HOW CAPTAIN COOK WAS KILLED

Evening Star, Issue 18052, 21 August 1922, Page 7

HOW CAPTAIN COOK WAS KILLED

A NEW VERSION. LIEUTENANT BURNEY’S JOURNAL. Tho Mitchell Library has purchased (according to tie ‘Age’) ono of its most important manuscripts, this being the original journal kept by Lieutenant James -Burney on board H.M.S. Discovery, which was a companion ship to the Resolution, commanded by Captain James Cook, on (ho navigator's last voyage round lie world. Tho journal has never been published. Some new light is thrown upon the circumstances surrounding tho death of Captain Cook, which came about through the theft of a cutler belonging to the Discovery at Owhyhe. Captain Cook went on shore to invite the king and his two sons to talk tho, matter over, and was returning to his boat with King Kerrioboo when bo was killed. Tbo journal, describing tho incident, relates that Captain Cook was about to give orders for embarking when he was provoked by the insolence of a man armed with a. thick mat and a long spike, at whom he tired with smalt shot, which neither penetrated the mat nor frightened the Indians, as was expected. Another man ivith an iron spike came near Mr Phillips, who, suspecting his intentions, drove him back with the butt end of bis musket. Two or three stones wore thrown, and one of the marines was knocked down. Captain Cook, who had a double-barrel gun. immediately fired with ball. Tho sergeant said be bad shot the wrong man, on which he told l the sergeant to shoot the right one. Tho Indians gave a general volley of • stones, and began to close, and Captain Cook therefore gave the order for the marines to fire, which they did, among the crowd, and were seconded by the boat. The Indians at first gave back, but directly after, before the marines had time to load, again advanced. Captain Cook called out to take to the boats. _ Tho ginnacro was near the shore, but distant from ilio rock whepo the marines stood ten or twelve yards, and this short space was uneven, slippery rocks, so that, being pressed upon in their retreat, they were obliged to take to the water. Captain Cook, in coming down, was struck by an Indian behind him with a staff, on which ho turned and beat the man back with bis musket. He was again followed, and received at the same instant a blow on the head and a stab with a spike in the neck, which tumbled him into the water. Being no swimmer and stunned with the blow, he turned towards the shore again, and a number of the Indians surrounded and dragged him on tho rocks, where they beat and stabbed' him in several places, snatching the daggers from each other out of eagerness to have their share in killing him. The whole of this affair, from Captain Cook’s leaving the Resolution to the return of the boats, Imnnened in the short space of an hour. 1