But this was nearly the furthest point which he could reach. When, on the 17th of July, he reached the latitude 70° 41′ he began to meet with ice; and he had not penetrated more than three or four miles further when the ice became a solid field, effectually barring all farther progress. All his efforts to find an opening in any direction proved fruitless; and though the sailors were comforted for the frost by the circumstance that it drove to them herds of seahorses, which was a delicious variety to the salt meat which had long been their only food, it was with bitter disappointment that he found himself compelled to postpone the further prosecution of his main object. All that remained for him was, by a careful examination of the sea to the north of the strait, to prepare for a renewal of the attempt after the winter had passed away. He continued his investigations till the increasing ice drove him back to the open sea, and at the beginning of October he found at Oonalashka a settlement of Russian hunters and farmers who were willing to give him all the information in their power, and who showed him their charts, which, however, only covered the coast in the immediate vicinity.

He proposed to winter at the Sandwich Islands, as affording the harbour nearest to the scene of the labours which he intended to resume at the earliest possible moment. And his return to them extended his discoveries, for, as he happened now to come upon them at their south-eastern extremity, he became aware of the existence of islands belonging to the group which he had

not seen on the previous occasion, amongst which was the largest of all, Owhyhee. It was on the 30th of November that he first cast anchor under its shores, little suspecting that he was never to quit them. As he soon perceived it to be far superior in extent to any of its fellows, he devoted some weeks to sailing round it and examining the bays and harbours which it afforded, and of which, from the position of the island in the very centre of the Pacific, he thought an accurate knowledge likely to be useful to future navigators. There was but little novelty in the character of the natives; the chiefs were as friendly as usual, the people perhaps even more thievish, but both chiefs and people were fickle, capricious, and treacherous. For some weeks, however, their cordiality and friendship seemed warm and trustworthy. The king, Terreoboo, visited the Resolution, exchanged names with Cook, gave him a splendid cloak made of feathers, begging and receiving his shirt in exchange. He even begged Cook to make him a present of one of his officers; and was with some difficulty put off with a promise that, when the Resolution should return, the next year, an effort should be made to arrange that matter to his satisfaction.

It was apparently a trifling matter that terminated this friendship. As the ships were anchored close to the land they were visited by great numbers of the natives, who, as usual, stole all they could lay their hands on. Cook was forced to inflict severe punishment on some of the thieves, and more than one fierce conflict took place

between the islanders and the sailors. At last one gang proceeded so far as to carry off the Discovery's cutter by night. Cook sent in the launches of both the ships to recover her, and landed himself with the intention of seizing a chief if possible, or else of carrying off some of the largest of the king's canoes as a security for the restoration of the cutter. Kariopoo, the chief of whom he had designed to make a hostage, appeared not unwilling to return on board with him; but his tribe rose in great disorder when they perceived what was intended Some were seen to sharpen daggers; presently a vast crowd collected, with menacing gestures and brandishing every variety of weapon. Cook gave up all idea of conducting the chief on board, and began to direct all his attention to the object of effecting his own retreat. Stones were thrown and spears were hurled at him; more than once he was compelled to fire on the crowd, which pressed upon him, and which by this time amounted to several thousand men. His officers in the boats, who saw his danger, were standing close in shore to take him on board, and some marines were attempting to cover his retreat by a fire of musketry, when an unhappy mistake of the officer in command of three of the boats rendered all these exertions useless. As Cook approached the shore he beckoned to the boats, and shouted out an order to them to cease firing. One of the pinnaces at once ran into the beach; but the officer who commanded the launch which was nearest to him mistook the wave of his hand for an order to draw off, and fell

back accordingly. Cook's only chance of safety was now to run to the pinnace. But as he was hastening along the beach a savage, coming behind him with a club, dealt him a heavy blow on the back of his head, which knocked him down. As he was rising a second savage sprang on him and stabbed him. He fell into shallow water; a crowd pressed upon him to keep him under and drown him; but still he struggled manfully, and, being a man of great personal strength, had almost regained his feet when he received a second blow on the head, fell into the water, and was seen alive no more. Presently the natives dragged up his dead body on to the rocks, and were for hours seen wreaking their fury on the lifeless corpse, stabbing and mutilating it; and finally, as was their practice with enemies whom they had slain in battle, carving it for their cannibal feast, so that, when they had departed, his comrades were unable to collect more than his bones for burial.

Thus miserably died a man whom all countries agree in ranking among the greatest of naval discoverers; the value of whose labours has been cordially proclaimed by all who since his time have devoted themselves to similar labours. The intelligence of his melancholy fate was received with universal regret in his own country. The king granted pensions to his widow and each of his children. The Royal Society struck a gold medal to commemorate his discoveries. But his most enduring monument is the recollection of his exploits which the whole service and the whole nation still cherish, and