Latest / Life of Captain James Cook / 20 - Life of Captain James Cook by Arthur Octavius Kitson

Transcript

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

0:00
Speaker 1: Chapter number seventeen of the Life of Captain James Cook,
0:05
Speaker 1: the Circumnavigator by Arthur Kitson. This LibriVox recording is in
0:10
Speaker 1: the public domain, Chapter number seventeen seventeen seventy seven to
0:16
Speaker 1: seventeen seventy nine. Third voyage continued. In case of separation,
0:24
Speaker 1: Cloak was ordered to cruise for five days near where
0:27
Speaker 1: his consort had been last seen, and then to stare
0:31
Speaker 1: for New Albion, so called by Sir Francis Drake, endeavoring
0:37
Speaker 1: to fall in with it about latitude forty five degrees
0:40
Speaker 1: north and fair cruise for ten days. Then, if his
0:45
Speaker 1: consort was not picked up, to proceed north to the
0:48
Speaker 1: first suitable port and recruit his men, keeping a good
0:53
Speaker 1: lookout for his companion. Then he was to sail on
0:57
Speaker 1: the first of April to fifty six degrees north and
1:01
Speaker 1: again cruise about fifteen leagues from the coast till the
1:05
Speaker 1: tenth of May, when he was to proceed north and
1:08
Speaker 1: endeavor to find a passage to the Atlantic, according to
1:12
Speaker 1: the Admiralty instructions already in his hands. If unsuccessful, he
1:18
Speaker 1: was to winter in some suitable port of Kamchatska, leaving
1:23
Speaker 1: word with the commandant of Saint Peter and Saint Paul Harbor,
1:27
Speaker 1: where he was to be found, and to be at
1:30
Speaker 1: the last named place not later than the tenth of
1:34
Speaker 1: May of the following year. Then, if he had no
1:37
Speaker 1: news of the resolution, he was to follow out the
1:41
Speaker 1: admiralty instructions to the best of his ability. The two
1:46
Speaker 1: ships left foot Bolabola on the seventh of December to
1:50
Speaker 1: get an anchor left by de Bougainville in order to
1:54
Speaker 1: make hatchets for exchange. As the demand had been so
1:59
Speaker 1: great stock was running short. They had no difficulty in
2:03
Speaker 1: purchasing it, and it was good enough for their purpose,
2:07
Speaker 1: though not so heavy as they expected. They crossed the
2:11
Speaker 1: line on the twenty third in longitude two hundred and
2:15
Speaker 1: three degrees fifteen minutes east, without having seen land since
2:20
Speaker 1: leaving Bolabola. Two days after, they picked up a low
2:24
Speaker 1: island and managed to get some turtle, and also a
2:28
Speaker 1: rather unsatisfactory observation of an eclipse of the sun, the
2:33
Speaker 1: clouds interfering with the view of the commencement. Their position
2:38
Speaker 1: had been settled by other observations, so the ill luck
2:42
Speaker 1: was unimportant. About three hundred turtle were obtained averaging from
2:49
Speaker 1: ninety two hundred pounds each, and as much fish as
2:54
Speaker 1: they could consume during their stay was caught. Coconuts, yams,
2:59
Speaker 1: and mulons were planted, and the island received the name
3:02
Speaker 1: of Christmas Island Sandwidge Islands. Leaving on the second of January,
3:10
Speaker 1: they did not sight land till the Sandwidge Islands were
3:13
Speaker 1: reached in latitude twenty one degrees twelve minutes thirty seconds
3:18
Speaker 1: north at the second one scene, called Atoi by the natives,
3:24
Speaker 1: they were quickly surrounded by canoes. The occupants, very like
3:29
Speaker 1: the Otahitians in appearance and language, were armed with stones,
3:33
Speaker 1: which they threw overboard as soon as they found that
3:36
Speaker 1: they were not likely to be wanted, and though none
3:39
Speaker 1: could be persuaded to come on board the ships, they
3:43
Speaker 1: freely parted with fish for anything they could get in exchange.
3:48
Speaker 1: As the ships sailed on, more canoes came out, bringing
3:51
Speaker 1: further supplies, and Cook rejoiced at arriving at a land
3:55
Speaker 1: of plenty, for his stock of turtle was just finished,
4:00
Speaker 1: and he was anxious to save his sea stores. At length.
4:05
Speaker 1: Some were tempted on board and were greatly astonished at
4:09
Speaker 1: what they saw but their wonder did not last long,
4:13
Speaker 1: and stealing soon broke out as usual. When they came
4:17
Speaker 1: to an anchor, Cook landed and found a favorable place
4:21
Speaker 1: for watering. So a party was set to work the
4:25
Speaker 1: next day and found no difficulty in getting assistance from
4:29
Speaker 1: the islanders, whilst at the same time a brisk trade
4:34
Speaker 1: was carried on in pigs and potatoes. Cook says no
4:39
Speaker 1: people could trade with more honesty than these people, never
4:43
Speaker 1: once attempting to cheat us, either ashore or alongside the ship.
4:48
Speaker 1: They seemed to have dropped their thieving very quickly. At night,
4:53
Speaker 1: a nasty sea got up, and as Cook did not
4:56
Speaker 1: like the position of his ship, he weighed to run
4:59
Speaker 1: a little further out, but the wind suddenly dropping around
5:03
Speaker 1: to the east, he had to set all sail to
5:05
Speaker 1: clear the shore. For a day or two, no very
5:09
Speaker 1: satisfactory anchorage could be found, and the weather was rather unsettled,
5:15
Speaker 1: So making one of the chiefs a present of an
5:18
Speaker 1: English sow and boar, and a male and two female goats,
5:24
Speaker 1: the ship bore away to the Northwoods. According to Baron
5:29
Speaker 1: von Humboldt, these islands were discovered by a Spaniard, Gaetano
5:34
Speaker 1: sailing from Manila to Acapulco in fifteen forty two, and
5:39
Speaker 1: it was one of the few discoveries made by the
5:41
Speaker 1: Spaniards during this passage, for they were strictly forbidden to
5:46
Speaker 1: deviate from the track laid down on their charts. The
5:50
Speaker 1: name La Messa the table down on the chart Cook
5:54
Speaker 1: had with him describes the island, says Bernie, but the
5:58
Speaker 1: longitude is several degrees out. It is undoubtedly a fact
6:03
Speaker 1: that Europeans had been at the islands previously to Cook's visit,
6:08
Speaker 1: for at least two pieces of iron were found, one
6:12
Speaker 1: being a portion of a broadsword and the other a
6:15
Speaker 1: piece of hoop iron. New Albion on the seventh of March,
6:22
Speaker 1: New Albion was sighted at a distance of ten or
6:25
Speaker 1: twelve leagues, and the position of the ship at noon
6:29
Speaker 1: was forty four degrees thirty three minutes north two hundred
6:34
Speaker 1: and thirty six degrees thirty minutes east. Cook's orders were
6:38
Speaker 1: to make the coast about forty five degrees north, so
6:42
Speaker 1: they may be said to have been carried out with
6:45
Speaker 1: fair exactness. Cook says that on the charts he had
6:50
Speaker 1: a large entrance or strait was represented and In the
6:54
Speaker 1: account of Martin Diagula's voyage in sixteen o three, mention
7:00
Speaker 1: is made of a large river near where he struck
7:04
Speaker 1: the coast, but he did not see any signs of either.
