# A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions/Volume 1/Chapter 7

Possession Island, Victoria Land. Page 165.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
With a moderate breeze from the westward, we 1840. Dec. 17.weighed at 9 a.m., and stood out of the harbour. As soon as we had cleared the land we shaped our course directly south; and the wind soon freshening to a strong gale, with thick weather and rain, we lost sight of Campbell Island about noon.
The fifteen months which had elapsed since we took our departure from England had in no degree diminished our eagerness for the southern voyage; and now that we had at length the prospect before us of entering upon those labours from which we all hoped the most remarkable and important results of our voyage might be fairly anticipated, joy and satisfaction beamed in every face; and although I could not but look forward with much anxiety of mind to the issue of our exertions, yet this was greatly diminished by the assurance that we were in possession of the best of human means to accomplish our purposes. Our ships were in every respect most suitable for the service, with three years' provisions, and stores of the best kind, and supported by officers and crews in whom I had reason to entertain the utmost confidence that they would endure every trial and hardship with credit to themselves and the country. I felt that we had nothing to desire but the guidance and blessing of Almighty God throughout the arduous ​duties we were about to commence, and without which all human skill and courage must prove utterly unavailing.
Dec. 18.It blew a strong gale from the south-west, so that we could not maintain a direct course. At noon we were in lat. 54° 22′ S., long. 169° 12′ E., having completed a distance of one hundred miles to the southward. At midnight a bright appearance was observed in the clouds, between southeast and south, resembling the diffused light of aurora australis, at an altitude of 12°.
Stormy weather continued throughout the 19th and 20th, during which time we had no opportunity of sounding; 21.and on the 21st were so unfortunate as to lose two of our self-registering thermometers by the line breaking. By Commander Crozier's experiment the temperature at two hundred and thirty fathoms below the surface was 39°.5, that of the surface being 42°. We were at that time in lat. 57° 52′. S., long. 170° 30′ E.
Although Midsummer-day of the southern regions, and in so low a latitude, the temperature of the air was at no time during the day above 40°, having very gradually declined as we advanced to the southward. The smaller kind of petrel became much more numerous; several patches of seaweed were seen during the day; and we were kept in expectation of meeting with some new land, of which these, and the numbers of penguins of two or three kinds we saw, were considered to be indications.
​Dec. 22.The next day it was nearly calm in the afternoon, and some interesting experiments on the temperature of the sea were made: at the surface it was 37°, at one hundred and fifty fathoms 38°.5, at three hundred fathoms 39°.5, at four hundred and fifty fathoms 39°.7, at six hundred fathoms, 39°.7; showing that since yesterday we had crossed the point of uniform temperature of the ocean throughout its whole depth; and that the effect of the radiation of its heat from the surface extended to below three hundred fathoms. Our lat. 59° S., long. 171° E.
23.Snow and sleet accompanied a moderate south-easterly breeze, and reduced the temperature of the surface of the sea to 32°. The elegant little blue petrel passed us in large flocks, going to the southward. The albatross and smaller petrels hovered about in considerable numbers; and a few bottle-nosed whales were seen.
During the last three days we had felt the influence of a current, drifting us to the north, between ten and eleven miles each day.
Christmas-day was passed by us in a strong 25.gale, but it did not prevent our enjoying the usual festivities of the joyous season. Constant snow and rain, which as usual attended the northerly gale, and the expectation of meeting with ice, as well as the possibility of passing new land, deterred me from running during the continuance of such unfavourable weather; we therefore hove-to under ​the close-reefed topsails. At noon we were in lat. 62° 10′ S., and long. 170° 24′. E.
Dec. 26.The wind veered to the westward, but the weather was still so thick that we continued hove-to until 2 p.m., when we wore round, and stood to the southward.
27.On the 27th we had a strong south-westerly gale, with clear weather, violent squalls, and frequent snow-showers. The temperature of the sea fell to 29° at 5 a.m., at which it remained all day, and led us to expect soon to meet with ice.
The gale moderated early the next morning, and was succeeded by a calm between 5 and 9 a.m., when an easterly breeze sprang up, and enabled us to resume our southerly course, having been driven back to the northward very considerably by the late storm.
A great many whales were seen during the afternoon; and at 4 p.m., when in lat. 63° S. and long. 174° 30′ E., we tried for soundings, with six hundred fathoms, without striking the ground. The temperature at the surface was 30°, at one hundred and fifty fathoms 35°.5, at three hundred fathoms 38°.2, and at six hundred fathoms 39°.7, at which depth the mean temperature of the ocean was reached by the thermometers.
At 7 20 p.m. the first iceberg was seen, in latitude 63° 20′ S.; several others came in sight shortly afterwards, and before eight o'clock fifteen were counted from the deck. Unlike the icebergs of the arctic seas, they presented very little variety of ​form, but were generally of large size and of very solid appearance, bounded by perpendicular cliffs on all sides, their tabular summits, varied from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and eighty feet in height, and several of them more than two miles in circumference. As we passed through this chain of bergs we observed large masses continually falling from them, giving proof of their rapid destruction, even in this high latitude, and forming long streams of heavy loose fragments to leeward of them.
We continued our course to the southward, Dec. 29.amongst numerous icebergs and much drift ice. A great many whales were seen, chiefly of the common black kind, greatly resembling, but said to be distinct from, the Greenland whale: sperm, as well as hunchbacked whales, were also observed; of the common black species we might have killed any number we pleased: they appeared chiefly to be of unusually large size, and would doubtless yield a great quantity of oil, and were so tame that our ships sailing close past did not seem to disturb them. During a short period of calm in the afternoon many marine invertebrata were taken, amongst them the Clio borealis and beautiful little Argonauta arctica, upon which, doubtless, the whales were feeding, as it is well known that these creatures constitute the whale's food in the northern seas.
A light southerly breeze brought with it almost constant snow-showers and thick weather, so that ​we were compelled to shorten sail and keep close to the wind during the night, being amongst a great many bergs, which we could not see until almost touching them, and expecting also that the main pack was not far distant: there was also a heavy swell amongst the bergs, which rendered our situation one of no small anxiety. The roar of the waves against their precipitous faces was generally the first knowledge we had of our proximity to them.
