"THE GOOD OLD DAYS."

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 163, 10 July 1914, Page 2

"THE GOOD OLD DAYS."

MORE CAPTAIW COOK LETTERS. LIFE OX A CONVENT SHIP. A GR.DI DIAEY. f (From Our Special Correspondent.) TENDON". May ?2. Documents of the highest interest to students of the early liUtorv of Aus t miasm will bn sold by Messrs Sotheby. the famous London firm o£ literary auctioneers, parly in July. They ar« | derived from two source*. Tin , tirst ! properly consists of two long and two . Hhorl. letters from Captain Cook, ill", famous circumnavigator, arldro.-.-0.l t.) j .lolin Walker, who was a partner in the firm of Whithy shipowners. t.> whom Cook was hound apprentice, and in whnaa | service Jic 'hail his experience of a i sailor's life. The earliest of theme loiters, dated from Mile Knrt, ILondon. September i:i, 1771. "iM-cfins with an account <>f the South Sμ Inlands, which Cook describes as an earthly paradise, and speak* of tin , natives ns "exempted from the curse of our •forefathers. 1 ' the necessity of earning their "bread wii.il the sweat of their brow?." for benevolent nature had not only supplied them with the necessity, but- with many <if the luxuries of life. " From the South Sea Cook went to Now Zealand: — •'[ found it to be. two lar«e islands. Tinth of which I circumnavigated i:i the space of six months: they e\tend from the latitude' of :S4deg. south tn 47ldeff. *outh. and are together nearly us" big a* Cireat lirit-ain. It is * hilly, mountainous country, hut rich ami fertile, especially the northern part = . where it. is also well inhabited." After describing at some length the Maoris, their manners, cu-Umis. language, etc. Cook proceeds: — "We left this country on the Ist of April. 1770. and steered for New Hoi-j land, all the e.ist part of which remained undiscovered . . . We Ml in with the land in the latitude of HSdeg. south. I explored Ihe coast of tin-.-nuntry (which 1 railed New South Wales i to iU northern extremity, in the d<-inir of which w<. were many times in {treat, danger of losing the ship: once we lay a hour* upon a ]e,|je of rocks. wa« obliged to throw our 211ns and many of our Mures ov.r board." The .-.'con.l letter i- dated from the Cape of (Jood Hope. November Jll. 177-, and the third from Mile Knd. Augu-t HI. 177-"). a few days before Ci.ok had j vivci.cd .in appointment ai lireenwieh Hospital. Tnc fourth and longest letter i- dated from Mile Knd. S-pteniber It. I i 177.".. and give* nil a, count of hi- seennd I [voyage. He dps.-ril.i-s his three vi-it* | to Antarctic region-, in the endeavour . to reach the great southern continent fabled to exist, and coiKerninjr which he says in the paragraph of the letter:— "We are now =nre that no southern continent exists there, unless fii near the l'ole that, the ena.-!. cannot be nuvipited for ice. and therefore not worthy the discovery." The second property con.-ists of the original nnpiibliiOiiNl autofrraph diary and ! b'lte.r-book of rUilph Clark. Lieutenant of I Marines, and extend, with a pup of two j [years, from May 13. 1757. to .Tune 17, 170-J. They were written durin.s his voyape to Botany Bay in the Krieinlship transport, his stay in Australia, and on I Norfolk Island, ami his voyage home on j the (iorjron transportA GRIM Iir.MAN rXM'VMI'NT. ' Interesting as the Cook letters a.re. S they must take pl:u-e to thp ■ Clark volume, which is indeed a doou- i ' meni of blood and tears, fascinating and ; i repellant in turns. After a vnyajje lasting over eiorht irronths. the first convict si|tiadron tra:'S ; porttlif! !19S prisoners arrived in Botany | Bfly on .l.'.nuary 10. 17SS. < >n board the j Krie.ndj-bip vou'hr (lark, one if the ulli I cers in cbarjii , . set himself thp task cif ! daily writing down the events of this; jjrim journey to tin . Antipodes. It i" a i faithful ehrcinicle. lM><rinninrr with a list j of the comiets. their asres and "iTeni-s. and their savajre sentences. K,, r stealing a tea kettle in Shrewsbury a man i-f i lit) was awarded fourteen years. Kor j housebreakilif; a la<l of 1:S seven ! years. A woman won five years by etealinff eightoenpence. and another, who ; proved herself to be the uorst lleiid iin.iL'inable on board .'hip. had seven ■ In }Jn?la.nd C.l-ark Jiml left a ywinp wife and a baby. His diary "teems with conjugal rhapsodic-, with fears and I dreams, with irons an<i lasheA, and the ! horrors of the endless voyage. The i women convicts onily showed their mettle. Out at >ea only for a few days, (lark that they were well out of the ship. Half of tbom arc soon in irons, and (lie champion virago, still v; .idled, is ordered to be floL'ied with ~ io|.e and tied to a. pump afterwanli-. Tlie i-orpofal who ndniini.-lcrpcl the punishment, ".lid not play with her. hut. ]-aid it "home." All to no purpose. "Never were there suclt a set, of rascals together. They wore ten thousand times worse than the men." wasOlark'* comment on the female prisoners. I LOVE AND LAPITES. Clark was a scnrbnenfcilist outside hir. duties. Fifteen daye from Knjrland. he j writes: — "May 2S. 17S7.—Flogged this d.iy John Bennet. a convict, with eightyseven lashes for hreakinjr out of irons: a young nran but an old rome." This ; 3 the first, florin.* recorded. Aceordin? to Clark's list. Rennet w.ia in years old: Tie wa? sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for highway robbery. Soon thoughts of home and beauty fill tlie lienteTKinf.s heart. '•July lfi. I7B7.—Read the remainder of the tragedy of Douglas this day; oh. it is a sweet plsy; -n-h.it an innocent swept spirit that it? of yoimg Norval . . . and what the .emotions in the breast of Lady Randolph v.-hen she sees the features and shape, of her lost and stained husband Douglas in Uvat of young Norval. Little, does she know, fond mother, that he is her long-lost eon. . . J cannot, think that die loved as ray virtuous Alici.i (Olajk'e wife) Hoes. Deaven knows how miieh she and I love, the. tear of sotto-w would not refrain from rolling down 'my <*hcpk at Ihe an"ertin<r scene in this play." A WELCOXfB PARTING. Rut tiip, Kentimnntalist. is prcpcnt.Jv overwhelmed by (he spirl; of savairp dirciplrne us he notes: "October 11. ITS?. -The doctor met i v.ith a £r**:M loss this aftemonn. One' of the convict women whom he gnusome things to wash for him snid that \ : aiie bad lost seven pairs of stockings i

