A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions/Volume 2/Chapter 7
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
We found, as we drifted to the south-west, that 1842
Jan. 26.the pack gradually opened, and we got amongst a much lighter kind of ice, the wind freshened to a gale from the northward, but did not seem to increase the swell. We furled the mainsail, and, with the topsails on the cap, bored our way before the wind through the lighter ice at an increased rate. The weather was foggy, with frequent snow showers, so that generally we could see only to a short distance before us; occasionally intervals of clear weather occurred, and afforded us a more extended view, during which we could select the most promising leads, and avoid the bergs: these were fortunately less numerous, much smaller, and not of the flat-topped barrier kind. Towards noon, we came to several holes of water from a quarter to half a mile in diameter, which confirmed our hope that the clear sea was not far distant to the southward; the favouring wind having died away to a very light breeze, we once more made all sail upon both ships. The rest of the day was passed with but little advantage; still, however, struggling forward with the assistance of warping and towing, as opportunities offered.
The wind veered to the south-west, and freshenedJan. 27. considerably, enabling us to make better speed through the pack, which was also more open, and with a heavy westerly swell amongst it. At noon we had the equivocal satisfaction of finding ourselves a few miles to the southward of our predecessors on this meridian, Cook and Bellinghausen, being in latitude 67° 28′ S., longitude 156° 28′ W.
The wind again fell light in the afternoon, and we pressed all sail on our ships, towing along the piece of ice that was moored between them until 9:30 p.m., when, getting into a clearer space, we cast off, and bored our way to the south-eastward; but, after running a few miles, we were again stopped by the pack being too close for us to make any way through it; towards midnight, the swell had increased so much, that the vessels sustained many violent shocks, in pushing and warping through a belt of heavy ice that interposed between us and a large hole of open water that we were for several hours engaged in trying to reach, and which we had only Jan. 28.just accomplished when it fell nearly calm; by the assistance of towing with the boats, we gained ten or eleven miles to the south-east before we were again stopped by ice too close to attempt to penetrate with so light an air of wind. The barometer was down to 28.8 all day, and heavy clouds hung loweringly along the horizon, whilst the threatening aspect of the sky, which kept us in a state of much anxiety, ill accorded with the glassy smoothness of the clear blue sea; the scud flying swiftly from the north-west across the face of the sun, which occasionally appeared dimly in the intervals between the clouds, and the shattered crystals of the falling snow indicated its descent from a more disturbed region to one of almost perfect tranquillity. We had now given our rudders a fair trial, and found them to answer admirably, so that we considered our vessels as fit to fulfil the objects of the voyage as before the gale in which they had suffered so severely.
We were disappointed by our observations at noon placing us only in latitude 67° 39′ S., when, by our reckoning, we had nearly attained the sixty-eighth degree. Our longitude was 155° 59′ W., and the dip 80° 34′: we were therefore about four hundred and fifty miles from the place where we entered the pack; and, making allowance for a daily drift of about ten miles to the southward, which we found to be about the average since the 18th of December, the breadth of the belt of ice we had thus far passed through could not be less than eight hundred miles, and still we were not much more than half a degree beyond Cook, who never had occasion to enter the pack at all: so great is the difference that circumstances of season make in the navigation of icy seas. We turned our present detention to good account by trying the temperature of the sea at various depths, and employing our shipwrights in replacing some of the sheets of copper that had been torn off during the gale of the 20th, and which the smoothness of the water greatly facilitated. In the evening, a breeze sprung up from the southward, clearing away the dark-looking clouds, and giving us once more a view of the clear sky: the sun, when near the horizon, presented that remarkable flattened appearance which I have before described. The horizontal diameter, on being measured, was 32′ 35″, or in very near accordance with that given in the Nautical Almanac, whilst its vertical diameter was only 27′ 35″, showing a difference of refraction between its upper and lower limb amounting to five minutes.
Jan. 29.The wind freshened from the southward, but the ice was too close for us to make any way through it; we therefore kept dodging under easy sail, in a hole of water, until it became too small for us any longer to sail about, and we were compelled to have recourse to the largest piece of ice we could get hold of, which, having secured between the ships, we furled all the sails, and were carried away with the pack back to the northward, without being able to make an effort to maintain our ground. During the afternoon we had thick weather, with snow; the wind had increased to a gale, with violent squalls from the southward, but there was no swell amongst the ice, and we experienced neither anxiety nor inconvenience, beyond the natural vexation at finding we were losing all the southing we had gained by much exertion and hard labour.
