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
In this situation I determined, rather than be made a prisoner in my own
boat, to go on shore no more; for the officer who, under pretence of a
compliment, attended me when I was ashore, insisted also upon going with
me to and from the ship: but still imagining, that the scrupulous
vigilance of the Viceroy must proceed from some mistaken notion about
us, which might more easily be removed by writing than in conversation,
I drew up a memorial, and Mr. Banks drew up another, which we sent on
shore. These memorials were both answered, but by no means to our
satisfaction; we therefore replied: in consequence of which, several
other papers were interchanged between us and the Viceroy, but still
without effect. However, as I thought some degree of force, on the part
of the Viceroy, to enforce these restrictions, necessary to justify my
acquiescence in them to the Admiralty, I gave orders to my lieutenant,
Mr. Hicks, when I sent him with our last reply on Sunday the 20th, in
the evening, not to suffer a guard to be put into his boat. When the
officer on board the guard-boat found that Mr. Hicks was determined to
obey my orders, he did not proceed to force, but attended him to the
landing-place, and reported the matter to the Viceroy. Upon this His
Excellency refused to receive the memorial, and ordered Mr. Hicks to
return to the ship; when he came back to the boat, he found that a guard
had been put on board in his absence, but he absolutely refused to
return till the soldier was removed: the officer then proceeded to
enforce the Viceroy’s orders; he seized all the boat’s crew, and sent
them under an armed force to prison, putting Mr. Hicks, at the same
time, into one of their own boats, and sending him under a guard back to
the ship. As soon as he had reported these particulars, I wrote again to
the Viceroy, demanding my boat and crew, and in my letter inclosed the
memorial which he had refused to receive from Mr. Hicks: these papers I
sent by a petty officer, that I might wave the dispute about a guard,
against which I had never objected except when there was a commissioned
officer on board the boat. The petty officer was permitted to go on
shore with his guard, and, having delivered his letter, was told that an
answer would be sent the next day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account