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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 8 3 I s I V ^ V 1 1 { / ( ^y-^ VOYAGE toWards THE SOUTH POLE, PERFORMED IN THE YEARS 1822-24. coNTAimifa AN EXAMINATION OF THE ANTARCTIC SEA, TO THE SEVENTY-FOURTH DEGREE OF LATITUDE! AND A VISIT TO TIERRA DEL FUEGO, WITH A PARTICULAR ACCOmiT OF THE IKHABITAKTS. TO WHICH IS ADDED, MirCH USEFUL INFORMATION ON THE COASTING NAVIOATION OP CAPE HORN, AND THE ADJACENT LANDS. WITH CHARTS OF HARBOURS, &c. By JAMES WEDDELL, F.R.S.E. SECOND EDITION, WITH OnSRTAnONS ON THE PROBABILITY OF REACHING THE SOUTH POLE, AND AN ACCOOHT OF A SECOND VOYAGE PERFORMED BY THE EEAUFOY, CAPTAIN BRISBANE, TO THE SAME SEAS. LONDON: PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, AND ORERN, ; PATKRNOSTBR-ROW. 1827. tt^flJttmiMlttfi.'iiXtSi ~ ^— wrf n T O i i iffi i I ^o S S"0 IVIAY 6 1943 London: Primad by A. & I^ S|ratUswooJo, NowStrcvl* SquMW. :^v ■ §•" UM.- ' ' •■«■ "K""*" I TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD VISCOUNT MELVILLE, K.T. FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY. *c. ^c. 4;c. This volume, containing the Journal of a Voyage in the Southern Hemisphere, and which reached a higher latitude in that quarter than was ever before accomplished, is (with His Lordship's fostering permis- sion) respectfully dedicated. When the writer, a Seaman, views the noble exertions made under His Lord- IV DEDICATION. ship's administration to ascertain the Geo- graphy of the Northern Polar Circle, he must deem it at once a debt of gratitude and a tribute of respect, humbly to offer him the account of researches pursued at the other extremity of the Globe. J. WEDDELL. the Geo- ircle, he gratitude to offer rsued at W DELL. A tf" iHi ,V/."»' it ir' of THE TRACiCS OF THE VESSELS ' /'A /^ In their Southeni Vbja^s of Investigation /// y* /(^^a /(S'2/, /^?Z /6'23 c^.'/S'.?^/. BY \v ^ ^ « =F=^ 70 • l> AO jLondim , J%Mithtd- tr Ion' west; ** happily for us we had tacked in good time, ** for we had no sooner done it than a thick fog <* came on, which would have been highly dan- " gerous when we fell in with the ice." B i ;• iiJ 4 INTRODUCTION. Two Russian frigates, employed on a voyage of discovery in the year 1821, penetrated, as it is stated, to the 69th degree of south latitude, but were unable to proceed farther. The particulars of their voyage have not yet been made public in England. Not expecting, at my sailing from London, to arrive at so higli a southern latitude, I had not supplied myself with instruments which would have enabled me to extend my observ- ations; but I was provided with all those in common use of the best construction. Of chro- nometers, I had one of eight days (No. 820.), made by James Murray ; of which I shall speak in another place. One of two days by Murray and Strachan, (No. 403. J One of 24 hours also made by Murry, and tliey all performed suffi- ciently well to recommend the makers for their very improved mechanism in this useful art. My azimuth compass was patent, and, as well as the rest of my compasses, made by Mr. Alexander of Leith. The great difference found in the variation of the needle within a short distance, about the latitude of 70°, may be worthy of remark, and will be mentioned in the journal as the observ- ations were made. Notwithstanding the inducement to which I have referred at the beginning of this introduc- tion, of my being in a manner bound for the INTRODUCTlbK. 4^' I a voyage ited, as it itude, but )articulars i public in London, de, I had its which y observ- those in Of chro- S^o. 820.), hall speak y Murray lours also ned suffi- for their art. My ell as the Llexander riation of ibout the lark, and 3 observ- which I introduc- for the ■I' sake of the science of hydrography, to record the performance of this unprecedented voyage ; I should, nevertheless, have done it only by means of an official letter to the Honorable Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy, had not the notices of foreign and unknown matters con- tained in my notes, appeared so interesting that the solicitations of my friends, ("more particu- larly of my co-owners in the vessels and voy- age, John Strachan, Esq. of Edinburgh, and James Mitchel, Esq. of London,) prevailed with me to carry my information to the press. I am further persuaded of the projiriety of so doing, from my having had nearly two months* expe- rience of the navigation in the immediate neigh- bourhood of Cape Horn, which is yet l)ut little known : for although the cape has been rounded times almost innumerable, yet this has always been done at so great a distance from the land, that no accurate accounts of its coasts and har- bours could be obtained. A familiar knowledge of these shores must evidently tend to lessen the timidity which seizes the minds of some commanders in passing this cape ; and an acquaintance with the anchor- ages, which are safe, must render the practice of relinquishing the passage, by bearing up along the east coast of Patagonia, during adverse gales» altogether unnecessary. b3 I f ■4i Q INTRODUCTION. From my having been engaged five years,^ in navigating these seas, and liaving performed a passage of 2(5 degrees of longitude direct to the westward about the parallel of Cape Horn during the stormy month of April, I am fully acquainted with the perils and the convejoiences of this nav^ gation, and can offer my experience with the con- fident expectation of its being found useful. The old and contradictory accounts which haye been given us concerning the people found about the straitsof Magellan, and the coast of Patagonia, may be wondered at ; though the descriptions by Commodore Byron of the enormous size of these people, seemed to confirm all preceding state- ments. There is little doubt that tall and stout men were seen on the coast of Patagonia by the voyagers; but it is more than probable that tho^ with whom they communicated were chiefs, who were, perhaps, selected on account of their sta- ture: for on no part of the coast have my officers, who have seen many of the Patagonians, found people generally, nor indeed any men at all, of the extraordinary appearance mentioned by preceding travellers. The inhabitants of Tierre del Fuego have also been spoken of as if they were beings possessed of little more than animal instinct, and incapable of being instructed. This may, perhaps, be the 'I INTRODUCTION. case ; — arising, however, out of the peculiar situ- ation in which they are placed. Give them inter- course with foreigners, and they will improve in understanding ; for I have found them to be not only tractable and' inoffensive, but also, in many of their employments^ active and ingenious. The civil day being more intelliigible>t& gene- rat readers than that called the sen day, I dudl use the former in the following jounnd'. The principal incidents related may be found to cor- respond with the ship's log-book, to the truth of which the chief officer of the Jane and two sea- men have made oath before the commissioners of his Majesty's customs. As I shall have frequent occasion in the course of the work to mention &cts and circumstances which took place during my former movements in these latitudes, it may be necessary to state here that the two voyages to which I refer, were performed by me in the years 1S19» 18S0, and 1821, and extended to various parts in the southern seas. It may be farther necessary to premise, that if ia some of the following sheets I throw out an observation or reflection on the subject of the voyage, not perhaps strictly philosophical or scientific, I do so in the hope that it may yet be of a nature to challenge examination, and lead to more just concluuons in abler hands. B 4 t:t. h'. S^tmmm : .Z ■ /Wlf.'S*?^^*'"- ••.R'> CHAP. II. umin DEPARTURE 07 THE JANE AMD BEAUFOY FROM THE DOWNS. — ARRIVAL 07 THE JANE AT MADEIRA. — PAS- SAGE TO BONA VISTA. — TRANSACTIONS THERE. — RE- MARKS ON THE ISLAND AND THE INHABITANTS. — DEPARTURE AND PASSAGE TO PORT ST. ELENA. — PRO- CEEDINGS THERE, AND DESCRIPTION OF THE HARBOUR. On the 17th of September 1822, I gave Mr. Matthew Brisbane his instructions, and at five o'clock in the afternoon both vessels weighed, and made sail out of the Downs. We had the wind blowing fresh from the E.N.E. which by the 18th, in the afternoon, brought us off Portland. At 4" P.M. with a Bill N. | E. by compass distant fourteen miles, J took sights of the sun for chronometers, and departure for dead reckoning. The breeze continued to blow from the eastward, and steering a cb«»nnel course, darkness soon closed from our contemplations the view of our beloved country. As I had directed Mr. Brisbane to separate, when below the Bill of Portland, and to proceed direct to the Island of Bonavista, while I was to touch at Madeira, by the way, we allowed the Beaufoy to pass out of sight about midnight. Nothing worthy of remark occurred during our passage to Madeira, except that in making ARRIVAL AT BON AVISTA. ri'fo> .., i ). _, : FROM THB CIRA. — PAS- HERE. — RE- BITANT8. — ENA. — PRO- HARBOUR* gave Mr. nd at five weighed, ft heE.N.E. wrought us ill N. I E. ook sights arture for d to blow lel course, mplations separate, ) proceed lile I was owed the night, d during I making Porto Santo, I found that we had experienced- an easterly current of 85 miles in ten days. It was Friday the 4th of Ociober before we arrived in Funchal Roads, and at half after se-: ven in the morning I took sights for chronome- ters. The longitude deduced, placed Funchal centre in 16'' 52' 28". By the 5th in the evening, having (by the kind assistance of John Blandy, Esq. to whom I had letters of introduction), completed my business on shore, I returned on board, and at n'le o'clock made all sail for the island of Bonavista, one of the Cape de Verdes. We took the trade wind at N. E. after clearing Funchal Bay, and carried it, blowing steadily, to Bonavista, where we arrived on Monday the 14th, and found the Beaufoy, with several small American and Por- tuguese vessels, at anchor. Having to take in a quantity of salt, it was immediately set about, and by the 19th having received SQ tons, divided into the two vessels, and being in all other respects supplied and ready for sea, on the evening of the 20th both vessels weighed, and made sail to the southward. While at Bonavista, I dined several times in company with the Bishop of the Cape de Verdes, who usually resides at St. lago. He was at this period making his triennial visit, and with his retinue of priests, lived at the house of Senhor #'' BON'AYISTA. ll^iHl Manoel Martins^ who yna absent on a mission to the Cortes, as: representative of the Cape de Yerdes. I found the Bishop a man oi agree- able address, and by his vinnijog manner cakiiH lated to make proselytes ^ indeed he attempted the conversion of an inmate of the bouse, an American lady, whose child he had baptized. She» however, with the common attachment that people have towards the ^th in which they have been bred, repulsed all his endeavours. The greatest respect was paid to this holy per- son by the principal inhabitants of the island y and great deference by the commonalty. Forbeac- ance, suayity of manners, and rigid clerical dis- cipline, appeared conspicuously in hiis character. When he rose from table he immediately with- drew to his room to study, and was seldom seen, except at table or taking a short evening walk, during which he was usuaiiy accompanied by a few of the chief people of the Island. Some of his priestly retinue were not quite b&> precise; for I could discover that when from under the eye of the Bishop, they were, like the laity, fond of the society of ladies, and open to their attractions. The common people of these islands are,, for the most part, intolerably indolent, and hence proceeds their miserable way of living. Their slaves, of whom> they have many, are made to I I a mission he Cafiede [k oi agree- Doer cakuh attempted bouse, an 1 biq)tized. bment that ivhich they avours. is holy per* the island ^ f, Forbeac" clerical dis- I character, iately with* vas seldom >rt evening icompanied be Island. Dt quite soi ¥hen from re, like the nd open to ds are,, for and hence (ig. Their e mads to 90)tAV«STii. li itrork hard, upder the f bar of tb& whip i for dV though, amongst all other nations, the A(rM(Mi» now enjoy a share of fi:eedom, h^re np mmh blessing is afforded them. Their principal occupation is making salt, andi carrying on a small trade with the neighbouring islands, and with the ships that call here. Thie^ town of English Roads, which is generally called Bonavista, contains from forty to fifty houses ; which, excepting about half a dozen, are rudely constructed of wood and clay, and mostly of negro-architecture. The colour of the inhabit- ants is from white to negro jet, comprehendr ing all the intermediate shades ; and tbey are so intermarried, slaves excepted, that they may be said to be but one family. About three miles east of Bonavista, lies a town, called Nov* Cidade, or New City, where the governor used to reside. It contains a neat church, and about 100 buildings, the most of which are huts. The Governor, whom I found here on a former voyage, spoke good En^ish, and was extremely polite and communicative. He was an European, and a ^lonel in the PortUr. guese regular army ; his age* might be about 65, and he had been 4S: years governor of Bonavista. He informed me that the population of the: island was about 3000, and that nearly 300 of these were regular troops. The soil, he said. 1^ I 12 BONAVISTA. was very prolific, when the rains fell at the usual seasbns and were copious ; but that they fre- quently suffered much from want of rain, and indeed sometimes of good drinking water: hence no vessel touching here can expect to procure that invaluable article. The mean of chronometers gave 22° 59' 0" for the longitude of the anchorage. Sea stock of pigs, goa\':s, sheep, and poultry may be had here, but all are lean and of an in- ferior breed : perhaps the best place for stock is St lago, where, it is better fed, although some- what dearer. I called at the latter on my last voyage, and waited on the Governor, who was on board a schooner of war, at anchor in the Bay. He was dressed in a general's uniform, and rather a good looking man. On my telling him that my object was to procure a supply of stock, and that "the vessels should not anchor, he immediately granted permission to land, at the same time, recommending to my consider- ation the poultry yard of his lady, who, he as- sured me, would furnish me very reasonably. I was a good deal surprised to hear that a gover- nor's lady should condescend to such a traffic, but immediately went on shore and proceeded to the palace. The door was guarded by a soldier, who refused me admittance; but on my busi- ness being announced, I was allowed to pass by DEPARTURE FROM BONAVISTA. M this sentinel and two others, and at length ar- rived in the presence of the lady. I found her * employed in getting out the stock, consisting of pigs, turkeys, and fowls, into the middle of the yard for inspection. According to the usual practice, she represented them as being fat and cheap, and I chose a number of turkies, &c. which were sent down to the boat. Our bar- gain was concluded in the house, over a glass of wine, and she politely desired her son, a youth of about fourteen, to play me a tupe on the guitar, which he did with peculiar swe||kness ; afler he had finished I settled for my purchase, and bade her ladyship good day. Having mentioned this circumstance as ex- hibiting a singular union of rank and occupa- tion, if not of pomp and avarice, I now return to my narrative by observing, that having weighed anchor at Bonavista, we carried all possible sail to tlie southward. We had nothing remarkable until the <21st of October, when being in latitude north 14 degrees, we were not a little surprised to find the water up to the cabin deck ; the cause was soon disco- vered to be a leak somewhere in the counter ; and in consequence of coals being stowed in the afler-hold, the water could not find its way forward. We immediately hove the ship to, brought her by the head, and finding the leak ■A n 14 FORTUOUBSE SLAVE-SHIP. in the counter ends, succeeded in stopping it in a temporary manner. An account of common occurrences on board a merchant vessel, and the ship's place in latitude or longitude over so obvious a track, can con- vey no useful or interesting information. I shall therefore hurry on to regions less fre- quented. On the SSd of October, in the latitude of eight degrees north, the wind became light and vari- able, and continued so till we reached the lati- tude of five degrees north, when we took the S.£. trade wind. On the 7th November in the longitude of 30" we crossed the equsitor. The trade wind being far southerly we passed Cape St. Augustine, on the coast of Brazil, within 100 miles. On the 14th, in latitude 14° S., we closed with a Portuguese schooner, having a cargo of slaves, bound to Bahia, and I boarded her. My officers were seriously impressed with the idea of making her a prize ; but I was aware that we could not legdly do so. This inability I much regrett3d, as we were of sufficient force to have relieved 2J0 fellow creatures from a cruel bondage. The men slaves were stowed in the hold, and almost suffocated by the small- ness of the place ; the women and children were seated on the lee-side of the deck, many of ARRITAL OFF PORT VALDBE8* 15 topping it ) on board in latitude can con- nation. I I less fre- le of eight t and vari- i the lati- i took the iber in the itor. The issed Cape zil, within we closed a cargo of her. My the idea ware that nability I lent force es from a stowed in he smalU dren were many of them shackled by the feet. As it was out of my po¥rer to render them any assistance, much as I deplored their miserable situation, I re- turned on board and the vessels separated. This nefarious traffic is still carried on by the Portuguese, to a considerable extent to the south- ward of the Equator, in spite of all the humane efforts of Great Britain to put an end to it. As far as the latitude of jS4 degrees south, we had the wind frequently from N.W. to N.N.E. blowing in heavy squalls, with thunder and heavy rain. At this season the route we took may be re- commended for a quick passage, but, for the health of a crew entering upon a long voyage, the coasting passage is highly injurious. I had one man at the point of death by an attack of teiatmst brought on by his exposure to heavy rains* We continued standing to the southward with the Beaiifoy in company, till we reached the latitude of 40° ; we then steered to ttie westward to make the land of Patagonia. On the 10th of December we arrived off Port Valdees lying in latitude 42° 32\ I sent the chief mate to sound the passage into the harbour ; but finding by his report^ that there was only two and a half fathoms at low water in mid-channel. li- ;l yW w .r -^^^-' I s iiUANACOES. 17 of any on the coast, I shall annex a plan of it; for which I ran a base line of 400 fathoms, and took angles. In the valley marked A, I observed two holes which had been dug for obtaining fresh water, but what they now contained was quite brackish ; farther up this valley, about half a mile, I found very sweet water, but not in quan- tity sufficient to supply a vessel without a con- siderable expense of time and labour. Guanacoes are here very numerous, but not easily approached: they much resemble deer; their flesh is well tasted, and they are large enough to make them an object of consideration to ships touching on this coast in want of refresh- ments. We caught one which when cleaned weighed ISOlb. and was, to my taste, very like well fed mutton. The difficulty of procuring these animals from their fleetness and watchful- ness is such, however, that they cannot be taken hastily ; but must be entrapped by lurking be- hind bushes about their watering places at the dawn of the morning. Hares, which are also nu- merous here, are much larger than in other coun- tries. The tide flows at the full and change at 3* 80', and rises about 2S feet On the 30th of December, in latitude 4?° 54' and off Penguin Island, in the aflernoon, amidst several water-spouts, which are so dreaded by c * I 18 l'aigle shoal. f ^' many, we rejoined the Beaufoy, and made sail to the southward. We had now decidedly taken our departure for a voyage of investigation to the southward*' and though we were a month later than I had intended, I was happy that we had made the hrig comparatively effective; and was deter- mined, should I not be successful at the South Orkneys,' to prosecute a search beyond the tracks of former navigators. { I had given Mr. Brisbane my instructions how to act in the event of separation, and we now proceeded to the southward in company. - At noon of the Sd of January 1S23, we were in the latitude of 51® 55\ and longitude 65o 7' 15", and this being the latitude assigned to the L'aigle shoal, discovered in 1817 by a Captain Bristow, I hauled up N.E. by E. ^ £. in order to obtain a sight of it ; but with a run of 14 miles, and a view of 10 fi'om the mast head» I .saw nothing. Had it been accurately laid down I ought to have found it This shoal must be very dangerous, as it lies in midchannel between the Falkland Islands and the coast of Patagonia; but as I have never seen it I cannot describe it. It is reported to be a patch of breakers about sod yards in extent. Mr. Poole places it in lati- tud« 51" 51', and longitude 64° SCy, which, in my opinion, is not to be depended on ; and VIOLENT GALES. 19 therefore ships must be much delayed here in waiting, with a ikir wind, for daylight. H At 8 o'clock in the morning of the 3d, the wind shifted suddenly from W.N.W. to south, and in less than half an hour we were brought to under a close-reefed main-topsail. The gale continued with great violence, and with a most irregular sea till the evening of the 4th, when it moderated, and we made more sail. The tern* perature of the elements during the gale was of air 39° 30', and that of water 49° aCT, This was surprisingly low for midsummer, and the lati. tudeof 53 degrees ; but when we consider that a south wind blows over the frpzen land of Shet- land, the temperature of the air must of conse- quence be much reduced in the neighbourhood of Cape Horn. On the 6th in the morning the wind again freshened at S. by £. to a gale, with a high and irregular sea, which, in the afternoon, stove two boats, washed away part of the bulwarks, and carried several things off the deck. This dis- tressing sea was no doubt produced by a tide or current, as we were not more than 100 miles S.£. of the Falkland Islands. At midnight the weather moderated suddenly, and left us scarce wind iulficient to keep the ship steady. The 7th being fine I communicated with the ^ aufoy, and was happy to hear they were all wrell, and had met with no accident. c 2 k^ > 20 SOUTH ORKNEYS. m The wind continued blowing moderately from S. by E. to S.S.W. with passing snow squalls ; and on the 10th, in latitude 5S°, we saw five ice islands and an appearance of land in the N.E. ; but as I had cruised over that spot on a former voyage I gave it no credit. On the 11th at noon our latitude by observ- ation was 59° 37', and longitude by chronometers 46° 1'. The temperature of the air was 38°, and that of water 33°. Many ice islands were in sight which accounted for the temperature of the water being reduced. At daylight in the morning of the ISth we saw some pigeons, and at 6 o'clock perceived the east end of the islands of South Orkneys •, bearing W. by S., distant about 11 leagues. We carried all possible sail to get under the land, but the wind soon became light and left us almost at the mercy of a heavy swell, in the midst of ice islands, which made our naviga- tion truly hazardous. At 8 o'clock one of the eastern islands, which from its figure we named Saddle Island, bore S. 10 W., distant about 11 leagues. During the 13th, the wind was light, and from the N.N.W., which in this region generally brings fog, and now obliged us to keep an of- fing. At 10 o'clock the wind shifted to S.E. * Reported by me to the CommiMioners of His Majesty V Navy, on my arrival in England, in 18fl2. »?:««? "^^Ta-a • >i"-«_i i« SOUTH ORKNEYS. 21 with clear weather. The temperature of air was 34°, that of water S3°. At daylight of the 14th we saw the land in the S.W., distant about 10 leagues ; and by 7 o'clock we were within one mile of the. shore. I had landed oil these islands the year before ; but having a loaded ship, and no second vessel, I was obliged to relinquish a deliberate examin- ation of their shores for that season. Being now close under the land, I sent a boat from each vessel to explore them. We continued to tack the vessels about in a bay, which, from Saddle Island forming part of it, we calle^l Sad- dle Island Bay. The ice bergs, which form in the bays in winter, and break away in the sum- mer, now produced so much drift ice, that we had frequently to work ship to avoid striking it This coast is, if possible, more terrific in appear- ance than South Shetland. The tops of the islands, for the most part, terminate in craggy towering peaks, and look not unlike the moun- tain tops of a sunken land. The lofliest of these summits, towering up to a point, I denominated Noble's Peak, in honour of an esteemed friend, Mr. James Noble, orientalist, Edinburgh. This Peak, in a clear day, may be seen at the distance of fifteen leagues. On the 14th I made observations for settling the latitude and longitude of Saddle Island. c 3 9. t «i SOUTH ORKNEYS. The latitude of its centre was found to be 60* 37' 50", and longitude by means of throe chronometers 44° 52' 45" west of Greenwich. Two of these chronometers on the 12th agreed to the same second, and the third differed but 12"j hence it may iie presumed thai the situ- ation of the island is correctly determined. Onthe 15th in the afternoon, the vessel being close in shore and the weather settled, I landed on the touth side of the Bay, and having climbed a mountain, was employed iti itoking a bird's- eye view of the country, ^fa@n a dense fog «et in, which irl a ieW minutes 4but the vessels irom observation, i hurried' down to the boat, and put off, hoping to get sight df the vessels before losing the land ; but I Was mistaken, for we soon lost the <>ne without (ObtsUning the other. My anxiety ibr the sKfety of the vessel lying among idands, in a thick ^, was great ; but I was fortunately soon relieved by its clear- ing up, and allowing ttie to get on board. Having seen some sea-IeopardB on shore, I sent the second mate to t&ke them, who soon returned with six which he had captured. This creature resembles the quadruped of the same name in being ^tted. The drawing of one deposited in the Edinburgh Museum is annexed; and Professor Jamieson has kindly commumcated to me a description ci' the animal. He considers f d to be >f throe senwich. 1 agreed 3red but he situ- :u. el being [ landed climbed I bird's- nse fog i vessels \ie boat, I vessels :en, for tig the B vessel great ; B clear- ore, I ' soon of the of one exed; icated eiders ^■^ J < 1 tLi:tAns.:i^iiAi. 4*^^ SEA-LEOPARDS. it to be a new species of phoca, and gives it the following distinguishing characters :-<-Leopard- ine seal, the neck long and tapering; the head small ; the body pale-greyish above, yellowish below, and back spotted with pale white. This species to be referred to the division Stenorhinque, of F. Cuvier ; the teeth, however, do not quite agree with those of his Phoque Septonyx, nor with those of Sir £. Home, figured in PI. xxix. of the Philosophical Transactions for 1893. In the evening the boats returned, having coasted these islands for fifty miles. They had found but one fur-seal, and some sea-leopards, the skins of which they brought on board. This examination, though unsuccessful, afforded some hope, as the seal was an earnest of our falling in with more : I therefore hauled off the shore, to go round the west end of the islands for a fur- ther search. On the 17th the wind freshened to a gale from the N.N.E., and at 4 o'clock in the after- noon we saw the land under our lee^ distant but about five miles. I made the signal of our situation to the Beaufoy, and carried an oppressive quantity of sail to keep off the land : about midnight, however, it fortunately moder* ated, and the wind shifted to the S.S.W. We continued plying to the westward, examining the shores as we passed ( and fit 9 in the morn- c 4 ' m p.' m %4t SOUTH ORKNEYS. ing of the 19th we saw the west end, bearing S.W.JW., and straits running to the southward, which I called Spencer Straits, in honour of the Right Honourable R. C. Spencer ; at the same time bore S.E. by S. ^ S. The weather being frequently foggy and the winds light, we did not get off the western point till noon of the 20th, and at 3 o'clock I settled the latitude of this Cape to be 60*" 42' S., and longitude 46*' 23' 5rW. Not finding any animals in this quarter, I bore up to the east, to examine the other parts of the islands. On the 22d in the morning we were within six miles off the east point, which I called Cape Dundas, in honour of the illustrious £imily of that name. I presently despatched two boats to explore the shores, ' and in the meantime made observations for determining the position of this end of the Archipelago. By a good meridian altitude I found Cape Dundas to lie in latitude 60° 46' 30", and, by chronometers, in longitude 44** 35' 45" west of Greenwich. Two miles fi'om the shore, we sounded on a bottom of dark-coloured sand, with 58 fathoms water. About the Cape, where a little soil remained, there was a patch of short grass, and many birds assembled round it In the evening the boats returned with two seals and ten leopards' skins. They had inves- bearing ithward, irofthe ^e same and the rn point ' settled S; and , I bore } of the ^e were ^hich I istrious latched in the mining 0. Cape id, by est of •e, we I, with lere a short i two nves- m DEPARTURE FROM SOUTH ORKNEYS. ^ tigated this eastern island thoroughly, and as we had now explored the whole of the group witli- out attaining our object, I concluded that the seals we had found had migrated from some land, probably not very distant. My officers had be- sides ascended a hill, from which they said they hnd seen a range of land lying in the S.£. As bought it probable it might be so, we stood ... that direction, but on the Sdd, in the morn- ing, we were undeceived, for the supposed land was discovered to be a chaiii of immense ice islands, lying E.N.E. and W.S.W. We made various, courses to the southward, and pre- sently arrived at comparatively clear water. At noon our latitude by account was 61** ^0', and longitude 43°. The wind had shifted into the N.W. with a thick fog, on which we hauled to the wind to the N.E. under easy sail. In the afternoon the wind shifted to the W.S.W. and blew a gale, with strong snow squalls. We stood to the southward with little sail, and about midnight passed through a cluster of ice islands. In the morning of the S4th the wind moderated, and it became foggy, and we hove to. In order to avoid separation, the two vessels of necessity sailed very closely, our consort keeping constantly on our weather quarter. Our latitude at noon, by account, was 6S° 35' i the weather continued ibggy, with short intervals of comparatively r t. N'fe,-.,. S6 PKEATHING OF WHALES. clear weather, during which we always bore up to the southward. This very slow manner of sailing w^ teasing, and anprofitable, but in these fogs it was risk enough to drift to the south- ward, lying to. In the evening, indeed, whilst enveloped in fog* the second mate called to me ia tbe cabin, that breakers were close under our lee. I immediately prepared ship to ply to windward, but not seeing the broken water ^gain, I concluded that what the officer saw was the breathing of whales ; which must, indeed, have been the case, as when the fog cleared away nothing like breakers was visible. On S7th at noon we had reached the latitude of 64° 5^\ our longitude by mean of chronometers was 99° ¥y 30''. The variation of the compass at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, by azimuth, was 10" 37' east The temperature of air in the shade was OT* that of water 34** ; but in the rays of the sun, when cloudedr the thermometer rose to 48 degrees. The weather being here so much more settled than in the lower latitudes of 60 and 61 degrees, could .we but find land with produce, I had little doubt, but that in three or four weeks both vessels might have had their cargoes on board. As, however* we were to the southward of South Shetlanda I Itood back to the northward, considering it pror btbln that land might he found between the South Orkneys and glAndwich Land i and as the DEAD WHALE. «7 summer season was now far advanced, it was advisable to examine those lowier- latitudes while the nights were yet but short, ^-' since darkness added to fog makes navigation in an icy sea still more dangerous. We stood to the northward with the wind be- tween S.E. and S.W., and on the S9th at noon our latitude at observation was 61° 18', and lon- gitude by chronometers 40° 32' 1^\ The tem^ perature of air was 34°, that of water 84*^ Ice islands were our cdnfstaht companions, and in- deed they had become so familiar that they were little dreaded. At 11 o'clock at night we passed within two ships' length of iin object, which had the 9i^ pearance of a rock. The lead was immiediately thrown out, but finding no bottom, we continued lying to, till the chief mate ascertained it to be a dead whale very much swollen : such objects^ teen imperfectly in the night, are often alarming. We carried easy sail to the northward with the wind westerly, much fog and falb of snow. On ths 1st of February^ at noon, our latitude was 5B° 50', longitude 36° 51'. As there was no sign of land in thi^ situation, we stood to the south-east, makingl an angle with our course, coming northwar^Viiich would enable us to see land midway. u I 2S REWARD FOB DISCOVERY OF LAND. I had offered a gratuity of 10/. to the man •who should first discover land. This proved the cause of many a sore disappointment ; for many of the seamen, of lively and sanguine imaginations, were never at a loss for an island. In short, fog banks out of number were reported for land ; and many, in fact, had so much that ap- pearance, that nothing short of standing towards them till they vanished could satisfy us as to their real nature. In the morning of the ^d the wind freshened W.S.W. to a gale, which obliged us to lie to ; snow squalls were frequent, and having many ice- islands to pass, we had to make various courses, and changes in the quantity of sail on the vessels. I carefully avoided the tracks of Captains Cook and Furneaux : and I may here remark how nar- rowly Captain Furneaux in the Adventure, in De- cember 1773 and January 177^» escaped seeing South Shetland and the South Orkneys. He passed within 45 miles of the east end of Shet- land and 75 miles of the South Orkneys : hence SO miles, we may presume, of a more southerly course, would have given us a knowledge of South Shetland 50 years ago. Running east in this latitude of from 60° to 6V we were constantly accompanied by all the birds common in these latitudes. Great num- DIS/^'PO'" MENT FROM FOG BANK. 29 bers of finned and hump-backed whales were also seen ; and penguins in large shoals, having for their resting-place some ice island. Being determined to examine these latitudes thoroughly, we constantly hauled to the wind under close-reefed topsails during fogs and the darkest part of the night, bearing up to the east- ward when daylight appeared. On the 4th in the morning land was believed to be seen in the N. £., resembling an island. The signal to that effect was made to our consort, and we carried sdl sail to ascertain the fact; but our pleasing hopes were again speedily dispelled by our illu- sive island sinking below the horizon. We re- turned to our former easterly course, and passed several ice islands, lying east aiid west In fact, we found all the clusters to lie in that direction, which is caused, no doubt, by the prevalent westerly winds carrying them along to the east- ward, and spreading them in proportion to their hold of the water and the surface they present above. By the evening of the 4th we were within 100 miles of Sandwich Land, and within such a distance of the track of Captain Cook, as con- vinced me that no land lay between. Our pursuit of land here, therefore, was now at an end, but I conceived it probable that a large tract might be found a little farther south than Sff: COtX>»i AGUES, AND. RH£Ui>IATISMSi! we- had" yet b^en. I accordiiigly informed Mnl Brisbaiie of my intention of standing to the southward, and he, with a boldness which greatly enhanced the respect I bore him, expressed his willingness to push our research in that direc- tion, thjough we had been hitherto so unsuc- cessfuL: : . The wciather being dark and foggy we stood to the. southward under close-reefed topsails only. At K^p'clock the following morning the temper- ature* ef air was 37, that of water 36 degrees; our latitude at noon, by observation, was 61° 44', and longitude; by chronometers, 31^ 13' 15^, FroiA hailing hftd a long course of dense fogs and frelh gales, the decks of our vessels were constantly wet, which produced amongst our seamen colds, agues, and rheumatisms. To re- medy, this in. some measure, I had the ship's cooking stove moved below for their comfort, and gQod':fires kept for drying their clothes ; and by attending to these matters, and administering, a little medicine, their complaints were soon re- moved* I had alloweji them three wine-glasses of rum a day pervman^ since "vye were in these seas; and their allowance of beef ^nd pork was one pound apd a quarter a man per day ; five ppunds of brefftdt two pints of flour, three of peas, and two of barley, a man per week. These allow- NARROW ESCAPE* 31 K* ances iii 8 cold climate werie rather scanty, but the uncertainty of the length of our voyage re- quired the strictest economy. During the 6th and 7th we passed many ice islands, one of which I estimated to be two miles' in length, and ^0 feet high. The wind pre- vailed between W.S.W. and W. ..W. with foggy and clear weather alternately. At noon we ob- served in latitude 64° 15', and our longitude by chronometers was 30° 46'. The variation by azimuth in the forenoon was 8° 19' easterly. At 10 o'clock at night, the weather being foggy, we narrowly escaped striking an ice island in passing. We hailed our consort, but she was so close to our stern that she passed also viery near to it. The tempeirature of air &t 8 o'clock in the evening was 34°, that of water 36°. In the afternoon of the 9th, the fog clearing away, we saw an appearance of land in the N.W. ^ but, after the usual practice of pursuing all such ap- pearances, we discovered it to be one of cur de- lusive attendants, the fog banks. The wind now shifted to south and blew strong, accom- panied with snow squalls. At daylight in the morning of the 10th the chief mate reported land within sight, in the shape of a sugar loaf; as soon as I saw it I be- lieved it to be a rock, and fully expected to find terra firma a short distance to the southward. 32 DISAPPOINTMENT FROM AN ICE ISLAND. It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon before we reached it ; and not till then, when passing within 300 yards, could we satisfy ourselves that it was not land, but black ice. We found an island of clear ice lying close, and detached above water, though connected below, which made a contrast of colour that had favoured or rather completed the deception. In short, its north side was so thickly incorporated with black earth, that hardly any person at a distance would have hesitated to pronounce it a rock. This was a new disap- pointment, and seriously felt by several of our crew, whose hopes of having an immediate re- ward for their patience and perseverance were again frustrated. The wind was at south and blowing a fresh gale, with which we might have gone rapidly to the northward ; but the circumstance of having seen this ice island so loaded with earth, encou- raged me to expect that it had disengaged itself from land possessing a considerable quantity of soil ', and that our arrival at that very desirable object might, perhaps, not be very distant. These impressions induced me to keep our wind^ and we stood to the S.W. I may here remark that many of ihe doubtful rocks laid down in the chart of the North At- lantic have been probably objects similar to what I have described; and still remain unas- NUMEROUS ICE ISLANDS. 33 certained, to the great annoyance of all cautious navigators. Our latitude at noon was by ac- count 66° 26', and our longitude by chronome- ters 32* 32'. The temperature of air was 35" SO', that of water 34'. On the 11th in the morning the wind shifted to S.W. by S., and we stood to the S.E. At noon our latitude by observation was 65° 32', that of account 65° 53'; and the chronometers giving 44 miles more westing than the log. We had in 3 days experienced a current running N. 64® W. 48 miles : the difficulty, however, of keeping a correct reckoning, from the many changes made in the course and quantity of sail, must subject the error to a suspicion of arising more from bad observation than from a real current We had evidently been set to the northward and west- ward, which is contrary to what is generally the case, as the current almost constantly sets to the eastward. In the afternoon I found the variation by azimuth 12° 2' east. During the 12th and 13th we had the wind from S.S.W., and we stood to the S.E. Ic^ islands were numerous, and on the 14th at noon our latitude by account was 68° 28', and lon- gitude by chronometers 29° 43' 15''. In the afternoon, with the ship's head 'S.S.W. the vari- ation by azimuth was 8° 5' east. At 4 o'clock ice islands were so numerous as almost to prevent 9i PETERELS AND MTHALES. our passing ; sixty-six were counted around us, and for about 50 miles to the south we had sel- dom fewer in sight. On the 15th at noon our latitude observed was 68" 44', by account 69* j this difference of 16 miles in the latitude with easting given by chro- nometers, makes a current in 4 days of N. 53' E. 27 miles. In the forenoon, with the ship's head S. by W., I took a set of azimuths, which to my great astonishment gave the variation but i"* Q(y east; in the afternoon I took a second set, which gave 4" 58'. As I had taken great pains in making the observations, and the instruments were good, however unaccountable this great difference was, I could not do otherwise than abide by the result On the iGth at noon our latitude by account was 70** ^6', and longitude by chronometers S9^ 58' ; the wind was moderate from the west- ward, and the sea tolerably smooth. Ice islatids had almost disappeared, and the weather be- came very pleasant Through the afternoon we had the wind fresh from the N.E., and we steered S.W. by W. In the morning of the 17th the water appear- ing discoloured, we hove a cast of the lead, but found no bottom. A great number of birds of the blue peterel kind were about us, and many hump and finned back whales. i ^ 1 # NS K ^,. V4 •^ PETEBELS AND WHALES. $$ In the morning I took an amplitude, which gave variation IS** 24/ east. The wind had shifted to the S.