Rudolf Erich Raspe: The Geologist Captain Cook Refused

R u d o lf E ric h R a sp e : T h e G e o lo g ist C a p ta in C o o k R e fu se d R U T H P . D A W S O N rqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA W he n Captain James Cook discovered the Hawaiian Islands for the Europeans in 1778, he gave the handsome people there a gift that stimulated their imaginations and contributed to the rapid transforma­ tion of their culture and society. It was the metal iron, an extremely useful material the Hawaiians had not known before. W ith it every­ thing became easier, from cutting trees and making implements to carving decorations and preparing foods. Cook was not surprised to see how eagerly the islanders experimented with his novel present, for on his previous two voyages to the Pacific he had given other Polynesians the same gift, watched their fascination with it, and staved off their wily efforts to acquire more. W hen he found Hawaii, Captain Cook was on his third great voy­ age, sent this time to discover the long-sought Northwest Passage. Unlike the other British searches, which had explored from the Atlan­ tic side, Cook’s was to begin from the Pacific coast of North America. He was accompanied by an illustrious staff of officers including George Vancouver, W illiam Bligh, and James Burney. Another notable man had applied to go too, interested less in Cook’s naval and geographical purposes than in the opportunity such a journey might offer for the advancement of geology. Rudolph Erich Raspe (1736-94)1 was aware 269 270 / XWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA R U T H P . D A W S O N o f the captain’s earlier experiences with the iron-loving Polynesians and had told Cook about his idea of finding the metal on the volcanic islands of the South Pacific. The zealous scholar from Germany had a remarkable variety of achievements to his credit. He had edited previously unknown m anu­ scripts by Leibnitz, introduced O ssia n and Percy’s R e liq u e s to the Ger­ man public, written a report for the Royal Society in London on what were then called elephant teeth found in Ohio, published an elaborate book on new islands, and identified extinct volcanoes in the very woods of Hessia, the little principality where he lived. None of this counted for much, however, in light of two other of Raspe’s deeds: embezzling from the Hessian Duke’s coin and medal collection, of which Raspe was the curator, and fleeing from Hessian justice.2 In England eleven years later the disgraced court scholar wrote an im­ mensely popular collection of stories called B a ro n M u n c h a u se n ’s N a r r a ' tive o f h is M a rv e lo u s T ra v e ls a n d C a m p a ig n s in R u ssia , in which the amazing Baron entertains his audience with tall tales that demonstrate his fabulous presence of mind in every emergency. Raspe, sensitive no doubt to parallels with himself, and in any case still a proud man with his university education and his scientific and literary interests, pub­ lished the Baron’s adventures anonymously. He never publicly claimed his lively masterpiece, and not until the nineteenth century was his authorship fully recognized.3 W hen the learned delinquent first came to London in the summer of 1775, scholarly colleagues, as yet unaware of his crimes, greeted him warmly. Since he chanced to arrive only days before Cook re­ turned from the magnificent second voyage, Raspe was a fortunate guest at the dinner party at which the Royal Society Club welcomed back two members of the expedition. For Raspe it must have been a thrilling evening. He wished ardently to go on an expedition of almost any sort, antiquarian, scientific, or diplomatic. Now he was in a company where Cook himself sometimes dined and where most of the members, famous men in their own rights, knew the Captain well, particularly the two guests...