The Life of Captain James Cook - Arthur Kitson
EDEN BEFORE THE FALL.
Whilst they were at Funchal, Banks spent five days with the English
Consul, and he describes the place as very pretty, but the people as
primitive, idle, and uninformed; all their instruments of the rudest
make; and he thought that the appliances used in the manufacture of wine
must have been similar to those used by Noah, "although it is not
impossible that he might have used better if he remembered the methods he
had seen before the flood." One of the Governors left it on record that,
so averse from change were the people, he thought it most fortunate the
island was not Eden before the fall, as in that case the inhabitants
could never have been induced to wear clothes. He explored as much of the
island as he could, but says he could never get more than three miles
away from the town as his time was so much broken up. The Governor
visited them on one of the days he says was so wasted, but relates, with
evident glee, how he took his revenge. There was an electrical machine on
board, and His Excellency was most curious on the subject; it was sent
for and explained to him, and Banks goes on, "they gave him as many
shocks as he cared for; perhaps more." A visit was paid to a convent,
where the nuns, hearing they were distinguished scientists, plied them
with all sorts of questions, and for the half-hour the visit lasted their
tongues were going "all the time at an uncommonly nimble rate." At a
monastery they visited they were well received, and the monks, regretting
they were then unprepared, invited them to come the next day and, though
it would be Friday, they would have roast turkey for dinner.
On 19th September, at midnight, they weighed, sighted Teneriffe on the
23rd, and the day following their first flying fish found its way into
Mr. Green's cabin. On the 28th they tried steaks for dinner cut from a
young shark, which Banks and Solander reported as very good, but the crew
refused to taste them. Cape de Verde was seen on the 30th, and about a
fortnight afterwards the line was crossed in 29 degrees 24 minutes West
longitude, and the following day the event was celebrated. Lieutenant
Hicks had crossed before, so a list was given to him of all on board,
including the dogs and cats, and all were mustered on deck, those who had
already crossed being separated from the others. Any one who wished could
purchase immunity for four days' allowance of wine, but the others had to
pay the penalty of ducking. Banks compounded for himself and party, and
Cook also seems to have got off, but the others were hauled up to the end
of the main-yard on a boatswain's chair, and then at the sound of the
whistle dropped into the sea, an operation repeated three times. Cook
says the "ceremony was performed to about twenty or thirty, to the no
small diversion of the rest."
Whilst near the Equator, great inconvenience was felt from the damp heat;
everything was mouldy or rusty, and several of the crew were on the
sick-list with a sort of bilious complaint; but it fortunately did not
grow into a serious matter.
RECEPTION AT RIO.
They struck soundings on 6th November, and on heaving the lead again
found a difference of less than a foot in three or four hours. Land was
sighted near Cape Frio, Brazil, in latitude 21 degrees 16 minutes South,
on the 8th, and they came across a boat manned by eleven blacks who were
engaged in catching and salting fish. Banks purchased some fish, and was
surprised to find they preferred to be paid in English rather than
Spanish coin. On the 13th they arrived off Rio de Janeiro, where they
were very ungraciously received by the Viceroy. They were not permitted
to land except under a guard; some of the men who had been sent ashore on
duty were imprisoned. Mr. Hicks, who had gone to report their arrival and
ask for the services of a pilot, was detained for a time, and it was only
with difficulty, and at an exorbitant rate, that they obtained fresh food
and water. Consequently little was seen of the place, except from the
ship, and Cook took all possible observations from thence, and made a
sketch map of the harbour, to which he added all the information he was
able to pick up from the pilot. Writing to the Royal Society, he says he
is quite unable to understand the true reason of his treatment, and
contrasts it with that received by a Spanish ship which came in whilst he
was there. This Spanish ship willingly undertook to carry to Europe and
forward to the Admiralty copies of the correspondence that passed between
Cook and the Viceroy, which Cook describes as
"a paper war between me and His Excellency, wherein I had no other
advantage than the racking his invention to find reasons for treating us
in the manner he did, for he never would relax the least from any one
point."