7:08
Speaker 1: Proceeding up the coast, the progress was very slow as
7:12
Speaker 1: the weather was very stormy. On the twenty second of
7:16
Speaker 1: March they passed the position of the Strait of Ie
7:20
Speaker 1: de Ful, but again no sign of its existence was seen.
7:25
Speaker 1: On the twenty ninth the style of the coast changed,
7:29
Speaker 1: and high snowy mountains with well wooded valleys running down
7:33
Speaker 1: to the sea came into view, and at length Hope
7:37
Speaker 1: Bay opened. Out Here they came in contact with the
7:41
Speaker 1: first natives they had seen, who put off in their
7:44
Speaker 1: canoes to the ships, showing signs neither of fear nor distrust.
7:50
Speaker 1: At first they appeared mild and inoffensive and would trade
7:55
Speaker 1: anything they had with them, But when they got used
7:58
Speaker 1: to the ships, it turned out that they were adepts
8:01
Speaker 1: at thieving. No piece of iron, brass or copper was safe.
8:06
Speaker 1: Fish hooks were cut from the lines and boats were
8:08
Speaker 1: stripped of their fittings. They sold blooders of oil for
8:12
Speaker 1: the lamps, and it was found that they were often
8:15
Speaker 1: partly filled with water, but this was winked at in
8:19
Speaker 1: order to get on a thoroughly friendly footing. This being
8:23
Speaker 1: a favorable opportunity to put the two vessels in order
8:27
Speaker 1: and to give the crews a spell of rest ashore,
8:31
Speaker 1: A good anchorage was sought out and the observatory set
8:35
Speaker 1: up on the fourth of April. Whilst wood and water
8:39
Speaker 1: were being got, the natives, who had given no trouble
8:43
Speaker 1: beyond their stealing, were observed to be arming and precautions
8:47
Speaker 1: were taken, but the Indians explained that their preparations were
8:51
Speaker 1: made against some of their own countrymen who were on
8:55
Speaker 1: their way to fight them. After a time, some canoes
8:58
Speaker 1: made their appearance, and a deputation going out to meet them.
9:03
Speaker 1: A discussion took place, and some sort of agreement was
9:07
Speaker 1: made between the two parties, but the newcomers were not
9:11
Speaker 1: allowed to approach the ships nor to join in the trading.
9:15
Speaker 1: The stay here was longer than was intended for. The
9:19
Speaker 1: resolutions for and mizzen masts were found to be very defective,
9:24
Speaker 1: and her rigging had got into a very bad state.
9:27
Speaker 1: The foremast was repaired and the mizzen replaced with a
9:31
Speaker 1: new stick and When a great deal of work had
9:34
Speaker 1: been done, this proved faulty, and a second one had
9:38
Speaker 1: to be cut. New standing rigging was fitted to the
9:41
Speaker 1: main mast, and a set made from the best of
9:44
Speaker 1: the old for the foremast. When the heaviest part of
9:49
Speaker 1: this work was completed, Cook visited the country about King
9:53
Speaker 1: George's sound, and was courteously received at a village by
9:58
Speaker 1: the natives, to most of whom he was known. Here
10:01
Speaker 1: he found the woman employed making dresses out of bark
10:06
Speaker 1: in much the same way as that employed by the
10:08
Speaker 1: New Zealanders. Sending some sailors to cut grass for the
10:13
Speaker 1: sheep and goats he had left, the natives made a
10:16
Speaker 1: claim which was at once satisfied, but when the men
10:20
Speaker 1: were ordered to go on cutting, fresh claimants sprung up
10:24
Speaker 1: till Cook says he thought each blade of grass had
10:27
Speaker 1: a separate owner. When at last the natives found that
10:31
Speaker 1: they could get no more, the cutting was allowed to
10:34
Speaker 1: go on without the slightest further objection, Punch and the Devil.
10:40
Speaker 1: The people are described as being short, with broad, flat faces,
10:45
Speaker 1: high cheek bones, swarthy complexions, and no pretensions to good looks.
10:51
Speaker 1: Bernie says that it was only after much cleaning that
10:54
Speaker 1: their skins were found to be. Like our people in England,
10:59
Speaker 1: cook says they they were docile, courteous, and good natured,
11:02
Speaker 1: but liable to fits of passion. I have often seen
11:06
Speaker 1: a man rave and scold for more than half an
11:09
Speaker 1: hour without anyone taking the least notice of it, nor
11:13
Speaker 1: could anyone of us tell who it was he was abusing.
11:18
Speaker 1: Bernie describes their language as harsh, and when in a
11:22
Speaker 1: warm discussion, apparently insufficient, and then they had to echo
11:27
Speaker 1: it out with such nods and jumps as reminded one
11:31
Speaker 1: of punch and the devil. Their clothing was chiefly made
11:35
Speaker 1: of skins, and a kind of cloth made from fiber
11:39
Speaker 1: or wool and hair, or a mixture of both. In
11:44
Speaker 1: these clothes and a coarse mat and straw hat, they
11:47
Speaker 1: would sit in their canoes in the heaviest rain as
11:51
Speaker 1: unconcernedly as if they were in perfect shelter. Their houses,
11:56
Speaker 1: of logs and boards made by splitting large trees, were
12:01
Speaker 1: some as much as one hundred and fifty feet long,
12:04
Speaker 1: by twenty to thirty feet wide, and six or eight
12:08
Speaker 1: feet high. They were divided into two compartments, each apparently
12:13
Speaker 1: the property of one family. The roof was of loose planks,
12:18
Speaker 1: which they moved about so as to let the light
12:21
Speaker 1: fall where it was wanted. Cook judged these were only
12:25
Speaker 1: summer residences, and that they had better houses in land.
12:30
Speaker 1: The furniture consisted of a few boxes, some wooden vessels
12:34
Speaker 1: for their food, and a few mate bags. Their cooking
12:38
Speaker 1: was fairly good, but excessively dirty, and their persons and
12:42
Speaker 1: houses filthy as hogstyes. They often had two wooden figures
12:48
Speaker 1: in their houses, resembling human figures, of which they spoke mysteriously,
12:54
Speaker 1: But as they could have been purchased in every case
12:57
Speaker 1: for a small quantity of old iron ore brass, they
13:01
Speaker 1: could not have been much venerated. Their arms were bows
13:05
Speaker 1: and arrows, slings, spears in a small club of wood
13:09
Speaker 1: or stone, something like the New Zealander patou, and a
13:13
Speaker 1: stone tomahawk. The hand or fashioned like a human head,
13:18
Speaker 1: the stone cutting part being a large tongue, and they
13:21
Speaker 1: were decorated with human hair. The defensive armor was a
13:26
Speaker 1: double cloak of hide, usually moose, serviceable against arrows or spars,
13:32
Speaker 1: but they were greatly surprised to see a bullet fired
13:35
Speaker 1: through a cloak folded four times The only vegetables obtained
13:41
Speaker 1: were a few nettles and wild garlic. But Bernie says
13:45
Speaker 1: that at the back of the village was a plantation
13:48
Speaker 1: of cherry trees, gooseberries and currants, raspberries and strawberries, but
13:54
Speaker 1: unluckily for us, none of them were in season. On
13:58
Speaker 1: the twentieth of April, a man who had been allowed
14:01
Speaker 1: to go into Cook's cabin made off with his watch
14:04
Speaker 1: and got away from the ship. Fortunately, his canoe was
14:08
Speaker 1: seen alongside the discovery, and notice being given. A search
14:13
Speaker 1: was made and the watch found in a box unharmed.