30.The next morning, at 7 a.m., we bore away to the southward, the wind having changed to the westward, with more favourable weather. The bergs and loose pieces of ice became gradually less numerous, so that throughout the day we seldom had more than ten or twelve of the former in sight at a time, and generally not so many.
Soon after noon we crossed the track of the Russian navigator, Bellinghausen, in lat. 64° 38′ S. and long. 173° 10′ E.; and, being becalmed at 2 p.m., we had a good opportunity of trying for deep soundings. Five thousand fathoms of line had been prepared for the purpose, but only one thousand five hundred and sixty fathoms had run off the reel when the weight struck the bottom. The temperature at the surface was 31°, at one hundred and fifty fathoms 35°.2, at three hundred fathoms 37°.2, at four hundred fathoms 38°.8, and at six hundred fathoms 39°.8. I regretted that the thermometers constructed to sustain the pressure at a great depth, which I had written to England for, had not arrived at Hobart ​Town before our departure. The specific gravity of the water at the surface and that taken up from six hundred fathoms was exactly the same, being 1.0272, in both cases at a temperature of 32°.
The current was found to be setting to the E.S.E., at the rate of eight miles per diem.
At 6 p.m. a fine breeze sprang up from the eastward, and we carried a press of sail all night, passing a great many bergs, and much loose ice in long narrow streams, as we advanced to the southward. A beautiful white petrel was seen in the evening, giving notice of our approach to a large body of ice, although we were not at the time aware that these birds never wander far from the main pack.
Dec. 31.At noon the next day we were in lat. 66° 0′ S. and long. 171° 50′ E. At this time the weather was beautifully clear, and a strong ice-blink in the sky, from S.W. to S. E., pointed out the situation of the pack. The streams of ice became more numerous but fewer bergs were seen during the day. At 9 p.m. a line of ice was seen from the masthead, from E. by S. to S. by E., which proved to be the pack edge; but falling perfectly calm soon afterwards, we were not able to approach it until 8 a.m. Jan. 1. the next morning, when a light northerly wind sprang up, bringing thick weather and snowshowers. We steered to the southward, passing great quantities of drift ice; at ten o'clock we crossed the antarctic circle, and came to the edge of the main pack, of which, however, we could only ​see a very small extent, owing to the thick weather; we were therefore obliged, after running a short distance along the edge of it, to haul off to the northward, to prevent getting entangled amongst the loose ice, with a considerable swell, and too little wind to make any way through it. At noon we were in lat. 66° 32′ S. and long. 169° 45′ E. The magnetic dip 82.35, and the variation 28.21.
Jan. 1.Being New-Year's-day, an additional allowance of provisions was served to the ships' crews, as was the practice on all the arctic voyages; and a complete suit of warm clothing was issued gratis to each individual; this had been provided by the liberality of the government, and on our entering the icy regions, could not but prove to be as useful and acceptable a new-year's gift as they could have received. Mutual congratulations passed between the officers and crews of the ships, and the day was kept, as in old England, in conviviality and rejoicing. Being amongst numerous icebergs and having a great deal of loose ice about us, added greatly to the interest of the day to those who had never been amongst it before; and those who had could not but share in some degree the excitement and delight of their companions. We had, indeed, met with the pack in a much lower latitude than we had anticipated; but from the little we had seen of it we were by no means dispirited by the early appearance of so serious an obstruction to our progress, for it presented none of those evidences of impenetrability we had been led to expect.
​Several whales were seen, and the white petrel (Procellaria nivea) was flying about in great numbers. In the evening a boat was lowered down, and several good specimens of this beautiful bird were added to our collection: a seal was also seen. During a partial clearing of the weather we had a good view of the pack, which extended as far as the eye could discern to the southward. Some large holes of water were seen beyond the edge, which, as usual, consisted of the heaviest pieces closely set together, but afforded us a confident hope of being able to make our way through it whenever circumstances should admit of the attempt: at that time it was perfectly calm, with a considerable swell from the northward, so that our ships were for several hours nearly unmanageable.
Jan. 2.At 5 a.m. a berg was observed at a short distance, with a large piece of rock upon it, and nearly covered with mud and stones. It had much the appearance of a small island; and Mr. Smith was sent to examine and bring specimens of the rock. It proved to be of volcanic origin, and must have been of many tons weight. At 8 a.m. a fresh breeze sprang up from the eastward, with thick snow-showers; the barometer also falling fast, led me to expect bad weather: we therefore stood off to the northward, to get into more clear water, and to wait a favourable opportunity of entering the pack. Thick weather prevailed throughout the day, and accompanied by a strong breeze and high sea, ​rendered our situation critical and anxious. As we stood away from the pack the temperature of the sea rose from 28° to 30° at the distance of seven or eight miles; when, having got into a much clearer space, we kept the ship under easy sail all the next Jan. 3.day, waiting for more favourable weather. Several whales, a few seals, and many white petrel, were seen during the day, also three penguins.
Towards midnight the barometer began to rise, and other indications of the weather improving, we wore round and stood to the southward; we carried all sail, passing through several narrow streams of heavy ice, formed of the fragments of broken-up bergs, which rendered the greatest vigilance Jan. 4.necessary during the thick snow-showers that passed over us in quick succession, and were sometimes of long continuance; nor was it until the afternoon that the clear blue sky was again seen and the sun shone forth in all its splendour,—the numerous bergs, of strange and curious forms, reflecting its brilliant rays in every beautiful variety of colour, and forming, as our ships pursued their devious way amongst them, a scene of much interest and grandeur.
At noon we were in lat. 65° 22′ S., long. 172° 42′ E.; the magnetic dip 81° 40′, variation 25° 1′. By a remarkable, and of course in some degree accidental coincidence, exactly the same dip and variation were signalled from both ships.
