The next morning, the natives visited us again, bringing with them the

same articles of commerce as before. Being now near the shore, I sent

Mr Bligh, the master, in a boat to sound the coast, with orders to

land, and to look for fresh water. Upon his return, he reported, that,

at two cables' lengths from the shore, he had found no soundings with

a line of one hundred and sixty fathoms; that, when he landed, he

found no stream or spring, but only rain-water, deposited in holes

upon the rocks, and even that was brackish from the spray of the sea,

and that the surface of the country was entirely composed of slags and

ashes, with a few plants interspersed. Between ten and eleven we

saw with pleasure the Discovery coming round the south point of the

island, and at one in the afternoon she joined us. Captain Clerke then

coming on board, informed me, that he had cruised four or five days

where we were separated, and then plied round the east side of the

island, but that, meeting with unfavourable winds, he had been carried

to some distance from the coast. He had one of the islanders on board

all this time, who had remained there from choice, and had refused to

quit the ship, though opportunities had offered.

Having spent the night standing off and on, we stood in again the next

morning, and when we were about a league from the shore, many of the

natives visited us. At noon, the observed latitude was 19° 1', and the

longitude, by the time-keeper, was 203° 26', the island extending from

S. 74° E. to N. 13° W., the nearest part two leagues distant.

At day-break on the 8th, we found that the currents, during the

night, which we spent in plying, had carried us back considerably to

windward; so that we were now off the S.W. point of the island. There

we brought-to, in order to give the natives an opportunity of trading

with us. At noon our observed latitude was 19° 1', and our longitude,

by the time-keeper, was 203° 13', the S.W. point of the island N. 30°

E., two miles distant.

We spent the night as usual, standing off and on. It happened, that

four men and ten women who had come on board the preceding day, still

remained with us. As I did not like the company of the latter, I stood

in shore towards noon, principally with a view to get them out of the

ship; and some canoes coming off, I took that opportunity of sending

away our guests.

We had light airs from N.W. and S.W., and calms, till eleven in the

morning of the 10th, when the wind freshened at W.N.W., which, with a

strong current setting to the S.E., so much retarded us, that, in the

evening, between seven and eight o'clock, the S. point of the island

bore N. 10-1/2° W., four leagues distant. The south snowy hill now

bore N. 1-1/2° E.

At four in the morning of the 11th, the wind having fixed at W., I

stood in for the land, in order to get some refreshments. As we drew

near the shore, the natives began to come off. We lay to, or stood on

and off, trading with them all the day, but got a very scanty supply

at last. Many canoes visited us, whose people had not a single thing

to barter, which convinced us, that this part of the island must be

very poor, and that we had already got all that they could spare. We

spent the 12th plying off and on, with a fresh gale at W. A mile from

the shore and to the N.E. of the S. point of the island, having tried

soundings, we found ground at fifty-five fathoms depth, the bottom a

fine sand. At five in the evening, we stood to the S.W., with the wind

at W.N.W., and soon after midnight we had a calm.

At eight o'clock next morning, having got a small breeze at S.S.E., we

steered to the N.N.W., in for the land. Soon after, a few canoes came

along-side with some hogs, but without any vegetables, which articles

we most wanted. We had now made some progress; for at noon the S.

point of the island bore S. 86-1/2° E., the S.W. point N. 13° W., the

nearest shore two leagues distant; latitude, by observation, 18° 56',

and our longitude, by the time-keeper, 203° 40'. We had got the length

of the S.W. point of the island in the evening, but the wind now

veering to the westward and northward, during the night we lost all

that we had gained. Next morning, being still off the S.W. point of

the island, some canoes came off; but they had nothing that we were

in want of. We had now neither fruit nor roots, and were under a

necessity of making use of some of our sea-provisions. At length, some

canoes from the northward brought us a small supply of hogs and roots.

We had variable light airs next to a calm, the following day, till

five in the afternoon, when a small breeze at E.N.E. springing up,

we were at last enabled to steer along shore to the northward. The

weather being fine, we had plenty of company this day, and abundance

of every thing. Many of our visitors remained with us on board all

night, and we towed their canoes astern.

At day-break on the 16th, seeing the appearance of a bay, I sent Mr

Bligh, with a boat from each ship, to examine it, being at this time

three leagues off. Canoes now began to arrive from all parts; so that

before ten o'clock, there were no fewer than a thousand about the two

ships, most of them crowded with people, and well laden with hogs and

other productions of the island. We had the most satisfying proof of

their friendly intentions; for we did not see a single person who had

with him a weapon of any sort. Trade and curiosity alone had brought

them off. Among such numbers as we had at times on board, it is no

wonder that some should betray a thievish disposition. One of our

visitors took out of the ship a boat's rudder. He was discovered,

but too late to recover it. I thought this a good opportunity to shew

these people the use of fire-arms; and two or three muskets, and as

many four-pounders, were fired over the canoe, which carried off

the rudder. As it was not intended that any of the shot should take

effect, the surrounding multitude of natives seemed rather more

surprised than frightened.

In the evening Mr Bligh returned, and reported, that he had found

a bay in which was good anchorage, and fresh water in a situation

tolerably easy to be come at. Into this bay I resolved to carry the

ships, there to refit, and supply ourselves with every refreshment

that the place could afford. As night approached, the greater part of

our visitors retired to the shore, but numbers of them requested our

permission to sleep on board. Curiosity was not the only motive, at

least with some; for, the next morning, several things were missing,

which determined me not to entertain so many another night.

At eleven o'clock in the forenoon, we anchored in the bay, (which is

called by the natives _Karakakooa_,) in thirteen fathoms water, over

a sandy bottom, and about a quarter of a mile from the N.E. shore.

In this situation, the S. point of the bay bore S. by W., and the

N. point W. 1/2 N. We moored with the stream-anchor and cable to the

northward, unbent the sails, and struck yards and top-masts. The ships

continued to be much crowded with natives, and were surrounded by a

multitude of canoes. I had no where, in the course of my voyage, seen

so numerous a body of people assembled at one place. For, besides

those who had come off to us in canoes, all the shore of the bay was

covered with spectators, and many hundreds were swimming round

the ships like shoals of fish. We could not but be struck with the

singularity of this scene; and perhaps there were few on board who

now lamented our having failed in our endeavours to find a northern

passage homeward last summer. To this disappointment we owed our

having it in our power to revisit the _Sandwich Islands_, and to

enrich our voyage with a discovery which, though the last, seemed, in

many respects, to be the most important that had hitherto been made by

Europeans, throughout the extent of the Pacific Ocean.[6]

[Footnote 6: Thus ends Captain Cook's journal of his proceedings, and

the visible satisfaction which pervades the concluding sentences, as

is noticed in the Biog. Brit., must strike the mind of every reader.

They indicate the high value which our navigator attached to this last

discovery, now so irrevocably, but so painfully, associated with the

honours of his name; whilst, in his unapprehending confidence, and the

wonted calmness of his style, we see the agency of that beneficent law

in our system, by which we are preserved ignorant of the evils that

every hour and moment of our time may bring over us. Nor ought we

to omit remarking as something peculiar, that Cook's allusion to the

present comfortable opinion and feelings of his associates on the

failure of their labours in the northern hemisphere, founded, no

doubt, on the general expression of satisfaction, serves as a material

aggravation, in the way of contrast, to our conceptions of their

subsequent distress and grief, under the calamity of his most

afflicting death.--E.]

CHAPTER V.

CAPTAIN KING'S JOURNAL OF THE TRANSACTIONS ON RETURNING TO THE

SANDWICH ISLANDS.[1]

SECTION I.

_Description of Karakakooa Bay.--Vast Concourse of the Natives.--Power

of the Chiefs over the inferior People.--Visit from Koah, a Priest and

Warrior.--The Morai at Kakooa described.--Ceremonies at the Landing

of Captain Cook.--Observatories erected.--Powerful Operation of the

Taboo.--Method of Salting Pork in Tropical Climates.--Society of

Priests discovered.--Their Hospitality and Munificence.--Reception of

Captain Cook.--Artifice of Koah.--Arrival of Terreoboo, King of the

Island.--Returned by Captain Cook._

[Footnote 1: The reader is informed once for all, that the notes to

the remainder of this voyage, to which no signature is attached,

are to be considered as forming a part of Captain King's own

publication.--E.]

Karakakooa Bay is situated on the west side of the island of Owhyhee,

in a district called Akona. It is about a mile in depth, and bounded

by two low points of land, at the distance of half a league, and

bearing S.S.E. and N.N.W. from each other. On the north point, which

is flat and barren, stands the village of Kowrowa; and in the bottom

of the bay, near a grove of tall cocoa-nut trees, there is another

village of a more considerable size, called Kakooa; between them runs

a high rocky cliff, inaccessible from the sea shore. On the south

side, the coast, for about a mile inland, has a rugged appearance;

beyond which the country rises with a gradual ascent, and is

overspread with cultivated enclosures and groves of cocoa-nut trees,

where the habitations of the natives are scattered in great numbers.

The shore, all round the bay, is covered with a black coral rock,

which makes the landing very dangerous in rough weather, except at the

village of Kakooa, where there is a fine sandy beach, with a _morai_,

or burying-place, at one extremity, and a small well of fresh water at

the other. This bay appearing to Captain Cook a proper place to refit

the ships, and lay in an additional supply of water and provisions,

we moored on the north side, about a quarter of a mile from the shore,

Kowrowa bearing W.N.W.

As soon as the inhabitants perceived our intention of anchoring in

the bay, they came off from the shore in astonishing numbers, and

expressed their joy by singing and shouting, and exhibiting a variety

of wild and extravagant gestures. The sides, the decks, and rigging of

both ships were soon completely covered with them, and a multitude

of women and boys, who had not been able to get canoes, came swimming

round us in shoals, many of whom not finding room on board, remained

the whole day playing in the water.

Among the chiefs who came on board the Resolution, was a young

man, called Pareea, whom we soon perceived to be a person of great

authority. On presenting himself to Captain Cook, he told him, that

he was _Jakanee_[2] to the king of the island, who was at that time

engaged on a military expedition at Mowee, and was expected to return

within three or four days. A few presents from Captain Cook attached

him entirely to our interests, and he became exceedingly useful to

us in the management of his countrymen, as we had soon occasion to

experience. For we had not been long at anchor, when it was observed

that the Discovery had such a number of people hanging on one side, as

occasioned her to heel considerably; and that the men were unable to

keep off the crowds which continued pressing into her. Captain Cook,

being apprehensive that she might suffer some injury, pointed out the

danger to Pareea, who immediately went to their assistance, cleared

the ship of its encumbrances, and drove away the canoes that

surrounded her.

