(1728-1779)
[Illustration: Captain James Cook.]
As an example of the self-made man without fortune or the prestige of a
distinguished family to assist him, perhaps there is none better and
more instructive than the career of Captain Cook, the great English
navigator and discoverer. At his birth, in 1728, his father was a
farm-laborer, and his mother belonged to the same grade of society. They
lived in the north of England, and were people of excellent character.
On account of his honesty, industry, and skill in farming, his father
was promoted to the place of head servant on a farm some distance from
where he had been working; but it does not appear that he ever made any
further advancement. James learned to read and write, and was instructed
in some of the simpler rules of arithmetic, which was the extent of his
school learning, a very slender outfit for one of the distinction to
which he attained in a lifetime of fifty years.
At the age of thirteen James was bound as an apprentice to a dry-goods
dealer in a small way in a considerable fishing town. The business did
not suit the youth at all, for he had before cherished the idea of going
to sea, and his surroundings in a seaport doubtless increased his
yearnings in that direction. A disagreement between the apprentice and
his employer enabled him to procure his discharge, and he engaged his
services to the Messrs. Walker, a couple of Quakers, who owned two
vessels employed in the coal trade. He passed the greater portion of his
term, and a considerable period after its expiration, as a common sailor
on board of the ship Free Love, where he obtained a thorough knowledge
of seamanship. From this humble sphere he was promoted to be mate of one
of the Walker ships. His life in this capacity was uneventful, though he
was all the time learning navigation and storing his mind with the
information which was to enable him to distinguish himself in later
years.
In 1755, when Cook was twenty-seven years old, war broke out between
England and France, and there was a great demand for seamen for the navy
of England. At that time the system of impressment was in vogue, and
when Britain wanted sailors she took them, wherever and whenever she
could find them. Press-gangs were sent out, under one or more officers,
by ships of war in port needing more men. They visited the
drinking-places and taverns of the town and captured all the seamen
they could find, usually more or less intoxicated, and compelled them to
go on board of the man-of-war. They were forced to do duty. Sometimes
the unlucky tars were taken from the vessels to which they belonged,
whether in port or at sea. This impressment was not always confined to
British seamen, and this system was one of the causes which led to the
war of 1812 between England and the United States. Though the law
sanctioning this abuse was never repealed, press-gangs became obsolete
half a century ago.
Cook's ship was in the Thames at this time, and he was liable to
impressment, for mates were not exempt, though captains were. Like all
British seamen, he had a dread of being forced into the naval service,
oftener because they were forced than for any other reason. He concealed
himself, and used all the precautions he could to avoid such a calamity,
as he then regarded it. But he faithfully reconsidered the subject, and
concluded to enter the navy by voluntary enlistment, thus escaping
impressment, which would be an outrage upon his manhood. He began his
service on board the Eagle, a sixty-gun ship, which was soon after
commanded by Captain Palliser. Cook was not only an able and skilful
seaman, but he diligently and faithfully performed every duty, so that
he soon attracted the attention of his officers.
His friends at home had endeavored to do something for him, and his
commander received a letter from a member of Parliament commending the
seaman to his favor. The captain acknowledged the merit of Cook in his
reply, but stated that he had been in the navy for so brief a period
that he could not be made a commissioned officer, but in due time, if he
proved worthy, a master's warrant might be obtained for him. Four years
after he entered the service a strong interest secured this promotion
for him. In this capacity he was assigned to the frigate Mercury, which
was ordered to North America, where she became one of the fleet that
operated in connection with the army of General Wolfe in the siege of
Quebec.
The navigation of this portion of the St. Lawrence River was difficult
and dangerous then to the English; they were comparative strangers
there, and the French had removed the channel buoys. It was necessary to
make a survey, and Captain Palliser recommended Master Cook for the
service. The locality was exposed to the enemy, and for several nights
he conducted the work till he had about completed it, when his
operations were discovered by the French. A force of Indians was sent to
capture the surveyor, and they surrounded him in the darkness in their
canoes, and Cook made his escape only by leaping ashore, to which his
barge had been directed, near the English hospital, while the Indians
were boarding the boat over the stern. But he had performed the duty
intrusted to him, and from his measurements constructed a perfect chart
of the channel.
He was a very skilful draughtsman, though he had educated himself in the
art, as well as an expert surveyor, and he was employed by the admiral
in making surveys of other portions of the river. His charts of the
locality were published, with soundings and sailing directions; and they
were so correct that no others were needed for at least a hundred
years. He piloted the boats of the squadron in the attack upon
Montmorency, and superintended the landing of the troops for the assault
on the Plains of Abraham, where both Wolfe and Montcalm were mortally
wounded.
