Two young officers’ extraordinary eyewitness accounts of Cook’s search for the elusive Northwest Passage depict the captain’s dramatic death, initial European contact, and Hawaii, Vancouver Island, and Alaska landings. The journals also offer early maps and the first Bering Sea ice pack reports. Maritime historian James K. Barnett adds context and expert commentary.

Maritime historian and researcher James K. Barnett transcribed two extraordinary, little-known journals from Captain James Cook’s third exploratory voyage. They offer remarkable eyewitness accounts at the time of initial European contact, the first reasonably accurate maps of North America’s west coast, the earliest comprehensive report from the Bering Sea ice pack, and the dramatic story of Cook’s death at Kealakekua Bay. Astonishing for accounts of landings along Hawai'i, Vancouver Island, and Alaska, both chronicles languished in Australian archives for over a century. Barnett adds context and commentary to complete the story.

Commissioned by the British Admiralty, Cook set sail in July 1776 to confirm the outline of North America’s Pacific coastline and search for the elusive Northwest Passage. The expedition’s sailing ships, the Resolution and the Discovery, traveled to the South Seas, then chanced upon the Hawaiian Islands before reaching the Oregon coastline and the Arctic. Cook chose to winter in the Hawaiian archipelago, where he died in a skirmish. His crews made a second attempt to find the coveted route, then returned to England after more than four years at sea.

James Burney was first lieutenant on the Discovery. Active in shore parties and chart preparation, he saw Cook’s death from the ship’s deck. One of the few accounts from the consort vessel, his writing provides new details and important, thoughtful impressions of North and South Pacific people and places. Working under the notorious William Bligh, Henry Roberts was Master's Mate on the Resolution, performing essential hydrographic and cartographic tasks. He was a few feet away when Cook was killed. His well-illustrated logbook includes coordinates, tables of routes, and records of weather at sea, but also lively accounts of shore excursions. Illustrations include maps and drawings, as well as images by the expedition’s official artist, John Webber.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Richard Neville
Introduction by Glyn Williams
Preface
Prologue
Part One: The South Seas
Introduction
1. The Voyage Begins, June-December 1776
2. Tasmania and New Zealand, January-February 1777
3. Cook Islands, March-April 17977
4. Tonga, April-August 1777
5. Tahiti, August-December 1777
6. Finding Hawai‘i, December 1777-February 1778
Part Two: The Northwest Passage
Introduction
1. Nootka Sound, February-April 1778
2. Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet, May-June 1778)
3. Finding Arctic Ice, June-August 1778
4. Return to Unalaska, September-October 1778
Part Three: Revisiting Hawai‘i and the Death of Cook
Introduction
1. In Hawaiian Waters, November 1778-January 1779
2. Kealakekua Bay, January-February 1779
3. Return to Kealakekua Bay, February 1779
4. Leaving Hawai‘i, February-March 1779
Part Four: Homeward
Introduction
1. Reaching Avacha Bay, March-June 1779
2. Confronting Arctic Ice, June-July 1779
3. Return to Kamchatka and England, July-November 1779
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author