Hooker, Sir Joseph Dalton
JHC328
HMS 'Erebus', 70 miles from the Cape of Good Hope
JDH/1/2 f.184-187
Lyell, Sir Charles
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
3-4-1843
© Descendants of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
Correspondence from Antarctic Expedition
The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
English
Contemporary MS copy
14 page letter over 4 folios
 

JDH last wrote to Charles Lyell in Sep 1842. He now continues the story of the expedition. The cliff of Cape Horn did not live up to its reputation. The expedition went to Hermite Island in Fuegia. Mentions [Charles] Darwin's account of it as the summit of a submerged mountain. JDH collected Cryptogamia previously found by Menzies, Forster & Banks plus new mosses. Describes St Martin's Cove & the view of the island. Describes the island geology in detail, mentions Maxwell Harbour, Cape Spencer & arseniate of iron. The only notable insect was a Carabus. Discusses Fuegian weather. Recounts a discussion with an officer of the 'Philomel' re. Darwin's thoughts on Falkland Islands' geology. Describes the geology of the Falklands: very uniform, consisting of quartz, peat bogs & clay. Only abundant vegetation in the Falklands is grasses, noted European introductions incl: Veronica serpyllifolia, Poa Annua, Rumex sp. & Alsine nudia. JDH found pumice from the South Shetlands. Mentions a rock off the coast seen by Lieutenant Burdwood & now submerged. The expedition sailed south for Antarctica on 17 Dec & saw first ice near Clarence Island. Reached land at 'Cape Francais' & followed the coast south. Describes the landscape incl. mountainous coast, glaciers, volcanic islands & islands named by D'Urville: Trinity Land, Palmer's Land, Terre Louis Phillippe & Terre Joinville & the great landmass Biscoe called Graham's Land. Describes in great detail the geology, geography & climate of a volcanic island they landed on. Compares the snow there to that on Mt Etna as described in Lyell's son's PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY. Birdlife incl. Petrels, Penguins & Cormorants. Only moss, lichen & seaweed can survive the conditions on the island. Ice stopped them tracing Weddel's route but on 5 Mar reached their most southerly point 71 degrees latitude. JDH reports arriving at False Bay, Cape of Good Hope to anchor in Simon's Bay. Offers rocks to Lyell's son Charles & birds & shells to his daughters.

Transcript

put in motion; -- a few inches below, the rocks were cemented into one solid mass of Ice. In a very few places, the rock cropped out, & wherever it afforded a shelter, there was hard Ice. The appearance of Gulleys of water was caused by breaks in the escarpment of rock above, which formed shoots for the fragments breaking off above, the portions opposite, being very small, deceive the eye. The uniformity of the mass of stones, from the size of one's fist, to that of a mans head, was highly remarkable, as was the constant presence of the frozen conglomerate below. The escarpment of rock rises regularly & very clean (so to speak) out of this cone of stones. It is composed of a hard Trap of Lava conglomerate, full of masses of other rocks, also Volcanic, & abounding with zeolitic chrystals[sic] & some Bort Botryoidal portions of a mineral.
The beautiful White Petrel was sitting on its eggs in the holes of the Cliff. These Birds were always in pairs & betrayed their holes by croaking on our approach, but were very bold in defence of their charge ejecting a red oil from their beaks, which they sent out by a muscular motion of the throat, so as never to soil their plumage by the process.
To the base of the Cliff the fragments were much smaller & being closer, the heat had penetrated farther on the sunny soil & the frozen soil was at a greater depth. Wherever the Cliff was even partially shaded, it was clad with sheets of Ice & the sheltered chasms & clefts were perfectly choked with glaciers. You may imagine the contrast, in walking, or rather scrambling round a Corner; -- the ground was so loose & the rock overhung so awefully[sic], & you passed from the really hot sun (78( in a black--bulb Thermometer) to the Icy shade. I got up as high as I could; but, near the top of the gulley, the place was quite a smooth hard frozen slope, only covered with a little sand; & there being nothing to hold on by, it was impossible to proceed. The Crater I could not visit: -- it was regularly conical, save on the S.W. side which

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(Copy)*1 H.M.S. Erebus, April 3d 1843
Cape of Good Hope dist[ant]. 70 miles,
steering for that Port (rec[eive]d July 14.)

