New South Wales
On 31 March, 1770, the _Endeavour_ sailed from Cape Farewell on
the north coast of the South Island of New Zealand, and on 19
April sighted the coast of what Cook still knew as "New Holland",
which was, of course, the south-eastern extremity of Australia
near Cape Howe. Cook then sailed along the coast to the northward,
seeing smoke in several places, by which he knew the country to
be inhabited. A camel-like mountain was called Mount Dromedary, a
peaked hill, which resembled a square dovehouse with a dome at the
top, was called Pigeonhouse, names which seem to have disappeared
from the map of Australia. An attempt to land near the place now
called Sutherland[82] was defeated by the heavy surf which lashed
the white cliffs, while the natives on the beach, whose presence
had attracted them, ran away. They were therefore obliged to guess
at the landscape from a distance, and even then they observed that
although there were numerous trees there was no underwood.
[82] Sutherland--really Cape Sutherland, at the entrance to Port
Hacking--was named after Forby Sutherland, an English seaman, who
died and was buried near here, the first white man, probably, and
certainly the first Englishman, to lie in the soil of Australia. He
was buried near the watering place.
At last a bay--the celebrated Botany Bay, as it was subsequently
named--opened before the _Endeavour_. The astonished natives
appeared again on the beach, gazing at the ship as she slowly made
her way into sheltered waters. They were absolutely naked, but their
faces were dusted over with a white powder, and their bodies were
painted in stripes of the same colour, which, passing obliquely over
their breasts and backs, appeared like the belts worn crosswise in
those days by British soldiers. Similar streaks were drawn round
their legs and thighs like broad garters. They were armed with long
wooden pikes, and "a wooden weapon shaped somewhat like a scimitar".
This was the celebrated boomerang, the curved or crooked flat
piece of wood which was one of Man's earliest weapons. Hurled by a
practised hand it will whirl through the air, and unless it strikes
the object aimed at with its sharp, flat edge, it returns almost to
the spot from which it has been thrown. The boomerang has been in
use at one time or another from West Africa to east Australia, and
was once used in ancient Egypt. Reproduced in metal it is the origin
of the throwing-knife of North Central Africa.
On Saturday, 28 April, 1770, the _Endeavour_ anchored in Botany
Bay, abreast of a small village consisting of six or eight houses.
As the sailors were preparing to hoist out the boat they saw an old
man, followed by three children, come out of the forest carrying
firewood, and each of the children had also its little burden. Other
children came out to meet them, and all alike gazed at the ship
without either fear or surprise. The women set to work to kindle a
fire, and four canoes came in from fishing. The men landed, and,
having hauled up their boats, began to dress their dinner, to all
appearance wholly unconcerned about this wonderful arrival, though
the _Endeavour_ was anchored within half a mile of them. As soon,
however, as Cook and his party landed, two men of the native
Australians came down to dispute their landing, whilst the others
ran away. Each of these men was armed with a wooden lance about 10
feet long, and a short stick. They called out to the white men in
a very loud tone in a hard, dissonant language, which neither the
Englishmen nor Tupia, their Polynesian interpreter, understood in
the least. They brandished their weapons and seemed resolved to
defend their coast to the uttermost, though they were but two and
the white men forty in number. Unwilling to provoke hostilities,
Cook ordered the boat to lie upon her oars, and commenced to parley
by signs, and to bespeak the goodwill of these stark-naked savages,
throwing them at the same time nails, beads, and other trifles,
which they took up and seemed to be well pleased with.
These overtures were of no use, however. As soon as the boat neared
the shore the men again opposed the landing. A musket, consequently,
was fired in the air, and upon hearing the report the younger of
the two men dropped a bundle of lances, then in an instant snatched
them up again and threw a stone, upon which a musket was fired with
small shot, which struck the elder man in the legs. He immediately
ran to one of the houses, which was distant about 100 yards, but
only to return with a shield for his defence. As soon as he came up
he threw a wooden lance, and his comrade another. Fortunately none
of the white men was struck. A third musket with small shot was then
fired at them, another lance was thrown, and at last the Australians
ran away sufficiently far into the woods to make it prudent for
the white men to venture into the village. Amongst these huts they
found the children, who had hidden themselves behind a shield and
some bark. They were left in their retreat, but beads, ribbons,
and pieces of cloth and other presents were thrown into the huts to
secure the goodwill of the inhabitants. Some of the lances lying
about were taken away. They were from 6 to 15 feet long, and all of
them had four prongs, each of which was armed with fish bone, and
very sharp. They were in reality a kind of fish harpoon. The canoes
are described as having been the worst that Cook had ever seen,
between 12 and 14 feet long, and simply made (as already described
in Chapter II) out of the bark of a tree removed in a single piece,
tied at each end, and the middle kept open by sticks used as thwarts
from gunwale to gunwale.
