A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions

Introduction etc.

A

VOYAGE

OF

DISCOVERY AND RESEARCH

IN THE

SOUTHERN AND ANTARCTIC REGIONS,

DURING THE YEARS 1839–43.

BY

CAPTAIN SIR JAMES CLARK ROSS, R.N.

KNT., D.C.L. OXON., F.R.S., ETC.

WITH PLATES, MAPS, AND WOODCUTS.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 1847.

London: Spottiswoode and Shaw, New-street Square.

Christmas Harbour Kerguelen Island from an Elevation of about 600 feet

TO

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

THE EARL OF MINTO, G.C.B.

LORD PRIVY SEAL,

LATE FIRST LORD COMMISSIONER OF THE ADMIRALTY,

UNDER WHOSE AUSPICES

THE EXPEDITION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TO THE ANTARCTIC REGIONS

WAS SENT FORTH,

THIS NARRATIVE OF ITS PROCEEDINGS

IS,

WITH GRATITUDE AND RESPECT,

BY PERMISSION,

,

BY HIS LORDSHIP'S OBEDIENT AND FAITHFUL SERVANT,

JAMES CLARK ROSS.

INTRODUCTION.

At the eighth meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Newcastle, in August, 1838, the attention of the physical section of that body was directed to the number and importance of desiderata in that great practical branch of science called Terrestrial Magnetism, by Lieutenant-Colonel Sabine of the Royal Artillery; and a Committee was appointed, consisting of Sir John Herschel, Mr. Whewell (now Master of Trinity College, Cambridge), Mr. Peacock (now Dean of Ely), and Professor Lloyd, of Trinity College, Dublin, to represent to Her Majesty's Government a series of resolutions adopted by the British Association; and as these resolutions exhibit the general outline of objects sought to be attained, they are inserted here, as pointing out clearly the causes in which the Expedition to the Antarctic regions originated.

"Resolved—1. That the British Association views with high interest the system of simultaneous magnetic observations which has been for some time carried on in Germany and various parts of Europe, and the important results to which it has already led; and that they consider it highly desirable that similar series of observations, regularly continued in correspondence with, and in extension of these, should be instituted in various parts of the British dominions.

"2. That this Association considers the following localities as particularly important:—Canada, Ceylon, St. Helena, Van Diemen's Land, and Mauritius, or the Cape of Good Hope; and that they are willing to supply instruments for their use.

"3. That in these series of observations the three elements of horizontal direction, dip, and intensity, or their theoretical equivalents, be insisted on, as also their hourly changes, and, on appointed days, their momentary fluctuations.

"4. That the Association considers it highly important that the deficiency, yet existing in our knowledge of terrestrial magnetism in the southern hemisphere, should be supplied by observations of the magnetic direction and intensity, especially in the high southern latitudes between the meridians of New Holland and Cape Horn; and they desire strongly to recommend to Her Majesty's government the appointment of a naval expedition expressly directed to that object.

"5. That in the event of such expedition being undertaken, it would be desirable that the officers charged with its conduct should prosecute both branches of the observation alluded to in Resolution 3., so far as circumstances will permit.

"6. That it would be most desirable that the observations so performed, both at the fixed stations and in the course of the expedition, should be communicated to Professor Lloyd.

"7. That Sir J. Herschel, Mr. Whewell, Mr. Peacock, and Professor Lloyd, be appointed a Committee to represent to Government these recommendations."

A memorial was addressed to the Government by the Committee above named, embodying the chief arguments for taking up the cause as a national concern, and specifying more particularly the objects proposed to be accomplished, and the means of their accomplishment. This memorial, on its presentation to Lord Melbourne, was not only supported by the personal arguments of the eminent philosophers by whom it was framed, but on its being referred by the Government to the President and Council of the Royal Society, (its acknowledged advisers upon all points of scientific inquiry,) by similar and even more urgent representations on their part, "who, on this occasion, in a manner most honourable to themselves, and casting behind them every feeling but an earnest desire to render available to science the ancient and established credit of their institution, threw themselves unreservedly and with their whole weight into the scale, with immediate and decisive effect." The strong interest taken in the cause by their President, the Marquis of Northampton, on all occasions a warm and zealous friend to science, contributed, without doubt, not a little to this result.

