The Life of Captain James Cook | Page 6

the Leeward Islands, but having received 62 men and 53 marines, the orders were changed to cruise between Scilly and Cape Clear, and she sailed on the 4th August. She was caught in a gale off the old Head of Kinsale and received some damage, and her main mast was reported as sprung, so she returned to Plymouth for survey and repairs. Thinking that the removal of the mast would be a good opportunity to scrape his ship, which was very foul, Captain Hamar had her lightened for that purpose, but on examination the mast was found to be in good order, and the Admiralty was so annoyed at the absence of the ship from her cruising ground that they ordered Captain Pallisser to take over the command and prepare for sea without further loss of time. This he did on the 1st October, and sailed from Plymouth on the 7th, and after cruising about in the Channel and making a few small captures he returned on the 22nd November, remaining till the 13th March; and during this time Cook had a short spell of sickness, but it can hardly be called serious, as he was only in hospital for ten days, being back to his duty on the 17th February. In April, when "off the Isle of Bass, brought to and sent on board the cutter a petty officer and five men with arms, provisions, etc." This extract from the log records Cook's first independent command; the cutter was one of two hired vessels which had joined the squadron the previous day under convoy, and the armed party was probably put on board as a precaution against privateers who were at that time pretty busy on the French coast. Cook took her into Plymouth Sound, and he and his five men went on board the St. Albans, and in her rejoined his own ship on the 2nd May, and then returned to Plymouth on the 4th June. Pallisser, in reporting his arrival to the Secretary of the Admiralty, said that he had:
"put ashore to the hospital 130 sick men, most of which are extremely ill: buried in the last month twenty-two. The surgeon and four men died yesterday, and the surgeon's two mates are extremely ill: have thirty-five men absent in prizes and thirty-five short of complement, so that we are now in a very weak condition."
This sickness and mortality was attributed to the absolute want of proper clothing, many of the men having come on board with only what they stood in and some in rags, so the Captain asked for permission to issue an extra supply of slops, a request that was immediately granted.
DUC D'AQUITAINE.
After another short cruise the Eagle returned to Plymouth with Pallisser very ill with fever. He obtained sick leave, and Captain Proby was ordered to take command, but was detained so long in the Downs by contrary winds that Pallisser, who had heard a rumour of a French squadron having been seen in the Channel, shook off his fever and resumed the command of his ship, which was almost ready for sea. Every part of the Channel mentioned in the rumour was carefully searched, but no signs of the enemy were seen, and the author of the report, a Swede, was detained in Portsmouth for some months.
On the 19th November the Eagle's crew was increased to 420 men, and she was kept cruising throughout the winter, and on the 4th January 1757 she was caught in a heavy gale off the Isle of Wight, where she had most of her sails blown out of her. On 25th May she sailed from Plymouth Sound in company with H.M.S. Medway, and a day or two afterwards they fell in with and chased a French East Indiaman, the Duc d'Aquitaine, in rather heavy weather. The Medway was leading, but when getting close, had to bring to in order to clear for action, as otherwise she would be unable to open her lee ports. Pallisser, on the other hand, was all ready, and pressed on, bringing the chase to action. After a hard set-to, lasting about three-quarters of an hour, the Frenchman struck, having lost 50 men killed and 30 wounded, whilst the Eagle lost 10 killed and 80 wounded; and the list of damages to the ship reported to the Admiralty shows that the action was sharp though short. The Medway was only able to afford assistance by firing a few raking shots, and suffered no damage except having ten men wounded by an accidental explosion of gunpowder. The masts and sails of the prize were so much damaged that she lost them all in the night; one of the masts in falling sank the Medway's cutter. It was found she had a complement of 493