Crossing over to the north side of the bay, fresh water was found
trickling down from the top of the rocks. None of the presents
left in the huts were taken, nor were the natives inclined to
enter into friendly relations. The face of the country round about
Botany Bay was finely diversified by woods and grassy lawns. The
trees were tall and straight, and standing at such a distance from
each other that the whole country (wrote Cook) might be cultivated
without cutting down one of them. Between the trees the ground was
covered with grass, of which there was great abundance, growing
in tufts about as big as could be well grasped in the hand. They
had a transient view of an animal about as big as a rabbit, and
came upon traces of what was really a kangaru, together with the
footsteps of a beast like a wolf (a dingo or native dog), and the
tracks of a polecat or weasel (the small white-spotted native "cats"
or dasyures). The branches over their heads abounded with birds of
exquisite beauty, particularly parrakeets and cockatoos, which flew
in flocks of several scores together. Many of the trees had been
barked, and one or two had been felled by some blunt instrument.
Those that were standing, especially such as yielded gum, had had
steps cut into their trunks, about 3 feet distant from each other,
so that the natives could climb them. Some of the trees bore fruit
that in colour and shape resembled a cherry; the juice had an
agreeable tartness, but little flavour. About the head of the bay
they traversed natural lawns which seemed to Cook the finest meadows
in the world.
On the beach there was an abundance of mussels and oysters, some of
which latter had been already roasted by the natives, and were eaten
by Cook and his party. Banks shot a number of quails resembling
those of England. One of the midshipmen accompanying a party sent
to get into touch with the natives (who did nothing but run away
whenever they were approached) strayed from his companions and
suddenly found himself in the presence of a very old man and woman
and some little children. They showed no signs of fear, and did not
attempt to run away. The midshipman gave them a parrot which he
had just killed, but they refused to accept it. All these people
seemed a dark chocolate brown in colour. Both men and women were
grey-headed. The hair of the men was long and ragged, while the
women's hair was cropped short.
On the north shore of the bay there were no trees, and the ground
resembled an English moor, its surface being covered with a thin
scrub of plants about as high as the knees.
On Sunday, 6 May, 1770, the _Endeavour_ sailed out of Botany Bay
(as the place had been named, on account the abundance of wild
flowers), and as she passed northwards Cook noticed a harbour which
seemed to promise great things, and named it Port Jackson. This
was the celebrated harbour of SYDNEY, one of the most remarkable
inlets of the sea for beauty, extent, and the variety and number
of deep and sheltered anchorages, to be found anywhere in the
world. As the _Endeavour_ sailed northwards the land gradually
increased in height, so that it became actually mountainous, with
a pleasing variety of hills and plains all clothed with woods.
Cook sighted the large islands off the pleasant town of Brisbane
(the capital of Queensland), and named one of them Cape Moreton.
The coast of Queensland (as long afterwards it came to be called)
was less hilly than that of New South Wales. Rounding the great
promontory of Sandy Cape, the _Endeavour_ anchored in what was then
and there called Bustard Bay, from the killing and eating of a fine
large bustard as big as a turkey.[83] "We all agreed that this was
the best bird we had eaten since we left England." The landing
parties found innumerable oysters--some of them pearl-producing,
others hammer-shaped--on the mud banks under the mangroves. Upon
these mangroves also were swarms of small green caterpillars, the
bodies of which were thick-set with hairs. "They were ranged upon
the leaves side by side, like a file of soldiers, to the number
of twenty or thirty: when we touched them we found that the hair
of their bodies had the quality of a nettle, and gave us an acute
though less durable pain." Among the shoals and sandbanks were
many water birds, especially the large black-and-white pelicans,
but the country inland was not so attractive as the region round
Botany Bay, being dry and sandy, though the sides of the hills were
covered sparsely with trees, most of them eucalypti, yielding a
yellow gum. The natives seen in the distance from time to time were
few in numbers, and seemed to lead an even more barbarous life than
those of New South Wales, to be without houses as well as clothes,
and to sleep in the open air. But they made use of fire, and even
constructed rough drinking vessels out of bark, and made bark beds,
and shelters against which they slept.
[83] Australia, like the drier parts of Africa or Asia, possesses
several examples of the bustard family, though in the case of
Australia there are at most two or three species of the one Asiatic
genus, _Eupodotis_.
The _Endeavour_ again came to an anchor in the vicinity of Keppel
Bay (near Rockhampton). The water had become very shallow, and they
had to stop to find a channel. Banks took advantage of this halt
to fish from the cabin windows with hook and line, and in this
way managed to catch some of the crabs which swarmed over the sea
bottom. One of these was an exceedingly beautiful creature, adorned
with the finest blue that can be imagined, with a white under side,
and so exquisitely polished that its blue and white resembled old
china. Another crab was marked with vivid ultramarine upon his
joints and toes, and had on his back three large brown spots of
singular appearance. A landing was made in Shoalwater Bay, and they
found the ground covered with a kind of grass, the seeds of which
were very sharp and bearded backwards, so that when they stuck into
the clothes they worked inwards by means of the beard till they
got at the flesh.[84] There were also clouds of mosquitoes which
tormented the landing party with their bites. As usual the trees
seemed to be mainly gums of the eucalyptus type. On the branches of
some of these were large ant nests made of clay, as big as a bushel.
