342 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Oct. 31, 18M. 
IN THE SOUTH SEAS. 
In November of 1856 I sailed from Edgartovra, Maes., 
on a whaling voyage to the Indian Ocean. We proceeded 
on our way without nnusual incident (save the capture 
of a few small sperm whales in the south Atlantic) until 
we reached the Crozett Islands, 46° south latitude, 52° 
east longitude, in the southern Indian Ocean. 
While cruising in the vicinity of those islands for 
right whales we approached so near the land one day 
that a small herd of sea elephants were discovered, hauled 
out on a sandy beach in a sheltered nook on the otiberwise 
bold and rocky shores. 
We killed a few and took the blubber to the ship. It 
was decided to return the following day to kill the re- 
mainder, about 100 in number, which task would take 
two days to accomplish; we would then raft the blubber, 
tow It off shore (the ship standing close to land for this 
ihirpoae) and take our catch on board. With this imder- 
standing we were on the following morning landed with 
thirteen men, provisions for three or four days, and im- 
plements for killing the animals and caring for the 
blubber. 
After we were put on shore the boats on returning to 
the ship encoimtered a whale, which was killed and taken 
to the ship and cut-in, while we of the shore party were 
busily engaged in killing and removing the blubber from 
the large seal-like creatures. Soon after a dense fog 
came on, and this was succeeded by many furious gales, 
which drove the ship far to the eastward, while we of 
the shore party looked for the ship's return and looked 
in vain for twenty-two days. On the morning of the 
twenty-third day the joyful sound of "Sail, ho!" was 
heard from the hill top. The ship was far away and the 
wind was light, but we at once began to make ready to 
save the blubber for which we had worked so hard. The 
day was far advanced when the ship rounded the island, 
and boats were sent ashore to assist in saving our catch. 
Darkness was rapidly coming on, and with it a storm 
arose, and before the ship could reach us we were com- 
pelled to abandon our raft of blubber to the sea birds and 
devote all energies to the task of saving our own lives. 
Unfortunately the lanterns, such as are carried in whale 
boats, had been removed during the late storms, and we 
had no means of letting the people on the ship know our 
position. It was a critical moment; and at last as the 
ship was approaching we saw that she was luffing off 
shore. I now told the men our only chance of life was to 
make those on the ship hear us and make known our 
presence. The order was given and all tmited in one 
prolonged cry, which was happily heard, and an answer- 
ing caU came faintly over the foaming billows. The ship 
was kept off and came to under our lee (which made it 
easy for us to get on board), the maintopsail was hauled 
back to check the ship's progress, and soon we were 
treading the deck of our ocean home. 
The sea elephant which we found at this island was 
about 16ft. long, with a thick, heavy skin, covered with 
short, dark- brown hair, the eye full and bright, the fore- 
paws or pectoral fins short and fleshy, the lateral or pro- 
pelling flippers like those of the sea lion, walrus and 
some other cetaceans; powerful jaws, and strong, large 
canine teeth. The appearance of the creature denotes 
great strength. Its movements on land are sluggish, yet 
in the water they are very active and rapid swimmers. 
Our method of killing was by shooting. The creature 
was pricked with a lance, when it would raise its head 
to a height of 7 or 8ft, and with mouth wide open utter 
a hoarse, guttural cry. When it was in this position a 
ball was shot through the brain, entering the roof of the 
mouth and coming out the top of the head. Death was 
instantaneous, the head falling to the ground like the fall 
of a trip-hammer. 
When lying on the beach the elephants formed a com- 
pact mass, in many instances one overlapping another; 
in this position, it seemed, their desire for sleep was in- 
tense. When we had shot as many as we wished at one 
time the rest would lie down and contentedly sleep 
while we were at work only a few feet away. Even the 
sound of the gun would only disturb those nearest, and 
not a single attempt to escape was made, although they 
were imguarded by night. The name of sea elephant 
was probably given these animals because of a loose mem- 
brane which Ues folded across the nose halfway to the 
eyes, and which can be related and dropped down below 
the nose like a short proboscis; but the usual appearance 
of the appendage is as if folded across the nose, and when 
the beast is irritated the membrane is inflated there and 
the breath can be expelled through it, making a peculiar 
noise. 
The herd which we found on the island were aU males, 
and had come to land to shed their hair, and kill the ver- 
min which infest all the inhabitants of the sea that have 
a covering of hair or fur; all the sea birds suffer too, for 
they cannot escape the parasites which lie in wait for 
every living thing; the whale kind, having a smooth cu- 
ticle, suffer the least of all the inhabitants of the great deep. 
In the stomach no food was found; they had been on 
land so long that all the food had been digested; doubt- 
less squid and fish form their principal diet. 
Previous to my visit, large vessels were fitted expressly 
for the South Seas to capture the sea elephant for the oil. 