The following Report of a joint committee of physics and meteorology, adopted by the Council of the Royal Society, on the propriety of recommending the establishment of fixed magnetic observatories, and the equipment of a naval expedition for magnetic observations in the antarctic seas, to Her Majesty's Government, was presented to Lord Melbourne by the deputation named in the appended resolutions of the Council:—

"The subject of terrestrial magnetism has recently received some very important accessions which have materially affected not only the point of view in which henceforward it will be theoretically contemplated, but also the modes of observation which will require to be adopted for completing our knowledge of the actual state of the magnetic phenomena, and furnishing accurate data for the construction and verification of theoretical systems. It was for a long time supposed that the changes in the position assumed by the needle at any particular point on the earth's surface, might be conceived as resulting from regular laws of periodicity, having for their arguments, first, a great magnetic cycle of several centuries, depending on unknown, and perhaps internal movements or relations; and, secondly, on the periodic alter of heat and cold, depending on the annual and diurnal movements of the sun. The discovery of the affection of the needle by the aurora borealis, and of the existence of minute and irregular movements, which might be referred either to unperceived auroras or to other local and temporary causes, sufficed to show that the laws of terrestrial magnetism are not so simple as to admit of this summary form of expression; and the important discovery, first announced, we believe, by Baron von Humboldt, that those temporary changes take place simultaneously at great distances in point of locality, (a discovery which has since been remarkably confirmed and extended to very great intervals of distance, so as to include the whole extent of the European continent, by Gauss and Weber, and their coadjutors of the German Magnetic Association,) has sufficed to show that the gist of the inquiry lies deeper, and depends upon relations far more complex, while at the same time the dominion of what might previously have been regarded as local agency, would require, in the new views consequent on the establishment of these facts, to be extended far beyond what ordinary usage would authorise as a just application of that epithet.

"For a long time in the history of terrestrial magnetism the variation alone was attended to. The consideration of the dip was then superadded; but the observation of this element being more difficult and delicate, our knowledge of the actual and past state of the dip over the earth's surface is lamentably deficient. It has lately appeared, however, that this element can be observed with considerable approximation, though not with nicety, at sea, so that no reason subsists why materials for a chart of the dip, analogous to that of variation, should not be systematically collected. Lastly, the intensity has come to be added to the list of observanda; and from the great facility and exactness with which it can be determined, this branch of magnetic knowledge has in fact made most rapid progress.

"These three elements, the horizontal direction, the dip, and the intensity, require to be precisely ascertained before the magnetic state of any given station on the globe can be said to be fully determined. Nor can either of them, theoretically speaking, be said to be more important than the others, though the direction, on account of its immediate use to navigators, has hitherto had the greatest stress laid upon it, and been reduced into elaborate charts. A chart of the lines of total intensity has been recently constructed by Major Sabine.

"All these elements are, at each point, now ascertained to be in a constant state of fluctuation, and affected by those transient and irregular changes which are above alluded to; and the investigation of the laws, extent, and mutual rela of these changes, is now become essential to the successful prosecution of magnetic discovery, for the following reasons:—

"1st. That the progressive and periodical being mixed up with the transitory changes, it is impossible to separate them so as to obtain a correct knowledge and analysis of the former without taking express account of and eliminating the latter, any more than it would be practicable to obtain measures of the sea-level available for an inquiry into the tides, without destroying the irregular fluctuation produced by waves.

"2ndly. That the secular magnetic changes cannot be concluded from comparatively short series of observation, without giving to those observations extreme nicety, so as to determine with perfect precision the mean state of the elements at the two extremes of the period embraced, which, as already observed, presupposes a knowledge of the casual deviations.

"3rdly. It seems very probable that discordances found to exist between results obtained by different observers, or by the same at different times, may be, in fact, not owing to error of observation, but may be due to the influence of these transitory fluctuations in the elements themselves.

"4thly and lastly, Because the theory of these transitory changes is in itself one of the most interesting and important points to which the attention of magnetic inquirers can be turned, as they are no doubt intimately connected with the general causes of terrestrial magnetism, and will probably lead us to a much more perfect knowledge of those causes than we now possess.

