THE VOYAGE OF THE HURON AND THE HUNTRESS 



of the Harbour safe and stood down Sound. Sent a whaleboat and 

 crew to assist in towing the Shallop [Cecilia] out at Half past 10 a.m. 

 our Shallop got out in company with Captain Macy's shallop 1 1 a.m. 

 being out of the Sound hove too to wait for our Schooner. Deception 

 Rocks bearing NE by N 2 Leagues distance at Meridian [12 noon] she 

 got down to us. Hoisted in the boat and made sail to the North and 

 Eastward from 1 p.m., becalmed, then took the wind about W by S stood 

 on till dark then wore Ship and stood to the South'd and Westward to 

 dark to go through the straits tonight Thick weather." 



The sealing fleet stood off and on until daylight. In the morning, the Charity, 

 Huron and Cecilia were still together, but found they had drifted to leeward 

 of the pass or strait (Harmony Strait) and so they stood along the shore to 

 the north-northeast, as Captain Davis stated, "to go round the Northern and 

 Eastern end of this group of Islands." At 4:00 p.m. the Huron reached the 

 eastern end of King George's Island, largest of the Shetland chain, and Cap- 

 tain Davis wrote: 



"off NE end of these islands extends a reef of Rocks and Brakers more 

 than 10 miles dist at 5 p.m. the east point of Hannah Island bore West 

 10 miles dist., from which I take my dep. it being in Lat. 61° 52' and 

 Long 58° West. Middle latter part cloudy weather with snow varia- 

 tion 28° Easterly. Lattitude pr. obs. D R 60°43' S." 



And so, the Huron and her consort, the schooner Cecilia sailed away from 

 the wintry coast of the South Shetlands after four months of hard work and 

 adventure. They headed for the Falkland Islands, where they arrived on April 

 9, 1821, but not before they had encountered a hurricane which stove In the 

 Huron's larboard bulwarks and "knocked down" the schooner and tore away her 

 boat and ripped to ribbons her foresail and fore-topsail. The storm scattered 

 the fleet and It was two days before they again spoke each other. 



Arriving at New Island In the Falklands on April 10, 1821, the Huron and 

 Cecilia went Into winter quarters. Among the sealing craft which were to spend 

 the April to October period In the Falklands were the Charity, Henry and 

 Aurora of New York; the Nancy, of Salem, and several other British and 

 American craft. ^^^ 



The Huron and Cecilia were to spend succeeding months In the South Shet- 

 lands during the 1821—22 season from November through February, and again 

 partake In adventurous crulslngs. But Captain Davis confined his efforts at 

 this time as much to sea elephant blubber as he did to seal pelts. The slaughter 

 of the seal during the previous season had, as propheslzed, resulted In their 

 almost total extinction. Never again would there be the rich harvest of pelts. 

 And never again did the Cecilia turn her bluff bow southward Into the un- 

 charted stretches of the Antarctic seas below the Shetlands. The weather was 

 even worse than the preceding year, and the Ice conditions prevented such a 

 dangerous journey. All of these factors led to Interesting developments which 

 have no part In this account. 



[70] 



