CHAPTER IV.

Narrative of Captain Cook's second Voyage round the World.

On the 13th of July, Captain Cook sailed from Plymouth, and on the

29th of the same month anchored in Funchiale Road, in the island of

Madeira. Having obtained a supply of water, wine, and other

necessaries at that island, he left it on the 1st of August, and

sailed to the southward. As he proceeded in his voyage, he made three

puncheons of beer of the inspissated juice of malt; and the liquor

produced was very brisk and drinkable. The heat of the weather, and

the agitation of the ship, had hitherto withstood all the endeavours

of our people to prevent this juice from being in a high state of

fermentation. If it could be kept from fermenting, it would be a most

valuable article at sea.

The captain, having found that his stock of water would not last to

the Cape of Good Hope, without putting his men to a scanty allowance,

resolved to stop at St. Jago, one of the Cape de Verd islands, for a

supply. At Port Praya, in this island, he anchored on the 10th of

August, and by the 14th had completed his water, and procured some

other refreshments; upon which he set sail and prosecuted his course.

He embraced the occasion, which his touching at St. Jago afforded him,

of giving such a delineation and description of Port Praya, and of the

supplies there to be obtained, as might be of service to future

navigators.

On the 20th of the month, the rain poured down upon our voyagers, not

in drops but in streams; and the wind at the same time being variable

and rough, the people were obliged to attend so constantly upon the

decks, that few of them escaped being completely soaked. This

circumstance is mentioned, to show the method that was taken by

Captain Cook to preserve his men from the evil consequences of the wet

to which they had been exposed. He had every thing to fear from the

rain, which is a great promoter of sickness in hot climates. But to

guard against this effect, he pursued some hints that had been

suggested to him by Sir Hugh Palliser and Captain Campbell, and took

care that the ship should be aired and dried with fires made between

the decks, and that the damp places of the vessel should be smoked;

beside which the people were ordered to air their bedding and to wash

and dry their clothes, whenever there was an opportunity. The result

of these precautions was, that there was not one sick person on board

the Resolution.

Captain Cook, on the 8th of September, crossed the line in the

longitude of 8° west, and proceeded, without meeting anything

remarkable, till the 11th of October. When at 6h. 24m. 12s. by Mr.

Kendal's watch, the moon rose about four digits eclipsed; soon after

which the gentlemen prepared to observe the end of the eclipse. The

observers were, the captain himself, and Mr. Forster, Mr. Wales, Mr.

Pickersgill, Mr. Gilbert, and Mr. Harvey.

Our commander had been informed, before he left England, that he

sailed at an improper season of the year, and that he should meet with

much calm weather, near and under the line. But though such weather

may happen in some years, it is not always, or even generally to be

expected. So far was it from being the case with Captain Cook, that he

had a brisk south-west wind in those very latitudes where the calms

had been predicted: nor was he exposed to any of the tornadoes, which

are so much spoken of by other navigators. On the 29th of the month,

between eight and nine o'clock at night, when our voyagers were near

the Cape of Good Hope, the whole sea, within the compass of their

sight, became at once, as it were, illuminated. The captain had been

formerly convinced, by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, that such

appearances in the ocean were occasioned by insects. Mr. Forster,

however, seemed disposed to adopt a different opinion. To determine

the question, our commander ordered some buckets of water to be drawn

up from alongside the ship, which were found full of an innumerable

quantity of small globular insects, about the size of a common pin's

head, and quite transparent. Though no life was perceived in them,

there could be no doubt of their being living animals, when in their

own proper element: and Mr. Forster became now well satisfied that

they were the cause of the sea's illumination.

On the 30th, the Resolution and Adventure anchored in Table Bay; soon

after which Captain Cook went on shore, and, accompanied by Captain

Furneaux, and the two Mr. Forsters, waited on Baron Plettenberg, the

governor of the Cape of Good Hope, who received the gentlemen with

great politeness, and promised them every assistance the place could

afford. From him our commander learned, that two French ships from the

Mauritius, about eight months before, had discovered land in the

latitude of 48° south, along which they sailed forty miles, till they

came to a bay, into which they were upon the point of entering, when

they were driven off, and separated in a hard gale of wind. Previously

to this misfortune, they had lost some of their boats and people, that

had been sent to sound the bay. Captain Cook was also informed by

Baron Plettenberg, that in the month of March, two other ships from

the island of Mauritius, had touched at the Cape in their way to the

South Pacific Ocean; where they were going to make discoveries, under

the command of M. Marion.

From the healthy condition of the crews, both of the Resolution and

Adventure, it was imagined by the captain that his stay at the Cape

would be very short. But the necessity of waiting till the requisite

provisions could be prepared and collected, kept him more than three

weeks at this place; which time was improved by him in ordering both

the ships to be caulked and painted, and in taking care that, in every

respect, their condition should be as good as when they left England.

On the 22d of November, our commander sailed from the Cape of Good

Hope, and proceeded on his voyage, in search of a southern continent.

Having gotten clear of the land, he directed his course for Cape

Circumcision; and, judging that cold weather would soon approach, he

ordered slops to be served to such of the people as were in want of

them, and gave to each man the fear-nought jacket and trowsers allowed

by the admiralty. On the 29th, the wind, which was west-north-west,

increased to a storm, that continued, with some few intervals of

moderate weather, till the 6th of December. By this gale, which was

attended with hail and rain, and which blew at times with such

violence that the ships could carry no sails, our voyagers were driven

far to the eastward of their intended course, and no hopes were left

to the captain of reaching Cape Circumcision. A still greater

misfortune was the loss of the principal part of the live stock on

board, consisting of sheep, hogs, and geese. At the same time, the

sudden transition from warm mild weather, to weather which was

extremely cold and wet, was so severely felt by our people, that it

was necessary to make some addition to their allowance of spirits, by

giving each of them a dram on particular occasions.

Our navigators, on the 10th of December, began to meet with islands of

ice. One of these islands was so much concealed from them by the

haziness of the weather, accompanied with snow and sleet, that they

were steering directly towards it, and did not see it till it was at a

less distance than that of a mile. Captain Cook judged it to be about

fifty feet high, and half a mile in circuit. It was flat at the top,

and its sides rose in a perpendicular direction, against which the sea

broke to a great height. The weather continuing to be hazy, the

captain, on account of the ice islands, was obliged to proceed with

the utmost caution. Six of them were passed on the 12th, some of which

were nearly two miles in circuit, and sixty feet high; nevertheless,

such were the force and height of the waves, that the sea broke quite

over them. Hence was exhibited a view, that for a few moments was

pleasing to the eye; but the pleasure was soon swallowed up in the

horror which seized upon the mind, from the prospect of danger. For if

a ship should be so unfortunate as to get on the weather side of one

of these islands, she would be dashed to pieces in a moment.

The vessels, on the 14th, were stopped by an immense field of low ice,

to which no end could be seen, either to the east, west, or south. In

different parts of this field were islands or hills of ice, like those

which our voyagers had found floating in the sea, and twenty of which

had presented themselves to view the day before. Some of the people on

board imagined that they saw land over the ice, and Captain Cook

himself at first entertained the same sentiment. But upon more

narrowly examining these ice hills, and the various appearances they

made when seen through the haze, he was induced to change his opinion.

On the 18th, though in the morning our navigators had been quite

imbayed, they were, notwithstanding, at length enabled to get clear of

the field of ice. They were, however, at the same time, carried in

among the ice islands, which perpetually succeeded one another; which

were almost equally dangerous; and the avoiding of which was a matter

of the greatest difficulty. But perilous as it is to sail in a thick

fog, among these floating rocks, as our commander properly called

them; this is preferable to the being entangled with immense fields of

ice under the same circumstances. In this latter case the great danger

to be apprehended, is the getting fast in the ice; a situation which

would be alarming in the highest degree.

It had been a generally received opinion, that such ice as hath now

been described, is formed in bays and rivers. Agreeably to this

supposition, our voyagers were led to believe that land was not far

distant, and that it lay to the southward behind the ice. As,

therefore, they had sailed above thirty leagues along the edge of the

ice, without finding a passage to the south, Captain Cook determined

to run thirty or forty leagues to the east, and afterward to endeavour

to get to the southward. If, in this attempt, he met with no land or

other impediment, his design was to stretch behind the ice, and thus

to bring the matter to a decision. The weather, at this time, affected

the senses with a feeling of cold much greater than that which was

pointed out by the thermometer, so that the whole crew complained. In

order the better to enable them to sustain the severity of the cold,

the Captain directed the sleeves of their jackets to be lengthened

with baize; and had a cap made for each man of the same stuff,

strengthened with canvass. These precautions greatly contributed to

their comfort and advantage. It is worthy of observation, that

although the weather was as sharp, on the 25th of December, as might

have been expected, in the same month of the year, in any part of

England, this was the middle of summer with our navigators. Some of

the people now appearing to have symptoms of the scurvy, fresh wort

was given them every day, prepared under the direction of the

surgeons, from the malt which had been provided for the purpose.

By the 29th, it became sufficiently ascertained, from the course our

commander had pursued, that the field of ice, along which the ships

had sailed, did not join to any land as had been conjectured. At this

time, Captain Cook came to a resolution, provided he met with no

impediment, to run as far west as the meridian of Cape Circumcision.

While he was prosecuting this design, a gale arose, on the 31st, which

brought with it such a sea, as rendered it very dangerous for the

vessels to remain among the ice; and the danger was increased by

discovering an immense field to the north, which extended farther than

the eye could reach. As our voyagers were not above two or three miles

from this field, and were surrounded by loose ice, there was no time

to deliberate. They hauled to the South; and though they happily got

clear, it was not till the ships had received several hard knocks from

the loose pieces, which were of the largest kind. On Friday, the 1st

of January, 1773, the gale abated; and on the next day, in the

afternoon, our people had the felicity of enjoying the sight of the

moon, the face of which had not been seen by them but once since they

had departed from the Cape of Good Hope. Hence a judgment may be

formed of the sort of weather they had been exposed to, from the time

of their leaving that place. The present opportunity was eagerly

seized, for making several observations of the sun and moon.

