[[1]]
H.M.S. "Erebus" Lat. 71' 0. S. Long. 16º. W.
March 7th 1843. recd. May 25. 1843.
My dear Father
Lest there should not be time after our (hoped for) arrival at the Cape, to send a
good letter by the first ship that will sale from thence, I shall put this account of this
cruise in a state of partial forwardness, beginning it only 2 days after bearing up for
the third time from these dreary regions of the South. You will be sorry to hear that
we have not attained the high Latitude we so wished, & have been entirely foiled in
Weddell's track, by firm packs; which position we did not reach from foul winds &
other causes until it was far too late to take the pack with the ships. Our furthest
south was 71-30 Long 15 W. on 5th of March when we were brought up by heavy ice,
a few miles to the south[war]d of any previous navigator (ourselves excepted) but
Weddell. Though much disappointed it is some consolation to have run from Long
60º to 10º, further south than the French reached during their attempt to follow in the
poor sealers steps.
December 17th at 8h 30 am Made all sail down Berkeley Sound & rounding Cape
Pembroke steered for Clarence Isl[an]d to the Nd & Ed of the South Shetlands.
Running to the Southward with fresh breezes & gales with much thick misty weather
& fogs until the 24th when our position was a little to the East[war]d of Powells
Clarence Isl[an]d but the weather so thick that the land could not be made. On the
same day fell in with the first Berg & much rotten Ice. Saw some of the white
Falkland Island chionis a sure sign of the proximity of land. -- 25th Lat 42.14 Long 52.
5. W. All morning had a hard S W gale with misty weather & Snow Squalls clearing
up towards evening[,] saw many Ice bergs & the first white Petrel[.]
[[2]] As these beautiful birds never leave the immediate edge of the pack we every
moment expected to fall in with it & did so in the evening; first passing through some
heavy streams of ice we made the pack running E. & W. very heavy[,] formed of
large pieces of rotten Ice. Many Bergs were about apparently quite out of their
element, (if possible) for they were much broken up & partially melted[,] very different
indeed from the huge hard tubular masses we have been accustomed to see. 27 th
Lat 62.18 Long 52. NW light winds & calms with dense fogs, heard the surf breaking
on the ice but could see nothing. Present intention to run to the West[war]d towards
the land & go down between the Ice & Land where a passage probably occurs as on
Eastern Coast of our old land. 28th L62.44 Long 53.43. NW winds fogs & snows in
morning – drawing round in the afternoon to the West[war]d & as it blows over the
Icy hills of Palmers & Louis Philippes Lands' is colder & clearer than from over the
open sea. Many large Barrier bergs & much loose ice about[.] Many birds large
Finners whales & shoals of a smaller species speckled black & white*1. Passed two
patches of seaweed apparently the Macrocystis much battered but could not pick
them up. Running to the West[war]d at 6.20pm we made the land consisting of low
hills nearly covered with snow & several islands off it terminating to the North[war]d
in a bluff which is both further to the S[outhwar]d & East[war]d than the Point
Francaise of D'Urville. The land is not at all fine or imposing but low rounded
apparently only a few hundred feet high chiefly covered with Snow but bare here &
there often with huge glaciers. A little Isl[an]d to the NW of us appears*2 to be Hope
Isl[an]d of the old charts, *3rejected or omitted in D'Urvilles chart though not far from
the Point Francaise. In fact all his land called Terre Louis Philippe[,] Terre Joinville
&c seems to have been known long ago to Weddell but not laid down accurately in
the charts. The Bergs here were very numerous in some points blocking up the
horizon, the sea full of loose ice much
[[3]] of which was stained brown with the infusorial & confervoid remains found so
abundantly before*4. Many seals & Penguins on the ice. A very beautiful evening &
night standing to the SW along the land passing several small islets on the coast.
The Terror passing a piece of seaweed in the pack picked it up & Lyall gave me
some[,] it proves*5 to be a singular new Sargassum (so far South) very analagous to
a Auckland Isl[an]d one I have but very distinct. Frond pinnatiffid the segments 1½
inch long entire round, vesicles axillary solitary diam[eter] of a small graspe to
receptacles crowded together shortly pedicellate axillary -- colors chocolate brown -Length 3 feet & under [small sketch of seaweed appears here] -- sparingly
branched*6 (Dissect of receptacles*7 sent home)[.] Probably allied to the F[ucus].
decurrens Turn.. The plant is mentioned by Webster in the appendix to Forster's
voyage under Deception Isl[an]nd. 29th Lat. 63. 40. Long 53. 42. N winds with fogs &
mists in the morning. SE & S in the afternoon with snow endeavouring to get down to
the SE[war]d but too much ice & coming up with the heavy pack kept away to the
East[war]d. 30th Lat. 63 Long. 54. 33. strong southerly winds cloudy but clear horizon
seeing there was no hope of getting to the S[outhwar]d. in clear water East[war]d we
bent the best bower cable & bore up for the land again which we had approached by
4 pm to the S [outhwar].d of where we were before. The mountains were higher with
several peaks*8 perhaps 3000 ft high all apparently volcanic though nothing active
was seen. Enormous glaciers run all along some parts of the coast for miles
terminating towards the sea in precipices of ice. The little islands near the land are
generally bare of snow & low but several have remarkable craters on them. Bergs
very numerous & very large often aground; saw some Tern and Cormorants gulls &
other sea fowl. 31st Lat 63. 56. Long. 55. 28. Calms & light winds, a very fine day.
Carrying the land on all night running & steering to the South[war]d through openings
in the ice. A strong tide or current.
[[4]] In the evening made a very singular crater shaped conical Island to the SW of us
(landed on afterwards) & backed by what appeared other low islands all quite bare of
snow. Many mountains at the back of this again were high of a tabular form &
covered with snow & ice. The apparent isl[an]ds at the back of the conical isl[an]d
proved a continuation of the land & as the ice was very thick we lay to for the night
drifting to the South[war]d by a tide ? very fast, & then again at night with the bergs &
ice all going North again so that we could with difficulty keep our position – Jany 1st A
very fine New Years day – Lat. 64. 14 Long 55. 54. Off the land which now appears
to form a deep bight the coast trending from South to E& N or E NE. & ending in a
bluff point covered with little extinct craters & bare of snow the conical Isl[an]d is in
this bight. *9Though one of the warmest days we ever have had to the South[war]d
my black bulb Therm[ometer] in the sun would not rise above. A NE wind packed the
ice ahead during the night. Many stupendous bergs of a tubular form 2-5 miles long
off the point of land forming a chain & all aground, doubtless retaining the pack like
so many piles driven into the ground -- 2nd The pack closed in upon us & so we had
to make fast to a large piece to keep the pressure off & prevent drifting too fast. The
floes are large & far more hummocky than we have been accustomed to as if broken
up & consolidated again[,] full of holes & covered with soft treacherous snow. Many
birds about also a few King Penguins weighing 60-70 lbs. Hawk gulls, white Petrel, &
4 or 5 other petrels. *10Received two pairs of long cork soled snow boots & 2 pair of
mitts the gift of Her most gracious Majesty for which I am duly grateful both for the
honor & more particularly for the boots. – 3d Lat 64.22 Long 55.26. A heavy Northerly
gale with mist & snow, cast off from the floe & got into a little pool of water in which
we
[[5]] beat about. Gradually working up to wind ward amongst the ice to gain the bight
which latterly has cleared of ice & reached the little crater shaped Isl[an]d on the 6th
in Lat 64.12 S Long. 57. W. a beautiful day with fine sunshine & warm ? weather.
