The age of exploration provides fascinating profiles of individuals living and working at a time when the flowering of observational science in Europe met the urge to explore the last unknown coasts of the new world. Join guest writer Byron Ruppel in an excursion into Captain Cook's world, and don't forget to eat your oranges!
the UARTERDECK
A review and newsletter from the Columbia River Maritime Museum at 1792 Marine Drive in Astoria, Oregon
whole crews and became virtually synonymous with early seafaring life.
How James Cook rose to become a superb leader with a reputation as the Greatest Navigator of the Age is the subject of the feature article, beginning on page 6. We also look at another aspect oflong-distance seafaring that had an enormous impact on exploration and on seamen's lives: scurvy. The history of this dread disease was strongly influenced by Cook's management of the voyages he commanded. Today, scurvy is hardly a concern among seafarers. But before Cook's time it debilitated
Captain Cook's Endeavour careened on the coast of New Holland for repairs. From Captain Cook's First, Second, Third, and Last Voyages London, 1784. Courtesy of David Riswick.
Vol. 23 No. 2 Spring 1997
A Heroic Figure of the Age of Exploration
The history of maritime exploration was broadly influenced by a single figure of the 18th century, Captain James Cook. Our feature article examines the background of the man whose exploration of the Pacific made such an enduring impact on the Northwest. The establishment of the American maritime fur trade was, in many ways, a response to what members of Cook's ship's company had observed on this coast in 1778-1779. The "men of Captain Cook" also owed their fine training in seamanship and navigation to Cook himself. Their experience under Cook as well as the increased knowledge of the Pacific resulting from his
expeditions enabled men like Kendrick, Dixon, Portlock and Colnett to later pursue the fur trade on this largely unknown coast.
Though not often noted in the history of the American West, scurvy was also a common malady among the overland emigrants. But the causes and cures for scurvy and other nutritional diseases remained elusive for centuries.
Graham Barbey
Rob Rudd
Ted Natt, President
Chet Makinster
Like Captain Cook, the Columbia River Maritime Museum embarked on great endeavors when it was founded 35 years ago this month. And like Cook's early career, profiled in this issue, the Museum has thrived on a partnership of skill and chance throughout its history.
Anne Witty
Walter Gadsby, Jr.
Trish Custard
Rosemarie Damon
W. Louis Larson
Jerry L. Ostermiller, Executive Director
Sid Snyder
Rose Palazzo
Ronald Collman
Today we stand on the threshold of a new challenge: to take the highly successful museum that our founders envisioned and created, and make it into an even more extraordinary place to tell the stories, great and small, that together make up our Northwest Coast maritime heritage. These stories, the maritime experiences that have touched the lives of generations of people in our region, form the common history and the threads of our community. And it is because of this community that the Columbia River Maritime Museum has thrived for three and a half decades.
Sheila Radich
James H. Gilbaugh, Jr.
Board of Trustees:
Richard G. Reiten
Lynne Leland
Jim Nyberg
Elaine Rusinovich
Carl Fisher
from the Wheelhouse ...
Mitch Boyce
David Pearson
Ward V. Cook, Immediate Past Pres
Nikki Bryan
Charles Shea
Afterguard
Frank M. Warren
Chris Bennett
Peter Brix, Emeritus
Herbert Steinmeyer, Secretary
Endeavor, n. A conscientious or concerted effort toward a given end. The very word implies positive action and energy . It was a fitting name for the converted coal ship commanded by Lieutenant James Cook when he left England in 1768 to observe the transit of Venus in Tahiti. On that voyage, Cook continued on to circumnavigate New Zealand and attempt to discover the mythical southern continent, Terra Australis Incognita. And his second and third expeditions made the Voyages of Captain Cook synonymous with the opening of the Pacific.
The people who make our museum run also form the backbone of our community However , it is the steady support of the entire communityincluding interested visitors from all over the country, as well as our neighbors on the North Coast-that provides us the assurance that the Museum will continue as a vital resource for the Pacific Northwest.
Mike Foglia
Ted Zell
Russ Bean
Scott Palmquist
Armed with fine talents and workers, the Museum is forging a future in which new Museum programs and activities will reach far beyond our building, and beyond our mission statement. These programs will aim to thoroughly engage our visitors in the story of our great river. The past 35 years have been very good to the Museum. It is only fitting that on our 35th anniversary we begin this new endeavor that holds the greatest of promise
Alan C. Goudy
Charlotte Jackson
Alan Green, Jr.
