The Murder of Captain Cook.

Evening Star, Issue 6915, 30 May 1885, Page 2

The Murder of Captain Cook.

The author of “The Sea: its Stirring Story,” published by Cassell and Co., gives the following account of the death of Captain Cook ;—“ Captain Cook met his death on the Island of Hawaii Sandwich Islands). It would appear that, previous to the fatal day, there had been some little trouble with the Natives. Captain Cook was naturally annoyed at and perplexed by the occurrences. In the course of the night a boat was stolen from the Discovery, and Cook at once ordered a body of marines ashore, going with them himself, and taking a doublebarrelled gun, one barrel loaded with small shot and the other with a bullet. The other boats were ordered out to prevent any canoe from leaving the bay until the matter was settled. Arrived ashore, he marched up to the old King, who to every appearance had had no hand in the theft, nor had connived at it, for he promised to go on board with the captain, the latter intending to keep him as a hostage. The chiefs two sons were already in the pinnace, when his wife entreated him with tears not to go off to the ship. Two chiefs also, at this juncture, forcibly laid hold of the old man, and made him sit down on the beach. Cook saw from the general aspect of affairs, and the gathering thousands on the beach, that he must give up his idea, and proceeded slowly to the place of embarkation. It appears that while this was going on some of tlie men on the boats stationed around the bay had fired on some escaping canoes, and, worse, had killed a chief. The news arrived ashore just as Cook was leaving, and the Natives immediately began to put on their war-mats and arm themselves, cue of them, carrying an iron dagger, which he brandished wildly, threatening Cook with a large stone; and the captain at last could stand his insolence no longer, and gave him a volley of small shot. This against the Native’s thick war-mat was about as effective as shooting peas against a rhinoceros. Next came a volley of stones in return, while an attempt was made to stab a marine officer, who returned a heavy blow from the butt end of his musket. A Native crawled behind a canoe, and then aimed a spear at Cook, who soon gave them the contents of his other barrel, killing one of the assailants. In quick succession volleys of stones were answered by a volley of musketry ; four marines fell, and were speedily despatched. Cook now stood by the water’s edge, signalling the men to stop firing and get on board; but in the scuffle and confusion his orders were not understood. A lieutenant commanding one of the boats blundered, or worse, to the extent of taking his boat farther off, so that the picking up of the wounded marines was thrown entirely on the pinnace, which had been brought in as pear shore as the master was able to come. Poor Cook was left alone on a rock, where he was seen trying to shield his head from the shower of stones with the one hand, while he still grasped his musket in the other. As soon as his back was turned the Natives attacked him, one clubbing him down, and the other stabbing him in the neck. Again he dropped in the water knee deep, looking earnestly out for help from the pinnance, not more than a few yards off. But the end was near. The savages gothim under in deeperwater. In his death struggle he broke from them and clung to the rock. In a second there was another fall of their commander the survivors of the blow, and the end had come. His body was dragged ashore and mutilated. After the men escaped under cover of a fire kept up from the biats. But tor Cook himself, one of the most liumane of commanders, nothing seems to have been attempted in the hurry and excitement of the scuffle.”