comparative view of the antarctic and arctic regions.—inferiority of climate of the former.—its causes.—the new shetland islands.—south georgia.—the peruvian stream.—sea-birds.—the giant petrel.—the albatross.—the penguin.—the austral whale.—the hunchback.—the fin-back.—the grampus.—battle with a whale.—the sea-elephant.—the southern sea-bear.—the sea-leopard.—antarctic fishes.

the antarctic regions are far more desolate and barren than the arctic. here we have no energetic hunters, like the esquimaux, chasing the seal or the walrus; no herdsmen following, like the samoïedes or the lapps, their reindeer to the brink of the icy ocean; but all is one dreary, uninhabitable waste. while within the arctic circle the musk-ox enjoys an abundance of food, and the lemming is still found thriving on the bleakest islands, not a single land quadruped exists beyond 56° of southern latitude.

summer flowers gladden the sight of the arctic navigator in the most northern lands yet reached; but no plant of any description—not even a moss or a lichen—has been observed beyond cockburn island in 64° 12´ s. lat.; and while even in spitzbergen vegetation ascends the mountain slopes to a height of 3000 feet the snow-line descends to the water’s edge in every land within or near the antarctic circle.

an open sea, extending towards the northern pole as far as the eye can reach, points out the path to future discovery; but the antarctic navigators, with one single exception, have invariably seen their progress arrested by barriers of ice, and none have ever penetrated beyond the comparatively low latitude of 78° 10´.

even in spitzbergen and east greenland, scoresby sometimes found the heat of summer very great; but the annals of antarctic navigation invariably speak of a frigid temperature. in 1773, when captain phipps visited spitzbergen, the thermometer once rose to +58½°; and on july 15, 1820, when the “hecla” left her winter-quarters in melville island (74° 47´ n.), she enjoyed a warmth of +56°. but during the summer months spent by sir james ross in the antarctic polar area, the temperature of the air never once exceeded +41° 5´. in northumberland sound (76° 42´ n.), probably the coldest spot hitherto visited in the north, the mean of the three summer months was found to be +30° 8´, while within the antarctic circle it only amounted to +27° 3´.

the reader may possibly wonder why the climate of the southern polar regions is so much more severe than that of the high northern latitudes; or why coasts and valleys, at equal distances from the equator, should in one case be found green with vegetation, and in another mere wastes of snow and ice; but the predominance of land in the north, and of sea in the south, fully answers392 the question. within the arctic circle we see vast continental masses projecting far to the north, so as to form an almost continuous belt round the icy sea; while in the southern hemisphere, the continents taper down in a vast extent of open ocean. in the north, the plains of siberia and of the hudson’s bay territories, warmed by the sunbeams of summer, become at that season centres of radiating heat, so that in many parts the growth of forests, or even the culture of the cereals, advances as high as 70° of latitude; while the antarctic lands are of a comparatively small extent, and isolated in the midst of frigid waters, whose temperature scarcely varies from +29° 2´ even in the height of summer. mostly situated within the antarctic circle, and constantly chilled by cold sea-winds, they act at every season as refrigerators of the atmosphere.

in the north, the formation of icebergs is confined to a few mountainous countries, such as the west coast of greenland or spitzbergen; but the antarctic coast-lands generally tower to a considerable height above the level of the sea, and the vast fragments which are constantly detaching themselves from their glaciers keep up the low temperature of the seas.

in the north, the cold currents of the polar ocean, with their drift-ice and bergs, have but the two wide gates of the greenland sea and davis’s strait through which they can emerge to the south, so that their influence is confined within comparatively narrow limits, while the gelid streams of the antarctic seas branch out freely on all sides, and convey their floating ice-masses far and wide within the temperate seas. it is only to the west of newfoundland that single icebergs have ever been known to descend as low as 39° of latitude; but in the southern hemisphere they have been met with in the vicinity of the cape of good hope (35° s. lat.), near tristan d’acunha, opposite to the mouth of the rio de la plata, and within a hundred leagues of tasmania. in the north, finally, we find the gulf stream conveying warmth even to the shores of spitzbergen and nova zembla; while in the opposite regions of the globe, no traces of warm currents have been observed beyond 55° of latitude.

thus the predominance of vast tracts of flat land in the boreal hemisphere, and of an immense expanse of ocean in the antarctic regions, sufficiently accounts for the æstival warmth of the former, and the comparatively low summer temperature of the latter.

it is unnecessary to describe in detail each of the desolate lands which modern navigators have discovered among the antarctic ice-fields, but it may not be uninteresting to compare one or two of these dreary wastes with the lands of the north, situated in analogous latitudes.

the new shetland islands, situated between 61° and 63° of southern latitude, were originally discovered by dirck gheritz, a dutch navigator, who, in attempting to round cape horn, was carried by tempestuous weather within sight of their mountainous coasts. long forgotten, they were re-discovered in 1819 by mr. smith, a master in the royal navy—whom a storm had likewise carried thither—and in the following year more accurately examined by edward bransfield, whose name survives in the strait which separates them from d’urville’s louis philippe land.

