Antarctic Continent (1849)

Source: The Friend. Honolulu: Saturday, November 15, 1849, page 6.

Some years ago much was said and published respecting English, American and French navigators cruising along the shores of the Antarctic continent. It has in some way come to our knowledge that certain English navigators report to have sailed over a part of the Antarctic continent discovered, or laid down on Wilkes' charts. The simple facts, so far as we can ascertain, are these: The American navigator appears to have mistook a portion of the "icy barrier" for the main land. Subsequently, English exploring vessels cruised higher up than the point laid down as land upon Wilkes' charts. That he was mistaken, is also manifest, for Capt. Cooper, commanding the “Franklin," navigated his vessel, in January last, 2°s of longitude, and 1° of latitude, on a W. by S. course, over a region laid down as land by his countryman, Wilkes. This was between the parallels of longitude 168 ° 20', and 105° 30' E., and on about the parallel of latitude 65° 20’.

From all we are able to learn respecting very high latitudes, both north and south, the seasons vary exceedingly. Even in those frozen regions they have their warm as well as cold summers, hence the "icy barrier” (as it is called) is by no means stationary.— We do now recollect to have met a whaleman from the Arctic Ocean who spoke of seeing the icy barrier, although Capt. Beechey, in 1827, saw "packed ice" lower down than some of the whale ships lately cruised. The same fact is doubtless true of the opposite region of polar cold. This will satisfactorily account for the mistake of the commander of the U. S. Exploring Expedition.— The mention of these facts may serve to put the commanders of national exploring expeditions upon their guard, as their errors may be detected by some adventurous and enterprising whaleman.