Chapter IV: Book I (2)

At ten o’clock, seeing many islands of ice ahead, and the weather coming on foggy, with snow, we wore and stood to the northward, till three in the morning, when we stood again to the south. At eight, the weather cleared up, and the wind came to W. S. W. with which we made all the sail we could to the south; having never less than ten or twelve islands of ice in sight.

Next day we had the wind at S. W. and S. S. W. a gentle gale, with now and then showers of snow and hail. In the morning, being in the latitude of 55° 20ʹ south, and longitude 31° 30ʹ east, we hoisted out a boat to see if there was any current; but found none. Mr. Forster, who went in the boat, shot some of the small grey birds before mentioned, which were of the peterel tribe, and about the size of a small pigeon. Their back, and upper side of their wings, their feet and bills, are of a blue grey colour. Their bellies, and under side of their wings, are white, a little tinged with blue. The upper side of their quill feathers is a dark blue tinged with black. A streak is formed by feathers nearly of this colour along the upper parts of the wings, and crossing the back a little above the tail. The end of the tail feathers is also of the same colour. Their bills are much broader than any I have seen of the same tribe; and their tongues are remarkably broad. These blue peterels, as I shall call them, are seen no where but in the southern hemisphere, from about the latitude of 28°, and upwards. Thermometer at 33° in the open air, at 32 in the sea at the surface, and at 34-1/2 when drawn, and 6-1/2 minutes in drawing up from 100 fathoms below it, where it had been 16 minutes.

On the 24th, the wind blew from N. W. to N. E. a gentle gale, fair and cloudy. At noon we were by observation in the latitude of 56° 31ʹ south, and longitude 31° 19ʹ east, the thermometer at 35. And being near an island of ice which was about 50 feet high, and 400 fathoms in circuit, I sent the master in the jolly-boat to see if any water run from it. He soon returned with an account, that there was not one drop, or any other appearances of thaw. In the evening, we sailed through several floats or fields of loose ice, lying in the direction of S. E. and N. W., at the same time we had continually several islands of the same composition in sight.

On the 25th, the wind veering round from the N. E. by the east to south, it blew a gentle gale; with which we stood to the W. S. W. and at noon were in the latitude of 57° 50ʹ south, and longitude 29° 32ʹ east. The weather was fair and cloudy; the air sharp and cold, attended with a hard frost. And, although this was the middle of summer with us, I much question if the day was colder in any part of England. The wind continued at south, blew a fresh gale, fair and cloudy weather, till near noon the next day, when we had clear sunshine, and found ourselves, by observation, in the latitude of 58° 31ʹ south longitude, 26° 57ʹ east.

In the course of the last twenty-four hours, we passed through several fields of broken loose ice. They were in general narrow, but of a considerable length, in the direction of N. W. and S. E. The ice was so close in one, that it would hardly admit the ship through it. The pieces were flat, from four to six or eight inches thick, and appeared of that sort of ice which is generally formed in bays or rivers. Others again were different; the pieces forming various honey-combed branches, exactly like coral rocks, and exhibiting such a variety of figures as can hardly be conceived.

We supposed this ice to have broke from the main field we had lately left; and which I was determined to get to the south of, or behind, if possible, in order to satisfy myself, whether or no it joined to any land, as had been conjectured. With this view, I kept on to the westward, with a gentle gale at south and S. S. W., and soon after six o’clock in the evening, we saw some penguins, which occasioned us to sound; but we found no ground with 150 fathoms.

In the morning of the 27th, we saw more loose ice, but not many islands; and those we did see were but small. The day being calm and pleasant, and the sea smooth, we hoisted out a boat; from which Mr. Forster shot a penguin and some peterels. These penguins differ not from those seen in other parts of the world, except in some minute particulars distinguishable only by naturalists. Some of the peterels were of the blue sort; but differed from those before mentioned, in not having a broad bill; and the ends of their tail feathers were tipped with white instead of dark blue. But whether these were only the distinctions between the male and female, was a matter disputed by our naturalists. We were now in the latitude of 58° 19ʹ south, longitude 24° 39ʹ east, and took the opportunity of the calm to sound; but found no ground with a line of 220 fathoms. The calm continued till six in the evening, when it was succeeded by a light breeze from the east, which afterwards increased to a fresh gale.

In the morning of the 28th, I made the signal to the Adventure to spread four miles on my starboard beam; and in this position we continued sailing W. S. W. until four o’clock in the afternoon, when the hazy weather, attended with snow showers, made it necessary for us to join. Soon after we reefed our top-sails, being surrounded on all sides with islands of ice. In the morning of the 29th, we let them out again, and set top-gallant sails, still continuing our course to the westward, and meeting with several penguins. At noon we were, by observation, in the latitude of 59° 12ʹ, longitude 19° 1ʹ east; which is 3° more to the west than we were when we first fell in with the field ice; so that it is pretty clear that it joined to no land, as was conjectured.

