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

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Speaker 1: Chapter number sixteen, Part two of the Life of Captain
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Speaker 1: James Cook, the Circumnavigator by Arthur Kitsen. This LibriVox recording
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Speaker 1: is in the public domain. Chapter number sixteen, Part two,
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Speaker 1: seventeen seventy six to seventeen seventy seven. Third Voyage a
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Speaker 1: native ceremony. As the wind proved contrary and it was
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Speaker 1: understood that the king's son was to be initiated into
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Speaker 1: the estate of manhood, eating with his father for the
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Speaker 1: first time, Cook determined to remain a few days longer.
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Speaker 1: A party of the officers went over to the island
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Speaker 1: of Moer, where the ceremony was to be held, and
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Speaker 1: found the king in a very dirty enclosure drinking kaver
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Speaker 1: And as the method of preparing this beverage was uninviting
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Speaker 1: to Europeans, they went for a walk till about ten o'clock.
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Speaker 1: Finding large numbers of people assembling in an open space
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Speaker 1: near a large building, they rejoined the King, taking off
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Speaker 1: their hats and untying their hair, that we might appear
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Speaker 1: more decent in the eyes of the natives. The proceedings
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Speaker 1: consisted of marching of men laden with yams tied on
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Speaker 1: to sticks of considerable speech making and various performances of
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Speaker 1: which the signification could not be understood, and then the
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Speaker 1: prince made his appearance. He seated himself with a few
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Speaker 1: of his friends on the ground, and some women wound
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Speaker 1: a long piece of cloth around them, and after some
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Speaker 1: more speech making and mysterious pantomime with sticks representing yams,
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Speaker 1: the proceedings ended for the day, as there were signs
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Speaker 1: that so many white onlookers was not altogether acceptable to
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Speaker 1: the natives. Some of the party returned to the ships,
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Speaker 1: but Cook resolved to see it out and joined the
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Speaker 1: king at supper, and the latter enjoyed some brandy and water,
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Speaker 1: so much that Cook says he went to bed quite groggish.
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Speaker 1: After breakfast, Cook paid a visit to the prince and
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Speaker 1: presented him with enough English cloth to make a suit,
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Speaker 1: receiving native cloth in return. After dinner, the people mustered
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Speaker 1: for the remains of the ceremony, and Cook determined to
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Speaker 1: join the principal party, so he seated himself with it
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Speaker 1: and would not understand when requested to leave. He was
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Speaker 1: then requested to bear his shoulders as a mark of respect,
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Speaker 1: and immediately did so, and was then no further molested
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Speaker 1: a somewhat similar performance was gone through as the day before,
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Speaker 1: but the significance of which could not be ascertained, And
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Speaker 1: then suddenly all the people turned their back on King
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Speaker 1: and Prince, whose Cook was afterwards informed had had pieces
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Speaker 1: of roast yam given them to eat. An exhibition of
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Speaker 1: boxing and wrestling was then given, and after a speech
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Speaker 1: or two, the proceedings terminated. Cook was informed that in
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Speaker 1: about three months a much greater affair would take place,
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Speaker 1: at which ten men would be sacrificed. On the tenth
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Speaker 1: of July, the ships sailed through a very difficult passage,
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Speaker 1: arriving off Middleburg on the twelfth, where they were visited
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Speaker 1: by their old friend Taulfa. The country appeared flourishing, and
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Speaker 1: they obtained some turnips raised from seed Simon. At Cook's
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Speaker 1: last visit, an exhibition of boxing was given, and was
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Speaker 1: to have been repeated the following night, but unfortunately some
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Speaker 1: of the natives fell upon a sailor and stripped him
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Speaker 1: of his clothes. Cook thereupon seized two canoes in a pig,
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Speaker 1: demanding that the coprich should be given up. A man
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Speaker 1: who had the shirt and trousers was brought and so
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Speaker 1: the canoes were returned and the pig paid for, and
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Speaker 1: next day the thief was liberated. The remainder of the
