Cook

by Rob Mundle

  There was consternation among his senior officers, and although none dared question his behaviour, it was apparent in a note written by Midshipman George Gilbert:

  This [thieving], which is very prevalent here, Captain Cook punished in a manner rather unbecoming of a European, viz by cutting off their ears, firing at them with small shot, or ball, as they were swimming or paddling to the shore; and suffering the people as he rowed after them to beat them with the oars, and stick the boat hook into them …

  Inevitably, questions were raised regarding the captain’s sanity. Was the heat of the tropics getting to him? Had he contracted some form of disease?

  There was certainly evidence of mental instability. One moment he was dealing out the most severe form of punishment; the next, he was entertaining the natives with a concert by the ship’s marine band – an act that confounded the local population. Even Bligh was confused. He described the captain’s inconsistent behaviour as ‘a most ludicrous performance’. Further cause for concern resulted from Cook’s failure to undertake any exploration during this time, even though the natives had told him that a cluster of islands unknown to Europeans, and which they referred to as ‘Fidgee’, was a three-day sail to the north-west of the Tongan group. Cook had narrowly missed them on his last voyage in July 1774. Gilbert observed: ‘it is somewhat surprising that Captain Cook did not go in search of it according to His usual practice. His reasons for not doing it I can’t account for; as we certainly had time while we were lying at Tongatapu.’ Ironically, Bligh would discover many of these islands a decade later, following the infamous mutiny he experienced. Initially they were named Bligh’s Islands, and later Fiji.

  Resolution and Discovery cruised through the Tongan group of islands for around ten weeks. Tellingly, perhaps, the captain’s notes in his journal contradicted his actions when it came to punishing the pilfering islanders: ‘Thus we took leave of these Friendly Islands and their Inhabitants after a stay of between two and three Months, during which time we lived together in the most cordial friendship, some accidental differences it is true now and then happened owing to their great propensity to thieving, but too often encouraged by the negligence of our own people …’

  In more recent times, Sir James Watt, medical director-general of the Royal Navy during the 1970s, stated that the symptoms shown by Cook – including fatigue, failing health, loss of interest, and depression – indicated that he was suffering from a parasitic infection of the lower intestine.

  It was a 23-day passage to Otaheite from the time the two ships departed Tongatapu. The course was in the form of a loop so that the maximum benefit possible could be harnessed from the southeast trade wind – near perfect sailing conditions, where a full spread of sail was carried more often than not.

  They anchored in Matavai Bay on 12 August, and while there was considerable celebration relating to Cook’s return, this was also the homecoming of Omai after his sojourn to the land of the Englishmen. Yet, to everyone’s amazement, the islanders gave him a most subdued reception. Not even his brother was excited … until Omai produced some highly treasured red feathers as gifts.

  Cook again thrived on the adulation he received, this time from a throng of islanders in canoes and others gathered on the black sand beach to welcome him. It was a very different situation for the crew: the irrational outbursts from their captain continued, becoming more frequent. A powerful example came when two of the ship’s goats, which had been tethered on the beach, were stolen. Cook’s immediate reaction was to order his men to torch canoes and native huts in the village. The crew feared that any response on their part to his actions might only exacerbate the situation, and cause him to become even more explosive.

  To the surprise of many, the stay in Tahiti also led to an onshore pistol duel between Resolution’s third lieutenant, John Williamson, and the lieutenant of the marines, Molesworth Phillips. A seaman named Griffin told of the affair: ‘when, after one or two rounds, neither being wounded, the Seconds interfered & ended the affair. Many persons would have rejoiced if Mr Williamson our third Lieutenant had fell, as he was a very bad man & a great Tyrant.’

  During the six-week hiatus in Matavai Bay, Cook renewed many old acquaintances and gathered what provisions were available. Simultaneously, he presented the king with the cattle, horses and poultry (including peacocks and turkeys) that he had brought with him from England and Cape Town.

