 2nd January 1770 Cook fixed the position of Cape Maria van Diemen, +giving it as 34 degrees 30 minutes South, 187 degrees 18 minutes West of +Greenwich. Admiral Wharton remarks that this is extraordinarily correct, +seeing that the ship was never close to the Cape, and the observations +were all taken in very bad weather. The latitude is exact, and the +longitude only three miles out. He missed seeing Kaipara Harbour, one of +the few good ones on the west coast, and describes the land as having a +most desolate and inhospitable appearance, nothing but sandhills with +hardly a sign of vegetation on them, and says: "If we was once clear of +it, I am determined not to come so near again if I can avoid it, unless +we have a very favourable wind indeed." On the 11th, a high mountain, its +summit covered with snow, was seen, and named Mount Egmont; Wharton gives +its height as 8,300 feet, and describes it as a magnificent conical +mountain surrounded on three sides by the sea. Banks notes on the sides +of the hill "many white lumps in companies which bore much resemblance to +flocks of sheep." These were a peculiar plant, Raoulia mammillaris +(Hooker), known in New Zealand as vegetable sheep. Fires were seen, the +first sign of inhabitants on the west coast. + +On the 14th, thinking he was in the entrance of a large bay, Cook ran in +under the southern coast, and finding it broken into promising-looking +bays, determined to run into one and careen the ship, as she was very +foul; it is now called Ship Cove, in Queen Charlotte's Sound. Here they +were at once visited by canoes, whose fully armed occupants commenced +acquaintance by "heaving a few stones against the ship." Tupia opened a +conversation, and a few ventured on board, but did not make a long stay. +Cook then landed to look for water, and soon found an excellent supply, +and "as to wood the land is here an entire forest." Whilst he was away, +the crew got out the nets, and caught about 300 pounds of fish. Some +natives also came off with fish, and though it was not good, Cook ordered +it to be bought, in order to open up trade with them. However, they soon +found these people were inclined to be quarrelsome and threatening, and +as the ship was in an awkward position, being already hove down for +cleaning, a charge of small shot was fired at the worst offender, which +quickly taught them to behave better in future. + +They had long suspected the natives were addicted to cannibalism, and now +they proved it, as they purchased the bone of a forearm of a man, from +which the flesh had been recently picked, and were given to understand +that a few days before a strange canoe had arrived, and its occupants had +been killed and eaten. They only ate their enemies, but held all +strangers to be such. The place where the ship was careened was, +according to Wharton, about 70 miles from Massacre Bay, where Tasman's +men were killed, and Cook endeavoured to find out if there were any +traditions of visits from ships to the neighbourhood, but could gain no +information. The natives became friendly as time went on, and brought +good fish which they sold for nails, cloth, paper (a great favourite at +first, but when they found it would not stand water, worthless), and Cook +says: "In this Traffic they never once attempted to defraud us of any one +thing, but dealt as fair as people could do." + +The surrounding country was too thickly timbered for them to see much, +but one day, being out in a boat trying to find the end of the inlet, +Cook took the opportunity of climbing a thickly timbered hill, and from +there saw, far away to the eastward, that the seas which washed both west +and eastern coasts were united, and that one part of New Zealand, at any +rate, was an island, and he had thus solved one of the problems he had +given him in England. They also saw that much of their immediate +neighbourhood was not mainland as they had thought, but consisted of a +number of small islands. + +A MORE SENSIBLE PEOPLE. + +The population of the district was estimated at only some three or four +hundred, and appeared to subsist on fish and fern roots. They were +evidently poorer than those seen previously, and their canoes are +described as "mean and almost without ornament." They soon understood the +value of iron, and readily took spike nails when trading, and greatly +preferred "Kersey and Broadcloth to the Otaheite cloth, which show'd them +to be a more sensible people than many of their neighbours," says Cook. + +An old man, who had previously paid several visits, complained that one +of the ships boats had fired on and wounded two Maoris, one of whom was +since dead. On enquiry, Cook found that the Master and five petty +officers, fishing beyond the usual limits, were approached by two canoes +in what they thought was a threatening manner and had fired to keep them +off. A second native assured Cook no death had occurred, and enquiry +failed to discover one; but Cook very severely condemned the action of +his men as totally unjustifiable. The ship had, by this time, been +brought into fairly good trim, being clean, freshly caulked and tarred, +and broken ironwork all repaired, so preparations were made to push +through the straits; but, before leaving, two posts were set up, one near +the watering place, and the other on the island, Motuara, on which the +name of the ship and the date of the visit had been cut, and possession +was taken of this land, the king's health being drunk, and the empty +bottle presented to the old man who had complained about the shooting, +and who was greatly delighted with his present; he also was given some +silver threepenny pieces, dated 1763, and spike nails marked with the +broad arrow. + +On getting out into the strait a very strong current nearly drove them on +to a small island, the anchor would not hold, and only a change in the +current, probably caused by the tide, saved them. The southern point of +the North Island was named "Cape Pallisser, in honour of my worthy +friend, Captain Pallisser," and the north point of the South Island was +called Cape Campbell, after Captain John Campbell, F.R.S., who had been +one of Cook's strongest supporters as Observer for the Royal Society. + +When through the straits Cook was turning south, but finding some of his +people were not quite satisfied as to the part they had passed being an +island, he took a northerly course till Cape Turnagain was recognised, +when he at once went about for the south. Banks says: + +"At this time there were two parties on board, one who wished that the +land in sight might, and the others that it might not, prove to be a +continent. I myself have always been most firm in the former wish, though +sorry I am to say that my party is so small that there are none heartily +of it than myself, and one poor midshipman, the rest begin to sigh for +roast beef." + +The east coast was followed down to Banks Peninsula, which was at first +thought might be an island, and is marked by dotted lines as doubtful in +Cook's chart, when Gore thought he had seen land to the east, and Cook, +though convinced it was a mistake, ran out to make sure. On returning the +winds proved contrary, and their progress was very slow, but they several +times succeeded in running close in to the land, and from what they could +see concluded it was very barren, with high ranges in the interior and +with very few evidences of inhabitants. A favourable breeze springing up +from the north, they tried to make the most of it, "and by that means +carried away the main topgallant mast and fore topmast steering-sail +boom, but these were soon replaced by others." A high bluff was named +after Admiral Saunders, and near were several bays, "wherein there +appear'd to be anchorage and shelter from South-West, Westerly, and +North-West winds." One of these is now Otago Harbour, the port of +Dunedin. + +THE TRAPS. + +On 26th February it blew hard from west-south-west, so they stood +southward. They lost the fore-sail, and then the wind moderated, only to +come on with increased fury about daylight, when their main topsail went. +The storm continued for forty-eight hours, and half that time they lay +to, heading south. After being lost for seven days the land was again +sighted near Cape Saunders, and at night a large fire was seen on shore. +On 6th March, being satisfied that he had passed the south point of the +island, Cook altered his course to the west, and nearly ran on some +partially submerged rocks a few miles to the south-east of Stewart +Island, to which he gave the suggestive name of the Traps. They were +again blown off, but picked up the land again at the western end of +Foveaux Straits. Again they had to run off, returning to near Dusky Bay, +which he wished to enter as he thought it looked a likely harbour, but +the difficulty of getting out again and consequent waste of time +prevented him. Off Cape Foulwind--suggestive name--they were again blown +out to sea, but soon recovered their position, and Cook describes the +land: + +"No country upon earth can appear with a more rugged and barren aspect +than this does from the sea, for as far inland as the eye can reach +nothing is to be seen but the summits of these rocky mountains, which +seem to lay so near one another as not to admit any vallies between +them." + +On the 24th they rounded the north point of the South Island, and on the +27th Cook writes: "As we have now circumnavigated the whole of this +country, it is time for me to think of quitting it." He had thus carried +out to the fullest extent the instructions to determine the situation and +nature of the land seen by Tasman in 1642, and had done it in the most +conclusive manner possible--by sailing round it--and thus upset Mr. +Dalrymple's favourite theory that it formed part of a continent. + +In Admiralty Bay, which he entered to refit for the homeward voyage, the +sails were found to require a thorough overhaul, for, as Banks says, +they: + +"were ill-provided from the first, and were now worn and damaged by the +rough work they had gone through, particularly on the New Zealand coast, +and they gave no little trouble to get into order again." + +The two points forming the bay were appropriately named after the +Secretaries of the Admiralty, Stephens and Jackson. + +The opinion was expressed that European fruits, grain, etc., would grow +well in New Zealand, and an agricultural population would be successful. +Timber of excellent quality was plentiful, and it was believed that New +Zealand flax promised to be of considerable commercial value. Fish was +found in great quantities, the lobsters and oysters being specially +remarkable for quality and quantity. No quadrupeds except dogs and rats +were seen, and birds did not seem very plentiful. The minerals, in Cook's +opinion, did not appear of much value, but he admitted that he was not an +authority on the subject. Banks notes the southern islanders appeared to +be an inferior race to those of the north, the latter probably more +closely allied to the Otaheitan type; many of their customs were similar, +and their language practically identical. Tupia had no difficulty in +making himself understood. + +It would seem that even at this time founding a colony in the southern +hemisphere had been under discussion, for Cook says that if a settlement +were decided on in New Zealand, he would recommend the Estuary of the +Thames and the Bay of Islands as most suitable for the purpose. + +Speaking of his chart of New Zealand, Cook points out frankly the places +where he thinks he may have fallen into error, and gives his reasons for +so thinking, and the opinions of others are worth recording. + +A DULL SAILOR. + +Admiral Wharton says: + +"Never has a coast been as well laid down by a first explorer, and it +must have required unceasing vigilance and continual observation in fair +weather and foul, to arrive at such a satisfactory conclusion, and with +such a dull sailor as the Endeavour was, the six and a half months +occupied in the work (2,400 miles of coast) must be counted as a short +interval in which to do it." + +M. Crozet, second to M. Marion du Fresne in command of the French +expedition that was out in the following year, says: + +"As soon as I obtained information of the voyage of Cook, I carefully +compared the chart I had prepared of that part of the coast of New +Zealand along which we had coasted, with that prepared by Captain Cook +and his officers. I found it of an exactitude and of a thoroughness of +detail which astonished me beyond all power of expression. I doubt +whether our own coasts of France have been delineated with more +precision. I think therefore that I cannot do better than to lay down our +track of New Zealand on the chart prepared by the celebrated English +navigator." + + +CHAPTER 10. 1770. AUSTRALIA. + +The next thing to be done was to decide the course to be taken towards +England. Cook would have liked to have returned by the Horn and thus +settle the existence or non-existence of a large body of land in the +South Pacific, but the time of year and the condition of his ship +suggested that would be to court disaster. The same reasons held good +against a direct course to the Cape of Good Hope, with the added +disadvantage of there being no probability of any fresh discoveries, as +that part of the Ocean had been frequently traversed. + +"It was therefore resolved to return by way of the East Indies by the +following route. Upon leaving this coast to the Westward until we fall in +with the East coast of New Holland, and then to follow the direction of +that coast to the Northward or what other direction it might take us, +until we arrive at its Northern extremity; and if it should be found +impracticable then to Endeavour to fall in with the Land or Islands +discovered by Quiros." + +This extract from Cook's Journal shows that he made no claim to the +discovery of Australia, and settles the stupid story that his connection +with the discovery of the east coast was an accident. It was a course +laid down after thorough consideration of the best charts, very poor at +best, in his possession. + +BOTANY BAY. + +The good ship Endeavour got under way on 31st March 1770, with a +favourable wind and clear sky, heading a little north of west. On the +16th a change in the birds denoted the neighbourhood of land, and after a +touch of contrary wind, on 19th April 1770 Lieutenant Hicks sighted land +extending from north-east to west, distant five or six leagues. This was +the looked-for east coast of New Holland, and the ship was at the +entrance of Bass Straits, but on his chart Cook shows by a dotted line +that he felt uncertain whether van Diemen's Land was joined to New +Holland or no. The low hill which was first seen was named Point Hicks +after its discoverer, and its position is given as 38 degrees 0 minutes +South, 211 degrees 7 minutes West. Three waterspouts were seen a short +distance from the ship, and are remarkable as being the first ones +mentioned in the log. The course was altered to the north, and the +country is described as rather low, not very hilly, covered with green +woods, and the shore of white sand. Cape Howe was named the following +day, and the position fixed as 37 degrees 28 minutes South, 210 degrees 3 +minutes West, which Wharton says is almost exact. The country now +appeared to be improving in character, and smoke proved the existence of +inhabitants, but none were visible till Cape Dromedary and Bateman's Bay +were passed, when some were seen on the shore, but too far away for +observation. Cook wished to land at Jervis Bay, but the wind was against +him, and he could not afford time to beat in. An attempt was +unsuccessfully made at a place that has been identified a little north of +Five Islands, near Illawarra, but the surf was too heavy. At daylight on +Sunday, 29th April, a bay was discovered, and the Master was sent in to +sound the entrance, the ship following closely, and soon the Endeavour +anchored for the first time in Australian waters, about two miles within +the entrance of Sting Ray, now Botany, Bay. (For note see below.) The +time when the name of the Bay was changed has been much disputed, but it +is probable it was done some time after leaving the place. It was called +Sting Ray on account of the big haul of that fish made soon after their +arrival and the name stands in all the logs; Banks refers to it under +that name in a general description of the country, written when leaving +Cape York. Cook is however, decisive, for under date 6th May he says: +"The great quantity of plants Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander found in this +place occasioned my giving it the name of Botany Bay." + +On coming to an anchor, Cook, Banks, and Tupia went on shore, and Canon +Bennett, a second cousin of Mrs. Cook's, and one who knew her personally, +relates that the family legend was that on reaching the shore Cook +ordered the midshipman to "Jump out, Isaac," and Isaac Smith (afterwards +Admiral) also a cousin of Mrs. Cook's, was the first Englishman to set +his foot on the soil of New South Wales. The few natives who were near +ran away, excepting two, who came forward to oppose any landing. A musket +was fired over them, and they retired to where they had left their +spears, and then one threw a stone at the boat, and as they were too far +away for any serious damage to be done, Cook fired a charge of small shot +at him. He then ran off to a small hut near, picked up a wooden shield, +and returned to take up his position alongside his comrade, and they +threw a couple of spears, receiving a second discharge of small shot in +return, which caused them to retire slowly. As Banks, suspicious of some +gummy substance on the points of the spears, suggested poison, they were +not followed up. The huts, found near the landing-place, were constructed +of sticks covered with pieces of bark somewhat similar to those seen in +Tierra del Fuego. Some children found carefully covered up were left +undisturbed, but forty or fifty spears were taken, and payment in the +shape of beads, cloth, nails, etc., was left, but still untouched, on +visiting the camp the next morning. The canoes from which the natives +were seen fishing are described by Cook as the worst he ever saw, being +merely sheets of bark tied with withies at the end and kept open in the +middle by a stick. + +Considerable difficulty was experienced in obtaining water, and whilst +the crew were procuring it, Cook made a survey of the harbour. He +describes the country as lightly timbered, with a sandy soil growing a +plentiful crop of coarse grass, of which a quantity was cut for the +sheep. The soil was interspersed with rocks and swamps, but at the head +of the bay appeared richer. A few natives were seen, who ran away when +observed, and though one or two spears were thrown no damage was done to +any one. Large heaps of oyster, mussel, and cockle shells were found, +amongst them, says Cook, "being some of the largest oyster shells I ever +saw." An account, said to have been obtained from the blacks, published +in a work on Australian discovery (anonymous, Sydney), agrees as far as +it goes with those of Cook and Banks, and it is almost unnecessary to say +the ship was at first taken for a large bird. + +SUTHERLAND'S DEATH. + +Whilst here, a seaman named Forbes (Forby, in the Muster Roll) +Sutherland, died of consumption, from which he had suffered throughout +the voyage, was buried on shore, and the point named Point Sutherland in +his memory. The anonymous pamphlet referred to above, says that Cook does +not give the cause of Sutherland's death, and that he had been fatally +wounded by the blacks whilst trying to secure a metal plate he had found +affixed to a tree, recording that the Dutch had previously been on the +spot. The pamphlet goes on to say that Cook suppressed these facts in +order to have the credit of being the first discoverer, but that the +plate had been secured by some one and deposited in the British Museum. +Unfortunately, Cook does give the cause of Sutherland's death, and the +plate is not in the British Museum, nor has it ever been heard of there. +Before leaving, an inscription was cut on a tree near the watering place, +giving the ship's name and date; the English colours were displayed on +shore every day during their stay, but they could not establish any +friendly intercourse with the blacks. A plate has since been attached to +the rocks about fifteen feet above high water, and as near as possible to +the supposed place of landing. + +After leaving Botany Bay the coast was followed up to the north, and Cook +noted an "entrance" which he thought might prove a safe anchorage, to +which he gave the name of Port Jackson, after Mr. George Jackson, one of +the Secretaries to the Admiralty. Within this entrance is now the city of +Sydney, and it was to this place that Captain Phillip removed his +headquarters when he had discovered the unsuitability of Botany Bay for +settlement. Broken Bay, named from the number of small islands therein, +was passed, and the voyage was rendered very slow by the light northerly +winds, and passing Cape Hawke, he found the set of the current had placed +him twelve miles in advance, when reckoned by the log, of his real +position given by observation. + +Almost the only thing to be seen beyond the outline of the coast was the +constantly recurring smoke; one point received the name of Smoky Cape on +account of the great quantity seen in its vicinity. Cook, of course, was +unaware that these "smokes" were probably, many of them, signals from one +party of blacks to another of the arrival of something strange on the +coast. That these "smokes" are used by the blacks as a means of +communication is a well recognised fact, and the news they can convey by +this means is perfectly astonishing to a white man. + +The country appeared to increase in height with: + +"an agreeable variety of Hills, Ridges, and Valleys, and large plains all +clothed with wood, which to all appearance is the same as I have before +mentioned as we could discover no visible difference in the soil." + +After escaping a reef off Point Danger they discovered a bay, which Cook +called Morton Bay after the Earl of Morton, P.R.S.; now wrongly spelt as +Moreton Bay. Here, from the colour of the water, they supposed a river +emptied into the sea; the surmise was correct, for they were at the mouth +of the Brisbane River. At the same time some curiously-shaped hills were +given the name of the Glasshouses, from their resemblance to the +buildings in which glass is manufactured, and the resemblance is most +striking. + +After rounding Breaksea Spit, Cook found himself in a large bay, and +conjectured, from the birds and the direction of their flight, that there +was fresh water to the south-west; and rightly, for here the Mary River +enters Hervey's Bay. On 23rd May they landed for the second time, and +Cook says this was "visibly worse than the last place," that is Botany +Bay. They managed to shoot a bustard of 17 1/2 pounds, and Banks says it +was "as large as a good turkey, and far the best we had eaten since we +left England." It was so much appreciated that its name was conferred on +Bustard Head and Bustard Bay. This bird is known in Australia as the +Plain Turkey. Oysters of good quality were also obtained, and Banks made +the personal acquaintance of the green tree ant and the Australian +mosquito, neither of which were appreciated. + +CAPE CAPRICORN. + +On 24th May a moderately high, white, barren-looking point was passed, +which being found by observation to be directly under the tropic was +named Cape Capricorn, and soon after the mouth of the Fitzroy was +crossed, with the remark from Cook that from general appearances he +believed there was a river in the immediate vicinity. Soundings becoming +very irregular, he ran out between the Keppel Islands, on one of which +natives were seen. Cape Townshend was named after Charles Townshend, one +of the Lords of the Admiralty when the Endeavour left England, and not +the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as stated by Wharton. + +Rounding the point into Shoalwater Bay they had to haul sharp up to the +west to get within the Northumberland Islands, and the water was found to +be so shallow that they anchored and sounded from the boats, gradually +working nearer in, as Cook was anxious to clean the ship's bottom, which +was very foul; and he desired to take advantage of the full moon in these +dangerous waters. They landed to take some observations and look for +water. The observations were unsatisfactory, for the compass was +unreliable, a fault attributed to the ironstone in the neighbourhood, of +which signs were very evident, and water was not to be found. The country +is reported on as follows: "No signs of fertility is to be seen upon the +Land; the soil of the uplands is mostly a hard, reddish clay." + +Passing Cape Hillsborough, they entered Whitsunday Passage, described by +Cook as "one continued safe harbour, besides a number of small bays and +coves on each side, where ships might lay as it were in a Basin." The +land on both sides was green and pleasant-looking, but on account of the +moonlight Cook could not waste any time in landing. + +Entering Cleveland Bay, the compass was again very much disturbed; the +cause was found to be Magnetical, now Magnetic, Island, lying just off +the present Port of Townsville. Blacks were seen, near Rockingham Bay, +through the glasses; they were said to be very dark and destitute of +clothing, but no communication with them was possible. + +ON THE ROCKS. + +On 10th June, after leaving a small bay north of Cape Grafton, where they +had searched in vain for a watering place, the watch had just turned in, +the lead had been cast and given seventeen fathoms, when the unfortunate +ship brought all hands on deck, with a crash on a sunken rock. Soundings +taken all round showed her to be on the very edge of a coral reef. Making +but little water, an attempt was made to warp her off, but +unsuccessfully. Steps were then taken to lighten her; decayed stores, oil +jars, staves, casks, ballast, and her six quarter-deck guns were thrown +overboard, some forty to fifty tons, but with no effect. The tide now +rising, the leaks increased rapidly, two pumps being kept constantly at +work. Thinking things could only go from bad to worse, Cook determined to +heave her off at all hazards, and every one who could be spared from the +pumps was sent to the capstan or windlass, and at length, after a stay of +twenty-three hours on the rocks, she was hove into deep water. Now, +however, it was a case of all hands to the pumps, and for a time it +seemed as if they were slowly gaining on the in-rushing water, but +suddenly there was an increase reported in the well, casting a shadow of +gloom over all, but not for an instant staying the steady beat of the +pumps. Shortly it was discovered that a fresh hand had been sent to the +well and had sounded from a different mark than his predecessor, +accounting for the sixteen to eighteen inches difference in the depth of +water reported. This discovery acted like a charm: each one redoubled his +exertions, and by morning they had gained considerably on the leak, so +sail was made, and they slowly crawled in towards the land. + +Midshipman Monkhouse had been on a ship which was leaking at the rate of +forty-eight inches per hour, and had seen the operation called +"fothering" so successfully performed on her, that, without further +repair, she had sailed from Virginia to London. This being brought to +Cook's ear, he gave Monkhouse the charge of carrying out a similar +experiment. A studding sail was taken, on which oakum and wool was +lightly sewn and smothered with dirt; it was then lowered over the bows +and dragged by ropes over the place where the worst of the leak was +situated, and there secured, with the result, according to Banks, that in +a quarter of an hour after it was in position they were able to pump the +ship clear, and Cook says one pump was sufficient to keep her free. + +Of the conduct of the crew, Cook says: + +"In justice to the ship's company, I must say that no men ever behaved +better than they have done on this occasion; animated by the behaviour of +every Gentleman on board, every man seem'd to have a just sense of the +Danger we were in, and exerted himself to the very utmost." + +Banks adds his testimony: + +"Every man exerts his utmost for the preservation of the ship. The +officers during the whole time never gave an order that did not show them +to be perfectly composed and unmoved by the circumstances, however +dreadful they might appear." + +A point off which the reef was situated was given the suggestive name of +Cape Tribulation, and some small islands near, Hope Islands, because, as +Cook says, he hoped, at the time of their greatest danger, they might be +able to reach them. What a prospect to hope for! No possibility of ever +seeing a friendly sail, and but little probability of ever being able to +reach a civilised port. + +THE ENDEAVOUR RIVER. + +A boat sent off to search for some spot where temporary repairs could be +executed, soon returned and reported a small river had been found which +appeared suitable. This was the Endeavour River, and into it the ship was +safely taken, and deep water being found close to the bank, a stage was +rigged, and most of the stores and ballast were taken on shore; a +hospital was erected for the sick, "which amounted at this time to some +eight or nine afflicted with different disorders, but none very +dangerously ill." Green and Tupia were showing symptoms of scurvy, but +the remainder appear to have been free from it. + +As soon as the ship was sufficiently lightened she was warped a little +further up the river, and at the top of the tide her bows were hauled +well into the bank, so that when the tide fell they were able to examine +the leak. The damage was found to be very serious; the rock had cut +through four planks into the timbers, and three other planks had been +badly injured. The manner in which the ship had been injured was "hardy +credible, scarce a splinter was to be seen, but the whole was cut away as +if done with a blunt-edged tool." A piece of the rock was found wedged in +the hole, and had greatly assisted in arresting the influx of water. The +sheathing and false keel were very badly damaged, but it was believed +that she was not much injured aft, as she made but little water when once +the main wound was dry. + +At what is believed to be the exact spot at which the Endeavour was +beached, a monument has been erected by the inhabitants of Cooktown, a +seaport now at the mouth of the river. + +There being no danger from the natives the crew were allowed as much +liberty as possible, and a good supply of fish, a few pigeons and a small +quantity of vegetables, in the shape of yam tops, cabbage palm, and wild +plantains, had a very beneficial effect on their health. The longitude +was calculated from an observation of "the Emersion of Jupiter's First +Satelite," as 214 degrees 42 minutes 30 seconds West, which Wharton +remarks on as being an excellent observation, the true longitude being +214 degrees 45 minutes West. + +INCENDIARISM BY BLACKS. + +On 4th July the good ship was afloat again, so well repaired that only +about an inch of water per hour was taken in, easily kept under by the +pumps. She was laid over on a sandbank on the opposite side of the river +and more carefully examined, the sheathing being found to be very badly +damaged. The carpenter, in whom Cook had every confidence, reported that, +with the means at his disposal, he could not make a satisfactory job, but +he thought they might push on to some place where greater facilities +could be obtained. She was therefore taken alongside the staging, the +stores and ballast replaced, everything got ready for the prosecution of +the voyage, and the Master sent off in the pinnace to look for a passage +to the north-east; but was unsuccessful. He was again sent out, but again +reported badly; the shoals appeared to get worse the further he went. He, +however, brought back with him three turtles weighing about 800 pounds, +which were most welcome as the crew had now been some months without +fresh meat; a second trip to where these were caught resulted in getting +three or four more, and a large supply of shell-fish. They had made +several attempts to get on good terms with the few natives they had seen, +and on one occasion two or three who were fishing had a long and animated +conversation with Tupia, in which neither party could understand the +other, though one or two were persuaded to visit the camp. Shortly before +the last of the stores were taken in, Cook and Banks received friendly +overtures from a small party, and ten of them visited the ship. They were +offered various gifts, but seemed to set little value on anything except +the turtles. They made signs they wanted them, and when they found these +signs ignored, attempted to carry off two, and when their aim was +frustrated, went ashore to where some of the crew were at work. One of +them took a lighted stick from under the pitch kettle, and, making a wide +circuit round the place, fired the grass as he ran. Fortunately there +were not many things left ashore, and the powder had just been safely got +on board, so the most serious damage appears to have been the premature +roasting of a young pig. They then went off to where others of the crew +were washing, and drying the fishing nets, and another attempt was made +to burn the grass; but a charge of small shot caused a retreat, and on +their way they set fire to the undergrowth to cover their repulse. Banks +was greatly impressed with the manner in which the grass and undergrowth +burnt, and declared he would never pitch tents again without first +burning the grass for some distance round. + +Gore, Banks, and three men made a few days' excursion up the river, but, +with the exception of a kangaroo being shot by Gore, the first ever +killed by a European, they met with nothing worth noting. On 18th July +Cook, Banks, and Solander went up a hill some six or eight miles along +the coast to see if they could form any idea of the general run of the +coast and the surrounding reefs, and Cook says: "In whatever direction we +looked, it [the sea] was covered with shoals as far as the eye could +see." + +Before leaving the river, Banks gives some notes as to the country, and +puts it down as "in every respect the most barren country we have yet +seen." The animals were not numerous; he gives kangaroo, wolf (the dingo +or native dog), bats (flying foxes), wild cats (dasyurus), and opossums. +Amongst the birds, several kinds of duck, shags, pelicans, crows, and +flock pigeons, all, with the exception of the last, difficult to shoot. +Of the crow he says: "A crow in England though in general sufficiently +wary is, I must say, a fool to a New Holland crow." None of the beasts or +birds seem to have come amiss to the pot; all that was necessary was the +meat should not be salt, "that alone was sufficient to make it a +delicacy." He quotes the description given by a sailor of an animal he +saw: + +"It was as black as the devil and had wings, indeed I took it for the +devil, or I might have catched it, for it crawled away very slowly +through the grass." + +After some little trouble Banks discovered this to have been a large bat +(flying fox). Of the insect life seen, he was particularly struck by the +white ants and their nests, and formed a very respectful opinion of the +mosquito. + +Cook's opinion agrees fairly well with that of Banks, but on the whole he +thought the east coast was not so barren and desolate as Dampier had +described the west coast, and adds: + +"We are to consider that we see this country in the pure state of nature; +the Industry of Man has had nothing to do with any part of it, and yet we +find all such things as Nature hath bestowed upon it, in a flourishing +state. In this Extensive Country, it can never be doubted, but what most +sorts of grain, Fruit, roots, etc., of every kind would flourish here +were they once brought hither, planted and cultivated by the hands of +Industry; and here are provender for more cattle, at all seasons of the +year, than ever can be brought into the country." + +This is a fair example of the observations and deductions to be found +scattered through Cook's Journals, and an improvement on the would-be +scientific and classical rubbish put into his mouth by his editors. + +A MASTHEAD WATCH. + +At last, on 4th August, they got away from the Endeavour River, only to +find themselves surrounded by difficulties. Cook or one of the other +officers was continually at the masthead on the look-out, and at length, +by keeping very close in shore, they managed to creep past Cape Flattery, +and thought the worst was over, but a landing at Point Lookout showed a +very unsatisfactory prospect. In hopes of getting a better view Cook went +out to Lizard Island, and from there could see, far away to the east, the +white breakers on the Great Barrier Reef. This island, on which the only +living things to be seen were lizards, they found, from the large piles +of shells and remains of fires, was visited periodically by the blacks; a +remarkable voyage for their miserable canoes. + +Having only three months' supplies at short allowance left, Cook, after a +consultation with his officers, made out through an opening in the +Barrier Reef that he had seen from Lizard Island, and observes: + +"Having been entangled among Islands and Shoals more or less ever since +the 26th May, in which time we have sailed 360 leagues by the Lead, +without ever having a Leadsman out of the chains, when the ship was under +sail, a Circumstance that perhaps never happened to any ship before, and +yet it was here absolutely necessary." + +But their satisfaction in getting outside was diminished when it was +found that the increased working of the ship's timbers necessitated the +continual use of one pump. + +Cook was afraid that being forced outside the Barrier Reef he would be +unable to put to the proof the opinion he had formed that New Guinea and +New Holland were not joined. He did not know till after his return to +England, that the point had already been settled in 1606, by Louis Vaez +de Torres, and he readily yields the honour of the discovery in the +Introduction to his Second Voyage. The log of Torres's voyage was lost +for many years, and was found at Manilla, when that place was taken by +Admiral Cornish in 1762. Cook had with him a copy of De Brye's Voyages, +published in 1756, which contained three charts that he found to be +"tolerably good" with regard to New Guinea, and he evidently formed the +opinion that both the Spaniards and the Dutch had circumnavigated that +island. + +"I always understood, before I had a sight of these maps, that it was +unknown whether or no New Holland and New Guinea was one continued land, +and so it is said in the very History of Voyages these maps are bound up +in. However, we have now put this wholly out of dispute; but as I believe +it was known before, but not publickly, I claim no other merit than the +clearing up of a doubtful point." + +With this question of New Guinea and New Holland in view, he again made +to the west, sighting the Barrier again on 15th August, and on the +following morning, the wind having changed in the night, the breakers +were heard very distinctly. The lead gave no bottom at 140 fathoms, but +at daybreak the reef was not a mile away, and they found themselves in a +dead calm, rapidly drifting with the current towards the breakers. The +yawl and long-boat were got out, the pinnace being under repair, and the +sweeps were used from the gun-room ports. By six o'clock she was heading +north again, but: + +"not above 80 or 100 yards from the breakers. The same sea that washed +the side of the ship rose in a breaker prodigiously high the very next +time it did rise, so that between us and destruction was only a dismal +valley, the breadth of one wave, and even now no ground could be felt +with 120 fathoms." + +A PERILOUS POSITION. + +The carpenter had by this time fastened a temporary streak on the +pinnace, and it was sent off to assist in towing. Cook had almost given +up hope, but he says: + +"In this truly terrible situation, not one man ceased to do his utmost, +and that with as much calmness as if no danger had been near." + +Admiral Wharton draws special attention to the fact that in the very +height of the danger, Green, Charles Clerke, and Forwood, the gunner, +were engaged in taking a Lunar for the longitude. Green notes: + +"These observations were very good, the limbs of the sun and moon very +distinct, and a good horizon. We were about 100 yards from the reef, +where we expected the ship to strike every minute, it being calm, no +soundings, and the swell heaving us right on." + +When things seemed perfectly hopeless, a small breath of air, "so small +that at any other time in a calm we should not have observed it," came, +and every advantage being taken, the distance from the reef was slightly +increased, but then again it fell calm. A small opening of the reef was +seen and an attempt was made to push through, but the ebb tide was found +to be "gushing out like a mill stream." Advantage was taken of this, and +they succeeded in getting about a quarter of a mile away, but the current +was so narrow they soon lost it. A second opening was seen, and, the tide +having changed, they were carried rapidly through Providential Channel +and safely anchored in nineteen fathoms of water. Cook says: + +"It is but a few days ago that I rejoiced at having got without the Reef, +but that joy was nothing when compared to what I now felt at being safe +at an anchor within it." + +Having arrived at a place of safety, Cook resolved to remain till he had +his boats in thorough repair and had made a complete study of his +difficulties. From the masthead it appeared as if the shoals and reefs +offered less obstruction than he had previously towards the north, and he +hoped, by keeping as close to the shore as possible, to be able to solve +the problem of the passage between New Guinea and New Holland. At this +place, boats that had been out fishing brought back a sort of cockle, +some requiring two men to lift them, and containing "as much as twenty +pounds of good wholesome meat." + +TAKE POSSESSION. + +Proceeding slowly through a network of reefs, shoals, and islands, the +boats always sounding ahead, he had the satisfaction of passing the +straits between Cape York and New Guinea, leaving Torres's track +considerably to the north. On getting clear of the straits, they landed +for the last time in Australian waters, and hoisting the English flag: + +"took possession of the whole Eastern Coast from the above latitude (38 +degrees 0 minutes South) down to this place by the name of New Wales. We +fired three volleys of small arms, which were answer'd by the like number +from the ship." + +Admiral Wharton says that in the King's and the Admiralty's copies of +Cook's Journal the name is given as New South Wales, and in a letter +written to Mr. John Walker, of Whitby, dated 13th September 1771, Cook +says: "The East coast of New Holland, or what I call New South Wales." + +After a narrow escape of running on a reef near Booby Island, from which +they were only saved by letting go the anchors with all sails set, they +left the difficulties of the New Holland coast behind and sighted New +Guinea on 29th August. + +*** + +FOOTNOTE: STING RAY BAY. + +"The great number of New Plants, etc., our Gentlemen Botanists have +collected in this place occasion'd my giving in [sic] the Name of +Botanist Bay." + +Extract from the only page known to exist of the Journal of the first +voyage written by Cook, and dated 6th May, 1770. It was, July 1911, +purchased by Mr. F.T. Sabin for 451 pounds. + + +CHAPTER 11. 