14:18
Speaker 1: Such a loss would have been serious. Two old fashioned
14:22
Speaker 1: silver tablespoons, supposed to be Spanish, and a pewter wash
14:26
Speaker 1: basin were purchased from the Indians resolution leaks. On the
14:34
Speaker 1: twenty sixth of April, a start was made, and before
14:37
Speaker 1: leaving an Indian who had specially attached himself to Cook,
14:42
Speaker 1: gave him a valuable beaver skin, and was so pleased
14:46
Speaker 1: with the return present he received that he insisted on
14:49
Speaker 1: Cook taking from him a beaver cloak upon which he
14:53
Speaker 1: had always set great store. In return, he was made
14:58
Speaker 1: as happy as a prince by a gift of a
15:01
Speaker 1: new broadsword with a brass hilt. The next day, when
15:06
Speaker 1: well clear of the land, a perfect hurricane arose, and
15:11
Speaker 1: the ship lay to heading to the southeast. The resolutions
15:15
Speaker 1: sprang a leak, and the water could be seen and
15:19
Speaker 1: heard rushing in, but after some little anxiety, one pump
15:24
Speaker 1: was found to be sufficient to keep the upper hand.
15:28
Speaker 1: The gale lasted two days, but on the second they
15:32
Speaker 1: were able to get an observation which gave their position
15:36
Speaker 1: of the ship as fifty degrees one minute north two
15:40
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty nine degrees twenty six minutes east, about
15:45
Speaker 1: opposite to where the straits of de Fonte were marked
15:48
Speaker 1: on his chart. They were now able to run along
15:52
Speaker 1: the coast and see and name the most salient points,
15:57
Speaker 1: but time was too valuable to make any halts. By
16:00
Speaker 1: the way, the land appeared to be of considerable height,
16:05
Speaker 1: the hills covered with snow, but near the sea, well
16:08
Speaker 1: wooded Mount Saint Elias was sighted on the fourth of
16:13
Speaker 1: May at a distance of forty leagues, and on the
16:17
Speaker 1: sixth they arrived in the bay in which bearing had anchored,
16:21
Speaker 1: so his name was given to it on the chart.
16:25
Speaker 1: Here the land trended away to the west. The wind
16:28
Speaker 1: was westerly in light, and consequently their progress was very slow.
16:34
Speaker 1: Landing on an island to try to get a view
16:37
Speaker 1: of the other side from the top of a hill,
16:40
Speaker 1: it was found so steep and thickly wooded that he
16:43
Speaker 1: had to give up the attempt. He therefore left a
16:47
Speaker 1: bottle containing some coins given him by his friend doctor Ka,
16:52
Speaker 1: and named the island after him. Here they found a
16:56
Speaker 1: current and strawberry plants, but the season was too ill
17:00
Speaker 1: for fruit. Near Cape Hinchinbrook, Gore went off to an
17:04
Speaker 1: island to shoot, but seeing two large canoes containing about
17:09
Speaker 1: twenty Indians, he thought it wiser to return to the ship.
17:13
Speaker 1: He was followed up, but none of the natives would
17:16
Speaker 1: come on board, and after a time, intimating they would
17:20
Speaker 1: return next day, retired. Two men and small canoes did
17:26
Speaker 1: return during the night, but finding that everyone on board
17:30
Speaker 1: was not asleep, beat a hurried retreat. The next day,
17:34
Speaker 1: the ships got into a better position and more Indians
17:38
Speaker 1: turned up, with whom they had little difficulty in entering
17:42
Speaker 1: into trading relations. But as they desired pieces of iron
17:47
Speaker 1: about ten inches long by three wide, and it was
17:51
Speaker 1: rather a scarce article on board, very little chiefly skins
17:56
Speaker 1: was purchased. At first only one man came on board,
18:01
Speaker 1: and as soon as he saw only two or three
18:03
Speaker 1: people on the Discovery, he went to the Resolution and
18:07
Speaker 1: brought over some of his friends, who rushed the deck
18:11
Speaker 1: with their knives drawn. However, the crew quickly ran up
18:15
Speaker 1: with their cutlasses ready, so the natives retired, remarking that
18:20
Speaker 1: the white men's knives were longer than theirs. At the Resolution,
18:25
Speaker 1: they broke every glass scuttle they could reach with their paddles,
18:29
Speaker 1: says Bernie. Cook points out that they must have been
18:33
Speaker 1: quite ignorant of the use of firearms, and concludes by saying, However,
18:38
Speaker 1: after all these tricks, we had the good fortune to
18:41
Speaker 1: leave them as ignorant as we found them, for they
18:45
Speaker 1: neither heard nor saw a musket fired, unless at birds.
18:50
Speaker 1: The leak on the Resolution was attended to, and in
18:53
Speaker 1: places the oakum cooking was found to have disappeared completely.
18:58
Speaker 1: One writer says it was called by rats, and that
19:01
Speaker 1: the ship was saved by rubbish. Having choked up the
19:05
Speaker 1: leak two sets of teeth, bad weather detaining them, Cook
19:11
Speaker 1: had the opportunity of studying the inhabitants. He had with
19:16
Speaker 1: him a description of the Esquimaux by Crantz, and found
19:20
Speaker 1: these men to be very similar in appearance, dress, and appliances.
19:26
Speaker 1: They also had the bottom lip slit horizontally, giving them
19:30
Speaker 1: the appearance of having two mouths. In these slits, pieces
19:35
Speaker 1: of bone were fixed to which were tied other pieces,
19:39
Speaker 1: forming a great impediment to their speech, and in some
19:43
Speaker 1: cases giving the idea that the wearer had two sets
19:47
Speaker 1: of teeth. Some also had pieces of bone cord or
19:51
Speaker 1: beads run through the cartilage of the nose, and all
19:55
Speaker 1: had their faces plentifully smeared with black and red paint.
20:00
Speaker 1: After examining an inlet, which received the name of Sandwich Sound,
20:06
Speaker 1: they got away, staring to the southwest past Cape Elizabeth,
20:11
Speaker 1: sighted on that Princess's birthday, which they hoped would prove
20:16
Speaker 1: the western extremity of the coast. But on getting round,
20:20
Speaker 1: land was reported further on to the west southwest, and
20:24
Speaker 1: a gale sprang up, forcing them off their course. In
20:29
Speaker 1: two days they worked back again, discovering more land behind
20:34
Speaker 1: what they had already seen. This cook believed to be
20:38
Speaker 1: Cape Saint Homogenes mentioned by Bearing, but his chart was
20:44
Speaker 1: so inaccurate he could not positively identify it or any
20:48
Speaker 1: other place mentioned on it. Cape Douglas, after the Dean
20:53
Speaker 1: of Windsor, was named and placed at fifty eight degrees
20:57
Speaker 1: fifty six minutes north two hundred six degrees ten minutes east,
21:03
Speaker 1: and the next day a high point in a range
21:06
Speaker 1: was called Mount Saint Augustine, after the saint whose day
21:10
Speaker 1: it happened to be. They then worked into a estuary
21:14
Speaker 1: formed by the rivers, one being afterwards named Cook's River
21:20
Speaker 1: by orders of Lord Sandwich in order to satisfy some
21:24
Speaker 1: of the officers who thought there might be a possible
21:26
Speaker 1: communication with Hudson's Bay. A good supply of very fine
21:32
Speaker 1: salmon was obtained from natives in the neighborhood, and Cook
21:36
Speaker 1: formed the opinion that a paying fur trade might be
21:40
Speaker 1: opened up, as the skins offered were of considerable value.
