 Chapter 44 of a book of discovery, a book of discovery by M. B. Singh, chapter 44, bearing finds his straight. In the great work of Arctic exploration during the 18th and 19th centuries, it is to England and Russia that we owe our knowledge at the present day. It is well known how Peter the Great of Russia journeyed to Amsterdam to learn shipbuilding under the Dutch, and to England to learn the same art under the English, and how the Russian fleet grew into the rain. Among the Danish shipbuilders at Petersburg was one Vytus Behring, already a bold and able commander on the high seas. The life of his great Russian Tsar was drawing to its close. He was already within a few weeks of the end, when he planned an expedition under the same Vytus Behring, for which he wrote the instruction with his own hands. At Kamchatka two decked boats are to be built. These you are to sail northward along the coast, and as the end of the coast is not known, this land is undoubtedly America. For this reason you are to inquire where the American coast begins, and go to some European colony, and when European ships are seen, you are to ask what the coast is called, note it down, make a landing, and after having charted the coast return. Are Asia and America joined together, or was there a strait between the two? The question was yet undecided in 1725. Indeed, the east coast of Asia was only known as far as the island of Yezo, while the Pacific coast of America had been explored no farther than New Albion. Peter the Great died on 28 January 1725. A week later Behring started for Kamchatka. Right across Snoukavar, Russia, to the boundary of Siberia, he led his expedition. March found him at Toborsk, with rafts and boats sails and made their way by the Siberian rivers, till they reached Yakutsk, where they spent their first winter. Not till the middle of June 1726 did Behring reach the capital of East Siberia. The rest of the journey was through utterly unknown land. It was some 685 miles eastwards to Okhotsk, through a rough and mountainous country, cut up by deep and bridgeless streams. The paths lay over dangerous swamps and through dense forest. The party now divided, bearing with 200 horses traveled triumphantly, if painfully, to Okhotsk in 45 days. The town consisted of 11 huts containing Russian families, who lived by fishing. Snow lay deep on the frozen ground, and the horses died one by one for lack of food. But the undaunted explorer had soon got huts ready for the winter, which was to be spent in felling trees and pushing forward the building of his ship, the Fortuna, for the coming voyage of discovery. Behring himself had made a successful journey to the coast, but some of the party encountered terrible hardships, and it was mid-summer 1727 before they arrived, while others were overtaken by winter in the very heart of Siberia, and had to make their way for the last 300 miles on foot, through snow, in places six feet deep. Their food was finished, famine became a companion to cold, and they were obliged to gnaw their shoes and straps and leather-and-bags. Indeed they must have perished, had they not stumbled on bearing through, where they found his dead horses. But at last all was ready, and the little ship Fortuna was sailing bravely across the sea of Okhotsk, some 650 miles to the coast of Kamchatka. This ship did in 16 days. The country of Kamchatka had now been crossed, and with boats and sledges this took the whole winter. It was a labyrinth undertaking, following the course of the Kamchatka River. The expedition had to camp in the snow, and few natives were forthcoming for the transport of heavy goods. It was not till March 1728 that Behring reached his goal, Ostrog, a village near the sea, inhabited by a handful of Cossacks. From this point, on the bleak shores of the Arctic Sea, the exploring party were ordered to start. It had taken over three years to reach this starting point, and even now a seemingly hopeless task lay before them. After hard months of shipbuilding, the stout little Gabriel was launched. Her timber had been hauled by Ostrog by dogs, while the rigging cable and anchors had been dragged nearly 2,000 miles through one of the most desolate regions of the earth. As to the food on which the explorers lived, fish oil was their butter, and dried fish, their beef and pork, salt they were obliged to get from the sea. Thus supplied with the year's provision, Behring started on his voyage of discovery, along an unknown coast and over an unknown sea. On eight-inch July 1728, the sails of the Gabriel were triumphantly hoisted, and Behring, with a crew of forty-four, started on the great voyage. His course lay close along the coast northwards. The sea was alive with whales, seals, sea lions, and dolphins, as the little party made their way north, past the mouth of Anadi River. The little Gabriel was now in the strait between Asia and America, though Behring knew it not. They had been at sea some three weeks, when eight men came rowing towards them in a leathern boat. There were the Chukchis, a warlike race living on the northeast coast of Siberia, and subdued and fierce. They pointed out a small island in the north, which Behring named the Isle of St. Lawrence in honor of the day. Until he turned back, he felt he had accomplished his task and obeyed his orders. Moreover, with adverse winds they might never return to Kamchatka, and the winter among the Chukchis was the core to disaster. After a cruise of three months, they reached their starting point again. Had he only known that the coast of America was but thirty-nine miles off, the results of his voyage would have been greater. As it was, he ascertained that there really does exist a northeast passage, and that from the Lena River, it is possible, provided one is not prevented by polar ice, to sail to Kamchatka and thence to Japan, China and the East Indies. The final discovery was left for Captain Cook. As he approached the straits, which he called after Behring, the sun broke suddenly through the clouds, and the continents of Asia and America were visible at a glance. There was dissatisfaction in Russia with the result of Behring's voyage, and though five years of untold hardship in the extremist corner of the world had told on the Russian explorer he was willing and anxious to start off again. He proposed to make Kamchatka again his headquarters, to explore the western coast of America, and to chart the long Arctic coast of Siberia, a colossal task indeed. So the great northern expedition was formed, with Behring in command, accompanied by two well-known explorers to help, Spankberg and Cherikov, and with five hundred and seventy men under him. It would take too long to follow the various expeditions that now left Russia in five different directions to explore the unknown coasts of the old world. The world has never witnessed a more heroic geographical enterprise than these arctic expeditions. Amid obstacles indescribable the north line of Siberia, his or two charted as a straight line, was explored and surveyed. Never was greater courage and endurance displayed. If the ships could frozen in, they were hold on shore, the men spent the long winter in miserable huts and started off again with the spring, until the northern coast assumed shape and form. One branch of the great northern expedition under Behring was composed of professors to make a scientific investigation of Kamchatka. These thirty learned Russians were luxuriously equipped, they carried a library with several hundred books, including Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels, seventy reams of writing paper and artist's materials. They had nine wagon loads of instruments, carrying telescopes fifteen feet long, a surgeon, two landscape painters, one instrument maker, five surveyors, accompanied them, and the convoy grew like an avalanche as it worked its way into Siberia. Behring seemed to have moved this cumbersome machine safely to Yakutsk, though it took the best part of two years. Having left Russia in 1733, it was 1741, when Behring himself was ready to start from the harbor of Okhotsk for the coast of America, with two ships and provisions for some month. He was now nearly sixty, his health was undermined with vexation and worry, and the climate of Okhotsk had nearly killed him. On 18 July, just six weeks after the start, Behring discovered the continent of North America. The coast was jacked, the land covered with snow, mountains extended inland, and above all rose a peak hovering into the clouds, a peak higher than anything they knew in Siberia or Kamchatka, which Behring named Mount St. Elias, after the patron saint of the day. He made his way with difficulty through the string of islands that skirt the great peninsula of Alaska. Through the months of August and September they cruised about the coast in damp and foggy weather, which now gave way to violent storms. And Behring's ship was driven along at the mercy of the wind. He himself was ill, and the greater part of his crew were disabled by scurvy. At last one day, in a high-running sea, the ship struck upon a rock, and they found themselves stranded on an unknown island off the coast of Kamchatka. Only two men were fit to land. They found a dead whale on which they fed their sick. Later on sea otters, blue and white foxes, and sea cows provided food, but the island was desolate and solitary, not a human being was to be seen. Later, however, the little party was forced to enter, with difficulties they built five underground huts on the sandy shore of the island, now known as Behring Island. And each day amid the raging snowstorms and piercing winds, one man went forth to hunt for animal food. Man after man died, and by December Behring's own condition had become hopeless. Water and grief had added to his misery, and in his sand hut he died. He was almost buried alive, for the sand rolled down from the pit in which he lay and covered his feet. He would not have it removed, for it kept him warm. Thirty more of the little expedition died during that bitter winter on the island. The survivors, some forty-five persons, built a ship from the timbers of the wreck, and in August 1742 they returned to Kamchatka to tell the story of Behring's discoveries and of Behring's death. CHAPTER 45 COOK DISCOVERS NEW ZEALAND But while the names of Torres, Carpenter, Dustman and Dampier are still to be found on our modern maps of Australia, it is the name of Captain Cook that we must always connect most closely with the discovery of the Great Island Continent, the Great Southland which only became known to Europe one hundred and fifty years ago. Dampier had returned to England in 1701 from his voyage to New Holland, but nearly seventy years passed before the English were prepared to send another expedition to investigate further the mysterious land in the south. James Cook had shown himself worthy as the Great Command that was given to him in 1768, although exploration was not the main object of the expedition. Spending his boyhood in the neighbourhood of Whitby, he was