She writes that the turning point for Cook began at Queen Charlotte Sound in New Zealand during his second voyage. A Cook expedition landing party was massacred by Maori, who ate parts of the victims. Cook didn't hear of this until he reached England.

Cook had been careful to treat natives as innocents. It was not until his third and last voyage that Cook's behavior toward them turned brutal. Salmond contends this behavior began after Cook learned the fate of his boat crew.

As before, he assumed the crew was as much to blame as the Maori. So he did not punish the ringleader, but instead invited him aboard and had his picture painted. The Maori had expected vengeance. They taunted Cook for being spineless. Cook's own crew were furious, wanting the ringleader punished. Cook felt betrayed by his rational beliefs. He became cynical and more brutal. It's an interesting theory, backed up by much evidence.

Salmond also points out something that hasn't been emphasized in Hawai'i. Cook and Kalani'opu'u exchanged names, a powerful ritual that brought Cook into the genealogy of Kalani'opu'u, making the men brothers. That's why Kalani'opu'u mourned him and why, according to Sal-mond, Kamehameha saved Cook's bones for their mana.

Salmond writes that Cook was killed partly because his marines, whom he had flog-ged for misbehavior toward natives, did not rescue him, and partly because the behavior of his crew angered Hawaiians. All of this is in a book called "The Trial of the Cannibal Dog," published by Yale University Press.

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-8073.