# A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions/Volume 1/Chapter 9

CHAPTER IX.
1841. March 1.The Aurora Australis continued to appear at intervals in bright colourless coruscations, reaching from the horizon to 30° of altitude in a W. by S. (magnetic) direction, until 1 30 a.m., when it was concealed from our view by light clouds which rose in that quarter.
With a strong breeze from the westward, and fine clear weather, we continued the examination of the pack edge, passing through great quantities of pancake ice, which formed rapidly under the protection of the pack, at a temperature of 20°, at which the thermometer stood with trifling variation the whole day. A heavy swell throughout the pack proved to us that it consisted of loose pieces, although to the eye at a little distance it appeared as one unbroken mass, and we occasionally ran the ships in amongst it as far as we could venture without hazard of getting frozen in or beset. I have no doubt that in the summer season it might be penetrated to a great distance, and it is very probable that eventually the south magnetic pole will be attained by persevering to the S.W. through this vast tract of ocean, which separates Victoria Land from the Balleny and other islands or lands discovered near the antarctic circle by Biscoe, Balleny, Wilkes, and D'Urville. We saw a great ​many whales whenever we came near the pack edge, chiefly of a very large size; and I have no doubt that before long this place will be the frequent resort of our whaling ships, being at so convenient a distance from Van Diemen's Land, which affords every means and facilities for their equipment; and thus we may also hope to become by degrees, through their exertions and enterprise, better acquainted with this part of the antarctic regions, which the setting in of the winter so much earlier than we expected had prevented our accomplishing so satisfactorily as I wished.
At night the aurora was again seen. It was different from those exhibitions I have seen of it in the arctic regions, in the greater length of the vertical beams, and the frequency and suddenness of its appearances and disappearances, more like flashes of light; it was again also perfectly colourless, had considerable lateral flitting motion, and formed an irregular arch about thirty degrees high, whose centre bore west (magnetic). From this it would seem that, as in the northern regions, the principal seat of the aurora is not in the higher latitudes, and probably in the latitude of 68 S. it will be found principally to obtain.
In passing through the streams of ice that lay off the pack edge during the night, our ships sustained some very heavy blows; and soon after midnight March 2.the shackle of the Terror's bobstay was thus broken: as soon as they made the signal we hove to, that they might replace it. This operation, however, was one of great difficulty, owing to the darkness ​of the night; the ships' bows and rigging being thickly encrusted with ice, and so much swell as to endanger the lives of the brave fellows that were engaged for nearly two hours, slung over the bows, up to their necks in water at every plunge the ship took, before they could accomplish it; and this with the thermometer at twelve degrees below freezing. We made all sail at daylight along the pack edge to the north, with a light breeze from the westward; and at noon were in lat. 68° 27′ S., long. 167° 42′ E., the dip 85° 19′, and variation 34° 32′ E. We had no soundings with four hundred fathoms line, the temperature at that depth 36°; the surface 28° 2′, and the air 27°. We met with fewer streams of ice off the pack, and were favoured with very fine weather, the thermometer having risen to a more comfortable temperature.
At 5 p.m. land was seen, bearing N. 62° W., of March 2.which before dark we could clearly distinguish the features. It had the appearance of two islands nearly joining, and the whole subtended an angle of seventeen degrees, of great height, and very distant: the centre of the northern island terminated in a high peak. I named it Russell Peak. The southernmost I named Smyth Island, after my friend Captain William Henry Smyth, of the Royal Navy, President of the Royal Astronomical Society. Although I believe these islands to form a part of the group discovered by Balleny in February 1839, yet it is not improbable they may prove to be the tops of the mountains of a more extensive land.
We stood towards the land, passing through ​streams of heavy ice, until 10 50 p.m., when we found the newly-formed ice so thick, and the heavy pack also so close, that we had some difficulty in wearing round to get out again, and this not without sustaining some severe shocks: after an hour's struggling we got into a more open space, and hove March 3.to for daylight. As soon as it appeared we wore round and again stood in towards the land, which we saw at 6 30 a.m., bearing W.N.W., but was soon after covered by clouds, and completely shut out from our view. At 8 a.m. we were obliged to steer more to the north, the pack being too close for us to proceed any further to the westward, and soon after noon we were much embarrassed by light variable winds, with thick snow and a heavy swell; so that it was difficult to keep the ships so close together as to ensure our not separating and at the same time not to endanger their falling on board of each other, being at times quite unmanageable. And although we took advantage of every light breeze to draw off towards the open water, we were frequently unable to keep the ships' heads in the desired direction; and we were now also surrounded by many bergs and heavy pieces of pack ice that were difficult to avoid.