Landed on the little island which is a most singular spot; but more of it elsewhere
suffice it to say that I procured the ghosts of 18 Cryptogamic plants but no
Phenogamic. All very scarce in deed but one or two Lichens. Musci 4 sp. one coming
into fruit. Lichens 8, 1 Parmelia the rest crustaceous except a Tremella.
Protococcus? 1 sp. green –Ulva crispa! *11 Also I see found in Ross Islet according to
your list of Parry's plants. Desmarestia aculeata also a high northern plant,
Asperococcus bullatus ? or a species very nearly allied, the same as the Horn one. -the remains also of an Iridaea also a Falkland Isl[an]d. (I. micans ?). An Osciallatoria
or Calothrix. My specimens of these things are such wretched scraps that they can in
some cases only be identified. It is however a great consolation to me after so long a
cruize to gather plants further South than have been heretofore detected. I have a
full description of the Isl[an]d to send you & drawings of all the plants but the Algae;
one very beautiful & rare little Lichen I should like to name after my Godfather
Dalton[.] The white Petrel bred in the cliffs & there was a very large colony of
Cormorants & Penguins near the sea; specimens of which & the eggs I obtained for
you as also all the different rocks I could pick up without taking my eyes off the
plants. I got higher up the hill than anyone but could not gain the top, as we were
only allowed 3 hours & I could not waste the time in any such attempts, as it was, we
had not half time enough, for I am convinced that from the difficulty I had to find the
plants I did[,] that probably double the quantity exist. The Sargassum did not
[[6]] exist there. In the afternoon the winds were so light that we had to keep all the
boats towing us off the Island, the tide being very strong[,] as it was we only held our
own. At 9pm a fresh breeze springing up, we made sail for the point of land &
rounding it passed between it & the chain of bergs mentioned above. *12We had to
keep quite close to the land for the channel was very narrow between it & a very
heavy pack parallel to the shore; the low land was a very narrow cape or
promontory, quite bare of snow, with steep banks dipping down to the sea, full of
extraordinary cracks & fissures; the top is covered with little cones & craters & from
all we could see it had all the appearance of a light brown volcanic mud, which had
cracked as it had indurated & through which the vents were protruded -- or it may be
formed, & very likely is, of a mass of Scoriae ejected from the vents worn into
perpendicular escarpments (facing the sea), by the tides, & the fissures caused by
the snow melting. The appearance of the isolated pieces of land quite bare of snow
& so very near an ice bound continent is very striking. I think *13it is very much to be
accounted for by the loose nature of the soil & its the rock being porous; thus, in the
little Isl[an]d we landed on the dark coloured rocks got quite warm in the sun's rays &
the snow when melted as quickly as it turns into water is absorbed by the porous
stones, & what surplus there may be runs off along the steep bank or the frozen soil
below, for every spot that the sun does not reach is frozen, & all the rocks & ground
a few inches under the thawed warm stones were firmly embedded in a mass of ice.
The rest of the mainland on the contrary does not seem so steep & the rocks where
they crop out from under the snows & glaciers are[?] bold black bluffs apparently of
Trass. After rounding this cape which had no green thing upon it the land trended
[[7]] SW. tides running very strong between the Pack & Land.
Jany 7th Lat 64. 34 Long 57. 10 -- Between the land & the chains of Bergs in the
morning saw the Pack running from the land which it joined on to, round by S to E.
We then remained in a very narrow pool waiting for the sea to drift by, as the pack
was too firm to take with the ships – 8th Lat 64. 35. Long 57. 27. Light NE winds with
dense fogs all day keeping company with the "Terror" by firing guns beating gongs
&c. Towards the evening the tide drifting us on to a large stranded berg, & down[?]
boats, towed her off, filled to a light breeze & ran between 2 bergs. Fogs heavy all
night. 9th Gloomy with fogs & snow, made fast to a large floe the ice having closed in
all round. Constantly having to shift our position as the floe turns round -- Picked up
some frozen mud & stones from a Berg piece, which probably had been aground &
capsized over. -- 10th still fast drifting to the north[war]d. 11th Fogs & snow. Cast off
from the floe & made for a space of clear water between the pack & land. All the
afternoon working to the S.W. in a narrow channell of comparatively open water. In
about Lat. 64. 42 this low land is suddenly met with a barrier or glacier of ice
presenting a wall, far lower, but very similar to our Barrier of 78º. it meets the steep
shore quite abruptly & runs back to the higher land & mountains in a long sloping
glacier, sometimes rising into undulating hills, it may be 70 ft high -- The Bergs
hereabouts cannot have broken off from this barrier, being far higher than it is
besides being aground further from shore. As far as we saw this glacier skirted the
coast to the S.E. The tide mark was very strong at its base & colored of a b[urn]t
Sienna by the infusorial & confervoid ? remains !*14 – 12th In a pool of water between
the Bergs & Land Ice (or barrier if you like) – 13th D[itt]o] 2pm The tide took both
ships into the Lee Ice i.e. the ice to leeward, this is a very troublesome thing,
because the ice is of course most heavily
[[8]] packed to leeward & when a ship gets into it she cannot sail out, not being able
to work against the wind in a firm pack; the only way to gain the open water to
windward (or the place you came from) is to warp out, by making lines fast to the
hummocks on the ice & bringing them to the Capstern, gradually against both wind &
ice heaving her ahead between the pieces -- several warps require to be out from
different parts at a time & are hauled on or brought to the windless capstern or winch
according to circumstance. All hands, of course, strain at this work, which cannot be
done if there be much wind -- As it was it took us only 5 minutes to get into the lee
ice & 3 hours to get out. The "Terror" got was about ¼ mile further in & did not get
out extricate herself till next morning[,] the hands of course on deck until she was got out,
working hard for about 14 hours. 14th Lat 64. 33 Long 57. 24. Beset in the pack
endeavouring in the morning to warp & heave out, but unavailingly -- Drifting with the
tide along the shore about 5 miles distant. 15th warping to the NE. into a pool of
water & there hove to & made fast. Day calm & very fine, with a really warm sun; a
Berg to which [we] were close was actually dripping, the first time we ever witnessed
such a phenomena in the southern regions. 16th Southerly winds misty & snow, fast
with Terror to a piece of Ice beset in the pack. 10 pm. whilst we were one half of
each ship in the other, visiting, the floe broke up into several pieces & gave us a
jumping race to get back. Ice close & heavy again at night, drifting with the tide &
carrying away our hawsers. 17th Ice opened to the NE., cast off from floe; proceeded