21:45
Speaker 1: Working slowly up the coast, they passed through the islands
21:50
Speaker 1: off Quelpart on the eighteenth when the discovery signaled to speak.
21:55
Speaker 1: A boat was sent and returned with a small box
21:59
Speaker 1: curiously tied up up with neatly made twine. It had
22:03
Speaker 1: been delivered on board by an Indian who first attracted
22:06
Speaker 1: attention by displaying a pair of old, plush breeches and
22:12
Speaker 1: a black cloth waistcoat, and when he came on board,
22:16
Speaker 1: took off his cap and bowed like a European. The
22:19
Speaker 1: box was found to contain a paper written in Russian,
22:23
Speaker 1: but unfortunately the only things that could be understood were
22:27
Speaker 1: the two dates seventeen seventy six and seventeen seventy eight.
22:34
Speaker 1: It was supposed to have been written by a Russian
22:37
Speaker 1: trader and given to the Indian to place it on
22:40
Speaker 1: board the first ship he met with on the twentieth
22:44
Speaker 1: in fifty four degrees eighteen minutes north one hundred and
22:48
Speaker 1: ninety five degrees forty five minutes east, a volcano throwing
22:53
Speaker 1: out dense smoke was observed, and in the afternoon they
22:58
Speaker 1: received a visit from from a man who had evidently
23:02
Speaker 1: been in contact with Europeans, for he was wearing green
23:06
Speaker 1: cloth breeches and a stuffed jacket. He took off his
23:10
Speaker 1: cap and bowed as the visitor to the discovery had done,
23:14
Speaker 1: but unfortunately they were unable to understand his language. On
23:19
Speaker 1: the twenty sixth of June, they had a narrow escape
23:23
Speaker 1: during a thick fog when it was not possible to
23:26
Speaker 1: see anything one hundred yards away. Breakers were heard, so
23:31
Speaker 1: the anchors were let go and fortunately held an hour
23:35
Speaker 1: or so after the fog lifted, and they found themselves
23:39
Speaker 1: about three quarters of a mile from a rocky island,
23:43
Speaker 1: having passed between two elevated rocks, a place through which
23:48
Speaker 1: Cook says, I should have ventured on a clear day.
23:51
Speaker 1: For all that they found themselves in such an anchoring
23:55
Speaker 1: place that I could not have chosen better. Anderson died
24:01
Speaker 1: on the twenty seventh of June. They were off the
24:04
Speaker 1: island of Onalashka and came across a party of natives
24:09
Speaker 1: who were towing two whales they had killed. They were
24:12
Speaker 1: somewhat shy, but had evidently seen ships before, and were
24:17
Speaker 1: more polite than those previously met with. One was upset
24:22
Speaker 1: from his canoe, and Cook took him down into the
24:25
Speaker 1: cabin and provided him with dry clothes. He dressed himself
24:29
Speaker 1: with as much ease as I could have done. His
24:32
Speaker 1: clothes were of bird skins, the feathers inside and patched
24:37
Speaker 1: in places with silk, and overall he wore a sort
24:42
Speaker 1: of shirt of whales and testine, which secured round the
24:46
Speaker 1: edge of the hole in which he sat in his canoe.
24:50
Speaker 1: Rendering him practically waterproof. Whilst in this neighborhood they received
24:55
Speaker 1: a second letter in Russian, but having no one on
24:58
Speaker 1: board who could trans it, was returned with some presence
25:02
Speaker 1: to the bearer, who retired bowing his thanks. After some
25:08
Speaker 1: detention from fogs and adverse winds, they got away once
25:12
Speaker 1: more and pushed slowly northwards. On the third of August,
25:17
Speaker 1: mister Anderson, the surgeon, who had been ill for some months, died,
25:22
Speaker 1: and Cook, having named an island, cited soon after his
25:26
Speaker 1: death Anderson's Island. To perpetuate the memory of the deceased,
25:31
Speaker 1: for whom I had a very great regard, appointed mister
25:35
Speaker 1: Law to the resolution and mister Samuel to the discovery
25:39
Speaker 1: as surgeons. On the ninth of August, Cape Prince of Wales,
25:45
Speaker 1: sixty five degrees forty six minutes north one hundred and
25:48
Speaker 1: ninety one degrees forty five minutes east was sighted, and
25:53
Speaker 1: they believed it to be the most westerly point of
25:56
Speaker 1: North America. They landed on what, from Aidinger's chart was
26:01
Speaker 1: the eastern end of the island of Alaska, but it
26:05
Speaker 1: soon afterwards was found to have been the eastern extremity
26:08
Speaker 1: of Asia. This chart, says Bernie, was found not only
26:13
Speaker 1: to be incorrect, but almost unintelligible. The country was very desolate,
26:19
Speaker 1: neither tree nor shrub to be seen, and the inhabitants
26:23
Speaker 1: seemed afraid of their visitors, though not absolutely unfriendly. They
26:28
Speaker 1: were taller and stouter than those on the American side,
26:32
Speaker 1: and their clothing very superior. The ships fell in with
26:37
Speaker 1: the ice blink on the seventeenth in seventy degrees thirty
26:42
Speaker 1: three minutes north one hundred and ninety seven degrees forty
26:46
Speaker 1: one minutes east, rather earlier than had been expected, and
26:50
Speaker 1: soon afterwards with the ice itself in the shape of
26:54
Speaker 1: a large field, extending as far as the eye could
26:57
Speaker 1: reach from west to east. Here they got a fresh
27:01
Speaker 1: supply of meat in the shape of sea horse, of
27:05
Speaker 1: which animal they killed a good many. The flesh was
27:09
Speaker 1: fishy and indifferent eating, but Cook says anything was preferable
27:13
Speaker 1: to salt meat. They still slowly but steadily pushed north
27:19
Speaker 1: along the American shore, but being hampered by fog and ice,
27:24
Speaker 1: they crossed over to the west side with no better fortune,
27:28
Speaker 1: for on the twenty sixth they found themselves embayed in
27:32
Speaker 1: the field with large quantities of heavy loose ice along
27:36
Speaker 1: the edges. Having sighted Cape North on the twenty ninth
27:41
Speaker 1: of August, Cook decided the season was too far advanced
27:46
Speaker 1: and that it would be better to proceed to winter quarters,
27:50
Speaker 1: and accordingly ran down the Asiatic coast in search of
27:53
Speaker 1: wood and water, of which he stood in need, but
27:57
Speaker 1: was disappointed, and making over to the other side, was
28:01
Speaker 1: fortunate to find a considerable quantity of driftwood, which served
28:06
Speaker 1: his purpose. Before leaving the straits, Cook remarks, in justice
28:12
Speaker 1: to Baring's memory, I must say he delineated this coast
28:17
Speaker 1: very well and fixed the latitude and longitude of the
28:21
Speaker 1: points better than could be expected from the methods he
28:25
Speaker 1: had to go. By salmon Pie anchoring a Noughton sound,
28:31
Speaker 1: Cook sent away the boats to explore and set to
28:35
Speaker 1: work to determine between the correctness of the chart drawn
28:38
Speaker 1: by Stocklan and his own observations, and after a series
28:43
Speaker 1: of no less than seventy seven sets of observations, he
28:47
Speaker 1: was able to show that Stockland was wrong. It was
28:51
Speaker 1: at this place that he decided to winter in the
28:53
Speaker 1: Sandwich Islands, as a port in Kamchatska would oblige his
28:58
Speaker 1: crews to remain I for nearly six months before further
29:02
Speaker 1: exploration to the north could be undertaken. The cause was
29:07
Speaker 1: now set for Samganooda harbour, but they did not arrive
29:11
Speaker 1: there till the third of October, having met with very
29:15
Speaker 1: heavy weather, in which the resolution again began to leak badly.