At 10 30 p.m. a fresh breeze arose from the eastward, and as the night was tolerably clear we continued our course to the N.W. under easy sail. March 4.Land was again seen at daylight bearing S. 38° W. to S. 68° W., and from this point presenting the appearance of three distinct islands, and distant, by ​estimation, between thirty and forty miles. By the peculiar form of Russell Peak we knew it to be the same land we had seen on the two previous days; but owing to thick weather coming on, we did not get observations, and are therefore unable to assign its exact position; approximately it is in lat. 67° 28′ S., and long. 165° 30′ E. The third island was named Frances Island. We continued our course until 8 a.m., when we found we March 4.had run into a deep bight of the main pack, and a high sea was getting up; so we hauled off to the N.E. At this time we observed strong appearances of land directly to the westward, high and broken into islands; but it soon after became quite thick with snow, so that we lost sight of them, and the breeze freshening to a gale we were obliged to carry a heavy press of sail to weather the lee point of the bight we had got into. The deep plunges the ship gave frequently brought her bowsprit into violent contact with heavy pieces of ice that it was impossible to avoid, and our dolphin striker was carried away. The Terror's bobstay and bowsprit shrouds were also carried away, but fortunately we had at that time gained a more open space, where we hove to for her to repair her damage and to secure her bowsprit.
At noon we were in lat. 66° 44′ S., long. 165° 45′ E., so that without doubt the land we saw in the morning was that discovered by Balleny, to which his name was given by Captain Beaufort, the hydrographer to the Admiralty; and I think it right to publish here the extract from the Log of the Eliza ​Scott, the ship in which Balleny made his discoveries (belonging to Mr. Charles Enderby and some other gentlemen), with which I was furnished from the Hydrographic Office before leaving England in September, 1839, Balleny having arrived only a few days before our departure.
Feb. 9. 1839."At 8 a.m. clear weather. Steering west by compass in latitude 66° 46′ S. got sights for my chronometers, which gave the ship in longitude 164° 29′ E. At 11 a.m. observed a darkish appearance to the S.W. At noon the sun shone brightly; observed the latitude to be 66° 37′ S.; saw the appearance of land to the S.W., extending from west to about south; ran for it; at 4 p.m. made it out distinctly to be land; at 8 p.m. got within five miles of it, when we saw another piece of land of great height. At sunset we distinctly made them out to be three separate islands of good size, but the western one the longest: lay to all night off the middle island, and at 2 a.m. of the Feb. 10.10th bore up for it. Ran through a considerable quantity of drift ice, and got within half a mile, but found it completely icebound with high perpendicular cliffs. I wished to run between the middle and western island, but was compelled to come out again to the eastward, as from the western island to the eastern one, on the west or rather south-west side, the ice was in one firm and solid mass without a passage. The weather at sunrise was very threatening; at 6 it came on thick, since when we have been compelled to stand off. I make the high bluff western point ​of the middle island to be in lat. 66° 44′ S. and long. 163° 11′ E. A lunar at two o'clock agrees with the above longitude by chronometer. The weather continued moderate, but very thick to the end.
"Thick weather. At 1 a.m. had to hoist out a Feb. 11.boat to tow the vessel clear of an iceberg, which we were close to, but could not see, and no wind. At 11 a.m. cleared, and we saw the land bearing about W.S.W., and of a tremendous height, I should suppose at least twelve thousand feet, and covered with snow. We are inclosed with large icebergs in every direction.
"At noon we had a very indifferent observation, which gave the latitude 66° 30′ S., and it immediately came on thick.
Feb. 12."This morning the weather thickens and clears occasionally. At 2 a.m. saw the land, bearing S.S.E. about ten miles. The west point of the west island bore W.N.W. At eight o'clock the land completely icebound.
"At noon tacked, and worked in-shore to look for harbours or beach. At 4 p.m. abreast of the small island; the eastern island, now on a different bearing, appeared a large one. At 6 p.m. went on shore in the cutter's (Sabrina) boat, at the only place likely to afford a landing; but when we got close with the boat it proved only the drawback of the sea, having a beach of only three or four feet at most. Captain Freeman jumped out and got a few stones, but was up to his middle in water. There is no landing or beaches on this land; in ​fact, but for the bare rocks where the icebergs had broken from we would scarce have known it for land at first, but as we stood in for it we plainly perceived smoke arising from the mountain tops. It is evidently volcanic, as specimens of stone, or rather cinders, will prove; the cliffs are perpendicular, and what in all probability would have been valleys and beaches are occupied by solid blocks of ice. I could not see a beach or harbour, or any thing like one. Returned on board at 7 p.m., and got the vessels safely through the drift ice before dark, and ran along the land."
Indications of land are frequently mentioned in the Log of the Eliza Scott during the following fortnight as she sailed to the westward along the parallel of the sixty-fifth degree of latitude, and on Feb. 26.the 26th, when in lat. 64° 40′ S., and long. 131° 35′ E., and therefore only a few miles to the westward of the high barrier of ice seen by D'Urville on the 30th of January of the following year, and named by him Côte Clarie, the Log states, "that at 8 a.m. it cleared off a little, and we thought we saw land to the eastward, tacked, and stood for it. At 11 30 a.m. made it out to be fog hanging over some icebergs." Thick weather, with snow and sleet, followed, which prevented a further examination of this part of the coast. From nearly this position Lieutenant Wilkes says, "On the 7th (February, 1840) we had much better weather, and continued all day running along the perpendicular icy barrier, about one hundred and fifty feet ​high. Beyond it the outline of high land could be well distinguished. At 6 p.m. we suddenly found the barrier trending to the southward, and the sea studded with icebergs. I now hauled off until daylight, in order to ascertain the trending of the land more exactly. I place this point, which I have named Cape Carr, after the first lieutenant of the Vincennes, in long. 131° 40′ E., lat. 64° 49′ S."
