FROM LEAVING NEW ZEALAND TO OUR RETURN TO ENGLAND.
CHAP. I.
THE RUN FROM NEW ZEALAND TO TERRA DEL FUEGO, WITH THE RANGE FROM CAPE
DESEADA TO CHRISTMAS SOUND, AND DESCRIPTION OF THAT PART OF THE COAST.
At daybreak on the 10th, with a fine breeze at W. N. W., we weighed and
stood out of the Sound; and, after getting round the Two Brothers,
steered for Cape Campbell, which is at the S. W. entrance of the Strait,
all sails set, with a fine breeze at north. At four in the afternoon, we
passed the Cape, at the distance of four or five leagues, and then
steered S. S. E. 1/2 E. with the wind at N. W. a gentle gale, and cloudy
weather.
Next morning, the wind veered round by the west to south, and forced us
more to the east than I intended. At seven o’clock in the evening, the
snowy mountains bore W. by S., and Cape Palliser N. 1/2 W. distant
sixteen or seventeen leagues; from which Cape I for the third time took
my departure. After a few hours’ calm, a breeze springing up at north,
we steered S. by E. all sails set, with a view of getting into the
latitude of 54° or 55°; my intention being to cross this vast ocean
nearly in these parallels, and so as to pass over those parts which were
left unexplored the preceding summer.
In the morning of the 12th, the wind increased to a fine gale: at noon
we observed in latitude 43° 13ʹ 30ʺ S., longitude 176° 41ʹ E., an
extraordinary fish of the whale kind was seen, which some called a
sea-monster. I did not see it myself. In the afternoon, our old
companions the pintado peterels began to appear.
On the 13th, in the morning, the wind veered to W. S. W. At seven,
seeing the appearance of land to the S. W. we hauled up towards it, and
soon found it to be a fog-bank. Afterwards we steered S. E. by S. and
soon after saw a seal. At noon, latitude, by account, 44° 25ʹ, longitude
177° 31ʹ E. Foggy weather, which continued all the afternoon. At six in
the evening, the wind veered to N. E. by N. and increased to a fresh
gale, attended with thick hazy weather; course steered E. E. 1/4 S.
On the 14th, A. M., saw another seal. At noon, latitude 45° 54ʹ,
longitude 179° 29ʹ E.
On the 15th, A. M., the wind veered to the westward; the fog cleared
away, but the weather continued cloudy. At noon, latitude 47° 30ʹ,
longitude 178° 19ʹ W.; for, having passed the meridian of 180° E., I now
reckon my longitude west of the first meridian, viz. Greenwich. In the
evening heard penguins, and the next morning saw some sea or rock weed.
At noon a fresh gale from the west and fine weather. Latitude observed
49° 33ʹ, longitude 175° 31ʹ W.
Next morning fresh gales and hazy weather; saw a seal and several pieces
of weed. At noon, latitude 51° 12ʹ, longitude 173° 17ʹ W. The wind
veered to the north and N. E. by N., blew a strong gale by squalls,
which split an old topgallant sail, and obliged us to double-reef the
topsails; but in the evening the wind moderated, and veered to W. N. W.
when we loosed a reef out of each topsail, and found the variation of
the compass to be 9° 52ʹ E., being then in the latitude 51° 47ʹ,
longitude 172° 21ʹ W.; and the next morning, the 18th, in the latitude
of 52° 25ʹ, longitude 170° 45ʹ W., it was 10° 26ʹ E. Towards noon, had
moderate but cloudy weather, and a great swell from the west: some
penguins and pieces of sea-weed seen.
On the 19th, steered E. S. E. with a very fresh gale at N., hazy, dirty
weather. At noon, latitude 53° 43ʹ, longitude 166° 15ʹ W.
On the 20th, steered E. by S. with a moderate breeze at N. attended with
thick hazy weather. At noon, latitude 54° 8ʹ, longitude 162° 18ʹ W.
On the 21st, winds mostly from the N. E. a fresh gale attended with
thick, hazy, dirty weather. Course S. E. by S., latitude, at noon, 55°
31ʹ, longitude 160° 29ʹ W.; abundance of blue peterels and some penguins
seen.
Fresh gales at N. W. by N. and N. by W., and hazy till towards noon of
the 22d, when the weather cleared up, and we observed in latitude 55°
48ʹ S., longitude 156° 56ʹ W. In the afternoon had a few hours’ calm;
after that, the wind came at S. S. E. and S. E. by S. a light breeze,
with which we steered east northerly. In the night the aurora australis
was visible, but very faint, and no ways remarkable.
On the 23d, in the latitude of 55° 46ʹ S., longitude 156° 13ʹ W., the
variation was 9° 42ʹ E. We had a calm from ten in the morning till six
in the evening, when a breeze sprung up at west; at first it blew a
gentle gale, but afterwards freshened. Our course was now E. 1/2 N.
On the 24th, a fresh breeze at N. W. by W. and N. by W. At noon, in
latitude 55° 38ʹ S., longitude 153° 37ʹ W., foggy in the night, but next
day had a fine gale at N. W. attended with clear pleasant weather;
course steered E. by N. In the evening, being in the latitude of 55° 8ʹ
S., longitude 148° 10ʹ W. the variation, by the mean of two compasses,
was 6° 35ʹ 1/2 E.
Having a steady fresh gale at N. N. W. on the 26th and 27th, we steered
east, and at noon, on the latter, were in latitude 55° 6ʹ S., longitude
138° 56ʹ W.
I now gave up all hopes of finding any more land in this ocean, and came
to a resolution to steer directly for the west entrance of the Straits
of Magalhaens, with a view of coasting the out or south side of Terra
del Fuego, round Cape Horn, to the Strait le Maire. As the world has but
a very imperfect knowledge of this shore, I thought the coasting of it
would be of more advantage, both to navigation and to geography, than
any thing I could expect to find in a higher latitude. In the afternoon
of this day, the wind blew in squalls, and carried away the main
topgallant mast.
A very strong gale northerly, with hazy rainy weather, on the 28th,
obliged us to double-reef the fore and main topsail, to hand the mizen
topsail, and get down the fore top-gallant yard. In the morning, the
bolt rope of the main topsail broke, and occasioned the sail to be
spilt. I have observed that the ropes to all our sails, the square sails
especially, are not of a size and strength sufficient to wear out the
canvass. At noon, latitude 55° 20ʹ S., longitude 134° 16ʹ W., a great
swell from N. W. albatrosses and blue peterels seen.
Next day towards noon, the wind abating, we loosed all the reefs out of
the topsails, rigged another top-gallant mast, and got the yards across.
P. M. little wind, and hazy weather; at midnight calm, that continued
till noon the next day, when a breeze sprung up at E. with which we
stretched to the northward. At this time we were in the latitude 55° 32ʹ
S., longitude 128° 45ʹ W., some albatrosses and peterels seen. At eight
P. M. the wind veering to N. E. we tacked and stood to E. S. E.
On the 1st of December, thick hazy weather, with drizzling rain, and a
moderate breeze of wind, which at three o’clock P. M. fell to a calm; at
this time in latitude 55° 41ʹ S., longitude 127° 5ʹ W. After four hours’
calm, the fog cleared away, and we got a wind at S. E. with which we
stood N. E.
Next day, a fresh breeze at S. E. and hazy foggy weather, except a few
hours in the morning, when we found the variation to be 1° 28ʹ E.,
latitude 55° 17ʹ, longitude 125° 41ʹ W. The variation after this was
supposed to increase; for on the 4th, in the morning, being in latitude
53° 21ʹ, longitude 121° 31ʹ W., it was 3° 16ʹ E.; in the evening, in
latitude 53° 13ʹ, longitude 119° 46ʹ W. it was 3° 28ʹ E.; and on the
5th, at six o’clock in the evening, in latitude 53° 8ʹ, longitude 115°
58ʹ W., it was 4° 1ʹ E.
For more than twenty-four hours having had a fine gale at S., this
enabled us to steer E., with very little deviation to the N.; and the
wind now altering to S. W. and blowing a steady fresh breeze, we
continued to steer E., inclining a little to S.
On the 6th, had some snow showers. In the evening, being in latitude 53°
13ʹ, longitude 111° 12ʹ, the variation was 4° 58ʹ E.; and the next
morning, being in latitude 58° 16ʹ, longitude 109° 33ʹ, it was 5° 1ʹ E.
The wind was now at W., a fine pleasant gale, sometimes with showers of
rain. Nothing remarkable happened, till the 9th, at noon, when being in
the latitude of 53° 37ʹ, longitude 103° 44ʹ W., the wind veered to N. E.
and afterwards came insensibly round to the S., by the E. and S. E.
attended with cloudy hazy weather, and some showers of rain.
On the 10th, a little before noon, latitude 54°, longitude 102° 7ʹ W.,
passed a small bed of sea-weed. In the afternoon the wind veered to
S. W., blew a fresh gale, attended with dark cloudy weather. We steered
E. half a point N.; and the next day, at six in the evening, being in
latitude 53° 35ʹ, longitude 95° 52ʹ W., the variation was 9° 58ʹ E. Many
and various sorts of albatrosses about the ship.
On the 12th, the wind veered to the W. N. W. and in the evening to N.;
and, at last, left us to a calm. That continued till midnight, when we
got a breeze at S.; which, soon after, veering to, and fixing at, W. we
steered E.; and on the 14th, in the morning, found the variation to be
13° 25ʹ E., latitude 53° 25ʹ, longitude 87° 53ʹ W.; and in the
afternoon, being in the same latitude, and the longitude of 86° 2ʹ W. it
was 15° 3ʹ E., and increased in such a manner, that on the 15th, in the
latitude of 53° 30ʹ, longitude 82° 23ʹ W., it was 17° E.; and the next
evening, in the latitude of 53° 25ʹ, longitude 78° 40ʹ, it was 17° 38ʹ
E. About this time, we saw a penguin and a piece of weed; and the next
morning, a seal and some diving peterels. For the three last days, the
wind had been at W., a steady fresh gale, attended, now and then, with
showers of rain or hail.
At six in the morning of the 17th, being nearly in the same latitude as
above, and in the longitude of 77° 10ʹ W., the variation was 18° 33ʹ E.;
and in the afternoon it was 21° 38ʹ, being at that time in latitude 53°
16ʹ S., longitude 75° 9ʹ W. In the morning, as well as in the afternoon,
I took some observations to determine the longitude by the watch; and
the results, reduced to noon, gave 76° 18ʹ 30ʺ W. At the same time, the
longitude, by my reckoning, was 76° 17ʹ W. But I have reason to think,
that we were about half a degree more to the west than either the one or
the other; our latitude, at the same time, was 53° 21ʹ S.
We steered E. by N. and E. 1/2 N. all this day, under all the sail we
could carry, with a fine fresh gale at N. W. by W. in expectation of
seeing the land before night; but not making it till ten o’clock, we
took in the studding-sails, top-gallant sails, and a reef in each
topsail, and steered E. N. E. in order to make sure of falling in with
Cape Deseada.
Two hours after, we made the land, extending from N. E. by N. to E. by
S. about six leagues distant. On this discovery, we wore and brought to,
with the ship’s head to the S., and having sounded, found seventy-five
fathoms water, the bottom stone and shells. The land now before us could
be no other than the west coast of Terra del Fuego, and near the west
entrance to the Straits of Magalhaens.
As this was the first run that had been made directly across this ocean,
in a high southern latitude[14], I have been a little particular in
noting every circumstance that appeared in the least material; and after
all, I must observe that I never made a passage any where of such
length, or even much shorter, where so few interesting circumstances
occurred. For, if I except the variation of the compass, I know of
nothing else worth notice. The weather had been neither unusually stormy
nor cold. Before we arrived in the latitude of 50°, the mercury in the
thermometer fell gradually from sixty to fifty; and after we arrived in
the latitude of 55°, it was generally between forty-seven and
forty-five; once or twice it fell to forty-three. These observations
were made at noon.
I have now done with the Southern Pacific Ocean; and flatter myself that
no one will think that I have left it unexplored; or that more could
have been done, in one voyage, towards obtaining that end, than has been
done in this.
Soon after we left New Zealand, Mr. Wales contrived, and fixed up an
instrument, which very accurately measured the angle the ship rolled,
when sailing large and in a great sea; and that in which she lay down,
when sailing upon a wind. The greatest angle he observed her to roll was
38°. This was on the 6th of this month, when the sea was not unusually
high; so that it cannot be reckoned the greatest roll she had made. The
most he observed her to heel or lie down, when sailing upon a wind, was
18°; and this was under double-reefed topsails and courses.
On the 18th, at three in the morning, we sounded again, and found one
hundred and ten fathoms, the same bottom as before. We now made sail
with a fresh gale at N. W. and steered S. E. by E. along the coast. It
extended from Cape Deseada, which bore N. 7° E., to E. S. E., a pretty
high ragged isle, which lies near a league from the main, and S. 18° E.
six leagues from Cape Deseada, bore N. 49° E. distant four leagues; and
it obtained the name of Landfall. At four o’clock, we were north and
south of the high land of Cape Deseada, distant about nine leagues; so
that we saw none of the low rocks said to lie off it. The latitude of
this Cape is about 53° S. longitude 74° 40ʹ W.
