shore after a four-pounder had been fired over their heads.
The vessel made for the shore, but all the trifles that were
distributed could not induce the natives to relinquish their attitude
of defiance and bravado. It was clear that the smallest
misunderstanding would lead to bloodshed.
Cook imagined these people to be cannibals, although pigs, fowls,
roots, and fruits abounded.
During the stay prudence prevented any one leaving the shore. Forster,
however, ventured a little way and discovered a spring of water, so
hot that he could not hold his finger in it longer than a second. In
spite of all their wishes, the English found it impossible to reach
the central volcano, which emitted torrents of fire and smoke as high
as the clouds, and projected enormously large stones into the air. The
number of extinct volcanoes in every direction was considerable, and
the soil was decidedly subject to volcanic eruptions. By degrees,
though without losing their reserve, the Tannians became more at home
with the strangers, and intercourse was less difficult.
"These people," says Cook, "showed themselves hospitable, civil, and
good-hearted, when we did not excite their jealousy. We cannot blame
their conduct greatly, for after all, from what point of view can they
have judged us? They could not possibly know our real intentions. We
entered their country, as they dared not oppose us; we endeavoured to
disembark as friends, but we landed and maintained our superiority by
force of arms. Under such circumstances what opinion could the natives
form of us? It doubtless appeared far more plausible that we came to
invade their country, than that we visited them as friends. Time only,
and intimate relations, could teach them our good intentions."
However that might be, the English were at a loss to guess why the
natives prevented their penetrating to the interior of the country.
Was it owing to a naturally shy nature? or possibly because they were
threatened with constant inroads from their neighbours. Their address
in the use of arms and their bearing supported this idea, but it was
impossible to know with any certainty.
As the natives did not value anything the English offered, they did
not bring any great quantity of the fruits and roots the latter longed
for. They would not consent to part with their pigs even for hatchets,
the utility of which they had proved.
The productions of the island included bread-fruits, cocoa-nuts, a
fruit like a peach, called "parre," yams, potatoes, wild pigs, nutmegs,
and many others of which Forster did not know the names.
On the 21st Cook left Tanna, discovered successively, Erromam and
Annatom Islands, and coasted Sandwich Island. He passed Mallicolo and
Quiros' Land of the Holy Spirit, where he easily recognized St. James
and St. Philip Bays, and left this archipelago after having named it
New Hebrides, by which appellation it is now known.
A new discovery was made on the 5th of September. No European foot had
ever trodden the soil he now sighted. It was the northern extremity of
New Caledonia. The first point recognized was called Cape Colnett,
after one of the volunteers who saw it first. The coast was bordered
by a chain of breakers, behind which two or three pirogues appeared to
be paddling, so as to reconnoitre the new-comers. But at sunrise they
brailed their sails and were seen no more.
Having cruised for two hours along the outer reefs, Cook perceived an
opening which he thought would enable him to draw near. He steered for
it and landed at Balade.
The country appeared sterile, and uniformly covered with a whitish
grass. Some trees with white trunks, like the willow in shape, were
seen here and there. They were "niaoulis." At the same time several
houses like bee-hives were perceived.
No sooner was anchor cast than fifteen or more pirogues surrounded the
vessel. The natives had sufficient confidence to approach and begin
traffic. Some of them even entered the ship, and inspected all the
various parts of it with extreme curiosity. They refused to touch the
dishes offered them, stewed peas, beef, and salt pork, but they
voluntarily tasted the yams. They were most surprised at the goats,
pigs, dogs, and cats, which were so strange to them that they had no
words to designate them. Nails, all iron implements, and red stuffs,
appeared precious to them. Tall, strong, and well-proportioned, with
curly hair and beard, and of dark chocolate colour, they spoke a
language which bore no resemblance to any which the English had
hitherto heard.
[Illustration: "The natives had sufficient confidence."]
When the captain landed he was received with joyful demonstrations,
and with the surprise natural to people who are brought face to face
with objects of which they have had no previous idea. Some of the
chiefs, enjoining silence, made short harangues, and Cook began the
usual distribution of ironmongery and hardware. His officers mixed
with the crowd to make observations.
Many of the natives appeared afflicted with a kind of leprosy, and
their arms and legs were greatly swollen. They were all but naked,
wearing merely a cord tightened to the figure, from which hung scraps
of stuff made from the fig-tree. A few wore enormous cylindrical hats,
open on two sides, like the hats of the Hungarian hussars. They hung
tortoiseshell earrings or rolls of the leaves of the sugar-cane in
their ears, which were pulled out and split.
The English soon perceived a little village above the mangroves which
bordered the shore. It was surrounded by sugar-cane plantations, yams,
and banana-trees, and watered by little canals, cleverly diverted from
the large river.
Cook soon discovered that he need expect nothing of this race but
permission to survey the country.
"These natives," he says, "taught us a few words of their language,
which bore no resemblance to that of any other tribe. They were mild
and peaceable in character, but extremely lazy. If we addressed them
they replied, but if we continued our way seldom joined us in our
excursions. If we passed their cabins without remark, they took no
notice of us. The women were slightly more curious, and hid themselves
in the bushes to look after us, but they would only approach in the
company of the men. They appeared neither vexed nor alarmed when we
shot birds. Indeed, if we were near their huts, the young people would
point them out to us, for the pleasure of seeing us fire. They
appeared to have very little to do at this time of year. Having tilled
the ground, and sown roots and bananas, they awaited their crops next
summer.