There can therefore be no doubt that it really was land Balleny saw; and which will probably prove to be a continuation of D'Urville's Terre Adelie, discovered by him on the 19th of January, and approached so near on the 21st as to enable some of his officers to land on a small islet off its shores. This land was seen by Lieutenant Wilkes just a week afterwards, but he was then unconscious of its having been previously visited by the French navigator.
"Appearance of land" is mentioned again in the Log of the Eliza Scott on the 2d of March, when in lat. 65° S., and long. 122° 44′ E., and the last point where Balleny saw land with certainty is thus recorded in the Log.
"March 3.—At 4 a.m. found the ice so close, and getting more compact, we tacked in hopes of getting between it and the land; but the weather was so thick we soon lost sight of it. At 8 it cleared off: found ourselves surrounded by icebergs of immense size, and to the S.W. the ice was completely fast, and ​every appearance of land at the back of it, but no getting through the ice to it; we were obliged to steer to the N. by E. along the edge of the pack. Another proof of its being land was the fact of the rapid increase of the variation, which on this day was 44° 11′ W. At noon we were in latitude by observation 65° 10′ S., and longitude by account 118° 30′ E."
The vessel had run fifteen miles to the northward since 8 a.m., and was therefore in lat. 65° 25′ S., when they saw the land to the southward. It was named Sabrina Land, after the cutter which accompanied the Eliza Scott throughout this bold and hazardous cruize.
According to Lieutenant Wilkes's chart, the Vincennes must have passed this land, in nearly the same latitude as Balleny did, during the night of the 10th, or the thick snowy weather of the following day, and without seeing it, as no mention is made of it in the narrative. I suppose, therefore, he has placed it on his chart on the authority of Balleny, but under a different name. He has called it "Totten's high land."
I have inserted these several extracts with the view to do justice to the exertions and courage of Captain Balleny and his companions, and to prevent their being deprived of their due share in the honour of a discovery, for the priority of which the Americans and French are contending with each other, and to which, should this land eventually prove to be a continent extending to Kemp and Enderby ​Land, as they suppose, it follows that neither of them have the smallest claim whatever; although equal praise is due to them for their exertions and perseverance as if they had really been the discoverers, for at that time they could not have known that Balleny had been there the year before them.
There do not appear to me sufficient grounds to justify the assertion that the various patches of land recently discovered by the American, French, and English navigators on the verge of the Antarctic Circle unite to form a great southern continent. The continuity of the largest of these "Terre Adelie" of M. D'Urville has not been traced more than three hundred miles, Enderby's Land not exceeding two hundred miles: the others being mostly of inconsiderable extent, of somewhat uncertain determination, and with wide channels between them, would lead rather to the conclusion that they form a chain of islands. Let each nation therefore be contented with its due share, and lay claim only to the discovery of those portions which they were the first to behold. But if future navigators should prove those conjectures about a continent to be correct, then the discoveries of Biscoe in the brig Tula in January 1831, and those of Balleny in 1839, to which I have so fully referred, will set at rest all dispute as to which nation the honour justly belongs of the priority of discovery of any such continent between the meridians of 47° and 163° of east ​longitude, and those of our immortal Cook in the meridian of 107° W., in January, 1774; for I confidently believe with M. D'Urville, that the enormous mass of ice which bounded his view when at his extreme south latitude was a range of mountainous land covered with snow.
March 4.But to resume our narrative. As soon as our damages were repaired, we made all sail to the N.E., on account of the wind having increased to a gale from E.S.E., placing our ships in a very critical situation; for on the chart which Lieutenant Wilkes was so good as to send me of the discoveries of the expedition under his command, entitled a "Tracing of the Icy Barrier attached to the Antarctic Continent discovered by the United States Exploring Expedition," is laid down a range of mountainous land extending about sixty miles in a S.W. and N.E. direction; its centre being in lat. 65° 40′, and long. 165° E., with the eastern extreme of the barrier in 167½° E., and thus presenting a formidable lee shore in our present position. We were therefore in a state of considerable anxiety and uncertainty for some hours as to whether the ships could weather the land and barrier. We pressed all the canvass on them they could bear, but lost much ground in the frequent necessity that occurred to bear away to leeward of the numerous icebergs we met with during the thick weather which prevailed. In the evening we ​recrossed the Antarctic Circle, having been to the southward of it since the 1st of January, a period of sixty-three days.
As night advanced, the cry of the penguin was heard above the storm, which, added to the increasing quantity of heavy loose ice we met with, contributed to increase our apprehensions of dropping down upon the land or barrier under our lee, although we have frequently met with these birds at several hundreds of miles from any known land.
