[[1]] Copy *1
H.M.S. Erebus, Berkeley
Sound, Faulkland Isl[an]ds, June 1st 1842.
To Charles Lyell Esquire
My dear Sir, *2
Two years & three quarters have elapsed since this Expedition left England, & yet I
have not paid the debt of gratitude I owe you:-- nor even acknowledged it in the
shape of a letter. Owning a fault being the first step towards amendment, I now do
so: & when I frankly tell you that there is no excuse to be made for my past
negligence, you will, in your usual kindness, excuse it: & accept of this letter as a
proof that I have not forgotten so grand a friend as Mr. Lyell, although my
carelessness has led me to omit my duty towards him.
The interest you took in these Ships will have, doubtless, impelled you to watch the
reports of their tardy progress; & the correspondence you keep up with my father has
informed you, to a degree, how far my own objects & his have been promoted by my
attaching myself to this Expedition. I need not, therefore, lead you to the different
Ports at which we have successively touched; but shall do my best to render this
letter interesting by endeavouring to describe what appeared to me most worthy of
remark. Though little novelty was met with till we approached Kerguelen's Land, I
cannot pass the Cape de Verds without again thanking you for Darwin's delightful
volume: for it was at Port Praya, that I first had ocular proof, not only of the truth &
accuracy of his remarks, but also of the skill with which he treats his subjects, & the
beautiful language in which he relates clothes them. Your kind present is now indeed
"a well thumbed book": for all the Officers send to me to borrow it. Nor do I know
which
[[2]] comes the most frequently under my eye, "the Geological Researcher," or the
little black profile (by Edouart) *3 that adorns the (so called) Picture Gallery of my
cabin, & which occupies a conspicuous position between Baron Humbolt *4 & my
grandfather.
Captain Cook's account of Desolation Island or (Kerguelen's Land) is most excellent,
-- as far as it goes, -- but leaves the reader so much in the dark as to the Natural
History of the island, that the opinion given to us by Geologists, before quitting
England, led us to expect that it was formed of Slate. On approaching it, this
supposition appeared near the truth, for the hills were all marked with long parallel
horizontal ledges, alternating with low steep cliffs, -- & as the snow lay on the ledges,
while the cliffs were bare, the appearance they presented was highly curious:-almost as if huge ribbons were stretched across the land. [A scetch of the Island
appears here. Underneath it is described "Entrance to Christmas harbour,
Kerguelen's Land."]
As soon, however, as a landing was effected, nothing but Trass rocks were found, &
all the mountains were composed of stream upon stream of various Lavas:-- some of
these streams, in cooling, formed a common whinstone, others a Breccia or Volcanic
conglomerate, -- whilst very many assumed a beautiful basaltic configuration, where
the pillars, though on a much smaller scale, were as regular as those of the Giants'
Causeway or Staffa. Various Quartzes, & especially Zeolites abounded: particularly
on the rocks of a looser texture, strongly reminding me of minerals on the Kilpatrick
& other
[[3]] hills in the neighbourhood of Glasgow. Abundance of Fossil woods, with details
of the situations in which they occurred, were sent home to the Geological Society by
D[octor] McCormack[sic]: *5 I need not therefore describe them to you. The Animals
& Birds were all marine. Two or 3 of the latter are probably peculiar to the Island:
especially a species of chionis, very different from that of this place, & a most
singular night Petrel, which Mr. Swainson *6 would say, "represents" the owl among
aquatic Birds. Of Insects there were but 3 species & very scarce; a Curculio, -- a
small apterous Moth, & a Spider. Plants were more abundant than I had expected,
especially Sea weeds, & Lichens & Mosses, -- which to me are still my favorites.
There were also several Jungermannia, but not in fruit.
Like all places, in or near the Antarctic Regions, the climate of Kerguelen's Land is
very uniform throughout the year. Cook found much snow in January: & though
there was always a great deal during the winter months ([June to Spetmeber]) while
we were there, yet I remember the hills being, at one time, quite bare. The weather
is, probably, always cold & peculiarly stormy. We could not get to any distance from
the Ships in boats, without imminent danger of being blown out to sea, or swamped.
The plants are all perennial, of South American forms & can endure a considerable
degree of cold without sensible injury. Ice bergs are sometimes seen off the coast
(we observed 2): but they never appear to form on any part of the Island. One of
these Bergs was stranded & went to pieces within a couple of miles of the Ships, on
the weather shore:-- a circumstance which brings to my mind the great interest as
one excited among Geologists respecting "Erratic Boulders":-- a circum subject on which
your son, as I see perceive by the Athenaeum, has been writing much. I saw no
[[4]] transported Rocks during my rambles, but Mr. Robertson of the "Terror," found a
mass of what I take to be a Syenitic Granite, near the shore, & which, there is no
doubt, was deposited there by a Berg. But more of this subject, when among the
Bergs themselves. Van Diemaen's Land was the next Island that we visited;
Tasmania, as the Natives now prefer to have it called. There Sir John Franklin *7 &
all the inhabitants received us with open arms. My time was entirely devoted to the
plants & mosses, so that I cannot say even as much of the Geology, as does Mr.