"Perhaps in this fact lay the explanation of their having no
provisions to offer in traffic, for in other respects we found them
fully alive to the hospitable instinct which more particularly
commends the islanders of the southern seas to navigators."
Cook's assertion of the indolence of the New Caledonians is perfectly
true. But his stay amongst them was too short to enable him to
appreciate their character thoroughly; and he certainly never
suspected that they indulged in the horrible practice of cannibalism.
He noticed no birds living in a wild state there excepting quails,
turtle-doves, pigeons, turkeys, ducks, teal, and a few smaller ones.
He could not ascertain the presence of any quadrupeds, and he entirely
failed in his endeavours to procure provisions.
At Balade the captain made several excursions into the interior, and
climbed the mountains to gain a general view over the country. From
the summit of a rock he clearly saw the two coasts and ascertained
that New Caledonia in this part was only ten leagues in width.
In its general features the country resembled various portions of New
Holland, which is in the same latitude. The productions of both appear
to be the same, and there is an absence of brushwood in the forests of
both.
Cook also observed the presence of minerals on the hills, and his
discovery has been verified in late years by the proved existence of
gold, iron, copper, coal, and nickel.
A few of the crew met with a similar adventure here to that which had
been almost fatal to some of them in the neighbourhood of Mallicolo.
Cook relates it thus:--"My secretary bought a fish which had been
harpooned by a native, and sent it to me on board. This fish was of an
entirely new species, and resembled that known as sun-fish, it was of
the order called 'tetrodon' by Linnæus. Its head was hideous, wide and
long. Never suspecting that it might be poisonous, I ordered it to be
served at table the same evening. Fortunately so much time was
consumed in drawing and describing it that no time was left for the
cooking, and only the liver was served.
"The two Forsters and myself partook of it, and towards three in the
morning we experienced a sensation of weakness and want of power in
our limbs. I all but lost the sense of touch, and could no longer
distinguish light from heavy objects when I desired to move them. A
pot full of water and a feather appeared to me equally heavy. We first
resorted to emetics, and afterwards we succeeded in inducing
perspiration, which relieved us greatly. In the morning, a pig which
had eaten the entrails of the fish was found dead. When the natives
came on board, and saw the fish hanging up, they made us understand
that it was unwholesome. They showed their disgust of it, but neither
in selling it, or even after having been paid for it, had they given
the slightest hint of such aversion."
Cook next proceeded to the survey of the greater part of the eastern
coast. During this excursion he met with a native as white as a
European. His complexion was attributed to illness. This man was an
Albino, like those already met with in Tahiti and the Society Islands.
The captain was anxious to acclimatize pigs in New Caledonia, but he
had the greatest difficulty in inducing the natives to accept a hog
and a sow. He was forced to insist upon their usefulness, the facility
of breeding them, and to exaggerate their value before the natives
would consent to their being landed.
Cook describes the New Caledonians as tall, robust, active, polite,
and peaceable. He gives them the rare character of honesty. But his
successors in this country, more especially D'Entrecasteaux,
discovered to their detriment that they did not preserve this quality.
Some of them had the thick lips, flat nose, and general appearance of
the negro. Their naturally curly hair added to the resemblance.
"If I were to guess," says Cook, "at the origin of this people, I
should take them to be an intermediate race between the people of
Tanna and the Friendly Islands, or between those of Tanna and New
Zealand, or possibly between all three, for their language is in some
respects a sort of mixture of that of these different countries."
The frequency of war amongst them is indicated by the number of their
offensive weapons, clubs, spears, lances, slings, javelins, &c. The
stones used for their slings are smooth and oval. Their houses are
built on a circular plan, most of them being like bee-hives, with the
roof of considerable height, and terminating in a point. They always
have one or two fires alight, but as there is only one outlet for the
smoke, through the doorway, no European could live in them.
[Illustration: "With the roof of considerable height."]
They subsisted entirely upon fish and roots, such as yams, and the
bark of a tree, which was but little succulent. Bananas, sugar-canes,
and bread-fruit were rare, and cocoa-nuts did not flourish so well as
in the island previously visited by the English. The number of
inhabitants appeared considerable. But Cook justly remarked that his
arrival had brought about a general reunion of all the tribes, and
Lieutenant Pickersgill decided during his hydrographical excursions
that the country was sparsely populated.
The New Caledonians buried their dead. Many of the crew visited their
cemeteries, and especially the tomb of a chief, which was a kind of
mound, decorated with spears, javelins, arrows, and darts, which were
stuck around it.
Cook left the harbour of Balade, and continued to coast New Caledonia,
without finding fresh provisions. The aspect of the country was
universally sterile. But quite to the south of this large land a
smaller one was discovered, to which the name of Pine Island was given,
on account of the number of pine trees upon it.
They were a species of Prussian pine, very appropriate for the spars
needed for the -Resolution-. Cook accordingly sent a sloop and some
men to choose and cut the trees he needed. Some of them were twenty
inches in diameter, and seventy feet high, so that a mast could have
been formed of one had it been needed. The discovery of this island
had a certain value, as, with the exception of New Zealand, it was the
only one in the entire Pacific Ocean which produced wood fit for masts
and poles.
In steering southwards towards New Zealand, Cook sighted a small
uninhabited island on the 10th of October, upon which the botanists
reaped a plentiful harvest of unknown vegetables. It was Norfolk
Island, so named in honour of the Howard family. It was afterwards
colonized by a part of the mutineers of the -Bounty-.
The -Resolution- anchored again in Queen Charlotte's Sound. The
gardens so anxiously planted by the English had been entirely
neglected by the New Zealanders, but in spite of this several plants
had grown marvellously.