The strength of the gale gave way about 1 a.m.,Jan. 30. when the barometer, at 28.7 inches, began to rise, the wind at the same time veering to the eastward, brought with it clearer weather, and we had the satisfaction to find the pack much more open, with larger holes of water than we had before seen; the westerly swell had also risen to a considerable height, and our ships received many severe blows by falling against the heavy pieces of ice to which they were attached, or striking against others equally heavy. We were fortunate during the fog and snow, in having drifted clear of the numerous bergs which we now saw in all directions around us. As the swell from the westward continued to increase, the shocks became more frequent and violent, so that immediately after the performance of our usual Sunday service, under these anxious circumstances, we cast off, and made sail, with the view to push the ships to the westward to meet the swell, under the impression that clear water could not be far distant in that direction. During the remainder of the day, and the whole of the night, we made tolerable progress, boring through the patches that separated the pack, and, with unceasing labour and fatigue, using every means of warping and heaving through those which were too close to penetrate without these additional aids. But the wind failed us early in the forenoon of the following day, and left usJan. 31. quite unmanageable, owing to the westerly swell which was running so high, that, although absolutely necessary for our safety, it was both difficult and dangerous to employ the boats in towing the ships clear of the heavier pieces, and against which, notwithstanding all our endeavours to avoid it, the Erebus was driven with violence, but providentially escaped with little damage beyond springing the bowsprit, and having all its rigging broken or torn away; this was very soon replaced, and our wounded spar secured.
This harassing and anxious work continued during the remainder of the day, the perfect calm and heavy swell rendering us nearly helpless, whilst the sea was beating with so much force against the large blue sea-worn masses as to render our situation exceedingly critical, and the labour to the officers and crews, in trying to keep the ships clear of them, constant and excessive; nevertheless, we recognised in the peculiar character of the ice we were now amongst, that which is almost invariably found at the outer edge of a pack; and this sure prospect of a speedy release afforded us encouragement, in the assurance that all these labours were not to be in vain, and, at the same time, seemed in no small degree to stimulate to renewed exertions.
Feb. 1.Early in the forenoon of the next day the southerly wind, which had blown feebly for some time, freshened sufficiently to give us again command of the ships, and we commenced beating to the south-west, in which direction a cloud of dark mist convinced us we should find an open sea. At noon, our observations informed us we had been driven back with the pack far to the northward, notwithstanding all our efforts, being in latitude 67° 18′ S., and longitude 158° 12′ W. Toward evening, the wind favoured our intentions, by veering round to the north-west, and afterwards to the northward. The clear sea came in sight before dark; and as we approached the margin of the pack, the long westerly swell made the ships roll deeply; at this time the pack edge, consisting of heavy washed pieces, was visible through the deepening shades of night, a fearful line of foaming breakers. Either a storm or a calm would have proved equally dangerous in our present position, and, notwithstanding the disadvantage of such a measure during the period of darkness, it became necessary, at all risks, to push through to the clear water; lest any change of circumstances should arise that might render it impracticable if delayed until daylight. All hands were at their stations, as, impelled by a strong breeze, we advanced on our course, and, aided by the light which the line of broken water afforded, the eye strove in vain to find a spot less difficult by which to gain the clear sea beyond it; but not the smallest break could be detected along this formidable-looking barrier, whilst the necessity of breaking a way through it with our ships became every moment more urgent, as the wind still freshened, threatening us with a gale, and obliging us to reduce our sail to double reefed topsails and courses. Soon after midnight,Feb. 2 the Erebus entered the broad band of heavy ice and foam, and succeeded by 2 a.m. in gaining the clear sea, closely followed by the Terror; and although part of our stem was broken off, and the ship much strained by the heavy shocks she encountered, we were thankful to find she had escaped with such comparatively trifling injury. At this time we were in latitude 67° 29′ S., and longitude 159° 01′ W.; and the joy we all felt at our escape from the pack, in which we had been involved fifty-six days, cannot possibly be imagined, heightened, as it was, in some degree by the fact of the wind shifting to the westward, with thick weather almost immediately after we had got clear of the ice, which would have prevented our release at any rate for some days, had we not fortunately accomplished it before the change took place. Still, however, we were not entirely free from anxiety; the wind blowing a strong breeze, directly on to the pack, obliged us to keep a heavy press of sail on the ships to prevent their being again driven down upon it. The thick-falling snow limiting our view to a distance of half a mile, we were uncertain of the result for some hours; but, on the weather clearing up, we had the satisfaction of finding ourselves in an almost perfectly clear sea, a few heavy straggling pieces, and two or three small bergs being the only ice in sight.
At noon we were in latitude 67° 57′ S., longitude 160° 03′ W., and the wind having moderated and shifted to the south-west, we stood to the south-eastward, until making the pack edge at 6 p.m., when we tacked to the westward, the swell still running high from that quarter. The night was clear, and, for the first time, several stars were visible, warning us that the season for navigating these seas was fast drawing to its close.
At 4 a.m. a change of wind enabled us to steerFeb. 3. to the southward and eastward; but by noon, when in latitude 68° 23′ S., and longitude 159° 52′ W., a chain of long, low, barrier-like bergs, ranging along the margin of the pack, came in sight, extending as far to the southward as the eye could discern from the mast-head. As it appeared to trend in a north and south direction at least to the distance of twelve or thirteen miles, we tacked and stood off until midnight, and then again turned the ships' heads to the southward.
