to a stand by an immense expanse of firm ice. We saw, nevertheless,
much open water to the southward, and felt no doubt of being able to
reach it eventually. Standing to the eastward along the edge of the
floe, we at length came to a passage of about a mile in width,
through which we warped our way by sundown. The sea in which we now
were was thickly covered with ice islands, but had no field ice, and
we pushed on boldly as before. The cold did not seem to increase,
although we had snow very frequently, and now and then hail squalls
of great violence. Immense flocks of the albatross flew over the
schooner this day, going from southeast to northwest.
January 7.- The sea still remained pretty well open, so that we
had no difficulty in holding on our course. To the westward we saw
some icebergs of incredible size, and in the afternoon passed very
near one whose summit could not have been less than four hundred
fathoms from the surface of the ocean. Its girth was probably, at the
base, three-quarters of a league, and several streams of water were
running from crevices in its sides. We remained in sight of this
island two days, and then only lost it in a fog.
January 10.- Early this morning we had the misfortune to lose a
man overboard. He was an American named Peter Vredenburgh, a native
of New York, and was one of the most valuable hands on board the
schooner. In going over the bows his foot slipped, and he fell
between two cakes of ice, never rising again. At noon of this day we
were in latitude 78 degrees 30', longitude 40 degrees 15' W. The cold
was now excessive, and we had hail squalls continually from the
northward and eastward. In this direction also we saw several more
immense icebergs, and the whole horizon to the eastward appeared to
be blocked up with field ice, rising in tiers, one mass above the
other. Some driftwood floated by during the evening, and a great
quantity of birds flew over, among which were nellies, peterels,
albatrosses, and a large bird of a brilliant blue plumage. The
variation here, per azimuth, was less than it had been previously to
our passing the Antarctic circle.
January 12.-Our passage to the south again looked doubtful, as
nothing was to be seen in the direction of the pole but one
apparently limitless floe, backed by absolute mountains of ragged
ice, one precipice of which arose frowningly above the other. We
stood to the westward until the fourteenth, in the hope of finding an
entrance.
January 14.-This morning we reached the western extremity of the
field which had impeded us, and, weathering it, came to an open sea,
without a particle of ice. Upon sounding with two hundred fathoms, we
here found a current setting southwardly at the rate of half a mile
per hour. The temperature of the air was forty-seven, that of the
water thirtyfour. We now sailed to the southward without meeting any
interruption of moment until the sixteenth, when, at noon, we were in
latitude 81 degrees 21', longitude 42 degrees W. We here again
sounded, and found a current setting still southwardly, and at the
rate of three quarters of a mile per hour. The variation per azimuth
had diminished, and the temperature of the air was mild and pleasant,
the thermometer being as high as fifty-one. At this period not a
particle of ice was to be discovered. All hands on board now felt
certain of attaining the pole.
January 17.- This day was full of incident. Innumerable flights
of birds flew over us from the southward, and several were shot from
the deck, one of them, a species of pelican, proved to be excellent
eating. About midday a small floe of ice was seen from the masthead
off the larboard bow, and upon it there appeared to be some large
animal. As the weather was good and nearly calm, Captain Guy ordered
out two of the boats to see what it was. Dirk Peters and myself
accompanied the mate in the larger boat. Upon coming up with the
floe, we perceived that it was in the possession of a gigantic
creature of the race of the Arctic bear, but far exceeding in size
the largest of these animals. Being well armed, we made no scruple of
attacking it at once. Several shots were fired in quick succession,
the most of which took effect, apparently, in the head and body.
Nothing discouraged, however, the monster threw himself from the ice,
and swam with open jaws, to the boat in which were Peters and myself.
Owing to the confusion which ensued among us at this unexpected turn
of the adventure, no person was ready immediately with a second shot,
and the bear had actually succeeded in getting half his vast bulk
across our gunwale, and seizing one of the men by the small of his
back, before any efficient means were taken to repel him. In this
extremity nothing but the promptness and agility of Peters saved us
from destruction. Leaping upon the back of the huge beast, he plunged
the blade of a knife behind the neck, reaching the spinal marrow at a
blow. The brute tumbled into the sea lifeless, and without a
struggle, rolling over Peters as he fell. The latter soon recovered
himself, and a rope being thrown him, returned in triumph to the
schooner, towing our trophy behind us. This bear, upon admeasurement,
proved to be full fifteen feet in his greatest length. His wool was
perfectly white, and very coarse, curling tightly. The eyes were of a
blood red, and larger than those of the Arctic bear, the snout also
more rounded, rather resembling the snout of the bulldog. The meat
was tender, but excessively rank and fishy, although the men devoured
it with avidity, and declared it excellent eating.