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Speaker 1: sailor's clothes were afterwards found, but so much torn as
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Speaker 1: to be worthless. They left the Friendly Islands on the
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Speaker 1: seventeenth after a stay of more than two months, during
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Speaker 1: which time they had been living almost entirely on food
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Speaker 1: they had purchased from the natives with whom they had
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Speaker 1: been on fairly good terms. The twenty ninth brought them
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Speaker 1: into a very heavy squall, which cost the resolution a
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Speaker 1: couple of stay sails and her consort a main top
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Speaker 1: mast and main top gallant yard, springing the head of
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Speaker 1: her main mast so badly that the rigging of the
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Speaker 1: jury mast was attended with some danger, but it was
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Speaker 1: at length accomplished, a spare jibbam being furnished for the
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Speaker 1: purpose by the Resolution. O Tahiti was reached on the
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Speaker 1: twelfth of August, and amongst the first visitors on board
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Speaker 1: were o May's brother in law and others who knew
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Speaker 1: him before he went away. They treated him as if
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Speaker 1: he was an Englishman and a stranger. But when he
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Speaker 1: took his brother in law to his cabin and gave
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Speaker 1: him some of the valuable red feathers. A change came
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Speaker 1: over them all, and they expressed the greatest interest in him.
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Speaker 1: Kok says O Mai would take no advice, but permitted
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Speaker 1: himself to be made the dupe of every designing knave.
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Speaker 1: Of these red feathers, Cook says they were of such
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Speaker 1: value that not more than might be got from a
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Speaker 1: tom tit would purchase a hog of forty or fifty
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Speaker 1: pounds weight. Nails and beads were not looked at, although
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Speaker 1: they had previously been very acceptable. Spanish ships two ships
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Speaker 1: from Lima were found to have visited the island twice
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Speaker 1: since Cook's last call, and the first time the Spaniards
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Speaker 1: built a house with material they had with them. They
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Speaker 1: left four men in charge and were away for about
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Speaker 1: ten months. At the second visit, their commodore died and
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Speaker 1: was buried near the house, which was left at their departure,
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Speaker 1: and the natives built a shade over it to protect
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Speaker 1: it from the weather. It consisted of two rooms, finished
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Speaker 1: with table bed bench and a few other trifles, and
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Speaker 1: the timbers were found to have been carefully marked to
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Speaker 1: facilitate erection. Near By was a cross having the following
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Speaker 1: inscription cut on it Christus vincet Carollous of third imperat
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Speaker 1: seventeen seventy four, Cook caused to be cut on the
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Speaker 1: back Georgius Tertius rex Annas seventeen sixty seven sixty nine
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Speaker 1: seventy three seventy four. At seventy eight, at the end
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Speaker 1: of their first visit, the Spaniards took away four natives
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Speaker 1: to Lima. One died, one remained at Lima, and the
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Speaker 1: other two returned with the ships. But Cook thinks they
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Speaker 1: were not improved by their experience and had not added
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Speaker 1: to their respectability in the eyes of their countrymen. In
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Speaker 1: view of the cold climate to be faced in the
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Speaker 1: near future, Cook was desirous to save his stock of
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Speaker 1: spirits and must at the crew of the Resolution in
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Speaker 1: order to explain the position. He pointed out that the
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Speaker 1: supply of cocoanuts was abundant and the benefit of the
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Speaker 1: spirits would be appreciated amongst the cold winds and the
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Speaker 1: ice of the north, but left the decision to them.
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Speaker 1: He was gratified to find the crew was willing to
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Speaker 1: accept his suggestion, and ordered Clerk to put the matter
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Speaker 1: before the crew of the Discovery when it was again
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Speaker 1: well received, an order was accordingly issued to stop serving
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Speaker 1: grog except on Saturday nights, when they had full allowance
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Speaker 1: to drink to their female friends in England, lest amongst
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Speaker 1: the pretty girls of O Tahiti they should be wholly forgotten.