£. and became light. Our lati- tude at noon by account was 71° 34^ and longi- tude by chronometers $0^ 12', As the weather was now more settled, our consort sailed wide, in order to extend our view. On the 18th the weather was remarkably fine, and the wind in the S.E. Having unfortunately broken my two thermometers, I could not ex- actly ascertain the temperature, but it was cer- tainly not colder than we had found it in De- cember (summer) in the latitude of 6V, With the ship's head S.W. by S. at about 8' 30" in the morning I took a set of azimuths, which gave variation IS' ^3' east At noon our latitude by observation was 7^ 38^ by account 72" 14'; hence, with chronometer difference of longitude, we had been set in three days S. 62** W., distance SO miles. In the afternoon I took a long set of azimuths, which gave variation 19" 58'. This in- crease in so short a distance seemed unsatisfac- tory ; on which account I neglected no oppor- tunity of making observations in order to recon- cile these irregularities. I had all the compasses brought upon deck, and I found them to agree, but rather inactive in traversing. In the evening we had many whales about the «hip, and the sea was literally covered with D 2 36 NO ICE VISIBLE. birds of the blue peterel kind. Not a particle OF ice of any description was to be seen. The evening was mild and serene, and had it not been for the reflection that probably we should have obstacles to contend with in our passage northward, through the ice, our situation might have been envied. The wind was light and easterly during the night, and we carried all sail. The sun's amplitude in the morning of the 19th when the ship's head was S. by £. gave variation 15^ 10' east. The weather being pleasant, our carpenter was employed in repairing a boat, and we were enabled to make several repairs on the sails and rigging. At noon our latitude by observation was JS** 17', and longitude by chronometers 34* 54' 45". In the evening, by several sets of amplitudes, I found the variation to be but 5° 35' east About midnight it fell calm, but pre- sently a breeze sprang up from the S.W. by W., and we hauled on a wind S. by £. In the morning of the SOth the wind shifted to S. by W. and blew a fresh breeze, and seeing a clouded horizon, and a great number of birds in the S.E., we stood in that direction. At 10 o'clock in the forenoon, when the ship's head was E.S.E., I took a set of azimuths, which gave variation 11** SO' east. The atmosphere now became very clear, and nothing like land was to ICE ISLANDS. 37 be seen. Three ice islands were in sight from the deck, and one other from the mast-head. On one we perceived a great number of pen- guins roosted. Our latitude at this time, SOth February, 18^2, was 74° 15\ and longitude 34** 16' 4<5"; the wind blowing fresh at south, prevented, what I most desired, our making far- ther progress in that direction. I would wil- lingly have explored the S.W. quarter, but taking into consideration the lateness of the season, and that we had to pass homewards through 1000 miles of sea strewed with ice islands, with long nights, and probably attended with fogs, I could not determine otherwise t^an to take advantage of this favourable wind for returning. I much regretted that circumstances had not allowed me to proceed to the southward, when in the latitude of 65°, on the 27th of January, as I should then have had sufficient time to examine this sea to my satisfaction. Situated however as I actually was, my atten- tion was naturally roused to observe any pheno- mena which might be considered interesting to science. I was well aware that the making of scientific observations in this unfrequented part of the globe was a very desirable object, and con- sequently the more lamented my not being well supplied with the instruments with which ships fitted out for discovery are generally provided D 3 ss, OBSERVATIONS. ^r As the exact longitude of the ship and of harbours, &c. is of the first consideration, I liad expended 240/. in the purchase of three chr(mo- meters} all of these performed remarkably well, and in particular, one of eight days, CNo. 820.) Murray, London, continued regular in its daily rate of gaining through an unparalleled trial by repeated shocks, which the vessel (but slightly bujlt) sustained during a month among field ice. Such perfection in this most useful machine, can- not be too much appreciated by commanders of ships, who, by assistance of so precise a natUM, can easily avoid embarrassment in critioiii situa^ tions, where many lives and much valuable pro- perty frequently depend on a true knowledge of the ship's place. The laws to which the compass seems to be subject in regard to its variation, have lately un- dergone such accurate investigation by eminent individuals, that the phenomena attending it are now, in a great degree, ascertained. My own actual observations with regard to the variation, are inserted at the end of the volume. Those which I made about the latitude of 60 degrees, are collected for local attraction from the table of experiments made with Mr. Barlow's plate, in H. M. S. Conway, by Cap- tain Basil Hall» and by Mr. Foster ; but the AURORA AUSTRALIS. 39 observations arrived at about the latitude of 70 degrees cannot be reconciled, as to quantity of local attraction, with the theory adopted on the subject : I therefore let them remain at tlve observed results. I found a difference of from Sto 5 degrees between the variation taken at the binnacle and that on the main hatches ; and I have found as great a difference when the .ob- servations were made, even on the same spot, an hour apart In fact, it appeared evident that the magnetic energy of the earth upon the needle was much diminished when far to the south- ward; partly arising, no doubt, from the in- creased dip or diminution of horizontal action on the needle, which must be attracted in an in- creased degree by objects immediately about it This, however, cannot be altogether decided till a more satisfactory theory in respect to the emanation of the magnetic influence has been demonstrated. The Aurora Australis, which Mr. Foster saw in his voyage round the world with Captain Cook in the year 177d> 1 particularly looked for during the time the sun was beneath the horizon, which ^as more than six hours, but nothing of the kind was observable. As the twilight, however, was never out of the sky, that might be the cau«e of its not being visible. D 4 40 FIELD ICE. The remarkable and distorted appearances which objects and the horizon itself assume by re- fraction in high northern latitudes, occurred here but little more than in an ordinary way. The water spouted by whales half an hour after sun- rise in the morning of the 19th exhibited an in- creased refraction, but it soon disappeared. The reason of this phenomenon not existing as singularly in the south as it does in correspond- ing northern latitudes, may be attributed to this sea being clear of field ice. It distinctly appears to me, that the conjecture of Captain Cook, that field ice is formed and pro- ceeds from land, and is not formed in the open sea,, is true. He latterly, however, changes his opinion from having found ice solid in field in the latitude of 70 degrees to the northward of Bhering's Straits. Biit I think it likely that the ice he fell in with there proceeded from land in the north, not more distant, perhaps, than 150 miles. No person can doubt the probability of my conjecture, when it is remembered, that in the latitude of 74° 15' south (which, according to the received opinion of former navigators, that the southern hemisphere is proportionably colder by 10 degrees of latitude than the northern, would be equal to 84** 15' north,) I found a sea per- fectly clear of field ice ; whereas in the latitude of 6r 30', about 100 miles from the land, I was Id irances 5 by re- id here The sr sun- an in- xisting spond- to this ecture d pro- ! open i;es his eld in ard of at the indin n 150 iity of in the to the t the erby i^ould per- itude [ was 1^'' !>'''•■'■ ""t/.- »fraaU.MJi>f I PHENOMENA OF THE SOUTH POLE. 41 beset in heavy packed ice. As in that situation we could not see the land, had I not known of the existence of South Shetland, I might have fallen into the commonly received error, that this ice proceeded continuously from the South Pole. If, therefore, no land exist to the south of the latitude at which I arrived, viz, seventy-four degrees, fif- teen minutes, — being three degrees and five mi- nutes, or 214f geographical miles farther south than Captain Cook, or any preceding navigator reach- ed, how is it possible that the South Pole should not be more attainable than the North, about which we know there lies a great deal of land? The excessive cold of the southern hemis- phere has been variously accounted for, every philosopher adopting that theory which best suited his own hydrographical system. Saint Pierre supposes it to proceed from a cupola of ice surrounding the South Pole, and stretch- ing far northward. We have now better data to go upon ; for though great exertions were used in the years 1773 and 1774 to discover the terra austraUs incognita without success, yet we find there is a range of land lying as far north as the latitude of 61 degrees. We may also conjecture, without much fear of being in the wrong, that the land with which we are acquainted lying in latitude of 61 degrees, and in longitude 54° SO", namely, the east end of m DISCOVERY ANTICIPATED. South Shetland, stretches to the W. S. W., beyond the longitude in which Captain Cook penetrated to the latitude of 71° 10'. It is this land which, no doubt, ought to be looked upon as the source from which proceeds the excessive cold of these regions. The temperature of air and water in the latitude of 60 and 61 degrees, I have men- tioned to be but little above the freezing point. The cold earthless land, and its immense ice islands, which are continually separating in the summer, ^.id are made, by prevailing westerly winds, almost to girdle the earth, is evidently the cause of the very low temperature which prevails. The part of the country which I have seen is without soil, reared in columns of impenetrable rock, inclosing and producing large masses of ice, even in the low latitude of 60^ 45'. It is certain that ice islands are formed only in openings or recesses of land ; and field ice, I think, is not readily formed in a deep sea. On soundings, the water is soon cooled down to the freezing point ; hence iield ice is found at the distance of many miles from any shore. These considerations induce me to conclude, that from having but three ice islands in sight, in latitude 7^ degrees, the range of land, of which I have spoken, does not extend more southerly than the 73d degree. If this be true. DISCOVERY ANTICIPATED. 4a and if there be no more land to the southward, the antarctic polar sea may be found less icy than is imagined, and a clear field of discovery, even to the South Pole, may therefore be anti- cipated. 44 CHAP. III. RETURN TO THE NORTHWARD. — NO SOUTH ICELAND IN THE LATITUDE LAID DOWN IN COMMON CHARTS. — SE- PARATION OF THE VESSELS. — PASSAGE THROUUH ICE ISLANDS. — ARRIVAL OV BOTH SHIPS AT SOUTH GEOR- GIA. — SOUTH GEORGIA. — PENGUINS, AND OTHER OB- JECTS OF NATURAL HISTORY. — SAIh AGAIN. — THE AURORA ISLAND. — ARRIVE AT THE FALKLAND ISLES. Having now determined on returning, I made the signal to our consort to bear up and steer N.W., and we made all possible sail. Our crews were naturally much disappointed at our ill success in not finding a southern land, as their interest in the voyage was to be a pro- portion of the cargo procured. In order, there- fore, to reanimate them by acknowledging their merit, I expressed my approbation of their pa- tient and orderly behaviour, and informed them that they were now to the southward of the lati- tude to which any former navigator had pene- trated. Our colours were hoisted, and a gun was fired, and both crews gave three cheers. These indulgences, with an allowance of grog, dispelled their gloom, and infused a hope that fortune might yet be favourable. In honour of our most gracious Sovereign, the name of King George the Fourth's sea was given to this hitherto unvisited part of the ocean. ;eland in iRXS. •— SB- ROUGH ICB UTH OEOR- OTHER OB- IM. — THB rD ISLES. ; I made ind steer ippointed lem land, 36 a pro- ler, there- ^ng their their pa- ned them fthelati- tad pene- i gun was I. These dispelled t fortune reign, the was given le ocean. 5? 1 -1 I V ■I "1 ^ NORTHERLY CURRENT. 4,5 The wind continued from south till midnight, when it fell calm. In the morning of the 21st a breeze sprang up from the westward. We con- tinued steering N.W., under as much canvass as our consort's slower rate of sailing would admit, and on the QSd at noon, we had returned to the latitude of JV ^25' by observation, and 71° 38' by account ; hence we had experienced a north- erly current of nearly thirteen miles in two days. This northerly set favours the theory of St. Pierre, who supposes such a current to be caused by the fusion of the Polar ices j but if it exist at all, (since it may have been merely an error of reck- oning,) it is certainly too small to effect the >\i'x and reflux of the ocean. In order to gi' e % chance of ascertaining the general curr.!»^«; in these seas, I secured a bottle well with ' e cork, and threw it overboard with a notice inclosed of the state of the sea in latitude 74°, &c. The water again being discoloured, we sounded with 240 fathoms of line, but got no bottom, though 1 am of opinion it would have been obtained at a greater length of line ; but as we had no more, nor a lead sufficiently heavy, we could not be so experimental as I wished. Ice islands now became more numerous, and our consort took on board a quantity of fallen ice for water for present use. In the aflernoon it became calm, and I tried the current by mooring the boat in the I •I P V- I I **' iff ' ill III* I 46 OBSERVATIONS. usual way, and found it setting to the N.E. one- sixth of a mile per hour. At 6 p. m. a breeze sprang up from N.N.E., and we made sail to the westward. The winds continued northerly, sometimes blowing strong with snow, till the evening of the 2dth, when we had another calm. Our latitude at noon by observation was 67° 33', and longitude by chronometers 40° 2'. In the afternoon I took a set of azimuths, which at the binnacle, when the ship's head was west* gave variation 15* 58' easterly. In the forenoon I observed the froth of the sea to lie S.E. and N,W., which, by the observation for latitude and longitude, indicated a current Setting to the S.E. about one-eighth of a mile per hour ; at ten at night a breeze sprang up from the S E., and we made sail. The ^th, being fine in the forenoon, I took a set of azimuths in mid-ships, when the ship's head was N.W., which gave variation 22° 8'. In the afternoon, when the ship's head was N.W., a second set gave only 11° 00' easterly. This last observation was taken at the binnacle, but the ship's local attraction was not sufficient to account for the great difference in the results. In the night of the ^yth the wind freshened at south with snow squalls, and wc steered N.N. W., carrying as much sail as we could safely navigate with among ice islands. On the ^th at noon SMALL ICE LANDS. 4f7 our latitude by observation was 65'' ^, and longi- tude by chronometers 40^ 4>5\ We had now little ice in sight, in ccmparison with what appeared when in nearly the same latitude on the 27th of January. In the evening we hauled up N.W. by W. to look into the longitude of 45°. The first of March being fine, I took several sets of azimuths, all of which produced nearly the same result. Having used the same instruments, and the ob- servers being the same as when in the latitude of 67° and upwards, I was persuaded that thie former diiferencss did not arise from inaccuracies of ob- servation, but rather from the inactivity or in- sufficiency of the needle. The mean of azimuths gave variati tn 16" 31'. Our latitude at noon by observation was ()3° 29', and longitude 42° 41'. On the Sd in the morning it blew a strong breeze from N.W. and the weather was foggy ; in the afternoon it cleared up, and we saw an appear- ance of land in the S.£. but it presently vanished. At midnight the wind shifted to north, and blew a gale with snow squalls. In reaching to the westward We fell in with many small ice islands, and we wore ship to the N.E. : the weather con- tinued foggy with strong gales till the 4th in the morning, when it moderated, and M noon we had clear weather. Our latitude by observation being 63" 21', and longitude by chronometers 45** 22', we were in a situation to have seen what is re- Ik $ I* li |! ,i m 48 PARTING OF THE SHIPS. presented on the South Atlantic chart in common use, as South Iceland, but, alas ! no such place exists. It is much to be regretted that any men should be so ill-advised as to propagate hydrographical falsehoods ; and I pity those who, when they meet with an appearance that is likely to throw some light on the state of the globe, are led through pusillanimity to forego the examination of it. But the extreme reluctance I have to ex- cite painful feelings any where, restrains me from dealing that just censure which is due to many of my fellow seamen, who, by negligence, narrow views of pecuniary interest, or timidity, have omitted many practicable investigations, the want of which continues to be fell by the nation, and more especially by merchants and ship- owners. DuriL-.' the night of me 5th, the weather being foggy, we lost sight of the Beaufoy, and though we made several tacks we were then unable to regain sight of her. lu the night of the 6th, the wind shifted suddenly from N.N. W. toS.W., and left a most distressing sea, which obliged us to heave to: at da}^ light, not seeing any thing of the Beaufoy, I concluded that she was making the best of her way to South Georgia, the place of rendezvous. I was uneasy at our separation, for although I had full confidence in the care and ICE ISLANDS. 49 ability of Mr. Brisbane,. I still wished to have continued my attentions, more particularly on account of our being among ice islands. In the morning of the 7th it blew a gale from S. W. and this being a favorable wind we steered N. by £. under a close-reefed main topsail, reefed fore- sail, and reefed fore-top-mast staysail, with which in squalls we ran at the rate of 10 miles per hour. At 6 A.M. we were under the necessity of work- ing through a cluster of ice islands which having much fallen ice about them, the passage was rendered very dangerous : I was, according to the best practice, attempting to steer to windward of most of them ; but the sea running too high, we were obliged to keep before the wind. The chief mate was stationed in the foretop to look out for low ice in the hollow of the sea ; and it was only by strict regard to the helm, and the sails, that we happily got through without an accident. With a free side wind an ice island should be passed on the windward side, as by this means the loose ice, which aiways drifts farthest, is avoided. Though this gale was so violent as to produce a sea which cleared the decks of almost every movable, it was from so favorable a quarter for sailing homeward, that we could net afford to Hy to through ^^e night on account of iq? ; huu leptal) ihti pt« ^.ie of the watch looking out'/;.. E mm t ft .♦.'> 50 SOUTH GEORGIA. 1 a^head ; and thus we passed several ice islands without danger. On the 9th, in the morning, the wind mode- rated and shifted into the N.N.W. We had made during the last gale 349 miles of distance, and at noon our latitude by observation, was 55'' 21', and longitude by chronometers, 38" 55' by D. R. 49" 12\ We were now far enough north to be relieved from the fear of falling in with ice, and the navigation became compara^ tively easy. Up to the 12th we had variable winds from the northward and westward accompanied with thick fog ; and at 8 o'clock in the morning, the weather becoming clear, to our great joy we discovered our little consort in the N.W., and soon after we communicated and found all well. With the wind blowing strong at west, we steered to the northward in company ; and at 10 A.M. we saw the island of South Georgia, bearing N. by W. distant about 9 or 10 miles. Notwith- standing the forbidding appearance of this land, every one, I believe, in the two vessels, feasted his eyes upon it; and at 3 in the afternoon both ships came to anchor in Adventure Bay, (S.W. part of Georgia,) in 7 fathoms water, over a bottom of strong clay. Our arrival here, though it was not a country the most indulgent, we considered to be a very SOUTH GEORGIA. l^ happy event. Our sailok's h&d suffered much from cold fogs and wet during the two ikibnths they had been navigating the south ; and as we had been nearly 6 months under sail, the appear- ance of scurvy (that disease so fatally al^ei^dant on long voyages) was to be dreaded. OUr veal^ sels, too, were so much weather-beateh, that they greatly needed refitting ; so that taking into ac- count our many pressing wants, this island, though inhospitable, was capable of affording us great relief. Our crews here fed plenteously on greens which, although bitter, are very salutary, being an excellent antiscorbutic : with regard to meat, we were supplied with young albatrosses, that is to say, about <^ year old : the flesh of these i^ sweet, but not sufficiently Hrm to be compared with that of any domestic fowl. Our harbour duties, and a search lipoii the island for animals for our cargo, were immiediately commenced and carried on with zeal, although we experienced frequent interruptions from heavy gales which vrere now prevalent ; it being near the time of the autumnal equinox of this hemisphere. I took opportunities of making various observ- ations on sffm^, and found the head of the bay to lie in latitude 54>^ ^ 48", and in longitude, by the mean of two of the best of my chronometers, E 2 I r I I f,<'' 52 SOUTH GEORGIA. SS" 8' 4". The variation of the compass at the same place by azimuth, was 11° 15' east The head of this bay being surrounded with moun- tains, I ascended the top of one of them for the purpose of taking the altitude of the sun when at some distance from the meridian, but after planting my artificial horizon, I was surprised to find, that although there was not a breath of mad, and every thing around perfectly still, yet the mercury had so tremulous a motion, that I could not get an observation. The ground was evidently agitated internally ; though it was only ' by means of the quicksilver that I could de- tect it On the 17th of April, our harbour business being completed, both vessels put to sea, and with the wind at east, we directed our course towards the Falkland Islands. South Georgia, it appears, was discovered by a Monsieur La Roche, in the year 1675. It was visited by a vessel called the Lyon in 1756 j but was not explored till Captain Cook did so in the Resolution, in the year I77I. I need not remind the reader of the great advantages navigation, and geography in general, have acquired from thp discoveries and inves- tigations of that able n or ; but the public may not be aware of tlie great ^tent to which ■'% -if SEA ELEPHANTS AND FUR SEALS 53 his researches in the South, in partic *'ar, have been beneficial to Great Britain. His official report regarding the island of South Georgia, in which he gave an account of the great number of sea-elephants (called by him sea-lions), and fur seals, found on the shores, induced several enterprising merchants to fit out vessels to take them ; the elephants for their oil, and the seals for their skins. These animals are now almost extinct ; but I have been credibly informed that, since the year in which they were known to be so abundant, not less than 20,000 tons of the sea-elephant oil has been procured for the London market. A quantity of fur seal- skins were usually brought along with a cargo of oil; but formerly the furriers in England had not the method of dressing them, on which account they were of so little value, as to be almost neglected. At the same time, however, the Americans were carrjdng from Georgia cargoes of these skins to China, where they frequently obtained a price of from 5 to 6 dollars a-piece. It is ge- nerally known that the English did not enjoy the same privilege; by which means the Americans took entirely out of our hands this valuable article of tra fe. The number of skins brought from off Georgia by ourselves and foreigners cannot be estimated E S IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) %.<.^ A^ 1.0 ^1^ tii ^^^ lu fSi |2.2 1.1 fV^i iL25 IHI 1.4 12.0 m 1.6 ^' ^:^' ^j" ^ Photographic ^Sciences Corporation 13 Vmr MAM STMIT WIUTM,N.V. USM (7t*)l73-4S03 . ISLAND OF GEORGIA. at fewer than 1,200,000. I may here also femar|c» that the Island of Desolation, which Captain Cook likewise visited, and ^rst made known, has been a source of scarcely less profit than the island of Georgia. Hence it may be presumed, that during the time these two islands, have been resorted to for the purpose of tmde, mpre tl^an @000 tons of shipping, and firom two to three hundred seamen have been employed annually in this traffic. Having thus given an idea of the value of what has already been discovered in the South Seas, I shall say something of the island of Georgia as to its extent and peculiarities. The island is about 9^ miles long, an4 its mean breadth about IQ. It is so indente4 with bays, that in several places, where they are oq opposite sides, they are so deep as to make the distance from the one side to the other very small. Near the west end in particular, there is a neck pf this kind, about half a mile broad, over ^hich boats are frequently transported, r^ r Dalrymple, in a very old chart, represents this island as having a channel quite through it^ which may probably have been the case, since» near the middle, there is an ice-berg, yhich seema to run from side to side. The tops of the mountains ar^ loily^ and per- petuaUy covered with snow ; but in the valleys PENGUINS. 9$ daring the summer season, vegetation is rather abundant. Almost the only natural production of the soil is a strong bladed grris, the length of which is in general about two feet; it grows in tufts on mounds three or four feet from the ground. No land quadrupeds are found here ; birds and amphibious animals are the only inhabitants : • — of the bird tribe, the king penguin is the most worthy of notice. The penguins (or, as they ought properly to be called, pinguins, the name being evidently derived from the Latin word pinguedo, on account of its fatness,) are of 8 very gregarious nature. They go in large flocks along the shore, erect, and with a wad- dling gait When seen through a hazy atmo- sphere, they may be not inaptly mistaken for a body of men ; and, indeed. Sir John Narborough has whimsically likened them to " Httle children standing up in white aprons." Those which he describes, however, were a very diminutive spe« des in comparison with the king penguin, the bird to which I refer. In pride, these birds are perhaps not surpassed even by the peacock, to which in beauty of plu* mage they are indeed very little inferior, —-as may be seen in our principal museums. During the time of moulting, they seem to repel each other with disgust, on account of the ragged state E 4 56 PENGUINS. of their coats ; but as they arrive at the rnkximum of splendour they re-assemble, and no 'One who has not completed his plumage is allowed to enter the community. Their frequently looking down their front and sides in order to contemplate the perfection of their exterior brilliancy, and to remove any speck which might sully it, is truly amusing to an observer. About the beginning of January they pair, and lay their eggs. During the time of hatch- ing, the male is remarkably assiduous, so that when the hen has occasion to go off to feed and wash, the egg is transported to him, which is done by placing their toes together, and rolling it from the one to the other, using their beaks> to place it properly. As they have no nest, it is to be remarked, that the egg is carried between the tail and legs, where the female, in particular, has a cavity for th jrpose. The hen keeps cnarge of her young nearly a twelvemonth, during which time they change and complete their plumage; and in teaching them to swim, the mother has frequently to use some artifice ; for when the young one refuses to take the water, she entices it to the side of. a rock, and cunningly pushes it in, and this is repeated until it takes the sea of its own accord. There are three other kinds of penguins, all of them nearly of the same size, but little more than . PENGUINS. half the' bigness of that which I have described. Their plumage is not near so iine» but they walk erect, and are of the same form with the king penguin. The names fcty which they are dis- tinguished are, the macaroni, the jack-ass, and the stone-cracker pengwn. The macaroni is so called from its having been likened to a fop or macaroni, though I must confess I do not see the similitude. The next has its name from the noise it makeSf which resembles the braying of an ass. And the third is denominated from its pecking or cracking stones when irritated. All these birds have a practice of cunningly steal- ing from one another, during the time of nett» building, the materials of which they are con- structed. They differ from the king penguin in these particulars, and also in having nests, which are sometiincs in the sides of tussac mounds, but generally on the side of a hill, and are composed of a few sticks and stones. They remain with their young but four monthly viz. from January to April, at which time they take them off shore for several successive days to the distance of four or five miles, in order to accustom them to the water ; and when they can endure it, they go off to ^a. The Albatross (the Diomedia of ornithology) is a bird which has been oflen seen by naviga- tors off the Cape of Good Hope, and in south- s% THE ALBATROSS. era latitudes, and has been frequently described; but as the species abounds in the island of Georgia, I shall record some observations I have made in regard to their domestic habits, &c. A full grown albatross sometimes measures 16 or 17 feet from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other when expanded ; but more commonly they average about 12 feet These birds are so abundantly covered with feathers that, when plucked, they appear not above one half the original size, and our astonishment at their apparent magnitude immediately vanishes. I have found them when cleaned, to weigh from 12 to ^ lb. There is something humorously remarkable in their way of mating ; the couple approach one another with great apparent ceremony, bringing their beaks repeatedly together; swing, ing their heads, and contemplating each other with very deliberate attention. Sometimes tliis will continue for two hours together, and to a person inclined to be amused the whole trans# action would appear not unlike one of our oWn formal courtships in pantomime. They havd great power in their beaks, and, when on the nest, I have observed them defend themselves for half an hour against an active dog. Their feet are webbed and remarkably large, 80 that when the water is smooth they ean walk THE NEI^LY. on the surface with hardly any assistance from their wings, and the noise of their tread is heard at a considerable distance. Their eggs are inferior to those of geese, but they have jies^ yolk, and more white in proportion to their size, and weigh generally one pound and three quar- ters. All birds of the albatross and gull kind lay their eggs in October, and, when ne^ laid, they are a great source of refreshment. The bird next in size found here, is caUed by s^Iors a Nelly : it is of the peterel kind, ai>jd of a mixed grey and brown colour, haying an unpleasing appearance, and being extremely voracious. Their fondness for blubber often induces them to eat so much that they are unable to fly. A flocjc of perhaps ^ve or six hundred has been known to devour 10 tons of the sea-elephant f^t in six qr eight hours. From tl:is appetite for oily fqod, their flesh is uneat- able, nor are their eggs so good as those of the other.birds I have mentioned. »» Th^ smaller c^eanic birds pf the southern hemisphere have, for the most part* a residence in this island ; but as they are well known it ia unnecessary to enumerate them. I fear that in the description of these animals I have been tedious, since by some readers, snch remarks may be considered as of Uttle nnport^ anqe i but ^e bints which the peculiar instincta 60 TH£ SHAG ROCKS. of these creatures furnished, I have preferred to a minute detail of their dimensions and co- lours, with which the public are already well ac- quainted. Halving given an idea of the value of Southern Discoveries to Great Britain, and said all that is necessary of the animals fallen in with, I shall return to the journal of our voyage. At S o'clock on the 17th of April, the east end of Georgia bore N.£. ^ N. distant about 14 miles. The wind freshened at south, and pro- duced a cross and disagreeable sea : on the 18th the wind was southerly, and the weather foggy, which prevented my getting sight of the shag rocks as I had intended. They are represented as situated in the latitude 53° 48', and longitude 43** Sd', and are said to be even with the water, which I believe not to be the case, as I have been credibly informed, that they appear in three pinnacles, or in the shape of sugar loaves 60 or 70 feet high, with a reef running round them. These reefs, I presume, have given rise to the supposed existence of the Aurora Islands. The Atrevida Spanish man of war having been sent, in 1796, to survey what are called the Auroras, probably saw these rocks, and by a confused con- currence of circumstances, the commander sup- posed he had discovered three ishmds, which were accordingly officially reported to the Spanish THE 8HA0 ROCKS. 61 government These islands have since found a place in pur charts with the track of the Atrevida round them j giving credit to which every body has been led to believe in their existence : con- sequently as they lie in the track of ships bound round Cape Horn, the notion must be a great hinderance to navigation. An instance of this appeared in the case of a friend of mine, who informed me that once hav- ing had to lay to for daylight with a fair wind on account of these islands, his passage round the Cape was much protracted. But as we are now near the place when this supposed Spanish discovery was made* it may lot be improper to give an account of a search I my- self made for these islands in my first voyage in the year 1820. But to shew how undisputed the authority id for their existence, I shall first Insert a translation of official reports fi*om the Spanish, relating to this matter. It is as follows : ^i .. . )t9 W 9i)Ull«f.l Extracts translated from the Publications qf the Royal Hydrographkal l^xiety (if Madrid, pulh- Ushed by Authority in 1809. Memoria segunda, tomo l^;}. 51, 52. *< THE AURORA ISLANDS. ** We do not learn that they ever were seen before the year 1762, in which they were dis- ..,jfr<.i^> m AURORA ISLANDS. covered by the ship Aurora, which gave them her name. In 1790 they were likewise seen again by the ship Princess belonging to the Royal Philippine Company, Captain Manuel de Oyar- vido, who shewed us his journal in Lima, and gave us some information with regard to their situation. In 1794» the corvette Atrevida went purposely to situate them, having practised in their immediate vicinity from the 21st to Syth of January all the necessary observations, and mea- sured by chronometers the difference of longi- tude between these islands and the port of Sole- dad in the Maluinas (or Falkland Isles). The islands are three : they are very nearly in the same meridian : the centre one is rather low, and the other two may be seen at nine leagues' distance. ** Their latitudes and longitudes are as follows : Latitude of the most south- <> r w o i n em island. 58 15 22 S; Longitude west of Cadiz. 41 40 00 Long. Cadiz and Gr. 6 17 15 ^* ^'* 47 57 15 Latitude of the second is- land or the low one. 55 2 40' Longitude west of Cadiz. 41 38 COW. Gr.47 S5 15 liatitude of the third island which has hitherto been undiscovered, and there- fore called New Island. 58 37 24 .8. Longitude from Cadiz. 41 26 00 tledaced to Gr. long. 6 17 15 W.Gr. 47 43 15 W. a»— CRUISE OF TH£ ATREVIDA. 63 •'The captain ofthe Princess says, that to E.S.K of the island, most to the south, at the distance of 11 miles, there is a bank or shoal, but the cor- vette Atrevida, which made various efforts to find it, could not discover it, and only saw different banks of snow, which, at some distance, ap- peared like banks or shoals." The above is given as the conclusive testimony of all the surveys ; here follow certain particu- lars less known : — Appendix to the above-mentioned Work, vol. 1. p. 213. Number IV. " An Account of the Campaign or Cruize of the Corvette Atrevida from the Time of her leaving the Maluinas in January, IVO'l'* in search of the Islands Aurora, until her Arrival at Montevideo on the 15th February following. ** Havingfinished with all possible exactness the observations we had to make in Port Sdedad, and having embarked the instruments and whatever belonged to the corvettes, it was determined on the 10th qX January to weigh anchor and make sail. The wind had been fresh all day fixmi S. W., but it' calmed towards evening ; and on endeavouring to raise the anchor in that point it 64^ CRUIZE OF THE ATREVIDA. was found so tenaciously embedded that the launch suffered much. From midnight the ne- cessary labour was continued, and at daylight we got under weigh, the boats having been first taken in. " The wind at the time was west, and we im- proved it under all sail to the E.S.E. This cruise (or campaign) had for its only object to search for tfie Aurora Islands (whose position^ was considered as uncertain), from 12f to 15' of latitude, and 7° of longitude, according to the difierent reckonings of the navigators who had given information concerning them. We took advantage of the winds sometimes favourable, sometimes contrary to our course, keeping in the parallel of 5Sy, and with prudent precaution de- termined to lie by at nights. On the 15th our ob- servations and the sight of gulls and other birds gave us indications of being near the islands. In these lyings to, we suffered the double martyrdom of losing precious time, and encountering rollings and a cold that were insufferable even to those who had just experienced the intemperance of Cape Horn. " At day-break on the I6th, we saw two large banks of snow or ice distance 5 miles to the N.£. The pyramidal figure would not have failed to have flattered our hopes if their proximity had not destroyed the illusion ; latitude 53* 40' the l4 "— r''S«'-i,i»WM>»w;;v,... ».»-»t».iaKM CRUIZE OF THE ATBEVIDA. «^ parallel of the islands prevented us advancing a mile, without a clear horizon. « Until the 18th, in the morning, continued a fog : the wind was not much, but the sea was still very cross. The observation of mid-day was 54" 11' S. of latitude, half a degree south of the parallel established for our investigations. We luffed immediately, to gain what we had lost, with every possible sail. In the evening we dis- covered a large hummock in the form of a sugar- loaf^ which we took for a bank of snow. All the next day and night the fog continued, so that we could not distinguish objects at half a mile's distance. « On the SOth in the evening, after some hours of calm, and variable winds, it blew from the S. S. £., and somewhat cleared away. We steered east, and on the ^Ist, at mid-day, found our- selves in latitude 53" 40' S., and longitude 42" W. Cadiz (equal to longitude 48" 17' 15" W. Greenwich.) " At 5i P. M. we perceived to the northward, at a great distance, a dark lump, which appeared to all of us like a mountain of ice. Notwithstand- ing, we bore away for it under a press of sail ; and when we were near it, we saw distinctly a great mountain in the form of a pavilion (or tent) divided vertically into two parts; the p m CRUIZE or THE 4.TB£yi]XA* eastern extremity white, and the me$tem v^ dark; on which latter ;si(jie W9» a 4DOW)rbaii4( *-* and we also noitic^d losne bieaks tUi ^ dark fltceak. ** We all agreed that ftlus wa« the island ; ^ we saw no other, and none of jtbe ciicunntanca^ ilgreed with those reported of th& 4'iu^ro^ * * Extracts frAOB MOM )of those voyages. ^Jbi4l76f » tM-fliqp Aurorfi, on her return fr«m Lima,jM«r twoisland^* SSJiii)^e9 to the W. of the Maluinas, according to account* running 9i. S. and S. W., distant 2^ to S leagues. The eastern wta Ahe smallest, and had a rjeef srbicfa iSXtendad tomMrds Iha other ; leaving, however, a clear channel, tlvwif^ which thai ship passed. The western had 5 to € miles in extent, from N. to S. On their inaccessible sides, they could not per- ceiiw any hays. One jnile tolhe nwth, ino soundinga with l^ fathoms. The cbseiwations of the same 4ay j^a«iad t$ in 5S® 15' S., and in Sis'* 82^ of longitude from the meridian of Teneriffe, corrected to the sight of making Ascension.** *'ln 1769, the shipSon Miguel being inthe lat. f^B$°9lfB*, and long. S16° 86' from Teneriffe, saw six humm«Qkii liC land of different sizes; aud thinking them to be the jalamb Beauchene, to the southward of the Maluinas, corrected thdr reckoning, and afterwards made to the island of Ascension in 8% when ;tbey thought themselves in the meridian of Trinidad* or Ascension of America. So snormous * d«& ference of lllj^'' made them suspect that the^y had betn th^ Auroras.*' '■** In 1774, the ship Ausora saw one .e«V 4/ 0" W. of Cadiz. The wind was now at S.W., and we hauled to the southward, seeking in higher latitudes more favourable winds to get to the westward, and make the coast of Patagonia. «* On the 24th at mid-day, we were in 55° 28' latitude S. ; and as we did not meet better winds, but rougher seas and most intense colds, it was resolved to lessen the latitude, in search of more favourable weather. We stood to the northward, on the larboard tack, with all sail ; and on the 26th, at evening, discovered to the £. ^ N. E. a white lump, which at first appeared to us a field of ice ; but its immobility soon convinced iM that it was an island. It is a large rock, making in sharp pinnacles, but formed like a saddle-hilK The N. £. was covered with snow, but the south- em part, being perpendicular, would not retain It* At a mile from this last point, there ex* tended several breakers, termirating in 4»maU SEARCH #0R THE AURORAS* 63 islands. We coasted along this great rock at a regular distance, and sounded frequently^ without finding bottom. On the S7th, in th& morning, we had good observations of latitude and longitude ; which, referred to the said island^ placed it in 52** ST 24" S. latitude, and ^l** 26' longitude west of Cadiz.