Scarcely had we got our prize alongside, when the man at the
masthead gave the joyful shout of "land on the starboard bow!" All
hands were now upon the alert, and, a breeze springing up very
opportunely from the northward and eastward, we were soon close in
with the coast. It proved to be a low rocky islet, of about a league
in circumference, and altogether destitute of vegetation, if we
except a species of prickly pear. In approaching it from the
northward, a singular ledge of rock is seen projecting into the sea,
and bearing a strong resemblance to corded bales of cotton. Around
this ledge to the westward is a small bay, at the bottom of which our
boats effected a convenient landing.
It did not take us long to explore every portion of the island,
but, with one exception, we found nothing worthy of our observation.
In the southern extremity, we picked up near the shore, half buried
in a pile of loose stones, a piece of wood, which seemed to have
formed the prow of a canoe. There had been evidently some attempt at
carving upon it, and Captain Guy fancied that he made out the figure
of a tortoise, but the resemblance did not strike me very forcibly.
Besides this prow, if such it were, we found no other token that any
living creature had ever been here before. Around the coast we
discovered occasional small floes of ice- but these were very few.
&nb
sp; The exact situation of the islet (to which Captain Guy gave the name
of Bennet's Islet, in honour of his partner in the ownership of the
schooner) is 82 degrees 50' S. latitude, 42 degrees 20' W. longitude.
We had now advanced to the southward more than eight degrees
farther than any previous navigators, and the sea still lay perfectly
open before us. We found, too, that the variation uniformly decreased
as we proceeded, and, what was still more surprising, that the
temperature of the air, and latterly of the water, became milder. The
weather might even be called pleasant, and we had a steady but very
gentle breeze always from some northern point of the compass. The sky
was usually clear, with now and then a slight appearance of thin
vapour in the southern horizon- this, however, was invariably of
brief duration. Two difficulties alone presented themselves to our
view; we were getting short of fuel, and symptoms of scurvy had
occurred among several of the crew. These considerations began to
impress upon Captain Guy the necessity of returning, and he spoke of
it frequently. For my own part, confident as I was of soon arriving
at land of some description upon the course we were pursuing, and
having every reason to believe, from present appearances, that we
should not find it the sterile soil met with in the higher Arctic
latitudes, I warmly pressed upon him the expediency of persevering,
at least for a few days longer, in the direction we were now holding.
So tempting an opportunity of solving the great problem in regard to
an Antarctic continent had never yet been afforded to man, and I
confess that I felt myself bursting with indignation at the timid and
ill-timed suggestions of our commander. I believe, indeed, that what
I could not refrain from saying to him on this head had the effect of
inducing him to push on. While, therefore, I cannot but lament the
most unfortunate and bloody events which immediately arose from my
advice, I must still be allowed to feel some degree of gratification
at having been instrumental, however remotely, in opening to the eye
of science one of the most intensely exciting secrets which has ever
engrossed its attention.
~~~ End of Text of Chapter 17 ~~~
CHAPTER 18
January 18.- This morning {*4} we continued to the southward,
with the same pleasant weather as before. The sea was entirely
smooth, the air tolerably warm and from the northeast, the
temperature of the water fifty-three. We now again got our
sounding-gear in order, and, with a hundred and fifty fathoms of
line, found the current setting toward the pole at the rate of a mile
an hour. This constant tendency to the southward, both in the wind
and current, caused some degree of speculation, and even of alarm, in
different quarters of the schooner, and I saw distinctly that no
little impression had been made upon the mind of Captain Guy. He was
exceedingly sensitive to ridicule, however, and I finally succeeded
in laughing him out of his apprehensions. The variation was now very
trivial. In the course of the day we saw several large whales of the
right species, and innumerable flights of the albatross passed over
the vessel. We also picked up a bush, full of red berries, like those
of the hawthorn, and the carcass of a singular-looking land-animal.
It was three feet in length, and but six inches in height, with four
very short legs, the feet armed with long claws of a brilliant
scarlet, and resembling coral in substance. The body was covered with
a straight silky hair, perfectly white. The tail was peaked like that
of a rat, and about a foot and a half long. The head resembled a
cat's, with the exception of the ears- these were flopped like the
ears of a dog. The teeth were of the same brilliant scarlet as the
claws.