The power of the sun's radiation was measured at 9 p.m., by means of a thermometer whose bulb ​was blackened with Indian ink: it rose from 33° to 40°.2, the sun's altitude being at the time only four degrees. Heavy clouds were soon afterwards observed rising both at east and north-west: those in the latter direction were of a peculiarly threatening appearance, with hard rugged outlines, like the cumulus clouds of the equatorial regions, with bright reflections of light from their more prominent points, affording a strong contrast to the extreme darkness of the frowning mass. The setting sun was also a very remarkable object, being streaked across by five dark horizontal bands, of nearly equal breadth, and flattened into a most irregular form by the greater refraction of its lower limb as it touched the horizon, at 11$^h$ 56$^m$ 51$^s$; skimming along to the eastward, it almost imperceptibly descended until its upper limb disappeared exactly seventeen minutes and thirty seconds afterwards. The difference of the atmospheric refraction at the upper and lower limb of the sun was carefully determined by several measurements of the horizontal and vertical diameter, and found to amount to 5′ 21″, the horizontal diameter being 32′ 31″, and the vertical diameter only 27′ 10″, that given in the Nautical Almanac being 32′ 34″; thus showing also that the flattened appearance of the sun was not produced in the least degree by the elongation of the horizontal diameter, as some have supposed. We also remarked the peculiar purple colour that the vapour of very low altitudes exactly opposite to the setting sun reflects so constantly in ​the arctic regions, and sometimes even in our own country. It did not exceed two degrees of altitude when the sun's centre was on the horizon.
Jan. 5.In approaching the pack we had passed a great many bergs, but after midnight comparatively few were seen. The wind freshened to a strong breeze from the north-westward, and carried us rapidly to the southward. At 8 a.m. we again came in sight of the main pack, and ran several miles along the edge of it to examine it. From the mast-head it seemed sufficiently open to admit of our penetrating as far as we could see to the southward; and although other circumstances were not so favourable for taking the pack as I could have wished, owing to the unsettled state of the weather and the wind blowing so directly upon the ice as to preclude our regaining the open water if thought desirable, I nevertheless determined to make the attempt, and push the ships as far into it as we could get them. The signal was made to the Terror, and we bore away before the wind, selecting the most favourable point to break through the outer edge of the pack, which, as usual, was formed of much heavier ice than the rest, and which we accomplished without sustaining any serious injury, although necessarily receiving some very heavy blows.
After about an hour's hard thumping, we forced our way into some small holes of water, connected by narrow lanes, for which we had purposely steered; and, closely followed by the Terror, we found the ice much lighter and more scattered ​than it appeared to be when viewed from the distance. It consisted chiefly of small floes of ice, of last winter's formation, with a quantity of hummocky ice of much older date, formed by great pressure into very heavy masses; but it was by no means of so formidable a character as we had been led to expect from the accounts we had received of the southern barrier in those parts where the American and French expeditions had encountered it.
At noon we were in latitude 66° 55′ S., and longitude 174° 34′ E. The clear sea was no longer discernible from the masthead; with nothing but ice around, and fortunately a clear sky above us, we pursued our way through the pack, choosing the clearest "leads," and forcing the interposing barriers as they occurred; the way continued, if not to open before us, still sufficiently so to enable us to navigate freely amongst the ice, without danger or difficulty as we proceeded, at times sustaining violent shocks, which nothing but ships so strengthened could have withstood.
A remarkable appearance of land was reported in the evening, and, continuing for many hours without any alteration of figure, several of the officers imagined it was really land they saw, assuming the appearance of many pointed hills perfectly covered with snow, and so calculated to deceive the inexperienced eye, that had we been prevented proceeding further, they would doubtless have asserted on our return to England that we had discovered ​land in this position. This appearance of land was, however, nothing more than the upper part of a cloud, marking, by a well-defined but irregular line, the limit to which vapour can ascend in these latitudes; below is vapour in every degree of condensation, above, the clear cold space which vapour can never attain. It is always near the margin of the ice that these appearances of land are most remarkable and most deceptive. It proved a useful lesson to some of our new hands, who could not be persuaded it was not land until we had actually passed over the place of their baseless mountains.
We saw many seals, as we sailed along, basking on the ice, and several penguins; these curious birds actually followed our ships, answering the call of the sailors, who imitated their cry; and although they could not scramble over the ice so fast as our ships sailed past it, they made up for it when they got into the water, and we soon had quite a flock of them in our wake, playing about our vessel like so many porpoises.
The elegant white petrel was also very numerous, and a single stormy petrel, of a different and larger species than our European procellaria pelagica, was seen.
The wind gradually moderated as we got farther into the pack, and had declined to quite a gentle air at midnight, by which time we were between sixty and seventy miles from the pack edge; there was, however, still so much motion amongst the ice, that I have no doubt it was ​blowing a strong gale in the open sea to the northward; the clouds drifted swiftly over our heads, and thick showers of snow fell, but we had, at intervals, an extensive view from the crow's nest, which enabled us to pursue our southerly course with confidence, though under diminished sail, throughout the night.
Jan. 6.Early the next morning the ice became much closer, compelling a more varying course, and greatly retarding our progress; a strongly marked "water-sky," which was seen to the south-eastward, raised our hopes of being able to reach an open sea at no great distance, and all our means were employed to force the ships onward through the ice in that direction; but early in the afternoon we found it so close as to baffle all our exertions, and we were obliged to heave to in a small hole of water, out of which we could find no way to the southward, and wait until the ice opened.
We saw great numbers of penguins of a different species from those we had met with at Kerguelen and Auckland Islands, and a boat being sent in pursuit of them, several were procured and added to our collection.
Commander Crozier came on board in the evening, and we had the satisfaction to hear that all on board the Terror were in the same good health and spirits as we were, not an individual being on the sick list of either ship. One of his boat's crew fell overboard, and although quite unable to swim, he floated on the surface without an effort until picked ​up by one of our boats, no worse for his cold immersion.
Some whales were seen, but not in such numbers as near the pack edge. At noon we were in lat. 68° 17′ S., long. 175° 21′ E., and found we had been driven by a current twenty-six miles to the S. E. during the last two days; another proof to us that there Jan. 7.must be open space in that direction. But the ice remained so close until the afternoon of the following day, that we could not make any way through it; and whilst thus detained we tried for soundings, but without reaching the ground with 600 fathoms. The temperature at that depth, 39°·8; at 450 fathoms, 39°·2; at 300 fathoms, 38°·2; at 150 fathoms, 37°·5; at the surface, 28°.
Late in the evening the ice slackened a little, and we bored through it seven or eight miles to the south-east, towards the encouraging dark water-sky, that we had never lost sight of, and which we appeared to have approached very considerably, since it was first observed.
At 11 p.m. a thick fog came on, and the ice being much too compact for us, we were obliged to heave to for several hours.