The morning was dull, with light falling snow,Feb. 4. and a moderate breeze from the westward. At 6 a.m. the pack was seen, and we bore away along its edge to the southward for three or four hours, when we perceived it stretching across our path, thus suddenly assuming a westerly trending, and forming a deep bight, in which we found ourselves embayed; we therefore set to work immediately to beat out of it as fast as the light north-west wind permitted; for to have been caught in such a situation by a gale, would have been both extremely embarrassing and perilous. At noon we were in 68° 50′ S., and longitude 160° 20′ W., the dip had increased to 81° 37′, and the variation to 29° 41′ E. Commander Crozier came on board in the afternoon, and informed me that on Sunday last, whilst our ships were in a very critical position in the pack, the Terror was on fire for two hours: some blocks of wood, which had been left too near to the warm air stove, ignited, and the smoke issuing from the main hold, gave immediate notice of the fact; the fire was happily got under by the promptitude and exertions of the officers and crew, without their having occasion to increase our embarrassments by soliciting our aid. By means of a powerful engine, which was always kept in readiness, the hold was filled with water to a depth of two feet, and soon extinguished the fire, which was close down upon the kelson. All other accounts from her were satisfactory; and I was especially glad to find she had suffered even less than we had in clearing the pack.
The remainder of this, and nearly the whole of the following day, were spent in beating along the pack edge to the westward, sometimes passing through heavy streams of ice, but without Feb. 5. being able to make any southing until 8.30 p.m., by which time the wind had freshened to a gale from the north, with fog and snow; and finding that the pack resumed its southerly trending, we bore away, under moderate sail, before the gale; for however hazardous this measure may seem to be, and really was, yet we had so few days of the navigable season left, it became necessary to incur some additional risk, if we hoped to accomplish any thing worth doing.
We passed close by several small bergs, and doubtless many others, at no great distance, were concealed from us by the dark night and dense fog that prevailed; but we met with no more streams or loose ice, and soon after midnight the wind abated, leaving a heavy swell from the northward,Feb. 6. before which and the moderate breeze we continued to steer to the S.W., unable to see more than a quarter of a mile before us, and of course uncertain what events the next hour might produce, until at length the wind became so light that our ships no longer had steerage way, and we lost all command over them: they drifted before the long northerly swell, rolling heavily and deeply. We remained in this helpless and anxious state until midnight, when a light southerly wind arose, dispellingFeb. 7. the fog, and showing us how mercifully we had been prevented from running into a heavy pack, and amongst great numbers of bergs, which we assuredly should have done had the northerly wind lasted another hour, for they were at this time not more than four miles from us to the southward.
The breeze increased quickly to a gale by 6 a.m., but, being now under the lee of the pack, the swell which had occasioned us so much discomfort and uneasiness soon subsided, and we carried all sail to maintain our ground, running close along the pack edge, which trended to the westward, in smooth water, and although the sky was overcast, and the weather gloomy and squally, it was sufficiently clear to admit of our seeing to the distance of several miles, so that we proceeded without hazard, and with more than usual comfort, until 8 a.m. the Feb. 8.following day, when the wind, which had fallen to a light breeze, suddenly shifted to the westward, and afterwards to the N. W., bringing with it the common accompaniments of fog and snow. As no opportunity was to be lost of making even a few miles of southing, all sail was made on the ships, and, for the first time since our release from the pack, we had every studding-sail set. Our satisfaction was, however, of short duration, for during a partial clearing of the weather at 4 p.m. we observed the pack ahead of us, and the wind backing to the westward at the same time obliged us to stand to the northward on the port tack, to increase our distance from the lee ice, and to get clear of the heavy loose fragments by which we were surrounded.
During the day we passed a berg whose diameter measured nearly four miles; doubtless the same we saw on the 13th of February last year, in latitude 76° 11′ and 172° 7′ W.[1], with which all its dimensions accorded. Its position to-day was 70° 30′ S. and 173° 10′ W., from which we may assume that its rate of drift to the southward averaged about one mile per diem.
Feb. 9.With a strong breeze from the north-west in the morning, and westward in the evening, we beat along the pack edge, making, however, but small progress, on account of the heavy swell, until the afternoon, when the weather became fine and the wind more moderate.
At noon we were in latitude 70° 39′ S., longitude 174° 31′ W., the magnetic dip 83° 48′ S., and the variation 38° 32′ E. We availed ourselves of the favourable weather to try the temperature of the sea at the following depths:—at 600 fathoms it was 37°.6; at 450 fathoms, 35°.8; at 300 fathoms, 35°; at 150 fathoms, 32°.1; and at the surface, 28°; the specific gravity being 1.0273 at 30°. At 6 p.m. we fetched to windward of the west point of the pack, which appeared composed of very heavy hummocky ice, and which afterwards seemed to trend to the south-west, forming a deep bight; we stood across this until we reached its next western-most point, which, not being able to weather at mitlnight, we tacked, to keep in smooth water under its lee.
By daylight we were again close with the pack,Feb. 10. and passed another heavy western point of it at 8 a.m.
The day was remarkably fine, but the westerly swell prevented us greatly, and our progress on this and the following day, during which fog and snow prevailed, was very trifling, and our labour and anxiety considerable.
