Latest / Life of Captain James Cook / 18 - Life of Captain James Cook by Arthur Octavius Kitson

Transcript

18 - Life of Captain James Cook by Arthur Octavius Kitson · Life of Captain James Cook

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Chapter number sixteen, Part one of the Life of Captain
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: James Cook, the Circumnavigator by Arthur Kitsen. This LibriVox recording
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: is in the public domain. Chapter number sixteen, Part one,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: seventeen seventy six to seventeen seventy seven. Third Voyage. On
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: the twenty fourth of June, kok and Omai joined the
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: ship at the Now, leaving next day for Plymouth, arriving
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: there on the thirtieth, three days after the discovery. On
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: the eighth of July, the final orders which Cook had
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: helped to draw up were received. They were to the
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: effect that he was to proceed by the Cape of
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Good Hope to look for some islands said to have
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: been seen by the French, and latitude forty eight degrees
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: about the longitude of Mauritius, to touch at New Zealand
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: if he thought proper, and then to proceed to o
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: Tahiti and leave Omai there or at the Society Islands,
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: as the latter might wish. Leaving Otahiti about February, he
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: was to strike the North American coast in about forty
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: five degrees latitude, avoiding, if possible, touching at any of
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: the Spanish Dominions, and proceeding northwoods to explore any rivers
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: or inlets that seemed likely to lead to the Hudsons
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: or Baffin's Bay. For the winter he was to proceed
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: to the port of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Comchatska or other suitable place, and in the ensuing spring
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: he was again to try and find a passage either
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: to the east or west. Failing that, the ships were
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: then to return to England. A reward of twenty thousand
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: pounds had been offered to any British merchant ship that
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: discovered a passage between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific, and
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: now this offer was thrown open to any ship flying
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: the British flag, and the passage might be to the
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: east or west, so long as it was north of
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: latitude fifty two degrees. On the ninth of July, the marines,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: who had been carefully selected embarked under the command of
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: Lieutenant Molesworth Phillips, and the following day officers and men
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: were paid up to the thirtieth of June, and petty
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: officers and seamen received an addition two months advance. The
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: Resolution Sails. The Resolution sailed on the twelfth of July,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: the crew looking on it as a lucky day, being
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: the anniversary of the day they had sailed on the
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: last voyage, but as Clerk had not yet arrived, the
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: discovery remained behind. Putting in to Tenerife, Cook purchased a
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: supply of wine, which he did not think as good
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: as that of Madeira, but remarks that the best tenor
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Reef wine was twelve pounds a pipe, whereas the best
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: Madeira is seldom under twenty seven pounds. Here they met
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Captain bordat the Chevalier de Border, who was making observations
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: in order to time two watch machines, and were afforded
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: an opportunity of comparing them with their own, looking into
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: port prayer in hopes to find the discovery. They crossed
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: the line on the first of September in longitude twenty
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: seven degrees thirty eight minutes west, and sighted the Cape
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: of Good Hope on the seventeenth of October. Anchoring in
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: Table Bay the next day, the ship was found to
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: be very leaky in her upper works, as the great
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: heat had opened up her seams, which had been badly
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: corked at first, hardly a man could lie dry in
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: his bed. The offices in the Gun were all driven
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: out of their cabin by the water that came in
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: through the sides. The sails were damaged, some being quite
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: ruined before they could be dried. The reception accorded by
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: the Dutch was all that could be desired, and all
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: the resources of the place were at Cook's disposal. Letters
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: were sent to England, and one invalid, Cook wishing afterwards
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: that he had sent one or two more, but he
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: had at the time hopes of their complete recovery. On
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: the thirty first of October, they were unable to communicate
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: with the shore owing to a heavy southeasterly gale, which
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: did not blow itself out for three days, and the
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: Resolution was the only ship in the bay that rode
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: through it without dragging her anchors. On the tenth of
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: November the Discovery arrived, having left Plymouth on the first
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: of August. She sighted land above twenty five leagues north
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: of Table Bay, but had been blown off the coast
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: in the storm. It may be noted here that the French, Spanish,
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: and United States governments issued instructions to their naval officers
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: that Captain Cook and his ships were to be treated
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: with every respect and as belonging to neutral and allied power,
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: in honor to Cook and also to the nations who
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: conferred it on him. When her consort arrived, Cook was
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: almost ready for sea, so the refit of the discovery
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: was pushed on as quickly as possible, but some delay
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: arose and the delivery of bread ordered. Cook says he
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: believes the Bakers would not put it in hand till
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: they saw the discovery safely at anchor. However, on the
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: thirtieth of November, Clerk was handed his instructions, and the
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: two captains went on board their respective ships to find
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: them fully supplied for a voyage which was expected to
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: love at least two years. Livestock had been purchased at
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: the cape, and one journalist says that on leaving the
