George Anson

1740 to 1744

A period of forty years elapsed after Roggeveen's voyage before any exploring expedition to the south Pacific took place, but in the interval a voyage was made by Commodore George Anson with a fleet of British war vessels. Though no discoveries were made, the expedition aroused so much interest in England that it may have had some influence on later developments. It was brought about by Spain's arbitrary searching of English ships in the West Indies with the excuse that she must prevent the smuggling which was depriving the Spanish authorities of a good deal of revenue.

Friction between England and Spain led to war in 1739. The British Government equipped a fleet of six ships with two victualers (pinks) to cruise off the Pacific coast of Peru and New Spain for the purpose of cutting off the Spanish supphes of wealth from South America. The fleet was placed under page 21the command of Commodore George Anson, whose flagship was the Centurion, with sixty guns and 400 men. The total force numbered about 1,510 men. Anson sailed from St. Helens Road on September 18, 1740, and passed through the Strait of Le Maire in March 1741.

The Spanish, who had learned of the British expedition, equipped a large fleet of war vessels and sent it out under Admiral Pizarro to oppose the British. The Spanish fleet, however, ran into storms, the provisions gave out, and many of the ships were wrecked. Thus the Spanish attempt ended in failure. The Viceroy of Peru also sent out some ships to intercept Anson, but they failed to make contact.

Anson continued taking prizes along the Pacific coast during 1741 and part of 1742. He lost some of his ships but replaced them with prizes manned by crews from his own ships. On May 6, 1742, he sailed from the Mexican coast and reached Tinian in the Marianas, whence he sailed to Macao. Here he refitted before sailing to a position near the Philippines to await a galleon. In June 1743 he sighted a galleon and, by means of superior skill and seamanship, captured her treasure valued at about 400,000 pounds sterling. After repairing at Macao, Anson sailed in the Centurion for England via the Cape of Good Hope and anchored at Spithead on June 15, 1744, after a voyage of three years and nine months.

John Byron

1764 to 1766

The British government, having awakened to the fact that Pacific exploration would add to England's prestige as a maritime power, began a series of voyages in 1764. The first expedition consisted of a copper-sheathed ship, the Dolphin, under Commodore the Honorable John Byron, who had sailed with Anson, and the sloop Tamar, under Captain Mouat. Byron was to explore the south Atlantic for land between the latitudes 33° and 53° S., identify Pepys Island, and go on to the Pacific. The ships sailed from the Downs on June 21, 1764 and reached Port Desire in Patagonia in November. Byron examined the Falkland Islands in January 1765 and took possession of them, rightly concluding that they were identical with Pepys Island. It took seven weeks and two days to sail through the Strait of Magellan, and he entered the Pacific on April 9, 1765.

After refreshing at Masafuero, the ships sailed northwest to get the trades, and on June 7 Byron encountered two islands of the northern Tuamotus (Napuka and Tepoto) which he named Islands of Disappointment because the hostile appearance of the natives prevented the boats from landing. On June 9 he picked up Takaroa and Takapoto which he named King George Islands. He established a beachhead after killing two or three natives, and boatloads of coconuts and scurvy grass were obtained. On June 13 an island, probably Manihi, was seen and named Prince of Wales Island, but no attempt was made page 22 page 23 to land. Continuing westward, he sighted another island on June 21 which he named the Island of Danger because the high surf rendered it too dangerous to land boats. It was what is now known as Pukapuka in the northern Cook group, not to be confused with Pukapuka in the Tuamotus which was discovered by Le Maire and Schouten and named Honden, or Dog, Island by them. From Danger Island, Byron passed on to an uninhabited island which he named Duke of York Island. After obtaining coconuts there, he proceeded west and evidently picked up an atoll [Byrons Island?] in Micronesia where the natives had weapons with attached shark teeth. He arrived at Tinian in the Marianas on July 31.

On his return voyage, he rounded the Cape of Good Hope in December and anchored in the Downs on May 9, 1766. The results of Byron's voyage were meager.