The natives were very shy of appearing at first, and seemed to care
little for any intercourse with the strangers; but when they
recognized their old friends, they testified their delight most
extravagantly. When asked why they had been so reserved at first, they
evaded a reply, and there was no doubt that they were thinking of
murder and combats.
This aroused Cook's apprehensions for the fate of the -Adventure-, of
which he had heard nothing since his last stay in this port, but he
could obtain no reply to the questions he put. He was only to learn
what had occurred in his absence, when he reached the Cape of Good
Hope, and found letters from Captain Furneaux.
After once more landing some pigs, with which he wished to endow New
Zealand, the captain set sail for Cape Horn on the 10th of November.
After a vain cruise, he at last sighted the eastern shore of Tierra
del Fuego, near the entrance to the Straits of Magellan.
"The portion of America which now met our view," says Cook, "was
dreary enough. It seemed to be cut up into small islands, which though
by no means high, were very black, and almost entirely barren. In the
background, we saw high ground covered with snow, almost to the
water's edge. It is the wildest shore I have ever seen, and appears
entirely composed of mountains and rocks, without a vestige of
vegetation. The mountains overhang horrible precipices, the sharp
peaks of which arise to great height. Probably there is nothing in
nature which presents so wild an appearance. The interior mountains
are covered with snow, but those bordering the sea are not. We
imagined the former to belong to Tierra del Fuego, and the latter to
be ranged over the small islands in such a way as to present the
appearance of an uninterrupted coast."
The captain still thought it better to remain some time in this
desolate region, to procure fresh victuals for his crew. He found safe
anchorage in Christmas Sound, where as usual, he made a careful
hydrographical survey.
[Illustration: View of Christmas Sound.]
Several birds were shot, and Mr. Pickersgill brought three hundred
sea-gull's eggs and fourteen geese on board.
"I was thus enabled," says Cook, "to distribute them to the entire
crew, a fact which gave the greater satisfaction as it was near
Christmas. Without this timely supply, they must have contented
themselves with beef and salt pork."
Some of the natives, belonging to the nation called "Pecherais" by
Bougainville, came on board without any pressing. Cook's description
of these savages recalls that of the French explorer. They preferred
the oily portions of the flesh of the seals upon which they lived--a
taste which Cook attributed to the fact that the oil warmed their
blood, and enabled them to resist the intense cold.
"If," he adds, "the superiority of a civilized to a savage life could
ever be called in question, a single glance at one of these Indians
would be sufficient to settle the question. Until it is proved that a
man perpetually tortured by the rigour of a climate is happy, I shall
never give in to the eloquent declamations of those philosophers who
have never had the opportunity of observing human nature in all its
phases, or who have not felt what they have seen."
The -Resolution- at once set sail and doubled Cape Horn. The Strait of
Lemaire was then crossed, and Staten Island reconnoitred. Here a good
anchorage was found. Quantities of whales abound in these latitudes.
It was now their pairing season, and seals and sea-lions, penguins and
garnets appeared in shoals.
"Dr. Sparman and myself," says Forster, "narrowly escaped being
attacked by one of these sea-monsters, upon a rock where several of
them were assembled, appearing to wait the upshot of the struggle. The
doctor had fired at a bird, and stooped to pick it up, when the
sea-lion growled, and showing his tusks, seemed disposed to attack my
companion. From where I was posted I shot the animal stark dead, and
at the report of my gun the herd, seeing their companion fall, fled
along the coast. Several of them threw themselves into the sea with
such haste, that they jumped ten or fifteen roods, straight upon the
pointed rocks. But I do not think they hurt themselves much, for their
skin is very hard and their fat is so elastic that it is easily
compressed."
After leaving Staten Island, Cook set sail on the 3rd of January, for
the south-east, to explore the only part of the ocean which had
hitherto escaped him. He soon reached Southern Georgia, seen in 1675
by Laroche, and again by M. Guyot Duclos in 1756, when in command of
the Spanish vessel the -Leön-. This discovery was made on the 14th of
January, 1775. The captain landed in three places and took possession
in the name of King George III. of England, bestowing his name upon
the newly-found country. Possession Bay is bordered by pointed rocks
of ice exactly similar to those which had been met with in the high
southern latitudes.
"The interior of the country," says the narrative, "is no less savage
and frightful. The summits of the rocks are lost in the clouds and the
valleys are covered with perpetual snow. Not a tree or even the
smallest shrub is to be seen."
After leaving Georgia, Cook penetrated further to the south-east,
amidst floating ice. The continual dangers of the voyage overcame the
crew. Southern Thule, Saunder's Island, and Chandeleur Islands, and
finally Sandwich Land were discovered. These sterile and deserted
archipelagoes have no value for the merchant or geographer. Once
certain of their existence, it was unnecessary to remain, for to do so
was to risk in exploring them the valuable records the -Resolution-
was taking to England.
Cook was convinced by the discovery of these isolated islands "that
near the pole there is a stretch of land, where the greater part of
the floating ice spread over this vast southern ocean is formed." This
ingenious theory has been confirmed in every particular by the
explorers of the 19th century.
After another fruitless search for Cape Circumcision, mentioned by
Bouvet, Cook decided to regain the Cape of Good Hope, and he arrived
there on the 22nd of March, 1775.