January 19.- To-day, being in latitude 83 degrees 20', longitude
43 degrees 5' W. (the sea being of an extraordinarily dark colour),
we again saw land from the masthead, and, upon a closer scrutiny,
found it to be one of a group of very large islands. The shore was
precipitous, and the interior seemed to be well wooded, a
circumstance which occasioned us great joy. In about four hours from
our first discovering the land we came to anchor in ten fathoms,
sandy bottom, a league from the coast, as a high surf, with strong
ripples here and there, rendered a nearer approach of doubtful
expediency. The two largest boats were now ordered out, and a party,
well armed (among whom were Peters and myself), proceeded to look for
an opening in the reef which appeared to encircle the island. After
searching about for some time, we discovered an inlet, which we were
entering, when we saw four large canoes put off from the shore,
filled with men who seemed to be well armed. We waited for them to
come up, and, as they moved with great rapidity, they were soon
within hail. Captain Guy now held up a white handkerchief on the
blade of an oar, when the strangers made a full stop, and commenced a
loud jabbering all at once, intermingled with occasional shouts, in
which we could distinguish the words Anamoo-moo! and Lama-Lama! They
continued this for at least half an hour, during which we had a good
opportunity of observing their appearance.
In the four canoes, which might have been fifty feet long and
five broad, there were a hundred and ten savages in all. They were
about the ordinary stature of Europeans, but of a more muscular and
brawny frame. Their complexion a jet black, with thick and long
woolly hair. They were clothed in skins of an unknown black animal,
shaggy and silky, and made to fit the body with some degree of skill,
the hair being inside, except where turned out about the neck,
wrists, and ankles. Their arms consisted principally of clubs, of a
dark, and apparently very heavy wood. Some spears, however, were
observed among them, headed with flint, and a few slings. The bottoms
of the canoes were full of black stones about the size of a large egg.
When they had concluded their harangue (for it was clear they
intended their jabbering for such), one of them who seemed to be the
chief stood up in the prow of his canoe, and made signs for us to
bring our boats alongside of him. This hint we pretended not to
understand, thinking it the wiser plan to maintain, if possible, the
interval between us, as their number more than quadrupled our own.
Finding this to be the case, the chief ordered the three other canoes
to hold back, while he advanced toward us with his own. As soon as he
came up with us he leaped on board the largest of our boats, and
seated himself by the side of Captain Guy, pointing at the same time
to the schooner, and repeating the word Anamoo-moo! and Lama-Lama! We
now put back to the vessel, the four canoes following at a little
distance.
Upon getting alongside, the chief evinced symptoms of extreme
surprise and delight, clapping his hands, slapping his thighs and
breast, and laughing obstreperously. His followers behind joined in
his merriment, and for some minutes the din was so excessive as to be
absolutely deafening. Quiet being at length restored, Captain Guy
ordered the boats to be hoisted up, as a necessary precaution, and
gave the chief (whose name we soon found to be Too-wit) to understand
that we could admit no more than twenty of his men on deck at one
time. With this arrangement he appeared perfectly satisfied, and gave
some directions to the canoes, when one of them approached, the rest
remaining about fifty yards off. Twenty of the savages now got on
board, and proceeded to ramble over every part of the deck, and
scramble about among the rigging, making themselves much at home, and
examining every article with great inquisitiveness.
It was quite evident that they had never before seen any of the
white race- from whose complexion, indeed, they appeared to recoil.
They believed the Jane to be a living creature, and seemed to be
afraid of hurting it with the points of their spears, carefully
turning them up. Our crew were much amused with the conduct of
Too-wit in one instance. The cook was splitting some wood near the
galley, and, by accident, struck his axe into the deck, making a gash
of considerable depth. The chief immediately ran up, and pushing the
cook on one side rather roughly, commenced a half whine, half howl,
strongly indicative of sympathy in what he considered the sufferings
of the schooner, patting and smoothing the gash with his hand, and
washing it from a bucket of seawater which stood by. This was a
degree of ignorance for which we were not prepared, and for my part I
could not help thinking some of it affected.
When the visitors had satisfied, as well as they could, their
curiosity in regard to our upper works, they were admitted below,
when their amazement exceeded all bounds. Their astonishment now
appeared to be far too deep for words, for they roamed about in
silence, broken only by low ejaculations. The arms afforded them much
food for speculation, and they were suffered to handle and examine
Poe, Edgar Allen - The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe Page 94