chart; and you will stop at Port Famine, on your way there and back, and such other safe harbours as may appear to offer advantages for scientific observations and collections; and you will return to this anchorage by the Straits of Le Maire, on or before the 15th of April next, if possible, where you will find me, or orders on the summit of Burnt Island; in the absence of which, you will proceed direct to Valparaiso.

7th. The north side of the Straits of Magellan affords at all times good anchorage; you will keep it close on board.

8th. The period of your absence must not exceed fifty days, if it can be avoided; during which time I have no doubt all on board will exert themselves in making the best possible use of the short space of time allowed.

9th. You will avoid being blown off to the eastward, as in such event the Expedition will suffer.

10th. Should any accident happen to the Relief, you will despatch without delay a boat to this anchorage, under charge of an officer, through the route you are to enter, pursuing thence Whale-Boat and Darwin Sounds, through the Beagle Channel, as far as the passage of Host and Navarin Islands, thence into Nassau Bay to Orange Harbour.

11th. Mr. Percival has been ordered to the Relief as pilot; he has been in the Straits of Magellan, and will afford you all the aid in his power.

You will give particular attention to the health and comfort of all under your command.

Wishing you a safe and successful cruise,

After separating from you in Orange Bay on the 25th of February, I proceeded with the tender Flying-Fish, under the command of Lieutenant Walker, to carry out your instructions, in making a recognizance south. On the afternoon of the 26th, a few miles to the west

ward of the islands of Diego Ramieres, we encountered a gale, in which we lay-to forty hours, in the course of which we parted from our little consort, although we had observed all the precautions of firing guns, burning blue-lights, &c.; after waiting in vain fourteen hours, with the hope of again meeting her, we resumed our course for the first rendezvous I had appointed with Lieutenant Walker, in the event of separation; that, as well as some of the others, we were unable to reach, from a succession of westerly gales and boisterous weather. To have persevered in working up for them would have consumed the little time we could yet hope for in the advanced state of the season, for our further progress south.

Without troubling you with a more minute detail of occurrences, suffice it to say, that on the 11th of March, we fell in with the first icebergs, in the latitude of 63° 30′ S., and longitude of 80° W., after which time they were our constant companions (and on more than one occasion very troublesome ones) until we reached the latitude of 68° 08′ . S., and longitude of 95° 44′ W., where to my great joy, we fell in with the Flying-Fish, and learned from Lieutenant Walker that he had passed near most of the appointed rendezvous, and worked down from 105° W., until he reached about 70° S.; that the whole surface of the ocean in the direction of south and west presented a perfect and impassable barrier of ice; that he had been completely frozen in for a short time on the 23d, and the ice forming rapidly around him, when, fortunately, a breeze of wind rescued him from his perilous situation. When we fell in with him, he was endeavouring to push his way north.

From the time of our first falling in with icebergs, we had been daily passing great numbers (as will be shown by the chart), and encountered on the 17th and part of the 18th, the heaviest gale and sea we have experienced since we left the United States; the thermometer in the air at that time standing at 21° of Fahrenheit, and the water at 28°; the ship completely coated with ice, every spray thrown over her freezing, and about her bows and head fairly packed with it. From the 19th to the 25th, we were without a sight of the sun or sky, surrounded by ice and icebergs, within the most neighbourly distance. During a lift of the fog, for a few moments only, on the morning of the 22d, and by the aid of an ice-blink, we discovered an extended range of icebergs and field-ice in mass, presenting a perfect barrier to our further progress south in that direction; and so completely were we hemmed in by icebergs on that occasion, that I was compelled to carry all the canvass on the ship that she would bear, and work her out into some more open position, through a fog so dense as to limit our view to two or three times the length of the ship.

In doing this, we of course kept well prepared, as the different icebergs popped upon us, to tack, veer, or perform such other evolutions as were found necessary to avoid them.

On the evening of the 25th of March, having reached the latitude of 68° 08′ S., and then in longitude 95° 44′ W., (we had been as far west as 97° 58',) with the air at 29°, and the water 30° of Fahrenheit, -having had it much lower, as far back as the 17th, and to the northward of us, where the ship was covered with ice, as well as some parts of her gun-deck,-the sun having crossed the equator, and made some northern declination; the shortness of the days here, and the little time allowed for running the ship amongst icebergs, without much hazard, in consequence of fogs and snow-storms; the miserable condition of the Peacock for a winter's campaign, in the event of being frozen in; the masses of ice we had yet to pass through on our return, and the nature of my instructions: these circumstances, combined with the report of Lieutenant Walker, premonished me of the necessity of turning the ship's head towards a more temperate climate.

It required more moral courage to bring my mind to this decision than I can well describe, for we had at that moment less ice about us than at any time since we had entered its neighbourhood; and had I followed my own inclinations merely, and allowed the promptings of ambition, or love of praise, to have governed my decisions, regardless of the future operations of the Expedition, the lives of my officers and men, and the trust reposed in me by the government, I should indeed have been unworthy of the trust I hold, and ever felt a consciousness, that whatever more might have been achieved, by any further attempt south, at that late season, would have been acquired only by recklessly hazarding, what an honest conviction of duty to my country, and the lives intrusted to my care, most decidedly forbade.