Northerly for an hour, when ice packed again ahead -- beat about in a pool between
the pack & our old chain of bergs made fast to a floe at night in day. 3pm Ice
slacking, cast off & warped & bored to the North[war]d through a very heavy pack -cleared it at 7 pm & ran along the land to NE. & at 7.30 were abreast of the peaked
Isl[an]d on which we landed. During all the rest of Jan[uar]y we were either in or off
the pack edge hoping that some way of proceeding to the
[[9]] Southw[ar]d would open up -- sometimes made fast to floes, at others & often
for days beating about in little pools. Almost all the time in sight of the Lands. Pack
constantly shifting hereabouts, but I do not think it made much northing, for it was too
much influenced by winds & tides. Our present intention is to push for a few days to
the East[war]d, from along the 64ºd parallel, so as to make an easterly course for
Weddell's track. Up to the 4th of Feb[ruar]y. we continued endeavouring to get to the
East[war]d, but the ice was far too heavy & we only got beset by entering into it, &
amongst the sea ice. Capt[ai]n Ross therefore on that day bore up for the NE., to
follow the pack until we should reach W[edd[el]ls track, which he did not doubt would
be open or but slightly obstructed with pack ice. On the 4th commenced running to
NE through leads in the ice & in the afternoon met a heavy swell from the NE. A sure
sign of clear water, & by tacking & boring cleared the loose ice off the pack by 5.30
pm, in about 63. 40- (To "Terror" signal SLE).- And now when we had every chance
of getting rapidly on to the East[war]d from the constant prevalence of West[ward]ly
winds in these Latitudes we were doomed to be baffled by NE & East winds, right in
our teeth; so that our course following the pack edge was a dead beat. During the
whole of our former cruizes we never met so many East winds (putting all those
together) as we have done this Feb[ruar]y. From the 5th Feb[ruar]y Lat 63. 30 Long
52º 46' to the Long 45. 39. Lat. 64. 37. we had a dead beat along the pack edge,
which we kept in sight to the S[outhwar]d of us; here we passed a few miles to the
South[war]d of where D'Urville was foiled. It took two more days to reach Long 43º,
where we found the same heavy pack blocking up Weddell's homeward passage.
Nights had become already dark for some hours, which with the thick weather would
have prevented our doing any good in the pack, even were it slack enough to offer
any chance of getting through it. We had therefore no choice but to follow it to the
East[war]d; if possible to the South[war]d of the French & were [where] ever an
opening might appear to proceed to the pole.
[[10]] On the 13th Feb[ruar]y we were between Weddell's North[war]d & South[war]d
tracks but off a heavy pack which runs east & west, here & there trending a little to
the North[war]d or S[outhwar]d. 15th Lat 64. 40 Long 39. 28. Pack trending
North[war]d. Ice very heavy ahead, & had to keep away amongst loose ice. 18 th still
a dead beat (which is our poor round nosed ships worst point of sailing) we passed a
few miles to the South[war]d of where the French attempted Weddell's North[war]d
voyage back from 74., & at the same time copied the latters track; ice still very
heavy. Until the 22nd we continued to trace this pack & on the 23rd lost sight of it. Our
position at noon 61. 46. Long. 19. -- We now commenced running S.E. in clear
water, with Bergs only, & no pack ice. The rapidly lengthening nights & the necessity
of carrying on through them if we were to expect any thing at so late a period was
rather un comfortable, & yet we were only too glad to have a prospect of doing
anything at all. Our course you will see was towards Bellingshausen's, where he
reached 69'. To have gone due South would have been running too great a risk of
again meeting the pack. On the 25th & 26th we had heavy Northerly gales & very
thick weather with snow spells. The white petrel have quite deserted us, a good sign
of open water. A very heavy sea also runs. On the 28th we crossed the Antarctic
circle after having experienced as untoward a month as could well be. Except one
day, it snowed more or less in every day of Feb[ruar]y. & the sky was always
obscured with clouds. The temp varying between 27.5 & 35.5 & this in 60 S. -- 67 S.
in the month answering to your July. *15The Northerly & other winds from the warmer
ocean always bring thick & foggy weather, the warm vapours being condensed by
the colder sea in this latitude. However the weather is what we always have been
accustomed to more or less in the Antarctic regions. There is no extreme cold & still
less any heat either in the air or in the suns rays, intercepted as they are by vapours.
No genial weather[,] stars hardly ever, or moon, seen at night, when darkness comes
on. All this however would be no hardship did it not blow gales of wind once a week
on an average, & then (if in open water) the heavy seas
[[11]] prevent anything being done with comfort -- Altogether it is the most detestable
climate under the sun if indeed it be under that luminary which any but an
astronomer might doubt, & I cannot tell you how rejoiced we are now to be leaving it
for good & all!! Captain Ross says he w[oul]d not conduct another expedition to the
South for any money, &c pension, nor would any one of us go if he did[.] I am sure I
would not for Baronetcy. Except that I could work in the pack all the rest is time
thrown away, with danger to boot. The first cruize was the best, the weather was
most tolerable, the novelty great & exciting. After it however we did not wish to go
any more. Except you have some very some very good object to employ the mind,
which very few have the ennui is beyond anything; -- no ports to enter, no shooting,
walking[,] society[,] no enjoyment of any kind whatever, & worse than all no comfort
on board; for it is always blowing & what can one do with the ship rolling bulwarks
under, the hatches all battened down, thick weather, so that one cannot actually see
3 seas[?] off & invisible Bergs about. How can one sleep at night under such
circumstances? the anxiety becomes painfully intense. Even the men who cannot be
supposed to appreciate the danger will not go to bed, but lie about on the chests
alive to every sound on deck. -- We do not see the bergs in these dark storm nights
of thick weather until perhaps too late to bear up & avoid them when we have to
spread more sail than the ship can carry with safety & stagger on to weather them -All this is however inevitable to those who do their duty on a S. Pole cruize. From
what we have done (& who have reason so frequently to return thanks?) you will see
that all exertions short of it would be unavailing[,] we never yet reached our furthest
South, in any year until too late to do any more, indeed it was not until too late (for
prudence) that we got so far especially on the last two trips. Between ourselves (as
all this page is intended for ourselves) I believe we should have gone to some better
place than the Falklands during last dreary winter, but that one man would have
[[12]] deserted. Honor, empty honor, retained the officers. Indeed if we were to go
again all the officers would go to, & I amongst them, but there is not one who would
rather the ship went for 5 years any where else, than one in the Antarctic regions.