familiar with the North Sea Fisherman, who is the Colliers even with the smugglers that frequented this eastern coast. In 1755 he entered the Royal Navy, volunteering for service and entering his majesty's ship Eagle as masters mate. Four years later we find him taking his share on board his majesty's ship Pembroke, in the attack on Quebec by Wall, and later transferred to his majesty's ship Northumberland, selected to survey the river and gulf of St. Lawrence. So satisfactory was his work that a few years later he was instructed to survey and chart the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. While engaged on this work he observed an eclipse of the sun which led to the appointment that necessitated a voyage to the Pacific Ocean. It had been calculated that a transit of Benos would occur in June 1769. A petition to the king set forth that the British nation being justly celebrated in the learned world for their knowledge of astronomy, in which they are inferior to no nation upon earth, ancient or modern, it would cast dishonour upon them should they neglect to have correct observations made of this important phenomenon. The king agreed and the royal society selected James Cook as a fit man for the appointment. A stout strongly built collier of three hundred and seventy tons was chosen at Whitby, manned with seventy men, and vectured for twelve months, with instructions to observe the transit of Benos at the island of Georgeland, Othahite. To make further discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean and to explore New Zealand if possible, Cook hoisted his flag on his majesty's ship Endeavour and started in May 1768. It was an interesting party on board joined at the last moment by Mr. Joseph Banks, a very rich member of the royal society and the student of natural history. He had requested leave to sail in the ship that carries the English astronomers to the new discovered country in the South Sea. No people ever went to sea better fitted out for the purpose of natural history, nor more elegantly, says a contemporary writer. They have a fine library, they have all sorts of machines for catching and preserving insects. They have two painters and draughtsmen. In short, this expedition will cost Mr. Banks ten thousand pounds. Their astronomical instruments are of the best, including portable observatory constructed for sixteen guineas. But most important of all was the careful assortment of provisions to allay if possible that scourge of all navigators, the scurvy. A quantity of malt was shipped to be made in the wort, mustard, vinegar, wheat, orange and lemon juice, and portable soup was put on board, and Cook received special orders to keep his men with plenty of fresh food whenever this was possible. He carried out these orders strenuously, and at Madeira we find him punishing one of his own seamen with twelve lashes for refusing to eat fresh beef. Since they left Rio de Janeiro in as good a condition for persecuting the voyage as on the day they left England. Christmas Day was passed near the mouth of the river Platt, and early in the new year of 1769 the endeavour sailed through the strait of La Mer. The wealthy Mr. Banks landed on Staten Island, and hastily added a hundred new plants to his collection. And they sailed on to St. George's Island. It had been visited by Captain Wallace and the Dolphin the previous year, indeed some of Cook's sailors had served on board the Dolphin, and knew the native chiefs of the island. All was friendly, tents were soon pitched, a fort built with mounted guns on either side, the precious instruments landed, and on 3 June with a cloudless sky and intolerable heat, they observed the whole passage of the planet Venus over the sun's desk. After a stay of three months they left the island, taking Tupea, a native, with them. Among other accomplishments the Tupea roasted dogs to perfection, and Cook declares that dog's flesh is next only to English lamb. They visited other islands in the group, now known as the Society Islands and belonging to France, and took possession of all in the name of his Britannic Majesty, George III. All through the months of September they sailed south, till on 7 October land was sighted. It proved to be the North Island of New Zealand, never before approached by Europeans from the East. It was 127 years since Tasman had discovered the West Coast and called it Staten Land. But no European had ever set foot on its soil. Indeed it was still held to be part of the Terror Australis Incognita. The first to sight land was a boy named Nicholas Young, hence the point was called Young Nick's Head, which may be seen on our maps today, covering Poverty Bay. The natives here were unfriendly, and Cook was obliged to use firearms to prevent an attack. The Moorys had never seen a great ship before, and at first thought it was a very large bird, being struck by the size and beauty of its wings, sails. When a small boat was let down from the ship's side, they thought it must be a young, unfledged bird, but when the white men in their bright-colored clothes rode off in the boat, they concluded these were gods. Cook found the low sandy coast, back at the well-wooded hills rising to mountains, on which patches of snow were visible, while smoke could be seen through the trees, speaking of native dwellings. The natives were too treacherous to make it safe landing for the white men, so they sailed out of Poverty Bay and proceeded south. Angry Moorys shook their spears at the Englishmen, as they coasted south along the east coast of the North Island, but the face of the country was unpromising, and Cook altered his course for the North at a point he named Cape Torn again. Unfortunately, he missed the only safe port on the east coast between Auckland and Wellington, but he found good anchorage in what is now known as Cook's Bay. Here they got plenty of good fish, wildfowl and oysters, as good as ever came out of Colchester. Taking possession of the land they passed in the name of King George, Cook continued his northerly course, passing many a river which seemed to resemble the Thames at home. A heavy December gale blew them off the northernmost point of land, which they named Northscape, and Christmas was celebrated off Tasman's Islands with goose pie. The new year of 1770 found Cook off Cape Maria van Diemen, sailing south along the western coast of the North Island, till the endeavour was anchored in Shipcoe, Queen Charlotte's Sound, only about seventy miles from the spot where Tasman first sighted land. Here the English explorer landed. The country was sickly wooded, but he climbed a hill, and away to the eastward he saw that the seas washing both east and west coasts of the northern island were united. He had solved one problem. Tasman's statin land was not part of a great southern continent. He now resolved to push through his newly discovered straits between the two islands, and having done this he sailed north till he reached Cape Ternagale, and so he proved beyond and out that this was an island. The men thought they had done enough, but Cook, with the true instinct of an explorer, turned a deaf ear to the murmurings of his crew for roast beef and old England, and directed his course against south. From the natives he had learned of the existence of two islands, and he must need sail round the southern as he had sailed round the northern isle. Storms and gales harassed the navigators through the months of February, as they made their way slowly southwards. Indeed, they had a very narrow escape from death, towards the end of the months, when in a two-days gale with heavy squalls of rain their foresail was split to pieces, and they lost sight of land for seven days, nearly running on to submerged rocks which Cook named the Traps. It was nearly dark on fourteenths of March, when they entered a bay which they suitably christened Dusky Bay, from which they sailed to Cascade Point, named from the four streams that fell over its face. No country upon earth, remarked Cook, can appear with a more rugged and barren aspect than this does from the sea, for as far inland as the eye can reach, nothing is to be seen but the summit of these rocky mountains. At last, on twenty-fourth of March, they rounded the north point of the south island. Before them lay the familiar waters of Massacre Bay, Tasman Bay, and Queen Charlotte's Sound. As we have now circumnavigated the whole of this country, it is time for me to think of quitting it. Cook remarked simply enough. Running into Admiralty Bay, the endeavour was repaired for her coming voyage home. Her sails, ill provided from the first, says Banks, were now worn and damaged by the rough work they had gone through, particularly on the coast of New Zealand, and they gave no little trouble to get into order again. While Banks searched for insects and plants, Cook sat writing up his journal of the circumnavigation. He loyally gives Tasman the honour of the first discovery, but clearly shows his error in supposing it is be part of the great southern land. The natives he describes as a strong, row-boned, well-made, active people, rather above the common size of a dark brown colour, with black hair, thin black beards and white teeth. Both men and women paint their faces and bodies with red ochre mixed with fish oil. Save your ornaments of stone, bone and shells at their ears and about their necks, and the men generally wear long white feathers, stuck upright in their hair. They came off in canoes, which will carry a hundred people, when within a stone's throw from the ship, the chief of the party would brandish a battle axe, calling out, come ashore with us and we will kill you. They would certainly have eaten them too, for they were cannibals. The ship was now ready, and naming the last point of land Cape Farwell, they sailed away to the west, till we fall in with the coast of New Holland. They had spent six and a half months sailing about in New Zealand waters, and had coasted some two thousand four hundred miles. Nineteen days sail brought them to the eagerly south coast, and on twenty-eighths April Cook anchored for the first time, in the bay known afterwards to history as Botany Bay, so named from the quantity of plants found in the neighbourhood by Mr. Becks. Cutting an inscription on one of the trees, with the date and name of the ship, Cook sailed north early in May, surveying the coast as he passed, and giving names to the various bays and capes. Usport Jackson, at the entrance of Sydney Harbour, undiscovered by Cook, was so named after one of the secretaries of the Admiralty. Smokey Cape, from smoke arising from native dwellings, pointed danger by reason of a narrow escape on some shoals, while Morton Bay, on which Brisbane, the capital of Queensland now stands, was named after the President of the Royal Society. As they advanced, the coast became steep, rocky, and unpromising. He third too, reports Cook, we had safely navigated this dangerous coast, where the sea in all parts concealed shores, that project suddenly from the shore and rocks, that