To every remonstrance the Viceroy pleaded his instructions and the custom
of the port. He seems to have been quite unable to grasp the object of
the expedition, and Cook says his idea of the transit of Venus was, "the
North Star passing through the South Pole. His own words." The crew were
accused of smuggling, and it was repeatedly asserted that the Endeavour
was not a king's ship. Parkinson, one of Mr. Banks's staff, says that
frequently some of them let themselves down from the cabin window at
midnight into a boat, and driving with the tide till they were out of
hearing of the guard boat established over them, rowed ashore and made
short excursions into the country, "though not so far as we could have
wished to have done."
Banks, speaking of the supplies obtained at Rio, says the beef was cheap
but very lean and dry; the bread tasted as if made with sawdust, and
justified its name of Farinha de Pao (wooden meal); the fruits, excepting
the oranges, were very indifferent, and he takes particular exception to
the banana, which he had not tasted before, it was not at all to his
liking. The water also was very bad, and the crew preferred what they had
brought with them, though it was very stale.
M. de Bougainville reports that when he visited Rio he was at first
received in a very friendly manner by this same Viceroy, but after a time
the treatment was altered, and he had to put up with even greater
insolence than Cook.
THE SECOND DEATH.
When the stores had been received on board, the anchor was weighed in
order to take up a more favourable position for making a start, but,
unfortunately, shortly after the ship got underway, a man named Peter
Flowers fell from the main-shrouds into the sea and was drowned before
assistance could be rendered: the second death since leaving England. The
next day the wind was contrary, but every one was so anxious to turn
their backs on the place that Cook ordered out the boats to tow, but they
were immediately brought up by a shot from the fort of Santa Cruz. A
remonstrance was sent ashore, and received the lame excuse that the
permit for leaving had been signed but had been delayed on its way, and
the officer in command could not allow the vessel to leave till it was
received. Another attempt to get away was soon after made, but the anchor
fouled a rock, and there was again delay; at length, on the 7th December,
they were able to make a start, discharge their pilot, and bid farewell
to the guard boat which had so constantly kept watch over them. They were
informed that an Englishman, named Foster, an officer in the Portuguese
service, who had been of great use to them, was imprisoned for his kind
attentions.
On 9th December they met with bad weather and lost their foretop-gallant
mast, but the rough handling they got was credited with improving the
sailing qualities of the ship, as it took some of the stiffness out of
her upperworks. A meteor was noted on the 23rd, like a small bright
cloud, emitting flames, travelling rapidly westward, and disappearing
slowly with two sharp explosions. The same day an eclipse of the sun was
observed.
Christmas Day, for which the men had been saving up their allowances of
grog, passed in the usual manner, that is, in considerable
over-indulgence. Banks speculates as to what might have happened if they
had had bad weather, whilst Cook dismisses the occurrence very shortly:
"The people none of the soberest." On the 27th they crossed the mouth of
the River Plate, the water being very discoloured, and a good many land
insects were found in it. On 2nd January 1769, they saw some of the
shoals of red lobsters like those mentioned by Dampier and Cowley, but
they were not found in such quantities as those navigators reported.
On the 11th the shores of Tierra del Fuego were sighted, and on working
in closer, the country was found to be less desolate in appearance than
they had expected from Anson's description. Arriving off the entrance of
the Straits of Le Maire, between Staten Island and the mainland, they
were driven back by the tide and a strong adverse wind, and trying to
shelter under Cape Diego they were carried past, and only after three and
a half days' hard work were they able to get through the straits. Cook
has left sailing directions for this passage which are followed to the
present day. Banks and Solander were ashore for a short time on Staten
Island, and returned delighted with the addition of some hundred new
plants for their collection. Cook, with an eye to the welfare of his
crew, remarks: "They returned on board, bringing with them several plants
and flowers, etc., most of them unknown in Europe, and in that consisted
their whole value." Cook and Green made a series of observations, "the
first ever made so far south in America," and fixed the position of Cape
Diego at 66 degrees West, 54 degrees 39 South; Wharton places it at 65
degrees eight minutes West, 54 degrees 40 minutes South.
On the 15th they anchored in the Bay of Success, for wood and water, and
met with some of the inhabitants, with whom, by means of gifts of beads
and other trifles, they established friendly relations, and three of them
were persuaded to go on board the ship. Though by no means a small race
of men, they were found to be nothing like the giants reported by the
early navigators in this part of the world. They had in their possession
buttons, glass, canvas, brown cloth, etc., showing conclusively they had
previously some communication with Europeans. Their clothing consisted
chiefly of skins, roughly cured, and a plentiful covering of paint and
dirt. The only personal property on which they appeared to set any store
were their bows and arrows, which were carefully made and always in good
order. Their food appeared to consist of seal and shell-fish; their
houses, merely shelters of boughs covered with grass and leaves built to
windward of a small fire.
