380 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949 
We were now 250 miles farther south on the Weddell Coast than any 
human foot had ever trod before. The Beechcraft’s altimeter indi- 
cated the elevation to be 300 feet above sea level. When 2% drums of 
gasoline had been transferred from the Norseman’s cargo into the 
Beechcraft’s wing tanks, we were ready to take off on the long flight. 
The time was 4:10 p.m. Adams and Schlossbach, with the Norseman 
plane and a trail radio, were left to stand by as an additional safety 
and emergency precaution. 
UNEXPECTED TREND OF COAST LINE 
As we headed for Cape Schlossbach, we started to climb to 10,000 
feet, so that the trimetrogon cameras could photograph the terrain 
from one horizon to the other. Visibility was unlimited as we passed 
the cape and headed due south to follow the trend of the mountainous 
coast line. A huge ice barrier could be seen disappearing over the 
horizon in a southeasterly direction. ‘To the north of the barrier open 
water extended for 20 miles, and beyond was loose pack ice. Shortly 
after we rounded Cape Schlossbach, an island was sighted some 5 
miles from the mainland, completely snow-covered except on its south- 
west side; Dodson Island is about 12 miles in length and half as much 
in width. It was the southernmost island that we discovered. The 
opposite coast I called Orville Escarpment. 
Unexpectedly the mountainous coast line turned westward until its 
trend became 245° true. To the right, numerous mountains of various 
heights came into view. As we continued southwestward, the moun- 
tains were spaced farther apart. More readily definable groups took 
form, sharply etched against a cloudless background of white. The 
height of the land beneath us seemed to be gradually increasing, and 
at the same time the height of the rock exposures was gradually 
decreasing, until at our southernmost point only a gradually rising 
snow-covered plateau was seen. I named the mountains and groups 
of mountains as discovered: Sweeney Mountains with Mount Edward 
in the center, Scaife Mountains, Wilkins Mountains (map, fig. 2), 
Latady Mountains, Lowell Thomas Mountains, Mount Horne, Mount 
Brundage, and Mount Hassage. Mount Haag, estimated to be 11,000 
feet high, was the last newly discovered mountain peak seen; beyond 
it, in the distance, Mount Ulmer, discovered by Lincoln Ellsworth 
in 1935, loomed above the horizon. 
Our flight so far had proved that the mountain axis of the Palmer 
Peninsula gradually swings southwestward to 77°30’ S., 72° W., where 
it dies out or merges into a higher plateau that stretches southward as 
Joerg Plateau. The elevation of this plateau was found to be approxi- 
mately 5,000 feet, and it stretched to the limit of our visibility, which 
at our 10,000-foot altitude I estimated to be at least 150 miles. This 
meant that we actually saw the terrain as far as 81° S. It is my 
