Critical situations. 



Inadequacy of the men's clothing. 



SOUTHERN CRUISE. 



Cape Belsham. Straits of Le Maire. 

 Good Success Bay. 



27 



vered three small islets, and gave them the name 

 of the Adventure Islets; while beyond, and above 

 all, rose two high mountains, one of which was 

 Mount Hope. I place the eastern extremity of 

 Palmer's Land, or Mount Hope, in longitude 57 

 55' W., latitude 63 25' S. 



The whole area was studded with icebergs, which 

 it now became necessary to get clear of, if possi- 

 ble, before night set in. 



It was a day of great excitement to all, for we 

 had ice of all kinds and descriptions to encounter, 

 from the iceberg of huge quadrangular shape, 

 with its stratified appearance, to the sunken and 

 deceptive mass, that it was difficult to perceive 

 before it was under the bow. Our situation was 

 critical, but the weather favoured us for a few 

 hours. On clearing these dangers, we kept off to 

 the southward and westward, under all sail, and at 

 8 P.M. we counted eighty large ice-islands in sight. 

 Afterwards it became so thick with mist and fog, 

 as to render it necessary to lay-to till daylight, 

 before which time we had a heavy snow-storm. 

 The temperature of the water had fallen to 29; 

 air 28. At one hundred fathoms depth we found 

 the former 29. A strong gale now set in from 

 the southward and westward. The brig's deck 

 was covered with ice and snow, and the weather 

 became excessively damp and cold. The men were 

 suffering, not only from want of sufficient room to 

 accommodate the numbers in the vessel, but from 

 the inadequacy of the clothing with which they had 

 been supplied. Although purchased by the go- 

 vernment at great expense, it was found to be 

 entirely unworthy the service, and inferior in every 

 way to the samples exhibited. This was the case 

 with all the articles of this description that were 

 provided for the expedition. Not having been 

 able to satisfy myself to whom the blame is to be 

 attributed, contractors or inspectors, I hesitate to 

 give their names publicity. The deception is in 

 my opinion to be attributed to both. 



On the 5th of March the gale had increased. 

 The tender Sea-Gull being in close company, both 

 vessels were in imminent danger. At 3 A.M. we 

 narrowly escaped several icebergs. At 4 A.M. it 

 blew a very heavy gale from the south-west; the 

 temperature of the air fell to 27, and that of the 

 water was 29; the ice formed rapidly on the deck, 

 and covered the rigging, so much as to render it 

 difficult to work either the brig or schooner ; 

 dangers beset us in every direction, and it requii-ed 

 all the watchfulness we were possessed of to avoid 

 them. 



From the state of the weather, the lateness of 

 the season, and the difficulty of seeing around us, 

 not only during the several hours of the night, but 

 even in the day-time, the constant fogs and mist in 

 which we had been for several hours every day 

 enveloped, rendered our exertions abortive, and 

 precluded the possibility of doing any thing more 

 than to attend to the sailing of the vessels. These 

 reasons determined me to give up the endeavour 

 to proceed further south, feeling convinced that the 

 season for such explorations had gone by. I 

 therefore ordered the Sea-Gull to return to Orange 

 Harbour, well knowing that her situation was much 

 worse than our own ; directing her to touch at 

 Deception Island on the way, while we proceeded to 

 the northward to examine some of the other islands. 



When we bore away, I had the intention of 



passing towards the assigned situation of the 

 Aurora Isles, but I found the crew so much en- 

 feebled by their constant exposure, whilst some of 

 them were affected with incipient scurvy, that I 

 concluded it was better to return to Orange Har- 

 bour as soon as possible. 



We continued under easy sail, enveloped in 

 fogs, and falling in repeatedly with icebergs close 

 aboard, from which at times we escaped with diffi- 

 culty. 



On the 6th of March the wind shifted to the 

 northward, with snow. 



On the 7th, while making all way to the north- 

 ward, the fog lifted, and high land was reported 

 within a short distance of us. A few moments 

 more, and we should have been wrecked. This 

 proved to be Elephant Island. We found from its 

 position that we had been set upwards of fifty 

 miles to the eastward, in the last four days, by the 

 current. We passed to leeward of it. The sea 

 was too high to attempt a landing. In the after- 

 noon it cleared, and from our observations we 

 found Cape Belsham, its eastern point, well placed. 

 We passed between it and Cornwallis Island. The 

 Seal Rocks were also seen and observed upon. 



We now stood to the northward, and on the 

 16th we were off the Straits of Le Maire, where I 

 again tried the deep-sea temperature, with a wire 

 sounding-line, which parted at three hundred and 

 forty fathoms, and we lost the apparatus. I then 

 made a second experiment, with a line of rope four 

 hundred fathoms in length. The temperature of 

 the surface was 44, of the water below 37. This 

 was about sixty miles to the eastward of the place 

 where I had sounded before, on the 15th of Feb- 

 ruary, when passing around Cape Horn in the 

 Vincennes. 



March 17th, we had light winds from the east- 

 ward, and a smooth sea, with delightful weather. 

 There was, however, a heavy bank of cumuli to 

 the south-westward, and after a few hours' calm, 

 the wind came from that quarter, and began to 

 blow fresh, accompanied with heavy squalls. We 

 did not succeed that night in reaching New Island, 

 where it was my intention to have anchored and 

 rode out the gale. We in consequence found our- 

 selves the next morning thirty miles to the east- 

 ward of our position on the previous evening, hav- 

 ing drifted at the rate of three miles an hour. 

 From appearances I inferred that the gale had set 

 in for several days ; I therefore determined to 

 make for Good Success Bay, and await the break- 

 ing up of the storm, being satisfied we could make 

 little progress to the westward during its continu- 

 ance. 



We anchored in the bay early in the afternoon, 

 when we took our boats and went on shore for a 

 few hours. There was but little surf when we 

 landed, but it rapidly increased, and one of the 

 boats in attempting to pass through it filled, and 

 after several ineffectual attempts, did not succeed 

 in getting off. A boat was sent to assist, but re- 

 turned with a report that no relief could be ren- 

 dered them, and that they had determined to 

 remain until morning. 



In the morning the surf had very much in- 

 creased. The sea setting in the bay rendered our 

 situation uncomfortable, and somewhat dangerous, 

 as we were exposed to the force of it and the wind, 

 which had hauled to the south-east. 



