This group, now so well known, and which consists of three circular islands, was first discovered by the Portuguese8, and was visited afterward by the Dutch in 1643, and by the French in 1767. The three islands together form a triangle, and are distant from each other about ten miles, there being fine open passages between. The land in all of them is very high, especially in Tristan d’Acunha, properly so called. This is the largest of the group, being fifteen miles in circumference9, and so elevated that it can be seen in clear weather at the distance of eighty or ninety miles. A part of the land toward the north rises more than a thousand feet perpendicularly10 from the sea. A tableland at this height extends back nearly to the centre of the island, and from this tableland arises a lofty cone11 like that of Teneriffe. The lower half of this cone is clothed with trees of good size, but the upper region is barren rock, usually hidden among the clouds, and covered with snow during the greater part of the year. There are no shoals or other dangers about the island, the shores being remarkably12 bold and the water deep. On the northwestern coast is a bay, with a beach of black sand where a landing with boats can be easily effected, provided there be a southerly wind. Plenty of excellent water may here be readily procured13; also cod14 and other fish may be taken with hook and line.
The next island in point of size, and the most westwardly15 of the group, is that called the Inaccessible16. Its precise situation is 37 degrees 17’ S. latitude, longitude 12 degrees 24’ W. It is seven or eight miles in circumference, and on all sides presents a forbidding and precipitous aspect. Its top is perfectly17 flat, and the whole region is sterile18, nothing growing upon it except a few stunted19 shrubs20.
Nightingale Island, the smallest and most southerly, is in latitude 37 degrees 26’ S., longitude 12 degrees 12’ W. Off its southern extremity21 is a high ledge22 of rocky islets; a few also of a similar appearance are seen to the northeast. The ground is irregular and sterile, and a deep valley partially23 separates it.
The shores of these islands abound24, in the proper season, with sea lions, sea elephants, the hair and fur seal, together with a great variety of oceanic birds. Whales are also plenty in their vicinity. Owing to the ease with which these various animals were here formerly25 taken, the group has been much visited since its discovery. The Dutch and French frequented it at a very early period. In 1790, Captain Patten, of the ship Industry, of Philadelphia, made Tristan d’Acunha, where he remained seven months (from August, 1790, to April, 1791) for the purpose of collecting sealskins. In this time he gathered no less than five thousand six hundred, and says that he would have had no difficulty in loading a large ship with oil in three weeks. Upon his arrival he found no quadrupeds, with the exception of a few wild goats; the island now abounds26 with all our most valuable domestic animals, which have been introduced by subsequent navigators.
I believe it was not long after Captain Patten’s visit that Captain Colquhoun, of the American brig Betsey, touched at the largest of the islands for the purpose of refreshment27. He planted onions, potatoes, cabbages, and a great many other vegetables, an abundance of all which is now to be met with.
In 1811, a Captain Haywood, in the Nereus, visited Tristan. He found there three Americans, who were residing upon the island to prepare sealskins and oil. One of these men was named Jonathan Lambert, and he called himself the sovereign of the country. He had cleared and cultivated about sixty acres of land, and turned his attention to raising the coffee-plant and sugar-cane, with which he had been furnished by the American Minister at Rio Janeiro. This settlement, however, was finally abandoned, and in 1817 the islands were taken possession of by the British Government, who sent a detachment for that purpose from the Cape28 of Good Hope. They did not, however, retain them long; but, upon the evacuation of the country as a British possession, two or three English families took up their residence there independently of the Government. On the twenty-fifth of March, 1824, the Berwick, Captain Jeffrey, from London to Van Diemen’s Land, arrived at the place, where they found an Englishman of the name of Glass, formerly a corporal in the British artillery29. He claimed to be supreme30 governor of the islands, and had under his control twenty-one men and three women. He gave a very favourable31 account of the salubrity of the climate and of the productiveness of the soil. The population occupied themselves chiefly in collecting sealskins and sea elephant oil, with which they traded to the Cape of Good Hope, Glass owning a small schooner32. At the period of our arrival the governor was still a resident, but his little community had multiplied, there being fifty-six persons upon Tristan, besides a smaller settlement of seven on Nightingale Island. We had no difficulty in procuring33 almost every kind of refreshment which we required — sheep, hogs34, bullocks, rabbits, poultry35, goats, fish in great variety, and vegetables were abundant. Having come to anchor close in with the large island, in eighteen fathoms36, we took all we wanted on board very conveniently. Captain Guy also purchased of Glass five hundred sealskins and some ivory. We remained here a week, during which the prevailing37 winds were from the northward and westward, and the weather somewhat hazy38. On the fifth of November we made sail to the southward and westward, with the intention of having a thorough search for a group of islands called the Auroras, respecting whose existence a great diversity of opinion has existed.
