FOURTH VOYAGE. 



TO THE 



NORTH AND SOUTH PACIFIC, INDIAN 



OCEAN, &c. 



CHAPTER I. 



Departure of the Antarctic — Good Qualities of the Schooner — The Captain's 

 Wife onboard — Beauties of a dying Dolphin — Sudden Death of Francis Pat- 

 terson — Arrive at Bonavista — Arrive at Porto Pray a — Steer for the South — The 

 Crew assailed by Fever — The Lady suffering under the same Disease — Dis- 

 tressing Situation of the Antarctic — Death of Mr. Geery — Death of Mr. Spin- 

 ney — The Prospect darkens — A Wife's dying Request to her Husband — A Dawn 

 of Hope — The Sick begin to recover — Arrive at Tristan d'Acunha, and procure 

 Refreshments. 



As the objects of this voyage will be fully developed in the course 

 of the narrative, it will not be necessary to detain the reader by any 

 premature comments on the subject. If he have patience to peruse 

 the following pages, he will be master of the whole secret. He will 

 also learn in the sequel, that though the enterprise proved a total failure, 

 so far as respects the pecuniary interests of the parties concerned, more 

 especially my own, the cause of science has been essentially promoted 

 by new discoveries of a most interesting description, both in a com- 

 mercial and moral point of view. But this is not all ; he will become 

 convinced, that through the means of these discoveries I could, with 

 only a moderate share of patronage, either from the United States gov- 

 ernment, or a private company of enterprising capitalists, open a new 

 avenue of trade, more lucrative than any which our country has ever 

 yet enjoyed ; and further, that it would be in my power, and mine alone, 

 to secure its monopoly for any term I pleased. But I will not antici- 

 pate ; having merely intimated thus much as an additional inducement 

 for the reader to accompany me through the following pages. 



No vessel, perhaps, could be better adapted to meet successfully the 

 contingencies of such a voyage than the schooner Antarctic, of which I 

 had just resumed the command ; this being only her second essay since 

 she was first launched from the ship-yard of her experienced and accom- 

 plished builder, Christian Bergh, Esq., in 1828. In my former voyage 

 on the African coast, I had tried this vessel effectually, in every position 

 and situation, to my entire satisfaction. She was very sharp-built, of one 