You can hardly conceive how earnestly we hoped at the Falklands that the Admiralty
would have recalled us or sent us anywhere else, & now that it is all over & we are in
fine weather, I tell you so; & that I would not go South again for anything short of
character or honor or whatever you call that principle which people think so much of
in wordly affairs & yet cannot explain. You cannot conceive the relief of our minds on
the Expedition being over, for it now surely is; nor my satisfaction in particular on
being able to tell you candidly, how we have enjoyed the cruize. -- We have long
thought of the fable of the pitcher going 99 times to the well & the result of the 100th
& we look on every Berg as a well. On many nights the providence of God alone has
shielded us; I say on many, meaning that there were so many on which human skill
can be of no avail, for what can a ship in a sea-way do alongside a Berg but go to
pieces with the surf running upwards of 100 ft high; too dark to avoid it, & blowing so
hard that, with the sea she is unmanageable. I often think of your private prayers on
these occasions, perhaps often too much... When I told you in writing from the
Falklands' how easy a cruize this was to be I only told you what was given out, most
likely for the purpose of keeping the men together, but none of us really believed but
that Capt[ai]n Ross would use increased redoubled (if possible) exertions on the last
attempt, & so we have, though they have been foiled, providentially most likely. It
was no secret amongst us officers that we all detested the prospect of the utter
monotony & life of misery that awaited us, & there was not one in either ship that
would not have given up his pay, could the sacrifice have ordered us any where else
with honor. These sentiments were always disguised before the Captain though he
must have known all about it; but then he is almost the only one who derives any
advantage from the cruize except myself, we are
[[13]] the only ones attached to science, except you consider Mr Cormick as such he
but all the other officers might be on a pleasant station up the Mediterranean & or
any where else, with all the comforts of a man of war which we have none of,
besides delightful climates, society & amusement. All are not attached to science &
few take the slightest interest in the science of this cruize. I believe that one half of
them did not expect to be out so long & that they would have Bear & grouse
shooting[,] smooth water & all the agreeable recreations of a N. polar voyage, they
are indeed grievously mistaken; from the day we leave Port there is no enjoyment till
we drop anchor again, except for such anomalous animals as myself who can be
happy with a trumpey piece of moss or seaweed, which very fact is
incomprehensible to them as the vital stimulus is to me or what makes a plant grow. I
can not thank you too much for the books & noble presents you sent me employing
the mind is indeed the only real source of happiness & when the weather is too bad
to write I can always read. However this is a long digression from the voyage which
is not over yet (March 29th) -- to recommence.
On the 3d March we were in Lat 68.. 34 Long 12.. 49. when we had a cabin mirabile
dictu with cloudy & gloomy (of course) weather, & the Capt[ai]n sounded or rather
tried for bottom with 4000 fathoms (2400 ft) of line. -- It consisted of 250 fm of 1 inch
rope, & 3750 fm of ¾ inch with a weight of pig iron, cwt [centrum weight]. It took
hours to run out[.] On the 4th we saw a white Petrel in Lat 69.. 26 Long 14'29'. On the
5th we had very thick weather with snow & strong winds, saw many white Petrel in
the morning, & much Berg Ice -- At 8h30' made the Pack running from NW to the
South[war]d. We altered course & commenced running SE. -- Weather still thick with
snow, passing large Banner bergs very numerous. At 3.30 4pm we met the pack
again & bore up in Lat 71.30 amongst the ice, which was very heavy indeed, it
stretched as far as we could see[,] closely packed from SW to W to NE & E. -- (To
Terror S.L.E.). As the Barometer was falling very fast & it had not blown hard for
[[14]] several days[,] we anticipated a gale, which rendered the proximity of the
heavy masses of the pack ice no wise desirable. Overnight the wind came on & all
the 6th it was blowing a heavy NE. gale with a rising sea, fogs & snow squalls, we
carried on a mass of sail beating to Wind[war]d to avoid the position of the pack
which we cannot see, as also the large heavy Bergs which we saw hereabouts
yesterday. At 5am we [one word crossed through illeg.] wore ship off some loose*16 Ice
which we supposed to be the outer edge of the pack to the West East[war]d, we were
thus apparently placed in a bight of the pack which we met working to Wind[war] d on
either tack. 7th gale continued with the same weather all the day, the wind more
Easterly. In the morning passed very close to Berg too late to keep away carried on
a press of sail & weathered it. very thick weather -- making a NE course, with all the
sail the wind will not blow away. The "Terror" a worse sailor[,] very heavily pressed to
keep up with us diving & tearing through the water -- we have no choice but to get
out of this place. At midn[igh]t it suddenly fell calm. 8th Lat 70. 28. Long 17. 21. Light
winds in the morning suddenly shifting to the obnoxious old quarter N.E., blowing
very strong with snow squalls & mist, having approached the pack to the West[war]d
we had to tack of it & made no better a course than S.E.. 9th E& E to S. gale with
snow squalls standing to NNE. at 1.30am, avoiding one Berg ran between two
others. 10th 68..6 Long 15..20. Hard S.E. gale gloomy & squally with snow,
moderating at night, many Bergs & Berg pieces about. Night commences at 8 pm &
dawn at 4 am. No moon yet. 11th Lat 65.56 Long13'.36 W. -- Easterly strong winds &
a heavy swell, carrying all press of canvas. Many Bergs squally & gloomy but clear
horizon. Recrossed the circle at 6 am. Bid it goodby'e forever I hope. Making a rapid
North[war]d passage at last. Bergs very numerous & large until the 15 th Lat 57.27.
Long 7..52 when only 3 were seen, all well washed & of a glassy appearance. 16 th
saw the moon for the first time in months. 5 Bergs seen. Quite a genial day with light
NE. winds but making little progress. Our course was now for the land laid down in
the charts as Bouvet Isl[an]d (or Cape Circumcision) Discovered by French Capt[ai]n
Bouvet in
[[15]] 1740? searched for by Cook in 17 *17 & by the ship which separated from him
in *18 by Capt[ai]n Fernaeux. Said to have been seen by two of Enderby's ships, the
Swan & Otter who described it in 1808 as high completely covered with snow &
inapproachable for miles on account of the pack ice (vid. Horsburgh's E. Ind.