[Footnote 2: We afterward met with several others of the same

denomination; but whether it be an office, or some degree of affinity,

we could never learn with certainty.]

The authority of the chiefs over the inferior people appeared from

this incident to be of the most despotic kind. A similar instance

of it happened the same day on board the Resolution, where the crowd

being so great, as to impede the necessary business of the ship, we

were obliged to have recourse to the assistance of Kaneena, another of

their chiefs, who had likewise attached himself to Captain Cook.

The inconvenience we laboured under being made known, he immediately

ordered his countrymen to quit the vessel; and we were not a little

surprised to see them jump overboard, without a moment's hesitation,

all except one man, who, loitering behind, and shewing some

unwillingness to obey, Kaneena took him up in his arms, and threw him

into the sea.

Both these chiefs were men of strong and well-proportioned bodies,

and of countenances remarkably pleasing; Kaneena especially, whose

portrait Mr Webber has drawn, was one of the finest men I ever saw.

He was about six feet high, had regular and expressive features, with

lively, dark eyes; his carriage was easy, firm, and graceful.

It has been already mentioned, that, during our long cruise off this

island, the inhabitants had always behaved with great fairness and

honesty in their dealings, and had not shewn the slightest propensity

to theft, which appeared to us the more extraordinary, because those

with whom we had hitherto held any intercourse, were of the lowest

rank, either servants or fishermen. We now found the case exceedingly

altered. The immense crowd of islanders, which blocked up every part

of the ships, not only afforded frequent opportunity of pilfering

without risk of discovery, but our inferiority in number held forth

a prospect of escaping with impunity in case of detection. Another

circumstance, to which we attributed this alteration in their

behaviour, was the presence and encouragement of their chiefs;

for, generally tracing the booty into the possession of some men

of consequence, we had the strongest reason to suspect that these

depredations were committed at their instigation.

Soon after the Resolution had got into her station, our two friends,

Pareea and Kaneena, brought on board a third chief, named Koah, who,

we were told, was a priest, and had been in his youth a distinguished

warrior. He was a little old man, of an emaciated figure, his eyes

exceedingly sore and red, and his body covered with a white leprous

scurf, the effects of an immoderate use of the _ava_. Being led into

the cabin, he approached Captain Cook with great veneration, and threw

over his shoulders a piece of red cloth, which he had brought along

with him. Then stepping a few paces back, he made an offering of a

small pig which he held in his hand, whilst he pronounced a discourse

that lasted for a considerable time. This ceremony was frequently

repeated during our stay at Owhyhee, and appeared to us, from many

circumstances, to be a sort of religious adoration. Their idols we

found always arrayed with red cloth, in the same manner as was done

to Captain Cook, and a small pig was their usual offering to the

_Eatooas_. Their speeches, or prayers, were uttered too with a

readiness and volubility that indicated them to be according to some

formulary.

When this ceremony was over, Koah dined with Captain Cook, eating

plentifully of what was set before him, but, like the rest of the

inhabitants of the islands in these seas, could scarcely be prevailed

on to taste a second time our wine or spirits. In the evening, Captain

Cook, attended by Mr Bayly and myself, accompanied him on ashore. We

landed at the beach, and were received by four men, who carried wands

tipt with dog's hair, and marched before us, pronouncing with a loud

voice a short sentence, in which we could only distinguish the word

_Orono_.[3] The crowd, which had been collected on the shore, retired

at our approach; and not a person was to be seen, except a few lying

prostrate on the ground, near the huts of the adjoining village.

[Footnote 3: Captain Cook generally went by this name amongst the

natives of Owhyhee, but we could never learn its precise meaning.

Sometimes they applied it to an invisible being, who, they said,

lived in the heavens. We also found that it was a title belonging to a

personage of great rank and power in the island, who resembles pretty

much the Delai Lama of the Tartars, and the ecclesiastical emperor of

Japan.]

Before I proceed to relate the adoration that was paid to Captain

Cook, and the peculiar ceremonies with which he was received on this

fatal island, it will be necessary to describe the _morai_, situated,

as I have already mentioned, at the south side of the beach at

_Kakooa_. It was a square solid pile of stones, about forty yards

long, twenty broad, and fourteen in height. The top was flat, and well

paved, and surrounded by a wooden rail, on which were fixed the sculls

of the captives, sacrificed on the death of their chiefs. In the

centre of the area, stood a ruinous old building of wood, connected

with a rail, on each side, by a stone wall, which divided the whole

space into two parts. On the side next the country were five poles,

upward of twenty feet high, supporting an irregular kind of scaffold;

on the opposite side, toward the sea, stood two small houses, with a

covered communication.

We were conducted by Koah to the top of this pile by an easy ascent,

leading from the beach to the N.W. corner of the area. At the

entrance, we saw two large wooden images, with features violently

distorted, and a long piece of carved wood, of a conical form

inverted, rising from the top of their heads, the rest was without

form, and wrapped round with red cloth. We were here met by a tall

young man, with a long beard, who presented Captain Cook to the

images, and after chanting a kind of hymn, in which he was joined by

Koah, they led us to that end of the _morai_ where the five poles were

fixed. At the foot of them were twelve images ranged in a semicircular

form, and before the middle figure stood a high stand or table,

exactly resembling the _whatta_[4] of Otaheite, on which lay a putrid

hog, and under it pieces of sugar-cane, cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit,

plantains, and sweet potatoes. Koah having placed the captain under

this stand, took down the hog, and held it toward him; and after

having a second time addressed him in a long speech, pronounced with

much vehemence and rapidity, he let it fall on the ground, and led him

to the scaffolding, which they began to climb together, not without

great risk of falling. At this time we saw, coming in solemn

procession, at the entrance of the top of the _morai_, ten men

carrying a live hog, and a large piece of red cloth. Being advanced

a few paces, they stopped, and prostrated themselves; and Kaireekeea,

the young man above-mentioned, went to them and received the cloth,

carried it to Koah, who wrapped it round the captain, and afterward

offered him the hog, which was brought by Kaireekeea with the same

ceremony.

[Footnote 4: See Captain Cook's former voyage.]

Whilst Captain Cook was aloft in this awkward situation, swathed

round with red cloth, and with difficulty keeping his hold amongst the

pieces of rotten scaffolding, Kaireekeea and Koah began their office,

chanting sometimes in concert, and sometimes alternately. This lasted

a considerable time; at length Koah let the hog drop, when he and

the captain descended together. He then led him to the images before

mentioned, and having said something to each in a sneering tone,

snapping his fingers at them as he passed, he brought him to that in

the centre, which, from its being covered with red cloth, appeared

to be in greater estimation than the rest. Before this figure he

prostrated himself, and kissed it, desiring Captain Cook to do the

same, who suffered himself to be directed by Koah throughout the whole

of this ceremony.

We were now led back into the other division of the _morai_, where

there was a space, ten or twelve feet square, sunk about three feet

below the level of the area. Into this we descended, and Captain Cook

was seated between two wooden idols, Koah supporting one of his arms,

whilst I was desired to support the other. At this time arrived a

second procession of natives, carrying a baked hog and a pudding, some

bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, and other vegetables. When they approached

us, Kaireekeea put himself at their head, and presenting the pig to

Captain Cook in the usual manner, began the same kind of chant as

before, his companions making regular responses. We observed, that,

after every response, their parts became gradually shorter, till,

toward the close, Kaireekeea's consisted of only two or three words,

which the rest answered by the word _orono_.

When this offering was concluded, which lasted a quarter of an hour,

the natives sat down fronting us, and began to cut up the baked

hog, to peel the vegetables, and break the cocoa-nuts, whilst others

employed themselves in brewing the _ava_, which is done by chewing it,

in the same manner as at the Friendly Islands. Kaireekeea then took

part of the kernel of a cocoa-nut, which he chewed, and wrapping it

in a piece of cloth, rubbed with it the captain's face, head, hands,

arms, and shoulders. The _ava_ was then handed round, and after we

had tasted it, Koah and Pareea began to pull the flesh of the hog in

pieces, and to put it into our mouths. I had no great objection to

being fed by Pareea, who was very cleanly in his person, but Captain

Cook, who was served by Koah, recollecting the putrid hog, could not

swallow a morsel; and his reluctance, as may be supposed, was not

diminished, when the old man, according to his own mode of civility,

had chewed it for him.

When this last ceremony was finished, which Captain Cook put an end

to as soon as he decently could, we quitted the _morai_, after

distributing amongst the people some pieces of iron and other trifles,

with which they seemed highly gratified. The men with wands conducted

us to the boats, repeating the same words as before. The people again

retired, and the few that remained, prostrated themselves as we passed

along the shore. We immediately went on board, our minds full of what

we had seen, and extremely well satisfied with the good disposition of

our new friends. The meaning of the various ceremonies with which

we had been received, and which, on account of their novelty and

singularity, have been related at length, can only be the subject

of conjectures, and those uncertain and partial; they were, however,

without doubt, expressive of high respect on the part of the natives;

and, as far as related to the person of Captain Cook, they seemed

approaching to adoration.

The next morning, I went on shore with a guard of eight marines,

including the corporal and lieutenant, having orders to erect the

observatory in such a situation as might best enable me to superintend

and protect the waterers, and the other working parties that were to

be on shore. As we were viewing a spot conveniently situated for this

purpose, in the middle of the village, Pareea, who was always ready

to shew both his power and his good-will, offered to pull down some

houses that would have obstructed our observations. However, we

thought it proper to decline this offer, and fixed on a field of sweet

potatoes adjoining to the _morai_, which was readily granted us; and

the priests, to prevent the intrusion of the natives, immediately

consecrated the place, by fixing their wands round the wall by which

it was enclosed.

This sort of religious interdiction they call _taboo_, a word we heard

often repeated, during our stay amongst these islanders, and found

to be of very powerful and extensive operation. A more particular

explanation of it will be given in the general account of these

islands, under the article of religion; at present it is only

necessary to observe, that it procured us even more privacy than we

desired. No canoes ever presumed to land near us; the natives sat on

the wall, but none offered to come within the _tabooed_ space, till he

had obtained our permission. But though the men, at our request, would

come across the field with provisions, yet not all our endeavours

could prevail on the women to approach us. Presents were tried, but

without effect; Pareea and Koah were tempted to bring them, but in

vain; we were invariably answered, that the _Eatooa_ and _Terreeoboo_

(which was the name of their king) would kill them. This circumstance

afforded no small matter of amusement to our friends on board, where

the crowds of people, and particularly of women, that continued to

flock thither, obliged them almost every hour to clear the vessel, in

order to have room to do the necessary duties of the ship. On these

occasions, two or three hundred women were frequently made to jump

into the water at once, where they continued swimming and playing

about, till they could again procure admittance.