Richard T. Carruthers, Emeritus
Rod Leland
Lora Burnham
Rachel Wynne
Cheri Folk
Eugene Lowe
J.W. 'Bud' Forrester Jr , Emeritus
Don M. Haskell
Great Endeavors and New Challenges
W Hampton Scudder
Jon Englund
An able and enthusiastic crew of volunteers, staff, trustees, members and friends offer a wide variety of skills and support. The Museum Auxiliary stands as a staunch group of supportive friends, maintaining fellowship and interest in the Museum through their monthly meetings and fine speakers' series. (Don't forget that new members are always welcome to these meetings, as are members of the public!) Our dozens of dedicated volunteers offer time and talent to whatever may need to be done, whether it's repairing a ship model or repainting a wall, sprucing up exhibits or planning for the Museum's future. Or writing for The Quarterdeck this issue features articles by Museum volunteers Jim Maher and Byron Ruppel. The experienced hands on the Board of Trustees ensure that we all, every day, make that conscientious effort toward a common goal that defines the word endeavor.
Museum Staff:
-Jerry L. Ostermiller, Executive Director
John Davis
June Spence
Don Magnusen, Treasurer
John McGowan
Karen Carpenter
Jim McClaskey
Larry Perkins
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TedBugas
Jack R. Dant
Celerino Bebeloni
Robley Mangold, Vice President
Sali Diamond
Willis Van Dusen
-Recent trust donor
An Exciting Plan
Quarterdeck, Vol. 23 No. 2
* make a significant gift during your lifetime
* support in perpetuity an organization which reflects your interests
* avoid capital gains taxes on your appreciated assets
"This is more than a gift - it is an excellent investment."
Tom and Marilyn purchased 1,000 shares of lntertex stock for $25,000 when the company first became public. Since that time, the shares have risen in value to $125 each. While the stock has grown greatly in value, the annual dividend is a modest three percent. Tom and Marilyn are both 65 and would like to enjoy an annual income based on the value of the stock, but are concerned that selling the shares would expose them to significant capital gains taxes.
For more information on charitable trusts, estate gifts through wills, and other planned gifts, call your attorney or accountant, or call Rob Rudd at the Museum at (503) 325-2323.
You, too, can benefit from a charitable remainder trust. There is a plan for every person and for every donation. Trusts can be created using real estate, stocks, bonds, and other assets. Like Tom and Marilyn, you will enjoy lifetime income, reduced capital gains and lower income taxes. Best of all, you will enjoy the benefits of knowing your support benefits a local institution about which you care.
Charitable trusts allow you to:
* enjoy a charitable deduction on your income taxes over as many as five years
The Museum has set a goal of raising $2,000,000 in planned gifts this year. These gifts will be made through charitable trusts, which provide donors with lifetime income and a charitable donation tax deduction during their lifetimes.
* enjoy increased life-time income based on the full value of assets
3
Tom and Marilyn created a Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust with their lntertex stock. For the rest of their lives, they will receive annual payments of six percent of the full value of the trust ($125,000). Because they transferred the stock to a charitable trust, Tom and Marilyn paid no capital gains taxes, and will enjoy an annual charitable deduction on their income taxes of $10,051 in each of the next five years. At the end of their lives, the trust assets will become part of an endowment to support the Museum's Fishing, Canning, and Whaling Gallery.
II
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Volume 23, No. 2
The Exploradores! Activity Book complements the Museum's new exhibit on Spanish exploration. Funded by The Swigert Foundation, the guide uses stories, puzzles, word games and activities to teach children about Spanish exploration of the Northwest Coast. Fully bilingual, the book contains all activities in both English and Spanish, making it a doubly valuable teaching tool. Special thanks go to Pat Jensen of Anchor Graphics, for his patience and paper supply for this project.
Columbia River Maritime Museum News and Notes
At the reception, volunteers were recognized for their continuing commitment to the Museum. Volunteers receiving special recognition included: Kenny Ginn, whose name was placed on the Volunteer Achievements Plaque for having donated 1,000 hours of time to the Museum. Bob Chopping and John Gaw received their 500 hour pins. Tim Dalrymple and Rachel Wynne received their 300 hour pins. Special Awards were given to Bill Williams for his work developing a marketing database, and to Matt Weidman for his work presenting programs in the schools. Many well-deserved thanks to all the wonderful CRMM volunteers!
A navigational buoy donated by the Seaside Museum is manoeuvered into place to enhance the Museum's landscaping. Jim Wilkins Construction volunteered to move and place the buoy.