Captain Cook was now nearly in the same longitude which is assigned to

Cape Circumcision, and about ninety-five leagues to the south of the

latitude in which it is said to lie. At the same time the weather was

so clear, that land might have been seen at the distance of fourteen

or fifteen leagues. He concluded it, therefore, to be very probable,

that what Bouvet took for land was nothing but mountains of ice,

surrounded by loose or field ice. Our present navigators had naturally

been led into a similar mistake. The conjecture, that such ice as had

lately been seen was joined to land, was a very plausible one, though

not founded on fact. Upon the whole, there was good reason to believe,

that no land was to be met with, under this meridian, between the

latitude of fifty-five and fifty-nine, where some had been supposed to

exist.

Amidst the obstructions Captain Cook was exposed to, from the ice

islands which perpetually succeeded each other, he derived one

advantage from them, and that was, a supply of fresh water. Though the

melting and stowing away of the ice takes up some time, and is,

indeed, rather tedious, this method of watering is otherwise the most

expeditious our commander had ever known. The water produced was

perfectly sweet and well tasted. Upon the ice islands, penguins,

albatrosses, and other birds were frequently seen. It had hitherto

been the received opinion, that such birds never go far from land, and

that the sight of them is a sure indication of its vicinity. That this

opinion is not well founded, at least where ice islands exist, was now

evinced by multiplied experience.

By Sunday the 17th of January, Captain Cook reached the latitude of

67° 15' south, when he could advance no farther. At this time the ice

was entirely closed to the south, in the whole extent from east to

west-south-west, without the least appearance of any opening. The

captain, therefore, thought it no longer prudent to persevere in

sailing southward; especially as the summer was already half spent,

and there was little reason to hope that it would be found practicable

get round the ice. Having taken this resolution, he determined to

proceed directly in search of the land which had lately been

discovered by the French; and as, in pursuing his purpose, the weather

was clear at intervals, he spread the ships abreast four miles from

each other, in order the better to investigate any thing that might

lie in their way. On the 1st of February our voyagers were in the

latitude of 48° 30' south, and in longitude 58° 7' east, nearly in the

meridian of the island of St. Mauritius. This was the situation in

which the land said to have been discovered by the French was to be

expected; but as no signs of it had appeared, our commander bore away

to the east. Captain Furneaux, on the same day, informed Captain Cook,

that he had just seen a large float of sea, or rock weed, and about it

several of the birds called divers. These were certain signs of the

vicinity of land, though whether it lay to the east or west could not

possibly be known. Our commander, therefore, formed the design of

proceeding in his present latitude four or five degrees of longitude

to the west of the meridian he was now in, and then to pursue his

researches eastward. The west and north-west winds, which had

continued for some days, prevented him from carrying this purpose into

execution. However, he was convinced from the perpetual high sea he

had lately met with, that there could be no great extent of land to

the west.

While Captain Cook, on the next day, was steering eastward, Captain

Furneaux told him that he thought the land was to the north-west of

them; as he had, at one time, observed the sea to be smooth, when the

wind blew in that direction. This observation was by no means

conformable to the remarks which had been made by our commander

himself. Nevertheless, such was his readiness to attend to every

suggestion, that he resolved to clear up the point, if the wind would

admit of his getting to the west in any reasonable time. The wind, by

veering to the north, did admit of his pursuing the search; and the

result of it was, his conviction that if any land was near, it could

only be an island of no considerable extent.

Captain Cook and his philosophical friends, while they were traversing

this part, of the southern ocean, paid particular attention to the

variation of the compass, which they found to be from 27° 50' to 30°

26' west. Probably the mean of the two extremes, viz. 29° 4', was the

nearest the truth, as it coincided with the variation observed on

board the Adventure. One unaccountable circumstance is worthy of

notice, though it did not now occur for the first time. It is, that

when the sun was on the starboard of the ship, the variation was the

least; and when on the larboard side, the greatest.

On the 8th, our commander, in consequence of no signals having been

answered by the Adventure, had reason to apprehend that a separation

had taken place. After waiting two days, during which guns were kept

discharging, and false fires were burned in the night, the fact was

confirmed; so that the Resolution was obliged to proceed alone in her

voyage. As she pursued her course, penguins and other birds, from time

to time, appeared in great numbers; the meeting with which gave our

navigators some hopes of finding land, and occasioned various

speculations with regard to its situation. Experience, however,

convinced them, that no stress was to be laid on such hopes. They were

so often deceived, that they could no longer look upon any of the

oceanic birds, which frequent high latitudes, as sure signs of the

vicinity of land.

In the morning of the 17th, between midnight and three o'clock, lights

were seen in the heavens, similar to those which are known in the

northern hemisphere, by the name of the Aurora Borealis. Captain Cook

had never heard that an Aurora Australis had been seen before. The

officer of the watch observed, that it sometimes broke out in spiral

rays, and in a circular form; at which time, its light was very

strong, and its appearance beautiful. It was not perceived to have any

particular direction. On the contrary, at various times, it was

conspicuous in different parts of the heavens, and diffused its light

throughout the whole atmosphere.

On the 20th, our navigators imagined that they saw land to the

south-west. Their conviction of its real existence was so strong, that

they had no doubt of the matter; and accordingly they endeavoured to

work up to it, in doing which the weather was favourable to their

purpose. However what had been taken for land proved only to be

clouds, that in the evening entirely disappeared, and left a clear

horizon, in which nothing could be discerned but ice islands. At night

the Aurora Australis was again seen, and the appearance it assumed was

very brilliant and luminous. It first discovered itself in the east,

and in a short time spread over the whole heavens.

In the night of the 23rd, when the ship was in latitude 61° 52' south,

and longitude 95° 2' east, the weather being exceedingly stormy,

thick, and hazy, with sleet and snow, our voyagers were on every side

surrounded with danger. In such a situation it was natural for them to

wish for daylight: but daylight, when it came, served only to increase

their apprehensions, by exhibiting those huge mountains of ice to

their view, which the darkness had prevented them from seeing. These

unfavourable circumstances, at so advanced a season of the year,

discouraged Captain Cook from putting into execution a resolution he

had formed, of once more crossing the antarctic circle. Accordingly,

early in the morning of the 24th, he stood to the north, with a very

hard gale, and a very high sea, which made great destruction among the

ice islands. But so far was this incident from being of any advantage

to our navigators, that it greatly increased the number of pieces they

had to avoid. The large pieces, which broke from the ice islands, were

found to be much more dangerous than the islands themselves. While the

latter rose so high out of the water, that they could generally be

seen, unless the weather was very thick and hazy, before our people

nearly approached them, the others could not be discerned, in the

night, till they were under the ship's bows. These dangers, however,

were now become so familiar to the captain and his company, that the

apprehensions they caused were never of long duration; and a

compensation was, in some degree, made for them, by the seasonable

supplies of fresh water, which the ice islands afforded, and by their

very romantic appearance. The foaming and dashing of the waves into

the curious holes and caverns which were formed in many of them

greatly heightened the scene; and the whole exhibited a view, that at

once filled the mind with admiration and horror, and could only be

described by the hand of an able painter.

In sailing from the 25th to the 28th, the wind was accompanied with a

large hollow sea, which rendered Captain Cook certain, that no land,

of any considerable extent, could lie within a hundred or a hundred

and fifty leagues from east to south-west. Though this was still the

summer season in that part of the world, and the weather was become

somewhat warmer than it had been before, yet such were the effects of

the cold, that a sow having farrowed nine pigs in the morning, all of

them, notwithstanding the utmost care to prevent it, were killed

before four o'clock in the afternoon. From the same cause, the captain

himself and several of his people had their fingers and toes

chilblained. For some days afterward, the cold considerably abated;

but still it could not be said that there was summer weather,

according to our commander's ideas of summer in the northern

hemisphere, as far as sixty degrees of latitude, which was nearly as

far as he had then been.

As he proceeded on his voyage, from the 28th of February to the 11th

of March, he had ample reason to conclude, from the swell of the sea

and other circumstances, that there could be no land to the south, but

what must lie at a great distance.

The weather having been clear on the 13th and 14th, Mr. Wales had an

opportunity of getting some observations of the sun and moon; the

results of which, reduced to noon, when the latitude was 58° 22'

south, gave 136° 22' east longitude. Mr. Kendal's and Mr. Arnold's

watches gave each of them 134° 42'; and this was the first and only

time in which they had pointed out the same longitude, since the ships

had departed from England. The greatest difference, however, between

them, since our voyagers had left the Cape, had not much exceeded two

degrees.

From the moderate, and what might almost be called pleasant weather,

which had occurred for two or three days, Captain Cook began to wish

that he had been a few degrees of latitude farther south; and he was

even tempted to incline his course that way. But he soon met with

weather which convinced him that he had proceeded full far enough; and

that the time was approaching when these seas could not be navigated

without enduring intense cold. As he advanced in his course, he became

perfectly assured, from repeated proofs, that he had left no land

behind him in the direction of west-south-west; and that no land lay

to the south on this side sixty degrees of latitude. He came,

therefore, to a resolution, on the 17th, to quit the high southern

latitudes, and to proceed to New Zealand, with a view of looking for

the Adventure, and of refreshing his people. He had, also, some

thoughts, and even a desire, of visiting the east coast of Van

Dieman's Land, in order to satisfy himself whether it joined the coast

of New South Wales. The wind however, not permitting him to execute

this part of his design, he shaped his course for New Zealand, in

sight of which he arrived on the 25th, and where he came to anchor on

the day following, in Dusky Bay. He had now been a hundred and

seventeen days at sea, during which time he had sailed three thousand

six hundred and sixty-leagues without having once come within sight of

land.

After so long a voyage, in a high southern latitude, it might

reasonably have been expected, that many of Captain Cook's people

would be ill of the scurvy. This, however, was not the case. So

salutary were the effects of the sweet wort, and several articles of

provision, and especially of the frequent airing and sweetening of the

ship, that there was only one man on board who could be said to be

much afflicted with the disease; and even in that man, it was chiefly

occasioned by a bad habit of body, and a complication of other

disorders.

