CAPTAIN COOK'S LETTERS.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14985, 4 June 1914, Page 2

CAPTAIN COOK'S LETTERS.

NEW ZEALAND VISITS. fJBOM OVa. CIWK COI-ÜBSfOWDETrr.^ SYDNEY, May 23. The announcement was mcde by cable a few days ago that the originals of four of Captain Cook's letters were shortly to be offered at auction in London, ana already representations have been made to the Commonwealth Government that the letters should be bought for Australia. There are already copies of these letters m'Melbourne in a private collection of Mr E. A. Pctherick, and extracts from them have been printed in the Melbourne "Argus." . They were written to Captain John Walker, of Whitby, in whose employ Cook began his seafaring life, and there are many interesting references in them to the great navigator's visits to New Zealand. The first of the letters is dated from Mile End, London, on September 18th,-1771, alter his return from tho first of his'three great voyages of discovery. In this he says that in the beginning of August, 17.9, he quitted the "tropikle regions" and peered to the southward. This brought him to New Zealand, which was thought up till then to be a southern continent, "but I," writes the explorer, "found it to be - two large islands, both of which I circumnavigated in the space of six months." The inhabitants he spoke of as fearless, brave, and warlike, "with sentiments void of treachery," tribute of brave to brave. Cook's men "had frequent skirmishes with them, always when wo were not known; our firearms gave us the superiority; at fir.t some of them were kill'd. but we at last learnt how to manage them without tak'ng away their lives." The Maoris lived upon fish, fernroot, potatoes, and "yamms." They were also not above dog. Cook mentions the New Zealand flax. It was, he says, "of a quality like hemp or flax, but superior to either." Then the royagerj. go oa to New Holland. "We fell »« ___ T __ K

Land in tho latitude of 38<leg. south. I explored the coast of this country (which I called New South Wales). . . Wo sailed th_3 coast for 400 leagues by the lead, without ever having a loadoman out of the chaines. . , . We at Last surmounted all difficulties, and got into tho India Sea by a passage entirely now." The third letter is dated September. 1775, and contains a brief resume of his second voyage. He takes his friend through the "vast fields of floating ice and much foggy weather, and largo isles" of floating mountains of ice." in tho roaring forties and fifties. Somehow or other ho misses Australia and brings up at New Zealand, and, leaving this land proceeded to Otaheite. Then back to New Zealand, npo. attain further into the. Antarctic, whoro "beating* about between the latitude of, 48deg. and CGdeg., and once I got as high as _ 71.10 deg., and farther it was not possible to go, for ice which lay as firm as land; here we saw ice mountains, whose lofty summits were lost in the clouds. I waa now fully satisfied that there -was no Southern Continent." He stood away north and brought up at Easter island, where he describes the extraordinary and mysterious 6tatues for which this place is famous. He visjted many islands, and finally "discovered a largo island which I called Nova Caledonia." The people he describes as friendly, "stout and well-made peoplo of a dark colour, with long frizzled hair and littlo clothing." Then back to New Zealand once more, where he found that some of the "Adventurer's" crew had been killed and eaten by the Maor's. "That the New Zealanders are cannibals," he says, "will no longer be disputed, not only from the melancholy fate of the 'Adventurer's' people, and Captain Marion and bis fellow flrafferers, but from what I and my crew have seen with our eyes. Nevertheless, I think them a good' sort of people, at least I have always found good treatment amongst theln."