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Speaker 1: During a state visit paid by the chief of the district,
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Speaker 1: at which o May attended, dressed in a very strange
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Speaker 1: medley of all he was possessed of, Cook was informed
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Speaker 1: that the Spaniards laid claim to the country and had
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Speaker 1: given instructions that Cook was not to be allowed to
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Speaker 1: land if he returned. However, the chief executed a formal
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Speaker 1: surrender of his province to Cook, and presents were exchanged.
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Speaker 1: The whole ceremony ended with a display of fireworks, which
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Speaker 1: both pleased and astonished the natives. Some of the civilians
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Speaker 1: reported that they had discovered a Roman Catholic chapel in
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Speaker 1: their walks, but on inspection it proved to be what
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Speaker 1: Cook at once suspected, the grave of a chief decorated
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Speaker 1: with different colored cloths, mats, and a piece of scarlet broadcloth,
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Speaker 1: which had to be given by the Spaniards red feathers.
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Speaker 1: On the twenty third of August, the two ships arrived
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Speaker 1: in Matavi Bay, where they were well received by Otu,
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Speaker 1: who was gratified by a present of a fine linen suit,
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Speaker 1: a hat with a gold band, some tools, a feather
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Speaker 1: helmet from the friendly islandans, and what he seemed to
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Speaker 1: value most, a large bunch of the celebrated red feathers.
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Speaker 1: In return, he sent on board the ships enough food
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Speaker 1: to have lasted both crews for a week, if it
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Speaker 1: had only been possible to keep it good for that
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Speaker 1: length of time. The royal family dined on board the Resolution,
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Speaker 1: and after dinner Cook and Omi called on Opary, taking
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Speaker 1: with them a peacock and a pea hen sent to
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Speaker 1: the island by Lord Besperah, a turkey cock and a hen,
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Speaker 1: a gander and three geese, a drake, and four ducks
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Speaker 1: to make a start in stocking the island. A gander
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Speaker 1: was seen, which the natives said had been left by
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Speaker 1: Wallace ten years previously. Several goats and a bull left
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Speaker 1: by the Spaniards were also seen, so Cook landed three
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Speaker 1: cows as company for the last. The horses and sheep
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Speaker 1: were also landed, and Cook remarks that getting rid of
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Speaker 1: all these animals lightened him of a very great burden.
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Speaker 1: The trouble and vexation that attended the bringing of these
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Speaker 1: animals thus far as hardly to be conceived. But the
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Speaker 1: satisfaction I felt, and having been so fortunate as to
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Speaker 1: fulfill His Majesty's design and sending such useful animals to
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Speaker 1: two worthy nations, sufficiently recompensed me for the many anxious
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Speaker 1: hours I had on their account. Whilst here the two
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Speaker 1: ships were thoroughly overhauled and everywhere put into as good
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Speaker 1: a state of repair as the appliance is available would permit.
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Speaker 1: The stores were found to be in a better state
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Speaker 1: than had been expected, and very little of the bread
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Speaker 1: was damaged. Gardens were laid out and planted with potatoes, malons, pineapples,
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Speaker 1: et cetera. But Cook was not very anguine of their success,
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Speaker 1: for he had seen how a vine planted by the
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Speaker 1: Spaniards had been spitefully trampled down, as the natives, tasting
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Speaker 1: the grapes before they were ripe, had concluded it was poisonous.
