MADRAS.
"Catamarans" and "Masuli" Boats.--Difficulty of Disembarkation,
and Plans for remedying it.--History.--Brahminism.--Festival
in Honour of Vishnù.--Employment of Heathens under a Christian
Government.--Politics and Religion.--Laws of Brahminic Faith.--
The Observatory.--Museum of Natural History and Zoological
Garden.--Academy of Fine Arts.--Medical School.--Infirmary.--
Orphan Asylum.--Dr. Bell.--Lancastrian Method of Teaching
Children first Applied in Madras.--Colonel Mackenzie's
Collection of Indian Inscriptions and MSS.--The Palace of the
former Nabob of the Coromandel Coast.--Journey by Rail to
Vellore.--_Féte_ given by the Governor in Guindy Park.--Visit
to the Monolithic Monuments of Mahamalaipuram.--Excursion to
Pulicat Lake.--Madras Club.--_Féte_ in Honour of the Members
of the _Novara_ Expedition.--"Tiffin" and Dance on Board.--
Departure from Madras.--Zodiacal Light.--Shrove Tuesday in the
Tropics.--Arrival at the Island of Kar-Nicobar. 424
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOL. I.
PAGE
The Track Of The Austrian Imperial Frigate
Novara. _frontispiece_
Letter. iii
Letter Continued. iv
Notes. xvi
Departure. 1
Gun-room of the _Novara_. 4
Plate: Vertical Section of the Frigate
"Novara". 7
Geodetical and Astronomical Instruments. 10
Look-out Man. 11
Track from Triest To Madeira. 11
"Palinurus". 16
Seamen off duty. 21
View of Gibraltar from Seaward. 28
Rock of Gibraltar. 29
Rock Cavern in Gibraltar. 34
South Gate, Gibraltar. 38
Inhabitant of Frangola. 47
Cape Trafalgar. 52
Loo Rock (Madeira). 57
Scene in Madeira. 58
Bridge over the Ribeiro Seco. 70
Carapuça, or Cap worn by the Natives of
Madeira. 91
Cathedral of Madeira. 95
Sleigh party in Madeira. 97
Village of Fayal. 99
"El Homem em pié". 101
Erica Trees. 103
Track From Madeira to Rio Di Janeiro. 107
Cape Frio. 120
The Quay at Rio. 121
Island of Paquità, Bay of Rio. 156
Track from Rio Di Janeiro to the Cape
Of Good Hope. 182
Cabo Tormentoso. 195
Cape Town. 196
Rifle Volunteer _Fête_ at Stellenbosch. 217
Paine's Kloef as it was. 220
Paine's Kloef as it is. 220
Crossing the Breede River. 226
Hot Springs of Brand Vley. 227
Hottentot Huts at Genaadendal. 233
Church and Mission Houses of the Moravian
Settlement at Genaadendal. 237
Tomb of a Malay Prophet at Zandvliet. 245
Interior of the Mausoleum. 246
Tsetse Fly. 252
Track from the Cape Of Good Hope to St. Paul's
Island. 259
Arrival at St. Paul. 266
View of St. Paul. 267
Distant view of Crater-Basin of St. Paul. 275
Rainy day at St. Paul. 300
Track from St. Paul to Point De Galle (Ceylon). 309
Cingalese Canoe. 344
View of Adam's Peak from Colombo. 345
Buddha Temple near Galle. 353
Interior of a House at Galle. 359
Track from Point De Galle To Madras. 418
Masuli Boat at Madras. 423
View of Madras (and Proposed Pier). 424
The Holy Mountain. 458
The god Ganeza. 461
Bivouac at Mahamalaipuran. 464
Bas-relief on one of the Monolith Temples. 467
Entrance to One of the Temples. 470
Track from Madras to the Nicobar Islands. 480
Arrival at Kar-Nicobar. 482
[Illustration: LETTER.]
Transcriber's Note: The text of the letter above, along with supplemental
address information, are in the first volume of the German edition:
Sr. Hochwohlgeboren
dem Herrn Oberst von Wüllerstorf,
kais. kön. Linienschiffs-Capitän,
Befehlshaber S. Maj. Fregatte Novara,
Ritter hoher Orden &c. &c. &c.
in
Triest.
Hochwohlgeborener Herr,
Hochzuverehrender Herr Oberst, k. k. Linien-Schiffs-Capitän.
Ew. Hochwohlgeb. wollen, als Befehlshaber Sr. Maj. Fregatte Novara, die zu
einem großen, edeln, das deutsche Vaterland und die Wissenschaft ehrenden
Unternehmen durch kaiserliche Huld bestimmt ist, den Ausdruck meiner
Verehrung nachsichtsvoll empfangen, indem ich, von der Zeit naher Abfahrt
in halber Genesung bedrängt, es wage, Ihnen einige _physikalische_ und
_geognostische Erinnerungen_ ganz gehorsamst vorzulegen, von denen Einiges
vielleicht den ausgezeichneten Gelehrten, die die Expedition zu begleiten
das Glück haben, von Nuzen sein kann. Ich würde dies Wenige nicht
angeboten haben, wenn eine so genädige und liebenswürdige Aufforderung Sr.
kaiserl. Hoheit des Herrn Erzherzogs Ferdinand Maximilian mich nicht dazu
bestimmt hätte. Was ich Nautisches über Richtung und Temperatur der
Meeresströhmungen, über die magnetischen Curven eingeflochten habe, muß
ich besonders _Ihrer_ Nachsicht empfehlen. Wenn man erinnert, scheint man
belehren zu wollen, und von dieser Anmaßung bin ich weit entfernt. Da kein
Entwurf, keine Abschrift meiner, wenigstens fleißigen, mit Zahlen
überladenen Arbeit existirt, so wäre es vielleicht vorsichtig, sie von
Jemand, der der behandelten Gegenstände kundig ist, abschreiben zu lassen.
Meine gelehrten und mir lieben Freunde Dr. Ferdinand Hochstetter, Dr. Karl
Scherzer und Dr. Robert Lallemant, der mich bei seiner letzten Durchreise
durch Berlin, um mir sein wichtiges Werk über das Gelbe Fieber in der
Tropenzone zu geben, verfehlt hat, wage ich dringend Ihrem besonderen
Schuze und Wohlwollen zu empfehlen.
Mit der innigsten Verehrung und den heißesten Wünschen für den Erfolg
eines so schön vorbereiteten Unternehmens
Ew. Hochwohlgeboren
gehorsamster
Al. Humboldt.
Berlin, den 7. April 1857 Nachts.
PHYSICAL AND GEOGNOSTIC SUGGESTIONS,
BY
ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT.
In compliance with the gracious invitation which H.I.H. the Archduke
Ferdinand Maximilian was pleased to address to me from Trieste (December
12th, 1856), and as yet barely recovered from an indisposition, I jot down
these hasty notes, without presuming to give definite instructions, such
as those I drew up, conjointly with M. Arago, for the guidance of the
French expeditions, or for Lord Minto, then First Lord of the Admiralty,
on the occasion of the Antarctic Voyage of Discovery of Sir James Ross
(1840-43). The following pages consist simply of hints which may possibly
prove serviceable to the distinguished and highly informed gentlemen, who
have the good fortune to sail on board the Imperial Frigate, _Novara_,
under the command of Commodore von Wüllerstorf. With two of these savans,
Dr. Ferdinand Hochstetter and Dr. Karl Scherzer, I have had the pleasure,
here in Berlin, to agree verbally on various subjects.
As I do not exactly know what course it is intended the _Novara_ shall
follow in navigating the Atlantic, nor in what meridian it is proposed to
cross the Equator, (in conformity with the sound and useful directions of
my friend Lieut. Maury, of Washington), on her voyage to Rio de Janeiro,
nor how near she shall keep to Cape San Roque and Fernando de Noronha, I
must content myself with inviting the attention of the voyagers in a
general way to the temperature of the sea, as also to the variations and
aberrations of the magnetic curves, and their currents.
A lower degree of temperature is usually observed W. of the Canaries, and
Cape Verde Islands, commencing with the Salvages, the thermometer
indicating as low as 72°·7 Fahr. This has been already ascertained by Mr.
Charles Deville, in his chart of temperature on the voyage "aux Antilles,
à Ténériffe et à Fogo." I consider this diminution of temperature results
from the North Guinea current, bringing with it cold water from the north
southwards as far as the Bight of Biafra and the River Gaboon, at which
point it is encountered by an opposite current flowing northwards along
the south-western coast of Africa from Loando and Congo.
In 1825, Captain Duperrey had accurately laid down the point of
intersection of the magnetic, with the terrestrial equator. In 1837, we
learned from Sabine's investigations of magnetic inclination near the
Island of St. Thomas (on the Equator, adjoining the above portion of the
coast of Africa), that this point of intersection had already shifted
four degrees to the westward. A period of twenty years having elapsed
since Sabine's expedition for determining observations with the pendulum,
it would be most desirable that fresh investigations should be made in
that neighbourhood, for the purpose of verifying the secular changes of
all magnetic curves, especially with regard to their variation. In 1840,
the line of no declination in America began 9° 30' E. of South Georgia,
whence it ran to the S.E. coast of Brazil, near Cape Frio, thus traversing
the mainland of South America only between the latter point and the
parallel of 0° 36' S., when it leaves the continent a little to the east
of Gran Parà, near Cape Tigioca, cutting the terrestrial equator again,
but in 50° 6' W. According to Bache's Map of Equal Magnetic Declination,
it reaches the coast of North America near Cape Fear, to the south-west of
Cape Lookout. This line, along which the magnetic declination is _nil_,
extends to a point in Lake Erie, 2° 40' W. of Toronto, where the
declination is already 1° 27' W.[2]
[Footnote 2: Wherever, in this paper, it is not precisely expressed to the
contrary, the scale of the Centigrade Thermometer, the longitude from the
Meridian of Paris, the French foot (_pied du roi_=12·79 inches English),
and the geographical mile, 15 to a degree of the Equator, measuring 3807
"toises," are meant.]
It is evident from the observations of Captains Beechey and Findley, and
still more particularly from those of the French Captain Kerhallet, that
the remarkable subdivision of the main equinoctial current, flowing from
east to west into two branches, one directed to the N.W., the other to the
S.S.W., commences at a considerable distance from the Capes of St. Roque
and St. Augustin. This bifurcation has always, and with good reason, been
ascribed to the protruding convexity of the South American continent at
these two promontories. It would be an important step gained in verifying
the theory of currents, could the precise distance be ascertained by
chronometer. It is apparently like an "_actio in distans_," probably a
phenomenon of what is known as "packing." As the frigate, on leaving Rio
de Janeiro is to make for the Cape of Good Hope, the opportunity will
present, should she steer sufficiently southerly, for many interesting
observations with respect to the _connecting current_ W.N.W. and E.S.E.
which encounters that from Madagascar and Mozambique, close to the Cape,
more especially with regard to the temperature of the sea.
If the frigate is intended to approach the small cluster of islands of
Fernando de Noronha, E. of Pernambuco (Lat. 3° 50' S.), I would recommend
to that excellent geognostic, Dr. Hochstetter, the hornblendic phonolithe
rock found there, far from a volcanic crater, but with trachytic dykes and
basaltic amygdaloid. The flat little island of St. Paul (Peñedo de San
Pedro), 1° N. Lat., singular to say, is not volcanic at all, containing,
like the Malouin or Falkland Islands, slaty green-stone passing into
serpentine.
Should the frigate alter her course and cross the Equator more to the
eastward, without touching at Rio de Janeiro, she might possibly fall in
with the Marine Volcanic region, (Lat. 0° 20' S., Long. 22° W.), which
has quite lately become famous again by the U. S. Expedition of the Brig
_Dolphin_ (1854), commanded by Lieutenant Lee. On 19th May, 1806, columns
of black smoke were seen issuing from the sea by Krusenstern, and volcanic
ashes were gathered, after a singular bubbling of the sea from 1748 to
1836, according to careful investigations by Daussy.
