The answer was several items associated with the people who had sailed with Cook.

First I found "Geschichte und Beschreibung des Broadbaums... " by George Forster. A study of the breadfruit it was published in Kassel in 1784, and was unknown to me. It shows how much this naturalist continued to use the knowledge gained on Cook's Second Voyage.

Next came "A Voyage to the South Atlantic and round Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean... " by Captain James Colnett. An account of his voyage in the Rattler, it was published in 1798. Colnett had been a midshipman on the Resolution on Cook's Second Voyage.

Then "A Voyage round the world, but more particularly to the north-west coast of America... " by Captain George Dixon. Two copies of this account of the voyage in the Queen Charlotte to Hawaii by the armourer on the Discovery on Cook's Third Voyage are listed. Both were published in 1789.

"Catalogue of the Leverian Museum... " held in 1806. Sir Ashton Lever had collected over 26,000 items, including many brought back on the voyages of Captain Cook, and opened his museum to the public. Alas maintenance costs exceeded income and he was forced to sell everything by lottery. The winner, James Parkinson, also failed to make it pay and held an auction of 6840 lots that ran for 57 days. This item is marked up with many of the prices paid, including the purchases of Edward Donovan who owned this copy. The catalogue for the additional sale of 354 lots is not included.

"A Voyage round the world; but more particularly to the north-west coast of America... " by Captain Nathaniel Portlock. Formerly master's mate on the Discovery and then the Resolution he sailed in the King George with Dixon, stopping twice at Hawaii. The full voyage account and an abridgement, both published in 1789, are included.

"A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean... " by Captain George Vancouver, who had sailed on Cook's Second and Third Voyages. The 1798 publication is accompanied by a translation into Swedish (published in 1800) by Anders Sparrman, who travelled with the Forsters on much of the Second Voyage.

As with the first volume of this catalogue of the Parsons Collection every item is illustrated, with many items in colour.

Reviewer: Ian Boreham

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 43, volume 30, number 1 (2007).

Anyone who is interested in Captain Cook sooner or later comes across the name Beaglehole. It appears more than 500 times in the pages of Cook's Log.

Sometimes the name is used as though the reader knows who is meant and what he did. Sometimes the name is used as shorthand to a book or journals without any explanation about the man who produced them. Sometimes you get the initials J.C. Sometimes you get the title Dr. or Professor. Occasionally you get John Cawte. Rarely do you get his nationality or anything about his life that led to the Cook books that bear his name. Never have I seen an understanding of how he came to write so many words, and devote so much time to this Pacific explorer.

Tim Beaglehole, second son of John (as he is called throughout this book) has performed a great service to all Captain Cook fans by writing this fascinating and easily read biography of his father. As Tim says in the introduction, John "became known internationally as the editor and biographer of James Cook. The four massive volumes of the Journals of Captain James Cook on His Voyages of Discovery, published by the Hakluyt Society between 1955 and 1967, together with The Endeavour Journal of Joseph Banks published by the Public Library of New South Wales in 1962, displayed his superb gifts as an historian and editor... At the time of his death in 1971 he had nearly completed the final touches to The Life of Captain James Cook. It was published just over two years later and was widely recognised as a remarkable biography, crowning his work on Cook."

I wanted to know why it took six years between the appearance of the first and second volumes, and another six years before the third volume arrived. I also wanted to know why the fourth volume was not the proposed collection of essays on aspects of Cook's life and achievements. But, more importantly, I wanted to know how a New Zealander and not an Australian or a Briton had come to edit Cook's journals, and why he had waited until he was over 50 years old to start work.

Tim answers these questions, and many others, in a book of 14 chapters of which only two (11 and 12) are devoted to James Cook. So is it necessary to read the first ten? Yes, because they explain the progress of John's life that led to him being the best person to undertake the work involved and why he did not stick to his first idea about Cook's Endeavour journal: "The writing seemed plain enough. What indeed could be simpler than to have them typed out, and to print them as a plain text, on which anybody could work? They could be paper-bound and sell cheaply... Simple, straightforward; you see I was not going to worry about things like annotation - why annotate when the thing was so well known? - or textual introductions - why make difficulties unnecessarily? How naïve - how staggeringly naïve - I was."

During his life John wrote so many books, poems, articles, and letters that were published that a bibliography of 297 was compiled and published within a year of his death: John Cawte Beaglehole: a bibliography¹. John also wrote many private letters. Tim quotes from them extensively because "the letters reveal the range of his interests, his wit and the sparkling and affectionate play of his mind. Not surprisingly, they were often carefully kept by their recipients."

The book begins with the derivation of the name Beaglehole "from bugel hal, meaning herdsman in the moors" in Cornwall, southwest England. Many of these Beagleholes became miners and some emigrated to Australia and New Zealand in the nineteenth century. John Cawte Beaglehole was born on 13 June 1901 in Wellington, when its population was about 50,000. He was the second son of Ernest who worked in accounts at a wholesale chemist. John's second name came from the second name of his maternal grandfather, who got it from his mother, Jane Cawte.