To Cha[rle]s Lyell of Kinnordy, Esq[ui]re
My dear Sir,
Before the "Erebus & Terror" quitted the Falklands for Cape Horn, in Sep[tembe]r. of last year, I took the liberty of addressing to you a letter, which, (as I afterwards understood on our return to those Islands,) had been forwarded via Rio in November. In that letter you received my apologies, together with an attempt to sketch out the previous progress of an Expedition, in which I know you feel interested.
In writing you twice, I make a left--handed use of my grandfather's motto "bis dat qui cito dat" *2; to do so is however better, than to let you suppose that my former neglect arose from any forgetfulness of my father's dear, & my own most kind, friend.
From the Falkland Islands we sailed for the neighborhood[sic] of Cape Horn & on the 19th of Sept[embe]r we anchored in St Martin's Cove, Hermite Island; having first passed under that noted Cliff, of which Capt[ain] Hall, in my opinion, makes a great deal too much. All of us were [1 word crossed out, illeg.] indeed much disappointed; not that Cape Horn is paltry, but it has been too highly vaunted. It is a fine Cliff & no more; -- steep towards the Sea & with an elevation of about 800 feet. The near neighborhood[sic] of the snowy mountains of Wollaston, Herschell & Hermite Island, forming a strong contrast to its black face, have the effect of throwing it forward, so that it appears to stand in bold relief.
Darwin's account of the Cove in which we lay is exceedingly good; but to him, who had lately quitted the Northern & more interesting regions of Fuegia, such an isolated spot as Hermite Island could not possess

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the attractions which it did to us; with whom everything was new & most strikingly unlike the weary uniformity of the Falklands. The Trees were the first we had beheld since leaving New Zealand nearly a year before, & so powerfully does Time warp one's ideas, that the Timber looked quite large & fine; though no trunk measured 3 feet through & the height was perfectly insignificant.
To Sailors, or to any person who has read[?] Anson's & Cook's Voyages, Cape Horn becomes an ideal land of romance, & the very thought that we were close to the Ultima Thule of so many generations, gave a zest to everything seen. My time was almost wholly engrossed with the plants, especially the Cryptogamia, & you may guess how pleased I was to gather the glories of Menzies', Forster's & Banks' herbaria, growing close to our Ships. The Mosses were truly beautiful & everyday added something undescribed species to my collection.
Hermite Island & more particularly St Martin's Cove, in which we lay, is a wild & beautiful little spot; the hills rise at once from the water's edge to a height of 1200--1700 feet, all round; their tops covered with snow & their flanks densely wooded to an elevation of about 800--1000 feet. As the strata dip to the Northward, the precipitous sides of Mount Forster looked down on our North side, & Mt Kater, on the South, rises in a cone, so beautifully foreshortened, that the eye (from a distance, where we lay, of certainly not 1/2 a mile from its summit) runs along its flanks for 1700 f[ee]t;-- all but the very top is seen. Little torrents roar down the gulleys through the thick trees, &, meeting no beach but steep rocks, are discharged in a series of cataracts into the Cove. I can liken this Cove to nothing but the upper ends of one of the Lochs, or salt water arms[?] of the Clyde; they are similar in every feature; though the same in none.

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Our feelings were the echo of Darwin's when he visited richer Bays to the Northward: but of all the comparisons he uses, (not that they are many) none is so striking & appropriate as that these Islands are the summits of submerged mountains. The appearance of the land forced this expression simultaneously from any of us. All the peaked & broken hills are formed of trap rock; but the North end, towards Maxwell's Harbor[sic], consists of low hills, of a fine binary Granite & very handsome. A large hill, called Cape Spencer, projecting parallel with & not more than a few miles to the Northward of the Horn, is also rounded & granitic; veins of a finer Granite, & also of white & red Quartz, run through the Granite, both to the North & South Ends, & I could never trace where the Trap met the latter formation. It often struck me that they pass into one another, for I possess many labelled specimens, shewing all gradations. My evidence is however chiefly negative, that I could not anywhere see the boundary of either. Veins of Quartz, (not fissures into which Quartz infiltrates) certainly traverse both, & the rock was always the finest--grained at the very tops of the hills. In several places, what I took for an arseniate of Iron, abounds in the rocks, looking like specks of gold, which caused us to christen several spots El Dorado, & we amused ourselves with the simplicity of the men, having told a few of them, with strict injunctions of secrecy, that we had made a grand discovery of lots of Gold, with which which[sic] they could not fail to load themselves.
Insects were very scarce: only one of any importance struck me; a Carabus (true) similar to C. arvensis in color[sic] & brightness; between that species & C. nitens, with the habits, in all respects, of the latter. This

