THE VOYAGE OF THE HURON AND THE HUNTRESS 



at this time. Evidence of other land was seen by the seabirds and the dis- 

 coloration of the water and the Admiral wrote ". . . the land must come."®* 



Two days later, another island was discovered to the north, which was called 

 Alexander I Island. This is in latitude 68° 43' south, longitude 73° 10' west, 

 and although they were not able to approach nearer than forty miles away, 

 the weather was so clear that the mountain tops were distinctly observed. ^^ It 

 was recorded as the finest day they had experienced in the Antarctic. But the 

 pressure of the ice pack forced them away and they never approached nearer 

 than forty miles to land sighted, and they headed for the northeast. 



It was on February 5, 1821, at 7:00 in the morning that Bellingshausen 

 caught his first glimpse of the South Shetlands, sighting Smith Island (Mt. 

 Pisgah) from the west. At 12 noon, the Vostok and the Mirni rounded the 

 southwestern shores of Smith Island, coasted it to the northeast, observed 

 Boyd Strait, which they estimated at twenty miles wide. Snow (President) 

 Island was sighted at 10:00 p.m., which they described as rising in the center 

 ". . . and is surrounded on almost every side by rocks showing above the 

 water."®® Darkness then came on and the vessels were headed southeast until 

 2 :00 A.M. on February 6, when they turned northwest and again approached 

 Snow Island. 



Bellingshausen's "Voyages" takes up the account: 



". . . At this time [3:00 a.m.] we were at the entrance of a strait, 3j^ 

 miles wide, running in the direction WNW [Morton Strait]. It was 

 doubtful whether a ship could pass through this strait [Hell's Gate] 

 because of the quantity of submerged rocks and the breakers. In front 

 of this low-lying shore [southwest coast of Livingston Island] we saw 

 8 British and American sealing vessels at anchor near the northeast 

 shore of the strait. Proceeding farther along the southern shore to the 

 east-southeast, I soon saw to starboard of our course a high island, with 

 steep cliffs and covered with clouds. [Deception Island] 62° 58' south 

 latitude and 60° 55' west longitude . . . circumference of 20 miles, 

 separated from the high rocky headlands opposite by a strait, 11 miles 

 wide. 



'At 10 o'clock, we entered the strait and encountered a small Ameri- 

 can sealing boat. . . . Soon after Mr. Palmer arrived in our boat and 

 informed us that he had been here for four months, sealing in partnership 

 with three American ships. They were engaged in killing and skinning 

 seals, whose numbers were perceptibly diminishing. There were as many 

 as eighteen vessels about at various points, and not infrequently differ- 

 ences arose amongst the sealers, but so far it had not yet come to a fight. 

 Mr. Palmer told me . . . Capt. Smith, the discoverer of the South Shet- 

 lands was on the brig JVilliam, that he had succeeded in killing as many 

 as 60,000 seals. . . ."®^ 



The several attempts by American historians to elaborate this meeting be- 

 tween the Russian Admiral and the Yankee Captain have unfortunately de- 

 stroyed the perspective of the true picture. Had Captain Palmer told Admiral 



[61] 