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: Resolution reminded him of Noah's Ark. They did not get
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: clear of the coast till the third of December owing
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: to light winds, and then on the sixth a sudden
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: heavy squall cast the Resolution her mizzen topmast. Not a
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: very serious loss, for they had a spare stick, and
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: the broken one had often complained, but Bernie says that
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: owing to the weather, it took them three days to
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: complete the repairs. The cold rough weather had also a
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: bad effect on the livestock, several of them perishing dense fog.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: On the twelfth of December. The islands discovered by Marionne
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: de Frisny and Crozette in seventeen seventy two were sighted,
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: and as they were unnamed, aimed in the map dated
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: seventeen seventy five given by Crozet to Cook, he called
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: them Prince Edward's Islands, and a small group further to
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: the east was named Marion and Crozet Islands. Then sailing
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: south through fog so dense that Bernie says they were
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: often for hours together unable to see twice the length
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: of the ship, and though it was the height of summer,
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: the cold was so intense that the warm clothing had
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: to be resorted to. They cited Kerkulin's Land. On the
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: twenty fourth of December. The Chevalier de Border had given
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: Cook forty eight degrees twenty six minutes south sixty four
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: degrees fifty seven minutes east of Paris as a position
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: of the Rendezvous Islands. This Cook took to be an
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: isolated rock they had only just weathered in the fog,
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: to which he gave the name of Bli's Cap, for
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: he said, I know nothing that can rendezvous at it
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: but fowls of the air, for it is certainly inaccessible
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: to every other animal. Cook, unaware that Kerglian had paid
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: two visits to the place, found some difficulty in recognizing
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: the places described. The country was very desolate, the coarse
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: grass hardly worth cutting for the animals. No wood, but
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: a good supply of water was obtained, and here the
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: Christmas Day was spent on the twenty seventh, as the
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: twenty fifth and twenty sixth had been full of hard work.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: A bottle was found by one of the crew containing
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: a parchment record of the visit of the French in
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: seventeen seventy two. On the back, Cook noted the names
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: of his ships and the year of their visit, and
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: added a silver twopenny piece of seventeen seventy two. Replaced
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: it in the bottle, which was sealed with lead and
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: hidden in a pile of stones, in such a position
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: that it could not escape the notice of any one
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: visiting the spot. Running along the coast to the southeast,
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: they encountered very blowy weather, and finding the land even
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: more desolate than that at Christmas Harbor, they left on
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: the thirty first for New Zealand. Anderson, the surgeon on
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: whom Cook relied for his notes on natural history, says,
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: perhaps no place hitherto discovered in either hemisphere under the
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: same parallel of latitude affords so scanty a field for
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: the naturalist as this barren spot. The whole catalog of plants,
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: including lichens, did not exceed sixteen or eighteen a southerly buster.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: The first part of January seventeen seventy six seven was foggy,
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: and Cook says that they ran above three hundred leagues
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: in the dark. On the nineteenth a squaw carried away
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: the four top mast and main top gallant mast, and
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: it took the whole day to replace the first, but
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: they had nothing suitable for the top gallant mast. On
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: the twenty sixth of January they put into adventure Bay
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: van Diemen's Land and obtained a spa. Cook spoke of
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: the timber as being good but too heavy. A few
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: natives were seen, but did not create a favorable impression. Still,
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: Cook landed a couple of pigs in hopes to establish
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: the breed, a hope doomed to be unsatisfied. The Marquis
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: de Beauvoirs relates that in eighteen sixty six he saw
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: an adventure bay a tree on which was cut with
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: a knife Cook twenty sixth of January seventeen seventy seven,
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: and he was informed it at head been cut by
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: the man himself. They seemed to have seen nothing to
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: raise a doubt about Ferno's conclusion that Van Diemen's Land
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: formed a part of Australia, so no attempt was made
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: to settle the question, and they sailed for New Zealand
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: on the thirtieth, meeting with a perfect storm from the south.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: The thermometer rose almost in an instant, from about seventy
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: degrees to near ninety degrees, but fell again when the
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: wind commenced. In fact, the change was so rapid that
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: there were some on board who did not notice it.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: These storms are of frequent occurrence and are locally known
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: as southerly busters. On the tenth of February, Rock's Point,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: near Cape Farewell was sighted, and on the twelfth they
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: anchored near their old berth in Queen Charlotte's sound, and
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: a camp was immediately established. Here they were visited by
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: a few of the natives, some of whom remembered Cook
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: and were recognized by him. At first they thought he
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: had come to avenge the adventure's losses, but after a
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: time were persuaded to put aside their distrust, and they
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: flocked down to the shore, every available piece of ground,
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: being quickly occupied by their huts. Cook describes how one
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: party worked the ground was selected, the men tearing up
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: the grass and plants and erecting the huts, whilst the
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: women looked after the canoes, properties and provisions, and collected firewood.