Having come to a resolution to run as far west as the meridian of Cape Circumcision, provided we met with no impediment, as the distance was not more than 80 leagues, the wind favourable, and the sea seemed to be pretty clear of ice, I sent on board for Captain Furneaux, to make him acquainted therewith; and after dinner he returned to his ship. At one o’clock we steered for an island of ice, thinking, if there were any loose ice round it, to take some on board, and convert it into fresh water. At four we brought to, close under the lee of the island; where we did not find what we wanted, but saw upon it eighty-six penguins. This piece of ice was about half a mile in circuit, and one hundred feet high and upwards; for we lay for some minutes with every sail becalmed under it. The side on which the penguins were, rose sloping from the sea, so as to admit them to creep up it.

It is a received opinion, that penguins never go far from land, and that the sight of them is a sure indication of its vicinity. This opinion may hold good where there are no ice islands; but where such are, these birds, as well as many others which usually keep near the shores, finding a roosting-place upon these islands, may be brought by them a great distance from any land. It will however be said, that they must go on shore to breed; that probably the females were there, and that these were only the males which we saw. Be this as it may, I shall continue to take notice of these birds whenever we see them, and leave every one to judge for himself.

We continued our course to the westward, with a gentle gale at E. N. E. the weather being sometimes tolerably clear, and at other times thick and hazy, with snow. The thermometer for a few days past was from 31 to 36. At nine o’clock the next morning, being the 30th, we shot one of the white birds; upon which we lowered a boat into the water to take it up, and by that means killed a penguin which weighed 11-1/2 pounds. The white bird was of the peterel tribe; the bill, which is rather short, is of a colour between black and dark blue, and their legs and feet are blue. I believe them to be the same sort of birds that Bouvet mentions to have seen, when he was off Cape Circumcision.

We continued our westerly course till eight o’clock in the evening, when we steered N. W., the point on which I reckoned the above mentioned Cape to bear.

At mid-night we fell in with loose ice, which soon after obliged us to tack, and stretch to the southward. At half an hour past two o’clock in the morning of the 31st, we stood for it again, thinking to take some on board; but this was found impracticable. For the wind, which had been at N. E., now veered to S. E., and increasing to a fresh gale, brought with it such a sea as made it very dangerous for the ships to remain among the ice. The danger was yet farther increased, by discovering an immense field to the north, extending from N. E. by E. to S. W. by W. farther than the eye could reach. As we were not above two or three miles from this, and surrounded by loose ice, there was no time to deliberate. We presently wore, got our tacks on board, hauled to the south, and soon got clear, but not before we had received several hard knocks from the loose pieces, which were of the largest sort, and among which we saw a seal. In the afternoon, the wind increased in such a manner, as to oblige us to hand the top-sails, and strike top-gallant-yards. At eight o’clock we tacked, and stood to the east till mid-night, when, being in the latitude of 60° 21ʹ south, longitude 13° 32ʹ east, we stood again to the west.

Next day towards noon, the gale abated; so that we could carry close-reefed top-sails. But the weather continued thick and hazy, with sleet and snow, which froze on the rigging as it fell, and ornamented the whole with icicles; the mercury in the thermometer being generally below the freezing point. This weather continued till near noon the next day; at which time we were in the latitude of 59° 12ʹ south, longitude 9° 45ʹ east, and here we saw some penguins.

The wind had now veered to the west, and was so moderate, that we could bear two reefs out of the top-sails. In the afternoon, we were favoured with a sight of the moon, whose face we had seen but once since we left the Cape of Good Hope. By this a judgment may be formed of the sort of weather we had had since we left that place. We did not fail to seize the opportunity to make several observations of the sun and moon. The longitude deduced from them was 9° 34ʹ 30ʺ east. Mr. Kendal’s watch, at the same time, giving 10° 6ʹ east, and the latitude was 58° 53ʹ 30ʺ south.

This longitude is nearly the same that is assigned to Cape Circumcision, and at the going down of the sun, we were about ninety-five leagues to the south of the latitude it is said to lie in. At this time the weather was so clear, that we might have seen land at fourteen or fifteen leagues distance. It is therefore very probable, that what Bouvet took for land, was nothing but mountains of ice, surrounded by loose or field ice. We ourselves were undoubtedly deceived by the ice hills, the day we first fell in with the field ice. Nor was it an improbable conjecture, that that ice joined to land. The probability was however now greatly lessened, if not entirely set aside. For the space between the northern edge of the ice, along which we sailed, and our route to the west, when south of it, nowhere exceeded 100 leagues; and in some places not 60. But a view of the chart will best explain this. The clear weather continued no longer than three o’clock the next morning, when it was succeeded by a thick fog, sleet, and snow. The wind also veered to N. E. and blew a fresh gale, with which we stood to S. E. It increased in such a manner, that before noon we were brought under close-reefed top-sails. The wind continued to veer to the north, at last fixed at N. W. and was attended with intervals of clear weather.