"Actuated by these impressions, on the occasion of a letter addressed by Baron von Humboldt to His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, P.R.S., the Council of this Society, on April 13. 1837, resolved to apply to Government for aid in prosecuting, in conjunction with the German Magnetic Association, a series of simultaneous observations; and in consequence of an application founded on such their resolution, a grant of money was obtained for the purchase of instruments for that purpose. By reason, however, of the details and manipulations of the methods then recently introduced into magnetic observations by Gauss being at that time neither completely perfected, nor their superiority over the old methods fully established by general practice, the precise apparatus to be employed in these operations was not at the time agreed upon, and was still under discussion, subject to the report of the Astronomer Royal on the performance of an instrument on Gauss's principle established at Greenwich, at the time when the subject in its present more extended form was referred by the Council to this Joint Committee, so that the grant in question has not, in point of fact, been employed or called for. The Committee consider this as in some respects fortunate, as in consequence of the delay time has been given for a much maturer consideration of the whole subject; and should it now be taken up as a matter of public concern, they consider that it will be necessary to provide for a more continuous and systematic series of observations, by observers regularly appointed for the purpose and provided with instruments and means considerably more costly than those contemplated on the occasion in question.

"On the general advisableness of calling for public assistance in the prosecution of the extensive subject of terrestrial magnetism, in both the modes referred to them for their consideration, (viz. by magnetic observatories established at several stations properly selected on land, and by a naval expedition expressly directed to such observations in the antarctic seas,) your Committee are fully agreed. They consider the subject to have now attained a degree of theoretical as well as of practical importance, and to afford a scope for the application of exact inquiry which it has never before enjoyed, and which are such as fully to justify its recommendation by the Royal Society to a revival of that national support to which we are indebted for the first chart of variations constructed by our illustrious countryman Halley in A.D. 1701, on the basis of observations collected in a voyage of discovery expressly equipped for that purpose by the British government.

"As regards the first branch of the question referred to their consideration, they are of opinion that the stations which have been suggested to them, viz. Canada, St. Helena, the Cape, Van Diemen's Land, and Ceylon (or Madras), are well selected, and perhaps as numerous as they could venture to recommend, considering the expense which would require to be incurred at each, and, that in each of these stations it would be desirable,

1st. That regular hourly observations should be made (at least during the daytime) of the fluctuations of the three elements of variation, dip, and intensity, or their equivalents, with magnetometers on the more improved construction, during a period of three years from their commencement.

"2ndly. That on days, and on a plan appointed, agreed on in concert with one another and with European observatories, the fluctuations of the same elements should be observed during twenty-four successive hours, strictly simultaneous with one another, and at intervals of not more than five minutes.

"3rdly. That the absolute values of the same elements shall be determined at each station, in reference to the fluctuating values above mentioned, with all possible care and precision, at several epochs comprehended within the period allowed.

"4thly. That in the event of a naval expedition of magnetic discovery being despatched, observations be also instituted at each fixed station, in correspondence with, and on a plan concerted with the commander of, such expedition.

"As regards the second branch of the subject referred to them, viz., the proposal of an antarctic voyage of magnetic research, they are of opinion, as already generally expressed, that such a voyage would be, in the present state of the subject, productive of results of the highest importance and value; and they ground this opinion on the following reasons:—

"1st. That great and notorious deficiencies exist in our knowledge of the course of the variation lines generally, but especially in the antarctic seas, and that the true position of the southern magnetic pole or poles can scarcely even be conjectured with any probability from the data already known.

"2ndly. That our knowledge of the dip throughout those regions, and the whole southern hemisphere, is even yet more defective, and that even such observations of this element as could be procured at sea, still more by landing on ice, &c., would have especial value.

"3rdly. That the intensity lines in those regions rest on observations far too few to justify any sure reliance on their courses over a large part of their extent, and over the rest are altogether conjectural. Nevertheless, that there is good reason to believe in the existence and accessibility of two points of maximum intensity in the southern as in the northern hemisphere, the attainment of which would be highly interesting and important.

4thly. That a correct knowledge of the courses of these lines, especially where they approach their respective poles, is to be regarded as a first and, indeed, indispensable preliminary step to the construction of a rigorous and complete theory of terrestrial magnetism.