  By 22 September, the maintenance schedule for Resolution – including re-caulking, replacing rigging, and bending on new sails – was complete, and a week later crewmen and equipment were aboard and ready to sail. At this stage, the men of the lower deck were still uncertain as to where they would be heading next. When Cook finally addressed them on the subject, Anderson, the surgeon, recorded the moment: ‘The Captain intimated his intention to the ship’s company of searching for a passage from the south into the Atlantic Sea by navigating to the northward of America, and if that should fail to attempt the same by sailing round the northern parts of Asia and Europe.’

  This declaration had a direct impact on all of the men. During the stay in Otaheite, it became evident that, having lost a season due to the late departure from England, and then having to contend with light winds in the South Pacific, it was highly likely that both ships would run out of grog during the next stage of the expedition. However, as Cook noted in his journal, there was a solution of sorts: both he and Clerke had their crews agree that they would only consume grog ‘on Saturday nights when they had full allowance to drink to their female friends in England, lest amongst the pretty girls of Otaheite they should be wholly forgotten’.

  The two captains also came together to view an event that took place some miles into the interior of the island, one they must surely have regretted attending. After being led to the site by their hosts, Cook and Clerke witnessed a human sacrifice – an offering to the gods as the natives prepared to attack a neighbouring island. The entire ceremony spanned two days.

  Up to this point, Cook’s three expeditions had seen him concentrate his exploration south of the Equator, but on departing from Matavai Bay on 29 September, to the booming sound of seven rounds of cannon-fire, Resolution and Discovery started out on the 5000-nautical-mile venture into the North Pacific.

  Almost sixty days passed until, soon after sun-up on Christmas Eve 1777 – by which time they were a mere 140 nautical miles into the northern hemisphere – their next discovery appeared above the horizon. It was a low-profile, 300-square-mile uninhabited coral island, with a large, shallow lagoon on its northeast coast and countless sand cays adorning its coastline. This find was so impressive that Cook called for a stop to allow for a period of exploration. The two ships were there for a week, and at the end of the stay, the captain’s not-infrequent lack of inspiration regarding place names resurfaced: he named it Christmas Island. It would later become known as Kiritimati Island – the largest coral atoll in the world and now part of the Republic of Kiribati.

  A more significant discovery occurred two weeks later, on the morning of Sunday, 18 January 1778, when a shout from the man standing on Resolution’s lookout platform, 60 feet above the deck, announced the outline of another island. Soon afterwards, there was a second sighting. They had discovered Hawaii.

  A day later they were in close proximity to the islands, which, much to Cook’s delight, were obviously inhabited: natives came off the shore in their canoes to investigate these two strange-looking vessels. Cook wrote of the historic moment when Europeans came face to face with these people for the first time: ‘we were agreeably surprised to find them of the same Nation as the people of Otaheite and other islands we had lately visited.’

  Within twenty-four hours, Cook had Resolution close on the coast so that she could anchor off the shore of what is now Kauai, one of the western islands in the group. Once there, a number of the thoroughly mystified islanders clambered up the steps on the side of the ship and onto her deck. The captain’s journal recorded: ‘I
never saw Indians so much astonished at entering a ship before, their eyes were continually flying from object to object, the wildness of their looks and actions fully expressed their surprise and astonishment at the several new objects before them …’

  Pilfering was rampant from the outset. The first man aboard showed he was as light-fingered as his tribal cousins on other islands that Resolution had visited: he saw the lead-line, took a liking to it, and claimed it as his own. He only returned it after other islanders berated him for his actions.

  As a mark of honour for his close friend and supporter Lord Sandwich, the captain soon declared that this island chain was to be known as ‘the Sandwich Islands’. However, when creating their charts of the region, Cook, Bligh and others used the English phonetic spelling of a word that the natives applied to their homeland: ‘O’why’he’. They became known as the Hawaiian Islands in the 1840s.