As the frigate is commissioned to visit Ceylon and the Nicobar Islands,
she cannot sail direct from the Cape to Australia; and the hope must
therefore be abandoned of her visiting the small basaltic islands, known
as Prince Edward's (47° 2' S., 38° E.), and Possession (46° 28' S., 47°
30' E.), belonging to the Crozet's Group, or the two islands, long
confounded with each other, of Amsterdam (Lat. 37° 48' S.) and St. Paul
(Lat. 38° 38' S.) The latter island, the more southerly of the two, (a
very characteristic drawing of which was given by Willem de Vlaming so far
back as 1696), is supposed to be volcanic, not only by its form, which
will at once remind the geologist of Santorin, Barren Island, and
Deception Island, (one of the New Shetland group), but also in consequence
of the eruption of steam, and the flames occasionally observed there.
As for Amsterdam, which consists of a single densely-wooded mountain, the
puzzle remains for solution as to how, during the expedition of
D'Entrecasteaux in 1792, the whole island seemed, during two entire days,
enveloped in smoke; whereas, on landing there, the naturalists of that
expedition were satisfied that the mountain was not an active volcano,
and that the columns of steam issued out of the ground near the shore! As
yet, the phenomenon remains entirely unexplained.
If we examine any map of the Indian Ocean, we may trace the continuation
of the Sunda group from Sumatra, N.W., through the Nicobar, and Great and
Little Andaman Islands, and thence through the volcanoes of Barren Island,
Narcondam and Cheduba, nearly parallel with the coasts of Malacca and
Tenasserim, all on the eastern part of the Bay of Bengal. The minor
volcanoes just enumerated will present valuable opportunities of
geological enquiry.
Along the coasts of Orissa and Coromandel, the western portion of the Bay
of Bengal is quite free of islands, Ceylon, like Madagascar presenting
rather the type of a continent.
Off the W. coast of the peninsula of India, (that is opposite the
Neilgherrie hills, and the coast of Canara and Malabar), there is a series
of three archipelagoes, extending from 14° N. to 8° S., viz., the
Laccadives, the Maldives, and the Chagos, which appears, as it were,
continued through the banks of Sahia di Malha, and Cargados Carajos, to
the volcanic group of the Mascarenhas and Madagascar. As the first-named
archipelagoes, so far as is yet known, consist solely of coral, and are,
consequently, true "atolls," or reef-lagoons, the bottom of the ocean
should be examined over a large extent, adopting the ingenious hypothesis
of Darwin, that it is to be considered _as an area of subsidence_, rather
than an elevated region.
It would also be a matter of great importance to get observations
respecting terrestrial magnetism, particularly so as to define the
position of a given segment of the magnetic equator. Capt. Elliott, as the
result of his comprehensive studies, (1846-49), ascertained that the
magnetic equator passes through the north end of Borneo, and thence nearly
due W. to the northern extremity of Ceylon. In this region the curve of
minimum intensity is nearly parallel to the magnetic equator, which
intersects the Continent of Africa near Cape Guardafui--according to
Rochet d'Héricourt, in lat. 10° 7' N., long. 38° 5'. E. Between this point
and the Bight of Biafra nothing is known.
The South Asiatic islands comprise Formosa, the Philippines, the Sunda
group, and the Moluccas. The great and little Sunda Islands and the
Moluccas embrace 109 volcanoes, with fiery eruptions, and 10 what are
called mud-volcanoes. This is not a mere estimate, but is the result of an
enumeration by Junghuhn, who, within the last year (1856), has returned to
Java, and thoroughly equipped by M. Pahud, Governor-General of the Indian
Netherlands, will be of great assistance to the Imperial Expedition.
An exact mineralogical determination of the volcanic rocks (trachytes) is
unfortunately wanting everywhere.
The most active volcano of Sumatra is the Gunung Merapi (8980 feet), which
must not be confounded with a volcano in Java, of the same name. That of
Sumatra was ascended by Dr. L. Horner, and Dr. Korthals in 1834. We may
pronounce Indrapura (11,500 feet, but this measurement is very uncertain),
and Gunung Pasoman (9010 feet), the Ophir of our maps, to be utterly
unknown geologically. The highest of the Java volcanoes is Gunung Semeru
(11,480 feet), ascended by Junghuhn in 1844, 1220 feet higher than the
Etna. The largest craters of the 45 which are disposed in a line along the
shores of Java, are Gunung Tengger, and Gunung Raou. Dr. Junghuhn has
recently given the outlines of each separate volcano in his splendid
topographical and geological map of Java, in four sheets, published in
1856, which does great credit to the Dutch Government.
The following subjects are worthy of special attention while the frigate
is at Java.
1. The curious phenomenon of the ribbed surface. (_Vide_ Junghuhn, Java,
Part II., p. 608.)
2. The disposition, as yet unaccounted for, of a series of
regularly-shaped hills, formed by the mud-streams ejected in the year 1822
by the volcano of Gunung Galungung. (_Vide ut suprà_, pp. 127-731.)
3. The ejection of water by the Gunung Idjen, on 21st January, 1817, (pp.
707, and 717-121).
4. The erroneousness of the assertion that the volcanoes of the Island of
Java do not emit streams of real lava.
It must be admitted that the mighty Javanese volcano, Gunung Merapi,
already alluded to, has not, within the historic period, presented any
coherent compact streams of lava, but mere fragments and boulders;
although in 1837, lines of fire were seen running uninterruptedly from
the top down the sides of the cones in eruption. But each of the three
volcanoes, Tengger, Idjen, and Slamat, present examples of black lava
currents, descending as far as the tertiary strata.
Streams of stone-boulders, red-hot, similar to those of the Cotopaxi, but
scarcely touching each other, flowed from Gunung Lamorgan on 6th July,
1838.
No active volcano is known in the island of Borneo. The highest mountain
of the whole island, perhaps of the whole insular world of Southern Asia,
is the Hina Baïlu (12,850 feet?) on the northern point of Borneo. It is as
yet unexplored. According to Dr. Lewis Horner, son of the astronomer of
the Krusenstern expedition, there occur among the syenite and serpentine
mountain range of Rathus, on the S.E. of the island, deposits yielding
gold (which has even been worked by diggings), diamonds, platinum,
iridium, and osmium,--presenting, in fact, a similar association to those
of the Ural mountains. No mention is made of palladium. Rajah (now Sir
James) Brooke describes in the province of Sarawak in Borneo, a low hill,
Gunung Api ("hill of fire" in Malay), the slags of which attest former
volcanic activity. A visit to Borneo would be of very great service.
There are eleven volcanoes in Celebes, and six in Flores, all active.
It is still uncertain whether the conical mountain Wawari, or Atiti,
which is more generally known as the volcano of the island of Amboyna,
ever poured out anything except hot mud (1674), or whether it should be
merely classed as a _solfatara_. The main group of the South Asiatic
Islands is connected through the Moluccas and the Philippines with the
Papua and Pellew islands, and the Caroline Archipelago of the South Sea.
The most important geological fact to be remarked with reference to the
island of Formosa, abounding in mineral coals, is the break in the line of
direction of the open vents, when, instead of N.E. to S.W., the central
line follows the meridian line, which it pursues nearly as far as 6° S.,
passing through Formosa and the Philippine Islands (Luzon and Mindanao),
respecting which deviation nothing certain is known, and in which region
every mountain of conical shape, or outline is invariably set down as a
volcano, even though there should be no indications of a crater. The
Sooloo Archipelago forms the connecting link between the islands of Borneo
and Mindanao, the long, narrow island of Palawan, constituting that
between Borneo and Mindoro.
The Island of Yesso, separated from that of Niphon by the Straits of
Sangar, or Tsugar, and from the islands of Krafto (Saghalien) and Tschoka,
or Tarakai, by the Straits of La Pérouse, connects, through its North
Eastern Cape, with the archipelago of the Kuriles. From Broughton's
Southern Vulcan Bay up to its northernmost point, Yesso is traversed by an
uninterrupted range of volcanoes--a fact the more worthy of being
recorded, as in the expedition of La Pérouse there were found red porous
lavas, as well as wide areas, covered with slags, in the Baie des
Castries, in the narrow island of Krafto (Saghalien), which is, as it
were, merely a continuation of Yesso. In our own day these regions command
a higher interest, from a political point of view, more especially since
Russia, dissatisfied with the situation of Okhotsk, at the sanded mouth of
the Amoor, was anxious, after the destruction of Petropaulowski, on the
coast of Kamtschatka, to obtain, on the S.E. coast, a harbour suitable
for a military station.
Among the three islands which form the main portion of the Japanese
Empire, six volcanoes are known to have had eruptions in the historic
period. The volcano, Fusi Jama, in Niphon, province of Suruga (Lat. 35°
18' N., Long. 136° 15' E., altitude 11,675 feet), is said to have risen
out of the plain 286 years before the Christian era. Its last eruption was
in 1707. The volcano, Asama Jama, in the district of Saku, between the
meridians of the two capitals, Miaco and Jeddo, was last in eruption in
1783. On the island of Kiusiu, adjoining the peninsula of Corea, four
volcanoes are situated, from one of which, called Wanzen, there was a most
destructive eruption in 1793.
The beautiful work of Commodore Perry, U.S.N., detailing his mission to
Japan, on the part of the United States Government, in 1852, containing
excellent photographs of races, as also drawings by the Berlin artist,
Wilhelm Heine, does not, as yet, comprise the scientific results of that
expedition.
Proceeding northwards, the volcanoes are more densely crowded, and are
found arranged in series. Of the fifty-four which I enumerated as still in
activity among the islands of Eastern Asia, there are thirty-four on the
Aleutian, and ten on the Kurile Islands. The Peninsula of Kamtschatka
contains nine volcanoes, which have been in activity within the historic
period. Lying under the 54th and 60th degrees of northern latitude, we see
a long strip of sea-bottom between two continents undergoing a perpetual
process of destruction and re-arrangement.
The South Sea, the superficial extent of which is one-sixth greater than
that of the entire solid crust of our planet, actually presents a smaller
number of active volcanoes, less vents for communication between the
centre of the earth and its atmospheric envelope, than the single Island
of Java! Out of 40 volcanic cones, including those which are extinct, only
26 have been seen in eruption during the historic period. They are not
scattered at random, but, on the contrary, as was pointed out by Mr. James
Dana, the ingenious geologist of the great United States Exploring
Expedition, under the command of Capt. Wilkes (1838-42), they have been
thrown up, at widely extending clefts, communicating by submarine mountain
systems. They are arranged in groups and distinct regions, analogous to
the mountain chains of Central Asia and Armenia (in the district of the
Caucasus), and belong to two quite distinct systems, one running S.E. to
N.W., the other S.S.W. to N.N.E.
In the Hawaiian Archipelago (or Sandwich Island group), we find Mauna Loa,
according to Wilkes, 12,900 feet in height, which does not present any
cone of volcanic scoriæ (resembling, in this particular, the volcanoes of
the Eifel), but has emitted streams of lava. The lava basin of Killauea,
13,000 feet in its greatest, by 4800 in its smallest diameter, is not a
_solfatara_, but a true lateral vent on the flank of the powerful Mauna
Loa itself, exactly resembling the less elevated sheet of lava of Arak.