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Insect was the first & last, I have seen in the South, which recalled even in the remotest manner, the Entomology of Scotland. I took several specimens, but it was scarce, the season being early.
The Natives of Fuegia have been too well described by King, Fitzroy & Darwin to allow any thing I could say to be in the least interesting. Birds were scarce except a few Land species, such as Thrushes, a Creeper & Wren, all however, well known.
We had a much finer month of Oct[obe]r than previous Travellers have enjoyed: nature seemed to be making a strong push against a naturally an inherently bad climate, for then the plants began to leaf, bud & flower with considerable rapidity, the snow entirely disappeared from the hills & the whole Cove looked smiling. Towards the end of the month however, we experienced furious winds from the W. & S. West, with Williewaws almost as strong as those which assailed us at Kerguelends Land; Snow fell abundantly (but did not blight the vegetation), & the winds were cold & very wet. It must have been under such circumstances that Sir Joseph Banks' life appeareds to have been so threatened, & yet I cannot but think that physical weakness must have had a great deal to do with this voyager & his companions becoming so overpowered. It is only on the bare Hill tops that the cold can be much felt, & there the walking is so easy & the slopes so evident that it is impossible to lose the way: while, in the woods, again, the trees are such stag--headed things, as to keep off much (indeed most of) the Snow & keen winds: crawling among them is certainly most fatiguing but sufficient to impart warmth in the coldest weather. Such companions however, as the Blacks were, must have proved a serious drawback.
It was not without much regret that I quitted Fuegia. Besides the interesting nature of the land we visited, I left much undone in

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Botany, which a few more weeks would have sufficed to complete. The confidence however, with which we looked forward to receiving letters at Port Louis, after having been without any for a whole year, made us willing to depart. During our absence at Cape Horn the "Philomel" Capt[ain]. Sullivan had touched at the Falklands & sailed again to complete her survey. On her return, I had the pleasure of making that officer's acquaintance, who is a friend of Mr Darwin's. He told me that Darwin had been printing much on the Geology of the Beagle's Voyages, & among other spots, that of the Falklands. He also explained to me his views as to the elevation of the Quartz mountain chains in parallel waves, distorting the clay slate which occupies the intervening vallies[sic] so that it is twisted & crup crumpled up in the most extraordinary manner. The uniformity of the whole surface of these Islands is exceedingly striking. Almost without exception, every plant of the Falkland Flora tends to form, more or less, of that Peat which covers the Quartz. This Peat is homogeneous throughout, as far as I could detect & or learn, & it invariably rests on a bed of stiff white clay, very plastic, only a few inches thick; & that again, on the hard Quartzy rocks. From the uniformity of the peat--beds, it may be inferred that there has been no violence, since the land assumed its present form. In the Quartz there exist no springs, though water is abundant, infiltrated through the Peat & resting on the clay trickling down the hills; it is very bad, of course. The clay slate water rises from springs & is quite good.
Vegetation on the Falklands is scanty, except in Grasses, which abound, both species & specimens. Some European plants are diffused all over the Islands, in the most inaccessible spots. They are Veronica serpyllifolia, Poa annua,

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3 species of Rumex, Alsine nudia & a few others, introduced originally by the early Spanish Settlers & which the Wild Cattle & Rabbits have since disseminated all over the Island. I think the Hawks must have also assisted, for I have found these plants growing all round the building places of the Birds where neither Goat, Rabbit or Cattle could have reached: they were doubtless transported, when fresh eaten, in the stomachs of young rabbits, caught by the Polyborus.
I was unable to trace any sign of elevation of the Coast, by the Sea having retired, or otherwise. Among my specimens is a piece of light Pumice Stone, brought from one of the Southern Bays & most likely transported from the Volcanic Regions of the South Shetlands (at least that is my guess). A good deal of it was said to exist where my specimen was picked up. -- One other Geological fact, -- To the Southward of the Falkland Group, about 30 miles South of Beauchene Island, a rock once existed, laid down as having been seen by Lieut[enant]. Burdwood (I think in 1800). We sailed over the spot & found nothing of it: but our soundings proved that there was an immense shoal or bank, surrounding the spot, over which, the Sea, from the shallowness of the water, was very cross & short.
On the 17th of Dec[embe]r we again sailed for our 3d & last Trip to the Ice. Fair winds brought us quickly to the Bergs, the first of which we saw on the 24th in lat. 62 1/2 S.-- long. 53. W., near Clarence Isl[an]d, but the weather was so thick that we could not make the Land. Continuing to the Southward we fell in with the Pack Ice in lat. 62(.20'. It was Capt[ain] Ross intention to have closed with what the French call their land (though it was seen by Weddell, Bransfield & others, but not named), & then to push South in the clear Water which w[oul]d probably exist on the lee side, as open sea had done, to the East of our formerly discovered land.
On the 28th we made the land, a little South & East of the Cape Francais