Our course was east, 3/4 north, till noon the next day, when we were in the latitude of 59° 2ʹ south, and nearly under the same meridian as we were when we fell in with the last field of ice, five days before; so that had it remained in the same situation, we must now have been in the middle of it. Whereas we did not so much as see any. We cannot suppose that so large a float of ice as this was, could be destroyed in so short a time. It therefore must have drifted to the northward, and this makes it probable that there is no land under this meridian, between the latitude of 55° and 59°, where we had supposed some to lie, as mentioned above.

As we were now only sailing over a part of the sea where we had been before, I directed the course E. S. E. in order to get more to the south. We had the advantage of a fresh gale, and the disadvantage of a thick fog, much snow and sleet, which, as usual, froze on our rigging as it fell, so that every rope was covered with the finest transparent ice I ever saw. This afforded an agreeable sight enough to the eye, but conveyed to the mind an idea of coldness, much greater than it really was; for the weather was rather milder than it had been for some time past, and the sea less encumbered with ice. But the worst was, the ice so clogged the rigging, sails, and blocks, as to make them exceedingly bad to handle. Our people however surmounted those difficulties with a steady perseverance, and withstood this intense cold much better than I expected.

We continued to steer to the E. S. E. with a fresh gale at N. W. attended with snow and sleet, till the 8th, when we were in the latitude of 61° 12ʹ south, longitude 31° 47ʹ east. In the afternoon we passed more ice islands than we had seen for several days. Indeed they were now so familiar to us, that they were often passed unnoticed, but more generally unseen on account of the thick weather. At nine o’clock in the evening, we came to one which had a quantity of loose ice about it. As the wind was moderate, and the weather tolerably fair, we shortened sail, and stood on and off, with a view of taking some on board on the return of light; but at four o’clock in the morning, finding ourselves to leeward of this ice, we bore down to an island to leeward of us, there being about it some loose ice, part of which we saw break off. There we brought to, hoisted out three boats, and in about five or six hours, took up as much ice as yielded fifteen tons of good fresh water. The pieces we took up were hard, and solid as a rock, some of them were so large, that we were obliged to break them with pick-axes, before they could be taken into the boats.

The salt water which adhered to the ice, was so trifling as not to be tasted, and after it had lain on deck a short time, entirely drained off; and the water which the ice yielded, was perfectly sweet and well-tasted. Part of the ice we broke in pieces, and put into casks, some we melted in the coppers, and filled up the casks with the water, and some we kept on deck for present use. The melting and stowing away the ice is a little tedious, and takes up some time, otherwise this is the most expeditious way of watering I ever met with.

Having got on board this supply of water, and the Adventure about two-thirds as much (of which we stood in great need), as we had once broke the ice, I did not doubt of getting more whenever we were in want. I therefore, without hesitation, directed our course more to the south, with a gentle gale at N. W. attended, as usual, with snow showers. In the morning of the 11th, being then in the latitude of 62° 44ʹ south, longitude 37° east, the variation of the compass was 24° 10ʹ west, and the following morning in the latitude of 64° 12ʹ south, longitude 38° 14ʹ east, by the mean of three compasses, it was no more than 23° 52ʹ west. In this situation we saw some penguins, and being near an island of ice, from which several pieces had broken, we hoisted out two boats, and took on board as much as filled all our empty casks; and the Adventure did the same. While this was doing, Mr. Forster shot an albatross, whose plumage was of a colour between brown and dark grey, the head and upper side of the wings rather inclining to black, and it had white eye-brows. We began to see these birds about the time of our first falling in with the ice islands, and some had accompanied us ever since. These, and the dark-brown sort with a yellow bill, were the only albatrosses that had not now forsaken us.

At four o’clock P. M. we hoisted in the boats, and made sail to the S. E. with a gentle breeze at S. by W. attended with showers of snow.

On the 13th, at two o’clock A. M. it fell calm. Of this we took the opportunity to hoist out a boat, to try the current, which we found to set N. W. near one third of a mile an hour. At the time of trying the current, a Fahrenheit’s thermometer was immerged in the sea 100 fathoms below its surface, where it remained twenty minutes. When it came up, the mercury stood at 32, which is the freezing point. Some little time after, being exposed to the surface of the sea, it rose to 33-1/2, and in the open air to 36. The calm continued till five o’clock in the evening, when it was succeeded by a light breeze from the south and S. E. with which we stood to the N. E. with all our sails set.

Though the weather continued fair, the sky, as usual, was clouded. However, at nine o’clock the next morning, it was clear, and we were enabled to observe several distances between the sun and moon. The mean result of which gave 39° 30ʹ 30ʺ east longitude. Mr. Kendal’s watch, at the same time, gave 38° 27ʹ 45ʺ, which is 1° 2ʹ 45ʺ west of the observations; whereas, on the 3d instant, it was half a degree east of them.