The -Adventure- had put into this port, where Captain Furneaux had
left a letter relating all that had happened in New Zealand. Captain
Furneaux arrived in Queen Charlotte's Sound on the 13th of November,
1773, and took in wood and water. He then sent one of his boats under
Lieutenant Rowe to gather edible plants. As the lieutenant did not
return on board either in the evening or the next morning, Captain
Furneaux, feeling sure that an accident had happened, sent in search
of him. The following is a short account of what he learned.
After various useless searchings, the officer in command of the sloop
came upon some traces, as he landed upon the shore, near Grass Creek.
Portions of a boat and some shoes, one of which had belonged to an
officer of the watch, were found. A sailor, at the same time, noticed
a piece of fresh meat, which was taken to be the flesh of a dog, for
it was not known then that the people of the place were cannibals. "We
opened," says Furneaux, "about eight baskets which we found on the
beach, tightly corded. Some were full of roast flesh, and others of
roots used by the natives for bread. Continuing our search, we found
more shoes, and a hand, which we recognized as that of Thomas Hill,
because T. H. was tatooed upon it in the Tahitan fashion.
"At a short distance an officer perceived four pirogues and a number
of natives, assembled round a large fire. The English landed and fired
a regular volley, which put the Zealanders to flight, with the
exception of two, who left with the greatest -sang-froid-. One of them
was severely wounded, and the sailors advanced up the beach.
"A frightful scene was soon presented before our eyes. We saw the
heads, hearts, and lungs of many of the crew upon the sands, and at a
little distance dogs were devouring the entrails."
The officer had not a sufficient force with him, being backed by only
ten men, to meet this fearful massacre with fitting vengeance. The
weather, too, became bad, and the savages collected in large numbers.
It was necessary to regain the -Adventure-.
"I do not believe," says Captain Furneaux, "that this butchery was
premeditated on the part of the natives, for in the morning Mr. Rowe
said that he observed two vessels pass us, and remain all the forenoon
in sight of the ship. The bloodshed was most likely the result of a
quarrel which was instantly fought out, or possibly as our men took no
measures for their own safety, their want of caution tempted the
Indians."
The natives having heard one discharge, were encouraged by observing
that a gun was not an infallible instrument, that it sometimes missed
fire, and that once fired it was necessary to reload before firing
again.
In this fearful ambuscade the -Adventure- lost ten of her best sailors.
Furneaux left New Zealand on the 23rd of December, 1773, doubled Cape
Horn, put into the Cape of Good Hope, and reached England on the 14th
of July, 1774.
After Cook had taken in provisions and repaired his vessel, he left
False Bay on the 27th of May, put into St. Helena, Ascension Island,
and Fernando de Noronha, at Fayal, one of the Azores, and finally at
Plymouth, on the 29th of July, 1775. During his voyage of three years
and eighteen days, he had only lost four men, that is to say, without
reckoning the ten sailors who were massacred at New Zealand.
No former expedition had reaped such a harvest of discoveries and
hydrographical, physical, and ethnological observations. The learned
and ingenious investigations pursued by Cook elucidated many of the
difficulties of earlier navigators. He made various important
discoveries, amongst others, that of New Caledonia and Easter Island.
The non-existence of an antarctic continent was definitely ascertained.
The great navigator received the fitting reward of his labours almost
immediately. He was nominated ship's captain nine days after his
landing, and was elected a member of the Royal Society of London on
the 29th of February, 1776.
CHAPTER V.
CAPTAIN COOK'S THIRD VOYAGE.
I.
Search for the lands discovered by the French--Kerguelen Islands--Stay
at Van Diemen's Land--Queen Charlotte's Strait--Palmerston Island--
Grand rejoicings in the Tonga Islands.
At this date the idea which had sent so many explorers to Greenland
was in full force. The question of the existence of a northern passage
between the Atlantic and the Pacific, by way of the Asiatic or
American coasts, was eagerly discussed: and should such a passage
exist, was it practicable for ships? The attempt had quite lately been
made, to discover this outlet in Hudson or Baffin Bays, and it was now
determined to seek it in the Pacific.
The task was an arduous one. The Lords of the Admiralty felt that it
was essential to send out a navigator who had experience of the
dangers of the Polar Seas, and one who had shown presence of mind in
the face of danger; one moreover, whose talents, experience, and
scientific knowledge might be of use in the powerful equipment then in
course of preparation.
In Captain Cook alone were all the requisite qualities to be found.
The command was offered to him, and although he might have passed the
remainder of his days in peace at his post in the Greenwich
Observatory, in the full enjoyment of the honour and glory he had
gained by his two voyages round the world, he did not hesitate for a
moment.
Two ships, the -Resolution- and the -Discovery-, were placed under his
command. The latter was under the orders of Captain Clerke; and the
equipment of both was similar to that of the last expedition.
The instructions given to the commander of the expedition, enjoined
his reaching the Cape of Good Hope, and steering south in search of
the islands recently discovered by the French, in 48 degrees of
latitude, towards the meridian of the island of Mauritius. He was then
to touch at New Zealand, if he thought well, to take in refreshments
at the Society Islands, and to land the Tahitan Mai there; then to
proceed to New Albion, to avoid landing in any of the Spanish
possessions in America, and from thence to make his way by the Arctic
Ocean to Hudson and Baffin Bays. In other words he was to look in an
easterly direction for the north-west passage. This once effected,
after a stay at Kamschatka, he was to make another attempt to reach
England by the route he might judge most productive of good results
for geography and navigation.
The two vessels did not start together. The -Resolution- set sail from
Plymouth on the 12th of July, 1776, and was rejoined at the Cape by
the -Discovery- on the 10th of the following November, she having left
England only on the 1st of August.
