On the 16th a strong gale blew the English ship some distance off the coast, and was followed by a thick fog, during which the French squadron managed to tow out of the harbour, but were in such a hurry to get away that they did not stop to pick up their boats and immediately made sail, being so far out of reach in the morning, that though some of them were seen by the British, it was not realised that they could be the French escaping from a squadron inferior in strength. Lord Colville, writing to the Admiralty, says:
"At six next morning it being calm with a great swell, we saw from the masthead, but could not bring them down no lower than halfway to topmast shrouds, four sail bearing South-South-East, distance 7 leagues. We lost sight about seven, though very clear, and sometime after a small breeze springing up from the South-West quarter, I stood towards Torbay in order to cover the shallops that might be going from thence to Kitty Vitty. In the afternoon I received a note from Colonel Amherst, acquainting me that the French fleet got out last night. Thus after being blocked up in St. John's Harbour for three weeks by a squadron of equal number, but smaller ships with fewer guns and men, M. de Ternay made his escape in the night by a shameful flight. I beg leave to observe that not a man in the squadron imagined the four sail, when we saw them, were the enemy; and the pilots were of opinion that they must have had the wind much stronger than with us to overcome the easterly swell in the harbour's mouth. I sent the King George as far as Trepassy, to bring me intelligence if the enemy should steer towards Placentia; and I directed Captain Douglas of the Syren to get the transports moved from Torbay, a very unsafe road, to the Bay of Bulls."
As soon as information was received in England that an expedition had been sent from France, the Admiralty despatched a squadron under Captain Pallisser in pursuit, and as it arrived in St. John's only four days after M. de Ternay left, they must have been very close to a meeting.
Whilst the movements leading up to the recapture of St. John's were being carried on, communication between Colville and Amherst was kept up by the boats of the fleet under the charge of the third lieutenant of H.M.S. Gosport, Mr. James Cook, formerly Master of H.M.S. Mercury, who performed this duty to the complete satisfaction of Lord Colville as signified in his despatches to the Admiralty. It is certain, therefore, that the two namesakes must have come face to face here, and most probably previously in Halifax Harbour.
Entering St. John's Harbour on 19th September, the flagship remained till 7th October, during which time Cook was very busily employed in assisting to place the island in a better state of defence. In a despatch of Lord Colville's, dated "Spithead, 25th October 1762," he says:
"I have mentioned in another letter, that the fortifications on the Island of Carbonera were entirely destroyed by the enemy. Colonel Amherst sent thither Mr. Desbarres, an engineer, who surveyed the island and drew a plan for fortifying it with new works: when these are finished the Enterprise's six guns will be ready to mount on them. But I believe nothing will be undertaken this year, as the season is so far advanced, and no kind of materials on the spot for building barracks or sheds for covering the men, should any be sent there. Mr. Cook, Master of the Northumberland, accompanied Mr. Desbarres. He has made a draught of Harbour Grace and the Bay of Carbonera, both of which are in a great measure commanded by the Island, which lies off a point of land between them. Hitherto we have had a very imperfect knowledge of these places, but Mr. Cook, who was particularly careful in sounding them, has discovered that ships of any size may lie in safety both in Harbour Grace and the Bay of Carbonera."
Mr. Desbarres's design for the fortification of Carbonera, drawn by John Chamberlain, dated 7th April 1763, is to be found in the British Museum; he was afterwards Governor of Cape Breton.
On the return of the Northumberland to Spithead, where she arrived on 24th October, her Master, James Cook, was discharged, the Muster Roll merely noting "superseded" on 11th November, and the pay sheet records the deductions from his wages as: "Chest, 2 pounds 1 shilling 0 pence; Hospital, 1 pound 0 shillings 6 pence. Threepence in the pound, 3 pounds 14 shillings 9 pence," leaving a balance due of 291 pounds 19 shillings 3 pence. He also received from Lord Colville for the Secretary to the Admiralty the following letter which shows the estimation he was held in by his immediate superiors, and would doubtless be of weight when the appointment of a man to execute greater undertakings came under the consideration of their Lordships.
London, 30th December 1762.
Sir,
Mr. Cook, late Master of the Northumberland, acquaints me that he has laid before their Lordships all his draughts and observations relating to the River St. Lawrence, part of the coast of Nova Scotia, and of Newfoundland.
On this occasion I beg to inform their Lordships that from my experience of Mr. Cook's genius and capacity, I think him well qualified for the work he has performed and for greater undertakings of the same kind. These draughts being made under my own eye, I can venture to say they may be the means of directing many in the right way, but cannot mislead any.
I am, sir, your most obedient and most humble servant,
Colville.
Before the close of the year Cook took upon himself further responsibilities as set forth in the following extract from the register of St. Margaret's Church, Barking, Essex:
"James Cook of ye Parish of St. Paul, Shadwell, in ye County of Middlesex, Bachelor, and Elizabeth Batts, of ye parish of Barking in ye County of Essex, Spinster, were married in this Church by ye Archbishop of Canterbury's Licence, this 21st day of December, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-two, by George Downing, Vicar of Little Wakering, Essex."
Besant, who obtained his information from Mrs. Cook's second cousin, the late Canon Bennett, who as a boy knew her well, speaks most highly of her mental qualities and personal appearance, and says the union appears to have been a very happy one. It covered a period of about sixteen years; but taking into consideration the times he was away on duty, sometimes for long periods, Cook's home life in reality only extended to a little more than four years, and Mrs. Cook must often have been months, sometimes years, without even hearing of the existence of her husband. Her family were fairly well-to-do; her grandfather, Mr. Charles Smith, was a currier in Bermondsey; her cousin, also Charles Smith, was a clockmaker of repute in Bunhill Row. Her mother, Mary Smith, married first John Batts of Wapping, and secondly, John Blackburn of Shadwell. Miss Batts is described as of Barking in the Marriage Register, so may perhaps have been living with relations there, and may have met Cook when on a visit to her mother in Shadwell, where he was residing. The engagement must have been very short, for from the time of his joining the Navy in 1755 to his return from Newfoundland in 1762, his leave on shore had been very limited, and, with the exception perhaps of a day or two between leaving the Eagle and joining the Solebay, and again when leaving the latter ship for the Pembroke, none of his time was spent in London. There is a story that he was godfather to his wife, and at her baptism vowed to marry her, but as at that time, 1741, Cook was assisting his father on Airy Holme Farm, the tale is too absurd, but has for all that been repeatedly published.
After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cook lived for a time in Shadwell, and then removed to Mile End Old Town, where Cook purchased a house, which was their home till after his death. This house, which he left to his wife, has been identified as Number 88 Mile End Road, and a tablet has been placed on the front to mark the fact.
The commission as Governor of Newfoundland, which now included Labrador from Hudson's Straits to the St. John's River, the island of Anticosti, the islands off the Labrador coast, and the Madelines in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, had again been conferred on Captain (afterwards Admiral Lord) Graves. He had early recognised the fact that it was necessary to have a thorough survey of the coasts of his territory, and therefore made an application to the Board of Trade to have the one commenced as far back as 1714 by Captain Taverner, but only carried on in a desultory fashion, put in hand and completed as quickly as possible. This application resulted in a Representation from the Board to His Majesty, dated 29th March 1763, to be found in the Shelbourne manuscripts, asking that an allowance should be made for the purpose.