There were also an incredible number of butterflies: for the space
of 3 or 4 acres the air would be so crowded with them that millions
must have been visible in every direction, while the branches and
twigs of the trees were covered with those that were not in flight.
They also found a small fish (the _Periophthalmus_ or mud-skipper)
"about the size of a minnow", with two very strong breast-fins, in
places that were quite dry, where it might have been left by the
tide. It did not seem to feel the want of water, but leapt about by
means of the breast-fins as nimbly as a frog. Even when found in
the water it leapt out and pursued its way upon dry ground, and in
shallow water it liked to progress by leaping from stone to stone
above the surface.
[84] The terrible _Spinifex_ grass so characteristic of Australia.
On the islands off this coast of northern Queensland they noted
that the natives were provided with outrigger canoes, showing that
Melanesian or Polynesian influence had once reached this part.
All this was a dangerous coast where the sea in many parts concealed
shoals which suddenly projected from the shore and rocks that rose
abruptly, like a pyramid, from the bottom to within a few inches
of the surface. For more than 1300 miles the navigation of the
_Endeavour_ had been a source of the utmost anxiety to Cook and to
her sailing-master. Anxiety was to be followed by actual misfortune
near Cape Tribulation, a point which lies to the north of a very
mountainous part of the north Queensland coast region, where the
peaks rise to altitudes of nearly 6000 feet. On this coast the
water shallowed suddenly, the ship struck, and remained immovable,
except for the heaving of the surge which beat her against the
rocks on which she lay. In a few moments everyone was on deck with
countenances fully expressing the horror of their situation. The
rock was evidently of coral, which is the most fatal kind owing to
its hardness and sharpness. Against these pinnacles the bottom of
the ship was being rubbed away by the rising and falling of the
swell. The sails were at once taken in, and it was found that the
_Endeavour_ had been lifted over a ledge of the rock by the surge
and lay in a hollow inside it, in about 18 to 24 feet of water.
For hours they strove by means of anchors and cables to warp her
off the rock into deeper water and so get her out to sea; but she
was immovable, and yet all this time continued to beat with great
violence against the rock, so that it was with the utmost difficulty
her crew could keep upon their legs. To add to their distress of
mind they saw by the light of the moon the shifting boards from the
bottom of the vessel floating around her, and at last her false
keel, so that every moment the time was coming nearer in which the
sea would rush into the ship and swallow her up. Land was actually
about 24 miles distant. However, the wind gradually died away. Had
it continued, the ship must inevitably have gone to pieces, and Cook
and all his party would probably never have been heard of again;
for the boats were insufficient to carry them all at once on shore,
and even if they had reached the land it is doubtful whether they
could have survived, for their northward march along the Cape York
Peninsula would have been dogged by hostile natives, who would in
the end have succeeded in killing and eating them. Even supposing
they had reached Torres Straits and managed by means of native
canoes to cross over to New Guinea, a similar fate awaited them
there, for that part of New Guinea was then quite out of touch with
the Dutch possessions.
[Illustration: CAPTAIN COOK AT BOTANY BAY]
However, the wind and swell having died down, everything that they
could possibly throw overboard was thrown out of the ship (now
heeling over dangerously to starboard). The pumps were incessantly
at work keeping at bay the appalling inrush of the sea through
the cracks and holes made by the injuries to the ship's sides
and bottom. At last with the rise of the tide the _Endeavour_
righted herself so that she rode on an even keel and was apparently
floating off. But even then they dreaded that when she was free of
the rocks she might founder with the inrush of water through the
leaks. "We well knew that our boats were not capable of carrying
us all on shore, and that when the dreadful crisis should arrive,
as all command and subordination would be at an end, a contest for
preference would probably ensue that would increase the horrors
even of shipwreck and terminate in the destruction of all of us at
the hands of each other.... To those only who have waited in such
a state of suspense, death has approached in all its terrors; and
as the dreadful moment that was to determine our fate came on,
everyone saw his own sensations pictured in the countenances of his
companions."
However, the capstan and windlass were manned with as many hands as
could be spared from the pumps, and the ship floating about twenty
minutes after ten o'clock, a great effort was made, and she was
warped and heaved into deep water. It was some comfort to find that
she did not now admit more water than she had done upon the rock;
and though, by the gaining of the leak upon the pumps, there was no
less than 3 feet 9 inches of water in the hold, yet the men did not
relinquish their labour, and held the water, as it were, at bay.
"But having now endured excessive fatigue of body and agitation of
mind for more than four-and-twenty hours, and having but little
hope of succeeding at last, they began to flag: none of them could
work at the pump more than five or six minutes together, and then,
being totally exhausted, they threw themselves down upon the deck,
though a stream of water was running over it from the pumps between
3 and 4 inches deep; when those who succeeded them had worked their
spell, and were exhausted in their turn, they threw themselves down
in the same manner, and the others started up again, and renewed
their labour; thus relieving each other, till an accident was very
near putting an end to their efforts at once. The planking which
lines the inside of the ship's bottom is called the ceiling, and
between this and the outside planking there is a space of about 18
inches: the man who till this time had attended the well to take
the depth of water, had taken it only to the ceiling, and gave the
measure accordingly; but he being now relieved, the person who
came in his stead reckoned the depth to the outside planking, by
which it appeared in a few minutes to have gained upon the pumps
18 inches, the difference between the planking without and within.