rise abruptly, like a pyramid, from the bottom more, than one thousand three hundred miles. But here we became acquainted with Miss Fortune, and we therefore called the point which we had just seen farthest to the northward, Cape Tribulation. It was the tenth of May, the gentlemen had left the deck, in great tranquility, and gone to bed, when suddenly the ship struck and remained immevable, except for the heaving of the surge, and beat her against the crags of the rock, upon which she lay. Everyone rushed to the deck, with countenances which sufficiently expressed the horrors of our situation. Immediately they took in all sails, lowered the boats, and found they were on a reef of coral rocks. Two days of sickening anxiety followed, the ship sprang a leak, and they were threatened with total destruction. To their intense relief, however, the ship floated off into deep water, with a high tide. Repairs were now more than ever necessary, and the poor battered cold year was taken into the Endeavour River. Tupea and others were also showing signs of scurvy, so a hospital tent was erected on shore, and with the supply of fresh fish, pigeons, wild plantains, and turtles, they began to improve. Here stands today the seaport of Cooktown, where a monument of Captain Cook looks out over the waters that he discovered. The prospect of further exploration was not encouraging. In whatever direction we looked, the sea was covered with shoals, as far as the eye could see. As they sailed out of their little river, they could see the surf breaking on the Great Barrier Reef. Navigation now became very difficult, and more than once, even Cook himself almost gave up hope. Great Zen was their joy, when they found themselves at the northern promontory of the land, which I have named York Cape, in honour of his late royal highness, the Duke of York. We were in great hopes that he had at last found out a passage into the Indian seas, and he adds an important paragraph. As I was now about to quits the eastern coast of New Holland, which I am confident no European had ever seen before, I once more hoisted the English colours, and I now took possession of the whole eastern coast in right of His Majesty King George III by the name of New South Wales, with all the bays, harbours, rivers and islands situated upon it. This part of the new land was called by the name of New South Wales. So the endeavour sailed through the straits that Torres had accidentally passed one hundred and sixty-four years before, and just sighting New Guinea, Cook made his way to Java, for his crew were sickly and pretty far gone, was lunging for home. The ship, too, was in bad condition. She had to be pumped night and day to keep her free from water, and her sails would hardly stand the least puff of wind. They reached Batavia in safety, and were kindly received by the Dutch there. Since leaving Plymouth two years before, Cook had only lost seven men altogether, three by drowning, two frozen, one from consumption, one from poisoning, none from scurvy, a record without equal in the history of navigation. But the climate of Batavia now wrought havoc amongst the men. One after another died, Tupea among others, and so many were weakened by the ship's fever, that only twenty officers and men were left on duty at one time. Glad indeed they were, to live at Christmastime, and gladder still to anchor in the downs, and to reach London after their three-years absence. The news of his arrival on great discoveries seems to have been taken very quietly by those at home. Lloyd and Cook of the Navy says the annual register for 1771, who went round the globe, was introduced to his majesty at St. James, and presented to his majesty his journal of his voyage, with some curious maps and charts of different places that he had drawn during the voyage. He was presented with the captain's commission. End of Chapter 45 Chapter 46 of a book of discovery. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. A Book of Discovery by M. B. Singh, Chapter 46 Cook's Third Voyage and Death Although the importance of his discoveries was not realized at this time, Cook was given command of two new ships, the Resolution and Adventure, provisioned for a year for a voyage to remote parts a few months later, and the old endeavor went back to her clear work in the North Sea. Perhaps a letter written by Cook to a friend at Whitby on his return from the second voyage is sufficient to serve our purpose here. For though the voyage was important enough, yet little new was discovered, and after spending many months in high latitudes, Cook decided that there was no great Southern continent to the south of New Holland and New Zealand. Dear sir, he rides from London in September 1775. I now sit down to fulfill the promise I made you to give you some account of my last voyage. I left the Cape of Good Hope on 22nd November 1772 and proceeded to the south till I met with a vast field of ice and much foggy weather, and large islets or floating mountains of ice without number. After some trouble and not a little danger, I got to the south of the field of ice, and after beating about for some time for land in a sea-strewed with ice, I crossed the Antarctic Circle and the same evening, 17 January 1773, found it unsafe or rather impossible to stand farther to the south for ice. Seeing no signs of meeting with land in these high latitudes, I stood away to the northward, and without seeing any signs of land, I sought proper to steer for New Zealand, where I anchored in Dusky Bay on 26th of March, and then sailed for Queen Charlotte a sound. Then I put to sea and stood to the south, where I met with nothing but ice and excessive cold, bad weather. Here I spent near four months beating about in high latitudes. Once I got as high as 71 degrees, and farther it was not possible to go for ice, which lay as firm as land. Here we saw ice mountains, whose summits were lost in clouds. I was now fully satisfied that there was no southern continent. I nevertheless resolved to spend some time longer in these seas, and with this resolution I stood away to the north. In the second voyage cook brood that there was no great land to the south of Terra Australis, or South America, except the land of ice, lying about the south pole. But he did a greater piece of work than this. He fought and fought successfully the great curse of Scurvy, which had his or two carried off scores of sailors, and prevented ships on voyages of discovery, or indeed ships of war, from staying long on the high seas without constantly landing for supplies of fresh food. It was no uncommon occurrence for a sea captain to return after even a few months' cruise with half his men suffering from Scurvy. Captain Pelliser, on his majesty's ship Eagle, in 1756, landed in Plymouth Sound, with 136 men, out of 400, 22 having died in a month. Cook had resolved the fights his dreaded scourge, and we have already seen that during his three-year scruise of the endeavour he had only to report five cases of Scurvy, so close a watch did he keep on his screws. In his second voyage he was even more particular with the result that in the course of three years he did not lose a single man from Scurvy. He enforced cold bathing and encouraged it by example. The allowance of salt-beef and pork was cut down, and the habit of mixing salt-beef fat with the flour was strictly forbidden. Salt-butter and cheese were stopped, and raisins were substituted for salt-suit. Wild celery was collected in Terro de El Fiego, and breakfast made from this with ground wheat and portable soup. The cleanliness of the men was insisted on. Cook never allowed anyone to appear dirty before him. He inspected the men once a week at least, and saw with his own eyes that the chains are closing. Equal care was taken to keep the ship clean and dry between decks, and she was constantly cured with fires, or smoked with gunpowder mixed with vinegar. For a paper on this subject read before the Royal Society in 1776, James Cook was awarded a gold medal, now in the British Museum. But although the explorer was now 48, he was as eager for active adventure as the youth of 20. He had settled the question of a Southern continent. Now when the question of the Northwest Passage came up again, he offered his services to Lord Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty, and was at once accepted. It was more than two hundred years since Robisher had attempted to solve the mystery, which even Cook, the first navigator of his day, with improved ships and better fed men, did not succeed in solving. He now received his secret instructions, and choosing the old resolution again, he set sail in company with Captain Clerk on board the discovery, in the year 1776, for that voyage from which there was to be no return. He was to touch at New Albion, discovered by Drake, and explore any rivers or inlets that might lead to Hudson's or Baffin's Bay. After once more visiting Tasmania and New Zealand, he made a prolonged stay among the Pacific Islands, turning north in December 1777. Soon after they had crossed the line, and a few days before Christmas, a low island was seen, on which Cook at once landed, hoping to get a fresh supply of turtle. In this he was not disappointed. Some three hundred, all of the green kind, and perhaps as good as any in the world, were obtained. The island was named Christmas Island, and the resolution and discovery sailed upon their way. A few days later they came upon a group of islands, hitherto unknown. These they named after the Earl of Sandwich, the group forming the Kingdom of Hawaii, the chief island. Natives came off in canoes, bringing pigs and potatoes, and ready to exchange fish for nails. Some were tempted on board, the wildness of their locks expressing their astonishment. Anchorage being found Cook landed, and as he set foot on shore, a large crowd of natives pressed forward, and throwing themselves under faces, remains us, till Cook signed to them to rise. With a goodly supply of fresh provisions, Cook sailed away from the Sandwich Islands, and after some five-week sail to the North, the longed-for coast of New Albion was seen. The natives of the country were clad in fur, which they offered for sail. They exacted payment for everything, even for the wood and water that the strangers took from their shores. The weather was cold and stormy, and the progress of the little English ships was slow. By 22nd March they had passed Cape Flattery, a week later they named Hope Bay, in which we hoped to find a good harbor, and the event proved we were not mistaken. All this part of the coast was called by Cook, King George's sound, but the native name of Nūtka has since prevailed. We have an amusing account of these natives. At first they were supposed to be dark-colored, till after much cleaning they were found to have skins like our people in England. Experts' thieves they were. No piece of iron was safe from them. Before we left the place, says Cook, hardly a bit of brass was left in the ship. Whole suits of clothes were stripped of every