Graves had seen during the previous year the work done by Cook at Harbour Grace and Carbonera, and had evidently made up his mind that he had found the man for his purpose, in which opinion he would be backed up by Colville and further supported by the favourable knowledge that the Admiralty had of his work. The Representation was immediately acted on, for in the Records Office is a hurried note from Graves to Mr. Stephens, Secretary to the Admiralty, probably written on the 5th April, in which he asks:
"what final answer he shall give to Mr. Cook, late Master of the Northumberland, who is very willing to go out to survey the Harbours and Coasts of Labradore."
A draughtsman is also mentioned, and one is recommended who was on the Bellona and was willing to go out, ranking as schoolmaster; he did join Cook after a time. On 6th April Graves again wrote to Stephens, telling him he had instructed Cook to get ready to start as soon as the Board gave him orders, and that he was to have ten shillings per diem whilst employed on that service. He also says that Cook had been to the Tower to try to secure a draughtsman, and towards the end of the letter applies for the instruments necessary to carry on the operations. Graves was hurriedly called away to his ship, the Antelope, as the spirit of discontent, then very rife in the Navy, was developing itself in a very threatening manner during his absence. However, on his arrival on board, by judicious reforms, which he saw were carried out, and by quietly replacing some few of the most dangerous of the malcontents, he was very shortly able to report himself ready for sea with a complete and fairly contented crew.
On 15th April he writes to Stephens asking if there was "any change of resolution taken about Mr. Cook, the Master, and an assistant for him, and whether they are to go out with me?" On the 18th he writes again, saying that when in London he had been informed that he was to receive orders to purchase two small vessels of about 60 tons each when he arrived in Newfoundland, one of which he was "to send with Mr. Cook upon the surveys of the coast and harbours," but he was afraid the orders had been forgotten, and he again makes suggestions as to instruments, etc., required for the work. Cook had at the same time made application in proper form for the articles he would require, and was informed that some would be supplied to him from the Government Stores, and for the remainder, he was to purchase them and transmit the bills to their Lordships.
On 19th April Cook received his orders as follows:
Sir,
My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, having directed Captain Graves, of His Majesty's Ship, the Antelope, at Portsmouth, to receive you on board and carry you to Newfoundland in order to your taking a Survey of Part of the Coast and Harbours of that Island. I am commanded by their Lordships to acquaint you therewith: that you must repair immediately on board the said ship, she being under sailing orders, that you are to follow such orders as you shall receive from Captain Graves relative to the said service and that you will be allowed ten shillings a day during the time you are employed therein.
I am, etc. etc., PHILLIP STEPHENS.
Mr. James Cook, —— Town.
Mr. William Test, Tower, to be paid 6 shillings per day.
On 8th May Graves acknowledged the receipt of the orders he had asked for, authorising him to purchase two small vessels, and announced that Mr. Cook had joined the ship, but that the assistant, Mr. Test, had not been heard of; he therefore proposed that he should endeavour to obtain someone else to fill the vacancy. Mr. Stephens replied that a difficulty had arisen with the Board of Ordnance with regard to Mr. Test's pay; they were not inclined to continue it during his absence as they would have to put some one else in his place, and since hearing this, as the Admiralty had heard nothing further from Mr. Test, Captain Graves was authorised to fill the vacancy at a suitable allowance, and he at once secured the services of Mr. Edward Smart, who sailed from Plymouth in H.M.S. Spy, and joined Cook in Newfoundland.
In this letter Graves also says that he intends to start Cook on the survey of St. Pierre and Miquelon as they had to be handed over to the French under treaty, whilst he should make some stay upon the coast in order to afford proper time for survey before they had to be surrendered. The possession of these islands carried with it certain fishing and curing rights conferred by the Treaty of Utrecht and confirmed by that of Paris, and the possession of the islands and rights have been a continual cause of irritation to the fishermen of both nations till lately, but now the differences have been satisfactorily settled. It is said that the Earl of Bute was the cause of the inclusion of the clause concerning these islands in the Treaty, and that he received the sum of 300,000 pounds for permitting it to stand. It was specially stipulated that the islands were not to be fortified, and the number of the garrison was to be strictly limited to a number sufficient for police duty alone; but from the very commencement of the peace, it was one continual struggle to evade the terms by one side, and to enforce them by the other, without coming to an actual rupture.
According to his expressed intention, Captain Graves, on arriving at St. John's, despatched Captain Charles Douglas in the Tweed to superintend the removal of the British settlers from the two islands, and Cook accompanied him with orders to press on the survey as rapidly as possible in order that it might be completed before the arrival of the French. Unfortunately, M. d'Anjac, who was charged with the duty of receiving the islands on behalf of the French king, arrived on the same day as the Tweed, off the islands. Captain Douglas refused to permit the French to land until the islands had been formally handed over by his superior officer, and by a little judicious procrastination in communicating with Captain Graves, and persistent energy on the part of Cook in conducting the survey, sufficient time was gained to complete it. Graves writes to the Admiralty on 20th October 1763:
"Meanwhile the survey went on with all possible application on the part of Mr. Cook. At length, Monsieur d'Anjac's patience being quite exhausted, I received a letter from him on the 30th of June, of which I enclose a copy together with my answer returned the same day. This conveyance brought me a letter from Captain Douglas, expressing his uneasiness on the part of Monsieur d'Anjac and pressing to receive his final instructions, and at the same time gave me the satisfaction to learn St. Peter's was completely surveyed, Miquelon begun upon and advanced so as to expect it would be finished before the French could be put in possession: so that any interruption from them was no longer to be apprehended."
In a paper amongst the Shelbourne manuscripts, said to be an extract from a Journal of Cook's, there is a short description of these islands, and it conveys the impression that the writer looked upon them as absolutely worthless as either naval or military stations, but for all that Captain Graves's successor, Pallisser, was kept continually on the alert to defeat the efforts of the French to strengthen their position.
After the official surrender of these islands, Cook was engaged in surveying different places which the Admiralty had specially marked out, and was borne on the books of either the Antelope or Tweed as might be convenient. He is to be found on the latter ship, entered "for victuals only," as "Mr. James Cook, Engineer, and Retinue." As the dates in the two ships often run over each other it is somewhat difficult to place him, but he was certainly in the neighbourhood of St. John's for some two months, and on 5th November he was discharged from the Antelope into the Tweed, together with Mr. Smart, for the passage to England, where he remained till the spring of the following year. On 4th January the Admiralty authorised the payment up to the end of the previous year of the allowances of 10 shillings and 6 shillings per day, respectively, to Mr. Cook and Mr. Smart. This allowance of 10 shillings per day was the same as that made to the Commander of a Squadron, so, from a financial point of view, Cook's position must be considered one of importance. It was apparently superior to that of a Master surveying under the directions of the Governor, for in a report that Captain Pallisser, when Governor of Newfoundland, gives of an interview between the French Ambassador and himself in London in 1767, on the subject of the fisheries, he says he produced Cook's chart, and decided the question of the rights of France to the use of Belle Isle for fishing purposes against the Ambassador by its means, and he speaks of Cook officially as the King's Surveyor.