Kerguelen Land, Hurds Island and many other localities 
were the breeding grounds for vast herds; and when we 
remember their great bulk and the large amount of 
food required to sustain the life of a single individual for 
one year, then we can calculate the enormous amount of 
fish, and what fishing banks there must be in those re- 
gions. For the last twenty-five years the sea elephants 
have been but seldom disturbed, and they are now doubt- 
less increasing in numbers; but man, the relentless de- 
stroyer of animal life, when he finds a further use for 
these animals (either their oil or pelt), will again begin the 
crusade, and cease not until he has girdled the earth in 
his search. 
At the time of my visit multitudes of penguin were 
congregated on the island in the moulting season, and it 
seemed as if every available spot was literally packed 
with these strange birds. To pass through the masses of 
penguin it is necessary to brush them aside with one's 
foot, for not an inch will the penguin yield to. the ap- 
proach of man; but stand their ground and pick at him 
with their pointed bills, uttering hoarse though loud 
dies, repeated by tens upon tens of thousands of penguin 
voices. Should the intruder's legs be not weU protected, 
the flesh will often be wounded by the persistent attack 
of the squalling hordes. It tries the nerves of the strong- 
est man to pass through an army of these birds. 
I have never visited the home of the penguin at nesting 
time, when it is said they lay out the ground like a city 
with streets and squares; yet it seems more than likely 
that something of the kind may be practiced; for when 
the birds come from the cold waters of the ocean and 
crowd through the nesting ground, the cold water drip- 
ping on the warm eggs would destroy them; therefore 
they have learned that streets are a necessity where such 
multitudes are coming from and going to the ocean, which 
is at all times cold. It is said that the male bird brings 
food to the female during incubation, but I cannot vouch 
for this. 
As is well known, these birds cannot fly, since there are 
no feathers on their wings, but a tough black skin instead. 
But they are like fish in the water, and it was very inter- 
esting to watch their landing when they come ashore 
through the huge breakers. As the wave comes rolling 
landward, the penguin swims before it imtil the broken 
water comes close; then it faces off shore, dives under the 
comber, and like a flash comes up on the billow and rides 
swiftly to land on the top of the wave. When on land 
the penguin stands so erect that he has the appearance of 
being in danger of falling over backward. 
On the island we also found a small white land bird, 
variously named the sheath-bill, white Paddy, and by us 
2:40, because they were so fleet of foot. When we first 
went on shore they would run before us with scarcely an 
attempt to fly unless hardly pressed, and then only for a 
short distance; yet we often saw them coming from sea- 
ward, though they are not web-footed. Their cry is like 
the peep of a lost chicken. They were very inquisitive. 
Once, when far from camp I sat down to rest beneath 
a shelving rock which projected a little over my head, 
in a few moments the peep of the little sheath-bill was 
heard overhead. I looked and there were the red eyes 
looking inquiringly down upon me. Quietly raising my 
hand, I caught it by the legs. Its cries soon brought 
more, which were caught in the same way, until I had as 
many as I wished to carry over the rough road I had to 
travel. 
After leaving this island we kept on our eastward 
course to the islands of St. Paul and Amsterdam, which 
lie about midway of the Indian Ocean on the old track of 
vessels bound from the Cape of Good Hope to Australia, 
and more than 2,000 miles of longitude from either and 
700 miles from Kerguelen Island to the S.W. 
St. Paul is a most lovely spot. It is in reality a volcano 
thrown up from the great depths of ocean. On the east- 
ern side is a large crater, the wall of which has worn 
away by the action of the sea until a passage has been 
made for the ebb and flow of the ocean tide. At the 
period of my visits there was sufficient water on the bar 
at the narrow entrance (about 6ft. mean tides) to allow the 
passage of small vessels into the crater basin, where a 
perfectly safe shelter is found. This is utilized by the 
sturdy fishermen of the isles of France and Burbon for 
headquarters of a fishery. The harbor is about two miles 
in circumference and nearly circular in outline, having 
a depth of more than thirty fathoms in the center, grad- 
ually shoaling to the shore. The walls of the crater rise 
to a height of over 700ft., and form the highest part of 
the land. The island is two and one-half miles from 
north to south by one and one-half miles wide, is triangu- 
lar in form, with its longest angle facing the east, mid- 
way of which is situated Crater harbor. The entrance to 
the harbor is only about 90 ft. wide. As one stands in the 
crater of this volcano the thought comes to us that it 
once vomited forth sulphurous flame, molten lava and 
ashes of earth's internal flres, yet now it has become the 
seat of a peaceful industry. Hot springs are numerous 
along the shores of the basin; one tested by us gave a 
temperature of 312° F. On the right of entrance stands a 
rock called Nine-pin Rock. The early navigators report 
seeing fire issuing from the seams and rifts in the walls of 
the crater at night, and when this island was last visited 
by me steam was constantly rising from this same place. 