The QUARTERDECK is published four times a year by the Columbia River Maritime Museum, 1792 Marine Dr., Astoria, OR 97103. Phone (503) 325-2323, Fax (503) 325-2331.
Editor, Karen Carpenter. Editorial Staff: Jerry Ostermiller, Anne Witty, Patricia Turner Custard, Rachel Wynne, Rob Rudd.
On April 18th, in celebration of National Volunteer Week, the CRMM crew and volunteers joined together at a reception to honor the most valuable resource the Museum has its dedicated volunteers. With 4,353 hours donated in 1996, our volunteers were involved with every department in the Museum.
Our Super Volunteers!
Also new for 1997 are twoMuseum ln-ATrunk programs. Storm Warning! focuses on the science of weather. From Distant Lands explores the many cultures that have shaped and influenced the Northwest. The new trunks are available for loan to schools throughout Oregon and Washington.
Q ..::....:uM:....::::...._m_'RD_iE__:C_'K_
Printed at Anchor Graphics, Astoria, Oregon
Thanks to grants from generous sponsors, we have been able to continue to expand the Museum's educational opportunities.
After three years at the helm of the Columbia River Maritime Museum Auxiliary, Anne Morden has turned over the watch to incoming co-presidents Donna Gustafson and Ronald Collman. Along with reelected Auxiliary officers Evelyn Hankel (Vice President), Doris Holce (Secretary), Nancy Thorsness (Treasurer), and Jo Robinson (Kitchen Coordinator), the incoming presidents promise a continuation of the excellent monthly programs, good fellowship, and delicious refreshments not to mention ongoing support for the Museum in its endeavors. Many thanks to Anne for her terrific efforts and leadership of this important group!
After two years as the museum's registrar and collections manager, David Pearson now holds the position of Associate Curator of Exhibits. The change reflects his increasing responsibility for the care and presentation of the Museum's collections, whether or not they are on display. We're glad to have him aboard!
Museum Education
Staff News
Auxiliary Elects New Officers
Jeanne Clifford proudly wears the CRMM Silver Star of Valor honoring 14 years service in the Museum Store. Silver Stars were also awarded to volunteers Peggy Roeser, Gurie O'Connor, and Pat Samuelson.
currency) to anyone who could successfully provide a method of
enty-five-pound thing of beauty, it was all brass and had four dials and rotating governors. For forty years Harrison worked single-mindedly, producing four more timekeepers, each more accurate than the last, eventually winning partial recognition for making longitude calculations practicable. This makes a compelling story.
Longitude: The True Story of a Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, by Dava Sobel (Walker and Company, New York, 1995; 19.00/17.10).
Jim Maher, Capt. USCG ( Ret.)
Quarterdeck, Vol. 23 No. 2
5
From 1730 John Harrison spent five years making his first clock, dubbed H-1. A sev-
The book is an interesting tale of the struggle to find a means of ascertaining longitude aboard a ship at sea. Calculation of land positions was not much more easily done, but the main focus was on increased safety of naval and merchant ships. While telling the story of John Harrison and his chronometers, the author weaves into the plot many political and scientific characters whose names are familiar to most of us.
In spite of such technical discrepancies, the book is well worth reading. It takes us back to the era when the computation of (a very inaccurate) longitude could take four hours, and when almost every prominent natural philosopher applied effort and thought to solving one scientific problem.
It is unfortunate that the author allowed a few errors into her text. On page 5 we are told, "Every day at sea, when the navigator resets his ships clock to local noon
"Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives, and the increasing fortunes of nations, hung on a resolution." For two centuries, the solution to this problem was sought. In 1714, England's Parliament offered a sumptuous reward of nearly $12 million (in today's
overcoming the dilemma. The greatest scientific minds of the time worked tirelessly to find the answer. One man, John Harrison, an English clockmaker, devoted his lifetime to the science of portable precision timekeeping. He accomplished what Newton had feared was impossible: he invented a clock that would carry the true time from the home port to any remote corner of the world. Longitude is a dramatic human story of Harrison's forty-year obsession with building his perfect timepiece, known today as the chronometer. It is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation and clockmaking.
One not so well known is John Flamsteed, at age 27 appointed by King Charles II the first Astronomer Royal at the new observatory at Greenwich. He labored for more than forty years compiling a chart of the positions of the stars and motions of planets. His catalogue was used particularly in the calculation of lunar distance observations for determining longitudes. (This was the method used by Meriwether Lewis on his famous overland journey.) The lunar distance method required averaging many observations and still lacked accuracy.
