DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLANDS: THE CANDLEMAS GROUP 165 



only place where they have succeeded in establishing themselves is at Penguin Point. 

 Here they have their rookery near the sea and large numbers were seen on the steep 

 slopes above it. They can occupy only a restricted area, for the point is isolated by 

 glacier, which divides at the back of the headland and extends to the water's edge on 

 either side. On the rocky beach below the rookery six Elephant seal had hauled up. 

 No record of a landing at Visokoi is known to us. 



'fc> 



The Candlemas Group 



The Candlemas Group was first sighted by Cook on February 2, 1775, when it ap- 

 peared as two hummocks on the northern horizon. The next day he approached the land 

 more closely and he tells us^ that it "proved to be two isles.. . .A small rock was seen 

 between them, and perhaps there may be more; for the weather was so hazy that we 

 soon lost sight of the islands and did not see them again until noon, at which time they 

 bore West, distant three or four leagues". 



Bellingshausen, however, says in his narrative that the group is composed of three 

 islands^ — though his atlas shows two only — while Filchner,^ in his account of the ex- 

 pedition of the 'Deutschland', states positively that there is only one. Filchner says: 

 "Candlemas besteht aus nur einer einzigen Insel, eine Feststellung, die auch von 

 Larsen gemacht worden war. Bellingshausen spricht in seiner Reise-Beschreibung von 

 drei Inseln, die nahe beieinander liegen. Da die Insel aus drei Erhebungen besteht, die 

 auf einen niedrigen Sockel aufgesetzt sind, erscheint dieser Irrtum moglich, um so mehr, 

 als Bellingshausen auf Candlemas nicht gelandet ist. Der Sockel diirfte ca. 33 km 

 Umfang haben". 



The reference here made to Larsen appears to be incorrect. In our translation of his 

 report* he nowhere states that there is only one island, though he leaves it to be inferred 



1 Cook, A voyage to the South Pole and round the World. . . , n, pp. 228-9 (London, 1777). 



- In this Fricker (The Antarctic Regions, p. 150 (London, 1904)) has followed him. 



^ Filchner, Ziim Scchsten Erdteil, p. 117 (Berlin, 1923). 



* The sections of Larsen's unpublished report which deal with the Candlemas Group read (in trans- 

 lation) as follows : 



"November 14th. Gale from NW with foggy weather. 'Undine' has been drifting all night. At 8 a.m. 

 the course was laid for the island named Candlemas. We met with many icebergs in the fog. At 1 1 a.m. 

 we were as near the island as it was possible to pass, because here are numerous masses of breakers. On 

 the east side of the island there is a bay, but across this there appeared to be sunken rocks of which some 

 were seen in the breakers, and the sea was all in a foam across the bay. Also in the middle of the bay sunken 

 rocks were seen. The southern point of the island is running out into the sea as a low tongue of land, 

 where thousands of penguins dwell. Straight out SE of the point about one mile from land there is a small 

 pointed islet about 35 feet high. 



"November 15th. All the night there had been bad weather with snow and fog. During the night the 

 wind had turned over to SW, but continued foggy southward. iNIore soundings and trawlings were made, 

 but the results of the latter were small, .\long the east side, outside the sunken rocks, was shallow water with 

 hard bottom. Two trawlings also were made here, but the same small result. A boat was sent ashore to look 

 for fur-seals, but only some hair-seals were seen. From the boat soundings were taken towards all the 

 sunken rocks stretching across the harbour, and it was about 5 fathoms of water where shallowest, and inside 

 all the sunken rocks an excellent harbour for boats was found. On shore here we found a long boom and a 