** In consequence of the credibility of these documents, I was induced to make a strict search for these islands $ and shall now, for the benefit of navigation, relate the circumstances of the: investigation. Having examined the daily rates of my chro^^ nometers in the harbour of St John's in Staten* Land, and taken on board a supply of wood and water, we weighed anchor on the 27th of Janu^ ary, 1820, and made sail ^o the eastward. At eight o'clock P. M. the east end of Staten Land bore S.W. by W., distant five leagues. During the 28th and 29th, the wind was from W. N. W. with hazy weather; at noon our latitude was 53* 17', and longitude 55'' 22'. We continued under a press of sail, keeping the latitude of 53^ 15', and on the 31st we had fine wea^ ther with the wind from the northward. In the forenoon we passed some kelp, and had several birds about the ship, which gave me hopes that we were approaching the islands* F 3 70 8SAB€K rOB THS. AUBOIUS«> Our latitude^ at Booa» by ohservitioD 5Sf* 47' Sk, and longjufcude by chroiMiiieter» 48^' 47' W^ and by D. R. 48'' d8^ Iii.th« ewik. kig I observed Uie vadatioa of the oompaaa ta be 16** 11^ At leves in the evenuag; we had passed over the (bad down) latitude and longU tude of these islands, without ohserviag the leaat appearance of land. We obtained and continued in the parallel of latitude^ running through the pilace assigned to them till we arrived in the longitude of 46°. I comidered this allowaaee foe error in longitude to be prett? ample ^ particuhirisy^ since the Atrevida sailed from Port Sokdad ia the Falkland Islands | from which, to the pUce fiu: our investigation, was but about three di^s* sail : hence her common xeckcming could not have erred mucK and she had chronometera which should have been nearly exact. These considerations produced in n^ mind a degree of surprise ^ aiul I could not, at that momentt reconcile my experience with the jkcts wlddk had been asserted. I was resolved* however* not to abandon the object of my pursuitt without being M]y satisfied of the truth or fiJsity of this geographical problemw It was now remarkably clear ; (snd^ from the masthead* land of common height might have been aeen at the diatance of eight lei^uJM^ but ttUl> nothiiB^ of the kind was observed. We next steevtd S. & S. into tttMACil fOK ifH^ AURdRA9. 7t ^e ktttode of 33"* 1% and then W. by S., in ordef to get sight of the southern iaknd ; but in vttn -^ not the snudlest indication of land appeared. On the Sd» it blew a strong gate fh)ni the N. N. W* with thick weatiia? ; and we hove to, under a doBe^'reefed main^topsail, sent downl the tc^l-galknt yards, and struck the masts. At noon the weather cleared up, and we got the meridian altitude of the sun, which gave latitude 99^ 5^f and our longitude by ehronometers was 46* (^, our latitude by D. R. being SS" 30'. We had- experienced a northerly current of 99 miles^ pot of which must be attributed to error oi reckoning. The situatioa for the middle island bore now Sr ^'^ £.r distant eight miles^ We had a dear view of ^ ot 7 leagues^ but nothing like land was to be seen. The only chance now left us fbr finfding these Auroras, I conceived, was by making varioua courses between the latitudes* o# 99* W and50* d?'; and this we (tid, till we reacAedthe longitude by ohronometert of 46^ 29'* Ifoving all this lime seen nothing resem^ bling land^ except ibg^banks which had often givea us severa disappointment, we returned westward ; and» on Ihe 5th, our latitude at noon was* W Wr Skid longitude by chronometera 49* 99^.^ Wtf had thus again passed over th-^ f 4 72 PROBABLE CAUSER OF MISTAKE site of these islands to no purpose. On tiie 6th^ our latitude by observation was 53° 24', and lour fpltude by chronometers 49° 49'. We continued to stand to the westward under easy saily with, the wind northerly ^ and on the 7th, our latitude by observation was 53** 33', and longitude by chronometers 51° 5'. Having thus diligently searched through the supposed situation of the Auroras, I concluded- that the discoverers must have been misled by appearances; I therefore considered any further cruize to be an impro- vident waste of time ; and, to the gratification of my officers and crew, directed, our course ta the Falkland Islands. From the apparent validity of the printed do- cuments setting forth the existence of the Au- roras, I was naturally led to consider in what way those Spanish officers could have fallen into so great a mistake. There are two wAys in which it might be accounted for, (with men tin- accustomed to traversing cold and tempestuous seas, encumbered with ice,) and into which they might easily fall in their conclusions. The re- ports of voyagers previous to the cruize of the Atrevida are, from their imperfect knowledge of the science of navigation^ not much deserving of attention. The investigation performed by the Atrevida, however, is certainly a matter of some consequence, firom their having been particularly OF THE SPANISH NAVIGATORS. 73 instructed to ascertain the situation of these islands ; and it was to be expected, therefore, chat this hydrographical point should have been left undoubted. They sailed from Port Soledad on the 14th of January, having chronometers on board, a cir- cumstance which Ought to have insured ac' curacy, and proceeded into the vicinity of the place pointed out for their research. On the 21st, they saw an island ; which, as they express it, appeared like a great mountain, in the form of a pavilion or tent divided vertically into two parts. This may possibly have been the Shag Rocks, which lie nearly in the same latitude^ but differ six degrees in longitude. About this time, much ice was found drifting from the southward, and it is probable that it had formed round the base of these rocks ; and the peaks ap- pearing above, clear of snow, and black, would leave no doubt of that part being land. The ice formed on the south side, and probably^ forced on this reef of rocks,, might be taken for a range of land covered with snow ^ and upon the same data it may be presumed that what they describe as the second island was an ice-berg) and the third, which is described as having been seen on the ^th, was, perhaps, the same as that which was seen on the Slst, viz, the Shag Rocks^. with the appearance of the base altered by the 74 Non^xtsiVKCib ov mn avaqsas. ice having shifted its positioilr The of longitude hetxr&m the Shag Rock» and tiM place aangned to the Auroraa seems hardly to admit of my conjecture of their being the same^ but it is wcU known, that the kmgitude of jdades, in many instance^ has been egrcjg^oasly misre-*- presented, from assuming differ^t meridians^ a* idso fivrn t3^M>grapfaicat and various other mis* takes resulting from ignorance. The only other way in which a reason can be advaneed to account for the falhtey of thu di»* eoveiy is^ thai what th^ saw were att ice^istands, incofporated with eatth^ similar to the on« which I hav» mentioned havii^ seen far to the southward. Having thu9 brought to a condusioiv what I consider a subject of interest to hydrographical scienee» vix. the ascertaining the non-existence i3£ these islands, I now return to our own posi- tion, when by reason of fftggy weather we were unabfo to get sight of the Shag Rocks. We proceeded to the westward under as modi siuA as we could cariy y but the wind was so con^- thnially shifting between S;W. and N^W. that we ma^ but little progress : and our only tAvma^ tage was obtained by tacking a» the wind shifted^ for however short a time. The ibre-lopsail w«s< almost eeostanlfy elose^reefed, and fipequentlf fhrled. Our consort continued in^ esoipaay, mA JUXm OF BOWSPBIT. 73 we begleetod ao oppoirtunity of making weatiog. On the 9Sd of Aprd» our latitude b^ obrarvatioii vtn S4»^ 16\ and longitude by chronomcton 46" 49, by D. R. 47'' H'. During the 23d and a4th» ve hod the wind from east to south ; but at noon of the S4th it shifted into the S.W. The weather continued to be veiy unsettled % and the wind often shifts ing» and continuing to blow hard» produced a sea so irregular^ that several of our f^ouds and badntays were carried away i and but €ot the precaution I had taken, of having equal to three additional shrouds on a side, to the lower masta^ we certainly should have lost them. Sailing in the neighbourhood of the supposed Auroras, with long nights and heavy gales, would have caused great anxiety had we not been previously satisfied of their non-existence ; and I certainly felt gratified at deriving this benefit from the pains I had formerly taken to ascertain that cir- cumstance. On the dd, at noon, it blew a heavy gale at W, S. W. and we lay to. In the afternoon our consort lost her bowsprit, by a heavy ser passing over it, though only a small part of it was then without the bows. We fortunately had a spar, with which we supplied her, when the weather became moderate. On the 9td of Mqjf, at noon, our Utitude by 7« ARRIVAL AT THE FALKLANDS. observation was 58** 44', and longitude by chro^ nometers 59° 2?', and by D. R. 61** 6'. The weather was still boisterous ; but every interval, during which sail could be made, was gladly embraced ; and the following day, at 11 o'clock, we saw the island of Beauchene, bearing N.W., by W. distant 6 leagues. We proceeded to the westward, along the south side of the Falklands, and, owing to a succession of adverse gales, and a strong easterly current, - We did not get into harbour till the 11th of May, when we came to anchor in New Island, st the west end of the Falklands. 77' *T/.<'KI fiV CHAP. IV. DEATH OV A SEAMAN; SUPERSTITIONS. — FALKLAND ISLANDS. —-^CAPTAIN BARMARd's NARRATIVE OP HIS SOLITARY RESIDENCE ON NEW ISLAND. — LQSS OP THE CORVETTE l'uRANIE. — MUTINY ON BOARD THE ,HE- ROIND. ■^— FALKLAND ISLANDS TAKEN POSSESSION OP RV CAPTAIN JEWITT* FOR THE PATRIOT GOVERNMENT OF BUENOS AYRE8. My intention being to winter here, I chose an anchorage in Quaker Harbour, in Swan Island, for our winter quarters, struck the brig's top- masts, and made her secure in all respects against the heavy gales which might be expected.' The cutter I kept efficient, for the purpose of pursu- ing our business. It would be tedious to narrate minutely our daily proceedings, I shall therefore mention only "what particularly occupied my attention. Our cooper and carpenters constructed estab- lishments on shore for carrying on their respect- ive duties, and our general harbour arrangements were made. I ^was particular in observing the winds and weather, as I was quite aware that few people are acquainted with the nature of this climate. An abstract of these observations I shdl give in another place. ^ In brder to avoid the necessity of shortening the voyage, on account of provisions, I reduced 78 DEATH OP A SEAMAN. each man's allowance, in both vessels* to half a pound of salt meat per day; four pounds of bread, one pint of flour, three half pints of oatmeal, and the same of peas, for each man, per week. The want of flesh meat was madel^up witl> what a faimtiog party could pn>cure^ together with the geese found on the shores ; which, thongh ■exoesstvdy fishy, were well ralished witii a keen appetite. On the 18th of June» on returning to the brig, from a cruuse in the Beaufoy, I received the dis- tressing information of a man having died in my absence* His name was Francisco Antonio ; he was a native of Tercier% one of the western islands. It appeared that John Atkinson, the car- penter, had done every thing for him which his incompetent skill in physic, though prompted by a feeling heart, could suggest $ but without avsiL The deceased had been several months in a conr siimptk>n, and was likewise subject to cran^p in the bowels ( of which it appeared he had ^sd^ By the time I anived, he had been dead three dMy% and the carpenter had prepared a coffin. The ceremony of interment now only remained, which we immediately performed in Swan IsUnd* I read the funenil service of the Ev^f lish church over the body; and» to made omt the spot^ we placed a board at the head of the g»ve. .>< surmmnov m maven. n The dostb of thin vam ttado such « tnfkiu ^boly inpfession oa the niB4 of the cooper in purtioulw* th»t his h«alth waa » good deal iin* paired. He had been about the deeeaaed dufiog b«8 illneis, and wm present at his death ( and, having only the (company of the carpenter and a boy* in «n unii^bited country* with no variety vhi(^ might have 4iyerted h^s itttention l^nm the contemplation of so mournful an event* a weakness of mind was the consequence. Sluch feelings, when Hkmsy pnpdmbee nuental imbeci£ty» certainly should be discountged i but thi^ are generally preferable to a careless and icallous disregard of tibe fate of others* and the sulemn consideration of futurily* Our dog* too* was ob- served to jun^ into the sl()eping^cabin of tho deceased* and to exhibH; actions which were con- sidered as bearing a very mysterious significa- tion* SaUors are generally bf^ved to be super- stitious ; and cenktttfdy it i» surprising that those meiv who IM undaunted vmAsX the dai^ter of a hord-iKHight bottle, should tremble with^ o^osite extreme of cowardice at the idea of a ghost or hobgoblin^ These imprea^ons, no doubti taike their rise from the practice of aoilofa amusing ^ne another with frightful stories on their still and «brk night^wajkches^ Durij^g the latter end oi M^^ and the nontba of 4itgMit and Seftmktr, we had several heavy 80 1PALKLAND ISLANDS. gales from the southward, with snow; but it seldom remained longer on the ground than twenty-four hours, except on the tops of the highest mountains. Finding that our cargoes could not be com- pleted here, I resolved on going to South Shet- land ; and accordingly, in September, we refitted both vessels, and moved them westward IQ miles, to New Island. On^the 7th of October, having prepared, but with scanty means, for a southern navigation, we weighed the anchors, and proceeded towards South Shetland. Having spent two winters among the Falkland Islands, and visited nearly all their harbours, I may venture to speak of them with the expect- ation of advancing something that may be useful to strangers. This uninhabited group, which is now gene- rally known by the name of the Falkland Islands, consists of nearly ninety islands, lying between the latitude of ^l** and ^2" 45' S., and between Ion- gitude 57* «0' and 61° 4(y W. Two of them are of coi siderable extent, and these (the two main islands, from which the others take their name,) are properly called the East and West Falklands. The western island is by much the lai^est ; but is 80 indented, that its exact size cannot be easily ascertained. Its greatest length, from N. £. to THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. u S.W. is nearly 100 miles, and its greatest breadth about 50. The eastern island, the length of which from N.£. to S.W. is about 7S miles, and its greatest breadth 47> is also so indented, that in one place two bays nearly meet. Between the two main islands the sound is from 7 ■^''i 12 miles broad ; and many of the smaller islands are situated in it. This channel is navi- gable for ships of any size, and by attending to the best chart, which is that of Lieutenant Ed- gar, it may be passed through with safety, as all the dangers are there laid down. I cannot omit this opportunity of bearing my strongest testis mony to the accuracy with which Lieutenant Edgar has delineated the coast of the western main island, and the surrounding small ones of this group. Not being personally acquainted with the au- thor, I am induced to recommend his chart en- tirely by the experience I have had of its great utility, during the many dark and stormy nights which I have passed among these islands. The harbours in this sound I have anchored in, and have found them commodious, and, indeed, equal to any in the world. On the northern coast of the western island there are many entrances ; the principal one is that leading to Port Egmont, and which may be seen from some distance at sea. a m I! ) 3S THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. By keeping the opening about S.E. by S. (by compass), it may be sailed into without risk. About 9 miles N.N.W. from the entrance lie two islets ; by passing within half si. mile of the western side of these the course will be about S.S.E. ^ E» The English settlement was made at this port* but certainly the site was ill chosen. The ruins of part of the town still remain, and stand on the south side of a mountain not less than 600 feet high. The settlers had extended their gardens seemingly to the westward of this mountain, but during the winter the solar rays must have been almost lost to them throughout the greater part of the day. How such a bleak and unpropitious situation could have been their choice, I am at a loss to understand, unless it were on account of the anchorage. The harbour is spacious even to a fault ; for its enormous size, during strong winds, renders tbe communication with the shore inconvenient. The best anchorage is immediately off the creek at the foot of the ruins bearing N.N.W., in 9 fathoms water, about three fourths of a mile from the shore. Off the east point of the creek runs a reef which is marked out by the kelp. The bottom here is so tough, that, after having broke many blocks and handspokes, I was obliged to THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. 83 heave the vessel close down at low water, and wait for the tide to flow the anchor out of the ground. The best watering place is at the head of the creek, and the most expeditious and convenient method of obtaining water is to fill the casks at low water mark, and raf): them off to the vessel. Fuel, the next necessary article, may be obtained by digging peat, about a hundred yards above the top of the creek ; but it requires drying, and is not so good as is to be found at some other places. The tide flows here at 10 minutes past 7 o'clock on the full and change of the moon, and rises about 9 feet. A few years ago refreshments were plentiful in this port, as there were many hogs, which had been lefl by the settlers, run- ning wild on Saunders' Island ; but they are now nearly extinct. Upland geese, which a few years ago were very numerous, are now scarcely to be found ; so that the only supplies which may be expected are ducks and geese which feed on fishy substances on the shores, and thus very soon become nauseous to the taste> It is proper thus to mention what the islands are capa- ble of affording now, for the reports of several years ago do not apply to the present time. An instance of this occurred in the case of a French ship which arrived at Port £gmont in o ^ 84 THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. the year 1820, for a cargo of seal skins and oiL The captain was a lieutenant in the French navy, and his ship was elegantly and expensively fitted out. It appeared that the voy^e was projected upon the foundation of his father having, forty- two years before, been at this port, and at that time found the beaches lined with sea elephants and seals. The son expected the same to be still the case; but as none were to be found, he abandoned the voyage, with great loss, no doubt, to his, employers. The mistake of Commodore Byron as to the fecundity of the seal might be easily fallen into. He says, (vide Byron's Voyage,) " We were not surprized at meeting with such a great number of seals, when we afterwards found that they had sometimes 1 8 or more at a litter. Sea lions of a prodigious size are also found on the coast. We had many battles with this amphibious ani- mal, the killing one of which was frequently an hour's work for six men." The seal, as is now known, brings forth or- dinarily not more than one at a time ; and I may remark a circumstance which might cause the Commodore to fall into error in his conclusions on this subject. The disproportion between the large male and female seal is nearly as great as between a cow and her calf. One large male, like the grand seignor, has frequently when on THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. 85 the beach from 15 to 20 females under his Im- mediate dominion^ These, from their compara- tive smalhiess, might by the Commodore be easily taken for the young, and the male for the mother. With regard to the killing of the sea lion (pro^ perly the sea elephant), it is now to one man, acquainted with the practice, the work of three minutes ; but without stabbing it in the heart, or breaking its brain, the feat is so difficult that probably as long a time would be requisite as that mentioned by Byron. The next principal anchorage to Port Egmont is West-Point H^urbour, which lies at the western extremity of the south land of Berkeley's Sound. The chart accurately exhibits two passages to this anchorage; one by the north, the other by the south. The Jason Islands lie to the N.W., and are much in the way of the southern ap- proach. Strangers should be careful to avoid these islands in the night-time, or in unsettled weather, as the tide runs so strong and irregular, through them, as to render a ship almost un- manageable. The south passage tx> West Point Harbour is easily made by being careful when comiqg from the westward to haul close round West Point Island, so as to enter the gut or chan- nel : by neglecting this precaution, with the wind from the westward, you may fall to leeward oC o 3 86 THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. the passage, and find it difficult to work out of the lee bays, into which there is frequently a heavy westerly «well rolling. The latitude c^ the an^^ chorage is 61" 24/ 15% and the longitude by a number of deductions, from celestial observations and chronometers 60"* 3& 30\ The best an- chorage is abreast of a small cove on the south side of the harbour in five fathoms, over a bot* tom of sand and mucL The velocity of the tide is scarcely perceptible in this situation, though it rises about 9 feet by the shore, and it flows on the full and change of the moon at dO minutes past 7 in the morning. Water may be procured at the top of the cove ; and at the head of the harbour there is also a water run, in whi^h mul- lets may be caught by building a flsh wii^e. This kind of refreshment is abundant during the spring and autumn of this hemisphere, both here and at Beaver Idand, as also at Little Port £g- iDont, a bay in the west side of the pasf>:.g.' to Port Egmonti Rock ord have been likewise caught on the north shore of Swan Island, but they are very scarce. West Point Island .has a cove, in which we lay during two winter months in 18i20; but it is hot large enough for general convenience. At the west end of the island is a rookery (if I may call it so) of the small alba- tross, which in October affords a good supply of eggs. Some brush-wood grows around the cove>: THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. 87 but it is too small to.be of use, even as iiiel. In coming through the gut from the Southward with the ebb tide, which runs to the N.E, with great rapidity, the great harbour when opened must be hastily entered to avoid being swept to the northward by the tide. , From the soutli entrance of the gut, North Island lies S. 25° W. distant 22 miles. New Island I consider the most easy of access of any in the western quarter. Ship Harbour, which is commodious, lies in latitude 51^ 4f2' 86'\ and longitude 61° 9'. Though by difference of time from. Cape Horn, the longitude of which I make by lunar observations and time-keepers 67° 13' 45", it will be 61° lo\ The mean 61° 9' ipay, however, be nearer the ti:uth. In coming from the westward in the latitude of 51° 4^, New Island may be easily distinguished by its being the most northerly large island of that cluster* and by two small islands lying at the north end, called Saddle Island and North Island : between these, and the north end of New Island^ i^^ a clear passage ; but in strong winds the tide rip- ples violently, which, however, I have passed through without accident. Ship Harbour being the anchorage in this island the most to be recommended, I shall ob- serve that in proceeding to it with a strong west- erly ~wind, as rounding the north end of the o 4 / 88 THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. island^ the sail on the ship should be particularly attended to, as the gusts of wind off the high land blow with great violence. With the wind at S.W* the south passage may be chosen. A cluster, called Seal Rocks, lie off the south end of New Island, between which and the rocks is the best passage, and by keeping without the edge ofi'the kelp, which lies off a short distance fi'om the end of the island, there is no danger. The small round islands, on the eastern side of New Island, have good channels within, and between them Ship Harbour is the third bay from the south, and may be easily recognised, by having a small island, which I called Ship Island, in it. Behind this is the best anchorage in seven fathoms water, in a bottom of stiff clay; with the south point of Ship Island bearing S.E., covering the S.E. point of the bay. The anchorage is perfectly land-locked. The want of wood on these islands would be a great inconveniency, were it not that good peat is very abundant On Ship Island it is in-- exhaostible : I have burnt many tons, and found it an excellent substitute for coal. In order to get it dry, it is necessary to pull it from the sides of the pit, not very deep ; and as there are seve- ral peat holes, by working them alternately the material may be procured in a state fit for use. • . . THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. 89 Good water may be obtained at a sandy beach abreast of the anchorage; but the well from which the water is generally taken is so near the beach that high tides render it brackish. Owing to this circumstance we found, when at sea, that several of our casks of water were undrinkable. The well or pool might with little trouble be made eight or ten yards higher on the bank, and the water be passed to the casks with buckets. This island is mountainous, and its western side presents a range of frightful precipices, one of which is .550 feet above the sea, which in westerly storms beats against its base with ex- traordinary violence. The eastern side, on the contrary, falls sloping into points forming bays. The length of the island is, from north to south, about seven miles, and the mean breadth about two and a half. New Island is remarkable for having been for two years the solitary residence of a Captain J. Barnard, an American, whose vessel was run away with in the year 1814, by the crew of an English ship, which, on her passage from Port Jackson, had been wrecked on the south side of these islands. I met with Captain Barnard in 18S1, at the place of his exile, and his conversa- tion naturally turned to that subject, which, be- ing interesting, «* I greedily devoured." .A ^m. m 90 SOLITARY RESIDENCE OF particular account of this residence on an tin- Inhabited island would not fail of being consider<> ed almost as wonderful as the celebrated fiction of Robinson Crusoe, since there was a great similarity in their situations^ The principal in- cidents attendant upon this event were as fol- lows : Captain Barnard was at New Island with his vessel in the performance of a voyage for seal furs, and when on the sou^h side of the islands, he met with the crew of the wrecked English ship. Their number might be about SO, including several passengers, some of whom were ladies. He kindly took them to his vessel, and treated them with all the hospitality which their destitute situation required. Captain Bar- nard was from America, with which England was then at war, and this circumstance created doubts as to the sincerity of their friendly inten- tions to one another, though he had promised to land them on his passage home a' some port in the Brazils. r) Owing to the additional number of people hunting parties were frequently sent out to pro- cure supplies, and when the Captain, with four of his people, were on an excursion of thid kindy the wrcfcked crew cut the cable, and in defiance of the Americans, who were on board, ran away with the ship to Rio Janeiro ; whence they pro- ceeded to North America. CAPTAIN BARNARD* 91 ' On Captain Barnard's return to New Isknd, he was struck with astonishment at finding his ahip carried off, as he had never suspected any design of the kind. On reflection, how" ever, he soon guessed the cause ; as it was quite apparent that the fear of being taken to Ame- rica, where they would bacome prisoners of war, had been the motive to the commission of this action, which was a bad return for the asylum Captain Barnard had afforded the perpetrators of it His conduct towards them, certainly, did not justify their entert^ing such a suspicion ; but it seems they chose rather to act dishonour- ably than trust to his protestations, that he would, land them in the Brazils. Nothing in the way of supplies having been left for poor Barnard and his four companions, of which even the captors of his ship ought to have thought, he was forced to consider how- they were to subsist ; and recollecting that he had planted a few potatoes, they directed Mek attention to them, and, in the course of the se^ cond season* obtained a serviceable supply. They had a dog which now and then caught a pig ; and the ^gs of the albatross, which were stored at the proper season, with potatoes, ^rmed a substitute for bread, and the skins of the seals for clothes. They built a house of stone, still remaiping on the island, which was strong f / 92 SOLITARY RESIDENCE OF enough to withstand the storms of winter, and they might have been comparatively happy, but that they were cut off from their relations and friends, without any immediate prospect of being removed from the island. To add to the misfortunes of Captain Barnard in being separated from his wife and children, his companions, over whom he exercised no au- thority, but merely dictated what he considered was for their mutual advantage, became impa- tient even of this mild controul, took an oj^or- tunity to steal the boat, and he was left on the island alone. After being thus entirely aban- doned, he spent the time in preparing clothes from the skin of the seal, and in collecting food for winter. Once or twice a day he- used to ascend a hill, from which there was a wide pros- pect of the ocean, to see if any vessel ap- proached ; but always returned disappointed and forlorn, ^ no ship was to be observed. The four sailors, in the meanwhile, having experi- enced their own inability to provide properly for themselves, returned to him after an absence of some months, he still found much diffi- culty in preserving peace among his compa- nions^ indeed one of them had planned his death, but fortunately it was discovered in time to be prevented. He placed this man alone with some provisions on a small island in CAPTAIN BARNARD. 93 Quaker Harbour, and in the course of three weeks so great a change was made on his mind, that when Captain Barnard took him off, he was worn down with reflection on his crimes, and truly penitent. They were now attentive to the advice of their commander, and the above-mentioned offender became truly religious and exemplary in his behaviour. In this wry they continued to live, occasionally visiting the neighbouring island in search of provisions, till the end of two years, when they were taken off in the month of December, 1815, by an English whaler boimd for the Pacific. Captain Barnard informed me, that a British man of war had been sent ex- pressly from Rio Janeiro to take them ofl^ but by some accident the vessel, though at the islands, did not fall in with them. I have already made such observations on the navigation of this division of the islands, as I considered essentially necessary for the direc- tion of strangers, as well as for general inform- ation, and I shall now say something in regard to the eastern main island. The principal port has many names, but that by which it i» generally known is Port Louis, at the head of Berkeley's Sound. It is situated at the eastern extremity of the island, and the anchorage is off the ruins of Saint Loijis, 1 Smiles from the en- m 94 THE FALKLAND ISKAl^Dfii trance of the sound. The remains of about SO houses, \i^hich had been well built, are still standing. They appear to have been erected by French emigrants from St. Haloes, about the year 1764. These industrious and enterprising people, after having made considerable pro- gress in fertilising the ground, were displaced by the Spaniards, who claimed the islands. They, however, partly through political motives, that it might not be of consequence enough to become a bone of contention and involve them with other powers, or probably on account of their having vast possessions in other parts of the globe, neglected the improvement of the country, and latterly entirely abandoned it. It is matter of regret that these French emigrants were not allowed to remain, as a. settlement at this point of the South Atlantic would evidently afford great facilities to navigation. The exten- sive tracts of ground, well clothed with grass, and the quantity of fine cattle running wild on the island, are sufficient proofs of its being a country that might be settled to advantage. The winters are mild, the temperature being seldom so low as the freezing point Several of my crew, indeed, went withoiit stockings during the greater part of the winters we spent there. The south wind, however, is cold and stormy, but it is not frequent : the prevailing FRENCH AND SPANISH POSSESSORS. 95 vdrids are between S.W. and N.W., yrhich, blow- ing from the coast of Patagonia, are comfortably temperate. This climate appears to be in general much more temperative now than it was forty years ago, the cause of which may probably be, that immense bodies of ice were then annually found in the latitude of 60°, This ice, passing to the northward, between the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, would necessarily lower the temperature of both air and water, and coii-^ sequently an unfavourable opinion of the climate was produced. . During the three voyages which I have made in these seas, I have never seen southern ice drifting to the northward of South Georgia* Great changes must, therefore, have taken place in the south polar ice ; but this I leave for con- jecture, upon the data which the appearance of the sea at the utmost southern limit of my voy- age affords. The harbour of Port Louis lies in latitude 5L° S^, and longitude 58° 3' dO"'. The entrance of the bay, which is formed on one side by the N.£. point of the main island, is immediately seen on approaching within a few miles ; and to Hog Island* about seven miles up the bay, the passage is quite open* On drawing near this island, two large beds of kelp will be observed. '■M 96 LOSS OF THE between which is a passage running about W. by N. I have sounded among this kelp, and found from seven to ten fathoms ; but as there may be rocks interspersed, it should not be passed through with a ship. The channel to the anchorage off the ruins may be seen, by re- ferring to the plan which I took, with as much accuracy as my peculiar circumstances would allow. Off the N.£. point of the bay there is a ledge above water, called the Volunteer Rocks, and N.E. by £., about three quarters of a mile from the point, lies a sunken rock, upon which a French frigate was lost in February, 1820. As I was among the islands at the time, and on the spot soon afler it happened, I had an opportu- nity of ascertaining the circumstances attending this disaster, which were the.se : — Commodore Freycenet had performed a voy- age of science almost round the world, and after having spent nearly three years, was returning home when this distressing accident happened. It appeared that the abruptness of the coast had inspired them with confidence in approaching it $ and they had incautiously hauled within three quarters of a inile of a point called the Volun- teer Rocks, where there is always a strong ripple of the tide. Being near high water at the time, the break over the rock was not visible, and the 15 ■OiWWK**?- 97 S pnths* IS de- .. In this ^to are 31^ shot ■I -^ feed, ^owing i!!3r, that ^he sea CORVETTE l'uRANIE. 97 ship struck upon this point, and soon beat a hole in her bottom. She, however, presently slid off into deep water, and the pumps were necessarily set in motion, but were not sufficient to keep her free. The Cominodore hoped to save his vessel by laying her on the ground well up the bay, and had actually reached a sandy beach, about ten miles from where she had struck ; but the water having gained over the mess^deck, and the tide being down, she took the ground in such deep water, that the mess deck was constantly covered, which cut off all prospects of recover- ing her. He had prudently secured a quantity of provisions, while saiHng up the bay; and with these, and every other useful movable, the crew got safe to land. It was several weeks before tiiey knew of any ship being at the island ; and in the mean time-they had commenced building a small vessel out of the wreck. As they had saved but about two months' provisions, these were reserved for their passage to the main ; and their present support was dc' rived from hunting only. Fortunately, it is on this maloon or island that bullocks and horses are found running wild. Of both these they shot many; but as there were 160 people to feed, the difficulty of taking a sufficient number, owing to their fleetness, caused so scanty a supply, that latterly the crew was reduced to feed on the sea H m 98 LOSS OF THE elephant, penguins, and other fishy meats, ex- tremely offensive to a delicate stomach. They were at length relieved from their distressed situation by an American sloop, whtcfa, in pass- ing, saw them, and went to their assistance. The ship to which this sloop was a tender, lay at West Point harboui^ and I, at the same ime, lay with my vessel at Port Egmont. The French commodore not knowing that any other vessel was in the islands, sent an officer in the sloQp.to the ship at West Point, to treat with the captain for a passage in his vessel to the main. The sloop, on her way, passed through, and anchored in Port Egmont, and the master, who was the chief mate of the ship, came on board, but did not mention the wreck, or that he had. a French officer along with him : on the contrary, he cun- ningly prevented this officer from calling upon me, evidently for the purpose of avoiding com- petition in getting the passage-freight of these unfortunate people. A few days afterwards I moved the Jane up to West Point harbour* where the General Knox lay, and soon learfit the particulars of the stranded ship. A schootier» also attached to the General Knox, arriving from the wreck, brought the news of a patriot sfaip^ and a South seaman, homeward bound, haviajg arrived at Port Louis ', and as secrecy coUM no longer be preserved, and the schooner was to CORVETTE l'uRANIE. 99 return to Port jLouis, I immediately procured a passage for the purpose of purchasing provisions from the homeward-bound whaler. On my ar- rival at Port Louis, I found the two ships at an- chor ; the patriot ship was named the Mercury ; the whaler, the Sir Andrew Hammond, com- manded by Captain W. Hales — with this gen- tleman I took up my (quarters. I was soon in-^ formed that the French commodore had nego- ciated a passage with the captain of the Mer- cury to take them to Buenos Ayres# What the sum was I never learned y but Captain Ome, of the American ship, had for himself named £0,pOO dollars, a large sum from people in dis- tress. I do not, however, suspect Captain Orne of a want of sympathy in the sufferings of others, for I respect him much for many virtues he pos- sesses, and rather attribute his apparent extor- tion to an idea of the ability of the owners to be liberal* As the Commodore was now informed of my vessel being in the islands, in order to remove any impression he might have received of my indi^rence as to his situation, in not having appeared in the competition for his relief^ I addcessed a letter to him, explaining how very lately I had come to the knowledge of his situ- ation, "^nd how much I regretted not hayi^giiad m inL I « « r1 ti 100 LOSS OF THE it in Tiiy power td offer my services much ear- lien He sent me the following answer, which! annex, in order to show that my backwardness arose, not from inattention, but from ignorance of his misfortune : — ** Malouines Islands, 2ith April, 1820. " Sir, " The obliging, but unfortunately too late offer, which you vouchsafed to make me, by your letterof this day, causies me to regret, most sensibly, the not having had sooner an under- standing with you. I would have desired above alt things to have negociated with the captain of an English vessel, where my situation required that attention to which others, less friends of loyalty and science, could not be sensible, t wish not to know why you have been but io lately informed of the disaster which befell the corvette TUranie; probably. Sir, you may dis- cover, without much difficulty, what sordid ava- rice could devise to keep you in this ignorance. In short. Sir, I am on the point of sailing, and it is proper that I should follow the course whidh fortune has been pleased to mark out. i^^ ** I wish. Sir, that you may realise every expect- ation that you have fortned, and procure those advtota^es which you should of right attain. Accept,' I beg of you, with all devotion, those COEVETTE l'uRANIE. 101 assurances of distinguished consideration, with which I have the honour to be, " Sir, " Your very huin^)le «* And very obliged Servant, " (Signed) L. de Freycenet/* I afterwards had a conversation with Captain Freycenet, in his state-room, and from his con-, versation, which was in Epglish, I perceived that he was much affected by his late misfortunes; his health, no doubt, had been impaired by the inconveniences with which he had to struggle, and the aggravation of having been cast on shore after a longand fatiguing voyage ; but he enjoyed the sympathising consolation of his lady, who was young and very agreeable. I dined in company with them, and the extreme vivacity of Madame F. seemed well to accord with the character of the French fair:, it was reported, that in the midst of the greatest danger and confusion, she rjBtained a most surprising firmness and com- posure of mind; resembling in this, according to all accounts, the unexampled fortitude of many French ladies during that murderous period of the French Revolution, when their dearest friends and relations were torn from them by merciless assassins. .The Commodore generously presented me H 3 m 102 FALKLAND ISLANDS with a small vessel which he had made here firom the ship's launch, with a bill of gift. Captain Hales supplied them with bread, and several other articles they required, for which, however, the purser wished to pay him with the old stores of the wreck ; but he warmly refused any re- compence, and wrote the commander a letter, stating, that he would consider his acceptance of such an offer to be an act of meanness, and observing that his owners, he was sure, would highly approve of any assistance he might ren- der, without exacting payment. At length, final and honourable arrangements w6re made, and Commodore Fr^yceidi^t sailed with his officers and men to the river Plate, where they arrived in safety. To return to our remarks on these islands. The settlers, when they abandoned the eastern island, left behind them several horses and homed cattle, which have increased so much that on going a few miles into the country droves or both animals may be seen. I have taken seve- ral of the bullocks by shooting them. They are generally ferocious, and will attack a single per- son ', and thus those who hunt them are enabled to get within pistol-shot of them by the follow- ing stratagem : four or five men advance in a line upon the animal, and by appearing only as one person, it stands ready to attack, till within CLAIMED BY BUENOS AYREi. IC^ too yards, when the huiiters spread themselves, and firej endeavouring to shoot the bullock either in the head or in the fore-shoulder. The horses will also attack a single person, and their mode of doing so^ is by forming a circle round him, and prancing upon him ; but by means of a musket they may be readily dispersed. Port St. Salvador is situated about halfway on thei northern side of the eastern main island ; but as it is difficult of access, I shall not particularise nor recommend it as a place of anchorage for strangers. While lying in this port in i8^, I had a letter brought me from the commander of a patriot national frigate of 30 guns, then at anchor in Port Louis ; and to convey an idea of the kind of claim made by the Soutli Americans to these islands, I shall subjoin his letter, with some ac- count of his proceedings : — National Frigate Heroind at Port Soledad,. ' « November 2. 