ROSS'S DISCOVERIES 13 



The course was set for the Magnetic Pole, and the 

 hope of soon reaching it burned in the hearts of all. 

 Then just as they had accustomed themselves to the 

 idea of open sea, perhaps to the Magnetic Pole itself- 

 the crow's-nest reported " High land right ahead." This 

 was the mountainous coast of South Victoria Land. 



What a fairyland this must have seemed to the first 

 voyagers who approached it ! Mighty mountain-ranges 

 with summits from 7,000 to 10,000 feet high, some 

 covered with snow and some quite bare lofty and 

 rugged, precipitous and wild. 



It became apparent that the Magnetic Pole was some 

 500 miles distant far inland, behind the snow-covered 

 ridges. On the morning of January 12 they came close 

 under a little island, and Ross with a few companions 

 rowed ashore and took possession of the country. They 

 could not reach the mainland itself on account of the 

 thick belt of ice that lay along the coast. 



The expedition continued to work its way southward, 

 making fresh discoveries. On January 28 the two 

 lofty summits, Mount Erebus and Mount Terror, were 

 sighted for the first time. The former was seen to be 

 an active volcano, from which smoke and flames shot 

 up into the sky. It must have been a wonderfully fine 

 sight, this flaming fire in the midst of the white, frozen 

 landscape. Captain Scott has since given the island, 

 on which the mountains lie, the name of Ross Island, 

 after the intrepid navigator. 