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Speaker 1: It was carefully pruned into proper shape again, and Omi
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Speaker 1: was instructed to set forth its merits and how it
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Speaker 1: should be cultivated towards the end of the month, a
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Speaker 1: man reported that the two Spanish ships had returned and
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Speaker 1: showed a piece of cloth he said he had obtained
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Speaker 1: from them. So Cook, not knowing if England and Spain
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Speaker 1: were on friendly terms, prepared for the worst, and the
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Speaker 1: two ships made ready for defense if necessary. Lieutenant Williamson
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Speaker 1: was dispatched in a boat for news, but could see
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Speaker 1: no ships nor signs of any having been on the
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Speaker 1: coast since the English left their last paw of call
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Speaker 1: a human sacrifice at their last visit. An expedition was
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Speaker 1: being prepared against the revolted island of Imio, but it
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Speaker 1: did not seem to have been very successful in its object,
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Speaker 1: for there were still disturbances going on between the two nations,
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Speaker 1: and on the thirtieth of August, news came that the
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Speaker 1: O Tahitians had been driven up into the hills. A
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Speaker 1: grand meeting was held to discuss matters, and great efforts
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Speaker 1: were made to enlist the services of Cook, but he
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Speaker 1: would not assist in any way, as he did not
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Speaker 1: understand the cause of the quarrel, and he had always
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Speaker 1: found the inhabitants of Imeo friendly towards him, Having heard
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Speaker 1: that a chief named Tofa had killed a man as
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Speaker 1: a sacrifice to their god. Cook obtained permission to witness
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Speaker 1: the remaining ceremonies, as he thought it offered an opportunity
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Speaker 1: to learn something of the religion of this people. He
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Speaker 1: therefore started with doctor Anderson, mister Webber, and the chief
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Speaker 1: potter Tao in a boat, accompanied by Omai in a
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Speaker 1: canoe for the scene of action. On their arrival, the
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Speaker 1: sailors were instructed to remain in the boat, and the
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Speaker 1: gentlemen were requested to remove their hats as soon as
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Speaker 1: they reached the morai where the ceremony was to take place.
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Speaker 1: When they got there, the body of the victim was
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Speaker 1: seen in a small canoe in front of the morai,
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Speaker 1: and was just in the wash of the sea, in
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Speaker 1: charge of four priests and their attendants. The king and
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Speaker 1: his party some twenty or thirty paces away, and the
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Speaker 1: rest of the spectators ate little further still. Two priests
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Speaker 1: came forward to o Tu, one placing a young plantain
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Speaker 1: tree in front of him, and the other touched his
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Speaker 1: foot with a bunch of red feathers, and then rejoining
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Speaker 1: the others, who immediately went off to a smaller mourinh
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Speaker 1: near and seated themselves facing the ocean, one commencing reciting
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Speaker 1: a long prayer, occasionally sending one of his attendants to
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Speaker 1: place a young plantain on the body. Whilst this recitation
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Speaker 1: was going on, an attendant stood near holding two small bundles,
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Speaker 1: seemingly of cloth, and one, as we afterwards found, was
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Speaker 1: the Royal marrow, and the other, if I may be allowed,
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Speaker 1: the expression was the ark of the Yatua God. This
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Speaker 1: prayer being ended, the priest returned to the beach and
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Speaker 1: more prayers were said, the plantains being moved one by
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Speaker 1: one from the body emplaced in front of the priests.
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Speaker 1: Then the body, wrapped in leaves, was put on the
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Speaker 1: beach with the feet to the sea, and the priest
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Speaker 1: gathered round, some sitting, some standing, the prayers still going on.
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Speaker 1: The leaves were then stripped off the body and it
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Speaker 1: was turned sideways on to the sea, and one priest
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Speaker 1: standing at the feet, repeated another long prayer, in which
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Speaker 1: he was occasionally joined by the others. Each priest at
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Speaker 1: this time held in his hand a bunch of the
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Speaker 1: red feathers. Some hair was now being pulled from the
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Speaker 1: head of the corpse and an eye was taken out,
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Speaker 1: wrapped in leaves and presented to Oto. He did not
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Speaker 1: touch them, but sent them back with a bunch of feathers.