As a youngster he collected stamps of the world, attended the local Primitive Methodist Sunday School and aspired to be "a wholesale and retail bookseller". As a schoolboy he attended Mount Cook School and Wellington College. When he left his father wanted him to go to university but John wanted to be a bookseller. So they struck a bargain and John worked for Whitcombe and Tombs for a year, and then tried university for a year before making "a free choice". He enrolled at Victoria University College (VUC), part of the University of New Zealand, in 1919. He studied English, French and Latin, and then stayed for a second year, this time studying English, mental and moral philosophy and history. He loved history and stayed for a further two years studying it to complete a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. Then stayed for another two years to become a Master of Arts (MA) in history. Most of the history covered was British and European with a little on New Zealand. Nearly fifty years later he recalled, "the dazzled awe with which he first laid eyes" on the collections of the Alexander Turnbull Library.

During these years he enjoyed many walking excursions as a member of the college Tramping Club, and through it he met Elsie Holmes and Averil Lysaght.

In 1924 he completed his MA and was appointed an assistant lecturer in history at VUC. The following year he was awarded a postgraduate travelling scholarship that would enable him "to go to London University to work for a PhD", together with free passage there and back. He left on 6 August 1926 and the ship arrived in London on 1 October. During the voyage the ship stayed at Sydney for 11 days, and John "visited the Mitchell Library and noted they had material relating to Cook's voyages." John wrote many letters home to his mother, his father, to Elsie and many others, with "hardly a letter among all those John wrote home that does not mention books - books read, books admired, books bought, books coveted but too expensive." Due to a mix-up it was "two months before his thesis subject was sorted out and John started work at the Public Record Office". He was soon also working in the British Museum.

He travelled widely in England, and also took holidays on the continent. As an art lover he was excited at seeing the real thing. Tim writes: "The painters John admired were largely those he already knew from books at home; what excited him was the brilliance of the originals compared with the reproductions he had grown up with." Elsie arrived in London in 1928. Originally, Averil Lysaght was going to accompany her, but in the end it was another banker's daughter, Kathleen McKay. With his two-year scholarship funds running out John applied for several jobs, but was offered none. He wrote "there are some reasons why I should be very glad to go back to N.Z.; but it looks at present as if I shall have to go wherever I can get a job."

The thesis was finished on 8 December 1928 except for a quotation he wanted from Edmund Burke, and he spent three days reading "all Burke through systematically" until he found it. Then it was typed, involving six people, before it could be submitted on 1 February 1929: 726 pages, 9 chapters, 1250 notes. After an oral examination he was awarded his doctorate later that year.

John was invited by JA Williamson, history master at Westminster School, whom he had met in London to write about Pacific exploration for a forthcoming series of books though, John wrote home, "not that I know anything about either the Pacific or exploration". He felt he needed a job. John and Elsie decided to get married but not have a formal engagement, and to wait until John had a job. They returned together to Wellington by ship arriving in September.

John continued to look for a job, and also "started reading about Pacific exploration at the Alexander Turnbull Library" for the book. He took a 12-month post as a Workers' Educational Association (WEA) tutor-organiser in Dunedin, which opened the way for marriage on 17 February 1930. The job entailed travelling the area by train so he could give his lectures. When they returned to Wellington they moved in with Elsie's parents, and John "finished his second chapter in Pacific exploration and wrote forty pages of an 'essay on N.Z. history' for a book of essays". He agreed to mark a thousand Matriculation history papers, as he looked for another job, and "such marking became a vital contribution to the family income in the years ahead". In February he became WEA tutor-organiser in Waikato, based in Hamilton, and the couple at last had a place of their own. In March "his salary was cut by 10 per cent... in response to the depression". In October 1931 their first son, John Robin Beaglehole, was born.

The course came to an end and John "got back to work on the Pacific with the aim of finishing the book over the summer". He won a poetry competition. In April 1932 he took on a temporary post at Auckland as assistant to a lecturer. He "found the teaching 'a dud business'" and soon got involved in "questions of civil liberties and academic freedom [that] was to have far-reaching effects on his subsequent career." Certainly, his temporary appointment was not extended after its initial year, and he returned to Wellington where his employment for the next three years he later described as "unemployed and odd jobs".

In March 1933 he was appointed to VUC whilst someone was ill. It lasted until July. Meantime Timothy Holmes Beaglehole was born. In July John's brother Ernest went to work with Peter Buck at the Bishop Museum, Hawai'i. John "revised and added to his 'little history' of New Zealand [which] was published as 'Youthful Nation: History of New Zealand' in sixteen fortnightly parts". He marked more papers for money, gave some lectures and ran some correspondence courses. In 1934 his book The Exploration of the Pacific² was published in London. Tim notes, "the book was a history of the European exploration of the Pacific... the book represented a triumph of scholarly work on the published sources and of the historical imagination... Nearly a third of the book is given to the three chapters on Cook's three voyages. Some memorable phrases emerge: 'The study of Cook is the illumination of all discovery', 'He was the genius of the matter-of-fact'". The book was well received and led John to "propose to write the standard life" of Cook for which he tried to get financial support to "spend a year in Sydney working on the Cook material in the libraries there."