On the morning of the 12th, the weather becomingFeb. 12. clear, we again stood to the southward, and at noon we were in latitude 71° 2′ S., longitude 179° 13′ W., the magnetic dip, 84° 27′, when the wind veered to the northward, bringing with it frequent snow showers, but with considerable intervals of clear weather; we again crowded all studding-sails on the ships as we pursued our course right before the wind, the edge of the main pack being sometimes seen to the westward, but becoming so distant before dark, that we could see nothing more than the line of blink hanging over it; and being assured that we had turned its western extreme, we continuedFeb. 13. under all sail throughout the night, and by noon the next day we were in latitude 72° 27′ S., longitude 178 40' W. In the afternoon thick fog prevailed and the wind fell gradually lighter, until at midnight it was quite calm.
Feb. 14.Early in the morning a breeze sprang up from the north-eastward, which freshened to a strong gale before noon, and was accompanied by fog, and snow which fell without intermission throughout the whole day. We nevertheless made some progress to the south-east, under close-reefed topsails and storm staysails, meeting only a few fragments of berg ice. The storm blew with unabated forceFeb. 15. all the next day, and the swell had so greatly increased, as to convince us that the pack must be very distant to the westward; a few small bergs and some heavy fragments were met with as we maintained our southerly course under all the sail our ships could carry, our chief anxiety being to prevent them parting company, which the incessant snow and fog rendered very difficult. The wind having backed to the southward, drove us farther to the westward than we wished, so that at noon we were in latitude 74° 26′ S., and longitude 182° 0′ W., the magnetic dip 86° 43′ S. Towards evening the gale moderated, and admitted of our making more sail on the ships. By 5 a.m.Feb. 16. we had little more than a fresh breeze, and at noon it was nearly calm, with clear weather. Our latitude was 75° 6′ S. and longitude 187° 04′ W., magnetic dip 87° 11′, and the variation 77° 17′ E. The prospect on the fog clearing away was most cheering; not a particle of ice, except two small bergs, being in sight from the masthead; and although we could not fail to remember that three days anterior to this date last year we were compelled to relinquish our exploration along the barrier to the eastward, in consequence of the sea freezing over, yet we had every reason to believe, from the temperature we had hitherto experienced, that the last winter had set in both earlier and with greater severity than usual: we, therefore, still hoped to accomplish something more. Our crews were employed clearing away the ice which had accumulated about the hull and rigging by the freezing of the waves and spray that fell over them during the late gale. In the afternoon we hove to and sounded in two hundred and ninety fathoms, on a bottom of green mud, the temperature at that depth being 32°, while that of the surface was 30°. The current was found to be setting S. 78° W., at the rate of nine miles daily. The dredge was put overboard for a short time, and many curious invertebrate animals and a small fish were taken in it. The Cape pigeon and white petrel were seen in great numbers; the latter flew to the westward in the evening, towards Franklin Island, where we observed last year they had made their nests on the tops of its perpendicular cliffs. A few whales and some finners were also seen during the day. The light breeze which prevailed from the south-eastward until midnight veered round to N.N.E., Feb. 17.and increased to a fresh breeze at 6 a.m., so we steered to the southward under all sail. At noon we were in latitude 75° 53′ S., longitude 184° 52′ "W., and magnetic dip 87° 03′ S. Several pieces of ice were seen in the afternoon, but neither bergs nor pack were met with, and we pursued our course, elated with the prospect of still being able to attain a high latitude before the setting in of the winter.
Feb. 18.At noon we were in latitude 76° 52′ S., longitude 178° 0′ W., and the wind shifting to the southward we stood to the eastward on the starboard tack; late in the evening, on the snow clearing away, the ice blink was seen at a great Feb. 19. distance ahead of us; and the number of white petrel which we met with the next morning, warned us of our approach to the pack. Our observations at noon indicated that we had been carried to the northward by a current nearly fifteen miles during the last twenty-four hours, our latitude being 76º 41′ S. and longitude 173º 48′ W., the magnetic dip 86º 38′ S., and the variation 82º 35′ E. At 2 p.m. we sounded in two hundred and fifty fathoms, when a quantity of green-coloured mud was brought up in the deep sea clamms; although we had run seventy miles directly towards the ice-blink that was observed the preceding evening, no pack was to be seen before dark, but the temperature of the air falling to 16º at midnight, we proceeded under moderate sail during the night.
The wind blew a gale early next morning,Feb. 20. and a heavy sea got up. Coming directly from the great southern barrier, it was piercingly cold, the thermometer at noon standing at 19º. Still, however, no ice was to be seen, except only a few fragments of bergs, although we were thirty miles to the eastward of the spot from which we were compelled to retreat last year; it being then covered with a dense pack, and the temperature of the air being at 12º, the young ice formed so rapidly that we had considerable difficulty in extricating the ships from it, another proof of the mildness of this season as compared with that of last year.