Wallis and Carteret

1766 to 1769 Byron's voyage was followed immediately by another, which was entrusted to Captain Samuel Wallis, who took over the Dolphin. With him sailed the sloop Swallow, commanded by Philip Carteret, who had been first lieutenant of the Tamar in Byron's expedition, and a store ship, the Prince Frederick. Wallis was to search for the southern continent but, in the event that he failed to find it, he was to search for land in the Pacific on latitude 20° S. The ships sailed from Plymouth Sound on August 22, 1766, refreshed at Port Famine in the Strait of Magellan on December 17, and entered the Pacific on April 11, 1767. The Swallow disappeared in a storm and was thought lost.

Wallis sailed northwest, then west along latitude 20° S. As a result, he passed through the Tuamotu Archipelago farther south than the course followed by John Byron and thus encountered a different set of islands. The first was Pinaki, which he discovered on June 6, 1767, and which, as the day was Whitsun Eve, he named Whitsun Island. In his westward run, he discovered five more Tuamotuan islands which he named as follows: Queen Charlotte (Nukutavake), Egmont (Vairaatea), Gloucester (Paraoa), Cumberland (Manuhangi), and Prince William Henry (Nengonengo). A four-days' sail took him to Meetia, the most easterly island in the Society group, which he named Osnaburgh. On the following day, June 18, Wallis made his greatest discovery, the large volcanic island of Tahiti, which he named King George III Island. The error of identifying Tahiti with the low island of La Sagittaria discovered by Quiros has been pointed out (pp. 8-9).

At Matavai Bay Wallis met with a hostile reception from hundreds of canoes, but friendly relations were finally established in which the high chief-tainess Oberea (Purea) played an active part. The use of this anchorage by page 24subsequent explorers had a profound influence on the history of Tahiti. The Dolphin stayed over a month, affording time for the sick to recover; the ship to be amply provisioned with hogs, fowls, vegetables, and fruit; and some exploration of the island to be made. Wallis set sail on July 27 and proceeded along the shore of Moorea, which he named Duke of York Island, but he did not go ashore. Continuing in a westerly direction he encountered three more of the Society islands, which he named Sir Charles Saunders Island (Tapuaemanu), Lord How's (Howe) Island (Mopiha), and the Scilly Islands (Fenua Ura). On August 13 he saw the Cocos and Traitors Islands discovered by Le Maire and Schouten earlier and renamed them Boscawen and Keppel. Three days later, he discovered Uvea, and Wallis modestly states that his men named it Wallis Island in honor of their captain.

From Wallis Island, the Dolphin sailed out of Polynesia and, after touching at Tinian and Batavia, returned via the Cape of Good Hope to anchor in the Downs on May 20, 1768.

The Swallow had not gone down in the storm which separated her from the Dolphin, but had been saved by the consummate seamanship of Captain Philip Carteret. On July 2, 1767, when the Dolphin was at Tahiti, the Swallow was off a rocky island which was named Pitcairn Island after the midshipman who first sighted it. The sea was rough and Carteret made no attempt to land. His course was farther south than that of Wallis, and he picked up an atoll in latitude 22° S. which he named Bishop of Osnaburghs Island (Mururoa). On the next day he sighted a group which he named the Duke of Gloucesters Islands. There were actually three atolls close together, and their native names are Nukutipipi, Anuanurunga, and Anuanuraro. Carteret quitted Polynesia without any other discoveries and, after doing some valuable exploring in the western Pacific, anchored at Spithead on March 20, 1769.

Though Carteret added little to Polynesian discovery, his voyage was one of the pluckiest in history. Not only should the Swallow have been relegated to the scrap heap instead of being sent out on an expedition, the Admiralty had refused to supply Carteret with an anvil and other equipment for repairs. The story of how he circumnavigated the world in a leaking tub and kept her afloat for two years and seven months will ever remain a record for endurance, courage, and skill.