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Speaker 1: Soon after sending a second bunch he had asked Cook
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Speaker 1: to put in his pocket for him when starting. At
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Speaker 1: this point, a kingfisher made a noise in some trees near,
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Speaker 1: and Oto remarked that is Artua, evidently looking on it
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Speaker 1: as a good omen. The body was now moved away
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Speaker 1: to the foot of one of the small moories, the
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Speaker 1: two bundles of cloth being placed at the morai at
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Speaker 1: its head and the tufts of feathers at its feet.
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Speaker 1: The priests surrounding the body and the people gathering in closer.
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Speaker 1: More speeches were made, and a second block of hair
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Speaker 1: plucked from the head and placed on the morai. Then
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Speaker 1: the red feathers were placed on the cloth bundles, which
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Speaker 1: were carried over to the great morai and laid against
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Speaker 1: a pile of stones, to which the body was also brought,
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Speaker 1: and the attendants proceeded to dig a grave, whilst the
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Speaker 1: priests continued their recitations. The body was then buried, and
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Speaker 1: a dog Torfa had sent over a very poor one,
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Speaker 1: says cook was partially cooked and presented to the priests,
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Speaker 1: who called on Artua to come and see what was
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Speaker 1: prepared for him, at the same time putting it on
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Speaker 1: a small altar, on which were the remains of two
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Speaker 1: dogs and three pigs, which smelt so intolerably that the
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Speaker 1: white men were compelled to move further away than they wished.
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Speaker 1: This ended the ceremony for the day the King's marrow.
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Speaker 1: Next morning, they all returned to the Morai. A pig
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Speaker 1: was sacrificed and placed on the same altar, and about
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Speaker 1: eight o'clock the priests, O Tu and a great number
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Speaker 1: of people assembled. The two bundles were still in the
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Speaker 1: same place as on the previous night, but two drums
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Speaker 1: were now sitting in front of them, between which O
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Speaker 1: Tu and Cooked seated themselves. The priests, placing a plantain
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Speaker 1: tree in front of the king, resumed their preying, each
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Speaker 1: having his bunch of feathers in his hand. They then
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Speaker 1: moved off to a place between the mordai and the
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Speaker 1: king and placed the feathers bunch by bunch on the bundles,
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Speaker 1: the prayers still going on. Four pigs were then produced,
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Speaker 1: one immediately killed and the others put in a stye
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Speaker 1: for future use. The bundle containing the king's marrow was
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Speaker 1: now untied and spread carefully on the ground before the priests.
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Speaker 1: The marrow was about five yards long by fifteen inches broad,
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Speaker 1: composing of red and yellow feathers, chiefly yellow. At one
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Speaker 1: end was a border of eight pieces about the size
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Speaker 1: and shape of horseshoes, fringed with black pigeons feathers. The
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Speaker 1: other end was forked, the ends being of unequal length.
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Speaker 1: The feathers were arranged in two rows and had a
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Speaker 1: very good effect. They were fastened on a piece of
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Speaker 1: native cloth and then smoned to the English pendant, which
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Speaker 1: Wallace left flying when he sailed from Matavai Bay. After
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Speaker 1: the priests had repeated another prayer, the emblem of royalty
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Speaker 1: was carefully folded up and replaced on the mordai, and
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Speaker 1: then one end of what Cook called the ark of
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Speaker 1: Attawa was opened, but the visitors were not permitted to
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Speaker 1: see what it contained. The entrails of the pig were
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Speaker 1: then prayed over, and one of the priests stirred them
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Speaker 1: gently with a stick, evidently trying to draw a favorable
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Speaker 1: omen from their movements. They were then thrown on the fire,
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Speaker 1: the partly cooked pig was deposited on the altar, and
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Speaker 1: when the bunches of feathers that had been used had
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Speaker 1: been placed in the ark, the ceremony was over. The
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Speaker 1: meanings of all this could not be discovered, but it
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Speaker 1: was found that when a victim was wanted, a chief
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Speaker 1: picked him out and sent his servants to kill him.
