Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1826-07-03

placed this man alone with some provisions Sn
small island in Quaker haroor' anu III .ns
course of three weeks, so great q onsIse "a5
ro.de on his mind. that when Capt Barnard
took him off, he was worn down Win ienee''o"
on his crimes, and truly penilent'
IT,, ,vere now attentive to the advice OF their
.nder and the aforementioned offender
became truly religious and exemplary III niS
behaviour. In this way they continued 70 nVe'
occasionally visiting the neighboring island IN
$, arch of provisions, till the END oil TWO years.
when they were taken off in the month OF De
cember. 1915, by an English whaler, bound for
Tho Pacific. Capt. Barnard informed me, that
British man of war had been sent expressly
from Rio Jaceiro to take them off, but by some
accident the vessel, though at the islands, did
not fall in with them
CAPTAIN Weddel thus describes the Penguins, which
abound in great numbers in Georgia, island east OF
Cape Horn.
No land quadrupeds are found here, birds and
amphibious animals are The only inhabitants -
Of the bird tribe, the king penguin is the most
worthy of notice. The penguins Cor as they
ought properly to be called, pinguins, the name
being evidently derived from the Latin word
ping.edo, on account ofits fa,ness) are OF very
gregarious nature. They go III large Hooks
along the shore, erect, and with waddling gaft
When seen through hazy atmosphere, they
NAV not be inaptly mistaken for body OF men
and indeed, Sir John Marlborough has whlm-
sicaily likened them to "lttle children standing
I'D in white aprons " Those he describes, how
ever, were very diminutive species IN com
2arison with the king penguin, the bird to which
refer
In pride these birds are not surpassed even
by The peacock, to which in beauty of plumage
they are indeed very little inferior, as may be
seen in our principal museums. During the
time Of moulting, they seem TO repe each other
with disgust, on account ofthe ragged state OF
their coats; but as they arrive at the maximum
Of splendor, they re-assembe; and no one who
has not completed his plumage, is allowed to
enter the community. Their frequently looking
down their front and sides, in order to contem-
plate the perfection Of their exterior brilliancy,
and to remove any speck which might sully IL,
is truly amusing 10 an observer.
About the beginning Of January they begin to
pair and lay their eggs. During the Time Of
Matching, the male is remarkably aSslduous, so
that when the hen has occasion to go Oft TO feed
and wash, the egg is transported to him, which
is done by placing taeir toes together, and roll
to place it properly. AS they have no nest, it's
to be remarked that the egg is carried between
the tail and legs, where the female, in particular,
has cavity for the purpose.
The hen keeps charge of her Young nearly
twelve-month, during which time they change
and complete their plumage; and in teaching
them to swim; the mo,ber has frequently TO use
some arti6cc; for when the young one refuses TO
ho . N he a a
rock, and cunningly pushes it in, and this is re-
pcated until it takes the sea OF It's own accord
There are three other kinds Of penguins, all 81
them nearly of the same size, but little more
than half the bigness of that which have des-
cribed. Their plumage is not near SO fine, but
they walk erect, and are of the same form with
the king penguin The names by which they
are distinguished, are the macaroni, the jack
ass, and the stone cracker penguin. The maca-
roni is so called from It's having been llkened
10 fop, or macaron; though | must confess l
do not see the similitude. The next has It's
name from the noise ii makes, which resem-
bes the braying of an ass; and the third is de-
nominated from lis pecking or cracking stones
when irritated III these birds have prac-
tice of cunning stealing from one another, dur
ing the time Of nest building, the materials
from the king penguin in these particulars, and
also in having nests; which arc sometimes IN
the sides Of tussac mounds, but generally on the
side of hill, and ale composed Of few sticks
and stones.
The following description which Capt w. gives OF
his situation when entangled in the ice presents an M
terestng and fearful picture of the pers of polar ma
vigaton The two vessels under his command the one
brig and the other cutter, sailing south from the
Falkland Islands, in November, became completely
surrounded with 40 ice islands, from which there was
no egress.
SIN the morning of the 18th, we had closed
with large ice island, and in spite OF all our
endeavors to avoid it, We continued approach
ing At 10 O'Clock it was within two ships
length, and from lis peculiar shape, threatened
to overwhelm us; for the upper part OF the side
nearest to us, which was about 100 feet high,
projected so much as would have admitted the
briggs masls coming in contact with 1t under
meath, and this overhanging part was cracked
from the top down to the water line. from
both vessels being unavoidably together, both
we're likely to suffer by the same accident. All
our attempts to heave the vessels out o. the
course Of this danger were in vain, but they
had the good effect Of occupying the crews, and
thus Withdrawing their attention from their pc.
rilous situation. Within half an hour had
the appalling sight of the overhanglng mass
Immediately over the quarter deck, with the