A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 15 (of 18) by Robert Kerr

R >> Robert Kerr >> A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 15 (of 18)

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[Footnote 30: The judgment of the ingenious author of _Recherches sur
Americains_, on this question, seems to be very deserving of a place
here: "Qu'on calcule, comme on voudra, on sera toujours contraint
d'avouer, qu'il y a une plus grande portion de continent situee dans la
latitude septentrionale, que dans la latitude australe.

"C'est fort mal a-propos, qu'on a soutenu que cette repartition inegale
ne sauroit exister, sous pretexte que le globe perdroit son equilibre,
faute d'un contrepoids suffisant au pole meridionale. Il est vrai qu'un
pied cube d'eau salee ne pese pas autant qu'un pied cube de terre; mais
on auroit du reflechir, qu'il peut y avoir sous l'ocean des lits & des
couches de matieres, dont la pesanteur specifique varie a l'infini, &
que le peu de profondeur d'une mer, versee sur une grande surface,
contrebalance les endroits ou il y a moins de mer, mais ou elle est plus
profonde."--_Recherches Philosophiques_, tom. ii, p. 375.--D.

We offered some observations on this topic in the preceding volume, and
need scarcely resume it, as it cannot be imagined that any of our
readers still entertain the belief of the necessity for such an
equilibrium. The object in again alluding to it, is to call attention to
some observations of another kind, which Mr Jones has hazarded in one of
his Physiological Disquisitions. According to him, no such thing as a
southern counterpoise ought to have been expected, for it seems to be
the constitution of our globe, that land and water are contrasted to
each other on its opposite sides. "If," says he, "you bring the meridian
of the Cape of Good Hope under the brazen circle, or universal meridian
of a terrestrial globe, observing that this meridian passes through the
heart of the continents of Europe and Africa, you will find that the
opposite part of the meridian passes through the middle of the great,
south sea. When the middle of the northern continent of America, about
the meridian of Mexico, is examined in the same way, the opposite part
passes very exactly through the middle of the Indian ocean. The southern
continent of America is opposed by that eastern sea which contains the
East India islands. The southern continent of New Holland is opposite to
the Atlantic ocean. This alternation, if I may so call it, between the
land and sea, is too regular to have been casual; and if the face of the
earth was so laid out by design, it was for some good reason. But what
that reason may be, it will be difficult to shew. Perhaps this
disposition may be of service to keep up a proper balance; or, it may
assist toward the diurnal rotation of the earth, the free motions of the
tides, &c.; or the water on one side may give a freer passage to the
rays of the sun, and being convex and transparent, may concentrate, or
at least condense, the solar rays internally, for some benefit to the
land that lies on the other side."--This sort of reasoning, from our
ignorance, is no doubt liable to objection, and Mr Jones had good sense
and candour enough to admit, that the questions were too abstruse for
him to determine. The proper part, indeed, for man to act; is to
investigate what Nature has done, not to dogmatize as to the reasons for
her conduct--to ascertain facts, not to substitute conjectures in place
of them. But it is allowable for us, when we have done our best in
collecting and examining phenomena, to arrange them together according
to any plausible theory which our judgments can suggest. Still, however,
we ought to remember, that the most obviously imperative dictates of our
reasoning faculties are only inferences from present appearances, and
determine nothing as to the necessity of existing things.--E.]

If former navigators have added more land to the known globe than
Captain Cook, to him, at least, was reserved the honour of being
foremost in disclosing to us the extent of sea that covers its surface.
His own summary view of the transactions of this voyage, will be a
proper conclusion to these remarks: "I had now made the circuit of the
southern ocean in a high latitude, and traversed it in such a manner as
to leave not the least room for there being a continent, unless near the
Pole, and out of the reach of navigation. By twice visiting the Tropical
Sea, I had not only settled the situation of some old discoveries, but
made there many new ones, and left, I conceive, very little to be done,
even in that part. Thus I flatter myself, that the intention of the
voyage has, in every respect, been fully answered; the southern
hemisphere sufficiently explored; and a final end put to the searching
after a southern continent, which has, at times, engrossed the attention
of some of the maritime powers for near two centuries past, and been a
favourite theory amongst the geographers of all ages."[31]

[Footnote 31: Cook's second Voyage.]