From the 19th to the 24th, when Pareea and Koah left us to attend

Terreeoboo, who had landed on some other part of the island, nothing

very material happened on board. The caulkers were set to work on

the sides of the ships, and the rigging was carefully overhauled and

repaired. The salting of hogs for sea-store was also a constant,

and one of the principal objects of Captain Cook's attention. As the

success we met with in this experiment, during our present voyage, was

much more complete than it had been in any former attempt of the same

kind, it may not be improper to give an account of the detail of the

operation.

It has generally been thought impracticable to cure the flesh of

animals by salting in tropical climates, the progress of putrefaction

being so rapid, as not to allow time for the salt to take (as they

express it) before the meat gets a taint, which prevents the effect of

the pickle. We do not find that experiments, relative to this subject,

have been made by the navigators of any nation before Captain Cook. In

his first trials, which were made in 1774, during his second voyage to

the Pacific Ocean, the success he met with, though very imperfect, was

yet sufficient to convince him of the error of the received opinion.

As the voyage, in which he was now engaged, was likely to be

protracted a year beyond the time for which the ships had been

victualled, he was under the necessity of providing, by some such

means, for the subsistence of the crews, or of relinquishing

the further prosecution of his discoveries. He therefore lost no

opportunity of renewing his attempts, and the event answered his most

sanguine expectations.

The hogs which we made use of for this purpose, were of various sizes,

weighing from four to twelve stone.[5] The time of slaughtering was

always in the afternoon; and as soon as the hair was scalded off, and

the entrails removed, the hog was divided into pieces of four or eight

pounds each, and the bones of the legs and chine taken out, and, in

the larger sort, the ribs also. Every piece then being carefully wiped

and examined, and the veins cleared of the coagulated blood, they were

handed to the salters, whilst the flesh remained still warm. After

they had been well rubbed with salt, they were placed in a heap on a

stage raised in the open air, covered with planks, and pressed with

the heaviest weights we could lay on them. In this situation they

remained till the next evening, when they were again well wiped and

examined, and the suspicious parts taken away. They were then put into

a tub of strong pickle, where they were always looked over once

or twice a day, and if any piece had not taken the salt, which was

readily discovered by the smell of the pickle, they were immediately

taken out, re-examined, and the sound pieces put to fresh pickle.

This, however, after the precautions before used, seldom happened.

After six days, they were taken out, examined for the last time, and

being again slightly pressed, they were packed in barrels, with a thin

layer of salt between them. I brought home with me some barrels of

this pork, which was pickled at Owhyhee in January, 1779, and was

tasted by several persons in England about Christmas, 1780, and found

perfectly sound and wholesome.[6]

[Footnote 5: 14 lb.]

[Footnote 6: Since these papers were prepared for the press, I have

been informed by Mr Vancouver, who was one of my midshipmen in the

Discovery, and was afterward appointed lieutenant of the Martin sloop

of war, that he tried the method here recommended, both with English

and Spanish pork, during a cruize on the Spanish Main, in the year

1782, and succeeded to the utmost of his expectations. He also

made the experiment at Jamaica with the beef served by the

victualling-office to the ships, but not with the same success, which

he attributes to the want of the necessary precautions in killing and

handling the beasts; to their being hung up and opened before they

had sufficient time to bleed, by which means the blood-vessels were

exposed to the air, and the blood condensed before it had time to

empty itself, and to their being hard driven and bruised. He adds,

that having himself attended to the killing of an ox, which was

carefully taken on board the Martin, he salted a part of it, which, at

the end of the week, was found to have taken the salt completely,

and he has no doubt would have kept for any length of time; but the

experiment was not tried.]

I shall now return to our transactions on shore at the observatory,

where we had not been long settled before we discovered, in our

neighbourhood, the habitation of a society of priests, whose regular

attendance at the _morai_ had excited our curiosity. Their huts stood

round a pond of water, and were surrounded by a grove of cocoa-nut

trees, which separated them from the beach and the rest of the

village, and gave the place an air of religious retirement. On my

acquainting Captain Cook with these circumstances, he resolved to pay

them a visit; and, as he expected to be received in the same manner

as before, he brought Mr Webber with him to make a drawing of the

ceremony.

On his arrival at the beach, he was conducted to a sacred building

called _Harre-no-Orono_, or the house of _Orono_, and seated before

the entrance, at the foot of a wooden idol, of the same kind with

those on the _morai_. I was here again made to support one of his

arms; and, after wrapping him in red cloth, Kaireekeea, accompanied by

twelve priests, made an offering of a pig with the usual solemnities.

The pig was then strangled, and a fire being kindled, it was thrown

into the embers, and after the hair was singed off, it was again

presented, with a repetition of the chanting in the manner described.

The dead pig was then held for a short time under the captain's

nose, after which it was laid, with a cocoa-nut, at his feet, and the

performers sat down. The _ava_ was then brewed, and handed round; a

fat hog, ready dressed, was brought in, and we were fed as before.

During the rest of the time we remained in the bay, whenever Captain

Cook came on shore, he was attended by one of these priests, who went

before him, giving notice that the _Orono_ had landed, and ordering

the people to prostrate themselves. The same person, also, constantly

accompanied him on the water, standing in the bow of the boat, with a

wand in his hand, and giving notice of his approach to the natives who

were in canoes, on which they immediately left off paddling, and lay

down on their faces till he had passed. Whenever he stopped at the

observatory, Kaireekeea and his brethren immediately made their

appearance with hogs, cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, &c. and presented them

with the usual solemnities. It was on these occasions that some of

the inferior chiefs frequently requested to be permitted to make an

offering to the _Orono_. When this was granted, they presented the

hog themselves, generally with evident marks of fear in their

countenances, whilst Kaireekeea and the priests chanted their

accustomed hymns.

The civilities of this society were not, however, confined to mere

ceremony and parade. Our party on shore received from them, every day,

a constant supply of hogs and vegetables, more than sufficient for our

subsistence; and several canoes, loaded with provisions, were sent to

the ships with the same punctuality. No return was ever demanded, or

even hinted at in the most distant manner. Their presents were made

with a regularity, more like the discharge of a religious duty, than

the effect of mere liberality; and when we enquired at whose charge

all this munificence was displayed, we were told, it was at the

expence of a great man called Kaoo, the chief of the priests, and

grandfather to Kaireekeea, who was at that time absent attending the

king of the island.

As every thing relating to the character and behaviour of this people

must be interesting to the reader, on account of the tragedy that was

afterwards acted here, it will be proper to acquaint him, that we

had not always so much reason to be satisfied with the conduct of the

warrior chiefs, or _Earees_, as with that of the priests. In all our

dealings with the former, we found them sufficiently attentive to

their own interests; and besides their habit of stealing, which may

admit of some excuse, from the universality of the practice amongst

the islanders of these seas, they made use of other artifices

equally dishonourable. I shall only mention one instance, in which

we discovered, with regret, our friend Koah to be a party principally

concerned. As the chiefs, who brought us presents of hogs, were always

sent back handsomely rewarded, we had generally a greater supply than

we could make use of. On these occasions, Koah, who never failed in

his attendance on us, used to beg such as we did not want, and

they were always given to him. It one day happened, that a pig was

presented us by a man whom Koah himself introduced as a chief, who was

desirous of paying his respects, and we recollected the pig to be

the same that had been given to Koah just before. This leading us to

suspect some trick, we found, on further enquiry, the pretended

chief to be an ordinary person; and on connecting this with other

circumstances, we had reason to suspect, that it was not the first

time we had been the dupes of the like imposition.

Things continued in this state till the 24th, when we were a good deal

surprised to find that no canoes were suffered to put off from the

shore, and that the natives kept close to their houses. After several

hours suspense, we learned that the bay was _tabooed_, and all

intercourse with us interdicted, on account of the arrival of

Terreeoboo. As we had not foreseen an accident of this sort, the crews

of both ships were obliged to pass the day without their usual supply

of vegetables. The next morning, therefore, they endeavoured, both by

threats and promises, to induce the natives to come along-side; and as

some of them were at last venturing to put off, a chief was observed

attempting to drive them away. A musket was immediately fired over

his head, to make him desist, which had the desired effect, and

refreshments were soon after purchased, as usual. In the afternoon,

Terreeoboo arrived, and visited the ships in a private manner,

attended only by one canoe, in which were his wife and children. He

staid on board till near ten o'clock, when he returned to the village

of Kowrowa.

The next day, about noon, the king, in a large canoe, attended by

two others, set out from the village, and paddled toward the ships in

great state. Their appearance was grand and magnificent. In the first

canoe was Terreeoboo and his chiefs, dressed in their rich feathered

cloaks and helmets, and armed with long spears and daggers; in the

second, came the venerable Kaoo, the chief of the priests, and his

brethren, with their idols displayed on red cloth. These idols were

busts of a gigantic size, made of wicker-work, and curiously covered

with small feathers of various colours, wrought in the same manner

with their cloaks. Their eyes were made of large pearl oysters, with a

black nut fixed in the centre; their mouths were set with a double row

of the fangs of dogs, and, together with the rest of their features,

were strangely distorted. The third canoe was filled with hogs and

various sorts of vegetables. As they went along, the priests in

the centre-canoe sung their hymns with great solemnity; and, after

paddling round the ships, instead of going on board, as was expected,

they made toward the shore at the beach where we were stationed.[7]

[Footnote 7: The presents were made to Captain Cook after he went on

shore.]

As soon as I saw them approaching, I ordered out our little guard to

receive the king; and Captain Cook, perceiving that he was going on

shore, followed him, and arrived nearly at the same time. We conducted

them into the tent, where they had scarcely been seated, when the

king rose up, and in a very graceful manner threw over the captain's

shoulders the cloak he himself wore, put a feathered helmet upon his

head, and a curious fan into his hand. He also spread at his feet five

or six other cloaks, all exceedingly beautiful, and of the greatest

value. His attendants then brought four very large hogs, with

sugar-canes, cocoa-nuts, and bread-fruit; and this part of the

ceremony was concluded by the king's exchanging names with Captain

Cook, which, amongst all the islanders of the Pacific Ocean, is

esteemed the strongest pledge of friendship. A procession of priests,

with a venerable old personage at their head, now appeared, followed

by a long train, of men leading large hogs, and others carrying

plantains, sweet potatoes, &c. By the looks and gestures of

Kaireekeea, I immediately knew the old man to be the chief of the

priests before mentioned, on whose bounty we had so long subsisted. He

had a piece of red cloth in his hands, which he wrapped round Captain

Cook's shoulders, and afterwards presented him with a small pig in

the usual form. A seat was then made for him, next to the king, after

which, Kaireekeea and his followers began their ceremonies, Kaoo and

the chiefs joining in the responses.