button. Copper kettles, tin canisters, candlesticks, all went to wreck so that these people got a greater variety of things from us than any other people we had visited. It was not till 26th April that Cook at last managed to start forward again, but the two days' hard gale drove him from the coast and onwards to a wide inlet to which he gave the name of Prince William's sound. Here the natives were just like the Eskimos in Hudson's Bay. The ships now sailed westward, doubling the promontory of Alaska, and on 9th August they reached the westernmost point of North America, which they named Cape Prince of Wales. They were now on the sea discovered by Bering, 1741, to which they gave his name. Hampered by fog and ice the ships made their way slowly onto a point named Cape North. Cook decided that the eastern point of Asia was but 13 leagues from the western point of America. They named the sound on the American side Norton Sound after the Speaker of the House of Commons. Having passed the Arctic Circle and penetrated into the northern seas, which were never free from ice, they met Russian traders who professed to have known Bering. Then having discovered 4,000 miles of new coast, and refreshed themselves with walrus or seahorse, the expedition turned joyfully back to the Sandwich Islands. On the last day of November Cook discovered the island of Ohiwi, Hawaii, which he carefully surveyed till he came to anchor in Karakakua Bay. The tragic death of Captain Cook at the hands of these natives is well known to every child. The reason for his murder is not entirely understood today, but the natives, who had hitherto proved friendly, suddenly attacked the English explorer and slew him, and he fell into the water and spoke no more. Such was the melancholy end of England's first great navigator, James Cook, the foremost sailor of his time, the man who had circumnavigated New Zealand, who had explored the coast of New South Wales, named Various Unknown Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and discovered the Sandwich Islands. He died on 14 February 1779. It was not till 11 January 1780 that the news of his death reached London to be recorded in the quaint language of the day by the London Gazette. It is with the utmost concern, runs the announcement, that we inform the public that the celebrated circumnavigator Captain Cook was killed by the inhabitants of a new discovered island in the South Seas. The captain and crew were first treated as deities, but upon their revisiting that island hostilities ensued, and the above melancholy scene was the consequence. This account is come from Kamchotka by letters from Captain Clerk and others, but the crews of the ships were in a very good state of health and all in the most desirable condition. His successful attempts to preserve the health of the crew are well known, and his discoveries will be an everlasting honour to his country. Cook's first voyages were published in 1773 and were widely read, but his account of the new country did not at once attract Europeans to its shores. We hear of barren sandy shores and wild rocky coast inhabited by naked black people, malicious and cruel, on the one hand, and low shores all white with sand fringed with foaming surf with hostile natives on the other. It was not till 18 years after Cook's death that Banks, his old friend, appealed to the British government of the day to make some use of these discoveries. At last the loss of the American colonies in 1776 induced men to turn their eyes towards the new land in the South Pacific. Banks remembered well his visit to Botany Bay with Captain Cook in 1770, and he now urged the dispatch of convicts, his air to transport it to America, to this newly found bay in New South Wales. So in 1787 a fleet of 11 ships with 1000 people on board left the shores of England under the command of Captain Philip. After a tedious voyage of 36 weeks they reached Botany Bay in January 1788. Captain Philip had been appointed governor of all New South Wales, that is from Cape York to on Demon's land, still supposed to be part of the mainland. But Philip at once recognized that Botany Bay was not a suitable place for settlement. No white men have described these shores since the days of Captain Cook. The green meadows of which Banks spoke were barren swamps and bleak sands, while the bay itself was exposed to the full sweep of violent winds, with a heavy sea breaking with tremendous surf against the shore. Warra! Warra! Be gone, be gone! shouted the natives, brandishing spears at the water's edge as they had done 18 years before. In an open boat, for it was mid-summer in these parts, Philip surveyed the coast. An opening marked Port Jackson on Cook's chart attracted his notice, and sailing between two rocky headlands the explorer found himself crossing smooth clear water with a beautiful harbor in front, and soft green foliage reaching down to the water's edge. Struck with the loveliness of the scene and finding both wood and water here, he chose the spot for his new colony, giving it the name of Sydney, after Lord Sydney, who as home secretary had appointed him to his command. We got into Port Jackson, he wrote to Lord Sydney, early in the afternoon, and had the satisfaction of finding the finest harbor in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line may ride in perfect security. To us, wrote one of his captains, it was a great and important day, and I hope we'll mark the foundation of an empire. But interesting as it is, we cannot follow the fortunes of this first little English colony in the South Pacific Ocean. The English had not arrived a day too soon. A few days later the French explorer La Peruse, guided hither by Cook's chart, suddenly made his appearance on the shores of Botany Bay. The arrival of two French men of war caused the greatest excitement amongst the white strangers and the black natives. La Peruse had left France in 1785, in command of two ships, with orders to search for the Northwest Passage from the Pacific side. A feat attempted by Captain Cook only nine years before. To explore the China seas, the Solomon Islands and the Terra Australis, he had reached the coast of Alaska in June 1786, but after six weeks of bad weather he had crossed to Asia in the early part of the following year. Then he had made his way by the Philippine islands to the coasts of Japan, Korea and Chinese territory. Touching at Quill Park, he reached a bay near our modern Vladivostok, and on 2nd August 1787 he discovered the strait that bears his name today, between Sakhalin and the North Island of Japan. Fortunately from Kamchatka, where he had landed, he had sent home his journals, notes, plans and maps by Lesseps. Uncle of the famous Ferdinand de Lesseps of Suez Canal fame. On 26 January 1788 he landed at Botany Bay. From here he wrote his last letter to the French government. After leaving the sport he was never seen again. Many years later in 1826 the work of his two ships was found on the reefs of an island near the New Hebrides. Chapter 47 of a Book of Discovery. This is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. A Book of Discovery by M. B. Singh. Chapter 47 Bruce's travels in Abyssinia. Perhaps one of the strangest facts in the whole history of exploration is that Africa was almost an unknown land a hundred years ago and stranger still that there remains today nearly one-eleventh of the whole area still unexplored and yet it is one of the three old continents that appear on every old chart of the world in ancient days with its many-mouthed nile rising in weird spots and flowing in soundly impossible directions. Sometimes it joins the mysterious niger and together they flow through country labeled unknown or desert or negro land or an enterprising cartographer fills up vacant spaces with wild animals stalking through the land. The coast tells a different tale. The west shores are studded with trading forts belonging to English, Danes, Dutch and Portuguese where slaves from the interior awaited shipment to the various countries that required negro labor. The slave trade was the great in fact the only attraction to Africa at the beginning of the 18th century. In pursuit of this men would penetrate quite a long way into the interior but through the long centuries few explorers had traveled to the dark continent. Towards the end of the century we suddenly get one man a young Scottish giant named James Bruce searching for exploration for its own sake. He cared not for slaves or gold or ivory. He just wanted to discover the source of the nile over which a great mystery had hung since the days of Herodotus. The mountains of the moon figure largely on the old world maps but Bruce decided to rediscover those for himself. Herodotus had said that nile turned west and became the niger. Others said it turned east and somehow joined the tigress and authorities. Indeed such was the uncertainty regarding its source that to discover the source of the nile seemed equivalent to performing the impossible. James Bruce, athletic, daring, standing six feet four, seemed at the age of 24, made for a life of travel and adventure. His business took him to Spain and Portugal. He studied Arabic and the ancient language Abyssinia. He came under the notice of Pitt and was made consul of Algiers. The idea of the undiscovered sources of the nile took strong hold of Bruce's imagination. It was at this moment, he says, that I resolved that this great discovery should either be achieved by me or remain, as it has done for three thousand years, defiance to all travelers. A violent dispute with the old bay of Algiers ended Bruce's consulate and in 1765 the spirit of adventure strong upon him he sailed along the north African coast, landed at Tunis and made his way to Tripoli. On the frontier he found a tribe of Arabs set apart to destroy the lions which beset the neighborhood. These people not only killed but ate the lions and they prevailed on Bruce to share their repast. But one meal was enough for the young explorer. In burning heat across the desert sands he passed on. Once a great caravan arrived, journeying from Faes to Mecca consisting of three thousand men with camels laden with merchandise. But this religious pilgrimage was plundered in the desert soon after. Arrived at Benghazi, Bruce found a terrible famine raging, so he embarked on a little Greek ship bound for Crete. It was crowded with Arabs, the captain was ignorant, a violent storm arose and close to Benghazi the ship struck upon a rock. Lowering a boat, Bruce and a number of Arabs sprang in and tried to row ashore. But wave after wave broke over them and at last they had to swim for their lives. The surf was breaking on the shore and Bruce was washed up breathless and exhausted. Arabs locking down to plunder the wreck found Bruce and his blows and kicks stripped him of all his clothes and let him naked on the barren shore. At last an old Arab came along through a dirty rag over him and led him to attend once he reached Benghazi once more and soon after crossed to Crete. It was not