An Officer Of The Blue by Edward Duyker

Author:Edward Duyker [Duyker, Edward]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781476686738
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Published: 2021-10-18T00:00:00+00:00

The route of the Mascarin and the Marquis de Castries in 1771–73

The spot where I landed was absolutely stony. I mounted an eminence from whence I saw snow lying in several valleys: the land seemed barren and was covered with a very fine small grass. I found several of those coarse plants which are called ficoïdes, very much like those which are so common at the Cape of Good Hope. On returning to the shore, I noticed a small rush resembling grass and some amaranthus; the rocks were covered with moss and lichen; the shore was covered with a sort of rush about a foot high, very similar to that which is found at the Cape of Good Hope. The sea-weed around the shore was of an extraordinary size and had very large leaves. I could not find a single tree or shrub on the island, and I did not remain long enough to find fresh water, but appearances seemed to indicate that it could be found in the valleys which I had perceived from the eminence I had climbed . . . I only found seawolves, penguins, petrels, envergures, cormorants, divers and every variety of water bird which navigators meet with in the open sea when they double the Cape of Good Hope. These animals, which had never seen men before, were quiet and allowed themselves to be captured by hand. The female birds quietly hatched their eggs, others fed their little ones, and the seawolves continued their bounds and their games without seeming the least scared by our presence.92

Just over three decades later this remarkable natural refuge became a regular port of call for British and American sealers. Their depredations, between 1805 and 1870, nearly drove the local seal population to extinction.93 Crozet also saw a ‘white pigeon’ on Possession Island, which led him to speculate wistfully that there might be a large, seed-producing land nearby. In his journal he indicated that both he and Marion believed they were in a favourable position to take up where Bouvet had left off and discover the Southern Continent. According to Crozet, it was the dismasted Castries which thwarted Marion’s ‘otherwise well-matured plans’. (Probably aware that the finger of blame had been pointed at him, du Clesmeur in his journal, attempted to blame Marion’s long sojourn at the Cape for their inability to undertake further exploration.)

From Possession Island, Marion’s expedition maintained an easterly course. On 2 February 1772, it reached a longitude of 62° East of the Paris meridian at a latitude of 47° 22ʹ South. At this point, less than two weeks later, having sailed south-southeast from the Isle de France, Kerguelen and Saint-Allouarn crossed Marion’s route.94 At 49° South, through the thick mist, Kerguelen sighted land which he believed was a cape on the coast of a continent. In fact, it was an island95 and it now bears his name. Accidentally separated from Saint-Allouarn in bad weather, Kerguelen decided to hasten back to the Isle de France to proclaim his discovery.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.