The native American., 1840-07-25

to our progress further south; heavy fog
ensuing, during which we parted company
with the Porpoise her commander having dl-
rections to follow my written instructions IN
that event.
| had determined to leave each vessel to act
INDEPENDENTLY, helievingit would tend to give,
ifpossible, greater degree of emulation to rs
all \: and beincc well satisfied that, owing to
the ice and tt.ick weather, it would be impos-
sible to continue long in company | deemed
it preferable to hazard the event OF accident,
rather than embarrass our operations.
| therefore submit the details of the proceed
|ings of this ship, as they will, without doubt,
nearly coincide with the movements OF the
other vessels of the squadron, the reports
from which will tend to verify our operations
After all unsuccessful attempt to penetrate
through the ice, on the 18th OF January we
proceeded to the westward, working along
with head winds and fogs, and on the 10th
we fell in with the Peacock in long. l57 degs.
43 MINIS F., lat 65 degs. g6 minis. S.
On the morning of the 18th Of January,
we saw land to the south and east, with many
indications of being in its vicinity, such as
penguin, seal, and the discdloration of the
water; but the imprenetrabe barrier of ice
prevented our near approach to it, and the
same day we again saw the Peacock to the
south and west. We were in long. lO4 degs.
27 MINIS. E., and lat 66 degs. 30 Minis. S.
| On the 22d we fell in with large clusters
and bodies of ice, and innumerable ice islands,
and until the 25th were in alarge bay formed
bvice examining the different points in hopes
| OF efecting an entrance tothe south, butwere
disappointed We here reached the lat. of 81
deg. min in long. l47 deg. 80 min. E., be
| ing the fllrthest south we penetrated. Appear
ances of distant land were seen in the east
ward and westward bat all points except the
one we entered presented an impenetrabe
barrier. We here filed up onr water tanks
with ice taken from an iceberg along side the
ship.
We madeoar magnetic observations on the
| ice. The dipping needles gave 81 deg. 30
mia. for the dip, and our azimuth compass
was so sluggish on the ice that, on being agi-
tated and bearings taken again, it gave nearly
points difference, the variation beirg IL deg.
35 min. E. A few days afterwards about
Zone hundred miles further to the west, we
had no variation, and thence it rapidly in
creased in westerly variation, from which
lam of opinion that when in the ice bay we
could not have been far from the South mag
netic pole. This bay named Disappoint-
ment Bay, as it seemed to put and end to all
our hopes of further progress south ~>
On the 9th, we fell in with the Porpoise
lin longitude 142 deg 20 min. E., and latitude
IS deg. Sd min. S. and parted company short
ly afterwards.
On the 2Sth, at noon, after thirteen repul-
ses, we reached longitude l4O deg. 30 min
land latitude 66 deg. 33 min. S. where we
lagain discovered land bearing south, having
|run over for DO miles thickly studded with
licebergs. The same evening we had heavy
lgaIc from the southeast, with snow, hail, anc
thick weather, which rendered our situation
livery dangerous, and compelled us to retract
our steps by the route which we had entered
During this gale, we were unable to see the
distance ofa fourth Of mile, constantlypass
ling near icebergs which surrounded us, anc
rendered it necessary to keep all hands or
deck On the morning of the 3Oth, the gale
to reach the land, when the dangers we en-
countered among the ice the preceding night,
md our providential escape, were evident to
ALL ...
We run towards the land about 50 miles,
when we reached small bay, pointed by high
| Iice-cliffs and black volcanic rocks, with about
60 miles of coast in sight, extending to great
distance towards the southwark in high noun
famous land.
| The breeze freshened 10 a strong gale, which
prevented our landing, and compelled us to
run out after sounding in thirty fathoms wa
ter; and within two hours afterwards the ship
was again reduced to her storm sails, with a
| heavy gale from the southward, with snow,
seet, and a heavy sea, continuing Sc hours,
and if possible more dangerous than that
of the 2Sth and 10Th, owing to the large
number Office islands around us; after which
received reports from the mdical officers,
the exhausted state of the crew
and condition of the ship, of which the fol-
lowing are extracts:
The medical officers on duty reported, un-
der date of the 3lst January, that " The mum
her upon the sick list this morning is fifteen !;
most of these cases are consequent upon the
extreme hardship and exposure they have ln-
dergone during the last gales of wind, when
the ship has been surrounded with ice. This
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