SOUTHERN SCIEN= TIFIC EXPEDITION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 62, 6 December 1907, Page 5

SOUTHERN SCIEN= TIFIC EXPEDITION.

.'' '■' ''.' . ~~— *—. — v'. : " THE TRIP RETRACED. i ■ ■stormy'weather on the ::?;;;.:. : .\ Campbells.; , t '■^'■•i ; - : '-'V ■•■•n.' -,' . •... -.' ■ . . ''(reoH r oxia sfrciaii correspondent.) The ; rim : . to tho Campbell Islands was a Bomewhat-lively one, and the party did not muster, in: full force at meal times. The steamer'was abreast of Capo'Courojollos at the north end of the island oarly oil the.next morning. (Sunday, November 16), and. ran along the east coast, giving a> good view of. the .magnificent cliffs of volcanic rock, which often rose sheer from a.great; depth. Hero and. there, where,the upper rk'rts of tho cliffs had crumbled, the tussock grass crept down, and nesting among it were millions of mollyhawks.' Viewed' from the steamer, , the birds nesting among'the grass gavo the appearance of a daisy-pied, meadow. Royal albatrosses soared abqvo,' or floated gratefully- upon the water,-, and several sooty'albatrosses were Been. . ; ■ ■'' At about 7,-o'clock the'steamer anchored near tho head of Perseverance Harbour, named.'after' tho brig in which Hassblberg in'.,lßlo; discovered tho island. ; The harbour runs' inland 'for about' tlirce miles/ giving good; anchorage' arid in spite of the fidrce'winds that ■ sweep 'many parts of itrf : It , was hero that Hasselberg and three others 'were drowned in"> the" next voyage to thai'in which he made 'Ms discovery. ■CK ,':v'-. '"','■ '•a , ii - --',' .- . ■ " A Windy Spot. ; i .-..,- ■■Immediately after btcakfast the-loaders of the party sot out with-.Captain Bollons and Mr.'-Nicholson,' the-foreman of .'Mr. Tucker's station, to choose a site : for a camp. After, looking, at. several spots, it was decided to camp opposite Venus Cove, so callod becauso it'^vas-tiereM/hati tho. French Expedition of 1874\ erected .'its rinstruments for observing' the. transit :of VemU;S.'. ■ -■ ,A' : strong N:-(E.,,jwind- was blowing,. and,' as ■if was the prevailing- wind, the. ■ camp •w'asicpitched • under; shelter of tho gr-ass-troe- scrub; ,«which. is very dense, and about. 9ft. biglv.., r. Before the first tent was up,''' rain' ;began tin fall, and the day proved a very stormy one. The; wind changed to tn<s"'S'.-Ws/:anfl\contimied from that ; quarter during 'nearly. ', tho whole-of tho : time the party remained'.. The camp was therefore, inside "out i.to ithe wind, and. tho members of 'the-S'partyJiad to use the utmost watch--f to'iproverit tho tents-from being blowrfndow&.Ji-> Tho, laboratory tent did blow dottnTohe ni|ht, .but fortunately-little harm was done. ' More' than iorice men had tp' itiipyt'ing'rain and howling '. wind- and go-roitndkinahe. dark to -drive homo, the tent-, pegs!xwliictoWrew>easily from ; .the peaty soil. FoifVdotfnri&hfS.>ind, : ,Campbell Island' beats. Wdiirtgjtorf every time?. '■'■• .:; __- ; - -_■- tOftßipbellMsland' is leased by,the Hon. W. Hii'l'ncKenias-.a'sheeprun, and the foreman,' ttf&tfshepherds,-and the .cook are the. only, regular inhabitants of theislae'd. It is long sm«e ,tlw.oisland has.'had so-many residents setchrririgo.the- stay-of- the /expedition, which,, cdnntirtgs*ho;Cbok,,fnumbored-.-12. , In- addi- : tiphy >.iliu3.\ Jackson. : whaling party .was on ■ tneTOstoridjvand .also' two gentlemen who are spending ■so'me-.-inonths-' in'. prospecting for. minerals;;/.0 .:••-■ ;.- .".' •-..-: ■'. :.-:.- .-■ ■ril 'o|«i'. f ■■ .-■■•- •:' ■:-.,' ' : ■ • ■■-.•■ UjiPri°pil# n S Country. . . ■ ''TOfiSg s the stay :of :the expedition excurniade to, nearly all parts' of the isldfitlr. 'This': involved -an '•■ immense < amount o'f?lfoasy walking,"for iwhereithe: scrub grows it is.difficult to;forco a passage,'and whero ,the Biisii'ock' groWs the ground, is very unoven'atfd 1 often, full of holes. The'walking along the sliortrof the lagoon that opens into' Monument Harbour is phenomenal. Here are tall tussocks, scrijofflng'.dark log-holes and water-courses, and $he parties that explored this portion of ! the island had'a very exciting time of if. Of a.