Dictionary). -- its Lat is *19 Long. On the 19th Lat. 34.. 31. Long W.2.. 25 we had a
heavy Southerly gale gloomy & squally with snow showers almost all the day,
several Bergs about. 22nd Lat. 54. 11. Long E. 6°. 1º. When close to the position
assigned to the Isl[an]d in a heavy NW. gale & very high sea but can see nothing of
the Isl[an]d -- Hove to at night blowing very hard & very thick weather, passed to
leeward wind[war]d of a large piece of ice & struck a little piece, supposed from a Berg
which must be close to Wind[war]d of us. We afterwards found the "Terror" which was
also hove to the wind of us, had come suddenly on a Berg at the same time, but
fortunately saw it in time enough to bear up & ran close to the surf which was beating
over all -- within half a cables length of the cliff -- we had seen her light shoot ahead
but could not tell the reason for her bearing up, but guessed it. -- To have searched
any more for such doubtful land whose position we had passed close to & with so
many Bergs about would have been very imprudent & on the following morning, 23 d,
Capt[ai]n Ross bore away for the Cape before a heavy Westl[er]y gale making a
famous passage for no sea can hurt our ship & as long as there are no Bergs, (but
that it is uncomfortable) it may blow as hard as it pleases. -- On the 24th Passed two
patches of Laminaria of course impossible to pick them up -- they were in Lat 50..30
S & 9º.15 E or thereabouts. On the 26th Lat 45.. 32 S. Long 11.54. E. we had the
temperature 42-47 & of the sea 42-46. quite warm, & saw no Bergs since yesterday.
Lately we have been making a famous passage with these strong winds which now
fell light & baffling -- 27th Lat 43. 52 Long E. 13..23. very warm 47-50 & the
atmosphere loaded with a hazy moisture shifting warm clothing[,] commenced
cleaning decks & getting everything smart for the cape. A splendid night with a heavy
dew & stars! The first star light night I remember since
[[16]] leaving N. Zealand, such is the climate of these cheerless regions.
29th March (today) I am just called on deck for the Capt[ai]n has been sounding for
temperatures at depths & come below again with a stock of the Laminaria[,] I believe
it to be the same as one of the two Horn &c ones if there be two & is one of those
plants which like the Sargasso must grow far at sea & increase. The remaining part
of the stem is cylindrical about 6 inches long (root gone) lamina not bigger than your
hand (always the case with the floating specimens dividing into 12 laciniae 6-14-20 ft
long, plane, of various breadths 2 inches -- 1 ft very curviaceous, composed of a
cortex of dense when dry horny tissue & a body of a single row of horizontal cells of
very large size, color olive yellow & olive brown or green, the older thicker wrinkled
dark the younger brighter yellower slender more tender & flatter[,] none of the apices
entire -- These Southern Laminariae which ought to be so well known as amongst
the giants of the vegetable kingdom do not appear to me to be so at all. This plant for
instance I believe to be the Laminaria or D'Urvillea utilis referred Laminariae both by
Greville & Endlicher, but certainly it does not agree with the characters laid down by
the former p24, for as you will see by the sketch I have sent home of the Cape Horn
plant that the sporules are contained in distinct receptacles embedded in the cortical
substance appearing in a transverse section like a string of beads immediately under
the surface & they are open by pores & emit a mass of mucus with pores most
decidedly furnished with a fellucid limbus. These receptacles are scattered in
thousands over in the surface or cortical layer & when their contents are ripe stain the
hands a rich brownish black. As the weed dries the contraction of the tissue expels
the spores & mucus which on hardening form myriads of little black tubercles on the
surface & then alone is the fruitification conspicuous. All this is precisely as in
Himanthalia except that the central substance of this plant consists of large
transverse cells. Greville, quoting [Jean Baptiste Geneviève Marcellin] Bory as
confirmation, calls the a part of the stem of the latter a receptacle frond & the thongs
[[17]] he considers as receptacles; but, as far as I can see, his receptacles are
exactly analogous to the laciniae of the frond of this Durvillea (or Laminaria (or
whatever it be), & further, that the frond of the Himanthalia is an abortive bladder,
analogous to the trumpet of the Ecklonia buccinalis for Greville says, "the fronds are
at first cylindrical & pear shaped, & then fall in & become plano-concave", not
knowing what the British or true species of Laminaria are, I cannot tell whether the
D'Urvillaea should belong to the Fucoidae or Laminariae; as far as the characters, as
they stand, go, certainly for the former. I shall look very carefully at the cape for the
seeds of Ecklonia, for I much suspect that with Himanthalia & D'Urvillaea they it will
form a very pretty group of Algae. If the thongs of Himanthalia are receptacles, so
must also be the laminia of D'Urvillaea, but I see no reason for considering either as
such. The sporules & their cells are quite analagous to those of a Fucus or
Sargassum where they are contained in what certainly are receptacles, & the
transition will be very simple through Cystoseira & Halidrys where the leaves are
gradually transformed into pods. This weed was much infested by Barnacles. -March 30th we are fast approaching the cape, dist. 250 miles, but am afraid we are
going to have another blow as the Barometer is falling & the wind freshening from
SE & E, the weather is delightfully mild & the wind soft, the sea only looks angry[.] I
suppose it will be the "last sight of the South", for our departure. How long we shall
remain at the cape I cannot tell at all, we go into Simon's Bay a branch of False Bay,
the naval station, dist. 21 miles from Cape Town, I am quite unsettled how to spend
my time for my wardrobe[,] mess, cabin & every article of domestic life, require
recruiting, & I shall have to shop a good deal. The only collections I intend to make
are Cryptogamiae & phenogamiae only enough for examination during our passage
to the Rio, that is specimens or scraps of every thing I can lay my hands on, but no
Herbarium specimens. I shall call on Mr Jardine & Baron Ludwig as soon as I go to
Cape Town.
During the past voyage I have re examined all my Antarctic mosses
[[18]] & made finished drawings ready for the Engraver if you think them good
enough. All the species considered worth illustration are[,] except about 4 or 5 of
Campbell Isl[an]d[,] just enough for another Plate. The descriptions are as full as I
thought necessary, I took Brown's in the Ross 1st & Parry's 1st voyages as my model.