Louis de Bougainville overtook the Swallow on February 26 and sent a boat to exchange courtesies. He remarked on the condition of Carteret's ship as follows: "His ship was very small, went very ill, and when we took leave of him, he remained as if it were at anchor. How much he must have suffered in so bad a vessel, may well be conceived."

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James Cook's First Voyage

1768 to 1771

James Cook, after gaining experience in coal ships plying out of Whitby, volunteered as an able seaman in the Royal Navy in 1755. He did survey work in the St. Lawrence and on the coasts of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia with such ability that he was sent out in 1763 to survey and prepare charts of the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts. He observed an eclipse of the sun and in 1766 communicated the results to the Royal Society. His work earned the respect of both the Admiralty and the Royal Society.

The transit of Venus, expected on June 3, 1769, aroused a great deal of interest in scientific circles, and as the newly discovered island of Tahiti in the south Pacific was held to be a favorable place for making scientific observations of the impending phenomenon, an expedition was planned under the joint auspices of the Admiralty and the Royal Society. Cook was chosen to lead the expedition, raised in rank from master to lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and given command of H. M. Bark Endeavour, 368 tons. The complement of 94 included Charles Green, astronomer; Joseph Banks, F.R.S., and Charles Solander, botanists; and Sydney Parkinson, draftsman for Banks.

Cook sailed from Plymouth on August 26, 1768, and after two stops, rounded Cape Horn on January 27, 1769. Sailing west, he chose a course between that of Byron and Wallis; but in the early part of the voyage through the Tuamotu Archipelago he unknowingly followed the course of Bougainville (p. 50). Thus on April 4 and 5 he picked up Vahitahi, Akiaki, and Hao and named them Lagoon, Thrumb-Cap, and Bow. All these islands had been discovered and named by Bougainville. However, Bougainville had turned south to avoid what he termed the Dangerous Archipelago, whereas Cook sailed on and gave names to the islands he encountered. On April 6, 7, and 8 he saw The Groups (Marokau and Ravahere), Bird Island (Reitoru), and Chain Island (Anaa). From Anaa he had a clear run to Osnaburgh (Meetia), and on the same day, April 10, he sighted King George Island (Tahiti). He anchored in Matavai Bay, named Port Royal by Wallis, and established his observatory at a nearby cape, which he named Point Venus. He established friendly relations with the Tahitians. The transit of Venus was observed on June 3, 1769, under a clear sky.

Cook had decided to take a native named Tupaea with him as an interpreter and a guide to islands to the north which Tupaea said existed, one of them his native Raiatea. The Endeavour sailed north from Tahiti on July 13 and sighted an island on the first day. Parkinson's account says that Tupaea called this island "Tetiroah"; and as Tetiaroa is about twenty-six miles north of Tahiti, it is evident that Parkinson is correct. The first of the leeward group was sighted on July 14. As Tupaea knew the native names of the islands, the only difficulty in naming them was the recording of the native sounds. The page 26following islands were recorded, and the Cook spellings are given in parentheses; Huahine (Huaheine), Raiatea (Ulietea), Tahaa (Otahau), Borabora (Bolabola), and Maurua (Maowrooah). Landings were made on Huahine, Raiatea, and Tahaa. Friendly relations were maintained with the inhabitants, and pigs and other refreshments were obtained for the ship. Cook named the leeward islands, which he discovered, the Society Islands after the Royal Society of London,² but in deference to Wallis, he retained the name Georgian Islands for Tahiti and the islands forming the windward group. However, in the course of time, the name of Society Islands came to include both groups and the term Georgian Islands dropped out of current use. As Tupaea maintained that there were many islands in that direction, Cook sailed south from Raiatea. On August 13, the high island of Rurutu was sighted, and Tupaea called it Oheteroa. Attempts to land were opposed, hence the record concerning the inhabitants is scanty.