1770 TO 1771. NEW GUINEA TO ENGLAND. + +The water on the New Guinea coast was very shallow, and kept them far out +in running westward, but on 3rd September they got a little nearer in, so +Cook decided to attempt a landing, and then to leave, as he considered it +was only wasting valuable time to go over ground that had already been +explored by the Dutch. Banks says the crew were rather sickly, they: + +"were pretty far gone with the longing for home, which the physicians +have gone so far as to esteem a disease under the name of Nostalgia. +Indeed, I can find hardly anybody in the ship clear of its effects, but +the Captain, Dr. Solander, and myself, and we three have ample constant +employment for our minds, which I believe to be the best if not the only +remedy for it." + +They were also on short allowance of food, which would necessarily have a +depressing effect, and when they learnt that Cook would return to +civilisation where fresh supplies could be obtained, there was a marked +improvement in the general health. + +Calling in at the island of Savu, some supplies were obtained, and the +country is described as very lovely, although there had been no rain for +seven months; the contrast with the monotonous and barren-looking country +of New Holland was very marked. + +AT BATAVIA. + +According to strict orders from the Admiralty, Cook on 30th September +collected all logs and journals that had been kept on board the ship, and +enjoined every one that they were on no account to divulge where they had +been on their arrival at Batavia. Off Java Head the main topsail was +split in a squall, and Cook remarks that all his sails are now in such a +condition that "they will hardly stand the least puff of wind." No +observations had been possible since leaving Savu, and the strong western +current had thrown out their dead reckoning, causing them to run past the +Straits of Sunda; but, picking themselves up on 1st October, they got +into the straits, and after a wearisome beat up arrived in Batavia on the +10th; and Hicks was sent on shore to announce their arrival, and offer an +apology for failing to salute the Dutch flag in a proper manner--the +reason being that they had only three guns available. + +The ship was thoroughly surveyed, and on the carpenter's report, Cook +applied to the Governor for a convenient place in which to heave down and +repair, and for permission to purchase such stores as might be necessary. +Every assistance was promised, and on Cook's finding a difficulty in +getting any private person to cash the bills he would have to draw for +his expenses, the Governor ordered the officer in charge of the port to +supply whatever amount might be necessary. + +During a heavy thunderstorm on the 12th, a Dutch East Indiaman, about two +cables away from the Endeavour, had mainmast "split all to shivers." The +Endeavour was also struck: + +"and in all probability we should have shared the same fate as the +Dutchman, had it not been for the electric chain which we had but just +before got up; this carried the Lightning or Electrical matter over the +side clear of the ship." + +On 25th October Cook reopened communication with the Admiralty, +forwarding to Mr. Stephens, by the Dutch East Indiaman Kronenberg, +Captain F. Kelgar, a packet containing a copy of his Journal (sold to Mr. +John Corner in 1890), charts of the South Seas, New Zealand, and the East +Coast of Australia. He also wrote a letter giving an outline of his +voyage up to date, and concludes: + +"In this Journal, I have with undisguised Truth and without gloss, +inserted the whole transactions of the Voyage, and made such remarks and +have given such descriptions of things as I thought was necessary, in the +best manner I was capable of. Although the discoverys made in the Voyage +are not great, yet I flatter myself they are such as may merit the +Attention of their Lordships, and altho' I have failed in discovering the +so much talked of Southern Continent (which perhaps do not exist), and +which I myself had much at heart, yet I am confident that no part of the +failure of such discovery can be laid to my charge. Had we been so +fortunate not to have run ashore, much more would have been done in the +latter part of the Voyage than what was, but as it is, I presume this +Voyage will be found as compleat as any before made to the South Seas on +the same account. + +PRAISES HIS CREW. + +"The plans I have drawn of the places I have been at, were made with all +the care and accuracy that Time and Circumstances would admit of. Thus +far I am certain that the Latitude and Longitude of few parts of the +World are better settled than these, in this I was very much assisted by +Mr. Green, who let slip no one opportunity for making observations for +settling the Longitude during the whole course of the Voyage, and the +many valuable discoverys made by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander in Natural +History and other things useful to the learned World, cannot fail of +contributing very much to the success of the Voyage. In justice to the +officers and the whole of the crew, I must say, they have gone through +the fatigues and dangers of the Whole Voyage with that cheerfulness and +alertness that will always do honour to the British Seamen, and I have +the satisfaction to say that I have not lost one man by Sickness during +the whole Voyage. I hope that the repairs wanting to the Ship will not be +so great as to detain us any length of time; You may be assured that I +shall make no unnecessary delay either here or at any other place, but +shall make the best of my way home." + +Banks, too, notes that there were no sick on board, and contrasts the +rosy, healthy appearance of the crew with the pallid faces of the +Europeans of Batavia. But on 26th October a series of disastrous entries +commence in the Journal. + +"Set up the ship's tents for the reception of the ship's company, several +of them begin to be taken ill, owing as I suppose to the extream hot +weather." + +Batavia had an ill-omened reputation, and it has been estimated that from +1735 to 1755 no less than 1,000,000 deaths took place, chiefly from +malarial fever and dysentery, and Cook had soon cause to regret that the +Dutch had undertaken the repairs of the ship, leaving his men to look on. +He knew well the evil effects of want of occupation in such a climate, +though he could not guess what it was to cost him. Up to this time he had +only seven deaths to record since leaving Plymouth; three from drowning, +two frozen (Mr. Banks's servants), one consumption, and one alcoholic +poisoning: probably a record never equalled in the history of navigation. +On 5th November Mr. Monkhouse, the surgeon, died, and Cook, Banks, and +Solander were very ill. The two last went up into the hills, but Cook +would not leave his ship. + +Meanwhile the repairs went on; the ship was found to be worse than had +been expected; two planks and a half had been rasped by the rocks to the +thickness of one eighth of an inch for a distance of six feet: + +"and here the worms had made their way quite into the timbers, so that it +was a matter of surprise to every one who saw her bottom, how we had kept +her above water, and yet in this condition we had sailed some hundreds of +leagues in as dangerous a navigation as in any part of the world, happy +in being ignorant of the continual danger we were in." + +By the 14th her bottom was thoroughly repaired, and Cook speaks highly of +the Dutch workmen: + +"I do not believe there is a Marine Yard in the World where work is done +with more alertness than here, or where there are better conveniences for +heaving ships down, both in point of safety and Despatch." + +The water, a perquisite of the Commodore of the Dutch East Indian fleet, +was very unsatisfactory, and was found to keep very badly at sea, +although its keeping properties had been loudly vaunted by the Commodore. +Cook was present at his appointment: + +"one of the grandest sights Batavia afforded; that may be too, and yet it +did not recompense us for our trouble. I thought that the whole was but +ill conducted, and the fleet appeared to be very badly mann'd." + +A seaman who had run from a Dutch ship entered on the Endeavour, was +claimed by the Dutch on the grounds that he was a Dane from Elsinore. +Cook promised he should be given up if he proved not to be a British +subject, and enquiry by Mr. Hicks resulted in a report to the Governor +that he was an Irishman, so the matter dropped. His name was James Marra, +and he will be again met with as gunner's mate on the Resolution. + +DEATH OF TUPIA. + +Before leaving Batavia there had been seven deaths, including Mr. +Reynolds, artist, and Tupia and his boy servant, and Cook gives the +number of sick as "forty or more." Hoping the sea breezes might have a +beneficial effect, preparations were hurried forward, and they managed to +leave the day after Christmas Day, being duly saluted by the garrison +with fourteen guns, and the Earl of Elgin with thirteen guns and three +cheers, "all of which we return'd." + +Calling at Prince's Island in the straits of Sunda, where some of the +Batavian water was replaced by better, the sailors were allowed to +purchase whatever they fancied in hopes of diminishing the dysentery +which was rampant. Every precaution that could be thought of was tried, +but in vain. Mr. Banks lost Messrs. Sporing and Parkinson, and on 29th +January Mr. Green died; he had been long ill, but Cook says he would not +take proper care of himself. To judge from his own Journal, he must have +been rather a difficult man to get on with, but his services as observer +were invaluable, and he at all times and seasons was devoted to his +special duty: indeed, at times he appears to have thought that every +other work should give way to his. It is a somewhat suggestive fact that +Banks hardly makes any reference to Mr. Green throughout his Journal. On +27th February the terrible list of losses was closed by the deaths of +three of the crew, making in all thirty deaths since their arrival at +Batavia. + +It was afterwards discovered that the season in Batavia had been +unusually unhealthy, and several ships that had called in there had to +report heavy losses. Cook says: + +"Thus we find that ships which have been little more than twelve months +from England have suffer'd as much or more by sickness than we have done, +who have been out near three times as long. Yet their sufferings will +hardly, if at all, be mentioned or known in England; when, on the other +hand, those of the Endeavour, because her voyage is uncommon, will very +probably be mentioned in every News Paper, and, what is not unlikely, +with Additional hardships we never Experienced; for such are the +dispositions of men in general in these Voyages, that they are seldom +content with the Hardships and Dangers which will naturally occur, but +they must add others which hardly ever had existence but in their +imaginations, by magnifying the most Trifling accidents and Circumstances +to the greatest Hardships, and unsurmountable Dangers without the +immediate interposition of Providence, as if the whole merit of the +Voyages consisted in the real dangers and Hardships they underwent, or +that the real ones did not happen often enough to give the mind +sufficient anxiety. Thus Posterity are taught to look upon these Voyages +as hazardous to the highest degree." + +AT THE CAPE. + +On 6th March land was sighted at daylight, about two leagues away, near +Cape Natal, and on the 15th the Cape of Good Hope was seen. The first +thing to be done was to provide shelter ashore for his sick, of whom he +landed twenty-eight, and during the stay the remainder of the crew were +given every possible opportunity of being on land, as Cook recognised the +value of an entire change of life in shaking off the remnants of +sickness. He lost three more of his men here, and hearing from a Dutch +ship just in from Europe that war was threatening between England and +Spain, he hurried up his preparations for departure and got all his men +on board, though some were still very ill. In addition he managed to +enter some half-dozen men for the voyage home. + +In writing of the Cape, Cook draws attention to the fact: + +"that a stranger is at once struck with surprise and disappointment, for +no country we have seen this voyage affords so barren a prospect as this, +and not only so in appearance but in reality." + +Then further on he says: + +"Notwithstanding the many disadvantages this country labours under, such +is the industry, economy, and good management of the Dutch, that not only +the necessary, but all the Luxuries of Life are raised here in great +abundance, and are sold as cheap, if not cheaper, than in any part of +Europe, some few articles excepted." + +On the other hand, he complains of the exorbitant charges made by the +Dutch East India Company for naval stores. As at Batavia, they were sold +at a certain fixed price from which there was no deviation. + +Calling in at St. Helena, they found H.M.Ss. Portland and Swallow, with a +convoy, in the roads, and received some few much-needed stores from them, +together with the information that all danger of war between Spain and +England was over. They all sailed in company on 5th May, but after a few +days Cook explained to Captain Elliott, of the Portland, who had come on +board the Endeavour, that his ship, sails, and rigging were naturally not +in very good order after his lengthy voyage, and therefore he should +probably be unable to keep up with the other ships. He requested the +Portland to take charge of letters, charts, and journals for the +Admiralty. These papers only arrived in England three days in advance of +the Endeavour. For some days the good Bark kept within easy reach of the +fleet, and was able to obtain extra medical advice for Mr. Hicks, who was +suffering from consumption when he left England, but had held out well +till stricken with the Batavian fever, when he gradually sank and died on +25th May; Mr. Charles Clerke was appointed third lieutenant, in place of +Mr. Gore, promoted. Since leaving the Cape they had also lost their +Master, Mr. Molineaux, of whose intelligence Cook speaks very highly, but +deplores his want of steadiness, the true cause of his early death. Mr. +Pickersgill was appointed to the vacancy. + +ANCHOR IN THE DOWNS. + +On the 21st June they were still in sight of some of the convoy, but +during the night they had their main topgallant sail split, and the +topmast sprung, in a heavy squall; in fact, their gear was in such a bad +state that something gave way daily. On 7th July they spoke a brig from +London, three days out from Scilly, and learnt that no account of their +proceedings had yet been made public, and that wagers were being laid +that the Endeavour was lost. On 10th July Nicholas Young, who had sighted +New Zealand, sighted the Land's End, and the Lizard was seen the next +day. On Saturday, 13th July 1771, "at 3 o'clock in the P.M. anchor'd in +the Downs and soon after I landed in order to repair to London." + +Before leaving, Cook wrote to Mr. Stephens informing him of his arrival, +and announcing that he was coming up to the Admiralty to lay before their +Lordships a full account of the whole voyage, and that the ship was to +await further orders. He hopes that the appointments that he has made +will meet with approval, and requests that his charts, plans, and +drawings may be laid before the authorities. + +On 2nd August, Stephens wrote to him at Mile End, saying he had received +the papers sent from Batavia, those by the Portland and those from the +Downs, and that they had been laid before their Lordships. He goes on: + +"I have the pleasure to acquaint you that their Lordships extremely well +approve of the whole of your proceedings and that they have great +satisfaction in the account you have given them of the good behaviour of +your officers and men and of the cheerfulness and alertness with which +they went through the fatigues and dangers of their late Voyage." + +He also notifies at the same time that the appointments made have all +been confirmed. + +Cook himself was appointed Commander of the Scorpion on 29th August, but +owing to other arrangements being made did not put in an appearance on +his new ship. Isaac Smith and Isaac Manly were appointed respectively +Master's mate and midshipman, taking part in the Second Voyage, being too +young for further promotion. + +The newspapers, of course, blossomed out into paragraphs on the subject +of the voyage, more or less correct, and Bingley's Journal on 23rd July +stated: + +"In consequence of this discovery, more ships will be destined in search +of this new terrestrial acquisition." + +Evidently it was quickly decided that Cook's rest was to be short. On +27th the same Journal says: + +"His Majesty's Ship, the Endeavour, which is lately arrived in the River +from the East Indies, lost by the unhealthiness of the climate, 70 of her +hands, tho' they were picked men, and had been several times in the +Indies. However, those who survive will have made their fortunes by +traffic, having brought home some of the richest goods made in the east, +which they are suffered to dispose of without the inspection of the +Custom House officers. This, our correspondent says, is allowed them by +the Government as a reward for their hard and dangerous service during a +voyage of three years." + +The amount of the "richest goods made in the East" obtained from New +Zealand, Australia, and Otaheite would be but a poor reward for three +years' strenuous service; and Cook here finds his premonition as to his +losses being exaggerated, only too true. + +It is worthy of note that the number of punishments throughout the voyage +was remarkably small, those entered in the ship's log being twenty-one, +and the heaviest sentence, two dozen lashes for theft. In one case, that +of Mathew Cox, A.B., for disobedience and mutinous conduct, the culprit +proceeded civilly against Cook, on arrival in England, and the Admiralty +solicitors were instructed to defend. The case was probably allowed to +drop, as no result can be found. + +LAST OF THE ENDEAVOUR. + +The good ship which had so bravely borne her part, was not given much +rest; but after being paid off at Woolwich, was despatched, under +lieutenant James Gordon, to the Falkland Islands on 16th October, and +returned with "perishable and unserviceable" stores; in 1772 and 1773 she +again made voyages to the same destination, the last one to bring away +the garrison and stores, as those islands were to be handed over to +Spain. She was paid off at Woolwich in September 1774, and shortly +afterwards was sold out of the Navy for the sum of 645 pounds. She is +then believed to have been employed as a collier in the North Seas. Mr. +Gibbs, of the firm of Gibbs and Canning of Newport, Rhode Island, one day +pointed out to the English Consul the remains of an old vessel falling +into decay, and informed him that it was Captain Cook's ship, the +Endeavour. His story was that the French Government being anxious to +compete with England in the whale fishery, offered a bounty to the ships +in that trade sailing under the French flag. A Mr. Hayden purchased the +old ship from a Dunkirk firm and re-christened her La Liberte, loaded her +with oil and consigned her, under French colours, to Gibbs and Canning at +Newport. She was chased by an English ship, but escaped, and after laying +alongside a wharf for some months received a cargo, but running aground +in trying to leave the harbour, she was found in such a bad condition +that she was allowed to remain to drop to pieces. Enquiries into this +story gave satisfactory results, and a box made from her timbers was +presented to J. Fennimore Cooper, the American author, with letters +authenticating, as far as possible, the vessel from which the wood had +been taken. Miss Cooper mentions this box in her preface to her father's +Red Rover, and several other relics of the old ship are still to be found +in the neighbourhood of Newport. + + +CHAPTER 12. 1771. PREPARATIONS FOR SECOND VOYAGE. + +After reporting himself to the Admiralty on his arrival in England, Cook +proceeded to his home at Mile End Old Town, where he was for some time +employed in completing his Charts and Journals, and on 14th August, the +Annual Register announces, he was introduced to His Majesty at St. +James's, when he: + +"presented his Journal of his Voyage, with some curious maps and charts +of different places that he had drawn during the voyage; he was presented +with a captain's commission." + +He also found time to write two long and instructive letters to his old +master and good friend, Mr. John Walker of Whitby, which are to be found +in Dr. Young's work. They give a rapid glance at the different places +visited, with a few pithy remarks as to their peoples and productions; +mention the pleasing reception he had from the king, and he alludes to +the probability of being despatched on a second voyage with two ships. + +Edgeworth, in his Memoirs, states that about this time Cook was a +frequent visitor at Denham Place, the home of Mr. Louis Way, F.R.S., but +as that gentleman died in this year, and Edgeworth also refers to events +of a later date as occurring at the same time, it is more probable that +these visits were paid after the Second Voyage to Mr. Benjamin Way, also +F.R.S., and a Director of the South Sea Company. In another place +Edgeworth infers that Banks, Solander, and Cook were members of a club +which met at Slaughter's Coffee House in 1765. Of course, this is an +error, for Cook was then engaged in Newfoundland, and unknown to the +Royal Society, whose members composed the club spoken of; in fact, Cook, +though a frequent guest in after times, was never a member of the Royal +Societies Club. + +Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay) says that in September her father, Dr. +Charles Burney, spent a few days at Hinchinbroke, Lord Sandwich's place, +in order to meet Cook, Banks, and Solander, and it is evident that the +second voyage had been resolved on, for Dr. Burney's son, James, was +introduced to Cook by Lord Sandwich, with a view to going on the +expedition. Shortly after this, Sandwich met Dr. Burney at Lord Oxford's, +Houghton, and asked him if he could recommend any one capable of writing +the history of the voyage of the Endeavour; he gave Dr. Hawkesworth's +name, and was requested to introduce him to Lord Sandwich on his return +to town. + +The object of the Second Voyage was, to use Cook's own words: + +"To put an end to all diversity of opinion about a matter so curious and +important, was His Majesty's principal motive in directing this voyage to +be undertaken, the history of which is now submitted to the public, i.e., +the existence of another continent in the South." + +The discussion on the subject had been resumed with renewed vigour after +the return of the Endeavour, and Dalrymple led one party, who held that +Cook had not set the matter at rest as he had left far too much space +untraversed. + +WHITBY SHIPS AGAIN. + +The two ships that were to be employed were probably selected in the +Thames by Cook himself, and, like the good ship Endeavour, were built by +Fishburn of Whitby, and purchased from Captain W. Hammond of Hull. The +reasoning which guided Cook in his selection is thus laid down by him in +his introduction to the account of the Second Voyage: + +"The success of such undertakings as making discoveries in distant parts +of the world, will principally depend on the preparations being well +adapted to what ought to be the first consideration, namely, the +preservation of the adventurers and ships; and this will chiefly depend +on the kind, the size, and the properties of the ships chosen for the +service. These primary considerations will not admit of any other, that +may interfere with the necessary properties of the ships. Therefore, in +chusing the ships, should any of the most advantageous properties be +wanting, and the necessary room in them be, in any degree, diminished for +less important purposes, such a step would be laying a foundation for +rendering the undertaking abortive in the first instance. The ship must +not be of great draught, but of sufficient capacity to carry a proper +quantity of provisions and stores for the crew, and of such construction +that she will bear to take the ground, and of such a size that she can be +conveniently laid on shore if necessary for repairing any damages or +defects, and these qualities are to be found in North Country built +ships, such as are built for the coal trade, and in none other." + +The larger of the two chosen was 462 tons, purchased for 4,151 pounds, +and received into the Royal Navy under the name of the Drake. She was +fitted as a sloop at Deptford, at a cost of 6,568 pounds (this sum, +probably, covering both the original alterations which proved +unsatisfactory and those made immediately before sailing), and at the +time of her purchase was about fourteen months old. The second ship was +of 336 tons, also fitted at Deptford as a sloop, was eighteen months old +at time of purchase, cost 2,103 pounds, and was received under the name +of Raleigh. + +The complement of the Raleigh was eighty, but two additional carpenters' +mates were added to each ship later on. Cook was also instructed not to +bear, as was then usual, any servants on the books, but to enter A.B.s +instead, and each officer who was entitled to a servant was "to be paid +an allowance by Bill equal to the wages of the number of servants +respectively allowed them." + +On 25th December the names of the two ships were changed, the Drake +becoming the Resolution, and the Raleigh the Adventure. The lieutenants +appointed to the Resolution were Robert Pallisser Cooper, Charles Clerke, +and Richard Pickersgill, and Mr. Tobias Furneaux, Commander, and Joseph +Shank first lieutenant, of the Adventure. Of these officers Cook writes: + +"I had all the reason in the World to be perfectly satisfied with the +choice of the officers. The Second and Third Lieutenants, the Lieutenant +of Marines, two of the Warrant officers, and several of the Petty +officers had been with me during the former voyage. The others were men +of known abilities, and all of them on every occasion showed their zeal +for the service in which they were employed during the whole voyage." + +ALTERATIONS TO THE RESOLUTION. + +Two days after receiving his orders, Cook hoisted his pendant and +superintended the alterations that were to be made for the accommodation +of Mr. Banks and his party of scientists. These comprised Dr. Solander, +Zoffani, the portrait painter, Dr. Lynd of Edinburgh, to secure whose +services Parliament had made a special grant of 4000 pounds (though "what +discoveries they expected him to make I could not understand," says +Cook), and nine others, draughtsmen and servants; at least three more +than had been thought necessary when the vessel was purchased. These +alterations were: + +"to raise her upper works about a foot, to lay a spar deck upon her from +the quarter-deck to the forecastle (she having at this time a low waist), +and to build a round house or coach for my accommodation, so that the +great cabin might be appropriated to the use of Mr. Banks alone." + +The Comptroller of the Navy, Captain Pallisser, was strongly opposed to +these alterations as likely to be detrimental to the ship's sailing +qualities, and though his opinions were overborne, they in the end proved +to be correct. + +When he had seen the alterations fairly on the way, Cook applied for +three weeks' leave of absence, on the plea that he had "some business to +transact in Yorkshire, as well as to see an aged father," and his +application was at once granted. He therefore went to Ayton, where for +the first time for seventeen years he was again amongst his own people. +From Ayton he went on to Whitby, and was met some miles out from that +town by many of the leading men of the place. From the Walkers he +received the heartiest of welcomes, and it is related that the old +housekeeper, Mary Prowd, had been carefully instructed that a Commander +in His Majesty's Navy was a very different person from one of her +master's apprentices, and must be received with all the marks of respect +due to his rank. She promised obedience, but, alas, when the time came +her memory fled, and opening wide her arms, she exclaimed: "O honey +James! How glad I is to see thee!" A welcome, probably, more dear to Cook +than any other could have been, and a proof of the affectionate regard he +could inspire. + +In February he was back in London, and Dr. Burney says in his Memoirs: + +"I had the honour of receiving the illustrious Captain Cook to dine with +me in Queen's Square [Bloomsbury] previously to his second voyage round +the world. Observing upon a table, Bougainville's Voyage Autour du Monde, +he turned it over, and made some curious remarks on the illiberal conduct +of that circumnavigator towards himself when they met and crossed each +other; which made me desirous to know, in examining the chart of M. de +Bougainville, the several tracks of the two navigators, and exactly where +they had crossed or approached each other. + +"Captain Cook instantly took a pencil from his pocket book and said he +would trace the route; which he did in so clear and scientific a manner +that I would not take fifty pounds for my book. The pencil marks, having +been fixed by skim milk, will always be visible." + +This volume is now in the British Museum, and the pencil marks on the +chart are as distinct as on the day they were made. + +The alterations to the ship were completed early in February, and on the +6th she was hauled out of dock, and rigging, ballasting, and storing +commenced. Cook says: + +"Every department seemed to vie with the other in equiping these two +ships, every standing rule and order in the Navy was dispensed with, +every alteration, every necessary and useful article, was granted as soon +as asked for." + +SUPPLIES INCREASED. + +In another passage he again refers to the anxiety of the Navy Board to +see that the quality of the stores was everything that could be wished, +and the quantity was increased from one to two and a half years' supply. + +On the 22nd April the two sloops were at Longreach to take in their guns +and gunners' stores; twelve carriage guns and twelve swivel musketoons +for the Resolution, and ten carriage guns and ten swivels for the +Adventure. These should have been taken on board at Galleon's Reach, but +the Resolution was drawing too much water--seventeen feet. When here Cook +showed that he thought she was rather over-weighted with her new upper +works, and might prove crank, but: + +"as the Gentlemen's apartments were full of heavy baggage and the sloop a +good deal lumbered aloft with heavy and some useless articles, which we +might soon get rid of or get into the hold after we had consumed some of +our provisions, I still entertained hopes that she would bear all her +additional works, and suspended giving any other opinion until a full +trial had been made of her, foreseeing what would be the consequence in +case she did not answer in the manner she was now fitted." + +On 29th April, Mr. Banks gave an entertainment on board to Lord Sandwich, +the French Ambassador, and other distinguished personages, and Cook notes +that the first named had been on board several times, "a laudable tho ' +rare thing in a First Lord of the Admiralty." + +Cook obtained a few days' leave to make his final arrangements, and the +Resolution was ordered to the Downs under the first lieutenant, whilst +the Adventure proceeded to Plymouth; both vessels sailing from Longreach +on 10th May. The Resolution, contending against adverse winds, made a +very slow trip down to the Nore, being four days on the journey, and Mr. +Cooper reported to Cook that she was very crank. The latter at once wrote +to the Admiralty that he considered it unsafe to proceed any further with +her in that condition, and proposed that her poop should be cut down, her +masts shortened, and her guns exchanged to four-pounders. The Navy Board, +however, decided that she should be restored to her original state as far +as it was possible to do so; she was therefore ordered to Sheerness, and +her Captain was instructed to join his ship and see the alterations were +properly carried out. + +Before leaving London Cook, who had heard it was said that he was not +satisfied with the vessels chosen for the voyage, wrote to Mr. Stephens +on the subject, giving his opinion that the crankness of the Resolution +"was owing to the additional works that have been built upon her in order +to make large accommodation for the several gentlemen passengers intended +to embark in her." He added that the proposed alterations of the Navy +Board would "render her as fit to perform the voyage as any ship +whatever"; and, referring to the report that he did not approve of the +type of ship, he says, "from the knowledge and experience I have had of +these sort of vessels, I shall always be of opinion that only such are +proper to be sent on Discoveries to very distant parts." On the 21st he +again wrote Stephens that the alterations were making satisfactory +progress, and that a man had been in the yard who had known the ship +before her purchase, and he had "with some warmth asserted that at that +time she was not only a stiff ship, but had as many good qualities as any +ship ever built in Whitby." In reply to a rumour that the men were afraid +to sail in her, he points out that she is moored alongside a wharf, and +the men could go ashore whenever they pleased, yet he had not lost a +single man. + +BANKS WITHDRAWS. + +Mr. Banks did not approve of the reduction in his accommodation +necessitated by these alterations, and tried to get a 40-gun ship in +place of the Resolution, and he and his friends succeeded in raising a +very acrimonious discussion on the subject; but the admiralty stood firm, +and the alterations went on under the superintendence of Cook. On 24th +May Banks and Solander went to inspect her, and on their return to town +Banks wrote to the Admiralty that he should not go the voyage as "the +ship was neither roomy nor convenient enough for my purpose, nor no ways +proper for the voyage." Cook, who says the preparations had cost Banks +"about five Thousand Pounds," does not think that the reasons given by +Banks were the only ones he had for not taking part in the voyage, and +then continues, "their baggage, etc., were got out of the sloop and sent +to London, after which no more complaints were heard of want of room, +etc." + +Lieutenant Clerke, who was very friendly with Banks, wrote to him on 31st +May: + +"Indeed I am sorry I'm not to have the honour of attending you the other +bout...They are going to stow the major part of the cables in the hold to +make room for the people now. I asked Gilbert [the Master], if such was +the present case, what the devil should we have done if we had all gone? +'Oh, by God, that was impossible,' was his answer." + +Marra (the gunner's mate), in a Journal of the voyage, published by +Newberry, 1775, says the success of the voyage was due to their having +shaken off: + +"the train of gentlemen, who with their attendants occupied the chief +accommodations of the ship," and whose presence would have rendered it +"out of the power of the most determined officer to have carried such a +princely retinue through the icy regions which they were to pass, without +murmurs, or perhaps mutiny." + +Some of the newspapers tried to make political matter out of the affair, +and one at any rate roundly declared that "the true reason" of Banks's +withdrawal was on account of a remonstrance from the Spanish Ambassador +against any further exploration of the South Seas. + +The withdrawal of Banks made no difference to his friendship with Cook, +and in the future he was always ready to afford his support whenever it +could be of any service either to his friend or family. + +JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER. + +As soon as it was known that Mr. Banks had withdrawn, Mr. John Reinhold +Forster, a German of some scientific reputation, applied for the position +of naturalist for the voyage, and, through the interest of Lord Sandwich, +was successful. He was to receive the 4000 pounds granted by Parliament +for Dr. Lynd, and was to pay all expenses, except ship's allowance of +food, and provide all necessary instruments. He was accompanied by his +son as assistant, a youth of about twenty years, who afterwards attained +some note by his writings and translations. Messrs. Wales and Bayley were +appointed astronomers by the Board of Longitude, with instructions to +take and compare observations at every possible opportunity, and to take +under their special charge the timepieces which were being carried on the +two ships for the purpose of testing their accuracy and capabilities in +assisting in ascertaining the longitude. Two of these instruments, made +by Arnold, were placed in Mr. Bayley's charge on the Adventure, and two, +one by Arnold, and the other by Kendal on Harrison's principle, under the +care of Mr. Wales on the Resolution. Great precautions were taken to +prevent any accident or tampering with these instruments; they were kept +in boxes having three locks, the keys were held one by the Captain, one +by the first lieutenant, and the third by the astronomer, so they could +not even be wound up except in the presence of all three. William Hodges, +a painter of repute, was appointed as artist, and his pictures were to +become the property of the Admiralty. + +The celebrated Dr. Joseph Priestley, at that time minister at Mill Hill +Chapel, Leeds, had been invited by Mr. Banks to accompany him as +astronomer, and his congregation had undertaken to guarantee his position +on his return; but the Board of Longitude took objection to his religious +views, and so his application was withdrawn. + + +CHAPTER 13. 