Great Books From the Museum Store
when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky, and then consults the home-port clock, every hours discrepancy between them translates into another fifteen degrees of longitude." No navigator sets a ship's clock to local apparent time, which is the time according to the sun's position; such a time would be off increasingly with each mile the ship moved east or west. Again, on page 33, "According to one hopeful dream of ideal navigation, the ship's captain learned his longitude in the comfort of his cabin, by comparing his pocket watch to a constant clock that told him the correct time at home port." This would be valid only if the pocket watch magically corrected itself to local apparent time. The author also uses the term variation interchangeably to mean either variation or deviation (p. 45). She refers to "some mathematical legerdemain called the equation of time." But any celestial navigator could tell her that equation of time is used in all sun shot calculations and not just to correct clocks to sundial time. Reference to "friction-free lignum vitae gearing" (very low friction, perhaps) and oak gears "with the lines of the wood grain radiating from the center of the wheel to the tips of the teeth as though drawn there with pencil and ruler" are inaccurate enough to make this navigator grind his teeth!
Another player in Sobel's drama had all the traits of the perfect villain. The Reverend Nevil Maskelyne was a dedicated astronomer convinced of the virtues of the lunar distance method, and, as a member of the Longitude Board, was able to frustrate Harrison's efforts to win the 20,000-pound sterling prize offered by Parliament for a solution to the longitude puzzle.
.i tu de
At seventeen, Cook was apprenticed to
Cook was sent into HMS Eagle, in British waters, at a time when the Navy was preparing for the Seven Years' War the European side of what are known in America as the French and Indian Wars. The Navy was quick to take advantage of his knowledge of piloting and inshore navi gation. Within a month of joining, he was made a Master's Mate. The position of Master in the Navy of the 1700s was different than the master of today. Today, a master is the chief maritime officer in avessel, qualified to command by passing a pro fessional examination. In the Royal Navy of the 18th century, a Master was a warrant officer entrusted with the navigation of a warship, an office established because the highest-ranking Naval officer, the captain, may have been unable either to navigate or to manage the sailing of the ship. The Master was the chief professional aboard and ranked with, but was subordinate to, the lieutenants The Master's Mate was the Master's petty officer assistant. Cook's advancement to this position in so short a time is some indication that he was indeed exceptional, and that his capability was evident to his superiors It also gave
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In March 1778 Captain James Cook, in HMS Resolution, made his first landfall on the Northwest Coast at the latitude of present-day Salem, Oregon. He was on the last of three voyages of exploration in the Pacific Ocean-voyages that opened onethird of the Earth's surface to European science. These voyages established Cook's reputation as the Greatest Navigator of the Age, but the story of how he achieved that status takes many twists and turns.
The coal trade was known as a "nursery of seamen." Although it was a coasting trade limited to the North Sea, the Baltic and the British ports, the rigors of the weather and the complexities of the coastline bred strong seamen. Walker also encouraged Cook to study piloting and navigation.
The apprentice rose to seaman and to master's mate while learning the intricacies of inshore sailing in vessels known as Whitby cats-vessels that were to figure largely in his career. Finally, in 1755 Walker offered Cook command of the vessel Friendship, recognizing that he was by then at the top of the trade.
After dame school, the boy went on to the seminary in nearby Great Ayton. Thomas Skottowe, the farm owner for whom his father was employed as a foreman, paid his fees Why Skottowe did this is lost to time; it may be that he saw something in the boy worthy of nurturing. Whatever the reason, his action was the first of several that shaped Captain Cook's career from its beginning to its untimely end. These benefactions-and Cook's own ambitionmade the seaman and the professional.
be commissioned
Born at Marton-in-Cleveland in northeastern Yorkshire on October 27, 1728, James was the first son of James and Grace Cook. The elder James was a day laborer, yet somehow found the means to send his firstborn to the local dame school (a homebased school run by a local woman) where the child learned his letters and numbers. From these inauspicious beginnings the future Great Navigator developed. A look at Cook's boyhood, his training as a seaman, and his education as a professional reveals that luck, talent and the acts of others all played a part in his enormous achievements.
For the historian, Cook's enlistment was a boon. The enlistee's every move was documented by Naval records, many of which still exist. The profusion of official records-and the paucity of personal ones-help explain the historical bias in the descriptions of James Cook's career. We know little of Cook the husband and father. We know a great deal of Cook the Captain and commander.