-,party of. five it was not uncommon to see;(iwd in":holes, at-the.same'time,'of to see a. man represented onlj; by/a-pdii , of muddy" KSdts''waving'feebly "above the tussocks. , Tho lagbon : - itself is a Stygian'place, 'the 'water dark.' chocolate-colour, and sheltering very few-living forms'; -This-dark colour of the wa,ter'is. characteristic of the island, tho Burfaco ir bf which' , is everywhere covered by •peat.' , ' Tlieonly occasion on which tea was made which was fit to'drink was on the two or''three.times'on which rain-water'was carried from the 'homestead to the, camp, a distance. of about a mile. • . ' "'The , island has , many;hills; ; the highest being 'Mount Honey, a little over 1800 feet. Although.the hills are .low in point of actual altitude;', they have a characteristic sub'Alpiri'e character owing .to the southern position ' of the islands . They bear, for -the most'.' r "part French ■ names,-'- as Pniseaux, IJurhas, arid'Foucaiild.' " . The Crass Tree. -~ . ■ ■ — .■-.: >: 'The ! '^rass" tree (Dracophyllum) forms dense scrub;bn many of the'flats arid oil the.lower slopes, of the hills. . ,This scrub shows many mark's of •being, a secondary" growth, for renifijns of .tree's' of 'the same kind,' but' larger, are'■ not;■•infrequent'.' .'Moreover, Ross found in 1810 trees: to which' , ho'could, make fast hawsers '. for- , the. warping of'his ships.', No such "trees' arfe"-'now' found. ' ,r " v: •' ■ '.Vcrjr' much' ; of the scrub has been cleared for, •'she'ep-farming;' but the result'has' , hot been altogether satisfactory; for introduced grasses ..have not. taken we 11. , :: A- plant belongihg to the sam'o order as the and Kn'own as'BuJbinella;- sometimes 'as ; nativc•leek; spreads "with great rapidity in all the clearings, ■ and, as .the sheep wilr not touch it, it presents an instanco of a plant that is becoming' a .weed- in its own country. ! It , Has"handsome spikes of golden yellow flowers thrown'to a height of two feet or more.' ' Above' the. scrub tussock' grass occupies most of tho "country • but there , are places in which; there is' still' a-great deal of'a tall Danthoiiia,. of which the'sheep aro fond. Unfortunately, this' docs' not survive cropping. ■■ •, ..;•"'■;.' .' : '■ ( Rapidly-Altering Vegetation. ' ■ ''~'fHo,'handsome composito plants belonging to;.' the... genus ; Plcurophyllum are still numerous., in many places, .though becoming loss so;.o.w.ing'.to their'being greedily eaton by sheep. .Campbell Island is a placo whose plant.•; .'characteristics'■' are .being .rapidly altered for'thc worse, by. sheep.' The useful and;'the beautiful are disappearing, and nothing.,useful is..taking their place. '.'.On'ithe'.higher slopes .the royal albatross nests.' A'fo'wof last year's, birds were still .on'the nest*,'but most of.them had left, and tho "old' birds, were mating. * It is a wonderful, thing ,to sec these beautiful stately'birds among , the grassy sitting so .quietly that one can go up arid touch them, 'When they rise to get away their movements are awkward and;ungainly;.but;q'nbe. ; they get the .wind under their; great wings they soar off with magnificent ease. Tho' mombers of the "ex-pedition-were much too busy to have time for., shaving, and it was., a standing' joke against one of the botanists that'when he approached an .albatross , the bird'was so s'Kqclced by his unkempt appearance that it was' promptly sea-sick. Albatrosses used to nbst over most , of tho flats,' but the mustering of sheep' irifertores largely with them',' and it is'but a'question of time and Campbell Island will'•''■'be forsaken by tlifi albatross, and so lose another of' its natural charms.; A/ in... a ; " : . North Island University College had a permit to kill two albatrosses among, other animals. But each time he mad,e-.up,ihip,min'd.-;to the deed of blood- lie .relcntod tfhe.n faced, by the beauty and helplessness /)f : ...the 'birds. A certain comparative anatomy museum ■will thorcforo contain. no.albatross for the present. Animal.Ufe.on/;the Islcinifs,. ' Except for sea-bfrcls, r animal life' on .the islands is not well developed.; There is a small.;• bird : called different , irom , the. wax-eyn fpf.NNcrw r Zealand; hut.as guns .were forbidden, none of these birds was taken. ■' : lt ! is sSTid that there are parakeets on some bf : 'tHe'-'hills, but these were- not BQcn.-V'PjtbKs Jrflfo'abundant.- Tho linnet hns -founcl the island, and so, it is said, has the sparrow; but no sparrows wcro seen.- 'iWeS'-'or four kinds of earth-worms were f.&fiW, 0 a; slug similar to one found on *hn- A ilMiHand Islands and the Snares, and,

