Discovery south from Patagonia made very slow progress. After three hundred years knowledge had only reached Cape Horn, the rocks of Diego Ramirez, and the distant view of land in 64° seen by Dirk Gerritsz. His discovery, granting the latitude, must have been the string of islands near the north-west coast of Graham Land. At last a vessel on her way from Monte Video to Valparaiso was, like the Good News of Dirk Gerritsz, driven far to the south. This was a brig called the Williams of Blythe, commanded by Captain William Smith. She was in 61° S. when land was sighted in February, 1819, and in a subsequent voyage, in October, Captain Smith entered a bay, named by him George’s Bay, in one of the largest of a group of islands. The group lay between 61° and 63° S. and 54° and 63° W. A chart was drawn by William H. Goddard, no doubt one of Captain Smith’s officers, and the group was named the South Shetlands. There were twelve islands reported and innumerable rocks. A channel over 300 miles in width separates the South Shetlands from Tierra del Fuego.
When Captain Smith arrived at Valparaiso in November 1819, he found there the senior officer, Captain Shirreff, R.N., of H.M.S. Andromache. Captain Shirreff took a great interest in the discovery of the South Shetlands, and it was agreed that the discoverer should take Mr Bransfield, the Master of the Andromache, with three other officers[186] and some bluejackets to carry out an extensive survey. The agreement was dated December 16th, 1819; and Mr Bransfield received full instructions for his guidance in making a survey of the newly discovered land. The Williams of Blythe, with the naval surveyors, arrived at George’s Bay on the 16th of January, 1820. The season was late, but Mr Bransfield surveyed the islands discovered by Smith and got as far south as 63°. He returned to Valparaiso May 27th[187].
Graham Land and South Shetlands
The South Shetlands were the breeding grounds of immense numbers of fur seals, and the news of this wealth spread with incredible rapidity, so that in the very next year there were from 30 to 50 American sealing vessels among the islands, altering Captain Smith’s names, and committing ruthless destruction. The pitiless slaughter could have but one result and in two or three years the fell work was done—the seals were practically exterminated. Fanning[188], the historian of these voyages, tells us that the objects were sealing and discovery, but there can be little doubt which was the preponderating motive. It is much to be regretted that there was no authority to keep within some bounds the cupidity of the sealers. In two years 320,000 fur seals had been destroyed, besides at least 100,000 young, owing to the loss of their mothers.
In 1821, the American Captains Pendleton, Williams, Dunbar, and Palmer were at work. The volcano on Deception Island was found to be active, and some islands to the S.W. were discovered, not including Trinity Island of the Admiralty Charts, which has been called Palmer Island, in 63° 25′ S. and 57° 55′ W. Trinity Land is on Bransfield’s chart. Captain Palmer continued to make sealing voyages until 1829. The South Orkney Islands were discovered by the English sealing captain Powell in 1820.
In 1829 Captain Foster came to the South Shetlands in the course of his scientific voyage, with the object of taking pendulum observations, which occupied him for two months[189]. He also explored the volcano on Deception Island. This very distinguished scientific Arctic officer, born in 1796, began his career in the Conway under Captain Basil Hall. He was with Clavering on the east coast of Greenland, with Parry in his third voyage, and also surveying in Spitsbergen in 1827, and his observations were so meritorious that he was elected F.R.S., and received the Copley Medal. He commissioned the Chanticleer in 1827 for pendulum observations and other scientific work, and made an excellent survey of Staten Island, and some of the South Shetland Islands. He was accidentally drowned in the river Chagres in 1831, and a monument was erected to his memory in the church of his native village, Woodplumpton. Some officers were serving on board the Chanticleer with Captain Foster who were afterwards well known in the service, Austin the Commodore of the chief Franklin search expedition, Collinson, leader of another search expedition and Deputy Master of the Trinity House, and Kendall the eminent surveyor[190]. Dr Webster, the surgeon, wrote the narrative of the voyage of the Chanticleer.
Thus was discovery in the direction of the Antarctic regions, on the South American meridians, slowly prosecuted, and the South Shetland Islands were an important step in advance. But they are north of the Antarctic Circle, and thus do not strictly speaking come within the range of this book, belonging rather to the geography of South America.
The first Antarctic voyage after the return of Bellingshausen penetrated much further to the south, under a very able leader. James Weddell was born in London (or Ostend?) August 24th, 1787, and his father, who was a working upholsterer, died soon after James was born. The boy was bound apprentice in a Newcastle collier, and afterwards made several voyages in a West Indiaman until 1808, when having got into trouble owing to a disagreement with his captain, which resulted in his knocking the latter down, he was sent on board H.M.S. Rainbow. Here he was rated a midshipman. He read much, carefully studied navigation, and in 1810 was appointed Master of the Firefly, and later of the Thalia. In 1812 he was appointed to the brig Avon under Commander George (afterwards Sir George) Sartorius. After 1814 he was for three years on half pay. Sir George Sartorius spoke of Weddell as one of the most efficient and trustworthy officers he had met with in the course of his professional life.
In 1822 Mr Strachan of Leith engaged Captain Weddell to conduct a sealing adventure in the Antarctic seas in the brig Jane of Leith, 160 tons, with a crew of 22 officers and men. The cutter Beaufoy of London, 65 tons, 13 officers and men, was to be her consort, commanded by Matthew Brisbane.