30 



DEPARTURE FROM NEW-YORK. 



[1822. 



physical impediments. The march of intellect is irresistible ; and 

 were the earth itself one globe of ice, the fire of genius, directed by 

 the wand of science, could melt a passage to its centre. The day 

 is not far distant when a visit to the South Pole will not be thought 

 more of a miracle than to cause an egg to stand on its point. 



I have long been of this opinion ; and the voyage of which I am 

 now about to give a plain but correct narrative has strengthened that 

 opinion to a firm conviction. One grand object of this voyage was to 

 acquire a more accurate knowledge of the Antarctic Seas, and to 

 ascertain the practicability, under favourable circumstances, of pene- 

 trating to the South Pole. For the furtherance of this object, I was 

 vested with discretionary powers by the owners of the Wasp, a fine fast- 

 sailing schooner, fitted out for the purpose, well manned and equipped, 

 and intrusted to my command. We set sail from the port of New- 

 York on Sunday morning, the 30th of June, 1822, with a fair wind 

 and pleasant weather. 



July 1st. — At six o'clock, P. M., having discharged the pilot, we 

 took our departure from Sandy Hook lighthouse, bearing W.N.W. 

 distant seven leagues, and steered a S.E. course, with a fine breeze 

 on our starboard beam. This was on the afternoon of Monday, the 

 first day of July, 1822 ; a year rendered somewhat memorable in the 

 city of New- York, by the last visitation of that terrible scourge, the 

 yellow fever, which made its appearance about the 1st of August, a 

 month after our departure, and did not stay its ravages until the Oc- 

 tober following. 



The favourable auspices under which we commenced our voyage 

 were hailed as auguries of a successful result, and soon banished from 

 our minds every little tender regret which parting interviews might 

 have left lingering about the heart. The wind was sufficiently fair for 

 the course we lay ; the weather was pleasant, and the crew in high spirits. 



July 4th. — Thursday, the 4th, being the anniversary of our coun- 

 try's independence, the star-spangled banner was hoisted at sunrise, 

 while a grand national salute reminded old Neptune that freemen ac- 

 knowledged no earthly power as mistress of the ocean. The crew on 

 this occasion were furnished with an extra allowance of such good 

 things as tended to enliven their patriotism, and brighten their ideas of 

 national glory ; during the discussion of which we of the quarter- 

 deck were not niggardly in setting them a good example. We were 

 now in latitude 36° 6' N., long. 66° 15' W.— fair weather. 



Friday, July 5th, completed the 27th year of my age. The annual 

 return of one's birth-day is always a suitable subject for serious re- 

 flection ; and on this occasion I reviewed the little checkered scene 

 of my past years with mingled sensations of pleasure and regret. 

 Bright anticipations of the future, however, soon became predominant 

 in my imagination. At a comparatively early age, I had been deemed 

 worthy to take charge of an expedition intended not only to benefit 

 those immediately interested and concerned, but also to aid the cause 

 of science, and add, perhaps, one little ray to the already dazzling 

 glory of my country. This single idea, in the mind of an enterprising 

 young man, is certainly a sufficient excitement to a faithful discharge 



