perceived towards the northwest. The struggled on to the southward, generally magnetic observations taken here placed against adverse winds, to the 73d degree, the magnetic pole in lat. 760, long. 145° discovering and naming, after various offi20 E., therefore in the direction true cial' and scientific individuals, new mounsouthwest from the position of the ships, tains and islands. In a moment of calm and distant some 500 miles. The land, the dredge was let down in 270 fathoms; however, Sir James says— and the result was a variety of living plunder, the Captain's remarks whereupon must be quoted :—

"Interposed an insuperable obstacle to our direct approach to it; and we had to choose whether we should trace the coast to the northwest, with the hope of turning the western extreme of the land, and thence proceed to the south, or follow the southerly coast-line and thence take a more westerly course. The latter was preferred, as being more likely to extend our researches into higher latitudes, and as affording a better chance of afterwards attaining one of the principal objects of our voyage; and although we could not but feel disappointed in our expectation of shortly reaching the magnetic pole, yet these mountains being in our way, restored to England the honor of the discovery of the southernmost known land, which had been nobly won by the intrepid Bellinghausen, and for more than twenty years retained by Russia."-P. 187.

"It was interesting among these creatures to recognise several that I had been in the habit of taking in equally high northern latitudes; and although contrary to the general belief of naturalists, I have no doubt that from however great a depth we may be enabled to bring up the mud and stones of the bed of the ocean, we shall find them teem ing with animal life; the extreme pressure at the greatest depth does not appear to affect these creatures. Hitherto we have not been able to determine this point beyond a thousand fathoms; but from that depth several shellfish have been brought up with the mud."-P. 202.

dell.

On the 22d of January the reckoning of the ships gave the latitude 74° 20' south, and a double allowance of grog was issued The mainland, fenced by a projecting latitude than that accomplished by Wedto celebrate the first attainment of a higher barrier of ice, on which a tremendous surf was breaking, defied all attempts at access, After struggling through the heavy but at much risk a hasty landing was effect-pack ice which fringed the coast for 50 ed on one of a group of islands situated in miles, they gained clear water on the 20th; lat. 71° 56', and long. 171 7 E. The Mount Melbourne, a peak some 12,000 usual ceremonies of taking possession were feet high, being visible at a distance of solemnized under a heavy assault from the perhaps eighty miles. A landing was with aboriginal inhabitants, the penguins, who much difficulty effected on an island twelve disputed with their beaks the title of Queen miles long, honored with the name of Victoria. Not a trace of vegetation was the conclusion that the vegetable kingdom Franklin; and this proceeding led Ross to perceived; but that of our Australasian colonies may one day profit by the accumu- titudes. Animal vitality, however, triumphs has no representative whatever in those lalated guano of ages, which annoyed the stoutest of the invaders by its stench. here over all obstacles, both on land and in Whales were swarming in all directions, the seal swarm about precipices of igneous the ocean; and the petrel, the gull, and unconscious that the spell of that long security which they had enjoyed in this re-footboard of a captain's gig can be planted. rock, which leave no ledge on which the mote region was probably broken; thirty In the night of January 27, the ship stood were counted at one time. We can hardly, in clear weather, towards some land which however, share Sir James's anticipations as to the future success of our whale-fishers in at first seemed an island, but which turned this quarter. For the present, at least, we out to be the peak of a volcano 12,600 feet believe that in such distant regions the in height, in full activity upon the continent. This magnificent and impressive whale-fishing can only be pursued with profit in conjunction with the chase of the object was named Mount Erebus; and an seal. The precipitous cliffs of the circum-extinct, or at least inactive neighbor, of polar continents, or islands, would appear Mount Terror. about 11,000 feet in elevation, was called We find what follows in

in no instance to afford that line of beach

which is essential for the capture of the the Notes to the "Botany of the Antarctic seal; and we cannot believe that under- Expedition," drawn up by Sir W. Hooker, from the journal of his son, the accomwriters would insure on moderate terms plished naturalist to the expedition :

against the chances of packed ice, beyond a
certain latitude. From this date the ships
VOL. XII. No. I.
4

"It was on the following day, Jan. 28, in lat..