393 in 1829, the “chanticleer,” captain forster, was sent to new shetland for the purpose of making magnetic and other physical observations, and remained for several months at deception island, which was selected as a station from its affording the best harbor in south shetland.

though these islands are situated at about the same distance from the pole as the faroe islands which boast of numerous flocks of sheep, and where the sea never freezes, yet, when the “chanticleer” approached deception island, on january 5 (a month corresponding to our july), so many icebergs were scattered about, that forster counted at one time no fewer than eighty-one. a gale having arisen, accompanied by a thick fog, great care was needed to avoid running foul of these floating cliffs. after entering the harbor—a work of no slight difficulty, from the violence of the wind—the fogs were so frequent that, for the first ten days, neither sun nor stars were seen; and it was withal so raw and cold, that lieutenant kendal, to whom we owe a short narrative of the expedition, did not recollect having suffered more at any time in the arctic regions, even at the lowest range of the thermometer. in this desolate land, frozen water becomes an integral portion of the soil; for this volcanic island is composed chiefly of alternate layers of ashes and ice, as if the snow of each winter, during a series of years, had been prevented from melting in the following summer, by the ejection of cinders and ashes from some part where volcanic action still goes on. early in march (the september of the north) the freezing over of the cove in which the ship was secured gave warning that it was high time for her to quit this desolate port. with much difficulty and severe labor, from the fury of the gales, they managed to get away, and we may fully credit lieutenant kendal’s assertion, that it was a day of rejoicing to all on board when the shores of deception faded from their view.

in 1775 cook, on his second voyage, discovered the large island of south georgia, situated in latitude 54° and 55°, a situation corresponding to that of scarborough or durham. but what a difference in the climate, for “we saw not a river or stream of water,” says the great navigator, “on all the coast of georgia. the head of the bay, as well as two places on each side, was terminated by perpendicular icebergs of considerable height. pieces were continually breaking off and floating out to sea, and a great fall happened while we were in the bay, which made a noise like a cannon. the inner parts of the country were not less savage and horrible. the wild rocks raised their lofty summits till they were lost in the clouds, and the valley lay covered with everlasting snow. not a tree was to be seen, not a shrub even big enough to make a toothpick. the only vegetation was a coarse strong-bladed grass growing in tufts, wild burnet, and a plant like moss, which sprang from the rocks. the lands, or rather rocks, bordering on the sea-coast were not covered with snow like the inland parts, but all the vegetation we could see on the clear places was the grass above mentioned.” to find scenes of a similar wintry desolation, we must travel in the north as far as nova zembla or spitzbergen, which are 20° or 24° nearer to the pole!

thus the influence of the cold antarctic waters extends far within the temperate zone. we can trace their chilling effects in kerguelen land (50° s.394 lat.), which when visited by cook in the height of summer was found covered with snow, and where only five plants in flower were collected; in tierra del fuego (53° s. lat.), where the mean summer temperature is fully 9½° lower than that of dublin (53° 21´ n. lat.); in the falkland islands (51° 30´), which, though flat and low and near patagonia, have, according to mr. darwin, a climate similar to that which is experienced at the height of between one and two thousand feet on the mountains of north wales, with less sunshine and less frost, but more wind and rain; and finally along the south-west coast of america, where the peruvian current and the cold sea-winds so considerably depress the snow-line, that while in europe the most southern glacier which comes down to the sea is met with, according to von buch, on the coast of norway in lat. 67°; the “beagle” found a glacier fifteen miles long and in one part seven miles broad descending to the sea-coast in the gulf of penas, in a latitude (46° 50´) nearly corresponding with that of the lake of geneva.