As our commander did not like the place in which he had anchored, he

sent Lieutenant Pickersgill over to the south-east side of the bay, in

search of a better; and the lieutenant succeeded in finding a harbour

that was in every respect desirable. In the meanwhile, the

fishing-boat was very successful; returning with fish sufficient for

the whole crew's supper and in the morning of the next day, as many

were caught as served for dinner. Hence were derived certain hopes of

being plentifully supplied with this article. Nor did the shores and

woods appear more destitute of wild fowl; so that our people had the

prospect of enjoying, with ease, what, in their situation, might be

called the luxuries of life. These agreeable circumstances determined

Captain Cook to stay some time in the bay, in order to examine it

thoroughly; as no one had ever landed before on any of the southern

parts of New Zealand.

On the 27th, the ship entered Pickersgill Harbour; for so it was

called, from the name of the gentleman by whom it had first been

discovered. Here wood, for fuel and other purposes, was immediately at

hand; and a fine stream of fresh water was not above a hundred yards

from the stern of the vessel. Our voyagers, being thus advantageously

situated, began vigorously to prepare for their necessary occupations

by clearing places in the woods, in order to set up the astronomer's

observatory, and the forge for the iron work, and to erect tents for

the sailmakers and coopers. They applied themselves, also, to the

brewing of beer from the branches or leaves of a tree, which greatly

resembled the American black spruce. Captain Cook was persuaded, from

the knowledge which he had of this tree, and from the similarity it

bore to the spruce, that, with the addition of inspissated juice of

wort and molasses, it would make a very wholesome liquor, and supply

the want of vegetables, of which the country was destitute. It

appeared, by the event, that he was not mistaken in his judgment.

Several of the natives were seen on the 28th, who took little notice

of the English, and were very shy of access; and the captain did not

choose to force an intercourse with them, as he had been instructed,

by former experience, that the best method of obtaining was to leave

time and place to themselves. While our commander continued in his

present situation, he took every opportunity of examining the bay. As

he was prosecuting his survey of it, on the 6th of April, his

attention was directed to the north side, where he discovered a fine

capacious cove, in the bottom of which is a fresh-water river. On the

west side are several beautiful cascades; and the shores are so steep

that water might directly be conveyed from them into the ship.

Fourteen ducks, besides, other birds, having been shot in this place,

he gave it the name of Duck Cove. When he was returning in the

evening, he met with three of the natives, one man and two women,

whose fears he soon dissipated, and whom he engaged in a conversation,

that was little understood on either side. The youngest of the women

had a volubility of tongue that could not be exceeded; and she

entertained Captain Cook, and the gentlemen who accompanied him with a

dance.

By degrees, our commander obtained the good will and confidence of the

Indians. His presents, however, were at first received with much

indifference, hatchets and spike-nails excepted. At a visit, on the

12th, from a family of the natives, the captain, perceiving they

approached the ship with great caution, met them in a boat, which he

quitted when he came near them, and went into their canoe. After all,

he could not prevail upon them to go on board the Resolution; but at

length they put on shore in a little creek, and seating themselves

abreast the English vessel, entered into familiar conversation with

several of the officers and seamen; in which they paid a much greater

regard to some, whom they probably mistook for females, than to

others. So well indeed, were they now reconciled to our voyagers, that

they took up their quarters nearly within the distance of a hundred

yards from the ship's watering place. Captain Cook, in his interview

with them, had caused the bagpipes and fife to play, and the drum to

beat. The two former they heard with apparent insensibility; but the

latter excited in them a certain degree of attention.

On the 18th, a chief, with whom some connexions had already been

formed, was induced, together with his daughter, to come on board the

Resolution. Previously to his doing it, he presented the captain with

a piece of cloth and a green talk hatchet. He gave also a piece of

cloth to Mr. Forster; and the girl gave another to Mr. Hodges. Though

this custom of making presents, before any are received, is common

with the natives of the South Sea isles, our commander had never till

now seen it practised in New Zealand. Another thing performed by the

chief before he went on board was the taking of a small green branch

in his hand, with which he struck the ship's side several times,

repeating a speech or prayer. This manner, as it were, of making peace

is likewise prevalent among all the nations of the South Seas. When

the chief was carried into the cabin, he viewed every part of it with

some degree of surprise; but it was not possible to fix his attention

to any one object for a single moment. The works of art appeared to

him in the same light as those of nature, and were equally distant

from his powers of comprehension. He and his daughter seemed to be the

most struck with the number of the decks, and other parts of the ship.

As Captain Cook proceeded in examining Dusky Bay, he occasionally met

with some few more of the natives, with regard to whom he used every

mode of conciliation. On the 20th the chief and his family, who had

been more intimate with our navigators than any of the rest of the

Indians, went away, and never returned again. This was the more

extraordinary, as in all his visits he had been gratified with

presents. From different persons, he had gotten nine or ten hatchets,

and three or four times that number of large spike nails, besides a

variety of other articles. So far as these things might be deemed

riches in New Zealand, he was undoubtedly become by far the most

wealthy man in the whole country.

One employment of our voyagers, while in Dusky Bay, consisted in seal

hunting, an animal which was found serviceable for three purposes. The

skins were made use of for rigging, the fat afforded oil for the

lamps, and the flesh was eaten. On the 24th, the captain, having five

geese remaining of those he had brought with him from the Cape of Good

Hope, went and left them at a place to which he gave the name of Goose

Cove. This place he fixed upon for two reasons; first, because there

were no inhabitants to disturb them; and, secondly, because here was

the greatest supply of proper food; so that he had no doubt of their

breeding, hoped that in time they might spread over the whole country,

to its eminent advantage. Some days afterward, when everything

belonging to the ship had been removed from the shore, he set fire to

the top-wood in order to dry a piece of ground, which he dug up, and

sowed with several sorts of garden seeds. The soil, indeed, was not

such as to promise much success to the planter; but it was the best

that could be discovered.

The 25th of April was the eighth fair day our people had successively

enjoyed; and there was reason to believe that such a circumstance was

very uncommon in the place where they now lay, and at that season of

the year. This favourable weather afforded them the opportunity of

more speedily completing their wood and water, and of putting the ship

into a condition for sea. On the evening of the 25th, it began to

rain; and the weather was afterwards extremely variable, being, at

times, in a high degree wet, cold, and stormy. Nothing, however,

prevented Captain Cook from prosecuting, with his usual sagacity and

diligence, his search into every part of Dusky Bay; and, as there are

few places in New Zealand where necessary refreshments may be so

plentifully obtained, as in this bay, he hath taken care to give such

a description of it, and of the adjacent country, as may be of service

to succeeding navigators. Although this country lies far remote from

what is now the trading part of the world, yet, as he justly observes,

we can by no means tell what use future ages may derive from the

discoveries made in the present.

The various anchoring places are delineated on our commander's chart,

and the most convenient of them he has particularly described. Not

only about Dusky Bay, but through all the southern part of the western

coast of Tavai-poenammo, the country is exceedingly mountainous. A

prospect more rude and craggy is rarely to be met with; for, inland,

there are only to be seen the summits of mountains of a tremendous

height, and consisting of rocks that are totally barren and naked,

excepting where they are covered with snow. But the land which borders

on the sea-coast is thickly clothed with wood almost down to the

water's edge; and this is the case with regard to all the adjoining

islands. The trees are of various kinds, and are fit for almost every

possible use. Excepting in the river Thames, Captain Cook had not

found finer timber in all New Zealand; the most considerable species

of which is the spruce tree; for that name he had given it, from the

similarity of its foliage to the American spruce, though the wood is

more ponderous, and bears a greater resemblance to the pitch pine.

Many of these trees are so large, that they would be able to furnish

mainmasts for fifty-gun ships. Amidst the variety of aromatic trees

and shrubs which this part of New Zealand produced, there was none

which bore fruit fit to be eaten. The country was not found so

destitute of quadrupeds as was formerly imagined.

As Dusky Bay presented many advantages to our navigators, so it was

attended with some disagreeable circumstances. There were great

numbers of small black sandflies, which were troublesome to a degree

that our commander had never experienced before. Another evil arose

from the continual quantity of rain that occurred in the bay. This

might, indeed, in part proceed from the season of the year: but it is

probable that the country must at all times be subject to much wet

weather, in consequence of the vast height and vicinity of the

mountains. It was remarkable that the rain, though our people were

perpetually exposed to it, was not productive of any evil

consequences. On the contrary, such of the men as were sick and

complaining when they entered the bay, recovered daily, and the whole

crew soon became strong and vigorous. So happy a circumstance could

only be attributed to the healthiness of the place, and the fresh

provisions it afforded; among which the beer was a very material

article.

The inhabitants of Dusky Bay are of the same race with the other

natives of New Zealand, speak the same language, and adhere nearly to

the same customs. Their mode of life appears to be a wandering one;

and though they are few in number, no traces were remarked of their

families being connected together In any close bonds of union or

friendship.

While the Resolution lay in the bay, Mr. Wales made a variety of

scientific observations relative to latitude and longitude, the

variation of the compass, and the diversity of the tides.

When Captain Cook left Dusky Bay, he directed his course for Queen

Charlotte's Sound, where he expected to find the Adventure. This was

on the 11th of May, and nothing remarkable occurred till the 17th,

when the wind at once flattened to a calm, the sky became suddenly

obscured by dark dense clouds, and there was every prognostication of

a tempest. Soon after, six waterspouts were seen, four of which rose

and spent themselves between the ship and the land; the fifth was at a

considerable distance, on the other side of the vessel; and the sixth,

the progressive motion of which was not in a straight, but in a

crooked line, passed within fifty yards of the stern of the

Resolution, without producing any evil effect. As the captain had been

informed that the firing of a gun would dissipate waterspouts, he was

sorry that he had not tried the experiment. But, though he was near

enough, and had a gun ready for the purpose, his mind was so deeply

engaged in viewing these extraordinary meteors, that he forgot to give

the necessary directions.