Continuing to range the coast, at about two leagues distance, at eleven
o’clock we passed a projecting point, which I called Cape Gloucester. It
shows a round surface of considerable height, and has much the
appearance of being an island. It lies S. S. E., 1/2 E., distant
seventeen leagues from the Isle of Landfall. The coast between them
forms two bays, strewed with rocky islets, rocks, and breakers. The
coast appeared very broken with many inlets; or rather it seemed to be
composed of a number of islands. The land is very mountainous, rocky,
and barren, spotted, here and there, with tufts of wood, and patches of
snow. At noon Cape Gloucester bore N. distant eight miles, and the most
advanced point of land to the S. E. which we judged to be Cape Noir,
bore S. E. by S. distant seven or eight leagues. Latitude observed 54°
13ʹ S. Longitude made from Cape Deseada, 54ʹ E. From Cape Gloucester,
off which lies a small rocky island, the direction of the coast is
nearly S. E.; but to Cape Noir, for which we steered, the course is
S. S. E., distant about ten leagues.
At three o’clock, we passed Cape Noir, which is a steep rock of
considerable height, and the S. W. point of a large island that seemed
to lie detached a league or a league and a half from the main land. The
land of the Cape, when at a distance from it, appeared to be an island
disjoined from the other; but, on a nearer approach, we found it
connected by a low neck of land. At the point of the Cape are two rocks;
the one peaked like a sugar-loaf, the other not so high, and showing a
rounder surface; and S. by E. two leagues from the Cape are two other
rocky islets. This Cape is situated in the latitude of 54° 30ʹ S.
longitude 73° 33ʹ W.
After passing the two islets, we steered E. S. E. crossing the great bay
of St. Barbara. We but just saw the land in the bottom of it; which
could not be less than seven or eight leagues from us. There was a
space, lying in the direction of E. N. E. from Cape Noir, where no land
was to be seen: this may be the Channel of St. Barbara which opens into
the Straits of Magalhaens, as mentioned by Frezier. We found the Cape to
agree very well with his description; which shows that he laid down the
channel from good memoirs. At ten o’clock, drawing near the S. E. point
of the bay, which lies nearly in the direction of S. 60° E. from Cape
Noir, eighteen leagues distant, we shortened sail, and spent the night
standing off and on.
At two o’clock in the morning of the 19th, having made sail, we steered
S. E. by E. along the coast, and soon passed the S. E. point of the Bay
of St. Barbara, which I called Cape Desolation; because near it
commenced the most desolate and barren country I ever saw. It is
situated in the latitude of 54° 55ʹ S., longitude 72° 12ʹ W. About four
leagues to the east of this Cape is a deep inlet, at the entrance of
which lies a pretty large island, and some others of less note. Nearly
in this situation some charts place a channel leading into the Straits
of Magalhaens, under the name of Straits of Jelouzel. At ten o’clock,
being about a league and a half from the land, we sounded, and found
sixty fathoms water, a bottom of small stones and shells.
The wind, which had been fresh at N. by W. began to abate, and at noon
it fell calm, when we observed in latitude 55° 20ʹ S., longitude made
from Cape Deseada 3° 24ʹ E. In this situation we were about three
leagues from the nearest shore, which was that of an island. This I
named Gilbert Isle, after my master. It is nearly of the same height
with the rest of the coast, and shows a surface composed of several
peaked rocks unequally high. A little to the S. E. of it are some
smaller islands, and, without them, breakers.
I have before observed that this is the most desolate coast I ever saw.
It seems entirely composed of rocky mountains without the least
appearance of vegetation. These mountains terminate in horrible
precipices, whose craggy summits spire up to a vast height; so that
hardly any thing in nature can appear with a more barren and savage
aspect than the whole of this country. The inland mountains were covered
with snow, but those on the sea-coast were not. We judged the former to
belong to the main of Terra del Fuego, and the latter to be islands, so
ranged as apparently to form a coast.
After three hours’ calm, we got a breeze at S. E. by E. and having made
a short trip to south, stood in for the land; the most advanced point of
which, that we had in sight, bore E., distant ten leagues. This is a
lofty promontory, lying E. S. E. nineteen leagues from Gilbert Isle, and
situated in latitude 55° 26ʹ S. longitude 70° 25ʹ W. Viewed from the
situation we now were in, it terminated in two high towers; and within
them a hill shaped like a sugar-loaf. This wild rock therefore obtained
the name of York Minster. Two leagues to the westward of this head
appeared a large inlet, the west point of which we fetched in with, by
nine o’clock, when we tacked in forty-one fathoms water, half a league
from the shore: to the westward of this inlet was another, with several
islands lying in the entrance.
During the night between the 19th and 20th, we had little wind easterly,
which in the morning veered to N. E. and N. N. E., but it was too faint
to be of use; and at ten, we had a calm, when we observed the ship to
drive from off the shore out to sea. We had made the same observation
the day before. This must have been occasioned by a current; and the
melting of the snow increasing, the inland waters will cause a stream to
run out of most of these inlets. At noon, we observed in latitude 55°
39ʹ 30ʺ S. York Minster, then bearing N. 15° E., distant five leagues;
and Round-hill, just peeping above the horizon, which we judged to
belong to the isles of Saint Ildefonso, E. 25° S., ten or eleven leagues
distant. At ten o’clock, a breeze springing up at E. by S., I took this
opportunity to stand in for the land, being desirous of going into one
of the many ports which seemed open to receive us, in order to take a
view of the country, and to recruit our stock of wood and water.
In standing in for an opening, which appeared on the east side of York
Minster, we had forty, thirty-seven, fifty, and sixty fathoms water, a
bottom of small stones and shells. When we had the last soundings we
were nearly in the middle between the two points that form the entrance
to the inlet, which we observed to branch into two arms, both of them
lying in nearly N., and disjoined by a high rocky point. We stood for
the eastern branch as being clear of islets; and after passing a black
rocky one, lying without the point just mentioned, we sounded and found
no bottom with a line of an hundred and seventy fathoms. This was
altogether unexpected, and a circumstance that would not have been
regarded, if the breeze had continued; but, at this time, it fell calm,
so that it was not possible to extricate ourselves from this
disagreeable situation. Two boats were hoisted out, and sent a-head to
tow; but they would have availed little, had not a breeze sprung up
about eight o’clock, at S. W. which put it in my power either to stand
out to sea, or up the inlet. Prudence seemed to point out the former;
but the desire of finding a good port, and of learning something of the
country, getting the better of every other consideration, I resolved to
stand in; and as night was approaching, our safety depended on getting
to an anchor. With this view we continued to sound, but always had an
unfathomable depth.
Hauling up under the east side of the land which divided the two arms,
and seeing a small cove a-head, I sent a boat to sound; and we kept as
near the shore as the flurries from the land would permit, in order to
be able to get into this place, if there should be anchorage. The boat
soon returned, and informed us that there was thirty and twenty-five
fathoms water, a full cable’s length from the shore. Here we anchored in
thirty fathoms, the bottom sand and broken shells; and carried out a
kedge and hawser, to steady the ship for the night.
CHAP. II.
TRANSACTIONS IN CHRISTMAS SOUND, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE COUNTRY AND ITS
INHABITANTS.
The morning of the 21st was calm and pleasant. After breakfast, I set
out with two boats to look for a more secure station. We no sooner got
round, or above the point, under which the ship lay, than we found a
cove in which was anchorage in thirty, twenty, and fifteen fathoms, the
bottom stones and sand. At the head of the cove was a stony beach, a
valley covered with wood, and a stream of fresh water; so that there was
every thing we could expect to find in such a place, or rather more; for
we shot three geese out of four that we saw, and caught some young ones,
which we afterwards let go.
After discovering and sounding this cove, I sent lieutenant Clerke, who
commanded the other boat, on board, with orders to remove the ship into
this place, while I proceeded farther up the inlet. I presently saw that
the land we were under, which disjoined the two arms, as mentioned
before, was an island, at the north end of which the two channels
united. After this I hastened on board, and found every thing in
readiness to weigh; which was accordingly done, and all the boats sent
a-head to tow the ship round the point. But, at that moment, a light
breeze came in from the sea too scant to fill our sails; so that we were
obliged to drop the anchor again, for fear of falling upon the point,
and to carry out a kedge to windward. That being done, we hove up the
anchor, warped up to, and weighed the kedge, and proceeding round the
point under our stay-sails, there anchored with the best bower, in
twenty fathoms; and moored with the other bower, which lay to the north,
in thirteen fathoms. In this position we were shut in from the sea by
the point above mentioned, which was in one with the extremity of the
inlet to the east. Some islets, off the next point above us, covered us
from the N. W., from which quarter the wind had the greatest fetch; and
our distance from the shore was about one-third of a mile.
Thus situated, we went to work, to clear a place to fill water, to cut
wood, and to set up a tent for the reception of a guard, which was
thought necessary; as we had already discovered, that, barren as this
country is, it was not without people, though we had not yet seen any.
Mr. Wales also got his observatory and instruments on shore; but it was
with the greatest difficulty he could find a place of sufficient
stability, and clear of the mountains, which every where surrounded us,
to set them up in; and at last he was obliged to content himself with
the top of a rock, not more than nine feet over.
Next day I sent lieutenants Clerke and Pickersgill, accompanied by some
of the other officers, to examine and draw a sketch of the channel on
the other side of the island; and I went myself in another boat,
accompanied by the botanists, to survey the northern parts of the sound.
In my way, I landed on the point of a low isle covered with herbage,
part of which had been lately burnt; we likewise saw a hut; signs
sufficient that people were in the neighbourhood. After I had taken the
necessary bearings, we proceeded round the east end of Burnt Island, and
over to what we judged to be the main of Terra del Fuego, where we found
a very fine harbour encompassed by steep rocks of vast height, down
which ran many limpid streams of water; and at the foot of the rocks,
some tufts of trees, fit for little else but fuel.
This harbour, which I shall distinguish by the name of the Devil’s
Bason, is divided, as it were, into two, an inner and an outer one; and
the communication between them is by a narrow channel five fathoms deep.
In the outer bason, I found thirteen and seventeen fathoms water, and in
the inner, seventeen and twenty-three. This last is as secure a place as
can be, but nothing can be more gloomy. The vast height of the savage
rocks which encompass it, deprived great part of it, even on this day,
of the meridian sun. The outer harbour is not quite free from this
inconvenience, but far more so than the other; it is also rather more
commodious, and equally safe. It lies in the direction of north, a mile
and an half distant from the east end of Burnt Island. I likewise found
a good anchoring-place a little to the west of this harbour, before a
stream of water that comes out of a lake or large reservoir, which is
continually supplied by a cascade falling into it.
Leaving this place, we proceeded along the shore to the westward, and
found other harbours, which I had not time to look into. In all of them
is fresh water, and wood for fuel; but except these little tufts of
bushes, the whole country is a barren rock, doomed by nature to
everlasting sterility. The low islands, and even some of the higher,
which lie scattered up and down the sound, are indeed mostly covered
with shrubs and herbage, the soil a black rotten turf, evidently
composed, by length of time, of decayed vegetables.
I had an opportunity to verify what we had observed at sea; that the
sea-coast is composed of a number of large and small islands, and that
the numerous inlets are formed by the junction of several channels; at
least so it is here. On one of these low islands, we found several huts,
which had lately been inhabited; and near them was a good deal of
celery, with which we loaded our boat, and returned on board at seven
o’clock in the evening. In this expedition we met with little game; one
duck, three or four shags, and about that number of rails or sea-pies,
being all we got. The other boat returned on board some hours before;
having found two harbours on the west side of the other channel; the one
large, and the other small; but both of them safe and commodious;
though, by the sketch Mr. Pickersgill had taken of them, the access to
both appeared rather intricate.
I was now told of a melancholy accident which had befallen one of our
marines. He had not been seen since eleven or twelve o’clock the
preceding night. It was supposed that he had fallen over-board out of
the head, where he had been last seen, and was drowned.
Having fine pleasant weather on the 23d, I sent lieutenant Pickersgill
in the cutter, to explore the east side of the sound, and went myself in
the pinnace to the west side, with an intent to go round the island,
under which we were at anchor, (and which I shall distinguish by the
name of Shag island), in order to view the passage leading to the
harbours Mr. Pickersgill had discovered the day before, on which I made
the following observations. In coming from sea, leave all the rocks and
islands, lying off and within York Minster, on your larboard side; and
the black rock, which lies off the south end of Shag island, on your
starboard; and when abreast of the south end of that island, haul over
for the west shore, taking care to avoid the beds of weeds you will see
before you, as they always grow on rocks; some of which I have found
twelve fathoms under water; but it is always best to keep clear of them.
The entrance to the large harbour, or Port Clerke, is just to the north
of some low rocks lying off a point on Shag Island. This harbour lies in
W. by S. a mile and an half, and hath in it from twelve to twenty-four
fathoms depth, wood and fresh water. About a mile without, or to the
southward of Port Clerke, is, or seemed to be, another which I did not
examine. It is formed by a large island, which covers it from the south
and east winds. Without this island, that is, between it and York
Minster, the sea seemed strewed with islets, rocks, and breakers. In
proceeding round the south end of Shag Island, we observed the shags to
breed in vast numbers in the cliffs of the rocks. Some of the old ones
we shot, but could not come at the young ones, which are, by far, the
best eating. On the east side of the island we saw some geese; and
having with difficulty landed, we killed three, which at this time was a
valuable acquisition.
About seven in the evening we got on board, where Mr. Pickersgill had
arrived but just before. He informed me that the land opposite to our
station was an island, which he had been round; that, on another, more
to the north, he found many _terns’_ eggs, and that without the great
island, between it and the east head, lay a cove in which were many
geese; one only of which he got, besides some young goslins.
