416 I'ROCEEDINGS OP SECTION E, 



bishop, with jurisdiction over Iceland, Greenland, and Vin- 

 land, showing that the American colony was then well 

 known. Thorwald, son of Erik the Red, and brother of 

 Leifr who discovered New England, was killed there in a 

 battle fought in 1002, and it is probable that the body of the 

 Icelandic Viking, found in Massachussets in 1831 may have 

 been his, buried in his armour as he fell. In 1008, one year 

 after INew England was colonised, the first child of European 

 blood was born in America — Snorro Thorfinnson, son of the 

 founder of the colony. From him, after the lapse of seven 

 centuries and a half, descended Thorwaldsen, the great 

 sculptor. 



It may well be that we owe to the Icelander the redis- 

 covery of America in the fifteenth century, seeing that 

 Christopher Columbus visited Iceland the year before he 

 sailed on his voyage of discovery, and there could hardly but 

 have heard of the Icelandic American colonies. These Norse- 

 men have given us some of our best blood, and although 

 tliey have left us no more Americas to discover, we have in 

 the proposed Antarctic expedition an opportunity of rivalling 

 their exploits within the Arctic Circle one thousand years ago. 



3.— MAGNETIC SHOAL NEAR COSSACK, WESTERN 

 AUSTRALIA. 



By Captain W. USBORNE MOORE, R.N. 



The area of magnetic disturbance near Cossack exhibits all 

 the characteristics of Red Magnetism, as if there was a 

 congestion of the magnetic elements due to the South 

 Magnetic Hemisphere. It seems appropriate, therefore, to 

 call it a " magnetic shoal," and to treat it graphically as if it 

 was an elevation or lump on the bottom of the sea, or area 

 of " shoal " water, the magnetic soundings being deflections 

 of the compass needle. 



Worked out thus, it was found that the magnetic shoal 

 developed the following features : — 



An area four miles long north-east and south-west by two 

 miles broad, Avith a depth of eight to nine fathoms at L.W. 

 spring tide, bottom quartz sand, over which all compasses 

 are deflected one degree or more. 



Within the above, an area three miles long N.E. and 

 S.W. by half a mile to one and a half miles broad, over 

 which compasses are disturbed over half a point. 