A SNOWSTORM.
On 16th January, Banks, Solander, Buchan, Green, Monkhouse, two seamen,
and Banks's two coloured servants, tried to get up the hills to see
something of the surrounding country, but they found their progress
hampered by the dwarf vegetation. To add to their discomfort a heavy
snowstorm came on. Several of the party experienced that desire to sleep
which is produced by cold, and were warned by Solander of the danger of
giving way to it, yet he was almost the first one to give in, and was
with great difficulty kept awake. Buchan, most unfortunately, had a fit,
so a large fire was made at the first convenient spot, but a sailor and
the two coloured men lagged behind. During the night the sailor was heard
shouting, and was brought in to the fire, but in the morning the two
coloured men were found frozen to death. Cook attributed their death to
overindulgence in spirits, the supply for the party being left in their
charge. Not intending to remain away the night, supplies ran short, so a
vulture was shot and carefully divided amongst them, each man cooking his
own, which amounted to about three mouthfuls. At length the weather
cleared up and a start back was made, and after three hours they struck
the beach, only to find they had never been any great distance away but
had been describing a circle and came back almost to the place whence
they had started. Banks notes the vegetation as more exuberant than he
expected; the dominant colour of the flowers, white; and he collected
wild celery and scurvy grass in large quantities, which was mixed with
the food on board ship as long as it could be preserved in a wholesome
condition. Whilst at the Bay of Success the guns were lowered into the
hold so as to allow more room on deck for working the ship in the bad
weather they expected to encounter when rounding the Horn.
THE BALANCE OF THE GLOBE.
On 27th January Cape Horn was passed, but owing to fog and contrary wind
they did not approach very closely, so they were unable to fix its exact
position, but the description they were able to give of its appearance
(there is a sketch of it by Mr. Pickersgill, Master's mate, in the
Records Office), and twenty-four observations taken in the immediate
neighbourhood, settled any doubts they may have had, and Cook puts it at
55 degrees 53 minutes South, 68 degrees 13 minutes West, and Wharton
gives the corrected position as 55 degrees 58 minutes South, 67 degrees
16 minutes West. Three days after they reached their furthest south,
according to Cook 60 degrees 4 minutes South, 74 degrees 10 West, and the
course was then altered to West by North. The continuous and careful
observations of the state of the sea, and the absence of currents during
the following month, caused Cook to come to the conclusion that the vast
southern continent so long supposed to exist somewhere in that part of
the globe, and by some people esteemed necessary to preserve its balance,
was non-existent. Banks expresses his pleasure in having upset this
theory, and observes: "Until we know how the globe is fixed in its
position, we need not be anxious about its balance."
The weeks following the change of the course to the north were
uneventful, only marked by an occasional success of the naturalists in
obtaining a fresh specimen, some of which were experimented on by the
cook; an albatross, skinned, soaked all night in salt water, was stewed,
served with savoury sauce, and was preferred to salt pork; a cuttle-fish
of large size, freshly killed by the birds, and too much damaged for
classification, was made into soup, of which Banks says: "Only this I
know that, of it was made one of the best soups I ever ate." The water
obtained at Tierra del Fuego turned out very good: a great boon, as one
of their great troubles and a source of great anxiety to Cook was the bad
quality of the water so often obtained.
Towards the end of March a change was noticed in the kinds of birds
flying round the ship, some being recognised as ones that were known to
stay near land, and consequently a sharp look-out was kept. On the night
of the 24th a tree-trunk was reported, but when morning came nothing
further was seen. It has since been ascertained they were then a little
to the north of Pitcairn Island, afterwards the home of the mutineers of
the Bounty; but Cook did not feel himself at liberty to make any
deviation from his course "to look for what he was not sure to find,"
although he thought he was "not far from those islands discovered by
Quiros in 1606."
On 26th march one of the marines committed suicide by drowning. It seems
he had misappropriated a piece of sealskin, and his fellow-soldiers,
indignant that such a thing should have been done by one of the cloth,
made his life uncomfortable and threatened that he should be reported for
theft. This was the fifth death since leaving England, and none by
disease.
