CH. L] 
Rosss First Voyage 
413 
Hydrographer from 1863 to 1876. His most interesting 
letter to his sister in 1843 was printed in 1891. Retired 
as Staff Captain in 1876, he was the author, jointly with 
his son, of the Azimuth Tables. Captain Davis died on 
the 30th January, 1877. 
Mr Hallett, Purser of the Erebus, had previously been 
with Sir James Ross in the Cove in 1836. He afterwards 
served on the coast of Africa, where he died. George 
Moubray, the clerk in charge of the Terror, was thought 
so highly of that he received the very responsible appoint- 
ment of Naval Agent and Storekeeper at Constantinople 
during the Crimean war, and was afterwards Storekeeper 
at Malta for some time, retiring as a Paymaster-in-Chief 
with the Greenwich pension. The gunner of the Erebus 
must not be left out, as he was a very exceptional 
character and had very wide Arctic experience. Thomas 
Abernethy, born at Peterhead in 1802, was an experienced 
seaman when he joined the Fury in Parry's third Arctic 
expedition in 1824, and was very active and useful in all 
the work at Fury Beach. He was with Parry again in 
1827, and second mate of the Victory with the Rosses 
during the Boothian expedition 1829-33. When the 
boatswain of the Erebus fell overboard in a heavy sea 
on the voyage out and was drowned, Abernethy and 
Oakley commanded the two boats that were lowered for 
his rescue. Oakley's boat was struck by a sea which 
knocked four of the crew out of her. Abernethy, whose 
boat was again alongside ready to be hoisted up, imme- 
diately pushed off and succeeded in saving the crew of 
Oakley's boat from their perilous position. Abernethy 
was a splendid seaman. He served again with Sir James 
Ross in the Enterprise, and finally with old Sir John Ross 
in the Felix. He died at Peterhead on April 13th, i860 1 . 
With this exceptionally distinguished staff and two 
well-equipped and strongly built ^hips, Sir James Ross 
sailed from the Thames on his great enterprise on the 
30th September, 1839. After visiting and exploring 
Kerguelen Island, the expedition arrived at Tasmania on 
August 16th, 1840. Sir John Franklin was then Governor, 
1 The present writer was personally acquainted with Admiral Bird, 
Lieutenant Phillips, Mr Tucker, Dr M c Cormick, Sir Joseph Hooker, 
Dr Lyall, Admiral Moore, Captain Davis, and Mr Abernethy. 