The course was next directed southwest toward the Staten Land discovered by Tasman over a century before. On October 7 a promontory was sighted by Nicholas Young and his name was inverted to give it the name of Young Nicks Head. Young Nicks Head is the southern promontory bounding the entrance to a bay which Cook named Poverty Bay because he failed to obtain provisions there. The bay is on the east coast of the north island of what came to be called New Zealand. Cook spent six months less a week in surveying New Zealand. He circumnavigated both islands, sailed through the interisland strait which now bears his name, and proved conclusively that the Staten Land of Tasman had no connection with a great south continent.

Cook sailed west from New Zealand on March 31, 1770, and explored the east coast of Australia in the masterly manner that characterized all his work. He went on to Batavia and returned via the Cape of Good Hope to England, where he anchored in the Downs on July 13, 1771, after a voyage of two years ten and one-half months.

Cook's Second Voyage

1772 to 1775

Cook's first voyage had been of such scientific value and brought so much honor to England that the Admiralty decided to send him on a second expedition. The Resolution (462 tons) and the Adventure (336 tons) were equipped for the expedition and Cook, raised to the rank of Commander in the Navy, was given command. Banks was to have accompanied him, but his demands for space on the Resolution for himself and his 12 assistants would have required too many extra accommodations to be built on the ship and Cook decided against them. Banks thereupon relinquished his project and went with his already selected company on a botanical expedi-page 27tion to Iceland. John Reinhold Forster and his son George Forster, who were the botanists chosen to accompany Cook, were an unfortunate selection, as their attitude toward Cook was antagonistic, toward others arrogant and overbearing. Dr. Anders Sparrman, a Swedish botanist, joined the expedition at Cape Town. The artist with the expedition was William Hodges. The Adventure was commanded by Tobias Furneaux, who had previously sailed with Byron on the Dolphin.

Cook sailed from Plymouth on July 13, 1772, for the Cape of Good Hope to search for the "South Continent" between the meridians of the Cape and New Zealand. In January 1773 he crossed the Antarctic Circle and reached latitude 67° S. On March 16 he turned northeast for New Zealand, and on the 26th put in at Dusky Bay in the South Island. He worked up the coast to Queen Charlotte Sound, where he found the Adventure at their rendezvous. He left New Zealand on June 7 to make further search to the east along latitude 40° S. as far as longitude 133° W. Finding no land, he turned north and worked back through the Tuamotu Archipelago to make Tahiti. On August 11 he sighted two islands, which he named Resolution (Tauere) and Doubtful (Tekokoto). On the next day he named another Furneaux (North Marutea), and on the following day he named still another Adventure (Motutunga). On this day also, he picked up an island which he recognized as Chain Island (Anaa). Two days more brought him to Osnaburgh (Meetia), and during the next day he reached Otaheite (Tahiti).

From Tahiti, Cook visited Huahine where a native named Omai was taken aboard the Adventure. After stopping at Raiatea, the course was set for Tonga. On September 23, 1773, the small island of Manuae was sighted and named Herveys Island by Cook, after Captain Hervey, one of the Lords of the Admiralty and the Earl of Bristol. This name was eventually applied to the rest of the group, which was discovered later, but they finally became the Cook Islands. On October 1, Eua (Middleburgh) and Tongatabu (Amsterdam) were reached. Trading for curios became so great that Cook forbade the trade to prevent his sailors from entirely denuding themselves. After a week, Cook sailed for New Zealand, which he sighted on October 21. After further exploration of New Zealand, Cook sailed on November 25 to continue his search for the "South Continent" between the meridians of New Zealand and Cape Horn. He again crossed the Antarctic Circle and reached latitude 71° 10′ S. on longitude 106° 54′ W. However, when progress south was stopped by immense ice fields, Cook concluded that there was no great south continent in the Pacific and turned north for warmer climes. It was at about this time that Cook became ill of a bilious colic. When, lacking fresh meat, a pet dog belonging to Mr. Forster was killed to provide broth for the sick commander, Forster's animosity toward Cook increased.

