Page:A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions Vol 1.djvu/395

] from their real position; second, because it is placed so near the tracks of the American expedition as to have been well within sight from their ships, as near as many other portions of their antarctic continent, and therefore would lead to the belief that it actually was seen from them; third, from its being included in the map of the exclusive operations of that expedition, involved in the same barrier (which also has disappeared), without any mark to distinguish it from their other discoveries, and that it was sent to me, together with them, to show the extent of land that Lieutenant Wilkes claimed as the discoveries of the expedition under his command.

Having now fulfilled my task of exculpating myself from any blame on this to me very painful transaction, I leave others to judge whether the "unfounded" epithet which Lieutenant Wilkes has applied to my statement may not be applied to his with more propriety. I have endeavoured also to do justice to the memory of a brave and enterprising British seaman, by showing how completely the results of our researches have verified the discovery he announced to the world, and in some degree removed any false impression that may have resulted from the statement which has been circulated in America, that we "had sailed over land discovered by our own countryman, and not over any part of the antarctic continent of the American expedition."

I cannot refrain from observing that the practice