In the morning of the 16th, while the men were engaged in their usual employment of getting the ship ready for the sea, our commander climbed one of the heights on the north side of the river, and obtained from it an extensive view of the inland country, which he found agreeably diversified by hills, valleys, and large plains, that in many places were richly covered with wood. This evening, the lieutenant and Mr. Green observed an emersion of the first satellite of Jupiter, which gave 214° 53' 45" of longitude. The observation taken on the 29th of June had given 214° 48' 30"; and the mean was 214° 48' 7-1/2", being the longitude of the place west of Greenwich.
On the 17th, Mr. Cook sent the master and one of the mates in the pinnace, to search for a channel northward; after which, accompanied by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, he went into the woods on the other side of the water. In this excursion, the gentlemen had a farther opportunity of improving that acquaintance with the Indians, who by degrees became so familiar, that several of them the next day ventured on board the ship. There the lieutenant left them, apparently much entertained, that he might go with Mr. Banks to take a farther survey of the country, and especially to indulge an anxious curiosity they had of looking round about them upon the sea; of which they earnestly wished, but scarcely dared to hope, that they might obtain a favourable and encouraging prospect. When, after having walked along the shore seven or eight miles to the northward, they ascended a very high hill, the view which presented itself to them inspired nothing but melancholy apprehensions. In every direction they saw rocks and shoals without number; and there appeared to be no passage out to sea, but through the winding channels between them, the navigation of which could not be accomplished without the utmost degree of difficulty and danger. The spirits of the two gentlemen were not raised by this excursion.
On the 19th, our voyagers were visited by ten of the natives: and six or seven more were seen at a distance, chiefly women, who were as naked as the male inhabitants of the country. There being at that time a number of turtles on the deck of the ship, the Indians who came on board were determined to get one of them; and expressed great disappointment and anger, when our people refused to comply with their wishes. Several attempts were made by them to secure what they wanted by force; but all their efforts proving unsuccessful, they suddenly leaped into their canoe in a transport of rage, and paddled towards the shore. The lieutenant, with Mr. Banks, and five or six of the ship's crew, immediately went into the boat, and got ashore, where many of the English were engaged in various employments. As soon as the natives reached the land, they seized their arms, which had been laid up in a tree, and having snatched a brand from under a pitch-kettle that was boiling, made a circuit to the windward of the few things our people had on shore, and with surprising quickness and dexterity set on fire to the grass in that way. The grass, which was as dry as stubble, and five or six feet high, burned with surprising fury; and a tent of Mr. Banks's would have been destroyed if that gentleman had not immediately got some of the men to save it, by hauling it down upon the beach. Every part of the smith's forge that would burn was consumed. This transaction was followed by another of the same nature. In spite of threats and entreaties, the Indians went to a different place, where several of the Endeavour's crew were washing, and where the seine, the other nets, and a large quantity of linen were laid out to dry, and again set fire to the grass. The audacity of this fresh attack rendered it necessary that a musket, loaded with small shot, should be discharged at one of them; who being wounded at the distance of about forty yards they all betook themselves to flight. In the last instance the fire was extinguished before it had made any considerable progress; but where it had first began, it spread far into the woods. The natives being still in sight, Mr. Cook, to convince them that they had not yet gotten out of his reach, fired a musket, charged with ball, abreast of them among the mangroves, upon which they quickened their pace, and were soon out of view. It was now expected that they would have given our navigators no farther trouble; but in a little time their voices were heard in the woods, and it was perceived that they came nearer and nearer. The lieutenant, therefore, together with Mr. Banks, and three or four more persons, set out to meet them; and the result of the interview, in consequence of the prudent and lenient conduct of our commander and his friends, was a complete reconciliation. Soon after the Indians went away, the woods were seen to be on fire at the distance of about two miles. This accident, if it had happened a little sooner, might have produced dreadful effects; for the powder had been but a few days on board, and it was not many hours that the store tents, with all the valuable things contained in it had been removed. From the fury with which the grass would burn in this hot climate, and the difficulty of extinguishing the fire, our voyagers determined never to expose themselves to the like danger, but to clear the ground around them, if ever again they should be under the necessity of pitching their tents in such a situation.
In the evening of this day, when every thing was gotten on board the ship, and she was nearly ready for sailing, the master returned with the disagreeable account that there was no passage for her to the northward. The next morning, the lieutenant himself sounded and buoyed the bar. At this time, all the hills for many miles round were on fire, and the appearance they assumed at night was eminently striking and splendid.
In an excursion which was made by Mr. Banks, on the 23rd, to gather plants, he found the greatest part of the cloth that had been given to the Indians lying in a heap together. This, as well as the trinkets which had been bestowed upon them, they probably regarded as useless lumber. Indeed, they seemed to set little value on any thing possessed by our people, excepting their turtle, and that was a commodity which could not be spared.
As Lieutenant Cook was prevented by blowing weather from attempting to get out to sea, Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander seized another opportunity, on the 24th, of pursuing their botanical researches. Having traversed the woods the greater part of the day, without success, as they were returning through a deep valley they discovered lying upon the ground several marking nuts, anacardiam orientale. Animated with the hope of meeting the tree that bore them, a tree which perhaps no European botanist had ever seen, they sought for it with great diligence and labour, but to no purpose. While Mr. Banks was again gleaning the country, on the 26th, to enlarge his treasure of natural history, he had the good fortune to take an animal of the oppossum tribe, together with two young ones. It was a female, and though not exactly of the same species, much resembled the remarkable animal which Mons. de Buffon hath described by the name of phalanger.
On the morning of the 29th, the weather becoming calm, and a light breeze having sprung up by land, Lieutenant Cook sent a boat to see what water was upon the bar, and all things were made ready for putting to sea. But, on the return of the boat, the officer reported, that there were only thirteen feet of water on the bar. As the ship drew thirteen feet six inches, and the sea-breeze set in again in the evening, all hope of sailing on that day was given up. The weather being more moderate on the 31st, the lieutenant had thoughts of trying to warp the vessel out of the harbour; but upon going out himself to the boat, he found, that the wind still blew so fresh, that it would not be proper to make the attempt. A disagreeable piece of intelligence occured on the succeeding day. The carpenter, who had examined the pumps, reported, that they were all of them in a state of decay. One of them was so rotten, that, when hoisted up, it dropped to pieces, and the rest were not in a much better condition. The chief confidence, therefore, of our navigators was now in the soundness of the ship; and it was a happy circumstance, that she did not admit more than one inch of water in an hour.
Early on the 3rd of August, another unsuccessful attempt was made to warp the vessel out of the harbour but in the morning of the next day the efforts of our voyagers were more prosperous, and the Endeavour got once more under sail with a light air from the land, which soon died away, and was followed by sea-breezes from south-east by south. With these breezes the ship stood off to sea, east by north, having the pinnace ahead, which was ordered to keep sounding without intermission. A little before noon the lieutenant anchored in fifteen fathom water, with a sandy bottom, the reason of which was, that he did not think it safe to run in among the shoals, till, by taking a view of them from the mast-head at low water, he might be able to form some judgment which way it would be proper for him to steer. This was a matter of nice and arduous determination. As yet Mr. Cook was in doubt, whether he should beat back to the southward, round all the shoals, or seek a passage to the eastward or the northward: nor was it possible to say, whether each of these courses might not be attended with equal difficulty and danger.
The impartiality and humanity of Lieutenant Cook's conduct in the distribution of provisions ought not to pass unnoticed. Whatever turtle or other fish were caught, they were always equally divided among the whole ship's crew, the meanest person on board having the same share with the lieutenant himself. He hath justly observed, that this is a rule which every commander will find it his interest to follow, in a voyage of a similiar nature.
