112 Epitome of Lieut. Cook's Voyage round the World.

pairing, before they could make themfelves at all agreeable to the natives. They had ranged the country round, had gathered greens, collected plants, had taken in wood, fhot fowls, and hunted animals, which, however, they had not killed; yet, in all their pro. ceedings, they had been cautiously avoided by the favages, till an accident threw four of them in the way; and thefe four, a few days before the depar ture of the ftrangers, introduced a jarger party of their companions. The accident that brought them together had nothing in it of adventure, and only happened by their coming to filh within fight of the harbour where the fhip lay. Being fuffered to proceed in their employment without moleftation, before they departed they had the curiofity to come within call to look at the hip, and were invited by every sign of friendship to come on board. This, however, they declined; but Tupia, going afhore, fat down upon the beach, and made figns for them to lay down their weapons, and to come and fit down by him; this they accepted, and thus the intercourfe commenced. A whole party came afterwards on board, and before the thip failed they became very troublesome guests. They are faid to be of the common ftature, of a brown chocolate colour, their hair black, but not woolly, their limbs fmall and delicately made, their eyes lively, their teeth white and even, their features good, and their voices tuneful.

From this bay and the adjoining iflands, our voyagers, during their stay, found means to supply the table of the officers with turtle, and that of the common men with fish; and they had, befides, laid in a ftore of the former, to provide against their taking leave. A company of the favages, as we have obferved, being now become familiar, afcended the fhip, and, with fully looking at the turtle, begged one of them of the Captain, which he refufing, another renewed the request with great earnestness to Mr. Banks, which he likewife refufing, the enraged favage gave him a push from him with great expreffion of refentment, and made an effort to feize one by force, but the failors interpofing, he was prevented from carrying it off. On this repulse the favages all inftantly jumped over-board, and, without difcovering their intention, fnatched a brand from under a pitch kettle that was boiling on the shore, and, going to windward, fet fire to the

grafs, which in a moment was all in a blaze, and fpread with incredible fury all round the fmith's forge, all that was combustible of it, was burnt down; a fow and pigs that were grazing on the fhore, though they were fenfible of their danger, and ran from the flames with their utmoft fpeed, yet were terribly fcorched, and one of the pigs perifhed; Mr. Banks's tent very narrowly escaped; and, had this trick been played tooner, the whole powder magazine muft inevitably have been blown up, as it was only taken on board a few days before. They made another attempt of the like kind, at a place where the nets and linen were spread out to dry; but the most active among them being shot at, and wounded, the reft took to their heels and fled; and the fire was extinguished without injury. As they were to ready at firing, it was thought prudent to effect a reconciliation; and a reconciliation, after a skir. mifh or two, and they had felt the fmart of the fire-arms, was effected. They very little regarded the presents that were made them; for the cloth they threw away, and the turtle being denied them, every thing elfe was re

ceived with indifference.

On Saturday the 4th of Auguft, our voyagers weighed anchor, and prepared to depart, naming the river where the fhip was repaired ENDEAVOUR-RIVER. Their chief refreshment here was turtle and fish, with which, however, the fick recovered their health, and every one grew impatient to be goue. But there was danger in clearing the rock and fhoals, in which they continued entangled till the 13th, when they once more got into deep water, and, as they thought, an open fea; but, to their unspeakable mortifi cation, they were, on the 16th, again involved in the most perilous fituation; not a hundred yards from a rock, upon which the fame billow which washed the fide of the ship, broke to a tremendous height the very next time it rofe fo that between them and destruction there was only a dreary valley, no wider than the base of one wave.

In this crifis, Providence again very fignally interpofed; for, the very mo ment of their fates, a light breeze fpringing up, filled their fails juft enough, with the exertion of their own endeavours, to give the thip an oblique direction from the rock, by which the was prevented from being dafhed to pieces. Nor was the danger lefs immi.

nent

Epitome of Lieut. Cook's Voyage round the World.

Tent, when the breeze dying away, prefented the breakers at less than 200 yards diftance, and no foundings with 150 fathom of line.

