THE VOYAGE OF THE HURON AND THE HUNTRESS 



understand that they had parted one cable and had dragged the other and 

 was then striking the bottom. Ordered them to slip other cable and Let her 

 go on the Beach as I thought She would receive less injury on Shore than 

 she would in her present situation. Latter part a violent gale at East 

 with thick weather attended with snow and Sleet. "^°^ 



The Cecilia sustained injury to her keel, aft, and rudder post and snapped 

 off the rudder pintals "but her Bottom was not hurt." She was kedged and 

 warped off the next day. 



Now the fleet began getting under way for a more friendly part of the 

 world. Captain Davis, on March 5, had recorded "We are now seperated from 

 the schooner Huntress the time of our agreement being up that we were to 

 join crews." The Samuel of Nantucket, under Captain Inott, was a late arrival 

 at the islands (January 1821), and had delivered a packet of letters from 

 home to Captain Burdick on February 28, the ship then being anchored in 

 Byers' Bay, west of Yankee Harbor. ^^° 



On March 9, the Jane Maria, Captain Johnson, left for the home port of 

 New York, and on March 10, the Huntress and the Nancy got under way, the 

 latter to sail for the Falklands to winter, and Captain Burdick intended "for 

 Staten Land and the Coast of Patagonia. "^^^ 



Captain Burdick's final entry in the log of the Huntress at the South Shet- 

 lands was on March 11, 1821 when he wrote : 



"First part light winds from the westward. At 7 p.m. Cape Huntress 

 bore NE 2 Leagues from which I take my Departure, it being in Lat 

 62° 18' South, Long. 59° West or thereabouts. . . ." 



This Cape is now called Harmony Point, being north and west of Harmony 

 Cove, where Captain Burdick's fellow Nantucketer, Captain Ray, had made 

 his headquarters during that sealing season. 



The Huron continued sealing along the nearby shores until March 14, when 

 Captain Davis observed: ". . . Wish very much to get our People in, so as 

 to leave this Country before we get Frozen in. . . ." During the next few days 

 he got the Cecilia down along the camp sites on the south shore of Livingston 

 Island and "got his People" back to Yankee Harbor and the ship. 



That the American sealing craft were remaining perilously late is shown 

 by the account in the Huron's log. Gales became more frequent and on March 

 21, 1821, the brig Aurora of New York was driven ashore after dragging her 

 three anchors. Captain Davis sent twenty men to the assistance of Captain 

 Macy, as did the other sealing masters. Their combined efforts got the brig 

 off on the 24th but she was in a "bad condition to go to sea," wrote Captain 

 Davis. 



On March 30, 1821, the fleet finally got under way from the South Shetlands. 

 The log of the Huron records the departure, thus: 



". . . the wind being Light from the westward weighed anchor and beat 

 out of the Harbour in company with the brigs Charity, Aurora, and 

 schooner Henry, Captains Barnard, Macy and Bruno at 10 a.m. got out 



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