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Cook sailed north to Easter Island, which he reached on March 11, 1774. From there, he sailed northwest to locate the Marquesas, which Mendaña had discovered in 1595. On April 7 he picked up Mendafia's southern group, but the first small island, Fatuhuku, was a new discovery which he named Hoods Island, after the young man who first sighted it. The three other islands that he saw were Dominica (Hivaoa), San Pedro (Motane), and Santa Christina (Tahuata), where he landed to obtain refreshments. The island of Magdalena (Fatuhiva) to the south was not seen.

From the Marquesas, Cook sailed for Tahiti and encountered some of the Tuamotuan atolls. On April 17 he picked up Tiookea (Takaroa), where a landing was made and five dogs and some coconuts were brought aboard, and the next day passed Takapoto. These two islands he identified as the King George Islands of Byron. On the 19th, he saw the four islands of Apataki, Toau, Kaukura, and Arutua, which he grouped together under the name of the Palliser Islands. On April 22 he reached Tahiti and anchored in Matavai Bay. Cook recorded that a fleet of 300 to 400 double canoes with about 8,000 warriors was preparing to make an attack on Eimoa (Moorea), and W. Hodges painted an excellent picture of part of the fleet. Cook again visited Huahine and Raiatea and then sailed southwest and west. He passed Lord Howe Island (Mopiha) and discovered Palmerston Island on June 16, 1774. On June 20, 1774, he discovered Niue, which he named Savage Island because of a hostile demonstration when he landed. He sailed on to the Haapai group of Tonga which Tasman had named Rotterdam.

Cook continued west to the New Hebrides where he visited various islands. On his way back to New Zealand, he discovered New Caledonia on September 4, 1774, and Norfolk Island on October 10. He remarked that a plant identical with the New Zealand flax [Phormium tenax] grew on Norfolk Island. He sighted the peak of Mount Egmont on October 17 and anchored in Queen Charlotte Sound the next day.

Cook left New Zealand on November 10 on the last stage of his voyage, reaching Cape Horn on December 28. In January 1775 he surveyed the coasts of Tierra del Fuego and Staten Land, then continued exploring the south Atlantic between the parallels of 50° and 60° S. and discovered South Georgia Island and the south Sandwich Islands. On reaching the part south of the Cape of Good Hope where he had commenced his search, he came to the conclusion that there was no large "South Continent" though there might be land in the vicinity of the South Pole. He sailed for the Cape of Good Hope, and from ships he met he learned that the Adventure had reached England. He anchored in Table Bay on March 22 and met Crozet, who had been with Marion de Fresne's voyage to New Zealand.

The Resolution finally anchored off Spithead on July 30, 1775, after a voyage of three years and eighteen days which covered 60,000 to 70,000 miles. page 30Three men had been lost by accident and one by disease, but none had died of scurvy. Cook's second voyage exploded the theory of a great southern continent, discovered new islands, and produced a vast amount of information concerning the Polynesian people.

Cook's Third Voyage

1776 to 1780

For his work on his second voyage, Cook was promoted to the rank of Post Captain in the Royal Navy and given an appointment at Greenwich Hospital. His geographical work and his contribution to science in the prevention of scurvy were recognized in his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society and the award of the Copley Medal. However, when a third expedition to the south seas was planned, Cook, too active to remain in a shore position, volunteered and was accepted as commander of the expedition, the object of which was to return Omai to Tahiti and to seek a northern passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

The Resolution was refitted and John Gore, who had sailed with Wallis in the Dolphin and with Cook in the Endeavour, was appointed First Lieutenant. James King was Second Lieutenant, and William Bligh, later of Bounty notoriety, was appointed Master. The second ship was the Discovery under the command of Captain Clerke, who had served on the Endeavour. His First Lieutenant was James Burney, who had served with Captain Furneaux in the Adventure on Cook's second voyage. Burney afterwards wrote the "Chronological history of discoveries and voyages in the South Seas." George Vancouver, who was to command his own expedition in 1790 to 1795, shipped on the Discovery as a midshipman. John Webber was appointed artist to the expedition.