In 1934 John was appointed lecturer in history at VUC. Just before the new term began he and Elsie had a holiday that included a trip to Cook's Beach, Mercury Bay. Years later he remembered, "the whole bay, from the sea in to the hills, was empty and silent. And yet I felt something... it really was as if a veil had suddenly trembled, an invisible veil; and on the other side, just outside my vision, was a ship, and a boat rowing towards the shore... I almost, before I turned back, caught sight of the Endeavour: I almost heard the voices of eighteenth century sailors."

In 1936 his short essay on New Zealand history was published in London³. John and Elsie bought their first house, where they lived for the rest of their lives. Giles Cawte Beaglehole was born. John continued to work on a history of the University of New Zealand that was published in 1937⁴ and described as reflecting "his matchless capacity for transforming a mountain of arid documents into readable prose".

In January 1938 John and Elsie went to Australia. In Sydney John visited "the Mitchell Library to look at Cook material (he was already corresponding with the Argonaut Press in London on a proposal that he should edit the journals for them)" and visited Cook's landing place at Kurnell. In Canberra he was "left alone in the strong-room with keys & Cook's own original Endeavour journal... & told to help myself, as it were."

In July John was appointed to carry out "historical research and to supervise the publication of material" in the Alexander Turnbull Library, which was under the Department of Internal Affairs. Effectively he became a "part-time public servant" and a government adviser on historical matters including, as a member of the National Historical Committee, preparations for the nation's centennial in 1940. He had been asked to write a history of New Zealand. And he was still a full-time lecturer.

In January 1939 the family had a summer holiday in Queen Charlotte Sound and John "got to see Ship Cove at last. The Cook monument on the foreshore... had not been as bad as he expected". By September he had finished the NZ history book, which was published in December⁵.

In January 1940 the summer holiday was in Hawke's Bay and John "did a bit of Cook looking around". As the centennial year drew to a close he agreed to begin "a twelve month's experiment" that lasted eleven years: an Historical Branch of a government department that would produce further historical publications. And it did. In 1945 he helped form the University of New Zealand Press and the Wellington Chamber Music Society.

In 1947 the Mitchell Library advertised for an editor to work on their papers of Joseph Banks, including his Endeavour journal. About 200 people applied, all of who were turned down. Instead, "they invited John to accept the position with a professorial salary." About a month later John heard indirectly "that the Hakluyt Society in London was proposing an edition of Cook's journals". John was asked to collaborate and in February 1948 he agreed to become the editor of the First Voyage. In May he was asked to also edit the Third Voyage, with JA Williamson being the editor of the Second Voyage. He spent much of the year completing a history of VUC for its jubilee celebrations in 1949. And then he was appointed Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in Colonial History at VUC, ending his full-time career as a lecturer to and giving him time to devote to Cook.

In July 1949 John and Elsie sailed for England, staying in London with Averil Lysaght. He "met a number of the Hakluyt Society people and made a start on looking at Cook material". Elsie returned but John stayed working on Cook and Banks. He wrote to her "I am getting fonder & fonder of Capt Cook & grudge every hour spent away from him." He visited Whitby, "exploring the town and the museum and talking to the local historian." He met Rex Nan Kivell, the art dealer and collector, whose "remarkable collection of books, manuscripts, maps and historical and documentary art from the period of early European contact with New Zealand, Australia and Pacific" had been sent to Canberra for safekeeping during the war. John was able to see photographs of many items and consider which ones would be good to use to illustrate the Cook volumes.

In July 1950 John flew back to Wellington. By then he had "established a text of the journal" of the First Voyage... He had almost completed work on the text for the third voyage". He had also got to know RA Skelton, "a most admirable person, with whom I have got (almost) to swearing terms". He was the honorary secretary of the Hakluyt Society and Superintendent of the Map Room in the British Museum. There relationship was "enormously important to the success of the whole enterprise".

The trials and tribulations of John's work on the Cook and Banks volumes from 1950 until his death in 1971 are dealt with in great detail by Tim in the two chapters devoted to "The Scholar at Work". Too much for a review to do justice, as they cover "the immensity of the labour expended in the whole undertaking, from the tracking down of material in archives, libraries and private ownership in many parts of the world and the painstaking decisions about spelling and punctuation in eighteenth-century documents to the innumerable hours spent collating and checking texts against the originals or photocopies of the originals, in research for the introductions and explanatory notes, and an almost interminable process of proofreading and correcting."

The remaining chapters include a look at the private side of John's life. How the top of his desk "was always a mass of books, papers and letters waiting to be answered". His habit of "playing Bach preludes and fugues on the piano in the sitting room". How it was sometimes necessary for his family "to wait a little for John to appear when a meal was ready - 'Dad's just finishing a sentence'".

