The Life of Captain James Cook Part 15

Cook, from fresh observations, found that he had placed the South Island on his chart some 40 minutes too far to the east, and had made the distance between Queen Charlotte's Sound and Cape Pallisser 10 minutes nearer to each other than they should have been. In this connection he speaks in the highest terms of the desire of Mr. Wales to have everything as accurate as possible.

On 11th November the Resolution left the Sound at daybreak to cross the South Pacific between lat.i.tudes 54 and 55 degrees, and the course convinced Cook there was no possibility of there being any large piece of land in that portion of the ocean. He therefore stood for the western entrance of Magellan's Straits, sighting Cape Descada on 17th December, following the coast round to Christmas Sound, which they reached on the 20th, the country pa.s.sed being described as "the most desolate and barren I ever saw." At Christmas Sound they were more fortunate, for wood, water, wild celery, and a large number of geese provided them with a welcome banquet for Christmas Day. They were visited by some of the natives, described as "a little, ugly, half-starved, beardless race; I saw not a tall person amongst them." The scent of dirt and train oil they carried with them was "enough to spoil the appet.i.te of any European,"

consequently none were invited to join the festivities. They had European knives, cloth, handkerchiefs, etc., showing they had been in communication with white men; and Forster notes they had canoes which could not have been made in the neighbourhood, for there was no timber of sufficient size.

CAPE HORN CORRECTED.

Cape Horn was pa.s.sed on 29th December, and Cook made his longitude 68 degrees 13 minutes West, a little too far to the westward; it should be 67 degrees 16 minutes West. This is absolutely correct, according to Wharton. On 1st January 1775 they landed on a small island off Staten Island, and then put in to a fine sheltered harbour on the main island, which consequently was named New Year Harbour. The weather proved unfavourable for surveying, but enough was ascertained to convince them that the Tierra del Fuego and Staten Island coasts were not so dangerous to navigation as they had been represented.

On 3rd January they left to look for Dalrymple's Gulf of Sebastian, which Cook thought was non-existent, and on the 6th they reached the position given on the chart, but could find no signs of any land. Bearing up to the north, Georgia Island was seen on the 14th, and was found to be entirely covered with snow, creating surprise as it was now the height of summer. The ship ran in between Georgia and Willis Islands, and possession was formally taken of the group, though Cook did not think that "any one would ever be benefited by the discovery." Working as far south as 60 degrees, he turned to the east, being "tired of these high southern lat.i.tudes where nothing was to be found but ice and thick fogs,"

and a long hollow swell coming from the westward convinced him that he was correct in his a.s.sumption that the Gulf of Sebastian and a large body of land did not exist. On the 30th two large islands were seen, and then three rocky islets to the north; the largest was named Freezeland Peak, after the sailor who sighted it, S. Freesland; and behind these was an elevated coast which received the name of Southern Thule, as being the most southerly land then discovered. The position of the ship was given as 59 degrees 13 minutes 30 seconds South, 27 degrees 45 minutes West.

During the early part of February they ran down east between 58 and 59 degrees South, frequently having to throw the ship up into the wind to shake the snow out of her sails, for the weather was very bad. After another unsuccessful attempt to find Cape Circ.u.mcision, the ship's head was turned towards the Cape of Good Hope on 23rd February, and Cook had the satisfaction of feeling he had solved the problem of the non-existence of any southern continent except in close proximity to the Pole. He firmly believed from his observations of the icefields that such a continent in the far south did exist, but he a.s.serted that further exploration in that direction would be of little service to navigation, and would be hardly worth the cost and danger that must be incurred.

On 16th March two Dutch ships were seen steering to the west, and a boat was sent off to the nearest, which proved to be the Bownkirke Polder, from Bengal. They were offered any supplies the Dutchman had, notwithstanding the latter was rather short, owing to his being some time out from port. Some English sailors on board told of the Adventure having been at the Cape of Good Hope some twelve months previously, and that she had reported the ma.s.sacre of a boat's crew in New Zealand. At the same time three more sail came up, one, an English ship, did not intend to call at the Cape, so Cook forwarded by her a letter to the Admiralty and received some provisions, and, most valuable gift, a packet of old newspapers. On the 22nd the Resolution anch.o.r.ed in Table Bay, saluting the Dutch flag with thirteen guns, and the next morning Cook waited on the Governor, who did everything he could to a.s.sist him and render his stay agreeable.

