Page:A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions Vol 1.djvu/213

] ample space, and no concealed dangers, the belts of sea-weed, Macrocystus and Laminaria, which line the shores and rocks, point out the shallow or dangerous parts. After five hours of hard contending with the fierce westerly squalls, we anchored at 1 in a small cove on the western shore, in ten fathoms.

Two painted boards, erected upon poles in a conspicuous spot, attracted our attention, and an officer was immediately sent to examine them. They proved to be records of the visits of the French expedition under D'Urville, and of one of the vessels of the American exploring expedition. The first, a white board with black letters, as follows:—"Les corvettes Françoises L'Astrolabe et la Zélée, parties de Hobart Town le 25 Fevrier, 1840, mouillées ici le 11 Mars, et réparties le 20 du dit pour la New Zeland. Du 19 Janvier au 1 Février, 1840, découverte de la Terre Adélie et détermination du pôle magnétique Austral!"

The second, a black board with white letters, stated,—"U.S. brig Porpoise, 73 days out from Sydney, New Holland, on her return from an exploring cruize along the antarctic circle, all well; arrived the 7th, and sailed again on the 10th March, for the Bay of Islands, New Zealand."

A paper was also found inclosed in a bottle, which had been so imperfectly corked that some water had got into and so obliterated some parts of the writing, that we had difficulty in deciphering it. Its purport was, that the Porpoise had touched here for