On the next day, the Resolution came within sight of Queen Charlotte's

Sound, where Captain Cook had the satisfaction of discovering the

Adventure; and both ships felt uncommon joy at thus meeting again

after an absence of fourteen weeks. As the events which happened to

Captain Furneaux, during the separation of the two vessels, do not

fall within the immediate design of the present narrative, it may be

sufficient to observe, that he had an opportunity of examining, with

somewhat more accuracy than had hitherto been done, Van Dieman's Land,

and his opinion was, that there are no straits between this land and

New Holland, but a very deep bay. He met, likewise, with farther

proofs, that the natives of New Zealand are eaters of human flesh.

The morning after Captain Cook's arrival in Queen Charlotte's Sound,

he went himself, at daybreak, to look for scurvy-grass, celery, and

other vegetables; and he had the good fortune to return with a

boatload, in a very short space of time. Having found, that a

sufficient quantity of these articles might be obtained for the crews

of both the ships, he gave orders that they should be boiled with

wheat and portable broth, every day for breakfast; and with pease and

broth for dinner. Experience had taught him, that the vegetables now

mentioned, when thus dressed, are extremely beneficial to seamen, in

removing the various scorbutic complaints to which they are subject.

Our commander had entertained a desire of visiting Van Dieman's Land,

in order to inform himself whether it made a part of New Holland. But

as this point had been, in a great measure, cleared up by Captain

Furneaux, he came to a resolution to continue his researches to the

east, between the latitudes of 41° and 46°; and he directed

accordingly, that the ships should be gotten ready for putting to sea

as soon as possible. On the 20th, he sent on shore the only ewe and

ram that remained of those which, with the intention of leaving them

in this country, he had brought from the Cape of Good Hope. Soon after

he visited several gardens, that by order of captain Furneaux had been

made and planted with various articles; all of which were in such a

flourishing state, that, if duly attended to, they promised to be of

great utility to the natives. The next day, Captain Cook himself set

some men to work to form a garden on Long Island, which he stocked

with different seeds, and particularly with the roots of turnips,

carrots, parsnips, and potatoes. These were the vegetables that would

be of the most real use to the Indians, and of these it was easy to

give them an idea, by comparing them with such roots as they

themselves knew. On the 22nd, Captain Cook received the unpleasant

intelligence, that the ewe and ram, which with so much care and

trouble he had brought to this place, were both of them found dead. It

was supposed that they had eaten some poisonous plant; and by this

accident all the captain's hopes of stocking New Zealand with a breed

of sheep were instantly blasted.

The intercourse which our great navigator had with the inhabitants of

the country, during this his second visit to Queen Charlotte's Sound,

was of a friendly nature. Two or three families took up their abode

near the ships, and employed themselves daily in fishing, and in

supplying the English with the fruits of their labour. No small

advantage hence accrued to our people, who were by no means such

expert fishers as the natives, nor were any of our methods of fishing

equal to theirs. Thus, in almost every state of society, particular

arts of life are carried to perfection; and there is something which

the most polished nations may learn from the most barbarous.

On the 2nd of June, when the Resolution and Adventure were almost

ready to put to sea, Captain Cook sent on shore, on the east side of

the sound, two goats, a male and female; and Captain Furneaux left,

near Cannibal Cove, a boar and two breeding sows. The gentlemen had

little doubt but that the country would, in time, be stocked with

these animals, provided they were not destroyed by the Indians before

they became wild. Afterwards there would be no danger; and as the

natives knew nothing of their being left behind, it was hoped that it

might be some time before they would be discovered.

It is remarkable that, during Captain Cook's second visit to Charlotte

Sound, he was not able to recollect the face of any one person whom he

had seen there three years before. Nor did it once appear, that even a

single Indian had the least knowledge of our commander, or of any of

our people who had been with him in his last voyage. Hence he thought

it highly probable, that the greatest part of the natives who

inhabited this sound to the beginning of the year 1770, had either

since been driven out of it, or had removed, of their own accord, to

some other situation. Not one-third of the inhabitants were there now,

that had been seen at that time. Their strong hold on the point of

Motuara was deserted, and in every part of the sound many forsaken

habitations were discovered. In the captain's opinion, there was not

any reason to believe, that the place had ever been very populous.

From comparing the two voyages together, it may be collected that the

Indians of Eahei-nomauwe are in somewhat of a more improved state of

society than those of Tavai-poenammo.

Part of the 4th of June was employed by Captain Cook in visiting a

chief and a whole tribe of the natives, consisting of between ninety

and a hundred persons, including men, women and children. After the

captain had distributed some presents among these people, and shewn to

the chief the gardens which had been made, he returned on board, and

spent the remainder of the day in the celebration of his royal

master's nativity. Captain Furneaux and all his officers were invited

upon the occasion; and the seamen were enabled, by a double allowance,

to partake of the general joy.

As some might think it an extraordinary step in our commander, to

proceed in discoveries so far south as forty-six degrees of latitude

in the very depth of winter, he has recorded his motives for this part

of his conduct. Winter, he acknowledges, is by no means favourable for

discoveries. Nevertheless, it appeared to him to be necessary that

something should be done in that season, in order to lessen the work

in which he was engaged; and lest he should not be able to finish the

discovery of the southern part of the south Pacific Ocean in the

ensuing summer. Besides, if he should discover any land in his route

to the east, he would be ready to begin to explore it, as soon as ever

the season should be favourable. Independently of all these

considerations, he had little to fear; having two good ships well

provided, and both the crews being healthy. Where then could he better

employ his time? If he did nothing more, he was at least in hopes of

being enabled to point out to posterity, that these seas may be

navigated, and that it is practicable to pursue discoveries even in

the depth of winter. Such was the ardour of our navigator for

prosecuting the ends of his voyage, in circumstances which would have

induced most men to act a more cautious part!

During Captain Cook's stay in the sound, he had observed, that the

second visit to this country had not mended the morals of the natives

of either sex. He had always looked upon the females of New Zealand as

more chaste than the generality of Indian women. Whatever favours a

few of them might have granted to the people in the Endeavour, such

intercourse usually took place in a private manner, and did not appear

to be encouraged by the men. But now the captain was told, that the

male Indians were the chief promoters of this shameful traffic, and

that, for a spikenail, or any other thing they valued, they would

oblige the women to prostitute themselves, whether it were agreeable

or contrary to their inclinations. At the same time no regard was paid

to the privacy which decency required. The account of this fact must

be read with concern by every wellwisher to the good order and

happiness of society, even without adverting to considerations of a

higher nature.

On the 7th of June, Captain Cook put to sea from Queen Charlotte's

Sound, with the Adventure in company. I shall omit the nautical part

of the route from New Zealand to Otaheite, which continued till the

15th of August; and shall only select such circumstances as are more

immediately suitable to the design of the present narrative. It was

found, on the 29th of July, that the crew of the Adventure were in a

sickly state. Her cook was dead, and about twenty of her best men were

rendered incapable of duty by the scurvy and flux. At this time, no

more than three men were on the sick list on board the Resolution; and

only one of these was attacked with the scurvy. Some others, however,

began to discover the symptoms of it; and, accordingly, recourse was

had to wort, marmalade of carrots, and the rob of lemons and oranges,

with the usual success.

Captain Cook could not account for the prevalence of the scurvy being

so much greater in the Adventure than in the Resolution, unless it was

owing to the crew of the former being more scorbutic when they arrived

in New Zealand than the crew of the latter, and to their eating few or

no vegetables while they lay in Queen Charlotte's Sound. This arose

partly from their want of knowing the right sorts, and partly from the

dislike which seamen have to the introduction of a new diet. Their

aversion to any unusual change of food is so great, that it can only

be overcome by the steady and persevering example and authority of a

commander. Many of Captain Cook's people, officers as well as common

sailors, disliked the boiling of celery, scurvy-grass, and other

greens with pease and wheat; and by some the provision, thus prepared,

was refused to be eaten. But, as this had no effect on the captain's

conduct, their prejudice gradually subsided: they began to like their

diet as much as the rest of their companions; and, at length, there

was hardly a man in the ship who did not attribute the freedom of the

crew from the scurvy, to the beer and vegetables which had been made

use of at New Zealand. Henceforward, whenever the seamen came to a

place where vegetables could be obtained, our commander seldom found

it necessary to order them to be gathered; and, if they were scarce,

happy was the person who could lay hold on them first.

On the 1st of August, when the ships were in the latitude of 25° 1',

and the longitude of 130° 6' west, they were nearly in the same

situation with that which is assigned by Captain Carteret for

Pitcairn's Island, discovered by him in 1767. For this island,

therefore, our voyagers diligently looked; but saw nothing. According

to the longitude in which he had placed it, Captain Cook must have

passed it fifteen leagues to the west. But as this was uncertain, he

did not think it prudent to lose any time in searching for it, as the

sickly state of the Adventure's people required as speedy an arrival

as possible at a place of refreshment. A sight of it, however, would

have been of use in verifying or correcting, not only the longitude of

Pitcairn's Island, but of the others discovered by Captain Carteret in

that neighbourhood. It is a diminution of the value of that

gentleman's voyage, that his longitude was not confirmed by

astronomical observations, and that hence it was liable to errors, the

correction of which was out of his power.

As Captain Cook had now gotten to the northward of Captain Carteret's

tracks, he no longer entertained any hopes of discovering a continent.

Islands were all that he could expect to find, until he returned again

to the south. In this and his former voyage, he had crossed the ocean

in the latitude of 40° and upwards, without meeting any thing which

could, in the least, induce him to believe that he should attain the

great object of his pursuit. Every circumstance concurred to convince

him, that, between the meridian of America and New Zealand, there is

no southern continent; and that there is no continent farther to the

south, unless in a very high latitude. This, however; was a point too

important to be left to opinions and conjectures. It was to be

determined by facts; and the ascertainment of it was appointed, by our

commander, for the employment of the ensuing summer.

