But he soon ascertained, what indeed
he might and ought to have ascertained in his first voyage, that what he
deemed and represented to be the Terra Australis was only a dreary and
inhospitable island, of small size, so very barren and useless, that it
produces no tree or even shrub of any kind, and very little grass. On such
an island, in such a part of the globe, no inhabitants could be looked for;
but it is even almost entirely destitute of animals; and the surrounding
sea is represented as not more productive than the land. The French
navigator was unable to find safe anchorage in this island, though it
abounded in harbours; to this miserable spot he gave his own name. It was
afterwards visited by Captain Cook, in his third voyage, and also by
Peyrouse.
As the southern ocean, in as high a latitude as the climate and the ice
rendered accessible and safe, had been as it were swept carefully,
extensively, and minutely, by Captain Cook, and some subsequent navigators,
without discovering land of any considerable extent, it was naturally
supposed that no southern continent or even large island existed.
In the year 1819, however, this disbelief was partly destroyed by an
unexpected and singular discovery. Mr. Smith, who commanded a vessel
trading between Rio Plato and Chili, was naturally desirous to shorten, as
much as possible, his passage round Cape Horn.
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