Jan. 8.At 4 a.m. we recommenced our labour, aided by a light south-westerly wind, and succeeded in forcing the ships several miles through the pack by noon, when it fell perfectly calm. Our observations to-day showed that the whole body of ice had during the last two days been carried fourteen miles to the northward by the late southerly winds. ​I availed myself of the opportunity the calm afforded me of making some magnetic observations upon a large piece of ice near the ship, well suited to the purpose. The dip and intensity observations agreed exactly with those we had previously obtained on board our vessels, satisfactorily proving that the corrections we employed for the effect of the ship's iron on the instruments continued to give accurate results. We were then in lat. 68° 28′ S., and long. 176° 31′ E. Dip 83° 36′ S., and variation 34° 39′ E.
A new species of seal was killed by some of the crew of the Terror, differing from all others hitherto known, in the total absence of ears; not the smallest orifice could be detected where they usually are placed in these animals; and this remarkable peculiarity was afterwards confirmed on its being dissected by Dr. Robertson.
A great change in the ice was produced by the calm opening it out in all directions, as we always found to be the case in the Arctic Seas; and a breeze springing up from the northward at 8 p.m. we made some way through the pack, pressing forward under all sail towards the south-east water. We sustained many severe shocks in breaking through the interposing barriers of closer ice. Thick weather and snow prevented our seeing to any distance before us or selecting our way, whilst the increasing breeze impelled us rapidly onward. Jan. 9.So that at 5 a.m. the next day we had accomplished the object of our exertions, and found ourselves ​again in a clear sea. The northerly breeze soon after increased to so strong a gale as to reduce us to close reefed topsails, which, with the continuous snow and thick weather, compelled us at noon to haul to the wind after having run about thirty miles to the southward since leaving the pack.
At noon we were in lat 69° 15′ S., and long. 176° 15′ E.
The wind veered round gradually to the eastward, so that we continued to make some progress to the southward notwithstanding the fog and snow being so thick that we could seldom see more than half a mile before us, and sometimes not so far; but as we met with no icebergs, and only a few straggling pieces of ice and a heavy sea having arisen, we felt assured that we had gained an open space of great extent.
The storm blew with great violence from the eastward until 2 a.m. the next day, when it began to abate, and by nine o'clock Jan. 10.had moderated so much as to admit of our setting reefed courses. The fog also began to disperse about that time, and at noon we had a most cheering and extensive view; not a particle of ice could be seen in any direction from the mast-head. Our observations gave us a lat. 70° 23′ S., long. 174° 50′ E. and the magnetic dip had increased to 85°.
​of attaining that interesting point were now raised to the highest pitch, too soon, however, to suffer as severe a disappointment. A strong "land-blink" made its appearance in the horizon as the ships advanced, and had attained an elevation of several degrees by midnight. All of us were disposed to doubt that which we so much apprehended, owing to its much paler colour than the land-blinks we had seen in the northern regions, but soon after 2 a.m. the officer of the watch, Lieutenant Wood, reported that the land itself was distinctly seen directly ahead of the ship.
It rose in lofty peaks, entirely covered with perennial snow; it could be distinctly traced from S.S.W. to S.E. by S. (by compass), and must have been more than one hundred miles distant when first seen.
The highest mountain of this range I named after Lieutenant-Colonel Sabine, of the Royal Artillery, Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society, one of the best and earliest friends of my youth, and to whom this compliment was more especially due, as having been the first proposer and one of the most active and zealous promoters of the expedition.
At noon we were in the highest latitude (71° 15′) attained by our great navigator in 1774, during his several attempts to penetrate to the south. We had by this time run fifteen leagues directly towards Mount Sabine, and still it appeared to be very distant: more land came in view as we ​advanced, mountainous ranges extending to the right and left of that we first discovered.
At 6 p.m., when we had closed the land seventy miles, we were about two leagues from the shore, which was lined with heavy pack-ice. We steered close along the edge of it towards a small bay, where we hoped to effect a landing, but the wind being on the shore, and a high sea beating heavily along the pack edge, we found it quite impracticable. We therefore stood to the S.E. for the purpose of rounding the eastern extreme of a close body of ice, and of getting to leeward of a projecting point of the coast, off which we observed several small islands, that we expected would afford such protection as to admit of our landing with less difficulty.
The cape which formed the southern promontory of the bay was, at the request of Commander Crozier, named Cape Downshire, after his kind and lamented friend, the late estimable marquis. Its northern point was called Cape Adare, after my friend Viscount Adare, M.P. for Glamorganshire, who always evinced a warm interest in our undertaking. It is a remarkable projection of high, dark, probably volcanic, cliffs, and forms a strong contrast to the rest of the snow-covered coast. Some rocks, that were observed to lie several miles to the north and west of Cape Adare, showing their black summits conspicuously amongst the white foam of the breakers, were named Dunraven rocks. We obtained soundings in one hundred and ​sixty-five fathoms, and several small black stones, which came up with the lead, tended to confirm my conjectures of the volcanic origin of the newly-discovered land. Cape Adare at the time bore N. 52 W., distant about five or six miles.
It was a beautifully clear evening, and we had a most enchanting view of the two magnificent ranges of mountains, whose lofty peaks, perfectly covered with eternal snow, rose to elevations varying from seven to ten thousand feet above the level of the ocean. The glaciers that filled their intervening valleys, and which descended from near the mountain summits, projected in many places several miles into the sea, and terminated in lofty perpendicular cliffs. In a few places the rocks broke through their icy covering, by which alone we could be assured that land formed the nucleus of this, to appearance, enormous iceberg.