Thus far, therefore, the voyages to disclose new tracks of navigation,
and to reform old defects in geography, appear to have been prosecuted
with a satisfactory share of success. A perusal of the foregoing summary
of what had been done, will enable every one to judge what was still
wanting to complete the great plan of discovery. The southern hemisphere
had, indeed, been repeatedly visited, and its utmost accessible
extremities been surveyed. But much uncertainty, and, of course, great
variety of opinion, subsisted, as to the navigable extremities of our
own hemisphere; particularly as to the existence, or, at least, as to
the practicability of a northern passage between the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans, either by sailing eastward, round Asia, or westward,
round North America.

It was obvious, that if such a passage could be effected, voyages to
Japan and China, and, indeed, to the East Indies in general, would be
much shortened; and consequently become more profitable, than by making
the tedious circuit of the Cape of Good Hope. Accordingly, it became a
favourite object of the English to effectuate this, above two centuries
ago; and (to say nothing of Cabot's original attempt, in 1497, which
ended in the discovery of Newfoundland and the Labradore coast) from
Frobisher's first voyage to find a western passage, in 1576, to those of
James and of Fox, in 1631, repeated trials had been made by our
enterprising adventurers. But though farther knowledge of the northern
extent of America was obtained in the course of these voyages, by the
discovery of Hudson's and Baffin's Bays, the wished-for passage, on that
side, into the Pacific Ocean, was still unattained. Our countrymen, and
the Dutch, were equally unsuccessful, in various attempts, to find this
passage in an eastern direction. Wood's failure, in 1676, seems to have
closed the long list of unfortunate northern expeditions in that
century; and the discovery, if not absolutely despaired of, by having
been so often missed, ceased, for many years, to be sought for.

Mr Dobbs, a warm advocate for the probability of a north-west passage
through Hudson's Bay, in our own time, once more recalled the attention
of this country to that undertaking; and, by his active zeal, and
persevering solicitation, renewed the spirit of discovery. But it was
renewed in vain. For Captain Middleton, sent out by government in 1741,
and Captains Smith and Moore, by a private society, in 1746, though
encouraged by an act of parliament passed in the preceding year, that
annexed a reward of twenty thousand pounds to the discovery of a
passage, returned from Hudson's Bay with reports of their proceedings,
that left the accomplishment of this favourite object at as great a
distance as ever.

When researches of this kind, no longer left to the solicitation of an
individual, or to the subscriptions of private adventurers, became
cherished by the royal attention, in the present reign, and warmly
promoted by the minister at the head of the naval department, it was
impossible, while so much was done toward exploring the remotest corners
of the southern hemisphere, that the northern passage should not be
attempted. Accordingly, while Captain Cook was prosecuting his voyage
toward the South Pole in 1773, Lord Mulgrave sailed with two ships, _to
determine how far navigation was practicable toward the North Pole_. And
though his lordship met with the same insuperable bar to his progress
which former navigators had experienced, the hopes of opening a
communication between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans by a northerly
course, were not abandoned; and a voyage for that purpose was ordered to
be undertaken.[32]

[Footnote 32: Dr Douglas refers to the introduction to Lord Mulgrave's
Journal for a history of former attempts to sail toward the North Pole;
and to Barrington's Miscellanies for several instances of ships reaching
very high north latitudes.--E.]

The operations proposed to be pursued were so new, so extensive, and so
various, that the skill and experience of Captain Cook, it was thought,
would be requisite to conduct them. Without being liable to any charge
of want of zeal for the public service, he might have passed the rest of
his days in the command to which he had been appointed in Greenwich
Hospital, there to enjoy the fame he had dearly earned in two
circumnavigations of the world. But he cheerfully relinquished this
honourable station at home; and, happy that the Earl of Sandwich had not
cast his eye upon any other commander, engaged in the conduct of the
expedition, the history of which is now given, an expedition that would
expose him to the toils and perils of a third circumnavigation, by a
track hitherto unattempted.[33] Every former navigator round the globe
had made his passage home to Europe by the Cape of Good Hope; the
arduous task was now assigned to Captain Cook of attempting it, by
reaching the high northern latitudes between Asia and America. So that
the usual plan of discovery was reversed; and, instead of a passage from
the Atlantic to the Pacific, one from the latter into the former was to
be tried. For it was wisely foreseen, that whatever openings or inlets
there might be on the east side of America, which lie in a direction
that could give any hopes of a passage, the ultimate success of it would
still depend upon there being an open sea between the west side of that
continent and the extremities of Asia. Captain Cook, therefore, was
ordered to proceed into the Pacific Ocean, through the chain of his new
islands in the southern tropic; and, having crossed the equator into its
northern parts, then to hold such a course as might probably fix many
interesting points in geography, and produce intermediate discoveries,
in his progress northward to the principal scene of his operations.