The southerly gale continued to blow withFeb. 21. violence during the whole of the next day, and with the thermometer at 19º the waves, which broke over the ships, froze as they fell on the decks and rigging; by this means a heavy weight of ice accumulated about the hull and ropes which kept the crew constantly employed with axes, breaking it away; and from their exposure to the inclemency of the weather, several of them suffered severely. A remarkable circumstance occurred on board the Terror during this storm, which may help to convey a better idea of the intensity of the cold we experienced than the mere reference to the state of the thermometer. Whilst her people were engaged chopping away the thick coat of ice from her bows, which had been formed by the freezing of a portion of each wave that she plunged into, a small fish was found in the mass; it must have been dashed against the ship, and instantly frozen fast. It was carefully removed for the purpose of preservation, a sketch of it made, and its dimensions taken by Dr. Robertson, but it was unfortunately seized upon and devoured by a cat. Dr. Richardson observes[2], "that the sketch is not sufficiently detailed to show either the number or nature of the gill and fin rays, or whether the skin was scaly or not, so that even the order to which the fish belongs is uncertain, and we have introduced a copy of the design, merely to preserve a memorial of what appears to be a novel form, discovered under such peculiar circumstances." It was rather more than six inches in length.
In the evening the gale abated and veered to the northward, which enabled us to make more sail and resume our southerly course; early the next morning we began to meet with numerousFeb. 22. pieces of heavy ice, and afterwards streams more or less compact, through which we were obliged to force the ships. Several bergs of the table-top form and of large size were also seen.
At noon we were in latitude 76º 42′ S. and longitude 165º 50′ W., the magnetic dip 85º 40′, and the variation 82º 46′ E. A piece of ice was seen bearing a black rock, apparently about six feet in diameter; and at 6 a.m. we hove to, and obtained soundings in one hundred and ninety fathoms, green mud and small black stones; hence we inferred, that the numerous lofty bergs by which we were surrounded had grounded on this bank after their detachment from the place of their formation. The great barrier was seen from the masthead just before midnight, the weather being fine and the breeze moderate from the northward; but as it was blowing directly on to the barrier, we were obliged to approach it with caution, for a moreFeb. 23. dangerous lee shore could not be imagined. As soon, therefore, as we got within five or six miles of its vertical cliffs, we hauled to the eastward, in order to continue its examination, and with the hope of being able to turn its eastern extremity and then attain a much higher latitude. But the young ice which we had observed thickening rapidly under the severe temperature became so strong that we could hardly make any way through it, and were ultimately compelled to haul off to the north-westward, and wait for more favourable weather.
At noon we were in latitude 77º 49′ S. and longitude 162º 36′ W., the wind veering to the eastward, we tacked at 1h 30m p.m. and stood towards the barrier, for with a leading wind we might approach it safely, as near as the loose ice which projected some distance from it would permit. Some bergs and heavy pieces of ice, with numerous stones and patches of soil on them, raised our expectations of soon seeing the land; but at 7 p.m., when we were within a mile and a half of the face of the barrier, our further progress was stopped by the belt of broken fragments at its foot, which were firmly cemented together by newly formed ice. As the Terror was some miles to the northward, we hove to until she came up to us, and whilst waiting for her we obtained soundings in two hundred and ninety fathoms, the deep sea clamms bringing up some green mud, intermixed with small volcanic stones. This depth of water would seem to prove that the outer edge of the barrier was not resting upon the ground; for by various measurements of its highest part, it was found to be only one hundred and seven feet above the sea, from which point it gradually diminished for about ten miles to the eastward, where it could not have been more than eighty feet; but beyond that distance it again rose higher.
The point at which we had approached it was on the east side of a bay between eight and nine miles deep, so filled with ice that we were unable to get further into it; its outline was much more broken and indented than we had found it last year further to the westward, and its perpendicular cliffs had dwindled down to less than half their elevation at their attachment to Cape Crozier, at the foot of Mount Terror.
The temperature of the sea near the bottom was 30º 8′, or about two degrees colder than due to the depth at a distance from the barrier; thus showing how trifling was the effect of this enormous mass, whose influence we might have expected to have been sufficient to have reduced the temperature of the sea to its freezing point, even at the distance of a mile and a half.
The Terror came up to us in about half an hour, when an interchange of signals took place. The latitude of the Erebus computed from our observations at noon was 78º 8′ S., that of the Terror, 78º 11′ S.; the mean of which, 78º 9′ 30″ S., was adopted as our latitude, which would place the face of the barrier in 78º 11′ S., in the longitude of 161º 27′ West. From this point it trended considerably to the northward of east, forbidding the hope of our reaching a higher latitude this season; and although we had only surpassed that of last year by about six miles, we could not help feeling that but for the success which had attended our exertions on that occasion, the result of our operations this year would have been more highly appreciated, and that in being permitted a second time to extend our researches so much beyond our predecessors, we had been singularly favoured.
Having thrown overboard a cask containing a brief sketch of our proceedings, which may at a future day be met with and help to throw some light on the winds and currents which prevail in these regions, we made sail along the barrier to the eastward; as we came to the lower part of it, which I have already noticed, we perceived from our mast-heads that it gradually rose to the southward, presenting the appearance of mountains of great height perfectly covered with snow, but with a varied and undulating outline, which the barrier itself could not have assumed; still there is so much uncertainty attending the appearance of land, when seen at any considerable distance, that although I, in common with nearly all my companions, feel assured that the presence of land there amounts almost to a certainty, yet I am unwilling to hazard the possibility of being mistaken on a point of so much interest, or the chance of some future navigator under more favourable circumstances proving that ours were only visionary mountains. The appearance of hummocky ridges and different shades, such as would be produced by an irregular white surface, and its mountainous elevation, were our chief grounds for believing it to be land, for not the smallest patch of cliff or rock could be seen protruding on any part of the space of about thirty degrees which it occupied. I have therefore marked it on the chart only as an "appearance of land."