Great difficulties occured in the navigation from the Endeavour river. On the 5th of August, the lieutenant had not kept his course long, before shoals were discovered in every quarter, which obliged him, as night approached, to come to an anchor. In the morning of the 6th there was so strong a gale, that our voyagers were prevented from weighing. When it was low water, Mr. Cook, with several of his officers, kept a look-out at the mast head, to see if any passage could be discovered between the shoals. Nothing, however, was in view, excepting breakers, which extended from the south round by the east as far as to the north-west, and reached out to sea, beyond the sight of any of the gentlemen. It did not appear that these breakers were caused by one continued shoal, but by several, which lay detached from each other. On that which was farthest to the eastward, the sea broke very high, so that the lieutenant was induced to think, that it was the outermost shoal. He was now convinced, that there was no passage to sea, but through the labyrinth formed by these shoals; and, at the same time, he was wholly at a loss what course to steer, when the weather should permit the vessel to sail. The master's opinion was, that our navigators should beat back the way they came; but as the wind blew strongly, and almost without intermission, from that quarter, this would have been an endless labour: and yet, if a passage could not be found to the northward, there was no other alternative. Amidst these anxious deliberations, the gale increased, and continued, with little remission, till the morning of the 10th, when the weather becoming more moderate, our commander weighed, and stood in for the land. He had now come to a final determination of seeking a passage along the shore to the northward.
In pursuance of this resolution, the Endeavour proceeded in her course, and at noon came between the farthermost headland that lay in sight, and three islands which were four or five leagues to the north of it, out at sea. Here our navigators thought they saw a clear opening before them, and began to hope that they were once more out of danger. Of this hope, however, they were soon deprived; on which account, the lieutenant gave to the headland the name of Cape Flattery. After he had steered some time along the shore, for what was believed to be the open channel, the petty officer at the mast-head cried aloud, that he saw land ahead, which extended quite round to the three islands, and that between the ship and them there was a large reef. Mr. Cook, upon this, ran up the mast-head himself, and plainly discerned the reef, which was so far to the windward, that it could not be weathered. As to the land which the petty officer had supposed to be the main, our commander was of opinion, that it was only a cluster of small islands. The master, and some others, who went up the mast-head after the lieutenant, were entirely of a different opinion. All of them were positive that the land in sight did not consist of islands, but that it was a part of the main: and they rendered their report still more alarming, by adding, that they saw breakers around them on every side. In a situation so critical and doubtful, Mr. Cook thought proper to come to an anchor, under a high point which he immediately ascended, that he might have a farther view of the sea and the country. The prospect he had from this place, which he called Point Look-out, clearly confirmed him in his former opinion; the justness of which displayed one of the numerous instances, wherein it was manifest, how much he exceeded the people about him in sagacity of his judgment concerning matters of navigation.
The lieutenant, being anxious to discover more distinctly the situation of the shoals, and the channel between them, determined to visit the northernmost and largest of the three islands before mentioned; which, from its height and its lying five leagues out to sea, was peculiarly adapted to his purpose. Accordingly, in company with Mr. Banks, whose fortitude and curiosity stimulated him to take a share in every undertaking, he set out in the pinnace, on the morning of the 11th, upon this expedition. He sent, at the same time, the master in the yawl, to sound between the low islands and the mainland. About one o'clock, the gentlemen reached the place of their destination, and immediately, with a mixture of hope and fear, proportioned to the importance of the business, and the uncertainty of the event, ascended the highest hill they could find. When the lieutenant took a survey of the prospect around him, he discovered, on the outside of the islands, and at the distance of two or three leagues from them, a reef of rocks, upon which the sea broke in a dreadful surf, and which extended farther than his sight could reach. Hence, however, he collected, that there was no shoals beyond them; and, as he perceived several breaks or openings in the reef, and deep water between that and the islands, he entertained hopes of getting without the rocks. But though he saw reason to indulge, in some degree, this expectation, the haziness of the weather prevented him from obtaining that satisfactory intelligence which he ardently desired. He determined, therefore, by staying all night upon the island, to try whether the next day would not afford him a more distinct and comprehensive prospect. Accordingly, the gentlemen took up their lodging under the shelter of a bush, which grew upon the beach. Not many hours were devoted by them to sleep; for, at three in the morning, Mr. Cook mounted the hill a second time, but had the mortification of finding the weather much more hazy than it had been on the preceding day. He had early sent the pinnace, with one of the mates, to sound between the island and the reefs, and to examine what appeared to be a channel through them. The mate, in consequence of its blowing hard, did not dare to venture into the channel, which he reported to be very narrow. Nevertheless, our commander, who judged, from the description of the place, that it had been seen to disadvantage, was not discouraged by this account.
While the lieutenant was engaged in his survey, Mr. Banks, always attentive to the great object of natural history, collected some plants which he had never met with before. No animals were perceived upon the place, excepting lizards, for which reason the gentlemen gave it the name of Lizard Island. In their return to the ship, they landed on a low sandy island that had trees upon it, and which abounded with an incredible number of birds, principally sea-fowl. Here they found the nest of an eagle, and the nest of some other bird, of what species they could not distinguish; but it must certainly be one of the largest kinds that exist. This was apparent from the enormous size of the nest, which was built with sticks upon the ground, and was no less than six and twenty feet in circumference, and two feet eight inches in height. The spot which the gentlemen were now upon they called Eagle Island.
When Lieutenant Cook got on board he entered into a very serious deliberation concerning the course he should pursue. After considering what he had seen himself and the master's report, he was of opinion, that by keeping in with the main land, he should run the risk of being locked in by the great reef, and of being compelled at last to return back in search of another passage. By the delay that would hence be occasioned, our navigators would almost certainly be prevented from getting in time to the East Indies, which was a matter of the utmost importance, and indeed of absolute necessity; for they had now not much more than three months' provision on board, at short allowance. The judgment the lieutenant had formed together with the facts and appearances on which it was grounded, he stated to his officers, by whom it was unanimously agreed, that the best thing they could do would be to quit the coast entirely, till they could approach it again with less danger.
In pursuance of this resolution, the Endeavour, early in the morning of the 13th, got under sail, and successfully passed through one of the channels or openings in the outer reef, which Mr. Cook had seen from the island. When the ship had gotten without the breakers, there was no ground within one hundred and fifty fathom, and our people found a large sea rolling in upon them from the south-east. This was a certain sign that neither land nor shoals were near them in that direction.
So happy a change in the situation of our voyagers was sensibly felt in every breast, and was visible in every countenance. They had been little less than three months in a state that perpetually threatened them with destruction. Frequently had they passed their nights at anchor within hearing of the surge, that broke over the shoals and rocks; and they knew, that, if by any accident the anchors should not hold against an almost continual tempest, they must in a few minutes inevitably perish. They had sailed three hundred and sixty leagues, without once, even for a moment, having a man out of the chains heaving the lead. This was a circumstance which perhaps never had happened to any other vessel. But now our navigators found themselves in an open sea with deep water; and the joy they experienced was proportioned to their late danger, and their present security. Nevertheless, the very waves, which proved by their swell that our people had no rocks or shoals to fear, convinced them, at the same time, that they could not put a confidence in the ship equal to what they had done before she struck. So far were the leaks widened by the blows she received from the waves, that she admitted no less than nine inches of water in an hour. If the company had not been lately in so much more imminent danger, this fact, considering the state of the pumps, and the navigation which was still in view, would have been a matter of very serious concern.