1820. "Sib, ** r have the honour to inform you of the cir- cumstance of my arrival at this port, commis- sioned by the supreme government of the United Provinces of South America to take possession of these islands in the name of the country to which they naturally appertain. *( In the performance of this duty, it is my H 4 m •■■y,n % m mi % n M I 1 1 ^ I liH FALKLAND ISLANDS desire to act towards all friendly flags with the most distinguished justice and politeness. " A principal object is to prevent the wanton destruction of the sources of supply to those whose necessities compel or invite them to visit the islands, and to aid and assist such as require it to obtain a supply with the least trouble and expense. " As your views do not enter into contraven- tion or competition with these orders, and as I think mutual advantage may result from a per- sonal interview, I invite you to pay ipe a visit on board my ship, where I shall be happy to accom- modate you during your pleasure. " I would also beg you, so far as comes within your sphere, to communicate this information to other British subjects in this vicinity. I have the honour to be, " Sir, " Your most obedient humble Servant, " (Signed) Jewitt, " Colonel of the marine of the United Piro- vinces of South America, and comknander of the frigate Heroind." The following morning I walked over a dis- tance of 7 or 8 miles to Port Louis, where the frigate lay; and finding a boat on shore, ob- tained a passage on board. Captain Jewitt re- CLAIMED BY BUENOS ATRES. 105 ceived me with great politeness, and notwith- standing the mutilated and worn out state of his ship and crew, he assumed an air of power and authority beyond my expectation. He told me his business was to take possession of the Falk- land Islands for his government, and that every thing necessary for an establishment would be procured from Buenos Ayres so soon as he could purchase a cutter, of which there were several among the islands. It evidently appeared, how- ever, that his principal business was to refresh his crew ; for never, since the time of Lord Anson, perhaps, had an instance occurred where the scurvy had been so destructive to a ship's com- pany. Though they had been at sea about eight months only, and had frequently during that time been supplied with vegetables from the Cape de Verds, this dreadful disease was making rapid progress among those unfortunate people. The patient was seized first about the knees, and the malady rapidly rising to the stomach, caused dissolution in 36 or 40 hours. During the first days of their arrival here, they died to the number of 5 or 6 in a day. I was glad to give any inform- ation in regard to the country, which might be the means of assisting in the recovery of these poor men ; and by the use of fish, wild fowl, and indi- genous and other vegetables, I had the pleasure of ^seeing them soon become convalescent. The sick 106 MORTALITY FROM SCURVY. were landed at the ruins of the town of St Louis ; and though there were no roof^ to the houses, they found an immense oven in which they were well sheltered from the weather. The comple- ment of men, when the ship sailed from Buenos Ayres eight months before, was SOO : they had not now more than 30 seamen and 40 soldiers fit to do duty ; 50 had been put on board a prize, so that about 80 were either sick or had died of the scurvy* . » Understanding that I could conduct his ship up the sound, for he was then 6 miles below the proper anchorage, the commander begged the favour of me to move her : his extreme politeness required some return : but in addition to that consideration, I saw he was much in want of men, and conceived it possible that if I were unaccommodating, he might entice my crew, or perhaps force them into his service, — I therefore determined to make him my friend by exchang- ing civilities. I chose the time for proceeding up the sound, and the anchors were , weighed, but with diffi- culty, the officers being obliged to assist at the capstan. I at length brought the frigate to a safe anchorage off the ruins of St. Louis. The day being too far spent to reach my own ship 'before dark, Captain Jewitt invited me to re^iain on board during the night. I accepted his invita« NARRATIVE OF A MUTINY. 107 tion ; and during the course of the evening he gave me an account of a mutiny which had hap- pened about three months before, when they were a few degrees to the north of the equator. The circumstances which I considered inter- esting he related nearly as follows: —-The neces- sity for having an effective crew, and the impos- sibility of getting men all of good characters, had induced him to take some out of the com- mon prison. Among these was a man who had attempted the capture of a small vessel with specie on bpard, lying at anchor at the river Plata ; but the night being dark, he had, fortu- nately for the owner of the money, mistaken the vessel, and got on board a national schooner, where he was seized and committed to gaol. Captain Jewitt saw that this man was a bold, fearless character, but persuaded himself, that, under judicious direction, he might be made use- ful ; and he therefore determined to take him as a petty officer, though the governor remonstrated with him on the subject, and impressed on his mind that the prisoner was a person of the most abandoned principles. Captain Jewitt replied, he would take the risk ; and should he be guilty of mutiny, he would shoot him. The governor's anticipation turned out to be correct, as will ap- pear in the sequel* They had been at sea some time without any dissatisfaction appearing among m iM 108 NARRATIVE OF A MUTINY. i the crew : every indulgence the service would allow of was granted to them ; and the officer taken from prison the captain had promoted from time to time till now he held the rank of lieu- tenant. From the day of his obtaining this promotion, the commencement of the mutiny might be dated. This villain, by being in closer intercourse with the officers, contaminated the minds of some, and thus propagated a spirit of insubordination among the seamen ; so that a plan for the execution of the most horrid mur- der was formed, which was prevented by a very fortuitous circumstance. On the night of the 19th of August, Captain Jewitt was lying in his cot ruminating on the variety of characters he had on board, when his mind became, as it were, providentially excited to the necessity of being vigilant in observing the conduct of his crew. He immediately got up, put on a dark-coloured cloak, and, unobserved, reach- ed the fore part of the gun-deck on the larboard side. Here the lights had been extinguished for the purpose of concealing the proceedings of the conspirators : — from the opposite side he overheard a party closely engaged in mutinous communications. He was thunderstruck at dis- covering the cruel and inhuman intentions of these wretches ; but when he understood tliat at midnight, it being then 40 minutes past i]» NARRATIVE OF A MUTINY. 109 the scene of murder was to commence, and that he was to be the first victim of their barbarity, by stabbing him in his cot, he waited to he&r no more, but instantly hurried back without being perceived. He immediately sent for the cap- tain of the troops, informed him of the state of tiiP 'p, and desired him to have the soldiers un c'^ :.*ms as speedily as possible. As soon as they were reported ready, he ordered two of the officers, whom he suspected, to be put in con-f finement, and, at the same time, called the sea- men on deck. The soldiers were drawn up on the quarter-deck, and all the officers, in whom he could place confidence, were under arms. At so sudden a discovery of their horrid designs, and the vigilant appearance of the cap- tain's party, the mutineers became panic-struck. They, however, came afl, and Captain J. ac- cused them of their crime, desiring those who were not implicated immediately to cross over to the starboard side. A murmuring took place, as if they intended to oppose ; but distrusting one another, they tacitly suffered the ringleaders to be seized and secured in irons. Thus, by the mere accident of Captain Jewitt's having gone forward, at that critical moment, and overhearing their villanous plot, a dreadful course of murder was prevented. Subordination having been re- stored, he made the necessary arrangements for K|;|i:, Pii '''■^' R! ■ 1? ■ ' .'Ml 110 NARRATIVE OF A MUTINY. holdiag courts-martial, according to the forms established by the patriots of Buenos Ayres, by which the commander of a ship of war is in- vested with the power of life and death. The evidence which was here adduced implicated so many unsuspected persons, that he found mercy incompatible with the safety of the ship, and the lives of the innocent. It appeared that their intention was to destroy all those who might be found inimical to their principal design, which was to hoist black colours, and scour the seas as pirates, making murder their principal means of safety. At length, after the most deliberate Examin- ation of the evidence, by himself and the officers of the ship* Captain Jewitt was under the dis- tressing necessity of pronouncing sentence of death on two officers and two seamen. One of the officers was the person he had taken out of prison, and had promoted. On the day appointed for execution, a stage was erected over the star- board cat-head, and these four unfortunate men met their death by being shot I much lamented, said Captain Jewitt, that so severe an example was necessary, and had I been a disinterested spectator, I certainly would have called aloud for their pardon ; but my peculiar situation would not allow the feelings of compassion to influence me. Here he finished his narration ; and, pre- k •• NARRATIVE OF A MUTINY. Ill sently, the death of his first lieutenant was re- ported, to which he replied, with great compo- sure, being familiar with death in every form, " Very well : secure his effects." This deceased officer, he told me, was passively concerned in the mutiny ; but he spared him from trial on account of his sickness. Captain Jewitt, with great politeness, ordered a cot to be slung for me on the larboard side of his sleeping cabin ; and when we retired, I remarked that he slept in his trowsers, with a dirk belted round him, and a pair of pistols over his head. As I was not provided with any such weapons of defence, I had only to trust for safety to a strict observance of neutrally; but the ship remained in peace, and I slept undis- turbed. In a few days, he took formal possession of these islands for the 'patriot government of Buenos Ayres, read a declaration under their colours, planted on a port in ruins, and fired a salute of twenty-one guns. On this occasion the officers were all in full uniform, being ex- actly that of our navy, which but ill accorded ^ith the dilapidated state of the ship ; but he was wise enough to calculate the effect of such parade, upon the minds of the masters of ships who were in the islands, and as he had laid claim to the wreck of the French ship be- Mm. lis FALKLAND ISLANDS. fore mentioned, to the entire exclusion of several vessels which had arrived, bound to New Shetland, he was aware that an authoritative appearance was necessary. In fact, he struck such a terror on the minds of some ship-masters, lest they should be captured or robbed, that one of them proposed taking up arms against him ; but on my point- ing out to him how groundless were his fears, and introducing him to Captain Jewitt, he con- fessed his mistake, and his fears subsided.— On the 20th of November I sailed from Port Louis, and left Captain Jewitt completing his repairs. I have since learned that he took the ship to the river Plata, and that he is now in the Brazilian service. M*'- ■■■X. '3 An CHAP. V. SAIL FROM THK FALKLANDS : VOYAGE, ICE ISLANDS, CUR- RENTS. -— DIFFICULT NAVIGATION. — STORM AND DAN- GERS. — DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ICE IN THE NORTH- ERN AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERES. — SPERM WHALE SEEN. ■— SOUTH SHBTLAMD8. ' ■ « ■ Having said as much as the field of my observ- ation allows me, in the description of these islands, and of the incidents which have of late years taken place in their vicinity, I shall now return to our having sailed from the Falklands on the 7th of October, bound to South Shetland. At 6 P. M. we had obtained an offing, and Rodney's Bluff bore N.£. distance about seven leagues. The wind continued blowing fresh from the north, with haze till the morning of the 11th, when it shifted suddenly into the S.W*^ and brought clear weather. Our latitude at noon by observation was 57** ^\ and longitude by chronometers 65<* by D.R. 66'' V; in the after- noon the wind shifted to S.S.E., and we put about te^tre S.W. At day-light of the 19th« the wind had shifted into the S. W. and blew a strong gale: at day- light of the ISth, the gale moderated, leaving a m 114 VOYAGE : ICE ISLANDS. . heavy swell from the westward ; and at noon we saw an ice-berg in the S.^W. On the 14th, the wind was westerly ; and our latitude at noon was 58° 6', longitude by chro- nometers 62° 46', and by account 65^ 24' : our consort kept her station, and we occasionally communicated. On the 15th, the wind was easterly, and blew lightly at noon. We were in latitude by observ- ation 59° 7\ by D. R. 59° 16', and longitude by chronometers was 63° 28', and by account 66* 42'. At eight A.M., of the l6th, we passed an ice island, which we estimated to be about two miles in length, and» during the night, we passed seven others. I was much surprised at falling in with these, as in my two former pas- sages to Shetland we had not seen one. At noon the weather was hazy, and in the after- noon, with the wind northerly, a thick fog set in. At 3" 30' P.M. we were astonished to find ourselves upon the edge of Held-ice, and close to a large ice island. We had barely room to avoid it, the cutter hauling one way^ and the brig the opposite, by which means we escaped the danger. Our latitude was now 61° 2r, and longitude by chronometers 64° 15'; hence, the outer edge of the ice was ninety-five miles from the land. As I thought it might possibly be only a patch, we ran along the edge to the ICE CURRENT. 115 E.N.E. in search of an opening ; but after run- ning twenty miles, and finding the i<^e every where quite compact, at 10 P.M. we hauled off to the N.N.W. Mfi8 At day-light of the 17th, we sailed to the southward, and in making the ice ag *n, we dis* covered an opening, into which we entered. We passed through several heavy patches, and found our latitude at noon 61^ Wi and longitude by chronometers 61 • tiS', by D.R. 66* 38', produc ing a difference or error in reckoning of 165 mile» in ten days ; which, after allowing one* fourth for error, gives an easterly current "of half a mile per hour during th0 time Specified: but it had not run equally. As the current was evidently setting strong to the eastward, i thought that the western edge of the ice might not be far from the part we first fell in ' with, as at that time it was so foggy thatt we could' not see farther than a quarter of a mile.;: We aci> cordingly made the appropriate signal to the Beauiby, and plied the vessels to the westward. : (During the 18th ami 19th, we had strong and moderate breezes, alternately, from the westward; In the morning of the SOth the wind turned into the S«W., and biew a fresh gale, which brought us under close-reefed topsails ; we cbn«i tinned to pass along the edge of the ice, but could find no opening. I 2 ''fi i >: A : ■1 ■' 116 •T- VOYAGE. ' On the Slst the wind ^was moderate, and ob- serving the ice to have slackened considerably, I was hopeful that the last strong wind from the south-west had driven it from the land, leaving Clearwater, which could we attain, I judged we might reach an anchorage. I was mistaken in my conjecture, for we had not penetrated far when we found the ice too heavy for our weak barks to displace, and we were: obliged to use our endeavour to return, to clear water again. At noon we saw James Island, the western island of the group bearing S. by E. by which with the difference of latitude, the distance .was estimated to be 70 miles. The weather was re- markably clear, and .the: island, being covered with snow, appeared like a white cloudrded the prospect of reaching an anchorage to the westward of the ice. The wind continued westward, and we searched the ice for an open- ing, occasionally passing through extensive heavy patches. . In. the morning of the 26th the wind shifted to Jiorth, and the weather became foggy. We had. now got to; the westward of the main ice^ andat 8 A.M. the fog/clearing away, we saw James. Island, bearing E. by.S. ^ S. distant 12 1 3 \i\'M 118 JDIFFICULTIES. le^g\ies. We immediately hauled towards an ppen'mg in the western part of the group which I k^d named Boyd Straits, in honour of Captain Dav : ^ (i( On the Js7th the winds were light, aind the weather foggy, and as we had mucli heavy ice around, with a great westerly swell, our situation was hazardous. At nudnight the wind frcdh^- ed to a gale at west, and we lay to with t^e Bbxp'H head to the N.N.W. In this drift we ^ell in with qiany ice inlands, some of which, by the lieavine^ of the sea around us, were rolling with ^e noise of an earthquake. At 8 in the morning of the S8th, the wind shiftm touching it. The packed ice separated to each side, and we passed round the north comer. The rolling of this island in its passage had produced a slackness in the other ice, of which I was determined to take advantage for returning, and so cast off the cutter. We made all possible sail, with the wind at S.W. ; and continued making progress in a N.E. direction till the evening, when both vessels became ^igain unmoveabie. The cutter was now about one wile astern, and, indeed, I saw that it was necessary for our safety to be at a short distance from each other, that we might not both be subject to the same acci- dent, as would have been the case when under the ice island before mentioned. ' On. the 13th, the wind was light from the W.N.W., and we were consequently unable to ,v i ' m U6 DANGEROUS NAVIGATION. I) lit % I make any way ; but on the morning of the 14th» it freshened, and for our safety we made all sail to the northward. At 4 A. M., we saw rocks astern bearing S.S.E. distant about ten miles, whicli we judged to be about Cape Sheriff. In the afternoon we were set into ice of the most dangerous descrip- tion. Many pieces which appeared to be the bottoms of ice islands were about from 80 to 100 feet in superficial extent ; and as they were 10 feet above water, they must have been at least 40 feet in depth, as from the q>ecific gra- vity of such sort of blue and solid ice, we judged that about 30 feet must be under waten The rolling motion of -several of these pieces was so great, that had one of them taken the side of the ship fairly in its descent, her destruc- tion must have been inevitable. > ^^n'y o» Among them there were narrow openings, through which we endeavoured to navigate ; but in passing one piece, it struck us, though only with a corner, on the starboard side, and tore down our bulwarks and main-guard board. We repaired the wreck, and passed through two i^able rocks above waltei', as shown in the' accbmpanying chart. The&> extent' was first as- ^l^rtainedby Mr. Edwidrd Biiirrisfield, then maJster* of the' frigate Aridi^bmache, who was dent out i^r the es^press purpbse by Captairi Sheriff, cbm: * Accodibtit of this diBcovery were ohgiually n&alde iokbwn to the Briekh pubKc ih tl^^ Idt^sry Gikicette. K 2 rm 4 s^ 'J 8 m £]| ll 133 THE SOUTH SHETLAND8. mander of the vessel, and commodore on the western coast of America. ' Mr. Edward Bamsfield acted with great bold- ness in obtaining a knowledge of this land ; but circumstances did not admit of his extending] or pursuing his observations, so as to give a par- ticular account of it. To his valuable remarks, however, as far as they go, I have added my own, which corroborate them, together with a p^cular delineation of the coast ) The nam^. which he gave the different head- lands, &c., in obedience to official authority* I have retained ; and, in a more extended survey, I have added to some parts names from peculia- rities of appearance in the land, and to others, the names of gendemen of talent and enter- piiae. .1 began my observations in 1820, being the first vessel fitted out from England which anchored in these parts ; and have been happy, since that time, in imparting the knowledge I possessed' to persons who required information for the safety of their ships and lives of their crews. From having done so, I have seen many of my communications in print, which, how- ever, I do not regret, though it may detnt^t froflfi tlieir entire novelty now, when published by myself. Xhe appearance which these islands would assume, were they divested of ice, would be; ^«*f~ — 1 >1'. r.&mfbt T tiofi V U A liT Coostrunted ftom observations ff/tuft i/if/f/h/Tiniy.K yOYAfiKSt// f/i>' vrtrrs To rnF.sF. iSL:i.\iis, J «a <» ■fiiir llall.snitff I ^uuf Georges Is/and/. 61 fi^J%Ia^ y^o^f^ VH*l!^i»J». Ji»J*taitd* ^ «>,..■ W«wy ^'.JP* "-t^^*. M ^ Of<^ ?^- :# Jhiillef t Mattv Mr It 'imdt. j\mt. 31 aoit. I *f n of.' ^-- V«^ tuHUIhimSmtir* B R "^ ^' (h <' ,^'^- e» T .r^^-^v- l».%l^-'^^j^ ■••••"■■ V ^1^ ^ .. J^' P V-'-v ^JV^ «K no " =f Moi^ AH /mmCm, nM.tAm/ ^r /,0>ffmti/i t C nutfrn^rfir /tim, .A»J 1 J4 I nd'. W.krMXM StalXfltmdr wtdjiitabr lloydtPk gr*" CSowtn Oibhtl*. ei t Not* Tjfc- unthiuM parts or'Hir (htttt . are limi timn rhmi thr iraurtruilten ofrttfttmUr nmwiimibn at'^ifu r HA HT ('txtNirurtcd fhjtn otMierrationB /f'lift ififfrM/HntKt', ^'OY.UiKStti f/ir vftf/w TO TflKSK lSL:t\liS, «9l «an omtnuut f C nuirmvtm- Jtnw, .hul' /fi'.i. >Hf' itnU^fi^' '^1 ^^H i ■1 ^Kfl '■1 ^SH^^ni ^t' m ■^ .'t' r • U T THE SOUTH SHETLANDS. 133 very different from what they at present exhibit. In Smith's Island, an ice-berg runs through from north to south ; indeed, almost all of them are so interspersed and intersected with ice- bergs, that the earthy, or rather rocky, parts of the country are much smaller in bulk than would be supposed from a distant view. The highest, and most forbidding in aspect, is the western island, which, in 18^0, I named James Island, as I was the first who landed upon it. The highest part of it I estimated to be nearly ^00 feet above the level of the s^hl The whole island is almost inaccessible, 'drtj constantly covered with sldw, excepting iiO'ie perpendicular rocks which will not retain it. None of the islands afford any ve^!; ' ition, save a short straggling grass, Wiiich is found la very small patches, in places v/here there hap- pens to be a little soil. This, together with a moss, similar to that which is found in Iceland, appears m the middle of January, at which time the islands are partially clear of snow. To the eastward of Cape Melville is Bridg- man's Island, which is evidently volcanic, as in passing it in the year 1821, within 200 yards, I observed smoke issuing through the fissures of the rock, and apparently with much force. The figure of this island is nearly round ', and it is about one-eighth of a mile in diameter, and k3 ! i 4- '> • W I f ■i;fi 134 THK $>0UTII SHETLANUS; 400 ^t high, partaking of the form of a sugar-i Ipaf. There are several good harbours in these i3lands, as njay be seen by referring to the chart. The composition of the rock, Avhich forms the Shetland Islands, appears to consist of quartz, with disseminated iron pyrijtes ; and of qpartz in prismatic concretions, copper green, 9P,d copper pyrites. from the a)m;ost total want of vege^atipn to subsi^^ upon, jthere cannot be a 9^ng)e terrfs^tri^ animal in iJiese inlands ; but of amphibious crea- tures, ^h^re are several. The sea-elephant yfa^ found in vast numbers. Of thes^, thp ct^wh under my direction^ killed upy^ards of SQOQ. The fur-seals, which appear to be found only in the South Seas, were still more numerous. Soipe sea-leopsrds have also been seeu. A^ the pe- culiarities of these animals, and many of tHeir instinctive habits, may be interesting, I sbaU describe them. The largest is the sea-elephant. The mal9 has a cartilaginous substance, extending forward from the nose, five or six inches, spmewhat re- sembling the proboscis of the common elephant, and from this circumstance has obtained the name. The largest of these animals which I have seen were males, not less than twenty-four feet SEA SL£PHANTS. H 135 long, and fourteen in circumference : the fe- males are generally about one-third less. In form, they have much the appearance of the common seal, with which most people are ac- quainted, and, therefore, a particular description would be superfluous ; but it may be necessary to mention those habits and peculiarities in which they differ. ') The males come on shore about the end of August and beginning of September ; and in this month, and the first part of October, they are fol- lowed by the females, which, being mth young since the preceding season, choose the land at this time for the purpose of parturition and pro- creation. W;i ju the males first arrive, the fat of three or four of them will make a ton of oil ; but the average of both male and female is about seven to the ton. As they live, while on shore, entirely without food, by the middle of December they have become very lean; and their young being at this age able to take the water, the whole of the breeding herd leave the shores. A second herd come up about the middle of January, for the purpose of renewing their coat of hair ; in March, a herd of full-grown males come up, for the same purpose ; and, by the end of April, every kind of them has returned to the sea. K 4) i I 1 Ur ';«P •)1 136 THE SOUTH SHETLANDS ; ./«^The circumstance of these animals living on shore for a period not less than two months, . apparently without taking food of any descrip- tion, may certainly be considered a remarkable phenomenon in natural economy. That they live by absorptionr is evident, — that is, by con- suming the substance of their own bodies ;; be- cause when they come first on shore, they are excessively . fat, and when they return to the sea, they are very lean. Their inactivity and extreme lethargy whei^ on shore is astonishingly contrasted by their sagacity and agility when in the sea. They have been known to keep a boat from landing, by in- tercepti ig it in the water when the crew had no fire-arms } and frequently, when one is pricked with a lance, it will attack the boat with great ferocity. It is curious to iciTiark, that li.c sea-elephant, when lying on the shore, and threatened with death, will often make no effort to escape into the water, but lie still and shed tears, mereiy raising the head to look at the assailant^ and, though very timid, will wait with composure the club or the lance which takes \io life. In close contact, tvery human effort would be of little aval' for the destruction of this animal, unwieldy as it is, were it to rush forward, and exert the power of its jaws } for this, indeed, is so enor- '■^m, FUR ;^£ALS. s awi 1$7 mous, that, in the agony of death, stones are ground to powder between its teeth. If the skull be indented in the killing of a female Mdth young, the indentation is found also upon the skull of the y6ung. This sympathy, which has been denied with regard to the human species by some physiologists,, evidently exists in the economy of this animal. The species of seal, which inhabits these shores, is exclusively the fur-seal, or what is called, in zoology, Phoca Falklandica, the Falk- land Island Seal. This species has been distin- guished by naturalists for its peculiarity of shape 'y but the circumstance of its possessing a valuable fur, as well as the remarkable habits of the animal, have not been noticed in any description of the seal with which I have met. The fur, from the almost general use to which it is applied in the manufacture of caps, must be well known ; and it is therefore unne- cessary to describe it further, than merely to observe, that after the hair which grows through and over it is extracted, its natural appearance is of a fine and curly brown. Nothing in this class of animals, and more par- ticularly in the fur-seal of Shetland, is more as- tonishing than the disproportion in the size of the mi. : and fenir\lc, A large grown male, from the ur.» o^' inn nose to the extremity of the 'S? :^"i !^ V 1 mi II 11 138 THE SOUTH SHETLANDS ; tail, is six feet. nine inches, whilst the female is not more than three feet and a half. This class o£ males is not, however, the most numer- ous, but being physically the most powerful, they keep in their possession all the females, to the exclusion of the younger branches ; hencej at the time of parturition, the males attending tl^e females may be computed to be as one to twenty, which shows this to be, perhaps, the most poly- gamous of large animals. They are in their nature completely gregarious; but they flock together, and assemble on the coast at different periods, and in distinct classes. The males of the largest size go on shore about the middle of Novembevt to wait the arrival of the females, which of necessity must soon follow^ for the purpose of bringing forth their young. These, in the early part of December, begin to land ; and they are no sooner out of the water than they are taken possession of by the males, who have many serious battles with each other, in procuring their respective seraglios ; and, by a peculiar instinct, they carefully protect the fe* males under their charge during the whole period ot gestation. By the end of December, all the female seals have accomplished the purpose of their landing. The time of gestation may be considered twelve months, and they seldom have more than one at I FUR SEAL.S. m'v 139 a time, which they suckle and rear apparently with great affection. By the middle of February, the young are able to take the water ; and after heing taught to swim by the mother, they abandon them on the Bhore, where they remain till their coats oii fur and hair are completed. During the latter end of Februaryy what are called the Dog-seals go on shore : these are the young seals of the two preceding years, and such males as, from their want of age and strength, are not allowed to attend the pregnant females. These young seals come on shore for the pur- pose of renewing their annual coats, which be- ing done by the end of Aprilt they take to the water, and scarcely any are seen on shore again till the end of June, when some young males come up and go off alternately. They continue to do this for six or seven weeks, and the shores are then again abandoned till the end of August, when a herd of small young seals of both sexes come on shore for about five or six weeks ;-:- soon after, they retire to the water. The large male seals take up their places on shore, as has been before described, which completes the intercourse all classes have with the shore during the whole year. The young are at first black, in a few weeks they become grey, and soon after obtain their ^I^JKI 140 THE SOUTH SHETLANDS; ' •V '>£'*>■ I i coat of hair and fur. M. BufTon describes the longevity of the seal to be even so great as a li ) I ndred years. I have esti mated the female seal to be in general at its full growth within four years, but possibly the male seal is much longer, very likely five or six years ; and some, which I have contrasted with others of the same size, could not, from their very old appearance, be less than thirty years. When these Shetland seals were first visited, they had no apprehension of danger, from meet- ing men ; in fact, they would lie. still while their neighbours were killed, and skinned ; but latterly they had acquired habits for counteracting dan- ger, by placing themselves on rocks, from which they could, in a moment, precipitate themselves into the water. The agility of these creatures is much greater than, from their appearance, an observer would anticipate. I have seen them, indeed, oflen escape from men running fast in pursuit to kill them. The absurd story, that seals in general defend themselves by throwing stones at their pursuers with their tails, may be explain- ed in this way ; that when the animal is chased on a stony beach, their mode of propelling them- selves is by drawing their hind^'- flippers for- ward, thereby shortening the bo id project- ing themselves from the tail,- wiiicii, when re- lieved by the effort of the fore flippers, throws 14 ;*•* FUR SEALS. 1 itfVr 141 up a quantity of stones to the distance r -ne yards. Their senses of smell and hearing are acute, and in instinct they are little inferior to the dog; that is, I judge their sagacity in the water much exceeds that which they exhibit on the shore j for though they are fitted to remain a certain time on land, their natural element is the water. In proof of their docility, I may mention that I have reared several young ones from three or four weeks old, to the age of two months, which were so tame as to eat out of the hand with consider- able fondness; but by some accident they were allowed to fall or walk overboard. ^ These fur-seals may be distinguished from the hair-seals of this hemisphere by their being ra-> ther of a smaller size, and having the nose smaller and more pointed. In swimming, they have a jumping motion like that of the porpoise. The quantity of seals taken off these islands, by vessels from different parts, during the years 18S1 and 1822, maybe computed at 320,000, and the quantity of sea-elephant oil, at 940 tons. This valuable animal, the fUr-seal, might, by a law similar to that which restrains fishermen in the size of the p^.esh of their net, have been spared to render tanually 100,000 furs, for many years to come. This would have followed ii*om not killing the mothers till the young were ■> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 m — H^H £f »£ 12.0 Photographic Corporation 33 wht main strut WIMTM,N.V. I4SM (7I*)I71^S03 .« xs^ 14@ THE SOUTH SHETLANDS; able to take the water; and even then, only those which appeared to be old, together with a proportion of the males, thereby diminishing their tofial number, but in slow progression. This system is practised at file rwet d Pkta. The island of Lobos, in the mouth of that river, con- tains a quantity of seals^ and is farmed by the Governor of Monte Video, under certain restric- tions, that the hunters shall not take them but at stated periods, in order to prevent the animals £rom being exterminated. The system of exter- mination was practised, however, at Shetland ; for whenever a seal reached the beach, of what- ever denomination, he was immediately killed, and his skin takep ; and by this means, at the end of the second year, the animals became nearly extinct; the young having lost their mothers when only three or four days old, oi^' course all died, which, at the lowest calcolation, exceeded; 100,000. I have mentioned that the only species of seal found on these ikilands is that possessing the fu^;> but il citeature wan reported to have bt&n seen by one of my creW, which, according tohis aoeooVii of it^ must have been a non^-deicript A boat's crew were employed on Hall Inland^ and the man who saw this animal was left on one side of the island to take care of some pro- duce, while the officers and the rest of the crew were engaged on the other side. fi.-. KOK.DE8CRIPT ANIMAL. 148 i The sailor bad gone to bed, and about 10 o'clock he heard a noise resembling human cries, and as daylight, in these latitudes^ never disap- pears at this season, he rose, and looked aromi^ but on seeing uo person, he returned to bed ; presently he heard the noise again, and rose a second time, but still saw nothing. Conceiving however, the possibility of a boat being upset, and that some of the crew might be clinging to some detached rocks, he walked along the beach a few steps, and heard the noise more distinctly, but in a musical strain. On searching aroUnd, he saw an object l3dng on a rock, a dozen yards from the shore, at which he w«8 somewhat frightened. The face and shoulders appeared of human form, and of a redp dish colour ; over the shoulders hung long green hair; the tail resembled that of the seal, but the extremities of the arms he could not liee dis- tinctly. The creature contit. ued to make a musi- cal noise while he gazed about t^^o minutes, and on perceiving him it disappeared in an instant Immediately when the mail saw his officer, he told this wild tale, the truth of which was, of course, doubted ; but to add weight to his testi- mony (being a Catholic), he made a cross on the sand, which he kissed in form of making oath to the truth of his statement. When the story was told me, I ridiculed it ; but, Wff mm ■ii" m ■ .!T f. S< 144 THE SOUTH SHETLANDS. by way of diversion, I sent for the sailor, who saw this non-descript, into the cabin, and questioned him respecting it, he told me the story as I have related it, and in so clear and positive a manner, making oath as to the truth, that I con- cluded he must really have seen the animal he described, or that it must have been the effects of a disturbed imagination. The small species of penguins are here abun- dant ; and of sea-fowl, the following may be enu- merated : aglets ; Port Egmont hens ; white pigeons; the grey peterel, called by sailors the Nelly ; snow birds ; and, on the coast, I have seen blue peterels. Several pieces of wreck have been seen on the western islandsr and apparently of the scantling ofaT^f gun ship, which makes it too probable that these are the remains of a Spanish ship of war of that r^te, which has been missing since the year 1818, ^n she was on her passage to Lima. On a beach in the principal island, which I named Smith's Island, in honour of the discoverer, were found a quantity of seals' bones, which ap- peared to have been killed some years before, probably to sustain the life of some ship-wrecked crew ; suggesting the melancholy reflection that some unfortunate human beings had ended their days on this coast In the year 1620, the first time these islands were visited for their produce, four DEPARTURE FOR tIERRA DEL FUEOO. 145 ships were totally lost. Part of the crews of these vessels remained during the winter of 18^1, but notwithstanding every precaution they could take, with a strong house and ample sup- plies, they suffered severely. The range of land which lies SO leagues to the south of the northern cluster, consists of islands, and has been visited for produce, but has not been accurately de- scribed. It can seldom be approached on account of ice, and the mountains are constantly covered with sno\/. No farther circumstances worthy of remark having fallen within the sphere of my observ- ation on these inhospitable shores, I shall now return to the situation of the ship on the evening of the I6th of November, when we had taken our departure from these islands, bound to Tierra del Fuego. .A li ii V. 14S CHAP. VI. YOTAOK TO TIKRILA BEL VUBOO. — CAPI HORK. — THE HATKVBS ; THEIR VISIT, MANNERS, &C. — PUNISHMENT OF A THIEF, AND ITS GOOD EFFECT. — NATIVE DOGS. — THE HABITS, BEHAVIOUR, &C. OF THE FUEGIANS. •»■ ISLANDS OF ST. FRANCIS. — CHANGE OF ANCHORAGE. — OTHER TRIBES. — CANOE. — STATE OF SOCIETT, &C. — ISLANDS OF DIEGO RAMIRK2. — LANGUAGE OF THE FUEGIANS AND CURIOUS HEBREW ANALOGIES. — MUSIC AND ITS EFFECTS. — NEW CLAT CLOTHING. — NECK- BACE8, BASKETS, BOWS. — ARRIVAL OF THB BBAUFOY. — FUBOIAN SETTLEMENT. — VESSELS SBFARATE. -^ FACE OF THE COUNTRY. — EFFECT OF CLIMATE ON THE VUiaiAN OHARAOTBR. ' Tbk wind was moderate and easterly till the 18th in the afternoon, when it shifted into the S.W. Our latitude at noon by observation was 58** 44', and longitude by chronometers 66* 1', by D.R. C?"" ^\ the variation at 4 P.M. was 27*" 3(y, On the SOth the wind shifted into the N.W. quarter, and we stood to the W.S.W. On the Sist, in the morning, the wind again shifting to S.W. we tacked to the northward, and about four in the afternoon we saw Cape Horn, bearing N. by W. about ten leagues; in this position the Cape appears conspicuous, with the hills of Hermit's Island just above the horizon. See Views of Land, 19. Cape Horn CAPE HORN. 147 is remarkable for its truly imposing figure and situation, terminating the greatest north and ^outh extension of land on the globe. The many disasters which have befallen ships off this cape, the difficulty of gettifig round it to the westward, and above all, the sufierings of the fleet under Lord Anson, and in the expeditions of Pizarro, induce people to consider this pro- montory with more than common interest 'the weather proved squally and unsettled through the night of the ^d, and we retained an offing. At daylight the wind blew strong from S.S.W., and we bore up for the b&y of St Francis, which we reached by two o'clock in the afternoon, and anchored in Wigwam or St Martin's Cove, in 16 fathoms water, over a bottom of sand and mud. On the 25th we were employed in wooding and watering the vessels, and during the day I made observations, for latitude, longitude, and variation. On the south side of ihe harbour is a small cavity in the rock, in which I placed the compass for taking a set of azimuths, but on Cib- serving the sun to bear N. 29 W. at noon, I sus- pected, iht rock to be magnetic, and took a portion of it on board to ascertain the fact t stripped the card off the needle in order to make it more susceptible, and found it, as I eT^pected, slightly acted upon by the rdck, I next fixed L 2 Ml I ii)' M I 148 THE FUEGIANS. the place for observation at the head of the har- bour, where there was probably no local attrac- tion, and found the variation to be 23° 4' east : the latitude in the same situation was 55° 53'3T\ and the longitude by chronometers was 67* 29' 45". We took the opportunity of being in port to repair farther the damage the vessels had sus- tained by the ice, though we were not at leisure to lighten the brig as much as was required for making effectual repairs. On the 26th the weather was remarkably fine, and the wind blew lightly between S.S.W. (by west), and N.N.W. In the afternoon the Beau- foy sailed, to examine some neighbouring islands for seal-furs. She had not passed out of sight, when to my astonishment I saw two native canoes paddling towards us: several of the brig's crew were on board the Beaufoy; but as I considered, that if properly treated, nothing hostile need be^. feared from the strangers, in whatever numbers they might appear, I did not recall them. It was not long before the Fuegians arrived within hearing; and soon made themselves known by a singing noise, accompanied with a variety of gestures, which as I afterwards learned were syihbols of friendship. They presently paddled within eight or ten yards of the ship. THE FUEGIAN LADIES. 149 and I desired our men to make friendly signs to them in return, conveying a wish for them to come on board ; but they would not approach. Amazement was apparent in all their actions; and they seemed so agitated that, for a full quarter of an hour, they continued gabbling without the smallest intermission. At length their wonder at our persons having in some degree subsided, they paddled fore and aft about the ship, and were to all appearance undecided whether the vessel was dead or alive; for never having seen a ship before, it could not be expected that they should at once reason from the analogy which their canoes afforded. Fin. l!)