114
the fole of a man's shoe, through
man's hoe, through
which the worms had eaten their way
into the timbers; in which condition
they had probably failed for many hun-
dred leagues, without being fentible of
their danger.

Epitome of Lieut. Cook's Voyage round the World.

It is impoffible to exprefs the wonder and delight of Tupia and his youth Tayota, on their entering Batavia, and viewing the buildings, the dreffes, the carriages, equipages, furniture, and various decorations of that fuperb city. Though they were both very ill when they entered, they feemed for a while to have fubdued their bodily difeafes, and, by the boundless gratification of their ardent curiofity, to think themselves already tranfported into that happy region which they had heard Chriftians were to poffefs as the reward of virtue. But their transports were of short duration; Tupia, after being exceedingly delighted, grew every day more and more languid. Tayota was seized with an inflammatory dif order; and, in hort, almost every man on board the ship began to feel the fatal effects of this pernicious climate. Tupia, whom Mr. Banks had perfuaded to remain on shore, defired to be removed on board the ship; but on board the fhip he could not be fent, because the was laid up to be repaired: he was, however, fent over to a fmall ifland, where he might breathe a freer air, and receive the benefit of the fea breeze. Though he was pleased with his situation, yet his diforder, which was of the bilious kind, continued to increase. Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were both feized with the country difeafe, to which Mr. Monkhouse the furgeon fell the first facrifice. His death was greatly regretted. Poor Tayota died next, and Tupia was so much affected by the news, that he furvived but a few days, during which time he refufed all me dicines. in fhort, the fcene of diftrefs increased amazingly, infomuch that, before the fhip was fufficiently repaired, there were not more than ten men able to do duty. Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander were given over, but being res moved into the country recovered flowly. TheCaptain himself was at length taken ill, as was Mr. Sporing, a gentleman who attended Mr. Banks, by which it was fuppofed the diteafe was infectious. At length the joyful news was received on the 8th of December, that the hip was perfectly refitted; and from that day till the time of her departure, the utmoft diligence was pled to take in

every neceflary for the profecution of their voyage home.

On the 26th of December they fet fail from this peftilent harbour, after fome warm altercation between the Governor of the town and Capt. Cook, about retaining a failor who had left the Dutch fervice, and had entered on board the Endeavour in which, however, the Captain behaved with becoming fpirit, and gained his point. At their fetting fail the number of fick were at least 40, and thofe that were called well, were fo feeble as scarce to be able to keep their watch. But what is remarkable, every individual had felt the pernicious effects of this inhofpitable climate, except an old fail-maker, who, tho' upwards of 70 years of age, kept himfuf drunk every day; but whether from that circumstance or the ftrength of his conftitution, certain it is, that he ailed nothing the whole time.

Tupia's death is not afcribed to the climate. Being all his life accustomed to live on vegetable food, when he came to be obliged to fubfift on the provilions of the fhip, he began to fuffer from the fcorbutic difordes that generally. attack landmen in long-continued voyages at fea without refreshment from the fhore; and it is thought he could not have lived to fee England, had he not been carried to Batavia for the ship to refit. On the 15th of March they arrived at the Cape of Good Hope. Here the furvivors were fet on fhore with all poffible difpatch; for during their voyage the infectious disorder contracted at Batavia raged with incredible malignity. Mr. Banks's life was more than once defpaired of; the ship was nothing better than an hofpital; thofe that were well were in number hardly fufficient to give due attendance on thofe that were fick; infomuch, that in the short run of fix weeks they buried three-and-twenty perfons, befides thofe buried in Batavia. Among thofe who died at fea were, Mr. Sporing, Mr. Parkinfon (Mr. Banks's naturalhistory painter), Mr.Green the aftrono. mer, Mr. Monkhoute the midshipman, who faved the ship by fothering; the old fail maker, with three or four other petty officers; the rest marines and common feamen.