Mauna Kea is 180 feet higher than Mauna Loa, but is extinct. Tafoa and
Amangura, in the Tonga group, are still in eruption, the last discharge of
lava having occurred in July, 1847. The volcano of Tanna was in full
eruption during Capt. Cook's Voyage of Discovery in 1774, as was also the
volcano of Ambrym, west of Malicollo in the archipelago of the New
Hebrides. At the south point of New Caledonia, lies Matthew's Rock, a
small smoking rocky island. The volcano of Santa Cruz, N.N.W. of Tina
Kora, with periodical eruptions occasionally occurring at intervals of 10
minutes, had been already noticed as a volcano by Mendana, so far back as
1595. In the Salomon Archipelago, there is found the volcano of Sesarga,
while others are said to be in full activity in the Marianas or Ladrones,
just like those of Guguan, Pagon, and El Volcan Grande de Asuncion, which
appear to have broken forth along a line that follows the meridian. In New
Britannia, three conical mountains were observed vomiting streams of lava,
by Tasman, Carteret, and Labillardière. There are two volcanoes in full
activity on the north-east coast of New Guinea, opposite Admiralty
Islands, which themselves are so rich in obsidian. In New Zealand,
numerous regions abound in basaltic and trachytic rocks. Of active
volcanoes there are Puhia-i-Wakati (the volcano of White Island), and the
lofty cone of Tongariro (5816 feet). To the absence of centres of volcanic
agency in New Caledonia, where sedimentary formations and seams of coal
have recently been discovered, is ascribed the vast development of coral
reefs. Dana was the first to ascend the Peak of Tafua, in the Island of
Upolu, one of the Samoa group, not to be confounded with the still active
volcano of Tafoa, south of Amangura, in the Tonga Archipelago. Dana found
in it a crater overgrown with thick forest. So, too, on the isolated Vaihu
or Easter Island group, there is found a range of conical mountains with
craters, but inactive.
Of the volcanic groups of the South Sea, the most violent is the farthest
east, adjoining the shores of the New World, viz., the archipelago of the
Gallipagos, which consists of five considerable islands, very admirably
described by Darwin. There are streams of lava down to the very shore of
the sea, but no pumice. Some of the trachytic lavas are said to abound
with crystals of albite. It is important to examine whether or not this
is oligoclase, as on Teneriffe, Popocatepetl, and Chimborazo; or
labradorite, as on Etna and Stromboli. Palagonite, exactly similar to that
of Iceland or in Italy, was discovered by Bunsen in the specimens of tufa
from Chatham Island, one of the Gallipagos.
New Holland does not show any signs of recent volcanic activity, except at
its most southern point (Australia Felix), at the foot of the Grampian
Mountains. N.W. from Port Philip, as also towards the Murray River, there
are numbers of volcanic cones and sheets or flows of lava.
It would be of great interest and utility to observe the relative
inclinations of the Magnetic and the Geographical Equators, by means of
the dip of the magnetic needle, though this will be rendered more
difficult, from the fact of the ship's course being easterly, that is,
contrary, to the Equinoctial current. As regards the low temperature of
the current, which I discovered in 1802, running up from 40° S. to the
Gallipagos along the coast of South America, and then turning westward, it
would be highly important to investigate whether in the eastern part of
the South Sea in 7° N. and between 117° and 140° W., there really exists
in every season a _counter current_ from west to east. But I need not
enlarge upon this topic to such attentive navigators.
The line of no inclination was crossed six times by Duperrey between 1822
and 1825. When I first discovered, near Truxillo, the low temperature of
the cold Peruvian current, it was 12°·8 Réaumur (60°·8 Fahr.). The
temperature observed in the course of twenty years by Mr. Dirckinck von
Holmfeld, in the neighbourhood of Callao, expressed in degrees of Réaumur,
were as follows:--
September 1802 12°·8 (Fahr. 60°·8) } Thermometer in the air.
November " 12°·4 ( " 59°·9) } 13°·3 Réaumur.
December, end of 16°·8 ( " 69°·8) } (61°·92 Fahr.)
January 1825 12°·7 ( " 60°·57)
February " 15°·3 ( " 66°·42)
March " 15°·7 ( " 67°·32)
April " 14°·5 ( " 64°·62)
The temperature of the sea I found to be 22° Réaumur (81°·5 Fah.) north of
Cape Blanco, when on my way from Callao de Lima, at which point the cold
current diverged towards the Gallipagos.
Between the Gulfs of Guayaquil and Panama, north-east of the cold current,
the temperature of the sea during the month of April rose as high as
24°·5, (87°·12 Fahr.). Within the range of the current, Mr. Dirckinck had
carried on his observations in compliance with my instructions, by means
of thermometers that had been compared by Arago. Everywhere in the
current, in December 1824, he found from 16° to 18° (68° to 72°·5 Fahr.);
between Quilca and Callao, in January, 1825, from 18° to 19° (72°·5 to
74°·75 Fahr.); between Chorillos, near Lima (Lat. 12° 39' S.) and
Valparaiso, in August, 1825, from 13°·8 to 10°·5 (63°·05 to 55°·62 Fahr.);
between Chorillos and San Carlos de Chiloe, in June, 1825, from 18°·8 to
9°·2 (74°·3 to 52°·7).
In sailing from the Sandwich Islands to the west coast of America, the
Imperial Expedition will have to choose between the Ports of San Francisco
or Acapulco. The first choice would be of great mineralogical advantage
for those regions of the United States, lying North of the river Gila.[3]
Parallel with the chain of the Rocky Mountains, which, according to
Marcou, contains up to the present day several volcanoes in full activity
in its northern part (Lat. 46° 12' N.), run single, and at certain points
double ranges of coast chains from San Diego to Monterey, from 32° 15' N.
to 46° 45' N. They begin with the coast range specially so-called, which
is a continuation of the high ridge of the Peninsula of Lower or Old
California; after which, farther to the North, there follow in succession,
first the Sierra Nevada di Alta California, between 36° and 38° N. the
lofty Shasty mountains, and the Cascade Range, nearly twenty six miles
distant from the littoral, including many high and active volcanoes, and
extending far beyond Fuca Straits. The following are still in
eruption:--Mount St. Elias (46° 2' N.); Mount Regnier, or Rainier, (46°
46'); and Mount Baker, (48° 48'.) These three active cones would be most
conveniently visited by the geologist of the expedition from San
Francisco, as would likewise the whole Cascade Range. We have as yet no
certain intelligence as to the geology of the entire longitudinal
auriferous valley of the Sacramento River, (where a trachytic crater, in
a state of disintegration, is known as the Butt of Sacramento). Does the
auriferous quartz occur in veins, and are these still _in situ_, or are
they broken up? What description of rock is traversed by these veins? Does
the wash-gold here contain occasionally, as in the Ural Mountains,
fragments of vein-stones with isolated cavities, in which are found
impressions of leaves and membranes, clearly proving that they have not
been rolled, or transported by water, any great distance to the spot they
now occupy? Have these been found, alongside of gold, diamonds, platinum,
osmium, iridium, or mercury?
[Footnote 3: The Gila falls into the Colorado about forty miles above the
embouchure of the latter into the head of the Gulf of California.]
Should the frigate steer for Acapulco, it may be assumed that there exists
an intention to cross the Continent to Mexico and Vera Cruz, from the
volcano of Colima (1877 toises) as it were, along the parallel of the
range of volcanoes, and greatest heights rising in detached groups between
the two seas, about the parallel of 19° N. New astronomical observations
are greatly needed for determining the position of the volcanoes of Colima
and Jorullo (667 toises). The volcano of Colima, with its twin peaks _de
fuego_ and _de nieve_, should be carefully examined, as also the volcano
of Jorullo, with the fragments of granite enclosed in its lava; the Nevado
de Toluca (2372 toises), Popocatepetl (2772 toises), Itztaccihuatl (2456
toises), Cofre de Perote (2098 toises), and the volcano of Tuxtla (18° 28'
N.), on the eastern slope of the Sierra St. Martin, from which a column of
flame shot up with great violence on 2nd March, 1793, a fair specimen of
what the Spaniards term _Malpays_, the Sicilians _Sciarra viva_. The face
of the country is covered over with boulders of lava, at San Nicolas de
los Ranchos, at the foot of Popocatepetl, adjoining the city of Puebla de
los Angeles, after which, on the road from Puebla to Vera Cruz, will be
observed two narrow strips of boulders of cooled basaltic lava, rich in
olivine. Similar examples will be found at Parage de Carros, near
Tochtilacuaja and Loma de Tablas, between Cancas and the Casas de la Hoja.
The mere ascension of volcanic cones is geologically of far less
importance, than the bringing away numerous specimens, carefully selected,
of various trachytic rocks, which, by their oryctognostical composition,
are characteristic of each volcano. I would nevertheless recommend that
the Pico del Fraile of the Toluca volcano (2372 toises) should be
ascended, proper caution being used. From this very sharp peak, I brought
away thin plates of trachyte perforated by lightning, and within the holes
of a melted glassy surface, resembling those brought from Little Ararat.
Both for the miner and geologist, an interesting and useful visit might be
paid to the rich mines of Guanaxuato and the Mines de la Biscaina and
Regla, on the road from Mexico to Real del Monte, so as to observe the
close connection subsisting between the richer silver ores, occurring in
trachytic porphyry without quartz, but with felspar, (glassy felspar?),
and the thoroughly volcanic Cerro del Jakal, abounding in obsidian, and
the Cerro de las Navajas (Razor Range), which remind one of the environs
of Schemnitz, with the sole exception, that the trachytes "_porphyres
meulières_" of Beudant, are wanting here.
As it is highly desirable that considerable time should be devoted to the
volcanoes of Quito, Peru, and Chili, it appears uncertain whether the
course of the frigate, on leaving Acalpulco, will be shaped direct for
Guayaquil, thus reversing the route taken by myself, or whether she will
not touch at some of the central American ports--Realejo or Sonsonate. The
crowded series of volcanoes in Central America, of which no less than
eighteen, conical or dome-shaped, may be considered as still in active
eruption, would yield a rich harvest of facts of all kinds in elucidation
of the theory of volcanic action, such as have never hitherto been
sufficiently taken advantage of. We are still in need of the mineralogical
determination of the rocks, while the form and situation of the mountain
masses have been well described by Squier, Oersted, and other modern
travellers. The greater number, indeed, of the eruptions of scoriæ and
slag were unaccompanied by streams of lava, as, for example, those of
Mount Isalco, abounding in ammonia. But recently eye-witnesses have
furnished us with quite different accounts regarding these eruptions, in
the case of several volcanoes--as the Nindiri (a twin volcano with that
called Massaya), on which Dr. Scherzer has lately shed much light; the
Volcano el Nuevo, erroneously called Volcano de las Pilas, that of
Coseguina, situated on the Great Bay of Fonseca, and that of San Miguel de
Bosotlan, from which there flowed an extensive stream of lava in July
1844. It would be most tempting to pass by land from Mexico southwards to
Oaxaca, and thence to the Isthmus of Guasacualco or Tehuantepec, and
Chiapas, so as to rejoin the frigate at Realejo or Sonsonate. Facts might
be obtained, in such a journey, of great value in determining the
dependence of geological phenomena on each other; but it is to be feared
it would be attended with too much fatigue and loss of time. For similar
reasons, it cannot be proposed that the scientific gentlemen attached to
the Expedition, should leave the frigate for three or four months, when
they reach Central America, in order to cross by rail the Isthmus of
Panama, with the object of examining the Volcancitos of Turbaco and Gabra
Zamba, both active, and thence ascend the Rio Magdalena from Carthagena de
las Indias, as far as Honda, whence they could proceed by Bogotà and
Popayan to Quitó.
It will be also unavoidable to forego the examination of the sedimentary
rocks, rich in fossils, between Honda, Bogotà and Ibagues, the Mastodon
fields (_Campos del Gigante_), and the Salto de Tegumidama on the plateau
of Bogotà, the wax palm (_Ceroxylon Andicola_), and the Azufrales of the
Passo de Quindiu, the volcanoes of Tolima, measured by myself and ascended
by Boussingault, and of Paramo de Ruiz (4° 15' N.), as also the two
volcanoes of Popayan, the Puracé and the much more interesting but now
extinct Sotará. As a middle course, I may suggest a disembarkation, not
exactly at Guayaquil, but on the gold and platinum coast of the Choco,
near San Buenaventura, so as to proceed thence to Popayan, and afterwards
return to the volcanoes of the province of Pasto, which are highly
important, and so on to Quitó, by way of Guachucal, Tulcan, and Villa de
Ibarra, rejoining the frigate only at Guayaquil.
