Chapter XXII: Book IV (11)

Captain King has communicated the following account of his interview
with the same family. “On the 12th, while I attended the wooding
party, a canoe full of natives approached us; and, beckoning them to
land, an elderly man and woman came on shore. I gave this woman a
small knife, making her understand that I would give her a much larger
one for some fish. She made signs to me to follow her. I had proceeded
with them about a mile, when the man, in crossing a stony beach, fell
down, and cut his foot very much. This made me stop; upon which the
woman pointed to the man’s eyes, which I observed were covered with a
thick, white film. He afterward kept close to his wife, who apprized
him of the obstacles in his way. The woman had a little child on her
back, covered with the hood of her jacket; and which I took for a
bundle, till I heard it cry. At about two miles’ distance we came to
their open skin-boat, which was turned on its side, the convex part
toward the wind, and served for their house. I was now made to perform
a singular operation on the man’s eyes. First, I was directed to hold
my breath; afterward, to breathe on the diseased eyes; and next, to
spit on them. The woman then took both my hands, and pressing them to
his stomach, held them there for some time, while she related some
calamitous history of her family, pointing sometimes to her husband,
sometimes to a frightful cripple belonging to the family, and
sometimes to her child. I purchased all the fish they had, consisting
of a very fine salmon, salmon-trout, and mullet; which were delivered
most faithfully to the man I sent for them. The man was about five
feet two inches high, and well made; his colour of a light copper; his
hair black and short, and with little beard. He had two holes in his
under lip, but no ornaments in them. The woman was short and squat,
with a plump round face; wore a deer-skin jacket, with a large hood;
and had on wide boots. The teeth of both were black, and seemed as if
they had been filed down level with the gums. The woman was punctured
from the lip to the chin.”

Footnote 85:

Captain King has been so good as to communicate his instructions on
this occasion, and the particulars of the fatigue he underwent in
carrying them into execution:

“You are to proceed to the northward as far as the extreme point we
saw on Wednesday last, or a little further, if you think it necessary;
land there, and endeavour, from the heights, to discover whether the
land you are then upon, supposed to be the island of Alaschka, is
really an island, or joins to the land on the east, supposed to be the
continent of America. If the former, you are to satisfy yourself with
the depth of water in the channel between them, and which way the
flood-tide comes. But if you find the two lands connected, lose no
time in sounding; but make the best of your way back to the ship,
which you will find at anchor near the point of land we anchored under
on Friday last. If you perceive any likelihood of a change of weather
for the worse, you are, in that case, to return to the ship, although
you have not performed the service you are sent upon. And, at any
rate, you are not to remain longer upon it than four or five days; but
the sooner it is done the better. If any unforeseen or unavoidable
accident should force the ships off the coast, so that they cannot
return at a reasonable time, the rendezvous is at the harbour of
Samganoodha; that is, the place where we last completed our water.

“_To Lieutenant King._”

“JAMES COOK.”

“Our cutter being hoisted out, and the signal made for the
Discovery’s, at eight at night, on the 14th, we set out. It was a
little unlucky that the boats’ crews had been much fatigued during the
whole day in bringing things from the shore. They pulled stoutly,
without rest or intermission, toward the land, till one o’clock in the
morning of the 15th. I wanted much to have got close to it, to have
had the advantage of the wind, which had very regularly, in the
evening, blown from the land, and in the day-time down the sound, from
the N. N. E., and was contrary to our course; but the men were, at
this time, too much fatigued to press them farther. We therefore set
our sails, and stood across the bay, which the coast forms to the west
of Bald Head, and steered for it. But, as I expected, by three
o’clock, the wind headed us; and, as it was in vain to endeavour to
fetch Bald Head with our sails, we again took to the oars. The
Discovery’s boat (being a heavy king’s-built cutter, while ours was
one from Deal) had, in the night-time, detained us very much, and now
we soon pulled out of sight of her; nor would I wait, being in great
hopes to reach the extreme point that was in sight, time enough to
ascend the heights before dark, as the weather was at this time
remarkably clear and fine; and we could see to a great distance. By
two o’clock we had got within two miles of Bald Head, under the lee of
the high land, and in smooth water; but at the moment our object was
nearly attained, all the men, but two, were so overcome with fatigue
and sleep, that my utmost endeavours to make them put on were
ineffectual. They, at length, dropped their oars, quite exhausted, and
fell asleep in the bottom of the boat. Indeed, considering that they
had set out fatigued, and had now been sixteen hours out of the
eighteen since they left the ship, pulling in a poppling sea, it was
no wonder that their strength and spirits should be worn out for want
of sleep and refreshments. The two gentlemen who were with me, and
myself, were now obliged to lay hold of the oars, and by a little
after three, we landed between the Bald Head and a projecting point to
the eastward.”

Footnote 86:

Afterwards Lord Grantley.

Footnote 87:

See the little that is known of Synd’s voyage, accompanied with a
chart, in Mr. Coxe’s Russian Discoveries, p. 300.

Footnote 88:

The latest expedition of this kind, taken notice of by Muller, was in
1724. But in justice to Mr. Ismyloff, it may be proper to mention,
which is done on the authority of a MS., communicated by Mr. Pennant,
and the substance of which has been published by Mr. Coxe, that, so
late as 1768, the Governor of Siberia sent three young officers over
the ice in sledges, to the islands opposite the mouth of the Kovyma.
There seems no reason for not supposing, that a subsequent expedition
of this sort might also be undertaken in 1773. Mr. Coxe, p. 324,
places the expedition on sledges in 1764; but Mr. Pennant’s MS. may be
depended upon.

Footnote 89:

English translation, p. 83, 84.