There is some mention of his involvement with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, but insufficient for me. He was frequently called on to review masters' and doctoral theses, including one by Bernard Smith on art. He also supervised some students' research, including John Dunmore on French explorers. Even Tim finds it "difficult to grasp, let alone convey, the full extent of his activities".

In 1958 John was awarded Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) by Queen Elizabeth. In 1970 the Queen conferred on him the Order of Merit (OM). Only 24 people at any one time can be members. John was the second New Zealander. The following year he sat for his portrait by WA Sutton, commissioned by Victoria University (as VUC had become in 1962). John was "reluctant to lose the time" but liked the idea that "it is the first portrait in which the OM & a pipe have appeared together".

On 9 October 1971 John and Elsie went to see the New Zealand Opera Company perform Aida. He slept badly, and died of a heart attack in the morning.

Tim's biography of John Beaglehole is 559 pages, about three-quarters of the length of John's biography of James Cook (760 pages). They are both great books to read. That of James Cook is a familiar story, but with many surprising details. That of John Beaglehole is not at all familiar, and also has many surprising details. At the end my questions had been answered. But in addition I understood why John "was never quite convinced that his scholarship fully deserved the praise it received, always felt that his prose needed one more critical revision, never quite understood why his advice was sought so often and on such a range of matters"

Reviewer: Ian Boreham

References

1. John Cawte Beaglehole: A Bibliography. Alexander Turnbull Library. 1972.
2. Beaglehole, J. C. Exploration of the Pacific. A. & C. Black. 1934. 426pp.
3. Beaglehole, J. C. New Zealand: a short history. Allen and Unwin. 1936. 164pp.
4. Beaglehole, J. C. The University of New Zealand: an historical study. New Zealand Council for Educational Research. 1937. 442pp.
5. Beaglehole, J. C. The Discovery of New Zealand. Department of Internal Affairs. 1939. 176 pp.
6. Beaglehole, J. C. Victoria University College: an essay towards a history. New Zealand University Press. 1949. 330 pp.

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 43, volume 30, number 1 (2007).

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is aimed at children aged 9 - 11. It is part of a series designed to fit into the history curriculum within the UK.

At first I did not understand its title. I am sure there are many people who would have jumped at the chance to join Cook on his voyage around the world. However, as you delve into the highly illustrated pages, it emerges the "avoid" bit is more to do with the conditions you would have experienced exploring with anyone at this time. Indeed, other books in the series tell you to "Avoid sailing with Francis Drake" and "Avoid sailing on a 19th-century Whaling Ship".

It is 1768 and you are young Isaac Smith about to embark on the voyage of a lifetime. The book uses humorous cartoon-style illustrations and a narrative approach to take you through the voyage, taking you around the world and showing you the sights and sounds Smith would have seen. There are captions with handy hints, such as "Don't get drunk and fall asleep in a pub. You could wake up aboard one of His Majesty's ships!" There is a glossary of terms including boatswain, chart, grog and oakum. All of which helps bring Cook and his voyages to a new, younger audience. I thoroughly applaud David Salariya for creating this series - which is enjoyable whatever your age!

Reviewer: Ruth Boreham

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 48, volume 30, number 2 (2007).

James Cook's journal of his Second Voyage was edited by JC Beaglehole and published by the Hakluyt Society in 1961 in 696 pages.¹ Philip Edwards produced an abridged version covering all three voyages. It was published by Penguin Books in 1999 in 657 pages.²

Now we have some extracts from the abridged version covering the period 24 November 1773 to 17 December 1774 in 116 pages. This pocket-sized book (jacket pocket not shirt pocket - I checked) is number 7 in a new series of paperback books called "Great Journeys".

I spent an enjoyable couple of hours reading Cook's great journey in Resolution from New Zealand through the Antarctic to Easter Island, the Marquesas, Tahiti and other Society Islands, Niue, Tonga, New Hebrides, back to New Zealand and on to Tierra del Fuego. A handy map of the ship's route appears on the inside front cover; there are none of Beaglehole's footnotes to distract you, but as a result none of the birds, etc., are identified.

If you have read biographies of Cook and descriptions of his voyages, but never read his actual words, this book is a great introduction. During the Second Voyage Cook was writing for not just the Admiralty, but also for possible publication to the public, and his writing shows an improvement over that of the First Voyage.

Being extracts, not every day is covered, so where there are large gaps in the entries, Edwards has inserted brief comments on what was taking place to maintain the flow of the story. While the ship is among the ice islands, Edwards has included in the journal entries the temperature, winds, distance sailed, latitude and longitude that Cook recorded. Elsewhere, these are dropped.