This information of Mr. Pickersgill induced me to make up two shooting
parties next day; Mr. Pickersgill and his associates going in the
cutter, and myself and the botanists in the pinnace. Mr. Pickersgill
went by the N. E. side of the large island above mentioned, which
obtained the name of Goose Island; and I went by the S. W. side. As soon
as we got under the island, we found plenty of shags in the cliffs, but,
without staying to spend our time and shot upon these, we proceeded on,
and presently found sport enough; for, in the south of the island, were
abundance of geese. It happened to be the moulting season; and most of
them were on shore for that purpose, and could not fly. There being a
great surf, we found great difficulty in landing, and very bad climbing
over the rocks when we were landed; so that hundreds of the geese
escaped us, some into the sea, and others up into the island. We,
however, by one means or other, got sixty-two; with which we returned on
board, all heartily tired; but the acquisition we had made overbalanced
every other consideration, and we sat down with a good appetite to
supper, on part of what the preceding day had produced. Mr. Pickersgill
and his associates had got on board some time before us with fourteen
geese; so that I was able to make distribution to the whole crew, which
was the more acceptable, on account of the approaching festival; for,
had not Providence thus singularly provided for us, our Christmas cheer
must have been salt beef and pork.
I now learnt that a number of the natives, in nine canoes, had been
along-side the ship; and some on board. Little address was required to
persuade them to either; for they seemed to be well enough acquainted
with Europeans, and had, amongst them, some of their knives.
The next morning, the 25th, they made us another visit. I found them to
be of the same nation I had formerly seen in Success-Bay; and the same
which M. de Bougainville distinguishes by the name of Pecheras; a word
which these had, on every occasion, in their mouths. They are a little,
ugly, half-starved, beardless race. I saw not a tall person amongst
them. They were almost naked; their clothing was a seal-skin; some had
two or three sewed together, so as to make a cloak which reached to the
knees; but the most of them had only one skin, hardly large enough to
cover their shoulders; and all their lower parts were quite naked. The
women, I was told, cover their nakedness with a flap of a seal-skin, but
in other respects are clothed like the men. They, as well as the
children, remained in the canoes. I saw two young children at the breast
entirely naked; thus they are inured from their infancy to cold and
hardships. They had with them bows and arrows, and darts, or rather
harpoons, made of bone, and fitted to a staff. I suppose they were
intended to kill seals and fish; they may also kill whales with them, as
the Esquimaux do. I know not if they resemble them in their love of
train-oil; but they, and every thing they had, smelt most intolerably of
it. I ordered them some biscuit, but did not observe them so fond of it
as I had been told. They were much better pleased when I gave them some
medals, knives, &c.
The women and children, as before observed, remained in the canoes.
These were made of bark; and in each was a fire, over which the poor
creatures huddled themselves. I cannot suppose that they carry a fire in
their canoes for this purpose only; but rather that it may be always
ready to remove ashore wherever they land; for let their method of
obtaining fire be what it may, they cannot be always sure of finding dry
fuel that will kindle from a spark. They likewise carry in their canoes
large seal hides, which, I judged, were to shelter them when at sea, and
to serve as covering to their huts on shore; and occasionally to be used
for sails.
They all retired before dinner, and did not wait to partake of our
Christmas cheer. Indeed I believe no one invited them, and for good
reasons; for their dirty persons, and the stench they carried about
them, were enough to spoil the appetite of any European; and that would
have been a real disappointment, as we had not experienced such fare for
some time. Roast and boiled geese, goose-pye, &c. was a treat little
known to us; and we had yet some Madeira wine left, which was the only
article of our provision that was mended by keeping. So that our friends
in England, did not, perhaps, celebrate Christmas more cheerfully than
we did.
On the 26th, little wind, next to a calm, and fair weather, except in
the morning, when we had some showers of rain. In the evening, when it
was cold, the natives made us another visit; and it being distressing to
see them stand trembling and naked on the deck, I could do no less than
to give them some baize and old canvass to cover themselves.
Having already completed our water, on the 27th I ordered the wood,
tent, and observatory to be got on board; and, as this was work for the
day, a party of us went in two boats to shoot geese, the weather being
fine and pleasant. We proceeded round by the south side of Goose Island,
and picked up in all thirty-one. On the east side of the island, to the
north of the east point, is good anchorage, in seventeen fathoms water,
where it is entirely land-locked. This is a good place for ships to lie
in that are bound to the west. On the north side of this isle, I
observed three fine coves, in which were both wood and water; but it
being near night, I had no time to sound them; though I doubt not, there
is anchorage. The way to come at them is by the west end of the island.
When I returned on board, I found every thing got off the shore, and the
launch in; so that we now only waited for a wind to put to sea. The
festival, which we celebrated at this place, occasioned my giving it the
name of Christmas Sound. The entrance, which is three leagues wide, is
situated in the latitude of 55° 27ʹ S., longitude 70° 16ʹ W.; and in the
direction of N. 37° W. from St. Ildefonso Isles, distant ten leagues.
These isles are the best landmark for finding the sound. York Minster,
which is the only remarkable land about it, will hardly be known by a
stranger from any description that can be given of it, because it alters
its appearance according to the different situations it is viewed from.
Besides the black rock, which lies off the end of Shag Island, there is
another about midway between this and the east shore. A copious
description of this sound is unnecessary, as few would be benefited by
it. The sketch which accompanies this journal will be a sufficient guide
for such ships as chance may bring hither. Anchorage, tufts of wood, and
fresh water, will be found in all the coves and harbours. I would advise
no one to anchor very near the shore for the sake of having a moderate
depth of water; because there I generally found a rocky bottom.
The refreshments to be got here are precarious, as they consist chiefly
of wild fowl, and may probably never be found in such plenty as to
supply the crew of a ship; and fish, so far as we can judge, are scarce.
Indeed the plenty of wild fowl made us pay less attention to fishing.
Here are, however, plenty of muscles, not very large, but well tasted;
and very good celery is to be met with on several of the low islets, and
where the natives have their habitations. The wild-fowl are geese,
ducks, sea-pies, shags, and that kind of gull so often mentioned in this
journal under the name of Port Egmont hen. Here is a kind of duck,
called by our people race-horses, on account of the great swiftness with
which they run on the water; for they cannot fly, the wings being too
short to support the body in the air. This bird is at the Falkland
Islands, as appears by Pernety’s journal.[15] The geese too are there,
and seem to be very well described under the name of bustards. They are
much smaller than our English tame geese, but eat as well as any I ever
tasted. They have short black bills and yellow feet. The gander is all
white; the female is spotted black and white, or grey with a large white
spot on each wing. Besides the bird above mentioned, here are several
other aquatic, and some land ones; but of the latter not many.
From the knowledge which the inhabitants seem to have of Europeans, we
may suppose that they do not live here continually, but retire to the
north during the winter. I have often wondered that these people do not
clothe themselves better, since nature has certainly provided materials.
They might line their seal-skin cloaks with the skins and feathers of
aquatic birds; they might make their cloaks larger, and employ the same
skins for other parts of clothing; for I cannot suppose they are scarce
with them. They were ready enough to part with those they had to our
people; which they hardly would have done, had they not known where to
have got more. In short, of all the nations I have seen, the Pecheras
are the most wretched. They are doomed to live in one of the most
inhospitable climates in the world, without having sagacity enough to
provide themselves with such conveniences as may render life in some
measure more comfortable.
Barren as this country is, it abounds with a variety of unknown plants,
and gave sufficient employment to Mr. Forster and his party. The tree
which produceth the Winter’s bark, is found here in the woods, as is the
holly-leaved barberry, and some other sorts which I know not, but I
believe are common in the Straits of Magalhaens. We found plenty of a
berry which we called the cranberry, because they are nearly of the same
colour, size, and shape. It grows on a bushy plant, has a bitterish
taste, rather insipid; but may be eaten either raw or in tarts, and is
used as food by the natives.
CHAP. III.
RANGE FROM CHRISTMAS SOUND, ROUND CAPE HORN, THROUGH STRAIT LE MAIRE,
AND ROUND STATEN LAND; WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF A HARBOUR IN
THAT ISLAND, AND A DESCRIPTION OF THE COASTS.
At four o’clock in the morning on the 28th, we began to unmoor; and at
eight weighed and stood out to sea, with a light breeze at N. W. which
afterwards freshened, and was attended with rain. At noon, the east
point of the sound (Point Nativity), bore N. 1/2 W.; distant one and a
half leagues, and St. Ildefonso Isles S. E. 1/2 S., distant seven
leagues. The coast seemed to trend in the direction of E. by S., but the
weather being very hazy, nothing appeared distinct.
We continued to steer S. E. by E. and E. S. E., with a fresh breeze at
W. N. W., till four o’clock P. M., when we hauled to the South, in order
to have a nearer view of St. Ildefonso Isles. At this time we were
abreast of an inlet, which lies E. S. E. about seven leagues from the
sound; but it must be observed that there are some isles without this
distinction. At the west point of the inlet, are two high peaked hills;
and below them, to the E. two round hills, or isles, which lie in the
direction of N. E. and S. W. of each other. An island, or what appeared
to be an island, lay in the entrance; and another but smaller inlet
appeared to the west of this; indeed, the coast appeared indented and
broken as usual.
At half-past five o’clock, the weather clearing up, gave us a good sight
of Ildefonso Isles. They are a group of islands and rocks above water,
situated above six leagues from the main, and in the latitude of 55° 53ʹ
S., longitude 69° 41ʹ W.
We now resumed our course to the east; and, at sun-set, the most
advanced land bore S. E. by E. 3/4 E.; and a point, which I judged to be
the west point of Nassau Bay, discovered by the Dutch fleet under the
command of Admiral Hermite in 1624, bore N. 80° E., six leagues distant.
In some charts, this point is called false Cape Horn, as being the
southern point of Terra del Fuego. It is situated in latitude 55° 39ʹ S.
From the inlet above-mentioned to this false cape, the direction of the
coast is nearly E., half a point S., distant fourteen or fifteen
leagues.
At ten o’clock, having shortened sail, we spent the night in making
short boards under the top-sails, and at three next morning, made sail,
and steered S. E. by S. with a fresh breeze at W. S. W., the weather
somewhat hazy. At this time, the west entrance to Nassau Bay extended
from N. by E. to N. 1/2 E., and the south side of Hermite’s Isles, E. by
S. At four, _Cape Horn_, for which we now steered, bore E. by S. It is
known, at a distance, by a high round hill over it. A point to the
W. N. W. shows a surface not unlike this; but their situations alone
will always distinguish the one from the other.
At half past seven, we passed this famous _cape_, and entered the
Southern Atlantic Ocean. It is the very same point of land I took for
the cape, when I passed it in 1769, which at that time I was doubtful
of. It is the most southern extremity on a group of islands of unequal
extent, lying before Nassau Bay, known by the name of Hermite Islands,
and is situated in the latitude of 55° 58ʹ, and in the longitude of 68°
13ʹ west, according to the observations made of it in 1769. But the
observations, which we had in Christmas Sound, and reduced to the cape,
by the watch, and others, which we had afterwards, and reduced back to
it by the same means, place it in 67° 19ʹ. It is most probable that a
mean between the two, viz. 67° 46ʹ will be nearest the truth. On the
N. W. side of the cape are two peaked rocks like sugar loaves. They lie
N. W. by N. and S. E. by S., by compass, of each other. Some other
straggling low rocks lie west of the cape, and one south of it; but they
are all near the shore. From Christmas Sound to Cape Horn, the course is
E. S. E. 1/4 E. distant thirty-one leagues. In the direction of
E. N. E., three leagues from Cape Horn, is a rocky point, which I called
Mistaken Cape, and is the southern point of the easternmost of Hermite
Isles. Between these two capes there seemed to be a passage directly
into Nassau Bay; some small isles were seen in the passage; and the
coast, on the west side, had the appearance of forming good bays or
harbours. In some charts, Cape Horn is laid down as belonging to a small
island. This was neither confirmed, nor can it be contradicted by us;
for several breakers appeared in the coast, both to the east and west of
it; and the hazy weather rendered every object indistinct. The summits
of some of the hills were rocky, but the sides and valleys seemed
covered with a green turf, and wooded in tufts.
From Cape Horn we steered E. by N. 1/2 N. which direction carried us
without the rocks that lie off Mistaken Cape. These rocks are white with
the dung of fowls; and vast numbers were seen about them. After passing
them, we steered N. E. 1/2 E. and N. E. for Strait Le Maire, with a view
of looking into Success Bay, to see if there were any traces of the
Adventure having been there. At eight o’clock in the evening, drawing
near the strait, we shortened sail, and hauled the wind. At this time
the Sugar-loaf on Terra del Fuego bore N. 33° W.; the point of Success
Bay, just open of the cape of the same name, bearing N. 20° E.; and
Staten Land, extending from N. 53° E. to 67° E. Soon after, the wind
died away, and we had light airs and calms by turns till near noon the
next day; during which time we were driven by the current over to Staten
Land.
The calm being succeeded by a light breeze at N. N. W. we stood over for
Success Bay, assisted by the currents, which set to the north. Before
this, we had hoisted our colours, and fired two guns; and soon after,
saw a smoke rise out of the woods, above the south point of the bay;
which I judged was made by the natives, as it was at the place where
they resided when I was here in 1769. As soon as we got off the bay, I
sent lieutenant Pickersgill to see if any traces remained of the
Adventure having been there lately; and in the mean time we stood on and
off with the ship. At two o’clock, the current turned and set to the
south; and Mr. Pickersgill informed me when he returned, that it was
falling water on shore; which was contrary to what I had observed when I
was here before; for I thought then that the flood came from the north.
Mr. Pickersgill saw not the least signs of any ship having been there
lately. I had inscribed our ship’s name on a card, which he nailed to a
tree at the place where the Endeavour watered. This was done with a view
of giving Captain Furneaux some information, in case he should be behind
us and put in here.