The Andreaea puzzled me exceedingly & occupied me very many days for I had to
examine many hundred specimens, I do hope they are scrupulously accurate for I
always compared the present examination with what I made on the spot & consider
most of the mosses to have had 3 examinations. Where there is so much novelty I
may have made varieties into species but in a field so new some allowance must be
made. All the Gymnostoma of the South are Funarioid in habit & alliance as Brown
first remarked of the F. fasciculare &c. I have placed them accordingly at the end of
the Brya[ceae]. the general arrangement is that of Arnott as modified by you in
Lindley's Nat. Ords.*20. There are hardly any new genera nor have I any wish to get a
notoriety of having "Hook" tagged onto the end of a string of Barbarous names[,] I
should be far more proud of placing a well known plant in its true light position &
relation to others than naming another & leaving others to squeeze it in between
what he may think its congeners. -- I think Endlicher's Musci the worst part of his
noble work[,] there are a series of 130 genera good bad & indifferent, altogether
without any subdivision. He has also kept up the Nat. Ord. Andreaa which I think no
more separable from other Musci than Phasca, & certainly Sphagna are not so good
an order[.] Sphagna Phasca & Andraeae will form 3 good groups of Musci, Sphagna
agree with Andraeae in thelengthened bulb & very fugacious calyptra, & sphagn.
pass into Phasca through Anchiduim. *21All other mosses are divisible into
Acro[carpi]. & Pleurocarpi, these 5 groups I consider quite natural & the three first of
them abnormal, these are what Mr Leay's quinary system acknowledges, but you must
not think that I am led away by any system for I formed this arrangement before I
saw Mr Leay & before I understood his views. When we met we never broached the
subject of the his system for I felt myself too
[[19]] ignorant of the subject, I cannot however forget a remark he made, saying "he
was glad I paid so much attention to the minute orders & to Cryptogamic Botany, for
in them would be formed the foundation of a truly natural system". -- Now, though I
do not put any faith in the quinary arrangement, I believe that 5 happens to be the
number of groups into which mosses most naturally divide themselves, & I am
convinced of the truth of the circular system. Fries first developed it in the Fungi as
Brown knows, for he pointed it out to Mr Leay who wrote a paper on it (Fries work);
again, Berkeley takes it up in the Annals vol. 1 & quotes Montaigne in strong
confirmation. Until however Lindley took it up I did not know any other steps taken
towards arranging the groups of plants on a fixed plan. -- Amongst mosses there are
many beautiful analogies in the groups, but how to characterize the genera is quite a
puzzle to me. Gymnostoma must be split up for, there is hardly a genus of Acrocarpi
to which each of its species is not far more allied than to its congeners in the present
arrangement.
The other drawings are attempts & nothing more for they are the first Lichens I ever
drew & I am no hand[?] at color -- *22 I have descriptions in full of them but I can
make no head of the genera of Lichens, there seems to me a sad want of tangible
characters, except amongst the larger. I do not find the green globules which form a
stratum at the base of the Asci in all the species I examined to be mentioned
anywhere. The pretty golden yellow Parmelia ? with black scutella I should like to
name after my Godfather Dalton. Other two drawings are of the Sargassum of
Deception Isl[an]d & the fruitification of D'Urvilleae. *23I have also done a little
towards the Flora of the Falklands, & a good deal of an introductory paper on the
geographical distribution of the Antarctic plants, their relations to the Arctic, & the
analogies between the Antarctic Polynesian & American floras. *24 Amongst sea
animals nothing or very little has been done[.] I lost all my gauze] in the pack from
the water being so full of little pieces of ice, & in the clear water it has always been
blowing with heavy seas on*25. From the Cape I intend to continue drawing up to
England & studying what Cape & Rio plants I can pick up that I may know
[[20]] something of the more common Tropical Nat[ural]. Ord[er]s. of which at present
I am totally ignorant. You will indeed be surprised when you will find out what a loss I
shall be to give you the name of the most common garden plant, but I have not seen
a rose since leaving New Zealand or any other flowers but Antarctic. *26Gardner's Rio
list will be very useful to me. I sincerely hope that he will become a good working
Botanist for somehow in all the Journals of Societies &c that I see, I seldom see the
name of any young Botanist except Oxley Stephen's a mycologist & Brindley Hinds
(a brother chip). I know nothing of the former but his list of British Fungi is very large
& must require a good knowledge to have named them properly. Mosses appear a
dead letter except to Wilson. Amongst the foreigners there seem many young
Monographists who do immense good, & it always appears to me a great pity that
your Cassiae, Gentianae &c should go abroad to be described[,] not that I am
jealous of those countries but sorry that there are none at home to follow in
Bentham's steps. I often think how pleased you must be to have Mr Smith's
assistance in the Ferns. his remarks on the Genera in your Journal are, I should
think, very good, though my knowledge of them is too limited for me to judge, but the
clearness of his observations on such genus & tribes, together with the analogies he
draws between the various groups seems admirable. *27I long to see your new work
on Ferns, perhaps you will do something to their geographical distribution, which
seems most dependent upon a uniform & moist temperature such as Islands enjoy.
All the Magellan species that inhabit the Falklands, there become harsh &
coriaceous from the vicissitudes of temperature & the hygrometric state of the air to
which they are exposed. The Kerg[uelen]. Land Stegamia I believe to be the most
Antarctic Fern, though its position in Latitude is far lower than that of many others.
Capt[ain]. Vidal has a good character in the service & Watson will get on well with
him; I hope he will not confine his attention solely to the matter of heights of plants
but consider more of the circumstances under which they grow with regard to
exposure, vicissitude of climate temperature & the Hygromatic state of the air, so
that the Athenaeum may not have to remark as it
[[21]] did of his British plants that "nothing of importance had been done towards
investigating the causes of difference in Geograph[ical]. distrib[ution]. since the
publication of Humboldts work". The Hygrometer I consider of more importance than
the Barometer in all ordinary cases, that is where the Isl[an]ds are not large & the
mountains not high. Capt[ai]n. Vidal will determine their heights by triangulation &
when that is know one cannot be very far out in the guesses of the partial heights, &
plants will not be bound down to a few feet. I have lately been examining some of my
Hygrometer observations & find that the difference between the vegetation of the
Falklands & the Fuegia may be well accounted for. When the results are placed in a
tabular form it is quite surprising to see to what vicissitudes of temperature &
moisture the Falkland plants are exposed. Now the mean temperature of the Falklands
is the highest but its plants are exposed, to dry winds, great heat of the suns rays
unimpeded by any vapor when it is calm, & great cold at night, whilst those of Fuegia
are not so & enjoy a perpetual moisture and are very sensitive to extremes of
temperature, as also to dryness.
The last letters written for home were from the Falklands & were left with the
Governor to be sent by the first opportunity which I thought better than forwarding
them in Valparaiso. On the day of leaving I put a note into an Admiralty Bag which
went via Valp[araiso]. -- I fear I have made a great mistake about the letters left at
the Falklands, having directed them to "Capt. Beaufort Hydrographer" -- H M
Service" instead of to the "Sec[ra]t[ary] of Admiralty" with "Hydrographer" in the
corner as it should be; I was so pressed for time that I did not think what I was doing
& only remembered it after we had sailed. Do be so good as to ask Capt[ai]n.