For four years Cook had been an acting master, but in 1759 he was fully
confirmed in his rank and appointed to the flag-ship of Lord Colvill,
passing the following winter at Halifax. This was a season of leisure
from active professional occupation, and the master employed it in
studying geometry, astronomy, and mathematics generally, fitting himself
for the highest positions in the navy. For the next ten years he was
largely engaged in surveying in Newfoundland, and was present at its
capture from the French. Returning to England he was married, but was
soon sent back to the field of his recent labors, as marine surveyor of
the coasts, by the influence of his constant friend, now Sir Hugh
Palliser. He was busily employed in this capacity, rendering valuable
service to his country, and especially to the king's ministers in
arranging the terms of peace with France. During his absence he observed
an eclipse of the sun, which was so well done that his results were
published in the "Philosophical Transactions," adding greatly to his
reputation as an astronomer.
At this period the spirit of discovery was reanimated in England, and an
expedition was fitted out, at the instance of the Royal Society,
primarily to observe a transit of Venus across the disk of the sun,
which could only be done in some parts of the Pacific Ocean. Sir Hugh
Palliser was again his friend, and Cook, raised to the rank of
lieutenant, was appointed to the command. He selected a ship of three
hundred and seventy tons, called the Endeavor, for the purpose, and
accompanied by several eminent scientists, he sailed in 1778. In
addition to its astronomical task, the expedition was to make
discoveries and explorations in the Pacific.
It would be impossible to follow Lieutenant Cook in the details of his
three notable voyages of discovery in anything less than a volume, so
full are they of interesting incidents. He proceeded first to Madeira,
and then across the Atlantic to Rio Janeiro, where he made a
considerable stay to obtain supplies, and improve the condition of his
crew. Passing through the Strait of Le Maire, he went around Cape Horn,
and in April of 1769 the Endeavor arrived at Otaheite, now called
Tahiti, in the Society Islands, where the transit was to be observed.
The observations required a considerable stay in Matavia Bay, and as
soon as he had made his preparations on shore for the work, the
commander established regulations for intercourse between his people and
the natives who crowded in multitudes around their strange visitors.
No man in his day and generation ever had more extensive dealings with
the uncivilized tribes of the earth than Captain Cook, and none ever
treated them with more enlightened humanity, or with more even-handed
justice. His treatment of the aborigines of the vast number of islands
and other regions he visited, is in remarkable contrast with that of the
early explorers of the Western Continent. By the latter the natives were
remorselessly slain, enslaved, and even tortured. They were regarded as
pagans, with no natural rights, whose territories, families, and persons
were the legitimate spoils of the conquerors. On the contrary, Cook,
with the means in his possession to overawe, subdue, and subjugate them,
always extended to them the utmost consideration in his power. He could
be severe when necessity required, but his forbearance was almost
unlimited.
The first of a series of rules he established and enforced was: "To
endeavor, by every fair means, to cultivate a friendship with the
natives, and to treat them with all imaginable humanity." He was largely
dependent upon the resources of the islands he visited for the
sustenance of his people; but nothing, except in dire necessity, was
ever taken from the natives by force. Persons were appointed to trade
with them, and no others were allowed to barter or exchange goods with
them, and a proper equivalent was always to be given. His own men were
put under the strictest discipline in order to control their relations
with the natives who constantly surrounded them. Generally the most
friendly spirit prevailed on both sides. The inhabitants of all the
islands seemed to have a natural inclination to steal, and most of the
trouble with them grew out of this tendency. Cook judiciously repressed
theft from the beginning, and almost invariably compelled the
restoration of the property.
On the other hand, his own men were sometimes tempted to desert; but he
hunted them down, secured one or more chiefs as hostages, or by some
common-sense method recovered the absentees. At some of the islands Cook
was extremely popular with the inhabitants, and was regarded as a
superior being, even a demigod, in many of them. When he was compelled
to resort to extreme severity, he did not begin with cannon, loaded with
grape, but trusted first to the loud report, terrific to the savages,
fired over their heads, or had the muskets loaded with small shot which
would hurt, but did not kill. No slaughter that could possibly be
avoided was permitted. If he erred at all it was on the side of
humanity, and if he had been less forbearing he might have added more
years to his length of days.
The astronomical work at Otaheite was successfully accomplished, and in
July Captain Cook departed, taking with him Tupia, a native of some
distinction, who proved to be valuable to him as an interpreter, and for
his general knowledge. During this voyage he visited many of the islands
of the Pacific, including New Zealand, where he encountered no little
hostility, so that it was often difficult and sometimes impossible to
establish friendly relations with the natives. But he obtained what he
needed, and proceeded on his voyage. He gave names to islands, bays,
straits, and harbors, some of which seem strange at the present day, but
most of them were suggested by the circumstances of the visit. Of many
of the islands he took possession in the name of his sovereign, leaving
memorials of his landing.