29:21
Speaker 1: On the eighth of September, an Indian brought a singular
29:24
Speaker 1: present in the form of a pie made like a
29:28
Speaker 1: loaf containing some highly seasoned salmon, accompanied by a letter
29:33
Speaker 1: in Russian. In return, Corporal Leadyard of the Marines, an
29:38
Speaker 1: intelligent man, was sent with a few bottles of rum
29:42
Speaker 1: wine and porter to obtain further information, and with orders
29:47
Speaker 1: if he met with any Russians, he was to make
29:50
Speaker 1: them understand that we were English friends and allies. On
29:55
Speaker 1: the tenth Leadyard returned, bringing three Russian sailors, but as
30:00
Speaker 1: there was no interpreter, there was difficulty in understanding anything thoroughly.
30:06
Speaker 1: One of the newcomers was understood to say he had
30:09
Speaker 1: been out with bearing, but Cook thought he was too young.
30:13
Speaker 1: They appeared to have a great respect for that officer,
30:17
Speaker 1: and Ladyard said he had seen a sloop, which he
30:21
Speaker 1: understood was his ship. They stayed on the resolution all
30:25
Speaker 1: night and promised to return with a chart of the
30:28
Speaker 1: islands that lay between that place and Kamchatska. It was
30:33
Speaker 1: understood that there were several settlements in the immediate neighborhood,
30:37
Speaker 1: employing altogether about four hundred Russians. Letters to London. On
30:45
Speaker 1: the fourteenth Cook and Weber were at an Indian village
30:49
Speaker 1: a short distance from the ships, when they saw a
30:52
Speaker 1: canoe arrive containing three men and accompanied by some twenty
30:56
Speaker 1: or thirty single canoes. A tent rigged up for one
31:01
Speaker 1: of the first three, a Russian named Ismailov, the chief
31:05
Speaker 1: trader of the district, whilst the others made shelters of
31:09
Speaker 1: their canoes in grass and so or were independent of
31:13
Speaker 1: the Indians. Is Malyov invited Cook to join him at
31:18
Speaker 1: his meal, which consisted of dried salmon and berries, and
31:23
Speaker 1: some sort of conversation was carried on by means of
31:26
Speaker 1: signs and figures. Ismailiov proved to be well acquainted with
31:31
Speaker 1: the geography of the district and pointed out several errors
31:35
Speaker 1: in the modern maps. He said he had been with
31:39
Speaker 1: Lieutenant Lindo's expedition as far north as Chutotskoynos and saw
31:46
Speaker 1: Clerk's Island, but when he could or would not say
31:49
Speaker 1: what else they had done during the two years the
31:52
Speaker 1: expedition was out, Cook began to have doubts. He also
31:57
Speaker 1: said the Russians had several times tried to gain a
32:00
Speaker 1: footing on the American shore, but the Indians had driven
32:04
Speaker 1: them off with the loss of two or three of
32:06
Speaker 1: their leaders. He also spoke of a sledge expedition in
32:10
Speaker 1: seventeen seventy three to three islands opposite the Colima River,
32:16
Speaker 1: which Cook thought might be the one mentioned by Mullah.
32:20
Speaker 1: He related that he had sailed in seventeen seventy one
32:23
Speaker 1: from a Russian settlement called Bolshetsky in the Kural Islands
32:29
Speaker 1: to Japan, but the ship was ordered away because they
32:33
Speaker 1: were Christians. So they went to Canton and sailed on
32:37
Speaker 1: a French ship to France, and from thence he went
32:41
Speaker 1: to Petersburg and was then sent out again. He was
32:45
Speaker 1: quite clear as to his dates and put them on paper,
32:49
Speaker 1: but as he was perfectly ignorant of any French, not
32:53
Speaker 1: even the names of the commonest articles. Though he had
32:56
Speaker 1: been such a long time amongst French people, Bok was
33:00
Speaker 1: again inclined to be skeptical. He stayed all night dining
33:05
Speaker 1: with Clerk, and returned again on the nineteenth with charts
33:09
Speaker 1: which he permitted to be copied and some manuscripts. One
33:14
Speaker 1: chart showed the Asiatic coast as far as forty one
33:18
Speaker 1: degrees north with the Kuril Islands in Kamchatska, and the second,
33:24
Speaker 1: the more interesting to the English, showed the discoveries made
33:28
Speaker 1: by the Russians to the east of Kamchatska, exclusive of
33:32
Speaker 1: the voyages of Baying and Cherikov. Cook found the longitudes
33:37
Speaker 1: and places were very different from those on the Russian maps,
33:42
Speaker 1: and was afraid the mistake might be carried through, but
33:45
Speaker 1: the latitudes were fairly correct as far as he could ascertain.
33:50
Speaker 1: The instruments used for the survey had been a theodolite.
33:54
Speaker 1: Before leaving Ismailov gave Cook letters for the governor of
33:59
Speaker 1: Kamchatska and the commandant of petro Polovsk, and Cook, finding
34:05
Speaker 1: he was tolerably well versed in astronomy, gave him a
34:09
Speaker 1: Hadley's octant, and though it was the first one he
34:13
Speaker 1: had seen, he soon made himself acquainted with its uses.
34:18
Speaker 1: A letter to the English Admiralty was also entrusted to him,
34:22
Speaker 1: to be forwarded via Petersburg as opportunity might offer. This
34:27
Speaker 1: letter and a chart of the northern coasts was delivered
34:31
Speaker 1: in London the following year. On the twenty sixth of October,
34:36
Speaker 1: the two ships got away, and in case of separation,
34:40
Speaker 1: Cloak was given his rendezvous, first the Sandwich Islands and
34:45
Speaker 1: the second petro Polovsk. In the middle of May. On
34:49
Speaker 1: the twenty eighth the Discovery met with a nasty accident
34:53
Speaker 1: during at gale the four and main tax carried away,
34:57
Speaker 1: killing one man and seriously inj during the boatswain and
35:01
Speaker 1: two others. On the twenty fifth of November, the islands
35:05
Speaker 1: were sighted and the customary orders as to the officers
35:09
Speaker 1: appointed to trade with the natives were issued, and no
35:14
Speaker 1: curiosities were to be purchased. Before the ships had received
35:17
Speaker 1: satisfactory supplies, they first called in at Maui, where the
35:22
Speaker 1: natives soon came out and appaired friendly and traded with
35:26
Speaker 1: less suspicion than any of the South Sea islanders they
35:30
Speaker 1: had met with before. Having procured a quantity of sugar cane,
35:35
Speaker 1: Cook ordered it to be used in brewing, as he
35:39
Speaker 1: found a strong decoction of the juice produced a wholesome
35:43
Speaker 1: and palatable bear, and would enable him to save the
35:47
Speaker 1: spirits for colder climates. However, the crews would have none
35:52
Speaker 1: of it. So Cook and his officers made use of
35:55
Speaker 1: it whenever caine was procurable, and gave himself no trouble
36:01
Speaker 1: either to oblige or persuade them to drink it, Knowing
36:04
Speaker 1: there was no danger of scurvy so long as we
36:07
Speaker 1: had plenty of other vegetables. But that I might not
36:10
Speaker 1: be disappointed in my views, I gave orders that no
36:14
Speaker 1: grog should be served in either ship. He then goes
36:18
Speaker 1: on to say, every innovation, whatever, though ever so much
36:23
Speaker 1: to their advantage, is sure to meet with the highest
36:26
Speaker 1: disprobation from seamen. Portable soup and sauer kraut were at
36:32
Speaker 1: first both condemned by them as stuff not fit for
36:36
Speaker 1: human beings to eat. Few men have introduced into their
36:40
Speaker 1: ships more novelties in the way of victuals and drink
36:44
Speaker 1: than I have done. Indeed, few men have had the
36:47
Speaker 1: same opportunity or been driven to the same necessity. It has, however,
36:52
Speaker 1: in a great measure, been owing to such little innovations
36:57
Speaker 1: that I have always kept my people, generally speaking, free
37:01
Speaker 1: from that dreadful distemper, the scurvy. This extract shows how
37:07
Speaker 1: bitterly Cook felt the stupid ingratitude of his men for
37:11
Speaker 1: the constant care he took of them, and as one
37:14
Speaker 1: of the very few passages in his journals in which
37:17
Speaker 1: he speaks in their disfavor, this curiously was erased by
37:22
Speaker 1: some unknown hand. King asserts it must have been done
37:26
Speaker 1: by Gore, as he is certain it was not by
37:29
Speaker 1: either Cook nor Clerk, who took command after Cook's death.