Upon this, even the bravest was upon the point of giving up his
labour with his hope, and in a few minutes everything would have
been involved in all the confusion of despair. But this accident,
however dreadful in its first consequences, was eventually the cause
of our preservation: the mistake was soon detected, and the sudden
joy which every man felt upon finding his situation better than his
fears had suggested, operated like a charm, and seemed to possess
him with a strong belief that scarcely any real danger remained."
The men now renewed their efforts with such alacrity and spirit,
that before eight o'clock in the morning the leak no longer gained
upon them, but the pumps gained considerably upon the leak. They cut
most of their cables with the consequent loss of anchors, but got
once more under sail and stood for the land.
It would, however, have been impossible to continue indefinitely the
frightful labour of pumping out the sea water as fast as it poured
in through the leaks, and the expedition would only have received a
miserable respite but for the ingenious suggestion made by the same
reckless midshipman, Monkhouse, who had been so ready to open fire
on boisterous natives. He approached his commander, and proposed
an expedient he had once seen used on board a merchant ship, which
sprung a leak that admitted more than 4 feet of water an hour, and
yet by this expedient had been brought safely from North America
to London.[85] To midshipman Monkhouse, therefore, the care of the
expedient, which is called "fothering" the ship, was immediately
committed, four or five of the people being appointed to assist him,
and he performed it in this manner: "He took the lower studding
sail, and having mixed together a large quantity of oakham and wool,
chopped pretty small, he stitched it down in handfuls upon the
sail, as lightly as possible, and over this he spread the dung of
our sheep and other filth. When the sail was thus prepared, it was
hauled under the ship's bottom by ropes, which kept it extended, and
when it came under the leak, the suction which carried in the water,
carried in with it the oakham and wool from the surface of the sail,
which in other parts the water was not sufficiently agitated to wash
off. By the success of this expedient our leak was so far reduced
that, instead of gaining upon three pumps, it was easily kept under
by one. This was a new source of confidence and comfort; the people
could scarcely have expressed more joy if they had been already
in port." Cook goes on to observe in his journal that even when
everything looked at its worst both officers and crew exhibited
perfect possession of mind, and that everyone exerted himself to the
uttermost, "with a quiet and patient perseverance, equally distant
from the tumultuous violence of terror, and the gloomy inactivity of
despair".
[85] Admiral Sir W.J.L. Wharton, who edited Cook's original journal,
points, out that the idea seems equally to have emanated from
Captain Cook, its carrying out being merely entrusted to Monkhouse
because he was familiar with the process.
Sailing away with this device, which reduced the leaking of the ship
to only about 15 inches of water an hour, easily kept at bay by the
pumps, Cook passed close to two small islands, which at one time had
seemed almost unattainable, and which out of gratitude he called
Hope Islands. "In all the joy of our unexpected deliverance we had
not forgotten that there was nothing but a lock of wool between us
and destruction." At last they managed to reach the right kind of
harbour at the place where the great town of Cooktown now stands.
Here the ship was run up against a steep part of the shore, the
stores, provisions, and the men were all transferred to the beach,
where a camp was made and tents were put up for the sick; for, in
addition to their other troubles, scurvy had broken out. Amongst
other people thus affected was Tupia, the invaluable Polynesian
interpreter, who, however, no sooner got on shore than he caught
plenty of fresh fish and obtained herbs which cured his scurvy.
Banks explored the country in all directions. There were many traces
of the natives, but none of these people were visible. In his walks
he met with vast flocks of pigeons and crows[86], and the pigeons
(the plumage of which was exceedingly beautiful) proved most welcome
as stores of fresh food.
[86] These crows, so often referred to by Cook and the early
Australian explorers, were not true crows of the sub-family Corvinæ
(crows, ravens, or jackdaws), but belonged to genera like _Corcorax_
and _Gymnorhina_, more nearly related to choughs and shrikes.
On examining the main leak of the ship it was found that the coral
rocks had pierced through four planks even into the timbers of her
construction. There was not a splinter to be seen, but all was as
smooth as though it had been cut by sharp instruments. The vessel
would have been inevitably swamped but that a portion of the leak
was filled up by fragments of rock broken off the spikes of coral.
On shore, palms yielding "cabbages" were found, which proved to be
a grateful supply of vegetable food, and they even met with clumps
of wild bananas yielding small fruit with nice-tasting pulp, but
full of hard black seeds. "As I was walking this morning at a little
distance from the ship", wrote Cook in his journal, "I saw myself
one of the animals which had been so often described. It was of
a light mouse colour, and in size and shape very much resembled
a greyhound. It had a long tail also.... I should have taken it
for a wild dog if instead of running it had not leapt like a hare
or bird." It was, in fact, a kangaru. They also saw two animals
like dogs (dingoes), of a straw colour. There were very large
fruit-eating bats, "as big as a partridge", with wide-stretching
black wings.
