1774. •
February.
Tuefday 22.
Friday 25;
»
fedlual; bis food and medicines were thrown up, and in a
few days a moil dreadful hiccough appeared, which Jailed
for upwards of twenty-four hours, with fuch ailoniihing
violence that his life was entirely defpaired of. Opiates
and glyfters had no effetSl, till repeated hot baths, and
plafters of theriaca applied on his ftotnach, had relaxed his
body and inteilines. This however, was not effected till
he had lain above a week in the moil imminent danger.
Our fervanc fell ill about the fame time with the captain,
of the fame diforder, and narrowly efeaped, but continued
weak and unfervieeable the greateft part of our cruize
between the tropics,
During this time we advanced to the northward very
faft, fo that on the 2ad we reached 36° 10 S. latitude,
where the albatrofles left us. Our longitude being about
94} degrees weft front Greenwich, we fleered to the fouth-
weftward, in quell of a fuppofed difeovery of Juan Fernandez,
which, according to Juan Luis Arias, a Spanifli
author, is faid to lie in 400 fouth latitude, and by. Mr..
Dalrymple’s chart in 900 weft from London *. We flood:
on to the weftward till the 25 th at noon, where being in
3 7 ° 5 ° S. and about 101? W. and feeing no figns of
land, we altered our eourfe fomething to the northward..
The dangerous fituation of captain Cook, was perhaps the
reafon, why our track was not continued farther to the
* See Jtitr. Lalrymple’^ Hittorical Co!}e£tion, vol. X. p. 5.3, and the Chart..
fouth}.
S 49'
fouth, fo as. to put this matter entirely out of doubt for the
•* J - F e b r u a r y
future. It was indeed of the utmoft importance at prefent,
to haften to a placé of refrefhment, that being the only
chance to prelervc his life.
On the 26th, captain Cook felt fome relief from the
medicines which had been adminiftered to him, and during
the three following days, recovered fo far as to be able to
fit up fometimes, and take a little foup. Next to Providence
it was chiefly owing to the fkill of our furgeon, Mr. Patton,
that he recovered to profecute the remaining part of our
voyage, with the fame fpirit with which it had hitherto
been carried on. The care and affiduity with which this
worthy man, watched him during his whole illnefs, cannot
be fufficiently extolled, as all our hopes of future difeoveries,
as well as union in the fhip, depended folely on the pre-
fervation of the captain. The furgeon’s extreme attention
however, had nearly coft him his own life. Having taken,
no reft for many nights together, and feldom venturing to
fleep an hour by day, he was fo much exhaufted, that we
trembled for his life, upon which that of almoft every man
in the fhip in great meafure depended, He was taken ill;
with a bilious diforder, which was dangerous on account
of the extreme weaknefs of his ftomach, and it is more than
probable, that if we had not fpeedily fallen in with land,,
from whence we collcdled fome flight refrefhments, he muft
have fallen a facrifice to that rigorous perfeverance and
extreme.-