The passage or channel, through which the Endeavour passed into the open sea beyond the reef, lies in latitude 14° 32' south. It may always be known by the three high islands within it, to which, on account of the use they may be of in guiding the way of future voyagers, our commander gave the appellation of the islands of Direction.
It was not a long time that our navigators enjoyed the satisfaction of being free from the alarm of danger. As they were pursuing their course in the night of the 15th, they sounded frequently, but had no bottom with one hundred and forty fathom, nor any ground with the same length of line. Nevertheless, at four in the morning of the 16th, they plainly heard the roaring of the surf, and at break of day saw it foaming to a vast height, at not more than the distance of mile. The waves, which rolled in upon the reef, carried the vessel towards it with great rapidity; and, at the same time, our people could reach no ground with an anchor, and had not a breath of wind for the sail. In a situation so dreadful, there was no resource but in the boats; and most unhappily, the pinnace was under repair. By the help, however, of the long-boat and the yawl, which were sent ahead to tow, the ship's head was got round to the northward, a circumstance which might delay, if it could not prevent destruction. This was not effected till six o'clock, and our voyagers were not then a hundred yards from the rock, upon which the same billow had washed the side of the vessel broke to a tremendous height, the very next time it rose. There was only, therefore, a dreary valley between the English and destruction; a valley no wider than the base of one wave, while the sea under them was unfathomable. The carpenter, in the meanwhile, having hastily patched up the pinnace, she was hoisted out, and sent ahead to tow in aid of the other boats. But all these efforts would have been ineffectual, if a light air of wind had not sprung up, just at the crisis of our people's fate. It was so light an air, that at any other time it would not have been observed: but it was sufficient to turn the scale in favour of our navigators; and in conjunction with the assistance which was afforded by the boats, it gave the ship a perceptible motion obliquely from the reef. The hopes of the company now revived: but in less than ten minutes a dead calm succeeded, and the vessel was again driven towards the breakers, which were not at the distance of two hundred yards. However, before the ground was lost which had already been gained, the same light breeze returned, and lasted ten minutes more. During this time a small opening about a quarter of a mile distant, was discovered in the reef; upon which Mr. Cook immediately sent one of the mates to examine it, who reported that its breadth was not more than the length of the ship, but that within it there was smooth water. This discovery presented the prospect of a possibility of escape, by pushing the vessel through the opening. Accordingly, the attempt was made, but it failed of success; for when our people, by the joint assistance of their boats and the breeze, had reached the opening, they found that it had become high water; and, to their great surprise, they met the tide of ebb running out like a mill-stream. In direct contrariety to their expectations, some advantage was gained by this event. Though it was impossible to go through the opening, the stream, which prevented the Endeavour from doing it, carried her out about a quarter of a mile; and the boats were so much assisted in towing her by the tide of ebb, that at noon she had gained the distance of nearly two miles. However, there was yet too much reason to despair of deliverance. For even if the breeze, which had now died away, had revived, our navigators were still embayed in the reef: and the tide of ebb being spent, the tide of flood, notwithstanding their utmost efforts, drove the ship back again into her former perilous situation. Happily, about this time, another opening was perceived, nearly a mile to the westward. Our commander immediately sent Mr. Hicks, the first lieutenant, to examine it; and in the meanwhile the Endeavour struggled hard with the flood, sometimes gaining, and sometimes losing ground. During this severe service, every man did his duty with as much calmness and regularity as if no danger had been near. At length Mr. Hicks returned with the intelligence, that the opening, though narrow and hazardous, was capable of being passed. The bare possibility of passing it was encouragement sufficient to make the attempt; and indeed all danger was less to be dreaded by our people, than that of continuing in their present situation. A light breeze having fortunately sprung up, this, in conjunction with the aid of the boats, and the very tide of flood that would otherwise have been their destruction, enabled them to enter the opening, through which they were hurried with amazing rapidity. Such was the force of the torrent by which they were carried along, that they were kept from driving against either side of the channel, which in breadth was not more than a quarter of a mile. While they were shooting this gulf, their soundings were remarkably irregular, varying from thirty to seven fathom, and the ground at bottom was foul.
As soon as our navigators had gotten within the reef, they came to an anchor; and their joy was exceedingly great, at having regained a situation, which, three days before, they had quitted with the utmost pleasure and transport. Rocks and shoals, which are always dangerous to the mariner, even when they are previously known and marked, are peculiarly dangerous in seas which have never been navigated before; and in this part of the globe they are more perilous than in any other. Here they consist of reefs of coral rock, which rise like a wall almost perpendicularly out of the deep, and are always overflowed at high water. Here, too, the enormous waves of the vast southern ocean, meeting with so abrupt a resistance, break, with inconceivable violence, in a surf which cannot be produced by any rocks or storms in the northern hemisphere. A crazy ship, shortness of provision, and a want of every necessary, greatly increased the danger to our present voyagers of navigating in this ocean. Nevertheless, such is the ardour of the human mind, and so flattering is the distinction of a first discoverer, that Lieutenant Cook and his companions cheerfully encountered every peril, and submitted to every inconvenience. They chose rather to incur the charge of imprudence and temerity, than to leave a country unexplored which they had discovered, or to afford the least colour for its being said, that they were deficient in perseverance and fortitude. It scarcely needs to be added, that it was the high and magnanimous spirit of our commander, in particular, which inspired his people with so much resolution and vigour.
The lieutenant, having now gotten within the reef, determined, whatever might be the consequence, to keep the main land on board, in his future route to the northward. His reason for this determination was, that, if he had gone without the reef again, he might have been carried by it so far from the coast, as to prevent his being able to ascertain whether this country did, or did not, join to New Guinea; a question which he had fixed upon resolving, from the first moment that he had come within sight of land. To the opening through which the Endeavour had passed, our commander, with a proper sense of gratitude to the Supreme Being, gave the name of Providential Channel. In the morning of the 17th, the boats had been sent out, to see what refreshments could be procured; and returned in the afternoon with two hundred and forty pounds of the meat of shell fish, chiefly of cockles. Some of the cockles were as much as two men could move, and contained twenty pounds of good meat. Mr. Banks, who had gone out in his little boat, accompanied by Dr. Solander, brought back a variety of curious shells, and many species of corals.
In the prosecution of the voyage, our people, on the 19th, were encompassed on every side with rocks and shoals: but, as they had lately been exposed to much greater danger, and these objects were now become familiar, they began to regard them comparatively with little concern. On the 21st, there being two points in view, between which our navigators could see no land, they conceived hopes of having at last found a passage into the Indian Sea. Mr. Cook, however, that he might be able to determine the matter with greater certainty, resolved to land upon an island, which lies at the south-east point of the passage. Accordingly, he went into the boat, with a party of men, accompanied by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander. As they were getting to shore, some of the natives seemed inclined to oppose their landing, but soon walked leisurely away. The gentlemen immediately climbed the highest hill, from which no land could be seen between the south-west and west-south-west; so that the lieutenant had not the least doubt of finding a channel, through which he could pass to New Guinea. As he was now about to quit the coast of New Holland, which he had traced from latitude thirty-eight to this place, and which he was certain no European had ever seen before, he once more hoisted English colours. He had, indeed, already taken possession of several particular parts of the country. But he now took possession of the whole eastern coast, with all the bays, harbours, rivers, and islands situated upon it, from latitude 38° to latitude 10°-1/2' south, in right of His Majesty King George the Third, and by the name of New South Wales. The party then fired three volleys of small arms, which were answered by the same number from the ship. When the gentlemen had performed this ceremony upon the island, which they called Possession Island, they re-embarked in their boat, and, in consequence of a rapid ebb tide, had a very difficult and tedious return to the vessel.
