Society presented a memorial to his Majesty, setting forth the advantages to be derived from accurate observations of this transit in different parts of the world; particularly from a set of such observations made in a southern latitude, between the 140th and 180th degrees of longitude, west from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich; and that vessels, properly equipped, would be necessary to convey the observers to their destined stations; but that the Society were in no condition to defray the expense of such an undertaking. In consequence of this memorial, the Admiralty were directed by his Majesty to provide proper vessels for this purpose. Accordingly, the Endeavour bark, which had been built for the coal-trade, was purchased and fitted out for the southern voyage; and I was honoured with the command of her. The Royal Society soon after appointed me, in conjunction with Mr. Charles Green the astronomer, to make the requisite observations on the transit.

It was at first intended to perform this great, and now a principal business of our voyage, either at the Marquesas, or else at one of those islands which Tasman had called Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Middleburgh, now better known under the name of the Friendly Islands. But while the Endeavour was getting ready for the expedition, Captain Wallis returned from his voyage round the world, in the course of which he had discovered several islands in the South Sea; and amongst others, Otaheite. This island was preferred to any of those before mentioned, on account of the conveniences it afforded; and because its place had been well ascertained, and found to be extremely well suited to our purpose. I was therefore ordered to proceed directly to Otaheite; and, after the astronomical observations should be completed, to prosecute the design of making discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean, by proceeding to the south as far as the latitude of 40°; then, if I found no land, to proceed to the west between 40° and 35°, till I fell in with New Zealand, which I was to explore; and thence to return to England, by such route as I should think proper.

In the prosecution of these instructions, I sailed from Deptford the 30th of July, 1768; from Plymouth the 26th of August; touched at Madeira, Rio de Janeiro, and Straits Le Maire; and entered the South Pacific Ocean by Cape Horn, in January the following year. I endeavoured to make a direct course to Otaheite, and in part succeeded; but I made no discovery till I got within the tropic, where I fell in with Lagoon Island; Two Groups ; Bird Island; Chain Island; and on the 13th of April arrived at Otaheite, where I remained three months, during which time the observations on the transit were made. I then left it; discovered, and visited the Society Isles, and Oheteroa; thence proceeded to the south till I arrived in the latitude of 40° 22′, longitude 147° 29′ West; and on the 6th of October fell in with the east side of New Zealand.

I continued exploring the coast of this country till the 31st of March, 1770, when I quitted it, and proceeded to New Holland; and having surveyed the eastern coast of that vast country, which part had not before been visited, I passed between its northern extremity and New Guinea; landed on the latter; touched at the island of Savu, Batavia, the Cape of Good Hope, and St. Helena*; and arrived in England on the 12th of July, 1771.

In this voyage I was accompanied by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander; the first a gentleman of ample fortune; the other an accomplished disciple of Linnæus, and one of the librarians of the British Museum: both of them distinguished in the learned world for their extensive and accurate knowledge of natural history. These gentlemen, animated by the love of science, and by a desire to pursue their inquiries in the remote regions I was preparing to visit, desired permission to make the voyage with me. The Admiralty readily complied with a request that promised such advantage to the republic of letters. They accordingly embarked with me, and participated in all the dangers and sufferings of our tedious and fatiguing navigation.

To illustrate this short abstract of the several discoveries made in the Southern Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, before my departure on this second voyage, now laid before the public, I have delineated on the general chart hereunto annexed the tracks of most of

* In the account given of St. Helena in the narrative of and they have had wheel-carriages and porters' knots for my former voyage I find two mistakes. Its inhabitants

are far from exercising a wanton cruelty over their slaves;

many years.

the navigators, without which the abstract could not be so easily understood.*

The voyages

of Messrs. de Surville, Kerguelen, and Marion, of which some account is given in the following work, did not come to my knowledge time enough to afford me any advantage; and as they have not been communicated to the world in a public way, I can say little about them, or about two other voyages which, I am told, have been made by the Spaniards; one to Easter Island in the year 1769, and the other to Otaheite in 1773.