Sailing to the westward, he examined the east coast of New Holland, as
it was then called, Australia, at the present time, charted the coast,
as he had done throughout the voyage, and took possession of the country
in the name of England. The existence of a Southern Continent had long
been a mooted question, and in this and subsequent voyages Captain Cook
searched unsuccessfully for it. He passed through Torres Strait, and
thus proved that New Guinea was not a part of Australia, as some
claimed. Continuing his voyage, he went around the Cape of Good Hope,
and reached England in the middle of 1771. The results of his cruise of
nearly four years were exceedingly important to his country. His
reputation was largely increased, and he was promoted to the rank of
commander in the navy.
So well approved was the conduct of Captain Cook on his first voyage
around the world, that he was appointed to the command of another
similar expedition, consisting of two ships, the Resolution and the
Adventure, and after about a year on shore, he sailed again in 1772. He
went around the Cape of Good Hope, and cruised in the Southern Pacific,
discovering and taking possession of New Caledonia, visiting islands
where he had landed before, and exploring and charting the New Hebrides.
His instructions particularly required him to circumnavigate the earth
in the highest practicable southern latitude in search of the unknown
continent still supposed to be there. He used the southern summer for
this purpose; but he found no land he was willing to call a continent.
Though large bodies of land have since been discovered in that region,
the question is still an open one.
Adapting his operations to the varying climate of the north and the
south, Captain Cook continued his explorations, encountering many
hardships and perils in unknown seas, from hostile savages, and in the
icy realms of the extreme south.
He returned to England in 1775 after an absence of three years. The
commander had always taken excellent care of the health of his men, for
in voyages of the description he had undertaken the mortality was always
considerable, and sometimes terrible. One of the most noticeable
features of his second expedition was that it returned with a record of
only one death in both ships; and the details of the means he used to
secure a good sanitary condition among his crews are very interesting.
On his return Cook was immediately raised to the rank of post-captain,
and was also appointed a captain in Greenwich Hospital, which secured to
him an honorable retirement, and reward for his important labors. He was
elected a member of the Royal Society, which also bestowed upon him a
gold medal in recognition of his contributions to the science of the
period. The passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific by the north coast
of America was exciting a great deal of attention at this time, and
Captain Cook was sent upon an expedition to continue his explorations in
the Pacific, and then to investigate the mystery of a northwest passage.
He sailed in the Resolution in 1776, and was followed by Captain Clerke
in the Discovery. He proceeded, after his arrival at the Cape of Good
Hope, to Tasmania, visited New Zealand again, and passed the following
year in explorations in the Pacific.
[Illustration: Death of Captain Cook.]
In the first month of 1778 he discovered the Sandwich Islands, to which
he gave this name in honor of his patron, the Earl of Sandwich, then
the first Lord of the Admiralty. Obtaining the supplies he needed, the
commander proceeded to explore the northwest coast of America, which he
followed inside of Behring Strait, till the ice and cold compelled him
to seek a more southern latitude, which he found in the genial airs of
the Sandwich Islands.
During his former visit he had found the natives to be friendly and
generally well disposed, though more addicted to thieving than the
people of any other islands the explorer had visited. For some
unexplained reason they were in a different frame of mind on his second
visit. A boat belonging to the expedition had been stolen by the
savages, and Captain Cook proceeded, in his usual vigorous manner, to
recover it. He sent a boat on shore for this purpose, and then landed
himself with another party, intending to capture a certain chief, to be
exchanged for the boat. An immense crowd gathered around him, and were
hypocritically friendly at first; but it was soon observed that they
were arming themselves. The commander asked Kariopoo, the chief he had
selected, to go with him, and he made no objection. The captain had
ordered the marines to be drawn up on the shore, and leading his
prisoner by the hand he approached the boat, the natives opening a
passage for him.
The chief's family and friends interposed to save him, declaring that he
would be killed if he went on board of the ship. The captain
expostulated with them and the tumult increased. The lieutenant of
marines wanted to fire, but Cook refused the pet mission. The tumult
soon became a battle, and then he ordered his men to fire. As he was
trying to save his party he was struck with a club, which partially
stunned him, and then he was stabbed in the back of the neck by an iron
dagger. He fell into shallow water, and the savages threw themselves
upon him. A struggle ensued, and he was hauled on the beach by his foes,
where they stabbed him in turn in their barbarous rage. His body lay on
the beach, and it might have been recovered, but it was not. Only a
portion of his remains were obtained, and they were buried at sea.
Thus perished Captain James Cook, and all England mourned him.
[Signature: William S. Adams.]