W , b u t the prevalence for several days o f the densest fogs fru stra ted all a ttem p ts to
sig h t the land. T h is was much reg re tted , for few* o f the p lan ts of th a t in teresting
group are known to b o tanists. After tra c in g th e Macrocystis in to th e 57th parallel, the
sliips entered an ice-pack of immense m agnitude on th e 18th o f D ecember, in lat. 62° S.
H e re we were entangled till Feb. 2 nd, 1842 (the midsummer o f those cheerless re gions),
m aking no more progre ss d a rin g th a t time th an from th e la titu d e ju s t mentioned
to 68°, where we emerged into compa ra tively open water to the southward o f a large
body o f th e p a ck , which however trended to th e westward. A t this tim e th e season
was far advanced, and as, in th e p receding year, th e retrea t h ad been commenced, through
absolute necessity, on th e 9 th o f F eb ru ary , so Captain Ross did n o t th in k p ro p er now
to re-e n te r th e pack-ice, b u t p roceeded along its edge to the westward, advancing so far
as 187° W ., and th en to th e southwa rd and eastward. On the 2 0 th o f F eb ru ary a gale
came on, which, th ough in open w ater, was sufficiently try in g ; the wind was very high,
an d th e sp ray w hich beat o ver the ships became frozen ere it reached the deck, forming
every object in to a mass o f ice ; the coils o f rope were covered by an icy in cru sta tio n
several inches th ic k , and most o f the ru n n in g -g ear about th e bowsprits was carried
away by th e weight o f ice formed on it.
On the 23rd o f Feb ru ary the expedition came in view o f the gran d Victo ria Barrie r :
the day being fine, the voyagers approached within a mile and a h a lf o f th e Barrie r, finally
reaching 78° 10' S. lat. in the long. 162° W ., having made six miles farth e r th an in the
preceding year, th e hig h est latitu d e h ith e rto attained. Un d e r all circumstances, this
was more th an had been expected ; for after th e long d e tention, the rapidly closing season
rendered any progress very d ifficu lt; b u t it was a great object to verify the magnetic
and o th er observations, and to ascertain still more positively th e position o f the pole.
Unable to proceed eastward, the retre a t was commenced, tra c in g the p ack edge. Seaweed
was again met with on reaching the parallel of 64°, and occasionally seen when
ru n n in g down th e para lle l of 60°, from 170° W . to 80° W ., and thence in great ab u n dance
to th e Falk lan d Islands, where th e ships anchored in Berkeley Sound on the 6th
o f A pril 1842, n o t having seen land for 138 days, since leaving New Zealand.
A prolonged stay in the F alklands, th o u g h the season was winter (April to the
beginning o f September), afforded ample o p portunities for thoroughly investigating the
* These few were collected by Dr. Dieffenbacli, and are now deposited in the collection of Sir W, J, Hooker.
Flora o f th a t interestin g and now' hig h ly im p o rta n t gro u p , w’hicli, th o u g h it had been
p a rtially examined by Admiral D ’Urville, and p reviously by the officers o f th a t u n fo rtu
n a te ship, th e “ U ra n ie ,” u n d e r th e command of C ap ta in Frey cin e t, still afforded
considerable novelty.
On the 6 th o f September, the early sp rin g o f the so u th e rn latitu d e s, the “ Erebus
and T e rro r,” with a po rtio n o f the officers, sailed from Berkeley Sound for th e neig h b o u rhood
o f Cape H o rn , and arriv ed th ere , after h av in g been driven far out o f th e ir course by
the equinoctial gales, on th e 21 st, castin g an ch o r in St. M a rtin ’s Cove, He rmit Island, lat.
56°, with in a few miles o f th e far-famed Cape Ho rn , which is immediately opposite the
m o u th of the Cove. This is the most so u th e rly spot on the globe which possesses anyth
in g above a herbaceous v egetation. Here, in th e sh eltered bays, the tw'o k in d s of
Antarctic Beech, th e Evergreen and Deciduous, form a dense, th o u g h small forest, and
ascend, in a stu n ted form, to an elevation o f 1000 feet on the hills. Many o f th e plants
ga the red d u rin g Cook’s first voyage, by Sir Jo sep h Banks and Solander, and by Fo rster
d uring his second, as also those which Mr. Menzies h ad d etected, when accompanying
Vancouver’s expedition, and which have n o t been h ith e rto published, were found again ;
and when the ships retu rn ed to th e Falklands in November, Cap tain Ross tran sp o rted
many h undreds o f yo u n g Beech-trees and caused them to be p lan ted th ere , in hopes th at
the p roductions o f so near a co u n try m ig h t be found to succeed on these treeless islands.
Some were also sent home and have since been distributed in England, from the Royal
Botanic Gardens of Kew.
The third cruise to the South Polar Regions w'as commenced on the mo rn in g of
th e 17th of December 1842, when the expedition sailed from Berkeley Sound. An opp
o rtu n ity was afforded again o f tra c in g th e so u th ern limit o f Seaweeds. T h e Macrocystis
was lost in lat. 55° S., long. 57° W . ; b u t on atta in in g lat. 63°, long. 54°, another
species appeared which had been originally discovered by W eb ste r during the s ta y of
Captain F o rs te r’s ship, th e “ Ch an ticleer,” in D eception Island, one of the South Shetland
group, and again found by th e expedition o f Admiral D ’Urville, and has since been p u b lished
u n d e r the name o f Scytothalia Jacquinotii. O n the 2 8 th lan d was made, a p o rtion
o f P a lm e r’s Land, to which th e name of “ T e rre Louis P h ilip p e ” has since been
given by D ’Urville. The ships were already in th e pack-ice, thro u g h which we p en etra
ted , tra c in g the land to 64°, and seeing a small volcanic island, lying a few miles off