Before I begin my narrative of the expedition intrusted to my care, it will be necessary to add here some account of its equipment, and of some other matters, equally interesting, connected with my subject. Soon after my return home in the Endeavour, it was resolved to equip two ships, to complete the discovery of the Southern Hemisphere. The nature of this voyage required ships of a particular construction, and the Endeavour being gone to Falkland Isles, as a store-ship, the Navy-board was directed to purchase two such ships as were most suitable for this service. At this time various opinions were espoused by different people, touching the size and kind of vessels most proper for such a voyage. Some were for having large ships; and proposed those of forty guns, or East India Company's ships. Others preferred large good sailing frigates, or three-decked ships, employed in the Jamaica trade, fitted with round-houses. But of all that was said and offered to the Admiralty's consideration on this subject, as far as has come to my knowledge, what, in my opinion, was most to the purpose, was suggested by the Navy-board.

As the kind of ships most proper to be employed on discoveries is a very interesting consideration to the adventurers in such undertakings, it may possibly be of use to those who, in future, may be so employed, to give here the purport of the sentiments of the Navy-board thereon, with whom, after the experience of two voyages of three years each, I perfectly agree. The success of such undertakings as making discoveries in distant parts of the world will principally depend on the preparations being well adapted to what ought to be the first considerations, namely, the preservation of the adventurers and ships; and this will ever chiefly depend on the kind, the size, and the properties of the ships chosen for the service. These primary considerations will not admit of any other that may interfere with the necessary properties of the ships. Therefore, in choosing the ships, should any of the most advantageous properties be wanting, and the necessary room in them be in any degree diminished, for less important purposes, such a step would be laying a foundation for rendering the undertaking abortive in the first instancet.

As the greatest danger to be apprehended and provided against on a voyage of discovery, especially to the most distant parts of the globe, is that of the ship's being liable to be run aground on an unknown desert, or, perhaps, savage coast, so no consideration should be set in competition with that of her being of a construction of the safest kind, in which the officers may, with the least hazard, venture upon a strange coast. A ship of this kind must not be of a great draught of water, yet of a sufficient burden and capacity to carry a proper quantity of provisions and necessaries for her complement of men, and for the time requisite to perform the voyage. She must also be of a construction that will bear to take the ground; and of a size which, in case of necessity, may be safely and conveniently laid on shore, to repair any accidental damage or defects. These properties are not to be found in ships of war of forty guns, nor in frigates, nor in East India Company's ships, nor in large three-decked West India ships, nor indeed in any other but north-country built ships, or such as are built for the coal-trade, which are peculiarly adapted to this purpose. In such a vessel an able sea-officer will be most venturesome, and better enabled to fulfil his instructions, than he possibly can (or indeed than would be prudent for him to attempt) in one of any other sort or size.

*It has been thought better to exclude the tracks of all other navigators, except Cook himself, from the general map annexed to this edition of his voyages, to avoid the confusion attendant on the multiplication of such details. -ED.

† An allusion is here made to a misunderstanding which took place between Captain Cook and Sir Joseph Banks, relative to the alterations judged necessary to remedy the

Ꮓ

defects of the "Resolution," mentioned in the commencement of the first chapter. Sir Joseph had formed the determination of accompanying Captain Cook, in his second, as in his first voyage, but conceiving that his convenience had been unnecessarily disregarded in the alterations made in the vessel at Sheerness, under the directions of the captain, he took offence and abandoned his design.-ED.

Upon the whole, I am firmly of opinion, that no ships are so proper for discoveries in distant unknown parts as those constructed as was the Endeavour, in which I performed my former voyage. For no ships of any other kind can contain stores and provisions sufficient (in proportion to the necessary number of men), considering the length of time it will be necessary they should last. And, even if another kind of ships could stow a sufficiency, yet, on arriving at the parts for discovery, they would still, from the nature of their construction and size, be less fit for the purpose. Hence, it may be concluded, so little progress had been hitherto made in discoveries in the southern hemisphere. For all ships which attempted it before the Endeavour were unfit for it, although the officers employed in them had done the utmost in their power.