76° 57', lon. 109° 25′, that was first descried that mine. If there be land to the southward, it must active volcano which could not fail to form a spec- be very remote, or of much less elevation than tacle the most stupendous and imposing that can any other part of the coast we have seen, or it be imagined; whether considered in regard to its would have appeared above the barrier. Meeting position, 77° S. lat., or in reference to the fact that with such an obstruction was a great disappointno human eye had gazed on it before, or to its ment to us all, for we had already, in expectation, elevation of 12,600 feet above the level of the sea. passed far beyond the 80th degree, and had even What increased the wonder is, that it is but one of appointed a rendezvous there in case of the ships a stupendous chain of mountains-a portion of a separating. It was, however, an obstruction of new continent, of vast but undefined extent-the such a character as to leave no doubt upon my whole mass, from its highest point to the ocean's mind as to our future proceedings, for we might edge, covered with everlasting snow and ice; the with equal chance of success try to sail through sun at that season never setting, but day and night Dover cliffs as penetrate such a mass.”—P. 217. exhibiting the same spectacle of the extremes of In the course of this and the following nature's heat and cold. In mentioning such a phenomenon I may be allowed to make the folthis barrier was traced through voyage lowing extract from my son's letter:- The water some thirty degrees of longitude, or for and the sky were both as blue, or rather more intensely blue, than I have ever seen them in the nearly 450 miles; the vessels taking every tropics, and all the coast one mass of dazzlingly opportunity which winds, currents, and icebeautiful peaks of snow, which, when the sun bergs permitted of standing in towards it. approached the horizon, reflected the most brilliant But no symptom of indentation, save one, tints of golden yellow and scarlet; and then to see presented itself in the compact and even the dark cloud of smoke, tinged with flame, rising precipice. In long. 187° east, the appearfrom the volcano in a perfectly unbroken column, ance of a bay invited investigation, and the one side jet-black, the other giving back the colors barrier was approached on February 9, to of the sun, sometimes turning off at right angles the distance of a quarter of a mile. by some current of wind, and stretching many

Gi

miles to leeward. This was a sight so surpassing gantic icicles pendent from the cliffs proved everything that can be imagined, and so height that the operation of thawing was not abened by the consciousness that we had penetrated solutely unknown to the locality. Still the into regions far beyond what was ever deemed thermometer, at a season of the year equipracticable, that it really caused a feeling of awe valent to an English August, ranged at to steal over us at the consideration of our own comparative insignificance and helplessness, and at the same time, an indescribable feeling of the greatness of the Creator in the works of his

hand.'

On the

noon no higher than 14°, and in this shel-
tered recess young ice was forming so ra-
pidly, that the ships had the narrowest pos-
sible escape from being frozen up.
14th of February the main pack of ice was
reported in every direction, except to wind-
ward, and the ships were hauled to the

Another great natural feature of these regions was met with on the following day, and is thus described by Captain Ross: wind to make their retreat-amid blinding

could now have had the fortitude to entertain, were frustrated. The only position

snow, and with frozen decks and rigging"As we approached the land under all studding- from a chain of icebergs, probably aground, sails, we perceived a low white line extending one of which was nearly four miles long. from its extreme eastern point as far as the eye The wind afterwards changed to the eastcould discern to the eastward. It presented an extraordinary appearance, gradually increasing in ward, and the ships sailed before it with height as we got nearer to it, and proving at length the intention of making another attempt to to be a perpendicular cliff of ice between 150 reach the magnetic pole, and of seeking a and 200 feet above the level of the sea, perfectly winter harbor in its vicinity. But hopes, flat and level at the top, and without any fissures which none but such pavigators as Ross or promontories on its even seaward face. What was beyond it we could not imagine; for being much higher than our mast's head, we could not see anything except the summit of a lofty range of mountains, extending to the southward as far as the 79th degree of latitude. These mountains, being the southernmost land hitherto discovered, I felt great satisfaction in naming after Captain Sir William Edward Parry, R.N., in grateful remembrance of the honor he conferred upon me, by calling the northernmost known land on the globe by my name.... Whether Parry Mountains' again take an easterly trending, and form the base to which this extraordinary mass of ice is at- "Had it been possible to have found a place of tached, must be left to future navigators to deter-security upon any part of this coast where we

observed which would have answered the latter purpose was found to be fenced by an outwork of 15 miles of solid ice, and on February 17 the two commanders reluctantly concurred in the impossibility of making a nearer approach to the magnetic pole, from which at this moment they were distant 160 miles :