The extreme darkness of the night, and the thick weather preventing our seeing to any distance before us, kept all hands in a state of anxious vigilance throughout the continuance of the gale. Fortunately it began to moderate, and shifted to the southward before midnight, and the weather became so much clearer, that we could see bergs or loose ice in time to avoid them without difficulty; and thus relieved of all our anxieties, we kept under easy sail until daylight. The barometer, which had been so low as 28.4 inches, as usual gave notice of the approach of this favourable change of weather; and when day broke it was a very fine morning. We were now desirous of sighting the land which had been the occasion of so March 5.much fatigue and uneasiness to us during the stormy night we had passed, and our course was shaped accordingly.
By observations at noon we found ourselves in latitude 65° 34′ S., and longitude 167° 40′ E., and ​therefore as nearly as possible in the latitude, and between forty and fifty miles distant from the N.E. extreme of Lieutenant Wilkes's land: we were also twenty-two miles to the northward of our reckoning; but I ascribe this error less to the effects of a current than to the uncertainty of our reckoning, occasioned chiefly by running to leeward of the many bergs we had to avoid during the gale. In our dull sailing vessels we dared not attempt to weather the bergs during a fog, for if they were close enough to be seen, we had no chance of passing them to windward; and from the great strength of our ships, we did not apprehend any damage from the streams of fragments that are almost invariably found under their lee; but in vessels not so well prepared to encounter ice, it is always the safest plan to pass to windward of the bergs when practicable.
We had a moderate breeze from the eastward, and a beautifully clear day, so that land of any great elevation might have been seen at a distance of sixty or seventy miles. As we advanced on our course in eager expectation of "making the land," our surprise and disappointment may be imagined when no indications of it were to be seen at sunset, although we were not more than twelve or thirteen miles from its eastern extreme, as laid down on Lieutenant Wilkes's chart; and we began to suspect that from having had but little experience of the delusive appearances in these icy regions, he had mistaken for land some of the dense well-defined clouds which so continually ​hang over extensive packs of ice,—a mistake which we had ourselves, on many occasions, to guard against, when appearances were so strong, for several days in succession, that few in either ship could be persuaded that it was not really land until we actually sailed over the spot. It being a fine moonlight night, we continued our course, with a light easterly wind, and before midnight gained the position of the eastern point of the supposed land, and shaped our course to the S.W. under moderate sail, along the mountain range.
At day-break, as we had a most extensive view March 16.in every direction, the sky and horizon being perfectly clear, the mast-heads of both ships were crowded with officers and men anxious to get the first glimpse of the anticipated shores, but neither mountains nor barrier were to be seen.
An "appearance of land" was, indeed, reported to me by Lieutenant Sibbald, the officer of the forenoon watch, at 10 a.m., but it was so feeble when I went to the mast-head, that I was quite unable to distinguish any thing but a dark misty appearance. It is inserted by him in the log-book as bearing from S.S.W. to S.W. by W., and being in the exact direction of Balleny Islands, which had been seen by us on the morning of the 4th, it is by no means impossible that he was right, although they must have been at a distance of between seventy and eighty miles. There is no mention of any appearance of land in the logbook of the Terror.
​At noon our observations placed us in lat. 64° 51′ S., long. 164° 45′ E., dip 83° 30′, variation 29° E. We were therefore very nearly in the centre of the mountainous patch of land laid down in Lieutenant Wilkes's chart as forming a part of the "antarctic continent."
The wind soon after this time falling light, we rounded to and tried for soundings, but could not reach the bottom with six hundred fathoms of line, beyond which we could not determine with any degree of certainty, on account of the ship having considerable drift. The temperature at that depth was 37°.2, that of the surface 29°.2, and that of the air having risen to 31°, felt quite warm to us. It was indeed a perfect Mediterranean day, and the remainder of it was passed in continuing our search after the supposed land, steering a course now more to the westward, and then north-west, until darkness put an end to our search.
At 10 p.m. the wind increased from the northeast, with the appearance of thick weather, dense clouds rising quickly in that direction; our topsails were double-reefed, and sail otherwise reduced so as to admit of the ship being more easily managed by the watch, in case of suddenly meeting with any quantity of loose ice, of which a brightness in sky to the westward gave us reason to suspect the presence in that quarter. We had seen sufficiently far before dark to remove any idea of finding land, but as pack ice can never be seen more than ten or twelve miles from the mast-head, we ​were obliged throughout the darkness of night to proceed at a slow pace, steering to the northwest.
Early in the morning, whilst running before a March 7.strong easterly breeze, we found ourselves embayed in a deep bight of the pack, which was seen stretching across our bows, as far as the true north. We were also at this time much hampered by extensive fields of pancake ice, which at this period of the season always form near the margin of a pack; we immediately hauled to the wind, but had great difficulty in extricating the ships, although still favoured by a fresh breeze.
At noon we were in lat. 65° 31′ S., long. 162° 9′ E., and again in clear water, but it soon after fell quite calm, and the heavy easterly swell was driving us down again upon the pack, in which were counted from the mast-head eighty-four large bergs, between S. and N.N.W., and some hundreds of smaller dimensions.