On Mr. Pickersgill’s landing, he was courteously received by several of
the natives, who were cloathed in guanicoe and seal skins, and had on
their arms bracelets, made of silver wire, and wrought not unlike the
hilt of a sword, being no doubt the manufacture of some Europeans. They
were the same kind of people we had seen in Christmas Sound; and, like
them, repeated the word Pechera on every occasion. One man spoke much to
Mr. Pickersgill, pointing first to the ship and then to the bay, as if
he wanted her to come in. Mr. Pickersgill said the bay was full of
whales and seals; and we had observed the same in the strait, especially
on the Terra del Fuego side, where the whales, in particular, are
exceedingly numerous.
As soon as the boat was hoisted in, which was not till near six o’clock,
we made sail to the east, with a fine breeze at north. For since we had
explored the south coast of Terra del Fuego, I resolved to do the same
by Staten Land; which I believed to have been as little known as the
former. At nine o’clock the wind freshening, and veering to N. W. we
tacked, and stood to S. W. in order to spend the night; which proved
none of the best, being stormy and hazy, with rain.
Next morning, at three o’clock, we bore up for the east end of Staten
Land, which, at half past four, bore S. 60° E. the west end S. 2° E. and
the land of Terra del Fuego S. 40° W. Soon after I had taken these
bearings, the land was again obscured in a thick haze, and we were
obliged to make way, as it were, in the dark; for it was but now and
then we got a sight of the coast. As we advanced to the east, we
perceived several islands, of unequal extent, lying off the land. There
seemed to be a clear passage between the easternmost and the one next to
it, to the west. I would gladly have gone through this passage, and
anchored under one of the islands, to have waited for better weather;
for on sounding we found only twenty-nine fathoms water; but when I
considered that this was running to leeward in the dark, I chose to keep
without the islands, and accordingly hauled off to the north. At eight
o’clock we were abreast of the most eastern isle, distant from it about
two miles, and had the same depth of water as before. I now shortened
sail to the three top-sails, to wait for clear weather; for the fog was
so thick, that we could see no other land than this island. After
waiting an hour, and the weather not clearing up, we bore, and hauled
round the east end of the island, for the sake of smooth water and
anchorage, if it should be necessary. In hauling round, we found a
strong race of a current, like unto broken water; but we had no less
than nineteen fathoms. We also saw on the island abundance of seals and
birds. This was a temptation too great for people in our situation to
withstand, to whom fresh provisions of any kind were acceptable; and
determined me to anchor, in order that we might taste of what we now
only saw at a distance. At length, after making a few boards, fishing,
as it were, for the best ground, we anchored in twenty-one fathoms
water, a stony bottom, about a mile from the island, which extended from
N. 18° E. to N. 55° 1/2 W.; and soon after, the weather clearing up, we
saw Cape St. John, or the east end of Staten Land, bearing S. 75° E.,
distant four leagues. We were sheltered from the south wind by Staten
Land, and from the north wind by the island; the other isles lay to the
west, and secured us from that wind; but beside being open to the N. E.
and E. we also lay exposed to the N. N. W. winds. This might have been
avoided by anchoring more to the west; but I made choice of my situation
for two reasons: first, to be near the island we intended to land upon;
and secondly, to be able to get to sea with any wind.
[Illustration: _Christmas Sound, Terra del Fuego._]
After dinner we hoisted out three boats, and landed with a large party
of men; some to kill seals; others to catch or kill birds, fish, or what
came in our way. To find of the former, it mattered not where we landed;
for the whole shore was covered with them; and, by the noise they made,
one would have thought the island was stocked with cows and calves. On
landing, we found they were a different animal from seals, but in shape
and motion exactly resembling them. We called them lions, on account of
the great resemblance the male has to that beast. Here were also the
same kind of seals which we found in New Zealand, generally known by the
name of sea-bears; at least, we gave them that name. They were, in
general, so tame, or rather stupid, as to suffer us to come near enough
to knock them down with sticks; but the large ones we shot, not thinking
it safe to approach them. We also found on the island abundance of
penguins and shags; and the latter had young ones almost fledged, and
just to our taste. Here were geese and ducks, but not many; birds of
prey, and a few small birds. In the evening we returned on board, our
boats well laden with one thing or other.
Next day being January the 1st, 1775, finding that nothing was wanting
but a good harbour to make this a tolerable place for ships to refresh
at, whom chance or design might bring hither, I sent Mr. Gilbert over to
Staten Land in the cutter, to look for one. Appearances promised
success, in a place opposite the ship. I sent also two other boats for
the lions, &c. we had killed the preceding day; and soon after, I went
myself, and observed the sun’s meridian altitude at the N. E. end of the
island, which gave the latitude 54° 40ʹ 5ʺ south. After shooting a few
geese, some other birds, and plentifully supplying ourselves with young
shags, we returned on board, laden with sea-lions, sea-bears, &c. The
old lions and bears were killed chiefly for the sake of their blubber,
or fat, to make oil of; for, except their harslets, which were
tolerable, the flesh was too rank to be eaten with any degree of relish.
But the young cubs were very palatable; and even the flesh of some of
the old lionesses was not much amiss; but that of the old males was
abominable. In the afternoon, I sent some people on shore to skin and
cut off the fat of those which yet remained dead on shore; for we had
already more carcasses on board than necessary; and I went myself, in
another boat, to collect birds. About ten o’clock Mr. Gilbert returned
from Staten Land, where he found a good port, situated three leagues to
the westward of Cape St. John, and in the direction of north, a little
easterly, from the N. E. end of the eastern island. It may be known by
some small islands lying in the entrance. The channel, which is on the
east side of these islands, is half a mile broad. The course in is S. W.
by S. turning gradually to W. by S. and west. The harbour lies nearly in
this last direction; is almost two miles in length; in some places near
a mile broad; and hath in it from fifty to ten fathoms water, a bottom
of mud and sand. Its shores are covered with wood fit for fuel; and in
it are several streams of fresh water. On the islands were sea-lions,
&c. and such an innumerable quantity of gulls as to darken the air when
disturbed, and almost to suffocate our people with their dung. This they
seemed to void in a way of defence, and it stunk worse than asafœtida,
or as it is commonly called, devil’s dung. Our people also saw several
geese, ducks, and race-horses, which is also a kind of duck. The day on
which this port was discovered, occasioned my calling it New Year’s
Harbour. It would be more convenient for ships bound to the west, or
round Cape Horn, if its situation would permit them, to put to sea with
an easterly and northerly wind. This inconvenience, however, is of
little consequence, since these winds are never known to be of long
duration. The southerly and westerly are the prevailing winds; so that a
ship can never be detained long in this port.
As we could not sail in the morning of the 2d, for want of wind, I sent
a party of men on shore to the island, on the same duty as before.
Towards noon we got a fresh breeze at west; but it came too late, and I
resolved to wait till the next morning, when, at four o’clock, we
weighed with a fresh gale at N. W. by W. and stood for Cape St. John,
which, at half-past six, bore N. by E. distant four or five miles. This
cape, being the eastern point of Staten Land, a description of it is
unnecessary. It may, however, not be amiss to say, that it is a rock of
considerable height, situated in the latitude of 54° 46ʹ South,
longitude 64° 7ʹ West, with a rocky islet lying close under the north
part of it. To the westward of the cape, about five or six miles, is an
inlet, which seemed to divide the land; that is, to communicate with the
sea to the south; and between this inlet and the cape is a bay; but I
cannot say of what depth. In sailing round the cape, we met with a very
strong current from the south: it made a race which looked like
breakers; and it was as much as we could do, with a strong gale, to make
head against it.
After getting round the cape, I hauled up along the south coast; and as
soon as we had brought the wind to blow off the land, it came upon us in
such heavy squalls as obliged us to double-reef our topsails. It
afterwards fell, by little and little, and at noon ended in a calm. At
this time Cape St. John bore N. 20° east, distant three and a half
leagues; Cape St. Bartholomew, or the S. W. point of Staten Land, S. 83°
west; two high detached rocks N. 80° west; and the place where the land
seemed to be divided, which had the same appearance on this side, bore
N. 15° west, three leagues distant. Latitude observed 54° 56ʹ. In this
situation we sounded, but had no bottom, with a line of one hundred and
twenty fathoms. The calm was of very short duration, a breeze presently
springing up at N. W., but it was too faint to make head against the
current, and we drove with it back to the N. N. E. At four o’clock the
wind veered at once to S. by E. and blew in squalls attended with rain.
Two hours after, the squalls and rain subsided, and the wind returning
back to the west, blew a gentle gale. All this time the current set us
to the north; so that, at eight o’clock, Cape St. John bore W. N. W.
distant about seven leagues. I now gave over plying, and steered S. E.
with a resolution to leave the land; judging it to be sufficiently
explored to answer the most general purposes of navigation and
geography.
CHAP. IV.
OBSERVATIONS, GEOGRAPHICAL AND NAUTICAL, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE ISLANDS
NEAR STATEN LAND, AND THE ANIMALS FOUND IN THEM.
The annexed chart will very accurately shew the direction, extent, and
position of the coast, along which I have sailed, either in this or my
former voyage; and no more is to be expected from it. The latitudes have
been determined by the sun’s meridian altitude, which we were so
fortunate as to obtain every day, except the one we sailed from
Christmas Sound; which was of no consequence, as its latitude was known
before. The longitudes have been settled by lunar observations, as is
already mentioned. I have taken 67° 46ʹ for the longitude of Cape Horn.
From this meridian, the longitudes of all the other parts are deduced by
the watch; by which the extent of the whole must be determined to a few
miles; and whatever errors there may be in longitude, must be general.
But I think it highly probable, that the longitude is determined to
within a quarter of a degree. Thus the extent of Terra del Fuego from
east to west, and consequently that of the Straits of Magalhaens, will
be found less than most navigators have made it.
In order to illustrate this, and to show the situations of the
neighbouring lands, and, by this means, make the annexed chart of more
general use, I have extended it down to 47° of latitude. But I am only
answerable for the inaccuracy of such parts as I have explored myself.
In laying down the rest, I had recourse to the following authorities.
The longitude of Cape Virgin Mary, which is the most essential point, as
it determines the length of the Straits of Magalhaens, is deduced from
Lord Anson, who made 2° 3ʹ difference of longitude between it and the
Strait Le Maire. Now as the latter lies in 65° 22ʹ, Cape Virgin Mary
must lie in 67° 52ʹ, which is the longitude I have assigned to it, and
which, I have reason to think, cannot be far from the truth.
The Strait of Magalhaens, and the east coast of Patagonia, are laid down
from the observations made by the late English and French navigators.
The position of the west coast of America, from Cape Victory northward,
I have taken from the discoveries of _Sarmiento_, a Spanish navigator,
communicated to me by Mr. Stuart, F. R. S.
Falkland islands are copied from a sketch taken from Captain M’Bride,
who circumnavigated them some years ago in his Majesty’s ship Jason; and
their distance from the main is agreeable to the run of the Dolphin,
under the command of Commodore Byron, from Cape Virgin Mary to Port
Egmont, and from Port Egmont to Port Desire; both of which runs were
made in a few days; consequently no material errors could happen.
The S. W. coast of Terra del Fuego, with respect to inlets, islands, &c.
may be compared to the coast of Norway; for I doubt, if there be an
extent of three leagues where there is not an inlet or harbour which
will receive and shelter the largest shipping. The worst is, that till
these inlets are better known, one has, as it were, to fish for
anchorage. There are several lurking rocks on the coast; but happily
none of them lie far from land, the approach to which may be known by
sounding, supposing the weather so obscure that you cannot see it. For
to judge of the whole by the parts we have sounded, it is more than
probable that there are soundings all along the coast, and for several
leagues out to sea. Upon the whole, this is by no means the dangerous
coast it has been represented.
Staten Land lies nearly E. by N. and W. by S. and is ten leagues long in
that direction; and no where above three or four leagues broad. The
coast is rocky, much indented, and seemed to form several bays or
inlets. It shews a surface of craggy hills which spire up to a vast
height, especially near the west end. Except the craggy summits of the
hills, the greatest part was covered with trees and shrubs, or some sort
of herbage, and there was little or no snow on it. The currents between
Cape Deseada and Cape Horn, set from west to east, that is, in the same
direction as the coast; but they are by no means considerable. To the
east of the cape their strength is much increased, and their direction
is N. E. towards Staten Land. They are rapid in Strait Le Maire and
along the south coast of Staten Land, and set like a torrent round Cape
St. John; where they take a N. W. direction, and continue to run very
strong both within and without New Year’s isles. While we lay at anchor
within this island, I observed that the current was strongest during the
flood; and that, on the ebb, its strength was so much impaired, that the
ship would sometimes ride head to wind when it was at west and W. N. W.
This is only to be understood of the place where the ship lay at anchor;
for at the very time we had a strong current setting to the westward,
Mr. Gilbert found one of equal strength near the coast of Staten Land,
setting to the eastward; though probably this was an eddy current or
tide.
If the tides are regulated by the moon, it is high-water by the shore at
this place, on the days of the new and full moon, about four o’clock.
The perpendicular rise and fall is very inconsiderable, not exceeding
four feet at most. In Christmas Sound it is high water at half past two
o’clock on the days of the full and change, and Mr. Wales observed it to
rise and fall, on a perpendicular, three feet six inches; but this was
during the neap-tides, consequently the spring-tides must rise higher.
To give such an account of the tides and currents on these coasts as
navigators might depend on, would require a multitude of observations,
and in different places, the making of which would be a work of time. I
confess myself unprovided with materials for such a task; and believe
that the less I say on this subject the fewer mistakes I shall make. But
I think I have been able to observe, that in Strait Le Maire, the
southerly tide or current, be it flood or ebb, begins to act on the days
of new and full moon about four o’clock, which remark may be of use to
ships who pass the strait.
Were I bound round Cape Horn to the west, and not in want of wood or
water, or any thing that might make it necessary to put into port, I
would not come near the land at all. For by keeping out at sea, you
avoid the currents, which, I am satisfied, lose their force at ten or
twelve leagues from land; and at a greater distance there is none.