At last, after they had been many days on shore, they succeeded
in getting into touch with the natives, who were more amenable
to reason than the savages farther south. Their skin was dark
chocolate, the hair was black, in some cases lank and in others
curly, but never woolly like the Papuans. Their bodies were painted
with streaks of red and white, the features of their faces were
agreeable, and their voices were soft and tuneful. One of them wore
the bone of a bird 5 or 6 inches long thrust through the gristle
between the nostrils. However, the kindness shown them led these
people on to acts of great presumption. They began to pester the
party on land with requests for food, and, when this was denied
them, gave way to transports of rage, and finally, seizing brands
from a fire, set light to the dry grass. Having in this way nearly
succeeded in destroying the camp, it was necessary to shoot at
them with muskets. With great difficulty peace was made, which was
perhaps fortunate, for the seamen, straying out in all directions
in search of food, encountered parties of native Australians who
might otherwise have killed them had they not been reassured as
to the intentions of the white men. In one such instance a seaman
found himself alone in a little camp of four natives, who had
kindled a fire and were broiling a bird over it together with part
of a kangaru. The seaman, being unarmed, was very much alarmed, but
had the presence of mind to assume a placid demeanour. He sat down
with the people and offered them his knife, but after examining
it they returned it to him politely. They examined his hands and
face and clothes with the greatest attention, and then made signs
that he could go away if he wished, a leave which he hastened to
take. It was invariably found, however, that presents given to
these people, whether cloth, beads, trinkets, or iron, were thrown
away as useless lumber. The expedition also obtained a specimen of
phalanger, a marsupial often misnamed the Australian opossum.[87]
These phalangers or cuscuses had already been sent home to European
collections from the Dutch East Indies, and had been described and
named by Buffon, the great eighteenth-century French zoologist.
Among the birds seen at _Endeavour_ Harbour, where the ship was laid
up for repairs, and where the chief fresh food of the crew was the
green turtle, were Australian crows, kites, hawks, black cockatoos
and white cockatoos, many beautiful parrots and parrakeets, a
variety of pigeons, tree-ducks (noted for their whistling cry),
geese, and curlews. On the islands off the coast which they touched
at as they sailed northwards there were large Monitor lizards;
and the nests of great eagles could be seen, mostly built on the
ground. In their passage northward they were again and again within
a few yards of destruction amongst the shoals, the coral reefs, the
sudden storms, and the holes of unfathomable water. The dangers of
navigating the unknown parts of the vast Pacific Ocean were greatly
increased by having a crazy ship and by being short of provisions,
"yet the first adventures of a first discoverer made us cheerfully
encounter every danger".
[87] See pp. 38, 39.
On Tuesday, 21 August, 1770, Cook rounded Cape York and realized
that he was quitting the shores of Australia and had found a passage
between that island continent and New Guinea--the straits through
which the Spaniard, Torres, had sailed in 1607, the existence of
which had been entirely overlooked or forgotten. Cook, believing
that he had at last found a passage into the Indian Ocean, landed on
a little islet, climbed its highest hill, and hoisted the British
flag, taking possession of the whole eastern coast of Australia (by
the name of "New South Wales") on behalf of His Majesty King George
III, "with all the bays, harbours, rivers, and islands situated upon
it".
No clue is given in Cook's journals to his reason for giving the
very inappropriate name of New South Wales to the eastern side of
the Australian continent.
Almost unconsciously they rounded the northernmost extremity of
Australia, feeling their way between islands, sandbanks, and shoals.
On 23 August, 1770, they saw an open sea to the westward and
realized that they were passing Tasman's Gulf of Carpentaria, and
that they had discovered (in reality, rediscovered) the important
strait between New Guinea and Australia, proving that the last-named
(which they knew as "New Holland"), though continental in size, was
in reality a separate island, and not connected with New Guinea.
New South Wales and much of Queensland was found by Cook to be
fairly well watered, with innumerable small brooks and springs,
but no great rivers. Access to the coast was much obstructed by
the dense mangrove thickets. Eucalyptus was the most prominent
type of tree in the forests. Cook observed two sorts of this "gum
tree", with its "narrow leaves not much unlike those of a willow",
and its gum of a deep-red colour. The pine trees[88] he mentions
were probably species of _Araucaria_ and _Frenela_ (miscalled
_Callitris_). They found three different kinds of palm[89], that
which grew in the southern part of New South Wales had fan-shaped
fronds, and the heart of the palm (namely, the undeveloped
fronds--the cabbage, as it was called by the mariners in those days,
who depended on it so much for vegetable food) was exceedingly sweet
to the taste. The nuts which it bore in great abundance were good
food for pigs. The second palm, also producing an edible cabbage,
had large pinnated fronds like those of the coconut; and the third
kind, which, like the second, was found only in northern Queensland,
was seldom more than 10 feet high, with fronds resembling those
of a large fern. It bore no cabbage, but a plentiful crop of nuts
the size of a large chestnut only rounder, nuts that were probably
roasted and eaten by the aborigines. Nevertheless, when eaten by
Europeans, they proved almost poisonous, causing them to vomit and
to be purged with great violence.