THREE ON THE SICK LIST.

Cook was greatly pleased to be able to report three men only on the sick list, and the remainder were granted as much leave as the refitting of the ship would permit. The rigging, of course, had suffered severely, and had to be replaced at an exorbitant cost from the Government Stores; but Cook calls attention to the state of the masts, which he considered, after sailing some 20,000 leagues, bore testimony to the care and ability of his officers and men, and also to the high qualities of his ship.

M. de Crozet put in on his way to Pondicherry, and was impressed with Cook's courtesy and qualifications as an explorer. He was able to give the first information of M. de Surville's voyage, and that he had cleared away a mistake Cook had made in a.s.suming that the New Caledonia reefs extended to the Great Barrier Reef on the east of Australia. Forster says that Cook pointedly avoided having any intercourse with any of the Spaniards who were there, but gives no reason for it. He also bought a quant.i.ty of wild animals and birds, many of which died before reaching England, and he roundly but unjustly accused the crew of having killed them.

Touching at St. Helena, where Kendal's watch was found to differ by about two miles from the observations of Mason and Dixon at the Cape and those of Maskelyne at St. Helena, he proceeded to Ascension, where he obtained a good supply of fresh turtle, and then to Fernando de Noronho, fixing the position as 3 degrees 50 minutes South, 32 degrees 34 minutes West, and crossed the line on 11th June. Calling in at the Azores, land was sighted near Plymouth on the 29th, and next day they anch.o.r.ed at Spithead; and Cook, Wales, Hodges, and the two Forsters immediately started for London, having been away from England three years and eighteen days. During this time they had lost four men, three from accident and one from disease--a record unprecedented in the annals of British Naval history.

The war with the American colonies was naturally occupying the attention of the public, but the newspapers found s.p.a.ce to publish more or less authentic information as to their arrival and proceedings on the voyage.

One paper gravely said that:

"Captain Cooke will be appointed Admiral of the Blue, and command a fleet which is preparing to go out in the spring, as a reward for the discoveries he has made in his last voyage in the South Seas."

On 9th August Cook was summoned to St. James's Palace and had a long audience with the King, presenting several charts and maps and submitting several drawings, some of which were ordered to be engraved for the private museum. In return the King presented him with his commission as Post-Captain and his appointment to H.M.S. Kent. The commission, signed by Sandwich, Penton, and Pallisser, bears date 9th August. Furneaux was made Captain. He sailed for America in October, and was present at the attack on New Orleans in 1777; he died at the age of forty-six, some four years later. Kempe, Cooper, and Clerke were promoted to Commanders; and Isaac Smith, Lieutenant. Mr. Wales was appointed Mathematical Master at Christ's Hospital, and Charles Lamb mentions him as having been a severe man but:

"a perpetual fund of humour, a constant glee about him, heightened by an inveterate provincialism of North Country dialect, absolutely took away the sting from his severities."

Mr. Forster was received by the King at Kew, and was afterwards presented to the Queen, to whom he gave some of the birds bought at the Cape. He also attracted attention from another quarter, for Lloyd's Evening Post reports that on 6th August, his house at Paddington "was broke open and robbed of effects of considerable value." Again the Morning Post, 23rd August, reports:

"Monday night, as Mr. John Reynold Forster was returning from Chelsea in a post chaise, he was attacked by three highwaymen, near b.l.o.o.d.y Bridge, who robbed him of three guineas and a watch set with diamonds."

GREENWICH HOSPITAL.