% having acquired more confidence, they came on the starboard side, and two of the men ventured on board. From their very miserable appearance, I thought the best office I could do them, would be to give them something to eat and drink. I therefore had bee^ bread, and wine brought, and helped them plentifully. Of the beef they eat a little, but neither the good Madeira wine nor the bread was acceptable. I soon saw that they were particular in keep- ing their women in their canoes, at which I was not sorry, as from the jealous disposition of savages in general, it was advisable for us to avoid any intercourse with their wives. I did not, however, neglect helping the ladies to a L S r i 15Q TH|i ?JATIV«S' ASTP^^ISH^IENT. IHUe wine, which I gave them in a japanned cup^ and this utensil appeared so marvellously fine in their eyes, that they spilled the wine in ex^ amining it, and cunningly retained it. I did not attempt to recover the cup^ as I thought they were certainly in want of it for drinking with i but on the following day I saw it in about a dozen stripes suspended at the women's necks. The men seemed astonished at all they saw, and every kind of iron work attracted their at* tention more than any thing else — a cast iron pot of SOO gallons surprised them so much, that they were even afraid to approach it Perceiving their fondness for this metal, and having a quantity of hoops on board, I gave each of them a piece, with which they were quite delighted ; and soon after receiving the present they left us, and re- paired to their wigwams, which were situated at the head of the harbour. On the following morning, the ^th, by sun- rise, they were lying ofi^ making a great shout- ing, expressive of their anxiety to see us, and to get on board. I had given orders that they should not be admitted till our crew were called on deck in the morning, which was usually at four o'clock. In the course of a little time a th^rd canoe was seen approaching^ which our first visitors met at some distance from the ship ; and by their coming immediately oi^ bpafd all -^iSV THE MIRROR* 151 together, it was evident that the latter had been informed by their countrymen of the friendly reception they had met with. The number of our present visitors was twenty-two men, women and children, and now that they had acquired confidence in our amicable intentions, they be- came interesting and amusing. I gave them all in turns a sight of the cabin ; and the bright stove, and the looking-glass, were objects that pleased them greatly. The monkey trick of looking be- hind the mirror for the reflected object was tre-^ quently practised ; and though they had no doubt often seen themselves reflected in the water, yet having never before observed so sudden and dis* tinct an appearance, their intuitive judgment was not sufSciently acute to satisfy fhem of the simi- larity. Knowing the propensity Indians generally have to stealing, a watch was kept over them ; but on the boatswain returning from the head of the harbour, he informed me that they had stripped a barrel of the hoops. An adept in the art of pilfering had also displayed no mean talent in stealing an iron belaying pin, notwithstanding the strictness of the look-out I judged it proper to impress them with an idea of the offence of stealing ; and accordingly placed this criminal in the main rigging, and gave him a smart lash with a cat of nine tuls, making L 4> 15^ SAWING AMUSES THB NATIVES. him understand that it was a punishment for the crime of which he had been guilty. This gentle chastisement had the desired ef&ct, for they were ever after afraid even to lift a piece of iron with- out permission. On the S7th the weather was fine with a fresh breeze from the S.W. Our carpenters were employed felling trees, and sawing them into boards. The operation of sawing amused our friends, the Fuegians, greatly ; and their attach- ment to the saw would no doubt have led to the stealing of it, had we not always brought it on board at night. This day only men and boys came on board : the cause of leaving their women behind I could not learn, but they were probably employed in some domestic concerns. Among this tribe was a fine grown boy of about the age of fourteen, whom I would have liked much to remain with us, but as soon as he understood my desire he returned to his canoe^ and I never afterwards could persuade him to come on board. On the S8th the wind was variable, having gone completely round the compass, and blowing fresh. This morning all the Fuegians came along side, and in a different dress, or rather colouring, for the women had changed the hue of their countenances from red to jet black, and the men were decorated with red and white A NATIVE DOG. US Streaks running horizontially across the face. Their appearance altogether was as grotesque as can well be imagined ; though in their estima- tion it was, no doubt, considered the perfection of fashion. In the early part of our acquaint^ ance, whenever I expressed a desire for any of their small articles they gave me them without any return ; but now they had acquired an idea of barter, and in exchange for any of their ar- ticles of simple manufacture, they demanded something bright, such as buttons, &c. ; but bits of iron hoops were particularly objects of esteem ; and I have no doubt, but in this trifle they con- ceived our riches to consist A youth of engaging features whom I had on board, was the most successful in this traffic: the women seemed much interested with him, though I am at a loss to know whether they were right in their idea of his sex, as with them the females do all the work, and this youth was here kept in constant employment. I procured a young dog from them, which was remarkable for its cunning : they have only one kind of this animal, and it partakes much of the nature of the fox, resembling it a good deal aboi^t the head, and being nearly the size of the terrier. They are remarkably fond of their dogs ; and if they have any object to which they ascrit^e supema^ tural power, it may possibly be to them, since i ('l^'^iiKi''' 1 1 ^^'i-s- 154 PETTY THEFTS PP THE NATIVES. thei** attention to them, and dependence on them for safety, is greater than could be expected. . On the 29th, the weather was fine, and the wind from W.S.W. Early in the morning, the Beaufoy arrived ; and this was not unobserved by the Fuegians, who immediately went on board, where they were kindly received by the crew. Curiosity was mutual, and the sailors took great delight in friendly intercourse with them. They committed several petty thefts on board the Beaufoy; and one in particular is worth mentioning, as it exhibits in a remarkable degree their powers of imitation. A sailor had given a Fuegian a tin pot full of coffee, which he drank, and was using all his art to steal the pot The sailor, however, recollect- ing, after a while, that the pot had not been re- turned, applied for it, but whatever words he made use of were always repeated in imi- tation by the Fuegian. At length, he became enraged at hearing his requests reiterated, and placing himself in a threatening attitude, in an angry tone, he said, " You copper-coloured rs«- cal, where is my tin pot ?" The Fuegian, iiifi- suming the same attitude, with his eyes fixed on the sailor, called out, "You copper-coloured rascal, where is my tin pot ?" The imitatk>n was so perfect, that every one laughed, except the sailor, who proceeded to search him, and ATTEMPTED ESCAPE* •l.i- 155 under his arm he found the article missing. For this audacious theft, he would have pu- nished the mimic, but Mr. Brisbane interpos- ing, sent him into his canoe, and forbade his heipg allowed to come on board again. On the 2d of December^ about mid-day, the Fuegians were seen close to the shore, paddling their canoes out of harbour, without having previously shown any intention of leaving the place. This they were, no doubt, considering as a fortunate escape, for notwithstanding a strict watch had been kept over them, during their stay with us, I had reason to suspect that they had stolen several small articles, and were now thinking to get clear off with their booty. Instead of the roar which they generally kept up, not a voice was to be heard amongst them, and the canoes were so close to the shore, that we could s( 3ely discern them. I immediately ordered the boat to be manned, and put off. The Fuegians were now paddling with all their strength to get beyond our reach, but in vain : we soon overtook them ; and they looked as if they expected to be searched for stolen goods ; but they were not a little surprised when, instead of this, I presented each of the men with a piece of hoop, and each of the women, by way of a medal, with a brightened halfjpenny, with a hole punched for a string, for suspending it to the neck. iliP 156 THE CUSTOMS OF THESE SAVAGES; They were very grateful for these trifles ; and I took farewell of them with a hearty shake of the hand. Being now at ease, they commenced their usual roar and paddled off. Having related these incidents as they oc- curred, I may, with propriety, say something of the impressions I received as to the character of this tribe. I would willingly, for the honour of human nature, raise these neglected people somewhat higher in the scale of intellectual estimation than they have reached ; but I must acknowledge their condition to be that of the lowest of mmkind. At this age of the world, it appears almost in- credible, and certainly disgraceful, that there should stiU exist such a tractable people in almost pristine ignorance. As I found nothing of foreign manufacture among the Fuegians, it may be reasonably con- cluded that we were their first visitors, at least of the present generation. The savage custom of the women doing all the work prevails here: they paddle the canoes, while the men sit at their ease ; they gather the shell-fish food, rear the children, build the wigwams, and, in short, perform every duty that requires exertion, though in return, however, the men show a good deal of affection for their wives, and are careful of their offspring. An instance of their / THEIR FORMS» FEATURES, AND DRESSES. 157 parental affection appeared on occasion of my visiting their wigwams one morning unexpect- edly, when, supposing that I had come on shore to steal their children, they infolded them in their arms, and all the signs of amity I could express, were insufficient to induce them to let them go. The stature of these Fuegians is low. I mea^ sured two of their ordinary sized men, and found one of them five feet four inches, and the other five feet five. The contour of their faces, and the form of their heads, as exhibited in the annexed plate, are those which are found to be peculiar to most Indians : they have flat noses, small eyes, full and well formed chests, small arms ; — their legs are small and ill shaped, which arises, no doubt, from the custom of sitting on tlieir calves, in which situation their appeaittince is truly awkward. The women are better featured than the men : many of their faces are interesting, and, in my opinion, they have a more lively sense of what passes. Thie only clothing the males wear, is a skin over their shoulders, reaching little more than half way down the back ; some have not even this sorry garment. The women have generally a larger skin over their shoulders, and are, in other respects, clothed as decency requires ; and even the youngest of their female 1-V rftt ■ V 158 THE ISLANDS OF ST. FRANCIS. <:hildren have the same covering, which evinces a degree of modesty seldom found amongst un- tutored people. By the account I have given of this tribe, the reader will be able to form a general idea in re- gard to these remote Australians, but a particular relation of our further communications with them will be necessary to assist him in forming just conclusions; and as a single glance is not sufficient to enable an observer to decide accurately, I shall describe minutely their behaviour and in- clinations, by which alone a true estimate of their character is to be obtained. On the 2d of December, the weather being fine. Captain Brisbane accompanied me in a whale-boat up the bay, and assisted me in making obsecvations on its navigation. From a cohsi^i derable height, we perceived several channels running through the supposed termination, form- ing a cluster of islands, which, being separated from the main islands of Tieira del Fuego, by a navigable strait, may, with some propriety, be called the Islands of St Francis, after the name of the sound, which appears to have been first entered in the year 1714. Having sounded a safe anchorage, in ve^ smooth water, which the accompanying chart exhibits, we returned on board. At 10 in the morning of the Sd, we weighed, ILDEFONSOS ISLANDS AND TURN POINT. 159 and both vessels proceeded with a moderate breeze from N.£. towards the islands of Ilde« fonsos. At 6 P.M., Cape Horn bore £. ^ S. distance six leagues. In the morning of the 4th, we were within two and a half miles of the Ildefbnsos and each vessel sent a boat on shore. We continued off these islands, with {feasant weather till the 7th, when I stood over, with the Jane, to Tierra del Fuego, a distance of sixteen miles, to search for an anchorage. The principal officers being absent, I sent the boat- swain, with a whale-boat, among some islands which were likely to afford what I sought. He presently returned with a report, of having found a cove, round a point, which I called Turn Point, with good bottom, in which several vessels might anchor. On this we made all sail back to the Ildefonsos, and after having received our boats on board, with a quantity of fur-seal skins, both vessels made sail to Turn Point. It was 19 o^dock before we reached the cove in which we were to bring up ; and it being dark, I desired tbe boatswain to inform me when he thought we were within a proper distance to drop the an- chor, as we could see the land but imperfectly ; but through his indistinct recollection of the place we were close to the surf on the beach before be gave any intimation ; and it was only by dropping tlie fuichor, at the instan: our situ- 160 BLUNDER COVE. ation was discerned, though with the topsail at the masthead, that we were prevented from going on the rocks. Fortunately the wind was light; and after the sails were taken in, by means of a stream-anchor laid out, we moved the vessel into safety. I was angry with the boatswain for his mismanagement; and that he might improve bis judgment, by being reminded of his mistake, I called this place Blunder Cove. In justice to this person, however, I must say, he was a good seaman, and well disposed : his error in judg- ment arose, from having formed an opinion of the capacity of the anchorage from a boat ;— for instead, of being large enough for several vessels, there was scarcely room for one. The altitude of the eye above the horizon is frequently very delusive in the estimation of space, if the angle under which objects are seen be not particularly attended to. The Beaufoy had anchored a little to the outside of us ; and the following morn- ing, having determined on sending her again to Shetland, arrangements were made for that purpose. I fully expected that the coast would be clear of ice, by the time she would arrive, which would be within a few days of mid* summer. As I did not consider this anchorage con- venient, I went in a whale-boat in search of one more commodious; and little more than a mile 12 sel for A NEW TRIBS OF FUEGIANS. 161 to the eastward, I found one with a clear bottom of sand and mud beneath in twenty fathoms water, within three cables' length of the shore. We were taking the depth of water with the lead, when Among the kelp we saw four ca- noes of Fuegians. They were a little startled at first observing us ; but, according to the Fuegian mode of salutation, they soon commenced shout- ing, and making ludicrous attitudes expressive of joy. We rowed within twelve or fourteen yards of them, and held up some pieces of iron hoop, which caught their attention. Like our former visitors, jealousy, or particular care of their women, seemed a principal consideration ; for the men all shifted into two canoes, and came to us, leaving the women behind. We soon inspired them with confidence, and pointed out the vessels, making signs to them to follow us, which they hurriedly did, bringing their wo- men with them ; and as tlie men on this occasion assisted to paddle the canoes, they were almost able to keep pace with our whale-boat against a head-sea. This tribe beiilg strangers, and of better stature than those we had formerly met with, new interest was created in our intercourse with them. From the astonishment they exhibited, and from their not having the smallest article of any thing foreign with them, lam inclined to think that, like the others, they had never seen strangers M ■,--.d v4 1:1 m -) i 16^ A CAKOE PURCHASED before. They possessed a variety of articles of tiieir own manufacture, for which we gave in exchange some things almost useless to us, but very interesting to them. Though I was anxious to give them all the things we could spare, which might be of rtttue to them, bits of iron hoop I knew were the most useful, as the only material for cutting which they possessed was the muscle-shell. I have no doubt that the articles they received from us will, for many years to come, bear testimony to future visitors of our friendly intercourse. As in consequence of the separation of the Beaiifoy we should be left, with but two boats, I considered that, in the event of their being ab- sent, one of the Fuegian canoes might be use- ful, and I, therefore, set about purchasing a new one from them. As it appeared to have cost them much labour in the construction, I could not but be liberal in my offer, and I presented them with two full barrel hoops, at which they shouted for joy, and in less than five minutes the family, with all their utensUs, were shifted into another canoe, and the purchased one was ready for delivery. I ordered it to be hoisted in, and was surprised to find it heavy ; but jn getting it on deck, I found a platform of clay, the whole length of the bottom, about six inches deep: this was intended as ballast, and to preserve the AND DESCRIBED. 163 bottom against the fire, which they constantly keep in the clay. The length of this canoe was twelve feet four inches, and at the broadest part two feet two inches : it was built of a strong birch bark, which appeared broader than the trees of this neighbourhood afforded, and was probably procured from the interior. Three pieces composed the whole vessel, one piece formed the bottom, and two the sides ; all sewed together with tough twigs. The ribs or timbers were of a semicircular form, and placed with their flat sides downwards, and in contact with each other, in a vertical form ; so that, with thd cement of clay, the canoe is rendered strong, and capable of going against the wind at a quick rate. The internal arrangement of com- partments seems orderly* The fishing utensils occupy the first division ; in the next sits the female, who uses the foremost paddle ; the third division is occupied as the fire-place ; the fourth is the baling well, where the water is collected to be thrown out; and next follows the place where the men sit ; in the fifth division sits the female, who uses the afler paddle ; and last of all is the after-locker, in which they keep all their valuables. Their spear poles are gene- rally placed projecting over the stem. Having secured the canoe and the paddles, I returned to the contemplation of the sellers, ii \'!i 164 INSTANCES OF APPETITE. who, I was glad to see, were quite merry, and seemingly happy in the possession of the hoops with which I had paid them. Hunger iiow beginning to pinch them, they turned their attention to some of the crew, who were employed in splitting whale-bone blades for making brooms ; and perceiving the gum upon the bone, as it was still in the state in whicli it was taken from the whale, they seized this mucilaginous substance, and eat it most ravenously. I thought this an instance of de- praved appetite, ?mt in another part of the ship was one stili more disgusting. They were here gobbling up some dirty rancid seal fat, which had been lying about for several days. I was willing that they should get something to satisfy the cravings of hunger, but this way of doing it was intolerable, and I obliged them to desist. I then gave them some young seal, and some bread, which they put away in their canoe for a future occasion. As we had no spirits on board, I offered them wine, and pressed them to take some, but^ like their countiymen at Cape Horn, they merely sipped a little, seeming not to like it. The common missile weapon of the Fuegians is the slings which is made of the skin of the seal or otter. It is generally about three feet long, and of the common .form : the strings 14. .ma THE SLING AND THE SPEAR. 165 hd l»ps ley are sometimes made of small gut, handsomely plaited, and terminated by knots of ingenious workmanship. Having procured some of these weapons, I prevailed on one of the most intelli- gent natives to show us their method of using them, which turned out to be exactly like our own ; for Mr. Brisbane, who well understood the art, used the sling with as much effect as the Fuegians, at which they were a good deal asto- nished. Th^ir principal spear-heads are entirely con- structed of hard bone, and are about seven inches long, finely pointed, with a barb on one side four inches firom the point. They have an- other kind, with one side filled with small barbs, made very sharp. These are fixed on a wooden pole, straight and smoothly finished, about ten feet long. To the bone is attached a string of hide of various lengths, and this weapon they use in the capture of almost every thing they pursue. In using the spear, they hold it nearly by the middle, and with the right eye cast along it, they dart it with great precision. After dinner our people, before they went to duty, sought a littie amusement with the strangers ; and one merry fellow of our crew commenced singing and dancing, at which the Fuegians formed a circle round him, and imi- tated his song and dance most minutely. The M 3 i. ii :• 'iWi 166 A NATIVE WRESTLES WITH A SAILOR. circular movement, however, presently turned into a sort of play, in which a sailor and Fue- giaji were endeavouring to throw each other. I at first fully expected to see the Fuegian fall, but I was mistaken: he stood so firm, that it appeared more probable that our sailor, who was a stout athletic young man of twenty-three, would ultimately be thrown. The Fuegian was evidently as' skilful as his adversary, but several of the natives, thinking their countryman in danger, flew to his assistance, and I was then obliged to interfere to bring them to order. The Fuegian seemed to enjoy a triumph, at which I was a little mortified, as their obtaining an idea of having equal strength and activity might prove dangerous to us. I could not avoid being angry with our sailor for his inac- tivity, and desired him in future never to con- tend with them in that way. 1 was anxious to discover if they had any ob- ject of divine worship, and accordingly called them together about me, and read a chapter in the Bible ; not that they were expected to un- derstand what was read, but it was proper to show them the Bible, and to read it, in connec- tion with making signs of death, resurrectiou, and supplication to heaven. They manifested no understanding of my meaning; but as I read and made signs, they imitated me, following me NO SIGNS OF RELIGION. 167 with a gabble when reading, raising and lower- ing their voices as I did. During this time, however, they appeared perfectly attentive, look- ing me stedfastly in the face with evident marks of astonishment. One of them held his ear down to the book, believing that it spoke, and another wished to put it into his canoe : in short, they were all mterested in the book, and could they have made proper use of it I would wil- lingly have given it them. A thief, however, was not wanting in this party; for having brought the tinder-box on deck, for the purpose of ascertaining how they obtain a light, a Fuegian adept stole the steel* He was suspected, and on being searched it was found under his arm. I sent him to his canoe with threats of punishment, which be well un- derstood. They procure fire by rubbing iron pyrites and a flinty stone together, and catching the sparks in a dry substance resembling moss, which is quickly ignited. Our sailors had given t^e Fuegians all the old clothes they could spare ; and our visitors soon appeared in costume, one with only a jacket on, another with but a waistcoat, and a third in his shirt: they were all so clothed in patches that - they made a most amusing appearance. M 4 168 STATE OF SOCIETY. U Nothing like a chief could be made out among them, nor did they seem to require one for the peace of their society; for their beha- viour to one another was most affectionate, and allpropeity seemed to be possessed in common, though each of them appeared strenuous to obtain it from us, without regarding his neigh- bour, probably for the honour attached to pro- curing any thing, or the novelty of first posses- sion. The philanthropic principle which these people exhibit towards one another, and their inofiensive behaviour to strangers, surely entitles them to this observation in their favour, that though they are the most distant from civilised life, owing principally to local circumstances, they are the most docile and tractable of any savages we are acquainted with, and no doubt might, therefore, be instructed in those arts which raise man above the brute. On the 9th of December, about noon, we weighed, and stood to sea, with the wind at N.N.E. The Beaufoy proceeded to South Shetland, and we stood under the east side of the Ildefonsos. 1 hese are so small as scarcely to merit the name of islands, the largest being not more than a quar- ter of a mile long. They appear as two in a S.£. or N. W. bearing} but the northern one is merely a cluster of detached rocks: the touthern island THE ISLANDS DIEGO RAMIREZ. 169 is the largest and highest, and contains a quan- tity of tussac on its top, and sea-gull rookeries. These islands have no beaches, and can only be landed on when the water is very smooth. Be- tween them is a channel of a mile wide, which being rocky should not be passed through. At various opportunities I ascertained the longitude of the southern islands by lunar observations and chronometers to be 69° 16^ 50", and the latitude 55° 50' 38"', and the variation at five miles' dis- tance 26° 42^ easterly. The rock of which they are composed is trap porphyry, with porphyritic lava, and they wear a rugged and varied form, as may be seen by the annexed view. In the night of the 9th we stood towards the islands Diego Ramirez, and at two o'clock in the afternoon of the 10th we sent two boats on shore. These islands extend N.W. and S.£. for a space of about four miles, in which are three principal islands, and a great many rocks above water. The middlie island is the largest, and has tussac and sea-gulls upon it, but no water. The latitude observed places the south point in 56° S9f 15", and by chronometers in longitude 68° 24' 15**, The composition of the rock is porphyritic lava. Specimens were deposited by me in the Edinburgh College Museum, and de- scribed by Professor Jamieson, which show that volcanic action has been present in the formation ■ » »' * ' p. •/ III 170 TIERRA DEL FUEGO. .-? n ! of these islands. — A distant view of them is annexed. The weather continued fine, and the wind fi-om the northward and eastward till eight A.M. on the 11th, when the wind freshened at S.£., and by the time we had taken our boats on board, it blew hard, and we bore up for Tierra del Fuego. On the 112th we came to anchor in Clear Bottom Bayj in 20 fathoms water, in coarse sand with mud underneath. During the Idth and 14th we had strong gales from S.W. to W., and we let go the sheet anchor, and rode a strain upon it On the I6th we had heavy rain, and the wind abated. In consequence of the badness of the weather our Fuegian friends did not visit us ; and having completed our har- bour duties, on the 19th we weighed and pro- ceeded to the Ildefbnsos. We continued un- der sail pursuing our business at these islands with favourable weather, and the winds generally between W.S.W. and W.N.W. through the day, and northerly during the night. On the 25th in the afternoon I was surprised to see the Beau- foy approach us, as I fully anticipated that she would have obtained anchorage at South Shet- land. Captain Brisbane informed me that the state of the ice on the coast of Shetland was nearly the same as when we left it on the l6th of November, although it was the 18tb of De- INDIAN COVE. 171 18 cember when he quitted the edge of the ice. He ran 40 miles along the coast, but could no- where approach the land. The ice, too, he re- ported, was of that heavy blue description which was likely to require a long time to dissolve, and he therefore gave up the idea of waiting. He also informed me, that having split his sails the day before, on making this coast, he had put into a harbour which was very commodious, situated 11 miles up a sound, which I afterwards called New Year's Sound, having spent New Year's Day in it A smooth anchorage being necessary for ex- amining the brig, and making repairs, we bore up for New Year's Sound, and at ten o'clock in the morning of the 26th we came to anchor in Indian Cove, so named from a tribe of Fuegians living near it Having moored the vessels in the south cor- ner of the cove, we set about lightening the brig forward, in order to make repairs. I was not astonished when I found that the bows of the Jane were much damaged, as the shocks that she had received by unavoidably running against masses of ice were likely to have been even more destructive. The two lower streaks of the wales*, on * Strong plaolu that go round a ihip, a little above her water line. 172 A RENEWAL OF THE INTERCOURSE the bows, on the larboard side, and one on the starboard side, were found broken. The foremost piece of the stem was broken, and the plank that was stove under water was providen- tially jammed in between the timbers in such a way as, with the plank we had nailed over it on the coast of South Shetland, to have admitted very little water. The fore part of the vessel being sufficiently out of the water to effect the repairs, the carpenters were set to work. The Fuegians had of course noticed the ships come in, as their settlement was on an island at the entrance of the cove ; but as they had seen only the cutter before, they were cautious and slow in coming to the brig. They presently approached, however, in several canoes, shouting as usual, and spreading out their arms, apparently impressed with a sensation of fear and joy. I soon enticed them on board ; for though we did not understand each others' language, yet inter- course with them afforded me, through their actions, a melancholy pleasure in observing the gradation of human understanding. Among these L saw several with a cast of fea- tures difiering from the general character of Fuegians, having high noses, and being somewhat taller than the rest It occurred to me that these differences of features might be faint traces of the Spaniards, -J.-1' i ifl^^^^^^^^^^H ^^^^^ IHHi^^lHHHIIHi^i ISBKK: WP^>*v. ^^^^^^^i^^^^^^^H a I^F^p '^ H r^^ w. ^■^^^^^^■l W ■■■ ^^^Vifc a jt. B • t???^ 1 1 ' ^^^^■■Kik K- ^^'m :im:ite mmt ' '\ 1 H'i^^ ' ^ tSil ' 1 .,... ;Ji Hav ''Hi' I 1 Jl i . -^liTMia kI Bi' r M i ^^''- ^ ' ii^i R^^K{ i s ^H^^n ^^[^^1^ mtm^i W ^"t 1'" I'mlil { m mS§$-- r % ' ^ ' 3 ''IPpI. m WSm("'-^WBI^, r ^m,:^^. ^^■^■l^, !||]H1 mm- > ' ■ ^^^^^^^^^R*H^i jfi^^^l K ' ^K-' ' ' i ^ ^^H" .. 1 ^K'-^' u«J f«^ ^ l|; I^H'^i ■-. S'. < ;i ■^■'^1 H|v kv ": m^ mm '''''<^B|HK^'. I 1 r a 1' € HwrB' ^^^Bv^' ^^^^w K^^^^^^H 1 - - 1 ^ \: 1 V li ■m^ i^<^. ,tAV '■'*)'• ■ '' Wi v.f- I i :M. '1'^.''' WITH THE FUE6IANS. 173 who made a settlement in the straits of Magellan 244 years ago, but which lasted only seven years. The ancestors of these Fiiegians might have been in intercourse with these Spaniards at that period; and those Fuegians I have mentioned as differing in features may have descended from that connection. This seems probable from their having two Spanish words canoa, canoe, and perro, a dog. My steward, who was a Spaniard, addressed them many times, but could never discover their having any other words of Spanish. I found great difficulty in acquiring a slight knowledge of their language, from their con- tinually repeating my words in imitation; so that I am not quite decided as to the meaning of many of their sounds, and. shall therefore not attempt to describe them particularly. Sayam Abaish Shevoo Nosh means Water. — Woman. — — Approbation. — Displeasure. And in most of their words it inay be observed that the sounds S and Sh predominate. These words which I have mentioned are found to correspond pretty nearly with words of similar meaning in the Hebrew language. Thus I am informed that yam means sea or water, and ausha, woman, in Hebrew; and also that the V kS'S 1 < «:j * 1 pi ■ ' .*. i 174 DERIVATION OF THEIR Li^NQUAGE. sounds S and Sh occur perpetually in that lan^ guage. The words canoa, a canoe, and perro, a dog, which I have mentioned above as being derived from the Spanish, may also be ultimately re- ferred to the same original ; for in Hebrew, canna means a hollow reed or receptacle, a cane, — and pera, a wild animal, These and many other words, originally Hebrew, which are to be found in the Spanish language, can be easily accounted for, as having found their way into it through the Arabic, the language of the Moors; but how the Fuegians could get hold of Hebrew words is certainly a question of some interest to philologists. On the 27th I sent the Beaufoy to the island of Diego Ramirez, with fourteen men additional firom the brig. In the forenoon about forty Fuegians came on board, and amused themselves in various ways. A boy was kept constantly watching them, to prevent thieving ; but fi'om their spreading about the decks, though I had every valuable movable put below, he probably did not succeed in preventing stealth. I had given the mass a present of some seal's fat, and young seal, killed when about three weeks old ; but one of them, an old fellow about 60, was not satisfied with this donation, and stole a young seal from a sailor, who had cleaned it. FR0PBB:PS IN' COBfMON. lan^ 175 intemimg it for his own dinner. It is the prac- tice of the Fuegians to laugh at being detected in a theft ; but this old man, on being discovei'ed, was much alarmed, and went to his canoe, nor did he venture from the settlement until he un- derstood, at my seeing him there, that he was taken into favour again. This tribe were clothed in a similar way to those of their countrymen we had met with before : they had only a skin over their shoulders, and several of them were quite naked, unless red ochre may be considered a covering, for of that they wore a complete coat We had few old clothes to spare, having been liberal to our first visitors ; but in lieu of otter skins, which I pur- chased off their backs, I gave each of them a garment of some description. I had given one of them a white flanniel shirt, which he slipped on, and skipped about among his companions in great ecstasy. This shirt being in high estima- tion, they wore it by turns for eight or ten minutes, and after being satisfied with it in this form, they tore it into ribbons, and divided it share and share alike. This was an instance of their holding property ip common. Having occasion to fill some casks with water in the after part of the ship, in order to raise her still more forward, I set the Fuegians to draw water ; and after being shown the most conve- iff *» t .1 "^"H 176 DELIGHTED WITH MUSIC. nient way, they performed it with as much expe- dition as our own people. I also employed them in pulling and hauling, when we required strength, and this they did with eagerness, but the noise of singing to each pull was deafening: after hear- ing one of our sailors sing, as is usual, they thought that it was to be imitated also, and all roared to- gether in unison. The women and little chil- dren remained in the :;;.noes close alongside, and they were kept amused by receiving small presents occasionally. I tried what efiect music would have, and had the fiddle played to them. It seemed to please them, but the German flute still more, and vocal music more than either. The women, indeed, were in ecstasy at hearing a song given by a young man who had a fine voice. I showed them some sea paintings, which attracted their attention, .though only for a mo- ment J but I remarked those of the most glaring colours retained their admiration longest and most. An opportunity offered our visitors of chang- ing their dress. This was at a tub of dark clay, which we had brought from the Falkland Islands. They soon rubbed on a complete coat of it, and were highly pleased with their new costume. The women, too, were indulged with a slight rub; when the clay became dry, however, I fancy they found it unpleasant, as they all soon rubbed it off again. CUAE OF SORE EYES. 177 Observing one of them with sore eyes, I made a Imiment, and washed them. He evidently per- ceived my intention^ and I believe expected that he was to be cured at once ; which did not» of course, take place, but, by washing them twice or thrice a day, in three days they were nearly well. I had cut the hair from over the eyes of this man, becauie it irritated them; and his countrymen thought it improved the appearance, and came to me to have theirs cut in the same way. As it was a harmless request, I complied with their desire, and, to amuse them, powdered them with flour. The ladies were quite delighted with this head-dress, but I found it too expensive to be continued, not having an over-abundant supply of the article on board. I had made them acquainted with the destruc- tive effects of fire-arms, and at the report of a great gun» which we fired, the women shrieked, and the men were appalled, and looked at the engine with a vacant gaze. I observed a bold and cunning tellow among this people, whom I judged to be the appointed thief of this tribe. This fellow, having found his way into the main-top, was trying to pull off the iron work about it. I made signs to him to come down, but he paid no attention. Having my pistols in my pocket, I pointed one at him, meirely to frighten him into coippliance, and he N m «iw ''''\i ''.^•r 178 INSOLENCE OF A NATIVE. descended; but on reaching the deck, he put on a revengeful countenance, and threw a piece ,of rag in my face. As I was determined to check this insolence, I took up my fowlingpiece, which was at hand, and presented it ; at which he fled to the forepart of the ship, and his companions with him, shouting for fear. The women joined in the howl of alarm ; but peace wag soon re- stored by my sending the ofiender into his canoe, and putting my fowlingpiece below. I intended, at a proper opportunity, to make this fellow. sen- sible of his ill behaviour, but, in the meantime, I only forbade his coming on board. By this little misunderstanding their confidence in our friendly consideration for them was shaken, as they retired to their settlement much sooner than usual. There being but eight of us in number on board, two of whom were boys, it became neces- sary, in case of any dangerously offensive beha- viour of the Fuegians, that we should be armed, and I therefore required each person to have a cutlass, and a musket or pistol at hand. In the moiiiing of the dOth, about four o'clock, between forty and fifty Fuegians jumped on board, in defiance of those of our crew who were on dieck. The second mate, Mr. Mathewson, taking an alarm, came to my state-room, saying that the na- tives intended to take possession of the vessel. His 20 RELIGION. 179 suspicions were rational, bujb his fears turned out to be groundless ; for, on my going up with my pistols in my hand, some who were on the cabin stairs, trying- to get below, flew up, and those on deck I brought immediately to order. It is not unlikely that a skirmish would have taken place had my people been allowed to strike them, for a little irritation would, most likely^ have roused them at least to defence. Their conduct in the morning had been ir- regular, but I took no further notice of it, after bringing them to their usual course of inoffen- sive behaviour. In the middle of the day I assembled these people together, in order to ascertain if they had any idea of a future state. I practised the same mode of enquiry as I had done with the last tribe, by reading out of the Bible, and making signs to them. I certainly observed them to have a solemn fee.^in;qr, which they exhibited by looking each other in the face, with a counte- nance expressive of extreme wonder, and speak- ing to one another in a low tone of voice ; but, notwithstanding these appearances of a religious principle, I could discern nothing like ft form of worship among them. By making them small presents at various times, I procured a quantity of articles of Hmr manufacture, such as necklaces, baskets, bowd N 2 \ I Iff l\ ;!2! ISO NECKLACES, BASKETS, BOWS. iind arrows. These, which are their principal possessions, I shall shortly describe. : '< Their necklaces are very ingeniously put to- gether, and consist of small shells of the turbin- ated genus, possessing a beautiful coloured en- amel. They are perforated near the orifice, and are strung together on a cord made of gut, so neatly plaited, that, though it is only the thickness of small whip-cord, it contains no fewer than five strings, so exceedingly small that it creates some Wonder how they can perform the plaiting by the hand. Their baskets are made of strong grass, and exhibit considerable skill in the construction. The . grass is put together after the man- tier of weaving, the blades being worked at right angles, and over the top is a handle equal to half the circumference of the bas- ket. . Their bows are generally about three feet eight inches long, and are made of an elastic wood which is smooth and hard. The string is of seal-skin, and sometimes of gut plaited : the arrows are of hard wood, and finely polished j they are about twenty-five inches in length, with a sharp triangular flint for the point, fixed into a cleft in the wood. When the arrow has entered, the shaft may be drawn out, but the flint re- niains. ARRIVAL OF THE BEAUFOY. 181 . They have another weapon, consisting of a similar-shaped flint, inserted in a handle about nine inches long ; and this they probably use as a stiletto. . I am not aware that these people are giv^n to war, though I saw three of this tribe with scars on their bodies, which indicated their having re- ceived wounds. ' ''Vfffy'' . On the 31st the Beaufoy arrived with a quan- tity of seal-skins, and came to anchor. Our carpenters had now completed their work on the bows of the brig, and we proceeded to stowing the hold, and bringing the vessel into her usual trim. As I can duly appreciate the nature of a good shipwright, it is but justice to my carpenter, J. Aitkenson, to say that his skill and industry on this occasion, of repairing serious damages with few materials, gave me great satisfaction. Our friends, the Fuegians, came again on board soon after the arrival of the Beaufoy, no doubt expecting a feast of seal's fat and flesh. They were not disappointed, for Mr. Brisbane had brought them a quantity, and it was shared out among them. Our people were busily employed in cutting blubber from the seal-skins, when thi^ natives, enticed by the strippings of fat, ex- pressed a desire to assist I allowed them to do so, and they appeared clever at the business. It N 3 ,i i, I'l 1% i-S ^\ai ' Vv. 1 ~^T 18S THIEVERY. ftX.