1772 TO 1774. SECOND VOYAGE. + +Saying goodbye to his family on 21st June, Cook, accompanied by Mr. +Wales, left London for Sheerness, and the next day dropped down to the +Nore. The Resolution was now drawing only fifteen feet ten inches of +water instead of seventeen, a very satisfactory improvement. She was +given a good trial on a wind, and was found "to answer exceeding well." +On 3rd July they arrived at Plymouth, having been boarded the day before +by Lord Sandwich and Captain Pallisser, who were on a tour of inspection, +and Cook had the pleasure of giving them a satisfactory account of his +ship: "I had not one fault to allege." + +On arrival at Plymouth, Cook found that orders had been given to the +stores that he was to be supplied with whatever he thought necessary, but +the only things required were larger coppers for the distilling +apparatus, the ones they had on board having proved far too small. The +officers and crew were paid up to 28th May, and the petty officers and +men also received two months' advance to enable them to provide +necessaries and extras for the voyage. Cook remarks: + +"The payment of six months' wages to the officers, and crews of these two +sloops, being nearly all they had due, was an indulgence never before +granted to any of His Majesty's Ships." + +Cook now received his final orders, which he had assisted to draw up--in +fact, "nothing was inserted that I did not fully comprehend and approve +of." He was to call at Madeira for a supply of wine; to sail for the Cape +of Good Hope and there refresh his men; then to look for Cape +Circumcision, placed by M. Bouvet in 54 degrees South, 11 degrees 20 +minutes East, to determine if it formed part of a continent, and if so to +explore it, following the coast and endeavouring to get as near to the +South Pole as he could without endangering his ships or crews. Should +Cape Circumcision prove to be an island, or should he be unable to find +it, he was to proceed as far south as he thought there was a probability +of meeting with land, and then steering east, circumnavigate the world in +as high a latitude as he could. In case of meeting with land he was to +explore as far as time would permit. When the season rendered it unsafe +to remain in high latitudes he was to retire to the north to refit and +recruit, and at a proper season to return to the south. In any unforeseen +circumstances he was to use his own discretion, and if the Resolution +should be lost, he was to prosecute his voyage in the Adventure. A copy +of these orders was given to Captain Furneaux, and in case of separation +the following rendezvous were named: Madeira, Port Praya in the island of +St. Iago, the Cape of Good Hope, and New Zealand. + +FORSTER SAVES SHIP! + +The Forsters evidently were far from pleasant travelling companions, and +at one time or another seem to have quarrelled with every one on board +the ship. At the very first the father was dissatisfied with the +accommodation allotted to him, and offered Mr. Cooper 100 pounds to turn +out of his cabin; when this offer was declined, he tried to force Mr. +Gilbert, the Master, to give up his, threatening if he refused he should +be reported to the king and turned out of the Navy; this threat appears +to have been a favourite one, and soon became a by-word with the seamen, +who, according to Mr. Wales, would use it to each other on every possible +occasion. But, according to his own account, Mr. Forster was able to save +the expedition from a very great disaster on 12th July. He says he came +on deck and noticed the ship was adrift from her moorings; neither the +officer of the watch nor the look-out had seen it till he called +attention, and then, after a scene of the greatest confusion, the ship +was fortunately brought up within a few feet of the rocks. On the other +hand, the Master's log admits the Resolution got adrift, but before Mr. +Forster reached the deck the fact had been reported to the Captain, all +hands turned up, the jib and forestay sail set, and the ship quietly +dropped down into the Sound and anchored, never having been in the +slightest danger. The only other one to notice the affair was Midshipman +Willis, who simply states, "dropped from the Buoy and anchored in the +Sound." + +Having received the private signals of the East India Company's Navy, and +letters of introduction from the Prince of Orange to all the principal +officers of the Dutch East India Company, instructing them to afford +every assistance that might be required, Cook hoisted the signal to the +Adventure to weigh anchor at 5 A.M. on 13th July, and with a north-west +breeze the two ships sailed for Madeira. When well out in the Channel the +Resolution's crew was mustered, and it was found that, owing to a mistake +of the clerk, there was one man more than the complement, so John Coghlan +was entered on the Supernumerary List for Wages and Victuals. + +On the 23rd they were able to relieve a small French boat, from Ferrol to +Corunna, which had been blown far off her course, and had been short of +water for a fortnight. The day following they fell in with three Spanish +men-o'-war; Cook says: "The sternmost hoisted English colours and fired a +gun to leeward, and soon after hoisted his own proper colours, and spoke +with the Adventure." It appears she enquired who they were, and where +they were going, and finally wished them a good voyage. This account did +not satisfy Mr. Forster, who waxes eloquent and describes the event as "a +scene so humiliating to the masters of the sea." He must have formed a +strange opinion of Cook if he thought for a moment he was one to put up +silently with anything humiliating to the British flag. Marra, in his +Journal, points out that the build and rig of the ships were unusual for +men-o'-war, and that when the Spaniards found they had stopped king's +ships, they "made a proper apology, and very politely took leave, wishing +them a good voyage." + +THE FIRST LOSS. + +At Madeira, where they arrived on 29th July, they were kindly received by +Mr. Loughnan, a merchant of Funchal, who entertained some of the party at +his house throughout the stay, obtained permission for the Forsters to +explore the island, and procured for the ships the stores that were +required. Here Cook, with his eye on the scurvy, purchased as many onions +as he thought would keep good, and ordered them to be served out +regularly to the crews as long as they lasted. A further stock of fresh +food in the shape of fowls, pigs, goats, and fruits--chiefly oranges and +bananas--was laid in at Port Praya, where they had called for water. On +the 19th the first death occurred; one of the carpenter's mates, Henry +Smook, was at work on one of the scuttles and, falling overboard, was +seen under the stern; every effort was made to save him, but it was too +late. Cook says he was a good, steady man, whose loss was often felt +during the voyage. + +On 27th August Cook learnt that the Adventure had also had her losses. +Two midshipman, Lambrecht and Kemp, had died of fever, brought on, +Captain Furneaux believed, by bathing and drinking too much water under +the hot sun of Port Praya. At this time the Resolution had a clean bill +of health, but for fear lest the heavy rains, to which they were +continually subjected, might cause sickness, the ship was constantly +fumigated, washed down, and thoroughly dried by means of stoves, as +advised by Captains Pallisser and Campbell, with satisfactory results. On +nearing the Cape a sharp but unavailing look-out was kept for a bank +which had been reported, and on 30th October they arrived in Table Bay. +The run from home was considered to have been good, as they had in great +measure escaped the calms they had been told to expect at that season of +the year, and the currents, though very strong, had only caused a +difference between the longitude obtained by observation and that by dead +reckoning of three-quarters of a degree, so Cook concluded that those +north of the Equator in the one direction were balanced by those to the +south in the contrary one. + +On landing they were received by the Governor, Baron Plattenberg, who +told Cook he had received orders from Holland that the two sloops were to +have every assistance that the place afforded. He also said that two +French ships, commanded by M. de Kerguelen, had discovered land in 48 +degrees South, near the meridian of Mauritius, but after sailing along +the coast for about forty miles, he had been blown off by a heavy gale, +in which he had lost both boats and men. Two other French ships had also +called in March, which were on their way to explore the South Pacific +under M. Marion. + +Wales and Bayley got their instruments ashore in order to make +observations for the purpose of correcting the watch machines. That made +by Kendal was found to be working well, and gave the longitude within one +minute of time when compared with that fixed by Messrs. Mason and Dixon +in 1761. The first lieutenant of the Adventure, Mr. Shank, who had been +ill almost from the day of leaving England, applied for leave to return +home, as he felt unfit to proceed, and Mr. Arthur Kemp was made first +lieutenant, his place being taken by Mr. James Burney. Mr. Sparrman, a +former pupil of Linnaeus, was engaged by Mr. Forster as an assistant, and +makes his appearance on the rolls as servant. The crews were well looked +after, as much time granted on shore as possible, and fresh meat, fresh +vegetables, and fresh baked bread were served out daily in ample +quantity, so that when the ships sailed to the southward they were all +"in as good a condition as when they left England." Cook found time to +write a letter of farewell to Mr. Walker, as it was: + +"customary for men to take leave of their friends before they go out of +the world; for I can hardly think myself in it, so long as I am deprived +of having any connection with the civilised part of it, and this will +soon be my case for two years at least." + +He at the end speaks of his ships, both "well provided and well mann'd," +and of the Resolution he says: "I can assure you I never set foot in a +finer ship." + +THE FIRST ICE. + +On 22nd November they sailed for the south, and soon began to feel the +colder climate; the warm jackets and trousers provided by the Admiralty +were served out, extra cuffs to protect the hands being sewn on, and +warmly-lined canvas capes being made. From the 29th till 6th December +they were involved in such a heavy gale that the ships were unable to +carry any sail, and a large quantity of the live stock bought at the Cape +perished from the effects of wet and cold. A scuttle which had been +insecurely fastened was burst open by the sea, and a considerable +quantity of water was taken on board, but beyond necessitating some work +at the pumps and rendering things unpleasantly damp for a time, no damage +was done. It, however, gave Mr. Forster an opportunity for an account of +the terrible danger they were in, and, most wonderful to relate, to speak +well of the conduct of the crew. The ships were carried so far to the +east by the gale, that Cook gave up the idea of searching for Cape +Circumcision for the present. On the 10th the first ice was encountered +in latitude 50 degrees 40 minutes South, and a little higher they were +stopped by a large field, to which they "could see no end, either to the +east, west, or south." This field was followed along to the south-east +for some days, but no opening was found, so being in constant danger from +detached pieces, Cook reluctantly gave orders to change the course to the +northward. About the middle of December signs of scurvy began to show, +and extra precautions were at once taken; fresh wort was served out +regularly to all hands and the worst case received considerable benefit +from the treatment, although "Rob of Lemons and Oranges" (a sort of jelly +made from the fruits) had had no effect. Furneaux reported at this time +that he had cured two very bad cases with the Rob. + +SHIPS PARTED. + +When they had got thoroughly clear of all signs of ice, Cook once again +turned south, and by 26th December had worked down as far as 50 degrees +31 minutes South, 26 degrees 57 minutes East, where, though surrounded by +large masses of floating ice, they steered to the west, leaving the main +ice field to the north of them. Gradually working down to 60 degrees +South in the longitude given for Cape Circumcision, and being some +ninety-five leagues further south, with no signs of land, Cook concluded +that M. Bouvet must have been deceived by the ice. (Bouvet Island was +discovered by the German Deep Sea Discovery ship Valdivia on 25th +November 1898. The position was fixed as 54 degrees 26.4 minutes South, 3 +degrees 24.2 minutes ??South, and not 54 degrees South, 11 degrees 20 +East, as given to Cook, which will account for his want of success in his +search for it.) Here Mr. Wales was enabled to get a sight of the moon for +the second time since leaving the Cape of Good Hope, and, taking several +observations, fixed the position of the ship with tolerable accuracy. +Changing the course to East-South-East, very foggy weather was +encountered, accompanied by great cold, which coated the rigging with +ice, rendering it very pretty to the eye but difficult and unpleasant to +work. Cook says that, though this suggested very intense cold to the +mind, in reality the thermometer was rather higher than it had been, and +the sea was far less encumbered with ice. Taking large blocks of ice on +board it was found that, when the sea water was drained off, they +provided perfectly fresh water on melting, thus removing a great weight +from Cook's shoulders, and he determined on venturing further to the +southward. On 17th January 1773 they crossed the Antarctic Circle in +longitude 39 degrees 35 minutes East, and at noon their latitude, by +observation, was 66 degrees 36 minutes 30 seconds South, the sea being +free from ice. However, in the evening they found themselves completely +blocked by an enormous field, extending, as far as the eye could reach, +from the south-east round to the west; and as the summer was nearly over, +Cook decided it was unwise to attempt anything further southwards, and +ordered a retreat to the north. Again making for the land claimed to have +been discovered by the French, he spent some days searching for it, but +nothing was seen except some floating weed and a few birds that are +supposed never to get far away from land. On 8th February a brisk gale +sprang up, accompanied by very hazy weather, thickening into fog, and the +two vessels separated. The Resolution cruised about, firing guns and +burning flares, but no response was heard, and when the weather cleared +up, the Adventure was not to be seen. Poor Mr. Forster was dreadfully +scared when he realised the two ships had parted company; he says that +none of the crew "ever looked around the ocean without expressing concern +on seeing our ship alone on this vast and unexplored expanse." He seems +to have been thoroughly unhappy, for he describes the whole voyage, from +the Cape to New Zealand, as a series of hardships such as had never +before been experienced by mortal man. Cook conjectured, rightly as it +proved, that being a little to the south of Tasman's track, Furneaux +would make for the rendezvous he had been given at New Zealand, and +therefore felt himself free to push on to the south-east, as he judged +that if any large body of land was in the vicinity, it must lie in that +direction, for the swell coming from the south-west precluded the +possibility of any mass of land being in that quarter. + +On 17th February a display of the Aurora Australis was reported to Cook, +who speaks of it as something quite new to him, although Banks noted a +display during the voyage of the Endeavour between Timor and Batavia. The +present one is described as having a spiral motion, the direction not +strongly defined, and at times strong flashes of light. A second display +was seen on the 25th, but not so marked. On this day, too, some of the +ship's boats engaged in watering from a small iceberg, had a narrow +escape from destruction as the berg turned completely over whilst they +were at work. + +The weather becoming very unsettled the Resolution was obliged to make to +the north, and on 8th March, the finest day they had experienced since +leaving the Cape, they were able to fix their position by observation as +59 degrees 44 minutes South, 121 degrees 9 minutes East, the thermometer +registering 40 degrees. Of course this pleasant break was followed by a +heavy gale, with a tremendously heavy sea, and the ship ran before it for +New Zealand. Cook's wish was to touch at Van Diemen's Land, so as to +satisfy himself as to its forming a part of New Holland, but the wind +kept obstinately between west and north, having shifted after the gale, +and he thought it would occupy a longer time than he could spare, so he +bore up for the South Island. It was soon found that a few degrees of +latitude made a great difference in the temperature, "which we felt with +an agreeable satisfaction." + +On 25th March at 10 A.M., New Zealand was sighted, and Cook steered in to +the land with the intention of putting in to the first port that appeared +suitable, but as the weather became very hazy, he thought it safer to +stand off again. He had picked up the land at a point which he had only +seen from a distance on his previous visit, and "now saw it under so many +disadvantageous circumstances, that the less I say about it, the fewer +mistakes I shall make." + +DUSKY BAY. + +The following day they got safely into Dusky Bay, finding forty-four +fathoms at the entrance and a sandy bottom. In about a couple of leagues +they found a good anchorage in fifty fathoms, a hawser's length or so +from the shore. This was found to be rather inconvenient, but another one +was soon found by Lieutenant Pickersgill, and received in consequence the +name Pickersgill Harbour. Here the observatory, forge, and tents were set +up. Spruce beer was brewed, to which molasses and some of their +inspissated malt juice was added, fish caught, and, in fact, everything +possible for the comfort of the crew for a short time, was done. They had +been a hundred and seventeen days at sea, had sailed 3,600 leagues +without a sight of land, and had arrived with only one man sick with the +scurvy, "occasioned, chiefly, by a bad habit of body and a complication +of other disorders." + +One day, passing an island whilst out surveying, Cook was called by a +Maori and landed to meet him. The native was accompanied by two women, +and after an attempt at conversation, presented Cook with a piece of +native cloth, asking, as far as could be understood, for a boat-cloak in +return. One was made for him out of red baize, and gave so much +satisfaction that he presented Cook with his pattou, a sort of short flat +club made of stone. He visited the ship, and took great interest in all +that was going on, particularly with the saw pit. After watching the men +some time, he intimated his desire to try his hand in the pit, but found +the work not quite so easy as it looked, and soon required very little +persuasion to relinquish his task. + +Cook speaks very favourably of Dusky Bay, a good anchorage, plenty of +good water, game, fish, and easy to enter. The timber he describes as the +best he had seen in New Zealand, with the exception of that at the +Thames. There was but little edible herbage, but he tried to remedy this +by planting a quantity of European seeds, and he also left, in a place +where he hoped they might be undisturbed, a pair of geese. Whilst here +Cook was for a time confined to his cabin by what he describes as a +slight cold, but Mr. Forster says was a severe attack of rheumatism. +After several unsuccessful attempts, owing to contrary winds, they left +Dusky Bay on 11th May, and on the 17th, when near Cape Stephens, fell in +with six water-spouts, one of which came within fifty yards of the ship, +and Cook regretted he had not fired a gun at it, as he had heard that +course recommended. He says he had one ready, but was so busy noting the +phenomena that he did not think of it in time. On the other hand, Forster +says that one "was ordered to be got ready, but our people being, as +usual, very desultory about it, the danger was passed before we could try +the experiment." + +FURNEAUX REPORTS. + +On 18th May they arrived in Queen Charlotte's Sound, finding, as Cook had +expected, the Adventure there before them. Furneaux immediately reported +himself to his commanding officer, and said they had been there for six +weeks. After they had lost sight of the Resolution on 8th February, they +heard a gun and bore up for it, firing every half-hour, but heard no +reply. They then cruised about for three days as near the spot as the +weather would permit, and then, following Tasman's track, as Cook had +surmised, made for New Zealand, sighting Van Diemen's Land on 9th March, +near Tasman's South Cape. He sent a boat ashore at the first opportunity, +and a few traces of natives were seen, but the weather was so threatening +that the boat had to return to the ship. They then put in to Adventure +Bay, and staying five days took in wood and water; they had been reduced +to a quart per day of the last for some time. A few deserted huts and +occasional smokes were seen, but no other signs of the inhabitants. They +then continued up the coast till it trended away to the west, forming, +Furneaux thought, a deep bay. Passing the islands which now bear +Furneaux's name, bad weather came on, and he judged it wise to make for +his rendezvous, firmly convinced that Van Diemen's Land was joined to New +Holland. On 30th March they sighted the South Island, and were greatly +retarded in their run up the coast by the heavy swell from the north. On +their arrival in Queen Charlotte's Sound, they found the pole erected on +Motuara, with the name of the Endeavour and date on it, and several of +the inhabitants came forward to trade and enquire after Cook and Tupia. +On 11th May they experienced the shock of an earthquake, but no damage +was done. + +Finding that several of the Adventure's crew were very sick, Cook +immediately sent out boats for a supply of scurvy grass, and: + +"gave orders that it should be boiled with wheat and portable broth every +morning for breakfast, and with peas and broth for dinner, knowing from +experience that these vegetables, thus dressed, are extremely beneficial +in removing all manner of scorbutic complaints." + +Furneaux had prepared to winter in Queen Charlotte's Sound, but Cook +thought it too soon to settle down to rest and decided to push on. He was +half inclined to go over to Van Diemen's Land and settle the question of +its being a part of New Holland, but Furneaux appeared convinced, and the +winds were contrary, so he decided on proceeding eastwards, and the +Adventure was ordered to refit as rapidly as possible. A boat sent out +for timber on 3rd June was chased by a large canoe filled with men, but +Cook thought no harm was intended; on a second occasion some natives were +on the ship, when a large canoe came up, and those on board requested +Cook to fire on it, saying its occupants were enemies. This Cook declined +to do, and, instead, invited them to come on board, an invitation that +was accepted after a brief ceremonial, and the newcomers behaved +themselves quite properly; but soon Cook had to get rid of them all, for +he found his men were selling their clothing, which they would shortly +require, for things of no value either as curiosities or otherwise. The +newcomers went off to Motuara, and Cook followed them up. He had some +little conversation with them, but did not remember having seen any of +them at his previous visit, and thought none of them recognised him. They +had their cooking utensils with them, and he concluded they intended to +settle down, at any rate for a time. + +Gardens had been started by Furneaux on his arrival, and Cook tried to +interest the Maoris in them; he showed them the potatoes, carrots, and +parsnips, which they seemed to understand and appreciate, and they +promised to look after them. He remarks that the intercourse between the +Maoris and the whites did not tend to improve the morals of the former, +whom he had hitherto looked upon as superior in that respect to the other +South Sea Islanders he had come across. + +THE WATCH MACHINE. + +On 7th June the two ships put to sea, and on the 8th some accident +happened to Arnold's timepiece on board the Resolution, and they were +unable to wind it up. So far it had been working very well, but not quite +so accurately as Kendal's. On the return of the ship to England, Arnold +was informed that either by carelessness or wilfully Mr. Wales had caused +this difficulty. Wales attributed this rumour to the Forsters, to whom he +wrote on the subject, and it is very evident from their replies that +though they did not admit having circulated the report, they were not +ignorant that Arnold had been so informed. There does not appear to be +any ground for the accusation, but it does appear very probable it +originated with the Forsters. + +Throughout the rest of June they experienced very rough weather, and it +was not till 18th July that they reached 133 degrees West, having seen no +signs of land on their way. Cook therefore turned northwards so as to +cross the space between his track north and return south in 1769. This +course would practically settle one view about the supposed Southern +Continent, for it had been laid down by some of the theorists that it +must be in the middle latitudes of the South Pacific. New Zealand had +been said to be the western side of this continent (already disproved by +Cook in his previous voyage), and what Forster calls "the pretended +discoveries near America," the eastern side. The proposed course would +take the ships through the centre of the part of the ocean in dispute. + +On 29th July, Cook sent a boat to the Adventure, as he had heard her crew +were very sickly, and found that about twenty of her men were down with +scurvy, and the cook had died of the disease. Orders were given that the +utmost precautions were to be taken, and wort, carrot marmalade, and rob +of lemon were to be freely served out. On the Resolution, at the same +time, three men were on the sick list, only one of whom had scurvy, but +some of the others were showing symptoms, so similar precautions were +taken, with good results. + +DANGEROUS WATERS. + +Cook was so anxious about the Adventure's crew that he would not look for +Pitcairn Island, discovered by Carteret, although he believed he was in +its neighbourhood on 1st August (he was about fifteen leagues to the +west), but a day or so after was able to have Furneaux on board to +dinner, who reported a great improvement. He had some cider on board, +which he had served out with gratifying results. Two islands were sighted +on the 11th, which Cook named Resolution and Doubtful Islands; he +believed them to have been discovered by De Bougainville. The following +morning at daylight they found themselves almost on the top of what Cook +calls "a half drowned island, or rather large coral shoal of about 20 +leagues in circuit." In the lagoon which it surrounded they saw a large +canoe under sail. The island was named after Furneaux. As they were now +in such a dangerous neighbourhood, Cook ordered that at night the cutter +with an officer and seven men should keep in advance of the ships until +they arrived in sight of Maitea (Osnaburg Island) on 15th July, when, +being in waters he knew, its services were discontinued. He steered for +the south side of Otaheite in order to get fresh vegetables as soon as +possible, and on the 16th at daybreak they found themselves about two +miles from the reef. The wind dropped, and the set of the current was +taking them on to the reef, so the boats were ordered out to tow, but +getting near an opening through which the tide was rushing with great +force, they were unable to keep the ships off. The anchors were let go, +and the Adventure, finding holding ground, was brought up; but the +Resolution was not so fortunate, and was carried on to the reef and +struck two or three times, fortunately without doing any serious damage. +A land breeze springing up and the tide slackening enabled them to get in +safely, with the loss of three anchors, a cable, and a couple of hawsers; +the bower anchor was recovered by Mr. Gilbert the next day. Cook says +that though he thought they had a remarkably narrow escape, the natives +who saw them did not seem to appreciate that they had been in any danger. + +They remained at this anchorage for a week, and obtained plenty of +coconuts and bananas; but though they saw hogs, they were unable to +purchase any, as the people declared they all belonged to their chief; +so, hearing he was in the neighbourhood, Cook landed to call on him, and +at once recognised him as Tearee, whom he had seen in 1769. The chief +also remembered him, and enquired after several of the Endeavour people. +He tried to get Cook to make a longer stay, promising supplies of fresh +meat as an inducement, but as such promises had so often been broken +before, Cook replied he should leave the next day. Whilst here one of the +marines, who had been ailing more or less all the voyage, and had become +dropsical, died, and the one man who was suffering from scurvy still +remained on the sick list. On the other hand, the Adventure's crew had +greatly improved in health with the change to fresh vegetables. One of +the natives was found to have picked up coconuts from which the sailors +had drunk the milk, and having carefully sealed up the holes, resold +them, and did not seem disconcerted when his trick was found out. + +Before the ships reached their anchorage at Matavai Bay they were crowded +with natives, many of whom Cook recognised, and almost all of whom knew +him. Otoo, the king, at once recognised Cook, and enquired after Banks, +Solander, and others of the Endeavour; yet Forster gravely asserts that +he never saw them at the former visit. The old fort on Point Venus was +reoccupied, tents pitched, and the observatory set up, and the camp was +placed under the command of Lieutenant Edgecombe of the Marines. + +SPANIARDS HANGED. + +The king gave a theatrical entertainment in honour of their arrival, at +which his sister was the only female performer. It had some reference to +the coming of the ships, but they were not able to follow the thread of +the story. Cook could see that Otoo was nervous and uncomfortable, and +felt dissatisfied with his reception, so determined to cut short his +stay. No one could understand the reason of the unsatisfactory feeling, +but Forster suggests that it was owing to the advice of a Spanish +deserter, who had left his ship about March 1773. This vessel was +commanded by Don Juan de Langara y Huarto, and was from Callao; her +voyage has not been published, but the natives gave Forster to understand +that four of her sailors had been hanged on her arrival. Cook refers to +the presence of a white man, who, when he thought he had been observed, +disappeared and was not seen again. Young Forster made an attempt to +explore the interior, but finding the climbing more difficult than he +expected, soon returned. In the gardens which had been planted at the +Endeavour's visit, pumpkins seemed to be the only things which had done +well, and for these the natives did not care, "which is not to be +wondered at," says Cook. Further enquiries as to the religious ceremonies +were made, but nothing very definite was ascertained; it appeared that on +very rare occasions special criminals, selected by the high priest, were +sacrificed at the Moris. Cook also formed the opinion that the standard +of morality amongst the women was much higher than had previously been +admitted. + +Sailing with a favourable wind on 1st September for Huaheine, the +Adventure ran ashore going through the reef, but with the assistance of +the Resolution's boats, she was soon towed off without serious damage. +Forster, as usual, tries to cause trouble by declaring that Cook would +not send assistance till the Resolution was safely anchored, and thus +added to the danger of his consort. As the boats were in the water before +the accident occurred, in order to render immediate assistance if +required, Mr. Forster's story is too thin. + +On arrival Cook was informed his old friend Oree was coming to see him, +so he went ashore to meet him. The boat was hauled up close to the +chief's house, and then five young plantain trees, as emblems of peace, +were carried on board one by one, the first three being each accompanied +by a young pig with his ears ornamented with coconut fibre; the fourth +was accompanied by a dog; and the fifth by the bag which Cook had given +Oree in 1769, containing the pewter plate with the inscription relating +to the Endeavour's visit, and the beads, and imitation coins. On the +advice of his guide, Cook decorated three of the plantains with nails, +medals, beads, etc., and he, Furneaux, and Forster, landed with them in +their hands. They were requested to sit down, and the trees were taken +from them and placed before Oree, the first for God, the second for the +king, and the third for Friendship. The chief then came forward and +greeted Cook in a most affectionate manner, the tears trickling down his +cheeks. Further presents were then exchanged, and the ceremony was over. + +SPARRMAN'S MISADVENTURE. + +Here they were able to purchase a plentiful supply of everything, pigs, +fowls, and fruit, and Cook says if he had been able to stay longer he +might have bought as much more as everything seemed abundant. The only +disagreeable thing that happened was to Mr. Sparrman, who, out by himself +botanising, was set upon and stripped of everything but his +trousers--Besant substitutes spectacles for trousers. He made his way +towards the boats, and was befriended by a native, who gave him some +cloth to put over his shoulders and escorted him to the others. When Oree +heard of the affair he placed himself in Cook's hands, and did his best +to find out the culprits, and after a time Sparrman's hanger and the +greater part of his things were recovered. It seems probable that some +native law had been unwittingly broken and Sparrman's treatment was meant +as a punishment, for every one else had been particularly well treated. +Before leaving Cook added to Oree's treasures a copper plate on which was +inscribed, "Anchored here, His Britannic Majesty's Ships Resolution and +Adventure, September 1773." Some medals were also given him, and he was +requested to show them to any visitors that came. + +At Ulietea they were received at a heava or dramatic performance, one +portion of which illustrated robbery by two men, and Cook says it was +acted "in such a masterly manner as sufficiently displayed the genius of +the people in this vice." Fruit and vegetables being rather scarce, Mr. +Pickersgill was despatched with a boat from each ship to an island Cook +calls O'Taha, where they were said to be plentiful, and he was able to +purchase as much as they had means to pay for, at a very reasonable rate; +but during negotiations the bag containing the trade was stolen. +Pickersgill at once seized everything of value he could lay his hands on, +signifying at the same time that all should be returned when the bag and +its contents were produced. In the evening a chief, who had been friendly +all day, went off and soon after came back with the bag and about half +its contents. Eventually all was recovered, and the boats left with good +loads in a perfectly friendly manner. When the boats went from Ulietea +the crews of the two vessels were again entertained, but during the night +all the natives disappeared, to the surprise and annoyance of Cook, who +thought something serious had happened to offend them. It turned out +that, seeing the boats did not return, the natives thought it was a case +of desertion, and were afraid they might be held responsible. + +BAGPIPES APPRECIATED. + +Leaving here, the course was to the south of west so as to clear the +tracks of other explorers, and then to call at Middleburg and Amsterdam. +Each night the ships lay to in order that they might not overlook any +unknown island, and on 23rd September Harvey's Islands were sighted and +named. On 1st October Middleburg was reached, but no good anchorage being +found, they went on to Amsterdam. Before they got clear away, however, +two canoes came out, and the coast opening up in a more promising manner, +they ran in again and found ground in twenty-five fathoms. Plenty of the +natives, quite unarmed, came off to the ships, some, amongst whom was a +chief named Tioony, were invited on board; the traders were so anxious to +do business, that those who could not get near enough to hand their goods +into the boats, pitched them over the heads of their friends. Some of the +party accompanied Tioony to his house, which was delightfully situated, +and were entertained with refreshments, in the shape of coconuts, +bananas, and a few shaddocks, called by Forster pumplemoses, and music; +and in return the ship's bagpipes played, to the great enjoyment of the +natives. Turnbull, who visited the Pacific during the years 1800 to 1804, +says that these instruments were remembered, and in Otaheite were +specially asked for. The musical contribution of the natives commenced +with a song by three girls, who sang rather nicely, and were duly +rewarded with presents, whereon all the women began singing in a manner +which Cook describes as "both musical and harmonious." A short walk +disclosed plantations "well laid out and kept," but as eatables seemed +scarce, a departure was made the next day for Amsterdam, the waves +breaking high upon the rocks as they followed the coast. + +Off the southern point of Amsterdam several canoes came out, and their +occupants came aboard without hesitation, presenting cava root as a +peace-offering. The ships anchored in eighteen fathoms, and were soon +crowded with visitors. Nothing but cloth was offered for sale, so Cook, +finding the sailors were parting with clothing they would soon be +wanting, issued an order that no curiosities were to be purchased, with +the result that next morning hogs, fowls, coconuts, and bananas were +forthcoming. Cook, Forster, and some of the others went ashore and found +a chief, Attago, who had attached himself to Cook, very useful in their +trading. Mr. Hodges painted a picture of this landing, but, as Mr. +Forster very justly points out, the attire of the natives is far too +classical. It was noticed that many of the natives had lost the top joint +of the little finger of one, and in some cases, of both hands. This was +understood to be a mark of mourning for the loss of parents. + +The fowls here were remarkably good, and the sailors purchased some for +the purpose of cock-fighting, but they proved much more successful in the +pot. The island is described as well cultivated, not an inch of ground +being wasted in roads or fences. Forster reported having seen a large +casuarina tree loaded with crows, but they proved to be that pest of the +fruit grower--flying foxes. He also states that the Resolution anchored +in the same spot as Tasman when he discovered the island. + +The natives proved as adept at thieving as the majority of the South Sea +Islanders. One man, who had stolen some books from the Master's cabin, +got off in his canoe, and being chased, took to the water, and diving +under his pursuers' boat, unshipped the rudder, and got clear away. Mr. +Wales, in going ashore, took off his shoes and stockings to save them +from the wet, when they were at once snatched up by a native, who ran off +with them over the coral rocks, leaving poor Wales in what Cook calls "an +unpleasant but laughable position," unable to follow over the sharp +stone; however, Attago soon afterwards recovered them. + +The language was closely allied to that used in the Society Group, many +words being identical; and Cook concluded they had some form of religious +worship, as he noted enclosed pieces of ground in which one or two +particular men were accustomed to repeat speeches apparently of a set +nature. + +NEW ZEALAND ONCE MORE. + +On 7th October, sailing for New Zealand, they were delayed by contrary +winds, and did not sight the neighbourhood of Table Cape till the 21st. +They stood in to Tolago and Poverty Bays with the intention of presenting +any chiefs who came off, with pigs, fowls, and garden seeds in hopes of +making a commencement in stocking the island, but none were seen till +Cape Kidnappers was reached, when two made their appearance, and were +duly given two boars and two sows, and four hens and two cocks, first +obtaining a promise that they should not be killed; to these were added a +supply of seeds, such as peas, beans, cabbage, turnips, etc. Standing on +through a series of heavy squalls, in one of which the Resolution lost +her fore topgallant mast, they ran into a violent gale which lasted for a +week, and, after a slight moderation, came on with increased fury, and +the two vessels parted company. + +On 3rd November the Resolution reached her old anchorage in Ship Cove, +Queen Charlotte's Sound; but the Adventure was seen no more during the +voyage. Forster was much upset by the stormy weather, "the dreadful +energy of the language" of the sailors, the absence of their consort +which "doubled every danger," the shortness of the table supplies and his +own dislike to a further trip to southern latitudes. Hoping the Adventure +might yet come in, Cook pushed on with his refit, and thoroughly +overhauled his stores. About 4000 pounds weight of ship's bread was found +unfit for food, and another 3000 pounds nearly as bad; they were very +fortunate, therefore, in getting a plentiful supply of scurvy grass and +wild celery, and a small quantity of vegetables from the gardens they had +previously laid out. + +Any doubts that may have been felt about the cannibalism of the New +Zealanders was set at rest by some of the officers who surprised a party +engaged in a feast. A human head was purchased from the feasters and +taken on board, and a piece of the flesh being offered to a Maori, it was +greedily devoured. A South Sea Islander, Odidie, was intensely horrified, +and refused to touch the knife with which it had been cut, nor would he +be in any way friendly with the eater. Cook firmly believed that only +enemies killed in battle were eaten, and did not think the custom arose +from any shortness of food. + +Enclosing in a bottle, which was buried under a marked tree in the +garden, a memorandum giving the dates of his arrival and departure, the +direction he intended to steer, and other information he thought might be +useful to Furneaux, Cook sailed on 25th November, and as they passed +through the straits, guns were continually fired, and a sharp lookout +kept for signs of the Adventure; but nothing was seen, and as no other +rendezvous had been appointed, Cook gave up all hope of her rejoining +him. The Resolution, when clear, bore up for the south-east, but had the +course at the first been north of east, the two ships might possibly have +met, for the Adventure was then on her way from Tolago Bay and arrived in +Ship Cove four days after the departure of her consort. Cook says his +crew were in good spirits, and in no way dejected, "or thought the +dangers we had yet to go through were in the least increased by being +alone." They were quite ready to go, "wherever I might think proper to +lead them." Even Mr. Forster had to admit at a little later date, that: + +"notwithstanding the constant perils to which our course exposed us, in +this unexplored ocean, our ship's company were far from being so uneasy +as might have been expected." + +ARMOUR OF ICE. + +On 6th December, at 8.30 A.M., they reckoned they were "at the Antipodes +to our friends in London, consequently as far removed from them as +possible." Here a swell coming from the south-west showed there was no +great body of land in that direction, except at a considerable distance. +The first ice was seen on 12th December in 62 degrees 10 minutes South, +and on the 15th, in 66 degrees South, they were obliged to edge away +north as they were surrounded by large quantities of loose ice, and it +was very foggy. Working up to between 64 and 65 degrees, they again +headed east still hampered by ice and fog, but in a few days the weather +improved a little, and they recovered the Antarctic Circle, and reached +67 degrees 31 minutes South on the 23rd, the highest south latitude +hitherto attained. The rigging was so coated with ice that it was +difficult to work the ship, and Cook altered his course to the +north-east. Marra says, under 18th December: + +"Icicles frequently hung to the noses of the men, more than an inch +long...the men, cased in frozen snow, as if clad in armour, where the +running rigging has been so enlarged by frozen sleet as hardly to be +grasped by the largest hand...yet, under all these hardships, the men +cheerful over their grog, and not a man sick, but of old scars." + +Cook says that some of the men suffered from fever brought on by the +unavoidable exposure to cold and wet, but it was slight, and "happily +yielded to the simplest remedies." The ship was so surrounded by masses +of ice as to cause some apprehension, but by taking advantage of every +breath of air the danger was averted. Christmas Day was passed in +constant watchfulness. + +"We were fortunate in having continual daylight, and clear weather, for +had it been foggy as on some of the preceding days, nothing less than a +miracle could have saved us from being dashed to pieces." + +On 7th January 1774, five very successful observations gave the mean +longitude as 123 degrees 21 minutes West, the watch gave it 123 degrees +44 minutes, and the dead reckoning as 123 degrees 39 minutes. Cook +signifies his keen appreciation of the watch machine, and says: "I must +here take notice that our longitude can never be erroneous while we have +so good a guide as Mr. Kendal's watch." + +OBEDIENT AND ALERT. + +A further attempt to the south was made, and on 30th January the high +latitude of 71 degrees 10 minutes South was reached, in longitude 106 +degrees 54 minutes West, further progress being stopped by a large and +solid field of ice. This record was not beaten till 1823, by Weddell, and +until recent years very few of the attempts on Antarctic discovery had +proved as successful. Satisfied that there was no continent existing +within the Arctic Circle except so far south as to be practically +inaccessible on account of ice, he acknowledged he did not regret he +found it impossible to go further, and, thinking that in the unexplored +parts of the South Pacific there was room for many large islands, and +also that discoveries already made had been imperfectly laid down on the +charts, he decided that it was his duty, as he had a well-found ship and +a healthy crew, to remain in these waters and add what he could to the +knowledge of geography. He therefore planned to find the land discovered +by Juan Fernandez in 38 degrees South, and, if unsuccessful, to proceed +to Easter Island and fix its position, as it was very uncertain, then to +proceed to Otaheite, where he had a faint hope he might hear of the +Adventure, and, proceeding further west, settle the position of Tierra +Austral del Espiritu Santo of de Quiros. Afterwards to turn south-east, +and, reaching Cape Horn in November, he would have the best part of the +summer for exploration in the South Atlantic. He says: + +"Great as this design appears to be, I however thought it possible to be +executed; and when I came to communicate it to the officers, I had the +satisfaction to find they all heartily concurred in it. I should not do +these gentlemen justice if I did not take some opportunity to declare +that they always showed the utmost readiness to carry into execution in +the most effectual manner, every measure I thought proper to take. Under +such circumstances it is hardly necessary to say, that the seamen were +always obedient and alert; and on this occasion they were so far from +wishing the voyage at an end, that they rejoiced at the prospect of its +being prolonged another year and of soon enjoying the benefits of a +milder climate." + +Mr. Forster does not agree with this account, for he says: + +"The long continuance in these cold climates began now to hang heavily on +our crew, especially as it banished all hope of returning home this year, +which had hitherto supported their spirits. At first a painful +despondence owing to the dreary prospect of another year's cruise to the +south seemed painted in every countenance; till by degrees they resigned +themselves to their fate with a kind of sullen indifference. It must be +owned, however, that nothing could be more dejecting than the entire +ignorance of our future destination which, without any apparent reason +was constantly kept a secret to every person in the ship." + +It is evident that Cook and his officers did not think it necessary to +consult Mr. Forster as to the movements of the ship, or, what is more +probable, he was in one of his irritable moods and must say something +nasty about someone. + +The decision to turn northwards was taken none too soon, for on 6th +February a furious storm came on, playing havoc with the sails and +running rigging, and though it abated somewhat next morning, it blew very +strong till the 12th, and would have been highly dangerous if it had +caught them amongst the ice. On the 17th Cook judged he had crossed his +outward track of 1769, and on the 20th he notes the thermometer rising to +66 degrees, the only real summer day they had experienced since leaving +New Zealand. Having arrived at the position laid down for the land +supposed to have been seen by Juan Fernandez, he cruised about but found +no signs, so on the 25th stood away for Easter Island. + +Cook was now taken seriously ill and was confined to his bed for several +days by what he calls the bilious cholic, during which time "Mr. Patten, +the surgeon, was to me, not only a skilful physician, but an affectionate +nurse." He recovered very slowly, and the want of fresh food told against +him when it came to the question of gathering strength. The only fresh +meat on board was a dog belonging to Mr. Forster, which was duly +sacrificed and made into soup: "Thus I received nourishment and strength +from food which would have made most people in Europe sick." Marra's +Journal says, under 23rd February: + +"This day the Captain was taken ill, to the grief of all the ship's +company." 