In the evening I found the variation, by }
the mean of Azimuths taken with } 28° 14ʹ 0
Gregory’s compass, to be }

By the mean of six Azimuths by one } 28 32 0
of Dr. Knight’s }

And by another of Dr. Knight’s 28 34 0

Our latitude at this time was 63° 57ʹ, longitude 39° 38-1/2ʹ east.

The succeeding morning, the 15th, being then in latitude 63° 33ʹ south, the longitude was observed by the following persons, viz.

Myself, being the mean of six distances } 40° 1ʹ 45ʺ E. of the sun and moon } Mr. Wales, ditto 39 29 45 Ditto, ditto 39 56 45 Lieutenant Clerke, ditto 39 38 0 Mr. Gilbert, ditto 39 48 45 Mr. Smith, ditto 39 18 15 ---------- Mean 39 42 12 ---------- Mr. Kendal’s watch made 38 41 30

Which is nearly the same difference as the day before. But Mr. Wales and I took each of us six distances of the sun and moon, with the telescopes fixed to our sextants, which brought out the longitude nearly the same as the watch. The results were as follows:—By Mr. Wales 38° 35ʹ 30ʺ, and by me 38° 36ʹ 45ʺ.

It is impossible for me to say whether these or the former are the nearest the truth, nor can I assign any probable reason for so great a disagreement. We certainly can observe with greater accuracy through the telescope, than with the common sight, when the ship is sufficiently steady. The use of the telescope is found difficult at first, but a little practice will make it familiar. By the assistance of the watch, we shall be able to discover the greatest error this method of observing the longitude at sea is liable to; which, at the greatest, does not exceed a degree and a half, and in general will be found to be much less. Such is the improvement navigation has received by the astronomers and mathematical instrument-makers of this age; by the former from the valuable tables they have communicated to the public, under the direction of the Board of Longitude, and contained in the astronomical ephemeris; and by the latter, from the great accuracy they observe in making instruments, without which the tables would, in a great measure, lose their effect. The preceding observations were made by four different sextants, of different workmen; mine was made by Mr. Bird; one of Mr. Wales’s by Mr. Dollond; the other, and Mr. Clerke’s, by Mr. Ramsden; as also Mr. Gilbert’s and Smith’s, who observed with the same instrument.

Five tolerable fine days had now succeeded one another. This, besides giving us an opportunity to make the preceding observations, was very serviceable to us on many other accounts, and came at a very seasonable time. For having on board a good quantity of fresh water or ice, which was the same thing, the people were enabled to wash and dry their clothes and linen; a care that can never be enough attended to in all long voyages. The winds during this time blew in gentle gales, and the weather was mild. Yet the mercury in the thermometer never rose above 36, and was frequently as low as the freezing point.

In the afternoon, having but little wind, I brought to under an island of ice, and sent a boat to take up some. In the evening the wind freshened at east, and was attended with snow showers and thick hazy weather, which continued great part of the 16th. As we met with little ice, I stood to the south, close hauled; and at six o’clock in the evening, being in the latitude of 64° 56ʹ south, longitude 39° 35ʹ east, I found the variation by Gregory’s compass to be 26° 41ʹ west. At this time, the motion of the ship was so great, that I could by no means observe with any of Dr. Knight’s compasses.

As the wind remained invariably fixed at east, and E. by S. I continued to stand to the south; and on the 17th, between eleven and twelve o’clock, we crossed the Antarctic circle in the longitude of 39° 35ʹ east; for at noon we were by observation in the latitude of 66° 36ʹ 30ʺ south. The weather was now become tolerably clear, so that we could see several leagues round us; and yet we had only seen one island of ice since the morning. But about four P. M. as we were steering to the south, we observed the whole sea in a manner covered with ice, from the direction of S. E. round by the south to west.

In this space, thirty-eight ice islands, great and small, were seen, besides loose ice in abundance, so that we were obliged to luff for one piece, and bear up for another, and as we continued to advance to the south, it increased in such a manner, that at 3/4 past six o’clock, being then in the latitude of 67° 15ʹ south, we could proceed no farther; the ice being entirely closed to the south, in the whole extent from east to W. S. W., without the least appearance of any opening. This immense field was composed of different kinds of ice, such as high ills, loose or broken pieces packed close together, and what, I think, Greenlandmen call field-ice. A float of this kind of ice lay to the S. E. of us, of such extent that I could see no end to it, from the mast-head. It was sixteen or eighteen feet high at least; and appeared of a pretty equal height and surface. Here we saw many whales playing about the ice, and for two days before had seen several flocks of the brown and white pintadoes, which we named Antarctic peterels, because they seem to be natives of that region. They are undoubtedly of the peterel tribe; are in every respect shaped like the pintadoes, differing only from them in colour. The head and fore-part of the body of these are brown; and the hind-part of the body, tail and ends of the wings, are white. The white peterel also appeared in greater numbers than before; some few dark grey albatrosses, and our constant companion the blue peterel. But the common pintadoes had quite disappeared, as well as many other sorts, which are common in lower latitudes.

