t was
soon sent back to the field of his recent labors, as marine surveyor of
the coasts, by the influence of his constant friend, now Sir Hugh
Palliser. He was busily employed in this capacity, rendering valuable
service to his country, and especially to the king's ministers in
arranging the terms of peace with France. During his absence he observed
an eclipse of the sun, which was so well done that his results were
published in the "Philosophical Transactions," adding greatly to his
reputation as an astronomer.

At this period the spirit of discovery was reanimated in England, and an
expedition was fitted out, at the instance of the Royal Society,
primarily to observe a transit of Venus across the disk of the sun,
which could only be done in some parts of the Pacific Ocean. Sir Hugh
Palliser was again his friend, and Cook, raised to the rank of
lieutenant, was appointed to the command. He selected a ship of three
hundred and seventy tons, called the Endeavor, for the purpose, and
accompanied by several eminent scientists, he sailed in 1778. In
addition to its astronomical task, the expedition was to make
discoveries and explorations in the Pacific.

It would be impossible to follow Lieutenant Cook in the details of his
three notable voyages of discovery in anything less than a volume, so
full are they of interesting incidents. He proceeded first to Madeira,
and then across the Atlantic to Rio Janeiro, where he made a
considerable stay to obtain supplies, and improve the condition of his
crew. Passing through the Strait of Le Maire, he went around Cape Horn,
and in April of 1769 the Endeavor arrived at Otaheite, now called
Tahiti, in the Society Islands, where the transit was to be observed.
The observations required a considerable stay in Matavia Bay, and as
soon as he had made his preparations on shore for the work, the
commander established regulations for intercourse between his people and
the natives who crowded in multitudes around their strange visitors.

No man in his day and generation ever had more extensive dealings with
the uncivilized tribes of the earth than Captain Cook, and none ever
treated them with more enlightened humanity, or with more even-handed
justice. His treatment of the aborigines of the vast number of islands
and other regions he visited, is in remarkable contrast with that of the
early explorers of the Western Continent. By the latter the natives were
remorselessly slain, enslaved, and