An Inland View; in Atooi.

Rare engraving from the official British Admiralty sanctioned edition of the accounts of Cook’s third and final voyage.

Captain Cook arrived at Atooi (Kauai) on 19th January 1778 and stayed until 23rd January.

In this image, in the village of Waimea, two natives are shown rolling a wooden barrel filled with water toward the beach, while a crewman, centre foreground, rolls an empty barrel toward the inland pond. Several other crewmen, muskets in hand and swords at their side, are trading with the natives. ‘We no sooner landed than a trade was set on foot for hogs and potatoes, which the people gave us in exchange for nails and pieces of iron formed into something like chisels. We met with no obstructions in watering, on the contrary the Natives assisted our people to roll the casks to and from the pond.  In general, this idyllic scene represents an image of serenity and prosperity consistent with Cook’s observations about the native lifestyle that he found in his travels about the islands. Cook’s Journals – January 21, 1778

 From Cook & King, A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean Undertaken by the Command of His Majesty, for Making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere….