creature is an English sailor, that they were as profuse in
making their bargains as if they were in a port of Virginia,
so that in less than eight-and-forty hours the value of this
article of barter was lowered above 1000 per cent.
At one o'clock in the afternoon of the 3rd we anchored in
Samganoodha harbour, and the next morning the carpenters
of both ships were set to work to rip off the sheathing of and
under the wale on the starboard side abaft. Many of the
seams were found quite open, so that it was no wonder that
so much water had found its way into the ship. While we lay
here we cleared the fish and spirit rooms and the after-hold,
disposing things in such a manner that, in case we should
happen to have any more leaks of the same nature, the water
might find its way to the pumps. And besides this work and
completing our water, we cleared the fore-hold to the very
bottom, and took in a quantity of ballast.
On the Hth, in the evening, while Mr. Webber and I were
at a village a small distance from Samganoodha, a Russian
landed there, who, I found, was the principal person among
his countrymen in this and the neighbouring islands. Ismy-
loff, as he was called, arrived in a canoe carrying three
persons, attended by twenty or thirty other canoes, each
conducted by one man. I took notice that the first thing
they did after landing was to make a small tent for Ismyloff
of materials which they brought with them, and then they
made others for themselves of their canoes and paddles,
which they covered with grass, so that the people of the
village were at no trouble to find them lodgings. Ismyloff,
having invited us into his tent, set before us some dried
salmon and berries, which I was satisfied was the best cheer
he had. He appeared to be a sensible, intelligent man, and
I felt no small mortification in not being able to converse
with him, unless by signs, assisted by figures and other
characters, which, however, were a very great help. I desired
to see him on board the next day, and accordingly he came,
410 COOK'S VOYAGES.
with all his attendants ; indeed, he had moved into our
neighbourhood for the express purpose of waiting upon us.
I found that he was very well acquainted with the geo-
graphy of these parts, and with all the recent discoveries oi
the Russians. On seeing the modern maps, he at once pointed
out their errors.
Both Ismyloff and the others affirmed that they knew
nothing of the continent of America to the northward, and
they called it by the same name which Mr. Stashlin gives
to his great island that is, Alaschka. From what we could
gather from Ismyloff and his countrymen, the Russians have
made several attempts to get a footing upon that part of this
continent that lies contiguous to Oonalashka and the ad-
joining islands, but have always been repelled by the natives,
whom they describe as a very treacherous people. They
mentioned two or three captains or chief men who had been
murdered by them, and some of the Russians showed us
wounds which they said they had received there.
In the following afternoon, M. Ismyloff, after dining with
Captain Clerke, left us with all his retinue, promising to
return in a few days. Accordingly, on the iQth he paid us
another visit, and brought with him the charts, which he
allowed me to copy. He remained with us till the evening
of the 2 ist, when he took his final leave. To his care I
entrusted a letter to the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty, in which was enclosed a chart of all the northern
coasts I had visited. He said there would be an opportunity
of sending it to Kamtschatka or to Okotsk the ensuing
spring, and that it would be at St. Petersburg the following
winter. He gave me a letter * to Major Behm, governor of
Kamtschatka, and another to the commanding officer at
Petropaulowska.
There are Russians settled upon all the principal islands
between Oonalashka and Kamtschaka, for the sole purpose
of collecting furs. Their great object is the sea-beaver, or
otter. I never heard them inquire after any other animal,
* This letter reached its destination in safety, and may be found in the
Admiralty archives, among the other papers of the great navigator.
THE THIRD VOYAGE. 411
though those whose skins are of superior value also form
part of their cargoes.
To all appearances the natives are the most peaceable,
inoffensive people I ever met with, and as to honesty, they
might serve as a pattern to the most civilised nation upon
earth. The natives have their own chiefs in each island, and
seem to enjoy liberty and property unmolested, but whether
or not they are tributaries to the Russians we could never
find out. These people are rather low of stature, but plump
and well shaped, with rather short necks, swarthy, chubby
faces, black eyes, small beards, and long straight black hair,
which the men wear loose behind and cut before, but the women
tie it up in a bunch. Both sexes wear the same dresses in
fashion, the only difference is in the materials. The women's
frock is made of seal-skin, and that of the men of the skins
of birds, both reaching below the knee. This is the whole
dress of the women, but the men wear over the frock another
made of gut, which resists water, and has a hood to it, which
draws over the head. Some of them wear boots, and all of
them have a kind of cap made of wood, with a rim to admit
the head. These caps are dyed with green and other colours,
and round the upper part of the rim are stuck the long
bristles of some sea animal, on which are strung glass beads,
and on the front is a small image or two made of bone.