Darwin from the materials collected during his short stay. Van Diemaen's Land was
the first, out of the 11 Islands at which we touched, which is not wholly Volcanic: &
certainly it is the most English--like & delightful place that any of us had visited,
either in the New or Old World. One of the most interesting objects I saw there,
connecting Botany & Geology, was a beautiful fossil--trunk, standing erect &
completely embedded in a stream of Lava; the woody tissue is preserved in a most
singular manner & is of a pure white color. The external portion of the wood & bark
is converted into a hard & beautiful Agate, while the inner layers separate easily from
each other. Each layer again may be divided into as many vertical lamella as there
are fibres of wood in the circumference of that layer. Hence each of these ultimate
lamella consists of a single series of parallel woody fibres held together by the
cellular tissue of the medullary Rays, & is so exquisitely clear & transparent, that the
glandular tissue of coniferous plants is here rendered more distinctly evident, than I have
ever seen it in any section of living wood. I enclose a small piece, for you to subject
to the microscope. Since leaving Hobart Town, some rough notes which I had
written upon this fossil tree & put into Mr. Gunn's *8 hands, have been printed in the
"Transactions of the Natural History Society"
[[5]] of Tasmania & published thus abroad in the world:-- I much regret this, as they
never were written for, nor intended to meet, the public eye. And though I appreciate
the honor which it was thus designed to confer upon me, I am sorry, both to see so
crude a performance thus dispersed & to observe that the Printer has not been able
to decypher[sic] my words, & has evinced a more inexcusable disregard of the King's
(or Lieutenant Governor's) English, than had been been[sic] displayed in what I
actually wrote.
From Van Dieman's Land we sailed for Lord Auckland's Island, whose Natural
History resembles that of New Zealand, though I was surprized to find some Pseudo-Tropical forms of plants, reaching such a high Southern latitude:-- for instance,
Arborescent Composite & Araliaceae, Myrtaceae & small Tree--Ferns. The rocks
are Volcanic.
The same remarks hold good in Campbell's Islands, two degrees farther to the
Southward than Lord Auckland's Island.
The first Icebergs we fell in with, (lat[itude] 63° South,) were good fair samples of the
immense size & tabular form of these masses of Ice in the Antarctic Regions.
Generally speaking, they are square blocks of Ice, with flat tops & perpendicular
faces: & from the constant cold Temperature of the Latitudes in which they occur,
even during the summer months, they seem to increase their original bulk from the
falls of snow, often attaining a height of 100 --150 feet, -- & they are commonly half a
mile long or square, sometimes as much as 5 miles. These Icebergs must often,
contain large masses of rock, imbedded in their substance, but rarely exposed to
view, from being hidden & covered with snow. It is, doubtless, from this cause that
among the many thousands we encountered, so few seemed to be transporting
fragments. On the morning of the second day of January, 1840, in latitude 66°
South, the Officers of the
[[6]] Watch saw an Ice Berg, with a black mass attached to it; we landed on it &
brought off some specimens of a black loose Volcanic Rock, containing many
chrystals of Olivine. [A sketch of this Ice Berg appears here.] The accompanying
sketch from memory of the Berg & rock, may serve to show the comparative size of
the Land &Water. We were then to the Northward of the Pack, in the Regions
where the Icebergs begin to feel the influence of a warmer Air & Sea & where they
commence dissolving by slow degrees, & gradually go on lessening, as the constant
S[outh] W[est] winds drive them farther to the North. In this cus case & in all others
that I have seen, the rock appeared as if imbedded in a hole, which is probably
caused by the black substance radiating heat & so thus melting the Ice that is in
immediate contact with it, faster than the Sun's rays can (unaided) act upon other
parts of the Berg.