[Footnote 33: It is due to history, and to the character of Cook, to
mention a circumstance respecting his appointment to this expedition,
which strikingly proves the high opinion entertained of his abilities
for it, and, at the same time, his zeal for the promotion of useful
discoveries, and the prosperity of his country. This is done from the
information of Lord Sandwich, as communicated in the memoir of Cook
inserted in the Biog. Brit. When the enterprise was determined on, it
became of extreme consequence to select a proper person to undertake the
execution of it. Captain Cook most naturally obtained this respect; and
at once, without the possibility of rivalship, would have been appointed
to the command, did not a conviction and feeling of sympathy for his
former sufferings and important services, restrain his warmest friends
from the slightest expression of what they unanimously desired.
Concealing, therefore, their opinion, and avoiding every thing of the
nature of solicitation, they, nevertheless, thought it advisable to
consult his well-informed judgment relative to the nature of the
undertaking, and the person most likely to perform it. For this purpose,
Captain Cook, Sir Hugh Palliser, and Mr Stephens, were invited to dine
with Lord Sandwich, when the whole affair was discussed. The
representation of its magnitude, and beneficial consequences, roused the
enthusiasm of the navigator; and starting up, he declared that he
himself would undertake its accomplishment. This magnanimous resolution
was joyfully received, and could not fail to produce the most sanguine
hopes of at least an honourable, if not a successful, issue. His
appointment was immediately made out; and it was agreed, that on
returning to England, he should have his situation at Greenwich
restored.--E.]

But the plan of the voyage, and the various objects it embraced, will
best appear from the instructions under which Captain Cook sailed; and
the insertion of them here, will convey such authentic information as
may enable the reader to judge with precision how far they have been
carried into execution.

* * * * *

By the Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of
Great Britain and Ireland, &c.

_Secret Instructions for Captain James Cook, Commander of his Majesty's
Sloop the Resolution_.

Whereas the Earl of Sandwich has signified to us his majesty's pleasure,
that an attempt should be made to find out a northern passage by sea
from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean; and whereas we have, in
pursuance thereof, caused his majesty's sloops Resolution and Discovery
to be fitted, in all respects, proper to proceed upon a voyage for the
purpose above-mentioned, and, from the experience we have had of your
abilities and good conduct in your late voyages, have thought fit to
entrust you with the conduct of the present intended voyage, and with
that view appointed you to command the first-mentioned sloop, and
directed Captain Clerke, who commands the other, to follow your orders
for his further proceedings. You are hereby required and directed to
proceed with the said two sloops directly to the Cape of Good Hope,
unless you shall judge it necessary to stop at Madeira, the Cape de Verd
or Canary Islands, to take in wine for the use of their companies; in
which case you are at liberty to do so, taking care to remain there no
longer than may be necessary for that purpose.

On your arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, you are to refresh the sloops'
companies, and to cause the sloops to be supplied with as much
provisions and water as they can conveniently stow.

You are, if possible, to leave the Cape of Good Hope by the end of
October, or the beginning of November next, and proceed to the
southward, in search of some islands said to have been lately seen by
the French, in the latitude 48 deg. 0' S., and about the meridian of
Mauritius. In case you find those islands, you are to examine them
thoroughly for a good harbour; and, upon discovering one, make the
necessary observations to facilitate the finding it again, as a good
port, in that situation, may hereafter prove very useful, although it
should afford little or nothing more than shelter, wood, and water. You
are not, however, to spend too much time in looking out for those
islands, or in the examination of them, if found, but proceed to
Otaheite, or the Society Isles, (touching at New Zealand in your way
thither, if you should judge it necessary and convenient,) and taking
care to arrive there time enough to admit of your giving the sloops'
companies the refreshment they may stand in need of, before you
prosecute the farther object of these instructions.

Upon your arrival at Otaheite, or the Society Isles, you are to land
Omiah at such of them as he may choose, and to leave him there.