On the 23rd, the wind had come round the south-west; and though it was but a gentle breeze, yet it was accompanied by a swell from the same quarter, which, in conjunction with other circumstances, confirmed Mr. Cook in his opinion, that he had arrived to the northern extremity of New Holland, and that he had now an open sea to the westward. These circumstances afforded him peculiar satisfaction, not only because the dangers and fatigues of the voyage were drawing to a conclusion, but because it could no longer be doubted whether New Holland and New Guinea were two separate islands. The north-east entrance of the strait lies in the latitude of 10° 39' south, and in the longitude of 218° 36' west; and the passage is formed by the main land, and by a congeries of islands, the north-west, called by the lieutenant the Prince of Wales's Islands, and which may probably extend as far as to New Guinea. Their difference is very great, both in height and circuit, and many seemed to be well covered with herbage and wood: nor was there any doubt of their being inhabited. Our commander was persuaded, that among these islands as good passages might be found, as that through which the vessel came, and the access to which might be less perilous. The determination of this matter he would not have left to future navigators, if he had been less harassed by danger and fatigue and had possessed a ship in better condition for the purpose. To the channel through which he passed, he gave the name of Endeavour Straits.
New Holland, or, as the eastern part of it was called by Lieutenant Cook, New South Wales, is the largest country in the known world, which does not bear the name of a continent. The length of coast along which our people sailed, when reduced to a strait line, was no less than twenty-seven degrees of latitude, amounting nearly to two thousand miles. In fact the square surface of the island is much more than equal to the whole of Europe. We may observe, with regard to the natives, that their number bears no proportion to the extent of their territory. So many as thirty of them had never been seen together but once, and that was at Botany Bay. Even when they appeared determined to engage the English, they could not muster above fourteen or fifteen fighting men: and it was manifest, that their sheds and houses did not lie so close together, as to be capable of accommodating a larger party. Indeed our navigators saw only the sea-coast on the eastern side; between which and the western shore there is an immense track of land, that is wholly unexplored. But it is evident, from the totally uncultivated state of the country which was seen by our people, that this immense tract must either be altogether desolate, or at least more thinly inhabited than the parts which were visited. Of traffic, the natives had no idea, nor could any be communicated to them. The things which were given them they received, but did not appear to understand the signs of the English requiring a return. There was no reason to believe that they eat animal food raw. As they have no vessel in which water can be boiled, they either broil their meat upon the coals, or bake in a hole by the help of hot stones, agreeably to the custom of the inhabitants of the South Sea islands. Fire is produced by them with great facility, and they spread it in a surprising manner. For producing it, they take two pieces of soft wood, one of which is a stick about eight or nine inches long, while the other piece is flat. The stick they shape into an obtuse point at one end, and pressing it upon the flat wood, turn it nimbly by holding it between both their hands. In doing this, they often shift their hands up, and then move them down, with a view of increasing the pressure as much as possible. By this process they obtain fire in less than two minutes, and from the smallest spark they carry it to any height or extent with great speed and dexterity.
It was not possible, considering the limited intercourse which our navigators had with the natives of New South Wales that much could be learned with regard to their language. Nevertheless, as this is an object of no small curiosity to the learned, and is indeed of peculiar importance in searching into the origin of the various nations that have been discovered, Mr. Cook and his friends took some pains to collect such a specimen of it as might, in a certain degree, answer the purpose. Our commander did not quit the country without making such observations, relative to the currents and tides upon the coast, as, while they increase the general knowledge of navigation, may be of service to future voyagers. The irregularity of the tides is an object worthy of notice.
From the coast of New South Wales, the lieutenant steered on the 23rd of August, for the coast of New Guinea, and on the 25th, fell upon a dangerous shoal. The ship was in six fathom, but scarcely two were found, upon sounding round her, at the distance of half a cable's length. This shoal was of such an extent, reaching from the east round by the north and west to the south-west, that there was no method for the vessel to get clear of it, but by her going back the way in which she came. Here was another hair's breadth escape; for it was nearly high water, and there ran a short cockling sea, which if the ship had struck, must very soon have bulged her. So dangerous was her situation, that, if her direction had been half a cable's length more, either to the right or left, she must have struck before the signal for the shoal could have been made.
It had been Lieutenant Cook's intention to steer north-west till he had made the south coast of New Guinea, and it was his purpose to touch upon it, if that could be found practicable. But in consequence of the shoals he met with, he altered his course, in the hope of finding a clearer channel, and deeper water. His hope was agreeably verified; for by noon, on the 26th, the depth of water was gradually increased to seventeen fathom. On the 28th, our voyagers found the sea to be in many places covered with a brown scum, such as the sailors usually called spawn. When the lieutenant first saw it he was alarmed, fearing, that the ship was again among shoals; but the depth of water, upon sounding, was discovered to be equal to what it was in other places. The same appearance had been observed upon the coasts of Brazil and New Holland, in which cases it was at no great distance from the shore. Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander examined the scum, but could not determine what it was, any farther then as they saw reason to suppose that it belonged to the vegetable kingdom. The sailors, upon meeting with more of it, gave up the notion of its being spawn, and finding a new name for it, called it sea sawdust.
At day break, on the 3rd of September, our navigators came in sight of New Guinea, and stood in for it, with a fresh gale, till nine o'clock, when they brought to, being in three fathom water and within about three or four miles of land. Upon this the pinnace was hoisted, and the lieutenant set off from the ship with the boat's crew, accompanied by Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, and Mr. Banks's servants, being in all twelve persons, well armed. As soon as they came ashore, they discovered the prints of human feet, which could not long have been impressed upon the sand. Concluding, therefore, that the natives were at no great distance, and there being a thick wood which reached to within a hundred yards of the water, the gentlemen thought it necessary to proceed with caution, lest their retreat to the boat should be cut off. When they had walked some way along the skirts of the wood, they came to a grove of cocoa-nut trees, at the fruit of which they looked very wishfully; but not thinking it safe to climb, they were obliged to leave it without tasting a single nut. After they had advanced about a quarter of a mile from the boat, three Indians rushed out of the wood with a hideous shout, and, as they ran towards the English, the foremost threw something out of his hand, which flew on one side of him, and burned exactly like gunpowder though without making any report. The two other natives having at the same instant discharged their arrows, the lieutenant and his party were under the necessity of firing, first with small shot, and a second time with ball. Upon this, the three Indians ran away with great agility. As Mr. Cook had no disposition forcibly to invade this country, either to gratify the appetites or the curiosity of his people, and was convinced that nothing was to be done upon friendly terms, he and his companions returned with all expedition towards their boat. When they were aboard, they rowed abreast of the natives, who had come down to the shore in aid of their countrymen and whose number now amounted to between sixty and a hundred. Their appearance was much the same as that of the New Hollanders; they nearly resembled them in stature, and in having their hair short and cropped. Like them, also, they were absolutely naked but the colour of their skin did not seem quite so dark, which, however, might be owing to their being less dirty. While the English gentlemen were viewing them, they were shouting defiance, and letting off their fires by four or five at a time. Our people could not imagine what these fires were, or what purposes they were intended to answer. Those who discharged them had in their hands a short piece of stick, which they swung sideways from them, and immediately there issued fire and smoke, exactly resembling those of a musket, and of as short a duration. The men on board the ship, who observed this surprising phenomenon, were so far deceived by it, as to believe that the Indians had fire-arms. To the persons in the boat, it had the appearance of the firing of volleys without a report.