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: And he kept the children and some of the oldest
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: of the party out of mischief by scrambling the contents
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: of his pockets amongst them. At the same time, he
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: noticed that, however busy the men might be, they took
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: care to be within easy reach of their weapons, and he,
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: on his side, had a strong party of marines on duty,
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: and any party working at a distance from the ship
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: was always armed and under the command of an officer
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: experienced in dealing with the natives. Cook was pleased to
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: notice his men were not inclined to associate with the Maldies,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: and he always tried to discourage familiarity between his crew
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: and the natives of the islands he visited. It is
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: worthy of remark that two of the resolution were on
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: the sick list, whilst the Discovery had a clean bill
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: of health. One of their constant visitors was a man
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: Cook calls Kahura, who was pointed out as having been
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: the leader at the massacre of the adventure's men, and
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: it was a matter of surprise to the natives that
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: having him in his power, Cook did not kill him.
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: But after the fullest possible inquiry, Cook believed it was
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: best to let matters rest, as the attack had evidently
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: arisen out of a sudden quarrel and was totally unpremeditated.
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: Bernie thinks the Mardis felt a certain contempt for the English,
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: either because they were too generous in their dealings, or
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: else because the murders were unavenged. The gardens that had
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: been made at the last visit had in some respects prospered.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: In particular, the potatoes from the cape had improved in quality,
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: but as they had been appreciated by the natives, there
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: were few to be got. Bernie, on the other hand,
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: declares that nothing could be heard of the pigs and
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: fowls that had been left. O Mai was anxious to
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: take a new Zealander away with him, and soon found
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: one to volunteer. It was explained that he must make
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: up his mind that he would not be able to return,
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: and as he seemed satisfied, he and a boy were taken.
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: When they were seasick, they deeply and loudly lamented leaving
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: their home, but on recovery they soon became a as
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: firmly attached to us as if they had been born
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: amongst us. The weekly paper. Sailing on the twenty fifth
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: of February, they crossed the Tropic on the twenty seventh
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: of March, some nine degrees further west than Cook wished
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: to have done, and had seen nothing of importance. It
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: is interesting to note that Bernie says each ship published
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: a weekly paper, and on signal being made, a boat
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: was sent to exchange when possible. He says Cook was
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: a constant reader, but not a contributor. It is to
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: be regretted that no copies exist of this, probably the
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: first Oceanic weekly. On the twenty ninth of March, a
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: small island Cook calls Manganouya was discovered in twenty one
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: degrees fifty seven minutes south two hundred one degrees fifty
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: three minutes east. Bernie gives twenty one degrees fifty four
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: minutes south two hundred and two degrees six minutes east,
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: but the landing places were too dangerous on account of
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: the surf. A native came on board who was able
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: to converse with O Mai and said they had plenty
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: of plantains and taro, but neither yams, hogs nor dogs.