[88] The _Conifers_ or "pines" (they are not of the actual pine or
fir family of the northern hemisphere) of Australia belong chiefly
to the following types (I am informed by Doctor Otto Stapf of Kew
Gardens): _Frenela_, resembling the South African _Callitris_;
_Araucaria_ (Monkey-puzzle trees); _Podocarpus_ (related to
the yews); _Phyllocladus_ (often miscalled a "spruce" fir);
_Dacrydium_, _Dammara_ (a conifer producing much pitch or resin);
_Arthotaxis_ (in growth like a cypress); _Actinostrobus_; _Diselma_;
_Microcochys_; and _Pherosphæra_.
[89] The palms of Australia, according to a list kindly drawn
up by Dr. Stapf, belong to the following genera: _Calamus_ (the
climbing rattan or "cane" palms of northern Australia); _Kentia_, a
genus of six species of fan-shaped fronds, one of which was Cook's
"cabbage palm" with "nuts that were good for pigs"; _Clinostigma_;
_Ptychosperma_ (a genus extending to Tahiti and Fiji); _Areca_
(probably Cook's "second cabbage palm"); _Arenga_; _Caryota_; and
_Licuala_. This last genus of low-growing palms was probably the
third kind described by Cook, with fronds like a fern and nuts like
chestnuts.
The conclusions at which Cook arrived in regard to the aborigines
of Australia were singularly accurate, considering that he had
only landed about five times on the coast of New South Wales and
Queensland, and had in addition only the scanty records of Dampier
and the Dutch seamen regarding the western coast of Australia. He
argues from the utter savagery of these coast natives, and from
the Dutch accounts of the desolate, parched nature of the south
and west coasts of Australia, that the interior is probably mainly
desert and uninhabitable. Their houses, which were seen at their
best at Botany Bay, were just high enough for a man to sit upright
in, and not large enough for him to lie down at full length. They
were built with pliable rods as thick as a man's finger, in the form
of an oven, the two ends being stuck into the ground. These withes
were then covered with palm leaves and broad pieces of bark, and
the door was nothing but a large hole at one end. In other words,
they were precisely like the houses built by the pygmies in some
parts of the Congo Forest. Inside these huts they slept three or
four in number, coiled up. Their only implements seemed to be made
of bark or netted fibre. Pieces of bark were tied at the two ends
with some lithe twig which served as a handle, and these bark basins
or buckets would then hold water. In addition the natives roughly
knitted together long fibres into bags, which they slung by a string
over the head. But their fish hooks were very neatly made of shell,
and some exceedingly small. For striking turtle they had a barbed
wooden harpoon, the detachable end of which was fastened into a
staff of light wood, to which was tied a line of fibrous string,
while the other end of the bush rope was fastened to the harpoon.
After striking the turtle the barbed end of this weapon would become
detached in the animal's body, while the staff, being of light
wood, rose to the surface and served as a float by which the victim
could be traced, and also as a drag on his speed. They were able to
make string from some fibre which ranged from the thickness of a
half-inch rope to the fineness of a hair, and argued some skill on
their part. Their cooking was done by broiling on coals or baking in
a hole with the help of hot stones. They had no nets for catching
fish, though they used a hook and line and also the harpoon. The
boomerang was almost their only weapon for bringing down birds. They
produced fire by whirling a drilling-stick into a piece of soft
wood, getting a spark in less than two minutes. "We have often seen
one of them running along the shore, to all appearance with nothing
in his hand, who, stooping down for a moment at the distance of
every 50 or 100 yards, left fire behind him, as we could see first
by the smoke and then by the flame amongst the driftwood and other
litter. We had the curiosity to examine one of these planters of
fire when he set off, and we saw him wrap up a small spark in dry
grass, which when he had run a little way, having been fanned by the
air that his motion produced, began to blaze. He then laid it down
in a place convenient for his purpose, enclosing a spark of it in
another quantity of grass, and so continued his course."
By setting fire to the bush the natives managed to surround and kill
a number of animals--kangarus, emus, lizards, &c.
The lances of the Australians were of wood, sometimes with a shaft
made of cane or the stem of a bulrush. The actual weapon itself
was of hard wood, the point of which would be smeared with a resin
which gave it a polish and made it enter deeper into what it struck.
In the southern regions these lances usually had four prongs, each
pointed with bone or sharp shells, and barbed. All such insertions
of substances into the wood were held in their places by resin
(Eucalyptus or _Dammara_ gum). They could become terrible weapons,
for they were thrown with great force, and, owing to the smooth
resin, entered far into the flesh of the person aimed at, and could
never be drawn out without tearing the flesh or leaving sharp ragged
splinters of bone or shell behind. When fighting at close quarters
the lances were aimed with the hand, but at a greater distance were
thrown by an instrument which Cook calls a throwing-stick. This was
a plain, smooth piece of hard wood, highly polished, about 2 inches
broad, ½ inch thick, and 3 feet long, with a small knob or hook at
one end and a crosspiece about 3 or 4 inches long at the other.