The place where this transaction happened lies in the latitude of 6° 15' south, and is about sixty-five leagues to the north-east of Port Saint Augustine, or Walche Caep, and is near what is called in the charts C. de la Colta de St. Bonaventura. In every part of the coast, the land is covered with a vast luxuriance of wood and herbage. The cocoa-nut, the bread-fruit, and the plantain-tree, flourish here in the highest perfection; besides which, the country abounds with most of the trees, shrubs, and plants, that are common to the South Sea islands, New Zealand, and New Holland.
Soon after Mr. Cook and his party had returned to the ship, our voyagers made sail to the westward, the lieutenant having resolved to spend no more time upon this coast; a resolution which was greatly to the satisfaction of a very considerable majority of his people. Some of the officers indeed were particularly urgent that a number of men might be sent ashore, to cut down cocoa-nut trees for the sake of their fruit. This, however, our commander absolutely refused, as equally unjust and cruel. It was morally certain, from the preceding behaviour of the natives, that if their property had been invaded, they would have made a vigorous effort to defend it; in which case, the lives of many of them must have been sacrificed; and perhaps, too, several of the English would have fallen in the contest. The necessity of a quarrel with the Indians would have been regretted by the lieutenant, even if he had been impelled to it by a want of the necessaries of life; but to engage in it for the transient gratification that would arise from obtaining two or three hundred green cocoa-nuts, appeared in his view highly criminal. The same calamity, at least with regard to the natives, would probably have occurred, if he had sought for any other place on the coast, to the northward and westward, where the ship might have lain so near the shore, as to cover his people with the guns when they had landed. Besides, there was cause to believe, that before such a place could have been found, our navigators would have been carried so far to the westward, as to be obliged to go to Batavia, on the north side of Java. This, in Mr. Cook's opinion, would not have been so safe a passage, as that to the south of Java, through the strait of Sunda, Another reason for his making the best of his way to Batavia, was the leakiness of the vessel, which rendered it doubtful, whether it would not be necessary to heave her down when she arrived at that port. Our commander's resolution was farther confirmed by the consideration, that no discovery could be expected in seas which had already been navigated, and where the coasts had been sufficiently described both by Spanish and Dutch geographers, and especially by the latter. The only merit claimed by the lieutenant, in this part of his voyage, was the having established it as a fact beyond all controversy, that New Holland and New Guinea are two distinct countries.
Without staying, therefore, on the coast of New Guinea, the Endeavour, on the same day, directed her course to the westward, in pursuing which, Mr. Cook had an opportunity of rectifying the errors of former navigators. Very early in the morning of the 6th of September, our voyagers passed a small island, which lay to the north-north-west; and at day-break they discovered another low island, extending from that quarter to north-north-east. Upon the last island, which appeared to be of considerable extent, the lieutenant would have landed to examine its produce, if the wind had not blown so fresh, as to render his design impracticable. Unless these two islands belong to the Arrou islands, they have no place in the charts; and if they do belong to the Arrou islands, they are laid down at too great a distance from New Guinea. Some other land which was seen this day ought, by its distance from New Guinea, to have been part of the Arrou islands; but if any dependance can be placed on former charts, it lies a degree farther to the south.
On the 7th, when the ship was in latitude 9° 30' south, and longitude 229° 34' west, our people ought to have been in sight of the Weasel Isles, which, in the charts, are laid down at the distance of twenty or twenty-five leagues from the coast of New Holland. But as our commander saw nothing of them, he concluded that they must have been placed erroneously. Nor will this be deemed surprising, when it is considered, that not only these islands, but the coast which bounds this sea, have been explored at different times, and by different persons, who had not all the requisites for keeping accurate journals which are now possessed; and whose various discoveries have been delineated upon charts by others, perhaps at the distance of more than a century after such discoveries had been made.
In pursuing their course, our navigators passed the islands of Timor, Timor-lavet, Rotte, and Seman. While they were near the two latter islands, they observed, about ten o'clock at night, on the 16th of the month, a phenomenon in the heavens, which in many particulars resembled the Aurora Borealis, though in others it was very different. It consisted of a dull reddish light, which reached about twenty degrees above the horizon; and though its extent, at times, varied much, it never comprehended less than eight or ten points of the compass. Through, and out of the general appearance, there passed rays of light of a brighter colour, which vanished, and were renewed, nearly in the same manner as those of the Aurora Borealis, but entirely without the tremulous or vibratory motion which is seen in that phenomenon. The body of this light bore south-south-east from the ship, and continued, without any diminution of its brightness, till twelve o'clock, and probably a longer time, as the gentlemen were prevented from observing it farther, by their retiring to sleep.
By the 16th, Lieutenant Cook had gotten clear of all the islands which had then been laid down in the maps as situated between Timor and Java, and did not expect to meet with any other in that quarter. But the next morning an island was seen bearing west-south-west, and at first he believed that he had made a new discovery. As soon as our voyagers had come close in with the north side of it, they had the pleasing prospect of houses and cocoa-nut trees, and of what still more agreeably surprised them, numerous flocks of sheep. Many of the people on board were at this time in a bad state of health, and no small number of them had been dissatisfied with the lieutenant for not having touched at Timor. He readily embraced, therefore, the opportunity of landing at a place which appeared so well calculated to supply the necessities of the company, and to remove both the sickness and the discontent which had spread among them. This place proved to be the island of Savu, where a settlement had lately been made by the Dutch.
The great design of our commander was to obtain provisions, which, after some difficulty, and some jealousy on the part of Mr. Lange, the Dutch resident, were procured. These provisions were nine buffaloes, six sheep, three hogs, thirty dozen of fowls, many dozens of eggs, some cocoa-nuts, a few limes, a little garlic, and several hundred gallons of palm syrup. In obtaining these refreshments at a reasonable price, the English were not a little assisted by an old Indian, who appeared to be a person of considerable authority under the king of the country. The lieutenant and his friends were one day very hospitably entertained by the king himself, though the royal etiquette did not permit his majesty to partake of the banquet.
So little in general, had the island of Savu been known, that Mr. Cook had never seen a map or chart in which it is clearly or accurately laid down. The middle of it lies in about the latitude of 10° 35' south, and longitude 237° 30' west; and from the ship it presented a prospect, than which nothing can be more beautiful. This prospect, from the verdure and culture of the country, from the hills, richly clothed, which rise in a gentle and regular ascent, and from the stateliness and beauty of the trees, is delightful to a degree that can scarcely be conceived by the most lively imagination. With regard to the productions and natives of the island, the account which our navigators were enabled to give of them, and which is copious and entertaining, was, in a great measure, derived from the information of Mr. Lange.
An extraordinary relation is given of the morals of the people of this island, and which if true, must fill every virtuous mind with pleasure. Their characters and conduct are represented as irreproachable, even upon the principles of Christianity. Though no man is permitted to have more than one wife, an illicit commerce between the sexes is scarcely known among them. Instances of theft are very rare; and so far are they from revenging a supposed injury by murder, that when any difference arises between them they immediately, and implicitly refer it to the determination of their king. They will not so much as make it the subject of private debate, lest they should hence be provoked to resentment and ill will. Their delicacy and cleanliness are suited to the purity of their morals. From the specimen which is given of the language of Savu, it appears to have some affinity with that of the South Sea islands. Many of the words are exactly the same, and the terms of numbers are derived from the same origin.