-,. was soon noticed, however, that they had an- other intention besides that of dressing the skins ; for one fellow, while at work, had hauled a skin, bit and bit, under his arm, in a most dexterous manner. But the second mate had observed the theft, and when the Fuegian was proceeding to leave the ship, made him deliver up his prize, at which he laughed most heartily, though on my approaching he retired to his canoe, quite aware that he had offended me. Their knowledge of barter had evidently in- creased their spirit for thieving, so that they would now steal articles from the cutter, and endeavour to sell them at the brig for some things they liked better, and vice versa. As we had now no fears of being overpower- ed by numbers, I had got the fellow on board, who had thrown the ^^ in my face, and made him understand that I had it in my power to punish him ; his fears and humility, however, procured him his pardon, and he continued to behave himself properly. In the afternoon Captain Brisbane accompa- nied me to the settlement. I had signified to the Fuegians that we intended to visit them, and they paddled home before us. We landed at a convenient place, and were met by a party, who conducted us to the town, which consisted of FUE6IAN SETTLEMENT. 183 but a few wigwattis, slightly constructed, and containing a population of about sixty. ^ The first circumstance that struck me was the absence of the women and little children : it was evident that on our approaching they had sent them into the woods, and had lighted fires almost all round the island. This appeared, in part, to be an effusion of* joy at pur visit ; but it also seem- ed to be an invitation to other Fuegians, as two strange canoes came to us from the upper part of the sound. In one of the wigwams I saw it sea-gull, perfectly tame, and jumping about, Svhich conveys an idea of their affection for the lower animals. I had used the precaution of having our boat at hand, and the crew armed, which enabled us to mix among them without fear. On my expressing a desire for muscles, they commenced roasting them for me, and vied with each other in bringing me the best The old man whom I have mentioned as having stolen a young seal appeared here, and I gave him to understand that he was forgiven. To amuse and astonish them I killed two sea-gulls at one discharge of my fowlingpiece, at which they gazed with wonder, particularly the strangers ; as I never allowed them to see me load the gun, but after firing always put the muzzle to my mouth, at which they generally fled back, be. lieving that I loaded it by speaking into it. I N 4 ^v?-:/i** 184 FUEGIAN SETTLEMENT. thought it proper to hide from them the nature and management of fire-arms, as they are often found dangerous in the hands of barbarians. Our people were mixing among them, singing and dancing, but on two of our crew wishing to go into the woods, the natives became uneasy for their wives, and I was obHged to interfere. This forbearance on our part did not, however, meet with a suitable return ; for one of the Fue- gians (mistaking the sex) behaved very strangely to a young man of our party, who with some difficulty made his escape to the boat Our curiosity being satisfied, we bade them farewell, and returned on board. I saw no case of sickness among these people ; none lame, except one man who had the palsy. As far as I had an opportunity to observe, the proportion of women is about two-thirds that of the men ; and with respect to longevity, includ- ing the women, they may be said to contain four classes. The oldest, which were three men, by their wrinkled appearance I judged to be from 60 to 60 years of age ; the second class were twenty-four individuals, about 40 ; the third, of which there were twenty-seven, were from 20 to SO; and the rest, being youths, girls, and children, were twenty-six ; making the total number of this tribe to consist of about eighty persons. SET FIRE TO THE WOODS. 185 On the 1st oi January the Fuegiatis landed at the head of the cove and set fire to the woods. As the smoke, by the direction of the wind, came right upon us, I ordered a musket to be fired over their heads, to make them desist. They paid no attention to this, but continued kindling the woods, and as we were now almost enveloped in smoke I was determined to check them effectually, and therefore fired a great gun shotted in such a direction as to be perfectly clear of them, but so as to let them hear the whistle of the shot. On hearing this and the repoit of the gun, they ran precipitately to their canoes, and paddled home as fast as pos- sible. I was at a loss to know, in this instance, what they meant by setting fire to the woods, as they must have known that it would be troublesome to us, and I considered it always as a signal of friendship \ in the present case, however, it was an actual annoyance, and was necessarily put a stop to. The following morning the Fuegians came on board without taking the smallest notice of the guns that had been fired, and conducted them- selves peaceably. The brig being ready for sea, at 10 we weighed, with the wind at west, and proceeded to the Diego Ramirez, leaving the Beaufoy at anchor. We continued under saU 186 VESSELS SEPARATE. •'^ off these Islands, ^1 the 4th in the morning, when we returned. The Fuegians, seeing us approach, calculated on receiving supplies^ and hurried alongside. The vessel being under sail, I was much afraid some of their canoes would be upset, but they managed them surprisingly. We must have had nearly the whole rettlement about us, togeth^ with some strangers, as I enumerated eleven canoes, eich containing not fewer than seven individuals. I made a signal to the Beau- foy for & boat, and Captain Brisbane came on board. He informed me that the natives had be- haved themselves in a very orderly manner, and that he had nothing to fear from being left alone with them. Our business requiring that the vessels should separate, I gave him his instruc- tions, which were, to remain in the neighbour- hood till the 00th, to proceed then to the Falk- land Islands and South Georgia, and to rejoin me in the month of March, on the coast of Pata- gonia : but I particularly cautioned him not to remain among the natives longer than he found them friendly. Our final arrangements being made, we took a last farewell of the natives, who went to their canoes reluctantly, and we proceeded to the eastward for the coast of Pa- tagonia. I was afterwards glad to learn from Captain Brisbane, that, during his stay, they behaved in a quiet, friendly manner. FACE OF THE COUNTRY. 187 The islands of Tierra del Fuego ext^iid in length about 360 miles, from east to west, along the Straits of Magellan ; and in extreme breadth, from north to south, about 160, from the straits to the extremity of Cape Horn. This tract of country, as far as my inform- ation goes, contains a large population, par- ticularly towards the shores of the Straitft <^ Magellan. ^?r Most of those islands are studded on the sides with a small beach tree, about twenty-four feet high, and eight or ten inches in diameter. They grow so crooked, that a straight trunk more than ten or twelve feet is rarely found. I built ^ boat of this wood, however, which when sea- soned, answered the purpose very well. In the interior of the country several moun- tain tops appear constantly covered with snow, though I do not consider the highest to be more than 3000 feet. The great length of day in the summer season has an enlivening effect ; and, when the weather is fine and the water smooth, the wildnese jf the scenery is quite romantic. The volcano, which has been seen by several persons, in passing Cape Horn, was not at this time visible, but I picked up a quantity of vesi- cular flaggy lava, which, no doubt, had been ejected from it. ;"> .'f' Q'^y, J' ■s-l j i !' 188 CLIMATE. : 'Captain Basil Hall saw it in flame during his passage round Cape Horn, in the year 182^, in |Iis Majesty's ship Conway; and in 18^0, when on our first voyage, in the month of January, I saw the sky much reddened over Tierra del Fuego, which I supposed at the time was pro- duced by the volcano. The climate of this re- gion has been differently described by persons who have passed through it, and I doubt not but they have been respectively correct, inas- much as they have framed their report frpm the circumstances of weather at each particular time. The fact is, that much depends oq the direction pf the wind ; since, in the middle of summer, when it blows strong at south, proceeding from the icy land of Shetland, the thermometer will, often stand so low as 38^ ; and, with the wind from the opposite quarter, the weather is fre- quently almost as fine as that of summer in England. I saw no quadrupeds, except dogs and otters, nor do I think there are any others to the south of the Straits of Magellan. In conclusion of what I have to remark,, regarding these Fuegians, I may say, I never saw men. whose minds were so unimproved ; and though they may possibly be defective in mental organisation, as has been assert- ed by some, yet there is little doubt, from lis in m \I MENTAL CAPACITT. 189 their tractableness, that their condition might be easily alleviated. This would be the opinion of the philanthropic author of the following remark : ** Any general character, from the best to the worst, from the most ignorant to the most enlightened, may be given to any community, even to the world at large, by the application' of proper means, which means are to a great extent at the command, and under the control, of those who have influence in the affairs of »> men. Few voyagers, who have had intercourse with these Fuegians, have been backward in pronounc- ing them to be the most miserable among men,> and as not having mental capacity for instruc- tion, but without explaining the circumstances which are, probably, the cause of their being so. I have had an opportunity of seeing, that their ignorance may be attributed principally to local causes. It is not likely that any people, who have ever enjoyed the advantage of improvements for ^^ir better subsistence, will ever forget thetti. Hence, it may be presumed, that the ancestors of these tribes were in the same state of ignorant imbecility as the present race, unless we may suppose, that they were driven from the north of the Straits of Magellan, and coming into an unprolific country, which did not afford the t^-' [^H ■ •.'if -.4 190 EFFECT OF CLIMATE. i menw of conthnxii^ thesr a^ arts, they gradually ceased to remember them. As few quadrupeds are found upon the islands of Tierra del Fuego, the natives cannot depend on hunting for their subsistence, and "-a'e con-r sequently obliged to have recourse to fishing. This last occupation compels them to live on the sea coast, where the coldness and gloom of a protracted winter seems to check all mental improvement. The inclemency of the climate, too, seems to produce upon these people a degree of inac- tivity, which, together with the inconveiiiency of moving from place to place, from the na- ture of the country, may produce their dimi- nutive stature \ for, if they originally migrated from the north of the Straits of Magellan, they must have been a more athletic race of men : the climate and the peculiarities of their situ- ation have now, probably, exercised all their rigorous effects upon the inhabitants, and they have arrived at a stationary character. Had they been so circumstanced as to procure a subsistence by hunting, their bodies would, without doubt, have been more vigorous, and their minds, probably, not inferior to those of other savage tribes. Nature has been bountiful in providing a most inexhaustible supply of shell-fish, upon ON THE FUfiGIAN CHARACTER. 191 which they principally live ; and they 'are pra> cured with so little trouble, that no ideas are required which can improve the reasoning facul- ties. No patience or perseverance is necessary, like that exercised by savages, who, in hunting, have to employ reason superior to the instinc- tive cunning of the animals they pursue. The Fuegians' food lies on the shores of different islands^ and their journies are all performed in the canoe; so that being cramped in sitting, their legs are ill formed, and the females, who are the keepers of the canoe, from that circumstance, are worse shaped in the lower extremities than the men. The rugged and mountainous country of Tierra del Fuego, which faces the south, ofi^rs no inducement to agriculture, nor indeed docs it admit of it ; but, towards the N.E. of these islands, the land is more inviting, and the cli- mate better. I have only now to recommend these people, in whom I have taken a lively interest, to the philanthropic part of the world, as presenting an untouched field for their exertions to amelio- rate the condition of their fellow men. True humane and religious charity is best be- stowed on those who most need our help, and are willing to receive it; and this is certainly the 1 t 5 I- r. "o'; 19S DESTITUTION OF THE FUEOIANS. ^ase with these Fuegians, who, of all uncivilised tribes with whom we are acquainted, seem most destitute of every thing which tends to rouse the human mind to exertion. 'mi i *♦ . a 'l^ rt . '^ Mx / tv lim^miui * < '' /tiMfim m. /iiAMtt/ tr litHfiMim i i"' /tHmiutn- /tntr. .tttiff t»M. tul'lUI. ..►^' a^a.-ji-j-.v-gaij: fERMI H E A /«wm(«v, fltM. OFF CAPE HORN. — * TIBRRA DBL VUBGO. — TIOI8 : NATIVBS. — THE RIVIR OALLROOS VISITBP; AMD THB SAMTACRUZ. — PRODUCE or THE 0OA8T. — SEA LIONS. — PATAGONIA. STRAITS OF MAGELLAN. — EARLY DISCOVERERS. — STA- TURE OF THE inhabitants; their MANNERS) &C, -^ ATTEMPTS DURING THE REIGN OF CHARLES II. TO OPEN COMMUNICATIONS WITH THEM. •— SOUTH AMERICAN COASTS. •— MONTE VIDEO. -<• INHABITANTS. — SPANISH PUBtiC DINNER. — » PRICES OF HORSES AND BULLOCKS. •— HARBOUR DAMnmoUS. — SAIL FOR ENGLAND. — ARRIVAL OFF FAUpOVfH. We Stood to the N.E. mUk the wind from S.E. by S., and on the 7th in ti)0 afternoon we were off Bamavelt's Island, near Gap& Horn, and I sent a boat on shore. Nothing but a little grass grows on the island, and around |t lie several small islets. The latitude from my observaticn at noon, when within five miles and a half of the island, gave for its centre 55" 48' 16'", and lon- gitude by chronometers 66° d9'« T|)e wind continued from the S.E., and at day-light we saw the land in the N.N. W., but, by reason of the weather being foggy, we could not perceive the entrance of Straits Le Maire. We, however, stood on, and at nine A.M. the fog clearing away, I found we were actually in the straits, with the o ■ t * l"1' r * .^?R, t^4 194 TIERRA DEL FUEGO. western point of Staten Land bearing £. by N. I have annexed a view of the land of Tierra del Fuego, on the western side of the straits, which, while that side only is seen, presents a gap or valley : which, being below the horizon, might be taken by a stranger for the southern entrance of the straits, thus creating a mistake, in foggy weather particularly, which would lead the vessel into danger. . t^'T^ATisAnwi ', ' In th^ forenoon we saw some whales close in shore, and the boats were sent in pursuit. We stood with the vessel within four or five miles off the shore of Tierra del Fuego^ and sounded in a depth of 7^ fathoms, over a bottom of fine sand. 1 had desired the chief miate, who was in one of the boats, to examine the state of the tide oh the shore, and. we remained lying to, with the wind at8;8;£. and S.£», from eleven o^dock till one^ when the boats returned, without having succeeded in capturing any of the whalesb We had; during this period, drifted to the southward againlst a fresh breeze, and the mate informed me, that the tide had been fiilling rapidly during the time they had been away, and that when they left the beaeh it was about low water. We stood into Success Bay, and about two o'clock the tide changed, and swept us violently to the north* ward, which must have been the tide of flood ; and hence, by calculation, high-water, at the full THE flood: KATIVE8. 195 and change of the moon, will take place at two o'clock. The flood has always been su^^sed to run to the southward through the straits, but according to the circumstances I have described, I am led to believe it runs to the northward.; though pro- bably its continuing to run to the northward through the straits some time after high water by the shore, may have led to erroneous conclusions in that respect. a nient to have communication with this tribe, as it was in this bay» in the year 1769* that Captain Cook visited the inhabitants ; and it would have been agreeable to have ascertained whether, from his intercourse with them, they had derived per* manent improvement, though his stay amongst them was too short to produce any great result Off Cape Saint Diego is a heavy tide-rip when the wind is strong, and at those times it is better to avoid passing through it We stood to the northward, across the entrance of the Straits of Magellan, and on the north side the lai^d ap* pears comparatively low, and fit for agriculture* o ^ ■i-C ■ ' J. t ■ ■»■ 196 THE RIVER OALLEGOS. We coasted Patagonia to the northward, pur- suing our business of examining the shores for fur seals, and taking black whales, as oppor- tuioities permitted; and on the ISth, having sought in vain for the river Gallegos, we came to an anchor in eight fathoms water, at the distance of about five miles from the land. Being in the latitude in which this river is re- presented on the chart of Malespina, I landed to examine the shore, supposing that the entrance might be land-locked in such a way that it could hot be seen at any distance from the shore. I had walked four or five miles along the beach to the southward, without discovering the object of my search, and was returning, when by accident looking over a bank, the situation of the aought- for river appeared, though with very little water in it. This mound was four or five feet above the level of the sea at high water. I have little doubt but the river was open at the time Malespina gave it a name, and must since that period, 1790, have been nearly dried up, by the waters having been diverted from the original course, and the sea having rolled in the bank into its entrance ; or that at the time the river was discovered, there was in the mouth of it a bar or bank, which did not then appear above wiiter; and that the sea has since receded on the eastern coast of Patagooia, leaving the bank .Jf AO 8ANTA CRUZ. 197 par- es for dry. WL:*i o^ 'lese may be tie i ct is nbt easy to decide ; perhaps both the causies men* tioned may have contributed to the change. On the 14th, in the afternoon, the wind freshened to a brisk gale, and we allowed the vessel to drive with the anchor on the ground, nearly in the direction of the coast: at dark we hove the anchor up, and lay to. The weather proved tolerably fine, and the winds were vari- able, often light from the S.E., and we occa- sionally anchored to facilitate our operations. On the S4th we put into the riverof Santa Cruz, for the purpose of making some alteration on the . hold, and converting some blubber into oil. The entrance of this river cannot be seen at a great distance, as the land which lies behind covers it I have given a view of the coast, and a sketch of the river. The shore on the left side going in is high, whilst that on the right is quite low. The latitude of the entrance is 50° 19f 16" S., and longitude ^S"* 14' SO'' W. Directions for jailing into it are added in the Appendix. About seven miles from the entrance the Santa Cruz &lls into two branches, the one running to the S.W., the other to the N. W. The northern, which is by much the smallest, I penetrated about twelve miles, which was very near its source, as the water was quite fresh, and the stream became a mere brook. That branch which runs to the o 3 7«. V ■>m 198 PRODUCE OF THE COAST. N. W. is^ from its appearance, of some extent $ and I should not wonder if it communicates with some branch from the Straits of Magellan, as the water at our anchorage, at the lowest tides, never ran fresh. The N.W. river being very shallow, thd procuring of good water is attended with some delay, as it must be taken at the end of the ebb of the tide, when there is not depth enough to float a loaded boat, and you must therefore wait the following flood. No large wood is found in the neighbourhood of this river. On the eastern shore are many bushes bearing a small bilack berry, little less than a sloe, which when ripe is pleasant to the taster and highly beneficial as an antiscor- butic, of which we took advantage, and eat great quantities of them. I saw no traces of inhabit- ants where I landed, nor land animals, except guanacoes, of which there were many, but too timid to allow us to approach within musket- shot Nearly in the middle of the main river is an island, which is cidled Sea Lion Island, from a number of those animals residing on it This amphibious creatilre, of the seal genus, is most properly denominated the Sea Lion, fi'om Its similarity to that quadruped. The face is not unlike that of a lion ; but in particular, a long mane, and the bold and fierce fi'ont which it pre- sents, when standing on its fore flippers, bear a SEA LIONS. PATAGONIA. 199 tent; with is the tides, very [tided end lepth near resemblance to the appearance oi' thlitani- maL A full grown sea lion measured eleven feet from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail, and eight feet in circumference ; and differs from the ursine seal only in the peoutiariti^s I have mentioned. They may, itideed, be con- sidered as belonging to a class of monsters of the seal species. They res their assailants with great ferocity, but their capture is easily accomplished; by shooting them in the forieh€!ad. The rise pf the tide is so gr6at in this riveiv being thirty^wo feet, that the keel' of the largest ship may be examined, by laying her on the ground; and there is sufficient water on the bar of the river at two-thirds flood of spring tides for a ship of the line. This circumstance might afford great convenience to a vessel requiring repairs in the bottom. The tide flows on the full and change of the moon at forty minutes past eight in the morning) and the ebb runs; four miles anhqur. We had passed three times in and out of this river by the 17th of February, when we took our departure for the Falkland Islands. Little is yet known of the portion of America south of the latitude of 4^ degrees, generally described by the name of Patagonia. That part of the country which lies on the westenv side of the Aqdes, tpwards the Island of Chiloe, has been colonized by the Spaniards, and is better known. o 4f %f ' -'''.'id m aoo PATAGONIA. '(>. As I have seen much of the coast of Patagonia, and have obtained some information from others concerning the country, and its inhabitants, I shall give a brief account of it The tract of country alluded to is bounded on the south by the Straits of Magellan, discovered in the year 1519, by Fernando Magalhaen, and called by us the Straits of Magellan, in the lati* tude of from 52 to 54 degrees south. This passage to the Pacific Ocean was consi- dered of great importance by the Spaniards, as they at first believed it to be the only way, sail- ing westward, to their valuable Peruvian posses- sions, and to the Phillippine Islands. These considerations induced them to make a settle- ment in the Straits, probably with a view of coiii«> manding the passage, to the exclusion . of foreigners, and to facilitate the navigation to their own ships. They chose, in 1581, a situation on the Pbta- gonian side, about ISO miles from the eastern entranee of the Straits, and built a town, which they named Philippville, afler the then' i^igiiing king of Spain. The inviting riches of Peru, Mexico, and the l¥est Indies, however, engrossed all spirit of en- terprise, and all attention, so that the settlement of PhiUippville became neglected, and in 1587^ having existed but seven years, its inhabitants^ PATAGONIA. SOI who at the beginning were 400, were reduced by famine, to a single individual, of the name of Hernando. The distinguished navigator. Cavendish, ar- rived at this place in the year 1587, smd found this unhappy man, the only one reserved to tell the painful story of the fate of his unfortunate companions. Cavendish took him on board, and to perpetuate the melancholy history of the spot he called it Port Famine. From the report given of the enchanting beau* ties of this place by Commodore Byron, we may suppose that there was a want of industry on the part of the inhabitants, as well as of neglect in the government of Spain, in not sending supplies till the lands could be cultivated, and grain brought to maturity. $«; Commodore Byron, having anchored in Port Famine in the year 1764, says, " The next day at noon, having had little wind, and calms, we anchored in Port Famine, close to the shore, and found our situation very safe and convenient ; we had shelter from all winds except the south east, which seldom blows ; and if a ship should be driven ashore in the bottom of the bay, she could receive no damage, for it is all fine soft ground. We found drift wood here, sufficient to have furnished a thousand sail, so that we had no need to take the trouble of cutting green. :m. •& ^09 PATAGONIA. The water of Ledger River is excellent, but the boats caiinot get in till about two hours flood, because at low water, it is very shallow for about three quarters of a mile. I went up it about four miles in my boat, and the fallen trees then ren- dered it impossible to go farther ; I found it, in- deed, not only difficult, but dangerous, to get up thus far. The stream is very rapid, and many stumps of trees lie hidden under it; one of these made its way through the bottom of my boat, and in an instant she was full of water. We got onshore as well as we could; and afterwards, with great difficulty, hauled her upon the side of the river : here we contrived to stop the hole in her bottom, so as that we made a shift to get her down to the river's mouth, where she was soon properly repaired by the carpenter. On each side of this river there are the finest trees I ever saw, and I make no doubt but that they would supply the British navy with the finest masts in the World. Some of them are of a great faeighi-, and n^ore than eight feet in diameter, which is proportionably more than eight yards in circumference, so that four men, joining hand in hand, could not compass them. Among others, we found the pepper tree, or winter's bark, in great plenty. Among these woods, notwith- standing the coldness of the climate^ there are innumerable parrots, and other birds of the most . PATAGONIA. SOS beautiful plumage. I shot, every day, gieese and ducks enough to serve my own table^ and several others, and every body on board might have done the same: we had, indeed, great plenty of fresh provisions of all kinds, for we caught as much fish every day as served the companies of both ships. As I was much on shore here, I trucked many wild beasts in the sand, but never sav one s we also found many huts, or wigwams, but never met with an Indian. The countiy between this fort^ and Cape Forward, which is distant about four leagues, is extremely fine ; the soil appears to be very good, and there are no. less than three pretty large rivers, besides several brooks." The terminating point of this continent ap- pears to have been discoveiv^i by two ^Hol- landers, Jacob Maire, of Amsterdam, and Cor- nelius Schouten, of Hoonu in the year 1516; The straits known by the name of Le Mairt were called after the first mentioned tiavigator ; and Horn, the present name of the Cape; is ik corruption of Hoorn, the name of the city in Holland, of which Cornelius Schouten was a na- tive. The discovery made by these intrepid men opened a new way into the Pacific, which took away much from the importance of the Straits of Magellan, and they have, in consequence^ «ince that time been little frequented. The enor- mous stature of the Patagonians, as described by some navigators, who have passed through 'H Q04, PATAGONIANS. the Straits, is a matter worthy of consideration, since I find the subject spoken of by reput- able authors with much uncertainty: this in- duces me to lay before the reader what inform- ation I have been able to obtain respecting this doubtful circumstance. . I have received particular accounts of the Fatagonians residing in the Straits, from persons of veracity, who have lately passed through them ; and tlie natives are described as being of ordinary stature, firom five feet five inches (the stature of the Fuegians, from whom they are but little different), to six feet. From the drcum* stance of the land on the Patagonian side of the Straits being more temperate, and l6ss mountain- ous than that of Tierra del Fuego, those who live on that side take more land exercise, and are somewhat more robust, better clothed, and live together in larger tribes. These people, it should be remembered, are the inhabitants of the Straits only ; in the interior of this country, which is of vast extent, there may be men of Ooliah-like stature; but we can scarcely suppose them of the size described by a gentleman who was on shore with Commodore Byron, at his interview with the Fatagonians, in the Straits of Magellan. (Vide Byron's Voyage, vol ii. pages 8)^6— 7.) This officer says, tliat ** when they were ten or twelve leagues within the Straits, they saw* through their glasses, many PATAOONIANS. 905 people on shore of a prodigious size, which ex- traordinary magnitude they thought to be a de- ception, occasioned by the haziness of the atmo- sphere, it being then somewhat foggy ; but on coming near the land, they appeared of still greater bulk, and made amicable signs to our people to come on shore. That when the ship sailed on, to find a proper place of landing, they made lamentations, as if they were afraid our people were going off." He also says, <* there were near four hundred of them, and about one-third of the men on horses, not much larger than ours ; and that they rode with their knees up the horses' withers, having no stirrups ; that there were women, and many children, whom some of our people took up in their arms and kissed, which the Indians beheld with much seeming satisfiiction. That by way of afilection and esteem they took his iund between theirs, and patted it; and that some of those he saw were ten feet high, well proportioned, and well featured : their skins were of a warm copper colour, and they had neither offensive nor defensive weapon^/' He also sayA, that "they seemed particularly pleased with Lieut. Gumming, on account of his stature, he being six feet two inches high, and that some of them patted him on the shoulders, but their hands fell with such force that it affected his whole frame." '^i * «>i m V il'JI ! ^06 PATAGONIANS. - I iiave hinted in another place, that those with ^faom Commodore Byron communicated were probably chiefs ; but it is more than probable that this tribe, of whatever size, were not inhabit- ants of the shore, but of the interior, and from the country farther to- the northward, and of course seldom, perhaps never, on the shores of the Straits when any vessels touched there since that time. Patagonians farther to the northward some- times come down in the summer season, and have been seen by my officers, who described them to be generally about six feet high, well propor* tioned, and appearing, upon the whole, above the ordinary size. Unlike the Fuegians, they are fond of spirituous liquors ; but they resemble them in being fond of toys, and every kind of hardware. My chief mate in our first voyage, in 1U19> about the Bay of Saint Mathias, bought a young guanacoe, from a Patagonian, for an old knife. He described this man to be of middle stature, and good looking : he came up to the boat's crew on horseback, with great con- fidence ', alighted, and showed the officer that he had taken the animal with a sling. From the necessity of my remaining on board while under sail, on the coast, I had not oppor- tunities of ascertaining any thing in particular of the native habits, which are no doubt materially . PATA60NIANS. 207 difierent from those of the tribes in the neighbour- hood of Buenos Ay res, who, by intercourse with the Spaniards, have become somewhat assimilated to European manners. I am, upon the whole, fully of opinion, that no men» of the prodigious stature described by Com- modore Byron, ever appear now on the sea coast, whatever giants there may be in the interior of the country. Port Desire, and the Bay of St. Jo- seph, are places at which tribes of Patagonians have been seen by gentlemen of my acquaint- ance, whose description of the natives accords with what I have stated respecting those seen by my officers. The extent of country inhabited by the native Patagonians only, which lies to the south of the river Negro (on which there is a set* tlementof a few Spaniards), may be estimated at 770 miles in length, and 300 in breadth, or j&53,900 square miles. A knowledge of what this extent of country affords, of inhabitants, and commercial produce, particularly on the eastern part of the Andes, would be very desirable, as an advantageous traffic might possibly b6 opened with the natives, who may be more numerous than is supposed. Commodore Anson informs us, that King Charles the Second was of opinion that a country contiguous to a region containing such store of gold and silver as ChiU, was worthy of being .,.n'aM ; " '**--^^'^B ^^^iB 1 ^m \ ^ — f'l, ■ -i'- • ^t' ■» 'ft '(■i 1 S08 PATAGONIA. examined for that precious ore, independent of opening a commerce with the natives for other productions. Induced by these considerations, he sent out Sir John Narborough, to open a communication with the Patagonians, and to ascertain the valAe of their possessions. However, it appears that he did not effect either. Commodore Anson says, (Voyage, p. 93.) " It is true that Sir John Nar- borough did not succeed in opening this com- merce, which in appearance promised so many advantages to this nation. However, his disap- pointment was merely accidental, and* his trans- actions upon that coast, besides the many valu- able improvements he furnished to geography and navigation, are rather an encouragement for future trials of this kind, than any objection against them; his principal misfortune being the losing company of a small bark, which at- tended him, and having some of his people tre- panned at Baldivia." However, it appeared by the precautions and the fears of the Spaniards, that they were fully convinced of the practicability of the scheme he was sent to execute, and extremely alarmed at the apprehensions of its consequences. It is said that his majesty King Charles II. was so prepossessed with hopes of the advan- tages which would redound from this expedition, 13 j •.* SOUTH AMERICAN COASTS. 209 and so eager to be informed of the event of it, that hearing intelligenceof Sir John Narborough's passing through the Downs, on his return, he had not patience to attend his arrival at court, but went himself in his barge to Gravesend to meet him." The coasts of South America are of a different description. The western coast is rocky, high, and rugged, containing many islands, with deep water close to the shores. . The eastern faUs into many deep and fine bays, with beaches reaching nearly the whole length of the line ; and the water deepens so gradually, that at the distance of 100 miles from land, there is not more than a sounding of seventy fathoms. . The shores, which pres^it a pleasing irregu- larity of height, consist of a soil of brown mould, something resembling fuller's earth, and impreg- nated with saltpetre. ■ In many places on the coast where I have walked inland a few miles, I have found the ground richly clothed with grass, and the interior country presenting a beautiful irregularity of surface. No trees are seen near the sea from the river of Ph&te to the shores of the Straits of Magellan, where, however, they are abundant. Farther inland, however, it is likely that there are trees, as on the western side of the Andes, in the w .4 •/'■«. i •■ftiiir ' ' 210 THE POLE-CAT AND THE JAGUAR. latitude of 45° the woods are almost impervious. To the north of the river Negro, the country becomes level, with rich pasture, on which great numbers of horses and bullocks run wild. The animal called the pole-cat was seen by my crew on the coast, and one of them indeed emitted the abominable liquid into his eyes, which they are accustomed to do in the way of defence : and judging by the noise he made, it must have caused him great pain. The American tiger, called by the Spaniards jaguar, is oRen seen on the coast. They have been known to wander around a boat turned bottom up on shore, with the crew lying under- neath, and to depart without showing any vora* cibus inclination after prey. The rivers in this country are not inconsider- ablef and are conveniently ^read along the coast* irom latitude 89**^; six may be enumer- ated—the river St Joseph ; Colorado, or Red River ; River Negro, or Black River ; Port De- sire i Port St. Julian ; and S\ Cruz. The four last mentioned a£R>rd anchorage, .two of them ibr large vessels, which renders this country highly valuable. Having thus given what in- formation I have by my own observations been able to procure regarding these parts and their inhabitants, as also statements made to me by gentlemen of veracity, I shall dismiss the sub- PASSAGE TO THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. 211 jectj and return ^^o our passage to the Falkland Islands. We continued within view of land till the 21 St, when in the evening, and about to lose sight of the coast, Coy Bay bore S. S.W. distant about five leagues. During our passage to the Falkland Islands, we had fresh gales between S.S.W. and N.N.W. with an irregular sea, and on the 25th, at six o'clock in the morning, with the wind at west, and the weather hazy, we saw Cape Meredith, bearing N.N.E., about three leagues ; and at two P.M., we came to an anchor in Robertson's Bay, in seven fathoms water. Hav- ing examined the southern shores for the fur- seal, on the 28th tljie wind bemg atN.E. and the weather favourable, we weighed, and proceeded to New Island, which we reached on the 2d of March, and at two P.M. anchored in Ship Har- bour, in seven fathoms water. Having observed smoke on the north end of the island as we ap> preached, I thought it might probably be in- tended by some shipwrecked people as a signal of distress; but it turned out to be only the burning of some tussuck, which had been ignited some monthfl before. On the 6th having completed our sea-store of water, and taken a quantity of peat on board for fuel, we weighed, and the same day anchored in West Point Harbour. On the 12th we pro- p 2 '.^'■W hM ■ '^'i' 1.-' ;■ •■!,*■ m ;?^:! fihl ft 212 SPANISH SHIPS OF WAR ceeded to Port Egmont, and anchored off the ruins in nine fathoms water. On the 15th, in the morning, I was surprised to see a line of battle ship and a sloop of war coming round the Point. We presently ascer- tained by their colours that they were Spanish. I hurried on board, and was politely received. I pointed out the most eligible anchorage ; but they chose to run a little beyond it, by which they afterwards drove, and caused themselves a great deal of trouble. The ship of the line was the Asia, of 70 guns. The brig was the Achilles, of 20 guns. They reported themselves from liiiria, which I aflerwards, from a number of con> curring circumstances, discovered to be false. My boat's crew soon ascertained from the sailors, some of whom spoke good English, that they were but ten weeks from Cadiz ; but the officers still persisted in this story of being from Lima, and I did not contradict it. Their anxiety to obtain information respecting the navigation of Straits Le Maire, and round Cape Horn, was of itself enough to satisfy me, that they were bound that way. The crew of this ship, I understood, including their gunners or troops, was about 800 men -, and the brig was manned with 150. They appeared in all respects effective, and though they were not so expeditious in their movements, as is the AT PORT EGMONT. SIS practice in our navy, they were indefatigable and secure in their operations. Their crews were sent on shore to ramble for the benefit of their health ; and shooting parties soon killed almost every bird in the neighbourhood. On the I6th, in a hard gale from the N.W. the Asia drove to a distance of about two miles from the landing place. In the morning of the 17tb it moderated, and her boats went on shore, but a very hard gale coming on, they were unable to get off. Being engaged by the officers to dine on board the Asia, and having two of them on board the Jane with me, I took the opportunity of showing them that our boats could go against a gale, and accordingly manned a fine whsde-boat with stout men, and rowed on board with appa- rent ease. In looking over their charts, I observed the Auroras laid down, and informed them that no such places existed. Of this they would not be convinced, insisting that the Spanish ship of war Atrevida' settled their situation in the year 1796, as I have before mentioned. The Com- modore supplied us with some naval stores of which we were mucli in want, and I sent a quan- tity of oil in return. He appeared to be about the age of ftfly, and seemed to possess a thorough knowledge of the executive duties of a ship, p 3 Pi 'fn vt i^'\ 214 PASSAGE TO PATAGONIA. ^ even to the minutest operations, as I observed him correct a sailor in the passing a seizing round the fore-stay. He politely invited me to dine with him, and honoured me by particularly noticing the hazardous voyage we had performed, with other marks of respect, which evinced a disposition to favour and promote enterprise. I took an opportunity of waiting upon the commander of the brig, who, from having been some time a prisoner in England, spoke very good English. He took me through the mess-deck of the ship, and I was surprised to see how or- derly every thing appeared ; in short, she was little different, as to the internal arrangement, from our own sloops of war. I presume this officer had noticed the system observed in our navy, and had established it in his own vessel. On the 19th the wind being southerly, and the weather settled, we weighed, and proceeded again towards the coast of Patagonia. During our passage, we had strong gales from the south- ward, in which we lost two boats fi'om the quar- ters. We ran under a close-reefed maintop-sail, and though from not steering wdl some risk was incurred, we continued to scud before the wind I had an instance of the danger of scudding too long during my passage home in my first voy- age, in the year 1822. Being in the Bay of Biscay, in thi month of March, at midnight, 18 SHIP LAID ON HER BROADSIDE. 