“the position of this glacier,” says mr. darwin, “may be put even in a more striking point of view, for it descends to the sea-coast within less than 9° from where palms grow; within 4½° of a region where the jaguar and puma range over the plains, less than 2½° from arborescent grasses, and (looking to the westward in the same hemisphere) less than 2° from orchideous parasites, and within a single degree of tree-ferns!” as the influence of the tropical gulf stream reaches as far as spitzbergen, so that of the cold peruvian stream, which issues from the antarctic seas, extends even to the equator, and not seldom reduces the temperature of the waters about the galapagos to less than +58½°, so that reef-building corals, which require a minimum warmth of +60°, are unable to grow near islands situated directly under the line.

though the antarctic lands are so bleak and inclement that not a single quadruped is to be found within 60° of latitude, yet they are the resort of innumerable sea-birds which, belonging to the same families as those of the north, generally form distinct genera or species, for with rare exceptions no bird is found to inhabit both the arctic and the antarctic regions.

thus in the petrel family we find the fulmar (procellaria glacialis) and the glacial petrel (p. gelida) of the high north represented in the antarctic seas by the giant petrel (procellaria gigantea), which extends its flight from patagonia to the ice-banks of the south, where the antarctic and the snowy petrels (p. antarctica et nivea) first appear, cold-loving birds which never leave those dreary waters, and are often seen in vast flocks floating upon the drift-ice.

the giant petrel, which has received from the spaniards the significant appellation of “quebranta huesos,” or “break-bones,” is a more powerful bird than the fulmar. it is larger than a goose, with a strong beak 4½ inches long. its color is a dirty black, white below, and with white spots on the neck and back. in its habits and manner of flight it closely resembles the albatross, and, as with the albatross, a spectator may watch it for hours together without seeing on what it feeds. like the fulmar it feasts upon fishes, or the carcasses of seals and cetaceans, but it also chases other birds. at port saint antonio it was seen by some of the officers of the “beagle” pursuing a diver, which tried to escape by diving and flying, but was continually struck down, and at last killed by a blow395 on its head. such is its voracity that it does not even spare its own kind, for a gigantic petrel having been badly wounded by a shot from the “terror,” and falling at too great a distance for a boat to be sent after it, was immediately attacked by two others of the same kind and torn to pieces. it is a common bird both in the open sea and in the inland channels of tierra del fuego, and the south-west coast of america.

the wandering albatross (diomedea exulans), closely allied to the petrels, and rivalling the condor in size and strength of wing, may truly be ranked among the antarctic birds, as it is seldom seen in a lower latitude than 36°, and increases in numbers towards the south. freyssinet saw it most frequently between 55° and 59° s. lat., and it probably knows no other limits than those of the polar ice. it is found in every meridian of this enormous zone, but the regions of storms—the cape of good hope and cape horn—are its favorite resorts. here it may frequently be seen in the full majesty of its flight.

the auks of the northern hemisphere are represented, in the austral regions, by the penguins, who, as buffon remarks, are the least bird-like of all birds. their small wing-stumps, covered with short rigid scale-like feathers, are altogether incapable of raising the body in the air, but serve as admirable paddles in the water, and on land as fore feet, with whose help they so alertly scale the grassy cliffs that they might easily be mistaken for quadrupeds. their feet, like those of the auks, are placed so far back that the body is quite upright when the bird is standing on the ground, a position which renders their gait uncommonly slow and awkward, but greatly facilitates their movements in the water. when at sea and fishing, the penguin comes to the surface for the purpose of breathing with such a spring, and dives again so instantaneously, that at first sight no one can be sure that it is not a fish leaping for sport. other sea-birds generally keep a considerable part of their body out of the water while swimming, but this is not the case with the penguin, whose head alone appears above the surface, and thus rowing at the same time with its wings and feet, it swims so quickly that many fishes would fail to keep up with it. sir james ross once saw two penguins paddling away a thousand miles from the nearest land. protected against the cold by a thick layer of fat and a warm great-coat of feathers, it remains for months on the high seas, and seeks land only in the summer for the purpose of breeding. at this time it is found in vast numbers on the falkland islands, kerguelen’s land, new shetland, or wherever in the antarctic seas, perhaps even to the pole itself, a convenient coast invites its stay. on possession island, for instance, a desolate rock, discovered by sir james ross in lat. 71° 56´, myriads of penguins covered the whole surface of the land, along the ledges of the precipices, and even to the summit of the hills. undaunted by the presence of beings whom they had never seen before, the birds vigorously attacked the british seamen as they waded through their ranks, and pecked at them with their sharp beaks, a reception which, together with their loud coarse notes, and the insupportable stench of their guano, made our countrymen but too happy to depart, after having loaded their boat with geological specimens and penguins. there are several species of this singular bird. the largest and rarest (aptenodytes forsteri) is generally found singly,397 while the smaller species always associate in vast numbers. several were caught in lat. 77° by sir james ross and brought on board alive; indeed it was a very difficult and a cruel operation to kill them, until hydrocyanic acid was resorted to, of which a tablespoonful effectually accomplished the purpose in less than a minute. these enormous birds varied in weight from sixty to seventy-five pounds. they are remarkably stupid, and allow a man to approach them so near as to strike them on the head with a bludgeon, and sometimes, if knocked off the ice into the water, they will almost immediately leap upon it again as if eager for a fight, though without the smallest means either of offense or defense. they were first discovered during captain cook’s voyage to the antarctic regions, but sir james ross was fortunate in bringing the first perfect specimens to england, some of which were preserved entire in casks of strong pickle, that the physiologist and comparative anatomist might have an opportunity of thoroughly examining their structure. the principal food of the great penguin consists of various species of crustaceous animals, and in its stomach are frequently found from two to ten pounds’ weight of pebbles, swallowed no doubt to promote digestion. “its capture,” says sir james ross, “afforded great amusement to our people, for when alarmed and endeavoring to escape, it makes its way over deep snow faster than they could follow it: by lying down on its belly and impelling itself by its powerful feet, it slides along upon the surface of the snow at a great pace, steadying itself by extending its fin-like wings, which alternately touch the ground on the side opposite to the propelling leg.”