We observed the aurora australis for the first time on the night of the 15th of March, in the latitude of 65° 24' S., and again on the 16th, 18th, and 26th. On the night of the 18th, an arc of pale twilight was described in the southern quarter, reaching an altitude of twelve degrees, and extending from southwest to southeast; both above and below the arc were horizontal sheets of dark stratus clouds, and between the lower strata and the horizon, a suspended bank of mist or vapour, having all the appearance of a shadow cast on the sky; rays of light were continually being thrown out along the whole extent of the arc, assuming various hues, of pale red, light blue, violet, and straw-coloured tints; radiating towards the zenith, and reaching altitudes of from twenty-five to forty-five degrees. These exhibitions were confined to that particular portion of the horizon, and continued

through the greater part of the night, which was of the clearest starlight, the Southern Cross garnishing the zenith, and the Magellan clouds showing more distinctly than I had ever before seen them. The weather, during our cruise south, was very unfavourable for witnessing any very splendid exhibitions of the aurora; for, with few exceptions, during our stay in the Antarctic Circle, we were enveloped in dense fogs, or found only occasional relief from such falls of snow, as may fairly be classed with any one of our old-fashioned snowstorms at home.

The greatest dip obtained, from the experiments with Dolland's needle, was 78°; and in the latitude of 68° S., we found nearly four points easterly variation.

Mr. Peale has been fortunate enough to obtain as specimens, some new and rare Antarctic birds.

The officers and crew have enjoyed excellent health, been prompt and efficient in the performance of their respective duties; and for their cordial co-operation and aid in carrying out my views, deserve my warmest thanks; and I beg you will officially say so in your report to the Honourable Secretary of the Navy. I herewith enclose you Lieutenant Walker's report, who certainly deserves, with his officers and men, great credit for his perseverance.

I have drawn up this report in great haste, for the purpose of despatching the Flying-Fish to you, with the earliest intelligence, and shall proceed direct to Valparaiso, to carry out your instructions there Very respectfully,

CAPTAIN CHARLES WILKES,

Commanding Exploring Expedition.

(Signed)

WM. L. HUDSON, Commanding U. S. Ship Peacock

U. S. Schooner Flying-Fish,

At Sea, March 26th, 1839

SIR,

In obedience to your order of to-day, I have the honour to report, that after separating from you on the evening of the 26th ultimo, we hove-to under a reefed foresail until near meridian the next day, when, the gale moderating, we kept off the wind, with the hope of again falling in with you; and on the evening of the next day made a large sail to the northward of us, standing to the westward; we immediately gave chase, but on coming up, made her out to be a British merchantman.

We then stood to the westward for our first rendezvous. with strong

gales from about south-southwest to west-by-north, accompanied by a very large sea,-vessel labouring much, decks and ways becoming leaky, but sustained no material damage until the 5th March, when our jib was badly split.

On the 7th, we reached our first rendezvous, and whilst lying-to there in a heavy gale, our decks were frequently swept by the sea, and boats crushed. On the night of the same, the sea boarded us, ripped off the companion-slide, washed the larboard binnacle from its cleats and lashings overboard, injured the helmsman and look-out, and half filled the cabin.

On the evening of the next day, the wind moderating, set the reefed mainsail, but the vessel sending violently in the old sea, parted the reef-pendant, and tore the sail badly; took in the second reef and set it.

On the 9th, the leakage increasing from stress of weather, were obliged to move aft all the bread, replacing its weight in the breadroom by less perishable stores.

On the 11th, in the morning, found our new jib nearly gone from the stay, but one or two hanks remaining; got it in, and afterwards bent it with a lacing; set the reefed mainsail, and lowered the foresail for repairs; parted again the reef-pendant of the mainsail; took the third reef in it; finished the repairs of the foresail, set it, and furled the mainsail.

We were now up with our second rendezvous; but the wind growing fresh and the sea rising, the weather thick, with a heavy fall of snow, and feeling confident I should only lose time by heaving-to, stood on for the third rendezvous.

I have been particular in stating our losses in sails, as it was one of the heavy causes of our not reaching the rendezvous sooner. I had determined on making the old sails last, if possible, for the passage south, reserving the better suit for our return, when, from the lateness of the season, I believed we should encounter, if possible, more tempestuous weather; and owing to the close stowage of the hold, it would have been no trifling labour under the circumstances to have broken out for them; and, furthermore, the old suit would necessarily have gone below wet, to increase the discomfort of the already comfortless condition of the 'tween decks.

The weather continuing much the same, with the addition of rain, hail, and snow, in almost every watch on the 14th and 15th, we reached the third rendezvous, where we hove-to for nearly twentyfour-hours.

I now despaired of again joining you, but nevertheless felt it my