The two ships were detained at the Cape until the 30th of November, by
the repairs needed by the -Discovery-. Much damaged by tempest, she
required calking. The captain profited by this long delay, to buy live
stock, which he intended to land at Tahiti and New Zealand, and also
to stock his vessels with the necessary stores for a two-years' voyage.
After steering southwards for twelve days, two islands were discovered
in 46 degrees 53 minutes south latitude, and 37 degrees 46 minutes
east longitude. The strait which separates them was crossed, and it
was found that their steep sterile coasts were uninhabited. They had
been discovered with four others, from nine to twelve degrees further
east, by the French Captains Marion-Dufresne and Crozet, in 1772.
On the 24th of December, Cook found the islands which M. de Kerguelen
had surveyed in his two voyages of 1772, 1773.
[Illustration: Kerguelen Islands.]
We will not here relate the observations made by Cook upon this group.
As they agree in every particular with those of M. de Kerguelen, we
can reserve them until we relate the adventures of that navigator, and
content ourselves with remarking that Cook surveyed the coasts
carefully, and left them on the 31st of December. The vessels were
enveloped in a thick fog, which accompanied them for more than 300
leagues.
Anchor was cast in Adventure Bay, in Van Diemen's Land, on the 26th of
January. It was the same spot at which Captain Furneaux had touched
four years earlier. The English were visited by a few natives, who
received the presents offered to them, without showing any
satisfaction.
The narrative says,--
"They were of ordinary height, but rather slightly built. Their skin
was black and their hair of the same colour, and as woolly as that of
the negroes of New Guinea, but they had not the thick lips or flat
noses of African negroes. There was nothing disagreeable in their
features, and their eyes struck us as beautiful, so did their teeth,
but they were very dirty. Most of them anointed their hair and beards
with a yellow ointment, and some even rubbed their faces with the same
stuff."
Concise as this account is, it is not the less valuable. The race of
Tasmanians is extinct, the last of them died a few years ago.
Cook weighed anchor on the 30th of January, and took up his station at
his usual point in Queen Charlotte's Strait. The vessels were soon
surrounded by pirogues, but not a single native ventured to go on
board, they were so fully persuaded that the English had come to
avenge their murdered comrades. Once convinced that the English had no
such intention, they banished their mistrust and reserve. The captain
soon found out by Mai's interpretation (he understanding the Zealand
tongue) the right cause of this terrible catastrophe.
It appeared that the English had been seated on the grass, taking
their evening meal when the natives committed several thefts. One of
them was caught and struck by a sailor. At his cry, his companions
rushed upon the sailors of the -Adventure-, who killed two of them,
but unfortunately succumbed to numbers. Several of the Zealanders
pointed out to Cook the chief who had directed the carnage, and urged
Cook to kill him. But to the great surprise of the natives and the
stupefaction of Mai, the captain refused.
Mai remarked, "In England they kill a man who assassinates another;
this fellow killed ten, and you take no revenge!"
Before he left, Cook landed pigs and goats, hoping that these animals
might at length become acclimatized to New Zealand.
Mai had a wish to take a New Zealander to Tahiti. Two offered to go,
and Cook agreed to receive them, warning them at the same time that
they would never see their native land again. But no sooner had the
vessels lost sight of the shores of New Zealand than they began to
weep. Sea-sickness added to their distress. But as they recovered from
it their sadness disappeared, and they soon attached themselves to
their new friends.
An island named Mangea was discovered on the 29th of March. At Mai's
representations the inhabitants decided to come on board. Small, but
vigorous and well-proportioned, they wore their hair knotted upon the
top of the head. They wore long beards, and were tatooed in all parts
of their bodies. Cook could not carry out his earnest wish to land, as
the people were too hostile.
A new island, similar to the last, was discovered four leagues further
on. The natives appeared more friendly than those of Mangea, and Cook
profited by this fact, and landed a detachment under Lieutenant Gore,
with Mai as interpreter. Anderson, the naturalist, an officer named
Barnes, and Mai landed alone and unarmed, running the risk of being
maltreated.
They were received with solemnity, and conducted through a crowd of
men, with clubs on their shoulders, to the presence of three chiefs,
whose ears were adorned with red feathers. They soon perceived a score
of women, who danced in a grave and serious fashion, paying no
attention to their arrival.
The officers were separated from each other, and observing that the
natives hastened to empty their pockets, they began to entertain fears
for their safety, when Mai reappeared. They were detained all day, and
forced several times to take their clothes off, and allow the natives
to examine the colour of their skin; but night arrived at last,
without the occurrence of any disagreeable incident. The visitors
regained their sloop, and cocoa-nuts, bananas, and other provisions
were brought to them.
The English may have owed their safety to the description Mai had
given of the power of their weapons, and the experiment he made before
them of setting fire to a cartridge.
Mai had recognized three of his fellow-countrymen in the crowd on the
beach.
These Tahitans had started in a pirogue to reach Ulitea Island, and
had been driven out of their course by contrary winds. As they
expected a short voyage, they had not provided themselves with food.
Famine and fatigue had reduced their number to four men, all of them
half dead, when the pirogue capsized. The unfortunate wretches managed
to seize the side of their boat and support themselves in the water
until they were picked up by the inhabitants of this island, Wateroo.
It was now twelve years since fate threw them upon this shore, more
than two hundred leagues from their native island. They had contracted
family ties and friendly alliances with these people, whose manners
and language were not unlike their own. They refused to return to
Tahiti.