Pallisser was appointed to succeed Graves as Governor in 1764, and at once set aside the schooner Grenville, which Graves had used as a despatch boat for the sole use of the survey party. She had been manned from the ships on the station, but Pallisser wrote to the Admiralty on the subject, and the Navy Board were instructed to establish her with a proper person to take command of her, and a complement of men sufficient to navigate her to England when the surveying season was over, in order that she might be refitted and sent out early in the spring, instead of being laid up in St. John's and waiting for stores from England, "whereby a great deal of time is lost." The establishment was to consist of ten men, i.e. a Master, a Master's mate, one Master's servant, and seven men. The Master and mate were to receive the pay of a sixth rate, and the former was "to be charged with the provisions and stores which shall be supplied to the schooner from time to time, and to pass regular accounts for the same." On 2nd May Stephens wrote to Pallisser that Cook was appointed Master of the Grenville, and as soon as the season was over he was to be ordered to Portsmouth, and on arrival to transmit his Charts and Draughts to the Admiralty. On receipt of this letter Pallisser wrote to Cook, and this communication, together with autograph copies of letters written by Cook having reference to the Grenville, a receipt for her husband's pay, signed by Mrs. Cook, and some other papers of interest relating to his voyages, are now in the hands of Mr. Alexander Turnbull, of Wellington, New Zealand.
It would appear that it was at this time that the friendship between Pallisser and Cook really commenced, for previously there can have been no opportunity for the former to have known anything of Cook's personality. A Captain of a man-of-war saw nothing of a Master's mate, and knew nothing of him except whether he did his duty or not, and that only through the Master's report. In this particular case, as soon as his attention was called to him by outside influence, Cook was withdrawn from his knowledge, and when they again came in contact had already made his mark. Had they been on the very friendly terms that Kippis suggests, it is unlikely that he would have made so many incorrect statements as to Cook's early career in the Navy.
On 23rd April Cook received his orders, and was told at the same time that as he had expressed a doubt about being able to get suitable men in Portsmouth, he would be provided with conduct money and free carriage of chests and bedding for those he could raise in London, and they should be transferred to Portsmouth in the Trent. Mr. William Parker was appointed Master's mate, and the whole crew left Portsmouth on 7th May in H.M.S. Lark, arriving in St. John's on the 14th June. They took possession of their ship on the same day, and the first entry in the Grenville's log runs as follows:
"June 14th, 1764, St. John's, Newfoundland. The first and middle parts moderate and hazy Weather, the Later foggy. At 1 P.M. His Majesty's Ship the Lark anchored here from England, on board of which came the Master and the company of this Schooner. Went on board and took possession of Her. Read over to the crew the Master's Warrant, Articles of War, and Abstract of the late Act of Parliament."
After getting the guns and stores on board, and fitting the ship for her new duties, they left St. John's on 4th July for the north. A base line was laid out at Noddy's Harbour, and the latitude of Cape Norman was found to be 51 degrees 39 minutes North; soundings were taken every mile. On 3rd August Cook left the ship in the cutter to continue his work, but having met with a nasty accident he had to return on the 6th. It seems he had a large powder horn in his hand, when, by some means not stated, the powder ignited, and the horn "was blown up and burst in his hand, which shattered it in a terrible manner, and one of the people which was hard by suffered greatly by the same accident." The Grenville left at once for Noddy's Harbour, where there was a French ship which had a doctor on board, arriving there at eleven o'clock, was able to secure some sort of medical assistance, though probably in the eye of a modern medical man, of a very rough nature. At that time surgery, especially on board ship, was very heroic; a glass of spirits the only anodyne, and boiling pitch the most reliable styptic.
In reference to this accident the Lords of the Admiralty wrote to Lord Halifax, quoting a letter they had received from Captain Pallisser, dated 14th November 1764:
"Mr. Cook, the surveyor, has returned. The accident to him was not so bad as it was represented. Nor had it interrupted his survey so much as he (Captain Pallisser) expected. He continued on the coast as long as the season would permit, and has executed his survey in a manner which, he has no doubt, will be satisfactory to their Lordships. I have ordered him to proceed to Woolwich to refit his vessel for the next season, and to lay before the Board, Draughts of his surveys with all his remarks and observations that may be useful to Trade and Navigation in those parts."
Pallisser did not see Cook till some time after the accident, when the worst was over, and it is quite in keeping with Cook's character to minimise his sufferings, and to insist on the work being kept going as far as possible. The surgeon, Mr. Samwell, relates that after the murder at Owhyee they were enabled to identify his hand by the scar which he describes as "dividing the thumb from the fingers the whole length of the metacarpal bones." Whilst Cook was laid up with his hand, and Mr. Parker was engaged with the survey, some of the men were employed brewing, and either the brew was stronger than usual or, the officer's eye being off them, they indulged too freely, for on 20th August it is noted that three men were confined to the deck for drunkenness and mutinous conduct, and the next day the ringleader was punished by being made to "run the Gantelope."
Early in September, being then in the Bay of St. Genevieve, Cook went ashore for six days and ran roughly the course of several small rivers, noting the chief landmarks, and then on their way back to St. John's, off Point Ferrol, their small boat was dashed to pieces on a ledge of rock, and its occupants were saved with great difficulty by the cutter which by great good fortune happened to be near at the time. They returned to England for the winter, and crossing the Banks, a series of soundings were made and the nature of the bottom carefully noted.
When Cook arrived at Woolwich, he pointed out to their Lordships that the completion of his charts would entail his being absent from his ship, and he would be unable to supervise everything that had to be done on board, he therefore suggested that she should be sent to Deptford yard. This was at once agreed to, and Cook was able to devote his whole time to his charts. His own work had to be supplemented by the observations made by six men-of-war stationed in Newfoundland waters as their commanding officers had received special instructions to take ample soundings and careful observations, and to make charts which were to be sent to Captain Pallisser, who was informed that he would be held responsible if these orders were not carried out in their entirety. It is very certain that an order so emphatically enforced on his notice would not be permitted to remain a dead letter.
Whilst at Deptford, the rig of the Grenville was altered from schooner to brig, as Cook thought that her sailing qualities would be improved by the change, and she also received a thorough overhaul. In the previous year her armament had been supplied from the flagship, and of course had to be returned, so now she was established with "6 swivel guns, 12 Musquets, and powder and shot" of her own, and her crew was augmented to twenty, including a midshipman and a carpenter's mate, paid as on board a sixth rate. Isaac Smith, Mrs. Cook's cousin, afterwards Admiral, who lived with her at Clapham, was the midshipman. On 25th March 1765 the Grenville again left for Newfoundland, arriving at St. Lawrence Harbour on 2nd June to recommence her work. On 14th July, whilst "moored in a bay by Great Garnish, we picked up two men who had been lost in the woods for near a month. They came from Barin, intending to go to St. Lawrence Harbour, and were almost perishing for want of subsistence." Going into Long Harbour, 23rd July, the Grenville ran on a rock and remained so fast that she had to be unloaded before she could be floated off the next day, when she was found to have suffered considerable damage to her forefoot.
From the log of the Grenville it appears that the survey was not carried out continuously, and this may be accounted for by the fact that the Governor was being called upon to settle disputes with the French fishermen, who were only too apt to place the broadest construction on the treaty rights accorded to them. It is very possible that Cook, during this year, rendered assistance to Captains Debbieg and Bassett, engineers, who were engaged in surveying important points and harbours with a view to fortification, and Pallisser had been instructed to give them every help. There is no positive record that Cook did assist, but his ship was several times engaged near where they were at work, and it seems very reasonable to suppose that he worked with them, especially as such work might be very important to both parties.
Cook returned to Spithead on 30th November, and from thence to Deptford for the winter, and in February obtained permission from the Admiralty to publish the charts he had completed; Captain Pallisser, who made the application, said he was of opinion that they "would be of great encouragement to new adventurers on the fisheries upon those coasts."