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of M. D'Urville: it was low & undulating, covered with snow to the water's edge. During the whole of Jan[uar]y we were more or less involved in the Pack, near the land, the Ice driving very fast with the strong tides & currents. We traced the land from this point to the S. West, as far as 64(.15.S., where it trended to the East & formed a long point, enclosing a deep Gulf, the por. From this point we traced it S.W. again for a little way; for the Ice was so packed & the Ships so driven about at the mercy of the Tides & Currents, with the Ice far too heavy to allow of our pushing to the Southw[ar]d, that we had to get out the best way we could, early in Feb[ruar]y. As we proceeded South, the land, quitting the Northern point first made, becomes higher & more mountainous, immense Glaciers come down to the Sea, in one long sweep of Ice, many miles in extent, terminating in bluff barriers along the Coast. Some of the M[oun]t[ain]s, towards the head of the Gulf, were peaked & appeared Volcanic. Several Islets off the shore, were bare of snow & Ice: low & small, with most distinct cones on them. In several spots, the continuity of the land could not be traced, & as our S. Westerly course took us very much parallel to a great deal of M. D'Urville's track, there can be little doubt of Trinity Land, Palmer's Land, Terre Louis Philippe & Terre Joinville, being a string of Islands, with small Straits between them. The higher & more mountainous land to the Southward, again may constitute the Eastern shore of that extensive land, traced by the intrepid Sealer Biscoe & called Graham's Land.
Only one opportunity offered of disembarking, & this was on a very Singular spot, towards the head of the Gulf, on a little island, a few miles from the mainland. Whereas almost all the land, to the Northw[ar]d, & the high ground W. & S. West of us, were covered with snow, this little spot, not 4 miles from the N. shores & with the whole of the long point, running E. & W, forming the S. shore horn of the Bay, were perfectly bare. The point

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*3 itself was low, of a brownish color[sic], the Island much redder brown; there did not seem much cropping rocks upon either, whilst the N. shore was composed of bold Bluffs & perpendicular Cliffs of what appeared hard black Trap rocks, their summits covered with immense beds of Snow. In fact, I can compare the appearance of the Cliffs to nothing so well as a fine Twelfth Cake, supposing a piece of the Sugar to fall away from the side, exposing the black nucleus & exhibiting at the same time, the thickness of the upper striation of white sugar. The enormous mass of the snowy bed appeared full 20 or 30 f[ee]t thick. There were a few horizontal red streaks on the face of the Cliff, as if it were composed of layers of Trap. The land might be 2000 f[ee]t high, & the long point to the South[war]d probably not above 600: its summit was a series of craters, all extinct, but remarkably evident, no one appearing larger than the others, having somewhat of the subsumed appearance. The color[sic] was a sort of greyish or leaden--brown, & the whole land seemed covered with masses of stone, quite destitute of snow & of course equally so from green vegetation. Nor were there any Streams running down the sides, which were, however, traversed by innumerable gulleys, anastomosing together.
From the roundness of the angles of land, & the curious narrow fissure like aspect of the Gulleys, I at first conjectured the surface might be covered with an indurated Volcanic mud, ejected from the Cones; but after examining the Island & approaching the land so close as to perceive innumerable fragments of rock, I am inclined to believe it to be a nucleus of

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rock, covered with masses of scoriaceous lavas, cemented, a little below the surface, by perennially frozen water. When, however, I tell you what I saw of the Island, you will be able to form some idea.
The Island is in lat. 64(.12. S. & 57( W., at the head of the Gulf (which may be a strait) & about midway between the shores. Its base is about 2 miles across & very nearly circular: it is divided uniformly, from whatever direction it is viewed, into 3 parts, -- viz. a broadly conical base, sloping to the sea, at an angle of about 30 degrees; from this cone rises a perpendicular escarpment, of rocks, about of equal elevation, with its summit is completely flat & the sides quite steep, except that here & there, a few gulleys traverse it -- On this tabular top there is a conical Crater, placed towards the S. West. These 3 portions are of about equal heights & I consider the whole not to exceed 1000 f[ee]t. -- Capt[ain]. Ross by some observations, makes the total height 3600 feet! far exceeding the altitude which was deduced by any of the Officers & as I ascended from the base, to nearly the top of the escarpment of rock, I feel confident that Capt[ain] R[oss] has over rated it. The sea, all round the Island, was strewn with Pack & Berg Ice, carried up & down the Gulf (by the tide, if it be a Gulf,) -- by the currents, if a Strait. Many pieces of Ice were transporting Boulders of rock from the adjacent shores & were quite ready to deposit them on the Island; provided they melted, or did not float away elsewhere. I possess a fragment of rock, picked from off a piece of rock close to the Island; but different from any which I gathered upon it.
The entire Cove is formed of masses of various Trap rocks, chiefly Slags & all more or less porous: the upper ones were much heated by the Sun (it was one of the only warm days we had to the Southw[ar]d) & so jumbled together, greater & small, that the whole upper stratum was

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put in motion; -- a few inches below, the rocks were cemented into one solid mass of Ice. In a very few places, the rock cropped out, & wherever it afforded a shelter, there was hard Ice. The appearance of Gulleys of water was caused by breaks in the escarpment of rock above, which formed shoots for the fragments breaking off above, the portions opposite, being very small, deceive the eye. The uniformity of the mass of stones, from the size of one's fist, to that of a mans head, was highly remarkable, as was the constant presence of the frozen conglomerate below. The escarpment of rock rises regularly & very clean (so to speak) out of this cone of stones. It is composed of a hard Trap of Lava conglomerate, full of masses of other rocks, also Volcanic, & abounding with zeolitic chrystals[sic] & some Bort Botryoidal portions of a mineral.
The beautiful White Petrel was sitting on its eggs in the holes of the Cliff. These Birds were always in pairs & betrayed their holes by croaking on our approach, but were very bold in defence of their charge ejecting a red oil from their beaks, which they sent out by a muscular motion of the throat, so as never to soil their plumage by the process.
To the base of the Cliff the fragments were much smaller & being closer, the heat had penetrated farther on the sunny soil & the frozen soil was at a greater depth. Wherever the Cliff was even partially shaded, it was clad with sheets of Ice & the sheltered chasms & clefts were perfectly choked with glaciers. You may imagine the contrast, in walking, or rather scrambling round a Corner; -- the ground was so loose & the rock overhung so awefully[sic], & you passed from the really hot sun (78( in a black--bulb Thermometer) to the Icy shade. I got up as high as I could; but, near the top of the gulley, the place was quite a smooth hard frozen slope, only covered with a little sand; & there being nothing to hold on by, it was impossible to proceed. The Crater I could not visit: -- it was regularly conical, save on the S.W. side which

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was steeper & close to the precipice, its summit is rather obliquely abrupt & the flanks covered with large stones.
For a long time I felt at a loss to account for the rapid thaw which must have preceded the dissolving of the Snow, & I arrived at the Conclusion, that it must arise from the porous nature of the rocks, attracting heat, & absorbing the moisture, the greater part of which runs off upon, (or is frozen together with,) the substratum of Ice. I was not aware of any analogous case, till the other morning, when opening your son, Mr Chas. Lyell's, Principles of Geology, I found that he mentions a similar fact, with regard to the snow on Mount Etna, which quite confirms my opinion. It is at p. 416, of vol III, 5th Edition, & at the bottom of the page. Were this Island to be thawed, I conceive that a most remarkable change would take place in its aspect. The stones of the lower part would all be loosened, & gradually the basal cone would become broader & broader; at the same time, the bonds of ice, which it is reasonable to suppose retain many fragments on the face of the precipice together, would be relaxed, so that the escarpment, in time, would be worn away to the base of the Cone on the summit, & the entire Island would present a perfect Cone from the Sea to the very top. The subjoined sketch is a rude, but accurate representation of its present appearance.
An immense Colony of Penguins & Cormorants were building on the rocks & among the stones near the water: their young were all hatched & the din & stench of these Rookeries were intolerable. A few specimens of the White Chionis, Gulls, Tern & several kinds of Petrel, were the only other Birds seen. Of Insects there were none. Of Plants, about 5 Lichens 4 Mosses, 5 Seaweeds & an Oscillatoria, all in the most wretched condition, were dragging out a miserable existence. Although the temperature of Summer is uniformly low in these latitudes & the sky

