po in t, whence th e real object of th e voyage, namely th a t which included So u th Polar
Discovery, would commence. O n the 6 th o f April 1840 we q u itted Simon’s Bay,
and first entered a cold and inhospitable latitu d e (42° S.) on th e I7 th of th e same
m o n th ; th en , only four days a fte r, h o lding a westward course, we passed to the
so u th o f Marion.’s Islan d , formed o f flat terraces of b lack volcanic rock and cone-shaped
m o u n ta in s, often o f a reddish tinge, and towering to a considerable height. He re occu
rred th e first botan ic al phsenomenon, th e Macrocystis p yrifera (a remarkable gigantic
seaweed), being exceedingly a b u n d an t. T h e ships were hove to between M a rio n ’s and
P rin c e E dw a rd ’s Islan d s, with the view to going ashore th e following day ; b u t during
th e n ig h t a heavy gale arose which drove th em far to th e westward, th u s disappointing
the hopes which h ad been formed of collecting objects o f n a tu ra l h isto ry on an island
never previously explored by any scientific individual.
O n th e 28tli, after a succession of storms, th e Crozet Islan d s were gained : this
group lies far to the westward o f th e position th a t had been assigned to it, namely in
lat. 47-|° S. and long. 4 6 ^ 8 ° E . ; an d here th e same d isappointment awaited us, for after
being blown off, and again on th e 1st o f May beating u p to Possession, the most e a ste
rn o f the clu ste r, th e th re a ten in g appearance o f th e weather forbade any a ttem p t to
land. T h e Crozet Islands are all volcanic, an<l o f th e wildest and most ro ck y a s p e c t;
th e harb o u rs a re v e ry few, and some o f th e islands are entirely inaccessible. The
mou n tain s rise in p eaks and cones to an elevation o f 4 0 0 0 -5 0 0 0 feet, exhibiting pa tches
of p e rp etu al snow on the summits, while dense fogs frequently envelope th e ir bases,
borne from the sea, to such an elevation, th a t the h ig h est po in ts alone are visible. To
all appearance the vege ta tion is equally s c an ty an d stu n ted as th a t which Ke rg u e len ’s
Islan d afterwards afforded, and the questions which were p u t to a p a rty o f miserable
sealers who came off to the ship, elicited no satisfactory information as to whethe r the
valuable “ Ca&6aye” of th e la tte r island also in habits th e C rozet group. Scudding before
heavy westerly gales, on the 6 th o f M ay a remarkable conical rock, called Bligh’s Cap,
was d e s c r ie d ; it lies off the n o rth-west ex tremity of Kerguelen’s I s l a n d ; b u t th ick
wea ther prevented Sir Jam e s Ross from mak in g the land, from which the ships were
again driven to a distance o f 150 miles and obliged to beat back, finally casting anchor
in Ch ristmas H a rb o u r, on the 12th of May 1840.
A t Kergue len’s Islan d , all the p lan ts th a t had been originally detected by the illustrious
Cook were g ath ered d u rin g th e two and a h a lf w in ter mo n th s th a t the “ Erebus
and T e r ro r ” staid th ere , to g eth e r with m an y o th er species, a rem arkable p ro o f o f the
uniformity o f the climate, and the comparative m ildness o f th e winter season. T h e ships
left Ke rg u e len ’s Islan d on the 2 0 th o f J u ly , and arrived in th e riv er Derwent, Van
Diemen’s Island, on th e 16th o f Au g u st 1840.
O n th e 12th o f November 1840, we q u itted H o b a rto n for our first voyage to the
S o u th Pole, d u rin g which the only places visited which yielded m an y p lan ts were
Lord Au ck lan d ’s Islands, lat. 50^° S., long. 166° E., where we arriv ed after a week’s
sail from th e last-mentioned coast, and staid th ere d u rin g th e spring m o n th s o f th a t
latitu d e , and Campbell’s Island, in lat. 52|-° S., long. 169° E . Q u ittin g th a t island
again on th e 17th of December, th e ships finally sailed for an entirely unexplored region
of discovery. T h e Macrocystis and D ’Urvill<sa were found in large veg etatin g floating
p atches, nearly as far south as any open water remained free o f b ergs, in lat. 61° S. The
vessels en te red the pack-ice in lat. 68° S., long. 175°.
Du rin g th is voyage th e v a s t ex ten t of co n tin en t, since called “ Victo ria L a n d ,”
was discovered*, to g eth e r with the active volcano “ M o u n t E re b u s,” th e e x tin c t one
“ M o u n t T e r ro r ,” and th a t icy b a rrier, which, ru n n in g east and west, in th e parallel of
78° S., prev en ts all farth er progress towards th e p o le f. Two small islets were landed
upo n : one in lat. 71° 4 9 ' S., long. 170° 5 2 'E. ; the oth er, F ran k lin Islan d , in lat. 76° S.
and long. 168° 59' E. ; b u t n eith er o f these spots presented the slightest tra c e o f vegetation.
On the retu rn voyage the Macrocystis again occurred, floating as usual in immense
masses, in lat. 51° 10' S., and long. 137° E.
T h e expedition retu rn ed to Ho b a rto n , Van Diemen’s Island, late in the au tum n
(of th a t latitu d e), Ap ril 7th, 1841 ; on th e 7th o f J u ly again s ta rte d from Van Diem
en’s Island, and after a sh o rt v isit to Sydney, cast an ch o r in th e Bay o f Islands, New
Zealand, Au g u st 18tli, 1841, where we remained th ree m onths. Th is time was spent
in collecting materials for a F lo ra o f New Zealand, in which object we received great
assistance from Mr. Colenso and many o th er gentlemen, b y means of whose zealous
cooperation o ur collections were rendered extremely valuable.
T h e second exploring voyage was commenced on th e 15th o f N ovem ber 1841. I t
had been Cap tain Ross’s inten tio n to land on Chatham Islan d , in lat. 44° S. and 176°
* Vide Chart. t E i* Vignette.