overboard, hut T am apt to think that iiipy art , not overboard, but that some of the other women have stolon them. If they were to lose anything? of mine that I <rfive them to >Ta?h I would cut them to pieces, etc Eventually on October 27th the female convict* were removed to another tra.nr=port. and in the diary for November Bth he says: — '■And thank Ood we have £ot clear of the mi>4 troublesome set (the women). and have reeeivpd -If) sheep ill their room, which have not the least manner of doubt but we \\ill find them mii'-h more agrenable shipmates tlian they (Indie*) were. The men cannot hold a ejindlo t<> one of them." etc. "A SWF.F.T IOUNTRY."' Tiie beauty of Mdney Harbour is ] acknowledged :ill over the world, and , when Clark gazed upon I'ort .T.ukson for the f 1 r=t- time on .January 2ii. 17-;s, be declare it to lv tlie most, lirautiful i plnrc in the world: but riMvelv milled, I '■[ e.innot eomparc .iinlhing tn . ome nearer to it than about three mileabove Kill lush lo the weir. ,, Clark's description of the land about ! the new settlement, is worth >|i|otins: — I '"There i= i;o river or spring in the | country tint ue hue been nble 1-0 ' lind or Tneet. with. All the fre.-h | water comes nut rif lar;»e swamp.-', ' which ilie eoiintry abounds with. The r country is overrun with l.irpe tre-: j not one acre of c!e lr around to lie! seen: nor i- tlierc uric tree out of fifty! but what is burnt with the t nor nolhiii" in it lit for the tiiii).*Ui.nci» of num. What with earthquakes", j thunder, and liplitnincr. it i-. tn lie sure, a sweet eoiintry; the thunder j and lislitninj! i> tho terrible [ , ever hpnrd. I: is the opin'on of; everybody lure ihyt (iovprnment "ill remove the ,-.■( t Unn nt to soni" other j p!:ice. for if it remain.; 'iitp tho roun- \ try will not lie able to maintain i: .-If , in 100 year-." FOOD STKALKRS IT A XCi I'TD. ! Follows n harrowinp; ae-ount of life! at :i rnnvß-t station. One extra pi will suflief: — "Febriiiiry 27.— A criminal ?rtirt sits to-day for the trial of eileh pri- | soners as may he lirnujrhrt hoforc ihpni. Amonpst the numbpr i< th.n of two who r.inie out in the ship with mc. Ai. one oVIoi-k their sentence mc re.-wl. I tin' charge bi-inpr dearly proved of I their ,-te:iliii2 butter, -pea' = . and pork--Thonu's Ibrret. Henry Lov;i',l. Joseph Hall, and Ryan. The three former received sentenre or dc.itb, i;nd the Inter to receive :!00 lashes. At five o'clock p.m. the h'.ttalion iv.is ordered under arms for ilie senteme of tlie l.iw to be put inll. rgofution. and! S'lon after w,' niar.hed :o I In* p':i.> <>f execution. «hie'n wi= a tree l>e-i tivcen the mi.<> .in.l fi*nuup convii-ts , J eam|'. A: a q'lirter after live th" unhappy men were brought to th" i ]ilai,' where l!icy weri- to suifTor. v.'i.-n. alter the parson h.id done pr.iyirs with them, th" |-rovostm:irsial put the lialtiT about iho neck of Thosnai C.arrrt. and he moiinte.l lh« Udder. From liM pomp 1 dnn't thinK he h.nl ihe le.ist tlioiisht thi.t lie was 1o -nlTfr. iiiii when thi- provost-nrar'slial put a h.mdkenliief round his head lie soon after thr l.idder was pulled fnni under him, mid he launeli-d ii to the ~ther worlj without :i ero;\M. From The' other t.vo. l.ovel! atl.l Hull, were respited until to morrow." (In the in'Nt day the two men h.'d their sentence mmmuliil to b.ini-hmeir. Tlie -everity of the sentence is a str:kinj; testimony to tlie brutality of the (■rhuin.il law'ai thai lime: but in ihi=> ( ase it had a ("rt.iin justificauoii. for the problem of fond was l serious one. (lark Bay?: — -It is hard to have novbinj '"it salt btvi to c«t every day; t:ie k:<nS.croo* a:e very plentiful. '«« 'i.ml to ~.m. it \ iireat number Have Iven shot', and are\ery p<o.l Ml'ajj. fo«l in Kn«r:.ind. Ni;>iiu ao.v, ,„„!« here. <nnk«. wJ VmtAi anl.,,ome 2 ood oatins. but fnnni I ■•'» ,„,; yet brine my«.Mi to stomal n.