The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-05-11
CAPTAIN COOKS LAST DAYS.
By L. ELLSWORTH CAREY

AoOA'OH VI AAh"hil lOE5 al ACd hiLI ''9 "
superior being, and that lie was not
conscious that he was worshipped as
god. The following, adapted from
Prof. Alexander's History of Hawaii,
will give the salient points in the
matter:
''An aged priest came on board and
saluted Captain Cook with the utmost
veneration. He then threw piece
of red cloth over Cooks shoulders,
and, stepping back, made al Offering
of a pig, while he recited long
prayer. The same afternoon Captain
Cook, accompanied by the officers
and the priest, went ashore, and the
people Frustrated themselves at his
approach. Cook was conducted to a
temple, where various ceremonies
took place, tue object of which was
to so!emnly acknowledge Cook as an
incarnation Of one of the Hawaiian
gods. He was first stationed IN front
of the sacred images, where he was
robed with red native cloth; long
prayers were addressed to him by
two priests, and the body of a hog
was offered to him. Similar ceremoL-
les were repeated in other parts of the
temple, after which he was anOlnted
with the chewed kernel of cocoa
nut, and baked pork, liquor, ETC.,
were offered him.
"a few days later Cook again came
ashore, and he was worshipped with
nearly the same ceremonies as before.
Wherever he went he was accom-
panied by q priest, who carried a
wand, and who ordered all people to
PROSTATE themselves Jarves re-
marked that Cook moved among the
natives as an earthly deity, observed,
feared and worshipped."
In the Legends and Myths Of Haa0aii,
by King Kalakaua, p. 800, are found
the following words:
"The visit was returned, and Cook,
as before, was received on shore with
divine honors, against which he
offered no protest. He was placed
among the gods in the temple and
sacrifices were offered to him as one
of the Hawaiian trinity.
"But how were the devotion and
kindness of the simple natives re-
Quilted? By eating out the substance
of the people, violating the tabus of
the priests and trampling upon the
edicts of the king. Cook became ex-
acting, dictatorial and greedy, and
from his conduct it almost seemed
that he began to consider himself in
reality the god for whom he was mis-
taken by the superstitious natives"
In passing, it might be noted that
Cook was under no necessity of sub
uniting to the alteration and worship
of the natives; there was no need for
him to accept the homage of the
,s7eople or the administrations of the
priests. Men have sometimes sub
mitted to be worshipped when a re-
fusal meant death or ill-treatment, or
when it was necessary to pacify an
ignorant community Of savages. In
Cooks intercourse with the Hawaii
ans, no such occasion arose. He could
by motion of his hand have turned
away all celestial honors; he certain
~ knew enough of the language to
explain to them his own humanity
His sailors were not in need of food,
for with few nails or scraps of iron
he could have purchased sustenance
for his men sufficient for a week.
Why, then, did Cook continue to
masquerade as a god? The reader OF
Hawaiian history will search in vain
to find a reason that does not stain
the character of Cook.
Such are the facts. Cook had twice
circumnavigated the globe. He was
we'll acquainted with the manners
customs and ceremonial forms of
different native tribes. He knew
something of the Polynesian Ian
guage, and the Hawaiian dialect. He
knew what a temple was; he knew
the Office of the priests. He had
witnessed heather ceremonies, and
knew how the Polynesians wor
shipped their deities. He knew that
prostration before an idol meant
worship. He knew that offering:
meant worship. He knew that the
amounting of an idol by priest
meant worship.
Furthermore, he knew that white
men, when first seen by ignoran
natives, are always considered al
beings of supermundane origin. Col
umbus was considered a god, wheI
he first set foot on the shores of Sal
Domingo; homage was offered bu
he refused to accept the worship o
the natives, and disclaimed being
god.
Upon considering Prof. Alexar
der's testimony,-and the testimon
of every Hawaiian antiquarian is tn
same,--what conclusion must b
accepted? Either Captain Cook wa
fully aware,-fully conscious that b
was regarded as god, or he wa
not.
1t is not likely that Captain Coo
fully understood the special meanin
and significance of the forms an
ceremonies of which he was the Gel
trail figure, but he certainly kne
that he was being worshipped. E
knew that he was regarded as
celestial being.
He knew that he was held in veneer
ton and esteem; he knew that |
was considered equal to the idols
the temples, and the prostration
the people before him told him tn
he was regarded as superior bein
There is nothing to show tn
Cook r,rotasted AGAINST thiS hOma