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 party were conducted to a large tree, and very graciously received by
Dootahah, who immediately asked for his axe, which was given him,
together with a shirt and a piece of broadcloth made into a boat-cloak.
He put on the cloak and gave the shirt to the man with the stick, and
refreshments were served. They were afterwards entertained with dancing
and wrestling, and then Dootahah accompanied them back to the ship,
taking his supplies for dinner; and when it became known he was on board,
trading was resumed.
A day or two after, Banks received an urgent message from his friend
Taburai (Lycurgus), saying he was very ill. He complained of having been
poisoned by one of the sailors. It seems he had noticed the sailors
chewing, and had ask for a quid, had bitten off a piece and swallowed it.
Banks prescribed large draughts of coconut milk, with happy results.
SURF RIDING.
Flies were a terrible pest; they got into everything, and ate off the
artist's colours almost as fast as they were laid on. Tar and molasses
was tried as a trap for them, but the natives stole it and used it as
ointment for sores. The surf-riding struck the visitors with admiration.
Swimming out with a piece of board they would mount it, and come in on
the crests of the waves; and Banks says he does not believe that any
European could have lived amongst the breakers as they did; he especially
admired the manner they timed the waves and dived beneath on their way
out from shore.
A blacksmith's forge had been set up, and in spare time the smith would
fashion old iron into axes or repair old axes for the natives; and it was
noticed that some of these old axes were not of English make, and it
appeared unlikely they were obtained from the Dolphin. At length it was
ascertained that since Wallis's visit in that vessel, two ships had
anchored off the east coast, and it was concluded from the description
given by the natives of the flags that they were Spanish, but on the
arrival of the Endeavour at Batavia they were able to identify them as
the French ships commanded by M. de Bougainville, whose crews were
suffering very severely from scurvy at the time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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