28th February: "The Captain this day much better, which each +might read in the countenance of the other, from the highest officer to +the meanest boy on board the ship." 4th March: "The Captain perfectly +recovered from his illness, to the great joy of the ship's company." + +EASTER ISLAND. + +At 8 A.M., on 11th March, Easter Island was sighted from the masthead, +and shortly after noon some of the gigantic statues mentioned in +Roggewin's Voyages were clearly distinguished through the glasses. The +position of the ship at noon had been fixed as 27 degrees 3 minutes +South, 109 degrees 46 minutes West. Standing on and off till next +morning, fair anchorage was found in thirty-six fathoms, but it proved +too near the edge of a bank, and they were driven off it in the night. +One or two canoes came out to meet them as they were working back, from +which plantains were purchased, and Cook proceeded ashore, where he was +immediately surrounded by natives; indeed, some even swam out to meet +him. Many of them possessed European hats, jackets, handkerchiefs, etc., +which they were said to have obtained from the Spaniards in 1770. Their +language was very similar to that of Otaheite, and Odidie was able to +understand them fairly well. There were no trees exceeding ten feet in +height, and the land is described as extremely parched and dreary, though +a few plantations were seen. Some remarkable pieces of stonework were +noticed, enclosing small areas of ground, in some of which were the +statues already mentioned. These were not looked upon by the natives as +objects of worship, although they did not like the pavements by which +they were surrounded being walked over, or the statues being closely +examined. Mr. Forster regarded the enclosures as burial grounds, and the +statues (portions of some of them are at the British Museum) as monuments +to chiefs. + +The water supply being found very bad, though Gonzales is said to have +found good springs, and the fresh food for sale but scanty, the stay was +cut short, and on 16th March sail was made for the Marquesas, discovered +by Mendana in 1595. The next day, according to Marra, the fresh +provisions obtained were served out to the crew at the Captain's expense: + +"namely, two pounds of potatoes a man, and a bunch of bananas to each +mess; and this without reducing their ordinary allowance; an act of +generosity which produced its effect; it preserved the crew in health, +and encouraged them to undergo cheerfully the hardships that must +unavoidably happen in the course of so long a voyage." + +MARKET SPOILT. + +The Marquesas were reached on 7th April, and after a narrow escape from +running on the rocks, satisfactory anchorage was obtained, and they were +visited by some of the natives, from whom breadfruit and fish were +purchased. The next day further trading was done, nails being the chief +medium of exchange, but the natives were inclined to be smart in their +dealings, and on several occasions obtained payment without delivery. +Cook here suffered from a relapse, but was able to get about, and after +warning the officer on watch to keep a smart look-out, or something of +importance would be stolen, took his seat in a boat to go in search of a +better anchorage. He was then informed that a stanchion had been stolen +from the gangway, and the thief had got away to his canoe on the other +side of the ship. He ordered a shot to be fired over the canoes, but no +one was to be hurt, and he would pull round and secure the thief. The +order was apparently misunderstood, for the thief was killed, and the +rest of the natives hurried ashore. Soon after trading recommenced, and +the lesson appeared forgotten, for an attempt was made to steal the kedge +anchor by which the ship was being warped nearer the shore. Cook landed, +and the trading went on as if nothing out of the common had occurred, and +some pigs (so small that it required forty or fifty to provide one meal +for the crew!) and fruit were purchased; but in the afternoon, when the +boats went in for water, all the natives had disappeared. This Cook +attributed to his not being with them, for the next morning, when he +landed, trading was resumed. A short trip was made in the boats along the +coast, and when they returned it was found the market was closed. It +seems one of the young gentlemen had given a small handful of red +feathers he had obtained at Tonga for a small pig, and now nothing else +would be accepted, so they sailed for Otaheite on the 11th. Cook was very +much annoyed at the ill success in obtaining fresh provisions, for though +none of the crew were ill, he thought they stood in need of a change of +food. He describes the inhabitants as the finest race he had seen in the +South Seas, almost as fair as Europeans, and their language very similar +to that of Otaheite. Their arms consisted of clubs, spears, and slings, +the two former very neatly made, and with the latter they threw stones a +considerable distance but without accuracy. Mr. Forster managed to secure +a quantity of small birds with very beautiful plumage. + +On the 17th April they sighted the George Islands, discovered by Byron +(native name, Tiookea), but, after sending the Master to report on the +lagoon, Cook decided it was too dangerous to enter, and Mr. Cooper went +off with two boats to see if it were possible to trade. He obtained a few +dogs and coconuts, but the attitude of the natives was so uncertain he +would not land, and returned to the ship. One of the sailors exchanged a +plantain for a dog, so it was concluded the fruit was unknown. On the +19th four more islands were discovered, and named Pallisser Islands, and +on rounding one a strong swell rolling in from the south was encountered, +"a sure sign that we were clear of these low islands." On the 21st, land +a little to the east of Point Venus was sighted, and next morning they +anchored in Matavai Bay, being immediately visited by the natives, who +seemed greatly pleased to see them again. The old camp was reoccupied, +the observatory set up for Mr. Wales, and Cook had again the pleasure to +record he had no one on the sick list. + +The king, Otoo, came to visit the camp, bringing as his present a dozen +pigs and some fruit, and then with some of his friends went on board ship +to dinner, and to receive the return present. It was then found that the +red feathers were greatly valued, a very fortunate thing as articles of +trade were running short. Cook, after the disappointment in securing +supplies at the last visit, intended to make a very short stay, but the +place now appeared to be very thriving, houses and canoes were being +built in all directions, and there was every sign of prosperity, so he +decided to remain and refit. On 25th April they had a thunderstorm +lasting three hours, such as no one on board had experienced before. + +THE OTAHEITAN FLEET. + +Going to visit Otoo on the next day, Cook was surprised to see a large +number of fully-manned canoes ranged along the coast, and a large body of +armed men on the land near them. On landing, he was surrounded by people, +and seized by two chiefs, one of whom wanted to carry him off to see the +king, and the other to see the fleet, and between the two, "I was like to +be pulled to pieces," the crowd making way with cries of "Tiya no +Tootee." He was gradually drawn towards the fleet, but refused to go on +board, and after a time was allowed to return to his own boats, when he +found his companions had been subject to similar treatment. They put out +from shore in order to have a good look at the fleet, and counted one +hundred and sixty large double canoes, all well equipped and fully +manned. The chiefs were swathed in vast quantities of cloth, so that to +the Englishmen it seemed almost a miracle they were able to move. The +vessels were decorated with flags and streamers, and made a very fine +appearance. These were the first line, and, in addition, there were one +hundred and seventy smaller double canoes, each having a small house or +castle on it, which were thought to be transports and store ships, as the +larger ones, as far as could be seen, carried no supplies on board. The +number of men on board was estimated to be no less than 7,500, and it was +ascertained this armada was intended for the subjugation of Eimeo which +had lately rebelled against Otaheite. + +Cook was informed Otoo was waiting at the camp for him, but on going +there he found he had not been there, and on looking for him again in the +afternoon he was still invisible. The fleet had also gone away; and then +it was discovered that some of Cook's clothes had been stolen from the +wash, and the king and Admiral were both in dread of his anger. However, +Cook sent word he should take no steps to recover the stolen articles, +and things resumed a friendly aspect, the Admiral, Towha, sending Cook a +present of two large pigs and some fruit, giving orders to the bearers +that they were to receive nothing in exchange. He soon after paid a visit +to the ship, and as it was his first, he examined everything with great +curiosity, and appeared greatly impressed with what he saw. One of the +natives having been caught making off with a small water cask, Cook +determined he should be punished, and made a ceremonial affair of it. The +culprit was first sent on board and put in irons, the natives and the +crew mustered, and then the thief was taken on shore and triced up. Cook +then made a short speech in which he pointed out that when his men were +caught stealing from the natives they were always punished, but the +natives were always stealing from the ship and crew and getting away +unpunished, he therefore ordered the man to be given two dozen lashes. +These were duly administered, and Towha made a speech in which he was +understood to admit the justice of Cook's action. The marines were then +put through their drill, and fired a few volleys with ball, and the +proceedings terminated; but Cook declares he did not know whether the +natives were pleased or frightened by the ceremony. The king's brother +then took some of the officers out to see a part of their fleet at +exercise, and they were just in time to see the conclusion and the +landing of the men. Cook says the canoes were handled very smartly, and +"five minutes after putting ashore you could not tell anything of the +kind had been going forward." + +The sea stores were again overhauled, and although the greatest care had +been taken with the packing, large quantities of the bread were found to +be uneatable, rendering the purchase of fresh food at every opportunity +of the greatest importance. + +A state visit was paid on board by Otoo's father and some other members +of the royal family, who presented Cook with: + +"a complete mourning dress, a curiosity we most valued. In return I gave +him whatever he desired, which was not a little, and having distributed +red feathers to all the others, conducted them ashore in my boat." + +MUSKET STOLEN. + +On 7th May the king expressed a wish to see Cook, so the latter went +ashore, but found his Majesty and many of his leading men had +disappeared, and the sergeant of marines reported that one of his men had +had his musket stolen whilst on duty. Cook gave orders that if the musket +was returned nothing further was to be said, and returned to his ship. +Suspicion was attracted to six canoes laden with fruit and baggage, so +Cook gave chase in his own boat. One of the canoes then made for the +ship, and the occupants, women whom he recognised, informed him they were +taking some things to the Resolution, and that the king was at Point +Venus. Cook went to the camp, to find this was only a story to put him +off, and he once again gave chase, ordering another boat to follow. A few +shots were fired over the canoes, and five out of the six surrendered, +the one he had spoken with getting away. He was now told that the gun had +been stolen by a native of Tiarabou, and therefore Otoo was unable to get +it back, so after a little discussion he decided to put up with the loss, +and sent word to the king that he would say no more about it. In the +evening, however, the musket and some articles that had not been missed +were returned, and the men who brought them were duly rewarded. Cook says +it was remarkable how many had been actively engaged in their recovery. +One man in particular described most vividly how he had followed up, +attacked and killed the thief of the musket, but at the same time every +one was well aware that this hero had never been away from his own house +throughout the day. A state call was made on Otoo, and with the usual +exchange of presents the old footing was re-established. On the return +from this visit a stop was made "at the dockyards, for such they deserve +to be called," and the canoes in construction were inspected, two of them +being the largest the Englishmen had yet seen. + +The king soon after returned the visit, and requested that the big guns +should be fired, but Cook thinks it was very doubtful if the experience +was enjoyed. A display of fireworks in the evening was much more to the +native taste. Referring to the numerous robberies that had been +committed, Cook says he found it far the best to deal mildly with the +delinquents, and the regulations he made were, as a rule, well kept by +the natives. He was now better pleased with his reception, and concluded +that the island was in a more prosperous condition than at his last +visit. When the ship was ready to resume her voyage, several young +natives volunteered to accompany her, and Mr. Forster was most anxious to +take one as a servant, but as Cook could see no prospect of returning +them to their homes, he would not permit one to go. + +MARRA DESERTS. + +When the anchor was weighed on 14th May, Marra, the gunner's mate, whose +Journal has been quoted, quietly slipped into the water, and endeavoured +to reach a canoe which was hanging about to pick him up, but he was seen +and taken on board again. In his notes he expresses his regret that the +scientific world thus lost the chance of having the experiences of a +prolonged residence amongst these people placed before it. At the time of +leaving there was great talk of the expedition against Eimeo, and Cook +would have liked to have watched the proceedings, but he soon saw that +nothing would be done whilst he remained in the vicinity. + +On their arrival at Huaheine on the 15th the ship was immediately boarded +by Cook's old friend Oree with the usual present, and he and his friends +were invited to dine on board. He was asked what he would like for the +return present, and named axes and nails, which were given him with the +request that he would distribute them amongst his people; this he at once +did, to the apparent satisfaction of all. The thieving propensities of +the natives were still as bad as ever; a shooting party was robbed of its +stock of trade goods, and the day after three officers were seized and +stripped, so Cook took an armed party ashore, captured two of the leading +chiefs and a large house, and said he should keep them till the things +stolen were returned. This had the desired effect, and everything was +soon brought back. + +On 23rd May they sailed for Ulietea, and on their arrival the next day +were well received, though it was evident provisions were rather scarce. +They were informed here that two ships had arrived at Huaheine, one +commanded by Banks, and the other by Furneaux, and their informant +describes both Captains so well that it was some time before Cook +ventured to reject the tale as too improbable. It is possible that there +was some foundation for the story that ships had been seen, for it +afterwards became known that M. St. Dennis had been in the South Pacific +about this time with two vessels. + +Notwithstanding pressing invitations from the natives to stay, Cook +sailed for Lord Howe's Island, discovered by Wallis, reaching it on the +6th June, but as it seemed uninhabited it offered no inducement for any +stay. On the 16th a chain of sand-banks and islets surrounding a lagoon +into which no practicable entrance could be seen, was named Palmerston's +Islands; and on the 20th a landing was effected on Savage Island, but as +the natives were very threatening, and the country enabled them to +approach closely without exposing themselves, the party retired to the +boats. A few spears were thrown, and Marra says that one would have +struck Cook had he not seen it coming and stooped in time to avoid it, +and then aimed with his gun loaded with small shot at the thrower, but it +missed fire; a short time afterwards he again tried it, aiming in the +air, and it was discharged. Forster attributes the constant misfires to +the bad quality of the flints supplied by the Government, and says that +English flints had a very unsatisfactory reputation on the Continent. + +MORE THIEVING. + +The course was now set for Rotterdam, where they arrived on 26th June, +and were fairly well received by the natives, who brought supplies of +fruit before the anchorage had been reached; but they soon began to play +the old game of trying to annex anything that took their fancy. One +seized the lead which was in use, whilst a second tried to cut the line +with a stone, and was only persuaded to desist by a charge of small shot +fired at his legs. A small party of sailors went ashore for water, and a +quantity was obtained; but again the natives became too pressing in their +attentions. The doctor's musket was stolen, then Mr. Clerke's, then some +other things and a cooper's adze; and Cook, though at first inclined to +take no notice, felt compelled to seize two canoes, and himself wounded a +man, who had rendered himself conspicuous by his disorderly conduct, with +a charge of small shot, and it was at first rumoured he was killed. This +Cook would not believe as he had been very careful not to fire at a vital +spot. After a time the muskets and some of the other things were given +up, so the canoes were returned to their owners, and the adze was +demanded. Instead of the adze, however, the reported corpse was brought +on board, and proved, on examination by the doctor, to be very little the +worse for his experience, having a slight wound on the thigh and a second +one on the wrist. He was soon on his feet, and the adze was then +produced. The next day the people were very civil, and the crew were able +to water without interruption. + +On 16th July they sighted Aurora Island, discovered by Bougainville, but +it came on to blow hard, so they did not attempt to anchor. The natives +came down fully armed as if to oppose a landing, and the ship passed on +to Whitsunday Island. Off Malicolo good anchorage was found, and the +natives came on board, and were so pleased with their reception they +returned next day in greater numbers, and whilst Cook was in his cabin +with some who appeared to be chiefs, a great noise arose on deck. A boat +keeper had declined to allow a native to get into his boat, and the +islander was fitting an arrow to his bow as Cook came on deck, with the +intention of shooting the sailor. Cook shouted at him, and he at once +diverted his aim to the Captain, but the latter was too quick, and +peppered him with small shot, spoiling his aim. He was not much hurt, and +proceeded to fit another arrow to his bow, when Cook gave him the second +barrel and induced him to retire. Some of the others also discharged a +few arrows, so a musket was fired over them, without any effect. A +four-pound gun was tried, and the effect was truly marvellous; the +natives in the rigging and on deck threw themselves into the water, +whilst those in the cabin jumped from the ports, and the ship was left in +peace. Cook was not favourably impressed by these islanders, and +describes them as "in general, the most ugly ill-proportioned people I +ever saw." Forster, however, thought they were very intelligent. They +were judged to be a different race from the Society or Friendly +Islanders, and spoke a different language. + +POISONOUS FISH. + +After leaving, many of those on board were very ill for a week or ten +days from having eaten of a fish which Forster calls a red sea bream, and +Cook believed to be the same as those which poisoned de Quiros's people, +and in his account says that: + +"The fish had eaten of poisonous plants, all parts of the flesh became +empoisoned. The ship appeared like the Hospital of a city which had the +plague; there was none who could stand on their feet." + +Owing to the care of the surgeons, however "all were recovered." + +The next land seen was a small group of islands, named Shepherd's +Islands, "in honour of my worthy friend, the Plumian Professor of +Astronomy at Cambridge"; and Mr. Forster complains that Cook's "rashness +and reliance on good fortune become the principal roads to fame, by being +crowned with great and undeserved success." This was very out of place at +the time, for Cook was exercising the very greatest precautions, as he +fully recognised the dangers by which they were surrounded. He always +stood off and on during the night, and only proceeded through unknown +waters by day. Several of these islets were of a peculiar formation, and +one high columnar rock was named the Monument; Forster gives its height +as 140 yards, the other accounts are satisfied with feet. Many of the +group were inhabited, but no favourable opportunity for landing occurred. + +On 1st August a fire broke out on board, and Forster writes: + +"Confusion and horror appeared in all our faces at the bare mention of +it, and it was some time before proper measures were taken to stop its +progress, for in these moments of danger few are able to collect their +faculties and act with cool deliberation." + +After about half a page of this, on fires in general, he observes: + +"Providentially the fire of this day was very trifling and extinguished +in a few moments." + +Then a few days after a marine, who had fallen overboard, was smartly +picked up, and being well looked after by his comrades, was soon showing +no ill effects of his accident, thus giving Mr. Forster an opportunity to +write of it as an example of "the result of an esprit du corps to which +sailors, at present, are utter strangers." An utterly unwarranted sneer. + +At Erromango, on 4th August, Cook went in with the boats, and the natives +tried to induce them to come on shore, but something roused suspicion +after he and one man had got into the water, so, making signs that he +would come back later, he stepped back. The natives then rushed the +boats, trying to drag them onto the beach, and succeeded in stealing two +oars, at the same time wounding several of the boats' crews, amongst them +Mr. Gilbert, the Master, with a shower of stones, spears, and arrows. +Cook attempted to give one of the chiefs a charge of small shot, but his +gun missed fire, and he was obliged, very reluctantly, to order the +marines to fire, with the result that several of the natives were +wounded. Under the circumstances it was not considered worth while +remaining, so the ship left for Tanna, some twelve leagues to the south. +A bright light had been noticed in that direction the night before, which +proved to have been caused by a volcanic eruption. + +A good anchorage was found at Tanna, and the ship warped close in. +Several natives coming on board to trade soon developed the usual +propensity to carry off anything that took their fancy--on this occasion +the anchor buoys were the special attraction. Muskets were fired over +their head to no purpose, so a four-pounder was discharged, which for a +time had a good result; but soon they were as bad as ever, so two or +three musquetoons were fired close to them, and though none were hurt, +the crew were able to get their dinner in peace. + +HOT SPRINGS. + +An old man, called by Cook Paowang, appeared to be inclined to be +friendly, so Cook landed with a strong party to look for water under his +guidance, and met with some of the elders, exchanging presents with them. +The next day the ship was warped in, and three boats went ashore, but the +natives were very threatening, and after some futile attempts to put +things on a peaceable footing a signal was given to the ship and several +guns were fired, when all the natives ran away except Paowang, who was +suitably rewarded for his confidence. After a time permission was +obtained to get wood, water, and ballast, and whilst trying to lift a +stone out of a pool below high-water mark, one of the crew scalded his +hand badly. The pool proved to be one of a series of springs running down +a spur of the volcano into the sea. Several were tested with the +thermometer, and as much as 202 degrees Fahrenheit was attained. Forster +found a number of cracks on the ridge from which sulphurous vapour and +smoke issued, and one of the crew who had been suffering severely from +rheumatism received great temporary benefit from bathing in one of the +springs. + +Many good plantations of yams, sugar-cane, and plantains were seen, but +they could purchase very little as their articles of trade were not +appreciated. The natives did not understand the use of iron, and did not +require cloth as they went almost entirely naked. Though no direct signs +of cannibalism had been found, Cook was convinced that the practice was +not unknown. + +After leaving Tanna, the western coasts of the different islands were +followed up till De Bougainville's Passage was reached, when the course +was set for Espiritu Santo. In passing Malicolo canoes put off for the +ship, but the wind being favourable, Cook would not delay, and gave +Forster the opportunity to remark that the main object of the voyage, +i.e. the obtaining a knowledge of the natural history of the islands, was +made subservient to the production of a new track on the chart of the +Southern Hemisphere. + +CARDINAL MORAN'S GEOGRAPHY. + +On 25th August they entered the bay which Cook believed to be that +discovered by De Quiros, and named by him the Bay of St. Philip and St. +Iago in the Tierra Austral del Espiritu Santo, now known as the New +Hebrides. In this conclusion Cook has the support of Dalrymple and modern +geographers, but Forster, for some reason which is not quite clear, felt +compelled to differ. Cardinal Moran, the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, +also believes Cook to have been mistaken, for in his History of the +Catholic Church in Australia, he places De Quiros's discovery in Port +Curtis, Queensland, where he claims that the first Catholic service ever +celebrated in Australia was held. He puts aside the fact that the +latitude of Port Curtis, 24 degrees South, does not agree with that given +by De Quiros, 15 degrees 20 minutes South, by saying that the positions +of newly discovered places were, in those days, "often purposely +concealed lest other navigators might appropriate to themselves and their +respective countries, the results of the discovery." He quotes details +given in De Quiros's petitions to the King of Spain, and says: "All these +details fit in admirably with Port Curtis on the Queensland coast." Now +De Quiros says the country he discovered was thickly inhabited by a +people who were armed with bows and arrows, possessed vessels of +earthenware, lived in houses of wood, roofed with palm leaves, were amply +supplied with oranges, limes, pears, almonds larger than those of Spain, +hogs, fowls, goats, capons, etc. That in the bay where he anchored there +was no sandy barren ground, no mangroves, no ants, no mosquitoes, and +that his anchorage lay between two considerable rivers. How these details +fit in with Port Curtis may be evident to his Eminence, but is not +apparent to less distinguished mortals. The district of Port Curtis when +discovered was very thinly populated, and shows no signs of ever having +been otherwise. Bows and arrows and earthenware vessels were absolutely +unknown throughout Australia; houses did not exist, except in the form of +temporary shelters of branches, leaves, and bark; the fruits and animals +mentioned were unknown; and sandy barren country with mangroves, ants, +and mosquitoes does exist in considerable quantity. The anchorage, had De +Quiros ever been there, might have been between two rivers, the Boyne and +Calliope (both of small size), but Cardinal Moran, to make this detail +"fit in admirably", has recourse to the bold measure of moving the mouth +of the Burnett River from Wide Bay to Port Curtis--some 2 1/2 degrees to +the north of its real position. + +On the other hand, Cook's description of the New Hebrides fits in with +much greater accuracy. The latitude was found to be 15 degrees 5 minutes +South, and Mr. Cooper, who went ashore with the boats, reported that he +landed near a fine stream of fresh water, "probably one of those +mentioned by De Quiros; and if we were not deceived, we saw the other." +The country was described by Cook thus: + +"an uncommonly luxuriant vegetation was everywhere to be seen; the sides +of the hills were chequered with plantations; and every valley watered by +a stream; of all the productions of nature this country was adorned with, +the coconut trees were the most conspicuous." + +A few canoes ventured near enough to have some presents thrown to them, +but here the intercourse ended, for Cook felt that, notwithstanding the +inviting appearance of the place, he had no time to spare from the great +object of the expedition, namely, the exploration of the Southern Ocean, +and, as the wind was favourable, sailed for New Zealand for a refit. + + +CHAPTER 14. 1774 TO 1775. SECOND VOYAGE CONCLUDED. + +On 4th September Midshipman Colnett sighted a large island, which was +named New Caledonia, the point first seen being called Cape Colnett. An +opening in the surrounding reef having been found by the boats, the +Resolution worked up to an anchorage and was quickly surrounded by canoes +whose occupants were totally unarmed. At first they were shy of coming +near, but at length one canoe was persuaded to receive some small +presents, and in return gave some fish which "stunk intolerably," but for +all that it was received in hopes more satisfactory trading might result. +To some who came on board dinner was offered, but they would touch +nothing but yams. They appeared to know nothing of dogs, goats, or hogs, +but greatly appreciated both red cloth and nails. Cook landed and was +well received, and water was pointed out, but it was too inconvenient of +access; the land near a village was well cultivated and irrigated, the +products being chiefly yams, plantains, and coconuts, the latter were not +bearing much fruit. + +On 6th September Mr. Wales secured a moderately satisfactory observation +of an eclipse of the sun, and was able to fix their position as 20 +degrees 17 minutes 39 seconds South, 164 degrees 41 minutes 21 seconds +East. On the same day the ship's butcher, Monk, "a man much esteemed in +the ship," fell down the forehatch, and died the following day from the +injury received. Whilst some of the crew were engaged in watering, a +small party went up the hills to view the surrounding country, but as all +the natives they met turned back to follow them, Cook remarks, "at last +our train was numerous." They were able to see right across the island, +and estimated the width to be not more than ten leagues. On returning it +was found the clerk had purchased a fish, something like a sun-fish; and +as the artist was engaged in drawing and describing it, the cook took the +liver and roe for supper in the cabin, with the result that Cook and the +Forsters were nearly poisoned, and were only cured by the most careful +attention of the surgeon. When the natives saw the fish the next morning +they immediately signified it was unfit to eat, but Cook says nothing of +the kind had been intimated when it was purchased. + +NORFOLK ISLAND. + +The natives were described as robust and well made, "and not in the least +addicted to pilfering, which is more than can be said of any other nation +in this sea." The only tame animals they had were large fowls with very +bright plumage. The country was said to consist of rocky hills, and the +trees identical with those seen in New South Wales. Leaving a sow and +boar behind, in hopes of their being allowed to breed, and marking a tree +with the name of the ship and the date, they left for the Isle of Pines, +where they arrived on the 19th. Here they were in very dangerous waters, +and Cook says the safety of the ship was owing to the splendid way in +which the watch was kept, and the brisk manner in which she was handled +by the crew. Forster noted "innumerable columnar forms of a considerable +height which we distinguished by the help of our glasses"; he put them +very proudly down as of basaltic formation, and afforded considerable +amusement to Cook when he was able to prove they were only trees of the +Pine family; in fact, some were afterwards cut down on Botany Island and +used for spars. They were unable to effect a landing on the Isle of Pines +owing to the rocky nature of the shore, but by some unknown means Mr. +Hodges painted a view of the interior of the island, published under that +title in Cook's Voyages. Norfolk Island was discovered on 10th October, +and a landing was effected, but no sign of inhabitants was seen, though a +welcome supply of fish, birds, and cabbage palm was obtained. The +vegetation bore a resemblance to that of New Zealand. + +On 17th October Mount Egmont was sighted, and anchoring in Queen +Charlotte's Sound an immediate search was made for a bottle containing +letters which had been left for the Adventure. It was not to be found, +nor was there anything to show by whom it had been taken, but the next +day they saw where an observatory had been set up, and trees cut down +with axes, and so came to the conclusion their consort had been there. +The natives, who were at first very shy, but when they recognised Cook +"went jumping and skipping about like madmen," informed them that the +Adventure came in soon after they had left, and remained two or three +weeks. A story also was told that a ship had been lost on the north side +of the straits shortly before Cook arrived, and some of the people having +had their clothes stolen by the natives, fired on them, but when their +ammunition was exhausted were all killed. This story, evidently a +distorted account of what happened to some of the Adventure's crew, was +disbelieved by Cook, who thought there had been some misunderstanding. +Cook, from fresh observations, found that he had placed the South Island +on his chart some 40 minutes too far to the east, and had made the +distance between Queen Charlotte's Sound and Cape Pallisser 10 minutes +nearer to each other than they should have been. In this connection he +speaks in the highest terms of the desire of Mr. Wales to have everything +as accurate as possible. + +On 11th November the Resolution left the Sound at daybreak to cross the +South Pacific between latitudes 54 and 55 degrees, and the course +convinced Cook there was no possibility of there being any large piece of +land in that portion of the ocean. He therefore stood for the western +entrance of Magellan's Straits, sighting Cape Descada on 17th December, +following the coast round to Christmas Sound, which they reached on the +20th, the country passed being described as "the most desolate and barren +I ever saw." At Christmas Sound they were more fortunate, for wood, +water, wild celery, and a large number of geese provided them with a +welcome banquet for Christmas Day. They were visited by some of the +natives, described as "a little, ugly, half-starved, beardless race; I +saw not a tall person amongst them." The scent of dirt and train oil they +carried with them was "enough to spoil the appetite of any European," +consequently none were invited to join the festivities. They had European +knives, cloth, handkerchiefs, etc., showing they had been in +communication with white men; and Forster notes they had canoes which +could not have been made in the neighbourhood, for there was no timber of +sufficient size. + +CAPE HORN CORRECTED. + +Cape Horn was passed on 29th December, and Cook made his longitude 68 +degrees 13 minutes West, a little too far to the westward; it should be +67 degrees 16 minutes West. This is absolutely correct, according to +Wharton. On 1st January 1775 they landed on a small island off Staten +Island, and then put in to a fine sheltered harbour on the main island, +which consequently was named New Year Harbour. The weather proved +unfavourable for surveying, but enough was ascertained to convince them +that the Tierra del Fuego and Staten Island coasts were not so dangerous +to navigation as they had been represented. + +On 3rd January they left to look for Dalrymple's Gulf of Sebastian, which +Cook thought was non-existent, and on the 6th they reached the position +given on the chart, but could find no signs of any land. Bearing up to +the north, Georgia Island was seen on the 14th, and was found to be +entirely covered with snow, creating surprise as it was now the height of +summer. The ship ran in between Georgia and Willis Islands, and +possession was formally taken of the group, though Cook did not think +that "any one would ever be benefited by the discovery." Working as far +south as 60 degrees, he turned to the east, being "tired of these high +southern latitudes where nothing was to be found but ice and thick fogs," +and a long hollow swell coming from the westward convinced him that he +was correct in his assumption that the Gulf of Sebastian and a large body +of land did not exist. On the 30th two large islands were seen, and then +three rocky islets to the north; the largest was named Freezeland Peak, +after the sailor who sighted it, S. Freesland; and behind these was an +elevated coast which received the name of Southern Thule, as being the +most southerly land then discovered. The position of the ship was given +as 59 degrees 13 minutes 30 seconds South, 27 degrees 