You are to distribute among the chiefs of those islands such part of the
presents with which you have been supplied, as you shall judge proper,
reserving the remainder to distribute among the natives of the countries
you may discover in the northern hemisphere. And having refreshed the
people belonging to the sloops under your command, and taken on board
such wood and water as they may respectively stand in need of, you are
to leave those islands in the beginning of February, or sooner if you
shall judge it necessary, and then proceed in as direct a course as you
can to the coast of New Albion, endeavouring to fall in with it in the
latitude of 45 deg. 0' N.; and taking care, in your way thither, not to lose
any time in search of new lands, or to stop at any you may fall in with,
unless you find it necessary to recruit your wood and water.

You are also, in your way thither, strictly enjoined not to touch upon
any part of the Spanish dominions on the western continent of America,
unless driven thither by some unavoidable accident; in which case you
are to stay no longer there than shall be absolutely necessary, and to
be very careful not to give any umbrage or offence to any of the
inhabitants or subjects of his catholic majesty. And if, in your farther
progress to the northward, as hereafter directed, you find any subjects
of any European prince or state upon any part of the coast you may think
proper to visit, you are not to disturb them, or give them any just
cause of offence, but, on the contrary, to treat them with civility and
friendship.

Upon your arrival on the coast of New Albion, you are to put into the
first convenient port to recruit your wood and water, and procure
refreshments, and then to proceed northward along the coast as far as
the latitude of 65 deg., or farther, if you are not obstructed by lands or
ice, taking care not to lose any time in exploring rivers or inlets, or
upon any other account, until you get into the before-mentioned latitude
of 65 deg., where we could wish you to arrive in the month of June next.
When you get that length, you are carefully to search for, and to
explore, such rivers or inlets as may appear to be of a considerable
extent, and pointing towards Hudson's or Baffin's Bays; and if, from
your own observations, or from any information you may receive from the
natives, (who, there is reason to believe, are the same race of people,
and speak the same language, of which you are furnished with a
vocabulary, as the Esquimaux,) there shall appear to be a certainty, or
even a probability, of a water passage into the afore-mentioned bays, or
either of them, you are, in such case, to use your utmost endeavours to
pass through with one or both of the sloops, unless you shall be of
opinion that the passage may be effected with more certainty, or with
greater probability, by smaller vessels; in which case you are to set up
the frames of one or both the small vessels with which you are
provided, and, when they are put together, and are properly fitted,
stored, and victualled, you are to dispatch one or both of them, under
the care of proper officers, with a sufficient number of petty officers,
men, and boats, in order to attempt the said passage, with such
instructions for their rejoining you, if they should fail, or for their
farther proceedings, if they should succeed in the attempt, as you shall
judge most proper. But, nevertheless, if you shall find it more eligible
to pursue any other measures than those above pointed out, in order to
make a discovery of the beforementioned passage, (if any such there be,)
you are at liberty, and we leave it to your discretion, to pursue such
measures accordingly.

In case you shall be satisfied that there is no passage through to the
above-mentioned bays, sufficient for the purposes of navigation, you
are, at the proper season of the year, to repair to the port of St Peter
and St Paul in Kamtschatka, or wherever else you shall judge more
proper, in order to refresh your people and pass the winter; and, in the
spring of the ensuing year 1778 to proceed from thence to the northward,
as far as, in your prudence, you may think proper, in further search of
a N.E. or N.W. passage from the Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic Ocean,
or the North Sea; and if, from your own observation, or any information
you may receive, there shall appear to be a probability of such a
passage, you are to proceed as above directed: and having discovered
such passage, or failed in the attempt, make the best of your way back
to England, by such route as you may think best for the improvement of
geography and navigation, repairing to Spithead with both sloops, where
they are to remain till further order.