They make use of no paint, but the women puncture their
faces slightly, and both men and women bore the under lips,
to which they fix pieces of bone. Their food consists of flesh,
sea animals, birds, roots, and berries, and even of seaweed.
They dry large quantities of fish in summer, which they lay
up in small huts for winter use. They eat everything raw.
Boiling and broiling were the only methods of cookery that
I saw them make use of, and the first was probably learnt
from the Russians. Some have got little brass kettles, and
those who have not make one of a flat stone, with sides of
clay. I was once present when the chief of Oonalashka
made his dinner of the raw head of a large halibut, just
caught. Before any was given to the chief, two of his
servants eat the gills, without any other dressing than
412 COOK'S VOYAGES.
squeezing out the slime. This done, one of them cut off the
head of the fish, took it to the sea and washed it, then came
with it and sat down by the chief, first pulling up some
grass, upon a part of which the head was laid, and the rest
was strewed before the chief. He then cut large pieces off
the cheeks, and laid them within the reach of the great man,
who swallowed them with as much satisfaction as we should
do raw oysters. When he had done, the remains of the
head were cut in pieces and given to the attendants, who
tore off the meat with their teeth, gnawing the bones like
so many dogs.
They produce fire both by collision and by attrition. The
former by striking two stones, one against another, on one of
which a good deal of brimstone is first rubbed ; the latter
method is with two pieces of wood, one of which is a stick
about eighteen inches in length, and the other a flat piece.
The pointed end of the stick they press upon the other,
whirling it nimbly round as a drill, thus producing fire in a
few minutes. This method is common in many parts of the
world. It is practised by the Kamtschadales, by these
people, by the Greenlanders, by the Brazilians, by the Ota-
heiteans, by the New Hollanders, and probably by many other
nations.
The canoes made use of by the natives are the smallest
we had anywhere seen upon the American coast, though
built after the same manner, with some little difference in
the construction. The stern of these terminates a little
abruptly, the head is forked, the upper point of the fork
projecting without the under one, which is even with the
surface of the water ; the framing is of slender laths, and
the covering of seal-skins. They are about twelve feet long,
a foot and a half broad in the middle, and twelve or fourteen
inches deep. Upon occasion, they can carry two persons,
one of whom is stretched at full length in the canoe, and the
other sits in the seat or round hole, which is nearly in the
middle. Round this hole is a rim or hoop of wood, about
which is sewed gut skin, that can be drawn together, or
opened like a purse with leathern thongs fitted to the outer
THE THIRD VOYAGE. 413
edge. The man seats himself in this place, draws the skin
tight round his body over his gut-pouch, and brings the end
of the thongs or purse-string over the shoulder to keep it in
its place. The sleeves of his frock are tied tight round his
wrists, and it being close round his neck, and the hood drawn
over his head, where it is confined by his cap, water can
scarcely penetrate either to his body or into the canoe. If
any should, however, insinuate itself, the boatman carries a
piece of sponge with which he dries it up. He uses the
double-bladed paddle, which is held by both hands in the
middle, striking the water with a quick regular motion, first
on one side and then on the other. By this means the canoe
is impelled at a great rate, and in a direction as straight as a
line can be drawn.
The fishing and hunting implements lie ready upon the
canoes, under straps fixed for the purpose. They are all
made in great perfection, of wood and bone, and differ very
little from those used by the Greenlanders, as they are de-
scribed by Crantz. These people are very expert in striking
fish both in the sea and in rivers. They also make use of
hooks and lines, nets, and spears ; the hooks are composed
of bone, and the lines of sinews.