The range of mountains extending to the N.W. was called Admiralty Range, of which the higher and more conspicuous were distinguished by the names of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty under whose orders I was serving. Mount Minto, Mount Adam, and Mount Parker were named after the Right Honourable Earl Minto, the first Lord; Vice- Admiral Sir Charles Adam, K.C.B., now Commander-in-Chief in the West Indies; and Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker, Bart., G.C.B., and Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, the two senior naval lords; and I cannot forbear here expressing the deep gratitude I must ever feel ​to them for the efficient manner in which our ships were fitted out under their auspices; for the ample means we were provided with by their liberality; and for the encouragement we received previous to our departure, by witnessing the warm, personal interest they took in perfecting the equipment of the expedition; as well as for the many instances of friendship with which they honoured me; the remembrance of which often, during the voyage, proved a powerful stimulus to renewed exertion. Mount Troubridge, Mount Pechell, and Mount Dalmeny were named after Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Thomas Troubridge, Bart., C.B.; Captain Sir Samuel J. Brooke Pechell, Bart., C.B., K.C.H.; and the Right Honourable Lord Dalmeny; the three junior lords. The positions of these mountains are given in the Geographical Table in the Appendix to this volume. Mount Dalmeny formed the western extreme of the Admiralty Range, as also the westernmost land in sight, and was distant from us between seventy and eighty miles. The height of Mount Sabine was found, by means of several measurements, to be rather less than ten thousand feet, and about thirty miles from the coast. The elevations of the other mountains were not determined with accuracy, but we judged them to vary from seven to nine thousand feet; and altogether they presented as grand and magnificent a view as can well be imagined. A cape to the westward of Cape Adare, having a deep bay between them, was named after Charles Wood, Esq., ​First Secretary to the Admiralty; and another cape, still further to the westward, surmounted by a remarkable conical hill, was distinguished by the name of Sir John Barrow, Bart., the father of modern arctic discovery, by whose energy, zeal, and talent our geographical knowledge of those regions has been so greatly increased; and we may hope, by God's guidance and blessing attending the exertions of the expedition that has so recently left our shores, he may live to see the great object of his heart, the discovery of a N.W. passage through Barrow Straits to the Pacific Ocean, accomplished.
The dip had increased to eighty-six degrees, and the variation amounted to forty-four degrees. These observations place the magnetic pole in lat. 76° S., long. 145° 20′ E., therefore in the S.W. (true) from us, and distant above five hundred miles. But the land interposed an insuperable obstacle to our direct approach to it, and we had to choose whether we should trace the coast to the north-west, with the hope of turning the western extreme of the land, and thence proceed to the south; or follow the southerly coast line round Cape Downshire, 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 honour 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.
Favoured by very fine weather during the night, we succeeded in approaching within two or three miles of the small islands lying a short distance from the main land by nine o'clock the next morning, at which time, accompanied by several of my officers, I left the ship in charge of Lieutenant Bird, and pulled towards the shore, followed by Commander Crozier and some of the Terror's officers.
We found the shores of the mainland completely covered with ice projecting into the sea, and the heavy surf along its edge forbade any attempt to land upon it; a strong tide carried us rapidly along between this ice-bound coast and the islands amongst heavy masses of ice, so that our situation was for some time most critical; for all the exertions our people could use were insufficient to stem the tide. But taking advantage of a narrow opening that appeared in the ice, the boats were pushed through it, and we got into an eddy under the lee of the largest of the islands, and landed on a beach of large loose stones and stranded masses of ice. The weather by this time had put on a most threatening appearance, the breeze was freshening fast, and the anxious circumstances under which we were placed, together with the recal flag flying at the ship's ​masthead, which I had ordered Lieutenant Bird to hoist if necessary, compelled us to hasten our operations.
The ceremony of taking possession of these newly-discovered lands, in the name of our Most Gracious Sovereign, Queen Victoria, was immediately proceeded with; and on planting the flag of our country amidst the hearty cheers of our party, we drank to the health, long life, and happiness of Her Majesty and His Royal Highness Prince Albert. The island was named Possession Island. It is situated in lat. 71° 56′, and long. 171° 7′ E., composed entirely of igneous rocks, and only accessible on its western side. We saw not the smallest appearance of vegetation, but inconceivable myriads of penguins completely and densely covered the whole surface of the island, along the ledges of the precipices, and even to the summits of the hills, attacking us vigorously as we waded through their ranks, and pecking at us with their sharp beaks, disputing possession; which, together with their loud coarse notes, and the insupportable stench from the deep bed of guano, which had been forming for ages, and which may at some period be valuable to the agriculturists of our Australasian colonies, made us glad to get away again, after having loaded our boats with geological specimens and penguins. Owing to the heavy surf on the beach, we could not tell whether the water was ebbing or flowing; but there was a strong tide running to the south, between Possession Island and the main land, and the Terror had some difficulty to avoid being ​carried by it against the land ice. Future navigators should therefore be on their guard in approaching the coast at this place.
After a long and heavy pull we regained our ships only a short time before so thick a fog came on, with a strong northerly breeze, that to have been a few minutes later, would have rendered our return to the ships impossible, and compelled us to have borne away for the shore again, to take up our quarters with the penguins, until the ships could have again approached it with safety. The weather obliged us now to stand out to sea. At night we had high winds with constant snow, and not meeting with any icebergs or loose ice, we kept the ships under easy sail, waiting a change of weather.
Some few whales and large flocks of Cape pigeons were seen; but the elegant white petrel, which seldom goes to any distance from the main pack, had, to our great satisfaction, quite deserted us.
The next morning a southerly gale came on, which reduced us to close-reefed topsails, and storm staysails; the weather also being very thick, we stood to the eastward, uncertain what we might meet with and were kept throughout the day and night in a state of great anxiety and watchfulness: but we were not sorry to find the ship labouring in a heavy sea, a sure indication of a great space of open water to windward, in the direction we were now most anxious to get.
At noon we were in lat. 72° 3′ S., and long. 172° 9′ E. Although blowing a hard gale with a ​high sea, we were enabled, by means of Mr. Fox's instrument, to obtain observations for the dip, 86° 25′ in both ships.
The land was seen several times during the day; the same we had before discovered, and we carried Jan. 13.all sail to prevent being driven back to the northward. In the evening we wore and stood towards the land, hoping for fairer weather by the time we closed it; but the storm continued with unabated violence, so that when we were by our reckoning within ten or twelve miles of the shore, and unable to see to any distance on account of the almost uninterrupted snow-showers and thick foggy weather, we were obliged again to stand off to sea, still struggling under all sail to maintain our ground.
Jan. 14.At noon we were in lat 71° 50′, and long. 172° 20′, which, under the circumstances, we considered more favourable than we expected, having lost only eighteen miles during this violent gale.