The Resolution sailed from Plymouth on July 12, 1776, but the Discovery was delayed until August 1. The two ships joined at Table Bay and sailed south to check on Kerguelens Land. They called at Van Diemens Land, and proceeded to Queen Charlotte Sound in New Zealand which they reached on February 12, 1777. After a brief stay, they set a course northeast which led to new discoveries. The first island was sighted on March 29 and proved to be Mangaia, which Cook spelled Mangya or Mangeea. No landing was made, but some useful information was recorded concerning the inhabitants. On March 31 Cook sighted another island, the written name of which, Wateeoo, gets very close phonetically to the correct name of Atiu. A landing was made and the people proved friendly and cheerful, according to Mr. Anderson, the surgeon on the Resolution, who contributed useful ethnological notes to Cook's Journal. Mangaia and Atiu are two of the high islands in the Cook group. A small island off Atiu was visited to obtain green fodder for the cattle on page 31board, and the name of the island was phonetically recorded as Wenooa-ette (Enua-iti) or Otakootaia (Otakutea).

From Atiu, Cook sailed west to the Tongan islands. On the way, he passed close enough to Herveys Island (Manuae) for canoes to come out to the ships. The ships remained in the Haapai and Tongatabu islands until the middle of July, and considerable intercourse with the people took place. On July 17 Cook sailed from Eooa (Eua) and stood south and later east-southeast. On August 8, 1777, a high island was sighted. On the next day, two canoes came out but the people would not come on board. However, they were close enough to give the name of the island as Toobouai (Tubuai), and excellent notes were taken as to their canoes, clothing, and other details, though no landing was made. Tubuai was the second island in the Australs to be discovered by Cook, Rurutu having been discovered on his first voyage.

The ships sailed for Tahiti, and Maitea (Meetia) was sighted on August 12, Tahiti soon after. A great trade was established in Tahiti, with red feathers obtained in Tonga as a medium. Cook visited Taiarapu and saw the wooden house left by the Spaniards, whose visits were still fresh in the memory of the people, and the cross marking Boenechea's grave. Visits were made to Moorea, Huahine, Raiatea, and Borabora. Omai having been restored to his people, Cook turned his attention to the second objective of his expedition, the search for a northern passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

Cook sailed north from Borabora on December 7, 1777. On December 24, he sighted an uninhabited atoll, where he obtained a supply of turtles and remained to observe an eclipse of the sun on December 30. As Christmas Day was spent there, he named the island Christmas Island. He continued his northern course on January 2, 1778, and sighted an island on January 18. As he drew near, he saw another island to the north. (His latitude at the time was 21° 12′ N.) The next day, the first island seen bore east and, as it was directly to windward, he stood for the other. As he approached, he saw a third island to the west-northwest. Canoes came out and traded with the ships as they moved along, and Cook was surprised to find that the language of the people was similar to that of the Tahitians. The ships finally anchored off the second island near the village of Wymea (Waimea), and the name of the island was found to be Atooi (Tauai, later Kauai).³ Cook went ashore and visited a "morai," or religious assembly place, and Webber made a fine drawing of it.

When on January 23 after leaving Kauai, a breeze sprang up, Cook weighed anchor. As the wind and current prevented a return to Kauai, he made for the third island, Oneeheow (Niihau), off which he anchored. Two page 32 page 33 small islands near Niihau were named Oreehoua (Rehua, or Lehua) and Tahoora (Taura, or Kaula), and the next island seen was Wahoo (Oahu).

Having taken sufficient food supplies and water on board, the ships left the islands on February 2 for the California coast. During Cook's stay, a wealth of information concerning the native inhabitants and their culture had been obtained and recorded. The five islands discovered on this visit were Oahu, Kauai, Niihau, and the islets of Lehua and Kaula. This group Cook named the Sandwich Islands in honor of the Earl of Sandwich. Cook fully recognized the value of his discovery as a port of call for refreshment and water. That they were not so used by the Spaniards on their annual voyages across the north Pacific from Acapulco to Manila, emphasizes the fact that they did not know of their existence.