CHAP. III.

SEQUEL OF THE SEARCH FOR A SOUTHERN CONTINENT BETWEEN THE MERIDIAN OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE AND NEW ZEALAND; WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE SEPARATION OF THE TWO SHIPS, AND THE ARRIVAL OF THE RESOLUTION IN DUSKY BAY.

After meeting with this ice, I did not think it was at all prudent to persevere in getting farther to the south, especially as the summer was already half spent, and it would have taken up some time to have got round the ice, even supposing it to have been practicable, which, however, is doubtful. I therefore came to a resolution to proceed directly in search of the land lately discovered by the French. And as the winds still continued at E. by S., I was obliged to return to the north, over some part of the sea I had already made myself acquainted with, and for that reason wished to have avoided. But this was not to be done; as our course, made good, was little better than north. In the night, the wind increased to a strong gale, attended with sleet and snow, and obliged us to double-reef our top-sails. About noon the next day, the gale abated; so that we could bear all our reefs out; but the wind still remained in its old quarter.

In the evening, being in the latitude of 64° 12ʹ south, longitude 40° 15ʹ east, a bird called by us, in my former voyage, Port Egmont hen, (on account of the great plenty of them at Port Egmont, in Falkland isles,) came hovering several times over the ship, and then left us in the direction of N. E. They are a short thick bird about the size of a large crow, of a dark brown or chocolate colour, with a whitish streak under each wing in the shape of a half-moon. I have been told that these birds are found in great plenty at the Fero isles, north of Scotland; and that they never go far from land. Certain it is, I never before saw them above forty leagues off; but I do not remember ever seeing fewer than two together, whereas, here was but one, which, with the islands of ice, may have come a good way from land.

At nine o’clock, the wind veering to E. N. E. we tacked and stood to the S. S. E., but at four in the morning of the 20th, it returned back to its old point, and we resumed our northerly course. One of the above birds was seen this morning; probably the same we saw the night before, as our situation was not much altered. As the day advanced, the gale increased, attended with thick hazy weather, sleet and snow, and at last obliged us to close-reef our top-sails, and strike top-gallant-yards. But in the evening, the wind abated so as to admit us to carry whole top-sails and top-gallant-yards aloft. Hazy weather, with snow and sleet continued.

In the afternoon of the 21st, being in the latitude of 62° 24ʹ south, longitude 42° 19ʹ east, we saw a white albatross with black-tipped wings, and a pintadoe bird. The wind was now at south and S. W. a fresh gale. With this we steered N. E. against a very high sea, which did not indicate the vicinity of land in that quarter; and yet it was there we were to expect it. The next day we had intervals of fair weather; the wind was moderate, and we carried our studding sails. In the morning of the 23rd, we were in latitude 60° 27ʹ south, longitude 45° 33ʹ east. Snow showers continued, and the weather was so cold, that the water in our water vessels on deck had been frozen for several preceding nights.

Having clear weather at intervals, I spread the ships a-breast four miles from each other, in order the better to discover any thing that might lie in our way. We continued to sail in this manner till six o’clock in the evening, when hazy weather, and snow showers, made it necessary for us to join.

We kept our course to the N. E. till eight o’clock in the morning of the 25th, when the wind having veered round to N. E. by E. by the west and north, we tacked, and stood to N. W. The wind was fresh, and yet we made but little way against a high northerly sea. We now began to see some of that sort of peterels so well known to sailors by the name of sheerwaters, latitude 58° 10ʹ, longitude 50° 54ʹ east. In the afternoon the wind veered to the southward of east, and at eight o’clock in the evening, it increased to a storm, attended with thick hazy weather, sleet and snow.

During night we went under our fore-sail and main-top-sail close-reefed; at day light the next morning, added to them the fore and mizzen top-sails. At four o’clock it fell calm; but a prodigious high sea from the N. E. and a complication of the worst of weather, viz. snow, sleet, and rain, continued, together with the calm, till nine o’clock in the evening. Then the weather cleared up, and we got a breeze at S. E. by S. With this we steered N. by E. till eight o’clock the next morning, being the 27th, when I spread the ships and steered N. N. E. all sails set, having a fresh breeze at S. by W. and clear weather.

At noon we were, by observation, in the latitude of 56° 28ʹ south, and about three o’clock in the afternoon, the sun and moon appearing at intervals, their distances were observed by the following persons, and the longitude resulting therefrom was—

By Mr. Wales, (mean of two sets) 50° 59ʹ east
Lieutenant Clerke 51 11
Mr. Gilbert 50 14
Mr. Smith 50 50
Mr. Kendall’s watch 50 50

At six o’clock in the evening, being in latitude 56° 9ʹ S., I now made signal to the Adventure to come under my stern; and at eight o’clock the next morning, sent her to look out on my starboard beam, having at this time a fresh gale at west, and pretty clear weather. But this was not of long duration, for at two in the afternoon, the sky became cloudy and hazy; the wind increased to a fresh gale; blew in squalls attended with snow, sleet, and drizzling rain. I now made signal to the Adventure to come under my stern, and took another reef in each top-sail. At eight o’clock I hauled up the main-sail, and run all night under the fore-sail, and two top-sails; our course being N. N. E. and N. E. by N. with a strong gale at N. W.

