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 26th April a start was made, and before leaving, an Indian, who had
specially attached himself to Cook, gave him a valuable beaver skin, and
was so pleased with the return present he received that he insisted on
Cook taking from him a beaver cloak upon which he had always set great
store. In return "he was made as happy as a prince by a gift of a new
broadsword with a brass hilt." The next day, when well clear of the land,
a perfect hurricane arose, and the ships lay to, heading to the
south-east. The Resolution sprang a leak, and the water could be seen and
heard rushing in, but after some little anxiety one pump was found to be
sufficient to keep the upper hand. The gale lasted two days, but on the
second they were able to get an observation which gave the position of
the ship as 50 degrees 1 minute North, 229 degrees 26 minutes East, about
opposite to where the Straits of de Fonte were marked on his chart. They
were now able to run along the coast and see and name the most salient
points, but time was too valuable to make any halts by the way. The land
appeared to be of considerable height, the hills covered with snow, but
near the sea, well wooded. Mount St. Elias was sighted 4th May, at a
distance of forty leagues, and on the 6th they arrived in the bay in
which Behring had anchored, so his name was given to it on the chart.
Here the land trended away to the west; the wind was westerly and light,
and consequently their progress was very slow. Landing on an island to
try to get a view of the other side from the top of a hill, it was found
so steep and thickly wooded he had to give up the attempt. He therefore
left a bottle containing some coins given him by his friend, Dr. Kaye,
and named the island after him. Here they found currant and strawberry
plants, but the season was too early for fruit.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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