45 minutes West. + +During the early part of February they ran down east between 58 and 59 +degrees South, frequently having to throw the ship up into the wind to +shake the snow out of her sails, for the weather was very bad. After +another unsuccessful attempt to find Cape Circumcision, the ship's head +was turned towards the Cape of Good Hope on 23rd February, and Cook had +the satisfaction of feeling he had solved the problem of the +non-existence of any southern continent except in close proximity to the +Pole. He firmly believed from his observations of the icefields that such +a continent in the far south did exist, but he asserted that further +exploration in that direction would be of little service to navigation, +and would be hardly worth the cost and danger that must be incurred. + +On 16th March two Dutch ships were seen steering to the west, and a boat +was sent off to the nearest, which proved to be the Bownkirke Polder, +from Bengal. They were offered any supplies the Dutchman had, +notwithstanding the latter was rather short, owing to his being some time +out from port. Some English sailors on board told of the Adventure having +been at the Cape of Good Hope some twelve months previously, and that she +had reported the massacre of a boat's crew in New Zealand. At the same +time three more sail came up, one, an English ship, did not intend to +call at the Cape, so Cook forwarded by her a letter to the Admiralty and +received some provisions, and, most valuable gift, a packet of old +newspapers. On the 22nd the Resolution anchored in Table Bay, saluting +the Dutch flag with thirteen guns, and the next morning Cook waited on +the Governor, who did everything he could to assist him and render his +stay agreeable. + +THREE ON THE SICK LIST. + +Cook was greatly pleased to be able to report three men only on the sick +list, and the remainder were granted as much leave as the refitting of +the ship would permit. The rigging, of course, had suffered severely, and +had to be replaced at an exorbitant cost from the Government Stores; but +Cook calls attention to the state of the masts, which he considered, +after sailing some 20,000 leagues, bore testimony to the care and ability +of his officers and men, and also to the high qualities of his ship. + +M. de Crozet put in on his way to Pondicherry, and was impressed with +Cook's courtesy and qualifications as an explorer. He was able to give +the first information of M. de Surville's voyage, and that he had cleared +away a mistake Cook had made in assuming that the New Caledonia reefs +extended to the Great Barrier Reef on the east of Australia. Forster says +that Cook pointedly avoided having any intercourse with any of the +Spaniards who were there, but gives no reason for it. He also bought a +quantity of wild animals and birds, many of which died before reaching +England, and he roundly but unjustly accused the crew of having killed +them. + +Touching at St. Helena, where Kendal's watch was found to differ by about +two miles from the observations of Mason and Dixon at the Cape and those +of Maskelyne at St. Helena, he proceeded to Ascension, where he obtained +a good supply of fresh turtle, and then to Fernando de Noronho, fixing +the position as 3 degrees 50 minutes South, 32 degrees 34 minutes West, +and crossed the line on 11th June. Calling in at the Azores, land was +sighted near Plymouth on the 29th, and next day they anchored at +Spithead; and Cook, Wales, Hodges, and the two Forsters immediately +started for London, having been away from England three years and +eighteen days. During this time they had lost four men, three from +accident and one from disease--a record unprecedented in the annals of +British Naval history. + +The war with the American colonies was naturally occupying the attention +of the public, but the newspapers found space to publish more or less +authentic information as to their arrival and proceedings on the voyage. +One paper gravely said that: + +"Captain Cooke will be appointed Admiral of the Blue, and command a fleet +which is preparing to go out in the spring, as a reward for the +discoveries he has made in his last voyage in the South Seas." + +On 9th August Cook was summoned to St. James's Palace and had a long +audience with the King, presenting several charts and maps and submitting +several drawings, some of which were ordered to be engraved for the +private museum. In return the King presented him with his commission as +Post-Captain and his appointment to H.M.S. Kent. The commission, signed +by Sandwich, Penton, and Pallisser, bears date 9th August. Furneaux was +made Captain. He sailed for America in October, and was present at the +attack on New Orleans in 1777; he died at the age of forty-six, some four +years later. Kempe, Cooper, and Clerke were promoted to Commanders; and +Isaac Smith, Lieutenant. Mr. Wales was appointed Mathematical Master at +Christ's Hospital, and Charles Lamb mentions him as having been a severe +man but: + +"a perpetual fund of humour, a constant glee about him, heightened by an +inveterate provincialism of North Country dialect, absolutely took away +the sting from his severities." + +Mr. Forster was received by the King at Kew, and was afterwards presented +to the Queen, to whom he gave some of the birds bought at the Cape. He +also attracted attention from another quarter, for Lloyd's Evening Post +reports that on 6th August, his house at Paddington "was broke open and +robbed of effects of considerable value." Again the Morning Post, 23rd +August, reports: + +"Monday night, as Mr. John Reynold Forster was returning from Chelsea in +a post chaise, he was attacked by three highwaymen, near Bloody Bridge, +who robbed him of three guineas and a watch set with diamonds." + +GREENWICH HOSPITAL. + +Acting on advice from the Admiralty, Cook, on 12th August, applied for +the position of one of the Captains of Greenwich Hospital, vacant through +the death of Captain Clements, stipulating that if occasion arose in +which his services would be of use elsewhere, he might be permitted to +resign. This application was immediately granted, and his appointment is +dated on the same day as his application. The salary was 200 pounds per +year, with a residence and certain small allowances such as fire and +light, and one shilling and twopence per day table money. It is apparent +from his letters that though he may have taken over some of the duties +(but that is improbable, owing to his time being fully occupied preparing +his Journal for the press and then making arrangements for his final +voyage), he never entered upon residence but remained at Mile End. He, +however, found time to write two letters to Mr. Walker of Whitby, in the +first of which he speaks rather despondingly of being "confined within +the limits of Greenwich Hospital, which are far too small for an active +mind like mine"; and in the second he gives a rapid sketch of the voyage, +which, by its clear conciseness, proves the worthlessness of Mr. +Forster's sneer, repeated by later writers, that the public account of +the voyage owed more to the editing of Canon Douglas than to the writing +of Cook. + +Soon after Cook's arrival in London, Furneaux handed him his Journal of +the proceedings of the Adventure from the time of their separation off +the coast of New Zealand. They were blown off the land near Table Cape in +the beginning of November 1773, again sighting it near Cape Pallisser, +only to be blown off again, their sails and rigging suffering severely. +They put into Tolago Bay for temporary repairs and water, and left again +on the 13th, but had to put back till the 16th, and even then the weather +was so bad that they did not reach Queen Charlotte's Sound till the 30th, +when the bottle left by Cook was at once found, telling they were six +days too late. They pushed on as rapidly as possible with the refit, and +then were further delayed by finding a large quantity of the bread +required rebaking, but they were ready to sail by 17th December. Mr. Rowe +was sent out with a boat to get a supply of vegetables, and the ship was +to have sailed the following day, but the boat did not return. Burney was +then sent off with a party of marines in search, and after a time +discovered the missing men had been all killed and some of them eaten by +the Maoris. Portions of the bodies were found and identified--Rowe's +hand, by an old scar, Thomas Hill's hand, had been tattooed in Otaheite; +Captain Furneaux's servant's hand; and midshipman Woodhouse's shoes were +found, and a portion of the boat. The natives who had these remains were +fired on, but Burney could take no further steps, for he estimated there +were fifteen hundred of the natives near the place. Furneaux believed +that the attack was unpremeditated as the Maoris had been quite friendly, +and both he and Cook had been at the place during their previous visit. +He concluded that some sudden quarrel had arisen and the boat's crew had +been incautious. + +MASSACRE. + +On his next voyage Cook obtained an account of the affair from the +natives, when they said that the crew was at dinner and some of the +Maoris attempted to steal some bread and fish, whilst one tried to get +something from the boat which had been left in charge of the Captain's +black servant. The thieves were given a thrashing, and a quarrel arose, +during which two muskets were discharged and two natives were shot. The +Maoris then closed in and killed all the sailors immediately. The +Yorkshire Gazette of 4th June 1887 states that it was reported that a +midshipman escaped the massacre, and after many wanderings reached +England in 1777. If this improbable story is true he must have been Mr. +Woodhouse, whose shoes were found, for he was the only midshipman in the +boat. + +On 23rd December the Adventure sailed, but owing to contrary winds did +not get away from the coast for some days. She stood south-east till 56 +degrees South was reached, and then the cold being extreme and the sea +high, her course was set for the Horn, reaching as high as 61 degrees +South with a favourable wind. Stores were running short, so after an +unsuccessful search for Cape Circumcision she sailed for Table Bay, and +having refitted, again left on 16th April for England, and dropped her +anchor at Spithead on 14th July 1774. + +Mr. Forster states that this second voyage of Cook cost 25,000 pounds, +but does not give the source of his information. + + +CHAPTER 15. 1775 TO 1776. ENGLAND. + +After his return Cook was busily engaged preparing his Journal and charts +for publication, which had been sanctioned by the Admiralty, and was +considerably annoyed and delayed by the conduct of Mr. Forster, who +immediately on his return complained that the 4,000 pounds granted him to +cover the whole of his expenses had proved totally inadequate. He claimed +that Lord Sandwich had promised, verbally, that he was to have the +exclusive duty of writing the History of the Voyage, was to receive the +whole of the profits thereof, and to be provided with permanent +employment for the remainder of his life. This promise was totally denied +by Lord Sandwich, and it certainly does not appear to have been a +reasonable one to make on behalf of the Admiralty. + +After a protracted discussion, it was agreed that Cook should write the +account of the voyage and the countries visited; whilst Forster was to +write a second volume containing his observations as a scientist; the +Admiralty was to pay the expenses of engraving the charts, pictures, +etc., and, on completion of the work, the plates were to be equally +divided between Cook and Forster. Cook was to proceed with his part at +once and submit it to Forster for revision, and Forster was to draw up a +plan of the method he intended to pursue and forward it to Lord Sandwich +for approval. + +Cook proceeded to carry out his share, and furnished Forster with a large +amount of manuscript; but the latter proved obstinately insistent in +having his own way in everything, with the result that, after submitting +two schemes to Lord Sandwich, both extremely unsatisfactory, he was +forbidden to write at all, and it was decided that Cook should complete +the whole work, and it should be revised by the Reverend John Douglas, +Canon of Windsor, afterwards Bishop of Carlisle. + +FORSTER'S YARNS. + +Notwithstanding the prohibition against Forster, a book was published +under his son's name, and the latter claims that he started on the voyage +with the intention of writing, took copious notes, and, excepting that he +utilised those taken by his father, the work was entirely his own. He +forgets, however, to say that a quantity of Cook's manuscripts had been +in his father's hands, and does not explain how so much of his book +corresponds with curious exactitude with that of Cook (in many cases word +for word), and how, when the papers of Cook failed to provide him with +further facts, he was obliged to rely on would-be philosophical +dissertations which it is to be hoped were not obtained from his father's +notebooks. Young Forster says that the appointment was first of all given +to his father in a spirit of pique on the part of Lord Sandwich, and then +the order forbidding him to write was made because the father had refused +to give Miss Ray, Lord Sandwich's mistress, who had admired them when on +board the ship, some birds brought home from the Cape of Good Hope as a +present to the Queen. In the end the Forsters forestalled Cook's book by +about six weeks, and as this was after Cook had left England on his last +voyage, Mr. Wales undertook the defence of the absent against the sneers +and insinuations that were plentifully given out all round. The Forsters +infer that Cook was unreliable because he suppresses mention of the +bombardment of the Loo fort at Madeira, an event which never happened; +and because he places Valparaiso (where he had never been) in the +position given on the Admiralty chart supplied to him, which proved to be +some 10 degrees out. The Master who had refused to give up his cabin was, +of course, never forgiven; and as for Mr. Wales, who had observed the +Transit of Venus at Hudson's Bay in 1769, for the Royal Society, he, poor +man, had neither knowledge nor experience in astronomical science. The +crews of the two ships also, carefully selected men though they were, +some of whom had been the previous voyage, were morally and physically +bad, and utterly incapable of performing their duty in a proper and +seamanlike manner. A little allowance must be made for the two authors, +for the father suffered severely from rheumatism, the son was of a +scorbutic tendency, and both were unaccustomed to sea life, and doubtless +the hardships inseparable from such a voyage pressed heavily upon them. + +A second Journal was published by F. Newbery about the same time, and +Cook hearing of it, sent Anderson, the gunner, to find out the author. +With little difficulty he was found to be Marra, the gunner's mate who +tried to desert at Otaheite, and the publication was stayed till after +the authorised version was out. + +A volume of Cook's letters to Dr. Douglas relating to the preparation of +his Journal for the press is preserved at the British Museum, and it +shows how Cook to the very last endeavoured to serve Mr. Forster's +interests, and to smooth matters over so that they could work together. +The last one Dr. Douglas received before Cook's departure was dated from +Mile End, 23rd June 1776, the day before he joined his ship at the Nore. + +Dear Sir, + +It is now settled that I am to publish without Mr. Forster, and I have +taken my measures accordingly. When Captain Campbell has looked over the +manuscript it will be put into the hands of Mr. Strahan and Mr. Stuart to +be printed, and I shall hope for the continuation of your assistance in +correcting the press. I know not how to recompense you for the trouble +you have had and will have in the work. I can only beg you will accept of +as many copies after it is published as will serve yourself and friends, +and I have given directions for you to be furnished with them. When you +have done with the Introduction, please send it to Mr. Strahan or bring +it with you when you come to Town, for there needs be no hurry about it. +Tomorrow morning I set out to join my ship at the Nore, and with her +proceed to Plymouth where my stay will be but short. Permit me to assure +you that I shall always have a due sense of the favour you have done me, +and that I am with great esteem and regard, Dear Sir, your obliged and +very humble servant, + +James Cook. + +Notwithstanding the Forsters' endeavour to discount its success by +forestalling the publication by some weeks, Cook's work was well received +by the public, and Mrs. Cook, to whom the whole of the profits were +given, reaped considerable benefit from its sale. + +FELLOW OF ROYAL SOCIETY. + +On 29th February 1776, Captain James Cook was unanimously elected a +Fellow of the Royal Society, and his certificate of election was signed +by no less than twenty-six of the Fellows. He was formally admitted on +17th March, on which date a paper written by him, on the means he had +used for the prevention and cure of scurvy, was read. That he valued his +success in dealing with this disease, which, at that time, even in +voyages of very moderate length was the most terrible danger to be +encountered, is plainly set forth in his Journal of the voyage. He says: + +"But whatever may be the public judgment about other matters, it is with +real satisfaction and without claiming any merit but that of attention to +my duty, that I can conclude this account with an observation which facts +enable me to make, that our having discovered the possibility of +preserving health amongst a numerous ship's company, for such a length of +time in such varieties of climate and amidst such continued hardships and +fatigues, will make this voyage remarkable in opinion of every benevolent +person, when the disputes about a Southern Continent shall have ceased to +engage the attention and to divide the judgment of philosophers." + +During his early days at sea it was no unusual thing for a man-of-war to +be short-handed through scurvy after a cruise of a few weeks, and in a +voyage across the Atlantic as many as twenty per cent of the crew are +known to have perished. To give some of his own experiences in the Navy: +On 4th June 1756, H.M.S. Eagle arrived in Plymouth Sound, after cruising +for two months in the Channel and off the French coast, and Captain +Pallisser reported landing 130 sick, buried at sea 22, and since his +arrival in port his surgeon and 4 men had died, and both his surgeon's +mates were very ill; this out of a complement of 400! + +Boscawen, sailing from Halifax for Louisberg in 1758, left several ships +behind on account of scurvy, one being the Pembroke, of which Cook was +Master; she had lost 29 men crossing the Atlantic, but she was able to +rejoin before the others as they were in a worse plight. Wolfe reported +to Lord George Sackville that some of the regiments employed at Louisburg +had "300 or 400 men eat up with scurvy." Of the Northumberland when at +Halifax, Lord Colville wrote that frozen (fresh) beef from Boston kept +his men healthy when in port, "but the scurvy never fails to pull us down +in great numbers upon our going to sea in spring." + +Having had such experiences Cook appears to have made up his mind to +fight the dreadful scourge from the very first, and though the popular +idea is that he only turned his mind to it during the second voyage, it +is very evident that on the Endeavour he fought it successfully, and it +is most probable would have laid claim to victory had it not been for the +serious losses incurred through the malarial fever and its usual +companion, dysentery, contracted at Batavia. In proof of this reference +may be made to the report of Mr. Perry, surgeon's mate, and, after Mr. +Monkhouse's death, surgeon on board. He states they rounded the Horn with +the crew "as free from scurvy as on our sailing from Plymouth," i.e. +after five months. He reports FOR THE WHOLE OF THE VOYAGE, FIVE CASES OF +SCURVY, "three in Port at New Holland, and two while on the Coast of New +Zealand, not a man more suffered any inconvenience from this distemper." +He was one of the five cases, but, at the same time, it must not be +understood that no others developed symptoms of scurvy, only they were so +closely watched and at once subjected to such treatment that the disease +was not able to gain the upper hand. Cook wrote to the Secretary to the +Admiralty immediately after his arrival at Batavia, saying, "I have not +lost one man from sickness." He means here, as elsewhere in his Journals, +"sickness" to be taken as scurvy, and at that time he had lost only seven +men: two of Mr. Banks's servants from exposure; three men drowned; Mr. +Buchan, a fit, probably apoplectic; and one man, alcoholic poisoning. He +arrived at home with a total loss of forty-one, including Tupia and his +boy; thirty-two of these deaths were from fever and dysentery, and 2, Mr. +Hicks and Sutherland, from consumption. + +TREATMENT OF SCURVY. + +The chief anti-scorbutics used on the Endeavour, according to Mr. Perry's +report, were: + +"Sour Kraut, Mustard, Vinegar, Wheat (whole), Inspissated Orange and +Lemon juice, Saloup, Portable Soup, Sugar, Molasses, Vegetables (at all +times when they could possibly be got), were some in constant, others in +occasional use." + +Saloup was a decoction made from the Orchis mascula root, a common meadow +plant, or else from Sassafras, and was at one time sold in the streets as +a drink before the introduction of tea and coffee. In the United Service +Museum there is a cake of the portable soup which was on board the +Endeavour, in appearance like a square of "whitish glue, which in effect +it is," says Sir John Pringle, President of the Royal Society. + +Mr. Perry continues: + +"Cold bathing was encouraged and enforced by example. The allowance of +Salt Beef and Pork was abridged from nearly the beginning of the voyage, +and the usual custom of the sailors mixing the Salt Beef fat with the +flour was strictly forbidden. Salt Butter and Cheese was stopped on +leaving England, and throughout the voyage Raisins were issued in place +of the Salt Suet; in addition to the Malt, wild Celery was collected in +Tierra del Fuego, and, every morning, breakfast was made from this herb, +ground wheat and portable soup." + +Of the personal cleanliness of the crew, which Cook looked upon as of the +first importance, Marra says (when writing of the Resolution's voyage) he +was very particular: + +"never suffering any to appear dirty before him, in so much that when +other Commanders came on board, they could not help declaring they +thought EVERY DAY Sunday on board of Captain Cook." + +He inspected the men at least once a week, and saw they had changed their +clothing and were dry; the bedding was dried and aired when occasion +offered, and the whole ship was stove-dried; special attention being paid +to the well, into which an iron pot containing a fire was lowered. + +Fresh water was obtained when possible, for Cook remarks, "nothing +contributes more to the health of seamen than having plenty of water." He +was provided with a condenser, but it was too small and unsatisfactory, +and he looked upon it as "a useful invention, but only calculated to +provide enough to preserve life without health." He attributed the losses +on the Adventure to Furneaux's desire to save his men labour, and +neglecting to avail himself of every opportunity of obtaining fresh +water. Cook throughout the voyage was never short of water; Furneaux was +on two or three occasions. + +Dr. McBride advised the use of fresh wort made from malt as an +anti-scorbutic, and the Endeavour was ordered to give it a thorough +trial. Fresh ground malt was treated with boiling water and allowed to +stand, then the liquid was boiled with dried fruit or biscuit into a +panada, and the patient had one or two meals with a quart or more of the +liquid per diem. This treatment was favourably reported on, but, at the +same time, so many other precautions were taken that it was not possible +to say which was the most successful. Banks, who was threatened, tried +the wort, but thinking it affected his throat, substituted a weak punch +of lemon juice and brandy, which had satisfactory results. After a time +the malt, though dry and sweet, had lost much strength, so as strong a +wort was made as possible, and ground wheat boiled with it for breakfast, +"a very pleasant mess which the people were very fond of," and Cook "had +great reason to think that the people received much benefit from it." + +SOUR KRAUTE. + +Cook set great store on the Sour Kraute, and says: + +"The men at first would not eat it, until I put it in practice--a method +I never once knew to fail with seamen--and this was to have some of it +dressed every day for the Cabin Table, and permitted all the officers, +without exception, to make use of it, and left it to the option of the +men to take as much as they pleased, or none at all; but this practice +was not continued above a week before I found necessary to put every one +on board to an allowance, for such are the Tempers and Disposition of +seamen in general, that whatever you give them out of the common way, +although it be ever so much for their good, it will not go down, and you +will hear nothing but murmurings against the man that first invented it, +but the moment they see their superiors set a value upon it, it becomes +the finest stuff in the world, and the inventor is an honest fellow." + +A pound of this was served to each man, twice a week, at sea, or oftener +if thought necessary. + +Portable soup, at the rate of an ounce per man, was boiled with the pease +thrice a week, and when vegetables could be obtained it was boiled with +them, and wheat or oatmeal for breakfast, and with pease and vegetables +for dinner, and "was the means of making the people eat a greater +quantity of vegetables than they would otherwise have done." The Rob of +Lemon and Orange was a doubtful quantity, for though Cook had no great +confidence in its efficacy, Furneaux reported very favourably on its use, +but it was expensive. Of vinegar, Cook was of opinion that it was of +little service, and preferred smoking the ship with wood-fires to washing +with vinegar, which had been strongly advised. He substituted sugar for +oil, as he esteemed it "a very good anti-scorbutic, whereas oil (such as +the navy is usually supplied with) I am of opinion has the contrary +effect." + +Cook says that the introduction of the most salutary articles would prove +unsuccessful unless accompanied by strict regulations so the crew were +divided into three watches except on some extraordinary occasion, in +order that they might not be so exposed to the weather, and had a better +chance to get into dry clothes if they happened to get wet. Hammocks, +bedding, clothes, and ship were kept as clean and dry as possible, and +when the ship could not be "cured with fires," once or twice a week she +was smoked with gunpowder, mixed with vinegar or water: + +"to cleanliness, as well in the ship as amongst the people, too great +attention cannot be paid: the least neglect occasions a putrid and +disagreeable smell below which nothing but fires will remove." + +He finishes his paper read before the Royal Society as follows: + +"We came to few places where either the art of man or the bounty of +nature had not provided some sort of refreshment or other, either in the +animal or vegetable way. It was my first care to procure whatever of any +kind could be met with, by every means in my power, and to oblige our +people to make use thereof, both by my example and authority; but the +benefits arising from refreshments of any kind soon became so obvious +that I had little occasion to recommend the one or exert the other." + +COPLEY GOLD MEDAL. + +On the 30th November 1776 Sir John Pringle, President of the Royal +Society, in his address to the Fellows, announced that the Copley Gold +Medal had been conferred on Captain Cook for his paper on the Treatment +of Scurvy, and gave some corroborative facts which had come under his own +observation, concluding his speech as follows: + +"If Rome decreed the Civic Crown to him who saved the life of a single +citizen, what wreaths are due to that man, who, having himself saved +many, perpetuates in your Transactions the means by which Britain may +now, on the most distant voyages, preserve numbers of her intrepid sons, +her mariners; who, braving every danger, have so liberally contributed to +the fame, to the opulence, and to the Maritime Empire of this country." + +Before Cook left England on his last voyage he had been informed that the +medal had been conferred on him, but he never received it, and it was +presented to Mrs. Cook, and is now in the British Museum. + +During May 1776 Cook sat for his portrait, now in the Painted Hall, +Greenwich, to Sir Nathaniel Dance. There are several portraits of him in +existence; three by Webber, one being in the National Portrait Gallery; +one by Hodges; and one or two others by unknown artists. Mr. Samwell, +surgeon on the third voyage, says of an engraving by Sherwin, from the +portrait by Dance, that it "is a most excellent likeness of Captain Cook; +and more to be valued, as it is the only one I have seen that bears any +resemblance to him." This portrait of Dance's represents Cook dressed in +his Captain's uniform, seated at a table on which is a chart. The figure +is evidently that of a tall man--he was over six feet in height--with +brown unpowdered hair, neatly tied back from the face; the clear +complexion shows little effect of exposure to the sea breezes, the +pleasant brown eyes look from under rather prominent brows, the nose +rather long, and a good firm mouth. The whole face gives a very pleasant +impression of the man, and conveys the idea that it was a good likeness. + +COOK VOLUNTEERS. + +Omai, a native of Otaheite, was brought to England by Furneaux, was +introduced to the King, made much of in Society, was painted by Reynolds, +Dance, and Hodges, and seems to have conducted himself fairly well. He +was to be sent back to his own country; and from the orders given to the +Resolution, when she returned, it was evident she was to be the ship to +take him. There was some difficulty as to the man to take command of the +new expedition, as the Admiralty felt they could not send out Cook again +so soon after his return. However, early in February 1776, he was invited +to dine with Lord Sandwich, to meet Sir Hugh Pallisser and Mr. Stephens, +the Secretary, when the proposed expedition was discussed and the +difficulty of finding a commander was brought forward. It is said that +after some conversation Cook jumped up and declared he would go, and as +the result of this resolve he called at the Admiralty Office on 10th +February, and made formal application for the command, which was accepted +on the same day, and he there and then went to Deptford and hoisted his +pendant on the Resolution. Her complement was the same as the previous +voyage, i.e. 112 men, including 20 marines; and the Quarter Bill, +preserved in the Records Office, shows the stations and duties of each of +the crew, and the positions of the civilians who in cases of necessity +were expected to take their places as small arms men. + +The companion ship, the Discovery, was built by Langborne of Whitby, and +was purchased for 2,450 pounds from W. Herbert of Scarborough. According +to the Records she was 229 tons burthen, but Cook puts her down as 300 +tons; and Burney says the two ships were splendid sailing company, any +advantage there might be resting with the Discovery. The command was +given to Charles Clerke, who had been both the previous voyages. + +The Resolution hauled out of dock, 10th March, completed her rigging and +took in stores and provisions, "which was as much as we could stow and +the best of every kind that could be got." On the 6th May the pilot went +on board to take her down to Longreach for her guns and powder, but owing +to contrary winds she did not reach there till the 30th. On 8th June she +was visited by Lord Sandwich, Sir Hugh Pallisser, and others from the +Admiralty, "to see that everything was compleated to their desire and to +the satisfaction of all who were to embark in the voyage." A bull, two +cows and their calves, with some sheep, were embarked as a present from +King George to the Otahietans in hopes to start stocking the island. A +good supply of trade was shipped, and extra warm clothing for the crew +was supplied by the Admiralty: + +"and nothing was wanting that was thought conducive to either conveniency +or health, such was the extraordinary care taken by those at the head of +the Naval Departments." + +Cook and King were to take observations on the Resolution, and Bailey, +who was with the Adventure the previous voyage, was appointed as +astronomer to the Discovery; the necessary instruments being supplied by +the Board of Longitude. The chronometer, made by Kendal, which had given +such satisfaction last voyage, was again on board the Resolution. It was +afterwards with Bligh in the Bounty, sold by Adams after the Mutiny to an +American, who sold it again in Chili. It was then purchased for 52 pounds +10 shillings, repaired, and rated, and after keeping fair time for some +years was presented by Admiral Sir Thomas Herbert to the United Service +Museum, and is still in working order. + +CLERKE IN THE FLEET. + +On 15th June the two ships sailed for the Nore; there the Resolution +waited for her Captain, whilst the Discovery, under the command of +Burney, went on to Plymouth, but, meeting with damage in a gale, had to +put into Portland for temporary repairs. Captain Clerke was detained in +London, "in the Rules of the Bench," as he had become financially +responsible for a friend who left him in the lurch. He wrote to Banks, +saying, "the Jews are exasperated and determined to spare no pains to +arrest me." It appears that he contracted the illness which led to his +death at this period. + + +CHAPTER 16. 1776 TO 1777. THIRD VOYAGE. + +On 24th June Cook and Omai joined the ship at the Nore, leaving next day +for Plymouth, arriving there on 30th, three days after the Discovery. On +8th July the final orders, which Cook had helped to draw up, were +received. They were to the effect that he was to proceed by the Cape of +Good Hope; to look for some islands said to have been seen by the French +in latitude 48 degrees, about the longitude of Mauritius; to touch at New +Zealand, if he thought proper; and then to proceed to Otaheite and leave +Omai there, or at the Society Islands, as the latter might wish. Leaving +Otaheite about February he was to strike the North American coast in +about 45 degrees latitude, avoiding, if possible, touching at any of the +Spanish dominions, and proceeding northwards to explore any rivers or +inlets that seemed likely to lead to Hudson's or Baffin's Bay. For the +winter he was to proceed to the Port of St. Peter and St. Paul in +Kamtschatka, or other suitable place, and in the ensuing spring he was +again to try and find a passage either to the east or west; failing that, +the ships were then to return to England. A reward of 20,000 pounds had +been offered to any British merchant ship that discovered a passage +between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific; and now this offer was thrown open +to any ship flying the British flag, and the passage might be to the east +or west so long as it was north of latitude 52 degrees. + +On 9th July the marines, who had been carefully selected, embarked under +the command of Lieutenant Molesworth Phillips, and the following day +officers and men were paid up to 30th June, and petty officers and seamen +received in addition two months' advance. + +THE RESOLUTION SAILS. + +The Resolution sailed on 12th July, the crew looking on it as a lucky +day, being the anniversary of the day they had sailed on the last voyage; +but as Clerke had not yet arrived, the Discovery remained behind. Putting +in to Teneriffe, Cook purchased a supply of wine, which he did not think +as good as that of Madeira, but remarks that the best Teneriffe wine was +"12 pounds a pipe, whereas the best Madeira is seldom under 27 pounds." +Here they met "Captain Baurdat" (the Chevalier de Borda), who was making +observations in order to time two watch machines, and were afforded an +opportunity of comparing them with their own. Looking into Port Praya in +hopes to find the Discovery they crossed the line on 1st September in +longitude 27 degrees 38 minutes West, and sighted the Cape of Good Hope +on 17th October, anchoring in Table Bay the next day. The ship was found +to be very leaky in her upper works, as the great heat had opened up her +seams which had been badly caulked at first. "Hardly a man that could lie +dry in his bed; the officers in the gun-room were all driven out of their +cabin by the water that came in through the sides." The sails were +damaged, some being quite ruined before they could be dried. + +The reception accorded by the Dutch was all that could be desired, and +all the resources of the place were at Cook's disposal. Letters were sent +to England and one invalid, Cook wishing afterwards that he had sent one +or two more, but he had at the time hopes of their complete recovery. On +31st October they were unable to communicate with the shore owing to a +heavy south-easterly gale which did not blow itself out for three days, +and the Resolution was the only ship in the bay that rode through it +without dragging her anchors. On the 10th November the Discovery arrived, +having left Plymouth on 1st August. She sighted land above twenty-five +leagues north of Table Bay, but had been blown off the coast in the +storm. + +It may be noted here that the French, Spanish, and United States +Governments issued instructions to their naval officers that Captain Cook +and his ships were to be treated with every respect, and as belonging to +a neutral and allied power. An honour to Cook, and also to the nations +who conferred it on him. + +When her consort arrived Cook was almost ready for sea, so the refit of +the Discovery was pushed on as quickly as possible, but some delay arose +in the delivery of bread ordered. Cook says he believes the bakers would +not put it in hand till they saw the Discovery safely at anchor. However, +on 30th November Clerke was handed his instructions, and the two Captains +went on board their respective ships to find them fully supplied for a +voyage which was expected to last at least two years. Live stock had been +purchased at the Cape, and one journalist says that on leaving, the +Resolution reminded him of Noah's Ark. + +They did not get clear of the coast till 3rd December owing to light +winds, and then on the 6th "a sudden heavy squall" cost the Resolution +her mizzen topmast; not a very serious loss, for they had a spare stick, +and the broken one "had often complained," but Burney says that owing to +the weather it took them three days to complete the repairs. The cold, +rough weather also had a bad effect on the live stock, several of them +perishing. + +DENSE FOG. + +On 12th December the islands discovered by Marion du Fresne and Crozet in +1772 were sighted, and as they were unnamed in the map, dated 1775, given +by Crozet to Cook, he called them Prince Edward's Islands, and a small +group further to the east was named Marion and Crozet Islands. Then +sailing south through fog so dense that, Burney says, they were often for +hours together unable to see twice the length of the ship, and, though it +was the height of summer, the cold was so intense that the warm clothing +had to be resorted to, they sighted Kerguelen's Land on 24th December. +The Chevalier de Borda had given Cook 48 degrees 26 minutes South, 64 +degrees 57 minutes East of Paris as the position of Rendezvous Island; +this Cook took to be an isolated rock they only just weathered in the +fog, to which he gave the name of Bligh's Cap, for he said: "I know +nothing that can Rendezvous at it but fowls of the air, for it is +certainly inaccessible to every other animal." Cook, unaware that +Kerguelen had paid two visits to the place, found some difficulty in +recognising the places described. The country was very desolate, the +coarse grass hardly worth cutting for the animals; no wood, but a good +supply of water was obtained; and here the Christmas Day was spent on the +27th, as the 25th and 26th had been full of hard work. A bottle was found +by one of the crew containing a parchment record of the visit of the +French in 1772; on the back Cook noted the names of his ships and the +year of their visit, and adding a silver twopenny piece of 1772, replaced +it in the bottle which was sealed with lead and hidden in a pile of +stones in such a position that it could not escape the notice of any one +visiting the spot. Running along the coast to the south-east they +encountered very blowy weather, and finding the land even more desolate +than that at Christmas Harbour, they left on the 31st for New Zealand. +Anderson, the surgeon, on whom Cook relied for his notes on Natural +History, says: + +"Perhaps no place hitherto discovered in either hemisphere under the same +parallel of latitude affords so scanty a field for the naturalist as this +barren spot." + +The whole catalogue of plants, including lichens, did not exceed sixteen +or eighteen. + +A SOUTHERLY BUSTER. + +The first part of January 1777 was foggy, and Cook says they "ran above +300 leagues in the dark." On the 19th a squall carried away the fore +topmast and main topgallant mast, and it took the whole day to replace +the first, but they had nothing suitable for the top gallant mast. On +26th January they put into Adventure Bay, Van Diemen's Land, and obtained +a spar; Cook spoke of the timber as being good but too heavy. A few +natives were seen, but did not create a favourable impression, still Cook +landed a couple of pigs in hopes to establish the breed, a hope doomed to +be unsatisfied. The Marquis de Beauvoir relates that in 1866 he saw in +Adventure Bay a tree on which was cut with a knife: Cook, 26th Jan. 1777, +and he was informed it had been cut by the man himself. They seem to have +seen nothing to raise a doubt about Furneaux's conclusion that Van +Diemen's Land formed a part of Australia, so no attempt was made to +settle the question, and they sailed for New Zealand on the 30th, meeting +with a "perfect storm" from the south; the thermometer rose: + +"almost in an instant from about 70 degrees to near 90 