Acting on advice from the Admiralty, Cook, on 12th August, applied for the position of one of the Captains of Greenwich Hospital, vacant through the death of Captain Clements, stipulating that if occasion arose in which his services would be of use elsewhere, he might be permitted to resign. This application was immediately granted, and his appointment is dated on the same day as his application. The salary was 200 pounds per year, with a residence and certain small allowances such as fire and light, and one shilling and twopence per day table money. It is apparent from his letters that though he may have taken over some of the duties (but that is improbable, owing to his time being fully occupied preparing his Journal for the press and then making arrangements for his final voyage), he never entered upon residence but remained at Mile End. He, however, found time to write two letters to Mr. Walker of Whitby, in the first of which he speaks rather despondingly of being "confined within the limits of Greenwich Hospital, which are far too small for an active mind like mine"; and in the second he gives a rapid sketch of the voyage, which, by its clear conciseness, proves the worthlessness of Mr.

Forster's sneer, repeated by later writers, that the public account of the voyage owed more to the editing of Canon Douglas than to the writing of Cook.

Soon after Cook's arrival in London, Furneaux handed him his Journal of the proceedings of the Adventure from the time of their separation off the coast of New Zealand. They were blown off the land near Table Cape in the beginning of November 1773, again sighting it near Cape Pallisser, only to be blown off again, their sails and rigging suffering severely.

They put into Tolago Bay for temporary repairs and water, and left again on the 13th, but had to put back till the 16th, and even then the weather was so bad that they did not reach Queen Charlotte's Sound till the 30th, when the bottle left by Cook was at once found, telling they were six days too late. They pushed on as rapidly as possible with the refit, and then were further delayed by finding a large quant.i.ty of the bread required rebaking, but they were ready to sail by 17th December. Mr. Rowe was sent out with a boat to get a supply of vegetables, and the ship was to have sailed the following day, but the boat did not return. Burney was then sent off with a party of marines in search, and after a time discovered the missing men had been all killed and some of them eaten by the Maoris. Portions of the bodies were found and identified--Rowe's hand, by an old scar, Thomas Hill's hand, had been tattooed in Otaheite; Captain Furneaux's servant's hand; and midshipman Woodhouse's shoes were found, and a portion of the boat. The natives who had these remains were fired on, but Burney could take no further steps, for he estimated there were fifteen hundred of the natives near the place. Furneaux believed that the attack was unpremeditated as the Maoris had been quite friendly, and both he and Cook had been at the place during their previous visit.

He concluded that some sudden quarrel had arisen and the boat's crew had been incautious.

Ma.s.sACRE.

On his next voyage Cook obtained an account of the affair from the natives, when they said that the crew was at dinner and some of the Maoris attempted to steal some bread and fish, whilst one tried to get something from the boat which had been left in charge of the Captain's black servant. The thieves were given a thrashing, and a quarrel arose, during which two muskets were discharged and two natives were shot. The Maoris then closed in and killed all the sailors immediately. The Yorkshire Gazette of 4th June 1887 states that it was reported that a midshipman escaped the ma.s.sacre, and after many wanderings reached England in 1777. If this improbable story is true he must have been Mr.

Woodhouse, whose shoes were found, for he was the only midshipman in the boat.

On 23rd December the Adventure sailed, but owing to contrary winds did not get away from the coast for some days. She stood south-east till 56 degrees South was reached, and then the cold being extreme and the sea high, her course was set for the Horn, reaching as high as 61 degrees South with a favourable wind. Stores were running short, so after an unsuccessful search for Cape Circ.u.mcision she sailed for Table Bay, and having refitted, again left on 16th April for England, and dropped her anchor at Spithead on 14th July 1774.

Mr. Forster states that this second voyage of Cook cost 25,000 pounds, but does not give the source of his information.

CHAPTER 15. 1775 TO 1776. ENGLAND.

After his return Cook was busily engaged preparing his Journal and charts for publication, which had been sanctioned by the Admiralty, and was considerably annoyed and delayed by the conduct of Mr. Forster, who immediately on his return complained that the 4,000 pounds granted him to cover the whole of his expenses had proved totally inadequate. He claimed that Lord Sandwich had promised, verbally, that he was to have the exclusive duty of writing the History of the Voyage, was to receive the whole of the profits thereof, and to be provided with permanent employment for the remainder of his life. This promise was totally denied by Lord Sandwich, and it certainly does not appear to have been a reasonable one to make on behalf of the Admiralty.