215 with the wind at west blowing a heavy gale; we were running under a close-reefed maintop- sail and foretop-mast staysail, and two men were at the wheel, one of whom was considered an excellent helmsman. I was standing on deck, when the wind freshened, and the night became &o dark, that only the foam of the sea was visi- ble. The man at the helm, by some misman- agement, put it the wrong way, and the ship flew to the wind with puch rapidity as laid her on her broadside. Two sailoi^, stationed at the maintop-sail sheets, at my desire let them go, and I hastened to the helm, and lashed it a weather, though, from the ship lying on her side, very little of the rudder remained in the water. The foretop-mast staysail fortunately being new, did not give way, and in about three minutes, every moment df which I expected would com- plete our ruin, the ship veered, and as the wind drew aft she righted, and we presently hove to. In our passage to Patagonia, however, nothing more serious happened than losing our boats; and on the 23d we made the coast off Point Lobos, in the latitude of 44°, the rendezvous appointed for our meeting with the Beaufby; but not finding her, I concluded that the strong southerly winds had driven her to the northward, and that she had, in consequence, proceeded i> 4 m ■ ), ,, : . t 'kC'/M 216 MONTE VIDEO. home. We ran close along the coast to the northward; and on the j^d of April, having sprung a leak, and being in the mouth of the river of Plate, we put into Monte Video. My necessities were politely attended to here by the house of Stewart M*Call and Co., of which James Noble, Esq. is executive partner ; ani I made application to the British Consul, T. S. Hood, Esq., for a survey to be held on the Jane, to ascertain her defects. Sir Murray Max- well, commodore on that station, and in com- mand of the Briton frigate, having heard of the arrival of the ships of war at the Falkland Islands, requested to see me. I waited on him, and described them to be Spanish, which did away with a conjecture of their being French in the character of Spaniards, as some Jinesse of that kind was possible ; and as several French ships of war wete in these seas, their movements were narrowly watched. Mr. Hood,, the British Consul, gave the ne- cessary instructions for the survey, which being made, the requisite repairs were entered upon; and by the favour of Sir Murray Maxwell in send- ing me the assistance of carpenters from His Ma^ jesty's ship Briton, our defects were soon made good, aiid by the 4th of May, we were ready for sea. Monte Video, a place generally known, is a MONTE VIDEO. 217 walled city, situated on the north shore of .the river of Plate, about seventy miles from its en- trance. This city was taken in 1823, from the Portuguese royalists, byjthe Brazilian imperialists, who now possess it. The present military Go- vernor-general, Le Core, seems to be a person well calculated for improving the circumstances of the country ; but the experience of frequent invasions and revolutions within the last twenty years prevents the inhabitants from attending to any thing that cannot be quickly turned into money : hence it is, that houses on magnificent plans are left unfinished ; and many, . for several miles without the walls, are allowed to remain in a state of ruin, caused by the desolation of war. Many of the streets are so broken up as to be almost impassable. The whole together, at this time, presents the accumulated wreck of a series of years, agitated by almost perpetual civil and foreign contests. The rich, as may be ex- pected, live in ease and authority^ without, how- ever, being offensively proud, or cruelly severe, as masters. The labouring class of people are not remarkable for industry, being rather addicted to idleness and inebriety; foreign labourers more particularly. Three days' work in the week, on account of the cheapness of provisions, is suffi- cient to support them during the other four days in riot and dissipation -, and there is scarcely any ' 'A^^ m. m S18 THE LADIES OF MONTE VIDEO. European, however industrious he may be at his arrival, who does not fall into this course of idle- ness. The guachos, or countrymen, who come occa* sionally into town, are people of tall stature, with ruddy complexions. They are not considered the most honest class of men ; and they have, perhaps, committed more assassinations than any other. The ladies of Monte Video are generally some- what below the middle stature, and inclined to be lusty. The custom of wearing small shoes, I presume, has made them clumsy about the feet ; but the beauty of their faces amply compensates for that deformity. The contour of their coun- tenances is what may be called Grecian, with complexions sallow enough to take off the cha- racter of common-place ruddiness ; and their expressive black eyes, together with their simple elegance and complacency of manner, does not fail to render them interesting. The priesthood of this place appear to be dwindling in authority, and poverty is conspi- cuous in their churches. That grandeur which the internal structure of their sanctuaries used to present in this quarter of the globe, is now diminished almost to the bare walls. The English merchants are a respectable body, and lately a British consul has been appointed KING S BIRTH-DAY. 219 to attend to their interests. These gentlemen never omit celebrating the anniversary of His Britannic Majesty's birth-day with a public din- ner. I was so fortunate at this time as to be of the party at this annual feast. The company sat down at six o'clock, about fifty in number. Sir Murray Maxwell, the British Consul, and several Spanish and Portuguese officers of high rank, civil and military, were present. By eight o'clock the cloth was removed, and the hedth of His Majesty, King George the Fourth, was drunk. To this the Portuguese band, who were placed in the court-yard, struck up the air of God save the King, and at the same moment the Briton frigate discharged a quantity of rockets, and fired a royal salute. The coincidence of these feats, which had been previously well ar- ranged, was so complete that the effect was ad- mirable. The Portuguese band had been taught the music of Rule Britannia, which they played with great spirit ; and the bumpers went round to appropriate toasts. The Spanish gentlemen, in order to manifest their total disregard of worldly goods, began to break the plates and glasses, as if they had been of no value. Every toast was accompanied with a sacrifice of these articles ; and one old Spaniard was remaikable for rubbing two dessert plates together t every bumper, and throwing them over his shoulder ; =.^i«>2 2d0 A SPANISH on which Sir Murray Maxwell facetiously re- marked, that the word Plate (the name of the river) must be derived from the table utensil of that name, from the evident pleasure that was here taken in its destruction. As the evening ad- vanced, the company fell off to their respective homes, and I to mine. A Spanish public dinner was also given during my stay, to which I was invited by my friend, Mr. Noble. This feast exhibited a very different figure to that I have described. The dinner was given in celebration of the tranquil estab- lishment of the new government We were to dine at the house of John Dios de Solis, at the distance of about seven miles from town ; and, as few people here walk far without the walls, a conveyance was provided, such as by us is called a noddy, having but two wheels, and being drawn by two horses a-breast, on one of which rode the driver. In this vehicle six of us were seated, and travelled at the risk of being overturned a hundred times by the badness of the roads. The country in this direc- tion to the N.E. appeared to be in a very broken state, barren, and full of deep sand-holes. This, however, being the only road by which a be- sieging army could approach the town, this part had suflered much by having been many times occupied by the enemy. PUBLIC DINNER. 2-21 About two o'clock, we arrived at the house of our host, and found the company assembled, among whom we presently took our seats at the table, which was continued through two rooms. The party consisted partly of patriot Spaniards, witli some Americans, French, and Portuguese, alto- gether about sixty in number. The dinner was profusely abundant ; but no dish appeared very remarkable, except a large roastof beef with the hide on. This mode of cooking has the effect of retaining the juice of the meat, and from the number who partook of it, it appeared to be a favourite viand. The wine, of which there was variety, went merrily round during ihr^ entertain- ment, and by the vme the clotli wns icmovo-i, the organs of articulation had beccnjc so volatile, that you could scarcely hear v«jur next neigh- bour. Some Spaniards, who were les^i clamo- rous, amused themselves with shooting little bread balls at one another across the table, and aiming at the face. This amusement was an annoyance to me, but by my remaining neutral, they allowed me to sit in peace. Their nativ^nal toasts were drunk in quick succession, but on their vice-president proposing the toast of " Long live King Ferdinand the Seventh,** nearly the whole company dissented, and loaded him with a torrent of abuse j to which he replied with so much acrimony, that the table of expected 'Q ■ » . ■ If 22« POLITICAL DIFFERENCES. K ' friendship and conviviality soon presented a scene of the most inveterate warfare. The vice-president prudently, however, sat in silence for a few minutes, by which means order was restored, and the offended party vented their rage on the wine, which in half an hour was fast becoming conqueror. Glasses and plates flew to destruction, and, to crown the whole, an agile Spaniard mounted the table, making a variety of antics, which so destroyed the eco- nomy of it, that no further hint was necessary to advise us to depart, and we rose, got seated in our noddy, and drove homewards. Thus ended the dinner, which in the whole had oc- cupied not more than two hours and a half. This company, us far as I could understand, were evidently much divided in politics: all pro- bably were patriots, but so variously modified, as to create a great difference of opinion ; — nor can it be otherwise. The diversity of interest, with the frequent change of political sentiment, which a change of government induces, renders them fickle and inconsistent. The present code of laws, however, gives the inhabitants more satis- faction than any hitherto enacted : the murderer cannot now, as formerly, escape death by the pay- ment of money, or by suffering a short imprison- ment ; and in other cases, the present governor is rigidly careful to protect the pecuniary interests PRICES OF HORSES AND BULLOCKS. 223 and personal safety of the citizens. These amendments, with the firm establishment of the Brazilian government, promise fair to put an end to the ravages of anarchy. The exports of this place consist, principally, of horses and bullocks, hides and horns. These animals have much diminished in number within the last fifteen years, or since the time that our troops had possession of the place ; and they have consequently risen in price. A mound of the bones of horses was shown me, which at the time they were killed, about fitteen years ago, were brought to the slaughter-house for two shillings a head. A good horse now costs two pounds sterling. Bullocks are, no doubt, still numerous in the interior, but in the neighbour- hood of the city they are scarce. At this time, a well fed bullock costs about eighteen dollars, such as a dozen years ago was killed only for its hide and tallow. Vegetables are exorbitantly dear $ and every thing else that the country pro* duces is increased in price in a similar proportion. As the late siege of Monte Video has been, however, partly the cause of this diminution of supplies, two or three years with a settled go- vernment will do much in restoring the plenty of former times. Little need be said of the harbour of Monte Video, as it has been well described by former >ii- , '^ ■-i.i ;ii- v^ i ^HS* ^H .« H 4 H 1 I^Hjp I il Si"-;. 221. HARBOUR OF MONTE VIDEO. visitors. I may remark, however, that it affords SO little shelter from south to west, and is so shallow, having only two fathoms at a mean state, that there is nothing commodious about it. A vessel drawing twelve or thirteen feet water is seldom afloat in what may be called the harbour, though the bottom is of mud, in which a vessel sits without receiving damage ; but sometimes, if lying across the harbour when the pamperos sets in, it is caught by these hurricanes, which is, if not injurious, at least in- convenient. These winds, blowing from the south-west over a plain nearly reaching the foot of the Andes, acquire such force, that they fall into the river of Plate and harbour of Monte Video with so great violence, that the best anchors and c I les : e requisite for the securing of ships. The several dr ngerous shoals with which this river is bedded, cause the navigation to Buenos Ayres to be attended with danger. Many com- manders of ships, entering v'^h a fair wind, are often induced to proceed without a pilot, and by the time they have arrived in the vicinity of dan- ger, the wind be omes contrary, and the weather unsettled, and not being acquainted with the set of the currents, they ground their ships. The lapse of a short time frequently makes great al- teration, in the facilitits aflibrded to this pilot- BXTBEMELY DANGEROUS. 2S5 ground. : The buoys are often shifted or washed away, and you are left without the guide of land- marks. Banks have moved, and neither the depth of the river, nor the set of the currents are accurately known ; all of which uncertainties contribute to embarrass those even of long ex- perience in f'^is passage. During my stay of a month at Monte Video, two vessels were totally lost in the river ; and one, a month or six weeks before, was wrecked, with the loss of several lives, in a manner truly distressing, as they died on a raft, drifting with the direction of the wind and current. On the mount of Monte Video, the lantern, which is nightly lighted, is so faint as scarcely to be seen at the harbour anchorage : it is there- fore of little use ; but, if placed on the Island of Flores, and properly attended to, it would be a great guidance to ships passing up in dark nights. English and American pilots are to be had at Monte Video, but they get so little en- couragement, that they never put to sea to look out for ships. The harbour of Maldonado would be conve- nient for a rendezvous for pilots, being near the fair way, and without all the banks. Could captains be brought under an obligation to take pilots, a system might be pursued similar to that ov mr own coasts, and in other parts of m 'iil { ^ iiiil 226 PILOT VESSELS RECOMMENDED. the world, by establishing two pilot vessels, (schooners or cutters of about 50 tons each,) to cruise off the mouth of the river, with ten or twelve pilots on board. I have given these hints for the benefit of in- surers and others concerned in the trade to the river Plate, to whom such an arrangement would be most advantageous ; ' leaving it to themselves to devise how it could be made obligatory on captains to take the pilots. Were such a system established, the constant employment and en- couragement which would be thereby given to the pilots, would enable them to reduce their charges much below what they are at present. On the 4th of May, with the wind at W. S. W. we weighed anchor, and after waiting upon Sir Murray Maxwell on board his own ship, we made all possible sail to the eastward. We met with the usual winds and weather on our passage home, and in fifty-nine days from our sailing from Monte Video arrived off Falmouth, before the packet that sailed two days before us. We made the Land's End of England, after an ab- sence of nearly two years. POSTSCRIPT. I AM aware that many of the details in this volume militate considerably against the prevail- ing conjectures upon those regions of the earth to which they refer, and interfere, in some measure, with the statements of former navi- gators ; for this, if any apology be necessary, I would rather make it here than to have inter- rupted the work in its progress by frequent notes. And it seemed more becoming in one who has hitherto had so little leisure for the profound study of geographical literature, to confine him- self almost entirely to a simple account of what came practically under his own observation, waiting to be guided, should occasion require it, hereafter, by the judgment of those, whose province it is to mark the deficiencies of authors, and point out what is really worthy of public attention for its novelty or truth. Recent events in South America have con- tributed to throw a certain degree of interest over some of the matters mentioned by the au- thor: the present state of Monte Video; the surrender of the Asia man of war, and its consort, to the Government of Mexico, need hardly be particularised. 4 2 tTl Kl 1*^ , APPENDIX. I' I. rM Qd e. '»•« IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) i.O I.I I^IM 125 ■^ l&i 12.2 L£ 12.0 lU IL25 III 1.4 I; I I 1.6 Photographic ^Sdmces Corporation 4S^^ ^^J ^^^ n WIST MAIN STRUT WnSTH.N.Y. I4SM (71«)I71-4S03 '^ OBSERVATIONS ON THE NAVIGATION ROUND CAPE HORN, &c. JM.ANY commanders of ships, who have been successful in making a passage round Cape Horn to the west- ward, have treated with unmerited derision the accounts given by Commodore Anson of this navigation. I am quite satisfied, from my own experience, that the month of March might be productive of all the dis- tresses described by the journalist. Captain Porter, who passed the ^ape in the American frigate Essex, in March, 1814<, says, " Indeed our sufferings, short as has been our passage, have been so great, that I would advise those, bound into the pacific, never to attempt the passage of Cape Horn, if they can get there by any other route." The difficulty, however, in making this passage is removed by choosing the proper season, which, when attended to, must at least save much time, and wear and tear of the ship. In the beginning of November the winds begin to draw from the northward, and continue 2S2 THE NAVIGATION to be frequent till about the middle of February, when they shift into the south-west quarter; during these months the v/esterly winds are not lasting, hence the passage may be easily effected. From about the 20th of February to the middle of May, the winds are gene- rally between S.W. and N.W., and blow with great violence. During this interval, no ship need expect to make a passage round the Cape, that is not well equip- ped in every respect. From the middle of May to the end of June, the winds prevail from the eastward with fine weather. During the^e six weeks, a vessel may round the Cape in sight of the Diego Ramirez. In July, August, September, and October, the winds pre- vail again between S. W. and N.W. ; but August and September are more particularly tempestuous. In r^ gard to the route, which ships should take round the Cape, much depends on the season of the year, as re- lates to the force of the prevailing westerly winds. I prefer, at all times, passing to the westward of the Falk- land islands ; and, in the summer season, to pass through Straits Lr- Maire, as it saves fifty or sixty miles of westing, can be attended with no risk if you have sufficient daylight to see to run back through the Straits, in the event of being caught with a southerly gale at the southern entrance. Cape Horn lies from Cape Good Success S. S.W.i W. distant thirty-one leagues. In this line lies Barn»> velt's island. If intending to touch at an anchorage ftbout Cape Horn, a S. by W. I W. course through the night, will but well avoid the indraught which some- times sets to the N.W. among tlie islands, at the en- trance of Nassau Straits : if not intending to go into ROUND CAPE HORN, ETC. 233 harbour, a south course from Straits Le Maire to the south of Cape Horn, edging to the westward, and passing the Diego Ramirez on the south side, at the distance of a few miles, is the most advisable track. Ships, working to vhe westward, off the Cape, in the summer season, should stand towards the shore of Tierra del Fuego in the evening, when the wind will often be found to draw from the northward off the land, and western again in the morning. Tliese observations refer to the seasons I have recom« mended for passing the Cape, but during those months which are attended with tlie most violent gales, viz. March, August, and September, I have only to recom- mend the advice given by Commodore Anson, that of standing to the southward, in the latitude of 60°, where the sea is more regular, and the winds more equal. If, however, a ship be making a coasting passage, und should require to anchor, the following instructions may be found useful. The prominent situation of Cape Horn at once points out the neighbouring bay of Saint Francis, in which are two harbours perfectly safe for vessels of any draught of water. Their approach is so easy as to make it necessary only to remark, that Wig- wam Cove is the second opening on the west side of the bay, and by steering along the western shore about N. by E. it will be easily found. On account of the violent gusts that blow out of the cove in westerly gales, a vessel had better anchor at the entrance, where is twenty-one fathoms water, and a bottom of sand and mud, and wait an opportunity of kedging into the cove, till South Head shuts in Cape Horn, when the anchorage will be perfectly safe. 2S4> THE NAVIGATION The second harbour in this bay is pointed out on the (^art by the name of Maxwell's harbour. The entrance is on the north side, between Saddle Island and Jerdan's Island ; but is so narrow, that with a contrary wind a vessel must anchor at the entrance, and kedge to her berth, which may be chosen at pleasure, every part being perfectly secure. Here the water is so smooth that repairs upon a ship can be carried on with great con- venience. Wood is abundant on the south side, and water may be obtained in several places. In proceeding westward New Year's Sound next pre- sents itself. In this sound are several anchorages, but Indian Cove may be considered the most commodious. Indian Island stands at the mouth of the cove, and bears from Sanderson's Island at the entrance of the sound W.N.W. sixteen miles. The anchorage in this cove is at the upper end, in the south comer, in fourteen or fifteen fathoms water, within three cables' lengths of the shore ; in most other parts the cround is rocky, and the water deep. The entrance not being more than three fifths of a mile broad, a large vessel in working against a strong S. W. wind, which blows out of the cove, would require to be worked quickly to take advantage of the flaws of wind that play about the entrance. The shoals and spots of foul ground are indicated by kelp about them, and should consequently be avoided. At the entrance of the cove, on the south side of Mid-channel, are two patches ; in the inner one is a depth of three fathoms, and in the outer one eight. The tide flows on the full and change of the moon at fifty minutes past three, and rises about seven feet. Wood and water are abundant, and can be conveniently procured. ROUND CAPE HORN, ETC. Clear Bottom Bay is an anchorage which, by being close to the coast, is convenient for a vessel to touch at for wood and water : to sail into it from sea, bring the east II Defonsos S. ^ E., and steer N. ^ W. for Turn Point. About a mile and a half to the E.N.E. of this point is the anchorage, and at the distance of three cables' lengths from the shore, in twenty-two fathoms water, in a bottom of sand and clay, is the most eligible berth. A peculiar shaped land, which I called Leading Mountain, on the west side of Duff's Bay, may be seen from a distance of six or seven leagues at sea, and at once points out the entrance of the bay. A view of this mountain with the land adjacent is annexed. The soundings round the Diego Ramirez are regular, and at the distance of half a mile from the southern island. On the east side is a depth of thirty fathoms, with a bottom of fine green sand. The tides here are regular when the winds are moderate, and by the report of my officers, who were several days on the island, it is high water on the full and change of the moon at two hours fifteen minutes, and rises about five feet. The tide of flood, contrary to former reports, was observed to run to the N.E., and it evidently runs to the eastward between many of the main islands. The currents, or those streams which are propelled by prevailing winds, interfere so much with the natural tendency of the tide, that great doubt is created in regard to the proper direc- tion of it. Staten Land affords several harbours; that of St John's, on the north side, and fiCar to the east end, is the one with which I am best acquainted. By the view 236 THE NAVIGATION of the land which I have subjoined, the entranceyof the harbour may easily be found. Slack tide is the proper time to sail in, as at the entrance, which is narrow, the winds are so baffling as to cause some risk when the tide is running strong across the passage. The harbour runs up|to the W. S. W. about a mile and a quarter, and the anchorage is at the upper end, in twelve fath(»ns, in a muddy bottom; in most other parts, the depth is twenty fathoms, and rocky. There is a flat extending from the head of the harbour, a full cabb's length, in which a small vessel might be laid for repairs. Wood and water are in great plenQf, close to the shore. The wood is much of the same description as that found on Tierra del Fuego : none of it being large enough for ship-building. At the east end of the island is a very heavy tide-rip, and when the wind is strong it should be carefully avoided. In sailing along the coast of Patagonia to the south- ward of the river Santa Cruz, vessels should not run within a depth of ten fathoms water, as in many places extensive ledges of rocks lie more than a mile from the shore. The liver of Santa Cruz does not appear from a great distance at sea, but can of course be easily found by the latitude. The meeting of the tides has thrown up a bank about the entrance, on which at low water there is but two &thoms and a quarter. On the south point of the entrance lies a reef of rocks which appear at low water; and at the north side of the fair way is a shoal, proceeding from the bar, which pro* bably shifts. HOUND OAPE HORN, ETC. isi ^; The leading mark into the river is a bluff in the mid- ^e of tlie entrance, bearing N.W. by W. ^ W. by compass. After passing the points of the entrance, two indentations will be seen on the south shore, and in the second one is the best anchorage, in five fathoms, in a bottom of gravel and clay. All the north side of the river is shoals, and much of it dries at low water. The tide of flood runs to the northward on the coast, and in strong southerly winds continues to run two hours after it is high water by the shore. OBSERVATIONS ON THE WINDS AND WEATHER. The heaviest and most las' lug gale that blows in the neighbourhood of Cape Horn .e from south, occasion- ally shifting a point or two each way. This g 3 I have frequently known to come on in a squall, and con- tinue in the tempestuous months to blow from thirty- five to forty hours together. The southern horizon, filled with rising clouds, heavy and white in a blue sky, is a sure indication of a lasting gale, with snow squalls. A complete calm generally foUows this wind, which, however, is not very ft-equent. The wind at east invariably rises light, and gradually increases to a strong breeze ; but when it vears firom £. to S.E., a strong gale may generally be expected, with snow or rain squalls. A north gale also comes on gradually, and towards the end, which is generally about thirty hours, it draws from the N.W. and brings rain, and presently shifts into the S.W. without ceasing to blow, and continues 288 THE WINDS AMD WEATHER. from that point twelve or fifteen hours. All gales are of shorter duration in summer than in winter ; and it may be remarked, that a vessel may anchor any where for shelter from a S.W. wind, without the fear of its shifting to the northward ; but the contrary must be guarded against, as the wind shifts firom N.W. to S.W., continuing to blow with great violence. In the most windy months N.W. gales blow with great force, when they rise rapidly near that point, and generally last twelve or fourteen hours. To the S.W. of Cape Horn, they blow with less violence, but are more durable. In the summer season, the winds be- tween S.W. and N.W. frequently blow in gusts of six or eight hours' contiimancej^ at the strength of a brisk gale; it then becomes moderate, and the wind in- clines to the northward. . In the summer I have observed the coincidence of fine weather with light easterly winds at the time of new moon, when in south declination, and at the time of full moon, to blow strong from the northward. There being many exceptions, however, to the natural action of the wind, produced by localities, I have found it impossible to systematise the indications of the winds and weather satisfactorily. We must, therefore, rest contented with an approximation to certainty in these matters. ■l? 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S5 «- S 1' 5 1 «3& I is a I a> ST \i ca s^ S' S ^ I 276 b)0)00)OSpOQ4(0 iOU5U5^^-*'*'*QO 5g « f-< ?o « f-t § § s •* »Ou5io5«S«0«C»5»0 QOWjWOOO')^^'^^ «. 04 04 C4 09 04 04 04 «4 ^ 00 1 4 1 € 1 a>- s^ ^^ W& HM-4 ^ at its eHo time s-s s *§!, {» i • 9. ii ^1 ^ 00 O i '■'<'■ I U ! II ill il li! %!• smWall. Snitp* OBSERVATIONS OK THE PROBABIWTY OF REACHING THE SOUTH POLE. T 5 I ADVERTISEMENT. Tss late meritorious expeditions, sent out hy our Qoeemment to exjiore the- northern parts qf the globe, hamng excited much public interest; and the late voyage P^Mmikk.m. t^ffstrd^ i^ l^h J^ple, kfmng at- traded considerable attention t are the circumstances xohich have induced me to piMish the JidUmng sheets, contaimng ay qptnion^ an Jhe> probable sMe tjfthe PoUar Bisons* JAMES WEDDELL, R. N. our f}6be, yyage r at' \ances heets, Polar B.N. be ■A % OBSERVATIONS OK THK STATE OP THE POLES. In presenting to the public the following con<^ siderations, relating to the probability of the Polar RiegioM being open, I must necessarily use the data upon which both the early and late expeditions towards the North Pole have been projected, as these must continue to be the principal grounds of reasoning till the matter shall be set at rest by actual observation. Many arguments have been employed- to prove the open state of the Polar Regions^ snnce experimental investigations have been effected, not only by Great Britain, but by' several other nations, during more than two^ centuries. T 4 II it i i^80 OBSERVATIONS ON THE The numerous unsuccessful attempts which have been made to penetrate the Northern Polar Region, do not by any means destroy the assumption of the Poles being accessible, but rather furnish new matter for further enquiry into that part of geography. And the open state of the Antarctic Sea, as described in my Journal, naturally gives rise to new conjecture, in regard to the southern extremity of the globe. The natural action of the sun, arising from his particular situation in the heavens, and his con- tinuance above the horizon, as relates to the Poles, I am aware is understood by those whose attention has been directed to the temperature of the extremities of the globe ; but by per- sons generally, the subject is, perhaps, not clearly comprehended. To them an illustration of the movements of the sun, as regards the Polar Regions, may be acceptable; and the subject follows in connection with the sup- position I have set forth in my Journal ; namely, the prospect of reaching the South Pole, The probability of a temperate Polar Region depends not wholly upon the presence of the sun, but greatly on the properties of matter at and about the Poles. The questions which arise from this latter consideration are, do the Polar Regions contain water only, or land only, or STATE OF THE 'POLES. S81 both $ and if the latter, what is the quality of the land, and what is its proximity to the Poles ? Any one of these peculiar states will, notwith- standing the constant and uniform action of the sun during summer, produce a corresponding change of atmospheric temperature. There are only two states of the Polar Regions which seem to afford a hope of their being ac- cessible. The first, and most flattering sup- position, is that of the extremities of the globe being clear of land, and having a clear expanse of ocean, reaching from about the 83" of latitude, some degrees towards the Equator ; and the other state is that of having land immediately about the Poles, consisting of matter, capable of re- taining through the winter part of the caloric absorbed during summer. As we know of no land nearer to the South Pole than 20^ degrees of latitude, or 1230 miles, and as I have ascertained that within S55 miles there is neither field, ice, nor land, the supposition that the South Pole may be covered with an expanse of water is at least probable. The great obliquity of the sun's rays in those regions may be brought forward as an argument for their insufficiency to produce a temperate atmosphere ; but their effects at And immediately about the Poles have never, to our knowledge, if 11 ', ! I i I ^1)1 @S^ OBSERVATIONS ON THE been witnessed. The point of 81° 50- appears: to hajire been the highest northern latitude at- tained, of which we have an undoubted account. Consequently, a nearly stationary altitude, such as woidd be experienced at the Poles, has never been observed ; and hence the analogy afforded by the sun's motion round the horizon in this latitude is weak and unsatisfactory. Professor Mayer of Gottingen gives s^Jbr- mula*i by which the temperature of any latitude may be readily computed ; and were the ex- tremities of the globe unaccompanied with local peculiarities, the calculation would be uniformly true. But the rocky and moun- tainous lands, lying in high latitudes, produce a temperature much below that indicated by the formula. This seems to be the case in each hemisphere respectively ; and about the latitude of 60** the two hemispheres themselves differ from each other very materially. The sun being about seven days longer on the north side of the * Let t denote the mean temperature of any parallel of which the latitude is l, m the mean temperature in the lati- tude of 45°, m + e the mean temperature at the Equator ; then ii < = m + cosine 2 l ; whence the mean tempera- ture is readily ascertained. The mean temperature in lati- tude 45° is 58 = m. At the Equator it is 8BP, whence 85 - 58 s 27 3= « / therefore, < = 58 + 27 cosine 2 h, which, when 2 l is greater than 90°, the cosine being bega- liTtk if lest than 58. STATB. OF THE POLES. ^83 IKS at- nt. ich this l^qmtOT lihant on the south, may be assigned as one reason for this difiereoce of temperature ; buf^ as; he is a1tK>ut ^ part of his mean distance pe^f^ir the earti^) on the 1st of January than on tjie 1st of July, ijt is evident that he must be neai*er the earth from the SSd of September to the ^Oth (^ Marchy than from the SOth of March to the SSd of September; and, thecefore^ upon calculation, it will be found, that this latter circumstance will more than counterbalance the efifect produced by his longer continuance on the north side of the Equator. Captain Scoresby found the mean annual tem- perature of the latitude of 78° to be 16° below the estimate by calculation ^ and in the latitude of 61' south, 17° nearer to the Equator, I found by observation the mean temperature of the month of January to be nearly 85*" of Fahrenheit The mean temperature of the year m> that latitude, by the formula of Professor Mayer, is 44° 5'.* We have not observations suffiicient to obtain the real annual temperature of the latitude of 61° ; but it must of course be much lower than that of January, and must con- sequently exhibit a great deviation from the re- sult by calculatioa. * Pcofiiuor L^tlioi in his note* to hit Element! of Georoeo m[ft(P;,461. 4th, c4i^) calculatet the mean temperature of UUtude 61° to be 44° 3'. ! !| 111 Mr il!3 S84 OBSERVATIONS ON THE This circumstance of remarkable frigidity in a latitude, which in the northern hemisphere is so temperate, strikingly exhibits the great effects caused by the barren land of the Archipelago of New South Shetland. In proceeding south- wards, this deviation of observed temperature from the result by calculation greatly diminishes; so that in the latitude of 7^* the formula ap- proaches much nearer the truth. At the sum- mer solstice this parallel will probably be much warmer than that of 61* ; and we may suppose, that in winter the cold of these respective lati- tudes will not materially differ. The little change which I found in the temperature, through a southern route of 13 degrees, as men- tioned in the Journal of my voyage, is remark- able, and accords with the observation made by Professor Leslie*, in his calculations of the tem- perature of the earth at different latitudes. On the 8th of Fehnuiry the influence of the sun's rays must be very different at the Poles from what it is in the latitude of 80^ ; for on that day the sun passes round the South Pole, • « Very little increiue of heat is therefore observed in advancing through the torrid zone to the Equator ; and the intensity of the cold would not be sensibly augmented in penetrating from the Arctic Circle to the Pole. The exist- ence of an open sea towards the extreme north is hence not improbable." — Supplement, Sd vol. to the Encyclopadia Britannica. Ill STATE OF THE POLES. 285 at the altitude of 15°, V^rhilst in the latitude of 80* his altitude is diminished to 5° ; at which height it can produce but little effect on the surface of the earth. The meridian altitude on the above day (at 80°) is 25° 13' ; but the time of his being above the altitude of 15° is only about half what it is at the Pole on that day. In short, it is only from the constant and uni- form action of the sun at those low altitudes that an extraordinary degree of heat can be ex- pected. . In bringing this subject as clearly to view as possible, some observations on the movements of the sun in our own latitude, compared with those about the Poles, may be necessary by way of illustration. When the sun is in the first degree of the sign Cancer, on our longest d^y, (the 21st ofJuney) the meridian altitude at Greenwich is 61° 59'. When in the sign Capricorn, (the Slst of December,) on our shortest day, the meridian altitude is 15* 3'; the mean meridian altitude is, therefore, 38° 30'. The longest space of time during which the sun is above the horizon in this latitude, (namely, on the 21st of June,) is 16" 34'. The shortest space, (namely, on the 21st of December,) is 7" 44' J hence the mean day or time that the sun is above the horizon in the latitude of Greenwich is 12° 9'. The temperature of this i QS6 OBSERVATIONS ON THE climate is, therefore, the result -of ± tneridiim altitude of 38° 31', with the sun visible neiwly twelve hours out of twenty-four. At the Pokis the presence of the sun is of the saime duration in the course of a year as at all other pcitiis of the globe, but at different periods, and at difierent altitudes above liie horizcMi, according to the latitude. At the South Pole (the north being subject to the same law at the opposite season), from the 3d of November till the 8th of February (more than three months), the sun never de- scends below 15 degrees ; which is the meridian altitude of that body for several days of our winter, when it is only for the space of 7" 44' above the horizon. This continuance of the sun's presence for more than three months at the Pole is a most important circumstance ; and when we consider the warmth of an unclouded winter sun, when on the meridian, or at noon, our curiosity is excited as to what his effects must be where the action of the rays is constant for so long a time as above mentioned. The little warmth which we receive from the sun, when under 5 degrees, is evident to every one who has paid the least attention to the sub- ject. The extent of atmosphere through which the rays have to pass, on account of their obliquity, so refract and resist them, that they fall but STATE C '^^E POLES. 287 faintiiy on the surface of the globe ; but, at the altitude of 15% the rays of the sun pass through so diminished an extent of atmosphere, that at its mean density the refraction is reduced from 9' 54'' to 3' 34/', and the calorific effect at 5° is computed by Professor Leslie to be only *004! ; but, at the altitude of 15", it is increased to '084. The caloric transmitted from the sun to the earth must, therefore, increase above the altitude of 5° to 15*^ in a very compounded ratio. The action of the sun on the Polar Regions must be even more powerful than is here mentioned, for during three months (from the 8d of November to the 8th of Fehmary) the sun is considerably above the altitude of 15° at the South Pole. From the 22d of November till the 20th oi January (two months) of that time, the sun is never below 20° ; and from the 11th of December to the 1st oH January, never below 23° ; being on the 21st of December 23°, 28' and for several days before and afler that time about the same altitude. The continuance of the sun above the horizon of the Poles for these periods, and at so con- siderable altitudes, cannot fail to persuade us, that the ices there must be annually dissolved, and the Polar Regions assume an appearance as in the annexed sketch. ■--* ¥ 1 f •». «»»._^^ i til: i I 288 OBSERVATIONS ON THE In this figure I have placed the ices promis- cuously in the situations of the latitude they may be supposed to occupy, on being disjoined from South Shetland, and possibly other lands in high southern latitudes which have not yet been dis- covered. St. Pierre, whose writings in general do honour to his head and heart, has treated the sub- ject of Polar temperature in a course of rea- soning truly inventive; but he establishes his theory by referring to tides and ' currents, of which, although the latter do exist in a trifling degree, yet experience demonstrates them to bear no adequate proportion to the cause he as- signs, namely, large floods proceeding from the Polar regions, by the fusion of their ices. I am not aware that his philosophical observ- ations on the state of the Poles have ever been replied to : perhaps they have been thought too chimerical to merit an answer; but the many unsuccessful attempts which have been made to penetrate the Northern Polar Sea seem, at first sight, to favour his hypothesis; and it is only by a close examination of his arguments, com- pared with modern discovery, that the errors of his system can be detected. Actual observation has afforded me proof of the fallacy of his con- jectured Polar currents. (See his Studies of Nature, p. 3^.) " In our winter, the fluid ocean STATE OP THB POLES. m descends from the frozen ocean of the South Pole, at that time four or five thousand leagues in circumference, by the action of the sun, which melts the ice from the equinox of Septenh ber to that of March," On reference to the Journal of my voyage, p. 46. it will be ^und, that the current which set to the northward was in general scarcely perceptible ; and on the 18th of February (see p. dd.), it actually ran to the southward. This proves, certainly, that the current he de- scribes does not constantly prevail; but the cupola he has fancied may exist without pro- ducing a northerly flood. If the Poles of the world be pyramids of ice, as he asserts *, I am of opinion that no such flood of ice waters as he mentions could take place ; for these supposed cupolas must be the accumulation of, perhaps, the age of Uie world, subject to a small change in their formation by the change of the obliquity of the ecliptic, and ages since they must have reached that point of the atmosphere, above which there is no condensation of vapour, and consequently no addition to the mass, by means of snow, could be produced. The height of these cu- polas will of course depend on the quality of the Polar atmosphere; but we cannot doubt that they • This assertion I find quoted by respectable authors. U ^90 OBSERVATIONS ON THE lu are much above the point of congelation at the summer solstice*, and therefore not subject to fusion by the sun's rays. Around the water line of the base of this imaginary pyramid some fusion of ice would certainly be effected ; but, the space occupied by the ice immersed in water being greater than that which it would fall into when dissolved, the waters by this partial fusion could scarcely be impelled enough to produce a cur- rent. Snow and ice waters falling from land must unquestionably produce currents. This appears during summer, in the innumerable straits and channels situated in high northern latitudes. When I further call in question the statements made by St Pierre, I feel sensible that it is only by means of actual observation, such as he had not the advantage of, that I am able to refute his opinions. In accounting for the universal deluge, by the fusion of the Polar ices, he says, "Who then can doubt, that the total effusion of the ices of the two Poles is sufl ficient to overflow the bed of the ocean, and en- tirely to inundate the two continents ? Must not the elevation of those two cupolas of Polai* ice, vast as oceans, far surpass the height of the most lofty lands, since the fragments of their * The mean temperature here being supposed to be 32° ; the point of perpetual congelation is, therefore, in the hori- son. STATE OF THE POLES. 