I believe, however, it would be more advisable to select Quitó as the
starting-point, whence to examine the important elevated volcanic region
De los Pastos (between 2° 20' and 0° 56' N.), containing the volcano of
the town of Pasto, the volcanoes of Tuguerres, Chiles and Cumbal, and the
Azufral de Pasto, and not to land at any port of the Choco coast, not even
from the Bahia de Cupica, which for half a century I have recommended in
vain on account of its vicinity to the Rio Naipi, one of the tributaries
of the Atrato. In drawing up a list of names of the volcanoes of the
renowned lofty plateau of Quitó, I may include, Imbaburu, Cotocachi, Rucu,
Pichincha, Antisana, the much-disputed question of the stony walls like
streams of lava, on the east slope of Tana Volcan, and Reventazon de
Ansango; Cotopaxi, with its strange inexplicable quarries of pumice, of
Guapecho and Zumbalica, in the neighbourhood of Llactacunga and San
Felipe, the pumice containing oligoclase, not glassy felspar, deposited in
strata, like any rock _in situ_ for a considerable distance on all sides
of Cotopaxi; Tunguragua (mica slate), studded with garnets, and beds of
granite, which dip under the former, and have themselves been pierced by
the trachytes of Tungurahua at Rio Puela and the Hacienda de Ganace; the
hills of Moya, near the village of Pelilco, cast up in the celebrated
earthquake of 7th February, 1797, and still in a state of activity; the
Chimborazo, which M. Jules Rémy, accompanied by an Englishman named
Princkley, was in the belief they had ascended, on the 3rd of November,
1856, to the very summit, "_mais sans s'en douter_." Poggendorff, (Vol. X.
p. 480), has clearly demonstrated that the boiling point given by Rémy for
the summit, would not give 6544 mètres (little different from my own
trigonometrical admeasurement of 6530 mètres), but fully 7328 mètres. As I
distrust my own half-barometical measurements, I have vainly implored
travellers, these fifty years past, to have a new series of
trigonometrical observations made of the summit of Chimborazo. The merit,
then, of settling this moot point, it also remains for the members of the
_Novara_ Expedition to obtain.
It would be important to examine the Sangay (16,068 feet)--which, like
Stromboli, is in constant activity, yet without any traces of
lava-streams--on account of the grains of quartz discovered by Wisse in
the trachytic boulders ejected by the volcano, which is of such rare
occurrence in the trachytes out of Hungary; and also on account of the
close vicinity of beds of granite and gneiss, which are broken through by
the Sangay trachyte, forming an island, as it were, of not hardly two
miles in breadth. Still more deserving of attention is the extinct volcano
El Altar de los Collanes (Capac Urcù) a sketch of which I presented in
the atlas published in my "Kleine Schriften" (Plate V. p. 461), formerly
higher than Chimborazo, and still (?) 16,380 feet. Not a single specimen
of its trachyte has ever been deposited in a European museum. The Altar
itself is readily accessible from Riobamba Nuevo. In its vicinity may also
be seen mica slate and gneiss, cropping out at the Paramo del Hatillo near
Guamote, and Teocaxas, which are so seldom fallen in with in the highlands
of Quitó. Tradition relates that gold-mines were worked here during the
days of the Incas, in the neighbourhood of volcanic trachytes. From the
Altar the geologist might proceed, by way of San Luis, (Query, whether the
primitive clay-slate found here be of the Silurian formation?) and
Guamote, to Paramo del Assuay (2428 toises), and Cuenca, as far as Atausca
(2° 13' S.), where an immense mass of sulphur, lying in a quartz seam is
worked, forming a bed in the mica slate. Of what rock does the easily
accessible Cayambe Urcù (18,170 feet) consist, crossing the Equator, S.E.
of Otavalo? _En route_ from Quitó to Cayambe, the rich deposits of
obsidian near Quinche should also be inspected, which furnished the large
mirrors to the Incas, and farther to the north of which are the volcanoes
of Los Pastos, which form a separate system by themselves.
For examining the rocks and exploring the volcanoes of Southern Peru and
Bolivia--respecting which see the last edition of Pentland's Maps, not
those published between 1830 and 1848, in which the height of Sorata was
indicated at 3949 toises (25,257 feet), and Illimani at 3753 toises
(24,004), and accordingly both as much more lofty than Chimborazo, which
is 3350 toises (21,426 feet)--the best starting-point would be the port of
Arica, which may be reached, sailing the whole distance against the cold
current, from Guayaquil, after a short stay at Callao de Lima. Of the
volcanoes of Peru and Bolivia only three are now active.
(_a._) The volcano of Arequipa, three miles N.E. of the town of the same
name, which, according to Pentland and Rivero, is situated about 7366 feet
above the level of the sea. The measurements of M. Dolley, of the French
navy, which were published under my superintendence, give the summit of
the volcano as 10,348 feet above the town of Arequipa, so that its total
elevation above the sea would be 17,714 feet. In the table of heights for
Mrs. Somerville's "Physical Geography," Mr. Pentland speaks of the summit
as being 20,320 English feet in height, or 19,065 Paris feet, closely
approximating to the old trigonometrical measurement (19,080 feet) given
by Thaddeus Haenke, a Bohemian, who accompanied the expedition of
Malaspina, in 1769. What a deplorable state for the science of hypsometry
to be in! which the _Novara_ ought to put an end to. Samuel Anzon, a North
American, in 1811, and Dr. Weddell, in 1847, have ascended the volcano of
Arequipa.
(_b._) Sahama (18° 7' S.), according to Pentland's new map of 1848, is 871
feet higher than Chimborazo (which he gives as 20,970 feet), and is still
active. The true heights of Illimani and Sorata, ascertained since 1848,
are, instead of 3949 and 3753 respectively, only 3329 toises (21,266
English feet), and 3307 toises (21,145 English feet).
(_c._) Volcano Gualatieri, in the Bolivian province of Carangas (18° 25'
S.), height 20,604 feet.
The southern group of South American volcanoes, that, of Chili, presents
the largest number of active fire-mountains--only second, indeed, to that
of Central America, there being from eleven to thirteen. In order to
increase the geological exploration of this region which has been so well
prepared by the memorable expedition under Captain Fitzroy, in the ships
_Adventure_ and _Beagle_, the excellent generalizing theories of Mr.
Darwin, and the naval astronomical expedition of Mr. Gilliss, for 1849-51,
the _Novara_ will probably land at Valparaiso. A great desideratum between
Coquimbo and Valparaiso is an exact measurement of--
_A_. The volcano of Aconcagua (32° 39' S.). Its height has been stated, in
1835, by Captain Fitzroy, as 21,767 feet, Pentland's correction assigning
22,431 feet; while Captain Kellet, of the frigate _Herald_, gives it as
21,584 feet. Miers and Darwin are both of opinion that the Aconcagua is
still in activity, which is denied by Pentland and Gilliss. The most
recent measurement of Aconcagua--that by Pissis in 1854 (see Gilliss, Vol.
I. p. 63)--makes the height 20,924 feet. M. Pissis has published, in the
"Anales de la Universidad de Chili," for 1852, the geodetical elements of
his survey, which is based upon eight triangles. Aconcagua being probably
the highest mountain in the New World, a new measurement is eminently
desirable. Neither Dhawalagiri, with his 4930 toises, nor Kintsinjunga,
measured by Colonel Waugh, with his 4406 toises, are any longer considered
the highest mountains in the Himalaya range, but the Deodunga (Mount
Everest), which is 29,003 English feet, equal to 27,212 Paris feet, or
4535 toises.
_B._ The volcano Maipu (34° 17' S., height 16,572 feet), ascended by
Meyen. The trachytic rock on the summit has broken through the Jurassic
strata, in which Leopold von Buch has ascertained, from heights of 9000
feet, the existence of _Exogyra couloni_, _Trigonia costata_, and
_Ammonites biplex_. This volcano has no streams of lava, but only
eruptions of volcanic slags. It would be most desirable that Dr.
Hochstetter should examine this remarkable protrusion of dislocated
strata.
_C._ The volcano Antuco (37° 7' S.), the geology of which was described by
Pöppig, is a lofty basaltic crater, having a trachytic cone rising up in
its centre to an elevation of 8672 feet. It was observed in full activity
by Domeyko in 1845. Gilliss gives an account of an eruption in 1853.
According to Domeyko, a fresh-burning cone was thrown up on the 25th of
November, 1847, which remained in activity for a whole year. Molina
considers the Nevada Descabezado (35° 1' S.), ascended by Domeyko, to be
the highest mountain in Chili; but its height is estimated by Gilliss at
only 12,300 feet. The most southerly volcanoes are the still active
Corcovado (43° 12' S.), 7046 feet; Yanteles (43° 29' S.), 7534 feet; and
the Volcan de San Clemente, opposite the granite formation on the
peninsula of Tres Montes. Still further south, in 51° 41' S., another, the
Volcan de los Gigantes, is laid down on the old maps of South America, by
La Cruz Olmedella, as opposite the archipelago of La Madre de Dios.
Should the _Novara_ return to Europe through the Straits of Maghellanes,
it would be very desirable the members of the Expedition should visit the
locality from which Prince Paul of Würtemberg, after long zoological
travels through North America, has, within the last year, brought back to
Germany a very large collection of specimens.
Altogether, I calculate the number of active volcanoes on the surface of
the earth to be upwards of 225--one-third of which, or 75, are upon the
various continents, and the remainder upon the insular world. The Western
Continent has 53 active volcanoes--of which, North-Western America, north
of the river Gila, has 5; Mexico, 4; Central America, 18; South America
about 26. Viewing the globe as a whole, there presents itself an extensive
oblique region in which volcanoes most abound, stretching from S.E. to
N.W. in the more westerly part of the Pacific, between 75° W. and 125° E.
of Paris, and between 47° S. and 66° N. In this region, the fused elements
of the interior of our earth may be said to be most permanently in
communication with the atmosphere.
The greatest attention should be paid, with the view of improving them,
to the sections and maps of Chili, contained in the work, "Buenos Ayres
and the Provinces of Rio de la Plata," published in 1852 by Sir Woodbine
Parish, and still more so, to that entitled "Map of the Republic of Chili,
compiled from the Surveys of Gilliss, Pissis, Allen, Campbell, and Claude
Gay, between 23° and 44° S., as contained in Gilliss' 'United States
Astronomical Expedition, 1847-52 Washington, 1855.'"
The chief object to be aimed at by the _Novara_, with respect to
scientific enquiry, seems to me to be the formation of a collection in the
Geological Institute of Vienna, in comparison to which all the collections
which at present aspire to be considered rich in volcanic specimens, (such
as those of Berlin, Paris and London), should appear to be insignificant.
In all periods of history, travellers are only the representatives of the
state of knowledge of their own time, and consequently, collections always
present the readiest means of promulgating new discoveries by
oryctognostical examination or chemical analysis. In order to set on foot
a grand Volcanic Museum, it would be necessary to bring home from every
one of the volcanoes visited, not less than 10 or 12, but still better 15
or 18, specimens of the porphyritic trachytes, all carefully selected,
well-shaped, containing crystals not disintegrated, and of sufficient size
to admit of a fresh fracture being made. For such quantities, however,
there cannot be provided on board ship, even with the kindest patronage of
the commanding officer, sufficient space for the accumulations of two
years' arduous efforts in forming a collection. The greatest part,
therefore, should be sent by other conveyance to Trieste, the most secure
channel being through the consuls of the Austrian Empire, or those of
allied powers, or through the medium of British, Dutch or American
mercantile establishments, or by the regular packets.
Duplicates, say four or five specimens, from each volcano, should be taken
on board the _Novara_ in boxes of about 3 feet long. It would be too
disheartening to have any misgivings of the success of this glorious
scheme for getting together a Museum of Volcanic Rocks in Vienna, of all
the regions of the globe, arranged upon a regular geographical system,
each labelled with its own name, so as to promote a general acquaintance
with these branches of knowledge:
1. Europe.
2. Atlantic Islands.
3. Continent of Asia, South Coast of Arabia (Aden), Kamtschatka.
4. Islands of Eastern Asia and India.
5. The Indian Ocean.
6. The Pacific.
7. Continent of South America: Chili, Peru, Bolivia, Quitó and
New Grenada.