He again left Deptford on 20th April 1766, and arrived at Bon Bon Bay, 1st June, to survey the south-west and south coasts. At the Burgeo Islands, near Cape Ray, which were reached on 24th July, Cook was able to take an observation of an eclipse of the sun occurring on 5th August. On his return to England at the end of the year, he handed the results of his observations to Dr. Bevis, a prominent Fellow of the Royal Society, who communicated them to that body on 30th April 1767, and the account is to be found in the Philosophical Transactions of that year. Dr. Bevis describes Cook as "a good mathematician, and very expert at his business," and says he was supplied with very good instruments; that there were three observers "with good telescopes, who all agreed as to the moment of beginning and ending"; that he had shown Cook's results to Mr. George Mitchell, who had calculated therefrom the difference of longitude between the Burgeo Islands and Oxford, where another good observation had been taken.
Cook makes no reference to the eclipse in the log of the Grenville, but it appears that he was peculiarly lucky in the weather, for the five days preceding are described as "foggy," and the four or five succeeding are "raining with squalls." This observation was a most fortunate one for Cook, as it brought him to the favourable notice of the Royal Society, a body of eminent men, outside his own profession, which was able, soon after, to advance his interests, and in course of time to admit him into its own ranks as an ornament of which it is still proud.
On 4th November the Grenville left St. John's for winter quarters at Deptford, and the log ends on 24th November, "Dungeness light North-East by East 2 miles." Mr. Parker, his assistant, was promoted to a lieutenancy, and Mr. Michael Lane, who was mentioned for the post by Captain Graves in 1763, and who was now schoolmaster on the Guernsey, was appointed in his place.
On 5th April 1767 the Grenville had completed her refit, warped out of dock, and was at anchor waiting for the tide to turn in order to drop down to Woolwich, when the Three Sisters, a Sunderland collier, Thomas Boyd, Master, "fell athwart her hawse and carried away her bowsprit, cap, and jibboom," which had to be replaced. The story is that this accident happened to the Endeavour, and that Mr. Cook, who was naturally very indignant, sent for the offending Master of the collier to give him a sound rating for running foul of one of His Majesty's ships; but when he found himself face to face with an old schoolfellow of the Ayton days, he took him down into his cabin, treated him to the best he had on board, and spent a good time with him talking over the old days when they were boys together. From Cook's character the story may well be true, excepting it has been applied to the wrong ship.
When the repairs were executed the Grenville sailed for Newfoundland, arriving off Cape Race on 9th May, and Cook at once set to work on the survey of the west coast. He landed in September at the mouth of the Humber, and made a rapid examination of that river, discovering several lakes, and getting a good general idea of that part of the island. He returned to St. John's for the last time on 14th October, having practically completed the survey of the general run of the coast, and added very considerably to the knowledge of some of the interior parts of the island. In 1762 a map was published, compiled from the very latest information, and on it is the note: "The inland parts of this island are entirely unknown." Cook is said to have discovered valuable seams of coal, but there is no note of anything of the kind amongst his records.
He sailed for England on 23rd October, and anchored off the Nore in very heavy weather on 11th November. It was soon found that the anchors would not hold, and at length one parted and the ship "trailed into shallow water, striking hard." After a while she again struck heavily, and "lay down on her larboard bilge." As there seemed no prospect of the gale moderating, everything was made as snug as time would allow, and, putting his crew into the boats, Cook made for Sheerness. The weather at length improved, so obtaining assistance he returned and found that fortunately his ship had sustained very little damage, and the next day he successfully floated her, and got her up to Deptford yards on the following Sunday, and then Cook was able to set to work on his charts. On 3rd February, Pallisser wrote to Mr. Stephens asking him to obtain permission from the Lords to publish, and at once obtained the necessary authority.
Some of these charts had been published in 1766, and now the complete series appeared with sailing directions for the south and east coasts of the islands. Admiral Sir W.J.L. Wharton, the late hydrographer to the Admiralty, says:
"The Charts he made during these years in the schooner Grenville were admirable. The best proof of their excellence is that they are not yet wholly superseded by the more detailed surveys of modern times. Like all first surveys of a practically unknown shore, and especially when that shore abounds in rocks and shoals, and is much indented with bays and creeks, they are imperfect in the sense of having many omissions; but when the amount of the ground covered, and the impediments of fogs and bad weather on that coast is considered, and that Cook had at the most only one assistant, their accuracy is truly astonishing."
On the publication of his charts, Cook's connection with Newfoundland was concluded, and on 12th April 1768 Mr. Lane was "appointed to act as Master of the brig Grenville, and surveyor of the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador in the absence of Mr. Cook, who is to be employed elsewhere." Mr. Lane was to be paid an allowance of five shillings per day over and above his pay as Master of a sixth rate. Cook and he were paid their allowances up to 31st December 1767, and on 17th June the Navy Board were ordered to complete Cook's allowance up to 12th April. From the wording of Mr. Lane's appointment it would appear that the surveyor's position was to be left open for Cook if it was thought desirable for him to resume it.
Till a few years ago writers on the subject were content to draw their information as to the first voyage of Cook to the South Seas from the so-called history of Dr. Hawkesworth. This gentleman, who posed as a stylist (Boswell calls him a "studious imitator of Dr. Johnson"), was introduced by Dr. Charles Burney to Lord Sandwich for the express purpose of writing an account of the expedition, and was supplied with all the records in the possession of the Admiralty relating to it, he had access to the Journal of Sir Joseph Banks, the Notes of Dr. Solander and others who accompanied Cook, and, more than all, he had the opportunity of personal communication with the leaders of the party. Notwithstanding these advantages he interpolated so much of his own speculations, conclusions, and dissertations, as to render his voluminous work not only extremely unreliable but often extremely ridiculous. Travellers to the South Seas record that the accounts of things and places described as seen by Cook are remarkably correct, but that the inferences drawn are wrong. They do not realise that the statements of fact are Cook's, whilst the deductions and ornamentations are Hawkesworth's, and were strongly resented by Cook. Boswell relates that he told Johnson that he had met Captain Cook at dinner at Sir John Pringle's (then President of the Royal Society), and gave him an account of a conversation they had together. Johnson:
"was much pleased with the conscientious accuracy of that celebrated circumnavigator, who set me right as to many of the exaggerated accounts given by Dr. Hawkesworth of his voyages."
Cook's opinion on the subject may be seen from his determination to prepare his Journals for the press himself in the future.
Within the last few years the Journal of the Endeavour has been published under the able supervision of the late Admiral Sir W.J.L. Wharton, and the Journal of Sir Joseph Banks, which was missing for a long time, has been recovered and published by Sir Joseph Hooker; and these two books may be preferred with safety over all others that have been written on the subject.
It had been calculated that a Transit of Venus would occur in 1769, observations of which would be of great importance to astronomical science, and several of the European nations, notably Russia, were intending to establish points of observation. The Royal Society decided that as England had hitherto taken a lead in astronomy, she should not now fall behind, and appointed a committee to report on the places where it would be desirable to take observations, the methods to be pursued, and the persons best fitted to carry out the work. This committee advised that two observers should be sent to Hudson's Bay, two to the South Pacific and, if Sweden did not send there, two to the North Cape. They also advised that the Government should be asked to supply a ship to convey the party to some island to be decided on in the South Seas, and several gentlemen were suggested as observers, Mr. Maskelyne, President of the Society, especially recommending Mr. Dalrymple as "a proper person to send to the South Seas, having a particular turn for discoveries, and being an able navigator and well skilled in observation." Mr. Maskelyne estimated the voyage would take about two years, and that a sum of ten shillings and six pence per day would be a reasonable allowance for expenses, together with a gratuity the amount of which was to be settled hereafter. A Memorial on the subject was prepared and forwarded to the King, setting forth that as a Transit of Venus over the Sun's disc was expected to occur, and that other nations were intending to take observations thereof in the interests of navigation, it would be desirable that as the British Nation had been justly celebrated for its knowledge of Astronomy, and an Englishman, Mr. Jeremiah Horrox, had been the first person who calculated the passage of the planet over the sun, in 1639, the Government should support the Royal Society in its attempt to take a proper position in the matter, by a grant of money and a ship to take a party to the South Seas. Four thousand pounds was the sum named, and on 24th March the President was able to inform the Council that the King had been pleased to order that it should be placed in his hands, "clear of fees," for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the expedition. In the end, after paying all accounts, there was a considerable balance left, which the King placed at the disposal of the Society, and a portion of it was expended on the bust of His Majesty, by Nollekins, now in its possession.