At whatever places you may touch in the course of your voyage, where
accurate observations of the nature hereafter mentioned have not already
been made, you are, as far as your time will allow, very carefully to
observe the true situation of such places, both in latitude and
longitude; the variation of the needle; bearings of head-lands; height,
direction, and course of the tides and currents; depths and soundings of
the sea; shoals, rocks, &c.; and also to survey, make charts, and take
views of such bays, harbours, and different parts of the coast, and to
make such notations thereon as may be useful either to navigation or
commerce. You are also carefully to observe the nature of the soil, and
the produce thereof; the animals and fowls that inhabit or frequent it;
the fishes that are to be found in the rivers or upon the coast, and in
what plenty; and, in case there are any peculiar to such places, to
describe them as minutely, and to make as accurate drawings of them, as
you can; and, if you find any metals, minerals, or valuable stones, or
any extraneous fossils, you are to bring home specimens of each, as also
of the seeds of such trees, shrubs, plants, fruits, and grains, peculiar
to those places, as you may be able to collect, and to transmit them to
our secretary, that proper examination and experiments may be made of
them. Yon are likewise to observe the genius, temper, disposition, and
number of the natives and inhabitants, where you find any; and to
endeavour, by all proper means, to cultivate a friendship with them,
making them presents of such trinkets as you may have on board, and they
may like best, inviting them to traffic, and shewing them every kind of
civility and regard; but taking care, nevertheless, not to suffer
yourself to be surprised by them, but to be always on your guard against
any accidents.

You are also, with the consent of the natives, to take possession, in
the name of the King of Great Britain, of convenient situations in such
countries as you may discover, that have not already been discovered or
visited by any other European power, and to distribute among the
inhabitants such things as will remain as traces and testimonies of your
having been there; but if you find the countries so discovered are
uninhabited, you are to take possession of them for his majesty, by
setting up proper marks and inscriptions, as first discoverers and
possessors.

But forasmuch as, in undertakings of this nature, several emergencies
may arise not to be foreseen, and therefore not particularly to be
provided for by instructions before-hand, you are, in all such cases, to
proceed as you shall judge most advantageous to the service on which you
are employed.

You are, by all opportunities, to send to our secretary, for our
information, accounts of your proceedings, and copies of the surveys and
drawings you shall have made; and upon your arrival in England, you are
immediately to repair to this office, in order to lay before us a full
account of your proceedings in the whole course of your voyage, taking
care, before you leave the sloop, to demand from the officers and petty
officers the log-books and journals they may have kept, and to seal
them up for inspection; and enjoining them, and the whole crew, not to
divulge where they have been, until they shall have permission so to do:
And you are to direct Captain Clerke to do the same, with respect to the
officers, petty officers, and crew of the Discovery.

If any accident should happen to the Resolution in the course of the
voyage, so as to disable her from proceeding any farther, you are, in
such case, to remove yourself and her crew into the Discovery, and to
prosecute your voyage in her; her commander being hereby strictly
required to receive you on board, and to obey your orders, the same, in
every respect, as when you were actually on board the Resolution. And,
in case of your inability, by sickness or otherwise, to carry these
instructions into execution, you are to be careful to leave them with
the next officer in command, who is hereby required to execute them in
the best manner he can.

Given under our hands the 6th day of July, 1776,

SANDWICH,
C. SPENCER,
H. PALLISER.

By command of their lordships,

PH. STEPHENS.

* * * * *

Besides ordering Captain Cook to sail on this important voyage,
government, in earnest about the object of it, adopted a measure, which,
while it could not but have a powerful operation on the crews of the
Resolution and Discovery, by adding the motives of interest to the
obligations of duty, at the same time encouraged all his majesty's
subjects to engage in attempts toward the proposed discovery. By the act
of parliament, passed in 1745,[34] a reward of twenty thousand pounds
had been held out. But it had been held out only to the ships belonging
to any of his majesty's subjects, exclusive of his majesty's own ships.
The act had a still more capital defect. It held out this reward only to
such ships as should discover a passage through Hudson's Bay; and, as we
shall soon take occasion to explain, it was, by this time, pretty
certain that no such passage existed within those limits. Effectual care
was taken to remedy both these defects by passing a new law; which,
after reciting the provisions of the former, proceeds as follows:--"And
whereas many advantages, both to commerce and science, may be also
expected from the discovery of any northern passage for vessels by sea,
between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, be it enacted, That if any ship
belonging to any of his majesty's subjects, or to his majesty, shall
find out, and sail through, any passage by sea between the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans, in any direction, or parallel of the northern
hemisphere, to the northward of the 52 deg. of northern latitude, the owners
of such ships, if belonging to any of his majesty's subjects, or the
commander, officers, and seamen of such ship belonging to his majesty,
shall receive, as a reward for such discovery, the sum of twenty
thousand pounds.