As we advanced to the north-eastward we found the young ice so much strengthened by the thermometer falling to 18º at midnight, that we had difficulty in forcing the ships through it; and at seven the next morning the main pack pressingFeb. 24. closely against the barrier, prevented our proceeding in that direction. We were therefore compelled to relinquish its further exploration, not only by the obstacle which had now presented itself, but on account of the surface of the sea, owing to the severity of the temperature, having become one unbroken sheet of ice as far as the eye could discern from the mast-head, threatening to freeze the ships up for the winter in a position of a most dangerous character, and from which it was not possible they could be extricated, except by the assistance of a strong breeze, which was now fortunately blowing from the S.E., and afforded us the means of boring the ships through the young ice to the N.W., under all sail; after running about thirty miles right before the breeze, we got clear of the bay ice in which we had been involved, and were once more in clear water.
The setting in of the winter now required us to bring our operations in the higher southern latitudes to a close, and seek a more temperate climate in which to pass the winter. And although our hopes of extended discoveries during the season had been frustrated by our protracted and tedious detention in the pack, and the difficulties of penetrating a mass of more than a thousand miles in thickness had been overcome by the perseverance and exertions of my companions, still the time that was consumed in that laborious and fatiguing work left us only a few days of the worst part of the season to pursue our purpose. We had, however, during that brief space attained a somewhat higher latitude than last year: we had traced the continuation of the barrier ten degrees of longitude further to the eastward, and had extended our researches over a large portion of the hitherto unexplored parts of those regions; an amount of success, which, whilst struggling in the pack, few of us could have anticipated, had resulted from our endeavours to justify the trust which had been placed in our hands, and to call forth our heartfelt gratitude to Him by whose providence we had been so mercifully preserved and guided through the many dangers which we had encountered.
As soon as we got clear of the bay ice, I made known my intentions by signal to Commander Crozier to run to the northward along the pack edge to seek for any opening which might lead us by a shorter course by the ne plus ultra of Cook, to the Falkland Islands, where I proposed to winter, and refit the ships before making a third effort to gain a high southern latitude, on the meridian of 35º west longitude, where our countryman James Weddell had with but little difficulty pushed beyond the seventy-fourth degree. Towards noon the breeze freshened to a gale, and we scudded before it, under treble reefed top-sails and fore-sail, at a rapid rate, passing many fragments of broken up bergs, half concealed by bay ice, and the constantly falling snow which prevented our seeing to any considerable distance; we were, however, compelled to run whilst the gale lasted, lest if the wind should fall light, we should be unable to force our way through the streams of young ice. The strong easterly wind continued throughout the night andFeb. 25. the whole of the following day, and the weather being clear and the water smooth, we made good way along the pack edge to the north-west, passing through some streams of heavy ice, and thick sludge and pancake ice, much discoloured by the infusorial creatures which were frozen in them. At noon we were in latitude 74º 50′ S., and longitude 166º 15′ W., and being several miles a-head of the Terror, we rounded to, at 1 p.m., to try for, but did not obtain, soundings with four hundred and fifty fathoms of line. The temperature at that and several intermediate depths was also determined.
The pack seemed here to take a more northerly trending, but by keeping close along its margin we found we had run into a deep bight, at 4h 30m p.m., when we were obliged promptly to shorten sail, and to haul out to the westward, nor did we clear the northern part of it until after midnight. The barometer, which had been falling all the morning and afternoon, stood at 28º.380 at 6 p.m., but had risen to 28º.415 by midnight, the wind at the same time shifting to the southward.
Feb. 26.The general trending of the main pack carried us much farther to the westward than we wished; but it was so close and heavy that we could not venture to enter it. As we continued the examination, we frequently got entangled amongst the newly formed ice and streams which occurred at some distance from its margin; favoured, however, with a fine breeze from the southwestward, we pursued our way to the northward, and at noon were in latitude 72º 46′ S., and longitude 170º 01′ W. In the evening we found that in our anxiety to keep as near the pack edge as possible, we had run far into another of its deep indentations, we therefore hauled to the wind on the port tack, in order to weather its lee point; this we were very uncertain about during the whole night, the ship being surrounded with thick young ice, rapidly increasing in strength, with the temperature at 22º: at times we were hardly able to make any way through it, notwithstanding the fresh breeze that was blowing, and owing to the darkness of the night we could not know whether the ships might not be falling down upon the pack under our lee; all our apprehensions, however, of being driven again into the ice were dispelled atFeb. 27. daylight, when we saw the clear water at only two or three miles distance from us, and by 9 a.m., having weathered the westernmost point of the pack, we bore away before the wind to the northwestward along its margin.