I enjoyed reading again Cook's words, including:

• "According to the old proverb a miss is as good as a mile, but our situation requires more misses than we can expect".³
• The Marquesans "would very often exercise their tallant of thieving upon us, which I thought necessary to put up with as our stay was likely to be but short among them".⁴
• I saw "upward of Sixty Canoes, we were told the people in them were Arioe's... one may almost compair these Men to free masons, they tell us they assist each other when need requires and they seem to have Customs amongest them which their either will not or cannot explain".⁵
• "Here seems to be [a] feild open for some Philosophical reasoning on these extraordinary Phenomenon's of nature, but as I have no tallant that way I must content my self with stateing facts as I found and leave the causes to men of more abilities".⁶

Reviewer: Ian Boreham

References

1. Cook's Log, page 45, vol. 30, no. 1 (2007)
2. Cook's Log, page 1694, vol. 23, no. 1 (2000)
3. 15 December 1773 amongst the Ice Islands
4. 8 April 1774
5. 21 May 1774 at Huaheine
6. 18 August 1774 observing volcanoes in Vanuatu

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 35, volume 30, number 3 (2007).

Four years ago I was delighted to review Derek Morris's excellent book about Mile End Old Town.¹ When the first edition sold out, Derek took the opportunity of revising and extending the contents for this second edition, resulting in an extra 30 pages packed with facts. The new edition provides the reader with a veritable cornucopia of information conveniently compiled into various aspects of commercial and social history, such as merchants, religions, education and crime. The book does not just give a detailed insight into the history of Mile End Old Town as it was in the days of Captain Cook, it demonstrates the wide range of original material that local historians can draw upon when investigating a particular area.

As a member of the CCS, Derek has deliberately pursued his research into the various connections that Cook had in Mile End Old Town. Cook enthusiasts will be pleased to find that Derek has incorporated the results of this research into his new book. He has found much new information relating to Cook and his associates, and has been able to demonstrate that that some of Cook's business connections are reflected in the physical proximity of Cook to his neighbours. So much new data has come to light that Derek has been able to devote an entire chapter to Captain Cook, who was probably the most famous resident of Mile End in the 18th century.

The book is replete with appendices, and comes with a three-part index to the people, places and subjects mentioned within its pages. At first sight one would think that after this book there was nothing left for Derek to say about Mile End Old Town. However, as Derek is still ploughing a rich furrow in the local archives. Who knows what new information he will unearth!

His first book received considerable acclaim from local historians and academics alike. I am certain this enlarged second edition will ensure that Derek's work continues to attract plaudits.

This book is available from the author at 21 Haddon Court, Shakespeare Road, Harpenden AL5 5NB, UK. Despite the increase in content it still retails at £9.60 plus postage and packing. P&P is £3.00 in the U.K. and £6.00 overseas. Please make cheques payable to "The East London History Society".

Reviewer: Cliff Thornton

Reference

1. Cook's Log, page 18, vol. 26, no. 1 (2003)

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 35, volume 30, number 3 (2007).

Comprising the collected lectures of the Royal Society of New Zealand Transit of Venus series Broadcast on Radio New Zealand,² this book has six chapters and an introduction, each by a different author.

Cook's Mistake Discovered! The History Books are Wrong! That is how I would begin an article based on the theory expounded in the opening chapter of this book if I were a journalist. But I am instead a person who admires Captain Cook and enjoys reading about this great man. This is not a book about the Transit of Venus in 1769 but, rather, a series of essays about some of the effects of Cook's First Voyage. Although written by New Zealanders for New Zealanders, I am sure people all over the world will find it of interest.

Hamish Campbell is the New Zealand geologist who wrote the first chapter: "Search for the Lost Continent". He argues convincingly, using readily understandable ideas, that when Cook discovered (or in PC talk rediscovered) New Zealand what he actually discovered was the tips of the vast continent of Zealandia that lies one to two kilometres below the sea level, which could be considered to be "The Vast Unknown Southern Continent". This chapter sets the tone for the book.

There are seven essays in the book. The book has several not very clear black and white images and photos that add interest to the book. All the writers are New Zealanders who are internationally renowned and at the cutting edge of their fields. Only one chapter, that by Anne Salmond, is specifically about Cook, and it is in fact a brief summary of her major work "The Trial of the Cannibal Dog: Captain Cook in the South Seas". The other chapters are based on ideas that Cook had or those that have arisen out of his voyages. The book is mainly about the history and philosophy of science from the 17th century to the present. As the sub title says, "How a Rare Astronomical Alignment Changed the World".

One chapter is called "The Road to Stonehenge". It is not about the UK site but the recently built New Zealand version.³ It discusses ancient naviga-tional methods of exploration by Pacific peoples and links in with comments made by Cook about how Pacific explorers used the stars to navigate to the Pacific islands, including New Zealand.

"To the Farthest Ends of the Earth" is about attempts to see the transit of Venus. It includes a fascinating account of a Frenchman, Le Gentil, who set out to observe the 1761 transit in India but was unable to do so. He decided to stay in the Indian Ocean area doing scientific work and then observe the 1769 transit. After seemingly insurmountable problems he reached a suitable site to find that he was unable to observe the transit due to cloud cover. So overcome was he that he stayed in bed for two weeks. On returning to France 11 years after he left he found that all he owned had gone as his family thought he had died!