After a protracted discussion, it was agreed that Cook should write the account of the voyage and the countries visited; whilst Forster was to write a second volume containing his observations as a scientist; the Admiralty was to pay the expenses of engraving the charts, pictures, etc., and, on completion of the work, the plates were to be equally divided between Cook and Forster. Cook was to proceed with his part at once and submit it to Forster for revision, and Forster was to draw up a plan of the method he intended to pursue and forward it to Lord Sandwich for approval.

Cook proceeded to carry out his share, and furnished Forster with a large amount of ma.n.u.script; but the latter proved obstinately insistent in having his own way in everything, with the result that, after submitting two schemes to Lord Sandwich, both extremely unsatisfactory, he was forbidden to write at all, and it was decided that Cook should complete the whole work, and it should be revised by the Reverend John Douglas, Canon of Windsor, afterwards Bishop of Carlisle.

FORSTER'S YARNS.

Notwithstanding the prohibition against Forster, a book was published under his son's name, and the latter claims that he started on the voyage with the intention of writing, took copious notes, and, excepting that he utilised those taken by his father, the work was entirely his own. He forgets, however, to say that a quant.i.ty of Cook's ma.n.u.scripts had been in his father's hands, and does not explain how so much of his book corresponds with curious exact.i.tude with that of Cook (in many cases word for word), and how, when the papers of Cook failed to provide him with further facts, he was obliged to rely on would-be philosophical dissertations which it is to be hoped were not obtained from his father's notebooks. Young Forster says that the appointment was first of all given to his father in a spirit of pique on the part of Lord Sandwich, and then the order forbidding him to write was made because the father had refused to give Miss Ray, Lord Sandwich's mistress, who had admired them when on board the ship, some birds brought home from the Cape of Good Hope as a present to the Queen. In the end the Forsters forestalled Cook's book by about six weeks, and as this was after Cook had left England on his last voyage, Mr. Wales undertook the defence of the absent against the sneers and insinuations that were plentifully given out all round. The Forsters infer that Cook was unreliable because he suppresses mention of the bombardment of the Loo fort at Madeira, an event which never happened; and because he places Valparaiso (where he had never been) in the position given on the Admiralty chart supplied to him, which proved to be some 10 degrees out. The Master who had refused to give up his cabin was, of course, never forgiven; and as for Mr. Wales, who had observed the Transit of Venus at Hudson's Bay in 1769, for the Royal Society, he, poor man, had neither knowledge nor experience in astronomical science. The crews of the two ships also, carefully selected men though they were, some of whom had been the previous voyage, were morally and physically bad, and utterly incapable of performing their duty in a proper and seamanlike manner. A little allowance must be made for the two authors, for the father suffered severely from rheumatism, the son was of a s...o...b..tic tendency, and both were unaccustomed to sea life, and doubtless the hardships inseparable from such a voyage pressed heavily upon them.

A second Journal was published by F. Newbery about the same time, and Cook hearing of it, sent Anderson, the gunner, to find out the author.

With little difficulty he was found to be Marra, the gunner's mate who tried to desert at Otaheite, and the publication was stayed till after the authorised version was out.

A volume of Cook's letters to Dr. Douglas relating to the preparation of his Journal for the press is preserved at the British Museum, and it shows how Cook to the very last endeavoured to serve Mr. Forster's interests, and to smooth matters over so that they could work together.

The last one Dr. Douglas received before Cook's departure was dated from Mile End, 23rd June 1776, the day before he joined his ship at the Nore.

Dear Sir,

It is now settled that I am to publish without Mr. Forster, and I have taken my measures accordingly. When Captain Campbell has looked over the ma.n.u.script it will be put into the hands of Mr. Strahan and Mr. Stuart to be printed, and I shall hope for the continuation of your a.s.sistance in correcting the press. I know not how to recompense you for the trouble you have had and will have in the work. I can only beg you will accept of as many copies after it is published as will serve yourself and friends, and I have given directions for you to be furnished with them. When you have done with the Introduction, please send it to Mr. Strahan or bring it with you when you come to Town, for there needs be no hurry about it.