William Sanderson, a grocer and haberdasher. In a departure from usual practice, his articles did not involve indenture (generally a seven-year commitment). So Cook worked with Sanderson only eighteen months before a second opportunity opened. In 1746 Sanderson took him to John Walker of Whitby, a Quaker ship owner successful in the North Sea coal trade. James was taken into the Walker home, and shipped as an apprentice seaman in Walker's vessels.
Instead of taking his first command, on June 17, 1755JamesCookenteredtheRoyal Navy as an able seaman. This was an unusual move for a merchant seaman, considering the appalling conditions in the Navy at the time. Why Cook enlisted may be because he recognized that the Navy offered a well-trained seaman a wider and more interesting world than the coal trade. Cook left Walker's employ amicably; in fact, Walker later wrote to his parliamentary representative to suggest that Cook
Quarterdeck, Vol. 23 No. 2
In October 1755, Captain Hugh Palliser succeeded to command in Eagle. Palliser's consequent acquaintance with Cook was pivotal in the intellectual development of the petty officer. It was in this period that John Walker's suggestion of commissioning Cook was forwarded to Captain Palliser. Because Cook did not have the six years Naval service required by the regulations (he had but two years), Palliser was bound to deny examination for Lieutenant. But he did suggest an examination for a Master's warrant. So, on July 29, 1757, James Cook passed his examination before the Navy Board and received the warrant. The following day he was discharged from Eagle into Solebay, as Master. His naval career was launched.
With the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, James Cook returned to England. There he married Elizabeth Batts, but was soon drawn back to duty. The war and the occupation of Canada had made it plain that detailed hydrographic surveys of the eastern seaboard were essential. John Graves, the Governor of Newfoundland and himself a skilled navigator, made representa tions to the Lords of the Admiralty that the surveys be done. And he suggested that James Cook, late Master in Pembroke and Northumberland, be appointed for the task.
As the only Master on the North American station with training in scientific surveying, and with the active participation of Captain Simcoe, Cook led the effort to produce charts of the approaches and of the St. Lawrence River up to Quebec City. These manuscript charts enabled the British to take Quebec and establish British Canada. Parenthetically, the charts were published privately by Vice-Admiral Saunders in 1760. It was usual for Naval officers to publish charts at their own expense, a practice that continued until the government Hydrographic Department was established in 1795. Hydrographic professionals then took over charting and publishing charts.
him the opportunity to learn celestial navigation, used by ocean seamen-methods he had not needed in coastal sailing.
Once again Cook benefited from the actions of his superiors. Captain John Simcoe, an officer unusual in his knowledge of and interest in science and navigation, commanded Pembroke. Simcoe encouraged his Master to continue to study navigation and charting. Cook also took initiative in applying new methods. Observing a military engineer using a plane table in land surveying, Cook went ashore to see, and ultimately to learn, the process. Samuel Holland, an Ordnance surveyor in General Wolfe's regiment, was pleased to show Cook the method. Captain Simcoe also was interested in learning, so Holland, by his own recollection, spent hours in the great cabin in Pembroke training Captain and Master in land surveying. Holland was later to become surveyor-general of Canada under Governor Simcoe.
Cook's commission coincided with the early stages of the Seven Years' War, declared in May of 1757. British naval activity focused on North American waters as Cook left Solebay and was sent into Pembroke as Master in October 1757. The ves sel was at Halifax by May 1758, as the British campaign to take Canada from the French began. Two strategic goals the
Whitby Harbor in the mid-eighteenth century. Artist unknown.
7
On April 19, 1763, their Lordships "thought fit to appoint Mr. James Cook, a Person well skilled in making Surveys, and Mr. William Test belonging to the Drawing Room in the Office of Ordnance, to go to Newfoundland to be employed in making surveys of the Coast & Harbours of that Island, and in making Drafts and Charts thereof " It is in teresting to note that an (Army) Ordnance Office man is included in the party, a direct result of Cook's training as a land surveyor. So Cook once again repaired to Newfoundland
While he was there Hugh Palliser, his former commander, became governor of Newfoundland, so Cook was supervised and encouraged by another skilled navi-
destruction of the fortress of Louisbourg and the occupation of Montreal and Quebec City-depended heavily on reliable charts of Nova Scotia and the approaches to the St. Lawrence River. However, these charts were sketchy or nonexistent. In accordance with standing naval policy, the Masters of the vessels on the scene began rudimentary hydrographic surveys to compile usable charts.
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ll{j,th respect to Captain Cook's first voyage round the world, which was in the Endeavour, it has so much attracted the notice of the world that it cannot be too particularly related nor too nicely examined...