291 extremities, when half dissolved, are as high as the turrets of Notre Dame, and even rise to the height of fifteen or eighteen hundred feet above the level of the sea?" This is certainly a mistake; and St. Pierre, we may suppose, was led into this error by the ex- aggerated accounts of voyagers who had navi- gated in high latitudes ; for I know of no ice- bergs, afloat, at least in the south, of such a height And those which are seen floating about do not separate from the supposed Polar glacier, but are formed in straits and indent- ations of land; and they vary in size not so much according to the latitude, above 60 degrees', in the southern hemisphere, as by peculiarities of the coasts where they are formed. This evi- dently appeared during my experience in the south. The ice-islands seen in the latitude of 74" were much less than others we know to have been formed in the latitude of from 60 to 65 degrees. If we may draw an analogy for the south from the observations made by Cap- tain Phipps on the northern glacier or ice barrier (the southern not having been seen by me), it appears evident, that there is no coin- cidence between the northern glacier, which Captain Phipps (see his voyage, p. 60.) found to be twenty-three feet deep, and those fragments mentioned by St. Pierre, of 1500 and 1800 feet u 2 <# ^d^ OBSERVATIONS ON THE ill 111 "f »i iL.r |l|i 'ililiih high; they cannot, therefore, have separated fVom the base of the supposed pyramid. I am aware that St. Pierre supposes this mass of ice to reach over land as well as water; but into what latitude, it may be asked, does the base of this cupola extend? If the point of the South Pole be reared to the top of the atmosphere, which must be the case if such a cupola exist, how are we to reconcile the circumstance of higher ice-bergs being formed at the extremity, or base (as at South Georgia), than 1200 miles nearer the sup- posed point of greatest frigidity? Those ice- islands seen by me in latitude 'J4)'* had unques- tionably been formed contiguous to land ; and should, according to the idea of increasing cold, and the figure of a cupola, have been consider- ably higher than those formed in latitude 54** (in South Georgia). In this island they are some miles in extent, and are fully 250 feet high. If, then, the influence of the frigidity of the Pole extends so far northward as to be catpa- ble of producing such masses of ice, 2l60 mUes distant from the Pole, it is a very remarkable circumstance, that 1200 miles nearer to that point the sea should be fbund unfrozen. I am inclined to hazard an opinion, that the effects of the sun, as caused by his alternate pre- sence and absence on the two simple elements of earth and water, will be periodically the same. 9TATE OF THE POLES. «93 Water unconnected i^ith land will undergo no greater conversion into ice, during the absence of the sun, than can be ac^ain destroyed by his presence. No part of visible matter ex- hibits a tendency to progress in d\\y one state indefinitely. All is alternsx ; and thus, y^v the change of seasons in the fri^^id parts of the globe, nature, whose energy is suspended during the ab- sence of the sun, is, by his presence, again restored to activity ; so that we find, for instance, the deer of Spitzbergen, in the latitude of 80" N.*, obtain their herbage annually, where the land is so formed as to supply the demands of animal life. We may receive with tolerable confidence the opinion QnimriOn to all who have written theories of the earth, that the present distorted form of the terrestrial part of the globe is pro- bably very different from that which it assumed at the creation of the world. The pritnitive state, philosophically considered, we may sup- pose exhibited the earthy or lighter strata on the surface of the globe, with a height not exceed- ing the present low lands ; and in such a state, I am of opinion, that every portion of the sur- face of the globe, at its respective summer sol- * Deer live and thrive in 80° of latitude on Spitzbergen, but cannot live in 75** in Nova Zerobla. — Barrow's Voyages into the Arctic Regions, p. S72. u S 294 OBSERVATIONS ON THE i Btice, would be at least free from ice, if not ha- bitable. The irregular strata, which compose nearly all the lands in high latitudes, interfere materially with the uniform operation of the sun, with regard to the heating of those regions in which they are placed. The character which those parts of the earth assume, by the accumulations of ice And snow, does not, however, exist entirely uncontrolled. The rocky masses of land in the north have exhibited many changes in their temperature, according to their peculiar form, situation, and quality, and the collections of ice on their shores. But it may be remarked, that what- ever accumulation of ice has been at various times formed upon them, after the lapse of a number of years has been removed, and the countries have returned to their original state. East Greenland, for example, is sup- posed to have been once inhabited. The coun- try was afterwards shut up by ice, and the in- habitants consequently perished by cold and hunger. The country remained enveloped in ice for nearly three centuries, but is now again accessible. The aqueous part of the globe does not ex- hibit the same difference* In short, it can be STATE OF THE POLES. 295 little changed from the original quality it pos< sessed at the formation of the world. The waters of the Equator, and those of the highest latitudes which have yet been attained, differ not materially from one another in saltness and density ( and, never having been affected in the same manner as the earthy parts of the globe, they may be supposed to become solid and fluid alternately, in conformity to the presence or ab> sence of the sun. Were the terrestrial parts of the globe formed regularly, that is, by the natural tendency of matter subsiding accord- ing to its specific gravity, the lighter and earthy part would occupy the upper stratum ; which formation, it may be observed, is most natural, being indispensably necessary for the produc- tion of vegetable matter, on which animal life depends for support. If such were the uni- versal construction of the solid part of the globe, I will venture to say, that no ice-islands would be found floating in the ocean, nor bergs fixed upon the land, because the ices would be annually dissolved. Within the tropics, when the sun, in his course over the meridian, passes through the zenith, the excessive heat which is received during the day is modified by a night of twelve hours, and the whole of the torrid zone is tempered by the sun's change of declination, which is equal u 4 M m 396 OBSERVATIONS ON THE to an arc of 47 degrees every six months. If this were not the case, animal life could not be sup- ported in the Equatorial Regions, and every thing inflammable would probably become ignited. * No material change could take place iti the present form and motion of the earth, without destroying entirely the general harmony which exists in the economy of nature. It is pleasing to observe, that from the Equator to the Poles, as the continuance of the sun above the horizon increases, so the meridian altitude decreases; thus, by the obliquity of his rays, too great an accumulation of heat is prevented. This harmony, arising from the regularity of the sun's motion in the ecliptic. Dr. Burnet, in his Theory of the Earth, (vol. i. p. 188.) con- siders not to have been the original order of the solar influence ; but he supposes that, pre- vious to the time of the deluge, the sun moved * ** The lun change* hii declination every day in Venus, about 14° more at a mean rate than he does in a quarter of a year on our earth. This appears to be providentially or- dered, for preventing the too great effects of the sun's heat (which is tmce as great on Venus as on the earth, so that he cannot shine perpendicularly on the same places for two days together) ; and on that account the heated places have time to cooH.'*— Brewster's edition of Ferguson's Astronomy, vdl.i. p. 17. STATE OF THE POLES. 297 constantly in the £quator, producing a temper- ature which, he says, caused perpetual spring. My comments on this opinion shall not take me beyond the consideration of the state of the Poles, that being the sole object of my present research. In the case supposed by Dr. Burnet, the sun would be constantly in the horizon of the Poles ; and round these points, for ten degrees at least, would consequently have perpetual winter, whilst the Equatorial Regions would experience insufferable heat. It is evident that the whole space contained within the Polar Circles would be covered with ice, formed by the conderisations of the atmosphere, and which would remain fixed, extending frigid influence some degrees farther. Following up the Doctor's theory: — The eruption of the earth, which he supposes de- stroyed the primitive, and produced the present state of the globe, and which changed the po- sition of the Poles 23^ degrees, we may sup- pose would destroy the Polar ices, and leave the extremities of the globe unencumbered j but if, from the creation of the world, the sun has travelled the same course in the heavens, or, in other words, the axis of the earth has always had the same inclination to its orbit, which is the most probable conjecture, then I I I 298 OBSERVATIONS ON THE the conclusion, as relates to the Poles, will be very different.* The various ices of the Poles we cannot sup- pose were produced immediately at the creation, they must have been produced by successive winters; and, since the temperature at the Poles, at the summer solstice, is one-fourth greater than at the Equator, may we not reasonably imagine that the heat of the sun during the sum- mer which succeeded the first winter, would be sufficient to reduce to fluidity the ices which had been produced? In this consideration, I am supposing the Poles, as to their quaUty of matter, to be in one or other of the two states men- tioned at page 281. Many parts of Russia experience the extra- ordinary degree of summer heat, arising from the long space of time that the sun is above the horizon. At St. Petersburg, in the latitude of 60°, the heat during the month of July I have myself experienced to be greater than that of the West Indies ; and were the sun's rays to fall less obliquely on that part of Russia, ve- * Professor Leslie, in the Supplement, vol. iii. of the Ency- clopedia Britannica, observes : " At the Pole itself, during the complete circuit of the sun in midsummer's day, the measure of heat would be greater than at the Equator, by about j^th, or 797 thousand parts. The continued endurance of the Run above the horizon more than compensates for tho feebleness of his oblique rays." STATE OF THE POLES. 299 getation would be destroyed by the violent and almost continual action of his rays. An extract from Captain Scoresby's Voyage to the North is descriptive of the powerful effects of the sun, where he continues for a great length of time above the horizon. (See p. 343.) " The total freeness from clouds of the atmosphere near shore is often remarkable. The sun sometimes sweeps for days together round and round the heavens without for a moment being concealed by a cloud. The heat on shore, I have had occasion to remark, is in such cases very in- tense. The constant action of the sun, without the suspension of night, produces an influence on the vegetation, which exceeds, perhaps, any thing that elsewhere occurs even in the finest regions of the globe." In the calculations made for the comparative temperature between that of the ^ole and other latitudes, the accumulation of heat produced by the continued action of the sun is not taken into account', though such accumulation is great and quite apparent in many common experiments. I should, in another part of these sheets, perhaps, have introduced the following considerations re- garding the probable deposit of congealed matter about the Poles ; but, as I have not immediately digressed from the subject of the peculiarities of tlie Polar Regions, the apparently detached 300 OBSERVATIONS ON THE jnode^ of treating it may not be materially ob- jectionable. I suppose that during the depth of winter the Polar atmosphere becomes so divested of hu- midity, by intense frost, as to afford little matter for condensation in the form of snow j for when the Polar Regions have received their winter covering of snow and ice, the caloric of the land or water is thereby prevented from escaping, and little or no evaporation can go on. " In the month of July, for example, when the mean point of deposition may be taken in this latitude (^6°) at 45°, the quantity of mois- ture in the air is 0*2099 grains in 100 cubic inches; whereas, in the month of December, when the mean point of deposition is 15° lower, the quantity of moisture in the same volume of air is only 0*1^8 grains." ^-Edinburgh Philoso- phical Journal, No. 21* p. 165. The estimate made by Captain Parry, (Second Voyage, p. 200.) in regard to the quantity of snow which fell during five winter months, about the latitude of 66 degrees, was 4jl inches ; but allowing, as he supposes, that as much had been carried off by wind, the accumulation of snow, during the whole five months of winter, would •till not exceed the depth of 9 inches. It is impossible to infer exactly, from what fell in this latitude, what quantity would fall during the li 'llT' STATE OF THE POLES. 801 ob- samt! period at the Poles ; but, for the above reason, of the Polar atmosphere probably pos- sessing less humidity, the falls of snow would be proportionably less. If the Polar Region be an expanse of water, the next object of enquiry is, what is the probable annual production of ice ? Captain Parry's estimate of the depth of ice formed during five winter months, in the lati- tude of 66", is the best analogy afforded for calculating that at the Poles ; the thermometer having frequently, during that time, indicated a temperature of 81® below zero of Fahrenheit He says, (Second Voyage, p. 186.) " The thick- ness of the floe was here 4 feet 7 inches, being the produce of exactly five calendar months. The ice was hard, brittle, and transparent, till within six or eight inches of the lower surface, where it became sofl and porous, allowing the water to filter through it. In the ofling, or in deep water, the production of ice was very slight when the thermometer stood at 31 *." By analogy, according to this estimate, we may suppose that the winter production of ice at the Poles is not so enormous but that the more than equatorial heat of summer, which is presumed to exist there, will dissolve it The temperature of the sea-water in high northern latitudes is much above what might be expected if the Pole were a cupola of ice. 11 to-". 302 OBSERVATION'^ ON THE Captain Ross i^and the temperature of the sea to the northward of Davis's Straits, about the latitude of 7^°> at the depth of six, seven, and eight hundred fathoms, to be 28^** ; and Captain Parry, at similar depths, found it 28" ; whereas Captain Phipps, in the latitude of 75", in the Spitzbergen Sea, at the depth of 600 fathoms, found the temperature of the water to be 40" ; and on the 4th of August, in the latitude of 80 degrees, 60 fathoms under the ice, he found the temperature to be 39°* From what source can we suppose that these eleven degrees of heat above the freezing point of salt water were de- rived? It could not proceed from the southward ; for, as mentioned by Captains Ross and Parry, at great depths the temperature has been found < to be about 28". The increase of heat was not generated at the surface, for that was at 36° ; and the air was at 32". It most probably came from the Polar Region, whiere the water, by being heated to a temperature of 70 or 80 degrees, would be so expanded as to force its way southwards to obtain a level.* The in- capacity of water to conduct caloric downwards, * According to the experiments of Mr. Dalton, on the gravity and expansion of water under different temperatures, the bulk of water at 5° is equal to the same bulk of water at 80°. — Manchester Memoirs, vol. v. p. 374. STATE OF THE POLES. 303 and the rays of the sun exhausting their calorific effects in passing through a depth of not more than three or four fathoms, makes it difficult to con- ceive how the heated waters of the Pole could find their way to the depth of sixty fathoms. Supposing them to be heated to the temperature of 70** or 80°, they would become specifically lighter than the waters of the sea in the latitude of 80°,; but those of the Pole coming in contact with ice, or a colder stratum of vater, might be cooled to what Captain Phipps found it, 39° ; and this being nearly the maximum density of water, it would sink beneath that at the surface, which was at a ';emperature of 36°.* Captain Scoresby reached the latitude of 80° 33", so early as the month of April, and on the SOth of that month, about the latitude of 80°, he observed a striking instance of the calorific effects of the sun. (See his Voyage to the North in the year 182@, p. 33.) The sun broke through the clouds at the same time, and produced a power- ful effect on the temperature. At 2 A.M. the thermometer was 3° or 4° below zero, and at 8 A.M. it was + 6° ; and, at 10, about 14° in the shade. But the genial influence of the sun was still more striking ; iii a sheltered air it produced the • The density of water at 32®, and at 53°, is precisely the same; hence the maximum density of water is 42*5. — Manchester Memoirs. 304. OBSERVATIONS ON THE feeling of warmth ; the black paint of the side of the ship on which the sun shone was heated to the temperature of 90' or 100", and the pitch about the bends became fluid. Thus, while on one side there was uncommon warmth, on the opposite was intense freezing. Although I have, in another place, mentioned the calorific effects experienced in the latitude of 80*^, to afford but a weak analogy for deduc« tions respecting the state of the Pole, that ob- servation applies to the motion of the sun round the horizon ; but from this phenomenon, wit* nessed by Captain Scoresby, au inference may be drawn for the strength of the sun's action at the Pole at the summer solstice, when the alti- tude is 23° 28'. Supposing the ship in the latitude of 80° 19' at noon, and to continue at rest in the position described by Captain Scoresby, the sun, when under the Pole, would have declined in his re- volution, to the altitude of 5° 8' on the frozen side of the 3hip, at which altitude, from the extreme obliquity of his rays, he would produce scarcely any warmth, whilst the already heated side would have time to cool. But, again, suppose the ship revolved slowly round once in twenty- four hours, and that the sun remained at the altitude of 24° 21', which would be nearly the meridian altitude at that place ; or, that the sun STATE OP THE POLES. S05 revolved round the ship, which would be the same thing, it cannot be doubted, that every part of the ship, in a few revolutions, would be- come temperately heated, and, after a confiider- able succession of revolutions, would suffer by too great an accumulation of caloric. The re- sult of the sun's action at the Poles would there- fore not be materially different from that men- tioned by Captain Scoresby, as having been the effect of the meridian sun in the latitude of 80°. The meridian altitude at the Pole, at the sum- mer solstice, would be only 53' lower than that in the case above mentioned ; and, though the heat absorbed by a sheet of water, supposing the region of the Pole to be such, would not be equal to that taken up by the black side of a ship, yet it would be considerable. I have sup- posed the ices of the Poles to be dissolved by the 21st of June; for, although the process of the fusion of ice is slow, it haviiig no less than 140 degrees of caloric to absorb, before it can become fluid, yet, the sun having swept the horizon for nearly two months, advancing from the altitude of 15" to 23° 28', we may conclude his effects to have been sufficient to accomplish the dissolution of those ices. The intervention of the rays by fogs and clouds, both of which are prevalent in high northern latitudes, would, of course, lessen the 906 OBSERVATIONS ON THE efifects of the sun ; bat in regard to the Antarc- tic Region, I remarked, during my navigation in those seas, that the atmosphere became less loaded with vapour as we proceeded southwards, till, in the latitude of 74° 15\ the sky was almost without a cloud. By referring to the annexed figure, it will be seen in how rapid a proportion the length of day, or the sun's continuance above the hori- zon, increases from the Arctic and Antarctic Circles to the Poles, thereby affording at those points more than an equivalent of heat for the obliquity of his rays. Were the globe elongated at the Poles, so that each extremity resembled the small end of an egg, the intervention, of night, which in such case would take place during summer, as well as winter, in the latitude of 80°, would probably be sufficient to fill that region with ice ; but, the earth being globular, or rather flatted at the Poles, as the sun approaches the regions within the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, they enjoy his presence for a longer time, in proportion to the rapid contraction that takes place in the circles of latitude, as may be understood by the an- nexed diagram. In the figure, the strait lines represent diameters of circles of latitude, all of which, by tlie diurnal motion of the earth, re- volve in equal spaces of time ; but, from the STATE OF THE POLES. 507 Spherical form of the globe, they exhibit great differences in the length of day and night. The sun, S, being placed at an assumed distance, it may be seen, that the ray A, proceeding from the sun to the Pole, P, from which the sun ap- pears at an angle of 23° @8' above the horizon, cannot, by the diurnal motion of the earth, be either raised or depressed, as there is nothing in that situation to intercept it. But, in the lati- tude of 80°, and at the point B, at midnight, when the sun is under the Pole, the segment of the earth that lies between that latitude and the Pole will, by its convexity, reduce the altitude to 13*. At the Arctic Circle, C, at midnight, the segment contained between it and the Pole being equal to the altitude of the sun at that point, he will, of course, appear in the horizon. An observer, at the point D, on the Arctic Circle, will perceive the sun on the meridian, at an angle of 46° 56\ with the horizon. But, when the observer is carried half round that circle, by the diurnal motion of the earth, which brings midnight, as at C, the sun will appear in the horizon ; his depression being equal to the segment C P D (46° 56'). Hence it appears evident, that the altitude of the sun at midnight will increase as this segment becomes shortened, or, in other words, as you approach the Pole ; and there, at the summer solstice, the segment X 2 308 OBSERVATIONS ON THE II being reduced to a point, he will pass round the Pole at neai'ly the same altitude. The diameters of the circles of latitude at 10 and 20 degrees differ but very little from that of the Equator ; and, consequently, the days do not vary much in length: but, above the latitude of 20", it may be seen, that towards the Pole the diameters diminish very fast, keeping the sun longer in view as they become shortened, till beyond the Arctic Circle, where, at the sum- mer solstice, he never disappears. Notwithstanding all that has been said for the open state of the Poles, two instances of modem experiment have proved, beyond a doubt, the impracticability of at present penetrating the Northern Polar Circle. Captains ^ipps and Ross, in their respective attempts at different points within the Arctic Circle, have reached the utmost navigable limit ; but, in both cases, they were entangled with land, from which, pro* bably, arose the impediments of ice they met with. As the northern termination of Greenland has not yet been discovered, it may not unlikely extend to the northward of Spitzbergen, and thence to the eastward, supporting that glacier of ice along which Captain Phipps coasted in search of an opening. From the direction of the east coast of Green- STATE OF THE POLES. 309 land, and the position of the northern shores of the Arctic land in general, it is not improbable that a range of islands extends quite round the Polar Circle, terminating the northern extre- mities of Europe, Asia, and America, and forming channels which will be constantiy en- cumbered with ice. The disjoined state of lands already known in high latitudes supports this conjecture. We are credibly informed that the latitude of 81" 50' was reached by Captain Scoresby, senior; but previous accounts cannot be equally de- pended on. The Dutch navigators, whose method of observation, from the imperfection oi their instruments at that time, was subject to much inaccuracy, pretend to have been driven by gales and cui rents into the latitude of 88* ; and, on one occasion, into 89° 4(y ; but these accounts are void of credibility. In the Edin- burgh Review some more modem voyages are taken notice of, which appear to be well authen- ticated. (See No. 58. p. 331.) " In 1616, Baffin advanced in Davis's Straits as high as the latitude of 78 degrees. The same skilful navigator had, two years before, penetrated in the Greenland seas, to the latitude of 81"*, and seen land as high as that of 82* lying to the north- east of Spitzbergen; buv it is mortifying to remark, how litUe progress has been made in X 3 310 OBSERVATIONS ON THE geographical discovery since those early and in- trepid adventurers explored the Arctic Regions with their humble barks, which seldom exceeded the size of fifty tons. We must pass over a very long interval to obtain authentic information. In 17^1> Captain M*Callam, whom Barnington calls a scientific . seaman, sailed without obstruction from Hack- luyt's Headland, as high as the latitude of 83^°, where he found an open sea ; and the weather being fine, nothing hindered him from pro- ceeding further but his responsibility to his owners for the safety of the ship. Captain Wilson, about the end of JunCt 17^4> having found the sea quite clear as far as he could descry, advanced to the latitude of 83^, till, not meeting with any whales, and beginning to apprehend some danger, he shaped back his course. At this very time Captain Guy, after four days of foggy weather, was likewise carried to the same point. The Polar Seas at this period must, indeed, have been remarkably open \ for one of the most extraordinary and best authen- ticated voyages was performed in ly^'*. by Mr. Stephens, a very skilful and accurate observer, whose testimony is put beyond all manner of doubt by the cool judgment of the late astro- nomer royal. Dr. Maskelyne. This navigator informed Dr. Maskelyne, that about the end of STATE OF THE POLES. 311 May he was driven off Spitzbergen by a southerly wind, which blew for several days, till he had reached the latitude of 84^°, and that in the whole of this run he met with little ice, and no drift wood, and did not find the cold to be anywise excessive. The credibility of these latter statements of the Polar Sea having been penetrated, appear scarcely to admit of being called in question ; particularly that of the voyage related by Mr. Stephens ^ but, it is much to be regretted, tHat the accounts of these voyages were not published with such details as would corroboiat' the ge- neral statement, wht ^ : would have been much more satisfactory thaa laditionary report Mercantile pu^'Ruits hav? not afforded equal means for obi£i/ua;;5 informiuon of the southern regions; nor have experimenti for arriving at the South Pole been persevered iu by governments or public boards of science. The barrier of ice which Captain Cook met with in latitude 71* 10' was considered to be the glacier of the ice of the Pole, and con- sequently closed all speculation; on the possibility of reaching it. The continents of the two hemispheres ter- minate at very different points of latitude. Tlie southern extremity of the continent of Asia lies to the northward of the Equator, and those of X 4 31^ OBSERVATIONS ON THE Africa and America in the south, terminate in mere peninsulas. The South Pacific and Atlantic Islands are inconsiderable when compared with the expanse of ocean in which they are scat- tered, whilst the lands of the northern hemi- sphere terminate within the Arctic Circle. The western extiemity of South Shetland lies within the Antarctic Circle, and that is the most southern land which has yet been discovered. By a glance at the map of the Polar parts of the two hemispheres, it will be seen how many more points of access there are to *he South Pole than to that of the North. The only openings to the northern Polar Regions are by Bhering's Straits, and by the Spitzbergen Sea, forming together not more than one ninth of tlie Circle of the seventieth degree of latitude. The Antarctic Regions are differently cir- cumstanced as regards land, for we know of none to the south of 69i ; and that is reported to be an island of small extent, and probably is a part of the Archipelago of South Shetland. The difficulty attendant on the navigation of the Antarctic Sea, so far as I have seen, con- sists in having to pass through chains of ice islands, floating between the latitudes of sixty and about seventy-one. Within little more than this portion oi' both hemispheres, probably, the principal ices will be met with. STATE OP THE POLES. 3ia In standing southwards there is little doubt but that heavy field-ice would be faDen in with, which had been formed in bays or straits, and which had thence drifted into deep water. These obstacles, however, though a little em- barrassing, might perhaps without much difficulty be passed. Two Russian ships on discovery in the year 1821, are reported to have reached the latitude of 70% and it is said were prevented by ice from going fariher.* I reached about 255 miles nearer the Pole, and met with no such ob- struction. The baniers to the attainment of experimental knowledge are, however, often produced by an unlucky concurrence of circumstances. The noblest efforts are frequently blasted by some untoward event, which not only, perhaps, affects the interest of the persons engaged, but leads to false conclusions as to the possibility of ulti- mately obtaining the object desired. • Bellinghausen's Voyage. — The Russian voyage of dis- covery towards the South Pole did not reach so high a ' i- tude as Captain Weddell, whose voyage is noticed at p. 146. For the chief of the expedition, Captain Bellinghausen, says, " We continued our cruise to the south-east, saiUng between large masses of ice ; but, notwithstanding all our efforts, we never could pass the 70° of south latitude, and this only in one place. In all others, wc could only ad- vance 69^." — Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, No. 2S. p. 177. 314 OBSERVATIONS ON THE POLES. Probably no part of science is more subject to erroneous conclusions than that of hydro- graphy. Supposititious islands have been seen through a hazy atmosphere which in reality never had existence ; and those which have been actually seen have been sometimes incorrectly laid down, by reason of adverse circumstances, such as having been seen at a great distance, or by reason of darkness or fogs. The most patient and diligent research is always necessary to the attaining a correct knowledge of those parts of science of which I have treated in the foregoing pages : and if I have contributed, by my private adventure, to the advancement of hydrography, I conceive that I have only done that which every man would e^ideivour to accomplish, who, in the pursuit ()f wealth, is a.t the same time zealous enough in the cause of science to lose no opportunity of collecting information for the benefit of man- kind. SECOND VOYAGE OF THE BEAUFOY TO TIERRA DEL FUEGO. ^1 ADVERTISEMENT. « Some particulars of a second voyage, perjbrmedhy the Beaufoy in the South Seas, have been communicated to me by Mr. Brisbane ; and I shall in the /oUowing pages offer such remarks as seem to me to be possessed of interest, in consequence of their conveying additional ir^onnation on the subject of our former transactions in the Southern hemisphere* JAMES WEDDELL, R. N. SECOND VOYAGE. There having been no specific object of hjdro- grapfaical discovery either prcgected or attempted in this adventure, I would not have thought necessary to record the circumstances, were it not that Mr. Brisbane, following my iustmctions, in the prosecution of his voyage, revisited those peculiar people the Fuegians. The progressive improvement o£ a friendly tribe of men, originally found in a rude state, cannot be a matter of unconcern to the genera^^y benevolent part of mankind; and under that impression I have ventured to bring forward some further observations on the condition of these uncultivated Australians. Although little as yet can be said of their advancement in knowledge, they have decidedly evinced a mild and pacific disposition, and also an anxious desire for the assistance of strangers. m 318 SECOND VOYAGE Considering the cruelties which have been committed by the greater number of other savage nations, which have been almost always found untractable and ferocious, the humane dis- position possessed by the Fuegians merits our attention. The object of the Beaufoy's voyage was to procure the furs of seals and other animals in the South Seas. Mr. Brisbane sailed from the Downs on the SSd of August, 18^4i ; and, after coasting eastern Patagonia and touching at the Falkland Islands, on the I6th of October, 18S5, he arrived at Tierra del Fuego, and anchored in Maxwell's harbour. On the 18th, a party of about twenty of the natives came along-side the Beaufoy, in their canoes, and after a little ceremony on their part, by way of salutation, they hurried on board. Of these Fuegians, several had been visitors on board the Jane and Beaufoy. in the year 18^ and though nearly two years had elapsed, they, at once, knew Mr. Brisbane and several of the crew. In order to be identified as former friends, the medals which had been given them on the B' ^oy's preceding voyage were pro- duced ; I er this interview they were never to be seen : probably fi'om fear of having them reclaimed. TO TIERRA DEL FUEGO. 319 Full liberty given them to come and go throughout the day, and, till the 17th of De- cember, a number of the natives were frequently on board. Mr. Brisbane's account of their be- haviour, while he was among them, strongly marks the uniformity of their character. They conducted themseWes in the same pacific .man- ner as formerly, and by this further communi- cation, their knowledge of the advantages of the arts and intelligence possessed- by us ap- peared conspicuously. Their sick applied re- gularly for medical aid, and the women even presented their afflicted children for assistance. The practice of pilfering was continued with their usual dexterity, but never aggravated by ferocious insult on being detected. Their petty thefts were sometimes, however, accompanied by ingratitude ; as, particularly, in one instance of a man, who, while in the cabin getting a wound in his leg dressed, took that opportunity of requiting the favor by stealing a tumbler. No doubt the principal object of this theft was to obtain a glittering substance ; for while I was among those people, I endeavoured to impress on their minds the convenience of having a well constructed vessel for holding liquids, by giving them several articles of that description. All these were accepted, but never made use of for the purpose I had in- ■ ; i' I !' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A 1.0 ll=y= 11.25 ttiKA 12.5 ■ 50 "^^ HIH Ui Uii 12.2 i Sf 144 ™' ^ 1*0 2.0 U 11.6 '/i O /^ Hiotographic Sciences CorporaliGn 23 WIST MAIN STRUT VynSTIR.N.Y. MSM (7l«)S7a-4S03 '>. o^ 320 SECOND VOYAGE tended. The buckets, and other iron-bound utensils were broken down in order to obtain tiie hoops ; and to possess these, every consider- ation connected with our ideas of comfort was sacrificed. Their own rudely-formed calabash, made from the bark of a tree, could be better en- dured than to suffer their precious metal to re- main fastened up with any other substance to form a vessel for a similar use. In each canoe they generally carry a large calabash, containing about six gallons, which is filled with water on leaving the shore ; and their mode of drinking out of it is through the thigh-bone of the albitross, which is inverted into the mouth of the vessel. Several amusing absurdities were played oif by the natives : but, as I have described their ludicrous character in the Journal of my visit in 18^, it is unnecessary to repeat the further in- stances of their tricks. Mr. Brisbane frequently employed them in the labours of the ship, at which they ^ere by no means inactive. Though they still were ex- ceedingly fond of a repast of seal-fat, and other gross substances, they frequently partook of ship's fare with apparent relish ; but spirituous liquors they could not be brought to like. . Their friendship and confidence was mani- TO TIERRA DEL FUE60. 321 fested by inviting our people into their wig- wams j a privilege which was not conceded during my stay among them. No appearance of a sense of religion was discoverable. Mr. Brisbane frequently ob- served them gabbling, for a quarter of an hour together, seemingly to the water ; but nothing conclusive could be drawn from this circum- stance. In an excursion into the woods two dead bodies were found stretched on the ground, in such a manner as conveyed an idea that they had been placed there by way of sepulture. Mr. Brisbane had them interred, and frequently requested their countrymen to accompany him to the spot, that he might show them the nature of burial ; but they always refused to proceed in that direction. Most probably this arose from a feeling peculiar to them, in relation to their departed friends. Mr. Brisbane's attempt to instruct the natives in this particular could scarcely be expected to succeed; as we must suppose that, before they can acquire proper notions regarding the performance of a duty which calls forth the finest sympathies of our nature, th(>y must be assisted by foreigners in the simple means of ob- taining a better subsistence. In consequence of their local disadvantages, nature does not a^rd Y 322 SECOND VOYAGE them that easy introduction to a cultivation of the arts that almost all other people have en- joyed in their advances to a state of civilization. On visiting Indian Cove the iron pot of two hundred gallons, which is mentioned in the journal of my voyage, and which we left there, was found remaining in the same situation ; though from the bruises which appeared on its sides, numberless stones had in vain been thrown with a desire to break it. Did the natives but know the value of oil, and the method of making it from the blubber, they might turn the pot to good account, from the dead whales which are sometimes thrown upon their shores. The crew of the Beaufoy carried on a barter with tlie Fuegians for their manufactures of or- naments, &c., which are already described in my Journal. Otter skins formed the most essential articles they I Ho offer ^ and their knowledge of trade in th. , commodity was latterly so much improved that their exactions were compara- tively exorbitant. A few words of the Fuegian language was, of course, obtained by Mr. Brisbane; but, owing to his sailing almost immediately after his arriv- ing in England, and his not having inserted the words in his Journal, I am unable to state them. The skin of the otter of Tierra del Fuego is 20 TO TIERRA DEL FUEGO. 323 nearly of the same quality as that which we have in Scotland ; but, from their scarcity, they are not of sufficient value to realize a profitable trade. I have little doubt that, about the Straits of Magellan the otter must be much more nu- merous ; and that on the Patagonian side of the Straits a variety of other fur-bearing animals may be found. On the 17th of December, the Beaufoy being prepared for sea, Mr. Brisbane took leave of his Fuegian friends, in number about forty, and proceeded towards the eastern coast of Pa- tagonia. Owing to his being much occupied in busi- ness, he had not frequent opportunities of adding to the hydrography of the parts which he visited. He sailed through the Straits of St. Francis, which in my chart of Cape Horn is mentioned as being seen through from Saddle Island. In the chart of these parts, pubHshed by Faden, low land is laid down running across this Strait, and forming a bay, which is called the «« Bay of St. Francis." This strait is spaciously navigable, and, in peculiar situations of ships on this coast, might be found of the utmost con- sequence. The winds and weather at that season appear '■ .■■'ff.' 324f SECOND VOYAGE TO TIERRA DEL FUEGO. I r ■ ■ ■ ' <# to have been much the same as I have described them in the Appendix to my voyage. In the latitude of 46° on the coast of Pata- gonia, Mr. Brisbane succeeded in killing an animal of the lion species, though not before he had destroyed a large bull dog. The skin, to- gether with the skull, was brought home and given to the museum of Edinburgh college. Professor Jamieson characterises the animal as having been an individual of the species Felis Concolor, or Puma, sometimes called the Ame- rican lion. Mr. Brisbane continued his voyage in the ac- quisition of his cargo till the 15th of January, when he shaped his course for England, and on the 29th of March he arrived in the Downs, after an absence of about eighteen months. I THE END. m^^ LoMBOirt Printed by A. & R. SpotUswoodc, Nc w>!$trect> Sqiuurv, « # m . ^ SrutA rrA'?iej'S, f>eari?im rxfremify rff^eScalA OrAytejS. bearing S.Kfy S.4MeUs. • *• ... ■ ■. - (< - ■- L. - -W HB; ' >^«jpi||iijHj|| Hi K'' \ . 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