till July 1768 that the explorer at last reached Cairo en route from Abyssinia and five months later embarked on board a Nile boat or Kanja. His cabin had closed lattice windows made not only to admit fresh air but to be a defense against a set of robbers on the Nile who were wont to swim underwater in the dark or on goat skins to pilfer any passing boats. Then and furling her vast sails the Kanja bore Bruce on the first stage of his great journey. The explorer spent some time in trying to find the lost site of old Memphis but this was difficult. A man's heart fails him in looking to the south he says. He is lost in the immense expanse of desert which he sees full of pyramids before him. Struggle with terror from the unusual scene of vastness opened all at once upon leaving the palm trees. He becomes dispirited from the effect of the sultry climate. For some days the Kanja with a fair wind stemmed the strong current of the Nile. With great velocity she raced past various villages through the narrow green valley of cultivation till the scene changed and large plantations of sugar canes and dates began. The wind had now become so strong that the Kanja could scarcely carry her sails. The current was rapid and the velocity was which she dashed against the water was terrible. Still she flew on day after day till early in January they reached the spot where spreading Nile parts hundred gated seeps. Solitude and silent rain over the magnificent old sepulchres the hundred gates were gone robbers swarmed and the traveler hastened away. So on to Luxor and Karnak to a great encampment of Arabs co-held sway over the desert which Bruce had now to cross. The old shake whose protection was necessary known as the tiger from his ferocious disposition was very ill in his tent. Bruce gave him some lime water which eased his pain and rising from the ground the old Arab stood upright and cried. Cursed be those of my people that ever shall lift up their hand against you in the desert. He strongly advised Bruce to return to Kenne and cross the desert from there instead of going on by the Nile. Reluctantly Bruce turned back and on 16th February 1769 he joined a caravan setting out to cross the desert to the shores of the Red Sea. Our road he says was all the way in an open plain bounded by hillocks of sand and fine gravel perfectly hard but without trees shrubs or herbs. There are not even the traces of any living creature neither serpent, lizard, antelope nor ostrich the usual inhabitants of the most dreary deserts. There is no sort of water even the birds seem to avoid the place as pestilential the sun was burning hot. In a few days the scene changed and Bruce is noting that in four days he passes more granite, porphyry, marble and jasper than would build Rome, Athens, Corinth, Memphis, Alexandria and half a dozen more. At last after weeks travel they reached Costier the little mudwalled village on the shores of the Red Sea. Here Bruce embarked on a small boat the planks of which were sewn together instead of nailed with a sort of a straw mattress as a sail for the emerald mines described by Pliny but he was driven back by a tremendous storm. Determined to survey the Red Sea he sailed to the north and after landing a tour at the food of Mount Sinai he sailed down the bleak coast of Arabia to Jida the port of Mecca. By this time he was shaking with algae and fever scorched by the burning sun and was repeating by wind and storm. Moreover he was still dressed as a Turkish soldier. He was glad enough to find kindly English at Jida and after two months rest he sailed on to the straits of Vadelman Beb. Being now on English ground he drank the king's health and sailed across to Masoa the main port of Abyssinia. Although he had letters of introduction from Jida he had some difficulty with the chief of Masoa but at last dressed in long white moorish robes he broke away and in November 1769 started forth for Gondar the capital of Abyssinia. It was nearly 150 years since any European of note had visited the country and it was hard to get any information. His way led across mountainous country rugged and steep far above the top of all towers that stupendous mass the mountain of Taranta probably one of the highest in the world the point of which is buried in the clouds and very rarely seen but in the clearest weather at other times abandoned to perpetual mist and darkness the seat of lightning thunder and of storm. Wildland storms added to the terrors of the way trees were turned up by the roots and swollen streams rushed along in torrents. Bruce had started with his quadrant carried by four men but the task of getting his cumbersome instruments up the steep sides of Taranta was intense. However they reached the top at last to find a huge plane perhaps one of the highest in the world and herds of beautiful cattle feeding. The cows were completely white with large do laps hanging down to their knees white horns and long silky hair. After 95 days journey on 14th February Bruce reached Gondar the capital on the flat summit of a high hill. Here lived the king of Abyssinia as supposed descendant of King Solomon but at the present time the country was in a lowless and unsettled condition. Moreover small parks was raging at the palace and the royal children were smitten with it. Bruce's knowledge of medicine now stood him again in good stead. He opened all the doors and windows of the palace washed his little patients with vinegar and warm water sent away those not already infected and all recovered. Bruce had sprung into court favor the ferocious chieftain Ross Mikhail who had killed one king poisoned another and was now ruling in the name of a third sent for him. The old chief was dressed in a coarse dirty garment wrapped round him like a blanket. His long white hair hung down over his shoulders while behind him stood soldiers their lances ornamented with shreds of scarlet clothes one for every man slain in a battle. Bruce was appointed master of the king's horse a high office and richly paid but I told him this was no kindness said the explorer my only wish was to see the country and find the sources of the Nile but time passed on and they would not let him go until at last he persuaded the authorities to make him ruler over the province where the blue Nile was supposed to rise amid greater position he at last left the palace of Gondar on 28th October 1770 and was soon on his way to the south to see a river and a bog no part of which he could take away an expedition wholly incomprehensible to the royal folk ago at Gondar. Today's march brought him to the shores of the great like Tsana into which despite the fact that he was tremendously hot and that crocodiles abounded there the hardy young explorer plunged for a swim and thus refreshed he proceeded on his way he had now to encounter a new chieftain named Fassil who at first refused to give him leave to pass on his way it was not until Bruce had shown himself unable horsemen and exhibited feats of strength and prowess that leave was at last granted Fassil tested him in this wise 12 horses were brought to Bruce saddled and riddled to know which he would like to ride selecting an apparently quiet beast the young traveler mounted for the first two minutes he says I do not know whether I was most in the earth or in the air he kicked behind rear before leaped like a deer all four legs of the ground he then attempted to gallop taking the brittle in his teeth he continued to gallop and ran away as hard as he could flinging out behind every 10 yards though he had no longer breath or strength and I began to think he would scare scaring me to the camp on his return Bruce mounted his own horse and taking his double-barreled gun he rode about twisting and turning his horse in every direction to the admiration of these wild Abyssinian folk not only did Fassil now let him go but he dressed him in a fine loose muslin garment which reached to his feet gave him guides and a handsome grey horse takes this horse he said as a present from me do not mount it yourself drive it before you saddled and riddled as it is no man will touch you when he sees that horse Bruce obeyed his orders and the horse was driven in front of him the horse was magic the people gave it handfuls of barley and paid more respect to it than to Bruce himself though in many cases the people seemed scared by the appearance of the horse and fled away on 2nd November the Nile came into sight it was only 260 feet broad but it was deeply revered by the people who lived on its banks they refused to allow Bruce to ride across but insisted on his taking off his shoes and walking through the shallow stream it now became difficult to get food as they crossed the scorching hot plains but Bruce was nearing his goal and at last he stood at the top of the great Abyssinian table land immediately below us appeared the Nile itself strangely diminished in size now only a brook that had scarcely water to turn a male throwing off his shoes trampling down the flowers that grew on the mountain side falling twice in his excitement Bruce ran down in breathless haste till he reached the hillock of green sod which has made his name so famous it is easier to guess than to describe the situation of my mind at that moment standing in that spot which had baffled the genius industry and inquiry of both ancients and moderants for the course of near 3000 years kings had attempted this discovery at the heads of their armies fame riches and honor had been held out for a series of ages without having produced one man capable of wiping off this stain upon the enterprise and abilities of mankind or adding this desiteratum for the encouragement of geography though a mere private britain i triumphed here over kings and their armies i was but a few minutes arrived at the source of the Nile through numberless dangers and sufferings the least of which would have overwhelmed me but for the continual goodness and protection of providence i was however but then halved through my journey and all those dangers which i had already passed awaited me again on my return i found a despondency gaining ground fast upon me and blasting the ground of laurels i had too rashly woven for myself Bruce then filled a large coconut shell which he had brought from arabia full of the Nile water and drank to the house of his majesty king george the third end of chapter 47 chapter 48 of a book of discovery this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org a book of discovery by mb Singh chapter 48 mongopark and the niger Bruce died in the spring of 1794 just a year later another scotsman mongopark from selkirk started off to explore the great river niger whose course was as mysterious as that of the Nile most of the early geographers knew something of a great river running through negro land indeed herodotosteles of five young men the nasa monies who set out to explore the very heart of africa arrived at the edge of the great sandy desert they collected provisions and supplied themselves with water and plunged courageously into the unknown