The ship's company now began to show much disposition to the scurvy, and what made it more distressing, we had nothing in the ship with which we could hope to check the progress of that destructive disease, except a little essence of malt, that we continued to serve to the ship's company. We had only to hope for a speedy passage to the Cape of Good Hope, where we should, without a doubt, with the good things which were to be had there, be able to re-instate their health perfectly: I was so far from being surprised at this appearance of the scurvy amongst the company of the Sirius, so soon after leaving her port, that it was with me rather a matter of wonder that it had not shown itself sooner; and so it must be with every person who considers how they had lived since we left the Cape outward bound; during that time (about 13 or 14 months) they had not tasted a bit of fresh provisions of any kind, nor had they touched a single blade of vegetables.
We began now to be subject to hazy moist weather, with frequent very thick fogs; the latitude 55° 30' south, and longitude 306° 00' east; the weather was very cold, and very high islands of ice were seen in every quarter, some of a prodigious size: for fourteen days after we got to the eastward of Cape Horn, we were beating to the north-east, anxious to get so far to the northward as to feel the influence of the summer sun, by which it was to be hoped and expected our scorbutic patients might be much relieved. In latitude 52° 30' south, and longitude 318° 20' east, the wind inclined to the southward of east, with hazy moist weather, and we steered to the north-east. We found many large whales here; they seemed to go in droves of from five and six to fifteen and twenty together, spouting within a cable's length of the ship, and sometimes so near that it would have been no difficult matter to harpoon them from the fore part of the ship as they passed under the bows.
On the 12th of December, Henry Fitz-Gerald, a feaman, departed this life; he was troubled with a disease in his lungs, but the scurvy was his principal malady.
On the 13th, in the morning, we passed one of the largest ice-islands we had seen; we judged it not less than three miles in length, and its perpendicular height we supposed to be 350 feet.
In latitude 51° 33' south, and longitude 321° 00' east, the wind seemed set in at south-west, and blew a fresh steady gale, frequently attended with showers of snow or hail; the variation of the compass decreased fast, as will appear in the table annexed. On the 16th the wind shifted suddenly to the north-west quarter, and blew a steady gale. On the 19th, it blew very strong from west-north-west, with hazy weather, and frequent showers of rain, which again changed the wind to the south-west quarter, and the weather, as usual upon those changes, became fair and pleasant.
We now seemed to have got out from among the ice-islands, with which, from South Georgia to the latitude of 46° south, this ocean seems at this season of the year to be overspread. In latitude 44° 00' south, we saw the last piece of ice, and in the whole, we had been twenty-eight days among the ice, and sailed a distance of 800 leagues. We had run for several days together, at the rate of from 50 to 60 leagues in the 24 hours, in a north-east direction; and had passed through a lane or street, if it may be so called, of ice-islands, the whole of that distance: in general they were from the size of a country church, to the magnitude of one, two and three miles in circumference, and proportionably high.
Were it not that at this season of the year we had in such high latitudes very short nights, and scarcely an hour which could be called dark; it would certainly be attended with considerable danger to run in the night, the ice islands were in such vast numbers; indeed, we seldom sailed more than three or four miles, without having several upon each beam. I think the direction, in which those pieces of ice seemed to have been driven, is a strong proof of the prevalence of south-west winds in this part of the ocean. It is highly probable that they had been formed upon the coast of South Georgia and Sandwich Land, and separated from the ground early in the spring, or probably in a gale of wind during the winter. Many of them were half black, apparently with earth from the land to which they had adhered, or else, with mud from the bottom on which they had lain: for it is well known, that ice-islands, after having been driven about at sea for a length of time, become so light and spungy in that part which has been immersed in the water, that the upper part becomes heavier, and thereby they frequently overset, and may, by such a change, show some part of the ground on which they had rested. Others had large and distinct portions of them thoroughly tinged with a beautiful sea-green, or bright verdigrease colour.
In latitude 45° 30' south, and longitude 342° 00' east, the variation of the compass, which had decreased very gradually, was only 00° 4' east. We carried on strong westerly winds with us, which amply compensated for the northerly and easterly gales which detained us so long between Cape Horn and South Georgia; and it was exceedingly fortunate for us that we were so favoured by the winds, for the ship's company were falling down very fast with the scurvy; and as I have already observed, we had nothing on board with which we could hope to check its progress, much less to cure it.
Nothing certainly can promise so fair to effect so desireable a purpose, as carrying a good stock of various vegetable acids in every ship, but particularly in ships employed upon such services as the Sirius was. The elexir of vitriol, hitherto allowed, and formerly considered, not only as a preventive, but as a cure, was found by no means to answer the purpose of the former, far less of the latter. The vegetable acids, which might be provided for the use of ships upon long voyages, I apprehend would be found to occasion a very small additional expence, if any; and I am convinced in the end would be found a considerable saving.
Having on the 25th of December arrived upon the meridian of Greenwich, from which we had sailed in an easterly direction, and completed 360° of east longitude, and consequently gained 24 hours, I dropt 360° and repeated, Thursday, 25th December.