The gentlemen whose names had been suggested as observers were asked to appear before the Council if they were willing to accept the position, and Mr. Dalrymple wrote in reply to say there was only one part of the world where he would go to take observations, that was the South Seas, and he would only go if he had "the management of the ship intended for the service." Mr. Maskelyne told the Council he had recommended Mr. Dalrymple to the Admiralty for the command of the ship, the use of which had been granted, but had been informed that such an appointment would be "entirely repugnant to the regulations of the Navy." It is said that Sir Edward Hawke, having in his mind the disastrous result of giving Halley the command of a King's ship in 1698, when a serious mutiny occurred, positively refused to sign such a commission, saying that he would "rather cut off his right hand than permit any one but a King's officer to command one of the ships of His Majesty's Navy."
Dalrymple, originally a clerk in the East India Company's service, had spent some years trading amongst the islands of the Malay Archipelago and China, returned to England and published a couple of pamphlets on the East Indies, and in 1767 a book on the discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean, which brought him to the notice of the Royal Society. He was afterwards for a time hydrographer to the East India Company, and was then appointed the first hydrographer to the Admiralty. He was dismissed from this position for exceeding his powers, and soon afterwards died. He appears to have been a clever man, but of an extremely overbearing disposition and a very high opinion of himself. In writing to Dr. Hawkesworth on one occasion, he said: "I never write on any subject I do not thoroughly understand." What makes the remark more interesting is that he was quite in the wrong on the subject under discussion. He appears never to have forgiven Cook for having been successful in obtaining the command of the expedition to observe the Transit of Venus, and for completely upsetting his pet theory of a large continent in the Southern Ocean.
The Navy Board, having been ordered by the Admiralty to propose a proper vessel to convey the observers to the South Seas, first suggested the Tryal Sloop, and then the Rose, but both being found unsuitable they were ordered to purchase one. On 29th March the Board wrote to Stephens that they had bought:
"a cat-built Bark, in Burthen 368 Tuns and of the age of three years and nine months, for conveying such persons as shall be thought proper to the Southward…"
At the same time, instructions were sought as to fitting and arming her for the service, and as to the name under with she was to be registered on the list of the Navy. A cat-built ship is described in the Encyclopaedias as one with round bluff bows, a wide deep waist, and tapering towards the stern. The name is derived from the Norwegian kati, a ship.
The cat-built bark, the now immortal Endeavour, was built by Messrs. Fishburn of Whitby, and owned by Mr. William Milner of that port. Dr. Young says that her original name was the Earl of Pembroke, but Sir Evan Macgregor wrote to Mr. Waddington in 1888 that she was purchased "under the name of the Endeavour, and was entered as a barque." The Warrant Entry Book from Board of Trade proves that Dr. Young was right, as the following entries will show:
"Deptford, March 23rd 1768. Two cats called the Valentine and the Earl of Pembroke to be surveyed and report which is the properest to be purchased."
"Deptford, March 28th 1768. Ship Earl of Pembroke to be received."
"Deptford, April 7th 1768. Ship purchased to be sheathed, filled, and fitted for a voyage to the southward. To be called The Endeavour Bark."
From the Records of the Survey Office, List of H.M. Navy, 1771 to 1776, it has been ascertained that her price was 2,800 pounds, and the cost of fitting her for the voyage was 2,294 pounds. The reason she was named officially either the Bark Endeavour or Endeavour Bark, was that there was another Endeavour in the Navy, stationed at that time at the Nore. Kippis says that Pallisser was entrusted with the selection of the ship, and that he called on Cook for assistance in the matter, and the fact that a Whitby-built ship was chosen, of a kind in which Cook had had considerable experience, adds to the probability of his statement. Dalrymple enters a claim, in letters to Dr. Hawkesworth, to having chosen the Endeavour for the voyage, but as she was not ordered to be surveyed, with a view to purchase, till 23rd March, when it was well-known the Admiralty had refused to allow him the command of the expedition, there is little force in his claim.
Admiral Wharton assumes that as Cook expresses himself averse from having exploring ships sheathed in copper, owing to the difficulty of making repairs in case of accident far from proper facilities, and from the frequent mention of "heeling and boot-topping" in the Journal of the Endeavour, it is most probable that she was sheathed in wood. This assumption is correct, for there is no mention of copper sheathing in the Surveyor's books, nor at the time of her being repaired at the Endeavour River, nor at Batavia, when it is impossible that any account of her damaged bottom could be given without the mention of copper if any such sheathing had been used. The Naval Chronicle says the first ship of the Royal Navy to be sheathed with copper was the Alarm frigate in 1758; and it is also said that the Dolphin, the ship in which Captain Wallis sailed round the world, was the only coppered ship in the service at this time, and she remained the only one for some years.
On 5th May, at a Council Meeting of the Royal Society, Captain John Campbell, R.N., proposed that Cook, who was in attendance, and had been appointed by the Admiralty to the command of the Endeavour, was a fit and proper person to be one of the observers for the Society in the Southern Seas. Cook was called in, and accepted the position in consideration of such a gratuity as the Society should think proper, and an allowance of 120 pounds per year "for victualling himself and another observer in every particular." Mr. Green was also called in, and accepted the place as the other observer for the gratuity of 200 guineas for the two years the voyage was expected to take, and at the rate of 100 guineas a year afterwards. A list of the instruments to be supplied by the Society was also prepared at the same meeting, and the workmen engaged on them were ordered to show them to Messrs. Green and Cook, and give any desired information. A portable observatory, said to have been designed by Smeaton, the builder of the Eddystone Lighthouse, framed of wood and covered with canvas, was also prepared. Mr. Maskelyne, knowing the value of a good watch when observing for longitude, lent the Society one of his own, made by Graham, to be entrusted to Mr. Green, and it was signed for with the other instruments supplied. Chronometers, of course, at that time were in process of evolution, several makers were endeavouring to gain the prize which had been offered for a reliable timekeeper. Shortly after, at a second meeting, Cook agreed to accept a gratuity from the Society of 100 guineas for taking the observations, and was paid 120 pounds sustenance money for Mr. Green and himself, with authority to draw on the Society during the voyage for a further amount not exceeding 120 pounds.
In the Commissions and Warrants Book, under date 26th May 1768, appears the following entry:
MR. JAMES COOK (2nd) 1st Lieutenant Endeavour Bark. E.H., C.T., C.S.
The initials signify Edward Hawke, Charles Townshend, and Lord Charles Spencer. The "(2nd)" evidently refers to the fact that there was already one James Cook, a lieutenant in the Navy, namely, the former Master of the Mercury, and Third Lieutenant of the Gosport.