It was upon these considerations that the Endeavour was chosen for that voyage. It was to these properties in her that those on board owed their preservation; and hence we were enabled to prosecute discoveries in those seas so much longer than any other ship ever did or could do. And, although discovery was not the first object of that voyage, I could venture to traverse a far greater space of sea, till then unnavigated, to discover greater tracts of country in high and low south latitudes, and to persevere longer in exploring and surveying more correctly the extensive coasts of those new-discovered countries, than any former navigator, perhaps, had done during one voyage. In short, these properties in the ships, with perseverance and resolution in their commanders, will enable them to execute their orders; to go beyond former discoverers; and continue to Britain the reputation of taking the lead of all nations in exploring the globe.

These considerations concurring with Lord Sandwich's opinion on the same subject, the Admiralty determined to have two such ships as are here recommended. Accordingly, two were purchased of Captain William Hammond of Hull. They were both built at Whitby, by the same person who built the Endeavour, being about fourteen or sixteen months old at the time they were purchased, and were, in my opinion, as well adapted to the intended service as if they had been built for the purpose. The largest of the two was four hundred and sixty-two tons burthen. She was named Resolution, and sent to Deptford to be equipped. The other was three hundred and thirty-six tons burthen. She was named Adventure, and sent to be equipped at Woolwich.

It was first proposed to sheath them with copper; but, on considering that copper corrodes the iron-work, especially about the rudder, this intention was laid aside, and the old method of sheathing and fitting pursued, as being the most secure; for, although it is usual to make the rudder-bands of the same composition, it is not, however, so durable as iron, nor would it, I am well assured, last out such a voyage as the Resolution performed. Therefore, till a remedy is found to prevent the effect of copper upon the iron-work, it would not be advisable to use it on a voyage of this kind, as the principal fastenings of the ship being iron, they may be destroyed.

On the 28th of November, 1771, I was appointed to the command of the Resolution ; and Tobias Furneaux (who had been second lieutenant with Captain Wallis) was promoted, on this occasion, to the command of the Adventure.

I had all the reason in the world to be perfectly satisfied with the choice of the officers. The second and third lieutenants, the lieutenant of marines, two of the warrant officers, and

*Notwithstanding the strong opinion here expressed by Captain Cook, copper-sheathing has now for a long period been in use, not only in our navy, but in our merchant service, even on occasions of the longest and most arduous service; upon surveys of the stormy coasts of South America, which, under the direction of Captains King and Fitzroy, extended on one occasion for four, and another for five years, and in all recent voyages of discovery, (except those whose destination has been to force their passage through the fields of arctic and antarctic icebergs,) and in our merchant service, when vessels are frequently three and four years, and even longer away, with very imperfect opportunities of refitting, copper-sheathing and fastening are constantly made use of.

Captain Cook's estimate of the relative strength and durability of iron and copper rudder-bands, was, however, perfectly correct, but experience has since shown that copper bands, although not equal to iron, can still be manufactured of sufficient strength to remain perfectly serviceable during the whole period in which a vessel will continue fit to keep the sea, without damage from other causes. When Captain Cook wrote, this fact had not been sufficiently tested, for no vessel in the British navy was copper-sheathed before 1761, when the experiment was tried upon the "Alarm” frigate. The result was so favourable that the practice was strongly recommended, and at the close of the American war (of Independence) it was generally adopted.-ED.

several of the petty officers, had been with me during the former voyage. The others were men of known abilities; and all of them, on every occasion, showed their zeal for the service in which they were employed, during the whole voyage.

Our complements of officers and men were fixed, as in the following table :—

In the equipping of these ships, they were not confined to ordinary establishments, but were fitted in the most complete manner, and supplied with every extra article that was suggested to be necessary. Lord Sandwich paid an extraordinary attention to this equipment, by visiting the ships from time to time, to satisfy himself that the whole was completed to his wish, and to the satisfaction of those who were to embark in them. Nor were the Navy and Victualling Boards wanting in providing them with the very best of stores and provisions, and whatever else was necessary for so long a voyage. were adopted in the species of provisions usually made use of in the navy. That is, we were supplied with wheat in lieu of so much oatmeal, and sugar in lieu of so much oil; and when completed, each ship had two years and a half provisions on board, of all species.