degrees, but fell +again when the wind commenced, in fact the change was so rapid that there +were some on board who did not notice it." + +These storms are of frequent occurrence, and are locally known as +Southerly Busters. + +On 10th February Rocks Point, near Cape Farewell, was sighted, and on the +12th they anchored near their old berth in Queen Charlotte's Sound, and a +camp was immediately established. Here they were visited by a few of the +natives, some of whom remembered Cook and were recognised by him. At +first they thought he had come to avenge the Adventure's losses, but +after a time were persuaded to put aside their distrust, and they flocked +down to the shore, every available piece of ground being quickly occupied +by their huts. Cook describes how one party worked. The ground was +selected, the men tearing up the grass and plants, and erected the huts, +whilst the women looked after the canoes, properties, and provisions, and +collected firewood; and he kept the children and some of the oldest of +the party out of mischief by scrambling the contents of his pockets +amongst them. At the same time he noticed that however busy the men might +be, they took care to be within easy reach of their weapons; and he on +his side had a strong party of marines on duty, and any party working at +a distance from the ship was always armed and under the command of an +officer experienced in dealing with the natives. Cook was pleased to +notice his men were not inclined to associate with the Maoris, and he +always tried to discourage familiarity between his crew and the natives +of the islands he visited. It is worthy of remark that two of the +Resolution were on the sick list, whilst the Discovery had a clean bill +of health. + +One of their constant visitors was a man Cook calls Kahoura, who was +pointed out as having been the leader at the massacre of the Adventure's +men, and it was a matter of surprise to the natives that having him in +his power Cook did not kill him; but after the fullest possible enquiry +Cook believed it was best to let matters rest, as the attack had +evidently arisen out of a sudden quarrel, and was totally unpremeditated. +Burney thinks the Maoris felt a certain contempt for the English, either +because they were too generous in their dealings, or else because the +murders were unavenged. + +The gardens that had been made at the last visit had in some respects +prospered; in particular the potatoes from the Cape had improved in +quality, but as they had been appreciated by the natives, there were few +to be got. Burney, on the other hand, declares that nothing could be +heard of the pigs and fowls that had been left. Omai was anxious to take +a New Zealander away with him, and soon found one to volunteer. It was +explained that he must make up his mind that he would not be able to +return, and as he seemed satisfied he and a boy were taken. When they +were seasick they deeply and loudly lamented leaving their home, but on +recovery they soon became "as firmly attached to us as if they had been +born amongst us." + +THE WEEKLY PAPER. + +Sailing on 25th February, they crossed the tropic on 27th March, some 9 +degrees further west than Cook wished to have done, and had seen nothing +of importance. It is interesting to note that Burney says each ship +published a weekly paper, and on signal being made a boat was sent to +exchange when possible. He says Cook was a "Constant Reader," but not a +"Contributor." It is to be regretted that no copies exist of this, +probably the first oceanic weekly. + +On 29th March, a small island Cook calls Manganouia was discovered in 21 +degrees 57 minutes South, 201 degrees 53 minutes East (Burney gives 21 +degrees 54 minutes South, 202 degrees 6 minutes East.) but the +landing-places were too dangerous on account of the surf. A native came +on board who was able to converse with Omai, and said they had plenty of +plantains and taro, but neither yams, hogs, nor dogs. He unfortunately +fell over a goat, which he took to be a large bird, and was so frightened +he had to be put ashore. The next day another island was seen, and as +they were very short of fodder for the animals, Gore was sent to see if +trade could be opened up with the inhabitants. In this he was fairly +successful, and obtained a quantity of plantain stems, which were found +to be a satisfactory substitute for grass; but the trading was not brisk, +for the people wished to receive dogs in return, and it was evident that +though they had none, they knew what they were. They were afraid of the +horses and cattle, and took the sheep and goats for some kind of large +birds. A party went ashore and were treated fairly well, but when they +wished to return to their boats all sorts of difficulties were raised, +and Cook credits Omai with their safe return; for it seems he gave +judiciously boastful replies to the many questions that were asked him, +and at the psychological moment exploded a handful of powder, with the +result that opposition to their departure was withdrawn. Burney says Omai +was most useful on a landing party, as he was a good sportsman and cook, +and was never idle. After this experience Cook would not run further +risks, so made for a small uninhabited island where some vegetables were +obtained and branches of trees, which, cut into short lengths, were +eagerly eaten by the cattle, and Cook says: "It might be said, without +impropriety, that we fed our cattle on billet wood." Payment for what had +been taken was left in a deserted village. + +On 6th April they reached Hervey's Island, and were somewhat surprised to +be visited by several canoes, as on Cook's previous visit no signs of +inhabitants had been noticed. Omai gathered from one or two natives who +came on board to sell a few fish, that the Resolution and Adventure had +been seen in 1776 when passing the island. King was sent to look for a +landing-place, but, seeing that the women were quietly bringing down arms +to their menfolk on the beach, he thought it better to return to the +ship, and sail was made for the Friendly Islands, the Discovery being +sent on about a league ahead, as she was better able "to claw off a lee +shore than mine." At this time Cook was getting rather short of water, so +he set the still to work, and obtained from "13 to 16 gallons of fresh +water" between 6 A.M. and 4 P.M. "There has lately been made some +IMPROVEMENT, as they are pleased to call it, to this machine, which in my +opinion is much for the worse." Falling in with repeated thunderstorms in +which they caught more water in an hour "than by the still in a month, I +laid it a side as a thing attended with more trouble than profit." + +At one of the Palmerston Group they found, amongst other things drifted +over the reef, some planks, one of which was very thick, with trunnell +holes in it, and a piece of moulding from some ship's upper works, +painted yellow, with nail holes showing signs of iron rust: probably the +remains of some wrecked European ship. At Comango, where they anchored on +28th April, Cook notes: + +"It was remarkable that during the whole day the Indians would hardly +part with any one thing to anybody but me; Captain Clerke did not get +above one or two hogs." + +A supply of water was obtained and wood was cut, but most of the trees +were what Cook calls Manchineel, the sap from which produced blisters on +the men's skin, and Burney says some of them were blind for a fortnight, +having rubbed their faces with their juice-stained hands. One of the +carpenters had a bad fall and broke his leg, but for the rest, says +Burney, they were "in good health; thank God, no appearance of scurvy." + +FLOGGING NO GOOD. + +Cook again complains of the thefts committed so continually, and says +that no punishment they could devise was effectual, for "flogging made no +more impression than it would have done upon the mainmast." The chiefs +would advise him to kill those caught, but as he would not proceed to +such a length the culprits generally escaped unpunished. Here the +Discovery lost her best bower anchor, the cable having been chafed by the +coral and parted when weighing; Burney describes how by pouring oil on +the water they were able to see and recover it from a depth of seventeen +fathoms. Landing on Happi they were very well received, and obtained +plentiful supplies of fresh food, which was most opportune. An +entertainment of boxing, wrestling, and combats with clubs made from +green coconut boughs was held in their honour; and Cook says that they +were carried on with the greatest good-humour in the presence of some +three thousand spectators, "though some, women as well as men, have +received blows they must feel some time after." When this was over the +chief, Feenough, presented Cook with supplies that required four boats to +take to the ships; it "far exceeded any present I had ever before +received from an Indian Prince." The donor was invited on board to +receive his return present, which proved so satisfactory that on his +return to the shore he forwarded still more in addition to his first +gift, and was amused by a drill of the marines and a display of +fireworks, which, though some were spoilt, were the cause of astonishment +and pleasure to the wondering natives. During one of his walks on shore +Cook saw a woman just completing a surgical operation on a child's eyes. +She was removing a film growing over the eyeballs, and the instruments +used are described as slender wooden probes. He was not able to say if +the operation were successful. + +The chief, Feenough, went off to an island about two days' sail away, in +order to obtain some of the feather caps which were held in high +estimation; and Cook promised to wait for his return, but finding the +fresh supplies were running short, he sailed along the south of the reef +and put in to a bay in Lefooga. On the way the Discovery ran on a shoal, +but managed to back off without damage. Although he was not short of +water, Cook went ashore to inspect some well which he had been informed +contained water of a very superior quality, but he found it very bad, and +says: "This will not be the only time I shall have to remark that these +people do not know what good water is." Near these wells was a large +artificial mound about forty feet high, and fifty feet diameter on the +top, on which large trees were growing. At the foot was a hewn block of +coral, four feet broad, two and a half feet thick, and fourteen feet +high, but the natives present said that there was only one half of it +above ground. It was supposed to have been erected to the memory of a +great chief, but how many years ago it was impossible to guess. + +KING POLAHO. + +Whilst anchored here, a large sailing canoe arrived, having on board a +chief who was treated by the natives with the utmost respect, and the +visitors were given to understand that Tattafee Polaho was the king of +all the islands. He was invited on board, and brought with him as a +present: + +"two good fat hogs, though not so fat as himself, for he was the most +corporate, plump fellow we had met with. I found him to be a sedate, +sensible man; he viewed the ship and the several new objects with +uncommon attention, and asked several pertinent questions." + +In return Cook was invited ashore, and when they were seated, the natives +who had been trading submitted the articles they had received for +Polaho's inspection, who enquired what each one had sold, and seemed +pleased with the bargains made. Everything was returned to its owner, +excepting a red glass bowl to which the king had taken a great fancy. +According to Mr. Basil Thomson, who was for some years in the Pacific +Islands, a red glass bowl was given by the King of Tonga to the notorious +Mr. Shirley Baker, as a relic of Captain Cook, but was unfortunately +broken in New Zealand. It was most probably the one in question. Before +leaving, Polaho presented Cook with one of the red feather caps made from +the tail feathers of the bird the Sandwich Islanders call Iiwi (Vestiaria +coicinea), which were evidently considered of extreme value. At the same +time he gave Cook, Clerke, and Omai some of the red feathers of paraquets +which, though much in demand, were not to be purchased. + +On 29th May they sailed for Tongatabu, but, the wind failing, they nearly +ran ashore on the 31st on a low sandy island on which the sea was +breaking very heavily. Fortunately all hands had just been engaged in +putting the ship about, "so that the necessary movements were not only +executed with judgment but with alertness, and this alone saved the +ship." Cook confesses that he was tired of beating about in these +dangerous waters, and felt relieved to get back to his old anchorage off +Annamooka. Feenough here rejoined the ship, and his behaviour before +Polaho was sufficient evidence as to the high position held by the +latter, for he made a deep reverence to him, and afterwards would not eat +or drink in his presence, but left the cabin as soon as dinner was +announced. + +AN ENTERTAINMENT. + +On 6th June they sailed for Tongatabu again, accompanied by some sailing +canoes which could all easily outdistance the two ships. A good anchorage +was found, and Cook's old friends, Otago and Toobough, were soon on board +to greet them. As it was proposed to make a short stay, the cattle were +landed, the observatory set up, and the sail-makers set to work to +overhaul the sails, for much-required repairs. Cook speaks very highly of +the orderly behaviour of the natives, many of whom had never seen a white +man before. Hearing much of an important chief named Mariwaggee, Cook +persuaded the king to escort a party to his residence, which was found to +be pleasantly situated on an inlet where most of the chiefs resided, +surrounded by neatly fenced plantations; but they were informed that +Mariwaggee had gone to see the ships. This was found to be untrue, but +the next day he appeared, accompanied by a large number of both sexes, +and Cook at once landed with some presents for him, only to find he was +accompanied by another chief, to whom something had to be given as well. +Fortunately the two were easily satisfied, and the present was divided +between them. Mariwaggee was found to be the father of Feenough, and the +father-in-law of the king. He gave a grand entertainment of singing and +dancing in honour of the strangers, which commenced about eleven in the +morning and lasted till between three and four in the afternoon, and +wound up with a presentation of a large number of yams, each pair of the +roots being tied to a stick about six feet long, and decorated with fish. +Cook says it was hard to say which was the most valuable, the yams for +food or the sticks for firewood; but, as for the fish, "it might serve to +please the sight, but was very offensive to the smell, as some of it had +been kept two or three days for this occasion." More singing and dancing +then took place, and then the English gave a display of fireworks, which +"astonished and highly entertained" the natives. + +Being afraid that some of his live stock might be stolen, Cook tried to +interest some of the chiefs in them by presenting the king with a bull +and cow and some goats; to Feenough a horse and mare, and to Mariwaggee a +ram and two ewes. Some one, however, was not satisfied, and a kid and two +turkey cocks were stolen; and as thefts had been frequent and very +daring, including an attempt to steal one of the anchors of the +Discovery, which would have been successful had not one of the flukes of +the anchor got fixed in one of the chain plates, Cook determined to put +his foot down. He seized three canoes, and, hearing Feenough and some +other chiefs were in a house together, he placed a guard over them and +informed them they would be detained till the stolen goods were returned. +They took the matter coolly, and said that everything should be returned. +Some of the things being produced, Cook invited his prisoners on board +ship to dine, and when they came back the kid and a turkey were brought, +so the prisoners and canoes were released. At one time a small hostile +demonstration was made by the natives, but the landing of a few marines +and an order from the king put an end to it. + +SMART WORKMEN. + +The following day Cook was invited on shore and found some natives busy +erecting two sets of poles, one on each side of the place set apart for +the guests. Each set consisted of four placed in a square about two feet +apart, secured from spreading by cross pieces, and carried up to a height +of about thirty feet, the intervening space being filled with yams. On +the top of one structure were two baked pigs, and on the other alive one, +with a second tied by its legs about half way up. Cook was particularly +struck by the way the men raised these two towers, and says if he had +ordered his sailors to do such a thing, they would have wanted carpenters +and tools and at least a hundredweight of nails, and would have taken as +many days as it did these people hours. When the erections were +completed, piles of bread-fruit and yams were heaped on either side, and +a turtle and some excellent fish were added, and then the whole was +presented to Cook. + +A party of officers from both ships went off to an island without leave, +and returned two days after without their muskets, ammunition, and other +articles which had been stolen. They persuaded Omai to make a private +complaint to the king, which resulted in the chiefs leaving the +neighbourhood. Their disappearance annoyed Cook, and when the affair was +explained to him he severely reprimanded Omai for speaking on the matter +without orders. This put Omai on his mettle, and he managed to persuade +Feenough to return, and informed the king that no serious consequences +should ensue. Matters were then easily smoothed over; most of the stolen +goods, including the missing turkey, were returned, and the king said he +ought not to have been held responsible, for, if he had known that any +one wished to see the island, he would have sent a chief who would have +ensured their safety. + +An eclipse of the sun was to occur on 5th July, and Cook decided to +remain so as to secure observations, and meanwhile employed himself in +exploring the neighbourhood and studying the customs of the natives. On +one occasion, thinking to see an interesting ceremony, he accompanied +Polaho, who was going to do state mourning for a son who had been dead +some time. The result was disappointing, and the chief impression left +with Cook seems to have been that over their clothing of native cloth, +those present wore old and ragged mats; those of the king being the +raggedest, and "might have served his great-grandfather on some such like +occasion." + +July 5th proved dark and cloudy, with heavy showers of rain, and the +observations were unsatisfactory, especially as the clouds came up +thickly in the middle of the eclipse, and the sun was seen no more for +the rest of the day. This failure was not of great importance, for the +longitude had already been satisfactorily ascertained by several very +good lunar observations, so as soon as the eclipse was over everything +was sent on board the ships, including the sheep which had been presented +to Mariwaggee. No one had taken any notice of them since they were +landed, and Cook felt sure they would be killed by the dogs as soon as +the ships left. + +A NATIVE CEREMONY. + +As the wind proved contrary, and it was understood that the king's son +was to be initiated into the estate of manhood, eating with his father +for the first time, Cook determined to remain a few days longer. A party +of the officers went over to the island of Moa, where the ceremony was to +be held, and found the king in a very dirty enclosure, drinking kava; and +as the method of preparing this beverage was uninviting to Europeans, +they went for a walk till about ten o'clock. Finding large numbers of +people assembling in an open space near a large building they rejoined +the king, taking off their hats and untying their hair, "that we might +appear the more decent" in the eyes of the natives. The proceedings +consisted of marching of men laden with yams tied on to sticks, of +considerable speech-making, and various performances of which the +signification could not be understood, and then the prince made his +appearance. He seated himself with a few of his friends on the ground, +and some women wound a long piece of cloth round them, and after some +more speech-making and mysterious pantomime with sticks representing +yams, the proceedings ended for the day. As there were signs that so many +white onlookers was not altogether acceptable to the natives, some of the +party returned to the ships; but Cook resolved to see it out, and joined +the king at supper, and the latter enjoyed some brandy and water so much +that Cook says "he went to bed quite grogish. " + +After breakfast Cook paid a visit to the prince and presented him was +enough English cloth to make a suit, receiving native cloth in return. +After dinner the people mustered for the remains of the ceremony, and +Cook determined to join the principal party, so he seated himself with +it, and would not understand when requested to leave. He was then +requested to bare his shoulders as a mark of respect, and immediately did +so, and was then no further molested. A somewhat similar performance was +gone through as the day before, but the significance of which could not +be ascertained, and then suddenly all the people turned their backs on +king and prince, who, Cook was afterwards informed, had had pieces of +roast yam given them to eat. An exhibition of boxing and wrestling was +then given, and after a speech or two the proceedings terminated. Cook +was informed that in about three months a much greater affair would take +place at which ten men would be sacrificed. + +On 10th July the ships sailed through a very difficult passage, arriving +off Middleburg on the 12th, where they were visited by their old friend +Taoofa. The country appeared flourishing, and they obtained some turnips +raised from seed sown at Cook's last visit. An exhibition of boxing was +given, and was to have been repeated the following night, but +unfortunately some of the natives fell upon a sailor and stripped him of +his clothes. Cook thereupon seized two canoes and a pig, demanding that +the culprits should be given up. A man who had the shirt and trousers was +brought, and so the canoes were returned and the pig paid for, and next +day the thief was liberated. The remainder of the sailor's clothes were +afterwards found, but so much torn as to be worthless. + +They left the Friendly Islands on the 17th, after a stay of more than two +months, during which time they had been living almost entirely on food +they had purchased from the natives, with whom they had been on fairly +good terms. The 29th brought them into a very heavy squall which cost the +Resolution a couple of staysails and her consort a main topmast and main +topgallant yard, springing the head of her main-mast so badly that the +rigging of a jury-mast was attended with some danger, but it was at +length accomplished, a spare jibboom being furnished for the purpose by +the Resolution. Otaheite was reached on 12th August, and amongst the +first visitors on board were Omai's brother-in-law and others who knew +him before he went away; they treated him as if he was an Englishman and +a stranger, but when he took his brother-in-law to his cabin and gave him +some of the valuable red feathers a change came over them all, and they +expressed the greatest interest in him. Cook says Omai "would take no +advice, but permitted himself to be made the dupe of every designing +knave." Of these red feathers Cook says they were of such value that "not +more than might be got from a tomtit, would purchase a hog of 40 or 50 +pounds weight." Nails and beads were not looked at, although they had +previously been very acceptable. + +SPANISH SHIPS. + +Two ships from Lima were found to have visited the island twice since +Cook's last call, and the first time the Spaniards built a house with +material they had with them. They left four men in charge, and were away +for about ten months. At the second visit their Commodore died, and was +buried near the house which was left at their departure, and the natives +built a shade over it to protect it from the weather. It consisted of two +rooms, furnished with table, bed, bench, and a few other trifles, and the +timbers were found to have been carefully marked to facilitate erection. +Near by was a cross having the following inscription cut on it: + +CHRISTUS VINCIT, +CAROLUS III. IMPERAT, 1774. + +Cook caused to be cut on the back: + +GEORGIUS TERTIUS REX. +ANNIS 1767, 69, 73, 74, ET 78. + +At the end of their first visit the Spaniards took away four natives to +Lima; one died, one remained at Lima, and the other two returned with the +ships; but Cook thinks they were not improved by their experience, and +had not added to their respectability in the eyes of their countrymen. + +In view of the cold climate to be faced in the near future, Cook was +desirous to save his stock of spirits, and mustered the crew of the +Resolution in order to explain the position; he pointed out that the +supply of coconuts was abundant, and the benefit of the spirits would be +appreciated amongst the cold winds and ice of the north, but left the +decision to them. He was gratified to find the crew was willing to accept +his suggestion, and ordered Clerke to put the matter before the crew of +the Discovery, when it was again well received. An order was accordingly +issued to stop: + +"serving grog except on Saturday nights, when they had full allowance to +drink to their female friends in England, lest amongst the pretty girls +of Otaheite, they should be wholly forgotten." + +During a state visit paid by the chief of the district, at which Omai +attended "dressed in a strange medley of all he was possessed of," Cook +was informed that the Spaniards laid claim to the country, and had given +instructions that Cook was not to be allowed to land if he returned. +However, the chief executed a formal surrender of his province to Cook, +and presents were exchanged, the whole ceremony ending with a display of +fireworks which "both pleased and astonished" the natives. Some of the +civilians reported that they had discovered a Roman Catholic chapel in +their walks; but on inspection it proved to be what Cook at once +suspected, the grave of a chief decorated with different coloured cloths +and mats, and a piece of scarlet broadcloth which had been given by the +Spaniards. + +RED FEATHERS. + +On the 23rd August the two ships arrived in Matavai Bay, where they were +well received by Otoo, who was gratified by a present of a fine linen +suit, a hat with a gold band, some tools, a feather helmet from the +Friendly Islands, and, what he seemed to value most, a large bunch of the +celebrated red feathers. In return he sent on board the ships enough food +to have lasted both crews for a week, if it had only been possible to +keep it good for that length of time. The royal family dined on board the +Resolution; and after dinner Cook and Omai called on Oparee, taking with +them a peacock and peahen sent to the island by Lord Bessborough, a +turkey cock and hen, a gander and three geese, a drake and four ducks to +make a start in stocking the island. A gander was seen, which the natives +said had been left by Wallis ten years previously; several goats and a +bull left by the Spaniards were also seen, so Cook landed three cows as +company for the last. The horses and sheep were also landed, and Cook +remarks that getting rid of all these animals lightened him: + +"of a very heavy burden; the trouble and vexation that attended the +bringing these animals thus far is hardly to be conceived. But the +satisfaction I felt in having been so fortunate as to fulfil His +Majesty's design in sending such useful animals to two worthy nations +sufficiently recompensed me for the many anxious hours I had on their +account." + +Whilst here, the two ships were thoroughly overhauled and everywhere put +into as good a state of repair as the appliances available would permit. +The stores were found to be in a better state than had been expected, and +very little of the bread was damaged. Gardens were laid out and planted +with potatoes, melons, pineapples, etc.; but Cook was not very sanguine +of their success, for he had seen how a vine planted by the Spaniards had +been spitefully trampled down, as the natives, tasting the grapes before +they were ripe, had concluded it was poisonous. It was carefully pruned +into proper shape again, and Omai was instructed to set forth its merits +and how it should be cultivated. + +Towards the end of the month a man reported that the two Spanish ships +had returned, and showed a piece of cloth he said he had obtained from +them, so Cook, not knowing if England and Spain were on friendly terms, +prepared for the worst, and the two ships made ready for defence if +necessary. Lieutenant Williamson was despatched in a boat for news, but +could see no ships, nor signs of any having been on the coast since the +English left their last port of call. + +A HUMAN SACRIFICE. + +At their last visit an expedition was being prepared against the revolted +island of Eimeo, but it did not seem to have been very successful in its +object, for there were still disturbances going on between the two +nations, and on 30th August news came that the Otaheitans had been driven +up into the hills. A grand meeting was held to discuss matters, and great +efforts were made to enlist the services of Cook; but he would not assist +in any way, as he did not understand the cause of the quarrel, and he had +always found the inhabitants of Eimeo friendly towards him. Having heard +that a chief named Towha had killed a man as a sacrifice to their God, +Cook obtained permission to witness the remaining ceremonies as he +thought it offered an opportunity to learn something of the religion of +this people. He therefore started with Dr. Anderson, Mr. Webber, and the +chief Potatow in a boat, accompanied by Omai in a canoe, for the scene of +action. On their arrival the sailors were instructed to remain in the +boat, and the gentlemen were requested to remove their hats as soon as +they reached the Morai where the ceremonial was to take place. When they +got there the body of the victim was seen in a small canoe in front of +the Morai and just in the wash of the sea, in charge of four priests and +their attendants, the king and his party some twenty or thirty paces +away, and the rest of the spectators a little further still. Two priests +came forward to Otoo, one placing a young plantain tree in front of him, +and the other touching his foot with a bunch of red feathers, and then +rejoining the others, who immediately went off to a smaller Morai near, +and, seating themselves facing the sea, one commenced reciting a long +prayer, occasionally sending one of his attendants to place a young +plantain on the body. Whilst this recitation was going on an attendant +stood near holding two small bundles "seemingly of cloth; in one, as we +afterwards found, was the Royal Maro, and the other, if I may be allowed +the expression, was the ark of the Eatua" [God]. + +This prayer being ended, the priests returned to the beach, and more +prayers were said, the plantains being moved, one by one, from the body +and placed in front of the priests. Then the body, wrapped in leaves, was +put on the beach, with the feet to the sea, and the priests gathered +round, some sitting, some standing, the prayers still going on. The +leaves were then stripped off the body, and it was turned sideways on to +the sea, and one priest standing at the feet repeated another long prayer +in which he was occasionally joined by the others. Each priest at this +time held in his hand a bunch of the red feathers. Some hair was now +pulled from the head of the corpse, and an eye taken out, wrapped in +leaves and presented to Otoo, who did not touch them, but sent them back +with a bunch of feathers, soon after sending a second bunch he had asked +Cook to put in his pocket for him when starting. At this time a +king-fisher made a noise in some trees near, and Otoo remarked, "That is +the Eatua," evidently looking on it as a good omen. + +The body was now moved away to the foot of one of the small Morais, the +two bundles of cloth being placed on the Morai at its head and the tufts +of feathers at its feet, the priests surrounding the body and the people +gathering in closer. More speeches were made, and a second lock of hair +plucked from the head and placed on the Morai. Then the red feathers were +placed on the cloth bundles, which were carried over to the great Morai +and laid against a pile of stones, to which the body was also brought, +and the attendants proceeded to dig a grave, whilst the priests continued +their recitations. The body was then buried, and a dog Towha had sent +over (a very poor one, says Cook) was partially cooked and presented to +the priests, who called on Eatua to come and see what was prepared for +him, at the same time putting it on a small altar on which were the +remains of two dogs and three pigs, which smelt so intolerably that the +white men were compelled to move further away than they wished. This +ended the ceremony for the day. + +THE KING'S MARO. + +Next morning they all returned to the Morai; a pig was sacrificed and +placed on the same altar, and about eight o'clock the priests, Otoo, and +a great number of people assembled. The two bundles were still in the +same place as on the previous night, but two drums were now standing in +front of them between which Otoo and Cook seated themselves. The priests, +placing a plantain tree in front of the king, resumed their praying, each +having his bunch of feathers in his hand. They then moved off to a place +between the Morai and the king and placed the feathers bunch by bunch on +the bundles, the prayers still going on. Four pigs were then produced, +one immediately killed, and the others put in a sty for future use. The +bundle containing the king's Maro was now untied and spread carefully on +the ground before the priests. The Maro was about five yards long by +fifteen inches broad, composed of red and yellow feathers, chiefly +yellow. At one end was a border of eight pieces about the size and shape +of horse-shoes fringed with black pigeon's feathers; the other end was +forked, the ends being of unequal length. The feathers were arranged in +two rows and had a very good effect. They were fastened on a piece of +native cloth, and then sewn to the English pendant which Wallis left +flying when he sailed from Matavai Bay. After the priests had repeated +another prayer, the emblem of royalty was carefully folded up and +replaced on the Morai, and then one end of what Cook called the Ark of +the Eatua was opened, but the visitors were not permitted to see what it +contained. The entrails of the pig were then prayed over, and one of the +priests stirred them gently with a stick, evidently trying to draw a +favourable omen from their movements. They were then thrown on the fire, +the partly-cooked pig was deposited on the altar, and when the bunches of +feathers that had been used had been placed in the Ark, the ceremony was +over. + +The meanings of all this could not be discovered, but it was found that +when a victim was wanted, a chief picked him out and sent his servants to +kill him. This was done without any warning to the man who was to suffer, +usually by a blow with a stone on the head, and it appeared that at the +subsequent ceremony the presence of the king was absolutely +indispensable. Chiefs of an enemy's tribe who were killed in battle were +buried with some state in the Morais, the common men at the foot. + +On the way back to the ship Cook called on Towha, who had supplied the +victim. He was anxious to ascertain Cook's opinion of the affair, and was +not pleased to learn that Cook thought such a proceeding was more likely +to offend the Deity than to please him. He then enquired if the English +ever practised such ceremonies, and was very angry when he was informed +that if the greatest chief in England killed one of his men he would be +hanged; and Cook says they left him "with as great a contempt for our +customs as we could possibly have for theirs." The servants evidently +listened to Omai with great interest and a different opinion on the +subject than that of their master. + +They went to inspect the body of a chief who had been embalmed; they were +not allowed to examine it very closely, but it was so well done that they +were unable to perceive the slightest unpleasant smell, though the man +had been dead some months. All chiefs who died a natural death were +preserved in this manner, and from time to time were exposed to public +view, the intervals between the exposures gradually extending till at +length they were hardly ever seen. The method of preservation was not +ascertained, and was probably a secret of the priests. + +EQUESTRIAN EXERCISE. + +Cook and Clerke astonished the natives by riding the horses that had been +brought out; their progress through the country was always watched with +great interest, and Cook thought that this use of the animals impressed +the people more than anything else done by the whites. Omai tried his +powers on several occasions, but as he was always thrown before he got +securely into the saddle, his efforts only produced entertainment for the +spectators. It is curious to note that forty years afterwards the people +had so thoroughly lost even the tradition of such use of the horse that +Mr. Ellis relates how, when one was landed for the use of Pomare, the +natives assisted to get it ashore, but when once landed they ran away and +hid in fear of the "man-carrying pig." About this time Cook suffered from +a bad attack of rheumatism in the legs, and was successfully treated by +Otoo's mother, three sisters, and eight other women. The process he +underwent, called Romy, consisted of squeezing and kneading from head to +foot, more especially about the parts affected. Cook says he was glad to +escape from their ministrations after about a quarter of an hour, but he +felt relief, and, after submitting to four operations of the kind he was +completely cured. + +Otoo was very desirous to send a present of a canoe to King George, and +Cook was very willing to take it, but when he found it was a large double +canoe he was obliged to decline from want of space. As the desire to send +it was quite spontaneous on Otoo's part, and as the canoe was a very fine +specimen of native work, the refusal was given with great regret. + +In a journal published by Newbery, the anonymous writer says that two +officers fought a duel whilst the ships were at Otaheite. He does not +give the cause, but says three shots were exchanged, resulting in one hat +being spoiled, and then the antagonists shook hands and were better +friends afterwards. The story is not confirmed by any of the other +journals. + +On 29th September, after giving Otoo a short run out to sea and back, the +two ships sailed for the north side of Eimeo, arriving the next day, and +were greeted by a chief, Maheine, who was bald-headed. Of this defect he +seemed much ashamed, and always appeared with his head covered with a +sort of turban. Cook thinks perhaps this shame rose from the fact that +natives caught stealing on the ships were often punished by having their +heads shaved, and adds that "one or two of the gentlemen whose heads were +not overburdened with hair, lay under violent suspicions of being titos +(thieves)." + +One of the few remaining goats was stolen, but after threats of serious +reprisals was given up, together with the thief, who was eventually +discharged with a caution; but on a second one disappearing and not being +found after careful search, Cook felt that he must make an example, or +nothing would be safe, so he ordered one or two houses and canoes to be +destroyed, and sent word to Maheine that he would not leave a canoe on +the island if the goat was not returned. The goat was recovered, and the +next day the people were as friendly as if nothing had occurred. Cook was +particularly annoyed, for he had sent a present of red feathers to Otoo, +and requested him to send in return a couple of goats to Eimeo. + +OMAI SETTLED. + +On 11th October the ships sailed for Huaheine, and when they arrived Cook +was so ill he had to be landed from the ship, but he makes no mention of +it in his Journal. He thought this island would be more suitable for Omai +than Otaheite, and as Omai was agreeable a piece of ground was obtained +from the chief and a small house erected and a garden laid out and +planted. The interest of the different chiefs of the neighbourhood was +sought on Omai's behalf, and as it was seen that some of the natives were +inclined to take advantage of his good nature, Cook let it be understood +that if, should he return and find Omai in an satisfactory condition, +some one would feel the weight of his displeasure. Then the most serious +thing that can be brought against Cook's treatment of the natives +occurred. In extenuation it must be remembered that he admits that he was +inclined to be hot-tempered, though it did not last; he had been +constantly irritated by repeated losses, and he was at the time really +seriously ill, and also when all was over he sincerely regretted he had +taken such strong measures. + +Mr. Bayley's sextant was stolen from the observatory: Cook at once +demanded from the chiefs that it should be returned, but they paid no +attention. The thief, however, was pointed out, seized, and taken on +board ship; the sextant was recovered, but Cook says, finding the thief +to be "a hardened scoundrel, I punished him with greater severity than I +have ever done any one before, and then dismissed him." He is said to +have had his head shaved and his ears cut off, but Gilbert (midshipman on +the Discovery) says this was not done till he had been rearrested for +damaging Omai's garden, trying to set fire to the house, and threatening +to kill Omai as soon as the ships left. Cook had intended to remove him +from the island, but, being in irons, he stole the keys from a sleeping +guard and made his escape. Omai found that many of the articles which +were practically useless to him, would be appreciated on the ships, so he +very wisely changed them for hatchets and other useful articles. A notice +of the visit with the names of the ships was cut on the end of Omai's +house, and, after firing a salute of five guns, the ships sailed on 2nd +November. Omai accompanied them for a short way, and Mr. King says that +when he parted from Cook he completely broke down and cried all the way +ashore. Cook speaks well of him, saying he seldom had to find fault with +him, that he had many good qualities, but, like the rest of his race, he +lacked powers of observation, application, and perseverance. + +DESERTIONS. + +On the 3rd they were off Ulietea, and as they were able to run in close +to the shore a staging was erected, and the ballast ports were opened so +as to give the rats, which had become very troublesome, a chance of going +ashore. One of the marines also took the opportunity to desert, taking +his musket with him, but after a little trouble was arrested; and having +previously borne a very good character, he was let off with a short +imprisonment. A second desertion occurred from the Discovery, Mr. Mouat, +midshipman, and a seaman getting away. Cook says the affair gave him more +trouble than both men were worth, but he insisted on getting them back to +prevent others following their example, and "to save the son of a brother +officer from being lost to the world." They were found to have gone off +in a canoe to another island, and Cook ordered Clerke to detain the +chief, his son, daughter, and son-in-law on the Discovery, where they had +gone to dine, and to inform them they would be kept as hostages till the +runaways were returned. Three days afterwards the deserters were brought +back, and the hostages were at once released. It was afterwards found out +that there had been a plot to seize Cook in retaliation, when he went for +his usual bath in the evening, but, as it happened, he was so much +worried that he put it off and so escaped. Burney notes that Cook could +not swim. Before leaving they received a message from Omai, saying he was +all right, but asking for another goat as one of his was dead. Clerke was +able to oblige him with two kids, one of each sex. + + +CHAPTER 17. 