COOK'S SECOND VOYAGE--A STORM--SEPARATION OF THE SHIPS--AURORA
AUSTRALIS--NEW ZEALAND--SIX WATER-SPOUTS AT ONCE--TAHITI AGAIN--PETTY
THEFTS OF THE NATIVES--COOK VISITS THE TAHITIAN THEATRE--OMAI--ARRIVAL
AT THE FRIENDLY ISLANDS--THE FLEET WITNESS A FEAST OF HUMAN FLESH--THE
NEW HEBRIDES--NEW CALEDONIA--RETURN HOME--HONORS BESTOWED UPON COOK.
The English Government now determined to despatch an expedition in
search of the supposed Southern or Austral continent. A Frenchman, by
the name of Benoit, had seen in 1709, to the south of the Cape of Good
Hope, in latitude 54° and in longitude 11° East, what he believed to be
land, naming it Cape Circumcision. Cook was placed in command of the
Resolution and Adventure, and instructed to endeavor to find this cape
and satisfy himself whether it formed part of the great continent in
question. He left Plymouth on the 13th of July, 1772, and the Cape of
Good Hope on the 22d of November.
A terrific gale soon drove both vessels from their course, washed
overboard their live-stock, and well-nigh disabled the Resolution. The
cold increased suddenly, and drawers and fearnaughts were served in
abundance to the crew. Immense ice-islands now occupied the horizon,
and the sea, dashing over them to the height of sixty feet, filled the
air with its ceaseless roar. On Sunday, the 13th of December, they were
in the latitude of Cape Circumcision, but ten degrees east of it. For
weeks they kept in high Southern latitudes, now menaced by towering
peaks of ice, now enclosed by immense fields and floating masses,
till, towards the 1st of February, 1773, Cook came to the unwelcome
conclusion that the cape discovered by Benoit was nothing more than a
huge tract of ice, which, being chained to no anchorage and subject to
no latitude, he had no reason to expect to find in the spot where the
credulous Frenchman had discovered it sixty years before.
On the 8th of February, the Resolution lost sight of the Adventure,
and cruised three days in search of her, firing guns and burning false
fires, but without success. On the 17th, between midnight and three
in the morning, Cook saw lights in the sky similar to those seen in
high Northern latitudes and known by the name of Aurora Borealis: the
Aurora Australis had never been seen before. It sometimes broke out
in spiral rays and in a circular form; its colors were brilliant,
and it diffused its light throughout the heavens. On the 24th, a
tremendous gale, accompanied with snow and sleet, made great havoc
among the ice-islands, breaking them up, and largely increasing the
number of floating and insidious enemies the ship had to contend
with. These dangers were now, however, so familiar to the crew, that
the apprehensions they caused were never of long duration, and were
in some measure compensated by the seasonable supplies of water the
ice-islands afforded them, and without which they would have been
greatly distressed.
On the 16th of March, Cook found himself in latitude 59°, longitude
146° East. He now determined to quit this quarter, where he was
convinced he should find no land, and proceed to New Zealand to look
for the Adventure and to refresh his crew. On the 26th, he anchored in
Dusky Bay, New Zealand, after having been one hundred and seventeen
days at sea, and having sailed eleven thousand miles without once
seeing land. This point, the most southerly of New Zealand, had never
been visited by a European before.
While coasting to the northward, towards Queen Charlotte's Sound,
where he expected to find the Adventure, Cook suddenly observed six
water-spouts between his vessel and the land. Five of them soon spent
themselves; the sixth started from a point three miles distant, and
passed within fifty yards of the stern of the Resolution, though she
felt no shock. The diameter of its base was about sixty feet: within
this space the sea was much agitated and foamed up to a great height.
From this a tube was formed, by which the water and air were carried
up in a spiral stream to the clouds, from whence the water did not
descend again, being dispersed in the upper regions of the atmosphere.
"I have been told," says Cook, "that the firing of a gun will dissipate
water-spouts; and I am sorry that we did not try the experiment, as we
were near enough and had a gun ready for the purpose; but as soon as
the danger was past I thought no more about it."
On the 18th of May, the Resolution discovered the Adventure in Queen
Charlotte's Sound: the crews of the two ships were overjoyed at meeting
each other after a separation of fourteen weeks. The captain of the
latter had seen upon the coast some natives of the tribe which had
furnished Tupia to Cook's vessel upon his first voyage. They seemed
quite concerned when informed that he had died at Batavia, and were
anxious to know whether he had been killed, and whether he had been
buried or eaten.