I liked this book very much. It is a stimulating book that made me reflect on Cook and science in ways I normally do not. I am sure the book will appeal to many CCS members, particularly as it looks at some of the consequences of Cook's First Voyage and how the world was changed forever by it.

Reviewer: Norman Wansbrough

References

1. http://www.awapress.com/
2. http://www.transitofvenus.auckland.ac.nz/
3. http://www.stonehenge-aotearoa.com/
4. http://www.ianridpath.com/stamps/cook.htm/

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 36, volume 30, number 3 (2007).

Gifford has presented us with a very comprehensive and most interesting biography of a most interesting and intriguing man. John Ledyard sailed with James Cook but he achieved more than that. For example, as Gifford points out, he is mentioned in Herman Melville's classic "Moby Dick" when Ishmael compares himself and his fellow sailors to "Ledyard, the great New England Traveller".

Ledyard was the sort of person who attracts adjectives and descriptions - larger-than-life, con-man, chameleon, charmer, rebel, charismatic, idealist, ladies' man, mercenary and loner. When considered altogether a person emerges who warrants having his story told but, when you have read it, you are left wondering how much was true, how much Ledyard himself made up and how much has developed over the years.

John Ledyard was born in Groton, Connecticut in 1751, the oldest child of John and Abigail Ledyard. When Ledyard was ten his father died at sea and Ledyard was sent to live with a domineering grandfather in Hartford while his mother remarried in 1765. This unsettled childhood probably helped form Ledyard's independent and rebellious streak.

In 1772, it was arranged for Ledyard to attend John Wheelock's Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, with a view to becoming a missionary to the Indians. Ledyard went there in 1772 but in 1773 he rebelled and ran away. He actually paddled away down the Connecticut River in a canoe, an act celebrated and re-enacted by students at the college to this day.

Ledyard's family had emigrated from Bristol and, in March 1774, he sailed from New York to Falmouth to seek out family connections. He was either unable to make contact or he was not able to furnish proof of his identity so it came to nothing. Being out of money (a situation that reappears continually through his life), Ledyard enlisted in the Marines at Plymouth on 15 July 1775.

He becomes of interest to Cook scholars when, one year later, Ledyard joined Cook's Third Voyage as marine corporal on Resolution. Ledyard attracted attention when he was sent as envoy to the Russians on Unalaska in October 1778. He could rightly claim to have already had experience dealing with Native Americans. Close to the end of the voyage, Ledyard was raised to sergeant.

Ledyard remained in the marines and waited vainly for promotion or recognition. He was in a difficult position, having been born in North America where his family was still located and siding with independence while he, himself, was serving the British. Ledyard, refused to fight Americans so was confined to barracks in Britain. However, he sailed to America in 1782 and deserted onto Long Island before crossing to Hartford to live with his uncle, Thomas Seymour. It was at times like these that several of Ledyard's traits emerge. That he could so easily switch allegiances shows his chameleon and mercenary side while his ability to explain such switches highlights his being something of a con-man with charisma.

His next act, which brought him fame, was to write an account of Cook's third voyage "A Journal of Captain Cook's Last Voyage to the Pacific Ocean and in quest of a North-West Passage" that was published in Hartford in 1783. He basically plagiarised an anonymous account (usually attributed to Rickman) published in London in 1781 adding a few original descriptions here and there.

Like several others who had sailed on the third voyage, Ledyard realised the commercial possibilities of the sea otter fur trade on the Northwest Coast of America and tried unsuccessfully to interest traders and merchants in New York and Philadelphia in backing a venture. In 1784 he went to Paris where he became friends with Thomas Jefferson, the newly appointed American ambassador to France. Jefferson then suggested that Ledyard could walk to Kamchatka across Russia and Siberia and from there he could sail to Nootka on the American Northwest. Ledyard took up this somewhat incredible idea.

Jefferson wrote to Lafayette on 9 February 1786 saying:

He had a "spirit of enterprize... He has genius, an education better than the common, and a talent for useful and interesting observation. I believe him to be an honest man, and a man of truth. To all this he adds just as much singularity of character, and of that particular kind too, as was necessary to make him undertake the journey he proposes.

Ledyard set off on his great trek with a little financial backing from Sir Joseph Banks, whom he had managed to persuade to back him. He walked via Copenhagen and reached Stockholm in late January 1787. He then supposedly walked right round the Gulf of Bothnia as mild weather meant it was not ice covered and could not be traversed on foot. Ledyard arrived penniless as ever in St Petersburg in March 1787. Three months later, Ledyard set off east by stage coach and mail courier, accompanying William Braun, a Scottish surgeon who was returning to Joseph Billings's expedition with supplies. Ledyard knew Billings having sailed on Cook's Third Voyage with him.