We found we were fast closing this chain of bergs, so closely packed together that we could distinguish no opening through which the ships could pass, the waves breaking violently against them, dashing huge masses of pack ice against the precipitous faces of the bergs; now lifting them nearly to their summit, then forcing them again far beneath their water-line, and sometimes rending them into a multitude of brilliant fragments against their projecting points.
Sublime and magnificent as such a scene must ​have appeared under different circumstances, to us it was awful, if not appalling. For eight hours we had been gradually drifting towards what to human eyes appeared inevitable destruction: the high waves and deep rolling of our ships rendered towing with the boats impossible, and our situation the more painful and embarrassing from our inability to make any effort to avoid the dreadful calamity that seemed to await us.
In moments like these comfort and peace of mind could only be obtained by casting our cares upon that Almighty Power which had already so often interposed to save us when human skill was wholly unavailing. Convinced that he is under the protection and guidance of a merciful God, the Christian awaits the issue of events firm and undismayed, and with calm resignation prepares for whatever He may order. His serenity of mind surprises and strengthens, but never forsakes him; and thus, possessing his soul in peace, he can with the greater advantage watch every change of circumstance that may present itself as a means of escape.
We were now within half a mile of the range of bergs. The roar of the surf, which extended each way as far as we could see, and the crashing of the ice, fell upon the ear with fearful distinctness, whilst the frequently averted eye as immediately returned to contemplate the awful destruction that threatened in one short hour to close the world and all its hopes and joys and sorrows upon us for ever. In this our deep distress "we called upon the Lord, ​and He heard our voices out of His temple, and our cry came before Him."
A gentle air of wind filled our sails; hope again revived, and the greatest activity prevailed to make the best use of the feeble breeze: as it gradually freshened, our heavy ships began to feel its influence, slowly at first, but more rapidly afterwards; and before dark we found ourselves far removed from every danger. "O Lord our God, how great are the wondrous works Thou hast done; like as be also Thy thoughts, which are to us-ward! If I should declare them and speak of them, they should be more than I am able to express."
After a day of such fatiguing anxiety we passed a peaceful night, running to the westward under moderate sail, favoured by a fresh south-east breeze and the bright light of the full moon, increased at times by brilliant exhibitions of the Aurora Australis.
Approaching the main pack early in the morning March 8.to resume its examination, we had to make our way through extensive fields of pancake ice, too tough to be penetrated except by the assistance of the strong breeze that aided us. Our course along the edge of the pack was governed by the direction it took, and which led us much more to the northward than we wished; but any attempt to penetrate to the westward would have been quite in vain, ​and sometimes in the course of this examination, when having during thick snowy weather got into some of the deeper indentations of the pack, we were compelled to run back to the eastward. A halo was seen round the sun at 9 15 a.m. with a parhelion on each side, at a distance of 23° 16′, the altitude of the sun's centre being 24° 30′.
At noon in lat. 64° 39′ S., long. 162° 47′ E., we had no soundings with six hundred fathoms of line; the temperature of the sea was taken at that and several intermediate depths below the surface, as was also the specific gravity of the water brought up from those depths.
In the afternoon the wind veered to the northward, and the snow which had been falling at times during the day was by the immediate increase of temperature turned into rain; to us a very agreeable indication of our having reached a milder climate.
As our proximity to the pack prevented our making any progress to the westward with a northerly wind, I took advantage of the opportunity of stretching to the eastward; as by this measure we not only extended our researches for land, but got into a space more free from bergs and loose ice, and therefore during the continuance of such unfavourable weather were in a situation of comparative safety.
March 9.By noon the next day we were in lat. 64° 20′ S., and long. 164° 20′ E., and therefore about seventy miles north of the land laid down by Lieutenant Wilkes, and not far from the spot from which he ​must have supposed he saw it; but having now searched for it at a distance varying from fifty to seventy miles from it to the north, south, east, and west, as well as having sailed directly over its assigned position, we were compelled to infer that it has no real existence.
I have entered thus minutely into the details of our search for this land as recorded in my journal at the time, and in accordance with the report I made to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty on the subject immediately after my return to Van Diemen's Land.