The people of Oonalashka bury their dead on summits of
hills, and raise a little hillock over the grave. In a walk into
the country, one of the natives who attended me pointed out
several of these receptacles of the dead. There was one of
them by the side of the road leading from the harbour to the
village, over which was raised a heap of stones. It was
observed that every one who passed it added one to it. I
saw in the country several stone hillocks, that seemed to have
been raised by art. Many of them were apparently of great
antiquity.
In the morning of Monday, the 26th of October, we put
to sea from Samganoodha harbour. My intention was
now to proceed to the Sandwich Islands, there to spend a
few of the winter months, in case we should meet with the
necessary supplies, and then to direct our course to Kamts-
chatka, so as to endeavour to be there by the middle of May
4 H COOK'S VOYAGES.
in the ensuing summer. In consequence of this resolution
I gave Captain Clerke orders how to proceed in case of
separation, appointing the Sandwich Islands for the first
place of rendezvous, and the harbour of Petropaulowska,
in Kamtschatka, for the second. Nothing remarkable hap-
pened during our voyage, and at daybreak on the 26th of No-
vember land was sighted, extending from south-south-east to
west. We were now satisfied that the group of the Sand-
wich Islands had been only imperfectly discovered, as those
which we had visited in our progress northward all lie to the
leeward of our present station. I bore up and ranged along
the coast to the westward, and it was not long before we saw
people on several parts of the shore, and some houses and
plantations. The country seemed to be both well wooded
and watered.
As it was of the last importance to procure a supply of
provisions at these islands, and taught by experience that
I could have no chance to succeed in this if a free trade
with the natives were to be allowed that is, if it were left
to every man's discretion to trade for what he pleased, and
in the manner he pleased I now published an order, pro-
hibiting all persons from trading, except such as should
be appointed by me and Captain Clerke, and even these
were enjoined to trade only for provisions and supplies.
At noon, seeing some canoes coming off, I brought to,
and as soon as they got alongside, many of the people came
into the ship, without the least hesitation.
We got from our visitors a quantity of cuttle-fish in ex-
change for nails and pieces of iron. They brought very
little fruit and roots, but told us that they had plenty of them
on their island, as also hogs and fowls. In the evening,
the horizon being clear to the westward, we judged the
westernmost land in sight to be an island, separated from
that off which we now were. Having no doubt that the
people would return to the ships next day with the produce
of their country, I kept tacking all night, and, in the morning,
stood close in shore. At first only a few of the natives visited
us, but towards noon we had the company of a good many,
THE THIRD VOYAGE. 415
who brought bread-fruit, potatoes, tarro, or eddy-roots, a
few plantains and small pigs, all of which they exchanged
for nails and iron tools ; indeed, we had nothing else to
give them. We continued trading with them till four o'clock
in the afternoon, when, having disposed of all their cargoes,
and not seeming inclined to fetch more, we made sail and
stood off shore.
In the afternoon of the 3Oth, being off the north-east end
of the island, several canoes came off to the ships. Most
of these belonged to a chief named Terreeoboo, who came
in one of them. He made me a present of two or three
small pigs, and we got by barter from the people a little
fruit. After a stay of about two hours, they all left us, except
six or eight of their company, who chose to remain on board ;
a double sailing canoe came soon after to attend upon them,
which we towed astern all night. In the evening we dis-
covered another island to windward, which the natives call
Owhyhee.* The name of that off which we had been for
some days, we were also told, is Mowee.
On the 1st of December, at eight in the morning, finding
that we could fetch Owhyhee, I stood for it, and our visitors
from Mowee, not choosing to accompany us, embarked in
their canoe and went ashore. At seven in the evening we
were close up with the north side of Owhyhee, where we spent
the night, standing off and on. In the morning of the 2nd
we were surprised to see the summits of the mountains on
Owhyhee covered with snow. As we drew near the shore,
some of the natives came off to us ; they were a little shy at
first, but we soon enticed some of them on board, and at last
prevailed upon them to return to the island and bring off
what we wanted. Soon after they had reached the shore,
we had company enough, and few coming empty-handed, we
got a tolerable supply of small pigs, fruit, and roots ; we con-
* The Sandwich Islands, of which Owhyhee, or Hawaii, is the chief, consist
of eight inhabited islands, and two or three rocky and desolate islets. The
former are called Woahoo or Oahu, Mowee, Kawai or Atooi, which Cook had
already visited, Molokai, Lanai, Niihaw, and Kahoolawe. Their whole
superficial area is 6000 square miles, 4000 of which are comprised in Owhyhee
alone.
