THE VOYAGE OF THE HURON AND THE HUNTRESS 



were the brig Stranger, Captain Adams; the ship O'Cain, Captain Jonathan 

 Winship, and a schooner, believed tender to the latter vessel. New Bedford's 

 lone entry in the field was the brig Gleaner, under Captain David Leslie. The 

 port of New Haven sent John Davis in the ship Huron. The log of the Huron, 

 together with that of the Huntress, serve as the basis for this monograph. 



Added to this notable array were an equal number of British and Scotch 

 sealers, including one — the Lynx — from Botany Bay, Australia.'^* 



While we know of the departure of these vessels, as reported by the news- 

 papers, their subsequent careers would be heavily masked by the mists of history 

 but for the preservation of three contemporary logbooks. From these records, 

 faded and in one instance almost illegible, we may reconstruct one of the most 

 interesting years in our maritime history — the 1820-21 sealing season at the 

 South Shetlands. 



In September, 1828, an Ohio Congressman named Jeremiah N. Reynolds 

 prepared a report to Secretary of the Navy Samuel Southard, on certain dis- 

 coveries in the Pacific Ocean by the whaling masters.^ In the concluding state- 

 ment of this report he wrote: "I regret that I am not at liberty to communicate 

 in writing all the interesting facts I have been enabled to collect from those 

 engaged on the seal trade or, as they term it, the skinning business. ... In the 

 history of the seal trade, secrecy in what they know has been deemed a part and 

 a very important part, too, of their capital . . . that islands are frequented . . . 

 and their position known to no one on board but the captain. . . ." 



This, in large measure, explains much of the paucity of information on 

 the activities of these early visitors to the Antarctic and, by the same token, 

 why the only reliable information is contained in the logbooks of the ships so 

 engaged. Thus, it is necessary to use these original accounts for the true picture 

 of what actually occurred in that memorable year of 1820-1821 at the South 

 Shetlands. In presenting these logs, all pertinent entries are selected, so that, 

 like a great picture puzzle, these portions may be used to fill out the features 

 which comprise the whole. 



[17] 



