Poisonous fish.

After leaving, many of those on board were very ill for a week or ten days from having eaten of a fish which Forster calls a red sea bream, and Cook believed to be the same as those which poisoned de Quiros’s people, and in his account says that: 

“The fish had eaten of poisonous plants, all parts of the flesh became empoisoned.  The ship appeared like the Hospital of a city which had the plague; there was none who could stand on their feet.”

Owing to the care of the surgeons, however “all were recovered.”

The next land seen was a small group of islands, named Shepherd’s Islands, “in honour of my worthy friend, the Plumian Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge”; and Mr. Forster complains that Cook’s “rashness and reliance on good fortune become the principal roads to fame, by being crowned with great and undeserved success.”  This was very out of place at the time, for Cook was exercising the very greatest precautions, as he fully recognised the dangers by which they were surrounded.  He always stood off and on during the night, and only proceeded through unknown waters by day.  Several of these islets were of a peculiar formation, and one high columnar rock was named the Monument; Forster gives its height as 140 yards, the other accounts are satisfied with feet.  Many of the group were inhabited, but no favourable opportunity for landing occurred.

On 1st August a fire broke out on board, and Forster writes: 

“Confusion and horror appeared in all our faces at the bare mention of it, and it was some time before proper measures were taken to stop its progress, for in these moments of danger few are able to collect their faculties and act with cool deliberation.”

After about half a page of this, on fires in general, he observes: 

“Providentially the fire of this day was very trifling and extinguished in a few moments.”

Then a few days after a marine, who had fallen overboard, was smartly picked up, and being well looked after by his comrades, was soon showing no ill effects of his accident, thus giving Mr. Forster an opportunity to write of it as an example of “the result of an esprit du corps to which sailors, at present, are utter strangers.”  An utterly unwarranted sneer.

At Erromango, on 4th August, Cook went in with the boats, and the natives tried to induce them to come on shore, but something roused suspicion after he and one man had got into the water, so, making signs that he would come back later, he stepped back.  The natives then rushed the boats, trying to drag them onto the beach, and succeeded in stealing two oars, at the same time wounding several of the boats’ crews, amongst them Mr. Gilbert, the Master, with a shower of stones, spears, and arrows.  Cook attempted to give one of the chiefs a charge of small shot, but his gun missed fire, and he was obliged, very reluctantly, to order the marines to fire, with the result that several of the natives were wounded.  Under the circumstances it was not considered worth while remaining, so the ship left for Tanna, some twelve leagues to the south.  A bright light had been noticed in that direction the night before, which proved to have been caused by a volcanic eruption.