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Speaker 1: This was done without any warning to the man who
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Speaker 1: was to suffer, usually by a blow with a stone
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Speaker 1: on the head, and it appeared that at the subsequent
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Speaker 1: ceremony the presence of the king was absolutely indispensable. Chiefs
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Speaker 1: of an enemy's tribe who were killed in battle were
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Speaker 1: buried with some state in the mordais the common men
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Speaker 1: at the foot On the way back to the ship,
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Speaker 1: Cook called on Tofa who had supplied the victim. He
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Speaker 1: was anxious to ascertain Cook's opinion of the affair, and
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Speaker 1: was not pleased to learn that Cook thought such a
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Speaker 1: proceeding was more likely to offend the deity than to
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Speaker 1: please him. He then inquired if the English ever practiced
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Speaker 1: such ceremonies, and was very angry when he was informed
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Speaker 1: that if the greatest chief in England killed one of
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Speaker 1: his men he would be hanged, and Cook says they
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Speaker 1: left him with as great a contempt for our customs
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Speaker 1: as we could possibly have for theirs. The servants evidently
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Speaker 1: listened to OMEI with great interest and a different opinion
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Speaker 1: on the subject than that of their master. They went
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Speaker 1: to inspect the body of a chief who had been embalmed.
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Speaker 1: They were not allowed to examine it very closely, but
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Speaker 1: it was so well done that they were unable to
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Speaker 1: perceive the slightest unpleasant smell, though the man had been
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Speaker 1: dead some months. All chiefs who died a natural death
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Speaker 1: were preserved in this manner, and from time to time
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Speaker 1: were exposed to public view, the intervals between the exposures
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Speaker 1: gradually extending till at length they were hardly ever seen.
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Speaker 1: The method of preservation was not ascertained, and was probably
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Speaker 1: a secret of the priests. Equestrian exercise, Cook and Clerk
23:05
Speaker 1: astonished the natives by riding the horses that had been
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Speaker 1: brought out. Their progress through the country was always watched
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Speaker 1: with great interest, and Cook thought that this use of
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Speaker 1: the animals impressed the people more than anything else done
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Speaker 1: by the whites. O my I tried his powers on
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Speaker 1: several occasions, but as he was always thrown before he
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Speaker 1: got securely into the saddle, his efforts only produced entertainment
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Speaker 1: for the spectators. It is curious to note that forty
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Speaker 1: years afterwards the people had so thoroughly lost even the
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Speaker 1: tradition of such use of the horse that mister Alice
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Speaker 1: relates how when one was landed for the use of pomari,
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Speaker 1: the natives assisted to get it ashore, but when once landed,
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Speaker 1: they ran away and hid in fear of the man
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Speaker 1: carrying pig. About this time Cook suffered from a bad
24:03
Speaker 1: attack of rheumatism in the legs, and was successfully treated
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Speaker 1: by Otoo's mother, three sisters, and eight other women. The
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Speaker 1: process he underwent, called romy, consisted of squeezing and kneading
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Speaker 1: from head to foot, more especially about the parts affected.