for weary days they made their way across to the south till they were rewarded by finding themselves in a fertile land well watered by lakes and marshes with fruit trees and a little race of men and women whom they called pygmies and a large river was flowing from west to east probably the niger but the days of herodotus are long since passed it was centuries later when the Arabs fury with the face of mohammed swept over the unexplored lands with the fury enthusiasm that nothing could withstand and inspired by a hope of heaven which nothing could shake they swept from district to district from tribe to tribe everywhere proclaiming to rowing multitudes the face of their master in this spirit they had faced the terrors of the sahara desert and in the 10th century reached the land of the negroes found the niger and established schools and mosques westward of timbukto portugal had then begun to play her part and the 15th century is full of the wonderful voyages inspired by prince henry of portugal which culminated in the triumph of bosco the gammas great voyage to india by the cape of good hope then the slave trade drew the elizabethan englishman to the shores of west africa and the coast was studded with forts and stations in connection with it yet in the 18th century the niger and timbukto were still a mystery in 1778 the african association was founded with our old friend sir joseph banks as an active member inquiring for a suitable man to follow up the work of the explorer houghton who had just perished in the desert on his way to timbukto the opportunity produced the man mungo park a young skutzman bitten with the fever of unrest had just returned from a voyage to the east on board an east india company ship he heard of this new venture and applied for it the african association instantly accepted his services and on 22 may 1795 mungo park left england on board the endeavor and after a pleasant voyage of 30 days landed at the mouth of the river gambia the river is navigable for 400 miles from its mouth and park sailed up to a native town where the endeavor was anchored while he set out on horseback for a little village bisania where a few british subjects traded in slaves ivory and gold here he stayed a while to learn the language of the country fever delayed him till the end of november when the reins were over the native crops had been ripped and food was cheap and plentiful on third december he made a start his sole attendance being a negro servant johnson and a slave boy mungo park was mounted on a strong spirited little horse his attendance on donkeys he had provisions for two days beads amber and tobacco for buying fresh food an umbrella a compass a thermometer and pocket sextant some pistols and firearms and thus attended thus provided thus armed mungo park started for the heart of africa three days traveling brought him to medina where he found the old king sitting on a bullock's hide warming himself before a large fire he begged the english explorer to turn back and not to travel into the interior for the people there had never seen a white man and would most certainly destroy him mungo park was not so easily deterred and taking far well of the good old king he took a guide and proceeded on his way a day's journey brought him to a village where a curious custom prevailed hanging on a tree he found a sort of masquerading dress made out of bark he discovered that it belonged to a strange buckbeer known to all the natives of the neighborhood as mumbo jumbo the natives or kafirs of this part had many wives with the result that family quarrels often took place if a husband was offended by his wife he disappeared into the woods disguised himself in the dress of mumbo jumbo and armed with the rod of authority announced his advent by loud additional screams near the town all hurried to the accepted meeting place for none dare disobey the meeting opened with song and dance till midnight when mumbo jumbo announced the offending wife the unlucky victim was then seized stripped tied to a post and beaten with mumbo's rod amid the shouts of the assembled company a few days before christmas park entered foticonda the place for major houghton had been robbed and badly used he therefore took some amber tobacco and an umbrella as gifts to the king taking care to put on his best blue coat lest it should be stolen the king was delighted with his gifts he furrowed and unfurled his umbrella to the great admiration of his attendance the kings then praised my blue coat this park of which the yellow buttons seemed particularly to catch his fancy and entreated me to give it to him assuring me that he would wear it on all public occasions as it was against my interest to offend him by refusal i very quietly took off my coat the only good one in my possession and laid it at his feet then without his coat and umbrella but in peace park traveled onward to the dangerous district which was so infested with rubbers that the little party had to travel by night the howling of wild beasts alone broke the awful silence as they crept forth by moonlight on their way but the news that the white man was traveling through their land spread and he was surrounded by a party of horsemen who robbed him of nearly all his possessions his attendant johnson urged him to return for certain death awaited him but park was not the man to turn back and he was soon rewarded by finding the king's nephew who conducted him in safety to the banks of the senegal river then he traveled on to the next king who rejoiced in the name of daisy corrabari here mongo learned to his dismay that war was going on in the province that lay between him and the niger and the king could not offer a protection still nothing deterred the resolute explorer who took another route and continued his journey again he had to travel by night for robbers haunted his path which now lay among mohammedans he passed the very spot where houghton had been left to die of starvation in the desert as he advanced through these inhospitable regions new difficulties met him his attendants firmly refused to move farther mongo park was now alone in the great desert negro land between the senegal and the niger as with magnificent resolution he continued his way suddenly a clear hallou rang out on the night air it was his black boy who had followed him to share his fate onwards they went together hoping to get safely through the land where mohammedans ruled over low-cost negroes suddenly a party of moors surrounded him bidding him come to ali the chief who wished to see a white man and a christian park now found himself the center of an admiring crowd men women and children crowded around him pulling at his clothes and examining his waistcoat buttons till he could hardly move arrived at ali's tent mongo found an old man with a long white beard the surrounding attendants and especially the ladies were most inquisitive they asked southern questions inspected every part of my clothes searched my pockets and obliged me to unbutton my waistcoat and display the whiteness of my skin they even counted my tools and fingers as if they doubted whether i was in truth a human being he was lodged in a hut made of quartz stalks and a wild hog was tied to a stake as a suitable companion for the hated christian he was brutally ill treated closely watched and insulted by the rudest savages on earth the desert wind scorched him the sand choked him the heavens above were like brass the earth beneath as the floor of an oan fear came on him as he dreaded death with his work yet unfinished at last he escaped from his this awful captivity amidst the wilds of africa early one morning at sunrise he stepped over the sleeping negroes seized his bundle jumped onto his horse and rode away as hard as he could looking back he saw three moors in hot pursuit whooping and brandishing their double-barreled guns but he was beyond reach and he breathed again now starvation stared him in the face to the pangs of hunger were added the agony of thirst the sun beat down pitchlessly and at last mongo fell on the sand here he thought here after a short but ineffectual struggle i must end all my hopes of being useful in my day and generation here must the short span of my life come to an end but happily a great storm came and mongo spread out his clothes to collect the drops of rain and quenched his thirst by bringing them out and sucking them after this refreshment he led his tired horse directing his way by the compass lit up at intervals by vivid flashes of lightning it was not till the third week of his flight that his reward came i was told i should see the niger early next day he wrote on 20 july 1796 we were riding through some marshy ground when someone called out see the water and looking forwards i saw with infinite pleasure the great object of my mission the long soaked war majestic niger glittering to the morning sun as broad as the tames at westminster and flowing slowly to the eastward i hissed into the brink and having drunk of the water lifted up my fervent thanks in prayer to the great ruler of all things for having thus far crowned my endeavors with success the circumstance of the nigers flowing towards the east did not excite my surprise for although i had left europe in great hesitation on this subject i had received from negro's clear assurances that its general course was towards the rising sun he was now near seago the capital of bombara on the niger a city of some 30 000 inhabitants the view of this extensive city the numbers canoes upon the river the crowded population and the cultivated state of the surrounding country formed altogether a prospect of civilization and magnificence which i little expected to find in the bosom of africa the natives looked at the poor thin white stranger with astonishment and fear and refused to allow him to cross the river all day he sat without food and there's a shade of a tree and was proposing to climb the tree and rest among its branches to find shelter from a coming storm when a poor negro woman took pity on his deplorable condition she took him to her hut lit a lamp spread a mat upon the floor brought him a fish and allowed him to sleep while he rested she spun cotton with other woman and sang the winds roared and the rains fell the poor white men faint and weary came and sat under our tree he has no mother to bring him milk no wife to grind his corn and all joined in the chorus let us pity his white man no mother has he mongo park left in the morning after presenting his landlady with two of his lost four brass buttons but though he made another gallant effort to reach timbuktu and the niger which he was told ran to the world's end lions and mosquitoes made life impossible his horse was too weak to carry him any farther and on 29 July 1796 he sadly turned back worn down by sickness exhausted by hunger and fatigue half naked and without any article of value by which i might get provisions closes or lodging i felt i should sacrifice my life to no purpose for my discoveries would perish with me joining a caravan of