Beaufort if he was put to any expense about them, & tell him how sorry I am at
having done so silly a thing, it was entirely through neglect, & not thinking of what I
was about. He may care to hear some of the particulars of this letter which of course
you will not keep from so kind a friend[,] especially as he must understand Capt
Ross' strange jealousy of any one but himself sending news home. He, Capt[ai]n.
[[22]] *28Ross) told me the other day, that "the Athenaeum was never friendly to him
& took no notice of our proceedings." I thought the latter part very true but did not tell
him so, telling him instead, that the papers had no means of getting news about us;
he did not, or w[oul]d not, take the hint. -- He seems to wish all the news to come
home with him, to astonish the world like a Thunder-clap; but will find himself much
mistaken I fear; "out of sight out of mind", & if the knowledge of our proceedings be
stifled, it will beget indifference, instead of pent-up curiosity, ready to burst out on our
firing one gun at Spithead. I do not believe he tells Sabine too much, or his own
father. -- I have kept the Botany safe in my hands, & do not consult him at all about
it, as you may see by my sending you the seaweed &c, in that however I break
through the rules of the service, though I think I am doing for the best, & feel myself
no wise indebted to the Admiralty nor Government either; Capt[ai]n Ross however
would not sanction it, nor ought he, for he would lay himself open to the Service;
which I have done, but hope not to be caught at it. The rules of the service are "All
books charts, drawings, collections &c. made during the voyage" to be handed over
to their Lordships. You have told me how very flattering the enquiries made by
R[oya]l. Highness*29 were about me, if you are honoured by any more interviews you
must tell him how deeply I feel the honour; Capt[ai]n Ross wrote him a long letter
from the Falklands which caused him many hours deep study & the purser many
candles; I do not know whether he writes to him now again, but will find out if & tell
you. *30If he should show any more interest in the Expedition he may like to hear the
particulars of the cruize, all of which I leave to your judgement, only promising that I
do not[*31] at all like my letters to be sent about whole. Use your discretion with any
parts you like, but you must see that I say many things only intended for the 4 walls
of West Park -- had I my own way I would forward occasional notices of the cruize to
the Athenaeum, but feel sure, Capt[ai]n Ross would not like it nor do I wish to be the
mouth piece for both ships trumpeting our own fame.
[[23]] Our present cruize we all consider a signal failure though Capt[ai]n Ross
pretends not to. I am the only officer who has got any good out of it, & am quite
proud of the wretched scraps I picked up in 64°.12.- I have a few rocks from icebergs
& land for Mr Lyell if he cares for them & have carefully noted where they were
procured. Except 2 or 3 birds I have nothing else but the notes & drawings alluded
to. During our now homeward passage I shall have plenty to do with tropical plants &
sea animals, the latter I must keep up for there never was such an opportunity as
this ship affords for the study[,] being slow sailors & my having such accommodation
below for drawing & describing them: not that I care for them at all; somehow or
other with all the time I have devoted to them they have not won my affections,
because I feel sure that two studies in Nat. Hist. cannot be well prosecuted together
& though are easier study, marine animals require far more time than plants to
investigate fully; the drawings will do me some credit if it be only for the time taken &
the novelty & their often being done with the microscope lashed to the table. My eyes
are as good as ever[,] they were in strength, but my short sightedness "semper
idem" (always worse & worse) the spectacles you were so good as to send were not
half strong enough however they are much nicer than are procurable out of England
& I shall get new glasses at the Cape. Between examining mosses & the glare of the
Ice & snowy spiculae in the wind my eyes smarted very much during the time the
ships were in the pack & watered but never inflamed. Your spectacles (green) were
a great comfort, they are all right now again. I cannot swallow my regrets that Harvey
will not be at the Cape[,] he would like to see the Sargassum from 63°. South. I have
but one specimen from Lyall & keep it for you -- *32Now that the voyage is over we
are very proud of it (pride in poverty, you will remark) for we have got nothing easily.
This cruize was not so hazardous as the last being less in Bergy seas nor have we
been in any so extreme danger but then as the ships cannot last for ever it becomes
daily more uncomfortable on
[[24]] the [one word crossed through illeg.] philosophical principal of the "Pitcher
going 99 times to the we<ll.>." You know that there are only two of us in this mess
Yale & myself & we are extremely comfortable. I am a capital bachelor (as long as
there are no girls in the way). What a boon your & my mothers cask has been. All
were perfect, not a thing spoiled & we have such apple tarts &c. April 3 rd Yesterday
we saw a Barque the first vessel for 100 days, bound apparently for Australia[,] she
was far off. We are bothered with light winds & calms after foul winds & squall, the
weather is delicious & mild, 64.° not too hot & are now about 70 miles from Simon's
Bay going 1½ knots pr. hour with every stitch of canvas on. I can hardly expect an
answer to this, but it is barely possible that we may receive one at Rio; we shall most
likely be a month at the Cape & another at St Helena (where I pick up my character),
certainly one at Rio so with the intervening passage it may not be till the end of
August that we shall leave. Should this letter have even a tolerable passage we
might hear, I know you will write if Beaufort advises, & sends an Admiralty Bag; but
should he not you might still on the receipt of this put a note in the post for Rio, just
telling me you are all well; the packets are so sure & speedy that I think it would not
be too late if sent by the July or August packet. -- Have you heard where we pay off
our ships? I hope not at Chatham, we all dislike the place & it would take so long to
get up to Town, it would be too bad to banish us down there -- Deptford should be
the place, perhaps Beaufort knows. Our stores are so various & unusual that we
shall not get rid of the ships hav under a month if so soon. I went on board the "Terror"
yesterday & saw a cat they have bred for me, but what to do with it is the puzzle;
they are not allowed here & are ordered out of the "Terror" at the Cape, so withou<t>
some ship will take it home I must turn it a drift. I asked for it because Bessy
[Elizabeth Hooker] wished for one & it is a pretty creature, (they are no favourite of
mine) but it was born in the Antarctic circle & has its value. -- I am very much obliged
for the care you take of "Skye" & shall value him very much indeed, the more so
because I fear he has put you to much trouble
[[25]] you must not refuse to make use of my bills for all such purposes, the money is
no use to me I have enough to spend & to waste, for one cannot help wasting when
port is so seldom seen, as soon as a bill is cashed it all goes & they are sent home
instead to be made use of & not buried in a bank. You may be sure I should not
scruple to draw on your liberality were I to be extravagant or foolish & my outfit cost
you a great deal more than it should have done had I been judicious or in any place
but Chatham, & you should not therefore scruple to use the bills especially in any
way of forwarding your works. You have too many calls on your purse to attend to
many things which strike others, for instance I would far rather pay for a new plate
than see such a rotten lithograph of Richard after the excellent ones of Cunningham
& Swartz*33. The new Journal is really a very charming work & will I hope not fail, a
vast improvement on the old; better paper, plates, type, & far more careful printing,
all the plates are good & the Amphocosmia Trochopteris & Eriocaulon excellent. The
whole work is just as it should be neither too expensive or careless, do not let it drop
for want of funds[,] it should either continue as at present or not at all. When I get
home it will be kept up without costing much time for I can write as you dictate &
there are no lack of subjects. As part of the Annalls it was no satisfaction to any
body, but as at present it must please all & would make me all the more proud to
keep it up from my own funds. Did you ever think of giving portraits of living
Botanists? I may be proposing a very foolish thing, but, would it not be a very pretty
compliment to Bentham[,] Gray, Harvey & Berkeley? Who so generously furnish
materials without even a copy of the work from the publisher for their pains. -- Of
course it should be done very seldom, & only to distinguished subscribers of papers,
if you take the money from my bills I will ask you for it when the Journal pays you. It
would also be a stimulus (expensive perhaps) to purchasers, for I have plenty of
money to make it an extra plate, given only to purchasers except, a lot of copys to
the propria persona. It would also be turning your portrait gallery to good account. Do
think of it, if I am talking sense.