It was a beautiful afternoon, the sun breaking through the clouds gave a life and cheerfulness to the scene around us, of which we had been many days deprived; and, with a steady moderate breeze from the south-eastward, we continued our course under all sail, the pack to our great satisfaction trending so much more to the northward, gave us good reason to hope that from it we should meet with no further obstruction.
In the evening Commander Crozier expressed by signal his wish to communicate, which I was equally glad to have the opportunity the fine weather afforded of doing; and I had the pleasure of receiving the congratulations of himself and his officers on the successful issue of our labours, notwithstanding the unfavourable circumstances under which they were commenced. I was also much gratified to learn that the officers and crew of the Terror maintained the same good health and spirits as did our own, the few cases of severe cold and bruises that some had suffered having been completely overcome by the judicious treatment of the medical officers, and at this time there was not a single individual complaining in either ship.
Feb. 28.Keeping at a distance of between three and four miles from the pack edge, we continued our course to the northward, and at noon were in latitude 70º 54′ S., and longitude 175º 36′ W. During the last few days the white and blue petrel were seen in great numbers. Cape pigeons, sooty albatross, and gigantic petrel less numerously; some penguins also were occasionally seen, and their cry more frequently heard. Seals were comparatively few, but the small fin-backed whale, as also the piebald kind, were numerous along the pack edge.
At 4 p.m., we observed an extensive chain of bergs so close together that we could see no way through them, and were therefore obliged to haul to the south-westward; nor was it until near midnight, when we had run along the chain between thirty and forty miles, that we cleared its western extreme and were enabled to resume our course. Three of them were much marked with patches of rock and soil, and some of them of the flat-topped barrier form must have been in violent collision with each other, judging from the immense fragments upon their summits. The night was beautifully clear, the stars bright, and the moon afforded us considerable light. The Aurora Australis was seen forming into concentric arches through and about ten degrees on each side of the zenith, resting on the east and west points of the horizon; it had occasionally some slightly flitting motion, but did not exhibit any colours.
ABSTRACT OF THE METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL KEPT ON BOARD HER MAJESTY'S SHIP EREBUS.—FEBRUARY, 1842.
| Day. | Position at Noon. | Temperature of the Air in Shade. | Mean Tempera- ture of Sea at Surface. |
Temp. at 9 a.m. | ||||||
| Lat. S. | Long. W. | Max | Min. | Mean. | Air in Shade |
Dew point. | ||||
| ° | ′ | ° | ′ | ° | ° | ° | ° | |||
| 1 | 67 | 18 | 158 | 12 | 33 | 28 | 29.6 | 28 | 30 | 28 |
| 2 | 67 | 57 | 160 | 3 | 33 | 27.5 | 28.9 | 28.3 | 31.5 | 28 |
| 3 | 68 | 23 | 159 | 52 | 30 | 26.5 | 28.1 | 28 | 31.5 | 24 |
| 4 | 68 | 50 | 160 | 20 | 35 | 28 | 30.5 | 28.5 | 31.5 | 27.5 |
| 5 | 68 | 59 | 163 | 53 | 31 | 29.5 | 30 | 28.3 | 32.5 | 29 |
| 6 | 65 | 51 | 167 | 39 | 31.8 | 29 | 30 | 28.2 | 32 | 32* |
| 7 | 70 | 18 | 169 | 49 | 29 | 24.5 | 27.4 | 28.2 | 30 | 27 |
| 8 | 70 | 19 | 174 | 00 | 29 | 24 | 26.7 | 28.1 | 29.5 | 21 |
| 9 | 70 | 39 | 174 | 31 | 33 | 26 | 27.9 | 28.4 | 30 | 21 |
| 10 | 70 | 3 | 176 | 23 | 30 | 26 | 28.4 | 29.8 | 30 | 25 |
| 11 | 70 | 06 | 178 | 18 | 32.5 | 29 | 30.5 | 30.6 | 31.5 | 31.5* |
| 12 | 71 | 02 | 179 | 13 | 34 | 28 | 29.4 | 29.9 | 31 | 28 |
| 13 | 72 | 27 | 178 | 40 | 30.5 | 27 | 29.3 | 30.4 | 31 | 30.5 |
| 14 | 73 | 23 | 177 | 56 | 29 | 26 | 27.9 | 31 | 30 | 30* |
| 15 | 74 | 26 | 182 | 00 | 26.5 | 24.5 | 25.1 | 30.2 | 28 | 28* |
| 16 | 75 | 06 | 187 | 04 | 26.5 | 24 | 25.1 | 30.2 | 26 | 19 |
| 17 | 75 | 53 | 184 | 52 | 29.5 | 25.5 | 277 | 30.3 | 28 | 27 |
| 18 | 76 | 52 | 178 | 00 | 26.5 | 23.5 | 25.1 | 29 | 26 | 24.5 |
| 19 | 76 | 14 | 173 | 48 | 24.5 | 17 | 21.9 | 28.8 | 25 | 21.5 |
| 20 | 76 | 14 | 167 | 25 | 19.5 | 16.5 | 18.5 | 28.4 | 20 | 20 |
| 21 | 75 | 53 | 165 | 08 | 23.5 | 19 | 20.9 | 28.5 | 20 | 20 |
| 22 | 76 | 42 | 165 | 50 | 28 | 24 | 26 | 28.8 | 29 | 29 |
| 23 | 77 | 49 | 162 | 35 | 30 | 19.5 | 25 | 28.5 | 26 | 18 |
| 24 | 76 | 51 | 161 | 30 | 27.7 | 21 | 25 | 284 | 27 | 21 |
| 25 | 74 | 50 | 166 | 15 | 29.5 | 27.5 | 28.1 | 28.8 | 28 | 27 |
| 26 | 72 | 46 | 170 | 01 | 26.8 | 23 | 24.9 | 28.5 | 26 | 21 |
| 27 | 72 | 1 | 172 | 25 | 25.5 | 22.5 | 23.8 | 28.5 | 25 | 13 |
| 28 | 70 | 54 | 175 | 36 | 27 | 24 | 24.9 | 28.3 | 25 | 21.5 |
| 35 | 16.5 | 26.68 | 28.96 | |||||||
* Deposit of rain, or snow, or fog.