"5thly. That during the progress of such an expedition, opportunities would of necessity occur (and should be expressly sought) to observe the transitory fluctuations of the magnetic elements in simultaneous conjunction with observations at the fixed stations and in Europe, and so to furnish data for the investigation of these changes in localities very unlikely to be revisited for any purposes, except those connected with scientific inquiries.

"Your Committee, in making this Report, think it unnecessary to go into any minute details relative to the instruments or other matériel required for the proposed operations, still less into those of the conduct of the operations themselves. Should such be required from them, it will then be time to enter further into these and other points, when the Committee will most readily devote themselves to the fullest consideration of the subject.

RESOLUTIONS OF THE COUNCIL.

1. That this Report be received and approved.

2. That the Council, deeply impressed with the importance of the scientific objects which might be attained by an antarctic expedition, particularly by the institution of magnetic observations in southern regions, do earnestly recommend that Her Majesty's Government be pleased to direct the equipment of such an expedition.

3. That the imperfect state of our present knowledge of the amount and fluctuations of the magnetic elements, renders the establishment of fixed magnetical observatories, for a limited time, at various points of the earth's surface, highly desirable, particularly in Canada, St. Helena, Van Diemen's Land and Ceylon, and at the Cape of Good Hope; and that the Council do earnestly recommend Her Majesty's Government to cause such observatories to be established.

4. That a deputation, consisting of the President, Treasurer, and Secretaries of the Society, Sir John F. W. Herschel, the Chairman, and Major Sabine and Mr. Wheatstone, the Secretaries of the joint Committee of Physics and Meteorology, be requested to communicate the above Resolutions to Lord Melbourne, and to urge on the Government the adoption of the measures therein proposed.

Thus urged upon the Government by the most illustrious philosophers of our country, the request was acceded to by Lord Melbourne; and the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty being pleased to honour me with the command, I received my commission for Her Majesty's ship Erebus, on the 8th of April, 1839, and their Lordships' directions to proceed with the equipment of the expedition upon the most liberal scale, to be provided with all requisite means to carry into full execution the several points suggested, and observations recommended, by the two learned bodies, in the most complete manner. The Erebus, a bomb of three hundred and seventy tons, like all others of her class, was of strong build and with a capacious hold. The second vessel appointed for the service was the Terror, of three hundred and forty tons; she had been originally strengthened for contending with the ice of the arctic seas, upon the occasion of the detention of so many of our whale ships in Baffin's Bay, during the winter of 1836, and employed in the subsequent summer under the command of Sir George Back, upon his arduous but unsuccessful attempt to reach Repulse Bay. The damages she sustained during that voyage had already been repaired, and her fortification being considered perfectly sufficient, she was not commissioned until a month later, by my trusty and tried friend and messmate, Commander Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier; and from the numerous applicants for the service, the following officers were selected and appointed to the Erebus and Terror:—

EREBUS. | TERROR.

Captain. | |James Clark Ross. | Commander. | Francis R. M. Crozier.

Lieutenant. | |Edward Joseph Bird. | Lieutenant. | Archibald McMurdo.

|John Sibbald. | Charles G. Phillips.

|James F. L. Wood. | Joseph W. Kay.

Master. | |Charles T. Tucker. | Master. | Pownall P. Cotter (acting).

Surgeon. | |Robert McCormick. | Surgeon. | John Robertson.

Purser. | |Thomas R. Hallett. | Clerk in Charge. | George H. Moubray.

Mate. | |Alexander J. Smith. | Mate. | Peter A. Scott.

|Henry Oakeley. | Thomas E. L. Moore.

|Joseph Dayman. | William Molloy.

Assistant Surgeon. | |Joseph D. Hooker. | Assistant Surgeon. | David Lyall.

Second Master. | |Henry B. Yule. | Second Master. | John E. Davis.

The complement of each ship amounting to sixty-four persons.

Every improvement that former experience could suggest in preparing the ships for the service, and contributing to the health, comfort, and safety of their crews, was granted by the Admiralty; and from Mr. Rice, of Chatham Dock Yard, to whom I am indebted for the memorandum of the fittings of the Erebus at Chatham Dock, inserted in the Appendix, I received that zealous and able assistance which, from his high abilities, but, I regret to say, unrewarded merits, I had reason to expect.

