Several large ice-islands lay upon the coast; one of which attracted my notice. It had a flat surface, was of considerable extent both in height and circuit, and had perpendicular sides, on which the waves of the sea had made no impression; by which I judged that it had not been long from land, and that it might lately have come out of some bay on the coast, where it had been formed.
At noon we were east and west of the northern part of Cape Montagu, distant about five leagues, and Freezeland Peak bore S. 16° east, distant twelve leagues; latitude observed 58° 25' S. In the morning the variation was 10° 11' east. At two in the afternoon, as we were standing to the north, with a light breeze at S.W., we saw land bearing N. 25' east, distant fourteen leagues. Cape Montagu bore at this time, S. 66° east; at eight it bore S. 40° east; Cape Bristol, S. by E.; the new land extending from N. 40° to 52° east; and we thought we saw land still more to the east, and beyond it.
Continuing to steer to the north all night, at six o'clock the next morning a new land was seen bearing N. 12° east, about ten leagues distant. It appeared in two hummocks just peeping above the horizon; but we soon after lost sight of them; and having got the wind at N.N.E. a fresh breeze, we stood for the northernmost land we had seen the day before, which at this time bore E.S.E. We fetched in with it by ten o'clock, but could not weather it, and were obliged to tack three miles from the coast, which extended from E. by S. to S.E., and had much the appearance of being an island of about eight or ten leagues circuit. It shews a surface of considerable height, whose summit was lost in the clouds, and, like all the neighbouring lands, covered with a sheet of snow and ice, except in a projecting point on the north side, and two hills seen over this point, which probably might be two islands. These only were clear of snow, and seemed covered with a green turf. Some large ice islands lay to the N.E., and some others to the south.
We stood off till noon, and then tacked for the land again, in order to see whether it was an island or no. The weather was now become very hazy, which soon turning to a thick fog, put a stop to discovery, and made it unsafe to stand for the shore; so that after having run the same distance in, as we had run off, we tacked and stood to N.W., for the land we had seen in the morning, which was yet at a considerable distance. Thus we were obliged to leave the other, under the supposition of its being an island, which I named Saunders, after my honourable friend Sir Charles. It is situated in the latitude of 57° 49' south longitude, 26° 44' west; and north, distant thirteen leagues, from Cape Montagu.
At six o'clock in the evening, the wind shifting to the west, we tacked, and stood to the north; and at eight the fog clearing away, gave us a sight of Saunders's Isle, extending from S.E. by S. to E.S.E. We were still in doubt if it was an island; for, at this time, land was seen bearing E. by S., which might or might not be connected with it; it might also be the same that we had seen the preceding evening. But, be this as it may, it was now necessary to take a view of the land to the north, before we proceeded any farther to the east. With this intention, we stood to the north, having a light breeze at W. by S., which at two o'clock in the morning of the 3d, was succeeded by a calm that continued till eight, when we got the wind at E. by S. attended by hazy weather. At this time we saw the land we were looking for, and which proved to be two isles. The day on which they were discovered, was the occasion of calling them Candlemas Isles; latitude 57° 11' S., longitude 27° 6' W. They were of no great extent, but of considerable height, and were covered with snow. A small rock was seen between them, and perhaps there may be more; for the weather was so hazy that we soon lost sight of the islands, and did not see them again till noon, at which time they bore west, distant three or four leagues.
As the wind kept veering to the south, we were obliged to stand to the N.E., in which route we met with several large ice islands, loose ice, and many penguins; and at midnight, came at once into water uncommonly white, which alarmed the officer of the watch so much, that he tacked the ship instantly. Some thought it was a float of ice; others that it was shallow water; but, as it proved neither, probably it was a shoal of fish.
We stood to the south till two o'clock next morning, when we resumed our course to the east with a faint breeze at S.S.E. which having ended in a calm, at six, I took the opportunity of putting a boat in the water to try if there were any current; and the trial proved there was none. Some whales were playing about us, and abundance of penguins: a few of the latter were shot, and they proved to be of the same sort that we had seen among the ice before, and different both from those on Staten Land, and from those at the isle of Georgia. It is remarkable, that we had not seen a seal since we left that coast. At noon we were in latitude of 56° 44' S., longitude 25° 33' W. At this time we got a breeze at east, with which we stood to the south, with a view of gaining the coast we had left; but at eight o'clock the wind shifted to the south, and made it necessary to tack and stand to the east; in which course we met with several ice-islands and some loose ice; the weather continuing hazy with snow and rain.
No penguins were seen on the 5th, which made me conjecture that we were leaving the land behind us, and that we had already seen its northern extremity. At noon we were in the latitude of 57° 8' S., longitude 23° 34' west, which was 3° of longitude to the east of Saunders's Isle. In the afternoon the wind shifted to the west; this enabled us to stretch to the south, and to get into the latitude of the land, that, if it took an east direction, we might again fall in with it.
We continued to steer to the south and S.E. till next day at noon, at which time we were in the latitude of 58° 15' S., longitude 21° 34' west, and seeing neither land nor signs of any, I concluded that what we had seen, which I named Sandwich Land, was either a group of islands, or else a point of the continent. For I firmly believe that there is a tract of land near the Pole which is the source of most of the ice that is spread over this vast southern ocean. I also think it probable that it extends farthest to the north opposite the southern Atlantic and Indian oceans; because ice was always found by us farther to the north in these oceans than any where else, which I judge could not be, if there were not land to the south; I mean a land of considerable extent. For if we suppose that no such land exists, and that ice may be formed without it, it will follow of course that the cold ought to be every where nearly equal round the Pole, as far as 70° or 60' of latitude, or so far as to be beyond the influence of any of the known continents; consequently we ought to see ice every where under the same parallel, or near it; and yet the contrary has been, found. Very few ships have met with ice going round Cape Horn: And we saw but little below the sixtieth degree of latitude, in the Southern Pacific Ocean. Whereas in this ocean, between the meridian of 40° west and 50° or 60° east, we found ice as far north as 51°. Bouvet met with, some in 48°, and others have seen it in a much lower latitude. It is true, however, that the greatest part of this southern continent (supposing there is one), must lie within the polar circle, where the sea is so pestered with ice, that the land is thereby inaccessible. The risque one runs in exploring a coast, in these unknown and icy seas, is so very great, that I can be bold enough to say that no man will ever venture farther than I have done; and that the lands which may lie to the south will never be explored. Thick fogs, snow storms, intense cold, and every other thing that can render navigation dangerous, must be encountered, and these difficulties are greatly heightened by the inexpressibly horrid aspect of the country; a country doomed by nature never once to feel the warmth of the sun's rays, but to lie buried in everlasting snow and ice. The ports which may be on the coast, are, in a manner, wholly filled up with frozen snow of vast thickness; but if any should be so far open as to invite a ship into it, she would run a risque of being fixed there for ever, or of coming out in an ice island. The islands and floats on the coast, the great falls from the ice-cliffs in the port, or a heavy snow-storm attended with a sharp frost, would be equally fatal.
After such an explanation as this, the reader must not expect to find me much farther to the south. It was, however, not for want of inclination, but for other reasons. It would have been rashness in me to have risqued all that had been done during the voyage, in discovering and exploring a coast, which, when discovered and explored, would have answered no end whatever, or have been of the least use, either to navigation or geography, or indeed to any other science. Bouvet's discovery was yet before us, the existence of which was to be cleared up; and, besides all this, we were not now in a condition to undertake great things; nor indeed was there time, had we been ever so well provided.