COOK

cook, thomas (1808-1892), english travelling agent, was born at melbourne in derbyshire on the 22nd of november 1808. beginning work at the age of ten, he was successively a gardener's help and a wood-turner at melbourne, and a printer at loughborough. at the age of twenty he became a bible-reader and village missionary for the county of rutland; but in 1832, on his marriage, combined his wood-turning business with that occupation. in 1836 he became a total abstainer, and subsequently became actively associated with the temperance movement, and printed at his own expense various publications in its interest, notably the _children's temperance magazine_ (1840), the first of its kind to appear in england. in june 1841 a large meeting was to be held at loughborough in connexion with this movement, and cook was struck with the idea of getting the midland counties railway company to run a special train from leicester to the meeting. the company consented, and on the 5th of july there were carried 570 passengers from leicester to loughborough and back at a shilling a head. this is believed to be the first publicly-advertised excursion train ever run in england--private "specials," reserved for members of institutes and similar bodies, were already in use. the event caused great excitement, and cook received so many applications to organize similar parties that he henceforward deserted wood-turning, while continuing his printing and publishing. the summers of the next three years were occupied with excursions like the first; but in 1845 cook advertised a pleasure-trip on a more extensive scale, from leicester to liverpool and back, with opportunities for visiting the isle of man, dublin and welsh coast. a _handbook of the trip to liverpool_ was supplied for the use of travellers. in the previous year cook had entered into a permanent arrangement with the midland railway company to place trains at his disposal, for which he should provide the passengers. a trip to scotland followed, and the excursionists were received in glasgow with music and salute of guns. the next great impetus to popular travel was given by the great exhibition of 1851, which cook helped 165,000 visitors to attend. on the occasion of the paris exhibition of 1855 there was a cook's excursion from leicester to calais and back for £1:10s. the following year saw the first grand circular tour in europe. this part of cook's activity largely increased after 1863, when the scottish railway managers broke off their engagements with him, and left him free for more distant enterprise. switzerland was opened up in 1863, and italy in 1864. up to this time "cook's tourists" had been personally conducted, but now he began to be an agent for the sale of english and foreign tickets, the holders of which travelled independently. switzerland was the first foreign country accessible under these conditions, and in 1865 nearly the whole of europe was included in the scheme. its extension to the united states followed in 1866. for the benefit of visitors to the paris exhibition, cook made a fresh departure and leased a hotel there. in the same year began his system of "hotel-coupons," providing accommodation at a fixed charge. the year 1869 was marked by an extension of cook's tours to palestine, followed by further developments of travel in the east, his son, john mason cook, (1834-1899), being appointed in 1870 agent of the khedivial government for passenger traffic on the nile. the franco-german war of 1870-1871 was expected to damage the tourist system, but, as a matter of fact, encouraged it, through the demand for combination, international tickets enabling travellers to reach the south of europe without crossing the belligerent countries. at the termination of the war a party of american freemasons visited paris under j. m. cook's guidance, and became the precursors of the present vast american tourist traffic. at the beginning of 1872 j. m. cook entered into formal partnership with his father, and the firm first took the name of thomas cook & son. in 1882, on the outbreak of arabi pasha's rebellion, thomas cook & son were commissioned to convey sir garnet wolseley and his suite to egypt, and to transport the wounded and sick up the nile by water, for which they received the thanks of the war office. the firm was again employed in 1884 to convey general gordon to the sudan, and the whole of the men (18,000) and stores necessary for the expedition afterwards sent to relieve him. in 1889 thomas cook & son acquired the exclusive right of carrying the mails, specie, soldiers and officials of the egyptian government along the nile. in 1891 the firm celebrated its jubilee, and on the 19th of july of the following year thomas cook died. he had been afflicted with blindness in his declining years. his son, j. m. cook, died in 1899, leaving three sons, all actively engaged in the business. cook or hervey islands, an archipelago in the pacific ocean, lying mainly between 155° and 160° e., and about 20° s.; a dependency of the british colony of new zealand. it comprises nine partly volcanic, partly coralline, islands, the more important of which are rarotonga, hilly, fertile and well watered, with several cones 300 to 400 ft. high, above which towers the majestic rarotonga volcano (2920 ft.), the culminating point of the archipelago; mangaia (mangia); aitutaki, with luxuriant cocoa-nut palm groves; atui (vatui); mitiero; mauki; fenuaiti; and the two hervey islets, which give an alternative name to the group. the total land area is 111 sq. m. owing to its healthy, equable climate, the archipelago is well suited for european settlement; but the dangerous fringing coral reefs render it difficult of access, and it suffers also from the absence of good harbours. the natives, who are of polynesian stock and speech, have legends of their emigration from samoa. they say their ancestors found black people on the islands, and the strongly melanesian type which is found, especially on mangaia, supports the statement. the cook islanders were formerly man-hunters and cannibals, but they now are nearly all protestants, wear european dress and live in stone houses. the total population is about 6200. since 1890 the islands have enjoyed a general legislature and an executive council of which the _arikis_ ("kings" and "queens") are members. but all enactments are subject to the approval of the british resident at rarotonga, and a british protectorate, proclaimed in 1888, was followed by the annexation of the whole archipelago by the governor of new zealand, by proclamation of june 10th, 1901. the archipelago was discovered by captain cook in 1777, and in 1823 became the scene of the remarkable missionary labours of john williams, of the london missionary society. the chief products of the group are cocoanuts, fruits, coffee and copra. lime-juice and hats are made.