Cook says, "We may find in this incident a better explanation of the
way in which detached portions of the globe, and particularly the
islands of the Pacific, have been peopled, than in any theories;
especially in regard to those which are far from any other continent,
and at a great distance from each other."
Wateroo Island is situated in 20 degrees 1 minute south latitude, and
201 degrees 45 minutes east longitude.
The two vessels afterwards reached a neighbouring island called Wenooa,
upon which M. Gore landed to get fodder. Although the ruins of houses
and tents were seen, it was uninhabited.
On the 5th of April, Cook arrived in sight of Harvey Island, which he
had discovered during his second voyage in 1773. At that time it
appeared to him deserted. He was, therefore, astonished to see several
pirogues leave the shore and approach the ships. But the natives could
not find courage to go on board.
Their fierce appearance and noisy offers did not promise well for
their friendly intentions.
Their language was still more like that of Tahiti, than that of the
last islands they had visited.
Lieutenant King was sent in search of good anchorage, but could not
succeed in finding a suitable harbour. The natives, armed with spears
and clubs, appeared disposed to resent any attempt at landing.
Cook, in his great need of wood and water, determined to reach the
Friendly Islands. He was sure of finding refreshments for his men and
forage for his beasts there. The season was too far advanced, and the
distance between these latitudes and the pole too great to allow of
anything being attempted in the southern hemisphere.
The wind obliged him to relinquish his idea of reaching Middlebourgh
or Eoa, as he had at first intended. He therefore, directed his course
towards Palmerston Island, where he arrived on the 14th of April, and
where he found birds in abundance, scurvy grass, and cocoa-nuts. This
island was merely a collection of nine or ten islets, very slightly
raised, appearing almost like the points of reefs, belonging to one
coral bank.
The English reached Komango Island on the 28th of April, and the
natives brought them quantities of cocoa-nuts, bananas, and other
stores.
They then proceeded to Annamooka, which is also part of the Tonga, or
Friendly archipelago.
On the 6th of May, a chief of Tonga Tabou, named Finaou, visited Cook.
He called himself king of all the Friendly Islands.
"I received," says Cook, "a present from this great personage of two
fish, which were brought to me by one of his servants. I paid him a
visit after dinner. He came to meet me as soon as he saw me land. He
appeared some thirty years of age, tall and of slender form, and I
have met no countenance in these islands so European in 'type.'"
When all the provisions of this island were exhausted, Cook visited a
group of islets called Hapaee, where his reception was friendly, owing
to the orders given by Finaou, and where he procured pigs, water,
fruits, and roots. Some of the native warriors exhibited their skill
in various singular combats, with clubs and boxing.
"What most surprised us," says the narrative, "was to see two great
women enter the lists, and attack each other with their fists, without
the least ceremony, and with as much skill as the men. Their fight
lasted about half a minute, when one of them declared herself beaten.
The victorious heroine received as much applause from the assembled
multitude as is usually accorded to a man who has overcome his rival
by his skill and address."
There was no cessation of the fêtes and games. A dance was executed to
the sound of two drums, or rather of two hollow trunks, by a hundred
and five performers, supported by a vocal choir. Cook reciprocated
these demonstrations by putting his soldiers through their artillery
exercises, and letting off fireworks, which produced indescribable
astonishment in the minds of the natives.
Not wishing to be out-done in the attempt at display, the natives gave
a concert, and then a dance, executed by twenty women crowned with
China roses. This magnificent ballet was followed by another
performance by fifteen men. But we shall never end, if we attempt to
give an account of the wonders of this enthusiastic reception. It
justly gained for the Tonga archipelago the name of Friendly Islands.
On the 23rd, Finaou, who had represented himself as king of the entire
archipelago, came to inform Cook of his departure for the neighbouring
island of Vavaoo. He had excellent reasons for this, as he had just
heard of the arrival of the real sovereign, named Futtafaih or Poulaho.
Cook at first refused to recognize the new-comer in this character,
but he soon had irrefutable proof that the title of king belonged to
him.
Poulaho was extremely stout, which with his short height made him look
like a barrel. If rank is proportioned to size in these islands, he
was without exception the -greatest- chief the English had met with.
Intelligent, grave, and dignified, he examined the vessel and
everything that was new to him in detail, put judicious questions, and
inquired into the motives of the arrival of these vessels. His
followers objected to his descending below decks, saying it was
"-tabu-" and that it was not allowed for any one to walk over his head.
Cook, however, promised through the interpreter Mai that no one should
be allowed to walk over his cabin, and so Poulaho dined with the
captain. He ate little and drank still less, and invited Cook to land
with him. The marks of respect lavished upon Poulaho by all the
natives, convinced Cook that he had been entertaining the real
sovereign of the archipelago.
On the 29th of May, Cook set sail on his return to Annamooka, thence
to Tonga Tabou, where a feast or "-keiva-," more magnificent than any
he had seen, was given in his honour.
"In the evening," he said, "we had the spectacle of a '-bomai-,' that
is to say, the dances of the night were performed in front of Finaou's
house. We saw twelve dances during the time. They were executed by
women, and in the midst of them we noticed the arrival of a number of
men, who formed a ring within that of the dancing women. Twenty-four
men, who executed a third, made a movement with the hands, which was
greatly applauded, and which we had not previously seen. The orchestra
was renewed once. Finaou appeared upon the scene at the head of fifty
dancers, most magnificently apparelled. His garment consisted of cloth
and a large piece of gauze, and round his neck small figures were
suspended."
