ed to England in 1775 after an absence of three years. The
commander had always taken excellent care of the health of his men, for
in voyages of the description he had undertaken the mortality was always
considerable, and sometimes terrible. One of the most noticeable
features of his second expedition was that it returned with a record of
only one death in both ships; and the details of the means he used to
secure a good sanitary condition among his crews are very interesting.

On his return Cook was immediately raised to the rank of post-captain,
and was also appointed a captain in Greenwich Hospital, which secured to
him an honorable retirement, and reward for his important labors. He was
elected a member of the Royal Society, which also bestowed upon him a
gold medal in recognition of his contributions to the science of the
period. The passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific by the north coast
of America was exciting a great deal of attention at this time, and
Captain Cook was sent upon an expedition to continue his explorations in
the Pacific, and then to investigate the mystery of a northwest passage.
He sailed in the Resolution in 1776, and was followed by Captain Clerke
in the Discovery. He proceeded, after his arrival at the Cape of Good
Hope, to Tasmania, visited New Zealand again, and passed the following
year in explorations in the Pacific.

[Illustration: Death of Captain Cook.]

In the first month of 1778 he discovered the Sandwich Islands, to which
he gave this name in honor of his patron, the Earl of Sandwich, then
the first Lord of the Admiralty. Obtaining the supplies he needed, the
commander proceeded to explore the northwest coast of America, which he
followed inside of Behring Strait, till the ice and cold compelled him
to seek a more southern latitude, which he found in the genial airs of
the Sandwich Islands.

During his former visit he had found the natives to be friendly and
generally well disposed, though more addicted to thieving than the
people of any other islands the explorer had visited. For some
unexplained reason they were in a different frame of mind on his second
visit. A boat belonging to the expedition had been stolen by the
savages, and Captain Cook proceeded, in his usual vigorous manner, to
recover it. He sent a boat on shore for this purpose, and then landed
himself with another party, intending to capture a certain chief, to be
exchanged for the boat. An immense crowd gathere