On the 13th of April they began to prepare to leave the Cape; the fick were all ordered on board, feveral of whom were still in a very dangerous way. On the 14th they weighed anchor, and on the zit of May arrived in the harbour

of

Humorous Propofal for a flying Machine.

of St. Helena, having loft their master, Mr. Moltineux, in their paffage.

Here they stayed four days, wherein Mr. Banks, being greatly recovered, improved his time to the beft advantage.

On the 4th of May they failed from St. Helena, and on the 23d they lost their firft Lieut. Mr. Hicks. On the roth of June they difcovered the Lizard point, and on the 12th passed Beachy head, and the fame day anchored in the Downs.

Thus have we traced the course of thefe voyagers round the globe, and have recapitulated the principal incidents that befel them from their first fetting out, to their return home. Those who may be induced, from our imperfect outlines, to perufe the work at large, will find themfelves highly gratified by the defcription of countries which no Europeans ever vifited before; by tracing manners which in many inftances exhibit a new picture of human life; and by marking the origin of arts among people wholly detached from all commerce with every other people, and whofe inventions are all the genuine production of their own ingenuity.

Mr. URBAN,

AS the last century was eminently distinguished, by producing men of great genius in natural philofophy, I congratulate my country on the many ufeful difcoveries made of late both at home and abroad, which contribute to raife the intereft and credit of the nation to an higher degree of perfection. Sir Ifaac Newton, and others, were men of extenfive fpeculation in the upper world, and their names will ever be revered by the fons of fcience; but what emolument has the lower world received from their difcoveries? Of what ufe is it to know the distance of the planets from the fun, or whether the earth turns round its own axis, or ftands ftill? The great object of England, as a trading nation, is the extenfion of commerce upon it, and the enriching of the merchants in London, by imports and exports throughout the globe; and in this refpect, how immenfe is the advantage derived to the public, from the amazing genius of the prefent age, whether we confider the difcoveries lately made in the fouthern world, or the uncommon improvements in mechanical philofophy at home. The great point to be car

115

ried in all other profeffions, as well as in poetry, is the happy mixture of the utile dulci; and how completely are thefe ends attempered together by our intercourse with the Otaheites, where the national trade is enlarged by the copious difpofal of trinkets and dolls, and the votaries of Venus are fatiated to the full in the fond embraces of Oberea and her maids of honour.

Thus again a furprizing genius has eftablished fome new principles in mecha nical operations, which had efcaped the penetrating fagacity of Sir Ifaac New ton, and proves to demonstration, that the lower the wheels of carriages are, the easier is the draft to the horses. The utility of this gentleman's scheme is not, like that of many others, merely fimple, but complex and two-fold; for while his waggons do at every turn bring two tons of provifions more than ufual to the all-devouring capital, they at the fame time, by rolling a furface of 16 inches, communicate a pleafure experimentally felt by every traveller in landau, chariot, coach, or chaife; for inftead of being jolted and joftled, as our grandfathers were, by the ioughnefs of the roads, he may now fleep on fweetly to his journey's end. My paiticular thanks are due to this gentleman for thus improving the roads, as it has fuggefted a thought to me of attempting to merit the esteem of the traveller, a premium from the Society of Arts, and the higheft applaufe of the Senate, by reviving an invention of convenience and utility beyond conception. To keep you no longer in fulpence, my scheme is this, to accommodate my countrymen with machines Arily and truly flying in every part of the kingdom which lies flat and level. This mode of travelling, though now abfurdly difufed, was practifed in the laft century with prodigious fuccefs, We are told, that Stepbinus travelled in a flying chariot, at the rate of 20 or 35 German miles in the space of a few hours. But Peirefkius is more particular and precife in bis account of the expedition used in thefe carriages, afferting, that he paffed from Scheveling to Putten, which are diftant more than 42 miles from each other, in the space of two hours.

The body of thefe carriages, like Stephinus's, will be of the shape of a boat, moving upon four wheels, with one or more fails to it like thofe in a fhip, with a rudder placed between the two hindmoft wheels, and is to be

Hopped

116 Lord Camden's Sentiments concerning the Right of taxing America.