282 THE VOYAGE OF THE 'DISCOVERY' [Feb 



It was of great importance that our ship should be in good 

 sea trim at this time, because according to our programme we 

 were now about to make the attempt to penetrate a new region, 

 and we expected to find quite enough to occupy our minds in 

 contending with the obstacles in our path without having to 

 consider internal troubles. 



Now, therefore, we turned to the west with high hope that 

 with our steam-power we should be able to pass beyond the 

 point which had been reached by Sir James Ross in his sailing 

 ships. At first all went well with us, as, except for bergs and 

 very loose streams of pack, there seemed nothing to obstruct 

 our course. The number of bergs was extraordinary; it would 

 appear that the current which runs up the east coast of Victoria 

 Land continues to the north-west after passing Cape Adare, 

 and leaves a region of slack water to the westward of Robertson 

 Bay, and, as a consequence, many of the bergs which stream 

 up the coast are carried by eddies into this area where they 

 present such a formidable accumulation. 



When pack-ice is entangled amongst icebergs it has to be 

 navigated with some caution, as amongst the floes will always 

 be found numerous fragments of the bergs themselves ; these 

 pieces generally float low and are not easily seen, but as they 

 are very solid and often possess sharp spurs it is eminently 

 desirable to avoid them. 



By the afternoon of the 25th we were in the thick of the 

 bergs, and, to our disappointment, we found the pack-ice 

 growing closer. Having but a very limited supply of coal in 

 our bunkers, it was necessarily our policy to avoid the pack as 

 far as possible ; and as we could not afford to force our way 

 through long stretches of it, we turned outwards in hopes of 

 finding a clearer passage. This took us a long distance from 

 the land, but we trusted that we should soon be able to return 

 towards it. 



With the closing of the season and our advance to the 

 north, our days were gradually drawing in, and already we had 

 a night of four or five hours, when navigation amongst the ice 

 promised to be anxious work. 



