Cook's expedition was quite beyond his comprehension. When he was told
that the English were bound to the southward, by the order of his
Britannic majesty, to observe a transit of the planet Venus over the
Sun, an astronomical phenomenon of great importance to navigation, he
could form no other conception of the matter, than that it was the
passing of the North star through the South Pole.

During the whole of the contest with the viceroy, Lieutenant Cook
behaved with equal spirit and discretion. A supply of water and other
necessaries could not be refused him, and those were gotten on board
by the 1st of December. On that day the lieutenant sent to the viceroy
for a pilot to carry the Endeavour to sea; but the wind preventing the
ship from getting out, she was obliged to continue some time longer in
the harbour. A Spanish packet having arrived at Rio de Janeiro on the
2d of December, with dispatches from Buenos Ayres for Spain, the
commander, Don Antonio de Monte Negro y Velasco, offered, with great
politeness, to convey the letters of the English to Europe. This
favour Lieutenant Cook accepted, and gave Don Antonio a packet for the
secretary of the Admiralty, containing copies of all the papers that
had passed between himself and the Viceroy. He left, also, duplicates
with the viceroy, that he might forward them, if he thought proper, to
Lisbon.

On the 5th of December, it being a dead calm, our navigators weighed
anchor, and towed down the Bay; but, to their great astonishment, two
shots were fired at them; when they had gotten abreast of Santa Cruz,
the principal fortification of the harbour. Lieutenant Cook
immediately cast anchor, and sent to the fort to demand, the reason of
this conduct; the answer to which was, that the commandant had
received no order from the viceroy to let the ship pass; and that,