Volume Xiv Part 19 (1/2)
We continued our course to the north with a gentle breeze at west, attended with clear weather, till four o'clock the next morning, when meeting with a quant.i.ty of loose ice, we brought-to, and took on board as much as filled all our empty casks, and for several days present expence. This done, we made sail, and steered N.W. with a gentle breeze at N.E., clear frosty weather. Our lat.i.tude at this time was 65 53' S., longitude 133 42' W.; islands of ice not half so numerous as before.[8]
At four in the morning of the 28th, the wind having veered more to the E.
and S.E., increased to a fresh gale, and was attended with snow showers.
Our course was north till noon the next day. Being then in the lat.i.tude of 62 24', longitude 134 37', we steered N.W. by N. Some hours after, the sky cleared up, and the wind abating, veered more to the south.
On the 30th, had little wind westerly; dark gloomy weather; with snow and sleet at times; several whales seen playing about the s.h.i.+p, but very few birds; islands of ice in plenty, and a swell from W.N.W.
On the 31st, little wind from the westward, fair and clear weather, which afforded an opportunity to air the spare sails, and to clean and smoke the s.h.i.+p between decks. At noon our lat.i.tude was 59 40' S., longitude 135 11'
W. Our observation to-day gave us reason to conjecture that we had a southerly current. Indeed, this was no more than what might reasonably be supposed, to account for such huge ma.s.ses of ice being brought from the south. In the afternoon we had a few hours calm, succeeded by a breeze from the east, which enabled us to resume our N.W. by N. course.[9]
January 1st, the wind remained not long at east, but veered round by the south to the west; blew fresh, attended with snow showers. In the evening, being in the lat.i.tude of 58 39' S., we pa.s.sed two islands of ice, after which we saw no more till we stood again to the south.
At five o'clock in the morning on the 2d, it fell calm; being at this time in the lat.i.tude of 58 2', longitude 137 12'. The calm being succeeded by a breeze at east, we steered N.W. by W. My reason for steering this course, was to explore part of the great s.p.a.ce of sea between us and our track to the south.
On the 3d, at noon, being in lat.i.tude 56 46', longitude 139 45', the weather became fair, and the wind veered to S.W. About this time we saw a few small divers (as we call them) of the peterel tribe, which we judged to be such as are usually seen near land, especially in the bays, and on the coast of New Zealand. I cannot tell what to think of these birds; had there been more of them, I should have been ready enough to believe that we were, at this time, not very far from land, as I never saw one so far from known land before. Probably these few had been drawn thus far by some shoal of fish; for such were certainly about us, by the vast number of blue peterels, albatrosses, and such other birds as are usually seen in the great ocean; all or most of which left us before night. Two or three pieces of seaweed were also seen, but these appeared old and decayed.
At eight o'clock in the evening, being in the lat.i.tude of 56 S., longitude 140 31' W., the wind fixing in the western board, obliged us to steer north-easterly, and laid me under the necessity of leaving unexplored a s.p.a.ce of the sea to the west, containing near 40 of longitude, and half that of lat.i.tude. Had the wind continued favourable, I intended to have run 15 or 20 degrees of longitude more to the west in the lat.i.tude we were then in, and back again to the east in the lat.i.tude of 50. This route would have so intersected the s.p.a.ce above mentioned, as hardly to have left room for the bare supposition of any land lying there. Indeed, as it was, we have little reason to believe that there is; but rather the contrary, from the great hollow swell we had had, for several days, from the W. and N.W., though the wind had blown from a contrary direction great part of the time; which is a great sign we had not been covered by any land between these two points.
While we were in the high lat.i.tudes, many of our people were attacked with a slight fever, occasioned by colds. It happily yielded to the simplest remedies; was generally removed in a few days; and, at this time, we had not above one or two on the sick list.[10]
We proceeded N.E. by N. till the 6th, at noon. Being then in the lat.i.tude of 52 0' S., longitude 135 32' W., and about 200 leagues from our track to Otaheite, in which s.p.a.ce it was not probable, all circ.u.mstances considered, there is any extensive land, and it being still less probable any lay to the west, from the great mountainous billows we had had, and still continued to have, from that quarter, I therefore steered N.E., with a fresh gale at W.S.W.
At eight o'clock in the morning, on the 7th, being in the lat.i.tude of 50 49' S., we observed several distances of the sun and moon, which gave the longitude as follows, viz.
By Mr. Wales, 133 24' 0” West.
Gilbert, 133 10 0 Clarke, 133 0 0 Smith, 133 37 25 Myself, 133 37 0 ------------- Mean, 133 21 43
By the Watch, 133 44 0 west.
My reckoning, 133 39 0 ------------- Variation of the compa.s.s, 6 2 0 East.
thermometer, 50 0 0
The next morning we observed again, and the results were agreeable to the preceding observations, allowing for the s.h.i.+p's run. I must here take notice, that our longitude can never be erroneous, while we have so good a guide as Mr Kendall's watch. This day, at noon, we steered E.N.E. 1/2 E., being then in the lat.i.tude of 49 7' S., longitude 131 2' W.
On the 9th, in lat.i.tude 48 17' S., longitude 127 10' W., we steered east, with a fine fresh gale at west, attended with clear pleasant weather, and a great swell from the same direction as the wind.
In the morning of the 10th, having but little wind, we put a boat in the water, in which some of the officers went and shot several birds. These afforded us a fresh meal; they were of the peterel tribe, and such as are usually seen at any distance from land. Indeed, neither birds, nor any other thing was to be seen, that could give us the least hopes of finding any; and, therefore, at noon the next day, being then in the lat.i.tude of 47 51' S., longitude 122 12' W., and a little more than 200 leagues from my track to Otaheite in 1769, I altered the course, and steered S.E., with a fresh gale at S.W. by W. In the evening, when our lat.i.tude was 48 22'
S., longitude 121 29' W., we found the variation to be 2 34' E., which is the least variation we had found without the tropic. In the evening of the next day, we found it to be 4 30' E., our lat.i.tude, at that time, was 50 5' S., longitude 119 1/2 W.