On the 21st of September, our navigators got under sail, and having pursued their voyage till the 1st of October, on that day they came within sight of the island of Java. During their course from Savu, Lieutenant Cook allowed twenty minutes a-day for the westerly current, which he concluded must run strong at this time, especially on the coast of Java; and accordingly, he found that this allowance was exactly equivalent to the effect of the current upon the ship. Such was the sagacity of our commander's judgment in whatever related to navigation.
On the 2nd, two Dutch ships being seen to lie off Anger Point, the lieutenant sent Mr. Hicks on board one of them to inquire news concerning England, from which our people had so long been absent. Mr. Hicks brought back the agreeable intelligence, that the Swallow, commanded by Captain Cateret, had been at Batavia two years before. In the morning of the 5th, a prow came alongside of the Endeavour, with a Dutch officer, who sent down to Mr. Cook a printed paper in English, duplicates of which he had in other languages. This paper was regularly signed, in the name of the governor and council of the Indies, by their secretary, and contained nine questions, very ill expressed, two of which only the lieutenant thought proper to answer. These were what regarded the nation and name of his vessel, and whither she was bound. On the 9th, our voyagers stood in for Batavia road, where they found the Harcourt Indiaman from England, two English private traders, and a number of Dutch ships. Immediately a boat came on board the Endeavour, and the officer who commanded having inquired who our people were, and whence they came, instantly returned with such answers as were given him. In the mean time Mr. Cook sent a lieutenant ashore, to acquaint the governor of his arrival, and to make an apology for not having saluted; a ceremony he had judged better to omit; as he could only make use of three guns, excepting the swivels, which he was of opinion would not be heard.
It being universally agreed, that the ship could not safely proceed to Europe without an examination of her bottom, our commander determined to apply for leave to heave her down at Batavia; and for this purpose he drew up a request in writing, which, after he had waited first upon the governor-general, and then upon the council, was readily complied with, and he was told, that he should have every thing he wanted.
In the evening of the 10th, there was a dreadful storm of thunder, lightning, and rain, during which the mainmast of one of the Dutch East Indiamen was split, and carried away by the deck; and the maintop-mast and topgallant-mast were shivered to pieces. The stroke was probably directed by an iron spindle, which was at the maintop gallantmast head. As this ship lay very near the Endeavour, she could scarcely have avoided sharing the same fate, had it not been for the conducting chain, which fortunately had been just gotten up, and which conveyed the lightning over the side of the vessel. But though she escaped the lightning, the explosion shook her like an earthquake; and the chain at the same time appeared like a line of fire. Mr. Cook has embraced this occasion of earnestly recommending similar chains to every ship; and hath expressed his hope that all who read his narrative will be warned against having an iron spindle at the mast-head.
The English gentlemen had taken up their lodging and boarding at an hotel, or kind of inn, kept by the order of government. Here they met with those impositions, in point of expense and treatment, which are too common to admit of much surprise. It was not long, however, that they submitted to ill usage. By a farther acquaintance with the manner of dealing with their host, and by spirited remonstrances, they procured a better furnished table. Mr. Banks, in a few days, hired a small house for himself and his party; and as soon as he was settled in his new habitation, sent for Tupia, who bad hitherto continued on board on account of sickness. When he quitted the ship, and after he came into the boat, he was exceedingly lifeless and dejected; but no sooner did he enter the town, than he appeared to be inspired with another soul. A scene so entirely new and extraordinary filled him with amazement. The houses, carriages, streets, people, and a multiplicity of other objects, rushing upon him at once, produced an effect similar to what is ascribed to enchantment. His boy, Tayeto, expressed his wonder and delight in a still more rapturous manner. He danced along the streets in a kind of extacy, examining every object with a restless and eager curiosity, which was excited and gratified every moment. Tupia's attention was particularly excited by the various dresses of the passing multitude; and when he was informed, that at Batavia every one wore the dress of his own country, he expressed his desire of appearing in the garb of Otabeite. Accordingly, South Sea cloth being sent for from the ship, he equipped himself with great expedition and dexterity.
Lieutenant Cook imagined that at Batavia he should find it easy to take up what money he might want for repairing and refitting, the Endeavour; but in this he was mistaken. No private person could be found who had ability and inclination to furnish the sum which was necessary. In this exigency, the lieutenant had recourse by a written request, to the governor, from whom he obtained an order for being supplied out of the Dutch company's treasury.
When our voyagers had been only nine days at Batavia, they began to feel the fatal effects of the climate and situation. Tupia, after his first flow of spirits had subsided, grew every day worse and worse; and Tayeto was seized with an inflamation upon his lungs. Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were attacked by fevers, and in a little time almost every person both on board and on shore, was sick. The distress of our people was indeed very great and the prospect before them discouraging in the highest degree. Tupia, being desirous of breathing a freer air than among the numerous houses that obstructed it ashore, had a tent erected for him on Cooper's island, to which he was accompanied by Mr. Banks, who attended this poor Indian with the greatest humanity, till he was rendered incapable of doing it, by the violent increase of his own disorder. On the 5th of November. Mr. Monkhouse, the surgeon of the ship, a sensible, skilful man, whose loss was not a little aggravated by the situation of the English, fell the first sacrifice to this fatal country. Tayeto died on the 9th, and Tupia, who loved him with the tenderness of a parent, sunk at once after the loss of the boy, and survived him only a few days. The disorders of Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander grew to such a height, that the physician declared they had no chance of preserving their lives but by removing into the country. Accordingly, a house was hired for them at the distance of about two miles from the town; where, in consequence of enjoying a purer air, and being better nursed by two Malayan women, whom they had bought, they recovered by slow degrees. At length, Lieutenant Cook was himself taken ill; and out of the whole ship's company, not more than ten were able to do duty.
In the midst of these distresses, our commander was diligently and vigorously attentive to the repair of his vessel. When her bottom came to be examined, she was found to be in a worse condition than had been apprehended. Her false keel and main keel were both of them greatly injured; a large quantity of the sheathing was torn off; and among several planks which were much damaged, two of them, and the half of a third, were so worn for the length of six feet, that they were not above the eighth part of an inch in thickness; and here the worms had made way quite into the timbers. In this state the Endeavour had sailed many hundred leagues, in a quarter of the globe where navigation is dangerous in the highest degree. It was happy for our voyagers, that they were ignorant of their perilous situation; for it must have deeply affected them, to have known, that a considerable part of the bottom of the vessel was thinner than the sole of a shoe, and that all their lives depended upon so slight and fragile a barrier between them and the unfathomable ocean.
The repair of the Endeavour was carried on very much to Mr. Cook's satisfaction. In justice to the Dutch officers and workmen, he hath declared, that in his opinion, there is not a marine yard in the world, where a ship can be laid with more convenience, safety, and dispatch, or repaired with greater diligence and skill. He was particularly pleased with the manner of heaving down by two masts, and gives it a decided preference to the method which had hitherto been practised by the English. The lieutenant was not one of those on whom the bigotry could be charged of adhering to old customs, in opposition to the dictates of reason and experience.
By the 8th of December, the Endeavour was perfectly refitted. From that time to the 24th, our people were employed in completing her stock of water, provisions, and stores, in erecting some new pumps, and in various other necessary operations. All this business would have been effected much sooner, if it had not been retarded by the general sickness of the men.
