The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras

6

A peculiar and brilliant color of the air above a large expanse of ice.

7

In the remembrance of Parry's expedition into Lancaster Sound, mention is made of the prize for crossing a meridian at higher than the seventy-seventh parallel. Here the specific meridian is left out, which is not very informative. In the French version, it is the 170th meridian, which is clearly wrong. The Ward and Lock translation changes it to the 117th meridian. Historically, the prize was for the 110th meridian

8

On Saturday, the temperature is stated to have fallen to 8 degrees above zero. The French and Routledge translation state 8 degrees below zero. This makes more sense since the previous temperature cited, from which it had fallen, was 6 degrees above zero.

9

The block of ice which turns upside down is stated to be 800 feet high. This appears to be a mistranslation of the French; other translations have it as at least a hundred feet high

10

According to this translation, the Forward crosses the 62nd parallel on May 5. This is clearly incorrect since the ship is north of its May 1 latitude of 68 degrees. Other versions have this as the 72nd parallel. This agrees with the accompanying map.

11

Although "the Governor was born on the island of Disco, and he has never left the place," the landing party meets him at Upernavik which is well north of the island of Disco

12

Sea-birds common in these latitudes.

13

Sea-birds common in these latitudes.

14

The captain declares their latitude to be at 72 degrees when they are actually at 74 degrees. The promise of 1000 pounds for each degree beyond 72 is continued throughout the book

15

Names of several English explorers have been garbled in this translation:

"Stuart" = Charles Sturt

"McDougall Stuart" = John McDouall Stuart

"Wells" = William John Wills

"Havnoan" = ?? – Haouran (French version) is a place in Syria

16

"During the day two whalers were seen making toward the south;" should be "During the day two whales were seen" etc. to agree with other translations and the French version. Finding whalers in this area would contradict the spirit of the adventure

17

"the barometer fell to 29°" should be "the barometer fell to 29 inches" to agree with the French version and the measurement scale of barometers.

18

"Friday, June 7th" should be "Friday, June 8th" to agree with the French version and the timing since the previous date of June 6.

19

"found a declination of only 89 degrees 50 minutes," should be "89 degrees 59 minutes'" to agree with other translations and the French version and to make sense of the following statement of being within a minute of the magnetic pole.

20

"'The way west is easier than the way north.'" agrees with the French, but has been changed to "'The way east'" in other translations. Baffin's Bay is, in fact, east of Melville Bay

21

Clifton's counting of the crew at sixteen is faulty since Garry turned into Hatteras and would no longer be counted. The per degree rate should be 62 pounds not 72 pounds to agree with all other versions and actual calculation.

22

On June 19th, Point Minto is said by all versions to be at 72 degrees latitude. It is actually at 73 degrees. The next paragraph immediately proceeds to 74 degrees latitude at Melville Bay

23

Creswell's march to Beechey Island was 470 miles in the French version and in later discussions in Part II, Chapter 15

24

The year of Lieutenant Bellot's first expedition in search of Franklin is corrected from "18 0" to "1850."

25

The large white masses gathering "indicated an approaching thaw" is translated in another version as "an approaching frost" which agrees with the French version and makes more sense

26

Clifton's anticipated fortune is said to be "hardly-earned" when "hard-earned" would be more appropriate

27

The temperature on January 15 of -22 should be -32 degrees to agree with the French version and the other translations

28

The doctor's ophthalmia should not lead to "deafness" but to "blindness" as in other translations

29

In the final sentence of the chapter the latitude of the Forward should be "eightieth degree" not "eighty-fourth degree." Eighty-fourth is clearly wrong since in chapter 2 of part II, their latitude is stated as eighty degrees fifteen minutes

30

The count of "eighteen men who had sailed in the brig" continues to ignore that there were only seventeen men and that Hatteras and Garry are one and the same person

31

Johnson's question, "how far are we from the nearest sea to the west?" should be "how far are we from the nearest sea to the east?" The disorientation continues with Bell's suggestion to travel south or west. Baffin's Bay, the only place they can hope for rescue is south and east of their current position

32

The date of the day the doctor killed the seal is stated as the 18th and should be the 15th. The date mentioned two paragraphs previously was the 14th, and the date mentioned as the next day in the next paragraph is the 16th

33

"Hatteras loaded the gun with the last charge of powder" should be "the doctor loaded the gun with the last charge of powder" to agree with the French and the sense of the paragraph

34

Altamont comments that his ship is less than four degrees from the Pole when it actually is not, but is within seven degrees

35

The author's intention for the outside temperature here is uncertain. The -31 degrees of this translation does not agree with the French in which it is -73 degrees (-31 degrees Centigrade). The latter two are not equivalent temperatures. Later in this chapter it is stated that the outside temperature can never exist lower than -72 degrees. If the author intended -31 degrees Centigrade, this would convert to -24 degrees Fahrenheit

36

"The temperature of Englishmen is generally 101 degrees" is a incorrect conversion of the more accurate 37 degrees Celsius in the French version. The correct temperature should be 98.6 degrees.

37

The mention of "Hadley" concerning a comet collision should be "Halley" as in the French

38

"Uredo vivalis" should be "Uredo nivalis" as in the French version

39

In this translation as in the French version, Altamont Harbor is said to be at longitude 118 degrees 35 minutes E. of Greenwich, whereas it should be W. of Greenwich.

40

The spelling of the name "Penn" is corrected to "Pen" as a typographical error.

41

"With a scrap of wood to hold him up," should be "without a scrap of wood to hold him up," as found in the French version and required by the sense of the sentence.

42

The doctor "uttered an explanation which it is impossible to render," should be "uttered an exclamation which it is impossible to render," as found in the French version and required by the sense of the sentence.

43

The doctors comparison "it would take seventy-five moons to make the sun," should be "it would take seventy-five moons to make the earth," as in the French version

44

The motion of the Pole "describes a circle in about twenty-six years" should be "describes a circle in about twenty-six thousand years" as in the French version.

45

"The American durst not not finish his sentence," is corrected to "The American durst not finish his sentence," as a typographical error

46

The spelling of the name "Penn" is corrected to "Pen" as a typographical error

47

The timeline of the concluding chapter is odd. September 9, 1861 the party is at the end of North Devon. The next day (September 10) they are picked up by the Danish whaler. Ten days later (September 20) they arrive in Denmark. The 13th of the same month (September 13? October 13?) they reach London. July 15 (1862?) Clawbonny attends the Royal Geographical Society of London meeting. For this to astonish the learned assembly it would need to be two days after their arrival in London rather than 9 months.