Sailing from the Downs on the 17th September, 1822, Weddell proceeded direct for the Antarctic ice, and on January 12th, 1823, he was in sight of the east end of the South Orkneys. He landed there on the 15th and secured 116 sea leopard skins. Still sailing south, Weddell found himself on the 7th February among many icebergs, one of them two miles long and 250 feet high. He crossed the Antarctic Circle, and on the 14th, in Long. 68° 28′ W., there were 66 icebergs in sight. The current was flowing N. 58° E., 27 miles in four days. But on February 16th, in 70° 26′ S. the sea was smooth and the bergs had nearly disappeared. In 72° 33′ S. there was not a particle of ice to be seen. Weddell’s furthest south was attained on the 20th February 1823, in 74° 15′ S. and 34° 16′ W. There were three icebergs in sight, many whales, and innumerable birds, and it was very clear weather. The sea received the name of “King George IV his Sea.” In returning, Weddell met with less ice in 65° S. in the end of February than he did in the end of January. On the 12th March he sighted South Georgia (54° 2′) and anchored in Adventure Bay.
It should be remembered that Weddell was only incidentally a discoverer, and that his business was sealing. His age was 35 when he reached his furthest south. He continued to command merchant vessels, and in May, 1831, in the Eliza, he gave assistance to Biscoe in Tasmania. He died unmarried on September 9th, 1834, in Norfolk Street, Strand, in very straitened circumstances. In 1839 Weddell’s portrait was presented to the Royal Geographical Society by Mr John Brown, the author of a work on the search for Sir John Franklin. Captain Weddell was a fine specimen of a courageous and thoroughly efficient British seaman.
CHAPTER XLVIII
ENDERBY AND HIS CAPTAINS: BISCOE—KEMPE—BALLENY
Charles Enderby is a name which should ever receive honour from geographers. Though engaged in the Antarctic sealing trade, his captains always had orders to pay as close attention to geographical research and discovery as their work permitted them, and he was well served in this respect by the able navigators in his employment. Mr Enderby was for ten years on the Council of the Royal Geographical Society, and was an old and respected friend of the present writer.
The most important Enderby voyages of discovery were under the command of Captain John Biscoe, who, like Weddell, was a naval officer. He left the Falkland Islands in 1830 in a brig named the Tula, with the cutter Lively, Captain Avery, in company, steering south, and before the end of December he was amongst pack ice and bergs. On December 29th he was off the Sandwich Land of Cook, which he was instructed to visit; but no vestige of seal or sea elephant could be found. Biscoe, therefore, continued his voyage. On the 21st of January, 1831, he crossed the Antarctic Circle. By the 25th February the Tula was in 66° 8′ S. and 43° 54′ W. In the morning there was appearance of land, in the intervals of snow squalls, with many bergs and ice fields round the ship. The icebergs became innumerable, and there was a strong N.E. swell. Captain Biscoe considered that he could proceed no further with safety. The land appeared to be like the North Foreland, the cliffs being about the same height, probably ice cliffs resting on land. From the fore top Captain Biscoe, with a good glass, could trace the coast for 30 or 40 miles. He made an effort to reach the land in a boat, but the ice was too closely packed. On February 28th, the latitude being 66° 7′ S., longitude 49° 6′ E., high land was again sighted, with black peaks rising above the snow. For two days an attempt was made to reach it. Biscoe named a clearly seen point Cape Ann, in 65° 25′ S. and 49° 18′ E. Next day a furious gale was encountered, lasting without intermission until the 8th of March. These gales were frequent, and scurvy broke out among the crew. In April only one man, one boy, the two mates, and Biscoe himself were able to stand, so it was thought advisable to shape a course for New Zealand. The newly discovered land received the name of Enderby Land.
The Tula reached the Derwent river in Tasmania, and luckily found the Eliza, Captain Weddell, at anchor. The veteran Antarctic navigator at once sent a boat’s crew to moor the Tula and the sufferers from scurvy were all sent to the hospital.
On October 10th, 1831, the Tula and her consort sailed from Tasmania, and continued their voyage of discovery. Biscoe’s plan, in crossing the South Pacific, was to pass over Captain Cook’s track, and seek for land W.S.W. of the South Shetlands. On the 15th February, 1832, in Lat. 67° 15′ S., Long. 69° 29′ W., land was sighted at a distance of about three miles. Biscoe named the island after Queen Adelaide. He wrote:—
It has a most imposing and beautiful appearance, having one very high peak running up into the clouds., occasionally appearing both above and below them. One third of the mountains, which are about 4 miles in extent from north to south, have only a thin scattering of snow over their summits. Towards the base the other two thirds are buried in a field of snow and ice of the most dazzling whiteness. This bed of snow and ice is about four miles in extent, and slopes gradually down to cliffs 10 or 12 feet high; it is split in every direction, for at least 2 or 300 yards from its edge inwards, and appears to form icebergs, only waiting for some severe gales or other cause to break them adrift and put them in motion.
During the following days distant high mountains were in sight, and the Tula passed several islands. On the 19th February a small island in 65° 20′ S. and 66° 38′ W. was more closely examined, and named Pitt Island. On the 21st Biscoe went away in a boat, and explored a deep inlet of the mainland. He named the highest mountain after the king, Mount William, in 64° 45′ S., and the second highest Mount Moberly, after one of his old captains. On the 3rd March the Tula and her cutter were safely anchored in New Plymouth, South Shetland.
The new discovery received the name of Graham Land after the First Lord of the Admiralty. It was an island or long promontory with a lofty mountain range occupying its interior, extending from an unknown distance in the Antarctic regions across the circle, and far into the south temperate zone.