The 29th, at noon, we observed in latitude 52° 29ʹ south, the weather being fair and tolerably clear. But in the afternoon, it again became very thick and hazy, with rain; and the gale increased in such a manner as to oblige us to strike top-gallant yards, close reef and hand the top-sails. We spent part of the night, which was very dark and stormy, in making a tack to the S. W., and in the morning of the 30th, stood again to the N. E., wind at N. W. and north, a very fresh gale; which split several of our small sails. This day no ice was seen; probably owing to the thick hazy weather. At eight o’clock in the evening we tacked and stood to the westward, under our courses; but as the sea ran high we made our course no better than S. S. W.

At four o’clock the next morning, the gale had a little abated; and the wind had backed to W. by S. We again stood to the northward, under courses and double-reefed top-sails, having a very high sea from the N. N. W., which gave us but little hopes of finding the land we were in search of. At noon, we were in the latitude of 50° 50ʹ S. longitude 56° 48ʹ east, and presently after we saw two islands of ice. One of these we passed very near, and found that it was breaking or falling to pieces, by the cracking noise it made; which was equal to the report of a four-pounder. There was a good deal of loose ice about it; and had the weather been favourable, I should have brought to, and taken some up. After passing this, we saw no more, till we returned again to the south.

Hazy, gloomy weather continued, and the wind remained invariably fixed at N. W., so that we could make our course no better than N. E. by N., and this course we held till four o’clock in the afternoon of the 1st of February. Being then in the latitude of 48° 30ʹ, and longitude 58° 7ʹ east, nearly in the meridian of the island of Mauritius, and where we were to expect to find the land said to be discovered by the French, of which at this time we saw not the least signs, we bore away east.

I now made the signal to the Adventure to keep at the distance of four miles on my starboard beam. At half an hour past six Captain Furneaux made the signal to speak with me; and upon his coming under my stern, he informed me that he had just seen a large float of sea or rock-weed, and about it several birds (divers). These were certainly signs of the vicinity of land; but whether it lay to the east or west was not possible for us to know. My intention was to have got into this latitude four or five degrees of longitude to the west of the meridian we were now in, and then to have carried on my researches to the east. But the W. and N. W. winds we had had the five preceding days prevented me from putting this in execution.

The continual high sea we had lately had from the N. E., N. N. W. and west, left me no reason to believe that land of any extent lay to the west. We therefore continued to steer to the E., only lying to a few hours in the night, and in the morning resumed our course again, four miles north and south from each other; the hazy weather not permitting us to spread farther. We passed two or three small pieces of rock-weed, and saw two or three birds known by the name of egg-birds; but saw no other signs of land. At noon we observed, in latitude 48° 36ʹ south, longitude 59° 35ʹ east. As we could only see a few miles farther to the south, and as it was not impossible that there might be land not far off in that direction, I gave orders to steer S. 1/2 E., and made the signal for the Adventure to follow, she being, by this movement, thrown a-stern. The weather continuing hazy till half an hour past six o’clock in the evening, when it cleared up so as to enable us to see about five leagues round us.

Being now in the latitude of 49° 13ʹ south, without having the least signs of land, I wore and stood again to the eastward, and soon after spoke with Captain Furneaux. He told me that he thought the land was to the N. W. of us; as he had, at one time, observed the sea to be smooth when the wind blew in that direction. Although this was not conformable to the remarks _we_ had made on the sea, I resolved to clear up the point, if the wind would admit of my getting to the west in any reasonable time.

At eight o’clock in the morning of the 3d, being in the latitude of 48° 56ʹ South, longitude 6° 47ʹ East, and upwards of 3° to the east of the meridian of Mauritius, I began to despair of finding land to the east; and as the wind had now veered to the northward, resolved to search for it to the west. I accordingly tacked and stood to the west with a fresh gale. This increased in such a manner, that before night we were reduced to our two courses; and at last, obliged to lie to under the fore-sails, having a prodigious high sea from W. N. W., notwithstanding the height of the gale was from N. by W. At three o’clock the next morning, the gale abating, we made sail, and continued to ply to the west till ten o’clock in the morning of the sixth.

At this time being in the latitude of 48° 6ʹ South, longitude 58° 22ʹ East, the wind seemingly fixed at W. N. W., and seeing no signs of meeting with land, I gave over plying, and bore away east a little southerly: being satisfied, that if there is any land hereabout, it can only be an isle of no great extent. And it was just as probable I might have found it to the east as west.