slaves he reached the coast after some 1900 miles and after an absence of two years and nine months he found a suit of english clothes this robbed his chin of venerable encumbrance and sailed for home he published an account of the journey in 1799 after which he married and settled in Scotland as a doctor but his heart was in Africa and a few years later he started off again to reach timbuktu he arrived at the Gambia early in april 1805 if all goes well he wrote gaily this day six weeks i expect to drink all your health in the water of the niger he started this time with 44 europeans each with donkeys to carry baggage and food but it was a deplorable little party that reached the great river on 19 august 30 men had died on the march the donkeys had been stolen the baggage lost and the joy experienced by the explorer in reaching the waters of the niger rolling its immense stream along the plane was marred by the reduction of his little party to seven leave to pass down the river to timbuktu was obtained by the gift of two double-barreled guns to the king and in their old canoes patched together under the magnificent name of his majesty's schooner the jolliba great water mungo park wrote his last letter home i am far from desponding i have changed a large canoe into a tolerably good schooner on board of which i shall set sail to the east with a fixed resolution to discover the termination of the niger or perish in the attempt and though all the europeans who are with me should die and though i myself were half dead i would still persevere and if i could not succeed in the object of my journey i would at least die on the niger it was in this spirit that the commander of the jolliba and the crew of nine set forth to glide down a great river toward the heart of savage africa into the darkness of the unexplored the rest is silence end of chapter 48 chapter 49 of a book of discovery this is the livery box recording all livery box recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liverybox.org a book of discovery by mb singh chapter 49 one couver discovers his island while mungo park was attempting to find the course of the niger the english were busy opening up the great fur trading country in north america although captain cook had taken possession of nutka sound thinking it was part of the coast of new albion men from other nations had been there to establish with the natives a trade infers the spaniards were especially vigorous in opening up communications on this bleak bit of western coast great britain became alarmed and decided to send captain one couver with an english ship to enforce her rights to this valuable port one couver had already sailed with cook on his second southern voyage he had accompanied him on the discovery during his last voyage he therefore knew something of the coast of northwest america on the 15th of december 1790 i had the honor of receiving my commission as commander of his majesty's sloop the discovery then lying at deptford where i joined her says one couver london brogdon having been selected as a proper officer to command the chatham he was accordingly appointed a day down on thursday the first of april we took a long farewell of our native shores having no particular route to the pacific ocean pointed out in my instructions i did not hesitate to prefer the passage by way as a cape of good hope in boisterous weather one couver rounded the cape made some discoveries on the southern coast of new holland surveyed part of the new zealand coast discovered catham island and on 17th april 1792 he fell in with the coast of new albion it was blowing and raining hard when the coast soon after to be part of the united states of america was cited by the captains and crews of the discovery and catham amid gales of wind and torrents of rain they coasted along the rocky and precipitous shores on which the surf broke with the dual roar it was dangerous enough work coasting along this unsurveyed coast full of sunken rocks on which the sea broke with great violence soon they were at cape blanco discovered by martin d aglar and a few days later at cape fall weather of cook fame close to the so-called straits discovered by the greek pilot john da fuca in 1592 suddenly relates one couver a sail was discovered to the westward this was a very great novelty not having seen any vessel during the last eight months she soon hoisted american colors and drew to be ship columbia commanded by captain gray belonging to boston he had penetrated about 50 miles into the disputed strait he spoke of the mouth of a river that was inaccessible owing to breakers this was afterwards explored by one couver and named the columbia river on which washington now stands having examined 215 miles of coast one couver and his two ships now entered the inlet the foca straits now the boundary between the united states and british columbia all day they made their way up the strait till night came and one couver relates with pride that we had now advanced farther up this inlet than mr gray or any other person from the civilized world we are on the point of examining an entirely new region he adds and in the most delightful pleasant weather snowy ranges of hills stately forest trees vast spaces and the tracks of deer reminded the explorers of old england the crews were given holiday and great joy prevailed natives soon brought them fish and venison for sale and were keen to sell their children in exchange for knives, trinkets and copper as they advanced through the inlet the fresh beauty of the country appealed to the english captain to describe the beauties of this region will be a very grateful task to the pen of a skillful peneturist the serenity of the climate the pleasing landscapes and the abundant fertility that unassisted nature puts forth require only to be enriched by the interest of man with villages mansions and cottages to render it the most lovely country that can be imagined a fortnight was spent among the islands of this inlet which i have distinguished by the name of adniralti inlet and on the 4th june 1792 they drank the health of the king george the third in a double allowance of grog and on his 54th birthday took formal possession of the country naming the wider part of the strait the call for georgia and the mainland new georgia the two ships then made their way through the narrow and intricate channels separating the island of bungover from the mainland of british columbia to at last early in august they emerged into an open channel discovered by an englishman four years before and named queen charlotte sound numerous rocky islets made navigation very difficult and one day in foggy weather the discovery suddenly grounded on a bed of sunken rocks the cat home was near at hand and at the signal of distress lowered her boats for assistance for some hours says vancouver immediate and inevitable destruction presented itself she grounded at four in the p.m till two next morning all hands were working at throwing ballast our board to lighten her till to our inexpressible joy the return of the tide floated her once more having now satisfied himself that this was an island lying close to the mainland one cool were made for nutka sound where he arrived at the end of august at the entrance of the sound he was visited by a spanish officer with a pilot to lead them to a safe anchorage in friendly co where the spanish ship under one quadra was riding at anchor civilities were interchanged with much harmony and festivity as many officers as could be spared from the vessel and myself dined with senior quadra and were gratified with a repost we had lately been little accustomed to at dinner of five courses consisting of a superfluity of the best provisions was served this great elegance a royal salute was fired on drinking health to the sovereigns of england and spain and a salute of seventeen guns to the success of the service in which the discovery and catam were engaged but when the true nature of vancouver's mission was disclosed there was some little difficulty for the spaniards had fortified nutka built houses laid out gardens and evidently intended to stay vancouver sent captain rotten home to report the conduct of the spaniards and spent his time surveying the coast to the south finally all was arranged satisfactorily and vancouver sailed off to the sandwich islands when he returned home in the autumn of 1794 he had completed the gigantic task of surveying nine thousand miles of unknown coast chiefly in open boats with only the loss of two men in both crews a feat that almost rivaled that of captain cook it has been said that vancouver may proudly take his place with drake cook baffin perry and other british navigators to whom england looks with pride and geographers with gratitude end of chapter 49 chapter 50 of a book of discovery this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox.org a book of discovery by mbs sing chapter 50 mackenzie and his river even while vancouver was making discoveries on the western coast of north america alexander mackenzie and enthusiastic young scotsman was making discoveries on behalf of the north western company which was traveling the old hudson bay company in its work of expansion his journey right across america from sea to sea is worthy of note and it has well been said that by opening intercourse between atlantic and pacific oceans and forming regular establishments through the interior and at both extremes as well as along the coasts and islands the entire command with the fur trade of north america might be obtained to this may be added the fishing in both seas and the markets of the four quarters of the globe mackenzie had already explored the great river flowing through north america to the arctic seas in 1789 he had brought back news of its great size its width its volume of water only to be mistrusted till many years later it was found that every word was true and tributes were paid not only to his general accuracy but his general intelligence as an explorer in 1792 he started off again and this time he discovered the immense country that lay hidden behind the rocky mountains known today as british columbia he ascended the peace river which flows from the rocky mountains and in the spring of 1793 having made his way with much difficulty across this rugged chain he embarked on a river running to the southwest through wild mountainous country on either side he paddled on the cold was still intense and the strong mountain currents nearly dashed the canoes to pieces his indian guides were obstinate ignorant and timid mackenzie relates some of his difficulties in graphic language throughout the whole of this day the men had been in a state of extreme ill humor and as i did not choose to vent it openly upon me they disputed and quarreled amongst themselves about sunset the canoes struck upon the stump of a tree which broke a large hole in her bottom a circumstance that gave them an opportunity to let loose their discontents without reserve i left them as soon as we had landed and ascended an elevated bank it