Tomorrow morning I set out to join my ship at the Nore, and with her proceed to Plymouth where my stay will be but short. Permit me to a.s.sure you that I shall always have a due sense of the favour you have done me, and that I am with great esteem and regard, Dear Sir, your obliged and very humble servant,

James Cook.

Notwithstanding the Forsters' endeavour to discount its success by forestalling the publication by some weeks, Cook's work was well received by the public, and Mrs. Cook, to whom the whole of the profits were given, reaped considerable benefit from its sale.

FELLOW OF ROYAL SOCIETY.

On 29th February 1776, Captain James Cook was unanimously elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and his certificate of election was signed by no less than twenty-six of the Fellows. He was formally admitted on 17th March, on which date a paper written by him, on the means he had used for the prevention and cure of scurvy, was read. That he valued his success in dealing with this disease, which, at that time, even in voyages of very moderate length was the most terrible danger to be encountered, is plainly set forth in his Journal of the voyage. He says:

"But whatever may be the public judgment about other matters, it is with real satisfaction and without claiming any merit but that of attention to my duty, that I can conclude this account with an observation which facts enable me to make, that our having discovered the possibility of preserving health amongst a numerous ship's company, for such a length of time in such varieties of climate and amidst such continued hardships and fatigues, will make this voyage remarkable in opinion of every benevolent person, when the disputes about a Southern Continent shall have ceased to engage the attention and to divide the judgment of philosophers."

During his early days at sea it was no unusual thing for a man-of-war to be short-handed through scurvy after a cruise of a few weeks, and in a voyage across the Atlantic as many as twenty per cent of the crew are known to have perished. To give some of his own experiences in the Navy: On 4th June 1756, H.M.S. Eagle arrived in Plymouth Sound, after cruising for two months in the Channel and off the French coast, and Captain Pallisser reported landing 130 sick, buried at sea 22, and since his arrival in port his surgeon and 4 men had died, and both his surgeon's mates were very ill; this out of a complement of 400!

Boscawen, sailing from Halifax for Louisberg in 1758, left several ships behind on account of scurvy, one being the Pembroke, of which Cook was Master; she had lost 29 men crossing the Atlantic, but she was able to rejoin before the others as they were in a worse plight. Wolfe reported to Lord George Sackville that some of the regiments employed at Louisburg had "300 or 400 men eat up with scurvy." Of the Northumberland when at Halifax, Lord Colville wrote that frozen (fresh) beef from Boston kept his men healthy when in port, "but the scurvy never fails to pull us down in great numbers upon our going to sea in spring."

Having had such experiences Cook appears to have made up his mind to fight the dreadful scourge from the very first, and though the popular idea is that he only turned his mind to it during the second voyage, it is very evident that on the Endeavour he fought it successfully, and it is most probable would have laid claim to victory had it not been for the serious losses incurred through the malarial fever and its usual companion, dysentery, contracted at Batavia. In proof of this reference may be made to the report of Mr. Perry, surgeon's mate, and, after Mr.

Monkhouse's death, surgeon on board. He states they rounded the Horn with the crew "as free from scurvy as on our sailing from Plymouth," i.e.

after five months. He reports FOR THE WHOLE OF THE VOYAGE, FIVE CASES OF SCURVY, "three in Port at New Holland, and two while on the Coast of New Zealand, not a man more suffered any inconvenience from this distemper."

He was one of the five cases, but, at the same time, it must not be understood that no others developed symptoms of scurvy, only they were so closely watched and at once subjected to such treatment that the disease was not able to gain the upper hand. Cook wrote to the Secretary to the Admiralty immediately after his arrival at Batavia, saying, "I have not lost one man from sickness." He means here, as elsewhere in his Journals, "sickness" to be taken as scurvy, and at that time he had lost only seven men: two of Mr. Banks's servants from exposure; three men drowned; Mr.

Buchan, a fit, probably apoplectic; and one man, alcoholic poisoning. He arrived at home with a total loss of forty-one, including Tupia and his boy; thirty-two of these deaths were from fever and dysentery, and 2, Mr.

Hicks and Sutherland, from consumption.