Part 12 (1/2)
The withdrawal of Banks made no difference to his friends.h.i.+p with Cook, and in the future he was always ready to afford his support whenever it could be of any service either to his friend or family.
JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER.
As soon as it was known that Mr. Banks had withdrawn, Mr. John Reinhold Forster, a German of some scientific reputation, applied for the position of naturalist for the voyage, and, through the interest of Lord Sandwich, was successful. He was to receive the 4000 pounds granted by Parliament for Dr. Lynd, and was to pay all expenses, except s.h.i.+p's allowance of food, and provide all necessary instruments. He was accompanied by his son as a.s.sistant, a youth of about twenty years, who afterwards attained some note by his writings and translations. Messrs. Wales and Bayley were appointed astronomers by the Board of Longitude, with instructions to take and compare observations at every possible opportunity, and to take under their special charge the timepieces which were being carried on the two s.h.i.+ps for the purpose of testing their accuracy and capabilities in a.s.sisting in ascertaining the longitude. Two of these instruments, made by Arnold, were placed in Mr. Bayley's charge on the Adventure, and two, one by Arnold, and the other by Kendal on Harrison's principle, under the care of Mr. Wales on the Resolution. Great precautions were taken to prevent any accident or tampering with these instruments; they were kept in boxes having three locks, the keys were held one by the Captain, one by the first lieutenant, and the third by the astronomer, so they could not even be wound up except in the presence of all three. William Hodges, a painter of repute, was appointed as artist, and his pictures were to become the property of the Admiralty.
The celebrated Dr. Joseph Priestley, at that time minister at Mill Hill Chapel, Leeds, had been invited by Mr. Banks to accompany him as astronomer, and his congregation had undertaken to guarantee his position on his return; but the Board of Longitude took objection to his religious views, and so his application was withdrawn.
CHAPTER 13. 1772 TO 1774. SECOND VOYAGE.
Saying goodbye to his family on 21st June, Cook, accompanied by Mr.
Wales, left London for Sheerness, and the next day dropped down to the Nore. The Resolution was now drawing only fifteen feet ten inches of water instead of seventeen, a very satisfactory improvement. She was given a good trial on a wind, and was found ”to answer exceeding well.”
On 3rd July they arrived at Plymouth, having been boarded the day before by Lord Sandwich and Captain Pallisser, who were on a tour of inspection, and Cook had the pleasure of giving them a satisfactory account of his s.h.i.+p: ”I had not one fault to allege.”
On arrival at Plymouth, Cook found that orders had been given to the stores that he was to be supplied with whatever he thought necessary, but the only things required were larger coppers for the distilling apparatus, the ones they had on board having proved far too small. The officers and crew were paid up to 28th May, and the petty officers and men also received two months' advance to enable them to provide necessaries and extras for the voyage. Cook remarks:
”The payment of six months' wages to the officers, and crews of these two sloops, being nearly all they had due, was an indulgence never before granted to any of His Majesty's s.h.i.+ps.”
Cook now received his final orders, which he had a.s.sisted to draw up--in fact, ”nothing was inserted that I did not fully comprehend and approve of.” He was to call at Madeira for a supply of wine; to sail for the Cape of Good Hope and there refresh his men; then to look for Cape Circ.u.mcision, placed by M. Bouvet in 54 degrees South, 11 degrees 20 minutes East, to determine if it formed part of a continent, and if so to explore it, following the coast and endeavouring to get as near to the South Pole as he could without endangering his s.h.i.+ps or crews. Should Cape Circ.u.mcision prove to be an island, or should he be unable to find it, he was to proceed as far south as he thought there was a probability of meeting with land, and then steering east, circ.u.mnavigate the world in as high a lat.i.tude as he could. In case of meeting with land he was to explore as far as time would permit. When the season rendered it unsafe to remain in high lat.i.tudes he was to retire to the north to refit and recruit, and at a proper season to return to the south. In any unforeseen circ.u.mstances he was to use his own discretion, and if the Resolution should be lost, he was to prosecute his voyage in the Adventure. A copy of these orders was given to Captain Furneaux, and in case of separation the following rendezvous were named: Madeira, Port Praya in the island of St. Iago, the Cape of Good Hope, and New Zealand.
FORSTER SAVES s.h.i.+P!
The Forsters evidently were far from pleasant travelling companions, and at one time or another seem to have quarrelled with every one on board the s.h.i.+p. At the very first the father was dissatisfied with the accommodation allotted to him, and offered Mr. Cooper 100 pounds to turn out of his cabin; when this offer was declined, he tried to force Mr.
Gilbert, the Master, to give up his, threatening if he refused he should be reported to the king and turned out of the Navy; this threat appears to have been a favourite one, and soon became a by-word with the seamen, who, according to Mr. Wales, would use it to each other on every possible occasion. But, according to his own account, Mr. Forster was able to save the expedition from a very great disaster on 12th July. He says he came on deck and noticed the s.h.i.+p was adrift from her moorings; neither the officer of the watch nor the look-out had seen it till he called attention, and then, after a scene of the greatest confusion, the s.h.i.+p was fortunately brought up within a few feet of the rocks. On the other hand, the Master's log admits the Resolution got adrift, but before Mr.