It becomes my duty now in justice to Lieutenant Wilkes to give his explanation of the circumstances which led to his placing this range of mountains on the chart of his discoveries which he sent to me; as also to repel the assertion he has made, that we had sailed over land said to have been discovered by our own countryman, Balleny; although it cannot but be a matter of surprise that after so much discussion, and by no means a very temperate one, he has not entered upon the question, nor in any way alluded to the discoveries of Balleny in the Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition, which has been published by the American government under his direction, but has merely removed the land from his chart of the antarctic continent, with no other notice of it than that "Lieutenant-Commandant Ringgold thought he could discern to the south-east something like distant mountains," and which I should have believed had been ​the authority upon which Lieutenant Wilkes had originally placed the land on his chart, had he not asserted to the contrary; because Lieutenant Ringgold in his report to his Commodore, as quoted by him in his defence at the court-martial, states, that "very lofty ridges of ice, and the loom usual over high land, were visible along the southern horizon over the barrier;" and he adds in evidence, "I made no positive report that it was, nor mentioned in the log, because I was not positive that it was land, though I have very little doubt about it." And this assertion was made after he knew we had sailed over the spot. But Lieutenant Wilkes disavows this discovery of Lieutenant Ringgold, and states in his "Synopsis of the Cruise of the United States Exploring Expedition," delivered by him before the National Institute, on his return to America in 1842, p. 21—"During our cruise, as we sailed along the icy barrier, I prepared a chart, laying down the land, not only where we had actually determined it to exist, but those places in which every appearance denoted its existence, forming almost a continuous line from 160° to 97° East longitude, I had a tracing-copy made of this chart, on which was laid down the land supposed to have been seen by Bellamy [Balleny], in 165° E., which, with my notes, experience, &c. &c., was forwarded to Captain Ross through Sir George Gipps at Sydney, and I was afterwards informed was ​received by Captain Ross on his arrival in Hobart Town, some months previous to his going south."
The first few lines of this passage would have afforded me another proof that the land on Wilkes's chart was that seen by Lieutenant Ringgold, being precisely in that position, and certainly not near that seen by Balleny. The letter and an exact copy of his tracing will be found in the Appendix. On this chart I have placed Balleny Islands in their proper position, in order to show how impossible it must have appeared to me that Ringgold's Mountains could ever have been intended for them; and the track of our ships along the range of mountains; and these are the only additions or alterations I have made.
Again, p. 26, he observes, "As I before remarked, on my original chart I had laid down the supposed position of Bellamy Islands or land in 164° and 165° East longitude, and that it was traced off, and sent to Captain Ross. I am not a little surprised that so intelligent a navigator as Captain Ross, on finding that he had run over this position, should not have closely enquired into the statements relative to our discoveries that had been published in the Sydney and Hobart Town papers, which he must have seen, and have induced him to make a careful examination of the tracks of the squadron, laid down on the chart sent him, by which he would have assured himself in a few ​moments that it had never been laid down or claimed as part of our discovery, before he made so bold an assertion to an American officer, that he had run over a clear ocean where I had laid down land; and I am not less surprised that that officer should have taken it for granted, without examination, that such was the fact."
These two extracts contain all the explanation that I have seen, except a letter addressed to the editors of the "Spectator," in reply to that of Captain J.H. Aulick, the American officer above alluded to. I had the pleasure of meeting him at New Zealand, and, in justice to him, I consider it proper to insert the following extract from his letter. After quoting the above paragraph from Lieutenant Wilkes's Synopsis, he says, "From the above statement, and in the absence of any explanation, it might well be inferred that both Ross and myself must be, to say the least, very shortsighted and dull of comprehension, not to have been able to see that it was Bellamy's (Balleny's) and not Wilkes's land that he (Ross) had run over. But in the statement above quoted, Mr. Wilkes has done us injustice, by omitting to mention one very important fact in this connexion, namely, that in laying down the land of Balleny on the chart he sent Captain Ross, he neglected to affix thereto the name of its discoverer, or to distinguish it in any way from his own land, there traced out, and almost connected with it. He also ​sent Captain Ross a letter with his chart; but unfortunately the name of Balleny or his land is neither mentioned nor even hinted at in this letter. In short, no intimation in any manner whatever was given Ross by Lieutenant Wilkes that he did not claim the discovery of all the land marked on his chart; and to this cause alone is to be ascribed the error into which Captain Ross was, I think, unavoidably led.
"Mr. Wilkes says Ross ought to have examined the accounts of his discoveries published in the Sydney and Hobart Town papers, before he made so bold an assertion to an American officer. But, with such evidence as the chart and letter of Mr. Wilkes in his hands, I apprehend it could hardly have been seriously expected that he should search the newspaper accounts (which probably he never saw) for other or better information on the subject.
"On my visit to Captain Ross on board the Erebus, he spread this chart before me in the presence of Captain Crozier and two of my own officers. It was distinctly drawn out on tracing paper; the whole appearing to be, so far as I observed, one connected operation, representing nothing but the result of his own (Wilkes's) explorations. Ross, believing it to be such, had transcribed it at length on his chart, which he also placed before us, ​and pointed out the tracks of his vessels marked on it in red ink, and passing directly over the spot assigned to the land; which we all considered as laid down by Lieutenant Wilkes to represent the northeastern limit of his supposed antarctic continent, and where he (Ross) said they had a clear sea as far as the eye could reach. Such was the evidence on which my belief of his report was founded. To my mind it was conclusive, and I cheerfully leave it to the judgment of others to determine whether or not, under all the circumstances here stated, it be just cause of 'surprise' that Captain Ross should have boldly asserted that he had run over a clear ocean where Lieutenant Wilkes had laid down the land; and that I should have taken it for granted, without further examination, that such was the fact.
(Signed) "J. H. Aulick."
I cannot sufficiently express my thankfulness to Captain Aulick for his honourable and generous ​defence of my conduct during my absence; and I have quoted thus largely from this letter because his very clear and candid testimony gives so much weight to the few additional remarks which I must here make, in order to show that I did not make any "erroneous statement" whatever. I must first refer to the only passage that bears on the subject in Mr. Wilkes's answer to the above letter.