As opportunities might not occur of replenishing our stores and provisions, it was desirable to carry with us as much as we could possibly stow away. Preserved meats, according to Donkin's invention, in consequence of their portability and excellence, formed a large proportion of our provisions; these were chiefly furnished by John Gillon and Co., of Leith, and proved most excellent of their kind. I would, however, suggest to them and others engaged in this branch of trade, that for voyages of several years' duration it would be better that the canisters in which the meats are preserved, should be of a much stouter tin, equal at least to those originally used by Messrs. Donkin and Co., their canisters being liable to rust through when long on board a ship and in hot climates. The following is a list of the quantities supplied by different firms:—

| | |Meats. | |Vegetables. | |Soups. | |Concent. Soup. | Total Weight.

| | |lbs. | |lbs. | |pints. | |¼ pints. | {| | |lbs.

Meats | |33,484

Vegetables | |15,004½

Soups (equal to) | |6140

Gravy | |4808½

Total | |59,437

{| align=center | Tons | Cwt. | Qrs. | Lbs.

or | 26 | 10 | 2 | 14

|} |- ||Gillon|||14,188|||1512|||– –|||8217 |- ||Gamble |||4802|||4300|||230|||1651 |- ||Cope|||4324|||1700|||2000|||2000 |- ||Nicol|||3480|||850|||482|||1160 |- ||Cooper|||3732|||5398½|||2400|||3400 |- ||Wells|||2958|||1244|||1028|||2806 |- ||Total|||33,484|||15,004½|||6140|||19,234 |}

and the relative proportion of each of the several kinds is given in the following table, from which it will be seen that no pains or expense were spared to provide the expedition with such provisions as should be most likely not only to preserve the health of their crews, but add greatly to their comfort; nor would the liberality with which our ships were supplied be ill bestowed, if extended to the whole of our navy; indeed, in the end, I believe there would be a considerable saving of expense, and the subject is well deserving the attention of our rulers, if it were upon the score of humanity alone, when the great amount of suffer , disease, and death, that might be averted by furnishing our ships with a large supply of the preserved meats and vegetables is taken into consideration.

A LIST OF ARTICLES SUPPLIED FOR THE USE OF THEANTARCTIC EXPEDITION IN THE YEAR 1839.

{| | PRESERVED MEATS, SOUPS, AND VEGETABLES.

Mutton, | boiled | |3740 | lbs.

|" | roasted | |3924 | |"

|" | seasoned | |12 | |"

|" | and vegetables | |184 | |"

Beef, | boiled | |4005 | |"

|" | roasted | |4232 | |"

|" | seasoned | |3937 | |"

|" | and vegetables | |4158 | |"

Veal, | roasted | |3000 | |"

|" | boiled | |986 | |"

|" | seasoned | |22 | |"

|" | and vegetables | |14 | |"

Ox-cheek | |2872 | |"

|" | and vegetables | |336 | |"

Soup and bouilli | |2062 | |"

Concentrated gravy soup | |290 | pints

Ditto | |2898 | ½ "

Ditto | |12278 | ¼ "

||

PRESERVED MEATS, SOUPS, AND VEGETABLES.

Vegetable soup | |2618 | pints

Ditto | |1761 | qts.

Carrots and gravy | |528 | lbs.

Turnips and gravy | |436 | |"

Dressed cabbage | |366 | |"

Table vegetables | |471 | |"

Mixed vegetables | |200 | |"

Carrots | |10,782 | |"

Parsneps | |1201 | |"

Beet-root | |480 | |"

Onions | |300 | |"

Turnips | |180 | |"

MEDICAL COMFORTS.

Cranberries | |2690 | lbs.

Pickles, | mixed | |2493 | |"

|" | walnuts | |2453 | |"

|" | onions | |2511 | |"

|" | cabbage | |2398 | |"

Mustard | |624 | |"

Pepper | |120 | |"

|}

Warm clothing of the best quality was also furnished to both ships, to be issued gratuitously to the crews whilst employed amongst the ice, to protect them from the severity of the climate, and every arrangement was made in the interior fitting of the vessels that could in any way contribute to the health or comfort of our people.