During the time we were upon the coast, we had more calms than storms,
and the winds so variable that I question if a passage might not have
been made from east to west in as short a time as from west to east; nor
did we experience any cold weather. The mercury in the thermometer at
noon was never below 46°; and while we lay in Christmas Sound, it was
generally above temperate. At this place, the variation was 23° 30ʹ
east; a few leagues to the S. W. of Strait Le Maire, it was 24°; and at
anchor, within New Year’s isles, it was 24° 20ʹ east.
These isles are, in general, so unlike Staten Land, especially the one
on which we landed, that it deserves a particular description. It shews
a surface of equal height, and elevated about thirty or forty feet above
the sea, from which it is defended by a rocky coast. The inner part of
the isle is covered with a sort of sword-grass, very green, and of a
great length. It grows on little hillocks, of two or three feet in
diameter, and as many or more in height, in large tufts, which seemed to
be composed of the roots of the plant matted together. Among these
hillocks are a vast number of paths made by sea-bears and penguins, by
which they retire into the centre of the isle. It is, nevertheless,
exceedingly bad travelling; for these paths are so dirty that one is
sometimes up to the knees in mire. Besides this plant, there are a few
other grasses, a kind of heath, and some celery. The whole surface is
moist and wet, and on the coast are several small streams of water. The
sword-grass, as I call it, seems to be the same that grows in Falkland
isles, described by Bougainville as a kind of _gladiolus_, or rather a
species of _gramen_,[16] and named by Pernety, corn-flags.
The animals found on this little spot are sea-lions, sea-bears, a
variety of oceanic and some land birds. The sea-lion is pretty well
described by Pernety; though those we saw here have not such fore-feet
or fins as that he has given a plate of, but such fins as that which he
calls the sea-wolf. Nor did we see any of the size he speaks of; the
largest not being more than twelve or fourteen feet in length, and
perhaps eight or ten in circumference. They are not of that kind
described, under the same name, by Lord Anson; but, for aught I know,
these would more properly deserve that appellation; the long hair with
which the back of the head, the neck and shoulders, are covered, giving
them greatly the air and appearance of a lion. The other part of the
body is covered with a short hair, little longer than that of a cow or a
horse, and the whole is a dark brown. The female is not half so big as
the male, and is covered with a short hair of an ash, or light dun
colour. They live, as it were, in herds, on the rocks, and near the
sea-shore. As this was the time for engendering as well as bringing
forth their young, we have seen a male with twenty or thirty females
about him, and always very attentive to keep them all to himself, and
beating off every other male who attempted to come into his flock.
Others again had a less number; some no more than one or two; and here
and there we have seen one lying growling in a retired place, alone, and
suffering neither males nor females to approach him: we judged these
were old and superannuated.
The sea-bears are not so large, by far, as the lions, but rather larger
than a common seal. They have none of that long hair which distinguishes
the lion. Theirs is all of an equal length, and finer than that of the
lion, something like an otter’s; and the general colour is that of
iron-grey. This is the kind which the French call sea-wolfs, and the
English seals; they are, however, different from the seals we have in
Europe and in North America. The lions may too, without any great
impropriety, be called overgrown seals; for they are all of the same
species. It was not at all dangerous to go among them; for they either
fled or lay still. The only danger was in going between them and the
sea; for if they took fright at any thing, they would come down in such
numbers, that, if you could not get out of their way, you would be run
over. Sometimes, when we came suddenly upon them, or waked them out of
their sleep (for they are a sluggish sleepy animal), they would raise up
their heads, snort and snarl, and look as fierce as if they meant to
devour us; but as we advanced upon them, they always run away; so that
they are downright bullies.
The penguin is an amphibious bird, so well known to most people, that I
shall only observe, they are here in prodigious numbers; so that we
could knock down as many as we pleased with a stick. I cannot say they
are good eating. I have indeed made several good meals of them; but it
was for want of better victuals. They either do not breed here, or else
this was not the season; for we saw neither eggs nor young ones.
Shags breed here in vast numbers; and we carried on board not a few, as
they are very good eating. They take certain spots to themselves, and
build their nests near the edge of the cliffs on little hillocks, which
are either those of the sword-grass, or else they are made by the shags
building on them from year to year. There is another sort rather smaller
than these, which breed on the cliffs of rocks.
The geese are of the same sort we found in Christmas Sound; we saw but
few; and some had young ones. Mr. Forster shot one which was different
from these, being larger, with a grey plumage, and black feet. The
others make a noise exactly like a duck. Here were ducks, but not many;
and several of that sort which we called race-horses. We shot some, and
found them to weigh twenty-nine or thirty pounds; those who ate of them
said they were very good.
The oceanic birds were gulls, terns, Port Egmont hens, and a large brown
bird of the size of an albatross, which Pernety calls quebrantahuessas.
We called them Mother Cary’s geese, and found them pretty good eating.
The land-birds were eagles, or hawks, bald-headed vultures, or what our
seamen called turkey buzzards, thrushes, and a few other small birds.
Our naturalists found two new species of birds. The one is about the
size of a pigeon, the plumage as white as milk. They feed along shore,
probably on shell-fish and carrion; for they have a very disagreeable
smell. When we first saw these birds, we thought they were the
snow-peterel, but the moment they were in our possession, the mistake
was discovered; for they resemble them in nothing but size and colour.
These are not web-footed. The other sort is a species of curlews nearly
as big as a heron. It has a variegated plumage, the principal colours
whereof are light grey, and a long crooked bill.
I had almost forgot to mention that there are sea-pies, or what we
called, when in New Zealand, curlews; but we only saw a few straggling
pairs. It may not be amiss to observe, that the shags are the same bird
which Bougainville calls saw-bills; but he is mistaken in saying that
the quebrantahuessas are their enemies; for this bird is of the peterel
tribe, feeds wholly on fish, and is to be found in all the high southern
latitudes.
It is amazing to see how the different animals, which inhabit this
little spot, are mutually reconciled. They seem to have entered into a
league not to disturb each other’s tranquillity. The sea-lions occupy
most of the sea-coast; the sea-bears take up their abode in the isle;
the shags have post in the highest cliffs; the penguins fix their
quarters where there is the most easy communication to and from the sea;
and the other birds chuse more retired places. We have seen all these
animals mix together, like domestic cattle and poultry in a farm-yard,
without one attempting to molest the other. Nay, I have often observed
the eagles and vultures sitting on the hillocks among the shags, without
the latter, either young or old, being disturbed at their presence. It
may be asked how these birds of prey live? I suppose, on the carcasses
of seals and birds which die by various causes; and probably not few, as
they are so numerous.
This very imperfect account is written more with a view to assist my own
memory, than to give information to others. I am neither a botanist nor
a naturalist; and have not words to describe the productions of nature,
either in the one branch of knowledge or the other.
CHAP. V.
PROCEEDINGS AFTER LEAVING STATEN ISLAND, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE
DISCOVERY OF THE ISLE OF GEORGIA, AND A DESCRIPTION OF IT.
Having left the land in the evening of the 3d, as before mentioned, we
saw it again next morning, at three o’clock, bearing W. Wind continued
to blow a steady fresh breeze till six P. M. when it shifted in a heavy
squall to S. W. which came so suddenly upon us, that we had not time to
take in the sails, and was the occasion of carrying away a top-gallant
mast, a studding-sail boom, and a fore studding-sail. The squall ended
in a heavy shower of rain, but the wind remained at S. W. Our course was
S. E. with a view of discovering that extensive coast, laid down by Mr.
Dalrymple in his chart, in which is the Gulph of St. Sebastian. I
designed to make the western point of that gulph, in order to have all
the other parts before me. Indeed, I had some doubt of the existence of
such a coast; and this appeared to me the best route for clearing it up,
and for exploring the southern part of this ocean.
On the 5th, fresh gales, and wet and cloudy weather. At noon observed in
57° 9ʹ, longitude made from Cape Saint John, 5° 2ʹ E. At six o’clock,
P. M. being in the latitude 57° 21ʹ, and in longitude 57° 45ʹ W., the
variation was 21° 28ʹ E.
At eight o’clock in the evening of the 6th, being then in the latitude
of 58° 9ʹ S. longitude 53° 14ʹ W., we close-reefed our top-sails, and
hauled to the north, with a very strong gale at W., attended with a
thick haze and sleet. The situation just mentioned is nearly the same
that Mr. Dalrymple assigns for the S. W. point of the Gulph of St.
Sebastian. But as we saw neither land, nor signs of land, I was the more
doubtful of its existence, and was fearful, that by keeping to the south
I might miss the land said to be discovered by La Roche in 1675, and by
the ship Lion in 1756, which Mr. Dalrymple places in 54° 30ʹ latitude,
and 45° of longitude; but on looking over Danville’s Chart, I found it
laid down 9° or 10° more to the west; this difference of situation being
to me a sign of the uncertainty of both accounts, determined me to get
into the parallel as soon as possible, and was the reason of my hauling
to the north at this time.
Towards the morning of the 7th, the gale abated, the weather cleared up,
and the wind veered to the W. S. W. where it continued till midnight;
after which it veered to N. W. Being at this time in the latitude of 56°
4ʹ S. longitude 53° 36ʹ W., we sounded, but found no bottom with a line
of one hundred and thirty fathoms. I still kept the wind on the
larboard-tack, having a gentle breeze and pleasant weather. On the 8th,
at noon, a bed of sea-weed passed the ship. In the afternoon, in the
latitude of 55° 4ʹ, longitude 51° 45ʹ W., the variation was 20° 4ʹ E.
On the 9th, wind at N. E. attended with thick hazy weather; saw a seal,
and a piece of sea-weed. At noon, latitude 55° 12ʹ S. longitude 50° 15ʹ
W., the wind and weather continuing the same till towards midnight, when
the latter cleared up, and the former veered to west, and blew a gentle
gale. We continued to ply till two o’clock the next morning, when we
bore away E., and at eight, E. N. E.; at noon, observed in latitude 54°
35ʹ S., longitude 47° 56ʹ W., a great many albatrosses and blue peterels
about the ship. I now steered E., and the next morning, in the latitude
of 54° 38ʹ, longitude 45° 10ʹ W., the variation was 19° 25ʹ E. In the
afternoon saw several penguins, and some pieces of weed.
Having spent the night lying to, on the 12th, at day-break, we bore
away, and steered east northerly, with a fine fresh breeze at W. S. W.;
at noon observed in latitude 54° 28ʹ S., longitude in 42° 8ʹ W.; that
is, near 3° E. of the situation in which Mr. Dalrymple places the N. E.
point of the Gulph of St. Sebastian; but we had no other signs of land
than seeing a seal and a few penguins; on the contrary we had a swell
from E. S. E. which would hardly have been, if any extensive track of
land lay in that direction. In the evening the gale abated, and at
midnight it fell calm.
The calm, attended by a thick fog, continued till six next morning, when
we got a wind at E., but the fog still prevailed. We stood to the S.
till noon, when, being in the latitude of 55° 7ʹ, we tacked and
stretched to the N. with a fresh breeze at E. by S. and E. S. E. cloudy
weather; saw several penguins and a snow-peterel, which we looked on to
be signs of the vicinity of ice. The air too was much colder than we had
felt it since we left New Zealand. In the afternoon the wind veered to
S. E. and in the night to S. S. E. and blew fresh; with which we stood
to the N. E.
At nine o’clock the next morning we saw an island of ice as we then
thought; but at noon were doubtful whether it was ice or land. At this
time it bore E. 3/4 S., distant thirteen leagues; our latitude was 53°
56-1/2ʹ, longitude 39° 24ʹ W.; several penguins, small divers, a
snow-peterel, and a vast number of blue peterels about the ship. We had
but little wind all the morning; and at two P. M. it fell calm. It was
now no longer doubted that it was land, and not ice, which we had in
sight. It was, however, in a manner wholly covered with snow. We were
farther confirmed in our judgment of its being land, by finding
soundings at one hundred and seventy-five fathoms, a muddy bottom. The
land at this time bore E. by S., about twelve leagues distant. At six
o’clock the calm was succeeded by a breeze at N. E., with which we stood
to S. E. At first it blew a gentle gale, but afterwards increased so as
to bring us under double-reefed topsails, and was attended with snow and
sleet.
We continued to stand to the S. E. till seven in the morning on the
15th, when the wind veering to the S. E. we tacked and stood to the N. A
little before we tacked, we saw the land bearing E. by N. At noon the
mercury in the thermometer was at 35-1/4°. The wind blew in squalls,
attended with snow and sleet, and we had a great sea to encounter. At a
lee-lurch which the ship took, Mr. Wales observed her to lie down 42°.
At half-past four P. M. we took in the top-sails, got down top-gallant
yards, wore the ship, and stood to the S. W. under two courses. At
midnight the storm abated, so that we could carry the top-sails double
reefed.
At four in the morning of the 16th, we wore and stood to the E., with
the wind at S. S. E., a moderate breeze and fair; at eight o’clock saw
the land extending from E. by N. to N. E. by N.; loosed a reef out of
each top-sail, got top-gallant yards across, and set the sails. At noon
observed in latitude 54° 25-1/2ʹ; longitude 38° 18ʹ W. In this situation
we had one hundred and ten fathoms’ water; and the land extended from N.
1/2 W. to E., eight leagues distant. The northern extreme was the same
that we first discovered, and it proved to be an island which obtained
the name of Willis’s Island, after the person who first saw it.
At this time we had a great swell from the S., an indication that no
land was near us in that direction; nevertheless, the vast quantity of
snow on that in sight, induced us to think it was extensive, and I chose
to begin with exploring the northern coast. With this view we bore up
for Willis’s Island, all sails set, having a fine gale at S. S. W. As we
advanced to the N., we perceived another isle lying east of Willis’s,
and between it and the main. Seeing there was a clear passage between
the two isles, we steered for it, and at five o’clock, being in the
middle of it, we found it about two miles broad.