It

might have entered, in sight of the brilliant burn- that Captain Wilkes was mistaken, and that ing mountain, and at so short a distance from the his mistake originated in a too ready acmagnetic pole, both of these interesting spots ceptance of a supposed observation of land might have been reached by travelling parties in the following spring; but all our efforts to effect by one of his subordinates,—an accident to that object proved quite unsuccessful. Although which the deception of fog and the interrupour hopes of complete attainment were not real-tions of ice must often expose even expeized, yet it was some satisfaction to know we rienced and scrupulous navigators. On the had approached the pole some hundreds of miles 6th of April the ships were moored in safenearer than any of our predecessors; and from ty in the Derwent, Van Dieman's Land, the multitude of observations that were made in bringing back in health and safety every inso many different directions from it, its position dividual who had embarked in them there may be determined with nearly as much accuracy in November of the former year. as if we had actually reached the spot itself. was nevertheless painful to behold, at a distance, The second cruise of the expedition was easily accessible under other circumstances, the directed towards the eastern extremity of range of mountains in which the pole is placed, that icy barrier which had repelled the and few can understand the deep feelings of re- attempt of the preceding year. The bargret with which I felt myself compelled to aban- rier was again reached, and the extreme don the, perhaps, too ambitious hope I had so long southern limit of the former voyage was cherished of being permitted to plant the flag of my country in both the magnetic poles of our passed; but the track now followed led to no such discoveries of land as had immorglobe."-P. 246. talized that voyage, and a detention of fiftyIn the course of his northward progress, six days in packed-ice from the 60th to the Sir J. Ross takes occasion to notice a cir- 67th degree of south latitude lost them the cumstance which must make the task of a best part of the season for the prosecution navigator of these seas far more unenviable of their intended survey, or for penetrating than that of the Arctic explorer;-this is, or turning, perchance, the flank of the icy the more constant prevalence of a swell so barrier. Their detention in the pack-ice heavy as to make the calm, in the vicinity was not merely one of those trials of paof land or iceberg, more dangerous even tience of which Arctic voyages of discovery than the gale, preventing the use of boats present so many examples, but of the to tow the ship from danger, and frustrating strength of timber and iron, of rope and the effects of such feeble airs as would give canvas, and still more of every resource of her steerage way in the smooth water of the human courage, skill, and nautical expeArctic seas. The dangers of gale and calm rience. The narrow pools in which the were alike overcome by the admirable vessel floated were no mill-ponds protected management and unflinching perseverance by the surrounding ice from the fury of the of officers and men. On March 2, for in- Antarctic tempests. These narrow spaces stance, while the Terror's bows and rigging combined the mountain swell of the open were encrusted with ice, some of the hands ocean with all the horrors of a lee shore were slung over the latter for two hours, and an intricate navigation. Lifted by ice drenched at every plunge of the ship, while one moment, and thrown on their beamrepairing the shackle of the bobstay, broken ends the next by sudden squalls-exposed in by rough contact with the pack-ice. At one instance for twenty-eight hours to a this date they fell in with some of the combination of influences, which at any inislands discovered by Balleny, and had the stant of those weary hours would have satisfaction of verifying the accuracy of his crushed to fragments any ship of ordinary observations. On the 16th they sailed construction-the gallant vessels still held over the precise spot which, on the chart their own. The hawsers snapped by which furnished by the kindness of Captain at the commencement of the gale they enWilkes, had been marked as mountainous deavored to moor themselves to the nearest land. It is unfortunate that the liberality floe. The rudders were torn from the with which that officer communicated to stern-posts-the masts quivered to every his British competitors the information collision with the grinding masses of icewhich he conceived might be useful for the storm-sails, by backing and filling their guidance, should have led to a result which they could alone avoid or mitigate which has occasioned him some annoyance. such collision, strained to the gale-the For the details of the controversy which vessels were tossed in dangerous proximity has arisen, we must refer our readers to Sir to each other; but Providence helped those James Ross's volumes. We cannot doubt who help themselves, and the gale had