Kelp and other seaweeds, as they are commonly called, 
grow in profusion around the island, and this dense 
growth of marine vegetation is the home of a variety of 
fine food fish. Crayfish were so abundant that an iron 
hoop, with netting stretched over it, baited with fish and 
let down on the bottom for a short time, would when 
drawn up contain a bushel or more of these crustaceans 
piled one upon another. 
The Island of Amsterdam, situated sixty miles to the 
north of St, Paul's, is much the largest of the two, and 
has an elevation of over 3,000ft. It rises abruptly from 
the sea on the west, a perjoendicular wall for 800 or 400ft., 
thea rises gradually to Vcs, bi^hest point, then slopee 
toward the east, where it is not much above the sea 
level. " 
Fish are very abundant in the shallow waters around 
the island. The seaweeds here, as elsewhere, are a re- 
markable growth; in many instances they are several 
hundred feet in length, yet not larger than a common 
lead pencil is the stem which reaches down and_ grasps 
the bottom. It is quite strong, and we always tied our 
boats to it when fishing instead of using an anchor. 
This island, just before my first visit, was the scene of 
a very remarkable shipwreck. In the year 1851 or 1853 
an emigrant ship from England bound for Australia ran 
ashore on the west end in a dense fog. The weather was 
boisterous and the ship quickly broke up, yet every one 
on board got on shore, where they found themselves on 
a shelf (as it were) of rock, with a perpendicular cliff of 
solid stone before them more than 300ft. high. 
To scale the cliff was impossible, and they had no boat. 
On either hand the cliff jutted out into the sea. There 
was no way to get around the point but by swimming. 
Two men volunteered to make the attempt, and suc- 
ceeded, taking with them a quantity of small line. The 
brave fellows at length reached a place where they could 
get on the top of the island, then they went back to the 
cliffs that imprisoned their comrades. Their appearance 
on the precipice above was hailed with shouts of joy, and 
when the little line was lowered down, and communica- 
tion was established between those above and those below, 
what a burdien of suspense must have been taken from 
them. There was glad activity among them all; the 
small line drew to the top a larger one, more men were 
drawn to the top, more ropes were raised and more ap- 
pliances got in position, and the work of rescue went 
happily on, and at last on the second day all were rescued 
from their perilous position. Some provisions too were 
saved and raised to the top. 
On the third day a sail was seen approaching. Now, 
if they could attract the attention of those on the ship 
they would surely be rescued. Large quantities of grass 
and brush were gathered and set on fire, a great smoke 
rose heavenward, and after a while it was seen that the 
ship had changed her course directly for the island, and 
at last she approached near enough to see the fiag which 
had been raised. The colors on the ship were dipped in 
encouragement, and all knew that their rescue was now 
a matter of detail. The women and children were t aken 
to the low part of the island, where they could be em- 
barked to the rescuing ship, and the entire company was 
saved. 
I am sorry to have forgotten the name of the wrecked 
ship or her rescuer. The number of people was between 
300 and 400, crew and passengers. Five years later we 
saw the ropes dangling from the cliff, marking the spot 
where once so many lives had been in peril, yet fortunately 
without the loss of a single one. Taking into account the 
position of the shipwreck, the isolated part of the world 
in which it occurred, and all the circumstances, I count 
it as the most fortunate shipwreck that ever came to my 
knowledge. 
The fur seals were found on these islands before man 
made war upon them so effectually that scarcely a speci- 
men can be found where they were once abundant. The 
whalemen also found lucrative employment in the cap- 
ture of the whale in this vicinity, but at present the 
hardy fishermen alone visit the place to prosecute their 
vocation. 
The albatross of these high southern regions is a most 
interesting bird. Its great size and magnificent, soaring 
flight make it an object of continual interest. The sea- 
man when he looks over the broad expanse of ocean and 
sees these winged wanderers of the deep, the only sign of 
life for many days in succession, at length begins to look 
upon them as companions which are nbt to be molested, 
or at least not injured. Many ship masters will not allow 
them to bs caught at all. So persistent is their attendance 
on a whale ship that the individual birds often become 
known by some marks and are given names. When the 
ship is becalmed the albatross is easily caught with a hook 
baited with a piece of pork or blubber. This floats and 
is eagerly picked up by the bird; a quick pull on the line 
fastens the hook in the curve of the horny beak, and the 
bird is not hurt at all. The sailors rob the birds of some 
very pretty feathers, of which there are but few, found 
under the wings, and the bird is then set free. 
My sister, Mrs. Lake, who sailed with her husband for 
fourteen voyages, relates the following incident as wit- 
nessed by her: O ae day after a long continued gale there 
were a great many birds around the ship, albatross, petrel 
(or Mother Gary's chickens, as the sailors love to call 
them), and many other sea birds. One huge albatross 
sat on the water for a long time with a Mother Gary's 
chicken sitting contentedly on its back. No one on the 
ship bftd pver seen such companionahip before; neitbeir 
CRATER HARBOR— ST. PAUL ISLAND. 
From model prepared under ihe direction of Capt. Herendeen. 