Some alterations

We had, besides, many extra articles, such as malt, sour-krout, salted cabbage, portable broth, saloup, mustard, marmalade of carrots, and inspissated juice of wort and beer. Some of these articles had before been found to be highly antiscorbutic; and others were now sent out on trial, or by way of experiment ;-the inspissated juice of beer and wort, and marmalade of carrots especially.-As several of these antiscorbutic articles are not generally known, a more particular account of them may not be amiss.

Of malt is made sweet wort, which is given to such persons as have got the scurvy, or whose habit of body threatens them with it, from one to five or six pints a day, as the

surgeon sees necessary. Sour-krout, is cabbage cut small, to which is put a little salt, juniper-berries, and annis-seeds; it is then fermented, and afterwards close packed in casks: in which state it will keep good a long time. This is a wholesome vegetable food, and a great antiscorbutic. The allowance to each man is two pounds a week, but I increased or diminished their allowance as I thought proper. Salted cabbage is cabbage cut to pieces, and salted down in casks, which will preserve it a long time. Portable broth is so well known, that it needs no description. We were supplied with it both for the sick and well, and it was exceedingly beneficial. Saloup, and rob of lemons and oranges, were for the sick and scorbutic only, and wholly under the surgeon's care. Marmalade of carrots is the juice of yellow carrots inspissated till it is of the thickness of fluid honey, or treacle, which last it resembles both in taste and colour. It was recommended by Baron Storsch, of Berlin, as a very great antiscorbutic; but we did not find that it had much of this quality.

For the inspissated juice of wort and beer, we were indebted to Mr. Pelham, secretary to the commissioners of the Victualling-office. This gentleman, some years ago, considered that if the juice of malt, either as beer or wort, was inspissated by evaporation, it was probable this inspissated juice would keep good at sea; and if so, a supply of beer might be had at any time, by mixing it with water. Mr. Pelham made several experiments, which succeeded so well, that the commissioners caused thirty-one half-barrels of this juice to be prepared, and sent out with our ships for trial; nineteen on board the Resolution, and the remainder on board the Adventure. The success of the experiments will be mentioned in the narrative, in the order they were made.

The frame of a small vessel, twenty tons burthen, was properly prepared, and put on board each of the ships, to be set up, (if found necessary,) to serve as tenders upon any emergency, or to transport the crew in case the ship was lost. We were also well provided with fishing-nets, lines, and hooks of every kind for catching of fish. And, in order to enable us to procure refreshments in such inhabited parts of the world as we might touch at, where money was of no value, the Admiralty caused to be put on board both the ships, several articles of merchandize; as well to trade with the natives for provisions, as to make them presents to gain their friendship and esteem. Their Lordships also caused a number of medals to be struck, the one side representing His Majesty, and the other the two ships. These medals were to be given to the natives of new-discovered countries, and left there, as testimonies of our being the first discoverers.

Some additional clothing, adapted to a cold climate, was put on board; to be given to the seamen whenever it was thought necessary. In short, nothing was wanting that could tend to promote the success of the undertaking, or contribute to the conveniences and health of those who embarked in it.

The Admiralty showed no less attention to science in general, by engaging Mr. William Hodges, a landscape painter, to embark in this voyage, in order to make drawings and paintings of such places, in the countries we should touch at, as might be proper to give a more perfect idea thereof than could be formed from written descriptions only. And it being thought of public utility, that some persons skilled in natural history should be engaged to accompany me in this voyage, the parliament granted an ample sum for that purpose, and Mr. John Reinhold Forster, with his son, were pitched upon for this employment.

The Board of Longitude agreed with Mr. William Wales, and Mr. William Bayley, to make astronomical observations; the former on board the Resolution, the latter on board the Adventure. The great improvements which astronomy and navigation have met with from the many interesting observations they have made, would have done honour to any person whose reputation for mathematical knowledge was not so well known as theirs. The same Board furnished them with the best of instruments, for making both astronomical and nautical observations and experiments; and likewise with four time-pieces, or watch machines; three made by Mr. Arnold, and one made by Mr. Kendal on Mr. Harrison's principles. A particular account of the going of these watches, as also the astronomical and nautical observations made by the astronomers, will be laid before the public by order of the Board of Longitude, under the inspection of Mr. Wales.

Besides the obligations I was under to this gentleman for communicating to me the