An

scarcely abated when the spare rudders had the 7th of March, the first specimen of the been fixed and due examination had shown vegetable kingdom was hailed in the apthat the skilful construction of the vessels pearance of small pieces of sea-weed. and the compact stowage of their holds had awful moment of danger yet remained to enabled them to ride through every danger try the skill and courage of both ships' without any vital injury. At length on the companies. It is due to them to quote en1st of February, in latitude 67. 59' S. tire the vivid description of their comand having longitude 159° W., they mander :emerged from their stormy prison into a comparatively clear sea. Under ordinary "During the next three days we made rapid circumstances the appearances of stars to progress to the eastward, experiencing strong men who for five weeks had scarcely seen southerly winds and severe weather, but we met the bowsprit from the quarter-deck through hundred miles, and began to think we had got to only four or five bergs during a run of several fog and blinding snow, would have been the northward of their latitude. On the afternoon welcome enough, but this apparition told of the 12th, several were seen during thick weathem that the season for navigating those ther, and whilst we were running, under all the seas was fast drawing to a close. On the sail we could carry, to a strong north-westerly 16th of February, in latitude 75°, though breeze. In the evening, the wind increased so cheered by the prospect of a clear sea, they much, and the snow-showers became so incessant, could not but remember that two days anthat we were obliged to proceed under more moderate sail. Numerous small pieces of ice were also terior to this date in the former year the met with, warning us of the presence of bergs young ice had enforced a retreat. The concealed by the thickly falling snow. Before present temperature, indeed, indicated a midnight I directed the topsails to be close-reefed, milder season than the last, but on the 21st, and every arrangement made for rounding-to un-. with the thermometer at 19° and a clear til day-light, deeming it too hazardous to run any sea, the waves froze as they fell on the decks longer. Our people had hardly completed these and rigging, and while the people of the operations when a large berg was seen ahead, and quite close to us; the ship was immediately hauled Terror were cutting it away from her bows, to the wind on the port tack, with the expectation a small fish was found in the mass, which of being able to weather it; but just at this moment must have been dashed against the ship the Terror was observed running down upon us, and instantly frozen fast. Being laid aside under her top-sails and foresail, and as it was imfor preservation, it was unfortunately possible for her to clear both the berg and the pounced upon by an unscientific cat. On the 23d the great barrier was seen from the shock: but the concussion when she struck us mast-head. It was approached within a was such as to throw almost every one off his mile and a half, but young ice prevented a feet: our bowsprit, fore-topmast, and other smaller nearer approach, and every indentation was spars, were carried away; and the ships, hanging frozen up. In latitude 78° 9' six miles in together, entangled by their rigging, and dashing advance of the former year, with strong in- against each other with fearful violence, were dications of land, but without that certainty falling down upon the weather-face of the lofty required by such an observer as Sir James berg under our lee, against which the waves were Ross, he was again compelled by the ad-breaking and foaming to near the summit of its perpendicular cliffs. Sometimes she rose high vanced state of the season to close his ope- above us, almost exposing her keel to view, and rations-which, but for their unlooked-for again descended as we in our tum rose to the top detention, and the time spent in forcing of the wave, threatening to bury her beneath us, their way through more than a thousand whilst the crashing of the breaking upperworks miles of pack-ice, might have led to far greater results.

Erebus, collision was inevitable. We instantly hove all aback to diminish the violence of the

and boats increased the horror of the scene. Providentially they gradually forged past each other and separated before we drifted down amongst It was now determined to shape the most the foaming breakers and we had the gratificadirect course the pack would admit for the tion of seeing her clear the end of the berg and Falkland Islands, at which Sir James pro- of feeling that she was safe. But she left us posed to refit previous to a third trial of his completely disabled; the wreck of the spars so fortunes on that meridian of 35 W. longi- encumbered the lower yards, that we were unable tude, on which Captain Weddell had reached the 75th degree of lattiude.

to make sail, so as to get headway on the ship; nor had we room to wear round, being by this time so close to the berg that the waves, when