8. Central America.
9. Mexico, south of the river Gila.
10. North-Western America, north of the river Gila.
11. West Indies.
Much of this work might be done on board the _Novara_. As to Nos. 3 and 4,
Kamtschatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands, the Red Sea, and the West
Indies, it will not be difficult to procure specimens at some future
period.
Our piping times of peace are favourable to the execution of this project,
which should be zealously kept in view throughout the Expedition.
Travelling as I was, during the great wars, I did not dare shrink from the
difficulty of having to carry along with me 44 large boxes, as I did on
the road through Mexico from Acapulco to Vera Cruz, whence they were sent
to Cuba, Philadelphia, and so to Bordeaux. The mechanical labour of having
the collections carefully packed, keeping duplicates distinct, and sending
away geological, botanical, zoological and ethnographical collections, is
itself quite as important as the purely scientific work.
The exhibition of comprehensive volcanic collections brings to light the
strong analogy subsisting between the trachytes belonging to volcanoes,
far distant from one another, while it indicates the existence of great
differences in the mineralogical composition of volcanoes situated very
near each other. My most excellent friend and fellow-traveller in Siberia,
Professor Gustavus Rose, recently subjected the trachytes of the Berlin
Museum, the greater number of which were collected by myself, to careful
crystallographical and chemical investigation. He found oligoclase and
pyroxene on the trachytes of Chimborazo, Popocatepetl, Colima,
Tunguragua, Puracé, Paramo de Ruiz, and the Peak of Teneriffe, which has
recently been accurately examined by Mr. Charles Deville. The trachytes of
Toluca, Orizaba, Gunung Barang, and Burung Agung, on the Island of Java,
Argæus, in Asia Minor, Cuneguilla, south of Sta. Fé de Nuevo-Mexico, the
Sièrra de San Francisco, west of the Rocky Mountains and Pueblo Zuni,
consist of hornblende, oligoclase, and brown mica. The trachytes of
Stromboli and Etna, those of the Siebengebirge (Drachenfels), and of Kara
Hissar in Phrygia, consist of large crystals of glassy felspar, with
numerous smaller crystals of oligoclase, some hornblende and mica.
Oligoclase, having been mistaken for albite, led to the fantastic idea of
a peculiar rock, the _Andesite_, prevailing in the Andes, and even led our
great master, Leopold von Buch, to make some curious distinctions,
(Déscription des Iles Canaries, 1836, pp. 186-87.)
To ascertain the average height above the level of the sea, I propose that
furrows should be cut in the rocks of the different regions along with
inscriptions, which might carry information to unborn ages, as has been
done, on my suggestion, now some 25 years ago, by the Academy of Science
at St. Petersburg, on the Caspian Sea, while Sir James Ross, in his
"Voyage of Discovery in the Southern and Antarctic Regions," 1839-43, Vol.
II. p. 23, regrets not having done so, or, at least, of having only once
adopted this plan.
I would also, with all deference, suggest observations regarding the daily
atmospheric variations or tides, so as to obtain tables of _maxima_ and
_minima_. In order to obtain these, whenever the frigate is at anchor near
any coast, but particularly within the tropics, hourly observations with
the barometer and thermometer (the latter affixed to the barometer, and
also freely suspended in the open air), should be made through several
consecutive days and nights. During the occurrence of an Aurora Borealis
(or Australis), attention should be paid to the perturbations of the
magnetic variation, and the magnetic intensity of the horizontal needle.
Boreal Auroras have been seen in the southern latitudes of the Peruvian
Pacific, as low down as 12° 13' S.; but the occurrence of such phenomena
there is of much less frequent occurrence than that of Austral Auroras in
Scotland. It is important to keep an exact register of the intensity of
blackness in the "coalbags," when the smallest stars surrounding them are
still visible to the naked eye. The daily meteorological observations, as
also those on the temperature of the sea, will probably be made on board
ship, in conformity with the views of Lieutenant Maury, and the method
agreed upon at the last nautical congress.
* * * * *
As I shall have long ceased to be numbered with the living, when the
_Novara_ returns to Trieste, richly freighted with scientific treasures of
all kinds, with fresh information relating to organic and inorganic
nature, to the races of man, their habits and languages, I now pray to
Almighty God that His blessing may rest upon this great and noble
enterprise, to the honour of our common German Fatherland! And
concluding, in this night, these oblique, illegible lines, I remember, not
without emotion, and with very mingled feelings, that joyous period of my
life when, fifty-eight years ago, in the beautiful gardens of Schönbrunn,
preparing myself for a long journey, I was enjoying with grateful mind the
friendly kindness of the venerable Jacquin and Peter Frank.
A. v. HUMBOLDT.
Berlin, in the night of 7th April, 1857.
[Illustration: DEPARTURE.]
I.
Preparations for the Voyage.
Approbation of the Plan to fit out an Austrian Man-of-War for a
Voyage round the World.--Object of the Expedition.--
Appointment of a Scientific Commission.--Preparations.--
Fitting out the Frigate _Novara_ at Pola.--Departure for
Trieste.--Visit of the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian on board.
In the autumn of 1856, His Majesty the Emperor was graciously pleased to
approve of the proposal for a voyage round the world, as projected by his
Imperial Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, the head of the
Austrian navy, and to commission the sailing frigate _Novara_ for that
purpose, a vessel qualified to meet every requisite condition.
The chief object of the Expedition--a circumstance which must not be lost
sight of--was to afford the officers and cadets of the ship an opportunity
of acquiring that practical acquaintance with naval affairs which, added
to the theoretical knowledge previously attained, would render them
thoroughly familiar with nautical routine, and thus materially contribute
to the further development of the Austrian navy.
This branch of the public service, placed since 1848 on an entirely new
basis, has with difficulty worked its way through all those embarrassing
circumstances inseparable from the organization of a new system; but the
honest zeal and energy of the board appointed, supported by favour from
the highest quarters, have succeeded in introducing many improvements, and
in increasing by degrees the numerical strength of the men, thereby laying
a secure foundation for the rising naval force, the importance of which,
at this moment, every reflecting patriot will acknowledge.
The intended Expedition offered, besides the advantages for the service,
another not less important for the State, namely, the recognition of the
Austrian flag in remote quarters of the globe, to which it had never
hitherto penetrated; and by thus opening new channels for the outlet of
our natural products and manufactured goods, to promote the industrial,
commercial, and maritime interests of the empire.
In order to satisfy the scientific requirements of the age, the
illustrious head of the navy issued orders, that the officers on board
should in every way assist in the researches to be made, connected with
navigation and geography; and was, moreover, pleased to invite the
Imperial Academy of Sciences to nominate two members, he himself naming a
third, to accompany the Expedition for the purpose of observing and
investigating phenomena pertaining to the different branches of physical
science, as well as collecting rare specimens and interesting objects of
natural history. To this commission were ultimately attached a botanist, a
practical zoologist, an artist, and a flower-gardener.
The Academy had, for the guidance of these gentlemen, drawn up
instructions which, with a multitude of other papers containing useful
hints and interesting queries, received from the Imp. Geographical,
Geological, and Medical Societies, as well as from numerous foreign and
native scientific men, formed a most valuable collection of materials for
the purposes of the Expedition.[4]
[Footnote 4: Of these instructions, "The physical and geognostical
remarks," with which the Nestor of natural science honoured the voyagers
of the _Novara_, being of a more general interest, are published at the
end of this volume, together with the facsimile of an autograph letter of
Baron von Humboldt to the commander of the Expedition.]
Foremost amongst these _savans_ stood Alexander von Humboldt, that
illustrious man, who up to the last moment of his existence was alive with
youthful enthusiasm for every scientific enterprise. In England great
interest in the success of the Expedition was evinced by Sir Roderic
Murchison, Sir W. Hooker, Sir Charles Lyell, General Sabine, Admiral
Smyth, Admiral Fitzroy, Professor Robert Owen, Professor Philips,
Professor Bell, Professor W. A. Ramsay, Professor Goodsir, of Edinburgh,
W. J. Hamilton, Esq., Charles Darwin, Esq., L. Horner, Esq., James Yates,
Esq., B. Davis, Esq., &c., &c. From the United States of North America, we
received most valuable communications from Commander M. F. Maury, National
Observatory, Washington, D. C.--Captain Rodgers, and others.
Letters of introduction were received from Germany, and particularly from
England, to influential parties and societies in a variety of places
abroad, amongst which were many warm and friendly recommendations from the
English Government and Admiralty, as well as the Directors of the then
East India Company, to various administrative authorities in the British
Colonies.
[Illustration: GUN-ROOM OF THE _NOVARA_.]
The frigate _Novara_ was laid up in the arsenal of Pola, where all
requisite steps were taken to complete her outfit, and prepare her
thoroughly for the voyage. The ventilation of the lower deck was improved,
and the number of cabins increased in proportion to the number of
individuals for whom accommodation was to be provided.
The gun-room was, by command of the Archduke, converted into a
reading-room, and provided with a well-selected library as well as with
all the charts and maps necessary for the information of the officers, who
here made their calculations and executed their drawings.
The store-rooms for the sails and tackle were enlarged, so as to hold a
double quantity.
A distilling apparatus, the same as patented by M. Rocher, of Nantes, was
fixed on the gun-deck, and being placed in connection with the ship's
coppers, it was found that, during the few hours each day that the latter
were used for cooking, enough sea-water was distilled to supply the entire
ship's company with excellent water to drink. This distilled water, after
having been kept in iron tanks for a month, was found pleasant to the
taste, and agreed very well with the health. The excellent health enjoyed
by all the crew throughout the voyage must, in a great measure, be
ascribed to the circumstance, that scarcely any other but this distilled
sea-water was used, so that the men were enabled entirely to forego
drinking river or spring-water, which in the tropics are frequently found
injurious.
The use of such an apparatus permits a great diminution in the store of
water usually carried by a vessel. The space gained by this diminished
bulk of water, enabled us to take on board a larger cargo of coal and
provisions, such as preserved beef and compressed vegetables. The sailors
were not, however, particularly fond of the preserved beef, because in
cooking it loses a great part of its flavour (though the broth is strong
and good); nor does it seem as an article of diet to have had a
particularly beneficial influence on the health, for the sanitary
condition of the crew was equally satisfactory, and the number of
scorbutic patients not materially increased when, towards the end of the
voyage, the fresh stores were exhausted, and only salt and pickled rations
were issued.
Compressed dried vegetables were of great benefit to the health of our
men, and cannot be sufficiently recommended. The so-called _melange
d'équipage_ of Chollet, as well as _sauer kraut_, potatoes, and other
vegetables, have an excellent taste, improve the soups when mixed with
them, and are easily preserved, provided they be protected from the effect
of damp. Hence it might be advisable to keep them enclosed in
well-soldered tin boxes. The price of these vegetables is so moderate,
that it is surprising they are not more generally employed.
The long-continued satisfactory state of health of the crew must also
partly be sought for in the constant use of shower-baths. For this
purpose, apertures, three-quarters of an inch in diameter, were bored in
the planks of both the deck and forecastle, under which a perforated disc
could be screwed, and above which a pail of water was placed. By these
simple means every one was enabled to enjoy the luxury of a bath; when,
however, the desire for that refreshment became general, so that the
arrangement above-mentioned was insufficient, a hand fire-engine was made
use of, so as to accommodate as many at once as might present
themselves--a process which found great favour with the jolly tars, as
affording abundant opportunities for fun and merriment.
[Illustration: VERTICAL SECTION OF THE FRIGATE "NOVARA."]
The frigate _Novara_ had been placed on the stocks in the arsenal of
Venice in the month of February, 1845, and was launched in April, 1850.
She was pierced for 42 guns, but during the voyage carried only thirty
30-pounders,[5] and four of smaller calibre.
[Footnote 5: The 30-pounder marine guns answer very nearly to the English
32-pounders.]
