3o6 DISCOVERY REPORTS 



after Powell's discovery, called them the South Orkneys, the name which is now adopted 

 in preference to the original and has appeared on the British Admiralty charts of the 

 group since 1839. 



In view of the antiquity of Weddell's name, and because it is so obviously appropriate 

 as a companion name to that of the South Shetlands, and perhaps because Powell did 

 not after all give his own name to the group, the efforts of Balch^ and Otto Nordenskjold^ 

 to i-estore the original "Powell's Group" to the charts are rather unnecessary, and in- 

 deed, in Nordenskj old's case, apt to be confusing.^ There is little injustice to Powell in 

 retaining the name South Orkneys, for the Admiralty charts all bear a note against this 

 title fully acknowledging Powell's discovery, and besides, Powell's name has been ap- 

 pHed to the middle and third largest member of the group since 1839. Finally, as 

 Weddell gave the name South Orkneys to the group without knowing that it had already 

 been discovered, he cannot be said to have deliberately or carelessly displaced an 

 original name. 



Powell's chart is of course incomplete as he did not visit the southern side of Corona- 

 tion Island, nor was he able to determine the eastern extent of Laurie Island. At an 

 early date, however, his positions appear to have been regarded as more accurate than 

 those of Weddell (see p. 3 10), although of the two explorers Powell was probably the less 

 suitably provided with instruments. Thus Purdy^ in 1845 says: "By observations 

 made on the 14th [by Weddell], it appeared that Saddle Isle, one of the easternmost 

 islets of the group, lies in latitude 60° 37' 50", and longitude, by mean of 3 chronometers, 

 44° 52' 45". Mr Powell placed this isle in 60° 36' S, and 44° 32' W, and this, we con- 

 jecture, is nearest to the truth." Purdy makes a curious error here, for Powell was not 

 aware of the existence of Saddle Island, which was discovered and first charted by 

 Weddell in January 1823 and thus does not appear in Powell's chart of 1822. A 

 second edition of Powell's chart was published in 183 1 revised and corrected by Fildes, 

 and it must be this to which Purdy refers (see p. 312 and Fig. 5). 



JAMES WEDDELL 



Powell and Palmer were not apparently the only sealers for whom hunting had gone 

 badly and who were seeking fresh fields this summer of 182 1-2. At least forty-four 

 British and American vessels were then engaged at the South Shetlands and one of these, 

 the cutter 'Beaufoy' of London, in December 1821 sailed eastwards from Elephant 

 Island into the Weddell Sea. From a great distance (at least sixty miles) she sighted the 

 western end of Coronation Island some time before noon on December 12, that is, only 

 six days after the actual discovery of the group by Powell. The ' Beaufoy' thereafter re- 



1 Balch, E. S., 1912, Antarctic Names, Bull. Amer. Geog. Soc, xliv, No. 8, p. 570. 

 - Nordenskjold, O., 191 1, Die Schwedische Sildpolar-Expedition und Hire Geographische Tdtigkeit, i, Lief. I, 

 p. 70 (Stockholm). 



* Nordenskjold's suggestion was that the name Powell Group should be applied to Elephant and Clarence 

 Islands. 



* Purdy, John, 1845, The Nezv Sailing Directory for the Ethiopic or Southern Atlantic Ocean, 3rd ed., 

 Section I, p. 155 (R. H. Laurie, London). 