Having received his orders Cook proceeded to Deptford and hoisted his pendant on H.M.S. Endeavour on 27th May, and at once started to prepare for sea. A considerable quantity of coal was taken on board to use for drying the ship, as it occupied so much less room than wood.
Captain Wallis returned from his voyage round the world about this time, and in consequence of his report, the Island of Georgeland, afterwards called by Cook Otaheite and now Tahiti, was fixed upon by the Royal Society as the most desirable place for the observations, and the Admiralty were requested to issue the proper orders, notifying at the same time that Mr. Charles Green and Lieutenant James Cook had been appointed observers. They also in the same letter write that:
"Joseph Banks, Esquire, Fellow of this Society, a Gentleman of large fortune, who is well versed in Natural History, being desirous of undertaking the same voyage, the council very earnestly request their Lordships that in regard to Mr. Banks' great personal merit and for the advancement of useful knowledge, he also, together with his suite, being seven persons more (that is eight persons in all) together with their baggage, be received on board of the ship under command of Captain Cook."
They also requested that the expedition might be landed a month or six weeks before the 3rd June in order that the instruments might be got into proper working order, and for fear the ship might not be able to reach Georgeland, a table of the limits within which the observations might be taken, was enclosed. Full instructions were also given to the two observers, and a list of the fixed stars to be observed was drawn up by Mr. Maskelyne.
The order to receive Mr. Green and Mr. Banks and party was issued on 22nd July, "for victuals only"—i.e., they were to be supplied with the same as the rest of the ship's company whilst on board. The members of Banks's party were: Dr. Solander, naturalist; H. Sporing, assistant naturalist; A. Buchan, S. Parkinson, and Jno. Reynolds, artists; James Roberts and Peter Briscoe, white servants; Thomas Richmond and J. Dorlton, coloured servants.
It was owing to the personal friendship between them that Banks was permitted by Lord Sandwich, the First Lord of the Admiralty, to accompany Cook. He had taken up the study of Botany when at Eton, and at an early age had been elected F.R.S. He seems quickly to have formed a just estimate of Cook's worth; indeed, Sir John Barrow says he took a liking to him at the first interview, and a firm friendship sprang up between them which endured to the end. Many instances are to be found of his interest in and his support to Cook after their return home; and this friendship speaks volumes for Cook, for, though Banks was a most kindly natured man, he had at times a very overbearing manner.
Sir Joseph Hooker, in his introduction, quotes a most interesting letter from Mr. John Ellis, F.R.S., to Linnaeus, the great botanist, in which he says that Mr. Banks, a gentleman of 6000 pounds a year, has persuaded Dr. Solander to go out with him to the South Seas to collect "all the natural curiosities of the place," and after the observations are taken, they are "to proceed on further discoveries." He goes on to mention the library of Natural History and splendid outfit Banks is taking, and says, "in short, Solander assured me this expedition would cost Mr. Banks 10,000 pounds."
The Endeavour left Deptford on 21st July, and, calling at Galleons Reach, took in her guns and gunners' stores. Her armament was originally to have been six carriage guns, four pounders, and eight swivels, but they were increased to ten carriage guns and eight swivels, and at Plymouth four more swivels were added for use in the boats. The complement of men was also increased to 85, including 12 marines who were to join at Plymouth, and a third Lieutenant had been appointed in July.
She had dropped down the river and anchored in the Downs on 3rd August, Cook joining her on the 7th and, discharging his pilot, sailed the next day. He had a very tedious passage down the Channel, and did not arrive a Plymouth till the 14th, when he immediately sent word to Messrs. Banks and Solander, who were still in London, that he was ready for sea, and was only waiting for a fair wind to sail. They therefore started at once, their baggage being already on board, and joined Cook on 20th August.
Having received his extra guns, marines, twelve barrels of powder, and other stores, Cook mustered his men, paid them two months advance, and explained to them that they were not to expect any additional pay for the intended voyage. He says, "they were well satisfied, and expressed great cheerfulness and readiness to prosecute the voyage."
The orders under which he sailed were secret, and, unfortunately, are not to be found. Admiral Wharton says the covering letter is in existence, but the orders which should be on the next page are missing. Cook writes:
"I was ordered, therefore, to proceed directly to Otaheite; and, after the astronomical observations should be completed, to prosecute the design of making discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean by proceeding to the South as far as the latitude of 40 degrees: then, if I found no land, to proceed to the west between 40 and 35 degrees till I fell in with New Zealand, which I was to explore, and thence return to England by such route as I should think proper."
His last letter to the Admiralty, before leaving England, was written on the day of his arrival at Plymouth, informing them of that fact, and announcing his intention of proceeding to sea with all possible despatch.
After waiting for some days for a fair wind, Cook eventually sailed at 2 P.M. on 26th August, having, as he says in his Journal, "94 persons, including officers, seamen, Gentlemen and their servants; near 18 months' provisions, 10 carriage guns, 12 swivels, with good store of ammunition, and stores of all kinds" on board. On 1st September they had heavy gales lasting for about four-and-twenty hours, and a small boat belonging to the boatswain was washed away, and "between three and four dozen of our poultry, which was worst of all," were drowned. The ship was found to be very leaky in her upper works, and the sails in the store got very wet. Banks notes that they caught two birds in the rigging that had evidently been blown off the coast of Spain. On 13th September they anchored in Funchal Roads, and during the night "the Bend of the Hawser of the stream anchor slip'd owing to the carelessness of the person who made it fast." The anchor was hauled up into a boat in the morning, and carried further out, but, unfortunately, in heaving it into the water, a Master's mate, named Weir, got entangled in the buoy rope, was carried overboard, and drowned before any assistance could be rendered.
Whilst shifting her berth to a more convenient spot, the Endeavour was fired on by one of the forts owing to some misunderstanding, but satisfactory apologies and explanations were made, and it was thought so little of that neither Cook nor Banks mention it in their Journals. This incident is probably the origin of the story told by Forster in his Journal of the Second Voyage. He says:
"Captain Cook in the Endeavour battered the Loo Fort at Madeira in conjunction with an English Frigate, thus resenting an affront which had been offered to the British flag."
When the Endeavour arrived at Funchal, the only British man-of-war there was H.M.S. Rose, which sailed the following day with her convoy, and neither her Captain's Journal nor his ship's log make any reference whatever to a dispute with the Portuguese. No other British man-of-war came into the port whilst the Endeavour was there, and afterwards, at Rio, Cook expressly informed the Viceroy that he had been well received by the Portuguese at Madeira.
Fresh water, meat, vegetables, and wine were taken on board; wine, fruit, and water being good and cheap, but the meat and poultry, obtained as a favour, were dear. Two men, a marine and a sailor, received twelve lashes for refusing to eat their allowance of fresh meat. This appears to be harsh treatment, but it must be remembered that the lash was at that time almost the only recognised method of punishment in the Navy, however trivial the offence might be; and Cook knew from experience how important it was to prevent the scurvy from getting foothold on board, and he already had determined to fight, by every means in his power, this dread scourge, almost his most dangerous foe. He did conquer it even on this first voyage, and, considering his means, in a most marvellous manner. He would have claimed the victory had it not been for an untoward event, which will be told hereafter, leading him to postpone his claim till he could give further proof. It is important to notice how on every possible occasion he obtained, wherever he could, some change of diet and fresh water.
