Page:Captain Cook's Journal during His First Voyage Round the World.djvu/48

xlii time, and had gained much more information about it than he did in his first voyage.

Cook had taken on board at the Cape as many cattle, horses, bulls, cows, goats, and sheep as he could stow, with a view of landing them at Tahiti or elsewhere, and it is without surprise that we learn that after several weeks in these stormy seas a good many of them had died. When we consider the size of the ships the wonder is where they found room for these animals.

On January 26th the ships arrived in Tasmania, and anchored in Adventure Bay, principally with a view of getting fodder for the remaining cattle. Pigs were left here, according to Cook's usual custom.

After four days the ships sailed, and arrived in Queen Charlotte's Sound, New Zealand, on February 12th, 1777. Here Cook learnt the history of the attack on the Adventure's boat's crew from the chief who led it, but made no attempt at reprisals, although urged by many other natives to kill him. He seems to have been guided by the consideration that, as related by the natives, it was a dishonest act of barter on the part of one of the sailors which commenced the disturbance; and that occurring so long before, no good purpose would be served by punishment. It says much for his humane treatment of natives.

On leaving this, Cook records that he had at different times left about a dozen pigs in New Zealand. These increased, and stocked the whole island by the time the English settlers arrived.

On the way to Tahiti Cook fell across several islands belonging to what was afterwards called after him, the Cook Group. He visited Mangaia, Atiu, Takutea, and the Hervey Islands. Relations were established with the natives, and Cook was much interested at finding on Atiu three natives of the Society Islands, the survivors of twelve, who had been blown away in a canoe, and landed on this island, five hundred miles distant. As he remarks, this throws great light on the manner in which the different islands of the Pacific have been peopled.

Cook now made up his mind that he was too late to prosecute discovery this year on the American Continent, it being well into April, and being anxious to save the remaining cattle that he wished to land at Tahiti, and which had been taken on board especially for this purpose, the island being still far to windward, he bore away for the Friendly Islands for fodder and refreshments. He landed on Palmerston on the way—an island discovered last voyage—and arrived at Namuka on May 1st, with not a sick man in the ships.