114 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [Jan. 



As we got to the southward of our table mountain we could 

 see that the high snow ridge beyond it represented an immense 

 overflow of the ice-mass of the interior. Some vast store of 

 ice beyond seemed to take advantage of the break in the 

 mountain chain, and to pour down in one great river of ice to 

 the sea. 



The glistening white surface of this great overflow, fully 

 fifteen miles across, rose gradually to a height of some 

 4,000 feet at the crest of the ridge, and no doubt continued 

 to rise to greater height beyond. It was broken only in the 

 centre, where a huge beehive-shaped nunatak thrust its head 

 through the mass and left deep furrows in its snowy surface. 

 The rich brown of the bare basaltic rock of this nunatak is 

 conspicuously contrasted with the vast surface of white snow 

 about it, and therefore constitutes one of the most striking land- 

 marks on the coast, a most remarkable and distinctive feature. 



And now as we skirted the ice-foot on our right we 

 found ourselves suddenly brought up in a curious inlet, with 

 ice-walls on every side, and were obliged to turn and retrace 

 our steps for some way, when, still keeping the ice-wall on our 

 right, we found ourselves going due east directly away from 

 the land. For many hours we steamed along this ice-cliff, 

 which varied in height from 70 to 100 feet, until, after travel- 

 ling more than twenty miles, we came where the cliff rose to 

 150 feet in height and turned abruptly to the south, and after 

 a mile or more again abruptly to the west. We now per- 

 ceived that we had encountered another example of the barrier- 

 ice which we had seen in Lady Newnes Bay, but this time the 

 ice ran out in a long snout to seaward, and we could fit no 

 theory to the fact that the extremity of the snout was higher 

 than many parts behind it. Off the end of the snout we 

 obtained 368 fathoms of water — another rather puzzling circum- 

 stance, when the flotation of ice was considered. 



On turning the corner to the south we were again brought 

 in full view of our ancient enemy the pack-ice. Here, as 

 further north, it is evidently detained in its passage along the 

 coast. The extent of the pack carried us some way to the 