During the transit, Venus is seen as a dark disk moving across the face of the Sun. Observed from two widely separated locations on Earth, two tracks can be reconstructed to yield the angle between the observation locations. As the distance between the locations on Earth is known, the distance to Venus can be calculated. The known angle to the sun can then be used
opening of the Pacific was not excepted. While Cook was practicing and perfecting his profession in the New World, science in the Old World was taking a new turn. Long the province of armchair philosophers, science was becoming observational. One of the vehicles for change was the opportunity for observing the transit of Venus-the passage of that planet between the Earth and the Sun. The phenomenon occurs every 130 years in a pair of events eight years apart. First observed by Edmund Halley in 1639, transits occurred again in 1761 and 1769. (Though of little scientific interest now, the event will return in 2004 and 2012). The transit of Venus provided a means of determining the Astronomical Unit, or the distance of the Earth from the Sun, used as a yardstick to distances in the solar system and universe.
Captain Cook's Approach to Oregon. Oregon Historical Society, 1974. The relevant entries from Cook's journals.
to calculate the distance to the sun using the ratio of the distances to Venus and to the Sun.
Fisher, Robin and Hugh Johnston. Captain Cook and His Times. University of Washington Press, 1979.
Captain James Cook: A Biography. W.W. Norton, 1995.
A shorter biography than Beaglehole's.
The Third Voyage of Captain Cook. Ye Galleon Press, 1988.
Elliott, T. C.
In the meantime, Captain Wallis returned from the South Seas with the exciting announcement of the discovery of Tahiti. The island was ideal for the observation. Their
The Life of Captain James Cook. Stanford University Press, 1974. The culmination ofBeaglehole's monument to Cook. All seamen will want to read it.
For Further Reading
The Admiralty was then faced with providing a suitable commander. From their standpoint, the commander had to be a Naval person, an excellent ship handler, an accomplished navigator, proficient in mathematics, and a proven leader, with demonstrated capability under difficult circumstances. Their Lordships turned the problem over to their Secretary, Mr. Stephens. He was aware that earlier commanders sent to the Pacific were from the upper classes: Commodore Byron of the Wager (and grandfather to the poet Lord Byron) and Captain Wallis, a post captain not yet returned from an expedition into the Southern Ocean. Mr. Stephens selected James Cook, a mere Master active on the North American station.
Exploration of Captain James Cook in the Pacific, as Told by Selections of His Own Journals, 1768-1779. Dover Publications, 1979.
Zimmermann, Heinrich.
Beaglehole, J. C.
Observations of the transit in 1761 were badly flawed, so the scientific establishment, led by the Royal Society, was intent on making the 1769 observations successful. Sites in northern Europe and in the uncharted Southern (Pacific) Ocean were considered best. The King was petitioned for funds. With six thousand pounds in hand, the Royal Society then petitioned the Admiralty for a suitable vessel for the Pacific observation. Their Lordships directed the Navy Board to purchase a Whitby cat, the bluff-bowed, maneuverable and strong vessel from the Whitby coal trade. The cats were a good choice, being roomy and suited for restricted or uncharted waters where grounding was an ever-present possibility. James Cook did not influence the selection of the Whitby cat, nor had he been mentioned as a possible commander. The expedition's command was being pursued by the leading armchair philosopher of the day, Alexander Dalrymple.
Reprint of Reise um die Welt mit Captain Cook. Available in the Museum Store.
Hough, Richard.
Price, A. Grenfell (editor).
Lordships, noting that the number of people proposed by the Royal Society for the voyage had doubled, decided that the expedition should do more than observe the transit of Venus. Wallis' finding new lands made further exploration in the Pacific an attractive part of the scheme. For such an extensive undertaking a man with the rank of Master was not enough. On May 25, 1768, they " resolved that Mr James Cook be appointed first Lieutenant of the Endeavour Bark." Lieutenant James Cook, RN was commissioned the same day. From humble beginnings, he had arrived at the embarkation point of the most prestigious scientific and naval expedition of the age. Captain James Cook, RN, FRS, the Greatest Navigator of the Age, was in the offing.