It was the 6th of August before the ships had the advantage of the

trade wind. This they got at southeast, being at that time in the

latitude of 19° 36' south, and the longitude of 131° 32' west. As

Captain Cook had obtained the south east trade wind, he directed his

course to the west-north-west; not only with a view of keeping in with

the strength of the wind, but also to get to the north of the islands

discovered in his former voyage, that he might have a chance of

meeting with any other islands which might lie in the way. It was in

the track which had been pursued by M. de Bougainville that our

commander now proceeded. He was sorry that he could not spare time to

sail to the north of this track; but at present, on account of the

sickly state of the Adventure's crew, the arriving at a place where

refreshments could be procured was an object superior to that of

discovery. To four of the islands which were passed by Captain Cook,

he gave the names of Resolution Island, Doubtful Island, Furneaux

Island, and Adventure Island. They are supposed to be the same that

were seen by M. de Bougainville; and these with several others, which

constitute a cluster of low and half-drowned isles, that gentleman

distinguished by the appellation of the Dangerous Archipelago. The

smoothness of the sea sufficiently convinced our navigators, that they

were surrounded by them, and that it was highly necessary to proceed

with the utmost caution, especially in the night.

Early in the morning, on the 15th of August, the ships came within

sight of Osnaburg Island, or Maitea, which had been discovered by

Captain Wallis. Soon after, Captain Cook acquainted Captain Furneaux,

that it was his intention to put into Oaiti-piha Bay, near the

south-east end of Otaheite, for the purpose of procuring what

refreshments he could from that part of the island, before he went

down to Matavai. At six to the evening the island was seen bearing

west; and our people continued to advance towards it till midnight,

when they brought to, till four o'clock in the morning; after which,

they sailed in for the land with a fine breeze at east. At day-break,

they found themselves within the distance of half a league from the

reef; and, at the same time, the breeze began to fail them, and was at

last succeeded by a calm. It now became necessary for the boats to be

hoisted out, in order to tow off the ships; but all the efforts of our

voyagers, to keep them from being carried near the reef, were

insufficient for the purpose. As the calm continued, the situation of

the vessels became still more dangerous. Captain Cook, however,

entertained hopes of getting round the western point of the reef and

into the bay. But, about two o'clock in the afternoon, when he came

before an opening or break of the reef, through which he had flattered

himself that he might get with the ships, he found, on sending to

examine it, that there was not a sufficient depth of water.

Nevertheless, this opening caused such an indraught of the tide of

flood through it, as was very near proving fatal to the Resolution;

for as soon as the vessels got into the stream, they were carried

towards the reef with great impetuosity. The moment the captain

perceived this, he ordered one of the warping machines, which was held

in readiness, to be carried out with about four hundred fathoms of

rope; but it did not produce the least effect: and our navigators had

now in prospect the horrors of shipwreck. They were not more than two

cables' length from the breakers; and, though it was the only probable

method which was left of saving the ships, they could find no bottom

to anchor. An anchor, however, they did drop; but before it took hold,

and brought them up, the Resolution was in less than three fathom

water and struck at every fall of the sea, which broke close under her

stern in a dreadful surf, and threatened her crew every moment with

destruction. Happily the Adventure brought up without striking.

Presently, the Resolution's people carried out two kedge-anchors, with

hawsers to each; and these found ground a little without the bower. By

heaving upon them, and cutting away the bower anchor, the ship was

gotten afloat, where Captain Cook and his men lay for some time in the

greatest anxiety, expecting every minute that either the kedges would

come home, or the hawsers be cut in two by the rocks. At length, the

tide ceased to act in the same direction: upon which the captain

ordered all the boats to try to tow off the vessel. Having found this

to be practicable, the two kedges were hove up; and at that moment a

light air came off from the land, by which the boats were so much

assisted, that the Resolution soon got clear of all danger. Our

commander then ordered all the boats to assist the Adventure; but

before they reached her, she was under sail with the land breeze, and

in a little time joined her companion, leaving behind her three

anchors, her coasting cable, and two hawsers, which were never

recovered. Thus were our voyagers once more safe at sea, after

narrowly escaping being wrecked on the very island, at which, but a

few days before, they had most ardently wished to arrive. It was a

peculiarly happy circumstance, that the calm continued, after bringing

the ships into so dangerous a state; for if the sea breeze, as is

usually the ease, had set, in, the Resolution must inevitably have

been lost, and probably the Adventure likewise. During the time in

which the English were in this critical situation, a number of the

natives were either on board or near the vessel in their canoes.

Nevertheless, they seemed to be insensible of our people's danger,

shewing not the least surprise, joy, or fear, when the ships were

striking; and they went away a little before sunset, quite

unconcerned. Though most of them knew Captain Cook again, and many

inquired for Mr. Banks and others who had been with the captain

before, it was remarkable that not one of them asked for Tupia.

On the 17th the Resolution and Adventure anchored in Oaiti-piha Bay,

immediately upon which they were crowded with the inhabitants of the

country, who brought with them cocoa-nuts, plantains, bananas, apples,

yams, and other roots, which were exchanged for nails and beads. To

some, who called themselves chiefs, our commander made presents of

shirts, axes, and several articles besides, in return for which they

promised to bring him hogs and fowls; a promise which they did not

perform, and which, as might be judged from their conduct, they had

never had the least intention of performing. In the afternoon of the

same day, Captain Cook landed in company with Captain Furneaux, for

the purpose of viewing the watering-place, and of sounding the

disposition of the natives. The article of water, which was now much

wanted on board, he found might conveniently he obtained, and the

inhabitants behaved with great civility. Notwithstanding this

civility, nothing was brought to market, the next day, but fruit and

roots, though it was said that many hogs were seen about the houses in

the neighbourhood. The cry was, that they belonged to Waheatoua, the

earee de hi, or king; who had not yet appeared, nor indeed, any other

chief of note. Among the Indians that came on board the Resolution,

and no small number of whom did not scruple to call themselves earees,

there was one of this sort, who had been entertained in the cabin most

of the day, and to all of whose friends Captain Cook had made

presents, as well as liberally to himself. At length, however, he was

caught taking things which did not belong to him, and handing them out

of the quarter gallery. Various complaints of the like nature being,

at the same time, made against the natives who were on deck, our

commander turned them all out of the ship. His cabin guest was very

rapid in his retreat; and the captain was so exasperated at his

behaviour, that after the earee had gotten to some distance from the

Resolution, he fired two muskets over his head, by which he was so

terrified that he quitted his canoe and took to the water. Captain

Cook then sent a boat to take the canoe; but when the boat approached

the shore, the people on land began to pelt her with stones. The

captain, therefore, being in some pain for her safety, as she was

unarmed, went himself in another boat to protect her, and ordered a

great gun, loaded with ball, to be fired along the coast, which made

all the Indians retire from the shore, and he was suffered to bring

away two canoes without the least show of opposition. In a few hours

peace was restored, and the canoes were returned to the first person

who came for them.

It was not till the evening of this day, that any one inquired after

Tupia, and then the inquiry was made by only two or three of the

natives. When they learned the cause of his death, they were perfectly

satisfied; nor did it appear to our commander that they would have

felt a moment's uneasiness, if Tupia's decease had proceeded from any

other cause than sickness. They were as little concerned about

Aotourou, the man who had gone away with M. de Bougainville. But they

were continually asking for Mr. Banks, and for several others who had

accompanied Captain Cook in his former voyage.

Since that voyage, very considerable changes had happened in the

country. Toutaha, the regent of the great peninsula of Otaheite, had

been killed, in a battle which was fought between the two kingdoms

about five months before the Resolution's arrival; and Otto was now

the reigning prince. Tubourai Tamaide, and several more of the

principal friends to the English, had fallen in this battle, together

with a large number of the common people. A peace subsisted, at

present, between the two grand divisions of the island.

On the 20th, one of the natives carried off a musket belonging to the

guard onshore. Captain Cook, who was himself a witness of the

transaction, sent out some of his people after him; but this would

have been to very little purpose, if the thief had not been

intercepted by several of his own countrymen, who pursued him

voluntarily, knocked him down, and returned the musket to the English.

This act of justice prevented our commander from being placed in a

disagreeable situation. If the natives had not given their immediate

assistance, it would scarcely have been in his power to have recovered

the musket, by any gentle means whatever; and if he had been obliged

to have recourse to other methods, he was sure of loosing more than

ten times its value.

The fraud of one, who appeared as a chief, is, perhaps, not unworthy

of notice. This man, in a visit to Captain Cook, presented him with a

quantity of fruit; among which were a number of cocoa-nuts, that had

already been exhausted of their liquor by our people, and afterwards

thrown overboard. These the chief had picked up, and tied so artfully

in bundles, that at first the deception was not perceived. When he was

informed of it, without betraying the least emotion, and affecting a

total ignorance of the matter, he opened two or three of the nuts

himself, signified that he was satisfied of the fact, and then went on

shore and sent off a quantity of plantains and bananas. The ingenuity

and the impudence of fraud are not solely the production of polished

society.

Captain Cook, on the 23rd, had an interview with Waheatoua, the result

of which was that our navigators obtained this day as much pork as

furnished a meal to the crews of both the vessels. In the captain's

last voyage, Waheatoua, who was then little more than a boy, was

called Tearee; but having succeeded to his father's authority, he had

assumed his father's name.

The fruits that were procured at Oaiti-piha Bay contributed greatly to

the recovery of the sick people belonging to the Adventure. Many of

them, who had been so ill as to be incapable of moving without

assistance, were, in the compass of a few days, so far recovered that

they were able to walk about of themselves. When the Resolution

entered the bay, she had but one scorbutic man on board. A marine, who

had long been sick; and who died the second day after her arrival, of

a complication of disorders, had not the least mixture of the scurvy.

