Burnham reported to the US Hydrographic Office that "while running before a gale off Cape Horn in command of the American ship Pactolus at 4 o'clock in the morning of 6 November 1885, the wind lulled and the sea fell, and noticing very highly discoloured water, he hove the ship to and sounded three times, obtaining each time from 67 to 70 fms.
[4] These icebergs have been observed stationary for up to a month in the vicinity of the bank, and are thought to be responsible for the loss of several ships that have run into them, or been trapped.
[5] Felix Riesenberg, who served under Burnham, postulated that Pactolus Bank was the sunken location of Elizabeth Island, discovered by Sir Francis Drake's ship the Golden Hinde in 1578.
Leaving the Magellan Strait, Drake's ship was driven far to the west and south, before clawing its way back towards land.
In 2008, Dutchman Hylke Tromp, after some years of research, published a comprehensive report, containing all known facts and myths regarding the Pactolus Bank.