Joseph Banks. Patrick O’Brian

for the first time we see an Island of Ice² the night is Hazy but the Sky clear no moon the Ice itself appears like a body of whitish light the Waves Dashing against it appear much more Luminous the Whole is not unlike the Gleaming of the Aurora Borealis When first seen it was about half a Mile ahead it drives within ¼ of a mile of us accompanied by several small flat Pieces of Ice which the seamen call field Ice which drives very near us and is Easily seen by its white appearance not unlike the Breaking of a wave into foam.

      9 This Morn Seven Islands of Ice in sight one Very Large but not high about a League from us we steer very near a small one which from its Transparency & the Greenish Cast in it makes a very Beautiful appearance two very Large Cracks intersect it Lenghways and Look Very Like mineral Veins in Rocks from its Rough appearance the Seamen Judge that it is old Ice that is what formed the Winter before Last In the course of the Day we steer still nearer to another Island which appears as if Layd Strat: Super Stratum one of White another of Greenish at – Past five this afternoon we made NFLand a quantity of sea weed Part of which I fish’d up 3 or 4 Species with my Landing Net tonight we stand of with too little wind to Carry us in

      10 this morn a Mist accompanied with Frost which hung our Rigging Full of Ice Continues till about twelve when we see Land again but so little wind that we cannot make it tonight This Even Fish with Landing net take 9 specimens of a singular Kind of Blubber which abounds here tis transparent with 2 or three Reddish lines in the middle tis octangular Each angle being adornd with an undulated red line which serves for the Basis of a fin Longitudinally Stretched upon it which it moves with a quick undulatory Motion it is so tender I have little hopes of Preserving it as it Floats in the sea at Pleasure puts out two Antennae sometimes to a distance of a foot or more, but upon being taken they constantly draw them up & do not shew the Least appearance of them.

      11 this Morn quite Calm took a large Float of Long stalkd sea Belts in the Roots of which were a Small sort of Star fish about 3 got into St Johns on the 20th day of our Voyage

12 this morn went on shore found the Spring very Little advanced but hope its approaches will be quick as it is warmer than I Ever felt it at this time in England the Country is Coverd with wood fir is the only tree which can yet be distinguished of which I observed 3 sorts (1) Black Spruce of which they Make a liquor Calld Spruce Beer (2) white Spruce & (3) weymouth Pine no large trees of any Species Possibly so near the Town³ they are Constantly cut down on the Trees and Rocks were 3 or 4 species of Lichens, Lichen Pascalis, Lanatus, ? Hirtus, & under them the Leaves of many rare northern Plants of the Club Mosses 3 sorts, a small plant whose Blossoms have 5 Stamina Mosses 3 sorts Bryum Hornum, or Purpureum, one of which is quite new to me – too sorts of Bird were taken today one the Black Cap Parus ater, the other an american thrush with a ferrugineous Breast Possibly described by Catesby insects were few Cimex lineatus water Bugs in Abundance one Carabus granulatus

      13 Walk out Fishing this Morn Took great plenty of small Trouts, Salmo saw a small Fish in the Brooks Very like English Stiklebacks, Gasterosteus Aculeatus, in the way took a small Bird something Between a yellow hammer & a Linnet

      15 Walkd this day to a Small Lake north of the Town found in the way another species of Club moss, Lycopodium complanatum, a Shrub with ten Stamina, Andromeda Calyculata, which grew by the side of the Lake – upon a stoney Soil in great abundance a Kind of Moss, Bryum, with Pendant heads in our way home we Killd a musk Rat, Fiber Moscatus in Kitty Vitty Pond

      16 This day wind very high NW went into the Harbour with the Traul Took Lobsters, Cancer gammarus Common crab, Cancer, Spider d°, Cancer araneus, Sculpen, another Sort of D°: Cat fish, a Shell of the Scallop Kind One of the Muscles Sea Urchin, Echinus, another Kind of the Spatagus tribe, Echinus, Starfish, Asterias, a … two sort of Sea weed Soldier crab, Cancer diogenes