Willis’s Isle is a high rock of no great extent, near to which are some
rocky islets. It is situated in the latitude of 54° S., longitude 38°
23ʹ W. The other isle, which obtained the name of Bird Isle, on account
of the vast number that were upon it, is not so high, but of greater
extent, and is close to the N. E. point of the main land, which I called
Cape North.
The S. E. coast of this land, as far as we saw it, lies in the direction
of S. 50° E., and N. 50° W. It seemed to form several bays or inlets;
and we observed huge masses of snow, or ice, in the bottoms of them,
especially in one which lies ten miles to the S. S. E. of Bird Isle.
After getting through the passage, we found the north coast trended E.
by N. for about nine miles; and then E. and E. southerly to Cape Buller,
which is eleven miles more. We ranged the coast, at one league distance,
till near ten o’clock, when we brought to for the night, and, on
sounding, found fifty fathoms, a muddy bottom.
At two o’clock in the morning of the 17th, we made sail in for the land,
with a fine breeze at S. W.; at four, Willis’s Isle bore W. by S.,
distant thirty-two miles; Cape Buller, to the west of which lie some
rocky islets, bore S. W. by W.; and the most advanced point of land to
the E., S. 63° E. We now steered along the shore, at the distance of
four or five miles, till seven o’clock, when, seeing the appearance of
an inlet, we hauled in for it. As soon as we drew near the shore, having
hoisted out a boat, I embarked in it, accompanied by Mr. Forster and his
party, with a view of reconnoitring the bay before we ventured in with
the ship. When we put off from her, which was about four miles from the
shore, we had forty fathoms’ water. I continued to sound as I went
farther in, but found no bottom with a line of thirty-four fathoms,
which was the length of that I had in the boat, and which also proved
too short to sound the bay, so far as I went up it. I observed it to lie
in S. W. by S. about two leagues, about two miles broad, well sheltered
from all winds; and I judged there might be good anchorage before some
sandy beaches which are on each side, and likewise near a low flat isle,
towards the head of the bay. As I had come to a resolution not to bring
the ship in, I did not think it worth my while to go and examine these
places; for it did not seem probable that any one would ever be
benefited by the discovery. I landed in three different places,
displayed our colours, and took possession of the country in his
Majesty’s name, under a discharge of small arms.
I judged that the tide rises about four or five feet, and that it is
high water on the full and change days about eleven o’clock.
The head of the bay, as well as two places on each side, was terminated
by perpendicular ice-cliffs of considerable height. Pieces were
continually breaking off, and floating out to sea; and a great fall
happened while we were in the bay, which made a noise like cannon.
The inner parts of the country were not less savage and horrible. The
wild rocks raised their lofty summits, till they were lost in the
clouds, and the valleys lay covered with everlasting snow. Not a tree
was to be seen, nor a shrub even big enough to make a toothpick. The
only vegetation we met with, was a coarse strong-bladed grass, growing
in tufts, wild burnet, and a plant like moss, which sprung from the
rocks.
Seals, or sea bears, were pretty numerous. They were smaller than those
at Staten Land; perhaps the most of those we saw were females; for the
shore swarmed with young cubs. We saw none of that sort which we call
lions; but there were some of those which the writer of Lord Anson’s
Voyage describes under that name; at least they appeared to us to be of
the same sort; and are, in my opinion, very improperly called lions; for
I could not see any grounds for the comparison.
Here were several flocks of penguins, the largest I ever saw; some,
which we brought on board, weighed from twenty-nine to thirty-eight
pounds. It appears by Bougainville’s account of the animals of Falkland
Islands, that this penguin is there; and I think it is very well
described by him under the name of First Class of Penguins.[17] The
Oceanic birds were albatrosses, common gulls, and that sort which I call
Port Egmont hens, terns, shags, divers, the new white bird, and a small
bird like those of the Cape of Good Hope, called yellow birds; which,
having shot two, we found most delicious food.
All the land birds we saw consisted of a few small larks; nor did we
meet with any quadrupeds. Mr. Forster, indeed, observed some dung, which
he judged to come from a fox, or some such animal. The lands, or rather
rocks, bordering on the sea-coast, were not covered with snow like the
inland parts; but all the vegetation we could see on the clear places
was the grass above mentioned. The rocks seemed to contain iron. Having
made the above observations, we set out for the ship, and got on board a
little after twelve o’clock, with a quantity of seals and penguins, an
acceptable present to the crew.
It must not, however, be understood that we were in want of provisions:
we had yet plenty of every kind; and since we had been on this coast, I
had ordered, in addition to the common allowance, wheat to be boiled
every morning for breakfast; but any kind of fresh meat was preferred by
most on board to salt. For my own part, I was now, for the first time,
heartily tired of salt meat of every kind; and though the flesh of the
penguins could scarcely vie with bullock’s liver, its being fresh was
sufficient to make it go down. I called the bay we had been in,
Possession Bay. It is situated in the latitude of 54° 5ʹ S., longitude
37° 18ʹ W., and eleven leagues to the east of Cape North. A few miles to
the west of Possession Bay, between it and Cape Buller, lies the Bay of
Isles; so named on account of several small isles lying in and before
it.
As soon as the boat was hoisted in, we made sail along the coast to the
E. with a fine breeze at W. S. W. From Cape Buller, the direction of the
coast is S. 72° 30ʹ E., for the space of eleven or twelve leagues, to a
projecting point, which obtained the name of Cape Saunders. Beyond this
Cape, is a pretty large bay, which I named Cumberland Bay. In several
parts in the bottom of it, as also in some others of less extent, lying
between Cape Saunders and Possession Bay, were vast tracks of frozen
snow, or ice not yet broken loose. At eight o’clock, being just past
Cumberland Bay, and falling little wind, we hauled off the coast, from
which we were distant about four miles, and found one hundred and ten
fathoms’ water.
We had variable light airs and calms till six o’clock the next morning,
when the wind fixed at N. and blew a gentle breeze; but it lasted no
longer than ten o’clock, when it fell almost to a calm. At noon,
observed in latitude 54° 30ʹ S., being then about two or three leagues
from the coast, which extended from N. 59° W. to S. 13° W. The land in
this last direction was an isle, which seemed to be the extremity of the
coast to the east. The nearest land to us being a projecting point which
terminated in a round hillock, was, on account of the day, named Cape
Charlotte. On the west side of Cape Charlotte lies a bay, which obtained
the name of Royal Bay, and the west point of it was named Cape George.
It is the east point of Cumberland Bay, and lies in the direction of
S. E. by E. from Cape Saunders, distant seven leagues. Cape George and
Cape Charlotte lie in the direction of S. 37° E., and N. 37° W., distant
six leagues from each other. The isle above mentioned, which was called
Cooper’s Isle, after my first lieutenant, lies in the direction of S. by
E., distant eight leagues from Cape Charlotte. The coast between them
forms a large bay, to which I gave the name of Sandwich. The wind being
variable all the afternoon, we advanced but little; in the night it
fixed at S. and S. S. W., and blew a gentle gale attended with showers
of snow.
The 19th was wholly spent in plying, the wind continuing at S. and
S. W., clear pleasant weather, but cold. At sun-rise, a new land was
seen bearing S. E. 1/2 E. It first appeared in a single hill, like a
sugar-loaf; some time after, other detached pieces appeared above the
horizon near the hill. At noon observed in the latitude 54° 42ʹ 30ʺ S.,
Cape Charlotte bearing N. 38° W., distant four leagues; and Cooper’s
Isle S. 31° W. In this situation, a lurking rock, which lies off
Sandwich Bay, five miles from the land, bore W. 1/2 N., distant one
mile, and near this rock were several breakers. In the afternoon we had
a prospect of a ridge of mountains behind Sandwich Bay, whose lofty and
icy summits were elevated high above the clouds. The wind continued at
S. S. W. till six o’clock, when it fell to a calm. At this time Cape
Charlotte bore N. 31° W., and Cooper’s Island W. S. W. In this situation
we found the variation, by the azimuths, to be 11° 39ʹ, and by the
amplitude, ll° 12ʹ E. At ten o’clock, a light breeze springing up at N.,
we steered to the S. till twelve, and then brought to for the night.
At two o’clock in the morning of the 20th, we made sail to S. W., round
Cooper’s Island. It is a rock of considerable height, about five miles
in circuit, and one mile from the main. At this isle the main coast
takes a S. W. direction for the space of four or five leagues to a
point, which I called Cape Disappointment. Off that, are three small
isles, the southernmost of which is green, low, and flat, and lies one
league from the Cape.
As we advanced to S. W., land opened off this point, in the direction of
N. 60° West, and nine leagues beyond it. It proved an island quite
detached from the main, and obtained the name of Pickersgill Island,
after my third officer. Soon after, a point of the main, beyond this
island, came in sight, in the direction of N. 55° W.; which exactly
united the coast at the very point we had seen, and taken the bearing
of, the day we first came in with it, and proved to a demonstration that
this land, which we had taken for part of a great continent, was no more
than an island of seventy leagues in circuit.
Who would have thought that an island of no greater extent than this,
situated between the latitude of 54° and 55°, should, in the very height
of summer, be in a manner wholly covered many fathoms deep with frozen
snow, but more especially the S. W. coast? The very sides and craggy
summits of the lofty mountains were cased with snow and ice; but the
quantity which lay in the valleys is incredible; and at the bottom of
the bays, the coast was terminated by a wall of ice of considerable
height. It can hardly be doubted that a great deal of ice is formed here
in the winter, which in the spring is broken off and dispersed over the
sea; but this island cannot produce the ten-thousandth part of what we
saw; so that either there must be more land, or the ice is formed
without it. These reflections led me to think that the land we had seen
the preceding day might belong to an extensive track; and I still had
hopes of discovering a continent. I must confess the disappointment I
now met with, did not affect me much, for to judge of the bulk by the
sample, it would not be worth the discovery.
I called this land the Isle of Georgia in honour of his Majesty. It is
situated between the latitude of 53° 57ʹ and 54° 57ʹ S.; and between 38°
13ʹ and 35° 34ʹ W. longitude. It extends S. E. by E., and N. W. by W.
and is thirty-one leagues long in that direction; and its greatest
breadth is about ten leagues. It seems to abound with bays and harbours,
the N. E. coast especially; but the vast quantity of ice must render
them inaccessible the greatest part of the year; or, at least, it must
be dangerous lying in them, on account of the breaking up of the
ice-cliffs.
It is remarkable that we did not see a river or stream of fresh water,
on the whole coast. I think it highly probable that there are no
perennial springs in the country; and that the interior parts, as being
much elevated, never enjoy heat enough to melt the snow in such
quantities as to produce a river or stream of water. The coast alone
receives warmth sufficient to melt the snow, and this only on the N. E.
side; for the other, besides being exposed to the cold south winds, is
in a great degree deprived of the sun’s rays by the uncommon height of
the mountains.
It was from a persuasion that the sea-coast of a land situated in the
latitude of 54°, could not, in the very height of summer, be wholly
covered with snow, that I supposed Bouvet’s discovery to be large
islands of ice. But after I had seen this land, I no longer hesitated
about the existence of Cape Circumcision; nor did I doubt that I should
find more land than I should have time to explore. With these ideas I
quitted this coast, and directed my course to the E. S. E. for the land
we had seen the preceding day.
The wind was very variable till noon, when it fixed at N. N. E., and
blew a gentle gale; but it increased in such a manner, that, before
three o’clock, we were reduced to our two courses, and obliged to strike
top-gallant yards. We were very fortunate in getting clear of the land
before this gale overtook us, it being hard to say what might have been
the consequence had it come on while we were on the north coast. This
storm was of short duration, for at eight o’clock it began to abate, and
at midnight it was little wind. We then took the opportunity to sound,
but found no bottom with a line of an hundred and eighty fathoms.
Next day the storm was succeeded by a thick fog, attended with rain; the
wind veered to N. W., and at five in the morning it fell calm, which
continued till eight, and then we got a breeze southerly, with which we
stood to the east till three in the afternoon. The weather then coming
somewhat clear, we made sail and steered north in search of the land;
but at half past six we were again involved in a thick mist, which made
it necessary to haul the wind, and spend the night in making short
boards.
We had variable light airs, next to a calm, and thick foggy weather,
till half-past seven o’clock in the evening of the 22d, when we got a
fine breeze at N., and the weather was so clear that we could see two or
three leagues round us. We seized the opportunity, and steered to west;
judging we were to the east of the land. After running ten miles to the
west, the weather became again foggy, and we hauled the wind, and spent
the night under top-sails.
Next morning, at six o’clock, the fog clearing away so that we could see
three or four miles, I took the opportunity to steer again to the W.,
with the wind at E., a fresh breeze; but two hours after, a thick fog
once more obliged us to haul the wind to the south. At eleven o’clock, a
short interval of clear weather gave us a view of three or four rocky
islets, extending from S. E. to E. N. E., two or three miles distant;
but we did not see the Sugar-loaf Peak before-mentioned. Indeed, two or
three miles was the extent of our horizon.
We were well assured that this was the land we had seen before, which we
had now been quite round: and therefore it could be no more than a few
detached rocks, receptacles for birds, of which we now saw vast numbers,
especially shags, who gave us notice of the vicinity of land before we
saw it. These rocks lie in the latitude of 55° S. and S. 75° E., distant
twelve leagues from Cooper’s Isle.