4i6 COOK'S VOYAGES.
tinned trading with them till the evening, when we made sail
and stood off. We resumed trading with the natives on
the 6th and 7th, and procured pork, fruit, and roots, suffi-
cient for four or five days. We then made sail, and con-
tinued to work up to windward. Having procured a quantity
of sugar-cane, and finding that a strong decoction of it pro-
duced a very palatable beer, I ordered some more to be
brewed for our general use ; but when the cask was now
broached, not one of my crew would even so much as taste
it. As I had no motive in preparing this beverage but to
save our spirits for a colder climate, I gave myself no further
trouble, either by exerting authority, or by having recourse
to persuasion to prevail upon them to drink it, knowing that
there was no danger of the scurvy, so long as we could get a
plentiful supply of other vegetables. But, that I might not
be thwarted in my views, I gave orders that no grog should
be served in either ship. I myself, and the officers, con-
tinued to make use of the sugar-cane beer whenever we
could get materials for brewing it. A few hops, of which we
had some on board, improved it much. It has the taste of
new malt beer, and I believe no one will doubt of its being
very wholesome, yet my inconsiderate crew alleged that it
was injurious to their health. They had no better reason to
support a resolution which they took on our first arrival in
King George's Sound, not to drink the spruce beer made
there ; but, whether from consideration that it was not the
first time of their being required to use that liquor, or from
some other reason, they did not attempt to carry their pur-
pose into actual execution, and I had never heard of it until
now, when they renewed their ignorant opposition to my best
endeavours to serve them. Every innovation whatever on
board a ship, though ever so much to the advantage of sea-
men, is sure to meet with their highest disapprobation.
Both portable soup and sour krout were at first condemned
as stuff unfit for human beings. Few commanders have in-
troduced into their ships more novelties, as useful varieties of
food and drink, than I have done ; indeed, few commanders
have had the same opportunities of trying such experiments.
THE THIRD VOYAGE. 417
I kept at some distance from the coast till the I3th, when
I stood in again six leagues farther to windward than we
had as yet reached, and, after having some trade with the
natives who visited us, stood out to sea. I now determined
to get round, or at least to get a sight of the south-east end
of the island, but the wind was variable between the 1 4th and
1 8th, blowing sometimes in hard squalls, and at other times
calm, with thunder, lightning, and rain. In the evening it
shifted to east by south, and we stood to the southward,
close-hauled under easy sail, as the Discovery was at some
distance astern. At this time the south-east point of the
island bore south-west by south, about five leagues distant,
and I made no doubt that I should be able to weather it.
But at one o'clock next morning it fell calm, and we were left
to the mercy of a north-easterly swell, which impelled us
fast towards the land, so that, long before daybreak, we saw
lights and the shore, which was not more than a league
distant. The night was dark, with thunder, lightning, and
rain.
At three o'clock the calm was succeeded by a breeze,
blowing in squalls, with rain, and at daybreak the coast was
seen extending from north to south-west, a dreadful surf
breaking upon the shore, which was not more than half a
league distant. It was evident that we had been in the
most imminent danger ; nor were we yet in safety, the wind
veering more easterly, so that for some ti ne we did but
just keep our distance from the coast. What made our
situation more alarming was the leech-rope* of the main-
topsail giving way, which was the occasion of the sail
being rent in two ; and the two topgallant sails gave way
in the same manner, though not half worn out. By taking
a favourable opportunity we soon bent others, and then we
left the land astern. The Discovery, by being at some dis-
tance to the north, was never near the land, nor did we see
her till eight o'clock.
As soon as daylight appeared, the natives ashore displayed
a white flag, which we conceived to be a signal of peace and
* The leech-rope is that vertical part of the bolt-rope to which the edge of the
ail is sewed.