On the 24th, the ships put to sea, and arrived the next evening in

Matavia Bay. Before they could come to an anchor, the decks were

crowded with the natives, many of whom Captain Cook knew, and by most

of whom he was well remembered. Among a large multitude of people, who

were collected together upon the shore, was Otoo, the king of the

island. Our commander paid him a visit on the following day, at

Oparree, the place of his residence; and found him to be a fine,

personable, well-made man, six feet high, and about thirty years of

age. The qualities of his mind were not correspondent to his external

appearance: for when Captain Cook endeavoured to obtain from him the

promise of a visit on board, he acknowledged that he was afraid of the

guns, and, indeed, manifested in all his actions that he was a prince

of a timorous disposition.

Upon the captain's return from Oparree, he found the tents, and the

astronomer's observatories, set up, on the same spot from which the

transit of Venus had been observed in 1769. The sick, being twenty in

number from the Adventure, and one from the Resolution, all of whom

were ill of the scurvy, he ordered to be landed; and he appointed a

guard of marines on shore, under the command of Lieutenant Edgcumbe.

On the 27th, Otoo was prevailed upon, with some degree of reluctance,

to pay our commander a visit. He came attended with a numerous train,

and brought with him fruits, a hog, two large fish, and a quantity of

cloth: for which he and all his retinue were gratified with suitable

presents. When Captain Cook conveyed his guests to land, he was met by

a venerable lady, the mother of the late Toutaha, who seized him by

both hands, and burst into a flood of tears, saying, _Toutaha tiyo

no toutee matty Toutaha_; that is, 'Toutaha, your friend, or the

friend of Cook, is dead.' He was so much affected with her behaviour,

that it would have been impossible for him to have refrained from

mingling his tears with hers, had not Otoo, who was displeased with

the interview, taken him from her. It was with difficulty that the

captain could obtain permission to see her again, when he gave her an

axe and some other articles. Captain Furneaux, at this time presented

the king with two fine goats, which, if no accident befell them, might

be expected to multiply.

Several days had passed in a friendly intercourse with the natives,

and in the procuring provisions, when, in the evening of the 30th, the

gentlemen on board the Resolution were alarmed with the cry of murder,

and with a great noise on shore, near the bottom of the bay, and at a

distance from the English encampment. Upon this, Captain Cook, who

suspected that some of his own men were concerned in the affair,

immediately dispatched an armed boat, to know the cause of the

disturbance, and to bring off such of his people as should be found in

the place. He sent also, to the Adventure, and to the post on shore,

to learn who were missing: for none but those who were upon duty were

absent from the Resolution. The boats speedily returned with three

marines and a seaman. Some others, likewise, were taken, belonging to

the Adventure; and all of them being put under confinement, our

commander, the next morning, ordered them to be punished according to

their deserts. He did not find that any mischief had been done, and

the men would confess nothing. Some liberties which they had taken

with the women had probably given occasion to the disturbance. To

whatever cause it was owing, the natives were so much alarmed, that

they fled from their habitations in the dead of night, and the alarm

was spread many miles along the coast. In the morning, when Captain

Cook went to visit Otoo, by appointment, he found he had removed, or

rather fled, to a great distance from the usual place of his abode.

After arriving where he was, it was some hours before the captain

could be admitted to the sight of him; and then he complained of the

riot of the preceding evening.

The sick being nearly recovered, the water completed, and the

necessary repairs of the ships finished, Captain Cook determined to

put to sea without delay. Accordingly, on the 1st of September, he

ordered every thing to be removed from the shore, and the vessels to

be unmoored, in which employment his people were engaged the greater

part of the day. In the afternoon of the same day, Lieutenant

Pickersgill returned from Attahourou, to which place he had been sent

by the captain, for the purpose of procuring some hogs that had been

promised. In this expedition, the lieutenant had seen the celebrated

Oberea, who has been so much the object of poetical fancy. Her

situation was very humble compared with what it had formerly been. She

was not only altered much for the worse in her person, but appeared to

be poor, and of little or no consequence or authority in the island.

In the evening, a favourable wind having sprung up, our commander put

to sea; on which occasion he was obliged to dismiss his Otaheite

friends sooner than they wished to depart; but well satisfied with his

kind and liberal treatment.

From Matavai Bay, Captain Cook directed his course for the island of

Huaheine, where he intended to touch. This island he reached the next

day, and, early in the morning of the 3rd of September, made sail for

the harbour of Owharre, in which he soon came to an anchor. The

Adventure, not happening to turn into the harbour with equal facility,

got ashore on the north side of the channel; but, by the timely

assistance which Captain Cook had previously provided, in case such an

accident should occur, she was gotten off again, without receiving any

damage. As soon as both the ships were in safety, our commander;

together with Captain Furneaux, landed upon the island, and was

received by the natives with the utmost cordiality. A trade

immediately commenced; so that our navigators had a fair prospect of

being plentifully supplied with fresh pork and fowls, which, to people

in their situation, was a very desirable circumstance. On, the 4th,

Lieutenant Pickersgill sailed with the cutter, on a trading party,

toward the south end of the isle. Another trading party was also sent

on shore near the ships, which party Captain Cook attended himself, to

see that the business was properly conducted at the first setting out,

this being a point of no small importance. Every thing being settled

to his mind, he went, accompanied by Captain Furneaux, and Mr.

Forster, to pay a visit to his old friend Oree, the chief of the

island. This visit was preceded by many preparatory ceremonies. Among

other things the chief sent to our commander the inscription engraved

on a small piece of pewter, which he had left with him in July, 1761.

It was in the bag that Captain Cook had made for it, together with a

piece of counterfeit English coin, and a few beads, which had been put

in at the same time; whence it was evident what particular care had

been taken of the whole. After the previous ceremonies had been

discharged, the captain wanted to go to the king, but he was informed

that the king would come to him. Accordingly, Oree went up to our

commander, and fell on his neck, and embraced him; nor was it a

ceremonious embrace, for the tears which trickled down the venerable

old man's cheeks sufficiently bespoke the language of his heart. The

presents, which Captain Cook made to the chief on this occasion,

consisted of the most valuable articles he had; for he regarded him as

a father. Oree, in return, gave the captain a hog, and a quantity of

cloth, promising that all the wants of the English should be supplied;

and it was a promise to which he faithfully adhered. Indeed, he

carried his kindness to Captain Cook so far, as not to fail sending

him every day, for his table, a plentiful supply of the very best of

ready-dressed fruits and roots.

Hitherto, all things had gone on in the most agreeable manner; but on

Monday, the 6th, several circumstances occurred, which rendered it an

unpleasant and troublesome day. When our commander went to the

trading-place, he was informed that one of the inhabitants had behaved

with remarkable insolence. The man was completely equipped in the war

habit, had a club in each hand, and seemed bent upon mischief. Captain

Cook took, therefore, the clubs from him, broke them before his eyes,

and with some difficulty compelled him to retire. About the same time,

Mr. Sparrman, who had imprudently gone out alone to botanize, was

assaulted by two men, who stripped him of every thing which he had

about him, excepting his trowsers, and struck him again and again with

his own hanger, though happily without doing him any harm. When they

had accomplished their purpose, they made off; after which another of

the natives brought a piece of cloth to cover him, and conducted him

to the trading place, where the inhabitants, in a large number, were

assembled. The instant that Mr. Sparrman appeared in the condition now

described, they all fled with the utmost precipitation. Captain Cook,

having recalled a few of the Indians, and convinced them that he

should take no step to injure those who were innocent, went to Oree to

complain of the outrage. When the chief had heard the whole affair

related, he wept aloud, and many other of the inhabitants did the

same. After the first transports of his grief had subsided, he began

to expostulate with his people, telling them (for so his language was

understood by the English) how well Captain Cook had treated them both

in this and his former voyage, and how base it was in them to commit

such actions. He then took a minute account of the things of which Mr.

Sparrman had been robbed, and, after having promised to use his utmost

endeavours for the recovery of them, desired to go into the captain's

boat. At this, the natives, apprehensive doubtless for the safety of

their prince, expressed the utmost alarm, and used every argument to

dissuade him from so rash a measure. All their remonstrances, however,

were in vain. He hastened into the boat; and as soon as they saw that

their beloved chief was wholly in our commander's power, they set up a

great outcry. Indeed, their grief was inexpressible; they prayed,

entreated nay, attempted to pull him out of the boat; and every face

was bedewed with tears. Even Captain Cook himself was so moved by

their distress, that he united his entreaties with theirs, but all to

no purpose. Oree insisted upon the captain's coming into the boat,

which was no sooner done, than he ordered it to be put off. His sister

was the only person among the Indians who behaved with a becoming

magnanimity on this occasion; for, with a spirit equal to that of her

royal brother, she alone did not oppose his going. It was his design,

in coming into the boat of the English, to proceed with them in search

of the robbers. Accordingly, he went with Captain Cook, as far as it

was convenient, by water, when they landed, entered the country, and

travelled same miles inland; in doing which the chief led the way, and

inquired after the criminals of every person whom he saw. In this

search he would have gone to the very extremity of the island, if our

commander, who did not think the object worthy of so laborious a

pursuit, had not refused to proceed any farther. Besides, as he

intended to sail the next morning, and all manner of trade was stopped

in consequence of the alarm of the natives, it became the more

necessary for him to return, that he might restore things to their

former state. It was with great reluctance that Ores was prevailed

upon to discontinue the search, and to content himself with sending,

at Captain Cook's request, some of his people for the things which had

been carried off. When he and the captain had gotten back to the boat,

they found there the chief's sister, and several other persons, who

had travelled by land to the place. The English gentlemen immediately

stepped into their boat, in order to return on board, without so much

as asking Oree to accompany them; notwithstanding which, he insisted

upon doing it; nor could the opposition and entreaties of those who

were about him induce him to desist from his purpose. His sister

followed his example, uninfluenced, on this occasion, by the

supplications and tears of her daughter. Captain Cook amply rewarded

the chief and his sister for the confidence they had placed in him;

and, after dinner, conveyed them both on shore, where some hundreds of

people waited to receive them, many of whom embraced Oree with tears

of joy. All was now peace and gladness: the inhabitants crowded in

from every part, with such a plentiful supply of hogs, fowls, and

vegetable productions, that the English presently filled two boats;

and the chief himself presented the captain with a large hog, and a

quantity of fruit. Mr. Sparrman's hanger the only thing of value which

he had lost, was brought back, together with part of his coat; and our

navigators were told, that the remaining articles should be restored

the next day. Some things which had been stolen from a party of

officers, who had gone out a shooting, were returned in like manner.