a few Crustacea. It was too early in th season for insects to bo abundant; but fou or five kinds of moth, a fbw beotles, am soveral kinds of flies woro found. Flips c differont kinds were found on tho Bulbinell flowers, .which depend on them for fertilisn tion. Some of these flics had but feebl powers, of- flight, and two or three kind liavq lost their wings through disuse Marino life between the tide-marks wa fairly abundant. A great deal of time was spent by th zoologists in searching for lizards, with n success; and it seems almost certain tha none is thero. Equally unsuccessful wa the search for peripatus, one of the archai forms of lifp that might fairly be expectc in a position of this kind. Spiders wer fairly abundant, but no web-spinning 3pider w.cro found. One spider was found livin between tho tide-marks. -. -.. ~ In a covo near Terror Point .wore foun two sea elephants and a fur-seal. The forme arc of enormous size, fully twenty-five fee ii lengt-li; able, to inflate a short probosc. that ovorlays tho mouth. Tho flippers ar short, and are of scarcely any use on 'lane; Henco tho animals move by undulating th body, and present a grotesque r'ospmbianc to exaggerated caterpillars. They accoir plished their passage to the water ami irrepressible shouts of laughter; but, onco i the water;they were all grace and strength The magnotic party worked most assidv ously. So far as observations of the sn wero concerned, they had to bo content wit the merest glimpses; although, apparently the sun does shino sometimes. Still, muc usoful work was done. Ths Ceologists' Work. "When all worked hard, probably tho geolc gists worked hardest of all. They examine carefully the limestone beds on which th volcanic rocks are piled, and which theso las havo penotrated in their upward passage b an amazing system of dykes. Many fossil were'found of miocene age. Theso'were fo the most part, if riot altogether, the remain of shallow-water forms. -:A most importan discovery was that of a miocenoland surface Of tlie. suggested mineral wealth of th island, no indications wero found. On th last afternoon no one went far from th camp, as tho Hinemoa might arrive at an; hour. -When, therefore, it was reporter that '. a digging, that had been made fo zircons by oarlier prospectors, had been foum to be close to the camp, it was considered i great boon. Zircons resomble rubies n general form and appearance, but their valu is vorv small. '. Yet all the camp. streamci towards the "diggings," armed with shove's arid fora couple.of hours'looked for zircoi>' Their • search was very successful, but wa embarrassing to the geologists, who hai found the zircon-bearing rock, and wished i examine it without the assistance of amateu diggors for gems. The quartz pebbles, tha are abundant in some of the. beaches, hav come from the wearing-down of rock no found so far on tho island. At's.'Bo on.tho morning of November 2i tho-siren of tho-Hinemoa-was heard. Sh< was then off the northern coast, and twi hours later she anchored abreast of the camp It was raining steadily, though not-heavily arid-tho striking of camp was no pleasure At 1 o'clock all were on board, and read; .to- , start ; for the Auckland Islands, en roub for-.home. '■ - . '.-■'■ A Pathetic History. In, the history iof Campbell, Island ari many, pathetic incidents. One of these, th' death, of a French midshipman, is recnllei by the .".Frenchman's Grave," which was few hundred yards from the. camp. An iroi cross, without. marks tho grave and th.e ! ; mound is covered, by white quart pebbles..- Weeds and scrub have been kep clear through' the kindly ' action of tli station hands. Another: rough monument i placed where two graves were found, am between them, on the. ground, the skeletoi of a man. He had lain down to die betwcei the graves in,which ho had placed'his deai comrades; and that is all that is known o him , oi" of them. The remains of a well built sod hilt _are in a'bay not far from th camp. This is called the Princess's Hut and tradition says that its occupant was ; daughter of-the Young Pretender, and tha sho, was for some.reason exiled to this lone!; island. A few bushes of white heather am a few plants of.New Zealand flax are nea at hand. Probably the whito-heather is re sponsiblo.for thei.traclition.. :.,