The Discovery of the South Shetland Islands

Today we take to the seas for a little exploring in the company of William Smith, an explorer and adventurer from Northumberland. On this day in 1819, whilst sailing around Cape Horn, he spotted a brand new land mass and later claimed it for George III.

Williams Point, South Shetland Islands

Smith was captain of the merchant brig Williams and was bound for Valparaíso, Chile. Sailing around Cape Horn, he was confronted with the unexpected site of an undiscovered island  though was unable to make landfall on this occasion. When Smith informed the authorities they doubted his discovery, believing that the captain was mistaken or romancing his voyage but he was not to be deterred.

Instead, in October of that same year, Smith returned to the site of his discovery  and made landfall. He named the island on which he landed King George Island and surrounding archipelago, the South Shetland Islands. This was the first land discovered south of 60° south latitude and was, of course, a major nautical discovery. Later that year the brig was used to map the islands as England laid claim to its newest land.

Captain Cook Sights Maui

We have met Captain Cook several times here at the salon. Here we have read of his trips to Botany Bay and Possession Island, learnt the story behind a famed portrait and even been present at his most gruesome death. Today we welcome the good Captain once more and though this story might have been one of another landing on foreign soil, Cook found his plans beaten by weather and tide.

In November 1778, Cook's ship, HMS Resolution, was continuing her second voyage under the Captain's command. The eventful expedition had been underway since July 1776 and would, of course, be Cook's last adventure though for now, he knew nothing of the fate that awaited on Hawaii. this was a voyage of exploration, a time to discover new lands and, in particular, the famed Northwest Passage. 

Captain James Cook by Nathaniel Dance-Holland, 1776

After a difficult voyage beset with illness and problems with their vessel, the crew of the Resolution spotted land on 26th November 1778. As the first Europeans to lay eyes on Maui, Cook resolved to land there and explore but found his plans vexed by nature itself. With no natural harbour and high waves, he eventually had to face defeat and abandon his plans to land. With no other option he sailed onwards, leaving Maui so that another might one day make the first landing.

That day would not come until nearly ten years later and the first European to set foot on Maui was French explorer, Jean-François de La Pérouse. He arrived on the island in May 1786, by which time Captain Cook was dead, though his name and voyages were anything but forgotten. 

Captain Cook Lands on Possession Island

We have met Captain James Cook on a couple of occasions in the past, sharing the landing at Botany Bay and witnessing his murder after a disastrous foray into Hawaii's Kealakekua Bay. Today marks another anniversary for Cook, that of the discovery of Possession Island off the coast of Queensland, Australia.

Captain James Cook by Nathaniel Dance-Holland, 1776

Following his discovery of Botany Bay, Cook sailed on and eventually discovered a group of islands in the Torres Straits. These islands were home to the Kaurareg people and Cook eventually made landfall on an island that its inhabitants knew as Bedanug or Bedhan Lag. 

However, the Captain came ashore and raised the flag as the sunset on 22nd August, 1770, claiming the eastern coast for Britain in the name of King George III and declaring it as New South Wales.

More than two centuries later, the Kaurareg people were successful in their petition to have the native title rights of Possession Island and its neighbours returned to them in perpetuity. Today the island is celebrated for its rich flora and fauna and Cook's landing is marked by a monument on the spot where he once raised his flag and claimed the land for the king.

"I am going away": The Death of Charles Floyd

Charles Floyd (Kentucky, America, 1782 – Iowa, America, 20th August 1804) 

In May 1804, the famed Corps of Discovery Expedition set out to explore the uncharted west of America. Commissioned by Thomas Jefferson, the iconic Lewis and Clark expedition lasted for two years, four months, and ten days and today marks the anniversary of the death of the only fatality on that trip.

Charles Floyd was just 21 years old and served as the expedition's quartermaster. He kept a journal of his experiences and was well aware of the importance of the work, taking his own role extremely seriously. In late July 1804, Floyd confided in his diary that he was suffering from an unexplained illness. Although he appeared to recover, within days he was deathly ill, his condition deteriorating at a frightening speed.

William Clark reported that the young man was suffering from bilious colic and bore his illness with stoicism and bravery. Clark was with him at the moment of his death, reporting his last words as, "I am going away. I want you to write me a letter."

Modern medical historians believe that Floyd died as the result of a ruptured appendix that led to peritonitis. Having suffered from both of these conditions, I cannot imagine how much Floyd must have suffered. There was certainly nothing that could be done to save him and the young quartermaster was buried atop a bluff beside the newly-named  Floyd River, a tributary of the Missouri River near what would one day become Sioux City, with full honours. A simple cedar post was driven into the ground to mark the spot of Floyd's Bluff and inscribed "Sergt. C. Floyd died here 20th of August 1804." 

In the years that followed the cedar post was whittled away by souvenir hunters and replaced on more than one occasion; eventually an obelisk was erected on the spot, a permanent memorial of Sergeant Charles Floyd.