The knob at one end caught into a small dent or hollow, which was
made for that purpose in the shaft of the lance near its point,
but was not made sufficiently deep or rough to detain the lance
when violently projected. When it was intended to hurl a lance by
this means it was laid along the machine, being held in position
by the knob entering the small hollow in the shaft, and the person
throwing it held both lance and throwing-stick over his shoulder.
He then, after a preliminary shake, hurled both the throwing-stick
and the lance with all his force, but the stick being stopped by the
cross-piece, which came against the shoulder with a sudden jerk, the
lance went forward with incredible swiftness and with so good an aim
that at a distance of 50 yards these black Australians were more
certain of their mark than the white men often were with their guns.
The only tools the people possessed seemed to be adzes with stone
blades, wooden mallets, sharp shells, and fragments of coral; but
for polishing their throwing-sticks and the points of their lances
they rubbed down the wood with a leaf of a kind of wild fig tree,
the underside of which had a very rough surface, which bit upon the
wood almost as keenly (remarks Cook) as the shaving grass of Europe
which was formerly used by English joiners.
* * * * *
As the _Endeavour_ sailed along the south coast of New Guinea the
breezes from the shore would be strongly impregnated with the
trees, shrubs, and herbage, which was pleasantly aromatic. At some
point on the south coast of New Guinea about 130 miles to the east
of Valsche Cape (False Cape) the _Endeavour_ anchored for a short
time whilst Cook, Banks, and a small party of men went on shore,
in all twelve persons well armed. The coast was very low, and
covered with a luxuriance of wood and herbage that can scarcely be
conceived. They were obliged to wade 200 yards till they reached
the strand, where they saw the prints of human feet. Walking along
the outskirts of the forest they came to a grove of coconut trees
on the banks of a little brackish stream. They looked at the fruit
very wistfully, but, not thinking it safe to climb, were obliged to
leave without tasting a single nut. Suddenly three Papuans rushed
out of the forest with a hideous shout, and as they ran towards them
the foremost threw something out of his hand which burnt exactly
like gunpowder but made no report. The other two instantly threw
their lances, and as there was now no time to be lost the Eurupeans
fired their guns, which were loaded with small shot. Several still
came on. Bullets were used, and then they ran away, whilst the white
men retreated to the water and a boat. As they waded away from the
shore a number of Papuans came out to attack them, which they did by
discharging some flaming substance through a short piece of stick,
probably a hollow cane. "This wonderful phenomenon was observed from
the ship, and the deception was so great that the people on board
thought they had firearms." Having made this attack they retired,
and the people of Cook's party picked up the fire-producing weapons.
They were found to be light darts about 4 feet long, of reed or
bamboo, pointed with hard wood in which were many barbs. They were
apparently hurled with a throwing-stick like the lances of the
Australians.
Passing by the south end of Timor they saw unexpectedly an island,
which they thought at first was a new discovery. It was Savu,
midway between Timor and Sumba, or Sandalwood Island. To their
great surprise they saw not only people dressed more or less after
the fashion of Europeans, but numerous flocks of sheep. The second
lieutenant landed and was received with great civility. Moving
round to a better anchorage they saw the Dutch colours. The raja
or chief of the island, who had with him a Portuguese interpreter,
explained that he would be delighted to afford them stores and other
assistance, if they could first obtain the permission of the Dutch
East India Company, without which he was not able to trade with any
other people. This Company was represented in Savu at that time
by a German named Lange. He came on board and behaved with great
civility, bringing with him the raja of the island. But in spite of
fine words it was with the utmost difficulty, and after many delays,
that Cook's party obtained any supply of fresh provisions, the
Dutch Company's agent pretending that he had received instructions
from his superior officers on the Island of Timor to render no
assistance. In fact, Cook would have fared very badly had it not
been for the inherent good nature of the Malay people of the island.
He pleaded with the raja for liberty to purchase one pig and some
rice, as they were so urgently in need of fresh provisions. The king
replied graciously that he would give them a dinner himself.
"About five o'clock dinner was ready; it was served in
six-and-thirty dishes, or rather baskets, containing alternately
rice and pork, and three bowls of earthenware, filled with the
liquor in which the pork had been boiled; these were ranged upon
the floor, and mats laid round them for us to sit upon. We were
then conducted by turns to a hole in the floor, near which stood a
man with water in a vessel made of the leaves of the fan-palm, who
assisted us in washing our hands. When this was done, we placed
ourselves round the victuals, and waited for the king. As he did
not come, we enquired for him, and were told that the custom of the
country did not permit the person who gave the entertainment to sit
down with his guests; but that, if we suspected the victuals to be
poisoned, he would come and taste it. We immediately declared that
we had no such suspicion, and desired that none of the rituals of
hospitality might be violated on our account. The Prime Minister
and Mr. Lange were of our party, and we made a most luxurious meal;
we thought the pork and rice excellent, and the broth not to be
despised; but the spoons, which were made of leaves, were so small
that few of us had patience to use them. After dinner, our wine
passed briskly about, and we again enquired for our royal host,
thinking that though the custom of his country would not allow
him to eat with us, he might at least share in the jollity of our
bottle; but he again excused himself, saying, that the master of a
feast should never be drunk, which there was no certain way to avoid
but by not tasting the liquor. We did not however drink our wine
where we had eaten our victuals; but as soon as we had dined made
room for the seamen and servants, who immediately took our places:
they could not despatch all that we had left, but the women who came
to clear away the bowls and baskets, obliged them to carry away with
them what they had not eaten."