In the afternoon of the 24th, our commander took leave of the governor of Batavia, and of several other gentlemen belonging to the place, with whom he had formed connexions, and to whom he had been greatly obliged for their civilities and assistance. In the meanwhile, an accident intervened, which might have been attended with disagreable effects. A seaman, who had run away from one of the Dutch ships in the road, entered on board the Endeavour. Upon his being reclaimed, as a subject of Holland, Mr. Cook, who was on shore, declared, that if the man appeared to be a Dutchman, he should certainly be delivered up. When however, the order was carried to Mr. Hicks, who commanded on board, he refused to surrender the seaman, alleging, that he was a subject of great Britain, born in Ireland. In this conduct, Mr. Hicks acted in perfect conformity to the lieutenant's intention and directions. The captain of the Dutch vessel, in the next place, by a message from the governor-general, demanded the man as a subject of Denmark. To this Mr. Cook replied, that there must be some mistake in the general's message, since he would never demand of him a Danish seaman, whose only crime was that of preferring the English to the Dutch service. At the same time the lieutenant added, that to strew the sincerity of his desire to avoid disputes, if the man was a Dane, he should be delivered up as a courtesy; but that, if he appeared to be an English subject, he should be kept at all events. Soon after, a letter was brought from Mr. Hicks, containing indubitable proofs that the seaman in question was a subject of his Britannic majesty. This letter Mr. Cook sent to the governor, with an assurance to his excellency, that he would not part with the man on any terms. A conduct so firm and decisive produced the desired effect, no more being heard of the affair.
In the evening of the 25th, our commander went on board, together with Mr. Banks and the rest of the gentlemen who had resided constantly on shore. The gentlemen, though considerably better, were far from being perfectly recovered. As this time, the sick persons in the ship amounted to forty, and the rest of the company were in a very feeble condition. It was remarkable, that every individual had been ill excepting the sailmaker, who was an old man between seventy and eighty years of age, and who was drunk every day during the residence of our people at Batavia. Three seamen and Mr. Green's servant died, besides the surgeon, Tupia, and Tayeto. Tupia did not entirely fall a sacrifice to the unwholesome, stagnant, and putrid air of the country. As he had been accustomed from his birth, to subsist chiefly upon vegetable food, and particularly on ripe fruit, he soon contracted the disorders which are incident to a sea life, and would probably have sunk under them before the voyage of the English could have been completed, even if they had not been obliged to go to Batavia to refit their vessel.
Our navigators did not stay at this place without gaining an extensive acquaintance with the productions of the country, and the manners and customs of the inhabitants. The information which was obtained on these heads, will be found to constitute a very valuable addition to what was heretofore known upon the subject.
On Thursday the 27th of December, the Endeavour stood out to sea; and on the 5th of January, 1771, she came to an anchor, under the south-east side of Prince's Island. The design of this was to obtain a recruit of wood and water, and to procure some refreshments for the sick, many of whom had become much worse than they were when they left Batavia. As soon as the vessel was secured, the lieutenant, Mr. Banks, and Dr. Solander went on shore, and were conducted by some Indians they met with to a person who was represented to be the king of the country. After exchanging a few compliments with his majesty, the gentlemen proceeded to business, but could not immediately come to a settlement with him in respect to the price of turtle. They were more successful in their search of a watering-place, having found water conveniently situated, and which they had reason to believe would prove good. As they were going off, some of the natives sold them three turtle, under a promise that the king should not be informed of the transaction.
On the next day a traffic was established with the Indians, upon such terms as were offered by the English; so that by night our people had plenty of turtle. The three which had been purchased the evening before were in the mean time dressed for the ship's company, who, excepting on the preceding day, had not, for nearly the space of four months, been once served with salt provisions. Mr. Banks, in the evening, paid his respects to the king at his palace, which was situated in the middle of a rice field. His majesty was busily employed in dressing his own supper; but this did not prevent him from receiving his visitant in a very gracious manner. During the following days the commerce with the natives for provisions was continued; in the course of which they brought down to the trading place, not only a quantity of turtle, but fowls, fish, monkeys, small deer, and some vegetables.
On the evening of the 11th, when Mr. Cook went on shore to see how those of his people conducted their business, who were employed in wooding and watering, he was informed that an axe had been stolen. As it was a matter of consequence to prevent others from being encouraged to commit thefts of the like kind, he resolved not to pass over the offence, but to insist upon redress from the king. Accordingly, after some altercation, his majesty promised that the axe should be restored in the morning, and the promise was faithfully performed.
On the 15th, our commander weighed, and stood out for sea. Prince's Island, where he lay about ten days, was formerly much frequented by the India ships of many nations, and especially those of England, but it had lately been forsaken, on account of the supposed badness of its water. This supposition, however, arose from a want of duly examining the brook by which the water is supplied. It is, indeed, brackish at the lower part of the brook, but higher up it will be found excellent. The lieutenant, therefore, was clearly of opinion, that Prince's Island is a more eligible place for ships to touch at, than either at North Island or New Bay; from neither of which places any considerable quantity, of other refreshments can be procured.
As the Endeavour proceeded on her voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, the seeds of disease, which had been received at Batavia, appeared with the most threatening symptoms, and reduced our navigators to a very melancholy situation. The ship was, in fact, nothing better than an hospital, in which those who could go about were not sufficient for a due attendance upon those who were sick. Lest the water which had been taken in at Prince's island should have had any share in adding to the disorder of the men, the lieutenant ordered it to be purified with lime; and, as a farther remedy against infection, he directed all the parts of the vessel between the decks to be washed with vinegar. The malady had taken too deep root to be speedily eradicated. Mr. Banks was reduced so low by it, that for some time there was no hope of his life; and so fatal was the disease to many others, that almost every night a dead body was committed to the sea. There were buried, in the course of about six weeks, Mr. Sporing, a gentleman who was one of Mr. Banks's assistants; Mr. Parkinson, his natural history painter, Mr. Green, the astronomer; the boatswain, the carpenter, and his mate; Mr. Monkhouse the midshipman, another midshipman, the old jolly sailmaker and his assistant, the ship's cook, the corporal of the marines, two of the carpenter's crew, and nine seamen. In all, the loss amounted to three and twenty persons, besides the seven who died at Batavia. It is probable that these calamitous events, which could not fail of making a powerful impression on the mind of Lieutenant Cook, might give occasion to his turning his thoughts more zealously to those methods of preserving the health of seamen, which he afterwards pursued with such remarkable success.
On Friday the 15th of March, the Endeavour arrived off the Cape of Good Hope; and as soon as she was brought to an anchor, our commander waited upon the governor, from whom he received assurances that he should be furnished with every supply which the country could afford. His first care was to provide a proper place for the sick, whose number was not small; and a house was speedily found, where it was agreed that they should be lodged and boarded at the rate of two shillings a day for each person.
The run from Java Head to the Cape of Good Hope did not furnish many subjects of remark, that could be of any great use to future voyagers. Such observations, however, as occurred to him, the lieutenant has been careful to record, not being willing to omit the least circumstance that may contribute to the safety and facility of navigation.
The lieutenant, having lain at the Cape to recover the sick, to procure stores, and to refit his vessel, till the 14th of April, then stood out of the bay, and proceeded on his voyage homeward. In the morning of the 29th, he crossed his first meridian, having circumnavigated the globe in the direction from east to west. The consequence of which was, that he lost a day, an allowance for which had been made at Batavia. On the 1st of May be arrived at St Helena, where he staid till the 4th to refresh; during which time Mr. Banks employed himself in making the complete circuit of the island, and in visiting the places most worthy of observation.