Before leaving the island, potatoes, turnips, carrots, and parsnips
were planted in spots favorable to their growth, and the natives were
made to understand their value as esculent roots. A ewe and ram were
sent ashore from the Resolution,--the last pair of the large stock put
on board at the Cape of Good Hope; but they probably ate a poisonous
plant during the night, for they were found dead in the morning. The
Adventure put ashore a boar and two sows, in the hope that they would
multiply and replenish the island.
The two ships sailed in company from New Zealand on the 7th of June,
their purpose being to proceed to the eastward in search of land as
far as longitude 140° West, between the latitudes of 41° and 46°
South. During a long cruise, Cook saw nothing which induced in him the
belief that they were in the neighborhood of any continent between the
meridian of New Zealand and America. A fact which militated against
it was, that they had, as is usual in all great oceans, large billows
from every direction in which the wind blew a fresh gale. These billows
never ceased with the cause which first put them in motion,--a sure
indication that no land was near. They constantly passed low and
half-submerged islands,--now consisting of coral shoals fretting the
waves into foam, and now of islets clothed with verdure. On the 17th of
August they arrived at Tahiti, after an entirely fruitless voyage.
The thieving and cheating propensities of the natives appeared in bold
relief during the sojourn of the English upon their coast. The latter
sometimes paid in advance for promised supplies of hogs and fowls, in
which case they were sure never to get them,--the wary trader making
off with his axe, shirt, or nails, and dispensing with the necessity
of fulfilling his engagement. The practice of overreaching was not
confined to the underlings of society, but extended even to the
chiefs. A potentate of high warlike renown came one day to the side
of the Resolution, and offered for sale a superb bundle of cocoanuts,
which was readily bought by one of the officers. On untying it, it
was found to consist of fruit which they had already once bought, and
which had been tapped, emptied of the milk, and thrown overboard. The
dishonest dignitary sat in his canoe at a distance, indicating by the
glee and vigor of his pantomime that he enjoyed in a supreme degree the
brilliant success of this mercantile fraud.
[Illustration: KING OTOO'S SISTER DANCING.]
At another part of the coast, Cook and his officers were invited by
Otoo, the king, to visit the theatre, where a play was to be enacted
with music and dancing. The performers were five men and one woman,
who was no less a personage than the king's sister. The instruments
consisted of three drums only, and the music lasted about an hour and a
half. The meaning of the play was not apparent to the English, except
that it abounded in local allusions,--the name of Cook constantly
recurring. The dancing-dress of the lady was very elegant, being
ornamented with long tassels made of feathers, hanging from the waist
downwards.
[Illustration: RECEPTION OF COOK AT THE FRIENDLY ISLANDS.]
Cook left Tahiti early in September, taking with him a young savage
named Poreo, who was smitten with a desire to visit foreign parts. At
the neighboring island of Huaheine, a native named Omai, belonging to
the middle class, was also taken on board. Cook thus speaks of him two
years later:--"Omai has most certainly a good understanding, quick
parts, and honest principles: he has a natural good behavior, which
renders him acceptable to the best company, and a proper degree of
pride, which teaches him to avoid the society of persons of inferior
rank. He has passions of the same kind as other young men, but has
judgment enough not to indulge them to an improper excess." Omai was
taken back to Huaheine by Cook when he started upon his third voyage of
discovery, in 1776. We shall have occasion hereafter to chronicle the
incidents of this restoration.
Cook arrived at Middlebourg, one of the Friendly Islands, early in
October. Two canoes, rowed by three men each, came boldly alongside;
and some of them entered the ship without hesitation. One of them
seemed to be a chief, by the authority he exerted, and accordingly
received a present of a hatchet and five nails. Tioony--such was this
potentate's name--was thus cheaply conciliated. Cook and a party soon
embarked in a boat, accompanied by Tioony, who conducted them to a
little creek, where a landing was easily effected. Tioony brandished
a branch of the tree of peace in his right hand, extending his left
towards an immense crowd of natives, who welcomed the English on shore
with loud acclamations. Not one of them carried a weapon of any sort:
they thronged so thickly around the boat that it was difficult to get
room to land. They seemed more desirous to give than receive; and
many threw whole bales of cloth and armfuls of fruit into the boat,
and then retired without either asking or waiting for an equivalent.