He says, "On my arrival at Sydney from the antarctic cruise, I was introduced to Captain Biscoe, the discoverer of Enderby Land, and believe he gave me the first information of the English discovery, and its position, which I placed on my chart, marking it 'English Discovery.' My impression is, that the copy which I ordered to be made (from my own original) was a perfect one; and on the original chart the English discovery is detached and separate from ours, and stands alone. At the time I sent my letter to Captain Ross, I did not know the English discoverer's name; but whether the English discovery was so marked or not, is of but little consequence, for Captain Ross knew of Balleny's discovery before he left England, and therefore must have seen at once the latitude and longitude to be identically the same with those of Balleny; and I am satisfied the only erroneous conclusion Captain Ross could have been led into by it was, that I had verified Balleny's discovery."
In the tracing copy of his original chart, which ​Lieutenant Wilkes sent me, the whole of the land, as stated in Captain Aulick's letter, "was drawn out as one connected operation, representing nothing but the result of his (Wilkes's) own exploration."
There was no land laid down where Balleny had discovered it; nor could I ever have supposed he had verified that navigator's discovery, because I could perceive by his track that he was never within one hundred miles of it.
The several passages which I have quoted from the writings of Lieutenant Wilkes might lead some to the impression that, from want of proper consideration, or of common sense, or from feelings of rivalry or jealousy, I had endeavoured to injure the reputation of a distinguished officer, and to underrate his valuable labours. But, conscious of having taken every pains to arrive at a just conclusion, before I asserted that we had sailed over some land which, to all appearance, was laid down on his chart as his discovery, I must detain my readers for a few minutes in order to explain distinctly the grounds of that conclusion; so that all may have an opportunity of judging of the groundlessness of the imputation, and that I may fully exonerate myself not only in the eyes of my brother officers of the American and British navies, but of all who have taken an interest in the question. In addition to the statement of facts made by Captain Aulick, to which I must be permitted especially now to refer, there are only three points with which he could not have been acquainted when he ​replied to Lieutenant Wilkes, to which I need advert; namely—
* The true position of Balleny Islands, as given by Balleny himself.
* Lieutenant Wilkes's knowledge of their true position.
* That the land in question was not laid down in that position, and therefore could not possibly have been meant for it.
These three points will be discussed under one general head. Lieutenant Wilkes in his last quoted letter states that "Captain Ross knew of Balleny's discovery before he left England, and must have seen at once the latitude and longitude were identically the same with those of Balleny." Had the latitude and longitude of the land on his chart been, as he states, identically, or even nearly the same with those of Balleny Islands, I should feel that the blame of making an "unfounded" statement would justly rest upon me for not having detected their identity. But this statement of Lieutenant Wilkes, made so long afterwards, when he must have been fully aware of the real position of Balleny Islands, shows that he confuses two distinct portions of land. He is alluding to that which he says he marked in his original chart as "English discovery," and of course in the position Balleny assigned to it; but this land he did not put upon the tracing he sent to me. The land that we sailed over is laid down upon his chart at least seventy miles from them, and is exactly in ​the position of the mountains said to have been seen by Lieutenant Ringgold; and it is therefore probable that when he became acquainted with Balleny's discovery he had some doubts of the existence of these mountains, and removed them from his original chart, but omitted to do so in the copy of it which he sent to me. This is the only way I can account for the mistake; for at the time he sent me the chart I knew that he had authentic information of the true place of the Balleny Islands; as, on my arrival at Sydney, I was told by Mr. McLeay, the late colonial secretary, and also by his son, Mr. W. S. McLeay, that, meeting Lieutenant Wilkes soon after his return from the antarctic cruise, they told him of Balleny's discovery. He seemed to doubt their statement; but the next day they called upon him, and placed in his hands No. 629 of the "Athenæum," published in November, 1839, and pointed out to him the account there given of the discovery: on reading which, in their presence, he exclaimed, "Then all our labour has been in vain."
The following is a copy of the paragraph alluded to:—"In July, 1838, two small vessels belonging to Messrs. Enderby and other merchants sailed from London on a voyage to the South Seas, with special instructions to push as far as possible to the southward in search of land. Touching at Amsterdam Island, Chalky Bay, in New Zealand, and Campbell's Islands, the vessels proceeded to the southward, and reached their extreme south latitude 69° in 172° 11′ E. longitude, full two hundred ​and twenty miles further to the southward than the point which Bellinghausen, in 1820, had been able to reach in this meridian. Continuing to the westward, on February 9th (1839), in lat. 66° 44′ S., and long. 163° 11′ E., they discovered five islands, since named Balleny Islands, from the name of the master of the Eliza Scott."