These islands are said to have been discovered as early as 1762, by the commander of the ship Aurora39. In 1790, Captain Manuel de Oyarvido,, in the ship Princess, belonging to the Royal Philippine Company, sailed, as he asserts, directly among them. In 1794, the Spanish corvette Atrevida went with the determination of ascertaining40 their precise situation, and, in a paper published by the Royal Hydrographical Society of Madrid in the year 1809, the following language is used respecting this expedition: “The corvette Atrevida practised, in their immediate41 vicinity, from the twenty-first to the twenty-seventh of January, all the necessary observations, and measured by chronometers42 the difference of longitude between these islands and the port of Soledad in the Manillas. The islands are three, they are very nearly in the same meridian43; the centre one is rather low, and the other two may be seen at nine leagues’ distance.” The observations made on board the Atrevida give the following results as the precise situation of each island. The most northern is in latitude 52 degrees 37’ 24” S., longitude 47 degrees, 43’ 15” W.; the middle one in latitude 53 degrees 2’ 40” S., longitude 47 degrees 55’ 15” W.; and the most southern in latitude 53 degrees 15’ 22” S., longitude 47 degrees 57’ 15” W.
On the twenty-seventh of January, 1820, Captain James Weddel, of the British navy, sailed from Staten Land also in search of the Auroras. He reports that, having made the most diligent44 search and passed not only immediately over the spots indicated by the commander of the Atrevida, but in every direction throughout the vicinity of these spots, he could discover no indication of land. These conflicting statements have induced other navigators to look out for the islands; and, strange to say, while some have sailed through every inch of sea where they are supposed to lie without finding them, there have been not a few who declare positively45 that they have seen them; and even been close in with their shores. It was Captain Guy’s intention to make every exertion46 within his power to settle the question so oddly in dispute.3
3 Among the vessels47 which at various times have professed48 to meet with the Auroras may be mentioned the ship San Miguel, in 1769; the ship Aurora, in 1774; the brig Pearl, in 1779; and the ship Dolores, in 1790. They all agree in giving the mean latitude fifty-three degrees south.
We kept on our course, between the south and west, with variable weather, until the twentieth of the month, when we found ourselves on the debated ground, being in latitude 53 degrees 15’ S., longitude 47 degrees 58’ W. — that is to say, very nearly upon the spot indicated as the situation of the most southern of the group. Not perceiving any sip49 of land, we continued to the westward of the parallel of fifty-three degrees south, as far as the meridian of fifty degrees west. We then stood to the north as far as the parallel of fifty-two degrees south, when we turned to the eastward50, and kept our parallel by double altitudes, morning and evening, and meridian altitudes of the planets and moon. Having thus gone eastwardly51 to the meridian of the western coast of Georgia, we kept that meridian until we were in the latitude from which we set out. We then took diagonal courses throughout the entire extent of sea circumscribed52, keeping a lookout53 constantly at the masthead, and repeating our examination with the greatest care for a period of three weeks, during which the weather was remarkably pleasant and fair, with no haze54 whatsoever55. Of course we were thoroughly56 satisfied that, whatever islands might have existed in this vicinity at any former period, no vestige57 of them remained at the present day. Since my return home I find that the same ground was traced over, with equal care, in 1822, by Captain Johnson, of the American schooner Henry, and by Captain Morrell in the American schooner Wasp58 — in both cases with the same result as in our own.
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1
retracing
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| v.折回( retrace的现在分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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2
westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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6
latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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8
Portuguese
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| n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语 | |
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9
circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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10
perpendicularly
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| adv. 垂直地, 笔直地, 纵向地 | |
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11
cone
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| n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果 | |
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12
remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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13
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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14
cod
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| n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗 | |
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15
westwardly
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| 向西，自西 | |
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16
inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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17
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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18
sterile
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| adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的 | |
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19
stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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20
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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21
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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22
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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23
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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24
abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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25
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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26
abounds
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的第三人称单数 ) | |
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27
refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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28
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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29
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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30
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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31
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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32
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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33
procuring
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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34
hogs
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| n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人 | |
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35
poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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36
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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37
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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38
hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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39
aurora
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| n.极光 | |
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40
ascertaining
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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41
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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42
chronometers
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| n.精密计时器，航行表( chronometer的名词复数 ) | |
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43
meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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44
diligent
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| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
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45
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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46
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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47
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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48
professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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49
sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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50
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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51
eastwardly
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| 向东，从东方 | |
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52
circumscribed
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| adj.[医]局限的：受限制或限于有限空间的v.在…周围划线( circumscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；划定…范围；限制；限定 | |
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53
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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54
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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55
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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56
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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57
vestige
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| n.痕迹，遗迹，残余 | |
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58
wasp
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| n.黄蜂，蚂蜂 | |
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