It was found impossible to effect a short they struck against it, threw back their sprays inpassage through any opening in the body to the ship. The only way left to us to extricate of the ice, but the flank of the pack was ourselves from this awful and appalling situation successfully turned, and, in latitude 64° on was by resorting to the hazardous expedient of a

stern-board, which nothing could justify during closely connected, that, except the small opening such a gale and with so high a sea running, but by which we had escaped, they appeared to form to avert the danger which every moment threatened an unbroken continuous line; it seems, therefore, us of being dashed to pieces. The heavy rolling not at all improbable that the collision with the of the vessel, and the probability of the masts giving Terror was the means of our preservation, by way each time the lower yard-arms struck against forcing us backwards to the only practicable chanthe cliffs, which were towering high above our nel, instead of permitting us, as we were endeamast-heads, rendered it a service of extreme danger voring, to run to the eastward, and become ento loose the mainsail; but no sooner was the order tangled in a labyrinth of heavy bergs, from which given than the daring spirit of the British seaman escape might have been impracticable.”—Vol. ii., manifested itself. The men ran up the rigging | pp. 217-221. with as much alacrity as on any ordinary occasion; and although more than once driven off the

The harbor of Port Sims was reached on

yard, they, after a short time, succeeded in loosing the 7th of April, and the interval from this

the sail. Amidst the roar of the wind and sea, it

was difficult both to hear and to execute the orders date to the close of the year was occupied that were given, so that it was three-quarters of an in the refitting of the ships, in the prosehour before we could get the yards braced bye, cution of scientific occupations, and in a and the maintack hauled on board sharp aback-voyage to and from Cape Horn. an expedient that, perhaps, had never before been We shall not at present offer any deresorted to by seamen in such weather; but it had tailed remarks on the last and least successthe desired effect. The ship gathered stern-way; ful of the three voyages. The lottery, in plunging her stern into the sea, washing away the gig and quarter-boats, and with her lower yard- which Weddell had drawn the prize of a arms scraping the rugged face of the berg, we in a mild season and an open sea, presented to few minutes reached its western termination, the Ross nothing but the blank of pack-ice, "under tow," as it is called, or the reaction of the contrary gales, and, in one quarter, a barwater from its vertical cliffs, alone preventing us rier much resembling that of the 78th debeing driven to atoms against it. No sooner had we cleared it, than another was seen directly astern of us, against which we were running; and the difficulty now was to get the ship's head turned round and pointed fairly through between the two bergs, the breadth of the intervening space not exceeding three times her own breadth; this, however, we happily accomplished; and in a few minintes after getting before the wind, she dashed through the narrow channel, between two perpendicular walls of ice, and the foaming breakers

which stretched across it, and the next moment we were in smooth water under its lee.

"The Terror's light was immediately seen and answered: she had rounded-to, waiting for us, and the painful state of suspense her people must have endured as to our fate could not have been much less than our own; for the necessity of constant and energetic action to meet the momentarily vary. ing circumstances of our situation, left us no time to reflect on our imminent danger.

"We hove-to on the port tack, under the ice of the berg, which now afforded us invaluable protection from the fury of the storm, which was still raging above and around us; and commenced clearing away the wreck of the broken spars, saving as much of the rigging as possible; whilst a party were engaged preparing others to replace

them.

gree, though of inferior altitude. Before these obstacles, and the near approach of the Antarctic winter, the ships were finally put about in the 71st degree, on the 7th March. They came safely to anchor at the Cape of Good Hope on the 4th April, 1843.

One sailor washed overboard near Kerguelen Island, and a quarter-master, James Angelly, who fell from the mainyard on their return from the second cruise, make up the whole list of fatal casualties for the three years of toil and danger. The sick list is equally compendious-a single officer and sailor invalided, and since recovered. These statistics are the best commentary on the management, as well as the outfit, of the expedition.

One important branch of the commission intrusted to it has been admirably carried out by its botanist, Mr. S. D. Hooker, a worthy son of the learned Director of the Kew Gardens. It must be remembered that the operations of the expedition, though they were extended beyond the regions of vegetable life, were not confined The ships were to such barren latitudes. in no instance frozen up, and the long intervals of nautical inaction were fertile in employment for Mr. Hooker, in such localities as the Falkland Islands and New Zealand. We believe that a moderate govern"A cluster of bergs was seen to windward, ex-ment grant was never more scrupulously tending as far as the eye could discern, and so and ably applied than the 5001. allotted

"As soon as day broke we had the gratification of learning that the Terror had only lost two or three small spars, and had not suffered any serious damage; the signal of all's well,' which we hoisted before there was light enough for them to see it, and kept flying until it was answered, served to relieve their minds as speedily as possible of any remaining anxiety on our account.