In the course of the day a great number of whales were observed; thirty were counted at one time in various directions, and during the whole day, wherever you turned your eyes, their blasts were to be seen. They were chiefly of large size, and the hunch-back kind: only a few sperm whales were distinguished amongst them, by their peculiar manner of "blowing," or "spouting," as some of our men who had been engaged in their capture called it. Hitherto, beyond the reach of their persecutors, they have here enjoyed a life of tranquillity and security; but will now, no doubt, be made to ​contribute to the wealth of our country, in exact proportion to the energy and perseverance of our merchants; and these, we well know, are by no means inconsiderable. A fresh source of national and individual wealth is thus opened to commercial enterprise, and if pursued with boldness and perseverance, it cannot fail to be abundantly productive. We observed great quantities of molluscous and other minute marine animals, on which, no doubt, the whales were feeding; and large flocks of the young of the Cape pigeon were playing about, and feeding with them. In the evening the wind rather moderated, and the weather becoming more clear we were induced again to try and approach the land. The barometer also had risen to nearly twenty-nine inches, which we had now learnt to consider to indicate fine weather in these latitudes, although in England such a depression would be regarded very differently.
Jan. 15.Early this morning we had a fine view of the magnificent chain of mountains that we had seen stretching away to the southward some days before, but then more imperfectly. With a moderate southerly wind we had beautifully clear weather, and we now saw them to great advantage; and as we stood towards them, we gazed with feelings of indescribable delight upon a scene of grandeur and magnificence far beyond anything we had before seen or could have conceived. These mountains also were completely covered to their sharply-pointed summits with snow, and the elevation ​that were measured roughly, varied from twelve to upwards of fourteen thousand feet. Jan. 15.These were named after the eminent philosophers of the Royal Society and British Association, at whose recommendation the government was induced to send forth this expedition. I had great satisfaction in having it in my power thus to record the names of those distinguished gentlemen from whose exertions in the cause of science these discoveries resulted. Herschel, an imperishable name, rendered still more illustrious by the scientific labours and achievements of the greatest philosopher of our own time, was given to the most conspicuous of the mountains, after Sir John F. W. Herschel, Bart., President of the British Association; by whom, in the double capacity of Chairman of the Committee of Physics of the British Association, as well as of the Royal Society, the recommendations of those scientific bodies were communicated to Her Majesty's government. Mount Northampton was named after the Most Noble the Marquis of Northampton, President of the Royal Society, who took a personal and active interest in promoting the great system of magnetic co-operation throughout the civilised world, and in recommending a voyage of magnetic research to the antarctic seas. Cape Roget and Cape Christie, which are formed by the terminations of Mount Herschel and Mount Lloyd, to seaward, were named after Dr. Peter Mark Roget, Secretary of the Royal Society, and ​his colleague, Professor Samuel Hunter Christie, of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.
Cape Wheatstone was named after Professor Wheatstone, the inventor of the electric telegraph; and Cape Daniell after my much-lamented friend the late Professor of Chemistry of King's College, and Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society.
Mount Peacock, Mount Whewell, Mount Lloyd, and Mount Robinson were named in compliment to the Very Reverend Dr. George Peacock, Dean of Ely; the Reverend Dr. William Whewell, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge; the Reverend Dr. Humphry Lloyd, of Trinity College, Dublin; and the Reverend Dr. Robinson, of Armagh; the more zealous and active promoters of magnetic research in the antarctic regions, and who, together with Sir John Herschel and Colonel Sabine, constitute a Committee of the British Association for the purpose of conducting the magnetical and meteorological co-operation, and for the reduction of meteorological observations.
Contending with a strong southerly breeze, we beat to windward close along the chain of islets which extends about ten miles to the southward of Possession Island. It consists of eight dark-coloured rocks of small size and curious shapes: an arched perforation was observed in one of them, through which the coast of the main land was seen; another was considered to resemble a ship's capstan.
​At noon we were in lat. 71° 56′ S., Possession Island bearing (true) west of us, distant seven or eight miles. Whenever we approached the land we found ourselves attended by shoals of penguins, which kept playing about our ships and alongside of them, much as porpoises do in our own seas, probably attracted by the shining copper. Whales also were seen in considerable numbers during the day; and they who may hereafter seek them in these latitudes will do well to keep near and under the lee of extensive banks of ice to protect themselves from the heavy sea they will have to encounter, and from which we experienced much inconvenience whenever we tacked off to the eastward, the ship pitching her bowsprit under very frequently, nothing but the great care of the officers of the watches prevented our losing some of the spars. We nevertheless made progress to the southward, assisted by a strong tide, or more properly a current, since it had been setting us to windward for more than twelve hours. We sounded always as we approached the land, and found from sixty to ninety-two fathoms, when at two and a half to four miles' distance.
Whilst measuring some angles for the survey, an island I had not before noticed appeared, which I was quite sure was not to be seen two or three hours previously. It was above one hundred feet high, and nearly the whole of the summit and eastern side perfectly free from snow. I was much surprised at the circumstance, and on calling the ​attention of some of the officers to it, one of them remarked that a large berg which had been an object of observation before, had disappeared, or rather had turned over unperceived by us, and presented a new surface, covered with earth and stones, so exactly like an island that nothing but landing on it could have convinced us to the contrary had not its appearance been so satisfactorily explained; and moreover, on more careful observation a slight rolling motion was still perceptible.
I was very desirous to find a harbour in which to secure the ships and obtain magnetometric observations on the 20th of this month, being one of the term days agreed upon for simultaneous observations; well knowing the great interest and importance that would attach to a complete series of such experiments, within 500 miles of the south magnetic pole; and for this purpose I had closely examined every indentation of the coast that presented itself. These were, however, all filled with drifted snow from the mountains, and formed a mass of ice several hundred feet thick; and thus we found it impossible to enter any of the valleys or breaks in the coasts where harbours in other lands usually occur. Still we hoped to meet with lower land, or amongst some of the islands to find a place of shelter for our ships and suitable for our purpose; therefore we kept as close to the shore as circumstances would admit throughout the day, and in the evening stood out to sea, as we then found the tide near the land had turned, and was carrying us fast to leeward.
​At 10 p.m., when distant between twenty and thirty miles from the land, it presented a remarkable appearance; a bank of dense clouds concealed the lower parts of the mountains, and their snowy pointed summits alone appeared above the cloud, contrasting strongly with the beautifully clear blue sky, and conveying to the mind the idea of an immensity of elevation beyond their measured height.