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: He unfortunately fell over a goat, which he took to
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: be a large bird, and was so frightened he had
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: to be put ashore. The next day another island was seen,
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: and as they were very short of fodder for the animals,
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: Gore was sent to see if trade could be opened
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: up with the inhabitants. In this he was fairly successful
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: and obtained a quantity of plantain stems, which were found
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: to be a satisfactory substitute for grass. But the trading
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: was not brisk, for the people wished to receive dogs
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: in return, and it was evident that though they had none,
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: they knew what they were. They were. They were afraid
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: of the horses in cattle, and took the sheep and
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: goats for some kind of large birds. A party went
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: ashore and were treated fairly well, but when they wished
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: to return to their boats, all sorts of difficulties were raised,
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: and Cook credits O Mai with their safe return, for
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: it seems he gave judiciously boastful replies to the many
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: questions that were asked him, and at the psychological moment
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: exploded a handful of powder, with the result that opposition
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: to their departure was withdrawn. Bernie says Oh Mai was
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: most useful in a landing party, as he was a
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: good sportsman and cook, and was never idle. After this experience,
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: Cook would not run further risks, so made a small
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: uninhabited island, where some vegetables were obtained, and branches of trees,
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: which cut into shore links were eagerly eaten by the cattle,
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: and Cook says it might be said, with our impropriety
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: that we fed our cattle on billet wood. Payment for
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: what had been taken was left in a deserted village.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: On the sixth of April, they reached Hervey's Island, and
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: were somewhat surprised to be visited by several canoes, as
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: on Cook's previous visit, no signs of inhabitants had been noticed.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: Oh my gathered from one or two natives who came
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: on board to sell a few fish, that the resolution
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: and adventure had been seen in seventeen seventy six. When
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: passing the island, King was sent to look for a
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: landing place, but seeing that the women were quietly bringing
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: down arms to their men folk on the beach, he
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: thought it better to return to the ship, and the
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: sale was made for the Friendly Islands, the Discovery being
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: sent on a battle league ahead, as she was better
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: able to claw off a lee shore than mine. At
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: this time, Cook was getting rather short of water, so
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: he set the steel to work and obtained about thirteen
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: to sixteen gallons of fresh water between six am and
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: four pm. There is lately been made some improvement, as
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: they are pleased to call it to this machine, which
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: in my opinion, is much for the worse falling in
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: with repeated thunderstorms in which they caught more water in
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: an hour than by the still in a month. I
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: laid it aside as a thing attended with more trouble
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: than profit. At one of the Palmerstan group, they found,
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: amongst other things, drifted over the reef, some planks, one
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: of which was very thick with trunnel holes in it,
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: and a piece of molding from some ship's upper works,
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: painted yellow with nail holes shown signs of iron rust,
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: probably the remains of some racked European ship. At Comanngo,
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: where they anchored on the twenty eighth of April. Cook notes,
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: it was remarkable that during the whole day the Indians
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: would hardly part with any one thing to anybody but me.
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: Captain Clerk did not get above one or two hogs.
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: A supply of water was obtained and wood was cut,
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: but most of the trees were what Cook calls manchineal,
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: the sap from which produced blisters on the men's skin,
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: and Bernie says some of them were blind for a fortnight,
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: having rubbed their faces with their juice stained hands. One
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: of the carpenters had a bad fall and broke his leg.
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: Before the rest, says Bernie, they were all in good health,
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: thank God. No appearance of scurvy, flogging, no good Cook
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: again ten complains of the thefts committed so continually, and
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: says that no punishment they could devise was effectual, for
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: flogging made no more impression than it would have done
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: upon the mainmast. The chiefs would advise him to kill
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: those caught, but as he would not proceed to such
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: a length, the culprits generally escaped unpunished. Here the Discovery
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: lost her best bower anchor, the cable having been chaffed
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: by the coral and parted when weighing. Bernie describes how
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: by pouring oil on the water they were able to
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: see and recover it from a depth of seventeen fathoms.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: Landing on happy they were very well received and obtained
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: plentiful supplies of fresh food, which was most opportune. An
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: entertainment of boxing, wrestling and combats with clubs made from
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: green cocoanut boughs was held in their honor, and Cook
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: says that they were carried on with the greatest good
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: humor in the presence of some three thousand spectators, though
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: some women as well as men, having received blows, they
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: must feel some time after when this was over, the
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: chief female presented Cook with supplies that required four boats
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: to take to the ships. It far exceeded any present
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: I have ever before received from an Indian prince. The
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: donut was invited on board to receive his return present,
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: which proved so satisfactory that on his return to the
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: shore he forwarded still more in addition to his first gift,
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: and was amused by a drill of the marines and
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: a display of fireworks, which, though some were spoilt, were
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: the cause of astonishment and pleasure to the wandering natives.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: During one of his walks on shore, Cook saw a
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: woman just completing a surgical operation on a child's eyes.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: She was removing a film growing over the eyeballs, and
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: the instruments used were described as slender wooden probes. He
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: was not able to say if the operation were successful.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: The chief female went off to an island about two
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: days sail away in order to obtain some of the
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: feather caps, which were held in a high estimation, and
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: Cook promised to wait for his return, but finding the
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: fresh supplies were running short, he sailed along the south
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: of the reef and put into a bay in Lefuga.