Now, knowing that Lieutenant Wilkes was in possession of this exact information soon after his arrival at Sydney, and that his chart and letter were forwarded to me nearly a month after he had the Athenæum in his possession, from New Zealand, I cannot understand how he could possibly have intended a mountainous reef of land, extending between fifty and sixty miles in a S.W. and N.E. direction, and placed in lat. 65° 40′ S., and long. 165° E., to represent the five small islands of Balleny, which lie in lat. 66° 44′ S., and long. 163° ll′ E., and which we saw on the 4th March in the position assigned to them by their discoverer.
Nor have I since heard of or seen any statement that could assist me in coming to a different opinion from that I have above expressed: on the contrary, all I have heard since, more especially the statements of Lieutenant Ringgold before the court that tried Lieutenant Wilkes, in endeavouring to justify their claim to the priority of discovery over the French navigators, "that on the 13th January (1840), when in lat. 65° 8′ S., and long. 163° E.," as quoted in Lieutenant Wilkes's narrative; "from ​the numerous sea-elephants, and the discoloration of the water and ice, they were strongly impressed with the idea of land being in the vicinity; but on sounding with one hundred fathoms no bottom could be found: Lieutenant Commandant Ringgold felt convinced, from the above circumstances and the report that penguins were heard, that land was near, and thought he could discern to the south-east something like distant mountains," just in the position of the mountainous land laid down in Wilkes's chart, over which we sailed, but not near that of Balleny Islands, cannot but tend to confirm the conclusions I had before arrived at; for I can hardly understand how, professing as he does to have "prepared a chart, laying down the land, not only where we had actually determined it to exist, but those places in which every appearance denoted its existence," could have omitted to place on such a chart the land which Lieutenant Ringgold thought he saw, and who has since declared himself "to have very little doubt about it," and therefore I can have no doubt that the land must have been placed upon the chart on this authority, or upon none whatever.
I trust, at any rate, so far as I am concerned, that I have clearly shown that I could not be expected to suppose,—for no one who has read these statements can even now suppose,—that the land marked on Lieutenant Wilkes's chart which we sailed over in the Erebus and Terror could have been intended to represent Balleny Islands: first, because of its being placed at least seventy miles ​from their real position; second, because it is placed so near the tracks of the American expedition as to have been well within sight from their ships, as near as many other portions of their antarctic continent, and therefore would lead to the belief that it actually was seen from them; third, from its being included in the map of the exclusive operations of that expedition, involved in the same barrier (which also has disappeared), without any mark to distinguish it from their other discoveries, and that it was sent to me, together with them, to show the extent of land that Lieutenant Wilkes claimed as the discoveries of the expedition under his command.
Having now fulfilled my task of exculpating myself from any blame on this to me very painful transaction, I leave others to judge whether the "unfounded" epithet which Lieutenant Wilkes has applied to my statement may not be applied to his with more propriety. I have endeavoured also to do justice to the memory of a brave and enterprising British seaman, by showing how completely the results of our researches have verified the discovery he announced to the world, and in some degree removed any false impression that may have resulted from the statement which has been circulated in America, that we "had sailed over land discovered by our own countryman, and not over any part of the antarctic continent of the American expedition."
I cannot refrain from observing that the practice ​of "laying down the land, not only where we had actually determined it to exist, but in those places also in which every appearance denoted its existence," is not only entirely new amongst navigators, but seems to me likely to occasion much confusion, and even to raise doubts in many minds whether the existence of some portions of land that undoubtedly were seen might not also be of an equally questionable character with those laid down from appearances only, unless some distinctive mark were given by which they could be known from each other.
I had never entertained the smallest doubt that every portion of land laid down on Lieutenant Wilkes's chart (with the exception above alluded to) had been clearly and distinctly made out to be land without the possibility of a question on the subject until I read that paragraph, and I must confess that after a very careful perusal of his narrative, and with his chart before me, I feel myself quite unable to determine in a satisfactory manner how much of the land was really seen by him with the degree of certainty that gives indisputable authority to discovery; and lest I should make any mistake on a point of so much importance, I have only placed the discoveries made by D'Urville, Balleny and ourselves in those parts on the general South Polar Chart, and must refer the reader for those made by Lieutenant Wilkes to the chart sent to me, which will be found in the Appendix, and his own narrative; and I may here further remark, ​once for all, that the whole line of coast laid down as our discovery, was really and truly seen, and its continuity determined in such a manner as to leave not the smallest doubt on the mind of any officer or man of either of the ships, and that no part has been laid down upon mere appearances or denotations except in those places where it is distinctly marked "appearance of land."
* ↑ Voyage au Pole Sud, tome viii. p. 177.
* ↑ Narrative of United States Exploring Expedition, vol. ii. p. 321.
* ↑ Voyage au Sud Pole, tome ii. p. 7.
* ↑ Psalm xl. 6, 7.
* ↑ Defence of Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, p. 28.
* ↑ The originals are deposited in the Hydrographic department of the Admiralty, and may be readily referred to.
* ↑ He elsewhere calls it an unfounded statement: p. 18.
* ↑ See Appendix.
* ↑ Upon which Balleny Islands were laid down in the position assigned by the discoverer, and the date of their discovery, 1839.
* ↑ Both letters are printed in full in the Appendix.
* ↑ Vol. ii. p. 291.