



Produced by Patrick Hopkins, Cindy Horton, Chris Curnow
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
http://www.pgdp.net





Transcriber's Note

- Footnotes are located at the end of the text, before the index.

- In general, geographical references, spelling, hyphenation, and
capitalization have been retained as in the original publication.

- Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note.

- Significant typographical errors have been corrected. A full list of
these corrections is available in the Transcriber's Corrections section
at the end of the book.

       *       *       *       *       *




                         Hawaiian
           Historical Society Reprints, (No. 2)
                          (1779)



                 A Narrative of the Death
                            OF
                    Captain James Cook



                     By DAVID SAMWELL
                 Surgeon of The Discovery



                          LONDON:
  Printed for G. C. J. and J. Robinson, Pater-Noster-Row
                        MDCCLXXXVI

  (The Edition of this Reprint is Limited to 500 Copies)




[Illustration: _CAPTAIN JAMES COOK_]




                             A

                     N A R R A T I V E

                          OF THE

                       D  E  A  T  H

                            OF

            C A P T A I N  J A M E S  C O O K.

                  TO WHICH ARE ADDED SOME

              P  A  R  T  I  C  U  L  A  R  S,

                      CONCERNING HIS

            L I F E  A N D  C H A R A C T E R.

                           AND

            O  B  S  E  R  V  A  T  I  O  N  S

                      RESPECTING THE

            I  N  T  R  O  D  U  C  T  I  O  N

                          OF THE

              V E N E R E A L  D I S E A S E

                          INTO THE

              S A N D W I C H  I S L A N D S.

               BY  D A V I D  S A M W E L L,
                 SURGEON OF THE DISCOVERY.

                     L  O  N  D  O  N:
  PRINTED FOR G. C. J. AND J. ROBINSON, PATER-NOSTER-ROW,
                        MDCCLXXXVI.

  [Photographic reproduction of the original title page.]




Foreword


In presenting this reprint to our members the editor wishes to express
his thanks to Professor W. T. Brigham of the Bishop Museum for
furnishing him with a photograph of Captain Cook, from which the cut in
this reprint was made; to Mr. John F. G. Stokes of the Bishop Museum for
his assistance in identifying the Hawaiian names, and to Mr. J. W.
Waldron for furnishing a typewritten copy of the book of which this is a
reprint.

The modern Hawaiian names are inserted in brackets following those given
in the text.

This reprint was edited and indexed for the Hawaiian Historical Society
by Bruce Cartwright, Jr.




Preface


To those who have perused the account of the last voyage to the Pacific
Ocean, the following sheets may, at first sight, appear superfluous. The
author, however, being of the opinion, that the event of Captain Cook's
death has not yet been so explicitly related as the importance of it
required, trusts that this Narrative will not be found altogether a
repetition of what is already known. At the same time, he wishes to add
his humble testimony to the merit of the account given of this
transaction by Captain King. Its brevity alone can afford an excuse for
this publication, the object of which is to give a more particular
relation of that unfortunate affair, which he finds is in general but
imperfectly understood. He thinks himself warranted in saying this, from
having frequently observed, that the public opinion seemed to attribute
the loss of Captain Cook's life, in some measure, to rashness or too
much confidence on his side; whereas nothing can be more ill-founded or
unjust. It is, therefore, a duty which his friends owe to his character,
to have the whole affair candidly and fully related, whatever facts it
may involve, that may appear of a disagreeable nature to individuals.
The author is confident, that if Captain King could have foreseen, that
any wrong opinion respecting Captain Cook, would have been the
consequence of omitting some circumstances relative to his death; the
goodnatured motive that induced him to be silent, would not have stood a
moment in competition with the superior call of justice to the memory of
his friend. This publication, he is satisfied, would not have been
disapproved of by Captain King, for whose memory he has the highest