The first land which we made was in lat[itude] 71° S[outh]. It consisted of an
immense mass of mountains, covered with Snow & Ice, from their summits to the
Sea, except in a very few spots, where Avalanches had broken away from the
perpendicular faces of the the Cliffs. The form of this land was most irregular, but all
of it very high & raised into magnificent peaks. The mountains seemed to rise,
nearly from the water's edge, where the coast was bound with huge Ice Packs &
Bergs, & all the valleys & harbours choked up with prodigious blocks of Ice. The
entire line of land, which we traced continuously from Lat[itude] 71° to 78°, was
grand beyond anything I could have conceived, & exalted as is the opinion, which
(from pictures in books) I have formed, of the appearance of the Andes, as seen
from the ocean[.] I cannot imagine the possibility of their rivalling the mountains of
this Antarctic Continent; for these, as I have before stated, rise immediately from the
Sea, attaining an average elevation of 6,000 feet, many of the Peaks are
[[7]] 7,000 & 8,000 feet, & one or two of them 12,000 & 13,000! Their forms, too, are
highly beautiful; not round & lumpy, but piled up of pinnacles & domes, many of
which are pictures in themselves:-- Taking all together, they presented an unrivalled
groupe, of which the eye is never tired. Much do I wish that I could convey to you
any idea of the varying & lovely tints of those elements which formed the foreground
& background of the view:-- for, when we had fine weather, owing to the
transparency of the atmosphere, Sea, Sky, Clouds & Ice, all seemed to borrow
beauties one of another & to arrange themselves, in a harmonious whole, such as I
never expect to behold elsewhere.
A landing was never effected on the main, nor would it have been prudent to bring
the Ships near the land, even could we then have got over the Ice which skirts the
shore. Twice our boats went to Islands, which, from being exposed to the Sea often
have the Pack Ice washed away at the watermark. One one, belonging to a small
groupe, in about Lat[itude] 72°, there was a Colony, or Rookery as they are called, of
Penguins, which covered a great part of the rock, for the island was nothing more, it
was all Volcanic, but there were several varieties of the Trass. Not a trace of
vegetation to be seen, even of the lowest tribes of plants; nor any animal, but these
Penguins, which were actually disputing one with another for possession. Much
difficulty was experienced, both in disembarking & on regaining the Ships. A little
Syenite was also found, apparently from a Boulder.
In lat[itude] 72° 31' S[outh], we dredged in 300 fathoms deep of water, & to our great
delight, brought up the Net with many fine marine Animals; chiefly Mollusca,
Crustacea, Corals & Bicellaria. Also some Ophiura -- thus showing[sic] that the
Ocean teems with animal life, even at such an immense depth & in these remote
latitudes.
[[8]] The pebbles thus obtained were all of Trass rock & Syenite. Of the latter rock
one beautiful mass came up, about 4lbs weight, upon which only one marine animal
had begun to grow: from which circumstance (whereas all the other stones were
covered with Klustrae[?]) & from it's edges being clean & sharp, presenting all the
appearance of a fresh fracture, it seems to follow that this piece was recently
deposited by an Iceberg. And if we, in one dredging, under such unfavorable
circumstances, happen to pick up one piece, to what an extent must not, or may not,
the bottom of the sea be covered?
In Lat[itude] 76° South, we landed upon another Island & as we pulled in the boat,
along f its shores, looking for a spot where to jump out, I took particular notice of the
numerous facilities offered by this piece of land, for the transportation, not only of
large blocks, but of pebbles, water--worn Boulders, Sand & Silt. The whole
workshop of Nature was here opened to us, & her Artificers were going through their
various manipulations. The Island was low, consisting of a sloping hill[?] towards the
centre & a perpendicular cliff all round. From one end, an immense Berg stretched
out into the Sea, so that the junction of the Land & Berg could not be well defined.
Many smaller lesser bergs & small Pack Ice, surrounded it, being strewed on the
sea: half--ashore or aground. Several pieces had attached them selves to little rocks, &
when they gained bulk, would be washed away, by the sea detaching a portion of
their first support & future nucleus. The Pack Ice was full of pebbles & sand (carried
from the hills above by small avalanches) quite speckled black & white in some
cases. Other fragments of Pack Ice had abutted on the very steep pebbly beach
which occasionally occurred at the base of the cliffs, & had wafted away a good
cargo of these round pebbles. Many diminutive Bergs were tipped with variously
sized rocks & stones, which had broken off from the cliffs. There are, however, two
other circumstances in the
[[9]] formation of the land, which, doubtless, form the carrying away of much earthy
matter. The Cliffs themselves are from 2 to 300 feet high, formed of black Volcanic
Rocks, traversed horizontally by broad belts of red & white, -- which belts are
frequently twisted curved & bent in a most extraordinary manner, & from 2 -- 3 yards
in depth, giving to the entire cliff the appearance of a gigantic specimen of ribbon
Jasper. Between the top of the precipice & the slope of the mountain, there is a
narrow valley, running parallel to the former, about 20 f[ee]t deep, whose outer slope
(that towards the sea) is thus composed of the upper portion of the cliff, & from being
broken away, here & there, looks like a piece of embrasure. Hence it follows that
every avalanche from the hills above, must knock away a great deal of these
battlements & precipitate them, either deep into the ocean, or upon a Pack or Berg
below. Frost, too, must go on, gradually splitting up the outer walls of the Valley, &
since it is ½ a mile in length, loosen much débris. While passing along, we came to
several slopes of sand & gravel, of at an angle of about 70° with the sea. Here the
snow lay in little wreaths & pinnacles, from the eddies of wind; & these pinnacles
being unfavorable to harbouring more snow as it falls, the whole mass, in time, must
be carried down & float off from the Island. [There is a sketch here, of the cliffs, with
the Ship anchored off shore.]