The interval of clear weather was of very short duration, before we had
as thick a fog as ever, attended with rain; on which we tacked in sixty
fathoms’ water, and stood to the north. Thus we spent our time involved
in a continual thick mist; and for aught we knew, surrounded by
dangerous rocks. The shags and soundings were our best pilots; for after
we had stood a few miles to the north, we got out of soundings, and saw
no more shags. The succeeding day and night were spent in making short
boards; and at eight o’clock on the 24th, judging ourselves not far from
the rocks by some straggling shags which came about us, we sounded in
sixty fathoms’ water, the bottom stones and broken shells. Soon after,
we saw the rocks bearing S. S. W. 1/2 W., four miles distant, but still
we did not see the Peak. It was, no doubt, beyond our horizon, which was
limited to a short distance; and, indeed, we had but a transient sight
of the other rocks, before they were again lost in the fog.
With a light air of wind at N., and a great swell from N. E., we were
able to clear the rocks to the W.; and at four in the P. M., judging
ourselves to be three or four leagues E. and W. of them, I steered S.,
being quite tired with cruizing about them in a thick fog; nor was it
worth my while to spend any more time in waiting for clear weather, only
for the sake of having a good sight of a few straggling rocks. At seven
o’clock, we had at intervals a clear sky to the W., which gave us a
sight of the mountains of the Isle of Georgia, bearing W. N. W., about
eight leagues distant. At eight o’clock we steered S. E. by S., and at
ten S. E. by E., with a fresh breeze at N., attended with a very thick
fog; but we were, in some measure, acquainted with the sea over which we
were running. The rocks above-mentioned obtained the name of Clerke’s
Rocks, after my second officer, he being the first who saw them.
CHAP. VI.
PROCEEDINGS AFTER LEAVING THE ISLE OF GEORGIA, AND AN ACCOUNT OF THE
DISCOVERY OF SANDWICH LAND; WITH SOME REASONS FOR THERE BEING LAND ABOUT
THE SOUTH POLE.
On the 25th we steered E. S. E., with a fresh gale at N. N. E., attended
with foggy weather, till towards the evening, when the sky becoming
clear, we found the variation to be 9° 26ʹ E., being at this time in the
latitude of 56° 16ʹ S., longitude 32° 9ʹ W.
Having continued to steer E. S. E., with a fine gale at N. N. W., till
daylight next morning, on seeing no land to the E., I gave orders to
steer S., being at this time in the latitude of 56° 33ʹ S., longitude
31° 10ʹ W. The weather continued clear, and gave us an opportunity to
observe several distances of the sun and moon for the correcting our
longitude, which at noon was 31° 4ʹ W., the latitude observed 57° 38ʹ S.
We continued to steer to the S. till the 27th at noon, at which time we
were in the latitude of 59° 46ʹ S., and had so thick a fog that we could
not see a ship’s length. It being no longer safe to sail before the
wind, as we were to expect soon to fall in with ice, I therefore hauled
to the E., having a gentle breeze at N. N. E. Soon after, the fog
clearing away, we resumed our course to the S. till four o’clock, when
it returned again as thick as ever, and made it necessary for us to haul
upon a wind.
I now reckoned we were in latitude 60° S., and farther I did not intend
to go, unless I observed some certain signs of soon meeting with land;
for it would not have been prudent in me to have spent my time in
penetrating to the south, when it was at least as probable that a large
tract of land might be found near Cape Circumcision. Besides, I was
tired of these high southern latitudes, where nothing was to be found
but ice and thick fogs. We had now a long hollow swell from the W., a
strong indication that there was no land in that direction; so that I
think I may venture to assert that the extensive coast, laid down in Mr.
Dalrymple’s chart of the ocean between Africa and America, and the Gulph
of Saint Sebastian, do not exist.
At seven o’clock in the evening, the fog receding from us a little, gave
us a sight of an ice-island, several penguins and some snow peterels; we
sounded, but found no ground at one hundred and forty fathoms. The fog
soon returning, we spent the night in making boards over that space
which we had, in some degree, made ourselves acquainted with in the day.
At eight in the morning of the 28th, we stood to the E., with a gentle
gale at N.; the weather began to clear up, and we found the sea strewed
with large and small ice; several penguins, snow peterels, and other
birds were seen, and some whales. Soon after we had sun-shine, but the
air was cold; the mercury in the thermometer stood generally at
thirty-five, but at noon it was at 37°; the latitude by observation was
60° 4ʹ S., longitude 29° 23ʹ W.
We continued to stand to the E. till half-past two o’clock P. M., when
we fell in, all at once, with a vast number of large ice-islands, and a
sea strewed with loose ice. The weather too was become thick and hazy,
attended with drizzling rain and sleet, which made it the more dangerous
to stand in among the ice. For this reason we tacked and stood back to
the W., with the wind at N. The ice-islands, which at this time
surrounded us, were nearly all of equal height, and showed a flat even
surface; but they were of various extent, some being two or three miles
in circuit. The loose ice was what had broken from these isles.
Next morning, the wind falling and veering to S. W., we steered N. E.,
but this course was soon intercepted by numerous ice-islands; and,
having but very little wind, we were obliged to steer such courses as
carried us the clearest of them; so that we hardly made any advance, one
way or other, during the whole day. Abundance of whales and penguins
were about us all the time; and the weather fair, but dark and gloomy.
At midnight the wind began to freshen at N. N. E., with which we stood
to N. W. till six in the morning of the 30th, when the wind veering to
N. N. W., we tacked and stood to N. E., and soon after sailed through a
good deal of loose ice, and passed two large islands. Except a short
interval of clear weather about nine o’clock, it was continually foggy,
with either sleet or snow. At noon we were, by our reckoning, in the
latitude of 59° 30ʹ S., longitude 29° 24ʹ W.
Continuing to stand to N. E., with a fresh breeze at N. N. W., at two
o’clock, we passed one of the largest ice-islands we had seen in the
voyage, and some time after passed two others, which were much smaller.
Weather still foggy, with sleet; and the wind continued at N. by W.,
with which we stood to N. E. over a sea strewed with ice.
At half an hour past six in the morning, as we were standing N. N. E.
with the wind at W., the fog very fortunately clearing away a little, we
discovered land a-head, three or four miles distant. On this we hauled
the wind to the N., but finding we could not weather the land on this
tack, we soon after tacked in one hundred and seventy-five fathoms
water, three miles from the shore, and about half a league from some
breakers. The weather then cleared up a little more, and gave us a
tolerably good sight of the land. That which we had fallen in with
proved three rocky islets of considerable height. The outermost
terminated in a lofty peak like a sugar-loaf, and obtained the name of
Freezeland Peak, after the man who first discovered it. Latitude 59° S.,
longitude 27° W. Behind this peak, that is to the east of it, appeared
an elevated coast, whose lofty snow-clad summits were seen above the
clouds. It extended from N. by E. to E. S. E. and I called it Cape
Bristol, in honour of the noble family of Hervey. At the same time
another elevated coast appeared in sight, bearing S. W. by S., and at
noon it extended from S. E. to S. S. W., from four to eight leagues
distant; at this time the observed latitude was 59° 13ʹ 30ʺ S.,
longitude 27° 45ʹ W. I called this land Southern Thule, because it is
the most southern land that has ever yet been discovered. It shows a
surface of vast height, and is every where covered with snow. Some
thought they saw land in the space between Thule and Cape Bristol. It is
more than probable that these two lands are connected, and that this
space is a deep bay, which I called Forster’s Bay.
At one o’clock, finding that we could not weather Thule, we tacked and
stood to the north, and at four, Freezeland Peak bore E., distant three
or four leagues. Soon after it fell little wind, and we were left to the
mercy of a great westerly swell, which set right upon the shore. We
sounded, but a line of two hundred fathoms found no bottom. At eight
o’clock, the weather, which had been very hazy, clearing up, we saw Cape
Bristol bearing E. S. E., and terminating in a point to the north,
beyond which we could see no land. This discovery relieved us from the
fear of being carried by the swell on the most horrible coast in the
world, and we continued to stand to the north all night, with a light
breeze at W.
On the 1st of February, at four o’clock in the morning, we got sight of
a new coast, which at six o’clock bore N. 60° E. It proved a high
promontory, which I named Cape Montagu, situated in latitude 58° 27ʹ S.,
longitude 26° 44ʹ W., and seven or eight leagues to the north of Cape
Bristol. We saw land from space to space between them, which made me
conclude that the whole was connected. I was sorry I could not determine
this with greater certainty; but prudence would not permit me to venture
near a coast, subject to thick fogs, on which there was no anchorage;
where every port was blocked or filled up with ice; and the whole
country, from the summits of the mountains, down to the very brink of
the cliffs which terminate the coast, covered, many fathoms thick, with
everlasting snow. The cliffs alone was all which was to be seen like
land.
Several large islands lay upon the coast; one of which attracted my
notice. It had a flat surface, was of considerable extent both in height
and circuit, and had perpendicular sides, on which the waves of the sea
had made no impression; by which I judged that it had not been long from
land, and that it might have lately come out of some bay on the coast,
where it had been formed.
At noon we were east and west of the northern part of Cape Montagu,
distant about five leagues, and Freezeland Peak bore S. 16° E., distant
twelve leagues; latitude observed 58° 25ʹ S. In the morning the
variation was 10° 11ʹ E. At two in the afternoon, as we were standing to
the north, with a light breeze at S. W. we saw land bearing N. 25ʹ E.,
distant fourteen leagues. Cape Montagu bore at this time, S. 66° E.; at
eight it bore S. 40° E.; Cape Bristol, S. by E.; the new land extending
from N. 40° to 52° E.; and we thought we saw land still more to the E.,
and beyond it.
Continuing to steer to the north all night, at six o’clock the next
morning, a new land was seen bearing N. 12° E., about ten leagues
distant. It appeared in two hummocks just peeping above the horizon; but
we soon after lost sight of them; and having got the wind at N. N. E., a
fresh breeze, we stood for the northernmost land we had seen the day
before, which at this time bore E. S. E. We fetched in with it by ten
o’clock, but could not weather it, and were obliged to tack three miles
from the coast, which extended from E. by S. to S. E., and had much the
appearance of being an island of about eight or ten leagues’ circuit. It
shows a surface of considerable height, whose summit was lost in the
clouds, and, like all the neighbouring lands, covered with a sheet of
snow and ice, except on a projecting point on the north side, and two
hills seen over this point, which probably might be two islands. These
only were clear of snow, and seemed covered with a green turf. Some
large ice-islands lay to the N. E., and some others to the S.
We stood off till noon, and then tacked for the land again, in order to
see whether it was an island or no. The weather was now become very
hazy, which soon turning to a thick fog, put a stop to discovery, and
made it unsafe to stand for the shore; so that after having run the same
distance in, as we had run off, we tacked and stood to N. W. for the
land we had seen in the morning, which was yet at a considerable
distance. Thus we were obliged to leave the other, under the supposition
of its being an island, which I named Saunders, after my honourable
friend Sir Charles. It is situated in the latitude of 57° 49ʹ S.,
longitude 26° 44ʹ W.; and N., distant thirteen leagues from Cape
Montagu.
At six o’clock in the evening, the wind shifting to the W., we tacked,
and stood to the N., and at eight the fog clearing away, gave us a sight
of Saunders’s isle, extending from S. E. by S. to E. S. E. We were still
in doubt if it were an island; for, at this time, land was seen bearing
E. by S., which might, or might not be connected with it; it might also
be the same that we had seen the preceding evening. But, be this as it
may, it was now necessary to take a view of the land to the north before
we proceeded any farther to the east. With this intention, we stood to
the north, having a light breeze at W. by S., which, at two o’clock in
the morning of the 3d, was succeeded by a calm that continued till
eight, when we got the wind at E. by S., attended with hazy weather. At
this time we saw the land we were looking for, and which proved to be
two isles. The day on which they were discovered, was the occasion of
calling them Candlemas isles; latitude 57° 11ʹ S., longitude 27° 6ʹ W.
They are of no great extent, but of considerable height, and were
covered with snow. A small rock was seen between them, and perhaps there
may be more; for the weather was so hazy that we soon lost sight of the
islands, and did not see them again till noon, at which time they bore
W., distant three or four leagues.
As the wind kept veering to the S. we were obliged to stand to the
N. E., in which route we met with several large ice-islands, loose ice,
and many penguins; and, at midnight, came at once into water uncommonly
white, which alarmed the officer of the watch so much that he tacked the
ship instantly. Some thought it was a float of ice, others that it was
shallow water; but as it proved neither, probably it was a shoal of
fish.
We stood to the south till two o’clock next morning, when we resumed our
course to the E., with a faint breeze at S. S. E., which having ended in
a calm, at six, I took the opportunity of putting a boat in the water to
try if there were any current; and the trial proved there was none. Some
whales were playing about us, and abundance of penguins; a few of the
latter were shot, and they proved to be of the same sort that we had
seen among the ice before, and different both from those on Staten Land,
and from those at the isle of Georgia. It is remarkable, that we had not
seen a seal since we left that coast. At noon we were in the latitude of
56° 44ʹ S., longitude 25° 33ʹ W. At this time we got a breeze at E.,
with which we stood to the S., with a view of gaining the coast we had
left; but at eight o’clock the wind shifted to the S., and made it
necessary to tack and stand to the E; in which course we met with
several ice-islands and some loose ice, the weather continuing hazy with
snow and rain.
No penguins were seen on the 5th, which made me conjecture that we were
leaving the land behind us, and that we had already seen its northern
extremity. At noon we were in the latitude of 57° 8ʹ S., longitude 23°
34ʹ W., which was 3° of longitude to the east of Saunders’s isle. In the
afternoon the wind shifted to the W., this enabled us to stretch to the
S., and to get into the latitude of the land, that, if it took an east
direction, we might again fall in with it.
