The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. I. Being the First of the First Voyage.Cook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. I. Being the First of the First Voyage.
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
WE sailed from Oteroah on the 15th of August, and on Friday the 25th we
celebrated the anniversary of our leaving England, by taking a Cheshire
cheese from a locker, where it had been carefully treasured up for this
occasion, and tapping a cask of porter, which proved to be very good,
and in excellent order. On the 29th, one of the sailors got so drunk,
that the next morning he died: we thought at first that he could not
have come honestly by the liquor, but we afterwards learnt that the
boatswain, whose mate he was, had, in mere good-nature, given him part
of a bottle of rum.
On the 30th, we saw the comet; at one o’clock in the morning, it was a
little above the horizon in the eastern part of the heavens; at about
half an hour after four it passed the meridian, and its tail subtended
an angle of forty-two degrees. Our latitude was 38° 20ʹ S., our
longitude, by log, 147° 6ʹ W., and the variation of the needle, by the
azimuth, 7° 9ʹ E. Among others that observed the comet, was Tupia, who
instantly cried out, that as soon as it should be seen by the people of
Bolabola, they would kill the inhabitants of Ulietea, who would, with
the utmost precipitation, fly to the mountains.
On the 1st of September, being in the latitude of 40° 22ʹ S., and
longitude 147° 29ʹ W., and there not being any signs of land, with a
heavy sea from the westward, and strong gales, I wore, and stood back to
the northward, fearing that we might receive such damage in our sails
and rigging, as would hinder the prosecution of the voyage.
On the next day, there being strong gales to the westward, I brought to,
with the ship’s head to the northward; but in the morning of the 3d, the
wind being more moderate, we loosened the reef of the main-sail, set the
top-sails, and plied to the westward.
We continued our course till the 19th, when our latitude being 29° and
our longitude 159° 29ʹ, we observed the variation to be 8° 32ʹ E. On the
24th, being in latitude 33° 18ʹ, longitude 162° 51ʹ, we observed a small
piece of sea-weed, and a piece of wood covered with barnacles: the
variation here was 10° 48ʹ E.
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