I feel as if I were trespassing too largely on your patience by making this letter so
long. The subject, however has hurried me beyond the limits of good manners. I
cannot break off, without alluding to the last Geological feature which struck us
during this cruize & was met with, nearly at the "Ultimate Thule" *9 of our voyage. On
the morning which followed that on which we landed at the last--mentioned Island,
the 2 mountains called "Erebus & Terror" were discovered in lat[itude] 77° 30' S[outh]
or thereabouts. The former, emitting clouds of Smoke, was an active Volcano, &
M[oun]t "Terror,"
[[10]] was too crater shaped at top not to be recognized as an extinct one. The
public papers will, however, give you all the information we could collect respecting
them, so I only add a crude but accurate sketch of their appearance when about 40
miles off. [A sketch of the two mountains appears here.]
The tow net produced many novelties in different branches of Nat[ural] History & was
used on all practicable occasions. Among other things I collected a Diatoma, similar
to, if not identical with, that which is so abundant in the Fossil Powders of Germany,
Ireland & N[orth] America. In some places it covers the sea, mixed with microscopic
Infusoria of wonderful forms & staining the young Ice for thousands of miles with a
brown color. I also procured it abundantly in the stomachs of various sp[ecies] of
Salpa, obtained in soundings at various depths & in the open sea, N[orth] of the
Pack. Whether Diatoma be animal or vegetable, I cannot decide. Infusoria of the
genus Xanthodium[sic] always accompanied it, & many others: its abundance & the
features, which by coloring the water, it gives to the Seascape, are in the last degree
wonderful, but I cannot trouble you with extracts from my notes on the subject. All I
have seen however, but confirms my own belief that it is Vegetable.
And now I close this prosy epistle, only adding that I have made a small Geological
collection, in the hope you your son will accept the best of it:-- while collecting, I have
experienced no small pleasure in the thought that so kind a friend will prize what I
gather. A selection of whatever else I have obtained that may prove interesting is at
the service of your family. I offer my best compliments to Mrs. Lyell, your daughters
& the rest of your family. Also to Mr. Horner. *13 -- Most sincerely do I hope to find
you in health & happiness when I return.
Sincerely & respectfully y[ou]rs | (Signed) J.D. Hooker.
ENDNOTES
1. This letter is a 19th Century manuscript copy written in a hand not that of the
original author, Joseph Dalton Hooker, and not signed by him. The copy was
probably made by Hooker's mother or sister so that a version could be circulated
amongst family and friends.
2. Charles Lyell, Esquire, was the father of Sir Charles Lyell, a British lawyer and the
foremost geologist of his day and author of Principles of Geology.
3. Auguste Edouart (1789--1861) was a French born portrait artist who worked in
England, Scotland and USA. He specialised in silhouette portraits.
4. Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (1769-- 1859). Prussian
geographer, naturalist and explorer.
5. Robert McCormick was the Surgeon on board H.M.S. 'Erebus' during the Ross
Antarctic Expedition.
6. William John Swainson (1789--1855). English ornithologist, malacologist,
conchologist, entomologist and artist.
7. Rear--Admiral Sir John Franklin (1786--1847). British Royal Navy officer and
explorer of the Arctic who served as Lieutenant--Governor of Van Diemen's Land.
He disappeared on his last expedition, attempting to chart and navigate a section of
the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic.
8. Ronald Campbell Gunn (1808--1881). Botanist & politician resident in Tasmania.
Collected with Joseph Hooker when he stopped in Tasmania during the Ross
Antarctic Expedition and continued to correspond with Hooker and send specimens
to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
9. The term "Ultima Thule", in medieval geographies, denotes any distant place
located beyond the "borders of the known world."
10. Leonard Horner (1785--1864). Scottish merchant, geologist and educational
reformer. He was a co--founder of the School of Arts of Edinburgh, now Heriot--Watt
University. He was President of the Geographical Society in 1846 and 1860.
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