The transactions of this day have been the more particularly related,

as they shew the high opinion which the chief had formed of our

commander, and the unreserved confidence that he placed in his

integrity and honour. Oree had entered into a solemn friendship with

Captain Cook, according to all the forms which were customary in the

country; and he seemed to think, that this friendship could not be

broken by the act of any other persons. It is justly observed by the

captain, that another chief may never be found, who, under similar

circumstances, will act in the same manner. Oree, indeed, had nothing

to fear: for it was not our commander's intention to hurt a hair of

his head, or to detain him a moment longer than was agreeable to his

own desire. But of this how could he and his people be assured? They

were not ignorant, that when he was once in Captain Cook's power, the

whole force of the island would not be sufficient to recover him, and

that they must have complied with any demands, however great, for his

ransom. The apprehensions, therefore, of the inhabitants, for their

chief's and their own safety, had a reasonable foundation.

Early on the 7th, while the ships were unmooring, the captain went to

pay his farewell visit to Oree, and took with him such presents as had

not only a fancied value, but a real utility. He left, also, with the

chief the inscription plate, that had been before in his possession,

and another small copper-plate, on which were engraved these words:

'Anchored here, his Britannic Majesty's ships, Resolution and

Adventure, September, 1773.' These plates, together with some medals,

were put up in a bag; of which Oree promised to take care, and to

produce them to the first ship or ships that should arrive at the

island. Having, in return, given a hog to Captain Cook, and loaded his

boat with fruit, they took leave of each other, when the good old

chief embraced our commander with tears in his eyes. Nothing was

mentioned, at this interview, concerning the remainder of Mr.

Sparrman's property. As it was early in the morning, the captain

judged that it had not been brought in, and he was not willing to

speak of it to Oree, lest he should give him pain about things which

there had not been time to recover. The robbers having soon afterward

been taken, Oree came on board again, to request that our commander

would go on shore, either to punish them, or to be present at their

punishment; but this not being convenient to him, he left them to the

correction of their own chief. It was from the island of Huaheine that

Captain Furneaux received into his ship a young man named Omai, a

native of Ulietea, of whom so much hath since been known and written.

This choice Captain Cook at first disapproved; as thinking that the

youth was not a proper sample of the inhabitants of the Society

Islands; being inferior to many of them in birth and acquired rank,

and not having any peculiar advantage in point of shape, figure, or

complexion. The captain afterward found reason to be better satisfied

with Omai's having accompanied our navigators, to England.

During the short stay of the vessels at Huaheine, our people were very

successful in obtaining supplies of provisions. No less than three

hundred hogs, besides fowls and fruit, were procured; and had the

ships continued longer at the place, the quantity might have been

greatly increased. Such was the fertility of this small island, that

none of these articles of refreshment were seemingly diminished, but

appeared to be as plentiful as ever.

From Huaheine our navigators sailed for Ulietea; where, trade was

carried on in the usual manner, and a most friendly intercourse

renewed between Captain Cook and Oree, the chief of the island. Here

Tupia was inquired after with particular eagerness, and the inquirers

were perfectly satisfied with the account which was given of the

occasion of that Indian's decease.

On the morning of the 15th, the English were surprised at finding that

none of the inhabitants of Ulietea came off to the ships, as had

hitherto been customary. As two men belonging to the Adventure had

stayed on shore all night, contrary to orders, Captain Cook's first

conjectures were, that the natives had stripped them, and were afraid

of the revenge which would be taken of the insult. This, however, was

not the case. The men had been treated with great civility, and could

assign no cause for the precipitate flight of the Indians. All that

the captain could learn was, that several were killed and others

wounded, by the guns of the English This information alarmed him for

the safety of some of our people, who had been sent out in two boats

to the island of Otaha. He determined, therefore, it possible, to see

the chief himself. When he came up to him, Oree threw his arms around

our commander's neck, and burst into tears; in which he was

accompanied by all the women, and some of the men; so that the

lamentations became general. Astonishment alone kept Captain Cook from

joining in their grief. At last, the whole which he could collect from

his inquiries was, that the natives had been alarmed on account of the

absence of the English boats, and imagined that the captain, upon the

supposition of the desertion of his men, would use violent means for

the recovery of his loss. When the matter was explained, it was

acknowledged that not a single inhabitant, or a single Englishman, had

been hurt. This groundless consternation displayed in a strong light

the timorous disposition of the people of the Society islands.

Our navigators were as successful in procuring provisions at Ulietea

as they had been at Huaheine. Captain Cook judged that the number of

hogs obtained amounted to four hundred or upwards: many of them,

indeed, were only roasters, while others exceeded a hundred pounds in

weight; but the general run was from forty to sixty. A larger quantity

was offered than the ships could contain; so that our countrymen were

enabled to proceed on their voyage with no small degree of comfort and

advantage.

Our commander, by his second visit to the Society islands, gained a

farther knowledge of their general state, and of the customs of the

inhabitants. It appeared, that a Spanish ship had been lately at

Otaheite, and the natives complained, that a disease had been

communicated to them by the people of this vessel which according to

their account affected the head, the throat, and the stomach, and at

length ended in death. With regard to a certain disorder, the effects

of which have so fatally been felt in the latter ages of the world,

Captain Cook's inquiries could not absolutely determine whether it was

known to the islanders before they were visited by the Europeans. If

it was of recent origin, the introduction of it was, without a

dissentient voice, ascribed to the voyage of M. de Bougainville.

One thing which our commander was solicitous to ascertain, was,

whether human sacrifices constituted a part of the religious customs

of these people, The man of whom he had made his inquiries, and

several other natives took some pains to explain the matter; but, from

our people's ignorance of the language of the country, their

explication could not be understood. Captain Cook afterwards learned

from Omai that the inhabitants of the Society islands offer human

sacrifices to the Supreme Being. What relates to funeral ceremonies

excepted, all the knowledge he could obtain concerning their religion

was very imperfect and defective.

The captain had an opportunity, in this voyage of rectifying the great

injustice which had been done to the women of Otaheite and the

neighbouring isles. They had been represented as ready, without

exception to grant the last favour to any man who would come up to

their price: but our commander found that this was by no means the

case. The favours both of the married women and of the unmarried, of

the better sort, were as difficult to be obtained in the Society

islands as in any other country whatever. Even with respect to the

unmarried females of the lower class, the charge was not

indiscriminately true. There were many of these who would not admit of

indecent familiarities. The setting this subject in a proper light

must be considered as one of the agreeable effects of Captain Cook's

second voyage. Every enlightened mind will rejoice at what conduces to

the honour of human nature in general, and of the female sex in

particular. Chastity is so eminently the glory of that sex, and,

indeed, is so essentially connected with the good order of society,

that it must be a satisfaction to reflect, that there is no country,

however ignorant or barbarous, in which this virtue is not regarded as

an object of moral obligation.

This voyage enabled our commander to gain some farther knowledge

concerning the geography of the Society isles; and he found it highly

probable, that Otaheite is of greater extent than he had computed it

in his former estimation. The astronomers did not neglect to set up

their observatories, and to make observations suited to their purpose.

On the 17th of September, Captain Cook sailed from Ulietea, directing

his course to the west, with an inclination to the south. Land was

discovered on the 23rd of the month, to which he gave the name of

Harvey's Island. On the 1st of October, he reached the island of

Middleburg. While he was looking about for a landing place, two

canoes, each of them conducted by two or three men, came boldly

alongside the ship, and some of the people entered it without

hesitation. This mark of confidence inspired our commander with so

good an opinion of the inhabitants, that he determined, if possible,

to pay them a visit, which he did the next day. Scarcely had the

vessels gotten to an anchor, before they were surrounded by a great

number of canoes, full of the natives, who brought with them cloth,

and various curiosities, which they exchanged for nails, and such

other articles as were adapted to their fancy. Among those who came on

board, was a chief, named Tioony, whose friendship Captain Cook

immediately gained by proper presents, consisting principally of a

hatchet and some spike-nails. A party of our navigators, with the

captain at the head of them having embarked in two boats, proceeded to

the shore, where they found an immense crowd of people, who welcomed

them to the island with loud acclamations. There was not so much as a

stick, or any other weapon, in the hands of a single native, so

pacific were their dispositions and intentions. They seemed to be more

desirous of giving than receiving; and many of them, who could not

approach near to the boats, threw into them, over the heads of others,

whole bales of cloth, and then retired, without either asking or

waiting for anything in return. The whole day was spent by our

navigators in the most agreeable manner. When they returned on board

in the evening, every one expressed how much he was delighted with the

country, and the very obliging behaviour of the inhabitants, who

seemed to vie with each other in their endeavours to give pleasure to

our people. All this conduct appeared to be the result of the most

pure good nature, perhaps without being accompanied with much

sentiment or feeling; for when Captain Cook signified to the chief his

intention of quitting the island, he did not seem to be in the least

moved. Among other articles presented by the captain to Tioony, he

left him an assortment of garden seeds, which, if properly used, might

be of great future benefit to the country.

From Middleburg, the ships sailed down to Amsterdam, the natives of

which island were equally ready with those of the former place to

maintain a friendly intercourse with the English. Like the people of

Middleburg, they brought nothing with them but cloth, matting, and

such other articles as could be of little service; and for these our

seamen were so simple as to barter away their clothes. To put a stop,

therefore to so injurious a traffic, and to obtain the necessary

refreshments, the captain gave orders, that no sort of curiosities

should be purchased by any person whatever. This injunction produced

the desired effect. When the inhabitants saw that the English would

deal with them for nothing but eatables, they brought off bananas and

cocoa-nuts in abundance, together with some fowls and pigs; all of

which they exchanged for small nails and pieces of cloth. Even a few

old rags were sufficient for the purchase of a pig or a fowl.