On March 7 Cook's ships sighted the coast of North America in latitude 44° 33′ in the part which Drake had named New Albion, north of the present city of San Francisco. Cook worked along the coast, surveying and mapping various inlets and islands. He passed through Bering Strait and reached latitude 70° 44′ N., but the edge of the ice made him turn back and defer further investigation. He next surveyed part of the Asiatic coast and met Russian traders on the island of Oonalashka (Unalaska) in the Aleutian Islands, then sailed south until he was in latitude 20° 55′ N. on November 25, 1778, when he steered west. On the next day, November 26, land was sighted. Realizing that the islands he had previously seen lay to the leeward of his present position, Cook was satisfied that the Sandwich islands had been only partially discovered.

The land sighted turned out to be the island of Mowee (Maui), and trade was conducted with the canoes which came out. On November 30 the island of Owhyhee (Hawaii) was sighted. The ships worked around the coast against winds and currents and at last found anchor in Karakakooa (Kealakekua) Bay on January 17, 1779. Cook states that there must have been 1,000 canoes around the ships and that the sea was full of people swimming like shoals of fish. Trade was established on friendly terms, and contact was made with King Terreeoboo (Te-arii-o-puu, or Kalaniopuu). The ships weighed anchor to visit the other islands on February 4, but contrary winds forced them to return to Kealakekua Bay on February 11. They were received coldly, in marked contrast to their previous reception, and their position became further strained through various conflicts, including the theft of a boat.

Cook went ashore on February 14 to interview the king and persuaded him to come out to the ship. However, on the way to the boat, the huge crowd which had gathered suddenly attacked and Cook and four marines were killed. The marines on the boat opened fire, and the boat returned to the ship. The people as a whole remained hostile after this disaster, but some of the chiefs, principally "Eappo," acted as mediators to prevent a massed attack. Cook's page 34body, which was evidently dissected according to the Hawaiian custom of separating the bones from the flesh, could not be procured. However, after much delay, parts of the body were restored and committed to the deep with military honors on February 21.

Captain Clerke took command of the expedition, transferring to the Resolution, and Lieutenant Gore was made Captain of the Discovery. The repair and watering of the ships being completed, they weighed anchor and stood to the northward on February 22. On February 24 the small island of Tahoorowa (Kahoolawe) was picked up, and later the other new islands, Ranai (Lanai) and Morotoi (Molokai). The island of Oahu, seen previously, was approached, but as watering at the Waimea River on that island proved too difficult, the ships sailed for Kauai. They dropped anchor on March 1 at their previous anchorage off Waimea, where watering was completed on March 8. The ships then sailed for Niihau, where they remained for six days. Information having been obtained that there was an island named "Modoopapapa," or "Tammatapappa," west-southwest of Kaula, the ships proceeded in that direction on March 15. It was not found, and the course was set for the north.

After preliminary investigations, the expedition again sailed through Bering Strait. They reached ice, which confirmed the opinion previously formed that there was no possible northeast or northwest passage, and the ships turned south to Kamchatka. Captain Clerke, who was consumptive, died on August 22 and was buried on shore at the port of St. Peter and St. Paul in Awatska (Awatscha) Bay. Captain Gore became leader of the expedition, and Lieutenant King was promoted to Captain of the Discovery.

The ships were repaired, and the Russians gave every assistance in provisioning them. They sailed from the port on October 9, reached Macao on December 2, and Table Bay on April 13, 1780. They anchored at The Nore on October 4, 1780, after a voyage of four years, two months, and twenty-two days. The Resolution had lost five men through sickness, three of whom were in bad health on leaving England. The Discovery had not lost a man, a singular success attributable to the health regulations established by Captain Cook.

The official account of the voyage was compiled from Cook's journal up to shortly before his death, the remainder from the journal of Captain King. The expedition resulted in the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands, which Cook had regarded as the most important island discovery he made in the Pacific. It also dispelled the theory of a northern passage into the Atlantic.