[Illustration: Fête in Cook's honour at Tonga.]
Cook, after a stay of three months, thought it well to leave these
enchanting islands, he distributed a share of the cattle he had bought
at the Cape, and explained, through Mai, the way to feed them, and
their utility. Before leaving, he visited a cemetery or "Fiatooka,"
belonging to the king, composed of three good-sized houses, placed on
the edge of a sort of hill. The planks of these buildings, and the
artificial hills which supported them, were covered with pretty
movable pebbles, and flat stones, placed erect, surrounded the whole.
"One thing which we had not previously seen, was that the buildings
were open on one side, and within there were two wooden busts, roughly
carved, one at the entrance, and the other a little within. The
natives followed us to the door, but dared not pass the threshold. We
asked them the meaning of the busts: they assured us that they did not
represent any divinity, but were intended to recall two chiefs who
were buried in the 'Fiatooka.'"
Leaving Tonga Tabou on the 10th of July, Cook repaired to the small of
Eoa, where his old friend Tai-One received him cordially. The captain
learned from him that the property of the various islands in the
archipelago belonged to the chiefs of Tonga Tabou, which was known as
the land of the chiefs. Thus Poulaho had a hundred and fifty islands
under his rule. The most important are Vavao and Hamao. As for the
Viti Islands, which are comprised in this number, they were inhabited
by a warlike race, very superior in intelligence to those of the
Friendly Islands.
We can only refer to some of the many and interesting particulars
collected by the captain and the naturalist Anderson, which relate to
the gentleness and docility of the natives.
Cook could do nothing but praise the welcome accorded to him, each
time he stayed in the archipelago. But then he did not guess the
project entertained by Finaou, and the other chiefs, of assassinating
him during the nocturnal feast of Hapaee, and of seizing his vessels.
The navigators who succeeded him were not lavish in their praises, and
if we did not know his sincerity, we should be tempted to think that
the illustrious mariner gave the name of Friendly Islands to this
group satirically.
The inhabitants of Tonga Island always mourned the death of a relation,
by hitting themselves on their cheeks, and by tearing them with
whale's teeth, a custom which explains the many tumours and cicatrices
they have on the face. If their friends are dangerously ill, they
sacrifice one or two joints of their little finger, to propitiate the
divinity, and Cook did not meet with one native in ten who was not
mutilated.
The expression "tabu," he says, "which plays so great a part in the
language of this people, has a very wide significance. When they are
not allowed to touch anything they say it is tabu. They also told us
that if the king enters a house belonging to one of his subjects, the
house becomes 'tabu,' and the owner of it may not live in it any
longer."
Cook fancied he had made out their religion. Their principal god was
Kallafoutonga, and in his anger, he destroys plantations and scatters
illness and death. The religious ideas of all the islands are not
alike, but the immortality of the soul is unanimously admitted.
Although they do not offer fruit or other productions of the earth to
their divinity, they sacrifice human victims.
Cook lost sight of the Tonga Islands on the 17th of July, and the
expedition arrived in sight of an island called Tabouai by the
inhabitants, upon the 8th of August, after a series of tempestuous
winds which caused serious damage to the -Discovery-. All the
eloquence of the English failed to bring the natives on board. Nothing
would induce them to leave their boats, and they contented themselves
with inviting the strangers to visit them. But as time pressed, and
Cook had no need of provisions, he passed the island without stopping,
although it appeared to him fertile, and the natives assured him that
it abounded in pigs and fowls. Strong, tall, and active, the natives
had a hardy and savage appearance. They spoke the Tahitan language,
which made intercourse with them easy.
Some days later, the verdant summits of Tahiti appeared on the horizon,
and the two vessels were not slow in stopping opposite the peninsula
of Tairabon, where the welcome Mai received from his compatriots was
as indifferent as possible. His brother-in-law, chief Outi, would
scarcely consent to recognize him, but when Mai showed him the
treasures he brought back, amongst them all the famous red feathers,
which had been so successful in Cook's last voyage, Oati changed his
demeanour, treated Mai affably, and proposed to change names with him.
Mai was overcome by these demonstrations of tenderness, and, but for
Cook's interference, would have been robbed of all his treasures.
The ships were well supplied with red feathers. Therefore fruits, pigs,
and fowls appeared in great abundance during the stay in port. Cook,
however, soon proceeded to Matavai Bay, where King Otoo left his
residence at Pané, to pay his old friend a visit. Mai was disdainfully
received by his friends there also, and although he threw himself at
the king's feet, when he presented him with a tuft of red feathers,
and three pieces of gold cloth, he was scarcely noticed. But as at
Taqabou, the treatment changed suddenly upon the discovery of Mai's
fortune, but he being only happy in the company of vagabonds, who
laughed at him good-naturedly, even while they robbed him, was unable
to acquire the influence over Otoo, and the principle chiefs, which
was necessary to the development of civilization.
Cook had long heard that human sacrifices were common in Tahiti, but
he had always refused to believe it. A solemn ceremonial which he saw
at Atahour, no longer allowed him to doubt the existence of the
practice. In order to gain the favourable assistance of the Atoua or
Godon in an expedition against the island of Eimèo, a man of the
lowest social rank was killed by blows with clubs in the king's
presence. As an offering the hair and one eye of the victim was placed
before the king; last signs of the cannibalism which formerly existed
in this archipelago. At the end of this barbarous ceremony, which was
a blot in the memoirs of so peaceable a people, a king-fisher alighted
in the foliage. "It is Atoua!" cried Otoo, delighted at the happy
augury.