Tioony then conducted the strangers to his house, which was situated
upon a fine plantation beneath the shade of shaddock-trees. The floor
was laid with mats. Bananas and cocoanuts were set before them to eat,
and a beverage was prepared for them to drink. This was done in the
following manner:--Pieces of a highly-scented root were vigorously
masticated by the natives; the chewed product was then deposited in
a large wooden bowl and mixed with water. As soon as it was properly
strained, cups were made of green leaves which held nearly half a pint,
and presented to the English. No one tasted the contents but Cook,--the
manner of brewing it having quenched the thirst of every one else.
In this island, as well as in the neighboring one of Amsterdam, the
people--both men and women--were observed to have lost one or both of
their little fingers. Cook endeavored in vain to discover the reason of
this mutilation; but no one would take any pains to inform him.
Cook noticed with interest the sailing canoes of these islands. A
remarkable feature was the sail,--which, being suspended by its spar
from a forked mast, could be so turned that the prow of the boat became
its stern, and _vice versâ_. They sailed with equal rapidity in either
direction.
[Illustration: CANOES OF THE FRIENDLY ISLANDS.]
On his return to New Zealand in November, Cook found that his efforts
to introduce new plants and animals had been frustrated by the natives.
One of the sows had been incapacitated by a severe cut in one of
her hind-legs; the other sow and the boar had been sedulously kept
separate. The two goats had been killed by a fellow named Gobiah,
and the potatoes had been dug up. Cook here had the satisfaction of
beholding a feast of human flesh. A portion of the body of a young
man of twenty years was broiled and eaten by one of the natives with
evident relish. Several of the ship's crew were rendered sick by the
disgusting sight.
The Adventure separated from her consort at this point; nor was she
again seen during the remainder of the voyage. Cook left New Zealand
early in December for a last attempt in the Southern Ocean. On the
12th he saw the first ice, and on the 23d, in latitude 67°, found his
passage obstructed by such quantities that he abandoned all hopes of
proceeding any farther in that direction, and resolved to return to the
north. As he was in the longitude of 137°, it was clear that there must
be a vast space of sea to the north unexplored,--a space of twenty-four
degrees, in which a large tract of land might possibly lie.
Late in February, 1774, Cook was taken ill of bilious colic, and for
some days his life was despaired of. The crew suffered severely from
scurvy. On the 11th of March, they fell in with Roggewein's Easter
Island, which they recognised by the gigantic statues which lined the
coast. They noticed a singular disproportion in the number of the males
and females, having counted in the island some seven hundred men and
only thirty women.
Early in April, Cook arrived among the Marquesas Islands, discovered
in 1595 by Mendana. On the 22d, he arrived at Point Venus, in Tahiti,
where he had observed the transit in 1769, and of which the longitude
was known: he was able, therefore, to determine the error of his watch,
and to fix anew its rate of going. The natives, and especially Otoo,
the king, expressed no little joy at seeing him again. On leaving
Tahiti, Cook visited in detail the islands named Espiritu Santo by
Quiros and Grandes Cyclades by Bougainville. As he determined their
extent and position, he took the liberty of changing their name to that
of the New Hebrides.
[Illustration: NEW CALEDONIAN DOUBLE CANOE.]
Cook now discovered the large island of New Caledonia, whose
inhabitants he mentions as possessing an excellent character.
Subsequent navigators, however, ascertained them to be cannibals.
They were much lower in the scale of intelligence than the Tahitians.
Their canoes were of the most clumsy description, and were generally
propelled in pairs by poles. Cook was unable to obtain provisions;
and, as his crew were now suffering from famine, he returned to New
Zealand, where he arrived on the 18th of October. He left again on the
10th of November, and anchored on the 21st of December in Christmas
Sound, in Terra del Fuego. He doubled Cape Horn, discovered numerous
islands of little importance, and finally headed the vessel for the
Cape of Good Hope. He anchored in Table Bay on the 19th of March, 1775.
He here found news of the Adventure, which had already passed the Cape
on her way home. On the 30th of July, Cook landed at Plymouth, after
an absence of three years and eighteen days. During this space of time
he had lost but four men, and only one of these four by sickness.
He was promoted to the rank of captain, was elected a member of the
Royal Society of London, and received the Godfrey Copley gold medal
in testimony of the appreciation in which his efforts to preserve the
health of his crew were held by the Government. He was now forty-seven
years of age.
[Illustration: A SANDWICH ISLAND KING PROCEEDING TO VISIT COOK.]