[[26]] You are making your own private sacrifices to Botany & not allowing me to
make any equally private, & to tell you the truth I am apt to be jealous. If you will not
use the money for house-hold affairs you cannot please me better than by
forwarding the cause of Botany with it.
*34I
often think of you & Kew gardens with which I am quite ready to be delighted. I
long to hear how you get on. In a July 1842 James Chronicle[,] your master the Earl
of Lincoln opposes the Kew gardens being thrown open to the public on the ground
of their being the "only gardens near London to which her M[ajest]y. could repair for
exercise &c.", they surely were never used for exercise since the R[oya]l. F[a]m[il]y left
Kew Palace & at any rate the Queen w[oul]d surely rather walk amongst tulips &
roses than in a Salicetum or Pinetum or Cactus stove. Perhaps the Earl knows best
but it looks to me as if he opposed the gardens becoming a national establishment
which they must eventually become. Your getting a palm stove is a great thing; the
better the gardens are, the more opposition any course of encroachment on their
being fully thrown open & supported will meet with. -- I should like to see them on a
footing with the British Museum & under a body of Directors chosen one half of
Botanists at least. The great thing at present is to make the gardens as good as
possible with the means & public, so that they may take an interest in it & be ready to
support it. Horticulture is making very rapid strides through their society & the more
gardening is thought of the better. With a liberal policy Kew must prevail, our
noblemen & statesmen are so fond of trees & their gardens & the very fact of the gar
R[oya]l. gardens disseminating new plants would incline the upper house towards its
support. -- I do hope my Beeches got home safe they were so beautiful when I sent
them off, without seeing the tree you can have no idea of the beauty of the budding
leaves of the deciduous one. Should mine have failed Mr Wright may have better
success. Next to a fine Arboretum I should like Kew to have a Fern house it would be
a splendid novelty with tree-ferns huge Acrosticha, Stegamias, & Hymenophylla
crawling about.
[[27]] Ferns too are so easily transported that Kew might easily take the lead in them.
About Orchideae everyone seems mad.
How thankful I am to be able to send this on the moment of our arrival -- April 4th safe
all well & at anchor[.] You must correct this yourself I am beginning another to you &
all your family[,] all have lots of letters on my desk now[.] You are a splendid
correspondent. My latest news arrived is of the July May 1842. Our Cape Town letters
are not come down yet. -- Not to talk of books &c -- you are too good. "We are
homeward bound, -- with our cargo all sound" so no more at present from your's[sic]
&cJos D Hooker [signature]
Best love to all
I cannot go to Cape Town till I get clothes made. I am so stout that none of my 4
dozen trousers will go on. Never cease to remember me to Brown & Capt[ai]n
Beaufort & Bentham &c. If possible the only other letter from me by this opportunity
will go to Mr. Lyell of Kings, it is all finished almost.
Do anything you like with the chart & drawing, except publishing of course. Captain
Ross cannot hear of it to give me a wigging till we get home "that will be too late for
me to care about! -- You are the mainstay of the expedition at home, from Ross'
foolish jealousy of not sending news.
We are at Simons Bay.
ENDNOTES
1. Annotated in pencil in another hand: '& what deeply interested the B[otanist]. in
this high lat[itude] was', a second annotation reads 'of genus'. These & subsequent
pancil notations in the letter appear to be edits in preparation for publishing the letter,
which appeared in The London Journal of Botany vol. 2 (1843), which can be found
online here: http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/235#/summary
2. Annotated in pencil in another hand 'ed', as in should read 'appeared'.
3. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and ending at
'charts'.
4. Annotated in pencil in another hand: 'by former Navigators', a second annotation
reads 'see Ferster v.1. p.138'.
5. Annotated in pencil in another hand 'appears'.
6. Annotated in pencil in another hand 'of which',a asecond annotation reads 'from
the next island will be'.
7. Annotated in pencil in another hand, illegible.
8. Annotated in pencil in another hand 'suggested to be'.
9. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and ending at 'not
rise above'. Penciled in brackets throughout this letter seem to indicate that the
contained text should be omited from the letter when published.
10. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and ending at
'boots'.
11. Annotated in pencil in another hand 'apparently exactly that of Europe & so that
unless the Red Snow of Forster should prove the real plant of arctic[?] regions this is
the only plant common to both extremes of this globe & it would be interesting to
ascertain which intermediate positions it inhabited. It is probably found in Europe
generally'.
12. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and sectioning
off from here to the end of page 6.
13. Annotated in pencil in another hand so that the sentence begins 'It is probably'.
14. Annotated in pencil in another hand 'substance'.
15. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and sectioning
off from here to the end of the first paragraph on page 13.
16. Annotated in pencil in another hand 'loose'.
17. Deliberate space left in script.
18. Deliberate space left in script.
19. Deliberate space left in script.
20. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and sectioning
off from here to 'so good an order'.
21. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and sectioning
off from here to the end of the first paragraph page 19
22. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and sectioning
off from here to 'amongst the larger'.
23. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and sectioning
off from here to 'other flowers but Antarctic' page 20.
24. Marked in another hand '¶'.
25. Marked in another hand '¶'.
26. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and sectioning
off from here to 'in Bentham's steps'.
27. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and sectioning
off from here to the end of the first paragraph of page 21.
28. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and sectioning
off from here to 'caught at it'.
29. Annotated in pencil in another hand 'Prince Albert'.
30. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and sectioning
off from here to 'all right now again' page 23.
31. Insertion of 'not' made in pencil in another hand.
32. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and sectioning
off from here to the start of page 24.
33. Annotated in pencil in another hand bracketing off the letter here.
34. Annotated in pencil in another hand with a bracket starting here and sectioning
off from here to 'towards its support'.
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