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: On the way, the discovery ran on a shoal but
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: managed to back off without damage. Although he was not
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: short of water. Cook went ashore to inspect some whull
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: which he had been informed contained water of a very
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: superior quality. But he found it very bad, and says,
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: this will not be the only time I shall have
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: to remark that these people do not know what good
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: water is. Near these wells was a large artificial mound
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: about forty feet high and fifty feet diameter, on the top,
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: on which large trees were growing. At the foot was
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: a human block of coral, four feet broad, two and
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: a half feet thick, and fourteen feet high, but the
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: natives present said that there were only one half of
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: it above ground. It was supposed to have been erected
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: to the memory of a great chief, but how many
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: years ago it was impossible to guess King Palaho. Whilst
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: anchored here, a large sailing canoe arrived, having on board
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: a chief who was treated by the natives with the
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: utmost respect, and the visitors were given to understand that
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: Tartafi Palaho was a king of all the islands. He
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: was invited on board and brought with him as a
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: present two good fat hogs, though not as fat as himself,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: for he was the most corporate plump fellow we had
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: met with. I found him to be a sedate, sensible man.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: He viewed the ship and the several new objects with
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: uncommon attention and asked several pertinent questions. In return, Cook
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: was invited ashore, and when they were seated, the natives
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: who had been trading submitted the articles they had received
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: for Palaho's inspection, who inquired what each one had sold,
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: and seemed pleased with the bargain's made. Everything was returned
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: to its owner except a red glass bowl to which
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: the king had taken a great fancy. According to mister
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: Basil Thompson, who was for some years in the Pacific Islands,
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: a red glass bowl was given by the King of
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: Tonga to the notorious mister Shirley Baker as a relic
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: of Captain Cook, but was unfortunately broken. In New Zealand,
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: it was most probably the one in question. Before leaving,
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: Palaho presented Cook with one of the red feather caps
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: made from the tail feathers of a bird the Sandwich
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: Islanders called ewe Vistaria koichinia, which were evidently considered of
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: extreme value. At the same time, he gave Cook Clerk
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: and O Mai some of the red feathers of parakeets, which,
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: though much in demand, were not to be purchased. On
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: the twenty ninth of May, they sailed for Tonga Tabu,
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: but the wind falling they nearly ran ashore on the
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: thirty first, on a low sandy island on which the
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: sea was breaking very heavily. Fortunately, all hands had just
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: been engaged in putting the shop about, so that the
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: necessary movements were not only executed with judgment but with alertness,
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: and this alone saved the ship. Cook confesses that he
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: was tired of beating about in these dangerous waters and
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: felt relieved to get back to his old anchorage off Anamuka.
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: Female here rejoined the ship, and his behaviour before Palaho
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: was sufficient evidence as to the high position held by
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: the latter, for he made a deep reverence to him,
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: and afterwards would not eat or drink in his presence,
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: but left the cabin as soon as dinner was announced
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: an entertainment. On the sixth of June, they sailed for
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: tong Gitabou, again accompanied by some sailing canoes which could
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: all easily outdistance the two ships. A good anchorage was
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: found and Cook's old friends Otago and two Bow were
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: soon on board to greet them, as it was proposed
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: to make a short stay. The cattle were landed, the
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: observatory set up, and the sail makers set to work
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: to overhaul the sails for much required repairs. Cook speaks
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: very highly of the orderly behavior of the natives, many
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: of whom had never seen a white man. Before. Hearing
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: much of an important chief named Murray Wudjie, Cook persuaded
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: the king to escort a party to his residence, which
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: was found to be pleasantly situated on an inlet where
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: most of the chiefs resided, surrounded by neatly fenced plantations.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: But they were informed that Murray Wudjie had gone to
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: see the ships. This was found to be untrue, but
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: the next day he appeared, accompanied by a large number
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: of both sexes, and Cook at once with some presents
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: for him, only to find he was accompanied by another
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: chief to whom something had to be given as well. Fortunately,
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: the two were easily satisfied and the present was divided
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: between them. Mariwaji was found to be the father of
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: female and the father in law of the king. He
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: gave a grand entertainment of singing and dancing in honor
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: of the strangers, which commenced about eleven in the morning
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: and lasted till between three and four in the afternoon,
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: and wound up with a presentation of a large number
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: of yams, each pair of the roots being tied to
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: a stick about six feet long and decorated with fish.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: Cook says it was hard to say which was the
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: most valuable, the yams for food or the sticks for firewood.