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Speaker 1: Cook says he was glad to escape from their ministrations
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Speaker 1: after about a quarter of an hour, but he felt relief,
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Speaker 1: and after submitting to four operations of the kind, he
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Speaker 1: was completely cured. Oto was very desirous to send a
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Speaker 1: present of a canoe to King George, and Cook was
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Speaker 1: very willing to take it, but when he found it
24:47
Speaker 1: was of large double canoe, he was obliged to decline
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Speaker 1: from want of space. As the desire to send it
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Speaker 1: was quite spontaneous on OTO's part, and as the canoe
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Speaker 1: was a very fine special of native work, the refusal
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Speaker 1: was given with great regret. In a journal published by Newbery,
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Speaker 1: the anonymous writer says that two officers fought a duel
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Speaker 1: whilst the ships were at O Tahiti. He does not
25:16
Speaker 1: give the cause, but says three shots were exchanged, resulting
25:21
Speaker 1: in one hat being spoilt, and then the antagonist shook
25:25
Speaker 1: hands and were better friends afterwards. The story is not
25:29
Speaker 1: confirmed by any of the other journals. On the twenty
25:34
Speaker 1: ninth of September, after giving Otu a short run out
25:38
Speaker 1: to see him back, the two ships sailed for the
25:41
Speaker 1: north side of Emio, arriving the next day and were
25:46
Speaker 1: greeted by a chief, Mahini, who was bald headed. Of
25:50
Speaker 1: this defect, he seemed much ashamed and always appeared with
25:55
Speaker 1: his head covered with a sort of turban Cook thinks
25:59
Speaker 1: perhaps a shame rose from the fact that natives caught
26:02
Speaker 1: stealing on the ships were often punished by having their
26:06
Speaker 1: heads shaved, and adds that one or two of the
26:10
Speaker 1: gentlemen whose heads were not overburdened with hair lay under
26:15
Speaker 1: violent suspicions of being Tito's thieves. One of the few
26:21
Speaker 1: remaining goats was stolen, but after threats of serious reprisals,
26:26
Speaker 1: was given up together with the thief, who was eventually
26:30
Speaker 1: discharged with a caution, but on a second one disappearing
26:35
Speaker 1: and not being found after careful search. Cook felt that
26:39
Speaker 1: he must make an example or nothing would be safe,
26:43
Speaker 1: so he ordered one or two houses and canoes to
26:46
Speaker 1: be destroyed and sent word to Mahini that he would
26:50
Speaker 1: not leave a canoe on the island. Off the goat
26:53
Speaker 1: was not returned. The goat was recovered, and the next
26:57
Speaker 1: day the people were as friendly as if nothing had occurred.
27:02
Speaker 1: Cook was particularly annoyed for he had sent a present
27:05
Speaker 1: of red feathers to O Tu and requested him to
27:08
Speaker 1: send in return a couple of goats to Emio o
27:13
Speaker 1: My settled. On the eleventh of October, the ship sailed
27:18
Speaker 1: for Huey Hinny, and when they arrived Cook was so
27:21
Speaker 1: ill he had to be landed from the ship, but
27:25
Speaker 1: he makes no mention of it in his journal. He
27:28
Speaker 1: thought this island would be more suitable for O Mai
27:32
Speaker 1: than o Tahiti, and as O Mai was agreeable, a
27:36
Speaker 1: piece of ground was obtained from the chief, and a
27:39
Speaker 1: small house erected, and a garden laid out and planted.
27:43
Speaker 1: The interest of the different chiefs of the neighborhood was
27:46
Speaker 1: sought on O MAI's behalf, And as it was seen
27:49
Speaker 1: that some of the natives were inclined to take advantage
27:52
Speaker 1: of his good nature, Cook let it be understood that
27:56
Speaker 1: if he should return and find O Mai in an
27:59
Speaker 1: un satisfactory condition, someone would feel the weight of his displeasure.