[Illustration: Human sacrifice at Tahiti. (Fac-simile of early
engraving.)]
Next day the ceremony was to be continued by a holocaust of pigs. The
priests, like the Roman augurs, sought to read the history of the
expedition in the dying struggles of the victims.
Cook, who had silently assisted at the ceremony, could not conceal the
horror with which it inspired him. Mai interpreted for him, eloquently
and forcibly. Towha could scarcely contain his anger.
"If the king had killed a man in England," said Mai, "as he has done
the unhappy and innocent victim he has offered to his gods, it would
have been impossible to save him from hanging, a punishment reserved
for murderers and assassins." Mai's severe reflection was a little out
of place, Cook should have remembered that manners vary with countries.
It is absurd to attempt to apply to Tahiti, as punishment for that
which is their custom, a punishment reserved in London for what is
considered a crime. "Every man's house is his castle," says a popular
proverb, which European nations have too often forgotten. Under the
pretext of civilization, they have often shed more blood than would
have flowed if they had not interfered.
Before he left Tahiti, Cook bestowed all the animals he had had so
much difficulty in bringing from Europe upon Otoo. They were geese,
ducks, turkeys, goats, sheep, horses, and cattle. Otoo was at a loss
to express his gratitude to the "Areeke no Pretonne," (King of
Britain) especially when he found that the English could not take a
large pirogue on board which he had constructed as an offering for his
friend the King of England, it being too large.
The -Resolution- and the -Discovery- left Tahiti on the 30th of
September, and anchored at Eimeo.
In this place their stay was marked by a painful incident. Frequent
thefts had occurred for several days, when a goat was stolen. To make
an example, Cook burnt five or six cabins, and set fire to a large
number of pirogues, threatening the king with his anger if the animal
were not immediately produced. As soon as he had obtained satisfaction
the captain started for Huaheine with Mai who was to settle on that
island.
A sufficiently large space of land was ceded by the chiefs of the
Ouare settlement in return for such presents. Upon this Cook had a
house built, and planted a garden, where he planted European cabbages.
Mai was left with two houses, two goats, and fowls. At the same time
he was presented with a present of a coat of mail, of a complete set
of armour, powder, balls, and guns. A portable organ, an electrical
machine, fireworks, and domestic and agricultural implements completed
the collection of useful and ornamental presents intended to give the
Tahitans an idea of European civilization. Mai had a sister married at
Huaheine, but her husband occupied too humble a position for him to
attempt to despoil him. Cook then solemnly declared that the native
was his friend, and that in a short time he should return to ascertain
how he had been treated, and that he should severely punish those who
had acted badly to him.
His threats were likely to be effective, as a few days earlier, some
robbers, caught in the act by the English, had had their heads shaved
and their ears cut. A little later at Raiatea, in order to force the
natives to send back some deserters, Cook had carried off the entire
family of the chief Oreo on one rope.
The moderation exhibited by the captain in his first voyage,
constantly diminished; every day he became more severe and exacting.
This change in his conduct was fatal to him.
The two Zealanders who had asked to accompany Mai were landed with him.
The elder readily consented to live at Huaheine, but the younger
conceived such an affection for the English, that it was necessary to
use force, as it were, to land him, amid the most touching
demonstrations of affection. At the last moment as anchor was weighed
Cook bid farewell to Mai, whose expression and tears testified to his
comprehension of all he was to lose.
Although Cook left satisfied with having loaded the young Tahitan who
had trusted himself to him with benefits, he was also full of anxious
fears as to his future. He knew his light and inconstant character,
and he left him weapons with some regret, fearing that he might make a
bad use of them. The King of Huaheine gave Mai his daughter in
marriage and changed his name to Paori, by which he was afterwards
known. Mai profited by his high station to show his cruelty and
inhumanity. Always armed, he began to try his skill with pistol and
gun upon his fellow-countrymen. His memory therefore is hated in
Huaheine, and the memory of his crimes was for a long time associated
with that of the English.
Cook visited Raiatea before leaving the island. He found his friend
Oreé deprived of supreme authority. Then he went to Bolabole on the
8th of December, and bought of the King Pouni an anchor, which
Bougainville had lost in the roadstead.
During his long sojourns in the different islands of the Society
archipelago, Cook completed his geographical, hydrographical, and
ethnological investigations, as well as his studies of natural history.
In this difficult task he was seconded by Anderson, and by his entire
staff, who invariably showed the greatest zeal in their efforts for
the advancement of science.
[Illustration: Tree, from beneath which Cook observed the transit of
Venus. (Fac-simile of early engraving.)]
On the 24th of December Cook discovered another low island. It was
uninhabited and the crew obtained abundance of turtle there. It was
named Christmas Island, in honour of the solemn anniversary of the
morrow.
Although seventeen months had passed since he left England, Cook
considered his voyage as only begun. Indeed he had not as yet been
able to put the part of his instructions relating to the exploration
of the Southern Atlantic and the search for a north passage, into
execution.
[Illustration: Captain Cook's chart of Otaheite.]
II.
Discovery of the Sandwich Islands--Exploration of the Western shore of
America--From thence to Behring Straits--Return to the Hawain Group--
History of Rono--Death of Cook--Return of the Expedition to England.
On the 18th of January, 1778, in longitude 160 degrees and latitude 20
degrees north, the two vessels perceived the first islands of the
Sandwich or Hawain archipelago.
It did not take long to convince the navigators that they were
inhabited. A large number of pirogues left Atooi or Tavaï Island and
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