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
The following day they got safely into Dusky Bay, finding forty-four
fathoms at the entrance and a sandy bottom. In about a couple of leagues
they found a good anchorage in fifty fathoms, a hawser's length or so
from the shore. This was found to be rather inconvenient, but another one
was soon found by Lieutenant Pickersgill, and received in consequence the
name Pickersgill Harbour. Here the observatory, forge, and tents were set
up. Spruce beer was brewed, to which molasses and some of their
inspissated malt juice was added, fish caught, and, in fact, everything
possible for the comfort of the crew for a short time, was done. They had
been a hundred and seventeen days at sea, had sailed 3,600 leagues
without a sight of land, and had arrived with only one man sick with the
scurvy, "occasioned, chiefly, by a bad habit of body and a complication
of other disorders."
One day, passing an island whilst out surveying, Cook was called by a
Maori and landed to meet him. The native was accompanied by two women,
and after an attempt at conversation, presented Cook with a piece of
native cloth, asking, as far as could be understood, for a boat-cloak in
return. One was made for him out of red baize, and gave so much
satisfaction that he presented Cook with his pattou, a sort of short flat
club made of stone. He visited the ship, and took great interest in all
that was going on, particularly with the saw pit. After watching the men
some time, he intimated his desire to try his hand in the pit, but found
the work not quite so easy as it looked, and soon required very little
persuasion to relinquish his task.
Cook speaks very favourably of Dusky Bay, a good anchorage, plenty of
good water, game, fish, and easy to enter. The timber he describes as the
best he had seen in New Zealand, with the exception of that at the
Thames. There was but little edible herbage, but he tried to remedy this
by planting a quantity of European seeds, and he also left, in a place
where he hoped they might be undisturbed, a pair of geese. Whilst here
Cook was for a time confined to his cabin by what he describes as a
slight cold, but Mr. Forster says was a severe attack of rheumatism.
After several unsuccessful attempts, owing to contrary winds, they left
Dusky Bay on 11th May, and on the 17th, when near Cape Stephens, fell in
with six water-spouts, one of which came within fifty yards of the ship,
and Cook regretted he had not fired a gun at it, as he had heard that
course recommended. He says he had one ready, but was so busy noting the
phenomena that he did not think of it in time. On the other hand, Forster
says that one "was ordered to be got ready, but our people being, as
usual, very desultory about it, the danger was passed before we could try
the experiment."
FURNEAUX REPORTS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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