Volume Ii Part 11 (2/2)
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; lat.i.tude 57 11' S., longitude 27 6' W.
They were 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 west, distant three or four leagues.
As the wind kept veering to the south, 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 s.h.i.+p 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 east 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 lat.i.tude of 56 44' S., longitude 25 33' W. At this time we got a breeze at east, with which we stood to the south, with a view of gaining the coast we had left; but at eight o'clock the wind s.h.i.+fted to the south, and made it necessary to tack and stand to the east; 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 lat.i.tude of 57 8' S., longitude 23 34' west, which was 3 of longitude to the east of Saunders's Isle. In the afternoon the wind s.h.i.+fted to the west; this enabled us to stretch to the south, and to get into the lat.i.tude of the land, that, if it took an east direction, we might again fall in with it.
We continued to steer to the south and S.E. till next day at noon, at which time we were in the lat.i.tude of 58 15' S., longitude 21 34'
west, 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 tract 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 south; 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 lat.i.tude, 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 s.h.i.+ps have met with ice going round Cape Horn: And we saw but little below the sixtieth degree of lat.i.tude, in the Southern Pacific Ocean. Whereas in this ocean, between the meridian of 40 west and 50 or 60 east, we found ice as far north as 51. Bouvet met with, some in 48, and others have seen it in a much lower lat.i.tude. 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 risque 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 s.h.i.+p into it, she would run a risque 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 risqued 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 the east, with a very strong gale at north, attended with an exceedingly heavy fall of snow.
The quant.i.ty which lodged on our sails was so great, that we were frequently obliged to throw the s.h.i.+p up in the wind to shake it out of them, otherwise neither they nor the s.h.i.+p could have supported the weight. In the evening it ceased to snow; the weather cleared up, the wind backed to the west, 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 east, 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 lat.i.tude of 58 24' S., longitude 16 19' west, the variation was 1 52' east. 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 8th at day-light, we resumed our east course with a gentle breeze and fair weather. After sun-rise, being then in the lat.i.tude of 58 30'
S., longitude 15 14' west, the variation, by the mean results of two compa.s.ses, was 2 43' east. 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 pa.s.sed three ice-islands. This night was spent as the preceding.
At six next morning, being in the lat.i.tude of 58 27' S., longitude 13 4' W., the variation was 26' E.; and in the afternoon, being in the same lat.i.tude, and about a quarter of a degree more to the east, it was 2'
west. Therefore this last situation must be in or near the Line, in which the compa.s.s 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 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 23' west, being then in the lat.i.tude of 58 15' S., longitude 11 41' W; and at six in the evening, being in the same lat.i.tude, and in the longitude of 9 24' W., it was 1 51' 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 lat.i.tude 58 11', longitude at the same time 7 55' 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 lat.i.tude of 58 23' S., longitude 6 54' W., the variation was 3 23' west. 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 lat.i.tude of 57 50' 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., and 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 lat.i.tude of 50 37'
S., longitude 4 11' E., when we pointed to the N.E., in order to get into the lat.i.tude of Cape Circ.u.mcision. 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 lat.i.tude at this time was 55 26' S., longitude 5 52' E., 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.
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