Ledyard was well received and entertained in Irkutsk, though he was representing himself by now as Colonel Ledyard. The local governor, General Yakobi, arranged for Ledyard to continue eastwards and gave him a letter of introduction to Gregory Marklovsky, the commandant at Yakutsk. When Ledyard reached Yakutsk he had been overtaken by winter and Marklovsky explained it would be impossible to reach Okhotsk. He invited him to stay with him and, in early November, Billings arrived to winter over in Yakutsk.

In late 1787, Russia went to war with Turkey and foreigners travelling about the country were regarded with suspicion so Ledyard was arrested in February 1788 and escorted back to Moscow. After questioning, he was sent to Mahilyow in Belarus and taken to the Polish border where he was expelled from Russia and ordered never to return.

Ledyard made his way to London and once more sought out Joseph Banks. A new expedition was mooted by Banks and the African Association to explore overland routes from Alexandria in Egypt to the Niger. Ledyard was offered the task and he departed on 30 June 1788. He reached Cairo in August. However, he died in Cairo in November 1788 aged only 37, either from dysentery or an excessive dose of tartar emetic intended as a cure.

On 24 July 1790, The Times reproduced a piece that had previously appeared in the "Proceedings of the Association for promoting the Discovery of the interior Parts of Africa". It shows Ledyard's ability to inspire and generate confidence:

He came to see the writer of these memoirs. Before I had learnt from the note the name and business of my visitor, I was struck with the manliness of his person, the breadth of his chest, the openness of his countenance, and the inquietude of his eye. I opened a map of Africa before him, and tracing a line from Cairo to Sennar, and from thence westward... I asked him, when he would set out? "Tomorrow morning was his answer."

Gifford tells Ledyard's story well and captures the remarkableness of the man. As well as the positives, he also recounts the negative points such as Ledyard's readiness to accept hospitality and financial support, not always with thanks, and then to openly criticise those people who have helped him. Gifford credits Ledyard with having ideas and observations that he passed on in letters he sent from Russia to Jefferson. Knowing Ledyard's personality it is easy to be suspicious though that he appropriated some if not all of those ideas and passed them off as his own.

One small gripe with Gifford centres on the passages involving himself, which add nothing to the book. In these, he provides descriptions of having sailed in the Endeavour replica and crossing Siberia by train. Other than that, this is an excellent book providing much information about one of Cook's colleagues. You finish knowing much about Ledyard and wanting to meet him to find out how much was true. One can only hope that it causes people to research and write the stories of all the other men who sailed with Cook and whose lives remain largely unknown.

Reviewer: John Robson

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 37, volume 30, number 3 (2007).

According to the "Author's Note" at the beginning of this book Darkin is providing us with some highlights of Cook's early contacts with New Zealanders, which "set the tone for race relations between two vastly different cultures". Having moved from Europe to New Zealand in 1995, Darkin found himself "poorly briefed on Cook's New Zealand connection" and wrote this "short holiday history" for other such people.

I'm not clear why it is called a holiday history. It is certainly short, being only 94 pages. So perhaps the idea is that you might read it whilst on holiday, as a bit of light reading. Included are some sections called "Cook's Trail" that are "intended as a holiday guide for travellers wishing to visit Cook's important landing sites".

Before the tour of New Zealand, there are brief chapters on Cook's life up to 1768, his men, Endeavour, the missions to observe the Transit of Venus and find the Great Southern Continent. There's an interesting slip on charting: "In 1976, accuracy in determining longitude was yet to be perfected." There are brief notes on Abel Tasman and Tupaia. The latter, apparently, "saved Cook's bacon by guiding him through several diplomatic scrapes".

The tour begins on page 29 with the arrival in Poverty Bay in 1769. Darkin describes the events from both the European and Maori points of view, and takes the trouble to explain some terms unfamiliar to landlubbers like me, such as pinnace and yawl. However, later in the book he says some Maori "started interfering with the ship's external equipment so muskets and cannon were fired to warn them off" without explaining what this external equipment was and how it was being interfered.

At the end of a useful explanation of the events, the first "Cook's Trail" section appears with an indication of what there is to see there today: streets in Gisborne named after members of the crew, a monument in Kaiti Beach Road, the two Cook statues (one authentic and one of an impostor), the statue of Young Nick, a stained-glass window and a totem pole.

And so the tour continues, in the same direction as Endeavour took around the North Island, with descriptions of the events broken into short sections, each with its own heading. I got annoyed with the sections, as there are so many of them, the font used for the headings is difficult to read, and many headings are silly, e.g. "Nice flowers, pity about the dancing".

The book is a good read, with a nicely put story. There are some many quotes from Cook's journal, and plenty of comments about what was happening and why. Several times there are references to the taking of the land and the difficulty of dealing peacefully with the natives. The language used is definitely not that of the 18th century, e.g. "acquiring occupied territory and winning over its inhabitants called for a salesman's smile backed by a show of knee-knocking muscle"

After 40 pages on the North Island tour there are only 12 on the South Island. Followed by two pages on the Second Voyage and another two on the Third.