2 D
4 i8 COOICS VOYAGES.
friendship. Some of them ventured out after us, but the
wind freshening, and it not being safe to wait, they were
soon left astern. In the afternoon, after making an attempt
to weather the eastern extreme, which failed, I gave it up,
and ran down to the Discovery. Indeed, it was of no con-
sequence to get round the island, for we had seen its extent
to the south-east, which was what I wanted ; and according
to the information we had gained from the natives, there
is no other island to the windward of this. However, as we
were so near the south-east end of it, and as the least shift
of wind in our favour would serve to carry us round, I did
not wholly give up the idea of weathering it, and therefore
continued tacking the ship.
On the 2oth, in the afternoon, some of the natives came
off in their canoes, bringing with them a few pigs and
plantains ; but the supply being barely sufficient for one
day, I stood in again the next morning, till within three or
four miles of the land, where we were met by a number of
canoes, laden with provisions. We brought to, and con-
tinued trading with the people till four in the afternoon,
when, having got a pretty good supply, we made sail, and
stretched off to the northward.
I had never met with a behaviour so free from reserve and
suspicion, in my intercourse with any tribes of savages, as
we experienced in the people of this island. It was very
common for them to send up into the ship the several
articles they brought off for barter, after which they would
come in themselves, and make their bargains on the quarter-
deck. The people of Otaheite, even after our repeated visits,
do not care to put so much confidence in us, whence I infer
that those of Owhyhee must be more faithful in their dealings
with one another than the inhabitants of Otaheite are ; for,
if little faith were observed amongst themselves, they would
not be so ready to trust strangers. It is also to be observed,
to their honour, that they had never once attempted to cheat
us in exchanges, nor to commit a theft.
On the 22nd, at four in the afternoon, after purchasing
everything that the natives had brought off, we made sail,
and stretched to the north ; and at midnight we tacked and
THE THIRD VOYAGE. 419
stood to the south-east. Supposing that the Discovery
would see us tack, the signal was omitted, but she did not
see us, as we afterwards found, and continued standing to
the north, so that, at daylight next morning, she was not in
sight. At this time, the weather being hazy, we could not
see far, so that it was possible the Discovery might be
following us ; and being past the north-east part of the
island I was tempted to stand on, till, by the wind veering
to north-east, we could not weather the land upon the other
tack ; consequently we could not stand to the north, to join
or look for the Discovery. At six in the evening we had
succeeded in getting to windward of the island, which we
had aimed at with so much perseverance. The Discovery,
however, was not yet to be seen ; but the wind, as we had it,
being very favourable for her to follow us, I concluded that
it would not be long before she joined us ; I therefore kept
cruising off this south-east point of the island till I was
satisfied that Captain Clerke would not join me here. I
now conjectured that he had not been able to weather the
north-east part of the island, and had gone to leeward, in
order to meet me that way.
As I generally kept from five to ten leagues from the land,
no canoes, except one, came off to us till the 28th, when we
were visited by a dozen or fourteen.
We stood in again on the 3oth, and brought to for the
purposes of trade, but soon after our marketing was inter-
rupted by a very hard rain, and, besides, we were rather
too far from the shore. Nor durst I go nearer, for I could
not depend upon the wind's remaining where it was for a
moment, the swell also being high, and setting obliquely
upon the shore, against which it broke in a frightful surf. -In
the evening the weather mended, but before daybrer.k the
atmosphere was again loaded with heavy clouds, and the new
year was ushered in with very hard rain, which continued at
intervals, till past ten o'clock. Being about five miles frcm
land, several canoes arrived with fruit and roots, and at last
some hogs were brought off. We lay to trading with them
till three o'clock in the afternoon, when, having a tolerable
supply, we made sail with a view of proceeding to the north-
420 COOICS VOYAGES.
west, or lee side of the island, to look for the Discovery. For
several days past both wind and weather had been exceed-
ingly unsettled, and there fell a great deal of rain. The
three following days were spent in running down the south-
east side of the island, for during the night we stood off and
on, and part of each day was employed in lying to, in order
to furnish an opportunity to the natives of trading with us.