The principal dimensions of the frigate (Vienna measurement) are:--
Length between perpendiculars 165 feet 5-1/2 inches.[6]
Length of water line 156 " 5 "
Greatest breadth 44 " 11-1/2 "
Greatest breadth on water line 43 " 2 "
Depth of hold 19 " 3/4 "
Draught of water aft 18 " 9 "
Draught of water fore 17 " 5-2/3 "
[Footnote 6: 96-423/1000 Austrian feet = 100 English.]
The superficial area of the ship, or the load-water line, amounted to
5685.35 square feet; quantity of water displaced 2107 Austrian, or 2630
English tons. The superficial area of the principal sails amounted to
18,291 square feet.
The frigate proved herself to be an excellent sailer, as, of the various
vessels which, throughout the voyage, sailed in company with us, only
three clippers outstripped her.
The question may here be asked, why, in the present state of navigation, a
sailing-vessel was preferred to a steamer for this voyage? The principal
consideration which decided this selection was the greater disposable area
which a sailing-vessel offers in comparison with a steamer of the same
dimensions, in which coal and machinery occupy so large a space. On the
present occasion, it will be perceived that what was specially wanted was
room for as great a number of officers, cadets, and men as possible, who
were, as has been stated, to make this voyage for improvement in nautical
affairs. Plenty of space was also required for the numerous instruments
and bulky collections of objects of natural history; while in most parts
of the ocean which we were to traverse, the winds blow so regularly, that,
with very rare exceptions, sails form the best motive power. The expense
of fuel requisite for a steamer, and the trouble of replacing it during
the voyage, are thus saved; whilst, finally, the space occupied by the men
employed in the management of the machinery, and that required for the
stowage of special stores, would be withdrawn from more important objects.
After the frigate had been properly fitted up in the arsenal of Pola, she
sailed on the 15th March, 1857, for Trieste, where she cast anchor on the
17th in the Bay of Muggia. H.I.M.'s corvette _Caroline_, likewise fitted
out at Pola for a voyage to the coast of South America and Western
Africa, followed in her wake, and it was now seen that the frigate was a
better sailer than the corvette, a circumstance so much the more
satisfactory, that the latter had hitherto been considered the swiftest
ship in our navy.
The unfavourable state of the weather interfered so much with the works
which were to be finished at Trieste, that the embarkation of provisions,
swinging the compasses, &c., &c., could only be proceeded with very
slowly.
At last, the members of the Commission arrived, and the vessel only waited
for sailing orders.
Before leaving on so interesting an enterprise, with which the most
pleasing recollections of our lives will ever be associated, we had the
gratification of being honoured by a visit on board from the Archduke
Ferdinand Maximilian. The commander of the Expedition introduced the
officers and scientific gentlemen to his Imperial Highness, who addressed
them in affecting terms, and concluded his remarks by expressing a hope
that the frigate _Novara_ would, with God's help, return happily from her
mission to her own honour and that of the country.
The narrative of the voyage is now presented, and, probably, the results
of the various scientific investigations will very shortly be offered to a
discerning public, leaving it to them to judge how far we have succeeded
in realizing the hopes of the illustrious Prince. But if we have not
satisfied all the expectations entertained, it certainly was not from
insufficiency of means; for everything was complete in that respect, and
we owe it chiefly to the circumspection and kind care of the
Commander-in-chief of our navy, that this enterprise had been so wisely
planned, and its details brought in so short a time to such a degree of
perfection that, during the whole voyage, it was not found necessary to
make the slightest alteration in the original arrangements and
regulations.
[Illustration: GEODETICAL AND ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS.]
[Illustration: LOOK-OUT MAN.]
II.
From Trieste to Gibraltar.
Departure.--Fair Voyage down the Adriatic.--A Man lost and found
again.--Passage through the Straits of Messina.--The Steamer
_Sta. Lucia_ returns to Trieste.--Regulations and Instructions
for further Proceedings.--A Day on Board the _Novara_.--
Sunrise.--Cleaning the Ship.--Mental and physical occupation.--
Moonlight at sea.
The departure of the frigate was fixed for the 30th April, 1857, and
H.I.M.'s corvette _Caroline_, Captain Kohen, was ordered to accompany her
as far as the coast of South America. H.I.M's steamer, _Sta. Lucia_,
Captain von Littrow, received orders to tow both ships as far as the
extremity of the Straits of Messina to avoid loss of time, such as
frequently arises in the Adriatic during the spring, from calms and
unfavourable winds.
With the dawn of the day fixed for the departure of the ships, all was
bustle on board; craft of all kinds hovered around, and relatives and
friends had assembled in great numbers to take leave. The verdant and
thickly-wooded slopes of the promenade to St. Andrea, near the shore, were
thronged with spectators, and the fair and lovely picture of our native
coast developed itself once more before our eyes, clad in all its charms
of spring, as if to wish us a hearty farewell, an auspicious voyage, and a
happy return!
At 8 o'clock A.M. we weighed anchor, and the steamer _Sta. Lucia_
approached the _Novara_ for the purpose of towing her from the Bay of
Muggia into the roads of Trieste. She had all her colours displayed, and
saluted the city of Trieste, Austria's chief and most important emporium,
with 21 guns. The salute was answered from the castle, whilst the band on
board struck up Haydn's beautiful hymn: "God preserve the Emperor!" The
frigate moved out of the road-stead, accompanied by a great number of
boats, and followed by the best wishes of the numerous crowds assembled on
shore, and of all true patriots, who looked upon this Expedition as a
cheering evidence that a new and energetic spirit of enterprise had arisen
in their native country.
[Illustration: PLATE I.--TRACK FROM TRIESTE TO MADEIRA.]
The corvette _Caroline_, which was waiting outside the roads, was attached
to the frigate, and soon Trieste appeared like a dim cloud on the distant
horizon. The outlines of the Carinthian Alps became fainter, and the
excitement of the parting scene was calmed by that busy activity required
from every one embarking on a long voyage, if he desires to attain any
degree of comfort, however little, in the cramped and limited space of a
crowded ship.
A perfect calm, a smooth sea, and a but-slightly-clouded sky,
prognosticated fair weather, and promised leisure to complete those
arrangements which had been left undone. The steamer _Sta. Lucia_
performed her task of towing the two vessels most satisfactorily, and,
favoured by the prevailing currents of wind and water, we made five miles
an hour, and came, on the day of departure, in sight of the promontory of
Pola.
The passage down the Adriatic was on the whole most pleasant, with the
exception of some showers of rain near the heights of Isola Grossa; which,
however, on this occasion saluted us only with a slight puff of wind. The
ship moved so gently and quietly on her way, that those occupying the
lower cabins could scarcely have fancied themselves at sea, had they not
been made aware of it by other impressions.
On the 1st of May, the crew became highly excited by a man being missed,
when the morning watch was called. Some thought he had, from fear of a
slight punishment hanging over him, jumped overboard, but as nothing of
the kind had been observed by the watch on deck, every corner was
searched, but without success, upon which the man was given over as lost.
When, however, the dinner hour arrived, and the tables and benches were
being removed from the lower deck, how great was the surprise, when the
culprit was discovered crouching among them! A peal of laughter roused the
poor fellow, who this time was let off with the fright and the punishment
of being made an object of ridicule by his comrades.
On the 3rd of May, being clear of the Adriatic, the steamer _Sta. Lucia_
was at midnight despatched to Corfu to complete her store of coal, whilst
we sailed for Cape Spartivento, on the Calabrian coast, which had been
assigned as our _rendezvous_. On the 5th, we sighted this the most
southerly promontory of Italy, when, in consequence of a fresh breeze, the
sea began to make itself rather disagreeably felt. The novices on board
became somewhat alarmed. A feeble voice was even heard, which endeavoured
to prove from this phenomenon that man is a creature made for _terra
firma_, and not for the watery element; but this excellent idea came
rather late; mankind are obliged to submit to existing circumstances, and
this thought alone held out some hope, that a longer stay on board would
prove the best cure for the evil. Such indeed was the case; though pale
faces, want of appetite, and even worse effects, were produced, whenever
the ship made a heavier roll than usual. But these slight inconveniences
of sea life became rarer and rarer, till at last they appeared only in
really stiff gales. On the 7th the steamer _Sta. Lucia_ returned and took
us again in tow.
The weather during our passage through the charming straits of Messina
was delightful. The colossal Etna exhibited in all its glory its
snow-capped summit, gilded by the rays of the rising sun, and Messina
shone with all the attractions of its splendid situation. The coast of
this part of Italy is mostly bare and rugged, the broken outlines of the
mountains imparting to the landscape that characteristic peculiarity which
makes so deep an impression on the mind. We passed the famous Charybdis,
in which a multitude of dolphins were disporting themselves. The
neighbouring coast formed a brilliant panorama, and we kept so close in
shore as to be able to distinguish the movements of the people. The
appearance of our three goodly ships seemed to have attracted the
attention of the inhabitants, for they stood in groups in the streets and
squares of Reggio and Villa San Giovanni, saluting us by waving their
handkerchiefs. When towards the evening we had passed the straits, we
could descry the Neapolitan coast as far as Monte Bulgario, in the Bay of
Policastro, and distinguish the imposing Stromboli, with its volume of
smoke, far on the Western horizon.
The following morning found us in sight of the small island of Alicudi,
situated on the north of Sicily. The estimable captain of the _Lucia_ came
on board to take leave, on his return to Trieste. The steamer, being
relieved of her burden, made her way briskly towards her destination; and,
before an hour had elapsed, we could perceive nothing but a small streak
of smoke in the haze of the horizon.
With light breezes, we came, on the following day, in sight of the island
of Ustica. Sea-gulls (_Thalassidroma pelagica_) enlivened the scene, as
they, from time to time, flew after the garbage thrown from the ship, or
sought for sea-nettles and other small inhabitants of the sea's surface.
These birds much resemble our land swallows, and their movements are so
graceful, that one cannot but admire them, especially when they lightly
touch the agitated water with their little webbed feet, and directly, as
if repelled, withdraw. The muscular power of these feathered creatures is
truly wonderful; they follow the ship for entire days continually on the
wing, ever on the watch to snatch at the little food which the sea seems
but scantily to supply to them.
[Illustration: "PALINURUS".]
Whilst we were passing down the Mediterranean, a great deal of time was
employed in drawing up regulations, and in digesting all those
instructions which had reached the Commander of the Expedition from all
sides, and by which we were to be guided in our future proceedings.
The scientific gentlemen were the first who received certain rules for
their guidance; for, life on board a ship, and especially of a man-of-war,
is so entirely different from that on shore,--the etiquette and usages
practised appear, to those unused to the sea, so vexatious and annoying,
that it was absolutely necessary to inform them of the regulations which
are essential in order to keep so singular an organization as that of a
ship at sea in working order. Erelong every one perceived, that the
matutinal annoyance of holystoning the decks, the daily cleaning of
everything on board, &c., are measures of importance, which contribute
materially to the preservation of the health of the crew, and that a
strict observance of discipline is absolutely necessary to exercise their
powers, and thus to fit them for all eventualities.
For the better accommodation of the naturalists, a place on the lower
gun-deck was fitted up for those operations which, on account of the
limited space and noxious exhalations, could not well be performed in the
cabins.
We had a large quantity of alcohol on board, destined for the preservation
of interesting objects of natural history. In order to prevent any
calamity by fire arising therefrom, the whole quantity was put in a large
iron tank placed in the hold, and covered over with sand. It will,
however, be seen in the sequel, that even this precaution proved
insufficient to protect the ship from the ignition of this
highly-combustible substance.
The meteorological observations, and those connected with the physical
geography of the sea, were entrusted to four officers, who, like those
attached to the watches, had alternately to be at their posts, and had, at
prescribed hours, to observe the barometer, thermometer, and psychrometer,
as well as the temperature of the surface of the sea, the state of the sky
and the ocean, and to note down the obtained results. One of the junior
officers was intrusted with the nautical observations on shipboard, as
well as the astronomical and magnetical on shore.