  For the next five weeks, Resolution and Discovery cruised along the coastlines of some of the eight islands in the chain, situated 1200 nautical miles north of the Equator, and stretching in a gentle arc from the north-west to the south-east for 300 nautical miles. Everything was charted and logged in fine detail, and whenever possible, Cook would go ashore to explore the land and learn more about the people. He was intrigued to find that some of the islanders had objects made from iron; his only conclusion was that they must have originated from a shipwreck – probably a Spanish vessel from long before. It was a sombre reminder of just how vulnerable expeditions such as this really were. The line between success and tragedy was wafer-thin.

  With the season for exploration in the north looming, it was time to sail on towards the ultimate goal of this voyage of discovery. Cook was once again about to lead his crew to the end of the Earth. In doing so, he and all those who were part of the circumnavigation of 1772–75 would become the first men to sail beyond both the Antarctic and Arctic circles.

  When the bosun bellowed ‘Anchor’s aweigh!’ for the benefit of the officers on the quarterdeck, and with the master ordering the desired trim of the sails, Resolution and her consort were set on a course for the wide expanse of the North Pacific, and the far north coast of North America beyond. The two ships were pressed hard, so that maximum speed was maintained on what was an uneventful passage.

  The weather was murky and foul when land was sighted on 7 March 1778, at a point south-west of where Portland, Oregon, is sited today. The captain then adopted the usual procedure of sailing a course that matched the coastline while continuing to head north, again charting as much of what they were observing, and naming as many of its features, as time and weather would allow. They sailed along the western coast of Vancouver Island (not realising it was an island), then continued on to Nootka Sound, where they came into contact with welcoming natives.

  While the ship was in the sound, time was lost after the men discovered rot in Resolution’s fore and mizzen masts. It was a problem that could bring disaster to the expedition unless the masts were replaced, especially with the tough sailing conditions that undoubtedly lay ahead. Both ships came to anchor while Cook and his carpenters went into the dense pine forest onshore and selected two towering conifers that would serve as suitable replacements. The work involved in shaping and preparing the new masts took more than a week. Once the foremast was ready, it was floated out to the ship and re-stepped using large scissor-like sheers, but when the mizzenmast was half complete, it was realised that the chosen tree was flawed. The carpenters then had to find another tree and start all over again.

  Having experienced the tropics for so long, the men were ‘shivering with cold’ as they tried to acclimatise themselves to this part of the world. The cold-weather clothing that Cook had ordered from the Navy Board was now being appreciated by every man.

  Whenever the captain observed an inlet or sound that offered the potential for a passage to the east, he had it explored. One such probe took the ships 100 nautical miles up an inlet only for the beleaguered crew to discover that it ended as a river mouth. Another fruitless exploration gave Midshipman James Trevenen the opportunity to see his commander in a new light:

  … with several other of our Midshipmen [we] attended Captain Cook in this expedition, in which we rowed him not less than 30 miles during the day. We were fond of such excursions, although the labour of them was very great, as, not only this kind of duty, was more agreeable than the humdrum routine on board the Ships, but as it gave us an opportunity of viewing the different people & countries, and as another very principal consideration we were sure of having plenty to eat & drink, which was not always the case on board the Ship on our usual allowance. Capt Cook also on these occasions, would sometimes relax from his almost constant severity of disposition, and condescend now and then, to converse familiarly with us. But it was only for the time, as soon as we entered the ships, he became again the despot.

  While in this region, Cook recorded that an unidentified crewman had a miraculous escape from death:

  … we secured the Ship with the small Anchor; in carrying this out in the Launch one of the Sailors was so unfortunate as to get his Leg entangled in the Buoy rope which carried him down with the Anchor, however he disengaged himself when he got to the bottom & came up again & saved his Life though he had his Leg broke in a very dangerous Manner.