now remained for us to fix on a proper place for building another canoe as the old one was become a complete wreck at the very early hour of the morning every man was employed in making preparations for building another canoe and different parties went in search of wood and gum while the boat was building mackenzie gave his crew a good lecture on their conduct i assured them it was my fixed unalterable determination to proceed in spite of every difficulty and danger the result was highly satisfactory the conversation dropped and the work went on in five days the canoe was ready and they were soon paddling happily on wards towards the sea whereas the indians told him he would find white men building houses they reached the coast some three weeks later the sulman river as it is called flows through british columbia and reaches the sea just north of vancouver island which had been discovered by vancouver the year before alexander mackenzie had been successful let us hear the end of his tale i now mixed up some vermilion and melted grease and inscribed in large characters on the southeast face of the rock on which we had slept the last night this brief memorial alexander mackenzie from canada by land the 22nd of july 1793 end of chapter 50 chapter 51 of a book of discovery this is a livery box recording all livery box recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liverybox.org a book of discovery by mb sing chapter 51 parry discovers langaster sound the efforts of architect explorers of past years throbisher davis buffin bearing and cook had all been more or less frustrated by the impenetrable barrier of ice which seemed to stretch across the polar regions like a wall putting an end to all further advance now early in the 19th century this impenetrable bar of ice had apparently moved and broken up into detached masses and icebergs the news of a distinct change in the polar ice was brought home by various traders in the greenland waters and soon gave rise to a revival of these voyages for the discovery of the north pole and a passage round the northern coast of america to the pacific ocean for this coast was totally unknown at this time information was collected from casual travelers whalefishers and others with the result that england equipped two ships for a voyage of discovery to the disputed regions these were the isabella 885 tons and the alexander 252 tons commander ross being appointed to one and leutnant parry to the other parry had served on the coast of north america and had written a little treatise on the stars in the northern hemisphere he was thinking of offering his services for african discovery when he caught a sight of a paragraph in a paper about an expedition for the discovery of the northwest passage he wrote at once that he was ready for hot or for cold africa or the polar regions and he was at once appointed to the letter the object of the voyage was clearly set forth the young explorers were to discover a passage from davis straight along the northern coast of america and through the bearing straight into the pacific ocean besides this charts and pictures were to be brought back and the special artist was to accompany the expedition ross himself was an artist and he has delightfully illustrated his own journals of the expedition the ships were well supplied with books and we find the journals of mackenzie, hearn, vancouver, kuk and other old traveling friends taken for reference. 30 bibles and 60 testaments were distributed among the crews for making friends with the natives we find a supply of 24 brass kettles 150 butcher's knives 350 yards of colloid flannel 100 pounds of snuff 150 pounds of soap 40 umbrellas and much gin and brandy the expedition left on 18 april 1818 and i believe says ross there was not a man who did not indulge after the fashion of a sailor in feeling that its issue was placed in his hands whose power is most visible in the great deep before june had set in the two ships were ploughing their way up the west coast of greenland in heavy snowstorms they sailed through davis strait past the island of disco into buffins and defined bay icebergs stood high out of the water on all sides and navigation was very dangerous towards the end of july a way to which ross gave the name of melville bay after the first lord of the admiralty was passed very high mountains of land and ice were seen to the north side of melville bay forming an impassable barrier the precipices next to sea being from 1000 to 2000 feet high the ships were sailing slowly past the desolate shores amid these high icebergs when suddenly several natives appeared on the ice now ross had brought an eskimo with him named sahoyz come on cried sahoyz to the astonished natives no no go away they cried go away we can kill you what great creatures are these they asked pointing to the ships do they come from the sun or the moon do they give a slide by night or by day pointing southwards sahoyz told them that the strangers had come from a distant country that cannot be there is nothing but ice there was the answer soon the englishmen made friends with these people whom they called arctic highlanders giving the name of the arctic highlands to all the land in northeast corner of buffins bay passing cape york they followed the almost perpendicular coast even as buffin had done they passed wolston home sound and whale sound they saw smith's sound and named the capes on either side isabella and alexander after their two ships and then ross gave up all further discovery for the time being in this direction even if it be imagined that some narrow strait may exist through these mountains it is evident that it must forever be unnavigable he says decidedly being thus satisfied that there could be no further inducement to continue longer in this place i shaped my course for the next opening which appeared in view to the west this was the sound which was afterwards called jones sound we ran nine miles among very heavy ice until noon when a very sick fog coming on we were obliged to take shelter under large iceberg sailing south but some way from land a wide opening appeared which answered exactly to the langester sound of baffin leutnant perry and many of his officers felt sure that this was a strait communicating with the open sea to westward and they're both astonished and dismayed when ross declaring that he was perfectly satisfied that there was no passage in this direction turned back he brought his expedition back to england after a seven month trip but though he was certain enough on the subject his officers did not agree with him entirely and the subject of the northwest message was still discussed in geographical circles when young leutnant perry who had commanded to alexander in ross expedition was consulted he pressed for further exploration of the far north and two expeditions were soon fitted out one under perry and one under franklin who had already served with cylinders in australian exploration perry started off first with instructions to explore langester sound failing to find a passage to explore alderman jones sound failing this again sir thomas smith's sound if he succeeded in getting through to the bearing strait he was to go to kamchatka and on to the sandwich islands you are to understand brand's instructions that the finding of a passage from the atlantic to the pacific is the main object of this expedition on board the hecla a ship of 375 tons with a 180 ton brick the gripper accompanying perry sailed away early in may 1819 the first week in july found him crossing the arctic circle amid immense icebergs against which a heavy southerly swell was violently agitated dashing the loose ice with tremendous force sometimes raising a wide spray over them to the height of more than a hundred feet accompanied with a loud noise exactly resembling the roar of distant thunder the entrance to langester sound was reached on 31st july and says perry it is more easy to imagine than to describe the almost restless anxiety which was now visible in every continent while as the breeze increased to the fresh gale we ran quickly up the sound officers and men crowded to the must head as the ships ran on and on till they reached barrow strait so named by them after the secretary of the admiralty we now began to flatter ourselves that we had fairly entered the fuller sea and some of the most sunken among us had even calculated the bearing and distance of ic cape as a matter of no very difficult accomplishment sailing westward they found a large island which they named melville island after the first lord of the admiralty and the bay which still bears the name of hecla and gripper bay here says perry the ensigns and pendants were hoisted and it created in us no ordinary feelings of pleasure to see the british flag waving for the first time in those regions which had hitherto been considered beyond the limits of the habitable world winter was now quickly advancing and it was with some difficulty that the ships were forced through the newly formed ice at the head of the bay of the hecla and gripper over two miles of ice seven inches sec had to be sawn through to make a canal for the ships as soon as they were moored in winter harbour the men gave three loud and hearty cheers as a preparation for eight or nine months of long and dreary winter by the end of september all was ready plenty of grouse and deer remained as food through october after which there were foxes and wolves to amuse his men perry and his officers got up a play miss in her teens was performed on fifth november the last day of sun for 96 days to come he also started a paper the north georgian gazette and winter chronicle which was printed in england was their return the new year 1890 found the winter growing gloomier scurvy had made its appearance and perry was using every device in his power to arrest it amongst other things he grew mustard and crass in boxes of earth near the stovepipe of his cabin to make fresh vegetable food for the afflicted men though the sun was beginning to appear again february was the coldest part of the year and no one could be long out in the open without being frostbitten it was not till the middle of april that a slight saw began and the thermometer rose to freezing point on first august the ships were able to sail out of winter harbour and to struggle westward again but they could not get beyond millville island for the ice and after the ships had been knocked about by perry decided to return to lancaster sound once more hugging the western shores of baffins bay the two ships returned homewards arriving in the thames early in november 1820 and says perry i had the happiness of seeing every officer and man on board both ships 93 persons returned to their native country in as robust health as when they left it after an absence of nearly 18 months perry had done more than this he not only showed the possibility of wintering in these icy regions in good health and good spirits but he had certainly discovered streets communicating with the polar sea end of chapter 51