[[1]]*1
H.M.S. "Erebus". Berkeley Sound.
Falkland Isl[an]ds April 26th 1842.
rec[eive]d July 9. *2
My dear Godfather [Reverend James Dalton]*3
A very long time has now elapsed since I had the honor[sic] of being a
correspondent of yours, so long a time indeed, that I fear you may have banished me
from your recollection, on account of the ingratitude I have shown in never having
written to you since leaving home. Could I however be ever so neglectful, I could
never forget you, were it for no other reason, than the constant use to which a
microscope you gave me is put, useful as it is, I feel far more grateful to you, for the
affectionate interest you always took in the welfare of your Godson. It is true that I
never had the honor[sic] of seeing you, but I well remember passing your house &
Church, & rattling[?] over the bridge of Croft in 1829, in company with my father, &
well do I remember the visit in Glasgow which we received from two of your kind
family. My poor brother William too had been at Croft, & remembered the picture of
the Cow, so that in my younger days I had many associations intimately connecting it
with home.
You, I believe, know that I have joined Capt[ain] Ross' Expedition from an ardent
desire to become a member of what would I hoped prove an honor[sic] to Old
England, as well as to enjoy such opportunities of pursuing
[[2]] my favorite[sic] pursuit of Botany, as its progress would admit of, trusting that if
the materials collected would be small, still they would not only be new but derive an
interest from being collected in situations where there is but little chance of ships
again penetrating. We have now been 3 years in commission & how far those
collections which I have sent home may give satisfaction, the receiver can best tell.
Through Capt[ain] Ross' kindness my situation on board is very comfortable, we
have a very comfortable & large mess cabin, also a small private one, besides which
the full use of the Captain's cabin is always at my service, there the above
mentioned microscope stands on a large Table under the Stern windows, with every
glass as when it left the donor's house, at sea it is in constant employ either
examining or drawing the curious marine animals of which every Latitude has its
greater or less proportion, or dissecting the Mosses & plants gathered ashore. It has
truly arrived at a Green old Age; for the salt water tends to verdigris the stand, &
dissecting table; it boasts too of a higher power than it had, for before leaving
England I employed Pritchard to fit a triplet of 300 powers which is of immense[?]
use, from the light & large field of vision of which it admits. For Mosses, I believe it
was your constant companion, & being fonder of that order of plants than any other I
sometimes imagine that it examines a Moss
[[3]] better than anything else.
Since leaving England we have seen a little[?] of every quarter of the globe though
chiefly of the Islands belonging to the several continents, Madeira was the first place
in which we dropped Anchor, when I experienced for the first time the delightful
sensations of setting foot upon a foreign shore. Every one has described the Island
as a Paradise, & there are few of all who go to sea, who ever find any other place so
pleasant on a first visit. From thence we successively visited Tenerife, the Cape de
Verds, St Paul's rocks in the centre of the Atlantic under the line, the little Island of
Trinidad [Trindade and Matrim Vaz] off the coast of Brazil, St Helena & then the
Cape of Good Hope. Our stay at each of these places was short, merely sufficient to
take the necessary observations on Magnetism, without setting up the
Observatories. From the Cape we went to Kerguelen's Land of which Capt[ain]
Cook has given an excellent account, & remained there 3 months, there for the first
time the Observatories were established to take simultaneous observations with
those of Europe, Asia & America, they consist of two wooden houses in which the
various instruments are set up, & the observations taken by the Captains & Officers.