The midshipmen were at the same time trained by study and practice, so as
to enable them to assist the officers in their duties. Besides the men on
the look-out, one of the midshipmen was employed on the same service. In
stormy nights, when the wind is howling, and rain or snow falling, this
post is certainly not very pleasant, but is, as may readily be imagined,
most important.
Life in the limited space of a ship, completely cut off from the external
world, is so peculiar and interesting to those unacquainted with the sea,
that we will endeavour to describe a day passed on board the _Novara_,
from the instant when at daybreak the bustle and activity begin, till the
late hour when night reminds one of repose, those sweet moments which
carry the voyager to his distant home on the wings of a dream.
As the sonorous bell strikes the fifth hour of the morning, the crew are
called on deck by the boatswain's whistle, the hammocks are slung up and
stowed away, and the work begins.
This is the busiest time of the day, and for the mere spectator the most
uncomfortable. On all sides scouring, rubbing, sweeping are going on,
floods of water are streaming along the decks, and he who is not as yet
familiar with these cleaning processes, runs some risk of a ducking as
soon as he makes his appearance outside his cabin. These morning ablutions
are, however, indispensable evils on board ship, for cleanliness is a
condition essential to the preservation of health, and even the quantity
of humidity which penetrates the timber, and renders the air damp, appears
to be less injurious than the omission of these daily scourings.
When the cleaning of the various parts of the ship is finished, the
idlers, and such of the officers as are off duty, appear on deck, whither
people come to enjoy the fresh air, and to greet the opening day. It may,
however, be permitted to observe, that a sunrise at sea, notwithstanding
its various charms, is by far less imposing than the same scene on a lofty
mountain, where the veil of night seems to vanish as if by magic, and
luxuriant nature lies at our feet like a smiling infant awaking from a
lovely dream. That wild majesty of scenery, that overpowering grandeur of
gigantic mountain forms, such as one sees in the Swiss or Tyrolese Alps,
is wanting at sea, where the rising sun pours his beams only over a
boundless world of water.
The sailors breakfast at 7, the officers at 8, and the Commander at 9. At
the latter hour the bugle sounds the order to "clear the ship," when the
cleaning of arms, guns, and all other articles of metal connected with the
ship's armoury, begins. During this process the band plays cheerful airs,
so that the work is done whilst keeping time with the music, which serves
to lighten the labour. This duty requires to be completed within
forty-five minutes, and terminates with an inspection of the men and their
arms.
This being over, officers and midshipmen off duty assemble together with
the naturalists in the reading-room. Most of the books in the library
referred to those countries likely to be visited by the Expedition, so
that every one might previously obtain useful information relative to
their physical, historical, and social conditions.
The naturalists employ the greater part of the day in their cabins, noting
down their observations, and preparing for those to be made in the course
of the voyage. The crew are kept in activity by being drilled and
otherwise occupied.
The men dine at 12; the dinner of the officers is served up at 3, and that
of the Commodore at half-past 3 o'clock P.M. The remainder of the
afternoon is spent in prosecuting the labours begun in the morning. Thus
steals on the evening, when a general assemblage takes place on deck, for
air and exercise.
[Illustration: SEAMEN OFF DUTY.]
The occurrences of the day, the sunset, the curious formation of the
clouds, or the bewitching beauty of a brilliant tropical sky at night,
form interesting topics for lively discussion. It is, however, rather
daring to institute a comparison between the splendour of the sky in the
tropics and that of our higher latitudes. For, most men become more or
less unjust towards the beauties of a new and foreign natural scenery, in
consequence of their not being able to divest themselves of former
impressions produced in them by phenomena of a similar nature. What
impressions are, for instance, deeper in young and old, and excite more
delightful recollections than the starry sky of home? And can it be
disputed that the association of ideas has a most powerful effect upon
the impressions made by those phenomena of nature which are so peculiarly
attractive and so deeply fixed in the human mind?
The conversation generally becomes more lively on those evenings when the
moon, placid friend of the sailor, appears on the distant horizon,
shedding her silvery beams over the unbroken expanse of water. The
influence which she exercises on the state of the weather, even the
prejudices and superstitions connected with our satellite, offer subjects
of interesting debate; involuntarily the mariner looks with grateful
feelings towards that heavenly luminary, the mild soothing light of which
diminishes the number of his anxious nights, protects him in present,
warns him of remote dangers, and influences so powerfully that vast
element on which he passes the greater part of his life. Indeed he who has
ever spent a dark and stormy night on the ocean, when the ship, lashed by
the fury of the waves, and borne resistlessly along, stands in constant
peril of coming in violent collision with a vessel similarly
circumstanced, or of being dashed to pieces on some iron-bound coast of
rugged rock, easily comprehends and will excuse the sailor who ascribes to
the moonlight somewhat of a supernatural and mysterious power.
In this manner, and notwithstanding the continued sameness, days and
months glide away like hours, until we again cast anchor, and only the
work accomplished gives an idea of the length of time which has been
passed at sea.
Sunday alone breaks the monotony of life on board, when, after the diurnal
cleaning of the ship, and the inspection of the crew, the officers, and
all the men who are not on duty, assemble for divine service on the lower
gun-deck, where the chaplain says mass on a temporary altar, whilst the
ship's band performs sacred music. In the afternoon the men off duty amuse
themselves for a couple of hours with the "_tombola_," a game much liked
by our sailors. Between 6 and 7 P.M. the band plays on deck, whilst the
sailors are cutting grotesque figures to the music. The singular capers by
which all evince their happiness; the good-humoured awkwardness with which
each clings to the brawny arm of his companion; the mock graceful air
those who enact the gentler sex assume in the dance, and, finally, the
affected attitude with which the cavaliers bow to their partners as if
they really were of the gentler sex--all this is most ludicrous and
amusing. The playing the national dance "Monferina" always elicits a
particularly hearty reception. There is a peculiar charm in national
melodies, even though they awaken no political reminiscences like the
Marseillaise, or the Rakoczy; they electrify alike the educated and the
men of the people; a thousand pleasing recollections suddenly crowd into
the memory, and when the well-known tunes strike the ear, the heart seems
to live again in bygone times! As if touched by magic, the sailor from the
Adriatic, as soon as the Monferina is struck up, seizes his neighbour by
the arm with a noisy shout and hurls him about in wild hilarity; his
thoughts seem as if flying towards his distant home, where, in the country
inn, with a buxom lass on his shoulder, he has waltzed away many a happy
hour. The whole village, with all its familiar faces, seems to revive in
his memory during the playing of the melody,--now he fills his glass; now
he clinks it merrily with that of his companion; now he presses his
sweetheart more closely to his side: Lo! suddenly a shrill whistle pierces
the air, the music ceases, the call is heard "to fall in," and the yet
dance-stricken sailor, suddenly, as if awakening from a sweet reverie, is
once more standing on the deck of the _Novara_!
The frigate, in the Mediterranean also, maintained her superiority as a
sailer. The corvette _Caroline_ was able to keep the prescribed distance
from the _Novara_ only by the latter reefing some of her sails. As some
magnetic observations were to be made at Gibraltar, and, as we had to
ascertain the results of the various chronometers on board, on the 12th of
May we signalled the corvette to take her own time and rejoin us at
Gibraltar, as we were anxious to avoid unnecessary detention.
The acquisitions of the naturalists had, as yet, been very scanty: to
their great annoyance they could not even obtain any of the tortoises,
which, from time to time, approached the ship, though they were repeatedly
fired at, and on one occasion a boat was launched, in the hope of catching
some of them. The specimens which we saw were from fifteen to twenty
inches in diameter; they mostly floated quietly on the surface, and seemed
sleeping or basking themselves in the sun.
The night of the 16th May was exceedingly boisterous, and almost tangible
darkness prevailed; thunder, lightning, and occasionally strong easterly
squalls, raged furiously, and only subsided towards the morning, when it
cleared up with fresh southerly breezes. Not being far from Cape de Gatt,
on the Spanish coast, prudence required us to change course, and, during
the continuance of stormy weather, to keep at a respectful distance from
the shore. Here a merchantman, apparently an American, bore down so close
upon us, that, in the darkness, an unpleasant collision seemed
unavoidable. However, we tacked about, and thus, fortunately avoiding our
dangerous neighbour, safely proceeded on our course.
It is truly astonishing how often merchantmen, entirely forgetful of their
own safety, from want of caution, or presumption, or it would occasionally
seem, sheerly from acting upon peculiar and abnormal principles of
navigation, wantonly expose ship, men, and cargo to many dangers, which
might easily be avoided, particularly in cases where no tacking is
required, and only a slight touch of the rudder would suffice to prevent a
collision, which is always attended with danger to the smaller ship. In
this respect the North Americans are very unpleasant neighbours on account
of their national vanity, and the Dutch for their phlegmatic temperament
and the indifference they evince on such occasions.
On the 18th of May, the small rocky island of Alboran, in the narrow part
of the sea between Africa and Spain, was observed; being flat and without
vegetation, it is scarcely perceptible, and the land-fall during the night
should be carefully avoided. The erection of a lighthouse on this island
would certainly be regarded as a great boon by all who navigate the
Mediterranean.
On the 19th of May, the sea suddenly assumed a peculiar orange colour; a
dust-like covering was observed on the surface of the water, and at some
depth white points might be seen, mingling with each other in the wake of
the ship. Clouds of this orange-like matter appeared spread upon the sea,
which thereby lost its usual transparency. On closer examination this
phenomenon appeared to arise from a mass consisting of myriads of minute
animalculæ, which had a yellow opaque kernel, the gelatinous covering of
which was transparent and colourless. A quantity of sea-water impregnated
with this matter, having been brought into a dark room, gave out a light,
and when agitated, such brightness proceeded from it, as justified the
anticipation that, during the night, the whole sea would be illuminated.
Accordingly the wake of the ship was illuminated by a wonderful stream of
light, in the depths of which larger masses of luminous matter could be
discerned, whilst on the surface there was a sparkling and glittering, as
if all the stars of the firmament were reflected in the water.
This phosphorescence of the sea, for the explanation of which we are
chiefly indebted to Professor Ehrenberg, proceeds for the most part from
the emanations of light from molluscæ of the genus _Medusa_, and other
living phosphoric animalculæ; sometimes, however, as for instance in
Venice, it arises from the putrescent fibres of decayed molluscæ, and
other organisms in a state of decomposition.
On the evening of the 20th the splendid Ceuta Light was seen, which, even
at a distance of twenty miles, looks as if it were quite near. This
lighthouse is of the utmost importance to ships emerging into the Atlantic
from the Mediterranean, as the current is exceedingly powerful, and during
the night is apt imperceptibly to carry a vessel out of her course. On the
morning of the 21st, the ship lay in a calm before the rock of Gibraltar.
Barren, gray, and gloomy rose now before our sight this rocky,
gun-studded, colossal sentinel of that vigilantly-prudent, energetic, and
jealous Power, which is so constantly seeking to extend her rule wherever
her own interests are concerned, or where she thinks it advisable to make
herself respected by other nations.
A light breeze sprang up, and at half-past 3 P.M. the anchorage, eleven
and a half fathoms in depth, was reached. The frigate now lay in front of
the Alameda or public gardens of Gibraltar, situated near the town gate,
called the Ragged Staff. This anchorage is tolerably safe at this season,
but in autumn and winter, as well as generally in strong easterly winds,
it is not to be recommended, it being preferable to haul further in
towards the place where the merchant-vessels usually lie. We saluted the
English flag on the fortress with twenty-one guns, which were immediately
answered from the ramparts. There were no English men-of-war in the Roads,
except the sloop _Curlew_, Capt. Horton. The following morning our
consort, the _Caroline_, anchored in our vicinity.
The first day of the arrival of a man-of-war in harbour is attended with
much inconvenience, particularly if she carries the flag of the
Commodore, or it happens that the mail packets are arriving or departing,
or that there are many ships of war in the Roads. The latter was not now
the case, but so many visitors, letters, and newspapers arrived at once,
that neither the one nor the other could be thoroughly enjoyed.