A Tale of Exploration, Adventure... and Cannibals

Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne (St Malo, France, baptised 22nd May 1724 - Tacoury's Cove, Bay of Islands, New Zealand, 12th June 1772)


It is only fair to warn you that today's tale is a grisly one; it's a story of adventure, exploration and cannibalism. If you've just sat down to tuck into a fine roast joint, my story of the death of French explorer, Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, might not be the ideal accompaniment to your meal.

Du Fresne was a man with a love of adventure. A former naval commander, he knew the oceans well and had sailed on the French East India routes on multiple occasions without incident. When the Company dissolved in 1769, du Fresne set sail for the southern seas with the aim of chartering new territory and discovering new lands. In fact, new lands would be the least of what lay in wait for him.

Initially the expedition met with some success and du Fresne discovered the Prince Edward Islands and then the Crozet Islands before heading on to Australia and then New Zealand. Here they anchored in the Bay of Islands and made peaceful contact with the Maori who inhabited the area. The French and the Maori appeared to co-exist peacefully for around a month, with the sailors cataloguing the behaviour of the indigenous people, who in turn allowed them access to their settlements and fishing areas. The French set up a medical camp on Motorura Island under the command of officer Jean Roux and here they treated sick crewmen and established themselves.

Monument to du Fresne's crew at the Bay of Islands

Du Fresne was welcomed into the Maori village and participated in ceremonies held in his honour yet alongside all this bonhomie, conflict was brewing. For reasons that will never be known, the Maori began to resent the presence of the French explorers and scouting groups were found on multiple occasions in the vicinity of the hospital camp after dark. When du Fresne heard of these incidents he dismissed them, sure it was simply Roux being needlessly suspicious. Perfectly happy and believing he had nothing to fear, on 12th June 1772, de Fresne left camp with a group of crewmen to undertake a fishing expedition. He did not return and that same night 400 armed Maori attacked the medical camp, only to be held back by French firearms.

It has been suggested that du Fresne's men made the mistake of fishing in a sacred area on the day of his death or that they had done so on multiple occasions earlier, leading to a simmering resentment that exploded. The reasons for the sudden outbreak of hostility are lost to time now, but the outcome was to prove fatal.

When this attack was over it became apparent that this was far from the end of hostilities. A badly wounded survivor from du Fresne's fishing party found his way back to his comrades and revealed that the Maori had ambushed their group, killing the men where they stood. It was the start of a series of conflicts culminating in a battle in which the French were forced to defend their camp against an attack by over a thousand Maori. Armed with blunderbusses, two dozen French held off an attack and in doing so, killed the Maori chief, Te Kauri.

During the attack the French saw that some of the Maori were wearing the clothes of their dead crewmates. They killed hundreds of the tribe and those who remained fled in fear of their lives as the Frenchmen stormed through their villages in retaliation. 

Close up on the memorial plaque

The French explorers left the island as quickly as they could, delayed for a time by ongoing repairs to their vessels. When Roux examined the now deserted village that the crew had laid waste to following the conflicts, he made a grisly discovery. Around a campfire were bones that had been picked clean as well as the head of one of his crewmates displayed on a stick. Twenty six Frenchmen lost their lives and hundreds of Maori perished that fateful summer; it was Roux's summation that his commander and crewmen had ended up as dinner for the Maori who had once welcomed them to their land.

The Discovery of the Source of the Blue Nile

As the nights draw in and the temperatures drop lower, we bank up the fires here at Henrietta Street and tells tales of warmer climes. We spend a lot of time gadding about Europe so a detour to Africa seemed in order; I hope you have some fard to hand because you're going to need it if you want to stay fashionably pale on this trip!

James Bruce

Scottish traveller and adventurer James Bruce devoted many years to the search for the source of the Nile, a discovery that years of research had left him in do doubt could be made in Ethiopia. Set in this belief, he journeyed to Africa in the summer of 1768, quickly winning the trust and friendship of the Mamluk ruler, Ali Bey. With Ali Bey's invaluable assistance he travelled through North Africa gathering information and finally reached Ethiopia in early 1770. 

Once again the charming, urbane Bruce easily ingratiated himself with the ruler of the country as well as its people, who were thrilled by his tales of adventure and saw in him a respect for their country and its traditions. After the expedition to the source of the Nile he even made his home in Ethiopia for two years, immersing himself in the culture and living amongst the locals despite a serious and recurrent bout of malaria.

Finally, in October 1770, Bruce was ready to embark on his travels once again, the source of the Blue Nile firmly in his sights. Travelling with a trusted and experienced group including local guides with an encyclopedic knowledge of the terrain, the party toiled against the elements and geography in their trek to the source. On 14th November 1770 the expedition arrived at Gish Abay and Bruce proclaimed this the source of the Blue Nile, the Nile of the ancients. Toasts were drunk to the discovery and the party celebrated their achievements. When, after a perilous journey, Bruce returned to England to tell of his discovery, he was horrified to find that many of his contemporaries found his claims unbelievable, the publication of his travel journals in 1790 just adding to the storm of incredulity.

Bruce maintained that he had discovered the source of the Blue Nile to the end of his life and subsequent expeditions and investigations suggest that his claims may indeed be accurate. He is now considered to have made a great contribution to European knowledge of Africa in our glorious Georgian era!