t n
th e co a st (Cockburn’s Island), we lan d ed upo n it. The vegetable productions only
amounted to tw'enty Cryptogamic species, th re e o f th em Seaweeds. Unable, afte r a
series o f fruitless efforts, to p e n e tra te fa rth e r th a n 65°, and after h av in g been more or
less entangled in th e ice for th irty -s ev en days, Sir J am e s Ross finally bore u p , and w hen,
with great difficulty, th e ships had been ex tricated from the pack-ice, ~we commenced
tra c in g its edge to th e eastward. A succession o f e a ste rly gales ren d ered th e p ro gress
in the advancing season tedious, most uncomfortable, and hazardous. A t last
however, on th e 2 2nd of F eb ru ary 1843, th e p ack was lost sight of, tren d in g to th e south-
w'est. On th e 2 8 th th e A n ta rc tic Circle w'as recrossed, and in spite of th e rapidly
sh o rten in g days, d a rk nig h ts, and co ntinua l bad w'eather (for th ro u g h o u t the month
of F eb ru ary , corresponding to an E n glish August, only one day elapsed without
snow'), the Commander persevered in holding a southerly course. O n Sunday the 5th
o f M a rch , th e we ather be ing very th ick , with snow-squalls, white p etre ls were seen, a
bird whose appearance affords a sure indic ation o f the p ro x imity o f pack-ice, and on
th e afternoon o f th e same day a heavy p a ck was descried, only a few yards ahead, with
a terrific su rf b eating on it. T h e ice h e re was such as not to allow o f being “ ta k e n ”
(or ente red), even u n d e r the most favourable circumstances, an d the ships w'ere accordin
g ly p u t ab o u t in lat. 71° 3 0 ' S., long. 15° W.
T h e th ick n ess of the wea ther made it impossible to a scerta in th e course and position
o f th e p a ck , and th e Northwa rd Voyage was commenced u n d e r violent N .E . equin
octial gales. Beating to th e no rthw ard , the ice o ccurred on b oth tack s , and the vessels
were found to b e in a big h t o f the pack, with th e ocean loaded with bergs, and while the
continued snow-squalls prev en ted the possibility o f seeing any ob ject ahead, the heavy
seas and snow-laden s ta te o f th e rig g in g rendered all h um an exertions ineffectual. From
th a t date till th e 11th o f M a rch , m atters remained m uch th e same, th e ships b eating to
the n o rthw ard with as much press o f sail as could b e exposed, tru s tin g to Providence
alone for guidance among th e bergs. On th e 19th th e position assigned to Bouvet’s
o r Circumcision Islan d was gained, b u t the we a th er ren d ered all endeavours, for three
days, to discover lan d in th is place of no avail. B o th ships h ad a narrow escape of
ru n n in g foul o f an iceberg, over which the sea was b reaking, e ig h ty feet high. The
“ E re b u s,” passing to windward, stru ck one o f the floating masses from i t ; and the
“ T e rro r,” to windward o f h e r consort, did n o t discover th e danger till almost too late.
when be aring up, she ran along th e edge of th e b erg in. th e wash o f th e surf. On
th e 2 4 th D'U rv illa a and Macrocystis were seen in lat. 51° S., and th e la s t b e rg on
M arch 2 5 th , in lat. 47° S ., th e ships finally gaining th e Cape o f Good Ho p e on the
4 th o f A p ril 1843, within two days of th re e years after th ey h ad first q u itted th a t p ort
for the h ig h so u th ern latitudes.
Respecting the climate o f th e various regions v isited by th e expedition, and especially
th a t which prevails with in th e A n ta rc tic Circle, little need here be said ; except th a t the
va st p roportion which water bears to land, ten d s to ren d er th e tem p e ra tu re uniform
th ro u g h o u t the year, an d the farth er so u th is th e p o sition, the more equable does the
climate seem to be. No analogy c an prove more in co rrect th a n th a t which compares
th e similar degrees of latitu d e in th e n o rth with those of the south. The most casual
inspection of th e map suffices to show th e immense p ro p o rtio n o f sea to land in the
so u th e rn hemisphere, the mass o f th e co ntinents term in a tin g to th e n o rth o f lat. 40° S.,
America alone dwindling away to th e fifty-sixth degree. T h e scattered islands d iscovered
to th e south of this are therefore removed from th e influence o f any tra c ts which
enjoy a b e tte r o r co ntinental climate. T h e power o f th e sun is seldom felt, and unless
in th e immediate neighbourhood of land, and accompanied by a comparatively d ry land-
wind, th a t lumin ary only draws u p such mists and fogs as in te rcep t its ray s. After
en terin g th e p ack-ice between 55° and 65°, th e th erm om e ter seldom, d u rin g any p a rt
of th e summer day, rises above 32° or falls below 20° ; an d while th e so u th e rly winds
b rin g snow, th e n o rth e rly ones tra n sp o rt an atmosphere laden with moisture, which,
becoming a t once condensed, covers th e face of th e ocean with white fogs o f the densest
de scription.
All islands and lands to th e southward o f 45° p a rtak e more o r less o f th is inhospitab
le climate, which, th o u g h eminently unfavourable to a varied growth of p lan ts, still,
from its equable n a tu re , causes a degree o f luxuriance to p ervade all th e vegetable k in g dom,
such as is never seen in climates where th e vegetable functions are suspended for
a large po rtio n o f the year. The remoteness o f these islands from an y co n tin en t, to ge
th e r with th e ir inaccessibility, preclude the idea of th e ir b eing ten an ted , even in a
single in stan ce, by plants th a t have m ig rated from o th er cou n tries, and still more
d istin c tly do th ey forbid the possibility o f m an h av in g been an active agent in th e dissemin
atio n of them. On th e co n tra ry , th e rem a ik ab le fact th a t some o f the most