While we were plying about here, we took every opportunity to observe the variation of the compass, and found it to be from 27° 50ʹ, to 30° 26ʹ West. Probably the mean of the two extremes, viz. 29° 4ʹ is the nearest the truth, as it nearly agrees with the variation observed on board the Adventure. In making these observations, we found that, when the sun was on the starboard side of the ship, the variation was the least; and when on the larboard side, the greatest. This was not the first time we had made this observation, without being able to account for it. At four o’clock in the morning of the 7th, I made the Adventure’s signal to keep at the distance of four miles on my starboard beam; and continued to steer E. S. E. This being a fine day, I had all our men’s bedding and cloaths spread on deck to air, and the ship cleaned and smoked betwixt decks. At noon I steered a point more to the south, being then in the latitude of 48° 49ʹ south, longitude 61° 48ʹ east. At six o’clock in the evening, I called in the Adventure; and at the same time took several azimuths, which gave the variation 31° 28ʹ west. These observations could not be taken with the greatest accuracy, on account of the rolling of the ship, occasioned by a very high westerly swell.

The preceding evening, three Port Egmont hens were seen; this morning another appeared. In the evening, and several times in the night, penguins were heard; and at day-light, in the morning of the 8th, several of these were seen; and divers of two sorts, seemingly such as are usually met with on the coast of England. This occasioned us to sound; but we found no ground with a line of 210 fathoms. Our latitude now was 49° 53ʹ South, and longitude 63° 39ʹ east. This was at eight o’clock. By this time the wind had veered round by the N. E. to E., blew a brisk gale, and was attended with hazy weather, which soon after turned to a thick fog; and at the same time, the wind shifted to N. E.

I continued to keep the wind on the larboard tack, and to fire a gun every hour till noon; when I made the signal to tack, and tacked accordingly. But as neither this signal, nor any of the former, was answered by the Adventure, we had but too much reason to think that a separation had taken place; though we were at a loss to tell how it had been effected. I had directed Captain Furneaux, in case he was separated from me, to cruise three days in the place where he last saw me. I therefore continued making short boards, and firing half-hour guns, till the 9th in the afternoon, when the weather having cleared up, we could see several leagues round us, and found that the Adventure was not within the limits of our horizon. At this time, we were about two or three leagues to the eastward of the situation we were in when we last saw her, and were standing to the westward with a very strong gale at N. N. W., accompanied with a great sea from the same direction. This, together with an increase of wind, obliged us to lie to, till eight o’clock the next morning; during which time we saw nothing of the Adventure, notwithstanding the weather was pretty clear, and we had kept firing guns, and burning false fires, all night. I therefore gave over looking for her, made sail, and steered S. E. with a very fresh gale at W. by N., accompanied with a high sea from the same direction.

While we were beating about here, we frequently saw penguins and divers, which made us conjecture that land was not far off; but in what direction, it was not possible for us to tell. As we advanced to the south, we lost the penguins, and most of the divers, and as usual, met with abundance of albatrosses, blue peterels, sheer-waters, &c.

The 11th at noon, and in the latitude of 51° 15ʹ south, longitude 67° 20ʹ east, we again met with penguins; and saw an egg-bird, which we also look upon to be a sign of the vicinity of land. I continued to steer to the S. E., with a fresh gale in the N. W. quarter, attended with a long hollow swell, and frequent showers of rain, hail, and snow. The 12th, in the morning, being in the latitude of 52° 32ʹ south, longitude 69° 47ʹ east, the variation was 31° 38ʹ West. In the evening, in the latitude of 53° 7ʹ south, longitude 70° 50ʹ east, it was 32° 33ʹ: and the next morning, in the latitude of 53° 37ʹ south, longitude 72° 10ʹ, it was 33° 8ʹ west. Thus far we had continually a great number of penguins about the ship, which seemed to be different from those we had seen near the ice; being smaller, with reddish bills and brownish heads. The meeting with so many of these birds, gave us some hopes of finding land, and occasioned various conjectures about its situation. The great westerly swell, which still continued, made it improbable that land of any considerable extent lay to the west. Nor was it very probable that any lay to the north; as we were only about 160 leagues to the south of Tasman’s Track in 1642; and I conjectured that Captain Furneaux would explore this place; which accordingly happened. In the evening we saw a Port Egmont hen, which flew away in the direction of N. E. by E., and the next morning, a seal was seen; but no penguins. In the evening, being in the latitude of 55° 49ʹ south, longitude 75° 52ʹ east, the variation was 34° 48ʹ west; and in the evening of the 15th, in latitude 57° 2ʹ south, longitude 79° 56ʹ east, it was 38° west. Five seals were seen this day, and a few penguins; which occasioned us to sound, without finding any bottom, with a line of 150 fathoms.