37:35
Speaker 1: Faulty sails in trying to weather the southeast end of
37:40
Speaker 1: Maui in heavy weather, the leech ropes of the main
37:44
Speaker 1: topsail and two top gallant sails gave way, and the
37:48
Speaker 1: sails were blind to pieces. Cook says, neither the cordage canvas,
37:53
Speaker 1: nor indeed hardly any other stores used in the navy,
37:57
Speaker 1: are equal in quality to those general use in the
38:01
Speaker 1: merchant's service, and he relates how such failures have constantly
38:07
Speaker 1: resulted in infinite trouble, vexationing loss. He illustrates his complaint
38:13
Speaker 1: by the fact that rigging blocks and sails that were
38:16
Speaker 1: purchased with his ship, although they had been fourteen months
38:20
Speaker 1: in use, wore longer than any of the things of
38:24
Speaker 1: the same kind put on board new from the King's stores.
38:28
Speaker 1: On the twenty fourth of December they succeeded in getting
38:32
Speaker 1: to windward of the island, but the signal to the
38:35
Speaker 1: discovery to tack having been omitted. She stood on, and
38:40
Speaker 1: it was some days before she rejoined the company. January
38:44
Speaker 1: seventeen seventy nine was ushered in with heavy rain, but
38:48
Speaker 1: clearing away before noon. They were able to approach to
38:52
Speaker 1: about five miles from the shore, where they lay to
38:56
Speaker 1: and traded with the natives. The next three days was
39:00
Speaker 1: spent working slowly down the coast and keeping a good
39:03
Speaker 1: lookout for their consort, occasionally stopping to do a little
39:07
Speaker 1: trading with the islanders, some of whom came as much
39:11
Speaker 1: as fifteen miles out to them. The chief article of
39:16
Speaker 1: commerce was salt, which was of very good quality. On
39:20
Speaker 1: the fifth of January, the southern point of O'wayhi was
39:24
Speaker 1: rounded and they lay off a large village, where they
39:28
Speaker 1: were quickly surrounded by canoes laden with hogs and women.
39:32
Speaker 1: The latter are not held up as patterns of all
39:36
Speaker 1: the virtues vegetables seemed to be scarce, and Cook concluded
39:41
Speaker 1: that either the land could not produce him or the
39:44
Speaker 1: crops had been destroyed by volcanic action, very recent traces
39:49
Speaker 1: of which were to be seen Wednesday, the sixth of January.
39:54
Speaker 1: The next morning, the people visited us again, bringing with
39:58
Speaker 1: them the same articles as before. Being near the shore,
40:02
Speaker 1: I sent mister Bligh, the master, in a boat to
40:05
Speaker 1: sound the coast, with orders to land and look for
40:09
Speaker 1: fresh water. On his return he reported that two cable
40:14
Speaker 1: lengths from the shore he had no soundings, with eight
40:17
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty fathoms of line, that when he landed
40:21
Speaker 1: he found no fresh water but rainwater lying in holes
40:25
Speaker 1: in the rocks, and that brackish with the spray of
40:28
Speaker 1: the sea, and that the surface of the country was
40:32
Speaker 1: wholly composed of large slags and ashes, here and there
40:36
Speaker 1: partly covered with plants. Between ten and eleven o'clock we
40:40
Speaker 1: saw the Discovery coming round the south point of the island,
40:44
Speaker 1: and at one p m. She joined us. When Captain
40:47
Speaker 1: Clerk came on board and informed me that he had
40:51
Speaker 1: cruised four or five days where we were separated, and
40:55
Speaker 1: then plied round the last part of the island, but
40:59
Speaker 1: meeting with unfavoredvable winds, was carried some distance from the coast.
41:04
Speaker 1: He had one of the islanders on board all the time.
41:08
Speaker 1: It was his own choice, nor did not leave them
41:11
Speaker 1: the first opportunity that offered. This was the last entry
41:16
Speaker 1: made by Cook in the journal he was preparing for publication,
41:20
Speaker 1: and is a fair sample of the manner in which
41:23
Speaker 1: the entire journal was written, and certainly does not justify
41:27
Speaker 1: the sneers that have been uttered about bad grammar and
41:31
Speaker 1: spelling the double negative notwithstanding, in handwriting, spelling and grammar,
41:38
Speaker 1: he can compare well with his press, either in the
41:41
Speaker 1: navy or in civil life, and many of the examples
41:45
Speaker 1: of bad spelling given have been abbreviations common in the navy,
41:50
Speaker 1: which his critics did not understand. Karaka CoA Bay. On
41:57
Speaker 1: the seventeenth of January, they anchored in Caracacoa Bay, where
42:03
Speaker 1: large numbers of canoes laden with provisions for sale came out.
42:08
Speaker 1: Cook estimates that at one time there were no less
42:11
Speaker 1: than a thousand round the ship. Their occupants entirely unarmed,
42:17
Speaker 1: they soon proved to be adepts at thieving. One man
42:20
Speaker 1: stole the rudder of a boat, so Cook ordered a
42:24
Speaker 1: shot or two to be fired over the escaping thief,
42:27
Speaker 1: but as it was not intended that any of the
42:30
Speaker 1: shots should take effect, the Indians seemed rather more surprised
42:34
Speaker 1: than frightened, and the man got away. The lids of
42:38
Speaker 1: the Resolution's coppers were stolen, and the Discovery had her
42:42
Speaker 1: rigging much cut about for the sake of the iron.
42:46
Speaker 1: The decks were so crowded with natives that Bernie says
42:50
Speaker 1: it kept a quarter of the crew hard at work
42:53
Speaker 1: to make room for the working of the ship an
42:56
Speaker 1: insecure position. The last entry made by Cook in his
43:01
Speaker 1: ship's journal, and probably the last words he ever wrote,
43:05
Speaker 1: runs as follows. Sunday, seventeen, fine, pleasant weather and variable
43:11
Speaker 1: faint breezes of wind. In the evening, mister Bli returned
43:15
Speaker 1: and reported that he had found a bay in which
43:18
Speaker 1: was good anchorage and fresh water tolerable. Easy to come at.
