358 THE RENEWAL OF ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION. 



pressure of tlie Soutliein Heinispbere; he took surface and deep-sea 

 temi)eratures with much regularity; he became a pioueer iu accurate 

 deep-sea sounding and deep-sea dredging; he recoguized that the ani 

 mals from deep water were ahnost identical with tliose found at similar 

 depths by his uncle in the Arctic, and he prophesied that a nearly 

 uniform low temperature would ultimately be found everywhere in 

 dee]) water, and that living animals would be found at the greater 

 depths all over the floor of the ocean. In the account of his voyage 

 we find the best expression of all the anxieties, the dangers, the sufiter- 

 ings, the charms and fascination, which accompany work in these bit- 

 ter, appalling, and magnificent realms of ice, where snow storms, fogs, 

 and gales alternate with brilliant sunshine. 



In January, 1841, after passing heavy pack ice far to the south of 

 New Zealand, Eoss discovered Victoria Land, consisting of mountain 

 ranges from 7,000 to 12,000 and 15,000 feet in height. To the east he 

 found open navigable water with off-lying islands, on two of which — 

 Possession and Franklin islands — he landed. This bold coast was 

 traced for 500 miles to the south, where it terminated, in latitude 78° 

 south, in the volcanic cones of Mounts Erebus and Terror, ]Mount Ere- 

 bus at the time vomiting forth tiame and lava from an elevation of 

 12,000 feet. Glaciers descending from the mountain summits filled the 

 valleys and bays of the coast, and i)rojected several miles into the sea. 

 It was impossible to enter any of the indentations or breaks on the 

 coast, where, in other lands, harbors usually occur. On some days the 

 sun shone forth with great brilliancy from a perfectly serene and clear 

 sky of a most intense indigo blue, and the members of the exiiedition 

 gazed with feelings of indescribable delight upon a scene of grandeur 

 and magnificence beyond anything they had before seen or could have 

 conceived. 



From the eastern foot of Mount Terror, Ross found a perpendicular 

 wall of ice from 150 to 200 feet in height, extending away to the east, 

 through which, as he says, there was no more chance of sailing than 

 through the clifts of Dover. He traced this ice barrier in an east and 

 west direction for 300 miles; and within a mile of it he- obtained a 

 dei)th of 200 fathoms, with a fine soft mud at the bottom. In the fol- 

 lowing season Ross was not so successful; for weeks he was a prisoner 

 in the pack ice. Still, he reached the ice barrier again iu latitude 78° 

 10' south, a little to the east of his i)osition in the previous year, but 

 no new land was discovered. In the third season Ross made explora- 

 tions among the islands to the south of Cape Horn, landing on Cock- 

 burn Island, but his attempts to follow in the track of Weddell were 

 unsuccessful, owing to the heavy pack ice encountered throughout the 

 season. 



It must be remembered that Ross was the only Antarctic explorer 

 provided with ships properly strengthened and fortified, and this 

 probably accounts for his remarkable performances in tlie i)ack ice. 



