for making observations for
settling the Longitude during the whole course of the Voyage, and the
many valuable discoverys made by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander in Natural
History and other things useful to the learned World, cannot fail of
contributing very much to the success of the Voyage. In justice to the
officers and the whole of the crew, I must say, they have gone through
the fatigues and dangers of the Whole Voyage with that cheerfulness and
alertness that will always do honour to the British Seamen, and I have
the satisfaction to say that I have not lost one man by Sickness during
the whole Voyage. I hope that the repairs wanting to the Ship will not be
so great as to detain us any length of time; You may be assured that I
shall make no unnecessary delay either here or at any other place, but
shall make the best of my way home."

Banks, too, notes that there were no sick on board, and contrasts the
rosy, healthy appearance of the crew with the pallid faces of the
Europeans of Batavia. But on 26th October a series of disastrous entries
commence in the Journal.

"Set up the ship's tents for the reception of the ship's company, several
of them begin to be taken ill, owing as I suppose to the extream hot
weather."

Batavia had an ill-omened reputation, and it has been estimated that from
1735 to 1755 no less than 1,000,000 deaths took place, chiefly from
malarial fever and dysentery, and Cook had soon cause to regret that the
Dutch had undertaken the repairs of the ship, leaving his men to look on.
He knew well the evil effects of want of occupation in such a climate,
though he could not guess what it was to cost him. Up to this time he had
only seven deaths to record since leaving Plymouth; three from drowning,
two frozen (Mr. Banks's servants), one consumption, and one alcoholic
poisoning: probably a record never equalled in the history of navigation.
On 5th November Mr. Monkhouse, the surgeon, died, and Cook, Banks, and
Solander were very ill. The two last went up into the hills, but Cook
would not leave his ship.

Meanwhile the repairs went on; the ship was found to be worse than had
been expected; two planks and a half had been rasped by the rocks to the
thickness of one eighth of an inch for a distance of six feet:

"and here the worms had made their way quite into the timbers, so that it
was a matter of surprise to every one who saw her bottom, how we had kept
her above water, and yet in this condition w