The 4th April, at 10.30 A.M., Banks's servant, Peter Briscoe, sighted
land, and the course of the ship was altered to give them a chance of
inspecting it. It was found to be one of those peculiar circular reefs
surrounding a lagoon, called atolls, which exist in some quantity in the
Pacific. There was no anchorage, so they made no attempt to land, but
were able to see it was inhabited. Some twenty-four persons were counted
through the glasses, and were described as copper-coloured, with black
hair; they followed the ship as if prepared to oppose a landing. The reef
was covered with trees, amongst which the coconut palm was conspicuous.
Cook gave it the name of Lagoon Island; it is now known as Vahitahi, and
is one of the Low Archipelago. Being now in Wallis's track, islands were
sighted almost every day, and almost all appeared inhabited, but owing to
the want of safe anchorage, no communication could be held with the
natives.
On 10th April Osnaburg Island was passed, and next day King George Land
was sighted; but the wind failed, and they did not get close in till the
12th, when canoes came out to the ship, bringing branches of trees which
were handed up the side, with signs directing they should be placed
conspicuously in the rigging, as a token of friendship offered and
accepted. When this had been done the natives produced a good supply of
trade in the shape of vegetables and fruit; amongst the last Banks
enumerates bread-fruit, bananas, coconuts, and apples (a species of hog
plum). These were very acceptable and beneficial to the crew after such a
lapse of time without vegetable food except the wild plants gathered in
Tierra del Fuego.
AT TAHITI.
At 7 A.M. on the 13th they anchored in the bay described by Wallis, known
as Matavai, in thirteen fathoms, and Cook says of his route from Cape
Horn, "I Endeavoured to make a direct course, and in part succeeded."
CHAPTER 8. 1769. SOCIETY ISLANDS.
PRODIGIOUS EXPERT THIEVES.
Hardly had the anchor reached the bottom, before they were surrounded by
canoes, whose occupants were anxious to sell the supplies of fruits, raw
and cooked fish, and a pig they had brought. The price asked for the pig
was a hatchet, and as these were scarce, it was not purchased. When all
was made safe, a party went ashore and was well received by the natives,
but those who had previously been there with Wallis reported that those
who were at that time said to be chiefs, were keeping in the background.
The next day, however, two men, evidently of rank, came on board, and
being invited into the cabin, went through a ceremony described by Banks:
"Each singled out his friend; one took the captain, and the other chose
myself. Each took off a part of his clothes and dressed his friend with
what he took off; in return for this we presented them with a hatchet and
some beads." They were then invited by their new friends to go ashore. On
landing they were escorted to a building and introduced to an old man
they had not seen before, and he presented Cook with a cock, and Banks
with a hen, and each with a piece of native cloth. Banks gave in return
for his share his large laced silk neckcloth and a linen handkerchief.
After this they were permitted to stroll about, and received many tokens
of amity in the shape of green boughs, and were then entertained at a
banquet, the principal dishes being fish and bread-fruit. Whilst at
dinner, Solander had his pocket picked of an opera glass, and Monkhouse
lost his snuff-box. As soon as this was made known, Lycurgus, as they had
named one of their friends, drove off the people, striking them and
throwing anything he could lay his hand to, at them. He offered pieces of
cloth as compensation, and when these were refused, extended his offer to
everything he possessed. He was, at last, made to understand that all
that was wanted was the return of the stolen articles, and after a time
the snuff-box and the case of the glass were returned, and, by and by,
the glass itself. During the whole of the stay at the island they had the
greatest difficulties with the natives for stealing, an accomplishment at
which, Cook says, they were "prodigious expert."