Dr. Dalrymple, a civilian whose only seagoing experience had been a brief association with the British East India Company, had taken only relatively short ocean voyages; his longest was nineteen days. He was, however, the preeminent authority on the Southern Ocean. Nonetheless Dalrymple's petition to the Admiralty to be given command of the vessel was flatly refused, their Lordships not being disposed to put a warship into civilian hands.
gator and a friend. The resulting charts were superb. J.C. Beaglehole, in his biography of Cook, writes that "nothing he ever did later exceeded in accomplishment his surveys of the southern and western sides of Newfoundland from 1763 to 1767." The
Following accounts of Anson's disastrous circumnavigation in early 1740, during which over 1,300 men died of scurvy, Dr. James Lind published the results of the first controlled scientific experiment showing that orange and lemon juice could cure the disease. Yet the Royal Navy did not begin the compulsory issue of lemon juice until 1795. Until that time, in all the navies of the world, battles killed tens or hundreds while scurvy killed tens of thousands.
Editor's note: CRMM Volunteer Byron Ruppel recently shared his research into the history of scurvy with a rapt audience of volunteers and staff Byron's topic contains much of historical interest related to Cook's expeditions and the Oregon Country.
appeared earlier or was already endemic. Skeletal evidence from early humans and their medieval descendants shows that scurvy was present in all eras among people of all ages. Considering the crude living conditions of most people, with inadequate diets, a high incidence of infant mortality, and the prevalence of myriad chronic diseases, it is small wonder that scurvy, while endemic, was scarcely remarked upon.
This appalling record does, however, illustrate the gradual development of a scientific approach toward a practical solution to the scurvy problem. By the 1830s, it was known that scurvy was a dietary deficiency disease. Vitamins were discovered in 1912. But final.identification of vitamin C as ascorbic acid came only in 1931.
Simply speaking, scurvy is caused by pro longed deficiency of vitamin C in the diet. An otherwise healthy adult will develop the disease after six months of total deprivation. The young, the old and the malnourished develop it even more quickly. The symptoms range from unpleasant to fatal. First, loose teeth, inflamed gums, tender joints and general weakness result from decreased production and maintenance of collagen, the substance that supports capillaries, bones and cartilage. The body begins to come unglued. Weakened blood vessels hemorrhage, putting serum into the body tissue. Anemia and death soon follow.
SCUR\IY
In the early 1800s, the Royal Navy pur chased about 1.6 million gallons of lime juice to prevent scurvy among crews. Lime juice, though, is lower in vitamin C than either lemon or orange, and long storage or processing destroyed its effectiveness. The huge procurement did, however, contribute to the economic life of the West Indies. (Tangible evidence of the trade is on every supermarket shelf today as bottles of Rose's Lime Juice, from L. Rose and Co. Ltd. of St. Albans and the West Indies, established 1865).
An early modern record of scurvy ap-
As world trade developed after 1500, maritime nations became increasingly competitive. Charts and sea routes, however rudimentary, were treated as state secrets. The treatment of scurvy fell afoul of the same secretiveness. What the Dutch knew in 1598, they did not necessarily share with other seafarers. The knowledge of scurvy's causes had already been found and lost by both the Spanish and the Portuguese. And Sir Francis Drake knew about lemon juice, in 1617 but this was lost to later English seamen. In 1747 John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, knew the cure: " .live on turnips for a month " nut the seafaring com-
But the proposed solutions were often wrong, owing to an incomplete understanding of the active agent (vitamin C) and the fragility of that vitamin when heated or aged. Thus, when Dr. Lind put forth fresh juice as a cure, the need to store substantial amounts of juice for long voyages called for processing to reduce volume. The juice was boiled down to what was called rob of lemons or rob of orange and boiling destroyed the vitamin C.
munity had little to do with the Methodist divine, and did not learn from his turnip cure.
The Scurvy Sailor
Scurvy emerged into modern consciousness when a new and distinct working population was dramatically affected: that of ocean seamen. The sailing vessel with improved compasses, sails, and rigging made long distance voyaging possible. As ships and sailors began to use offshore sailing routes for longer and longer voyages, scurvy came aboard. The lack of fresh fruits and vegetables was not a problem on coastal routes, which invited stops ashore for food and water. Ocean voyagers, however, attempted to provision for the dura tion of the voyage or, at least, for long highseas passages. When the fresh food ran out, often early in the voyage, the chronically ill seaman's already low intake of vitamin C was reduced to nothing. Scurvy then set in.
With the exception of simple starvation, no nutritional disease has caused more human suffering than scurvy. The history of the malady is marked by irony. Repeated discoveries of its cause were followed by repeated losses of that information. Other ironies existed in studied refusals to share accumulated knowledge about the disease; by great men advocating quack cures while lesser souls pressed on with proper treat ment; by its near-elimination in advanced societies and its reappearance in the same groups. Scurvy is at least as old as modern humans, and remains a threat today.