I was surprised to see, in the person of this king, the same infirm

and emaciated old man, that came on board the Resolution when we were

off the north-east side of the island of Mowee; and we soon discovered

amongst his attendants, most of the persons who at that time had

remained with us all night. Of this number were the two younger sons

of the king, the eldest of whom was sixteen years of age, and

his nephew Maiha-Maiha, whom at first we had some difficulty in

recollecting, his hair being plastered over with a dirty brown paste

and powder, which was no mean heightening to the most savage face I

ever beheld.

As soon as the formalities of the meeting were over. Captain Cook

carried Terreeoboo, and as many chiefs as the pinnace could hold, on

board the Resolution. They were received with every mark of respect

that could be shewn them; and Captain Cook, in return for the

feathered cloak, put a linen shirt on the king, and girt his own

hanger round him. The ancient Kaoo, and about half a dozen old chiefs,

remained on shore, and took up their abode at the priests' houses.

During all this time, not a canoe was seen in the bay, and the natives

either kept within their huts, or lay prostrate on the ground. Before

the king left the Resolution, Captain Cook obtained leave for the

natives to come and trade with the ships as usual; but the women, for

what reason we could not learn, still continued under the effects of

the _taboo_; that is, were forbidden to stir from home, or to have any

communication with us.

SECTION II.

_Farther Account of Transactions with the Natives.--Their

Hospitality.--Propensity to Theft.--Description of a Boxing

Match.--Death of one of our Seamen.--Behaviour of the Priests at

his funeral.--The Wood Work and Images on the Morai purchased.--The

Natives inquisitive about our Departure.--Their Opinion about the

Design of our Voyage.--Magnificent Presents of Terreeoboo to Captain

Cook.--The Ships leave the Island.--The Resolution damaged in a Gale,

and obliged to return._

The quiet and inoffensive behaviour of the natives having taken away

every apprehension of danger, we did not hesitate to trust ourselves

amongst them at all times, and in all situations. The officers of both

ships went daily up the country, in small parties, or even singly,

and frequently remained out the whole night. It would be endless to

recount all the instances of kindness and civility which we received

upon those occasions. Wherever we went, the people flocked about us,

eager to offer every assistance in their power, and highly gratified,

if their services were accepted. Various little arts were practised to

attract our notice, or to delay our departure. The boys and girls ran

before, as we walked through their villages, and stopped us at every

opening, where there was room to form a group for dancing. At one

time, we were invited to accept a draught of cocoa-nut milk, or some

other refreshment, under the shade of their huts; at another, we were

seated within a circle of young women, who exerted all their skill and

agility to amuse us with songs and dances.

The satisfaction we derived from their gentleness and hospitality was,

however, frequently interrupted by the propensity to stealing, which

they have in common with all the other islanders of these seas. This

circumstance was the more distressing, as it sometimes obliged us

to have recourse to acts of severity, which we should willingly have

avoided, if the necessity of the case had not absolutely called for

them. Some of their most expert swimmers were one day discovered under

the ships, drawing out the filling nails of the sheathing, which

they performed very dexterously by means of a short stick, with a

flint-stone fixed in the end of it. To put a stop to this practice,

which endangered the very existence of the vessels, we at first fired

small shot at the offenders; but they easily got out of our reach by

diving under the ship's bottom. It was therefore found necessary to

make an example, by flogging one of them on board the Discovery.

About this time, a large party of gentlemen, from both ships, set out

on an excursion into the interior parts of the country, with a view of

examining its natural productions. An account of this journey will be

given in a subsequent part of our narrative. It is, therefore,

only necessary at present to observe, that it afforded Kaoo a fresh

opportunity of shewing his attention and generosity. For as soon as he

was informed of their departure, he sent a large supply of provisions

after them, together with orders, that the inhabitants of the country

through which they were to pass, should give them every assistance in

their power. And, to complete the delicacy and disinterestedness of

his conduct, even the people he employed could not be prevailed on

to accept the smallest present. After remaining out six days, our

officers returned, without having been able to penetrate above twenty

miles into the island, partly from want of proper guides, and partly

from the impracticability of the country.

The head of the Resolution's rudder being found exceedingly shaken,

and most of the pintles either loose or broken, it was unhung, and

sent on shore on the 27th in the morning, to undergo a thorough

repair. At the same time the carpenters were sent into the country,

under conduct of some of Kaoo's people, to cut planks for the head

rail-work, which was also entirely decayed and rotten.

On the 28th, Captain Clerke, whose ill health confined him, for the

most part, on board, paid Terreeoboo, his first visit, at his hut on

shore. He was received with the same formalities as were observed

with Captain Cook; and, on his coming away, though the visit was quite

unexpected, he received a present of thirty large hogs, and as much

fruit and roots as his crew could consume in a week.

As we had not yet seen any thing of their sports or athletic

exercises, the natives, at the request of some of our officers,

entertained us this evening with a boxing-match. Though these games

were much inferior, as well in point of solemnity and magnificence,

as in the skill and powers of the combatants, to what we had seen

exhibited at the Friendly Islands; yet, as they differed in some

particulars, it may not be improper to give a short account of them.

We found a vast concourse of people assembled on a level spot of

ground, at a little distance from our tents. A long space was left

vacant in the midst of them, at the upper end of which sat the judges,

under three standards, from which hung slips of cloth of various

colours, the skins of two wild geese, a few small birds, and bunches

of feathers. When the sports were ready to begin, the signal was given

by the judges, and immediately two combatants appeared. They came

forward slowly, lifting up their feet very high behind, and drawing

their hands along the soles. As they approached, they frequently

eyed each other from head to foot, in a contemptuous manner, casting

several arch looks at the spectators, straining their muscles, and

using a variety of affected gestures. Being advanced within reach of

each other, they stood with both arms held out straight before their

faces, at which part all their blows were aimed. They struck, in what

appeared to our eyes an awkward manner, with a full swing of the arm;

made no attempt to parry, but eluded their adversary's attack by an

inclination of the body, or by retreating. The battle was quickly

decided; for if either of them was knocked down, or even fell by

accident, he was considered as vanquished, and the victor expressed

his triumph by a variety of gestures, which usually excited, as was

intended, a loud laugh among the spectators. He then waited for a

second antagonist, and, if again victorious, for a third, till he

was at last, in his turn, defeated. A singular rule observed in these

combats is, that whilst any two are preparing to fight, a third person

may step in, and choose either of them for his antagonist, when the

other is obliged to withdraw. Sometimes three or four followed each

other in this manner, before the match was settled. When the combat

proved longer than usual, or appeared too unequal, one of the chiefs

generally stepped in, and ended it by putting a stick between the

combatants. The same good humour was preserved throughout, which we

before so much admired in the Friendly Islanders. As these games were

given at our desire, we found it universally expected that we should

have borne our part in them; but our people, though much pressed by

the natives, turned a deaf ear to their challenge, remembering full

well the blows they got at the Friendly Islands.

This day died William Watman, a seaman of the gunner's crew; an event

which I mention the more particularly, as death had hitherto been very

rare amongst us. He was an old man, and much respected on account of

his attachment to Captain Cook. He had formerly served as a marine

twenty-one years; after which, he entered as a seaman on board the

Resolution in 1772, and served with. Captain Cook in his voyage

toward the South Pole. At their return, he was admitted into Greenwich

hospital, through the captain's interest, at the same time with

himself; and being resolved to follow throughout the fortunes of his

benefactor, he also quitted it along with him, on his being appointed

to the command of the present expedition. During the voyage, he had

been frequently subject to slight fevers, and was a convalescent when

we came into the bay, where, being sent on shore for a few days,

he conceived himself perfectly recovered, and, at his own desire,

returned on board; but the day following, he had a paralytic stroke,

which in two days more carried him off.

At the request of the king of the island, he was buried on the

_morai_, and the ceremony was performed with as much solemnity as our

situation permitted. Old Kaoo and his brethren were spectators, and

preserved the most profound silence and attention, whilst the service

was reading. When we began to fill up the grave, they approached

it with great reverence, threw in a dead pig, some cocoa-nuts, and

plantains; and, for three nights afterward, they surrounded it,

sacrificing hogs, and performing their usual ceremonies of hymns and

prayers, which continued till day-break.

At the head of the grave we erected a post, and nailed upon it

a square piece of board, on which was inscribed the name of the

deceased, his age, and the day of his death. This they promised not to

remove; and we have no doubt but that it will be suffered to remain as

long as the frail materials of which it is made will permit.

The ships being in great want of fuel, the captain desired me, on the

2d of February, to treat with the priests, for the purchase of the

rail that surrounded the top of the _morai_. I must confess, I had,

at first, some doubt about the decency of this proposal, and was

apprehensive, that even the bare mention of it might be considered, by

them, as a piece of shocking impiety. In this, however, I found myself

mistaken. Not the smallest surprise was expressed at the application,

and the wood was readily given, even without stipulating for any thing

in return. Whilst the sailors were taking it away, I observed one of

them carrying off a carved image; and, on farther enquiry, I found

that they had conveyed to the boats the whole semicircle.[1] Though

this was done in the presence of the natives, who had not shewn any

mark of resentment at it, but had even assisted them in the removal.

I thought it proper to speak to Kaoo on the subject, who appeared very

indifferent about the matter, and only desired, that we would restore

the centre image I have mentioned before, which he carried into one of

the priests houses.

[Footnote 1: See description of the _morai_ in the preceding Section.]

Terreeoboo and his chiefs had for some days past been very inquisitive

about the time of our departure. This circumstance had excited in me a

great curiosity to know what opinion this people had formed of us, and

what were their ideas respecting the cause and objects of our voyage.

I took some pains to satisfy myself on these points; but could never

learn any thing farther, than that they imagined we came from some

country where provisions had failed; and that our visit to them was

merely for the purpose of filling our bellies. Indeed, the meagre

appearance of some of our crew, the hearty appetites with which we sat

down to their fresh provisions, and our great anxiety to purchase,

and carry off, as much as we were able, led them, naturally enough, to

such a conclusion. To these may be added, a circumstance which puzzled

them exceedingly, our having no women with us; together with our quiet

conduct and unwarlike appearance. It was ridiculous enough to see them

stroking the sides, and patting the bellies of the sailors, (who were

certainly much improved in the sleekness of their looks during our

short stay in the island), and telling them, partly by signs, and

partly by words, that it was time for them to go; but if they would

come again the next bread-fruit season, they should be better able to

supply their wants.[2] We had now been sixteen days in the bay; and if

our enormous consumption of hogs and vegetables be considered, it need

not be wondered that they should wish to see us take our leave. It

is very probable, however, that Terreeoboo had no other view in his

enquiries at present, than a desire of making sufficient preparation

for dismissing us with presents suitable to the respect and kindness

with which he had received us. For, on our telling him we should

leave the island on the next day but one, we observed, that a sort of

proclamation was immediately made, through the villages, to require

the people to bring in their hogs and vegetables, for the king to

present to the _Orono_, on his departure.

