302 DISCOVERY REPORTS 



There are good grounds for believing that at least part of Palmer's story, that relating 

 to the discovery of Washington Strait, may have been correctly told; for as we have 

 already seen he actually does seem to have been the first to sight Lewthwaite Strait, a 

 fact he would naturally recount with some emphasis and pride to Fanning in de- 

 scribing his personal share in the exploration of the South Orkneys. Indeed it is not at 

 all unlikely that he may have named the Strait he seems to have discovered after the first 

 American president. He may have been quite unaware that Powell had already called 

 it after his friend and teacher, Lewthwaite of Rotherhithe, or perhaps Palmer, or rather 

 Fanning, somehow or other got it mixed up with the real Washington Strait to the east- 

 ward. It is difficult to say, for it is not clear from Powell's journal which of the two 

 sealers, himself or Palmer, was responsible for the application of the American name to 

 the eastern strait. If it was not Palmer, it is quite certain that Powell employed it out of 

 courtesy to Palmer, and if this is so it is rather curious that he should have applied it to 

 the eastern passage which was so obviously discovered by the British boats and not to 

 the western, which was apparently, although not so obviously, discovered by the 

 Americans. Whether Powell was responsible for the name or whether Palmer, whether 

 the confusion that would seem to have arisen in America as to its precise application 

 was due to Powell, Palmer or Fanning, or to all three, are purely speculative questions 

 and of no very great importance. What is of importance is this : Palmer's claim to have 

 discovered a particular strait somewhere in the vicinity of the South Orkneys should not 

 be lightly disregarded merely on the grounds of Fanning's bewildering account, for in 

 view of the actual facts which we have seen it would appear to have considerable 

 justification. 



On these grounds we may therefore argue that the responsibility for the gross in- 

 accuracy of this account rests with Fanning rather than with Palmer, and that Palmer's 

 personal report, although in a measure inaccurate, was distorted to such an extent by 

 Fanning as to become almost unrecognizable. 



Having presented Fanning's story in the light of the actual facts which are revealed 

 in Powell's journal, and shown that through Fanning at least a partial injustice has 

 been done to Palmer, we may return now to the discussion begun on p. 293 and 

 consider in some detail what land, if any at all. Palmer discovered, or believed he dis- 

 covered, before his meeting with Powell at Elephant Island on November 30, 1821. In 

 the first place it is rather unlikely that he believed that the present Trinity Peninsula 

 stretched unbroken by sea to Elephant Island, for he must have been as aware as Powell 

 was of the insularity of the latter since both sealers had examined it thoroughly, together 

 with the adjoining Clarence Island, in their search for seals. That he may have been 

 misled into believing that the Trinity Peninsula extended for some distance in the 

 direction of Elephant Island is not so unlikely, for Bransfield himself, the first explorer 

 of this region, was misled in precisely the same manner while passing from D'Urville 

 Island towards Elephant Island in thick fog during the first few days of February 1820. 

 Whatever Palmer may have believed it is extremely likely that he followed a course very 

 similar to that of Bransfield, who, skirting the Trinity Peninsula more than a year before 



