SECOND VOYAGE 117 



of the crews ; and, in particular, if the small-pox was on 

 board ; a thing they dread above all others at the Gape, 

 (and which has very recently, 1858, created sad havoc 

 among the population). 



Captain Cook waited upon the governor, accompanied by 

 Captain Furneaux and the two Mr. Forsters. He received 

 them with great kindness, and promised every assistance the 

 place could afford. 



After having visited the governor and other principal 

 persons of the place, they took up their abode at Mr. 

 Brandt's, then the usual residence of officers belonging to 

 English ships. 



It was the 18th of November before they were ready to 

 put to sea. During this stay the crews of both ships were 

 served every day with fresh beef or mutton, new-baked 

 bread, and as much greens as they could eat. The ships 

 were caulked and painted ; and, in every respect, put in 

 as good a condition as when they left England. 



Mr. Forster, whose whole time was taken up in the pursuit 

 of natural history and botany, met with a Swedish gentle- 

 man, who had studied under Linnaeus. This gentleman, by 

 Captain Cook's consent, embarked as an assistant to Mr. 

 Forster, who generously bore his expenses on board, and 

 allowed him a yearly stipend in addition. 



In the afternoon of the 22nd they weighed, and on the 

 25th had abundance of albatross about them, several of 

 which were caught with hook and line ; and were well 

 relished by many of the crew, notwithstanding that they 

 were at this time served with fresh mutton. Judging that 

 they should soon come into cold weather, the Captain 

 ordered the men to be supplied with the warm clothing 

 which had been furnished gratis by the Admiralty.* 



A violent gale, attended with rain and hail, blew at times 

 with such violence, that they could carry no sails ; by which 

 means they were driven far to the eastward of their intended 

 course, and no hopes were left of reaching Cape Circum- 

 cision. But the greatest misfortune that attended them 

 was the loss of great part of their live stock, which they had 

 brought from the Cape. A sudden transition from warm, 

 mild weather, to extreme cold and wet, made every man in 

 the ship feel its effects ; for, by this time, the mercury in the 

 thermometer had fallen to 38, whereas at the Cape it was 

 generally at 67 and upwards. The night proved clear 

 and serene, the only one that was so since they set sail ; and 

 the next morning the rising sun gave such flattering hopes 



* All ships recently employed in the Arctic Seas received a similar 

 indulgence. Indeed, it is an invariable custom to issue warm 

 clothing gratis on voyages of discovery. 