On the whole, their first visit ashore was satisfactory, and was thought
to augur well for the observations of the Transit. A site was selected
for a camp on the eastern point of the bay, to which the name of Point
Venus was given, the longitude, according to Cook, 149 degrees 31 minutes
West, and to Wharton, 149 degrees 29 minutes West. Lines were traced for
the boundaries, and Banks's largest tent was pitched and a guard mounted,
and then the others went for a walk of inspection. They passed through
some woods that Mr. Hicks had been prevented from exploring the day
before, and Banks had the luck to bring down three ducks with one shot, a
deed thought likely to impress the natives with respect for the white
man's weapon. On their road back to camp they were alarmed by a musket
shot, and hurrying on, found that one of the sentries had been pushed
down and his musket stolen, so the midshipman in command had ordered a
shot to be fired at the thief, who was killed, but the musket was not
recovered. All the natives ran away but one, whom Cook calls Awhaa, and
whom the Master, Mr. Molineaux, who had been out with Wallis, recognised
as being a man of some authority. Through Awhaa an attempt was made to
arrange matters, but the natives were very shy when the English landed
the next day. However, the two chiefs who had first made friends, to whom
the names of Lycurgus and Hercules had been given, again came on board,
bringing presents of pigs and bread-fruit; they concluded as Hercules's
present was the larger, he was the richer and therefore the more
important chief. To lessen the chances of disagreements in trading and to
keep some control of prices, Cook ordered that only one person should
conduct the purchasing for the ship, and as Banks had shown aptitude in
dealing with the natives, he was appointed. The natives were to be
treated "with every imaginable humanity."
On the 16th Mr. Buchan, the artist, had another epileptic fit, which was
unfortunately fatal, and he was buried at sea in order to run no risk of
offending against any of the customs or superstitions of the natives.
Cook, in referring to his death, says: "He will be greatly missed in the
course of this voyage."
In the afternoon the ship was brought into such a position as to command
the site of the proposed camp, and as there was to be an eclipse of one
of Jupiter's satellites, Cook and Green stayed ashore to get an
observation, but the weather was unpropitious.
COOK SKETCHES.
The camp was now got into order; the north and south sides were protected
by a bank 4 feet 6 inches high on the inside, having a ditch 10 feet wide
and 6 feet deep on the outside. The west side, facing the bay, had a 4
foot bank crowned by a palisade, with no ditch; and the east side, on the
bank of the river, was protected by a double row of water casks. The
armament consisted of two carriage guns on the weakest or east side, and
six swivel guns, two on each of the other sides. The garrison was
forty-five men, including civilians, and Cook considered it was
practically impregnable. In the manuscripts department of the British
Museum is a pen and ink sketch and plan of the fort, drawn by Cook, which
agrees much better with the description than the engraving of Parkinson's
drawing published in the History of the Voyage. The natives were
disturbed by these preparations, some even leaving the bay, but when no
dreadful results occurred, they took courage and returned.
The fort completed, the instruments were landed and put into the required
positions to be prepared for their work, and the following morning the
quadrant, which had not been removed from the case in which it was packed
in London, was found to be missing, although a sentry had been stationed
within five yards of it the whole night. Enquiries were made, and it was
elicited that the thief had been seen making off with it. Banks, his
native friend, and one or two of the English at once started, closely
followed by Cook and a party of marines. After a long chase the quadrant
was recovered, but some of the smaller parts were missing. After a time
these also were returned in the case of a horse-pistol which had been
stolen from Banks, and soon after the pistol was recovered, and they were
able to return to camp. On their arrival they found Cook's friend,
Dootahah (Hercules), had been detained as a hostage, so he was at once
released, to the great delight of the natives, who had been much alarmed
to see the armed party go into the woods. In order to show his gratitude
for his release Dootahah sent a present of two hogs to Cook, for which he
refused to take any return; but, afterwards, second thoughts proved best,
and he sent a man to ask for an axe and a shirt, and to say he was going
away, and would not be back for ten days. As the supplies of vegetables
and fruit in the market had been decreasing in quantity, it was thought
better to refuse the present in hopes he would apply for it in person,
and arrangements could then be made for a regular market, but he sent
some one else again, and so word was returned that Cook and Banks would
bring it to him the following day. For fear this promise should be
forgotten, Dootahah again sent his man, and Cook and Banks started off in
the pinnace. On their arrival they were received by a large crowd, which
was kept in order by a man in an immense turban, armed with a long white
stick, "which he applied to the people with great judgment and relish."
The party were conducted to a large tree, and very graciously received by
Dootahah, who immediately asked for his axe, which was given him,
together with a shirt and a piece of broadcloth made into a boat-cloak.
He put on the cloak and gave the shirt to the man with the stick, and
refreshments were served. They were afterwards entertained with dancing
and wrestling, and then Dootahah accompanied them back to the ship,
taking his supplies for dinner; and when it became known he was on board,
trading was resumed.