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Chap. VI.]
RESULT OF OBSERVATIONS.
153
1840
Some of our officers finding it very laborious walking through the dense brushwood in their way to the western hills, opened a road by setting fire to the dried grass and sticks, which being fanned by a strong breeze, spread with great rapidity in all directions, burning a great part of the wood near which our Observatory was fixed; but fortunately did not approach to within half a mile of it. The whole country appeared in a blaze of fire at night. The scene as viewed from our ships was described as one of great magnificence and beauty. It was nevertheless a thoughtless prank, and might have been productive of great mischief, besides destroying so much valuable wood.
The result of our observations gave for the latitude of the spot, marked + on the plan, where the Observatory stood, 50° 32′ 30″ S., the longitude, 166° 12′ 34″ E. The magnetic dip 73° 12′, and the variation 17° 40′ E. High water at the full and change of the moon took place at twelve o'clock, and the highest spring tides scarcely exceeded three feet. A remarkable oscillation of the tide when near the time of high water was observed; after rising to nearly its highest, the tide would fall two or three inches, and then rise again between three and four inches, so as to exceed its former height rather more than an inch. This irregular movement generally occupied rather more than an hour, of which the fall continued about twenty minutes, and the rise again upwards of fifty minutes of the interval. The time here given as that of H.W. at
