The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third VoyageCook, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third Voyage
Cook, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
On the 26th, in the morning, I ordered Captain Clerke to send a boat
with an officer to the S. E. part of the _lagoon_, to look for turtle;
and Mr. King and I went each in a boat to the N. E. part. I intended to
have gone to the most easterly extremity; but the wind blew too fresh to
allow it, and obliged us to land more to leeward, on a sandy flat, where
we caught one turtle, the only one that we saw in the _lagoon_. We
walked, or rather waded, through the water, to an island; where finding
nothing but a few birds, I left it, and proceeded to the land that
bounds the sea to the N. W., leaving Mr. King to observe the sun’s
meridian altitude. I found this land to be even more barren than the
island I had been upon; but walking over to the sea-coast, I saw five
turtles close to the shore. One of these we caught, and the rest made
their escape. Not seeing any more, I returned on board, as did Mr. King
soon after, without having seen one turtle. We, however, did not despair
of getting a supply, for some of Captain Clerke’s officers who had been
ashore on the land to the southward of the channel leading into the
_lagoon_, had been more fortunate, and caught several there.
In the morning of the 27th, the pinnace and cutter under the command of
Mr. King, were sent to the S. E. part of the island, within the
_lagoon_, and the small cutter to the northward where I had been the day
before; both parties being ordered upon the same service, to catch
turtle. Captain Clerke having had some of his people on shore all night,
they had been so fortunate as to turn between forty and fifty on the
sand, which were brought on board with all expedition this day. And in
the afternoon, the party I had sent northward returned with six. They
were sent back again and remained there till we left the island, having
in general pretty good success.
On the 28th, I landed in company with Mr. Bayly, on the island which
lies between the two channels into the _lagoon_, to prepare the
telescopes for observing the approaching eclipse of the sun; which was
one great inducement to my anchoring here. About noon, Mr. King returned
with one boat and eight turtles, leaving seven behind to be brought by
the other boat, whose people were employed in catching more; and, in the
evening, the same boat was sent with water and provisions for them. Mr.
Williamson now went to superintend this duty in the room of Mr. King,
who remained on board, to attend the observation of the eclipse.
The next day, Mr. Williamson dispatched the two boats back to the ship,
laden with turtle. At the same time, he sent me a message, desiring that
the boats might be ordered round by sea, as he had found a landing-place
on the S. E. side of the island, where most of the turtle were caught;
so that, by sending the boats thither, the trouble would be saved of
carrying them over the land to the inside of the _lagoon_, as had been
hitherto done. The boats were accordingly dispatched to the place which
he pointed out.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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