Although numerous expeditions have since been sent out, they have mostly commenced their operations on the Atlantic side of America; and it is remarkable that the only successful one, that of Captain McClure, in the Investigator, and Captain Collinson, in the Enterprise, in the years 1850-53, entered the Frozen Sea on the Pacific side. (Note 1.) Captain McClure had, however, to abandon his ship, and to make the voyage over the ice, till he could join one of the ships sent up Baffin’s Bay to his relief; while Captain Collinson, getting his ship free from the ice, returned westward by the way he had come. The question of a north-west passage was thus solved in the affirmative; but, unless in some very exceptional case, it is shown to be impracticable and useless for all commercial purposes. It is easy to conceive what would have been the fate of Cook’s ships had they proceeded eastward, and there become beset by the ice.
Captain Cook, with Omai in his company, joined his ship on June 24, 1776, at Sheerness, and immediately sailed for Plymouth. He did not leave that port till July 11, and, owing to contrary winds, did not take his departure from the Scilly Isles till the 16th.
The Discovery remained at Plymouth, Captain Clerke not having yet arrived on board. He was directed to proceed, as soon as he was ready for sea, to the Cape of Good Hope, there to join the Resolution. Captain Cook touched at Teneriffe, where he found an abundance of supplies, and sailed again on August 4. On the evening of the 10th, Bonavista, one of the Cape de Verde Islands, was seen bearing south, little more than a league off, though at the time it was supposed that the ship was at a much greater distance from the land. Just then breakers were discovered directly under her lee, and for a few minutes she was in great danger. She happily just weathered them, and stood for Porto Praya, where it was expected the Discovery might be. As she was not there, the Resolution did not go in, but continued her course to the Cape. On September 1 the line was crossed, and the usual ceremonies were observed; on October 18 the ship anchored in Table Bay. Here arrangements were at once made to obtain a supply of fresh bread and other provisions, which, as soon as ready, were conveyed on board, while the tents were set up on shore, and astronomical observations diligently carried on. Meantime, the ship was caulked, which she much required. On the evening of the 31st a fearful gale tore the tents to pieces, and some of the instruments narrowly escaped serious injury. No communication with the Resolution was possible for those on shore.
She was the only ship in the harbour which rode out the gale without dragging her anchors.
On November 10 the Discovery entered the bay. She had sailed on August 1, and would have come in a week sooner but had been blown off the coast by the late gale. She also required caulking, which detained the expedition some time.
On November 30 the two ships sailed together. The Resolution had now on board, in addition to her former stock of animals, two bulls and two heifers, two horses and two mares, two rams, several ewes and goats, and some rabbits and poultry—all of them intended for New Zealand, Otaheite, and the neighbouring islands, or other places where there might be a prospect of their proving useful. The course steered was about south-east. Before long a heavy squall carried away the Resolution’s mizzen-topmast; and a mountainous sea made the ship roll so much that it was with difficulty the animals on board could be preserved. Owing to this, and to the cold, several goats and sheep died.
On December 12 two islands were seen about five leagues apart. These, with four others which lie in the same latitude, about nine degrees of longitude more to the east, were discovered by two French navigators in 1772. Cook now bestowed the name of Prince Edward’s Island on the two he had just discovered, and those of the French officers on the four others. They were mostly covered with snow, and where the ground seemed free from it lichen or a coarse grass was the only herbage.
On leaving Prince Edward’s Island a course was shaped to fall in with Kerguelen’s Land. On the evening of the 24th an island of considerable height and the next day other islands were seen. As the ships ranged along the coast a terrific sea rolled in on the shore, placing them in great danger, and both had considerable difficulty in weathering the points and reefs they met with. Though it was midsummer the weather was as cold as it is generally during the winter in the British Channel. At last a harbour was discovered, into which the ships beat and found good anchorage, an abundance of water, innumerable penguins and other birds, as also seals, which were so unacquainted with human beings that they allowed themselves to be knocked on the head without attempting to escape. The casks were immediately landed to be filled up with water, while a supply of seals was secured for the sake of their oil. Not a tree nor shrub was to be found in this inhospitable region. A bottle was brought to Captain Cook, containing a document left by Kerguelen, who had discovered this land at the end of 1773, and had taken possession of it in the name of the King of France. The harbour in which the ships lay was called Christmas Harbour, in commemoration of the day on which they entered it. The ships left this harbour on the morning of the 28th, and continued to range along the coast, in order to discover its position and extent. They brought up in another harbour just in time to escape a heavy gale, and then proceeded to the south, towards Cape George, to determine the shape of the land. On finally leaving it, on December 30, the ships steered east-by-north for New Zealand. Captain Cook came to the conclusion that the land he had just left was a large island, seventy or eighty miles from north to south, and a much greater distance from east to west. Captain Furneaux had, in 1773, passed across the meridian of this land, only seventeen leagues to the south of Cape George, thus settling the point of its being an island.
It seems to have been a mistake to send the ships into these inclement regions with cattle on board, as many died, among them two young bulls and a heifer, two rams, and several more of the goats.
The weather continued so thick that for many days together the ships did not see each other, though by constantly firing guns they managed to keep in company. At length Captain Cook determined to put into Adventure Bay, in Van Diemen’s Land, where Captain Furneaux had touched on the former voyage. The land was made on January 24, and on the 26th the ships brought up in the bay. They expected to obtain a supply of wood for fuel, and of grass for the cattle, of which they stood greatly in need. A supply of fish was caught, and plenty of grass brought on board. While the party on shore were cutting wood some natives appeared. They came forward with perfect confidence, only one having a lance in his hand. They were entirely without clothes, their skin and hair black, their stature about the ordinary height, their figures rather slender. Their features were not disagreeable, as they had neither very thick lips nor flat noses, while their eyes and teeth were good. Most of them had their heads and beards smeared with a red ointment, while some had their faces painted with the same composition. They seemed indifferent to all the presents offered them; even bread and fish they threw away, till some birds were given them, at which they expressed their satisfaction.