Footnote 90:

A Russian ship had been at Kodiack, in 1776; as appears from a MS.
obligingly communicated by Mr. Pennant.

Footnote 91:

Stæhlin’s New Northern Archipelago, p. 15.

Footnote 92:

36lb.

Footnote 93:

The Russians began to frequent Oonalashka in 1762. See _Coxe’s Russian
Discoveries_, ch. viii. p. 80.

Footnote 94:

See the particulars of hostilities between the Russians and natives,
in Coxe, as cited above.

Footnote 95:

Mr. Coxe’s description of the habitations of the natives of
Oonalashka, and the other Fox Islands, in general, agrees with Captain
Cook’s. See _Russian Discoveries_, p. 149. See also _Histoire des
différents Peuples soumis à la Domination des Russes_, par M.
Levesque, tom. i. p. 40, 41.

Footnote 96:

History of Kamtschatka. Eng. Trans. p. 160.

Footnote 97:

History of Kamtschatka, p. 99.

Footnote 98:

It will be found, amongst other vocabularies, at the end of the
seventh volume.

Footnote 99:

Cook’s River.

Footnote 100:

On the chart of Krenitzen’s and Levasheff’s voyage, in 1768 and 1769,
which we find in Mr. Coxe’s book, p. 251., an island call Amuckta, is
laid down, not very far from the place assigned to Amoghta by Captain
Cook.

Footnote 101:

Though this rock had no place in the Russian map produced by Ismyloff,
it has a place in the chart of Krenitzen’s and Levasheff’s voyage,
above referred to. The chart also agrees with Captain Cook’s, as to
the general position of this group of islands. The singularly indented
shores of the island of Oonalashka are represented in both charts much
alike; these circumstances are worth attending to, as the more modern
Russian maps of this Archipelago are so wonderfully erroneous.

Footnote 102:

Captain Cook may, in part, be right in his comparison of some cordage
used in the king’s service, with what is used in that of the
merchants; especially in time of war, when part of the cordage wanted
in the navy is, from necessity, made by contract. But it is well
known, that there is no better cordage than what is made in the king’s
yards. This explanation of the preceding paragraph has been subjoined,
on the authority of a naval officer of distinguished rank, and great
professional ability, who has, at the same time, recommended it as a
necessary precaution, that ships fitted out on voyages of discovery,
should be furnished with no cordage but what is made in the king’s
yards; and, indeed, that every article of their store, of every kind,
should be the best that can be made.

Transcriber’s Note

This book uses inconsistent spelling and hyphenation, which were retained in the ebook version. Some corrections have been made to the text, including normalizing punctuation. Further corrections are noted below:

p. 4: veered to to the east -> veered to the east p. 6: parts of the the coast -> parts of the coast p. 7: and and having already -> and having already p. 9: morning of of the 12th -> morning of the 12th p. 14: and and the extent -> and the extent p. 14: he sovereign of Tiaraboo -> the sovereign of Tiaraboo p. 22: a party of us acompanied -> a party of us accompanied p. 46: and and several other women -> and several other women p. 52: and some otheir chiefs -> and some other chiefs p. 62: a small pig, and a plaintain-tree -> a small pig, and a plantain-tree p. 63: the principal priest uncoverd -> the principal priest uncovered p. 76: apprehensions of mishief from us -> apprehensions of mischief from us p. 87: waited some some time -> waited some time p. 96: He had picked up at Otatheite -> He had picked up at Otaheite p. 97: to enclose it intirely -> to enclose it entirely p. 110: till we sould arrive -> till we should arrive p. 111: My. Bayly -> Mr. Bayly p. 113: a great plan of opertions -> a great plan of operations p. 121: of of its inhabitants -> of its inhabitants p. 128: The foregoing narative -> The foregoing narrative Footnote 18: Captain Cook’s first vogage -> Captain Cook’s first voyage p. 139 I met with with -> I met with p. 148: large share of its happines -> large share of its happiness p. 160: of a less geneneral nature -> of a less general nature p. 169: which lies betwen the two channels -> which lies between the two channels p. 177: I immediatey brought-to -> I immediately brought-to p. 211: appear to to have -> appear to have p. 215: or there position -> or their position p. 215: wich is laid on slender poles -> which is laid on slender poles p. 217: though a disagreable mess -> though a disagreeable mess p. 222: should find a a bit of iron -> should find a bit of iron p, 222: of those neigbouring Islands -> of those neighbouring Islands p. 229: expose any other anima -> expose any other animal p. 233: After the discovery had joined us -> After the Discovery had joined us p. 265: the ills that bounded it -> the hills that bounded it p. 310: was loosing on mean time -> was losing on mean time p. 328: stepped into into their boats -> stepped into their boats p. 357: down the the inlet -> down the inlet p. 358: in every repect -> in every respect p. 373: Two-headed headed Point -> Two-headed Point p. 385: In the afternooon -> In the afternoon p. 386: extended to to the S. W. -> extended to the S. W. p. 387: near the the southern shore -> near the southern shore p. 396: for their was no wind -> for there was no wind p. 398: it was was narrow -> it was narrow p. 399: we seered back to the southward -> we steered back to the southward p. 402: Mr. Stæehlin -> Mr. Stæhlin p. 406: both were detrmined -> both were determined p. 409: OF THE VOVAGE -> OF THE VOYAGE p. 434: the chart prefixed to his cook -> the chart prefixed to his book p. 440: cut this foot very much -> cut his foot very much p. 449: So that beteen this latitude -> so that between this latitude p. 453: and once a a halibut -> and once a halibut p. 459: had been had been corrected -> had been corrected p. 459: in the bottom of the the gulf -> in the bottom of the gulf p. 500: plying off and and on -> plying off and on