1777 TO 1779. THIRD VOYAGE CONTINUED. + +In case of separation, Clerke was ordered to cruise for five days near +where his consort had been last seen, and then to steer for New Albion +(so-called by Sir Francis Drake), endeavouring to fall in with it about +latitude 45 degrees North, and there cruise for ten days; then, if his +consort was not picked up, to proceed north to the first suitable port +and recruit his men, keeping a good look-out for his companion. Then he +was to sail on 1st April to 56 degrees North, and again cruise about +fifteen leagues from the coast till 10th May, when he was to proceed +north and endeavour to find a passage to the Atlantic, according to the +Admiralty instructions already in his hands. If unsuccessful he was to +winter in some suitable port of Kamtschatka, leaving word with the +commandant of St. Peter and St. Paul Harbour, where he was to be found, +and to be at the last-named place not later than 10th May of the +following year. Then, if he had no news of the Resolution, he was to +follow out the Admiralty instructions to the best of his ability. + +The two ships left for Bolabola on 7th December to get an anchor left by +De Bougainville, in order to make hatchets for exchange, as the demand +had been so great their stock was running short. They had no difficulty +in purchasing it, and it was good enough for their purpose, though not so +heavy as they expected. + +They crossed the line on the 23rd in longitude 203 degrees 15 minutes +East without having seen land since leaving Bolabola. Two days after they +picked up a low island and managed to get some turtle, and also a rather +unsatisfactory observation of an eclipse of the sun, the clouds +interfering with the view of the commencement. Their position had been +settled by other observations, so the ill-luck was unimportant. About +three hundred turtle were obtained, averaging from 90 to 100 pounds each, +and as much fish as they could consume during their stay was caught. +Coconuts, yams, and melons were planted, and the island received the name +of Christmas Island. + +SANDWICH ISLANDS. + +Leaving on 2nd January they did not sight land till the Sandwich Islands +were reached, in latitude 21 degrees 12 minutes 30 seconds North. At the +second one seen, called Atoui by the natives, they were quickly +surrounded by canoes; the occupants, very like the Otaheitans in +appearance and language, were armed with stones, which they threw +overboard as soon as they found they were not likely to be wanted, and +though none could be persuaded to come on board the ships, they freely +parted with fish for anything they could get in exchange. As the ships +sailed on, more canoes came out bringing further supplies, and Cook +rejoiced at arriving at a land of plenty, for his stock of turtle was +just finished, and he was anxious to save his sea stores. At length some +were tempted on board, and were greatly astonished at what they saw, but +their wonder did not last long, and stealing soon broke out as usual. +When they came to an anchor Cook landed and found a favourable place for +watering, so a party was set to work the next day, and found no +difficulty in getting assistance from the islanders, whilst at the same +time a brisk trade was carried on in pigs and potatoes. Cook says: "No +people could trade with more honesty than these people, never once +attempting to cheat us, either ashore or alongside the ship." They seem +to have dropped their thieving very quickly. At night a nasty sea got up, +and as Cook did not like the position of his ship he weighed to run a +little further out, but the wind suddenly dropping round to the east, he +had to set all sail to clear the shore. For a day or two no very +satisfactory anchorage could be found, and the weather was rather +unsettled, so, making one of the chiefs a present of an English sow and +boar, and a male and two female goats, the ship bore away to the +northwards. + +According to Baron von Humboldt these islands were discovered by a +Spaniard, Gaetano, sailing from Manilla to Acapulco in 1542, and it was +one of the few discoveries made by the Spaniards during this passage, for +they were strictly forbidden to deviate from the track laid down on their +charts. The name La Mesa (the table) down on the chart Cook had with him, +describes the island, says Burney, but the longitude is several degrees +out. It is undoubtedly a fact that Europeans had been at the islands +previously to Cook's visit, for at least two pieces of iron were found, +one being a portion of a broad-sword and the other a piece of hoop-iron. + +NEW ALBION. + +On 7th March, New Albion was sighted at a distance of ten or twelve +leagues, and the position of the ship at noon was 44 degrees 33 minutes +North, 236 degrees 30 minutes East; Cook's orders were to make the coast +"about 45 degrees North," so they may be said to have been carried out +with fair exactness. Cook says that on the charts he had, a large +entrance or strait was represented, and in the account of Martin +d'Aguilar's voyage in 1603 mention is made of a large river, near where +he struck the coast, but he did not see any signs of either. Proceeding +up the coast the progress was very slow as the weather was very stormy. +On 22nd March they passed the position of the strait of Juan de Fuch, but +again no sign of its existence was seen. On the 29th the style of the +coast changed, and high snowy mountains with well-wooded valleys running +down to the sea came into view, and at length Hope Bay opened out. Here +they came in contact with the first natives they had seen, who put off in +their canoes to the ships, showing signs neither of fear nor distrust. At +first they appeared mild and inoffensive, and would trade anything they +had with them; but when they got used to the ships it turned out that +they were adepts at thieving; no piece of iron, brass, or copper was +safe. Fish-hooks were cut from the lines and boats were stripped of their +fittings. They sold bladders of oil for the lamps, and it was found that +they were often partly filled with water, but this was winked at in order +to get on a thoroughly friendly footing. This being a favourable +opportunity to put the two vessels in order and to give the crews a spell +of rest ashore, a good anchorage was sought out, and the observatory set +up. On 4th April, whilst wood and water was being got in, the natives, +who had given no trouble beyond their stealing, were observed to be +arming, and precautions were taken, but the Indians explained that their +preparations were made against some of their own countrymen who were on +their way to fight them. After a time some canoes made their appearance, +and on a deputation going out to meet them a discussion took place, and +some sort of an agreement was made between the two parties, but the +newcomers were not allowed to approach the ships nor to join in the +trading. + +The stay here was longer than was intended, for the Resolution's fore and +mizzen masts were found to be very defective, and her rigging had got +into a very bad state. The fore-mast was repaired and the mizzen replaced +with a new stick, and when a great deal of work had been done this proved +faulty, and a second one had to be cut. New standing rigging was fitted +to the main-mast, and a set made from the best of the old, for the +fore-mast. When the heaviest part of this work was completed Cook visited +the country about King George's Sound, and was courteously received at a +village by the natives, to most of whom he was known. Here he found the +women employed making dresses out of bark in much the same way as that +employed by the New Zealanders. Sending some sailors to cut grass for the +sheep and goats he had left, the natives made a claim which was at once +satisfied; but when the men were ordered to go on cutting, fresh +claimants sprung up, till Cook says he thought each blade of grass had a +separate owner. When at last the natives found that they could get no +more, the cutting was allowed to go on without the slightest further +objection. + +PUNCH AND THE DEVIL. + +The people are described as being short, with broad flat faces, high +cheek-bones, swarthy complexions, and no pretensions to good looks. +Burney says that it was only after much cleaning that their skins were +found to be "like our people in England." Cook says they were docile, +courteous, and good-natured, but liable to fits of passion. + +"I have often seen a man rave and scold for more than half an hour +without any one taking the least notice of it, nor could any one of us +tell who it was he was abusing." + +Burney describes their language as harsh, and when in a warm discussion, +apparently insufficient, and then they had to eke it out with such nods +and jumps as reminded one of "Punch and the Devil." Their clothing was +chiefly made of skins, and a kind of cloth made from fibre or wool and +hair, or a mixture of both. "In these clothes and a coarse mat and straw +hat they would sit in their canoes in the heaviest rain as unconcernedly +as if they were in perfect shelter." Their houses of logs and boards made +by splitting large trees, were some as much as 150 feet long by 20 to 30 +feet wide, and 7 or 8 feet high; they were divided into two compartments, +each apparently the property of one family. The roof was of loose planks, +which they moved about so as to let the light fall where it was wanted. +Cook judged these were only summer residences, and that they had better +houses inland. The furniture consisted of a few boxes, some wooden +vessels for their food, and a few mat bags. Their cooking was fairly +good, but excessively dirty, and their persons and houses "filthy as +hogs' sties." They often had two wooden figures in their houses +resembling human figures, of which they spoke mysteriously; but as they +could have been purchased in every case for a small quantity of old iron +or brass, they could not have been much venerated. Their arms were bows +and arrows, slings, spears, and a small club of wood or stone, something +like the New Zealander's patoo, and a stone tomahawk, the handle +fashioned like a human head, the stone cutting-part being a large tongue, +and they were decorated with human hair. The defensive armour was a +double cloak of hide, usually moose, serviceable against arrows or +spears, but they were greatly surprised to see a bullet fired through a +cloak folded four times. The only vegetables obtained were a few nettles +and wild garlic, but Burney says that at the back of the village was a +plantation of cherry trees, gooseberries and currants, raspberries and +strawberries, "but unluckily for us none of them in season." On 20th +April a man who had been allowed to go into Cook's cabin, made off with +his watch, and got away from the ship. Fortunately his canoe was seen +alongside the Discovery, and notice being given a search was made, and +the watch found in a box unharmed. Such a loss would have been serious. +Two old-fashioned silver table-spoons, supposed to be Spanish, and a +pewter wash-basin were purchased from the Indians. + +RESOLUTION LEAKS. + +On 26th April a start was made, and before leaving, an Indian, who had +specially attached himself to Cook, gave him a valuable beaver skin, and +was so pleased with the return present he received that he insisted on +Cook taking from him a beaver cloak upon which he had always set great +store. In return "he was made as happy as a prince by a gift of a new +broadsword with a brass hilt." The next day, when well clear of the land, +a perfect hurricane arose, and the ships lay to, heading to the +south-east. The Resolution sprang a leak, and the water could be seen and +heard rushing in, but after some little anxiety one pump was found to be +sufficient to keep the upper hand. The gale lasted two days, but on the +second they were able to get an observation which gave the position of +the ship as 50 degrees 1 minute North, 229 degrees 26 minutes East, about +opposite to where the Straits of de Fonte were marked on his chart. They +were now able to run along the coast and see and name the most salient +points, but time was too valuable to make any halts by the way. The land +appeared to be of considerable height, the hills covered with snow, but +near the sea, well wooded. Mount St. Elias was sighted 4th May, at a +distance of forty leagues, and on the 6th they arrived in the bay in +which Behring had anchored, so his name was given to it on the chart. +Here the land trended away to the west; the wind was westerly and light, +and consequently their progress was very slow. Landing on an island to +try to get a view of the other side from the top of a hill, it was found +so steep and thickly wooded he had to give up the attempt. He therefore +left a bottle containing some coins given him by his friend, Dr. Kaye, +and named the island after him. Here they found currant and strawberry +plants, but the season was too early for fruit. + +Near Cape Hinchinbroke Gore went off to an island to shoot, but seeing +two large canoes containing about twenty Indians, he thought it wiser to +return to the ship. He was followed up, but none of the natives would +come on board, and after a time intimating they would return next day, +retired. Two men in small canoes did return during the night, but finding +that every one on board was not asleep, beat a hurried retreat. The next +day the ships got into a better position, and more Indians turned up, +with whom they had little difficulty in entering into trading relations; +but as they desired pieces of iron about ten inches long by three wide, +and it was rather a scarce article on board, very little, chiefly skins, +was purchased. At first only one man came on board, and as he saw only +two or three people on the Discovery, he went to the Resolution and +brought over some of his friends, who rushed the deck with their knives +drawn. However, the crew quickly ran up with their cutlasses ready, so +the natives retired, remarking that the white men's knives were longer +than theirs. At the Resolution they broke every glass scuttle they could +reach with their paddles, says Burney. Cook points out that they must +have been quite ignorant of the use of firearms, and concludes by saying: + +"However, after all these tricks, we had the good fortune to leave them +as ignorant as we found them, for they neither heard nor saw a musket +fired unless at birds." + +The leak on the Resolution was attended to, and in places the oakum +caulking was found to have disappeared completely; one writer says it was +caused by rats, and that the ship was saved by rubbish having choked up +the leak. + +TWO SETS OF TEETH. + +Bad weather detaining them, Cook had an opportunity of studying the +inhabitants. He had with him a description of the Esquimaux, by Crantz, +and found these men to be very similar in appearance, dress, and +appliances. They all had the bottom lip slit horizontally, giving them +the appearance of having two mouths. In these slits pieces of bone were +fixed to which were tied other pieces, forming a great impediment to +their speech, and in some cases giving the idea that the wearer had two +sets of teeth. Some also had pieces of bone, cord, or beads run through +the cartilage of the nose, and all had their faces plentifully smeared +with black and red paint. + +After examining an inlet, which received the name of Sandwich Sound, they +got away, steering to the south-west past Cape Elizabeth, sighted on that +Princess's birthday, which they hoped would prove the western extremity +of the coast, but on getting round, land was reported further on to the +west-south-west, and a gale sprang up, forcing them off their course. In +two days they worked back again, discovering more land behind what they +had seen already. This Cook believed to be Cape Saint Hermogenes +mentioned by Behring, but his chart was so inaccurate he could not +positively identify it, or any other place mentioned on it. Cape Douglas, +after the Dean of Windsor, was named, and placed in 58 degrees 56 minutes +North, 206 degrees 10 minutes East; and the next day a high point in a +range was called Mount St. Augustine, after the saint whose day it +happened to be. They then worked into an estuary formed by the rivers +(one being afterwards named Cook's River, by orders of Lord Sandwich), in +order to satisfy some of the officers who thought there might be a +possible communication with Hudson's Bay. A good supply of very fine +salmon was obtained from natives in the neighbourhood, and Cook formed +the opinion that a paying fur trade might be opened up as the skins +offered were of considerable value. + +Working slowly up the coast they passed through the islands off Quelpart +on the 18th, when the Discovery signalled to speak; a boat was sent, and +returned with a small box curiously tied up with neatly-made twine. It +had been delivered on board by an Indian, who first attracted attention +by displaying a pair of old plush breeches and a black cloth waistcoat, +and when he came on board, took off his cap and bowed like a European. +The box was found to contain a paper written in Russian, but +unfortunately the only things that could be understood were the two +dates, 1776 and 1778. It was supposed to have been written by a Russian +trader, and given to the Indian to place it on board the first ship he +met with. + +On the 20th, in 54 degrees 18 minutes North, 195 degrees 45 minutes East, +a volcano throwing out dense smoke was observed; and in the afternoon +they received a visit from a man who had evidently been in contact with +Europeans, for he was wearing green cloth breeches and a stuff jacket. He +took off his cap and bowed as the visitor to the Discovery had done, but +unfortunately they were unable to understand his language. + +On 26th June they had a narrow escape during a thick fog, when it was not +possible to see anything a hundred yards away. Breakers were heard, so +the anchors were let go and fortunately held. An hour or so after the fog +lifted, and they found themselves about three-quarters of a mile from a +rocky island, having passed between two elevated rocks, a place through +with, Cook says, "I should have ventured on a clear day," for all that +they found themselves in "such an anchoring place that I could not have +chosen a better." + +ANDERSON DIES. + +On 27th June they were off the island of Onalaschka, and came across a +party of natives who were towing two whales they had killed; they were +somewhat shy, but had evidently seen ships before, and were more polite +than those previously met with. One was upset from his canoe, and Cook +took him down into the cabin and provided him with dry clothes; "he +dressed himself with as much ease as I could have done." His clothes were +of birds' skins, the feathers inside, and patched in places with silk, +and over all he wore a sort of shirt of whale's intestine, which, secured +round the edge of the hole in which he sat in his canoe, rendered him +practically waterproof. Whilst in this neighbourhood they received a +second letter in Russian, but having no one on board who could translate, +it was returned with some presents to the bearer, who retired bowing his +thanks. After some detention from fogs and adverse winds they got away +once more and pushed slowly northwards. On 3rd August Mr. Anderson the +surgeon, who had been ill for some months, died, and Cook, having named +an island, sighted soon after his death, Anderson's Island, "to +perpetuate the memory of the deceased, for whom I had a very great +regard," appointed Mr. Law to the Resolution and Mr. Samwell to the +Discovery as surgeons. + +On 9th August, Cape Prince of Wales, 65 degrees 46 minutes North, 191 +degrees 45 minutes East, was sighted, and they believed it to be the most +westerly point of North America. They landed on what, from Heydinger's +Chart, was the eastern end of the island of Alaska, but it afterwards was +found to be the eastern extremity of Asia. This chart, says Burney, was +found "not only to be incorrect but almost unintelligible." The country +was very desolate, neither tree nor shrub to be seen, and the inhabitants +seemed afraid of their visitors, though not absolutely unfriendly. They +were taller and stouter than those on the American side, and their +clothing very superior. + +The ships fell in with the ice blink on the 17th, in 70 degrees 33 +minutes North, 197 degrees 41 minutes East, rather earlier than had been +expected, and soon afterwards with the ice itself in the shape of a large +field extending as far as the eye could reach from west to east. Here +they got a supply of fresh meat in the shape of sea-horse, of which +animal they killed a good many. The flesh was fishy and indifferent +eating, but Cook says anything was preferable to salt meat. + +They still slowly but steadily pushed north along the American shore, +but, being hampered by fog and ice, they crossed over to the west side +with no better fortune, for on the 26th they found themselves embayed in +the field with large quantities of heavy loose ice along the edges. +Having sighted Cape North on 29th August, Cook decided the season was too +far advanced, and that it would be better to proceed to winter quarters, +and accordingly ran down the Asiatic coast in search of wood and water, +of which he stood in need; but was disappointed, and making over to the +other side was fortunate to find a considerable quantity of driftwood +which served his purpose. Before leaving the straits, Cook remarks: + +"In justice to Behring's memory, I must say he delineated this coast very +well, and fixed the latitude and longitude of the points better than +could be expected from the methods he had to go by." + +SALMON PIE. + +Anchoring in Norton Sound, Cook sent away the boats to explore, and set +to work to determine between the correctness of the chart drawn by +Stocklin and his own observations, and after a series of no less than +seventy-seven sets of observations he was able to show that Stocklin was +wrong. It was at this place that he decided to winter in the Sandwich +Islands, as a port in Kamtschatka would oblige his crews to remain idle +for nearly six months before further exploration to the north could be +undertaken. The course was now set for Samgoonoodha Harbour, but they did +not arrive there till 3rd October, having met with very heavy weather, in +which the Resolution again began to leak badly. On 8th September an +Indian brought a singular present in the form of a pie made like a loaf, +containing some highly seasoned salmon, accompanied by a letter in +Russian. In return Corporal Ledyard of the Marines, "an intelligent man," +was sent with a few bottles of rum, wine, and porter, to obtain further +information, and with orders, if he met with any Russians, he was to +"make them understand that we were English, Friends, and Allies." On the +10th Ledyard returned, bringing three Russian sailors, but as there was +no interpreter there was difficulty in understanding anything thoroughly. +One of the newcomers was understood to say he had been out with Behring, +but Cook thought he was too young. They appeared to have great respect +for that officer, and Ledyard said he had seen a sloop which he +understood was his ship. They stayed on the Resolution all night, and +promised to return with a chart of the islands that lay between that +place and Kamtschatka. It was understood that there were several +settlements in the immediate neighbourhood employing altogether about +four hundred Russians. + +LETTERS TO LONDON. + +On the 14th Cook and Webber were at an Indian village a short distance +from the ships, when they saw a canoe arrive containing three men and +accompanied by some twenty or thirty single canoes. A tent was rigged up +for one of the first three, a Russian named Ismyloff (Ismailoff) the +chief trader of the district, whilst the others made shelters of their +canoes and grass, and so all were independent of the Indians. Ismailoff +invited Cook to join him at his meal, which consisted of dried salmon and +berries, and some sort of conversation was carried on by means of signs +and figures. Ismailoff proved to be well acquainted with the geography of +the district, and pointed out several errors in the modern maps. He said +he had been with Lieutenant Lindo's expedition as far north as +Tchukotskoi Nos, and saw Clerke's Island; but when he could or would not +say what else they had done during the two years the expedition was out, +Cook began to have doubts. He also said the Russians had several times +tried to gain a footing on the American shore, but the Indians had driven +them off with the loss of two or three of their leaders. He also spoke of +a sledge expedition in 1773 to three islands opposite the Kolyma River, +which Cook thought might be the one mentioned by Muller, he related that +he had sailed, in 1771, from a Russian settlement called Bolscheretski, +in the Kurile Islands, to Japan, but the ship was ordered away because +they were Christians, so they went to Canton and sailed on a French ship +to France, and from thence he went to Petersburg, and was then sent out +again. He was quite clear as to his dates, and put them on paper; but as +he was perfectly ignorant of any French, "not even the names of the +commonest articles," though he had been such a long time amongst French +people, Cook was again inclined to be sceptical. He stayed all night, +dining with Clerke, and returned again on the 19th, with charts, which he +permitted to be copied, and some manuscripts. One chart showed the +Asiatic coast as far as 41 degrees North, with the Kurile Islands and +Kamtschatka, and the second, the more interesting to the English, showed +the discoveries made by the Russians to the east of Kamtschatka, +exclusive of the voyages of Behring and Tcherikoff. Cook found the +longitudes in places were very different from those on the Russian maps, +and was afraid the mistake might be carried through, but the latitudes +were fairly correct. As far as he could ascertain, the instrument used +for the survey had been the theodolite. Before leaving, Ismailoff gave +Cook letters for the Governor of Kamtschatka and the Commandant of +Petropaulowsk; and Cook, finding "he was tolerably well versed in +astronomy," gave him a Hadley's octant, and though it was the first one +he had seen, he soon made himself acquainted with its uses. A letter to +the English Admiralty was also entrusted to him to be forwarded via +Petersburg, as opportunity might offer. This letter and a chart of the +northern coasts was delivered in London the following year. + +On 26th October the two ships got away, and, in case of separation, +Clerke was given his rendezvous, first, the Sandwich Islands, and second, +Petropaulowsk in the middle of May. On 28th the discovery met with a +nasty accident during a gale; the fore and main tacks carried away, +killing one man, and seriously injuring the boatswain and two others. On +25th November the islands were sighted, and the customary orders as to +the officers appointed to trade with the natives were issued, and no +curiosities were to be purchased before the ships had received +satisfactory supplies. They first called in at Mowee, where the natives +soon came out and appeared friendly, and traded with less suspicion than +any of the South Sea Islanders they had met with before. + +Having procured a quantity of sugar-cane, Cook ordered it to be used in +brewing, as he found a strong decoction of the juice produced a wholesome +and palatable beer, and would enable him to save the spirits for the +colder climates. However, the crews would have none of it, so Cook and +his officers made use of it whenever cane was procurable, and gave +himself: + +"no trouble either to oblige or persuade them to drink it, knowing there +was no danger of scurvy so long as we had plenty of other vegetables, but +that I might not be disappointed in my views, I gave orders that no grog +should be served in either ship." He then goes on to say: "Every +innovation whatever, tho' ever so much to their advantage, is sure to +meet with the highest disapprobation from seaman. Portable soup and sour +kraut were at first both condemned by them as stuff not fit for human +beings to eat. Few men have introduced into their ships more novelties in +the way of victuals and drink than I have done; indeed, few men have had +the same opportunity or been driven to the same necessity. It has, +however, in a great measure been owing to such little innovations that I +have always kept my people, generally speaking, free from that dreadful +distemper, the Scurvy." + +This extract shows how bitterly Cook felt the stupid ingratitude of his +men for the constant care he took of them, and is one of the very few +passages in his Journals in which he speaks in their disfavour. This, +curiously, was erased by some unknown hand; King asserts it must have +been done by Gore, as he is certain it was not by either Cook or Clerke, +who took command after Cook's death. + +FAULTY SAILS. + +In trying to weather the south-east end of Mowee in heavy weather, the +leach ropes of the main topsail and two topgallant sails gave way, and +the sails were blown to pieces. Cook says, "neither the cordage, canvas, +nor indeed hardly any other stores used in the Navy, are equal in quality +to those in general use in the merchant service"; and he relates how such +failures have constantly resulted in "infinite trouble, vexation, and +loss." He illustrates his complaint by the fact that rigging, blocks, and +sails that were purchased with his ship, although they had been fourteen +months in use, wore longer than any of the things of the same kind put on +board new from the king's stores. + +On 24th December they succeeded in getting to windward of the island, but +the signal to the Discovery to tack having been omitted she stood on, and +it was some days before she rejoined company. January 1779 was ushered in +with heavy rain, but clearing away before noon they were able to approach +to about five miles from the shore, where they lay to and traded with the +natives. The next three days were spent working slowly down the coast and +keeping a good look-out for their consort, occasionally stopping to do a +little trading with the islanders, some of whom came as much as fifteen +miles out to them. The chief article of commerce was salt, which was of +very good quality. On the 5th January the southern point of Owhyhee was +rounded, and they lay off a large village, where they were quickly +surrounded by canoes laden "with hogs and women": the latter are not held +up as patterns of all the virtues. Vegetables seemed to be scarce, and +Cook concluded that either the land could not produce them, or the crops +had been destroyed by volcanic action, very recent traces of which were +to be seen. + +"Wednesday 6th January 1779. The next morning the people visited us +again, bringing with them the same articles as before. Being near the +shore I sent Mr. Bligh, the Master, in a boat to sound the coast, with +orders to land and look for fresh water. On his return he reported that +at two cable lengths from the shore he had no soundings with a 160 +fathoms of line; that when he landed he found no fresh water, but rain +water lying in holes in the rocks, and that brackish with the spray of +the sea, and that the surface of the country was wholly composed of large +slags and ashes, here and there partly covered with plants. Between 10 +and 11 o'clock we saw the Discovery coming round the south point of the +Island and at 1 P.M. she joined us, when Captain Clerke came on board and +informed me that he had cruised four or five days where we were separated +and then plyed round the last part of the Island, but meeting with +unfavourable winds, was carried some distance from the coast. He had one +of the islanders on board all the time; it was his own choice, nor did +not leave them the first opportunity that offered." + +This is the last entry made by Cook in the Journal he was preparing for +publication, and is a fair sample of the manner in which the entire +Journal was written, and certainly does not justify the sneers that have +been uttered about bad grammar and spelling, the double negative +notwithstanding. In handwriting, spelling, and grammar he can compare +well with his press either in the Navy or civil life; and many of the +examples of bad spelling given have been abbreviations common in the +Navy, which his critics did not understand. + +KARAKAKOA BAY. + +On 17th January they anchored in Karakakoa Bay, where large numbers of +canoes laden with provisions for sale came out; Cook estimates that at +one time there were no less than a thousand round the ship, their +occupants entirely unarmed. They soon proved to be adepts at thieving; +one man stole the rudder of a boat, so Cook ordered a shot or two to be +fired over the escaping thief, but "as it was not intended that any of +the shot should take effect, the Indians seemed rather more surprised +than frightened," and the man got away. The lids of the Resolution's +coppers were stolen, and the discovery had her rigging much cut about for +the sake of the iron. The decks were so crowded with the natives that +Burney says it kept a quarter of the crew hard at work to make room for +the working of the ship. + +AN INSECURE POSITION. + +The last entry made by Cook in his Ship's Journal, and probably the last +words he ever wrote, runs as follows: + +"Sunday 17. Fine pleasant weather and variable faint breezes of wind. In +the evening Mr. Bligh returned and reported that he had found a bay in +which was good anchorage and fresh water, tolerable easy to come at. Into +this bay I resolved to go to refit the ships and take in water. As the +night approached, the Indians retired to the shore, a good [many] however +desired to sleep on board, curiosity was not their only motive, at least +not with some of them, for the next morning several things were missing, +which determined me not to entertain so many another night. At 11 A.M. +anchored in the bay which is called by the natives [a blank, filled in by +another hand, Karakakoa] in 13 fathoms of water over a sandy bottom, and +a quarter of a mile from the North-East shore. In this situation the +South point of the bay bore South 1/4 West, and the North point West 1/4 +South. Moored with the stream anchor to the Northward. Unbent the sails +and struck yards and topmasts. The ships very much crowded with Indians +and surrounded by a multitude of canoes. I have nowhere in this sea seen +such a number of people assembled at one place, besides those in the +canoes, all the shore of the bay was covered with people and hundreds +were swimming about the ships like shoals of fish. We should have found +it difficult to have kept them in order had not a chief or servant of +Terreeoboo's, named Parea, now and then [shown] his authority by turning +or rather driving them all out of the ship. + +"Among our numerous visitors was a man named Touahah, who we soon found +belonged to the church; he introduced himself with much ceremony, in the +course of which he presented me with a small pig, two coconuts and a +piece of red cloth which he wrapped round me. In this manner all or most +of the chiefs introduced themselves, but this man went further, he +brought with him a large hog and a quantity of fruits and roots, all of +which he included in the present. In the afternoon I went ashore to view +the place accompanied by Touahah, Parea, Mr. King and others; as soon as +we landed Touahah took me by the hand and conducted me to a large Morai, +the other gentlemen with Parea, and four or five more of the natives +followed." + +Mr. King describes this Morai as being about forty yards long by twenty +broad, and about fourteen feet high, the top flat, well paved, and +surrounded by a wooden railing. An old building stood in the centre from +which a stone wall ran to the fence dividing the top into two parts. On +the landward side were five poles upwards of twenty feet high, supporting +an irregular kind of scaffold, and on the sea-side half were two small +houses with a covered communication between. On their arrival Cook was +presented with two ugly images wrapped with red cloth, and a sort of hymn +was sung. Then they were marched to the scaffolding, where was a table on +which lay fruits and vegetables surmounted by a very much decomposed pig, +and in a semicircle round one end of this table were twelve images. +Placing Cook near the scaffolding, Koah, as King and others call Touahah, +took up the pig and holding it towards him made a long speech. Then, +dropping the offensive porker, he made signs that the two were to climb +on to the uncertain scaffolding. This being done, a procession came +forward bearing a live hog and a piece of red cloth. This last article +was handed up to Koah, who proceeded to wrap it round Cook, who was +clinging to his elevated but not very safe position. The pig was then +offered to Cook and a long address chanted. The two principal performers +then descended and returned to the table, Koah snapping his fingers at +the figures and making what appeared to be sarcastic remarks, till he +came to the centre one, when he prostrated himself and kissed it, +requesting Cook to do the same. The party then proceeded to the other +part of the Morai, and Cook was seated between two images with his arms +stretched out, one upheld by Koah, the other by King. A cooked pig and +other food was then presented with much ceremony, the meat cut up and +kava prepared; whilst Koah's assistant chewed some coconut, wrapped it in +cloth, and then rubbed it over Cook's face, head, shoulders, and arms. +Koah and Parea then pulled pieces of the pig and put them into the mouths +of the two officers. King says that Parea was a particularly cleanly +person, so he did not so much mind this feeding, but Cook, remembering +how Koah had handled the putrid hog, was unable to swallow a mouthful, +"and his reluctance, as may be supposed, was not diminished, when the old +man, according to his own mode of civility, had chewed it for him." Cook +then put an end to further proceedings by distributing some presents to +the attendants and returning to the ship. + +Though the meaning of this ceremony could only be a matter of conjecture, +it was very evident that it was intended as a mark of high respect to the +person of Captain Cook. The title of Orono given to him, and often quoted +as evidence that he had permitted himself to be looked upon as a god by +the natives was also given to one, if not more, of their own chiefs; and +Burney says that the marks of honour conferred on him were exactly the +same as those conferred on any one of their own superior chieftains. The +grotesque description given by some of the missionary writers of the +whole population crawling after him on hands and knees as a mark of +adoration is utterly untrue, for Mr. King, who was ashore almost the +whole time of the ship's stay, and was continually with Cook, distinctly +says: + +"The crowd which had collected on the shore, retired at our approach; and +not a person was to be seen, except a few lying prostrate on the ground, +near the huts of the adjoining village." + +None of those who were on the voyage and have left any record behind +them, suggest that Cook was treated in any respect otherwise than as a +great chief and a man. + +A small potato field was placed under tabu, near the Morai, for the +purpose of the observatory, and a camp under the command of King was +established there. This camp was daily supplied with meat and vegetables, +even more than could be consumed, and several canoe-loads were sent off +to the ships. After enquiry it was found that the whole expense of this +food was borne by Koah, and no return whatever was demanded. + +A ROYAL VISIT. + +A tabu was placed on the whole of the bay on the 24th, and trading came +to a complete standstill, the reason given being the coming of the king, +Terreeoboo. He arrived the next day, and commerce at once revived. He +paid a private visit, with his wife and children, to the Resolution, +remaining on board some time, and proved to be the same chief they had +seen at the Island of Mowee. The next day he, accompanied by several +important chiefs, all dressed in rich feather cloaks and armed with long +spears and daggers, paid a state visit. Koah was also present in a canoe +with other priests and two large basket-work idols, whose distorted faces +were adorned with pearl-shell eyes and dog's teeth; he was attended by +two other canoes, one filled with pigs and vegetables, and these paddled +round the ships, the priests singing "in most solemn fashion," and +returned to the shore. Cook followed; King turned out the guard and +saluted Terreeoboo, and then conducted him to the tent, where, after +seating himself for a few moments, he took off his helmet and cloak and +placed them on Cook, at the same time ordering five or six more, of great +value, to be placed at his feet. Hogs, bread-fruit, etc., were then +brought in. Cook and Terreeoboo exchanged names as a peculiar mark of +friendship, and the ceremony ended by the presentation of the two +boat-loads of provisions by a deputation of the priests. One of those +present was a nephew of the king, called by the English Maiha-Maiha, +afterwards known to the world as Kamehameha I. + +As many of the chiefs as the Resolution's pinnace would hold were taken +off with the king to the ship, and the latter was duly invested with a +white linen shirt and Cook's own sword. During the whole of this +performance no canoes excepting those actually engaged were to be seen in +the bay, and all the natives remained lying on the ground or in their +houses. Clerke, who had been too ill to share in these ceremonies, landed +for the first time on the 28th, and, though quite unexpected, he received +a very handsome present of food, and Terreeoboo paid the Discovery a +state call, taking with him presents similar to those given to Cook. In +the afternoon he paid a second (private) call in a small canoe with three +paddles, one of which he wielded himself. On this occasion there were no +prostrations, but if any native met his chief he simply got out of the +way unless some service was required of him. + +The ships were running very short of firewood, and as there was none +growing less than a mile and a half off the sea, Mr. King was ordered to +try and purchase the fence surrounding the top of the Morai. He +hesitated, as he thought that: + +"even the bare mention of it might be considered by them [the priests] as +a piece of shocking impiety. In this, however, I found myself mistaken. +Not the smallest surprise was expressed at the application, and the wood +was readily given, even without stipulating for anything in return." + +He saw the sailors were carrying away the figures as well, and spoke to +Koah on the subject, who raised no objection, except with regard to the +centre one, which was at once returned. Burney says that two launch-loads +for each ship were obtained, "a seasonable supply, as we had been four +months since we wooded." + +On 31st January Whatman, one of the gunner's crew, and greatly attached +to Cook, died and was buried in the Morai. Besant thinks that this had +some influence on the minds of the natives, and may have contributed to +Cook's death, but as it was done by Terreeoboo's special request it is +difficult to see how the idea can be justified. + +A LARGE PRESENT. + +Enquiries were several times made as to the date of the departure of the +ships, and hints were given that supplies were running short; but at the +same time they were informed that if they returned the next bread-fruit +season, their wants should be again supplied. When the news went forth +that they would leave in two days, Terreeoboo issued a proclamation for +food to be brought in so that he might make a large present on their +departure; and on the appointed day Cook and King were invited to +Terreeoboo's residence, where they found all that had been given in +exchange to the natives was laid out on the ground, and a short distance +away a large quantity of vegetables of all kinds and a herd of pigs, +which were handed over on a return present being made. King says that the +gift "far exceeded everything of the kind we had seen." The camp ashore +was then broken up, and a great effort was made to persuade Cook to +permit Mr. King to remain, as he had succeeded in making himself a great +favourite with all. A house that had been used by the sailmakers was +accidentally set on fire, Burney says by natives looking for a knife lost +by one of the sailors; but Besant, who places the fire at a later period, +says it was done intentionally in revenge for the sailors having enticed +some of the women there, and infers that Gilbert is his authority, but in +the extracts he publishes from Gilbert's manuscript there is nothing of +the kind, and no one refers to any other fire till after Cook's death. + + +CHAPTER 18. 