[Footnote 2: Let the reader keep this intimation in mind, when he

comes to judge of the melancholy transactions which issued in the

death of Cook. It is most clear, that these people were disposed to

be on good terms with their visitors; but that they were equally

sensible, on the other hand, of the burden which so many half-starved

guests had imposed on their hospitality. Even this, however, it would

seem, they were willing to bear, provided only they had had time to

make arrangements to do so, in a manner consistent with their own

notions of good cheer. It is perfectly easy then to understand, that

when, instead of the necessary absence of the strangers till the next

season of plenty, there elapsed a few days only, as we shall find, it

was impossible for them to form any other conception of the nature

or object of the visit, than what served to give a very different

direction to their feelings. And yet perhaps we shall be induced to

believe, that all their surprise and uneasiness would have quietly

subsided, if an unfortunate, and, in fact, merely partial altercation

had not excited it beyond its original intensity, and produced a

momentary determination to get rid by any means of such troublesome

encroachers.--E.]

We were this day much diverted, at the beach, by the buffooneries of

one of the natives. He held in his hand an instrument, of the sort

described in the last volume; some bits of sea-weed were tied round

his neck, and round each leg a piece of strong netting, about nine

inches deep, on which a great number of dogs' teeth were loosely

fastened in rows. His style of dancing was entirely burlesque, and

accompanied with strange grimaces, and pantomimical distortions of

the face, which, though at times inexpressibly ridiculous, yet, on the

whole, was without much meaning or expression. Mr Webber thought it

worth his while to make a drawing of this person, as exhibiting a

tolerable specimen of the natives; the manner in which the _maro_

is tied; the figure of the instrument before mentioned, and of the

ornaments round the legs, which, at other times, we also saw used by

their dancers.

In the evening, we were again entertained with wrestling and

boxing-matches; and we displayed, in return, the few fireworks we had

left. Nothing could be better calculated to excite the admiration

of these islanders, and to impress them with an idea of our great

superiority, than an exhibition of this kind. Captain Cook has already

described the extraordinary effects of that which was made at Hapaee;

and though the present was, in every respect, infinitely inferior, yet

the astonishment of the natives was not less.

I have before mentioned, that the carpenters, from both ships, had

been sent up the country, to cut planks, for the head rail-work of the

Resolution. This was the third day since their departure; and having

received no intelligence from them, we began to be very anxious for

their safety. We were communicating our apprehensions to old Kaoo, who

appeared as much concerned as ourselves, and were concerting measures

with him, for sending after them, when they arrived all safe. They had

been obliged to go farther into the country than was expected,

before they met with trees fit for their purpose; and it was this

circumstance, together with the badness of the roads, and the

difficulty of bringing back the timber, which had detained them so

long. They spoke in high terms of their guides, who both supplied them

with provisions, and guarded their tools with the utmost fidelity.

The next day being fixed for our departure, Terreeoboo invited Captain

Cook and myself to attend him on the 3d, to the place where Kaoo

resided. On our arrival, we found the ground covered with parcels of

cloth; a vast quantity of red and yellow feathers, tied to the fibres

of cocoa-nut husks; and a great number of hatchets, and other pieces

of iron-ware, that had been got in barter from us. At a little

distance from these lay an immense quantity of vegetables, of every

kind, and near them was a large herd of hogs. At first, we imagined

the whole to be intended as a present for us, till Kaireekeea informed

me, that it was a gift, or tribute, from the people of that district

to the king; and, accordingly, as soon as we were seated, they

brought all the bundles, and laid them severally at Terreeoboo's feet;

spreading out the cloth, and displaying the feathers, and iron-ware,

before him. The king seemed much pleased with this mark of their duty;

and having selected about a third part of the iron-ware, the same

proportion of feathers, and a few pieces of cloth, these were set

aside, by themselves; and the remainder of the cloth, together with

all the hogs and vegetables, were afterward presented to Captain Cook

and myself. We were astonished at the value and magnitude of this

present, which far exceeded every thing of the kind we had seen,

either at the Friendly or Society Islands. Boats were immediately sent

to carry them on board; the large hogs were picked out, to be salted

for sea-store; and upward of thirty smaller pigs, and the vegetables,

were divided between the two crews.

The same day, we quitted the _morai_, and got the tents and

astronomical instruments on board. The charm of the _taboo_ was now

removed; and we had no sooner left the place, than the natives rushed

in, and searched eagerly about, in expectation of finding something

of value, that we might have left behind. As I happened to remain the

last on shore, and waited for the return of the boat, several came

crowding about me, and having made me sit down by them, began to

lament our separation. It was, indeed, not without difficulty I was

able to quit them. And here, I hope I may be permitted to relate a

trifling occurrence, in which I was principally concerned. Having had

the command of the party on shore, during the whole time w were in

the bay, I had an opportunity of becoming better acquainted with the

natives, and of being better known to them, than those whose duty

required them to be generally on board. As I had every reason to be

satisfied with their kindness, in general, so I cannot too often, nor

too particularly, mention the unbounded and constant friendship of

their priests.

On my part, I spared no endeavours to conciliate their affections, and

gain their esteem; and I had the good fortune to succeed so far,

that, when the time of our departure was made known, I was strongly

solicited to remain behind, not without offers of the most flattering

kind. When I excused myself, by saying, that Captain Cook would

not give his consent, they proposed, that I should retire into the

mountains, where, they said, they would conceal me, till after the

departure of the ships; and on my farther assuring them, that the

captain would not leave the bay without me, Terreeoboo and Kaoo

waited upon Captain Cook, whose son they supposed I was, with a formal

request, that I might be left behind. The captain, to avoid giving a

positive refusal, to an offer so kindly intended, told them, that he

could not part with me at that time, but that he should return to the

island next year, and would then endeavour to settle the matter to

their satisfaction.

Early in the morning of the 4th, we unmoored, and sailed out of the

bay, with the Discovery in company, and were followed by a great

number of canoes. Captain Cook's design was to finish the survey of

Owhyhee, before he visited the other islands, in hopes of meeting with

a road better sheltered than the bay we had just left; and in case of

not succeeding here, he purposed to take a view of the south-east part

of Mowee, where the natives informed us we should find an excellent

harbour.

We had calm weather all this and the following day, which made our

progress to the northward very slow. We were accompanied by a great

number of the natives in their canoes; and Terreeoboo gave a fresh

proof of his friendship to Captain Cook, by a large present of hogs

and vegetables, that was sent after him.

In the night of the 5th, having a light breeze off the land, we made

some way to the northward; and in the morning of the 6th, having

passed the westernmost point of the island, we found ourselves abreast

of a deep bay, called by the natives Toe-yah-yah. We had great hopes

that this bay would furnish us with a safe and commodious harbour,

as we saw, to the north-east, several fine streams of water, and the

whole had the appearance of being well sheltered. These observations

agreeing with the accounts given us by Koah, who accompanied Captain

Cook, and had changed his name, out of compliment to us, into

Britannee, the pinnace was hoisted out, and the master, with Britannee

for his guide, was sent to examine the bay, whilst the ships worked up

after them.

In the afternoon, the weather became gloomy, and the gusts of wind,

that blew off the land, were so violent, as to make it necessary to

take in all the sails, and bring-to, under the mizen stay-sail. All

the canoes left us, at the beginning of the gale; and Mr Bligh, on

his return, had the satisfaction of saving an old woman, and two men,

whose canoe had been overset by the violence of the wind, as they were

endeavouring to gain the shore. Besides these distressed people, we

had a great many women on board, whom the natives had left behind, in

their hurry to shift for themselves.

The master reported to Captain Cook, that he had landed at the only

village he saw, on the north side of the bay, where he was directed

to some wells of water; but found they would by no means answer our

purpose; that he afterward proceeded farther into the bay, which

runs inland to a great depth, and stretches toward the foot of a

very conspicuous high mountain, situated on the north-west end of the

island; but that, instead of meeting with safe anchorage, as Britannee

had taught him to expect, he found the shores low and rocky, and a

flat bed of coral rocks running along the coast, and extending upward

of a mile from the land; on the outside of which the depth of water

was twenty fathoms, over a sandy bottom; and that, in the mean time,

Britannee had contrived to slip away, being afraid of returning, as we

imagined, because his information had not proved true and successful.

In the evening, the weather being more moderate, we again made sail;

but, about midnight, it blew so violently, as to split both the fore

and main topsails. On the morning of the 7th, we bent fresh sails,

and had fair weather, and a light breeze. At noon, the latitude, by

observation, was 20° 1' N., the W. point of the island bearing S., 7°

E., and the N.W. point N., 38° E. As we were, at this time, four or

five leagues from the shore, and the weather very unsettled, none

of the canoes would venture out, so that our guests were obliged to

remain with us, much, indeed, to their dissatisfaction; for they were

all sea-sick, and many of them had left young children behind them.

In the afternoon, though the weather was still squally, we stood in

for the land, and being about three leagues from it, we saw a canoe,

with two men paddling towards us, which we immediately conjectured

had been driven off the shore by the late boisterous weather; and

therefore stopped the ship's way, in order to take them in. These poor

wretches were so entirely exhausted with fatigue, that had not one of

the natives on board, observing their weakness, jumped into the canoe

to their assistance, they would scarcely have been able to fasten it

to the rope we had thrown out for that purpose. It was with difficulty

we got them up the ship's side, together with a child, about four

years old, which they had lashed under the thwarts of the canoe, where

it had lain with only its head above water. They told us, they had

left the shore the morning before, and had been from that time

without food or water. The usual precautions were taken in giving

them victuals; and the child being committed to the care of one of the

women, we found them all next morning perfectly recovered.

At midnight, a gale of wind came on, which obliged us to double reef

the topsails, and get down the top-gallant yards. On the 8th, at

day-break, we found that the foremast had again given way, the fishes,

which were put on the head, in King George's, or Nootka Sound, on the

coast of America, being sprung, and the parts so very defective, as

to make it absolutely necessary to replace them, and, of course, to

unstep the mast. In this difficulty, Captain Cook was for some time in

doubt, whether he should run the chance of meeting with a harbour in

the islands to leeward, or return to Karakakooa. That bay was not

so remarkably commodious, in any respect, but that a better might

probably be expected, both for the purpose of repairing the masts,

and for procuring refreshments, of which, it was imagined, that the

neighbourhood of Karakakooa had been already pretty well drained. On

the other hand, it was considered as too great a risk to leave a

place that was tolerably sheltered, and which, once left, could not be

regained, for the mere hopes of meeting with a better; the failure of

which might, perhaps, have left us without resource.