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: But as for the fish, it might serve to please
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: the sight, but it was very offensive to this, as
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: some of it had been kept two or three days
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: for this occasion. More singing and dancing then took place,
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: and then the English gave a display of fireworks, which
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: astonished and highly entertained the natives. Being afraid that some
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: of his livestock might be stolen, Cook tried to interest
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: some of the chiefs in them by presenting the king
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: with a bull and cow and some goats, to female
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: a horse and mare, and to Mariwaji a ram and
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: to Ewes. Someone, however, was not satisfied, and a kid
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: and two turkey cocks were stolen, and, as thefts had
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: been frequent, and very daring, including an attempt to steal
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: one of the Yankees off the discovery, which would have
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: been successful had not one of the flukes of the
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: yanchor got fixed in one of the chain plates. Cook
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: determined to put his foot down. He seized three canoes,
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: and hearing female and some other chiefs were in a
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: house together, he placed a guard over them and informed
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: them they would be detained till the stolen goods were returned.
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: They took the matter coolly and said that everything should
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: be returned, some of the things being produced. Cook invited
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: his prisoners on board ship to dine, and when they
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: came back, the kid and the turkey were brought, so
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: the prisoners and canoes were released. At one time, a
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: small hostile demonstration was made by the natives, but the
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: landing of a few marines and an order from the
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: king put an end to it. Smart workmen. The following
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: day Cook was invited on shore and found some natives
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: busy erecting two sets of poles, one on each side
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: of the place set apart for the guests. Each set
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: consisted of four places in a square about two feet apart,
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: secured from spreading by ross pieces and carried up to
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: a height of about thirty feet. The intervening space been
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: filled with yams. On the top of one structure were
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: two baked pigs, and on the other a live one
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: with a second tide by its legs about half way up.
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: Cook was particularly struck by the way the men raised
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: these two towers, and says, if he had ordered his
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: sailors to do such a thing, they would have wanted
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: carpenters and tools, and at least a hundred weight of nails,
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: and would have taken as many days as it did
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: these people hours. When the erections were completed, piles of bread,
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: fruit and yams were heaped on either side, and a
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: turtle and some excellent fish were added, and then the
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: whole was presented to Cook. A party of officers from
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: both ships went off to an island without leave, and
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: returned two days after without their muskets, ammunition, and other
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: articles which had been stolen. They persuaded O Mai to
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: make a private complaint to the King, which resulted in
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: the chiefs leaving the neighborhood. Their disappearance annoyed Cook, and
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: when the affair was explained to him, he severely reprimanded
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: O Mai for speaking on the matter without orders. This
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: put O Mai on his metal, and he managed to
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: persuade Final to return and informed the King that no
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: serious consequences should ensue. Matters were then easily smoothed over.
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: Most of the stolen goods, including the missing turkey, were returned,
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: and the King said he ought not to have been
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: held responsible for If he had known that anyone wished
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: to see the island, he would have sent a chief
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: who would have insured their safety. An eclipse of the
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: sun was to occur on the fifth of July, and
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: Cook decided to remain so as to secure observations, and
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: meanwhile employed himself in exploring the neighborhood and studying the
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: customs of the natives. On one occasion, thinking to see
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: an interesting ceremony, he accompanied Polohoe, who was going to
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: do state mourning for a son who had been dead
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: some time. The result was disappointing, and the chief impression
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: left with Cook seems to have been that, over their
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: clothing of native cloth, those present wore old and rugged mats,
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: those of the king being the ruggedest, and might have
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: secured his great grandfather on some such occasion. The fifth
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: of July proved dark and cloudy, with heavy showers of rain,
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: and the observations were unsatisfactory, especially as the clouds came
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: up thickly in the middle of the eclipse and the
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: sun was seen no more for the rest of the day.
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: This failure was not of great importance, for the longitude
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: had already been satisfactorily ascertained by several very good lunar observations,
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: so as soon as the eclipse was over, everything was
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: sent on board the ships, including the sheep which had
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: been presented to Mauwaji. No one had taken any notice
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: of them since they were landed, and Cook felt sure
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: they would be killed by the dogs as soon as
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: the ships left. End of Chapter sixteen, Part one.