1779 TO 1780. THIRD VOYAGE CONCLUDED. + +On 4th February the ships unmoored and sailed from the bay, steering to +the north in hopes of finding a better anchorage. The wind was very +light, and the progress was so slow that it gave Terreeoboo an +opportunity of sending off a further present of food. Soon after a gale +sprang up, and the canoes which had accompanied them beat a hasty +retreat, leaving a good many, mostly women, on board the ships. About +midnight the fore and main topsails were split, but towards morning the +wind died away and they were able to bend fresh sails. A second gale came +on again at night, putting them under double-reefed topsails, with +topgallant yards sent down, and at daybreak the fore-mast was found to be +so badly sprung that it was absolutely necessary it should be unstepped +for immediate repairs. After considerable hesitation, for he fully +recognised that the place must be almost denuded of surplus provisions, +Cook decided to return to Karakakoa Bay as no other convenient place was +known, and the ships again anchored there on the 11th, starting +immediately to unstep and get the mast ashore, when it was found to be +rotten at the heel as well as sprung. Wood that had been cut at Eimeo for +anchor stocks was used for fishing the head, and the work proceeded +rapidly: the priests making the camp tabu, so that there should be no +interference with the workmen. + +When the ships arrived in the bay, hardly a canoe was to be seen, and +none came out to the ships. This, contrasted with their first reception, +was the cause of some surprise, and, in view of what happened afterwards, +of some suspicion; but Mr. King, who had more intercourse with the +natives than any of the other officers, was thoroughly satisfied that +"they neither meant nor apprehended any change of conduct." Burney says +that Terreeoboo and some of the chiefs visited them on the 12th, and +asked many questions about their return, and did not seem well satisfied +with the answers received. + +TROUBLE COMMENCES. + +Everything went smoothly till the afternoon of the 13th, when the officer +in charge of the watering party complained to King that the conduct of +some of the natives was suspicious, and some of the chiefs were driving +away men he had engaged to help in rolling the casks to the boats. King +sent a marine with side arms to help to restore order, but shortly after +was informed the natives were arming with stones and getting very noisy, +so he went down himself, with a marine armed with his musket, and +succeeded in setting matters right. Just at this time Cook came ashore, +and King reported what had occurred, receiving orders to fire with ball +if he received any insolence or stones were thrown. Soon afterwards shots +were heard from the Discovery, and a canoe was seen making for the shore, +closely pursued by one of the ship's boats. Cook, King, and a marine ran +to intercept them, but were too late, as the occupants of the canoe +landed before they could reach the spot. Burney says the disturbance +commenced by a native stealing a pair of carpenter's tongs, jumping +overboard with them, and placing them in a canoe which at once paddled +off. The thief was caught, flogged, and put in irons till the tongs were +returned from the shore. The same tongs were again stolen in the +afternoon, and the thief got away with them, pursued by Edgar, the +Master, in the ship's cutter, and joined by the Resolution's pinnace. The +thief reaching shore first, put the tongs, the lid of a harness cask, and +a chisel in a second canoe which went out, and handed them over to Edgar. +Edgar, seeing Cook and King running along the shore, thought it right to +detain the second canoe, which unfortunately belonged to Parea, who at +the time of the theft was in Clerke's cabin and, promising to obtain the +tongs, had immediately left for the shore. He tried to regain possession +of his canoe, but was knocked down by a sailor, and then some of the +natives, who before this had been quietly looking on, began to throw +stones, and so roughly handled the sailors in the pinnace that, being +unarmed, they beat a retreat, swimming to some rocks out of reach of the +missiles. Edgar and Vancouver remained ashore and fared badly, till +Parea, who had recovered from his blow and apparently forgotten it, +ordered his countrymen to stay their hands, and managed to save the +pinnace from being broken up. He wanted the boats to go back to the +ships, but as the oars had been taken away this was impossible. He then +started to find them, and as soon as his back was turned the throwing +began again. Edgar wished to go to the camp to find Cook, but some of the +natives advised him to follow them and they would take him to Parea. He +soon met him carrying one oar, followed by a man with a broken one, so +they were able to make shift in the boats to the camp, being overtaken on +the way by Parea in his canoe bringing Vancouver's cap, which had been +lost in the scuffle. + +Owing to his pursuit of the thief Cook did not hear of all this trouble +till after dark, too late to take any further steps, but King says he +appeared very disturbed by the news, and remarked: "I am afraid these +people will oblige me to use some violent measures, for they must not be +left to imagine that they have gained an advantage over us." He then went +on board his ship and ordered all natives ashore, whilst King returned to +the camp, and doubling his sentries, gave orders he was to be called if +any natives were seen about. At eleven, five were seen hovering near, but +when they found they were observed they made off, and later one got close +to the observatory, but ran when the sentry fired over his head. When on +his way to the ship the next morning for the chronometer, King was +informed that the Discovery's cutter had been stolen; it had been moored +to the anchor buoy. On board the Resolution he found Cook busy loading +his double-barreled gun and a landing party of marines being prepared. +Cook said he was going ashore to try to gain possession of some of the +principal chiefs in order to keep them prisoners till the boat was +returned, and that he had already sent out boats to prevent any one +leaving the bay, with the intention of destroying their canoes if he +could not recover the cutter by more peaceable means. The Resolution's +great cutter was sent after a large sailing canoe that was making off, +the small cutter was guarding the western point of the bay, and Cook, +with the pinnace and launch, were going to Kowrowa to try and get +Terreeoboo on board the ship. He, and in fact every one else, were +confident the natives would offer no resistance if they heard the sound +of but one musket. + +A little before eight o'clock Captain Cook, Lieutenant Phillips, a +sergeant, corporal, and seven marines left the ship for Kowrowa, and King +returned to his camp after being ordered to try and assure the natives +near the observatory that they would not be hurt, to keep his men +together, and to be prepared to meet any outbreak. Having seen his men +were on the alert, King visited the priests and satisfied them that +Terreeoboo would receive neither injury nor insult. + +COOK LANDS. + +Having picked up the Resolution's launch, under the command of Lieutenant +Williamson, on his way, Cook landed the marines, and marched into the +village, where he received the usual marks of respect. He asked to see +the king and his two young sons. The two boys came forward and conducted +him to the hut where their father was, and after a short conversation he +felt assured that Terreeoboo knew nothing about the stealing of the boat. +He invited the three to accompany him to the Resolution, and the king at +once consented and got up to go. However, the boys' mother came up with a +few chiefs and tried to persuade him not to go, and then they caught hold +of him and forced him to sit down. Meanwhile a large crowd had gathered +round, and Phillips, who seems to have acted with coolness and judgment +throughout the affair, drew up his men in line on some rocks near the +water, about thirty yards away. After trying for some time to persuade +the natives to allow their chief to go with him, Cook gave up the +attempt, observing to Phillips that it would be impossible to compel them +to do so without great risk of bloodshed. Unfortunately, just at this +time news arrived that a chief of the first rank had been killed at the +other side of the bay. The shots had been heard soon after the landing of +Cook's party. + +It was now recognised that matters had become very serious; the natives +were seen to be donning their war mats, and one man, armed with a stone +in one hand and a large iron spike in the other, threatened Cook in a +very insulting manner. He was told to keep quiet, but only became more +furious, so Cook fired a charge of small shot into him, but his mats +saved him from injury. Stones were thrown at the marines, and a chief +attempted to stab Phillips, but was promptly knocked down with the butt +of the latter's musket. Cook now fired his second barrel loaded with ball +and killed one of the natives, but Sergeant Gibson told him it was the +wrong man, so he received orders to kill the right one, and did so. The +stone-throwing became heavier, and the marines responded with a volley, +but before they had time to reload the natives rushed them, killing four +out of the seven and wounding the rest, Phillips being stabbed between +the shoulders, but, before the blow could be repeated he managed to shoot +his assailant. + +COOK'S DEATH. + +Cook was now close to the water's edge, and had turned round to order the +boats' crews to cease firing and pull in. This is believed to have caused +his death, for, whilst he faced the natives, none of them, except the one +shot by Gibson, had offered him actual violence, but when he turned to +give orders he was struck on the head and stabbed in the back, falling +with his face in a pool of water. As soon as he fell a great shout arose; +he was dragged ashore, and the natives, snatching the dagger from each +other, showed savage eagerness to share in his destruction. Phillips and +his wounded marines plunged into the water and, covered by musketry fire, +gained the boats; their officer, though wounded, jumping out again to the +assistance of the last man who, severely injured by a blow on the face, +was in great danger of being captured. The boats, seeing there was no +possibility of recovering the bodies of the five who were killed, were +ordered to return at once to the ships from which they had only been +absent an hour. Nine stand of arms, Cook's double-barreled gun and his +hanger fell into the hands of the natives. As soon as this was reported, +the boats were recalled from the bay, and a strong reinforcement was sent +to Mr. King with orders to strike his camp and get the Resolution's +foremast off to the ship. The Indians were seen to be assembling to the +right of the tents, so the guns were turned on them, and a party was +posted on the Morai to cover the place where the mast lay. About one +o'clock everything was got away from the shore, only a few stones being +thrown by natives who thought their mats were proof against bullets, and +only found out their mistake too late. + +Notwithstanding what had occurred, one of the priests, whom Burney calls +Kerriakair, remained with the English till everything had been removed, +and supplied the men with food and water. King, about four o'clock, was +sent to try to recover the bodies of the Captain and marines. He was at +first received with a volley of stones, which fortunately fell short; he +displayed a white flag and pulled inshore, whilst the remaining boats lay +off to cover him with their fire if needed, but the stone-throwing was +stopped, and the natives also showed the white flag. In answer to King's +demand some of the chiefs promised that the bodies should be delivered +the next day, and Koah, swimming off to one of the boats, explained that +they could not be given up at once as they had already been taken some +distance up country. Burney, however, says that they gathered, from signs +made by some other Indians, that the bodies had already been cut to +pieces, and one man came down into the water flourishing Cook's hanger +"with many tokens of exultation and defiance." + +KOAH FRIENDLY. + +On the 15th Captain Clerke formally took over the command of the +Resolution, and appointed Lieutenant Gore to the Discovery. During the +day Koah visited the ship several times, and in vain tried to persuade +Clerke or King to go ashore, but it was thought inadvisable to run any +further risks. In the evening Kerriakair and a friend came off in a small +canoe bringing a bundle containing the flesh of Cook's thighs, saying +that the body had been burned and the limbs distributed amongst the +chiefs. They had brought all they could get unknown to the others, and +Kerriakair strongly advised Clerke not to trust too much to Koah; he said +that the inhabitants of the island were not inclined for peace except +those in the immediate neighbourhood, who would of course, in case of +hostilities, be the chief sufferers. He gave the number of natives killed +as twenty-six, with a large number of wounded. + +On the 17th the ships were warped inshore so as to command the watering +place, the launches were sent in for water, with the other boats fully +armed, in support. They were received with showers of stones from the +houses, and from behind stone walls, notwithstanding guns fired from the +ships and musketry from the boats at any of the natives who exposed +themselves. Meanwhile Koah again visited the ships, offering a pig as a +present, and asking for someone to be sent ashore for the bodies; but he +was sent away, and was soon afterwards seen amongst the stone-throwers. +In the afternoon the boats went again for water, but as the natives +recommenced hostilities they were ordered to keep clear, whilst the +ships' guns were worked for a quarter of an hour; then the boats' crews +landed and burned all the houses between the watering place and the +Morai, killing some six or seven of the natives. In the evening, about +five o'clock, some dozen natives bearing white flags and sugar-cane +marched down to the beach headed by Kerriakair carrying a small pig. He +said he came as an envoy from Terreeoboo to make peace, and was +accordingly taken on board the Resolution. It was ascertained from him +that the boat had been stolen by some of Parea's people and had been +broken up after Cook's death. During the night some canoes came out and +did a little trading; and the next morning the bay was seen to be planted +with white flags in different directions, and the waterers were allowed +to work unmolested, whilst Kerriakair asked permission, at once granted, +to make an offering to one of the images on the Morai. Soon after Koah +came off with a pig, but was not admitted to either ship; he then went +off to the waterers, who sent him away. So he amused himself by throwing +stones at a small party of sailors on the Morai, and drew a couple of +shots from them, but escaped unhurt. Soon after a party of natives +marched down to the beach with bread-fruit, etc., which they left on the +beach and was afterwards taken on board. A chief, Eapoo, carried a +message on board from Terreeoboo, and next day brought presents of food. +On the 20th the foremast of the Resolution was stepped and rigging +commenced, and in the middle of the day a large body of natives marched +in procession to the watering place, beating drums, yelling, carrying +white flags, sugar-cane, etc., with Eapoo at their head bearing a parcel +wrapped in cloth containing some of Cook's bones. He went off to the +Resolution with Clerke, and soon after a boat was sent ashore for a +present of food from Terreeoboo. The next day, with the same ceremonial, +Eapoo again appeared with all the remaining bones it was possible to +recover, and was this time accompanied by Karowa, Terreeoboo's youngest +son. + +"The 21st February. At sunset the Resolution fired ten minute guns, with +the colours half staff up, when the remains of our late Commander were +committed to the deep." + +Lieutenant Williamson was severely blamed by his brother officers for not +going to the assistance of the pinnace at the time of the attack on his +Captain, and it is said that had it not been for Clerke's ill health he +would have been tried by court-martial. He was afterwards, when in +command of the Agincourt, tried for "disaffection, cowardice, +disobedience to signals, and not having done his duty in rendering all +assistance possible." He was found guilty on the last two counts only, +and was "placed at the bottom of the list of Post-Captains, and rendered +incapable of ever serving on board of any of His Majesty's ships." + +COOK'S REMAINS. + +Ellis, in his Tour through Hawaii, says that King's account of Cook's +death, from which the above has been largely drawn, agrees in a +remarkable manner with that given by the natives. They in no way blamed +their visitors for what occurred, and even after his death appear to have +looked upon Cook as a man of a superior race to themselves. His +breastbone and ribs were long preserved as relics, and in 1832 Ellis +states there were many living who remembered the occasion, and all agreed +that Cook's conduct to their countrymen was humane. + +Captain Clerke says: + +"Upon examining the remains of my late honoured and much lamented friend, +I found all his bones, excepting those of the back, jaw, and feet--the +two latter articles Earpo brought me in the morning--the former, he +declared, had been reduced to ashes with the trunk of the body. As +Carnacare (Kerriakair) had told us, the flesh was taken from all the +bones, excepting those of the hands, the skin of which they had cut +through in many places, and salted, with the intention, no doubt, of +preserving them; Earpo likewise brought with him the two barrels of +Captain Cook's gun--the one beat flat with the intention of making a +cutting instrument of it; the other a good deal bent and bruised, +together with a present of thirteen hogs from Terreaboo." + +The hands, as has been mentioned before, were identified by the scar left +by the explosion of his powder flask in Newfoundland, which almost +severed the thumb from the fingers. + +On 22nd February they were able to sail from this unlucky place, and +touching at one or two of the islands worked their way northwards to +Kamtschatka, the Resolution reaching Owatska Bay on 29th April, followed +by the discovery on 1st May. They were very handsomely treated by Major +Behm, the Governor of Bolcheretsk, a place about 135 miles from the town +of St. Peter and St. Paul in Awatska Bay, notwithstanding Mr. Ismailoff's +letters of introduction were on somewhat unsatisfactory lines. Mr. Webber +was fortunately able to converse in German, which the Russian officers +understood; and he ascertained that Ismailoff had represented the two +vessels as very small, and hinted that he believed them to be little +better than pirates. The Governor provided the ships with what he could +give them, and promised to obtain further stores from Okotsk for them +against their return. For these kindnesses the English could make but +little return, and even then it was with difficulty that the Russians +could be persuaded to receive anything, for they said they were only +acting up to the wishes of their Empress, who desired all her allies +should be treated with courtesy. One return, however, they were able to +make which was of great service. At the time of the visit of the ships a +large number of the soldiers and inhabitants were suffering very +seriously from scurvy, and Clerke at once put them under the care of his +medical officers, who, by the use of sour kraut and sweet wort made from +the ship's stock of malt, soon caused "a surprising alteration in the +figures of most of them and their speedy recovery was chiefly attributed +to the effects of the sweet wort." + +They were informed by the Major that on the day of the arrival of the +English party at Bolcheretsk he had received a letter from the most +northerly outpost on the Sea of Okotsk, stating that the tribe of +Tschutski, which had been long at feud with the Russians, had sent in an +embassy offering friendship and tribute, giving as a reason that they had +been visited by two large vessels in the preceding summer, and had been +received on board with great kindness, and had entered into a league of +friendship with their visitors: they therefore thought it their duty to +ratify this treaty formally. These two ships could have been none other +than the Resolution and Discovery, though evidently the Tschutski thought +they were Russian. + +DEATH OF CLERKE. + +Leaving on 13th June, the Asiatic coast was followed up, and 1st July +they were off the Gulf of Anadyr, where fogs and ice began seriously to +interfere with their progress, so they abandoned the Asiatic for the +American side, but with no better luck. They reached the latitude of 70 +degrees 33 minutes North, about five leagues short of the point reached +the previous year, and at length, realising further efforts were useless +and resulting in serious damage to the ships from continual contact with +the loose ice, Clerke determined to return to Awatska Bay and refit and +then return to England. On 22nd August, the day before they reached the +Bay, Captain Clerke, who had long been suffering from serious ill health, +died, and was buried under a tree a little to the north of the post of +St. Peter and St. Paul; the crews of both ships and the Russian garrison +taking part in the funeral ceremony, and the Russian priest reading the +service at the grave. Clerke had been all three voyages with Cook, and +was only thirty-eight years of age. + +Gore now took command of the Resolution, Burney, Rickman, and Lanyon +being his lieutenants, whilst King was the new Captain of the Discovery, +and Williamson and Hervey his lieutenants; Bayley going with Gore in +charge of the astronomical observations. On 9th October they left Awatska +and were off Cape Nambu, Japan, on the 26th, but were driven off the +coast by bad weather, and anchored in Macao Roads on 1st December. Here, +after considerable delay, stores were obtained from Canton, and the +seaman managed to dispose of most of the furs they had obtained in the +north. King estimates that the two ships received, in money and goods, as +much as 2000 pounds for the skins, and says that the men were so anxious +to return for more that they were almost in a state of mutiny. + +On 11th April the ships reached the Cape, where the officers were +cordially received by Governor Plattenberg, who expressed the deepest +regret to hear of the loss of Cook, and requested that he should be sent +a portrait of the Captain to place in a blank space he pointed out +between two portraits of De Ruyter and Van Tromp--a gracious compliment. +Sailing from Simon's Bay on 9th May, the trades were picked up on the +14th, and on 13th June the line was crossed in longitude 26 degrees 16 +minutes West. The coast of Ireland was sighted on 12th August, and an +attempt was made to get into Galway Bay, but strong southerly winds drove +them to the north, and at length, rounding the north of Scotland, they +put into Stromness, whence Captain King was despatched overland to the +Admiralty. The ships arrived off the Nore on 4th October, after an +absence of "four years, two months, and twenty-two days." + +KING MEETS KING. + +On 14th February 1781, the second anniversary of Cook's death, King, +accompanied by Mr. Banks, was presented to His Majesty, who was pleased +to accept the Journals of the Resolution and Discovery kept during this +eventful voyage. + + +CHAPTER 19. APPRECIATION AND CHARACTER. + +Of course as nothing had been heard of the expedition for a considerable +time, a certain amount of anxiety was felt, which at length found vent in +paragraphs in the public press, and on 11th January 1780 the London +Gazette contained the following: + +"Captain Clerke of His Majesty's Sloop the Resolution, in a letter to Mr. +Stephens, dated the 8th of June 1779, in the harbour of St. Peter and St. +Paul, Kampschatka, which was received yesterday, gives the melancholy +account of the celebrated Captain Cook, late Commander of that Sloop, +with four of his private Marines having been killed on the 14th of +February last at the island of Owhyhe, one of a Group of new-discovered +Islands in the 22nd degree of North Latitude, in an affray with a +numerous and tumultuous Body of the Natives." + +"Captain Clerke adds, that he received every friendly supply from the +Russian Government; and that as the Companies of the Resolution and her +Consort, the Discovery, were in perfect Health, and the two Sloops had +twelve months Stores and Provisions on board, he was preparing to make +another Attempt to explore a Northern Passage to Europe." + +THE EMPRESS OF RUSSIA. + +The London Gazette of 8th February says: + +"The Empress of Russia expressed a most deep concern at the Loss of +Captain Cook. She was the more sensibly affected from her very partial +regard to his merits; and when she was informed of the hospitality shown +by the Russian Government at Kamschatka to Captain Clerke, she said no +Subject in her Dominions could show too much Friendship to the Survivors +of Captain Cook." + +The letter written by Clerke was sent by express through Petersburg; that +is to say, it was written in the extreme east of Asia in June, and was +sent overland across Siberia to Petersburg, and thence via Berlin to +London, and was there published in under the six months. A wonderful +journey when the difficulties of transit are taken into consideration. + +In the numerous appreciative notices that appeared in the press relating +to Cook and his work, the Morning Chronicle alone strikes a jarring +string, which is at once met by a reply; and a day or two after the same +paper publishes a long letter signed Colombus (the style suggests the pen +of Sir Joseph Banks) in which the character and methods of Cook are most +strenuously defended, the writer claiming to have obtained his knowledge +of the man "through long intercourse with him." + +The Gazetter of 24th January says: + +"His Majesty, who had always the highest opinion of Captain Cook, shed +tears when Lord Sandwich informed him of his death, and immediately +ordered a pension of 300 pounds a year for his widow." + +The amount really granted to Mrs. Cook was 200 pounds per annum, and the +Admiralty in addition gave her half the proceeds of the Journal of the +Third Voyage, a share in the Journal of the Second Voyage, and a share of +the plates used in illustrating the two publications: a very considerable +addition to her income. A Coat of Arms was also granted to the family by +order of the King, and Sir W. Besant records his belief that it was the +last one ever granted as a direct "recognition of Service." His +description of it is: + +"Azure, between the two polar stars Or, a sphere on the plane of the +meridian, showing the Pacific Ocean, his track thereon marked by red +lines. And for a crest, on a wreath of the colours, is an arm bowed, in +the uniform of a Captain of the Royal Navy. In the hand is the Union Jack +on a staff proper. The arm is encircled by a wreath of palm and laurel. A +very noble shield indeed." + +The notes of appreciation of his talents and services came from all parts +of the world, and none more kindly than from the series of brilliant +Frenchmen who followed in his footsteps. De Crozet did not hesitate to +throw away his own charts when he recognised the superiority of Cook's; +and Dumont d'Urville calls him "the most illustrious navigator of both +the past and future ages whose name will for ever remain at the head of +the list of sailors of all nations." + +MRS. COOK'S LETTER. + +The Royal Society was naturally amongst the first to recognise the great +worth of its late Fellow, and the loss the Society had suffered from his +death. It had already granted him one of its highest honours in the form +of the Copley Gold Medal for his successful contest with the scurvy, and +it now decided to mark its appreciation by striking a special gold medal +in his honour. This was forwarded by Sir Joseph Banks, President of the +Royal Society, to Mrs. Cook, and acknowledged by her in the following +touching letter: + +Mile End, + +16th August 1784. + +Sir, + +I received your exceeding kind letter of the 12th instant, and want words +to express in any adequate degree my feelings on the very singular honour +which you, Sir, and the honourable and learned Society over which you so +worthily preside, have been pleased to confer on my late husband, and +through him on me and his children who are left to lament the loss of +him, and to be the receivers of those most noble marks of approbations +which, if Providence had been pleased to permit him to receive, would +have rendered me very happy indeed. + +Be assured, Sir, that however unequal I may be to the task of expressing +it, I feel as I ought the high honour which the Royal Society has been +pleased to do me. My greatest pleasure now remaining is in my sons, who, +I hope, will ever strive to copy after so good an example, and, animated +by the honours bestowed on their Father's memory, be ambitious of +attaining by their own merits your notice and approbation. Let me entreat +you to add to the many acts of friendship which I have already received +at your hands, that of expressing my gratitude and thanks to that learned +body in such a manner as may be acceptable to them. + +I am, Sir, etc., etc., + +Elizabeth Cook. + +The medal actually presented to Mrs. Cook is now in the British Museum. + +DEATHS OF THE SONS. + +It is greatly to be regretted that so little can be ascertained about +Cook's private life that would be of service in forming an intimate +knowledge of his character, but this is accounted for by the fact that +after he had joined the Navy his time was so fully occupied by that +service that he had but little opportunity to form private friendships +such as fall to the lot of most men. The intimacies that he did form were +mostly connected very closely with his naval duties, and his +opportunities of correspondence were necessarily limited by absence from +all ordinary means of communication. For a man of his marked celebrity it +is very curious that there should be such a dearth of anecdote that it is +difficult to find anything that is unconnected with his profession. Of +his own family relations there is also little known, as Mrs. Cook, +probably esteeming the few letters she had from him as too sacred to be +seen by any other eye than her own, as the late Canon Bennett suggests, +destroyed them before her death. Still some idea of their life together, +short as it really was, notwithstanding it lasted, in name, for over +sixteen years, may be gained from the manner in which his widow always +spoke of him after his death. She always wore a ring containing a lock of +his hair, and measured everything by his standard of morality and honour. +The greatest disapprobation she could express was "Mr. Cook would never +have done so." He was always Mr. Cook to her. She kept four days each +year as solemn fasts, remaining in her own room. The days were those on +which she lost her husband and three sons, passing them in reading her +husband's Bible, prayer and meditation, and during bad weather she could +not sleep for thinking of those at sea. For her husband's sake she +befriended her nephews and nieces whom she never saw. Of her three sons, +two entered the Navy. One, Nathaniel, was lost with his ship, the +Thunderer, in a hurricane off Jamaica in 1780. The eldest, James, rose to +the rank of Commander, and in January 1794 was appointed to H.M. sloop +Spitfire. He was at Poole when he received his orders to join his ship at +Portsmouth without delay. Finding an open boat with sailors returning +from leave about to start, he joined them. It was blowing rather hard, +and nothing was ever heard of the passengers or crew, except that the +broken boat and the dead body of the unfortunate young officer, stripped +of all money and valuables, with a wound in the head, was found ashore on +the Isle of Wight. The third son, Hugh, was entered at Christ's College, +Cambridge, in 1793, but contracting scarlet fever he died on 21st +December of that year, and was buried in the church of St. Andrew the +Great, being joined by his brother James a few weeks afterwards, when the +mother was left indeed alone. She survived her husband for the long +period of fifty-six years, living at Clapham with her cousin, Admiral +Isaac Smith, and at length joined her two sons at Cambridge at the +advanced age of ninety-three. + +Cook's character as given by those with whom he worked, men who day after +day were by his side, was a fine one. His greatest fault seems to have +been his hasty temper, which he admitted himself, often most regretfully; +but Captain King says it was "disarmed by a disposition the most +benevolent and humane," and it never was displayed in such a manner as to +cause the loss of respect and affection of his people. He was healthy and +vigorous in mind and body, clear-headed and cool in times of danger, +broad minded and temperate, and plain and unaffected in manner. His +powers of observation were of the first rank, his knowledge of Naval +mathematics far surpassed the ordinary level and amounted to genius, but, +above all, his devotion to duty was the commanding feature of his +character. Nothing was allowed to interfere when he saw his course before +him; personal convenience was not allowed to weigh for one moment, but at +the same time he never lost sight of the interests of those under him and +spared them when possible. He was somewhat silent and reserved in manner, +but when questioned on any subject on which he felt he was an authority, +his answers were clearly and distinctly given, and his reasons disclosed +his powers of observation to the full. He was kindly, generous, and +hospitable, and by no means the stern character that has been painted, +for even in such a matter-of-fact document as his official Journal, a +spirit of fun occasionally gleams out. + +Such was the man whose name will ever stand in the very first ranks of +the British Empire Builders; honest, kindly, generous, a faithful servant +and a noble leader. + + +INDEX. + +Adventure: +purchased. +arrives home. + +Airy Holme Farm. + +Amherst, General. + +Amherst, Colonel W. + +Amsterdam. + +Anderson, Surgeon: death. + +Anjac, M. d'. + +Antelope, H.M.S. + +Arnold. See Timepieces. + +Aurora Australis. + +Australia. + +Ayton: +revisited. + +Banks, Joseph: +joins Endeavour. +refuses Second Voyage. + +Batavia. + +Bayley, W. + +Behm, Major. + +Behring. + +Bennett, Canon. + +Besant, W. + +Bligh, W. + +Boscawen, Admiral. + +Boswell. + +Bougainville, De. + +Buchan, A. + +Burgeo Islands. + +Burney, Charles. + +Burney, Fanny. + +Burney, James. + +Campbell, Captain J. + +Cape Circumcision. + +Cape Horn. + +Cape of Good Hope. + +Clerke, Charles. + +Colville, Lord. + +Cook, James (Master of Mercury). + +Cook, James, R.N. F.R.S.: +birth. +Eagle. +Solebay. +Pembroke. +Northumberland. +marriage. +King's Surveyor. +Grenville. +Endeavour. +Scorpion. +Resolution. +Post-Captain. +death. + +Cook, Mrs. + +Cooper, R.P. + +Crozet, De. + +Dalrymple. + +Dance, Sir N. + +Darwin, Charles. + +Discovery purchased. + +Dodds, Mrs. + +Douglas, Captain Charles. + +Douglas, Dr. + +Duc d'Aquitaine. + +Du Fresne, Marion. + +Dumont d'Urville. + +Eagle. + +Easter Island. + +Eclipse of sun. + +Edgar. + +Edgecombe. + +Endeavour: +purchased. +end of. + +Erromango. + +Espiritu Santo. + +Fernando de Noronho. + +Fishburn of Whitby. + +Forster, G.A. + +Forster, J.R. + +Freelove. + +Friendship. + +Funchal. + +Furneaux, Tobias. + +Garland. + +Gaspe Bay. + +Gilbert, G. + +Gilbert, J. + +Gore, J. + +Grampus. + +Graves, Captain. + +Green, Charles. +death. + +Grenville. + +Halifax, N.B. + +Hardy, Sir C. + +Harrison. See Timepieces. + +Hawke, Lord. + +Hawkesworth, Dr. + +Hicks, Lieutenant. + +Hodges, W. + +Holmes, Admiral. + +Horrox, J. + +Huaheine. + +Isle aux Coudres. + +Isle d'Orleans. + +Japan. + +Jervis, Captain J. + +Johnson, Dr. + +Karakakoa Bay. + +Kemp, A. + +Kemp, S. + +Kendal. See Timepieces. + +Kerguelen's Land. + +King, Captain J. + +Knox, Major. + +Koah. + +Lambrecht. + +Lane, M. + +Lark. + +Law, Surgeon. + +Ledyard. + +Leeds Mercury. + +Lightning Rods. + +Loo Fort. + +Louisburg. + +MacGregor, Sir E. + +Magellan's Straits. + +Malicolo. + +Marra, James. + +Marton. + +Maskelyne. + +Massacre Bay, New Zealand. + +Medway. + +Mercury. + +Middleburg. + +Mile End. + +Miquelon. + +Molineaux. + +Monkhouse, Dr. + +Montcalm. + +Moran, Cardinal. + +Moreton Bay. + +New Albion. + +New Caledonia. + +New Zealand. + +Newfoundland. + +Newspapers on ship. + +Northumberland. + +Norton Sound. + +Omai. + +Otaheite. + +Pallisser, Sir H. + +Parkinson, S. + +Pembroke, Earl of. + +Pembroke. + +Petropaulowsk. + +Phillips, Lieutenant. + +Pickersgill. + +Pines, Isle of. + +Pitcairn Island. + +Priestley, Dr. + +Pringle, Sir J. + +Prowd, Mary. + +Quebec. + +Quiros, De. + +Raleigh. See Adventure. + +Redcar. + +Resolution purchased. + +Rio. + +Rotterdam. + +Royal Society. + +Russia, Empress of. + +St. Helena. + +St. John's. + +St. Lawrence. + +St. Pierre. + +Samwell, D. + +Sandwich Islands. + +Sandwich, Lord. + +Saunders, Sir C. + +Scurvy, paper on. + +Smith, Isaac. + +Solander, Dr. + +Solebay. + +Sparrman, H. + +Staten Island. + +Stirling Castle. + +Straits le Maire. + +Tanna. + +Tasman. + +Tatafee Polaho. + +Terreeoboo. + +Three Sisters. + +Three Kings, New Zealand. + +Timepieces. + +Torres, De. + +Transit of Venus. + +Traverse, the. + +Tupia. + +Ulietea. + +Vancouver, G. + +Vegetable Sheep. + +Waddington, G.W. + +Walker, John. + +Webber, J. + +Wolfe, General. + +Young, Dr. + +Young, N. + +Zeehaan. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Life of Captain James Cook, by Arthur Kitson + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN JAMES COOK *** + +***** This file should be named 10842.txt or 10842.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/8/4/10842/ + +Produced by Sue Asscher <asschers@bigpond.com> + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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