We, therefore, continued standing on toward the land, in order to give

the natives an opportunity of releasing their friends on board from

their confinement; and at noon, being within a mile of the shore, a

few canoes came off to us, but so crowded with people, that there was

not room in them for any of our guests; we therefore hoisted out the

pinnace to carry them on shore; and the master, who went with them,

had directions to examine the south coasts of the bay for water; but

returned, without finding any.

The winds being variable, and a current setting strong to the

northward, we made but little progress in our return; and at eight

o'clock in the evening of the 9th, it began to blow very hard from the

south-east, which obliged us to close reef the topsails; and at two in

the morning of the 10th, in a heavy squall, we found ourselves close

in with the breakers, that lie to the northward of the west point

of Owhyhee. We had just room to haul off, and avoid them, and fired

several guns to apprise the Discovery of the danger.

In the forenoon the weather was more moderate, and a few canoes came

off to us; from which we learnt that the late storms had done much

mischief, and that several large canoes had been lost. During the

remainder of the day we kept beating to windward; and, before night,

we were within a mile of the bay; but, not choosing to run on while

it was dark, we stood off and on till day-light next morning, when we

dropt anchor nearly in the same place as before.

SECTION III.

_Suspicious Behaviour of the Natives, on our Return to Karakakooa

Bay.--Theft on Board the Discovery and its Consequences.--The

Pinnace attacked, and the Crew obliged to quit her.--Captain Cook's

Observations on the Occasion.--Attempt at the Observatory.--The Cutter

of the Discovery stolen.--Measures taken by Captain Cook for its

Recovery.--Goes on Shore to invite the King on Board--The King being

stopped by his Wife and the Chiefs, a Contest arises.--News arrives of

one of the Chiefs being killed by one of our People.--Ferment on this

Occasion.--One of the Chiefs threatens Captain Cook, and is shot by

him.--General Attack by the Natives.--Death of Captain Cook. Account

of the Captain's Services, and a Sketch of his Character._[1]

[Footnote 1: Every reader must feel so deeply interested in the

subject of this section, that he will naturally desire to possess

every information as to all the facts and circumstances in which it

was involved. Captain King's narrative, it may be conceived, is

likely to have every claim to implicit confidence, and to require no

additional statement in order to the most satisfactory conviction

of every mind. Such an opinion is only partially correct; and it is

evident, that the latter assertion is not a necessary inference from

the former. The narrative may be imperfect, though quite consistent

with truth, so far as it goes; and perhaps it cannot be carefully

read, without producing an impression somewhat unfavourable to

the notion of its completeness. This might be pointed out, as we

proceeded, in the usual manner of notes. But a moment's reflection

will suggest, that such interference in a case of the kind would prove

destructive of the general and proper effect of the relation, and

at the same time appear unjust towards the describer. A much better

method, and one more likely to obtain attention, presents itself. That

is, to insert the circumstantial narrative of the whole transaction,

which was drawn up by Mr Samwell, surgeon of the Discovery, and

communicated, with the highest approbation and credit, in the

Biographia Britannica, after having been separately published, by the

advice of the editor of that work, for two years, without experiencing

any objection or a single impeachment. This, therefore, will be given

at the end of the section; and will be found so extremely interesting,

as to justify its reception in an entire form. Its length, however,

and minuteness, in addition to reasons already mentioned, will

preclude both room and occasion for any other notice of the

subject.--E.]

We were employed the whole of the 11th, and part of the 12th, in

getting out the foremast, and sending it with the carpenters, on

shore. Besides the damage which the head of the mast had sustained, we

found the heel exceedingly rotten, having a large hole up the middle

of it, capable of holding four or five cocoa nuts. It was not,

however, thought necessary to shorten it; and, fortunately, the logs

of red toa-wood, which had been cut at Eimeo for anchor-stocks, were

found fit to replace the sprung part of the fishes. As these repairs

were likely to take up several days, Mr Bayly and myself got the

astronomical apparatus on shore, and pitched our tents on the _morai_;

having with us a guard of a corporal and six marines. We renewed

our friendly correspondence with the priests, who, for the greater

security of the workmen and their tools, _tabooed_ the place where the

mast lay, sticking their wands round it, as before. The sail-makers

were also sent on shore, to repair the damages which had taken place

in their department during the late gales. They were lodged in a house

adjoining to the _morai_ that was lent us by the priests. Such were

our arrangements on shore. I shall now proceed to the account of those

other transactions with the natives, which led, by degrees, to the

fatal catastrophe of the 14th.

Upon coming to anchor, we were surprised to find our reception very

different from what it had been on our first arrival; no shouts, no

bustle, no confusion; but a solitary bay, with only here and there a

canoe, stealing close along the shore. The impulse of curiosity, which

had before operated to so great a degree, might now indeed be supposed

to have ceased; but the hospitable treatment we had invariably met

with, and the friendly footing on which we parted, gave us some reason

to expect, that they would again have flocked about us with great joy

on our return.

We were forming various conjectures upon the occasion of this

extraordinary appearance, when our anxiety was at length relieved by

the return of a boat, which had been sent on shore, and brought us

word, that Terreeoboo was absent, and had left the bay under the

_taboo_. Though this account appeared very satisfactory to most of

us, yet others were of opinion, or rather, perhaps, have been led, by

subsequent events, to imagine, that there was something, at this

time, very suspicious in the behaviour of the natives; and that the

interdiction of all intercourse with us, on pretence of the king's

absence, was only to give him time to consult with his chiefs in what

manner it might be proper to treat us. Whether these suspicions were

well founded, or the account given by the natives was the truth, we

were never able to ascertain. For, though it is not improbable that

our sudden return, for which they could see no apparent cause, and the

necessity of which we afterward found it very difficult to make them

comprehend, might occasion some alarm; yet the unsuspicious conduct

of Terreeoboo, who, on his supposed arrival, the next morning, came

immediately to visit Captain Cook, and the consequent return of the

natives to their former friendly intercourse with us, are strong

proofs, that they neither meant nor apprehended any change of conduct.

In support of this opinion, I may add the account of another accident,

precisely of the same kind which happened to us on our first visit,

the day before the arrival of the king. A native had sold a hog on

board the Resolution, and taken the price agreed on, when Pareea,

passing by advised the man not to part with the hog, without an

advanced price. For this he was sharply spoken to, and pushed away;

and the _taboo_ being soon after laid on the bay, we had at first

no doubt but that it was in consequence of the offence given to the

chief. Both these accidents serve to shew, how very difficult it is

to draw any certain conclusion from the actions of people, with whose

customs, as well as language, we are so imperfectly acquainted; at the

same time, some idea may be formed from them, of the difficulties,

at the first view, perhaps, not very apparent, which those have to

encounter, who, in all their transactions with these strangers, have

to steer their course amidst so much uncertainty, where a trifling

error may be attended with even the most fatal consequences. However

true or false our conjectures may be, things went on in their usual

quiet course till the afternoon of the 13th.

Toward the evening of that day, the officer, who commanded the

watering-party of the Discovery, came to inform me, that several

chiefs had assembled at the well near the beach, driving away the

natives, whom he had hired to assist the sailors in rolling down the

casks to the shore. He told me, at the same time, that he thought

their behaviour extremely suspicious, and that they meant to give him

some farther disturbance. At his request, therefore, I sent a marine

along with him, but suffered him to take only his side-arms. In a

short time the officer returned, and, on his acquainting me, that

the islanders had armed themselves with stones, and were grown very

tumultuous I went myself to the spot, attended by a marine, with his

musket. Seeing us approach, they threw away their stones; and, on my

speaking to some of the chiefs, the mob were driven away, and those

who chose it were suffered to assist in filling the casks. Having left

things quiet here, I went to meet Captain Cook, whom I saw coming on

shore in the pinnace. I related to him what had just passed; and he

ordered me, in case of their beginning to throw stones, or behave

insolently, immediately to fire a ball at the offenders. I accordingly

gave orders to the corporal, to have the pieces of the sentinels

loaded with ball, instead of small shot.

Soon after our return to the tents, we were alarmed by a continued

fire of muskets from the Discovery, which we observed to be directed

at a canoe that we saw paddling toward the shore in great haste,

pursued by one of our small boats. We immediately concluded that the

firing was in consequence of some theft, and Captain Cook ordered

me to follow him with a marine armed, and to endeavour to seize the

people as they came on shore. Accordingly, we ran toward the place

where we supposed the canoe would land, but were too late; the people

having quitted it, and made their escape into the country before our

arrival.

We were at this time ignorant that the goods had been already

restored; and as we thought it probable, from the circumstances we had

at first observed, that they might be of importance, were unwilling to

relinquish our hopes of recovering them. Having, therefore, enquired

of the natives, which way the people had fled, we followed them till

it was near dark, when, judging ourselves to be about three miles from

the tents, and suspecting that the natives, who frequently encouraged

us in the pursuit, were amusing us with false information, we thought

it in vain to continue our search any longer, and returned to the

beach.

During our absence, a difference of a more serious and unpleasant

nature had happened. The officer, who had been sent in the small boat,

and was returning on board, with the goods which had been restored,

observing Captain Cook and me engaged in the pursuit of the offenders,

thought it his duty to seize the canoe, which was left drawn up on the

shore. Unfortunately, this canoe belonged to Pareea, who, arriving

at the same moment from on board the Discovery, claimed his property,

with many protestations of his innocence. The officer refusing to give

it up, and being joined by the crew of the pinnace, which was waiting

for Captain Cook, a scuffle ensued, in which Pareea was knocked down,

by a violent blow on the head, with an oar. The natives, who were

collected about the spot, and had hitherto been peaceable spectators,

immediately attacked our people with such a shower of stones, as

forced them to retreat, with great precipitation, and swim off to a

rock, at some distance from the shore. The pinnace was immediately

ransacked by the islanders; and, but for the timely interposition of

Pareea, who seemed to have recovered from the blow, and forgot it at

the same instant, would soon have been entirely demolished. Having

driven away the crowd, he made signs to our people, that they might

come and take possession of the pinnace, and that he would endeavour

to get back the things which had been, taken out of it. After their

departure, he followed them in his canoe, with a midshipman's cap, and

some other trifling articles of the plunder, and, with much apparent

concern at what had happened, asked, if the Orono would kill him, and

whether he would permit him to come on board the next day? On being

assured that he would be well received, he joined noses (as their

custom is) with the officers, in token of friendship, and paddled over

to the village of Kowrowa.