ABSTRACT OF THE METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL KEPT ON BOARD HER MAJESTY'S SHIP EREBUS.—FEBRUARY, 1842.
| Day. | Barometer. | Winds. | Weather. | |||||||||
| Max. | Min. | Mean. | Direction. | Force. | ||||||||
| Inches. | Inches. | Inches. | ||||||||||
| 1 | 29.368 | 29.206 | 29.303 | a.m. Southerly p.m. Westerly |
2 3 |
0 g.s.* 1 b.c.g. |
||||||
| 2 | .200 | .048 | .115 | a.m. Westerly p.m. S.Westerly |
4 | a.m. 0 m.s. p.m. 3 b.c.g. |
||||||
| 3 | .264 | .067 | .129 | S.W. | 4 | a.m. 0 g.q.s. p.m. 4 b.c.q. |
||||||
| 4 | .561 | .291 | .417 | Westerly | 3 | a.m. 3 b.c.g. p.m. 0 g.s. |
||||||
| 5 | .565 | 28.877 | .324 | Northerly | 5 | 0 g.s. | ||||||
| 6 | 28.839 | .581 | 28.667 | a.m. N.N.E p.m. S.Easterly |
3 1 |
0 f.p.d. | ||||||
| 7 | .856 | .565 | .654 | S.E. | 5 | 0 g.q. | ||||||
| 8 | .962 | .683 | .843 | Westerly | 4 | 0 g.s. | ||||||
| 9 | .959 | .682 | .806 | S.W. | 4 | a.m. 0 q.p.s. p.m. 4 b.c.p.s. |
||||||
| 10 | 29.276 | .978 | 29.156 | S.Westerly | 3 | 5 b.c.g. | ||||||
| 11 | .189 | .635 | 28.807 | a.m. Northerly Westerly |
4 6 |
0 m.p.r.s. | ||||||
| 12 | .067 | .781 | .960 | a.m. S.S.W. p.m. N.N.W. |
4 2 |
a.m. 2 b.c.g. p.m. 0 s. |
||||||
| 13 | 28.948 | .674 | .801 | a.m. W. by N. p.m. S.W. b W. |
3 | 0 f.p.s. | ||||||
| 14 | .691 | .585 | .627 | E.N.E. | 6 | 0 q.s. | ||||||
| 15 | 29.106 | .706 | .891 | East | 8 | 0 q.s. | ||||||
| 16 | .180 | .970 | 29.088 | Easterly | 2 | 0 g.d.q. | ||||||
| 17 | .028 | .862 | 28.930 | N. Westerly | 4 | 0 q.p.s. | ||||||
| 18 | .053 | .846 | .975 | a.m. S.E. p.m. N.Eastly. |
5 | a.m. 0 p.s. p.m. 2 b.c.g. |
||||||
| 19 | 28.835 | .518 | .646 | Easterly | 5 | 0 g. | ||||||
| 20 | .496 | .283 | .354 | E.S.E. | 7 | 3 b.c.q. | ||||||
| 21 | .842 | .277 | .566 | S.S.E. | 8 | 0 q.s. | ||||||
| 22 | 29.081 | .860 | .991 | a.m. S.W. p.m. W. by N. |
4 3 |
3 b.c.q. 1 b.c.g. |
||||||
| 23 | .151 | .987 | 29.088 | a.m. Westerly p.m. Northerly |
3 | 5 b.c. | ||||||
| 24 | 28.973 | .476 | 28.677 | N.E. | 4 | 0 q.p.s. | ||||||
| 25 | .481 | .380 | .432 | N.E. | 4 | 0 g.p.s. | ||||||
| 26 | .642 | .425 | .544 | S. Easterly | 5 | 0 q.s. | ||||||
| 27 | .571 | .488 | .520 | E.S.E. | 2 | 0 g.p.s. | ||||||
| 28 | .543 | .474 | .510 | N. Easterly | a.m. 3 p.m. 4 |
2 b.c.g. | ||||||
| 29.565 | 28.277 | 28.8507 | 4.12 | |||||||||
* For explanation of these symbols, see Appendix to Vol. I.