At length the old man who was the king's Prime Minister, and who was
won over by the present of a spyglass and a broadsword, intervened
with a show of force, and the Dutch-German factor and his Portuguese
colleague had to give way. Cook purchased 9 buffaloes, 6 sheep,
3 pigs, 360 fowls, a few limes, some coconuts, dozens of eggs, a
little garlic, and several gallons of palm syrup--a most welcome
addition to the food supply of the ship, which by this time had been
reduced in the matter of fresh provisions to a single sheep, and
probably the saving of life for many invalids on board. The sheep
which he bought on the island were like those of Southern India,
with hair instead of wool, very long, pendent ears, and arched noses.
This small island of Savu was densely inhabited, and could raise
from out of the five principalities into which it was divided an
army of at least 7700 men armed with muskets, spears, lances, and
pole-axes. The people were somewhat elaborately dressed, and had a
great variety of food owing to the abundance of domestic animals and
of vegetables. They were made hideous by the abuse of the betelnut,
the chewing of which with lime darkened their teeth and wore them
down to the gums. But they were very proud of their pedigrees, which
they traced back for generations. Each raja set up in the principal
town of his province a large stone which served as a memorial of his
reign. Many of these stones were so large that it is difficult to
conceive by what means they were raised to their present position on
summits of hills. Muhammadanism had not yet reached them, nor had
Christianity. Their religion was described as "absurd", inasmuch as
each man chose his own god and determined for himself how he should
be worshipped. Nevertheless, their morals were irreproachable.
They were honest, and although warlike in disposition kept the
peace amongst one another. Their style of living was remarkable for
delicacy and cleanliness. They appeared to be healthy and long-lived.
From Savu the _Endeavour_ reached without difficulty Batavia, the
capital of Java and of the Dutch Indies. But her arrival at Batavia,
together with the facilities which were given to Cook by the Dutch
Government for repairing his ship--to say nothing of the pleasure
of finding oneself amongst Europeans and even Englishmen for the
first time after having sailed half round the globe--were of small
consolation in the presence of a terrible sickness which seized on
all of them owing to the unhealthy nature of the place. Tupia and
his boy Taito, who had come with them all the way from Tahiti, and
who had been through such wonderful adventures in New Zealand and
elsewhere, and who showed themselves so intensely delighted with the
varied aspect of civilization at Batavia, both succumbed to illness,
and died. Banks and Solander were so bad that they also nearly died;
Monkhouse, the surgeon, and several seamen perished. Cook himself
was very ill. Every individual, in fact, of the _Endeavour's_
crew was ill except the sailmaker, an old man between seventy and
eighty years of age. Five Englishmen out of the crew were buried at
Batavia, besides the two Tahitians.
From Java they sailed to the Cape of Good Hope, where they stayed
for rest and refreshment, and after calling at St. Helena the
_Endeavour_ anchored in the Downs off Deal, and at that place Cook
landed on 12 June, 1771, after his circumnavigation of the world,
which opened a new epoch in colonial history.
Cook was commended highly by the Admiralty for his services, and
he was made a Fellow by the Royal Society, very small rewards
for such a wonderful achievement. [To excuse their niggardliness
in this respect the Government of the day said, _after Cook was
dead_, that had he lived to return from his third voyage he might
have been made a baronet!] But perhaps the most striking evidence
of the insolent indifference to Cook's interests was displayed by
the Board of Admiralty in regard to Cook's Journals and Banks's
elaborate records of the ethnology, botany, and zoology observed in
the course of the wonderful voyage. All this material was placed in
the hands of a Dr. Hawkesworth by Lord Sandwich, the dissolute and
vicious Minister[90] at the head of the Admiralty, simply because
Hawkesworth had been introduced to him by the actor Garrick as a
writer of plays for the stage. Wishing to help Hawkesworth with
funds, without putting his hand in his pocket, Lord Sandwich handed
over to him Cook's Journals, and induced Banks to do the like with
his own work. Hawkesworth then sold the joint work of Cook and Banks
to publishers and booksellers for £6000, which he invested on his
own behalf, and which--for he died soon afterwards--passed to his
widow without benefiting Cook (Banks being rich did not need it) in
the least. Banks, it must be remembered, had spent something like
£8000 on the expedition.
[90] As is well shown in Admiral Wharton's editions of Cook's
_Journals_.