My time is taken up with the Botany, except on one day in each month, when very
minute observations are taken every 2 1/2 minutes for 24 hours & when every
person must be engaged. At sea our occupations are very full, the ships log
containing a full hourly register of the Thermometer, Air & Sea, the
[[4]] Barometer, Hygrometer, clouds wind, weather, Snow & rain, with a large column
for "other phenomena", where the various birds & sea animals of any consequence,
Aurora &c, are accurately put down; whenever the weather is at all tolerable I have a
tow--net over board, & catch the marine Molluscae &c, which I lay under the
microscope & draw; afterwards preserving them in spirits, of these we have now a
large collection, including all latitudes from England to 78 South; those from the latter
locality have a remarkable analogy with the Arctic forms, differing in many cases only
specifically, which is not at all the case with Antarctic Botany. Hobart Town was for a
long time our head quarters, where observatories were built by Sir Jno Franklin, &
officered by a Lieutenant & two mates from our Ships. The town was quite a home
for us for many seasons, & more particularly from the attention paid to us by the
Governor, who not only for 6 months supplied the Officers & Ships companies with
vegetables, but in a manner threw his house open to us, where I for my father's
sake, was tho' undeservedly, a most welcome guest. The climate even in winter is
delightful, the Society English & good, & the whole colony in the most promising &
flourishing condition. From thence we made our first trip to the Ice which we
consider most successful, tho' we have not yet heard what opinion may be
entertained of it at home; we can most conscientiously
[[5]] say that we could not do more either officers or crew; how we did it is another
question. The novelty of the Ice to many of us, & the immense quantity of land
discovered, the Northernmost Cape of which is to the Southward of any previous
ultima thule known, together with the fine (considering the Eolian Latitude) weather,
served to excite & to to[sic] stimulate us, & tho' the trending[?] of the land to the
Eastward, & the discovery of the Barrier*4 & burning mountain in Lat[itude] 78 S
destroyed every prospect of gaining a higher South point, still it was very satisfactory
to be brought up by obstacles which must ever prove such. The accuracy with which
we were enabled to lay down the position of the more important S. Magnetic Pole, &
the sailing over a part of the American's Lands were also to us as rival nations,
expeditions & sailors, sources of no ordinary delight. On our return to Hobart Town
we were hailed by all with enthusiasm, who crowded on board pouring invitations
upon us. From Hobart Town we sailed for Sidney[sic] where I spent some most
pleasant days with Mr McLeay's [Macleay's] amiable family, his son W[illia]m Sharpe
[Macleay]is now out there, having brought out with him all his father's collections, in
arranging which he is now very busy, as well as in amassing more notes &
specimens, than as he says he well knows how to arrange. From his writings all
know how clear his views & how extensive
[[6]] his knowledge is, & whether his Linnary[?] system be correct or no; & I was
therefore the more pleased to find him so very kind, & willing to give every
information he can. He very much reminded me of Mr Brown his intimate friend.
From Sydney we sailed for New Zealand & remained for 3 months in the Bay of
Islands, there Mosses took up my time of which I collected 70 species including the
beautiful Hypnum Menziesii, Hookeria Cristata & many other new & beautiful
species.
Our next second cruize[sic] to the Ice during last summer, tho' as successful in
regard to Latitude gained as the former, was a very different one, for we had to
penetrate through 400 miles of pack Ice in which we were nearly stationary for a
month & a half, & then we pursued our course with bad weather & foul winds,
beating along the edge of another Ice pack till the 23d of February when we were
again stopped by a continuation of the same Barrier in Lat[itude] 78º 9' & Long[itude]
161.76. from thence we made the best of our way back & running past Cape Horn
we arrived here on the 5th of April, not having seen land since leaving New Zealand.
We are as you may suppose waiting most anxiously for news from home, but have
as yet received none, mine will I know be painful, but for that I am prepared. For my
very dear Godfather I beg of you to remember me most affectionately to those of
your family whom I once knew & Believe me
Yr most dutiful & affect[ionate] God Son | Joseph D Hooker [signature]
(To the Revd Jas Dalton Esqre. | Croft) *5
ENDNOTES
1. This letter is a contemporary 19th century copy, not written in the hand of the
original author Joseph Dalton Hooker, and not signed by him. The copy was
probably made by Hooker's Mother or one of his sisters to be circulated amongst
family and friends.
2. The words "rec[eive]d July 9." appear to be written in a different hand.
3. Hooker addresses his Godfather, Reverend James Dalton, who was Rector of
Croft, in Yorkshire, and also a student of mosses.
4. This barrier was discovered by the Ross Antarctica Expedition on 28 Jan 1841. It
is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica and was named the Ross Ice Shelf after Captain
Ross. It was originally named the Victoria Barrier by Ross after Queen Victoria and
later the Great Ice Barrier, as it prevented sailing further south. Ross mapped the ice
front eastward to 160°W.
5. This note of the recipient's address appears to be written in a different hand.
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