      19 Set out on foot to get as far into the Countrey as Possible Soon after We set out began to snow Continued all the day but did not Cover the Ground deep Enough to hinder our Observing Several Plants a Kind of Bilberry in full Blossom a kind of Juniper with white Berries, The Larch, Pinus Larix, which is here calld Juniper & which is said to make better timber for shipping especially masts than any tree this Countrey affords & a species of Moss with Bending heads and fine golden footstalks, Bryum N°: 19

20 Continues to Snow all this day Which Confines us within doors at a small Town Calld Petty Harbour⁴ the Snow so incessant that we have not an opportunity to Stir out to make the Least Observation

      21 Snow Lies now four & five feet deep upon the Ground & the Air looks so Hazey that we think it Prudent to Return upon the Rocks & Barrens (for so they Call the Places where Wood does not Grow) we find that the wind had drifted the Snow Very thin we observe Some few Plants Fir Moss, Lycopodium Selago, Rhein Deer Moss, Lichen Rangiferinus, A Kind of Horned Liverwort, Lichen, a Plant that has very much the Appearance of Crow Berries, Empetrum of which I have only got the female which has 10 Stigmata.

      25 Snow Very near gone Walk out to day gather the Male Blossoms of a Plant resembling duch myrtle which like it grows in Bogs & watery Places also a sort of Cyperus which grew upon the same flat but not in so wet a situation & a Kind of Black Liverwort growing upon dry tops of the Barrens the weather grows very mild many Plants are in Bud.

      For the rest of the month Banks and Phipps collected plants and birds with the same zeal, although the weather was upon the whole unpleasant, with fog and rain; however, it improved in June.

      June 1 This Even very Fine walk’d out Gatherd Currants, Ribes, some Lichens which seemd to be only Varieties of English species & abundance of Water Mnium, Mnium aquaticum, the Female of which has Stellate Heads I have not seen any with dusty ones as they are in England the men of the ship brought me some Large Specimens of a Kind of Stone Coral which is found Fossil in Many Parts of England by the Name of Honeycombstone another man brought me the shell of a tortoise which he told me he got in the Archipelago and that it was found there in fresh water a ship Came into harbour from which I procured specimens of a shell fish calld Glams of a Peculiar use in the fishery as the fishermen depend upon them for their Baitts in their first Voyage to the Banks at that time of the Year the fish feed upon them & Every fish they take has a number of them in his Stomach which the Fishermen take out & with them Bait for others the fish itself is Remarkable as it is far too large for the shell which is so little adapted to Cover its inhabitants that Even when the fish is taken out the sides will not Close together a boy brought me two shells

      6 Walkd out to day gatherd some of the Northern English Plants which grow here Every where not Coveting high Land tho indeed we have seen no high Land here (1) the Little dwarf Honeysuckle, Cornus Herbacea, said to grow upon the cheviot hills which part Scotland from England (2) alsinan-themos, Trientalis Europaea & (3) the stone Bramble, Rubus Saxatilis, also some Common English Plants as (4) (5) sorts of Rush grass, Juncus Campestris, Juncus Pilosus (6) Black Carex, Carex strata, (7) vernal grass, Anthoxanthum odoratum, (8) Black headed Bog rush, Scirpus Caespitosus, (9) sundew with round leaves, Drosera rotundifolia, & several more which I mention in my Catalogue – of English Plants Some Plants also of this Country a (10) Kind of Alder, Betula, differing very little if at all from the English sort a beautiful Kind of (11) Medlar, Mespilus Canadensis?, a Kind of cherry, Prunus, which however is so Scarce here that I have got very few Specimens. I have not seen above 2 Plants of it neither in Blossom but at a few Extremities it differ very little if at all from our English garden cherry

      7 Today shooting Killd 3 small Birds Probably varieties of the Gold Bird as there is but little difference between them chiefly the want of a black spot on the head, Foemina? N°: 10, & a small Bird N°: 11 which seems to be scarce here as I have seen it only this once.

      8 Walk out this day Gatherd a Species of Solomons Seal, Convallaria Racemosa

      11 this day at 12 set sail for Croque.

      Here a few lines about Newfoundland may help to set Phipps’ and Banks’s journey in its historical context. John Cabot, sailing from Bristol, discovered the island in