9,750
edits
Difference between revisions of "Charles Wilkes"
→Antarctic activities
Westarctica (talk | contribs) |
Westarctica (talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
===Antarctic activities=== | ===Antarctic activities=== | ||
Departing from Hampton Roads on 18 August 1838, the expedition stopped at the Madeira Islands and Rio de Janeiro; visited Tierra del Fuego, Chile, Peru, the Tuamotu Archipelago, Samoa, and New South Wales; from Sydney sailed into the [[Southern Ocean|Antarctic Ocean]] in December 1839 and reported the discovery "of an [[Antarctica|Antarctic continent]] west of the [[Balleny Islands]]" of which it sighted the coast on 25 January 1840. | Departing from Hampton Roads on 18 August 1838, the expedition stopped at the Madeira Islands and Rio de Janeiro; visited Tierra del Fuego, Chile, Peru, the Tuamotu Archipelago, Samoa, and New South Wales; from Sydney sailed into the [[Southern Ocean|Antarctic Ocean]] in December 1839 and reported the discovery "of an [[Antarctica|Antarctic continent]] west of the [[Balleny Islands]]" of which it sighted the coast on 25 January 1840. | ||
Prior to his exploration of the continental mass, it was still widely conjectured that Antarctica was not a continent, but a series of large islands. However, Wilkes' observations were later confirmed by [[James Clark Ross]] and the question of Antarctica's existence as a separate continent was no longer debated by explorers. | |||
Henry Eld, the expedition's geographer, visited a penguin rookery and made the following report: | |||
<blockquote> | |||
"Having passed a deep fissure in the rocks, I ascended a crag that led to what I thought was their principal roost, and at every step my astonishment increased. Such a din of squeaking, squalling, and gabbling, I never before heard or dreamed could be made by any of the feathered tribe. It was impossible to hear one's self speak. It appeared as if every one was vying with his neighbor to make the greatest possible noise. I soon found my presence particularly displeased them, for they snapped at me in all directions, catching hold of my trousers, shaking and pinching my flesh so violently as to make me flinch and stand upon the defensive. As we wanted a number of specimens, I commenced kicking them down the precipice, and knocked on the head those which had the temerity to attack me." | |||
<blockquote> | |||
===Fiji Massacre=== | ===Fiji Massacre=== | ||