Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
What made him different was a thoroughness in matters of
health and hygiene which was noticed by every officer and seaman
who signed on with him. As Lieutenant Clerke observed:
Our people all in perfect health and spirits, owing, I believe, in a
great measure to the strict attention of Captain Cook to their cleanli-
ness and every other article that respects their welfare.
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Cook regularly inspected his men, their clothing and their ac-
commodation. He insisted on proper ventilation and regular wash-
ing of hands and clothes. Above all, he forced everyone aboard, by a
mixture of discipline and example, to take full advantage of a varied
diet. One enemy of good health had always been the conservatism
of the British sailor. He might grumble about an unbroken regimen
of salt beef and ship's biscuit, but he was suspicious of anything
new and hostile to such unpalatable innovations as sauerkraut. Cook
made a point of sampling every kind of meat and vegetable he en-
countered. If he believed something was good for his crew he had it
served regularly at the officers' table and ordered it to be consumed
on the lower deck. Any man who infringed the rule suffered a cut in
his rum ration. By his attention to detail James Cook combated the
evils of ignorance and prejudice which were so often the midwives
of disease.
Leaving Cape Town on 22 November, the two ships struck
southwards, to seek land in this uncharted region. Water was ra-
tioned, the crews were provided with extra clothing and warned
to prepare for hardship. Soon the animals brought aboard at the
Cape began dying of cold, so the survivors were killed and eaten.
On 10 December
Resolution
and
Adventure
entered a sea strewn
with towering, craggy icebergs. Three days later their progress was
stopped by pack ice. Cook coasted it to the eastward and southward
then found himself caught in a wide bay of ice. The obvious course