28:05
Speaker 1: Then the most serious thing that can be brought against
28:08
Speaker 1: Cook's treatment of the natives occurred an extenuation. It must
28:13
Speaker 1: be remembered that he admits that he was inclined to
28:16
Speaker 1: be hot tempered, though it did not last. He had
28:20
Speaker 1: been constantly irritated by repeated losses, and he was at
28:24
Speaker 1: the time really seriously ill. And also when all was over,
28:29
Speaker 1: he sincerely regretted he had taken such strong measures. Mister
28:35
Speaker 1: Bailey's sextant was stolen from the observatory. Cook at once
28:39
Speaker 1: demanded from the chiefs that it should be returned, but
28:43
Speaker 1: they paid no attention. The thief, however, was pointed out
28:47
Speaker 1: and seized and taken on board ship. The sextant was recovered,
28:52
Speaker 1: but Cook says, finding the thief to be a hardened scoundrel,
28:57
Speaker 1: I punished him with greater severity than I have ever
29:00
Speaker 1: done any one before, and then dismissed him. He is
29:05
Speaker 1: said to have had his head shaved and his ears
29:08
Speaker 1: cut off, but Gilbert, midshipman on the Discovery, says this
29:13
Speaker 1: was not done till he had been re arrested for
29:16
Speaker 1: damaging Omey's garden, trying to set fire to the house,
29:20
Speaker 1: and threatening to kill O Mai. As soon as the
29:23
Speaker 1: ship's left. Cook had intended to remove him from the island,
29:28
Speaker 1: but being in irons, he stole the keys from a
29:31
Speaker 1: sleeping guard and made his escape. Omey found that many
29:35
Speaker 1: of the articles, which were practically useless to him would
29:39
Speaker 1: be appreciated on the ships, so he very wisely changed
29:43
Speaker 1: them for hatchets and other useful articles. A notice of
29:48
Speaker 1: the visit with the names of the ships was cut
29:51
Speaker 1: on the end of Omei's house, and after firing a
29:54
Speaker 1: salute of five guns, the ship sailed on the second
29:58
Speaker 1: of November. O May accompanied them for a short way,
30:03
Speaker 1: and mister King says that when he parted from Cook,
30:06
Speaker 1: he completely broke down and cried all the way ashore.
30:11
Speaker 1: Cook speaks well of him, saying he seldom had to
30:15
Speaker 1: find fault with him, that he had many good qualities,
30:19
Speaker 1: but like the rest of his race, he lacked powers
30:22
Speaker 1: of observation, application, and perseverance. Desertions on the third they
30:29
Speaker 1: were off to Alythia, and as they were able to
30:33
Speaker 1: run in close to the shore as staging was erected
30:37
Speaker 1: and the ballast ports were open, so as to give
30:40
Speaker 1: the rats, which had become very troublesome, a chance of
30:44
Speaker 1: going ashore. One of the marines also took the opportunity
30:48
Speaker 1: to desert, taking his musket with him, but after a
30:52
Speaker 1: little trouble was arrested, and having previously borne a very
30:58
Speaker 1: good character, he was let off with a short imprisonment.
31:02
Speaker 1: A second desertion occurred from the discovery mister Muat midshipman
31:07
Speaker 1: and a seaman getting away. Cook says the affair gave
31:12
Speaker 1: him more trouble than both men were worth, but he
31:15
Speaker 1: insisted on getting them back to prevent others following their example,
31:20
Speaker 1: and to save the son of a brother officer from
31:23
Speaker 1: being lost to the world. They were found to have
31:26
Speaker 1: gone off in a canoe to another island, and Cook
31:29
Speaker 1: ordered Clerk to detain the chief, his son, daughter, and
31:33
Speaker 1: son in law on the discovery where they had gone
31:37
Speaker 1: to dine, and to inform them they would be kept
31:40
Speaker 1: as hostages till the runaways were returned. Three days afterwards,
31:45
Speaker 1: the deserters were brought back and the hostages were at
31:49
Speaker 1: once released. It was afterwards found out that there had
31:53
Speaker 1: been a plot to seize Cook in retaliation when he
31:56
Speaker 1: went for his usual bath in the evening, but as
32:00
Speaker 1: as it happened, he was so much worried that he
32:02
Speaker 1: put it off and so escaped. Burnie notes that Cook
32:06
Speaker 1: could not swim. Before leaving, they received a message from
32:10
Speaker 1: O Mai saying he was all right, but asking for
32:14
Speaker 1: another goat, as one of his was dead. Clerk was
32:18
Speaker 1: able to oblige him with two kids, one of each sex.
32:24
Speaker 1: End of Chapter sixteen, Part two,