Our operations were retarded by a strong southwest gale, against which we struggled in vain, the whole of the next day, under our storm-sails. Such a continuance of stormy weather in the middle of summer we were not at all prepared to expect, and we could not but feel anxious as day after day of the brief season of navigation passed away without any material advance in the desired direction. At Jan. 16.noon we were in lat. 72° 12′ S., but were driven back to the northward by the violence of the storm, which continued until noon of the following day, about twenty-five miles.
As the wind moderated the reefs were shook out Jan. 17.of the topsails and courses, and we increased the sail with good effect, the wind having veered to the westward, so as to admit of our steering a more southerly course. New portions of land opened to our view as we proceeded to the southward. The sun shone forth with great brilliancy, the more acceptable to our feelings, perhaps, from having been so long concealed by unceasing showers of rain; and its beams were reflected from the now distant mountains in every variety of tone and modification ​of light which the different forms of their icy coverings exhibited; and which, whilst attracting the admiration, and delighting the eye, could not fail also to improve the mind; for how was it possible thus to admire the stupendous and magnificent fabric, without our thoughts rising in adoration of the Author, and Maker, and Preserver of all?
​ice-blink to the eastward appeared to give us warning; but in this we were mistaken, it proved to be only a fog-bank.
Jan 17.During the afternoon an unusual degree of refraction was remarked to the south-westward, which had the effect of bringing, at times, clearly into view land we had not before seen, and then again removing it from our sight. This land having been thus discovered at a distance of more than one hundred miles on the birth-day of a lady to whom I was then attached, and whom I have now the happiness of calling my wife, I gave her name to the extreme southern point—Cape Anne; and the land afterwards proving to be an island, was named Coulman Island, after her father, Thomas Coulman, Esq., of Whitgift Hall, Goole. The northern point of the island was named Cape Wadworth, in compliment to her uncle, Robert John Coulman, Esq., of Wadworth Hall, Doncaster; a spot of many happy associations.
Jan. 18.Moderate breeze from the S.W. and fine weather: we stood away to the S.S.E. on the starboard tack until we lost sight of the land, at a great distance from us; but we were sailing in an unexplored space, perfectly free from either bergs or loose ice. A few whales, penguins, cape-pigeons, and stormy petrel were our only companions. We were also increasing our southing, and at noon were in 72° 57′ S. long., 176° 6′ E. At 1 p.m., having run three miles S.S.E, we hove to, and obtained soundings in two hundred and thirty fathoms. Small stones ​and shells, with some pieces of coral and a crustaceous animal (nymphon gracile), common in the Arctic Seas, came up with the lead. The temperature at that depth was 34°.6; at one hundred and fifty fathoms, 33°.8; that of the surface being 30°, and of the air 31°; the specific gravity of water brought up from various intermediate depths was the same as at the surface, 1.0277, at a temperature of 35°. This experiment was repeated with exactly the same result, in consequence of the Terror, which was less than a mile distant from us, having found only one hundred and seventy-four fathoms on a sandy bottom, showing a very remarkable irregularity in the bed of the ocean at this part. At 5 p.m., when in lat. 73° 3′ S., we tacked and stood towards the land; at 8 we sounded in one hundred and ninety, and at midnight in one hundred and eighty fathoms, on a bottom of sand and broken shells, having at that time run twenty-four miles true W. by N. The land was again seen soon after 9 p.m. W.N.W. true, at one hundred and twenty miles' distance, the sky of course being beautifully clear in that direction: we considered Jan. 19.it a curious circumstance finding the water so shallow at so great a distance from such high land. Numbers of the young pintado were flying about, and one shot by Mr. McCormick fell on board; it was the first specimen of the kind we obtained.
At four o'clock in the morning, we had one hundred and seventy fathoms, at eight o'clock two hundred and ten fathoms, and at noon had increased the ​depth of water to two hundred and seventy fathoms, although we had closed the land more than forty miles since midnight. Coulman Island, which we had only before seen by refraction, now formed the southern extreme point in view, and a new range of mountains was observed stretching away to the south-west from Mount Northampton, forming a kind of crescent-shaped ridge. A remarkable conical mountain to the north of Mount Northampton was named in compliment to the Rev. W. Vernon Harcount; one to the southward of it, after Sir David Brewster, the joint-founders of the British Association, which has so eminently contributed to the advancement of science in Great Britain. Mount Lubbock, to the southward of Mount Brewster, was named after Sir John Lubbock, Bart., treasurer of the Royal Society; and two other mountains, still further to the southward, were named after Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, the general secretary, and Professor Phillips, the assistant secretary, of the British Association.
Becalmed for two or three hours after noon, the dredge was put over in two hundred and seventy fathoms water, and after trailing along the ground for some time was hauled in. It was found to contain a block of grey granite, composed of large crystals of quartz, mica, and felspar, with apparently a clean and recent fracture, as if lately broken off from the main rock, and had probably been deposited by the agency of an iceberg. Besides this there were a great many stones of ​various kinds of granitic and volcanic structure; but the most remarkable circumstance was drawing up from so great a depth beautiful specimens of living coral, which naturalists and geologists have hitherto concurred in believing unable to work beyond the pressure of a few fathoms below the surface. Corallines, Flustræ, and a variety of marine invertebrate animals, also came up in the net, showing an abundance and great variety of animal life. Amongst them I detected two species of Pycnogonum; Idotea Baffini, hitherto considered peculiar to the Arctic Seas; a chiton, seven or eight bivalves and univalves, an unknown species of Gammarus, and two kinds of Serpula, adhering to the pebbles and shells. I am indebted to the kindness of Charles Stokes, Esq, for some remarks on the very interesting species of corals obtained by us on this occasion, which will be found in the Appendix to this Volume, and the beautiful drawings he has made will appear in the zoology of the voyage now publishing.
It was interesting amongst 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 teeming 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.