Scientific Advances and Defeats
Quarterdeck, Vol. 23 No. 2
The Scourge of Seamen And of the Oregon Country
Historically, the quest for a cure ranged from Baron von Storsch's carrot marmalade (totally ineffective) to spruce beer (the fresh buds used had a little vitamin C). Captain Cook's favorite "cure" was portable soup. Why? When it was seen that fresh meat was effective in reducing scurvy (due to the presence of vitamin C in animal blood), the logical extension to producing dried meat soup stock from offal inadvertently created another red herring on the search for a cure. The cure was attributed to the dried soup itself, because science was not
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A log entry from 1498 says " ... the sick (with scurvy) desired oranges-which were supplied ... " This indicates that da Gama knew that fresh citrus fruit could cure the disease, evidence enough that the disease had
peared in the logs of Vasco da Gama on his voyage from Portugal around Africa to Goa.
An accurate representation of SEA HORSES, which Captn. COOK met with, on his THI~_D VOYAGE, on !he Ice, ~ea~ the West Coa~t of NORTH AMERICA, nine of which Animals were shot by his order & used for fresh Prov1s1ons. From Captain Cooks First, Second, Third, and Last Voyages London, 1784. Courtesy of David Riswick.
Cook's Battle Against Scurvy
Other populations with severe dietary deficiencies seem to escape scurvy. The Irish poor, during the potato famine, suffered from starvation hut not particularly
Despite all this accumulated experience, scurvy repeatedly surfaced in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Oregon Country did not escape. During the Westward Migration about ten per cent of the emigrants developed scurvy after arrival in the western territories. Why? It seems as if the disease's onset was the consequence of the emigrants' typical spring departure from Missouri and late fall arrival in the West. At the height of the migration, upwards of thirty thousand people traveled the westward routes, and ate the trail bare. Like ocean voyagers, the emigrants had to carry their food Bacon, flour and beans were inexpensive and stored well, hut contained no vi-
Only Beans on the Oregon Trail
from scurvy, because when the potatoes (nearly the sole articles in their diets) were available, they were eaten in quantity. Though potatoes contain only a little vitamin C, consuming them in quantity supplied enough to forestall the onset of scurvy. Similarly, polar peoples exist on a diet in which vegetables are almost completely absent. Yet they do not suffer from scurvy, because they commonly eat fish and meat raw, or only lightly cooked. The animal blood contains enough vitamin C to prevent scurvy, although cooking the flesh destroys the vitamin.
Cook also provided fresh meat whenever possible Strange fish, shellfish, walrus (see illustration), seal, penguin and dog all went into the pot. Fortunately, food poisoning was a rarity. Captain Cook's men were healthier, with less scurvy, and it seems the shore vegetables and perhaps fresh meat were the most significant factors.
If Captain Cook was wrong in his believing that soup stock could prevent scurvy, how could he sail for years and lose so few to the disease? He kept his crews in better health by employing enlightened health measures aboard his ships: keeping the living areas as clean and as dry as possible, providing adequate clothing, reducing fatigue by arranging better watches, and fumigating frequently. Cook also used the portable soup to improve the flavor of the innumerable fresh greens he had his crews gather at nearly every call ashore, arid this was key. By making these strange New Zealand vegetables at least palatable to Jack Tar, Jack ate his vegetables!
tamin C. So the healthy single male (the majority of emigrants) suffered a declining level of vitamin C across the plains. Arriving in the West in the fall, little fresh produce was available, so emigrants bought more bacon, flour and beans-and scurvy arrived in about six weeks.
At the turn of the twentieth century, scurvy reappeared in middle class American households. As women began to adopt more modern ways, many turned from breast-feeding to canned milk to feed their infants. While fresh milk contains a modest amount of ascorbic acid, the canning process destroys it. Scurvy showed up in otherwise well-fed infants. It exists today in impoverished (and not-so-impoverished) populations where infants are fed on condensed milk, or vitamin-deficient infant formula, or no formula at all . Scurvy is also a hazard for people attracted to faddish diets consisting largely of polished rice. Telltale symptoms were evident in some collegiate populations in the 1970s.
yet capable of identifying the vitamin essential to prevent disease.
Scurvy and its symptoms are with us today wherever, and for whatever reason, the human animal eats poorly. The lessons of the history of nutrition, if not yet fully learned, are nonetheless clear. Your mother was right. Eat your vegetables-al dente if possible!
-Byron Ruppel
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