The Life of Captain James Cook, the CircumnavigatorKitson, Arthur
History
The Life of Captain James Cook, the Circumnavigator
Kitson, Arthur
Cook, James, 1728-1779; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Geographers -- Great Britain -- Biography
On 25th December the names of the two ships were changed, the Drake
becoming the Resolution, and the Raleigh the Adventure. The lieutenants
appointed to the Resolution were Robert Pallisser Cooper, Charles Clerke,
and Richard Pickersgill, and Mr. Tobias Furneaux, Commander, and Joseph
Shank first lieutenant, of the Adventure. Of these officers Cook writes:
"I had all the reason in the World to be perfectly satisfied with the
choice of the officers. The Second and Third Lieutenants, the Lieutenant
of Marines, two of the Warrant officers, and several of the Petty
officers had been with me during the former voyage. The others were men
of known abilities, and all of them on every occasion showed their zeal
for the service in which they were employed during the whole voyage."
ALTERATIONS TO THE RESOLUTION.
Two days after receiving his orders, Cook hoisted his pendant and
superintended the alterations that were to be made for the accommodation
of Mr. Banks and his party of scientists. These comprised Dr. Solander,
Zoffani, the portrait painter, Dr. Lynd of Edinburgh, to secure whose
services Parliament had made a special grant of 4000 pounds (though "what
discoveries they expected him to make I could not understand," says
Cook), and nine others, draughtsmen and servants; at least three more
than had been thought necessary when the vessel was purchased. These
alterations were:
"to raise her upper works about a foot, to lay a spar deck upon her from
the quarter-deck to the forecastle (she having at this time a low waist),
and to build a round house or coach for my accommodation, so that the
great cabin might be appropriated to the use of Mr. Banks alone."
The Comptroller of the Navy, Captain Pallisser, was strongly opposed to
these alterations as likely to be detrimental to the ship's sailing
qualities, and though his opinions were overborne, they in the end proved
to be correct.
When he had seen the alterations fairly on the way, Cook applied for
three weeks' leave of absence, on the plea that he had "some business to
transact in Yorkshire, as well as to see an aged father," and his
application was at once granted. He therefore went to Ayton, where for
the first time for seventeen years he was again amongst his own people.
From Ayton he went on to Whitby, and was met some miles out from that
town by many of the leading men of the place. From the Walkers he
received the heartiest of welcomes, and it is related that the old
housekeeper, Mary Prowd, had been carefully instructed that a Commander
in His Majesty's Navy was a very different person from one of her
master's apprentices, and must be received with all the marks of respect
due to his rank. She promised obedience, but, alas, when the time came
her memory fled, and opening wide her arms, she exclaimed: "O honey
James! How glad I is to see thee!" A welcome, probably, more dear to Cook
than any other could have been, and a proof of the affectionate regard he
could inspire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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