At day-light in the morning of the 16th, we saw an island of ice to the northward; for which we steered, in order to take some on board; but the wind shifting to that direction, hindered us from putting this in execution. At this time we were in the latitude of 57° 8ʹ south, longitude 80° 59ʹ east, and had two islands of ice in sight. This morning we saw one penguin, which appeared to be of the same sort which we had formerly seen near the ice. But we had now been so often deceived by these birds, that we could no longer look upon them, nor indeed upon any other oceanic birds, which frequent high latitudes, as sure signs of the vicinity of land.

The wind continued not long at north, but veered to E. by N. E., and blew a gentle gale, with which we stood to the southward; having frequent showers of sleet and snow. But in the night we had fair weather, and a clear serene sky; and between midnight and three o’clock in the morning, lights were seen in the heavens, similar to those in the northern hemisphere, known by the name of Aurora Borealis, or northern lights; but I never heard of the Aurora Australis being seen before. The officer of the watch observed, that it sometimes broke out in spiral rays, and in a circular form; then its light was very strong, and its appearance beautiful. He could not perceive it had any particular direction; for it appeared, at various times, in different parts of the heavens, and diffused its light throughout the whole atmosphere.

At nine in the morning, we bore down to an island of ice, which we reached by noon. It was full half a mile in circuit, and two hundred feet high at least; though very little loose ice about it. But while we were considering whether or no we should hoist out our boats to take some up, a great quantity broke from the island. Upon this we hoisted out our boats, and went to work to get some on board. The pieces of ice, both great and small, which broke from the island, I observed, drifted fast to the westward; that is, they left the island in that direction, and were, in a few hours, spread over a large space of sea. This, I have no doubt, was caused by a current setting in that direction; for the wind could have but little effect upon the ice; especially as there was a large hollow swell from the west. This circumstance greatly retarded our taking up ice. We, however, made a shift to get on board about nine or ten tons before eight o’clock, when we hoisted in the boats, and made sail to east, inclining to the south, with a fresh gale at south; which soon after veered to S. S. W. and S. W., with fair but cloudy weather. This course brought us among many ice isles; so that it was necessary to proceed with great caution. In the night the mercury in the thermometer fell two degrees below the freezing point; and the water in the scuttle casks on deck was frozen. As I have not taken notice of the thermometer of late, I shall now observe that, as we advanced to the north, the mercury gradually rose to 45, and fell again, as we advanced to the south, to what is above mentioned; nor did it rise, in the middle of the day, to above 34 or 35.

In the morning of the 18th, being in the latitude of 57° 54ʹ south, longitude 83° 14ʹ east, the variation was 39° 33ʹ west. In the evening, in latitude 58° 2ʹ south, longitude 84° 35ʹ east, it was only 37° 8ʹ west; which induced me to believe it was decreasing. But in the evening of the 20th, in the latitude of 58° 47ʹ south, longitude 90° 56ʹ east, I took nine azimuths, with Dr. Knight’s compass, which gave the variation 40° 7ʹ; and nine others, with Gregory’s, which gave 40° 15ʹ west.

This day, at noon, being nearly in the latitude and longitude just mentioned, we thought we saw land to the S. W. The appearance was so strong, that we doubted not it was there in reality, and tacked to work up to it accordingly; having a light breeze at south, and clear weather. We were, however, soon undeceived, by finding that it was only clouds; which, in the evening, entirely disappeared, and left us a clear horizon, so that we could see a considerable way round us; in which space nothing was to be seen but ice islands.

In the night, the Aurora Australis made a very brilliant and luminous appearance. It was seen first in the east, a little above the horizon; and, in a short time, spread over the whole heavens.

The 21st, in the morning, having little wind and a smooth sea, two favourable circumstances for taking up ice, I steered for the largest ice-island before us, which we reached by noon. At this time, we were in the latitude of 59° south, longitude 92° 30ʹ east; having, about two hours before, seen three or four penguins. Finding here a good quantity of loose ice, I ordered two boats out, and sent them to take some on board. While this was doing, the island, which was not less than half a mile in circuit, and three or four hundred feet high above the surface of the sea, turned nearly bottom up. Its height, by this circumstance, was neither increased nor diminished, apparently. As soon as we had got on board as much ice as we could dispose of, we hoisted in the boats, and made sail to the S. E., with a gentle breeze at N. by E., attended with showers of snow, and dark gloomy weather. At this time, we had but few ice-islands in sight; but the next day, seldom less than twenty or thirty were seen at once.

The wind gradually veered to the east, and, at last, fixing at E. by S., blew a fresh gale. With this, we stood to the south, till eight o’clock in the evening of the 23d; at which time we were in the latitude 61° 52ʹ south, longitude 95° 2ʹ east. We now tacked, and spent the night, which was exceedingly stormy, thick, and hazy, with sleet and snow, in making short boards. Surrounded on every side with danger, it was natural for us to wish for day-light: this, when it came, served only to increase our apprehensions, by exhibiting to our view those huge mountains of ice which, in the night, we had passed without seeing.