122. the albatross.

though the antarctic seas possess neither the narwhal nor the morse, they abound, perhaps even more than the arctic waters, in whales, dolphins, and seals, at least in the higher latitudes.

the austral smooth-backed whale (balæna australis) differs from his greenland relative in many respects: the head is comparatively smaller, being only about one-fourth of the total length, the mouth is broader, the baleen shorter, the pectoral fins are larger and pointed, and the color is almost totally black, the white on the lower surface being confined to a small part of the abdomen. the skull is also differently formed; and while the greenland whale has only thirteen pairs of ribs, the austral smooth-back has fifteen.

according to mr. bennett, the austral smooth-back seldom attains a greater length than fifty feet; but as it yields on an average from eighty to ninety barrels of oil, its capture amply rewards the whaler’s trouble. though met with in the highest latitudes, and roaming over the whole extent of the antarctic seas, it resorts in spring to the sheltered bays of new zealand, australia, kerguelen’s land, chili, the falkland islands, algoa bay, etc., for the purpose of bringing forth its young. this of course makes its capture easier, but must at the same time lead to its extirpation, or drive it to the most inaccessible regions of the polar ocean. even now the whale-fishery of the southern seas, which twenty or thirty years ago employed hundreds of vessels, has much diminished in importance: it is chiefly carried on by the americans, the french, and our australian colonies, which have the advantage of being more conveniently situated than the mother-country.

398 in the higher latitudes of the antarctic zone the hunch-back and fin-back whales abound; but as the former is meagre and hardly worth the boiling, and the latter, like the rorquals of the north, dives with such rapidity that he snaps the harpoon-line or drags the boat along with him into the water, they are seldom hunted. hence they will most likely continue to prosper in their native seas, unless the improved missiles recently introduced in the whale-fishery can be made to conquer them. the hunch-back is distinguished by the great length of his pectoral fins, which extend to full eighteen feet, while these organs are comparatively small in the fin-back. a kind of broad-nosed whale likewise makes its appearance in the antarctic seas, but it is not yet determined whether all these fin-backed whales of the south are distinct species from those of the arctic waters. a circumstance which seems to speak for their identity is that fin-backs are met with in the intervening temperate and tropical seas, so that no limits appear to have been set to their excursions.

the sperm whale, or cachalot, though partial to the equinoctial ocean, is also found in the cold antarctic waters. it was met with by sir james ross among the icebergs in 63° 20´ s. lat.; and near possession island (71° 50´ s. lat.), where the hunch-backs were so abundant that thirty were counted at one time in various directions, and during the whole day wherever the eyes turned their blasts were to be seen. a few sperm whales were also distinguished among them by their peculiar manner of blowing or spouting.