The local authorities, the governor, Sir James Fergusson, at their head,
were extremely obliging and attentive; Mr. Falkland, an officer of the
Engineers, was placed at our disposal; a specially-reserved site was
assigned us for astronomical and magnetical observations; huts were
erected by the workmen of the arsenal for the protection of the
instruments, and in short everything, calculated to promote scientific
labours, was provided. The Chancellor of the Austrian Consulate, Mr. John
Frembly, himself a geologist, proved likewise to be of great service to
our scientific men: and it was considered a fortunate omen to have found,
at this our first anchorage, so much sympathy with the objects of the
Expedition.
[Illustration: VIEW OF GIBRALTAR FROM SEAWARD.]
[Illustration: ROCK OF GIBRALTAR.]
III.
Gibraltar.
STAY FROM THE 20TH TO THE 30TH MAY, 1857.
Political Significance of the Rock.--Courtesy of the British
Authorities.--Fortifications.--Signal Stations.--The only
place in Europe frequented by Monkeys.--Calcareous Caves.--
Chief Entrances into the Town.--Shutting the Town Gates.--
Public Establishments.--Inhabitants.--Elliott's Gardens.--The
Isthmus, or Neutral Ground.--Algeziras.--Ceuta.--Commerce and
Navigation.--Excellent regulation in the English Navy relative
to Officers' Outfit.--Small-pox appears on Board the
_Caroline_.--Departure from Gibraltar.--A Fata Morgana.--The
_Novara_ passes the Straits.--Take leave of Europe.--Voyage to
Madeira.--Floating Bottles to ascertain the Currents.--Arrival
in the Roads of Funchal.
This remarkable promontory, which in our days has obtained so much
political importance, the Calpe of the ancients, constituted of old, with
the opposite Abyla,[7] the so-called pillars of Hercules, celebrated, at
the same time, as the boundary of the then-known world. It derives its
name from the corrupted Arabic _Gebel_ (mountain) and _Tarik_, the name of
a Moorish conqueror, who had pitched his camp here (A.D. 711). Like a
colossal giant, guarding the portal of Europe, and converted, by the
energy and ingenuity of the British, into an almost impregnable outpost,
this precipitous rock has, as regards the Mediterranean, the same high
strategic importance for that great maritime people, as Heligoland for the
German Ocean, Aden for the Red Sea, Ceylon and Singapore for the Indian
Archipelago, Hongkong for the Chinese waters, or the Cape and St. Helena
for the Atlantic Ocean.
[Footnote 7: The present Apes Hill.]
Gibraltar was already strongly fortified, when it belonged to the
Andalusian kingdom, but its grandest fortifications date from the treaty
of Utrecht (1713), when it became an appanage of the British crown.
Stupendous and incomparable are the works which since that period have
been executed on it, though the calcareous formation of the locality and
its numerous caves may have considerably facilitated their construction.
The English authorities, who so kindly assisted in the scientific
researches, obligingly furnished each individual of the frigate's staff
with a written permission to inspect the fortifications as often as they
pleased, and thereby afforded them the particular gratification of being
able to view and admire these vast structures in all their details.
Excellent and well-kept roads lead to the principal fortifications, which
only begin at an elevation of several hundred feet above the town. The
galleries, hewn in the solid rock, forming a kind of casemates, are of
such breadth and height that they may be conveniently traversed by a man
on horseback with his hat on. They have been constructed at an immense
expense of labour and money, and are designated by various names, as
"Upper gallery," "Lower gallery," "Queen's gallery," "St. George's Hall,"
and so on. Their extent is estimated at an English mile, but is probably
much greater. Besides these galleries, passages run for miles in the
interior of the rock, affording the garrison a thoroughly-protected
connection with all points that may chance to be threatened.
The grandest and most imposing of these marvellous excavations are the
"Queen's gallery" and "St. George's Hall." According to carved
inscriptions, most of them were begun and completed between the years 1783
and 1789. At the period of our visit, there were mounted on the different
fortifications 707 guns, about one hundred of which peeped out of the
smaller embrasures. Since that date, however, the number is said to have
been increased so as to amount now to about 1500.
During the stay of the _Novara_, it fortunately happened that the birthday
of Queen Victoria was celebrated, and thus an opportunity was offered of
seeing the fiery mountain in full activity. Though the occasion was
peaceable, yet the imposing spectacle gave a tolerable idea of the
elements of destruction which Gibraltar could put in action if really
attacked. The governor of the fortress, surrounded by a brilliant staff,
in which the Spanish governor of Algeziras and his officers played but a
sorry part, reviewed the garrison, consisting of infantry, cavalry, and
artillery, to the number of from 5000 to 6000 men; and whilst the troops
defiled in slow and quick step, lightnings and thunders issued from all
the crevices and embrasures of the artificially-perforated rock; huge
volumes of dense smoke followed, and a rolling subterraneous rumbling gave
the mountain exactly the character of a volcano suddenly burst into
action. The echo of these salvoes of rejoicing must have been heard, not
only in the adjacent parts of Spain, but also on the more remote coast of
Africa; and he who was ignorant of the real cause, might have supposed it
a grand rehearsal of that fearful tragedy which the English seem
determined to perform in the event of an attack. The supposition, however,
that the guns of Gibraltar are able entirely to command the Straits is
erroneous, for these, at their narrowest part, are 12-1/2 miles wide, and
not even the Armstrong guns, with which the fortress has lately been
furnished, have so extensive a range. The English are, however, able to
command the Straits by a fleet, which would find in the Bay of Gibraltar a
sufficiently safe and roomy anchorage.
From the fortifications, a narrow and rather steep path leads to the
telegraph station, at an elevation of 1300 feet above the level of the
sea. Steamers and men-of-war, as soon as visible, are signalled from this
point by means of immense balls and flags. It would be very difficult to
signal merchantmen in the same way, as, during a prevailing westerly wind,
multitudes of ships often appear to the eastward of the rock, anxiously
waiting for a favourable easterly breeze to carry them through the
Straits; in the same way the westerly horizon is sometimes crowded with
ships, prevented by contrary winds from entering the Mediterranean.
We found at the station an Aneroid-barometer, and a thermometer. The
advantages for navigation and physical science of extensive meteorological
observations, regularly made, are so evident, that it is astonishing to
see how often opportunities are neglected for making them, such as are
offered here.
There was no opportunity for seeing any of those families of monkeys, the
occasional appearance of which on the Rock of Gibraltar has given rise to
tales found in books of travel of the existence of a submarine
communication, through which this single representative of the genus in
Europe has found its way to this rock from Africa. Sometimes, however,
during easterly winds, single individuals are observed on the highest
peaks on the eastern side of the rock, where it is completely
inaccessible; probably the remnants of that species (_Inuus ecaudatus_),
which at some former time, either by chance, or human agency, have found
their way hither from the Moorish coast.
The calcareous caves are very remarkable. That on the western side, called
St. Michael's, situated at a height of 800 feet, is the most important. It
contains beautiful stalactite formations, and seems to be of considerable
extent; it has, however, not been closely examined hitherto, as only a
small part is conveniently accessible. St. Martin's Cave, on the
south-east, likewise about 800 feet above the level of the sea, is
smaller, but its stalactites are of a purer whiteness. A third was
discovered a few years since on the eastern side of the rock at a height
of only 80 feet, the lower portion of which consists of accumulations of
sand and recent shells. There have also been found bones and teeth of
large herbivorous animals.
[Illustration: ROCK CAVERN IN GIBRALTAR.]
The characteristic vegetation of the mountain is Spanish broom (_Spartium
junceum_), the yellow blossom of which strikes the eye pleasingly at a
great distance. There is also one species of cactus, and one of the dwarf
palm (_Opuntia vulgaris_, and _Chamærops humilis_), which grows in great
abundance, and forms, on the south face of the rock, almost the only
vegetation, whilst, on account of difference of temperature, it is
altogether absent on the remaining sides.
Gibraltar has little to attract strangers to settle; barracks, military
store-houses, and fortifications, render the appearance of the place
peculiarly monotonous, the more so that there are no elegant buildings, or
fine shops, on the rock. There was nothing observed, however, to confirm
the statement, in a celebrated geographical work, copied by all later
compilers, that "most of the houses are painted black, to soften the glare
of the sun, and prevent an attacking enemy having a distinct view of the
place." The town, which is built in terraces on the side of the rock, is
accessible only from three points. The greatest portion of the traffic
passes through the so-called Old Mole at the north end, whilst the
entrances on the south are generally used by men-of-war sailors only. All
are opened at 5 in the morning, and, according to the season, shut between
7 and 8 in the evening, precisely twenty-five minutes after the first
signal-gun. This closing of the gate is attended with ceremonies verging
on the comic. A broad-shouldered corporal, carrying in his hand a heavy
bunch of immense keys, marches, visibly impressed with the importance of
his mission, in measured steps, accompanied by a number of red jackets
with fixed bayonets, towards the massive town-gate; the bridge is then,
with much ado, drawn up, and the horribly-creaking gate, with great
exertion, closed, bolted, and finally locked. After "gun fire" no one can
leave the town by the Old Mole; at 10 P.M., however, and at midnight, a
little postern is opened, through which those jolly stragglers, who have
forgotten in merry company the measure of time, may slip out to return to
their floating abodes. From this hour till morning all communication with
the harbour is arrested, and the utter impossibility (except in
extraordinary cases) of leaving the town _after_ this hour, has given rise
amongst the people to the saying, "There is only _one_ thing more
difficult than to get _out_ of the town after midnight, and that is to get
_in_."
There are in the city two Anglican churches, one Wesleyan, one
Presbyterian, two Catholic chapels, and two synagogues. The garrison
library, where likewise a great number of journals and magazines are kept,
possesses 22,000 volumes, amongst them several very rare and costly works,
especially of ancient Spanish literature. It was founded in 1793 by
Captain Drinkwater, and has been hitherto kept up by private subscriptions
and the profits arising from a printing-establishment attached to it.
Gibraltar owes to the energy and public spirit of the governor, Sir James
Fergusson, the foundation of several important establishments and
undertakings. Since the beginning of his administration in 1856, the
number of public schools has been considerably increased, the town
supplied with gas, and well-arranged public baths established.
The city does not possess a single well or spring; the water used is
obtained from tanks, in which the rain is collected. The quantity of rain
that fell during the twelve months of 1855 amounted to 78 inches; in 1856,
it is said to have been only 24 inches. Nevertheless, there is at no time
any scarcity of water. The Government have lately caused the erection of
a distilling apparatus for making sea-water fit for domestic purposes,
which, however, hitherto has not been used.
The population of Gibraltar, including the garrison of 6000 men, amounts
to about 20,000 souls, consisting of Spaniards, English, Italians (mostly
Genoese), Portuguese, Moors, Turks, Greeks, and Jews; indeed, a mixture of
races, customs, and manners such as scarcely can be found at any other
place in Europe. The native residents call Gibraltar briefly _the rock_,
and themselves, with a kind of pseudo-patriotism, _rock people_, though by
the officers of the garrison and navy generally complimented with the name
of "rock-scorpions."
The permanent settling of foreigners, in consequence of its being a
fortress, requires a number of formalities, which have the effect of
limiting the population; and even the English portion must be considered
migratory, as it consists chiefly of military and government officers,
who, after the lapse of certain intervals, exchange in regular order.
The only really beautiful walk in the place is Elliott's Gardens, situated
at the south end of the town, laid out in a grand style, but disfigured by
a tasteless bronze statue of General Elliott (afterwards Lord Heathfield),
the heroic defender of Gibraltar in 1782. In the evenings, when one of the
military bands is performing, the grounds are thronged by visitors on
foot, horseback, and in carriages, whilst loving couples, of all races and
grades, ramble in happy union through the shady avenues.
Near the gardens, towards the south, is a second quarter of the city,
which mostly consists of government buildings. On the lowest terrace,
which juts furthest into the sea, stands the lighthouse, on the celebrated
"Europa Point."
[Illustration: SOUTH GATE, GIBRALTAR.]