43:24
Speaker 1: Into this bay, I resolved to go to refit the
43:27
Speaker 1: ships and take in water. As the night approached, the
43:31
Speaker 1: Indians retired to the shore. A good many, however, desired
43:35
Speaker 1: to sleep on board. Curiosity was not their only motive,
43:40
Speaker 1: at least not with some of them. For the next morning,
43:43
Speaker 1: several things were missing, which determined me not to entertain
43:47
Speaker 1: so many another night at eleven a m anchored in
43:51
Speaker 1: the bay which is called by the natives a blank
43:55
Speaker 1: filled in by another hand karakakoa, in thirteen fathoms of
44:00
Speaker 1: water over a sandy bottom, and a quarter of a
44:04
Speaker 1: mile from the northeast shore. In this situation, the south
44:09
Speaker 1: point of the bay bore south quarter west and the
44:13
Speaker 1: north point west quarter south moored, with the stream anchor
44:17
Speaker 1: to the northward. Unbent the sails and struck yards and topmasts.
44:23
Speaker 1: The ships very much crowded with Indians and surrounded by
44:27
Speaker 1: a multitude of canoes. I have nowhere in the sea
44:31
Speaker 1: scene such a number of people assembled at one place.
44:35
Speaker 1: Besides those in the canoes, all the shore of the
44:38
Speaker 1: bay was covered with people, and hundreds were swimming about
44:42
Speaker 1: the ships like shoals of fish. We should have found
44:45
Speaker 1: it difficult to keep them in order, had not a
44:48
Speaker 1: chief or servant of Teri Yobus named Pariah now and
44:53
Speaker 1: then shown his authority by turning or rather driving them
44:58
Speaker 1: all out of the ship. Among our numerous visitors was
45:03
Speaker 1: a man named Towaha, whom we soon found belonged to
45:07
Speaker 1: the church. He introduced himself with much ceremony, in the
45:11
Speaker 1: course of which he presented me with a small pig,
45:14
Speaker 1: two cocoanuts, and a piece of red cloth, which he
45:17
Speaker 1: wrapped around me. In this manner, all or most of
45:21
Speaker 1: the chiefs introduced themselves, but this man went further. He
45:26
Speaker 1: brought with him a large hog and a quantity of
45:29
Speaker 1: fruits and roots, all of which he included in the present.
45:34
Speaker 1: In the afternoon, I went ashore to view the place,
45:36
Speaker 1: accompanied by Toaha, Paria, mister King and others. As soon
45:42
Speaker 1: as we landed, Toahar took me by the hand and
45:45
Speaker 1: conducted me to a large morai. The other gentlemen, with
45:50
Speaker 1: Paria and four or five more of the natives followed.
45:54
Speaker 1: Mister King describes this moray as being about forty yards
45:59
Speaker 1: long by twenty broad and about fourteen feet high. The
46:03
Speaker 1: top flat, well paved, and surrounded by a wooden railing.
46:08
Speaker 1: An old building stood in the center, from which a
46:11
Speaker 1: stone wall ran to the fence, dividing the top into
46:15
Speaker 1: two parts. On the landward side were five poles upwards
46:20
Speaker 1: of twenty feet high supporting an irregular kind of scaffold,
46:25
Speaker 1: and on the seaside half were two small houses with
46:28
Speaker 1: a covered communication between them. On their arrival, Cook was
46:33
Speaker 1: presented with two ugly images wrapped with red cloth, and
46:38
Speaker 1: a sort of hymn was sung. Then they were marched
46:42
Speaker 1: to the scaffolding, where was a table in which lay
46:45
Speaker 1: fruits and vegetables, surmounted by a very much decomposed pig,
46:51
Speaker 1: and in a semicircle round one end of this table
46:55
Speaker 1: were twelve images, placing Cook near the scaffolding. CoA, as
47:00
Speaker 1: king and others called to Aha, took up the pig,
47:04
Speaker 1: and holding it towards him, made a long speech. Then
47:08
Speaker 1: dropping the offensive porker, he made signs that the two
47:12
Speaker 1: were to climb on to the uncertain scaffolding. This being done,
47:17
Speaker 1: a procession came forward bearing a live hog and a
47:21
Speaker 1: piece of red cloth. This last article was handed up
47:25
Speaker 1: to Koha, who proceeded to wrap it around Cook, who
47:29
Speaker 1: was clinging to his elevated but not very safe position.
47:34
Speaker 1: The pig was then offered to Cook and a long
47:36
Speaker 1: address chanted. The two principal performers then descended and returned
47:42
Speaker 1: to the table. CoA snapped his fingers at the figures
47:46
Speaker 1: and making what appeared to be sarcastic remarks till he
47:49
Speaker 1: came to the center one, when he prostrated himself and
47:53
Speaker 1: kissed it, requesting Cook to do the same. The party
47:57
Speaker 1: then proceeded to the other part of the morai, and
48:00
Speaker 1: Cook was seated between two images with his arm stretched out,
48:05
Speaker 1: one upheld by CoA and the other by King. A
48:09
Speaker 1: cooked pig and other food was then presented with much ceremony.
48:14
Speaker 1: The meat cut up and Kaver prepared, whilst Koha's assistance
48:19
Speaker 1: chewed some cocoanut, wrapped it in a cloth, and then
48:23
Speaker 1: rubbed it over Cook's face, head and shoulders and arms.
48:27
Speaker 1: CoA and Paria then pulled pieces of the pig and
48:31
Speaker 1: put them into the mouths of the two officers. King
48:34
Speaker 1: says that Paria was a particularly cleanly person, so he
48:39
Speaker 1: did not so much mind this feeding. But Cook, remembering
48:43
Speaker 1: how Koa had handled the putrid hog, was unable to
48:47
Speaker 1: swallow a mouthful, and his reluctance, as may be supposed,
48:53
Speaker 1: was not diminished when the old man, according to his
48:56
Speaker 1: own mode of civility, had chewed it for him. Cook
49:00
Speaker 1: then put an end to further proceedings by distributing some
49:04
Speaker 1: presents to the attendants and returning to the ship. Though
49:09
Speaker 1: the meaning of this ceremony could only be a matter
49:12
Speaker 1: of conjecture, it was very evident that it was intended
49:16
Speaker 1: as a mark of high respect to the person of
49:18
Speaker 1: Captain Cook. The title of Orno, given to him, and
49:23
Speaker 1: often quoted as evidence that he had permitted himself to
49:26
Speaker 1: be looked upon as a god by the natives, was
49:29
Speaker 1: also given to one, if not more, of their own chiefs,
49:34
Speaker 1: and Burney says that the marks of honor conferred on
49:38
Speaker 1: him were exactly the same as those conferred on any
49:41
Speaker 1: one of their own superior chieftains. The grotesque description given
49:46
Speaker 1: by some of the missionary writers of the whole population
49:50
Speaker 1: crawling after him on hands and knees as a mark
49:53
Speaker 1: of adoration, is utterly untrue, for mister King, who was
49:58
Speaker 1: ashore almost the the whole time of the ship's stay,
50:02
Speaker 1: and was continually with Cook. Distinctly, says, the crowd which
50:07
Speaker 1: had collected on the shore retired at our approach, and
50:11
Speaker 1: not a person was to be seen except a few
50:15
Speaker 1: lying prostrate on the ground near the huts of the
50:18
Speaker 1: adjoining village. None of those who were on the voyage
50:22
Speaker 1: and have left any record behind them, suggest that cook
50:26
Speaker 1: was treated in any respect otherwise than as a great
50:31
Speaker 1: chief and a man. A small potato field was placed
50:35
Speaker 1: under taboo near the Morai for the purpose of the observatory,
50:40
Speaker 1: and a camp under the command of king was established there.
