JOHN LEDYARD'S JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN COOK'S LAST VOYAGE.
Editedby James Kenneth Munford. With an Introduction by Sinclair H. Hitchings '54.Corvallis, Oregon: The Oregon State University Press, 1963. xlix, 264 pp. $6.00.
Most Dartmouth men probably associate the name of John Ledyard with the Hanover-Norwich bridge, or with the tablet on the river bank just above the bridge, commemorating, among other events of his life, his voyage down the river in a dugout canoe. Few have probably read Sparks' Life ofJohn Ledyard, and fewer still have had the opportunity to read Ledyard's Journal ofCaptain Cook's Last Voyage, published in 1783. The present volume, ably edited by James K. Munford, and with an excellent introductory sketch of Ledyard's career by Sinclair H. Hitchings, now affords that opportunity.
Captain Cook's last voyage left England with two ships, July 12, 1776, in quest of the Northwest Passage, Ledyard sailing as Corporal of Marines in Cook's ship the Resolution. After stopping at the Cape of Good Hope, the expedition sailed into the South Pacific, the scene of Cook's earlier explorations. Here Ledyard had an opportunity to visit New Zealand, the Friendly and the Society Islands. Moving north into hitherto unknown waters, Cook discovered the Sandwich, or Hawaiian Islands, and then voyaged along the Northwest Coast of America, navigated Bering Strait and penetrated the Arctic Ocean, but without locating a Northwest Passage.
On returning to Hawaii to recuperate and refit for a second attempt, the expedition ran into serious trouble with the natives. Although Ledyard had the highest regard for Captain Cook, he sometimes questions in his Journal the harsh measures Cook occasionally felt forced to use in dealing with the natives. Whether Ledyard actually witnessed the attack on Cook and his death, as seems to be implied in the Journal, is now thought doubtful, but his account of what happened is no doubt close to the truth. Following Cook's death the expedition again went north, visited Kamchatka, and again entered the Arctic Ocean where it was nearly caught in the ice. Like the first attempt, the second failed to find a Northwest Passage.
"A traveller and a friend to mankind," Ledyard viewed the island people of the Pacific and of the Northwest Coast with friendly and sympathetic understanding. His descriptions of their persons, customs and peculiarities make interesting, and often entertaining, reading. They constitute the most fascinating parts of his Journal. He was also interested in the origin of the Polynesians, speculating on whether they came originally from southeast Asia, or possibly from America. It is still an open question. On the Northwest Coast he was impressed with the possibilities of fur trading with the Indians, particularly after he discovered the fabulous prices commanded by the sea otter furs in the Chinese market.
Following the failure of the second attempt to discover a Northwest Passage, the expedition turned homeward, and after a brief stop to refit at Macao, arrived in England October 6, 1780, having been gone four years and three months. It had been one of the great scientific adventures of all times.
On returning to the United States, Ledyard did his utmost to interest the American merchants in the northwest fur trade, but met with one disappointment after another. Nor did he fare better in France and England. Ironically, a few years later Boston merchants were reaping fortunes in the trade to which Ledyard had been the first to call attention.
There are notes on the plants Ledyard mentions by Helen M. Gilkey, and on the animals by Robert M. Storm. Maps showing the tracks of the vessels will be found on the end papers.
For those who enjoy first-hand accounts of early travel and exploration Ledyard's Journal will prove well worth reading.
Professor of History Emeritus