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so constantly clouded, that the Sun's rays have no power, there still are occasions when these plants are subjected to violent extremes of temperature & humidity. Certainly for the greater part of the year, they must be covered with snow; for they were so, only a few days after our visit & snow falls here in Summer, as well as Winter: & yet on the day we landed, the stones were perfectly hot & the black bulbed Thermometer indicated (as I said before) 78 in the sun & 40 in the shade. The average of Jan[uar]y in that neighborhood[sic] was about 33(, which leaves a variation of 45 degrees, to which the plants must have been exposed in one day; -- very little in comparison with England or any other climate, but a great deal when we consider than[sic] 21(, only, existed between the max[imum]. & min[imum]. Temperature in the shade during the month. The Dew Point where the plants grew, was as low as 13(. During any other part of the month, it only once fell down to 20( & then the temperature of the air was 25.5. Altogether it was a most singular spot, & our landing, on the finest day we ever had in the South, rendered these phenomena the doubly remarkable. During the remainder of the month, the Island was, more or less, covered with snow.
In stating my own opinion that the height of the hill was much exaggerated, I have no wish to contradict Capt[ain]. Ross, nor would I like that the circumstance were known, except among my intimate friends. Had I no other ground to go upon, the fact of its summit not being covered with perpetual snow, were sufficient to convince me: -- all the measured altitudes, from the impossibility of perceiving a good base, differed, some of them more than 1000 feet & Capt[ain]. R[oss]. naturally thinks his own the best, & acts upon it. Several of us ascended to the perpendicular wall of rock (he did not) which I call one third of the height, while most others pronounce it more; & that occupied not

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quite half an hour; toiling through & slipping back among the loose stones. The Island is so small that the proportional altitudes of these 3 several & principal stages could not, easily, be far wrong, viewed as the Island was, during a whole month, from distances of 4 miles to 30 off & on: & all of us agreed on that point.
In the beginning of February, finding it impracticable to proceed to the Southward, of East or West, in this longitude, we bore up & quitted the Pack Ice, with the intention of going to the position of Weddell's track & proceeding down in it. After a dead beat off the Northern edge of the Pack, we found the Sealer's track firmly blockaded with Ice, & now that nights were coming on dark, it would have been impossible to take the Pack, even were it slack enough. Passing along the edge of the Ice, to the Southward of D'Urville's two attempts, we did not lose sight of it, till the 23d of Feb[ruar]y in lat. 61(.46'S. -- Long. 19( W. -- Now, though late in the season, we turned the Ships' heads Southwards, & after encountering many days of fouls winds & gales, at length, on the 5th March, attained lat. 71(.30', Long 15( W., our furthest South for this year, & in all probability for any future year. We there met a very heavy Pack, on which a high Sea was running, rendering farther progress utterly out of the question; especially as the nights were now 8 hours long, & in those regions, quite dark. Though sorry not to have reached a higher South Latitude, we were not sorry to be compelled to return. Had we not met the Pack Ice, we should have gone on, till something else did bring us up. For no one would have accepted as our excuse our justifiable fear of running foul of Icebergs in the dark nights.

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April 4th. My dear Sir, we are now entering False Bay (Cape of Good Hope) & shall soon cast anchor in Simon's Bay, that branch of it where the Naval Stores are deposited & where the Flag Ship is stationed. I shall close this letter to be ready for going home by the first opportunity, probably by a Ship now standing in to the Table Bay from India & which we saw a few hours ago.
I have made a few additions to my collection of Rocks for your son, both at Cape Horn, the Falklands & more particularly from every Berg, that rock was taken off of, -- as also from the Island in 64(.12'. I shall be very proud, if Mr C. Lyell considers these specimens worthy his acceptance. I have also a few Insects (very few), & some Shells & Birds, if the Miss Lyells will condescend to accept of select from them.
I beg you to present my respectful compliments to Mrs Lyell & the Miss Lyells: as also to the London branch of your family.
With every wish for your own continued good health, I am truly & respectfully y[ou]rs | Jos. 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.  The copy was probably made by Hooker’s mother or sister so that a version could be circulated amongst family and friends.
2. Latin phrase translating as: "he gives twice, who gives promptly" i.e A gift given without hesitation is as good as two gifts.
3. This page contains two blank areas indented into the text from the right hand margin which may have been left as space for copies of illustrations or diagrams which appear in the original letter. Some illustrations are referenced on page 11. Any such illustrations have not been transferred to this copy.

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