  The exploration continued north towards the Alaskan Peninsula, while Cook persisted in his attempts to find a passage through the continent. When these efforts proved unsuccessful, he decided to sail onwards and into the Bering Sea – the stretch of water defined by the Alaskan Peninsula in the south, and named after Danish navigator Vitus Bering’s exploration of 1728. Off Unalaska Island, which forms part of the peninsula, Resolution came remarkably close to being wrecked on a reef. It was a very foggy day and, yet again, the alertness of the lookout above deck led to the rapid deployment of the anchor and ultimately the ship being saved. Resolution’s speed at the time and the shallowness of the reef could easily have resulted in her hull being ripped open.

  On 3 August, the captain was deeply saddened to record the death of William Anderson, from consumption, which the popular surgeon had contracted some twelve months earlier. Cook described him as ‘a Sensible Young Man, an agreeable companion, well skilled in his profession’. He named a nearby island in Anderson’s honour that same day.

  Meanwhile, the captain’s problems with his ship were compounding. As well as the masts and spars suffering through wear and tear, the hull was now leaking to a disturbing degree. The gravity of this situation forced him to enter an inlet in thick fog, in a bid to find an anchorage where repairs could be made. Eventually, once they’d found a suitable location, the vessel was heavily heeled using lines attached to objects on the shore, and the men on caulking detail got down to work. All were alarmed to see the width of the gap that had opened up between some of the planks. Instead of employing finger-thin strands of caulking fibre, the men hammered a ‘two and a half inch rope along the seams’ to repair the leak. For the crew aboard Discovery, there was a different problem when it came to the ingress of water: rats had eaten a hole through her quarterdeck.

  For much of August and September, the search took Resolution and Discovery across the Bering Sea, through the Bering Strait and into the Arctic Ocean. Cook noted: ‘On the 18th [of August] at noon our latitude was 70° 44' …’ This was the highest latitude the ships reached. They were now well inside the Arctic Circle.

  This region posed their most serious challenges, in the form of snow, ice and howling Arctic storms, but such conditions had to be confronted if the mission was to succeed. It continued to be a frustrating exercise, with the two ships at one stage heading west towards the coast of Russia. At this point, according to John Rickman, Clerke’s second lieutenant:

  The frost set in and froze so hard, that the running rigging was soon loaded with ice, and rendered almost impossible to make the sheaves or blocks traverse without the assistance of six men to do the work of one. The ice was seen
hanging at our hair, our noses and even the men’s fingers’ ends, if they did but expose them to the air for five or six minutes.

  The magnitude of the challenge faced by the 180-odd men of this expedition was brought into sharp relief in late August. There, ahead of them and stretching as far as the eye could see, from horizon to horizon, was an impenetrable wall of ice some 12 feet high. Cook had no option but to turn back and try to find an alternative route. In early October, however, he realised that it was too late in the season to continue, with the threat of the ships becoming trapped by ice increasing each day. He therefore informed his ship’s company of this fact – nothing more could be done this year.

  Resolution and Discovery then retreated temporarily to Unalaska Island, among the Aleutian group, to the west of the Alaskan Peninsula. After putting to sea again on 26 October, he wrote of his plans for the northern hemisphere winter: ‘My intention was now to proceed to Sandwich Islands to spend a few months of the Winter Months provided we met with the necessary refreshments there, and then proceed to Kamchatka [Peninsula, in Russia], endeavouring to be there by the Middle of May next.’

  Should he reach Kamchatka Peninsula in the spring as planned, the captain intended to sail to regions not explored during this first attempt to find the passage. Cook’s determination to return to the Arctic Circle in 1779 impressed many of the crew, as was apparent in a note written by one of Resolution’s midshipmen, James Trevenen: ‘This indefatigability was a leading feature of his Character. If he failed in, or could no longer pursue, his first great object, he immediately began to consider how he might be most useful in prosecuting some inferior one. Procrastination & irresolution he was a stranger to. Action was life to him & repose a sort of death.’