APPENDIX, No. I. 



OS 



tude 57° 45' South, on the 7th of December, the wind 

 very light from the westward, barometer 28,66. 



When the prevalence of strong N.W. winds be- 

 tween 50° and 54° South is taken into consideration, 

 it will probably be advisable to go, al least, as far 

 west as 84°, in order to make a fair wind of the 

 north-westers when not too strong to admit of 

 carrying sail. 



From the best information respecting the wea- 

 ther off the Cape, there seems reason to believe, 

 that the hardest gales prevail near the land, and 

 that the chance of good weather, and of easterly 

 winds, is, at least, as great at a considerable dis- 

 tance off shore. A ship, on meeting westerly winds, 

 therefore, ought perhaps to stand on to the/ south- 

 ward as far as 62° or 63°, and be indifferent about 

 northing till between the longitude of 80° and 85°, 

 after which there will be little difficulty in proceed- 

 ing, although there must always be considerable 

 discomfort in passing between 55° and 50° south, 

 where the north-westers prevail, with a high sea. 



I am at a loss what to think of the utility of the 

 barometer on this passage. Off Cape Horn, on 

 the 26th of November, in latitude 56^° South 

 it stood at 29,55 ; on reaching 60° South, it 

 had fallen to 29,13 ; the wind to the westward, and 

 a thick fog; but no foul weather followed. From the 

 1st to the 2d, when we were in the latitude of 61 ° 

 it ranged South between 29,50 and 29,30, with light 

 winds from the north-westward, and drizzling rain. 

 During the next day, when we were running nearly 

 on the parallel of 61° South, the mercury fell from 

 29,30 to 28,84, with athickfog, and a moderately 

 fresh breeze from the North-west. On the wind 

 coming from the South-westward, it rose slowly to 

 29,95; the weather moderate, with slight hail-squalls 

 and clear weather. It again fell, as the wind shifted 

 to the northward, N.E. and E.N.E., and stood at 

 length at 28,60, which is the lowest point it reached. 

 This was on the evening of the 4th, in latitude 59° 

 south, and longitude nearly 80° west, the wind 

 at E.N.E., moderate and cloudy weather. Fresh 

 southerly, south-westerly, and west-south-westerly 

 breezes followed, and hard-squalls, with sleet, but 

 no gale of wind. It remained below 29 inches till 

 we had passed the latitude of 57° South, and after- 

 wards rose very gradually, till, having reached the 

 latitude of 56° south, on the 16th of December it 

 stood at 30 inches. It gave no warning of the 

 approach of the gale on the 1 1 th, but fell during its 

 continuance, nearly to 29 inches from 29,28, which 

 it had stood at before. 



From a consideration of these circumstances, it 

 is to be apprehended, that the barometer, which 

 in middle latitudes is so useful an instrument in 

 foretelling changes of weather, may sometimes fail 

 us in very high, as it almost always does in very 

 low latitudes. On the return passage round Cape 

 Horn, on the 15th of August, J 822, during the op- 

 posite season, the same thing was observed, viz. a 

 fall so low as 28,88 in latitude 56° South, which 

 was not followed by any bad weather. The wind 

 was then N.W., and moderate. Perhaps it is 

 affected, in high latitudes, by fogs and rains, in a 

 greater degree than it is in middle latitudes, where 

 I have not observed that anything but winds 

 materially influenced its movements. 



On the passage from the East, in the summer of 

 that hemisphere, (December,) the lowest tempera- 

 ture we observed off Cape Horn was 39°. On the 



[PART II.] 



return passage in winter, (August,) it never fell 

 below 40°, till off the Falkland Islands, when it was 

 one day as low as 35°. 



We observed no current off the Cape greater 

 than what might be ascribed to error in the esti- 

 mation ; neither have I yet heard any well-esta- 

 blished facts respecting the currents off Cape Horn, 

 more than what must always attend hard gales. 



A considerable difference of opinion prevails as 

 to the fittest time of the year for making a passage j 

 round Cape Horn, from the eastward. There 

 seems good reason to believe, that in winter, when 

 the sun is to the northward of the equator, the 

 chance of easterly winds is the greatest ; and many 

 persons are of opinion, that the westerly gales are 

 then neither so violent nor so lasting as during the 

 months that the sun is to the southward of the 

 equator. Admitting these circumstances to be as 

 stated, there remain two very serious objections to 

 the winter season ; first, the length of the nights ; 

 and, secondly, the presence of ice-islands. In a 

 tempestuous and frigid latitude, the absence of 

 day-light always augments, in a very serious de- 

 gree, the difficulties of navigation ; but when the 

 formidable danger of ice-bergs is added, there can 

 be little farther question, I think, as to which 

 season is preferable. All accounts seem to agree, 

 that it is during the winter and spring months, July, 

 August, and September, that the ice is most gene- 

 rally met with; and as the masses in which it floats 

 about are sometimes only a few feet above the water, 

 and such as cannot possibly be distinguished at 

 night, the risk which ships run in winter months 

 is very great. Sometimes it is met with in fields, 

 which embarrass ships exceedingly ; and since the 

 opening of the commerce with the shores of the 

 Pacific has multiplied the number of vessels navi- 

 gating those seas, many accidents occur every 

 season. It will be seen under the head of Notice 

 XV., that we met the ice both in large and small 

 islands in August, 1822; and several ships returned 

 to Rio about the same time, after running against 

 the ice, dismasting themselves, and sustaining other 

 damage. 



I have lately been informed, by persons well 

 acquainted with the opinions of the whale-fishers 

 on this subject, that they prefer rounding Cape 

 Horn in the winter months, during which season 

 less ice is said to be found than in summer, 

 and there is a greater chance of easterly winds. 

 I am disposed to pay great deference to the opinion 

 of men so familiar with the navigation in question; 

 but after giving it all the consideration in my 

 power, I confess I am still disposed to prefer 

 the light to the dark season, especially since I 

 know by experience, that even in the dark or 

 winter season, ice-bergs do make their appearance. 



NO. in. 

 FROM VALPARAISO TO LIMA. 



2fth of January, to 5th of February, 1821. 

 (9 Days.) 

 The wind on this passage is always nearly 

 the same, viz. S.S.E. It sometimes hauls a point 

 or two to the eastward, but the passage is always 

 certain. The only precaution to be attended to 

 is, to run well off the land hi the first instance, say 

 150 miles on a N.W. course, and then steer direct 

 for San Lorenzo, a high and well-defined island, 