There are ten "Cook's Trail" sections (and one "Cook's Tour") that briefly point out the modern places to go. Plaques and cairns are given, cruises to islands recommended, and even a lighthouse mentioned. There are scant directions to these points and no maps of how to find, which is a major disappointment. Even some sketch maps would have been good. In this respect John Robson's book "Captain Cook's World: Maps of the life and voyages of James Cook RN" ¹ has better maps and more information on Cook monuments, statues and which parts of the coast would have been seen by Cook.

Inside the front and back pages are maps of the North and South Islands showing 39 of the places of interest. But there are several places described in the book that do not appear on the map, and there is no cross-reference from the map to aid you to quickly find the relevant "Cook's Trail", etc. Indeed, there is no index, so if you want to find what happened when Cook arrived at, say, Great Barrier Island, you have to follow the tour until the place is mentioned. Sadly, Ship Cove fails to be included at all!

Reviewer: Ian Boreham

Reference

1. See Cook's Log, page 1694, vol. 23, no. 1 (2000)

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 39, volume 30, number 3 (2007).

David Samwell (named originally David Samuel, but changed by him to avoid the question "are you Jewish?") was born on 15 October 1751 to the wife of a vicar in north Wales. He had a grammar school education in Latin and English. University could not be afforded and he was apprenticed to John Crosier, a naval surgeon who had served on Dolphin under Byron, and had many seagoing contacts.

Samwell qualified as a Surgeon, and through Crosier's influence was appointed as Surgeon's Mate on Resolution for the Third Voyage. Following the death of William Anderson the Resolution's surgeon, John Law, the surgeon on Discovery, was appointed to Resolution. Cook then promoted Samwell in Law's place.

As well as his journal, Samwell was persuaded to write a pamphlet titled "Narrative of the Death of Captain James Cook to Which Are Added Some Particulars Concerning His Life and Character and Observations Respecting the Introduction of the Venereal Disease Into the Sandwich Islands" that was extensively used by Andrew Kippis and others, including Beaglehole, in their biographies.

After his naval career ended in 1786, he retired on half pay. But in 1798, practising in medicine in London, he was appointed to serve the needs of British prisoners of war in France and naturally chose Versailles as his base. He returned to London later that year, and died on 23 November.

An ardent (in all senses of the word) Welshman he was made a Bard. Never married, he nonetheless fathered a child who died, with his mother, in childbirth. Although deeply grieved, this did not stop his unremitting pursuit of "The Nymphs" when opportunities arose.

I was disappointed with this book since it does not seem to add anything to our knowledge of Cook, although to have Samwell's account of the death, which heavily influenced Beaglehole, is marginally worthwhile. This 170-page amalgam of Samwell's writings includes his "A Narrative of the Death of Captain James Cook" (22 pages), Samwell's career (15 pages), his "hobby-horse", the history/legends/myths of Wales (16 pages), his correspondence, mostly to an old friend and only one prior to 1776 (38 pages) and his poetry (27 pages). At the price I find it hard to justify a purchase unless one is deeply interested in this polymath.

Reviewer: Neil Evenett

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 40, volume 30, number 3 (2007).

The content of this book is best summarised by the following sentence that is taken from the author's introduction: "The story of the defeat of scurvy at sea is an intriguing mix of pioneering achievement, bureaucratic inertia, wilful neglect and the corrosive poison that patronage induced in society." The 300+ pages that follow take the reader from the first accounts of the disease (Hippocrates) to the wide range of treatments that captains believed would cure their crews of scurvy. Some of these treatments would be laughable if it were not men's lives that were in the balance.

Through all the chaos and commotion surrounding scurvy there then appeared a man who was the first to apply a scientific approach to the condition. Dr. James Lind, a naval surgeon, experimented with different foods and noted their effects on his patients. In 1753 he published his conclusions in his book A Treatise of the Scurvy... which contained his recommendations for avoiding and treating scurvy. Unfortunately other naval surgeons were also publishing their own antiscorbutic recommendations. In the 18th century who you knew was often more important than what you knew. Hence, as Lind did not have a sponsor within the hierarchy of the Admiralty, it was the ideas of other surgeons that were favoured.

It is widely known that Cook was awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society in 1776 for his work on combating scurvy. After reading this book I now realise that Cook did not deserve that award. Cook's influence in promoting the "effectiveness" of other alleged remedies only served to confuse the situation and delay the eventual introduction of Lind's principles into the Navy; this came about in 1795 a year after Lind's death.

The book is well written and contains lots of extracts from original documents. There are extensive footnotes situated at the back of the book so as not to impede the reader's progress. There is also a comprehensive bibliography.

If you have the slightest interest in the history of scurvy and its treatment you need this upon your bookshelf.

Reviewer: Cliff Thornton

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 42, volume 30, number 4 (2007).