When Captain Cook was informed of what had passed, he expressed much

uneasiness at it; and, as we were returning on board, "I am afraid,"

said he, "that these people will oblige me to use some violent

measures; for," he added, "they must not be left to imagine that they

have gained an advantage over us." However, as it was too late to take

any steps this evening, he contented himself with giving orders, that

every man and woman on board should be immediately turned out of the

ship. As soon us this order was executed, I returned on shore; and our

former confidence in the natives being now much abated, by the events

of the day, I posted a double guard on the _morai_, with orders to

call me, if they saw any men lurking about the beach. At about eleven

o'clock, five islanders were observed creeping round the bottom of

the _morai_; they seemed very cautious in approaching us; and at last,

finding themselves discovered, retired out of sight. About midnight,

one of them venturing up close to the observatory, the sentinel fired

over him; on which the men, fled, and we passed the remainder of the

night without farther disturbance.

Next morning, at day-light, I went on board the Resolution for

the time-keeper; and, in my way, was hailed by the Discovery, and

informed, that their cutter had been stolen, during the night, from

the buoy where it was moored.

When I arrived on board, I found the marines arming, and Captain Cook

loading his double-barrelled gun. Whilst I was relating to him

what had happened to us in the night, he interrupted me, with some

eagerness, and acquainted me with the loss of the Discovery's cutter,

and with the preparations he was making for its recovery. It had been

his usual practice, whenever any thing of consequence was lost at

any of the islands in this ocean, to get the king, or some of the

principal _Erees_, on board, and to keep them as hostages, till it was

restored. This method, which had been always attended with success,

he meant to pursue on the present occasion; and, at the same time, had

given orders to stop all the canoes that should attempt to leave the

bay, with an intention of seizing and destroying them, if he could not

recover the cutter by peaceable means. Accordingly, the boats of both

ships, well manned and armed, were stationed across the bay; and,

before I left the ship, some great guns had been fired at two large

canoes that were attempting to make their escape.

It was between seven and eight o'clock when we quitted the ship

together; Captain Cook in the pinnace, having Mr Phillips and nine

marines with him; and myself in the small boat. The last orders I

received from him, were, to quiet the minds of the natives on our

side of the bay, by assuring them they should not be hurt; to keep my

people together, and to be on my guard. We then parted; the captain

went toward Kowrowa, where the king resided; and I proceeded to the

beach. My first care, on going ashore, was to give strict orders to

the marines to remain within the tent; to load their pieces with ball,

and not to quit their arms. Afterward I took a walk to the huts of old

Kaoo and the priests, and explained to them, as well as I could, the

object of the hostile preparations, which had exceedingly alarmed

them. I found that they had already heard of the cutter's being

stolen; and I assured them, that though Captain Cook was resolved to

recover it, and to punish the authors of the theft, yet that they, and

the people of the village on our side, need not be under the smallest

apprehension of suffering any evil from us. I desired the priests to

explain this to the people, and to tell them not to be alarmed, but to

continue peaceable and quiet. Kaoo asked me, with great earnestness,

if Terreeoboo was to be hurt; I assured him he was not; and both,

he and the rest of his brethren seemed much satisfied with this

assurance.

In the mean time, Captain Cook having called off the launch, which was

stationed at the north point of the bay, and taken it along with him,

proceeded to Kowrowa, and landed with the lieutenant and nine marines.

He immediately marched into the village, where he was received with

the usual marks of respect; the people prostrating themselves before

him, and bringing their accustomed offerings of small hogs. Finding

that there was no suspicion of his design, his next step was to

enquire for Terreeoboo, and the two boys, his sons, who had been his

constant guests on board the Resolution. In a short time, the boys

returned, along with the natives, who had been sent in search of

them, and immediately led Captain Cook to the house where the king

had slept. They found the old man just awoke from sleep; and, after

a short conversation about the loss of the cutter, from which Captain

Cook was convinced that he was in no wise privy to it, he invited him

to return in the boat, and spend the day on board the Resolution. To

this proposal the king readily consented, and immediately got up to

accompany him.

Things were in this prosperous train, the two boys being already

in the pinnace, and the rest of the party having advanced near the

water-side, when an elderly woman, called Kanee-kabareea, the mother

of the boys, and one of the king's favourite wives, came after him,

and, with many tears and entreaties, besought him not to go on board.

At the same time, two chiefs, who came along with her, laid hold of

him, and, insisting that he should go no farther, forced him to sit

down. The natives, who were collecting in prodigious numbers along the

shore, and had probably been alarmed by the firing of the great guns,

and the appearances of hostility in the bay, began to throng round

Captain Cook and their king. In this situation, the lieutenant of

marines, observing that his men were huddled close together in the

crowd, and thus incapable of using their arms, if any occasion should

require it, proposed to the captain to draw them up along the rocks,

close to the waters edge; and the crowd readily making way for them

to pass they were drawn up in a line, at the distance of about thirty

yards from the place where the king was sitting.

All this time, the old king remained on the ground, with the strongest

marks of terror and dejection in his countenance; Captain Cook,

not willing to abandon the object for which he had come on shore,

continuing to urge him, in the most pressing manner, to proceed;

whilst, on the other hand, whenever the king appeared inclined to

follow him, the chiefs, who stood round him, interposed, at first

with prayers and entreaties, but afterward had recourse to force and

violence, and insisted on his staying where he was. Captain Cook,

therefore, finding that the alarm had spread too generally, and

that it was in vain to think any longer of getting him off without

bloodshed, at last gave up the point; observing to Mr Phillips, that

it would be impossible to compel him to go on board, without the risk

of killing a great number of the inhabitants.

Though the enterprise, which had carried Captain Cook on shore, had

now failed, and was abandoned, yet his person did not appear to have

been in the least danger, till an accident happened which gave a fatal

turn to the affair. The boats, which had been stationed across the

bay, having fired at some canoes that were attempting to get out,

unfortunately had killed a chief of the first rank. The news of his

death arrived at the village where Captain Cook was, just as he had

left the king, and was walking slowly toward the shore. The ferment

it occasioned was very conspicuous; the women and children were

immediately sent off; and the men put on their war-mats, and armed

themselves with spears and stones. One of the natives, having in his

hands a stone, and a long iron pike, (which they call a _pahooa_,)

came up to the captain, flourishing his weapon, by way of defiance,

and threatening to throw the stone. The captain desired him to desist;

but the man persisting in his insolence, he was at length provoked to

fire a load of small shot. The man having his mat on, which the shot

were not able to penetrate, this had no other effect than to irritate

and encourage them. Several stones were thrown at the marines; and one

of the _Erees_ attempted to stab Mr Phillips with his _pahooa_, but

failed in the attempt, and received from him a blow with the butt end

of his musket. Captain Cook now fired his second barrel, loaded with

ball, and killed one of the foremost of the natives. A general attack

with stones immediately followed, which was answered by a discharge of

musketry from the marines, and the people in the boats. The islanders,

contrary to the expectations of every one, stood the fire with great

firmness; and, before the marines had time to reload, they broke in

upon them with dreadful shouts and yells. What followed was a scene of

the utmost horror and confusion.

Four of the marines were cut off among the rocks in their retreat, and

fell a sacrifice to the fury of the enemy; three more were dangerously

wounded; and the lieutenant, who had received a stab between the

shoulders with a _pahooa_, having fortunately reserved his fire, shot

the man who had wounded him, just as he was going to repeat his blow.

Our unfortunate commander, the last time he was seen distinctly, was

standing at the water's edge, and calling out to the boats to cease

firing, and to pull in. If it be true, as some of those who were

present have imagined, that the marines and boatmen had fired without

his orders, and that he was desirous of preventing any further

bloodshed, it is not improbable, that his humanity, on this occasion,

proved fatal to him: For it was remarked, that whilst he faced the

natives, none of them had offered him any violence, but that having

turned about to give his orders to the boats, he was stabbed in the

back, and fell with his face into the water. On seeing him fall, the

islanders set up a great shout, and his body was immediately dragged

on shore, and surrounded, by the enemy, who, snatching the dagger out

of each other's hands, shewed a savage eagerness to have a share in

his destruction.

Thus fell our great and excellent commander. After a life of so much

distinguished and successful enterprise, his death, as far as regards

himself, cannot be reckoned premature, since he lived to finish the

great work for which he seems to have been designed, and was rather

removed from the enjoyment, than cut off from the acquisition of

glory. How sincerely his loss was felt and lamented by those who had

so long found their general security in his skill and conduct, and

every consolation, under their hardships, in his tenderness and

humanity, it is neither necessary nor possible for me to describe;

much less shall I attempt to paint the horror with which we were

struck, and the universal dejection and dismay which followed so

dreadful and unexpected a calamity. The reader will not be displeased

to turn from so sad a scene, to the contemplation of his character and

virtues, whilst I am paying my last tribute to the memory of a

dear and honoured friend, in a short history of his life and public

services.

Captain James Cook was born near Whitby, in Yorkshire, on the 27th

of October, 1728; and, at an early age, was put apprentice to a

shopkeeper in a neighbouring village. His natural inclination not

having been consulted on this occasion, he soon quitted the counter

from disgust, and bound himself, for nine years, to the master of a

vessel in the coal trade. At the breaking out of the war, in 1755,

he entered into the king's service, on board the Eagle, at that time

commanded by Captain Hamer, and afterward by Sir Hugh Palliser, who

soon discovered his merit, and introduced him on the quarter-deck.

In the year 1758, we find him master of the Northumberland, the

flag-ship of Lord Colville, who had then the command of the squadron

stationed on the coast of America. It was here, as I have often heard

him say, that, during a hard winter, he first read Euclid, and applied

himself to the study of mathematics and astronomy, without any other

assistance than what a few books, and his own industry, afforded him.

At the same time that he thus found means to cultivate and improve

his mind, and to supply the deficiencies of an early education, he was

engaged in most of the busy and active scenes of the war in America.

At the siege of Quebec, Sir Charles Saunders committed to his charge

the execution of services of the first importance in the naval

department. He piloted the boats to the attack of Montmorency;

conducted the embarkation to the Heights of Abraham; examined the

passage, and laid buoys for the security of the large ships in

proceeding up the river. The courage and address with which he

acquitted himself in these services, gained him the warm friendship of

Sir Charles Saunders and Lord Colville, who continued to patronize him

during the rest of their lives, with the greatest zeal and affection.