Forster reached the deck the fact had been reported to the Captain, all hands turned up, the jib and forestay sail set, and the s.h.i.+p quietly dropped down into the Sound and anch.o.r.ed, never having been in the slightest danger. The only other one to notice the affair was Mids.h.i.+pman Willis, who simply states, ”dropped from the Buoy and anch.o.r.ed in the Sound.”
Having received the private signals of the East India Company's Navy, and letters of introduction from the Prince of Orange to all the princ.i.p.al officers of the Dutch East India Company, instructing them to afford every a.s.sistance that might be required, Cook hoisted the signal to the Adventure to weigh anchor at 5 A.M. on 13th July, and with a north-west breeze the two s.h.i.+ps sailed for Madeira. When well out in the Channel the Resolution's crew was mustered, and it was found that, owing to a mistake of the clerk, there was one man more than the complement, so John Coghlan was entered on the Supernumerary List for Wages and Victuals.
On the 23rd they were able to relieve a small French boat, from Ferrol to Corunna, which had been blown far off her course, and had been short of water for a fortnight. The day following they fell in with three Spanish men-o'-war; Cook says: ”The sternmost hoisted English colours and fired a gun to leeward, and soon after hoisted his own proper colours, and spoke with the Adventure.” It appears she enquired who they were, and where they were going, and finally wished them a good voyage. This account did not satisfy Mr. Forster, who waxes eloquent and describes the event as ”a scene so humiliating to the masters of the sea.” He must have formed a strange opinion of Cook if he thought for a moment he was one to put up silently with anything humiliating to the British flag. Marra, in his Journal, points out that the build and rig of the s.h.i.+ps were unusual for men-o'-war, and that when the Spaniards found they had stopped king's s.h.i.+ps, they ”made a proper apology, and very politely took leave, wis.h.i.+ng them a good voyage.”
THE FIRST LOSS.
At Madeira, where they arrived on 29th July, they were kindly received by Mr. Loughnan, a merchant of Funchal, who entertained some of the party at his house throughout the stay, obtained permission for the Forsters to explore the island, and procured for the s.h.i.+ps the stores that were required. Here Cook, with his eye on the scurvy, purchased as many onions as he thought would keep good, and ordered them to be served out regularly to the crews as long as they lasted. A further stock of fresh food in the shape of fowls, pigs, goats, and fruits--chiefly oranges and bananas--was laid in at Port Praya, where they had called for water. On the 19th the first death occurred; one of the carpenter's mates, Henry Smook, was at work on one of the scuttles and, falling overboard, was seen under the stern; every effort was made to save him, but it was too late. Cook says he was a good, steady man, whose loss was often felt during the voyage.
On 27th August Cook learnt that the Adventure had also had her losses.
Two mids.h.i.+pman, Lambrecht and Kemp, had died of fever, brought on, Captain Furneaux believed, by bathing and drinking too much water under the hot sun of Port Praya. At this time the Resolution had a clean bill of health, but for fear lest the heavy rains, to which they were continually subjected, might cause sickness, the s.h.i.+p was constantly fumigated, washed down, and thoroughly dried by means of stoves, as advised by Captains Pallisser and Campbell, with satisfactory results. On nearing the Cape a sharp but unavailing look-out was kept for a bank which had been reported, and on 30th October they arrived in Table Bay.
The run from home was considered to have been good, as they had in great measure escaped the calms they had been told to expect at that season of the year, and the currents, though very strong, had only caused a difference between the longitude obtained by observation and that by dead reckoning of three-quarters of a degree, so Cook concluded that those north of the Equator in the one direction were balanced by those to the south in the contrary one.
On landing they were received by the Governor, Baron Plattenberg, who told Cook he had received orders from Holland that the two sloops were to have every a.s.sistance that the place afforded. He also said that two French s.h.i.+ps, commanded by M. de Kerguelen, had discovered land in 48 degrees South, near the meridian of Mauritius, but after sailing along the coast for about forty miles, he had been blown off by a heavy gale, in which he had lost both boats and men. Two other French s.h.i.+ps had also called in March, which were on their way to explore the South Pacific under M. Marion.
Wales and Bayley got their instruments ash.o.r.e in order to make observations for the purpose of correcting the watch machines. That made by Kendal was found to be working well, and gave the longitude within one minute of time when compared with that fixed by Messrs. Mason and Dixon in 1761. The first lieutenant of the Adventure, Mr. Shank, who had been ill almost from the day of leaving England, applied for leave to return home, as he felt unfit to proceed, and Mr. Arthur Kemp was made first lieutenant, his place being taken by Mr. James Burney. Mr. Sparrman, a former pupil of Linnaeus, was engaged by Mr. Forster as an a.s.sistant, and makes his appearance on the rolls as servant. The crews were well looked after, as much time granted on sh.o.r.e as possible, and fresh meat, fresh vegetables, and fresh baked bread were served out daily in ample quant.i.ty, so that when the s.h.i.+ps sailed to the southward they were all ”in as good a condition as when they left England.” Cook found time to write a letter of farewell to Mr. Walker, as it was:
”customary for men to take leave of their friends before they go out of the world; for I can hardly think myself in it, so long as I am deprived of having any connection with the civilised part of it, and this will soon be my case for two years at least.”
He at the end speaks of his s.h.i.+ps, both ”well provided and well mann'd,”
and of the Resolution he says: ”I can a.s.sure you I never set foot in a finer s.h.i.+p.”
THE FIRST ICE.