The manner in which slaves are described as being treated in this island, must be mentioned with indignation. According to our commander's representation, while every kind of labour is performed by them, they are not furnished either with horses or with any of the various machines which art has invented to facilitate their task. Carts might conveniently be used in some parts, and where the ground is too steep for them, wheelbarrows might be employed to great advantage; and yet there is not a wheelbarrow in the whole island. Though every thing which is conveyed from place to place is done by slaves alone, they have not the simple convenience of a porter's knot, but carry their burden upon their heads. They appeared to be a miserable race, worn out by the united operation of excessive labour and ill usage; and Mr. Cook was sorry to observe, and to say, that instances of wanton cruelty were much more frequent among his countrymen at St. Helena, than among the Dutch, who are generally reproached with want of humanity, both at Batavia and the Cape of Good Hope. It is impossible for a feeling mind to avoid being concerned that such an account should be given of the conduct of any who are entitled to the name of Britons. The lieutenant's reproof, if just, hath, it may be hoped, long before this reached the place, and produced some good effect.[7] If slavery, that disgrace to religion, to humanity, and, I will add, to sound policy, must still be continued, every thing ought to be done which can tend to soften its horrors.
[Footnote 7: Near the conclusion of Captain Cook's second voyage, there is the following short note. 'In the account given of St. Helena, in the narrative of my former voyage, I find some mistakes. Its inhabitants are far from exercising a wanton cruelty over their slaves; and they have had wheel carriages and porters' knots for many years.' This note I insert with pleasure. Nevertheless, I cannot think that the lieutenant could have given so strong a representation of things, if, at the time in which it was written, it had been wholly without foundation.]
When our commander departed from St. Helena, on the 4th, it was in company with the Portland man-of-war, and twelve Indiamen. With this fleet he continued to sail till the 10th, when, perceiving that the Endeavour proceeded much more heavily than any of the other vessels, and that she was not likely to get home so soon as the rest, he made a signal to speak with the Portland. Upon this captain Elliot himself came on board, and Mr. Cook delivered to him the common log-books of his ship, and the journals of some of the officers. The Endeavour, however, kept in company with the fleet till the morning of the 23rd, at which time there was not a single vessel in sight. On that day died Mr. Hicks, and in the evening his body was committed to the sea, with the usual ceremonies. Mr. Charles Clerke, a young man extremely well qualified for the station, and whose name will hereafter frequently occur, received an order from Mr. Cook to act as lieutenant in Mr. Hicks's room.
The rigging and sails of the ship were now become so bad, that something was continually giving way. Nevertheless, our commander pursued his course in safety; and on the 10th of June, land, which proved to be the Lizard, was discovered by Nicholas Young, the boy who had first seen New Zealand. On the 11th, the lieutenant ran up the channel. At six the next morning he passed Beachy Head; and in the afternoon of the same day, he came to an anchor in the Downs, and went on shore at Deal.
Thus ended Mr. Cook's first voyage round the world, in which he had gone through so many dangers, explored so many countries, and exhibited the strongest proofs of his possessing an eminently sagacious and active mind; a mind that was equal to every perilous enterprise, and to the boldest and most successful efforts of navigation and discovery.
Account of Captain Cook during the period between his first and secondVoyage.
The manner in which Lieutenant Cook had performed his circumnavigation of the globe justly entitled him to the protection of government and the favour of his sovereign. Accordingly, he was promoted to be a commander in his majesty's navy, by commission bearing date on the 29th of August, 1771. Mr. Cook, on this occasion, from a certain consciousness of his own merit, wished to have been appointed a post captain. But the Earl of Sandwich, who was now at the head of the Admiralty board, though he had the greatest regard for our navigator, could not concede to his request, because a compliance with it would have been inconsistent with the order of the naval service. The difference was in point of rank only, and not of advantage. A commander has the same pay as a post captain, and his authority is the same when he is in actual employment. The distinction is a necessary step in the progress to the higher honours of the profession.
It cannot be doubted, but that the president and council of the Royal Society were highly satisfied with the manner in which the transit of Venus had been observed. The papers of Mr. Cook and Mr. Green relative to this subject, were put into the hands of the astronomer royal, to be by him digested, and that he might deduce from them the important consequences to science which resulted from the observation. This was done by him with an accuracy and ability becoming his high knowledge and character. On the 21st of May, 1772, Captain Cook communicated to the Royal Society, in a letter addressed to Dr. Maskelyne, an 'Account of the flowing of the tides in the South Sea, as observed on board his Majesty's Bark, the Endeavour.'
The reputation our navigator had acquired by his late voyage was deservedly great; and the desire of the public, to be acquainted with the new scenes and new objects which were now brought to light, was ardently excited. It is not surprising, therefore, that different attempts were made to satisfy the general curiosity. There soon appeared a publication, entitled, 'A Journal of a voyage round the World.' This was the production of some person who had been upon the expedition; and though his account was dry and imperfect, it served, in a certain degree, to relieve the eagerness of inquiry. The journal of Sidney Parkinson, draftsman to Sir Joseph Banks, to whom it belonged by ample purchase, was likewise printed, from a copy surreptitiously obtained; but an injunction from the Court of Chancery for some time prevented its appearance. This work, though dishonestly given to the world, was recommended by plates. But it was Dr. Hawkesworth's account of Lieutenant Cook's voyage which completely gratified the public curiosity. This account, which was written by authority, was drawn up from the journal of the lieutenant, and the papers of Sir Joseph Banks; and, besides the merit of the composition, derived an extraordinary advantage from the number and excellence of its charts and engravings, which were furnished at the expense of government. The large price given by the booksellers for this work, and the avidity with which it was read, displayed, in the strongest light, the anxiety of the nation to be fully informed in every thing that belonged to the late navigation and discoveries.
Captain Cook, during his voyage, had sailed over the Pacific Ocean in many of those latitudes, in which a southern continent had been expected to lie. He had ascertained, that neither New Zealand nor New Holland were parts of such a continent. But the general question concerning its existence had not been determined by him, nor did he go out for that purpose, though some of the reasons on which the notion of it had been adopted were dispelled in the course of his navigation. It is well known how fondly the idea of aTerra Australis incognitahad for nearly two centuries been entertained. Many plausible philosophical arguments have been urged in its support, and many facts alleged in its favour. The writer of this narrative fully remembers how much his imagination was captivated, in the more early part of his life, with the hypothesis of a southern continent. He has often dwelt upon it with rapture, and been highly delighted with the authors who contended for its existence, and displayed the mighty consequences which would result from its being discovered. Though his knowledge was infinitely exceeded by that of some able men who paid a particular attention to the subject, he did not come behind them in the sanguineness of his hopes and expectation. Every thing, however, which relates to science must be separated from fancy, and brought to the test of experiment: and here was an experiment richly deserving to be tried. The object, indeed, was of peculiar magnitude, and worthy to be pursued by a great prince, and a great nation.
Happily, the period was arrived in Britain for the execution of the most important scientific designs. A regard to matters of this kind, though so honourable to crowned heads, had heretofore been too much neglected even by some of the best of our princes. Our present sovereign had already distinguished his reign by his patronage of science and literature, but the beginnings which had hitherto been made were only the pledges of future munificence. With respect to the object now in view, the gracious dispositions of his majesty were ardently seconded by the noble lord who had been placed at the head of the board of admiralty. The Earl of Sandwich was possessed of a mind, which was capable of comprehending and encouraging the most enlarged views and schemes with regard to navigation and discovery. Accordingly, it was by his particular recommendation that a resolution was formed for the appointment of an expedition, finally to determine the question concerning the existence of a southern continent. Quiros seems to have been the first person, who had any idea that such a continent existed, and he was the first that was sent out for the sole purpose of ascertaining the fact. He did not succeed in the attempt; and the attempts of various navigators down to the present century, were equally unsuccessful.