At the conclusion of the war, he was appointed, through the

recommendation of Lord Colville and Sir Hugh Palliser, to survey the

Gulf of St Laurence and the coasts of Newfoundland. In this employment

he continued till the year 1767, when he was fixed on by Sir Edward

Hawke to command an expedition to the South Seas, for the purpose of

observing the transit of Venus, and prosecuting discoveries in that

part of the globe. From this period, as his services are too well

known to require a recital here, so his reputation has proportionably

advanced to a height too great to be affected by my panegyrick.

Indeed, he appears to have been most eminently and peculiarly

qualified for this species of enterprise. The earliest habits of his

life, the course of his services, and the constant application of

his mind, all conspired to fit him for it, and gave him a degree of

professional knowledge, which can fall to the lot of very few.

The constitution of his body was robust, inured to labour, and capable

of undergoing the severest hardships. His stomach bore, without

difficulty, the coarsest and most ungrateful food. Indeed, temperance

in him was scarcely a virtue; so great was the indifference with which

be submitted to every kind of self-denial. The qualities of his mind

were of the same hardy, vigorous kind with those of his body. His

understanding was strong and perspicuous. His judgment, in whatever

related to the services he was engaged in, quick and sure. His designs

were bold and manly; and both in the conception, and in the mode of

execution, bore evident marks of a great original genius. His courage

was cool and determined, and accompanied with an admirable presence of

mind in the moment of danger. His manners were plain and unaffected.

His temper might, perhaps, have been justly blamed, as subject to

hastiness and passion, had not these been disarmed by a disposition

the most benevolent and humane.

Such were the outlines of Captain Cook's character; but its most

distinguishing feature was, that unremitting perseverance in the

pursuit of his object, which was not only superior to the opposition

of dangers, and the pressure of hardships, but even exempt from the

want of ordinary relaxation. During the long and tedious voyages in

which he was engaged, his eagerness and activity were never in the

least abated. No incidental temptation could detain him for a moment;

even those intervals of recreation, which sometimes unavoidably

occurred, and were looked for by us with a longing, that persons, who

have experienced the fatigues of service, will readily excuse, were

submitted to by him with a certain impatience, whenever they could

not be employed in making further provision for the more effectual

prosecution of his designs.

It is not necessary here to enumerate the instances in which these

qualities were displayed, during the great and important enterprises

in which he was engaged. I shall content myself with stating the

result of those services, under the two principal heads to which they

maybe referred, those of geography and navigation, placing each in a

separate and distinct point of view.

Perhaps no science ever received greater additions from the labours of

a single man, than geography has done from those of Captain Cook. In

his first voyage to the South Seas, he discovered the Society Islands;

determined the insularity of New Zealand; discovered the straits which

separate the two islands, and are called after his name; and made a

complete survey of both. He afterward explored the eastern coast of

New Holland, hitherto unknown; an extent of twenty seven degrees of

latitude, or upward of two thousand miles.

In his second expedition, he resolved the great problem of a southern

continent, having traversed that hemisphere, between the latitudes

of 40° and 70°, in such a manner as not to leave a possibility of its

existence, unless near the Pole, and out of the reach of navigation.

During this voyage be discovered New Caledonia, the largest island in

the Southern Pacific, except New Zealand; the island of Georgia; and

an unknown coast, which he named Sandwich Land, the _Thule_ of the

southern hemisphere; and having twice visited the tropical seas, he

settled the situations of the old, and made several new discoveries.

But the voyage we are now relating is distinguished, above all the

rest, by the extent and importance of its discoveries. Besides several

smaller islands in the Southern Pacific, he discovered, to the north

of the equinoctial line, the group called the Sandwich Islands; which,

from their situation and productions, bid fairer for becoming an

object of consequence, in the system of European navigation, than

any other discovery in the South Sea. He afterward explored what had

hitherto remained unknown of the western coast of America; from the

latitude of 43° to 70° N., containing an extent of three thousand five

hundred miles; ascertained the proximity of the two great continents

of Asia and America; passed the straits between them, and surveyed

the coast, on each side, to such a height of northern latitude, as to

demonstrate the impracticability of a passage in that hemisphere, from

the Atlantic into the Pacific Ocean, either by an eastern or a western

course. In short, if we except the sea of Amur, and the Japanese

Archipelago, which still remain imperfectly known to Europeans, he has

completed the hydrography of the habitable globe.

As a navigator, his services were not, perhaps, less splendid;

certainly not less important and meritorious. The method which he

discovered, and so successfully pursued, of preserving the health of

seamen, forms a new æra in navigation; and will transmit his name to

future ages amongst the friends and benefactors of mankind.

Those who are conversant in naval history need not be told, at how

dear a rate the advantages which have been sought through the medium

of long voyages at sea, have always been purchased. That dreadful

disorder, which is peculiar to this service, and whose ravages

have marked the tracks of discoverers with circumstances almost too

shocking to relate, must, without exercising an unwarrantable tyranny

over the lives of our seamen, have proved an insuperable obstacle to

the prosecution of such enterprises. It was reserved for Captain

Cook to shew the world, by repeated trials, that voyages might be

protracted to the unusual length of three, or even four years, in

unknown regions, and under every change and rigour of climate, not

only without affecting the health, but even without diminishing the

probability of life in the smallest degree. The method he pursued has

been fully explained by himself in a paper which was read before

the Royal Society in the year 1776;[2] and whatever improvements the

experience of the present age has suggested, are mentioned in their

proper places.

[Footnote 2: Sir Godfrey Copley's gold medal was adjudged to him on

this occasion.]

With respect to his professional abilities, I shall leave them to

the judgment of those who are best acquainted with the nature of the

services in which he was engaged. They will readily acknowledge, that,

to have conducted three expeditions of so much danger and difficulty,

of so unusual a length, and in such a variety of situation, with

uniform and invariable success, must have required not only a

thorough and accurate knowledge of his business, but a powerful and

comprehensive genius, fruitful in resources, and equally ready in the

application of whatever the higher and inferior calls of the service

required.

Having given the most faithful account I have been able to collect,

both from my own observation and the relations of others, of the death

of my ever-honoured friend, and also of his character and services,

I shall now leave his memory to the gratitude and admiration of

posterity; accepting with, a melancholy satisfaction, the honour which

the loss of him hath procured me, of seeing my name joined with his;

and of testifying that affection and respect for his memory, which,

whilst he lived, it was no less my inclination, than my constant

study, to shew him.[3]

[Footnote 3: We shall not easily find a more excellent specimen of

biographical eulogium than what Captain King has now given us. It does

justice to his subject--and this, be it remembered, is a merit of

the highest kind; and it does justice to himself, to his own sense

of propriety and principle, which, in the warmth of their friendship,

professed admirers are too apt to sacrifice at the shrine of departed

worth. The style is suitable to the sentiments, possessing a dignified

simplicity, and an apparent rectitude of aim, which it is impossible

not to consider, as, in a great degree, resulting from intimacy

with the truly great character whom it so forcibly recommends to our

esteem, and which, therefore, may be held as no mean illustration of

the efficacy of those virtues which so eminently adorned him. In this

respect, then, Cook was peculiarly fortunate, were there no other

record to which posterity might appeal--more fortunate, by much,

indeed, than many, whose lives have been blazoned by vain-glorious

historians. We appeal, therefore, to the feelings of every reader,

whether this very circumstance, so providentially directed towards the

perpetuity of his fame, does not indicate the real superiority of such

a man as Cook over the mass of vulgar conquerors, whom, unfortunately

for the world, it has been so much and so long the fashion to admire?

Shall we ever witness the time, when the wanton destroyers of our

species, under whatever name or trappings they vaunt themselves, shall

inherit the abhorrence and the curses of humanity; and when the only

claim to applause that shall be sanctioned, must be founded, like

that of our navigator, on the ability and the disposition to confer

benefits on society? It has often been regretted, as is said in the

Biographia Britannica, that a monument has not yet been erected to

the memory of Captain Cook in Westminster Abbey. The uneasiness is not

superfluous, in so far as the honour of our country is concerned, to

which, perhaps, his exertions have really contributed as much as those

of almost any individual whose greatness is there embalmed; but to the

reputation of Cook, a monument in Westminster Abbey, we agree with

the work alluded to, would be of little or no consequence. "His fame

stands upon a wider base, and will survive the comparatively perishing

materials of brass, or stone, or marble. The name of Cook will be held

in honour, and recited with applause, so long as the records of human

events shall continue in the earth."--E.

The following particulars, respecting the death of Captain Cook,

are taken from Mr Samwell's Narrative, as given in the Biographia

Britannica; to which, also, we are indebted for the most minute and

satisfactory account of this illustrious man ever yet published, and

to which, therefore, we refer the more inquisitive reader.

"On the 6th of February, we were overtaken by a gale of wind; and the

next night, the Resolution had the misfortune of springing the head

of her foremast, in such a dangerous manner, that Captain Cook was

obliged to return to Keragegooah,[1] in order to have it repaired; for

we could find no other convenient harbour on the island. The same

gale had occasioned much distress among some canoes that had paid us a

visit from the shore. One of them, with two men and a child on board,

was picked up by the Resolution, and rescued from destruction; the

men, having toiled hard all night in attempting to reach the land,

were so much exhausted that they could hardly mount the ship's side.

When they got upon the quarter-deck, they burst into tears, and

seemed much affected with the dangerous situation from which they had

escaped; but the little child appeared lively and cheerful. One of

the Resolution's boats was also so fortunate as to save a man and two

women, whose canoe had been upset by the violence of the waves. They

were brought on board, and, with the others, partook of the kindness

and humanity of Captain Cook.

"On the morning of Wednesday, the 10th, we were within a few miles of

the harbour; and were soon joined by several canoes, in which appeared

many of our old acquaintance, who seemed to have come to welcome us

back. Among them was Coo,aha, a priest; he had brought a small pig

and some cocoa nuts in his hand, which, after having chaunted a

few sentences, he presented to Captain Clerke. He then left us,

and hastened on board the Resolution, to perform the same friendly

ceremony before Captain Cook. Having but light winds all that day,

we could not gain the harbour. In the afternoon, a chief of the first

rank, and nearly related to Kariopoo, paid us a visit on board the

Discovery. His name was Ka,mea,mea: He was dressed in a very rich

feathered cloak, which he seemed to have brought for sale, but would

part with it for nothing except iron daggers. These the chiefs, some

time before our departure, had preferred to every other article; for,

having received a plentiful supply of hatchets and other tools, they

began to collect a store of warlike instruments. Kameamea procured

nine daggers for his cloak; and, being pleased with his reception, he

and his attendants slept on board that night.