Whilst they were at Funchal, Banks spent five days with the English Consul, and he describes the place as very pretty, but the people as primitive, idle, and uninformed; all their instruments of the rudest make; and he thought that the appliances used in the manufacture of wine must have been similar to those used by Noah, "although it is not impossible that he might have used better if he remembered the methods he had seen before the flood." One of the Governors left it on record that, so averse from change were the people, he thought it most fortunate the island was not Eden before the fall, as in that case the inhabitants could never have been induced to wear clothes. He explored as much of the island as he could, but says he could never get more than three miles away from the town as his time was so much broken up. The Governor visited them on one of the days he says was so wasted, but relates, with evident glee, how he took his revenge. There was an electrical machine on board, and His Excellency was most curious on the subject; it was sent for and explained to him, and Banks goes on, "they gave him as many shocks as he cared for; perhaps more." A visit was paid to a convent, where the nuns, hearing they were distinguished scientists, plied them with all sorts of questions, and for the half-hour the visit lasted their tongues were going "all the time at an uncommonly nimble rate." At a monastery they visited they were well received, and the monks, regretting they were then unprepared, invited them to come the next day and, though it would be Friday, they would have roast turkey for dinner.
On 19th September, at midnight, they weighed, sighted Teneriffe on the 23rd, and the day following their first flying fish found its way into Mr. Green's cabin. On the 28th they tried steaks for dinner cut from a young shark, which Banks and Solander reported as very good, but the crew refused to taste them. Cape de Verde was seen on the 30th, and about a fortnight afterwards the line was crossed in 29 degrees 24 minutes West longitude, and the following day the event was celebrated. Lieutenant Hicks had crossed before, so a list was given to him of all on board, including the dogs and cats, and all were mustered on deck, those who had already crossed being separated from the others. Any one who wished could purchase immunity for four days' allowance of wine, but the others had to pay the penalty of ducking. Banks compounded for himself and party, and Cook also seems to have got off, but the others were hauled up to the end of the main-yard on a boatswain's chair, and then at the sound of the whistle dropped into the sea, an operation repeated three times. Cook says the "ceremony was performed to about twenty or thirty, to the no small diversion of the rest."
Whilst near the Equator, great inconvenience was felt from the damp heat; everything was mouldy or rusty, and several of the crew were on the sick-list with a sort of bilious complaint; but it fortunately did not grow into a serious matter.
They struck soundings on 6th November, and on heaving the lead again found a difference of less than a foot in three or four hours. Land was sighted near Cape Frio, Brazil, in latitude 21 degrees 16 minutes South, on the 8th, and they came across a boat manned by eleven blacks who were engaged in catching and salting fish. Banks purchased some fish, and was surprised to find they preferred to be paid in English rather than Spanish coin. On the 13th they arrived off Rio de Janeiro, where they were very ungraciously received by the Viceroy. They were not permitted to land except under a guard; some of the men who had been sent ashore on duty were imprisoned. Mr. Hicks, who had gone to report their arrival and ask for the services of a pilot, was detained for a time, and it was only with difficulty, and at an exorbitant rate, that they obtained fresh food and water. Consequently little was seen of the place, except from the ship, and Cook took all possible observations from thence, and made a sketch map of the harbour, to which he added all the information he was able to pick up from the pilot. Writing to the Royal Society, he says he is quite unable to understand the true reason of his treatment, and contrasts it with that received by a Spanish ship which came in whilst he was there. This Spanish ship willingly undertook to carry to Europe and forward to the Admiralty copies of the correspondence that passed between Cook and the Viceroy, which Cook describes as
"a paper war between me and His Excellency, wherein I had no other advantage than the racking his invention to find reasons for treating us in the manner he did, for he never would relax the least from any one point."
To every remonstrance the Viceroy pleaded his instructions and the custom of the port. He seems to have been quite unable to grasp the object of the expedition, and Cook says his idea of the transit of Venus was, "the North Star passing through the South Pole. His own words." The crew were accused of smuggling, and it was repeatedly asserted that the Endeavour was not a king's ship. Parkinson, one of Mr. Banks's staff, says that frequently some of them let themselves down from the cabin window at midnight into a boat, and driving with the tide till they were out of hearing of the guard boat established over them, rowed ashore and made short excursions into the country, "though not so far as we could have wished to have done."
Banks, speaking of the supplies obtained at Rio, says the beef was cheap but very lean and dry; the bread tasted as if made with sawdust, and justified its name of Farinha de Pao (wooden meal); the fruits, excepting the oranges, were very indifferent, and he takes particular exception to the banana, which he had not tasted before, it was not at all to his liking. The water also was very bad, and the crew preferred what they had brought with them, though it was very stale.
M. de Bougainville reports that when he visited Rio he was at first received in a very friendly manner by this same Viceroy, but after a time the treatment was altered, and he had to put up with even greater insolence than Cook.
When the stores had been received on board, the anchor was weighed in order to take up a more favourable position for making a start, but, unfortunately, shortly after the ship got underway, a man named Peter Flowers fell from the main-shrouds into the sea and was drowned before assistance could be rendered: the second death since leaving England. The next day the wind was contrary, but every one was so anxious to turn their backs on the place that Cook ordered out the boats to tow, but they were immediately brought up by a shot from the fort of Santa Cruz. A remonstrance was sent ashore, and received the lame excuse that the permit for leaving had been signed but had been delayed on its way, and the officer in command could not allow the vessel to leave till it was received. Another attempt to get away was soon after made, but the anchor fouled a rock, and there was again delay; at length, on the 7th December, they were able to make a start, discharge their pilot, and bid farewell to the guard boat which had so constantly kept watch over them. They were informed that an Englishman, named Foster, an officer in the Portuguese service, who had been of great use to them, was imprisoned for his kind attentions.
On 9th December they met with bad weather and lost their foretop-gallant mast, but the rough handling they got was credited with improving the sailing qualities of the ship, as it took some of the stiffness out of her upperworks. A meteor was noted on the 23rd, like a small bright cloud, emitting flames, travelling rapidly westward, and disappearing slowly with two sharp explosions. The same day an eclipse of the sun was observed.
Christmas Day, for which the men had been saving up their allowances of grog, passed in the usual manner, that is, in considerable over-indulgence. Banks speculates as to what might have happened if they had had bad weather, whilst Cook dismisses the occurrence very shortly: "The people none of the soberest." On the 27th they crossed the mouth of the River Plate, the water being very discoloured, and a good many land insects were found in it. On 2nd January 1769, they saw some of the shoals of red lobsters like those mentioned by Dampier and Cowley, but they were not found in such quantities as those navigators reported.
On the 11th the shores of Tierra del Fuego were sighted, and on working in closer, the country was found to be less desolate in appearance than they had expected from Anson's description. Arriving off the entrance of the Straits of Le Maire, between Staten Island and the mainland, they were driven back by the tide and a strong adverse wind, and trying to shelter under Cape Diego they were carried past, and only after three and a half days' hard work were they able to get through the straits. Cook has left sailing directions for this passage which are followed to the present day. Banks and Solander were ashore for a short time on Staten Island, and returned delighted with the addition of some hundred new plants for their collection. Cook, with an eye to the welfare of his crew, remarks: "They returned on board, bringing with them several plants and flowers, etc., most of them unknown in Europe, and in that consisted their whole value." Cook and Green made a series of observations, "the first ever made so far south in America," and fixed the position of Cape Diego at 66 degrees West, 54 degrees 39 South; Wharton places it at 65 degrees eight minutes West, 54 degrees 40 minutes South.