Our course was now more southerly, till the evening of the 13th, when we were in the lat.i.tude of 53 0' S., longitude 118 3' W. The wind being then at N.W. a strong gale with a thick fog and rain, which made it unsafe to steer large, I hauled up S.W., and continued this course till noon the next day, when our lat.i.tude was 56 4' S., longitude 122 1' W. The wind having veered to the north, and the fog continuing, I hauled to the east, under courses and close-reefed top-sails. But this sail we could not carry long; for before eight o'clock in the evening, the wind increased to a perfect storm, and obliged us to lie-to, under the mizen-stay-sail, till the morning of the 16th, when the wind having a good deal abated, and veered to west, we set the courses, reefed top-sails, and stood to the south. Soon after, the weather cleared up, and, in the evening, we found the lat.i.tude to be 56 48' S., longitude 119 8' W.[11] We continued to steer to the south, inclining to the east, till the 18th, when we stood to the S.W., with the wind at S.E., being at this time in the lat.i.tude of 61 9' S., longitude 116 7' W. At ten o'clock in the evening, it fell calm, which continued till two the next morning, when a breeze sprung up at north, which soon after increased to a fresh gale, and fixed at N.E. With this we steered south till noon on the 20th, when, being now in the lat.i.tude of 62 34' S., longitude 116 24' W., we were again becalmed.
In this situation we had two ice islands in sight, one of which seemed to be as large as any we had seen. It could not be less than two hundred feet in height, and terminated in a peak not unlike the cupola of St Paul's church. At this time we had a great westerly swell, which made it improbable that any land should lie between us and the meridian of 133 1/2, which was our longitude, under the lat.i.tude we were now in, when we stood to the north. In all this route we had not seen the least thing that could induce us to think we were ever in the neighbourhood of any land. We had, indeed, frequently seen pieces of sea-weed; but this, I am well a.s.sured, is no sign of the vicinity of land; for weed is seen in every part of the ocean. After a few hours calm, we got a wind from S.E.; but it was very unsettled, and attended with thick snow-showers; at length it fixed at S. by E., and we stretched to the east. The wind blew fresh, was piercing cold, and attended with snow and sleet. On the 22d, being in the lat.i.tude of 62 5' S., longitude 112 24' W., we saw an ice island, an antartic peterel, several blue peterels, and some other known birds; but no one thing that gave us the least hopes of finding land.
On the 23d, at noon, we were in the lat.i.tude of 62 22' S., longitude 110 24'. In the afternoon, we pa.s.sed an ice island. The wind, which blew fresh, continued to veer to the west; and at eight o'clock the next morning it was to the north of west, when I steered S. by W. and S.S.W. At this time we were in the lat.i.tude of 63 20' S., longitude 108 7' W., and had a great sea from S.W. We continued this course till noon the next day, the 25th, when we steered due south. Our lat.i.tude, at this time, was 65 24' S., longitude 109 31' W.; the wind was at north; the weather mild and not unpleasant; and not a bit of ice in view. This we thought a little extraordinary, as it was but a month before, and not quite two hundred leagues to the east, that we were in a manner blocked up with large islands of ice in this very lat.i.tude. Saw a single pintadoe peterel, some blue peterels, and a few brown albatrosses. In the evening, being under the same meridian, and in the lat.i.tude of 65 44' S., the variation was 19 27' E.; but the next morning, in the lat.i.tude of 66 20' S., longitude the same as before, it was only 18 20' E.; probably the mean between the two is the nearest the truth. At this time, we had nine small islands in sight; and soon after we came, the third time, within the antartic polar circle, in the longitude of 109 31' W. About noon, seeing the appearance of land to the S.E., we immediately trimmed our sails and stood towards it. Soon after it disappeared, but we did not give it up till eight o'clock the next morning, when we were well a.s.sured that it was nothing but clouds, or a fog bank; and then we resumed our course to the south, with a gentle breeze at N.E., attended with a thick fog, snow, and sleet.
We now began to meet with ice islands more frequently than before; and, in the lat.i.tude of 69 38' S., longitude 108 12' W., we fell in with a field of loose ice. As we began to be in want of water, I hoisted out two boats and took up as much as yielded about ten tons. This was cold work, but it was now familiar to us. As soon as we had done, we hoisted in the boats, and afterwards made short boards over that part of the sea we had in some measure made ourselves acquainted with. For we had now so thick a fog, that we could not see two hundred yards round us; and as we knew not the extent of the loose ice, I durst not steer to the south till we had clear weather.
Thus we spent the night, or rather that part of twenty-four hours which answered to night; for we had no darkness but what was occasioned by fogs.
At four o'clock in the morning of the 29th, the fog began to clear away; and the day becoming clear and serene, we again steered to the south with a gentle gale at N.E. and N.N.E. The variation was found to be 22 41' E.
This was in the lat.i.tude of 69 45' S., longitude 108 5' W.; and, in the afternoon, being in the same longitude, and in the lat.i.tude of 70 23' S., it was 24 31' E. Soon after, the sky became clouded, and the air very cold. We continued our course to the south, and pa.s.sed a piece of weed covered with barnacles, which a brown albatross was picking off. At ten o'clock, we pa.s.sed a very large ice island; it was not less than three or four miles in circuit. Several more being seen a-head, and the weather becoming foggy, we hauled the wind to the northward; but in less than two hours, the weather cleared up, and we again stood south.