We continued to steer to the S. and S. E. till next day at noon, at
which time we were in the latitude of 58° 15ʹ S., longitude 21° 34ʹ W.,
and seeing neither land nor signs of any, I concluded that what we had
seen, which I named Sandwich Land, was either a group of islands, or
else a point of the continent; for I firmly believe that there is a
track of land near the pole which is the source of most of the ice that
is spread over this vast Southern Ocean. I also think it probable that
it extends farthest to the north opposite the southern Atlantic and
Indian Oceans, because ice was always found by us farther to the north
in these oceans than any where else, which I judge could not be, if
there were not land to the S.; I mean a land of considerable extent. For
if we suppose that no such land exists, and that ice may be formed
without it, it will follow of course that the cold ought to be every
where nearly equal round the pole, as far as 70° or 60° of latitude, or
so far as to be beyond the influence of any of the known continents;
consequently we ought to see ice every where under the same parallel, or
near it; and yet the contrary has been found. Very few ships have met
with ice going round Cape Horn; and we saw but little below the sixtieth
degree of latitude, in the Southern Pacific Ocean. Whereas in this
ocean, between the meridian of 40° W. and 50° or 60° E., we found ice as
far N. as 51°. Bouvet met with some in 48°; and others have seen it in a
much lower latitude. It is true, however, that the greatest part of this
southern continent (supposing there is one) must lie within the polar
circle, where the sea is so pestered with ice that the land is thereby
inaccessible. The risk one runs in exploring a coast, in these unknown
and icy seas, is so very great, that I can be bold enough to say that no
man will ever venture farther than I have done; and that the lands which
may lie to the south will never be explored. Thick fogs, snow-storms,
intense cold, and every other thing that can render navigation
dangerous, must be encountered; and these difficulties are greatly
heightened, by the inexpressibly horrid aspect of the country; a country
doomed by nature never once to feel the warmth of the sun’s rays, but to
lie buried in everlasting snow and ice. The ports which may be on the
coast, are, in a manner, wholly filled up with frozen snow of vast
thickness; but if any should be so far open as to invite a ship into it,
she would run a risk of being fixed there for ever, or of coming out in
an ice-island. The islands and floats on the coast, the great falls from
the ice-cliffs in the port, or a heavy snow storm attended with a sharp
frost, would be equally fatal.
After such an explanation as this, the reader must not expect to find me
much farther to the south. It was, however, not for want of inclination,
but for other reasons. It would have been rashness in me to have risked
all that had been done during the voyage, in discovering and exploring a
coast, which, when discovered and explored, would have answered no end
whatever, or have been of the least use, either to navigation or
geography, or indeed to any other science. Bouvet’s discovery was yet
before us, the existence of which was to be cleared up; and besides all
this, we were not now in a condition to undertake great things; nor
indeed was there time, had we been ever so well provided.
These reasons induced me to alter the course to E., with a very strong
gale at N., attended with an exceedingly heavy fall of snow. The
quantity which lodged in our sails was so great, that we were frequently
obliged to throw the ship up in the wind to shake it out of them,
otherwise neither they nor the ship could have supported the weight. In
the evening it ceased to snow; the weather cleared up; the wind backed
to the W.; and we spent the night in making two short boards, under
close-reefed top-sails and fore-sail.
At day-break on the 7th, we resumed our course to the E., with a very
fresh gale at S. W. by W., attended by a high sea from the same
direction. In the afternoon, being in the latitude of 58° 24ʹ S.,
longitude 16° 19ʹ W., the variation was 1° 52ʹ E. Only three ice-islands
seen this day. At eight o’clock, shortened sail, and hauled the wind to
the S. E. for the night, in which we had several showers of snow and
sleet.
On the eighth, at day-light, we resumed our east course with a gentle
breeze and fair weather. After sun-rise, being then in the latitude of
58° 30ʹ S., longitude 15° 14ʹ W.; the variation, by the mean results of
two compasses, was 2° 43ʹ E. These observations were more to be depended
on than those made the night before, there being much less sea now than
then. In the afternoon, we passed three ice-islands. This night was
spent as the preceding.
At six next morning, being in the latitude of 58° 27ʹ S., longitude 13°
4ʹ W., the variation was 26ʹ E., and in the afternoon, being in the same
latitude, and about a quarter of a degree more to the E., it was 2ʹ W.
Therefore this last situation must be in or near the line in which the
compass has no variation. We had a calm the most part of the day. The
weather fair and clear, excepting now and then a snow shower. The
mercury in the thermometer at noon rose to 40; whereas for several days
before, it had been no higher than 36 or 38. We had several ice-islands
in sight, but no one thing that could induce us to think that any land
was in our neighbourhood. At eight in the evening, a breeze sprung up at
S. E., with which we stood to N. E.
During the night the wind freshened and veered to south, which enabled
us to steer east. The wind was attended with showers of sleet and snow
till day-light, when the weather became fair, but piercing cold, so that
the water on deck was frozen, and at noon the mercury in the thermometer
was no higher than 34-1/2. At six o’clock in the morning, the variation
was 23ʹ west, being then in the latitude of 58° 15ʹ S., longitude 11°
41ʹ W., and at six in the evening, being in the same latitude, and in
the longitude of 9° 24ʹ W., it was 1° 51ʹ W. In the evening the wind
abated; and during the night it was variable between south and west.
Ice-islands continually in sight.
On the 11th, wind westerly, light airs attended with heavy showers of
snow in the morning; but, as the day advanced, the weather became fair,
clear, and serene. Still continuing to steer east, at noon we observed
in latitude 58° 11ʹ, longitude at the same time 7° 55ʹ west. Thermometer
34-2/3. In the afternoon we had two hours’ calm, after which we had
faint breezes between the N. E. and S. E.
At six o’clock in the morning of the 12th, being in the latitude of 58°
23ʹ S., longitude 6° 54ʹ W., the variation was 3° 23ʹ W. We had variable
light airs next to a calm all this day, and the weather was fair and
clear till towards the evening, when it became cloudy, with snow
showers, and the air very cold. Ice-islands continually in sight; most
of them small and breaking to pieces.
In the afternoon of the 13th the wind increased, the sky became clouded,
and soon after we had a very heavy fall of snow, which continued till
eight or nine o’clock in the evening, when the wind abating and veering
to S. E., the sky cleared up, and we had a fair night, attended with so
sharp a frost, that the water in all our vessels on deck was next
morning covered with a sheet of ice. The mercury in the thermometer was
as low as 29°, which is 3° below freezing, or rather 4; for we generally
found the water freeze when the mercury stood at 33°.
Towards noon on the 14th, the wind veering to the south, increased to a
very strong gale, and blew in heavy squalls, attended with snow. At
intervals, between the squalls, the weather was fair and clear, but
exceedingly cold. We continued to steer east, inclining a little to the
north, and in the afternoon crossed the first meridian, or that of
Greenwich, in the latitude of 57° 50ʹ S. At eight in the evening, we
close-reefed the top-sails, took in the main-sail, and steered east,
with a very hard gale at S. S. W., with a high sea from the same
direction.
At day-break on the 15th, we set the main-sail, loosed a reef out of
each top-sail, and with a very strong gale at S. W. and fair weather,
steered E. N. E. till noon, at which time we were in the latitude of 56°
37ʹ S., longitude 4° 11ʹ east, when we pointed to the N. E., in order to
get into the latitude of Cape Circumcision. Some large ice-islands were
in sight, and the air was nearly as cold as on the preceding day. At
eight o’clock in the evening, shortened sail, and at eleven hauled the
wind to the N. W., not daring to stand on in the night, which was foggy,
with snow-showers, and a smart frost.
At day-break on the 16th, we bore away N. E. with a light breeze at
west, which, at noon, was succeeded by a calm and fair weather. Our
latitude at this time was 55° 26ʹ S., longitude 5° 52ʹ east, in which
situation we had a great swell from the southward, but no ice in sight.
At one o’clock in the P. M., a breeze springing up at E. N. E., we stood
to S. E. till six, then tacked, and stood to the north, under
double-reefed top-sails and courses, having a very fresh gale, attended
with snow and sleet, which fixed to the masts and rigging as it fell,
and coated the whole with ice.
On the 17th the wind continued veering by little and little to the
south, till midnight, when it fixed at S. W. Being at this time in the
latitude of 54° 20ʹ S., longitude 6° 33ʹ east, I steered east, having a
prodigious high sea from the south, which assured us no land was near in
that direction.
In the morning of the 18th it ceased to snow; the weather became fair
and clear; and we found the variation to be 13° 44ʹ west. At noon we
were in the latitude of 54° 25ʹ, longitude 8° 46ʹ east. I thought this a
good latitude to keep in, to look for Cape Circumcision; because, if the
land had ever so little extent in the direction of north and south, we
could not miss seeing it, as the northern point is said to lie in 54°.
We had yet a great swell from the south, so that I was now well assured
it could only be an island; and it was of no consequence which side we
fell in with. In the evening Mr. Wales made several observations of the
moon, and stars Regulus and Spica; the mean results, at four o’clock,
when the observations were made, for finding the time by the watch, gave
9° 15ʹ 20ʺ east longitude. The watch at the same time gave 9° 36ʹ 45ʺ.
Soon after the variation was found to be 13° 10ʹ west. It is nearly in
this situation that Mr. Bouvet had 1° east. I cannot suppose that the
variation has altered so much since that time; but rather think he had
made some mistake in his observations. That there could be none in ours
was certain, from the uniformity for some time past. Besides, we found
12° 8ʹ west, variation, nearly under this meridian, in January, 1773.
During the night the wind veered round by the N. W. to N. N. E., and
blew a fresh gale.
At eight in the morning of the 19th, we saw the appearance of land in
the direction of E. by S. or that of our course; but it proved a mere
fog-bank, and soon after dispersed. We continued to steer E. by S. and
S. E. till seven o’clock in the evening, when, being in the latitude of
54° 42ʹ S., longitude 13° 3ʹ E., and the wind having veered to N. E., we
tacked and stood to N. W. under close-reefed top-sails and courses;
having a very strong gale, attended with snow showers.
At four o’clock next morning, being in the latitude of 54° 30ʹ S.,
longitude 12° 33ʹ E., we tacked, and stretched to N. E., with a fresh
gale at S. W., attended with snow-showers and sleet. At noon, being in
the latitude of 54° 8ʹ S., longitude 12° 59ʹ E., with a fresh gale at W.
by N. and tolerably clear weather, we steered E. till ten o’clock in the
evening, when we brought to, lest we might pass any land in the night,
of which we however had not the least signs.
At day-break, having made sail, we bore away east, and at noon observed
in latitude 54° 16ʹ S., longitude 16° 13ʹ E., which is 5° to the east of
the longitude in which Cape Circumcision is said to lie; so that we
began to think there was no such land in existence. I however continued
to steer east, inclining a little to the south, till four o’clock in the
afternoon of the next day, when we were in latitude of 54° 24ʹ S.,
longitude 19° 18ʹ E.
We had now run down thirteen degrees of longitude, in the very latitude
assigned for Bouvet’s Land; I was therefore well assured that what he
had seen could be nothing but an island of ice; for, if it had been
land, it is hardly possible we could have missed it, though it were ever
so small. Besides, from the time of leaving the southern lands, we had
not met with the least signs of any other. But even suppose we had, it
would have been no proof of the existence of Cape Circumcision; for I am
well assured that neither seals, nor penguins, nor any of the oceanic
birds, are indubitable signs of the vicinity of land. I will allow that
they are found on the coasts of all these southern lands; but are they
not also to be found in all parts of the southern ocean? There are,
however, some oceanic or aquatic birds which point out the vicinity of
land; especially shags, which seldom go out of sight of it; and gannets,
boobies, and men of war birds, I believe, seldom go very far out to sea.
As we were now no more than two degrees of longitude from our route to
the south, when we left the Cape of Good Hope, it was to no purpose to
proceed any further to the east under this parallel, knowing that no
land could be there. But an opportunity now offering of clearing up some
doubts of our having seen land farther to the south, I steered S. E. to
get into the situation in which it was supposed to lie.
We continued this course till four o’clock the next morning, and then
S. E. by E. and E. S. E. till eight in the evening, at which time we
were in the latitude of 55° 25ʹ S., longitude 23° 22ʹ E., both deduced
from observations made the same day; for, in the morning, the sky was
clear at intervals, and afforded an opportunity to observe several
distances of the sun and moon, which we had not been able to do for some
time past, having had a constant succession of bad weather.
Having now run over the place where the land was supposed to lie,
without seeing the least signs of any, it was no longer to be doubted
but that the ice-islands had deceived us as well as Mr. Bouvet. The wind
by this time having veered to the north, and increased to a perfect
storm, attended as usual with snow and sleet, we handed the top-sails,
and hauled up E. N. E. under the courses. During the night the wind
abated, and veered to N. W., which enabled us to steer more to the
north, having no business farther south.
CHAP. VII.
HEADS OF WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN THE VOYAGE; WITH SOME CONJECTURES
CONCERNING THE FORMATION OF ICE-ISLANDS; AND AN ACCOUNT OF OUR
PROCEEDINGS TILL OUR ARRIVAL AT THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
I had now made the circuit of the Southern Ocean in a high latitude, and
traversed it in such a manner as to leave not the least room for the
possibility of there being a continent, unless near the pole, and out of
the reach of navigation. By twice visiting the tropical sea, I had not
only settled the situation of some old discoveries, but made there many
new ones, and left, I conceive, very little more to be done even in that
part. Thus I flatter myself, that the intention of the voyage has, in
every respect, been fully answered; the southern hemisphere sufficiently
explored; and a final end put to the searching after a southern
continent, which has, at times, ingrossed the attention of some of the
maritime powers for near two centuries past, and been a favourite theory
amongst the geographers of all ages.