among the dolphins of the antarctic ocean we find a species of grampus no less formidable and voracious than that of the northern seas. on january 20, 1840, the american ship “peacock,” while cruising in the antarctic waters, witnessed a conflict between one of them and a whale. the sea was perfectly smooth, so that the whole combat could be distinctly seen. at first the whale was perceived at some distance from the ship lashing the water into foam, and apparently making desperate efforts to shake off some invisible enemy. on approaching, they found that an enormous grampus had seized it with its jaws. the whale vainly turned and twisted itself in every direction, and its blood tinged the water far around. the grampus had evidently the advantage, and the other whales, of which there were many in sight, instead of assisting their comrade, seemed only intent on their own safety. the grampus had a brown back, a white abdomen, and a large fin on its back. the speed at which the monstrous animals shot through the water prevented the americans from witnessing the issue of the fight. the classical dolphin of the ancients has been seen near the cape of good hope, and most likely wanders far to the south, as he is proverbial for his arrow-like rapidity, and can easily traverse a couple of hundred miles in a single day. in the strait of magellan and about cape horn are frequently seen the delphinus superciliosus, whose turned-up mouth-corners give his countenance a peculiarly benevolent and friendly expression, belied by his ravenous propensities, and the delphinus leucoramphus, who, like the bjeluga of the north, has no dorsal fin, and by the liveliness of his movements emulates the classical dolphin of the mediterranean.

the seal family plays a no less important part in the zoology of the antarctic seas than in that of the northern waters. here we find the monstrous sea-elephant399 (macrorhinus elephantinus), so called not only from his size attaining a length of twenty-five feet, and a girth at the largest part of the body of from fifteen to eighteen, but also from the singular structure of his elongated nostrils, which hang down when he is in a state of repose, but swell out to a proboscis a foot long when he is enraged. this gives the animal a very formidable appearance, which, along with his bellowing and his widely-gaping jaws armed with tusk-like canines, might strike terror into the boldest heart. but in reality the sea-elephant is a most defenseless creature, for on land it moves its unwieldy carcass with the utmost difficulty, and a single blow upon the snout with a club suffices to stretch it lifeless on the ground. it used to be met with in considerable numbers on all the flat shores or islands between 35° and 62° s. lat., but as it yields a large quantity of excellent oil, and as its skin, though merely covered with thick short bristles, is of some value from its great strength and thickness, incessant persecution has greatly thinned its ranks, and in some parts extirpated it. thus sir james ross relates that the sea-elephant and several other species of seals, which were formerly in great abundance at kerguelen’s land, annually drew a number of fishing-vessels to its shores. but at the time of his visit (1840), after so many years of slaughter, they had quite deserted the place. the flesh of the sea-elephant is black, and of an oily taste, but anson and his companions, after having been tossed about for several months on a tempestuous sea and reduced to great distress by scurvy, relished it at juan fernandez. the tongue is said to be a great delicacy.

as the soft jet-black fur of the young southern sea-bear (arctocephalus falclandicus) is no less valuable than that of its northern relative, the eagerness with which it is pursued may easily be imagined. formerly vast herds of sea-bears used to resort every summer to the new shetland islands, but soon after the rediscovery of the group the american and english sealers made their appearance on its desolate shores, and in the short time of four years extirpated the ursine seals, thus destroying by wasteful destruction what might have been a permanent source of profit.

the southern sea-lion (otaria jubata) is a larger animal than his northern namesake; and while the latter is furnished only with an erect and curly hair-tuft at the neck, a complete mane flows round his breast. the remainder of the tawny body is covered with short smooth hairs or bristles. the sea-lioness, who is much smaller than her mate, has no mane; and as she is of a darker color and has a differently shaped head, is frequently mistaken for another species, and called wolf, or lobo, by the inhabitants of the south-western coast of america. the fore flippers of the sea-lion have the appearance of large pieces of black tough leather, showing, instead of nails, slight horny elevations; the hind fins, which are likewise black, have a closer resemblance to feet, and the five toes are furnished with small nails. it is a formidable-looking beast, particularly when full grown to a length of ten feet and more. the sea-leopard (leptonyx weddelli), which owes its name to its spotted skin, is peculiar to the southern seas. this large seal is from eight to nine feet long; the hind feet have no nails, and greatly resemble the tail of a fish.

the antarctic seals, dolphins, and petrels chiefly prey upon a genus of fish400 discovered at kerguelen’s land, and named notothenia by dr. richardson. these fish, which are of an elongated eel-like shape, conceal themselves from the persecutions of their enemies in the small cracks and cavities of the pack-ice, and were frequently noticed by sir james ross when driven from shelter by the ship as it struck and passed over their protecting pieces of ice. they in their turn live upon the smaller cancri and limacinæ, and these again upon creatures of a still more diminutive size, until finally the chain of created beings terminates in the diatoms,23 which are found filling these seas with the minutest forms of organic life.