On the 15th they anchored in the Bay of Success, for wood and water, and met with some of the inhabitants, with whom, by means of gifts of beads and other trifles, they established friendly relations, and three of them were persuaded to go on board the ship. Though by no means a small race of men, they were found to be nothing like the giants reported by the early navigators in this part of the world. They had in their possession buttons, glass, canvas, brown cloth, etc., showing conclusively they had previously some communication with Europeans. Their clothing consisted chiefly of skins, roughly cured, and a plentiful covering of paint and dirt. The only personal property on which they appeared to set any store were their bows and arrows, which were carefully made and always in good order. Their food appeared to consist of seal and shell-fish; their houses, merely shelters of boughs covered with grass and leaves built to windward of a small fire.
On 16th January, Banks, Solander, Buchan, Green, Monkhouse, two seamen, and Banks's two coloured servants, tried to get up the hills to see something of the surrounding country, but they found their progress hampered by the dwarf vegetation. To add to their discomfort a heavy snowstorm came on. Several of the party experienced that desire to sleep which is produced by cold, and were warned by Solander of the danger of giving way to it, yet he was almost the first one to give in, and was with great difficulty kept awake. Buchan, most unfortunately, had a fit, so a large fire was made at the first convenient spot, but a sailor and the two coloured men lagged behind. During the night the sailor was heard shouting, and was brought in to the fire, but in the morning the two coloured men were found frozen to death. Cook attributed their death to overindulgence in spirits, the supply for the party being left in their charge. Not intending to remain away the night, supplies ran short, so a vulture was shot and carefully divided amongst them, each man cooking his own, which amounted to about three mouthfuls. At length the weather cleared up and a start back was made, and after three hours they struck the beach, only to find they had never been any great distance away but had been describing a circle and came back almost to the place whence they had started. Banks notes the vegetation as more exuberant than he expected; the dominant colour of the flowers, white; and he collected wild celery and scurvy grass in large quantities, which was mixed with the food on board ship as long as it could be preserved in a wholesome condition. Whilst at the Bay of Success the guns were lowered into the hold so as to allow more room on deck for working the ship in the bad weather they expected to encounter when rounding the Horn.
On 27th January Cape Horn was passed, but owing to fog and contrary wind they did not approach very closely, so they were unable to fix its exact position, but the description they were able to give of its appearance (there is a sketch of it by Mr. Pickersgill, Master's mate, in the Records Office), and twenty-four observations taken in the immediate neighbourhood, settled any doubts they may have had, and Cook puts it at 55 degrees 53 minutes South, 68 degrees 13 minutes West, and Wharton gives the corrected position as 55 degrees 58 minutes South, 67 degrees 16 minutes West. Three days after they reached their furthest south, according to Cook 60 degrees 4 minutes South, 74 degrees 10 West, and the course was then altered to West by North. The continuous and careful observations of the state of the sea, and the absence of currents during the following month, caused Cook to come to the conclusion that the vast southern continent so long supposed to exist somewhere in that part of the globe, and by some people esteemed necessary to preserve its balance, was non-existent. Banks expresses his pleasure in having upset this theory, and observes: "Until we know how the globe is fixed in its position, we need not be anxious about its balance."
The weeks following the change of the course to the north were uneventful, only marked by an occasional success of the naturalists in obtaining a fresh specimen, some of which were experimented on by the cook; an albatross, skinned, soaked all night in salt water, was stewed, served with savoury sauce, and was preferred to salt pork; a cuttle-fish of large size, freshly killed by the birds, and too much damaged for classification, was made into soup, of which Banks says: "Only this I know that, of it was made one of the best soups I ever ate." The water obtained at Tierra del Fuego turned out very good: a great boon, as one of their great troubles and a source of great anxiety to Cook was the bad quality of the water so often obtained.
Towards the end of March a change was noticed in the kinds of birds flying round the ship, some being recognised as ones that were known to stay near land, and consequently a sharp look-out was kept. On the night of the 24th a tree-trunk was reported, but when morning came nothing further was seen. It has since been ascertained they were then a little to the north of Pitcairn Island, afterwards the home of the mutineers of the Bounty; but Cook did not feel himself at liberty to make any deviation from his course "to look for what he was not sure to find," although he thought he was "not far from those islands discovered by Quiros in 1606."
On 26th march one of the marines committed suicide by drowning. It seems he had misappropriated a piece of sealskin, and his fellow-soldiers, indignant that such a thing should have been done by one of the cloth, made his life uncomfortable and threatened that he should be reported for theft. This was the fifth death since leaving England, and none by disease.
The 4th April, at 10.30 A.M., Banks's servant, Peter Briscoe, sighted land, and the course of the ship was altered to give them a chance of inspecting it. It was found to be one of those peculiar circular reefs surrounding a lagoon, called atolls, which exist in some quantity in the Pacific. There was no anchorage, so they made no attempt to land, but were able to see it was inhabited. Some twenty-four persons were counted through the glasses, and were described as copper-coloured, with black hair; they followed the ship as if prepared to oppose a landing. The reef was covered with trees, amongst which the coconut palm was conspicuous. Cook gave it the name of Lagoon Island; it is now known as Vahitahi, and is one of the Low Archipelago. Being now in Wallis's track, islands were sighted almost every day, and almost all appeared inhabited, but owing to the want of safe anchorage, no communication could be held with the natives.
On 10th April Osnaburg Island was passed, and next day King George Land was sighted; but the wind failed, and they did not get close in till the 12th, when canoes came out to the ship, bringing branches of trees which were handed up the side, with signs directing they should be placed conspicuously in the rigging, as a token of friendship offered and accepted. When this had been done the natives produced a good supply of trade in the shape of vegetables and fruit; amongst the last Banks enumerates bread-fruit, bananas, coconuts, and apples (a species of hog plum). These were very acceptable and beneficial to the crew after such a lapse of time without vegetable food except the wild plants gathered in Tierra del Fuego.
At 7 A.M. on the 13th they anchored in the bay described by Wallis, known as Matavai, in thirteen fathoms, and Cook says of his route from Cape Horn, "I Endeavoured to make a direct course, and in part succeeded."
Hardly had the anchor reached the bottom, before they were surrounded by canoes, whose occupants were anxious to sell the supplies of fruits, raw and cooked fish, and a pig they had brought. The price asked for the pig was a hatchet, and as these were scarce, it was not purchased. When all was made safe, a party went ashore and was well received by the natives, but those who had previously been there with Wallis reported that those who were at that time said to be chiefs, were keeping in the background. The next day, however, two men, evidently of rank, came on board, and being invited into the cabin, went through a ceremony described by Banks: "Each singled out his friend; one took the captain, and the other chose myself. Each took off a part of his clothes and dressed his friend with what he took off; in return for this we presented them with a hatchet and some beads." They were then invited by their new friends to go ashore. On landing they were escorted to a building and introduced to an old man they had not seen before, and he presented Cook with a cock, and Banks with a hen, and each with a piece of native cloth. Banks gave in return for his share his large laced silk neckcloth and a linen handkerchief. After this they were permitted to stroll about, and received many tokens of amity in the shape of green boughs, and were then entertained at a banquet, the principal dishes being fish and bread-fruit. Whilst at dinner, Solander had his pocket picked of an opera glass, and Monkhouse lost his snuff-box. As soon as this was made known, Lycurgus, as they had named one of their friends, drove off the people, striking them and throwing anything he could lay his hand to, at them. He offered pieces of cloth as compensation, and when these were refused, extended his offer to everything he possessed. He was, at last, made to understand that all that was wanted was the return of the stolen articles, and after a time the snuff-box and the case of the glass were returned, and, by and by, the glass itself. During the whole of the stay at the island they had the greatest difficulties with the natives for stealing, an accomplishment at which, Cook says, they were "prodigious expert."