The method of carrying on trade being settled, and proper officers

having been appointed to prevent disputes, our commander's next object

was to obtain as complete a knowledge as possible of the island of

Amsterdam. In this he was much facilitated by a friendship which he

had formed with Attago, one of the chiefs of the country. Captain Cook

was struck with admiration, when he surveyed the beauty and

cultivation of the island. He thought himself transported into the

most fertile plains of Europe. There was not an inch of waste ground.

The roads occupied no larger a space than was absolutely necessary,

and the fences did not take up above four inches each. Even such a

small portion of ground was not wholly lost; for many of the fences

themselves contained useful trees or plants. The scene was every where

the same; and nature, assisted by a little art, no where assumes a

more splendid appearance than in this island.

Friendly as were the natives of Amsterdam, they were not entirely free

from the thievish disposition which had so often been remarked in the

islanders of the Southern Ocean. The instances, however, of this kind,

which occurred, were not of such a nature as to produce any

extraordinary degree of trouble, or to involve our people in a quarrel

with the inhabitants.

Captain Cook's introduction to the king of the island afforded a scene

somewhat remarkable. His majesty was seated with so much sullen and

stupid gravity, that the captain took him for an idiot, whom the

Indians, from some superstitious reasons, were ready to worship. When

our commander saluted and spoke to him, he neither answered, nor took

the least notice of him; nor did he alter a single feature of his

countenance. Even the presents which were made to him could not induce

him to resign a bit of his gravity, or to speak one word, or to turn

his head either to the right hand or to the left. As he was in the

prime of life, it was possible that a false sense of dignity might

engage him to assume so solemn a stupidity of appearance. In the

history of mankind, instances might probably be found which would

confirm this supposition.

It is observable, that the two islands of Middleburg and Amsterdam are

guarded from the sea by a reef of coral rocks, which extend out from

the shore about one hundred fathoms. On this reef the force of the sea

is spent before it reaches the land. The same, indeed, is, to a great

measure, the situation of all the tropical isles which our commander

had seen in that part of the globe; and hence arises an evidence of

the wisdom and goodness of Providence; as by such a provision, nature

has effectually secured them from the encroachments of the sea, though

many of them are mere points, when compared with the vast ocean by

which they are surrounded.

In Amsterdam, Mr. Forster not only found the same plants that are at

Otaheite and the neighbouring islands, but several others, which are

not to be met with in those places. Captain Cook took care, by a

proper assortment of garden-seeds and pulse, to increase the vegetable

stock of the inhabitants.

Hogs and fowls were the only domestic animals that were seen in these

islands. The former are of the same sort with those which have been

met with in other parts of the Southern Ocean; but the latter are far

superior, being as large as any in Europe, and equal, if not

preferable, with respect to the goodness of their flesh.

Both men and women are of a common size with Europeans. Their colour

is that of a lightish copper, and with a greater uniformity than

occurs among the natives of Otaheite and the Society Isles. Some of

the English gentlemen were of opinion, that the inhabitants of

Middleburg and Amsterdam were a much handsomer race; while others with

whom Captain Cook concurred, maintained a contrary sentiment. However

this may be, their shape is good, their features regular, and they are

active, brisk, and lively. The women, in particular, are the merriest

creatures our commander had ever met with: and, provided any person

seemed pleased with them, they would keep chattering by his side

without the least invitation, or considering whether they were

understood. They appeared in general to be modest, though there were

several amongst them of a different character. As there were yet on

board some complaints of a certain disorder, the captain took all

possible care to prevent its communication. Our navigators were

frequently entertained by the women with songs, and this in a manner

which was by no means disagreeable. They had a method of keeping time

by snapping their fingers. Their music was harmonious as well as their

voices, and there was a considerable degree of compass in their notes.

A singular custom was found to prevail in these islands. The greater

part of the people were observed to have lost one or both of their

little fingers; and this was not peculiar to rank, age, or sex; nor

was the amputation restricted to any specific period of life. Our

navigators endeavoured in vain to discover the reason of so

extraordinary a practice.

A very extensive knowledge of the language of Middleburg and Amsterdam

could not be obtained during the short stay which was made there by

the English. However, the more they inquired into it, the more they

found that it was, in general, the same with that which is spoken at

Otaheite and the Society isles. The difference is not greater than

what frequently occurs betwixt the most northern and western parts of

England.

On the 7th of October, Captain Cook proceeded on his voyage. His

intention was to sail directly to Queen Charlotte's Sound, in New

Zealand, for the purpose of taking in wood and water, after which he

was to pursue his discoveries to the south and the east. The day after

he quitted Amsterdam, he passed the island of Pilstart; an island

which had been discovered by Tasman.

On the 21st, he made the land of New Zealand, at the distance of eight

or ten leagues from Table Cape. As our commander was very desirous of

leaving in the country such an assortment of animals and vegetables as

might greatly contribute to the future benefit of the inhabitants, one

of the first things which he did was to give to a chief, who had come

off in a canoe, two boars, two sows, four hens, and two cocks,

together with a quantity of seeds, The seeds were of the most useful

kind; such as wheat, french and kidney beans, pease, cabbage, turnips,

onions, carrots, parsnips, and yams. The man to whom these several

articles were presented, though he was much more enraptured with a

spike-nail half the length of his arm, promised, however, to take care

of them, and in particular, not to kill any of the animals. If he

adhered to his promise, they would be sufficient, in a due course of

time, to stock the whole island.

It was the 3rd of November before Captain Cook brought the Resolution

into Ship Cove, in Queen Charlotte's Sound. He had been beating about

the island from the 21st of October, during which time his vessel was

exposed to a variety of tempestuous weather. In one instance he had

been driven off the land by a furious storm, which lasted two days,

and which would have been dangerous in the highest degree, had it not

fortunately happened that it was fair overhead, and that there was no

reason to be apprehensive of a lee-shore. In the course of the bad

weather which succeeded this storm, the Adventure was separated from

the Resolution, and was never seen or heard of through the whole

remainder of the voyage.

The first object of our commander's attention, after his arrival in

Queen Charlotte's Sound, was to provide for the repair of his ship,

which had suffered in various respects, and especially in her sails

and rigging. Another matter which called for his notice was the state

of the bread belonging to the vessel, and he had the mortification of

finding, that a large quantity of it was damaged. To repair this loss

in the best manner he was able, he ordered all the casks to be opened,

the bread to be picked, and such parcels of it to be baked, in the

copper oven, as could by that means be recovered. Notwithstanding this

care, four thousand two hundred and ninety-two pounds were found

totally unfit for use; and about three thousand pounds more could only

be eaten by people in the situation of our navigators.

Captain Cook was early in his inquiries concerning the animals which

had been left at New Zealand, in the former part of his voyage. He saw

the youngest of the two sows that Captain Furneaux had put on shore in

Cannibal Cove. She was in good condition, and very tame. The boar and

other sow, if our commander was rightly informed, were taken away and

separated, but not killed. He was told that the two goats, which he

had landed up the Sound, had been destroyed by a rascally native of

the name of Goubiah; so that the captain had the grief of discovering

that all his benevolent endeavours to stock the country with useful

animals were likely to be frustrated by the very people whom he was

anxious to serve. The gardens had met with a better fate. Every thing

in them, excepting potatoes, the inhabitants had left entirely to

nature, who had so well performed her part, that most of the articles

were in a flourishing condition.

Notwithstanding the inattention and folly of the New Zealanders,

Captain Cook still continued his zeal for their benefit. To the

inhabitants who resided at the Cove, he gave a boar, a young sow, two

cocks, and two hens, which had been brought from the Society islands.

At the bottom of the West Bay, he ordered to be landed without the

knowledge of the Indians, four hogs, being three sows and one boar,

together with cocks and two hens. They were carried a little way into

the woods, and as much food was left them as would serve them for ten

or twelve days; which was done to prevent their coming down to the

shore in search of sustenance, and by that means being discovered by

the natives. The captain was desirous of replacing the two goats which

Goubiah was understood to have killed, by leaving behind him the only

two that yet remained in his possession. But he had the misfortune,

soon after his arrival at Queen Charlotte's Sound to lose the ram; and

this in a manner for which it was not easy to assign the cause.

Whether it was owing to any thing he had eaten, or to his being stung

with nettles, which were very plentiful in the place, he was seized

with fits that bordered upon madness. In one of these fits, he was

supposed to have run into the sea, and to have been drowned: and thus

every method, which our commander had taken to stock the country with

sheep and goats, proved ineffectual. He hoped to be more successful

with respect to the boars and sows and the cocks and hens, which he

left in the island.

While the boatswain, one day, and a party of men, were employed in

cutting broom, some of them stole several things from a private hut of

the natives, in which was deposited most of the treasures they had

received from the English as well as property of their own. Complaint

being made by the Indians to Captain Cook, and a particular man of the

boatswain's party having been pointed out to the captain, as the

person who had committed the theft, he ordered him to be punished in

their presence. With this they went away seemingly satisfied, although

they did not recover any of the articles which they had lost. It was

always a maxim with our commander, to punish the least crimes which

any of his people were guilty of with regard to uncivilized nations.

Their robbing us with impunity he by no means considered as a reason

for our treating them in the same manner. Addicted as the New

Zealanders were, in a certain degree, to stealing, a disposition which

must have been very much increased by the novelty and allurement of

the objects presented to their view; they had, nevertheless, when

injured themselves, such a sense of justice as to apply to Captain

Cook for redress. The best method, in his opinion, of preserving a

good understanding with the inhabitants of countries in this state of

society, is, first, to convince them of the superiority we have over

them in consequence of our fire arms, and then to be always upon our

guard. Such a conduct, united with strict honesty and gentle

treatment, will convince them, that it is their interest not to

disturb us, and prevent them from forming any general plan of attack.