50:45
Speaker 1: His camp was daily supplied with meat and vegetables, even
50:49
Speaker 1: more than could be consumed, and several canoe loads were
50:53
Speaker 1: sent off to the ships. After inquiry, it was found
50:57
Speaker 1: that the whole expense of this food was borne by Koah,
51:02
Speaker 1: and no return whatever was demanded. A royal visit, a
51:08
Speaker 1: taboo was placed on the whole of the bay on
51:11
Speaker 1: the twenty fourth, and trading came to a complete standstill,
51:16
Speaker 1: the reason given being the coming of the King Tereobu.
51:21
Speaker 1: He arrived the next day and commerce at once revived.
51:26
Speaker 1: He paid a private visit with his wife and children
51:29
Speaker 1: to the resolution, remaining on board some time, and proved
51:34
Speaker 1: to be the same chief they had seen at the
51:36
Speaker 1: island of Maui. The next day, he accompanied by several
51:41
Speaker 1: important chiefs, all dressed in rich feather cloaks and armed
51:46
Speaker 1: with long spears and daggers, paid a state visit. Coah
51:51
Speaker 1: was also present in a canoe with other priests and
51:54
Speaker 1: two large basket work idols, whose distorted faces were a
52:00
Speaker 1: dawned with pearl shull eyes and dog's teeth. He was
52:04
Speaker 1: attended by two other canoes, one filled with pigs and vegetables,
52:10
Speaker 1: and these paddled around the ships the priests singing in
52:13
Speaker 1: a most solemn fashion, and returned to the shore. Cook followed.
52:19
Speaker 1: King turned out the guard and saluted Tereobu, and then
52:24
Speaker 1: conducted himself to the tent, where after seating himself for
52:27
Speaker 1: a few moments, he took off his helmet and cloak
52:31
Speaker 1: and placed them on Cook, at the same time ordering
52:35
Speaker 1: five or six more of great value to be placed
52:38
Speaker 1: at his feet. Hogs, bread, fruit, et cetera. Were then
52:43
Speaker 1: brought in. Cook and Tereyobu exchanged names as a peculiar
52:49
Speaker 1: mark of friendship, and the ceremony ended by the presentation
52:53
Speaker 1: of the two boat loads of provisions by a deputation
52:57
Speaker 1: of priests. One of those present was a nephew of
53:01
Speaker 1: the king, called by the English Maha Myha, afterwards known
53:06
Speaker 1: to the world as kamiham Miha. The first as many
53:10
Speaker 1: of the chiefs as the resolution's pinnace would hold, were
53:15
Speaker 1: taken off with the King to the ship and the
53:18
Speaker 1: latter was duly invested with a white linen shirt and
53:22
Speaker 1: Cook's own sword. During the whole of this performance, no canoes,
53:27
Speaker 1: excepting those actually engaged, were to be seen in the bay,
53:32
Speaker 1: and all the natives remained lying on the ground or
53:36
Speaker 1: in their houses. Clerk, who had been too ill to
53:40
Speaker 1: share in these ceremonies, landed for the first time on
53:43
Speaker 1: the twenty eighth, and, though quite unexpected, he received a
53:48
Speaker 1: very handsome present of food, and Tereobu paid the discovery
53:53
Speaker 1: a state call, taking with him presents similar to those
53:57
Speaker 1: given to Cook. In the afternoon, he paid a second
54:02
Speaker 1: private call in a small canoe with three paddles, one
54:06
Speaker 1: of which he wielded himself. On this occasion there were
54:10
Speaker 1: no prostrations, but if any native met his chief, he
54:15
Speaker 1: simply got out of his way unless some service was
54:19
Speaker 1: required of him. The ships were running very short of firewood,
54:24
Speaker 1: and as there was none growing less than a mile
54:26
Speaker 1: and a half off the sea, mister King was ordered
54:30
Speaker 1: to try and purchase the fence surrounding the top of
54:33
Speaker 1: the Morai. He hesitated, as he thought that even the
54:38
Speaker 1: bare mention of it might be considered by them the
54:41
Speaker 1: priests as a piece of shocking impiety. In this, however,
54:46
Speaker 1: I found myself mistaken. Not the smaller surprise was expressed
54:50
Speaker 1: at the application, and the wood was readily given, even
54:54
Speaker 1: without stipulating for anything in return. He saw the sailors
54:59
Speaker 1: were carrying away the figures as well, and spoke to
55:02
Speaker 1: Kohar on the subject, who raised no objection, except with
55:07
Speaker 1: regard to the center one, which was at once returned.
55:11
Speaker 1: Bernie says that two launch loads for each ship were
55:15
Speaker 1: obtained a seasonable supply, as we had been four months
55:20
Speaker 1: since we woulded. On the thirty first of January, Waman,
55:25
Speaker 1: one of the gunner's crew and greatly attached to Cook,
55:29
Speaker 1: died and was buried in the Morai. Bessant thinks that
55:33
Speaker 1: this had some influence on the minds of the natives
55:36
Speaker 1: and may have contributed to Cook's death, but as it
55:40
Speaker 1: was done by Terry OBU's special request, it is difficult
55:44
Speaker 1: to see how the idea can be justified. A large present.
55:51
Speaker 1: Inquiries were several times made as to the date of
55:54
Speaker 1: the departure of the ships, and hence were given that
55:58
Speaker 1: supplies were running short, but at the same time they
56:01
Speaker 1: were informed that if they returned the next bread fruit season,
56:06
Speaker 1: their wants would be again supplied. When the news went
56:10
Speaker 1: forth that they would leave in two days, Tereobu issued
56:14
Speaker 1: a proclamation for food to be brought in so that
56:18
Speaker 1: he might make a large present on their departure, and
56:21
Speaker 1: on the appointed day, Cook and King were invited to
56:25
Speaker 1: Tereobu's residence, where they found all that had been given
56:29
Speaker 1: in exchange to the natives was laid out on the ground,
56:33
Speaker 1: and a short distance away a large quantity of vegetables
56:37
Speaker 1: of all kinds and a herd of pigs, which were
56:41
Speaker 1: handed over On a return present being made. King says
56:45
Speaker 1: that the gift far exceeded anything of the kind we
56:48
Speaker 1: had seen. The camp ashore was then broken up, and
56:53
Speaker 1: a great effort was made to persuade Cook to permit
56:57
Speaker 1: mister King to remain as he had seen succeeded in
57:01
Speaker 1: making himself a great favorite with all. A house that
57:05
Speaker 1: had been used by the sail makers was accidentally set
57:09
Speaker 1: on fire, Bernie says, by the natives looking for a
57:12
Speaker 1: knife lost by one of the sailors, but Bessant, who
57:17
Speaker 1: places the fire at a later period, says it was
57:20
Speaker 1: done intentionally in revenge for the sailors, having enticed some
57:24
Speaker 1: of the women there, and infers that Gilbert is his authority.
57:29
Speaker 1: But in the extracts he publishes from Gilbert's manuscript there
57:34
Speaker 1: is nothing of the kind, and no one refers to
57:37
Speaker 1: any other fire till after Cook's death end of chapter seventeen.