As soon as our preparations were completed, I received my final instructions from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, which, in accordance with custom, are here inserted:—

By the Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, &c.

Whereas it has been represented to us that the science of magnetism may be essentially improved by an extensive series of observations made in high southern latitudes, and by a comparison of such observations with others made at certain fixed stations, and whereas practical navigation must eventually derive important benefit from every improvement in that science; we have, in consideration of these objects, caused Her Majesty's ships Erebus and Terror to be in all respects prepared for a voyage for carrying into complete execution the purposes above mentioned: and from the experience we have had of your abilities, zeal, and good conduct, we have thought fit to entrust you with the command of the expedition, and to direct Commander Crozier, whom we have appointed to Her Majesty's ship Terror, to follow your orders for his proceedings.

You are therefore required and directed, as soon as both vessels shall be in all respects ready, to put to sea with them, and on your way to your ulterior destination, you will touch at the Island of Madeira, in order to obtain the sea-rates of the several chronometers with which each vessel has been supplied. From thence (but making a short series of observations at the Rock of St. Paul) you will make the best of your way to the Island of St. Helena, where you are to land the observers and the instruments for the fixed magnetic observatory intended for that station.

In approaching that island, and in proceeding from thence to the Cape of Good Hope, you will endeavour to ascertain at what point you cross the curve of least magnetic intensity; the interest attached to the place of which is set forth in the herewith inclosed Report of the council of the Royal Society; and this Report having been drawn up at our especial request, and containing the several objects of scientific inquiry recommended to your attention by that body, you will follow their suggestions, and carry out their views, as far as may be in your power, consistently with the safety of Her Majesty's ships, and with the means we have placed at your disposal.

At the Cape of Good Hope the instruments and observers for the second fixed magnetic observatory are to be carefully landed; and having completed your water, and replaced the stores which you have expended, you are to proceed to the eastward, touching at Marion and Crozet Isles for observations, if the weather and other circumstances should be favourable for that purpose.

As we have provided the expedition with invariable pendulums, and all the necessary apparatus for determining the figure of the earth; and as it is desirable that these observations should be made at several points, more especially in high southern latitudes, it is probable that Kerguelen Island will be found well suited to that purpose, as well as to an extensive series of magnetic and other observations; but the selection of these stations is freely confided to your judgment.

If the operations at Kerguelen Island, or at such other places as you may select, should be completed before the end of February, 1840, you will possibly find the sea sufficiently open to proceed directly to the southward, to examine those places where indications of land have been noticed, and to make the requisite observations on any outlying islands that you may be able to discover; but, at that advanced period of the season, you are cautiously to avoid being beset in the ice, as your early arrival at Van Diemen's Land is of far greater importance to the great object of the expedition than any results you could hope there to obtain.

Should your observations at Kerguelen Island detain you beyond the above specified period, you will have an opportunity of touching at the Islands of St. Paul and Amsterdam, and of proceeding to Van Diemen's Land by whatever course shall appear to you best calculated for inferring the position of the magnetic pole.

At Van Diemen's Land you are to communicate with Lieutenant Governor Sir John Franklin, who will have been instructed to prepare instruments for the third magnetic observatory, which you are to establish in the most advantageous position, and to place in charge of an officer, with a sufficient number of assistants, to enable him to continue uninterruptedly the observations proposed to be made during the period of your absence, making such provision for their victualling and lodging as appears to be most convenient, and not inconsistent with the Naval Regulations.

Having brought this observatory into active operation, you will lose no time in proceeding to Sydney, which, according to the views contained in the before-mentioned Report, will be a station eminently fitted for the determination of all the magnetic elements, and which will hereafter be the centre of reference for every species of local determination.

The remaining winter months may be advantageously employed in visiting New Zealand and the adjacent islands, and in obtaining there as many series of observations as the time will allow, in order to enable you to judge with greater precision of the course to be adopted in the following summer; but taking care to return to Van Diemen's Land by the end of October, to refit Her Majesty's ships, and to prepare them for a voyage to the southward.