At 3 p.m. a favourable breeze sprang up, and we made all sail to the south, steering direct for Coulman Island, which still formed the eastern extreme of land in sight, having a broad passage between it and the main land. A deep bight was observed to the southward of a remarkable cape, high, black, and cloven at the top; further to the north, Cape Wheatstone, the right-hand point of an apparent inlet, had the whole of its precipitous face quite clear of snow, though it thickly covered its rounded summit. The evening continued beautifully fine; but we well knew that a northerly wind would most assuredly bring over us fog and snow, its never-failing accompaniments; and the barometer falling fast warned us to make the best of the brief period of fine weather. All sail was crowded on both our ships, and once again we had all the studding sails on both sides set, and were running directly before a fine breeze. The scene was most animating and cheering; the harassing, tedious, and laborious work of contending against adverse winds and weather were forgotten in the full expectation we now enjoyed of soon passing into a higher latitude Jan. 20.than had ever before been attained; and few on board either of the ships closed their eyes that night, so great were their anxiety and excitement. Soon after three o'clock the next morning thick fog and snow limited our view at times to ​less than a quarter of a mile, and we could seldom see beyond a mile; we, however, continued our course under all sail until six o'clock, when, during a partial clearing, we saw a great body of ice extending across our bows, fortunately in time to enable us to haul off to the eastward, and clear the point of it, passing through only a small quantity of scattered pieces at its outer edge. Soon afterwards we perceived that the ice extended from the north cape of Coulman Island (Cape Wadworth) several miles to the northward, and the whole space between it and Cape Jones, named after my friend Captain William Jones, R.N., was filled with a solid field of ice that appeared as if it had not yet broken up this season. We resumed our course to the southward, after clearing some loose streams off the main body of the ice, and at noon were in latitude, by dead reckoning, 73° 47′ S., long. 171° 40′ E., the sun not affording us an observation for latitude, for which we now most anxiously wished.
Penguins, white and stormy petrel, were seen in abundance, as also were several seals. Falling calm at 1.30 p.m. we sounded in 320 fathoms, the deep-sea clamms coming up full of a stiff green mud, sand, and small stones, some fragments of starfish, and pieces of coral. A strong ripple indicated a tide or current; and we found the ship was drifting to the south by the lead and bearings of the land, at the rate of three quarters of a mile per hour. At this time, Cape Anne, the high, perpendicular, extreme point of Coulman Island, bore ​W.N.W. twenty-five miles. Light baffling winds prevailed for several hours, but eventually settled in a stiff breeze from the southward. We stood to the S.W. to close the mainland, which we observed had taken a considerable turn to the westward, but without being able to get sight of it, owing to the thickness of the weather, until 4 a.m.: when being Jan. 21.close in with the main pack edge we could observe the land ice stretching round to the southward, a firm unbroken mass, with a considerable quantity of loose ice off its edge, which seemed to have been recently broken away from the main body.
We tacked and stood off to the eastward to wait for clear weather, and on standing in again the land was distinctly seen: a high-peaked mountain, bearing true west, was named Monteagle, after the Chancellor of the Exchequer; and one of very great elevation, the highest by estimation that we had yet seen, but which we had not the opportunity of measuring accurately, was named Mount Melbourne, after the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Melbourne, Prime Minister of England when our expedition was proposed to her Majesty's government, and upon whom and his colleagues the representations of the great philosophers of the day had their due influence. The form of Mount Melbourne had so general and striking a resemblance to Mount Ætna, that for distinction's sake it went by that name for several days amongst the officers of both ships; but its elevation must be very much greater than that of the Sicilian mountain.
​The land ice, although not more than five or six feet above the surface, and therefore probably not more than forty feet in thickness, blends so imperceptibly with the snow which descends from the mountains at this part and extends far into the sea, that it was almost impossible to form any idea of the exact position of the coast line; thus from the edge of the land ice, it seemed at no great distance from its margin gradually to ascend until it reached the summits of the highest mountains. To the N.W. the space between Coulman Island and the main land was occupied by a similar kind of land ice that appeared not to have been broken away for many years: in this particular more like the barrier described by Lieut. Wilkes, as extending from the shores of the lands discovered by him near the Antarctic Circle. It was sufficiently evident that it was impossible to penetrate this mass of ice to the westward, as there was not even a crack or hole of water to be seen in any part of it. I therefore made up my mind to proceed along its edge to the southward, hoping to be able afterwards to pursue a westerly course to the Magnetic Pole, which we still continued to approach very considerably, the dip now amounting to 87° 39′.
At noon we were in lat. 74° 15′ S. by our reckoning, but the observation gave only 74°, showing that we had been driven to the northward by a current, which was the more mortifying as we had already begun to congratulate ourselves in the ​belief that we had reached as high a south latitude as had ever before been attained, and with every prospect of being permitted to extend our researches very much further. In spite of all our exertions we found the ships unable to contend against the combined influence of the southerly wind and northerly current, which still carried us back to the northward, and when it fell calm in the afternoon, we could do nothing but watch the gradually retrograde motion of the ships.
It was the most beautiful night we had seen in these latitudes, the sky perfectly clear and serene. At midnight, when the sun was skimming along Jan. 22.the southern horizon at an altitude of about two degrees, the sky over head was remarked to be of a most intense indigo blue, becoming paler in proportion to the distance from the zenith.
We got soundings in three hundred fathoms, and the dredge being again put over, and allowed to trail along the bottom for two or three hours, brought up many animals, some corallines, and a quantity of sand, mud, and small stones. Amongst them we found several entirely new forms of creatures, of which accurate drawings were taken by Dr. Hooker, which, together with their descriptions, are now in course of publication, and constitute one of the more interesting features of our researches. It is well known that marine invertebrate animals are more susceptible of change of temperature than land animals; indeed they may be isothermally arranged with great accuracy. It ​will, however, be difficult to get naturalists and philosophers to believe that these fragile creatures could possibly exist at the depth of nearly two thousand fathoms below the surface: yet as we know they can bear the pressure of one thousand fathoms, why may they not of two? We also know that several of the same species of creatures inhabit the Arctic, that we have fished up from great depths in the Antarctic, Seas. The only way they could have got from the one pole to the other must have been through the tropics; but the temperature of the sea in those regions is such that they could not exist in it, unless at a depth of nearly two thousand fathoms. At that depth they might pass from the Arctic to the Antarctic Ocean without a variation of five degrees of temperature; whilst any land animal, at the most favourable season, must experience a difference of fifty degrees, and, if in the winter, no less than one hundred and fifty degrees, of Fahrenheit's thermometer—a sufficient reason why there are neither quadrupeds, nor birds, nor land-insects common to both regions.