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and fell a sacrifice to the fury of the enemy; three others were dangerously wounded; and the lieutenant stabbed between the shoulders with a pahooa; but having fortunately reserved his fire, shot the man from whom he had received the wound, at the instant he was preparing to repeat his blow. The last time the unfortunate captain Cook was distinctly seen, he was standing at the water's edge, and ordering the boats to cease firing, and pull in.

It was imagined by some of those who were present, that the marines, and those who were in the boats, fired without captain Cook's orders, and that he was anxious to prevent the further effusion of blood; it is therefore probable, that, on this occasion, his humanity proved fatal to him: for it was observed, that while he faced the natives no violence had been offered him; but, when he turned about, to give directions to the boats, he was stabbed in the back, and fell with his face into the water. A general shout was set up by the islanders on seeing him fall, and his body was dragged inhumanly on shore, where he was surrounded by the enemy, who snatching the dagger from each other's hands, displayed a savage eagerness to join in his destruction.

Such was the ever to be lamented fate of that incomparable navigator, captain James Cook, a fate too similar to that of Ferdinand Magellan, the famous Portuguese admiral, in the year 1521, who first demonstrated the orbicular form of our globe, by crossing the South Sea, and arriving at the East Indies by that unknown route, and who lost his life in a skirmish with the natives on one of the Ladrone Islands, which he had discovered, about 60 degrees more to the westward. Happy would it have been, if captain Cook had searched out a harbour in some 3 D

VOL. X.

part of the island of Owhyhee, remote from that which he had before visited; he might then, probably, not have closed his glorious life by an inglorious death. The natives were certainly dissatisfied at the return of the ships to Karakakooa; the consumption of their animal and vegetable productions had been very great, and they probably found a sensible decrease in their stock. The liberality, not to say profusion, with which the chiefs had heaped presents on their guests, doubtless led to a very improvident and wasteful use of their bounty. When the ships returned, the natives had leisure to reflect upon their conduct, more under the impression of self-interest than the impulse of generous feelings. They might be apprehensive that a continuance of the like contributions would be expected, but which they had lost their former zeal for supplying. With their dispositions thus soured, the slightest misunderstanding was capable of exciting enmity and ill-will, and, among a people who act from their momentary feelings, the progression to open hostilities was direct and rapid.

We have already given a sketch of the history of captain Cook, previous to his becoming a circumnavigator, in the commencement of the account of his first voyage round the world, and shall here subjoin the character drawn of him by captain King: "The earliest habits of captain Cook's life, the course of his services, and the constant application of his mind, all conspired to fit him for that species of enterprise which was assigned to him, and gave him a degree of professional knowledge which can fall to the lot of very few. The constitution of his body was robust, inured to labour, and capable of undergoing the severest hardships. His stomach

bore without difficulty the coarsest and most ungrateful food. The qualities of his mind were of the same hardy vigorous kind with those of his body. His understanding was strong and perspicacious; his judgment, in whatever related to the service he was engaged in, quick and sure. His designs were bold and manly, and, both in the conception and mode of execution, bore evident marks of a great and original genius. His courage was cool and determined, and accompanied with an admirable presence of mind in the moment of danger. His manners were plain and unaffected. His temper, might, perhaps, have been justly blamed, as subject to hastiness and passion, had not these been disarmed by a disposition the most benevolent and humane. But the distinguishing feature in his character was, that unremitting perseverance in the pursuit of his object, which was not only superior to the opposition, the dangers, and the pressure of hardships, but even exempt from the want of ordinary relaxation. During the long and tedious voyages in which he was engaged, his eagerness and activity were never in the least abated. No incidental temptation could detain hin for a moment; and every interval of recreation was submitted to by him with a certain degree of impatience, if it could not, by some means, be rendered beneficial to the objects of his pursuit. Perhaps no science ever received greater additions from the labours of a single man, than geography has done from those of captain Cook. In short, if we except the sea of Amur and the Japanese archipelago, which still remain imperfectly known to Europeans, he had completed the hydography of the habitable globe."

After the death of captain Cook, the five surviv

ing marines and the lieutenant threw themselves into the water, and escaped under cover of a smart fire from the boats. Lieutenant Phillips had scarcely entered the boat, when he saw one of the marines, who was a bad swimmer, struggling in the water, and in danger of being taken by the enemy: he immediately jumped into the sea to his assistance, though much wounded himself; and, after receiving a blow on the head from a stone, which had nearly sent him to the bottom, he caught the man by the hair, and brought him safe off. The boats were not more than twenty yards from the shore during the whole transaction. A constant fire was kept up, and a few guns were discharged from the Resolution, which at length compelled the natives to retire. Afterwards no effectual attempt was made to bring off the dead bodies, or the stand of arms, ten of which latter were left in possession of the islanders. The mast and sails were on shore at the Morai, protected by only six marines. Lieutenant King all this time was on shore, at the distance of only a short mile from the scene of action. He assured the natives of his good intentions towards them; and though they assembled in great numbers, yet they discovered no appearance of enmity or ill intentions. Captain Clerke, however, fearing for the safety of the party, and seeing, through his telescope, the vast assemblage of natives, ordered two four-pounders to be fired at them, which happily did no injury to any one, but effectually terrified them, by striking a cocoa-nut-tree, under which some of them were sitting, and shivering a rock close to the spot where they were assembled. Notwithstanding the momentary alarm which this salute had occasioned, the natives soon after attempted to force

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